Rune Mage: The Rune Mystic: Book Two

by D. L. Harrison

  Lia groaned theatrically, and he snickered again.

  He’d never seen this side of her before, seen her so exasperated. Perhaps it took a parent to bring it out.

  Talia said, “Behave, or I’ll send you two off on a mission. I’m already tempted to do so, just as your mother, to get you out of harm’s way. This whole thing could still explode at any moment, we have no idea what Tanner, Kaitlyn, and Sun are planning, or how long it will be before they initiate that plan.”

  Lia frowned, “A mission?”

  Talia shrugged, “The troops the queen assembled marched south with Tanner’s blessing, at least he isn’t causing trouble in regard to the war. I could send you as an escort, and to bring back the maimed. In two weeks, this will all be over one way or the other, and we can focus our attention where it should be, on Vemor.”

  Lia shook her head, “Don’t do that, I’ll behave. I wouldn’t put Olin in unnecessary danger anyway, no matter how much I hate Tanner and what he’s done. I want to be here and see this done. Where is the princess staying?”

  “Water mage tower, they have the best defense against fire, and a lot more defenders than we do.”

  He said, “Technically, aren’t we still on a mission, and derelict of duty? There are still three more weeks of protection duty to see to.”

  Talia sighed in exasperation, “Two of you? It can’t be allowed of course, by tradition and rules you can’t step foot into water’s tower. Your mission is of this moment officially cancelled.”

  He shook his head, “I get that, but what if it does come down to civil war. We have to work together, all four towers, or we’ll fall one at a time. This is another of those times where the rules are getting in the way of common sense. Plus, I know a much safer place for the princess, one where we can guarantee her survival as long as we can keep her from being taken away. You could even hold council there, in the common room, for the foreseeable future.”

  Lia’s eyes unfocused, then she giggled.

  Talia groaned as it hit her too, “The inn, right? In the arena’s mock village? The safety spells would prevent her death. Damnit, why didn’t we think of that? We could even guard her with a mix of all four magic disciplines on our side in the same place without breaking tower rules. All seven if we include the small amount of defectors in the duty.”

  She stood up and rushed out the door.

  Lia smirked, “Nice. I’ve never seen my mother that gob smacked before.”

  He sniggered, “They were probably so busy fighting for the honor of hosting the queen apparent, that they never once thought it’d be safer to choose none of the towers.”

  Lia cleared her throat, “You know what that means.”

  He sighed, knowing how her mind worked. Well, at least some of the time, all women were a mystery. To be honest, his mind had already been leaning in the same direction.

  “That we don’t have to give up our duty to guard the princess?”

  Lia nodded.

  They quickly finished off lunch, they had the time since it’d take a few minutes for Talia to convince the others that moving the princess and guarding her in the arena was the best they could do, and then they got up and headed to the arena. Chances were that they’d be sent back to the tower, but it was worth a try. Being busy would be good for them, he thought. He’d rather be busy, than wallowing in grief for Cassandra, and worry for all their futures. He was also just as reluctant to be sent away on a mission, he wanted to be on duty here, where it was all happening.

  It wouldn’t be long before Tanner found out the princess was there, and that might make him accelerate his plans and overcome his reluctance to be the one to start a mage civil war. He hoped not, but he also knew their window for negotiations and to convince the three towers to defect from their masters who had obviously gone rogue, was very small.

  Really, when he thought about it, it was a horribly desperate plan, but it was the only plan they had. On the other hand, it was also an opportunity born of crisis. He wasn’t sure if it would be worth the cost, but them gaining the same freedoms for mages that the commoners enjoyed seemed a very worthy pursuit in his mind. At least something good might come of it.

  All things had a cost, but in his opinion the cost had already been too high, as they’d lost nine mages including Cassandra, on both sides. Life was precious, but if they did fix things so this wouldn’t happen again, and gain those freedoms, at least their deaths won’t be in vain.

  Chapter Fifteen

  He smiled, and Lia smirked, when they ran into Carolynn and Karina lingering near the arena.

  Karina said, “I see you two had the same idea?”

  He nodded, “If you mean continuing to guard the princess, yes.”

  Carolynn asked, “How much of a chance we won’t be sent off.”

  He shrugged, “I’m not sure, but I have an argument ready. It occurred to me how truly strange a real battle would be in the arena.”

  Karina tilted her head in question.

  He said, “A non-mage blade master could face down a very powerful master mage in the arena, and they’d win every single time. I imagine the only mages that would give me trouble in a real fight would be life mage blade masters, and the enemy doesn’t have any of those, I don’t think.”

  Carolynn gaped for a moment at the absurd statement, then laughed after she thought it through.

  Karina said, “That helps you, what about the three of us?”

  He shook his head, “Not sure, Lia too, since we need to be assigned together until my magic’s fully grown. Not even Talia can reverse that, it was decided by full council vote. It couldn’t hurt to have you there to guide our inexperience, and our young queen knows and trusts the four of us.”

  Lia smirked.

  Carolynn sighed, “Let’s try.”

  The four of them walked out into the arena, and toward the mock village.

