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

by AJ Martin

  “You have guided us because you are greedy, selfish people!”

  “If we were so selfish, why would we let you continue to rule? You are a good man. We are forced to make hard decisions to protect the peace. Your daughter is a threat to that peace and she must be stopped, one way or another.” The ambassador looked pityingly at the king. “I know this pains you Your Grace. But if you stand in our way, I assure you, you will regret it.”

  There was a knock at the door. Captain Tiberius entered. “Your Grace. I came as quickly as I could.” He bowed, and eyed the ambassador warily.

  “Well, I believe I have taken up enough of your time, Your Grace,” Fenzar said. “I see that my presence here is not required. We will find Josephine for you. Is that clear, Your Grace?” Arwell swallowed. But finally, he nodded silently. “Very good. I will of course send word to you when we find your daughter. And we will.” He smiled. “I will take my leave of you. It was most pleasant seeing you again after so long.” The ambassador turned and made his way out of the door.

  “Is everything alright?” Tiberius asked the king. “What the hell is that piece of work doing here?”

  The king shook his head. “My friend, I need you to find my daughter. Before it is too late.”

  A Faction Uncovered

  121st Day of the Cycle, 495 N.E. (New Era)

  Augustus Pym walked through the corridors of the ninth level of Mahalia with intent. His heart was pounding despite his attempts to calm down and he looked behind himself on several occasions to ensure he was not being pursued. When he made it to his chambers he breathed a sigh of relief. Hurriedly he brushed his door with a hand and the locking mechanism unbolted at his touch and moved inside the dark room quickly, closing the door behind him. As soon as the latch clicked shut again, he knew he was not alone.

  “You must have been waiting here quite a while, Chancellor Arion,” he commented calmly. The room illuminated as candles all around the chamber ignited.

  The chancellor of Mahalia sat with his hands folded in his lap. He was an elderly man, by every stretch of the word, with thin, white hair and a stooped, hunched back. His bulbous nose stuck out from his pocked face like it was swollen. He wore the robes of state for his position: a deep, purple velvet gown dotted with sewn-in jewels and adorned with an ermine fur lining. He held on to a tall, elaborate metal staff made of the impenetrable Urunahenium, passed down between chancellors for centuries.

  “I was enjoying the peace and quiet of your surroundings. Especially after the events that I have been met with this morning,” he said, his lined face regarding Pym sullenly.

  “Events?” Augustus asked, feigning ignorance as best he could. It was not enough.

  The chancellor smiled and shook his head. It was a cheerless expression. “You know what events I speak of.” He lowered his brow and stared at the younger wizard a moment, readjusting his grip on the staff in front of him. “Lord Fenzar has just arrived in Rina. It appears that Matthias Greenwald has already spirited Princess Josephine away across the continent and quite out of our reach.”

  “Matthias Greenwald?” Pym said with surprise. “But I thought he was discussing the trading embargo in Tekri with-”

  “Do not take me for a fool!” The old man barked, his eyes blazing. “I know you had a hand in this! You were his mentor, after all! And you spoke out against our decision to curb the princess’s power.” He sneered. “You speak out against our decisions more and more it seems as time moves on.”

  Pym remained stone-face a moment longer, but then, realising lying was pointless, he sighed and shook his head. “Very well. You are correct, chancellor. I sent Matthias to Rina to take the princess.”

  The chancellor’s posture altered and grew more relaxed around his shoulders as his suspicions were vindicated. “For what purpose did you do this?” he asked.

  “The purpose the gods had intended, chancellor,” he said defensively. “To stop the dragon.”

  The chancellor stared at him a moment. “I see. And why, then, did you not undertake such a task yourself, if you felt with such conviction that you were following the will of the gods?”

  “I had originally planned to rendezvous with Matthias, if time allowed. But my responsibilities here have become too great lately.”

