The Scofflaw Magician (The Artifactor Book 3) (24 page)

“You’re free,”
Master confirmed, laughing in sheer delight. “How do you feel?”

The old man
took in a deep breath, savoring every moment of being back in the physical
world. “I could use a hot cup of tea.”

“That we can
arrange,” Aran assured him. The Fae’s eyes shifted to Sevana’s and radiated all
of the relief and happiness she felt in that moment.

She might have
only half-succeeded with one person, but that dastard’s evil plan wouldn’t
claim the life of one more person.

Sevana would
make sure of that.

That night and
the next morning were interesting, to say the least. They had eleven people in
the mountain that were of every age, gender, occupation, and rank. And yet,
because they had all been stuck on the same plane for the past several weeks,
undergoing the same trial, none of that mattered anymore. They were all as
comfortable with each other as old friends. Each person went to Milly and spent
a good hour speaking with her, taking notes on what she needed done so that
when they returned home they would be able to help her friends and family
adjust to this sudden and odd change.

Sevana was glad
to have them out, but was equally relieved when it came time for them to go.
Master grabbed Dorian Audenaert, the Belen king, and took him through the clock
portal and back to his castle. Sevana was stuck with everyone else. Morgan,
fortunately, was standing on the other side waiting for people to come through.
He directed them as they stepped through the clock, with her and Aran taking up
the rear.

Actually,
Sevana had no idea why Aran was still with her. His one task had been to guide
her and give her information until she had reversed what had been done.
Technically, his job had ended yesterday, when the last person escaped the
portrait. But now, what had him following her still? It wasn’t like they were
going to enact their plan to get rid of the evil magician just yet. Aran hadn’t
even made one noise about going home. It puzzled her.

Shaking the
question off, she focused on the here and now as she encouraged Princess Amas
to step through. With the last one out of the way, she stepped through herself
and pulled the door to the clock firmly shut behind her.

The view on the
other side of the clock was one of pure joy.

Every person who
had lost a family member was crowded into the Sa Kaon palace foyer. There were
joyous shouts as people tackled their family, hugs all around, and more than a
few tears shed. Aran was subtly positioned so that he blocked her from most of
the crowd, braced so that no one could accidently knock into either her or the
clock, which Sevana appreciated. Being jostled in the clock would have been
bad
.
No words could describe how bad.

Amas was quite
firmly in her father’s grip, her mother’s arms around her, and even her
brothers and sisters could barely get in to give her a hug. That family
wouldn’t be letting go of the little princess any time soon. Firuz’s eyes met
hers and the man practically radiated a love and relief so strong that he
glowed with it. “Sevana.”

“I will give
you a full report later,” she promised over the buzzing of the crowd around
them. “But for now, I have delivered your missing people and daughter to you.”

“For this, you
have Our eternal thanks. You may name whatever reward you wish as
compensation.”

A crafty smirk
tilted her mouth. “I’ll hold you to that. Don’t think I won’t.”

Firuz boomed
out a laugh, not in the least worried.

Turning her
head, she searched the crowd until she found a familiar head of black hair.
“Kip!”

Waving a hand, Morgan
signaled he heard her, but it took several minutes and some interesting twists
to be able to force his way through the crowd and to her side. Huffing out a
breath, he pulled his clothing back in order and greeted her with a smile.
“Sev. I can’t believe you managed to do all this so quickly. You were barely
home three days before you pulled them all out!”

“It was a
solution that would either work or not,” she responded with a blasé shrug. “But
about that other thing I called you about last night. You have that done?”

“Yes, I talked
to Mistress Milly’s family and they know what happened. None of them are
particularly happy about it, but I assured them that you and Master Tashjian
were working on the problem, so they’re trying to be patient a little longer.”

That was good.

Morgan regarded
the Fae standing at her side with a quick head to toe sweep. “You must be
Arandur?”

