Kel had left before Farrell could speak to him, so he went to find Nerti. On his way to her rooms, he stopped by the palace kitchen to get apples from the suspicious cooks.
“As Lenore’s Chosen, you can communicate with the bulls,” Nerti said. “They are not as intelligent as horses, but you can control them if you try.”
“Can I use the Ear to speak to them?” His hand slid into his pocket and summoned Lenore’s Gift.
“I believe you can, but remember they can’t speak in words. You need to convey your intent in a way they will understand.”
“Which is how?” He held out another apple.
“I sent an image of them stopping.” Nerti bit into her treat and crunched happily. “I also reminded them who I was, but since you can’t do that, I’d suggest you project an air of calm as you show them what you want them to do.”
While it sounded easy enough, Farrell had his doubts it would work as well when he tried. “I wish I had a few bulls I could practice on.”
“Since you were so thoughtful to bring me a treat, I can help you.”
“You?”
“Yes.” She glanced at the bag of apples, and Farrell set the last three on the table. “Try what you want to do on me. I’ll let you know if you’re doing it right.”
“That’s a great—”
“What’s wrong?”
“Magic. I mean, I heard someone use magic. It felt wrong.”
“We’ve had this discussion before. What do you mean, ‘wrong’?”
“It’s hard to explain. Here.” He extended a link that she accepted. “It might be easier if you feel it from me.”
“I see it, but I don’t understand.”
“People use magic all over the city. Mostly small, useful magic meant to help people get on with their work. This was powerful, and someone tried to hide it but failed. It also felt like it had a dark taint to it. Not dark magic, but the person using it must have used dark magic before and couldn’t hide the tinge.” The dark element bothered him, but the fact someone tried to hide it concerned him more. “I need to speak to Kel.”
“I agree.”
“Grandfather?”
“Yes?” The irritation in Kel’s voice almost caused him to back away.
Almost. “I felt something odd. Someone tried to hide a powerful spell, but their concealing needs work.”
“That isn’t unusual,” Kel said tersely.
Farrell bit back his anger. “The wizard has used dark magic before. Recent enough that it stained their magic.”
The silence that followed was worse than the angry retort Farrell expected.
“Where are you?” Kel finally asked.
“With Nerti.”
“Both of you meet me in the courtyard.”
The command surprised him, but Nerti nodded. “Okay, we’ll—”
“Have you used the Eye to find the wizard who did this?” Kel asked.
“No.” He chided himself for not thinking of it before he reached out to Kel. “I’ll do it on the way.”
“Good.” Kel’s presence vanished.
“I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Maybe not, but his suggestion is wise.”
The pair met Flemin and Rojas, and the four galloped into the courtyard. Their arrival surprised the guards atop the walls. Farrell wondered if they’d have fired arrows at him if he hadn’t been riding Nerti. He didn’t get long to debate the question. Kel emerged from a side door in the palace with Samruel and the king a step behind. When Kel saw the pair, he waved them over. Farrell closed his fingers around the Eye and put it back in his pocket. He set his face to give away nothing of what he’d learned.
“We need to see the queen,” Kel said. “She is going to meet us in a guarded workroom.”
Farrell dismounted, and the four followed Kel and the others into the palace. The sound of unicorn hooves on stone echoed up and down the otherwise quiet hallway.
“Now can you tell us what’s happening?” Ervend asked.
“I could, but you’d learn more if Farrell can show you.”
Ervend glanced at Farrell. “Show me?”
“Farrell possesses the Eye of Honorus. When he detected something unusual, he used it to find the threat. Since we are not familiar with the city, it would be better to show you what he saw than try to explain it.”
“He has what?” Ervend asked.
Something in the king’s voice had changed, and Farrell tried to make eye contact. Ervend avoided his gaze.
“The Eye of Honorus,” Kel said. “With it he can see anything that has happened, past or present. Only the Gods may prevent the Eye from showing him something.”
