The Scofflaw Magician (The Artifactor Book 3)

by Honor Raconteur

  When she stopped at the table, he put the last of the utensils down on the table before looking up and offering, “Good morning?”

  “It certainly looks better than it did two minutes ago,” she responded. Taking a chair, she dropped into it and reached for a biscuit. “Aran, why are you such a good cook?”

  “I spend the majority of my time traveling,” he pointed out dryly. “There’s no one to cook for me and one can only take so much hard tack before the body just rebels.”

  That was a good point. Filling her plate, she dug into the food with a sigh of bliss. Last night had been terrible, but the day always looked a little better with good food on hand. Baby and Grydon, with a breakfast in their bellies, bounded back out the door again. No doubt looking for mischief. Sevana sent a silent prayer to the heavens that they didn’t find anything that they couldn’t handle. She didn’t want to come to their rescue today, not with everything else she needed to do.

  “I spoke with Miss Milly last night at length after you and Master Tashjian went to bed.” Aran had a cautious expression on his face as he said this, as if expecting an explosion.

  Sevana looked him dead in the eye. She was no longer in the mood to cry or rage like she had the night before. Her anger was now smoldering in a steady burn, driving her forward but no longer controlling her. “And?”

  When she didn’t snap, he relaxed and sat in the chair next to hers, also filling his plate. “She told me that the part that bothers her most isn’t the loss of her physical body. Actually, she had three significant health problems that were causing her a great deal of discomfort and pain. She feels better now than she has in the past ten years. But she has four children, and trapped like this, she can’t see any of them.”

  So being in the mirror was a mixed blessing. That only made Sevana feel slightly better.

  “But,” Aran continued, obviously not done, “I had a thought. What if you put that spell on the mirror like you have on your Callers. And then give other mirrors to her children? That way she can talk to all of them and see how they’re doing.”

  Sevana froze. Like the Callers? What he was suggesting wouldn’t at all work, the magic would clash with mirror magic as the spells weren’t designed in such a way to cooperate, but that didn’t mean that the theory couldn’t be applied to a different spell that would work the same way. In fact, because she wasn’t trapped in that mirror, per se, just in a plane that mirrors could connect to, it would be far easier to just spell several mirrors to connect directly to that plane.

  “Sevana?” Aran waved a hand in front of her face. “Still with me?”

  In a voice filled with worshipful adoration, she breathed, “If you didn’t have cooties, I’d kiss you.”

  A flush spread across his face, turning the points of his ears red. “Eh, ah, what?”

  Laughing, she bounced up and raced for her workroom. Aran was several beats behind her, and she could hear him mutter something to himself before he scraped the chair back. She was too far away to catch anything except the sound of his voice, but she was too excited about his idea to double back and ask what he had said.

  Sevana skidded to a stop in front of the mirror, bracing her hands on either side of the frame. “Milly.”

  The other woman instantly materialized in the mirror, looking hopeful. “Yes, Artifactor?”

  “I don’t have a solution to the problem, but I have a temporary fix. How about I spell several mirrors and send them to your children? That way you can flit between here and any mirror of your choosing and be able to visit with them.”

  The woman’s eyes lit up. “Will they be able to see me? Talk to me?”

  “Of course, just like we’re doing now.”

  “Oh heavens.” Milly tapped a palm to her heart, moved beyond words. “Oh heavens. That would make this so much better. Please, Miss Artifactor, please do that. In fact, this might be better! Because two of my children moved off, I rarely got to see them anyway, and this way I can see them whenever I wish to. Oh heavens, oh heavens.”

  “I can’t send full length ones,” Sevana warned. “Smaller than this, something more like a portrait size.”

  “That’s fine,” Milly assured her, still tapping her heart.

  Aran entered and sat their breakfast plates down on the table. “Sevana, eat. Milly, tell me where your children are, and I’ll write that down so we know where to send them. We don’t have the time or the mirrors right this minute, so I think we’ll have to wait until after everyone else is released from the portraits.”

  Sevana nodded confirmation. He was right in that. “But after that’s done, I’ll send my business partner Kip with the mirrors to your children, along with letters explaining what happened and how the mirrors work. He’s a very trustworthy man, he’ll make sure the mirrors arrive in the right place intact.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Milly assured them both. “I understand, you need to focus on getting everyone else free before they get trapped like I did.”

  Glad that she was patient and understanding, Sevana went back to her cooling breakfast and scarfed it up. It was a shame she wasn’t still in the kitchen, as she would have liked a second biscuit. Well, no matter, she had work on hand now.

  Master ambled into the workroom with a plate mounded with food. “Sevana, you cooked?”

  “I did,” Aran corrected.

  “I wondered. The biscuits were different than Sevana’s version. Aran, you can cook breakfast any time,” Master told him seriously.

  “I’ll do that,” Aran responded with the same serious tone.

  Eyeing his former apprentice, Master observed, “You look better than I expected.”

  “Aran has thought of a palliative for this situation,” she informed him, nearly beaming. It was such a relief, really, that she could offer this so that the poor woman wasn’t trapped in one place and going mad with anxiety. “We’re going to spell several mirrors and send them to Milly’s children so that she can talk to all of them and visit as she wishes to.”

