“Like what?” Gabriel asked.
“Like me, running up to them and saying I have escaped Apollyon while he was distracted,” Vicaquirao said. “And then you will appear and attack them.”
“How?” Gabriel said, feeling naked without a talisman and with Dark Mages walking down the street looking to find them at any moment.
“With these,” Vicaquirao said, handing Gabriel the concatenate crystal and pulling something shinny from his pocket.
“My pocket watch!” Gabriel said, excitement filling him as he took the watch and the crystal from Vicaquirao.
“Take this as well,” Vicaquirao said, handing him the beetle encased in amber. “When you see me with Kumaradevi’s mages, you need to attack. Can you shoot lightning from your fingers?”
“Yes,” Gabriel said. He had been singed numerous times in his lessons with the Malignant Fire Mage, Malee.
“Good,” Vicaquirao said. “It is a signature of his. Attack with all the power you can manage.”
“I can’t fight twenty or thirty of them,” Gabriel said.
“I would not be so sure of that,” Vicaquirao said, “but you will not have to. Once they have me, they will signal to Kumaradevi to lift the space-time seal, and they will flee. They have no desire to die fighting Apollyon. They will be happy to have what they think is you and be gone.”
“But what will you do once she has you?” Gabriel asked.
“I am touched that you are concerned for my well-being,” Vicaquirao said. “You need not worry about me. The important thing is that when you get back to the castle, the very first thing you must do is have Councilman Zhang arrested. He is Kumaradevi’s spy. If he has a chance to send a message back to her telling of your return to the castle, things will go very poorly for me. As long as she thinks she already has you, she will not try to capture you again. And I will be free to implement a plan I have been working on for some time.” Gabriel could imagine that Vicaquirao had plans within plans ready to unfold at a moment’s notice.
“They are almost here. Remember what I have told you. Your choices are of great importance to the Continuum. Good luck.” Vicaquirao turned to go and paused, looking back for a second with a devilish smile. “And tell Elizabeth I said hello.”
With that Vicaquirao, disguised as Gabriel, dashed to the next house and then the next and then ran into the road, his arms waving at the squad of ten Dark Mages marching down the street checking houses. As Vicaquirao reached the Dark Mages, one of them sent a fireball up into the air.
Taking that as his own signal, Gabriel reached for the magical energy within himself and focused it through the pocket watch and the tainted concatenate crystal. The crystal must have been linked to six other crystals in the Primary Continuum, because it was immensely powerful. Stepping from behind the house and walking into the street, Gabriel spread his arms wide, jets of blue-white lightning leaping from the fingertips of both hands toward the Dark Mages at either end of the street. The mages with Vicaquirao flickered out of existence as they jumped with the false Gabriel.
Turning to the other side of the street, Gabriel focused all of his magical streams of lightning at the remaining mages, careful to make sure that none of the bolts of energy touched any of the buildings. The second group of Dark Mages disappeared as quickly as the first. Letting the lightning from his fingertips cease, Gabriel took the piece of amber from his pocket and focused his time-sense on it. He not only needed to go back to the castle, but back to a time and place where no one would see him except the one person he needed to.
A blackness began to swiftly surround him, and Gabriel had a moment to realize how fortunate he had been, how extremely lucky that Vicaquirao had not thought to remove the amulet Kumaradevi had given him. As the whiteness engulfed him, he had yet another moment to wonder if it had really been a mistake, or whether Vicaquirao was already guiding his choices through some deceptively obscure plan.
And then he stood in Councilwoman Elizabeth’s private chamber in the state apartments as she screamed, throwing her cup of tea at him and standing up as he felt himself thrown across the room, striking the wall with a bone-crunching thud.
Chapter 22: Tea Time
Gabriel threw his arms up before his face as the air began to crackle with bolts of lightning. Seeing his hands, he realized what was wrong.
“How dare you come to this place and time!” Elizabeth roared, as the air shimmered around Gabriel and he returned to his normal appearance.
“Gabriel?”
