sorcery and science 04.5 - masquerade (2 page)

“So why am I here?” Silas asked. Much as he liked to believe King River had summoned him for the benefit of his counsel, it seemed he already had everything all figured out. It was just as well. Silas had experience for sure, but he vastly preferred fighting to scheming. He was a direct approach sort of guy.

“Ambrose Selpe would like to see the Wilderness. The rest of his entourage, however, have refused to set foot inside it. They’re convinced it’s haunted by spirits.” A hint of mischief twinkled in his eye. He was even craftier than Silas had thought. “So I would like you to go with him.”

“I’m no tour guide.”

“Of course not. I already have someone to show him around. I want you to protect him. You’re the best bodyguard we have.”

The ego stroke was a nice touch. Not that it mattered. Silas would have done it anyway. King River was right. Out of all the disagreeable choices, allying with the Selpes was probably the least disagreeable. Even if their technology was heading too much toward Xenen designs. After five hundred years, he could still picture those machines, demonic lights blinking as they closed in on him… Silas stretched out his neck and it popped. A resounding crack slapped off the walls and echoed through the room.

“You’ll meet him outside the Rosewater temple in half an hour. From there, you’ll take a quick excursion into the Wilderness. Nothing long or dangerous. Just a quick, pleasant trip to one of the Wondrous Gardens of Pegasus, like Winterbloom or the Gold Forest. It’s important that he comes to appreciate the beauty of Elitia—and to appreciate Elitions as well.”

“And you think this excursion will accomplish that?” Silas asked.

“Yes. I really do.”

~ 3 ~

510AX May 10, Rosewater

THE MEMBER OF Emperor Selpe’s entourage were standing outside when Silas left the palace, but they didn’t even notice him. Their attention was focused upward, mesmerized by the unending flurry of pink-white cherry blossoms that fluttered down from the tree canopy.

The group consisted of five Selpe lords, every one of them dressed in a very nice, very sticky suit. Beads of sweat dripped down from their styled hair and slithered down their necks in slender, curving streams. Giant wet splotches drenched their backs and stained their underarms. Even their pants stuck to parts of their legs, giving them a messy, wrinkled appearance. Apparently, no one had bothered to tell them summer had arrived in the kingdom of Laelia. Then again, they probably would have worn the suits anyway.

The emperor himself was nowhere to be seen. He was likely already on his way to Rosewater. Silas walked past the sweaty Selpes, heading for the portal.

The steps of the Rosewater temple were empty when Silas arrived there, but only five minutes later, the doors of the temple swung open. A human man stepped outside, wearing a hiking suit rather than a business suit. He was somewhere around fifty, his russet-brown hair half-turned to grey. And though the occasional wrinkle lined his face, there was a youthful energy about him. He had more vigor left in him than all five of his companions combined. He stopped a few steps away, right about the time Silas stopped paying attention. Livia lingered in the doorway, her gold hair pinned up with a clip. It was set with turquoise stones that while beautiful alone, looked almost dull next to her vibrant eyes.

“You are Silas Thorn?”

Silas forced his eyes to look away from Livia and turn instead to the man in front of him. Emperor Ambrose Selpe. “I am.”

“King River warned me you were…an impressive sight to behold, and he wasn’t kidding. Tell me, Silas, are you as deadly as you look?”

“Deadlier,” he replied as a good dozen branches exploded off the trees behind him, raining down wood chips.

The emperor’s dark brows rose to his hairline. “Well, at least I’ll be safe. Between you and the charming priestess, I know I’m in good hands.”

“Charming priestess?” Silas said, looking at Livia.

She stepped forward. “The high queen asked me to guide our esteemed guest to the Gold Forest. Which I am more than happy to do, of course.” Her words were polished with the formal flair of the high priestess of Rosewater. Nothing of Livia came through, the passion of their earlier encounter buried behind that glossy gold formality.

And that’s the only reason Silas didn’t feel the need to pound Emperor Selpe’s scrawny body against the nearest tree when she gave him a warm smile. This wasn’t Livia. It was the high priestess of Rosewater. Her smiles didn’t even ripple her resonance. Not like they did when she smiled at Silas. Luckily for the emperor too. Phantoms had been known to go into a rage for things far more trivial than a smile. Nearly every Phantom ever born had lost his temper once or twice over the woman he loved.

