Sinners of Magic (37 page)

‘
I think
she’s fainted,’ he said in desperation, ‘or perhaps gone into
shock.’

‘
Lie her down
on the bed,’ said the mage in astonishment. ‘I can’t believe it’s
her.’

‘
No, nor can
I, I wonder what’s she doing here?’

Mordorma shrugged his
shoulders, unsure, and followed him to the bed. Once she was
settled, he placed a blanket over her body to help keep her warm.
He lit a candle, which he found in one of the small cupboards, and
began to meditate. Amadeus watched a blue light circle over her
body before slowly dying away.

‘
She’ll be
fine,’ Mordorma soothed. ‘It’s all been a bit too much for her
seeing you again. I feel she is under immense strain, but just give
her a little time and she will awaken feeling
refreshed.’

‘
We must tell
Bridgemear at once,’ said Amadeus in a panic.

‘
No!’ said
Mordorma sharply. ‘He mustn’t know of her. They are forbidden to
see each other ever again.’

‘
But that was
so long ago,’ said Amadeus. ‘Surely with everything that’s
happened, events cannot stand as they once did?’

‘
We are not
here to judge who is right or wrong,’ insisted Mordorma, feeling a
sharp stab of tension build in his shoulders. ‘Until the Elders
decide their fate, we are not to interfere.’

A deep moan cut short their
discussion and they both turned to see Amella regaining
consciousness.

‘
Where am I?’
she asked, her voice still sluggish with sleep.

‘
You’re safe
and that’s all that matters,’ said Amadeus, glaring at Mordorma.
‘We only wish to help you.’

Amella sat bolt upright and
scanned the room, unable to take in any of its features.

‘
You must
come with me and help bring Arhdel here,’ she babbled. ‘He is
seriously ill, but I have managed to obtain ingredients to help
make a potion. He is with two others in a tunnel, just at the edge
of the castle walls.’

Mordorma and Amadeus grabbed
their weapons whilst helping Amella to her feet. Each hurried down
the stairwell as they headed into the night. Amadeus shielded
Amella with his sword and Mordorma clung to her side.

Snitterby watched them leave.
He was unsure of what was happening, and decided it would be in his
best interests to wait and bide his time. He didn’t want to run to
Forusian with half a tale and find himself at the mercy of the
king. Wasn’t it Forusian, after all, who had told him that
everything comes to those who wait? And waiting was something he
was eager to do, if he was to get this just right.

Chapter
24

They were left alone for what
seemed like forever and the bitter wind gave cause for Crystal and
Matt to huddle together for warmth. Arhdel was in a sorry state and
they had bound him with a few strips of their own clothing to try
and help keep him warm and stem the flow of blood, but still the
warrior remained at death’s door.

‘
I wonder
where Amella’s got to?’ asked Crystal, shivering and placing her
arms around Matt’s waist, nuzzling into his chest. It was bony
against her cheek, yet she was only aware of the comfort it brought
and snuggled in a little closer, but then footsteps were heard
approaching and the two friends broke free from their
embrace.

The wind was howling against
the grid, causing the bars to rattle, but they dared not move and
take a peek for fear of being detected. Their breathing was lost in
the swish of the wind and Crystal sensed intruders were very close,
then the grid was hoisted up and an unknown face peered inside.

Without hesitation Matt punched
the assailant straight on the nose, sending him reeling back in
surprise and a squeal escaped his lips. Matt saw the spark of pride
in Crystal’s eyes but before he could say anything, Amella was at
the forefront of the hole and calling out for Matt to calm himself,
only narrowly missing a right hook.

‘
What were
you thinking?’ she hissed, making her way into the tunnel. ‘That’s
certainly not going to help anybody.’

‘
How was I
supposed to know he was with you?’ Matt snapped in his defence.
‘That was a pretty stupid idea to send a stranger first, don’t you
think?’ Amella nodded, raising her hand in submission before
heading towards the warrior.

‘
Okay, I
guess you’re right, but come here and help me get Arhdel to his
feet, we have to get him out of here.’

