The Royal Wizard (20 page)

CHAPTER 20

The great hall was bursting with people and Nia, caught in the midst of them, couldn’t find her way out. Everything around her was spinning madly out of control. People’s faces blurred together, but she recognized them all.

There was the new queen, her lovely face uncovered and smiling in the afternoon sun.

There was Saeran, staring moodily out the window in the royal study.

Nico, no more than a shadow, danced all around her, just out of reach. She tried to speak, to call to him, but no sound would come out.

The familiar faces disappeared into the crowd and colorful gowns blinded her for a moment. This was a celebration of some sort, but the faces were grotesque masks of malice, not joy. They had fangs filling their mouths, monstrous grimaces contorting their features.

The jesters and jugglers came so close to her she could feel their rancid breaths on her face, yet her feet would not move. She had no body here and no way to leave.

The crowd shifted, and from its depths emerged a man. His golden hair was shorn much shorter than was common, and his gentle face was clean shaven like a boy’s. But his eyes were ancient. They were the eyes of an old man. He approached her with fluid steps and, though she couldn’t hear him humming, she felt the impact of his silent melody. It moved through her in waves, making her sway.

The black crystal was in his hands. He held it out to her and she couldn’t take her eyes off it. So beautiful and unusual. It looked to be incredibly heavy, but not because of the stone’s weight. That pendant glittering so enticingly in his open palm held ancient magics. Countless separate energies swirled inside, each singing a different tune, yet each a mere imitation of the true wielder’s power.

He came closer and Nia reached out, though she had no arms.

A silent scream shuddered through her and broke the spell, allowing her to look away. The sorcerer shouted his fury, but her attention was now on the queen. She leaned over the body of a man, her frame shaking with heartfelt sobs.

Somehow, Nia floated closer. Only the man’s hand was showing, but she recognized the ring on it at once. It was the royal seal of Wilderheim. The crowd rushed at her again, taking her along, away from Saeran and his queen. She was carried on the current of countless people until she couldn’t tell up from down.

And then the creature made its presence known.

“Nia,” it hissed…

“Wizard, wake up!”

She jerked awake and reacted on instinct, shoving with all her might and not a little amount of magic at the man leaning over her, shaking her shoulders.

Arnaud went flying and landed several feet away, his breath knocked out of his chest.

She didn’t apologize. Since her contact with the creature, she’d had terrible nightmares every night. Though she remembered little of them when she awoke, the feeling of dread remained long after the dreams faded.

Nia had made her wishes clear. She slept away from the camp they set up each night and told them she was not to be disturbed. The only way she would make sense of these things was if she could do so in her sleep.

Rising from her pallet, she winced at the ache in her shoulder.

There was snow everywhere. It was their constant companion this far north, the air so cold all the knights had donned their thick woolens and animal skins for protection. Nia still wore only her cloak and wolf skin. It was all the warmth she required.

With a thought she dried her clothes, wet and frozen from sleeping on the snow-covered ground, and stretched out her spine.

Straightening her cloak around her, she took up her staff. Arnaud was on his feet again, though his breath was still uneven. He had a look on his face that told her he was cursing himself a thousand kinds of fool for trying to wake her. “It is late,” she told him. “We need to be on our way.”

More than a month since they’d left the castle. At least ten more days until they reached Sir Frederick’s coveted treasure. This journey was stretching much longer than she’d anticipated. It was, in part, because of her dreams. She slept late and wasted daylight so none of them could cover as much ground as they wanted. But there was no help for it. It wasn’t only that she needed the sleep. Once she fell into those dreams, she became trapped in them and couldn’t tell how much time has passed. Her mind became so absorbed in the scenes that it took her longer and longer to relinquish the unsolvable mystery and return to the waking world.

Nia feared there might come a day when she wouldn’t wake at all. It was as if a sickness had taken hold of her, and she knew nothing of its source to fashion a cure. It was placing all of them in danger.

