The Wizard Book

by Radu Aldea

  That was the biggest load of rubbish she had ever heard. “How can you learn something that can’t be taught?”

  “Through daily practice. You must learn to be empty, to become a receptacle, and the Way will reveal itself. Empty yourself of desires and you won’t be controlled through them. Discount learning and you will know. Disregard wealth and it cannot be taken from you.”

  “And if one can achieve this emptiness he will be immune to senators like you?”

  “You are a warrior. You understand. There’s a space between stillness and movement. Between action and inaction. That is the space of the warrior. That is the space of the ruler. You are a warrior. Aren’t you at your best when you empty your mind?”

  That was true. At first, when she practiced swordplay her mind was filled with the moves. Then, when she got better, she tried to read her opponent’s intention. Only when she achieved true mastery she didn’t worry about her moves or her opponent moves and she just fought. She understood that kind of emptiness, the kind that eliminated all distractions.

  “There is a way of the priest. That’s my way. There is a way of the warrior. That’s your way. There are many ways to learn about the True Way,” Ilan told her.

  “So I should understand you have mastered yours.” Aleyna was a master of hers, but there wasn’t a moment when she thought she could refuse a senatorial order from Kara.

  “I strive just as you strive to be better. I haven’t reached that place yet.”

  “So how come you are immune?”

  “It was the will of the Sun God. He gave me the immunity, teachings and the mission.”

  That was just great. She really wanted to meet this Sun God just so she could beat the crap out of him. Aleyna still thought she wasn’t dealing with a real god, but with something powerful enough to counter senators. The only other explanation was that he had natural immunity, just like the sorceresses. They had discussed it at length. Sarah thought he was immune, Thea toyed with the idea that a god was involved and Christian agreed with her that some other power was challenging the Order. Who this other power was, they had no idea, because none of her friends had encountered anything like this. They were going to discuss it with the older senators, but Aleyna found it hard to believe Christian and Sarah didn’t know everything the senators knew about a potential enemy of the Senatorial Order.

  “So even if I achieve emptiness there is no guarantee I will be immune to senators?”

  “If you master yourself and know the Way then I’m sure the Sun God will reward you.”

  “Did he actually tell you as such… in a dream?”

  “Not as such, but the message was clear. Follow the teachings and you’ll be free.”

  “But is it the kind of freedom that makes me able to resist senators or the kind that makes me not care if a senator orders me to put my hand in a fire, as I have no desires?”

  Ilan pondered for a few seconds. “It’s the first kind of freedom. The way senators control you is through your desires, your fears. Have no desires or fears and they can’t do anything to you. And it doesn’t offer freedom just from senators, but from all lords.”

  That was unexpected. She didn’t consider all the consequences of Ilan’s teachings, but Aleyna realized the priest was right. He and his followers advocated the change of the social order, sort of, and undermined the human counts and dukes as well as the Conclave.

  “Who are you to question our master?” Marianna attacked her.

  “No, she has the right to ask, just like all of you. Her questions are good ones and we spread the word about the teachings exactly for people like her. Otherwise, our message will only be heard by people who already agree with us and there aren’t many of them.”

  “How is your conversion effort going, anyway?” Aleyna knew the answer to that.

  “People are afraid. Mostly they keep their distance and some are downright hostile.”

  “You don’t understand, do you? It’s not fear or, at least, it’s not mostly fear.” They all had questioning looks. Aleyna explained. “Hilderfort is prosperous, safe, clean and there is virtually no corruption. This is mostly because of the senators who control it and they don’t want you to ruin what is, for many, a good life. You won’t make any headway here.”

  “So what about when they take what you own, order you or make women concubines?”

  It was a fair question and all these things did occur sometimes. “I don’t know about other places, but here these things don’t happen as often as you think. Senators are bad for the wealthy and powerful humans, but good for the commoners. And what senator would want a peasant who works in the field all day when they could have a lord’s daughter? Besides, I heard there are benefits to being the concubine of a senator for the entire family.”

  “Really?”

  It was true. She heard of women being well compensated and their families rising in prominence while they were concubines. “Yes. And the way I heard it young women don’t put up much of a fight. Of course, their biggest hope is to become consorts.”

  “How did you manage to escape them?” Marcel asked her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think what Marcel meant to say is that you are gorgeous and smart. I’m sure senators would value your skills as well. If they found you I’m not sure they would ever let you go.”

  Ilan was right. Senators had taught her those skills, but she was too valuable to be ever let go. Truth was, she didn’t want it. Aleyna was exactly where she was supposed to be.

  “She didn’t! That’s why she hates senators so much,” Marianna smirked at her.

  “Actually, I did manage to elude them. I never held much interest for senators, I don’t know why.” Huge lie! “My father, however, well, that’s a totally different story. We were rich, which was unfortunate, because another lord wanted our wealth and he had dealings with senators. So one day, my father’s most trusted man, who had been with my family forever and risked his life to protect my father on many occasions, killed him. Nobody could explain why he did it. Some say that he wanted the land. But it was a lie. Everyone who knew my family knew this. Anyway, this other lord intervened, our men who didn’t agree to serve him were killed and he took over our land. I lost everything. So that’s why I hate senators and I am ready to die because I know I will. Your family here should be prepared for the same ending.” That was close enough to the truth that they wouldn’t be able to spot the lie.

