The Bronze Mage (3 page)

"I doubt that anyone in Xentia would be bold enough to claim me as an enemy."

"But who would be bold enough to become your patron? You can no doubt fend for yourself, but you could hardly protect a province."

"Your faith in me is humbling. I suspect you spent more time throwing acorns at statues than listening to your history teacher."

Tabitha nearly tripped over her feet. Had he been aware of her? Conscious the whole time? Surely not. He'd been a statue longer than she'd been alive. She couldn't imagine being immobilized for so long. Tabitha suppressed that whole line of thought, but her tone sharpened as she continued.

"So which noble will you approach? And do you plan to use him as a puppet or assassinate him outright? Or kidnap his children and keep them at your idyllic cabin in the woods? We may need more rooms." Belatedly, Tabitha bit her tongue. She was never going to get information from him this way. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I keep losing my temper."

"That may be understandable, considering your circumstances. But we have plenty of space to expand the cabin."

He was laughing at her. Tabitha clenched her jaw to keep it shut.

James turned left again. So eventually they should pass behind the cabin, Tabitha thought. Like walking around a city block. Within a short time, a creek crossed in front of them. It was shallow and opaque, might be better than nothing if you were thirsty, but you'd likely swallow as much dirt as water if you tried to drink out of it. James turned left again to follow it. He must have missed his landmark and this was leading them back to it.

"This stream is fed by a spring a few hundred yards south of here. It is clear for only a short distance before it becomes this muddy rivulet," he informed her. Why he thought that information important she had no idea. At least she now knew they were heading north.

After they had walked another short distance, the trees opened before them. There was a dip in the land. The stream tumbled over a short waterfall, then plummeted into a rocky cave and disappeared under the earth. The effect was eerie. Tabitha stepped back, colliding with James. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, holding her against him. Tabitha stood very still. His touch felt protective. It was disconcerting.

"Almost as if the earth regretted disgorging it, it swallows it back up." His voice was soft and his breath tickled her ear. After a moment he stepped back. James' hand remained lightly on her waist as he guided her around the edge of the clearing, further through the woods. They were circling back toward the cabin, she thought. The land slowly rose again. His touch made her so nervous, Tabitha had to fight the urge to hold her breath. She wanted to break the contact with James, but didn't. She didn't want to broadcast her fear. In any case, as he'd proven earlier, there was no way for her to avoid James' touch without his consent. At the moment he wasn't using any magic, but it certainly hadn't seemed to require any particular effort for him to do so. The implied intimacy of his gesture was the thornier problem. Tabitha wasn't sure how to address that. At home, her sister was pretty direct with young men on what they were or weren't allowed to presume. She had given Tabitha volumes of advice on it, to no purpose since none of those boys had shown the least interest in Tabitha. Now that she could use some wisdom, her sister's method seemed ill-advised. James didn't like being told what he could or couldn't do. It seemed safer not to confront him right now. Especially since she'd initiated the contact, albeit accidentally. She would simply need to be more careful in the future.

With a slight jolt, Tabitha realized she still partially trusted James's character. He might try to seduce her, but she didn't think he'd force himself on her. He'd broken his promise, but he hadn't harmed her. Yet. Still, he couldn't have gotten his reputation entirely undeservedly. Probably more of Nurse's stories were true than Tabitha wanted to admit. James was right: she hadn't paid enough attention in history.

When Tabitha sensed they must be nearing the cabin, they crested a hill. Below them another hollow opened. The stream reemerged and splashed, clear and sparkling, into a small pool before meandering away through the forest. From the deer paths leading up to it and the animal tracks at its edges, Tabitha could see this was a favorite watering hole of the local wildlife.

"The stream fares much better this time," James observed. "It stays clear and potable until it combines with...well, a major river. You'd recognize the name if you know geography better than history."

Tabitha did know geography. Maps had always fascinated her. "Try me." She didn't face James as she spoke, since he was too close to her already, but her nerves were so taut by now that she would likely do something soon to try to break contact with him. She couldn't stand the feeling of being trapped.

