Arcanius (28 page)

The sleep spell was effective on crowds, but Tiberius had never seen it so effective. He could feel the power radiating out from around his physical body like a wave, and as it touched the soldiers, many of whom were from the earl’s war band, they fell to the floor instantly. Tiberius watched the wave race toward his brother. The sounds of bodies, armor, and weapons clashing onto the stone floor was loud, but not as loud as Brutas’ scream of terror. When the wave caught him, Brutas fell, his face smashed hard into the floor, and his body slid several feet before stopping.

Tiberius let the wave continue until the long hallway was full of unconscious men. Some at the far end of the corridor, which led into the huge feasting hall, had escaped, but Tiberius wasn’t worried about them. He had stopped Brutas and he knew that was enough to quell his brother’s rebellion. He walked down the hallway, stepping over the bodies of the unconscious men until he reached Brutas. His brother had always been a bigger person than Tiberius. Leonosis was thin and wiry, like their father. Tiberius was average in size, but he didn’t have a warrior’s physique the way Rafe did. Brutas, on the other hand, was taller and thicker than both of his brothers. He had large, rounded shoulders and thick legs. His chest was broad and barrel-shaped. He had a thick layer of fat over the large muscles, but he wasn’t flabby by any means. There was no way that Tiberius could lift his brother, so he left him where he lay and went in search of their father.

Tiberius had no idea how long he’d been unconscious, but he guessed it couldn’t have been more than a few hours. If he’d been unconscious through the night, he would have bled to death. In the palace’s great hall, Tiberius found more soldiers, but the men threw down their weapons.

“We surrender, my lord,” said one of the officers.

“You were supposed to be helping my father,” Tiberius said, recognizing the man.

“We surrendered to your brother… I can’t say why. He came out of the palace and told us to surrender, and we did.”

Tiberius nodded, understanding that Brutas’ possession of the Balestone had given him a magical influence over the earl’s war band. That was why Rafe had attacked Tiberius. He hadn’t willingly betrayed Ti.

“And where is my father?” Tiberius asked.

“Brutas had him put in stocks for the entire city to see. I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Tiberius said, fighting back the urge to take his anger out on the soldier by beating him to death.

Ti had to force the dark thoughts out of his mind. The voices were whispering, urging Tiberius to kill the soldier, to make all those who had betrayed him suffer. He knew that he could take the Earldom of Avondale now. He was strong enough, and not even his father would dare oppose him, although he had a strong desire to kill his father and his brother. Then he could raise his war band against Leonosis. He could fight the newly crowned king not only with magic, but with the entire might of Avondale. He could even travel to the other cities and slay their earls. He could bring them all under his control…

He shook his head, trying to stop the voices. He felt as if he were going insane. The ambition and lust for power was almost overwhelming, and he knew it all originated from the Balestone. He wanted to stop and cut the evil thing out of himself, but he couldn’t reach it. He needed help, and he had to find Rafe, his father, and the girls.

“I want you to stand guard over Brutas,” Tiberius instructed the man. “He’s unconscious, and I don’t think he’ll come to anytime soon, but stay with him if he does. I don’t want him moved. Meanwhile, have these other men get water and wake the soldiers that fell under my spell. I want that hallway cleared when I get back. Everyone stays in the Great Hall, do you understand?”

“Yes, my lord,” the soldier said.

“Good,” Tiberius said, turning away and moving toward the large double doors that led out of the palace.

The lump in his back was throbbing, but not with pain. He could feel the Balestone’s magic pulsing into him. He had to grit his teeth to keep the voices at bay. He stayed focused on finding his father. Avondale had stocks near the servants’ quarters. At one time, locking a person in stocks was popular punishment, but the stocks had never been used in Tiberius’ lifetime. Ti’s great-grandfather, the same earl who had closed the palace’s dungeons, had removed the public stocks and hanging cages. He couldn’t help but admire the bravery his great-grandfather had to make such changes.

Tiberius had to search for several minutes, but he finally found his father on a ledge that leaned out over the street below. Ti saw Earl Ageus from behind, where his father’s stooped form was leaning into the thick wooden stocks. Two of the king’s soldiers stood guard. They saw Tiberius approaching and lowered their spears.

“
Ingesco Exsuscito
,” Tiberius said.

He felt the magic spring out of the wooden spear shafts as the weapons burst into flames. The conjure fire spell was in many ways much simpler than the fire spell of the Fourth Order. Tiberius could use the conjure fire spell that Ariel had given him to make a flammable object catch fire. He couldn’t control the fire as he could with the more powerful
Accendo
spell, but conjuring fire still had its place.

The soldiers shouted and threw down their weapons, a look of panic suddenly filling their eyes. They drew swords and backed slowly toward their captive in the stocks.

“I have no wish to slay you,” Tiberius said, defying the voices in his head that were screaming for blood. “Throw down your weapons and I shall let you live.”

“We’ve got our orders,” one of the soldiers said.

“Fine,” Tiberius said, raising his hands and reveling in the magic that he could feel swirling around him and through him. The Balestone made his magical senses so much more acute, and he could feel the magic in every living thing.

“
Fulguralis
,” he shouted.

The last time Tiberius had used the lightning spell, it had nearly broken free of his control, but this time the magic connected to him in a completely different way. He felt the portal opening, felt the power of the lightning surging into the Balestone and through Tiberius’ body. Then, from this open palms, bright white bolts of lightning shot out and hit the two soldiers squarely in the chest. Tiberius felt the hair on his arms rise up from the static electricity, even after he clamped down on the spell.

The two soldiers were knocked backwards by the lightning, which left their tunics fused to their skin around a blackened hole that was smoking. Tiberius could smell the burnt flesh and knew that the two soldiers were dead. A part of him was gleeful at the use of raw, magical power, but another part, the true part of Tiberius, was revolted that he had used his magic to kill men so easily.

