by Guy Antibes
Snively shook his head. “Never. They almost revered her. The Vashtans have a healthy respect of all things Colcanan,” he said.
Neel’s discomfort didn’t lessen. “That can only mean another pair replaced Berin and Leaf. Doing it surreptitiously makes me uneasy.”
“She couldn’t have been nicer to me,” Valanna said.
“That’s Leaf,” Neel said. “As a spy, she is an artist. She knows how to be genuine and how to deceive at the same time. That was why her presence in Pestle was so important. I’ll have to go into Pestledown and talk to Esmera. If she hasn’t heard of a replacement, I will have to find the spy myself. We can’t afford not to know where all the players are, and that means Marom’s other spies.”
“Marom has spies other than…” Valanna thought of Podor Feely. “Of course he does. Will Asem tell us?”
Neel looked over at Asem, who glanced his way. “Probably not.”
“Are you leave me?” Mori said, looking at Neel with some concern.
Valanna was sure something had blossomed between them.
“I’ll take care of Mori. Don’t worry,” Valanna said.
~
Neel sat with Asem, Ferikan, and Able in the tavern side of Beltfeeler’s. Neel wanted Snively to join them, but he remained too frail from his beating to sit for long.
“You mentioned a name to Valanna?” Asem said, once they had introduced Ferikan to Asem.
“Leaf Gougepenny. She left with Berin.”
Asem sat up a bit straighter. “My friend, the Colcanan?”
Neel nodded.
“You think she was replaced?” Asem said.
“Almost certain. And it was a surreptitious replacement. She visited Valanna and used the political situation as an excuse,” Neel said.
“Valanna told me about her visits. They did seem rather overt, didn’t they?” Asem said.
Able drank and listened. “So you think the Colcanans are playing their own game? I can believe that after they went after Trak the night he stayed in Colcan before rejoining us in Kizru.”
Asem and Neel smiled. “You have the gist,” Neel said. “Just as you always do.”
“How can that change what we do here?” Asem said. “Half of a pair only keeps them informed.”
Neel looked at Asem. “Who said one person replaced Leaf? Valanna said Berin came in a Colcanan ship.”
“I intensely dislike complications. I dislike it even more when I have to suspect a longtime friend has leapt to the other side.”
Neel nodded, yet again. “That is exactly it. Colcan is now on the other side, whatever that is.”
~~~
Chapter Twenty-Two
~
Tembul took a modest set of rooms closer to Princess Pullia’s quarters at her request once he was well enough to leave the healer’s hospital. Trak now had a place to go when the seamstresses and boot makers descended on Lia. Trak walked into Tembul’s tiny suite. The Toryan sat up in an upholstered chair, exercising his upper body with a handful of fireplace tools
“Have you heard anything from Sirul?” Trak asked, as Tembul put the tools on the hearth.
“He came yesterday. Evidently he has become increasingly active in the Separatist faction that wants independence from Kandanna.”
“Not the Monarchists?” Trak said in mock horror. “He didn’t waste any time.”
That brought a smile to Tembul’s lips. “No. The factions have gotten more active, not less. I did meet with the Eastern Toryan ambassador. He wants me to spy on you. It looks like they might have given up trying to kill you.”
“For now,” Trak said. “I have no friend in Eastern Torya.”
“You have me,” Tembul said.
“You’re not in Eastern Torya, the last time I checked.”
Tembul looked long at Trak. “You really do like Lia, don’t you?”
Trak nodded. “I guess I’m attracted to foreign women.” He sighed. “She’s not Valanna, but I can’t pine away for a married woman, can I?”
“No. I’m glad you found a worthy substitute. Lia is a strong, smart woman. Different from Valanna and prettier, in my opinion.”
Trak disagreed. “They each have their own appeal,” Trak said. “If you put them both together, I really don’t know which one I’d choose. Is it crazy of me to love two women?”
“You’re asking me that? I’ve been married to the same woman for twenty years. My children are gone. I’m happy enough she hasn’t left me in all of that time.” Tembul squirmed in his seat a bit to get more comfortable. “Valanna is out of reach. She might fade away, given time. Lia is here and loves you as much or more than Valanna did.”
“She does,” Trak said. “We are both afraid of what will happen in the future.”
Tembul shrugged, but the act brought out a wince. “I think my scouting days are over. The healer said I have injuries that will never properly heal. Like your feelings for Valanna, I reckon. You never had a chance to worry about a future with her. I think all you can do is take it a day at a time and enjoy each day.”
Trak grinned. “Good. That is what we are doing. Any talk of the future at this point is just talk.” Trak cleared his throat. “I didn’t come here to talk about my love life, such as it is. What do you think you can do from your room to help us figure out what is happening in Zamiel and beyond?
“I’ve already started. When people come to me, in a sense, they are a captive audience. I know that the maid who changes my bedclothes is a Monarchist, and the maid who makes the fire every morning is as much a committed Separatist as Sirul. I am set to meet an old scout friend who is attached to the Eastern Toryan ambassador. He accompanied the ambassador and lingered for a moment. From what I can tell, the servants in this castle are in the know as much as anyone else. The only thing I can do as I recuperate is listen and tell stories, right?”
