The confusion in her mind intensified. She felt herself feeling distanced from her current situation. Peace! For the first time, she was at peace. There wasn’t any magic in her blood. No constant internal battle for control held her in its throes. A strange calm descended upon her. She felt free, buoyant.
A sudden slap to her face brought her back in focus. “Stay with me, damn you!”
Zo blinked her eyes. Had he just slapped her? How dare he? But then…the thought slipped away before she could dwell on it. Quietly, she slid again into oblivion. The dark surrounded her, embraced and caressed her.
Nothing bothered her anymore. It was almost as if she ceased to exist.
Chapter Nine
Hunched over, every bone, muscle and sinew in her body hurting, Alicia reviewed the papers she held in her hand. She was tired. It had only been six days since Zo’s departure but already Alicia was finding it hard to get through the day. The herbed drink she prepared to counter the poison needed to be ingested twice daily. It helped her preserve her strength, but soon, she knew, it would fail – and she would die along with Seve.
Unless, their sister managed to turn the tide and bring the antidote within the stipulated time.
She looked out the window. The bright blare of the sun had dwindled to a soft cherry-red light. Dark shadows lingered in forgotten corners of the courtyard as dusk settled upon the castle. Yesterday she had visited the library and read Zima’s diary. Zo’s horrific accounts of king Vindha’s brutality chilled her bones. In time, they would have to consider the impact of his actions on their island, but for now, she focused on the task at hand; run the kingdom as best as she could while maintaining her and Seve’s health to the best of her abilities.
She picked up her quill, ready to write her instruction in the margins. A knock on her study made her look up. Zima stood there, arms crossed at her chest, a battle-crazy look in her eyes.
“You!” She pointed at Alicia. “I need to talk to you.”
Sighing, Alicia put the quill down. She would never get any work done now. “What’s wrong?” she said, motioning for the old women to sit opposite her.
Zima was in mood to sit. Instead, she paced the room. “I’m tired of the incompetent apprentices foisted on me by the castle administrator. That girl…she’s so ignorant…doesn’t do anything the way I teach her. Forever I’ve to spend my time tidying up the shelves, and placing the ledgers and tomes in their proper places.”
Alicia raised her hand, resisting the urge to massage her aching head. “She’s new. You’ll have to teach her.”
Zima bristled. “No one can be that dumb. She’s doing it deliberately to annoy me. I know it.”
“Why would she do that?” Alicia recalled the slip of a girl she’d seen in the library. It didn’t seem as if she would have the guts to devise a plan to anger her senior. Alicia could imagine her quaking at the voice of the old battle axe.
“Why, that fat, bumbling fool of a boy who broke his arm while cleaning the top shelves was a better apprentice than this one. She is always distracted. Runs off in the middle of the day to do goddess know what.” Zima fumed. “I’m telling you, I won’t tolerate her. Not one moment longer.”
“Alright, calm down. I’ll ask Sultan to find a new assistant for you.” It was hard to find new apprentices who were willing to work under Zima. Her reputation preceded her.
“See that you do that!” Zima shook her finger in Alicia’s face before storming out of the room.
“Dear goddess.” Alicia put her head in her hands and pressed it with her fingers. As if she didn’t have enough worries!
Another knock on the door made her groan. “It’s going to take some time to find someone new,” she said thinking Zima was back already. Looking up, she was relieved to find Sultan standing there. He had a curious, strange look on his face.
“Is something the matter?” she said. Was there no end to her troubles? What could be wrong now?
“We’ve visitors,” he said, his voice filled with awe. “Ameers. Three of them.”
“Ameers?” Alicia rubbed her forehead where a tension headache was brewing. Ordinarily she would take a potion for that, but these days she couldn’t even do that. Any medicine was bound to interact badly with the herbs she was already ingesting. “What are they doing here? Don’t they stay far away in some keep?”
