The Flaw in All Magic (Magebreakers Book 1)

by Ben S. Dobson

  “Can we assume, then, that the matter is closed? Cranst all but admitted to the murder, by your account, and seems to have been the motivating force behind these lunatics.”

  Tane shook his head. “I don’t think it’s that simp—”

  Greymond interrupted him with a short phrase in the lingua, and her office door swung open.

  Chancellor Nieris strode into the room in an extravagant purple coat and frilled crimson cravat. “Thank you, Liana,” he said briskly, and held the door for the woman behind him.

  She was human, perhaps a few years past forty, with deep brown skin—darker than Indree’s, who was of Anjican descent on her human mother’s side. Her hair was short, dense black curls trimmed close to the scalp. She wore very fine clothes: a pale blue full-skirted longcoat buttoned in silver, with black boots beneath. Tane knew her instantly, even before Nieris introduced her. The air of authority she carried could only belong to a scion of one of the Great Houses, and only one human house traced its roots back to Estian-occupied Anjica before the Mage War.

  “May I introduce Lady Abena Jasani, Protector of the Realm,” Nieris said. “Lady Abena, I know you are familiar with Dean Greymond.”

  Lady Abena nodded her head. “It is always a pleasure, Liana. I appreciate—”

  “I was glad to help, Your Ladyship, but the constabulary hasn’t needed a great deal of assistance. I’ve done little enough.” Greymond went pale then, realizing too late that she’d interrupted the Lady Protector. “Oh I… I’m sorry, I—”

  Lady Abena smiled. “Great diviners are always ahead of their time, they say. I take no offense.”

  Nieris continued around the room. “This is Constable Inspector Indree Lovial, and I imagine you’ve heard of Mister Tane Carver.” He frowned when he got to Kadka. “And Kadka, formerly of the University Guard. I confess, I’m not certain why she is here.”

  Kadka returned his gaze steadily. “Helping.”

  “She has been a great help, Lady Abena,” Indree said quickly, dipping her head respectfully to the Lady Protector. “Without her, I think last night’s ambush would have gone very differently.”

  “Then I thank you, Kadka,” said Lady Abena. “If you have been of use to the investigation, you are welcome here. Or is there a problem, Chancellor Nieris?”

  “Of course not. As I said before, Miss Kadka, I was very sorry that I had to…” Nieris trailed off under Kadka’s yellow-eyed stare. “Well, in any event, we have important things to discuss.”

  “Yes,” said Lady Abena. “I am very interested to hear about what you have found, Inspector Lovial. Chancellor Nieris assures me that your efforts have been most admirable.” She turned to Tane, then; his instinct was to bow, but no one else was, so he just dipped his head low. “And Tane Carver. I have long been interested in meeting you. I read your dissertation, years ago. You raised some very interesting points. Of course, my family saw that I was instructed in magical theory by the finest tutors, but not everyone has that privilege. I would not presume to question my predecessor’s decisions, but had I been Protector of the Realm at that time… well, there is no use speculating, is there?”

  “No, Your Ladyship, I suppose there isn’t.” Tane swallowed nervously. Protectors of the Realm were elected in the Senate of Houses, and didn’t demand the same subservience as born royalty like the Kaiser of Belgrier or theocrats like the Lord Provost of Estia, but still he felt extremely shabby standing before her in his frayed waistcoat. “I’m… glad you found my work interesting, at least.” That actually did mean something, coming from her. There were few in the Protectorate’s upper ranks who would better understand what he’d been trying to say.

  Abena Jasani, like every Protector of the Realm before her, lacked any magic of her own.

  No mage could hold Audland’s highest office. It was one of the nation’s founding principles, to signify that although the Protectorate was founded as a haven for the magical, they did not hold those born with magecraft to be superior to those without. And perhaps more importantly, to prove to the nations of the Continent that they didn’t need to fear another Mage Emperor. It made for a strange political reality that in a country so reliant on magic, a senate of houses made wealthy and powerful by magecraft was forced to select a leader from those born without the gift. Less affluent families prayed to the Astra for their children to be mages; in the great houses, the magicless were groomed all their lives for the possibility that they might one day govern the nation. And unique among the highest positions in Audland, Lord and Lady Protectors were almost never elvish, because the elvish were almost never magicless.

