The Bronze Mage (25 page)

"He brought me here?" She could have sworn it was James.

"No. To a place not far from the school. Most mages only travel alone, because distance increases effort multiplicatively, but mass exponentially."

Tabitha raised her brows in mock offense.

James refused to take the bait. "I wish you'd been harder to carry. When he handed you over, I thought he'd brought me your corpse." His eyes were unfocused, but he wasn't inspecting the spell. He was lost in the memory. "Then the spell reacted to me. It wouldn't've if you'd been dead."

"You've done much more than Crandall," Tabitha observed. "And I don't think you've slept all night. Are you too exhausted to do magic?"

James shook his head, refocusing on the present. "If you make it to your next birthday, I'm buying you a history book." It would have been better if he'd smiled.

"Take me to my room." Tabitha insisted. "It will be empty. Send a note for Mage Crandall to meet us there. He can escort us to my father's study. No one will harm you if you're carrying me." She didn't think she'd be walking very well anyway. "Can you do that?"

"What will it accomplish?" he was curious, not scornful.

"It will prove that you were rescuing me, not kidnapping me. We'll agree to go back to the college together and prove to them that you know a way to reduce the affinity, so the spell can be removed safely...You do, don't you?"

THIRTY-FIVE

Facing King Rhys

"Put my daughter down." King Rhys's voice was thick with anger.

James carefully stood Tabitha in front of him. She clutched at him as the room spun, but he held her steady. Eventually, everything stabilized.

"What do you want?" the king asked.

"Not him. Me, father," Tabitha answered. "I want another solution. Those mages at the college left me unconsciousness for five days. Five days with no food or water, just...well, I don't even know what. Magic. Look at me," she hoped she looked at least half as bad as she felt. "I wouldn't even be able to talk if James hadn't healed my mouth and throat."

"They said it was the only way to break the spell. That you could die either way."

"You know they were wrong, father. Do you really hate James so much that you'd rather lose me than let him try?" Tears were running down her cheeks. Again. It was embarrassing, but she couldn't stop them. She was too exhausted to both sound reasonable and look stoic. It was hard enough to control her voice.

"There's no proof that anything else will work," the king insisted. "What if they had almost succeeded? What if you left too soon?"

"Your Majesty," Mage Crandall interrupted, "I saw her. It was not working."

"I would like someone other than the three of you to ratify that."

"Of course, father. I'm not suggesting we do anything drastic. James has agreed to accompany me back to the college. He'll show them how he can reduce the affinity. We'll get more opinions on what is the best and safest way to remove the spell. You won't have to rely on just us." Keeping the bitterness out of her voice was difficult.
 

"Crandall, send letters to the college telling them that Mage James brought my daughter here, and that the three of you will be traveling back there together tomorrow."

"By coach, Sire," Mage Crandall amended.

The king frowned, but nodded. "By coach. Once you arrive, Mage James will demonstrate how he intends to reduce the affinity and there will be open discussion on the benefits and dangers of each method. Keep me informed. I will make the final decision. She is my daughter. For tonight, see that your guest has a room near yours and whatever he needs. Also, let Bernice and Jerrold in."

Tabitha hadn't realized she was still gripping James's arm, until he said, "Excuse me, princess," and disentangled himself. She couldn't believe he would just walk away.

"Thank you, Mage James," she said formally, for her father's sake, "for bringing me home."

He bowed slightly to her, then to her father. Mage Crandall led him toward the door. Tabitha kept tight control of the panic that rose as the room started to sway. She wanted to call him back, but couldn't with her father there.

As her mother and brother entered, Tabitha felt the room tilt. She yelled, "James!" but wasn't sure if he'd heard. The word echoed through the trees.

Why couldn't there at least be acorns or pinecones here? Something to throw? Tabitha was tired of this woods. Tired of magic. Tired of feeling so helpless. What was the point of spending all of those hours training when she never faced an enemy she could fight?

