Wizard Pair (Book 3) (33 page)

Rotiaqua was amused at the idea of the two of them together. She loved Zhimosom like a brother, but romantically? He was just an awkward boy who got flustered by the thought of her. She enjoyed teasing him and flirting just to see the reaction it caused.

"I see the two of you," Uskin said. "The bond will draw you closer as you continue to work your magic together, and come to rely on each other even more. It's inevitable."

Rotiaqua laughed. "You don't know Zhimosom very well. He's not like that. He's very focused on his magic, but what he really wants is to be left alone to study quietly. He works with me because we were thrown together by circumstances. He stays with me because of those same circumstances. I believe that once the threat of war is over, he will quietly retire somewhere to his studies."

"Don't be too certain of that. He may be afraid of you, but he is bonded to you with a bond stronger than a married couple's. I foresee a long future for the two of you. He will not depart from your side no matter what. You two are going to be very close for a very long time."

Rotiaqua sat back and finished her drink. She thought of Zhimosom and how close they had already grown. Would they progress to the level of intimate relationship that Alwroth and Uskin shared? Were they to be husband and wife, or were they just going to work together? She was not sure which she desired.

The next evening Zhimosom and Rotiaqua joined Alwroth and Uskin. They all settled in to their usual spots near the fire. Zhimosom caught something in Uskin's face that he had not seen before. Her forehead was wrinkled, eyes narrow and she held on to the arm of her chair as it were going to run away from her.

"I fear the time has come." Uskin placed her hands in front of her, palms up. "I had a vision last night."

Zhimosom expected her to bring the vision to life as she had done for them so often before. This time her hands shook slightly but no image appeared.

Uskin's eyes were swollen and her lips trembled as she spoke. "The war is upon us. There is no avoiding it. All of my visions have come true, save the final one concerning the dragons and the two of you."

Zhimosom squirmed at the mention of the vision. Uskin had never revealed what it was that she had seen. Whenever he asked her about it, she simply said that it was startling and had far reaching consequences. She would favor him with a slight smile, tilt her head, and tell him that there would be plenty of time to find out on his own. Plenty of time.

But now, she said there was no time left. Whatever it was, it was going to begin soon, and things were never going to be the same again.

"The Council will meet tomorrow," Uskin said. "Tomorrow we plan for war in earnest."

Mobilization

The following day, Alwroth addressed the Wizards' Council. He had convened them to debate the action that would be taken in response to the dragon attack. Nothing like this had ever happened in their memory.

Alwroth addressed the Wizard Moright. "What says the war counsel?"

Moright stood up to speak. He had closely cropped brown hair and a scar across one cheek.

"War." He looked around the room, letting the word sink in. "We were attacked in our home ... by a dragon." He waved his hand in the air and brought a fist down on the table. "Right here in Amedon.

"According to our two young Wizards, the culprit is this Sulrad. Some of you may recall him from his days as an apprentice. He is currently in Ryden, and has discovered a spell to summon and command the dragons.

"If these two youngsters are to be believed, then he is trying to establish a new religion that would rule the land. With dragons at his command, he may well succeed.

"Our only hope is to attack." He slammed his fist into the table once more for emphasis. "Attack and destroy him before he can bring more dragons to bear on us." Moright sat down with a humph.

Helmyer stood up and held up his hands. He was the master of spells, and had been so for as long as Alwroth had been around, even as an apprentice. Alwroth looked around the room to silence any chatter and nodded to Helmyer.

"War is dangerous and disruptive. Can we not find a way to end this without war? Can we not send spies? Perhaps some small team of Wizards especially trained in assassination would be able to stop this before it starts. I am willing to train anyone who wishes to make the effort. I know spells that may work. I say, spare us the pain and insanity of an all out war. We need it not."

Helmyer sat down and folded his hands in his lap.

When no one else spoke, Alwroth nodded his head to Tonor in invitation. As head of the membership council, he was in charge of keeping track of Wizards throughout the land. Even Wizards that did not come to train in Amedon were required to be registered.

