The Hidden Mask (Wizard's Helper Book 6)

by Guy Antibes

  “Now, what do we do?” Lorton asked Lin.

  Jack interpreted the question as a test for Lin.

  “We begin to insinuate ourselves into their lives,” she said.

  Jack would have guessed that was the next step, but Lin didn’t say anything further.

  “Thank you, Ari,” Jack said. “Penny and I will walk you out.”

  The others gave Ari their thanks except for Lin, who was already asking Sera if she felt well enough to go shopping.

  “You have something more to say?” Ari said to Jack and Penny, who had hastily thrown coats on. They stood outside, so Oscar wouldn’t be overhearing.

  “Yvessa stole Penny’s magic,” Jack said. “We didn’t know until yesterday morning when we were exercising in the ballroom.”

  Ari shot a look at Penny and nodded. “I didn’t expect she would merely warn. I noticed that you are wearing the charm. Keep it on, even if your magic doesn’t return. I don’t think it is a permanent thing. Keep trying to exercise your magic, is all I can say.” Ari shrugged, but he looked sympathetic. “I don’t think I can remove one of Yvessa’s curses. I’m sorry.”

  “I have another thing to talk about. I’m worried about Lin. She doesn’t seem to be acting like she should as a leader,” Jack said.

  “I’ve noticed a change since we came to Bristone, come to think of it.”

  “Another curse?” Ari asked. “It is possible. I wondered why she so easily accepted this townhouse with all the spyholes. I would have moved if it were me.”

  “Would you check into our leasing agent again?”

  “I can do that,” Ari said. “Any other information needed? I am guessing it will be between the three of us.”

  “And Lorton, if it is significant,” Jack said. “As we went over the alliances, I found it isn’t enough to know the alliances. We need to know the interactions between the parties.”

  “I can arrange a meeting, perhaps a long lunch with my contact. Would that be acceptable? Give me a few days.” Ari looked up at the townhouse. “Oscar is observing us,” he said.

  “Figures.” If it meant jeopardizing the mission, Jack and Penny were ready to move out of the townhouse.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ~

  J ack sat with Penny after an exercise session in the ballroom. Penny had repeatedly tried to use magic, but nothing worked.

  “I hate to be spelled!” She said with frustration.

  “Spelled? Like in a Black Finger spell?” Jack said. “I wonder. Sit on that bench and lean against the wall.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Jack pressed his lips together before he spoke. “Perhaps my clean spell might work.”

  “Against a goddess’s curse?”

  Jack nodded. “Our magic might be close to that level, you know. Humor me.”

  Penny did as he asked.

  “Clean!” he said after taking her hand.

  Penny’s eyes rolled up in her head, and she slumped over. Jack had to put her on the floor. Something happened. He remembered Larkin fainting dead away when he was purged of the Black Finger conversion spell. Jack would consider that a curse any day.

  Penny coughed and shook her head. “I have a headache,” she said.

  Jack helped her to a sitting position. “A flame, if you please.” He crossed his fingers behind his back.

  Penny’s flame was ten feet high before she extinguished it. She got to her feet and nearly fell over. “I’m dizzy.”

  “Wizardly dizzy,” Jack said. “It was a curse.”

  “Let’s not tell anyone until we figure out what is wrong with Lin,” Penny said.

  “I can remove a curse from her, as well,” Jack said.

  “But what if she isn’t cursed? I’m willing to continue to remain the victim of Yvessa until we know more,” Penny said.

  ~

  Lin spent her time waiting for the inevitable invitations for lunches and gatherings that began after the ball. She went out shopping, generally with Sera, who had seemed to become a closer companion than Penny. Oscar generally accompanied them, as well.

  Penny had received a luncheon appointment from Pol and Fanny Asoule, two of the other nonaligned nobles. The invitation asked for Jack to accompany them. It was for the next day, two days after Ari had talked to them.

  “Should I reject the invitation?” Penny asked.

  “No. Who knows if a rejection might result in not being invited again,” Jack said.

