Hunted by Magic (2 page)

T
he tonic tasted pretty terrible
, but it
was
worth the wait. My shifter metabolism digested it quickly, so within two minutes of choking it down a rush of energy hit me, driving the weakness from my limbs and filling my body with the same urgent fire that burned within my soul.

“Thanks guys,” I told Comenius and Elania as I hurriedly shoved my legs into my leather pants. They’d been left on a chair near my bed along with the shirt I’d worn to the Royale, and though they still stank of fear and sweat and blood, they were a lot better than going before the Council wearing an infirmary gown. “I can take it from here.”

“Nice try,” Comenius said dryly, “but just because you’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed doesn’t mean we’re not going with you.”

“Visiting hours are over,” a guard announced brusquely, striding into the room. “All citizens who are not here on urgent Palace business need to vacate the premises immediately.” He jerked his thumb toward the door.

“We’re here to visit Sunaya Baine,” Comenius said stiffly, not moving a single muscle. “She’s the Chief Mage’s apprentice, so I’d say that’s Palace business.”

“Perhaps, but not
urgent
Palace business.” The guard’s hand moved to the sword hanging at his hip. “Like I said, visiting hours are over.”

“Just go,” I muttered in Comenius’s ear. He was normally quite level-headed, but like most Pernians, he had a deeply buried stubborn streak. “I’ll meet up with you soon.”

“You’d better,” Comenius warned, squeezing my shoulder once more. “Stay safe, Naya.”

“You too.”

I waited until the guard had escorted them down the hall and the sound of their footsteps had faded before I headed downstairs toward the Mages Guild, where the Council room was located. My bare feet padded against wood and stone – whoever had left my clothes by my bedside hadn’t seen fit to do so with my shoes or weapons. My weapons were spelled to return to me eventually, but the shoes were not, so I was a little annoyed that they were gone. Servants and mages went about their business, but there was a tightness in their expressions, and a few glared at me with more hatred than usual. Clearly the word that trouble was afoot was spreading, though it didn’t seem that everybody knew the full story yet. The whole Palace would be in a panic if they knew their Chief Mage had vanished.

I hurried past the lobby of the Mages Guild, then took the hallway to my right, which I knew led to the Council room even though I hadn’t been there before. If the Mages Guild logo emblazoned in gold across the heavy wooden door hadn’t been enough, the cacophony of arguing voices beyond it would have told me I’d found the right place.

I pushed open the door and stepped into a long, rectangular room. Portraits of past Chief Mages covered all but the far wall, which was lined with windows overlooking the manicured gardens. Thick carpet cushioned my bare feet, a welcome change from the chilly stone. Two chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, one directly above me on my half of the room, and the other one above the large, round table on the other side, where the eight senior mages sat along with Director Chen. Fenris, ever the shadow, sat directly behind her seat in wolf form, and if not for the fact that her chair was faced sideways to me, I wouldn’t have noticed him at all. Only one chair was empty, and my chest tightened as I realized it must be Iannis’s seat.

All talking had ceased the moment I’d stepped in through the door, but the silence didn’t last. “Miss Baine!” Director Chen exclaimed, jumping to her feet and frowning heavily. Fenris hastily scrambled backward to avoid being trampled, and I ignored him as he turned a reproachful glare my way. No doubt he thought I should still be abed. “What are you doing here?”

“The same as you.” I planted my feet wide and stood my ground as I faced the Council. “I want to rescue the Chief Mage.”

“You will have absolutely no part in this rescue mission!” One of the Council members, who I recognized as Omonas ar’Candar, jabbed a long, slightly crooked finger at me. Unlike some of the elders, he did nothing to hide his age – light glinted off his bald head, and the beard that brushed halfway down his navy robes was pure white. “You have been a bad influence on Lord Iannis, leading him to flaunt convention and ignore laws that have kept Canalo safe for many years. You had better pray to your god that the Chief Mage is still alive, because if not, you shall be tried and executed for your unsanctioned use of magic as you should have already been!”

The other mages were quick to chime in, shouting at Director Chen, ordering her to remove me. I saw a hint of regret in her dark eyes as she moved toward me, but her ivory face was stern, and I knew she wouldn’t hesitate to kick me out.

“Wait.” Fenris stepped in front of me, in human form, and I blinked – I’d been so focused on Omonas and his cronies that I hadn’t noticed he’d changed. “Sunaya may not be a member of the Council, but she’s a trained Enforcer and has experience tracking down missing persons. She could be an asset in this emergency.”

“What she is is a liability,” Omonas snapped. “And might I remind you, Fenris, that you are not a member of this Council either? Frankly, I don’t know what you’re doing here. Shifters have no place in the Mages Guild.”

Fenris stiffened. “I have always attended such meetings.”

“Only because Lord Iannis permitted it,” another mage sneered, turning in his chair to face Fenris. “But he is not here right now, so I don’t see why you should be here either. There is nothing that the two of you can do that we are not capable of.”

“Actually,” I argued, remembering the charm I wore around my neck, “I do have a way to –”

“Stop.”
Fenris’s voice echoed sharply in my head, and my vocal chords froze. I tried to speak, and panic shot through me as nothing came out but air.

“What’s wrong, Miss Baine?” Omonas taunted. “Cat got your tongue?”

I gritted my teeth, unconsciously taking a step forward – I
hated
that expression.

