Rogue Magician (The Magician Rebellion) (27 page)

However,
the choice of Byrn as the new school's headmaster was a bit of a surprise. “I
thought you would have chosen Turshyn,” Byrn confessed, knowing that his friend
was Avelice's favorite student and a talented necromancer in his own right.

“
It
was a difficult choice, but you have a more well-rounded understanding of magic
and I think in time you will grow into the role of master. Being called a
master is more than just a measure one's ability or knowledge. It is a rank
given to one who is looked to as a leader and teacher for the next generation.

“
Turshyn
will become a true master of necromancy, but in the other realms of magic he
knows very little. That is more my fault than his since I have been his only
teacher and can not teach him magics that I have little knowledge of. For that
reason I am going to ask Turshyn to be your second at the new school so he can
learn some of what you know of elementalism.”

“
What
about starting the revolution anew?” asked Byrn remembering his promise to his
friends in Baj.

The
necromancer shook her head. “It has taken a long time for me to come to this
decision, but I fear the cost would be too high if we were to try and fail.
There are not that many magicians free in the kingdom and if they were to die,
then our knowledge of magic as a people would be lost forever,” Avelice fiddled
with her robe nervously as if she doubted her own words or did not want to
believe them.

Byrn
understood the risk was too great, but could not help feeling like he was
betraying the grand necromancer and his companions’ confidences. Avelice's
words were wise as always, but deep down Byrn felt a small ember burning in his
heart. “Then I will find another way to free our people,” he told Avelice
confidently.

The
enchantress Mellani sat helplessly observing her captors as they searched for
other magicians. Every fiber of her being willed her body to stand up and run
for the exit or cast a spell to turn her captors against one another, but
instead she simply sat there and wondered how she was going to get out of this
alive. Since her parents died when she was a little girl Mellani found herself
in precarious situations from time to time. More than once she, along with her
younger sister, Minnie, was nearly caught by the Kenzai, but somehow they
always managed to get away. However, this time she feared that her luck had
finally been pushed too far.

It
started that morning when Minnie and two of the newer teen magicians, Rex and
Quevine, wanted to go to the city for the Sunshillah festival. It seemed a
harmless request at the time and Mellani knew the courtyard of the school would
be off limits while Byrn practiced his summoning so she agreed to take them...
under the condition that Turshyn would come along and keep an eye on the boys.

Before
long the boys had gone off to find some excitement with the city girls and
Turshyn had followed after to make sure they did not find too much excitement.
“Do not get into trouble while I am gone!” he had yelled back to the Truthsayer
sisters in jest. Now as Mellani sat in a warehouse surrounded by Kenzai she
decided the necromancer’s joke was in very poor taste.

When
the boys were out of sight Minnie suggested, “We should go see the minstrels in
the square,” grabbing at her sister's arm and pulling her along without waiting
for an answer. At fifteen years old, Minnie was growing into her womanhood, but
she still possessed the same free spirit she had as a child.

They
roamed the square listening to the numerous minstrels and bards until they came
across a boy about Minnie's age playing a lute and singing a ballad called
The Tale of the Undead Isle
about the
great warrior Targan and his battle against the necromancers of the Winter Bane
Isle.

“
Do
you seriously want to listen to this?” Mellani asked as the bard played the
decidedly anti-necromancer story. “If Turshyn were here he would be very
disappointed.”

“
We
would not want to disappoint Turshyn. Would we?” Minnie said slyly elbowing her
older sister in the arm. Minnie was convinced that her sister was in love with
the admittedly handsome necromancer no matter how much she protested to the
contrary.

“
If
your tongue was as sharp as your elbows, then you would have a great wit,”
countered Mellani humorously. “You know Turshyn and I decided to stay as
friends years ago.”

“
And
that burns you up,” Minnie giggled, “You may not admit it, but you hate that he
gave up on you and now spends his time with city girls.”

Mellani
was about to tell her sister just how wrong she was when they heard a dwarf
laugh and say, “...turn all of those wizards into zombies,” to another of his
race. The sisters exchanged worried looks and Mellani nodded to her younger
sister who placed her hand under her cloak and lightly touched her grimoire
hidden in a specially made pouch. Minnie cast a spell with a light whisper and
enhanced her hearing so that she could eavesdrop on the dwarf even as they put
some distance between themselves and him.

“
You
really believe that?” asked the other dwarf- a blonde haired fellow who unlike
most of his race did not have a beard.

“
Yes,”
replied the first dwarf, “Gilkame is a genius. He is working on one device that
can take control of a magician's mind and another that can fire metal balls
faster than the eye can see and what is more some of his prototypes are right
here in Lion's Landing for safe keeping.”

“
How
do you know this?” the blonde dwarf asked skeptically.

“
Because
Gilkame is my uncle,” declared the first dwarf proudly. He lifted his head a
little toward the sky in an attempt to make himself look noble, but only
succeeded in getting his face wet as it started to rain. The crowd began to
break up and the blonde dwarf managed to convince Gilkame's nephew to show him
some of these wonders. As they departed the Truthsayer sisters followed from a
safe distance behind them.

It
quickly became apparent that the dwarves were completely unaware that they were
being followed. Not once did they look behind them or take any unnecessary
turns down back alleys or side streets. While the girls walked Minney told her
sister what the dwarves had been discussing and Mellani wished that Turshyn had
not ran off with the boys.

The
rain was coming down more heavily threatening to become a serious downpour when
the dwarves and their uninvited guests arrived at a warehouse by the docks. The
dwarves went inside leaving the girls outside to explore the perimeter. Finding
no way to get in besides the door used by the dwarves, Minney decided to sneak
in by casting an invisibility spell. It was a difficult spell to cast, but she
could maintain the effect for ten or twenty seconds and that would be just long
enough for her to sneak in and ensure that there was no one guarding the door.