The mouth of the tunnel was at
least six feet high and pushing the warrior out of it proved to be
a real struggle without the use of magic, but after much tugging
and shoving they heaved him out of the hole and then rested his
head on a clump of soft earth.

Amadeus was still smarting from
being caught off guard by the young man’s punch; however, Mordorma
was more concerned about Arhdel’s welfare and drew a shuddering
breath when he saw his broken body.

‘
He’s in a
bad way,’ Mordorma stated, looking down at the heavy frame of the
warrior. Amadeus nodded his head and sighed deeply.

‘
You’re
right, what a mess. Why, some of the wounds are almost to the bone
and he’s lost so much blood he’s nearly run dry. The sooner we get
him back to the inn the better.’

Crystal came and stood beside
them. She was cooling down from the exertion of getting Arhdel out
of the tunnel and was starting to feel the cold. She shivered
involuntarily.

‘
Here, take
my cloak,’ said Mordorma, going to her side and unfastening it from
his throat. ‘It will help to keep the chill at bay.’

Grateful, Crystal swirled the
cloak around her shoulders and placed the hood over her thick
mountain of hair to warm her frozen ears. She smiled at him in
gratitude and he acknowledged her thanks with a bow of his
head.

‘
It’s time we
moved on,’ said Amadeus, gesturing to Mordorma to help lift Arhdel.
‘It’s too dangerous to loiter; we must get him out of
sight.’

Amella and Crystal helped raise
Arhdel to his feet and then followed close behind. Matt kept watch
and they were thankful that the moon stayed covered with thickening
cloud hiding them well. Once they arrived back at the inn, Arhdel
was hustled upstairs whilst they tried to shield him against the
ever-watchful eyes of the keeper.

Snitterby, however, had seen
them return and he licked his dry lips in triumph when he thought
how pleased Forusian would be when he told him all that was
transpiring under his roof. A bell rang above his head and he
jumped to his feet, realising one of Bridgemear’s associates was
calling for his services. As quickly as he could, Snitterby climbed
the wooden stairs and rapped lightly on the door. The bedroom door
opened, showing only Amadeus in the doorway, and Snitterby almost
cried out with joy when the warrior invited him in, but the door
was barely closed when he was hit from behind with a heavy
instrument and the lights immediately went out.

With Snitterby out of the way,
the room became a hive of activity. Amella worked quickly to make
the potion, but Arhdel’s lips stayed firmly closed when she tried
to administer the strange concoction, allowing only a few drops to
seep down his throat, giving Mordorma little time to prepare his
own magic. He needed the support of another wizard, worried he
might be too late to save the warrior, but although Bridgemear was
only a few doors away, he knew he could not ask him with Amella
being at his side.

The curtains were pulled tight
across the window so as not to allow the outside world the smallest
glimpse of what was going on inside and then magic burst from the
mage’s fingertips, landing like long, white veins of lightning upon
Arhdel’s broken body.

Matt sat in a corner and
watched in awe, picking at the fibres of his chair to keep his
hands occupied. He stroked the raw materials and felt the
coarseness of the fibres scratch the palm of his hand. Their
roughness gave him little comfort whilst he watched the mage try to
save his friend’s life.

Mordorma glanced at Matt, his
eyes becoming anxious.

‘
We’ll have
to wait awhile,’ said the magician, when the light from his fingers
faded, ‘only time will tell if he will make it.’

‘
Let’s eat
whilst we wait then,’ said Amella, rubbing her stomach, ‘I don’t
know about you, but I’m famished.’

Amadeus agreed.

‘
There’ll be
enough food for everyone down in the kitchen,’ he said, pointing to
the door, ‘and with the keeper in no position to argue we can eat
our fill.’

Mordorma smiled, dryly.

‘
I guess it’s
been quite a while since his guests have helped themselves to his
larder.’

‘
Indeed,’
said Amadeus, turning and pointing to Matt. ‘Hey, you, go and find
us some food.’

Matt caught the warrior’s eye
and glared at him.

‘
My name’s
Matt,’ he snapped, his eyes filling with indignation, ‘and don’t
ever talk to me like that again, I’m not your servant!’

