“…which is why, when chanting the spell, you must be careful not to…hmm? Sehn, are you paying attention?”
Sehn blinked. “To what?”
“I was explaining the need for caution during the opening phase.”
“I don’t care. Start over.”
“Start…over?”
“Yes, fool! Start over again. And speak quickly. Also, how long will it take to learn this spell?”
Issius lowered his voice. “Is something wrong?”
“Just answer me!”
“At the current rate you’ve been progressing, probably only a day or so.”
“We shall do it in half.”
“Half?”
“I will master this spell in half a day.”
Issius narrowed his eyes. “Something just changed in you. I can see it. At least tell me what it is.”
Sehn looked over his shoulder. Nero, Rina, and Estelle had run off and were now busy playing together. He lowered his voice, and whispered, “Sometimes I can sense when bad things are heading my way.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
“And what is it you’re sensing?”
“I don’t know. But I think that…” Sehn shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Teach me this spell so that I can free us from this Gods-cursed world and destroy Duncan.”
The bustling streets awed Cah’lia in a way that no other city would likely ever again be able to match. It had only taken Iona a few minutes to guide them through the avenue that led directly to the Hall of Governance, and in just that short time, Cah’lia found herself stunned at the sheer number of people navigating their way back and forth along the densely packed street. Were any of them slaves? Judging by their respectable attire, she didn’t think so.
From what Shina had quietly explained to her during their short walk, most of the slaves worked beneath each of the islands’ surface, constantly turning unseen generators to keep the dwarven-made engines from deactivating. Shina explained that there had once been a certain fuel that would do the same job, eliminating the need for such intense labor, but apparently, Magia had exhausted its supply of this fuel thousands of years earlier and no longer had the means to get more of it. Left with only one remaining option—according to Shina, anyway—Magia now used slaves, who worked around the clock to keep the islands in the sky from falling out of it.
Still not a good enough excuse to resort to slavery
, Cah’lia thought, disgusted at how both Shina and Orellia were downplaying the evil in keeping slaves. She had seen the way savage slave-owners brutalized little girls like Rina. Concealing a grimace, Cah’lia decided not to think about it, fearing that the anger it caused her would make her lose focus.
Just up ahead, the Hall of Governance awaited them. It was a temple-like building with decorative, equidistant columns on all four sides. Leading up to the hall were a series of grand, broad steps made of a whitish stone that matched the color of the columns. A fenced-in garden surrounded the building on its remaining three sides.
Cah’lia kept her cool as they approached, though it wasn’t easy. She briefly made eye contact with Patrick, then soon after with Shina and Kellar, noting that they too looked just as confused and anxious as she felt. This confusion seemed to multiply as Iona and Benjamin led them onwards without showing any sign of stopping. Did this mean they were going to casually march up to the Hall of Governance and enter inside? Just…walk right in? But why? It didn’t make any sense. Cah’lia had assumed there’d be a tavern or some other location nearby where the resistance must have been in hiding, waiting for their arrival. But this didn’t seem to be the case. Unless there was something she wasn’t seeing, Iona was leading them on a direct path to the hall.
“Iona,” Cah’lia said, “can I ask you something, please?”
“Yes, of course.”
Iona didn’t look over her shoulder or slow down while she spoke. She continued to make her way through the crowded avenue as though certain that Cah’lia and the others would timidly follow along—which they were.
“Well, what is it?” she asked, aggressively maneuvering herself through the crowded streets.
Cah’lia hoped to phrase things as diplomatically as possible so as not to offend the woman. “It’s just that this doesn’t seem…”
“Doesn’t seem what?”
“This doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
“How so?”
Cah’lia raised her voice in order to be heard over the general loudness in the area. “I don’t see the resistance anywhere around here,” she said. “Where are your friends? Are they blending in with the crowds?”
When Iona didn’t answer her question, Cah’lia asked yet again. “Where are we meeting them? This is confusing.”
“It’ll all be made clear to you soon. I promise you.”
Cah’lia began to say something else, but she gave up on hoping for an answer, letting the words trail off with a sigh. Patrick, however, was having none of it. The moment Cah’lia resigned herself to not getting anything out of Iona, he took up right where she’d left off.
