Revelation (Seeds of Humanity: The Cobalt Heresy) (35 page)

“The lift will return you to the lobby,” Rekir said, motioning to the door as he turned to his desk.

“Thank you, High Magister,” I said with my best bow and turned to the door. It swung open freely with a slight touch, and I was halfway out of the room before the Arch Magos’ voice caused me to stop and turn around.

“Whatever happened to Antolin’s remains?” he asked as if it were an afterthought. “He was not so well-known, but his body and effects would be best returned here to rest within the embrace of the city for which he gave his life.”

I schooled my features and shook my head curtly. “I found nothing of him,” I lied. “There was an explosion which enveloped his body and when I searched for him afterward, I found nothing but ash.”

Rekir shook his head sadly. “A great loss,” he offered in condolence, “but for you, perhaps a great opportunity as well. We shall discuss the future of House Wiegraf during our next meeting.” He waved his hand to dismiss me from the room, and I happily obliged.

I walked to the lift in even, measured paces but my heart was pounding in my ears. I had just attempted the hardest bluff of my life, and even though I had no idea if it had actually worked, I had learned what I needed to know to make my next move.

Arch Magos Rekir was directly connected to this whole mess, and I knew now that at the very least he wanted Antolin’s robes and staff for himself, which only answered half as many questions as it created. The biggest question among them: why?

I was up to my ears in this mess and I was fairly certain the only way out was to survive an inevitable, bloody fight. And to win against a man like Arch Magos Rekir—even on his worst day—I would need powerful allies. And I had only one place to turn in search of those.

Chapter XXIII: Queen’s Gambit

When I stepped out of the elevator, I saw that Gaeld was gone but both Pi’Vari and Dancer were almost exactly where they were when I had left.

Without a word I strode past them, and they took up positions behind me on either side. Our first stop was House Wiegraf’s estate, and I wanted to waste absolutely no time in gathering whatever resources we had. I wasn’t sure yet if I intended to accept Arch Magos Rekir’s invitation to return in two days, and the best way to make that decision was to make as many moves as possible in the interim.

So we walked at a brisk pace a few blocks away from the Great Tower, its massive, seemingly impossible form blocking out the sun as we went, a dark reminder of the all-encompassing power of the Imperial High Wizards. House Wiegraf wasn’t of high enough standing to warrant permanent offices at the Great Tower, let alone private residences, but all of the districts immediately surrounding the Great Tower were reserved for the nearly one hundred houses which made up Veldyrian’s High Wizard houses.

Three blocks away from the Great Tower we came to the familiar, brass-colored gate. House Wiegraf was near the bottom of the Veldyrian pecking order, but that was irrelevant when it came to the appointments afforded to it. The grounds took up an entire block, with high, cream-and-green marble walls broken only by the one gate, which was about twelve feet tall and at least half again as wide.

As we approached, the guard manning the post immediately opened the gate for us. I recognized him and nodded curtly as we strode onto the grounds. I had forgotten the man’s name, and while it would certainly return to me before too long, I really didn’t have time to make small talk.

The main house was magnificent, as far as I was concerned. It stood three stories tall with a dozen, evenly spaced, massive windows on each floor. The house was constructed of the same cream-and-green marble as the wall; in fact, every building on the grounds had been built of dry fitted stone from the same quarry, which had been transported here over five hundred miles if the groundskeeper was to be trusted.

As I stood before the house, I was struck by the architectural similarities between this building and Sherwyn’s house—at least, prior to its collapse.

I re-focused and we entered the main door, which had already been opened and were greeted by the house steward: a short, portly man named Chester.

“Good afternoon, Lord,” he said with a low, sweeping bow. “We are pleased that you have returned to us. What are your commands?”

“Chester, it’s good to see you,” I said a bit too stiffly as I unslung my shoulder bag and lowered it to the ground with one hand, “a good meal would be much appreciated, and I’d like you to arrange for a runner as quickly as possible.” My shoulder was sore from packing the heavy parcel around, and I was glad to finally be somewhere I could safely set it down, even for a moment.

