The Warlock Senator (Book 2) (16 page)

“What is it?” Marlin asked.

“The seats of white,” she repeated. “They aren’t actually white seats. What color are the senators’ robes?”

“They are white,” Marlin said.

“Exactly,” Dimwater replied. “So not white seats, but seats of white, as mentioned in this history book about the formation of the senate. Listen to this.” She pointed down to a paragraph and read aloud from the excerpt. “From that moment on, the power was entrusted to thirty-six families to ensure that only the best men occupied the
seats of white
…” she pushed the book away and looked up to Marlin. “The prophecy foretells that the senate is going to be destroyed.”

Marlin slowly leaned forward and pushed his bowl of yogurt away.
“On the wings of death the champion will ride, laying waste to the seats of white.” Marlin tapped the table with his knuckles. “Of course,” he said after a moment. “What is the one thing Erik has always tried to protect?”

“His family,” Dimwater answered. “And who is on trial before the senate?”

Marlin nodded grimly. “His father.”

“What do we do?” Dimwater asked. “Lepkin isn’t awake, so he can’t stop this from happening. Shall I teleport there and confront him?”

“No,” Marlin said firmly. “To confront him would be to expose him, and it would damage Lepkin’s reputation and credibility.”

“As it would if Erik, in Lepkin’s body, destroys the senate,” Dimwater countered.

Marlin stopped tapping his knuckles. “What if the prophecy is not a warning?”

Dimwater folded her arms. “What else could it be?”

Marlin patted the air with a hand and cleared his throat. “You just made me think of something. Erik is inside Lepkin’s body, so he is by all physical accounts a
false
Lepkin. Maybe the prophecies were there to help us understand that this was the way the events were meant to unfold.”

“You mean Erik was supposed to be inside Lepkin’s body while Lepkin lies unconscious inside Erik’s body? What purpose would that serve?”

“I’m not sure,” Marlin said. “But it makes sense that it could be a possibility. Believe not your eyes for a champion
in false skin
shall rise.” Marlin nodded. “It doesn’t actually say
false champion will rise.
It says a champion
in false skin.

Dimwater took a drink of her lukewarm peppermint tea and quickly set the cup back down, turning her nose up. She choked the liquid down. “Peppermint tea turns quite bitter after it has cooled,” she said. She shook her head as if it would throw the taste from her mouth and then looked up to Marlin. “Sorry,” she offered. “Do you think the prophecies could be that simple?”

Marlin shrugged. “That has to be it. That is the only thing that makes sense. We both have discussed Erik’s integrity at length. This is the only logical explanation.”

“What of the other part, about the champion riding on the wings of death and destroying the senate, how could that be part of the right plan?” Dimwater asked.

“On the
wings of death
,” Marlin repeated with quickened breath. His eyes went wide suddenly. “Oh my,” he said. “I think I know what it all means. Come with me, there is something I must show you!” He jumped up from the table, tipping his chair up onto its back legs so that it almost fell over behind him as he turned quickly for the door. “Come quickly!” he urged.

Lady Dimwater rose and clambered around the table in an effort to keep up. She followed him, sprinting through the hallways until
the pair stopped in front of an iron crossed door at the end of the hall. Marlin produced a long, slender claw from his pocket and slid it into the opening under the knob. Golden beams of light slithered out from the brass key plate, reaching and stretching across the iron bands over the door. The metal glowed and vibrated against the wood. Marlin turned the knob and the door gently fell open.

He removed the claw, stepped through the doorway and beckoned for Dimwater to follow him. She pushed the door closed behind them. Dimwater put her right hand out on the wall to keep her balance as she descended the tightly winding steps. She marveled at the gold inlay between the bricks as it shimmered under the light from the sconces on the wall.

At the bottom of the stairs the brick opened up into a green marble tunnel. Torches hung silently halfway down the smooth, hard walls. As they passed through the tunnel a golden glow appeared at the end growing brighter and brighter. Marlin paused, turning and pushing her back against the green marble wall.

“What is this?” she asked.

“You must stay here, and swear that you will never repeat what I am about to tell you,” Marlin said.

