Arcanius (8 page)

“The earl’s son is here?” Grentz asked.

Rafe nodded. “Tiberius is with his father now. Olyva’s family remained in their sky ship.”

“Tell me why our new king is so intent on finding you?” Grentz asked. “Tell me why I have war ships from Sparlan Citadel circling over my city? Did you kill Earl Marcus?”

“Earl Marcus was already dead,” Rafe said. “His body was being used by some foul magic.”

“All magic is foul,” Grentz said.

“No, Father, it isn’t. I’ve seen magic used for good.”

Grentz’s eyes narrowed, but Rafe pushed on. He knew he needed to tell his father the truth about Tiberius. There was no other way to explain what was really happening.

“Tiberius is a wizard. He saved my life the day we fought the graypees. I broke my back in that fall, but he healed me. He’s trying to heal his father right now.”

Rafe could see the conflict in his father’s eyes. Grentz had spent his whole life serving Earl Aegus. They were close—not quite like Rafe and Tiberius, but Grentz had stood beside the earl and hated to see him struck down by illness. If there was a chance that Tiberius could save his father, Rafe knew that Grentz would support him, even if that meant accepting magic.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Grentz said. “Go find a quiet place with Lady Olyva and live in peace.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Rafe said. “We didn’t set out to oppose Leonosis. He promised that Olyva and I could be together, then he double-crossed us.”

“So you want revenge.”

“No,” Rafe said. “We just wanted to survive. Olyva was sick, and we thought that maybe in Hamill Keep someone could help her. But when we got there the earl was different. It’s hard to explain.”

“We heard that Leonosis was appointed king by all the earls. There is no way that happened so quickly and without at least some of the earls opposing him.”

“Magic,” Rafe said. “When we went before Earl Marcus, he attacked me. Tiberius struck his arm with a staff, and I saw it broken completely in two, yet he never made a sound. Then he tried to kill Olyva, and I stabbed him. It was a killing stroke, right through his bowels, but he didn’t even seem to notice the wound. He broke my jaw, but not before I cut his throat with my sword. Yet he still didn’t die. He didn’t even bleed.”

“How am I supposed to believe any of this?” Grentz said. “No man can be mortally wounded and not die.”

“He was already dead,” Rafe said. “Something else was controlling his body.”

“That’s impossible.”

“No, I’ve seen the impossible. You will, too.”

“Rafe, you need to get your friend and get out of the city. It will be sunrise soon, and the king’s soldiers will see you escaping. What do you need? Food? Weapons? Gold?”

“We don’t need anything,” Rafe replied. “But Olyva’s family needs a safe place to take shelter. The king’s ships used fire bombs to try and destroy the Hamill Keep sky ship.”

“This is a bloody disaster,” Grentz said.

He was about to say more, but the door opened, and Tiberius waved Grentz inside.

“He wants to see you,” Tiberius said.

Grentz looked doubtful at his son, then slipped past Tiberius and into the earl’s bedchamber.

“Should we go?” Rafe asked.

“No,” Tiberius said, watching as Grentz slowly approached the earl’s bed. “He’ll recover, but I need rest.”

“Where are you going?”

“My old room. You coming?”

“No, I’ll wait for my father.”

Rafe watched Tiberius walk down the hallway. It felt oddly familiar. Rafe couldn’t remember the number of times he’d been on duty in the palace and watched Tiberius walking down the richly decorated hallways. Seeing him there now, after all they’d been through, felt surreal.

A few minutes later, Rafe’s father reemerged. He looked shocked, but he was working hard to hide his feelings. Rafe had seen his father acting the same way when Rafe had been banished with Olyva, only instead of shocked, his father had tried to hide his disappointment.

“How is he?” Rafe asked.

“He seems better,” Grentz said. “He’s asking for food.”

“That’s good, right?”

“It is,” Grentz admitted. “I’m not sure what Tiberius did, but it seems to be helping.”

“Ti can do the impossible,” Rafe said. “I’ve seen him.”

“Well, I need some time. You show up here, talking about magic. Leonosis is made king and sends warships to find you. Those ships haven’t been used since I was a boy.” Grentz grimaced. “Something isn’t right, but I don’t know what—or if I even want to know.”

“Tiberius thinks there’s something evil in Sparlan Citadel, but we don’t know what to do, either. We don’t know who we’re fighting.”

“Did Leonosis know that his brother was a wizard?”

“I don’t think so,” Rafe said. They were talking in hushed voices as servants began to stir around the palace. “But Princess Ariel works magic, too. That’s why she was so interested in Tiberius when they were here.”

“If the princess knew, then Leonosis knows now. That’s probably why he’s sent ships to capture his brother.”

“That doesn’t explain the earls,” Rafe said. “This isn’t just about Ti learning magic. It’s a struggle for power.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

“Because I’ve seen it,” Rafe said. “I’ve seen what Tiberius can do. And we found something in one of the deserted cities. Ti doesn’t even know what it is, but Leonosis wants it.”

Grentz looked down, and Rafe wasn’t sure what his father was thinking. But after a moment, he looked up, and Rafe thought he looked more like his old self. The news of magic, seeing his banished son again, and even realizing that Tiberius had somehow healed Earl Aegus had all been hard for the sword master to take in. But now Grentz had settled it in his mind, and the natural-born commander was back in control.

“I’m going to see that the earl has food and drink,” Grentz said. “Then we have work to do. Don’t leave this post.”

“Yes sir,” Rafe said, not even trying to suppress the grin on his face.

