Chapter Eight: Plans and Intrigue
"I'm bored." Caelin jumped off of her bed and paced back and forth across the tiny confines of her room, feeling like she could run for miles, but without any real destination. Even the multitude of books in her room, which could normally keep her enthralled for hours, seemed dry and boring. It was too early for the evening meal, and she really wanted to go for a quick ride, but by the time she finished saddling Diamond, the sky would be just dark enough to make it dangerous to take the mare out.
You could always try practicing, Baron suggested sleepily from his perch in the corner of her room. The phoenix had, as usual, slept away most of the morning and afternoon, and was just now starting to wake up a little. He was most active at night, often spending the entire evening hunting or spying around the city. Numair did say he wanted you to brush up on your illusion work.
"I already did that for about an hour while you were sleeping," Caelin replied in a peevish tone, not really angry with Baron, but frustrated at the situation in general. She needed an outlet. The past three weeks had been one great mass of boredom, for the most part. Magewinds was currently in a recess, which meant most of the students had returned home for two weeks, and Caelin didn't have to attend her normal classes with the healers and would-be knights. Numair didn't even have time for their lessons, because he was constantly trading secrets with the head Copper Isles mage, who also happened to be the highest ranked ambassador King Sekma had sent to Tortall.
The Copper Isles. Caelin had heard just about enough of that name. It was seemed to be the only subject the palace and city wanted to discuss. Everyone was abuzz with the latest gossip, whether it was about the handsome prince, his two beautiful sisters, or the many knights and ladies that had traveled with them from the islands to visit Tortall. Even the commoners, who generally tried not to pay much attention to any nobles outside the royal family were caught up in the excitement. Whenever the Copper Isle servants ventured into the city, they were surrounded by dozens of curious men and women who were desperate to learn about the newcomers. In only three weeks, the members of the delegation had managed to charm every member of the city; everyone except Caelin.
It all began a week ago, at the welcome ball for the delegation. As Numair's apprentice, Caelin's presence had been required, and at the time she had been excited to be included. She could still remember the air of excitement and anticipation that had pervaded the grand ballroom as the dignitaries were announced.
'"May I present his majesty, Prince Moranice of the Copper Isles and his sisters, the Princess Amalia and the Princess Seleste."
'The large room fell silent at the herald's words, and all eyes, including Caelin's, were fixed upon the staircase as a tall man with two women on his arms started down. The prince was tall, dark, and handsome, exactly the way a prince was supposed to look, with skin as copper as the name of his home. His sisters were appropriately gorgeous, Amalia as dark as her brother with black hair that fell straight down her back, and Seleste slightly less dark, but no less a beauty, with brown hair that curled to just above her shoulders. All three wore bright reds, oranges, and yellows, which contrasted perfectly with their dark skin and stood out among the blues, grays, purples, greens, and blacks that were common among the Tortall nobles.
The siblings had identical smiles on their faces, but to Caelin's eyes, the smiles seemed to be forced. They crossed the ballroom and stopped in front of the two thrones where Jonathon and Thayet sat with Roald, the princess Shinkokami, Lianne, and Liam. For a moment, Caelin paused to admire the Tortall prince, who was clad in an emerald green hose and looked more handsome than the Copper Isles prince could every hope to be, in her humble, and certainly not biased, opinion. Then, although she strained her ears, she couldn't hear what was said next. Jonathan said what had to be words of greeting and introduction, Thayet gave her own welcome, and then the Copper Isles prince replied. Whatever he said, it must have been funny, because the entire family smiled and laughed, setting the rest of the court at ease. Once the two royal families had finished their introductions, the herald called out the names of the various ambassadors, knights, and ladies of the Copper Isles.
All of the dignitaries were copper skinned and dark, and their clothes followed the bright trend of their prince and princesses. Caelin didn't pay much attention to the rest, though, because her blue eyes were fixated back towards where Liam was standing. The two princesses had flocked to his side as if they were magnets drawn specifically to handsome royalty, while Prince Moranice danced attention on Lianne, who, to Caelin's complete horror, was blushing and acting insipid. Liam, too, seemed charmed by the two sisters, particularly by the dark Amalia. Caelin fumed as music started up and Liam immediately bowed to the princess and whirled her out onto the dance floor, followed by Lianne and Moranice.
Caelin was left with nothing to do but watch them dance all night, as Numair left her in the corner to go talk with the mages that had come with the delegation. And so Caelin, sat, and fumed, and planned various ways to dismember the very charming princess Amalia.
The rest of the week had fallen downhill from that night. As he'd predicted, Liam spent much of his time entertaining the two princesses, taking them for rides, visits to the city, and dancing with them every evening. That wouldn't have been so bad, in Caelin's opinion, since he was just doing his princely duty, but he didn't have to seem so happy about doing it. Either Liam was a better actor than she had given him credit for, or he was well and truly enthralled by the visiting princesses. Whatever the case was, as the next two weeks passed by, he remained content to spend all his time with Princess Amalia, and ignored Caelin, Aremin, and Orrin.
To make matters worse, Lianne had fallen head over heals in love with Prince Moranice, or the Moron Prince, as Caelin liked to refer to him. The dark prince had turned the previously level headed, opinionated, and determined princess into a simpering idiot. The few times Lianne had deigned to say a word to Caelin in the past week, all she could do was blather on and on about how handsome and intelligent and witty and oh yes, handsome Prince Moranice was. She had no time for Caelin, and even less time for Orrin.
