The Sorcerer's Abyss (The Sorcerer's Path) (30 page)

The Headmaster fumed. “You may all think you have won this little battle, but I won the war and don’t you ever forget it!”

“I will never forget it, Headmaster,” Allister responded. “You can count on it.”

Wolf eased the tension on his bowstring and lowered it when it appeared there was not going to be a battle. He had the back of the wizard doing all the talking dead to rights. It was a long shot, but with the longbow he completed last year, he knew he could make it. He was not sure what was going on, but he knew none of it could be good.

“C’mon, Ghost, let’s sneak around to the east side and cut through the kitchens. We’ll need to grab some food anyway.”

The odd pair skirted the woods and dashed across the open ground until they reached the wall. Wolf and Ghost edged along the wall until they found a small door set in the thick, stone walls. These egresses were usually open to allow people to go freely to and from the school, but the heightened alert status saw them all tightly shut.

“Hey,” Wolf called up to the sentry standing guard atop the wall, “open up. I need to get some food from the kitchens.”

The young man looked down and smiled at them. “Now’s probably a good time while everyone’s pretty much distracted. You can probably get in and out without Agnes putting a skillet upside your head.”

It had been more than a year since any of the cooking staff did more than give Wolf a scowl for filching food, which perturbed him. He thought it extremely rude of Agnes to deprive him of one of his favorite games by not trying to crack his skull whenever he snuck into her kitchen during one of his “urban foraging” expeditions. Wolf was certain she stopped trying to brain him just to be mean.

Wolf and Ghost stepped through the gate and crossed the grounds to the kitchen located in the old tower. The two stuck close to the buildings and did their best to remain unseen despite the fact nearly everyone’s attention was focused toward the main gates and the apparent intruders. Wolf quickly found the door leading into the kitchen, open as always to let out the extreme heat from the stoves.

The kitchen was bustling, mostly from boiling water in nearly every available pot to clean wounds and sterilize bandages in case a battle had erupted, but there were also a couple of large stew pots to keep the bellies of the defenders fed. The other kitchens were certainly in a similar state of controlled chaos.

“There’s some cured meat and dry foodstuffs over there,” Agnes said sternly and pointed with her overly large wooden spoon. “Take what you want, just stay out of the way!”

Wolf was disappointed once again. The old woman did not even have the decency to take a swipe at him as he threaded his way through the kitchen to fill his sack. He wondered what he had done wrong to make the woman so hateful. Oh well, now was not the time to dwell on such things. The new developments he saw at the gates instilled a greater sense of urgency.

Wolf and Ghost ran from the kitchen, through the dining room, and up the stairs of the tower to Ellyssa’s old room. Wolf entered the room without knocking, startling the young girl inside who was watching the goings on outside from the small window of her room. Wolf had forgotten about the girl, Olivia, who Ellyssa put in her room while she disguised herself as the delivery girl. When Ellyssa left, no one bothered to move her to the dormitories, so she just stayed here.

“Wolf, you scared me,” Olivia declared as she pressed a hand to her pounding heart. “Do you know what’s going on down there?”

“I don’t know. Something about some new wizards taking over the school or something,” Wolf said. “I need to get some of Ellyssa’s clothes. Do you know where they are?”

Olivia nodded and pointed at the big wardrobe. “They’re still in there, most of them. I never bothered to move them since I didn’t know when she would come back, and I don’t need that many clothes anyway.”

Wolf opened the double doors and found a knapsack sitting on the bottom next to several pairs of footwear. He grabbed the newest pair of shoes and boots and stuffed them in the knapsack. He then selected several articles of clothing looking the most practical. Ellyssa had several nice dresses, but he doubted she would be attending very many social events, so he left those hanging up.

With the pack now full and strapped to his back, Wolf and Ghost padded softly back down the stairs. They both stopped as several voices echoed up the spiraling staircase. Wolf quickly recognized Allister and Miranda talking along with Rusty and a couple of others. He waited until the dining room door muffled their voices before resuming his escape. He had just reached the bottom of the stairs when Allister’s booming voice startled him.

“Wolf, what do you have there?”

Wolf shot Ghost an accusatory look for letting an old man—even if he was a wizard—catch them off guard. “Just some food and things.”

“Stuff from Ellyssa’s room perhaps?” Wolf tried to formulate an excuse, but his mind felt like a rabbit caught in a snare. “You know The Academy is very serious about discovering her whereabouts. Should you happen to cross paths, let her know this is a very bad place for her to be right now.”

“Um, okay.”