  “They know the risks.”

  “I don’t think they do.”

  “Regardless, we could really use you. This isn’t a safe world. There are a lot of threats out there other than senators,” Ilan told her.

  Aleyna still wasn’t sure if the priest really trusted her, but he was right. The way they were making enemies someone who could fight and protect them was welcomed. Senators wouldn’t touch them unless she gave that order, however, Aleyna wouldn’t be surprised if some angry humans decided to take care of the problem.

  “We don’t need her. A woman should not be fighting,” one of the male followers said.

  It took longer than she expected for one of them to say something like that. Aleyna was well aware of human men’s preconceptions about women. “You know the one thing I like about senators. Their men and women are considered equal. I think I’m going to leave before you get caught and also get me killed.”

  “Are you two happy now,” Marcel came to her defense. “Aleyna is one of the few people willing and capable of helping and you drive her away.”

  “You cannot trust her, but you can’t see it because you are blinded by her looks.”

  Marianna’s retort actually answered one of her questions. Why her nemesis had disliked Aleyna from the start. The woman had feelings for Marcel and she didn’t like the attention he was giving Aleyna. She didn’t have the time or the patience to deal with it.

  “Aleyna is always welcome here,” Ilan decided. “I wish you’ll reconsider.”

  “I’
ll think about it. Meanwhile, you might want to move. I’m not sure how many soldiers the senators had in this area and they might’ve narrowed down your location.”

  “You forget, princess, if they find us they learn about you.” Marianna was being nasty.

  “You worry about yourselves,” Aleyna told them right before she left.

  Outside two soldiers were waiting for her. Christian and Sarah left them for her as guides. They were supposed to lead Aleyna to her senator friends. It was time for the second part of her plan. Getting rid of the unwanted senators in Hilderfort.

  Sarah, Thea, Christian and a lot of soldiers were watching a house. Luckily it was dark outside, otherwise people would’ve panicked already. As it were, everybody was quiet and people were sleeping without worries. All the access routes to the house were blocked by their soldiers and everybody was waiting for an order to start the attack.

  “So did they welcome you to their little cult and hail you as savior?” Sarah asked.

  They had. Aleyna told them everything that happened in that house, especially what Ilan thought about how the senatorial power worked. She was curious to hear what the senators thought about it.

  “Our power is the gift of the White Goddess and that’s why it works,” said Thea.

  “We don’t know how it works. We just know that it does. Wizards are able to escape our control and some sorceresses are immune, as you know. We don’t know why this is so, but we are sure the immunity is not transmitted through blood. We have never encountered immune humans. Nobody questions why it works or how it works, we just know that it does,” Christian answered her question. “Besides, we have other problems with the priest. Some of his memories are missing.”

  “What do you mean? Are you saying he has forgotten things?”

  “No! The memories would still be there, but all I found was gaps,” Christian answered. After a few more questions Aleyna realized they haven’t seen anything like this before, nor did they know who could do something like this.

  “Their teachings don’t appeal to you? A way to be free from senators,” Sarah asked.

  “Why would it? I am more respected and valued with you than I will ever be with humans. I have no desire to be the property of a man. Besides, at a first look, their teachings might seem appealing, but I’ve seen their downside, remember.”

  Sarah seemed content with her answer. “What do we do about this?”

  “So my plan worked?” Aleyna didn’t think it would and the senator would be more careful. Apparently not!

  “Yes, they headed straight back here, once they were able to stand on their two feet again. They tried to make sure they weren’t followed, but, of course, they failed.”

  It wasn’t exactly a surprise. No matter how good you were at noticing if people were following you, in a city, if the people who were doing the following had enough bodies to flood the entire area, you didn’t stand a chance, as they weren’t actually following. They just seem to carry on with whatever they were doing. And Christian and Sarah had enough people under control to do exactly that. Still, the other senator shouldn’t have been so careless.

  “So are we sure he is in there?”

  Thea was the one who answered. “We have seen guards coming out and going in. They are under the control of the same senator as those two you just met. Even on the servants we’ve seen there was the same block. I’m sure that’s where he stays.”

  “Are you saying the powerful senator is in there? He didn’t just send his client?”

  “Apparently! I would love to get my hands on him,” Christian said.

  This senator had just gained respect in her eyes. He didn’t just let someone else take all the risks. And they didn’t want to start a war with someone else. It might not be such a great idea to start the attack before they knew who was in there. It was a short list, though, there weren’t many senators as powerful as Thea suggested. And perhaps there was another way to deliver a message so it would get through to him or her just as well. “I want to see who is in there!”

  “And how do you plan to do that without starting an attack?”

