The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1

by AJ Martin

  “Cares about my power, you mean,” she replied. "I am simply a tool to wield."

  Luccius shook his head. “I mean he cares about the person you are. Trust me, he will not let anything hurt you.”

  Josephine looked at Luccius and then to Matthias, who was riding some way ahead.

  “He is a curious man,” she said. “So guarded and suspicious. He is everything a wizard of Mahalia is rumoured to be. And yet... at times he seems almost human.” She shook her head. “I cannot work him out.”

  Luccius smiled. “He’s a wizard. You’re not supposed to be able to. They like it that way.”

  She smiled. “How did you both meet?” Josephine asked.

  Luccius snorted. “Now it seems that may be a story he does not want me to tell you yet, and therefore the one story I’ll have to decline in telling.”

  Josephine looked at Luccius curiously, but then nodded. “Very well. I suppose you have your loyalties.” She turned back to face the front. Matthias turned in his saddle up ahead and caught her eye.

  “Are you alright?” he called back to her.

  She nodded. “I am fine. Thank you.” He nodded back, and smiled.

  “You’re doing well, your highness,” he said, before he turned back to survey the direction they were travelling.

  She shook her head again as she stared at the back if his head. “Very curious,” she whispered.

  The body of the innkeeper’s husband lay sprawled on the floor of the bar, his throat cut. Several paces away, the man known as Weasel lay bleeding in a corner from his stomach, propped up against the far wall, unconscious. His innards were splayed out across the floor in front of him, cut to pieces, his intestine a shrivelled, pink sausage snaking across the sullied floorboards. Two other men lay on the floor, bloodied and unconscious.

  Pinned against the wall by a thick, menacing arrow, Renna dangled helplessly, her face pale and eyes wide with terror as she watched the man in front of her sniff the air like a bloodhound. Taico Grimm stepped over the men’s bodies and pressed his fingers against the wood of the table closest the bar. “They have only been gone a few hours,” he whispered distractedly. His hands were stained red, a bloodied knife still gripped in one hand and a crossbow slung on his back. He ran his fingers across the wood, and then stopped, with a sharp intake of breath, and began feeling the wood with intent. “There was another here, with them!” He took a deep snort, and then he began to laugh. “It’s him! Oh I had almost forgotten about that creature! How could I have forgotten? The mind is such a fragile thing,” he said, pressing two fingers against his head repeatedly and staring up at the woman. He started forward. “What did they speak about?” he asked her.

  She looked at him with fire in her eyes. “How much... they... enjoyed... the pottage!” she spat.

  Grimm sneered. “Witty. Do you think that will save you? Only I can save you.”

  “You’re killing me!” she barked. Grimm laughed.

  “I’m not talking about that! I am the only one who can stop the oncoming storm. I am the groyne that will break the waves as they pound this land!”

  Renna swallowed hard as she struggled to breathe. "Why are you doing this?" she panted.

  "Because it must be done. Because I have seen the true strength of both the light and the dark and in the end, the darkness is stronger and will prevail. And so it must come to pass, one way or the other, that the world will be reborn." He shook his head. “No-one can know the burden I carry. No-one!”

  She shook her head. "You're a madman! You... will burn for this!"

  Grimm smiled. "When all this is over, we will all burn." He turned and walked to the door. “I am sorry it had to end this way for you. Trust me though; it is preferable to what is to come. And it is only just beginning.” He nodded and stepped out into the daylight.

  An Old Discussion

  79th Day of the Cycle, 495 N.E. (New Era)

  “Alone?” Matthias exclaimed, brushing his lengthy hair from his eye line and behind his ear. “You want me to do this single - handedly?”

  Augustus Pym, his former mentor and a member of the Council of Wizards, strode the room slowly, hands tucked into his robes. He was a tall man, with an aquiline nose and a high forehead, slightly wrinkled even though he was still in his middling years. He was starting to grey in places in the crown of his short, brown hair but compared to the others in the Council he was practically youthful. Still, whatever his age, he was a wise man. He hadn’t become a member of the ruling Council of Mahalia without the brains to back it up.

