The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (31 page)

Arwell’s head spun. “What do you mean?”

“
Matthias Greenwald is a
junior
wizard, by most definitions. To my
knowledge he was on assignment in Tekri on a
trade
mission. We would
never
have sent such a man to meet
with
you
,
Your Grace.
Especially
about the matter which I have come to speak with you about
today. Is he still here? I should speak with
him.”

“
No. He left some time ago.” Arwell swallowed. “And
he took my
daughter
with him.”

Fenzar rose from his chair. “Matthias Greenwald
took your daughter?
Where?
” he asked, his tone growing anxious.

“
To Olindia. He told me that the dragon was
breaking free and that only my daughter could stop it. Oh my
gods
, what have I
done?
It was all
lies
, wasn’t it?”

“
Lies?” Fenzar shook his head. “No, in that regard
he
was
telling the truth. The dragon
is
breaking free.”

The king stood again. “Then I do not understand
what is
happening
here!” he barked.

“
Your Grace
knows
of your daughter’s abilities?” Fenzar
asked.

Arwell looked at him through blazing eyes and nodded. “I have
known for some time,” he said defiantly.

“
I
see
.
Yet you did not tell us about it?” Fenzar probed. “You did not
trust us?”

The king snorted. “You
know
what our relationship with Mahalia is
like.”

Fenzar nodded. “I will admit that our dealings
with you have been fragile, at times. But I am
dismayed
to learn quite how little you
put your faith in us.” Fenzar pointed a finger at the king. “You
truly think that your daughter could stop the dragon’s
release?”

“
Matthias told me the truth about what power my
daughter holds inside of her. She is
strong
.”

Fenzar shook his head. “Oh my, my, my, I am afraid
that is where you are wrong. Young Matthias Greenwald has been
spinning you grand tales I am afraid. His assumptions are
quite
incorrect. He is
both young and naïve if he has been filling your head with
such
nonsense!”
The ambassador began to pace the room
.
“The Council is working on stopping
the dragon ourselves. We believe we now know
who
is responsible and we
are
pursuing them. When
we find and stop them we will in turn stop the dragon’s
release.”

“
Then your people never had any intention of using my
daughter?” the king asked in surprise.

“
Oh goodness no! Your daughter should have no part
in this.
No
woman should be involved in such a task. To do so invites
destruction on us
all
.”

Arwell struggled to breathe. “Then you are telling
me that Matthias has taken my daughter against your knowledge?
What
is
he? Some kind of a…
rogue?
”

Fenzar nodded gravely. “It would seem so.”

“
Darien!” Arwell cried and the man came bursting
into the room. “Fetch Tiberius. Get him here
now!
” The man bowed and left the room
hurriedly. “I must find my daughter,” Arwell continued, shaking. “I
will
kill
that wizard!
Why
would he be doing this?”

“
I
may
have an idea who is behind this,” Fenzar nodded. “There are
some in our Council who do not always see eye to eye with the
Consensus. It may be that Matthias is working under instructions
from them.” He folded his hands into his coat. “That is a separate
matter entirely, however, and one we will deal with internally. The
most important thing now is that we find your daughter, Your
Grace.”

“
For once it would seem we are in
complete
agreement
ambassador.” The king’s face suddenly grew dark. “But… if Josephine
was not meant to stop the dragon, then why are you
here?”

“
My reason for coming was to help your daughter.
Her sickness must be
cured
.”

“
Sickness?
” Arwell repeated. “What do you
mean
by
that?”

“
Why, the abilities she wields. They are a
poison
! They must be drained from her.”

“
Drained?
How?
” The king’s stomach grew icy. He had heard such
words before from Mahalia.

“
We would bring her back to Mahalia where she would
be cleansed of the abilities. As
all
women are with such a curse.”

“
Cleanse my daughter?” Arwell growled. “How do you
cleanse such power when you have no
knowledge
of it?”

“
We would of course find a way. We are
highly
skilled in such
matters.”

“
And
if you could not?” Arwell growled. “What then?”

“
It is best not to think of such things, Your
Grace.” Fenzar smiled. “We are here for the good of your people.
To
help
you and your daughter. As we always
have
been.”

“
No!
” the king yelled angrily. “No, what
you
have always done is
twist
events into a
manner that suits
your
realm.” He pointed angrily at the man. “
You
will not
touch
my daughter! You will go nowhere
near
her!”

Fenzar glowered at him. “Your Grace, this is not
simply some young woman who has tapped into
minor
powers. This is much
more
than that. The gods
have sent us a
warning
about your daughter. The seeing stone we found has given us
the opportunity to stop the dragon
and
your daughter, before it is too
late.”