“Right,” echoed Trak. “I won’t come to visit too often.”
“Good idea, but don’t leave me all alone. I like you, lad, and want to know what’s going on with the Princess Pullia faction. There are at least two of you in the castle.”
“At least,” Trak said.
~
Tembul had, at first, seemed like a broken man, sitting alone in his room, but Trak realized that Tembul had turned into a chatterbox. Uncharacteristically, the Toryan became friends with a lot of people. Within a week’s time, Tembul had more of an idea about the challenges Princess Pullia faced than Trak could manage.
His new knowledge did not comfort him. Kandanna was massing forces on their border with Western Torya. Eastern Torya had troops sitting at the top of Lizanti Pass and there were rumors that they had been leaking fighters through the boulders of Dianzan Pass and grouping in the forest south of Coriasku. Gastal began raising taxes both for money and for food supplies during the end of winter, when most people’s family stores were getting low. That depleted the support that he had among the people, so the Monarchists had few supporters, except they still commanded the city guard and held power in the city.
Trak remembered that Valanna had told him about Harl doing the same thing in Pestle. Sirul had told Tembul that there were enough separatists to rise up when something sparked a revolt. He had to break the news to Princess Pullia that Western Torya looked much worse than Santasia ever did, where the Loyalists outnumbered the rebels everywhere but Espozia.
They strolled through bookshelves in the Royal Library. It looked like no one really used it.
“I’m going to see if there are any novels. I have nothing to do, now that my wardrobe has been taken care of.”
Trak agreed that Lia had to do something, but burying herself in novels wasn’t what she needed. He didn’t think the library was the proper time to talk about it, so he let her peruse the shelves while he searched for the magic section.
There were fewer books on magic than Trak expected, but then he realized that there might be a dedicated library somewhere. He wandered around the library and came across a doo
r that said ‘Special Collection’. He lifted the latch, but it didn’t budge. That didn’t have to be a barrier to him, so he attempted to jiggle the latch to loosen it with his power and encountered magical resistance.
“Worry,” he said and sat on the windowsill for a few moments. He tried the latch again and it opened the door. Trak smiled as he entered the dark musty room.
He spelled a bright light and found that the room hadn’t been cleaned in a very, very long time. He used his magic to clean enough of the room and left a pile of dust and cobwebs in a corner.
One line of shelves held personal histories of rulers. Trak didn’t know how far back they went since they used an unfamiliar dating system. As far as Trak could tell, the newest date was over twenty years ago, before Trak was born. He found the books on magic and looked over the titles. A book title in Pestlan drew him in. ‘Magic of the Mind’ written by J. Youngblood, Court Magician to the Pestlan King.
Could this be a copy of the book that Jojo had talked to Trak about? The name must be that of Trak’s grandfather. Any copies of this book would have been destroyed long ago in Pestle.
He pulled it off of the shelf and began to skim the words. This was the very volume that Jojo told him was the source of Trak’s poseless magic. He tucked it under his arm, now knowing what he would do to keep Lia busy. She could learn poseless magic.
Tembul might never really use it, but perhaps Lia’s magic potential might give her more ability. He could always return to the special collection room. Before he left, Trak created a wind in the corner where the dust lay and let it blow with the door closed. He peeked back inside and saw that the dust had settled in much the same places where he had found it. He spelled the door shut with a pose and went to find Lia.
She had found a novel and kept reading, even though Trak stood on the other side of a reading table. Lia looked up and narrowed her eyes.
“I can’t continue to read this,” she said and closed the book and slammed it on the table. “I think it’s time I learned something useful.”
Trak grinned and lifted up the book. “Can you read Pestlan?”
She made a face at him. “Not well.”
“Then you can learn while we read this book together.”
Lia smiled at him and leaned back in the seat and folded her arms. “Why?”
“Jojo used this book to learn his version of poseless magic.”
Lia blinked her eyes. “You found that here?”
Trak pointed behind him. “Back in a corner is a special collection room.”
She laughed. “You got in there? Of course you did. Someone spelled the room locked and then had the temerity to die before he told anyone what the spell was. No one has gone in that room since before I was born.”
“You were a baby,” Trak said and told her the latest date that he could find.”
“Same thing. I’ll take this to fool people,” Lia said, picking up the novel. “You should find something, too.”
~
Trak looked up from the book. He had just told Lia about splitting his mind, and she sat cross-legged on the floor with her eyes closed.
She frowned into a pout. “Do I have to do this?”
Trak nodded. “If you don’t, then it makes it easier to have someone distract you. Creating a spell while distracted can be deadly. You’ve been taught that, haven’t you?”
Lia opened her eyes. “Ever since I was a little girl!” She shut one eye again. “Didn’t you say you learned this while trying to view another person’s power?”
“I did.”
She smiled and turned herself so that she faced him. “I’ll look at you then,” she said. “I hope I won’t be too distracted.” She giggled.
“I’m serious, Lia. It is much easier to control the spells when you can split your mind. Sirul and Tembul learned. Well, Tembul learned, and you have more power than he does.”
“So you say,” she said. “I need to be like Princess Pullia?”