“It showed you a threat?” Samruel asked.
“You didn’t mention there was a threat to the city when you contacted me,” Ervend said.
Kel turned his head and regarded the king. “I didn’t know until Farrell told me.”
“How could he tell you when he just arrived?” Ervend asked.
Kel snorted. “You use my magic to speak to each other and then ask me how I communicate with Farrell?”
Farrell thanked the Six Ervend didn’t respond. The last thing he needed right then was another argument between the king and Kel. Things would resolve soon enough.
“How did you get the Eye of Honorus?” Samruel asked.
“Kel gave it to me.”
“I told you the Six have touched him,” Kel said. “Who else would Honorus have me give it to?”
They stopped before two large wooden double doors. Eight guards came to attention as the small party arrived. When the doors opened, the queen stood near a stone table with Matyhis and Tharles.
“Seal the room, please,” Kel said.
Pertrice hesitated before she motioned to Tharles, who did as requested. Before he removed the Eye, Farrell made sure Tharles had secured the room. Satisfied with the work, he took out the blue gem.
“Nerti and I were speaking when I felt something odd. When I couldn’t explain it, Kel suggested I used the Eye of Honorus to find the source.”
“Did you?” Tharles asked. “Find it, that is?”
“Yes.” He held the Eye higher and asked it to show everyone what he’d already seen.
An average-looking man sat on a high-backed wooden chair in a sparsely furnished room. His eyes looked glassy as his lips moved. The angry red jewel on top of his staff pulsed rhythmically.
“I asked the Eye to show me who the man works for and nothing happened. That might mean he didn’t work for anyone, but there is one person I can’t use the Eye to see. Meglar. Because he is Neldin’s Champion, I’m forbidden from spying on him in any way. He is likewise barred from seeing where I am and what I’m doing.
“To determine if he worked for himself or Meglar, I asked the Eye to show me who he reports to.” The image shifted and a new figure appeared. The middle-aged man wore a black-and-red robe. “Those are the colors only wizards in Meglar’s inner circle wear.”
“What is someone from Zargon doing in Tilerstig?” Samruel asked.
“Yes.” Ervend folded his arms across his chest and glared at Farrell, Kel, and Nerti. “What is someone doing in the city right after you appear?”
Kel laughed. It was loud and mirthless. “You would ask that?”
Ervend’s anger slipped for a moment and Farrell saw surprise. “What does that mean?”
“Why don’t you tell us?” Kel said.
The other Stigerians watched the exchange with varying degrees of shock. Farrell rarely saw his grandfather this focused. He scanned Kel and noted he’d filled his staff to capacity for the first time since they’d left Haven.
If Ervend recognized the danger, he hid it well. His angry glare might cow others in Tilerstig, but it wouldn’t work with Kel.
“What are you insinuating?” Ervend said, his voice louder than moments ago.
“I insinuate nothing. I know the truth.” He scanned the royal family. “Perhaps I should have Farrell ask the
Eye to show everyone?”
“Show us what?” Pertrice asked. “Stop the games!”
“Ervend allowed Meglar’s agent into the city,” Farrell said.
“What?” Ervend shouted. “I did not! Guards!”
Kel chuckled. “Fool. The room is sealed. I’d suggest no one try to unseal it until we are finished.”
“You don’t rule here, old man.” He turned to Tharles. “Unseal the room and lock them up!”
“Do you include me in your command?” Nerti nudged her way past Farrell. “Consider your next words carefully lest you insult me further.”
“Leave the room sealed,” Pertrice said.
Ervend spun toward his life partner with his fists balled. “What?”
“You don’t rule here, either.” Her stony resolve cracked a bit as she stared at him.
“You can’t be serious! How can you accept their lies?” Ervend’s voice bordered on hysterical.
Samruel and Matyhis moved closer to their mother. She held up both hands to stay them. “I haven’t said I believe them, but I want to hear and see more.”
