Advent (Advent Mage Cycle) (22 page)

“Thank you. I shall be awaiting word from you. In the meantime, I want you to do some research and tell me
how
to stop the Priests from using this magic.”

I wasn’t sure if there was a seal or barrier of some sort that would work on blood magic. It might be a simple case of needing more magicians over here to act as a hunting party against the Order. I prayed it was not the latter. That would surely open the doors to a bloody civil war.

“I shall consult with the Sojavel Ra Institute.” The hidden library I’d taken there probably had the answer to this question. “There are experts there that can tell me what is to be done.”

“Very good.”

I relaxed a little, relieved to have a firm direction. “Then good night, Your Majesty.”

“One last thing, Magus.” He softened, the hard edges of a King’s expression turning into that more resembling a grandfather’s. “How
is
Nolan doing?”

“Very well,” I assured him. “Queen Chaelane has taken him into her care. They’re growing quite fond of each other.”

He nodded, relieved. “Good. Just… good. Thank you, Magus.”

“It is my pleasure,” I assured him gently. And it truly was a pleasure to rescue other magicians and see them settled in a place that gave them safety and security. “Good night, Your Majesty.”

“Good night, Magus.”

~*~

As it
was
very late at night, I didn’t choose to go to Coven Ordan immediately. Asking favors in the dead of night never works. Instead, Shad, Night and I retreated back to my parent’s house long enough to catch eight hours of sleep and eat a hearty breakfast. I did take a few minutes to check on everyone. They were moving better today, having benefited from all of the healing spells, potions, and hours of rest. I felt better watching them. Especially since Aletha, even convalescing, was running verbal rings around both of my brothers. I’ve never seen them at such a loss for words. It was hilarious just sitting there and watching.

There was so much to do that day that I couldn’t stay at home long. After breakfast was over, I stood and poked my head out the back door. “Night, I’m going to the Sojavel Ra Institute, then to Coven Ordan, then to see Vonlorisen, and then going up to visit Chatta. Do you want to go or stay?”

He gave me a horrified look. “
Be in the earth for hours at a time while you zip all over creation? I’ll stay, thanks. Just don’t get into any trouble.”

I gave him a casual salute. “Then see you later.”

I dropped onto the earth path and started toward southern Hain. Once I was close enough, the Institute registered like a lodestone to my magical sense. The building itself was large enough to be a small mountain, which is part of the reason why it was so clearly defined for me. The other part, of course, is that its chock full of magicians. Witches and Wizards have always had this distinct feel for me, one hard to capture in words. I tried explaining it to Chatta once, and the closest metaphor I could think of was that Witches and Wizards are like hot magma. The way their magical cores shift in hot, dense flows as they moved about strongly resembled the way magma travels.

Barely anytime passed before I found a clear spot in an open courtyard and rose to the surface again. Coming to the Institute was the easy part of this—finding the right expert to consult with would be the real challenge. In fact, locating the right person to talk to might very well take all morning. Wasn’t that just a joyful thought?

Praying to the gods that they might have mercy on me, I walked in through the first side door I could reach. This door opened up directly into a side hallway, and as usual in the Institute, the walls had so many boxes and odd paraphernalia leaning up against them that it’s a wonder anyone can navigate their way through. I dodged and squeezed past perilous stacks of who-knows-what, making my way to the main part of the building.

“Hey now, this is a restricted area!”

I turned toward the outraged male voice (carefully to avoid knocking something over) and took him in with some surprise. I hadn’t felt anyone behind me. He looked like a Wizard researcher—I’m not saying that because of the long black robes, or the wand in his hand, or the spectacles perched precariously on his nose. It was the half-purple hair, green smears on his hands, and the odd way his right eye kept twitching that indicated he was playing with something he shouldn’t have.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, “I’m looking for an expert on blood magic. Can you tell me who I need to speak with?”

He harrumphed. “Blood magic is evil.”

“Yes,” I responded patiently, “I know. I need to know how to combat it. Who do I need to speak with?”

He eyed me suspiciously. What, did he think that I wanted to know dark arts for some nefarious purpose? After a long hesitation he finally responded, “Roarke Kartal would probably be the best person. He isn’t here right now, however.”

