Arcanius (2 page)

Tiberius had no idea how an inanimate object like a stone could possibly speak to him, even if it was a magical stone, but the Balestone seemed to call to him. It promised him power and strength, both of which were tempting to Tiberius, but it also seemed sly and disingenuous, which gave Ti an ill feeling. He had suspicions that the Balestone was evil, but he had no proof, only his intuition. Still, he was learning to trust his gut. So he kept the Balestone wrapped in the cheesecloth and packed in one of his leather saddlebags.

Tiberius felt a deep ache in his side as he continued to chant the bone-mending spell. He had expected the pain; it was part of the healing process. The wizard was forced to endure the patient’s pain as he worked the spell into their broken bodies. It was called
Corporeus Adfectus
and was almost like a magical empathy. Still, no matter how prepared he was for the pain, it was always difficult to manage.

The pain in Ti’s side made it difficult to breathe. His chanting became weaker, and the cadence he naturally fell into as he recited the words to the spell suddenly became disjointed and choppy. Tiberius felt the magic begin to slip away, and the Balestone seemed amused by his struggle. He forced his mind to remain on the countess’s injuries and he continued to chant through gritted teeth.

“
Acies Intrinsecus Accipio Ceptum Sarcio Adiflictus Ossis.
”

As the bones mended magically back together, Ti’s pain lessened and then vanished altogether. There was bruising that Tiberius didn’t bother trying to heal. The countess would be sore for a few days, but she was no longer in great pain.

“I feel better,” she said, breathing deeply.

“Good,” Tiberius said. “You’re still bruised, but there isn’t anything to worry about. Get up and move around. It might even help work out the soreness.”

“You’re a gifted healer,” the countess said, sitting up on the bed.

“He’s a wizard, Mother,” Olyva said.

Tiberius noticed that Olyva was watching her mother closely as she called Tiberius a wizard. The old prejudice against magic took time to overcome, and from the way Countess Mauryn stiffed at the sound of the word
wizard
, Tiberius was convinced that his patient wasn’t at ease with the idea of magic, even if it had just been used to heal her broken ribs.

She got slowly to her feet, and Olyva helped her mother out onto the deck. Rafe and Lexi moved in closer to Tiberius. Rafe leaned against the wall near the head of the bed, and Lexi sat down on the floor. Dancer nestled down into Lexi’s lap and closed her eyes as Lexi stroked the little animal’s back.

“So, what’s our next move?” Rafe asked.

“Are we really going back to Avondale?” Lexi asked.

“I can’t imagine any safer place for Olyva’s family,” Tiberius said. “I can’t see them living with the Hoskali.”

“No,” Rafe said. “That would never work.”

“It might be their only option, but we should at least try Avondale. We might not be popular there, but Olyva’s family has done nothing wrong. My father would have granted them asylum, at least until he figured out what else could be done.”

“Your father’s not in power anymore,” Rafe said, trying to be delicate. “Otherwise he would have been in Sparlan Citadel for your brother’s coronation.”

“I know, but it’s the only one of the nine cities that isn’t under Leonosis’ control,” Tiberius said.

“So what do we do once we get there?” Rafe said.

“Speak to whoever is in control of the city. There must be someone in charge. They may not want to deal with us, but they won’t turn away a countess.”

Olyva came back in the cabin, smiling. Tiberius knew she preferred to be out on the deck in the amber sunlight that filtered through the barrier of mist, but she also wanted to be near Rafe. The young warrior seemed more accepting and affectionate since their escape from Hamill Keep, and Olyva was eager to be close to him.

“There’s a tribe of Hoskali down below,” Olyva said. “Their tents look like tiny mushrooms from up here.”

“There are times when I wish we had never left them,” Tiberius said.

“Your brother was busy while we were away. Eventually he would have come after us,” Rafe said.

“Do you really believe that?” Ti asked. “Do you think he would have come down into the blighted lands?”

“You were the one who said he wanted that stone you found,” Rafe explained. “So yes, I think at some point your brother would have found you. When you defied him in Avondale, you made an enemy for life.”

