Felling Kingdoms (Book 5) (8 page)

Chapter 11

Virgil sat with his feet propped up before the fire in his room. He watched the flames dance through the blackening embers as night descended. The lamps through Kilkiny had long been turned down, and the servants gone to bed. It seemed everyone but Virgil was asleep.

There was no going back. Even if he freed Robyn and abandoned the Castrofax, he would be killed for his crime. He thumbed the slender hinge ring perched halfway down his little finger. It was as far as it would go; Robyn was so tiny.

He mentally prepared himself as he would for a battle, steeling his resolve, banishing rogue thoughts, running scenarios, and devising a backup plan. When he was ready, he checked the knives stashed around his body and made his way to the trunk in the corner. Tucked deep within was an unobtrusive canvas bag that he pulled free and upended on the bed.

It was called the Glittering Castrofax. Made of glass, it fooled even the best jewelers. Cut with a thousand facets in the band and along the rim, it gleamed in the faint firelight from within. Virgil could see dim red markings etched inside, but something prevented him from focusing as his vision glanced off to the blanket beneath. The band was wide and thick, as broad as his little finger if not denser, and it was heavy.

He tucked the wristlets into his belt and stashed the neckpiece within his tunic, making sure nothing would clink together as he moved. Cautiously, he crept to the door and listened for any movement coming from the anteroom. Guards often patrolled, but he knew their schedules from experience, and one was not due for a while.

The door unlatched quietly as he muffled the reverberations with his hands. Despite his training, his heart thundered in his ears. He would either succeed in damning the most powerful man alive, or die. Both options were terrifying.

The hinge bore a simple latch and unlocked from either side. He slowly opened it. ‘
Wonder of wonders, it does lead to Castle Jaden.’
The dark room with a well-organized desk was vacant, and not a sound came from within, so he gently stepped through.

The sounds of Kilkiny were instantly replaced with Jaden’s faint noise—or the absence of it. Anatoly City always hummed even at night, but this castle was peacefully quiet. No fires popped in the hearth, no footsteps were heard. Not even the whisper of breath reached his ears. He stood there for some time acclimatizing to the new surroundings. He never has set foot in the quarters, so he was not sure if he should go left or right, but he eventually stepped forward and gathered his bearings.

A door on the far right was closed, but the left door was cracked, so he went to that one first. His night vision already primed, he saw a postered bed, various furniture, and a cold hearth, but the darkness did not reveal a sleeping body yet.

He held his breath as he pushed the door open and stepped through. As the moments passed, he inched forward towards the bed and saw the shadowed rise and fall of sheets over a body lying on the far side. A large black bundle sat at the foot of the bed, and Virgil felt his heart skip a beat as it revealed two golden eyes that watched him despondently.

Virgil rounded the bed slowly, testing every board before he put his weight on it, and kept a hand on a knife just in case. The sleeping figure quickly sharpened from a dark mass to the Head Mage, lying on his back. One hand draped across his chest, and the other by his side. He breathed slowly and deeply like a man lost in his dreams.

Virgil quietly freed a wristlet and primed it for the hand, the one lying beside the Head Mage. The natural rise between wrist and forearm was more than enough to slip the sparkling clear band underneath, and with all the courage he could muster, Virgil closed it.

The Castrofax remained sealed, leaving no seam. Virgil went for the right hand, looking from one side to the next for the perfect insertion. He pressed lightly on the blankets to see where they would give, selecting the left side. Ever so gently and as slow as he dared, he slid the wristlet between wrist and blanket, not hesitating to close this one.

Gabriel stirred.

Virgil yanked the neckpiece from his tunic and held it in both hands, primed with adrenaline.

Gabriel rolled to his side towards Virgil, letting his right hand slip to the bed, and Virgil held his breath. He was about to relax, but Gabriel raised his right hand and brought it to his face, his eyes opening slits.

Virgil lunged as Gabriel’s confused eyes widened in clarity. Gabriel brought a hand up to stop his advance and his hair and eyes became white. Virgil had weight and speed at his advantage, and he forced himself through to the neck. Gabriel let out a heart-wrenching, desperate “
NO
!” that abruptly cut off as the Castrofax clicked shut.

