Epic Of Palins 01 - Dagger Star (32 page)

The mage studied the blade. “There’s no taint of any kind of magic on the blade.” He looked up, letting his gaze travel over Red. “None on the Chosen.” He shifted his look to Bethral, Oris, and Alad. “But you three have been touched by wild magic.”

Bethral and Oris took that in stride, but Alad shifted uneasily.

“Josiah,” Evelyn asked, “step away from Ezren for a moment.”

Ezren felt his stomach clench, but nodded his head at Josiah when the man turned and looked at him. His skin tingled as the big man moved away. Bethral shifted her weight, as if uneasy.

But all that happened was that Marlon looked at Ezren, then looked away just as quickly. The light about his eyes flickered slightly. “A bonfire, that’s what he is. I can barely look at him.” He gestured, and the glow was gone from his eyes. “Describe the mage.”

“Dead,” Red said with satisfaction.

Ezren closed his eyes, forcing the image to appear before him. He did his best to describe the man and the robes he wore, right down to the small gold hoop in his right ear.

Marlon pursed his lips. “Well, whoever he was, he was a damn fool. Working blood magic on a wild magic site.” He tilted his head, and considered. “He may not have known it was wild magic he was dealing with. Hard to believe anyone, even a blood fiend, would be that stupid.”

“There have been rumors that the Regent has been hiring blood mages,” Ezren said.

“Which shows that the Regent is also a damn fool.” Marlon glared at Evelyn, then shifted his gaze to Bethral. “Put that away,” he commanded, pointing at the stone knife.

Bethral obeyed.

“Maybe the altar was designed to hold wild magic.” Ezren stopped when Marlon, Evelyn, and Josiah all shook their heads.

“That’s like saying you wove a shirt for a fish,” Josiah said softly. “The wild magic is found in the wild places, not where men have tamed the land. It’s dangerous.”

“There are other dangers, nephew.” Marlon focused on Josiah. “Just what happened to you?”

Josiah sat back in the chair next to Ezren and began to tell his tale.

RED didn’t like this one bit.

“Just do it, daughter.” Marlon had turned his chair to face the field. Josiah had been sent to the center of the field, where he stood with the goats grazing around him.

“Father,” Evelyn was clearly upset. Red was sure she saw the woman’s hands trembling before she tucked them in her sleeves, out of sight.

“We both know you can, and I have to watch what happens.” Marlon sounded almost smug.

“How can it go against your beliefs to aid your cousin, eh?”

Evelyn’s fists clenched at that, and they came up in front of her. The High Priestess cried out something, and to Red’s horror, a pillar of fire appeared to their left, swirling in the weeds, burning the greenery at its base. With a gesture, Evelyn sent it moving, heading directly for Josiah.

Red watched, speechless.

The flames swirled and leaped as if eager to burn his flesh, but within touching distance they were gone, with only the scorch marks to show where the pillar had been.

One of the goats raised its head and bleated, as if to protest the interruption.

“Do it again,” Marlon said, his eyes aglow.

Evelyn shot him a glare worthy of a firestorm. Red shifted back, fairly certain that the flames were going to appear in Marlon’s lap this time.

But once again the flames danced in the field until just before reaching Josiah, when they disappeared.

“That’s enough.” Marlon released the spell on his eyes. “You can come back, Josiah.” He returned to his chair and settled his bulk within it.

“By the Incorruptible Twelve, what was that?” Red demanded, her eyes wide.

“Ask her.” Marlon gestured to Evelyn.

Evelyn glared at him before turning to Red. “Suffice to say that those spells are destructive, and I do not choose—”

“Do not choose?” Marlon shouted.

An uneasy silence reigned for a moment, until Red decided that she needed to change the subject. “What did you learn about Josiah?” she asked.

“Easy enough,” Marlon said, picking up a wineglass and scowling into it. “I’m surprised Evelyn didn’t figure it out for you. She might have, if she worked at it harder.”

Red scowled.

Evelyn set her jaw. “If you’d enlighten us, Father.”

“Fair enough.” Marlon looked at Josiah as he came onto the platform. “It’s not so much that Josiah destroys magic. He has somehow become attached to the land, to Athelbryght itself. Any magic that Josiah touches is absorbed back into the land, restoring it.” Marlon rolled his eyes. “I am not sure what to make of the goats.”

Red looked at Josiah as he took the words in. “Uncle, is there any chance that my powers would be restored?”

