The Scofflaw Magician (The Artifactor Book 3) (29 page)

“The Caller you
made for Aranhil works splendidly,” she informed her with a smug smile. “I had
Tashjian make me one as well before he left.”

Strangely
enough, this surprised her as much as anything else. “Really? But that was just
a prototype, I hadn’t finished testing it yet.”

“I would think
it’s a working model as it works fine.” Ailana steered her into the kitchen and
into a chair. “You may ask Aranhil questions later, if you are concerned, but
your Master found nothing to change when he copied your design for me.”

That in and of
itself was a compliment.

“What are you
going to do once you have your full strength back?” Ailana asked her,
retrieving a pitcher of ice cold water from the cold box and pouring her a cup.

Sevana drained
it in one long pull, feeling the blessed coolness wash down her throat. Ah,
bliss. She handed it back for a refill as she answered, “I have quite a few
things I want to do. I want to set up formal trade agreements with the other
Fae nations, to start. I’ll need Aran’s help with that. Also, I have an idea or
three about where I can find a great many orphaned children for the Fae to adopt.”

Ailana’s face
lit up. “Do you? That’s splendid. Here, let me get you some broth, and then
tell me what your plan is.”

Sevana waited
patiently as she hurried over to the stove, reaching for a small bowl as she
did so. From Ailana’s apron pocket, there was a muted voice she recognized
well, and the Fae nursemaid paused in front of the stove long enough to pull it
free and say, “Yes, Tashjian?”

“
Ah, Ailana.
How is Sevana doing now that she’s up
?”

“I’m doing
fine, you old goat,” Sevana called.

Ailana bit her
bottom lip to keep from laughing even as she handed the Caller over to Sevana.
Accepting it, she put it on the table so that she could comfortably talk
without having to hold it.

“
You seem
well enough
,” Master drawled. “
Already up and being snippy, same as
usual.
”

“Perhaps I’m
snippy because you’re doing something stupid? Why are you waltzing into an evil
magician’s lair by yourself?”

“
Now who
said I was alone? Sarsen and Pierpoint are with me.
”

That made
things marginally better.

“
I have
three Fae Masters with me as well. Anything that we deem too dangerous they’re
destroying for us, as of course their magic can safely grind it into dust. I
don’t even want to think about what we’d do without them. We’d spend the next
decade curse-breaking this place.
”

Sevana
shuddered. That was indeed a scary thought, having to deal with that workload
on top of everything else. “Good, then. Ailana said that you were finding
answers in the workshop.”

“
We are. To
start with, his identity. His name was Tiergan Knollenberg. I remember the
story of him now. He was a prodigy, like you, one particularly gifted with
crafting anti-spells. By the time I started official training, he was infamous
for doing dangerous experiments on his core. That was, hmm, fifty years ago?
Thereabouts. The man had to be in his eighties.
”

That spry at eighty.
“I’m assuming he took a lot of anti-aging potions.”

“
He must
have been, to be as limber as he was. I found evidence that he was still
experimenting on his body, making it far tougher and more durable than a human
should be. It explains why you found it so hard to hurt him.
”

Sevana immediately
of a few spells that could be tweaked to have that sort of effect on a human
body. She blanched, stomach churning. “He did that to his own body?”

“
Repulsive,
I know. But if the man’s willing to tamper with his very magical core
…”
Master trailed off suggestively.

“Point. I don’t
suppose you found any answers about what his ultimate game plan was? He’s now
attacked several royal families.”

“
We found
several drafts and outlines for plans. I only found one contract and its an
older one, for Bel and Aren. That we know he was hired to do. I’m assuming it’s
the same this time, that he was hired to take out a king. I think Princess Amas
was just a test for him, a way of proving that his plans would work.
”

“An evil
prodigy for hire? Mercy, but that raises goosebumps.”

“
Doesn’t it
though.
”
Master gave an exaggerated shudder from shoulders down. “
But
at least we know he’s not alive to try this again.
”

It was very
reassuring, she had to admit. “You said you found outlines and plans. Any notes
on how his spells were crafted? Oh, and what about the ink? Was there any ink
left?”

“
There was,
but not much. It’s been promptly reclaimed by the Fae, don’t you worry. I rolled
up the plans and packed them already, as I had a notion you’d want to go over
them.
”

Knowing how
Master packed things, it would take a few days before she managed to find them
and take a look. There was only one pressing curiosity she wanted to satisfy
that moment. “Do you know why the name was spelled backwards?”

