The Archmage Unbound (56 page)

As we progressed toward the audience chamber I could
feel a heavy foreboding in the air. My senses were alert and focused but I
could find no cause for the feeling. Surprisingly many of the people in the
near vicinity were already making their way out of the palace proper but I
could find no reason for my sense of dread.

When we reached the final doors leading into the
throne room I was surprised to find Adam, the servant who had greeted me on my
first stay at the palace. He was waiting by the doors. Adam bowed perfunctorily
and moved to open them for us but I motioned to him to stand away.

“Don’t you wish to enter Lord Cameron?” he asked.

I could sense two figures within and it was easy
enough to identify them. The first was Edward, and the second was his ever
loyal servant Cyhan. “Thank you Adam, but no, I prefer to open these doors
myself.”

Something about my expression must have warned him
because he backed rapidly away from the heavy double doors. “You should
probably give yourself the day off Adam,” I told him and then I faced the
doors.

The moment had arrived and I felt Rose’s hand
tighten on my arm. Lifting my staff straight up I brought it down to strike
the iron shod heel hard against the stone floor.
“Borok Ingak!”
The
words rolled out from me like a breaking wave and shattered the massive double
doors. The room within was showered with flying splinters and bits of wood.
When the dust settled the only thing left of the doors within the frame were
the iron hinges that had held them there.

Stepping forward Rose and I entered the room. I was
mildly disappointed to see Edward sitting calmly on his throne rather than
cowering.
I suppose some things are too much to hope for,
I reminded
myself.

The room itself was impressive for its size. It was
much larger than the small informal meeting room that James and I had met the
King in a few times previously. This was a room used for state functions and
as such it had a high vaulted ceiling, rising up some forty feet above our
heads. It stretched thirty yards or more from side to side and the distance
from the doors I had just destroyed to the throne at the opposite end of the
room was at least thirty yards as well. Long rows of benches were arranged
between here and there, to allow the nobility and clergy ample seating during
major court events. There were two exits, aside from the way we had entered,
in the form of two normal size doors leading from each of the two corners of
the room behind the throne.

The throne was positioned atop the dais at the far
end and Edward seemed quite composed as we neared it. If my destructive
entrance bothered him he didn’t show it. He smiled as we approached. “Ahh!
My dear Count di’Cameron, we are pleased indeed to see you this day.”

I stopped before reaching the dais and addressed him
from some twenty feet away. “The feeling is not mutual.”

“You seem out of sorts Mordecai and you have arrived
almost two hours early for your audience. Perhaps you have received some
distressing news this morning?”

I ignored his goading. “Let’s dispense with the
games Edward. You have one opportunity if you wish to live through the rest of
this day and that is to deliver my wife, Penelope Illeniel and her guard Sir
Dorian Thornbear to me now, safe and unharmed.”

His eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. “Bold words
from such a young man, are you certain you have thought this through properly
Mordecai? You really shouldn’t threaten the man that holds your wife and
unborn child’s lives in his hands.”

My eyes narrowed at his words. “And you shouldn’t
attempt to use hostages against a man who can kill you on a whim,” I replied.

The King laughed as he answered, “If I die you will
never see them alive. You can count on that! Do you understand? You’re
playing at games you are ill-equipped for, boy.”

“Your threats do not hold power when those you
threaten no longer fear you,” I replied.

“Careful child, your words here will determine the
fate of your loved ones,” he said sternly but I could detect a flicker of
uncertainty in his eyes. He was beginning to realize I had moved beyond the
point of being coerced.

“That is the first and most basic lie used by the
corrupt to assert their will via threats and extortion. I will not accept
responsibility for your actions. If I cannot stop you from harming them I will
at least make certain you never repeat your evil deeds against others,” I
declared.

Edward sneered, “Such noble words from a man who is
dooming his wife and child to death at the hands of another.”

“Your twisted delusions have made you incapable of
ruling. I doubt now that you ever understood the nature of a ruler’s power,” I
answered, deliberately goading him.

“You seek to lecture me on the basis of power? I
rule by the divine right of kings. None of your feeble words can change that
and your ‘magic’ is insufficient in the face of the power of a nation,” he
replied.

“That is where you are mistaken. The ‘divine right
of kings’ is a farce. A wise man taught me the true source of a ruler’s
power,” I said remembering Dorian’s words from the past. “It lies in the
people that serve him. The strength of his people is a gift that a true king
must cherish and nurture, and in that you have failed. None of this would have
been necessary Edward, but for your constant failure. Failure to put your
people first, both during the war with Gododdin and again when you forsook the
people to make a deal with the shiggreth. And for what? The chance to coerce
and control me? If you had been a good king I would have served you without
coercion.”

As I spoke I could feel Cyhan’s eyes boring into
me. Rose was watching me as well, and I had a feeling there were others,
though my mind could not find them. There was another presence in the room,
and it lay heavy upon the air, like a great power held in check.

Edward had to know by now that I wasn’t bluffing. I
had come to kill him. Yet he still showed no fear. “You fool!” he shouted at
me. “You spout that tired old philosophy at me and yet it still isn’t true!
My power is from the ‘consent of the governed’? Lies! My power is granted me
by the gods themselves!”

I had had enough. My decision had been made before
I entered the room and our conversation had merely served to reaffirm his
madness. Lifting my hand I held a small pebble on my palm. I had picked it up
from the road during our walk to the palace. “This stone will be your end
Edward. I would not waste anything more on you now, and in truth even this is
more than you are worth.” Raising it to my lips I blew upon it and said the
words that would send it hurtling with lethal speed at the King,
“Tielen
striltos.”

