The Fifth Magic (Book 1) (9 page)

Brother Vaughn secured himself to the rail and stood with his knees bent. When Kenward warned of a rough landing, a wise man took it seriously. The valley felt much smaller, as Kenward guided the ship lower and lower. Towering stone walls rushed by in a blur, giving evidence to their speed. Too fast, thought Brother Vaughn. Kenward held his course. The mighty gates were now open as wide as they would go. Height wasn't the only issue; the opening was narrow as well.

"This is going to be close, people," Kenward shouted. "Brace yourselves!"

There were no dragons here to save them this time, and if Kenward misjudged, it could be the end of them. Brother Vaughn breathed fast and tried to be brave. It made him feel somewhat better when Kenward's screams matched his own.

The mountain consumed them. With little more than a whispered brush, the
Serpent
entered Dragonhold like an albatross--beautiful in flight yet awkward and dangerous when landing. Not everyone had been expecting an airship to enter the hold, and people scattered in all directions as the
Serpent
dropped to the cold stone and skidded. Slowly the
Serpent
rotated and slid, the wind socks cast forward by a gust even as the mighty gates swung shut. The jarring impact and subsequent bouncing threatened to shake the ship apart.

Brother Vaughn stood on trembling knees and couldn't help but feel anxious as the gates blotted out the sky. They were left in torchlight, which struck Brother Vaughn as ironic since Trinda had the largest stockpile of herald globes in existence. He knew there were a few in private collections that had escaped her grasp. It stung knowing the one Catrin had given him personally was among Trinda's hoard. It wasn't the kind of thing one forgot. He was also reminded of the cube he'd lost. Ever since he'd discovered its true purpose, he'd wanted to get back to Dragonhold and find out just what could be locked away with such an elaborate key.

The
Serpent
issued black smoke and steam for some time after entering the great hall, and Brother Vaughn wondered if it wouldn't be wise to open the gates enough to let the wind carry it away. As it was, most people were coughing and moving away from the main hall.

"I've allowed this
ship
within my hold," Trinda suddenly said, and Brother Vaughn looked up to the place from where her voice had come. Once again, she sat on the oversized throne left by the ancients. She gazed down on Brother Vaughn, and familiar feelings of confusion and distrust washed over him. He'd done what he could to help this girl--woman, Brother Vaughn corrected himself, no matter how she appeared--and she'd turned on those he cared for. And yet she'd cared for many of those he loved as well. Trinda Hollis was an unsolvable puzzle, and he put his feelings aside. He could do some good here, and that was what he intended to do. Foster relations, trading, and in general have a positive impact on the situation. At least that was what he thought he was going to do.

"I want to see the thrones," Trinda said, and Brother Vaughn's blood went cold. "Martik! Have your people unload my cargo."

"Begging your pardon, your highness," Kenward said. "We were only able to transport one of the thrones this trip."

Silence heavier than he'd ever known enveloped the hall.

"You insult me," Trinda said, her voice as cold as the stone surrounding her. "I asked for two thrones, and you have defied me!" As she said these words, Trinda slammed her fist on the throne upon which she sat, her arms nowhere near long enough to reach the actual armrests. She sat in the middle of the throne, like a child's toy. When her fist struck stone, however, it was clear neither was she a toy nor should she be trifled with. Cold air rushed away from her striking fist, chilling whatever it touched and leaving steaming frost in its wake.

Stinging from the cold, Brother Vaughn stepped forward, hoping to defuse the situation. "There was no other way, child," he said, realizing his error even as the words left his lips.

"Do not call me
child!
"

This time, when Trinda's fist met stone, there was fire. Blue flame radiated outward, singeing everything in its path. Feeling as if he'd been assaulted and smelling burned hair, Brother Vaughn braced himself for the worst.

"You will get whatever supplies you need to make the journey, and you will fetch the remaining throne," Trinda said, and there was no room for argument. At least she was providing supplies. It showed the girl had good sense and was not inclined to cruelty as a matter of course. Trinda Hollis was nothing if not intriguing.

"My lady," Kenward said, eyeing the
Serpent's
crumbling timbers
.
"My ship was damaged during our landing. I doubt the quantity of flakewood I need to repair her is within the hold. May I--?"

"Get him what he needs," Trinda said to a nearby guard. The man nodded and moved to face Kenward. A younger man with a wax tablet and stylus approached. "And do not let him rob me," she added. "This man is a scoundrel."

Kenward made no argument and instead bowed to Trinda. The woman in a girl's body was thoughtful, and Brother Vaughn knew there was far more intellect behind those eyes than most would admit. She was up to something, perhaps many things, and he wished he knew what she planned. Everyone within the hold said she had an uncanny ability to read Dragonhold, as if communicating with it. The underground fortress was expansive beyond reckoning, yet she continued to discover its secrets.

When Kenward finished listing the items he needed, the guard and his scribe turned to the throne. Trinda met the guard's eyes, and he nodded to her. She nodded in return. Kenward started breathing again. It was then he realized Martik's crew were about to unload the throne. "Wait!" he said. "She's gonna shift when you move that thing!"

Martik waved off Kenward's worry as he orchestrated his crew, who made him proud. Using a hastily constructed hoist with a thick, oiled rope, they lifted the hulking metallic stone chair and eased it away from the
Serpent.
Using braces and sandbags, the ship had stabilized and secured. The crew worked with speed and efficiency Brother Vaughn admired. Not many achieved such a high level of teamwork and competency.

Once it was freed from the ship's hold, the crew lowered the throne onto wooden braces then disassembled the hoist. Using the same materials, they built a platform around the throne. It would take many strong bodies to move the stone and metal chair; this platform with its raised supports would make it easy for them to do so. These people worked with smooth, quiet efficiency--impressive, indeed. Now if he could just figure out how to get Martik out of Dragonhold and to the Firstland, where he was really needed.

