Mage Slayer

by Dante King

  “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Barlin said.

  “Indeed,” I answered.

  “Most people balk at the flag. They think I’m self-absorbed..”

  I couldn’t exactly say I disagreed with those people, so I changed the subject. “I assume you use magic to fly it?”

  Barlin nodded. His chest swelled and his eyes twinkled as he looked at it. He must have been one of the few men in Trysca with such an airship.

  “Only the most powerful evokers can fly a ship like that,” he said. “It takes a huge amount of focus and energy.”

  “I can imagine.”

  In truth, I didn’t have to imagine at all. I could sense Barlin’s aura. It was concentrated, potent, and there was a good deal of discipline that greatly added to his strength. It was the one thing that made his aura eclipse his daughter’s: she was the more powerful evoker, but her magic was untrained, nervous, tentative.

  I turned to examine the rest of the room. The Observatory was filled with marvellous objects, some magical and others simply historical or practical. An ornate telescope stood by one of the large windows. It looked like it had been dropped into a river of molten gold. Yarina and Winnie were looking around with interest too, but while Yarina seemed excited, Winnie was cautious.

  Two staircases on either side of the large windows led up to a mezzanine, with rows of shelves boasting a range of different books..

  The room reminded me of the Arcanum. Everything about the space was larger than life, from the coffered ceiling to the terrazzo floors thick with earthy colors that contrasted with the open sky.

  Barlin observed us carefully as he rang a small silver bell sitting in the center of the massive dining table.

  “Please,” he said, “make yourselves comfortable. I will have my butler attend to your wounds.”

  “There’s no need,” I said. “I’ll take care of my own wounds.”

  “As will I,” Yarina piped up. “Thank you for the offer, but it is unnecessary.”

  “Can I at least offer you beds for the night?”

  I couldn’t help thinking that was suspiciously generous, so I simply nodded for now.

  Barlin rang his silver bell again, and this time he became visibly irritated.

  “Is something wrong?” Yarina asked.

  “The butler doesn’t seem to be around.” Barlin made a clicking sound with his mouth. “He has been disappearing of late. Perhaps he got in the path of those tainted mages.”

  I exchanged a glance with Winnie. How could he not be worried about his butler, especially after these events? Barlin looked at the two of us in turn and smiled

  “Orli has been a part of our family for a long time,” he said. “In fact, he was created by my father.”

  “Created?” I repeated.

  “Orli is a golem. His purpose is to serve and protect the Cyntria family—which he has done faithfully since his ownership passed into my hands. He was Lillian’s closest companion when she was growing up.”

  As if on cue, Lillian walked into the observatory, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Yarina was a classical beauty and Winnie was a bombshell, but Lillian was a mix of both. Her body was lean but curvy; her breasts were highlighted by her lilac corseted dress, and her black hair held all the colors of midnight. There was the faintest blush on her cheeks, and I hoped that was for my benefit.

  “Ah,” Barlin said, “Lillian. Have you found Orli?”

  “I don’t know, father. I haven’t called for him recently.”

  I sensed the controlled tone of Lillian’s voice. It was clear that she and her father had a few unresolved issues, but they had put it all on hold to host us tonight.

  “No matter,” Barlin said, burying his frustration. “We don’t need Orli for this.”

  Barlin lifted his hands in the air and swung them about in odd movements. I watched as the table filled with plates, platters, and trays piled with a variety of foods. There were stuffed pigeons dripping in a rich red sauce, charred meat tossed in duck grease, and a variety of salted and smoked meats. There were tureens of wild rice and savory pastries and a dozen other dishes that were considered to be the rich man’s fare.

  I felt my stomach churn with hunger, and I realized it had been many hours since Yarina, Winnie, and I had sat down in Qilzid’s workshop and eaten a proper meal.

  “Come,” Barlin said, motioning for the chairs. “Let us sup.”

  Barlin moved automatically to the head of the table, and Lillian took the seat to his immediate right. Yarina took the seat to Barlin’s left, and Winnie sat next to her. Thankful that I wouldn’t have to sit so close to the Archmage, I took my place next to Lillian.