Now, wasn’t that just ironic? The one time I actually want Kartal, he isn’t around. “Who would be a good second option?”

“Coven Ordan, I would think. At least, that’s who he keeps consulting with.”

Coven Ordan. Now why didn’t I think of that? I had to go there anyway; wouldn’t it have been more efficient for me to just skip the Institute altogether? I felt like smacking myself in the forehead for being an idiot. “Thank you.”

Since I had nothing but stone under my feet, I dropped directly onto the earth path from there and sped toward Bromany. Since no one was with me this trip (and therefore I didn’t have to take it easy) I went as fast as I wanted; which, as it happens, was almost recklessly fast. I had a
ball
doing it. I also went deeper than I normally do, because I had to get under the ocean to keep travelling. Water and I do not exactly get along.

It wasn’t until I was up in the mountains, facing Coven Ordan, that I realized I had a little problem. It was all fine and well to
know
that there was a major glamour spell hiding the base holding the city up—just like there was a glamour hiding the bridge connecting mountain and city. But knowing and being able to discount it is two separate matters. I had no way of dispelling the glamour so that I could actually enter the city.

Well. Now what?

Could I count on someone noticing me and letting me in? Probably, but how long would that take? I wasn’t willing to stand out here for a few hours.

Hmmm…well, if I can’t use their bridge…maybe I should just make my own? I’d dismantle it after I used it. Not seeing any drawbacks to this plan, I went with it. There was a sheer cliff face off to one side, with all sorts of lovely rocks exposed. I used them, melting the stone and reforming it into a bridge that stretched to the city. As it was only going to carry me, I made it two feet wide, wide enough for one person to walk across without worry. When I was sure the bridge was sturdy enough to use, I walked across.

I was maybe three quarters of the way there when someone appeared outside of the city. I had to squint a bit before I recognized Wizard Raile Blackover, unofficial mayor of Coven Ordan. He was waving a hand to catch my attention.

“Welcome, Garth!” he called, feeble voice barely audible. “You could have called, you know, we’d let you in!”

“I wasn’t sure how to, sir!” I called back. “And I’m in a bit of a hurry, so I figured I’d just take myself across. Don’t worry; I’ll dismantle the bridge when I’m done with it.”

“That’s fine,” he assured me. I was close enough now to see that he was slightly worried. “Is something wrong?”

“That’s a long story,” I answered with a heavy sigh. I stepped off my bridge, and turned long enough to restore the stone where it had been. When no trace of my bridge existed, I turned back to Raile. “A lot has happened in Chahir in the past week. I’m not sure how much you’ve caught in your pool.”

“Nothing severe enough to prompt a visit from you like this,” Raile answered slowly, eyes searching my face. “I think we best go sit down, Garth. This looks like it might take a while.”

“Yes,” I agreed grimly. “This will take a while.”

Chapter Thirteen:
Queens and Pawns

Raile took me back to his house, a modest place that was obviously built for just one person. If the house had more than a kitchen, living room, bedroom and study, I’d be very surprised. From the front, it didn’t look big enough to hold more than four rooms. When I entered the front door, the initial impression cemented in my mind. A bachelor definitely lived here since it was filled to every nook and cranny with books and gadgets. Oddly enough, I felt right at home. It was like visiting O’danne office, or Doss’s.

He waved me into one of the only empty chairs, taking a wing backed chair for himself. He eased all the way back, adjusting his aged frame carefully. Raile had the appearance of a gnome that had been pickled and preserved for the past one hundred years. It always amused me when he moved around like one too. “Start from the beginning, Garth. What’s happened?”

I started from the letter from Vonlorisen, telling about Nolan, and ended up with Vonlorisen’s problems with his queen and the Star Order. I didn’t say anything about Vonlorisen’s request for help. Chatta’s taught me one thing about dealing with people—sometimes, if you let people think it’s their idea, requests for aid go over better. I was banking on the fact that Raile was actually there when Chahir went mad. He had a perspective on this situation that no one else did. If there was anything he could do to help Chahir recover from the war, I knew he would do it.