“I am,” Aran
confirmed, holding out a hand in greeting. “You are Morgan?”

“That’s me,” Morgan
confirmed, clasping the hand in a strong grip before letting go. “I’ve heard
much about you. Thanks for all your help in this. We really would have
struggled otherwise.”

“It was my
pleasure. Truly.” Aran had an enigmatic smile on his face. “I learned a great
deal from Sevana. I found my task to be more pleasure than chore.”

“Really?” Morgan
responded in genuine surprise. “Because when things aren’t going right, Sev can
be an absolute bear to live wi—ow!” Rubbing at the abused ribs, Morgan whined,
“You didn’t have to punch me.”

Sevana glared
back at him. “I did. I really, really did.”

Morgan was used
to the abuse and he didn’t do more than pout at her before moving on. Lowering
his voice, he leaned in closer to ask in a confidential tone, “People are
asking how you reversed the spell?”

Her evil smirk
came back full force. “Then by all means, tell them the ‘official’ version.”

Morgan’s expression
was a perfect match for hers. “On it.”

Aran’s eyes cut
to her and he murmured from the side of his mouth, “You’re enjoying this.”

“Yes,” she
purred. “I am.”

~ ~ ~

Firuz called
for her later that afternoon, and she went up with Aran to his informal garden.
It was an odd location to meet with him, but she understood why he’d called
them there once she stepped into the walled off area. It wasn’t large—a perfect
square with fruit trees and water fountains in almost every corner, a thick
carpet of grass taking up the center. One side had padded benches, where the
royal parents were sitting comfortably, and spread all over the grass were
their children, playing some version of tag. Even the oldest, who was in his
late twenties, was highly involved in the game.

It must have
been the only place in the palace where they could relax, be a family, and not
have to worry about anyone intruding on them.

Firuz stood as
they entered and offered a respectful half-bow. Sevana was confused about his
formality for a split second until she realized the bow was not for her.
Somehow, in the three hours she hadn’t seen him, Firuz must have learned the
identity of the quiet man following her around.

Aran bowed
back, matching the formality, his bow at the exact same depth and angle. In
that moment, the realization slapped Sevana between the eyebrows. To her, Aran
was a tracker of the Fae, a friend, and an adopted comrade of sorts. But even
though he held no special rank in the Fae nation, when he was in a human
country, he was as important as any king.

“I am Firuz
Adnan, King of Sa Kao,” Firuz greeted with a slight smile of welcome.

Aran didn’t
find this formality strange at all and was prompt with his response. “Arandur,
Tracker of South Woods. I thank you for your welcome, King of Sa Kao.”

“I thank you
for your aid,” Firuz returned in a more genuine tone. “I am told that you gave
much knowledge and support to Artifactor Warran as she worked. Please accept my
hospitality for as long as you wish to.”

“I will. Thank
you.”

Satisfied his
guest was welcomed properly, Firuz encouraged them to sit down on the bench
adjacent to his, where his wife poured them that wonderful flavored water and
offered sliced dates and fruity naan bread. Sevana hadn’t tried this latest
version—there seemed to be a thousand variations of naan—and when she bit into
it, she was delighted to find it was almost like a light desert. She’d seriously
have to track down the chef in this palace and get the man’s recipes. Naan was
becoming her favorite food.

Not giving Aran
any chance to just sit there like a statue, she tore off a piece and popped it
into his mouth. He had time to blink before suddenly finding his mouth full.
Startled, he stared at her with bread sticking out of his mouth.

“It’s good,”
she encouraged, secretly laughing at how dorky he looked.

Chewing, he
considered this for a moment before nodding in agreement. Then he took a long drink
before regarding it with approval as well. “The bread and drink have much
flavor to them.”

Queen Malia
seemed relieved he liked them. “We can send some of the fruit back with you, if
you wish to take it home?”

“I will.” Aran
took another, smaller bite of the bread. “Aranhil especially will be pleased to
try these.”