  Ari still hadn’t contacted them. And with a hint of disapproval from Lin, they accepted.

  Penny and Jack walked to the Asoule’s building on a warmer than usual day. They lived on the third floor.

  Pol came to the door. “I took midday off. Please come in.”

  Penny entered first, and Jack second.

  “I’m glad you accepted,” Ari Gasheaux said, rising from a chair in the sitting room. “I am famished.” Ari looked at Pol. “Is lunch ready?”

  “It is,” Fanny Asoule said. “We don’t typically employ servants, but I can serve you some traditional Antibeaux cooking.”

  “She is quite good,” Pol said, smiling.

  They sat down to eat in a small dining room. Pol didn’t live like an upper class noble, but he appeared to live well enough.

  “How do you know Ari?” Penny asked.

  “He was visiting a tradesman in Chancey when I was on a tour of Antibeaux. We hit it off and have been friends for a few years.”

  “Four,” Ari said. “I visit him when I travel all the way to Bristone to obtain some herbs that grow at a higher altitude than Chancey.”

  Jack nodded along with Penny. “I tried something, and Penny is feeling much better, Ari.”

  The old wizard smiled. “I was wondering if you had something in you that could counteract Penny’s malady. Are you going to keep it a secret?”

  Penny looked at Jack. “We thought we might,” she said.

  “Then do. It will only be to your advantage, especially since Sera is feeling better.”

  “What are you talking about?” Fanny said. “You seem to be talking in code.” It was a friendly scolding.

  “If you can keep it to yourself, Penny lost her magic,” Jack said. “It happened the night we were attacked.”

  “Attacked? Where?” Pol asked.

  “Close to our townhouse. We were the only ones in the passageway. We took a few injuries. Penny’s condition was a result of that. I learned a unique method of healing in my travels,” Jack said, “and it helped Penny when a conventional attempt would have failed. I thought it wouldn’t have applied to her situation, but we are happy it did.”

  “I am very glad too,” Ari said. “I knew you had it in you.”

  Jack wondered how Ari could have come to that conclusion. “We reported the attack to the police, and Penny was able to describe her attackers.”

  “Ari said you needed some information that I might be able to help you with during your stay in Bristone.”

  “I am concerned one of our party might have been compromised by a faction,” Jack told Pol about the townhouse and the spyholes all over the place.

  Fanny covered her mouth and giggled. “I’ve told Pol that something was wrong with your townhouse. The people who live there seem to gain more influence than they deserve among certain of the nobility.”

  “You mean blackmail, my dear? In Bristone?” Pol said with a smile. “It is a Double P property. I checked it out. Ari gave me the impression that Lord Floury provided the name of the agent. Ever since his wife died, Floury is known for being a little feckless.”

  “Could it be that Lin is in league with the Double P?” Penny said.

  “Perhaps she has been charmed somehow? The Black Finger Society in Corand and elsewhere have a conversion spell,” Jack said.

  “I’ve heard the WWS have something, but I haven’t heard it characterized as a conversion spell,” Pol said. “I will say the Double P is certainly immorally capable of such a thing.”
>
  “So, you don’t trust most of the nobles?” Penny asked.

  “Yes!” Pol and Fanny said together. They smiled.

  “As you can see, we are together in that,” Fanny said.

  Jack told them of their mission to retrieve the Hidden Mask.

  “I’ve heard of the thing, but I always thought it was a myth. It is supposed to be buried in the north.” He shrugged. “Do you want me to do a little digging. I will be discreet, of course.”

  “Being nonaligned means we have to be discreet much more than we’d like to,” Fanny said. “There are only a few like us on the list Pol provided Ari. Linnette Holm’s son and his wife and Princess Glorie are the highest ranked.”

  “How do you people live with all the intrigue?” Penny asked.

  “Everything has gotten worse since Payare Bellet wheedled his way into being prime minister. He was the lord mayor of Chancey before he came here. Richard Raimon, the queen’s consort, forced Queen Inez to accept him over many objections.”

