The Kingdom of Eternal Sorrow (The Golden Mage Book 1) (13 page)

“None can be certain of what perils lie before our kingdom,” the king
hedged. “The prophecy can very well be referring to the silent war we are
currently engaged in with the eastern kingdom of Mihr. For years, their
mage-king, Roderick, has hungered for the power of our Mage-field. No other kingdom’s
Mage-field comes near to equaling the power of our own. With the power of
Lamia’s Mage-field at his whim, he would be capable of conquering not only
Mihr’s neighboring kingdoms but quite possibly the entire world. However, he
would first have to conquer Lamia to even have access to the power of our
Mage-field.

“What is preventing him from realizing his tyrannical ambitions is the
Shield spell that my ancestor, the great King Ladonis, cast over Lamia at her
founding to prevent the Mage-field from falling into the hands of men such as
Roderick. Only those with permission may enter our kingdom since the Shield can
only be opened from within the borders, and only those with citizenship may
remain more than a few days.”

Allison must have been making quite the face because the king suddenly
laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Perhaps it is to free us forever from Roderick’s threat that Seni has
sent you here to accomplish,” he said kindly before his eyes once again turned
introspective. “And yet, there is always the possibility that allowing you to
confront Roderick on the battlefield on the kingdom’s behalf could also cause
our downfall, for the only possible way Roderick could breech our Shield is to
have a mage more powerful than King Ladonis, himself, under his power. You have
that very potential, milady Allison, as the prophecy has foretold.”

Allison felt all the blood drain from her face. “But—but wouldn’t it be
better, then, if I didn’t learn how to use these mage powers?” she stammered. “Couldn’t
Aidric just keep my powers shielded as he’s been doing? That way you can be
sure that Roderick can’t use me to conquer Lamia.”

“Having no control of your powers could very well destroy us all, as
well,” King Diryan replied gravely. “Aidric’s shields can only hold your powers
at bay for a short while. At any time, the wild magic of the Mage-field could
break through the shields he has placed on your channels and cause many
catastrophes. You could even unknowingly destroy the Shield surrounding our
kingdom, allowing Roderick’s troops to finally cross over into our lands since
no mage living today can perform the Shield spell as King Ladonis did. Your
powers
must
be controlled, Allison. There is no question of it.”

“Then I give you my word that I’ll do everything in my power to see
that I learn to control these powers,” Allison pledged more bravely than she
felt.

“And I shall do everything known to man under Seni to see that she
receives the proper instruction,” Aidric vowed as he rose and joined the pair
in the center of the room.

A middle-aged woman, dressed in an emerald-green dress more fitting to
a formal ball than a Council presentation, slowly rose and said, “Your Majesty,
if I may speak?”

“Of course, Lady Gaelle,” Diryan replied. “I shall hear any opinions on
the matter.”

“Your Majesty,” Gaelle began, “you have said that she has spoken of
traveling through a portal in order to reach our kingdom from another realm.
You know as well as I that any mage with enough power to control the Mage-field
can perform the portal spell. Mihr, of course, has its own small Mage-field,
but Mage-field it still is. Roderick has more than proven he is capable of
performing spells that require the use of great power, even with the limited
power of his Mage-field. It’s also said that he’s a practitioner of the Dark
Powers. She could very well be an agent of Roderick, sent here under a glamour
more powerful than any of us have seen to destroy the Shield from within.”

“Probing her mind for any deception was the first thing I did,” Aidric
interrupted impatiently. “She speaks the truth on all she has revealed, but
suppose she hadn’t and was indeed an agent of Roderick’s. How then can you
explain how Roderick managed to breech the Shield after all these years of
failure and open a portal within our forest? Why then not come himself rather
than sending a lackey?”

