The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (26 page)

Luccius seemed surprised at the comment. “A stone? But if the
gods have seen fit to send a message then...” he looked awkward,
and stopped mid-sentence.

“
Then we are all in
very
grave danger,” Josephine finished, for him. “You
needn’t mind your words around me. I am growing
aware
of the implications. Which is
precisely
why we are on our
way to stop this from happening. Believe me, I wouldn’t be going
for anything less!”

Luccius shook his head. “Forgive me Lady
Josephine. It is just you are so
young
. It is difficult to perceive you wielding such
power. And you of all people Matthias, to get swept up in all of
this.” Then he stopped, and chuckled. “Actually, now I come to
think on it, it makes perfect sense that you are in on all of
this.” Thadius’s face creased with worry at the remark. Matthias
shook his head again and shrugged.

“
You know me, Luccius. I
wish
there was time for you to get your head
around this, but we’re in a lot of danger,” Matthias said. “Events
have been set in motion. There are creatures following us. Demons
sent by the people weakening the dragon’s prison, whoever they are.
They know what is happening.”

“
They seem intent on killing me and anyone that stands in
their way,” Josephine said. “We were attacked last
night.”

“
We
need to get to Olindia as quickly as possible," Matthias
added.

Luccius nodded. “Would another companion help you to reach
Olindia faster?” he interrupted, before Matthias could even
ask.

“
You’re sure?”

“
I
wouldn’t have bothered offering if I wasn’t sincere!” Luccius said,
a smile returning to his face.

“
You
want
to come with us?” Thadius exclaimed. “Why in the
gods would you volunteer for this?”

“
I’ve never been one to walk away from an adventure. Have I
Matthias?”

“
No, you haven’t at that,” Matthias shrugged. “But
this is different from anything we’ve ever encountered before
Luccius. It’s causing the world itself to bend and the gods to call
upon every piece they need to fight their cause. And if you think
I’m being overdramatic, then
ask
yourself why you and I are standing here now face
to face after so long? I believe you have been nudged here by the
gods Luccius, whether you know it or not. They may be physically
weak but they have other means of touching the world. Small
things
can
build up.”

Luccius nodded. “There has been something in the
air around me for a while now, a feeling of...
unfinished
business. I had thought it was
to do with travelling or... well, other matters. But it seems it
may have been someone trying to get me here.” He nodded. “You can
count me in on your journey.” He stood up. “Besides, I was getting
a little bored travelling on my own all the
time.”

Josephine smiled. “I will feel a lot better with you by my
side as well, Mister Luccius. You have certainly brightened up the
room! I would be grateful for your company on this
trip.”

The
ansuwan bowed his head. “It would be my pleasure to escort you to
Olindia. But one thing. Please don’t call me Mister. It’s just
Luccius.”

She
thought about it, and nodded with a smile. “Very well, but I will
extend the same courtesy to you. Please, just call me
Josephine.”

“
Alright Josephine. You have yourself a deal!”

The princess laughed. Then she turned to Matthias.
“Not
you
though, ambassador. You can call me by my
full
title.” She looked
pleased with herself.

“
You
two got off on the wrong foot, did you?” Luccius asked.

“
You
could say that,” added Thadius, kicking off from the bed frame and
unfolding his arms. “Matthias tried to kidnap Josephine a few days
ago.”

Luccius looked to Matthias. “Kidnap?” he asked in disbelief.
“You have been a great many things Matthias, but a thief and
abductor is not one of them.”

“
I had my orders, Luccius. Orders I
regret
trying to follow,”
he added. “But enough of debating the past,” he said dismissively.
“If you are coming Luccius, we have to leave now. It’s a long way
still to Olindia, and time is not our friend.” He made for the
door. "I think it's high time we found some horses, don't you?
Thadius, do you know where we can find any?"

Thadius nodded. "Elmthorn Mews is a few minutes walk away.
They should be able to provide us with some."

Matthias nodded. "Well then, shall we get this journey
started properly?"

Their group left the inn shortly after, paying for
their meals and leaving Renna to tend to her bar
and
her husband. When
they arrived at the stable, Luccius knew the woman who tended to
the horses and managed to charm her into providing four well-bred
horses at a reasonable price.

“
I
won’t ask how you became so familiar with that woman that she would
offer us four palfreys at such low cost,” Matthias said as they
ambled along on the top of their horses.

“
It’s best not to perhaps, when we are in the company of a
lady,” Luccius smiled.

They
left Emalin Noire along a wide, well-trodden dusty pathway.
Matthias took the lead, whilst Thadius fell behind to guard their
rear. Josephine and Luccius engaged in conversation.

“
I
have always wanted to visit the Sea Port of Tekri,” the princess
mused.

“
There is nowhere I have ever been that quite
compares,” Luccius said. “They have buildings that soar up to the
clouds, built of metals that
shimmer
in the sunlight! Ships line the docks for miles
and miles along the shoreline.”

The
princess shook her head in wonderment. “My father has always feared
and admired the Letan Empire in an almost equal
measure.”

“
It
sounds as if he has an important role in Rina?” Luccius
commented.

Josephine blinked in surprise. “My goodness!” She
held a hand up to her mouth. “In all our conversations my position
was never brought up, was it?” Luccius looked confused. “I am
Princess Josephine Arwell. My
father
is King Joseph Arwell of
Aralia.”

“
You’re the heir to the throne of
Aralia?
” he exclaimed.

Josephine nodded. “I did not realise that we hadn’t told you
that until now!” she grinned.