If Caelin felt sorry for herself, she felt even sorrier for the new knight. In one night, Orrin lost his friend and his love interest in one stroke. Caelin had talked to him briefly the night before, and he was as confused and dispirited as she was. In one fell swoop, Lianne had turned into the very type of princess she despised. It made no more sense than the way the entire city was welcoming the new arrivals with open arms. It almost seemed as if the entire city was under a spell.
"Caelin? Are you there?"
Caelin jumped when she heard the voice of her teacher and turned to the fireplace, where Numair's head was situated in between the crackling flames. "I'm here," she answered, moving so that Numair could see her through the fire. Numair had rigged her fireplace to act as a scrying tool directly into Numair's room, so they could contact each other when necessary instead of walking all the way across the palace. "What do you need?" She tried to keep the stress and unhappiness out of her voice as she looked at Numair through the fire. She didn't need her teacher trying to figure out why she was upset.
"Are you busy this afternoon? I'd like to introduce you to Lord Nassor from the Isles. He expressed an interest in meeting you."
"What he really means," Daine's voice called from somewhere out of sight, "is that he's been bragging about what a wonderful apprentice he has, and now the other mage wants to see if he's full of it or not. Now granted, Numair is full of it most of the time, but for once he hasn't been exaggerating."
Caelin laughed, even though she wasn't anywhere near enthusiastic about spending her time with anyone from the Copper Isles. Still, she didn't have anything else to do, and Numair was looking at her with such a pleading expression she couldn't help but reply, "Of course I'll come. Is this formal, or should I wear my uniform?"
"Your uniform," Numair replied after a moment's thought. "Can you be here in fifteen minutes?"
"I'll be there," Caelin replied with false cheer. Here we go again.
"Lord Nassor, may I present my apprentice, Caelin of Harowyn. Caelin, Lord Nassor of the Copper Isles."
Caelin bowed as a tall man strode across Numair's sitting room to where Numair, Daine, and Caelin were standing to get a closer look at her. As Caelin looked up and observed the mage, a strange feeling crept up her spine. Lord Nassor was tall and dark, like all the Copper Isles men, with black hair that curled loosely down below his ears. His features were well placed, his teeth gleaming white, and his manners impeccable as he approached her and kissed her hand. "It is a distinct pleasure to meet the apprentice of such a renowned sorcerer as Master Numair. You must truly be something special to warrant his attention."
"No, sir, I'm really not," Caelin demurred, trying to understand why her stomach was clenching and her muscles were as taut as bowstrings. There was something about the man standing in front of her that was eerily familiar, and unsettling enough to send her skin crawling.
"Nonsense, I won't believe it. Perhaps you'd like to give me a demonstration of your skills?" The lord's question was innocent enough, but there was a strange gleam of anticipation in his dark eyes as he looked at her.
"I'm sorry, I'd like to, but I've spent most of the day practicing. I probably couldn't light a candle if I tried," Caelin responded with a little laugh, hoping Numair had enough sense not to contradict her. He seemed about to protest, but Daine nudged him with an elbow in the side, and he remained silent.
"You have a diligent student, Numair," Lord Nassor replied in a pleasant tone, but Caelin thought she could hear undercurrents of disappointment and vague anger behind his words. Of course, that was insane. Why would her simple refusal to give a demonstration make the mage so angry? "If only my students were half as hardworking. Alas, I seem to be cursed with a lazy lot."
"Caelin is one of a kind," Numair said proudly, having recovered from his confusion admirably. "But tell me, what are the magic schools like in the Copper Isles? I have to admit; I'm not as knowledgeable as I should be on the subject. It seems I recall your system being quite a bit different from ours. Perhaps you could enlighten me?"
Numair hit on a subject that Lord Nassor had a great deal to say about. The four of them sat down as he proceeded to instruct Numair in every aspect of magical training and schools in the Copper Isles. This progressed to a conversation on magical theory; Numair was enthralled, but Daine seemed less than thrilled, and Caelin noticed the older woman covering a yawn more than once.
Caelin continued to wrack her brains, trying to reach some understanding as to why the mage unsettled her so much. Eventually, she reached for her magic, which was always ready and waiting, and gently probed the mage, who was too engrossed in the conversation to notice. She barely withheld a gasp of surprise when she noticed the signs of glamour on the mage. It wasn't very complicated, but she could see where he had woven it into his normal magical aura, and its sole purpose was to make the man extremely likeable, non-threatening, and far less competent than he really was.
Lord Nassor didn't pause a beat in his conversation with Numair, but his eyes shifted and made contact with her own. In them was a silent threat that said she should not pry into his magic again. Beyond that, Caelin could feel a pounding headache building up behind her eyes, as if someone was knocking on her mind and trying desperately to get in. Without having any proof, Caelin knew Lord Nassor was trying to test her in another way.
As the pressure became more and more intense, Caelin set aside even more energy to build up her shields. She felt like she was waging a war with the man in front of her, yet he looked calm and collected, even slightly blasé about the entire situation. A tiny bead of sweat rolled down her face and she clenched her hands into fists as she rebuilt the walls Lord Nassor kept doing his best to tear down.
Whether it was a stroke of luck or Baron was listening in to her mental distress and clued her in, Daine's eyes flickered from Numair over to Caelin and she gasped aloud, interrupting the point Numair was trying to make. "Caelin, are you all right? You look terrible."
"Headache," she gasped, not having enough energy to say more. Luckily, she didn't have to. Immediately Daine strode over, clasped Caelin firmly around the arm, and led her over to the door.
