Dragon Emperor 18, page 11
“You witnessed his use of magic?” her mother asked as she focused her own simmering rage on Nokomis. “And you failed to mention this?”
“I chose not to,” the snow leopard princess replied and jutted her chin out in defiance. “I didn’t want this exact scenario to happen. Besides, Tawa knew, too.”
I could practically feel the temperature drop in the room as Nokomis tossed her brother under the bus. The king and queen turned to look at the prince, and Tawa shook his head and sighed.
“Yes, I also witnessed Lord Evan’s magic,” he said with a daggered stare at his sister. “I chose not to mention it, either. Lord Evan used magic to defend us when the mage attacked, and… uh, other magic was used to seal the rift. No harm came to anyone who didn’t attack first.”
“What do you mean other magic?” Tecumseh pressed. “What sealed the rift?”
“He means me,” Alyona said in a soft voice.
“Alyona--” I tried to stop her, but my wife stopped me with a squeeze to my hand.
“I used magic to seal the rift,” she continued. “I am a highly regarded priestess in Rahma. I have closed several rifts, and I will be helping Lord Evan to close the Breach.”
At least a full minute of silence ticked by before the king drew in a deep breath, and Isi clenched and unclenched her fists on the table before she cleared her throat and looked at Alyona.
“You are a princess in your country?” she asked. “And a priestess?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Alyona nodded.
“And you regularly use magic to protect your people?” The queen arched an eyebrow as though she dared Alyona to answer.
“Every day, Your Majesty,” my wife said without looking away.
“So, you are well-practiced,” Isi murmured.
There was a distinct change in the queen’s tone, and my heart pounded in my chest as I tried to read where her questions would lead.
“I am,” Alyona confirmed. “I studied in the Cave of One Thousand Sages.”
“Impressive,” Isi said and finally seemed to relax against her chair. “I am of the opinion that a Noble of the Sword and a princess should not be bound by our laws regarding magic. Do you agree, my love?”
“I do.” Tecumseh nodded. “Especially when both have clearly only used their power to help us and others.”
“And at such an extraordinary level of training,” Isi murmured. “The Cave of One Thousand Sages is something even I have heard of before. Is this how you were able to use magic despite our barrier?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean.” Alyona cocked her head to the side in confusion.
“The no-magic barrier prevents anyone from using magic while within the Odrein borders,” Tecumseh explained. “Yet, you two were both able to do so. Is it because you are both trained at such a high level?”
“Oh, I’m not trained like that,” I chuckled as a wave of relief washed over me. “I’ve learned from Alyona, my dad, and a few other people here and there. And experience, you know, that’s the best teacher.”
“We also didn’t notice any resistance to the magic,” Alyona pointed out.
“Yeah, I’m picking up on every energy level in this room right now with no problem,” Skye said and held up her hand. “And outside. There are still a bunch of people mad about the mage, by the way.”
“But Catahe said he wasn’t able to perform the ritual he intended,” Isi argued. “He said something stopped him. We assumed it was the barrier.”
“I’d say it was more likely the Demon King,” I said with a frown. “He doesn’t like anyone messing with his plans or his beasts. Catahe tried to mess with his plans if he was intending to close the rift, and he definitely sliced up one of his beasts.”
“Did Catahe complain of any strange dreams?” Nike asked suddenly.
“He’s been talking about all kinds of crazy things since he was locked up,” Tecumseh replied. “The guards said they can’t keep track of all of it since only a few things make any sense.”
“Okay, wait, but if the Demon King is what stopped his dark magic, then that means the barrier didn’t stop him or you?” Isi furrowed her brow.
“In my opinion, Your Majesty, the barrier could have been weakened significantly by the rift,” Alyona said. “Tears in the fabric of reality have a way of tweaking things on both sides.”
“But you sealed it, so the barrier should be working now,” the queen mused. “Try to do something.”
I opened my hand and flicked a fireball into my palm. Both the king and queen gasped and nearly shoved their chairs away from the table in surprise, so I called the fire back into my hand with a grin.
“I’d say it still needs some work,” I said. “Or it’s just not strong enough for dragon magic, but I’m no expert.”
“I am, and I think it needs to be checked if you want the barrier to remain in place,” Alyona declared. “Lord Evan is a powerful creature, but even he should have felt some resistance when he utilized his magic. He clearly did not.”
“Well, what if it’s broken?” Tecumseh wondered. “We don’t know anything about them.”
“I can help fix it,” Alyona offered.
I didn’t like the idea of helping the snow leopards put the magic barrier back up, but I didn’t want to argue about it in front of the royals, either. If we needed magic, we had to be able to use it without any problems. I didn’t care much about their stupid rule, but I did care about keeping us alive.
Tecumseh and Isi shared a cautious glance before the king turned back toward us.
“We could use the help from someone with magical knowledge,” he said after a moment. “Odrein has had a ban on magic for hundreds of years, so our knowledge is rather limited.”
“So, who put up the barrier?” I asked as I stroked my beard with curiosity.
“Well, only one person is allowed to use magic,” Isi explained. “And it is only allowed if the king or queen requests it, but that’s all the shaman is allowed to do.”
