by Dante King
“Well…that was some party,” Winnie said.
Yarina’s face was stoic as she turned to me. “Winnie told me you followed three corrupt mages in here?”
“I was mistaken,” I replied. “The taint I smelled on them was not their own. It belonged to the five mages we just killed, the puppet masters.”
“Did you get any information out of them?” Winnie asked.
“They didn’t even know the Terminus Seal was stolen,” I said. “They were tasked with stealing a whole other artifact on behalf of the Tainted Guild.”
Yarina’s eyes opened wide. “The Institute’s emblem?”
I nodded slowly. “How did you…”
“It’s probably the most powerful artifact kept within the Institute,” Yarina said. “It’s imbued with all kinds of magic from the different magical branches.”
“Why would the Guild want it?” Winnie asked.
“The same reason Qilzid does,” Yarina replied. “To gain access to more power…except in the case of the Tainted Guild, it would be used as a weapon, and not as a vessel for knowledge.”
“What do you know about doom mages?” I asked.
Yarina frowned. “Not much. I’ve never once come across a doom mage. Why do you ask?”
“Because apparently a doom mage is required to power up the Terminus Seal.”
Yarina looked perplexed, while Winnie suddenly pricked up her fox ears and looked toward the entrance. “Someone’s coming,” she said.
The scent of magic touched my exhausted senses and shortly afterward a group of cautious mages wearing the Institute’s colors walked into the wrecked lecture hall. The man that stepped toward me was middle-aged and silver-haired. He had dark eyes, a hooked nose, and thin lips that made quite the stern first impression.
“Ms. Windryder,” he said, addressing Yarina first. They seemed to have met while she was on her own. “How many were there?”
“Five,” Yarina replied. “And three young mages who—”
“—had been coerced into aiding the Tainted guild,” I broke in. “Their families were threatened, they had no choice. They don’t need punishment, just protection.”
The silver-haired man turned to me with curious eyes. “And you are?”
“Kurt Woodsman.”
He nodded. “Mr. Woodsman.” He was trying very hard not to be distracted by the mage corpse that lay a few feet away from us. “I am Headmaster Darwin Bathos, and these are my colleagues, Professor Gideon Bracken, Professor Yaan Madera, and Professor Elaine Shewry.”
Bracken was a short, stout man with a shiny bald patch on the crown of his head and bushy tufts of brown hair erupting from the sides. Madera was an older mage. He looked to be around seventy, if not older, and he was wiry and blue-eyed. Shewry was the youngest mage of the lot. She was probably in her early forties; she had limp red hair that hung in lifeless strands down the side of her face, and she wore a series of ornate rings on her fingers, each with a different stone.
Clearly, none of them were fighters. These ashen-faced intellectuals were not used to being confronted with blood and broken bodies.
“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Bathos told me, as he looked up from the disembodied hand under one of the desks. “But I must admit, I am more than relieved that you and Yarina came.”
“And me,” Winnie piped up. “I saved your damn school too.”
Bathos regarded her critically for a moment. “Of course. I am eternally in your debt, all three of you. You have saved our school and, quite possibly, our lives.”
“You should think about erecting a statue to commemorate our heroic act today.” Winnie seemed to be only half joking.
“You are headmaster of this school,” Yarina broke in before Bathos could reply. “And yet you have allowed several corrupt mages of the Tainted Guild entry. Not only were they planning to steal the Institute’s emblem, but they already managed to intimidate and bully three of your students into doing their bidding.”
Bathos and Shewry exchanged a glance.
“We plan on taking serious safety measures with immediate effect,” Shewry said. “We won’t let this happen again.”
“Good,” I said. “Because today was a close call. You cannot leave your students exposed to infiltration by the Tainted Guild. Especially younger students will not require much convincing to join the other side.”
Bathos nodded gravely. “We will take precautions. You have my word. On behalf of myself and my staff, we want to sincerely thank you—all three of you.”
