Trial and Glory (45 page)

“Good. Then follow me and I’ll take you to him.”

“You already have him in custody?”

“Not quite. It’s . . . complicated. I’ll explain on the way, but we really must be going.”

Yanasi ordered some officers to follow her with their units while others secured the palace’s perimeter. She called up her mages, led by Janik, Lufflin, and Nora to flank her.

Illyan grunted in what seemed like approval. He spun on his heels and led them through the outer courtyard and inside the palace.

During their trek, Illyan explained that enough guards had remained loyal to the queen for him to mount an offensive against Gauge. It had taken him months to organize them without drawing notice.

They attacked Gauge’s supporters as she stormed Lyrosene’s gate.

“Why haven’t you captured Gauge then? You seem to have the palace under your control.” Yanasi asked, noticing an eerie stillness that preceded them.

Illyan’s deep voice echoed off the marble walls and floors of the long hallway. He made no effort to whisper. “As I said, it’s . . . complicated.”

“Why?”

“Because many of the guards I gathered to the queen’s cause remember the grisly scene here after High Mage Nareash’s last use of the scepter. As someone who grew up in a life of war, I’m sure you have seen your fair share of horrors, but I’d wager, it would have given even you nightmares. What do you think happens to those unaccustomed to such things?”

They hesitate.

“Where is Gauge now?”

“Cornered in the east wing. That’s where I’m taking you.”

Illyan led them past the kitchens and servants’ quarters. All the while their pounding boots reverberated off the high ceilings. He stopped when they reached a small force of seven guardsmen crouched at the entrance to the east wing. Two of the seven bore wounds, though none looked fatal. All wore frightened and tired expressions.

“What’s happened?” asked Illyan.

“We tried twice to push ahead, hoping to take one room at a time, but they have a black-robed mage with them who set traps on the doors. We’ve lost six men in the process of checking them,” said one of the guardsmen.

“You waited too long,” said Yanasi. “They’re probably all like that. Who else is in there with Gauge besides the black-robed mage?”

“Two yellows and a half dozen guards.”

“Then why haven’t they attacked you?”

“I don’t think they realize we are so few. We really took them by surprise. What do you want us to do next?” asked the guard.

“Stand down,” said Yanasi. “You’ve done your part. We’ll handle this now.”

I hope.

She faced the mages at her sides. “Nora. Get a defensive shield around all of us. Lufflin and Janik, you’ll both be checking the doors we pass. Make sure all the traps are triggered and there is nothing behind them. I don’t want any surprises.” She looked at the three yellow-robed mages behind them. “The rest of you stay on your toes.”

Yanasi waited until Nora nodded she was ready. Then she guided them down the hall. Her troops followed several paces behind.

Lufflin and Janick worked well together, negating all traps previously set at each door. They made it all the way to the far end of the east wing before discovering the room Gauge had holed himself in.

The council chambers. Of course.

Yanasi paused fifty feet from the closed double doors. “Do you any of you feel anything?” she asked.

Nora answered. “They’re ready for us.”

“With something big,” said Lufflin.

“But anything out of the ordinary? Like the scepter?” asked Yanasi.

Janik shook his head. “If they’re using it, then they’ve discovered a way to mask the power it can draw in.”

“Is that even possible?”

Janik shrugged. “I really don’t know, General.”

“Amcaro never told us much about the scepter. I think he was afraid of what might happen,” added Lufflin.

Figures.

“Too bad Krytien isn’t here just in case,” snorted Nora.

Yes, too bad.

Yanasi chose not to address the comment out loud. “Nora, your role is to continue maintaining our defense. Janik, I want that black-robed mage taken out right away.”

“By myself?”

“Krytien told me you were ready for your black robes. Now is the chance to prove it. Lufflin, I want you to take out the two yellows.” She looked to the yellow-robed mages behind Nora, Lufflin, and Janik. “Support Nora where she needs it and eliminate the threat of Gauge’s guards. Everyone understand?”

Yanasi turned around and unslung her bow, notching an arrow.

“What’s that for, General?” Nora asked.

