Gaston nodded as he accepted that inevitable fate. “And one other question, Miss Reya: now that all of this is happening, will you be joining us as well? I could use an advisor with your knowledge.”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied. “Something makes me think I’ll be no more welcome in Sungarden than the others. I’d be happy to be included in the accord, if you’ll have me.”
“Welcome aboard,” the sage offered. He turned to Lucinda and Adelia then. “Would you point our new captain of the guard to the empty chamber down at the end of the hall that Miss Kreegan and I share?”
Neither woman could hide their smile as they reached Reya. Together, they led her out of the council room, leaving Gaston alone with Edric.
“I feel like you’re not entirely sure about this,” the mercenary said.
Gaston chortled to himself. “I’ve never openly faced down the capital before. I have no doubts about these people. But if Romsford hates them as much as everyone believes he does…”
“Would you like me to stay here a while and help look after things?”
The sage paused and arched his eyebrow. “Actually, my friend, I think there is somewhere else you’d be far more valuable to me.”
Chapter Twelve: The Hunt is on
Polite smiles were offered to the new residents of Forsynthia, but the young lady didn’t dare to stop. After helping the captain of the guard acclimate to her new living quarters, Adelia left the former lieutenant and Lucinda alone, her sights set outside to the courtyard and beyond. She yawned, as futile an attempt as any to stave off her fatigue.
The light of morning had given way to a setting sun. With all that time passed, she felt she had missed time with a dear friend. It didn’t take long to find him.
Merlin sat among the wildflowers, extending his arm so a delicate blue butterfly could land upon his fingers. He was entranced by the interaction, so much so he didn’t notice his friend’s arrival.
The sage’s assistant took her seat beside him, noticing the twitch of his body when he realized he was no longer alone. He flicked his wrist, urging the butterfly away.
“After that unexpected adventure, it’s nice to be back here, enjoying the simpler things, don’t you think?” she asked.
“It’s certainly better than attending a ball or partaking in a silly dance.”
Adelia gave her companion a playful push. “You better have been talking about the one with the magistrate’s daughter and not me.”
He smiled. “It wasn’t because of either of you. I just feel strange moving around like that. There’s a lack of rhythm and no coordination.”
“That’s because you’re used to walking around on four feet instead of two.” He looked at her with an arched eyebrow. “You do remember being a cat, right?”
A flash of remembrance was accompanied by hesitation. “Of course,” Merlin stammered.
“It’s the whole reason we ventured to Sungarden in the first place,” Adelia pressed. “Lucinda doesn’t know the strength of her own magic.”
He shrugged. “Maybe it’s not subsiding for a reason. Maybe I’m meant to stay this way.”
“Would you want to stay this way?”
“Shouldn’t I?” he wondered. “There’s more to enjoy about this life than the one I had. Chasing after birds and butterflies is nothing compared to exploring cities from this vantage. And the food! And of course, talking to you…”
“Don’t you miss being pet and scratched just right?” she teased.
He narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been spending too much time with Lucinda.”
“Perhaps.”
He bowed his head and looked at his feet. “There is one thing I miss, though—one thing I remember more vividly than anything else.”
“What is it?”
The former cat chuckled to himself. “I’ve been human long enough to know this is going to end up sounding far less innocent than it should. At the risk of embarrassing either of us, I’ll just come right out and say it. I…I miss curling up in your bed beside you.”
Her cheeks warmed as she bore a grin. “No, we can’t have any more of that.”
“No, of course not.”
“That said, for as long as you’re stuck this way, we should think of other sleeping arrangements. Maybe Gaston has another cot or something.” She rose and swept her hands down her dress. “Are you coming?” Adelia asked.
“In a bit,” Merlin replied. “The lumibugs should be out shortly, and I want to see them with these eyes.”
“All right,” she said. The girl gave his shoulder a light squeeze before she turned back toward the keep.
Never had Adelia seen Forsynthia so busy. The refugees of Sungarden brought clumps of straw from the meager stable and set it down in the courtyard. Lucinda was happy to share her magic, and the straw was transformed into a thin mattress. It wasn’t much, but it was better than sleeping on the ground.
“Now remember,” Lucinda repeated to another new resident. “This isn’t going to last forever. We’ll have to get you something more permanent when we can. But if you’re planning on sleeping well into the morning, you’ll be in for a rude awakening.”
Adelia stifled a chortle and kept to her path. The steps of the keep felt warm and inviting, not at all like the long stretches of Sungarden. There was something liberating about knowing her destination was never far. As she reached the top of the steps, her eyes pointed toward the sage’s door. She was happier than ever with the future that was possible for her.
“Miss…Adelia was it?” she heard.
The sage’s assistant turned and saw the man they had traveled to Sungarden for. He strolled down that hall, away from Reya’s new quarters, and offered his rescuer a wide smile.
“In all the chaos of escaping the city and fleeing here, I never had the chance to properly thank you,” Orson said.
“Well, you were the one we came to see,” she said. “It would have been in poor taste not to offer our aid.”
“Indeed, and as of yet, I’ve been unable to reciprocate that kindness. You came to Sungarden looking to help your friend, didn’t you?”
