Riley’s right hand turned into a fist because she did remember. The mage’s name was Rendal Hemmons, and Riley had managed to attack him twice—but each time her brilliant speed and skill had easily been thwarted. Tossed aside by the mage’s god-like powers. It’d only been a week ago, and the pain was still real for Riley. The pain of losing Mason.
She knew Worth felt the pain too. Worth ruled what New Perth referred to as a “tent city.” The name pretty much described it—a city in the middle of a desert that used tents for shelter. Worth had brought ten of his people to help New Perth, and five died at Rendal Hemmons’ hands.
William might be grumpy, but Riley understood Worth’s concern. She knew his pain was real.
“There’s no time to wait, Worth,” she whispered. “I wish I could. I wish I could learn what you want to teach me, but Rendal might not wait. He might be hurting Mason right now.”
“Aye, we go die then.”
She listened as Worth turned from the docks and walked away, his heavy footfalls shaking the wood beneath her.
“Fuck ‘em.” William shook his head. “I got my fire, and you got… Well, you ain’t got no magic, but that’s just because I’m better than you. You got your sword, though, and that’ll work.”
“I can beat you any day of the week and twice on Sunday.”
The crew on the ship were nearly ready. Goland’s top general, Verith, was double-checking everything now. He was bringing the entire Royal Guard, a group of fifty elite soldiers, and another fifty regular troops. They would have one hundred men, two Right Hands, and although Worth had walked off, he’d be back.
Worth was bringing ten more mages.
Despite Worth’s misgivings, Riley thought it was a sizable crew. Plus, the ship was New Perth’s best. They weren’t a conquering people, but the ship before them would be a match for pirates.
Worth was wrong.
He had to be, because they didn’t have time to wait.
“Aye, girl, is this what we’ll be travelin’ in?”
Riley whipped around, although she didn’t reach for her sword. She knew who stood behind her.
William spoke before she even had a chance. “Hell, no! Hell, no! You ain’t comin’, you hear me? You ain’t comin’, Lucie! Not this time. No way. Prefect Goland didn’t clear it.”
Lucie stood in front of them; she must have used magic to keep from being heard. For years, Lucie had shoved her magic down because New Perth had outlawed it. Magic was too dangerous. Times were changing, though, and she’d been more open about what she could do since returning.
From Rendal Hemmons.
From the Dark Mage.
“Ya big dumb animal, Rendal kidnapped me while you ran back here and passed out for three days, ’less you don’t remember that?”
Riley smiled.
Lucie wasn’t lying.
Rendal had kidnapped her, and in the end, had nearly killed her.
“Ya ain’t comin’, Lucie. We don’t have time to watch out for you. We’re on a rescue mission, ‘less you don’t remember that?”
“Child, I’ve forgotten more than you’ll ever know. This ain’t a discussion, and my ‘pologies if you thought it were. I’m goin’, and if you don’t like it, hike your ass back up to the Prefect and see what he tells ya. I can save ya the time, though, because you’ll just be walkin’ back here like the punished puppy you are. I spoke with Goland this mornin’.”
“You’re lyin’,” William claimed loudly, but everyone on the dock knew that wasn’t true.
Lucie didn’t lie.
“Go on and see then. I’ll wait,” she told him.
William shook his head and turned his back to the older woman.
Riley looked at her.
“Worth is right, ya know,” Lucie observed.
“We don’t have time,” Riley replied.
“And that’s why I’m comin’,” the old woman continued. “Because you’re right, too. You’ll need as many mages on that ship as it’ll hold if you want to stop Rendal, and it’ll take us a few days yet to find him. We can work with ya, Worth and I. We can teach you more before we get there. Aye, I’ll even work with that big dumb animal who just turned his back on me if he wants.”
“You ain’t got nothin’ to teach me,” William grumbled, but Riley had heard the underlying eagerness in his voice. Before the last battle with Rendal, Worth had taught William how to use a bit of magic—enough to light his sword on fire—and William was beyond eager to learn more. He understood how much deadlier it would make him as the Prefect’s Right Hand.
