The Wizard Book

by Radu Aldea

  Something Julian said piqued Alexandra’s curiosity. If he was able to reduce the suspect list to two, so could others. But what was even more interesting was his subtle hint about Kara’s power. “We heard some rumors about the powers of the new generation of senators.”

  Julian pondered if he should answer or not. “Let’s just say if what Kara and others like her claim is true then she would be incredibly difficult to defeat by other senators. It would take a large conspiracy and I don’t think that is a viable choice. It would be discovered.”

  “So what you are saying three hundred soldiers under the control of a senator are not enough to defeat Kara, unless it was the right senator,” Tamzin said.

  “Very perceptive! And remember, two powerful senators were killed.”

  Alexandra decided they had no way to know for sure what happened in the south. Julian could make a guess using the information he had, but there was no guarantee he was right. His information might’ve been false or what he didn’t know might change his mind.

  “We are asking because we ran into some trouble earlier. It might be connected with the trouble in the south,” Tamzin said. That certainly caught Julian’s interest. The empress told him what happened and held nothing back. They wanted to hear his opinion.

  “I’m not sure you were dealing with senators. Certainly not the Arvillii.” Faced with their doubtful looks he explained. If a family wanted them dead, especially one as powerful as Kara’s family, they’d be dead. Any of their top senators could’ve easily killed both of them. “We have gotten very good at hunting wizards and sorceresses are easier.”

  “They had to be under the control of senators, otherwise they would’ve talked.”

  “I’m sure you’re very persuasive. Are you certain you didn’t do anything to a weaker senator? This looks personal and nobody would start a fight with the Conclave right now.”

  The two sorceresses looked at each other. None of them could think of anything. “Maybe this is an attempt to destabilize and take over Veneguard.”

  “I don’t think so. If a senatorial family tried that the others would not allow it, because it would mean someone had acquired a lot of power and wealth at the expense of others.”

  “Then what?”

  “Maybe someone wanted you to believe the southerners are attacking you and is trying to manipulate you into joining them. The assassination attempt was pretty foolish.”

  That actually made a lot of sense. Why didn’t they think of it? Alexandra looked at Tamzin. That one still wasn’t convinced someone had killed two Suttland senators and now was afraid of the southerners enough that he wanted allies.

  “Is Suttland really that powerful?” Tamzin asked.

  “Suttland is powerful enough to defeat anyone, they just can’t defeat everyone. If Kara was still alive they might’ve managed to win against an alliance of Cuttland and Essland.”

  “Another reason why we are here is because we want you to arrange a meeting with Lucian.” When Julian reacted by laughing, Tamzin continued. “If you think he is a likely suspect so do a lot of senators in Suttland and I’m sure they are coming for him. Send him a message, because I’m sure he’ll want to see us.”

  Alexandra really liked Tamzin’s confidence. The empress was probably right. Lucian had enough problems and he might want some allies. Of course, they weren’t there to offer any help, but he didn’t know that. On the other hand, their immunity was what made them dangerous to a senator, any senator. And the involvement of sorceresses in the attack on senators might’ve been denied, but Lucian could still be wary.

  When Tamzin mentioned the second reason for their visit, the senator girl they were looking for, Julian’s reaction surprised both of them. At first he laughed, but when he saw they were serious, he added. “Are you sure you are not mistaking the age and level of power.”

  They were sure, but Tamzin was curious to know why he would think they were mistaken. “Those bitches have always been powerful. I can’t remember an instance when one of their blood was of medium power. It just doesn’t work that way.”

  When they asked him to elaborate and Julian explained who the bitches were, Tamzin’s mood grew increasingly glum. Finally, he told them he didn’t know anyone matching that description, but he was still amused, much to Tamzin’s dismay.

  “What do you think?” Tamzin asked Alexandra when they were alone.

  “I think he is right. Somebody is trying to manipulate us.”

  “He can’t manipulate the southerners, because they know what happened. And he must think that we would jump to the conclusion Suttland senators attacked us. We wouldn’t, a dozen dead humans wouldn’t convince us. No, someone must know a lot to believe that. Do you think Julian would lie to us?”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  Alexandra understood that her companion must’ve had a solid reason to believe Suttland tried to kill them and was not going to say what that reason was.

  “I think we are in a lot of trouble,” Tamzin concluded.

  Chapter twenty-eight

  The sanctuary of the Gray Gods lay in ruins. Twenty years of neglect would do that to any building, especially one surrounded by trees. The sacred grove was reclaiming territory that was taken from it. Before the Great War, this place was thriving. There were priests and attendants to look after it and people brought offerings. Now, the altar was overrun by plants and the roof of the building housing the sacred stone was partly collapsed.

  The sacred stone was supposed to have fallen from the sky in this grove and this place became a shrine. The house of the sacred stone was rebuilt many times, but not anymore. This would be the stone’s last house. Soon, nothing would be left to remind people this had been hallowed ground, which was sad. This had been an important place of worship for the wizards and while they were in power people came here. After they lost, the people stopped coming.