"Why do you believe the word of these two youngsters?" Tonor stood to address the group. His hair was just turning from silver to white, but he spoke with the strong, confident tone of a much younger man.

"I have examined them carefully," Alwroth said. "I can feel the connection. I saw the Sorceress command the dragon and it obeyed. You all saw that."

"Doesn't that make you suspicious?" Tonor asked. "How do we know that Sulrad is the one behind the dragon's attack? Maybe Rotiaqua is the one who called it forth, and that's why she was able to command it to depart."

"She does not command the dragons, but she and the dragons are linked," Uskin said. "Their blood runs in her and her life is bound up with theirs, but she has no reason to call them down on Amedon."

"Summon her here and examine her yourself." Alwroth stared at Tonor. "I am confident that you will agree with me. I would like to invite them to sit on the Council since they have special knowledge that will be key to winning this war."

"But they are just youngsters; he is only sixteen summers and she nineteen. They have not passed the trials, they have not been trained." Tonor pushed his chair back and started to pace the room.

"It's just not done," Tonor said. "They must pass the trials before they are allowed to sit on the Council and they must pass the tests before they are allowed a voice." He returned to his seat and dropped into it. "This is most unusual."

"Can you not feel their power?" Alwroth asked. "These two have been paired for a very long time already. They have tapped into a source of magic that many of us do not possess.

"They know the Wizard Sulrad and are connected to him. That means they may be able to help us gather valuable information that will aid us in our fight.

"They can command the dragons and have more power than most of you, and they grow stronger every day." He looked around the table challenging anyone to disagree.

"What say you?" Alwroth asked.

"I don't like it," Tonor said. "Promise me this - after the war, you will send them through the trials. We must not break our own rules even for this."

Alwroth queried each Wizard in turn. Not all agreed, but in the end they came to a consensus. They would march on Ryden but send an assassination team ahead of the main force.

The debate was livelier when it came to allowing Zhimosom and Rotiaqua a seat on the Council for the duration of the war. In the end, Alwroth won out. Zhimosom and Rotiaqua would be allowed to sit on the Council until the threat of Sulrad and the dragons had passed, then they would undergo the trials.

Alwroth waved to one of the attendants. "Please go fetch the Wizard and Sorceress."

Alwroth stood as Zhimosom and Rotiaqua entered the Council Chambers. Someone had added two chairs to those spread around the table. The new seats were plain, unadorned, and almost uninviting.

"Before you take your seat, there is much you need to know," Alwroth said as Zhimosom and Rotiaqua stood before the Council.

"The Wizards' Council only accepts new members when there is a vacancy, and at the moment, there is none.

"Before a Wizard is admitted to the Council, they must prove themselves worthy. This is done through trials of their knowledge and character. Even then, they are not allowed a voice until they have undergone the test of courage, strength, and wisdom."

He looked sternly at the pair. "You have passed none of these tests."

Alwroth watched as the two young Wizards squirmed. He could not believe he was about to elevate them both to full members of the Council, but they had power and information that might well be the difference between failure and success in the upcoming battle.

"You are granted membership in the full Council for the duration of this war. At the conclusion of the war, you must undertake and pass the trials or you must relinquish your seat.

"Is that clear?" he asked.

"It is," they said in unison.

"Then take your seats, please." Alwroth gestured to the empty chairs. He watched as the two of them tried to get comfortable before he began.

"It's to be war, and you two are a key part of it. I expect both of you to take an active part in the upcoming conflict."

Alwroth and Moright laid out the plans for a land battle with Sulrad. They would split the Wizards into groups; one half would take the direct route to Ryden, marching straight across the plains, while the other stayed behind to defend Amedon.

Alwroth wanted Rotiaqua to be part of the later group. He was certain her ability to command the dragons would play a pivotal role, should they return.

A small group would split off when they got close to Sulrad's position and attempt to take him by stealth. They would carry out Helmyer's plan of assassination.