“It’s good to see you, son,” Grentz said, squeezing Rafe’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Rafe didn’t know what to say, and before he could even reply, his father walked briskly away. Rafe knew his father loved him, but he had pushed Rafe to be the best with a sword. The training Rafe’s father had put him through had been grueling, and as his commanding officer, Grentz had been demanding. Yet Rafe had done everything his father had ever asked and risen through the ranks of the earl’s war band with a reputation as a good commander in his own right. Still, Rafe couldn’t remember his father ever telling him that he was proud of him.

Tears filled his eyes, but he blinked them away. Then he stood up a little straighter and double-checked his sword. He hadn’t known what to expect when he saw his father, but he had never dreamed that the fabled sword master of Avondale would actually be proud of him. And Rafe was now more determined than ever not to let his father down.

Chapter 9

Lexi

The sun was almost up when Lexi finally found the small home she had been looking for. She had been to the old man’s hovel only twice, both times in search of information about a mark she’d been contracted to steal from. Ennis was a strange old man. Sometimes he sold books in the various underground markets. Sometimes he could be found begging near the earl’s palace. But most of his time was spent in his tiny home on Avondale’s lowest level.

From the outside it looked just like any of the shanties around it. Most of the homes and shops on Avondale’s lowest level were carved into the soft volcanic rock that made up the foundations of the city’s magnificent homes and towering walls. The door was hung haphazardly, and a tattered blanket hung inside the hole that served as a window. From the smell in that section of the city, Lexi expected to find sewage pooling in the tiny hut, but she knew from experience that the home was well maintained and kept immaculately clean. She knocked softly on the door and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long. The door opened slowly, and Ennis’ face poked out. Even in the dark, Lexi knew he was the man she was looking for. He had sold Tiberius the book fragments, and if he didn’t know where more books on magic were, he would probably know someone who did.

“Lexi,” the old man hissed.

He pulled her quickly into his home and then looked carefully up and down the narrow street to see if anyone was watching her. Lexi waited quietly. The house was even more gloomy than the street. He closed the door and propped an old wooden chair against it to keep the door closed. Then he took Lexi’s hand and led her back into another room of the house. A shuttered candle was glowing in the second room’s far corner, casting just enough light that Lexi could see she was in a slightly larger room that served as Ennis’ living and sleeping quarters. He closed a well constructed and thick wooden door to the second room and lifted a heavy locking bar into place before speaking again.

He walked over to the candle and removed the shade, then lit a lamp that hung in the center of the room. A golden light spilled from the lamp, and Lexi could see everything around her. There were two chairs, both covered with soft cushions. A large pot hung in the cold fireplace, and a wooden table was against the far wall and piled with books. Ennis slept on a narrow bunk that was neatly made up, and the old man was sipping from wooden cup.

“I’m sorry I have nothing warm to offer you to eat or drink,” he said, settling into one of the chairs. “I’m currently out of wood for a fire.”

“I’m fine,” Lexi said. “I don’t need food, I need information.”

“I thought you left the city with the earl’s son. I would have sworn that was the case.”

“I did,” Lexi said. “Now I’m back and I need some help.”

“You survived the blighted lands,” he said, sounding amused. “That is a rare feat.”

“It wasn’t without its share of hardships, but those stories can wait. How did you know I left the city?”

“I was questioned by the new king,” Ennis said. “This was before he was king, mind you. He had spies drag me to his dungeons. I wasn’t the only one there.”

“Leonosis questioned you? About what?”

“About you, of course. He seemed quite interested in what you and his brother were up to out in the blighted lands.”

Lexi wasn’t sure what to think about that. She had never met Leonosis, and although she knew the new king of Valana wanted Tiberius and the Balestone, she couldn’t imagine why he would send spies to track down Ennis.

“What did you tell him?” she asked.

“Only the truth,” the old man explained. “He was interested in the book his brother purchased from me.”

“And you told him what it was?”

“Yes,” Ennis said.

Lexi guessed that was why Leonosis wanted Tiberius. Perhaps it was nothing more than a king trying to enforce the law. Magic was forbidden across the kingdom, after all.

“But that’s not why you tracked me down, is it?” the old man asked.

“No,” Lexi said. “I need information. You sold Tiberius the book on magic, and we both know you have things that are, shall we say, hard to find.”

“That’s a polite way of stating the truth.”

“So do you have any other books that talk about magic?”

“Perhaps,” Ennis said. “I’m not certain. Why do you ask? Was the book your friend bought not helpful?”

“It was very helpful,” Lexi explained. “But we’ve run across something, and we need to know more about it.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a magic rock. I think Tiberius called it the Balestone.”

Lexi saw the look of surprised on the old man’s face. He was usually very reserved and either passionless or affecting a tone of discouragement as he haggled with customers over his books. Even his interest in her up to that point had seemed less than authentic. She had come to him, after all, and she had thought he was merely playing along. But the mention of the Balestone had been almost like a slap to his face. His mouth hung open, and his eyes showed white all around the irises.

He stood up suddenly and paced in the small space between his bed and the table stacked with books. His face was pinched with concern, and Lexi knew better than to interrupt his train of thought. She had been right in thinking that he might know something. Now, all she could do was wait and hope that he decided to tell her what he knew.

“Why do you ask about the Balestone?” Ennis said at last, still standing up.

“We found it,” Lexi said. “And when we went to Hamill Keep, the earl there wanted to take it and Tiberius back to Sparlan Citadel.”

“We’ve heard rumors that the earl’s son was approved unanimously by the other earls. It seemed strange that all seven rulers would support someone so young and not well known.”

He waited; his statement was obviously posed to see how Lexi would respond. She wasn’t sure exactly what she should do. She couldn’t see the angles the old man was using on her. She could lie, but she didn’t know what that would accomplish. Normally she didn’t like putting all her cards on the table, but she needed information, and it wasn’t uncommon for people who made their living on the streets to trade. So she decided to tell him the truth.