Adelia nodded. “I thought that was what I wanted. I thought that was what was right for him.”
“I’m still coming into these powers of mine,” he admitted. “When I first took the concoction I thought would rid me of my curse, I knew so little of what had happened. But after working with Olimer to understand…” He sighed and offered a smile. “I’m growing stronger, but I still have a way to go before I would be able to negate the magic keeping Merlin in this form. The one keeping him that way doesn’t know her own strength, it seems.”
“Oh, Lucinda knows it, I’m sure,” Adelia said. “But she never misses the opportunity to do something that would cause a nice headache.”
Orson offered up a sheepish grin. “In any case, we’ll figure out some way to help your friend—maybe sooner than you think.”
The sage’s assistant shrugged and turned to lean on the bannister. “Speak of the cheeky devil, here comes Merlin now.”
Beside the transformed cat were two others, their solemn gazes apparent even from afar. Merlin didn’t seem concerned, but he kept his attention locked to his friend.
“Are those two yours?” Adelia asked.
Narrowing his eyes, Orson peered down into the courtyard. His jaw dropped, and the bannister protested under the tension of his grasp. “That’s Dale and Captain Plumstead,” he revealed. “Don’t do anything to provoke them. They’re Romsford’s men.”
“Where are you going?” the girl asked.
“Reya will know what to do,” Orson assured.
While the shapeshifter went off to find his friend, Adelia sought counsel of her own. She ran down the hall and rapped on Gaston’s door. When she heard him shuffling about inside, she turned and sprinted down the stairs.
“Get away from them, Merlin,” she bade.
He raised his hands to placate her. “It’s all right,” he a
ssured. “They’ve come as friends.”
“That’s the one we locked in the prison,” Adelia said. “Do you really think he’s going to want to be friends?”
“While he was locked in that antechamber, Dale told us about Reya’s warnings—about the rescuers going to meet the werebears at the docks,” that unfamiliar man said. Plumstead had a trustworthy face, but the wrinkles on his brow defied the sense of calmness. “I know Reya better than she knows herself. I knew it was a ruse the moment Dale told me.”
“You said you’ve come as friends, but you’re still here. You still tracked us down,” the aspiring sorceress pressed.
“Aye, we did,” Plumstead agreed. “And we’re not the only ones—merely the first. Ivan and his unwavering fools will track the werebears here as well, and he isn’t coming to parlay.”
“Adelia, Merlin,” she heard. “Get away from them!”
As Reya raced down the open corridor of the keep, the former captain of Sungarden’s guards draped his arms over his chest. “Really, Lieutenant? You take me for the sort that would harm children?”
“I don’t know what sort to take you for,” she growled as she sped down the steps. “You seemed content to let Ivan’s prisoners make their way to the noose. What of those children?”
“What would you have me do?” he protested. “I was already demoted. If I pushed too hard, it’d be my head on the chopping block. What of my family then? What of my children?”
“Oh, that’s a convenient excuse, isn’t it?”
“Both of you, shut up,” Dale growled. “Captain, you’re wasting time here, and Lieutenant, some of us didn’t come to bicker. No matter the poor choices some of us have made in the past few days, a worse decision has been made more recently. Ivan is marching here with an army. He will find his way here eventually. You and the werebears need to find a place to hide.”
“That won’t be necessary,” another voice prevailed. Everyone in the courtyard turned to see the man on the balcony. Gaston furrowed his bushy eyebrows and shook his head. “The latest citizens of Forsynthia will not be chased from their new home because of some tyrant and his inane bigotry.”
Plumstead took a step forward and brought a hand to his eyes to stifle the sun. “Sir, I don’t think you understand. Lord Romsford has come here to wage war on your new citizens. If he thinks your keep is their new sanctuary, he’ll reduce it to rubble.”
“He’ll certainly try,” the sage answered. “Reya: let the others know of the captain’s warning. I’ll not keep anyone here against their will, but I also promise to keep them safe should they remain.”
“You can’t make that promise,” Plumstead insisted.
Adelia sprinted up the stairs and reached her mentor. “Master Camlann, I don’t know that you and Lucinda and I can fend off Sungarden’s troops.”
The sage placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder. “If we’re lucky, we won’t have to. Go find Lydick and tell him I need to see him in my chambers. And tell Reya to keep her former captain waiting until I have found the patience to tolerate him.”
A weary grin spread over her face. As her master turned about, she set off to abide him.
When Gaston entered his chamber, he expelled a deep sigh. When that was cast out, he whistled a cheery tune. As if the horrible news outside had never reached him, he went about his business, whistling and clearing his study until a bluebird landed upon the stone windowsill.
That bird mimicked the tune and coerced a new smile from the old wizard.
“Homer, my old friend,” the sage said. “I have an important task for you.”
Chapter Thirteen: Preparations
She awoke with the sun, a ray of light scattering across the stone floor through the open window. Adelia had never felt so tired in all her years, she surmised. As she rubbed the heels of her hands against her eyes, she heard the orders barked outside. The sound of steel upon steel was echoing in the courtyard.
