The Mage's Limits: Mages of Martir Book #2 (17 page)

“What?” said Darek. He blinked rapidly. “But I don't remember you at all.”

“You don't?” said Jakuuth, stroking his chin. “That makes no sense. I attended North Academy for almost six years, during which I spent a lot of time with Jenur and then with you. You had almost entered puberty by the time I was expelled; there's no way you could have forgotten about me.”

Darek tried to think back to when he was a kid, but oddly, he found that part of his memory fuzzy and blank. Only a vague feeling of fear and anger smoldered in him when he thought back to those years, but the memories associated with those feelings were missing.

“He could be lying, Lord Jakuuth,” the tall, skinny woman suggested, her voice as scratchy and hoarse as the one Darek had heard earlier. “He seems like the type who would.”

“I doubt it,” said Jakuuth. “While he may have been raised by the most deceptive woman in Martir, he likely is honest about not remembering me. Perhaps Jenur cast a memory spell on you that wiped away your memories of me … without telling you, of course.”

“My mom would never do that to me,” said Darek. “Why would she? She loves me.”

Jakuuth chuckled. “I thought the same thing when I first met her, but then she betrayed me. Just what I should have expected from a former member of the Dark Tigers, though I suppose I was too blind by my love for her at the time to notice.”

The bitterness in his voice sounded as fresh as if it had happened yesterday, rather than twenty-four years ago. It made Darek wonder, just for a moment, if his mother was as good as he always thought she was. Even if she had been right in 'betraying' Jakuuth, if she had also wiped Darek's memory of Jakuuth without his consent, then what did that say about her character? What other unseemly things might she have done that Darek didn't know about?

“So can I kill him?” said Aorja, who sounded far too eager about murdering Darek for his liking. “After all, if he lied about this, he's probably hiding his true reasons for being here, which is to destroy us from within like the spy he is.”

“I only said that so I could get to Jakuuth,” Darek said. “I'm not here to cause trouble or anything. I just figured that the prisoners would treat me with respect if they thought I was a quarter god or whatever.”

“Idiots,” Aorja snapped. “I bet the Magical Superior himself could come here, claim to be the mail man, and those morons would take him straight to Jakuuth no questions asked.”

“It would be wiser to kill him, Lord Jakuuth,” said the tall, skinny woman. “He is a threat to our operations.”

“Can I eat him?” said the thickset woman, eying him with hungry eyes. “I haven't had anything to eat in at least an hour. I'm already starving.”

Jakuuth tapped his chin in thought. He appeared to be considering what his servants said, although whether he would actually order Aorja to kill Darek or not, it was impossible to know for sure.

“Killing Darek would do us no good,” said Jakuuth, shaking his head. “At least right now. Instead, we shall interrogate him and make him tell us why he's really here.”

“That's easy,” said Darek as soon as Jakuuth finished speaking. “I heard on the grapevine that you were back and that you were building a new army with which you would use to conquer the Northern Isles. I wanted to join you because I wanted to become more powerful.”

“That doesn't sound like the Darek Takren
I
know,” said Aorja. Darek felt spittle from her mouth fall on his ear. “The Darek Takren
I
know would never in a million years join an army of rapists and killers just for power. He'd instead be here to stop us.”

Darek bit his lower lip. This would have been so much easier if Aorja hadn't been in the room, breathing down his neck and seeing straight through his lies. Still, he couldn't confirm what she just said, otherwise the entire plan would fall apart completely.

So he said, “Well, the Darek Takren
you
know, Aorja, is gone. He died the night Uron rose from the grave of Braim Kotogs. This new Darek Takren wants the power to stop Uron, power the Magical Superior and the other teachers can't give to him. I think Jakuuth can, however, which is why I am here.”

Darek was surprised to find how much of that lie he believed. He did want to get stronger, strong enough to help the gods defeat Uron, and he was frustrated by the fact that the teachers at North Academy forbid students from breaking through the ceiling and reaching new heights of magical power.

As for whether Jakuuth could give him that power … he honestly did not know, but he said it with the same sincerity as the rest of his statement. After all, the best lies often had a little bit of truth sown in them, which made it impossible for anyone but the most astute of thinkers to see through.