“How is the shaman trained if no one else knows magic?” Ravi asked.
“Every generation of shaman writes in a journal of some sort,” the king answered. “The next shaman learns from the previous shamans’ notes or spells or whatever it is they keep in there. They are given the rules of their role, and they understand that to use magic outside of our requests would lead to a death sentence.”
“Your punishment for using magic, any magic, not just dark, is death?” I couldn’t believe what they were saying.
I couldn’t understand being scared of all magic to the point they would kill someone who used it. If mages were taught how to use it to help people, then it wouldn’t be so scary, but they seemed to be closed off to the use of magic completely.
“Well, it’s a risk to everyone,” Isi explained. “Magic is unstable and unruly, and it gives literal power to people who may or may not deserve it. You know magic in the wrong hands is incredibly dangerous. Look at your problem with the Sage.”
“That’s one guy,” I argued. “You can’t make a whole law based on the actions of one person.”
“We didn’t make the law,” the queen replied in a cool voice. “We support and enforce a law that was made long before our time. It was with good reason the former rulers felt the need to create the ban.”
“And what good reason was that?” I asked and crossed my arms over my chest. “They didn’t have it, so no one else could, either?”
“No.” Isi shook her head and then took a deep breath. “There was a group that called themselves Vis Imperio. They were led by a tribal who snuck into the city and gathered people with magical power. His goal was to overthrow the empire and rule over the kingdom.”
“Okay, hostile takeovers are attempted all the time,” I said with a shrug. “It doesn’t always have anything to do with magic.”
“They used magic to kill dozens of citizens and sacrifice them to do their spells!” Isi snapped, and her cheeks flooded with color. “Bodies laid strewn about the city as the Vis Imperio tore and shredded their way to the palace! The only people who could finally stop them were the king and his twin sister.”
“The Nobles of the Sword,” I murmured.
“Exactly,” the queen huffed. “They used the abilities the swords gave them, and they struck down all members of the Vis Imperio. The leader was the last to die, and he begged for mercy. He said the power of his magic had made him crazy, and he had no idea he would hurt so many people. He just couldn’t think of anything besides the crown.”
“So, you think having power makes people go nuts and murderous?” I asked. “You think everyone would act that way?”
“Obviously not everyone,” she replied. “But before that day, the tribals had never hurt a soul. They believed in the purity of living in nature, no cities, no villages. Sometimes they live in groups, but they don’t believe in building walls or homes to survive. They only killed animals for food and used their fur for clothing, but that day, they left a trail of blood and gore from the mountains to the palace steps.”
“After that, the king banned all use of magic in Odrein,” Tecumseh added. “I believe he found the first shaman, ordered the barrier spell to be cast, and only told his heirs what had happened. The people never questioned the law, probably because their ancestors passed on the story as well.”
“That’s madness,” I muttered. “We had a whole sect after us with their dark magic, and King Rodion would never tell good people they couldn’t use their power. It’s not our decision. You’re taking away free will.”
“People have the right to choose,” Isi insisted. “But their choice will have consequences.”
“Death for magic,” I said with a grimace. “That’s not much of a choice. Most people prefer to stay alive, and some of us have used magic to do just that. Or to protect other people.”
“My lord, I don’t think you’re going to convince them of your position at the moment,” Alyona whispered. “Perhaps we should bide our time and be grateful they don’t intend to punish us.”
I mulled over my wife’s words, but the story of the Vis Imperio got under my skin. Even if they’d terrorized Odrein in pursuit of power, they’d been defeated by someone who deserved their power, which was exactly the way it was supposed to be. It didn’t make sense to tell everyone they weren’t allowed to have any magic at all because of one group decades and decades ago. It made more sense to put their heads on pikes in the middle of the city to show everyone what happened when you screwed up.
“Anyway, your crime has been forgiven, but you are not to practice magic in the presence of any other citizen,” Isi declared. “We will be forced to take other action, and I don’t wish to punish a Noble of the Sword, but we cannot appear to have favorites. Our people deserve our transparency.”
“Well, if you expect to keep your stupid law in place, we probably should go check on your shaman,” I grumbled.
“What Lord Evan is trying to say is the shaman who cast the barrier spell should have noticed its weakness,” Alyona said quickly. “We can help him or her to fix whatever you would like to fix, and I can provide a few lessons in monitoring current spells, so you don’t have any future issues.”
“Would you also be able to strengthen it?” Isi asked and pursed her lips. “I don’t know if the tribal was unsuccessful because of the barrier or the Demon King, but I’d like to ensure no one else can even try.”
“If… that’s what you wish,” Alyona replied carefully.
It would seem the princess also had more to say, but she was much better at diplomacy than I would ever hope to be. She knew even more so than I did that learning magic from a teacher was the best way to make sure no one got hurt. Hell, we taught magic to kids in Hatra, and here, they didn’t even want adults to know what the hell they could do with their power.
“Then we will lead you to his home,” Tecumseh said as he pushed his chair away from the table. “Thank you for your honesty and your assistance.”
“You are quite welcome, Your Majesty.” Alyona stood and offered a humble bow to the royals.