“Magic exists to benefit all mankind,” he said slowly.

The Balestone mocked him, and the voices in his head berated him for such thinking. He was a wizard, after all, they argued. Wasn’t he suppose to use his power? The soldiers were mortals, nothing more than dumb animals. Killing them meant nothing. But Tiberius fought to keep the voices at bay. He was a mortal, too, and killing was always a last resort.

He hurried over to his father and lifted the simple latch that held the stocks in place. The top beam was heavy, but Tiberius lifted it free and tossed it aside. Earl Ageus crumpled to the ground.

“Are you hurt?” Tiberius asked, kneeling beside his father.

“Not injured, just very sore.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know,” the earl said. “Brutas came out and told my troops to lay down their arms, and they just obeyed him. There was no fight, no resistance. I thought you were dead.”

“Not dead, but close enough,” Tiberius said. “Come on, we need to get you back into the palace and we need to find Rafe.”

“Rafe is easy enough to find,” the earl said.

He pointed up toward the highest rampart of the palace. Tiberius looked up and felt a boiling hot rage erupt inside him. He could see Rafe hanging from the wall, his friend’s body stretched out by the weight of the block of stone that hung from his wrists.

“Come on,” Tiberius said. “I’ve got to help him.”

“The guards said he struck you down,” Ageus said. “I thought he was your friend.”

“He was under Brutas’ spell, the same as your men.”

“So Brutas is a wizard, too?”

“No,” Tiberius said. “But he had the Balestone, and it was working for him.”

“The Balestone?” Ageus asked.

“I’ll explain everything soon,” Tiberius said. “But I want to get you inside first.”

“But what about Brutas?”

“You don’t have to worry about Brutas,” Tiberius said grimly. “He won’t hurt us ever again.”

Chapter 32

Lexi

Wearing a dress wasn't completely foreign to Lexi. The wig, on the other hand, felt ridiculous and itched. She had to force herself not to scratch her head constantly. Olyva kept glancing over at Lexi, which only made her feel even more self-conscious.

“You look beautiful,” Olyva said as they neared the palace. “Don’t be nervous.”

“That’s easy for you to say. I feel like an idiot, and if I didn't know better, I’d think I had a bale of hay on my head.”

“It looks good, and that’s all that matters now. We need to get inside and help.”

They were passing through the large gate that led to the palace’s main entrance. Lexi felt nervous. Going through the front door wasn’t her favorite tactic, but she was trusting Olyva this time, and just in case, she kept her Wangorian dagger close at hand.

They were halfway across the palace’s outer courtyard when they saw Earl Ageus. He was locked in a wooden stock, his head and hands bound between the heavy pieces of wood. Lexi nudged her friend but didn’t say anything. There were other city officials coming and going from the palace, but none were speaking. Most just stared at the ground and hurried about their tasks.

There were soldiers guarding the main entrance, and Lexi felt her heart pounding as they approached the heavily armed men, but the soldiers didn't give them a second glance. Just inside the palace’s main entrance was a reception hall. Sculptures were placed around the large room on marble pillars. Tapestries and huge works of art adorned the walls. Normally the reception hall was a busy place where city officials, wealthy merchants, and even visiting dignitaries held unofficial meetings or talked about the latest gossip. But the hall was empty, and Olyva led them quickly through it.

Beyond the reception hall was the Great Hall, where the earl held public feasts and the city’s most important citizens were allowed to hold events such as weddings. Two corridors led off of either side of the reception hall. One was lined with small rooms that were used by the city’s officials to conduct their business. The opposite corridor led to the suites used by some of Avondale’s ministers. Grentz had been housed in one of the smaller apartments at the far end of the hall.

“This way,” Olyva said, taking them down the second corridor. “We need to get up to the roof.”

“You think we’ll just be able to stroll up there?” Lexi said.

“No, but we need to see what we’re dealing with.”

Lexi knew Olyva was right, but she didn't expect their task to be easy. If they could have waited until nightfall, they would have had a better chance of success. She doubted that there would be many guards posted at night, and they might even be able to sneak around the guards rather than fighting them.

At the end of the hallway was a narrow stairway that led up to the second floor. The Great Hall took up the center of the second story of the palace. There were large, open windows from the hallway that circled the Great Hall so that, for important events, spectators could watch from above. The second floor was also used to house visiting nobles. The largest suite of rooms was reserved for the king if he should ever visit, but all the the rooms were lavish, and Lexi knew that Olyva’s mother and sisters were staying somewhere on that floor.

A wider stairway led up to the vestibule outside the earl’s residence. And from there, a grand staircase curved up to the palace roof. Normally at least two of the earl’s guard stood watch at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the third floor, but the soldiers were missing.

“There have to be guards on the next floor,” Lexi argued. “It can't be this easy.”

“If there are, what should we do?” Olyva asked.

“We have to know what we're facing,” Lexi said. “Then we can decide what to do.”

"I hate the thought of waiting," Olyva said. "Rafe is just hanging up there."

"You need to prepare yourself for the fact that he might be dead," Lexi said coldly.

She saw the look of fear and shock on Olyva's face and hated herself for being so callous, but she knew that even if they could get to Rafe, there was no guarantee that he would still be alive. What was worse—she knew that if Rafe had been captured, then there was a good chance that Tiberius had been killed. She couldn't fathom that, even though she knew it had to be true.

"So we aren't even going to try?" Olyva asked angrily.

"No," Lexi said. "We are going up, but even if we can save Rafe, we need start thinking of how we're going to get out of here. Once Rafe's body is gone from the walls, it won't be long before the earl's men come looking for us."