The false Son of Grinf still stood behind his desk, a thoughtful expression on his face. Darek hoped Jakuuth believed him, but he would not know until Jakuuth spoke.

After several tense seconds of waiting, Jakuuth nodded. “I believe him. There is a sincerity in his voice that I cannot deny. Aorja, let him go.”

“What?” said Aorja, her voice loud in Darek's ear, causing him to wince. “Why don't we read his mind first? If he's really telling the truth, then he should be okay with that.”

“There's no need,” said Jakuuth, waving off her suggestion with one of his scarred hands. “He is sincere and honest. Besides, he would be a complete imbecile to lie to me. I can sense his power level and it isn't very high. I could easily flash-fry him if I had to.”

“But you won't,” said Darek. “Because I'm on your side now. Don't know if I like the idea of conquering the Northern Isles, but if you can give me more power to help defend my world from Uron, I'll help you do it.”

Jakuuth frowned. “Who said anything about conquering the Northern Isles?”

“What?” said Darek in surprise. “But I thought that's why you were training the Limitless Army.”

“Of course not,” said Jakuuth. “There are hundreds of powerful nations in the Northern Isles, each one with its own army. To try to conquer the entire Northern Isles, or even just one nation, with less than three hundred soldiers? That's not even counting the aquarians or the gods. To do so right away would be madness.”

“Then … then what
are
you planning to do?” said Darek. “Why are you raising this army if you're not going to conquer the Northern Isles?”

Jakuuth smiled. “Just because I am not going to conquer the Northern Isles immediately doesn't mean I'm not going to conquer anywhere at all. There are two places, in fact, that I will attack once the Army is finished training. Can you guess what those two locations are?”

Darek thought hard about it. “Um … let's see … I don't, actually, know which two locations you're thinking of conquering.”

Jakuuth's smile turned into a scowl. “It's obvious, but let me spell it out for you anyway: The Limitless Army, led by me, will conquer World's End and North Academy. We will split the Army in half in order to strike both places simultaneously.”

Darek gasped. “World's End and North Academy? But why those two places?”

“That is also obvious,” said Jakuuth, “if you would but think about my history with those two places. One is where I was rejected for stating the truth of my parentage; the other is where I was locked away for daring to act on that same truth. I will attack and destroy both places, wipe their memory from the world, just as they did to me.”

“Especially World's End,” said the thickset woman as she rubbed her belly. “They kept us locked under there for so many, many years, and without any really good food. It was horrible.”

Darek wanted to get up and attack Jakuuth right now, but Aorja still pinned him to the floor. Besides, even if he did kill Jakuuth at this very moment, Aorja and those two strange-looking women would probably take him down before he could escape.

Thus, he said, “But how are you going to attack both places at once? No offense, but I don't think an army of trained prisoners is enough to take on a school that is home to the most powerful mage in the world and the island where the gods themselves are said to live.”

Jakuuth sat back down in his chair and reclined in it. “It will be far easier than you think, Darek. The gods are too busy looking for Uron to pay attention to what we are doing, so that leaves World's End more or less undefended. As for North Academy, I do not fear the Magical Superior or his teachers, seeing as I am a Limitless and cannot be stopped.”

“A what?” said Darek.

“Limitless,” Jakuuth repeated. “It means I have exceeded my so-called 'natural' magical limits. It is how I became as powerful as I am today. And it is how I will destroy both World's End and North Academy.”

Limitless …
Darek thought.
How come none of the teachers back in North Academy taught me about that? Can
I
become a Limitless?

“Besides, you assume I am training these prisoners to be nothing more than highly effective soldiers,” said Jakuuth with a chuckle. “That couldn't be farther from the truth. Once they are done training, they will be as Limitless as I. Limitless mages cannot be stopped, especially by mages who believe they are Limited, such as the Magical Superior or any of his teachers or students.”

“Meaning that North Academy won't stand against us,” said Aorja with glee. “A disciplined, well-trained Army combined with Limitless magical power will be able to overcome any obstacle. Even the katabans of World's End won't be able to stop us.”

“Indeed,” said Jakuuth, nodding. “Now, Darek, I can see that you are quite shocked indeed by learning about our true plans. Do you still want to join us? I will understand if you don't.”

