Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3 (145 page)

Larn was chatting with Kerrion using mind-speech. She was very pleased with him. He and the other Horse Clan shamen had only been here half a day and already they were making themselves understood via mind-speech.

“You are a quick study, Larn,” Julia said. Larn smiled but was obviously puzzled by her expression. “I mean you learn fast.”

“Tell that to Kerrion. When I was an apprentice he often said I was taking too long.”

“Humph!” Kerrion shook his head, “It made you work harder. Be grateful.”

Julia laughed, but thoughts of Keverin dampened her good spirits. They had not spoken again today. Jihan and Adrik returning to Deva had not helped the situation. Jihan had waited as long as he could, but his responsibilities had called him home. Ahnao had a lot to do with it of course, and in all honesty, Julia wished she could have gone with him to see that the birth proceeded without complications. Jihan had understood, but she wondered if he would have insisted she accompany him had the birth been imminent. Ahnao wasn’t due until summer, and spring had barely begun, she therefore had plenty of time to help Kerrion and reach Malcor in time. Still, whenever she thought things were settled, they had a tendency to spin out of control.

“Shelim is on his way here,” Kerrion said with pleasure.

Julia smiled. “If he’s as good as you say, Larn, he should have little trouble with the wards.”

“I don’t know about that. From what you say a personal shield is unlike a ward.”

“That’s true, but they’re made on similar principals. I thought I told you to talk using mind-speech.”

Larn frowned in concentration and contacted her as she wished. *
I’m finding it hard to overcome the turbulence.
*

Her eyebrows shot up. She checked her hold on her magic. She
was
causing turbulence in the realm of power, but she had overcome that problem two years ago! What had changed? She snorted; what hadn’t changed? She made the correction in her link as she had back then and the turbulence smoothed out.

*
How’s that Larn?
*

*
Much better.
*

“I don’t know why, but I had the same problem when I first came to this world,” she explained. “I fixed it then, and I just corrected my link again, but there’s still some turbulence left.”

“Perhaps you are stronger now?” Kerrion offered.

She wondered. She pulled on the magic and floated in an ocean of pure bliss. This was how much she had drawn at the hospital in Devarr when she had accidentally overreached, but she wasn’t overreaching now! Kerrion was right. She
was
stronger. Did the Tancred have a beneficial side affect? It must have. Tentatively she drew harder and harder again. She was beginning to feel a little nervous now, but thrust it aside and drew a tiny bit more, then again. Shamen all round the room had stopped their lessons and were shielding their eyes. Shelim appeared in the doorway with Darnath and two children. They were also shielding their eyes, all but the two children. She bit her lip and tried just a teensy bit more.

“Hnnn!” the pain was suddenly there and she released her magic instantly.

“What did you do?” Lucius said angrily brushing by Shelim. “I felt you clear across the camp! The God curse it Julia, you have to stop this
insanity!
”

She glared. “I’m fine, Lucius, stop scolding! I wanted to check something is all.”

“Check something.
Check something she says!
” Lucius threw up his hands in despair. “The only thing you’ll be checking is how you look in the mirror at sixty years old!”

Lucius was angry—much angrier than she had ever seen him.

“—if she was stronger,” Kerrion was saying.

“By the God! Why did you not simply ask Mathius! He knew you when you first arrived. He could tell you if your strength has increased!”

“Enough Lucius,” she glared. “You’re not my father!”

“Perhaps if I was, you might learn some caution!”

She sighed. This was going nowhere. “All
right!
I won’t do it again.
Satisfied?
” By her tone, Julia made it clear he had better be!

Lucius stared at her for a long moment before nodding.

“Back to work all of you!” she called to her students. “I want you good enough to hold a normal conversation with everyone in this room before sunset.”

“I feel like an apprentice again.”

“I know what you mean!”

“I do to, but then again, I still am one!”

Julia grinned at the grumbles.

Shelim picked his way through the sitting groups of shaman trying not to step on anyone. Julia and Kerrion stood to greet him and the twins.

“Welcome back my boy,” Kerrion said. “And who are these two fine warriors?”

“I think you already know mentor, but this is Emma,” he said bringing the girl forward. “And this is Amara.”