Sultan shrugged, looking as perplexed as she felt. “I’ve never heard of any of them venturing away from their chosen exile. They want to meet the king, but I told them he was unavailable. They are in the throne room. I thought you might like to meet them there.”
“Don’t they take an oath to shun the outside world when they join their cult?” Alicia tried to recall everything she knew about the ameers. As far as she knew, they were a coven of mages who agreed to forgo any contact with the everyday world when they entered their keep that was well-hidden in the depths of a forest. The group was devoted to the learning and documentation of magic. Safe in the keep, the mages delved in magic unknown. They experimented and learnt new secrets and recorded everything in their library. Ameers did not venture out in the land. They didn’t interact with anyone, and shied away from political affiliations.
Sultan scratched his chin. “It’s a strange occurrence for them to be here.”
“Well, we’d better go find out what they want.” Alicia stood. "And also, you need to find another apprentice for Zima."
"That new girl quit already?" There was a world of pain in his voice. It fell upon him to recruit new people for the castle when anyone left their job. "Did Zima hit her?"
"No. Apparently that girl doesn't meet Zima's high standards?"
"Who does?" Sultan followed Alicia out of the room.
Alicia smoothed the folds of her gown as she walked. It was time for her to take another dose of her medicinal potion, but she had put it off. She didn’t want to do it in front of Sultan. She still hadn’t told anyone about the binding spell – and it was her intention to keep it a secret for as long as she could, even from her most trusted advisor.
As she entered the throne room, Alicia felt a pang in her heart. Until now, she had avoided entering this room. It reminded her too much of the perilous situation of her brother as he lay helpless on his bed. She had no intention to take his place on the throne, even temporarily.
The throne room was majestic. The walls were covered with ancient paintings and murals depicting mages engaged in magic spells. Two life-sized statues of a lion and a lioness, carved out of pure white marble, flanked the silver gem-encrusted throne. Antique rugs covered the floor.
The ameers were staring at the walls, perhaps trying to decipher the murals. They didn’t notice her presence immediately, and it gave her a chance to study them. All three of them wore simple, green cloaks. Two of them had short beards, and one was clean-shaven. They wore turbans on their head, hiding their hair.
“Welcome to Iram,” she said. “I’m princess Alicia.”
The three stood in union, and bowed. Alicia bade them to sit. She sat alongside them, while Sultan stood behind her.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” said the oldest of them. Close to fifty years of age, he had prominent cheekbones. “My name is Ashar. These are my friends, Arian and Jace. We’ve come from the keep of ameers to warn the king of a dire threat against his life.”
“Threat?”
“Jace is currently studying the art of divination. He has made vast improvements over the old-fashioned spells that manipulate the elements and show us glimpses of the future. He is sometimes able to control the flow of the visions and glean more from them than we ordinarily would. While using one of his spells, he saw someone adding poison to the king’s drinking water…”
Alicia sat straight. This was unexpected. “Did he see that person’s face?”
“Alas…no,” said Jace. He was the clean-shaven ameer. “The vision slipped away before I could see any further. I saw two separate visions…one of a person adding something to th
e water, and the other of the king being ill. There was some kind of a blue shield around him…”
“What magic do you use to see the future?” Curiosity made Alicia ask. True seers or fortune tellers were rare. It was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to use the elements in that way. However, Jace clearly had seen something.
“I am an earth mage, and the mother earth sometimes allows me to divine the future by allowing me glimpses of what would come. I have been studying old spells and even creating my own to help me refine these images.”
“When did you see these visions?”
“Three months ago.”
Alicia closed her eyes for a moment, resisting the urge to yell at him. “And you are telling us now?” Her voice was louder than usual. Temper bubbled inside her, but she curbed it with practiced patience.
“Forgive us, princess,” said Ashar. “Perhaps you know that as ameers we take oaths to eliminate all contact with the outside world. Jace documented his visions and he felt it was his duty to inform the king that someone was going to make an attempt on his life. Jace is from Iram, and he left close to ten years ago. His conscience would not allow him to let this grave crime be committed.”
