by Guy Antibes
“Preposterous,” Lorton Reedbrook said. “How could one as young and as inexperienced as you do such a thing?”
“I didn’t say I did it all by myself. I had friends and helpers along the way. Penny has met three of them.”
“He is right. I even traveled to Passoran on an errand. That object of power was returned to people in Passoran after it was used by Fasher Tempest,” Penny said.
“I think that is enough,” Lin said. “I am a believer, and once you demonstrate those objects of power, I suspect none of us will be able to deny the truth.”
Jack nodded. “I hope we won’t have to use any of these on our journey,” Jack said. “With a little information from the nobility, let us hope we can get enough clues to find the Hidden Mask and return with it.”
Everyone stared at Jack’s collection.
“Plus, there is you,” Penny said. “Jack is an object of power in his own right, being a helper and the source of a lot of power.”
“I have seen some of it,” Lorton Reedbrook said. “I admit, I didn’t think the boy was truthful, but he can do things I thought impossible and taught me how to do it, a little. I’m not sure how much I believe the rest, but some of it is true.”
That was a little progress, Jack thought.
“What do we do now?” Jack asked Willet.
“Gary and I will leave you in Lady Kanlinn’s care. She will spend the rest of the morning going over court manners.”
Lin stood up once Willet and Gary left. “This may not be the most exciting session we will have,” her gaze passed over Jack’s objects of power, “but none of you are truly adept at behaving in front of royalty.” She looked at Lorton. “Even if you are a noble, Lorton.”
The policeman turned red in the face and looked a bit angry, but he cleared his throat and never let his eyes stray from Lin.
Too many secrets, Jack thought. At least he had been open and honest. He cleared his throat and mentally prepared himself for etiquette lessons.
After a lunch brought in by Willet Barton, they all moved to a bare patch of ground in the back of the police headquarters. There were brick walls with scorch marks. Evidently, police wizards practiced here.
Jack put his objects on a table with everyone gathered around. He started with his black bracers, demonstrating water and ice, leaving them on in case he needed to quench a fire later.
“Can I try to use them?” Lorton asked.
Jack removed the red cuffed water bracer and handed it to him. Lorton tried for a few moments but shook his head. “Will I be able to use any of these?”
“The bracers are obviously keyed to me,” Jack said. “You can try to use the Serpent’s Orb.” Jack looked at everyone. “Stand back. This object shoots concentrated fire.”
He let the orb spurt the potent fire a few paces before it arced down and splashed into the dirt.
“What was that?” Lin asked.
“It is a fire that acts like a liquid.” Jack sprayed water and ice on the glowing dirt. “As far as I can tell, there isn’t a residue. I have used a few drops to weaken a chain before. It is much hotter than wizard’s fire.”
“I can believe that,” Lorton said.
The rest of the objects acted the same way. Lorton was able to activate the wizard bolt part of Jack’s sword, but nothing else.
“It looks like these are all yours.”
Jack smiled. “They were before. Penny can use some of them. I think I can enhance one of your knives and perhaps your sword. If there is a spell you already know, perhaps I can make an object that will make your spell more potent.”
Lorton laughed. “You sound like you think you are a god. Object of power. If I didn’t see it all myself, I wouldn’t believe you. How did you learn to do all this? Is Fasher that good of a teacher?”
“I’ve had to learn most of this on my own. I’m not afraid to try, and with the extra bit of power I have, I can duplicate and enhance. My objects are not quite as powerful as the originals.”
Sera shivered. “If that orb isn’t as powerful as the original, I’d hate to face someone with the original.”
Chapter Five
~
J ack made quite a few healing rods and energy rods. One good thing about the group was everyone in the group could do some level of healing.
Fasher spoke toward the end of their training. “We have one other person to see before you start your journey. King Jordan has asked all of you to dine with him tonight.” He raised his hand to stop Lady Kanlinn’s protest. “We won’t be going to the castle, but he will arrive at an inn on the main square. Court dress is not encouraged, but no training clothes. I’m sure you understand. We will meet there at six in the afternoon.”
