The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (32 page)

“
I
had originally planned to rendezvous with Matthias, if time
allowed. But my responsibilities here have become too great
lately.”

“
You
had a responsibility to the Consensus to carry out our wishes!” The
chancellor growled. “Yet that loyalty does not seem to weigh upon
your thoughts.”

“
My thoughts have been heavy with thoughts of
nothing else,” Pym said passionately. “But my belief in the gods
goes
beyond
my loyalty to you.”

The
old man regarded Pym for a moment. “I find it hard to believe you
did all this alone behind the Council’s back?” he asked.

“
It
wasn’t that difficult, chancellor,” Pym said. “Not once I had
convinced Matthias of the importance of helping me. I was hoping
that once you saw what Princess Josephine was capable of, then you
would change your mind about the decision to strip her of her
abilities. Perhaps you would see how much of an asset she could
be.”

“
You
fool!
” the chancellor hissed and stood up quicker than
would have seemed possible for a man his age. “You have let
a
witch
loose on this world!”

“
Then she is a witch the gods have entrusted the fate of the
world to,” Augustus said defiantly, raising his voice.

“
You don’t
know
that!” the chancellor hissed.

“
I
know that the path we are taking will be the death of us all, if we
continue to walk down it. The alternative seemed better than the
promise of death that awaits us under the Consensus.”

The chancellor stood up and loomed over Pym. “The
Consensus has kept this world safe for centuries,” he said, leaning
on his staff. “And overseeing this realm I have ensured
decades
of peace by
enforcing the will of that Consensus! Who are you to question the
wisdom of hundreds of wizards that has steered Triska from
devastation since the last great war? And sending the girl with
Matthias? He is too
young
to deal with such complex matters!”

“
He is
more
than capable! I would not have sent him had I not
believed in him. And as you
continue
to inform me, I
stand
by my beliefs. The girl
can
be an asset. We
should not ignore all that she can become. We don’t know
why
she has been given
this ability by the gods. We should not presume that she is a
threat simply because she is a woman.”

“
Women are
unstable!
” the chancellor exclaimed. “All women who have
ever used the power have betrayed themselves! They are weak –
willed and the pawns of darkness. And this girl alone is capable of
exerting
immeasurable
power!”

“
Which is why she
must
be harnessed
, not
destroyed!”

“
What if we cannot
control
what she becomes? Given what we now know
about the prophecy, if Josephine Arwell
does
turn to the darkness, as
all
women who wield are
drawn to do by their very
nature
, then we will have lost
all
hope of shaping the events of the
future!”

“
We lose hope by burying our heads in the sand and
ignoring the fact that we
must
change our perceptions!” Pym walked to the
cloistered windows of his chamber and stared out at the expansive
view of snow- capped mountains, the fields far below stretching to
the horizon. “We
need
her to save this world from the danger that is returning.
It was dangerous enough when we believed it was just the
dragon
. But if we fail to stop these men accomplishing their
endgame as we now know it to be, then Josephine Arwell may very
well be
all
that stands between us and destruction.”

“
We will
not
fail!” The chancellor growled. “Not in this
matter. We are the protectors of peace! We alone have been wise
enough to see beyond petty quarrels and preserve the known world
from its own turmoil.”

Pym took a breath and stood his ground. “If the
stone is accurate, then Josephine Arwell will contribute more to
peace than we could ever hope to achieve in a
thousand
lifetimes. She has the gift
that can unify us all. We have guarded this world these many
centuries, but we have only ever been caretakers, standing in for
the true peacekeepers.” Pym sighed. “I fear that we may have
forgotten that and grown too comfortable in our position of power
to relinquish it when the time comes.”

The
chancellor sneered. “And you think that time is now?”

“
With all my heart I do chancellor. I wouldn’t have taken such
drastic action for anything else.”

The chancellor’s face grew grave. “You have
questioned the abilities of the Council and committed
treason
against its
decisions. Have you any
idea
how much you have damaged your standing? You may
have just handed this world to the
dark
with your actions!”

“
We can only fight such a darkness with a strong
enough light that will penetrate its depths and cast away the
shadow. And we are but a
candle
to its malevolent recesses when compared to the
light of the Akari.” Pym shrugged. “As for my
reputation
, it has never been something
that has
bothered
me. Not least when the fate of the world stands in the
balance.”

The elder man shook his head. “Many years ago I
saw a promise in you, Augustus. You were so devoted to our cause.
What has
happened
to you to betray us so profoundly?”

“
The only betrayal I would have made by following
your orders would be to my own conscience and to the gods
themselves. This
had
to be done.”

The elderly man towered over Pym. “You will recall
Matthias
immediately
and have him return the girl to Lord Fenzar in Rina. He
will then bring Princess Josephine back to Mahalia. We will deal
with the prophecies
without
her ‘help’.”

