Master Wizard (Book 4)

by James Eggebeen

  "Here, this one." Chihon guided Kimt to the thread and together they gently pulled on it. At first, it seemed stuck fast, but finally, the thread slipped free and the spell disintegrated in a puff of violet sparkles that settled to the floor and disappeared.

  Kimt gasped. "You did it!"

  "We did it."

  Chihon woke Ril. The baby was more animated than before. She smiled up at Chihon with her toothless grin, her tiny lips spreading back from her pink gums. Ril reached out. Chihon placed her finger in the tiny little hand. "Ma ... ma ..." Ril squeezed Chihon's finger.

  Chihon's heart melted.

  Sond held out her arms to take Ril and Chihon reluctantly handed her over, prying the tiny grasping fingers from around her own.

  "It it true? Is she truly healed?" Sond asked.

  "Yes. The spell is gone," Chihon said. "She's healed."

  Sond handed the baby to Kimt and almost knocked Chihon over in her rush to hug her. She threw her arms around Chihon and squeezed until Chihon thought she would not be able to breathe.

  "Thank you! Thank you!" Sond said. She had tears in her eyes and sniffed as she spoke.

  "It's nothing," Chihon said. "Nothing at all."

  "Bless you." Sond squeezed once more and released Chihon. She took baby Ril from Kimt and rubbed her nose in the child's face. "Did you hear that? No more nasty spell."

  Chihon reached out with her magical sense to Ril once more. Now that the child was free of the Temple spell, she could sense her natural form. Ril was indeed free of the Temple spell.

  Kimt stretched out her hand and touched the baby's face. "We will leave you two alone."

  "Thank you so much," Sond said.

  "We'll be back to check on her occasionally," Kimt said.

  "Let's see about the water now," Chihon said after they'd left Sond's house. "The well is over this way."

  Chihon guided Kimt to the well. Together, they reached out to the waters. The magic was there, just as it was in the vial Chihon still carried. They fashioned a counter to the spell. As Chihon and Kimt pressed their magic into the water, it boiled and steamed, the magic of the Temple fighting theirs until the thread of Temple magic snapped. It made a sharp twang as it yielded to their pressure. The water was clear once more.

  "Now we can go home," Chihon said as she reached out to Kimt to transport them back to Amedon.

  After their visit with Ril, Chihon was even more confused about her feelings for Lorit and her chances at being a mother. The next morning, before the dew was off the grass, she walked the streets of Amedon, pondering. She wandered aimlessly through the gloomy alleyways, listening to the sounds of the town as it came awake. She couldn't stop thinking about Ril and her mother, Sond. It hit Chihon hard that while she'd never known her own mother, the thing that caused her the most agony was Lorit and the prohibition against their having children of their own.

  Chihon had never seriously thought about Lorit as a father. They were young and there was plenty of time to worry about that later, but the way Lorit had handled Ril was touching. Lorit had grown up in a family with a brother and a younger sister. He loved children and was good with them. Chihon saw how he'd lit up when he'd held Ril in his arms, but the Council had made it clear that, as a paired Wizard and Sorceress, she and Lorit were not to have children. Any offspring of such a couple would be too powerful and undisciplined.

  Every time in the past that a pair had begotten offspring, it had ended with the child turning to their own lusts and desires, ultimately to be destroyed at great cost before they did irreparable harm.

  If Chihon and Lorit were married, she would be taking the opportunity to be a father away from him. She couldn't do that to him. She loved him too much to deny him the love and comfort of a family and children.

  Chihon made up her mind. She wasn't going to take anything away from Lorit. She had to distance herself from him until he came to realize that was for the best. She'd held the block against him for quite a while now. First because she was mad, then later because she needed privacy while she figured out what she wanted from him.

  She wandered aimlessly until she came upon a chandlery that had living quarters upstairs. A sign in the window advertised a room for hire.

  She entered the shop's interior where a girl sat at a table braiding candlewicks. The girl was about ten summers in age, slight, with long blonde hair done up in pig-tails. She wore a scarf and a light apron.

  The girl looked up when Chihon came in. "May I help you, ma'am?"