Jack knew that Fasher meant him more than anyone. Penny gave him a tentative smile. That meant she probably had something to tell him when they walked back to their house. Fasher joined them for the stroll.
“Which inn?” Penny asked as they stepped out onto the square.
“The same inn where Duke Hestor stayed and in the same private dining room, I believe. The king has been there plenty of times before. He likes to get out among his subjects, although I understand he rides in a carriage from the castle all the way across the square to the inn.” Fasher gave them both an indulgent smile.
Jack scratched his head. “I’m not sure I have something suitable for a king.”
“Your Masukaian outfit will be sufficient. The king knows something of your errand,” Fasher said, “and he knows of Penny’s exploits as well.”
Penny blushed. “I thought he would have forgotten all about me,” she said.
Fasher shook his head. “Not you. He is very good at recognizing people with talent.”
“What talent do I have besides being a lady, at least to the king?”
“Do we need to go over what talents Penneta Ephram has?” Fasher said. “I keep the king well informed. It is why I am not bothered in Raker Falls.”
Penny wanted to object, but she tilted her chin up a bit, her way of regaining control of her temper. “Then I will be on my best behavior.”
“I have found that since you returned from Lajia, you have always been on your best behavior,” Fasher softly clapped his hands, “and that proves to me your worth.”
“That I am well-behaved?”
“That you became well-behaved all on your own. I am working with Jack on a little self-improvement.” He turned to Jack. “Aren’t I?”
“One stage down, two to go,” Jack said.
Penny narrowed her eyes. “What is this all about?”
“It doesn’t involve you,” Fasher said.
She frowned. “Then talk about something that does involve me. It isn’t polite to exclude someone in your conversation, I am told.” She smiled after she softened her complaint.
“Are you prepared to leave?” Fasher asked.
“When we started training, I would have told you no,” Penny said. “But now that we have our party assembled and know who does what, I can say I am prepared physically and mentally. I’m not so sure I won’t have my doubts along the way.”
“We all have doubts of one kind or another,” Fasher said, “but your answer is good enough for me. I will be looking forward to your success.”
Fasher said it as if he meant it, Jack thought. They talked about leaving Dorkansee. Fasher would be leaving the next day, and Jack and Penny planned to depart the day after. As they drew nearer to the house, Jack thought about what he should bring to show the king.
“Should I bring weapons or objects?” he asked Fasher.
“The Battlebone should suffice. He can’t use it, but the ancient writing carved into the bone makes it look like a real object of power.”
“Which it is,” Penny said. “My copy doesn’t have the decoration.”
“And that is why you will leave it behind. I would say, for Penny, a throwing knife or two would be appropriate,” Fasher said.
They found Corina dressing
for the dinner. Penny ran up to her room to get ready. Jack wouldn’t need all that time, so he decided to take a nap on his bed while he waited.
Penny woke him, pounding on the door. “You irresponsible helper!” she called, “Get up, or I’ll leave without you!”
Jack rubbed his eyes and then his hair while he yawned. He splashed some water into the bowl on his dresser and rinsed his face and ran water through his hair so he could brush it into some semblance of order.
He kept his Masukaian outfit hanging up, so he didn’t have to worry about showing up in clothing that looked wadded up. As a final step, he smiled at himself in the tiny mirror above the washstand and slipped a healing rod and an energy rod into each boot. In a pinch, either could be used as a wand.
“You look more than presentable,” Jack said with the other three of them looking up at him as he descended the stairs. Penny looked exceptionally nice, beautiful almost, Jack thought.
“I wish I could say the same for you,” Penny said, shrugging off the compliment. “You need more work while we travel, that’s obvious.”
“Lin said my manners were just fine,” Jack said.
“Just wait until she sees you tonight,” Penny said.
“Am I that bad?” Jack asked Fasher.
