William looked back into the sky.
The globe was gone, but Riley remained in its place. The orbs had disappeared, all of them dropping with their master—and apparently unable to explode in the air without him to control them. Some had gone off when they hit the ground and fires were roaring in other parts of the kingdom, but most had simply fallen.
Still using magic, flying above the entire kingdom, Riley’s voice soared across the square.
“If you served that dark mage, leave now. Do not go to your homes or places of rest. Do not take a single item. Flee this kingdom and never return, for you will get no more opportunities. If you served Rendal Hemmons in any capacity and you’re still in this kingdom by nightfall, your life is forfeit.”
William watched as people started to flee—men and women alike. They didn’t try to fight him or anyone else, only saw the blonde woman flying in the sky and knew they had no chance.
“She’s such a damned showoff,” William grumbled.
“You think you can let us go?” Mason asked.
William looked to his left, realizing that he was still holding the Assistant Prefect by his collar. “Oh, sorry, sir.”
He released both men and turned away from the platform.
“It’s like a stampede,” he said. “Buncha cowards running now that their leader is dead.”
William glanced at the platform as Riley landed. She stared at the body for a few moments, although William couldn’t see it from his vantage point.
“You finally kill him?” he joked.
She nodded, her face hard.
“Took ya long enough.”
That got a smile out of her, and she walked toward the edge.
Worth, Alexandra, and Eric came around the side, meeting William.
“You magic,” Worth said with a grin. “Told you. You magic.”
Riley nodded. “You did tell me. Thank you, Worth. For everything.”
“Eric!”
William whipped around, recognizing the voice.
It was Erin.
She was beautiful, rushing across the square toward her son. She reached him and swept him into a fierce hug. Eric embraced her back.
“Stop drooling, chubby,” Riley said as she hopped off the platform.
“Hush yer trap,” he told her but didn’t take his eyes off Erin.
After she finished hugging her son, she turned to him. “How are ya?” Her smile was brilliant, and William couldn’t help but give her one in return.
“My lady, are you okay?”
“Oh, Father and Mother save us all! Will you two just get married already?” Riley laughed.
William felt his face turning red, but he didn’t say anything.
“Go on,” Worth whispered. “Time for you to be man.”
And damn it, it was.
William walked across the space separating them, took Erin in her arms, and kissed her.
“Whoo!” Riley shouted.
The two kids scurried up, Lucie coming with them.
“Get a room!” Kris yelled.
“Disgusting!” Brighten added.
“I’d wash my mouth out with soap if I were you,” Lucie said.
William finished his kiss, looked at the three of them, and said with a massive grin, “As soon as I’m done here, you’re all dead.”
Then he kissed the beautiful woman again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Riley was on one knee, her head bowed.
William was to her left, his head down as well.
“You know he’s just making you a second Right Hand because he doesn’t want you to feel bad, right?” Riley whispered.
“I know that while you were up there playing pattycake with Rendal in the sky, I was keeping Mason and Goland safe,” William replied.
“Can you two please hush?” Mason whispered harshly from the throne.
Riley giggled, then grew quiet.
They were at court. A month had passed since Rendal’s insane reign had ended. Almost all of those who followed him had taken Riley’s advice, scattering to the winds. The others? Well, they had gotten what Riley had told them they would.
Alexandra had returned to the Chosen to gather the remaining people and bring them back to New Perth.
A week ago, Goland Ire had stepped down as Prefect, and his son had ascended the throne.
Which had left William in an awkward place—more or less without a job.
Riley had laughed and laughed.
“You’re going to end up homeless and starving, chubby!”
“There’s no way you can work for anyone else. I mean, who would hire you? You’re big, clumsy, and can’t take orders for shit. Too stubborn!”
William had looked like he was going to bash her brains in, but Riley couldn’t help herself.
Of course, Mason had told Riley what was actually going to happen. Mason would have two Right Hands, and when Mason sired a son, William would serve him.
“He’ll serve my family as long as he wants to,” he’d explained.
Now the two of them knelt before Mason, joking like kids in front of the entire court.
“Have you asked her to fucking marry you yet?” Riley asked, lowering her voice even more.
“Don’t make me kill you right here,” William growled. “Not like this, in front of all these people.”
“You need to do it, and soon. That’s too pretty of a woman. Someone’s going to sweep her up.”