"I don't care how much you want to stay and listen to all this magic talk, you need to get some sleep. I'm sure Lord Nassor will find time to talk to you some other time."
"That I will, young sorceress," the mage said pleasantly, but as Caelin looked in his eyes, she could see, beneath the pleasant front, a well of malice pooling in his dark gaze. With a shiver, Caelin tore her glance away from his and allowed Daine to lead her out of the room and back to her own.
It was all she could do to drag herself into bed and draw the curtains so the last hour of daylight could be held at bay. As she drifted off to sleep, her exhausted mind made one last, crucial connection. Caelin remembered where she had seen that magic before. It was the same dark power that had so ruthlessly attacked her mind and her magic, leaving her defenseless when the mercenaries kidnapped her. Lord Nassor was the man responsible for the missing children.
"Excuse me, Princess Seleste? Could I speak to you for a moment?" Caelin cringed as her voice came out tinny and small as she called to the dark princess walking ahead of her down the hall. For a moment it seemed like the younger princess hadn't heard Caelin, but eventually she turned around, and immediately her contrived, pleasant expression dropped when she saw who was addressing her.
"Yes? What is it? If you need to find out where my rooms are to clean something, ask one of the other servants. I'm occupied at the moment," the princess stated haughtily, wiping one perfectly manicured, delicate hand across her bright red dress to make sure there wasn't a spec of dust on it.
Caelin bit back a scathing reply and said as politely as she could, "I'm not a servant, your highness. I'm a student here, a mage. I need to see Prince Liam. Do you know where he is?"
Princess Seleste laughed unpleasantly, a scornful expression flirting across her face. "You want to speak to the prince? What makes you think he'd want to talk to someone like you?"
"We're friends," she replied stubbornly, unwilling to give up on her lead. "It's very important that I see him right away. If you could just tell me..."
"Wait a minute! I know who you are," the princess laughed in delight. "You're that commoner Lianne and Liam took pity on, aren't you? The one who murdered those nobles in Harowyn? We even heard about it in the Copper Isles; it was quite the slaughter. Caitlin, is it? It's really quite amazing what accomplished actors they are; you actually believe they care about you! As if the prince and princess of Tortall would care about a simple commoner. My sister told me about the wristband you made for Liam's birthday. She said it was really quite quaint."
For several seconds, Caelin simply stared at Princess Seleste, wondering how anyone could be so unnecessarily cruel. Then, she began to see red and she could feel herself shaking as she gritted out, "Regardless, I'd really like to know where Liam is." It took every ounce of self-control she had not to reach over and rip chunks of coiffed hair from the princess's empty head.
"Well that's too bad, because Liam is with my sister now, and I really don't think they want to be disturbed." With one last laugh, the princess turned around and minced away down the hall.
"Goddess!" Caelin swore, trying to rub the tension building behind her eyes away with her hand. For the past three days, Caelin had spent every spare hour trying to corner Liam and Lianne somewhere to tell them about her suspicions of the Copper Isles delegation. Using her Gift, although very cautiously to avoid detection, she had determined that every single person, from the royal family all the way down to the lowliest of servants, had glamours cast upon them to make them more likeable. For some reason, they seemed to want to appear as harmless and innocent as possible, which made Caelin wonder what exactly they were planning on doing.
Unfortunately, Lianne and Liam were never to be found. Whenever Lianne wasn't with Prince Moranice, she was giggling with the other highborn ladies, both from the Copper Isles and Tortall, including Princess Seleste, who was said to be Lianne's closest friend. Liam was never seen without the company of Princess Amalia. Among the servants, rumor said there was going to be a double wedding soon, to cement the alliance between the two countries.
Caelin could no longer tell herself that Liam was just being polite and acting exceptionally well. She had seen him walking with the princess and it would take a blind person to miss how he stared at her as if she was more beautiful than the Mother Goddess herself. He was always with her, and was going out of his way to avoid Caelin. Every time she thought she was getting close, Liam would be spirited away by the lovely Copper Isles princess, leaving Caelin back at square one. She felt like screaming her suspicions to the entire court, but she didn't want to attract any more attention than she could. Ever since the meeting with Lord Nassor, Caelin had been walking on pins and needles to avoid seeing him or any of the other high-ranking officials. There was something very dangerous and very deadly about the game being played, and Caelin didn't want to step in until she had incontrovertible proof that there was foul play.
However, until she found a way to talk to Liam, she was no closer to finding that proof than she had been before. Caelin sighed and made a snap decision. She hadn't wanted the situation to deteriorate to this point, but she had no choice. She only hoped her plan would work.
That night, Caelin skipped the evening meal and slipped away undetected, walking silently through the wide halls of the palace until she found herself in the area of the palace designated for knights. Using a tiny bit of her magic, Caelin waited until she recognized the aura coming from one of the rooms. With a furtive look about to make sure no one was looking, Caelin used a quick spell to unlock the door, made sure there were no nasty protective spells, and slid into the room. Once inside, her eyes quickly adjusted to the darker light and she looked around at her surroundings.
Liam's room was clean and decorated simply, the typical warrior's room. Besides the bed, a chair, desk, and bookshelf were the only other furniture in the room. His weapons were hung up neatly on one wall, every piece shining softly in the dim light. Caelin lit the fireplace in the room casually and sat on the bed. As she did, she caught the scent of perfume emanating from the sheets, and for the first time, the realization of Liam's relationship with Amalia truly hit.
