An open set of doors on the far side revealed a bedroom almost as fancy as the outer room. The two rooms were just part of the entire suite that Kolban called his home.
The boy emperor spotted them from the bedroom where he had been straightening some papers on his desk. With the war, Kolban apparently couldn't leave such matters alone even when he might plan to relax in his rooms.
"Ah, Palose, you're here and I see that Acheri found you this time," the emperor greeted him fondly. While his facial features had a certain familiarity to Acheri, his hair was lighter and gray eyes looked on them rather than the girl's darker blue. He was also still shorter than his sister.
With bodies only grown to early teenage years, the girl had grown faster than Kolban, but it was likely only a short term situation if he was hitting the usual final stages of growth of a young man. His brother Lanquer had matured more, but came from a different source for material, so it was like comparing half brothers.
Acheri answered before the mage declaring, "I won this round!"
She giggled joined by her brother's chuckle. It had apparently become a game to the princess to reach Palose before he could see the emperor first. An ongoing complaint of the girl had been that Kolban hadn't told her when the mage was coming to visit, though they were never social calls anyway, Palose thought.
"You finally did," Kolban acknowledged his sister's accomplishment, though Palose was uncertain that it deserved praise. "Unfortunately, I need to speak to him of matters of the war. Could you give us a moment?"
He could have demanded that she leave, but the emperor seemed to have a soft spot for the being he called sister. Acheri stepped back from the bedroom doors and went to recline on one of the couches in the sitting area. She kicked off her slippers letting her skirt slide up to her knees revealing her smooth white skin as the girl placed her feet on the arm of the chair looking to get comfortable.
Kolban's eyes met the mage's and he shrugged. "Anyway, as you might have noticed, the enemy has apparently discovered how to not only close our gates, but open ones of their own."
Palose nodded staying silent to avoid speaking over the boy. Though the mage looked a few years his elder, the wisdom and knowledge accumulated inside the emperor was that gathered over a millennia. While Kolban stifled his power, what was let escape felt many times greater than his own. It was disconcerting, since Palose's power had grown to that of a strong warlock since coming to Ensolus and using his magic to join with other wizards who had died. The shared power had increased his own, though a few resurrection men and women had brought no magic and had grown capable of using it to a point now as well.
"Have you noticed any unfamiliar uses of gate magic within the city?" the emperor continued even as Palose pushed thoughts of aura aside.
The new question raised a flag of warning in the mage's mind. He tried to conceal any worry, but asked, "You mean beyond the gates that I have made or the other warlocks with the skill?'
Kolban smiled shrewdly and waved off the worry saying, "I know that you have a couple spare gates inside the city. I mean, have you sensed others beyond our warlocks who might have usurped a gate or managed to blindly form one inside the city?"
Looking confused, Palose asked, "How would someone open another's gate if it was already closed? I have never noticed anyone riding through or keeping one of my gates open."
Kolban's smile slipped, but anger was yet to show up in its stead. "You've never had one of your gates shoved open before?"
Thinking of the question, Palose nodded as a safe answer came to mind. "Acheri surprised me a few months ago with that trick. My gate was kept open, which led to taking the princess on walks inside Southwall's border to set up new portal points like the one used to assault the Twins. Aside from that, I can think of no..."
The dark mage paused. Did the emperor know of his short battle with Sebastian in New Harbor?
His eyes flicked to the emperor who watched him intently. If the boy had changed bodies and had the sight, whether from before or after his metamorphosis, then Kolban probably already knew the answer. It wasn't worth trying to hide the incident, but Palose still wished that he could.
"I ran into the mizard in New Harbor. We fought, but when I tried to use a gate to move behind him to attack from his blindside, Sebastian guessed the direction and pushed me back through the doorway. Another wizard, a girl, used lightning to hold the gateway open, but that caused the gates to misfire. We landed on a floating island inside of what I had once believed to just be a void.
"When the girl crashed into him, I made a new doorway leaving them stranded there.
"He was a battle mage and lacks the strength to open a gate, I am sure; but maybe this wizard who followed him had the power to do so. Even so, how could they have mastered the spell without training to use them?"
Kolban looked less convinced of the dark mage's report. He stated, "Those two warlocks which returned from Parik a few months ago were separated from the rest of those fighting this same mage, I believe. It was him there as well?"
Nodding at the truth spoken, Palose had told the emperor so at the time that Sebastian's team, which had also fought the Wizard Hunters to free the Grimnal, had continued to be a thorn in their side passing along Litsarin on their way home. At least, he believed that it was a simple choice of using the more favorable winds to return home to Southwall that had brought Sebastian to Litsarin.
Not everything about what had happened back then had been explained to the dark mage, so Palose could only conjecture from what he had heard.
"I was never satisfied that we had received all the information about what happened in that short time between those fleeing in defeat and those two returning to Ensolus. They weren't gate warlocks, so individually they could not have opened the gate to return home; but they did know the spells enough to have made one if they were able to pool their power or perhaps borrow magic from someone else."
