The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (68 page)

“
That is a most kind offer, regent. You have my
thanks.”

Caldur nodded. “It’s the least I can do, I
suppose, now you have come all this way. That, and I
also
insist that we dine
together tonight, when you have finished…
whatever
it is you need to
do.”

“
I have eaten very little recently,” Josephine
smiled. “A feast would be a
welcome
offer!”

Caldur smiled and stood up, bowing to Josephine, as she stood
up in turn and curtsied. “I remember when you were so very young.
How time passes without our realising.”

Josephine laughed. “I remember coming here very well,” she
replied, with a girlish smile. “You gave me sweets. I don’t suppose
you have any?” she asked. “They were lovely.”

“
I am afraid I do not have any brought up to me
anymore.” He gnashed his jaws. “Rots the teeth. But I am sure I
could rustle some up for you though. I will have them sent to your
chambers,” he chuckled. “However, if you don’t mind princess-” he
gestured to the various stacks of parchment about his desk.
Unfortunately this
horrendous
paperwork does not sign itself.”

“
Of
course,” Josephine nodded. “Thank you again. We will bid you good
day.” Caldur went to reach for the door and opened it for
her.

“
I certainly
hope
that your beliefs are wrong,” he said quietly to
himself as he closed it behind them.

Protector Balzan shuffled along the corridor, followed by
Matthias, Thadius and Josephine. Luccius had left them at the
regent’s office moments earlier.

“
I won’t be needed for this,” he suggested, as the
protector motioned for them to join him. “I’d imagine you will all
be busy for quite a while. If you three don’t mind, I would like to
go back down into the city for a while. See the sights. It is,
after all,
why
I travel.”

“
And
I suppose that tavern you spied on the way in has nothing to do
with it?” Matthias joked.

“
I’ll have you know that sightseeing is a
great
passion
of mine.”

“
As
is the brewing of ale, as I recall!” Matthias grinned.

“
No so much brewing it as
drinking
it,” Luccius replied,
shrugging.

“
That’s fine,” Matthias replied. “If we need you, we’ll send
word.”

“
Nicholas, please escort our guest back out to the square,”
Balzan commanded.

The
pompous little man bobbed and then turning on his heel, led Luccius
away, who waved to them all as he left with a grin.

Matthias shook his head. “That’s him lost for the
evening.”

“
Ahem,” Balzan coughed. “Shall we proceed?”

“
Please,” Josephine replied. “I should like to get
this
over
with.”

“
In a few hours,
all
this will be over,” Thadius replied as the three
of them followed Balzan a few paces behind, down darkened corridors
towards the battlements. “We can return to Rina and forget
that
any
of this ever happened.”

“
I
think it is beyond me to forget all that we have been through
Thadius. Nor do I think it would be wise to do so,” Josephine
replied. “Besides, the Akari chose me for some greater purpose. The
dragon is not the end of this.”

Thadius sighed. “I do not like this one bit. After
all we have faced so far, what
more
could be on the horizon?”

“
A
horizon of storms,” Josephine smiled under her breath as they
walked along.

Matthias looked at her. “What was
that?
” he asked. “That was very…
poetic
.”

She shook her head. “Oh, nothing. An old poem I
once read I believe. Well, one I
began
to read. The phrase just popped into my
head. It seems quite
appropriate
now, don’t you think?”

“
A
poem?” Matthias repeated. “Written by whom?”

“
I
don’t recall. It was in a box of documents I stumbled upon once.”
She shot a blushing glance at Thadius who seemed oblivious as he
glanced out of a passing window and inspected his surroundings.
Josephine leaned in to whisper to Matthias. “It was in the archives
of the palace.”

Matthias nodded. “And you aren’t
meant
to have gone down
there,” he confirmed. “The agreement your people had about that
with Mahalia…”

“
I snuck down there sometimes when I was younger.
There is so much
history
in those books.”

“
I thought you didn’t
enjoy
reading about such things?” Matthias
asked.

“
Only when I was
forced
to do so by my tutors! Besides, I think
the fact that the archives were restricted made the books down
there all the
more
interesting.” She sniffed. “Your people restricting
our
own
historical works. It’s
ridiculous!
Why
shouldn’t
I have read those books? I could learn a
great
deal of interesting
facts.”

“
I think that was the
reason
my people
made
that agreement with your
ancestor.”

“
Your people do not want to be popular, do they?” Josephine
asked. “’Don’t do this, don’t touch that’,” she mocked
him.

Matthias shook his head. “I don’t think
popularity
is their motive
princess,” he chuckled. “A horizon of storms,” he repeated as they
walked.

“
Ah! I
know
who wrote it now!” Josephine exclaimed. “It was
Isser Interlok.” She nodded. “Yes,
definitely
.”

“
The
mad bard?
” Thadius added, listening in after all. “You
really
were
in a place you shouldn’t have been princess! His work is
said to have been cursed!”