  “You had a responsibility to the Consensus to carry out our wishes!” The chancellor growled. “Yet that loyalty does not seem to weigh upon your thoughts.”

  “My thoughts have been heavy with thoughts of nothing else,” Pym said passionately. “But my belief in the gods goes beyond my loyalty to you.”

  The old man regarded Pym for a moment. “I find it hard to believe you did all this alone behind the Council’s back?” he asked.

  “It wasn’t that difficult, chancellor,” Pym said. “Not once I had convinced Matthias of the importance of helping me. I was hoping that once you saw what Princess Josephine was capable of, then you would change your mind about the decision to strip her of her abilities. Perhaps you would see how much of an asset she could be.”

  “You fool!” the chancellor hissed and stood up quicker than would have seemed possible for a man his age. “You have let a witch loose on this world!”

  “Then she is a witch the gods have entrusted the fate of the world to,” Augustus said defiantly, raising his voice.

  “You don’t know that!” the chancellor hissed.

  “I know that the path we are taking will be the death of us all, if we continue to walk down it. The alternative seemed better than the promise of death that awaits us under the Consensus.”

  The chancellor stood up and loomed over Pym. “The Consensus has kept this world safe for centuries,” he said, leaning on his staff. “And overseeing this realm I have ensured decades of peace by enforcing the will of that Consensus! Who are you to question the wisdom of hundreds of wizards that has steered Triska from devastation since the last great war? And sending the girl with Matthias? He is too young to deal with such complex matters!”

  “He is more than capable! I would not have sent him had I not believed in him. And as you continue to inform me, I stand by my beliefs. The girl can be an asset. We should not ignore all that she can become. We don’t know why she has been given this ability by the gods. We should not presume that she is a threat simply because she is a woman.”

  “Women are unstable!” the chancellor exclaimed. “All women who have ever used the power have betrayed themselves! They are weak – willed and the pawns of darkness. And this girl alone is capable of exerting immeasurable power!”

  “Which is why she must be harnessed, not destroyed!”

  “What if we cannot control what she becomes? Given what we now know about the prophecy, if Josephine Arwell does turn to the darkness, as all women who wield are drawn to do by their very nature, then we will have lost all hope of shaping the events of the future!”

  “We lose hope by burying our heads in the sand and ignoring the fact that we must change our perceptions!” Pym walked to the cloistered windows of his chamber and stared out at the expansive view of snow- capped mountains, the fields far below stretching to the horizon. “We need her to save this world from the danger that is returning. It was dangerous enough when we believed it was just the dragon. But if we fail to stop these men accomplishing their endgame as we now know it to be, then Josephine Arwell may very well be all that stands between us and destruction.”

  “We will not fail!” The chancellor growled. “Not in this matter. We are the protectors of peace! We alone have been wise enough to see beyond petty quarrels and preserve the known world from its own turmoil.”

  Pym took a breath and stood his ground. “If the stone is accurate, then Josephine Arwell will contribute more to peace than we could ever hope to achieve in a thousand lifetimes. She has the gift that can unify us all. We have guarded this world these many centuries, but we have only ever been caretakers, standing in for the true peacekeepers.” Pym sighed. “I fear that we may have forgotten that
and grown too comfortable in our position of power to relinquish it when the time comes.”

  The chancellor sneered. “And you think that time is now?”

  “With all my heart I do chancellor. I wouldn’t have taken such drastic action for anything else.”

  The chancellor’s face grew grave. “You have questioned the abilities of the Council and committed treason against its decisions. Have you any idea how much you have damaged your standing? You may have just handed this world to the dark with your actions!”

  “We can only fight such a darkness with a strong enough light that will penetrate its depths and cast away the shadow. And we are but a candle to its malevolent recesses when compared to the light of the Akari.” Pym shrugged. “As for my reputation, it has never been something that has bothered me. Not least when the fate of the world stands in the balance.”