Without waiting for Amadeus to
respond, Matt jumped from his chair and flew out of the door,
heading down the stairs.

‘
I didn’t
mean to offend him,’ said Amadeus, looking flummoxed.

Amella shook her head and
sighed.

‘
He’s not
from our world and he’s suffering a great strain just being amongst
us. Please treat him with respect; he may be young, but so far he
has shown great courage way beyond his years.’

Amadeus merely shrugged his
shoulders, but remained silent.

Mordorma cleared his
throat.

‘
Once we have
eaten you must both try to get some sleep,’ he said, looking
directly at Amella and Crystal. ‘Amella, you, Matt and Nienna must
leave in the early hours; Forusian must not find you within these
walls or there could be much bloodshed.’

‘
But I don’t
understand,’ Amella gasped, ‘why should he care about my
whereabouts after all these years? I am no threat to
him.’

Mordorma placed his words
carefully upon his lips.

‘
Because
Bridgemear is here and Forusian knows of your past.’

His words sliced through Amella
like a vicious sword and a dark shadow crept across her face,
making her pain plain for all to see. The mere mention of
Bridgemear’s name brought its own anguish and the loss of losing
the one she had once loved bubbled to the surface until she found
herself falling on her knees.

‘
Be strong!’
urged Mordorma, rushing to her side and holding her tight. ‘Perhaps
it is best if you leave tonight and return to your
realm.’

‘
I cannot go
back,’ she wailed, allowing a river of tears to roll down her face,
‘and you know the reasons why.’

‘
Times have
changed,’ said Mordorma, his tone softening, ‘I’m sure you would be
allowed into your kingdom, especially with all that is happening
now.’

A sudden crash startled them
all as the door was knocked completely off its hinges and hit the
floor, only narrowly missing Amella. Both shocked and surprised by
the attack, no one had time to respond to the sheer mass of
soldiers who swarmed upon them like locusts. Amadeus managed to
draw his sword, but had no time to use it.

‘
We have
them, sire!’ cried a Nonhawk soldier, dragging Amella to her
feet.

‘
Excellent
work, men,’ boomed a voice that caused Crystal’s blood to run cold.
‘Let me see who we have uncovered hiding in there,’ said Forusian,
entering the room and wearing a smile that split his face from ear
to ear. ‘Well, well, well, what have we here?’

He made his way to Amella, but
failed to recognise her with her curtain of long dark hair still
hiding most of her face.

‘
Whoever she
is, take her away,’ he ordered with a casual flick of his hand.
‘She may be of some use to me later.’

The guards dragged Amella
outside, placing her roughly into an awaiting cart. Back in the
room, Arhdel lay motionless on the wooden cot tucked in a corner by
the window, his breathing was still almost undetectable and
Forusian eyed him with distaste before glaring at the magician.

‘
I had no
argument with you, Mordorma, or you, Amadeus, yet you shelter
criminals within my walls. These acts of treason make you as guilty
as the rest and I therefore have no choice but to arrest you.
Guards, seize them!’

Mordorma tried to protest, but
his words fell upon deaf ears.

‘
Save your
breath,’ said Forusian, forcing a bitter smile. ‘You cannot escape
your fate.’

Suddenly a Nonhawk warrior ran
to his king.

‘
Have you
found Bridgemear?’ asked Forusian, pushing his dark hair from his
eyes.

The soldier grunted.

‘
No, sire,
his room is empty.’

‘
No matter,’
said Forusian, showing signs of contempt, ‘he will come to me in
time.’ He caught sight of a wave of red hair and unconsciously
sucked in his breath.

‘
Crystal, is
that you?’ he babbled, allowing his hard mask to slip away like
silk. Crystal pressed her lips tight, refusing to answer, and he
took a step closer, pulling at the hood to reveal her
face.

‘
Oh my word,
my joy has no bounds at finding you again,’ he said, sounding
slightly docile. He looked to have a fever and his palms were moist
with sweat.

Mordorma and Amafar were
shocked into silence; they had had no idea they had been travelling
with Crystal and wondered simultaneously if Amella had actually
been aware of Crystal’s true identity.