The Sartious Mage (The Rhythm of Rivalry) (3 page)

“You did well, Jek. Harwin still doesn’t even know the real reason he’s here.” The King’s voice had an accent of nobility, with a fluffiness to each word as if he was about to laugh at me for not speaking the same way.

“You won’t harm him, right?”

“No. I keep my promises.”

I couldn’t help but give a look to Micah Vail while the King paused for a sip from his gold chalice. Micah’s head was lowered slightly, as if alluding to something. The way his eyes moved between the King and me gave me a sense he was trying to show me he knew what the King was about to say. But I still had no clue what it was.

“Why are you here?” Danvell asked me.

I felt my head snap back from the silly question. “You know I’m here for the cure to my darkness.”

He took another sip. “I think you’re here for more than that.” He spoke slowly, with a cadence like he had more to say.

“No, just that,” I blurted, trying to speed this up.

He let out a disapproving grunt, obviously unhappy to have his dramatic speech interrupted.

I didn’t care. Why didn’t he just give me the cure? I took out the contract and held it awkwardly, unsure if I should approach him. “The contract,” I said softly.

A guard came from the wall, took it from my hand, and walked it to King Danvell.

“What are these holes?” the King asked in disgust.

“It’s actually one hole.” I pointed awkwardly. “But it was rolled up when that hole was made.”

It felt like I was on trial. I didn’t understand why. I was just there to pick up my reward and hopefully see Harwin one more time before I left to make sure he was safe.

“Why are you so eager to lose your magic ability?” the King asked. This time he continued quickly, not giving me the chance to speak. “I think you don’t realize your full potential. Have you thought about how much good you can do before you’re cured of this
darkness
you speak of?” His hand fluttered about as if he was talking about a small grievance.

It made me realize he still had no idea how terrible my darkness was. More importantly, it meant he probably thought he could offer me something else.

“You may have just single-handedly stopped a war,” he continued. “Don’t you wish to continue to help your king?”

I folded my arms, grazing a finger over the wand on my belt. “Yes, but don’t I deserve what I was promised?”

“It seems a little selfish, don’t you think?”

“Selfish?” I didn’t like where this conversation was going. “I know what you’re trying to do, but there’s nothing I want more than the cure.”

“Nothing?” Danvell replied with a raised eyebrow. “You can’t be sure about that until you hear what I have to offer.”

Damn my curiosity. I knew he could see it in my face. He gave a wry smile. There was nothing in the world I wanted more than my cure, but that didn’t mean I had thought of everything obtainable in the world.

“What are you offering me instead?” I finally asked.

“You grew up on a farm somewhere near The Nest, correct?”

I nodded hesitantly.

“What does every farmer want more than anything?”

“Control over the weather?” I shrugged.

The corner of his mouth folded. “Besides that.”

Micah leaned over the King to hold a watch in front of him.

“Yes, I see,” the King said quietly. He made an impatient rolling gesture toward me with his open hand. “What do farmers want? Get it out.”

“Not having to pay taxes,” I guessed again. Sannil often complained about never knowing how much he would be charged when the taxman showed up. But if the King was going to offer money, I was prepared to laugh.

Danvell gave a discouraging sigh and took another sip from his chalice. “The issue here is that you don’t know what’s best for you,” he said coldly. “You think all you need is the cure to one issue.” He raised a finger. “But once that issue is solved, you’ll have many others that are even worse.”

Hot anger surged through me. How could he speak like that about my darkness—like he understood it in the least? But I knew this conversation would be over the moment I erupted, so I said nothing.

“I can see you think I’m wrong.” He showed an annoyed glance to Micah standing beside his throne. “The boy doesn’t trust his king.”

Micah looked down toward the ruler with a curious smile and said, “Trust is an intriguing thing.”

“What do you mean by that?” The King’s question was hurried, but his face held curiosity.

“For some, trust is fragile, difficult to create, and easily broken. For others, trust is firmly grounded, easy to set, and nearly impossible to move.”

Micah stood upright, his wrists never unfolding. His eyes shifted toward me. “But I think Jek’s trust is like mine, my king.”

“And how is that?” Danvell had wide eyes.

“A block of stone,” Micah said. “You hammer away at it with a chisel until it’s finally shaped into a beautiful statue, everlasting.” He produced a warm smile for the King and then looked back toward me with a nod so subtle I couldn’t even be sure I’d seen it. His words and expressions were seamless. I wondered if they’d been rehearsed, even.

“Very good,” the King said, now with a grin of his own. He leaned back and looked at me through the bottoms of his eyes. “You’ll learn to trust me. After you calm yourself and realize that what I have to offer is far better, then you’ll see I have your best interests at heart. Then, when I have more time, we can discuss methods of curing this darkness without you losing your magic ability.”

It had taken so long to get to his offer, my curiosity already had faded. “And what is it that you have to offer?” I figured the best way out of this charade was to hear his poisonous alternative and then politely choose the cure.

“This is what you want.” He raised a finger with each item he listed. “Money, land, power, and the opportunity to help the good people of your realm.” He pushed out his hand. “Four things, all of which I can give you with one simple ‘yes’ from you.”

I was too skeptical to be intrigued and too tired to pretend otherwise. I let my mouth and eyes rest flat.

“Before I go any further, I’m going to make one demand,” the King said in a scolding tone. “You can say only one more word. This has already gone on too long, and your attitude has been far from respectful.”

It looked like my building anger was shared by Danvell. His fist was balled, the other squeezed tightly around his chalice.