  Master stopped chewing, eyes widening. Around a mouthful he breathed, “Brilliant.”

  “Wasn’t it?” she agreed.

  Arandur cleared his throat, the tips of his pointy ears turning slightly pink. “You would have thought of this too, after you had a chance to talk with her.”

  “Whoever thinks of the idea first gets the credit,” Master disagreed, smiling. “That’s the rule. Still, that might be the cumbersome way to do it.” Picking up a piece of bacon, he munched on it, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Perhaps we can give Mistress Milly a way to use any mirror she wishes?”

  Sevana stopped short at the thought. Now that would be remarkably handy, if Milly could use any mirror, any time. If they could give her a tool of some sort to make any mirror useable to her, it was possible in theory to manage that. “You have an idea?”

  “Two or three, all half-formed. I’ll work on that after we get this resolved.” He didn’t have to clarify what ‘this’ was. “Speaking of, how is our wash doing?”

  Since Sevana was done eating, she put the plate completely aside and went to her wash and her test parchment. Dipping a brush into it liberally, she smeared across the only clean section of the parchment left. It was a light grey, the perfect shade for what they wanted to do. “Perfect. Let’s get some people out. What order?”

  “Oldest first,” Master and Aran said in near perfect sync.

  “I have to agree.” This was not a time for rank to take precedence. Sevana spun on her heels before pointing at the portrait on the far wall. “It would be that one.”

  “Mistress Milly, I would advise not standing in the way while we’re doing this,” Master said as an aside, putting his own plate out of the way on the top of one of Sevana’s shelves. “In fact, I’d stay as far back as I could. We didn’t think that any of you would still be in the mirror plane while we were doing this, so working this magic might affect you as well.”

  “I’ll stay well back,”
she promised, already scooting off to the side and out of sight.

  Sevana picked up the portrait of an old man sunning himself on a dock, putting it flat on her work table, then reached for her brush. “Master, ready?”

  “I am,” Master assured her, wand in hand. “Aran, when we pull people out, you need to take them into the next room and make sure that they drink something. They’ll be dizzy otherwise. They’ve spent too long in that plane.”

  “I’ll do so,” Aran assured them. “Should I make them sit and rest?”

  “If you can. If they have questions, answer them, but make sure you’re here to help the next person when we pull them out.”

  Now that was a thought. After being in this plane, no one would be able to travel by portal for at least twenty-four hours. It would be too hard on them physically. “Big?”

  She could feel the mountain perk up as his name was called, his attention centering on her.

  “We’re going to have a lot of guests overnight. Make rooms and put beds into them. About, hm, a dozen.”

  Will, the mountain assured her. In the far distance, she could hear groaning and rumbling as rocks started shifting. Big was always prompt in filling her requests.

  Aran was quick on the implications of this. “They’ll have to stay here tonight?”

  “We won’t be able to take them home until tomorrow,” she explained, turning back to the portrait. “It will be too hard on their bodies. By tomorrow, they’ll have recovered enough that a quick trip through my clocks won’t be an issue. We’ll take them home then.”

  “I’ll handle Belen, you do Sa Kao.”

  She rolled her eyes at Master. “Of course. That’s where we both started this job after all.” But their immediate attention should be on the first victim. Painting the portrait with wide, quick strokes, she covered it completely with the wash and was relieved when the magic in the ink pulsed in a steady way. Lifting it up by the corners, she pressed it into the surface of the mirror for two complete seconds before pulling it free again.

  Master started uttering the spell as soon as she stepped back, finishing with a firm, “AESE NE FOLE.”

  A wizened gentleman with wispy white hair and dark skin gingerly stuck a hand out. Aran was right at his side, taking the hand and offering a support as the old man tentatively stepped through and put a sandaled foot onto the floor. Blinking, he looked around, saw three worried people looking back at him, and broke out into the brightest smile that Sevana had ever seen. “Salutations! I’m free?”

  “You’re free,” Master confirmed, laughing in sheer delight. “How do you feel?”

  The old man took in a deep breath, savoring every moment of being back in the physical world. “I could use a hot cup of tea.”

  “That we can arrange,” Aran assured him. The Fae’s eyes shifted to Sevana’s and radiated all of the relief and happiness she felt in that moment.

  She might have only half-succeeded with one person, but that dastard’s evil plan wouldn’t claim the life of one more person.

  Sevana would make sure of that.

  That night and the next morning were interesting, to say the least. They had eleven people in the mountain that were of every age, gender, occupation, and rank. And yet, because they had all been stuck on the same plane for the past several weeks, undergoing the same trial, none of that mattered anymore. They were all as comfortable with each other as old friends. Each person went to Milly and spent a good hour speaking with her, taking notes on what she needed done so that when they returned home they would be able to help her friends and family adjust to this sudden and odd change.

  Sevana was glad to have them out, but was equally relieved when it came time for them to go. Master grabbed Dorian Audenaert, the Belen king, and took him through the clock portal and back to his castle. Sevana was stuck with everyone else. Morgan, fortunately, was standing on the other side waiting for people to come through. He directed them as they stepped through the clock, with her and Aran taking up the rear.