Palose remained quiet. This was news to him and an obvious show of trust that the emperor would reveal as much to him.
Looking up from the floor where Kolban's gray eyes had descended in thought, he appeared to have come to a conclusion, which the emperor summed up, "If during that short time, the enemy managed to coerce those two into giving them what knowledge they have of the process; your mizard, as you call him, might have worked out the process to return home again.
"You've reported that he is intelligent and capable of discovering wizard magic. Perhaps this is the one who has discovered our spells. Dropping him in Silver World gave him the time and motivation to decipher gate magic, I would guess."
Somehow Palose doubted that this was just some guess from the emperor, but he merely nodded and stated, "Then it may be my fault for not just finishing him off. I thought I was leaving him there to die. I haven't seen him since then, but someone has closed some of my gates.
"Is there a way to find someone's portal points from a distance?"
Kolban continued his pacing, but the question caused a stutter in his steps as if he had finally asked a question that could stump the boy.
"There are ways," he said cryptically. "You know of the wizards who have taken it upon themselves to close the gates. They say it is to keep the worlds from colliding, I believe."
Kolban snorted in derision at the thought, even as Palose acknowledged, "There are a few units dedicated to closing any doorways created, though few wizards in Southwall ever get chosen to join those units. Do they have a way to find those points?"
"On occasion, our warlocks have come across wizards trying to close our gates. They took a few trinkets from them and eventually some confessed how they could follow the magic of a gate for a time to close it. Usually those gates are used and discarded, so it doesn't matter; but there is another way as well."
Palose looked curiously at the emperor. He had studied how to open gates and some of the other uses a capable warlock might be able to make them do. Using them in battle was said to be impos
sible, but the dark mage had tested that and found the texts were wrong.
The emperor apparently had information that he hadn't found. Palose's attention was focused on the boy and wondered what the ancient mind inside of him might know that hadn't been written down.
"Have you heard of map magic?"
He shook his head and the emperor continued, "If you know an enemy's magic well, you might use a map to locate fresh gates that he has created. The same can be said for communal gates, which are generic and easy to find if you know how one feels."
Forgetting who he was talking to for a moment in the confusion of this new information, Palose shook his head and interrupted, "But even if they could follow the points using the devices, who would have figured that magic out? No one in Southwall should know of it and I have never seen such a thing written down in our library."
"I have written a book or two about some spells not generally shared with our warlocks," Kolban confessed simply. "Only my advisors know of my personal library of magic."
Again Palose tried to understand and he asked, "So only you know of this magic? Why would it be hidden from your warlocks?"
Kolban smiled grimly and asked, "If you could follow any magic you know, would you let potential enemies know how to follow your gates to you as well?"
Palose's eyes widened slightly and the mage said quietly, "So they could follow you to your home or where you were trying to escape to. If they have a map, they can follow you anywhere on that map, even if they have never been there before?"
"It is possible to use map magic to align your mind to create a gate where you sense another. Does this mizard know you well enough to follow you here, Palose?"
The final question made the mage's eyes widen in shock and fear. If the intrusion into his home through his gate was made known, what would the emperor do to him? He wasn't sure, but hoped that it wouldn't place blame directly on him.
"Sebastian, if he could learn both a gate spell and this map magic, might be able to find my portals then. I used another wizard's magic to exchange for mine since my first gates were closed, however, so any gates that might have been used against me should be impossible. I changed them when I lost the doorways in Banosh and New Harbor. That was months ago.
"If I destroyed my old lodestones, could someone still use the gates?"
He had covered himself. Palose was sure of it, but could a closed gate be reopened even after he had taken those precautions? Sylvaine's magic would be unknown to Sebastian, so even if by coincidence the one who closed his gates was the mizard, Sebastian couldn't find Sylvaine's magic, could he?
Kolban looked thoughtful before he responded, "You used someone else's magic and this warlock wasn't known to your old comrade?"
"No, I chose an apprentice to create new lodestones. They don't even leave the city unless it is nearby."
Sighing, Kolban mused aloud, "That many months should have made it impossible."
Feeling a bit of relief at the emperor's answer, Palose thought that he was out of the woods. If he had done everything to cover himself, then Kolban wouldn't suspect that someone had managed to break into his house. Unfortunately, even that would make him wonder how another wizard had reversed a gate using magic they couldn't possibly know.
Kolban looked at the dark mage and seemed to miss the look of relief on his face. "Tomorrow after you defeat the enemy, look for lodestones. Even if it is not this mizard, we can use their magic against them in the same way I have mentioned."
"Can you see the future?" Palose ventured following his earlier question of Acheri. "How do you know that we will win tomorrow?"
The boy looked at him in surprise and asked, "You'll have Lord Liev and some of our most powerful Wizard Hunters with you. Do you think that the enemy can stand against you tomorrow with their help?"
Palose knew that the Wizard Hunters had been defeated by Sebastian and his wizards, but shook his head even so. Doubting the emperor and his lords could do little to help him here.
"Good, then you will do as I say and we will turn this magic back on this wizard once and for all."