When James didn't come immediately, her frustration changed to worry. What was going on out there? What if her father did something rash? What if James didn't feel safe coming to get her? Surely, his body must be as defenseless as hers when he was here. Where was he? She almost kicked a tree trunk, but thought better of it. It was nice to not be in pain.

Finally, he came.

"Don't panic. It's going to be alright," he said. If he'd been at all relaxed when he'd said that, it might have reassured her.

"What is?"

"You're still at home, just in another room. We need to go now." As he finished speaking, he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her back into reality-- which turned out to be a narrow bed in a strange room. Her mother sat on a chair next to her.

"Don't get up, Tabitha," the queen instructed. "I think you need to stay right there."

"Why?" she asked, though she wasn't really tempted to move. She was so tired.

"Mage James is in the next room. Apparently, you need a certain proximity with him right now." There was a lot of emotion in the queen's voice, but Tabitha couldn't tell what exactly. "Is this..." she swept her hand back and forth, indicating Tabitha's condition, "because of him? Because of his spell? Or those other mages? Why didn't Melanie do anything to protect you? She's your sister."

Tabitha reached out and took her mother's hand. "It's not Melanie's fault, Mom. It's not entirely anyone's fault. This affinity is something that wasn't expected, couldn't be predicted, and isn't understood well enough to easily cure."

"Can it be cured?"

"I'm not giving up yet."

"He's so cold, Tabitha. Utterly in control," The queen had to be talking about James. The description wasn't even close to her father. "Do you really think a man like that cares whether you live or die?"

"If he wanted me dead, he could have left me at the college. I doubt it would have taken much longer."

Although Tabitha had assumed she would fall asleep easily, the unfamiliar bed and windowless room made her restless.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"The servants' quarters. They were the only rooms we could find that would let you two sleep this close, with a stone wall between you. Your father hasn't forgotten Princess Anya's wedding. There's a guard outside each of your doors."

"The servants' quarters? Mom, there are going to be so many new stories tomorrow...I was trying to keep this visit confined to family."

"Then you shouldn't have fainted," there was a wry humor in the queen's voice.

"I'll try to remember that next time," Tabitha said, then drifted off to sleep.

THIRTY-SIX

Return to the College of Mages

Tabitha's inability to maintain consciousness unless James was within a few yards of her complicated their traveling plans. So did her generally weakened condition. She refused to admit that "a few bad days" could affect her so much, so she was cranky as often as grateful when being helped. The carriage was uncomfortable and she was still extremely sore. She felt trapped in it, and even out of it since she couldn't go anywhere without James. She couldn't walk far even with him without fatiguing herself. She wanted the trip over, but did not want to go back to the Mage College.
 

The second morning Mage Crandall chose to ride on top with the driver. That left Tabitha's maid to chaperone James and Tabitha. It was a technicality, and the girl had fallen asleep.

"Look out the window, Tabitha," James suggested. She'd been staring at the wall above her maid's head and had just sighed for perhaps the hundredth time.

She sighed again and turned toward the window. Trees. Sometime today, these would be replaced by farmland, then grapevines. Tabitha sighed, missing her horse. Carriages were dark and claustrophobic and stupid and slow.

James lay his hand around the curve of her neck. His thumb lightly rubbed the ridges of her spine, his fingers lay at the base of her throat. She caught her breath. He was murmuring something she couldn't quite hear. The sound was a stream that carried her into sunshine.

Tabitha awoke feeling much better. Her aches were gone and she felt a little stronger. She had a crick in her neck, though, from sleeping on James's shoulder. She straightened up, embarrassed.

The maid immediately apologized, "I'm sorry your highness, you'd fallen asleep leaning against the wall, but when the carriage turned you slid into the mage. He said not to wake you, and he kept his hands properly to himself."