“We’re just about to leave,” Fenris said, clamping his hand around my arm in a vice-like grip. I shot a glare at him, but since I couldn’t speak I had no choice but to go along. “Good day, Councilor.”

“
I
’m sorry
,” Fenris said as he dragged me into one of the guest rooms in the east wing and shut the door behind us. “I couldn’t let you tell them about the
serapha
charm. If they find out that Iannis gave you such an intimate gift, they would see you as an even bigger threat than they already do.”

The tightness on my vocal chords eased, and I rounded on Fenris, fury crackling through my nerves. “Just what the hell was that?” I demanded. “How did you manage to stop me from speaking? Is it some kind of charm you’re using?” I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Fenris was a wolf shifter – he shouldn’t have been able to freeze my vocal chords, not without some kind of magical device, but I hadn’t seen him use anything.

“I’ve picked up a thing or two from Iannis, but that’s not important just now,” Fenris said coolly. He sat down in an ornately carved rose-colored chair in front of a vanity. “We must use the charm to see if Iannis is still alive.” He remained calm outwardly, but I could tell that fear for Iannis bubbled beneath the surface of his cool exterior.

“Right.” I pulled out the charm, a white tanzarite jewel with iridescent flecks hanging from a silver chain, from beneath the neckline of my shirt. As I focused on the pale stone, it began to glow blue. I let out a huge breath of relief.

“He’s alive,” Fenris said, his yellow eyes narrowed in concern as he stared at the charm, “but judging by the lackluster glow, he is not well.”

My heart sank as I glanced down at the stone again. Fenris was right – when I’d first tested the charm the glow had been bright, nearly dazzling, but it was faint now, barely enough to draw attention.

“I guess that means we have to find him fast,” I said, stuffing the charm back beneath my shirt. If Fenris was right, I shouldn’t be advertising the damn thing. “Did you learn anything useful from the Council meeting, before they threw us out?”

“Nothing good.” Fenris’s expression shifted to worry. “They were mostly just shouting at each other, especially at Director Chen. Because she’s so new, they don’t respect her authority. Showing you any overt support would endanger what leverage she has.”

“Fine.” I pressed my lips together for a moment, but decided to let it go. Director Chen’s position had a lot to do with politics, something I didn’t envy her at all. I couldn’t really blame her for trying to keep her position secure when Iannis wasn’t there to back her up. “Anything else?”

“They did agree to offer a reward of five hundred gold pieces for anyone who brings Iannis back alive.”

“Five hundred?”
My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. “With that amount, I’m surprised the entire Enforcers Guild isn’t on the job.”

“I’m sure they will be soon enough,” Fenris said dryly. “And as you’ve proven more than once, not all of them can be trusted.”

“All the more reason to find him first.” I stood up. “Regardless of Chen’s reasons for publicly tossing me to the dogs, I’m not letting her off the hook so easily. She’s going to include me in this rescue mission, one way or another.”

“Naya,” Fenris protested as I turned for the door. “You really should keep a low profile right now. With Iannis gone, the other mages are looking for any reason to turn on you. For now, at least until we figure out a plan, you should keep your head down.”

“You know I’m no good at keeping my head down,” I told him as I opened the door. “But at least I’m good at keeping it on my shoulders.”

I
slipped
into Director Chen’s office, plopping down into one of her visitors’ chairs to wait for her return from the Council meeting. The hard wooden seat was decidedly uncomfortable; the cushion was barely there, and the relief of dragons carved into the back of the chair dug unpleasantly into my spine. I wondered if Director Chen had ordered these chairs because, like her, they were Garaian, or because she wanted to discourage visitors. They definitely went with the Garaian motif in the room, from the stylized porcelain vases decorating her shelves and sitting on her desk to the silk, dragon-printed curtains hanging from either side of the window behind her desk.

I was just considering abandoning my chair for hers when Director Chen stepped into the room. She froze, her dark eyes on mine as I twisted around to face her, but her surprise quickly melted away into the lake of calm I was accustomed to seeing from her.

“Miss Baine.” Her voice was cool as she closed the door behind her. Silk robes rustled against skin as she moved around me to sit in her cushy chair, and the scent of jasmine tickled my nose. “As usual, you fail to stay out of places where you do not belong.”

“Thankfully, I don’t care whether or not you think I belong.” I crossed my legs and regarded Director Chen steadily as she sat down. Curiously, she avoided my gaze and reached for a small, rectangular silk-covered box instead. She flipped open the little latch, revealing two brass-colored balls roughly the size of chicken eggs – Garaian meditation balls. She picked one up, her fine, delicate fingers wrapping around the brass as she finally turned to look at me.

“Stressed much?” I arched a brow.

Her expression didn’t change, but her knuckles whitened as she squeezed a little tighter. “I find these help me focus in tumultuous times, which today certainly qualifies as. If you still hope to be included in the search party, I cannot help you, Miss Baine. You should leave while you can.”

“Why?” I slapped my hand against the cherrywood edge of the desk. The color of the smooth surface reminded me of Iannis’s hair, hair that in my weaker, unguarded moments I’d envisioned running my hands through. “You
know
that I deserve to be part of this mission. The Chief Mage’s decision to take me on as his apprentice is the only reason I’m still alive. I’m more motivated to find him than almost any other person in this city.”

“That may be, but I cannot afford to take anyone along whose loyalty to Canalo is not above reproach. Though it may not be fair, the majority of the Council members do not trust you.”