“You are always that bad,” Corina said.
Jack frowned when Fasher laughed along with Jack and Corina.
A carriage was at the door when they emerged. Fasher was splurging, Jack thought as he sat next to Penny. They only took a few minutes before they arrived at the familiar inn.
“We are to go into the dining room first,” Fasher said. “The king always shows up last.”
Penny nodded. She had met the king before, but Jack just shrugged. The Corandian monarch could do whatever he wished. A smile came to Jack’s lips. Now he could count the king of Corand among the heads of state he had met.
“Why are you grinning?” Penny asked.
“Aren’t you excited to see the king?”
“I have seen him before, you know.”
Jack laughed. “So, you are good friends?”
“Not quite,” Penny said, gently pushing her elbow into Jack’s side. “Treat this as a test for the royalty in Bristone.”
“That is at the top of my mind,” Jack said, not stating the truth. He didn’t see meeting King Jordan as a test but as a treat.
Lady Kanlinn had arrived along with Sera and her uncle. Lorton hadn’t arrived.
Lin came up to Penny and Jack as Fasher and Corina talked to Willet. “Aren’t you excited?” Lin asked Penny.
“Of course,” Penny said.
“What about you, Jack?” Lin asked.
“I am looking forward to meeting King Jordan, but I wouldn’t say I’m excited. I can keep my eagerness contained,” Jack said. “How about you? Don’t you see the king all the time?”
“He knows who I am, I suppose,” Lin said with a sigh. She was acting again.
Lorton arrived, so Jack figured the king wouldn’t be far behind now that everyone was present. He suspected the king’s men knew when to time King Jordan’s arrival.
The policeman drifted over to Fasher, Corina, and Willet Barton. He was closer to their age than any of the others. Jack guessed the Lin hadn’t seen thirty yet. Lorton was likely on the other side of thirty like Fasher.
Sera walked over from Willet’s group. “Our king likes to play games just like he did at the institute.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “What games did he play?”
Penny giggled a little and put her hand to her mouth, a schooled move, in Jack’s opinion. Lin had taught her that, he suspected. “He kept everyone off balance for his once or twice a year visits to the institute. That was where I met him. He came into my classroom. I didn’t even see him the other times he visited.”
All eyes went to the opening door. Penny recognized Henry Usherbill, one of the king’s ministers, and whispered that to Jack.
“The King of Corand,” Usherbill announced.
A man of no more than medium height entered the room. King Jordan dressed as a Corandian noble, Jack guessed, with no crown. Willet Barton and Lorton Reedbrook dressed nearly as well.
“I’m sorry I didn’t bring the queen, but we have a sick child that insists on being tended by his mother.”
Jack recognized confidence when he heard it, and King Jordan’s tone of voice made everyone sympathetic, at least Jack thought so.
“Willet, I need to be introduced, although I’m surprised I know most of the faces.”
“Line up, everyone,” Willet said.
Jack made sure he was last. That way, he could get a better measure for the man before he stood before Jack, and he could also see how the other men bowed to the king.
“Willet, thank you for inviting me, and this is your niece Sera?” King Jordan smiled at the young woman and asked, “Are you sure you want to send her north?”
“I want to go,” Sera said with a curtsey. “I am eager to be of use to my uncle.”
The king said something softly that Jack couldn’t hear, but Sera, Willet, and Corina laughed.
“Fasher, you are leaving tomorrow?”
“We are. This is my wife, Corina.”
More mumblings and more laughter.
“Lord Lorton, I am pleased you are expanding your horizons. Too much police work must not be good for your soul.”
Lorton bowed more deeply than Willet or Fasher. “I consider this an extension of how I am currently serving your majesty.”
King Jordan nodded. “You will report to me personally when this mission is over.”
“Yes, sire,” Lorton said. The man looked relieved when the king looked at Lin.
