After The Rabbit (Waldo Rabbit Series) (2 page)

“So you really are into torture?”

“I am not ‘into’ it. I have never enjoyed it or actually practiced it on anyone, but growing up where I did you pick up the basics.”

“Please do whatever you like with your servant.” Gronk started pushing his index fingers together and digging his toe into the ground. “Could we do the ‘Clawing Eagle’?”

“That’s a bit advanced, and we don’t have a rack or even chains.”

Yanking his arm, Alice began dragging him away. “Waldo and I are going to have a nice long chat and then get some sleep, way over there. You stay right here.”

Waldo was stumbling and trying not to fall as Alice kept his arm in a vice like grip. “You’re angry.”

“How’d you ever guess?”

XXX

As he watched, Gronk laughed to himself. “Well, I can see who the sub in that pair is.”

Chapter 2

Troubled

Lilith Corpselover was troubled.

She stood
before her bedroom mirror. There was no reflection to be seen, only a gray formless mist. Lilith had been trying to look upon her son Waldo to see if he was safe. Scrying magic was among the most difficult to master. It worked best when the subject was someone you knew and had a strong connection to. Being an elite archmage, trying to spy on her precious son had never been a problem before.

A week ago she had watched as her boy got himself in trouble with his familiar Alice over a misunderstanding about his relationship with his sister Gwendolyn. There had been no issue calling up his image. Since the following morning, she had not been able to look upon him, no matter how she tried to rework the spell.

Lilith chewed at her lower lip. Something must have happened during that night. The only thing that could block her attempts at viewing would be some sort of protective ward. Waldo was very skilled at those, and it would not be hard for him to block all magical efforts to scry or detect.

“But why would he suddenly do that?”

Something must have happened. Unfortunately, there was no way for her to find out what. Even for an archmage, there were limits to what you could do. Protective wards would normally defeat the effect of any sort of spell, except when it was used from very nearby. Lilith took comfort from just one thing: her son was definitely still alive. The effects of a ward used on living flesh were always temporary. Wards cast on inanimate objects were permanent; on the living they would vanish within a day or the moment the caster died. The mere fact her efforts were being blocked meant Waldo was alive.

Lilith Corpselover was head of one of the seven ruling families of Alteroth. Waldo was her last living child and designated heir. Four of her other children were dead and two were mostly dead. The other ruling families had conspired to send her son out on a First Quest with almost impossible conditions. They considered Waldo weak and more of a White Mage than a Dark one. Everyone assumed Waldo could never succeed in completing the quest and so would never return. Lilith was alone in her belief that he would succeed and come home one day.

Waving a hand she brought the spell to an end. The mist vanished, and she could once more see her reflection. It was frustrating not knowing what Waldo was doing, but she would keep her faith in him. She had set plans in motion that would secure his position when he eventually returned. Lilith would just have to concentrate on those and trust that Waldo would manage.

“Stay safe my son.”

XXX

Lucius Corpselover was troubled.

The archlich held a crystal ball in its withered hand. There was nothing to be seen other than a formless gray mist.

“Well, it’s not as if I were expecting anything different.”

It had been a little over a week since their encounter. Lucius had come after his last surviving grandson expecting to have a little bit of fun before devouring the boy’s heart. The archlich had known Waldo’s reputation as a weakling and had not expected much of a fight. The fact the boy had actually trapped him inside of a containment circle and survived had come as a huge surprise.

Lucius had been pleased.

Being mostly dead, existence tended to be rather boring. Dealing with an actual challenge was an absolute delight! The archlich had sworn to track down and devour not only Waldo, but his little succubus, too.

“
Nunc
.” The mist vanished and the crystal ball was once more clear. The archlich slid it into one of the pockets of his robe.

“I can’t blame you for using protective wards to hide from me,” Lucius said to himself. “But I think I have been patient long enough.”

Taking out a wand, the archlich began to draw a circle in the ground surrounded by various runes and magical symbols.

“If I cannot track you myself, then I will just summon something to do it for me.”

XXX

Melissa Cornwall was troubled.

The cause of her trouble could be defined with just two words: Waldo Rabbit.

Her confrontation with him had been a complete and unmitigated disaster. She had tracked him down intending to recover some stolen property and then execute him. Being a White Mage and an archmage, she had been confident in her ability to deal with one criminal. That had been her undoing. He had managed to trick her and get her to swallow some love potion.

Melissa had realized what he had done, but it had not helped. Even being aware it was an illusion, she had not been able to fight her feelings of love. She had willingly handed him her wand, purse, and spellbook. Melissa had stood there and waved as he escaped the city with his wife and newly purchased ogre.

Now it was the following morning, and she was in her quarters in the Baron’s palace in Middleton. She was without funds and without her wand or spellbook. Fortunately, she still had a number of spells memorized. A member of the Order of Mist was never truly alone. Melissa bolted the door. She had already informed the palace staff that she would be spending the entire day in meditation and was not to be disturbed for any reason, including meals.

