The Wizard Heir (35 page)

“Right. He'll be someplace quiet, watching the
barrier. Now, remember, you don't want to let him get hold of you. You want a
power release. Don't let him think he can get to you without it.”

“We've been over all this,” Maddie muttered.
You volunteered for this, she reminded herself. But now, she just wanted
to get it over with. She was scared she would let Seph and Jason down. Along
with everyone else.

Seph gripped her arm as if he thought she might charge
off before he'd had his say. His dark brows were drawn together in a frown, and
his eyes changed in the light, from green to blue to gold. Yet not a trickle of
power came through his fingers. She'd never met a witch with that much control.

But then, Seph McCauley didn't need any magic to slide
the bones right out of her body. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on
what he was saying.

“If he does get hold of you, fight like hell.
Make him think he has to use power to keep you from getting away.”

“Got it.”

“He'll probably recognize you from the park. So
you know what your story is?”

“Are you going to talk me to death or what? I'm
freezing out here.” Her teeth were chattering.

“Sorry.” He let go of her arm, looking
embarrassed. “I just don't want anything to happen to you, okay?”

“Okay.”

She went to turn away, but he pulled her toward him
and kissed her on the forehead. “For luck,” he said.

She crossed the yard, hoping that she was the kind of
girl whose luck could be improved by kisses. She entered the unlocked back
door, shaking the excess water from her hair. She stood in the deserted
kitchen, surrounded by the debris from meal preparation left for later cleanup.
She scanned the room for weapons, pulled a large carving knife from a butcher
block, and held it close to her side.

Where would Warren Barber be? Would he need to be
someplace near the wall? She prayed he wouldn't be hanging out in the
conference room where the meeting was taking place.

She ghosted through the rooms on the ground floor,
skirting the great hall. No Barber. Her breath came faster, and her pulse
quickened. Time was wasting. She decided to try the garden. Maybe he didn't
know enough to come in out of the rain.

As soon as she stepped onto the stone patio, she heard
someone talking. Crooning, as one might to a small child or a pet. She walked
toward the sound, down a crushed-stone pathway, between clipped boxwood hedges
and beds crammed with ragged mums, through an arbor intertwined with wisteria.

And there was Warren Barber, like some kind of
grotesque gardener mime, tending to his invisible wizard wall. Making little
adjustments and repairs, straightening tangles, twining new additions into
place. He must be powerful, Madison thought. It was still raining, a cold
drizzle, but he lit up the entire corner of the garden. His clothes were dry,
even steaming a little. He was using some kind of charm to keep the wet away.

He was concentrating so hard that she'd almost reached
him when he looked up and noticed her. “Well, well,” he said.
“What's this?”

“What have you done with Seph?” Madison
tried to look scared and determined at the same time. Which wasn't difficult,
since that was how she was feeling anyway.

Barber looked her up and down and smiled, revealing
crooked teeth. His blue eyes were so pale as to be almost colorless, the lashes
invisible. “I remember you. You were at the river with McCauley.”

“Where is he?” she demanded, her voice
tremoring a little.

“How the hell did you get here?” Barber
asked.

“I … I came in the raft with him.”

“Well, now,” Barber said, advancing toward
her, hands extended. “Here's how it works. You be nice to me, and maybe
I'll tell you where he is.”

Madison brought the butcher knife from behind her
back. “You tell me where he is and I won't use this.”

Barber's eyes widened at the sight of the blade. Then
he grinned. “Not the way to win me over, sweetheart.” He extended his
hands toward her and spoke a charm.

Seph and Jason crouched in the trees, their eyes
focused on the wizard wall.

“I hope she's okay,” Jason muttered, for perhaps
the third time. “Maybe one of us should have gone with her. I mean,
Barber's a nasty son of a…”

“She knows what she's doing.” Seph checked
his watch. Almost noon. Madison had been gone half an hour, and the wall was
still up. But then, it would take time for her to find Barber and get the plan
underway. But what if she'd run into someone else along the way, or several
someones?

“What could be taking so long?” Jason swiped
rainwater from his face. “What if she can't find him?”