“Why should we believe you?” Tharles asked. “I could create images with a thought and tell you it came from the Eye.”
Farrell studied the chief wizard. With his help, the royal family would be difficult to take out quickly.
“Queen Nerti?” Pertrice said. “Your information, does it come through Farrell or do you know this through other means?”
“My information comes through my link with Farrell. I saw what the Eye showed him.”
“So if what he asked the Eye to show him were mistaken, you would receive inaccurate information?”
“If that were possible, yes. But Farrell asked the Eye to show him who allowed Meglar’s agent into the city. There was no doubt what I saw.”
“Lies!” Ervend yelled as his right hand snapped toward Farrell.
Prepared for an attack, Farrell raised his shield around himself and Nerti. Energy flared from the king’s hand, but time slowed as the spell inched toward him. Red dots flew from the tip of Kel’s staff as everyone else protected himself or herself.
Farrell released his counter. His strike dispersed Ervend’s attack before it made it halfway across the room. Time resumed its regular march as the explosion caused the king to cover his face. That cost him, as Kel’s bands wrapped themselves around Ervend.
“Stop!” Pertrice inched closer to Tharles, and her sons moved with her. “How dare you use magic in my presence?”
Farrell didn’t know whom she was upbraiding. He didn’t care. Ervend tried to kill him. Clumsy, ineffective, and without hope of success, it was still an attempt.
“The fight is already over.” Kel closed the distance between him and the king. “Did you really think that would work?”
“Release me!” Spittle flew from his lips as he struggled against his bonds. “I order you to release me!”
“I don’t take orders from you.” Kel wiggled his fingers and a bubble enclosed the king. “And I don’t need to hear you babble while I speak to the queen.”
“Do you take orders from me?” Pertrice’s defenses were still raised.
“No, but I will listen to you.”
The two sides watched each other warily, and Farrell kept his reinforced shield in place. In the blink of an eye, the royal family lost one of their number. Not the strongest member, but they couldn’t afford to lose anyone if it came to a fight with Kel and Farrell.
“Will you release my husband?” Pertrice asked.
“No.” Kel glanced at Ervend, who struggled against his bonds. “I have given you proof he betrayed the kingdom, and his attack confirms his guilt.”
“His betrayal, if he did such a thing, is for me to decide.”
“There isn’t time for this,” Farrell held up the Eye. “There’s more to his treachery than just allowing one enemy agent into the city.”
Chapter Fifteen
Connected to the Gift, Farrell directed it to show him what he’d seen earlier. A large fleet of ships under full sail cut through a choppy sea.
“Dumbarten’s intelligence service learned Meglar has been buying every vessel he could,” Farrell said. “Zargon also made deals with the Free Cities of Northern Ardus to borrow their ships. Some of those deals were forced on the rulers by taking their family hostage. Other simply required gold.
“We thought he planned to use this armada against Dumbarten. It appears we were wrong. They are sailing for Tilerstig.”
“As interesting as that is, it does nothing to suggest my husband is a traitor. If that is all you have, I’m not persuaded,” Pertrice said. “How do we know these ships are bound for Tilerstig?”
Farrell adjusted the image so it began at the palace. It zoomed over the city, across the bay and through the fingers that guarded the approach to the city. At the mouth of the channel created by the two land masses, a pair of small vessels turned toward the opening. “Is that more convincing?”
“That’s impossible.” Pertrice’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the image. “Kel’s magic concealed that opening to all but our people.”
“Why don’t you check the spell?” Kel asked. “Someone turned it off.”
“By someone you mean you,” Tharles said.
“Don’t be a fool,” Kel said. “If my intent was to capture Tilerstig, I wouldn’t tell you the ships approached. I also wouldn’t have sought you out. I’d have turned them off as my army approached.”
