He took his staff and carefully slid the point next to the diagram. He infused the staff with as much magic as he could raise. When he was ready, he dragged the end of the staff across one of the lines in the diagram.
A shower of sparks flew up from it as the staff broke through the line. The violet and amber lights raced back and forth as if trying to find a new path through the diagram. Each time they hit the break, they bounced back around the perimeter only to try again and fail with no way to traverse the gap he had just made.
Lorit scratched again, obscuring more and more of the diagram. The lights sputtered and died, unable to find a path to complete their circuit. He felt the grip on his leg relax, and in no time at all he was free.
Lorit could still hear Chihon giggling. "Your leg wasn't stuck in it," he complained.
"At least you figured it out. Is Zhimosom there?"
"I don't know yet. I still have to check the rest of the house."
"Watch where you put your feet." Chihon was still laughing when Lorit cut the connection, silencing her.
He searched the house, carefully extending his magical senses out before him. He located and defused several more traps before he finally found the study where Zhimosom was being held.
The old wizard stood frozen in a pool of shimmering light that changed in color and intensity as Lorit watched it. The diagram on the floor was complex, much more complex than the one that had trapped him at the threshold.
Now that he was close to Zhimosom, he could feel the wizard's power even through the encasing spell. He reached out to Zhimosom, trying to communicate with him as they had done over a distance so often before.
The wizard's eyes flew open, and Lorit took a step back.
"What happened?" came the old wizard's voice in his head.
"You are caught in a trap spell." Lorit reached out with his staff to scratch away the diagram and free the wizard. "I'll cut away the diagram like I did with the last one. That should free you."
"Don't do that," the wizard shouted in his head.
Lorit stopped just before his staff cut the first line of the diagram. Zhimosom appeared to be staring off into the distance.
"Sorry, but this is a very complex spell," Zhimosom said. "There are several different spells operating all at once. Some trap, some kill, and some counteract each other. If you break one, it may be the one counteracting one that would kill me. You have to study the designs and figure out what each spell does and defuse them one at a time."
"Where should I begin?" Lorit got down on his knees and examined the diagram on the floor. It was comprised of several hexagrams laid over the top of each other, almost obscuring the ones that had been laid down first.
"Can you share your vision with me?"
"I'm not sure." Lorit knew they could communicate through their magical connection, but not how to share his senses.
"Just relax and let me see what you see. I will guide you through it."
Lorit calmed himself and concentrated on strengthening the connection between them. He tried to focus on his vision, willing the wizard to see what he saw.
"There, that's it." He could hear Zhimosom's voice in his head more clearly now.
He examined the hexagram closely under the wizard's direction until his eyes grew tired. They felt dry and scratchy. Lorit blinked back tears, fighting to keep his vision clear for the wizard.
"It's no use, son," Zhimosom's voice came to him. He sounded weary and tired. "I just can't focus. The spell takes a lot out of me, and it is draining me even more when I fight it. I don't have the strength to think clearly right now."
"I understand."
Lorit reached out his sense to Chihon. She was awake and anticipating his contact. He saw her sitting beneath a sheltering pine tree beside a small fire.
"Did you find him? Did you free him?" she asked.
"I found him, but I can't free him yet. There are spells laid one on top of the other. If I defuse them in the wrong order, they'll kill him. They're draining him of his power. If I don't free him, he will die.”
"Do you have the books?"
"I have them." Chihon gestured to her pack that sat beside the fire.
"Where are you?" Lorit asked.
"I'm just outside of the city. I ran from the library until I was out of breath. I barely had time to light the fire."
"I need your help," Lorit explained. "I need to see the spells in the book and compare them to the ones on the floor." He described one of the hexagrams for her.
Chihon opened the book and paged through it. She wrinkled her brow as she squinted at the pages, looking for the spell. "Lorit. It's just too dark. I can't make out the spells by the firelight."
He felt her raise a spell of fire to illuminate the book. She scanned the pages looking for the spell, but Lorit could not maintain the contact. The effort was too much for him.
"Maybe we should rest up and try this in the morning," she said. Lorit could feel the weariness in her voice, too.
"You're right, I'm too tired to do this tonight. We can't afford to make a mistake." He cut the connection to Chihon.
"I'm sorry," he thought at Zhimosom, but he got no response. Lorit lay down to sleep at the foot of the old wizard.
Lorit woke the next morning to the sound of birds singing in the trees outside the window. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was in a strange room. Nothing looked familiar. Then the memories came back to him. He was in the wizard's study, in the forest. Something about Zhimosom.
He turned his head to see the old wizard standing there amidst a blaze of colored lights that swirled about him. He was still staring off into space, eyes unfocused.
Lorit felt the tug of contact. He opened himself to it. It was Chihon.
"Lorit, are you awake?"
"Barely." Lorit stood up, trying to shake the sleep from his mind. "Where are you now?"
"Still in the woods outside of town," Chihon said. "Get some water, wake yourself up, and let's get Zhimosom out of that trap."
