He located several rooms that appeared to be the servants' quarters. There were far more rooms than there were servants. The Priest must have hopes of a large staff when the Temple was completed.
One of the doors was locked from the outside. Zhimosom placed his hand on it and felt for the person within. He sensed a girl, but not Brill; this girl was older.
The next room was also locked. Once again, he felt for the presence within. This time it was Brill. He knocked softly and waited for an answer. When none was forthcoming, he knocked again.
"Brill. It's me, Zhimosom."
There was a faint answer. "I'm here."
"Are you all right?"
"They beat me if I'm too slow with my chores or if I spill something in the kitchen."
"What happened to your aunt? I thought she would take you in?"
"She put me out on the street when she learned my folks were dead. She already has enough mouths to feed and she can't feed another one.
"Someone grabbed me and sold me to the factor, and he sold me to the Temple. Please get me out of here. We can run away to a farm. My father's sister lives on a farm. They can always use more kids on the farm."
Zhimosom reached for the lock with his magic. He felt the individual parts that made it work. He grasped them with his magic and set them just so, twisting the lock. It popped open with a click and he swung the door wide to find Brill standing there. She rushed over and gave him a hug.
"We have to get out of here before they come," Brill said. "Someone checks that lock often. I think they have a Guard that makes rounds."
Zhimosom relocked the door after Brill was out. He hoped that would keep the Guard from looking inside. He took Brill by the hand and headed back the way he had entered.
When he reached the darkest part, he raised a flame in his hand again to light their way. He kept the fire small and muted, just enough to see by, as they navigated the dark passageways.
Just when Zhimosom thought they were safely through, he heard a noise ahead, in the dark. It sounded like someone clearing their throat.
"Going somewhere?" a voice asked.
Zhimosom peered into the passageway ahead, holding his light aloft to fill the darkness. He could make out a figure standing in their path. A flame burst into life in the outstretched hand of the man barring the way and Zhimosom knew that he had alerted Sulrad to his presence.
Zhimosom raised his shield around Brill and himself, and reached out to Rotiaqua. "I am in the Temple to free Brill and Sulrad has found us. I need your help."
"What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't thinking! Please help me."
She opened her magic up to him. He didn't wait to thank her. He just took her magic and combined it with his own to strengthen his shield. He raised a fireball and waited for the Priest to take the first action.
"Ah, I recognize your magic. I've felt you work magic on occasion. I've been looking for you, but you've hidden well. Now you've walked right in here to confront me." He laughed.
"You can't win against me; you're hardly more than a boy," Sulrad said.
Zhimosom kept silent. He might be young, but he had magic, and he knew how to use it.
He energized the fireball and sent it speeding towards the Priest. It exploded in a shower of sparks before it came close to Sulrad. The Priest laughed at Zhimosom's effort.
"That was respectable, son." Sulrad held his own fireball in hand. "I will take your magic. You are strong for one so young. Your power will make a great addition to my own. You can take pride in knowing that your death will power healing spells for a number of men and women more deserving than yourself."
Zhimosom held his peace. He wished he were anywhere other than here. As Sulrad prepared to hurl his fireball at him, Zhimosom drew even more power from Rotiaqua. This time, he felt her fear for him through the link. She, too, wished he were elsewhere.
As the fireball struck his shields, Zhimosom felt a falling sensation that stopped almost as soon as it started. It had turned pitch dark, but he could no longer feel the presence of Sulrad or Brill.
Zhimosom stretched out his hand and raised a small flame to light his way. He was back in his room at the stables. "What happened?"
"I felt you draw power from me for the fireball. It increased when you raised your shields, but suddenly I felt you wishing you were somewhere else, some place safe. The power surged and, suddenly, you were no longer there. The connection was severed, only to be restored almost immediately. Where are you?"
"I'm back in my room."
"What did you do?" Rotiaqua asked.
"I was just thinking how much I wanted to be out of there and back in my room, and suddenly I was."
