The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (30 page)

“
I could
feel
the barriers slipping away. There was
nothing
I could do. I was
petrified. And I think you are right. I think my fear did fuel the
energy further.” She brushed the hair from where it blew across her
face, and tucked it behind one ear.

“
It’s
alright
to be scared with that much power running through
you.”

Josephine shook her head. “I wasn’t afraid for
myself. I mean, all the pain that was passing through my
body
was
terrifying, but my life didn’t seem to matter. I did not
care what happened to me. All I could think about was that I was
going to die and I had failed everyone. Rina was going to go up in
flames because I could not control myself, and I could do nothing
to stop it.” She wiped her eyes. “Through it all I saw my mother
again, as she was the day she died: Lying there at my feet, as
clear as it had been the night it happened. The same face has
haunted me every day since she died, but never has it seemed so
strong an image as it did yesterday. The shock that was ingrained
on her face… and yet, she was gone also. She went from being my
mother to being a shell in less than a second. Her eyes were
so
vacant
...” Josephine swallowed back tears as she choked on them.
“I killed her, and if I fail in this I have as good as killed my
people as well.”

Matthias looked down at Josephine’s sodden face. “My mother
died when I was young,” he said suddenly and licked his lips. “It
was my fault.”

Josephine stared up at him. “How?”

“
She was able to wield the earth power. She had
been able to since I was born. No - one knew, save my father and
our family, until, one morning, when we had gone to market, to
peddle our wares, I was attacked by a thief. He drew a blade on me
and held it to my throat, and said he would kill me unless my
mother and father handed everything they had over to him and his
friends. If we did that, we would surely starve, but they did so
nonetheless.” He snorted. “But then the thief
wouldn’t
let go. He held on to me,
pulling my hair, pressing the blade into my throat. He said he
would release me when he reached
safety
. And then... my mother snapped. She
ripped the knife from the man’s grasp with threads of energy,
picked him up into the air, and threw him across the path to save
me. She did this in broad daylight, in a Mahalian
town.”

“
Why
do your people hate women who can use the powers so much?”
Josephine asked.

Matthias shook his head. “It’s a foolish, ancient belief that
if a woman can wield the power she wields it for the side of the
evils of the world. It has something to do with ancient folklore
surrounding the earliest days of life. A woman was said to have
been the first human to surrender to the urges of the dark, and
with her allure, she persuaded men to join her.”

“
I am surprised your people would place such stock
in a
story
.”

Matthias smiled. “Some tales grow more powerful as
they age until the very fact they are so old and have survived so
long means there
must
be a truth in them somewhere.” He shook his head. “In any
case, the city was soon made aware of my mother’s actions. A few
days later my mother was taken away. I learned soon after that she
had been killed trying to escape. She was screaming my name as she
died.”

“
That’s
awful
,” Josephine whispered. “I am sorry, ambassador.”
Her brow furrowed. “Yet you became a
wizard?
”

Matthias smiled. “That is another story, and one which I
might tell you another day. The world is but a series of
contradictions, if nothing else.” He shifted, and grasped her hand.
“In any case, the reason I am telling you this is to show you that
you are not alone in your pain. We all have experienced tragedy in
this world in some way or another. And we all- or at least, most of
us- find ways to cope; be that seeking comfort in others, the gods,
or in other ways.”

“
I might find that comforting were I not directly
responsible for her death,” Josephine sniffed. “It was
my
hands that struck
my mother. And unlike your own mother, mine was not saving me from
harm. There was no apparent danger. She was just talking with me
and then in the blink of an eye, her life was taken from her. It
was a
pointless
death.”

“
You
are not responsible for circumstances out of your control
Josephine. Just like today.”

Josephine took a breath and wiped away her tears.
“If only I could believe that,” she said. “You know wizard... I
have always believed that I would live a short life.” She shook her
head. “No, it is more than belief. It is an
instinct
, one whose presence I have
always felt. When the power emerged I felt a form of vindication
for that instinct. In the years since I have felt my mortality more
acutely than I can explain. That is partly why I agreed to go with
you. If it
is
true, if I
am
to die young, then my final moments will be in aid of
helping people. My death will not be pointless. And so, in turn,
neither was that of my mother.”

Matthias nodded. “
I cannot say what lies in store for you
Josephine. I will try my utmost to protect you, to train you, but
the gods alone know where we will tread.”

Josephine sniffed. “
The gods who
gave
me this power and then left me to deal
with the circumstances alone? Do you really believe they
have
any
grasp of this ball which they have started
rolling?”

Matthias shrugged. “I try to have faith that the gods will
prevail. They have lived millennia in watch over us. They have seen
more wonders and more dangers than any other creatures on this
world. They may not be able to touch the world directly any longer,
but I have to believe they know what they are doing in entrusting
you this responsibility, in sending down the seeing Stones to guide
us.”

