Spirit of Magik (The Dothranan Chronicles Book 1)

by Richard Cluff

  “Alright, Ari. Please be careful, that hurt,” Martin came to his side and asked: “Thorel, are you alright?”

  “I'm fine,” he said, shaking the pain off. It disappeared quickly.

  “I'm sorry for that. Come,” she sent with a more normal touch.

  “Mr. Kendal, be seated. These disruptions are beginning to irritate me. I might behave like an annoyed noble if it continues,” she said icily.

  Despite her warning, Thorel stood. “Ma'am I apologize, but I have to leave now. My Mistress has commanded my presence.”

  “Did anyone else hear anything?” Miss Mazuna said with a touch of humor in her eyes.

  “No ma'am,” the class answered together.

  “Ma'am, she touched my mind. I'm sure Martin could see the evocations,” he said as he gathered his things. Whether she accepted it or not, he was leaving. He hoped this didn't turn into something unnecessary.

  “Well, Mr. Kendal?” She asked.

  “I saw a mind touch touching Thorel, ma'am,” Martin replied honestly. Thorel was surprised for a moment: that had not been taught in their classes. Then he recalled the fact that his father was a Wizard. It made sense he would have received instruction from him as Thorel did from Ari.

  Miss Mazuna just looked at him, as if deciding what to do, so Thorel spoke. “Ma'am, I apologize, but I am leaving. Please, don't try to stop me. I have to go to her now.”

  Miss Mazuna's mercenary stepped forward, regarding Thorel and the two Dothranan guards with him. The amused look in the man's eyes and on his face led Thorel to believe he would actually try to stop them if she ordered it.

  “Sir, I don't want to hurt you,” Thorel said seriously. The man smiled and crouched, but said nothing.

  Corporal Enke spoke up, from Thorel's left. “Ma'am, with respect you would do well to remember that Mr. Tangarth will be a Great Lord and Master of House Dothranan soon,” he rested his hands on his weapons, while watching the mercenary closely.

  After a moment, she spoke. “Let them go,” the mercenary looked disappointed and straightened up with a faux yawn. Thorel did not know what to make of this man. He had seemed eager for the fight, even though there were three of them!

  “Thank you ma'am,” Thorel said with a bow.

  “Mr. Tangarth, I am glad you have found a House that suits you. You are a very respectful man, most times,” she said.

  “Thank you ma'am,” he said, surprised she would bring this up now.

  “Noble Houses have a way of using up good young people, Mr. Tangarth. I hope you survive this day for the scolding I intend to give you tomorrow,” she said with a stern expression.

  Thorel wasn't sure what to say to that, so he said; “That will give me something to look forward to, ma'am,” and turned to leave.

  He heard a small titter of laughter behind him, accompanied by her amused voice; “I will put extra effort into it, to make certain you won't be disappointed.”

  Thorel cringed inwardly at that thought and walked out of the classroom.

  * * *

  The carriage drew to a halt though Thorel couldn't say where since Ari's carriage was completely enclosed with only sliding slits to peer out of. The steam engine halted as well, and the noise of the gears that moved the carriage along quieted.

  Ari had been displeased this morning to discover that the horses normally used for her armored carriage had been commandeered by Colonel Tianna for the second army, and even less pleased by the fact that there were no trained teams remaining that were capable of pulling it.

  The steam engine wasn't loud in and of itself, Thorel discovered though. It was the gears that drove the carriage that were noisy. Ari had a look on her face like she was chewing a lemon the whole time they rode in it under steam power.

  The curiosity that drove him to dismantle Korin's prize clock when he was eight made him want to take this carriage's mechanism apart just to see how it did what it did. That same curiosity for which he'd received a firm hand across his bottom from Korin helped restrain his enthusiasm now. But the entire idea still fascinated Thorel.

  He would have spoken with Ari, but he could see the mind touches engaging her: she was having more than one conversation if he read the evocations right. And her mood being fouled by the noisy carriage made him decide against bothering her. When he'd arrived, she asked if he had any trouble with Miss Mazuna. He'd said no, and that was it. She'd been engaged in silent conversations the entire time since then.

