"I don't know. I'll search and see if there's a place they're sure to go."
Uskin stood up and extended her arm in invitation. "Shall we?"
Alwroth rose and took her arm. He escorted her to their private sitting room and rang the bell for the attendant.
"Go find Garlath and invite him here to break his fast," Uskin said.
"Yes, Your Mightiness." The attendant turned and left the room.
Garlath arrived in mere moments. He wore the traditional robes of a senior Wizard. He was an older man, with long gray hair and beard, verging on white, but he carried himself with the air of a much younger man. The Council had offered him a seat on several occasions but he had refused, claiming it would only tie him to Amedon.
He threw himself into a guest chair and scanned the room. When he noticed a cup of tea already waiting for him, he picked it up and drank, then set it back on the table.
"We have a quest for you." Uskin had donned her Sorceress crown with its glowing red jewels and intricate braid of multicolored rope.
"A quest?"
"One that will take you away from Amedon for a while. One of great importance."
Garlath smiled at her words. She knew that he was eager to get out on the road and experience life among the common folk, if only for a short while. He'd always told her that life amongst the Wizards was dull and boring, without the surprises of the mundane world.
"You have that look of mischief in your eyes." Garlath smiled back at her. "This must be especially difficult."
"I sensed a pair form just this morning." Uskin raised her upturned palms and gently blew on them. The image of the woman and man from her earlier vision reappeared, but this time they were static and lifeless.
"Why don't you go after them yourself?"
"Because this one is special," she said. "Not only are they perfectly paired, they are somehow bound up with the dragons."
"Dragons?"
"Yes. That's why I thought of you. Would you take on this quest? I don't know where they are now. I don't know when they will decide to come to Amedon." She waved her hand in the air. "I don't even know that they will decide to come to Amedon, but we need someone like you out there looking for them.
"They must be tested and trained before they show up here. I fear it will be a long and difficult quest, not soon over."
Garlath smiled broadly at her last words. "I'll do it."
"Where will you start?"
"In Tustow. There is an old Wizard there. He no longer associates with Amedon. He's ancient and feeble, but he's still powerful and he's an expert in dragons. If they are somehow mixed up with dragons, they will eventually be drawn to him. I can wait for them there."
Uskin saw that Garlath was already off in the mundane world. "Garlath," she said softly.
"Hmmm... Oh, sorry, I was just thinking. I can set myself up as an apothecary and sell potions and herbs in the market. That will give me a chance to mingle and watch for them."
"Garlath." Uskin tried again to get his attention. "This is important. These two are already very powerful, and with the dragon's blood on them they will be so powerful that they could easily destroy the city by accident just experimenting with their powers.
"It's important that you find them and test them. If they pass, you must train them before you bring them here. I don't need to remind you how important that is."
"No, you don't." Garlath glanced over at the wall that had been hastily repaired after an inexperienced young Wizard blasted it out by mistake years earlier. Uskin and Alwroth left it that way as a constant reminder to themselves and their guests that young untrained Wizards were dangerous.
Sorceress Rotiaqua
Rotiaqua made her way back to the castle in time for her late breakfast with her father. On this occasion, her mother had also joined them. They had just begun the meal when a Guard interrupted.
"Sorry, My Lord, but there's someone here to see you. He's insistent that you be told that he is waiting, and that you would be receptive."
"Who is it?" the Baron growled at the Guard.
"It's the Priest. He says it's in regards to your daughter."
Rotiaqua tensed up at the mention of the Priest. She looked at her father, who scowled back at her.
The Baroness leaned over. "It's not often I break my fast with you. Do you have to see that man now?"
"He says it's about our daughter." The Baron glanced at Rotiaqua. "Know anything about this?"
"No, father, I have no idea what the Priest would have to do with me."
"Let him in." The Baron waved at the Guard, who left and quickly returned with the Priest.
"My Lady. My Lord." Sulrad bowed his head as he took his seat. He looked over at Rotiaqua and smiled.
