The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (94 page)

It
was raining outside, which Augustus quite liked, because he could
listen to the rhythmic pattering of the raindrops on the grasslands
and buildings and watch the veils they cast across the horizon. As
he continued to daydream, the door behind him clicked, and he
turned to see who was visiting him this time. He gasped.

“
Embaer!
What in the gods' names are you
doing
down
here?”

The elderly - looking man with a thick white beard
and mottled skin shut the door behind himself quietly. “I thought
you could likely do with some
company
,” the man replied, running a hand through his
tonsured white hair above his right ear. “Unless you have
already
gone all crazy
being down here for over a month?”

“
But how did you get
down
here?
Surely
the chancellor didn't allow you to
see
me? You
can't
have given up your
position on events to him?”

“
One of the guards owed me a favour from
long
ago. I just had to
wait until the time came when he was posted down here and was left
alone to guard you. I'm sorry it
took
so long, but I had to bide my
time.”

“
A guard owed
you
a favour? What did you
do?
”

“
It's probably best to leave the
specifics
to the
imagination
,” Embaer said carefully with a wry smile. “What matters is
I have about fifteen minutes before the other guard returns, so
we
must
talk fast.”

Augustus nodded. “What's happening out there?” he
asked.

“
Everything we
don't
want,” he sighed. “The dragon has been
freed, Augustus.”

His eyes widened. “
When?
”

“
Several weeks ago. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you word
sooner. The council assembled an emergency meeting shortly after
they learned of the news. They have decided to continue with the
current plan.”

“
You
mean they don't intend to help stop Sikaris?” he asked.

“
They believe that all our resources still need to
be focused on stopping the Return. I would be inclined to agree, if
they went about it with any
logic
and sought the help of the
princess.”

“
Speaking of which, has there been any word of Matthias or
the princess?”

Embaer shook his head. “None. But Fenzar is still
looking for them. The council have stressed that now more than ever
Josephine needs to be caught. Last I heard he had a lead on them in
Olindia and was closing in on her. How
true
that is I don't know.”

Augustus sighed and rubbed his head. “I wish I
knew what to do now,” he said. “But I don't know
what
we can accomplish.
If Fenzar catches Josephine, or
worse
, if the princess is dead already, then we will
have to place
all
our hopes in the Chancellor and the
council.”

“
Would you really call it a plan?” Embaer scoffed.
“The wizards they sent out have found
nothing
about the sorcerers. Empty leads no
doubt designed to draw our attention have led to dead ends. And
then that just leaves the assault.”

“
How
many wizards have gathered now?” he asked.

“
Almost all those they recalled have returned now. A
thousand wizards of the highest levels. They're just waiting for
the order, which, I think may come any day now.”

“
Time is running out,” Pym nodded.
“
It will
take weeks to travel that distance with so many men. The prophecy
date is only four more months
away
.” He sat down in the chair. “Are Avignlore and
Bethas still with us?”

“
They haven't said anything about my involvement, or theirs,
if that's what you mean. But as for any further action from them, I
think it unlikely. They are scared after what's happened to
you.”

“
Then we are on our own.”

“
I am on
my
own, you mean,” Embaer corrected.

“
I
haven't
given up, my friend,” Augustus said. “I'll get out of here
eventually.”

“
And
in the meantime, what should I do?”

Augustus thought hard. “
We need to find out if Matthias or
the Princess are still alive.”

“
Any idea
how?
” He asked.

“
Perhaps we should make use of our own people. Use
Fenzar.”

“
How do you suggest we
do
that?
Ask
him?”

“
What is the first thing Fenzar will do if he finds
Josephine?”

“
He'll capture her. The chancellor gave him an
Artefact.”

“
And he will bring her back
here
.”

Embaer nodded. “
Do you think we can find a way of helping
her?”

“
It's all I can think of now,”
Augustus sighed. “Our options
grow thin.”

“
By which point, we may very well already be on our
way to war.” Embaer looked troubled. “You should have heard the
stories of the damage Sikaris has done already Augustus. If
Matthias and the princess
were
in the middle of it, I don't see
how
they could have
survived.”

Augustus smiled. “Matthias is quick - witted and
resourceful. I would bet my last mark on him escaping any
day.”

“
You
would
say that. He's
your
student!”

“
He might be a student to many of you, but he has
knowledge and wisdom beyond
anything
I’ve taught him. Not to
mention
he is as self critical of Mahalia as
both of us and with a loyalty to our cause that gives him a good
balance. I wouldn't rule him out. He might just help us out of this
mess yet.”

Josephine had been in the town of Tamet for two
weeks now. It had taken one whole week to get out of Aslemerian
territory, stumbling across the arid landscape and hiding in bushes
and behind rocks, sleeping rough and surviving off the meagre
berries she could find, careless of whether they were poisonous or
not and with little regret if they were. Every night as she curled
up and looked up at the sky she sobbed until her body shook and she
could take it no more as she thought of Thadius lying on the cold,
stone floor of the palace in Ank’ Shara. What would they have done
with him after she left? The only thing keeping her from giving up
these last two weeks were his final words. She had to stop the
dragon from killing anyone else, or else Thadius had died for
nothing. But even
that
resolve began to be eroded, as she grew weaker from lack of
food and sleep.