  “We've arrived, Mistress,” Silene told them.

  Ari just looked at her, with a look of question and command on her face. Silene nodded quickly to two of their personal guards and swept her hand in a circular motion. The two men opened the carriage doors on each side and stepped out immediately.

  Thorel admired Silene's dedication to her duty, even if the likely hood of her guards finding anything amiss around the carriage was nearly zero. There was an entire column of one-hundred-twenty Dothranan mounted guards escorting the carriage.

  “Clear!” The two men shouted after a few moments, then Ari stood gracefully. Thorel couldn't help but think of how lucky he was to have her. He restrained the urge to embrace her; he knew the timing would have been completely inappropriate; he didn't wish to test her temper when she was so busy.

  When they exited, they found Siri waiting for them. Siri was absolutely stunning standing there in her glittering steel scale armor. It wasn't like the armor of the House Guards or Legion though: hers had solid steel bracers on her forearms, and the shirt extended into a side split skirt that reached her knees. She wore a long and short sword in the Legion fashion, with a pair of long thin bladed daggers above and below each weapon. On her sides, she had four daggers in sheaths that attached to her belt. She wore a polished open face chain mail coif over her shaved pate.

  “Welcome, Mistress.” Siri nodded to one of her guards and said, “I have brought your armor, I will assist you in donning it,” the guard she nodded to went to the other carriage.

  “Good,” Ari said. Thorel could see that the mind touches to her seemed to be reducing in frequency.

  That was when he noticed Korin standing there in a suit of armor like the Dothranan Guards: his did not have the sigil of House Dothranan on it though. “What are you doing here?” He asked him in surprise.

  “Same as you are. Except I'm the one that's going to make sure you come back,” he said seriously.

  “What? How?” Thorel asked.

  “By stabbing any bastard that tries to hurt you, that's how,” he said with steely determination in his eyes.

  “But..,” Thorel began, and Korin cut him off. “We need to get you into your armor,” he nodded to Siri as she walked to the armored carriage with Ari. Korin led him to the other carriage.

  “I left gifts for you in the carriage, Mr. Tangarth. Your father knows where they are,” Siri called out to him before she entered Ari's carriage. He knew it was true that Korin was more than his guardian now, but it was going to take a while for him to think of Korin that way, especially since his father's spirit still trailed him. He followed Korin into the other carriage, passing a pair of the guards who were pulling a heavy trunk from it and passing out crossbows with quivers of heavy bolts for the weapons to their fellows.

  He stood there while Korin helped him into the boiled leather armor. He asked: “Why am I getting leather instead of steel?”

  “You're a big man, Thorel. You wouldn't be able to wear any of the standard sizes. It's not like steel armor could be made for you overnight. Even this wasn't easy to make overnight according to Siri,” Korin told him as he helped him into it. “And you haven't worn armor before. You haven't had time to train with it, to get good at moving in it. Leather will be a lot easier for you to deal with. You'll be protected, but still mobile enough to avoid being hit. That's the best protection there is: not getting hit.”

  Thorel nodded. It made sense to him. And whoever had made this had sized it well for him. He twisted his torso to test
it. It did restrict him, but he was sure it wasn't to the degree that it would have been with steel plates.

  “To answer your question, I managed to talk Siri into letting me come along. Here's her gifts for you,” Korin said, handing Thorel a steel sheathed wooden staff and a leather belt with a pair of long daggers on it.

  Thorel took the staff into hand and balked at the weight. He could handle the weapon, but it was a lot heavier than he was used to. “I'd rather just have a nice piece of hardwood, as nice as this is,” he said.

  “A nice piece of hardwood will break a lot easier than that will. Especially if you're fighting swordsmen with it,” Korin told him.

  Thorel nodded, he wasn't wrong about that. He leaned the staff against the carriage's wall and put the belt on. He saw Korin's short sword that he'd had in the wagon on the way to Vallad.

  “Isn't that the sword the King gave you?” Thorel asked.

  “It is. Why do you ask?”

  “Can I see it?”