Sevana could
tell from their faces that they’d lost that reference and explained, “Aranhil
is the King of the Fae in Noppers Woods. They don’t refer to him by a title as
his name is his title. I’ve met him twice now and he’s very curious about
anything that humans do. He’ll be delighted to try food like this.”

“I’ll make sure
that several snacks and boxes of fruits go back with you,” Malia swore. One
could see her make a mental note to do that next.

“Don’t go
overboard, I don’t want to have to lug that all the way into Fae territory,”
Sevana warned. “Two boxes will do. Now, I assume that the two of you called me
here for the full story of how I got Amas out?”

“Please,” Firuz
requested, scooting up to the edge of his seat so he sat a little closer to
her.

It took Sevana
a second to remember where she had left off, but once she recalled the last
time she had updated him, she started from there and worked her way through
until yesterday afternoon, when all of the portraits had been destroyed. “I
still have one woman trapped in a mirror, and I am not sure at this time how
I’ll get her out, but everyone else is home again as you’ve seen,” she
finished.

“It was a
hideous problem if it took two Artifactors and someone of the Fae nation to
help undo it,” Malia observed. Her voice shook a little and her eyes were
trained on her daughter playing as if she needed the reassurance after hearing
everything from Sevana. “But this man that did the spells, what do we do about
him?”

“He should not
be allowed to run free any longer.” Firuz’s hand was twitching as if itching
for his sword right at that moment.

“We agree.”
There was not a trace of warmth to be found in Aran’s expression. “We of the
Fae have been speaking much on this matter. We have found a way, with Sevana’s
help, to catch this man. Once he is caught, he will be tried by Our justice.”

Firuz opened
his mouth to object, but Sevana quickly cut in before he could get a word out.
“Firuz, it’s best to leave him to the Fae. For one thing, human magic can’t
hold this man. He’s an expert at getting through wards and shields. For
another, the Fae sense of justice is much harsher than ours. I frankly pity the
fool that crosses them as they have no sense of leniency.”

Aran snorted,
looking away. “Nor should we.”

Both monarchs
seemed only half-sold on this plan. “We have a plan on how to trap this man,
and it’s going to take every ounce of skill I have just to bait the trap well
enough to catch him,” Sevana continued firmly. “I will not be able to hold him
even an hour. Trust me. After the Fae are done with him, he’ll regret not only
his own birth, but the dogs that bred him.”

Firuz looked
her dead in the eye. “You have a plan to catch this man.”

“I do. It’ll
take a week solid to prepare for it, but I do have a plan, one that will work.”

“Swear to me
that he will not escape you,” the king pressed.

“I swear it,”
she responded solemnly. “I will do absolutely everything in my power to catch
him. He won’t escape a third time.”

Satisfied and
disgruntled at the same time, Firuz sat back. “I will let you try. If something
goes wrong, and he does not fall for your trap, then
I
will go after
him.”

“That’s fair,”
Aran allowed.

Seeing that she
was going to get her way, Sevana started laying the groundwork. “When people
ask you how I got Amas out of the portrait, tell them that I didn’t. That the
spellwork was too complicated, or I didn’t have the time to figure it out,
whatever you wish to say. But emphasize that it was only possible to do this by
using a special tool the Fae made for me.”

Malia’s brows
screwed together in a frown of confusion. “But this discredits your work, all
that you have done.”

“The tool is
the bait,” Aran explained in his quiet, patient manner. “We wish for the
magician to think that he missed this tool when he stole from our storage
rooms. We want him to think that we can now counter any magic he does with this
specialized tool.”

“So he’ll come
after you because he wants it for his own and because he dares not leave it in
your hands,” Firuz finished with a thoughtful look at her. “You will be
prepared for him soon?”

“I actually
finalized the plans last night. I think that by the time you’ve spread the
rumor around, you and Kip, that I’ll have more than enough time to finish my
preparations before he shows up.”