She
shook her head. “Perhaps. I am not sure what faith I place in the
gods. It has always been a point of contention between my father
and I. Anyway,” she said, taking a breath, “it is no use talking
over such matters now. It will make no difference. Gods or not,
what matters now is my kingdom and how to save the world from more
torment.”

Matthias nodded and turned to scan the horizon. “If we make
it to Crystal Ember in time, then Aralia will be safe.” He smiled.
“You will find a way to stop the dragon.”

“
Your faith in me is both encouraging and unnerving,” she
said and smiled.

“
You are not alone in this. I won’t let anything
happen to Rina
or
to you. Not if I can help it. You can trust me
princess.”

Josephine nodded after a pause. “I
do
trust you.” She
sniffed. “Though I will confess, I still did not
completely
until last night.”
She looked up at him. “But without you I would have ripped myself
apart. I owe you my life.”

Matthias shrugged. “I didn’t do anything
particularly. It was all you.
You
regained control.”

“
But it was your
being
there that calmed me down so that I could
do so. For that I
am
in your debt.”

Matthias shrugged. “Think nothing of it princess.”

She
shook her head, and gave him a warm smile. “Oh for goodness sake,
call me Josephine.”

King Arwell had awoken early every day for the
last week. That was of course when he could
get
to sleep in the first place. Since
Josephine had left, he had slept very little

There had been no more sightings of demons since
the night of her disappearance and no more news of his daughter
since that night. Whilst he supposed that was a
good
thing in that it meant his daughter
was lying low and hopefully, therefore, on her way to Olindia, he
would have given
anything
to know exactly where she was and what she was doing. He
had contented himself to hunting on the Plains of Rina and the
Eastwood nearby, but even though it provided a reasonable
distraction, his thoughts always returned to Josephine. The only
cure, it seemed, was to drink as much as he could and look forward
to a few hours of unconsciousness in the evenings before his
nightmares woke him once more.

As he ate his morning meal he read through papers
presented to him by his advisors: dry documents about the continued
bad harvests to the south of Aralia. It was hardly surprising news
given how close to the borders of the ruined lands of Helriven
those fields affected were. It was lucky that
anything
grew around there given the
scar that the Blasted Lands had cast across Triska’s southern
reaches for the last four hundred years. Still, it seemed that the
pestilence was spreading further north than it had done for many
years. The only option it seemed would be to try to approach Tekri
and purchase some of their grain. It was
hardly
ideal, especially considering the self -
worth that the emperor of their realm
already
felt towards his
land.

As
he finished the last mouthful of meat, Darien, one of his youngest
aides, knocked on the door and entered, bowing deeply to
him.

“
Your Grace, beg my pardon interrupting your breakfast, but
there is a man who urgently wishes to meet with you.”

“
This early?” He looked out the window. The sunrise
must have only been an hour ago at most. “Who
is
it?”

“
It
is a wizard, Your Grace. His name is Lord Fenzar?”

Arwell’s stomach lurched. “Fenzar? Are you sure?”

“
Quite sure, Your Grace. He left me little room for
error.”

The king nodded. “That
does
sound like Fenzar. Send him in at once,”
he advised and rose from the table.
What could this be
about?

A
few moments later an elderly man cloaked in a purple and green coat
as thick as the pelts of at least a half dozen animals walked into
the room. His face really was as gnarled as Arwell remembered and
his hair had grown even wispier than the last time he had seen
him.

“
Your
Grace
,” the man said airily as he bowed, clutching with
wrinkled fingers tightly to his tall, golden staff, stopping him
from falling on to his face. “I am grateful you have agreed to meet
with me at such an early hour!”

“
You hardly left me with much of a
choice
, ambassador,” King Arwell sniffed. “It has been a long
time.”

“
Indeed it has Your Grace. I have been incredibly busy of late
and your good kingdom has suffered a lack of my
attention.”

“
And yet it has
survived
,” the king smiled haughtily. “No escort
today?”

“
Alas, I did not have the time to bring with me the same
luxuries as on a normal visit. I have only brought two other men
with me this time. They are dining at your pleasure as we
speak.”

“
Well how very generous of me.” The king offered a seat to the
man before taking his own.

“
Your Grace, forgive me if I am wrong, but you seem a little
highly strung.”

The king looked at him in mock surprise.
“Highly
strung
you say? Well, I wonder why
that
would be?” He snorted. “What do you
want
, Fenzar? I have had
more
than enough unexpected visits from Mahalia of late
and I am in no mood for any more games.”

The
old man’s face screwed up and the wrinkles along his cheeks
deepened. “Visits, Your Grace? What visits would those
be?”

‘
Why, ambassador
Greenwald
, of course!” the king
exclaimed.

“
Greenwald?
Matthias
Greenwald?” Fenzar asked. The king nodded and the
man raised a hand to his lip. “I
see
.”

The king leaned forward. “What’s wrong? You
did
know about his
visit?”

Fenzar shook his head, “I am afraid we did not, Your Grace.
He was not sent by the Council.”