Minney
entered the warehouse unseen and ten seconds later she did not return. Twenty
seconds later she was still nowhere to be seen. One minute passed and then
another without the return of the teenage magician. With each second that
passed Mellani grew more agitated with her sister's failure to return until she
had no choice, but to go in after her and find Minney Truthsayer.

The
interior of the warehouse was very dark. It took a moment for Mellani’s eyes to
adjust to the lack of light and it was in that moment that she felt a knife
pressed against her throat.

“
Who
do we have here?” wondered a grizzled voice to her left who also happened to be
the owner of the knife. He reached into her cloak and pulled out her grimoire.
“I will hold on to this for a bit if it is all the same to you.” He motioned
for her to sit in a chair against the wall to the far right of the entrance.
Once she got a good look at him Mellani could still see very little of his
features. He wore a brown cloak with a hood casting his face in shadows and had
a long sword at his side. His movements were silent and efficient and he
carried himself with a calm aloofness. Mellani knew she was in the presence of
a powerful Kenzai warrior.

“
Answer
my questions and you may keep your skin,
wizard
,”
the Kenzai spat the last word as if it were a curse to be loosed from his lips.
“Why are you here?”

Mellani
looked around the room hoping that it looked like she was taking in her
surroundings instead of looking for her sister, but she saw no sign of Minney.
She did however count five more of the Kenzai scattered around the room. “Why
are any of us here?” Mellani retorted smartly. “Only the gods know why they put
us here for sure.”

The
enchantress’ head flew back in an instant before she knew what was happening
and she felt a stinging pain on her face which was soon followed by a heavy
throbbing and the enchantress came to realize that the Kenzai slapped her so
fast she never saw his hand move until it was already done.

“
Let
us try again. Why are you here?” the Kenzai asked once more.

Mellani's
mind raced as she tried to figure out what it was safe to tell him and what was
not. A little truth could a long way towards corroborating whatever story she
made up. His hand rose more purposefully this time and the enchantress blurted
out, “I overheard a couple of dwarves talking and wanted to see if what they
were saying was true about a way to control magicians.”

“
It
is true,” said the bearded dwarf followed by the blonde one emerging from the
shadows. In one hand he held a simple gold necklace made of two solid half
circles connected by a hinge on one end with a clasp on the other. In his other
hand was a small rod of similar color and plainness. He handed the necklace to
his dwarven friend. “Put this on her.”

The
Kenzai warrior put his knife back to Mellani's throat, silently daring her to
move, until the blonde dwarf did as he was told and placed the necklace around
her neck snapping the clasp shut.

“
Let
her go,” Gilkame's nephew told the Kenzai and the man backed away a little
reluctantly giving the woman some room. To Mellani he said, “Stand up,” and she
obeyed without thinking about it. “Jump!” the dwarf commanded and she leapt in
the air as high as she could. She wanted to ask how the dwarf was making her do
these things, but she could not speak.

The
dwarf only laughed, “This is amazing! Do a dance!” Mellani twisted and turned
her body to music that was not there. A disconnected part of her noted that she
was doing the dance of fertility- a common occurrence during the festival of
Sunshillah. The dwarf laughed again and commanded his puppet to sit down which
she did without question.

Turning
his attention to the warrior and the blonde dwarf, Gilkame's nephew shook the
rod and shouted, “You see? It works! Uncle Gilkame will be so happy when he
finds out.”

The
Kenzai warrior said, “I need to finish the interrogation, Eryk.”

“
Of
course. Please continue, Sir Blackwing,” Eryk Axebeard told him, nodding to
their captive.

“
Now,
we should start with something simple: what is your name?” the Kenzai Blackwing
leaned forward so that he and Mellani were eye to eye.

She
sat there silently. Blackwing raised his hand about to slap her again when Eryk
stopped him, “Wait! Sorry! She can not speak with the collar on unless I
command it.” To Mellani, he said, “Go ahead, girl, and answer any question my
friend poses to you... truthfully.”

Blackwing
began his line of questioning again and found out many useful things with no
trouble. In just a few minutes he learned of the magician's school outside of
Lion's Landing, the number of students, and who the most powerful magicians in
the school were along with their disciplines.

A
loud bang came from the front of the warehouse like a heavy box falling or a
door slamming shut grabbing everyone's attention. Blackwing spun back to
Mellani, “Was there anyone else with you?”

The
ensnared girl did her best not to answer the question, but she heard herself
say, “My sister came into the warehouse a few minutes before me.”

“
Ashura's
ass!” swore the Kenzai. To his men he commanded, “Draw your weapons. Search the
warehouse!” Nearly as one the other hunters pulled their swords from their
scabbards. If any of their blades began to glow blue they would know Minney was
nearby even if she was invisible. It was only a matter of time before they
found her.

Tomlin
cursed under his breathe.

The
Kenzai were methodically searching the interior of the warehouse looking for
some girl that may or may not be there, but they would surely find him. Rumors
of a magical collar that could control magicians had been circulating for
months. It took some time, but the Collective had managed to track the rumors
back to a dwarf named Gilkame Axebeard living in Mollifas. Alia organized a
raid on the dwarf’s workshop in less than a week. They were within a day of the
raid when someone beat them to it. Some fire user lit Gilkame’s marketplace
stall ablaze and scared him into hiding. What is more, the dwarf was so
concerned over the attack that he sent his latest inventions out to sea bound
for Lion’s Landing, the farthest port from Mollifas in the kingdom.