“I have no answer,” she replied coolly. “I’m but a
mind-mage
,
and you, my dear Lord Aidric, have more knowledge of such things than I. The
one thing these years that I have been a mind-mage have taught me is to not
dismiss something as impossible. I’m sure you found no trace of deceit in her
mind—we wouldn’t be standing here in this Throne Room with her a step away from
the king if you had. Yet, I would ask Your Majesty’s permission to test her
myself.”

Aidric angrily started to retort, but a warning look from Diryan
quickly silenced him.

“We shall hear her out,” the king said. “All suspicions will be voiced
and addressed right here and now.”

Just great
.
As if these people weren’t suspicious enough of
me as it is!
Allison despaired.

“It’s not that I doubt your abilities, Milord Aidric,” Gaelle explained
evenly. “You would not hold the position you hold if your abilities were not
exceptional. I merely wish to subject her to a test with a mind that could not
possibly be distracted by her extreme beauty.”

“How dare you even imply—” Aidric boomed, taking a step towards Gaelle before
Diryan held him back with his arm.

“A word of caution, Lady Gaelle,” King Diryan warned, disapproval on
his face. “Your request indeed comes very near to being an accusation. However,
if it would put all minds at ease once and for all as to her identity as the
Golden Mage of prophecy, then I grant you my permission to perform your test
before Circle and Council.” His attention turned to Aidric. “Aidric, if you
would allow her access.”

“Understood,” he replied, his voice still tight with tension.

Allison eyed Gaelle nervously, wondering exactly what the woman would
subject her to. She had no memory of Aidric performing anything like a test on
her. Had he performed it while she had been unconscious?

She started when she heard Lady Gaelle’s voice suddenly say, “It’s
done. She speaks the truth.”

But how could she have—
Allison turned questioning eyes to
Aidric, but before she could form the words in her mind for thought-speech, he
answered her silent question.

“The test isn’t something that is consciously felt by those who don’t
know what to look for,”
he sent.
“That’s what makes the ability so
dangerous. One of the first lessons I’ll teach you is how to detect an unwanted
mind-probe and how to shield against it. I must apologize for her accusations
since I know she will not. They were uncalled for and accomplished nothing but
making the Circle unnecessarily wary of you.

“Lady Gaelle is disliked by many. She trusts no one and thinks
herself knowledgeable above all others, even the king. Calling my abilities
into question in such a petty manner is just her way of making certain that she
is given the attention she believes is due her. It would be wise to avoid her
if possible in the future.”

“I’ll remember that,”
she sent back, eyeing Gaelle with hidden
contempt.

“Are there any others who also wish to speak before me?” Diryan asked.

When no one else rose, he gestured for Aidric to take his seat and
commanded Allison to follow him. Puzzled, she obeyed and followed him up to the
foot of the throne seats where he told her to stand before the queen and
himself.

Once seated, Diryan called out the name, Voytek, and a redheaded youth
barely into puberty immediately appeared from the shadows behind the throne
seats. He bowed deeply to the king. He then turned to Allison and stared, his
blue eyes widening as he looked at her.

Does everyone have to stare at me?
Allison thought crossly as
she sent to Aidric,
“Who is he?”

“He’s Diryan’s page and scribe,”
Aidric said. She heard his laughter
echo through her mind before he added,
“Although I should say he’s Diryan’s
puppy from the way he follows Diryan around ever at his heels.”

“How come he wasn’t here before?”
she asked.

“He wasn’t needed then. My taking you as a ward was already granted
and documented in the Council session I just returned from, so my presenting
you was only a formality. His Majesty is going to grant you citizenship now, so
it needs to be officially documented. Don’t worry. All that is required of you is
to agree to the terms he speaks before you.”

“Do you wish to be granted citizenship, milady Allison?” King Diryan abruptly
asked, capturing her attention again. Voytek finally took his eyes off her long
enough to begin to scribble furiously on the piece of parchment he carried.

“I do.”
I think.

“Under the laws of Lamia, once citizenship is granted, you cannot
renounce it unless I forfeit it as a penalty for a crime committed against the
welfare of the kingdom. You cannot, under any circumstance, seek to obtain
citizenship elsewhere while a citizen of Lamia. Do you understand these terms?”