  The elder man shook his head. “Many years ago I saw a promise in you, Augustus. You were so devoted to our cause. What has happened to you to betray us so profoundly?”

  “The only betrayal I would have made by following your orders would be to my own conscience and to the gods themselves. This had to be done.”

  The elderly man towered over Pym. “You will recall Matthias immediately and have him return the girl to Lord Fenzar in Rina. He will then bring Princess Josephine back to Mahalia. We will deal with the prophecies without her ‘help’.”

  Pym looked down a moment. “I have lost contact with Matthias. I am unsure why.” He shook his head. “Chancellor, I appeal to you one more time to reconsider. Let Matthias continue on this front so we can focus our efforts where they need to be! Then when the princess is strong enough, she can fight with us!”

  “If you believe I would overturn the decision of the Consensus, then you are as foolhardy as the young wizard you have sent out on this mission. After all these years, all your time on the Council, you still fail to see the bigger picture.”

  “That picture is one painted through the eyes of prejudice,” Pym said sourly.

  The chancellor slammed his staff into the ground angrily. “Enough! I have heard enough from you. I am calling an emergency meeting of the Council. Your actions must be discussed further. Or have you forgotten that is the way things are done here?” He opened the door with a flick of his wrist and it slammed into the brick wall behind. “Damn you, Augustus. I could forgive your insolence, perhaps your remarks, but this blatant betrayal? Let us hope you have not thrown us all to the wolves.”

  Mile by Mile

  122nd Day of the Cycle, 495 N.E. (New Era)

  Several days had passed since Josephine and her escort had seen a town. They had kept up a brisk pace through a bright and colourful countryside. Trees all around their route seemed to glow in the misty morning sunshine. Dew glistened off their leaves and branches and beads of water flicked up off the grass as their horses trod on through uncut fields.

  Every now and then they passed within sight of a building of one kind or another: a small farmhouse beckoned invitingly to them in the distance, its chimneys smoking happily and further on a barn sat conspicuously alone in the expansive countryside. It was tempting to ride closer to civilisation as they travelled across hills and valleys, bypassing well- trodden pathways, but then Matthias reminded them that would defeat the point of their going unnoticed.

  It was an unusually warm day for the region and the sun beat down hard on them as they carried on riding. Luccius’s ears flapped back and forth in the heat, flicking like those of the horse he rode on. Matthias took off his coat and slung it atop the pommel of his saddle.

  “This is unbearable heat,” Thadius muttered and flapped the neckline of his shirt to aerate his body. “I’ve not known it to be so hot at this time of year before!” He looked up at the sun and squinted. “I don’t suppose you can cool the sun down?” he asked Matthias.

  The wizard laughed. “The sun is a little beyond my reach Thadius,” he replied. “And even if it weren’t, there is only so much we wizards can do with our powers. You’ll ask me to take you to the moon next!”

  “Well you would think given that we are doing the gods a favour they could see to it to make our journey a little more comfortable!” the knight grumbled.

  “It’s probably to do with the atmospheric changes caused by your power Josephine. The clouds have completely dissipated for miles.”

  “You mean to say I caused this weather?” Josephine gasped.

  Matthias nodded. “It should return to normal soon.”

  Josephine raised her brow. “Had I known I could have created such gloriously sunny weather I would have used my powers a long time ago!”

  After several more hours of riding through open land, the landscape ahead of them began to grow dense with trees and they passed into a small wood, where its canopy of oak tree leaves shrouded them from the baking midday sun. The air was cooler in the shade and a mist hung lazily between the branches.

  Thadius breathed a sigh of relief. “I have never been quite so happy to get out of the sun! Where are we anyway?” he asked, surveying the woodland.

  “I think this is Bletnhelm Wood,” Matthias said, pulling out his map. He nodded to confirm. “We’ve made good progress.” He put the parchment away again and exhaled heavily, drumming his fingers on his saddle. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could do with a break.” He placed a hand to his lower back. “This saddle is starting to ache!”