Kerrion smiled at the twins. “You are very welcome Emma of the Night Wind. You are very welcome Amara of the Night Wind. We have a great deal to talk about. Did you know that your father used to be my apprentice?”

“Yes,” Emma said.

“He loves you very much,” Amara said nodding.

Kerrion blinked and smiled at Shelim’s blushes. “And I love him very much. I’ll have to tell you about the time he came to see me about a curse some time.”

The twin’s eyes were huge at the mention of a curse.

“Mentor! Do you have to?”

“Oh indeed I do, my boy! I remember your first look at my mirror particularly well!”

Shelim groaned and laughed at the same time.

Julia was beaming as she watched the by play between the two. It reminded her strongly of her visions of them riding with her across the plain.

“It’s good to see you again, Shelim,” she said.

Shelim shook his head. “I know who you are, but I have never met you before today.”

“I know, but I feel that I know you from my visions. Both you and Kerrion helped me in my dreams.”

“I see,” he said, but it was obvious he didn’t really.

“Please join us won’t you?”

Shelim nodded and seated himself with the twins on each side of him. Julia and Kerrion made themselves comfortable, but Darnath opted to practice with the other apprentices and excused himself.

“So here we all are,” Julia said. “You have been busy this last season.”

“It was hectic. Dragon Clan—you do know Dragon Clan is gone?”

Julia nodded, but Kerrion hedged. “Not all of them. They are less than Cricket Clan now, but they will survive.”

“Perhaps so,” Shelim said not committing himself. “It depends on whether we can destroy Navarien’s threat.”

She agreed with that assessment. The clans were now in the same position as Deva was with the protectorate. The clans had a belligerent country to their north, where before they had at worst neutrality. The people of the northern cities had been peaceful toward each other and the clans. Not so the Hasians. Mortain in the form of Navarien’s legion was determined to take the plains as a precursor to attacking Deva. Should Navarien fail, which was not certain at this juncture, Mortain would not give up. Those three cities gave him the staging point he needed, and as long as they remained in his hands, the clans would have a threat to their north that could never be ignored.

“—Tobiah. I have no doubt of it mentor,” Shelim was saying.

“You have
seen
this?” Kerrion pressed.

Shelim nodded. “Mazel will not challenge Tobiah, not unless it becomes obvious that he is not the one to lead us to victory.”

“It might be too late then,” Julia warned.

“There is little else to be done about it. What we need to do is decide how we are going to deal with the sorcerers.”

“That’s something I wanted to ask you about. Do you know how many sorcerers were with the army that you and Larn attacked?”

“One,” Shelim said without hesitation. “It was a raiding party only.”

“Are you positive?” Lucius said frowning.

Larn nodded. “He’s right. I was using the mirror to aim my fire and I saw the shield snap into place as my fire struck. Later when the outclanners were closer, we could see the man with our own eyes. There was definitely only one.”

Lucius frowned. “If you’re right, the sorcerer who made that ward is very powerful. Wards that big take a lot of magic to construct. Not only that, it moved with the charge. Can you call this man in the mirror?”

Shelim shrugged and dug his mirror out of his pouch and handed it to Larn. Larn grasped his magic and called the image. That was the last coherent thing Julia remembered for a while. Her eyes narrowed and her magic leapt into her grasp before she thought about it. Luckily, her rage hadn’t sapped her wits completely. She didn’t blast the image in the mirror—not quite.

It was Demophon.

Lucius cursed. It couldn’t be Demophon. Mathius had killed him and his friends in the palace. Oh God, poor Mathius! He had aged himself ten years in his pursuit of vengeance, and now to find Demophon still lived…

“How?” Julia breathed.

“He must have slipped away before we attacked,” Lucius said. “We didn’t have time to see who we were fighting.”

Julia released her magic, but it was a struggle. She still wanted to obliterate that image. “Poor Mathius, my poor friend. He’ll go ballistic when he hears about this.”

“What’s ballistic?” Lucius said.

“It doesn’t matter. I meant Mathius will be very angry.”

“That’s an understatement!”

“Who is this Demophon?” Shelim asked.