“Someone has to take out Gauge.”
Easier said than done.
“Lufflin, when I give you the signal, blast those doors apart. Janik and Nora, get up next to Lufflin. You three will lead the way. I’ll be right on your heels. Everyone else behind me. Remember, we have to move in fast.”

Ten heartbeats later when her mages had readied themselves, she signaled Lufflin forward. He separated himself by five paces, then brought his hands to his chest. Yanasi couldn’t see much except a pulsing red glow over the mage’s shoulder. Her nervous sweat intensified as the temperature in the hallway grew warmer.

The shirt under her mail clung to her skin. The air thinned. Lufflin thrust his arms forward and a streaking ball of orange and red flame raced toward the door.

A boom sounded at impact. Splinters of wood and gouts of flame flew outward, bouncing into the shields Nora had erected. The concussive force staggered Yanasi. Blinding smoke funneled into the hallway.

Focus.

“Go,” she shouted, barely hearing her own voice over the ringing in her ears. They rushed forward.

Tendrils of white and blue light arced through the doorway, crashing into Nora’s shields. Fire came next as Yanasi reached the door to the council chambers a step behind Janik and Lufflin.

The flames dissipated quickly and smoke rose toward the chamber’s high windows.

Yanasi quickly scanned the room. Three mages, one black and two yellow, stood at the round chamber’s center, protecting Gauge who crouched behind them. Guards stood in front of and behind the marble half wall encircling the drab space. All carried sword and shield.

She drew her bow, aimed, and loosed. The arrow sailed across the room, bursting apart as sorcery erupted once more. The force of the attack threw her backward into the hallway where her soldiers waited behind Nora’s protective barrier.

Yanasi instinctively rolled to her knees, grimacing.

Looking into the chamber, a conflagration of sorcery from both sides filled the space. The assault of light and fire blinded her to any of the details inside.

Can’t wait for it to clear again. And too many will die if I just order everyone to swarm inside.

She staggered to her feet and ran without thinking to the corner of Nora’s shield near the doorframe. She heard someone yell her name, but the voice got lost in the chaos.

Yanasi burst through Nora’s shields and dove behind the marble half wall. She stayed low, using it for protection while crawling around the room.

Not much else I can do. If I make it out of this, I’m having Cisod make me a set of armor like Kaz’s.

Flashes of sorcery continued to illuminate the space as she came across one of Gauge’s guards. He was dead. Charred to a crisp, the man’s blackened skin flaked. His ashen clothes rustled like dry leaves as she brushed past him.

Halfway to the other side of the chambers, she found another guard. Alive and also on hands and knees, his face kissed the stone floor. His body shook and when he looked up Yanasi realized he had been crying.

Scared out of his mind.

His fear washed away when his mind registered who he was looking at. A hand reached down to fumble with his sword.

Yanasi lunged with her long bow. The point struck the man on the temple, jolting him upright. Lightning-like sorcery struck the guard in the head as it crested the half wall. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. The white glow consumed him.

Yanasi closed her eyes until the light subsided. She opened them as raised voices managed to rise above the swarming chaos.

“One Above, Gauge. Use the blasted scepter! What are you waiting for?”

“I-I can’t,” came a shaky voice.

Elyse was right.

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I mean I—”

“Just take it from him and use it yourself,” said another. “I can’t hold them off much longer.”

No.
She drew an arrow and notched it.

“Stop! It’s mine,” she heard Gauge cry.

Yanasi peeked over the half wall. Gauge struggled with one of the yellow-robed mages over a white cylindrical rod. Gauge’s arm darted into the air in an effort to keep the mage from grabbing it. She grinned.

Couldn’t ask for a better target.

In one fluid motion, she stood, aimed, and loosed. Yanasi’s arrow struck the scepter, knocking it from Gauge’s hand. The councilor looked horrified as it hurled against the wall opposite Yanasi. The yellow-robed mage’s mouth hung open in shock.

“Yanasi, down!” someone shouted.

Without thinking, she flung herself to the ground and closed her eyes, burying her face into her arms.