Dimwater drew her brow together and nodded slowly. “You can trust me,” she said. Marlin studied her for a few moments. She knew he was carefully studying her aura, looking for any sign that might tell him not to trust her. Understanding the gravity of the situation, she remained still and let him search for his own verification.

After several minutes he nodded and pointed to his left. “At the end of this hall is a secret, sacred chamber. It is the heart of our temple, and the only real purpose for our existence. It is only shown to people who are about to take the Test of Arophim.”

“I’m not taking the test,” Dimwater said.

Marlin held up a hand to silence her and shook his head. “Of course not,” he said. “I have brought you here to show you something so you can help me understand the prophecies.” He paused for a moment. “I could have told you upstairs, but I want to make sure you believe me, and I didn’t want to risk being overheard by any of the newer priests who don’t already know.”

“What is it?” Dimwater said. Her heart started to beat harder and faster. She
looked to her right. Torches brilliantly illuminated a large antechamber made entirely of gold with glowing crystals hanging from the ceiling. Her mouth dropped open when she noticed the figurine at the end of the golden room.

A small golden dragon head protruded from the left wall with eyes of jade.

“Not all of the dragons left after the great war,” Marlin said. “One was instructed to remain behind, inside a special sanctuary that the other dragons built for his protection. Inside the chamber he slumbers and conserves his strength so the power of Nagar’ Blight cannot overpower him until the Champion is found and given the ability to destroy the dark magic so the dragons may return.”

“For what purpose?” Dimwater asked.

“To give the Test of Arophim,” Marlin replied. “That is why the test is so dangerous, and also why it holds such great rewards for those found worthy. The gift of True Sight has always been granted to humans from dragons. We say that we can pass it along to new members, but the truth is that no human can pass it to another. The gift is only given from dragon to man.”

“He stayed behind to find the Champion of Truth,” Dimwater gasped.

“Exactly,” Marlin said.

“But why would you tell
me
?”

“Because of the last part of the prophecies we found.” Marlin smiled. “
One touched of the dragon’s might, but not born of it, shall save the world from darkest night, and rule from the Stone Pulpit.”

“All of the prophecies are about Erik,” she said breathlessly.

Marlin nodded. “If he is the real champion, then once he passes the Exalted Test of Arophim, he will also be known as
touched of the dragon
because he will receive a dragon’s sight, a gift directly from the dragon.”

Dimwater shook her head. “By that logic, the prophecy could also be describing Lepkin, as he has an ability given to him from dragons.”

Marlin nodded. “I thought of that as well, but what is Lepkin called?”

“Dragonborn,” Dimwater replied.

“So he is born of the dragon,” Marlin surmised.

Dimwater folded her arms and looked back to the golden dragon’s head at the end of the hall. “That seems a bit too easy,” she said. “I want to believe Erik is good as much, if not more than anyone else. But I can’t see him ruling the kingdom. Besides, there is still the matter of the senate. I can’t see how laying waste to the ruling structure would benefit our cause. With the kingdom
as weak as it is, it would fall into chaos if the senate were destroyed. Nobles would go to war, fighting for control of Drakai Glazei.”

Marlin nodded. “Perhaps I have been too hasty, but I feel like this is right. My soul is screaming to me that Erik is the one we have been waiting for.”

“Well, couldn’t you just go in there and ask?” Dimwater inquired.

Marlin raised his eyebrows and leaned back.
He started to stammer a bit, fumbling for an answer before finally admitting the truth. “I already asked him about Erik.”

Dimwater smiled and nodded. “What did he say?”

“Well, he told me to trust my instincts and that ultimately the Exalted Test of Arophim would decide whether Erik was the Champion of Truth.”

“So what do we do?” Dimwater asked. “Do I go north and try to see what happens with the senate?”

“If Erik destroys the senate, then we can deal with it afterward,” Marlin said. “I still believe in him, and I believe it best not to expose that he is not really Lepkin.”

Dimwater nodded. “Shall I go to lend him a hand then?”

Marlin shook his head. “No, with Lepkin convalescing, I would prefer you stay here. There are still other enemies that will be looking to attack the temple if they perceive a weakness.”