"What is so urgent that you would disturb my breakfast with my family?"
"It is your daughter and her welfare that I have come to see you about this day, My Lord."
The Baron looked over at Rotiaqua once more. She shrugged her shoulders. She was confident that he hadn't discovered her secret.
"What of my daughter's welfare?"
"My Lord. Perhaps it's best if we speak privately." He looked at Rotiaqua then back to the Baron.
"Whatever you have to say about my daughter, you can say in front of her."
"As you wish, My Lord." Sulrad smoothed his robes and sat up straight. "My Lord, I have discovered a Wizard, here in the city. He's been in contact with your wife and daughter. He works in the stables.
"I currently have this Wizard restrained in the Temple, and have been interrogating him. He has declined to answer my questions, but I was able to determine that he has had recent contact with your daughter."
Rotiaqua tried to control her reaction. She almost fainted with. What had happened? Had the Priest somehow interfered with Zhimosom's travel spell? She tried not to let her emotions show on her face, but she was worried about Zhimosom.
Rotiaqua reached out to Zhimosom. She could tell he was alive, but his magic was muted and somehow distant, as if there was a wall between them, blocking their connection. She pressed harder, but was unable to connect. She abandoned her efforts and looked to Sulrad.
The Priest was staring at her.
"What does this have to do with my daughter?" the Baron demanded.
"My Lord ... Your daughter ..."
"Yes. My daughter." The Baron turned to look at Rotiaqua. She flushed and turned her eyes down.
"What of my daughter?" the Baron asked.
"I'm afraid ... that your daughter ... is a Sorceress, My Lord. She's the one who's been helping the Wizard."
The Baron stood up. "A sorceress? What are you talking about?"
"My Lord, your daughter has magic. I just felt her cast a spell. While we were talking, she was reaching out to that Wizard."
Rotiaqua tensed up at the mention of magic. She raised the shield that she and Zhimosom had practiced to keep Sulrad from detecting her magic, but feared it was too late. How foolish could she be?
"I'll not hear of this." The Baroness waved at the Guard and pointed to Sulrad. "Throw this madman out of here."
"If I might be so bold," Sulrad said and flicked his hand at Rotiaqua.
Rotiaqua felt a blast of magic headed her way and acted instinctively.
The fireball impacted Rotiaqua's shields and shattered into a brilliant shower of sparks that fell to the floor and died out. Anger flared up in her at the thought that Sulrad had tried to kill her in her own home before she realized that he had tricked her into revealing her powers.
The Baron looked at Rotiaqua. "What's the meaning of this?"
Before she could speak, Sulrad said, "You see, My Lord? A Sorceress, and quite strong, too. She must have been practicing magic for quite some time to develop shields like the ones she carries. It is those shields that kept me from identifying her as a Sorceress before today."
"Is this true?" The Baron looked at Rotiaqua. He had that 'no argument' look about him that Rotiaqua had com
e to recognize. She couldn't argue the fact that she was a Sorceress.
"It's true, father. I am a Sorceress." She straightened up and looked him in the eye.
"What?" The Baroness demanded. "A Sorceress?"
"How ... How long?" the Baron sputtered.
"A while." Rotiaqua was not going to admit to anything more.
Rotiaqua saw the rage descend on her father's countenance. She wanted to tell him that there was nothing wrong with magic, but before she could speak, Sulrad was on his feet.
"She must come to the Temple for training, My Lord," Sulrad said. "She needs to learn discipline ... and restraint."
The Baron folded his arms across his chest, and shot Rotiaqua a look of disappointment. Clearly, she had hurt him; but would he actually allow this? Would he let the Priest take her to the Temple?
"You know how I feel about Wizards. Sulrad has agreed to train and restrain them in my realm. He will be able to teach you how to control your power and use it properly."
The Baroness laid a hand on the Baron's arm. "Are you sending our daughter away?"