She wanted to cry, needed to cry, but she couldn't. Caelin had always known, deep down, that despite her feelings for the prince, and despite his indications that perhaps he too felt something for her, they could never have a relationship. He was, after all, a prince of Tortall, and she was just a penniless orphan who was living off of the king's charity. Still, the betrayal she felt was like a knife ripping through her heart. In her sixteen years, she had let few people close enough to truly care about them. Liam was the one who had slid past all her barriers and gotten into her heart and mind. Now that she knew it was all a lie, it felt like something essential was missing.
For hours Caelin sat on Liam's bed, smelling the scent of orchids, and waiting. The sun slid beneath the horizon and bathed Corus in darkness; the only light came from the sliver of the moon hanging low in the night sky. Outside, thieves and prostitutes roamed the streets, looking for their night's pay. The many taverns in the city were filled with men and women trying to escape from their normal, dull lives for a few hours of happiness and excitement. Inside the palace, the parties were still probably in full swing, while the ambassadors from the Copper Isles and the Tortallan council had yet another endless meeting. The servants went about their last chores for the night, some looking forward to a night out in Corus, others just spending time with their loved ones. Everyone was in motion except for Caelin.
Eventually, just as Caelin was about to give up, the door to Liam's room slowly opened up. For a moment Caelin was frozen with the fear that Liam wouldn't be alone, but she soon let out a sigh of relief when only one shape walked into the room. The minute the prince saw someone on his bed, he reached for the swords on the wall, cursing. Once he realized whom it was, an expression of mixed bafflement and annoyance flashed across his face. "Caelin? What are you doing here?"
"What do you think I'm doing?" Caelin snapped, pushing her hurt behind a wall inside her chest and letting all the frustration of the past week boil over. "I've been trying to talk to you for the past three days, but somehow you always seem to have something more important to do! You can't tell me you haven't gotten any of my messages, or seen me waving at you in the hall to get your attention, because we both know you'd be lying. I don't really care if you don't want to see me, but you know me enough to realize I wouldn't be trying to talk to you if it wasn't something important."
"I've been busy," Liam replied lazily, dropping the sword he had picked up and sitting down on the chair, obviously affronted that Caelin was on his bed. "It's been my job to keep the princesses and other nobles occupied, not to mention I have to keep in fighting shape in case I'm sent out on patrol. I don't have time to deal with every single insignificant crisis in your life. All I ever do is listen to you complain. Mithros, before my Ordeal, the most terrible thing I'll ever have to face, all I did was try and keep you from worrying! What is it now; do you have a particularly nasty hangnail you need me to take care of? Or are you having another identity crisis; 'Oh, poor me, I'm a commoner and no one likes me.' Sorry, but if that's the reason, you'll have to find someone else to complain to, because I'm not listening anymore. Besides, it's about time you realized, no one really likes you."
For just a minute, the excruciating pain Caelin was feeling shone out through her eyes, but she immediately clamped down and regained the stony, cold expression on her face. "No, it's not a hangnail. I think Lord Nassor is not who he seems, along with the rest of the delegates from the Copper Isles. They all have glamours on them to make them more likeable, and to seem less dangerous. They've got everyone in the palace and city fooled except me. There's something strange going on, and I need your help to figure out what."
Several seconds passed as Liam stared at her, and then he burst into laughter. "Oh, this is priceless," he gasped, bending over slightly. "I can't believe you actually expect me to believe this. It's obvious what's going on here," he said maliciously, stressing the word obviously because he knew how much she hated it. "You're jealous of Amalia, so you're making up some crazy story about how evil they all are to try and make me hate her. You're very transparent, you know, and it's not going to work. They've given us no reason to believe they aren't interested in becoming firm allies, and I can certainly attest to the integrity of Amalia. I've come to know her quite well," he added in a lascivious voice, knowing that every word was ripping Caelin's heart to shreds a little bit more. His words seemed so strange and out of place; even if Liam no longer cared about her and was in love with the princess, she never could have imagined him acting the way he was. It was as if he was a different person...
Caelin gritted her teeth and reached for her magic. As soon as she had it in her grasp, she used it to look at Liam, and held back a yell of dismay. His aura, which was normally blue, gray, and green, was warped through with sickening strands of black. The foreign strands were slowly creeping their way closer and closer to the core of his soul, and soon they would completely overpower everything that made Liam, Liam. Caelin shuddered and let go of the strands of blue fire, not wanting to touch the power she knew came from Lord Nassor. "It all makes sense," she whispered softly to herself. "He's under a spell. I bet anything Lianne is too."
"What did you say," Liam demanded, his eyes wary as he realized Caelin had been using her Gift.
"I said," Caelin replied suddenly, making up her mind in an instant, "that I really don't care what you have to say. I need you to show me where Lord Nassor's room is, and I need you to show me right now. You are going to bring me there, come in and hide with me, and try to find out as much information as possible. If you don't agree to take me voluntarily, I'll put you under a rather painful spell that will force your cooperation. If you try and run, I will make you regret it. It's past time someone discovered what they're up to, and that person is going to be me. And then, once we find out what's going on, you are going to go straight to the king and tell him what you know. Do you understand me?"
Liam spluttered, "You can't do that! I could have you arrested for this. No, I will have you arrested for this."
"Fine then, you can arrest me all you want, after you help me. Now are you going to go willingly, or do I need to give you some encouragement?"