“I got more magic in my little finger than you got in your whole body.” Lucie turned her focus back to Riley. “We ready?”
“I think so. Worth went to get the tent people, and then we’re all loading on. Verith has his troops on board already. We’re just waiting for the go-ahead.”
“Aye, that works fine, then.” She glanced at Riley’s hip. “I heard ‘bout this sword. Damn blacksmith hasn’t stopped talkin’ bout it since the tent man made it. Can I take a look?”
Riley didn’t hand her sword to anyone ever, neither the one she’d carried for years and lost in the battle with Rendal nor this new one. To Riley, a sword was like a soul. You didn’t just hand yours to people. You didn’t sell it. Your soul was yours, and a swordsman knew that.
Yet, she knew why Lucie wanted to look at it.
Because Worth said the sword was magic, and the blacksmith who had let him use his forge to create it said Worth had done things he’d never seen before.
“Don’t you dare.” William didn’t turn around, but there was real anger in his voice.
“Hey, chubby,” Riley shot back, “you control your sword and I’ll control mine.”
Riley grabbed the hilt and pulled it from its sheath. She wasn’t comfortable with this, but she wanted to know what Lucie thought. Lucie had magic and could actually use it.
Maybe she could see more about the sword than Riley could, because despite what Worth and the blacksmith said, she’d seen no magic.
The only thing different about it was the green lines running through the hilt.
Lucie took the sword from Riley’s hands, laying the blade across one palm and the hilt across the other. She did it respectfully, showing reverence and perhaps even awe. She obviously knew what this meant, for a Right Hand to let her touch her sword.
“It looks normal aside from the hilt,” Riley observed.
“Aye, it does,” Lucie responded. “What did the tent man say? What did he tell you this thing could do?”
Riley stared at the sword. “He didn’t really say much, Lucie. Just that it was magic.”
“Have you practiced with it?”
Riley nodded. “Three hours each day since he made it. It’s important to practice with every sword, even one you know like your hand, but a new one? You have to use it for countless hours if you’re going to have a chance of surviving.”
“Aye, why?”
“It has to become an extension of you,” Riley answered. “It has to become your hand.”
“What happened when you used this one?”
Riley knew right then something was different about the sword, even if she’d denied it before. Because this sword…
“I didn’t need to practice with it.”
“Whatcha mean?” William turned around. “Ain’t need to practice?”
“Now you want in on the convo after you told me not to hand it over?” Riley smirked.
“Just tell me whatcha mean, skinny. Every swordsman has to practice.”
Riley looked at the sword, feeling real awe. “It’s hard to explain. It just…fit me like a glove. It seems to almost anticipate where I’m going to go, which means it moves quicker and with more force. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but learning the weight of it, the feel of it, the control of it...I already know all that.”
“But you kept practicin’. I seen ya. That don’t make no sense,” William told her.
/> “I practiced because I don’t really believe it. I practiced because that’s what a Right Hand does, but the sword just feels different.”
“Aye.” Lucie handed it back to Riley. “The sword is definitely different.”
“How?” Riley asked as she sheathed it.
“I can’t really say. You’ll have to find out on your own. I’d venture to guess that whatever is there is between you and it, me and even the tent man can’t say what that is.”
“Bullshit. That’s a sword with some green lines, and you both sound like mad hens.”
Lucie looked at Riley. “Does he ever shut up?”
“I’m afraid not. It’s like this pretty much all the time.”
William turned around. “Being alone with you two on a ship sounds almost as fun as drowning myself.”
Chapter Two
“I can’t hurt you, Mason. You understand that, right?”
Mason didn’t look at Rendal but rather stared at the rows of people standing on the ship’s deck.
“It’s not that I don’t want to. You shouldn’t ever believe that. You and your bloodline owe me a debt, and I’m going to collect it.”