“He was the one who led the sorcerers that kidnapped me. They killed a woman, an entire squad of soldiers, and two of my dearest friends to capture me.”

“I see. This is the man who warded the outclanners.”

“Just him? What of the ones you saw attacking Dragon Clan?”

“He was the only one the first time. I’m sure I would have seen any others,” Shelim said.

Larn nodded in agreement.

“There were well over a hundred men in black robes attacking Ingharr and his warriors,” Shelim added. “Maybe even two hundred.”

Julia had watched that battle in her mirror. Mathius and Keverin needed to hear this. She grasped her magic and contacted Mathius.

*
I need for you to bring Keverin to the ruin, Mathius.
*

*
What’s wrong?
* Mathius said in concern.

Julia licked her lips. He would know soon enough in any case. *
Demophon is alive and well near Calvados.
*

*
What!
* Mathius shrieked in rage and broke the connection.

Julia flinched at the blast of hate that came to her down the link. She had never felt anything like that before. He was so angry, the words
tasted
purple!

“Mathius is… upset,” she said worriedly.

Lucius snorted. “Raging mad more likely!”

Julia thought so too, but when he came in with Keverin, he was ice calm. That look made her even more scared for him than if he had been raging.

“Promise me you won’t do anything,” she said fearfully. “Promise me Mathius.”

Mathius was a terrible liar. If he so much as thought of lying his face would burn red telling everyone within leagues of his attempt. He shook his head and that was all. Lucius made to speak, but Mathius raised his hand, he wasn’t interested.

Keverin pulled Julia to her feet and kissed her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You were right to stay. If we had left I wouldn’t have the chance I now have to finish Demophon.”

Julia pulled violently away. “Not you too! Have you both gone insane? Demophon will kill you!”

“Now Julia—” Keverin began.

“Don’t now Julia me! You don’t know this man as I do. He’s powerful, Kev. More powerful than you are, Mathius. By far!” She turned to Lucius, “Tell them Lucius; tell them not to go!”

“I can’t do that. You see, I’ll be going as well. I vowed to kill him deader than dead for what he has done, and now I mean to make good on that vow.”

“No! There are hundreds of sorcerers with him,” she turned back to Keverin. “And thirty thousand legionnaires, Kev. What can you do against that?”

Julia was relieved to see frustration appear upon his face as he digested that. Thank the God her sensible Keverin was back. He wouldn’t risk his men for nothing—she hoped.

“You’ll let Mathius and Lucius help kill Demophon won’t you, Shelim?” she said eagerly, willing him to say yes.

Shelim turned to Kerrion with an eyebrow raised in question. Kerrion shrugged. It was all right with him. Julia clutched Kerrion’s hand in gratitude.

“You may ride by my side,” Shelim said to the mages. “If you would do me the honour of killing this Demophon for us, I would be in your debt.”

Lucius looked to Mathius for agreement. Mathius’s face unfroze a little.

Julia saw a chance and took it. “Do it for me, Mathius,” she said clutching him close. “Do it for Moriz and Halbert and all the others Demophon has killed—please.”

“You fight dirty, Julia,” Mathius whispered. “All right, but this time he dies or I do.”

Keverin nodded. “He dies or I do.”

“He dies or I do,” Lucius said sealing the triumvirate.

Julia looked at the three men she loved above all others and was scared to death. They were serious, deadly serious. If Jihan was here he would have made it worse. She had no doubt he would have joined this insanity, and Purcell… Julia groaned, thank the God Purcell was leagues away and didn’t know what was going on. She never wanted to see him berserk again. Silently she vowed to seek out Demophon and kill him before her men found him; it was the only way to be sure they would be safe.

Now that some kind of agreement had been reached, everyone settled down to talk about the situation more calmly. Shelim told Keverin about his battle, concentrating on how the legionnaires handled themselves and what tactics they chose to employ. Keverin knew all there was to know about the Protectorate and its legions, but it wouldn’t hurt to verify his knowledge with firsthand accounts.

Julia frowned as she thought of something. “That’s what I wanted to ask you about. Do you know if magic was used to take the cities?”

Shelim shook his head. “Do you remember hearing anything like that?” he asked the twins who were starting to look bored.