Adelia threw on her outfit as quick as she could, and she noticed just before she opened the door that it was on backward. She blew out an exasperated sigh as she corrected that mistake.
When she stepped into the corridor and peered over the rail, she saw that war had not yet come to Forsynthia. Reya and the former captain stood before the new residents of the city, grooming them for the battle soon to come. Shining swords and sturdy shields were in every pair of able hands.
“Ah, you’re up,” she heard a voice just down that stretch of hallway. Lucinda sauntered toward her, the dark blemishes beneath her eyes not lost to the younger sorceress. “Your Master Camlann kept me up long into the night,” she teased.
“Why did no one wake me before all this began?” Adelia demanded.
“What would you have us do, dear?” the elder sorceress asked. “You expect us to give you a sword and send you out to meet the magistrate in the fields?”
“These people aren’t soldiers or warriors,” the aspiring arcanist pressed.
“And neither are you,” another voice called out. She saw the old sage then, Gaston looking weary beneath a wide-brimmed hat. “Miss Kreegan, everyone has a role to play in today’s encounter with Romsford. Yours does not include foolishly throwing your life away.”
“But Gast—”
“You may address me as Master Camlann if you choose to use that tone with me,” he challenged. It was the first time she had heard him speak harshly since she arrived in Forsynthia. “Young lady, when you made this keep your home, we agreed to an unspoken rule: that you would trust my judgment and know I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Keep to the code, Miss Kreegan,” he bade. “Trust in me.”
She stood straighter upon hearing that lecture. Swallowing away her pride, she offered a meager nod.
“You have nothing to worry about, dear,” Lucinda added. “Even though you don’t know what it is yet, there’s a place for you in this grand scheme of ours. You’re one of the most important pieces, in fact.”
“And how is that?” Adelia asked, though she sounded a bit deflated.
“All in due time,” Gaston bade. “Our first order of business is making the proper arrangements. The battlefield must be prepared, our ‘soldiers’ need to appear to be ready to fight against a superior force, and we must assure this keep will stand against Ivan’s attack.”
“He’ll have pursued too quickly, Gaston,” Lucinda said. “There won’t be any siege engines or ladders. He probably doesn’t even know Forsynthia exists.”
The sage smiled. “He will after today.”
“So what is the plan?” Adelia asked. “Even with some training, the refugees won’t be able to hold their own against the guards Ivan brings with him.”
“Perhaps,” Gaston said. “Perhaps not. They’re not soldiers and not an invasion force. We may not be as outmatched as you think.”
“Speaking of,” Lucinda added. “Now may be the time for us to take care of a small matter of business.”
Though she spoke in her familiar, salacious tone, Gaston merely nodded. “Quite right. We’re running out of time. Reya has taken good care of the training, and those weapons you provided should last a little while longer at the very least.” He turned to his pupil and offered as warm a smile as he could. “When we return, Miss Kreegan, I shall inform you of your role in this grand play. In the meantime, do watch over the keep for me, won’t you?”
She watched as the older pair of arcanists took their leave. Adelia had noticed Gaston’s quiet departures here and there for some time. Usually, he withdrew into a room in the keep she had never been invited into. That time, he and Lucinda descended the steps and passed the training militia, venturing into the gardens beyond the walls.
Her eyes never followed them there, for she noticed another would-be defender amongst the ranks below. He sweat beside the others and seemed at home with a sword in his hand, even though he had only had that hand for a few days.
“Merlin?” Adelia cried.
The former feline look
ed up at his friend but winced as a sword poked him in the chest. “Ouch!” he exclaimed. “What was that for?”
Reya furrowed her brow and stepped forward. “You can never let your guard down,” she said. “Do you think Ivan’s men will care if you’re too busy looking at your friend to parry a blow?”
Merlin squared his jaw, still unfamiliar with being reprimanded. He was caught off-guard even further when Forsynthia’s new guard captain was herself the target of ire.
Adelia stormed down the steps the two older arcanists had descended moments before. She pointed at Reya, and everyone who knew of her powers tensed at the sight of her angry approach. “Don’t you dare yell at him like that. Not only is he unfamiliar with a sword and a shield, he’s not even used to this form.”
“All the more reason he needs a firm hand,” Reya pressed. “Everyone here is going to depend on the person next to them. We can’t go easy just because it suits us.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have drafted him to fight in your battle.”
“I didn’t,” Reya insisted.
As those words took root in her mind, Adelia arched an eyebrow. She turned to Merlin, waiting for a response.
He swallowed away the tension and nodded. “I volunteered.”
“Why would you do that?” she asked.
The transformed feline shrugged. “I wanted to protect my home. I wanted to protect you.”
Adelia squared her jaw and pushed past him. As he protested, she proceeded beyond the keep’s portcullis and into those sprawling gardens. In the distance, beyond the flowers and topiary guardians, she could see the two powerful arcanists working their magic. Trails of sparks left their hands, and bright lights blinded them momentarily. She inched forward, her eyes narrowed.
The girl nearly jumped from her skin when she felt the gentle touch on her back. Merlin had his hands up in apology before she finished turning.
Transformed (Ancestral Magic Book 2) Page 11