  Lady Abena smiled. “Perhaps one day, after I have seen my airship into the sky, we can speak more about what you wrote.” She looked back to Indree. “But for now, I must know what your investigation has uncovered. Please, Constable Inspector.”

  Indree summarized the investigation up to the events of the previous night, going so far as to credit Tane and Kadka’s assistance as indispensable. Tane wasn’t sure if she really meant it or if she was just trying to make the story sound better for Lady Abena, but it was nice to hear either way.

  “You see, Lady Abena?” Nieris said. “The matter is dealt with, as I promised. Cranst was behind the murder, and his little cult won’t be a problem any longer.”

  “I’m sorry, Chancellor Nieris, but I’m not so certain,” said Indree. “There are still things we don’t know. Cranst shouldn’t have been able to bypass the portal wards on campus to begin with.”

  Nieris waved a dismissive hand. “We will look into that, of course, but for now the wards have been tightened and the threat is gone. What matters is that the airship launch can proceed safely.”

  Indree frowned. “I don’t—”

  “You understand, Inspector,” Nieris said firmly, “that it would not reflect well on anyone if the ceremony were to be put off now. You have done a great deal to assure that does not happen. On behalf of the University, I thank you. The Chief Constable will certainly be hearing from me about your work here.”

  “You… you have to be joking! Tane sputtered. “You can’t be that arrogant.” He could have screamed. The same as it always goes. Reputations to uphold. It wouldn’t do to announce that the University’s mages can make mistakes.

  Nieris gave Tane a look that could have frozen over the Audish Channel. “You are out of line, Mister Carver.”

  “Out of line? A man opened a portal inside your supposedly unbreakable wards and murdered a student! My friend!” Everyone was looking at him now, but he didn’t stop. “Cranst didn’t break those wards alone. He wasn’t close to capable of that. We know he was receiving messages from someone, and we don’t know who.” Tane snatched up the pouch from Greymond’s desk, emptied the badge and key into his hand, and lifted them for all to see. “A badge like this implies an organization, and we don’t know that we’ve caught them all. There is still a very real chance someone out there has one like it, which means they have access to wherever Cranst was hiding. And probably to anything he sent out of the artifice workshop. If they’re planning to sabotage the airship, they might well have the plans they need to do it. You’re a fool if you ignore that!”

  “Tane!” Dean Greymond looked absolutely mortified, and she glanced nervously at the Lady Protector.

  Which reminded Tane where the true power lay here. He spun to face Lady Abena. “Your Ladyship, please. You have to postpone this until we know more.”

  “I apologize for this inexcusable outburst, Lady Abena,” Nieris said hastily. “Mister Carver, that is more than enough. You will remove yourself immediately, or I will have you removed.”

  Kadka stepped in front of Tane, her thick jaw set stubbornly. “No. We stay. Carver is right. You should listen.”

  Tane pushed past her. “This is between me and the chancellor, Kadka.” He gave her a pointed look, tried to tell her with his eyes what he couldn’t say aloud. Stay out of this. You don’t have to go down with me. But she only stare
d at the chancellor, unflinching.

  Nieris rubbed his temples. “Have you both taken leave of your senses? I can have the Guard—”

  Lady Abena held up one hand. “That will not be necessary, Talain,” she said, and then to Tane, “I admire your conviction, Mister Carver, and I share your concerns.”

  “Then you’ll postpone?”

  She shook her head. “I truly wish that I could, but the ceremony must go forward. Too much depends on it. You must understand: we are a small nation, and the larger ones across the Channel have no love of us or our magic. Smaller conflicts have been piling on one another for years, and I fear they will soon lead to a war we cannot afford. My airships and the promise they represent are, I believe, the best hope of a lasting peace. Perhaps even a chance to better the lives of our magical cousins on the Continent. But if the dignitaries attending tonight sense that something is awry with the launch, that opportunity could be lost. A hint of doubt is all it would take.”

