“Orson,” Agnar swallowed down the last of what was in his cup. “What brings you to our morning meal?”
Orson cleared his throat, “I’m not here for any good news unfortunately. I’m sure my King and Queen that it hasn’t escaped your eye that the City guards have positioned themselves in the eastern part of the palace where the Magus is. It’s my belief Elian, the Captain of the City Watch, is in service to the Magus.”
Agnar was already aware. “I’ve seen that they have taken up residence, yes.”
“Then, I am sure you have also heard of the whipping of one of the city guards for taking an interest in the Magus’ consort?” Orson folded his hands behind his back.
“His consort is it?” Celeste licked her lips with an obvious distaste in her mouth. “Only the King has the authority to call for public punishment. Agnar, you’ve always given over far too much with the Magus, hence why this is happening.”
Orson agreed with his Queen, however, it was not his place to say that to the King. “The Magus is a threat, as the Captain of the Royal Guard I advise for you to allow us to remove the City guard.” He had taken the threat as a serious one when the city guard dismissed the royal soldiers from the entire eastern section of the palace. Recent events such as the flogging only intensified his concern about the Magus.
Celeste was quick with her sharp tongue. “I agree with Orson, why don’t you find your spine just once, and do something about him?”
“I’m sure you do agree with him Celeste!” Agnar slapped his hand down on the table aggravated. “But, neither of you were there, at the battle.”
Celeste gave a long, exasperated, drawn out sigh while rolling her eyes. “This tale again…”
Agnar did not care what Celeste thought, it was for Orson’s benefit this time. “Orson, you were here doing your duty to protect the Queen,” He tried to get Orson to see his reasoning. “The Magus stopped the war cold in its tracks. The black fog covering the field was made of an unnatural darkness.” He took a calmer tone. “The radiant sun created by the God of All was unable to plunge its way through. Anything that the smoky fog touched such as an arrow, blade, or even a horse at full charge, stood still in midair while the Magus walked unscathed.”
“What are we supposed to do then Agnar, nothing?” She had listened for years to this, and she was unwilling to tolerate the excuse anymore.
Agnar became angry. “Celeste! I’ll not have this out of you, it was me that day in the field with the Magus not you.” His head was aching. “We rule at his mercy, lest you forget that! He holds the other kingdoms at bay, not us.”
Orson standing respectfully listened to the King until he was finished. “Your Grace, there is more I’m afraid. The Magus is a greater danger than you think, there is already a disgusting disheveled group of apostates, who falsely worship him as equal to not only the King, but to God.”
“Ugh,” groaned Celeste, “Worship him how?”
Orson unfolded his arms. “They have sex like animals in heat, hang themselves from hooks, and that’s in addition to whipping and cutting themselves. Their leader Esau has been seen keeping people chained like beasts and beating them while preaching that the Magus is a God.”
Celeste’s face crunched up showing her clear revulsion. “They’re in the city?”
Agnar watched as the servants carried away the trays from the Solar. “They need to be kept out of the city, we can’t have them disrupting the trade that goes through here.”
“Yes, my King they have been made to leave, but they have made a camp outside of the city,” Orson still had another concern to voice. “The High Priest Declan will not let these apostates go unanswered.”
Agnar did not see the point in doing anything about it if he did not have to. “Declan won’t, which means the problem will solve itself.”
“Who’s making sure they stay out of the city?” asked Celeste.
“The City Guard my Queen, the same ones now in league with the Magus,” seethed Orson.
“You’ll have to have a few of the royal guards stationed near the gates to keep the apostate vermin out.” Celeste turned her anger on Agnar. “I find it appalling that you sit here and do nothing when we have to send Royal Guards to do the City Guard’s job.”
Agnar rubbed his forehead. “I’m tired of this, Celeste.” He stood up from his chair to leave the Solar.
Celeste was glad when Agnar left and the door behind him closed. “Orson, we need to take immediate action with the Magus Ru’ark,”
“I agree my Queen,” Orson was grateful the Queen perceived the Magus as a real threat.