The land was so silent she could hear her heart beat like a drum as she led the way back to the camp. The absence of animals unnerved her. It had been weeks since she’d heard a bird’s song or a predator’s soft whisper. Even the earth sounded different here, its voice sharper and colder than Nia was used to.

Her feet buried in the snow as she walked, making her shiver, but she continued on, longing for the surety of Stardust’s company.

“You were screaming,” Arnaud said and coughed as he caught up to her. “We heard you in the camp.”

“I was perfectly all right,” she said, though her shaky voice left something to be desired. She wasn’t all right. Something was draining her in a frightening way. It felt as if she was using her own essence to work spells without realizing it. Not only did it leave her weak in body, she found it harder each morning to simply cleanse herself.

And it was getting worse the closer they got to their destination. If she was left completely drained by the time they got there, the lot of them would be left defenseless against whatever was waiting for them.

But that wasn’t all of it. Her magic was tied to her soul, her essence. It could replenish itself if she used too much, but if it drained out of her completely, it would take her life force with it.

Arnaud caught her arm, pulling her to a stop. “Enough of this,” he said. “I don’t know what is happening to you, and I no longer care. But you have a duty to us that will not be so easily dismissed. We all know something is awry. If you are ill, all of us are in danger, and you need to tell us.”

“Arnaud,” Lucca said, his voice hard. “Release her.”

“You know I am right!” His hold on her arm tightened.

Lucca drew a long dagger from his belt loop. “You are in a temper. You are not thinking clearly.”

Arnaud stared at the blade a moment, and Nia almost feared the two would come to blows. The others were already on their feet, keeping their distance, but ready to step in should they be needed. “What is this?” Arnaud said. “Are you all so blind that you do not see what is happening?” He shoved her toward Lucca. “Whatever happened to her back there, it has left a mark. Can you not feel it? The evil has tainted her. She is not the same wizard who rode out with us.”

Lucca’s knuckles turned white, clutching the dagger.

“I am well enough to lead you where you need to go,” she grated, stepping in front of Lucca to get between him and Arnaud. “But be warned, Sir Arnaud, if you touch me again, you will regret it.”

“You will walk today,” Lucca told Arnaud. “It seems to me you have a need for exercise to clear your mind. Were I you, I would use the time to reflect.” Sheathing his dagger, he turned his back on the man.  “Mount up,” he told the rest of them. “We have a long way ahead of us.”

When their company rode out, Nia took the lead. Lucca was behind her, and behind him rode Jonah and Alec. Frederick took up the rear with Arnaud’s mount, keeping pace with the unhorsed knight to lecture him. Such was their arrangement for the next three days.

There was no path here to follow. No animal tracks to mark the white snow. The trees were bare of not only leaves, but sometimes entire branches. The absence of life was worrying. What happened here? Why did nothing live in these woods?

“There was truth to his words,” Lucca said, coming up to her right. “We have all noticed something is not right with you.”

“I am well,” she returned, keeping her eyes on the ground in front of Stardust.

“You mistake me. I did not say I believed you have made a pact with the devil. But there is something troubling you. Gravely, if your sleep is so disturbed.”

“Be careful, Lucca,” she told him. “Any more of such kind words and a lass might think you care.” A sharp breeze laughed at her. It pierced through her clothing, stabbing into her body until she had to suppress a shiver.

Lucca smiled. “You are an extraordinary woman. If I did not know your heart to be engaged elsewhere, I might come to care.” He held his hand up to silence her when she would have spoken. “I know, I know. No need for your lovely voice to carry harsh words. I will leave you in peace. But you should know, Lady Nia, that we do not take something for nothing. You have provided us with direction, and for that we are grateful. In return, we are honor bound to protect you against whatever lies ahead. We will do it, whether you want us to or not.”

Nia would have told him there was no protecting anyone from what lay ahead, but he’d already slowed to fall back and give her space. She considered telling them something, preparing them for the possibility that they might all die, but in the end thought better of it. If she was being overcautious, there was no need for them to fret. And if she wasn’t, there was no reason for them to fret and tire themselves needlessly. If they were to die, better it be a surprise.

