“Lace, Lace,” Mikelle said, gripping the girl by the shoulders and rattling something off in Arconian. Lael only caught a few words. Slowly the petite blonde quieted, shaking her head to questions Mikelle posed.
“But he killed her, Mikelle, he killed her,” Lace cried. “How can I let that by?”
Lael stood and took Lace’s hands in his. “I know this is very hard for you, and I cannot offer excuses, but we cannot let anyone know what happened here.”
“But, Lael—”
“You swore an oath to protect the Head Mage at whatever cost, just as he so swore to protect you.”
“But he killed her!”
“He had to.”
Lace stopped her weeping and stared at him. “Explain.”
“You notice he is no longer here? He succeeded in opening Void, and Shayleen was the only way he could accomplish it.”
“But why her?”
He shook his head. “It is not for me to say. But I know it was a terribly painful decision to make, and in making it, he is one step closer to defeating the Arch Mages and protecting us.”
Mikelle gave him a sly look. “What happened in Kilkiny, Lace?”
“I do not know. There was shouting, and a door slammed, and then we returned here.”
“What would give him reason to go there?” Lael asked.
Lace burst into tears again and shook her head. Lael pulled her into him and held her as she cried, not sure what else to do but shoot Mikelle pleading glances. Mikelle offered no assistance.
“Where would he go?”
Lael shook his head. “Anywhere in the world.”
“He can do that?” Lace whispered, clutching the side of his shirt to her cheek.
“What do we do?”
Lael was the epitome of calm. It was what made him an ideal Secondhand. “We are going to bring Lewis up here and say she collapsed. The Head Mage was not here at the time, in fact, I have not seen him all day, and I do not know where he is now. Lace, dearest, you are going to your room for a while and if anyone asks, Shayleen fell and that was it. Mikelle, you will take her back. Do I make myself clear?”
Lace nodded and let go of his shirt. “Oh,” she brushed her hand down the wet spots she left. “I am sorry, Lael. I am just so emotional these days.”
“There is nothing to be sorry for, and you had every right to be upset. Dry your eyes, and if you remember anything else about your trip to Kilkiny, please let me know.”
Mikelle put her arms around Lace and led her out with one last look at the fallen body of her friend.
Lael sat at his desk, smoothing his oiled hair back and taking a deep breath. ‘If this is not handled smoothly, it could jeopardize the Head Mage’s rule and ruin everything he has yet to do. The Council gave him an order: Unlock Void. He did precisely that and will thusly be absolved of his crime.’
He stood, his moment of fallibility passed, and looked for Lewis.
Mikelle closed the latch to Lace’s door and locked it. She sat in a chair while Lace dabbed her eyes and sniffed, slowly regaining her control over her emotions. Mikelle took a seat across from her.
“You laid with him, didn’t you?” she asked in Arconian.
Lace straightened. “What?”
“And you’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Many reasons, but the most important is I’m not stupid.”
Lace began to cry again, so Mikelle stood to find her a kerchief.
“It can’t have been that bad, Lace.”
“Oh, oh no it was not at all. I just…it was not supposed to happen. I vowed to you I would not, and I was not going to, but Nolen had other plans.” She returned sobbing.
“Did you go to Kilkiny to tell Robyn?”
“He told her. I don’t know if he told her about the rest of us though.”
“Judging by his reaction, he did.”
“Oh, Mikelle, I never wanted to be the reason to ruin his relationship.”
“Judging by his reaction, she did the ruining, not you.”
Lace wiped her tears and took in a shaky breath. “How did you know, truly?”
Mikelle waved a hand. “I have a wealth of information. I lurk in dark hallways and hear the deepest secrets. I simply listen, and people spout forth knowledge.”
Lace gave her a twisted look. “How really?”
“Someone told me.” Mikelle sighed and looked out the window. “Oh, stars, do I say it out loud in the castle?”
“You certainly better.”
