As it turned out, Alex’s presence made me the most uncomfortable. I appreciated his support, but he heard things about me, things that weren’t secret but were private. I should’ve been free to share them on my timetable or not at all. There’s a reason we let people get to know us by degrees. Most of life’s experiences sounded more palatable when revealed over time in a friendship. Spoken all at once, the same experiences weren’t quite as acceptable.
“That concludes your questioning.” Calista stood and went to a small table where our words had been recorded onto parchment as we spoke them, magically appearing in ink without any writing device. Next to the stacks of parchment sat a small crystal vial. Calista removed the stopper and handed it to me. “This is the antidote to the truth potion. As soon as you drink it, you will have control over your words again.”
I tossed the contents of the vial back as if I were shooting vodka. “That tastes awful.”
A small smile formed on Calista’s lips, the first I had seen from her. “Testing it?”
“Yes.” The liquid actually tasted quite pleasant. “How did you know?”
“I’ve taken it myself. All Councilors undergo questioning before assuming their seat.”
Wow, that could be considered either due diligence or building up one heck of a blackmail file. “So, theoretically, if someone took the truth potion and then didn’t receive the antidote, they would be forced to tell the truth for the rest of their life?”
“Yes.” Calista nodded as if that weren’t the fucking scariest thing imaginable.
“Good to know. So what happens now?”
“I’ll present the results of the questioning to the rest of the Council, and we’ll deliberate. However, I have been authorized to exercise my discretion. Given the answers you provided, I see no reason to confine you to your quarters any longer. Instead, you may explore the Citadel with a chaperone.”
“Who’s our chaperone?” Having a chaperone didn’t sound like fun, but this was at least a step in the right direction.
“Someone you already know: Lilibet. She was sure you would pass the questioning, so she already received approval for where she can take you in the Citadel and on our grounds. She’s probably planning on introducing you to some of the other mages here. That’s fine, but we would ask that you not share the story of how you ended up here or talk about your life on Earth. We don’t like mages traveling back and forth for the reasons you’ve discovered dealing with Casper.”
“I have no problem agreeing to that.” I didn’t mind not telling other people about Earth. It wasn’t in my nature to share with strangers anyway, but I found it fascinating that Calista believed that by me not speaking about it, people wouldn’t be curious. If nothing else, my clothes gave me away. Speaking of which, I needed to learn a spell of some sort that would clean my clothes the way Alex’s never needed to be washed.
Calista went to the door and opened it to reveal Lilibet already waiting in the hallway. “It went as you expected. You’re free to take them around now.”
Lilibet nodded her head in acknowledgment. “That’s good news.”
“Yes it is. I’ll tell Thaddeus you won the wager.”
The mention of a wager piqued my curiosity, but I didn’t fancy hanging around to ask Calista about it. I crossed the threshold, and Alex, Millhook, and I followed Lilibet away from the interrogation room.
“You made a bet with Thaddeus?” I asked.
“Yes, why?”
I shivered. “He scares me.”
A slight giggle escaped Lilibet’s mouth before she covered it with her hand.
“What’s so funny? He looks like he could kill me with his little finger.”
Lilibet laughed even harder. “He’s my father. The thought of him scaring anyone is amusing. And why’s he scary? You’ve killed a trained mage.”
“Wait, he’s your dad?” I halted out of shock and stumbled as Millhook and Alex bumped into me. It took Lilibet a moment to realize I no longer followed her.
“Yes,” she said when she looked back at me. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
I made a little show of looking her over. “Maybe because you two are night and day.”
Lilibet’s smile showed she didn’t take offense at my words. She turned and continued walking. “People say I take after my mother.”
“I don’t know your mother, but I’d say that’s an understatement.”
“She died shortly after I was born. A sorcerer killed her. My father was a general, but he came home to raise me and assume her seat on the Council.”
“I’m sorry.”
Lilibet stopped walking and looked at me with her head cocked to the side in puzzlement. “What an odd thing to say. You had nothing to do with it. Must be a human thing.”
“Mages don’t offer condolences?”
“Ah, condolences. Yes, we do. It’s probably a language quirk.”
“Your English is really good.” I had forgotten that English probably wasn’t a mage’s first language. Come to think of it, everyone had spoken English with me.
“I don’t speak English. I’m speaking Common Tongue.”
My brow crinkled in confusion. “Then how can I understand you?”
“The short answer to your question is magic.”
That was not at all satisfactory. “And what’s the long answer?”
“Mages developed our own language because the ancient language Cadaran was too powerful. Ages ago the various races in Elustria held a summit to discuss trade issues, and it was decided that we would all adopt a common language to make communication easier. Each race still has their own language, but the Council prefers Common Tongue in a spirit of openness with the rest of Elustria.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“No,” Lilibet said. “I think Millhook is the better person to answer you.”
“What do you mean?” I looked to the imp to find him shrugging.
“I might’ve cast a language charm on you before you came through the portal.”
“You can do that?”