“Damned if I know, Josiah.” Marlon’s face was full of pity. “‘Maybe’ is all I can offer. Maybe once the land is fully restored.”

Josiah sighed and looked over the fields, his eyes distant.

“Meanwhile”—Marlon looked at Ezren—“you are a nightmare. What every mage scholar has talked about for years. An untrained rogue with wild magic.”

“Help him,” Evelyn said.

Marlon looked at her in astonishment. “How? He doesn’t even have the basic skills needed to manage magic, much less the wild flavor. He hasn’t absorbed his lessons through his mother’s nipple, like you did.”

“It can be taught,” Evelyn insisted.

“Why me?” Marlon demanded. “You could—”

“Because as the head of the Mages Guild, you trained mages for years. You are his best and only hope.”

Marlon snorted. “Even if I can teach him the basics, daughter dear, it is a temporary measure at best. Eventually he will lose control, and then what? A danger to all who surround him.”

“Not if he stays close to Josiah,” Red said.

“Use Josiah like a wet blanket on a fire?” Marlon took a sip from his glass. “That might work, but eventually it will not be enough. Risky for Josiah as well, since the strongest fire can blaze hot enough to burn wet wool.”

“Give him some basic training, Father,” Evelyn asked. “Enough that he can learn some small control.”

“We don’t even know if that will work,” Marlon grumbled as he eyed Ezren. “It’s wild magic that fills his soul, not the mundane.” He narrowed his eyes, and considered Ezren. “Still, it might be educational.”

Evelyn seemed to be holding her breath.

“Very well, then.” Marlon straightened in his chair. “Ezren, what does it feel like when the magic builds within you?”

“I…it’s hard to describe.” Ezren squirmed in his chair, looking at each of them.

“I can help,” Marlon said. “You know how it feels when you really have to piss?”

Red’s mouth dropped open. Bethral blinked in surprise, but Evelyn just rolled her eyes. “Father, I don’t think—”

“It’s how we teach the children,” Marlon said loftily. “Just as you teach a child not to soil his nappies.”

“It is, Evie,” Josiah said apologetically. “You didn’t go to a formal mage school, so you wouldn’t know.

“Magic’s like peeing?” Red asked.

“Pissed your trous lately?” Marlon asked, ignoring Evelyn’s indignant sputters.

“No, you rude pi—” Red growled.

“Because you learned when you were a babe. Your body knows—you know—and barring illness or extraordinary circumstances, you are in control. The urge that builds up, you delay, do a bit of a dance, eventually you gotta go or pee your pants.” Marlon focused on Ezren. “He can’t, because he’s never learned. He doesn’t recognize what his body and the magic are telling him.”

Red looked at Ezren, who had the faintest bit of red on his cheeks. He lifted his chin in defiance.

“I am certain I can learn.”

Marlon gave him the eye. “Maybe. You can learn the feelings, what they mean. But can you learn control? Especially when you are angry, or startled, or—”

Red snorted. “So all the high-horse mages are just those who can hold their water longer than others?”

Marlon stopped, and gave her an offended look. “If you don’t mind. Guild secrets.”

Red quirked her mouth, but she managed not to laugh out loud.

MUCH later, Marlon, Red, and Evelyn were seated at the table. The cloth sides of the tent were rolled up, and the last bit of sun was disappearing behind the hills.

“Josiah may have lost his skill, but not his knowledge. He can help Ezren.” Marlon sighed. “But it won’t last, daughter.”

“It’s dealt with for now,” Red growled. “We’ve other worries that need seeing to.”

Marlon snorted. “Your cause is—”

“Thank you for your assistance, Lord High Mage,” Evelyn said stiffly. “I am sure you wish to return to your home.”

Marlon gave her the eye. “Without sharing the latest gossip of the Regent’s Court?”

Red raised her eyebrows. “You have access to the Court?”

“I do,” Marlon said. “As Guildmaster, I am frequently invited to the Regent’s table.”

“And just as frequently, you decline the invitation,” Evelyn said.

“The Regent has not held many Court feasts of late.” Marlon looked at Evelyn sideways. “Seems he’s heard tell of a Chosen raising an army against him, one who wears red gloves and wields a sword as most women wield a needle.”

Red shrugged. “Not unexpected that he learned of me. Once word got out, I knew it would make its way to his ears.”