“Shall we set out then?” Emperor Selpe asked, completely oblivious to how close he’d ventured to death’s door.

As Livia walked beside him into the forest, she threw a quick look back at Silas, a worried energy swirling in her eyes. There was no need for concern. As soon as he killed something, he’d be just fine.

~ 4 ~

510AX May 10, Rosewater

EMPEROR SELPE WAS actually a skilled conversationist, which might have made him likable if he hadn’t been making such a blatant attempt to flirt with Livia. For two hours, she listened and smiled and bantered, engaging him like only an Enchanter could. And he was enchanted. There was no doubt about that. Silas could smell the sweet sticky scent of infatuation pouring off of him.

Through it all, Silas loomed behind them, never saying a word. He kept his hand on the hilt of his Bloodfire knife, more than once fantasizing about using it.

Emperor Selpe gave Livia a worried look. “Should I be concerned that his eyes have turned white?”

“No.” Her eyes met Silas’s, hitting him with such intensity that he almost forgot they weren’t alone. “Phantoms tend to do that.”

“I see.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “King River has given me an overview of Elition abilities, but the information was a lot to take in. Is he one of the Phantoms who can read thoughts?”

For all his knowledge of Elition abilities, the emperor seemed to have forgotten the one thing most humans knew: Elitions had excellent hearing. Silas didn’t mention it. It was easier to keep his blades sheathed if he pretended he hadn’t heard a word.

“Silas is an Extractor, so he does have the ability to scrape things from a person’s mind.”

“Scrape? That sounds unpleasant.”

“But it’s not the same as reading thoughts. At least not in the way you mean. It’s more images and emotions than words, Your Majesty.”

“Please, call me Ambrose.” He smiled and added, “Livia.”

It was a good thing a group of outlaws took that moment to attack, or Silas would surely have exploded at the audacity of the emperor’s words. And it was a good thing the three outlaws were Elition because that at least gave him the chance to work off his anger.

Silas jumped in front of Emperor Selpe, catching a knife one of the bandits had thrown at him. He shot the knife back, landing it in its owner’s stomach. It hit the blue-haired Elition so hard that the man stumbled back with a grunt. His eyes swirling like a stormy sky, he yanked out the knife and spit blood at Silas’s feet.

“What is this?” Emperor Selpe asked, stepping forward.

“Livia, keep him back!” Silas shouted, throwing up his knife to block the Serenity sword cleaving through the air toward his head.

The sword’s wielder was a lithe woman with a dark bronze ponytail pulled up high on her head. She wore fitted black leather from her neck down to her knee-high boots. She hit hard. But Silas hit harder. She staggered away, and as she shook out her sword arm, he pounded the hilt of his knife hard against her temple. She collapsed like a house of twigs.

Silas pivoted around as the blue-haired man charged at him with the same bloody knife. He caught the outlaw’s arm as it swept forward, yanking it behind him and kicking him hard in the back. The man’s shoulder popped, and Silas tugged on the arm and punched back into his chest, breaking three of his ribs. He threw the rascal down on the ground and gave one controlled kick to his head.

“I’ve heard of you.” The third Elition’s amethyst eyes gleamed with fear as she glanced down at her unconscious companions. “Wrest, the Primeval Phantom.”

“Is that what they’re calling me nowadays?” Silas shot her a wicked grin. “Catchy.”

“You’re a monster,” she spat.

“I’m a Phantom.” Flames burst up across the length of his blade. “This is just what we do, dear.”

“Step aside,” she said.

She managed to keep her tone steady, but he could taste her fear. The Phantom in him lapped it up, begging for more. The flames shot up higher. He felt his control wavering, the desire to cause pain pushing out all reasonable thought. It felt so incredibly good.

A hand touched down on his arm. He stopped and looked back at Livia.

“Silas,” she said, projecting a calming energy around him.

“I’m fine.” He stretched out his hands, his knuckles popping and cracking one after the other. The flames on his knife died down, and he looked at the outlaw. “Why did you attack us?”

“Not you. Him.” Her angry eyes glared at Emperor Selpe. “He doesn’t belong here. He’s not one of us.”

“He is the guest of the high queen,” said Livia.

“Guest?” A shrill cackle of pain burst out of her mouth. “You mean conqueror. If Elitia allies with the Selpes, it will only lead to our destruction.”