“
It was part
of the spell. In fact, the whole painting was a mirror image of what he was
actually seeing. The spell was linked to mirror-magic, after all, so their
names reflected that. We just couldn’t tell because we never saw the people he
was painting in their original postures. I think it was nothing more than a comfortable
thing for him to do.
”

Ahhh. Now that
made more sense. “Also why we could automatically talk to their reflections in
a mirror and their name read correctly.”

“
Exactly,
sweetling. Well, what else are you curious about
?”

In other words,
he was in the mood to talk more than pack. It was just as well, she had more
questions to ask. “Are you finding anything interesting that’s safe to salvage?
Aside from his notes?”

“
More than a
few things. I’m packing them up now. There’s one thing I found that I’m giving
to you.
”

“Me?” Sevana
blinked, not sure about how she felt having something from that man. “Why would
you pick up something for me?”

“
It doesn’t
really look like his work. It looks like something he’s stolen, as the
craftsmanship is entirely unique and the power it’s giving off is…well, I’ve
never seen the like of this. I figured with your Fae status you have a better
chance of unraveling this than I do.
”

Well, he was
likely right, but… “So what does it do?”

“
I haven’t
the foggiest notion,
” he answered cheerfully. “
You get to figure that
out too. Should I throw it out, sweetling
?
Or will you take it on
?”

A wolfish grin
took over her face. “Challenge accepted.”

Sevana rushed
through her bedroom, then her workroom, going through a mental checklist to
make sure that she hadn’t forgotten anything. Where she was going, there would
not be a handy clock portal, so she couldn’t just pop back home if she forgot
to pack something. She expected Aran at her door any minute, and she wanted to
be ready when he came to get her.

It was
something that she needed to talk to the Fae about, putting clock portals in
their territory. Having to ride in every time was deuced inconvenient.

Now that she
was completely healed and back up to full strength, it was time to get her
plans in motion. Their first stop would be with Sa Kao, where she would pick up
twenty orphans that Firuz had granted her permission to take. Then they would
take all of those children deep into Sanat Forest, where the nearest Fae nation
was. These were the people that had a direct source to Kraken ink, among other
things, and Sevana was literally itching to get trade agreements with them
established. It would be quite the trip, taking twenty children all the way
from Zuria to Sanat. Sevana was not in the least looking forward to it.

There was a
knock on the front door. “Sevana!”

Aran. Well, her
time was up to remember anything important. Hopefully she had it all.
Shouldering her pack, she grabbed the other bag off the table and strode out of
her workroom. “Here. Tell me that you contacted the Fae in Sanat?”

“I did,” he
assured her, taking one of the bags from her. “They are sending a party to meet
us in Zuria to help us bring all of the children in.”

“Thank mercy
for small favors.” Sevana blew out a breath. She had not been looking forward
to babysitting twenty children for a three day trip across country. Hopeful,
she looked up at him. “Also tell me that we’ll be able to take one of my
devices this time.”

Aran shook his
head, mouth kicked up on one side. “Sorry. We can take it down there, but we’ll
have to be on chellomi the last leg of the journey to match pace with everyone
else. Unless you have something that can carry thirty or so people?”

No, curse it,
she didn’t. And that was a problem she was going to solve
very soon
.
This riding around the countryside on horseback had gotten old the first time
out.

As if reading
her thoughts, his eyes sparkled in amusement. “Then you’re stuck with the
traditional method. Don’t worry. You can ride with me the whole way.”

Sevana levelled
a Look on him. “If I didn’t have twenty lives and delicious new elements riding
on this, I would not be willing to go the ‘traditional method’ as you so
quaintly put it. I would go through my clocks, or use one of my vehicles, and
make you go by yourself.”

His smile
became a smirk. “I know.”

Grumbling, she
pushed past him. “I’m going to get all sorts of saddle sores from this. No
helping it. Let’s go to Sa Kao.”

Honor Raconteur grew up all over the United States and to
this day is confused about where she’s actually from. She wrote her first book
at five years old and hasn’t looked back since. Her interests vary from
rescuing dogs, to studying languages, to arguing with her characters. On good
days, she wins the argument.

Since her debut in September 2011, Honor has released over a
dozen books, mostly of the fantasy genre. She writes full time from the comfort
of her home office, in her pajamas, while munching on chocolate. She has no
intention of stopping anytime soon and will probably continue until something
comes along to stop her.

Her website can be found here:
http://www.honorraconteur.com
,
or if you wish to speak directly with the author, visit her on Facebook.