by Radu Aldea
The melded tendril found Lucian. Kara could see his mental block. It was very much like hers. She tried to push through it, but it held. Then she tried again. The block was weakening.
“What are you doing?” Lucian asked or at least that’s what she thought he did. It was difficult to comprehend his words while he was choking in his own blood.
“Do try to be a bit more dignified while you’re dying. I told you I was more powerful than I used to be, but you, greedy bastard, didn’t listen. Did you really think I didn’t know you would figure out he is a wizard or that he isn’t under my control? I was always smarter and more powerful and I will always win against you. You should’ve known that!”
She pushed once more with the tendril of power, it was the tenth or eleventh time, and this time Lucian’s block collapsed. It had become weaker with each one of her attempts, because he was losing blood and dying. He was aware of what she was doing. It warned her to be very cautious using this against members of the Circle of Five. Well, there weren’t five of them anymore. Or maybe there were. Or six. She wasn’t sure of the number anymore.
It felt strange to be in the mind of another senator. Stranger still to be in the mind of a dying senator. Lucian was hers. At least he was hers for the moment. She searched for the connections to his humans. They were there, weaker than they should’ve been. But the humans were already scrambling to get word of what happened here to Lucian’s allies. Some of them were in a very good position to do so. She had suspected something like this. His mistake was trying to attack her in the middle of the night while they were sleeping. He should’ve kept them awake and alert. He should’ve kept them in shouting distance of his clients. He had made a grave mistake, although, in all fairness, there was no way he could’ve known about her new abilities or that she could use Lucian’s connections to his humans against him.
“Die,” she commanded them through Lucian. The order was backed by her vast senatorial power. What happened next, she did not expect. The guards in the room just went limp. Kara thought they were going to kill themselves, not just die like that. Yet they were all dead. The connections in Lucian’s mind disappeared. None of them managed to fulfill his order.
“What did you do?” Michael seemed as shocked as she was.
“Now or in general.” She didn’t want to snipe at him, but she was quickly running out of time. Lucian was dying and she hadn’t gotten all the information she needed. Most importantly, Kara didn’t know where he hid his book. Searching through the mind of a senator was different than doing the same to a human. For starters, there were a lot more thoughts and memories to go through. And the number of connections was insane. Practically everything led to everything else. It was an almost impossible to navigate maze. She could be in there for months and still not find what she was looking for. And she didn’t have months, she had seconds. Kara was astonished to learn that the vast amount of knowledge and information a senator’s mind held dwarfed most humans’ abilities. Even Aleyna, who was the smartest human she had ever met, couldn’t match Lucian. In a way, she should’ve expected it. A senator’s mind was built to filter through huge amounts of information coming sometimes from hundreds of humans. For someone like her or Lucian it would be thousands. Now that she lost the opportunity, she was curious about Michael’s mind. How was it different from hers?
Although it seemed futile she kept searching. And then she picked up a thread. Kara followed it and learned where he hid the books. Unfortunately, there were copies and she didn’t have the time to get them. Fortunately, nobody else knew where they were hidden and she could just leave them to rot or return at a more opportune moment.
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Lucian gurgled the words.
Why did people always say that when they died? To be fair, they didn’t all say that. Only those she killed and some only thought it. Regardless, she was getting away with it. Kara didn’t have the time to deliver her retort because Lucian was gone. They had no time to waste.
“I told you to trust me,” she told Michael. “We have to get out of here now.”
“What did you do? How did you manage to break his control? This feels different. His control felt like my mind was caught in a steel trap. Yours is like another sense was awoken.”
She could feel that Michael was a little annoyed with her, but not as much as he should’ve been. Her emotions, which she knew he could feel, must’ve partly pacified him. He also regarded her with awe. Only now did she realize the magnitude of what she had achieved. Their connection was something unique that hadn’t been seen in centuries.
“I’m not controlling you. The joining ritual connects two minds of equals. I can’t send orders or thoughts, only emotions, just like you. Either one of us can break the link, although I hope you don’t. I went through too much trouble to create it, almost lost my life, and if that’s not enough the ritual has not been performed successfully in more than three hundred years.”
Michael was impressed. “Really?” She nodded. “I wasn’t going to break it. I can’t believe you could’ve stopped Lucian at any time and you waited until the last moment.”
“I had to. Couldn’t be sure I would catch him breaking the guest law otherwise. This type of connection is as new to me as it is to you. I had no idea how it would work.”
“So this was your plan all along?”
“Yes! There was no way to hide that you weren’t under my control from someone like Lucian. He was going to figure it out eventually. And there was a very good chance he would guess what you are. I couldn’t take over you because the book was clear that the ritual wouldn’t be successful if I had done that before. It was not clear if that meant before the ritual started or before it was completed. So, although tempting, I had to restrain myself.”
“You may’ve been right. The control, it grated on my mind and I couldn’t stop fighting it. I think it would’ve been the same with you.”
