The Wizard's Heir (26 page)

“Despite knowing what I condemned them to, I told myself that it was the right thing. I bought every lie Rowan told—that it was the wizards’ fault, and it would happen again if we didn’t stop it. I had to make sure we never had another. So I endured the pain and terror of every wizard I hauled in because it was for the greater good. And then, everything changed.”

He threw his shoulders back, preparing to vocalize the truths he’d been dreading. “I am a wizard. A wizard and a Hunter.” He rushed his words, trying to get everything out before he was interrupted. “My very existence was forbidden. I never asked for this, never wanted it. Overnight I became the very thing I hated most in this world.” He lowered his gaze. “Then I was informed that I am Aja’s son and heir to Eriroc.”

He expected an outburst. Instead, the crowd was silent. He looked up. Although a few appeared taken aback, most were nonplussed.

The old man who’d called Alistair out waved impatiently for him to continue. “We’re not stupid, son, we can put two and two together.”

Tybolt smiled and the majority of his nerves slipped away. “The most dangerous wizard is not Aja or Alistair or me…it’s Rowan.”

That had the desired effect. The thieves burst into life, shouting and talking.

“It’s true,” Asher shouted, striding up to stand next to Tybolt. “I saw it with my own eyes.” He waited until the sound died down to continue. “I watched him call a storm.”

“He called weather?” asked the female Hunter Tybolt had first seen when coming into the camp. “How is that possible?”

“We believe that Rowan is pulling magic from other wizards,” Tybolt said. “Mainly Aja, but also the wizards in the Hold. The Hunters have exacted justice when Rowan told us to, but everything he’s ever told us was a lie. The person who caused the Fracture was Rowan.”

“You say you can put two and two together,” Griffon threw out to the crowd. “Think about it—this makes sense.”

“Rowan’s been masquerading as one of you from the beginning,” Tybolt continued. “It is he, not Alistair, who’s responsible for the magic blocking the natural storms from dropping rain on our soil. Instead of saving the people, Rowan is using magic to send storms to Deasroc in payment for the lavish lifestyle he enjoys. Your families are starving, and Eriroc can’t sustain itself much longer.”

“Come on now,” Jamison blurted. “He’s not the only one who enjoys that lifestyle.”

“You’re right,” Auriella said. “Rowan bribes the Hunters. He gives us the honor he knew we never had before the Fracture.”

“Rowan played us all,” Tybolt said. “Pitting us against one another and using our hatred over our circumstances to fuel his own agenda. We have to stop him. If we can take him off the throne and bring the weather back to Eriroc, we’ll return to the thriving nation we once were.” He looked around at the two distinct groups. “No, I take that back. I don’t want to return to the nation we were. I want to be better.

“If we can do this together, we will learn to work side by side.” He started to pace, taking the time to look each person in the eye as he passed. “Think about it. Instead of fighting one another, what if we worked together? How much more damage could we do if you used your arrows to clear a path for the wizards and the Hunters? How much farther would the Hunters get if the wizards could take down the walls that keep Rowan safe at the heart of the city? Alone we are just a tiny piece, but if we work together, we can become something much bigger. We can take back our city, our homes. We can feed our loved ones. You won’t have to hide in the forests anymore. The wizards won’t have to fear being thrown into the Hold just for being born with magic. The Hunters won’t fear the retribution of the wizards or the people. We are all born unique. What right do we have to say that someone does not deserve basic human privileges? The mess we have ourselves in can be blamed on Rowan, but the dirty truth is that it originated in all of us. It came from pride and jealousy and hate. All of this began with the need to be better than someone else. We must throw all of that aside. We can change history, right now.

“I am a Hunter.” He looked over to Auriella. “I’m also a wizard. But even more than that, I am one of you.” He pointed to the thieves. “Please, help me save the village. I’ve tried to do it on my own for years and I…” He finally stuttered in his speech, and his heart clenched. “I can’t. I can’t do this alone.”

There were murmurs of agreement and nodding of heads. Some appeared to do so grudgingly, but Tybolt didn’t care. He saw hope.

“I just have one question for you,” Griffon said. “Do you want to be King?”

“I…”

“Well?” Mainse yelled from the middle of the crowd of thieves. “Do you?”

They needed a leader, one who was sure of himself. Unfortunately, that wasn’t him. Tybolt swallowed and looked at the sky. After that speech, he couldn’t stand here and lie. “No. I don’t.”

Griffon smiled. “Good. The only person I want in a seat of power is someone who doesn’t want it.” He faced the thieves. “Now, are we a bunch of thieves content to hide in the forest? Or are we going to take Eriroc back?”

A roar went up from all, and a small miracle happened. Every person, regardless of position, stepped forward and stood side by side in defense of the island.

“We’ll need a couple of days,” Griffon said as they walked back to his tent. “We need to make more arrows. How are you planning to get past the Hunters and into the city?”

Tybolt glanced at Alistair. “What about the tunnels?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Some of the sections are starting to degrade. We moved to the trees mainly because I was worried the tunnels might collapse, especially the ones farthest from the castle.”

“We haven’t had a problem yet,” Griffon said. “Although I’ve had a few reports of cracking in some of the walls.”

“Surely they’ll last a couple more days,” Auriella said.

“But that only helps us avoid the Hunters,” Asher pointed out. “How far do the tunnels run?”

“Straight into the castle,” Alistair said.

Tybolt’s steps stuttered. “What?”

