The Archmage Unbound (22 page)

Dorian held Rose’s chair for her with an
expression of absolute concentration. He had the look of a man who knew if he
lost his focus for even a second something terrible would happen. I did my
best not to stare at him but apparently no one had given my mother the message.
She was sitting across from them and she watched him with approval.

“About time you starting courting her
properly Dorian,” Miriam observed. Dorian turned red and I had to stare at my
plate to avoid laughing at his discomfort.

My friend stepped back from her chair
and backed into one of the kitchen servers. The poor girl lost her tray and
stumbled forward trying to catch it as fresh baked bread went flying in all
directions. In spite of his social awkwardness Dorian had never been clumsy
and with surprising dexterity he reached out to keep her from falling forward.

Naturally his hand landed firmly on her
bosom and the lass in question jerked backward reflexively. I had given up
cataloguing the many shades of pink and red Dorian was displaying but he wasn’t
done yet. As the girl fell backward he lunged and turned, swept her up and
caught her deftly, while his face shifted to a lovely shade of beet red. All
the noise in the dining hall stopped expectantly while Dorian stood behind the
high table holding the maid in his arms.

Every head in the room focused firmly on
him and it was then that something in Dorian’s head finally snapped. He had
been pushed beyond some limit of absolute embarrassment and his sanity
shattered like a glass dropped on a stone floor. He stared at the room for a
long second before breaking into a country jig. After a few steps he twirled
and set the girl on her feet but kept one of her hands in his as he spun her
out and away as if she was his dance partner.

At the end he released her hand and made
an elaborate bow to her. The girl was quick on her feet and returned the
gesture with a remarkably well done curtsey. The room exploded with applause
and cheers. Penny and Rose were standing now as they clapped and I had nearly
fallen from my chair. There were tears in my eyes and I felt sure I would die
from laughing too hard.

Dorian picked up one of the fallen
loaves and sat down triumphantly. “This really is good bread you know,” he
announced calmly. “Would you like a piece Rose?” he said offering it to her.

She had already lost her composure with
all the laughter, but her wits were second to none. “I think I’d like some
privacy first,” she said with a wink.

Dorian’s mind must have returned to
normal already, for the remark cost him his ability to speak. He stared at her
with his mouth open.

And then Rose did something quite
remarkable. She reached up calmly and closed Dorian’s mouth gently before
leaning in to kiss him softly on the lips. It was brief but left little doubt
about her feelings.

My friend’s eyes refocused as she pulled
back. “Would you like to go riding tomorrow?” he asked without blinking.

“That won’t be possible,” she replied
with a smile. “I am leaving for the capital in an hour, remember?”

Dorian’s courage was still holding.
“Then when we both return?” The hall had gone dead silent again as every ear
strained to hear their conversation.

Rose’s playful side was in full control
however. “Perhaps…,” she answered coyly.

That was more than Penny could take
though. “Rose!” she snapped.

“It was a joke!” protested Rose. “Of
course I will Dorian,” she assured him before turning her attention back to
Penny. “I’m pretty sure he would have realized I was teasing.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Penny advised her.
“I’ve known him most of my life and he can be terribly thick sometimes.”

Dorian looked to me for help while they
talked as if he wasn’t there. I shrugged and stuffed a piece of bread in my
mouth. Who am I to give advice regarding women? I finished chewing and
pointed at the food. “You should eat while they’re ignoring you. Otherwise
you’ll be hungry later,” I told him pragmatically.

***

It was closer to two hours before we
actually got underway, but eventually we were all gathered near the circle that
would take us to Lancaster. Since I was the only one that could activate the
teleportation circles I would have to take Penny and her escort to Lancaster
first before returning to take myself, and those coming with me, to Albamarl.

We still had told no one of Penny and
Miriam’s unexpected visit to Lancaster. According to our plan I would tell Joe
McDaniel and some of the household staff right before I took my final jump to
Albamarl. If anyone had plans for Penny or my mother that should effectively
disrupt them.

During the war with Gododdin I had
constructed an outbuilding in the castle courtyard to house the circles leading
to Lancaster and Arundel, as well as one or two other places. Since then I had
had the barn like structure replaced with a heavy stone building with double
doors to allow for wagons. The larger circles were individually housed within
the building, in stone partitioned rooms. Each room was also closed with a
heavy wooden door and kept locked.

I had learned the hard way what could
happen when an enemy capable of using a circle gained access to my home through
one of the matching circles. It had left enough of an impression on me that I
still kept a guard on watch inside the building at all times, in case doors and
locks weren’t enough.

I stood in the circle for Lancaster now,
with Penny and Miriam beside me. Dorian stood before us, resplendent in his
new plate armor, and behind us were four more men he had chosen to accompany
them. I focused my will and spoke a word and then we were in Lancaster. At my
urging James had had it locked up as well, but I was able to unlock the door
from within, letting us out into the yard.

The guard there wasn’t expecting us, so
he seemed a bit startled when we emerged. Ordinarily if someone unexpected
showed up it was just me, or me and one or two other people. Today we came
through the doors with five armed men, and one of them looked ready to take on
an army.

“It’s me, Willem! No need for the
horn!” I said quickly. The poor fellow had his instrument almost to his lips
before I got his attention.

He paused, horn in hand, while his eyes
finally came unstuck from Dorian and focused on me. Once he recognized me he
relaxed. “Oh it’s you Lord Cameron!” he said promptly. “Why do you have an
army with you? You scared me half to death.”

Dorian laughed inside his armor, with
the visor down Willem hadn’t recognized him at all. He lifted it to grin at
the guard. “What? No greeting for an old friend?”