  Actually, Sevana had no idea why Aran was still with her. His one task had been to guide her and give her information until she had reversed what had been done. Technically, his job had ended yesterday, when the last person escaped the portrait. But now, what had him following her still? It wasn’t like they were going to enact their plan to get rid of the evil magician just yet. Aran hadn’t even made one noise about going home. It puzzled her.

  Shaking the question off, she focused on the here and now as she encouraged Princess Amas to step through. With the last one out of the way, she stepped through herself and pulled the door to the clock firmly shut behind her.

  The view on the other side of the clock was one of pure joy.

  Every person who had lost a family member was crowded into the Sa Kaon palace foyer. There were joyous shouts as people tackled their family, hugs all around, and more than a few tears shed. Aran was subtly positioned so that he blocked her from most of the crowd, braced so that no one could accidently knock into either her or the clock, which Sevana appreciated. Being jostled in the clock would have been bad. No words could describe how bad.

  Amas was quite firmly in her father’s grip, her mother’s arms around her, and even her brothers and sisters could barely get in to give her a hug. That family wouldn’t be letting go of the little princess any time soon. Firuz’s eyes met hers and the man practically radiated a love and relief so strong that he glowed with it. “Sevana.”

  “I will give you a full report later,” she promised over the buzzing of the crowd around them. “But for now, I have delivered your missing people and daughter to you.”

  “For this, you have Our eternal thanks. You may name whatever reward you wish as compensation.”

  A crafty smirk tilted her mouth. “I’ll hold you to that. Don’t think I won’t.”

  Firuz boomed out a laugh, not in the least worried.

  Turning her head, she searched the crowd until she found a familiar head of black hair. “Kip!”

  Waving a hand, Morgan signaled he heard her, but it took several minutes and some interesting twists to be able to force his way through the crowd and to her side. Huffing out a breath, he pulled his clothing back in order and greeted her with a smile. “Sev. I can’t believe you managed to do all this so quickly. You were barely home three days before you pulled them all out!”

  “It was a solution that would either work or not,” she responded with a blasé shrug. “But about that other thing I called you about last night. You have that done?”

  “Yes, I talked to Mistress Milly’s family and they know what happened. None of them are particularly happy about it, but I assured them that you and Master Tashjian were working on the problem, so they’re trying to be patient a little longer.”

  That was good.

  Morgan regarded the Fae standing at her side with a quick head to toe sweep. “You must be Arandur?”

  “I am,” Aran confirmed, holding out a hand in greeting. “You are Morgan?”

  “That’s me,” Morgan confirmed, clasping the hand in a strong grip before letting go. “I’ve heard much about you. Thanks for all your help in this. We really would have struggled otherwise.”

  “It was my pleasure. Truly.” Aran had an enigmatic smile on his face. “I learned a great deal from Sevana. I found my task to be more pleasure than chore.”

  “Really?” Morgan responded in genuine surprise. “Because when things aren’t going right, Sev can be an absolute bear to live wi—ow!” Rubbing at the abused ribs, Morgan whined, “You didn’t have to punch me.”

  Sevana glared back at him. “I did. I really, really did.”

  Morgan was used to the abuse and he didn’t do more than pout at her before moving on. Lowering his voice, he leaned in closer to ask in a confidential tone, “People are asking how you reversed the spell?”

  Her evil smirk came back full force. “Then by all means, tell them the ‘official’ version.”

  Morgan’s expression was
a perfect match for hers. “On it.”

  Aran’s eyes cut to her and he murmured from the side of his mouth, “You’re enjoying this.”

  “Yes,” she purred. “I am.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Firuz called for her later that afternoon, and she went up with Aran to his informal garden. It was an odd location to meet with him, but she understood why he’d called them there once she stepped into the walled off area. It wasn’t large—a perfect square with fruit trees and water fountains in almost every corner, a thick carpet of grass taking up the center. One side had padded benches, where the royal parents were sitting comfortably, and spread all over the grass were their children, playing some version of tag. Even the oldest, who was in his late twenties, was highly involved in the game.

  It must have been the only place in the palace where they could relax, be a family, and not have to worry about anyone intruding on them.

  Firuz stood as they entered and offered a respectful half-bow. Sevana was confused about his formality for a split second until she realized the bow was not for her. Somehow, in the three hours she hadn’t seen him, Firuz must have learned the identity of the quiet man following her around.

  Aran bowed back, matching the formality, his bow at the exact same depth and angle. In that moment, the realization slapped Sevana between the eyebrows. To her, Aran was a tracker of the Fae, a friend, and an adopted comrade of sorts. But even though he held no special rank in the Fae nation, when he was in a human country, he was as important as any king.

  “I am Firuz Adnan, King of Sa Kao,” Firuz greeted with a slight smile of welcome.

  Aran didn’t find this formality strange at all and was prompt with his response. “Arandur, Tracker of South Woods. I thank you for your welcome, King of Sa Kao.”