  "I'm inquiring about the room."

  "Pa! Somebody's here about the room," she shouted.

  "Just a minute," came the answer. "I'll be out when I finish this batch."

  Chihon walked over to the table and sat across from the girl. She looked at her work and picked up a few of the threads that were piled before the girl. Chihon watched the girl braid another wick and then carefully tried it herself. She held it out to the girl.

  "How's this?" Chihon asked.

  "Fine." The girl placed Chihon's wick on the growing pile. "What's your name? Mine's Uwora."

  "I'm Chihon."

  "Thanks for helping." Uwora smiled at her. The girl had a bright smile that went well with her sparkling green eyes.

  "It's not a bother. I might as well lend a hand while I'm waiting." Chihon braided another wick and placed it on the table for Uwora's inspection. "Do you work here every day?"

  "Mostly. On market day, I do the shopping, and sometimes I take the morning to bake bread."

  "Don't you have a mother?" Chihon asked.

  "No." Uwora looked intently at her hands as she worked. "My ma passed last winter. It's just me and my pa now."

  Chihon laid her hand on the girl's. "I'm sorry to hear that."

  Just then, a man appeared in the doorway leading from the back room. He was average in every way except for a birthmark on his left cheek just below his eye. The bright red spot was about the size of a thumbprint in the shape of a heart. He had the same blond hair as the girl and wore a leather apron that was spattered with wax.

  Chihon stood.

  "Please sit," the man said. He wiped his hands on a towel he carried and tucked it into his apron pocket.

  He pulled the bench out, sat next to Uwora, and put his arm around her. "Those look nice."

  "She helped. Her name's Chihon," Uwora said gesturing to Chihon.

  "Why, thank you, Chihon," the man said. "My name is Brayar."

  Chihon nodded. "Pleased to meet you."

  "You're looking for a room?"

  "Yes." Chihon continued to work as they spoke. She thought it only polite, since her hands would otherwise be idle.

  "What's a young lady like you doing in need of a room? Problems at home?"

  "No, nothing like that," Chihon replied. "I moved here with a friend who's living in the Wizards' Keep, but I want to get out on my own."

  "Dump you, did he?" Brayer's brow wrinkled.

  Chihon blushed. "No, nothing like that. I just need a little time on my own."

  "Well, your story doesn't matter to me." Brayer stood up. "The room is twenty Silvers a moon. You get your own water and do your own cooking. Me and Uwora live upstairs, too. You're hiring a room and access to the kitchen."

  "That sounds fine." Chihon stood up and pushed back her bench. "I'd like to see the room."

  Brayer turned to Uwora. "Show her the room, but don't dawdle. I'll be needing those wicks soon."

  The room was small, with a bed and a desk cramped into a space barely big enough to navigate. A small window looked down on the back alley. The room was serviceable. She'd take it.

  Chihon said goodbye to Uwora and returned to the Keep. She planned to get her things and leave before Lorit returned. She was almost finished when Kimt arrived and asked her what she was doing.

  "I'm moving out of the Keep," Chihon said. "I need to get away for a while."

  "Where are you going?"

  "I found a room for hire in town. It's near enough that I
can walk to and from the Keep without much effort. It will give me some time alone while I figure out what I want to do."

  "What's troubling you?" Kimt sat on the arm of the chair and put her arm around Chihon.

  "After we saw Ril, I decided I want to be a mother." Chihon looked up into Kimt's eyes. "I want to have a child to take care of. I want what Sond and Ril have."

  "So why are you moving out?"

  "Lorit," Chihon said.

  "I don't understand. What does Lorit have to do with this?" Kimt frowned and squeezed Chihon tighter.

  Chihon hung her head and hid her face. "We're paired ... so close. I always thought we'd be married eventually."

  "So what's wrong with that?"

  "Lorit can't be the father." Chihon sniffed. "The Council made that clear. If I want to be a mother I'll have to find someone else."

  She really didn't want to hurt Lorit, but she knew she would. No matter what she decided, he'd be hurt. Either because she wouldn't marry him or because she would marry him and keep him from being a father.