Shocked by the metamorphosis of Gabriel from Apollyon to himself, Elizabeth released all of her magic at once. Gabriel fell to the floor with a thump.
“Hi,” he managed to say as he looked up.
“Gabriel,” Elizabeth said again as she rushed to him and knelt down to check that he was uninjured. She took his face in her hands. “What are you doing here? How did you get here? What happened? We’ve been so worried about you.”
“It’s kind of a long story,” Gabriel said, his face breaking into a smile, a feeling of relief washing over him. He was home. He was safe.
“Come,” Elizabeth said, helping him to his feet and guiding him around the broken china teacup to a chair. “Have a seat. I’ll fetch the others.”
“No,” Gabriel said, reaching out to grab Elizabeth’s arm as she turned toward the door. “Not yet.”
“Why not?” Elizabeth said. “What wrong?”
“Councilman Zhang,” Gabriel said, looking out the window and seeing the sun well on its way to sunset in the western sky. He must have interrupted Elizabeth’s afternoon tea.
“What about Councilman Zhang?” Elizabeth asked, sitting down across from Gabriel.
“He’s Kumaradevi’s spy,” Gabriel said. He wondered how much time had passed here in the castle since his abduction. He had not been sure when he made the jump.
“That’s impossible,” Elizabeth said. “Who told you this?”
“Vicaquirao,” Gabriel said. He watched Elizabeth’s eyes go wide at the mention of the name. “He said to tell you hello.”
“I’ll just bet he did,” Elizabeth said, her face hardening into an impenetrable mask. “You had better tell me everything. From the beginning.”
Gabriel told her everything. He tried to start at the beginning and follow through in chronological order, but like a Time Mage jumping from era to era, he tended to leap from one part of the story to another related part, sometime later. More than once, he felt himself on the verge of tears as he recounted one or another of the abuses of Kumaradevi and her dark mages.
With Elizabeth’s patient questions and a fresh cup of tea, he managed to make it all the way through the recitation of his ordeal. Elizabeth seemed particularly interested in his time with Vicaquirao. She too was suspicious of his amazing good fortune at escaping and the interesting coincidence of Vicaquirao having Gabriel’s pocket watch on him at the time.
“Firstly,” Elizabeth said, “Give me that amulet. Never trust anything that Vicaquirao gives you. And the concatenate crystal. I doubt he would give it up if he really cared about us finding and severing its connected sister crystals.” Gabriel handed Elizabeth the concatenate crystal and the amulet from around his neck. She examined both. Standing, she took another amulet from a box on one of her bookshelves and handed it to Gabriel. It was a small glass amulet much like the others with a bright pearlescent pink sheen. Gabriel made a face as he put it on.
“It is a bit girlish, but Sema can fashion you one that is more to your tastes later,” Elizabeth said, patting his hand. “For now, wait here. I will lock the door. Do not let anyone in. I will return shortly. In the meantime, help yourself to some apple crumb cake. It’s delicious.” Elizabeth smiled at him, her bright gray eyes shining with silent assurance of his safely.
As she closed the door, he heard the loud sound of a lock sliding into place. For a moment it reminded him of his tower cell back in Kumaradevi’s palace, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind and
reached out to take a piece of apple crumb cake rather than dwell on his memories.
Two pieces of crumb cake and nearly half an hour later, Elizabeth returned. Akikane and Ohin followed her into the room. And another person Gabriel had seen, but not really met.
“Nefferati!” Gabriel said leaping to his feet. “You’re alive!”
“No need to sound so surprised,” Nefferati said, throwing the door closed as she stepped into the room. “I may be old, but I am not feeble.”
“I didn’t mean…” Gabriel started to say. “It’s just the last time I saw you…I wasn’t sure if you would escape.”
“Thanks to you I did,” Nefferati said with a grin as she wrapped Gabriel in a hug so powerful it made him think he’d been trapped by a bear. “And that sly little Incan we all thought was dead. Can’t say I wasn’t happy to see him, even if I did think he was a serving girl at the time. He gave me a relic that took me back to the Primary Continuum, but it disintegrated after I used it. Covering his tracks as usual.”
