The king’s dining hall was a spacious room, occupied by a long table down the center and an arched fireplace along one wall. Glowlamps on a chandelier over the table lit the room, bathing it in soft blue light.
Ashland paused just inside the doorway and gestured for Cassie to take a seat. Of the six chairs at the near side of the table, only the farthest one remained unoccupied. Cassie headed toward the chair and sat beside Brandt, giving a nod to those who paused their conversation to glance in her direction.
I was wondering when you would get here, Brandt sent.
Women require more time to prepare for this sort of thing. What do you have to do? Wet your fingers and rake your hair to the side?
Jealous.
Show off.
Cassie then recalled their plan, the thought sending a flutter in her stomach. She turned toward Brandt and found him grinning. In the chair beyond him, she spied Broland in conversation with Duke Harvin of Port Choya. The duke’s wife, Filma, and his daughter, Halima, sat beside him. Filma was conversing with Duchess Illiri while Illiri’s husband, Duke Chadwick of Wayport, whispered something to the overweight man beside him. Jerious, the duke of Sunbleth, chortled at the man’s comment, his jowls flapping as his head bobbed.
Sitting beside Jerious was the man’s likewise overweight son, Hurien. A year older than Cassie, the boy seemed more fixated on her each time they had met. As she suspected, Hurien stared at her, his face in a grin that turned her stomach upside down. Worse, he was seated directly across from her chair, and Cassie feared that his unwashed smell might spoil her appetite.
The sound of a throat clearing called everyone’s attention toward the door. A man, with white hair and a waxed mustache to match it, stepped into the room.
Burtles said aloud, “Presenting…King Brock and Queen Ashland, the rulers of Kantaria and your gracious hosts for this evening.”
Conversation stopped as everyone stood to receive the king and queen. The head of the castle staff moved aside, and the couple emerged from the corridor, arm in arm. Brock wore a fine black doublet, trimmed in gold with a gold belt to match. Bright red rubies on the belt reflected the flickering light from the fireplace. His hair was properly combed, and the crown of Kantaria, gold with a red starburst of rubies at the heart, rested upon his head, matching the one that Ashland wore upon hers. Her brown curly hair was tied in a bun atop her head, and a pair of carefully chosen curls dangled beside her ears. Ashland smiled at Brock, her bright blue eyes meeting his green ones. They entered the room, Brock walking Ashland to the far end of the table before he pulled out her chair. She eased in front of it and gave him a nod of thanks before he strolled to the other end of the table.
Brock slid in front of his chair and smiled. “Thank you for joining us. I rather enjoy our yearly get-togethers. Please, sit.” He sat and everyone at the table did likewise, some with more grace than others. “Burtles,” Brock called over his shoulder. “Please bring us some wine.”
The man with the white hair bowed, holding his white-gloved hand to his chest. “Very well, Sire.”
Burtles clapped his hands and two stewards entered, a man and a woman – the man in a black dinner coat and white tunic, the woman in a black dress with a white apron. The man leaned over the table and poured deep red liquid into Brock’s chalice while the woman did the same into Ashland’s cup. Both Cassie and Brandt held their hands over their cups, indicating that the woman pass them.
When the woman filled Broland’s cup, Brandt elbowed him. “Why didn’t you cover your cup?”
“I’m an adult now. I’ll drink wine if I choose to do so.” Broland’s voice carried a haughty tone.
Brandt snorted. “Suit yourself…exalted Prince of puffiness.”
Cassie bit her lip in an attempt to restrain a grin, a battle that she lost when Chadwick chuckled at the comment. His wife, Illiri, gave him an icy look, and the man lifted his hand to his bearded face, hiding his mouth although his bobbing motion made it clear that he was laughing. When Cassie’s gaze landed on her mother, she found Ashland glaring at Brandt – the look on her face speaking volumes. A third steward entered with a carafe of water, filling the cups of those who had passed on wine.
“So,” Jerious said with his deep voice, “How does trade fare in Wayport these days, Chadwick? Have things slowed down for you as much as they have for me?”