He fell back into the bed; his lips parted, eyes wide, and made no sound and no movement. His eyes looked straight at Virgil with such hatred and sorrowful disbelief. Virgil found himself whispering, “I am sorry.”

Virgil turned and ran back to the hinge, tearing it open and slamming it. He rushed to his room and locked it behind him, sure the shadows hid assassins meant for him. His breath wavered in his chest, and slid to the ground.

“Oh, stars, what have I done?”

Chapter 12

Mikelle marched through the Lodge with Gabriel’s breakfast on a tray. She and Shaun had taken to eating breakfast together the past few days, but she always brought Gabriel his food first.

“Morning, Lael,” she greeted as she stepped into the anteroom. Lael looked up with a smile, dressed in a dark blue coat with vertical white stripes.

“Why do you never bring
me
breakfast?” he smirked.

“It is simply too heavy.”

“Ah, of course,” he replied dramatically and went back to his tea and books.

Mikelle shouldered open the door to Gabriel’s hall and crossed the quiet floorboards carpeted with the finest rugs. The study door was closed, so she kicked the latch open with a knee and found the room vacant as usual.

The longer Gabriel spent outside the Castrofax, the better he slept. His dreams had not plagued him in months, so it had become Mikelle’s delight to wake him each morning. She laid awake some nights devising new ways.
‘Perhaps freezing the sheets would work, or making it snow. He would probably banish me from his bedchamber after that, but it would be worth it.’

She set the tray on his dining table and went to the wide-open bedroom door. He was still abed, Coal at his feet. She went to the bed and folded her arms, rocking back and forth on her heels as she devised a plan.

“Gabriel,” she finally said. “Bacon, Gabriel, there’s bacon.”

He did not stir.

She reached across the bed and prodded him in the back. “Wake up!” When he did not move, she hauled herself up and reached for his shoulder, and that was when she saw a strange glittering reflection on the bed canopy. She looked to the window and traced the line of sunlight streaming through to his neck and casting diamond reflections above him.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she jerked his shoulder back. He looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes and shut them in devastation.

“Oh, stars,” she breathed and located his wrists. Both were clad in the glittering clear material. “Lael!” she shouted, her hands grappling at the neck piece. “Gabriel, say something. Lael,
now
!” She gripped one wristlet, then the other, trying to wrench it off his hands, looking for a seam,
anything
.

Lael thundered in behind her.

Her face awash in horror, she met his eyes. “A Castrofax.”

“No,” Lael replied in denial and rounded the bed. “Is he unconscious? Head Mage, can you hear me?”

Gabriel opened his pained eyes and shut them again.

“What’s it done?” Mikelle asked, tears coming to her voice. Lael held Gabriel’s arm up and dropped it. “Has it…it’s not…oh stars.”

“Lad, can you move anything?” Lael asked in a panicked voice. Gabriel cracked his eyes and shut them again.

Mikelle took his face in her hands, and he opened his eyes. “One blink for yes, close them for no, alright?” He blinked. “Do you know who did this? No? Did you see them? Yes. Male? Yes.” She looked at Lael in anticipation, but the Secondhand had his eyes shut tightly, his head bowed. “Tall? Yes. Slender? No.”

“Head Mage, can you feel your Elements?” Lael cut in.

“No,” Mikelle whispered.

“Bloody…” Lael turned and smashed his arm into a vase. Ceramic shards scattered, and water splashed everywhere as he paced a tight, angry circle. Mikelle had never seen him angry. Even Gabriel’s eyes looked surprised. Lael slumped into a seat.

“A Mage without his Elements is not a Mage, and therefore Gabriel cannot be Head Mage,” Lael finally said, leaning back and putting his head on the wall. “Which means we have no leader, and no fighter against Ryker.”

“Did an Arch Mage do this? No. Lael, what are we supposed to do?”

Lael shut his eyes. “I will assume leadership until we can find someone else.”

