The Wizard's Curse (Book 2) (79 page)

Waterstone frowned, “You did what?”

Tarkyn smiled apologetically, “Well, not me exactly. My outrage did it.” The sorcerer glanced at Falling Rain. “He was being rather provocative, you know, and I’m afraid for a split second, I lost it.”

“Did you hit him?” demanded Rainstorm, eyes shining with excitement.

“No, of course I didn’t. It was just one of those waves of spontaneous emotion, well, a small tidal wave of outrage, if you must know.”

“Like the one that rocked us backwards when you were happy at becoming a woodman?” asked Rainstorm.

“Something like that but rather stronger.” Tarkyn grimaced, “To be honest, I think Falling Rain was thrown through the air by it.”

“Stars above, Tarkyn!” exclaimed Waterstone, not at all pleased. “You could have killed him. You are going to have get these emotions of yours under control. You can’t just say your anger did it.”

Falling Rain’s eyes twinkled as he watched Tarkyn meekly accepting a woodman’s censure. Nevertheless, he rose to the prince’s defence, “He did warn me not to push too hard and I ignored him. He healed me, so there’s no harm done. And quite frankly, I more or less deserved it. I was quite poisonous for a while there,” he glanced at Tarkyn with a smile, “wasn’t I?”

“Absolutely putrid,” agreed Tarkyn, smiling in return, “I wasn’t much better myself. Autumn Leaves, if you thought I behaved badly when I pushed Waterstone for his memories… well, suffice it to say…that was chicken feed compared to what we have just been through.”

“So who were the other sorcerers, Tarkyn? Or did you forget to find that out?” asked Stormaway dryly.

Tarkyn waved his hand airily, “No, no. We found out.” Suddenly he became serious, “They were Journeymen, Jarand... and Kosar.”

“What! All three of them?” asked Stormaway in consternation. “I thought it would be Journeyman and I thought it would possibly be Jarand because Journeyman is based at the campsite run by Jarand’s crony. But it didn’t occur to me that Kosar would also be involved. Hmm, this requires some thinking.”

“It is even worse than that,” said Tarkyn. “Up one end of your room was a curtain through which they left and entered. I suspect they could have been hiding behind it at any time during your discussions with Markazon about devising the oath.”

Stormaway frowned with the effort of memory. “That curtain hid the entrance to a secret passageway. The palace was riddled with them. But I didn’t realise Journeyman knew about it. I had placed a glamour on it from my side of the wall so it couldn’t be seen if you moved the curtain.”

“Stormaway, didn’t you think a curtain over a blank wall was likely to arouse his suspicions?” demanded Rainstorm dryly.

The wizard looked at him in some irritation, “Give me some credit, Rainstorm. There was an alcove behind the curtain with shelves full of herbs and equipment along one side of it. The curtain hid my mess when important people such as the King visited my rooms. The entrance to the passage was along the opposite wall of the alcove. But because it was so disorganised, there wasn’t room to hide behind that curtain unless the door to the passage was open. So Journeyman must somehow have figured out that it was there and traced it from the other side. Blast it! Maybe he was smarter than I gave him credit for.”

“Considering he managed to oust you from your own post,” said Rainstorm dryly, “I would say that he almost certainly was.”

“Yes, well, quite,” huffed Stormaway.

“If Kosar and Jarand were listening while you planned with Markazon to hand over the sovereignty of all the woodlands of Eskuzor to me, I am hardly surprised that neither of them felt they would be able to trust you as their advisor.” Tarkyn ran his hand through his hair as he sat down, “You’re lucky to have come away with your life.”

Stormaway went pale, “Oh my stars! This is a disastrous development. I will have to think through everything I ever said or did that may have been overheard.”

“And we don’t know who overheard what, and whether they would have shared it with the others!” exclaimed Danton.

Tarkyn raised his eyebrows at Falling Rain, “And thus the sorcerer mind. Crooked as a dog’s hind leg, present company excepted… Hmm, except for Stormaway….Hmm, and Danton, now I come to think of it.” He smiled, “Well, String and Bean are pretty straight forward, I think.”

“So is Tarkyn, for your information,” said Danton, wandering over to an earthen ware jug and pouring out two cups of wine. Over his shoulder, he continued, “He tries to be discerning of other people’s motives but in reality, he’s totally gullible and can only stay safe from sorcerer intrigue by holding himself aloof.” He smiled at Tarkyn, “True?”

“True, I’m afraid,” Tarkyn shook his head ruefully. “That’s why I could never be king.”

Stormaway was clearly unconvinced by this remark but didn’t take issue with it.

Instead he said sternly, “Tarkyn, it may no longer be your choice whether to become involved in sorcerer affairs. Someone is obviously hunting for you and for the woodfolk. And you realise now that it is highly likely that at least one of your brothers knows about the oath and its tie to the destruction of the forest.”

