Frost Prisms (The Broken Prism Book 5)

by V. St. Clair

  He wouldn’t just abandon Hayden in his hour of need. If Hayden’s in real trouble, Bonk will be there.

  There wasn’t much he knew for certain about Hayden’s weird familiar, but he did know that much—well, and that his favorite food was definitely squirrel.

  Zane had no idea how long he stayed like that, slumped over in the chair, staring glassy-eyed at the spine of a random book in his direct line of sight without actually registering the title. For all he knew, he may have drifted into a muddled sort of sleep at some point. The first time he blinked in hours was when Master Reede crossed into his field of vision, obscuring the book with his metallic red Mastery robes and asked, “You’re not dead, are you?”

  Blinking rapidly to encourage moisture back into his eyes, Zane groaned and forced himself to sit upright, muscles aching in protest.

  “Master Reede!—no, I’m alive…what’s going on?” He tried to jog his brain back into action and look attentive, stifling a yawn with one hand and jostling Felix awake with the change in position.

  The Master of Conjury gave him an unreadable look and said, “Come on, we’re meeting at Mizzenwald.”

  Frowning at the non-answer, Zane got to his feet and continued asking questions as they walked towards the main foyer, leaving everything behind except for his belt of chalk and other weapons, which he had taken to wearing at all times ever since Hayden had been caught unaware in the dead of night and dragged off without his things.

  “Oliver said there was something wrong at the Crystal Tower—that the alarms went off and Mrs. Trout went to get reinforcements. Is everything alright?”

  Master Reede was either deliberately lengthening his stride, or else Zane was so tired that he had a difficult time keeping up with his mentor for a change. Either way, he began to feel a little winded as he half-jogged to keep up with the man.

  “We’ll talk at Mizzenwald, when everyone is together,” he answered in a tone that did not invite more questions.

  Zane pressed his luck anyway, taking a page out of Hayden’s book, since his friend never seemed to know when to quit and none of the Masters had actually slapped him for it yet.

  “What about the Dark—”

  “Laraby, for the love of all things holy, please shut up,” the Master of Conjury interrupted snappishly, touching his temples. “I’ve got a screaming headache that I haven’t been able to address yet and your voice is the equivalent of etching glass with a cheese grater right now.”

  Zane clamped his jaw shut with effort, biting back a dozen more questions he wanted to ask now that he finally had someone to interrogate who knew what was going on.

  There was one question that he thought couldn’t wait, and he risked his mentor’s wrath by asking it.

  “Is it safe for me to go back to Mizzenwald, or is the Council still looking for me?”

  Master Reede spared him a fleeting glance and said, “The Council is in disarray, and has bigger problems than you right now.”

  On that note, he grabbed Zane’s arm with one hand, his Mastery Charm with the other, and they vanished from the Trout estate between one blink and the next. Zane found himself staring at his home away from home, the school where he spent most of the last four years. Until now, he had been wondering whether he’d ever see the place again.

  They passed a few students on the front lawns, but not many, and even fewer once they entered the pentagonal foyer and made their way towards the eastern staircase—which led to the Wands classroom, among other things.

  Zane frowned and said, “There don’t seem to be a lot of people here…” to no one in particular.

  Master Reede matched his expression and said, “Can you blame them? I tried telling the High Mayor that people weren’t going to want to send their children to a place that might be attacked by the Dark Prism at a whim, but he wants his revenue.” He scowled. “Attendance is barely half of the norm, and meanwhile we Masters have to spend our time teaching instead of dedicating ourselves solely to neutralizing the threat of the Dark Prism.”

  Zane wasn’t used to hearing his mentor complain to him. It made him feel like a confidant…or an equal. It was a pleasant change of pace for him.

  The place they were walking towards did indeed turn out to be the classroom where Wands was taught. Zane was a little surprised to see Masters Willow, Asher, and Laurren already waiting for them, in addition to Magdalene Trout, Laris, another Council member Zane didn’t know by name, and—most surprisingly—Tess.