  That was a hard thing to argue against. For centuries now, the Protectorate hadn’t gone more than thirty years at a time absent some conflict with the nations that bordered the Audish Channel on the Calenean side. Each had reacted to the Mage War differently, but they were all wary of magic to some degree. In Estia, the remnant of the old empire had turned to a religious dogma that called magecraft a corruption of the soul—though they somehow justified ancryst engines to keep their naval presence strong. In Belgrier, they saw the magical as a danger, segregating them into ghettos and workhouses. Even in Rhien, the least severe of the three, those with magic in their blood were allowed to live as citizens only under constant government oversight. Lady Abena had long preached improved ties of trade and travel and diplomacy as the most practical solution to the problem, even before she had been named Protector of the Realm.

  “So what, then?” Tane said. “We just… close our eyes and hope nothing goes wrong?”

  “No,” said Lady Abena. “We ensure it does not. My Mageblades will secure the launch site itself, and there are few who would dare to stand against them, as I’m sure you know.” She looked to Indree. “But I would also ask that Stooketon Yard send men to patrol the whole of Porthaven, and conduct a full search of the area for any remaining saboteurs before the ceremony begins this evening. And during the event, perhaps a number of constables in dress attire among the guests?”

  Indree nodded. “Of course, Your Ladyship. I will see it done. Cranst ambushed us not far from the airship, and it seems likely he would have kept his hiding place near there. We may yet end this before the ceremony starts. If not, I will personally coordinate a covert detail.”

  “Your dedication speaks highly of you, Constable Inspector,” said Lady Abena. “And Mister Carver, Miss Kadka: whatever your reservations, I ask that you help however you can. I know you have both been invaluable to this investigation. The Protectorate needs you now.”

  It was almost exactly what Tane had told Bastian the day before, but it was hard to see it as the same sort of cheap trick when it came from the Protector of the Realm herself. “I… I’ll do my best, Your Ladyship.”

  Kadka inclined her head. “Too far in to not go farther. I want to see what end looks like.”

  “Thank you.” Lady Abena spread her hands in a wide gesture. “All of you, for everything you have done and the work to come. Now, I believe it would be best not to delay any longer.”

  Tane left with Indree and Kadka, doing his best to pretend he didn’t notice Greymond and Nieris watching him with disapproving eyes. I suppose this isn’t going to leave me as well positioned with the University as I’d hoped. But it had needed saying, and no one else would have. The only thing he regretted was dragging Kadka into it.

  When they were outside, Indree turned to him. “Tane? I’m going to need that badge and key.”

  He still had Cranst’s empty pouch clutched in one hand, the key and badge in the other. He looked down at them, and hesitated. “Doesn’t it seem too easy to assume Cranst’s bolthole was in Porthaven? They obviously knew we were coming. Why lead us right to the place they’re trying to hide?”

  “Besides the fact that they thought we’d be dead?” But Indree didn’t sound very certain. “I… don’t entirely disagree, Tane. But I’m acting under request from the Lady Protector now. This is the best lead we have. We can’t ignore it for a hunch. Even if we don’t find anything, a heavy constabulary presence in Porthaven might discourage any attempts to sabotage the airship.” She prodded her cheek with her tongue a moment, and then, “But I don’t need you two patrolling the docks. If you come up with something better and decide to follow it up, I don’t see any harm in that. As long as you don’t find some way to cause a diplomatic incident at the launch ceremony.”

  “No promises,” said Tane with a slight smile.

  “You were never much for keeping them anyway,” Indree said. “I do need the badge and key, though. I can’t let you keep important evidence. We’ll need them if we do find his hiding place.”

  Tane stowed the contents of his hand in Cranst’s pouch, and handed it over.

  “Good luck,” said Indree. “And Tane… be careful.” She turned to Kadka. “Don’t let him get himself killed.” Before either one of them could answer, she walked briskly away.

  After a moment, Kadka said, “She will not be happy when she finds you kept key and badge.”

