Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) (48 page)

Frowning as Palose sought to prod him into speaking negatively about his school and people, Istrias replied, "You don't read like a battle mage, but you act like one."

"I act like one? And how does a battle mage act, oh high and mighty wizard?"

"They always view us a bit angrily because they can't do what we do. You're bitter, but you are strong enough to be a wizard. Power doesn't usually change, at least I have never heard of it happening; so why do you sympathize with them?"

Palose laughed sarcastically in the man's face. "I had a changing point in my life. I died and came back stronger. There were penalties to it at first of course, since I had to do as the warlocks commanded me and I opened a gate inside of Windmeer because of them."

"You're the Betrayer?" Istrias exclaimed before he could catch himself. "You were a battle mage before, but you don't feel like one now, even if you talk like a particularly bitter one."

Palose frowned, but held his temper. He was surprised that he was so worked up over a simple discussion with a wizard that would likely be dead by the emperor's hands soon. "I had a better mind than your agents gave me credit for when I was found; but I lacked the magical strength to be a wizard. I died as a cadet and a warlock brought me back to life. Though I was alive, I was also a prisoner under his spell. After the attack on Windmeer, I found that I had drawn away some of the warlock's magic making me strong enough to be a weaker wizard.

"One thing I am grateful to him for is that I was given a second chance, both at life and as someone who could study to be a wizard. I have become more powerful since then and can use my magic to enter Southwall at will in spite of Northwall. Your defenses are nothing to me."

"And yet you are bitter and in exile from your nation," Istrias stated as a thought came to his mind. Perhaps if he could get the Betrayer to snap, the man would kill him; but that would prevent him from giving in to torture or magic. The wizard would do his best to keep what he knew to himself, even if it was relatively little. There were the spies and some knowledge of Southwall's gates, however, and Istrias knew that had to be kept from the enemy.

Another worry came to mind, but Istrias tried to hide the thought as best he could from the dark mage. The map inside of his jacket could give away their spies. At least this map only had one portal showing, which was the one that they had shown to him. He knew of two others by the enemies' gate houses should he have to escape by a different route. Both the Betrayer's house and that of the current meeting places for the spies were marked as well though.

"I am an exile from Southwall, but they accept me here," Palose said missing the worry in the man's eyes. "I actually have more friends here than I did as a cadet in White Hall. Being in exile from my old nation has brought me much more than if I had continued on to become a mere falcon."

The response had been calm enough disappointing the wizard, who needed him to roast him in fire to destroy the map as well. He waited for Palose to continue the conversation. So far it was little more than that, though if Istrias was learning so much, maybe that meant it was more certain that they would kill him here. You only told someone secrets if you trusted them or figured that they would be dead soon enough that they couldn't spread it around anyway.

"So how many spies did Sebastian bring us by now? It has been months since he attacked my people here. I can guess that he wasn't satisfied with just looking for himself. If he speaks with the falcondi or falconi, he could have told them that he has found a way into the city. They would have made him bring others to spy on the city and discover the emperor's defenses.

"You came here to make contact, I assume?"

The wizard wasn't as good at masking his thoughts as Palose had been as a cadet. The dark mage was certain that it was just a matter of time before Istrias said something or gave away too much with his face. There was something worrying him, though it could just be his capture. He had always thought Sebastian had been an open book to him as well; though he had felt a kindred spirit with his fellow mage and maybe the other cadet had felt a friendship with him making it easier to read the mizard.

"How many times have you made this trip?" Palose questioned reading the man's face for clues closely now. "You seemed like a clumsy newcomer to my people when they found you. You look old enough to have a little more wisdom, but you also seem rather green to me, at least as a spy."

Istrias gave himself away with his eyes again. The dark mage's words weren't meant to be answered by the wizard's mouth any longer. Reading Istrias, Palose received all the answers he asked for.

"So this was your first time here, which means that the spies waiting for you most likely don't know your face," Palose mused. "Were you supposed to meet someone at the gate? If they weren't there, where was your secondary meeting point then?"

He turned to Wendle and asked, "Did either of you search him?"

Shaking his head, the Kardorian replied, "I didn't but Stasia said that she thought that he had put something inside of his jacket."

The wizard's eyes betrayed him again, so Palose took liberties and patted his jacket. Something that didn't match the feel of the material caught his attention. Palose reached into the opened jacket and found an inner pocket that held something.

Removing the folded up paper, Palose noted what appeared to be a partial map of inner Ensolus. Marks and words describing what they believed things to be were written in the different areas. The emperor's spire was clearly marked and accurate. Someone with magic had likely figured out both the spire and the centers of warlock magic. Other areas were drawn with less detail and the dark mage could tell that it was still a work in progress.

One other mark made him frown. Clearly marked and named, was his home in this house.

"You knew this mark was where I might be and yet you tried to use it under my nose? Are you an idiot or did you think that I was one?" Palose questioned feeling annoyed by the man's audacity.

The wizard smirked seeing this as another opportunity to get out of revealing anything more. He had said nothing, but the Betrayer had already discovered answers that Istrias believed secreted inside of him. It wasn't going well. The former mage knew of their other spies, gates and the map. What else had he revealed? Was one of the tricks the mage had learned since leaving Southwall mind reading?

"Sebastian made you look like an idiot, didn't he? You use a gate and he opens it again without trying hard at all. The owl continues to outsmart you at every turn. Stories of him beating you and turning your magic against you have even reached those who don't know him well.

