Alia smiled and left her book to sit at the foot of his bed. “Less than a day,” she told him. Her eyes were red with exhaustion betraying the sleepless night she must have experienced waiting by his side.
“You’ve been here all night,” Byrn stated. It was not a question.
She took his hand in hers gently. Her touch was soft and caused a tingle to course up his arm. Byrn hoped he was not blushing, but he guessed he was because Alia broke eye contact and looked at her lap. “It was the least I could do. You risked your life for me- nearly died for me- I should have waited for you before transporting.”
“There was no way you could have stopped what happened,” Byrn assured her, “and everything worked out, didn’t it? How is Xander?”
“He seems to grow stronger by the moment,” she spoke with relief. “Deep down I never believed we could truly defeat the Kenzai though I never would have admitted it. At best I thought we might make a safer place for magicians to hide like a secret community, but with the kingdom and Kenzai growing more aggressive, I feared even that would be impossible. However, now that we have powerful magicians like you and father at our disposal I can finally dare to hope.”
“Alia, you never struck me as the sentimental type,” Byrn joked.
She responded with a flick to Byrn’s ear causing him to cry out in surprise from the tenderness of the lobe to the delight of the woman. Alia smirked, “Do not tease me, Firemas.”
“Never again,” he promised, rubbing his throbbing ear.
Alia leaned in and hugged Byrn for an unbearably short time before pulling away. “Ryonus has already recovered and now that you have too we will celebrate our success at Baj. You are one of the guests of honor, so you better be sure to attend.”
***
Magicians laughed and danced to the music of Tomlin and other “bards” as each took turns playing for their friends and colleagues. It was not a dinner filled with pomp and ceremony and there were no exquisite delicacies prepared by artisan chefs as the noble houses were accustomed to, but what the Collective lacked in fanciful dining they made up for with merriment and good company. The whole affair reminded Byrn more of a lively tavern than the dinner he had at the king’s palace after saving the warlord’s daughter. During that meal he was questioned and tested to see if he might have the proper mindset to be a royal magician, although he did not know the king’s intentions at the time. Now there was no one judging him. Byrn could simply enjoy the celebration.
He sat at a table in the center of the room with Levak and Skynryd drinking beer, but Byrn was not paying attention to their conversation. His attention was solely focused on the raven-haired woman across the room holding a mug and laughing at something that Ryonus said. He felt a pang of jealousy watching them together. Ryonus was not someone that Byrn would normally consider as a rival for a woman’s affections given their age difference, but considering that Alia was six years older than Byrn and about the same number of years younger than Ryonus, she could reasonably choose between either man if that was her desire.
“Quite a lady, that one,” Levak mentioned raising his own mug in Alia’s direction, snapping Byrn’s attention back to the mustachioed man.
“Indeed,” Byrn agreed with a hefty slush of beer down his throat causing the two older men to burst out laughing.
Before Byrn could ask what the joke was Skynryd blurted out, “He sure is a love sick pup!” causing the pair to laugh at Byrn’s expense some more.
“Is this how you treat a hero, old man?” Tomlin asked them and took a seat next to Byrn, his stint on stage finished for the moment. “I don’t mind admitting I was afraid you were going to die when you transported in all messed up like that.”
“Well if Lady Alia isn’t interested, it sounds like Tomlin might want to be your girlfriend,” Levak suggested with a wily grin. Skynryd spit out his beer as a fit of laughter exploded from his lips.
Tomlin’s face was twisted up and looked like he was about to deliver some clever retort, when instead a light seemed to gleam in his eyes and a squirrelly smile creased his face. “You have a thing for the boss-lady? Good on you,” he added putting an arm around Byrn, “There is nothing like watching a man try to overcome a great challenge.”
“You think he has a chance?” Levak finished off his mug and began pouring another.
“Not a chance,” Tomlin assured them, “but that doesn’t mean he should not try.”
“Yes, listen to the kid, Byrn, because no one knows more about women than a fifteen year old boy.” Skynryd smacked his hand on the table and laughed righteously.