Mason stood from his throne and walked down the steps to the floor. “You two make any kind of ceremony ridiculous, you know that right? You’re whispering like the whole damn place doesn’t hear you. Erin is over there grinning her face off right now, listening to the two of you talk about her.”
William groaned, and Riley saw his face flush.
“Sorry, chubby.” She smiled.
“Dead to me.”
“Let’s get this over with before I’m removed from power,” Mason said. “Looks like I’m running a damn mockery of the court.”
He sounded angry, but Riley knew he wasn’t.
“As Prefect of New Perth, leader and ruler of the kingdom, it is my duty and honor to appoint a new Right Hand to serve and protect me. William Teller, you served my father with distinction for many years. Do you remember the oath you took before him?”
“I do, your Grace.”
“Do you reaffirm that oath to me? To protect me, my family, New Perth, and its citizens against all enemies, domestic and foreign?”
“I do, your Grace.”
Mason took his sword from its sheath and touched it to each of William’s shoulders. “Rise, Right Hands.”
Both Riley and William stood.
“Turn around and meet your kingdom…as if they don’t already know you two.”
The Right Hands turned and looked at the small crowd. Lucie, Brighten, and Kris. Worth. Alexandra. Erin and Eric.
Our family, Riley thought.
At that moment, she thought of another person.
Linda.
The woman across the continent who’d told Riley that to beat Rendal, she had to believe. Riley knew that William hated her, although he hadn’t mentioned her since everything had ended. Riley didn’t do so now.
Looking at the happy faces before her, Riley recognized the truth. Linda had told her exactly what she needed to hear. She’d done everything perfectly, from psychic magic to belief, to saying Riley wasn’t ready.
It had all been orchestrated so that she could defeat Rendal.
Riley wished she was here to see this. That she knew Riley had won.
I see it.
The three words were simple, and they were spoken to no one else in the room but Riley. She knew the voice.
It was Linda’s.
Riley smiled.
“Ah, the hell with it,” William grumbled.
Riley shook her head, coming back to reality.
“This don’t go well, it’s your fault, skinny.”
He didn�
��t look at her as he marched across the room.
Heading straight for Erin.
Riley’s eyes widened.
William got down on one knee and pulled a ring from his pocket.
“My lady, can I have your hand in marriage?”
Erin squealed. Squealed. Riley had never heard the woman make such a sound.
“Yes!” She reached down and tugged William upward, then kissed him hard on the lips.
Mason walked over to Riley. “He had that ring on him. The bastard has been planning this, huh?”
Riley was grinning, her hands folded across her chest like a schoolgirl. She was almost too happy to speak. “He’s been planning it since the moment he met her.”
Riley and Mason walked over to the couple, the crowd growing bigger around them.
As she put her arms around the newly engaged pair, she knew the nightmare was over.
Peace had come to New Perth.
Epilogue
Rendal was dead, and that made Linda very, very happy.
She’d watched it happen from her ruined city. She’d concentrated extremely hard and found her way across the continent, all the way to New Perth.
She had watched the young woman battle the old man. Riley might not have believed, but Linda did. She knew the Right Hand would come around eventually. It would happen when her back was against the wall and she had no choice but to prevail.
Linda felt like maybe she hadn’t let Ezekiel down. Perhaps it had just taken her this long to achieve what he wanted—magic spreading across the kingdom in a positive way.
Maybe she had done exactly what she was supposed to.
A month and a half after Rendal’s death, Linda left her house and began walking the deserted streets. The moon was high in the sky, shining through the partial cloud cover. She could hear the beach lapping lazily on the shore in the distance, but the rest of the night was still.
Something was bothering Linda for the first time since Rendal died. She didn’t know what it was, but it was like an itch in the middle of her back that she just couldn’t reach.
Something’s wrong, she thought.
No, that’s just me being a worrisome old nag. An old biddy, as that William would call me.
Yet, she didn’t believe that. Her intuition was usually right.
Linda kept walking, minutes turning into hours. She hardly saw the streets before her or the buildings around her. Her mind was focused because the itch wouldn’t leave.
She reached the crumbling statue where William had confronted her and sat down.
Her eyes turned red, and her mind swept out across the land.
She remained like that for long minutes, searching.
Finally, she found what had been bothering her incessantly, and her mouth dropped open.
Does anyone else see this? she wondered.
