“I could have told you that,” Olin replied at his driest. His gesture indicated a room that he’d turned inside out while Adamon was communing with the Quintessential Sphere.
“Perhaps, but now we have the evidence we need to take the girl into custody. Between what we’ve found and the witnesses, we can bring a solid case against Janessa and ensure that justice is done.”
“You mean censure,” Olin said.
Adamon shrugged.
“The sentence isn’t for me to decide. I make my recommendations, and the High Council will have their say.”
“How many times have they gone against you?” Olin snorted.
“Not many,” Adamon conceded. “But how many times have we brought the daughter of two prominent Masters before them?”
“Fair point.”
The men retraced their steps through the rooms, down the corridor, and out into the courtyard beyond. Long strides carried them with urgent purpose, so urgent that they nearly ran down the very girls they were searching for. Janessa stood before them, her fists jammed against her hips, her chin lifted at a haughty tilt.
“What in the nine hells is going on in here?”
“You have impeccable timing, Apprentice,” Adamon said. “We were just coming to retrieve you.”
“Retrieve me? For what? Do you have any idea who my parents are?” Janessa demanded.
“I do indeed, and I should think that they will be very curious why the daughter of two such powerful Quintessentialists, who sit on the High Council, could possibly be so stupid as to steal an artifact that she doesn’t understand and can’t hope to control from the Hall of Wonders.”
“I stole nothing,” she spat. “You can’t prove it.”
Nixi, Halsie, and Syble murmured their agreement. Adamon turned his glare on them and the girls quickly fell silent.
“I can,” Adamon countered, taking Janessa by the arm. “And I will.” He turned his gaze to the girls who were still hovering about. “The three of you leave, now. Before I decide to put you all in the dungeon and leave you there.”
Without waiting for them to reply, Adamon guided Janessa along the path, toward the Great Tower. When the girl began to struggle, Olin stepped forward and took her by the other arm. Although he could have managed on his own, Adamon was thankful for the assistance. Olin may not have the skills that he had, but he was a good inquisitor, nonetheless. Perhaps even good enough to be spared the sharp edge of Adamon’s tongue…at least for a time.
As they proceeded toward the tower, they crossed paths with a patrolling guard. Adamon stopped him with a word.
“Yes, Grand Inquisitor?”
“Please send a message to all the gate guards. I’m looking for an Apprentice and an Acolyte. They’ll be outside the Academy grounds. When they return, I want them to report to the Great Tower at once. There is a matter of importance they must attend to.”
“Of course, Master Vendur. Shall I have them escorted in?”
Adamon considered that. Volinette and the boy were young enough and unjaded by the power of prestige to be tempted to dawdle when summoned by the Grand Inquisitor. The fear of reprisal would be enough to keep them moving.
“No, that isn’t necessary. Just pass along the message.”
~~~
Dark, narrow, and rickety, the stairs leading up to the tower were barely wide enough for a grown man to climb. They spiraled up in darkness. Volinette would have thought twice about going if it weren’t for the fact that Baris was ahead of her, urging her to hurry. He stopped short and she ran into him from behind.
“Hey!” she groused. “A little warning?”
“Sorry. Hold on.”
There was a bang, a screech, and a groan as Baris did something she couldn’t see. Then a flood of light poured down from above them, dazzling her eyes. Baris took her hand and led her up the last few steps and out onto a planked platform that was only just large enough for both of them to stand on.
Volinette had never felt particularly afraid of heights. In fact, she rather enjoyed the brief view of the city she’d gotten from the Head Master’s office, but this was different. The tower was old and not well maintained. The thin railing that circled the four posts that held up the pyramid roof didn’t look like it would withstand a strong wind, much less someone using it to keep from plummeting to their inevitable death in the courtyard below.
While it wasn’t close to as high as the Great Tower, it was high enough to loom over every other building in the city and give an unrestricted view of the Academy grounds. Volinette could see the fountain in the courtyard where she liked to read. It looked like a craftsman’s model, and she very much wished that she were perched on the edge of the fountain rather than standing where it felt like she might fall at any moment.