“But there’s no talk of your involvement, daughter,” Marlon said. “Just the usual complaints that you give away your services to the poor.”

Evelyn smiled slightly. “Mother always said that it wasn’t right to charge for prayers.”

“You know the Archbishop, Evie. He’d charge per blessing and double on holy days if he could,” Marlon pointed out.

“True enough,” Evelyn sighed. “But that is a problem for another day.”

“You might not hear if there was suspicion against her,” Red pointed out. “She is your daughter.”

Marlon shook his head. “Don’t think me a fool, Red. I’ve other ears. I’d know. I may not approve of her foolish ways, but I’d know of a threat to my daughter.”

“Father, it would help if the Guild withdrew its suppor—”

“At the time, the Regent seemed the only option—you understand that, don’t you?” Marlon glared at Evelyn.

Evelyn looked down at the table. “I am sure it seemed so at the time, Father.”

Marlon sighed. “I may be the Guildmaster, but mine is not the only voice in the decision. I will consult with the others.”

Evelyn said nothing.

Marlon looked at Red. “Josiah is as much a weapon as your sword is. In many ways, far more powerful.”

“He’s a man, not a weapon,” Red snapped. “A man who will be needed to rebuild this land.”

Marlon studied her face, then gave a satisfied nod. “Well, then, I will return to my comfortable lodgings, and leave you to it.”

Red stood. “We’ll see you to the shrine.”

“What for?” Marlon asked. He turned his head to Evelyn. “Stay alive, daughter.”

Evelyn gave him a sad smile. “I’ll try, Father.”

“Don’t you need to open a portal from the shrine?” Red asked.

“Oh, please,” Marlon scoffed. He snapped his fingers and disappeared, chair and all.

“Father loves to show off,” Evelyn apologized.

“He can do that?” Red looked at her, shocked. “Just ‘poof’ and he’s there? Or gone?”

“He isn’t head of the Mages Guild because of his charming personality,” Evelyn pointed out.

“He’s the most powerful mage in the Kingdom, and the only one who can do that.”

“Fine. Wonderful.” Red stood. “I’ve a prophecy to fulfill. Let’s be about it, shall we?”

TWENTY-NINE

HE was losing her, and he wasn’t sure why.

Josiah paused, leaned on his shovel, wiped sweat from his forehead, and looked around him, letting the land distract him. As uneasy as he was about Red, this work filled him with a sense of satisfaction.

Soon after their return, Red had sent a party to retrieve the dead they’d been forced to leave behind. Larrisa had gone with them, and spread the word to her neighbors that there was safety to be found in Athelbryght. Red had told her to pass the word to those she trusted.

Families had started to arrive with the supplies they could carry, and their animals in tow. Many had lived in Farentall before the battles had ravaged that land. They all were looking for a safe place.

Red had taken one look, and thrown up her hands. She’d given the task of settling them to Josiah. “You know the land,” she’d said, with an odd guarded look on her face. “You figure out what to do with them.”

Though it was late in the spring, Josiah had set them to glean what they could from the land. The fields about the camp would be worked by all, to ensure a decent crop for the fall.

The livestock had been combined, and soon the herds would multiply. Josiah was pleased, although he always had to explain anytime someone tried to milk his goats.

Larrisa had aided him in sorting the wheat from the chaff, helping him figure out their skills and abilities. They’d worry about the establishment of homesteads once Palins was restored and Red was on the throne. In the meantime, they’d search to find what new life was returning to Athelbryght.

Already there were fish and eel in the river, and someone had reported deer on the farthest fields at dawn. Arent was still supplying them from the farm in Soccia, but with any luck, if they planted in the fall, they’d be self-sufficient come this time next year.

One of the lads came by with a bucket of cool well water, and Josiah gratefully accepted a drink.

Another few breaths and he’d get back to work.

His gaze moved toward the barn and the command tent, where there was a bustle of far different activity. For the last week, Red had done nothing but organize men and arms, sending messages and conferring with the High Barons. Josiah had tried to join in the councils, but more than once his curse had canceled an important spell or portal. Besides, he really didn’t have an interest in troop movement, try as he might.

Red had chased him off. Oh, she’d smiled as she’d done it, but Josiah knew that the Chosen was putting distance between them. Not at night. Lady of Laughter, the nights were full of their lovemaking, and his body pulsed at the thought of this evening’s tryst. But the heat between them was different, and Josiah was fairly certain he knew why.