Arcanius (25 page)

The cabin she had stayed in with Tiberius was on the far end of the deck at the bow of the ship. Lexi ran across the wooden deck, doing her best to make as little noise as possible. She had to jump over coils of rope and other debris scattered around the ship. It was obvious the captain was no longer on board. He had been a stern man who insisted that nothing be left out of place. The crew still on board the sky ship obviously didn’t share his iron discipline.

Lexi slipped quietly inside the cabin, expecting to find their belongings right where they had been left when she, Tiberius, and Rafe had left the sky ship to sneak into Avondale. But the cabin was empty. Their packs were gone. She thought that perhaps she stepped into the wrong cabin, so she tried another, but it was empty, too. A quick search revealed that none of their belongings were in the smaller cabins.

Lexi then went to the larger cabin that was reserved for the earl of Hamill Keep and his family. The space was much larger and, while not exactly luxurious, it had much nicer furnishings. She found their packs scattered on the floor. Their clothes, spare blankets, and rations had been tossed out of the bags carelessly.

Lexi quickly began repacking everything. She knew where Tiberius had kept the stone. He had tucked it into a saddle bag and kept it wrapped in an old cheesecloth, but it was gone. Someone had rifled through their things and taken the Balestone. She wished she had some way to tell Tiberius what had happened, but all she could do was gather their belongings and get back to the war ship.

It took a while to get everything stowed away again, and then she hefted all of their bags at once. Lexi was strong, but the weight of all their packs was a strain. She moved much more slowly back across the deck. Then, when she reached the rope that was connected to the war ship, she carefully tied the straps of each bag onto the rope. Lexi could see Olyva waving to her from the war ship, which was hovering higher than the larger sky ship. The bulbous sail above the sky ship forced the smaller ship to keep its distance, and the rope trailed out diagonally from the sky ship.

Lexi waved back to Olyva and tossed their packs over the rail, but Olyva kept waving, and Lexi realized she wasn’t just being polite—she was warning Lexi of danger. She dove to the side, rolling into a crouch just as three of the sky ship’s crew dashed forward with a large net. They had to change direction, and even though Lexi broke into a run across the deck, they managed to toss the heavy rope netting over her.

Lexi fell hard but immediately began scrambling to escape the net. Two of the men pinned the net to the wooden deck, and the other stood over her.

“Not so fast, missy,” the man said. “We don’t take thievery lightly on this ship.”

“I’m not stealing,” Lexi said. “Those packs belong to me and my friends.”

“Oh, you’re the little nip that was sweet on the wizard. I recognize you now,” the sailor said. “But you can’t just sneak on board the earl’s ship and make off with whatever you like.”

“Let me go,” Lexi said. “I didn’t steal anything.”

“Everything on this ship belongs to the earl—or at least to the countess, at any rate. That includes whatever you left behind.”

“Someone already stole from us,” Lexi said. “I only came to get back what I could.”

“Too bad you didn’t get away yourself,” the man said. “Now you’re on the earl’s ship, and that means you belong to the earl, too. When the countess sends for us, we’ll have a nice surprise for her.”

“You can’t keep me here,” Lexi said.

“Sure we can,” the man said. “And we can have a little fun while we’re doing it, too.”

Just then there was a thump on the deck behind the man speaking. He turned, and Lexi saw him take a hesitant step back. Lexi looked beyond the man and saw Olyva. She was on the sky ship now, a rope tied around her waist and a spear in her hand.

“Let her go,” Olyva said.

“That’s the earl’s whelp,” said one of the men.

“She’s some kind of freak,” said the other. “I ain’t going near her.”

Olyva hefted the spear and aimed it at the man who had threatened Lexi.

“Let her go,” she warned them.

Lexi didn’t waste any time. She drew her Wangorian dagger and began sawing at the net.

“Hey! She’s got a knife!” said one of the men loudly.

The first man turned around just as Lexi cut through one section of the net. She was small enough that she could just slip through the new opening.

“Stop her!” shouted the lead sailor.