  "Oh, I see." Kimt reached down and took Chihon's chin in her hand. She turned Chihon's face to her own.

  "You want your own child but don't want to hurt Lorit. Is that it?"

  "I can't bear to be around him all the time knowing we can't be together, and I don't want to hurt him ... If we're together, I'll never find someone else ... I don't even want someone else."

  "I fear there's no easy answer. No matter what you do."

  Chihon pulled away from Kimt's grip and buried her face in her hands, sobbing softly while Kimt held her.

  By the time Chihon and Kimt finished their talk it was too late to leave. Chihon decided to wait until morning to move her belongings to the chandlery. She was in the process of packing the last of her things when Lorit rushed in, out of breath.

  "We found the original Temple. It was buried beneath the old city ... and there were scrolls in a Wizard's study down below ..." Lorit stopped talking when he noticed her packing. "What are you doing?" he asked.

  "Packing my things." Chihon kept her gaze focused on her pack as she stuffed the last of her clothes into it.

  "Where are you going? When will you be back?" Lorit asked. "Do you need my help? Should I go with you?"

  Chihon hid her face so Lorit wouldn't see her tears. "No. I'm fine. I'm moving out of the Keep for a while."

  "Moving out of the Keep? Where are you going? Back home?" Lorit sat down on the bed next to her pack.

  "No. Just into town." Chihon avoided his eyes.

  "Why? There's plenty of room here."

  "I know. I just need a little bit of time to decide what I'm going to do."

  "Do? About what?" Lorit stood and placed his hand on Chihon's shoulder. He gently turned her towards him. Chihon resisted at first, but let him look into her tear-filled eyes.

  "About us!" Chihon sobbed.

  "What about us?" Lorit frowned.

  "They said we can't have kids. I saw you with Ril. You love babies. You want to have kids. You never said so, but I can tell you do. If we stay together, you can't."

  "What are you talking about?" Lorit looked at her as if she'd lost her mind.

  Chihon grabbed her pack and shouldered it to avoid looking at him. "The Council said we can't have children together. I want to have kids and I know you do, too. That means we can't be together."

  Lorit stepped back from her. He raised his arms. "Why such a rush? We have lots of time to worry about that."

  "No, we don't." Tears streamed down her face. "If I stay with you, you'll never find someone else and neither will I. You'll never get to be a father if you stay with me and I won't get to be a mother."

  Lorit fished around in his pocket and pulled out his kerchief. He extended his hand to wipe away her tears, but she pushed it away. "I can't take away your chance to be a father."

  Lorit stepped back. "It's all right. I'm fine either way. I like kids, but I don't need any of my own. There's nothing to get upset about."

  "You just don't understand." Chihon shook her head.

  "Maybe I don't, but there's no rush. We're still young. We have our whole lives ahead of us." Lorit stepped up to her and tried to put his arm around her, but Chihon wasn't in the mood for comfort. Part of her wanted him to hold her and tell her it would be all right, but part of her was angry with him. If she let him comfort her, she would stay and then nothing would change. It just wasn't fair.

  "I need to think," Chihon said. "I don't want to see you while I'm trying to make up my mind. You'll just keep telling me it's all right, but it's not."

  "It is all right," Lorit said.

  "No, it's not! It will never be." Chihon grabbed her pack and stormed out the door.

  Tenuous Hold

  Lorit stood alone in the empty study after Chihon stormed out. He was bewildered and hurt. Why had she suddenly run off like that? He reached out for her using their magical connection, but Chihon still held the block. She must be angry with him, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. He sat in his chair and called the fire to life. "Incendo ignio."

  As the flames drove the cold and dark away, Lorit relaxed his sense and sought Chihon. She had blocked his direct contact, but the bond they shared was too strong to be completely suppressed. He saw her threading her way through the darkened streets to the chandlery, more as a vague sense of presence than a vision.

  Lorit let his senses roam farther and farther, searching for ... he didn't know what he was searching for, he was just searching, open to contact, to information, to sensations. Anything.