I begrudgingly followed suit before we followed the snow leopards out of the meeting room and back to the front door of the castle. While the king and queen made arrangements with the guards to accompany us to the shaman’s house, I pulled my people in close.
“We have to convince them the no-magic barrier is a terrible idea,” I murmured. “If anyone besides us had come here with the barrier down and decided to wreak havoc, they would have had literally one magical person who knew how to defend themselves.”
“And that’s assuming the shaman has learned any magic besides the barrier spell,” Isabella pointed out.
“Oh, that’s a good point,” Skye agreed. “If the shaman only learns what the previous shaman writes down, then there’s no way of knowing how much has actually been passed down.”
“They are putting an incredible amount of faith in one shaman,” Rebecca said with a frown.
“One shaman who wasn’t allowed to use magic until he or she became shaman,” Nike added. “So, they literally have no practice.”
“Insane,” I muttered. “This is all nuts.”
“What’s nuts?” Nokomis whispered as she leaned over my shoulder.
“Your parents’ ban on magic,” I replied with a glance toward the royal pair. “It doesn’t bother you?”
“Why would it?” she asked with a shrug. “I’ve never been able to use magic, so it’s no different to me.”
“What are you talking about?” I hissed. “Being a Noble of the Sword, you have access to your sword’s magic.”
“I-I… what?” Nokomis’ eyes were round with surprise.
Oh, gods, she doesn’t know, Miraya breathed.
“Every Noble Sword has its own power that you access when you become its master or mistress,” Alyona explained. “You weren’t taught any of that when you trained?”
“No, we were only taught how to fight with the sword.” Nokomis shook her head before she looked up at me. “Do you use magic all the time with yours?”
“I use magic with and without my sword.” I smirked and looked at Nike. “He uses his sword for magic in battle. You should see the light. It’s incredible.”
“W-What magic comes with mine?” the snow leopard Demi-Human asked.
“I guess we’ll have to find out,” I said and looked past her to see the king, queen, and Tawa headed toward us. “But not right now.”
“The guards are prepared to go with us,” Tecumseh announced. “Do you need anything before we go?”
“No, we’re ready when you are, Your Majesty,” I replied with a nod.
“Let’s go.” The king turned on his heels and marched toward the guards.
Two of the men walked on either side of the king and queen, while Tawa and Nokomis paired up behind them. Then the rest of us brought up the rear with two more guards on our tails. We followed the royals into town, past the nearly empty market, and into an area that seemed separated from the rest of the town.
Walls made from blocks of ice surrounded a snowy field that contained one small building, and the house looked big enough to have one or two bedrooms, but that was it. I couldn’t imagine more than one person living inside the snow-covered walls. It was shaped like an igloo with a rounded top, and it even had the tunnel-like entrance I always imagined.
We walked inside the tunnel, and it felt like the temperature dropped fifteen degrees as the king stepped forward and rapped on the icy door.
The door creaked open as soon as he touched it, and a chill slid down my spine, but this time, it wasn’t because of the cold.
Something was wrong here.
“Ubira?” Tecumseh called out. “Where are you? Why is your door open?”
“Your Majesty, please, wait,” I said as I shoved past the guards to stop him. “Let me look around first.”
“I beg your--” he started to argue.
“I insist.” My tone left no room for arguments, and the king pursed his lips before he stepped back toward the door.
I pulled the Sword of Healing from my belt, walked past the entryway, and rounded the corner to what had been a library. Then I sent out a wave of echolocation magic to see if the shaman or anyone else was in the house, but I had a sinking feeling I knew we’d only find one thing.
In a matter of seconds, my feeling was confirmed.
An arctic fox Demi-Human laid on the floor surrounded by books and a pool of drying blood.
Chapter 8
“Shit,” I muttered as I sheathed my sword and knelt next to the body.
The fox’s white fur was matted with dark red blood, and he’d clearly been dead for a while. His eyes were glazed over, and his clawed fingers still clutched at the wounds in his belly. He’d been stabbed repeatedly and nearly eviscerated from the violence of the attack, but the gaping tear across his throat had clearly finished the job.
Blood had poured from his body and soaked the pages of most of the books beneath him, and several of the other books were shredded while the pages were thrown around the room. A few more books had been tossed from the shelves, and all the drawers and cabinets were all thrown open with their contents either shoved aside or dumped on the floor.
This does not look good, Miraya moaned. As if they needed more reasons to hate magic.
“Yeah, this one won’t be easy to deal with,” I murmured before I cleared my throat and raised my voice. “Your Majesties, I think you should see this.”
Isi charged around the corner with her face already set in a rage before she stopped in her tracks. Then tears welled in her eyes as she covered her mouth, stepped back, and nearly fell into her husband’s arms.
“Oh, gods, Ubira!” she gasped before she melted against the king’s chest and began to sob.
“What in the name of the gods happened here?” Tecumseh demanded. “I-I’ve never seen such a disaster!”
“It looks like he was attacked while looking at his books,” I said as I carefully walked around the bloody center of the room.
“Why would someone do this?” the king asked, and a tremble shook his hands.