  The master mages currently on guard duty gave them funny looks, but no one stopped them. There was a certain amount of confusion in all the activity, as the princess had been quickly moved. Many things from stores were being moved to the inn, though it had a fully functional kitchen it didn’t have any food or fuel for a fire, not to mention good linens, plates, and silverware.

  It looked like they had every servant in all the towers hopping to get that done as quickly as possible, to make the place truly livable.

  The arena although large was a closed in space, but that wasn’t an issue. The arena spells kept the air safe and breathable, in the face of master fire mages and their spells. The magic wouldn’t have a problem compensating for the smoke of a simple and small cookfire in the inn’s cast iron stove.

  He just held his head high, and he walked into the inn like he belonged there. The princess and council were sitting around one of the larger tables for eight, and they all looked over in surprise at the interruption. He just kept a non-expression on his face as the four of them rounded the table, and then stood against the wall behind the princess.

  Talia’s eyes narrowed, Jace looked annoyed, but both Elisha and Aubrey looked bemused.

  The princess smiled their way, very briefly, and he felt a surge of relief go through him. He hadn’t known until that moment just how worried he was that the princess would blame him for the death of her mother. Unfairly or not, his spell hadn’t been able to remove her from danger.

  Besides, he blamed himself, so it seemed somewhat reasonable that the queen’s daughter would as well.

  Talia asked in a dangerously low voice, “What is it you four think you’re doing?”

  Karina replied, “Our duty, we’re assigned to her majesty’s protection this month. Now that she’s no longer in a tower, the four of us can continue to work together without breaking tower custom.”

  Jace snorted, “That’s absurd, we have every master among us not on the border on that duty, outside the inn.”

  He nodded, “But everyone with a sword that knows where the pointy end goes, needs to be her
e, Master Jace. Right now, in this situation, I’m as, if not more effective than a master mage. In fact, I’d recommend if we can safely contact them, to have the royal guard here as well. They’d be very helpful and an edge in any confrontation, at least, inside the arena, working with our mages.”

  There was a dead silence at that for about ten seconds.

  Aubrey laughed, but the rest of the councilors were clearly confused by his statement. The fact she caught on so fast might have been because she had a sword on her belt, and she was a blade master just like most of the life mages. She was used to thinking in those terms, where the others weren’t.

  It was also a relief. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be the one to fully explain the tactics they should be using, that they obviously hadn’t come up with yet due to the move being just a few minutes ago. It was a bit… arrogant of him, to be dictating the tactics they should be using to the council.

  Aubrey said, “He’s right. A master fire mage could blast through his shields, but the arena safety spells would save him. The master fire mage though, would be dead, as soon as he ran his sword through the man’s chest. The safeties can’t compensate for an immediately deadly physical wound. Head, heart, and decapitation. It’s why we have strict rules on what sword moves can’t be used during a competition.

  “Sure, by the rules of the competition he’d be marked in a red aura by the arena after being blasted by our theoretical fire mage, and honor bound to leave the field. In a true battle however, glowing red wouldn’t stop him from ending a threat, permanently, with a few inches of steel.”

  Aubrey paused to let that fact sink in, and perhaps to come up with the best tactics in such a weird situation. She continued when the others finally nodded reluctantly in understanding.

  “We moved the princess here because it would be easier to protect her, but it also may work in our favor as well, not having to lose so many mages if it does come down to a fight. I suggest if Tanner attacks before we can work out a compromise, and hopefully steal his mages out from under him, we set up the following.

  “The outer ring of protection should be master mages and perhaps others of water, air, and earth. Along with most of the royal guard, the ones that would normally guard the castle entrances and rooms. The mages will try to use non-deadly spells, working alongside the guard, who will manacle those mages. Obviously, the arena won’t stop a spell from containing someone non-violently. The royal guards can help with that part as well, spells won’t kill them, and it will give us numbers. One swing with a mace, and a broken arm, will prevent a mage from casting further spells.

  “The inner ring of protection against the princess will be if the outer ring fails. I don’t wish to see our people die, especially those only showing loyalty to their towers, if very bad judgement in following their guild heads into treason. However, the inner ring will be made up of the royal family’s personal guards in the royal guard, their best blade masters, as well as the life mage blade masters.

  “Their job, should our enemy win through the first ring, will be to put them down fast and hard with prejudice. We will do what’s necessary, and we’ll kill if the risk escalates that far. We can’t risk one of them taking the princess out of here, where she can be killed with steel or spell.”

  Jace said, “In that scenario, all of my mages, not to mention Elisha’s, would be dead?”

  Aubrey shook her head firmly, then said, “Unlikely. I believe they’ll come to the same conclusion as Olin did, given time to think it through, as we would have, and form their tactics to delay or trap our mages and defenders. This fight will be unlike a competition or a battle of magic in war on the border. Unique, and I should’ve seen it myself, I would’ve if we weren’t so focused on this compromise. Maybe it’s naïve, but I think they’ll be as hesitant to kill us as we’ll be to kill them. Most likely, only a few will slip through the first layer of protection, and not necessarily because all our people are knocked out, restrained, or dead. War is messy, and people can slip between lines.

