The Bronze Mage (4 page)

"Alright," James laid a hand on her shoulder. "Bed-time."

Tabitha slid under the covers and curled up facing the door. James touched the nape of her neck and she slept.

FOUR

Parameters

At breakfast the next morning, Tabitha tried again to get some answers from James.

"That was a different spell, the one you did last night, from the one you'd done earlier. What was it?"

"The preference spell yesterday was an afterthought. To make a point. As one of the few people who've grown up around magic, you show a surprising disrespect for mages."

That comment rankled her, but she forced herself to explain calmly.

"I grew up with very different mages. Both Mage Crandall and my sister are under the authority of my parents, neither of whom has any magical abilities. To my knowledge, neither mage has ever used either a compulsion or a preference spell on anyone. Those are only legal to use during times of war. We've been at peace my whole life."

"Do you think I should have obeyed your laws? That I'm bound by them?" It was more of a challenge than a question.

"I think you should have been bound by your word."

They finished the meal in silence.

Tabitha spent the rest of the morning in the yard, out of sight of James's window, experimenting with the boundary to the woods. Showing less trepidation than she felt, she attempted to leave the yard. There was an invisible barrier, like a wall of ice. It hurt when she crashed into it. She could lean against it without problem, but it was difficult not to accidentally stub her fingers when reaching for it, since there were no visual clues to its location. She could throw things past it. She could extend something she was holding across it. Moving faster or slower, with more caution or more confidence, seemed to have no affect on it. She could run her hands along it and feel the whole circumference as she walked the perimeter of the yard.

That had been a mistake. By the time she finished her circuit, her heart was pounding and her breathing shallow. She had to force herself away from the tree line. To sit. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly, forcing her mind to calm. She'd heard of people reacting like this to small spaces or heights. She'd never imagined she would feel it herself. The panic was seductive. The desire to give in and just go screaming mad, hurling herself at the barrier until James released it was a stronger version of what she'd felt when she'd attacked the window yesterday. Now she recognized it as the same thing she'd felt growing in her when James had kept her under the compulsion spell for two days. This madness was her enemy, even more than the mage. However reasonable it seemed now, Tabitha was sure that if she gave in to it the fear would own her. That captivity, at least, she could avoid. If she was careful.

When she had herself well in hand, Tabitha rose from her seat on the ground. She was chagrined to notice that she was within view of James's window. She was sure James had noticed her reaction, just because it seemed her bad luck that he would. Ah well, she thought, dignity is overrated.

Still, she couldn't bring herself to return to the cabin. Wandering around the small yard, eventually she found a decent-sized stick for her sword practice, but it was on the other side of the tree line. Tabitha forced herself to try to reach it with another stick, but she still couldn't. As her knuckles gripping the stick she held pressed against the barrier, she felt her heart jolt again, but concentrated on the stick. She was able to control her panic, but not to acquire the stick.

When she was certain she couldn't reach it on her own, she badgered the maid until the maid got permission from James to fetch it. To Tabitha's great surprise, James even allowed her to borrow a hunting knife from the manservant to peel the bark. Although she was tempted to use the knife to escape, she couldn't justify killing James. He'd never even threatened to hurt her. Also, on a coldly practical side, if the spells didn't dissipate with his death, killing him would leave her stranded here forever. That was a fate she couldn't contemplate.

Knocking him out was another matter. She wondered if the fact that he put her to sleep at night implied that his spells might be more easily broached when he wasn't conscious. Then again, the sleep spell itself seemed unaffected by him also sleeping. The pros and cons of attempting to render James unconscious kept rattling through Tabitha's head. But again, he'd never harmed her. It seemed unwise to introduce violence to the relationship when it was so obvious that she was safe and well only because he chose to keep her that way.

"How old are you?"

James asked his question almost before Tabitha had taken her seat at lunch.

"Why does that matter?" she asked.

"It affects my options."

"14." That seemed close enough to her real age to be believable; young enough to eliminate some of his "options".