“Dorian!” shouted the man, recognizing
him at last. “Where did you get that armor?”

I was a bit proud that my handiwork
would elicit such an excited response but I had other things to do. While they
caught up with one another I gave my mother a hug before turning to Penelope.
“I’ll miss you,” I said.

“It’s just a week or so,” she answered.
“It will be nice catching up with Genevieve and Ariadne. I haven’t seen either
of them in almost two months. I’m more worried about you. Try not to start a
civil war while you’re in Albamarl.”

She was smiling as she said it, but
there was a definite undertone of seriousness. My mother leaned forward to
interject, “Think about Lady Rose. If you start a war she’ll never be able to
marry Dorian.” I could only guess that she was referring to the fact that Rose’s
father served the king rather closely. I doubted that her father’s disapproval
would stop Rose from marrying anyone she chose, but I did have to admit it
could make things awkward.

“I’ll try to wait till after they’re
married before I start a war then. Will that be alright?” I asked jokingly.

Dorian naturally picked that moment to
tune back into our conversation. He turned around and asked, “Who’s getting
married?”

“No one currently my friend,” I
replied. “Would you mind giving the duke and duchess my regards? I’m afraid I
need to get on my way,” I said hoping to distract him.

“Certainly,” he said.

I leaned forward and gave Penny a quick
kiss before stepping back into the room housing the circle. With a wave I was
gone before Dorian could ask any more questions. The ladies could tell him
whatever they liked; I wanted no part of it.

Back in Castle Cameron I gathered up
Harold, Rose, and my own set of four guards. The circle that led to my house
in Albamarl was smaller, so I would be able to take no more than two people
with me at a time. I turned to Joe McDaniel before making the first trip.
“I’ll be gone for at least a week. Try not to tell anyone that Penny and
Miriam have gone to Lancaster until this evening. If someone is planning
something I’d like to give them as little time to recover as possible.”

“Don’t worry your lordship! Dorian will
take good care of them and I’ll be sure to keep my lips sealed till dinnertime
at the very least,” he said in return.

With that I began taking my companions
to Albamarl. I transported Harold and the guards in two trips before making
the final one with just Rose. “Are you ready my lady?” I asked her while
offering my arm.

She raised an eyebrow. “This is far
different than the manners you displayed the last time I went through a portal
with you.”

I had forgotten that incident and it
embarrassed me when I remembered. I had been in a rush and had brought her
back to Cameron by force. Worse I had slapped her rear to get her moving, much
like a drover might slap a mule. At least that had been how I explained it to
Penny. I blushed, “I’m sorry Rose. I should have apologized sooner.”

She took my arm and we stepped into the
circle. “No need to apologize. You were under a lot of pressure at the time.
I just wanted to make sure you knew that
I
had not forgotten.”

I started to ask her what that meant but
then I decided I probably didn’t want to know. With a word I took us to
Albamarl.

Penelope watched Mordecai step into the
circle and vanish, feeling a sudden pang that they had not had time for a
longer goodbye. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. “It never gets
easier,” Miriam told her. “Royce used to take trips into the city to buy
materials and I had to do without him for two weeks at a time.”

For a moment Penny wondered if her
mother-in-law were trying to make a point of the fact that her husband’s trips
had lasted twice as long, but then she pushed the thought aside as petty. “Did
he make many trips?” she asked instead.

“At least two a year,” replied Miriam.
“But sometimes he returned with really wonderful presents… like Mordecai.”

Penny smiled wistfully, “Your son really
is something special isn’t he?”

Miriam loved nothing more than to hear
her son complimented. She linked arms with Penny before answering, “Yes, but
don’t tell him too often or it will go to his head.”

Dorian turned to face them. “If you
ladies are ready we should probably go inside and give our greetings,” he said.

“Well certainly…,” Penny said, but
before she could finish her statement the world exploded. Chaos enfolded her
and everything became a blur as her consciousness left her body behind and the
future blossomed before her eyes. What seemed like an eternity passed, as
scenes of violence played out in front of her, while she watched helplessly.
Before the end she saw reality split along two possible paths, one dark and
featureless while the other held some hope. At the juxtaposition of possibilities
stood Mordecai, holding a balding man by the front of his tunic.

There was death in Mort’s eyes, and
anger beyond anything she had seen in him before. “You killed her Prathion!”
he said bitterly. “You slew them both.”

The eyes of the man he held were bulging
in terror. “Please, I have a family…” he begged.

At the utterance of the word ‘family’
Mordecai began to laugh. It was an evil sound, and one Penny hoped never to
hear again. Flames began sprouting from Mordecai’s hands as he laughed and
while they didn’t burn him the man he held was not so fortunate. “Family is
the last thing
you
should offer in your defense!” he yelled and soon
both men were screaming, one with rage and the other in pain and terror.
Mercifully the vision ended before it was over.

Penny found herself on her knees being
held steady by Miriam’s strong arms. “Are you alright girl?” Miriam asked, but
it was then that Penny’s stomach decided it had had enough and she emptied its
contents onto the ground.

It took a few minutes but eventually the
retching stopped and she let Miriam help her to her feet again. “I’m sorry, I
don’t know what came over me,” she said.

“Think nothing of it. I was just
worried for you. Your eyes rolled back and for a moment I thought you might be
having a seizure. I almost didn’t catch you before you collapsed,” said the
older woman. “Let’s get you inside and find some water. I’m sure you want to
rinse your mouth after that.”

Penny kept Miriam’s hand in her own as
they began walking, “Yes I think that would be a good idea,” she answered.
Dorian stayed close by her on the other side, in case she showed signs of
collapsing again, while the four guards spread out around them as they walked.