The Sorcerer's Abyss (The Sorcerer's Path) (12 page)

Ellyssa allowed herself a moment to gloat as she turned back to face the rest of the crew and deliver unto them her furious judgment. It was nearly the last thing she did in this life. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the heavy ballista set amidships and aiming its lethal payload squarely at her. Before she could finish processing what was about to happen, the ballista crew triggered their massive weapon with a loud clatter.

An iron ball the size of a grapefruit struck Ellyssa right in the chest and hurled her back where she fetched up painfully against the gunwale near the prow of the ship. Had her shield not blunted most of the force, she would likely be spread out all over the deck in a great bloody mess. She tasted copper as she tried to get to her feet and blood filled her mouth. A second artillery piece on the other side of the deck was about to finish what the first had failed to do. Her shield gone, strength failing, and bleeding from somewhere within her body, Ellyssa fell back and over the low railing just as the crew loosed several feet of heavy chain, tearing through the space she had been occupying.

Ellyssa struck the black water poorly and the impact nearly pulled her into unconsciousness. Dazed and in enormous pain, she fought against the blackness of the water and the void within her own mind as she sank toward the sea floor. Hanging tenaciously onto consciousness with all her strength, she willed her shield back into place, forcing the bitterly cold water away from her. She then directed the Source to push against the water, slowly propelling her toward the shore and away from the slavers who now crowded along the rail of the ship, ready to fire crossbows into her body should she surface.

The battered and defeated young wizard was able to get nearly a hundred yards from the ship before having to reach the surface and pull in some much needed air. Forcing the water away from her body with her shield created little more than an empty space, leaving virtually nothing to breathe in. Fortunately, it was a cloudy night and she made it beyond the slavers’ range of view before breaching the top of the water.

Ellyssa looked behind her and saw the crew had hacked away the mooring lines and were pushing out to sea. Already she could hear the whistles and the pounding feet of the watch as they bore down on what must have been quite a racket. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Ellyssa pushed painfully for shore, dreading the long walk back to the tower.

CHAPTER 4

“Have you had any luck finding that for which you have been searching, Magus?” the old librarian asked.

Allister looked up from the books piled in stacks all around him. “Not much more than I already knew, which is largely folklore and fairytales.” Allister looked at the Master Librarian standing nearby in nightclothes. “Forgive me, Morvin, I let the hours slip past me once again.”

Allister had been spending his days and most of his nights within the walls of North Haven’s impressive library in hopes of finding more information about the book that had always held Azerick’s, and now his apprentice’s, attention.

Morvin waved his swollen-knuckled, liver-spotted hand dismissively. “Nonsense. It pleases me to see my library delved into so thoroughly. I was growing rather bored here until young Master Azerick opened his school up there. May the gods keep his soul. Now I have dozens of studious young minds all devouring my books as they were meant to be. Shall I expect you in the morning, Magus?”

Allister sighed heavily and rubbed his exhausted eyes. “No, Morvin, I think I have discovered all I can here. As great as your library is, I think what I am looking for is only to be found in The Academy archives.”

“You do not sound eager to go back there.”

“No, I am not. There are those who look upon what Azerick created as an affront to The Academy and its laws. We had a run-in with an Academy delegation a few months ago, and it did not end on a pleasant note.”

“Surely they would not reject you?”

“Not as a body I don’t think, but there are a few who will seek to make my visit unpleasant. Well, there’s no helping it, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a few rabble-rousers keep me from what I damned well earned.”

The front doors of the library crashed open and several men wearing the uniform of the Watch burst in. Morvin jumped and nearly dropped the small oil lamp he carried. The squad of guardsmen crossed the library and stopped just before the table where Allister sat.

“Magus, I am so glad you are still here,” the lead guardsman said. He was visibly agitated.

“Is there a problem guardsman…?”

“Cruthers, Magus, Lieutenant Cruthers. There has been an incident at the docks and Inspector Orson requests your assistance. He feels there is a magical element involved.”

 A chill spread down Allister’s spine. “I see. Please lead the way, Lieutenant.”

Allister followed the Watch Lieutenant out of the library and into a waiting coach where he and three of his guardsmen stepped in. Allister was glad of the transport as it was a long walk to the docks and it had started to drizzle. All was silent inside the coach except for the clopping of horse hooves upon the cobbles and the pattering of the light rain as it struck the roof of the carriage. It took about ten minutes to get to the docks thanks to the empty streets of the late hour.