"Unlikely. Try again."

"Age isn't negotiable. If you don't like it, complain to my parents. They had more say in it than I had."

"Tabitha, I'm giving you the chance to tell me the truth voluntarily. For now. Do you really want me to force you?"

"What's the difference? I either pretend I have a choice or you prove that I don't?"

"I think you will tolerate your time here better if you pretend. Which part of our trip was more pleasant?"

"Had you planned from the beginning to break your word?"

"How old are you?"

She glared at him. "Sixteen, since last winter. Old enough to court, not old enough to marry."

James nodded. "Is your father intending a political match for you?"

"No."

James indicated with his look that a one word answer was not sufficient.

"There is no need. We have strong alliances with both other kingdoms already. Our own nobility is grateful for the current peace. My brother's children may need to make political matches, but Melanie and I don't."

"And personal suitors?"

Tabitha laughed. "Oh, yes, they're forming a line in the castle courtyard that stretches for miles."

"Your father is the king, surely this would attract a few?"

"Those aren't personal. Since I don't need to make a political match, I can ignore them."

James looked satisfied. "Let's go for a walk."

"That's all you need to know? Decided on a course of action, have you? Care to share?" She was miffed that he seemed to have decided she was both eligible and unclaimed. "It's not like my father will just hand me over to you, you know. There's no finders-keepers with brides. Besides, you're three years early."

"I don't need him to hand over what I already hold, and exceptions can be made for extenuating circumstances."

He held the door and she passed through, without kicking him in the shin. Her mother would have been proud of her restraint.
 

Tabitha wasn't sure if she had a choice about walking with James, but there couldn't be any additional danger in it and she was eager to leave the yard. She headed down the path at a fast walk. If she'd been alone she would have run, just to burn the tension she was feeling and to put distance between herself and the cabin. At home, the guards were obliged to keep whatever pace she set. Now, she suspected James would let her run into an invisible wall if she left him, so she slowed when she noticed he was falling behind. Eventually she came to a complete halt and waited for him to catch up with her. She was bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet with impatience.

"Are we late for an appointment?" James's amusement irritated her.

"Is something bad going to happen to me if I walk off by myself, assuming you don't stop me? We're past the barrier."

"Not if you stay on the path. If you leave it, you'll be lost until I fetch you."

"Where will I end up if I stay on the path?"

"Nowhere, but you'll know your way back."

"If I can't get anywhere through the woods or on the path, why do you bother with the barrier?"

"It saves me the trouble of fetching you."

Tabitha decided this was a bluff. Obviously the path led somewhere. The servants hadn't spent the night, so they had to come from somewhere not too far distant.

"Will you stop me?"

"Yes."

In the dark after dinner, Tabitha once again practiced sword work. She felt too silly beating a tree trunk with a stick to attempt it in broad daylight. This time she had brought her nightclothes out to the bathhouse before she started, and wore them back to the cabin after she'd washed. There seemed no point in pretending modesty when he was going to see her in them later regardless. She regretted her decision when she noticed how he watched her walk by him. She left the door to the bedroom open, dropped the sweaty garments she was carrying into a basket and seated herself at her vanity. By the time she'd begun to brush out her hair, James arrived.

He walked past her to the window, which slid open for him easily enough. Returning to the vanity, he unstoppered the bottle of lilac-scented oil and claimed the brush. He took his time, sometimes using the brush, sometimes just running his fingers through her hair. Despite her efforts to remain tense and detached, she found it impossible. His magic dulled her mind and emotions, but not her senses. His touch both relaxed and excited her. The damp scent of the woods mixed with the lilac. A breeze whispered through the leaves outside. Her skin responded to him far beyond where he made contact with her scalp.
 

It was probably a good thing that he used magic to put her to sleep, because otherwise she would have lain awake a long time. Though it might have been worth it to be able to dream.