  As his senses roamed, Lorit got the impression of the charm he'd seen in his vision from Du'ala. Why did it suddenly become prominent? Was it a warning? He dug deeper, trying to make the vision more solid when the ground shook; gently, almost imperceptibly at first, but growing stronger. Lorit glanced at the chalice sitting on the table at his elbow. Circular ripples rushed back and forth across its surface, breaking on the edge of the chalice.

  Lorit embraced the shaking and reached for the source. He sensed a weak ripple in the magic around him. He pursued it, gently, careful not to break the connection. His magic followed the trail for a while until it faded out. He searched for it again, but it was gone. The trail headed east. That was all he could tell.

  He continued probing, searching, but the trace was gone. He relaxed and let it go, wondering what it had been when the ground shook once more. This time, he immediately extended his senses, following the trail. It led farther than it had the first time, before becoming too weak to follow. He gathered his power and rushed after the scent of it as it wound its way through the mountains and finally faded out as it crossed the coast and headed out to sea.

  Quineshua. Of course. There was something in the Temple that had caused the magical disruption. He reached out with all his power and searched for the scent of magic. Now that he knew what he was looking for, it was easier to locate it. After struggling with his vision for a while, he saw it. It was on Quineshua, in the Temple. It was a jewel, one that stored magic just like the one in his staff. It was wrapped in a spell that guarded it, obscured its location, but something had temporarily disrupted that masking spell. Now that Lorit knew what to look for, it was easy to find it.

  Lorit dug deeper, trying to get a sense of where in the Temple the thing was, or what it might be. He couldn't pinpoint its location, but he received a clear impression of its magic, and the magic that wrapped it so securely. The magic was familiar.

  It was Zhimosom's. What was Zhimosom doing? Lorit thought the old Wizard was fading in his power. Certainly, he'd been less active lately, so what had changed? Lorit resolved to go see what was happening. He focused in on Zhimosom and opened a channel to converse with him.

  Zhimosom accepted his contact, but it was distorted and weak.

  "What is it, my boy?" Zhimosom asked.

  "Did you feel it?" Lorit was eager to know if Zhimosom would admit to what had happened.

  "F
eel what?"

  "The tremor. I felt something ... something to do with you." Lorit mentally prepared himself to travel to Zhimosom's home and confront him if he evaded Lorit's questions.

  "You must be imagining things," Zhimosom said. He stroked his long white beard casually.

  Lorit strengthened the image of Zhimosom's study. He visualized Wizard's location with its large wooden table and engraved symbols. He recalled the shelves of dusty old books and candle wax splattered all over the place. He made it substantial, real.

  "I'm coming over," Lorit said.

  "Of course. Of course," Zhimosom mumbled.

  Lorit solidified his vision and pulled. His own study faded away to be replaced by Zhimosom's. The Wizard sat in his usual chair, his robe loose, his long white hair flowing behind him, his beard stretching to the table before him.

  Zhimosom touched the bridge of his spectacles and pushed them back on his face. "What's the matter, son?"

  "I felt a tremor. There was powerful magic, but it was protected, wrapped in a spell of some sort. I couldn't make out where it was or why the ground shook so."

  Lorit pulled out a chair and dropped into it while he waited for Zhimosom to answer, but Zhimosom simply stroked his beard and stared off into space. In front of him lay the scrolls that Lorit had delivered with Kedrik.

  "The Charm ... yes," Zhimosom said absently.

  "Lorit. It speaks of the dragons and the charm." Kedrik pointed to the scroll that sat unrolled before Zhimosom. Sulrad used it to summon and control the dragons. It's all here."

  "The scrolls talk about Sulrad?"

  "No. Before Sulrad. They were written by a Wizard named Skelek. He built the Charm and Sulrad found it."

  "Why is that important?"

  "The Charm is powered by an ancient spell. Even Skelek didn't know what made it work. It uses the holder's magic along with all that it absorbs. If Sulrad used it, then it contains his magic, too."

  "So it contains some of his magic. How will that help?" Lorit asked.

  "Not some of his magic, all of it." Kedrik beamed with pride.

  How had Kedrik learned to read the scrolls so quickly? He had only just begun his training in Amedon, and now he'd mastered an ancient Wizard's tongue that Lorit had not been able to decipher.