Zhimosom looked for any sign of Brill, but she was not there. He had left the girl behind in the Temple.
"What are you looking for?" Rotiaqua asked.
"Brill. I must have left her behind. I have to go back and get her."
"You can't go back and get her right now, but I don’t think you have to worry too much about Brill right away. Now that Sulrad knows you're trying to rescue her, he'll want to use her as bait to lure you back to the Temple. He has no reason to kill her. We need to come up with a plan before you go back into the Temple. Sulrad will be expecting you to return."
"But Brill..."
"I know you feel responsible for the girl, but Sulrad is dangerous. I felt Sulrad's magic when he attacked you. I'm afraid he may have felt mine, too. I don't think he knows who I am yet, but he might figure it out."
"Now what are we going to do?" Zhimosom didn't need Sulrad after him, and if the Priest recognized Rotiaqua, she would be in danger, too.
"We'll have to be more careful." Rotiaqua dropped the connection and left Zhimosom alone with his thoughts.
Zhimosom came awake with a start. He'd been having a nightmare about Sulrad. He saw the Priest enter a room in the new Temple. It was a plain room with the walls built of stone and mortar, rather than the wood that made up most of the Temple.
It had small slits of windows on either side, and carvings in the stone that tracked the movement of the sun and moon.
In the center of the room stood a stone altar that came up to Sulrad's waist. It was constructed of marble with complex engraving on the sides. The surface had a sunken center with a depression that ran around the outer edge.
It was stained with blood.
Scratched in the blood were symbols that Zhimosom could not read, but looked like Wizards' marks. Standing on one end of the altar was a statue of a woman. She was dressed in loose fitting robes and cradled a knife in her hands. The blade was positioned against her throat.
Someone was tied on the altar, a young girl from the look of her. The dream became more real, and the figure came into focus.
It was Brill.
Her hands and feet were stretched out, the ties holding her fast. Sulrad stood beside the altar gazing down at the girl. He stroked her hair and spoke softly in her ear.
Zhimosom watched as the beam of moonlight crept across the wall until it struck the statue. Sulrad grasped the knife from the statue and slit Brill's throat. Zhimosom felt the life energy flow out of her and into the Priest. It separated from Brill like a cloud of golden dust, swirling around her, growing brighter until it funneled into Sulrad's chest, where it disappeared.
Zhimosom struggled to wake himself from the dream, but something held him in it. He tried to look away, but he could not. All he could do was watch as the life of his friend drained out to feed the Priest.
As Brill's breathing came to a halt, Sulrad looked straight at Zhimosom. "I'm coming for you next, and your lady friend when I find her. Wizards and Sorceresses have magic that can feed my hunger better than one such as this.
"With every sacrifice, I gain strength that you will never know." With that, he laughed and looked away. Zhimosom felt himself released from the dream and woke in a cold sweat.
He reached out for Rotiaqua. She was asleep, but the connectio
n was so strong now that it didn't matter. "Rotiaqua. Wake up, we're in danger."
She came to her senses quickly for having been awakened so abruptly. "What is it?"
"Sulrad ... He sacrificed Brill and took her life energy."
"What do you mean, sacrificed?"
"He has a special room in the Temple, where he tied her up and killed her. I saw it. I thought it was a dream, but I couldn't break free. When he finished with her, he looked right at me. He knows about us and he's coming."
"He knows about us?"
"Sulrad. He knows who I am and he knows about you through me. He said a Wizard or Sorceress is even better for his sacrifice than Brill."
He shook with rage and fear. "He killed her."
Zhimosom worried for Rotiaqua's safety as well as his own. The Priest was a regular at the Castle and frequently dined with Rotiaqua's father. That brought her into contact with him often. If Sulrad recognized Rotiaqua, she would be in trouble.
