The prince sat quietly, watching his father with tearful eyes, saying nothing.
The King stared at his son, and then turned his back. "Tonight, we will feast. Tomorrow, you'll be on your way."
Lorit waited for more from the King, who stood silently, looking down at the city below. Finally, the King sniffed and spoke with a heavy voice, keeping his back towards them. "Go now."
Lorit and Chihon were escorted to a room where they could prepare for the evening's banquet. The servants came to fit them for clothes, stating that proper attire would be provided.
"You don't look very pleased," Chihon said as they were being measured.
Lorit didn't want to admit that he was looking forward to spending time with her alone on the road. He fumbled for an excuse to leave the Prince behind. "He'll only complicate matters, slow us down." He looked away from her, worried she would see the lie in his eyes.
"He's only a boy; he won't be much of a bother."
"Let's leave tonight. We can sneak out of the castle and be gone before the King knows we've left." He felt slightly guilty leaving the Prince behind, but surely the King had resources to escort him to Amedon; Lorit didn't need to be the one to do it.
"Lorit, you never wanted to abandon a boy to the Temple before, why not take the Prince?"
Lorit let the tailor lift his arm, as he stretched the tape from Lorit's shoulder to his wrist. "Look how it turned out. Ardser killed by the Temple, Chedel dead by my hand. The only one with power I haven't gotten killed yet, is you, Chihon, and you're not exactly safe here." He worried more about her safety than his own. Lorit knew that he could take on any Priest and survive. Hadn't he done just that in the Temple?
"Prince Ghall needs our help. You know you can't just abandon him."
She was right. If he left the Prince behind, the boy would either end up dead at the hand of some Priest, or he would be turned. Lorit didn't like either of those choices, but he didn't want to take responsibility for the boy either. It seemed he had no choice, like so many things that had happened to him since his power had awakened. His life was not his own, he just wasn't sure whose it was.
Once the tailor left, Lorit turned to Chihon. "I need to talk to Zhimosom, see what he thinks."
He sat at the table next to her and emptied his mind. He focused his consciousness on the old Wizard, picturing Zhimosom sitting in the ornately carved chair in his study, his long white beard flowing down to cover the book habitually open before him.
Zhimosom had always responded immediately to his contact, either accepting it or pushing him away with instructions to come back later. This time it was different, Lorit could not feel Zhimosom's magic. Since Zhimosom had shown Lorit how to recognize each Wizard by their power, Lorit had always had a small touch of Zhimosom's magic with him. He searched for it.
It was gone.
He reached his hand out to Chihon. "He's not there. See if you can sense him."
He felt Chihon's magic join his own, but still there was no trace of Zhimosom. It was as if the old Wizard had simply ceased to exist.
"What's happened?" Lorit jumped up from the table. "He's never done this before."
"I can’t feel him either, but I can still sense Rotiaqua; let's try to contact her. She'll know." Chihon pulled Lorit back into his chair. He felt her reach out to the Sorceress, dragging his consciousness along with her.
He recognized the magic of the Sorceress, but it was muted and dulled. They struggled to locate her. Lorit recalled her image picturing her in his mind. After a while, he located her in Zhimosom's study.
He reached out, opening a conduit for their conversation. He was surprised by the weakness of the contact. Usually it was strong and clear, but now it seemed feeble and insubstantial.
"Lorit ... Chihon," she said as the contact settled down.
"Something has happened to Zhimosom!" Lorit blurted. "I tried to contact him, but he didn't answer. I can't find his magic and he doesn't respond to my attempts at contact."
"He went to confront a Wizard that he believed is in league with the Temple. The one who is behind your recent troubles. He left this morning and he has not returned." Worry lined the Sorceress' face.
"What happened? Where is he? What can we do?" Lorit fired questions at her, not waiting for her answers.
"I don't know what happened. I can feel his power, but only dimly. It's only because of our pairing that I can feel him at all."
She leaned forward and looked Lorit in the eye. "The last thing I heard from him was a warning. He knew who it was, but he didn't get a chance to tell me."