They were his last words. Olyva’s spear was true, and Olyva put all her strength into the throw. Lexi had no idea where the young, noble-born woman had learned to throw a spear, but it hit the lead sailor in the chest and smashed all the way through his body, so that the bloody steel stuck out his back. He fell to his knees, moaning, and then toppled onto his side and died.

One of the other men ran, but the third grabbed Lexi, thinking to use her as a hostage. Lexi slashed his arm with her dagger, and when the man stumbled back, she whipped the razor-sharp blade across his throat. Lexi didn’t stay to watch the man die. Instead, she hurried back to Olyva, hearing the desperate gurgle of the man behind her as he tried to hold his life’s blood in his ruined neck.

“Take hold of me,” Olyva said. “The soldiers will pull us up.”

“We can’t go up,” Lexi said. “Someone took the Balestone. We need to tell Tiberius and Rafe.”

“Okay, the war ship can carry us back to the palace,” Olyva said.

Lexi stuck the bloody dagger into her belt and wrapped her arms around Olyva. The taller girl did the same around Lexi, then they were pulled up. Lexi closed her eyes as they spun and swayed. Her stomach lurched with each heave that pulled them closer to the war ship. Soon they bumped into the side of the ship, and then Lexi felt strong hands pulling her and Olyva on board.

She took a deep breath and tried to slow her breathing down. Olyva was smiling, obviously just as relieved as Lexi was not to be hanging out of the ship high above the ground.

“We have to get to the palace,” Lexi said. “As quickly as possible.”

“You heard her!” bellowed the soldier in charge. “Bring us around, fast as you can.”

“Where did you learn to throw a spear like that?” Lexi asked Olyva.

“I don’t know,” Olyva said. “Watching Rafe, I guess.”

“It was incredible.”

“I know,” Olyva said. “It felt so empowering.”

“Get another one,” Lexi said. “We may need it.”

Chapter 28

Tiberius

The interior of the palace was filled with soldiers. Rafe and his small band of warriors were fighting their way down the ornate stairwell, but Tiberius was conflicted. They needed to fight their way through the crowd and reach Brutas, wherever he was hiding, but Tiberius didn’t want to see Avondale soldiers struck down.

“To me!” he shouted.

Rafe and the others fell back, surrounding Tiberius. The soldiers in the palace were led by the survivors of the king’s army that had been caught out on the rooftop.

“
Accendo
!” Tiberius shouted.

Normally, the portal of fire opened, and Tiberius merely controlled how much of the raging flames poured out, but this time he molded the fire, controlling where it went and how big the tongues of fire leaped.

Flames sprang up in a ring around Tiberius’ small band of fighters. The soldiers in the palace all fell back. The leader of the king’s troops plucked up his spear and hurled it at Tiberius, but with a wave of his hand, a plume of flame billowed up, knocking the spear off course and sending it flying to the side of the wide hallway at the top of the stairs.

“Stay with me,” Tiberius told the men around him, ignoring the look of terror on most of their faces. “Stay close, and we’ll be fine.”

“It’s okay,” Rafe assured the soldiers. “We’ll be fine. Trust him.”

They slowly made their way down the curving, marble staircase. The soldiers below them fell back. Many were shouting and cursing. There was no denying the use of magic anymore—too many of the soldiers had seen it. They could feel the heat from the ring of fire, and when Tiberius started waving his arm, a tongue of fire elongated and began to flow out from his hand.

To Ti, the movement was familiar, his mind naturally directing the fire just as he had seen his whip slashing through the air. He let the flame stretch out, the fire crackling with each pop of the magical flame. Anyone who tried to challenge the small group was struck by the flaming whip, their bodies knocked backward by the blow, their clothes and armor blackened and singed, although none were seriously hurt.

“What’s the plan?” Rafe asked.

“Let’s move to the feasting hall,” Tiberius said. “I think I can convince most of the troops to stand down.”

“Okay,” Rafe said. “You heard him—let’s move.”