"I can't fight him. He's too strong, and he gains strength from his victims. I did it by mistake with a mouse. I wanted to see what its life force was like and I absorbed it. It was horrifying. I felt dirty. I could never take magic from another creature, but it doesn't seem to bother Sulrad. Soon he'll have enough power to break through our shields and find us both."
"What are we going to do?" Rotiaqua asked. Zhimosom was taken aback. Usually she was so confident that he felt a little intimidated by her, but here she was asking him what to do.
"We flee." Zhimosom wanted to sound confident, but he knew they would never be safe with Sulrad around. "If he finds out about you, we're both in trouble. Your father will hang us both if Sulrad doesn't get to us before him."
"You mean run? Where would we go?"
"Anywhere but here. We can't wait. We should go now, before he finds either of us."
"I'll meet you at the copse of trees just outside of the city," Rotiaqua said. "We can talk then. Meet me there at sunrise."
With that, Zhimosom dropped the connection. He packed his meager belongings and sat on his bed, awake and terrified.
Just before sunrise, Zhimosom went down to the stables and prepared Rotiaqua's horse and gear for her arrival. He made an excuse to the stable master that he was ill and needed to spend the morning in bed. The stable master berated him, but excused him with a strict admonition to be healthy by the noon meal.
Zhimosom ran as fast as he could to the copse of trees Rotiaqua had mentioned. He arrived there out of breath and exhausted. He didn't have long to wait until Rotiaqua arrived.
She handed Zhimosom the reins and jumped down from her horse. She circled around and hugged him tight. Zhimosom was so surprised he almost let the horse run free, but he relaxed and tentatively returned the hug.
"Why so restrained?" Rotiaqua asked.
"My Lady, it's not proper. I don't want to end up in the stocks again."
"Don't worry. No one will see us. If they do, I'll tell them I ordered you here to assist me with my horse." She found a convenient outcropping of rock and sat down. She patted the stone beside her. "Sit."
Zhimosom took a seat but he kept his distance from her, still nervous.
"How long have you known me?" Rotiaqua reached out and grasped his hand.
Zhimosom felt a tingle of anxiety, but didn't pull his hand back. "I ... I don't know, My Lady. I first met you in the fire back at my homestead. That was a long time ago."
"It's been almost a summer." Rotiaqua intertwined her fingers with his. "We talk almost every day. Why are you so shy?"
It ... It's not the same. When we talk by magic, I know no one will discover us. This ... This is different."
"No one will discover us here." She squeezed his hand. "We are joined, you and I. Our magic works together. I think it is fated that we be together."
Zhimosom yanked his hand, but she grasped it tightly, not letting him pull away.
"Not like that. I mean in magic. I believe we're fated to work together. I can feel the magic so much stronger in me when we share our power ... I know you feel it, too."
"I do, but we cannot be seen together, My Lady. It's not permitted."
"Not permitted." She shook her head. "Promise me you will not run away without me."
"Without you? I thought we were going to run away together ... now ... Before Sulrad finds us."
"I know you're worried about Sulrad, but we're still safe ... at least for now ... If he knew how to find you, he would have come after you already. Don't let him chase you away from me."
"But I thought you were ready to go." Zhimosom didn't understand. He thought they were going to run away together, get as far from Sulrad as they could.
"I can't leave. Where would I go? My father would hunt us down and bring us back, and then he'd kill you. We can't run away. Where would we go that people won't recognize me?"
"We can get off your father's land. Maybe we can go to Amedon, where the Wizards are. We could be safe there."
Rotiaqua laughed. "We can't run off in a hurry. This will take planning. Don't be in such a rush." She squeezed his hand.
Zhimosom wanted to get as far away from Sulrad as he could, but he couldn't leave her. The way her magic combined with his to make them both more powerful was heady, exhilarating. He couldn't just walk away from her. "I won't run away."
"I want your oath. That you'll wait until I'm ready."
"I promise."
"Blood oath." Rotiaqua reached inside her boot and pulled out her knife. "When two people make a solemn promise, sometimes they seal it with blood. We're bound by magic; now let's seal it with blood."
