The Wizard of Time (Book 1) (26 page)

Clenching his teeth and wiping what might have been soap from his eyes, he tried to remember exactly what he had been told. An artifact could gain imprints by close proximity or use by a person taking actions that were either negative, like killing someone, or positive, like saving someone’s life. However, an artifact could also be intentionally imbued with imprints by concentrating one’s mind and will upon it. This was essentially how prayer beads became imbued with positive imprints, priests and monks praying and meditating over the beads. If he could find some innocuous object, one that no one would suspect if he carried it with him, he could intentionally imbue it with enough imprints to use as a talisman. Of course it could take years, but a least it was a plan. He would have to be cautious, however.

While a Malignancy Mage could tell that an artifact had been imprinted from a short distance, they would have to touch it to know that it was imbued with positive imprints. It would need to be something common, but something he could keep in the open. He was almost certain his room would be regularly searched while he was away from it. However, if he found the right object, he might be able to leave it in the room while he was gone. As long as the room was not searched by a Malignancy Mage, or as long as that mage didn’t touch every object, he might get away with it. But what object?

And if he could get out of the castle, how could he get back to the Primary Continuum? Kumaradevi had said that only a few artifacts still existed in both worlds. He would need to find out what and where at least one of them was and when he could get access to it. And then another thought occurred to him, one that made him place his hands on his head in despair. He couldn’t just leave the palace alone. If he did find a way to escape, he would have to find a way to release Nefferati, as well. If he was found missing, Kumaradevi might kill Nefferati to ensure that a rescue party from the Council could not free her. His escape could be a long time in coming. Unless he could think of something brilliant.

A knock on the door brought him back from his reveries.

“Are you ready?” he heard Pishara say from the other side of the door.

“Almost,” Gabriel called out, grabbing a nearby towel and wrapping it around himself as he ran to the dresser.

“Would you like some help dressing?” Pishara said as he heard the steel bars outside the door sliding open.

“No,” he said, hastily drying himself with one hand has he pulled clothes from the dresser. He managed to get his pants on before Pishara entered.

“You are tardy,” Pishara said. “We will need to walk quickly to arrive at the dinner on time. It is unwise to make the Empress wait.”

“Right,” Gabriel said pulling on a boot. “Sorry. I dozed off in the tub.”

“You must gain more stamina,” Pishara said. “You will need it in the coming days.”

Pishara led Gabriel through the labyrinthine corridors of the castle to the great dining hall. An impossibly long table filled the center of the opulently decorated room. The guests for dinner were already present. Nearly a hundred men and women in black lined the table, each wearing the red insignias that denoted their status and rank as mages in Kumaradevi’s forces. Along the center of the table sat a wide variety of foods on large silver trays. A roasted boar, a large apple in its tusked mouth, roasted ducks, various vegetables, stacks of breads and cheeses, bowls of fruit, and bottles of wine. The food seemed to go on and on. An attendant showed Gabriel to his place just as Kumaradevi arrived. He waited until Kumaradevi had been seated by her attendants before taking the one remaining seat to her left.

As at the lunch earlier that day, Kumaradevi ate first and alone. The table remained silent as her attendants sliced a piece of boar for her and cut it into small pieces. She poked at them causally with her fork, delicately placing them in her mouth and chewing with a wide smile for Gabriel. She seemed immensely pleased. That was good, Gabriel thought.
The happier she is, the less she is likely to notice me
.

When she had finished eating, Kumaradevi spoke. “This meal is to consecrate a covenant between our royal person and the person of the Seventh True Mage, who is very lucky we have rescued him from his servitude at the hands of the Dark Mages of the Council of Night. Gabriel will be our servant, our first among servants, our right hand in the battle to end all battles, our sword, our shield, and our champion. With this food, we all enter into this covenant. You shall serve him, he shall serve me, and I shall serve the greater calling. Now, eat your fill, and remember that each bite symbolizes the contract that binds us together. Each sip of wine a symbol of your commitment. Your flesh is my flesh. My will is your desire. My victory shall be your victory.”