“No. Anger, arrogance, and resentment will only keep you from being relaxed,” Trak said. “Close both your eyes and breathe deeply. Keep them closed and try to see my power flows. That was the easiest step for me.”
Lia settled herself again and put her hands on her knees. She said nothing for awhile.
“Pulses right? I see pink pulses.”
Trak smiled. That was what Jojo had seen. “You are right.” He put her through a series of tests to see if she could really tell what poses he made.
Lia laughed and clapped her hands. “I did that without the pose!”
“The book says that is the easiest, most benign step.”
A week later, Lia succeeded in splitting her mind. They both walked through the halls of the castle and jotted down the flows that they had seen. Lia had been correct most of the time when she compared her findings with Trak.
“Why can’t I do this as well as you?” she said after they had returned from their last walk and compared notes.
Trak removed the shield on his power. “Look at me now.”
Lia closed both eyes. “Oh,” she said with a small voice. “Your power is really different than everyone else’s, isn’t it?”
He nodded his head. “You didn’t believe me?”
Lia waved her hands. “I did, I did. But now that I’ve seen all the others, even a Vashtan’s, you are special!”
“So are you,” Trak said and put his arms around Lia. “I have more power, but you definitely have more beauty.”
She looked up at him. “I’ll count us equals then?”
“In our own ways,” he smiled and kissed her nose.
“What’s next?”
Trak disengaged and put his hand to his chin. Lia was still holding her arms around his waist. “Not teleportation. I made that mistake with Tembul, and he never did properly learn. Let’s do a ball of flame. That was my first attempt.” He went over the precautions and reviewed with her how to call the flame from the power in her body without using a visualization of the pose.
It took her two days, but she was able to create a ball of flame, make it go up and down, and change colors.”
“That is the trick that you did at dinner!” Lia said. “I can do it now.” She beamed at him.
“Not quite, but close. This time I want you to make a flame that has heat and a flame that has no heat.”
“How can I do that?”
“You call up an illusion. What I did at the dinner was an illusion. If you put your hand through the flame you wouldn’t feel a thing. It is more like a spelled light. The pose for that creates a heatless flame.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
Trak nodded.
~
With Trak’s help Tembul walked all the way from his room. Tembul had never walked that far since his severe beating. His face was shiny with sweat, but he had done it and finally collapsed into a chair in Lia’s sitting room. To see him walk that far made Trak proud of him.
“How do you feel?”
Tembul snorted. “Like I’ve run a few leagues in the forest.” He shook his head. “I suppose I am still alive.”
“Lia has something she wants to show you.”
“The princess?”
Lia nodded. “Trak and I have practiced for two weeks.” She looked excited, and that just made her more appealing to Trak. Lia took a deep breath and put out her hands away from her body. “Watch.” She floated up and raised her hands to touch the ceiling and then floated around the room and lowered herself right in front of Tembul.
“You’ve done a good job, Trak. That was impressive. She showed good control,” Tembul said.
“Are you going to compliment Trak or are you going to say what an excellent job I did?”
Tembul smiled. “Princesses need to be shown the world doesn’t revolve around them.”
Lia waved his comment away. “You should have seen me practice. The world definitely doesn’t revolve around me. It was hard work.”
“Better than I ever
did,” Tembul admitted.
“So far,” Trak said.
“What do you mean so far?” Tembul furrowed his brow.
“Look at his power, Lia.”
“He is strong. Maybe not quite as strong as Princess Pullia.” She grinned.
“Do you think he can float around like you?” Trak said.
“Most definitely.” Lia looked at Tembul. “Your body might never be the same, and posing right now is painful for you.”
“Some poses are impossible,” he said.
“So we want you to join us. Learn poseless magic.”
“I’ll never scout again,” Tembul said.
Trak put his arm on Tembul’s shoulder after he sat on his haunches in front of him. “Who said anything about scouting? Don’t you think you can find other ways to use your magic? Maybe you could spend some time in the old capital, poking around and discovering how your forefathers lived?”
Tembul looked out the window for a few moments. “I’d like to do that. With poseless magic, could I move large rocks?”
Trak shrugged. “You know you can’t teleport them, but moving might be easier. You can give it a try.”
“I will, once we have finished up here.” He looked up at Trak. “Thank you. I needed you to bring me here and give me a future.”
“You’ve only just begun. Now that you’ve seen Lia’s demonstration, what have you heard?”
Tembul leaned back in his chair. “More of the same. The rumors keep coming, and I think they are more than rumors. Perhaps you can go outside the city and look for armies. It’s like there are rival packs of wolves ready to strike the same target.”
“That is a frightening thought,” Lia said.
“Think it. That’s reality, Lia. You’ve got to get out of this room and let people see you. Most of the people in the city think you never even came to Zamiel,” Tembul said.
“Oh.” Lia put her hand to her mouth. “Is it that bad?”
Tembul nodded. “Trak, you’ve been too complacent, too. Your Golden Moments have got to stop, and both of you have to become visible to have any hope of holding on to anything when the wolves choose to attack.”
“I’ll go tonight and do some poking around to see what is happening out there with my own eyes,” Trak said.