Chapter 36- Before the Sunrise
Sebastian awoke early and noticed a second body lying beside him.
Wanting to be annoyed at the little mouse, which had likely slipped in under the door once more, the man looked at Evie's innocent looking face and sighed. It was hard to be mad at the wilder, who seemed like a little child most of the time. At least she was wearing a night dress this morning.
The girl had been warned to stay in her room, but Ashleen had added, that at least Evie should make sure that she was clothed. This was one of a few night dresses from Ashleen's stash put aside for the shape changer. It wasn't what either of them wanted, but keeping Evie from sneaking in to join them was harder than keeping a three year old from wandering into her parents bed at night because she is frightened.
Sebastian slipped from the sheets without disturbing either girl. Ashleen was too exhausted from her heroic use of magic to return to the battlefield so soon. Even a healthy meal and some well deserved sleep wouldn't be enough to restore her in less than a day. He knew all too well what it was like to be drained of magic to this point. Another step beyond this was likely to kill the girl.
If the battle continued to the next day, Sebastian was willing to take Ashleen along, though he preferred leaving her somewhere safe like the inn.
His questioning of when the battle would end made the mage stop as he held the boot in his hand. Already crossing his leg to put on his boot, Sebastian wondered why he would be debating on when the fight for the village would end. If they held in their defense, then only driving the dark army back through their portals would end the battle today.
Again there was the question of "if" in his mind.
Pulling on the second boot, the mage reviewed the possible end of the fighting by the end of the day. First, they could defeat the enemy well enough to push them back through their gates as the best possible result of the day. Second, they could fight to a draw, as it had been decided for almost two weeks apparently. The village had been holding out, both because it was considered insignificant to taking Litsarin and too much of a bother to destroy with greater reinforcements at this time.
The third possible ending of the day made him question the rest. What if the enemy decided that their victory, thanks to Ashleen and Magnus, demanded a concentrated effort after all? He could bring some reinforcements from Sileoth directly, but if that wasn't enough, the mage would merely be bringing more people to their deaths.
This new worry followed the battle mage down to the common room. Hilda noted his distracted look and the frown on his face, but let him eat in peace as he contemplated the source of this worry. Sebastian was leaving most of those he cared for most out of this fight, though the owl supposed that bringing the other dragon mages was necessary. They could flee in the face of defeat even if he couldn't open a portal. Being a flyer, Katya could get to safety even if that meant hiding out for a time on Litsarin until he or another wizard could create a gate for her and any others trying to escape with his sister.
Evie wandered down the stairs looking for Sebastian. She still wore just the night dress. It only came to mid thigh and the slim girl's legs looked long while the dress made him think it couldn't possibly cover her properly, yet it did. Like a big brother worrying over his little sister, the man couldn't help seeing Evie that way.
"You are leaving early?" the red head asked. Her hair was a bit mussed and Sebastian could tell that she had yet to look at her hair. More like a feral cat, Evie was a natural beauty who refused to conform to normal city living completely. Strangers seeing her like this didn't bother the girl at all. She only had eyes for the man before her, though she smiled tiredly at Hilda, who could only shake her head at the girl she deemed silly.
"The sun rises slightly sooner here, but I will have to find the fleet to pick up Falconi Martina and the others. We will want to get as many of the leaders
of the defense together to formulate a plan as well.
"It takes time and it is best to be ready before the enemy is."
Evie took a piece of his toast without asking permission. Since he had ordered a large meal in preparation for the magic he would be using, a single piece of toast wouldn't be missed though the girl was certainly being more familiar with him than she should be. Katya would probably do the same thing to him though. Sebastian considered that notion thinking this girl was so much like his sister when she was younger and he still lived at home.
"You aren't taking Ashleen? She'll be mad at you," Evie warned, but the warning looked like it included her as well. The younger girl had been frustrated that she couldn't come along to defend the fleet as well, though Sebastian believed it was less about the fleet than following him.
As they spoke, another tired looking young woman nearly staggered down the stairs. Unlike Evie, Rilena had brushed out her lengthening hair. The mage had originally worn her hair much shorter, even though he had known her through the cold of winter. Her normally big brown eyes were slits as she squinted against the light coming through the inn's windows.
Her mage uniform was wrinkled, but unless they were going for inspection before one of their officers, most mages rarely worried over such minor things.
Rilena pointed at the red haired girl and stated as much as questioned, "She snuck out again?"
He chuckled at the young woman as she sat with a pout, and replied, "You're not a very good big sister keeping an eye on her, are you?"
"Can I help it she can turn into a mouse and slip away so quietly?" she complained.
Evie had a little smile on her lips, but chose to look at the table as the others complained good naturedly about the younger girl.
"She's keeping me company for breakfast before I go," Sebastian added already close to being finished despite the two girls distracting him.
"Should I check on Ashleen or get one of the healers?" the raven haired battle mage asked with concern as she brushed a stray lock of dark hair back over her ear. A cup of kaffe was already in her hand. It smelled pretty strong even from across the table, Sebastian noted.
Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) Page 53
