The Wizard and the Void - Chapter Thirteen
Author: Milady Dragon
Maria had been given a lot to think about.
She wandered the streets of New Andrade, aware of Iliad flying high overhead, but not paying her dragon any sort of attention as she walked, the journal of Master John Smith tucked under one arm. A part of her was a little afraid of reading it, but she knew she really needed to, in order to understand just what Master Stephen had told her.
She had to wonder why she'd never learned this before, about the Voids and Cardinals and their connection to the ancient powers. Certainly, her teaching Master had never said a single thing regarding that sort of connection, but she was beginning to realize that she wasn't told a lot about her fellow Wizards and she had to wonder why that was.
Of course, she'd heard Master Stephen's rhetoric before, but to be honest she hadn't paid all that much attention. Neither, apparently, had many of the other members of her order. Why had she been so blind? Why hadn't she listened?
Well, she could guess…it was because of the absolute faith a student had in the words of their teachers. Because, if a Novice couldn't trust their Masters, then who could they trust? That had been the basis of the teaching Master/Novice relationship from the recreation of the Wizard School and the Guild. A Novice was chosen by the Master, and they studied with them for years before graduating to Mastery themselves. There was no other bond greater, except that of family and a Wizard's with their dragon.
Maria had never been one for teaching. She simply didn't have the patience. But she trusted those who were called to that position, and would never have thought to question them.
Perhaps, though, that had been wrong as well, because as soon as she figured that out, she realized that could lead to all sorts of power imbalances. And what about those Wizards who were now in Hydra? Did they have students? Were they passing on this sort of nonsense to another generation?
This was going to be a mess, no matter how it turned out.
Then, there was the subject of Master Phil Coulson.
Maria had a fine sense of justice. She always had. However, she couldn't condemn the man for his wrongdoing as the Dark One without bringing Nick's own past into it. He was just as culpable as the Dark One had been; they'd been partners, and had been jointly responsible for so much death and destruction…and yet, the former Marcus Johnson had become a beloved leader in Triskelia. Besides, despite Nick's past deeds, Maria had accepted him as a possible suitor. Truth be told, she loved him, and was just waiting for him to get off his ass and ask her to marry him. There was no way she wanted anything to happen to him just because she couldn't let it go that he hadn't confided in her that the Dark One was still alive.
Maria supposed that Grand Master Stephen had a point: if Master Phil really had changed as much as Nick had claimed, then chances were his own conscience wasn't letting him forget what he'd done. He'd chosen to raise a Cardinal daughter, his direct opposite in power and ability, and that also had to count for something.
She would wait and see.
As for everything else…
It had been a revelation about just how the Cardinals and Voids related to the Deep Ways and the Void. Maria was surprised she hadn't considered that herself, but then she'd been one of the more vocal opponents of their very abilities. Yes, she certainly respected Mistress Pepper, and Master Gideon had never done a thing to her, but there had still been that certain knowledge – not so certain, now – that what the were doing was wrong. And that didn't even get into how she felt about Grand Master Alexander…and Grand Master Ianto. What the Cardinal Grand Master could do had just seemed…well, almost evil to her, extending his own life using the Deep Ways. To discover that the Deep Ways was so much a part of him…it gave her a new perspective.
Just how terrible was immortality? Why would anyone want it? That included the Deathless, who hadn't had a choice, either. How could either of them stand to live, when everyone they'd known and loved was destined to die?
Damnit, her head was hurting.
The book she was carrying taunted her. The magic it was filled with made her tingle, and she wanted nothing more than to soak up Master John Smith's wisdom on the subject of Voids and Cardinals and what had changed his mind about them. If what he'd learned could do that, then perhaps she could change as well…
Somehow, she found herself on a busy sidewalk, with a glowing portal opening in front of her.
Maria automatically reached for her wand, but relaxed the moment she saw Master Stephen step through, Agamotto looped about his shoulders. He looked concerned, and Maria instantly knew something bad had happened.
As Iliad landed lightly beside her, the Grand Master said, "We are needed at Gateway."
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"Daisy Coulson is missing."
Maria cursed. That was something she honestly hadn't been expecting, and it was possibly the worst thing that could have occurred. If it was Hydra, then they would be using the daughter against the father, and she had to wonder if they'd somehow found out that Master Phil had reported them to Nick…
Without saying anything else, Master Stephen opened another portal. Maria wished she had the power to do that sort of thing, instead of relying on items enchanted with Teleport spells, but she didn't have time to be envious. The Grand Master was stepping through, and she followed, making certain her dragon was with her, not wanting to accidentally leave Iliad behind.
Maria found herself in front of Grand Master Ianto's house.
