Silver Mage (Book 2) (13 page)

“You flatter me,” Brenda said laughing. “Now introduce us before I beat you with the nearest object I can find.”

“Faye, I would like you to meet my aunts Brenda, and Shariel,” Bren said, waving at the two women unenthusiastically.

“Still calling us your aunts,” Brenda said eyeing him suspiciously. “If it hadn’t been for you pulling this little king stunt of yours
, I would have had your mother agreeing to let us marry.”

“You were going to marry your aunt?” Faye asked
, taking a step back from Bren.

“Brenda stop it,” Shariel said
, hitting the other woman on top of the head. “The only reason you like him in the first place is because your names sound alike.”

Shariel turned toward Faye and gave her a bright smile. “You have to understand that things are a bit different in our family.”

“I have heard rumors about nobles marrying family, but I didn’t know…” Faye said blanching.

“None of us are blood related,” Shariel said laughing. “Bren’s father adopted me as his sister when I was a child. Brenda was adopted as well
, but by Queen Eloen, but from watching the two you could never tell it. That is what I meant by a different kind of family.”  Shariel waved for Faye to come closer, then pulled the young girl in close. “If you like our young king here, you will have to be pretty straightforward. Thanks to Eloen and Brenda, he no longer understands subtlety.”

Bren couldn’t hear what the girls were talking about
, but he did notice a rosy color spread across Faye’s cheeks.

“Why did you come over here anyway?” Bren asked slightly annoyed. “I wanted to get away from the stuffy atmosphere that is the whole reason I decided to hide over here.”

“The Queen was looking for you,” Shariel said with a serious face. “She plans to leave at first light so she wanted to tell you her goodbyes before the end of the party.”

“
Is that so, then I best go see my mother,” Bren replied sighing. “Faye, as much as I wish it didn’t have to, looks like our little party has to end. You should come by the palace more often, I miss talking to you.”

“She is a cute girl,” Shariel said as they walked back to the main party. “You should just marry her so that I can have some cute children to play with again.”

“She just thinks of me as a friend,” Bren said blushing. “Besides if you want to have kids to play with you should have some of your own. Don’t expect me to do it for you.”

“I just want to have some to play with. I don’t want to have them all the time,” Shariel said laughing.

Just as Shariel had said, his mother was waiting on him but not for goodbyes. After giving him a tight hug, she pressed something cold into his hand. “It’s a return gift for your father’s sword.”

Looking down
, Bren noticed that he held two earrings in his hand. They were not flashy things but he knew they were valuable. They had once belonged to his father and used to communicate over long distances with one other person. He didn’t know when, but he was sure that someday they would come in handy.

As the party began to wind down
, Bren took the chance to escape from the mass of royals and nobles. He looked for Faye again but after not finding her, headed back to the palace in search of his bed.

CHAPTER XIII

When Bren woke the next morning
, he immediately called for Elyse. When the young fire mage arrived, she looked every bit as worn as he felt. “You look as if you could use a good rest.”

“Whose fault do you think that is,” She said hotly. “You keep leaving me to deal with all the royals and their people. Last night everyone was looking for you but when Cass finally found you
, you were asleep in your bed. He was quite upset that you left without notifying him. You’re lucky he didn’t skewer you while you were asleep.”

“Ah,” Bren replied. He had completely forget about Cass the previous night. He hoped that he had not caused his friend too much stress when he had disappeared. “The royals are the reason that I called you here. Do you happen to know if they have left yet?”

“Yes, King Killian left before the sun rose the others left not long ago. It seems that Maria is ready to be back in her own palace instead of sleeping in an inn,” Elyse said, her mood picking up slightly.

“Thank all the gods that is over,” Bren said
, slumping in his chair slightly. “I don’t know if I could have survived it for another day.”

“Bren where are you?” A loud voice sounded down the hall sending a shiver down his back. “I thought you said they left,” Bren said turning back to Elyse.

“Most of them have,” Elyse said hiding a timid smile behind her hand “Lady Shariel and Princess Brenda are still within your residence.”

“There you are,” Shariel said
, opening the door to his study. “I brought something for you. I didn’t want your mother to find out about it so I have kept it hidden among the luggage until she left,” Shariel said as two large trunks were brought into the room. “Your father made these years ago. They were great ideas and I don’t know why he never made more, but I thought you should have them.”

“I have never seen these before,” Bren said walking over to where the two large trunks sat. They were made of a hard dark wood with large iron bands running across them, large and small gems were placed on the iron banks and Bren could tell that they were enchanted
, but for what he didn’t know.