“It is nice to see you here, Lin.” Jack was surprised the king used Lady Kanlinn’s nickname. “I want you to keep tabs on Lord Lorton. Make sure he doesn’t drink too much or overdo carousing with the women of Antibeaux.”
Lin presented a marvelously graceful curtsey to the king. “If that is what your majesty desires, I will comply.”
“Comply away,” King Jordan said, waving his hand.
The king stood in front of Penny and gawked at her hair. “Fasher says your hair is a statement of sorts from Lajia. Is he correct, Penneta Ephram?”
Jack could tell the king was testing Penny.
Penny almost equaled Lin’s curtsey, surprising Jack. She looked noble as she performed. “Your Majesty. It was a gift, as I’m sure my master told you.”
King Jordan turned his head to Fasher. “She is still your apprentice?”
Fasher chuckled. “No, but she still behaves as if she was. Penny is still my niece, though.”
The king nodded. “You will sit next to me tonight and tell me about your adventures in Lajia. Fasher told me the gist of it all. I am especially interested in how you defeated King Eduardo’s foreign minister.”
The king did know the story, Jack thought, and in an eyeblink’s time, Jack looked down into the eyes of the king of his country.
“And you must be Jack Winder.”
Jack bowed not quite as deeply as Lorton. “I am, your Majesty.”
The king’s eyes bored into him. The man was a force, Jack thought. He would say as little as he could to King Jordan.
“You can sit on the other side of me and keep Penny Ephram honest. Fasher tells me you are something special.”
“I have my own tricks as do many wizards,” Jack said.
King Jordan nodded knowingly. “I’m sure you do.” He turned to the others. “I brought Henry Usherbill, my own minister.” He turned to Penny. “Please leave him alone, Lady Ephram.”
Lady Ephram! Was that just the king being cavalier or was there something behind the king’s comment.
“If you permit, I will sit between Lady Kanlinn and Lord Lorton to get a briefing of their expedition to Bristone,” Usherbill said.
Jack felt a little put out. He felt the expedition was on his shoulders, but he’d get over it. He didn’t really worr
y about who was put in charge. Jack would do his part when he had to. Let Lorton feel important, he thought. That would hopefully make the policemen feel better about their errand.
The king actually pulled out the chair for Penny, who sat at the king’s right side, while Jack took the seat on the other side when the king pointed to it when he made eye contact with Jack. The others sorted out their seats for themselves.
Fasher ended up next to Jack, and Sera sat next to Penny. The king smiled at them all. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I subtly announced the elevation of Penneta Ephram to the nobility. Her father will now be known as Lord Ephram, a peer of Corand, so Penny can claim she is a second-generation noble. She deserves it for a service she provided to me while studying at the Dorkansee Healing Institute.” The king clapped his hands, and everyone followed.
Jack smiled at Penny, but he didn’t feel quite so happy. His relationships with noblewomen never seemed to work out. He thought of Aralinn, princess of Tesoria, and Namori, a Masukaian noble lady.
“Your majesty, what is a peer, exactly?” Jack asked King Jordan.
“It generally means an un-landed noble, as most are in Corand. Reginart Ephram is now qualified to sit on various councils in the royal administration.”
“And Penny’s duties?” Jack asked again.
“All she has to do is look pretty, but I’m sure she can do much more than that, can’t she, Lin?” the king looked down the table.
“She is full of surprises, your Majesty, even to me.”
The king laughed. “Well, that is something.” He looked to the side. “I think we are ready to eat.” King Jordan said to the innkeeper standing in the room.
The dinner was the most ornate meal that Jack had ever seen. He thought the few meals he had when he stayed at the same inn were fancy, but the king lived at a different level, that was for sure.
After they were served, the innkeeper left the room, but no one ventured to eat.
King Jordan leaned toward Jack. “And what title do you want?”
Jack smiled. “I don’t need a title. In Masukai, I am known as a Deep Mist wizard-warrior. I don’t have any expectations past that. They have rank cards that specify ones’ rank.”