Standing in the center of the room, Melissa breathed slowly and readied herself. The deeper magics could be very difficult some times. She concentrated on the incantation as well as on the hand gestures. The more complex the spell, the easier it was to make a mistake, and the more dangerous mistakes could be.

When she was at last certain, she raised both hands with thumbs and forefingers pressed to palms. She began to move them in an intricate pattern as she spoke her spell.

“
Avarnos est lidado ibi loco esto sempre ako notarmos loco deste
.”

The instant the last syllable was spoken and her hands completed the final gesture, she felt the mana torn from her body. Before her eyes the room was ripped away. The world was gone, and she was staring into the void. For just this moment, she existed outside of time and space. She was not moving, rather all of creation was moving around her. If you had the ability, and knew the right spells, you could twist the universe into whatever shape you liked.

Surely, this is what it feels like to be a god,
Melissa thought. It was blasphemous, but she couldn’t keep herself from thinking it.

As quickly as it had gone, the world snapped back into existence around her. There was ground beneath her feet, and the smell of grass and dampness filled the air. It had been morning, but now it was pitch black. Overhead was the moon and the starry sky. All around her in the darkness were the twisted forms of soulwood trees.

She was home again. She had returned to the nation of Avalon.

Her legs trembled, and she stumbled back. Her back struck a tree trunk. Otherwise, she would have fallen to the ground. Melissa’s heart was pounding, and her breath was coming out in ragged gasps. Her whole body was trembling. It was as if she had just gone ten miles at a full run.

“Good,” she said between breaths. “It’s good to be reminded that I am only mortal.”

The teleportation spell had taken her three thousand miles in the blink of an eye. Doing so had drained most of the mana from her body and left her physically exhausted. She would need a meal and several hours rest to be able to cast it again and return to Middleton.

Through magic almost anything was possible, but there were always limits, and there was always a price. For instance, teleportation was only possible if the location was already know to you. It had to be a place you had actually been to before. It was impossible to teleport to a place you had never visited. The spell also demanded a great deal of mana, requiring more the further you wanted to travel. Mana was the magical energy used to work spells and wards and potions. Every being who could use magic had a certain amount of mana within them.

So long as you stayed well within your limit, there was usually no issue. As with physical exhaustion, you could recover lost mana naturally with rest and sleep. Use up too much at once, and you would feel the effects. Your body weakened, and you felt weary, just as though you’d run for a long distance or spent hours at a strenuous task. You might be unable to work other spells, and it was possible to lose consciousness and be unable to wake for hours.

Mages who used too much mana constantly risked damaging their bodies and shortening their lifespans. Go past the body’s limit and death was a real possibility.

Melissa pressed her back to the snow white tree. Her legs quivered, and she had to make an effort just to remain on her feet. Melissa shut her eyes and just breathed.

It always does this to me. It always takes near everything I have.

It was humbling, but perhaps all magic users needed to be humbled now and again.

XXX

It took about twenty minutes before she felt strong enough to stand on her own. Putting one foot in front of the other, she slowly began to exit the grove. Though it was nighttime, she was able to cautiously navigate her way through the trees. She needed to duck a couple times to avoid some of the low lying branches. She caught her foot on a root hidden by the thick grass.

The soulwoods were important symbols to Melissa and members of her Order. According to legend, they held the souls of mages who had been killed during the Shattering. The anguished faces made from knots in the wood and the twisted and deformed shape of the trees themselves were said to be because of all the evil that plagued the world. One day, when the world was purified, the trees would grow tall and straight without a single deformity.

Until that day they would be a constant reminder of their noble struggle.

XXX

The grove was located about three miles from the capital. For reasons of security, no one was permitted to teleport directly into the city. As she made her way cautiously along the road, Melissa could make out the humble cottages that lined the way. Simple homes constructed of wood and straw. Each one was neatly kept with a small garden out in front. The residents were all yeoman farm families, who owned their own small plots of land and lived tranquil lives.

Melissa could have walked up to any one of those homes and likely found the door unlocked.

The thought made Melissa hold her head up a bit higher despite her weariness. Avalon was paradise on earth. All the monsters had been hunted to extinction centuries before. There were no bandits and virtually no crime; the penalties were harsh and ruthlessly enforced. The local nobility followed a strict code of chivalry, and served, “The One We Follow.” Nobles acted as the local magistrates and authorities but were not permitted to abuse their positions. They were held even more strictly to account than the people were. Unlike most of the world, here in Avalon there really was only one law, and all men and women were equal before it.

In the Misty Isle, people could live without fear.

The nations of the Alliance were not quite so tranquil. They still had banditry and crime. Many of their rulers only paid lip service to the idea of equality before the law. But at least their lands were no longer infested by monsters. Year by year and generation by generation, the Alliance states would become more and more like Avalon.