Alwroth asked Zhimosom to take part in the assassination attempt.

"I do not agree with this plan," Zhimosom argued. "Sulrad is strong, and he's no fool. I do not want to leave Rotiaqua here alone. We work as a pair, we need to stay together."

Alwroth sensed that Zhimosom was holding something back. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

"No. I just don't want to kill Sulrad unless there is no other way. And I don't want to face him alone. I need Rotiaqua there with me." He folded his arms across his chest.

"War is no time for personal feelings, son," Alwroth tried to reason with Zhimosom. "We need your special insight into Sulrad to help us find him. We can't just walk into Ryden and ask for him, expecting him to reveal himself. He is likely well hidden and you may be the only way to find him."

Zhimosom shook his head. "We should capture him if we can. Killing should be our last resort, to be used only if he would otherwise escape."

"Do not shy away from killing him if you must." Alwroth was concerned by Zhimosom's insistence. He would have to set an older Wizard to watch him. After the outburst, he wasn't sure how far he could trust Zhimosom.

Spells of War

The morning after Uskin's proclamation of imminent war, Zhimosom re-joined the battle planning session. He was still worried about the plan to assassinate Sulrad. He didn't want to admit that killing Sulrad would affect Rotiaqua. He tried to learn as many non-lethal spells as he could to contain Sulrad, but not kill him.

"Why do the Wizards have so many spells for war?" Zhimosom turned to Helmyer after he'd completed a litany of spells that he was to learn before departing.

"Wizards used to wage war on one another long ago," Helmyer said. "These spells are handed down from ages gone by. Many of the spells have not been used for hundreds of summers, some longer. A few of the spells even date back to the days before the dragons left."

"What drove the dragons away?" Zhimosom asked.

"Skelek. He was the Wizard who learned to command the dragons. He had an insatiable appetite for blood. The dragons found a way to flee his influence by crossing the void into their home realm. They fled there and left the world without their magic these thousand summers.

"It's hard to believe that Sulrad has found a way to summon them back and command them," Helmyer said. "He must have discovered how Skelek commanded the dragons, and improved on it.

"If Sulrad has found a way to summon and command the dragons, he is a threat to our safety that must be dealt with swiftly. We have to march as soon as preparations are complete."

Alwroth looked around the room at the gathered Wizards. "I only hope our plan for assassination works. We can't afford an all out war against a Wizard who commands dragons."

Zhimosom wanted to direct them towards a less lethal solution. "Surely not all of the spells are meant to kill. Are there spells that can be used to bind a Wizard? To take his power and seal it away from him?" Zhimosom didn't want to admit he had already learned some of these spells. He hoped Helmyer would teach him, some things he did not yet know.

Helmyer laughed. "It's a lot easier to kill a Wizard than to stop him. His power wraps him in a protective shield. Most of these spells are meant to turn a Wizard's power against him. You do that and you kill him in the process.

"Taking a Wizard's power away from him kills him just as quickly as imploding his magic. A Wizard and his life force are so intertwined that taking magic away also snaps the life force threads. It's usually fatal."

"Surely there must be something we can do that's not lethal?" Zhimosom asked.

"You're very curious about this, aren't you?"

"I don't want to kill anyone. I'd rather just stop them from hurting others."

Helmyer chuckled. "Such a compassionate young man. That could well be your downfall, you know."

"I just don't think killing is the answer."

"Not even after what you saw during the attack? When the dragon came and killed all those people? Burned them alive or left them in pain for days before they expired. That doesn't make you want to kill?" Helmyer shook his fist in the air at imaginary dragons.

"No. I still don't think we should kill anyone unless we have no choice."

"If you really believe that, then I'll teach you a few of the non-lethal spells, but do not hesitate to kill if you must."

Helmyer hefted a heavy book onto the table. He blew the dust from the cover and opened it to the middle. There were drawings of Wizards and sketches of hexagrams used to cast spells, but mostly there were runes that looked only vaguely familiar.