"As a Wizard, she's disqualified from the rights of royalty. She cannot rule or marry anyone who might rule one day."
"You can't just send her away like that. She's our daughter." The Baroness turned to the Baron, her eyes glistening with tears.
"She's not my daughter any longer. She's a traitor, a Sorceress."
"But ..."
Before the Baroness could say another word, the Baron turned to Rotiaqua. "You ... are no longer my daughter. Go with him. He will keep you out of trouble."
"Rieck!" The Baroness said, her voice heavy. "Don't do this."
"Father, surely you cannot mean that," Rotiaqua begged. "Why do you trust him over me?"
"He's shown restraint and has agreed to use his magic only for the good of the realm. You need to learn to do the same." The Baron stood and turned his back on his wife and daughter.
"Father, I beg of you. Do not decide this now." Rotiaqua knew that if her father had some time to think it over, he'd probably change his mind. Once he'd decided, he would rarely reverse a decision.
"I've made up my mind. You go with him." The Baron waved his hand in dismissal without turning back. He stormed out of the room, leaving Rotiaqua and her mother with the Priest.
"Please, Mother." Rotiaqua reached out for the Baroness, but her mother withdrew from her touch, turning her head away.
Sulrad reached out and took Rotiaqua's hand. "You will grow to like the Temple. Perhaps even love it. I am building a great and powerful organization and you will be the first beside me." Sulrad stood up and motioned to the Guard.
Rotiaqua pulled away from his grasp. She stood up and started after her father, but the Guards grabbed her.
"You heard what the Baron said. Please take her to the Temple. See that you do not harm her."
Sulrad turned back to Rotiaqua and made motions in the air with his hands. He spoke words of power and Rotiaqua felt her will draining away. No longer did she wish to fight him. She allowed the Guards to escort her out.
Rotiaqua was taken to a comfortable chamber in the Temple and left alone. She tried the door and found it unlocked, but a spell kept her from walking out of the door once it was shut. Sulrad had put an enchantment on her that sapped her will and kept her docile. She tried to break the spell, but she didn't have the willpower to focus long enough on the task. Finally, frustrated and exhausted, she fell into a troubled sleep.
The next morning, Sulrad came to see her. "I trust you slept well?"
"I slept, but I would have slept well if I had slept in my own bed." Rotiaqua tried to fight his control as much as possible. Even this small step towards independent thought made her feel that there was hope of breaking free.
"This is your bed now." He waved his hand. "You have everything you need right here. You heard what your father said. You're no longer a royal. This is your new life; you will come to love it here.
"What I am building is grand and glorious. We will heal the sick and infirm. We will help countless people using my magic, and yours. Can you not see the good in that?"
"All the while, you are taking the Golds from the wealthy and turning away the poor who need your help the most. How can you call that doing good?" Rotiaqua demanded.
"Everything costs Golds. Nothing comes free, not even healing. How do you think I power my healing spells? From my own reserves?" He sat on the edge of the bed and faced her.
"If I used my own reserves to heal the sick, I would soon be impoverished and be unable to help anyone. I have to take power from wherever I can to drive spells like that. Surely you don't expect me to heal others at a cost to myself?"
"I know where you get your power." Rotiaqua recalled Zhimosom's description of the sacrifice of the young girl, Brill. Sulrad killed to obtain the power to heal.
"There must be a balance. In order to save a life, one must be given. It's not as if the small folk have much of a life anyway. Their existence is short and full of pain and hunger. They don't have a great deal to lose. By helping those able to pay, I can build a Temple that will stand forever and continue the good I start long after I am gone.
"Think it over. I can keep you under this spell for as long as it takes to make up your mind. Join me in this. Together we can spread the truth of Ran to the whole world."
He left her to ponder his words.
Rotiaqua struggled to contact Zhimosom again. This time, she was just able to reach him. He was in a cell near her.
Zhimosom sat on a stone bench and was chained to the wall. There was an enchantment on the cell that contained him, but it seemed weaker than before and now their connection was strong enough to pierce it.