It was more than that. If Michael had managed to fight her control, there would’ve been no guarantee she could’ve taken over him again. In fact, she was pretty sure she couldn’t. The senatorial knowledge about it was, unsurprisingly, limited. Not many senators managed to gain control of a wizard, and those who did didn’t wait until the wizards escaped it. The unfortunate few who delayed the executions didn’t live long enough to tell about it. To her knowledge, no senator had taken over the same wizard twice. It was all guesswork on Kara’s part. But every senator had a unique mode of exerting control, just like the mental block was unique, so she couldn’t take the chance Lucian could take over Michael while she couldn’t.
“I suspected as much. You don’t feel the need to fight this connection, do you?”
“No, it’s fine! I actually like it. All these emotions coming from you…”
“What, you didn’t think I had feelings? I may come across as an emotionless, heartless bitch, but I do have feelings.” It was a joke. Kara didn’t actually believe Michael thought that. She added. “You can dampen or block them altogether. If you don’t know how, I’ll teach you.”
“That’s not what I meant. I think I know how to do what you said. Are they really real?”
Really real? She chuckled. “The emotions can’t be faked, if that’s what you ask.”
“That means you love me!”
Yes, that was one of the emotions churning inside her. She shrugged. “You love me too.” The flatness of the statement hid the joy that knowledge brought her. Kara knew there were other people who cared deeply about her, some even loved her, but it didn’t feel the same.
“You could’ve stopped him before the last possible moment. Why did you wait so long?”
She could’ve completed the connection the moment she realized Lucian had taken over Michael. But she had waited. Kara had let Lucian believe he was winning until she actually killed him. The shock on his face had been priceless. “I don’t know. It seemed fitting.”
“Why didn’t we wait until he was out
in the open and then kill him?”
“It would’ve taken too long. And there’s another reason. Follow me!”
Unlike her, Lucian didn’t have a vault where he kept his rarest books. Maybe that was because he didn’t have so many or he didn’t value them enough. Probably both. He did have a vault for his gold, but she wasn’t interested. Regardless, his carelessness made her job a lot easier. She had been in his library many times. She had read his pre-veil book three or four times. Lucian certainly didn’t think it important and he definitely didn’t think that one day she would come here to steal it. He had been wrong in both regards.
Kara went directly to the location of the book in the library. She was familiar with Lucian’s collection and she doubted there was something else worth stealing. There hadn’t been two years ago and she didn’t see Lucian making new acquisitions.
“See if you are interested in any of them, but be quick. We have to be packed and leave this place in less than an hour. I don’t think someone will realize something happened here before sunrise, but it would be best if we put some distance between us and this place. While you search I’m going to clean myself up a little and get dressed.”
Kara returned less than ten minutes later cleaned and dressed. She was surprised to find that Michael did find two books. Maybe Lucian’s collection wasn’t as useless as she thought.
“What did you do to all the people in the house? They’re all dead.”
So he also had time to look around the villa, not only for the books. “An unintended consequence of the joining ritual. I killed all the humans under Lucian’s control, not just those in the house. Believe me, I was probably more surprised than you by what happened. So are you going to tell me what you and your friend are planning?”
“We are looking for a book. I’m not sure it even exists, but my mentor does. Its myth, however, is long-lasting among the wizards. Have you heard of The Wizard Book?” Kara shook her head. There were a lot of wizard books out there, but it was clear Michael was referring to a specific one. “Well, those who believe in its existence also think that before the veil wizards knew more about our powers than we do.” That was certainly likely, her book was proof enough. “They also believe that all our other books are pale copies of parts of it. However, the most powerful spells and rituals are supposed to be lost. One spell in particular is of interest to my mentor. The spell that created the senators. He thinks it can be reversed.”
Kara burst into laughter, which was not the reaction he had expected. “And what do you believe, Michael?”
“I think the book is a myth and even if it’s real maybe we shouldn’t reverse the spell.”
“Let him chase his futile dream,” she kept laughing.
“This is not the reaction I was expecting.”
“Wizards did not create us, Michael. I know some among your race shared the belief that they created us to fight some unknown enemy, but the creation did not turn against its creator. I am surer of that than I’ve been of anything else in this world. We must leave now. We won’t be safe until we reach the Serelians.”
Forty minutes later they were hurrying toward Suttland.
Epilogue
They met Stephen in the shadows of the Serelians. Kara had sent the message and the grand-master of the Guild managed to answer. He wasn’t greeting them alone this time. A human walked meekly behind him. Just like before, Stephen swamped the area with senators although none had seen her. They were staying out of sight, but Kara knew they were there even without Michael warning her. He did though, well before they got to the meeting place.
“Lady Kara, I have to admit I didn’t think I would hear from you again.”
“You had that little confidence in my abilities?”
“No, I just thought you miscalculated the situation. It turns out I’ve been wrong. I was more than impressed; I was astonished by what you accomplished. The Order is still reeling after what happened to Lucian. They can’t explain it, which makes them nervous.”