“
Princess
Josephine,” Luccius whispered the
title.

“
I
told
you to just call me Josephine!” she
advised.

“
That was before I knew you were
royalty!
It seems there is
still quite a bit you have to fill me in on, Matthias!” he called
in front.

“
All in good time my friend. All in good time,”
Matthias called back. He was enjoying riding further ahead, the
feel of the wind blowing through his hair. Explanations could wait
until later. There was a
long
way to go.

“
Oh my Gods, I
flirted
with the Princess of Aralia!” Luccius
said, smacking his forehead with a hand.

Josephine laughed and leant forward to him. “Well
I shall let you in on a
secret
: the princess quite
enjoyed
it!” Luccius went bright red and his
ears twitched. “Anyway, I feel I have embarrassed you quite enough
for one day. Let us discuss other matters. Perhaps about
your
home. Are you
homesick, being so far away?”

Luccius shrugged. “I suppose, in a way. I miss the place. But
not the people.”

“
Why
not the people?” she asked.

“
Ansuwan are...
different
from humans in many ways. They do not
place the same value on exploration and invention. It is a world
away from the one your kind has built. I have always felt more at
home in the company of man.”

Josephine nodded. “I see. But your home itself, it is a
pleasant land?” she asked.

Luccius smiled and his deep hazel eyes gleamed. “Oh yes.
Streams of pure, dazzlingly clear water run past houses made of the
finest, most magnificent materials you will ever see. Platinum,
diamonds, minerals of all sorts are plentiful in Tovem S’aal. When
the sun shines down through the crystalline trees, it lights up the
lands with a sparkling glow. It’s a little piece of paradise,
unaffected by the rules of the rest of the world. Time works
differently there. A day in your land can be a week in Tovem S’aal,
and a week can be a month. It’s all because of an energy
fountain.”

“
A
what?” Josephine asked, entranced.

“
Our
people built our community around it. They’re breakages in the
ground, where energy pours out from the centre of the world. It
changes the landscape around it. There are only three in all of the
Triskan Continent, and all of them have been colonized by the
ansuwan. I think it’s why we have such an affinity for sensing the
powers. We are raised around them in such concentrations, it’s in
our blood.”

“
But
you cannot use them?”

Luccius shook his head. “No. We’ve never been able to. It’s
probably a good thing. But it does extend our lives quite
considerably as the powers often do with others who wield
them.”

“
I would very much like to visit your world some
day,” Josephine said. “If I escape from
this
,” she said, and her voice became
sad.

“
You’ll be just fine, princess,” Luccius said. “Matthias won’t
let anything happen to you,” he whispered.

Josephine snorted. “I’m not so
sure
about that,” she
sighed.

“
Matthias
is
a good man,” Luccius said. “I’ve known him for a long time.
He might seem a little
rude
sometimes, but that’s because of his people. He
doesn’t agree with them a lot of the time, but he loves his
country. He’s torn between his own morality and the will of his
people, and more often than not it gets him into trouble. But
I
know
he’ll get you back from all of this. Because he cares about
what happens to you.”

“
Cares about my
power
, you mean,” she replied. "I am simply a
tool
to
wield
."

Luccius shook his head. “I
mean
he cares about the
person
you are. Trust me,
he will not let anything hurt you.”

Josephine looked at Luccius and then to Matthias, who was
riding some way ahead.

“
He
is a curious man,” she said. “So guarded and suspicious. He is
everything a wizard of Mahalia is rumoured to be. And yet... at
times he seems almost human.” She shook her head. “I cannot work
him out.”

Luccius smiled. “He’s a wizard. You’re not
supposed to be able to. They
like
it that way.”

She
smiled. “How did you both meet?” Josephine asked.

Luccius snorted. “Now it seems that may be a story he does
not want me to tell you yet, and therefore the one story I’ll have
to decline in telling.”

Josephine looked at Luccius curiously, but then nodded. “Very
well. I suppose you have your loyalties.” She turned back to face
the front. Matthias turned in his saddle up ahead and caught her
eye.

“
Are
you alright?” he called back to her.

She
nodded. “I am fine. Thank you.” He nodded back, and
smiled.

“
You’re doing
well
, your highness,” he said, before he turned back
to survey the direction they were travelling.

She shook her head again as she stared at the back
if his head. “
Very
curious,” she whispered.

The
body of the innkeeper’s husband lay sprawled on the floor of the
bar, his throat cut. Several paces away, the man known as Weasel
lay bleeding in a corner from his stomach, propped up against the
far wall, unconscious. His innards were splayed out across the
floor in front of him, cut to pieces, his intestine a shrivelled,
pink sausage snaking across the sullied floorboards. Two other men
lay on the floor, bloodied and unconscious.

Pinned against the wall by a thick, menacing
arrow, Renna dangled helplessly, her face pale and eyes wide with
terror as she watched the man in front of her sniff the air like a
bloodhound. Taico Grimm stepped over the men’s bodies and pressed
his fingers against the wood of the table closest the bar. “They
have only been gone a few hours,” he whispered distractedly. His
hands were stained red, a bloodied knife still gripped in one hand
and a crossbow slung on his back. He ran his fingers across the
wood, and then stopped, with a sharp intake of breath, and began
feeling the wood with intent. “There was another here,
with
them!” He took a
deep snort, and then he began to laugh. “It’s him! Oh I had almost
forgotten about that creature! How
could
I have forgotten? The mind is such
a
fragile
thing,” he said, pressing two fingers against his head
repeatedly and staring up at the woman. He started forward. “What
did they speak about?” he asked her.