Glyphbinder (10 page)

“Aryn will live. No one died. Well done.”

“How could this happen?” Kara’s lips and tongue felt swollen, another aspect of her anemia. “Who could turn a man’s mind in on itself like that?”

“We know nothing yet, save that his abduction failed.” Halde looked around. “First, we’ll see to the injured. Then we must talk, all of us, in the Council Chambers. You’ll still graduate today, but not before we speak. And not before a Bloodmender transfuses you.”

“Of course, respected elder.” Kara fought her trembling knees until they stopped trembling. She made up her mind right then. If that battlemage tried to abduct her again, she would die before letting him take her. She would kill herself if she had to.

Losing her life was a far sight better than losing her soul.

“SIT DOWN,” HALDE SAID.

Knees still shaking, Kara sat on one of the room’s two benches. They were in the square back room of the Council Chamber. Unlike the rest of the building its walls were ancient stone, bricks built upon bricks and sealed with grout. The air here felt cooler, moist and damp. Oddly, the darkened interior made Kara feel safe.

This room, windowless and lit by a lamp of phantom fire, looked to be a staging area for the elders before they entered the general assembly. Its only furnishings were the long bench on which Kara sat and the one across from it.

Byn, Sera, and Trell waited in the main chamber, and Kara hoped they weren’t worried. She had been busy. One of Landra’s Bloodmenders had spent the last few hours infusing Kara with enough blood to recover her faculties, but she still felt cold and stiff.

“We’ll join the others in a moment.” Halde sat across from her. “First, we need to talk. Aryn planned to kill you.”

Kara remembered the hatred in Aryn’s eyes and shuddered. “It wasn’t Aryn. That mage glyphed him to attack me.”

“Glyphing the minds of men is a far greater task than a simple animal. Aryn needed real hate in his heart, and that hate made him into a weapon. Why aim that weapon at you?”

“I don’t know.”

“I believe you. This never should have happened.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Oh, but it is.
I
am responsible for maintaining the wards that guard this school, that extend across the Crystal Flats and beyond. They were penetrated once, when someone murdered my brother, and I vowed to myself they would never be penetrated again. I failed that vow today. I failed you, Kara, and everyone at our academy.”

Kara leaned forward. “Elder Halde—”

“I just don’t understand it. Any mage who wanted you would need to know the answer glyphs to every ward in Solyr, and only Ine, Gell, and I know them all. I trust Ine and Gell as I’d trust my kin. They did not betray us, but something broke through our wards.”

Kara sucked in her breath. “Cantrall.” She imagined Halde’s twin brother screaming as he burned, the smell of scorched meat.

“What?” Halde’s face turned ashen.

“Cantrall knew the answer glyphs too, didn’t he? He was your equal here. You promoted Gell after Cantrall…”

“Yes.” Halde shuddered. “If some Soulmage has managed to enslave Cantrall’s soul, after all this time, no one here is safe.”

Kara squeezed his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“There’s no time to be sorry. We need to think. Now that a Soulmage has enslaved my brother’s spirit, he may enter Solyr and attack whenever he wishes. That’s how the Demonkin destroyed the Magic Academy of Terras. How they started the All Province War.”

“You really think that could happen again?”

“All I know is that someone tried to abduct you today, and I cannot guarantee it won’t happen again. It took little more than a moment for the chaos the Demonkin released in Terras to slaughter everyone in their academy. If the Demonkin are rising again, that could happen here.”

“Elder—”

“Halde.” Halde laid one big, warm hand on top of Kara’s. “From now on, always Halde.”

Kara forced a brave smile. “You know that nothing like what happened at Terras could happen again. You know how that battlemage got in now. You can change the wards.”

“Changing the complex web of wards around Solyr will take years. Each is linked to the other in a myriad of ways. Change one without the others and the entire network can fail, leaving us defenseless. It’s delicate work, but we’ll need to start at once.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Stay here with us. Tarna can wait, at least until we know who wants to abduct you.”