“This is foolishness,” he said, speaking far more bluntly than Cah’lia had. He sounded annoyed, agitated, and overall displeased. “Are you not aware of what you’re asking us to do? For all we know, Archmage Duncan could be in that very building right now waiting for us.”
“He’s not,” Benjamin said. It was the first time he’d spoken in a while.
“And how do you know that?”
“We just do. Please, trust us.”
“Gods!” Patrick snapped. “This is
not
what we agreed on.”
“Then leave,” Iona said, to which Benjamin put an arm around her waist and squeezed. She shrugged him off. “No, he can leave if he wants.”
“But that’s…we can’t…”
“Is something wrong?” Orellia asked them.
“No,” they both answered in unison.
With a somewhat bitter sting to his words, Patrick said, “Fine, ignore my concerns if you must. But if we end up getting killed, you two will be at fault. I sincerely hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Me too,” Kellar said with a chuckle. “I’m also kinda confused here. Patrick’s question was a good one. Just how can you guys be so sure that Duncan’s not gonna be in there waiting for us?”
“We just do,” Iona said. “Once you follow us in, you’ll know right away why that can’t possibly be the case.”
“Yeah, that’s helpful,” the mage-boy replied dryly. This earned him a glare from Orellia.
Cah’lia didn’t have a clue what to make of things. As they ventured closer to the steps leading up to the hall’s main entrance, she found herself becoming more uncertain with each passing moment. Something about this wasn’t right.
The plan, originally, was to meet up with a band of rebel mages willing to fight against Archmage Duncan. But unless they were waiting directly outside of the Hall of Governance—and Cah’lia was now close enough to see that this was
not
the case—then the only other place they could be was
inside
it. But since the whole point of the resistance in the first place was to help a small group sneak inside the hall to open the rift, freeing Sehn and the ruling council, wouldn’t it mean they’d already succeeded?
There has to be something here I’m not understanding. Are we really going to waltz right into the hall? This can’t be right.
As Iona and the others reached the foot of the large white steps, it became clear that the woman did, in fact, intend for them to stroll right on in.
“Stop,” Cah’lia said. “Just…just
stop
for a second.”
Patrick, Kellar, Shina, the Champion, and Orellia came to an immediate halt, but Iona and Benjamin climbed up a few of the steps before eventually stopping. Frowning, Iona turned around and looked at her.
“What’s the problem?”
“The problem,” Cah’lia said, “is we’re about to walk right into the Hall of Governance.”
“And?”
“And are you
sure
that…that this is what you’re
intending
for us to do?”
“Do you think I’ve gone mad?”
“No, it’s just…”
“What I think Cah’lia means to say,” Patrick began, “is that if we are able to enter at will, then does that mean we have essentially succeeded already in what we were setting out to do?”
“Huh? Why would it mean that?” Benjamin asked, which earned him an elbow on the shoulder from Iona.
“You’ll see when we get inside,” Iona said.
“This doesn’t…make sense,” the Champion whispered.
Shina, Kellar, and Orellia remained quiet. If it was out of respect for a fellow mage or for an entirely separate reason, Cah’lia didn’t know. What bothered her, however, was the look of uncertainty that had popped up on Orellia’s face. More than anyone else, she was the one whom Cah’lia deemed the most rational of the three adult mages. But if even Orellia was having doubts, then that meant there was a good reason for everyone else to have them as well.
“Everything will make perfect sense in just a minute,” Iona said. “Please, follow us.”
“I’d prefer it to make sense now, actually,” Patrick said. “I feel like we’re going to walk into a trap.”
“A trap?” Iona said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t be silly. There’s no trap here. You’ll understand why there’s no trap when you see what’s inside.”
“So are you saying that we will be able to freely walk inside, rescue Sehn and the ruling council, and all without the aid of the resistance you told us about? Or is the resistance already in there holding it down for us? If so, where’s Archmage Duncan?”
“It’ll all make sense in less than a minute if you follow us inside.”
“So you’ve told me
several
times now. But I’d rather—”
“Just trust me!”
“Iona,” Orellia said, speaking before Patrick could say anything more. “He makes a good point. Have you managed to secure this location already?”