Lorit dragged himself to the kitchen and pumped water into the sink. The ice-cold water struck his cupped hands, sending spikes of pain shooting up his arms. He quickly splashed the water onto his face. The cold shot through him, causing his heart to quicken. His eyes flew open and his head cleared.
"That's better," Chihon said. "You were going to share your vision with me so I can look for the spells."
"Yes. That was it." Lorit headed back to the study and carefully got to his knees. He leaned as close to the colored lights as he dared and examined the intricate overlay of spell diagrams.
He focused his attention on his vision, pushing his sight to Chihon just as Zhimosom had shown him. He looked closely at one of the diagrams, trying to memorize the key features of the symbols that had been used and how the light zipped around it.
"I think I can remember it."
Lorit let the connection drop. He headed back to the kitchen and rummaged in the pantry to locate something to eat. He knew that, failing all else, he could step outside and get himself a chunk of wolf meat.
He found some travel bread and a hunk of hard white cheese. It was tough to chew and swallow, but it filled the hole in his stomach. Just as he finished, Chihon reached out to him again.
"I think I found it. Look at this."
Before Lorit could react, his vision clouded over, and he found himself looking at a book of spells. The hands that held the book were not his own and the colors seemed slightly off, brighter, more distinct than he remembered, and the diagram was slightly fuzzy.
The hexagram matched one of the ones he had identified in the mix that trapped Zhimosom.
"What does this one do?" he asked.
He saw Chihon's finger trace out the words below the diagram. They indicated that this was the spell to keep a person in a sound sleep. It sounded like a promising place to start.
"Anything else?"
"Yes, there's another one." He saw Chihon's hand reach out and t
urn the pages. The next diagram was close to what Lorit remembered, but he couldn't be sure. The words beneath it said that it was used to suffocate the victim. It could be used by an assassin who wanted to kill his victim but leave no trace.
"That one looks dangerous."
"Yes, but here's the counter spell." Chihon flipped a few more pages. The diagram looked familiar, but Lorit wasn't sure.
"I think I need to take a closer look at the actual spells before we try anything," Lorit said. "I would hate to pick the wrong one because my memory is faulty."
Lorit tried bringing his own vision back, overlaid on top of Chihon's sight. It took him a while to adjust, but he was soon able to see not only what she saw but through his own eyes as well.
He lay on the floor, sliding close to the diagrams, but making sure to keep out of its light. "Can you see what I see?"
"Yes, I can," Chihon said.
"I think I recognize the second one. Turn the book a little so I can match them up." Lorit thought the diagram was the same, but he wanted to be sure.
Chihon rotated the book, and Lorit compared the image with the marks drawn on the floor. They matched. She had found one of the spells and the counter spell.
"Let's try the easy one first." Lorit reached out with his dagger, searching for the first diagram. He found the one he wanted and traced its lines until he located a spot where it wasn't crossing any of the other spells. He used the tip of his dagger to scratch through the markings on the floor.
As he broke through the line, the light coursing around that figure came to a halt. The diagram changed from brilliant green with flashes of gold, to a dim violet, and eventually faded completely, leaving nothing but scratches on the floor.
Lorit looked up to see the distant look in Zhimosom's eyes clear. They came into focus and darted around the room, settling on him where he knelt. He saw the barest of twitches from the old wizard's mouth as if he were trying to smile.
"That did it," Lorit said. "How about the next one?"
Carefully, she guided him to the next spell. The one they chose was the one that bound the speech of the victim. Chihon had defeated this one earlier by singing. If Zhimosom could speak, it would make the whole process move along even faster.
Lorit reached for the symbols. It was difficult to find a spot where the spell was not inscribed over or under another one. Lorit pondered his options until he found a spot where the color of the spell was brilliant and distinct. He could not see anything beneath or above it. It looked safe, so he reached the point of his dagger out and sliced the markings, lifting them from the wood of the floor.
"Well..." Zhimosom's voice came, but he was cut off almost as he began to speak.
Lorit looked at Zhimosom. His lips moved, but no words came out. It looked like he was saying something. Lorit watched his lips.
"He can't breathe!" Lorit cried out. "We need to locate the suffocation spell. I must have nicked the counter spell when I cut the last one. Quick, find that spell back."
He could see Chihon paging through the book. She quickly landed on the diagram for the spell that bound the breath of the victim. She rotated it until it overlaid the glowing pulsing matrix. Lorit looked for a spot where this spell was clear of interference and having located a section that was relatively free, he quickly reached out with his dagger and cut through it. The marking came away from the floor and parted.
The colored bursts that had pulsed through the lines stopped. Lorit heard the old wizard take a deep breath.
"That was a close one," Zhimosom said.
Under Zhimosom's guidance, they carefully defused spell after spell until, finally, the wizard slumped to the floor. He was exhausted and weak.
"Are you all right?" Lorit asked.
"I am better now that I am out of that. Help me up, I need to find his stone."
"His stone?"
"His sorcerer's stone," Zhimosom said. "It will help recharge both of us and let me travel back to my study. He may be after Rotiaqua. If he's watching her, he'll know that I am free. We don't have much time."