She didn’t think anyone did.
Miles to the south, Linda was witnessing something truly awful.
She saw three mages standing in the desert. Fire streaked out from their feet, forming a triangle.
They all wore black cloaks that hid their faces from Linda.
A young man stood in the middle of their triangle. He wore the same cloak, although his didn’t cover his face. He had long, dark hair that flowed past his shoulders and a scar crossed his left eye, the only thing disrupting an otherwise perfect face.
He was staring into the sky, and fire was flowing from his eyes.
It created a flaming canopy above the group.
You see me?
The voice hit Linda like a blow to the face, and she nearly fell off the bench she was sitting on. It was the young man’s voice, and he knew she was looking at him.
That’s okay, he told her. I’m coming, and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do about it.
The red in Linda’s eyes disappeared, and instead of seeing the desert night, she was staring at her dead city.
“He’s so strong,” she whispered. “Damn it, he’s so strong.”
What was going on out there in the desert?
Do I know him? she wondered. And the other three?
She nodded. She’d never seen the young man before, but those in the hoods? She thought she knew them.
I have to tell her, Linda thought. I have to warn Riley before it’s too late.
Love boxed sets in the Age of Magic?
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Author Notes - Jace Mitchell
February 20, 2019
Thanks so much for finishing the first arc! I’m still extremely grateful to be writing in Michael’s world. The freedom he gives authors is really amazing, and the way he’s set up the ‘universe’ allows for any number of new ideas to take hold. It’s truly a breeding ground for creativity.
I honestly couldn’t wait for Riley to kill Rendal. The longer the books went, the more evil he grew in my mind. Having Riley finally believe in herself, and seeing him get what he deserved…it just felt really good!
Michael and I have a lot of plans for Riley going forward, but it was extremely important that she find solid ground in magic. Riley’s ability with her sword was never questioned, but what her magical abilities weren’t guaranteed. Would she be a powerful sorceress? Would she fully master her potential? The first four book arc was allowing her to find her footing. To grow into a mage that would be feared.
Now her power can’t be denied, but that isn’t the end for her. As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility—and Riley’s power is greater now than ever before. She has a solid cast of characters to back her up, and I imagine some of those will come and go as the books continue.
At the end of this book, you witnessed a young man in the desert.
I can’t see too far into the future with him yet—he’s shrouded a bit from me; however, the young man scares me. The people surrounding him? Linda remembers them, and they scare her.
I think Riley is going to have her hands full with this mage. I think he may end up being a stronger foe than Rendal…
See you in Book 5!
Other Age of Magic Books
THE RISE OF MAGIC
*with CM Raymond and LE Barbant*
Restriction (1) – Reawakening (2) – Rebellion (3) – Revolution (4) – Unlawful Passage (5) – Darkness Rises (6) – The Gods Beneath (7) – Reborn (8)
STORMS OF MAGIC
*with PT Hylton*
Storm Raiders (1) – Storm Callers (2) – Storm Breakers (3) – Storm Warrior (4)
TALES OF THE FEISTY DRUID
*with Candy Crum*
The Arcadian Druid (1) – The Undying Illusionist (2) – The Frozen Wasteland (3) – The Deceiver (4) – The Lost (5) – The Damned (6) – Into The Maelstrom (7)
A NEW DAWN
*with Amy Hopkins*
Dawn of Destiny (1) – Dawn of Darkness (2) – Dawn of Deliverance (3) – Dawn of Days (4) – Broken Skies (5) – Broken Bones (6)
TALES OF THE WELLSPRING KNIGHT
*with P.J. Cherubino*
Knight’s Creed (1) – Knight’s Struggle (2) – Knight’s Justice (3) - Etheric Knight (4)
THE HIDDEN MAGIC CHRONICLES
*with Justin Sloan*
Shades of Light (1) – Shades of Dark (2) – Shades of Glory (3) – Shades of Justice (4)
PATH OF HEROES
*with Brandon Barr*
Rogue Mage (1)
HAND OF JUSTICE
*with Jace Mitchell*
The Dark Mage (1) - Chasing Madness (2) - Magic Rising (3) - Magic Unchained (4)
THE MAGIC BENEATH PARIS
*with C.M. Simpson
Trading Into Shadow (1)
Books By Michael Anderle
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
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Hand of Justice Boxed Set Page 73
