Witch, p.20
Witch, page 20
part #2 of Mage Saga Series
“Yes, I’d like that,” she said. “I have a few questions, though.”
“Go ahead.”
“When you rescued me from the enemy camp, you cast a spell to knock out the soldiers. Could you teach us that?”
Raphael cleared his throat. “I would prefer not to. Spells that interfere with the mind are forbidden.”
“Why?” asked Jezebel.
“They can cause madness. I don’t use that one often, and only when the circumstances are dire. Next question?”
Jezebel collected her thoughts for a moment. “When we encountered Dredmort on the bridge, I called fire. Nothing happened. Why?”
“You tried to ignite him internally?” Raphael asked. Jezebel nodded. “Try it on me.”
“What?! Why would I do that?”
“Unless I’m much mistaken, it won’t work,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.
Jezebel raised her wand nervously and cast the spell. Sure enough, nothing happened.
“You build a tolerance to magic as you practice it,” Raphael explained. “That tolerance grows with your power. Only someone with extraordinary talent would be able to affect Dredmort that way.”
Jezebel nodded. “And how did Nineve know…” She looked at Khaldun and felt herself blush. “She knew we were lovers. She asked where Khaldun had come from, and who had let an unbound sorcerer journey unprotected. I told her only that we were traveling on other business, and Khaldun transformed on the journey. But somehow, she knew.”
“That’s not too hard to figure out,” Raphael said with a grin. “I surmised as much myself.”
“Why?” Khaldun asked, looking somewhat embarrassed himself. His face grew a deeper shade of gold rather than red.
“The metamorphosis is almost always triggered by sexual intercourse,” Raphael explained. “As I’m sure you know, human thought provides the basis for the magical force. Erotic desire is a very primitive emotion and exists on a more fundamental level than conscious thought. As such, sexual energy can produce potent magic—intercourse in particular. You know, male joining together with female, the coupling of positive and negative forces.”
“That’s why the transformation never happens until the onset of puberty?” Khaldun asked.
“Indeed,” Raphael said. “Powerful experiences usually trigger it—like someone’s first sexual encounter.”
Jezebel laughed. Khaldun looked at the floor, the color in his face deepening again.
“I missed the joke,” Raphael muttered, drawing on his pipe.
“It was my first time,” Jezebel said, unable to stifle a giggle. “But it certainly wasn’t his.”
“Curious,” Raphael replied, sounding more and more amused. “Perhaps this encounter was particularly special or meaningful, in some way. Lust without love isn’t nearly as powerful. It’s nothing to worry about. The metamorphosis isn’t the same for everyone.”
Jezebel remembered that Khaldun had whispered Allison’s name, and thought she understood perfectly.
“You’ve talked about hiding me,” Khaldun said. “Does that mean you’re willing to let me go to Enigma to be bound?”
“For now, I am withholding my decision,” Raphael replied. “Let’s find out where Enigma went before we make up our minds.”
They sat in silence for a while. Khaldun drifted off to sleep sitting against Jezebel’s legs. Jezebel grew drowsy but remained awake. When the time came, they woke Khaldun. He moved to Raphael’s chair, and Jezebel left the house with the wizard.
They strolled down the lane and turned onto the main road. The campus was alive with activity this morning. A few minutes later, they came to the central quad. Several large, brownstone buildings were laid out in a rectangle, with an open courtyard in the middle. Each was a separate structure, but only narrow alleyways led between them, archways spanning those in many places.
Raphael strode along the cobblestone walkway to the building at the far corner. Jezebel followed him up the steps to the entry. The enormous central doorways led into a long hallway. Halfway down the passage, Raphael opened a door on the right. Jezebel walked in, the wizard right behind her. The room was cluttered with bookshelves and cabinets. An older woman sat at a desk in the opposite corner.
“Good morning, Meredith,” Raphael called out. The woman turned with a start—apparently she hadn’t heard them come in. She stared at them for a moment, until recognition washed over her face.