“Says who?”

“I say. I’ve seen it.” She pointed her skinny finger at Emperor Selpe. “Torment. Slavery. Corruption. Death. That’s all they bring.”

Silas should have noticed it before. Desolation. Doom Seers always smelled of desolation. Of all the crazy sorts of Prophets, they were by far the craziest. Seeing nothing but unhappy futures would do that to a person.

“The future is not set,” he told her. “Surely, you were taught that.” A thought hit him. “Who trained you?”

The Doom Seer stood up straight, puffing out her chest proudly. “I am an Elition of Pegasus. I graduated from Rosewater.” She set her hands down on her hips. “It’s true what you say. The future is not set. But when I see a hundred different futures all with the same outcome, I cannot ignore reality.” Her eyes narrowed, hatred swelling up around her. “The Selpes are evil. We must stop this before it begins.”

She dashed forward, drawing and swinging her sword toward Emperor Selpe in one, fluid sweep.

And as quickly as she’d started, she stopped. The mad glow in her eyes gave way to fear, and she stared down at the knife jammed into her chest.

“Why?” she asked Silas, looking younger than he’d thought.

“I promised to protect him,” he replied. He lowered her gently onto a blanket of moss.

A tear slid down her face. “And that promise will be the death of us all.”

Emperor Selpe crept up behind Livia, taking a cautious look down at the young Doom Seer. “Is she dead?”

“No,” Silas said.

Livia crouched down beside him, her eyes panning across the girl’s wound. “We should head back to Rosewater.”

“Yes,” he said. “Do you want to pull out the knife or should I?”

“That depends. Are you going to lick the blade?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not that sort of Phantom, Livia.”

Her hands were small enough to comfortably fit both on the hilt. She slid the blade out of the girl’s chest, smirking as she wiped the blood off on Silas’s pants.

“Nice.” The blood didn’t show up on the dark fabric, but there was enough of it that it had started to seep through to his skin. And Prophet’s blood tickled, probably from all the manic energy buzzing around inside of it.

“You’re welcome, Silas.”

Well, no one could say the high priestess of Rosewater didn’t have a sense of humor, wacky as it was. Silas flashed his teeth at her, going for scary—and hopefully a little sexy. She laughed in his face.

“Tone it down, Silas. We have company,” she whispered.

“Fine. Then I’ll just save my smoldering looks for later tonight.”

“You’d better. I do love a good Silas smolder.” She stood up, raising her voice to say, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to make it to the Gold Forest today. We need to get these three Elitions back to Rosewater right away.”

“How is she still alive?” Emperor Selpe’s eyes tracked Silas as he lifted the Prophet off the ground. “He stabbed her in the heart.”

“Not in the heart. Just next to it,” Silas said, considering the remaining two unconscious outlaws. Two hands, three bodies. What to do, what to do…

“Elitions can heal many injuries that would kill a human, Your Majesty,” Livia reminded him.

“Yes, I’m finally beginning to believe that.” He turned his frown up into a half-smile. “And I asked you to call me Ambrose.”

“Forgive me. That will take some getting used to.”

“Why?”

Silas looked back at them. “Because Elitions don’t call someone we just met by his first name. That’s what our power names are for.”

“She calls you Silas.”

“Livia and I have known each other for years. You’ve known her for all of two hours.”

“I suppose that’s true,” he admitted, his eyes drinking in every breath that she took.

Well, that’s quite enough of that.
Silas stepped between them, holding the Prophet out to Livia. “Do you mind?”

Emperor Selpe swooped in. “You can’t have a lady carry a bloody body. I’ll do it.”

Silas set her down in Ambrose Selpe’s open arms, holding back a chuckle when the emperor nearly collapsed under the weight.

“Oof,” he croaked out, his whole body shaking.

Livia took the girl from him, holding her easily.

“She’s heavier than she looks,” he said, his cheeks reddening.

“It’s the bones,” Silas told him. “Elition bones are denser than human bones.”

Emperor Selpe stared at him, his mouth hanging open. “Now you’re just pulling my leg.”

“I assure you,Your Majesty, that I’m not,” Silas said, keeping his tone serious. He swung the other two outlaws over his shoulders. “I only pull on legs when I intend to tear them off.”