  “You heard me right,” Augustus said calmly, eyeing Matthias carefully.

  “But... why?” Matthias said breathily.

  “There is always a need for an explanation with you, isn’t there my young friend? Is it not enough that your old mentor wishes it to be so?”

  Matthias looked down, chastened, but then, defiantly, raised his head again. “I am not as young as you continue to perceive me to be, Master Pym. And in this case, I believe I need to know what is happening!” He stepped forward, and the man flicked a wrist at him.

  “Ah! Ah! No moving from the spot unless instructed! You know the protocols!”

  “Oh to hell with the rules, Master Pym! You’ve never been a great one for them before!” He stepped forward and drew close to the older wizard. “That’s the reason I admire you so much!”

  Pym smiled. “I can see you ignore me and flout the rules of our people as you always have done in such matters.” He sighed, but then smiled. “It is perhaps the reason I have asked you to do this. Because I know you will ignore some of the rules that hold us back and threaten to destroy us. You will do what needs to be done. Not what the Protocols dictate.”

  “But surely this is too important to be left to me alone?” Matthias asked.

  “You doubt your own abilities?” Pym asked.

  “With this? You bet I do!” he said.

  “Then you sell yourself short, Matthias. You are a promising wizard. Intelligent, powerful, and above all, resourceful. You are the perfect candidate for this. You successfully retrieved the Ark last year. The Council were very impressed by that.”

  “But it’s not the council who are asking me to do this, is it?” he said. Matthias swallowed. “Is there no way to convince them to change their mind?”

  Pym smiled again, and shook his head. “Once the Consensus has been made, it is easier to move the continent than to change the direction our people will take. And in this case, they are quire clear what must be done with Princess Josephine.” He pulled himself up tall. “So it is up to you and I, and a select few others, to see to it that things proceed in the manner they need to. For the good of Triska and the entire world of Erithia. Besides, you needn’t be worried. From your point of view, you are taking orders from the Council. A small part of it, at least.”

  Matthias shook his head. “Have the Council any idea yet who is doing this? For what reason anyone would want to free the dragon?”

  “Matthias, you ask too many questions.” Pym smiled. “You know the old saying, curiosity killed the cat?”

  “At least cats have nine lives! I only have one, and I would be happy to keep it! And I’d rather have all the facts and risk death knowingly, than stumble blindly into something of which I only know half of the story!”

  Pym laughed out loud. “Too true. But in this case, I have told you all I can. In the meantime, your job is to see that Princess Josephine takes the course she needs to. Once she has, there will be no turning back. And we will have succeeded. Josephine is an asset, not a threat. The Council must see that, but sometimes they have to be forced to acknowledge it. You must leave tonight. Use whatever means you can to get to Rina as quickly as possible. You must arrive before Fenzar at all costs.”

  Matthias nodded. “I will do what I can, Master Pym.”

  Augustus sighed, and moved to the window. “I know you will, my old apprentice.”

  Matthias opened the latch. “Let’s hope the Coun
cil will be persuaded by our actions and choose the better path.” He slipped out the door.

  Pym sighed. “So do I, Master Greenwald. So do I.”

  Onwards

  116th Day of the Cycle, 495 N.E. (New Era)

  After much travelling and with the sun calling time for another day and setting on the horizon, Matthias decided, with much cajoling from the others in their party, that they had better stop to rest for the night. With no town nearby, they decided to set up camp in the countryside. Their horses were tied to a nearby tree and twigs and other bits of kindling were gathered by Luccius and Thadius from a nearby copse and arranged in a small heap.

  “Is anyone here any good at lighting a fire?” asked Thadius as he placed a few more branches into the stack and piled dried grass on top. He grasped a stick of wood as thick as his thumb, and started to twist it between his palms furiously.

