by L. S. Gibson
"He won't stay unconscious for long and then he'll be on us again. There has to be something we can do to...to protect ourselves from him."
Ninian smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant expression.
Jhond frowned. "Ninian?"
"I think I know just how we might do that."
Chapter 21
Jhond didn't get the explanation he wanted from Ninian, as their first priority was to rejoin the Horologue and leave the island as soon as possible. Jhond looked over his shoulder as Amired directed the ship away from land, the captain's loud voice shouting orders to the crew as they scampered over the ship's deck and shrouds, as eager as their captain to leave the island in their wake.
Staring at the tower high on the cliff, Jhond couldn't help but wonder if any of the crystals or blocks they'd been forced to leave behind in their precipitate departure had been important. He knew the contents of the chest were too valuable to risk it falling into the hands of Suvran. Still, they hadn't really had the chance to investigate the rest of the contents of the upper room and while they had grabbed as many crystals and blocks as possible, their choices had been purely random. Jhond sent a prayer to the Lords of Light that nothing vital was left behind. There was no telling when, or if, they could ever return to the Isle of Truth.
"Let's hope we have sufficient time to get far enough away before Suvran regains his power," Captain Amired said.
"If we can leave you to keep the ship moving with due speed, I think Jhond and I can come up with a way to keep our location secret from him."
"We can?" Jhond queried.
Amired raised an eyebrow, but gave the pair a quick smile before heading off to talk with his first mate.
Ninian turned to Jhond. "You remember you mentioned we needed protection?" Jhond nodded, and Ninian continued, "I think it might be possible to combine our force and create a powerful spell that'll not only protect us, but stop him from finding you."
Jhond's mouth dropped open and he quickly closed it. "That would be perfect, but I have no idea how to do that. I've only just about manage to call and direct my power when I want to."
"I know," Ninian agreed, "but I also know your talent is very strong and growing with each time you use it. I know how to perform a merging spell, and once our forces are joined, I will teach you how to cast a spell. It's something we must perform together and it must be perfectly aligned."
Jhond was nervous. He wanted to have greater control over his talent, he wanted to know what he was really capable of, but he was also afraid of that very power.
Ninian gripped his shoulder, looking him squarely in the eyes. "Don't worry, Jhond. I know you can do this. I know you're scared and there's nothing wrong with a dose of healthy fear. It will keep you on your toes, but don't allow it to control you. Trust me."
"I do trust you. I am afraid, but I also want to know. I want to do this."
Ninian smiled. "Let's go to the cabin below."
* * * *
Ninian led the way into the cabin they shared. Jhond's reaction was just what he'd expected and it only proved Ninian's opinion of his young student--for that was what he'd become--that he was not only talented, but intelligent and intuitive. The more time he spent with Jhond, the more Ninian was convinced he was the Eynan.
Jhond followed Ninian's direction to sit at the small table in the corner, and Ninian sat opposite him. "Place both of your hands palm down on the table. I'm going to form a sigil as a prelude to creating a spell, and while I do so, gather all your energy and be ready to release it at my command."
Jhond nodded and settled comfortably in his seat.
Ninian closed his eyes and began to draw all his power into his center. He opened his eyes and drew a powerful sigil with his right hand, chanting words of magistry as he did so. Ninian was aware of Jhond's intense regard. He spoke the final word of his spell and as he drew the last line of the sigil, Ninian intoned, "Now, Jhond," and he grabbed hold of Jhond's right hand with his own right hand.
Ninian felt the surge of energy flowing from Jhond toward him, and if Jhond's expression was any indication, he felt Ninian's energy reaching for him. "Let it happen," Ninian said. "Our power will surge, meet and combine and we'll each be able to channel the energy as we need."
"Individually?"
"Yes, it's possible, but the whole point of this spell is that we, together, use our merged energy, which is double, even triple, what we each can produce on our own."
"This is...remarkable. I've never felt anything remotely like this. I've never even imagined such a feeling of power," Jhond said, his voice full of awe. He looked at Ninian. "I can understand how an ability such as this could corrupt a man."