“Stormaway’s right, Tarkyn,” said Danton as he walked back over and handed the prince and Falling Rain a cup of wine each. “Remember, when Journeyman realised you weren’t a rogue sorcerer, he said, ‘This changes everything.’”

Tarkyn stared at him, “So he knew that the oath would be galvanised by my integrity.” Unconsciously, he let his eyes rest on Lapping Water, who was seated a short distance away talking to Ancient Oak. He gave a sad smile, “Maybe I will have to leave you all, to keep you safe.”

Waterstone walked over to him and put his hand on the prince’s shoulder. “No Tarkyn. The opposite is true. It is more important than ever that we stick together and keep each other from capture. Because they will know that one of us will lead to the others, because of the oath.”

Tarkyn rubbed his hand across his forehead, “And what if I find that I can no longer stand by and endure the sorcerers’ suffering? What then?”

Surprisingly Falling Rain spoke, “I am sure you will not be able to. You could not let yourself, your father or the kingdom down like that.”

There was a stunned silence.

“What are you talking about?” asked Waterstone tightly.

Falling Rain glanced at Tarkyn for permission to share his private knowledge. After receiving the faintest of nods, he went on, “It is what King Markazon said to Tarkyn after he stood up for Danton.”  He looked around. “Do you know about this incident?”

“Yes, Danton told us,” replied Autumn Leaves, “But no one knows what happened afterwards.”

Falling Rain sent a gentle smile to Danton and then to Tarkyn “That fearsome Markazon, whom we all love to hate, cradled his determined little son in his arms and said, ‘Tarkyn, you put us all to shame. You are the best of us but you will suffer for it. And in the end, you must be the one to bring hope to our nation and save us from ourselves.’”

Stormaway grunted, “You see? Just as I told you. I agree with you completely, Falling Rain. Tarkyn will not be able to stand by for much longer and watch sorcerers suffer.”

Falling Rain shook his head decisively, “No. Having felt how hard it was for him to endure Danton’s suffering, there is no way he will be able to endure the suffering of an entire nation.”

“Well,” said Tree Wind philosophically, looking around the group, “we all agreed after we rescued Golden Toad and Rushwind, that we would find Falling Rain first and then reconsider our position. And Tarkyn has worked unremittingly for us since then. So I guess it’s time to help him.”

Autumn Leaves, too, walked over and placed his hand on Tarkyn’s other shoulder, “If we have to work with you to help your sorcerers, we will find a way.” Coming from Autumn Leaves, sorcerer-hater extraordinaire, this was quite a concession. 

Watching them, Falling Rain could see that the oath had no part to play in the support they were offering Tarkyn.

Waterstone’s eyes met Danton’s. “So, my friend. It looks as though we won’t tear your prince in two, after all. We will all stand behind him and, as the woodfolk nation, help him to resolve the affairs of sorcerers.”

As they spoke, they could see the tension leeching out of Tarkyn as he understood that he no longer had to manage the burden of the sorcerers’ affairs alone. He gave a wry smile, “Of course, I have no idea how we’re going to do it.”

String and Bean looked at each other.

“If it’s a conundrum you’re facing, Your Highness,” said Bean, with a smile. “We may have to stick around and help you too… beyond the six months, that is. If you’ll all allow us to stay.”

“Yeah,” agreed String. “Politics, we don’t like. Puzzles, we do.” He shrugged, “Anyway, once you get over first impressions, you’re not such a political person yourself, are you, Your Highness?”

This was such an exquisite contradiction in terms that everyone was bereft of speech.

Then slowly, a huge grin dawned on the prince’s face. “I think you have hit on the crux of my difficulties. By birth, I am about as political as you can get. By nature, I am not. Naivety and politics are a very unwieldy combination.”

“They are a very dangerous combination, my lord,” said Stormaway sternly. “But thankfully, you will also have Danton and me beside you every step of the way and both of us are masters of politics and intrigue. So with any luck, between us all, we will prevail.”

“And at least now, no matter what happens, the forest is no longer endangered,” said Tarkyn with some satisfaction.

“Isn’t it?” asked Falling Rain.

“No,” replied Tree Wind, smiling. “True to his word, Tarkyn had the sorcery in the oath removed as soon as he knew how, and it now relies solely on our honour.”

“Did you?” Falling Rain smiled. “Well, that’s a relief.” He frowned slightly, “Why didn’t you just waive the whole thing?”

A ripple of tension flowed through the woodfolk until Waterstone cleared his throat and said firmly, “If you remember, we made that vow as a debt of gratitude to Markazon. Regardless of Tarkyn’s wishes, we feel honour-bound to uphold it.”

“I see. And your view on it?” asked Falling Rain with the temerity that only someone not steeped in the culture of the group could bring to a conversation.