Her brows furowed together in a frown. “He’s moving in the City Guard to remove Agnar and me.”
“What do you want done my Queen?” He admired Celeste’s bravery in wanting to stop the Magus, unlike his King.
Celeste thought it was time to find out if the Magus was hiding something. “The next time he is away, I’ll go into his chambers, I have a Master key to each room in the palace.”
Orson found merit in her idea. “I can make sure the city guards will be removed before you go through.”
Celeste smiled. “That would be excellent, if he is secreting anything away, we’ll find our answers there I think.”
“Agreed,” He let out a sigh of relief. At least there was finally a plan in place to go after the Magus.
“Is there anything else, then, Orson?” She drank down her wine and stood up ready to leave the solar.
Orson’s eyes narrowed in seriousness with the creases of fine lines which showed his age. “No My Queen, I will make the necessary arrangements as we talked about regarding the Magus Ru’ark.”
Celeste pressed her lips together. “Good.”
Orson opened the door for Celeste as the two departed the solar.
Orson and Celeste stood in the courtyard after the Queen’s Guard dismissed the city watchmen ordering them to vacate while the Queen inspected the eastern portion of the palace. While the City Guard grumbled about it, they did follow Orson’s command in the name of Queen herself.
Orson had stationed men alongside the wall to where he and the Queen were to be, to warn them should the Magus return. Orson himself, stood outside of the doorway to where the Queen was to protect her if need be. He prayed for his Queen’s success in what was a very risky endeavor. He was not worried about Celeste getting into the room, both the King and Queen had a master key to all rooms in the palace. It was being caught by the Magus and what he might do to Celeste that concerned him.
“Are you kidding me?” Celeste awestruck, entered further into the sitting area; instead of the regular palace effects the room was furnished and attired in antiques from the First Kingdom, from the time of wonders. Things from that time were more finely crafted than any artisan alive today could hope to accomplish.
Celeste’s first order of business was to rifle through the Magus’s desk where on top sat parchments, maps, and books all strewn about. Celeste’s delicate fingers picked up one of the parchments to find it written in some strange language she had never seen. While it was interesting, she had little to no hope of knowing what it said within the time she had. She flipped through a few pages of the books she could read. All of them pointed to the Great Marsh. Why, someone would want to go to a swamp was beyond her. The maps themselves carried inked markings which plotted a course of travel to the Marsh. “Hmm,” As much as she wanted to scrounge for more, she needed to move faster since there was yet another room to check.
“My Queen,” Orson moved out of the way for Celeste to leave the room.
“I’m going into his private bed chamber.” Celeste went up a few steps to the next chamber door. She slid her master key into the keyhole, and with an unceremonious clink of metal from the lock, the door creaked open.
“Be careful my Queen,” Orson watched the guard ahead of him for any signal that may be forthcoming if anyone approached.
Celeste, with careful steps made her way inside the room
. Her mouth was agape at seeing his private chambers. The bed-chamber shared the same extravagance as his sitting room. It was not merely opulent, but more items from the First Kingdom adorned this room too. One oddity that both rooms shared was the long crystal stone rods. “Where in the heavens, by the God of All did he get this?”
Orson ducked his head into the room, making sure Celeste was safe and then returned to keeping an eye out for the Magus’s return.
Celeste noticed a large object draped in a heavy velvet covering, with a snap of her wrist she pulled it off to find a full body length mirror encased in a golden frame. The embellishments and construction behind it hinted that its origin dated back to the first kingdom. Running her finger across its surface, it was by far the best mirror, she had ever laid eyes on, and it was worth a small fortune. While striking, the reflective glass was an oddity as if her own reflection ran deeper the more she stared into it. Her delicate fingers glided across the glass and to her surprise, it shimmered while creating a rippling effect. Startled, her hand recoiled back in disbelief as the tall shape of the Magus appeared. “Lord Magus?”