Now recovered from his laughter, Chadwick took a sip of his wine and said, “Worse, I suspect. Nearly half of our port trade was with Kalimar. With the new regime in place, every eastern port from Yarth to Cinti Mor is barred from receiving Kantarian goods.” Chadwick turned toward Brock. “My King. Please tell us that an accord will be struck soon.”
Brock met the man’s gaze, holding it for a lengthy period before responding. “I understand your concerns regarding trade with the eastern cities. However, I had no part in the current embargo. This…Empire…they appear to dance to the beat of their own drum and their motives are unclear to us. I have sent an envoy with a request to negotiate, but I have no response at this time.”
After a sip of wine, Brock added, “Their extreme views against magic give me much concern, as does the nature in which they displaced the rulers of Vinacci, Hurnsdom, and Kalimar.”
Duchess Filma put her hand on Brock’s. “It will not lead to war, will it, Your Majesty?”
Glancing down, Brock flipped his hand and gripped hers. “I pray to Issal that it does not.”
Illiri burped, drawing everyone’s attention. “Oh, my.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Pardon me.”
The woman appeared embarrassed and took an urgent drink of wine, emptying her glass. The steward stepped forward, filling the glass and then refilling the others around the table.
“Is it getting warm in here?” Jerious asked as he loosened the collar on his purple doublet.
“Does anyone hear that?” Duke Harvin asked.
Filma replied, “Hear what, dear?”
“That buzzing.” He looked around, seeking the source.
With the wine carafes empty, the stewards left the room, trailed by Burtles, likely off to ensure dinner was on its way.
“I hear music,” Ashland mumbled, the queen’s eyes glazed…distant. “It sounds so lovely.” She stood and turned from the table, swaying to some tune that Cassie could not hear.
“It’s so bloody hot…” Jerious now had his doublet unbuttoned to his belt, struggling to free it. He pushed his chair back and feverishly worked at the belt.
A howl rang from the far end of the table. Cassie turned to find Filma down on the floor. From her hands and knees, the woman’s face pointed toward the ceiling as she howled again. Her husband’s chair tipped over backward, the man scrambling to swat at something only he could see. Their daughter rose from her chair with her eyes on Brandt.
Oh, no. Brandt’s voice rang in Cassie’s head.
Halima climbed over the fallen chair, almost stepping on her mother as the woman crawled beneath the table.
“Oh, Brandt,” Halima held her hand to her breast. “I have missed you so.”
The girl’s arms opened wide as she stumbled to her knees.
Serves you right for your dalliance last Libra Te. Cassie sent to her brother as she scrambled from the girl.
He replied, The girl is pretty enough, but she lacks personality – she has no spark.
As Brandt backed away from the girl who shimmied across the floor on her knees, ruining her fine evening gown, Illiri climbed on her chair and then, onto the table, knocking her wine glass over.
“I am a pretty bird…the prettiest bird.” Illiri thrust her ample chest out and bobbed her head while flapping her elbows.
Likewise, Broland climbed upon the table and began to strut. “No. I am the prettiest bird.” He then began to cluck in time with his bobbed head, like a crowster attempting to impress a mate.
All the while, Chadwick laughed with raucous energy, slapping the table while his eyes watered. Cassie and Brandt joine
d the man’s laughter.
“This is the best one, ever,” Brandt said, chuckling as he looked about the room.
She was about to respond when she spotted Jerious, the pale skin of his vast body exposed but for his smallclothes. The man then laid down on the stone floor and began rolling around. “So much cooler…it feels so good.”
Meanwhile, Brock had been sitting in a daze, staring into the air. He suddenly jumped back, his chair tipping to the floor with a thud. “Stay away. Don’t make me hurt you!” he bellowed.
At that moment, Burtles entered the room. “What in the name of Issal is happening?”