The hallways were crowded, but the flames kept the combatants at bay. No one dared come too close, and anyone that tried to stop the small group was burned, their feeble efforts to fight easily deflected.

It wasn’t until they reached the large feasting hall that there was enough room for Tiberius to extend the ring of fire. Tiberius, Rafe, and the soldiers with them were dripping with sweat from the heat of the magical fire. Tiberius led the group to the center of the room, which was quickly filling with soldiers and even some servants. Tiberius guessed there were at least two hundred men at arms; most were men from the earl’s war band, but a few were the earl’s guard, and still others were men from the king’s army who had come to Avondale with Brutas.

Tiberius widened his circle of magical fire then let the blaze die down until they were little more than candle flames. His own warriors had stepped back with Rafe, standing behind Tiberius, who stepped forward and raised his hands peacefully.

“Men of Avondale!” Tiberius said in a loud voice. “You know me. I am Tiberius Ageusson. For years you have served my father. Why do you turn against him now?”

“We won’t listen to a wizard!” shouted one of the king’s soldiers.

“Brutas is the new earl,” shouted another. “By order of King Leonosis.”

“There is no need to fight,” Tiberius said loudly. “My father is still Earl of Avondale—not even the king can remove him without a proper hearing. He is outside, healthy, and capable of leading the army waiting with him to retake his palace. You’ll all be killed if you fight. That is not what we want.”

“Do you deny that you’re a wizard?” asked one of the men from the earl’s war band.

“No,” Tiberius said. “I don’t deny it. That is one of the reasons I left Avondale when Rafe was wrongfully banished. I did not wish to stay and put anyone in our city at risk. But I have learned much and I know that magic was once used for good. It shall be again.”

“Tiberius,” came a voice that Ti knew all to well. His brother came in from a side room, surrounded by a group of the king’s soldiers, all with weapons drawn. The men in the feasting hall moved aside for the young noble.

“The disgraced son of Avondale has returned,” Brutas said in a mocking tone. “And now you call yourself a wizard. Banishment wasn’t shameful enough—you had to try and break Valana’s most sacred law?”

“I use my power to help people,” Tiberius said.

“Your power?” Brutas said skeptically. “I say it is nothing more than parlor tricks.”

The men around Brutas spread out, so that now the feasting hall was ringed by soldiers watching the confrontation taking place in the center of the room. Tiberius stood facing Brutas, their respective bands of warriors spread out behind them, weapons held ready.

“You don’t know me, Brutas,” Tiberius said. “Please stand down and let us find a peaceful resolution to this misunderstanding.”

“There is no misunderstanding,” Brutas said. “Our father is a traitor, attempting to wrest control of Avondale from its rightful earl. You are a condemned man, wanted in all nine cities for the crime of wizardry. And that dog behind you shall be put down for returning to Avondale after being duly and justly banished.”

“Brutas, be reasonable. You must see that we want only what is best for our father and for Avondale.”

“Throw down your weapons,” Brutas said, doing his best to imitate Leonosis’ imperial tone of voice. “Surrender yourself to me, and I will spare your lives.”

“You know we aren’t going to do that,” Tiberius said, the ring of flames suddenly dancing a little higher.

“You think I am defenseless,” Brutas said. “You think I am a usurper, but I have the king’s seal of approval, and he has prepared me for your treachery.”

Brutas held up his hand, and in it was the Balestone. Tiberius felt a pulse of magical power, almost as if he had been slapped in the face. The magic of the small stone was immense, and it had quickly bonded with Brutas’ lust for power.

“Put that down, Brutas. You don’t know what it is,” Tiberius warned.

“The king,” Brutas shouted now, speaking to the soldiers in the great hall, “gave me this talisman to protect us from wizardry. Do not be afraid. In Spartan Citadel, King Leonosis has dispatched every resource available to snuff out my brother’s crimes. Magic shall never again wreak havoc in Valana. It will be stamped out anywhere and everywhere it raises its ugly head. Even if it happens to be within the king’s own family.”