  That was the question. Aleyna looked at the house. There was no way they could get in there without being seen. They couldn’t just hope to get lucky and the guards would fall asleep. And they couldn’t just wait until he left. When dawn broke, they would be discovered. Well, it was a good thing she had an idea. “I think I will just knock on their door. Can someone get me some servant clothes? And I want someone who knows everything about the house.”

  Thea proved once more how valuable she was and how lucky they were to have her with them. She knew everything about the house and the people who lived there and for the next hour answered patiently all her questions. Aleyna was mainly interested in the layout of the interior and when they were finished she had a pretty accurate map in her head. The rest of the questions were about the family who lived there. Apparently, the house was owned by one of the elders of Hilderfort. Supposedly, the city was run by the assembly of elders and for now senators allowed the illusion.

  When Aleyna was confident she knew all she needed to know, dressed in servant clothes, she knocked on the door. She had thrown water on her face to seem sweaty and faked a ragged breath. Someone, hopefully, would answer the door and would be fooled. She was not disappointed. Soldiers opened the door and she knew for sure they did not belong to the elder.

  “Senators… senators have come to my master’s house. Two women, one older, one younger… Mother and daughter I think. My master… My master has sent me to notify you they are looking for a priest of the sun. They want him found, now.” Aleyna hoped her babbling and panicked breathing convinced the soldiers.

  Her plan, however, did not depend on them. She had a strong suspicion this senator was aware that battle-senators of the Arvillii had arrived in Hilderfort. Aleyna knew what was going to happen. They were going to question her and then she would try to convince them to let her spend the night here. The mysterious senator would try to make sure she was under the control of senators and in the same time try to remain hidden. She had a pretty good idea how he would manage that. The senator she had seen at the market was not powerful, she was rarely wrong about that, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t useful, as Thea proved. And their family wasn’t the only one with diviners. Then, hopefully, they would relent and give her a bedroom. There were only a few secure rooms in the house where they could keep her while pretending they had no idea she was under the control of a senator. Unfortunately for them, their rooms weren’t nearly as secure as they thought. But they did have to believe she was a servant.

  The questioning was a breeze. Who were the senators? Rona and Sarah… she thinks. Not getting Reyna’s name right would make her more believable. What did they want? She repeated what she said to the guards. Was she under the control of senators? No, of course not! How could they even think that? Then she pleaded with them to let her stay here because she didn’t want to be in a house with senators. Aleyna was really proud of that one.

  They accepted, mainly because they wanted to test her. It didn’t hurt they wanted her under their watch. She had hoped this senator wouldn’t recognize her and so far, so good. As they took her to the room on the top floor she noticed the senator from the market. He kept to the shadows and waited until her back was to him to come out, but she still caught him. And Aleyna was ready to bet Marcia wasn’t aware someone was checking her block.

  Her room on the third floor, which also happened to be the top floor, was what she expected. It wasn’t the best room she could hope for, which was the one above the balcony on the second floor, but it would do. Her target was that particular balcony, which belonged to the master’s bedroom. And if she had to guess, senators, as arrogant as they were, would spend the night in the best room in the house. Aleyna didn’t look, but she was sure she had guards on her door. Luckily, they left her sheets, which she could use to make a rope.

  After an hour of waiting a
nd rope-making she opened the window. She could jump from there to the balcony. It had risk, but it was doable. The other option was to climb to the roof, walk until she was on top of the balcony and jump from there. It was difficult and nothing a scared servant would attempt, but it was less risky than her first option. Now all she had to do was climb to the roof without being heard by her guards. It proved to be more complicated than she thought at first and if she hadn’t been as tall and flexible she wouldn’t have made it. Aleyna dropped the sheet-rope first. She was going to drop on it and minimize the sound.

  When she reached the balcony she checked the door and the windows and hoped they would be unlocked. Even if they weren’t she had the skills to open them. Aleyna hadn’t trained all her life for every conceivable situation for nothing. One of the windows was open, but she heard voices and that prevented her from going in. She did crack the window to take a peek and listen to them. Her breathing stopped because she recognized the senator. She hadn’t seen him before, but she knew all about Aidan Valerius. Aleyna knew he was attractive, but hell…

  “They found us, Matthew!”

  “They aren’t looking for us. They’re looking for that nut who calls himself priest of the Sun God. They didn’t even know we are here,” the senator from the market answered.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. They wouldn’t send a servant in the middle of the night because they are looking for the priest. Sarah and Reyna wouldn’t do that. They’re out there now.”

  Aleyna was impressed. She really thought the charade had worked.

  “They don’t know we are here. The girl didn’t get a look at us and we didn’t betray ourselves. She was telling the truth, you saw her. She’s under the control of a powerful senator, but it felt different than the two blocks I saw at the market. Her senator is about as powerful as you, but the ones I saw earlier belong to more powerful senators.”

  They had been watching her interrogation and she didn’t notice. Senators would know if you were lying, even if you were ordered to do it by one of them, unless you grew up with them and actually learn how to do it. Aleyna was one of the few humans who could.