Wizard Pair (Book 3) (25 page)

The proprietor took the blade and placed it against his arm. This was the test of any knife edge. Could you shave yourself with it?

As he set the blade against his arm, a bright red line appeared. The proprietor pulled the knife away from his skin and handed it back to Zhimosom by the black handle, careful to avoid the blade.

"That's worth more than the knife I just showed you," the proprietor said. "Are you trying to start something? Claiming you're a poor lad, when you carry a knife such as this. Where did you get this?"

"It's been in my family for years. I got it from my father." Zhimosom slid the blade back into its sheath. He backed away from the stall and turned for the entrance. He ran as fast as he could, dodging patrons as he fled.

He found a comfortable spot along the road, just outside the market. He sat down beneath a shade tree and waited for Rotiaqua to emerge.

He noted the shadows and watched them slowly crawl along the ground. After a while, Zhimosom scrounged a piece of soft wood and started carving. Soon he had a nice little pile of chips between his feet and the wood was beginning to take shape.

"Is that a dragon?"

Zhimosom looked up to see a young girl. She was about ten summers in age and reminded him of Brill. A flash of guilt came over him and he swallowed hard. "Yes, it's a dragon."

"Can I see it?"

Zhimosom handed it over to the girl. She examined it carefully, and then held it out. "Dragons aren't real."

Zhimosom shrugged his shoulders. “I'm just wasting time waiting for my friend."

"What's he look like?"

"She." Zhimosom stood. He lifted his hand to his shoulder. "She's about this tall and has long brown wavy hair. She's about my age ... a little older but not much. She's wearing a blue scarf."

"The Guards took someone away a little while ago." The girl said. "She wore a blue scarf, too."

"What?" Zhimosom looked around in panic. "Where did they take her?"

"To the goal. Over that way, by the court house." The girl pointed down the road. Zhimosom rushed to follow her direction.

"Mister. Your dragon."

"Keep it." Zhimosom sprinted down the road in search of the gaol.

Zhimosom had to stop and ask where the court house was but soon found the gaol out front. It was a stocky short building fabricated of heavy logs mortared together with coarse gray plaster. The small door at the front of the building was flanked by a pair of Guards. Rotiaqua's magic emanated from the cell, but it was muted.

Zhimosom stopped short when he saw the Guards. He found an inconspicuous spot in the deep shade of an alleyway. He sat down and opened his mind to Rotiaqua.

"They say there is a reward out for me ... and for you," Rotiaqua's thoughts came to him.

"What happened?"

"After you left, I was looking over the goods in the leather shop. Two Guards came up behind me and threw some sort of talisman over my neck. It damped out my magic so I couldn't do anything. They dragged me to this cell."

Zhimosom heard the fear in her voice. She was stuck and couldn't use magic to get herself out of it. He tried to break the spell, but it was complex and there was another spell shielding the gaol from his magic, too.

"I can't break you out. I'll go get Garlath."

"Wait. Don't go."

"I won't abandon you. I need Garlath's help to get you out."

"Promise me you won't leave me here."

Rotiaqua's voice came to him. Her usual good humor was missing. Zhimosom knew she was genuinely frightened. He pushed a sense of calm and assurance to her. "I won't leave you."

"Be careful. Now that they have me, they know you're around. The reward for your capture is even higher than mine."

"I'll be right back with Garlath."

Zhimosom ran for the inn. When he got there, Garlath was napping in the room.

"Wake up. They have her." Zhimosom shook the Wizard.

"What? Who? Have who?"

"Rotiaqua. They have her. She's locked in the gaol. It's spelled. I can't break through. They have her."

Garlath sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Slow down. Did you say she was in the gaol?"

"Yes, she's in the gaol ... Near the court house ... It's spelled ..." Zhimosom panted.

"Slow down." Garlath put his hand on Zhimosom's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Start at the beginning."

"We made change at the lumber factor. After that Rotiaqua went shopping. I got bored, so I waited for her outside the market. A girl told me she's been arrested. Rotiaqua's in the gaol and it's spelled so I can't get her out. I can barely talk to her. She's scared, Garlath, really scared."