“He has everything he always wanted now,” Tiberius said. “Perhaps he wouldn’t have wanted to come after us.”

“He killed and bewitched the earls of seven cities,” Lexi said sadly. “And somehow arranged the king’s death. Let’s not pretend that things will be safe for anyone, and if your brother sends his armies into the blighted lands, the Hoskali will be massacred.”

“She’s right,” Rafe said. “We have to do something.”

“Well,” Tiberius said. “I’m open to ideas.”

“What do we know for sure?” Olyva said calmly. “We should think through it all before we decide to do anything.”

“We know that Princess Ariel is a witch,” Lexi said.

Rafe laughed, and Tiberius frowned.

“Queen Ariel now,” Ti added. “We know whoever was controlling Earl Marcus’s body wants the Balestone.”

“And we know who has the magic rock,” Rafe said.

“What else?” Olyva asked.

“We know that Leonosis is King of Valana,” Tiberius said.

“Oh, Ti, could you use your magic to heal your father?” Lexi asked.

“I don’t know,” Tiberius said. “Maybe, but I’m not sure I want to.”

“Earl Aegus was never a kind man,” Rafe added.

“No, but he wasn’t bewitched like the other earls,” Lexi said. “Maybe he would fight against them.”

“He would be fighting against his own son,” Rafe said. “Who is now his king.”

“Well, it was just a thought,” Lexi said.

“It’s worth considering,” Tiberius replied.

“It is?” Rafe asked in surprise.

“Well think about it, Rafe,” Tiberius argued. “If the queen wants the Balestone, she’s bound to send someone after it. Avondale is the only logical place for us to go. If we could convince my father to maybe stall for a while, it would give us a chance to escape.”

“Better yet, we don’t heal Earl Aegus and help Tiberius take over the city,” Rafe said.

“I can’t do that,” Tiberius said.

“Why not? We’ll be heroes. We survived the terrors of the blighted lands, rescued Countess Mauryn’s family and returned to a city without an Earl.”

“Leonosis will want Brutas to be Earl,” Tiberius said.

“He’s a lout, and everyone knows it. They’ll follow you if we ask them to.”

Tiberius felt the Balestone flaring to life. It was coaxing him forward, urging him to take control of Avondale. Part of him wanted to take the rock and throw it overboard, but he knew he couldn’t. If Leonosis and Ariel wanted the stone, then they had some evil purpose in mind for it. Tiberius had no illusions that the Balestone would resist being used for evil. The small stone was literally pulsing with magical power and begging to be used, but Tiberius knew he couldn’t dabble with something he knew nothing about. He needed to keep the stone hidden until he could discover what it really was and why it was always coaxing him to seek more power and control over the people around him.

“No,” Tiberius said. “And please don’t bring that possibility up again. Our first priority has to be keeping the Balestone away from Leonosis and Ariel. We need to find out why they want it and what it was made for.”

“Or we could just throw it into the lake at the middle of Avondale,” Rafe said. “The water is too deep and too cold for anyone to find it there.”

Tiberius was suddenly reminded of a dream he’d been having. It was a nightmare, really. He was climbing up a mountain that was on fire. He was forced to climb up bones and skulls as smoke belched from the summit of the mountain. Ashes floated down like dirty gray snowflakes. Tiberius could hear a mocking laughter as he struggled up the mountain, and even though he was terrified, he couldn’t stop. He always woke up sweating, his body tense from the strain of the climb in his dreams.

“I don’t know what we should do, but one thing is certain,” Tiberius said. “I have to find out what the stone was created for and what to do with it. I’m sure that will take me away from Avondale and back into the blighted lands. I won’t ask you all to come with me, but I know that’s what I have to do.”

“You never have to ask,” Rafe said. “You know that.”

“I left Avondale to be with you,” Lexi said simply. “I won’t stay if you’re not there. To be honest, I don’t know that I want to stay.”

“I feel much the same,” Rafe said. “I don’t think I can go back to standing watch on a city wall.”

“And I want to feel the soft turf of the plains beneath my feet again,” Olyva said.

