Ascendant (58 page)

My Lord
Salva, I heard guards saying you ordered me brought to the dungeon, and when I
arrived at the castle, the guards said I was a coward and a deserter. I am not
a coward, when I tried to follow you as the enemy attacked, two soldiers told
me they had orders from you to bring me away. Later, I disobeyed Captain
Raddick
’
s
orders, because I went to rescue you. I am only a servant, and you owe me
nothing but my pay, but I am not a coward and not a deserter. You should tell
people that. You lied when you told me you would give me land, I know now you
don
’
t
own that land so you can
’
t
give it to anyone. A powerful man like you should not need to lie to little
people like me

The priest
told me God cursed me to be a jinx because I was a bad son, and I can
’
t do anything to change
God
’
s
judgment on me. Keeping me around so you could stop my jinx curse from hurting
people must take a lot of energy, I thank you for that, but now I am leaving
and going far away so I can
’
t
hurt people

Then the pen
strokes became lighter, and the paper was smudged with spots that Carlana
guessed were tears.

Thanks to everyone
who was nice to me  -Koren Bladewell

P.S. Please
take good care of Thunderbolt. He is a good and brave-hearted horse and should
not pay for my sins

P.P.S.
Please tell her Highness the lady Carlana that I never meant to hurt her
daughter, and she was right to not want a jinx around the castle

P.P.P.S. If
you ever find my parents, please tell them I am very sorry for being selfish,
and not leaving on my own, instead of making them leave their own home

Carlana
’
s knees weakened, she
swooned back against the wall. Captain Raddick appeared at her side, helping
her to sit on the edge of Koren
’
s
bed. He also dismissed her guards and maids with a curt gesture, the Regent
needed privacy. She looked up at the wizard, wiping away her own tears with the
sleeve of her dress, paying no heed to proper manners.
“
I don
’
t understand. You ordered
guards to take him to the dungeon? Why?
”

“
This is, this is all a
terrible, terrible series of misunderstandings. Not the dungeon.
”
Paedris said slowly.
“
The
fortress
. I
ordered the guards to take him to the
fortress
; the safest, most secure
part of the castle. To
protect
him, from the assassin.  Other than
your daughter, Koren most needs to be protected.
”
And Paedris was not sure that the princess
was not less important that the young, unknowing wizard.

“
But, I don't
understand."

Raddick
cleared his throat.
“
I
explained to Lord Salva that, because the lower level of the old fortress is
now used as a dungeon, and that is where guards work in that building, they
call the entire structure the 'dungeon'. If one guard was repeating his orders
to another guard, he likely would have said
dungeon
, and not
fortress
.
Any boy, I mean, young man, who heard he was to be brought to the dungeon,
would be fearful. Especially a young man who had been falsely accused by his
captain of cowardice and desertion. Falsely, and most grievously, accused. By
me, I am ashamed to say.
”

“
And falsely accused by his
Regent of hurting her daughter.
”
Carlana added miserably.
“
He
has left? He is gone?
”

“
Yes,
”
reported Raddick,
“
he left, soon after Lord
Salva ordered the guards to find him. He must have written that note very
quickly.
”
Seeing the effect the letter had on the court wizard and the Regent, Raddick
was burning with curiosity to know what the letter said. And how a mere servant
boy could affect powerful people so much.

Although,
anyone who rode off, against orders and alone, to rescue his master from three
enemy wizards, could not be a
mere
anything. If Raddick ever met Koren Bladewell
again, he would look at the boy very differently, And very closely.

“
Three days ago!
”
Carlana said in a hollow
voice.
“
Why
wasn
’
t I told?
Has anyone searched for him?
”

Raddick
cleared his throat nervously.
“
At
the time, with the castle being searched for more assassins, the guards did not
think to bring it to your attention. And, as you wanted the boy away from your
daughter, his leaving was in keeping with your wishes. Your Highness, I
apologize. I did not think, with the country invaded, and assassins about, that
this Koren boy was important?" Raddick hoped his question would lead to an
answer, but he was frustrated.

"You did
your duty, Captain." Carlana said. "Have you searched for him?
”

“
No, your Highness. My
soldiers still have orders to arrest him as a deserter, if they see him, but no
one is out searching for him.
”

“
We should search for him.
”
The wizard spoke for the
first time.
“
We
must!
”

Raddick burned
with curiosity to know what that letter said, what could be so important that
the Regent of the realm and the court wizard, were so concerned about a lowly
servant boy. A brave boy, but still a boy.
“
Ahem, uh, begging your leave, your Highness,
my lord, but we have been invaded, and assassins could still be lurking in or
around the castle. The army is needed here. Until we have recalled units from
the field, I won
’
t
have the men to spare, to follow this boy.
”

The Regent and
the wizard shared a long look. Carlana turned to Raddick.
“
Captain, you don
’
t need to know-
”

“
He does.
”
Paedris said, pushing
himself upright on the chest.
“
There
have been too many secrets. It is
deception
that has brought us to this
point. Deception, and half-truths, and misunderstandings. Oh, this is a
disaster. No, a tragedy."