Heat washed over the space above her.

Chapter 32

Elyse’s footsteps tapped against the stone passage. Mail from her guards' armor clinked to either side of her.

The storming of Lyrosene had not been half as difficult as Elyse expected, nor the taking of the palace. Best of all, casualties remained low on both sides.

Though her heart felt heavy at the deaths of Niken and Geran, it lightened when she learned Cassus and Kroke survived the insurmountable odds against them. It lightened further after hearing Yanasi’s report about the battle in the council chambers.

Her general suffered a few minor burns and lost several inches of her bright red hair, but otherwise was fine.

The chamber is another story.
Elyse grunted.
I always hated the place anyway. What better excuse to make a change.

They stopped in front of a plain, but secure cell.

One of the guards opened the door. She stepped inside the dark, windowless space lit by a single small candle.

Gauge sat on the floor at the back wall, motionless. Elyse might have thought the man dead except for the faint rise and fall of his chest with each breath. The man had no right to be alive with the spell Janik managed in the council chambers. According to Lufflin, the mages around Gauge fell on top of him when the last attack struck. Their bodies took the brunt of the assault, leaving her former advisor with only blisters on his arms and scalp.

“After everything you’ve done to me, the least you can do is meet my eye,” she said, standing in the center of the room, trying to control her anger.

Gauge slowly raised his head, wearing a look of contempt. The man appeared decades older, eyes sunken, fresh wrinkles around his eyes and adorning his forehead. He said nothing.

“Aren’t you going to try to talk yourself out of this? Attempt to feed me more of your silver-tongued lies?”

He snorted in a condescending manner. “You mean you still haven’t figured it all out?”

She dug her nails into her palms, trying not to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten to her. “This was your attempt at justice against my family for my father dismissing you years ago, wasn’t it?”

“Justice?” He chuckled. “Don’t pull punches. This was about revenge. His dismissal left me an embarrassment among the nobles. I lost friends, family, and my place in society.”

“And Nareash was yours, wasn’t he?”

Gauge shrugged. “A means to an end.”

“One you mistakenly thought you could control. Why didn’t it end with my father? You succeeded in destroying him.”

“It wasn’t enough.”

“I gave you a great position of power.”

“Yes, but I had to watch you fumble through it all while knowing I could run the kingdom better.”

“Willum and Hadan. They followed your orders?”

He nodded. “And Glacar. Your brother needed to be eliminated too. It wouldn’t have done any good to replace you with him.” He chuckled. “I never thought a boy would do what that massive oaf could not.”

Elyse took a deep breath, trying to keep herself together. “The Assassin’s Guild? The false letter from Markus?”

“That and so much more,” he smiled.

One Above, I hate him. Who knows how much sooner this entire war could have ended had it not been for his manipulations.

Elyse would not give him the satisfaction of knowing her frustration. “My father was right for removing you all those years ago. If not for your lack of loyalty, for your incompetence. Every one of your efforts failed.”

Gauge’s smile turned into a scowl.

“Even the scepter,” she continued, recalling his frequent questions or mentions of the weapon. “All along you were searching for it. When you finally found it, you didn’t know what to do with it, did you?”

He frowned.

“I mean, you couldn’t just give it to anyone. After all, you saw what it did to Nareash, someone on your side. Who knows what someone else might have done with that power? Like eliminate you?” She shook her head. “And you couldn’t use it yourself because you don’t have any skill in the arts. Though I bet you tried anyway.” He looked away, and she snorted. “So you held the greatest weapon in the world, and it did nothing for you. Why I bet most of your plans for eliminating me were dependent upon
you
actually using the scepter’s power wasn’t it?” She laughed louder. “You want to talk about someone fumbling through things? I suggest you look at yourself. Even at the very end, Yanasi said you couldn’t let someone else have it to save your life.”

“Just kill me, and get it over with.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t worry. I will. When I’m ready.”

“It won’t end with me, you know. There are others close to you who are just looking for the chance to pick up where I left off,” he said, still trying to get the last word in.