“It’s pretty, Baris, but I want to go down,” she said in a tight voice. She swallowed against the lump in her throat, determined not to glance down into the courtyard a second time.
“We can see what’s going on at the Academy from up here. Don’t you want to know if they find Janessa?”
“Can’t we just do that with your cube?”
Baris ducked his head. “Naw, Adamon took it from me as soon as we left the Head Master’s office. He said I’d get it back, but…”
He shrugged, indicating what Volinette already knew. There was no telling when Baris would get the bauble back. Adamon was going to be occupied for the foreseeable future.
“Hey, look,” Baris grabbed her by the arm and dragged her far too near the railing for her peace of mind. As her eyes followed where he was pointing, her fear of being up in the tower evaporated.
It wasn’t hard to decipher the scene that was taking place outside the girls’ dormitory. Adamon in his traveling cloak and Olin in his robes were confronting Janessa and the girls. They were too high and too far away to hear what was being said, but Olin was visibly angry. He moved his arms in quick, short motions that conveyed his frustration, even over the great distance.
One Inquisitor took each of Janessa’s arms and marched her, quite against her will by the way she was struggling, toward the tower. Still, as powerful and wily as Janessa was, she was no match for two fully grown men who had rid the Imperium of rogue mages and other threats to the Orders. They disappeared into the tower, and Volinette let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“Yeah,” Baris agreed. “I wouldn’t want to be her right now.”
“What do you think is going to happen to her?” Volinette gnawed at her lower lip. Although she didn’t want to take the blame for what Janessa did, she wasn’t sure she wanted to think about what the consequences of those actions would be.
Baris rounded on her, his eyes wide.
“Are you kidding me? You’re worried about what’s going to happen to HER? SHE almost got you thrown out of the Academy, Volinette. What’s wrong with you?”
“She hates me enough already,” Volinette fired back, just as angry as Baris had been, if not more so. “Maybe I just don’t want to add fuel to the fire!”
“Unbelievable,” Baris muttered, turning back toward the tower. “You need to learn to stand up for yourself. No one else is going to.”
“You did.”
Baris sniffed, but said nothing. He continued to look out at the tower for several long minutes before he said anything else.
“I won’t always be around. Besides, you’re way more powerful than I am. You heard what Master Jotun said.”
“That was just singing.”
Baris glanced at her and shook his head. “That’s just it, Vol. It wasn’t just singing. Something happened to you. You changed. Your voice…the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end, and Master Jotun looked more alive than I’ve ever seen him. He’s right when he says you’re something special. I just don’t know what.”
“Well, I don’t know either,” she snapped, her exasperation with his fawning reaching its breaking point.
“Don’t you want
to find out?”
“Of course I do! I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. I’ve only dreamed of becoming a Master for my entire life.”
“Then don’t let anyone else make that decision for you. Not Janessa or anybody. Not even me.”
Baris was rarely this serious, and his demeanor was making Volinette more uncomfortable than what they’d seen. She wanted to get back to the dormitory. If she could just get one good night’s sleep, maybe all of this would seem less dire.
“Okay. Can we go back down now?” She shivered as she spoke, her teeth knocking together. She couldn’t understand how Baris wasn’t frozen solid. “I’m cold and I want to go back to the Academy.”
They descended from the tower, stopping only long enough for Baris to pull the trapdoor shut at the top, and move the bookcase back into place at the bottom. Master Jotun had abandoned his office, leaving them alone in the dimly lit space. Without his paternal presence, the room seemed much more foreign and cold.
Down the spiral staircase, through the library, and out into the city. Volinette didn’t even register the change of scenery. Her focus was on getting back to the School of Sorcery and finding out what was going on with Janessa. Baris made a fair point about taking care of herself, but it just wasn’t in her nature to not worry about the girl. Adamon and Olin had mentioned censure during their discussions about Volinette’s involvement. She had a hard time believing that they wouldn’t seek the same punishment for the girl who was actually responsible for the crime.