  “You can see it, but don't touch it. You know what the inscription says now,” Korin said seriously.

  “I don't need to touch it,” Thorel told him.

  Korin drew the magnificent gilded short sword, and Thorel could see it clearly: there was no enchantment on the weapon. He would have seen the bluish glow if there had been one.

  Thorel smiled. “Well, you don't have to worry about it being Magikal and hurting someone: it isn't. There is no Magik.”

  “Humph. Well, it seemed to say that there was, with all that about sending a spirit to limbo and all. I thought it was so I just made sure you and the girls couldn't get at it. I wasn't going to take any chances,” Korin said with a look of bitter disappointment on his face.

  “And that kind of care is what made you such a good father,” Thorel said warmly, feeling more peaceful about the idea now.

  Korin nodded, his eyes turning grim. “Thorel, this isn't going to be what you expect.”

  “What do you mean?” He asked.

  “This... isn't a noble attack on the enemy stronghold. There won't be any duels here. We're going for one reason, to kill a man and his son,” Korin met his eyes meaningfully.

  “I know that,” Thorel said, almost irritable at the obvious statement.

  “I know you were at the meeting and heard the plans, I just don't think you really understand what that means. When we get there, we're going to have to kill anyone that sees us to keep the alarm from being sounded. Man, woman, or child; armed or not Thorel,” Korin said in a deadly serious tone.

  “Even children?!?” Thorel said, abhorred at the thought. “There is no reason for that kind of thing!”

  “Yes, there is, Thorel. Listen: there will still be thousands of soldiers in Quarrel's Manor. We can't fight them all. We need to keep anyone from raising the alarm for as long as possible. The quieter we are, the more likely you'll live long enough to get married.”

  Thorel met Korin's unblinking eyes, amazed at how cold they were. “I can't believe you would agree to this,” Thorel said looking at him in shock.

  “Things like this are one of the reasons I intended to stay far away from the title I was granted, Thorel. The only reason I'm here now is because you are. It's a little late to back out now. Your betrothed intends to do this, and I'm certain she understood what it meant,” Korin said grimly.

  “She's only doing this because she couldn't stop the war from happening. She tried to reason with him, even with everything he's done,” Ari had told him about Quarrel's refusal after the High Lord's decree. The man was a reckless fool in Thorel's opinion.

  Korin nodded. “Well, he made his choice, and your betrothed made hers. Just keep what I told you in mind, Thorel. We can't let anyone get away until we find them and settle this.”

  Thorel nodded uncomfortably. He would find a way to spare a child if they encountered one. He would do what he had to do, but there was no reason to kill a child for their parents' choices in his mind.

  They exited the carriage and waited for Ari to come out. When she did, Thorel was amazed, she was even more impressive than Siri in her armor.

  She wore a gilded golden scale long sleeve skirt like Siri's: unlike Siri's though, hers had no solid shin guards, gauntlets or bracers. Her neck had a matching armored collar over it, and she wore a golden circlet on her forehead with a bar that ran over her nose. There was a teardrop ruby inset above the bar. Her long blonde hair streamed down and made her look even more majestic. She wore her dagger and another just like it beside it.

  “Mistress, you are stunning,” Thorel said breathlessly.

  Ari had looked grumpy until he said that. But when she looked at him, her face softened. She still didn't look happy, but it was a marked difference.

  “Thank you, Thorel. I just wish this damned thing was not so horribly heavy!” She said irritably.

  “If you begin running with me in the mornings Mistress, I'm sure that this would seem light to you soon,” Siri said with a neutral expression. Thorel could see a glimmer in her eyes though. One of the guards passed a crossbow and quiver to Korin.

  “Perhaps,” Ari said thoughtfully. “Let us go now,” she began walking to the door of the three story inn in front of them.

  When they entered the inn, the patrons at their tables turned to see who had entered. Thorel saw mouths drop open with stunned amazement on most of their faces. The innkeeper, a middle-aged woman, nearly dropped the bottle she was pouring from and made her way around the bar quickly wiping her hands on her apron.

