The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (27 page)

She
looked at him with fire in her eyes. “How much... they...
enjoyed... the pottage!” she spat.

Grimm sneered. “Witty. Do you think that will save
you? Only
I
can save you.”

“
You’re
killing
me!” she barked. Grimm laughed.

“
I’m not talking about
that!
I am the only one who can stop the
oncoming storm. I am the groyne that will break the waves as they
pound this land!”

Renna swallowed hard as she struggled to breathe. "Why are
you doing this?" she panted.

"Because it
must
be done. Because I have seen the
true
strength of both
the light and the dark and in the end, the darkness is stronger and
will prevail. And so it must come to pass, one way or the other,
that the world will be reborn." He shook his head. “No-one can know
the burden I carry. No-one!”

She shook her head. "You're a madman! You...
will
burn
for this!"

Grimm smiled. "When all this is over, we
will
all
burn." He turned and walked to the door. “I am sorry it had
to end this way for you.
Trust
me though; it is preferable to what is to come.
And it is only just
beginning
.” He nodded and stepped out into the
daylight.

“
Alone?” Matthias exclaimed, brushing his lengthy hair from
his eye line and behind his ear. “You want me to do this single -
handedly?”

Augustus Pym, his former mentor and a member of the Council
of Wizards, strode the room slowly, hands tucked into his robes. He
was a tall man, with an aquiline nose and a high forehead, slightly
wrinkled even though he was still in his middling years. He was
starting to grey in places in the crown of his short, brown hair
but compared to the others in the Council he was practically
youthful. Still, whatever his age, he was a wise man. He hadn’t
become a member of the ruling Council of Mahalia without the brains
to back it up.

“
You
heard me right,” Augustus said calmly, eyeing Matthias
carefully.

“
But... why?” Matthias said breathily.

“
There is
always
a need for an explanation with you, isn’t there my
young friend? Is it not enough that your old mentor wishes it to be
so?”

Matthias looked down, chastened, but then, defiantly, raised
his head again. “I am not as young as you continue to perceive me
to be, Master Pym. And in this case, I believe I need to know what
is happening!” He stepped forward, and the man flicked a wrist at
him.

“
Ah! Ah! No moving from the spot unless instructed!
You
know
the protocols!”

“
Oh to hell with the rules, Master Pym! You’ve
never been a great one for them before!” He stepped forward and
drew close to the older wizard. “That’s the reason I
admire
you so
much!”

Pym smiled. “I can see you ignore me and flout the
rules of our people as you always have done in such matters.” He
sighed, but then smiled. “It is perhaps the reason I have asked you
to do this. Because I know you will ignore some of the rules that
hold us back and threaten to destroy us. You will
do
what needs to be
done.
Not
what the Protocols dictate.”

“
But
surely this is too important to be left to me alone?” Matthias
asked.

“
You
doubt your own abilities?” Pym asked.

“
With this? You bet I do!” he said.

“
Then you sell yourself short, Matthias. You are a
promising wizard. Intelligent, powerful, and above all,
resourceful. You are the
perfect
candidate for this. You successfully retrieved the
Ark last year. The Council were
very
impressed by that.”

“
But
it’s not the council who are asking me to do this, is it?” he said.
Matthias swallowed. “Is there no way to convince them to change
their mind?”

Pym smiled again, and shook his head. “Once the
Consensus has been made, it is easier to move the
continent
than to change the
direction our people will take. And in this case, they are quire
clear what must be done with Princess Josephine.” He pulled himself
up tall. “So it is up to you and I, and a select few others, to see
to it that things proceed in the manner they need to. For the good
of Triska and the entire world of Erithia. Besides, you
needn’t
be worried. From
your point of view, you
are
taking orders from the Council. A small part of
it, at least.”

Matthias shook his head. “Have the Council any idea yet who
is doing this? For what reason anyone would want to free the
dragon?”

“
Matthias, you ask
too
many questions.” Pym smiled. “You know the old
saying, curiosity killed the cat?”

“
At least cats have
nine
lives! I only have one, and I would be happy
to
keep
it! And I’d rather have all the facts and risk death
knowingly, than stumble blindly into something of which I only know
half of the story!”

Pym laughed out loud. “Too true. But in this case,
I have told you all I can. In the meantime, your job is to see that
Princess Josephine takes the course she needs to. Once she has,
there will be no turning back. And we will have succeeded.
Josephine is an asset, not a threat. The Council must see that, but
sometimes they have to be
forced
to acknowledge it. You must leave tonight. Use
whatever means you can to get to Rina as quickly as possible. You
must arrive before Fenzar at all costs.”

Matthias nodded. “I will do what I can, Master
Pym.”

Augustus sighed, and moved to the window. “I know you will,
my old apprentice.”

Matthias opened the latch. “Let’s hope the Council will be
persuaded by our actions and choose the better path.” He slipped
out the door.

Pym
sighed. “So do I, Master Greenwald. So do I.”

After much travelling and with the sun calling time for
another day and setting on the horizon, Matthias decided, with much
cajoling from the others in their party, that they had better stop
to rest for the night. With no town nearby, they decided to set up
camp in the countryside. Their horses were tied to a nearby tree
and twigs and other bits of kindling were gathered by Luccius and
Thadius from a nearby copse and arranged in a small
heap.