It took more than a day for Lucian’s clients to realize the extent of what happened. That was a little disappointing, just like everything else about him. She hoped her family had reacted quicker to her disappearance. Kara couldn’t be sure, but she thought they did.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen Lucian. What happened?”
“You truly don’t know?” Stephen was doubtful, but eventually he seemed to be convinced by her apparent sincerity. “He is dead and so are all his humans.”
“I see! There’s no such a thing as perfect security and I guess it’s not inconceivable someone got to him. He should’ve been more careful, but, as I said, there’s always a way.”
“All the humans are dead, even those who weren’t with him and there is no apparent cause of death. That’s what bothers everyone the most.”
“They got poisoned with something that doesn’t have any visible effects.”
“Poisoning a lot of people in different locations, that’s difficult.”
“It should be impossible, just like getting a thousand soldiers close to me. But it happened.”
“A significant number of Lucian’s clients had to be involved for the plan to succeed. Could you envision so many of your senators betraying you?”
“Not only can I envision it, but it might’ve actually happened. The soldiers got to me, after all. You do realize who has the most to gain from Lucian’s death?”
“Other than you?”
Yes, other than her. Kara was not surprised the grand-master suspected her. Everyone would if they knew she was alive and roaming through Essland. Hell, she actually did it! Some, maybe most, would believe it was poison. Others would not be convinced, but without the alternative explanation they didn’t have, their voices wouldn’t carry much weight.
“Believe it or not, I’m not very happy about it. More than likely, Suttland will be blamed, and Aaron will be quick to join as long as fingers won’t be pointing at him and hope that no one will realize he just got Essland.”
“He has it, but he won’t be able to keep it if Suttland invades.”
“Most of the troops have been withdrawn and the rest will follow. There is no invasion.” Not yet, anyway. But if Aaron didn’t behave, there would be one that would make Julia’s look like a picnic. The next invasion would have the full might of Suttland behind it.
“You were not behind the withdrawal?”
“No! My guess is Julia and Dana negotiated some sort of agreement.”
Judging by Stephen’s expression, Kara realized she was not wrong and the grand-master of the Guild knew something. It had been an educated guess on her part. Although she was pretty sure her message got through this time and she was in fact responsible for Suttland’s soldiers leaving the Gap, Kara knew her blonde friend would use the opportunity to get something. Julia negotiating with Dana or Aaron just made a whole lot of sense.
“Well, nobody is pointing a finger at him or at you, for that matter.”
“Why would they point at me? I’m dead.”
Stephen chuckled. “I find it a little surprising nobody suspects Aaron. Nobody in Essland, anyway. There are voices of outsiders who do, but it’s Julia all over again. Practically everyone outside Suttland suspected her of having something to do with your exaggerated death, while southerners didn’t. Right now Essland is split between blaming Julia, who was nowhere near Lucian and didn’t have the opportunity, and Lena Casta, who, although in the area, didn’t have the motive.”
Kara was laughing on the inside. She hadn’t intended to shift the blame on Lena, but it had worked out perfectly for her. If Cuttland and Essland were at each other's throats, it could only benefit Suttland. “I can tell you that people who know Julia find it hard to believe she would try to kill me.”
“Well, let me allay your suspicions by saying that your clients and Julia don’t seem to be involved with the attack on you. You’ll never guess who ordered it.”
�
��Sem’Dhar!”
“You knew? Why did you send me to get our friend here, then?”
So that explained the human. He was the count who sent his men after her. “I suspected, but I didn’t know for sure. I needed solid proof.”
“You have it now. You do know what they wanted to do to you?” Kara nodded. “Whatever you are going to do to him or his master is not enough.”
No, it wasn’t and worst of all she couldn’t act yet. “Any idea why this rat thought it was a good idea to come after me?”
“I can’t speak of Sem’Dhar, but this one is part of a brotherhood. That’s what they call it. Its purpose is to protect humans from us and it was created by the late emperor, apparently. His son inherited the leadership. I was surprised to learn that something like this can exist without us knowing. They have been pretty clever. He trained the soldiers in the Eastern desert not only to fight but to meditate and control their thoughts as well. He only chose people who don’t have a family or anything else to lose and really hate us. He used all his soldiers in his attempt because he was told this would break us and he would be praised for his action for years to come if it worked. What really irks me is that he might be right.”
“No, it wouldn’t. We lost half the Order during the Great War and we weren’t broken. It’s unlikely a civil war would take such a severe toll since most likely it would be fought only by battle-senators. We might be weakened, but certainly not broken.”
“And I’m sure you are aware they had a guide and what that guide is.” Kara nodded again. “He was told that he was going to have help in the letter. Before you ask, it was coded and it had the imperial seal, so there is no doubt it came from Sem’Dhar. We have him and his network was almost completely destroyed, but there have to be others.”