The mage from nowhere, p.49
The Mage From Nowhere, page 49
“Well yeah, but I don’t remember hearing of anything you did to help stop him.”
“What could I do? I asked Nykal for the support I needed, but Nykal had just finished the revolution. He was more broke than I was. Besides, I don’t think he believed that I had good intentions. He sent me to Koluk because he thought I supported dteria. I never wanted to help Oquin Calloum! He forced me to ‘lend’ him money for his army. He depleted my bank completely. Thank God Nykal won, but then he wouldn’t believe me when I told him what happened. In Koluk, Cason’s people eventually came after me. I feared for my life. With no help from anyone else, I had no choice but to leave.”
“So now you want revenge against the king.”
“No!” Tedson made a fist. “I was angry then, but I understand the king. There was not much he could do either. I believe he made the right choice in recruiting young sorcerers and training them. They have done more than an expensive army of non-sorcerers could ever hope to accomplish. I planned to ask the king for an audience, but I got involved with Wolf before that. I was never very good with sorcery before the changes to mana, but I recently found myself with a natural skill to read my own timelines.”
“Ahhhh! Fuck!” Leon yelled as if cut with a blade. He calmed himself and asked, “How did you get involved with Wolf?”
“I knew him through Luther long ago. Wolf sought me out after the war. Even though I’m no longer wealthy, I have a lot of abandoned property and land with no oversight but my own. He wanted access to this in exchange for us working together. I asked him what we would be working on, and he told me something I might not have believed if it wasn’t for my skill. I saw death in my future. Something needed to change.”
“And what of everyone else’s futures? Or are they not important enough?”
“I can only see the possible futures of my own life and others when they intersect with mine, but yes, they are important. I did see battle and death for many people. It scared me. Wolf said he could prevent that with my help. I thought about going to the king, but like I said, I saw my arrest in some instances, while other visions showed Wolf killing me. I decided to see what the young sorcerer really had to show me because what other choice did I have?”
Tedson’s eyebrows lowered into a glower.
“Well?” Leon asked.
“I’m trying to decide how to tell you so that you’ll believe me.”
“Just get the damn words out. I’ve heard a lot of shit in these last few weeks that I normally wouldn’t believe.”
“Have you heard that the manastorms have dissipated?”
“I have,” Leon said.
“Why do you think that is?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Leon retorted.
“Because I’m wondering if you were lying to me earlier after all. If you know why the manastorms have dissipated, you should probably be able to figure out what will happen to Dorrinthal. And if you can figure that out, you should know what Wolf is trying to do.”
“Wait, just wait,” Leon said. “Have you seen with your own eyes that the manastorms have dissipated?”
Tedson gestured emphatically. “I went to Aathon with Wolf. He had already gone once before. He introduced me to someone…something. I don’t know what to call her.”
“An Ancient,” Leon said. “Sorcerers who think of themselves as gods.”
“Exactly. She confirmed what I saw, battle in Dorrinthal in the distant future.”
“I heard the manastorms had dissipated, but my source was not exactly reliable. Now I’m starting to see that everything he said is probably true. Fucking hell. So what did Wolf want you to do with this Ancient in Aathon?”
“Me? Nothing. Wolf just wants my Time spell and my land to support his small army. It’s only about forty large now but still growing. Wolf expects to bring this Ancient here to protect us against other Ancients who may come. He believes this Ancient will stop future war, future battles, and future deaths. It’s my guess the Ancient has wanted to come to our domain ever since finding out that sorcery has reverted and can now be changed again, but she was unable to get here through a rift until recently, when one opened naturally in the forest. Now she knows the path to reach us. She has been waiting only because she needs support, and she wants your ranger gone.”
“Why? And wait, how did you find Aliana and Tarak in the forest the other day? You say your time spell doesn’t work for others very well.”
“Scream again, and I will explain.”
Leon did.
“The Ancient assumed the ranger would eventually investigate the rift because of the strange feeling it evokes in her mana. I remained nearby until I had a vision of Aliana coming and meeting me. I was able to follow her future path through the forest before she arrived, so I informed Wolf. Then I left before Aliana arrived. I thought I had convinced Wolf to capture her, not kill, but it seems he deceived me.”
“I hope you also see now that no Ancient can be trusted.”
“Yes, I believe we are being taken advantage of. The Ancient could mean to change mana here to further empower herself for no other reason but to extend her dominance. But I saw battle and death, Leon, and there was nothing I could do to stop her. So I went along with it in hopes she might save us.”
“Now what do your visions see?”
“Death at an even greater scale. Wolf still believes this Ancient will be our savior and thinks I still agree with him. The Ancient will be susceptible upon arrival and even more so after altering mana. She needs support and a place to hide. She demanded we eliminate any trackers who may be able to sense her, such as Aliana. I’ve been telling Wolf that we cannot kill anyone innocent, and this includes Aliana. Your ranger will be able to feel when the Ancient has arrived from just about any distance. Aliana can track her down no matter where she goes, but if your ranger is captured, there is nothing she can do. Like I said, I thought I had convinced Wolf, but I was wrong. You know how the young are when they are as capable as Wolf. They get these ideas in their head that they are to facilitate everything and there is no convincing them otherwise.”
