Bronze Magic (Book 1) (55 page)

“Oh no!” breathed Tarkyn, “That’s one of the elite guards from the
palace.” He sent a message to the owl asking just where the intruder was.
When he felt reasonably sure he understood, he asked the owl to keep an
eye on the guardsman and set off in search of Stormaway.

Tarkyn skirted around the edge of the firelight until he was directly
behind the wizard. The woodfolk were fully occupied, discussing the
images he had shown them, and planning the rescue. The prince found
that he wasn’t particularly interested at the moment. He knew they would
speak to him about it when they needed to and right now he had more
pressing matters to think about.

Tarkyn leaned forward into the firelight and whispered in Stormaway’s
ear. “Could I have a private word with you please?” The prince nodded
briefly to the woodfolk sitting with Stormaway and retreated back into
the darkness.

The wizard made his excuses and followed him away between the
moonlit bushes beyond the firelight. Tarkyn waited until they were well
out of earshot before he turned to Stormaway.

“I know we have,” said Stormaway. “It will be catastrophic for the
woodfolk if their presence becomes known.”
Tarkyn waved an impatient hand. “No. We have other serious trouble.”
He waited while Stormaway dragged his mind away from the woodfolk
issue. “There is an elite palace guard skulking in the woods.”
Stormaway’s eyes widened. “Has he seen you?” he demanded. “Has he
seen any of the woodfolk?”
“No. I don’t think so.” Tarkyn thought about it. “Actually I don’t know
for sure. I felt a strange uneasiness when Running Feet and I came out into
the woods. We checked with the lookouts, both before and afterwards
but they had seen nothing.”He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t
know; maybe he was somewhere there, watching us. He is certainly out
there now and the lookouts have not reported it.”
Before Stormaway could ask his next question, the forest guardian
answered it for him. “Eagle owl. We searched the forest until we found
the source of the feeling. The owl is keeping watch over him, as we speak.
He is less than half a mile away, downstream of the shelters and the other
direction from where we dealt with the storm today.”
Stormaway looked at Tarkyn. “We have to tell the woodfolk. They
may need to disappear. Can you summon Waterstone? While you do
that, I’ll just get a few things ready.”
Tarkyn sent a clear, strong image of himself summoning Waterstone.
He hoped Waterstone didn’t turn up as annoyed as Autumn Leaves had,
the last time he had tried it. As it turned out, Autumn Leaves, Waterstone
and Thunder Storm all arrived together at a flat run. They were panicstricken rather than annoyed.
“After the discussion you had with Autumn Leaves about your signals,
we knew this one was urgent,” explained Waterstone. “What’s up?”
“There’s an elite palace guard in the woods out there. Elite means
he’s fast, strong, trained in disguise, camouflage, tracking; he’s wearing
black and he’s very hard to spot. He made it past the lookouts without
attracting their attention.” Tarkyn waved a hand in the general direction
of the stream. “He’s hiding in the patch of beech trees downstream of the
shelters. I have an eagle owl watching him and he hasn’t moved for the
last ten minutes.”
“Has he seen anyone?”
Tarkyn shook his head, “I’m not sure. He may have seen me
with Running Feet. That’s when I first felt his presence. But I
don’t know.”
Autumn Leaves looked thoughtful. “It is over a week since the last
foray by the sorcerers and their wolf. Perhaps they have decided to use
more stealthful means in their attempts to track us down.”
“He has certainly got closer to us than the men on horseback did,”
Thunder Storm rumbled quietly. “If Tarkyn hadn’t come out here with
Running Feet, we would still be unaware of his presence.”
“Or maybe he is simply hunting Tarkyn for the bounty or, if he is
the king’s man, for the glory of the capture.” Waterstone kept his voice
matter-of-fact and avoided Tarkyn’s eyes as he turned to Stormaway
who was now carrying a haversack. “You are the only one who can
safely meet him and try to turn him away. If we all cover you, would
you be willing to confront him and find out what he’s up to?”
“He may kill and ask questions afterwards,” interrupted Tarkyn. “They
are trained to be ruthless. We will have to disarm him and tie his arms
behind his back before Stormaway can talk to him safely.”
“Right. We’ll do that then,” replied Waterstone without hesitation.
“How are we going to knock him out? Slingshot or one of your power
rays?”
“Slingshot. You will be able to get much closer to him undetected than
either of us could. I will come with you as far as is safe and will create a
link between the eagle owl and you, so you know what the guard is doing.
Wait. I’ll use the eagle owl’s directions to show you exactly where he is.
Do we need anyone else?”
