“I will let you know,” Tessel said. “I promise.”
Meg rose and turned to leave, letting Tessel get back to her rest. She walked past rows of mostly empty beds but paused on the way out, near a door that went to a private room. She knew three soldiers still lay in that room, still suffering from the poison of the slaarh that Sen Eva had set against them. There had been six at first. Three had died. Serek was still working with the physicians, trying to keep the remaining three from dying before he could devise a cure. The men lay in a permanent sleep, barely able to take in enough food and water to keep them alive. More death and suffering that Sen Eva would pay for one day.
Meg left the infirmary, wishing more than ever that she knew where Calen was. She knew he was probably just busy with something. Surely he would come and find her soon, and he’d be simultaneously apologetic and excited about whatever it was that had kept him away all day.
She went to have dinner with her parents and tried to ignore the gnawing fingers of concern in her belly that wouldn’t quite go away.
CALEN WAITED UNTIL SEREK AND THE others were well on their way. Then he took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and called up the energy for his invisibility spell. Serek hated when Calen called it that, since true invisibility was supposed to be impossible, but it accomplished the same purpose. Besides, he didn’t care very much about what Serek thought right now.
He held the spell in place while walking up the Queen’s Road to the spot he’d selected. Luckily, the wards that had been placed around the castle would alert Anders only if mages tried to enter the castle grounds, not leave them. One less thing to worry about. His route was slightly roundabout compared to the one Serek’s group had taken, but Calen didn’t want there to be the slightest chance of running into them along the way.
When he was far enough away that he couldn’t be seen from the castle, he dropped the invisibility spell. He didn’t want to try holding that while working the other magic at the same time. Maybe someday, but right now he thought he’d done all the experimenting he cared to do. He was already nervous enough. Part of him still couldn’t quite believe he was doing this. But he told that part of him to be quiet. He knew he’d read the cards correctly, and they’d told him he needed to take action. And it wasn’t like he didn’t have a plan. He would get close enough to see where Sen Eva was holding Maurel, and then he would use his invisibility spell again, and just walk in and grab her. As long as he covered her mouth before she could scream and give him away, he thought he could get her inside his spell area without any trouble. And then they could just walk right out. He would come back along the route that Serek was taking — just walking, this time — so he could show him — them — that he’d already rescued Maurel himself, and they could all just turn around and go home.
But first — first he had to get there. He’d practiced plenty last night, but only very short distances across his room and back. This would be the same principle, though. And he’d only go as far as he could see.
Carefully, he called up the violet energy and wove it around himself. He fixed his eyes on a spot some fifty feet up the road. Concentrate, stay focused. . . . He took a breath, cleared his mind, and willed himself forward.
The world spun around him for a second, but when he found his feet again, he saw that he was exactly where he’d intended to be. He gave a little whoop of triumph — it was working! He focused again, on another spot up the road, a little farther this time, as far as he could clearly see. Then he jumped again.
He had to stop and rest. He’d gotten maybe halfway there, in just a few hours, but it was a lot more draining than he’d anticipated. He had plenty of time, though; Serek and the others wouldn’t get to Bellman’s Pass until tomorrow morning.
He sat against a shady tree and pulled out the little package of dried fruit and meat that he’d tucked away before he left. He felt good. Really good. He knew he should feel a little guilty, and okay, he supposed he did. But that didn’t matter very much. He knew he was doing the right thing. And it felt so, well, good to be using magic to accomplish something really significant. Not that the locator spell hadn’t been important, or the dream protection they’d done for Wilem and Meg . . . but he’d only been assisting on those spells, really. What he was doing now was entirely his own. He’d thought it up himself, and it was working, and he was going to save Maurel and do something that would really show Serek how much he had underestimated his apprentice. He couldn’t wait to see the surprise and grudging respect in his master’s eyes.
He rested until he felt ready to go again. Then he gathered his magic, fixed on his location, and jumped.
He almost came upon the pass before he realized it.
