Wizard's Education (Book 2) (9 page)

"Up ahead," Lorit whispered. "There's a room with a guard in it. Several tunnels join together. Do you know anything about it?"

"These tunnels are old and unmaintained. They channel waste water from the castle into the river. The guards stationed down here are usually being punished for some infraction. They're not the most attentive. Maybe we can sneak by him."

The Princess closed the lantern completely, and they crept slowly toward the room ahead. When they reached the end of the tunnel, Lorit stopped. He quieted his breathing to see if he could hear anything.

There was a rustling noise followed by the repeated slapping of a hand on the table. Lorit could not identify the sound at first. Maybe the guard was doing something that Lorit might take advantage of as a distraction. He had just decided to step out into the room when he heard a second voice.

"Deal me a hand, why don't you?"

"Gladly. How's the stinkin' tunnel? Safe and sound as ever?"

"Safe and sound, and wet, and cold. How did you manage to stay awake the whole time I was walking rounds?"

"By telling my fortune, with these here cards."

"Oh yeah? And what does your fortune say? You going to get rich and marry a beautiful girl? Or are you going to be stuck down in this murky hole with me for the rest of your life?"

"They say I'm going to have a change of fortune soon."

Lorit crept back to where the Princess waited. "There are two of them now. It sounds like one of them just returned from his rounds."

"I think I know how we can get past them," she said. "Come on back here."

There was an opening to a side tunnel back the way they had come. After they had ducked into it, the Princess opened the lantern just a crack to illuminate their surroundings. The side tunnel was smaller and steeply angled. Water ran noisily down the center as it made its way from the castle drains to the main tunnel.

"I think I can get one of them to come down here," she said. "Then you can hit him with something and knock him out."

"With what?"

The Princess looked around. She grasped a loose stone and wiggled it out of the side wall of the tunnel.

"Here, use this." She held it out to Lorit.

"You want me to use a stone to hit him over the head?" Lorit looked at her in disgust. "I'm a Wizard. We don't hit people with stones."

"Go ahead then." She folded her arms across her chest and looked at him, waiting. "Put them to sleep so we can get on with it."

Lorit reached out with his magic. He could sense the two guards as they sat at the table playing cards. The lantern sitting on the table burned brightly between them.

He stretched out his hand toward the men. "Somnum penitus et somniare," he said quietly, commanding them to sleep deeply and dream.

The sound of their conversation continued. "Vigilare non es defessus," Lorit said, willing the two men to be so tired they could no longer stay awake.

"I don't think it's working," the Princess said. "The whole lower part of the castle is spelled to dampen any magic that acts against the King."

"We may have to try it your way." Lorit picked up the stone to get a sense of the weight of it. It was heavy and cold in his hand. He hated to hurt the guards, preferring to put them to sleep and allow them to wake naturally on their own.

The Princess stepped back into the main tunnel and crouched down, making herself into a small bundle on the floor. She pulled her cape around her and started to cry.

She wailed louder and louder until Lorit heard the guards comment.

"What's that noise?"

"You go look, I just got back from rounds."

Lorit heard the sound of a chair scraping on the rough floor. Footsteps echoed off of the walls as the guard approached.

"It's some girl crying," he shouted back down the tunnel. "Nothing to worry yourself about. You can keep resting your weary feet. I'll take care of this."

Lorit saw the guard bend over and examine the Princess. He pulled at her cloak, trying to get a look at her face.

"What are you doing down here, Missy? You get lost on your way to meet your fella?"

The guard pulled harder at her cloak until her face was partially exposed. He stood up and looked down at her with a sly smile.

"Lucky you found me first," he said. "Lucky for me, that is."

Lorit jumped from the side tunnel and swiftly hit him with the stone. He crumpled to the floor without a sound.

"Hide," the Princess said. She turned her back towards the guard room and shouted. "Help, come quickly. Your friend's been hurt."

Lorit heard the sound of footsteps as the second guard came running to investigate.

"Get ready," the Princess whispered to Lorit.

The guard approached and leaned down to examine his partner, then the Princess. He helped her up, and asked, "What's going on here? What happened to him?"

