The Warlock Senator (Book 2) (23 page)

“What have you got there?” Braun asked.

Erik shrugged and gently pulled the drawer out to its fullest extent. Inside he found a handful of letters, tied into a bundle with old, red ribbon. He picked the letters up and turned them over in his hand. It was then that he realized it wasn’t simply a red ribbon, it was part of a necklace. A small, star-shaped pendant hung from the bottom. Erik gently undid the necklace and placed it on the desk.

“Who are the letters from?” Braun asked as he walked up to stand near the desk.

Erik took the top letter and handed a few to Braun. He quickly scanned through the fading ink, careful not to rip the old paper. “Are you sure he brought this desk with him?” Erik shouted over his back to Gildrin.

“As sure as you are standing here today, he brought that desk with him,” Gildrin replied.

“I don’t think these will help us,” Braun said after finishing another letter. He tossed the stack back to the desk. “Old love letters are not going to find the assassin.”

“No, perhaps not,” Erik agreed. He set his letter down and picked up the bottom letter in the stack. “This one appears to be the most recent, according to the dates on the letters,” Erik said.

“I’m going to look around,” Braun said as he went for a knotty black bookshelf.

Erik read through the letter. “This one is different,” Erik said.

“How can you tell?” Braun asked as he rummaged through a pair of black leather books.

“This is an official letter, from some g
overnor.” Erik turned the letter over in his hand and inspected the broken, crumbling wax seal. “It reads; Esteemed Master Pemo, it is with great sadness that I pen this letter. It gives me no pleasure to inform you that your wife, Kyra, and your son, Baldwin, have been slain by a band of Tarthun raiders while you were away in service to me at the border. I blame no one but myself for this tragedy, as I should not have allowed your wife to remain on your homestead while you were away. Please, return from your duties at once and I will help you settle your family’s affairs. Sincerely, Governor Randal.”

“Governor Randal?” Braun asked. “I don’t think I have heard that name before.”

“I have,” Gildrin said from the other room.

Erik and Braun turned to look through the dumbwaiter, waiting for the explanation.

“It was probably twenty or thirty years ago now,” Gildrin said. “But I heard that Governor Randal was killed by a wizard that served in his court. Governor Randal had the duty of overseeing part of the border to the east and protecting the kingdom from Tarthun invaders. Some versions of the story say the wizard returned with an army of Tarthuns and wiped Governor Randal and his city from the map in one night. Another version says the wizard called upon the gods of Hammenfein to help him destroy Governor Randal. Others say the wizard returned at night and buried the city in a cloud of fire and lightning.”

“Do the stories say why the wizard did this?” Braun asked.

“That is the strange part,” Gildrin said. “All of the stories say that it was because Randal betrayed the wizard and took his wife.”

“But the letter says she was killed by an attack,” Erik pointed out.

Gildrin shrugged. “I have heard a version where Randal kills the wizard’s wife because she will not leave her husband, but never have I heard a version that fits with the letter you just read.”

“So, perhaps our warlock was this wizard you heard of,” Erik mused.

“To what end?” Braun asked. “If those stories are true, then why would the wizard become a warlock?”

Gildrin snapped his fingers and pointed excitedly to the bookshelf Braun stood next to. “Turn around,” he told Braun. “What kind of books do you see?”

Braun turned and pulled a few of them from the shelf. “I can’t read most of these,” he said. “They are written in strange languages.” He pulled a green book from the shelf and opened it. “Wait, this one is in the common tongue.”

“It is a book about necromancy, is it not?” Gildrin asked.

Braun turned and nodded slowly. Then he scanned the other books on the shelf. “Of the ones in common tongue, it looks like most of them deal with necromancy,” he said.

“That’s it,” Gildrin said. “That’s why he began following the dark arts.” The two looked back to Gildrin. “Don’t you see? He wants to bring his family back to life.”