His gaze swept from the king, attempting to defend himself against the fireplace, to the queen as she spun and danced to music only she could hear. Harvin swatted invisible flies and his wife howled like a cat in heat while his daughter crawled after Brandt. Broland had climbed onto the chandelier, clucking loudly. Illiri strutted on the table while Chadwick laughed so hard he fell out of his chair. Jerious began squirming across the floor, claiming to be a worm. His son just stared at Cassie with his tongue hanging out, drooling. Burtles then turned toward Brandt and Cassilyn, the bewilderment on his face morphing to a scowl.
“You miscreants caused this! What did you do to them?” Burtles howled.
What do we say? Cassie asked.
Let me take the lead.
Brandt shrugged. “Perhaps the wine had gone…bad?”
The deep red of the man’s face was a stark contrast to his white hair and beard. “You’ll not get away with your prank this time, young man. I know you two are behind this.”
With that, he scurried out of the room and shouted for guards.
Cassie glanced at Brandt and wondered if things had gone too far. When her father kicked his leg into the fireplace and came away with his boot on fire, she gasped. Brock began shouting and kicking frantically, the flames only growing worse. She grabbed her water cup and Brandt’s before running around the table. With a lunge, she poured them on the flames as her father hopped about the room. The king then tripped over Jerious, who still thought he was a worm, and his head hit the floor with a crack, sending his crown rolling across the room. Cassie hurried to her father’s side and began to seek her center.
Long, slow breaths calmed her as she ignored the commotion around her. Deep inside herself, she found the soft blue presence of her own source of Order – her life force. Through her contact with her father, she extended her consciousness toward him and found his source of Order, dim and damaged. Bright red, angry symbols stirred within his head and his foot, while dimmer ones churned throughout his body. Using her will, she stoked his life force and commanded it to smother the red symbols, drowning them with the blue light until they dissipated to nothing.
Brock gasped, a shiver wracking his body. Cassie opened her eyes as he sat up and looked about the room.
A deep voice bellowed. “What is happening here?”
Wharton entered the room with Burtles and a pair of guards. The captain of the king’s guard bent down and picked up Brock’s crown, frowning at it before glancing toward Brock.
With certain dread, Cassie knew their little prank had, indeed, gone too far.
6
The Arcane Ward
Cassie fidgeted with her hands on her knees. The sofa vibrated steadily, shaken by the constant movement of her brother’s fidgeting feet pumping up and down as they waited in quiet. The two siblings were trapped in the sitting area of their parents’ bedroom suite, caught between their pacing father and the glare from their mother. A glance to the side found Brandt’s fingers tapping his thighs and she reached out to him.
How long will they make us sit here?
This is some sort of sadistic torture, Brandt sent. I suspect the penance for our actions will be something beyond washing dishes. Otherwise, we would be on our way to the kitchens by now.
A chance glance toward her mother lasted a mere moment when she saw Ashland staring at her from the opposing sofa. Her eyes shifted toward her father, still pacing before the fireplace with his hands clasped behind his back, as he had been doing since they were first called to the royal suite. The room had been dimly lit by the rising sun at the time, but now it was as bright as mid-day. Cassie was unsure of how long they had been waiting, but each passing minute had been excruciating.
Brock finally stopped and stared at Ashland. Her parents’ eyes met, and Cassie sensed something pass between them unsaid. When Ashland nodded, she turned toward the two teens and cleared her throat.
“You two are aware that those who have a high affinity with Order can use it to heal others. Cassie has already performed this miracle, and I suspect it is simply a matter of time before Brandt can do it as well.”
Cassie sent, Why is she talking about this?
Brandt shrugged.
Ashland smiled briefly before continuing. “What you do not know is that Order can be used in other ways. The magic can manifest numerous abilities, some that are more common than healing. The simplest such skill related to Order is divining, a method of seeking inherent talents that reside inside an individual. Beyond that, Order can unleash various forms of prophecy, ranging from near-term glimpses into our own future to powerful visions of world-changing events in a more distant future.