“It’s what we do,” I said. “Now I have an important question.”
“Of course.”
“Do you know anything about doom mages?”
Bathos and Shewry exchanged a glance that suggested they did.
“Mr. Woodsman,” Bathos said. “The history of the doom mages has always been steeped in mystery, since the time of the Apocalypse Wars. We don’t know much about them. Nobody does.”
“But you know something.”
“You would be better off speaking to Archmage Cyntria,” Shewry said. “He’ll have the answers you seek.”
Archmage Barlin Cyntria. I should have known he would be involved. I felt a tingle in my extremities as I thought about the possibility of running into his beautiful and mysterious daughter. It would definitely be worth making a trip to The Spire to see Lillian again.
But Bathos and Shewry’s faces betrayed this wasn’t all.
“What is it?” I asked, looking at both of them in turn. “I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
Shewry took a deep breath. “Archmage Cyntria was tasked with eradicating all doom mages. He has been working towards that goal for the last several decades.”
Yarina stepped forward. “So he kills mages.”
“Doom mages,” Bathos said quickly. “There is a difference.”
“Is there?” Yarina raised an eyebrow.
“Thank you for being honest with us,” I piped up. “We’ll be on our way now.”
“One more thing before you leave.” Bathos pulled out a large flat box enrobed in fine leather. “I want you to have this.”
He addressed Yarina and me, but his eyes darted toward Winnie as well. I took the box from his arms and instantly felt the surge of power that flowed from the artifact it contained.
“The school emblem,” I said instinctively.
Bathos nodded. “It is better the emblem does not stay within the Institute’s walls. Having it here made us a target of the Tainted Guild. They’re less likely to return if we no longer have anything of value for them to take. And Ms. Windryder has assured me, that you have access to one of the securest hideouts in Trysca.” He gave Yarina a penetrating look as he said those final words.
I handed the box to Yarina, who nodded and slipped it into her satchel.
Shewry sighed and seemed to loosen up when Yarina patted her satchel. Her shrewd, sunken eyes looked at the three of us in turn. “Thank you, again,” she said. “For everything.”
“You can thank me by helping the young mages I spoke to before we were ambushed by these ugly bastards,” I said. “The girl’s name was Mira. If you find her, you’ll find the other two.”
Bathos and Shewry nodded and followed Bracken and Madera to the exit.
“Time to visit Qilzid,” I said when we’d watched them disappear around the corner.
“And then we head to the Spire?” Yarina said.
“And then we head to the Spire. Come on.”
I strode out of the entrance with Yarina and Winnie on either side of me. We passed through the tattered doorway, and in the blink of an eye the Institute had disappeared around us.
We were in Qilzid’s workshop.
10
“Welcome back, friends,” Qilzid said excitedly.. I wondered if he could sense the artifact in Yarina’s satchel.
“Missed us?” I asked.
“I missed Yarina and Winnie a little more than you. That goes without say
ing.”
I smiled. “I quite understand.”
“You three seem a little…worn.”
“We just fought off five demons,” Winnie said.
“Demons?” Qilzid asked.
“She’s just being dramatic,” Yarina said. “They were tainted mages.”
“And you triumphed?”
I snorted. “It was a breeze.”
Yarina shot me a look, but I smiled, refusing to acknowledge how hard the fight really had been. It was always easier to be cocky once you had earned the victory.
“You should have seen Kurt, Qilzid,” Winnie said, wrapping her hands around my right arm. “He was phenomenal…he had the power and grace of a God.”
“Don’t speak so loosely about higher powers,” Yarina muttered.
“I only speak the truth. Those to-die-for green eyes, this lovely honey-brown hair…these rippling muscles…it’s as if you were carved from the Gods’ own image.”
“You flatter,” I said, looking Winnie in the eyes unwaveringly and raising my eyebrows.
“Only when praise is due.”
After a short silence, Yarina shuffled her feet, coughed, and pulled the box from her satchel. “We have something for you, Qilzid.”
