“Your reasoning is sound,” Kelvin said. “A skillbook with a chapter on the sword of kings, that is an astonishing find. I never knew such a book existed. May I see it?”
“I left it with Mason and Hanlon. They’re going to use the blade techniques in the book as the basis for training the Ranger army that they’re building.”
Kelvin smiled and nodded his approval. “Good, I’m sure I’ll have a chance to study the book another time. Mason will know I’d like to see it and will bring it when he comes with the main force of the Rangers. I have long searched for the secret to enchanting a skillbook; perhaps I can learn something from this one. Have you had a chance to test your new skills?”
“Unfortunately, I have,” Alexander said somberly. “I’m very confident in my ability with a blade.”
Isabel had been quiet during the entire conversation, but she offered her confirmation. “Alexander saved me from Truss and his battle wizard. I saw him fight and I can say with certainty that there isn’t a Ranger alive who could best him in single combat.”
“You faced off against a battle wizard? With a blade?” Kelvin looked incredulous, then he shook his head. “You do have a lot to learn about magic. One lesson you almost learned the hard way is never, ever fight a battle wizard on his terms. They’re just too fast. How is it that you survived the fight anyway?”
Alexander shrugged. “Lucky’s potions. Just before the fight, I drank a potion of warding that kept the battle wizard’s spear from hitting me cleanly. Even with that, he was still more than I could handle, especially with his armor and shield, so I tossed a fire potion at him. When he caught on fire, he ran off the cliff.”
“You got lucky,” Kelvin said sternly. “Battle wizards are a whole different kind of dangerous. If you ever come up against one again, don’t chance a fight. Head-to-head in the open, there simply isn’t a more deadly kind of wizard.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Alexander said. “At the time, I didn’t have much choice and, thanks to Lucky, everything worked out, but I understand that he was beyond me even with the power of the skillbook. It was like he had a different relationship to time. When he struck, he moved faster than any man can move.”
“That’s one of the primary effects of their magic,” Kelvin confirmed. “They also strike harder and can make their weapons perform better. Combat is the focus of their magic.”
“Are they rare?” Alexander asked.
“Quite, there are only a handful in the entire Seven Isles and only one that I know of has risen to the level of mage. I met him once. He’s the General Commander of the Reishi Protectorate.” Kelvin paused, giving Alexander a meaningful look. “It’s likely that you’ll encounter him at some point.”
Alexander felt a bead of cold sweat run down his back.
“Describe him.”
Kelvin shrugged. “He’s not much to look at. He stands about five and a half feet tall, kind of pudgy with a bit of a belly, swarthy complexion with jet-black hair and dark eyes. What I remember most is his reserved confidence. He carried himself like nothing and no one was his equal, not arrogant or egotistical, but like a man who knew he was beyond those around him.”
A little of the color drained from Alexander’s face. “The man in black. He’s here in the city right now. He’s what Phane sent when the nether wolves failed. He’s been following us since we crossed the road in the forest.” Alexander suddenly felt very vulnerable.
Isabel tipped her head back slightly and closed her eyes.
Chapter 49
“Dear Maker! He’s outside in the square, looking up at our balcony right now,” Isabel said urgently as she stood and hurried to the armoires that held their weapons.
Kelvin was on his feet as well. “How does she know he’s here?”
“Her bird. She can see through its eyes when she wants to. I asked her to keep an eye on the people hunting me. We wouldn’t have made it here if it wasn’t for Isabel and Slyder.” Alexander leaned a little to see Isabel around the wall of the archway that led to the entry hall.
She was rushing back into the sitting room with her bow and quiver. She looked so at odds with herself. She was wearing a simple dress that only served to accentuate her natural beauty, but she had a quiver over her shoulder and she was nocking an arrow as she headed for the balcony with a look of grim determination.
Alexander couldn’t help smiling at the sight. He’d known Isabel for a relatively short time but he felt such a deep connection to her. He was more at ease in her presence than he would have ever thought possible. Beauty had always flustered him a bit, but she was so much more than beautiful. The nature of her character, the clarity of her mind, and her simple human compassion easily overshadowed her physical beauty.
Kelvin looked alarmed. “What’s your intention?” His voice was a bit more forceful than Alexander had heard before.
She didn’t stop until she reached the door to the balcony. “I intend to kill him,” she tossed the words over her shoulder like the matter was settled. Alexander could see she was looking through Slyder’s eyes one more time to fix the enemy’s position.
Kelvin took a few quick steps to the door and put his hand against the frame. She looked up at the big Mage with such fierce intensity that he actually took a step back.
“This guy has been chasing us since we left Glen Morillian. He ambushed my brother’s company of Rangers and killed a number of good people, many of whom were my friends. He needs to be dealt with and sooner is better than later.” She tried to open the door, but Kelvin stopped her again.
“Lady Isabel,” Kelvin said, “you will not succeed against this man. Your attack will only serve to alert him to our location. When you attack, he will come for Alexander and we are not prepared to defend against him. Please, do not act rashly.”
Isabel faced him defiantly. “He’s right out there, standing in the center of the square looking up at this balcony. He already knows we’re here. I can get a shot off quickly enough that he won’t have a chance and even if I don’t get him, I want that bastard to know we’re trying to kill him, too!”
Alexander hadn’t seen her this angry before. He watched the confrontation for a moment, simply enjoying the intensity of her passion and marveling at her courage. She stood her ground against a mage without batting an eye, all the while demanding that he stand aside so she could pick a fight with another mage.
“Hang on for a second, Isabel,” Alexander said before he headed into the entry hall.