She bit her bottom lip. “Remember how I was chosen to accompany you on the trip to the Salt Fort? I wasn’t supposed to be there. Several others had been chosen, but I made an agreement with Nolen to be considered, and then I waylaid the others, so they couldn’t make it.”
Lace stopped her crying and sat with an interested expression. “What agreement?”
“I…” Mikelle fumed for a moment with clenched fists and exhaled harshly. “I laid with him.”
Lace gasped. “You did not!”
“I did. Don’t tell Gabriel. He’ll skin me.”
“And?”
“And it was awful. The man was a brute. I slapped him, and he only seemed to enjoy it.”
“Gabriel must never know.”
“I know that. So…your turn.”
“Oh,” Lace blushed and put her fingertips to her lips. “I dare not say.”
Mikelle drummed fingers on her arm and stared wistfully at nothing. “I could bake cookies on that body.”
Lace tittered, and her sadness washed away. “I once read that Class Tens were better lovers.” She fanned herself with her kerchief. “It is true.”
Chapter 10
Mikelle could never remember feeling so anxious. She spent her time copying notes or pacing, but anxiety grew with each passing hour Gabriel did not return. It had been 26 hours since he vanished.
Councilman Lewis, the head healer of the infirmary, discovered Shayleen had died of a broken blood vessel in her brain. He remarked it was very unnatural for a girl so young to suffer such a death. Lael, Lace, and Mikelle vowed never to divulge the truth. Nor would Lace confess to Lael what happened in Kilkiny Palace that caused Gabriel to become so dangerous.
Many people came to call on Gabriel, but Lael politely said the Head Mage had taken ill and was not accepting appointments. Mikelle expected the lie would last another day before people started questioning its validity.
She repeatedly looked over her shoulder towards his bedchamber door, expecting him to stride out at any moment since he had disappeared just as easily. The moment had been terrifying. Gabriel had never looked so angry or powerful. His eyes were white as cream. He looked ready to level the mountains, and she did not doubt his capability.
The castle continued to function ignorant of their Head Mage’s disappearance or that he had successfully opened Void. The Council had not even been told since it fell to Gabriel to reveal it.
Mikelle continued to scribble away at her book and wondered when she last felt so anxious. It was probably before her first kill. The idiot trafficker hadn’t seen her blade of ice even after she stuck his throat. It was probably her favorite kill, but nearly trumped by the—
A sound whispered from behind her, and she spun, clutching the pen like a dagger. She quickly rose and rushed to Gabriel’s room, hoping to the stars it was not the wind in the windows again.
Gabriel lay on his side, his body covered with snow, his cheeks and nose red with the chill. “LAEL!” she screamed, rushing to Gabriel. He was unresponsive and cold, his lips a tinge of blue. She unbuckled his cloak and found his arms crossed over his chest, mercifully keeping his hands warm. He was surprisingly warm, a fact she attributed to the warming pattern laced through the cloak.
Lael pounded in and immediately unbuckled his fancy coat. “We need to get him in hot water,” he stated and flung the coat aside. Lael was slender and lanky, but his perfectly-tailored coats did a good job of
hiding the trim body beneath. He bundled Gabriel up in his arms and made for the washroom.
Rather than a bathtub, this washroom had a walk-in pool large enough to hold eight people comfortably. Made of tan marble, it sank into the floor, so Lael only had to walk down the steps, paying no mind to his boots and clothes. He gently sank Gabriel in to his neck and supported his head and shoulders.
Mikelle dipped a hand in the water. It was kept at a perpetual temperature with a temperate-trap pattern. She kicked her slippers off and joined them, unlacing Gabriel’s boots.
“Did he say anything?”
“Not a word. He just appeared.”
“Can a Void pattern transport an unconscious person?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Not that I know. How did he get through the anti-shifting wards around the castle?”