Knowing one’s end didn’t make the remaining days any sweeter. Rather, it killed a man before he was even dead.

They passed through nine days of snow. Nine days of battling the wind and knocking ice from their belongings. Nine days of absolute misery during which a fire once lit had to be shielded and watched over the entire time to burn. If Nia so much as glanced away from those flames, let her concentration slip for an instant, the fire went out. It took effort and energy to keep a flame burning. It took even more to get one started when everything was too wet and frozen to catch the flame.

As cold as she and the knights were, the horses were colder. They had no woolens to keep them warm, and the more skittish of them could not be cajoled closer to the fire for anything. They’d already lost two to this bitter winter, and they all had to walk the rest of the mounts to spare them as long as possible. When they made camp for the night, humans and animals slept huddled together, sharing what warmth they could.

Their food had run out, and melting snow for water took hours in this weather. Arnaud and Jonah had taken to praying whenever they stood still, seeming to derive some strength or courage from ritual. Even Frederick and Alec joined them every so often. Lucca alone refused to say the words, warming himself instead with memories of his wife and children. Whenever the wind died down a little, he sought Nia out to speak to. He told her stories of his past for his own comfort and allowed her to lean on him when the weight of her staff became too much of a burden to carry.

It was more often than not now that Nia needed to lean on something or someone. She’d stopped sleeping because she was needed to keep the fire burning at night. It was just as well; it kept her from her nightmares and whatever was casting them over her. But the effort was taking a terrible toll. Already she was stretching her powers thin. Keeping everyone and herself warm took precedence, and so she’d stopped casting a glamour over herself. The knights could now see how badly she was faring.

It wasn’t only her magic that was draining, it was her body as well. Her legs were always weak, and though she didn’t want to, she was forced to lean on Stardust to stay on her feet in the harsh winds. They ought to have turned back days ago, but none of them would hear of it. Whatever it was they sought, it was more important than their lives. And she’d pledged to lead the way. So long as they had the will to continue, she had to as well.

On the tenth day, the storm finally died down. They made camp at the foot of a slight hill which provided at least some shelter from the wind. The fire needed only wood to keep burning that night, but Nia kept watch over it nonetheless. Several times she caught herself casting her will into the fire to bring up a vision. She was too weak to complete it, but the intention kept resurfacing, as if it was a habit she couldn’t rid herself of. Those dancing flames kept singing their lullabies, making her yearn for her home, her bed.

She missed Saeran. There were times now when her mind recalled memories of him without Nia having any say in it. She would pat Stardust’s neck and feel Saeran’s hand squeezing hers. She would sit before the fire at night and feel his arms around her. Nia couldn’t be sure if it was her imaginings or something entirely different, but she felt as though Saeran was there with her, hiding in illusions. His presence comforted Nia for a short while, but then she remembered everything that happened before she left, and since, and she was left aching and weary, tempted to lay her head in the snow and simply sleep.

Sleep until this wretched winter passed. And if it never did, then so be it.

Staring into those flames, she didn’t notice when night turned to day. Lucca’s hand on her shoulder startled her out of her trance and she struggled to her feet to help them ready to move on again. For all her good intentions, she couldn’t make her body obey. It was all she could do not to fall back down once she’d stood.

The knights did everything on their own, telling her to mount Stardust and wait. Even Stardust agreed with them, butting his nose against her back until she nearly fell over. Nia couldn’t argue after that, so she did as she was told.

After hours of riding at a steady pace, Stardust halted at the edge of a clearing.
I go no farther,
he said, ears back.

Nia swallowed past the lump in her throat, her gaze fixed on the cliff face before them. It towered up to the sky, a dark barren rock face rising from a level clearing big enough to hold an army. Even the wind didn’t blow here.

This was it.

She dismounted, taking care to find her balance before she let go of Stardust’s saddle. She felt weak and what little magic she had left, she was using to stay on her feet. Her body shivered in the cold she could no longer keep away and the wolf skin hugged itself tighter around her. Nia was grateful for that little comfort.