Mindbender (2 page)

Isabel stabbed a good-sized slice from the serving tray and put it on Wren’s plate. “Eat,” she said around a bite of bread with cheese.

Wren lost all reluctance. She ate her fill, savoring every bite like it was a treasure. When they finished the meal she sighed with satisfaction. “That is the best meal I’ve ever had, except at festival—twice a year we have a big feast that lasts two days. Everyone gets to eat whatever they want during festival.”

“Can you tell us more about the fortress island?” Isabel asked.

“What would you like to know?”

Isabel had a few important questions in mind but she didn’t want to spook the child with overtly military questions, so she opted for more general inquiries.

“How many people live here?” Isabel asked.

“Just over five thousand,” Wren said. “The triumvirate is careful to ensure that our population doesn’t expand past the space available in the fortress. Our population has been pretty constant for the past two thousand years. That’s one of the reasons everyone is born into a position. Families are permitted to have children to fill the positions of those who die from age or accident. Of course, there are always a few hundred extra people who fill in here and there where they’re needed.”

“So you’re expected to be a servant for your whole life?” Abigail asked, a little taken aback by the concept.

Wren nodded earnestly. “My grandmother was a servant. When she got old, my parents were permitted to have me so that I could fill her position.”

“Is that what you want to do with your life?” Isabel asked.

Wren hesitated before she looked down at the table and shook her head ever so slightly. “I should be going. The kitchen will expect me to return with your tray soon.” Isabel’s question seemed to frighten her.

Abigail leaned in and spoke softly, gently. “What do you want to do with you life?”

Wren looked down at her empty plate and took a deep breath before she answered. “I want to sing,” she whispered softly. She looked up quickly like she’d said too much. “You won’t tell anyone, will you? Please, they wouldn’t understand. Everyone has a place and each of us is needed where we are. The future of the Seven Isles depends on the Reishi Coven and the Sky Knights. We must all play our parts to protect the world.” Her words sounded like they were regurgitated platitudes she’d heard so many times that they had become ingrained in her understanding of the world.

“Your secret is safe with us,” Abigail said. “Perhaps someday I’ll be able to introduce you to a friend of mine. He’s a very good singer. I’m sure he’d be happy to teach you.” Abigail found that she had been thinking about Jack a lot since the Sky Knights had scooped her up from the shore of the Reishi Isle.

“You know a singer?” Wren asked with a hint of awe. “There are only four singers in the fortress island and two apprentices. They’re held in very high esteem and they look so joyous when they’re singing.”

“My friend’s name is Jack. He’s the Master of the Ruathan Bards Guild,” Abigail said.

Wren blinked a few times. “I’ve read tales of the bards of old. They used to sing for the sovereign before the war. Ruatha must be a truly wonderful place if there’s a whole guild of bards.”

“Ruatha is home,” Isabel said. “We both miss it and hope to return soon, provided the triumvirate decides to release us.”

Wren looked down. “You’ve been so nice to me. And I’m sure the triumvirate will decide to let you go soon. They’re very wise. When they make decisions that are a burden to others it’s just because they have such a terrible responsibility and they must put their duty first.”

She cleared the table and picked up her serving tray, balancing it on her left hand.

“Thank you for sharing your meal with me,” she said. “If you need anything, just let me know and I’ll do what I can for you.”

She knocked on the door and a few moments later it was unlocked and opened by the guard in the hall. Wren gave them a timid little smile before she left and the door to their comfortable prison cell was closed again.

Isabel and Abigail went out onto the balcony. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the Sky Knights,” Isabel said. “With a population of over five thousand they could easily have several hundred wyverns here. That would be consistent with my observations. They’re constantly rotating patrols of two. Enough to keep eyes on every inch of the Reishi Isle’s coastline at all times.”

Abigail whistled quietly. “A few hundred Sky Knights would do wonders for our army. With them on our side, we could prevent Andalia from landing any more troop transports.”

Isabel nodded, “I was thinking the same thing. We need to do whatever we can to win them over.”

“I agree,” Abigail said. “If what they’ve told us about their purpose is true, they should realize that we all have a better chance against Phane if we stand together.”

Chapter 2

Not long after Wren left, there was a firm knock at the door followed by the grating of the bolt. Three guards stood in the hall.

“The triumvirate has summoned you. Come with us,” the leader of the detail said.

They wound through the passages of the fortress island until they came to the now familiar audience room. The grandeur of the massive chamber was still impressive. The high ceilings, the long raised bench facing the gallery, and the high windows all served to create an air of authority.

Magda, Cassandra, and Gabriella sat in their places behind the bench. Two chairs in front of the bench awaited the prisoners. A woman dressed in the riding armor of the Sky Knights was standing off to the side, her arm resting in a sling and a slightly bloodstained bandage was wrapped around her shoulder.

Isabel and Abigail walked to their chairs without a word and sat down.

“Thank you for joining us,” Magda said. “We have just received a report from our forces at the Reishi Keep. It would seem to verify much of your story but it also presents us with a dilemma. This is Mistress Constance. She commands the flight of Sky Knights that was assigned to prevent your friends from entering the Keep.”

“It appears that she has failed,” Gabriella said sternly.

Constance didn’t flinch or react but instead stood stoically in her place.

“Mistress Constance, please recount your report for our guests,” Magda said.

“Yes, Mistress.” She spoke without meeting anyone’s eyes and her words carried no emotion. “The invaders entered the Keep by stealth in the night. Once they were inside, we chose to wait for them to exit before we made our attack. The next morning, another group of invaders led by Commander P’Tal of the Reishi Protectorate assaulted past our guard force and entered the Keep as well. We posted guards and overwatch patrols all around the Keep.