“There’s more.” Farrell sent the image back toward the mainland. They soared over the city and sped west. Just beyond the boundaries of Kel’s magical protections, a ghostly army marched toward them. “They’re hidden by a powerful cloaking spell, but it can’t conceal them from the Eye.”
He shifted the direction and moved south. Beyond the southern edge of Tilerstig, another shadowy army advanced on the kingdom. The queen stared at the image for a few more seconds and then closed her eyes.
“The defenses are still working.” She opened her eyes and glared at Kel. “What game do you play?”
“Given your isolation, I’ll excuse your lack of strategic insight.” Kel waved his hand and a map of Tilerstig and the surrounding area displaced the image from the Eye. The two armies and the invading fleet appeared where they were currently located. “The soldiers are less than an hour’s march from your borders. The ships are about to enter your territory. If you didn’t know the armies approached, would you have monitored the spells that guard the land?”
Pertrice stared at the ships but didn’t answer.
“You would be rather preoccupied with an unprecedented event,” Kel said. “The arrival of an armada would have taken you by complete surprise. You might check the other spells to be sure they were intact. But if you found they were working, would you continue to monitor them?”
She shook her head. “No, I’d delegate that to . . . to someone else.”
“You can say his name,” Kel said without any humor. “You’d give that task to the king.”
The queen turned on him. “What you suggest is . . . Why should I believe you over my life partner? It’s all very convenient that as soon as you arrive, we’re attacked for the first time in . . . since . . .”
“Since Beatrice and I came to your rescue?” He raised an eyebrow. “What possible reason would I have for orchestrating this? If my goal was to take control of the kingdom, there are far easier was for me to do that. Your spells—my spells—would not protect you from me. I could come and go at my discretion. Given my skill and power, it would be an easy thing to remove the royal family if that were my intent.”
“What possible reason would the king have for betraying his kingdom and his family?” Tharles asked. “It’s easier to believe you would betray us than King Ervend.”
“Are you so blind you can’t see what I saw within moments?” Kel turned to Pertrice. “Can you say your husband likes answering to you?”
“We’re partners.” Pertri
ce’s denial lacked conviction. She looked at her husband, struggling against Kel’s restraints, and her expression hardened. “I refuse to believe he betrayed me . . . us.”
“Ask him to let you read his thoughts,” Farrell said. “If he isn’t involved, he has nothing to hide.”
“That is hardly a fair request,” Pertrice said. “Would you willingly open your mind to someone?”
“Do you want a list of who I have allowed to read my thoughts?” Farrell snuck a glance at Ervend. The panicked look told him the man had plenty to hide. “My life partner need only ask and I’d give him complete access to my thoughts. Nerti is linked to my mind right now. She uses it to see and hear what I do when we’re not together. That allows her to see any of my thoughts without my knowing she’s there.”
“You are hardly a typical example,” Tharles said.
“Maybe not, but this is an unusual event. We’re not common soldiers or a servant accusing the king of some misdeed. Kel founded this kingdom, Nerti is queen of the unicorns—”
“The Six have chosen Farrell and he is Their Champion,” Nerti said. “He also possesses the Eye of Honorus. If you will not accept our word, who will you believe?”
Pertrice wavered for a moment but didn’t break. Farrell worried if she didn’t act soon, the ships would disgorge their soldiers. They would be harder to deal with if that happened.
“At times a queen must put aside all other attributes and be the monarch,” Farrell said. “If Ervend is innocent, he will understand the need to safeguard your children and the kingdom. As I said, we are neither enemies nor without credibility.”
“Would you ask your life partner to open his mind to you were you in my place?” She tilted her head in a way that suggested the answer she expected.
Farrell considered it from this angle. His first instinct would be to trust Miceral completely. Then again, Miceral never chafed when Farrell took charge.
“Your point is well made. I would trust him over anyone, but it’s not a fair comparison. Miceral tried to sacrifice himself to save me. He would tell me to search his mind before I could ask. Can you say the same?”
Champion of the Gods Box Set Page 190