“
I did warn you about
deceiving Koren.
”
Carlana reminded the wizard.
“
And
what is this he said, you lying about giving him land?
”

Paedris gave a
long sigh and rubbed his face.
“
Ah,
I should have been more clear with him. The farm that is my country retreat, it
used to be your husband's hunting reserve? I
’
ve only been to the place once or twice.
Well, I told Koren that if he remained as my servant until he was sixteen, I
would give him fifty acres. I thought the prospect of land would keep him with
me, until he needed to leave the castle, to begin his training.
”

Carlana tapped
her chin with a finger, while she thought.
“
If I remember correctly, Adric granted you
use of that land, and the income from it, but I don
’
t think he gave it to you
outright?
”

“
He didn
’
t,
”
Paedris responded
irritably,
“
but
I intended to ask you to give me the land, as a boon, or I would buy fifty
acres of land somewhere. I did not lie to Koren, I simply didn
’
t bother to explain all
the details. At the time, I didn
’
t
think it mattered! How he discovered that I didn
’
t own the land, I can
’
t imagine. This is all,
”
Paedris pulled at his
beard in frustration,
“
a
distraction anyway. We
must
find him!
”

“
Can
’
t you use your wizard
senses, to find him?
”

“
No, magic doesn
’
t work like that, I would
need to first have a rough idea of where he is. And even then, the blocking spell
we cast on him would hide him from me. This is a disaster. How could I have
been so blind? So stupid?
”

Raddick had
been silent, while his mind was racing. Secrets. Deception. Lies. A disaster?
Losing a servant was, at most, an inconvenience. And, begin his training? What
training did Koren Bladewell need? He was already training with the weapons
master, and surely Koren knew how to scrub floors. Blocking spell? Blocking
Koren from doing what? Suddenly, the captain gasped as the only possible truth
dawned on him, and he blurted out
“
The
boy is
wizard
?
”

Paedris looked
at Raddick sharply, then sighed. The captain was not, after all, a idiot. Any
intelligent person, having heard what Raddick had heard, could figure out the
truth.
“
Koren
is not only a wizard, he is the most powerful wizard I have ever known. Those
three enemy wizards I struggled mightily against? Koren could have crushed them
as you would swatting flies," Paedris emphasized his words with a casual
flick of his wrist, "if he was trained, and ready to use his enormous
power. Captain, I could cast a spell, to make you forget everything that has
been said here today, but I am going to rely on your loyalty, and more
important, your discretion. Only the Regent, myself, a few other wizards, and
now, you, know about this great secret. This terrible secret. Koren himself
does not know he is a wizard! He is too old to have his power guided by another
wizard, and too young to control it himself. And too young not to be tempted by
such power, if he knew it. The enemy, you see, the enemy would stop at nothing
to capture Koren, and use his immense power against us, if they knew about him.
So, we have kept his power hidden, even from him, until such time as he is
ready to begin training. If the enemy could use Koren
’
s power, all, all would be
lost.
”

Raddick could
not imagine how a wizard, a powerful wizard, could not
know
he was a
wizard, but then, Raddick knew little of wizards. He put a hand to his forehead
and closed his eyes briefly, trying to make sense of what he had heard. He was
beginning to feel a headache. Truly, dealing with wizards and Regents was no
job for a soldier!
“
My
lord, your Highness, I understand now why we must search for this b- this young
man. But, if I send out army patrols, particularly now when we are
understrength here, will that not catch the enemy
’
s eye, and cause him to wonder what is so
important about a mere servant boy?
”

“
You speak the truth,
Captain. As much as I detest it, your orders to arrest Koren as a deserter, and
perhaps for causing harm to the princess, are all your soldiers need to know.
And I agree we need to keep our strength here. Instead of sending out patrols
to look for him, could you send riders to carry messages to our units in the
field? It would be more effective to have units in the field keeping watch for
him, a search patrol may only spook Koren and drive him into hiding. If you
agree, your Highness?
”

Carlana
nodded, she typically left such matters to her army captains.

Raddick gazed
out the window for a moment, while he formed his thoughts.
“
And if-
”
He stopped, trying to
think of a better way to ask a delicate question.
“
Lord Salva, it would be a
disaster if the enemy were to capture Koren?
”

“
Unthinkable. Unimaginable.
”
Paedris said, before his
tired mind realized what Raddick was truly saying. "The end of all
things."

“
Then, what are my orders,
”
Raddick spoke slowly,
“
if he has been captured,
and we are unable to-
”

“
To get him back alive?
”
Paedris asked angrily.

“
Forgive me, my lord, but I
must ask the question.
”