It was dusk. He completed a jump to a spot along the road and suddenly heard voices. In an instant he’d called up his invisibility spell. Then he looked carefully around.
He couldn’t see anything from where he was, but there was a bend in the road ahead, and the voices were coming from just beyond it. He crept forward. As soon as he rounded the bend, he saw the pointed rocks of Bellman’s Pass before him. He could hear the rushing of water somewhere a little farther off.
For a moment he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. He’d been so elated with the success of his spell that he hadn’t let himself think about the fact that he’d be facing Sen Eva. But you’re not facing her, not really, he reminded himself. She won’t even know you’re there, until it’s too late.
He made himself continue stepping softly toward the rocks. He still had to be careful not to make any noise; the spell only masked sight, not sound. He wondered suddenly if he could come up with some variation that could hide any noise he made, too. Why hadn’t he ever thought of that before? That would . . . he shook his head. Focus! He could think about applications of magic later. If there was a later. Stop that. This was no time to let nerves overtake him. He had a job to do here, and he was going to do it.
With a few more steps, he was able to see what he needed to. His confidence slipped another few notches.
Sen Eva was there, as expected. She was standing, facing partly away from him, and still looked like that stranger they’d seen in Lourin, but there was no question in his mind now that it was her. He could see Maurel, too; she was sitting on the ground, her hands bound behind her. She wasn’t crying now, although she still looked miserable. Calen couldn’t blame her. She was surrounded by more men than he could count, rough-looking men who must be working for Sen Eva. They didn’t seem to be soldiers, exactly, but they were all dressed in black and had the look of people waiting around for someone to tell them what to do.
And beyond them, through the gaps in another row of those tall, pointed rocks, he could see black shapes moving. Enormous black shapes. He could see only glimpses of them, but he knew what they were. Slaarh. Those horrible oily-black monsters that Sen Eva had somehow called up from somewhere to do her bidding. Gods, but he hated those things.
Well, with any luck they would just stay there on the far side of the rocks, and he wouldn’t have to worry about them. He had enough to worry about as it was. He would somehow have to maneuver through those ranks of men in order to get close to Maurel — and then get back through them again, somehow, without accidently touching any of them, since that would instantly give him away. He wasn’t untouchable any more than he was unhearable, unfortunately.
Oh — wait. He didn’t have to maneuver anywhere. He could jump there. It wasn’t far. He could see it clearly. There was a space right beside Maurel that he could fix his eyes on.
Except if she moved, or if any of the nearby men chose that moment to take a step or two to the side, they’d be in his path. He could end up . . . he didn’t even want to think about it. He certainly didn’t want to risk doing it. He stood there, frozen with indecision.
“Welcome, Apprentice Calen,” Sen Eva’s voice called out suddenly. Her voice was still the same, not changed by whatever process had altered her appearance. “Why don’t you come over here and
join us?”
Calen’s heart lurched. He was certain his spell was still in place. How could she —? Maybe she’d heard a noise and was just guessing. Maybe she was just trying to trick him into revealing himself. He would not let that happen. He took a step backward.
“Please,” she said, turning now to look at him. “I am afraid I must insist.”
There was a rustling in the trees, and then more of those black-clad men poured out and blocked the road behind him. They didn’t seem able to see him; their eyes searched the place where he was standing, passing over him with no recognition. But somehow Sen Eva knew exactly where he was. She was staring right at him.
Maurel had sat up straight, a terrible hopeful expression on her face as she looked wildly around for him. Calen said nothing; he still felt it must be a trick of some kind. How could Sen Eva see him when the men and Maurel clearly could not?
As though reading his mind, she said, “It would be humiliating indeed if I allowed you to fool me with the same spell twice. I can see you quite clearly, standing there on the road. And if I do this —” Calen felt a strange tug in the air around him, and suddenly the magic of his spell dissipated into nothingness —“my men will be able to see you quite clearly as well.”