“Another artifact?” he asked, with a hint of the thrill I had heard in his voice when he was presented with the seal.
“The Institute’s emblem,” I said.
The floor started shaking slightly, and it took me only a moment to realize Qilzid’s excitement was manifesting all around us.
“How wonderful,” Qilzid said with a low, sing-song voice. “Open it up and let us see it in all its glory.”
Yarina loosened the strap and lifted the lid gingerly. She placed the box on the long table in front of us, and Winnie and I moved up for a better look. Sitting in the middle of the flat box, on a black velvet cushion, was a large circular crest that looked very much like a broach. It was separated into three distinct parts, each one with a different pattern carved into the surface, each part seemingly fashioned out of different alloys. I leaned in and, as I lifted it off the velvet cushion, I realized how heavy it was.
“It’s magnificent,” Qilzid said. “This will give me the power I need. Now set it down inside the open cupboard and close the doors. I need to absorb its energy.”
I did as Qilzid instructed. Immediately after, I watched silver light radiate from the cupboard’s crevices. Qilzid’s contentment seemed to influence the air in the workshop, making the air pleasantly fresh and sweet, revitalizing. I was ready to plan our next steps.
“Tell me, Qilzid,” I said, still looking at the silver light. “What do you know about doom mages?”
There was a long silence and Yarina and I exchanged a glance.
“Qilzid?” Yarina said tentatively.
“Doom mage,” Qilzid finally said, in a thoughtful tone. “It sounds so familiar to me. Like a memory from a dream…”
“You can’t remember?” I asked, slightly disappointed.
“My memories come in strange bursts,” Qilzid replied. “Sometimes they feel tangible, and other times…they feel so far away. Perhaps you should ask me again—once I’ve absorbed the power of the emblem.”
“I will.”
“Until then, some refreshments for Trysca’s unlikely heroes.”
The smell of freshly baked bread returned to the workshop, and soon food started to materialize on the circular table by the kitchen bench. One by one, the plates and steaming bowls sprang into existence and slid around tantalizingly slowly to arrange themselves for our meal. Winnie sighed gratefully and rushed forward.
“Oh Qilzid,” Winnie said, taking a seat and reaching for a goblet of cold ale. “You truly are a marvel.”
“And yet you prefer Kurt,” Qilzid replied.
Winnie laughed lightheartedly. “Kurt saved me, he’s my big, strong protector. I love you, Qilzid, but my heart, soul, and body are bound to him now.”
“Don’t you ever get tired?” Yarina asked, as she and I joined Winnie at the table.
“Tired of flirting with a handsome man? The day I’m tired of that is the day you can pierce my heart with your rapier.”
“It would be a great honor.”
Winnie narrowed her eyes. “Don’t hold your breath. That’s not happening anytime soon.”
Yarina looked at Winnie with a touch of Winnie’s contagious playfulness, but soon she regained her serious expression. “You fought well today.”
“Thank you,” Winnie said, surprise written all over her face.
I was not surprised. Yarina was a woman of good breeding and integrity. She wouldn’t dismiss Winnie’s contribution simply because she irritated her.
“Does that mean you trust me?” Winnie asked.
The corners of Yarina’s mouth curled up in the ghost of a smile. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“What about you, Kurt? Do you trust me?”
I smiled. “I do.”
She handed me a goblet of ale. “To new alliances,” she said, raising her own goblet and gesturing for Yarina to do the same. We drank to that.
“Hmm,” Winnie said, after having savored her sip of ale at length. “It feels like we should celebrate this auspicious moment.” She placed her hand on my inner thigh. “What do you say?”
Yarina tried to act casual, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from us.I took Winnie’s hand, patted it gently, and placed it back on her leg. “There’ll be time enough for celebration when we’ve recovered the Terminus Seal.”
“We don’t know when that will be. That could take months. Even years.”
I laughed. “You obviously don’t know me very well. All I need is a week.”
