The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) (61 page)

“Yes dear.” Alice hurried to the bar, sending Carin a bow deep enough for the Crown Prince.

Carin rewarded this with a slight nod. She then came to a halt five feet from Waldo’s table. She stood there ram rod straight with her arms rigid against her sides. “I apologize for disturbing your dinner.”

“Well you wouldn’t have if you had come when I asked.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she seemed to arch her back like an angry cat.

“Your request came as a surprise, and I had other obligations. I do so hope you can forgive me for not dropping everything and rushing to meet you as you wanted.”

“Well, I suppose I can forgive you.”

The edges of Carin’s lips drew back and her arms trembled ever so slightly.

Waldo motioned to the empty chair across from him. “Please take a seat and we can begin.”

She remained where she was. “A gentleman would rise and pull the chair out for a woman he has asked to meet with him.”

How arrogant,
Waldo thought. It was amazing that someone so far beneath him would be so presumptuous. In a truly civilized country she would have given a far more sincere apology, and been properly respectful. He was painfully aware though that time was pressing. If a few empty courtesies would hurry things along he would grin and endure them.
This is what I get for being weak and needing to bargain with people.

“Of course,” Waldo rose smoothly to his feet. He pulled the chair well out from the table.

Carin remained standing for a moment. She glanced at the chair and back at him.

“Was there something else?” Waldo asked, trying to keep his impatience from showing.

“Why did you ask me to meet you here, in this place?”

“This is where I am staying, it was convenient for me.”

“Do you always just do what is easiest?”

“Yes, doesn’t everyone?”

Carin shook her head slightly and Waldo saw the fat beneath her chin wobble and wibble. “You aren’t much for subtlety are you?”

“It is not one of my strong points. My mother always said I needed to be more deceptive.”

Carin pursed her lips and looked uncertain. At last she finally sat down.

As soon as she was seated Waldo hurried back around to his own chair. “I hope we can come to an agreement quickly. I am eager to leave Middleton and would like to be on my way tonight.”

“Tonight? You are in quite a rush. Normally it takes a few days or weeks to arrange things.”

“I hope to move things along a little faster than that.”

“Trying to hurry me along like this is very poor form.” Carin told him. “Some might call it rude.”

“I don’t care if it’s rude so long as I get what I want.”

“Yes,” Carin said. “I have heard it said that White Mages will do most anything to get what they want. Though usually they do manage to remain polite.” Carin put both hands on the table and leaned forward. “All right, we’ll just dispense with all the formalities and niceties. If you want to leave town so badly I won’t stand in your way. We can go to Baden Hill and you can take possession of your ogre. The price is still twelve ducats.”

“I was hoping we could negotiate the price down a bit.”

Carin’s head shook. “Twelve is already a bargain and much less than I would normally ever agree to.”

Alice came over with a tray with a single iron goblet. She deftly placed it before Carin. “With my husband’s compliments.” Alice bowed her head and retreated back to the bar.

“What’s this?”

“It’s an Illsyrian Red,” Waldo told her with a hint of pride. “It wasn’t easy to find, but please accept it as a small sign of my appreciation for your coming here to meet me.”

Now we see.

With one hand Carin slid the goblet away. “I hate red wine, I only ever drink gold.”

Waldo felt his stomach do a slow turn. “Won’t you at least have a sip? It’s Illsyrian, the finest wine in all the Shattered Lands.”

“That’s a matter of opinion. Personally I prefer Companian Golds. Illsyrian wines are too strong and sweet for my taste.”

“Could you just give it a try? Since I went to the trouble of acquiring it just for you. Just one swallow, as a courtesy.”

“If this were a normal meeting I would drink and praise it, even as it set fire to my throat and burned in my belly. Since you have made it clear though that you are in a hurry to be done with it I will not bother to pretend.”

The Dark Powers mock me
.

He wondered if anyone would care if he suddenly got up and tried to force it down her throat. It had been such a simple plan. Yet it had gone wrong from the very start, it turned out to be just another failure.

Waldo looked hard across the table at this plain, blunt merchant woman. What would she do if he simply threatened her? Commoners were always ignorant of just how magic worked, and the folk in this barbarous land were even more ill-informed than the low people back in Alteroth. Waldo knew he didn’t exactly have a threatening demeanor, but he was a mage. If he demanded she give him the ogre or else be cursed how would she react? Would she be terrified or would she be insulted and call his bluff? Opening threatening someone was a bit risky, but he was considering it.

“Well then,” Carin said. “Will you pay me my twelve ducats so we can be done?”