"We have to go. We have to save Zhimosom." Lorit didn't care how great the risk. He had to find Zhimosom.
"Hold on, if this Wizard was strong enough to harm Zhimosom, you're no match for him," Rotiaqua said.
"I don't care."
"How will you find him?"
"Don't you know where he went?"
"I do not, and even if I did, I cannot travel without Zhimosom's power. I'm afraid I am stuck here until we find him."
"What do you want us to do?" Lorit tapped the table with his fingers. He wanted to get going, to do something, anything.
"Just keep to your current plans until I know more. What were you doing before you contacted me?"
"We have been asked to accompany Prince Ghall to Amedon. The Priests have been inquiring about him. They think he has the Wizard's power. I can see the signs in him, so I wanted to have Zhimosom confirm this before we bring the boy with us."
"Take the boy then and go to Amedon. Implore the Council to join in the search for Zhimosom. With the combined power of the two of you, they may be able to find him, before it's too late."
The Sorceress faded from view as Lorit dropped the connection.
"Let's go." Lorit stood up and grabbed his pack.
"We can't leave now. We have to take the Prince with us and the King certainly won't let him go before the banquet. It's his last chance to spend time with his son. We can leave in the morning."
"This can't wait. Zhimosom needs our help."
"What did Rotiaqua say?" Chihon placed her hands on her hips and looked at him.
"To keep to our current plans, but we need to do something."
"We are going to do something. Stick to our plan."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. The servants had arrived with a fresh dress for Chihon and a new robe for Lorit.
"If the master will accompany me, we will bathe you and prepare you for the evening's banquet."
"Are you sure about this?" Lorit asked.
"Yes. I'll see you at dinner tonight." She pushed him towards the door. "Go get ready."
Chihon was seated at the table next to Princess Ukina. She'd spent the afternoon being pampered and prepared for the banquet. She was dressed in the finest clothes she'd ever worn, although she was more at home in her travel cloak and hiking boots than the finery dictated for an official court function. She pulled at her dress trying to get comfortable.
She searched the dinner guests for Lorit. They had been separated by the servants who came to prepare them and she didn't know where he was. She found him at the King's table, seated between the Chancellor and Prince Ghall. Lorit wore the rich, dark green robe that the King had bestowed on him, which made him look all the more like a Wizard.
She saw the ease with which he engaged the court in conversation and realized he'd grown in his confidence as he'd grown into his power during their travels.
"Isn't he handsome?" the Princess asked. When Chihon didn't respond the girl gave her a sharp jab with her elbow and nodded towards Lorit. "Isn't he handsome?"
"I guess so," Chihon replied offhandedly. She was more concerned with his behavior than his looks. He was usually so quiet and reserved, but tonight he seemed to be a little more flamboyant than she had ever seen.
"You're so lucky," the Princess continued. "You traveled with him across the Plains of Grass and over the mountains to get here, didn't you?" The Princess turned to face Chihon clapping her hands together. "Did you get to see him do magic? Were you there when he brought down the Temple?"
They had agreed to keep Chihon's power a secret. Lorit didn't want word getting around that she was a Sorceress, for fear that the Temple would attack her directly, as they'd done with him. The Princess didn't realize that Chihon was instrumental in bringing down the temple and that she shared her powers with Lorit.
Before she could formulate a response, the Princess was off again.
"And you, you're so pretty. Not like me."
Chihon didn't think of herself as pretty. She was just a girl who sold bread in the market, nothing special.
"I wish I could travel with the Wizard, just like you do," the Princess continued.
Chihon looked her over. The Princess was slightly taller than Chihon but thin and spindly. She reminded Chihon of a bird, with her bony arms and legs, and a pronounced nose. Even though the Princess had two maids to attend to her appearance, her hair was in a constant state of disarray, with frayed ends poking out from her carefully built coif.
"Princess, you have such a wonderful life. You live in the palace with all these servants around. You never have to sleep in the woods or walk for leagues every day, just to get somewhere."
She glanced over at Lorit. It looked as if he was enjoying the wine a little too much. He was talking loudly and gesturing wildly. She felt the power rise in him just as it did when he fought the Priest. He was preparing to use his magic, right there in the middle of the feast.