“If she can't find him, she'll keep
looking.” Seph looked at his watch again. Noon. Where could she be? Maybe
they should go after her.

Seph looked back at the winery building. Blinked and
looked again. The Weirweb was wavering, fading, dissolving into wisps of mist
that broke and swirled against the building. For a moment it lingered like a
vapor on the stones. And then it was gone.

Seph and Jason grinned at each other like idiots.

“I knew she could do it,” Jason said
happily.

“Let's go.” They pushed to their feet and
loped across the grounds, squelching in the wet leaves. They ducked into the
entrance that Madison had used.

Madison met them in the kitchen, effervescent with
relief. “He's out in the garden.” She pointed with a large knife,
slicing the air with it like a scimitar.

Barber lay flat on his back on the crushed stone path,
totally drained, soaking wet and furious. He would have been steaming had he
been able to muster the power to do so. When he saw Seph and Jason, his eyes
widened in amazement and alarm.

“Back from the dead,” Jason said, grinning.
“Boo!”

“How long will this last, d'you think?” Seph
asked, looking down at Barber dispassionately.

Madison shrugged. “You're the witch. I have no
idea.”

“We'd better make sure he stays quiet,” Seph
said.

Seph knelt beside Barber, placed his hands on his
collarbone, and spilled the immobilization charm into him. Barber twitched
once, and was still.

Seph looked up to find Madison staring at him, blue
eyes standing out against her paler face. “What did you … ?”

“Don't worry. He's just in for a long
sleep.” Seph and Jason dragged Barber's unresisting body into the bushes,
where it was less likely to be found at an inopportune moment.

Seph turned to Madison. “Now. Jason and I are
going to make ourselves unnoticeable, sneak into the hall, and see what's going
on. There's a little corridor that leads from the butler's pantry to the hall.
Hide in there until we come get you.”

Madison frowned and fingered her hair, which was
beginning to dry into long waves. “I don't like it. I think we should stay
together.”

Seph touched her arm reassuringly.
“Unfortunately, there's no way to sneak you in there. Please,
Madison.”

She finally nodded, still scowling.

Bruce Hays and Kenyon King were stationed at the doors
into the great hall. Occasionally one of the other alumni came or went to
replenish the refreshments for the attendees or deliver a message to Leicester.
At one of those times, unnoticeable Seph and Jason slipped through the doors
after them and into the conference room. They drifted the length of the room
and stood on the great hearth, from which they could command a good view of the
proceedings.

The Weir representatives were ranged around a polished
oak table. Members of the Wizard Council were seated in chairs around the
periphery. To Seph's surprise, Linda Downey stood at the head of the table,
running the meeting. She looked angry, pale, and drawn.

“Which one is your mother?” Jason's voice
came eerily out of the air.

“She's the one talking.” It was the first
time Seth had seen her since learning she was his mother. He studied her,
seeking something of himself in her. He guessed he favored his father, though
maybe something about the eyes…

“Hey,” Jason whispered. “She's talking
about you.”

“I had a son named Joseph Downey McCauley,”
Linda was saying. “Leander Hastings was his father.”

She was using the past tense.

And then Seph finally understood. She thinks I'm
dead. That's why she's so angry.

“I hid my son to keep him out of harm's way, to
keep him away from wizards who might use him as a weapon against his father. I
gave him up to protect him.” She paused. “Last year he ended up at
Gregory Leicester's private school. Dr. Leicester tortured him for almost a year.”

“McCauley was a wizard,” Leicester
protested. More past tense. “Whatever happened, this is a matter between
wizards.”

“An attack on my son is an attack on me,”
Linda Downey said. “I was able to rescue him from the Havens, but then
last week, Dr. Leicester kidnapped him again.”

“Don't be ridiculous!” Leicester snapped.
“The boy was lost in a storm on the lake. I didn't have anything to do
with that. It's impossible, in fact.”

Linda ignored him. “Dr. Leicester did it to keep
Leander Hastings away from the conference.”

“You have no proof I was behind any of
this,” Leicester objected.