“Why would Rowan allow that to exist?” Griffon pulled back the flap to the tent, sending them all in ahead of him. “Surely he closed them off.”

“Rowan doesn’t know about them. The passages are well hidden. Aja and I found them by chance as children with too much energy.”

“You’re
sure
they’re open all the way to the castle?” Asher asked.

“Yes. How do you think I traveled back and forth from the village to the forest?”

“Wait—what?” Griffon said. “You were in the city?”

Alistair sighed and ran his hand over his face, changing to Gamel.

“I’ll be damned.” Griffon plopped into a chair and leaned forward on his elbows, staring at Alistair. “If the tunnels really go all the way, why didn’t you sneak in and murder the imposter yourself?”

“We sent in a few assassins in the beginning but couldn’t get past the Hunters. And I couldn’t run the risk of being captured. If I was in the Hold when Tybolt inherited Aja’s magic, he would’ve burnt to death.”

Griffon raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t ask,” Tybolt said. “That’s a memory I’m not ready to relive. If we take the tunnels we could bypass the walls entirely. There’s no telling how many lives that would save.”

You’re right,” Alistair said. “Unless the tunnels collapse.”

“It’s a risk we have to take.”

Alistair dusted off a chair before sitting. “We’ll need the thieves to go in first.”

Griffon bristled. “I don’t think my people should have to bear the brunt of the attack to keep yours safe.”

“There are no ‘your people’ and ‘my people’ anymore, remember?” Tybolt was too antsy to sit down. He paced from one side of the tent to the other. “Alistair failed to explain that Rowan safeguarded the city. If any of the wizards set foot through that gate, it will feed their magic straight to Rowan—leaving them useless and him more powerful.”

“Giving him more magic is the last thing we want,” Alistair added. “Especially in the middle of an attack.”

“What if the thieves go under the wall and enter the city as normal villagers?” Auriella suggested. “I assume there’s an exit they can use that’s not in the castle, whichever one you used.”

“There is,” Alistair said.

“I like it,” Tybolt said. “If we bring everyone in slowly, they won’t be noticed. The first few within the walls could destroy the engravings, and that would allow the wizards to safely enter.”

“What would that entail?” Griffon asked.

“Not much,” Alistair said. “A simple line scratched in the stone would suffice. Anything that interrupts the circle.”

“Would they need to destroy all of them?”

“No.” Alistair shook his head. “This spell seems to work by surrounding the person it’s meant to trap. Rowan would’ve had to make a circle with the symbol for it to work. I imagine he’s placed four—one on each wall. If even one is destroyed, the entire perimeter will cease to function as it was designed.”

“Wait.” Tybolt’s steps slowed as he realized the implications. “If we were to destroy some of the runes inside the Hold…”

“Rowan wouldn’t have access to the wizards’ power,” Griffon finished.

Alistair grinned. “That’s a good plan.”

“Absolutely,” Tybolt said. He finally felt a bit of hope for their chances.

“We’ll finalize things in the morning, and I’ll get my people started on the arrows,” Griffon said. “Until then, I suggest you sleep. It’s going to be a long couple of days. Tybolt, you look like death.”

Tybolt rubbed his temples. “I feel like it too.”

“Tybolt!”

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep, but the shouts felt like they were pulling him from an abyss so deep that he’d left a part of himself at the bottom. He peeled his eyelids open. Everything was slightly blurry.

A large figure loomed over him, and Tybolt startled awake. He yanked a dagger from his boot sheath.

“Tybolt, put the knife away.”

“Griffon!” Tybolt shouted. He slammed the dagger down on the bed and rubbed his eyes. “Bloody spawn of Aja, what time is it?” He groaned. “I have
got
to stop saying that.”

Alistair stirred on his cot and rolled over. “What’s going on?”

“The sun should be up within the hour,” Griffon said.

“I know you said we’d have a meeting in the morning, but—”

“We have a problem.”

On Griffon’s arm sat a large black bird with a little tube tied to its leg. “Hey, I know that bird.”

“See it at Rose’s, did ya?”

“Yes.”

Griffon fed the bird a piece of bread, and it greedily snapped it up. “She helps me keep track of what’s going on in the city.”

Tybolt shoved his wild hair out of his face. “I see. Including when Asher heads out to pick up supplies?”

“Including that, yes.”

Alistair chuckled. “Very clever.” He sat up and swung his legs over the cot with a groan.

Griffon held up a small roll of paper. “This morning Rose sent something much more important than that. She reports that Rowan is sending the Hunters out at first light. They’ve been preparing all night.”

“All of them?” Tybolt said slowly.

Griffon nodded.

Tybolt slammed his fist into the cot. “Of all the—”

“It gets worse. Rose said that he’s moved the wizards from the Hold into the castle.”

“Why would he do that?”

“He’s afraid,” Alistair said. “You know everything, and now you’re a wizard. I imagine he has a space within the castle that will act as the Hold did.”

“With them out of the Hold, we can’t disable the spell, which means we have to fight Rowan at his strongest.” Tybolt reached for his boots and hastily pulled them on. “On the upside, the Hunters will be clear of the city. Anything else we need to know?”

Alistair’s head was bent and he looked at the ground, eyes moving back and forth as if he were reading something. He held up a finger and his mouth gaped, but no sound came out. He dropped his hand.

“Alistair?”

His uncle twisted on his cot one way and then the other, but he remained seated, his lips moving. It was clear he was deep in thought and whatever occupied his mind was not good.