"You are thinking of Suvran?"
"Yes."
"Suvran did seem a very powerful mage," Ninian mused. "And following your line of thinking, the more energy he could channel, the more energy he would want at his command."
"Which is why he wants the chest and the strands."
"Yes, and we must keep them from him. We must finalize the concealment spell."
"Oh, I thought you'd done that."
"No, indeed. All I've done so far is to increase our talent and now we must use it." Ninian took hold of Jhond's right hand again. "Focus," Ninian said. "Imagine your power swirling and twisting around mine like two skeins of rope, each strengthening the other."
Jhond closed his eyes. Ninian sensed Jhond's effort and was amazed at how easily he performed the task, faster even than Ninian did with all of his experience.
"That's it, perfect," Ninian said. "Now imagine the energy spreading and forming a sphere around us, encompassing the cabin and reaching out to encircle the ship. Together we can make it seem to disappear from the realm of reality."
Ninian felt the energy expanding and forming a bubble of concealment even larger than he had expected. "That's it, Jhond. Pull back now...relax."
Jhond opened his eyes, meeting Ninian's gaze. "That's it? It worked?" he asked, slumping back into his chair.
"It worked even better than I hoped," Ninian admitted. "The ship is hidden in a sphere of concealment of about half a mile."
"A sphere? You don't just mean within a circle, you mean up to the sky and down to depths?"
"Precisely."
"Half a mile," Jhond murmured. "Better than you hoped?"
"Yes, with twice the circumference I expected. More proof, I believe, that your power is growing."
"Good. I believe we need all the advantage we can find."
Ninian smiled. "And now we can safely investigate the chest." He dipped into his pocket and drew out the tiny chest and the globe. With a wave of his hand and a hushed invocation, the globe reverted to its normal size and a moment later, so did the chest. There was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Ninian called.
"It's Amired. May I enter?"
"Come."
The captain entered and his eyes immediately lit on the reformed chest. He glanced at Ninian. "I came to ask if we were safe yet. I guess that"--he indicated the chest--"answers the question."
"It does, indeed. My plan worked even better than I could've hoped," Ninian said. "Jhond's talent continues to increase and his power helped make the concealment spell even more effective."
Amired's gaze flicked to Jhond. He grinned and said, "I grow ever more pleased you're on our side. I will leave you to your..." He hesitated. "Incantations. Is that the right word?"
"It is,," Ninian agreed, with a frown. "It's not a word in common usage."
"True. My grandmother used to tell us children tales, and I always thought that was all they were--tales to frighten children into behaving." Amired shrugged. "Having second thoughts now, though." He turned and left the cabin.
"I chose well when I picked this ship," Ninian said.
"What do we do now?" Jhond asked, bringing Ninian's thoughts back to the task at hand.
"Let's take out the extra items first," Ninian said, and they removed the crystals and scrything
blocks they had hastily stuffed in the chest. Each one was laid carefully on one of the bunks.
"We'll need to find somewhere safe to secure them," Jhond commented.
"Yes, but they're safe here for the time being."
* * * *
Pain still throbbed behind his eyes as he stumbled to his feet, but Suvran forced himself to ignore it. He felt a hand at his elbow and realized Endar was attempting to help him rise. He pushed the man off. Endar had already witnessed his defeat; Suvran wouldn't allow him to think he was weak.
Much to his anger, most of the ship's crew had already fled back to their vessel; only the captain had stayed with him. Suvran was pleased to know Captain Endar was more afraid of him than of the two strange mages. Suvran could still hardly believe he'd been defeated. He had to admit he had greatly underestimated his young rival. He wouldn't repeat that mistake.
"How long was I out, Captain?" he asked.
"I'm not sure, Preceptor," Endar replied, his nervousness very evident.
"Estimate!"
"Perhaps thirty minutes?"