“Some time passed before we encountered the invaders again. They were in one of the three main towers when the Reishi Gate opened and Prince Phane emerged on horseback. He wielded terrible magic against my Sky Knights and against the Keep itself, destroying the observation deck that joined the three towers and releasing a netherworld beast of terrifying capability from one of the towers.

“In the ensuing chaos, the invaders came to the bridge that I guarded. One calling himself Alexander Reishi held out the Sovereign Stone, which was glowing softly, and proclaimed himself to be the Seventh Sovereign of the Seven Isles.”

Isabel and Abigail shared a look of both concern and triumph. Alexander had the Stone and he was bonded to it. The claim that Abigail and Alexander shared Reishi blood was clearly true.

“A few moments later Commander P’Tal attacked me with a javelin that nearly killed me. The invaders crossed the bridge and entered the tower containing the master Gate. We did not see them again. Some time later Phane fled the Keep with a small number of others. Just before he reached the wood line, a single member of his party broke off and went northwest into the wilds. We focused our attack on Phane and fought a running battle but the Reishi Prince’s magic was more than we could match. He made it to a ship concealed in a cove and fled toward Andalia.

“When we returned to the Keep and entered to search for the invaders, we found a terrible demon in the master gate room. It killed several of my riders. We saw no evidence of a battle and the Reishi Gates had been deactivated, so we can only assume that the one called Alexander has bonded to the Stone and that he fled through the master Gate, to where we do not know.”

Isabel’s mind raced. If the Gates had been active for any length of time, there was a good chance that Phane had moved an army into Ruatha. He would’ve known that the Gates would awaken with the return of the Sovereign Stone. He would have been ready to seize the opportunity. If her assumption was correct, then Alexander would not have gone to Ruatha—so where then? She ticked off the islands one by one in her mind. She ruled out Andalia and Karth. He probably wouldn’t have gone to Zuhl. That left Tyr, Fellenden, and Ithilian. If the Reishi Protectorate was indeed loyal to him because of his bonding with the Stone, then Tyr was the most likely choice.

“Thank you, Mistress Constance,” Magda said. “Please remain to clarify any questions that may arise.”

Constance nodded her assent and remained where she stood.

“A great many things have come to pass that we did not foresee,” Magda said. “The Seven Isles are in great peril. The Sovereign Stone cannot be allowed to fall into Phane’s hands and yet it is loose in the world. Phane, no doubt, knows this and is taking steps to bring it under his control. I have brought you here to humbly ask for your help. The Sovereign Stone must be brought here and placed under our care. Only here can it be safeguarded against Phane and his dark minions. Please, any insight you may have into young Alexander’s likely actions would be of great service to the future and may be the only course that will preserve his life.”

Isabel and Abigail shared another look. By unspoken agreement Isabel turned back to Magda and replied to her plea. “What you ask is treason. I have sworn my life and my love to Alexander and I will not betray him for any price. More importantly, if the report we just heard is true, then Alexander
is
the Sovereign of the Seven Isles and you owe him your allegiance. Further, if he is bonded to the Stone, then he is our best hope for defeating Phane.”

From the looks on the triumvirs’ faces, Isabel could see that she was telling them truths that they didn’t want to hear. She pressed on.

“Phane is the enemy,” she said. “Since the day he woke from his long sleep, he’s hunted my husband. His agents murdered his brother and burned his home to the ground. Alexander will never surrender to the Reishi Prince and he will not rest until he has rid the world of the threat that Phane represents. Even as we speak, war is ravaging the Seven Isles, yet you’re fixated on Alexander and the Sovereign Stone. Your resources would be better spent fighting Phane’s armies rather than obstructing and harassing your one true ally. Join with us. Help us.”

The three witches were quiet for a long moment until Cassandra broke the silence. “Perhaps some of what you say is true, but there are still many questions to be answered before we would consider such an alliance. Alexander is far too young to be an arch mage and yet by all accounts only an arch mage can bond with the Stone. How is it that he was able to accomplish such a thing?”

Isabel frowned. She was out of her depth. There was so much she didn’t know about the history of the Reishi Empire and their ancient magic that she could only guess at an answer. But she did know Alexander. That would have to be enough. She considered the consequences of revealing some of his unique talents and decided that the risk was worth the potential gain.

“He is a very powerful wizard,” Isabel said. “Only a week after he survived the mana fast, he was able to send his awareness from Glen Morillian in Ruatha to the Isle of Karth. Through this clairvoyance he was able to both see and hear the proceedings of a meeting between Phane and the Reishi Army Regency. I know little about magic but as I understand it, such a feat is beyond even the most accomplished mage. Perhaps the Sovereign Stone responded to his power even though he has not yet undertaken the mage’s fast.”

“I find that difficult to believe,” Gabriella said with just a hint of derision.

Isabel ignored her tone. She needed to win them over. “So did his parents and the wizard that guided him prior to the mana fast. I can attest from personal experience just how powerful his magic is—Alexander was able to send the essence of his being into the netherworld through a rift torn within my own mind and bring me back from the darkness. Is such a feat within the realm of any typical wizard’s power? If you doubt me, I can tell you the names of the shades.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Magda said.

Gabriella still didn’t look convinced.

“Where would he take the Stone?” Cassandra asked.

Isabel shrugged. “The plan was to return to Blackstone Keep and secure the Stone within the Bloodvault where Phane would be forever denied his prize. After hearing your Sky Knight’s report, I suspect he’s changed his plans.”

“Where would he go?” Gabriella demanded.