“I understand.”
Does this mean I can’t ever leave the kingdom?

“Permission must be petitioned and obtained from this Council if you
desire to leave our borders. It is a serious matter since the Shield must be
opened in order for anyone to leave the kingdom.”

“I understand.”
Well, that answers my question. He makes it sound as
if I’m a prisoner here, my freedom given up willingly in exchange for the
protection of Lamian citizenship. If things were really bad on the outside, I
suppose it would be a price worth paying. Apparently these people think it is,
or else I don’t think they would have given up their freedom to come and go as
they please so willingly.

“Then I grant you citizenship, Allison McNeal. Aidric, come forth and
place the seal of our kingdom onto the brow of your ward.”

Aidric rose and stepped up to her. Before Allison could even begin to
wonder what he was going to do to her, he pressed a hand firmly against her
forehead. She felt a curious coolness sink into her skin. A few seconds later,
the coolness completely disappeared when he removed his hand.

“What did you do to me?” she whispered anxiously.

“Shh. Don’t speak aloud. I did as Diryan said—placed the seal of
Lamia, the silver teardrop you see on the tapestry behind the throne, onto your
brow so you’ll be detected as a citizen by our border guards should you ever
need to leave the kingdom. Don’t fret. It’s not visible to normal sight. Just
as it is to see the energy of the Mage-field, Inner-sight must be invoked to
see the seal.”

Relieved, Allison allowed Aidric to lead her with a hand against the
small of her back to her seat. She was surprised when the queen rose to
immediately follow.

“Come dear,” the queen said gently, holding out her hand to Allison
while Aidric smiled encouragingly at them both. “This Council meeting will no
doubt continue on for some time now. Your presence or absence will not make
much difference.”

Allison nodded and took the delicate, ivory hand offered her and
allowed the queen to escort her out of the Throne Room. However, as the two
women made their way down the aisle, Allison’s skin crawled as she felt one
distinct pair of eyes out of the many trying to bore a hole into her back
following her as though somehow physically connected until they disappeared
through the double doors, eyes that held a disconcerting fear.

Galen tensely watched the golden-haired woman as she left the Throne Room
with the queen. When he had first set eyes on the Golden Mage after the
Mage-general and she had walked so dramatically through the golden doors, he
had felt an immediate fear. The Prophecy of the Golden Mage had always unnerved
him from the first moment he had heard it at the age of five. Then the dreams
had come.

For the past two years, he had suffered from nightmares involving the
Golden Mage. Not knowing whether they were a result of his Foresight ability or
his own twisted imagination, they had truly frightened him, yet he told no one
about them, not even his wife.

He had seen Lamia in ruins, bodies of friends and acquaintances
littering the kingdom. All had been aflame, green mage-flames eating away at their
flesh and clothing. All but he had perished in the flames. He had watched in
helpless agony as his wife and children burned to ashes, weeping over the
family he could not save.

The dreams, no matter the difference in their beginnings, would always
end the same. He would glance up and see the Golden Mage, the murderer of all
he had ever loved, staring down at him, her smile mocking and cruel. Her body
glowed with that same eerie green of the mage-flames around her. Always, she
would raise a hand to strike him dead, but before the blast came, he would
always wake up, drenched in sweat and weeping.

Galen had always assured himself that his nightmares were
not
Foresight warnings but mere dreams in an attempt to prevent himself from facing
what could be the horrible truth, until he had his first glimpse of Allison
McNeal and realized that she and the Golden Mage of his dreams were one and the
same. It was at that fateful moment that Galen could no longer deny what his
dreams had been screaming out to him in warning—predictions of the possible
things to come.