"Maybe you are an idiot. Even if you do manage to get something out of me, he will outsmart you again. That is why he is the owl and you are just a Betrayer of your people. Getting past those who trust you is a lot easier than those who don't."

A crack as Palose struck the wizard with his fist echoed inside of the basement mostly constructed from stone. A gasp from behind the dark mage brought his eyes back to see Stasia looking stunned by his behavior. His first spell used to bring her and Talia back made them love him, but that lingering feeling could be jolted by seeing something that went against what she believed of him.

With the strength of her love that remained, the mage figured that he could win her back. He was kind and protective of his people. Those he loved would never receive the darker side of his nature aimed at them, but for his enemies there was little that Palose would hold back. He knew what Istrias was trying to do, but he had more control than that. Still, it felt good to hit the wizard who arrogantly thought that he could manipulate a battle mage.

"Getting past those who believe they know you for weeks before you betray them is much harder than fooling a stranger. A stranger doesn't know your patterns or tells, but someone close to you should see when you are changed.

"You are a stranger to me, so it would be easy to fool you."

Spitting out blood from a split lip at the mage and finding the cloth of his shirt, Istrias smiled at him audaciously trying to escalate the actions. "You say that, but it still doesn't change the fact that Sebastian, a battle mage yet, continues to beat you at every turn. You've gained power by deceit, Betrayer, and yet you still lose."

A cold calm descended upon Palose in the face of the attempted insult. The Betrayer stood and nodded to Stasia to bring the tray of food to the prisoner. "Feed him, but don't release his hands. He's a wizard. They don't know how to cast without their hands. He's helpless, so even a girl can guard him safely.

"Once he's had his last meal, I'll bring him to the Dark One. Then I think I will test out how well the spies know what they face here. A redundant gate made over Sebastian's should fool anyone watching. They'll take me back to their base without being any wiser. The good news is that you probably won't be alone for long," he finished off with an arrogant laugh before walking towards the stairs.

"Damn you Betrayer, no!" Istrias cried out lunging forward enough to cause the chair to topple over. A crack as the man's face slammed into the stone floor made even Palose cringe.

Looking a bit stunned, Wendle and Palose lifted the man, chair and all, back to the proper position.

"Freeze him to the floor, Wendle. We wouldn't want our guest hurting himself or Stasia by doing something stupid like that again."

Bleeding from the forehead and nose, the wizard was left alone with the pretty girl after Wendle formed ice blocks on the legs of his chair anchoring it to the floor. There was enough ice that he wouldn't break free too soon.

Stasia wiped his forehead and lips gently with a cloth napkin looking genuinely concerned with his welfare. Hoping against hope, as the girl started to give him something to drink, Istrias begged, "Please free me. You're a good and decent person. Surely you can see that he is evil. He will betray you too one day, I bet."

The slap to his face from the girl who suddenly turned angry at him surprised the wizard greatly.

"Don't say anything mean about Palose. He was forced to betray your country, but he loves us and would never do anything to harm his family. If you say anything else mean about him, I won't feed you and you can go away hungry," the girl commanded him still looking hurt and upset with him.

The wizard didn't know what made her so loyal, but he wasn't cruel. She was a decent soul as he had said, and the man didn't want to hurt a girl that had held so much joy earlier even though he was supposed to be her enemy.

"I apologize, Stasia. I won't say anything mean about him anymore. We'll talk about something else while we eat."

Smiling at him like the girl had flipped a picture around, Stasia nodded offering him a cup of water to start his possible last meal.

Palose dropped the portal wizard off with men that he knew well enough to trust with bringing him to Kolban. It was late enough that the mage hoped to just drop him off and leave. He had no doubt that the emperor would call for him soon, once his interrogators had a moment with Istrias; but until then another surprise had come up.

A strange sensation had been felt; it was a feeling that he had only had once before when Sylvaine had been in trouble. She had died before he could reach her then. While he doubted that Dorgred would be in as grave a situation as that, the mage still felt responsible for the wizard. It was his errand given him by Kolban that could lead to his being in trouble.

The stones didn't have an adjustable setting that would tell Palose whether Dorgred was just calling him for his errand or for greater trouble, so the dark mage stepped out of sight of the guards before creating a new portal. Being more careful had kept his gates limited and Sylvaine's magic was his link after changing them once Sebastian began destroying his portal stones.

With spies in the city and likely multiple gates, it seemed less of a worry now.

His doorway cast light in the darkness of the street, but it was clear of traffic here.

"Reflex," Palose called up the spell that would make the jump through the silver light feel like a much longer trip, but he would throw off the disorientation caused by the shifting reality much quicker. Even without the spell, the dark mage thought that the affect was much shorter now. Perhaps he had grown used to the magic that much that it barely bothered him any longer.

Noting a room lit by lamps in the corners, Palose spotted a pair of stuffed chairs sitting across from one another already occupied by two figures. A third boy stood behind the pretty woman who had a smile on her face for his arrival.

"Dorgred," he acknowledged the wizard with a nod, "I take it this isn't an emergency."

The big man stood up and gestured towards the woman across from him and accused Palose as he proclaimed, "You're the one who wanted me to find you a seer. I found you a seer as best I can tell. Now maybe I can get on with my life without being bugged by some wet behind the ears mage all the time."

Ignoring Dorgred's typical grumpiness, Palose looked closer at the woman. She was quite beautiful as well, which made him a little cautious in his expectations. The wizard had a weak spot for pretty girls. Stasia had him wrapped around her little finger from the moment they had met and there were stories of him being swayed into helping many of the local women because of their beauty.