“
Is
anyone here any good at lighting a fire?” asked Thadius as he
placed a few more branches into the stack and piled dried grass on
top. He grasped a stick of wood as thick as his thumb, and started
to twist it between his palms furiously.

"You're doing it wrong," Matthias said. Thadius eyed him
grumpily.

"Oh really?" he retorted. "I'd like to see
you
do
better!"

Matthias raised his hand. There was a crackle, a wisp of
smoke and then flame burst from the wood stack. Thadius fell
backwards, stick still in hand, wide eyed.

“
Another use for having a wizard around!” exclaimed Luccius,
chuckling.

“
I’ll never get used to your tricks, wizard,” Thadius
grumbled, and threw the stick into the flame. Matthias
laughed.

They
all sat together in the warmth for a while, Matthias with his eyes
closed in meditation, Luccius playing cards with himself using a
pack he produced from his waistcoat and Thadius eyeing the darkness
beyond the fire’s wake warily, sword resting on his lap. Josephine
fiddled with the grass absently. Her eyes were heavy, her face
pale, and her shoulders hunched over.

“
You should get some rest, princess,” instructed
Matthias, opening his eyes. “It has been a long day for you. There
will be many
more
like it.”

She managed a weak, tired smile. “Are you going
to
force
me to sleep, ambassador?” she asked.

He
shook his head. “No.”

“
Then I would prefer to remain awake.”

He
nodded. “I understand.”

“
No,
I very much doubt that you do.”

He smiled. “I know that you are far away from
home, that you have been taken from the comfort of your life and
that beyond anything else,
all
you wish is to go home again. But you can’t,
because deep within you is a sense that what you are doing is
the
right
thing to do. And that’s what’s keeping you
here.”

Josephine stared at him in silence a moment. Then
she said: “You do realise that it is
incredibly
annoying when you manage to do
that.”

“
Do
what?”

“
Manage to read my thoughts and get them so
completely and utterly
right
. How
do
you do that?”

Matthias smiled. “Maybe you and I aren’t so different after
all?” he ventured.

She smiled thinly. “
Perhaps
.” Then she sighed, ripping a daisy from
the ground and twiddling it between her fingers.

“
What’s the furthest you’ve been from home princess?” Luccius
asked.

“
Not far,” she replied. “I am told I visited
Olindia when I was younger, with my father. But I can’t remember
that far back. I have lived a very...
sheltered
life.”

The
ansuwan smiled. “Well, what better company could you have for your
first long trip away? You certainly couldn’t be safer. If you think
lighting fires is all Matthias can do, you haven’t seen anything
yet! As for myself,” Luccius continued, “I’m a dab hand with a
spear or a quarterstaff and I’m none too bad with a sword either
now! And I’m guessing Thadius here uses his own sword for more than
cutting up his food or flossing his teeth. How’s about a little
practice between us, Thadius?” he asked.

Thadius rubbed his face with a hand. “I am
tired
,” he said. “Another time.”

“
Are
you all right?” Luccius asked him.

“
It
is nothing,” he answered. “It is late and it has been a long day,”
he muttered.

“
You should get some sleep as well Thadius,”
Matthias said. “It’ll be another long day tomorrow. Perhaps
longer
. I can keep a watch.”

Thadius snorted. “I would sooner slit my own throat than rely
on you to keep watch, after all the excitement of the last few
nights,” he said.

Matthias shook his head. “Suit yourself. But if you have come
this far with me then you must trust my judgement at least a little
now. You can’t stay awake forever."

"I
believe your intentions are honourable. It is the method you choose
to employ them that scares me still. So until you prove you are
capable of leading us to safety, I will remain awake."

Matthias nodded and smiled. "There may be hope for you yet,
Thadius."

“
If
you have finished with your daily trading of barbs, I have a few
more questions to ask you Matthias,” Josephine added, interrupting
the banter with a frown.

Matthias propped himself into a more comfortable
position on the floor and gestured with a hand. “Go ahead and ask
them. I’ll try and answer you. If I
can
.”

“
Very well," she said and took a breath. "Firstly I
want to know if you have
any
idea who is trying to break the dragon’s prison. I
know you have said you do not, but you must be able to make
a
guess
of whom it may be? You must have
some
inkling.”

Matthias licked his lips. “I never lied to your father
princess when I told him I had no idea who had done this. I really
did not know any more than I told you back in Rina. But I have been
thinking after our encounter with Taico Grimm. I have never met
anyone who claimed to be using a borrowed power before.”

“
How is
that
significant?” Josephine asked.

“
That kind of talent is the stuff of legend. If
it
is
true, and I’m not
certain by any stretch of the word that it is, then it means
whoever is after you possesses skills unlike any that have been
seen for a long time.
Unfortunately
, Grimm gave precious little away, aside from a
name: The Four. It didn’t mean anything to me. At least not at
first. But then I
remembered
something I learned a
long
time ago. Have you ever heard of ‘Arash Malhat’?”
he asked.