It had been months since Malark began his daily vigil of each afternoon dismissing the slave and waiting for someone other than Ru’ark to activate the Dami Uiten. At last, with the queen before him, his patience had paid off.
Sensing her hesitation, he approached their conversation with care. “Greetings, Great Queen, I am not Ru’ark but he is my brother.”
“Your brother?” She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she was talking through a mirror.
Malark nodded, then smiled. “My Queen, you have no idea how much joy it brings me to finally be speaking with you, but, you must heed my words, you cannot trust my brother Ru’ark.”
Celeste’s initial shock changed to anger. “Yes, I’ve always had a feeling something was off about your Magus, especially of late.”
“What, My Queen has been amiss or strange with my brother of late?” Malark feigned his concern.
Celeste’s deep frown framed her worry. “Well, he has taken a slave pet named Nelina whom he trains to fight. Women in Danthamore are not considered fit for such activities.”
“My Queen, I cannot apologize enough for my brother’s behavior, is there anything else you can tell me?” So far, she was providing him with nothing.
“He’s planning some trip to the swamp, the Great Marsh, there’s a map of it.” She folded her arms. “He’s also removed my Royal Guards and put in City Guards into the eastern part of my palace.”
He bobbed his head in a light bow. “It was I, who was supposed to have been your Ambassador, My Queen. However, my brother who escaped past the Waste, left the rest of us trapped. His treachery starts from when he first entered your lands. If it were I who was there with you, you would not have to suffer these indignities.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Coming in here and talking to this other mirror Magus needed to provide her with some proof to go to Agnar with.
“My Queen, we have to go, the Magus returns.” Orson’s head popped in through the doorway.
Filled with anger Malark sighed. “It seems our time grows short My Queen, and you will not escape my brother’s notice for having entered his chamber. But, if you return the Dami Uiten to how you found it, he will not know that we have spoken.”
Celeste paused for a moment. “You mean the mirror?”
“Yes, my Queen the mirror,” his honeyed words flowed out. “We will not have the opportunity to speak again until my Brother leaves on his journey with his pet, until then you must not let him know we have spoken.”
Urgency permeated Orson’s voice when he came all the way into the chamber to get Celeste. “My Queen, we must go, we cannot linger any longer without the Magus finding us here.”
Satisfied with the new Magus, she smiled. “When we speak again, perhaps you can reveal how we will deal with your brother.”
“Yes, dear Queen, stay safe and when we speak again, I will have solutions for you.” Without another sound, his image faded from the mirror.
Celeste hurried and threw the thick velvet draping back over the mirror and scurried out the chamber. Orson, giving the room a final look over closed the door behind them.
Ru’ark finished writing out the last of his notes before putting his quill back in its inkwell. Nelina had been with him for almost a year thus far. He went over to the window where the warm breeze was coming in off the Torbian Sea. His tower overlooked the royal balcony where Adar and Nelina practiced down below. There was not a single day she did not train from dawn until the evening meal. By the time she would finish taking her bath and eating, she would slip into her nightdress and fall asleep from exhaustion.
Nelina smiled, her strike had come an inch away from Adar’s face when he had to rely on his inhuman speed to dodge it. Nelina’s left hand moved to make contact with Adar’s exposed midsection after he dodged her last strike to his head. Again, he shifted his body pulling away from her, leaving nothing but air. To date, this was her best morning practice yet on the balcony, “I think I’m improving.”
Adar giving a light smile with a short nod resumed his fighting stance.
Nelina did the same and started with a fast strike at his left side, which he sidestepped with ease to avoid. She had gotten used to his quick movements and this time her off-hand came up to where she had been expecting him to move. However, there was a moment of surprise when she did not reach his face, but instead his open hand grabbed her fist and he pushed her backward.
Nelina was about to try again until she noticed Adar stop which caused her to turn around.
“Agnar, Celeste, this is Nelina, the one I was telling you about.” Ru’ark waved Nelina over to stand next to him.