“
What
are we supposed to do about
Gabriel
?” she corrected. “Do not even
consider
abandoning him right now. He is still Head Mage, and no laws change that.”

Lael stood. “I do not know this Castrofax. I cannot say until I know more. In the meanwhile, we must alert the Council.” He stepped through the water and took up Gabriel’s limp hand. “I am so sorry.”

“What do you want us to do?” Mikelle asked Gabriel, he gave her a helpless look. She ran through the alphabet until he closed his eyes on K. “Is the next letter a vowel?” He selected I. She ran through the alphabet again until he selected L. “Kil…kill? Kill who?” His eyes bored into her. “Kill you? Gabriel, no,” she gasped. “We’ll find a way out of this. You beat one, you can do it again.”

He closed his eyes, and a tear slid down.
No
.

Lael turned away and pinched his eyes with a hand. “I will start my research,” he said as he left.

Mikelle looked back at Gabriel, his serene face blank, and his lips cracked. She sealed them, and he opened his eyes again. “Does…this one feel different?”
Yes
. “How?” She once again counted through the alphabet. “Weak…weaker? You feel weaker?
It
feels weaker? That’s wonderful news.”

He squinted at her as if asking why she was finding optimism in his situation and she clutched his hand. “You can move the muscles around your eyes? Can you swallow? Anything else? Your heart beats, and your diaphragm moves. Your organs must be functioning. I…I’m going to need to figure a way to get food into you.”

No.

“I’m not letting you starve.”

Yes.

“Afton can help me.”

No.

“Stop it!”

Lael entered behind her with an open book in his hands. “This is called the Glittering Castrofax, but that is all I can find right now. This book is useless.” He slammed it closed. “Head Mage, is there a book in your library that has more information. Leather bound? Canvas then? Colors, um, brown? Gray? Black? Green? Dark green? Light green. Slender? I will return.”

Mikelle released Gabriel’s hand and slid off the bed. “I’m going to get Afton.” Gabriel snapped his eyes closed, but she rushed off anyway. Shaun was probably wondering where she was, but he could find his own star-blasted breakfast.

“Afton,” she called and rapped on her door. The woman opened it a few moments later and brushed her pulsing pattern over Mikelle’s face.

“Is it the baby?” she asked worriedly.

“No, it’s Gabriel. Hurry.” She explained quietly as they returned to the bedchamber. Lael knelt at Gabriel’s side with an opened green book in his hand.

“Robyn needs to know about this.” Lael said.

Gabriel shut his eyes.

“I would not want her to worry either, but she will learn eventually.”

Afton stepped up and took Gabriel’s arm in her hands. She placed her fingers against his exposed wrist where she held for some time, before she inspected the Castrofax.

“Don’t put your fingers inside it,” Mikelle warned.

“Why?” Lael and Afton asked in unison.

“You will take his energy and Elements for a time.”

“That is possible?” Lael asked.

“It was with Overturn.”

Lael raised his brows in surprise then nodded to Afton. “Do not try until we know what this one does. The last thing we need is his energy running out like Overturn did.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and huffed.

“Did you feel anything pass the water wards in the door last night?” Lael asked.

Mikelle shook her head. “Not when I am asleep.”

“His internal workin’s are functionin’,” Afton said. “We can seep water through his skin to hydrate him or t’rough his lips like t’is,” she grabbed the back of his neck and lifted until his head fell back. “But he cannot chew, so we will need brot’s and pummeled foods.”

“Pureed,” Lael translated for Mikelle. Afton set his head back gently. “How long will he last if we do this?”

Everyone looked at Afton. “A while, if he gets t’ nutrients he needs.”

Gabriel closed his eyes tightly. Suddenly, his eyebrows twitched, and he pulled them into a frown. His eyes flew open in surprise punctuated by his eyebrows raising.

Lael leaned forward in excitement. “Did you just break those loose? Stars, I need more notes on this.” He went back to his reading and walked to the window to get better light.

Mikelle leaned closer to Afton. “I’m going to ask you to help me with him.”

“Of course,” Afton replied with a noble nod. “I can prevent his body from wastin’.” She put her hands around his bicep, and it suddenly tensed.