  Once we were seated, the platters started to rise gently and hover over to each of us in turn, offering us their contents. Once our plates were full to overflowing, the platters moved slowly to their original places on the table and hovered down to the surface once more.

  Winnie wagged her eyebrows at me and mouthed the word “fancy” when she was certain no one was looking.

  I suppressed a smile and reached for the wine by the side of my plate. The atmosphere around the table was slightly awkward, but I had to admit that sitting down for a nice meal was a welcome respite from all the fighting.

  “I don’t believe I’ve met your young friend, Priestess Yarina,” Barlin said, glancing at Winnie.

  Lillian seemed fascinated with both Winnie and Yarina. She was looking at each of them in turn, her expression awash with curiosity. She seemed strangely shy as she pushed the food around on her plate.

  “I have not achieved the status of priestess as of yet, Archmage,” Yarina replied. “You may call me Yarina.”

  “Very well.”

  “Winnie has the same goal as Kurt and I do. She wants to help rid the city of corruption.”

  “Ah, yes,” Barlin said, turning to me. “Kurt. We met only this morning.”

  “Just after the Terminus Seal was stolen,” I added.

  “Indeed. A terrible loss.” Barlin’s brow creased with worry.

  Not for the first time today, I was struck with the polished handsomeness of the man. He was dressed differently tonight, in a white tunic with long, wide sleeves that billowed slightly at the cuffs around his wrists.

  “We’re going to get it back,” Yarina said with determination.

  Barlin raised his eyebrows. “The three of you?”

  Yarina nodded.

  Winnie seemed pleased that Yarina had finally accepted her as part of our little group.

  I sensed Lillian’s eyes fall on me as Yarina and Barlin spoke. A flush of color spilled onto her cheeks when I turned and met her gaze.

  “Um…I have never met a—mage slayer before,” Lillian said cautiously.

  Barlin turned to me with new interest. “A mage slayer, are you? I wasn’t quite sure.”

  “Kurt is the first mage slayer in a very long time,” Winnie said.

  “So it seems.” Barlin ran his long fingers through the neat prongs of his beard. “That explains your association with him a little better, Yarina.”

  Barlin seemed to warm to me considerably after that. He offered me more wine and his eyes stopped following my movements with suspicion. We ate in relative silence, discussions never really coming to life.

  “I am extremely grateful to you,” Barlin said when another awkward lull hit the conversation. “For saving my daughter.”

  “You don’t need to thank us for that,” Yarina said.

  “Come now, Lillian,” Barlin said suddenly, turning his eyes on his daughter. “I know that it is a rare thing to see a mage hunter, after all these years, but…we must not stare. You’re making Mr. Woodsman uncomfortable. Excuse me, Yarina.”

  Lillian dropped her eyes, and another fierce blush rushed across her cheeks. I wanted to give her a reassuring smile, but Barlin had succeeded in making her self-conscious enough to refuse meeting my gaze after that.

  Yarina cleared her throat. “Barlin. You mentioned
that you were going to… explain a few things about your involvement—well, how you found out, about all this.”

  Barlin nodded. “We have reached that portion of the night already, have we?”

  Yarina didn’t give in. “We need answers, Archmage. I don’t mean to press you, but—”

  “But you have a job to do,” Barlin said. “Yes. I understand.”

  The air in the observatory changed palpably. I could feel Yarina sit up a little straighter, and Winnie stared at the Archmage with her fox ears pricked up.

  “I suppose the question you most want answered is whether or not I had anything to do with the seal’s theft? Or am I mistaken?”

  Yarina glanced at me for a moment, then nodded slowly. “We don’t want to offend—”

  “I take no offence whatsoever. It’s a fair question. My answer is no, I did not steal the seal, nor was I involved in any way.”

  Lillian was looking down at her plate. Every now and again her blue eyes flickered up toward me and then away again.

  “My story is a little more complicated than is generally known.”