“I certainly know more than some dried out old priest,” returned Tomlin causing the rest of the table to break out in laughter, but they all quieted as Alia and Xander Necros approached.
“You boys are enjoying yourselves,” noted Xander with humor, “What is so funny?”
“We were just discussing the fairer sex,” offered Levak with a twirl of his ‘stache.
“Really?” Alia placed a hand on the table so that she had to lean over Byrn’s shoulder. “Discussing anyone I know?” she cocked an eyebrow at Byrn.
“They were more discussing,” an embarrassed Byrn admitted, “I was just…”
“…Being teased,” added Levak.
“…Mocked,” Skynryd suggested.
“…Listening to the chatter of drunken louts,” Alia suggested, causing a new round of laughter from the men.
“What? I was trying to be helpful,” Tomlin objected with a genuinely hurt expression.
Xander grinned as he watched the exchange. “To be young and full of life again,” he mused. “Youth truly is wasted on the young.” To Byrn he added, “I wanted to extend my thanks to you for your part in my rescue. The gods must have been smiling on me when they put you in that cell opposite mine all those years ago.”
“You’re welcome, Xander. I’m glad to repay the kindness you showed me back then.” Thinking of his time in Baj and the friends he made there, Byrn asked, “How is Ryonus feeling… and Kellen?”
“Ryonus feels like he is a bundle of nerves like you, but that will pass soon. He woke a few hours before you did. As the spell caster you took the worst of it.” Skynryd lectured, “As for… Kellen- the prison guard has not waked yet, but he is stable. How do you know him?”
“We fought together when the ogres attacked Colum. He is also a hometown hero.”
“He is no mere guard. I have met him. He is the dungeon lord of Baj,” Xander considered the possibilities, but said no more.
Alia excused herself and found her way to the impromptu stage on the dais. She began to sing a ballad of love in her sweet songbird style. The strongest of enchanters were also renowned for their musical talents in the same way that strong fighters were known for being muscular. Every magician in the room fell silent and listened intently to her song.
“She has grown into a woman far removed from the doting little girl I left behind,” Xander whispered to Byrn. “She was only thirteen when I was captured.”
Byrn did not know what to say to that, eventually he settled on, “She is an amazing woman.”
Tomlin put an arm around each of the men and squeezed his way between them. “I can feel the love,” he said looking from one to the other. Before either man could respond Tomlin stepped past them and headed for a pair of teen girls that were giggling and looking in his direction. “Enjoying the celebration, ladies?” they heard him say as he sauntered over to the waiting beauties.
***
Byrn stared at the ceiling as he tried unsuccessfully to fall asleep. Thoughts of the raven songbird played over and over in his head. He tossed back and forth trying to get comfortable. Thoughts of Alia came unbidden making attempts at sleep a waste of time. He remembered her closeness as she leaned over him and the gentle touch of her hand on his own.
He sat up so that he could see out the window. The night was chilly with the promise of the coming winter. It felt refreshing on his bare skin. Why d
id he hesitate?
Byrn pulled on his pants and a tunic and left the room. He strolled the hallways hoping to clear his head. The sound of laughter came from down the hall. Byrn sensed the abundant heat coming down the hall of three bodies. Two stayed behind and entered a room while the third headed his way. Within a minute Tomlin came into view and walked past Byrn with a wide smile and whistling some cheerful tune. “Great celebration,” was all Tomlin said as they passed each other and Byrn was too dumbstruck to answer. Skynryd would never believe this.
The halls were dark, but the silence was comforting instead of foreboding, as one might have expected. It would have been good to roam the halls with nothing except his own thoughts if his mind did not keep wandering back to the enchantress. What was she doing? Was she awake at this hour thinking of him?
His hand knocked on the door before he realized what he was doing. Byrn was standing outside of Alia’s room. There was no answer and Byrn breathed a sigh that consisted of relief and disappointment at the same time. It would be better to walk away and talk to Alia in the morning.
He knocked again.