  "You're doing it wrong," Matthias said. Thadius eyed him grumpily.

  "Oh really?" he retorted. "I'd like to see you do better!"

  Matthias raised his hand. There was a crackle, a wisp of smoke and then flame burst from the wood stack. Thadius fell backwards, stick still in hand, wide eyed.

  “Another use for having a wizard around!” exclaimed Luccius, chuckling.

  “I’ll never get used to your tricks, wizard,” Thadius grumbled, and threw the stick into the flame. Matthias laughed.

  They all sat together in the warmth for a while, Matthias with his eyes closed in meditation, Luccius playing cards with himself using a pack he produced from his waistcoat and Thadius eyeing the darkness beyond the fire’s wake warily, sword resting on his lap. Josephine fiddled with the grass absently. Her eyes were heavy, her face pale, and her shoulders hunched over.

  “You should get some rest, princess,” instructed Matthias, opening his eyes. “It has been a long day for you. There will be many more like it.”

  She managed a weak, tired smile. “Are you going to force me to sleep, ambassador?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Then I would prefer to remain awake.”

  He nodded. “I understand.”

  “No, I very much doubt that you do.”

  He smiled. “I know that you are far away from home, that you have been taken from the comfort of your life and that beyond anything else, all you wish is to go home again. But you can’t, because deep within you is a sense that what you are doing is the right thing to do. And that’s what’s keeping you here.”

  Josephine stared at him in silence a moment. Then she said: “You do realise that it is incredibly annoying when you manage to do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Manage to read my thoughts and get them so completely and utterly right. How do you do that?”

  Matthias smiled. “Maybe you and I aren’t so different after all?” he ventured.

  She smiled thinly. “Perhaps.” Then she sighed, ripping a daisy from the ground and twiddling it between her fingers.

  “What’s the furthest you’ve been from home princess?” Luccius asked.

  “Not far,” she replied. “I am told I visited Olindia when I was younger, with my father. But I can’t remember that far back. I have lived a very... sheltered life.”

  The ansuwan smiled. “Well, what better company could you have for your first long trip away? You certainly couldn’t be safer. If you think lighting fires is all Matthias can do, you haven’t seen anything yet! As for myself,” Luccius continued, “I’m a dab hand with a spear or a quarterstaff and I’m none too bad with a sword either now! And I’m guessing Thadius here uses his own sword for more than cutting up his food or flossing his teeth. How’s about a little practice between us, Thadius?” he asked.

  Thadius rubbed his face with a hand. “I am tired,” he said. “Another time.”

  “Are you all right?” Luccius asked him.

  “It is nothing,” he answered. “It is late and it has been a long day,” he muttered.

  “You should get some sleep as well Thadius,” Matthias said. “It’ll be another long day tomorrow. Perhaps longer. I can keep a watch.”

  Thadius snorted. “I would sooner slit my own throat than rely on you to keep watch, after all the excitement of the last few nights,” he said.

  Matthias shook his head. “Suit yourself. But if you have come this far with me then you must trust my judgement at least a little now. You can’t stay awake forever."

  "I believe your intentions are honourable. It is the method you choose to employ them that scares me still. So until you prove you are capable of leading us to safety, I will remain awake."

  Matthias nodded and smiled. "There may be hope for you yet, Thadius."

  “If you have finished with your daily trading of barbs, I have a few more questions to ask you Matthias,” Josephine added, interrupting the banter with a frown.

  Matthias propped himself into a more comfortable position on the floor and gestured with a hand. “Go ahead and ask them. I’ll try and answer you. If I can.”

  “Very well," she said and took a breath. "Firstly I want to know if you have any idea who is trying to break the dragon’s prison. I know you have said you do not, but you must be able to make a guess of whom it may be? You must have some inkling.”