“On an untrained mage? Of course.” Millhook took my question as an affront to his magical skill. “I speak English, but most mages don’t. Seemed pointless to bring you here if you couldn’t understand anyone. People from Elustria can understand you and you can understand them as long as they’re speaking Common Tongue.”
“So I won’t be able to understand the mage language?”
“Not unless you learn it,” Lilibet answered. “I doubt you’ll encounter any of the racial languages. They’re rarely used.”
In Wizards and Fae, the character pane had shown Serafina’s proficiency in each language: one common and a unique one for each race in the game. Yet another way the game mirrored reality. At least here I didn’t have to perform inane quests to unlock language skills.
I turned to Alex. “Please tell me that at least you have been using English with me.”
“Back on Earth, yeah. I slipped into Common Tongue when we first met with Calista and Thaddeus. Since you appeared to understand it, I’ve been using it ever since.”
“Well, thanks for letting me know,” I grumbled.
Alex mimicked Millhook’s shrug.
“I thought I’d take you to the dining hall unless you’d rather eat in your room,” Lilibet said as she stepped into a teleportation ring.
“No, the dining hall sounds great. I’m dying to see more of this place.”
Lilibet suppressed a smile at my enthusiasm and teleported us to a ring outside a pair of ornate double doors that stood open, revealing what appeared to be a fancy restaurant. We joined a small queue of mages waiting to be seated. The mage in front of me did a double take when he saw my clothing and nudged his companion to look too.
“That’s her,” the man whispered to his friend.
The other mage glanced at me then stepped forward as the line moved. Whatever he said in reply was too quiet for me to hear.
“Lilibet
!” The host skipped over the line and came right to us. “I was wondering if I’d see you today. I’ve been keeping your table empty just in case.” The man eyed me and Alex. “Welcome to the dining hall. If you will all follow me right this way,” he said with a little bow of his head.
As we made our way through the room, people whispered and stared. I’d spent most of my life happily invisible. If this was the reaction we’d get everywhere, I questioned my desire to see the rest of the Citadel. Maybe I could convince Lilibet to show us around tonight when everyone was in bed.
“Here you are.” The host gestured to a table in the back corner. “Shanda’s on duty today, so avoid the soups. Poor dear thinks she’s making them correctly.”
“Thanks,” Lilibet said as we took our seats. “The Council doesn’t want anyone asking questions, so could you keep everyone away?”
“Sure thing.” The host nodded then looked at me. “Welcome to the Citadel.” I didn’t have time to respond before he left.
We sat at a round stone table with a teleportation ring carved into it. Inside the ring sat a stack of menus.
“What did he mean about the soups?” I asked as I looked over my options. “How can food that’s magically prepared turn out wrong?”
“Shanda is an institution. She’s worked here forever and refuses to retire. We’re pretty sure she lost her sense of taste a while ago. She thinks she’s a marvelous cook and that she’s doing us all a great favor by staying on. The only reasonable explanation for her food is that she’s aiming for the wrong taste. I hate to think it’s possible for someone’s magical ability to atrophy that far. Besides, magic doesn’t make things perfect. When you perform magic, does it always turn out perfectly?”
Fair enough.
As I perused the menu, a surge of nausea overcame me. Without conversation, anxiety over my fate took hold. There was nothing more I could do, but that didn’t matter. Somehow, I knew the Council wasn’t done with me.
Chapter 6
The sound of my heartbeat filled my ears as I waited for either Calista or Thaddeus to speak. We’d barely had time to look around before I was summoned to the same room Millhook had taken me to upon arriving at the Citadel.
Across from me at the table, Calista held her mouth in a tight line pursed to one side. Her eyes revealed that whatever decision the Council had come to, she didn’t agree with it. Calista’s pissed off expression combined with Thaddeus’s foreboding appearance sent my nerves into high gear.
They knew the truth now. If they were as just a body as they led me to believe, then I had nothing to fear. But my fate rested in their hands, and no matter how noble those hands may be, it was unsettling.
“The Council has listened to Calista’s account of your questioning and confirmed with the transcripts.”
This did not bode well. Between Calista looking pissed, and Thaddeus being the one to deliver the news, I was pretty confident the Council hadn’t bought my story of self-defense, or rather, chose to ignore that it was self-defense.
“We’d like to thank you for your testimony. You’ve given us some valuable information that we wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise.”
That I did not expect. There had to be a catch.
“You’re welcome. What exactly did you find useful?” It was the only response I could come up with, and it seemed Thaddeus would not continue until I replied.
“The information you gave about Casper Rothian or rather Casper Dinathion. We believe he’s working for an organization called the Directorate: a shadowy group of mages that is undermining everything we’re working for. They don’t want peace with the sorcerers; they want dominance.”
I had no trouble believing Casper belonged to such an organization.
“Rooting them out has been the Council’s top priority,” Thaddeus continued. “They are ruthless, and it’s been difficult for our operatives to survive any encounters with them. We also believe Meglana was a Directorate operative.”