  Jack nodded. “That is the kind of information we need to see if there are any weak points so we can find out if anyone in the nobility knows where the mask is.”

  Fanny turned to Pol. “What about Etienne Tolmoux?”

  “The archbishop? He would know as much as anyone, but he doesn’t get around much. He wasn’t on the list, either,” Pol said. “You would need a sponsor to see him. He is the Archbishop of the Church of the Ice Goddess if you can believe that title, but he leaves the ecclesiastical duties to others,” Pol said.

  “And I’ve never even seen Etienne Tolmoux,” Ari said.

  “I doubt if any of us have,” Pol said.

  “Part of our strategy should be to keep the pot stirred so I can get an audience with the archbishop,” Jack said.

  “That will take a great deal of stirring,” Pol said, “but I agree. I think we have spoken enough about the factions. Let us talk about something else, like how you got that exotic sword that you brought with you.”

  Jack enjoyed lunch. He gave one of his new throwing stars to Pol once he had given him a quick story of Masukai.

  “That was made in Bristone in a weapon shop that Ari introduced me to. The Masukai use those rather than throwing knives.”

  Pol looked it over. “You gave the craftsman the pattern?”

  “He modified it. From what I saw, you could export some of their weapons,” Jack said.

  “That is good advice and another reason to have brought you here for lunch. I might talk to Andere about that. I have to get back to my offices.” Pol rose from his seat.

  “We thank you for your hospitality and your traditional cooking,” Penny said.

  “Then you will come again if we ask?”

  “With or without Ari,” Jack said.

  Fanny stayed behind, but Pol left them standing in front of his house as he hurried down the street.

  “So, you cured Yvessa’s spell?” Ari asked when they were alone.

  “I did. It is something that came to me when I traveled to Tesoria. It removed the Black Finger taint on the prince, now king of Tesoria,” Jack said.

  “An example of the nonrestrictive magic of Bornan and Masukai,” Ari said.

  Jack raised his eyebrows. “I never thought of it that way.”

  “But I believe it to be true. You, of course, are a special case, and so is Penny.”

  “Fasher told you?”

  “He did, but I can see you both for myself. Yvessa wouldn’t trouble herself with two normal wizards, you know. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wear my charms. It is still vital. What else can I do for you?”

  “Just be there for us,” Penny said. “I was shocked to find out that Lin might be the one who betrayed us.”

  “Willing or not,” Jack said.

  “Don’t be hasty to judge her yet. When the time is right, use your special spell on her. If it changes her, then don’t be harsh,” Ari said. “I’ll be getting back.” Let me know when you need me.

  I will, Jack communicated back.

  “That was fun,” Penny said. “I’m surprised they were Ari’s contacts.”

  “Now I’m not so surprised they were so friendly when they just happened to join the refreshment line at the queen’s ball when we did.”

  “Now that I think of it, that makes sense. It made it a lot easier to get to talk to them.”

  Jack nodded. “I have a better idea about the factions.”

  “We both do. Are we going to share?”

  “We can share most of it. I will tell Lorton about what we learned, but I won’t even tell him about your recovery.”

  Penny sighed. “My recovery. Those are sweet words to me. I was so worried.”

  “I know,” Jack said. “I’m glad I was able to brighten your life a little.”

  “After darkening it. If you hadn’t put all that power into me, perhaps Yvessa might not have noticed I wasn’t wearing my bracelet.”

  “I don’t know if it works that way. For some of this deity stuff, I don’t have any idea what is going on,” Jack said.

  “Perhaps it is better that you don’t.”

  “That we don’t.”

  She nodded. “I agree.” Penny shivered. “I think making healing rods is a good idea. Where will you get rods?”

  Jack smiled, “I know just the place. I’ll communicate with Ari once we get back to the townhouse.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  ~

  T wo days later, there were two early morning deliveries to the townhouse. Jack was happy to receive a package of one hundred rods of polished metal, and Lin was happy to receive an invitation to a ladies’ luncheon held the same day by Enara Crabson, the Corandian ambassador’s wife. Penny and Sera were included in the invitation.