While she'd never been inside – there had been no reason for her to – she was familiar with the building. It was one of the oldest in Gateway that wasn't affiliated with the Wizard School or the Baronial Court, and to her senses it had more magic imbued within it that Grand Master Stephen's did, only without the Dimensional Expansion spell.
If Maria had to admit it, she didn't much care for Gateway. It was quite possibly the most powerful Cardinal Point in the known world, and a place that no one should have built anything on. It should have been left in peace, but no…they'd had to put the Wizard School and the Quorum Hall right in the center of all that magic. She had an office there, that she did spend some time in during the school year if just for administrative reasons and Quorum business, but she really wasn't there all that often. She relied on her teaching Masters to look after the students and only had office hours for major conflicts among staff and Novices, and for meetings about curriculum. Maria wasn't a teacher by any stretch of the imagination, but there were things that only the Head of Order could do.
Master Stephen strode toward the house's front door, which opened at his approach. Standing there was Eirlys Harkness-Jones, Baroness Gateway, looking very un-Baroness-like in casual clothing, and wearing none of the trappings of her office.
She gave them both a smile, but it wasn't very pleased. For a moment, Maria bristled, but realized that it wasn't because they were there…it was because of the reason they were at the house. "Welcome," she said, stepping aside. "Everyone is in the dining room. It's the only room in the house outside of Tad's casting chamber that would fit everyone."
"Thank you, Eirlys," Grand Master Stephen said sincerely, moving past her. He touched her shoulder lightly as he did so, and Maria knew then that they were quite friendly with each other.
"I only wish you were visiting under better circumstances." Then she turned to Maria. "Mistress Maria, you are welcome here. I do wish you were here for the first time for a different reason."
Maria thanked her, following her Grand Master into the cozy home. It didn't look at all what she thought it might, belonging to the immortal Grand Master of Cardinal Order and the most powerful Cardinal Wizard known, and it made her rethink a few assumptions she'd made about Grand Master Ianto Jones.
"There's also the obligatory dragon pile in the front room," Baroness Eirlys continued, pointing to the first room off to the left. Maria glanced inside and, sure enough, there was quite a pile of dragons there. She could feel Iliad wanting to join them, so she gave her permission; Agamotto took the opportunity to slither down her Wizard and Iliad thoughtfully let the wingless dragon climb up his own back, in order to carry him in with the rest of the dragons.
Content that Iliad would stay where he was – no dragon could ever resist the call of a happy, sleepy, dragon pile – Maria accompanied Grand Master Stephen and Baroness Eirlys down past the stairs and into a fairly large dining area, the large oak table lined with chairs…and with people seated in the matching chairs or standing along the pale blue walls
She was surprised at some of the people there. Nick had apparently been teleported in from Triskelia; he was glowering at Mistress Pepper, as if she'd somehow personally offended him…or that might have had more to do with the fact that Baron Tony Stark was in the same room and, as far as Maria knew, Nick and the Baron Ferrous didn't get along the times they got together for the Council of Barons.
There were also two Elves, young enough to be students, sitting with a man who was a little older and a lot larger, and it didn't take much for Maria to figure out they were Novices and teaching Master. They were also obviously from her order, judging from the magical auras they each wore.
Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow, was also present. She was standing in the corner behind Nick, like some sort of bodyguard, and the last thing Maria had known was she'd been sent to see what she could dig up about Hydra. Nick must have recalled her, when whatever the hells had happened, happened. Her pale eyes were watching everyone in the room, and they met Maria's as she and Grand Master Stephen entered, the assassin nodding slightly in acknowledgement of their appearance.
Also in the room were Grand Master Ianto Jones, and Captain Jack Harkness…the Deathless.
Maria hadn't officially met either one, but she'd seen them enough times to easily recognize them. Grand Master Ianto was a handsome man but, compared to Harkness… the Great Wizard wondered if there had been any sort of magical enhancement, because no man should be that good looking. Brown hair, blue eyes, a jawline that any man would have killed for…Captain Harkness was a striking individual, standing beside the Cardinal Grand Master, almost touching, his blue shirt rolled up to his elbows and brown trousers and belt, on which hung a well-used longsword.
"Thank you for coming, Stephen," Grand Master Ianto greeted them, his Cardiff accent making the words sound soft, "and Mistress Maria. I'm sorry for calling you so precipitously."
"That's fine," Grand Master Stephen waved off the apology. "From what Maria's told me, it's important."
"It's nice to see you again, Stephen," Captain Harkness said, warmth in his words.
"And you as well, Jack," the Grand Master said, his voice humorous.
The Deathless turned to Maria. He reached out to take her hand; Maria didn't usually like that sort of thing, but for some reason it felt fine in this instance. "And you are?"
"Jack," Grand Master Ianto warned fondly.