“Don’t get too cocky,” Yarina piped up. “Hubris has been the downfall of many great mages in the past.”
I flashed my grin in her direction. “Except that I’m no mage. This morning I was a library guard chasing after oversized rodents. Tonight, I’m sitting inside a conscious workshop with two drop-dead gorgeous women on a mission that will save all of Trysca. I’m a mage hunter. This is what I was born to do. It’s not hubris to say so…it’s confidence.”
Yarina finally met my gaze. Her pale grey eyes glittered with slow-burning desire. She wasn’t as vocal about it, but she wanted exactly the same as Winnie.
“Now,” I said, slapping my thighs. “Shall we eat?”
Yarina looked down, slowly swirling around the ale in her goblet. She looked slightly flushed.
“Fill your stomachs,” Qilzid said. “You will need strength.”
Qilzid had supplied us with a tantalizing meal. There were stuffed quails that were charred to perfection and glazed in sweet butter and wild nuts. There was a large leg of lamb wrapped in spiced flaky pastry. There was a platter of roasted vegetables that had been tossed through with chili and honey. And finally, there were a variety of seeded breads and rich cheeses, and an assortment of exotic fruits, some of which I had never even tried before.
We tucked in, and for the duration of the meal we didn’t speak a single word.
When we finally finished eating, I leaned back in my seat and sighed with satisfaction.
“That was literally the greatest meal of my life,” I said.
“You flatter me,” Qilzid said. “Back when I had a body, I used to cook for the fine young women I entertained within my quarters.”
“If the meal you cooked for them was anything like the meal we just had, I’m sure they were dying to take their clothes off to thank you afterwards,” Winnie said.
Qilzid sighed. “What a time, what a time it was. Days were filled with the thrill of discovery, there were new inventions to be perfected, new ideas to experiment with, and new theories to prove. And my nights…those nights were the epitome of my creative potential. The women I took to bed were my muses…they inspired me with their soft femininity, their brazen beauty, their vulnerable nakedness…”
Yarina and I exchanged amused glances, while Winnie la
ughed without inhibition.
“There is power in a woman’s beauty,” Qilzid said.
“Oh, I believe that,” I nodded, looking at Yarina and Winnie in turn.
Yarina smiled coyly as she turned her eyes away from me. Winnie met my gaze and licked her lips with exaggerated leisure.
“Thank you for the artifact,” Qilzid said. “It has made a significant difference. I feel lively, powerful. Our chances are only getting better.”
“Do you remember anything, now you feel this way?” I asked hopefully. “About the Terminus Seal requiring a doom mage?”
A hum took over the workshop. “I remember the Terminus Seal,” he replied, with a hint of nostalgia. “I remember how it came to be…I remember feeling triumphant, formidable…intensely proud…”
Qilzid appeared to trail off, lost in thought, and I felt something stir…a realization that was tunneling its way to the surface…I heard Yarina’s voice in my head: ‘It was stolen from its creator and used against the kingdom.’
“You’re the inventor of the Terminus Seal,” I said with full certainty, shocked out of breath.
Winnie looked at me with her mouth agape, but Yarina seemed less surprised.
“You knew,” I said softly.
“I suspected,” Yarina replied. “But I didn’t know for sure. The Holy knights of Rymi are devoted to the protection of all good magic. They have been searching for a mage hunter for a very long time. Once I had passed my initial training and earned the trust and respect of the priests and priestesses, I was entrusted with Qilzid’s ring. I was to keep it safe until the day I would meet the mage hunter whose duty and honor it was to wear and wield it. With the ring in my possession I was able to meet Qilzid, visit him from time to time. He could not remember much of his past, but I suspected who he was. What he had done..”
“Many of my human memories were lost to me over time,” Qilzid said solemnly. “But having you within my walls has helped, the artifacts you bring me will help me regain some of those lost memories.”
“Why did you create the seal at all?” I asked.