Pym looked down a moment. “I have lost contact
with Matthias. I am unsure why.” He shook his head. “Chancellor, I
appeal to you
one
more time to reconsider. Let Matthias continue on this
front so we can focus our efforts where they need to be! Then when
the princess is strong enough, she can fight with
us!”

“
If you
believe
I would overturn the decision of the
Consensus,
then you are as
foolhardy as the young wizard you have sent out on this mission.
After
all
these years,
all
your time on the Council, you
still
fail to see the bigger
picture.”

“
That picture is one painted through the eyes
of
prejudice
,” Pym said sourly.

The chancellor slammed his staff into the ground
angrily. “Enough! I have heard
enough
from you. I am calling an emergency
meeting of the Council. Your actions must be discussed further. Or
have you
forgotten
that is the way things are done here?” He opened the door
with a flick of his wrist and it slammed into the brick wall
behind. “
Damn
you, Augustus. I could forgive your insolence, perhaps your
remarks, but this
blatant
betrayal? Let us hope you have not thrown us
all
to the
wolves.”

Several days had passed since Josephine and her escort had
seen a town. They had kept up a brisk pace through a bright and
colourful countryside. Trees all around their route seemed to glow
in the misty morning sunshine. Dew glistened off their leaves and
branches and beads of water flicked up off the grass as their
horses trod on through uncut fields.

Every now and then they passed within sight of a building of
one kind or another: a small farmhouse beckoned invitingly to them
in the distance, its chimneys smoking happily and further on a barn
sat conspicuously alone in the expansive countryside. It was
tempting to ride closer to civilisation as they travelled across
hills and valleys, bypassing well- trodden pathways, but then
Matthias reminded them that would defeat the point of their going
unnoticed.

It
was an unusually warm day for the region and the sun beat down hard
on them as they carried on riding. Luccius’s ears flapped back and
forth in the heat, flicking like those of the horse he rode on.
Matthias took off his coat and slung it atop the pommel of his
saddle.

“
This is
unbearable
heat,” Thadius muttered and flapped the neckline
of his shirt to aerate his body. “I’ve not known it to be so hot at
this time of year before!” He looked up at the sun and squinted. “I
don’t suppose you can cool the sun down?” he asked
Matthias.

The wizard laughed. “The sun is a
little
beyond my reach
Thadius,” he replied. “And even if it weren’t, there is only
so
much we wizards can
do with our powers. You’ll ask me to take you to the
moon
next!”

“
Well you would think given that we are doing the
gods a
favour
they could see to it to make our journey a little more
comfortable!” the knight grumbled.

“
It’s probably to do with the atmospheric changes caused by
your power Josephine. The clouds have completely dissipated for
miles.”

“
You mean to say
I
caused this weather?” Josephine
gasped.

Matthias nodded. “It should return to normal
soon.”

Josephine raised her brow. “Had I
known
I could have
created such gloriously sunny weather I would have used my powers a
long time ago!”

After several more hours of riding through open land, the
landscape ahead of them began to grow dense with trees and they
passed into a small wood, where its canopy of oak tree leaves
shrouded them from the baking midday sun. The air was cooler in the
shade and a mist hung lazily between the branches.

Thadius breathed a sigh of relief. “I have never been quite
so happy to get out of the sun! Where are we anyway?” he asked,
surveying the woodland.

“
I think this is Bletnhelm Wood,” Matthias said,
pulling out his map. He nodded to confirm. “We’ve made good
progress.” He put the parchment away again and exhaled heavily,
drumming his fingers on his saddle. “I don’t know about the
rest
of you, but I could
do with a break.” He placed a hand to his lower back. “This saddle
is starting to ache!”

“
It’s a good place to stop,” Luccius nodded. "The horses would
like a rest."

"You
speak as if you can talk with them," Thadius chuckled.

"No,
not really," Luccius replied. "I just listen to their
nickering."

"You mean you
understand
them?" Thadius asked.

"In
a way." He pointed to his ears and ran a finger down the inside
curve. "Ansuwan are able to sense things that humans have no
perception of. Animals voices, the whistling winds, even plants
give off moods and sensations."

“
Plants?
” Thadius repeated incredulously. “You’re
joking
with
me!”

“
I’m
not!” Luccius defended.

Thadius shook his head. "I had no idea," he said.
"What's
my
horse feeling?" he asked.

"That you could stand to lose a few pounds," Luccius
chuckled.

Thadius's eyes narrowed. "
Very
funny," the knight
grumbled.

“
I must admit, I
would
like to rest awhile,” Josephine said. "The
horses may have been carrying the burden of our weight, but I am
starting to feel quite uncomfortable riding." She wiggled in her
seat, as if to accentuate her point. “It would be quite nice to
close my eyes for a while.”