Darek did not answer right away. On one hand, he didn't want to destroy North Academy or kill anyone who lived in it. He had lived there his whole life, after all. It was his home and the many students and teachers who lived there were his family. He even had literal family there: his mother, Jenur Takren.

On the other hand, if Darek rejected Jakuuth's offer, then he did not doubt that Jakuuth would order Aorja to execute him. Or maybe that fat woman would eat him or maybe they would toss Darek to the Army and let them do with him as they saw fit. All Darek knew was that rejecting Jakuuth's offer would be useless; after all, the Limitless Army would try to conquer World's End and North Academy regardless of his decision.

Seeing that he had no other choice, Darek nodded into the floor. “All right, Jakuuth, I accept. I'll help you destroy World's End and North Academy, but in exchange, I would like to be trained as a Limitless, if that will give me the power to stop Uron.”

Jakuuth put his hands together as if he was quite pleased. “Excellent, very good. After Aorja lets you go, we can start your training immediately. You have much catching up to do if you are going to reach the same level of power as the rest of the Army, but you seem like a smart man, so I doubt you will have much trouble learning the secrets of the Limitless.”

Chapter Eleven

T
he sound of countless shards of glass cutting against the exterior stone walls of Castle Hollech was painful to Durima's ears. It sounded like a thousand children were tossing an equal number of glass balls at the castle, except these balls kept coming and showed no sign of letting up.

Thankfully, the Glass Blizzard, as Hollech called it, could not get into the castle. He had ordered Durima to block off the doorway and windows with her geomancy, which Durima was surprised to discover actually worked in the Void. She didn't question it, however, but simply used it to extend the castle's walls until they completely cut off all ways in or out of the building.

When she finished, Gujak was dancing around, as he always did when he was nervous, looking at the ceiling and listening to the muffled sound of glass cutting against stone outside.

“What
is
it, Master Hollech?” said Gujak as covered his mouth with his hands.

“A Glass Blizzard,” said Hollech. “Weren't you listening? As far as I can tell, it's a natural weather phenomena of the Void. I never know when it will strike, but I do know that it is always deadly.”

“Is that how you lost your right eye?” Durima asked.

Hollech shook his head. “Nope. But I did spend an ungodly amount of time picking glass from my body the first time I ran into it.”

“How do we fight it off?” Gujak said with a gulp.

“That is exactly why I have you two here,” said Hollech, gesturing at both of them. “I don't know how to scare it off. I only know how to hide from it and wait for it to pass.”

“How long does it usually last?” Durima said.

“Hours, maybe days,” said Hollech with a shrug. “I don't know. Time has no meaning in the Void.”

“Maybe we can just wait it out,” Gujak suggested. “I mean, Durima managed to seal the castle shut, so it can't get in, can it?”

“Perhaps not,” said Hollech. “But I am the God of the Void and I do not want to be at the mercy of the Void's own weather patterns. Therefore, we are going to figure out how to beat it back.”

I guess trying to stop the weather is about as crazy as calling a dozen piles of dirt your 'servants,'
Durima thought, though as always, she was careful to keep that opinion to herself.

“But we've never done this sort of thing before,” said Gujak. “I mean, not to question your greatness, Master Hollech, but just because our magic still seems to work here doesn't necessarily mean we can stop an entire Glass Blizzard.”

Hollech slapped Gujak hard enough to knock him flat off his feet. “I don't care. As katabans, your whole point in life is to do what we gods demand that you do. I am starting to think that Skimif must have banished you beyond the Void as a way to punish me further by giving me such uncooperative, ineffective, complaining servants.”

Gujak rubbed the side of his face where Hollech had slapped him while Durima said, “Master Hollech, I understand your frustration, but Gujak has a point. We've never faced a Glass Blizzard before, therefore we do not know how to handle it. Perhaps you could tell us more about what you know of it so we can effectively combat it.”

Hollech sighed heavily. “Fine. I don't know much about the Glass Blizzard except that it is random and unpredictable. It lasts for as long as it wants and leaves when it is 'done,' whenever that is. It is highly painful and even more lethal.”