The Castrofax (38 page)

They let him go, but as soon as he was out of
sight, his smile fell. He never expected to find his mother, and
seeing what Aisling had been through since his arrival, he pitied
her. She had seen him at his absolute physical worse, something a
mother should never see. As he looked back on their encounters, he
could see her maternal side and wondered why he did not guess her
identity sooner.

He slipped into his room and locked the door
behind him. He was weary to his bones, and looked forward to a
quick bath and a long rest.

Two steps into the room, he felt the kinetic
energy of another faintly push against his senses, and he paused.
It came from the chairs by the fire, and as he slowly stepped
around them, he saw a beautiful woman waiting. She had raven-dark
hair half pulled back and dark eyes that watched him in a hungry
way.

His heart caught in his throat.
‘Is she
one of Mikelle’s? Had Balien left a sleeping draught yet?’
Her
eyes glanced down at the wineskin on his hip, and he wondered if he
could get her drunk on such a small skin.

“Let me get more wine,” he said, the strength
long gone from his voice.

“I will not need it.” She stood gracefully,
and he saw the gown she wore was no dress at all but a robe, parted
in the center and tied on one side. It was slit to one hip and
clung to her waist snugly, exposing the lush round curves of her
breasts. “I have you for the night, but let us not waste time.” She
took a step forward and reached for him, but he took a quick step
back.

Emotions passed over her face quickly;
amusement, betrayal, then understanding. “Mikelle said nothing of
hesitance.” Her accent was thick, and she rolled her ‘l’s in
Arconian fashion.

“I’m sure Mikelle said a lot of things.” He
swallowed and searched the surfaces of his room for any vial Balien
may have left. “We shouldn’t rush. Let me fetch more wine.”

He moved for the door, but a cluster of gray
threads passed him and closed it.
‘Air Mage. Why are they all
Air Mages?’
She stepped forward silently, the satin whispering
over her skin.

“My name is Axa,” she told him as he backed
away. “Why do I frighten you?”

“I am exhausted. I could not manage…manage to
please you tonight. Come back tomorrow.” He tried to get around
her, but she moved into his path.

“I think I will stay,” she said slowly, her
eyes intent on his. “Off with the clothes.”

He managed a laugh. “I prefer—”

“I am not here for what you prefer. Prince
Nolen warned me of your tricks, and I am not to be fooled.”

He pushed passed her and made for the
balcony, but before he took three steps something tight closed
around his ankles. He saw a condensing-pattern around him, and with
a quick jerk of her hands, she brought his legs together, nearly
throwing him off balance.

“Do I not appeal to you?” she asked, but it
was more a taunt than a real question. Standing, she had a lovely
slim figure with hard muscle under thin skin. She was truly
stunning. He did not answer and instead tried pulling out of the
pattern, but it was solid. Had he his Elements, he could easily
break free.
‘Is it worth the reverse effects?’

She sauntered over to a night bag on the
floor and pulled from it several yards of white rope. “Prince Nolen
told me many things,” she said in a sweet voice as she coiled the
rope on the bed. She took her time walking up to him, rolling her
hips dangerously as she kept her eyes on Gabriel’s terrified
expression. She tried to touch his face, but he blocked the arm
with a quick forearm swipe. She tried again to the same tune. The
third time she laid an Air pattern around her wrist, so he could
not block her, and her hand landed solidly on his cheek. He
shuttered at the touch.

“I will not go quietly.”

She stretched up on her bare toes to come up
to his ear. “I am counting on it,” she whispered.

He pushed her away swiftly, nearly throwing
her to the ground.
‘If it comes to it, I will do whatever it
takes.’
“Release me and leave, and I will speak of this to no
one.”

“Let us put an end to your fantasy,” she said
and threw together an Air pattern. He had no way to block or dodge
when she tossed it at him, and it slid around his neck.
‘Another
collar.’
He winced and fixed her glare, but she did not quite
look the same. He turned his head to look away; the world seemed to
bend around him.

He felt to see what she had fixed over his
eyes, but his hand stopped short on a sphere wrapped around his
head. His other hand flew to find an edge, but it molded with his
neck as he breathed.