The mage stepped away from Mason, walking a bit farther down the deck. “But, if I hurt you, she’s not going to join me. If she shows up and you’re injured, or worse, dead, I can kiss that goodbye. I am prepared for that if it comes to it...but I don’t want it, you know?”
Rendal turned around and looked at Mason.
“She’s much more valuable to me if she’s on my side willingly, not like the people behind me.”
Mason didn’t understand who the hell stood behind Rendal. Mason had been on the ship for a week, but this was the first time he’d been above decks. They’d kept him in a room next to the mage’s, and he had hardly seen anyone.
Now, though, he stood beneath the sun and heard the waves slapping against the ship’s sides.
Fifty people stood in front of him, although none looked to be…
In control, he thought. They all look like they’re in some kind of trance.
The people stared straight forward, blinking occasionally. Each wore a dark red necklace, though none were lit. Rendal had the same color bracelet on his right wrist.
“So, Mason,” the mage continued, “unfortunately, I have to make sure you’re in good shape as we go forward. At least until she decides to join, then I can do what I’d like to.”
Mason’s eyes flashed to the mage. “She’ll never join you. Don’t you see that? You can kidnap Lucie and me. You can take William, and even my father. You can burn down New Perth, but Riley isn’t going to join you.”
Mason almost laughed at the ridiculousness of this man. He understood Rendal’s power, but not his insanity. To think—after everything—that Riley would join him?
“Come, let’s look off the side of the ship,” the mage instructed.
Mason wanted to ask about the people standing around, but it would only show weakness. The mage had brought him up here to show him these people...but he wasn’t ready to explain it yet.
Mason followed Rendal to the rail of the ship. He saw only the ocean in all directions and had no idea where he was.
“We came from that way.” Rendal pointed to his right. “And New Perth is that way.” His hand moved across the horizon. “At on this very day, your Right Hand is stepping onto a ship that will come to us.”
Mason swallowed. He knew Rendal could see things, which shouldn’t be possible. Out here in the ocean, the mage knew what was happening in New Perth.
“They’ve got a crew of both soldiers and magicians, I think,” Rendal continued. “Lucie is being a real bitch and trying to block my ability to see, her and that other mage. It’s making things blurry, but they’re simply no match for me.”
“They’re coming?”
“Of course!” Rendal was happy. “That’s the whole point!”
“You’ve got to know she won’t join you.” Mason shook his head, suddenly depressed. He hadn’t known exactly what Rendal’s plan was, only that he—Mason—would most likely die. He hadn’t truly thought Riley would come for him out here, or anyone else in New Perth—not over this ocean that stretched forever.
“You keep saying that, Mason, and I’m beginning to wonder if you’re actually paying attention. She already came with me once. That was the whole plan. That’s what the plan has been the entire time.”
Mason knew it was true. Riley had agreed to go with the mage in exchange for his word that he wouldn’t attack New Perth.
“Yes, you’re seeing it correctly.” Rendal nodded, smiling. The mage was clearly reading Mason’s mind. “She came when she thought it would save New Perth. That was step one. And I was with her for a few days, Mason, as you well know. I came to understand her better during that time. Her connection to New Perth is strong, but not nearly as strong as her connection to you. She was willing to die for New Perth, but for Mason Ire, heir to the Prefect’s throne? Oh, goodness. The things she’ll do...”
Mason gripped the rail, his knuckles turning white.
“Because you see, Mason, I need her to change, and with you as my captive, I can make that happen.”
Mason shook his head. “No. She won’t. Not for me. Not for anything.”
“You don’t know her like I do, because despite how much you care, you can’t walk through her mind. I can. I have. I’ve gone inside the rooms she keeps bolted, and I know what she’ll sacrifice for you. Her very soul.”
“You’re going to die.”
It was all Mason could think to say.
“We’re going to kill you.”
The mage laughed. “Oh, good times, Mason. Good times indeed. Now look, I didn’t just come up here to torture you with what’s to come for Ms. Riley, although that was part of the fun. Here, take this.”