  “Milady! I did not expect anyone of your stature in my humble establishment!” She curtsied so deeply she nearly touched her knee to the floor. The people at the tables decided it was a good idea to follow suit, and bowed or curtsied as was proper.

  Ari simply nodded as Silene issued a silent command; the ten personal guards formed a wall between Ari and the patrons. Thorel could only imagine this poor woman's surprise. Then Siri spoke quietly. “Two of my people arrived earlier. They paid you and told you that people were coming who wished to go to your roof. We are those they spoke of.”

  The woman's eyes bulged, and she spoke quickly; “Yes Milady, I will see you to it now. I'll keep it quiet, just like I told them I would, I promise Milady!” Thorel saw that this woman was so nervous he could count her heartbeat just by looking at her neck. He honestly felt for her.

  “Good,” Ari said coldly. Thorel could see her touching the woman with the truth seer. He was certain that Ari would take action if she found her to be lying. Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.

  “Stein! Get out front here and watch the bar! I'll be back!” She yelled.

  “Yes ma'am!” Came a voice from the open doorway behind the bar.

  “If you'll please follow me, Milady, I'll show you to the roof now,” the barkeep said.

  “That would be good,” Ari said coldly. Thorel recalled well when she used to use that tone with him when they first met. She had scared him more than anything he'd experienced before then.

  But now, after seeing a Kryss, almost having his head taken off by an arrow, and dying once, it seemed silly to him. He grinned to keep from laughing at his former self. He'd been so naive when he arrived in Vallad. Thorel felt like he had aged years since he'd left home, not a bare month.

  They completed their climb the creaky wooden stairs and found themselves in a storeroom that had shelves of clean linens, a washbasin, and hanging bedding. The ten guards streamed outside of the room; Siri had led the ascent. Two of the Dothranan guards checked the room efficiently at Siri's hand signal. They nodded to her as they sheathed their weapons.

  “Here is the ladder to the roof, Milady,” the woman said gesturing to it.

  “Thank you. Go now,” Ari said, keeping her tone as icy as before.

  “Yes Milady,” the innkeeper said with a curtsy and scurried out.

  “I'll make certain it is safe,” Siri told them. She didn't wait for Ari's nod of assent and stepped onto the ladder.

&
nbsp; “I'll go with you,” Korin said without hesitation. Siri just nodded as she mounted the ladder. Thorel was surprised at how Korin had fallen in with Siri like an old comrade, even after the concerns he'd brought up. Thorel hadn't yet questioned her on those things.

  After a minute or so of silent waiting, Siri called down to them. “It is clear, Mistress.”

  Ari nodded to Thorel. He took the hint and stepped onto the slat ladder. He tested it with his weight, as was his habit. He'd learned years ago that many things that were sturdy enough for most people could break under his weight. It was surprisingly solid he discovered and pulled himself up awkwardly with his staff to the opening.

  Korin took his staff and Thorel pulled himself easily onto the roof. He took in his surroundings: the roof was pitched slightly to allow rain water to run off, and there were four chimneys poking out of it in various places. He looked out over the surrounding buildings and saw the streets and alleyways below.

  This was higher than he liked, but it did not paralyze him the way the journey up the High Lord's tower had, or the view from the forty-second floor of the Manor. He walked over and put his hand on one of the chimneys though, to give himself an anchor. Thunder from the Magikal storm boomed in the distance.

  He turned, and stopped when he noticed two spirits standing by one of the other chimneys. They were by the one that was furthest from the trapdoor to the roof. Thorel just stood there, stunned as he watched them stand there: they didn't seem to be attached to anyone.

  The spirits in question were those of two men: they were dressed in loose clothing, with short swords on their sides, as well as several daggers. They wore scarves that covered their noses and mouths: and they seemed to notice his gaze as well. One pulled one of his daggers and seemed to hold it ready. He also noticed, unlike other human spirits that he had seen that they actually had feet. All the other human spirits he'd seen seemed to lack them, and simply floated behind whoever they were attached to.

  His eye was caught by Siri helping Ari onto the roof: and he asked; “Um, Mistress? I thought spirits didn't remain if they weren't attached to anyone.”