The pattern around his ankles fell loose as
Axa focused her stamina on his sphere, and he took a few menacing
steps towards her. But the air grew so thin he knew he would not
get far. He inhaled, and his knees buckled.
‘Surely she will let
me breathe before it’s too late.’

She stood over him, holding the pattern in
one hand now, a dark look in her eyes. Fear gripped his chest, or
perhaps it was the lack of oxygen. His lungs gasped for what little
breathable air there still was.

“Please,” he whispered, not sure if he made a
sound. “Don’t take this from me.” His body shook as it struggled to
keep him conscious, and darkness throbbed at the edges of his
vision with every beat of his heart.
‘I will not give in.’
His conscious shot a hundred thoughts; of Robyn and the only thing
he had left to give her, of his mother within screaming distance,
of his father whose life he exchanged for this, of the possibility
that Axa succeeded, and of the carpet rushing up to slap him.

Ryker sipped the strong, barrel-aged rum and
grimaced as it burned down his throat. Alcohol had grown stronger
and more inventive over the Ages. He had never been one for strong
drinks, but the tavern did not sell wine like distinguished people.
The large town in the far south of Cinibar was full of the baseborn
lower class who sought strong relief after a days’ work. Not the
kind of people who sipped wine because it was couth and
enjoyable.

The bar tender was a sour-looking man with a
blind eye and an unshaven face, but the pretty women catering to
the patrons were far more lovely to look upon. One girl in
particular stood out as the true beauty in the room with
honey-colored curls piled atop her head, a voluptuous physique, and
a dynamic smile if the teeth were a little crooked. She dressed in
a tight-fitted, blue-and-white dress that came nearly to her hips,
and a neckline that dipped so low it was a wonder she did not spill
out.

She had been displaying a funny trick for
several men by placing drops of water on her fingers and pressing
them onto the table. When she picked her hands up, the drops clung
to her fingers and hardly left a trace of their existence on the
table. The men were baffled and tried to recreate the trick, but
she was making a handful of copper triangles as they failed.

Ryker could see the truth in the trick as
blue threads emanated faintly from her chest. She was not a strong
Water Mage, but she seemed to make a living with her Element. She
laughed sweetly and loudly as she made her way to the bar for a mug
of hot cider.

“What is your Class, girl?” Ryker asked
quietly. She stopped and turned, but he did not look at her. He
could feel frightened energy coming off her. If her trick was
discovered, she could lose her credibility and her coins. “I’ll ne
tell your secret.” He looked at her now and saw her wide hazel eyes
loosened a bit.

“I ‘ave never been tested. Journey to Jaden
too long—could naught afford it. I reckon I’m a Two or Three.”

Ryker nodded. “I’ve use par a girl like y’ in
mine line of work. Are y’ interested in furthering your Water
Element?”

She flitted her eyes around to see if anyone
was listening. “I reckon. What’s the pay?”

“Priceless,” he smiled. He snapped his
fingers and flung the Spirit pattern so quickly that no one saw the
girl die. She stood there for a long moment, the lights dimming in
her eyes. Ryker put a hand over hers and held her spirit in place
before it could slip into the spirit world. Her knees locked, and
her jaw fell slack as she crumpled to the floor in a heap.

“Ashlan!” the bar tender yelled, but he
stopped suddenly when he saw the blue specter standing where the
girl had been. The room fell silent as if the walls held their
breath. Ryker touched two fingers to her forehead, and a wave of
cold blue light ran through her, making the corpse shutter. As
simple as that, the pattern was laid and the deed done. The spirit
turned and raised her hands. From them flew shards of ice and snow
that fell so quickly, she blanketed the room in seconds. The
silence of a blizzard followed as the crystals absorbed every noise
within and some without.

The men and few women stood where they were,
frozen to the floor and chairs. All were still alive, but that
would not last long. The specter stepped forward gracefully, and as
she picked up her feet, she left pointed shards of ice broken off
her ankles and calves.