"Thirty minutes!" Suvran was shocked. He'd thought maybe five, ten at the outside. He closed his eyes and reached, but he couldn't sense the young man. He drew a sigil, muttering a charm as he sent his senses searching, but still nothing. Something was dreadfully wrong. "We must return to the ship immediately."
"I signaled the ship when I saw you were recovering and a boat is already on the way."
Suvran strode to the water's edge, where he saw a small boat cresting the surf. A sailor jumped out and held the boat as steady as he could while Suvran and the captain clambered in. Suvran sat at the rear and just one glance at the captain was enough for him to encourage his sailors to put their backs into it.
Once on board, Suvran headed toward his cabin, only to be halted by Captain Endar.
"Preceptor, what is our course?"
Suvran hesitated. He had no idea which direction his quarry had taken. It would be too much of a risk to assume based on the one clue he had gained when he had finally seen the young man close up. He needed time and quiet to use the strands. "Malin," Suvran said, naming the nearest large port on the northern continent. He hoped he would find Jhond's trail before they reached it.
Suvran closed the door of his cabin and slumped into a chair, still hardly believing he had been bested. He blew out a breath, then silently berated himself for his self-pity, but the anger wouldn't abate. He believed at least now he had an idea who the man, Jhond, was. Seeing his eye and hair color close up and in the flesh as it were, Suvran was almost certain he was a member of the House of Reeve. For the first time since he'd awoken on the island, he smiled. Perhaps fate hadn't quite deserted him. He would have to get a message to Patinus as soon as it was feasible.
He got up and unlocked the cupboard set into the cabin's wall. He took out his precious vial and sat on the floor in the center of his prepared circle. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift until he was calm enough to call on his talent.
* * * *
They had placed the finely wired oval artifact and the strands of time cylinder on one side, though Ninian kept the two small crystals and the scrything block nearby. Jhond was curious about the other two packets in the chest, one very small and the other larger but thin.
The small one contained a pendant on a long silver chain. The pendant was also silver and its design was quite simple--two concentric circles connected at two central opposite points by short bars.
"It's interesting," Jhond said, "but what does it stand for? What does it do?"
"At this point, I have no idea. I've never seen its like before. I can only imagine it has some import else it wouldn't be hidden in the chest."
"Perhaps that crystal you found might explain this, too?"
"Maybe. Let's put it aside for now and see what the last package contains." Ninian unwrapped it as he spoke and stared in confusion. "A sheet of... I thought it was paper, but it isn't." Ninian turned it over and over, rubbing his hand over its surface, trying to get a feel for its components. "It is very smooth like glass, but stronger, yet supple."
"Is that writing incised into one side?"
"Yes, it's faint, but I don't believe it's a language I recognize."
"May I?" Jhond asked, and Ninian handed the item over to him.
"It feels warm," Jhond began, but paused as the writing on the substance began to glow, the letters becoming clearer. Jhond frowned, looking increasingly puzzled. "I can... I know what the words mean."
Ninian stared at him. "I felt nothing from it. Clearly, it was meant for you. What does it say?"
"To find the key, search the library in the House of the Doyen."
"That's all?"
"Yes. What does it mean? Which doyen's library?"
"I think that's self-explanatory. The House of Reeve. The last Council Major was from your house and he set this in motion. Your family has kept the library all these centuries. And you, Jhond Reeve, are the Eynan. It is clear to me that this was ordained many years ago. The chest was meant to be discovered by a member of the Reeve family."
"There again with the idea this was fated centuries before I was born," Jhond said angrily. "My whole life has never really been mine, has it?"
Ninian didn't answer the question. Instead, he said, "At least now we can give the good captain a proper course. We go back to Tsarn and then on to your home."
"What? No, I can't. I can't go back."
"Yes, you can. You must!"
"You don't understand. You don't know..."
"Then explain it to me! I know enough that you love someone and for whatever reason, you ran away. I'm sorry about that, but it can't equate to the--"
"Don't you dare!" Jhond interrupted. "You have no idea. You can't tell me--" Jhond stopped, dropped his chin to his chest and closed his eyes.