Rendal pulled a small telescope from his robe’s pocket and handed it to Mason. “Look out there.”
Mason extended the telescope to its full length and pointed it in the direction Rendal indicated.
“See them?”
Mason did. A ship, but not Riley’s. There was a flag flying over it, a banner Mason didn’t understand.
“Them there’s pirates.” Rendal spoke in a fake country accent. “They comin’ to steal our gold and take our wimmen. Gonna to take our ship, too.” He laughed.
He dropped the accent. “I brought you up here so you can see what happens. They’re still a day or so away, but they’re heading right for us. Their ship is faster than ours, so even if I wanted to run, I couldn’t get away.” He looked at Mason. “You don’t know much about the seas, do you? Much like magic, you Prefects have never had much use for anything that’s not on land.”
Mason shook his head, still staring at the ship. They were coming for them, that was for sure. The flag was black, and the ship looked ruthless, like some long dead skeleton that wanted vengeance.
“The seas are a dangerous place if you don’t know what you’re doing. Harold, my head guard—he’s had a lot of experience on the ocean. And me… Well, you’ve seen what I’m capable of. But those pirates claim this part of the sea, and that means they are going to try and kill us, then rape any women aboard. Claiming rights is their way of trying to sound just.”
Mason put the telescope down, not wanting to look at the ship anymore. “What the hell does that have to do with me? If they’re coming to kill us and we’re going to die, why show it to me now?”
“We’re not going to die, Assistant Prefect. Goodness, no! Those men are cutthroats, though. They make their living… Hell, they exist by having no conscience. Indeed, few land dwellers would survive against the ocean’s deadliest creatures—and not all of them are below water. No, Mason, you’re here now so that in a day’s time, you can see what happens to those very, very dangerous men.”
Mason closed the telescope, not looking at the mage.
“Because before this is over, you’re going to tell Riley to join me. You’re go
ing to see that it’s absolutely hopeless to do anything else. She can’t stand against me, and if she tries, you’ll die, and she’ll end up on my side anyway. So pay attention, Assistant Prefect. You’ll want to know the truth of all this when she gets here.”
Rendal put the Assistant Prefect back in his room, then retired to his own chambers.
“Harold, what’s the best guess as to when those pirates will be on us?”
Harold stood in the doorway. “Tomorrow afternoon, sir.”
“Good. I want to be very clear here, Harold, so that there are no mix-ups. I don’t want anyone to interfere when they arrive. Your orders are to let them board our ship, and even if they kill some of our men, you’re not to attack. Understand?”
“Yes, sir. I understand completely.”
Rendal nodded. He moved to the bar cabinet and pulled out a bottle of dark liquor. His quarters were well stocked, even if the rest of his crew’s weren’t. He poured himself a drink and took a sip, feeling the liquid burn all the way down.
“They’re on the way, Harold. Do you think they see it? How I’m making them repeat this pattern? That they keep having to come for me again and again?”
Harold shook his head. “I doubt it, sir. The more I realize how lost I was in this whole thing, the more I believe everyone must be lost as well. None can even try to catch up, because they’re simply too far behind.”
Rendal took another sip. “Now you see the truth, Harold. I knew you’d come around.” He smiled. Harold was a good man, even if he’d gotten a bit confused about the whole Riley situation. “This time we’ll battle on the sea, but I won’t take her with us. She’ll crack a little more, but she’s not going to break. Not yet. She’s strong, and even with Mason pitching in it’ll take more. But that’s fine, Harold. I’ve got time.”
He turned around and looked at his second-in-command.
“What New Perth didn’t understand when they kicked me out was that this isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. Riley doesn’t know that yet either. She thinks this next battle will end the war, but it’s only a stepping-stone to something higher, Harold. Pay attention this time, my friend. I don’t want to lose you again.”
Hand of Justice Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4): The Dark Mage, Chasing Magic, Magic Rising, Magic Unchained Page 20