“Raphael,” she said, rising slowly to her feet. She hobbled over to them. “It’s been ages—how are you? What brings you back to the nest?”
Raphael stooped low, kissing her lightly on both cheeks. “This young lady is Jezebel of Spanbrook.”
“Hello,” Jezebel said with a smile, shaking the woman’s hand.
“We need to find Enigma,” Raphael told her. “I know he hasn’t been here in some time, but I’m hoping he left word of his destination.”
Meredith frowned, shaking her head slightly. “Dark business, that,” she said. “The governors were in an uproar for months. Syllith’s removal was bad enough. Seldom in the entire history of this school has anyone from the council been forced to resign. But of course, you know that—professor of history and all.”
“Yes,” Raphael said with a little smile, “but do you have any idea why they removed her?”
“They refuse to discuss it, but I’d tell you if I knew,” Meredith replied conspiratorially. “As for Enigma, that was a great dishonor. He left without bothering to seek the approval of the other governors.”
“I wasn’t aware,” said Raphael. “Yet with Syllith gone, and no method available to reassign his bond, what else could he do?”
“True, but he should have done the thing properly,” Meredith said. “The council would have approved his retirement. But he didn’t give them a chance. And he told no one where he was going. His departure was unannounced—he simply disappeared!”
“I didn’t know that,” Raphael muttered, stroking his beard. “This could be ill news. How do we know he left of his own volition?”
Meredith regarded Raphael askance. “It’s Enigma, dear. How else would he have gone?”
“Oh, yes. Of course,” said Raphael, shaking his head. “I’ve been in the wild, fighting Henry too long. Forgive me.”
“What?” asked Jezebel. “I don’t understand.”
“Enigma is a sorcerer,” Raphael said with a shrug. “An extremely powerful one. It’s highly unlikely that anyone could have removed him against his will. And especially here, with the enchantments around the perimeter.”
“But what if it was one of the other governors?” asked Jezebel. “Aren’t half of them sorcerers?”
“Enigma is powerful even among them, darling,” Meredith told her. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I’m sure he’ll check in eventually, and if he does, I’ll know about it immediately. I’ll get word to you right away.”
They left the building. Jezebel despaired of ever finding a way to save Allison from the demon. Without Enigma, her quest was hopeless.
At first, they headed back toward Raphael’s house. But the wizard stopped after a few yards, gazing the other way.
“What is it?” asked Jezebel.
“Only a hunch,” said Raphael, retracing their steps. Jezebel followed.
They moved beyond the central quad. Raphael chose a path that led past the rear corner, into the trees. Before long, they passed by an odd structure, set back from the walkway. It was some sort of tower, perhaps five stories tall. But it was twice as wide as the towers of Castle Spanbrook and seven-sided. And it had no doors or windows, as far as Jezebel could see.
“What is that?” Jezebel asked.
“I don’t know,” Raphael said. “It’s been there for centuries. But I’ve never learned what function it serves.”
A few minutes later, they came to a row of elegant mansions. They strolled to the very end of the lane, and Raphael walked up to the last house. He peered inside a window before moving to the door. It was unlocked.
“After you,” he said, holding the door open for Jezebel. He followed her inside.
“What is this place?” Jezebel asked, looking around in awe. Before her, an enormous stone staircase led to the second floor. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling high above.
“Enigma’s house,” Raphael said simply. “The university provides fine homes for each of the governors.”
“And what are we doing here?”
“Looking and listening,” Raphael said. “I’m wondering if perhaps Enigma left a message when he departed.”
Jezebel followed Raphael around the mansion. They walked through a fancy dining room and an enormous kitchen. They searched for clues in a large study and a luxurious living room with a giant fireplace. Upstairs they found a library and several bedrooms. There were no clues or messages.
“It looks incredibly clean for a place that hasn’t been occupied for six months,” Jezebel observed.
“Yes, it does,” Raphael agreed with a frown. “And that in itself is odd.”