Liam cursed her with every major god and goddess, threatened to have her executed, and promised to personally spread her ashes on traitor's hill, but eventually the prince stood up and exited his room with a promise to take her to the mage's suite of rooms.
"Are you sure he'll still be at the council?" Caelin asked again when they arrived at the first entrance to Lord Nassor's suite. "If he's in his room, we'll probably both get killed."
"He'll be gone," Liam muttered angrily, his eyes flashing as he leaned against the wall next to the door.
"You'd better back up," Caelin warned him as she began inspecting the door with her blue magic. Not surprisingly, there were several protection and warning spells, but not as many as she had expected for such a powerful mage. He probably thinks no one will every think to suspect him, she thought sourly as she started disarming the spells one by one. Once again she thanked the fact that she was Numair's student and not still working with the Magewinds instructors; she would never have known how to disarm the spells without his expert tutelage. Finally every single spell was disarmed, and Caelin and Liam slipped into the room without detection.
The first thing Caelin noticed as she entered the room was that every wall was filled with maps; maps of Tortall, maps of the Copper Isles, maps of waterways, maps of Scanra...although they all seemed to be just normal maps, Caelin wondered if their real purpose wasn't just hidden with more magic. She waved a hand and watched as the maps melted slightly and writing began to appear.
A growing sense of horror filled Caelin as she walked closer to the maps of Tortall and Scanra. On the border between the two countries, a large area was marked in red that surrounded the City of the Gods. Next to her, Liam's body tightened in surprise as the markings appeared. Caelin was about to go investigate a column of numbers on the side of the map when she heard voices outside the door. Cursing, she grabbed Liam and dragged him over to the bed, returned the maps to normal, and dragged the prince of Tortall with her under Lord Nassor's bed. Not nearly enough concealment for Caelin's state of mind, but she was depending on the assumption that the room would be so filled with Lord Nassor's magical items and spells that he wouldn't notice one more small disturbance in the fabric of the room. In the back of her mind, she wondered exactly how both she and Liam managed to fit under the bed, and wished she could see the expression on his face.
The door to the room opened and Lord Nassor walked in first, followed by, to Caelin's utter surprise, Prince Moranice. Once inside the room, Caelin noticed that Lord Nassor dropped the glamours. Caelin had to hide a laugh as Liam stared at the now shorter, awkward Prince Moranice. Secretly, Caelin held the overwhelming desire to see what the princesses looked like without Lord Nassor's assistance.
"Well that went well," Prince Moranice said first, breaking the silence in the room as he lounged indolently in one of the chairs. "That buffoon really seems to trust you-us."
Liam shook in indignation as Lord Nassor replied lazily, "Of course he trusts us. I'm using enough spells to ensure that the entire city is enamored of you and your sisters, so the king ought to be falling all over himself to cement this alliance."
"Are all the preparations ready? The soldiers have to be ready to move right away, once the plan gets set into motion. Everything must go smoothly."
"It was my plan in the first place," Lord Nassor snapped in annoyance, "and everything will be fine. The Scanrans are ready to move at my word. I've been in contact with Damian, and his mages are ready to go at any time. They've certainly got the power," he laughed nastily. "The ships are hanging just off the coast, and can begin attacking at any time. The spell is in place as well. We only await word from the king, and the plan will be set in motion."
Prince Moranice sighed petulantly. "I do hope my father appreciates the fact that I'm personally overseeing this operation. Imagine, the 'idiot son' finally doing something right. My brothers will be absolutely green with envy. Once I'm married to Lianne and crowned king of Tortall, he'll have no recourse but to give me the Copper Isles as well. And then, who knows? Perhaps I'll conquer Scanra and Tusaine." The boy, for Caelin could only think of him as a spoiled little boy now, sounded as if he were talking about a mere child's game instead of the fate of several major kingdoms.
Lord Nassor, too, seemed to have had enough of Prince Moranice. "I'm sure you will, my lord," he said in a tone of voice that indicated he thought just about anyone had a better chance of becoming a conqueror than the pudgy prince. "Now, though, you must leave so I can concentrate on making contact with your father. Perhaps tonight will be the night he gives us permission to set the plan in motion." The prince bobbed his head in agreement. Before he left, Lord Nassor waved one hand, and Prince Moranice morphed once more into the tall, graceful, and exceedingly handsome man the rest of the kingdom knew, but if Caelin looked hard enough, she could still see the fat, pimply prince who had been there just a moment before.
As Moranice headed for the door, Caelin panicked, wondering how they would ever escape. Luckily, Nassor left too, and Caelin dragged Liam out from under the bed and ran for the door as quickly as possible.
Caelin didn't say a word to Liam as they returned to his room. Once inside, Liam began pacing back and forth across the small confinement, muttering words she couldn't properly hear. While Liam worked out his frustrations, Caelin probed gently with the remainder of her magic left over from the complicated shielding spell and smiled slightly with satisfaction. There was no longer any sign of black magic on Liam's aura, which meant he had been able to throw off the spell himself, when confronted with the truth. Or it meant that Lord Nassor had known they were in the room, was confident that his preparations were going perfectly according to the plan, and simply didn't care about ensorceling the prince any longer.
Finally Liam turned to her, eyes filled with anguish. "Caelin...I don't know what to say."
"Just say you'll tell your father what we saw tomorrow, and that will be enough for me. I should really be getting back to my room. It's very late." Even though Caelin knew that all of the harsh words Liam had spoken to her, and his behavior of the past few days were because of a spell, the pain was still palpable. Spells could only change a person's behavior so much; those thoughts and feelings had existed somewhere deep in Liam's heart, and the spell had merely brought them to the surface of his mind.