He could see with his all around sight that she was looking at him with confused anger while he trotted into the other room. He went to the door first. Six guards scrambled to their feet when he opened it. A young sergeant was commanding the guard detail.
“Send a message to your commander immediately. I want this guard detail doubled at once.”
He didn’t bother to wait for a response. He closed the door, dropped the bar in place, and went to the armoires. He strapped on his sword and slung his quiver before taking up his bow and nocking an arrow. He locked eyes with Isabel when he entered the sitting room. She gave him a look of such fierce passion that he had to remind himself to breathe.
Kelvin shook his head. “This is unwise. He can only guess at your location for the moment. If you show yourself, he will attack as soon as he can make preparations.”
“I’ve doubled our guard. He’ll have to get through two dozen men just to get to our quarters and that’s if we don’t kill him right now.” He looked at Isabel. “We’ll move quickly to the balcony, staying low, come up as we draw, take aim and shoot.”
She nodded. Determination sparkled in her green eyes.
Kelvin sighed and looked to Lucky for support. Lucky just shrugged and spread his hands. “He’s always been stubborn once he’s made up his mind.”
Kelvin looked helpless. He snorted, then shook his head again. “Very well, but I would have come much better prepared if I’d known you were going to pick a fight with a battle mage. I can’t talk you out of this?”
Alexander and Isabel spoke in unison. “No.”
Kelvin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Very well, let me see your arrow heads,” he commanded. When they raised the arrows, he placed a hand on each and spoke softly in a strange language. The spell didn’t take long to cast, and Alexander would have doubted that anything had happened if he hadn’t seen the way Kelvin’s colors swelled and deepened as he spoke.
“This enchantment will make your arrows penetrate most types of armor.” He stood looking at them with disapproval but said nothing more.
Alexander and Isabel opened the door just enough to get out and stayed low as they moved to the balcony.
Isabel whispered, “Stay low for a moment. Let me take another look.” A few moments later, she nodded. “He and the giant are still standing in the center of the square, looking up at us. Should be an easy shot at this height.”
Alexander nodded and they stood in unison, fluidly drawing their bows and taking aim. They released their arrows at the same moment. The shafts sailed through the air and down into the square. They were both on target. Alexander watched the arrows travel to their mark. Only a heartbeat passed, but the man in black stepped aside more quickly than should have been possible. Each arrow passed through the empty space where his torso should have been and drove several inches into the flagstone of the square.
Jataan P’Tal stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at Alexander like he was measuring his worth as an opponent. The big man beside him hadn’t flinched or even paid much attention to the two arrows that just missed him by a couple of feet. Instead, the giant smoothly drew a javelin from the extra-large quiver on his back, took a couple of hop steps and hurled the weapon.
Alexander grabbed Isabel and spun out of the way only a moment before the javelin hurtled over the balcony wall and buried into the top of the doorframe.
Alexander and Isabel both drew a second arrow and sent it at the man in black with practiced ease. Again they missed; this time both arrows skittered across the square. And again the giant returned a javelin thrown with such tremendous force that it stuck eight inches into the stone of the wall behind the balcony, just missing Alexander.
“Stick the giant,” Alexander said as he drew a third arrow.
Isabel nodded, following his lead. They crouched and moved along the balcony a few feet so they could pop up in a different place from where they’d ducked. When they stood, they saw that their enemies were standing at the edge of the square, well out of arrow range.
The man in black offered a salute to Alexander before he turned and walked casually down one of the streets that led out of the square.
Kelvin came up alongside them with Lucky.
“Well, it looks like you won his respect.” The Mage paused, staring down onto the now mostly empty square. “He’s still going to try to kill you, though. I’ll summon a wizard or two to augment the guard force. Two dozen men aren’t enough to stop him.”
Alexander looked at him. “You really think he can make it through two dozen men in a confined space like the glass bridge?”
For a long moment, Kelvin didn’t answer. “He can kill all of your guards without difficulty. Alexander, I don’t think you understand the nature of a battle wizard’s power. He’s lethal in a fight. If he’d had a ranged weapon, he may well have killed you right here on this balcony.”
Alexander thought about how easily the man in black had sidestepped the arrows that would have killed any other man. It was almost as if he could see a moment into the future. He turned and went back inside to the armoire and replaced his bow and quiver but kept his sword. Everyone followed him into the entry hall.
“With your permission, I will accompany you to Blackstone Keep,” Kelvin offered.
“I was hoping you would. I’m sure I’ll need some help figuring the place out. Kelvin, I want you to know that I don’t take your counsel lightly.” Alexander motioned toward the balcony and the square beyond, “That may have been … unwise, but I learned a thing or two about my enemy. We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning and we’ll slip out quietly. I’ll ask the Regent to announce a banquet in my honor for tomorrow evening to throw off … what did you say his name is?”
“Jataan P’Tal, General Commander of the Reishi Protectorate.”
Alexander smiled at the memory of his childhood lessons. “My father taught me that deception is one of the most effective weapons in existence. Perhaps I can’t beat Commander P’Tal in a straight fight, but that doesn’t mean I can’t outsmart the man. With any luck, we’ll be a day ahead of him before he realizes we’re gone.”
There was a knock at the door. Kelvin was immediately alert and tense. He wheeled on the door and looked intently. Alexander watched the aura of his amulet of seeing pulse with magic as Kelvin looked through the door. He relaxed.
“It’s Regent Cery and your friends,” he said before he lifted the heavy bar from the door and opened it.
The hall was filled with men. There were groups of six at either end and two more groups of six spaced a third of the way inside each end of the glass-encased bridge. They were all armed with crossbows, short swords, and short spears with long, flat-bladed heads that made them look more like a long knife on the end of a staff than a typical spear.