They were about to return to the first floor when they heard the sound of the front door opening. Raphael held out his wand and made them invisible. He motioned Jezebel behind him, and they crept to the top of the stairs.
An old man walked inside, closing the door behind him. Raphael seemed to relax.
“Hello, Archibald,” he called out.
The old man whirled around, clearly startled. “Raphael,” he said, holding his hand to his chest. The wizard had removed the spell of invisibility, Jezebel noted. She followed him down the stairs. “You gave me a fright.”
“I apologize for that,” Raphael said, shaking his hand. “We were trying to ascertain where Enigma might have gone.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know,” Archibald said. “The governors reassigned me, but I stop in now and then to tidy up a bit. Not much to do, as nobody has been here since Master Enigma’s departure. But I assume he will return eventually, and we wouldn’t want him to find a dusty house.”
“Certainly,” Raphael said with a frown. “We’ll be on our way then,” he added, leading Jezebel out of the mansion.
“Farewell,” Archibald said, closing the door behind them.
“Who is that, exactly?” Jezebel asked as they strolled down the lane.
“He was Enigma’s manservant,” Raphael explained. “I would have sought him next if we hadn’t met him here. But I’m afraid now we have only one chance of finding the sorcerer.”
They returned to Raphael’s house. Khaldun was asleep in the chair still, snoring away. Jezebel didn’t have the heart to wake him.
“We should sleep now, too,” Raphael told her through a big yawn. “There is no more we can do today.”
He led her down the hallway to a guest bedroom before going off to retire to bed himself. Jezebel lay down in the bed and fell asleep within minutes.
But suddenly something disrupted her sleep. She sat up, confused for a moment about where she was. Unsure what had wakened her, or how much time had passed, she tried to go back to sleep. But then she heard a whisper: someone said her name.
Jezebel sat bolt upright, frantically looking around the room for the source of the speaker. But nobody was there.
She got out of bed and tiptoed down the hall. It was still light out—how long had she been asleep? She heard someone whisper her name again, but couldn’t find the source of the noise. For a moment she panicked—could this be the demon? But she didn’t think it would shift its focus across so many miles from Allison to her.
Jezebel felt something beckoning to her from outside. Slowly she opened the front door and slipped outside. Walking around behind the house, she ventured into the woods, unsure what was drawing her forward. But she found she couldn’t resist this call.
Dead leaves and twigs crunched beneath her bare feet as she walked farther into the trees. But suddenly, she saw a golden glow before her, like a firefly with its light greatly amplified. The glow moved toward her, and Jezebel froze. In the next moment, the light surrounded her.
“What are you doing here, farm-girl?” a voice whispered in her ear. Jezebel jumped. She tried to answer, but no words would come out. Instead, she said Enigma’s name in her mind.
“I’m afraid you’re too late,” the voice said. It struck her as feminine, although there was no actual sound. “Enigma has departed. What do you want with him?”
Jezebel felt like the questioner withdrew the answer from her mind, but she couldn’t say for sure. She found herself fading from consciousness.
Jezebel woke up very disoriented. She was lying in bed. It was dark outside, and she wasn’t sure where she was. Delicious aromas were drifting into the room. Memories flooded in, and she remembered that she was in Raphael’s house. The last strands of a dream flickered through her mind, something about a golden glow. But as she tried to remember, the memory faded away, like sand slipping through her fingers.
Jezebel sat up. She got out of bed and shuffled down the hall. She found Khaldun and Raphael sitting at the kitchen table.
“I was afraid you were dead,” Khaldun said with a grin.
“How long was I asleep?” Jezebel asked, sitting at the table. Platters of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fried potatoes sat in front of her.
“Approximately thirteen hours,” Raphael said with a grin. “Eat—you must be famished.” He passed her a dish.
“I am,” she said, her stomach growling in anticipation. She filled her plate.
“I told Khaldun what we discovered earlier,” Raphael told her. “But, I’d like him to return with us once we’ve eaten.”