"Why does no one let me say hello anymore?" Captain Harkness actually pouted.
Maria was actually charmed, despite the fact that this was the Deathless, he was over a thousand years old, and he shouldn't exist.
"Because, 'hello' for you is full-blown sexual harassment for anyone else," the Cardinal Grand Master pointed out, "and this is Mistress Maria Hill, Head of Great Order for the Western Lands. Mistress Maria, please excuse my husband, he's in incorrigible flirt."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mistress Maria," Captain Harkness said, and it was obvious that he actually meant it. "I'm only sorry it was under these circumstances."
"And just what are these 'circumstances'?" she asked, regaining her equilibrium. "Grand Master Stephen said that Novice Daisy was missing?"
"That is correct," Grand Master Ianto confirmed. "Please, have a seat and we'll get everyone caught up."
Maria took a chair near the three Grand Wizards, very curious as to why they were there. Master Stephen found a seat next to Mistress Pepper; Baron Tony glared at him, as if not happy with him being that close to his wife.
"Now," the Cardinal Grand Master took control of the meeting easily, and even Nick seemed to defer to him which was just a little bit weird in Maria's opinion. "I think that Novices Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz should begin."
Both Elves looked understandably nervous at speaking in front of this particular audience.
Before either one could say anything, Maria found herself asking, "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure why two novices from my own order would be here."
Her question seemed to irritate the young woman – Jemma Simmons, apparently – because she bristled and blurted. "Daisy is our friend! And we're the ones who noticed her gone!"
Maria felt her eyebrows raise in surprise. She hadn't expected to be told off by a Novice, of all things; especially one that claimed to be a friend of a Cardinal Wizard.
But Novice Jemma wasn't finished.
"We don't care what the propaganda says, about Cardinals and Voids. We'll be friends with whomever we want."
Novice Leo piped up. "We even have a Void friend! Trip's teaching Master is Master Jasper, who's almost as nice as Daisy's Dad is."
"We're not the only Greats who have other order friends," Novice Jemma continued. "Lincoln – his teaching Master is Master Gordon, who's a bit of an arse –"
"I threatened to kill Gordon once," the teaching Master with them stated calmly.
"With an enchanted axe!" Novice Leo exclaimed, his eyes glazing with such awe it almost bordered on hero worship.
"I still have that axe," the man said fondly.
"He's a Great, and he and Daisy are practically dating!" She grinned, not skipping a beat despite the interruptions. "I think it's really sweet, and they're wonderful together." Then she frowned. "But he and Daisy get a lot of really nasty teasing about it."
"They don't care, though," Novice Leo added. "And neither do we."
Maria was stunned at their back and forth. It hadn't occurred to her that Wizards of her Order were friends with people from the other orders. It really shouldn't surprise her, she supposed, but when she'd been a student that sort of thing just wasn't done.
And they thought the Dark One was nice! She could hardly believe it.
Grand Master Stephen looked quite pleased, as did Grand Master Ianto and Mistress Pepper. Everyone else in the room were either nodding in agreement, or they were Baron Tony, who was clapping, the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.
"Well said, Novices," Grand Master Stephen congratulated. He turned his dark eyes toward Maria. "This is our future, Maria. These children, who don't care who they have as friends…or who they date."
"Why don't we get back on point?" Grand Master Ianto suggested calmly. "We'll have time to discuss this sort of thing later." He turned to the Elves. "Jemma…Leo…please tell us what happened to make you certain that Daisy is missing."
Novice Jemma seemed to figure out who she'd just told off, because she blushed in embarrassment. However, she didn't apologize; instead, she told her story, about how she and Novice Leo had been in the lab, working on a project, when Novice Daisy had shown up.
Maria was a bit surprised that Daisy had known about Master Phil's mission, and the two Elves didn't elaborate on how she'd discovered that information. They most likely either had no idea, or knew and didn't think it was important.
It also seemed that the pair of Elves didn't know who Daisy's father really was, which wasn't surprising in the least. If Master Phil had meant to leave that part of himself behind, then he'd have done everything in his power to keep people from discovering his past.
She was very impressed by the fact that these students had managed to create their own speaking stones. She had to wonder whose idea that had been, and how they'd discovered the spells to actually make them work.
"We were finished up in about an hour," Novice Jemma went on, "so we went to meet Daisy at her dormitory room. However, when we got there, her door was locked and her wards were intact."
"She had wards on her dormitory room?" Captain Harkness interrupted. "Why would a student need to do that?"
"Pranks," Baroness Eirlys commented. "There are dedicated pranksters in every year, and if a student didn't want to come in and find their beds short-sheeted or covered in dragon dung, one learned to ward fairly early on." She smirked. "It's been a long time since you've been a student, Dad."