“What is this about serving girls?” Ohin said, giving Gabriel a hug.
“It’s complicated,” Gabriel said.
“Of course, of course,” Akikane said as he embraced Gabriel. “You will tell us all about it. Elizabeth has told us about Zhang.”
“Who is now residing in the dungeons,” Elizabeth said to Gabriel as they all took seats. “He confessed everything.”
“After he saw me,” Nefferati said with a wicked chuckle. “I’ve been back and hiding for a month while we tried to figure out who the spy was who had given me away. Zhang was very surprised to see me.”
“You showed considerable restraint,” Ohin said. “I cannot say I would have done the same.”
“Yes, yes,” Akikane said, with a chuckle. “You restrained him considerably.”
“But why would he do it?” Gabriel asked, looking to Elizabeth for the answer. “Why would he turn against the Council?”
“Because of me,” Nefferati said. “He fell in love with a Malignancy Mage, many years ago. A very skilled and beautiful woman. He never forgave me for killing her. Something he and Kumaradevi shared in common. People they loved who died at my hands. Many people share that bond.”
“He fell in love with a Malignancy Mage?” Gabriel said, shocked by the idea.
“We have no control over who our heart chooses to love,” Elizabeth said, a trace of sadness in her voice.
“So true, so true,” Akikane whispered.
“Now tell us what has happened to you,” Ohin said, leaning forward with concerned interest.
So, Gabriel told again the tale of his dual captivity, reliving once more as he did so each moment of the torment, fear, and frustration of the previous two months. It was easier in the second telling, and he managed to recount the events in the same order they had happened in, but it was also exhausting. However, as the fatigue of recalling his capture washed through him, he also felt a sense of relief.
Telling the story restored the inner strength that he had been depleting slowly, day by day, as his internment had worn on. With that strength came an upwelling of anger. Anger at Kumaradevi. Anger at Vicaquirao. Anger at the Council. Anger at the four mages sitting and listening to him speak. By the end of the story, he found it hard to control the anger in his voice.
“You handled yourself very well,” Ohin said. “I am extremely proud of you.”
“We all are,” Elizabeth said, placing her hand on Gabriel’s knee. “You seem upset. Maybe you would like to go back to your room?”
“The boy’s upset with us,” Nefferati said. “He should speak what’s on his mind.”
“Yes, yes,” Akikane said. “The fire of your anger will burn you more than us.”
“What Vicaquirao said is right,” Gabriel said, his face hot as he spoke. “Everyone is using me or trying to use me. And I’m tired of it. Kumaradevi wants to use me to destroy the Council. Apollyon wants to use me to destroy the Great Barrier. I’m not sure what Vicaquirao wants to use me for, but he admitted he wants to influence my choices. And the Council wants to use me to defeat the Malignancy Mages. Everyone is trying to position me like a chess piece, and I don’t want it anymore.” Tears brimmed in his eyes and he could not bring himself to look at the others.
“You are right,” Elizabeth said. “We are using you.”
“Using you before you begin to use them,” Nefferati said, with a snort of laughter.
“Just so, just so,” Akikane said.
“What do you mean?” Gabriel said.
“What Vicaquirao told you is true,” Elizabeth said. “In a few years you will be the most powerful mage that has ever been. At that point it will not matter what the Council wishes, you will be able to do as you please, no matter what our plans.”
“Guidance,” Akikane said. “Guidance is all we wish for you.”
“Like Vicaquirao, we are trying to influence your future choices,” Ohin said.
“But you are right,” Elizabeth said. “We have not been open about our motives. You are not a chess piece to be played by the Council. However, we are still responsible for you. For now, at least.”
“There is another option,” Nefferati said. “He could come with me.”
“If he chooses,” Ohin said.
“If I choose what?” Gabriel asked. “Where are you going?”
“Back to my retreat,” Nefferati said. “Someplace a little safer this time.”