"I did." The Princess grabbed the guard by the wrists and shouted, "Now!"

Lorit dispatched the second guard as quickly as the first. He disliked the violence and would much have preferred magic, but he couldn't see any alternative.

"Come on." The Princess grabbed Lorit's hand and pulled him down the tunnel. "We're not far from the exit."

As they shuffled along the tunnel, it grew wetter, and the footing became treacherous. Moss and water mixed beneath their feet, and Lorit had to rely heavily on his staff to keep from slipping.

Lorit soon heard the sound of rushing water ahead. The tunnel opened beneath the castle wall onto a gravel path that lead straight down to the river. Lorit stepped into the moonlit night and made his way down the slope to the grass below. The castle walls loomed large behind him.

"We're here," the Princess said. "I've made arrangements for transportation and supplies just ahead."

She headed for the trees that surrounded them, skipping lightly. Suddenly she came up short and fell.

"What happened?" Lorit asked.

"Magic. There's a wall around the castle."

Lorit walked carefully to where the Princess sat on the damp grass. He put his hand out to test the boundary. There was a firm resistance to his hands right in front of him. He reached out with his magic to see what it was. It appeared as a solid brick wall encircling the castle. He tried to push through it, but it didn't budge.

Lorit reached his senses back to the castle, looking for anything that he could use to strengthen his magic. His reserves were still low, and without Chihon to lend her aid, he found himself falling short.

He felt the castle walls behind him. Their stone mortared heights stood in stark contrast to the gentle rolling hills covered with trees that extended for leagues in front of the castle. High up on one of the walls, Lorit found a large kettle of boiling oil. It was there for castle defense and was kept hot at all times. Underneath the kettle a small fire burned, the flames licking at the blackened pot.

He grasped the heat of the oil and directed it at the barrier in front of them. "When it opens, get through as quickly as you can," Lorit told the Princess. She stood and leaned against the invisible wall waiting for him.

He gently undid the bricks from the magical wall using the energy from the boiling oil. Slowly he was able to make a hole that they could fit through.

"I'm out," the Princess said breaking his concentration. Lorit rushed through the hole in the wall just as it closed behind him. He could feel a weight lift off him as he exited the imaginary wall. His magic was stronger now that they were outside the defenses of the castle. High up on the wall, the oil had congealed into a solid mass of fat, as cold as the water in the river beside them.

"Over here," the Princess called out from the woods ahead of him.

Lorit saw her standing there in the moonlight. He reached out his magic once more and probed the spell that made her appear as Chihon. It was rough but intricate. He examined it closely, looking for a loose thread or weak point.

He still had reserves left from the oil. If he could find the right spot, he could remove the spell. He probed and prodded until he found it. He pulled at the colored thread that bound her in his mind's eye. She wavered and shimmered, finally transforming into the visage of the Princess.

"That's better," Lorit said. "At least you look like the Princess again. Now we can go."

Lorit and the Princess struggled through the underbrush until they came upon a small clearing, where a man waited. It was Edaro, Princess Ukina's personal bodyguard. He stood beside a small camp fire that did little to counter the chill of the night. Behind him, Lorit saw three horses tied up at the edge of the clearing. They were laden with heavy packs that Lorit assumed were the provisions for their journey.

"Princess," Edaro said as they emerged from the woods. "You made it out safe." He looked up at Lorit and held out his hand. "You must be the Wizard Lorit."

"Yes, I am." Lorit took his hand. He was strong and stout and had a grip like a blacksmith's. "Thank you for your help."

"Do you know where Prince Ghall has been taken?" Ukina asked.

"I learned that he was kidnapped by a Priest of Ran. Rumor has it that they are headed to Relynn."

"Relynn, that's where Chihon was taken." Lorit's heart raced. Maybe they would reach there in time to save Chihon from whatever fate they had planned for her.

Edaro reached into the pack of the nearest horse and pulled out a large leather case. He withdrew a map, rolled it out before the fire and showed Lorit where Relynn lay. It was almost as far North as the Ice Father, and would be a good week's ride. At least the path to Prince Ghall and Chihon lay in the same direction.