  It was logical in a way. People started believing the wizards lost the support of the Gray Gods, which were their patron deities, or that the Gray Gods weren’t that powerful to begin with. Now they flocked to the temples of the White Goddess – she was the senators’ deity – which was a little bit ironic because the humans hated the Order.

  Oddly enough, the sacred stone was still inside its house. It was worthless now. It didn’t matter if it had fallen from the sky or not. Michael walked around the stone inside the derelict building, which was not the smartest idea. The rest of the roof could collapse on him at any moment. Somehow it felt right that someone who cared visited this sacred space again.

  “You should’ve seen this place before the war. It was beautiful, you felt like you were closer to the gods, to heaven. Now it has become a cautionary tale of history.”

  Michael didn’t turn away. He knew Serratus was there and had felt his master approach.

  “After the war and right before it ended, when it had become evident we were going to lose we sought places like this. Soon enough the senators had caught on to what we were doing and waited for us. They understood our collective desire before we realized we put ourselves in danger. Many wizards died because we walked right into their traps.”

  Michael was sure this was going to become a cautionary tale, just like the sanctuary. He knew what Serratus was warning him about and he wasn’t sure his mentor was wrong.

  “Senators have no weaknesses, no conscience, no remorse, no empathy…”

  There it was. It had actually taken Serratus longer than he expected to bring it up. He didn’t know what to tell his teacher about Kara, to make him understand, when he wasn’t sure he understood himself. “She is not like that!”

  “In what way isn’t she like that?”

  “She has a conscience and shows compassion.” That was true enough about Kara.

  “At least she hasn’t taken over you. That’s something. Not much, but it’s something.”

  Michael expected his mentor to trust him more. It was obvious Serratus didn’t think he knew what he was d
oing. Senators were considered adults when they turned fifteen. It was not the same for wizards, but it was time for Michael to be treated as an equal. He was at least as powerful as Serratus and he had learned everything the older wizard had to teach.

  “How is your search going?” Michael asked already knowing the answer. The old wizard’s search was a fool’s dream, looking for something that probably never existed, or if it had, it was lost to people a long time ago. The Wizard Book was a myth, one that endured among their kind, but a myth nevertheless.

  “Not that well. I really thought we managed to hide some of our books. Some of these sanctuaries had extensive libraries. I remember the one here. I spent many hours perusing the rare books it owned. They’re all gone now. I hoped we managed to save some.”

  A wizard could hide something another one would find using his senses if he was in the vicinity and experienced enough. Serratus should’ve been able to locate a stack of buried or hidden books. Given what Michael had seen in Kara’s library the hope that wizards hid some of their books dimmed. It was clear senators had taken over some long enough to learn their secrets. Wizards could escape a senator’s control, but it took time.

  “The Wizard Book cannot be found. Our kind has been searching for ages and failed during more auspicious times. If there was anything to find it would’ve been found.”

  “The book is real, but it has been lost. I don’t have to tell you how important it is that we locate it. We cannot abandon our quest when we are so close.”

  They were nowhere near the end of the quest. In fact, they were oceans away. Michael had with him something that would give Serratus hope, another straw to grasp at. Perhaps he should keep it secret and force his teacher to abandon this foolish endeavor.

  “There is another way we can obtain what we want,” Michael told him.

  “You mean we should ally ourselves with the devils?”

  Michael did not appreciate the mocking tone, especially considering his alternative was more feasible. “Have you seen what is happening out there?”

  While he was with Kara, they had to avoid scouting parties. After they parted, the number of soldiers he had to avoid increased exponentially. Without his favorite senator he could not tell for sure whose soldiers they were. Regardless, he didn’t need her to tell him they were perilously close to open conflict. If it hadn’t begun yet, it would soon.

  “That’s an opportunity. If the senator-devils want to kill each other, just our luck. They had to know what was coming when they attacked your pretty senator. Killing someone that powerful has consequences. Failing at it is even worse. If the herd is culled a bit, I am not the one to object.” Michael didn’t think he had ever seen Serratus so jubilant.

  Perhaps it was time to give his master the gift. The book was old, incredibly rare and worth a fortune, especially now when most of the wizard books had been destroyed. It was a teaching manual for wizards on how to use their powers. Most of it they already knew, but what was of interest to him and would make Serratus ecstatic was a reference. In fact, it was a reference to a reference. This book cited an even older book whose author supposedly had access to an ancient source of knowledge. The Wizard Book was not named, but it was implied.

  “How did you get this?” Serratus eyes widened as he read the paragraph.

  “I thought it was obvious. The biggest devil out there gave it to me as a gift. Well, she thinks she is and I’m not in the position to disagree.”

  “Does she know what she had?”

  That was a very good question. Kara obviously knew it was valuable because it was with the other rare tomes and she had similar senator books. Had she read it? Probably. Had she understood that particular reference? Probably not. “I think she does.”

  “And she just gave it to you? How generous of her.”

  “She had more. I guess it was her way of thanking me for saving her life. We took the most important books with us when we left. Kara was worried somebody would steal them. With her father dead and no soldiers to guard the villa she had no other choice.”