Dimwater nodded then she tilted her head to the side. “Do you remember who Al said arrested Lord Lokton?”

“Senator Bracken,” Marlin replied.

“Lepkin told me that Senator Bracken was also at Roegudok Hall, talking to the dwarf king.” Dimwater bit her lower lip. “Lepkin was attacked on his way here from Roegudok Hall,” she said. “That’s why he called for me.”

“What are you getting at?” Marlin asked.

“Don’t you think it strange that Lepkin was attacked just after meeting Senator Bracken
, and then the senator arrests Lord Lokton without much of an investigation?”

“Well, Al said that all of the witnesses to the murders were una
ccounted for,” Marlin countered with a shrug.

“That is an
interesting
coincidence, don’t you think?” Dimwater asked.

Marlin nodded. “You think Senator Bracken has thrown in with one of the factions seeking to overthrow the king?” Marlin asked.

“If he has, that would help me understand why Erik would lay waste to the seats of white.”

Erik led his horse to a fir tree near the road towering over a small, babbling brook. He dismounted and let his horse wander to the water for a drink. After he surveyed the area he also went to the stream and cupped his hand in the cold liquid. Keeping his eyes up to scan his surroundings he brought the water to his mouth and slurped several mouthfuls before going back to stretch out under the fir tree. He removed his sword and set it beside him as he extended and retracted his right leg. The muscles were tight and sore from riding long hours. Suddenly his knee popped, bringing with it a sharp, momentary sting followed by a wash of relief that soothed the whole leg as he let it fall back to the dirt.

He looked back down the road he had been travelling, still half expecting Al to be charging up from behind to catch up. He saw no one. He understood why Al was angry with him, but he still couldn’t slow his pace. He knew he had to reach the senate before the tribunal decided his father’s fate. What else could he do? Sure Al had known his apprentice, but Erik had never thought the two of them close before Al erupted at him like some miniature furry volcano. It didn’t make much sense to him, but he knew better than to try to make sense of other peoples’ emotions.

His horse bayed contentedly and pulled away from the stream to nibble and tug at blades of grass mingled with bits of clover. Erik watched the beast’s neck glisten in the afternoon sun as it grazed. For a moment he wished that life could go back to the way it was before Lepkin had made him fight those other apprentices. Life was so much simpler when Erik’s worst task of any given day was washing windows with Janik, or helping to clean Kuldiga Academy’s stables. Now he was alone and confused. Fate had dealt him an unusually cruel role, he felt. How could he play the part of Lepkin? How could he pretend to measure up to Lepkin’s true abilities? He didn’t even know the proper protocol for the senate, let alone what Lepkin might say or do in this situation. Yet, his father’s life depended on him figuring it out.

“You promised to be with me,” Erik muttered as if Al could hear him. He understood why Al had remained in Buktah, but he was still angry with the dwarf for abandoning him. “Well, at least I can count on Braun,” Erik assured himself. He knew Braun would never surrender his father to anyone without a fight. The problem was that Erik had never been to
Drakai Glazei. How would he be able to find Braun? He thought on it for a moment as he pulled a strip of dried meat from a leather pouch on his belt and chewed on it. At first he was disheartened, but then he realized that he didn’t have to find Braun. All he had to do was make his way to the senate’s tribunal. Braun was sure to be there. Erik swallowed his bite, coughing a couple of times as a stringy piece of meat got stuck in his back teeth before finally dislodging and going down his throat.

His eyes watered and he coughed a couple more times as he fought to catch his breath. He put the rest of the dried meat away and quickly went to the stream for another drink to help calm his throat.

That’s when he saw it.

A flash of black, out of the corner of his right eye. He turned his head, but nothing was there. He searched the clumps of bushes on the other side of the road. Was it an animal? His horse raised its head and its ears went erect, turning this way and that. Something was near.

Erik slid his hand to his sword, but grasped only air. His eyes went back to the bottom of the tree, and saw his sword laying against the trunk. He jumped up and ran to the tree, where he left his sword, but a sharp pain in his left thigh dropped him to the ground. Dirt flew up around his face and into his open mouth. He spat and wiped his mouth as he rolled onto his right side and looked down. An arrow stuck out the side of his left thigh. The shaft was broken, no doubt from him stumbling onto it. Blood ran down what was left of the arrow and pain radiated through his entire leg. He frantically looked around for his attacker, but he saw no one.