  “It’s a good place to stop,” Luccius nodded. "The horses would like a rest."

  "You speak as if you can talk with them," Thadius chuckled.

  "No, not really," Luccius replied. "I just listen to their nickering."

  "You mean you understand them?" Thadius asked.

  "In a way." He pointed to his ears and ran a finger down the inside curve. "Ansuwan are able to sense things that humans have no perception of. Animals voices, the whistling winds, even plants give off moods and sensations."

  “Plants?” Thadius repeated incredulously. “You’re joking with me!”

  “I’m not!” Luccius defended.

  Thadius shook his head. "I had no idea," he said. "What's my horse feeling?" he asked.

  "That you could stand to lose a few pounds," Luccius chuckled.

  Thadius's eyes narrowed. "Very funny," the knight grumbled.

  “I must admit, I would like to rest awhile,” Josephine said. "The horses may have been carrying the burden of our weight, but I am starting to feel quite uncomfortable riding." She wiggled in her seat, as if to accentuate her point. “It would be quite nice to close my eyes for a while.”

  Matthias shook his head. “Not yet princess. You will have to sleep later."

  She sighed and looked at him with a wearied expression. "Would you care to tell me why?"

  Matthias smiled. "We need to begin your lessons!”

  A short while after they had set up camp in the woodland, Josephine sat cross - legged on the dusty ground, with Matthias sitting behind her, his knees propped underneath him, his hands over her eyes. Thadius and Luccius sat a way back, talking amongst themselves about the wonders of listening to horses and daffodils, Thadius smoking his pipe with one eye on the princess as he puffed away.

  “Now do you see anything?” Matthias asked.

  “Of course I do not see anything! You have your hands over my eyes!”

  Matthias rolled his eyes. “That isn’t what I meant. You’re doing what we talked about? Focussing on a fixed point in the middle of the darkness?”

  “Yes! I am focussing and I do not see anything! This is not working Matthias!”

  “Patience,” he said. “You need to relax more.”

  “It would help if I knew what exactly it was I am supposed to be seeing!” she huffed.

  “You’ll know it when you see it. Now relax! We’ll sit here all afternoon if we have to!”

  "We bloody won’t," she grumbled. Huffing, Josephine readjusted her legs more comfortably and then, sighing, fell silent. Her breathing
deepened, and again she focussed on a point in the blackness of her closed eyelids. She sat this way for a minute, her breathing rhythmically growing longer and deeper. Gently, Matthias began to massage her temples with his thumbs, his hands still over her eyes.

  “What are you doing?” She whispered to him through her contentedness.

  “It helps to relax your mind."

  "How many women have you said that to before?"

  "Just concentrate,” he said, his cheeks flushing. “When I was learning, a friend did this for me. It helped me, so I hope it might do the same for you.”

  As Matthias continued to massage her forehead, Josephine’s shoulders fell and Matthias could feel her back slumping against his chest, the warmth of her body pulsing through the thin fabric of his shirt. His own heart began pounding faster and he found himself fixated by her flowing hair as he carried on massaging her head, which began to tilt to one side. After a while Matthias thought he should check to see whether she was still awake, but thought better of it and instead carefully withdrew his hands from her temples and continued to wait patiently. As her head lolled further forward and to the left, her hair fell clumsily about her face. Gingerly, he reached out and tucked a length of her blonde locks behind her ear. Suddenly she sat bolt upright, drawing breath sharply, eyes snapping wide open. She pushed herself to her feet.

  “I didn’t do anything!” Matthias blurted before he could stop himself. “I mean… what is it?”

  “There was something…” she said, tucking more of her hair behind her ears nervously. Matthias noticed and his cheeks blushed. “It was a… a flickering, swirling pattern, and only for a moment, but it was most definitely something!” She grabbed Matthias’s hands and pulled him up. “What was it?” she asked. “I’ve never seen that before!”