  “Tess!” Zane hurried towards her, looking her over and noting that she didn’t appear any worse for wear. “Are you alright? How did you get out of the Binders and make it here?”

  “Oh good, I was hoping you’d be here too,” Tess greeted him warmly. Up close, he could see that she looked tired, but otherwise well. “Master Asher came and got me this morning. For some reason my guards abandoned their post late last night and no one really objected when he broke my Binders and said he was taking me away.”

  Zane raised an eyebrow at the Prism Master, impressed that he had thought to go collect Tess amid whatever other chaos had been going on all night. It was surprisingly thoughtful, and what Hayden would have wanted him to do.

  “Are we all here?” Reede interrupted their reunion, glancing around the room.

  “We’re just waiting on Oliver,” Magdalene had barely finished the words when her oldest son walked into the room and shut the door behind him. “Now we’re all here.”

  “Where are the other Masters and Council members?” Tess asked before Zane could decide whether or not to raise the question himself.

  “The other Masters are helping restore order after the events of last night,” Mrs. Trout explained calmly. “Most of my fellow Council members are dead. The exceptions stand before you.”

  Zane felt his mouth drop open stupidly and hang there, but he made no effort to close it. Oliver blinked twice and raised his eyebrows fractionally, but otherwise gave no obvious reaction to this insane announcement.

  “Uh…come again?” Zane forced his mouth shut, looking around at the others in the vague hope that it was just a really bad joke, only no one else was laughing.

  “There was an attack on the Crystal Tower in the early hours of the morning,” she explained more fully. “The alarms were activated, and each of the Council members responded as we were trained to—”

  “Except for us,” Laris interrupted softly, looking strangely diminished and rattled, no longer full of the arrogance Zane had seen from him on the eve of Hayden’s abduction.

  Magdalene pursed her lips at the interruption but agreed. “Yes, except for us. I thought that Aleric might be involved, and rounded up Laris and Wren before they left their homes. Together we began calling on others throughout the Nine Lands—some of you were included in that, and we went as a group to investigate the attack on the Tower. Unfortunately, by then it was too late.”

  Zane frowned and said, “What do you mean it was too late? What happened?” Worry was rapidly inflating inside of him like a balloon, but he didn’t allow it to show on his face or in his tone just yet.

  “It was a massacre,” Laurren intoned solemnly, meeting Zane’s gaze with those strange, purple-blue eyes that always gave him the creeps. There was something other-worldly about the man, which must have made him a good match for the subject he taught.

  “So Hayden’s father was there?” Tess asked softly, her face absolutely expressionless. Zane couldn’t imagine what she was thinking right now, but she had to be wondering about Hayden even though she hadn’t asked the question yet.

  “He was there and gone by the time we arrived in force,” Asher confirmed. “He left a trail of bodies in his wake—the night shift, and anyone who was unwise enough to show up on their own to investigate the alarms.”

  Zane shuddered inwardly at the image this invoked, bodies strewn about and bleeding on every level of the Crystal Tower. He hadn’t really been in the place long enough to look around, so he had no idea if w
hat he was imagining was even remotely accurate, but it was an image that wouldn’t leave his head.

  “And Calahan?” Oliver piped up from his position near the door, looking to his mother.

  “Dead as well,” she answered flatly, looking neither sorry nor relieved by the fact.

  “Who’s running the Council of Mages then?”

  “I am,” Magdalene said without hesitation. To Zane’s surprise, neither of her colleagues argued the point. Oliver nodded as though expecting this and fell silent once more.

  “Did anyone survive the attack that can confirm what happened?” Willow asked. He had apparently not been part of the initial investigation, or he would have already known the answer to his question.

  Reede shook his head and said, “Not that we could find—and we did a fairly exhaustive search.”

  “It was Aleric. I know his magic,” Asher spoke up, leaning against the wall as though propping it up.

  A long moment of silence passed during which everyone just looked at each other, until Zane couldn’t take it anymore.