She reached out to him and tried to dampen his power, encouraging him to relax, and dissuading him from doing something he would regret. She felt him push her away as he released a spell.
Suddenly there was a loud bang and a large cloud of smoke appeared in front of Lorit. The crowd made appreciative noises as the smoke cleared. In front of Lorit lay a small pile of copper coins. He picked them up and handed them out to the servants who were attending him.
Chihon had felt the energy drain from Lorit when he did the conjuration. She pushed a reproach at him, warning him that he was attracting attention that surely they wished to avoid.
A sharp jab interrupted her efforts. "Did you see that?" the Princess demanded.
"Yes, I did." Chihon had to raise her voice to be heard over the sound of the band tuning their instruments.
"Isn't he amazing? You're so lucky." The Princess looked at her like a small child excited by a shiny new toy.
"Lucky is not how I describe the situation," Chihon said sarcastically.
Before she could finish, the Princess was out of her seat, and rushing for Lorit. She grabbed him out of his chair and hauled him to the center of the floor just as the band began to play a dance tune.
Servants quickly cleared the tables and hauled them away, leaving the room clear for the dancers. Chihon stood back against the wall, watching Lorit dance with Princess Ukina. The girl held on to him as if he were going to escape at any moment. He was not a strong dancer so their dance consisted mostly of the Princess dragging Lorit around the floor in time to the music. Chihon smiled, knowing how uncomfortable this made him, although he did seem to be enjoying himself.
She had never seen Lorit behave like this. He was usually so serious and reserved. She wondered why he was allowing the Princess to hang all over him, when he could have done something to cool her ardor. Chihon steeled herself to wind her way through the crowd, cut into their dance, and remind Lorit that they had an early start in the morning, when a strange voice interrupted her thoughts.
"She's quite the dancer, isn't she?" someone said. She looked over to see a young man standing next to her. He was dressed in court finery and wore a sword. Only members of the royal family were allowed weapons at a gathering like this.
"I'm Rothen, the King's nephew. My father was the King's brother." He offered her a chalice of wine.
Chihon accepted the proffered drink and took a sip. The wine was tasty, but she felt the strength of it as it went down and knew it was much more potent than the ale she was used to. She took a second swallow, not wanting to appear ungracious, and set it on the table nearby.
"Do you know the Princess well, then?" she asked.
"We grew up together, right here in the castle." He nodded towards the hallways adjoining the banquet room. "She's quite a handful. Your friend isn't going to get a chance to dance with anyone else tonight."
"I was just deciding if I should try to cut in and rescue him," Chihon said glancing over at the couple. The Princess had a death grip on Lorit. He caught Chihon's eye and smiled a silly smile at her as they swirled by.
"I wouldn't advise getting between the Princess and her conquest. She's very protective."
Rothen extended his arm. "Would you do me the honor of this dance?"
Chihon considered his offer. She was only a slightly better dancer than Lorit, and didn't actually feel comfortable around the royals. She considered making an excuse that she had to make an early start and was tired, but dancing with Rothen might give her the opportunity to intercept and rejoin Lorit.
"I don't bite." Rothen looked at her with sad eyes that begged her indulgence.
"I guess one dance won't hurt." Chihon took his hand and stepped into the throng.
Rothen whirled her around the floor in time to the music until she thought her legs were going to give out. Chihon caught occasional glimpses of Lorit and Princess Ukina as they danced by, but she was unable to make her way over to them.
She must have drunk more wine than she'd planned, or it was a lot stronger than it appeared, or maybe it was the whirling around the dance floor. Chihon felt dizzy and light headed. She leaned on Rothen more and more as the dance wore on.
Finally, she bent close to his ear to be heard above the band. "I don't think I'm feeling all that well. Can we please sit down?"
As the Princess led Lorit around the dance floor, he caught sight of Chihon. She was dancing with a young man wearing a sword, one of the royal family, no doubt. Lorit felt a slight flush at the sight; who was this man Chihon was dancing with?