"None of that, young lady," the Deathless laughed, waggling a finger at her. "I had much better things to do than attend any sort of fancy school like that."
Maria could recall when she'd discovered that Eirlys was the biological daughter of both men, using a magical spell that no one was certain where it had originated from. There were all sorts of rumors, but nothing solid, and she had to wonder if such a thing was a good idea. There was something vaguely unnatural about the notion of a man being pregnant, but then both men were the very definition of unnatural to her.
"Daisy's wards are a bit stronger than most Novice's," Mistress Pepper added, proudly. She waved a hand toward the Novices. "Please, continue."
"Thank you, Mistress Pepper," Novice Jemma said gratefully.
"When we didn't find Daisy," Novice Leo took up the story, "we did search for her, thinking she'd gone off somewhere, probably for something to eat, since she was still on Triskelia time, and it was getting late here. We looked in the kitchens, and dining hall, and several other places she's gone to before to eat, but she wasn't to be found. We even tried to Scry for her, using every map there was to be had in the library on the off-chance she'd left school for some reason, but when that didn't work we fetched our speaking stones and contacted Trip, like she was going to do, and he said she never called him."
"After about another hour," Jemma jumped in, "we decided we needed to let someone know."
"They came to me," the Master beside them answered. "I'm their teaching Master."
"Daisy didn't think Baron Nick would have gone to the Heads of Order," Leo explained, "so we needed Master Mack to help us make someone listen to us."
Master Mack. Ah, that was why he looked familiar: he was Master Alphonso Mackenzie. Maria had seen him at Order gatherings, but hadn't known he was a teaching Master. She'd heard good things about him, that he was a steady Master and popular with the students…when he wasn't threatening other teaching Masters with an axe, apparently, which was most likely one of the reasons he was popular with certain students.
"I thought we should go to Mistress Maria," Master Mack said, giving her slight shrug, "but I knew she wasn't in Gateway, and doesn't really keep officer hours here."
Maria couldn't help it; Gateway made her uncomfortable, and stayed away as much as she possibly could. She could have taken his statement as some sort of condemnation, only it was obvious he hadn't meant it that way.
"So, I decided we'd go to Mistress Pepper instead," he finished, "since she's Novice Daisy's teaching Master."
"I wasn't sure what to think," Mistress Pepper confessed. "So, the first thing I did was to check into the wards on Daisy's room. As I said, they were quite strong and rather comprehensive. I was able to read them, and could tell that Daisy had only been into and out of the room once, and that had been earlier in the day. She hadn't made it back after talking to our two Novices, here."
"You think she may have been waylaid somewhere between the laboratory building and the Cardinal dormitory," Grand Master Ianto surmised.
"She was," the Cardinal Mistress confirmed. "I retraced the path and, not far from the dormitory, in that little patch of trees, I sensed the obvious stain of Void magic. Now, it could have been a student casting something, but it was very new, within the last several hours."
"That does make it seem as if Novice Daisy was taken by a Void Wizard," Grand Master Stephen said.
"But how is that possible?" Maria wanted to know. "The school is warded against that sort of thing."
"There are ways around that," Captain Harkness commented, his face grave.
That had Nick cursing like a sailor just in from the sea. "They're gonna use her to force Phil into doing whatever the hells they want him to."
"I think that's a fair assumption," Grand Master Ianto agreed.
"Phil will do anything to ensure Daisy's safety," Mistress Pepper declared. "He won't risk her getting hurt."
"Has anyone tried to contact him?" Grand Master Stephen asked.
"I called his mirror the second I heard about Daisy," Nick said, "but his steward said he and Barton had already left."
"The problem is," Captain Harkness said, "we still don't know what exactly these Hydra Voids plan on doing with him. Although, I think we can at least guess it's something about this Master Phil that they need for whatever they have planned."
"He's a really powerful Void," Maria had to say.
"Maria's right," Nick said. "I wouldn't hesitate to say he's probably the most powerful Void Wizard in the world. Shit, I watched him manipulate a Void Point once, and he wasn't at all overwhelmed. In fact, the bastard seemed to enjoy himself."
Grand Master Ianto leaned forward in his chair. "If he can do that, then he's more powerful than the current Void Grand Master, Alexander Pierce."
Maria's eyebrows rose in shocked surprise. No one should have been able to manipulate a Void Point; they were where the Void bubbled up into the world, and were strong sources of such magicks. If Master Phil was indeed that powerful…
"And, with Hydra having Novice Daisy…"
Everyone in the room didn't need Captain Harkness to finish that sentence. Each and every one of them knew what that could mean.
Hydra thought that Phil Coulson was the key to their creating their own version of the Deathless.