  “Some will die of course, they always do, but I believe none of our towers will be decimated doing it this way. Not even theirs.”

  Huh, that was a better plan than the one he’d cooked up, and Aubrey had only had a few moments to form them.

  Talia said, “That’s a good plan, but what about these four?”

  Elisha said, “They’re insistent presence shows a dedication toward duty, and they did earn this duty in the last competition, and they are full mages. I see no reason to pull them away, now that the princess isn’t going to be staying in the water tower. Sorry Talia, but your emotions are blinding you in this instance. If anything, they’ll be safer with the princess, behind two rings of master level magic and blade masters. A last line of defense. Karina and Carolynn will temper Lia and Olin’s inexperience, Lia has the power of a master, if not the experience, but apparently experience will count little in this new way of fighting anyway, and I imagine the young man is quite deadly with that sword.”

  Talia looked far from happy, but she didn’t seem to be able to come up with a counterargument against it.

  Jace grunted, “Fine. But they stay outside the inn while we’re in session with the queen, so we don’t have to dance around sensitive subjects. They guard the queen in the same room otherwise, except when she’s in her chosen bedroom, obviously. If there’s an attack, there’ll be plenty of time for them to retreat into the inn to her side.”

  Aubrey said, “If you all agree to my plan, I’ll pass it along via spell to have it implemented immediately. I’m sure one of my mages knows a royal guard well enough to make contact. Anything else?”

  Talia said reluctantly, “If I were Tanner, and I got desperate, I might attack the weaker mages and apprentices left in the towers to draw off some of the defenders and foment confusion. He might be reluctant to kill us, but he’s also got his back to the wall and his life depends on him winning.”

  No one looked comfortable with that idea, that Tanner, Kaitlyn, and Sun would go to such lengths, but no one denied it either. Worse, the towers had no protective spells like the arena, and those mages and apprentices would just die facing those so much more powerful.

  Aubrey asked, “Suggestions?”

  Talia said, “We could empty the towers. Remove the liability altogether, rather than splitting our focus. The towers aren’t protected like the arena. Send the older more competent ones south to my husband, to use for our kingdom’s defense against the empire. The youngest mages could escort the apprentices on a field trip to the eastern border to look over our defenses there. Call it a practical schooling experience in tactical matters.”

  Jace laughed, “Alright, I can buy that.”

  Vida said, “Won’t that alarm Dreston, if we send a bunch of mages to the eastern border? I don’t want them thinking we’re getting ready to invade. Between civil war and the empire invading from the south we’ve got enough to worry about.”

  Elisha said, “There’s only a handful of apprentices between all of us. We’ll send one mage for each apprentice. I don’t think ten will make them panic, and their spies in will identify half of them as immature apprentices. Especially if they’re not accompanied by more troops and supply trains, which an invasion force would need. It’s a distraction anyway, a feint to ensure their safety. The border is a week away, by then this should be over one way or the other and we can recall them all before they even get there.”

  Vida nodded, “In that case, I retract my objection.”

  Talia looked at them pointedly, “Take your posts, outside.”

  He knew by her tone that they were in for a talking to later, but that would have to wait until it was all said and done. Hopefully, her temper would cool by then. He even thought it likely, judging she was much like Lia that way. Their ire was quick and hot, but fast to pass as well.

  He’d forgotten how dreadfully boring it was, guard duty. To keep busy? He’d have done far better to accept his relief of duty and go st
udy non-mage stuff in the joint library. He still had no idea what the secret was, exactly, but he had a good idea what it was about. He suspected the council knew a whole lot more about the permanent spells than they ever told their mages about. He even suspected they had a good clue why their mages were more powerful than the ones in Dreston.

  He could be wrong, but as he went over his memories, Cassandra had given him some clues he hadn’t noticed before. Specifically, about the rooms under the mage arena and towers. Really, it was more just a feeling than any specific theory, but clearly the guild council was hiding it for their safety. A secret was only truly safe when someone didn’t know it even existed, like that proverbial pot of gold hidden under his bed. It’d be safe, if no one knew he had it.

  That made him feel a little weird about it, he was a chip in that secret, even if he didn’t know it, if he wagged his tongue people would find out there was a secret.

  Most mages didn’t even know there were secrets, they were just barred by rules from the rooms under the towers and arena. They didn’t know why, and they didn’t question it, it was just a rule much like the others, and it’d blend in.

  He did suspect part of it. The permanent spells must be controllable in some way, maybe a control spell, or something. At least, partially. It almost had to be, considering the seven tower masters and mistresses regularly rearranged a forest and village, once a month for the competition. In hindsight, now that he was thinking, moving a forest or village by magic would take a lot of magic to achieve, and he’d never once seen Cassandra exhausted magically, even on the day of a competition.

  Well, not until the day she died, after exhausting herself on that portal spell.

  “One good thing about guarding out here during their meetings,” Karina noted, interrupting his thoughts, “Is that we don’t have to be quiet.”

  It was the first thing any of them had said in the last hour, and then there was a following silence for several long moments, a hush that grew rather awkward. Probably because none of them said anything else.