"I...I didn't mean any of what I said. About not caring about you, and not wanting to listen to your problems. You know that's not true! It's like you said, I was under a spell. I didn't mean any of it. I really, really didn't."
Caelin smiled sadly. "But Liam, that's the problem. On some level, you did. And you did sleep with Amalia. You can't deny it. I know you weren't completely in control of your actions, but you could have fought, and you didn't. Now please just promise me you'll speak to the council tomorrow."
"You know I will," Liam responded quietly, grudgingly accepting the fact that Caelin wasn't ready to forgive him. "You should probably get some sleep. The council will want to talk with you tomorrow as well."
Caelin nodded and left the room without another word, knowing that if she did, she wouldn't have the strength to leave at all. The look on Liam's face as she walked out stayed in her heart, but so did the words he had spoken just hours before. It would take a long time before they were erased completely.
As Caelin slipped into her bed, her thoughts remained on the City of the Gods. Somewhere out there, probably hundreds of other children were suffering the same fate Caelin had narrowly avoided, their magic and souls drained out of them for use by other mages. She couldn't let them remain imprisoned. "By the Goddess," she whispered softly, fervently, "I will rescue them."
The dreams were confusing, filled with twisted and distorted images. A tall man, dark and dangerous, laughing. Children crying, shrieking for their mothers. A dark wave of unfathomable danger stretching across the land, poised to wash over all of Tortall. Death.
With a gasp, Caelin's eyes flew open and she sat up in her bed, shaking. Something was happening. Magic permeated every inch of the palace. Everywhere, powerful spells were going off, the equivalent of magical blasts, resulting in blindness for anyone with the Gift. Caelin wanted to cower in her bed and try to protect her mind from the excruciating jabs of pain, but she couldn't.
Caelin staggered to the door after throwing on the first tunic and pair of breeches she could find and thrust it open. All around, students were emerging from their rooms, looking as wild-eyed and confused as she felt. Even non-magical students were exiting their rooms, because the entire palace was starting to shake, from the foundations all the way up to the highest towers. The feeling of electric intensity increased to a frenzy of energy, and then with a bang that deafened ears for several minutes, the spell reached its completion.
Caelin was bodily thrown to the ground from the shock, along with anyone else trying to walk around. Her head slammed into the ground with a crack, and for a minute she lost consciousness. Eventually her vision came back, and she was aware of someone kneeling beside her. "Caelin, are you all right? Can you hear me?"
Caelin groaned as her head responded to Liam's panicked words and she waved as him weakly with a hand. "Please...not so loud. I think me head's going to split open. What's going on?" Despite the fact that she was still angry with the prince, she allowed him to assist her in standing up. She tried to let go of him, but the minute she did, she started swaying and he immediately grabbed hold of her waist so she wouldn't fall.
"I think we're about to find out," Liam answered grimly as the recovering students in the hall moved out of the way to allow Numair through, looking rather worse for the wear. His long black hair was a tangled mass around his head, his face was pale and haggard, and his eyes were worried as he rushed over as fast as he could. He too seemed to have experienced magical overload.
"Caelin! Are you all right? You're bleeding."
"I am?" she asked in amazement, touching a hand to her head gingerly. It came away bloody. "Gods, what happened? I woke up and everything fell apart. I thought the whole palace was going to fall to pieces. Was it one of your experiments?"
"Oh no, not one of mine," Numair snapped angrily. "I was awake, working on a spell, when I started feeling the beginnings of the spell web coming from Lord Nassor's rooms. I got there just as the spell completed; he disappeared right in front of me."
"Spell web?" Caelin asked, not recognizing the name. "What's that?"
"Essentially, it's a mass transportation spell that can be set around a large area and targeted through a sort of magical ID to bring literally hundreds of people from one place to another. The problem is, I've never heard of anyone having the power to pull it off. It would take dozens of mages at full strength and unlimited power reserves to even attempt the spell. I know the mages here couldn't have done it."
Caelin's face went white as she looked at Liam in shock. The missing children. "They're all gone? Everyone?"
Numair nodded. "Down to the very last servant."
Caelin groaned, realizing that if she had only gone straight to the king, late hour be damned, they could have prevented the delegation from slipping away. Suddenly, a terrible thought occurred to her. "Liam, go to Lianne's room right now." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Liam turned white and sprinted down the hall towards his sister's room. It only took a moment for him to return, his face a mask of grief.
"She's gone. That...web took her too." The unspoken thought was that Liam, too, would have been taken if the spell on him hadn't been broken the night before.
"It's all my fault," Caelin moaned. "We should have said something last night."
"Said something about what?" Numair demanded, looking as shocked as Liam had.
"I've been...suspicious of Lord Nassor all week. I think his was the mage responsible for my kidnapping. And he was using a glamour; everyone in the delegation had them. We snuck into his room last night, and heard him talking with Prince Moranice. They've been planning this for years; they've been stealing the magical children to gain the power to hide their forces in Scanra. They have an army out there, near the City of the Gods, controlled by super-powered mages, and a navy that's going to tear into Tortall any day now. None of our mages could see it because they had such powerful shielding spells, I guess."
"No, not that, it's because the City of the Gods is such a magical area, we never look for signals there anymore; all we can see is a huge block of magic. Mithros, we should have prepared for this. It all makes sense." Numair seemed disgusted with himself for not seeing the truth, but Caelin wondered if he was more upset with her for not saying anything.