"Take me there."

Zhimosom wound his way back to the court house. When they got close to the gaol, it was empty. The door stood open and the Guards were gone.

"Where is she?" Zhimosom cried. "What have they done to her?"

"She's probably in there." Garlath pointed to the stately building that housed the court. "Let's see if we can get inside."

"Wait! She said they were looking for me, too." Zhimosom grabbed Garlath by the sleeve and pulled him back. "I can't go in there."

"Hmmm ..." Garlath looked him over. "This would be a lot easier of you weren't so tall."

"Tall? What's wrong with my height?"

Garlath waved his hands in the air in front of Zhimosom. A slight gold light shimmered between the Wizard's outstretched palms, growing brighter. It spread out and wafted towards Zhimosom, spreading thin until he was completely bathed in the light.

Zhimosom felt strange. His face tingled. It was hard to stand straight, so he stooped over. His vision became foggy and his right leg grew numb.

"If you were shorter, I could have made you look like a girl. If they were looking for a young man, a girl would be the last one they would suspect. Since you're too tall to be a girl, the only option is to mask your youth."

Zhimosom looked at Garlath. Had the Wizard changed his appearance? He looked at his hands. They were the hands of an old man. He touched his face and felt a long beard and wrinkles. He turned questioningly to Garlath.

"You look fine. Let's go."

As they approached the court house, the Guard stepped in their path. "No visitors."

"We are here as witnesses."

"Not in this trial. No visitors." The Guard stared at them in challenge.

"What trial is this, then?"

"Some Noble Woman who ran off with a Wizard. There are no witnesses in this case. The court is closed. Move on."

Garlath bowed. "Thank you, Sire." He pulled Zhimosom off to the side of the building and into the shadows.

"What now?" Zhimosom asked.

Garlath ignored his question. He stepped to the courthouse wall and circled his hand, rubbing the wall with his palm. A dim gold light followed his hand as he made large sweeping arcs on the wall. The trail of light smeared out behind his hand until a large circle about two spans in diameter formed from the golden sparkles. As the sparkles dimmed, the wall behind vanished. Zhimosom and Garlath were looking directly into the courtroom.

Zhimosom took a step back. "Can they see us?"

"No. But we can see them, and hear them. We're still outside of the court house. They can't see or hear us."

"Order!" the bailiff shouted and everyone stood.

The Judge entered. He had short cropped hair with streaks of gray and had wrinkles around his eyes from a perpetual scowl. He scanned the courtroom and took his place in front.

Rotiaqua stood with her hands chained to a ring in the table before her. She had a thick green braided rope around her neck. Zhimosom saw how she stood straight and proud even in chains before the Judge.

The gavel banged on the desk and the bailiff shouted. "Court is now in session. You may be seated."

The few people that populated the benches sat.

Beside Rotiaqua stood a rough looking man dressed in travel clothes. His hair was dark, almost black, and he wore it long but tied into a single braid that reached the middle of his back.

"A bounty hunter," Garlath said.

"A what hunter?" Zhimosom had never heard the term before.

"Someone who hunts down wanted individuals to get the reward. They're ruthless and ill tempered and care little for anyone."

The judge consulted his papers. "How do you know this is the girl they seek?"

"Your Honor," the bounty hunter said. "The girl passed off two gold coins from Frostan this morning. She speaks with a High Frostan accent and she matches the description that the Baron provided."

"Surely that is not enough to confirm her as his daughter."

"She has magic, as the warrant states. I used a talisman on her that confirmed it. That is why she wears the rope. It prevents her from exercising her magic."

The judge looked at Rotiaqua. "What have you to say for yourself?"

"Nothing, Your Honor. It is a case of mistaken identity. I am a simple girl, who makes her living by purchasing fabric and turning it into clothes for a profit."

The judge rubbed his chin. "Hmmm ... I see what you mean." He turned back to Rotiaqua. "You speak well for an ignorant peasant girl. Your High Frostan is very pronounced."

The judge turned back to the bounty hunter. "Any further evidence before I decide?"