She raised her glass and all those at the table raised theirs in response. Gabriel held his high. The men and women along the table smiled back as deeply as Kumaradevi smiled at them, but Gabriel could see a few glance at him with looks in their eyes that were anything but signs of servitude or pleasure. Kumaradevi took a long swallow of wine and placed the goblet on the table.

“Let the feast begin,” she said in a melodious voice that echoed throughout the dining hall.

Gabriel looked down as a servant placed a slice of roasted boar on his plate. He thought of Kumaradevi’s words and all he had seen since she had brought him to her world. He had never felt less like eating.

Chapter 19: Lessons in
Light
Darkness

That night, after the endless dinner finally concluded and Pishara escorted him back to his rooms, Gabriel lay in bed thinking about how he could find an artifact to imbue with positive imprints. He needed to think of something that would take his mind off the horrors he had seen throughout the day. And the longer he could think about the artifact, the longer he could postpone sleep, because he knew what sort of nightmares waited for him when he closed his eyes.

Artifacts.

He considered the amulet at his neck, but it was already an enchanted artifact forged by a Malignancy Mage. Trying to imbue it would be unwise. Besides, he would need something that he could hide in plain sight in his chamber. It would need to be something he could be seen to hold, in case someone entered the room unexpectedly. And it would be best if they saw what they expected to see.

Why hadn’t he thought of that? He looked around the room to see if there was something there he might use. A small pewter candleholder sat next to his bed. He could even reach his hand out to touch it with his head on the pillow. If someone came in, it would look like he had fallen asleep with his arm over the bed. He reached his hand out and placed his fingers on the base of the candleholder. It felt cool to the touch. It had a dish-like base to catch the fallen wax and a looped handle to make it easier to carry. He slid his index finger through the handle loop.

He had his artifact. Now, how to imbue it? He had received no instructions on imbuing artifacts. Like all other aspects of his magical education, this area lagged. Ling, or was it Teresa…He smiled inwardly thinking about them…One of them had said you needed to use your conscious will to intentionally imbue an artifact.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm his mind with the meditative techniques his mother and then Ohin had taught him. It took a while, the images of the day’s events fighting to displace his focus on his breath.

Many minutes later, with his mind stilled, he felt within himself for his subtle energy and as he grasped it, he filled his mind with thoughts of love and compassion, willing this mix of mind and energy to enter the candleholder. For nearly twenty minutes, he concentrated his mind on the energy within himself, focusing it and guiding it into the candleholder. Finally, he had to stop. He was dozing off. And to be honest, he wasn’t even sure if what he was doing was working. He tried to use his magic-sense to determine if the candleholder had acquired any imprints, but if they were present, he felt too exhausted to sense them. He blew out the candle and rolled over. He fell asleep within moments, dreaming nightmares of nightmares within the nightmare he was living.

He woke to a knock on the door.

Pishara entered the room carrying a silver tray with covered plates and a small oil lamp. She placed it on the table as Gabriel sat up. The smell of bacon wafted through the air and Gabriel’s stomach groaned. Darkness still clung to the windows.

“What time is it?” Gabriel asked, getting to his feet.

“Time for you to begin your day,” Pishara said. “Your tutors will be waiting for you in the training arena at sunrise. You will eat now. Dress quickly. I will return shortly.”  Pishara bowed slightly and walked from the room, closing the door as she left. Gabriel splashed some water on his face from a basin on a table in the corner of the room. Drying his face, he sat down at the dining table and lifted the silver cover from the plate. Eggs, bacon, fresh sliced strawberries. Better than he had expected. He wolfed the food down and then changed into his now standard black clothes.

Pishara knocked and entered shortly after he had pulled his boots on. She said nothing, gesturing him to follow, so he did so in silence. She led him back down the stairs and through the corridors of the palace. Gabriel tried to guess which turn would be next, which led to arena. He found he was right less than half the time.