  “I’ve heard rumors,” Winnie piped up.

  “Winnie, no,” Yarina said sternly.

  Barlin looked between Yarina and Winnie. “It’s okay. Tell me, Winnie, what are these rumors you have heard about me?”

  If he expected Winnie to be intimidated, he was wrong. She met his gaze boldly.

  “I’ve heard that you made a sacrifice of your wife,” she said. “You handed her over to the Chaos Gods.”

  I saw Lillian look to her father, suddenly forgetting her shyness. He sat quietly for a long time. He rubbed his index fingers together and stared just above our heads, seemingly lost in thought.

  “Father,” Lillian said. “Tell her it’s not true.” She turned to Winnie. “It’s not true. My mother died giving birth to me.”

  I felt a deep sympathy for Lillian. She was innocent in all this, that much I could see. And she had believed wholeheartedly in her father’s deceptions, which were written all over his face.

  “Father,” Lillian said emphatically when he kept his silence. “Father?” She turned to him, and instantly, her face dropped, her eyelids closing slightly in tired disbelief, her eyebrows dramatic. “Father…”

  Barlin closed his eyes and sighed deeply. When he opened them again, I saw a different man. I saw a worried father, an old, old mage…a man who was doing his best to protect his family while dealing with the problems of a whole city.

  “It is time you knew the truth, Lillian.” His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, vulnerable almost.

  Tears sparkled in Lillian’s eyes. “She didn’t…when I was born, she…” Her throat was shut, it was clear that if she spoke more she’d break into sobs.

  “No.” Barlin leaned over and placed his hand over Lillian’s. “That was a lie. A lie I’m ashamed I ever told, that broke me a little more every time I had to tell it again—but a lie I needed you to believe.”

  Lillian’s mouth contracted and pouted several times before she got a sound out. “Why?”

  “Because I wanted to protect you. Sometimes, my dove, the truth can be too painful to bear. I didn’t want you to grow up with that pain.”

  Lillian shook her head slowly and pulled her hand out from beneath her father’s. I felt her magic swell furiously, and I realized that it was closely tied to her emotions.

  “How did my mother die?” Lillian asked, her voice colder now.

  Barlin sighed. “As a young mage, I was appointed to a secret council. I was tasked with finding doom mages and eradicating their kind.”

  “Doom mages. You told me the doom mages went extinct a long time ago.”

  “They did. But that doesn’t mean these powerful mages could never spring up again. My job was to track spikes in magical energy and find the source. If we found a doom mage—”

  “You killed my mother, the mother of your daughter,” Lillian said, her chest rising and falling heavily. “You were hunting her.”

  “I didn’t kill the mages, I brought them to the council—”

  “For them to kill them, what’s the difference!” Lillian’s anger fought her dread at what her father was saying for dominance.

  Barlin nodded, with a heavy head. “Your mother was living outside Trysca at the time, and…she was beautiful, Lillian, just like you are. I couldn’t bring her in. I knew what they would do to her, I couldn’t bear the thought of handing her over to the executioner. So I protected her any way I knew how, and slowly, over time…we fell in love.”

  Lillian’s eyes were both wild and dejected, electric and shiny with the tears threatening to escape them. Barlin couldn’t bear to meet them.

  “When your mother got pregnant, we were both terrified that you would be born a doom mage too. There were others like me who were hunting doom mages and they were closing in on us. You were born during a thunderstorm, Lillian. The sky flashed with lightning, trees fell, and animals howled into the night. But the next morning you were with us. A perfect cherub with downy black hair and the most magnificent blue eyes I had ever seen.” He suddenly looked up and straight into Lillian’s eyes. The strength of his love shone through. “We had a few precious weeks together as a family before the council got wind of your mother’s presence, I still don’t know how. They knew nothing of you, however, and that was my only solace. I promised Lara that I would take care of you. I promised her I would keep you safe. She used her own magic to conceal you before the council came for her. I spirited you away to the Spire and—”

  “And kept me locked up my whole life,” Lillian said softly.