“I told you. It will all make sense when we get inside. If you would
just
cooperate, it would all become clear. Please, Mistress Orellia, you must trust me. You
must
!”
Orellia closed her eyes a moment, then nodded. “I do, Iona. Lead the way.” To the rest of them, she said, “You can trust her.”
Patrick rubbed his eyes. “I have a terrible feeling that we’re about to walk into that building and Archmage Duncan is going to be sitting at a table waiting for us.”
“I do too,” Cah’lia said. To her surprise, Shina and Kellar nodded along with her words.
“That will not happen,” Benjamin said. “I promise you.”
It took less than thirty seconds to climb to the top of the steps. Iona remarked that they needed to hurry, and she began walking faster, which forced the others to match her pace to keep up. Without once looking back at them, she crossed the remaining distance to the hall, moving swiftly on her feet and practically dragging Benjamin through the entryway then disappearing inside the hall with him. The door, a massive piece of red metal that looked like it required several guards to operate, had already been opened ahead of their arrival as if bidding them to enter.
“Well?” Patrick asked. “Do we go in?”
“Yes,” Orellia said, brushing him aside and entering the hall.
Patrick mumbled something that Cah’lia couldn’t make out then followed behind her. Shina entered next with the Champion to her right and Kellar to her left. Cah’lia was the last one in. With a shake of her head, she slipped inside the Hall of Governance, eager to see what awaited them.
It didn’t take long to find out. No, not long at all. Cah’lia had only gotten one foot through the entryway before everything became clear, and when it did, she wished it hadn’t. Immediately, she felt her heart sink and her head begin to ache. The feeling of dread that came to her then was strong enough to sap the breath from her lungs. It went beyond mere shock. She felt humiliated, debased, and made out to be a fool.
I’m the biggest idiot alive,
she thought.
I’m an even bigger idiot than Sehn.
“You have
got
to be kidding me,” Patrick growled. “Of all the twisted jokes to be played on someone—why this?”
The hall did not look nearly as impressive on the inside as it had on the outside. It was nothing more than an empty area with a rectangular table that ran around each corner of the room with a podium dead center in the middle. And although the table could seat quite a few people, right now, it was completely vacant except for one man and one man alone. He sat by himself at the other end of the room, and it was clear that he’d been waiting there specifically for them to arrive.
Archmage Duncan
.
At first, Cah’lia didn’t recognize him. He was hairless now, and his face was wrapped several times over with a white cotton bandage, leaving just two small holes cut out for his eyes, which Cah’lia would never forget: those lifeless, cruel eyes that seemed to lack just a little more humanity each time she looked at them. But that was not what gave him away as the Archmage. No, it was that dreadful stench—that overbearing reek of rot and decay.
“I don’t believe it,” Cah’lia whispered. “It’s…he’s…”
“Archmage Duncan,” Kellar said, finishing for her. The boy opened his mouth, his shoulders trembled, and his eyes darted around the room. This continued for a few seconds until, raising his chin, he erupted with loud, unruly laughter.
“Wow, we look
so
stupid right now, you guys.” He pointed to the Archmage while glancing over his shoulder at Cah’lia and the others, his cheeks puffing up as though he were trying to contain his laughter. “It was
literally
what we thought it was! The one thing we all worried about but didn’t think would actually happen just because of how obvious it would be…and it
did
happen, because we were dumb enough to fall for it. Oh, this is funny! Haha!”
“So this is a…we’ve been betrayed?” Shina asked.
“Yep,” Kellar said. “I’m guessing by those two.” He moved his finger through the air so that instead of pointing at Duncan, he now pointed at the two mages who had led them here: Iona and Benjamin.
Kellar took a slow, deep breath and seemed close to bringing himself under control—then failed as it all rushed out of him in another hysterical bout of laughter. “And the best part, you guys! The best part is that we all said things like, ‘How do we know he’s not gonna be in there waiting for us?’ And those two told us, ‘Oh, you’re just gonna have to go in there and then you’ll see why that’s not possible.’ And we went along with it! Somehow, we were actually so stupid that we—
pff-ahahaha
!”