"I think I'd better not. You might be tempted to find a way to follow it. That would be a mistake."

"Why?" In her surprise, she did turn toward him. He looked into her eyes so intently that she instinctively stepped back, gulping audibly as she did so.

James dropped his hand back to his own side, but something in his expression made her think he was laughing at her again as he replied, "You aren't where you think you are."

"In the middle of a Xentian woods four days by foot from Felsungen castle?" She glared at James. Being afraid always made her angry. "The stream leads either to the Fluveine or the Grofell. Both are navigable for nearly their entire lengths."

"You've just proved my point." With a slight smile, he passed her, heading back in the direction they'd come.

Tabitha wondered if James was trying to communicate something with this tour. If she was planning to outwit him and get herself home, it would be useful to be able to follow what he was saying. Had they travelled more than four days? These woods were confusing. She normally had an excellent sense of direction, and was good at judging distances, identifying landmarks. But she had definitely misjudged their current position -- the cabin should have been visible from the watering hole. It became easier to focus on this truth when their half hour's walk in what she was certain had been the direction from which they'd come led them past no familiar landmarks, but rather right to the rear of the cabin.

After dinner that evening, Tabitha stood near the fireplace to brush out her hair. The roots were still damp and this was the fastest way to dry them, but it felt odd to do so in the living area. At home there was a fireplace in her bedroom.

James sat in what Tabitha deemed his accustomed chair, watching. She stubbornly ignored how self-conscious this made her feel and took exactly as long as she would've in private. Then she walked back to her room, set the brush on the table nearest the door and returned, with her hair still loose. Entering the bedroom with him watching gave her goosebumps. It had taken most of her nerve to fetch the brush from the vanity. She'd put it back later.

Nerves gave her energy, and Tabitha never had been one for sitting quietly in the evening. Here, however, there were no dogs to play with, no board games, not even any chores or homework. Tabitha flumped cross-legged in front of the fire, stared at it for a few seconds, then stood back up.

"What kind of a hunting cabin is this? You have no stable, no kennel, no weapons. Do you have a workroom for hunting down new spells?"

James seemed amused. "No."

"You said you came here frequently. What did you do in the evenings? You don't even have games or books that I can see."

"No games nor books," he agreed.

"So you weren't hunting animals, or magic, or entertainment. What exactly did you hunt?"

Something in his expression made her wish she'd kept silent, but she ignored it.

"Political advantage."

"So what, you brought people out here, bored them half to death, then offered to return them home if they'd promise to help you take over a neighboring kingdom?"

"Do you really want to know?" Tabitha couldn't decipher if it was a challenge or a threat.

"I want to know who I'm dealing with. I can't talk to my history tutor, or my parents, or our court mage. So for now I'd like to hear it from you."

James shook his head. "I came here frequently and never alone. No one who came with me stood in my way after. That is all you need to know."

Tabitha dropped back down in front of the fire. Responses like that made her want to throw something at him. It also made her wish she knew the real history concerning him. All the horror stories her nurse had told her seemed impossible. Yet there was obviously something to them, at the very least he did seem to be an adept wizard. And handsome. But there's no way he could have charmed as many women as Nurse had said. He was too irritating.

Tabitha stood up again and walked to the window. There was only half a moon, but no clouds. There was also a pile of firewood and a basket of kindling right under the window on the porch. On impulse, Tabitha turned quickly, entered her room, shutting the door behind her. She plaited her hair and tied the end tightly with a ribbon she found on the vanity. She exited the room and the cabin, searched through the kindling for a suitable stick, and walked around to the kitchen side of the house.

The stick was actually thoroughly unsuitable, but it was the best she could find. Tabitha suspected she might find something better in the woods, but since the woods were off-limits this would have to do. She walked cautiously to the edge of the woods, hoping to find an accessible target. Just past the bath house, there was one tree that intruded into the yard. Although the magic prevented her from walking around it, she could approach both the front and the sides.

Tabitha began to practice her sword drills.