Matthias looked at Thadius with humour. “There’s
no such
thing
as a cursed
poem
,” he sniffed. “Isn’t he the one they built the playhouse
for in Rina’s courtyard?” Matthias asked.

Josephine nodded. “It has lain unused since long before I was
born,” she said. “About fifty years ago, give or take.”

“
Why
don’t they knock it down then?” Matthias asked.

“
Because there is a belief that the building holds the same
curse as that which inflicts the man’s poems,” Thadius advised. “To
knock it down would be to release them from its stones.”

“
Your people have some
strange
superstitions,” Matthias
replied.

“
We
are several floors down from the battlements,” Balzan called back
to them, walking a few paces in front of them. “It will take a few
minutes more to get there.”

“
Very good, protector!” Josephine called back to him. Then she
leaned back in to Matthias. “Why do you appear so worried again?”
she asked, noticing Matthias’s furrowed brow.

“
I’m
not worried,” Matthias replied.

Josephine looked at him askance. “The look on your
face says it all,” she said. “It’s your ‘something’s wrong but I do
not want to tell you,’ face. You’re getting worse at hiding your
thoughts wizard. Come on,
out
with it.

Matthias shook his head. “Someone has spoken that
phrase to me before. It was something Pym said to me, what feels
like a
long
time ago now. He used that
exact
wording. I remembered wondering about it
then. It was such a
strange
thing to say. I didn’t
know
it was related to your mad
poet.”

“
Perhaps it’s a coincidence?” Josephine suggested.

“
Maybe. But I don’t tend to
believe
in coincidences.” Matthias’s
eyes narrowed. “Do you remember how the rest of the poem
goes?”

Josephine shook her head. “I only read a few
lines. It was all
very
sombre and if I recall, one of the archivists came along
and I had to run and hide. I was only eight or nine at the
time.”

“
Strange then that the line stuck in your mind for so long,”
Matthias whispered.

“
Does
everything
have to have a deeper meaning to you?” Thadius
hissed. “Why does anyone remember anything?”

They
turned a corner and reached a hefty wooden door set into a circular
stone wall, where they caught up with Balzan. The protector opened
the door, tugging it from its housing. “The spiral steps beyond
here stretch up quite a way,” he said. “I hope you have the
energy.”

“
If
you do protector, I do,” Josephine smiled, as he ushered them
through. Matthias was the last to go through, followed by
Balzan.

“
What were you
whispering
about back there?” Balzan asked. “One
could be
suspicious
of mutterings in such a time of apparent
crisis.”

“
Nothing important,” Matthias dismissed. “We were
talking about
poetry
, if you must know.”

“
What prose could have been so secretive that you needed to
whisper about it behind my back?” the man continued.

“
For a man with so many secrets of your own you
seem
determined
to listen in on everyone else’s!” Matthias
snapped.

“
Matthias, it is alright,” Josephine called behind her. “The
protector was simply curious. I am sure he does not mean any harm.
Is that not so, protector?” Josephine asked with an edge of command
about her tone.

“
It
is as you say princess,” Balzan replied cordially. “Merely the
curiosity of an old man.”

“
Whilst we are on the subject of curiosities, I myself am
curious of something,” Matthias said tersely.

“
And
what would that be, young wizard?” Balzan asked as they continued
to ascend.

“
I
asked you earlier how you lived with yourself for doing what you
did to our people. For selling secrets, causing so much death. You
never answered me properly.”

“
Matthias, is this really the time?” Thadius asked. “We were
just starting to all get along. Why upturn the apple
cart?”

“
This might be my only other chance to ask,” Matthias replied.
“And as everyone else seems to trust this man so blindly, I want to
know.”

Balzan puffed as he hoisted himself upwards. “What
is done is done boy,” he wheezed. “What bearing would my
feelings
have on your
opinion of me? You have
obviously
made up your mind already.”

“
I am no boy,” Matthias barked back. “So stop being
so
condescending
towards me, and answer the
question!”

The
princess shook her head. “I might as well not ask anything of you
wizard, if you are going to ignore my requests,” she said to
Matthias. “I told you to drop it!”

Balzan stopped and the others above stopped with
him. “It’s alright princess. I live with myself because there is no
other option. I
know
what I did was right.”

“
How can you
justify
betraying your own people like
that?”

Balzan sniffed. “Many would say you have betrayed
your people as well by coming here against the Consensus. I wonder
what people will say about
you
in forty years? Perhaps before you judge me you
should ask
why
I was giving away secrets.”

“
What do you mean?” asked Matthias.

Balzan sniffed. “You are a
smart
wizard, Matthias, but you seem to
struggle between who you were before you were a wizard and who you
are now. You jump from the logic of a scholar to the anger of a
youth in rebellion against a people whom you don’t feel you conform
to. Nonetheless, it surprises me how someone who clearly seems to
have the ability to see the black, the white
and
most importantly the
grey
of our people’s
actions, can not ask himself what the other side of the rumours and
stories Mahalia spun out about my actions could
be.”