“Very good, Lord,” he replied and snapped his fingers, bringing a half dozen servants scuttling forward into the lobby. “You are no doubt in need of a good night’s rest,” he said and wordlessly directed the men to take our bags. When one came to take my shoulder bag, I shook my head, which brought a confused look to the man’s face but he acquiesced and returned to his previous position near the wall.

“Rest is the furthest thing from our minds,” I assured him, although from the corner of my eye I saw Pi’Vari’s posture shift to suggest a protest, which I interrupted by turning to him and continuing, “I need you to go to the main library and find out everything you can about those symbols we found in the chamber of domes. I need a summary in four hours,” I instructed and he nodded begrudgingly.

“I should think any information on Sbeegl might also prove valuable,” he offered after almost turning to leave the foyer.

“Absolutely,” I agreed, “good call, Pi’Vari.”

I turned to Dancer as Pi’Vari made his way out of the room. “You, little man,” I said with a smirk, “should get your rest. I think your first test as House Wiegraf’s First Champion isn’t far off, and as soon as we leave these grounds I assume we’ll all find out just how badly I’ve upset Pryzius.”

Dancer’s lips drew back into a wolfish sneer. “Dancer fight Gaeld?” he asked with a savage anticipation I had actually expected.

I shook my head firmly. “No, I think there’s no way he comes at us directly,” I explained, “but he has friends all over the city, and I’m sure a few can come up with a quasi-valid reason to challenge House Wiegraf generally—or myself specifically.” I chuckled hollowly, “I didn’t exactly make many friends at the Wizard’s College,” I said as if to remind them of something they should already know, which as far as I knew, they actually did.

Dancer’s lips closed over his lips slightly, but his expression was still pretty feral as he shrugged his shoulders. “Not fight Gaeld, not lose,” he said confidently. “Fight Gaeld…good dance.”

I nodded in grim agreement. “Of that, I have no doubt,” I agreed, unable to help myself from envisioning Dancer getting eviscerated in yet another display of Gaeld’s brutal efficiency.

I turned to leave the foyer, but saw that Dancer had something to ask from the expression on his face. I stopped and turned to face him again. “What is it, Dancer?” I asked.

Dancer ground his teeth for a moment. “Where Antolin’s Champion?” he asked, which seemed to come out of nowhere and caught me completely off-guard.

My heart sank almost instantly and I couldn’t take my eyes off the stone walls behind Dancer for a moment, but eventually I managed to recompose myself. I straightened my posture and answered, “Antolin’s Champion is lying in a bed at Coldetz Castle.”

Understanding swept across Dancers face and he nodded curtly before turning to go out into the yard. He knew he wasn’t allowed off the grounds but he enjoyed his mid-day calisthenics on the well-manicured lawn, and if that was how he decided to rest and relax in anticipation of a fight then that was his affair.

Chester came back to the foyer just as I was about to leave and caught my attention. “The runner is here, Lord,” he said in that perfectly practiced butler voice of his. “Shall I deliver the parcel to him, or do you prefer to do it yourself?”

I shook my head. “I think it’s better if I do it, but I need a pen and some paper,” I said, reminded once again by just how smoothly the house’s affairs ran under Chester’s draconian leadership.

“Very good, sir,” he replied and without even making eye contact with her, one of the women stewards flitted down a hallway in search of the writing materials. “If I am not being too forward,” began Chester after the woman was out of earshot, “might I inquire as to when we can expect Master Antolin?”

That was actually pretty forward for Chester, so I decided to cut straight to the heart of the matter. “What’s wrong, Chester? Is there some house business which requires the Master’s attention?”

Chester’s well-manicured veneer wilted for a moment as he responded. “There are certain…financial matters which require his attention.”

I couldn’t help but laugh—which I did a bit longer and much more loudly than I would have liked. I was reminded of the old saying, ‘when it rains, it pours,’ and that seemed pretty appropriate at the moment.