"It's all my fault," she repeated, aware that Liam too was consumed with guilt.
"Did you know how they were going to escape the palace?"
"No..."
"Did you know when they were going to set the plan in motion?"
"No," Caelin repeated again.
"Then I fail to see how this is your fault. You two had better come with me and we'll go talk to the council, let them know what you heard and saw last night."
Despite Numair's words of encouragement, Caelin still felt anxious when the council convened later that evening for a meeting, every face pale and tense. The king opened up the meeting, looking infinitely worse than the rest of them combined. He, along with his powerful Gift, had control of the palace, city, and entire kingdom through the Dominion Jewel. Any disruptive magic affected him more than most. "I suppose all of you know what's happened by now, but let me recap. The Copper Islander mage, Lord Nassor, set in place a spell web, which is a mass transportation spell. He set it off last night, and every member of the delegation was whisked away. We can only guess what their purpose was, why they even bothered with this farce of an alliance. I think we can all agree, though, that whatever they're planning, it won't be pleasant. Does anyone have something else to add?"
Before anyone else could speak, Caelin stood up and cleared her throat. Her heart was pounding as she turned to face King Jonathan and said quietly, "I have something to add, your highness. For the past three weeks, I've been suspicious of the influence the delegation has had on everyone in the palace and city, including my friends, Prince Liam and Princess Lianne. Perhaps it was jealousy, but it seemed to me that the delegation members were just too perfect. When I met Lord Nassor, I immediately saw that he had a glamour on him, to make him seem unsuspecting and not powerful. He was placing glamours on members in the delegation, which is probably how they triggered the trap spell.
"Last night, I forced Prince Liam, who was acting strangely, to show me to Lord Nassor's room. I threatened the prince, and I realize that for that I was acting treasonously, but I believed the mage was a threat to the entire kingdom. When I forcibly entered the room with the prince, the first things we saw were maps of Tortall, Scanra, and the oceans surrounding Tortall. I took off a spell that hid writing on the maps, and they were filled with markings of troop placements. There is an army gathering in Scanra, and a navy just off of our coast." Caelin waited for the surprised murmuring to die down before continuing.
"Lord Nassor entered the room soon after, along with Prince Moranice. They spoke of a special plan they've been cultivating for years, a plan to take over Tortall. From what I know about the Copper Isles, I assume they're looking for living space for their people. Lord Nassor said he was only awaiting notice from the king to put the plan in motion. I thought we had time, so I purposely didn't arouse the palace ahead of time, and the Copper Islanders have stolen the Princess Lianne in order to marry her to Prince Moranice and strengthen his claim to the throne. I realize that my actions have caused innumerable problems, and I leave myself in your control. If I am to be arrested for treason, then so be it." Caelin sat down abruptly after her speech, surprised at how controlled her voice sounded when she was a quivering mess.
However, immediately after she sat down, Liam stood up and shouted for quiet over the din of voices frantically discussing Caelin's news, particularly the king, who was panic stricken over the news of Lianne's abduction. "This is my fault as much as it's Caelin's! We both decided not to alert the palace last night. If you arrest her, you'll have to arrest me too." There was a stubborn look on his face as he glared directly at his father. Once more, the room dissolved into shouting.
Finally the king stood and the room gradually fell silent. He seemed wearier than before as he said, "No one is going to be arrested. If anything, I should be grateful that you, Caelin, had the sense to suspect when the rest of us were blind. We now know more than we ever would have without you. The kidnapping of my daughter is, unfortunately, the least of our concerns. We need to know their strength and where they are going to strike first. And, even more importantly, how they managed to hide all of this from us. Surely our mages would have seen something to tell of their movements? Surely I should have seen this? The Jewel should have warned me."
"I can answer that too," Caelin answered, trying not to cringe as all eyes focused on her one more. "I figured this out last night and this morning, with Numair's help. It all rests on the kidnapped children. They must have been slowly harvesting the most talented mages for years without notice. I'm sorry, but except in my case, nobles don't pay any attention when a commoner child goes missing. It happens all the time, but in this case, the results were more dangerous. The Copper Isles mages have been drawing on the children's Gifts to power their own powerful cloaking spells. It's my belief that they've taken over the City of the Gods, because magical sight is clouded there anyway. The army and navy must be hidden under the spells as well. And, if they have all that power, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to obscure the Jewel from seeing what they were doing. I couldn't tell you how they did it, but with that much power available, anything is possible."
"Which means," the Lioness growled angrily, "we have no way of knowing when or where the bastards will strike if we can't see them coming."
"Precisely," the king said in agreement. "They have an army, a navy, unstoppable mages, and they want my throne. Somehow, we need to find a way to combat this threat. Any ideas?"
Caelin and Liam became virtually invisible as the council began discussing possible strategies to wage war against the Copper Isles. Liam was engrossed in the conversation, but an idea was beginning to form in Caelin's head, and she needed quiet in order to fully contemplate it.
Without a word to anyone, Caelin slid out of the council room and headed back to her own room, taking note of the fearful faces of nobles, students, knights, and servants alike. They didn't know what was happening, but they knew it was something supernatural and terrible. The minute Caelin had securely locked the door to her room, she started talking to Baron, whose feathers were still standing up in alarm from the web spell.
"I suppose you heard everything that was said in the council?" She asked the phoenix conversationally, gently stroking his feathers down.