Two of the men on the road now approached. They each grabbed one of his arms and began to propel him toward Sen Eva. Calen struggled, though he knew it was hopeless. Their grips were like iron.
They released him once he was standing before Sen Eva but stayed close, near enough to stop him if he tried to run or anything else. Not that he had any brilliant ideas for what to do, anyway. He was nearly paralyzed with fear. This was not the plan!
The woman looking back at him was a stranger, and yet she wasn’t. The expression on her face was all too familiar.
“How did you do it?” he asked finally. “Change your face that way?”
She laughed contemptuously. “There are realms of magic that you and your masters cannot even imagine. I have access to power you will never know, Apprentice.” She made the word sound like an insult.
“Calen?” Maurel’s small voice was pleading. Sen Eva laughed again.
“Yes, dear. Young Calen is here to rescue you! Sadly, it does not seem to be going very well.” She looked at Calen curiously. “And where is the princess, I wonder? I know she would not let you come alone.”
Calen felt a rush of relief and struggled not to let it show in his expression. Sen Eva did not know everything. For a moment, he’d thought she did. If she didn’t know everything, there was still a chance they would get out of this. Somehow. There had to be.
“Now,” Sen Eva went on, “part of me would like to just kill you right now, but I suspect you may still prove useful in some small way, and so I will refrain. For now. You may have a seat beside your little friend there. If you attempt the slightest bit of magic, I will know. And then I will kill her.”
Maurel whimpered at this, and it nearly broke Calen’s heart. He sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry, Maurel,” he said. “We’ll get you home. I promise.”
Sen Eva shook her head, smiling.
All this time the men around them had been watching impassively. The ones up on the road had turned back around to face away, perhaps keeping an eye out for Meg or whoever else Sen Eva suspected might be with him. Calen didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if there was anything he could do. He was afraid Sen Eva wasn’t bluffing about being able to tell if he tried doing any magic. He couldn’t risk testing her on that, not with Maurel’s life at stake. He didn’t doubt that Sen Eva would kill her. She had been planning to kill Maerlie, after all, and had tried to kill him and Meg, too.
Near where Sen Eva was standing, there was a small cleared area between two of the tallest pointy rocks. It looked almost like a narrow doorway, and all the weeds and grass had been removed somehow from the space around it. He noticed Sen Eva watching him looking at it, and she looked expectant, as though she were waiting for him to comment. He didn’t, just to spite her. Even though he really wanted to know what that was all about.
He supposed he could just wait until Serek and the others arrived. He hoped that their plan, whatever it was, would still work. It would not exactly be the triumphant encounter he’d been imagining, though. His cheeks burned at the thought of Serek’s finding him here, needing to be rescued along with Maurel. No. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to do something.
“All the pieces are not yet where they need to be. . . .” Sen Eva murmured to herself. She looked up at the sky, then back down at him. “Do you think she will come after you right away, or must I do something to draw her attention?”
He supposed she meant Meg. Calen didn’t say anything. He just looked back at her with what he hoped came across as brave defiance.
She twisted up her mouth but only said, “Fine. Be stubborn if you wish. I could make you talk, but I believe I’ll give it a little while longer to play out on its own. If you interfere too much, you risk changing the forces at work, and I certainly don’t want that, not now.”
Calen had no idea what she was talking about. He wondered if she’d gone entirely crazy since they had last seen her. She had seemed to be well on her way back then. No sane person would be doing the things she was doing — kidnapping, murder, following the evil orders of a creepy mage who spoke to her in portals from another place and promised her impossible things . . .
If only he could try something without her knowing. He couldn’t just sit here! But what if whatever he tried didn’t work, and she hurt Maurel? How could he ever face Meg after letting her sister get killed? No. No, he had to wait. For . . . something. He just wished he knew what.
Maurel was still leaning against him. “Don’t worry,” he told her again. “It’s going to be all right.”