She quickly made a cut across her palm. The blood welled up, dripping down. She did the same to him, then grasped his hand, and joined their blood together.
"Together," Rotiaqua said.
"Together," Zhimosom repeated.
Zhimosom felt a tingle as their blood mixed and he spoke the words. He felt a rush of power that he had not experienced before.
He became more aware of Rotiaqua now. He felt her holding his hand, not as himself, but as her. Zhimosom felt his hand as Rotiaqua did, larger and stronger than hers. It gave him confidence.
He felt heat coursing through his veins as if her blood had set his own on fire. It was heady, wonderful, and almost overwhelming. He had the distinct impression of a large creature, a dragon. As if one of the dragons of legend had infused his blood with its own.
He shook off the vision and looked back at her. She didn't say a word, but he knew she'd felt it too. He reached out with his magic and created a spell of healing as he'd seen the Priest do and healed both their hands, stopping the flow of blood.
"I had better be getting back to the stables, or I'll be in trouble. The stable master told me to be back and ready to work by the noon meal." Zhimosom helped Rotiaqua up on her horse and started up the road.
She leaned down. "Why walk?"
"My Lady, I cannot ride with you. Someone will see me."
"Not ride. You were able to travel from the Temple to your home before. Try it now."
Zhimosom closed his eyes and imagined himself back in his room. He felt a slight shudder and knew it had worked. He opened his eyes and saw Sulrad standing in the middle of his room.
"Ah, there you are. I knew you'd be back, but I honestly expected you to use the door."
Zhimosom turned to see who had spoken.
It was Sulrad.
Zhimosom tried to invoke the spell that would take him back to the copse, but a blanket of fatigue fell over him. He tried to reach out to Rotiaqua to warn her, but there was nothing, only silence.
Bonded
Uskin came awake in a panic. Her room in the Wizards' Keep was cold, but she was wet with sweat. It was just after dawn and the sun barely lit the room as she sat up in bed. She reached for her robe and pulled it on, comforted by the lush fur collar and heavy lining.
"What is it?" Alwroth asked. He blinked sleep from his eyes and sat up beside her.
"A
bonding ... Remember that little girl and the dragon I saw so many years ago?"
Alwroth wrinkled his brows in thought. "The one in your vision?"
"Yes, her." Uskin stretched her hands out, palms up. A small fire crackled in her hands, growing larger, until a golden glow covered them.
The light swirled and rose, taking on the form of a dragon. Its wings shimmered as if spun from the finest gold. The dragon circled her palm, then looked down and breathed fire into Uskin's hands.
The fire formed a woman and a man.
It was the girl she'd seen in her vision so many years ago. She was sure of it.
The girl took the man's palm and sliced it with her knife before joining their hands together. The light intensified until Uskin blinked at the brilliance. The dragon above reached out with a claw to slash its chest right above its heart. Golden blood poured out of that wound and onto the couple standing below.
The couple took on a reddish tint as the blood of the dragon flowed over them, coating them, until they were the color of firebrick, yet they glowed even more brightly than before.
The dragon grew insubstantial, shrunk to the size of a child next to the couple, and shifted color, turning a burnished copper. Then it faded, leaving the couple behind.
"What does it mean?" Alwroth shuffled up close and put his arm around her shoulder. He leaned in to get a better look at the figures.
"We need to send someone to find them."
"The dragon?"
"I don't know what the dragon means, but they wtill need to be tested." She blew on her hands. The image turned to a cloud of bright sparkles and disappeared. "Don't you agree?"
"Yes, of course." Alwroth leaned in and kissed her gently. "You know best."
"I'm thinking Garlath. He's a solid man. He can handle this, and he could use a little time away from Amedon. What do you think?"
Alwroth smiled. "I think he's just the man for the job. Where shall we send him?"
Wizard Pair (Book 3) Page 10