“
You
speak as if she is a threat to the world!” Arwell
barked.

“
She
is,
your grace. You do not want to hear it because she
is your blood. But she could
destroy
this world. We must stop her before it comes to
that.”

King Arwell ran forward and grasped the man’s
collar, forcing him against the cold, stone wall. “I will
kill
you, you old
goat
, if you even
think
about pursuing her!”

Fenzar smiled. “Your Grace,
please
remove your hands, or I will
have
no
choice but to remove them by force.” Arwell puffed and
panted as he gripped the man’s clothes. But finally he loosened his
grip and let the man go. “
Thank
you, Your Grace.” He smiled. “It
pains
me to put it this
way, Your Grace, but my coming here
was
but a courtesy to you. We were not seeking
your
permission
to do anything. We are wizards after all, Your Grace. We
have guided Triska in the absence of the Akari for four hundred
years.”

“
You
have guided us because you are greedy, selfish people!”

“
If we were so selfish, why would we let you
continue to rule? You are a good man. We are forced to make hard
decisions to protect the peace. Your daughter
is
a threat to that peace and she
must
be stopped, one way
or another.” The ambassador looked pityingly at the king. “I
know
this pains you Your
Grace. But if you stand in our way, I
assure
you, you
will
regret it.”

There was a knock at the door. Captain Tiberius entered.
“Your Grace. I came as quickly as I could.” He bowed, and eyed the
ambassador warily.

“
Well, I believe I have taken up enough of your
time, Your Grace,” Fenzar said. “I see that my presence here is not
required. We will find Josephine for you. Is that
clear
, Your Grace?” Arwell swallowed. But finally, he nodded
silently. “Very good. I will of
course
send word to you when we find your
daughter. And we
will
.” He smiled. “I will take my leave of you. It was most
pleasant seeing you again after so long.” The ambassador turned and
made his way out of the door.

“
Is everything alright?” Tiberius asked the king.
“What the hell is
that
piece of work doing here?”

The
king shook his head. “My friend, I need you to find my daughter.
Before it is too late.”

Augustus Pym walked through the corridors of the ninth level
of Mahalia with intent. His heart was pounding despite his attempts
to calm down and he looked behind himself on several occasions to
ensure he was not being pursued. When he made it to his chambers he
breathed a sigh of relief. Hurriedly he brushed his door with a
hand and the locking mechanism unbolted at his touch and moved
inside the dark room quickly, closing the door behind him. As soon
as the latch clicked shut again, he knew he was not
alone.

“
You
must have been waiting here quite a while, Chancellor Arion,” he
commented calmly. The room illuminated as candles all around the
chamber ignited.

The
chancellor of Mahalia sat with his hands folded in his lap. He was
an elderly man, by every stretch of the word, with thin, white hair
and a stooped, hunched back. His bulbous nose stuck out from his
pocked face like it was swollen. He wore the robes of state for his
position: a deep, purple velvet gown dotted with sewn-in jewels and
adorned with an ermine fur lining. He held on to a tall, elaborate
metal staff made of the impenetrable Urunahenium, passed down
between chancellors for centuries.

“
I was enjoying the peace and quiet of your
surroundings.
Especially
after the events that I have been met with this morning,”
he said, his lined face regarding Pym sullenly.

“
Events?” Augustus asked, feigning ignorance as best he could.
It was not enough.

The chancellor smiled and shook his head. It was a
cheerless expression. “You
know
what events I speak of.” He lowered his brow and
stared at the younger wizard a moment, readjusting his grip on the
staff in front of him. “Lord Fenzar has just arrived in Rina. It
appears that
Matthias
Greenwald
has already spirited Princess Josephine away across the
continent and quite out of our reach.”

“
Matthias Greenwald?” Pym said with surprise. “But I thought
he was discussing the trading embargo in Tekri with-”

“
Do not take me for a
fool!
” The old man barked, his eyes blazing.
“I
know
you had a hand in this! You
were
his mentor, after all!
And
you spoke out against our decision to curb
the princess’s power.” He sneered. “You speak out against our
decisions more and more it seems as time moves
on.”

Pym remained stone-face a moment longer, but then,
realising lying was pointless, he sighed and shook his head. “Very
well. You
are
correct, chancellor.
I
sent Matthias to Rina to take the
princess.”

The
chancellor’s posture altered and grew more relaxed around his
shoulders as his suspicions were vindicated. “For what purpose did
you do this?” he asked.

“
The
purpose the gods had intended, chancellor,” he said defensively.
“To stop the dragon.”

The chancellor stared at him a moment. “I see. And
why, then, did you not undertake such a task
yourself
, if you felt with such
conviction that you were following the will of the
gods?”