Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3 (12 page)

As Julia made her way through the corridors of the citadel, she suddenly became aware of a feeling of being watched. She stopped and looked back the way she came. There was a guardsman on duty at the last intersection she had past, but he wasn’t looking at her and there was no one else. Julia shivered and hugged her elbows tight to her chest. This wasn’t the first time she had felt like she was being watched. People were always curious about what was strange. She didn’t look like the Devans. Her pale skin marked her as different, let alone her green eyes and short hair. Her pallor was due to spending every waking minute in the gym. Devans had sun darkened skin. Only men wore their hair short and not many of them. The first few times she had put it down to simple curiosity but now she wasn’t so sure.

Julia chose a corridor at random and turned down it. Whenever she could, she used a different route through the citadel in order to learn her way around. The citadel was hard to navigate. Most of the corridors looked the same, but this one was different. Halfway along she found a pair of beautifully carved doors. On the left-hand panel there were people shown kneeling with one arm raised towards the sky. There was a beggar kneeling next to a King, a lord and lady kneeling next to a farmer. Children played in the field oblivious to the adults. God was depicted as a wise old man in threadbare robe on the right-hand panel. He was carrying a crooked staff and was smiling down at the people kneeling before him.

A chapel? Julia felt justified in taking a peek inside. Stepping silently through the doors, she didn’t realise that the shadow near the altar stone wasn’t a statue until it spoke.

“I am Father Gideon, a humble servant of the God. What are you doing here?”

Gideon didn’t sound very humble to Julia. The way he asked his question made him sound as if he wanted to spit. His cassock glowed pristine white in the darkness. Despite the perfection of his robe, Julia couldn’t help comparing him unfavourably to the carving on the door. A beggar’s robes would better suit the humble priest he had named himself. Gideon appeared to be in his late fifties. He was clean-shaven and his smile was kindly but it did not reach his eyes. They had never met, but already it was obvious he didn’t like her. Julia’s face froze as the familiar walls slid into place protecting her from people’s dislike. She cursed herself for letting her guard down. She had thought the people here would be different—they had been friendly toward her mostly. Not Keverin, but most had welcomed her. Julia had always made it the other person’s problem when she came up against this dislike, but she was living in a new world now! How could she deny there must be something wrong with her and not them?

“My name’s Ju—”

“I know who and what you are child.”

How dare he call her child! He knew nothing about her. How could he know what she was?

“Oh, is that so? And what am I?” Julia said sarcastically. She was always at her worst when she felt herself under attack.

“
Abomination!
” The priest cried fervently. “I asked Mathius about you. You are a mage—I saw you come through the gate. The God willed his power channelled through men, not women! You are against nature, and
Him!
”

Julia wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing the hurt his words caused. What right did this priest have to tell her she was an abomination before God? She was what God had made her to be.

Julia turned and walked silently away.

That night found Julia slipping stealthily through the fortress. Father Gideon’s attack on her was responsible for setting her on this path, and she grudgingly thanked him now. His words had hurt, but they did remind her of the mage gift that she supposedly had—whatever it was. She’d done nothing since arriving at Athione and then complained when the mages couldn’t send her back. Well, no more of that! She would take control of her life if it killed her.

After her retreat from the chapel, Julia had visited with Jessica for a while and found herself telling Jessica about her home and her hopes of winning Olympic gold for the memory of her parents. That had led to her need for a way home and her mage gift. She told Jessica that she would lose herself if she didn’t find a way back soon. Deva was coming to feel more real than home. She couldn’t let that go on or all trace of a gymnast named Julia Morton would cease to exist. Jessica said that she understood, but she hadn’t really. How could she? A noble lady was expected to support her husband and help rule his lands. It was a life so far removed from Julia’s as to be incomprehensible. Jessica did help in one way, she supplied a hand drawn map of the citadel. With her friend’s blessing, Julia dressed herself in a man’s stolen clothes and set off to save herself.