Erik wheeled on Braun. “That is why he would join with the warlocks of the Order of the All Seeing Eye,” he said. “They seek the book.”

Braun nodded. “And the book describes how to make an army by bringing the dead back to life.”

“He didn’t want power,” Erik said. “He wanted to use the book to resurrect his family.”

“Even so, he was willing to kill a lot of innocent people to get that power.”

Erik nodded and sighed. “Not to mention the other powers that the book would unleash.”

“What book?” Gildrin asked.

“Nagar’s Secret,” Erik answered.

The three were silent for a few moments. Erik stood, rereading the letter from Governor Randal and scanning through the other letters while Braun went back to the bookshelf. After Erik finished reading all of the letters he plopped them onto the desk.

“I do believe that the warlock is the wizard in Gildrin’s story,” Erik said. He turned back to Gildrin. “How did you hear that story?” he asked.

Gildrin shrugged. “I have been privy to a lot of meetings with senators and other officers of state. You would be surprised by the amount of story swapping they will do after a glass or two of ale.”

“Master Lepkin, I have something,” Braun said suddenly. “There is a brass ring here behind these books.” He reached in and pulled it. The bookshelf swiveled away, scraping over the wooden floor and revealing another covered object. It stood slightly over four feet from the floor. The top was circular, though there were some angles and points seen beneath the covering.

The two of them walked over to it and each took a corner of the
purple silk cloth. They glanced to each other for a moment and then simultaneously ripped the covering away to reveal a black basin atop a pedestal of black bone.

“What kind of bone do you think this is?” Braun asked.

Erik inspected the thick, long bones and shrugged. “I couldn’t say.” Erik ran his fingers around the edge of the basin, studying the curious runes along the outside of the bowl.

“Do you know what this is
?” Braun asked.

“I am not sure,” Erik said. “Maybe a wash basin?” He leaned over and looked into the liquid in the basin. The black, viscous contents shimmered back at him, mesmerizing him. He stared farther into the liquid, leaning down closer. He reached up with his hands and gripped the sides of
the basin. A ball of silver appeared in the center of the black liquid that caught Erik’s gaze. Erik watched it grow into a cloud and disperse through the blackness. As the silver spread, an image formed in the center. The basin started to hum and vibrate. Erik wanted to pull back, but something held him fast to the object.

“So, you have come,” a voice spoke from w
ithin the darkness. Erik’s heart quickened. His stomach knotted and flipped. Though he didn’t recognize the voice, he could feel its contempt for him as though it were a hand that had reach out and struck him across the gut. The silver cloud was now gone and a great, scaled face peered back at him through the liquid. Massive, downward curled horns pointed to a maw of thick, sharp teeth set inside the long snout under a pair of glowing, red eyes.

“Who are you?” Erik asked, his voice barely sounding louder than the squeak of a mouse.

A throaty, rumbling laugh answered him as the scaled lips parted to reveal the hot fire within the dragon’s throat. “You don’t know?” the dragon teased. Its eyes bored into Erik’s soul, stripping away his courage and leaving him weak in the knees. “The great champion has come, but he is not prepared.” Tendrils of smoke snaked out from the dragon’s nostrils as it sighed in delight. “You are not ready for what is coming.”

“What is coming?” Erik asked.

The dragon’s lips curled upward into a wicked smile that petrified Erik more than anything he had ever seen. “Come to Lokton Manor, and I shall give you a taste of things to come.” The dragon glared with its red hot eyes. “Come, and face your destiny!” The dragon opened its cavernous mouth and a blast of fire came out through the liquid and burst into a great fireball there in the library.

The scrying pool shattered, spewing shards of bone all about.
Erik felt the heat wrap around him, burning his entire being before he flew backward, spinning in the air end over end until he slammed into the wall near the dumbwaiter and slid down into the pile of rubble. The heat continued to sting and rip at him, but he was not aflame. He tried to push himself up, he knew he should be looking for something, but he couldn’t remember what it was. He slumped down and let his face fall upon an old book. His vision blurred and he teetered on the edge of consciousness.