Despite all the evidence pointing toward that being true, it didn’t sit right with me. “Casper could have been lying about my mother helping him. Truth potion only makes me recount the truth of my experience; it doesn’t make everything I say the absolute truth.”
“We understand,” Calista said. “The enchantment on the game that you described to us is a very advanced form of magic. I knew Meglana, and it sounds exactly like something she’d do. I don’t even think there’s anyone else with the ability to do it.”
Calista’s expression showed the pain of mourning a lost friend. She didn’t want this to be true any more than I did.
“While we are thankful for this information, we have concerns,” Thaddeus said.
Ah yes, time for the catch. “Such as?”
“The Council is still disturbed by your ability to kill Marcus. The level of skill involved would surpass most trained mages, never mind a latent mage who had only recently discovered her powers. If you’re that powerful, maybe you’re powerful enough to withstand truth potion. I hope you can understand our concern.”
I probably should’ve taken a deep breath and considered my words, but I was having none of that. “No, I do not understand your concerns. I told you exactly what happened while under truth potion. I couldn’t have lied if I wanted to. What should I have done differently? You tell me. You tell me what you would’ve done in my situation.”
“I’m not saying I would’ve done anything differently.”
“Yeah, you don’t strike me as a guy who’d play dead while someone steals your talisman. I’m guessing had you been there, Marcus would’ve been dead a lot sooner than he was.”
Thaddeus quirked the tiniest of smiles. “I believe what concerns the Council more is that you decided to fight back and had the power to defeat him. It’s your level of power and your apparent eagerness to use it that makes them nervous. The Council would’ve been more comfortable had you allowed Marcus to take the talisman then returned to your former life, especially since your power was so new to you.”
“Oh, I get it. I was supposed to not put up a fight, not make a fuss, just lie down and take it? And since I’ve only had the talisman for a little while, it’s not really mine. Is that what you’re saying?”
“I’d like to reiterate that I’m speaking on behalf of the Council and not from my personal opinion.”
“As we both are,” Calista said. Hmm, so maybe her anger came at the catch the Council was proposing—the catch I still did not understand.
“So you’re not an asshole, you’re just speaking on behalf of an organization that believes I should’ve just let Marcus take advantage of me, steal from me, while hoping he wouldn’t kill me after he had already killed my mother.”
“I can’t say what you should’ve done; all I know is what you did,” Thaddeus said. “The Council is seeking assurances that you are on our side.”
“Why should I be on your side? You’ve done nothing to endear yourselves to me.”
“Kat, let the man speak,” Alex growled. What I said had been stupid, and Alex was right. I needed to listen.
“We would like you to figure out exactly what your mother was working on,” Thaddeus said.
“And how do you suggest I do that? I never even met the woman. I know hardly anything about her.”
“We understand that might present some difficulties.”
“Some difficulties?” These people were infuriating. “I’m supposed to divine from the universe what she was working on? Aren’t you supposed to be the best mages in Elustria? Isn’t that what the Council is? If you can’t figure it out, what makes you think I can?”
“The talisman you’re wearing.” Thaddeus nodded to my necklace.
“I’m not giving you my talisman. I didn’t give it to Marcus, and I haven’t changed my mind.” While the amber stone had done nothing but cause trouble since Alex delivered it to me, this was a matter of principle.
“We’re not asking you to. I know you don’t have the high
est opinion of the Council, but we don’t take talismans from innocent people.” Thaddeus’s mouth twisted as if he tasted something sour.
“So you agree that I’m innocent?”
“We agree you felt threatened by Marcus and acted accordingly.” Thaddeus really was a politician despite his warrior appearance and history. The way he sidestepped issues could put any politician back on Earth to shame. “We searched Meglana’s home and haven’t found anything useful. However, we have detected some enchantments—ones we can’t break. We believe the talisman may be the key to finding whatever she has hidden there. What we are proposing is that you move into Meglana’s home, which belongs to you now, and see what you can discover.”
That didn’t sound so bad. I’d never been a homeowner before. “And what if I don’t want to?”
“Then you’ll stand trial for the crimes your mother committed as a co-conspirator.”
My strength slipped away. Had he really said what I thought he had? They were already convinced of my mother’s guilt, which meant I didn’t stand a chance.
Thaddeus continued. “Since a warrant for Meglana was issued, justice must be served or the Council pays the price.”
“What price?” I didn’t see why I should have to stand trial to bail out the Council.
“One of us will be tribute for her crimes,” Thaddeus answered.
I hoped it was the one who insisted I take truth potion. No, that wasn’t fair. “So it’s either me or some other innocent person?”
“This is the way our laws work, and we are bound by our magic and our oath to uphold them,” Calista said. “Now you understand why we sent Marcus after your mother. We have a duty to dispense justice for mages, and there are consequences if we fail in that duty. You must make progress by the end of the fire moon’s cycle or you will stand trial.” Genuine sadness creased her face.
Magic Unknown (The Elustria Chronicles: Magic Born Book 2) Page 4