  “No one has said his name yet, which doesn’t seem like a good sign,” Zane spoke up loudly, “but I’ll go ahead and ask the question. What about Hayden? Did you…did you find him dead too?”

  Tess blinked and tensed slightly, which Zane only noticed because he was standing directly beside her. His own palms felt suddenly cold and sweaty.

  “No, we did not,” Asher said heavily. “He is currently the only thing unaccounted for in the Crystal Tower, and likely the reason for his father’s visit.”

  Zane wasn’t sure whether he felt better or worse upon hearing that. He was thrilled that Hayden wasn’t dead—or probably wasn’t, at least—but if the Dark Prism had him alone and unarmed, Hayden wasn’t going to last for long.

  “And you’re certain you don’t know why your old friend wanted to collect his son?” Laris looked pointedly at Asher when he asked the question, a bit of his old arrogance coming back to him.

  “That’s always been the question, hasn’t it?” Asher answered seriously, which was surprising because Zane had expected him to be sarcastic.

  “I still say he wants an ally and is planning to train Hayden on broken prisms as well.”

  Zane opened his mouth to interject but Asher beat him to it by saying, “Aleric has never needed allies before, and he feels no paternal affection towards Hayden.”

  “We don’t even know that Hayden is still alive,” Magdalene pointed out casually. “We did find blood in the room, and I doubt it came from Aleric.”

  Tess gasped, but Laurren shook his head and said, “Not enough blood to account for a corpse—unless it was a head wound. Besides, if he simply wanted to kill Hayden, why take his body away afterwards? No, he must be alive…for the moment, at least.”

  Zane didn’t feel quite as confident as the Master of Abnormal Magic after hearing that there was blood in the room where Hayden was being kept, but he tried to keep a positive outlook.

  He can’t be hurt that badly…Laurren’s right, the Dark Prism would never drag away a corpse.

  “So if he’s got Hayden, then where are they now?” Tess asked delicately, like she wasn’t sure that she actually wanted to know the answer.

  Asher shrugged and said, “My guess is the Frost estate. It’s where he set up last time and he’s bound to still have weapons and notes hidden away somewhere.”

  “I don’t suppose we can just walk in and knock on the door?” Zane offered, sure that it was a dumb idea or someone else would have already suggested it.

  “Not likely,” Willow sighed. “In the past weeks we’ve already sent out scouting parties to see what the defenses look like. Whatever magic he has guarding the place must have come from his corrupt prism, because we’ve never seen anything like it. No one is getting into that house without being invited by its owner.”

  For a moment Zane was tempted to point out that Hayden was its legal owner, in which case they shouldn’t have a problem getting an invitation, but he didn’t think the humor would be appreciated right now.

  Magdalene changed the subject by saying, “Down to what we can control…I’m in need of some new Council members. The government must continue to function, and the people must be protected to the best of our abilities. I’ve made several nominations already from around the Nine Lands, and I intend the last one to go to Kirius Sark.”

  A few eyebrows raised at the announcement. Zane was just amazed that the woman was able to worry about practical things like a working government after most of her colleagues were brutally murdered mere hours ago.

  “A logical choice, and I’m sure he’ll be pleased by the nomination,” Willow said neutrally. “It leaves a hole in our staffing, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a replacement.”

  “Actually, it shouldn’t be difficult at all,” Master Reede interjected, turning to Oliver. “Are you ready to step up and shoulder some responsibility?”

  Oliver’s lips parted in surprise and he said, “You want me to take over as Master of Powders?”

  “Why not? You are a Powders major, and Kirius’s most valued apprentice. This is why we have understudies in the first place, to groom the next generation of leaders.”

  Magdalene looked as though this wasn’t part of her mental calculations.

  “You can’t take Oliver for the school; he’s the heir to a Great House and has responsibilities that supersede—”

  “We can select whoever we want to replace Kirius,” Reede cut her off unrepentantly. “The Council has no voice in the selection of Masters.”