If only they had come earlier. Perhaps then her brother would have been saved from this cruel fate. “Then why did he wait for so long?”
“It took time to convince the chief ameer Riaz to give us permission to leave. You see, Jace did further study the matter, and found trouble brewing in the land. The attempt on your brother is politically motivated. King Vindha’s minions are behind this attempt. They wish to eliminate all threats to his sovereignty over the mainland. As you well know, the real heir to the throne was your grandfather, and king Seve is his direct descendant. His claim over the throne of Jiambra is more direct than king Vindha’s.”
"I'm aware of that." Alicia shared a glance with Sultan. The ameers seemed to share Sultan's belief about Vindha's motivation. Up until now, Alicia hadn't fully accepted that the attack on Seve's life was planned by king Vindha, but now she had no option but to accept this theory.
If it was one rogue mage who was upset with Seve, he would not be so motivated to risk his life to make any future attempts. But now it was clear; Seve was a direct threat to Vindha’s claim to the throne of Jiambra. If Vindha managed to subjugate the rest of the mainland to his authority, Seve would remain a potential danger to his sovereignty. There were many people who would follow Seve, if he chose to oppose Vindha, simply because they still owed their loyalty to his grandfather who had abdicated the throne.
“May we have an audience with the king to warn him in person?” said Jace.
Alicia looked down at her clenched hands. “If only you’d come sooner…king Seve’s already been poisoned. He fights for his life even as we speak.”
The three ameers shared a distressed look. “I’m sorry, princess,” said Jace. “I’ve failed him. King Seve and I took our mages’ training together. He’s younger to me, but I always found him to be hardworking, fair and friendly. If only we’d come sooner…”
Alicia found it hard to forgive them. “Yes. I wish that too. You could’ve communicated with us through some other means even if you were unable to leave the keep.”
Jace appeared contrite. “We aren’t allowed any communication in the keep and once we left, we didn’t undertake scrying since we were in hostile territory. King Vindha monitors all magical activity in his land, and we didn’t want to give him any inclination that we had discovered his plans.”
Ashar fidgeted on his seat. “Also, perhaps we didn’t realize the gravity of the situation or the urgency of it. We thought we had time…”
They were truly apologetic. Their guilt would serve no purpose as the damage was already done but Alicia found it difficult to hold her anger towards their negligence. “Is there any other vision you saw that might be helpful?” she asked.
“Just one more vision…” Jace looked hesitant, unsure of what he was about to say.
“About king Seve?”
Jace shook his head. “About you, princess.”
“Me?” She was genuinely surprised. “What was it? An attempt on my life?”
“No. I couldn’t really understand it, princess. I saw you entering a catacomb underneath the earth. You didn’t look like yourself…you looked like a succubus. I knew it was you but your appearance had changed.”
“A succubus?” Alicia suppressed a shudder. They were filthy, horrible, female creatures who were blind but used their senses to feel the environment around them. Physically, they looked like women and had some innate magic. They lured young men into their caves and mated with them to produce their offspring. Male succubi, or incubus, were rare, and most were killed by their mothers.
“What did it mean? This vision you saw?” Alicia could not understand why she would ever be in a cave with the succubi. They were deadly creatures, governed more by their senses than any logical reasoning. In any case, it wasn’t possible for one to become a succubus. You had to be born as one. Also, there were no catacombs of succubi in Iram, and she didn’t even know where the nearest one was.
Bright crimson spots appeared on Jace’s cheeks. “I don’t know, princess. As you know, divination is an art, not a science. It can be wrong or the person seeing the vision can misinterpret.”
“Well, let’s just hope that particular vision doesn’t come true,” she said. Standing, she attempted a smile. “Sultan would show you to your accommodation. I wish you a pleasant stay. He would make arrangements for a safe journey home whenever you wish to leave.”