Linda handed a jump drive to Jack. “Can you bring
these pictures up on the display?” Jack put it into his port. He struck a
few keys, and in a few moments, a picture materialized on their screens,
replacing the agenda. It was Seph, hands tied behind his back. Seph in the
library.

“Dr. Leicester sent these photographs to
Hastings. They were taken here in the winery. If you like, I can show you the
very spot.”

Leicester sat back in his chair and placed his hands
flat on the table. “I don't understand the purpose of this,” he said.
“After all, I didn't kill the boy. Hastings did.” And in saying it,
he confirmed everything.

Once again, the room fell silent. Jack was pale, his
knuckles white where he gripped the arms of his chair. Ellen scrubbed away
tears and glared at Leicester. Blaise and Mercedes stared down at the table.

“What is my purpose?” There were spots of
color on Linda's cheeks, and the gold was back in her eyes. "We are going
to consider two possible Weir constitutions to replace the one that was set
aside at Raven's Ghyll a year ago. One more or less resurrects the old system.
The other introduces a new order.

“You've been told the current system does not
need fixing. I want to make sure that all of the guild representatives remember
our history, and the price we've paid over the years for the dominance of
wizards. I also want them to understand just exactly who these people
are.”

“I'm liking your mother more and more,”
Jason said. Seph just nodded wordlessly.

Linda returned to the agenda. “Now. We'll allow
the sponsors of each of the constitutions ten minutes in which to present the
merits and rationale of their proposals. Dr. Leicester, Mr. D'Orsay?”

Still looking a little shell-shocked, D'Orsay stood
and addressed the representatives. The essence of the argument was that,
despite some flaws, the old hierarchy was a good system that met everyone's
needs. The role of the various guilds was clear and consistent with their
talents. The Rules of Engagement had created a kind of Pax Romana over
the centuries, keeping bloodshed and conflict to a minimum. Although there had
been some regrettable excesses now and then, on the whole, the wizards had
served as benevolent rulers.

In the end, Leicester put forward a motion to accept
the new constitution. D'Orsay seconded it. It was brought up for a vote, and
was soundly defeated, four to zero, with the wizards abstaining since they were
split on the vote, two to two.

Jeremy Ravenstock introduced the second constitution,
as he was the only one present who had supported it on the Wizard Council. He
was a blunt, straightforward speaker, and no poet. Nick said a few words in
support of it as well, and then Linda took over.

She looked around the table, making eye contact with
each of the participants. "I know this has been difficult. You all took a
risk in agreeing to serve. The fact that you are here proves that you know what
the stakes are. I realize you are not used to saying no to wizards.

“But I want you to think about how your lives
have been under the old hierarchy. I want you to think about everything you
heard here this morning. This is our opportunity to make sure that it will be
different for our … children.” Her voice broke a little. “Shame on us
if we squander it.”

Seph stared at his mother. She was a small woman, and
not a wizard, yet she held the entire joint conference in thrall, wizards as
well as Anawizard Weir. Somehow, she made freedom seem possible to the
Anawizard Weir, who had been oppressed for years.

The Hastings/Downey constitution was passed by the
Interguild Council, again by a vote of four to zero.

Leicester gestured, and Bruce Hays left the hall.

Seph looked up at the gallery windows, trying to judge
the time. It was only mid afternoon, but it seemed much later. No light was
coming through the windows, and the fitful rain had somehow turned into a gale.

Still, Linda wasn't finished. She looked over the
heads of those at the table and spoke to the Wizard Council representatives
ranged against the wall.

“Dr. Leicester claims that the murder of my son
is a wizard issue. Fair enough. The Rules of Engagement have long forbidden
warfare among wizards. If Dr. Leicester witnessed the murder of my son at
Hastings's hands, then what has he done about it? Where is Hastings? Hastings
is your colleague, a member of the Wizard Council. Perhaps he should be allowed
to speak on his own behalf.”

The wizards in the gallery stirred. Whispers rolled
through them like wind through marsh grass. “Where is Hastings?”
Longbranch demanded. “I'm surprised he'd miss this event, since he was one
of the architects.”