  “Besides,” Asher interjected pleasantly, when it looked like Magdalene was getting ready to object, “He is only the heir to a Great House, not its ruling member. If you die, we promise to release him from his duties here if he requests it, otherwise Lorn can wear the mantle in Oliver’s place.”

  She glowered at the group of them but could obviously brook no further argument. Zane was impressed that the Masters had obviously considered the possibility of Sark being taken by the Council and had this replacement planned out in advance. Oliver didn’t look at his mother as he said, “If you’re all sure about the nomination, then I accept.”

  “Good, now that that’s settled…”

  “Nothing has been settled yet,” Tess interrupted Master Laurren, looking livid. “No one has said a thing about Hayden! Who cares who teaches Powders or takes orders from Mrs. Trout? What’s the plan to get Hayden away from his father before something horrible happens to him?”

  The room fell silent, probably because everyone was equally stunned at the typically soft-spoken Tess getting truly angry. It was like encountering a unicorn during a camping trip: it’s theoretically possible, but you never really expect it to happen.

  “We’ve just said we can’t attack the Frost manor without all of us dying horrible deaths,” Laris pointed out at last, annoyed with the interruption. “We might as well hurl ourselves off the cliffs behind Mizzenwald if that’s all we’re trying to accomplish.”

  “So that’s it?” she countered hotly. “The scouts we’ve sent said it’s too hard so we’re just going to give up on Hayden and hope he finds a way to kill his father single-handed and escape the house?” When no one commented immediately she said, “You’re all pathetic. Hayden worked his tail off doing everything you people asked of him to prepare himself to fight his father, and you all swore you’d be there to help, right up until things got hard and now you’re just willing to write him off as a casualty and move on.”

  “No one’s writing Hayden off for dead,” Willow interrupted gently, before she could begin shouting at them, which she seemed very close to doing. “We’re still working on a plan for extracting Hayden and defeating Aleric, but it is going to take time for us to unravel all the defensive magic around the place or we’ll be throwing our lives away to no purpose. One failed attempt will set us back enormously, because he will fortify his defenses even further if he sees us break through any of
them.”

  Tess calmed down and folded her arms across her chest, still glaring daggers at Laris.

  “So until we can figure out everything guarding the estate, there’s nothing we can do at all? There has to be some way to get to him—to send word to him that we’re not abandoning him, if nothing else,” she said a little desperately.

  “Believe me,” Magdalene began, “if there was any way for us—”

  “Oh, I think there is a way to get Hayden some help on the inside,” Master Asher interrupted, looking suddenly cheerful.

  “What?” several of the others blurted out in unison, turning to face him. “Have you finally lost your marbles? No one can get inside that house or this would be much simpler!”

  Still smiling and looking out the window, Asher said, “Oh, yes, I believe there is someone who can get in.”

  Zane moved a little to the side so that he could see what Asher was looking at, and then he too felt a smile tug at his face.

  There may yet be hope.

  12

  The Lost Memory

  Hayden groaned weakly as he returned to consciousness, shifting uncomfortably on the hard floor. At first he wasn’t alarmed, because it felt like the same unyielding floor he’d been sleeping on for weeks in the Crystal Tower, though he wasn’t sure where his pillow had gone. It wasn’t until he blinked open his eyes and focused his vision that he felt a spike of adrenaline surge through him and lurched upright.

  “Whoa, take it easy…” a girl he didn’t know—maybe nineteen or twenty years old—was standing nearby, holding out her hands in a placating gesture. He noticed that upon sitting up, he had dislodged a blanket that had been draped over him, by her, presumably.

  Now that he took in his surroundings, it became immediately apparent that he was no longer inside the Crystal Tower, though he wasn’t entirely sure when he’d left or why he was lying on this disturbingly-familiar marble floor…

  “Who are you, and why are we in a place that looks hauntingly similar to my family’s estate?” he asked out loud, hoping upon wild hope that this stranger was about to tell him he was in a stunning replica of the Frost estate, which was actually a museum of some sort…