An hour later the stick was splintered and the tree's bark scuffed. Tabitha sat against the garden fence and star-gazed. It was peaceful out here. She could almost pretend she was home. Except at home she never would have practiced in a dress. She remembered watching her brother become a squire when she was five, how she'd begged her parents for a year and a half to let her try, her disappointment when her seventh birthday passed and they refused to make her a page. But she'd worn them down and for her tenth birthday they'd presented her with sparring gear and sent her to train with the guards. Training with commoners was meant to reinforce that this was a hobby not a career path, but Tabitha had never cared who trained her.

She remembered, too, when the arms master had told them about the charms that protected guards from magic. These were expensive, temporary, and only used when a threat was expected, but very effective since mages were usually weak and untrained in weapons. She had been amazed to learn that the one notable exception was her own statue -- Mage James. He had been as deadly with a sword as with his magic. Nor did the charms always work against him, since he was adept at unravelling them.
 

The boys had boasted that no mage would ever beat them, but Tabitha had been impressed. Here was someone, like her, who wasn't supposed to know swordplay. Yet he'd excelled and beaten trained knights and guards. At the time, it had seemed merely academic that the men James had killed had been protecting her father. Mage James was just a statue. It was history. Over and done with, right?

Having raced back to the garden after practice, Tabitha had scrutinized the statue with new eyes. She didn't recall exactly, but suspected she had reiterated everything the arms master had told her. As if James hadn't known his own history, or as if he could even hear her. Now she wondered if he had. She must have seemed a fool, so impressed by the prowess of her father's enemy. No doubt she'd spewed nonsense, telling him she wanted to be just like him -- except without magic, or killing people, or stealing someone else's kingdom. Hopefully, he hadn't heard.

A breeze brought Tabitha's mind back to the present. She idly wondered if James would object to her sleeping outside, but as much as she wished to avoid the cabin, she saw no point in waking up stiff tomorrow. She dragged herself back to her feet, debated momentarily, then headed into the bathhouse. She didn't want to wander around in her nightclothes, nor did she feel like fetching a whole new outfit just to wear for the trip from the bathhouse to the bedroom. It took her several minutes to figure out the plumbing that brought water from the stream. She did a quick wash in the cold water, being careful not to wet her hair, then reluctantly climbed back into her sweaty clothes. She would change for the night once she reached her room.

When she re-entered the cabin, the parlor was empty and the fire banked. Tabitha saw James through the doorway of the room next to hers, seated at a desk. She hesitated, unsure if she should bid him good-night. She decided she didn't feel like pretending she was a guest instead of a prisoner and entered her room. She found nightclothes in the wardrobe and changed into them. As she loosed the tie on her braid, there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?"

"Are you decent?"

"Not for visitors. I'm getting ready for bed."

The door opened. "Don't be afraid, but there's a routine you will need to accept while you're here. I will still be putting you to sleep at night."

Fear was not what Tabitha felt. She glared at him. Clenched her jaw. Relaxed it. Took a few deep breaths. "Shall I knock on your door when I'm ready?"

He looked amused. "Have a seat at your vanity. I'd hate for you to go to bed angry."

The color drained from her face. This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid. She'd been civil. She hadn't thrown anything since lunchtime. Why re-set the preference spell? She didn't like the possible answers.

Knowing it was pointless, she shook her head. She hated that her voice trembled when she answered. "I'm not angry. You can just put me to sleep like you did on the way here, like when we arrived."

"I told you not to be afraid. This is the routine."

She was afraid, but couldn't move to show it. He walked over, touched her shoulder and she seated herself by the vanity. As he unplaited her hair and began to brush it, a warming calmness spread from the nape of her neck, up her scalp, across her shoulders, down her spine. She struggled to retain her fear or anger, but they melted away. She did not entirely lose herself this time. She watched him as his eyes unfocused, realized he was concentrating on his magic. As the tingling faded from her skin, she found she could move again. She remembered everything this time, but could no longer feel the anger or fear. She didn't feel particularly fond of James either though, just calm and sleepy.