Booom... Booom... Booom...

The noise of the attack was muffled this deep within the walls. Julia was so used to it now that the dull thuds hardly registered on her senses as she puzzled out where she was. The map showed the main highlights of the fortress. The great hall, courtyards, gardens, stables, kitchens, smithy—all were clearly marked, but the most important item now was the quickest way from the woman’s quarter to the library quarter. Julia double checked the map one last time and turned right. If she was right the library should be behind a large double door on the left.

It was.

A feeling of quiet calm descended as she entered. It was the familiar hush that all libraries seemed to have no matter where they happened to be. The atmosphere of the room was...
expectant
might best describe it. Like all libraries, it seemed to whisper of knowledge and secrets to be learned.

“Use me, and know the world,” it seemed to say.

The rows of shelves ahead of her held the knowledge Julia needed to get home, at least she hoped they did. No one else seemed willing or able to help. So she would do it herself as she always had. She didn’t need anyone. There were ten long rows of shelves each with five levels. Each shelf had a ladder mounted to it than ran on little wooden wheels fitted into grooves in the floor. Choosing an aisle at random, Julia browsed the shelves running her fingers lightly over the leather bindings of the books. The air smelled pleasantly of leather and paper, and vaguely of dust. She stopped and pulled a thick volume from the middle shelf. Turning the tome toward the meagre light of the lamps, she read the title...

Houses of Tanjung.

Julia replaced the book then pulled out another.

Kings of Deva.

Julia scowled and replaced the book in its slot. The way the shelves were organised it would take forever to find what she needed. Julia scanned the row for magical sounding titles, but she failed to find even one. Changing aisles, Julia did the same, but again she failed. Stopping for a moment, Julia peered around the library hoping to find an index. She didn’t find one, but she did find something else. Along the back wall almost hidden from view, was an archway leading into another hall. Not expecting to find the index in there but curious nonetheless, Julia stepped through.

The hall was smaller than the first. The only entrance was the archway through which Julia had just entered. There were tables with comfortable looking chairs tucked neatly under them, and toward the back of the hall were three more rows of shelves. Even from across the room Julia could tell that they were special. They seemed to glow in the dark as if lighted from within. The luminescence reminded her very strongly of the glow that had surrounded Mathius that day in Jessica’s rooms.

Quickly crossing to the shelves, Julia began reading the titles. Scanning the books, Julia realised that she had chosen the wrong row. With names like:
Higher Principles of Power Transmission
, and
Animation for Sorcerers
, Julia guessed that the huge tomes were for advanced study. She doubted that she could even lift some of them, let alone understand what was within their ancient pages! Hoping for a logical layout, Julia skipped the central row and checked the left-hand one. The moment she read the first title, Julia knew that she had found what she needed. Again, the shelves were not of a standard type. Each book was fitted into its own custom made slot. Without an index, it should be easier to find a title this way. No doubt that was the reason for the design.

I wonder if they even know what an index is?

Julia shrugged the irrelevant thought aside. She quickly scanned the spines and collected a number of interesting titles. She hoped the authors had used descriptive titles for their work and hadn’t chosen them on a whim. She had nothing but their titles to judge the book’s contents on. She didn’t have time to read each one only to find they were of no interest.

Before coming to the library, Julia had decided that the first thing she needed to do was verify that Mathius was correct about her mage gift. If she did have it, whatever it really was, she would look for the spell Darius used to bring her here in hopes of reversing it. If she didn’t have it, she would think about leaving Athione for Tanjung. It was the only place outside the Protectorate that had mages. Maybe they could help.

Carrying her treasure to one of the tables, Julia sat and began reading a book entitled:
Centring: Groundwork for Apprentice Level Mages
.

The term centring was first used to describe the process whereby a mage made himself receptive to the magic in the year 158 After Founding...

Already impatient, Julia skipped the chapter about the historical significance of founding the Black Isle. Chapter three seemed to be more serious so she began reading that.