M
oments later a pair of hands scooped under him and heaved him up. He could hear voices, but couldn’t understand what they were saying or who they belonged to. He passed through a small, dark hole and then was placed onto a soft, green bed. He moved his eyes around and slowly recognized where he was.

“Braun?” Erik asked.

“I am here, Master Lepkin,” Braun replied.

Erik struggled to raise his head enough to see Braun standing at the foot of the bed.
He could see a couple of rips in the man’s tunic. Bits of black bone clung to his clothes and some blood seeped out from where some of the shards had landed. After seeing that Braun appeared to be alright, Erik dropped back down and looked up to the other man standing over him.

“Are you alright?” Gildrin asked.

“Can you fetch him some water?” Braun asked. “I will check him for injuries.”

Gildrin nodded and disappeared from view.

“Are you hurt?” Braun asked.

Erik tried to speak, but nothing came out. His lips, hands, and feet tingled and stung as though they were waking from a long numbness. A moment later a terrible
sharp pain ripped through Erik’s shoulder. He reflexively turned his head and saw Braun’s bloody hands squeezing his shoulder.

Braun looked up. “Your wound came open,” he said. “
I can stop the bleeding though, it isn’t serious.” Braun tugged the sheet out from under Erik and tore it into strips. He quickly set about tying a new bandage onto Erik’s shoulder.

“Is he hurt bad
ly?” Gildrin asked when he returned.

“This is an old wound,” Braun said. “But I am not sure how conscious he is at the moment.”

“I’m fine,” Erik whispered hoarsely. “But my head hurts.”

Braun finished tying the bandage and grabbed Erik’s head, turning it this way and that. “No signs of injury on the outside.” He then covered Erik’s eyes with his hands and then moved his hands abruptly, letting the daylight wash over him. “Pupils still react normally to light.”

“What did you see?” Gildrin asked. “What did you see when you looked into that basin?”

“I’m not sure,” Erik said. “It looked like…”

“Like what?” Braun pressed. “What was it?”

“It was a dragon,” Erik replied.

The other two stole a glance at each other and then turned back to Erik. “Master Lepkin,” Braun started. “Are you sure it was a dragon?”

Erik nodded. “I am positive.” He took the water from Gildrin and slowly sat up enough to drink the cool, refreshing liquid.

“What did he say?” Gildrin asked.

Erik closed his eyes and wiped his forehead with the back of his right hand. “I think he is going to attack Lokton Manor,” he said at last.

“What?” Braun shouted. “How could a dragon attack Lokton Manor?”

“And why?” Gildrin added.

“I don’t know, but I do know that we have to get there first,” Erik said. “Help me up.”

Gildrin put his arm under Erik’s armpit and helped him to his feet. “I have four horses at the stable down the street. We can take them.”

“Hold a moment,” Braun said grimly. Erik spun his head to look at Braun, who was pointing down to Erik’s leg.

Erik looked down and saw a patch of crimson over his thigh. The warm liquid leaked out of him quickly, expanding the red spot over his leg. “It’s nothing,” Erik said. Gildrin began pushing Erik back to the bed. “No, we have to go,” Erik said.

“Go and fetch me some more bandages,” Braun ordered. He pulled a knife from his belt and cut a hole in Erik’s trousers. Then his massive fingers spread the cloth enough to work his hands inside so he could rip the material away. “This is bad,” Braun said.

Erik looked down and saw that his leg had opened. Unlike his shoulder, the blood was pouring out quickly and Braun’s hands couldn’t apply enough pressure to make it stop.

“Gildrin, hurry up!” Braun shouted.

Erik’s lost control of his body. His head felt as though it were
detached and floating away. He didn’t even notice when he fell back down. He muttered something about going home and then he slipped over the edge of consciousness, giving in to the welcoming darkness around him.