  “They killed her father too?”

  Michael told his master he didn’t really know who they were and recounted what happened after they parted. Except for what he and Kara found at the villa, there was not much to tell. Constant travelling and facing the elements was not that glamorous. He didn’t say anything about Kara’s ritual and the change he sensed in her power. It would feel like a betrayal if he spoke to anyone about that and Michael might not be completely sure of Kara, but he didn’t want to betray her. Besides, Michael didn’t see how it would be relevant to Serratus.

  “So humans attacked her. It was time some of them showed some guts.”

  Michael disagreed with his master. He wouldn’t have called it guts. He would’ve called it stupidity. It was time to tell Serratus something he really wasn’t going to like. “I’ll have to leave soon if I’m going to get to the meeting place in time. I promised Kara I would.”

  Serratus exploded. “Are you insane? You were lucky she hadn’t taken over you yet, which means she has some sort of a plan which involves using you and she couldn’t do it too soon because there was the risk of you escaping. Don’t be a fool!”

  He might be a fool. Kara definitely had a plan she didn’t share with him. It was also clear she needed him because otherwise she wouldn’t go to Essland. Perhaps it would be better for both of them if they didn’t. It sounded to him that this trip was not without danger.

  “I’m not sure I could escape her. She is pretty damn powerful.”

  “Well, she is not sure and she is smart enough not to take the chance while she has better ways to ensure your cooperation. Has she bedded you yet?”

  She had. Michael was not sure that was Kara’s main reason for doing it, but it had crossed his mind. Whatever she had planned for Essland he doubted it had anything to do with that count who sent the soldiers to kill her. Kara was a powerful enough senator she could just order his death and others would jump at the chance to please her. Yes, there was still that little problem she didn’t know whom to trust, but she wouldn’t go all that way for a human.

  “Yes, and yes, she has a plan, and yes, she needs me.”

  “This is Raphaella all over again. How could you be so foolish?”

  Michael still didn’t think he was. He was taking a big risk with Kara, but something told him it was worth it. That hadn’t changed a bit. Whether it was wizard instinct or something else he wasn’t sure. His master would be surprised to know he had at least one thing in common with Kara. He smiled. “She really hates Raphaella, you know!”

  “What?”

  “You and Kara have that in common. Your dislike of Raphaella.”

  “So she doesn’t believe in the greatest love story of all ages?”

  “No, she doesn’t. I think her antipathy towards her fellow senator has to do with Raphaella being from Cuttland and I don’t think there is anything Kara hates more than Cuttland senators. She thinks they killed her father and tried to kill her.”

  “Well, at least one of you is thinking straight. I’m not surprised it is her. After all, she is a senator and she doesn’t let silly little things like emotions get in the way.”

  Michael was sure that wasn’t true. Kara felt the loss of her father and human friend deeply. It was just that unlike other people, who would be paralyzed by grief, she was able to reason and act. Part of it came from being a senator, but the rest was all her.

  “Kara is not like that. Yes, she can be cold and calculating sometimes, but one thing she is not is emotionless. Another thing she is not is evil or a devil.”

  “Of course she is. They all are. How could they not be? Senators order humans to do horrible things, sometimes to themselves, and they know what their victims are thinking, what they are feeling. How can you do that if you are not evil and emotionless?”

  “We killed humans all the time when we had power without giving it a second thought. Just because it is easier
for us, does that mean we are better or worse?” Serratus didn’t know how to answer him. “Granted, some of them are evil, but we had our share of bad wizards. The humans are no better. Granted, a larger proportion of them may be uncaring and emotionless and maybe they are that way to protect themselves. And when someone who has all that unchecked power is evil, then he is truly monstrous. But when they are not monsters, when they do what they have to because it’s their duty, sometimes at a severe cost to themselves, then they are simply strong. Stronger than me, stronger than you.”

  “So you really think she’s not evil even though her kind destroyed ours?”

  “That war was as much our fault as theirs. Wizards started it. And they did take it a step too far, and they know that, but we killed a lot of senators in the beginning when we thought we were winning. Sure we weren’t going to kill all of them, we might need them later on, but we were going to, how you called it, cull the herd. We should’ve known better, should’ve understood that the peculiarity of their power makes senators brilliant tacticians.”

  Serratus conceded the argument. “Your instinct still says you should stay with her?”

  “Yes, that impulse is still there. I may be wrong, but I think I know why. We can’t stay out of the war. The soldiers who attacked Kara had been guided by a sorceress.”

  Serratus swore and Michael was not at all surprised that happened. If the Conclave involved itself in a conflict with senators, there was a very high likelihood of them ending under senatorial control. And sorceresses, unlike wizards, could not escape a senator’s hold, which would make life increasingly difficult for him and Serratus. They had a hard enough time hiding from senators and he didn’t want to think about hiding from senators with sorceresses.

  “Either a faction in the Conclave decided to kill senators or, even worse, the Conclave is compromised.” Serratus’ assessment was highly accurate.