  “Oscar will accompany us,” Lin said. “I hope that you and Lorton can find something to do.”

  “I will be making healing and energy rods. It will be good to store a few, especially since Penny can’t heal with her own power. She will be able to use the healing power of a rod to help her.”

  “They really work?” Lin asked.

  “Yes, they do,” Penny said. “Fasher and Jack made them all the time. Even the mundane healer used the healing rods for everyone and the energy rods for those whose magic reserves had dwindled.”

  “They will make you whole?”

  “As long as I hold one, but I’ll be nowhere near as powerful as I was. The minute the rod goes away, my power will quickly dissipate.” Penny sighed. “It is so frustrating.”

  “You will get over it, eventually,” Lin said.

  Jack thought that was a cruel thing to say. The Kanlinn he met in Dorkansee wouldn’t have said such a thing, he thought.

  Penny and the other women spent the rest of the morning getting ready for the luncheon. Jack had enough time to make two energy rods and two healing rods.

  “These are stronger than the ones I made in Raker Falls,” Jack said, as the three women and Oscar stood at the top of the stairs to the lower level. Jack hadn’t seen Oscar wear a sword before, but he had no objections to a little extra protection. If pressed, Penny could use one of the energy rods as a wand. He hoped they wouldn’t get into any difficulty.

  “Have a tolerable time,” Lorton said as Lin and the rest left the townhouse.

  “It feels good to be alone,” Lorton said.

  “You could have left the townhouse,” Jack said.

  “Not while Sera and Penny were in here. I’m getting my coat. Are you coming with me?”

  “To follow them?”

  Lorton nodded. “Don’t you feel responsible for Penny’s condition?”

  “She can handle herself with a few knives, which I am sure she has, and two energy rods.”

  “Suit yourself,” Lorton said.

  Jack smiled. “Yes, I will accompany you, since you will need a bodyguard too.”

  Lorton barked out a laugh. “Of course, I need a minder. Will you share some of your secrets?”

>   “I might if you treat me with a little respect,” Jack said lightly.

  “Every bit as much as you deserve.”

  “I deserve an answer like that,” Jack said.

  They instructed the servants to keep the townhouse locked up as they left and made their way along the same path that the ladies took, but ten minutes or so behind.

  Jack noticed a fancy litter being wheeled in front of them following two guards. The pedestrian and hand-drawn vehicle traffic stopped. Jack looked back and saw the road behind them blocked with a few litters.

  “I think we are going to be embroiled in a fight,” Jack said.

  “I noticed the same thing. The litter bearers are wearing swords, but their hands are busy with the litter. That means there are effectively only two guards.” Lorton drew his sword.

  Jack made sure he had throwing stars ready and his sword drawn. “I wonder how often there are ambushes down here,” Jack said.

  “Common enough, it appears,” Lorton said as a wizard bolt took down one of the guards.

  The litter was set down, and the bearer’s swords went out along with a few wands. Jack and Lorton hugged the walls while the fight developed. Jack estimated at least ten assailants were converging on the litter.

  “Touch the void. The time to help is now,” Jack said. He didn’t wait for Lorton before he went into action. Two attackers were down with throwing stars before Jack launched himself into the midst of the fight. He carefully made his way along one side of the litter, avoiding weapons and wizard bolts.

  The defenders didn’t know if Jack was a friend or foe, so he had to keep moving to avoid being attacked by either side. He made sure he knocked out two of the attackers as he worked. Lorton had made his way halfway up the other side when they had finished.

  Jack raised his hands when he returned to normal speed. “I am a friend!” Lorton did the same thing.

  “Get the constables,” Lorton said.

  Two of the litter bearers ran away after conferring with the bearer in the front.

  “I thought we were lost,” The same man who had sent the men after the constables said.