A flash of golden light, visible only to my arcane
senses, flared near the King, and my stone struck an invisible shield in front
of him. Where before he had stood alone with only Cyhan beside him, there were
now two more figures. The golden glow emanated from a young woman and I could
feel the shield she had erected around herself and Edward. She was either a
wizard or a channeler. Cyhan still had made no effort to move. He was still
and silent.

“Where did they come from?” Rose asked beside me.

“I don’t know, but it appears that Edward has
reinforcements. You should leave now Rose,” I told her. “This isn’t going to
be pretty.”

She spat at the ground in the most unladylike
gesture I had ever seen from her. “I’ll be damned first.”

The woman standing beside Edward was slender, with
light brown hair and fair skin. Examining her more closely I realized she was
hardly a woman at all, but rather a tall teenager, still gangly and awkward.
She was dressed richly in a dress made of golden satin but her face gave away
her lack of experience.

The second figure was that of a well-built man, tall
and perfectly formed. He kept his face hidden in the deep recesses of a hooded
cloak but there was a sense about him, an air of menace I couldn’t yet define.

“Who is the girl Edward?” I asked casually.

He smiled, “Allow me to introduce Elaine Prathion.
I suspect you may have met her father already, have you not?”

I winced inwardly. Now I knew why Walter’s daughter
hadn’t been there when they liberated the rest of his family. I ignored the
King and addressed her directly, “Elaine, listen to me. This man has no hold
upon you, not any longer. Your father helped your mother and brother escape
early this morning.”

Her eyes were slightly unfocused as she stared back
at me and I could hear Edward’s laughter as she replied, “Celior has told me of
you. You are a pestilence that will bring the destruction of the world if you
are left to fester unchecked. I serve the true King, Edward, for he has been
ordained by the gods to lead us through these dark times.”

Stretching out her hand she said something I
couldn’t hear and a searing beam of light lanced from her hand toward me.
Unconsciously I strengthened my shield but I needn’t have worried. Although
her power was strong it was nowhere near enough to penetrate my defenses.

“Elaine, stop, you have to believe me. This man has
been using you to control your father for years.” I pleaded with her, hoping
she would hear me.

“She will not listen to you,” said Edward looking
past her. “She listens only to me, and her god.”

“Very well then,” I replied and raising my staff I
threw my power against her shield in a manner meant not to pierce but to
crush. My aim was to overwhelm her so quickly that she collapsed from the
strain rather than die trying to match me.

For a moment it appeared my plan would work. Her
shield buckled and her hair flew back as she fell to one knee under the sudden
strain. My respect for her grew however as she stabilized her shield and
slowly stood back up despite the pressure. I could see the muscles in her jaw
clenching and sweat was beading on her brow but she wouldn’t surrender easily.
Clearly she was stronger than her father.

I briefly considered using my staff to focus a line
of fire that would slice through her shield, but I knew that would be instantly
fatal and I really didn’t want to kill Walter’s daughter. My hesitation cost
me precious seconds however and she regained the initiative. Gesturing at the
ceiling above she made a pulling motion with her hand and I looked up to see part
of the ceiling collapsing inward; tons of granite were falling toward my head.

Trying to stop that much stone with just my shield
would probably have been immediately fatal and even if I succeeded it would
certainly render me unconscious. Instead I spoke and gestured at the floor
around myself and Rose. The giant blocks that made up the floor swung up and
over us to form a shallow arch. I had positioned them to brace each other and
I added my shield to help hold them in place.

Thankfully the massive bulk of granite absorbed much
of the impact, and my shield managed the rest. Without waiting for the dust to
clear I located Elaine with my mind and tried a spell I had once used with
great effect against Cyhan,
“Grabol ni’targoth.”
A hole opened in the
stone beneath the teenage girl and suddenly bereft of support she fell losing
her grasp on the shield around her at the same time.

With another word I sealed her within the stone. I
was careful to avoid injuring her and I knew the tactic wouldn’t hold her for
long. Crawling forward I drew Rose with me until we were free of the massive
pile of stone rubble that had fallen over us. “Is she dead?” Rose asked as we
emerged.

“I’m trying not to kill her.”

“Fool!” she shouted, “This is your only chance to
kill the King. If you play nice that girl will kill us and then Penny and
Dorian will die for nothing!”

I ignored her and focused on Elaine. An explosion
of rock told me she had escaped from my stony prison but she vanished as she
emerged. She had taken refuge in the Prathion’s famous invisibility, a few
months prior I might have been helpless to predict her movements, but having
known Walter I knew a lot more about the ability now. If she was invisible to
the eyes she couldn’t see, if she was invisible to magesight she couldn’t sense
anything magically, and if she was invisible to both she was effectively blind.

She wasn’t deaf however.

“Thank you Elaine!” I shouted at the air. “Now I
can finish what I started with the King.” Raising my staff I sent a massive
bolt of force hurtling through the air.

She reappeared instantly, dropping the invisibility
and throwing a shield up in front of the defenseless king. My attack hadn’t
been directed at the King however, I had aimed it at the area where she had
vanished. Knowing she was blind I had figured she wouldn’t go very far so I
had kept my attack broad and unfocused, and the bludgeoning force of it swept
her unprotected form across the floor. She struck the wall with a resounding
‘crack’ and slid unconscious to the floor. I worried that despite my efforts I
might have killed her anyway.

Straightening up I began walking toward the King.
“I was already angry, but every time I think you can’t sink any lower you find
new ways to surprise me,” I said as I approached him. “Using children to fight
your battles is about as low as a human being can get.” Hefting my staff like
a spear I gripped it in the middle and swept my hand from the tip of the iron
shod heel and out into the air.
“Thylen ingak ni’lyet,”
I said, and a three
foot blade of pure shimmering force appeared from the end.