After I finished, he pondered everything for a moment, rubbing an idle hand against his chin. “So the Queen’s causing trouble, eh? Well. We can’t have that. I assume you came here for an idea of what to do with her?”

I side-stepped the question. “I can’t bring her into Hain; there are too many political consequences. And Vonlorisen can’t lock her up anywhere in Chahir. She has too many connections that could get her back out again.”

“So you’re hoping that we’ll take her, as we don’t have any direct connection except interest,” he guessed. The twinkle in his eye hinted he didn’t mind the idea in the slightest.

“That’s exactly what I’m hoping, sir,” I confessed.

“Well, your wish shall be granted!” He slapped a hand against the arm of the chair, grinning like a demented meuritta. “In fact, I’ll take her under custody myself.”

He was chuckling so evilly that I couldn’t help but join in. The picture of Queen Vonkaraan, who hated traditional magic with a passion, trapped in Coven Ordan was just too ironic for words. Actually, I thought it poetic justice.

“Excellent!” I enthused. I felt like a hundred pound weight of worry had been lifted off my back. “When do you think you can take her, sir?”

His eyes focused on his shoes as he considered the matter. “Well, I’ll need to run this by the city council, and prepare a house for her, but that shan’t take more than a day or two. Tell you what. Give me three days, just to be safe, and then bring that woman here.”

That sounded reasonable so I nodded in agreement. “Yes, sir.”

“Now, your second question about how to stop the Star Order is a mite trickier.” He sank back into his chair a bit further, hands interlaced comfortably over his rotund stomach. “What do you know about blood magic?”

“Very little. I know that it takes ritual to be able to do anything with it. I know that blood magicians usually link with each other or others in order to boost their power. I know that if you break anything that they are connected to, it knocks them unconscious. Shad told me once that you need a focus for blood magic to be properly channeled. That’s the sum of my knowledge on the subject.”

“In essence, that’s exactly what blood magic needs to operate.” His frown deepened steadily. “Any individual person has very limited magical ability housed in their core. That is why it is so essential for a blood magician to be able to link to other people. It can be done by ritual, as you said, or by sigils that are activated when needed. The Star Order has had nearly two hundred years to fortify their position in Chahir. Rooting them out…shall not be an easy task.”

“King Vonlorisen is worried,” I responded quietly. “He can outlaw them, order them to disband, but he has no recourse if they retaliate. He wants to know how to defeat them, how to prevent this from becoming a war.”

“It’s been nigh on a hundred years since I gave blood magic any thought. However, I know some of our young magicians have been conferring regularly with a Wizard at the Sojavel Ra Institute. I shall talk with them, and see if we can’t find a good solution to the problem.”

I had no doubt that in Raile’s capable hands, a good solution would be found. “I appreciate that, sir. Please contact me when you do.”

“I will. Garth, are you in any sort of hurry right now?”

I cocked an eyebrow at him, slightly puzzled about the question. “No, not really. The team is going to be off duty for at least two weeks recuperating. Is there something you need me to do, sir?”

“Something that needs to be discussed, yes,” Raile clarified. “You must have wondered why, after two hundred years, we contacted Chahir and Hain.”

I
had
wondered that, yes. “I was told the prophecy about Night was part of that reason.”

“And it was, but only a small part. In truth, Garth, we’re outgrowing this place. Coven Ordan is only meant to hold about five hundred people. Considering that the ancestors who came here and started the city was about fifty people, I suppose I can’t blame our lack of foresight. But right now, our population is about nine hundred. We’re bursting at the seams. Quite a few of our young people want to get out, go into the world, and start carving a new path for themselves. I wanted to ask you how their reception will go in Hain and Chahir.”

Ah-ha, so that’s why! I considered the question carefully for a moment before I answered. “Chahir isn’t ready yet. Right now, an influx of foreign magicians would set the Star Order off, which might well incite another magical war. Vonlorisen would be glad to see them, but I’m not sure if it’s wise at this time for them to go. Hain, however, will be overjoyed with the help. They’re always short on magicians—Mages especially.” As I knew painfully well.