Ryker felt the sensation of her existence
come to light in the back of his head, along with the nineteen
others. She stepped from the hop house and out onto the street,
vanishing behind the frozen door. Twenty specters was his limit,
and he always had twenty in play. If they were not burning lines
across the plains or creating sudden nature growth in cities and
towns, they were causing gales to break the harvest, spreading
diseases of unnatural kind. Each specter was a little different,
but each had to be a Mage.

He cracked out of his seat and put a foot on
the ground to shift, for shifting could only be accomplished while
making contact with the solid ground. The chill of the room was
replaced with the temperate air of the spirit world as he made his
way home. A hot meal would be waiting for him, and Prince Nolen
would want to return home.

The Princeling had proven his worth and
earned a little trust, but he was still just a boy and had a lot of
growing up to do. He was prideful and hid his pain behind a persona
he used to hurt people. Nolen had stayed the night, and Ryker sent
two of his favorite girls to him, but they both returned the next
morning with bruises and rope burns. Still, all his Arch Mages’ had
their own issues he did not concern himself with it. What he needed
were allies in this Age, and the Prince was the first of many to
come. He had already pledged what was left of his Air Guard to
Ryker’s cause.

Prince Nolen was in the great room, dandling
a curly-haired Parion girl on his knees as she tried to pour him a
goblet of wine.

“How many of mine girls are y’ t’ have before
y’ leave?” Ryker asked in a slightly amused tone. He
was
nearly old enough to be Nolen’s father, but a pretty girl had the
same effect when he was the Prince’s age as it did now.

Nolen grinned. “How many more do you have?”
The girl gave a squeak as he pinched her and hopped out of his lap.
She quickly poured Ryker a goblet and scampered out of the
room.

“I am ready t’ take y’ back t’ Kilkiny
Palace, but there is something y’ should be knowing about
Overturn.” He swirled the wine in its goblet and paused. He had
always been very good at the game Divided Kingdoms, and like Tiles,
real life had many pieces to play. This piece would put him ahead.
“It’s got a limit t’ it.”

Nolen’s face looked a little confused, but as
he thought, his expression fell. “How so?”

“A Mage’s power works like a lake that is
filled from one end ac drips from the other. Overturn makes the
power more like a well. Y’ keep using, but it is never refilled, ac
eventually it will run dry.”

Nolen looked disappointed but smoothed his
features. “How long will it last?”

“He’ll make it through the wards ‘round the
Silex if y’ don’t be destroying any more palaces.”

The Prince’s face became a thundercloud. “I
intended on using his power to help me take the throne.”

“Overturn was the most used Castrofax in its
prime because it went through captured Mages quickly. Y’ can put
another Mage in it when the Class Ten dies.”

Nolen straightened sharply. “He will
die
?”

“Aye. When his power runs dry it will kill
him, par ne Mage can be separated from his Elements.” Ryker thought
this concept was simple. “So if y’ want t’ be breaking him, best be
about it right-quick.”

Nolen nodded, his eyes far off in the
hardwood. “Very well. I despise the Mage anyway.” His eyes were
lying, but Ryker did not pry.

Ryker seized Void. “Let us be going.”

Prince Nolen returned from Atrox Manor with
many stories and no one to tell them to. While he was influential
and powerful, there was no one he would call a friend. He used his
title to distance himself. Many people had tried to befriend him,
but he was suspicious of their intentions, and found that after
twenty eight years, he had not a friend to his name. The person he
was closest to was his cousin Balien, and he despised the man.

When he was younger, he and his sister Kindle
had been the best of friends. She had unfortunately taken after
their mother being delicate and insecure, and it had been Nolen’s
great pride to see she was protected. Twins, they had been brought
into the world together, and he felt connected to her more than any
other. He missed her.

The revelation of her true fate was troubling
since he would have to convince her to tell him where the Silex
was. It was not a conversation he looked forward to, but if he knew
his sister, she would tell him, especially if he offered her
freedom.

Papers had been set out on his desk of things
to sign and approve, mostly for the army. The Air Guard had
suffered a terrible loss, and he found himself signing each letter
that would give explanation for the man’s death, along with a
year-long pay for the widowed wife or parents. The death toll would
be expensive, as would training new men, but he was not in short
supply of them. Some men already came running to the Guard when
they heard the sweet call of danger.