His horse startled and bucked suddenly before galloping off through the brook and away from Erik, carrying all of his supplies away with him.

Erik forced himself through the pain, trying to stand. His leg would not hold him upright, but somehow he managed to crawl to the tree and lay hold of his sword. He clumsily threw the scabbard free and held the blade out in front of him.

“Face me as a man!” Erik shouted, putting on his best courageous face. His eyes darted about, looking for his hunter. Rustling came from above. Erik looked up just in time to roll away from something as it dropped from the tree branches. A powerful kick slammed into Erik’s ribs as he continued to roll away from the tree.

“I am not a man,” the attacker said slyly.

Erik looked up to see a beautiful, nearly naked woman. Her raven hair seemed to cascade over her
bare shoulders to meld with the dark, long tattoos typical of the Blacktongues that Erik had seen before. Like the others of her order she wore a simple leather loin cloth. However, while her male counterparts only wore their weapons aside from the loincloth, this Blacktongue also had a bizarre kind of leather shirt that covered and protected her chest while leaving her flat stomach exposed.

Erik struggled to push himself up, but could not force himself through the pain in his thigh. The Blacktongue sniggered wickedly and sneered down at him with a contemptuous shake of her head. “I expected more from you,” she teased.
She set the tip of her bow in front of her bare feet and slowly drew another arrow from her quiver. “I have been sent to ask you something,” she said. “Where is the book?”

Erik glared at her and clenched his jaw. “In my pocket, come and get it,” he lied.

The Blacktongue brought her bow up and loosed her arrow before Erik could blink. It seemed to him as though a fire had erupted in his arm as the arrow blew through his left shoulder.

“Agh!” he squealed as he dropped to the dirt on his back. He whimpered and squirmed, noting that the arrowhead had gone through his shoulder. His left hand burned when he closed it, and felt worse when he opened it. All he could do was writhe in protest, crying out in pain.

“I have all day,” the Blacktongue said. “I need the book, then, your pain will be over.”

“Then you will kill me,” Erik sputtered through spittle.

“Yes,” she said. Erik froze when he felt her hand on his chest, pushing him flat against the ground. He tried to bring his sword up to bear, but he found the Blacktongue was kneeling with her left knee on his right forearm. He struggled for a moment, but his injuries only burned all the more as he futilely wrestled against her.

“I won’t tell you,” he said.

“Well, we will see about that,” she replied. She turned her cold, gray eyes to his and smiled. She leaned down, her mouth close enough he could feel her breath on his lips. “I have ways of making people talk,” she promised.

Erik twisted his trunk, trying to move her off of him, but to no avail. Her strength was more than he would have guessed from her small frame. That, as well as the two arrows protruding from his left side had him pinned. “You don’t understand what the book is,” Erik said.

“It is a key to unlock a gate,” the Blacktongue answered. Her free hand brought a wickedly curved black dagger up to Erik’s face. “Tell me where it is, and I will end your torment.”

He used the only weapon he could think of to combat against her. He called his power up, hoping he could use it somehow. Erik looked into her dead eyes and shuddered as he felt her intentions. He found no compassion, no sympathy, no hope. Her soul was as hollow and dead as her
charcoal eyes. Erik turned his face away, but she forced him to look at her again by placing the dagger on his cheek and prodding him. He felt anger rise up within him. It was unlike anything he had experienced before. A burning, hot fire seemed to rise in answer to her cold, barren soul.

She pressed the dagger tip into his cheek and opened a small hole. “Tell me where it is,” she said

“No,” Erik said. The fire burned hotter inside until he could feel it burning in his heart. “NO!” he shouted. At that instant a great light erupted from his mouth, blinding the Blacktongue and causing her to recoil, covering her eyes. Erik seized on the moment and squirmed away from the assassin. He gripped the sword and felt his anger flow out through his arm and into the sword. White flames encircled the blade and reached out from the top to lick at the Blacktongue.