Tarkyn looked around at everyone and gave a little smile, “When I first found out about the oath and how it was imposed, I would have done anything to destroy it completely. But now? Now I feel I have done enough to earn everyone’s allegiance. Besides, I am a Prince of Eskuzor, which matters to me if not to you, and I am the guardian of the forest, which matters to all of us. So if the choice were solely mine, I would not wish to waive it, now that the forest is safe.”

“Anyway,” said Rainstorm, “Tarkyn’s in no position to release the oath because his commitment is greater than ours and he’d be doing himself more of a favour than us,” He smiled evilly at Tarkyn and crossed his arms, “You can’t release yourself from an onerous oath. It would be dishonourable.”

“Besides,” said Waterstone dryly, “Our young prince here is nowhere near ready for equality.” He smiled at Tarkyn, “Are you?”

Tarkyn eyes twinkled, “No. And never will be. And have no intention of trying to be.”

The woodfolk shook their heads and smiled at him, clearly humouring his odd outlook.

Falling Rain let his eyes rove around the group, watching everyone’s reactions, “Things have certainly changed since the wrought, raw days following Markazon’s visit.” He paused for a moment before deciding to add, knowing he would betray some more of his recently gained knowledge, “and since Tarkyn’s return into the forest. I applaud you all, sorcerers and woodfolk alike. I never expected to walk back into such harmony.”

This pronouncement was met with laughter and several people at once explaining that things weren’t always so easy. As he listened to the history of the last few months, Falling Rain looked up and met Tarkyn’s amber eyes watching him across the sea of people between them. A smile passed between them before Falling Rain was once more submerged in the enthusiasm around him.

###

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer?

Thanks!

Jennifer Ealey

The Sorcerer's Oath Series
Book 3: The Lost Forest

The raging wind threw sharp snowflakes into their eyes and faces. Visibility was reduced to a few feet and although it was almost noon, the day was as dark as dawn. And in the swirling stinging whiteness, stumbling through knee-deep snow, some fell and lost their hold. By the time the travellers reached the relative shelter of the forest edge, the gale was lashing the tops of the pine trees, bending them almost horizontal. The roar of the wind through the pines was deafening. The branches above the woodfolk provided scant cover and only standing in the lee of the trees reduced the force of the icy wind.

But when the woodfolk and sorcerers, frozen and wet, took stock, they realised that nearly a quarter of their number was missing. String and Bean gathered them together, urging them to stay within the tress and wait for the others. They peered out around the trees but the storm was at its height and only a haze of driven snow greeted their eyes.

String shook his head and shouted above the noise of the storm, “There is no point in going back out into that. Look! Our tracks are almost gone already. You won’t find them and you will become lost yourselves.”

“Let’s hope they are all together and will find their way to shelter,” yelled Bean. He looked around, “Who’s missing?”

Tree Wind replied but her voice blended in too well with the wind to be heard. When String shook his head and put his hand to his ear, Thunder Storm repeated what she had said, his voice rumbling loudly against the noise of the storm.

“Tarkyn’s missing. Midnight, Waterstone, Lapping Water, Melting Snow, Running Feet, Falling Rain….. What about Sparrow?”

“I’m here,” came a small voice from the back. When everyone looked around, they saw her clinging determinedly to Creaking Bough’s hand.

“Anyone else?” yelled String.

“Harkell,” bellowed Danton.Falling Branch pushed to the front, “Rainstorm’s not here either. Neither is Autumn Leaves.”

“What are we going to do?” demanded Danton. “We can’t just sit here letting them freeze out there.” He turned to the old wizard, “Stormaway, Can you do anything to get rid of this storm?”

The wizard shook his head, “This storm is huge. It would take me over an hour to have any effect on it….even then I’m not sure that I would have enough power.”

“Tree Wind, Thunder Storm, can you contact them? Can you direct them towards us?”

The woodfolk went out of focus, sending their minds out to find the others. After a few minutes, Thunder Storm breathed a sigh of relief and reported, “It’s all right. A couple of them lost their footing and the others stopped to help them up and lost contact with the rest of us. They are all together and just approaching the tree line now.”

But the minutes ticked by and still there was no sign of them. Another round of mind talking produced the information that the lost group had reached the tree line. But still they were not in sight.

“They must have veered off slightly and have entered the forest either above or below us,” shouted Bean.

Suddenly, an image of huge, twisted, deciduous trees, untouched by the raging wind, came through to the woodfolk from Melting Snow. The images meant nothing to most of them but galvanised Hail and Blizzard.

Blizzard shouted at String and Bean, “They’re lost. They are nowhere near us. Somehow, they have entered the Lost Forest”

String stared at them, “I didn’t know that was real. I thought it was a myth.”

Hail glared back, “It is a myth. But so is Tarkyn.”

“So what do we do?” shouted Bean.

“We seek shelter.” Hail’s voice brooked no argument. “There is nothing we can do for them.”