"She was seen in the company of a young man, who speaks with a Low Frostan accent. He meets the description the Baron provided as the kidnapper."

"You haven't found the man?"

"Not yet, Your Honor, but we're seeking him. He can't have gone far. He was seen in the marketplace with her just before we apprehended her."

The judge turned back to the bounty hunter. "The bounty on this one?"

"Twenty-five Golds."

The judge whistled. "That's a generous bounty. How about the boy?"

The bounty hunter lowered his eyes. "I'd rather not say until I apprehend him. I don't want someone claiming the bounty before I do."

"I see your point. Commission on your bounty for the girl is two Golds and five Silvers - ten percent."

The bounty hunter opened his mouth to protest, but the judge banged the gavel on the desk. "Pay the bailiff and she's all yours."

Zhimosom couldn't sleep knowing Rotiaqua was back in the gaol. He tried every spell he could think of to free her, but the enchantments on the cell had been placed there by a powerful Wizard. The effort to free her only drained him. All Zhimosom could do was offer Rotiaqua vague promises.

"How are we going to get her out?" Zhimosom asked Garlath after he dropped his efforts for the night. "We'll never get to Amedon now. I can't break through the spells."

Garlath shook his head. "Patience. You can't get her out of that cell, but that was a bounty hunter. He won't hurt her. He will take her back to her father."

"But her father will just hand her back to Sulrad."

"Sometimes, the best course of action is to wait and see what changes. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Try to get some sleep."

Zhimosom slept fitfully, not sure what the day would bring. In the morning, Rotiaqua woke him through their magical link.

"Good. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to reach you," Rotiaqua said. "They're taking me on the road today. You have to find a way to free me."

"When are you leaving?" Zhimosom blinked at the early morning sunlight streaming in his window.

"Now. They put me in a wagon that's built like a gaol. I overheard them say they are leaving someone behind to look for you, but I'm to be taken back to Frostan as quickly as possible."

"Don't worry. We'll find a way to free you."

Zhimosom dropped the connection and woke Garlath. "We need to go, now."

Garlath came awake with no hesitation. He was dressed and ready to go before Zhimosom finished packing.

They sprinted down the road that led out of town. When they saw the wagon, Garlath stopped Zhimosom.

"They'll recognize you. Remember your disguise? Can you do it yourself?"

Zhimosom reached within himself. He recalled the way he felt when Garlath put the disguise spell on him. He visualized himself as the bent old man, and felt the transformation happen.

Garlath looked him over. "You look like a feeble old man. Don't forget to lean on your staff."

Zhimosom complied as they walked far behind the wagon. The bounty hunter rode a horse, but the Guards stationed around the wagon were on foot. Zhimosom was glad the wagon was moving slowly enough that they could keep it in sight. He wouldn't have been able to run in his disguise.

As the sun set, the wagon stopped. The driver unhitched the horses and led them to the stream near the road. The Guards fanned out and took up post around the site, their swords gleaming with the deep red of the setting sun.

Garlath guided Zhimosom to a boulder that was partially hidden from view by thick brush. They hid behind the rock so that they could keep an eye on the wagon without revealing themselves.

"Now what?" Zhimosom asked.

"We wait." Garlath rummaged through his pack and withdrew a few loaves of travel bread and a hunk of jerked lamb wrapped in oil cloth. "We eat." He handed some of it to Zhimosom.

"I'm not hungry. Can't we free her? The spell is not as strong here as it was in the goal."

"We wait. Eat. You'll need your strength when the time comes." Garlath leaned back against a tree.

Zhimosom lay on his back and looked up into the sky as the sun fell below the horizon. Stars came out in numbers too vast to count, something they never did in the cities. Zhimosom passed the time identifying the constellations, checking his knowledge with Garlath. Rotiaqua had taught him to recognize them all and interpret their positions to judge the seasons.

"What's that?" Zhimosom tapped Garlath's foot and pointed to a faint blue curtain off in the distant sky.

"That's what we've been waiting for." Garlath jumped up and grabbed his pack, shrugging it onto his back and fastening it tightly. "Get ready to run."

"What?" Zhimosom asked.