“I can manage all fluids.”

Gabriel huffed and frowned deeply.

“Just, calm down.” Mikelle patted his hand.

Lael stepped up, his face in the book. “We are going to need to discuss this with the Council. Can you have Shaun summon them immediately? I will be in the Hall. You…you should get Aisling and Cordis. I will get Shaun.”

She nodded and Lael left. Picking up Gabriel’s hand, Mikelle thumbed through his rings until he finally blinked. “Hinge ring?” she asked, and he confirmed. She slipped it on her hand and squeezed his one last time. “Stay with him, Afton.”

“T’is will give me a chance to loosen some of his knots,” she replied with a pleased tone and slipped both hands to his collarbone.

With breakfast forgotten, Mikelle slipped through the hinge into Kilkiny. Aisling and Cordis sat with an older couple. The Council Members looked uncomfortable and relieved when they saw Mikelle entered.
‘Oh, if only you knew the news I have.’

“The Secondhand has called an emergency Council Meeting. Please come right away.”

Cordis popped up with a smile, extending his hand Aisling. “Please excuse us.”

They grinned as they stepped away, but their mirth faded when they saw Mikelle’s face.

“What has happened?”

“Please just come to Jaden,” Mikelle answered and grabbed their hands, pulling them through the hinge. They did not press further, knowing it was up to Lael to inform them. They hurriedly moved through the Lodge to the Council Hall where the Members filed. Lael stood behind his chair reading his book, fingers perched on his lips as his eyes flitted over the words.

“Challis is in Viorica, but I sent a sidestepping team to bring her in,” Lael said as Mikelle stepped up. Slowly the Members took their seats as the rest filed in. Lewis slipped in minutes before Challis arrived, her cheeks red. Sidesteppers had to arrive outside the castle to avoid the wards, and she looked like she sprinted through the courtyard. Finally, everyone took their seats, glancing from Lael, to the Head Mage’s chair, and back to Lael.

He remained standing and finally closed the book, marking it with a finger. “I do not know how to say this. Someone…” he paused and looked down, composing himself. “Someone put the Head Mage in a Castrofax last night.”

Aisling and Adelaide screamed. Markus scooted himself back from the table and stood, looking like he might be sick. Dagan’s head dropped into his open hands. Galloway and Lewis stared at each other, their mouths agape, while Penny turned a shade of white to match her hair. Challis immediately covered her face to hide her tears, while Cordis sat there calmly, taking in Lael’s words. His eyes glossed over unabashedly.

“Who did this?” Cordis whispered as his face screwed.

“We do not know. The Head Mage did not see his attacker. We know it was a tall, broad male, but that describes a quarter of our population.”

“Which—which one?” Dagan stuttered, composing himself. Markus walked a slow circle behind him, arms akimbo.

“Glittering. I am trying to research it, but it has paralyzed him and blocked his Elements.”

Aisling let out a wail and buried her face in her hands.

“Has anyone tried to use him?” Markus asked, regaining his seat slowly.

“No.”

That
was a threat Mikelle had forgotten about. Anyone with the control ring now had Gabriel’s power.

“The Glittering Castrofax,” Adelaide finally said, “Is made of glass, fortified with Earth patterns. It was the first Castrofax made…and it has never held a Mage greater than a Class Eight.”

“How do you know this?” Lael gasped.

“When Overturn was used, I researched the rest.”

“Can it be broken?”

“Not with patterns or force, but it was rumored to be feeble.”

Mikelle snapped her fingers. “Gabriel
said
it felt weaker.”

“He can speak?” Challis asked hopefully.

“Oh…no. I worked it out through reciting the alphabet.”

More than one person groaned.

“Our law states that a Mage without his Elements is not a Mage.” Lael said, “Therefore we have no Head Mage, but I am inclined to ignore that rule if we can agree upon it.” Everyone nodded. “I will speak for the Head Mage, and Galloway, you will be third in command as always. I do not want this news leaked, but I fear people will learn of it, and we should be the ones to tell them to dissuade rumor and panic. We will address the people later today, and we will tell them the truth.”