Only years of experience as a mind-mage skilled in keeping his mind
calm no matter how stressful the situation prevented him from screaming
hysterically like a fool when Allison appeared. He held his peace with
tremendous effort throughout her presentation and King Diryan’s subsequent
monologue. He almost lost control of himself when the king asked if there were
any who wished to voice their opinions concerning the girl. Even now, he wasn’t
entirely certain how he had managed to remain silent.

His dreams were a matter that could only be discussed with His Majesty
and His Majesty, alone. After Lady Gaelle’s suspicions were proven to be
nothing more than her usual show of arrogant superiority, he didn’t think the
Circle would give his claim of Foresight dreams a second thought, especially
since his Foreseeings had been wrong a couple of times in the recent past.

Furthermore, judging from the venomous way Lord Aidric had glared at Lady
Gaelle when she had challenged the honor of his ward, only a fool would have
said an ill word against the girl in the Mage-general’s presence. That was one
mage Galen preferred not to cross directly.

After the queen led The Golden Mage out of sight, Galen wasted no time
in drawing the king aside and asked if they might have a word in private. King Diryan
nodded and left his counselors in charge of the discussion he had begun
regarding the latest strategy in forcing Roderick’s troops from the Kemosian
border.

In the farthest corner of the Throne Room where they were well out of
earshot, the king demanded, “This had better be important, Galen. Border
conditions in Kemos are continuing to worsen, and I don’t have the time to
spend on minor concerns.”

“It’s
very
important, Your Majesty,” Galen assured him. “It
concerns the girl, Allison.”

“I thought we had finished with that business, Galen,” Diryan said
impatiently. “You had the opportunity to speak earlier when I called for
voices. Why didn’t you speak up then?”

“This is something I couldn’t discuss before the Circle,” Galen
insisted, “especially in the presence of the Mage-general. What I wish to say
is for your ears alone, Your Majesty.”

“Very well,” Diryan invited. “Speak your mind, but I warn you that I
can only spare you a few moments. We have given enough time worrying over the
girl and her destiny when it’s in Seni’s hands, alone.”

“I have been sent a warning,” Galen said. “For two years, I have had
dreams of the Golden Mage, dreams filled with visions of horror and suffering
that would drive any sane man mad. In these dreams, the whole kingdom has
perished, consumed by the girl’s mage-flames. I am convinced that these were not
mere nightmares, but a Foretelling of the tragedy that will certainly befall us
if we allow that demonspawn to breathe another day!”

His expression hardening, King Diryan asked in a fierce whisper, “Have
you gone mad? I never thought you to be so heartless. Nothing, even the
potential danger that poor child poses, would justify the murder of an
innocent
!
You know as well as I that it was by Seni’s will that she was brought here to
our kingdom as the Golden Mage, and fate, alone, will decide which path she is
destined to follow. We can only pray to Seni that it isn’t the dark path that
fate will choose.”

“But I have
Foreseen
the destruction of Lamia!” Galen cried. Did
he not understand? “Surely you won’t idly stand by and allow this! Is the life
of one girl worth the life of millions more?”

“Since you are clearly frightened and allowing your emotions to speak
for you,” the king said slowly, a note of warning in his tone, “I shall forget
that last part. Foresight dreams warn of only one possible future
as you
know very well
. Yours may never come to pass if we do everything in our
power—which
morally
we can do—to take the correct cautionary steps to
protect the Golden Mage from falling into the wrong hands.”

“Then you will do
nothing
?” Galen asked incredulously.

“Nor will you,” Diryan said darkly, his eyes narrowing coldly at the
stranger the normally genial man before him had become, “because mark my words,
if I find that you have taken it upon yourself to be judge and executioner to her,
then
you
will not live to breathe another day.”

Galen shuddered at the anger in Diryan’s voice as the king silently
stalked away without another glance. Never in all the years he had known the
king personally had he ever seen such ire and coldness in him. He had been so
certain that His Majesty would see things as he saw them, and now that he stood
rebuked, he didn’t know what to think or do. King Diryan had said that his
dreams might not come to pass, but those words meant to assure did nothing to
relieve the terror festering in his heart.