"I wish to see the throne in place," Trinda said. "All of you are to be present. Without you, the throne would not be here.
All
of you. My guards will care for your ship."

Kenward was hesitant but the size and number of guards nearby provided him ample motivation. They were in Trinda's hold and would need to do as they were told while they remained here. Brother Vaughn still had no idea why he'd been summoned. He thought perhaps it had been a mistake, or maybe she'd forgotten asking specifically for him. She hadn't so much as greeted him--another puzzle.

Martik and his crew were already halfway across the great hall when Trinda had her guards help her down. She followed the same path as Martik, and the
Serpent's
crew fell in behind, followed by more guards. This trip was not optional.

Being back amid the towering columns was reminiscent for Brother Vaughn, though it was in far better repair this time around. Under Trinda's rule, a great many things had been restored to their original luster or had been improved upon, as with the bulwark facade.

Even the throne had been commissioned by Catrin and Prios and fulfilled their desires. Both had nearly died in the viewing chamber because they lacked the anchor effect these very thrones provided. Catrin and Prios were gone. Emotion threatened to overcome him. Never would he get over the loss of them. Never.

The viewing chamber was much as Brother Vaughn remembered it: small, sparse, and with two holes in the chamber's outer wall, open sky beyond. This was among the very few places within the hold where one could see the sky. This alone made the room remarkable. The single throne cast the room out of symmetry. Two holes, one throne. The balance was gone, and it offended the eye.

"Do you see what you've done?" Trinda asked, her voice shrill.

"I apologize, m'lady," Kenward said.

"You should've brought the other chair and left him behind," she said, pointing to Brother Vaughn. It was the first she had acknowledged him. It was an ill auspice. He reconsidered the wisdom in coming here.

"But since you are here," Trinda said, "I'll be kind, as you once were to me."

A bit of hope bloomed in Brother Vaughn's chest. "Thank you," he said, trying to appear deferential.

"Come," Trinda said. "
All
of you." Brother Vaughn wasn't certain why she kept saying that, but she gave him little time to ponder. As they entered the hallway running between the great hall and the God's Eye, Trinda stopped. "Fetch the diver," she said, and a man sprinted back toward the great hall. Trinda, though, turned and walked toward the God's Eye. Brother Vaughn walked with a sense of anticipation and wonder. Did she know? he asked himself. What could she possibly want to show them in that expansive underground lake? He knew some of what lurked there, and he reached for the cube out of habit, lamenting the loss of it.

Logan, the diver, nodded to Brother Vaughn after catching up with them and making his way to the water's edge. He wore nothing but a loin wrap and looked out of place standing beside Trinda and her guards. From within her white robes, Trinda pulled a glowing orb. It cast warm light that bounced off the water: a herald globe. "Do you remember?" Trinda asked Brother Vaughn, who nodded. "I sang for you and summoned the fish. Do you remember?"

"I remember," he said.

"Good," Trinda continued. "You were kind to me, and I'll now return the favor."

Brother Vaughn didn't know how to tell her he'd lost the cube.

"Sevellon," Trinda said. "The time has come."

Sevellon, Brother Vaughn thought, how did he know that name?

From behind Kenward, Sevon stepped into the herald globe's light. Kenward hissed. Sevon turned with an apology in his eyes. "Mistress," he said.

"I do like it when you call me that, Sevellon," Trinda said with the closest thing to a smile Brother Vaughn had ever seen on her face. "What do you have for me?"

"Just the items requested, mistress."

Brother Vaughn watched in disbelief when Sevon--or Sevellon--produced a familiar cube from his pockets. He also handed Trinda an object Brother Vaughn recognized. At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a small figurine. He recognized it as the one the lord chancellor had asked him to hold during a welcoming ceremony. He'd not realized it at the time, but this was something of great value. But why have him steal the cube?

"It was only a precaution," Trinda said, as if reading his thoughts. "I always intended you to be here for this, though I wasn't certain you'd come. I needed . . . insurance.

"Do you know what this is and how it works?" Trinda asked the diver.

"No, m'lady. I dived for it and found it, but I don't know what it is."

"Tell him," Trinda said to Kenward.

Brother Vaughn was a little surprised when Kenward began to speak; he was not a man accustomed to taking orders.

"It's a key," Kenward said. "A unique and special key meant to open only one thing, a ship's secondhold." The diver looked confused. "The hold is where the captain keeps his cargo. The secondhold is where the captain keeps his most precious belongings. If there's a ship down there and that key opens the secondhold, there's no telling what you'll find.

These words once again ignited Brother Vaughn's imagination, and he could imagine a great many possibilities, but he'd done that for years. Now he wanted to know what was actually in the secondhold.

"How does Logan
use
the key?" Brother Vaughn asked, unable to keep the impatience from his voice.

Kenward raised an eyebrow but didn't argue with Brother Vaughn. Instead, he turned back to Logan. "Look for the captain's quarters; they'll be the biggest. Search for trap doors, false bottoms in shelves, that sort of thing. Look for a recessed area the right size to accept the cube."

"Then what?" the diver asked.

Kenward just shrugged. "That's all I really know. It should allow a trap door to open, but you might have to do something else, maybe push on it or pull a lever. If that doesn't work, try changing the orientation of the cube."

"He's going to be under water," Brother Vaughn said. "That all sounds pretty complicated."

"Your only other choice is to raise the ship. And even then you might have trouble," Kenward said. "There's no way you'll get a proper secondhold open without the key or a dragon."

"May I see if I can find the secondhold first," Logan said, and Trinda nodded her assent and handed him the herald globe. "Don't lose this."