After regaining control of myself and catching a look of concern on Chester’s face, I wiped my eyes and shook my head slowly. “I think it’s best if I’m the one to deal with whatever it is, Chester,” I assured him, “Master Antolin won’t be coming back any time soon…if I understood him correctly.”

Chester looked confused for a moment. “Then he informed you of the issue?” he asked rhetorically with relief in his voice.

“No,” I answered, “he most certainly did
not
inform me of any financial issues, but seeing as I’m the only present member of House Wiegraf there doesn’t appear to be an alternative, does there?”

Chester straightened his shoulders and regained his practiced demeanor. “Very good, sir,” he said matter-of-factly. “I shall have the particulars collected for your review this evening.”

I nodded appreciatively, or at least as appreciatively as I could manage given that he was apparently handing me a bill which had him more than a little bit concerned.

The woman re-entered the room holding a small tray with the writing materials I had requested. She placed it on one of the narrow tables near the wall and quietly left the room. How people managed to make so little noise while moving around so quietly, yet so quickly still impressed me.

I went over to the tray and composed the letter in a hasty hand. Penmanship has never been a strong suit of mine, and I’d almost had to learn how to write in their hand completely from scratch over a year before. Usually—like when writing Antolin’s research papers—I used an enchanted pen which would transcribe my words automatically, but for this task I really didn’t want anyone knowing the contents of the message.

After a few minutes—and at least a few smudged out corrections which made me flush with embarrassment—I dried off the paper and rolled it carefully before folding it and sealing it in hot wax with the House Wiegraf seal.

I made my way outside and saw a tall, thin man standing outside the gate wearing the familiar uniform of a Veldyrian Courier, or ‘runner’ as they were usually called. The garment was made of a skin-tight material which conformed almost as well as spandex, and it was colored in alternating horizontal lines of bright red and yellow about two inches wide.

I handed him the note, which he placed inside the small tube fastened across his chest with a cross-strap before screwing the cap on. He then looked at me expectantly, and I leaned close to his ear and whispered his destination to him. The runner then nodded his acknowledgment of the destination and set off running down the street at a pace I would have been lucky to match in my best shape, back in my own body.

I watched the runner until he turned right and headed back toward the city center, at which point I made my way back into the house. I had some research of my own to perform, and I needed to clear my head before the runner returned with the reply.

I entered Magos Antolin Wiegraf’s private library, and even though I had been standing in a far more impressive collection less than an hour before in Arch Magos Rekir’s study, I was still impressed by the collection my relatively humble Master had acquired.

The dimensions of the room helped with the collection’s presentation, since the shelves were all about eight feet tall—much shorter than Rekir’s library—and the tops of the shelves were actually covered with artifacts of various origin and meaning which only Antolin could explain. There were a few small tables, but no grand desk like Rekir’s imposing, stone slab. I actually found that I preferred the library-style arrangement Antolin had chosen compared to the imposing monument the Arch Magos had designed.

Pi’Vari was quietly flipping through a few of the mundane books, and the library consisted of both ‘normal’ books, as well as the enchanted tomes which contained magical algorithms and formulae. The enchanted volumes were kept under a simple locking mechanism which prevented them from being removed without the proper access code, which was entered by touching various glyphs carved into the end of the wooden shelves.

Antolin had given me access to all of the shelves except for one, and while I was sure that the information contained in those tomes was far more valuable than everything else in the library put together, I knew that breaking the code which prevented my access would take more time than I had. So I ignored them and began looking for volumes I thought might help me understand the powerful ritual described in the book we recovered from Sherwyn’s mansion.

There were treatises on the transformation of materials from one form to another, as well as books describing the latest models of human consciousness. Studying Somnomancy had given me a basic understanding of parts of the human psyche, but I needed a much more complete knowledge base if I was to understand the ritual or—should it prove necessary—if I was to actually attempt it.

I really didn’t have any desire to attempt that particular ritual, but I needed to keep my options open. Antolin had given me the location of that book for a reason, and I needed to study it thoroughly in the absence of a more obvious course of action.