Leon screamed again as if hurt, though his anger was ultimately responsible for the guttural sound.
“I’ve only wanted to do what’s right,” Tedson said. “I let fear control me during the era of dteria, and I will not let that happen again. One thing I cannot have, however, is the king capturing me and blaming me for the actions of Wolf.”
“Turn yourself in.”
“The king interrupted the lives of over a thousand people just for the hope of capturing me. He is clearly not ready to believe any of this.”
Leon realized Tedson was right and replied in anger, “That’s your fault. You should have gone to him before!”
“I saw myself imprisoned or murdered, Leon! I still see it happening.”
“Even now after you have told me all of this and I believe you?” Leon asked.
“You do?”
“Yes, you idiot. Use your sorcery again and tell me what you see.”
Tedson sighed as he shook his head and closed his eyes. “My path is always dark except for certain events. Even then, I cannot see how long it will be before they occur. Hold on.”
Leon felt nothing as Tedson scowled with his eyes shut, continuing to shake his head. “I don’t know,” Tedson muttered. “I see myself in a prison cell, I think. It has become less clear.” He opened his eyes. “I think that is a good thing.”
Someone pounded on the door. “Hurry up in there!”
Tedson snarled back, “Do not interrupt me! I was finally getting somewhere, and now you have undone everything by giving him the idea that he will soon be released!”
There was no reply from the other side.
“So if this Ancient can reach us by passing through the rift,” Leon said, “then we must close it by any means necessary.”
“You misunderstood me. It does not matter if you close it. Our world is connected to another realm they call the dark realm. She can travel between the two realms and bring great monsters through with her. Now that she knows where to open the rift in the dark realm to reach our kingdom, she can do so whenever she pleases. There is no stopping her from arriving.”
“So Aliana is the only thing keeping her from coming now.”
“Yes, because Aliana is the only ranger associated with the king. The Ancient is not as concerned about other possible rangers tracking her because they have no means of immediately leading an army to her location.”
“How does she communicate with Wolf?” Leon asked.
“There is someone else in Wolf’s group who seems capable of entering some other type of realm and speaking to the Ancient from a great distance away. I don’t quite understand it myself.” He wiped sweat from his forehead. “Now I believe that is sufficient enough information for you to work with if you somehow survive this. It is high time we come up with a plan for getting you out of here.”
“Is Wolf going to kill Gwen?”
“No, but he will keep you imprisoned until long after he has slain Aliana and seen to the safe escort of this Ancient.”
“I cannot let that happen.”
“And what of me?” Tedson asked.
“I have barely two seconds to think of how I’m getting out of here, and you expect me to find a way for you to get out as well?”
“I suggest you think faster, Leon, and keep in mind that one of the sorcerers out there has a callring. Show any signs of fight, and he will notify Wolf, who has the other ring. I have no doubt in my mind that he would kill Gwen if a signal reached him.”
“God…dammit.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Tedson tossed Leon out of the chambers. Bloody and supposedly unconscious, Leon lay on his stomach and tried to keep his breathing hidden. Tedson had cut Leon all over, then smeared blood across his face and back, but Leon had healed his wounds before this show.
Tedson crouched in front of Leon. He whispered, “The one with the callring is behind me.” Then he raised his voice. “I think I killed him.” Tedson put his fingers on Leon’s neck. “I can’t feel a pulse.”
None of Leon’s questions had been answered about the other sorcerers. There were three of them, this Leon had seen before Tedson had taken him to the back chamber, but what they specialized in was a mystery to Tedson. The only weapons they carried were daggers they could hide from guards. Leon was not concerned about being stabbed. It was that callring he needed to get his hands on before it was flicked.
He readied a spell of wind and jumped up.
“Shit, he’s alive!” Tedson said as he backed away.
Leon threw back the sorcerer with the callring, pinning his arms with wind against the wall. Tedson ran toward him.
“Give me the ring! I’ll call Wolf.”
Leon could do nothing but trust Tedson as he let his spell come to an end. He made a wall of water to block a jet of fire cast by one of the two other sorcerers. The third one waved his arm, but Leon did not see a spell cast.
“Where are you going?” yelled the one with the callring.
Leon caught sight of Tedson fleeing toward the door.
“Hey, he’s running with the callring!” yelled the same man.
The fire mage gave up on Leon and cast a fireball at Tedson. The older man covered his head with his arm as he was struck. The fireball took him off his feet and rolled him away from the door.
Smoking and wheezing, he got up and made another attempt for the door. Leon started for Tedson to help, but something happened to his legs that he did not understand.
He fell before realizing that when he tried to move one leg, the other leg moved in the same way. He had one moment to attempt to get up, cycling his legs about and rolling accidentally. He failed, and now he had to defend himself from one man with a dagger. This was the mage who had bound his legs together. Leon blasted him back with water. He refused to use fire unless necessary. Even if this library belonged to Luther, books were still books.