Celeste gave a curt nod to the high collar, armored woman whose hair pulled back into a tight single braided bun. How dare he call her Celeste in front of his dressed up mockery of Danthamore?
“G’day Nelina,” Agnar was stunned, as she was the first woman to train in the Palace of Danthamore. It was a right reserved for men and boys, and a place that women did not belong. Especially, the attractive delicate flaxen-haired female in front of him, who did not look like she could pick up half of the swords he owned.
“G’Day your Majesties,” her curtsy was clumsy in her armor, yet she tried anyway because this was her first time meeting members of the Royal family.
Ru’ark put his hands together. “Nelina, I want you to practice with one of the palace guards. I was telling Agnar and Celeste how you were more than a match against any plain Palace Guard.”
“I’d be happy to Magus,” Nelina was confident in her training with Adar and Elian with what she had learned.
Agnar looked over his shoulder to Orson, the Commander of the Palace guards while nodding his head toward one guard in particular. “Get one of the men from over there.”
Orson had been in Celeste and Agnar’s’ service for years, and he knew what man his Queen would want to fight the girl. “Caleb!”
The tall, muscular guard removed his helmet; his gleaming armor was much finer than that of the regular city guards.
Celeste smirked, Caleb was a throne room guard who had grown up on the docks; without a doubt he should be able to take the fragile looking woman with little to no trouble.
Caleb and Nelina moved apart from the others with Adar standing next to Ru’ark.
Ru’ark’s cold blue eyes narrowed when addressing Caleb. “No one is to hurt the other it is a sparring contest, nothing more.”
Caleb brushed off Ru’ark to look at Orson, who gave no approval to the Magus’s order. Grinning, he freed the small sharp sword from his hip, one that would slash deep enough to tear muscle.
“I’ll forgo the use of weapons,” Nelina was under the impression that the guard would not harm her.
Ru’ark nodded his approval for her to begin.
With a nod from her Magus, Nelina moved into the open space on the royal b
alcony as Celeb took up a position across from her.
Caleb and Nelina took their fighting positions on the royal balcony’s center where she had been training with Adar earlier.
“Begin!” Shouted Celeste while folding her arms, maybe this would teach the Magus a lesson he needed to learn.
Caleb swung his blade at Nelina aiming for her chest. He was not, however, expecting her to raise her arms, and block his strike let alone grabbing his arms, and sending him staggering back. Nelina was glad for the opportunity to spar against someone other than Elian or Adar. Still, though, had the fight been real she would have used the opportunity to administer one of the killing blows that Adar had taught her to use. Or, to at least cripple her opponent.
Harnessing his anger, Caleb spun on his heel to swipe again at her with his sword. He found it to be in vain when she gracefully moved out of the blade’s reach. When he tried to lunge at her, he had met air and nothing else, which caused him to misstep allowing her fist to land a hard blow to his lower back.
Ru’ark paused at Celeste’s smug expression.
Although her aptitude and skill was a revelation for him, Caleb refused to be beaten and humiliated in front the King and Queen by a woman. This time, he used a trick he learned from growing up on the docks. Stepping back in a swift motion with his arm, he launched his sword at her throwing it with all his strength.
Flying towards her, was Caleb’s airborne weapon, startled and surprised, she watched as the blade whizzed by barely missing her. She had no chance to react when he punched her in the abdomen with such force she fell to her knees unable to breathe or move. For a brief second Caleb’s eyes shot over to Orson for an indication of whether to keep going. She was a woman after all.
Observing Celeste’s smile, Orson inclined his head with his approval for Caleb to continue.
Freeing his dagger, he brought it across her upper right arm with a deep slice. “Won’t be using that arm for a while.”
The blade tore into her armor reaching through to the muscle of her arm, bringing forth an intense pain with blood trickling down. He was not following the protocols of sparring, he was using tactics one would in a real fight, to the death.
The Magus (A Chronicle of Rebirth Book 1) Page 9