Lael frowned and reached for one of Gabriel’s hands, looking for a ring. “This one should allow him through,” he pointed to a black one and sank the hand back down. “I am not certain removal of his trousers will aid in this.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I am a Water Mage, I know how ice works.”
“And I am no fool.”
She paid him a sly look and unbuttoned the coat instead.
“What do you think angered him so?” Lael asked quietly.
“I could not say.”
“You would not say.”
She grinned again. She knew. Gabriel had tried to hide it from everyone, especially himself, but she had heard the stories in the Arconian hall in Kilkiny. With each new story, his countenance had changed, proof enough of their validity. She was surprised it took Lace this long to tell him. They shared chambers, and Mikelle knew what morning-sickness looked like well enough to make the connection. The fact that Lace had not confided the truth until yesterday meant she respected him too much, or something awful had happened. So, Mikelle waited patiently for the moment she would be needed to aid him through it all.
Laying a temperate-pattern, she raised the heat a few degrees. It flushed his face, but a hand on it proved he was still cold. She set a small whirl-pattern in the water, and with Lael’s assistance, they sank Gabriel beneath the surface, placing the pattern above his mouth. The pattern spun a small vortex in the water, like stirring a mug of tea too quickly, and created a gap in the water so he could still breathe.
She held it a few minutes and raised him up to feel his skin was much warmer. It did not take much longer for Gabriel’s eyes to flutter and open.
“Why…am I wet?” he asked quietly before looking around. “How did I get here?”
“You don’t know?” Mikelle asked, aiding him to sit up. He shook his head and ran a hand through his sopping ringlets.
“Why are my trousers unlaced?” he looked at Mikelle accusingly.
“You are welcome,” Lael said quietly. Gabriel nodded knowingly. “Where were you?” Gabriel pointed north. “Doing what—besides freezing to death?”
Gabriel rolled up the sleeves of his sopping shirt. “Brooding. Forgive me, I should not have acted so irrationally. I…Shayleen.”
“No one knows the truth, and it needs to stay that way,” Lael cut in with a raised hand. “By law you are absolved since the Council gave you an order to unlock Void at any cost.”
“I cannot absolve myself though.”
Lael nodded thoughtfully. “What happened in Anatoly?”
Gabriel sighed. “Robyn…. I told her something she didn’t want to hear, and she told me to leave.”
“And that made you so angry you—”
“Leave and not return.”
Lael snapped his jaw shut. “Oh.”
Gabriel nodded, laying a Water pattern to pull the moisture from his shirt and hair and did the same for Lael. “If you will forgive me, I must return to my Void studies.”
“Gabriel,” Mikelle cut in as he stepped from the bath, wicking the water as he went. “We can further your studies. You can have time to mourn Robyn’s loss.”
“I’m not a girl, Mikelle.” He vanished behind the door to fetch new clothes. “How did I get here?” he asked as they stepped out.
Mikelle tried ever so hard to hide her grin as he stepped out pulling a shirt over his head. “You simply appeared.”
He stopped, staring at the floor in thought as he rolled up his sleeves. “I don’t know a Void pattern that will return a person to their home if compromised.”
“Then what else could it have been?” Lael asked, “Subconscious pattern laying?”
“No,” Mikelle whispered. “Someone brought you back.” Both men looked at her alarmed, then at each other. “Who could do that?”
“A Void wielder,” Lael breathed and slicked back his hair.
Gabriel raised a hand. “No—no, I know who it was. Do not worry, he is a friend.”
“A Void wielder?” they exclaimed as one.
He shook his head. “No, someone else. Fret not about it. It is my concern only.”
Lael nodded respectfully, well aware the Head Mage kept secrets for a reason. Mikelle drummed her fingers on her hip, but Gabriel paid no mind.
“Would you tell the Council I would like to convene at four this afternoon?” Gabriel asked. Nodding, the Secondhand went back to his desk. Gabriel sauntered to his own, looking weary.