Of course, he replied haughtily. It was worth listening in to. And I also know what you're planning. Do you really think you can rescue those children by yourself? You, an untrained, untried, child mage?
"Do you think I can?" She shot back at the phoenix, knowing that he knew her best, and her abilities.
I think, his mind voice came slowly, that with my help, and a bit of luck, you have a chance. They'll never let you go, though, not without a struggle.
"That's why I'm not telling anyone, and why I'm leaving tomorrow. Of course they'll stop me if I try to go. It's ludicrous what I'm planning to do. I'm probably going to die a rather painful death. But I'm the only one that has a chance, if you think about it. If I can just get to the City of the Gods, use a powerful glamour to make me seem untrained and the perfect prize, they'll take me captive right away. Now that I know what kind of spells they'll put on me to tap my magic and keep me powerless, I should be able to work out a way to defend against them without losing my own abilities. And, if you help, I'll be at full strength, no matter how much magic they try to drain from me."
It could work, the phoenix mused, hopping around on his windowsill in growing excitement. Yes, that could be exactly what we need to stop them. You could gradually help the kids one by one until all of them are only slightly under the mages' control, and then you break away. Once that happens, the army and navy will appear, and they won't have magic to attack Tortallan soldiers with. It could work.
"It has to work, Baron. There's no other way."
Caelin dragged out the travel bags Dom had given her long ago and started packing clothes into them. As she did, she wondered if she would ever see Dom, Daine, Numair, Aremin, Orrin, Lianne, and Liam ever again. Most likely, even if she did succeed, she wouldn't make it out of the City of the Gods. It was too dangerous. Then, knowing that if she focused on the dangers she would never have the courage to go through with her plan, she started thinking about the practical aspects of her journey. She would need to steal Diamond out of the stable, and she would need provisions. She wasn't capable of hunting for her own food, and even if she were, there wouldn't be much game to be found at the end of winter.
"Baron, how am I going to find provisions?" She asked the phoenix in a panic. "And I'm going to need warm clothes, warmer than what I have here."
Leave it to me, Baron replied in a haughty tone. Let me out, and I'll bring you back food and clothes.
"How are you going to manage that," she asked skeptically.
Is anyone going to question an immortal phoenix? Baron questioned pointedly. If I zoom into the kitchen and harass the workers, they'll give me anything I ask. They'll be too surprised to have a voice in their heads to question me.
Caelin agreed to Baron's plan, and after telling the phoenix what kind of food and clothes to procure for her, she let the immortal out of her room. If anyone, a few weeks ago, had told her Baron would willingly become a pack bird, she would have laughed herself silly. But then, if someone had tried to tell her about anything that had happened in the next few weeks, she wouldn't have believed him or her anyway.
As Baron brought in load after load of supplies to Caelin's room, she continued to pack her bags. After Baron's final trip, she thought she had everything. Clothes, food, and weapons enough to keep her safe and fed throughout the journey north. Caelin was about to close and lock her door for the night when a hand slipped in and prevented her from closing it. With a squeak of dismay, Caelin was pushed backwards as a tall form entered the room.
"Liam," she said weakly, maneuvering so that her body was keeping Liam from seeing her packed bags. "What are you doing here?"
"Are you insane?" He snapped, gray eyes flashing in fury, body tense with barely held back frustration. "They'll kill you. Or you'll die on the road halfway there. You have no idea what you're getting in to! Why would you even consider such a foolish idea?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Caelin stammered, wondering how the prince had known what she was up to.
"Right. It's pretty obvious, when I see Baron flying back and forth to your room with provisions for a long, cold trip. You can't possibly hope to save them. It's a suicide mission."
"Maybe it is, Liam, but I have to do something!" She proceeded to explain her reasoning to the prince, leaving out no aspect of her plan. There had to be some way to convince Liam that her plan actually made sense.
Finally, Liam began relaxing, and his eyes returned to a brilliant shade of green. After she finished her explanation, he sighed and said, "Fine. I'm coming with you."
"What?" Caelin squawked, convinced she had heard Liam wrong. "No you're not."
"Why not? If you're determined to go through with this, you need someone besides a bird to help you."
Phoenix, Baron interrupted in annoyance. I'm a phoenix. Get it right.
"But you'll be missed if you come. You're a knight, Liam. You swore to defend your kingdom and your father's throne, and haring off with me does not exactly qualify as protecting. It's treason for a knight to refuse a summons for war. You know that."
"I will be protecting the kingdom, by protecting you. If you manage to succeed, we might be able to win this war. If you don't, it's only a matter of time before they destroy us. I can't let that happen."
"But Liam, you'll lose your shield."
"Then I do," the prince snapped, losing his patience. "But unless you agree to let me come, I'll tell my father and Numair right away, and you won't have any chance at all. Do you understand me?"
Caelin glared at Liam in fury, and for a moment, hated the prince more than she ever had in her entire life. Then, finally, she relented. "You had better be ready to ride before dawn tomorrow. We can't waste any time."
Liam smirked in satisfaction and delivered a half bow. "I'll be ready and waiting, milady."
Caelin glared at Liam, but secretly, she was glad the knight would be accompanying her. With Liam's help, she was almost guaranteed to at least make it to the City of the Gods. After that, her skill and determination would decide the fate of the kingdom. Liam walked out of her room, and his last words were, "At dawn," before he left, no doubt off to prepare his own gear for the journey.
Caelin sat down on her bed and stared off into the darkening sky. "At dawn."