"When can we get going?" the Princess asked. "I don't want to wait until morning. My father will have his men out in force. I want to get as far away from here as I can before they learn that Lorit is gone."

Edaro looked at ground, then back to the Princess. He started to speak but stopped. He rolled up the map and placed it in the pack, then turned slowly back to the Princess and drew his sword. "I'm afraid that's not possible, Princess. With your brother gone, you will be the Queen. If something were to happen to you, the throne will be up for grabs. A certain noble family has been paying me to keep an eye on you. When they heard that Prince Ghall was gone, they felt it was time to act."

Edaro advanced towards the Princess; his sword swayed from side to side as if clearing his path. "It's nothing personal, Princess, but they paid me handsomely and promised me even more if I could arrange an accident for you"

"How can you do such a thing?" the Princess asked.

"I was going to take you somewhere I could ransom you, but since you're not alone ..." He started for her, glancing back at Lorit as if judging him a threat. "Go ahead," Lorit said. "I'm not going to stop you. I'd kill her myself if I didn't need her help."

"Stop him," the Princess screamed. "If I die, so does Chihon."

Edaro took another step towards the Princess. The moonlight glinted off the sword as he prepared to strike. The Princess cowered in fear, holding her arms up to fend off the blow.

Lorit had already gathered his power in preparation for the spell he would cast, and raised a barrier around the Princess. He raised his staff and projected as much menace in his voice as he could muster. "Leave the Princess alone." He shook his staff at Edaro. "Do not make me kill you."

As much as he despised what the Princess had done to Chihon, he had to protect her. She was right - anything that happened to her also affected Chihon. He could not let her be killed.

Edaro laughed and continued towards the Princess. Lorit looked for an opening. He didn't have enough magic to stop the man, but perhaps he could slow him down. "Prohibere ubi sunt," he said and dropped to the ground, staff in hand. "Prohibere ubi sunt," he repeated commanding the man to freeze in place.

He slid the staff between Edaro's legs and twisted it, throwing him off balance. Edaro tumbled to the ground. Lorit jumped up and attacked the bodyguard with his staff, thrusting and jabbing as the Wizard Gareb had drilled into him.

Edaro rolled away from Lorit's blows and clamored to his feet. He came at Lorit swinging his sword wildly. Lorit could hear the sound of the blade as it whistled through the air. He backed away to stay out of its reach.

"Te sunt telis inermes" he commanded his attacker to drop his weapon and stay where he was. Edaro slowed but he kept on coming. Lorit backed away, hands in the air, staff at the ready when his heel caught a root sticking out of the ground. He fell backwards with a whuff, the wind knocked out of him.

Edaro laughed and advanced on him. Lorit only had time to raise his staff in the hope of fending off the sword thrust, as Edaro came at him for the final blow. Suddenly, he straightened, stiffened, and toppled sideways, Edaro's own spear protruding from his ribs.

Princess Ukina stood there looking at Edaro as his life drained out onto the grass. Slowly, she tore her gaze away and turned it to Lorit. She reached out her hand and said, "We'd better get going before someone else comes along."

They gathered the horses and headed out. The extra pack horse would come in handy as they made their way to Relynn.

The next night, they made camp under an ancient oak tree. It was so old that the branches had arched down to the ground to sprout new trunks in a ring around the main body of the tree. It provided shade and let the cool breeze in.

After they finished eating, Lorit stepped out of the branches to look for any signs of pursuit. Far behind them, he thought he could see a cloud of light brown dust heading skyward. He peered into the distance, trying to make out who was following them. He extended his magical sense back down the road. There were horses and men headed their way.

"They're after us," Lorit said.

"How can you tell? How many of them are there?"

"I could make out about a dozen. They're your father's men and they're riding hard. Let's get the horses under cover. Maybe they'll ride right by us."

They gathered the horses into the shelter of the tree and tied them up. Lorit kept his senses extended, watching the men ride towards them. As they approached, Lorit raised a shield around the Princess and the horses to mask their appearance. Anyone looking in their direction would only see oak tree branches and small stands of grass.