“I am sorry Robyn did not take the news well,” Mikelle offered as she sat.
“News?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do?” He had finally looked up to study her face. “Are we discussing the same thing?”
She raised a hand. “I am an Arconian.”
He straightened, “You knew all this time? You said nothing.”
“It was not for me to do so. I love you too much to offend you.”
“How did you know?”
“Women talk, and their favorite subject is men.”
“What did they say?”
Mikelle adjust her seat, uncomfortable with the question. “Well, no one complained.”
He looked away and blushed.
“I counted nine,” she prodded, and Gabriel nodded, frowning down at his books
“Then you counted Lace?”
“I know what morning sickness looks like.”
“It was really stupid of me to not put those pieces together. She told me she couldn’t get pregnant because she was born too early. Thank you for not saying anything.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “You owe me chocolate.”
He nodded in confusion fashion. “Whatever that is.”
“Oh you who think you are so learnéd,” she sighed.
Chapter 11
Gabriel spent his time before the Council meeting practicing Void patterns in his study. Among the shift, he learned a pattern that slipped into the brain and put someone to sleep—which Mikelle found unamusing—and a pierce-pinch pattern that touched nerves to cause pain—which Mikelle forbade. A disparage-shift pattern was a Void ward that prevented someone from shifting through it. Castle Jaden was covered in it, and the anti-disparage-shift ward set into his ring allowed him to pass through. Unfortunately, there were precious few other patterns recorded.
He shifted to Viorica to collect Queen Challis and very quickly appeared in Kilkiny Palace to grab his parents and return to Jaden. All three of them beamed when they saw him arrive without Lace’s aid.
The Council convened in their usual room, an oval hall painted in creams and gold with an oval table illuminated by a dozen long windows. Gabriel entered last per custom and could noticed the grins of his Council. It seemed word had nearly gotten around of his success, no doubt spurred on by his father. He stood between Lael and Mikelle as Lael read the binding rules to seal their meeting.
“Please sit,” Gabriel said. “By now my father has likely spoiled my surprise, but—”
“Such falsehood.” Cordis interjected.
“But, I have unlocked Void.” He punctuated the news by opening himself to the strange new Element, his eyes became white as the worl
d’s colors reversed. The Council cheered in refined fashion, looking him over. He could feel the ends of his hair and corners of his cloak lift in an unseen wind.
“How was it done?” Adelaide asked as she reached out to touch him.
“I will not say, but it was struck from the records for a reason,” he replied and took her hand up securely. She gasped and looked around, the world projecting its afterimage on her. Her eyes, however, did not change color.
“Have you learned any beneficial patterns?” Markus asked.
“I’ll say,” Cordis replied.
“I have learned to shift, yes, and a few others.”
“This is grand news!” Penny exclaimed.
“I still have eight more books to peruse that I hope contain more Void patterns, but now is the time for us to hunker down and really search for more. I want a castle-wide search, and I want everyone to know what I’m looking for.” As he spoke, a few more Council Members reached out to touch him, each one gasping in turn.
“Any news on Ryker?” Galloway asked.
“No, but Maxine is alive.” The table fell silent. “Her face unknown, the gate guards let her in.”
The Council broke out in an uproar to a chorus of, “This should be a safe place,” and “What is stopping the rest from getting in?” and “Does anyone have portraits of the Arch Mages? No, of course not, so how can the guards know?”
“Some of our vaults might have them,” Lael offered.
Gabriel shook his head. “There was a sketch of Dorian, but it crumbled behind its glass. They died a thousand years ago. No one in that Age could fathom their return to life, and no one wanted to glorify them with portraits or marble busts.”
“What did Maxine look like? Were the stories true?” Cordis asked with a tone that got a swift kick across the table from Aisling. Gabriel failed to hide the grin and simply closed his eyes and nodded. “You dog.”
“What did she want with you?” Markus asked.
He shrugged a shoulder. “She pulled my hair.”
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