"It's alright," Tabitha assured her, still blushing. "I think I needed the sleep. I've been terribly cranky. I apologize," she indicated both the maid and James in the apology. She gave James a suspicious look, but he kept his face perfectly bland. Perhaps it was better not to discuss how she'd come to fall asleep in front of the maid. Not that she minded, really. It was just sneaky, like when her mom used to trick her into taking a nap by reading her stories and yawning the whole time. It was nice to feel better. If only she could ride... She caught herself mid-sigh and blushed again.

After lunch they walked around the inn a little. There was an apple grove and they wandered through its spring snow of petals. Tabitha guessed James was feeling as cramped as she in the carriage.

The tug of the spell was more noticeable as they walked, since their distances varied slightly. Like walking across a stream in the spring. The current was strong enough that a few times Tabitha tripped. The third time this happened, James allowed the spell to pull her next to him. He silently twined her arm around his. The contact negated the pull.

"Are you afraid?" he asked softly.

"Terrified," she admitted. "I don't want to go back there."

"You don't have to."

"You heard my father," Tabitha said. "Besides, I don't know what else to do."

"Don't you?"

Tabitha didn't answer and James didn't press her.

They arrived at the College of Magic around mid-morning the next day. If Tabitha could have managed it, she would have turned the carriage around and fled. It looked like every mage at the school had come out to meet them. Tabitha scooted away from the window. James wrapped a protective arm around her, but he was tense, too. The maid didn't notice the gesture, since she was also staring wide-eyed at the assembly.

"Have you ever seen so many mages in your life, highness?" the girl asked.

Tabitha swallowed past the constriction in her throat. Her hands and feet were cold.

"Be brave, Tabitha. Take charge. Tell them what to do," James encouraged her.

Don't let them see your fear,
her arms master had drilled into the guards.
It will make your enemies brave. If you appear fearless, they'll doubt themselves.

"Okay," she agreed. "Let's go."

She had worn one of her best dresses on purpose. When the footman and maid formally helped her out of the carriage, she didn't want to look frail, but regal. She addressed the crowd of mages as if she had not fled them a few days before. If she was to lay herself on the altar, she would at least keep her dignity until the fatal blow.

"In the face of your failed experiments," that produced some muttering, but it was inarguable fact, "I sought the help of the two absent court mages. They agree that a different method for removing the spell is likely to prove more successful...and less dangerous. I've brought them here so they can demonstrate it."

Mage Edgar separated himself from the others, moved closer. Tabitha steeled herself and locked eyes with him.

"Listen, girl," he started, but she interrupted.

"You were wrong, Mage Edgar. My future is not tied to this institution, but rather to this one man," she indicated James. "I've returned as a courtesy to you, so that you can have the opportunity to learn how the magic interacts between him, me and the affinity. You can take the opportunity I'm offering to 'advance the science of spellweaving exponentially' and be grateful, or we will leave and you will have learned nothing."

It was her trump card, and her only play. If he took the bait, there would be peace in the magical community, between the three court mages, and in her family. If he laughed in her face, there might be a fight. She didn't know what would happen after that.

He considered her for a moment, then nodded, a sardonic smile curling his lips, "Maybe not so stupid after all."

She kept her composure through hours of discussions. Managed not to look embarrassed or weak while explaining her dependence on James. Kept her chin up, made eye contact, never slumped, even though inside she was afraid and exhausted and hungry. She never clung to James, merely allowed him to escort her, as if it were a favor she were granting, rather than the only thing keeping her feet moving. But it was taking its toll. As they headed from one building to another, he discreetly ushered her out of sight around a corner.

"You can't keep this up," he said. "You're not physically up to this yet. You should be in bed with your maid and a doctor looking after you."

"If I even think about that, I won't be able to keep going. But If they think I'm weak, they'll run right over me."
Like last time.

"You've already proved you're not weak, Tabitha. Now you need rest so your body can keep up with you. I'm the one they need to talk with."

"I know that." She tilted her head up and blinked furiously. Took a careful breath. Then looked back at him and said with dry eyes and a steady voice, "I don't want to see any more trees."

"Then let me put you to sleep. There will be no trees. It may even help weaken the affinity."