  Barlin’s eyes were muted with sadness. “I have made many mistakes in my life, Lillian. But I do not regret what I did to protect you.” He turned to Yarina and me. “Lara did die at the hands of the council I worked for. But I did not turn her over to them. I tried to protect her—but they found her in the end.”

  “Did they know of your involvement with her?” I asked.

  “They didn’t. Otherwise I would have faced certain imprisonment, and, Lillian…well, Lillian wouldn’t be here.”

  Yarina frowned. “You are the archmage of the Institute. You are a powerful man with a foot in every council in this city, and yet—”

  “Why do you think I strived to become one of the most powerful men in the city? I knew that power is protection. If I rose high enough, I could shield myself from all those who would dare to harm my daughter. But I was not always Archmage Barlin Cyntria. Back then I was just Barlin…a force who wanted to serve.”

  “So you don’t know who is behind the seal’s theft?” Yarina asked.

  “I have my suspicions, and my suspicions are usually accurate, if I say so myself. I have been trying to monitor the use of dark magic within the city. The Mausoleum is rife with the smell of corruption, and there have been reports that Kalazar has been amassing an army—”

  “Kalazar is dead,” I said blankly.

  Barlin turned to me. “Excuse me?”

  “Yarina and I went to the mausoleum this morning, right after I left the Arcanum. We rescued Winnie, and we killed him.”

  “I…that surprises me.”

  “Why?” Yarina asked.

  “Because he is no ordinary necromancer. Kalazar’s power is…significant.”

  Barlin’s eyes fell on Winnie, who shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

  “Not all necromancers are evil,” she said. “I was his prisoner for months. I have no love or loyalty to that wretch and I’m glad he’s dead.”

  “If he really is dead,” Barlin said.

  “We saw his corpse,” Yarina piped up. “There is no question.”

  “Well, Kalazar was obviously in league with someone else,” Barlin said, “because their grand plan is still in effect. They have the Terminus Seal. All they need is a doom mage to activate it.”

  Barlin’s eyes turned slowly to his daughter, and I finally saw a tear slip down Lillian’s face. “I am a doom mag
e.”

  He nodded. “Yes. And I think a part of you has always known that.”

  Lillian looked down and wrung her hands together. “My mother died to protect me.”

  “I’m sorry I lied to you, my dove. I only wanted to—”

  “Protect me. I know.”

  “I hope one day you will forgive me.”

  Lillian looked down for a moment, and then up at me. “Those mages who broke into my tower—they wanted to use me?”

  I nodded. “To activate the seal.”

  “And what happens when the seal is activated?”

  “All hell breaks loose,” I said. “The owner of the seal will become nearly invincible.”

  I could see the uncertainty written all over Lillian’s face. It was the same expression she had worn when I had caught her in the catacombs.

  “Why were you at the Arcanum this morning, Lillian?” I asked.

  “I—I’ve always loved books.” Her eyes darted to her father and then back to me. “I’ve read all the books in the Spire, and I just, I wanted a new read.”

  “Lillian, if you require more books, I will get you more books,” Barlin said. “All you had to do was ask.”

  Lillian nodded, but her expression remained somewhat downcast. “It’s not just that. I wanted—I wanted to get out of the Spire for just a little while. I wanted to feel like I was free.”

  Barlin sighed. “In trying to protect you, I have made you feel like a prisoner.”

  Lillian reached out and put her hand over her father’s. “I do understand why you did what you did. But I do wish you had told me all of this sooner.”

  “An old man’s weakness, dear daughter.” He patted her hand gently. “But I am determined to find the mages behind these infiltrations. Once I do, perhaps we can change a few things around here.”

  Lillian’s eyes brightened. “You promise?”

  “I do.”

  “We should search the bodies,” Yarina said. “Perhaps the mages carry some clues as to who they work for.”

  Barlin nodded. “It’s likely. After dinner I will go and see to it.”

  “If you don’t mind, I will accompany you,” Yarina said.