“Why?” Jezebel asked, stuffing her face.
“He’s a sorcerer,” the wizard said simply. “If anything’s hiding behind a spell of concealment, he’ll be able to detect it. It’s a long shot, but it’s the last chance we have of finding Enigma.”
Jezebel’s heart sank. If they couldn’t locate the sorcerer, she’d have to return to Spanbrook, unsuccessful in her quest. And there’d be no way to banish the demon.
They finished eating and set out into the night. Rather than making him invisible, Raphael altered Khaldun’s appearance. He looked now exactly the way he had before his transformation. Raphael explained that hiding someone entirely would look quite suspicious if they encountered any sorcerers. But many mages used magic to enhance their appearance. Such a spell would be unlikely to attract attention.
They walked along the lane in front of the mansions. The soft light of oil lamps lit most of their interiors. They arrived at Enigma’s house, and Raphael let them inside.
“What should I be looking for?” Khaldun asked.
“You aren’t looking for anything,” Raphael said. “If something’s being concealed, you won’t see it—you’ll feel it. Most sorcerers describe the presence of magic as a tingling sensation or like the feeling of energy in the air during a storm. It will be subtle—don’t expect to be hit over the head.”
“Right,” Khaldun muttered as they walked across the dining room. They passed through the entire house, but Khaldun sensed nothing.
“This is it, then,” Jezebel said sadly, sitting on the bottom of the stairs. “We failed. There’s nothing I can do for Allison.”
“Let me try again,” Khaldun said. “I am new at this, after all.”
Jezebel knew he was only trying to make her feel better. She sat there, twirling her wand while Raphael walked through the house again with Khaldun. But several minutes later, Khaldun called down to her from the second floor.
“Come here,” he said. “I’ve found something.”
Jezebel ran up the stairs, into the library.
“I didn’t notice it the first time,” Khaldun explained, “because it’s not in any one place.”
“I don’t follow,” Jezebel said.
“Spells can conceal objects,” said Raphael. “But they can also hide energy. Imagine using one spell to hide another.”
“And the underlying spell is floating in the air,” Khaldun added. “It’s not localized.”
“Go ahead,” Raphael urged him.
Khaldun waved his hand. There was a whispering sound, and suddenly a man appeared in the middle of the room. He was only slightly taller than Jezebel. He wasn’t wearing a shirt; his golden skin looked like it had been painted over his thick, rippling muscles. There was no hair on his head, and the irises of his eyes were blood red. Tattoos covered his entire body, including his head and face. Most were runes and symbols of some kind, and they glowed faintly red and black against his golden skin. One ear was pierced, and a silver dragon dangled from it on a short chain.
“Enigma,” Raphael said in awe.
The image of Enigma began speaking. “I have to leave quickly, and there’s no time to discuss my departure. I apologize for not following protocol, but my need is great.
“As you’re aware, Syllith made some startling discoveries. I know you don’t approve of her research. But it turns out her most dire predictions were true.
“I am heading immediately to the northwestern watchtower in the Anthar Mountains. I only hope I’m not too late. If you need me, you can find me there.”
The image disappeared.
Raphael sat in a chair, seeming deeply troubled.
“What is it?” Khaldun asked.
Raphael looked at him sharply. “Not here.”
Jezebel had no idea what was going on. Raphael hurried out of the house, Khaldun and Jezebel on his heels. They walked across campus and returned to Raphael’s home. He started a fire in the hearth and sat heavily in his chair. Khaldun and Jezebel sat on the floor in front of him.
“So… What’s wrong?” asked Jezebel.
“You remember the story of the Pythan Empire that I told you in Arthos?” Raphael asked.
“Yes,” said Jezebel. “The King of Pytha abducted sorcerers, who became necromancers, and took over the entire continent.”
“And Nyro betrayed the emperor,” Khaldun added. “She reversed her bond and became like a god. She plunged the empire into three hundred years of darkness until the elves came and destroyed the necromancers and their demons.”