"No, I don't have any idea," Ninian agreed. "I know you're hurting, but you haven't chosen to share why with me. I only know it's vital we follow the clues in the chest." Ninian gripped Jhond's shoulders. "Look at me, Jhond," he added gently. "You understand, don't you?"
Jhond raised his head and met Ninian's gaze, his eyes swimming in tears. Jhond swallowed before saying, "I do understand." He wiped his eyes. "It hurts, Ninian, and I don't think it will ever stop."
"Then perhaps it's time to face that, accept your life as it is and stop dreaming of what can never be. Maybe it will help if you share your burden?"
Jhond nodded. "Yes, perhaps it would. If we're to return to my home, I think you need to know." He took a breath and began to tell Ninian his story.
Chapter 22
Suvran was angry. He'd never been frustrated in his magic before. He used every trick, every spell he knew and he couldn't find any trace of Jhond Reeve. He even used a tiny amount of the strands of time, sure he could find some clues to the man's whereabouts, but even they failed him. The strands had shown Suvran an image of Jhond, but, for the first time ever, the image was cloudy and he could barely make out his face, let alone gain any clues as to his whereabouts. For all intents and purposes, Jhond Reeve had vanished.
Suvran had already decided to contact Patinus when he reached land and now that appeared his only hope of gaining information on where the young mage may have gone. It had never seemed so precipitous he'd arranged for the prince to marry into the Timendran royal family, which, purely by chance, provided a link to the House of Reeve. Suvran calmed his distracting thoughts so he could contact Patinus. The prince may have to resort to using birds to reach him, but Suvran had a much more direct method. Still, he needed to be calm for the spell to work over the distance involved.
He entered his salt and basalt circle and sat in the center. Drawing his sigils and intoning the words carefully, Suvran sent his message to Patinus, aware the prince would receive it almost instantaneously. He sighed, knowing he would have to wait some time before he received a reply. For an instant, he wished Patinus had power such as his so they could communicate more
directly, but the thought was swiftly quashed. Suvran wanted no other to enjoy the kind of power he did. He only wanted to increase his own use of it. He smiled as he imagined how invincible he would be when he had control of all the strands of time.
* * * *
Patinus was riding his horse, twisting through the trees, trying to catch up with Gallia. She glanced over her shoulder at him, grinning in exhilaration at the chase. Patinus wished she would look at him with such joy, but he'd only seen her look so happy and carefree when riding or when practicing her sword play. She was more relaxed in his company now; in some ways, she seemed happier with him than with anyone else. When they were intimate these days she was more involved, the distance she'd maintained had dissipated, but he still wanted more from the wife he had come to adore. He wanted her to return his feelings. Still, he would settle for what he had and hope he could further breakdown her reserve.
He opened his mouth, intending to shout a challenge to her, when he felt it deep inside. That tug, almost painful, but somehow not quite...the sharp signal of a message from Suvran. He needed peace and quiet to bring the message to the fore. He'd never understood how it worked. He only knew the mage used some powerful spell to plant the message inside his brain and he had learned by rote the strange words to use to release the message to his conscious mind.
The words he spoke to Gallia were far from the challenge to jump the fence he had planned; instead, he called to her, "Gallia, my sweet, you have bested me yet again. I cry forfeit. Let's return home."
Gallia smiled. "Ah, and I thought you were made of sterner stuff."
"Not today, my dear. I think I was drinking too late last evening with Rhou. That young man has a capacity for drink."
"Which apparently you can equal," she said. "Very well. It must be almost time for lunch anyway."
Patinus slipped away on returning to the house, citing a need to take a potion for the headache that had begun on the return journey. That was no lie either. When there was a delay in retrieving a message from Suvran, a headache always occurred and the only real cure was to read the message. Patinus went to the library, which he knew was always quiet at this time of the day, and sat in a chair in a dark corner. He relaxed all his muscles, closed his eyes, and silently chanted the words Suvran had taught him.