“That’s why this mage sent graybacks, isn’t it? He wanted me paralyzed, not dead. Like Trell.”

Why was her hunter so desperate to capture her? What terrible plans had he made? Kara did not dare think about it. Her mind would go places she did not want it to go.

“I believe so,” Halde said. “That’s why you’re staying with me.”

“You mean—?”

“You’re in my quarters, under my protection, until we know why this man wants you. It’s the only way I can keep you safe.”

Kara thought about that. If she stayed with Halde, how long would it take to track down the mage hunting her? Weeks? Months? How long did she have until her mother completely wasted away?

“No,” Kara said. “That’s not the right course.”

“What is?”

“Living my life. I’m not letting this person lock me inside the elder quarters until I’m your age.”

“Think about this. Think hard. I can’t change your mind?”

“Now that’s a silly question.”

Halde sighed. “There is logic in making your journey now. Tarna’s wards are impregnable. It is impossible for anyone save Anylus to penetrate them, and he, unlike my brother, is still alive.”

“That was my thinking as well.”

“If your hunter expects you to hide, leaving for Tarna could throw him off. Only a blind, stubborn fool would be so brash.”

Kara snorted. “How sweet of you to put it like that.”

“We’ll put up a glyphscreen here, make a show of putting you in elder quarters, glamour a Journeymage to look just like you. Make sure whomever happens by sees her. With luck, whoever hunts you will think you are here long after you leave.”

“That’s more than I would ask.”

“There are conditions.”

“Like what?”

“I’m still not sure you’ll be safer on the road to Tarna than here, but you will have an escort. A dyn.”

“I’m to command a dyn?” Journeymages usually held that responsibility, or at least seasoned apprentices with real experience in the world. Kara was not sure she felt comfortable with this. Leading people. Having them depend on her.

“Choose only those you trust. Take them and Trell and make for Tarna as quickly as you can. I wish I could go with you myself, but with all that’s happened, everyone here is at risk.”

“I understand.”

“I need every experienced mage I have to protect them, Kara, everyone in this academy.”

“You must do what’s right for Solyr. Don’t worry about me.”

“I can’t help it.” Halde pulled her into a hug. “You know that.”

Kara hung limp in his arms. Breathed in his warmth. Then, she hugged him back. It felt like hugging her father should have.

Halde released her and smiled. “Ever since you designed that eye-changing glyph, as a mere initiate, I knew you were special.”

Kara laughed. “Special? In what sense? You know I meant to turn my eyes blue, not orange.”

“Designing new glyphs is a task best left to the elders, yet you did it in your third year. I knew from that moment on that you would gain the post of royal apprentice. You were my hope all along.”

“That means more to me than anything you’ve ever said.” Kara swallowed. “Halde.”

Halde stood. “Once you’re in Tarna, you’ll have the full backing of the royal family. Whatever this person’s reason for abducting you, they will have no prayer of doing so once you are safe with King Haven and Adept Anylus.”

“What about my mother?”

“That’s up to you.”

Kara thought of her mother on the road, having her bones bounced by a horse all day. Sleeping on the rough ground as the pain of her illness flared. “Keep her here.”

“You’re certain?”

“No, but it’s the only thing I can come up with. Landra’s a miracle worker, but if I’m riding to Tarna with a rogue battlemage at my heels, I don’t want Mother anywhere near that.”

“There is a chance—”

“That whoever is after me will try to get at me through her. I know. That’s why I want my mother to stay with you. In your quarters, just like my double.”

“I’ll protect her as I’d protect my own blood.”

“I believe you.” Kara hopped up. “This is happening, isn’t it?”

“It is. Do you know who you will have in your dyn?”

“Byn and Sera.”

“We’ll go tell them now. Who else?”

Kara pondered and came up blank. “Anyone you’d suggest?”

“Jair Deymartin.”

“Really?” Kara remembered Jair’s warning about Aryn. “Why?”