FIVE

Reasons

"We left Felsungen a week ago," Tabitha announced as she sat down for breakfast the next morning. "Isn't it time to let me know why you took me?"

James made eye contact, but continued eating his breakfast, giving no indication that he planned to respond.

"Have you sent word to my father? Or the king of Xentia?" Maybe the two kings' friendship was the key to the puzzle?

Still no reply. Tabitha was tired of his selective hearing. She decided to continue throwing out questions until she found one he was willing to answer.

"How did you break the spell that turned you into a statue? Was it a coincidence that I was in the garden when you turned back to flesh? Did I somehow trigger the change? What if the gardener had been there instead of me? Would you have left him at the border? Why did you keep me? Are you still angry about losing the war? Is this some kind of revenge? To just disappear with your enemy's daughter?" Tabitha paused to catch her breath, but James continued to ignore her. "What has to happen for me to go home!"

Tabitha glared at him, wishing there was some way to force him to answer. When his silence continued unbroken, she sighed in defeat and rose from the table. "If you'll excuse me..."

James cocked an eyebrow at her. "You haven't eaten anything."

She rolled her eyes.
Now
he chose to respond. "I'm not hungry." Of course, her stomach chose that moment to growl and James again raised an eyebrow. "May I be excused?"

"No. Sit. Eat. Relax. You don't have to figure this out."

"Because it's already settled and you're sending me home today?"

"Because you're not in a position to negotiate, so eat your breakfast."

She continued to glare at him, but reseated herself. In truth, she wasn't interested in eating. Her stomach was in knots and the smell of the food was making her nauseous. She crossed her arms over her abdomen and leaned back in her chair, trying to look stubborn rather than miserable.

James returned a stern stare, but it quickly sharpened into a more clinical scrutiny.
 

"Stay." He ordered as he removed himself to the kitchen. Within a few minutes, he returned with a fresh pot of tea. "Drink this."

Tabitha sniffed it skeptically. Chamomile. Reluctantly grateful, she poured herself a cup and sipped it.

"You worry too much," he said.

It was Tabitha's turn to raise her brows. Both of them.

"You're not in Felsungen, but you are safe, well cared for," James insisted.

"Alone in an unknown woods with a notorious womanizer who happens to be my father's enemy."

James waved a hand as if to dismiss her statement. "Have I treated you dishonorably or given you any indication that I mean you harm?"

"Other than kidnapping me and turning me into a puppet whenever I don't cooperate? No. You've been a perfect host."

"Then you can relax. You know the rules: cooperate and you'll be fine."

"I don't want to be fine. I want to be free."

"You'll cooperate patiently if you know how and when you'll be free? Like when we left Felsungen? You'll trust what I tell you despite that?"

Tabitha's eyes dropped to her tea.
 

"I didn't think so." James voice was gentle. "I could answer your questions. The answers might make you feel better...or worse. For a while. Then you would remember that I lied to you before and you'd be back where you are now: wondering."

Tabitha lifted her chin and met his gaze. "I'd still like to know."

"I'll tell you this: it was not a coincidence that you were in the garden when I broke the spell. And you are safe with me. Always."

His tone led Tabitha to suspect "always" applied equally to "safe" and "with me", which ruined any comfort she might have derived from his reassurance.

After she managed to eat a little, she left the table to find her "sword". The maid received standing permission to fetch sticks and the manservant had brought along a whetstone, so that she could sharpen his knife after using it. These tasks helped Tabitha release her worries and focus her mind. That was what her father's arms master was always telling the guards: Be ready to act, but not jumpy.

When she was done, Tabitha walked to the back of the cabin, which only her window overlooked, and carefully located the magical boundary. She spread her fingers out along it, feeling its cool surface. She leaned her head against it, closed her eyes, and willed herself to accept it calmly. The fact that she couldn't scale it, loosen parts of it, squeeze through it or break it down was definitely part of what made her crazy. That it only affected her and not anyone or anything else was a bigger part. She wished she had enough magic to at least see it.