“Liar,” Sen Eva said sweetly. She looked at Maurel. “It’s definitely not going to be all right, little girl. People are going to die. Probably your whole entire family. There’s going to be war, and chaos, and if you do happen to survive, you’ll probably wish you hadn’t.”
Maurel had started crying again. Now she turned her face against Calen’s chest and sobbed. Calen glared at Sen Eva with helpless fury. “What do you want?” The words fell from his mouth before he could stop them. He hadn’t meant to say anything, but he didn’t understand the point of any of this. What was she waiting for? What was she expecting to happen?
“I want a great number of things,” she said coldly, all mocking sweetness gone from her voice. “And I am going to have them this time.” She paused, considering. “But it’s still too soon.”
“Did you — did you send those creatures, the ones that attacked the Magistratum?” Now that he was talking, he couldn’t seem to stop.
“Hmm?” she said. “Ah, yes — did you enjoy my little gift? Did they do anything exciting before your friends were able to contain them? We weren’t sure what would happen, exactly, only that they would stir up the hornets’ nest, help to widen the divide in some way.”
“But how — I mean, why?”
She smiled again, chillingly. “You do wish you knew how, don’t you? Your masters don’t teach you anything quite so useful as mine does.”
She looked away, back toward the road. “I know your friends are watching somehow. If your failed attempt is not enough to make them take the next step, perhaps . . .” She looked at Maurel, then at one of the men standing guard. “Do something to make the little girl scream for her sister, Erick.”
“No!” Calen shouted, and he lunged upward, trying to stand and push Maurel behind him at the same time. He didn’t even know what he intended to do. He just knew he could not let Sen Eva hurt Meg’s sister. He felt the magic energy gathering within him and wavered, wanting more than anything to strike out but terrified that Sen Eva would just kill him, and then kill Maurel, too. He stood frozen, again, unable to act, unable to do anything useful at all, shaking with confusion and fear and helpless ra
ge.
Sen Eva barely even glanced at him. She lifted a hand almost dismissively in his direction. Calen’s only comfort was that he could see that the magic was blue, not red, before it struck him and everything went black.
The first thing Calen saw when he opened his eyes again was Maurel’s worried face. She was leaning over him and nudging his head with her knee.
“Calen!” she whispered. “Calen, please wake up!”
He groaned. “Maurel, what? Stop it. What do you —?”
And then he remembered, and struggled to come fully awake.
“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” Maurel said, emphasizing each “wake up” with another violent knee-nudge. Ow. She was definitely Meg’s sister, all right.
“Okay, I’m awake — stop it,” he said, pushing himself upright. It was morning. How was it morning already? Whatever Sen Eva had done to him had apparently kept him unconscious all night. His lips tasted like dirt. He shook his head and then looked around. “What’s —?”
He suddenly remembered the last thing he’d heard Sen Eva say. “Maurel! Are you all right? Did she —?”
Maurel sniffed. “She told that man to hurt me,” she said, indicating the guard who had been closest to them last night. He was farther off now; Calen supposed the men took turns at guard duty. “But I screamed before he did anything, and then he left me alone.” She scrunched up her face. “Was that bad? She wanted me to scream. Should I have tried not to? I couldn’t — I couldn’t really help it. I was so scared, and I thought you were dead.”
“No,” he told her. “You were right to scream. We don’t want them to hurt you, Maurel. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He hoped that was true. What did Sen Eva think making Maurel scream would accomplish? Did she think Meg was hiding just out of sight somewhere and would come running if she heard Maurel screaming?
“Ah, you have come back to us,” Sen Eva said, striding over to them. “Your princess is tardy. I would have thought she’d be here by now, but I think she must still be at the castle. That doesn’t make sense to me, but I think I would be able to tell, if . . .” She paused and seemed to listen to something he couldn’t hear. “I shouldn’t . . . I don’t want to interfere. . . .” She shook her head and looked at him again, considering. “Well. Perhaps a little nudge won’t hurt.”
The Princess of Trelian Page 25