They searched around the clearing and in the forest near the house until Zhimosom called out to Lorit. "I've found it." He stood atop a large flat rock that was partially exposed, nestled between two sturdy trees. Zhimosom looked years younger as the magic of the stone rose up and wrapped itself around him.
Lorit watched as Zhimosom turned to mist and vanished. He stepped on the stone himself, feeling the power within it. He marshaled that power into himself, reached out for the link to Chihon, and pulled.
He found himself in the woods beside the fire where Chihon had made camp. He reached out for Zhimosom. The wizard should have been in his study with Rotiaqua. His vision wavered and the study appeared shrouded in mist. Rotiaqua sat at Zhimosom's table, looking tired.
"Isn't he there?" Lorit asked.
"Zhimosom never appeared. I felt his power surge briefly after you freed him, but he never appeared here, and his power was damped even further almost immediately."
"I freed him," Lorit said. "He said he was going back to his study to protect you."
"He never arrived," Rotiaqua said and laid her head back down on the table.
Chapter 19
Princess Ukina rushed home to Veldwaite Castle. She left the monk at the foot of the mountains and continued on alone, arriving just before sundown. The castle gates were closing when she approached, out of breath and exhausted.
"Stop! Don't close the gates," she yelled as she jogged closer. The guards who stood astride the gates took notice of her and stepped into the road to bar the way.
"The castle is closed. No one is allowed in or out between dusk and dawn." The guard dipped his spear menacingly at her.
"You will open the gate and let me in!" She stopped in front of the guard, hands on her hips. The guard towered over her, but she was in no mood to be trifled with. "Don't you know who I am?"
"No, miss, I'm afraid I don't. Should I?" He looked down at her with a smile but didn't move a muscle.
"I'm the Princess Ukina."
"Sure you are, and I'm the Prince Ghall." The first guard laughed and slapped his knee. He leaned down to look straight in her eyes and said, "Sure you are, honey. Sure you are."
He stood straight and tall and spoke once more. "The castle is closed. No one goes in or out from dusk to dawn."
"Why? They never used to bar the gates before. Why now?"
"Haven't you heard? The princess has been spirited away by them wizards. The king has the castle on tight security. He don't know who might attack next or what they want."
"I need to see him." The princess stepped toward the guard who lowered his spear once more.
"I said..."
"I know what you said, but I must see my father."
"And who would that be?" the guard asked.
"My father, the king!"
"Oh yes, that's right. You're the princess." He laughed again but stood firm.
"How do you know I'm not the princess?"
"I told you, the princess is dead, killed by them wizards. The king's been secluded in his quarters since she left and won't come out. With all the men he's had out looking for her and having no luck, you expect me to believe that she would just walk up and ask to be let in?"
More folk arrived on the road while she was engaged with the guard. They set up camp off the road and were working at starting a fire. The woman called over to her.
"You're welcome to share our fire and supper with us. They don't open the gates for anyone anymore. Tomorrow, come sun up, we can all go inside. Come on over. Might as well get some food in ya and warm up a bit."
The princess shot the guard one final look and turned to the campfire that was just starting to warm the chilly night air. The woman nodded toward a split log next to the fire and she sat.
"My name's Belsh, and that's Jeem," she said, nodding to a boy about twelve summers in age. "Over there's Kimt."
The man nodded in her direction as
he prepared the pot for the fire. He cut meat and vegetables into the cast iron pot and set it on the rocks that surrounded the fire. He sat down on the last split log.
"You look as if you've traveled far," Belsh said. "Where are you from?"
"I've been traveling around a lot. I am behind on the local goings-on."
"Such a tragedy," Belsh said. "Prince taken by the temple, the princess captured by that wizard. No wonder the king's ill."
"The king is ill?"
"He's taken with the melancholia, they say. Won't come out of his chambers. Don't see anyone no more. Just sits there all sad, they say."
Princess Ukina jumped up to try to persuade the guard to let her in. If her father were ill, she needed to be by his side.
"They're not going to let you in," Belsh reminded her. "You might just as well sit back down."
"I have to see my father."
"Sit back down. No one will let you in."
She sat and resigned herself to the wait. She shared the meal with the family and learned that they were staying with Belsh's sister, who owned an inn called the Running Bull.
"Why are you so concerned about the king?" Belsh asked her as they washed up after the evening meal. "Them royals have their own ways, but they don't affect the likes of us much. Only when they make rules, like closing the gates on us. Otherwise, they don't much matter."
"I told you, I'm the princess."
Belsh peered at her face. Princess Ukina knew she was dirty and smudged with soot from numerous campfires along her route, but that should not have masked who she really was. The spells were gone. Surely, they recognized her.
"I wouldn't know the princess if I tripped over her." Belsh shook her head. "I've never seen the royals, not up close, not even from a distance. You could be the princess for all I know. For tonight, though, you're sleeping out here with us. Don't matter much who you are."
They bedded down for the night. The princess tossed and turned, worried about her father, until she finally fell into a restless sleep.
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