On
her fifth day of travelling, exhausted and delirious, she nestled
herself between the roots of a tree and the dirt bank beneath it.
As she dozed in the arm - like clutches of the roots, voices
whispered to her from deep within her head and images danced across
her blurred, addled vision of the stars and the sun and the moon,
and of the gods watching over her as she herself floated above the
world. Threads of power danced around her in patterns, swirling
like smoke as she ran her fingers through it. Another voice spilled
out into her dreams: a man’s voice that seemed familiar somehow,
but from where and why, she had no idea. It spoke gravely, with a
weight to each word:

“
Torture and Torment, the blood ran free, a river of red
running down to the sea…”

Other fragments of voices caressed her mind as she lay there:
the Akari woman, Matthias, Thadius, Luccius and her father, all
blurring together until they filled her head entirely. She fell
asleep soon after and when she awoke, the voices were gone again.
More driven than she had been in days, she continued on until she
managed to make her way out of Aslemer and continued on into
Olindia. When she arrived in Tamet several days later, her clothes
were ragged and torn and she smelled as if she had been rolling
around in a stable. The innkeeper, a woman called Cristyn, took
pity on her, offering her a room and food in exchange for her help
waiting on tables in the day. Josephine had accepted eagerly, even
though she was exhausted and battered from stumbling across Triska
for weeks. Cristyn was the first friendly face she had seen since
she had fled from Ank’ Shara. She had even offered Josephine a
small wage after her third day of waiting, when she had proven
herself dedicated enough to be trusted with more work. With miles
to travel to reach home, and no leads on where the dragon could be,
she took the money gratefully, putting it aside in the hopes that
she could save enough to perhaps book passage back to Aralia or
leave the town to continue her search for Sikaris. She dared not
reveal her identity to anyone, not after what had happened in
Aslemer. There was enough blood on her hands
already. 

On
her fourth day in the town, rumours began to spread from travellers
of war breaking out to the east. She listened to the gossip amongst
the clientele intently as she served them ale and cleared their
plates. She began to piece together each day that the battles
between Olindia and Aslemer were growing bloodier and, worryingly
for her, closer to Tamet. With each passing hour more refugees
appeared in town, bringing with themselves tales of the death and
devastation, and the cruelty of the Aslemerian armies, led by the
rabid, ferocious mages. Coupled with all this talk of war, other
people trickled in with news of Sikaris. It seemed he continued to
cut a path of destruction across Olindia. She made a note of the
titbits of information she obtained about the attacks. One thing
was certain: Sikaris was growing closer. The question now was what
could she do to stop him? As more days passed, the news of the
dragon died down again and she felt herself relaxing a little as
she continued to work in the inn. She even began to think how nice
it would be to stay in the town. The simplicity of it was
appealing: performing chores in exchange for the necessities of
bread and wine and a little coin and on occasion she would be
allowed to help herself to the stew that remained as well. But as
tempting as it was to dream of such possibilities, she knew she
could not abandon her responsibilities. The threat of Sikaris
remained. Until that changed, she had to keep her focus. Every
night she sat and stared at the ceiling, watching as the moonlight
cast itself on the yellow plaster and contemplated her options. And
as she pondered, she began to formulate an idea that she believed
might have merit, even if the results of her similar actions so far
had been anything but successful. One thing she was certain of: she
could not beat Sikaris on strength along. Fighting fire with fire
would only end up in her death.

Two and a half weeks had passed by and it had been
another busy evening in the tavern. The usual patrons at their
usual tables were accompanied by a larger number of travellers and
those others seeking shelter from the threats of war, and she had
been run off her feet serving them as Cristyn, in her usual display
of generosity, opened up her doors for those unfortunate people
with nowhere else to go, their lives completely ruined. In her
travels she had
never
come across a person so generous as to allow those in need
of food and drink have some for little or no coin. She was a credit
to Olindia, not to mention Triska as a whole. Josephine intended to
repay her kindness when she made it back to Rina.
If
she made it back.
Nothing was certain anymore. She had lost everyone she cared about
so far. Once she had dealt with the dragon, what else was left for
her?

Josephine juggled another pile of empty wooden bowls back to
the kitchens and let out an exhausted breath. Cristyn turned to her
as she ladled stew into a new batch of bowls and smiled
warmly.

“
When did you last sit down?” she asked. “You’ve
been back and forth in here every five minutes for as long as I
can
think
today!”

“
I
think the birds were singing still when I started,” Josephine
smiled back.

“
I work my girls hard, but there's a
limit
Josephine. Go on,
you've been here since daybreak. At the rate we're going, if I
don't let you sleep now you'll be seeing
another
sunrise before your head sees a
pillow.”