“Of course, there are other skills that are far less common.” She looked at Brock again. “Rumors are that Tantarri elders possess the ability to walk among dreams, and, along with that skill, share visions with other individuals. Then, of course, there is telepathy.”
Cassie glanced at her brother. “Telepathy?”
Ashland replied, “The term refers to individuals who are able to communicate with their minds, regardless of distance.”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open, and her brother gasped.
Their mother leaned forward and placed her hands on the short table between them. “You two possess this ability, don’t you?”
When Cassie turned toward Brandt, she found him chewing on his lip. How do they know?
I’m not sure. Perhaps they don’t know, he replied. Perhaps they are just guessing.
The ability had been their secret for years…something that Cassie had always wished to keep secret. Now, she found herself pressed to reveal it and was reluctant to do so…even to her own parents.
Ashland sat back and crossed her legs while resting her hand upon her knee. “I sense your reluctance to admit what you can do. Trust me, I understand. Not only is the skill exceedingly rare, but it is also something you should keep private. You see, there are very, very few people who are aware of what your father and I can do. The less who know, the better.”
Brandt frowned. “What do you mean?”
Brock stopped pacing and responded. “Your mother is trying to tell you that we can communicate telepathically.”
Cassie gasped as it hit her. The silent looks between her parents, the consistency of the two sharing the same opinion, those times where Brock and Ashland had outmaneuvered the schemes Cassie and Brandt had conceived…they had been communicating telepathically…just as she did with Brandt.
“Wait a minute,” Brandt said. “You two aren’t even related by blood. How can you do this?”
Ashland shook her head. “Blood relation isn’t relevant. The ability manifests when two people possess a strong ability with Order and develop a close relationship…very close.”
That’s why we can do it, Cassie thought.
Now it makes sense, Brandt agreed. I’m going to tell them.
Cassie didn’t respond. She could tell that his mind was set, and she knew that nothing could stop him once that happened.
“It began about seven years ago,” Brandt said, his tone one of telling a longer tale. “Remember when I crawled through that high window into that storage room in the dungeon level? When I dropped into the dimly lit room, I never dreamed that the door would be bolted shut with no way to open it from the inside. I tried to stack items into a tower so I could climb ou
t the window, but the crates and chair I used crumbled from my weight, the wood old and rotted.
“I then pounded on the door and screamed as loud as I could. Hours passed, and after screaming myself hoarse, I sat on the floor and cried for a long time. A realization came upon me as I considered the situation. Based on the condition of the junk down there, I feared that years might pass before anyone happened upon me. I saw my own dust-covered bones on the floor and I became…desperate. Closing my eyes, I reached out for the person I knew best – my twin. For some time, I thought it a trick of my imagination when she actually responded.
“Of course, Cass didn’t hear me yelling with her ears. She heard me in her head. Over this connection – which I still didn’t believe was real – I told her what had happened and where I was. She concocted the story you already know, using it to lead Wharton to the room and he freed me.”
Cassie stared at Brandt while he told the tale, it ending with him looking her in the eyes. She turned toward her mother and bared herself. “Once we had done it, speaking to each other with our minds became…normal. I often do it without even realizing that I didn’t open my mouth. There were even times I feared others discovering our secret when we would have a private conversation that I thought was said aloud.”
Brock moved to the sofa and sat beside Ashland. “This ability you have…it is special. Very special. It is not something to squander, which is what you have done with your entire lives thus far.”
Ashland grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “It’s time for you two to grow up. This family is not like most others. We have a responsibility to the people of Kantaria…and even to people beyond our borders. Your older brother’s role has always been clear, having been groomed his entire life to become the next king should anything ever happen to us. You two, on the other hand, seem to lack the direction required to take advantage of your abilities.”
Brock patted her hand and took over. “You both are already strong in your ability to channel Chaos. The fact that you established the ability to communicate telepathically at such a young age shows that your potential to utilize Order is also likely to become quite powerful. And then, there is your endless scheming and pranks…something that is partly the fault of your mother and me.”
The Arcane Ward Page 4