Allister disappeared back into the dining room and Wolf darted out the front doors. The crowd of people was slowly dispersing and the martial students began taking down the barricades. No one paid any attention to Wolf or Ghost amongst the hustle and bustle of The Academy’s intrusion.

Wolf kept an impressive pace back to Ellyssa’s sanctuary despite his burden. Rarely encumbered by anything more than his bow and quiver, the knapsack and bag of food made him feel unbalanced and clumsy as an ogre. Normally able to move as quietly through the woods as a gentle breeze, he cringed every time a twig snapped or a pinecone crunched under his soft leather-soled feet. Still, his unflagging stride ate up the miles and brought him to the entrance of the cave in short order.

“Ellyssa, wake up!” Wolf shouted when he ran into the cave and saw Ellyssa asleep on her pallet.

Ellyssa turned her head and cracked open one eye. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to wake me. You can just leave it on the floor.”

“No, you have to get up and leave right now,” Wolf insisted.

Ellyssa forced herself to sit up. “Leave? Why? I can’t even stay awake much less take a vacation somewhere.”

“Well, you need to find the strength. The school’s been taken over by a bunch of wizards and soldiers from The Academy.”

Ellyssa shook her head to try and clear away some of the fog. “Allister would never let that happen.”

“Well, he did and he is no longer in charge. Some guy named Harvey or something is calling himself Headmaster. I thought they were going to fight when the Duchess showed up with half her army, but Allister and the others decided to give in.”

“Why are they here? What are they doing?” Ellyssa asked, now coming fully awake.

Wolf wagged his head. “I don’t know. I couldn’t hear everything, but it sounded like The Academy didn’t like the idea of people learning magic without them being in charge.”

Ellyssa felt her face heat. “It’s because Azerick isn’t here. He would have fought them. It wasn’t worth the conflict between us and The Academy as long as nothing bad happened. This is my fault, because I killed those slavers.”

“I’m not sure. That Harvey guy sounded like he didn’t like the school regardless of what you did. Azerick had a title and the King’s friendship. He was a hero. I think that, more than anything, kept The Academy from butting in. That and the fact he would have blasted anyone who messed with his school.”

Ellyssa smiled as she thought of how Azerick would have dealt with The Academy. “Do you think they are after me?”

“I don’t know, but there are a lot of new wizards there now, and it would be a good place to create a base from which to look for you. Allister caught me coming down the stairs from your room and told me I should tell you it wasn’t safe around there. I think he may have meant all of North Haven, not just the school.”

“Do you think he suspected you knew where I was?” Ellyssa grew nervous, wondering if Allister would still cared enough about her to neglect his duty to The Academy.

“I’m pretty sure he knew I was getting stuff for you.”

“I need to leave then. It’s not going to be easy. I still feel weak as a babe.”

“I can help get you nearer to Southport.”

“What makes you think I’m going to Southport?” Ellyssa snapped.

Wolf crooked an eyebrow. “Well, there’s not many slavers in Brelland or Brightridge, and Southport has the largest port in the kingdom, hence the largest slaver activity as well. I suppose you could go to Langdon’s Crossing, but they are nearly as fanatical about killing slavers as you are. I hear they nail them to ship’s masts stuck in the ground facing the sea as a warning to other slavers and pirates. Come on, Ellyssa, you know you can trust me. I’m not going to tell anyone where you are.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.” Ellyssa’s shoulders slumped. “I just felt abandoned after I came back, and I have a hard time trusting anyone. I’ve felt on my own for so long now.”

“You haven’t exactly made it easy to get close to you.”  

“I know. I didn’t want anyone to get close to me. I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.”

“But you’re still going to hunt slavers?”

“Until I kill the man who took me, yes,” she responded resolutely.

“You’re going into the same city where the people who want to capture you live. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

Ellyssa snorted derisively. “If this Harvey guy is the best they can come up with to catch me, I’m not too worried. Besides, from what I have heard about the number of wizards at The Academy, it looks like most of them are now here. Plus, there are a lot more places for me to hide in Southport.”

“But you don’t know the city like you do North Haven,” Wolf pointed out.

“I’ll learn. Adapting is the one thing I am good at.”

 “Can you travel? We should leave as soon as possible.”

The thought of traveling did not sound pleasant at all. She was tempted to ask Wolf to talk Peck out of one of his horses, but then she would have to get it back to him, and Wolf did not like to ride. A horse also meant taking the roads, and she did not like that idea much either. Despite soundly beating Magus Harvey and his cohorts, Ellyssa seriously doubted The Academy gave up trying to find her or the book. Despite her bravado, she did not look forward to another conflict with them.