Waldo was not sure how to answer. As he opened his mouth he sensed something.

A powerful aura.

A being with great magical ability was approaching.

Waldo turned his face to the door.
 

“Is something wrong?” Carin looked in the same direction to see nothing out of the ordinary.

“I am afraid you will need to give me a moment.” Waldo spoke without turning his gaze back to her. “Could you please go wait by the bar?”

Carin frowned. “What are you talking about?”

From behind the bar Alice glanced at Waldo and then at the door. She could sense his sudden alarm through their bond, but could not guess the cause of it.

Just then the door to the Inn opened. In stepped a woman in white robes. Clutched in her right hand was a wand.

“I am afraid I have to deal with someone else first.” Sliding his hand into one of the many pockets of his robe he took hold of his own wand.

Chapter 44

Bet You Didn’t See That Coming

Everyone in the common room stopped to look at the new arrival. No one did anything more than that though. They all went back to enjoying their meals. Apparently, having had a white wizard staying for over a week had accustomed them to the presence of a magic user.

Carin was not quite so familiar.

She quickly pushed back from the table and got up to her feet. “It seems this was a bad time. I certainly do not want to come between two White Mages who want to talk. I will go.”

“Please just wait by the bar.” Waldo asked. He did not spare her a glance.

“I have many things still to do and do not have time to waste.”

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about that, I doubt this will take very long.”

Carin paused. “I will give you five minutes. Any longer than that and I will have to go.”

Waldo nodded without turning in her direction. “That should be enough.”

Carin hurried over to the bar, clearly eager to not get involved in whatever business two White Mages might have.

XXX

“Is she a friend of yours?” Tyrone asked.

Alice was standing rigid behind the bar. She had felt a sudden sharp spike of fear coming through the bond. Alice had wondered what Carin could possibly have said to him to cause that. When the door to the Inn had opened it was suddenly obvious what the cause was.

“No,” Alice replied. “Definitely not a friend.”

XXX

The woman had spotted him immediately of course. It was rather hard to be inconspicuous wearing snow white robes. She began to deliberately walk across the room to him, steps slow and certain. Her attention was directed entirely on him, she did not bother to so much as glance at the bar or any other part of the common room. Her wand was still not pointed at him. The fact the commoners were all so calm with a mage holding a wand was proof of just how ignorant they were about magic.

Waldo took his own wand out and held it beneath the table. He was tempted to send a gout of fire at her while she was still across the room. He held off because it was almost certain she had protective wards cast. If he could not take her in the first strike he had little hope in a protracted battle. She was unlikely to be as strong as his grandfather, but it was well known that only capable mages were sent out from Avalon. Waldo knew he was nowhere near skilled enough in combat magic to defeat a properly trained White Mage. There was also the inconvenient fact that if he openly attacked her he and Alice would have to immediately flee the city.

The only chance to salvage the situation was to try and talk his way through this.

He didn’t like his odds very much.

As she drew closer Waldo noted she was very pretty, though clearly older than him by some years. With high cheek bones, a fair complexion, and hair the color of gold.

Her eyes are like mine.

She came to a halt just five feet from his table, her wand still held to the side. Waldo was surprised by her temerity. At this range protective wards would not be enough to blunt a lethal spell.

“You are Waldo Rabbit.”

His eyebrows rose, and despite the situation he couldn’t keep a pleased smile from his lips. “You’ve heard of me? I had no idea my reputation had already spread.”

“Don’t sound so proud. What I know about you is shameful. I recently spoke to Master Roger of Bittford.”

“Oh, well that would explain it.”

The woman frowned. “You seem to be taking this rather lightly.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Roger is nothing but a backwoods hedgewizard. He is an independent. Why would he matter to a couple of White Mages like us?”

Waldo felt a little relieved. Upon her arrival with wand in hand, he had assumed she knew he was a fake. If instead she was here about the incident with Roger, Waldo was sure they could work something out.

He quickly changed his mind about that when she at last pointed her wand directly at his face.

“You think you can bring shame to the Order and not pay the penalty?”

Waldo tilted his chair back, his tone casual, "The penalty would be?"

“Death,” she said voice as hard and unforgiving as iron. “I intend to execute you, but first you will give me the property that was stolen.”

“You plan to kill me for robbing some half trained spell caster from the boonies?”

Her grip on her wand tightened. “Even as a deserter could you truly have fallen so far as to forget our sacred cause? Everything that we do is to protect and serve the Order and The One We Follow. How dare you disgrace them? That you should abandon our hallowed cause and yet still wear the robes… have you no shame?”