She jumped back and looked at him. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw closed tightly. She
replaced her dagger and reached for another arrow. As her arm bent back to the quiver, a hammer slammed into the side of her skull with a resounding
crack
! Her body fell disjointedly to the side, dead.

Erik looked to his left and saw Al riding as fast as he could toward him.

“Are you alright?” Al shouted.

Erik looked back to the dead Blacktongue. His vision started to blur. The flames on his sword dissipated as quickly as they had come and his strength left him. “Al,” Erik whispered with a hint of a smile crossing his lips. He slowly fell back to the ground. He just caught sight of a blurry, bearded face standing over him before he closed his eyes.

*****

“There you are,” Al said quietly. “You had me a bit worried.”

“Where are we?” Erik asked. He tried to blink the darkness away and wipe his face. “I can’t see,” Erik said.

“Of course not, it’s pitch black in here,” Al gruffed.

“What do you mean?”

“I brought you to a cave,” Al explained. “You had lost a lot of blood, and the Blacktongue had tipped her arrows with a paralyzing agent. So I brought you here to fix you up and make sure we weren’t followed.”

Erik nodded as though he understood, but he was still pretty foggy in the head. Only when he tried to push himself up did he remember what had happened. He groaned and fell back down as pain ripped through his shoulder followed by warm liquid oozing out across his upper arm.

“Don’t move, you idiot!” Al chided. “You’ll rip the sutures out.”

“I never saw her in the tree,” Erik said.

“I know boy,” Al said comfortingly. “Blacktongues are like that.”

“This one was different,” Erik countered. “We saw everyone in Buktah before they attacked. We had time to prepare.”

“Not much time,” Al interjected.

“But I never even knew she was there,” Erik said. “She was like a ghost.”

“Truth be told,” Al started. “She was in Buktah also.”

Erik shook his head. “Then why didn’t she attack there?”

“I think she knew her best chance would be to come at us when we thought we had passed through the danger.”

“If you saw her in Buktah, why did you let me go on alone?”

Al put a hand on Erik’s good shoulder. “Forgive me boy, I had no choice.”

Erik snorted.

“I saw her there. So, I thought it would be easier to flush her out if it looked as though we would split up and go separate ways for a while.”

“You used me as bait?” Erik stammered.

“Sort of,” Al said. “I didn’t know which one of us she would go after. But I never left your side.”

“Except for the funeral,” Erik pointed out.

“No,” Al said with a shake of his head. “I walked away from you, but I kept you in my sight. More importantly, I kept
her
in my sight. I left you in order to stalk her. Once I realized she was going after you, I followed.” Al came over and thunked Erik with a meaty index finger. “I had thought that you would see through my act,” Al teased. “With you being able to tell when others are lying and all.”

Erik’s scrunched his brow and studied Al’s face. “You mean the whole thing was an act?”

Al shrugged. “Not all of it. I was a bit shocked by your behavior, and I was angry that my apprentice had been killed, but I would never abandon you to face the senate alone.” Al smiled. “I gave you my word, Erik.”

“But, you hit me in the alley.”

Al pursed his lips and tugged at his beard. “I’m sorry about that, but I had to make sure to put on a convincing show for the Blacktongue in order for her to believe we were going to go our separate ways.”

Erik scanned Al with his power and realized that the dwarf was telling the truth. He had
not abandoned him, as he had previously thought. Erik frowned and shook his head. “Then why did you take so long to stop her?” Erik asked.

“She was crafty, perhaps more so than any other foe I have tracked, and I have fought goblins and trolls boy!” Al took his hand back and stood up next to Erik. “She got away from me. It’s not something I am proud of, but that is what happened. I was about three hundred yards behind you for most of the way until about twenty minutes before the last hill where the trees started to thin out. Somehow, she slipped away from me then. I searched everywhere for her, but I had to be careful not to alert her to my presence. I didn’t want to risk scaring her off and missing our chance to confront her.”

“Well, then I guess I should be glad you arrived when you did,” Erik said.

“When I heard your horse bay, I thought the worst. I came as quickly as my steed would carry me, but even then I had to be careful. I wasn’t sure where she was, so I stayed under cover as best I could until I saw her descend from the tree.”