"Where are you?" Zhimosom asked.
"I'm in the temple, locked in a cell," Rotiaqua said.
"What happened? How did you get here?"
"My father disowned me and handed me over to the Priest. What am I going to do?"
"How did that happen?"
"Sulrad came to see us at breakfast. Sulrad told my father that he had captured you. I tried to contact you to see if it was true, but you were blocked. Sulrad must have felt my magic, because he threw a fireball at me. When I defended myself, my father got angry and handed me over to Sulrad."
"How could he just send you away like that?" Zhimosom asked. "How about your mother?"
"She doesn't agree with father, but she won't argue with him. When he makes up his mind, he won't go back. It's a point of honor for him. I won't get any help from him."
"Can you escape? Are you locked in a cell like I am?" Zhimosom asked.
"No. I'm in a regular room, but it's enchanted so I can't leave it. Sulrad has put some type of spell on me to keep me from trying to escape. I don’t know how to break it.
"We have to get out of the Temple and away from your father's lands. We have to find a way to defeat Sulrad. I'm not strong enough to take him on directly," Zhimosom said. "He's gaining strength every day. I can feel the magic in him. It's a mixture of those he's killed, and something more."
"What do you mean, more?" Rotiaqua was not as attuned to magic as Zhimosom was. He was younger, but his power was growing more quickly than her own. In the summer they'd been in contact, she had seen him grow in stature and in power.
"He has accessed something that's not human," Zhimosom said. "It's powerful and magic. I sense more than just a life force in him. He's taking magic from something else. He's creating a store for it in the Temple, so that he can draw on it. I'm not sure how he's doing it, but if he keeps it up, I will never be able to defeat him.
"I tried to access it myself," Zhimosom continued. "It felt wrong, as if the magic were contaminated or corrupted. It felt as if it would infect me with its evil if I tried to use it. I can feel it in the Priest, too. He's tainted by it, as if his whole being has been corrupted."
"Stay away from it," Rotiaqua said. "You don't want to end up like him. He's trying to convince me to join him. He s
peaks of healing and helping, but freely admits to taking the life of those he considers unworthy.
"I heard him talking with my father. All he really wants is to build the Temple to gain riches and control the nobles and the wealthy. Father agrees with him since that is his desire, too. They make a great pair."
"I have to find a way to defeat him before he kills me."
"Do you think that's what he has in mind?"
"Yes. If he killed Brill to take her life's energy, he will surely want to take mine. We have to get out of here."
"Think hard on it. You can come up with something." Rotiaqua was so exhausted that she simply let the connection fade. It didn't look good for Zhimosom.
Sulrad entered Rotiaqua's room unannounced. He sat on the bed and woke her from her magically induced slumber. "There will be a sacrifice tonight. I want you to come and observe."
Rotiaqua tried to raise enough resistance to say no, but all she could manage was a slight wiggle of her head as she fought against the spell.
"It will be educational. You will learn how we can heal the sick and provide for the people you care so much about.
"Besides, I have a Wizard to sacrifice tonight. I have discovered an ancient spell that can bind the magic of a dying Wizard into the stones in the altar. I can store almost infinite power in the Temple that way. Then we really can heal anyone without suffering a loss of personal magic."
Rotiaqua fought against the spell. Was it Zhimosom he planned to sacrifice? She had to break free, to warn him, to help him. She tried to contact Zhimosom, but she could not. Had Sulrad done something to him in preparation for the evening's sacrifice? Was he under the same spell as she was?
She fell back into a troubled sleep, exhausted by her efforts.
Sulrad came for her early that evening, just before sunset. "It's almost time," Sulrad said as he walked her to the altar room.
As they entered the room, Rotiaqua felt a strange concentration of power. There was something else in the room that felt like a Wizard, only it was muddy and indistinct, a mixture of magic from more than one source.
Wizard Pair (Book 3) Page 11