“Hold on,” said the voice on the other side of the door. A minute later Alia opened it dressed in a white silken nightgown that clung to her body. Her hair was down and draped over a shoulder revealing much of her soft, white neck. Her lips curled into a coy smile at the site of the man standing outside her door. “Byrn, what are you doing here?” she asked in her usually measured voice that sounded at once warm, but still distant.
“That is an excellent question and I wish to the gods that I had an answer for you,” Byrn admitted. “When my mind wanders, I think of you and then I can think of nothing else. You have a strength about you that is like no one I have ever met.”
For the first time that he could recall Alia looked surprised, “I am sorry. I never intended to drive you to such distraction.”
“You are inscrutable! You know that?” Byrn took Alia’s hands in his own. “Just tell me do you care for me as I care for you?”
Alia pulled him close and he became keenly aware of her body pressed against him. “I do think of you, but it is a difficult position for me to be in. As the leader of the Collective I have to remain impartial. I can’t allow my feelings to get in the way of what must be done. I did not want you to go to Baj, but I knew your knowledge of the area made you the most capable of finding a way in and when you returned sick and nearly kneeling at Kassani’s throne, I blamed myself for convincing you to put yourself in danger. I am not used to second guessing my decisions. It is not a feeling I enjoy.
“So what do I do the next time? How many more times will I have to ask you to risk your life knowing that you must always hold back against enemies that would show you no such kindness?”
“You don’t have to ask. It is my life and I will risk it as I see fit. You lead the Collective in a sense, but you don’t command me. My decisions are my own.” He leaned in and kissed her then, holding her close until he was consumed by her touch so that he was unaware of anything else around him.
She pushed him away just enough to break off the kiss, but not to end their embrace. Her piercing blue eyes stared into his. “Do you love me?” she asked heavy with emotion boiling just under the surface.
“I do,” he said without any hesitation.
This time it was Alia that kissed him longingly. There was an unspoken promise in that kiss of desire and devotion. Finally the kiss ended, but Alia held onto Byrn’s hand and led him into her room. The door closed softly behind them.
Chapter 14
Kellen paced back and forth in his surprisingly clean cell. As dungeon’s went, the Collective’s was the most comfortable the knight had ever seen. The renegade magicians used one of the cells as a secure space to transport into. Their leader, Alia Necros, was adamant about security and harbored a fear that one of the few magicians loyal to the kingdom might chance upon one of the Collective’s runes. If any magician were to transport into the cell, then he would find himself stuck in a cell and anti-magic runes would activate draining the magician’s energy. Of course, most magicians would have enough strength to immediately cast another transportation spell and escape, but the point was to protect the Collective more than to capture a kingdom magician. The cell was used enough that the magicians here wanted to keep the area clean.
Nevertheless, Kellen guessed a powerful enough magician could transport into that cell next to his, blast the cell door off its hinges, and rescue him. “Sane, where are you when I need you?” he exhaled deeply. His body was still tired and he hurt all over. When he jumped into Byrn it was with the intention of disrupting the transportation spell and taking the magicians captive, but Byrn managed to complete his spell and the result nearly killed Kellen and, he suspected, the pair of magicians.
The cage door rattled as Kellen shook it, testing its strength with his own. The effort made his arms feel like they were on fire forcing him to rest against the cool stone wall. He wiped the sweat from his brow and allowed his body to slide down to the cobbled floor. I must rest and save my strength, Kellen counseled himself. One day the chance to escape will come and when that happens I will need all of my strength.
“You are a big and burly fellow,” it was the one called Tomlin. He was a slippery young man able to come and go without anyone being any wiser, but Tomlin was also the only member of the Collective willing to speak to their prisoner or at least he was the only one willing to speak to Kellen who was not trying to get information from him. “Try as you might, those bars will not budge.”
“If you return my hammer, I will show you how wrong you are,” the Kellen suggested.
“A tempting proposal, but I think I will have to decline,” Tomlin settled into his preferred chair and stretched out leisurely.