A man held an umbrella for the Magus as he stepped from the coach and onto the dockside street. The old wizard nodded his appreciation and followed the umbrella to where several more men loomed over what appeared to be four bodies laid out side by side. A short, portly man of perhaps fifty years detached himself from the group as the newcomer approached.

“Magus Allister, I’m very glad you accepted my plea for assistance. I am Inspector Orson,” the man said as he extended his hand.

Allister gripped the man’s hand. “It sounded urgent. What was it you wished to show me?”

Inspector Orson turned to the four bodies. “My men heard a great racket about an hour ago. Several say they heard thunder and even spotted a bright flash they took to be lightning. Only it was low and these aren’t thunderheads. By the time the Watch arrived, whatever had happened was over. Some witnesses say they saw a ship depart with what looked like a few small fires on her deck, but I guess the crew got them put out. We fished these four out of the harbor. At first, I figured there was a big row between some sailors or our more nefarious citizens, but then I took a closer look at the bodies. Three look as though they were run over by a wagon and this one is burnt all across his chest, but not by fire. Three of his toes exploded and blew the nails right off.”

Allister nodded and knelt to examine the bodies. A guardsman held a lamp but the mage conjured his own light, which did a far better job of illuminating the area. Inspector Orson was right. Three of the men suffered severe damage resulting in most of their ribs being smashed, which likely puncturing several organs. The fourth man had a jagged burn line across his chest and down his left leg. A great deal of electricity obviously exited from his foot.

The old mage cast an enchantment that picked up the residual emanations of magic sticking to all four men and detected trace bits of it still floating around the area. Someone had cast a great deal of magic here not long ago. A chill not born of the foul weather ran down his spine once again. He refused to believe that Ellyssa was capable of such a thing. She was angry, hurt, and distraught, but to come out here and do this was hard for him to accept.

“Do you know who these men were, Inspector?” Allister asked somberly.

“Sailors, not locals though. I’m guessing they belonged to the ship that took off. Two of them bear tattoos marking them as affiliated with smugglers and likely slavers. I don’t think too many people are going to mourn their passing, but such violence, particularly if it is magical in nature, gives me great cause for concern. If that is the case, I figured you would want to know about it. That school of yours is the only place I know of where people practice such things.”

“You think someone from the school is responsible?”

Orson shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Whether they are or not, you people will have far more luck deciphering what happened here than I will. So was it magic that killed them?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Did anyone say if they saw the person who did it?”

“Not yet. It’ll take a couple of days to talk to everyone that may have seen what happened. It’s more likely we’ll get more just by listening to the tavern gossip. People talk to their barkeep more than the Watch.”

“I will look into it, but I must travel to Southport immediately. Should you need any assistance while I am away, Magus Aggie Sharpe or Magus Cossington can help you.”

Inspector Orson thanked the Magus for his help. Allister used all of his, and a fair amount of Lady Miranda’s, authority to commission a courier ship to Southport. The crew did an excellent job of suppressing their displeasure at being roused in the middle of the night. Allister was under sail and headed south just over an hour after parting company with the inspector. He wondered if Ellyssa was capable of such a thing and quickly realized he was trying to convince himself she was not, despite knowing better.

His first instinct was to rush back to the school and take away the book but discarded the idea. It was important to her and one of the few links she had to Azerick. Azerick wanted her to have access to it, and he could not take it away without knowing for certain if his fears were valid or not. It was almost inconceivable that they were.

It was a swift ship and the journey took just under three days. His heart felt the burden of duty with every step. The arduousness of his task did nothing to alleviate that pressing weight of responsibility. The Academy library was even vaster than North Haven’s, but he dared not ask for help. Even a rumor of what he sought would throw the entire magic community into turmoil.

Allister was unable to accept even the possibility that the book could possibly be what he sought: the Codex Arcana, the entire repository of all magic that ever existed. Created by the gods to help overthrow the dragon overlords, the Codex was more than just a book; it was an archive of every spell and technique any creature of magic ever inscribed. Its existence was almost mythical. No one had even heard so much as a hint of its existence in centuries. Now it could be in the hands of an angry child.

He knew little about the book, few if anyone living did, but the book’s true power could not be accessed without the Codex choosing the individual possessing it. At least so he thought. He certainly hoped that was the case. There was just too much he did not know. The more he gnawed on his worries the more he doubted his choice in not securing the tome before he left. Why did he not take the book? Allister told himself it was to respect Ellyssa’s sole source of succor in these times of emotional turmoil, but he could not shake the feeling that it was something more.