With his legs no longer bound, Leon got up to find that Tedson had made it to the door but was not about to get it open in time. The man who once had the callring caught up to Tedson and dove on top of him.
Leon sprinted over, defending himself from a fireball on the way with another wall of water. Leon pulled off the man on top of Tedson to find a dagger buried in the man’s shoulder. Leon pulled open the door.
“Got the callring?” he asked Tedson.
“Yes.”
Tedson hurried out. Leon shut the door and stood in front of it.
The three sorcerers seemed surprised as they all slowed their attempt to stop him.
Leon rolled up his sleeves.
*****
Tarak was glad to see that everyone who had been invited had shown up at the dining hall. Even the princess had snuck out of her room to join them. Aliana had brought her bow and set it on the table, an ominous gesture, but Tarak was still in a good mood. He had not yet been confronted by Lord Langston about the pebbles he had traded off. He imagined that the lord had tossed the pouch into some drawer and wouldn’t check it again for quite some time. In the meantime, Tarak had promised these individuals he would not use any illusions as they shared drinks. There had to be some trust between them.
With a bit of Tarak’s help, Michael had procured tall mugs of ale for the five of them. He had told Tarak earlier that the kitchen staff used to hide the brew from Michael long ago, but he always found it and sometimes made a mess in the process, so eventually they realized there was no point. So long as he didn’t abuse this luxury, it seemed that no one cared enough to demand he stop.
“The rules of Liars Mug are simple,” Tarak explained. “You take a drink at the start of your turn. Then you tell us something you have never spoken aloud before.”
Aliana scoffed. “And what about those of us who do not have so many secrets, and even less we want to share?”
“They do not have to be secrets. I will start as an example.” Tarak took a sip. He still hadn’t become accustomed to how good the ale was in this time period, especially what the king kept in his kitchen. “I first met Aliana in the dark, and I assumed she was ugly. Do you see how this counts, Aliana? I never said those words to anyone before, but it was not necessarily a secret. Now you go.”
Aliana sat across from Tarak. “All right, then this is easy.” She took a sip. “I was surprised to find out Tarak was blond.”
“That counts.”
“Why does it matter that he’s blond?” Callie asked.
Aliana shrugged. “It doesn’t. I was just surprised.”
Tarak leaned forward and whispered, “She disfavors blond men.”
Michael asked Aliana, “What blond man hurt you?”
Aliana rolled her eyes. “Who’s next?”
“I suppose I am,” Callie said on Aliana’s other side. “So I just have to say something I’ve never spoken aloud? There are no other rules?”
“It has to be something true,” Tarak answered. “And you cannot take too long to think of something.”
Callie sipped. “I think my father might’ve had an affair.”
Everyone gasped. Tienna, sitting on Callie’s other side, stared to the side with eyes as if Callie had spoken with the voice of a large man.
“Whoa,” Michael said. “You just blurt that out with no warning or anything! I like your style, princess.”
“When?” Aliana asked Callie.
“If I wish to speak more about it, I will do so during my turns.”
Tienna continued to stare at the princess until Callie seemed to notice. She flinched as Callie put her hand on Tienna’s arm.
“I apologize if this is too much for you to hear. I realize we do not know each other very well.”
“No, it’s fine,” Tienna said. “I’m surprised is all.”
“You’re next, T,” Michael said.
“I’m not sure I can top that, but let me try.” She took a sip. “I hated my mother.”
Michael stood up as he was shaking his head. “Damn you all put a lot of pressure on me.” He shook his finger at Tarak. “I see why you like this game. You’re always causing trouble!”
“You can give up,” Tarak said.
“What happens then?” Michael asked.
“You drink whatever you have left and become a guesser. At that point the rest of us can choose to lie. If you call us on our lie and you are correct, we drink whatever we have left. If you are wrong, you drink. Empty mugs are immediately refilled, of course. Once someone runs out of statements, they become a guesser like you.”
Michael sat down. “All right, I don’t want that yet. So we are still on the stage that everything that comes out of our mouths is true?”
“Yes.”
“Question. Let’s say Eden told me something, but I never told anyone else. Does that mean I can now say that Eden told me this crazy thing, and that would count?”
“I forgot one rule,” Tarak realized. “You have to say something about yourself.”
“This would be about myself,” Michael said. “Because I heard her say it, see?”
“Incorrect,” Tarak said. “It has to ultimately be about ourselves, or this will quickly turn into a gossip galley.”
“All right, then…” Michael had a sip. “I loved my father. He was a great man, but I’ve always wondered if he did something wrong when I was little and that was why my mother left.”
There was a somber mood as Tarak took a sip. “You lot are too serious. This is usually more fun. Let me think.” He found his gaze lingering on Callie. There were many things he could say about how beautiful he thought she was, but he had promised to keep his attraction to her deep where it belonged. Anyway, he had divulged most of these things to her already and had been rejected.