Centring is a state of mind achieved by turning all thought inward. That is to say, concentrating on an image to the exclusion of all else. There are three main schools of thought, and I shall briefly outline each separately...

... a fire and thrusting all external thought into the flames thereby consuming it as the best way. Others find imagining an empty room and concentrating until it appears real...

My personal choice is to imagine a rose bud. When the rose is so real that I can touch it, I reach out and grasp the magic in its place.

Julia scowled. That wasn’t magic! It was simply a form of meditation! She shoved the book away in disgust. Jill had taught her the Three D Method: Determination, Discipline, and Dynamics. State of mind played a huge role in winning competitions, and Jill knew that. That’s why she had insisted upon teaching Julia a few ‘tricks’ of the mind—ways to induce calmness and even sleep when she was too wired to sleep naturally.

Meditation... Julia frowned. Did mages meditate to put themselves in the right state of mind? If they did, it would explain why the book insisted
centring
was necessary. Centring was another term that Jill used. She used it quite often during training, but not always. Julia remembered Jill using the term when she first began teaching her how to focus before an event.

“Go down deep into yourself... way down to the very centre of your being. There is where you must live, Julia. At your centre, all things are possible...”

Julia remembered all of Jill’s lessons, but those times sitting quietly with her coach were special. Jill had taught her how to channel her emotions into her work, and how not to let them interfere at a critical time. Using the image of a trophy, she had learned how to psyche herself to a point where the crowds watching her had retreated into insignificance. She remembered all of Jill’s lessons. Now they would be more important than ever. She pulled the book toward her. The next section was called Grounding.

After centring is achieved, grounding is the next step along the path of power. Essentially, it is the return to the external world without losing the centre. This is easy to describe but hard to do. Once achieved the magic in your grasp may be turned to the purpose you have selected.

Julia was puzzled. Where were the magic spells that magicians used? Obviously after centring she had to come back without losing the calm just gained. She did it all the time while competing. She always made her routine the whole of her world for the minutes it took to complete. The method was exhausting mentally, but it was worth it when the judges responded favourably.

The next section in the book was an exercise for an apprentice to try. It was an attempt to light a candle with magic. Julia looked around but there weren’t any candles in the library. Fire hazard she supposed. She crossed the room and reached up to one of the wall lamps. She opened the little door in the side. There was a wick fitted into a reservoir of oil. Lifting the lamp off its bracket she brought it back to the table, and extinguished the flame.

Julia made herself comfortable and concentrated on her familiar image of an Olympic gold medal. Instantly she fell into her private place where her fantasy of taking gold would come true. Never had it been so easy! The medal spun in her mind’s eye. It sparkled and glittered sending flashes of light deep into the innermost recesses of he mind. She marvelled at its beauty and yearned for it. She wanted it with all of her being. Julia reached out, and gasped as the power hammered down.

Time stopped.

Magic was like the sun, life itself roaring down onto and into her—thrusting its way into her very soul. She revelled in the warmth. It burned, but did no harm, it roared, but was utterly silent. She was complete, utterly content. No room for doubting, no room for failure, no room for... her.

* * *

Mathius jolted upright from his bed gasping in shock. He had been dreaming about a kitchen maid who had given him the eye the other day when suddenly the entire fortress felt as though it was falling on his head. He grasped his magic and was rocked back as the disturbance slammed through him. Someone was drawing deeply nearby—
very
deep. It felt as if a floodgate on a damn had been opened, and the magic was roaring through the gate—a gate that in the real world was a mage.

No one is this powerful!

Mathius climbed out of bed and dressed quickly. If it was an enemy mage that he was sensing, Athione was finished. It couldn’t be what he feared. The sorcerers were in the pass. He had never been able to sense a mage at such a distance. He prayed he was wrong, but what else could it be? He slipped out of his room intent on tracking the source of the disturbance at least as far as the walls. He tried not to let his fear blind him, but it was hard. What could be done? Could anything face such a power?