If I can’t destroy her without having to face a penalty of death,
then I sure as the six hells can watch her every move, and when she turns to
evil as I know she will, I’ll be there to do what should have already been
done!

As he glanced over at the king and his fellow members of the Circle, he
had one last fleeting thought before he walked over to join them again.
Even
though you may not wish it now, My Lord King, when this is all finished, the
demonspawn will lie dead at your feet by my hand and you’ll be begging most
humbly for me to accept
your
apology!

***

“Aidric tells me that he plans to take you to tonight’s celebration of
the Birth of the World,” the queen chatted gaily as they made their way up a
flight of steps and to Allison’s astonishment, straight through the wall behind
a large, golden statue of a man in a crown that rested at the top of the
stairs. The queen laughed cheerfully at Allison’s gasp of surprise, and
explained that the wall was merely an illusion spell cast over the doorway.

“I believe that it’s a splendid idea to attend the festivities as your
first social engagement as a citizen of Lamia. I’m sure you will meet and
befriend dozens of people. However, I do believe Aidric has not even given
thought to what you will wear. You can’t very well go dressed in your
apprentice uniform! It’s not proper. Until you can be fitted for your own
garments, I’ll lend you some of mine since we are near to height. Accond, our
palace tailor—Seni, bless his heart—is indeed very skillful in his trade, but I
must confess that his one flaw is that he isn’t very punctual with his orders.”

When Allison merely blinked at her, the queen smiled and said, “Oh, but
listen to me, jabbering on when I haven’t even properly introduced myself. How
ill-mannered of me to have not done so earlier. My name is Ileanna, and don’t
you dare address me as ‘My Queen,’ ‘My Lady Queen,’ or other such nonsense
unless we are at court where the law demands such foolish courtesies. I dislike
all these formalities having a crown demands.”

Allison could hardly believe what she was hearing. This beautiful woman,
a
queen
no less, was chatting away as if they were old friends, even
though they had only first met moments before. More importantly, she showed no
signs of the fear and suspicion that everyone else seemed to have when they
looked at her.

“Why is it that you aren’t afraid of me when so many others obviously
are?” Allison couldn’t help asking in bafflement.

The older woman looked at her kindly and said, “My dear child, any fool
who bothers to look at you with a clear mind could plainly see that you are as
frightened as they are. Why should I fear someone who is so obviously as much a
pawn of Seni’s will as we, ourselves, are?”

Allison lowered her eyes uncomfortably. “You’re being so nice, and you
don’t even know me…”

“My dear, when I’ve seen how kindly Aidric looks upon you, how can I do
anything but treat you the same? Aidric is a dear friend to both Diryan and me,
and we value his opinion of others. However, that isn’t the only reason. I
could see you needed a friend other than the friendship Aidric can offer.” She
smiled wryly at Allison. “He is a
man
after all, and not knowledgeable
in womanly things.”

“I’d like that,” Allison replied a bit diffidently.

“Now come. I’ll introduce you to my ladies-in-waiting, as well. They
should be gathered in my chambers awaiting my return. We needn’t hurry
selecting a proper dress for you to wear since it is still many sand-marks
until nightfall. While my husband and the Circle tend to matters of war, we’ll
spend the afternoon happily answering as many questions as you like about
palace life and our kingdom.”

“Thank you,” Allison said, her head spinning from Ileanna’s chatter. “I
do have dozens of questions to ask about Lamia, especially since it seems I’ll
be living here in this world for the rest of my life.”

“You sound so sad, child,” Ileanna remarked, tilting her head with
concern. “You are missing loved ones, no doubt, and all this talk about the
Golden Mage and doomsday prophecies cannot be easy for you to accept. I promise
you that I’ll do everything in my power to make you feel more at home here.”

“You already are,” Allison replied gratefully as she followed the queen
to her chambers.