“No,” replied Thunder Storm. “But I think everyone must disappear.
He’s too close. If he comes any closer, he’ll hear voices. We’ll alert the
lookouts, too.”
Tarkyn frowned, “It seems a shame to disturb everyone when they’re
all deep in discussion.”
Thunder Storm gave him the smile he would have given one
of his children when they were being naïve, “My lord, that is what we
do. It is second nature to us. They can continue the discussion mind
talking.”
The other two woodmen agreed and all three went out of focus briefly.
“Right, let’s go.”
Waterstone led the way past the shelters and followed the stream along
until they reached the edge of the beech wood. He signalled for the
sorcerer and the wizard to remain.
Suddenly the three woodmen were gone. The forest guardian checked
with his owl. The elite guard was still pressed, motionless, into the deep
shadow beneath the tree’s branches. Tarkyn couldn’t see any movement.
Perhaps he was sleeping. Abruptly, the guard reared up then crashed to
the ground.
Tarkyn turned to the wizard. “Mission accomplished, I think.” He
tuned back into the owl to thank him for his night’s work. The owl,
however, was finding the whole affair most entertaining and had no
intention of leaving, so Tarkyn retained his contact. Below on the forest
floor through the owl’s eyes, he could see three woodmen firmly tying the
guard’s hands behind his back. His knives were in neat pile a few yards
away. Tarkyn sent an image of knives up sleeves, in boots and up trouser
legs. As a result, two more knives appeared and were added to the pile.
Then the woodfolk were gone.
Tarkyn filled Stormaway in on the owl’s image. “He’s all yours. Do you
feel able to do this?”
“I will be fine, my boy. Intrigue is the spice of my life. Let me at him.”
Stormaway smiled broadly and headed off into the woods.
The eagle owl turned its head and Tarkyn found himself looking
directly at Thunder Storm who was sharing the tree with the owl. As the
owl stared at him, Thunder Storm gave a small wave and a grin.
“Very funny,” said Tarkyn to himself, with a smile. “And I used to
think he was pompous.”
The eagle owl was not quite so amused and returned his attention to the
forest floor. Stormaway had arrived and was seating himself comfortably.
He waved a hand and murmured a spell to produce a soft light, ready for
the guard’s return to consciousness.
Only a few minutes later, the elite guard began to come round. The
woodmen had been very accurate with the strength of their slingshot.
A black scarf obscured the man’s face leaving only his eyes visible.
Stormaway leant forward and removed the scarf to make sure the guard
could breathe properly. The prince drew in a sharp breath as the man’s
features were revealed.
The guardsman was no older than early twenties. His blonde, wavy
hair was shoulder length and his eyes, when he opened them, were a
vibrant purple. He lay still for a few minutes, taking in the fact that his
hands were bound. When he saw Stormaway watching, he struggled into
a sitting position. He shook his head to clear it and groaned.
“Ow. That wasn’t a good idea,” he said. He blinked a couple of
times then focused his eyes on the wizard. “Who are you? And more
importantly, do you have anything to drink?”
“As it happens,” replied Stormaway imperturbably, “I have water and
wine. Which would you prefer?”
The young man frowned, “Water first. Then wine.” He gave the ghost
of a smile. “I may need some assistance in drinking them.”
“I will be happy to oblige.” Stormaway produced two earthenware
cups from his haversack and a stoppered earthenware bottle. “Before I
come any closer, may I suggest you stop thinking of your feet as weapons
or we will end up in a serious argument that I will win. If you find you
cannot do that, please let me know and I will tie them also.”
The guard’s eyes narrowed. After a moment, he said, “I think I can
manage that.”
The wizard carefully assisted him to take a drink then moved back out
of range. “My name, sir, is Stormaway Treemaster…and yours?”
The guard’s eyes had widened. “I have heard of you. I seem to
remember the king speaking of you. You were his father’s personal wizard,
weren’t you?”
“Indeed I was. I am gratified to have been mentioned,” said the
wizard with a touch of sarcasm, “Your name, sir? Or do you not wish
to give it?”
The young man put his head on one side. “If I were on the king’s
official business, I would not give it to you, but I am travelling on my
own affairs. And so I will tell you. My name is Danton Patronell.”
“So, Danton, if you are not on the king’s business, what brings you to
these parts of the woods?”
“Before I answer that, I would ask what business is it of yours?” The
guard shifted his weight to make himself more comfortable. “I would
also ask why I awake from a thump on the head to find myself with my
hands bound?” A note of contempt entered his voice. “Perhaps you are a
brigand these days?”