He noticed that palace servants and soldiers they passed all gave them a wide berth, stepping to the sides of the halls, servants stopping and bowing their heads, soldiers staring straight ahead, and the few mages they encountered looking at him with a mixture of distain and sometimes outright hatred. Gabriel assumed it was because he was Kumaradevi’s favorite pet now and that meant there would be fewer opportunities for any of them to become her pet. He would have gladly traded places with them. When Pishara delivered him to the training arena, he saw no evidence of the previous day’s execution. His six tutors waited for him in the sunken, sand-covered pit.

“You will need this,” Pishara said as she removed a dagger from her pocket and handed it to Gabriel. Gabriel held it in his hand. The sheath was fashioned of hardened leather and the handle of simple serrated wood for a better grip. He slid the blade out slightly, touching the blackened steel. He didn’t need to be told that it held numerous negative imprints. He could sense them even before he touched it.

“Thank you,” Gabriel said.

“I am told that it has slit the throats of over a hundred men, women, and children,” Pishara said, her voice betraying no emotion. He wondered how she really felt about Kumaradevi and her palace and her world, but he knew better than to ask. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer, even if it was the truth.

“It will be your talisman today,” Pishara said. Gabriel wondered how much she knew about magic and why she was the one to hand him the dagger.

 Pishara motioned for him to descend the stone steps that curved along the arena wall and to the floor below, but she did not follow him. As he walked down the steps, he noticed another mage standing along the top of the arena walls. His insignia identified him as a Time Mage. Gabriel probed the dagger and was surprised to find that it was not nearly as powerful as his pocket watch. Great, his first lesson and already he was being hobbled. As Gabriel stepped into the arena floor, Malik strode forward.

“You are the Empress’s new pet,” Malik said, “so we will train you like one.” Gabriel almost laughed at the mention of the word ‘pet,’ but he knew that would be the wrong way to start the day. No sense giving them the idea that the pet might be mocking them. “Do you know how to use that?” Malik said as he looked at the dagger in Gabriel’s hand.

“Yes,” Gabriel said, he hands tightening on the dagger instinctively.

“Good,” Malik said. “Then we begin.”  Before Gabriel could blink Malik had disappeared and Gabriel felt a boot in his back trusting him forward to the ground. Wiping the sand from his face, he looked up to see Malik grinning. “Too slow. Maybe you are not awake yet. Maybe you need something to stimulate you.” Malik nodded to Malee, the Thai Fire Mage. A moment later, the ground around Gabriel exploded with bolts of lightning.

Gabriel leapt to his feet, reaching for the magic within and focusing it through the blade, the taste of its imprints on his mind like thick black oil over sweet, ripe fruit. He tried to jump through space to the top of the arena, to get a better view and assess the situation, and honestly, to get as far as possible from the Dark Mages. He flickered at the top of the arena wall and found himself back where he had been, standing in the sand. A space-time seal. If he hadn’t been so distracted he would have sensed it. The ground beneath his feet welled up and erupted, throwing him through the air. He landed on his shoulder and heard a popping noise as he dropped the dagger.

“You cannot jump out of the arena,” Malik said in a booming voice. Gabriel now knew why a Time Mage stood on the arena walls. “And you must never drop your talisman.” The talisman flew through the air and struck Gabriel in the stomach as he sat up. He groaned as the air rushed out of him. As he scrambled to his feet, he tried to wipe the tears of pain from his eyes without letting his tormentors see. He saw Heinz laughing as he stood up. For the first time he noticed Kumaradevi seated on her viewing throne on the balcony above. He turned his eyes away from her and focused on the six mages spread out around him. His arm hung uselessly from his shoulder, the pain making it nearly impossible to keep from crying out. However, he knew that would not be a useful thing to do.

“I think his shoulder is dislocated, Malawi,” Heinz said. “Maybe you should help him with that.”

“Certainly,” Malawi said, “Maybe you could assist me.” A pain that made the pain in his shoulder seem like a gentle caress suddenly racked Gabriel’s body. He felt his shoulder pop back into place, but the pain did not end. He felt his body go rigid, his breath becoming quick and short and then he did cry out. He screamed, the pain seeming to grow with the volume of his voice. Then he felt himself being lifted in the air and hung upside down.