  Matthias licked his lips. “I never lied to your father princess when I told him I had no idea who had done this. I really did not know any more than I told you back in Rina. But I have been thinking after our encounter with Taico Grimm. I have never met anyone who claimed to be using a borrowed power before.”

  “How is that significant?” Josephine asked.

  “That kind of talent is the stuff of legend. If it is true, and I’m not certain by any stretch of the word that it is, then it means whoever is after you possesses skills unlike any that have been seen for a long time. Unfortunately, Grimm gave precious little away, aside from a name: The Four. It didn’t mean anything to me. At least not at first. But then I remembered something I learned a long time ago. Have you ever heard of ‘Arash Malhat’?” he asked.

  “Who is he?” Josephine asked. Matthias shook his head.

  “It is a place. Or it was a place, a very long time ago, situated near where the Seaport City of Tekri rests now. It was a land built before Aralia even existed. I think around two thousand years ago, if my memory serves me. It was a land governed by sorcerers: the equivalent to the Council of Mahalia, but for their own kind.”

  “How is a sorcerer different from a wizard?” Thadius asked. “I don’t see the distinction.”

  “From an outside perspective, it would seem very little,” Matthias continued. “But a sorcerer uses a completely different thread of energy than a wizard. It is a more raw, visceral power, and much more dangerous.”

  “And this Arash Malhat was a land filled with sorcerers?” Josephine asked.

  Matthias nodded. “It was a land of sorcerers, governed by four Arch-Sorcerers. Aside from that, I must confess I know precious little about the land itself aside from a few stories passed down from generation to generation. In particular, there is one I recall more than any other. The tale of the fall of Arash Malhat tells of the final governors of that realm and the final days of their land. They were greedy, selfish men, all of them, and more often than not Mahalia was drawn into conflict with Arash Malhat, against their blind ambitions. It was a time of immense wars between wielders. But this was when the Akari still lived, and such a thirst for power by the sorcerers was not tolerated. To stop them, the Akari razed Arash Malhat to the ground and extinguished all the sorcerers within its walls.”

  “They killed them all? How many?” Josephine asked, her eyes widening.

  Matthias shrugged, “I’m not sure. Hundreds? Definitely. Thousands? Perhaps. Either way, they did what was necessary to preserve the status quo. And as a final punishment, they made an example of the four Arch-sorcerers and sent them into exile.” Matthias took a breath. “They disappeared from history as far as I know. I believe that was a
round six hundred years ago.”

  Thadius laughed. “I may be mistaken, but you can’t possibly think that the ‘four’ that Grimm was talking about are the same men?”

  Matthias shrugged, “It is, as I said, only a theory. But it would fit the facts as they stand.”

  “But how could they live for so long? Six hundred years?”

  “When you use the powers of the world, they can do things to your body. The deteriorating effects of time can be slowed.” He cocked his head. “It is unlikely that such people could remain alive for so long, but not impossible. They may have found a way.”

  “Your Council, ambassador. Did they not see anything of these perpetrators through the seeing stone? Did it tell them nothing of those who would release the dragon?”

  “The stones are not able to be read like a book, princess. It isn’t always easy to decipher their entire meaning. But I think that they were investigating the possibilities as I left.”

  “What do you mean, ‘you think?’” Thadius grumbled.

  “The Council have not been entirely clear with me about the details of their investigation,” he said reservedly.

  “That’s encouraging,” Thadius retorted. “Why not?”

  “It’s a long story Thadius.”

  “We have a lot of time it would seem,” the knight proffered.

  “Perhaps but I am not willing to tell it,” Matthias said more sternly.

  “I did say no more secrets, ambassador,” the princess said. “It sounds very much like you are hiding something from me again.

  “A discussion around my people’s politics would bore you princess. We haven’t enough water for such a dry story.” He took a breath. “Speaking of my people, I had better talk with my contact in the Council and let them know what has happened to us so far. Grimm’s ramblings might help them and ultimately us, if they can find these people and stop them before they are successful in breaking the dragon free.”