Nearly an hour passed as they sat in silence, then Kellen decided to take a gamble on Tomlin. “You do not have to be a party to this, Tomlin. I am not your enemy,” Kellen told him in a hushed voice. Awkward seconds seemed to stretch out as Kellen waited for the magician to answer, but if Tomlin was going to say anything he was cut off when the dungeon’s door effortlessly swung open.
Tomlin was greeted by the arrival of the Collective’s masters with Xander Necros leading the way. Following closely behind were Alia, Ryonus, some other masters Kellen had not yet had the “pleasure” of meeting, and bringing up the rear was Byrn. Kellen had to hold back a biting comment at the masters’ arrival. His silence was his only weapon and his only protection against them.
The prisoner moved to the back of the cell. If any of the masters wished to enter the cell, then they would be subject to their own anti-magic runes carved into the walls and floor. The effect would not be absolute or instantaneous, but it would caution them from entering the cell to interrogate the Kenzai whose own abilities were unaffected. Kellen stood defiantly. His posture dared any of the magicians to enter his cell.
“There is fight left in this one,” Levak let out a strong, guttural laugh that sounded amused. He stroked his red moustache that curled around his mouth and down to his chin. “I have always wanted to test my mettle hand-to-hand against a Kenzai fighter. Tomlin, be a good lad and open up this cell so I can teach this one a lesson.”
The bard looked to Alia, but she shook her head discreetly. “That is not what we are here for, Levak,” Alia’s tone was a little harsher than she intended, but the master of physical manipulation gave her a slight bow like he did not notice. Turning her attention back to their prisoner, Alia pushed her thoughts at Kellen, “You know why we are here. Tell us about Baj. How is the prison laid out? Where are the strongest magicians held?” Most enchanters, like Tomlin, had to use hypnotic suggestions to create an illusion to get their subjects to do what they asked, but Alia passed this limitation long ago. Through sheer willpower she could force someone to do whatever she wanted, but Kellen had been able to resist her efforts. He had proven to be equally as strong willed and as a master of the Kenzai Order could resist
many forms of magic.
“No!” Kellen shouted as he pushed back with his own mind fighting against the compulsion to tell Alia everything that he knew. They wanted his knowledge about the prison so they could stage another breakout, but on a far grander scale. Over two hundred of the kingdom’s most violent magicians were kept there under lock and key.
“Tell me!” Alia shrieked like a banshee as she pushed her thoughts on the man again.
Resisting her thoughts was like standing against a raging river. Every second was like a rush of water threatening to sweep Kellen off his feet and drown him in the woman’s control. Kellen did the only thing he could. He endured and hoped the enchantress’ will would break before his own.
Alia grabbed at the bars to steady herself as she pushed harder, unwilling to admit defeat. Kellen likewise braced his own physical body in reaction to the mental contest that played out before the onlookers.
Eventually, the waves of suggestion stopped as Alia was forced to rest giving Kellen a break as well. The knight fell to one knee, but kept his mind focused in case of another mental attack.
“Tomlin, open the cell,” commanded Xander. Again, he looked to Alia who was now leaning against Byrn. He held Alia by the waist in a way that spoke of their closeness, but no one else seemed to notice. Their attention was still on the defiant Kellen. “Do not look to her for guidance, son. Open the cell door now!” This time Tomlin did as he was told without hesitation and hastily stepped aside wishing to draw no more ire his way.
“Good. Now, Ryonus and Levak, convince Kellen to be more… malleable.”
The two masters of physical magic entered the cell and the runes all around them flared with blue light at their approach, but neither man seemed to mind as they flanked Kellen. Taking the initiative, Kellen swung at Levak on his right and caught the man on the side of the face forcing him to the floor with the raw strength in that blow, honed from countless battles. The knight spun on his heel and raised his forearm up to deflect a swing from Ryonus on his left. Magic coursed through Ryonus’ body so that his blow was enough to push the large knight against the rear wall, but Kellen delivered a jab forcing the magician back a step.
Fallen Magician (The Magician Rebellion) Page 10