Ashar chewed on his bottom lip. “It’s just that, princess…I think I didn’t make myself clear. Since we’re not allowed any outside communication in the keep, our decision to travel here and inform you forced the chief to oust us from the keep.”
“What?” Aghast, Alicia sat again. “How can he? How could he do that?”
Ashar shrugged. “It’s one of the rules of the keep. We are forbidden to interfere with the outside world. By doing so, we instigated a rebellion…well, sort of. It's just the three of us at present…but many of the ameers are now thinking about the ongoing war, and wondering if they can do anything to assist the kingdoms that are under threat. Many feel that the gathering of knowledge is a waste of time until it’s put to a good use.”
“Yes, I agree,” said Alicia. “After all, it is our duty to aid those who need our help but isn’t exile too big a punishment for such a small…crime?” she said, for lack of a better word.
“It’s more than just informing king Seve or in this case, you. The chief considers this more than a sharing of knowledge. As you’re well aware, king Vindha is preparing for yet another battle. He has already conquered two neighboring kingdoms. His move to eliminate king Seve clearly shows his intent to, at some point, turn his attention to Iram. By choosing to inform king Seve, we have chosen our side. We’ve decided to take a stand against the cruelty of king Vindha. This is politics, and it’s against the keep’s rule.”
“Well,” Alicia cleared her throat, at a loss for words. It hadn’t been an easy choice for them. By coming here they had given up a life that was important to them. It was a sacrifice she couldn’t ignore. “You’re welcome to stay here and be a part of our community. We’ve a hostel for visitors, but later on, Sultan will find a more permanent place for you in the town.”
“We’ll need something to do.”
“Your knowledge will be of immense use to us to train our young mages. We would love for you to become trainers but for now, I would appreciate any help you can give me in the castle until the king is well again.” She bit her lower lip, not sure of how much to tell them. Could she trust them completely? What if they were minions of king Vindha, sent in disguise, to harm Seve?
It wasn’t possible for her to believe in their good intentions with such ease. She couldn’t risk exposing her brother to such deadly mages until she was sure they were committed to his welfare. No matter how much they h
ad sacrificed, until she had proof of their loyalty, she had no intention of putting him in any danger.
“For now, perhaps, you could inspect the security around the castle and help strengthen it?” she suggested.
“Thank you, princess.” As she stood, they got up too, looking relieved at her offer to allow them to stay on the island.
“It’s my honor to meet you.” She smiled at them. If they were indeed telling the truth, then Iram had just found its first allies in a battle that would eventually encompass the entire island, or perhaps the whole world.
Chapter Ten
Arkon stood to stretch his cramped muscles. Tilting his head back, he looked at the gloomy horizon. Clouds covered the half-moon but a few stars twinkled bravely in the overcast sky. An owl flew overhead, hooted, circled the gorge and disappeared from view.
His companions were still in a state of unconsciousness; Leo was sprawled on his back, and the princess lay still where he’d placed her, her unfocused gaze telling him that she was lost to him, at least until the magic wore off.
What if it didn’t? What if the ekeme queen’s threats were real? Would she really leave them here to starve? After the creatures had disappeared last night, he’d assumed they would come back at some point and he would engage in fresh negotiations with them to save his friends. But he hadn’t seen any one of them since last night.
He had tried repeatedly to revive Zo and Leo. All his efforts were met with blank stares. They were truly lost to him. Fear licked his belly as he contemplated his next move.
He could try to drag them up the steep, treacherous walls on his back, but the chance of his being able to do so were slim. Perhaps he could transport Leo, but not the princess. She would be a dead weight on his back, and he would never be able to make it to the top even if he strapped her to his torso. Another option was to tie them individually to ropes, climb up the wall and then pull them to the top. But since they were unable to support themselves, he risked hurting them. Either one of them could bang their head during the haul.
The Demon Mages (The Power of Three Book 1) Page 12