  Tane rubbed his neck sheepishly. “You noticed?”

  “I guessed.” Kadka grinned as he plucked the key and badge from his sleeve. “What does she have?”

  “A silver stave and a spare key to my office.”

  “So she can unlock door when she comes later to put you in cell. This is thoughtful of you.”

  “I’m nothing if not considerate.” Tane flipped the badge into the air and caught it, glancing at the glyphs on the back side. “She’s not going to find a place to use this in Porthaven. I still might.”

  “Where?”

  Tane looked away. “Kadka… maybe you shouldn’t come. It’s bad enough that I lost you your position with the Guard, but now Nieris is angry with me. With both of us, after you backed me in there. Which you shouldn’t have done. Making an enemy of the chancellor could make things very difficult for you in Thaless. It’s probably best if you aren’t seen with me anymore.”

  Kadka laughed. “I am not afraid of skinny elf man with all his frills. If you go alone, how do I earn my part of pay?”

  “You earned it three saving my lifes ago. I’ll give you your share. You don’t have to—”

  “Carver. Stop. Like I say to your Lady Protector: I come too far now to not see end. Tell me where we go.”

  “Spellfire, don’t be stubborn about this. I’m trying to help you!”

  “Want to help? Let me say what is best for me.”

  Tane threw up his hands. “Fine! But when things get bad, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  She just grinned that sharp-toothed grin. “Because is so good, this far?”

  Tane tried to hold his glare, but a snorted laugh forced its way out of his nose. “Fair point.”

  “So. Where to look?”

  “I’m… still working on that part,” he admitted grudgingly. “We saw the room he came from through that portal in the workshop. There might have been some clue there.”

  “Was blurry. Couldn’t see much.”

  “I know,” said Tane. “But… there had to be something.”

  “There was sound,” Kadka said.

  “Probably just an instability in the portal.” He frowned. “Except… we heard it twice. If it was just random sounds pulled through the Astra, would we have heard the same noise twice?”

  “I still say it sounds like tunvok howling.”

  “Right.” She’d mentioned that before, but he hadn’t paid it much mind at the time. “Some sort of animal, you said. What is it, exactly?”

  “Is like… wolf, you would say. But bigger. Howl brings cold. In Sverna, they are tamed sometimes, to
ride.”

  “Wait… orcish wolf-riders are real? Spellfire, I thought that was a story.”

  Kadka shrugged. “Is real. Tunvokovir, they are called.”

  “Still, that howl had to have come through an instability from Sverna. Where else would you be able to hear…” Tane’s eyes widened, and he grabbed her by the shoulders. “Kadka! That’s it!”

  She grinned broadly, caught up in his enthusiasm. “What is it?”

  “Dedric Cranst said his house was near the Conservatory of Magical Beasts! If there are any of these tunvok in Thaless, that’s exactly where they’d be!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  _____

  “SHE’S JUST DOWN here,” the sprite woman said, fluttering down the cobbled paths of the Conservatory. The Head Keeper on duty, Selene Meadowgrass had taken it upon herself to personally assist Tane and Kadka after he’d dropped the Lady Protector’s name. She wore exactly the uniform Tane would have imagined an animal-keeper to wear, but in miniature: a khaki coat with a great many pockets, matching trousers, and a wide-brimmed hat over her brown hair. “I should be able to get her to howl for you—we’re working on those commands. I’m surprised she hasn’t started on her own, to be honest. Some days it seems like she’ll never stop.”

  “Well, we appreciate the help,” Tane said, but he was only half-listening. He hadn’t visited the Conservatory since he was a boy, and the animals were both incredible and distracting.

  Dozens of large fenced habitats lined the path, the smallest of them easily ten times the size of his little office in Porthaven. Magically warded and spelled to mimic environments from deserts to plains to frozen snowdrifts, each housed a beast directly out of ancient legend. To his left, in the forested unicorn habitat, one of the majestic equine creatures bent over a little stream, its spiral horn glimmering with a hundred colors in the afternoon sun. Tane found it hard to look away.