“Long ago before the last battle at Southpass Fort
, your father made four of these trunks. They were designed so that when an item was placed in one it would appear in the other. They can be used once every two days. I don’t know how far they will work apart but the test model your father made worked at extreme distances.”

“So this is the reason that you and Brenda stayed back,” Bren said smiling. “It is a marvelous gift…Thank you.”

“That is not the only reason,” Shariel admitted. “Queen Maria wanted me to stay on for a few days to check on the tower. She wants to know everything about them. She believes that she has been lax in this thinking they wouldn’t be a real power for years to come. After what happened to you last year she has revised this opinion.”

“Then why is Brenda still here?”

“She heard that I was staying back, and decided it would be more interesting here than in Abla,” Shariel said trying not to laugh.

“Do you mind if borrow your advisor to show me around the tower?” Shariel asked smiling.

“Fine, as long as you promise to keep Brenda away as much as possible,” Bren replied.

“Then we will be off,” Shariel said nearly dragging Elyse from the room.

As soon as they were gone, Bren turned back to his work. There had been a lot piling up over the past few days most of them expense reports having to do with the visiting monarchs. Bren could almost see his vaults being empties as he went from report to report. The ones from the tower he was sure had been exaggerated but he didn’t feel like arguing with them over every small detail. If would cost more to hire people to investigate the expenditures than simply paying it.

“Lord Torin,” an elegant voice said
, making Bren stop what he was doing to look for the source of the sound.

The area in front of his desk began to shimmer as if a thick bank of fog had entered his room. As the fog cleared
, a mirror like image appeared in front of him. “Lord Torin, it is a pleasure.”

“Ah yes,” Bren said scooting back a little from his desk. “I don’t believe I have had the pleasure before.”

“My apologies, my name is Elertiues.”

“This is light magic?” Bren asked
, studying the magical energy hovering in front of him. It wasn’t a clear picture of the person he was talking to, but he could make out the shape of wings on the persons back.

“Yes it is my lord,” the disembodied voice said. “I would have come to greet you in person but it would take nearly half a year to make the journey from my current location.”

“That is understandable, though I will admit, I don’t like the idea that a person can contact me in such a manner. I would guess it was important otherwise you would have simply sent a letter?”

“That it is my lord,” the voice replied. “My task is to watch the Brotherhood and warn my kind of their movements. During one such viewing
, I noticed that they had something that you might find of interest.”

“And what would that be?” Bren asked skeptically.

“The location of a place that even the gods fear to venture near… The veil.” Upon hearing mentioning of the veil Bren’s eyes widened and he leaned toward the floating image. “I see that I have your attention. In the same camp that you and your fellows have been discussing is a large tent. Inside that tent is a map and on that map is the location that you seek.”

“Why would you tell me this?” Bren asked as he continued to look over the image for anything that might be useful later on.

“As you have heard my race are seekers of truth. We hate things that are hidden from our sight. Yet our own god refuses to seek out the veil. I simply wish to know the truth about what it is… And why our god has hidden it from our sight. Now I must go before one of the other discovers what I have done.”

Bren watched as the fog started to fade until there was nothing left to prove that the small apparition had even been present. Bren had heard of the creatures of light but for the life of him
, their name escaped him. Even in Torin, none of their race had been seen. If it was truly one of the winged folks then its words would be beyond reproach…If it was truly one of them. The fact that it used light based magic did lend credit to it though. Even the mages who mastered the light element were usually truthful to a fault.

There was only one person whole trusted enough to discuss this with. Getting up from his seat Bren quickly grabbed up his gear and headed for the door.

Two guards were posted in the main hall and as soon as Bren appeared one of them rushed off quickly returning with Cass and three other guards. They quickly fell into line around him as he left the palace and Bren was thankfully that Cass hadn’t made an issue out of his disappearance the night before. Most likely his friend knew that he had already been told of his misdeeds and didn’t need to have it brought up again. Though from the way Cass kept his distance and didn’t even ask where they were going left Bren feeling lonely as they walked toward the tower.

With the silence hanging around him Bren quickened his pace. It was one thing to be scolded
, but it was another to be left alone when surrounded by a group of friends. As he reached the base of the tower, Bren decided that he would never intentionally or unintentionally ditch his guards again.

As the previous time
, he found no trouble from the guards and they quickly let him and the others pass without a word. Bren knew that Sae-Thae would be mad about his sudden visit, but there was little choice in the matter as far as he was concerned.  Bren still found that guards waited outside the headmaster’s office but neither of them moved to stop him when he asked Cass and the others to wait outside while he talked with Sae-Thae.