“What about Apollyon?” Gabriel said. “You were supposed to help find where he’s making copies of himself.”
“That was how the Council wanted to use me,” Nefferati said with a dark smile. “And I have helped them as far as I can.”
“Apollyon has cloaked the moment in time where he is making copies of himself too well,” Ohin said. “We will have to search on the ground.”
“One place at a time,” Akikane said, smiling his serene smile. “One place at a time.”
“But don’t you want to help defeat Apollyon?” Gabriel asked, still staring at Nefferati.
“I cannot say I wouldn’t mind seeing him removed from the Continuum,” Nefferati said, “but that is not my battle at the moment. I went on my retreat to try to extinguish the anger and the anguish in my heart. But my time as Kumaradevi’s plaything and my battle with her at my escape have taught me that I need more time to realize my desires.”
“Nefferati’s offer is generous,” Elizabeth said, seeming sad to admit it. “It does offer you a way out. At least for the time being. And you would be safe. Safer than we can make you here.”
“There will be no arrowheads left behind this time,” Nefferati said. “No one will know where and when I go except me.”
Gabriel thought about it for a moment. It was tempting, the idea of following Nefferati away from all this. Away from the war and Apollyon and Kumaradevi and all the things that made his stomach tighten with the mere thought of them. However, as he looked at Ohin, he realized that it would take him away from other things, as well. Things he had spent months dreaming about and using to keep his spirits up and his will to survive alive. He would have to give up all that he had gained since losing his family. He still mourned the loss of his mother and father and sister and the life he had lived. Would he need to mourn the loss of Ohin and Sema and the others if he accompanied Nefferati?
“What will the Council do about Apollyon?” Gabriel asked.
“Now that you have returned safely to us,” Elisabeth said, “we will begin the hunt we postponed when you disappeared.”
“You mean you haven’t been looking for his bifurcations yet?” Gabriel said, surprised.
“We were devoting all of our resources to finding you,” Elizabeth said. “I will give you one guess which Councilman pushed to have our efforts divided to hunt for Apollyon’s secret branches of time.” Gabriel didn’t need to guess.
“Now that you are back,” Elizabeth continued, “Ohin and his team will lead the effort to find the place in time where Apol
lyon is making copies of himself.”
“Good,” Gabriel said, looking to Ohin. “When do we start?” he added, almost before he knew what he was saying and what it meant.
“Then you have made your choice,” Nefferati said.
“You may want to reconsider that choice,” Elizabeth said. “While Ohin’s team will be leading the search for Apollyon’s secret branch of time, you will not be joining them.”
“What?” Gabriel said, feeling the anger returning to his gut with lightning speed.
“We have already lost you once,” Elizabeth said. “We cannot afford to lose you again.”
“So you’re going to keep me under a glass jar like some pet insect?” Gabriel said. “I can help.”
“I’m sure you can,” Elizabeth said, “but the risk is too great. You will continue your training here with Akikane where we can protect you.”
“I don’t need your protection,” Gabriel said, trying to control the emotion in his voice. “I would have escaped Kumaradevi. It would have taken a while, but I would have. I would have escaped Vicaquirao, too. So don’t think you can hold me here if I really want to go.”
“Gabriel!” Ohin said.
Gabriel looked at Ohin and felt a wave of shame flood over him. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But if I’m going to be the one who has to fight them all, I want to learn how to fight, not pretend to fight.”
“Very stubborn, very stubborn,” Akikane said. “Just what we need.”
“You were right, Ohin,” Elizabeth said. “He is not at all pleased at the idea of being left out.”
“I told you he wouldn’t be,” Ohin said.
“I could have told you that as soon as we walked in the door,” Nefferati said, giving Gabriel a wink only he could see. “You don’t survive being Kumaradevi’s guest without having a little backbone.”
“If the prophecy is true,” Gabriel began, “then I will need to learn how to really fight against the Malignancy Mages. I can’t just train here. I will need experience. Real experience.”
The Wizard of Time (Book 1) Page 25