As they approached the obsidian gates outside the Academy grounds, the guard on duty trotted forward.
“Acolyte Terris? Apprentice Jendrek? Where have you been? The Grand Inquisitor has been searching all over for you. You’re to go to the Great Tower immediately.”
The lump in Volinette’s throat grew and grew, threatening to choke her. When she spoke, the only thing that came out was the barest squeak. Baris glanced at her and shook his head.
“Do you know why they’re looking for us?” he asked the guard, who shrugged.
“No idea. Master Vendur just asked that we relay the message if you were seen.”
“Okay, then. Thanks.”
Baris grabbed her arm and yanked her forward. It was probably best that he took the initiative. Otherwise, she might have stayed rooted to the spot forever. The young mage wasn’t wasting any time in answering the summons. They were practically running through the courtyard. As they passed the dormitory, Volinette’s eyes lingered on the door longingly. All she wanted was to go inside, crawl under her covers, and go to sleep. Alas, it didn’t seem that sleep was in her near future.
Chapter Fourteen
Volinette and Baris skidded to a halt. The entrance hall of the Great Tower of High Magic was deserted, save for the now familiar form of the lanky Grand Inquisitor in his cloak. When Volinette was small, her grandmother had told her stories of winged demons, creatures with ink black skin, red eyes, and six arms that sought only to snatch away unsuspecting children and spirit them away to the Deep Void. Adamon, in his cloak, stirred memories of that not-so-distant fear in her breast. He might not be a demon, but he was every bit as dangerous in his own way.
“Come along, both of you,” he said by way of a gruff greeting. “We are needed in the Head Master’s chambers at once. I’d suspected that you’d have come along before now.”
“I’m sorry,” Volinette said, stepping toward the brass cage that had carried them to the top of the tower on their previous visit.
“No, not that way.”
Adamon snapped his fingers to catch her attention and held out his hands. Baris seized the Inquisitor’s hand almost immediately. Volinette took only a moment longer, but she imagined that he’d known her hesitation, that she could see it in his eyes. Adamon spoke a series of words, and the world inverted.
To Volinette, it seemed as if all of Solendrea was passing through her at once, compressed down into a sickening knot in her stomach. She didn’t move. The world did. Different levels and rooms of the tower passed through her in an instant. Then they were standing in the Head Master’s antechamber.
“Fight it, we don’t have time for cleaning up,” Adamon said. It seemed a silly thing to Volinette, until a wave of crushing dizziness and nausea drove her to her knees.
She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, fighting back the gorge that rose in her throat. Beside her, Baris looked as miserable as she felt. He swallowed loudly, gulping air in a fashion that would have been comical under any other circumstances. It took a few minutes, but they were both able to fight down the sickness that had overcome them.
“What was that?” Volinette asked, when she felt that speaking wouldn’t result in her lunch tumbling onto the smooth glass floor.
“Etherwalk,” Adamon said with a dismissive gesture. “Something you won’t be able to do until you’re far more experienced. Enter the Quintessential Sphere in one location, exit in another, then pull your physical form through behind you.”
“Does it always feel like that?” Baris asked.
“More or less. The more distance you cover, the worse it is. You can Etherwalk to any place on Solendrea, though I wouldn’t recommend it.”
There was a muted shout from behind the heavy curtains that had been drawn across the door to the Head Master’s office. Volinette hadn’t noticed the velvet partitions before, but then, they hadn’t been closed on her first visit to Maera’s domain.
“Our attendance is required. Come along.”
Baris tried to protest that he needed another moment to settle his roiling stomach, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Adamon strode across the room and parted the curtains with one arm, ushering them through into a scene that Volinette would have been just as happy avoiding if she’d been given the opportunity.