“Now, I think it’s fate that you happened to come back on the same day as my daughter Lisanda’s wedding. What more perfect way to conclude this than with a double wedding? It took half a year to set up Lisanda’s nuptials and more money than I wish to mention. It would simply be a small ceremony for you and my other daughter, Jessend, and all would be done. I already know my daughters would love to be married under the same ceremony. They’d planned for it in the past—before Jessend’s unfortunate luck with the other men she was to marry. We can discuss my other plans for you when it’s done.”

I was too annoyed to hide my disinterest, giving a loud sigh. I didn’t share the same dream that most others did; I had no interest in marrying a princess. How would that help me with my darkness? Not to mention, it was Jessend he was offering, and all I knew about her was what he’d just said: She’s had
unfortunate luck
with the other
men
she was to marry—not “man” but “men.” I didn’t like the sound of that.

His
other plans
for me felt more like a burden than an opportunity, as well, like when traveling merchants have “the perfect thing” for you after you’ve already told them you aren’t interested in the first item they offered. If it’s the perfect thing for me, why not lead with it?

Danvell’s face twisted at the sound of my sigh. “They’re both sixteen and very beautiful.” His voice was getting more argumentative, now at the point of lecturing. “Here’s the best part for you.” He leaned toward me. “Once you’re married, in addition to the money and the land you’ll gain, my team of chemists will find a way to cure your darkness while making sure your magic ability does not wane. They just need more time, Jek. Your darkness will still be cured as I promised.”

He leaned back and folded his arms. “Even the richest men would say yes to that opportunity. I don’t see how you couldn’t.”

I felt myself shaking my head. I didn’t trust any of it. I didn’t trust that my darkness could ever be cured without losing my magic ability. I didn’t trust his chemists. I didn’t trust him. And I certainly didn’t feel right about him offering his daughter to me like some sort of prize.

Rage pumped hard, pressing my teeth tightly against each other. I knew I should just politely decline, but I wanted to curse at him instead. I wanted to scream that his daughters shouldn’t be used to buy his way out of a promise. I compromised and said something in between.

“No, just give me the cure you promised!” A mistake—I realized so when he jumped to his feet. I had shouted it and pointed—another mistake.

Horror took me as the King ripped the contract in half. It felt like I was watching Harwin’s throat being slit. Danvell slapped his chalice from his armrest.

“I said one more word! Now you get nothing!” His finger shot toward me just as mine had been aimed at him. “Guards, get him out of here!” he bellowed, his face now stained scarlet.

“Where is it?” I screamed with more desperation than I wished to reveal. At some point I’d drawn my wand, now aiming it at the King. “I’m not leaving without my cure!”

My teeth were clenched harder than my fingers around my wand. Rage had assumed control. The guards crept toward me hesitantly.

“Put down the wand,” a guard’s voice behind me said.

Turning toward him, I was reminded of the two guards blocking the door I’d forgotten about. It also made me realize that these guards didn’t know a mage at my level no longer needed a wand. Yes, it helped with many spells, but I was willing to trade that for the element of surprise.

I knew I just had to conceal my rage for a few seconds for my plan to work. “I’m putting my wand down and leaving.” I let it drop…or I tried to. My hand wouldn’t let go. I could feel my plan changing then and there. That’s the thing about rage—it’s volatile and consuming, making me unpredictable even to myself. No, I’m keeping it, I decided.

“Let it go,” another told me. They were closing in with swords pointed at my chest.

I focused to draw in hot Bastial Energy from the room. The guards were ripe with it and had little to no control over what I did with it. My chest and stomach itched to use the newfound energy as it tingled inside me.

In the span of a breath, I let it explode from my hands in all directions. It was enough to knock them off their feet, and that’s when I kicked open the door and rushed out, leaving a smoky green trail of Sartious Energy behind me to cloud their vision.

“Stop him!” Danvell shouted as I ran.

I wondered which way to go while I sprinted down the hall. Doors were in every direction, and I knew what was behind none of them. I wanted the cure and Harwin before I left. If the King didn’t follow through with his promise for the cure, he probably wouldn’t with his promise to keep Harwin safe, either. He had to be saved.

Where was I now? At a flight of stairs leading down. I looked over the twisting balcony. Three new guards were walking up casually, obviously still not aware of Danvell Takary’s order to stop me, but they would be soon. The whole Takary Palace would be soon.

I didn’t want to go that way. I twisted the doorknob of the nearest door. Locked. I tried the next. Open.

Thankfully, I had the wits to leave a trail of SE. They wouldn’t know which door I’d gone in, but there weren’t that many to try.

The room I’d chosen probably wasn’t the best choice. It had one other exit, and perhaps exit wasn’t the right word, as all I appeared to be looking at were six tall windows side-by-side. They gave view to a wide walkway that led to another part of the palace. I threw a chair through one of the windows and leapt out after it. Only then did I realize this walkway was on the second story, overlooking a massive garden that was twice the size of my farm back home.

As I ran across the walkway over the garden, I noticed there were hundreds of people mingling, some dancing to music, and then I recognized the song—I didn’t know the name, but it usually was played before a wedding. One of the King’s daughters was getting married, I remembered. It must be happening there.

Could I somehow use that to get my cure? No. Not important, then. Someone started singing with one of the worst voices I’d ever heard. It was too loud not to notice, like a hyena with a broken leg.

There was a door to the building ahead, making me realize there was probably a door to the room I’d just left as well. The King wasn’t going to like that I’d broken one of his windows for no reason, but the thought just made me more eager not to get caught. I checked behind me as I pulled open the door. A torrent of guards was flooding into the walkway.

In a frantic scramble, I dragged a small wooden table behind me as I hustled through the room and threw open the next door. I left the table there in the doorway and set it on fire with a quick blast of Bastial and Sartious Energy mixed through my wand. The floors in every room were either stone or marble, so I wasn’t worried about burning the entire place down.