Bren could tell Cass didn’t like being left outside but his friend didn’t object as Bren turned the knob and walked through the door without knocking.

Sae-Thae sat as his desk pouring over a large stack maps, some of them so old that their edges had yellowed and had begun to crumble. “Bren what are you doing here,” Sae-Thae asked looking up from his work surprised.

“I had a visitor and I thought it best that I consult with you about it,” Bren said
, walking over to where the master sat. “An apparition appeared in my room. It used light magic and told me that it was one of the feathered folk. He told me that the brotherhood knew the location of the veil, or more to the point they had a map in their camp with its location on it. I don’t know enough about the other races to know if what he is saying is the truth or someone using a very clever lie.”

“Cherubim,” Sae-Thae said as if trying to get a bad taste out of his mouth. “I have no doubt that it is one of their kind. Even among the mages here
, I don’t think there are any that can do what you just explained. It is one of the gifts of their god and requires a large amount of magical energy.”

“It sounds if you do not like the cherubim much master,” Bren said shocked at the tone of Sae-Thae’s voice.

“You are still young, but you will find that few of the races like the cherubim,” Sae-Thae replied with bitterness. “But none hate them so much as the dwarves and vathari. Think about what you know of the different races. Remember what I told you about them when you were a child and I am sure you will begin to understand the reason.”

Bren had a small inkling about why
, but he never thought master Sae-Thae was one to hate a whole race of beings. Bren didn’t know why but it seemed wrong.

“I can see that you don’t agree with my feelings,” Sae-Thae said with an apathetic look on his face. “One day you will understand, but that is not the reason that you have come to visit me is it. If the cherubim are the ones who told you then you can take the word as face. No cherubim would try to hide anything, what he told you was the truth down to the very reason that he told you.”

“Thank you master,” Bren said his mind deep in thought.

“Bren
, I would suggest you be careful with the information. I know you have an impulsive streak but some things are not worth the price that is paid to get them.”

“
Sometimes you will never know unless you pay that price,” Bren retorted making his master smile.

As Bren walked out of Sae-Thae’s study the only thing on his mind was his father. He might not know where the veil was but he knew where to find that answer now. The only trouble was that it was in northern Kurt. “Could he leave Torin for that long?” Bren asked himself as he mindless walked back down the steps of the tower.

Why are you worrying about something as unimportant as Torin? You know where you need to be. The sooner you leave the faster we can free your father.

“It’s not that simple
, I have responsibilities,” Bren replied defensively. “I don’t know if I can leave Torin for that long unattended.”

Then pick someone to take your place. Many kings leave stewards sometimes for generations when they are dealing with a large war far away.

Thuraman was right. There were many times in history that kings have left stewards they trusted in charge of their land. The question if he had to choose who would be the best choice.

Bren started running through everyone that he knew. Some while good friends had too many other things tying them down. Lillian while a competent assistant had strong ties to the elves and might be put in a position that would force her to act in their favor. The same was true of almost everyone he knew. Wasn’t there at least one person whose only real concern were the people that he would be placed in charge of?

“It looks as if something heavy is weighing on your mind,” Cass observed.

Bren looked around and noticed that they were already halfway back to the palace. “You could say that,” Bren said before allowing himself to drop back into his own mind.

“If you were like this last night then I can understand why you disappeared…what happened?” Cass asked shaking Bren lightly.

“Sorry,” Bren replied. “It’s not something I can talk about right now. I will let you know as soon as I can come to a decision.”

Cass gave him a bewildered look but left him alone for the rest of the walk back to the palace. Bren didn’t stop when he entered the main hall. Ignoring everyone
, he walked up the stairs to his study.

Large maps hung on the wall showing every inch of Kurt that was known to exist. He had spent a small fortune to hire scribes to make the maps as large and detailed as possible to aid in his search for the location of the veil.

Bren placed his hand on one of the large maps and closed his eyes. “Father what should I do?” Bren asked the empty air. “I don’t have an army and even if I did, it would be impossible to reach the Brotherhood with them. A small group would be the only chance but what will happen once we reach their camp. I will not only be risking my life, but everyone who I bring with me but there is no way that I can do this alone…and I wouldn’t want to.

“Bren,” A voice called from the door.

“Come in,” Bren said still looking at the map.

“The people are still a little restless. I think it would be best if you told them something about what decision was reached by the roundtable,” Flynn said
, pushing his door open.