“He came to me, this morning, and requested a horse to travel to Tarna. I don’t know why, but I suspect it has something to do with his quest to find his mother. To speak to her.”

“But his mother’s dead.”

“Indeed. He wishes to consult Adept Anylus about that. I believe Anylus knew his mother when she was still alive.”

“I’d love to have him with me. If he’s willing.”

“I would be surprised if he refused. He made apprentice today as well, under Adept Norus, in Cyan, and escorting you to Tarna would be excellent experience.”

“All right.” Kara tried to picture others at the academy, students she knew by name, but could think of none she would trust with her life or her mother’s. Having her own small circle of friends was nice, but she realized now how few in Solyr she truly trusted.

“We’ll worry about your fifth later.” Halde reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a small leather pouch. “This is yours.”

“What is it?”

Halde handed her the pouch. Curious, Kara undid the clasp and tilted it. A brilliant green stone fell into her hand, slightly bigger than a grape. She stared at it.

“Halde, this is—”

“Yours.”

“I can’t. It’s too valuable.”

“It’s necessary, and Elder Ine can make another.”

“That takes years.”

“You’re worth more than a few years to us.”

Kara took a breath. “I’ve never used an echo stone before. What do I do?”

Halde produced the stone’s twin. “Give the stone a drop of your blood. It will glow. Elder Ine has already attuned it to your soul. My stone will respond, and we can communicate wherever you might be.”

“I just talk into it?”

“Yes. You will hear my voice and I yours.”

Echo stones were extremely rare and always produced in pairs. Because the painstaking process to make them took almost five years, a process that consumed both blood and magesand, elder Skywatchers were the only ones who made them.

A single pair cost more than a small army. The trust it represented intimidated her, but just holding it made Kara feel safe. No matter where she traveled, she could call on Halde for help.

“Thank you. Let’s pray I don’t need it.”

“Keep it close. I trust your friends, but I would keep the stone to yourself unless absolutely necessary.”

“I will.”

“Now, let’s speak to the others. It needs to be their choice, too.”

TRELL STOOD TO BOW when Halde entered the ornate Council Chamber. No one else stood with him. All bowed their heads instead, still seated, and Trell hid his embarrassment by marveling at the glowing sun on the ceiling. He sat back down.

Byn and a young woman Byn had introduced as his sweetheart, Sera Valence, sat beside him. She had long dark hair, a soft face, and green eyes. Her pale skin looked blistered and red, but she showed no other ill effects from taking a burst of flame to the face.

“No need for ceremony.” Halde thumped down on an observer’s bench and adjusted his robes. “We still have no explanation for what happened today. What we do know is someone wants to abduct Kara, and they’ll kill anyone who tries to stop it.”

Kara followed Halde into the room, emerging from a door off the main chamber, and hurried to the benches where they sat.

Byn gave her a nod as she approached. “Nobody’s taking Kara away. Not unless they want their neck broken.”

Kara sat down and gripped Byn’s arm. “If it comes to that, we’ll throw squirrels at them.”

“When Aryn Locke wakes up,” Halde said, “we may learn more. For now, Trell, we’ll start with you.”

Trell leaned forward. He waited and listened.

“You wrestled Kara’s attacker down in the square. Could you determine anything from your struggle? Sex, build, clothing?”

“I believe the attacker was male. He was at least as tall as I am and I believe he wore a robe, like yours. It felt like a robe. He was strong with thick arms and there was a smell, also. I can only describe it as the smell of dead things rotting in the sun.”

“I’ve heard about that smell before,” Byn said. “Could it have been a revenant?”

Halde shook his head. “No one has ever raised a revenant capable of scribing glyphs. They lack the most critical element ... living blood.” He stroked his bearded chin. “Anything else?”

Trell glanced at Elder Halde, then at Byn. “What is a revenant?”

“It’s like a golem, Trell,” Byn said. When Trell just stared blankly at him, Byn rubbed the back of his neck.

“A doll. Think of a giant doll, made out of dead body parts, walking about of its own accord and killing people.”