“Then it’s settled,” Tiberius announced. “Once we reach Avondale, we’ll do what we have to do, then set out to discover what is really happening with Leonosis and Queen Ariel.”

They all nodded in agreement, and Tiberius felt a sense of relief. He knew that the task before them wouldn’t be easy, but at least having it settled made him feel better.

“I’ll go tell the captain to set a course for Avondale.”

Chapter 2

Rafe

The ship began to rise up toward the thick blanket of mist that hung over all the blighted lands. The ship’s crew were called back to their stations, and even Olyva’s family quickly grew bored, preferring to return to the large cabin reserved for the earl. Tiberius and Lexi retired to a smaller cabin, but Olyva stayed on the main deck, lingering at the bow of the ship. She loved to soak up the bright amber-colored sunlight, and she looked much healthier than before. The time spent in the dreary area around the lost city of Devonyr had sapped much of her strength, but the color was returning to her cheeks, and she was smiling more.

Rafe wanted to spend every moment that he could with Olyva. He leaned against the rail while she stood with her face turned up and her arms outstretched, soaking up as much sunlight as she could before they entered the thick cloud bank. She was still wearing the dress that Desyra had found for her. It was short—the hem didn’t quite reach her knees—and Olyva had carefully cut away the sleeves. It had a scooping neckline, too, and Olyva enjoyed having as much of her skin exposed to the sun as possible. Rafe thought she looked ravishing, but he didn’t like the looks the sailors gave her; some were fearful, others lustful.

When they finally entered the mists, the amber sunlight faded, and the air around them was wispy white, like trying to see through a thick fog. Olyva let her hands down and leaned against the railing beside Rafe, just letting her shoulder rub lightly against his. It was flirtatious, and Rafe felt a thrill of excitement that he had let slip away over the last few weeks. His worry had almost wrecked their relationship, but he was happy that he hadn’t completely ruined things between them.

“You know you look a little ridiculous,” he said playfully.

“I don’t care how I look, Rafe,” Olyva said joyously.

“You don’t care that the sailors are frightened of you?”

“Why should they be frightened of me?”

“Because you’re different,” Rafe said. “They think you’re a witch.”

“But I’m not. Tiberius is the only one who wields magic.”

“But he looks normal. You do not.”

“Do you think I’m…” she hesitated, a bit of her old vanity reasserting itself. “…ugly, now?”

“No,” Rafe said. “I think you’re more beautiful than ever.”

Olyva laughed and smiled at him. “So what does it matter what anyone else thinks?”

“Perhaps it doesn’t,” Rafe said. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”

“About what?”

“About you. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“And what makes you think something might happen to me?”

“Well,” Rafe spoke more seriously. “Hamill Keep was difficult for me. I thought I was losing you forever.”

“Being out of the sunlight makes me feel weak,” Olyva admitted.

“Weak I can understand,” Rafe said. “But we couldn’t wake you up. It scared me. And then the fight with whatever had taken over the earl’s body. Seeing Tiberius captured. Since we left Avondale, I have felt more vulnerable than the rest of my life put together.”

“You grew up safe behind the city walls in Avondale,” Olyva said.

“True, but I was taught to be vigilant, always prepared for battle. My father drilled me for hours every day until fighting was as natural to me as breathing. I had no fear of fighting and never even contemplated the idea of dying. It was simply unthinkable then, but now…”

He let the idea hang in the air for a moment. He could imagine dying now. He had killed and been close to death himself, but what really scared him was losing Olyva. When he had been forced to stand on the sky ship and watch the rioting crowd in Hamill Keep capture Tiberius, he felt like a part of him was dying. In that moment his anger and grief were so hot within him that he gladly would have dropped into the middle of the crowd without any weapons or hope of surviving. Tiberius had escaped, he was becoming a powerful wizard and, while Rafe was still uncomfortable with magic, he was glad that Tiberius could take care of himself. Still, Rafe didn’t want to have to sit back and watch as something terrible happened to Olyva. If she were to get hurt—or worse yet killed—he didn’t think he could go on living. Just the thought pierced him with so much sorrow he felt tears welling up in his eyes.