Janessa sat in a solitary chair across from the Head Master’s desk. Just behind her stood two Masters that Volinette had never met. From their sharp features and matching scowls, it wasn’t difficult to guess that they were Janessa’s parents.
“We demand evidence of these outrageous allegations, Head Master,” Janessa’s father said in a loud voice, as if he could redeem his daughter’s transgression by volume alone. “Surely you are mistaken.”
“The evidence has just arrived.” Maera stood as Volinette entered with Adamon and Baris. “Grand Inquisitor Adamon Vendur, a witness to the crime, Baris Jendrek, and the victim, Volinette Terris.”
Janessa’s parents whirled to face the newcomers. They went pale as Adamon’s name was mentioned, and Volinette knew that she wasn’t the only one who felt fear in the pit of her stomach when faced by the formidable mage. Their respect for Adamon soon curdled as their eyes slid across Volinette and Baris.
“We demand evidence and you give us children. Is this some sort of joke?”
“Children and a Grand Inquisitor of the Orders,” Adamon replied, his voice cold. “I assure you that no one here considers the crimes of which your daughter is accused the slightest bit amusing.”
“Then present your evidence at once, Inquisitor.” The tone of Janessa’s mother’s voice told Volinette all she needed to know about the daughter’s attitude. It was unlikely that Janessa had ever had to work for anything in her life. Her parents issued commands and they expected those commands to be carried out without delay.
Adamon stared at the pair of them for so long that Volinette was convinced he was making a point. No matter what demands Janessa’s parents might believe they were entitled to, Adamon was still the Grand Inquisitor, and his authority over matters of law within the Orders was paramount. Even Maera, as Head Master, could not directly countermand the Grand Inquisitor on points of law. She would have to convene the High Council of Masters to review his decision.
“You are in no position to demand anything,” Adamon said, apparently satisfied that he’d made them wait long enough. “Your daughter is the accused. The evidence will be presented, and I will render my judgment.”
Adamon waved
his hand, muttering under his breath. Volinette knew that Inquisitors were notorious for their secrecy, possessing spells unknown outside their circles, but she’d never realized that their secrecy extended to the execution of their spellcraft.
Her curiosity about his methods evaporated as the memory of what had happened in the Hall of Wonders shimmered into view over the Head Master’s desk. Miniature images of Volinette and the other girls moved about in the replica, just as they had on the night the prism was stolen. Janessa shot to her feet as the events played out. She swiped a hand through the facsimile, but failed to disperse it or even disrupt it in any way.
“This is a lie!” she blurted, turning to her parents with wide, wild eyes. It was the first time Volinette had seen the girl touched by genuine fear. It was infectious. Volinette felt her stomach clench in sympathy. No matter what Janessa had done, and she’d done plenty, no one deserved to be that afraid. She wasn’t even that afraid of her own parents. What kind of people were Janessa’s parents to instill that kind of fear in their own kin?
“Silence, child,” Janessa’s father demanded, his voice eerily similar to Adamon’s earlier tone.
They watched the events in the Hall of Wonders play out, and the echo of the memory ended in the scrambled mess that Janessa had made of the Ethereal Realm while trying to cover her tracks. Janessa’s mother sank into the chair that Janessa had vacated, holding her face in her hands. Her father turned to Adamon, Volinette, and Baris.
“You swear on your lives that these are the events as they transpired?”
Volinette nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Baris doing the same.
“You’ve seen the living memory of the Quintessential Sphere,” Adamon said. “As a Master of the Orders, do you deny the power or revelations of the Ethereal Realm?”
“You know I can’t, and won’t.”
“Then your question is null and void. You saw the events as they transpired, as our world and the spirits beyond remember it. No swearing by mere mortals is required.”
The color drained from Janessa’s father’s face. He scrubbed his face with both hands. Maera rose from the chair behind her desk, smoothing down the royal purple robes she wore, as if she was reminding everyone of her role in the proceedings. Though her eyes were troubled, her voice was steady and even when she spoke.
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