Despite himself, Stormaway took offence. “Good heavens, man! Of
course I’m not. How dare you suggest such a thing.”
Danton shrugged, “One would have to say the evidence points to it
from where I’m sitting.”
“Young man, I have been conducting some small commercial
enterprises near here. I discovered you were hiding in the woods, no
matter how. I recognise an elite guard when I see one. As I would rather
live to ask questions, I made sure you were unable to attack me while I
find out why you are skulking in these woods.” Stormaway had himself
back in hand. “Some wine now?” he asked urbanely.
The young man nodded and waited for the wizard to feed it to him.
The whole time, the guard studied Stormaway through narrowed eyes.
When he still did not offer any information, Stormaway asked, “Do you,
by any chance, know a young man who keeps wolves?”
“Not personally, no. I have heard that there is such a man. Rumours
such as this make a long night on guard duty bearable.”
“I see. And do these rumours suggest who this man is or why he keeps
wolves?”
The young man scowled impatiently. “I do not see the relevance of
these questions.”
“Humour me.”
Danton eyed Stormaway belligerently for a few moments. “No. I do
not know who he is and I have no idea of his intentions. Obviously,
wolves would be useful for hunting or protection.” Suddenly a faint smile
appeared on his face. “But actually, we thought that the man must be
some sort of an idiot to use wild wolves when domestic hounds would be
nearly as good and a lot easier to train.”
“Perhaps the wolves could pass more easily unremarked through the
woodlands?”
The guardsman shrugged, patently uninterested, “Perhaps. But I can’t
see why that would matter.”
Stormaway offered him another sip of wine but this time, as the wizard
retreated to the other side of the path, the guard made a sudden lunge at
him. In the space of an eye blink, the wizard’s shield was up, but by then
the young man had already relaxed back against the tree trunk again.
Stormaway frowned as he released his shield, “What was that all
about?”
Danton gave a satisfied, unnerving smile. “I wanted to see the colour
of your magic. If I had asked you, you might have lied.”
“So you have established that I have green magic. Well done,” said
Stormaway with heavy irony. “So may we now return to the point of this
discussion which is to establish why you are here?”
“It was not I who deviated from it.” The guard considered Stormaway
for a long time. Finally, he said, “I don’t know how to say this to keep
myself safe. I think you’re protecting someone and if you know I’m
looking for him, you may kill me to protect him.”
“Why would you think I was protecting someone?” Stormaway asked
quietly.
“Because of your connection to him, for one thing.”
Tense silences punctuated these verbal manoeuvres as the two men
fenced carefully with each other.
“I have connections with many people. Any other reason?” asked
Stormaway, trying to sound puzzled.
Danton drew a deep breath, obviously aware that he was on very thin
ice. “There was a storm earlier today. Nearly all day, actually. It ended
this afternoon with a pyrotechnical display that would take your breath
away.” Danton’s eyes didn’t leave the wizard’s face. “One stream of magic
was green, the other was bronze.”
“More wine?” asked Stormaway, stalling for time.
“Thank you.” When he had been fed another sip, Danton continued,
“Bronze is a very unusual colour for magic, isn’t it? In fact, I know of only
one person who has it. Don’t you?”
Stormaway conceded the battle but not the war. “What do you want
with His Royal Highness?”
“I would remind you that I am not on the king’s business.”
“So you say,” said Stormaway tersely. “But neither are bounty hunters
on the king’s business. Not directly, anyway.”
“This is where this becomes difficult.”
“Oh, so it hasn’t been difficult up til now?”
Danton shook his head. “Not really. Oh, it’s been difficult looking for
him. I’ve been trying to find him for weeks now. But this conversation
hasn’t been difficult until now. We’ve been fencing but I already knew the
prince was here somewhere. No, the hard part will be getting you to trust
me so that I can see him.”
“Go on. Why should I trust you? And why do you want to see him?”
The young man wriggled uncomfortably against the tree. “I don’t
suppose you would consider untying me?”
“What do you think?”
Danton grimaced, “No. I wouldn’t untie me if our roles were reversed.
So, back to your question. Why should you trust me? You see, that is
exactly what I meant about this being hard. I am his friend, but how
can you know that? I want to see him again to tell him that I remain his
friend if he needs me,” he shrugged, “and even if he doesn’t need me.”
“Your cause has not been helped by Andoran and Sargon.”
“Why?”
“They tried to take His Highness back for the bounty.”
The young man’s purple eyes widened. “No! Those bastards! I can’t
believe they would stoop so low.”