Wizard Pair (Book 3) (30 page)

"Which jewels?" Omrik demanded.

"I do now know, Your Grace. I would need to examine each piece. Hold it in my hands and test it for any spells that it might contain."

"So you can do this? You are a Wizard?"

"No. I am a Priest of the one true god, Ran. My power does not come from the Wizardly arts, but is a gift from Ran, for my devotion."

"How do I know you are not the Baron's spy?"

"You cannot," Sulrad said with a sly smile.

"What a dilemma." King Omrik stroked his chin. "What am I to do with you, then?"

"You could trust me, or you could test me." Sulrad knew this was the tricky part, but he was getting a sense of the King and how he would react to the next suggestion Sulrad made.

"Test you?"

"Test me. Let me take your food tester to don each of the crown jewels. Should he trigger one of the spells, you will know I speak the truth." Sulrad watched the King for a reaction.

Omrik glanced at the boy, then back to Sulrad, then back to the boy. He smiled and raised his hand. "Guard, take this Priest to the treasure and watch as the boy tries on the crown jewels. Keep an eye on both of them."

"Yes, Your Grace." The Guard motioned to Sulrad and the boy.

The treasury was brilliantly lit with torches placed in sconces along the walls. Sulrad had envisioned heaps of gold and jewels piled on tables in some dark and dingy dungeon. These were carefully arranged, and inventoried. Each piece had its own bin with a carefully written card that described the piece and where it had originated.

Sulrad cast his eyes around the room. It was dedicated to head-wear and filled with crowns, bejeweled helmets and even fancy hats studded with gems and precious metals. He didn't see anything like the amulet he sought.

Sulrad dutifully stood in the center of the room. He probed the chamber with his magic trying to find the amulet, but it was not in this particular room. He would have to craft a ruse to continue their examination.

"Here." Sulrad pointed to a small gold circlet that could be worn as a head-band. "This one feels suspicious."

The Guard motioned to the boy, who lifted it from its perch and set it upon his head. It was too large for him and threatened to slip down over his ears, but he was unaffected by it.

"Try this one." Sulrad pointed to a crown cast of solid gold and encrusted with precious stones.

The boy tried it on; again, there were no consequences.

"I'm sensing it's part of a necklace. Is there a room where such things are kept?"

"Yes, Sire." The Guard nodded to a doorway off to the side of the main chamber. They entered and lit the torches. Sulrad cast his eye around the room. Far off in one corner, he saw it. The Charm of the Joiner. His heart raced, but he quickly caught himself. He pretended to search for a specific necklace until he laid his eyes on a particularly thick chain that bore a card indicating it was a gift from Baron Rieck.

"This one." He pointed to it.

The Guard nudged the boy, who lifted it from its stand and placed it around his neck. Sulrad reached out with his magic and cast a strangulation spell.

The boy coughed and turned a dark shade of plum. His eyes grew large and he lifted his hands to his throat. He sputtered but no sound came forth. The lad fell to the floor, doubled over, struggling for breath but finding none.

The Guard stood over him without taking action to save the boy.

Sulrad watched the final choking gasps of the boy. When he was certain the boy was dead, he knelt down and took the necklace in his hand. He focused power on it and warmed the gold until he could barley touch it. He stood and handed the necklace to the Guard.

"Here, you must bear witness. I have defeated the spell. It is safe now, but I would advise a note be made so that the King does not don this particular necklace. I'm not certain the spell is completely neutralized."

The Guard grasped the necklace and quickly returned it to its stand. He turned back to look at the boy, dead on the floor. "How can you be sure this is the only one?"

Sulrad shrugged.

"Come with me." The Guard escorted Sulrad back to the King's chamber.

"Your Majesty, the Priest has found the cursed item. Your taster is dead." The Guard shoved Sulrad forward.

"I knew it. There are spies everywhere. I need your protection. You will be my chief Wizard. You will serve me and I will reward you well."

"Your Majesty, I crave no reward. I only asked to serve you and to defeat this threat. It has been averted. I must get back to my tasks."

Sulrad bowed and retreated, but before he could get far, King Omrik stood up and yelled. "Stop. You will serve me. You will continue to test my clothes and jewelry for me."

Sulrad hesitated, stopped and bowed. "If I might be allowed to fetch my possessions and tell my loved ones where to find me. I will return as you have commanded."

"You go with him to make sure he returns." The King pointed to the Guard who had accompanied Sulrad to the treasury.

The Guard escorted Sulrad to the inn.

"Please have a seat." Sulrad waved to a chair by his table. "I will make you a nice cup of tea while you wait. It won't take but a moment. I will gather my belongings while the water heats."

Sulrad busied himself packing his precious belongings. He would be leaving tonight, but not to the Castle. He mixed the herbs and potions into the cup of tea. The Guard had barely finished his drink when his eyes fluttered and closed. His head dropped to the table with a thud.

Sulrad left the Guard asleep in his room. He made his way to the inn where he usually met Wy. She was happy to see him and welcomed his attention.

"I have guests staying with me," Sulrad told her. "But I have found a special place I want to show you tonight."

"Where?" Wy asked.

"It's not far, but I'd like to show it to you before sundown. It is most beautiful at sundown. We must hurry." Sulrad stood up and held out his hand. "Come."

Wy obliged him, and he led her out of the town to a secluded grove of trees. He had chosen the spot carefully. In the center of a ring of stately oak trees, a large boulder stood with a flat top not unlike his altar. Sulrad had carefully scribed the spells he used in the Temple on the rock in preparation for their visit.

A gap in the trees allowed the setting sun to penetrate and illuminate his makeshift altar.

Sulrad led Wy over and sat and patted the cold granite. "Sit here for a bit. This is the part that I love."

Wy looked around at the trees and rocks nearby. She sat on the boulder and nestled into Sulrad's outstretched arm. "What did you want to show me?"

"Wait. It's almost sunset."

"Why? What happens at sunset?" Wy asked.

"This." Sulrad reached around her with his sacrificial knife and sliced through her throat when the sun struck the rock. He chanted the spell that would take her life force, and drew it into himself. She turned to a swirling cloud of golden dust and vanished just as the sun sank below the horizon.

Sulrad reveled in the power as he absorbed Wy's life energy. He'd needed more power to take on the Sorceress, lest she defeat his plan before he had a chance to execute it. He would need Theria's power to carry out the next phase.

He looked back at the rock as he walked from the grove. It was a pity; Wy had been a good companion. It was too bad she knew where he was staying and would have given him away.

Amulet

Sulrad rushed to Theria's home from the grove where he had sacrificed Wy. He secreted his sacrificial knife up one sleeve and spelled it to hide it from her. He hoped she would not sense it, or his purpose.

Theria answered the door, once again barring his entry. "Not so free with the Gold this time?"

"I just wanted to come and thank you, before I depart. Your advice was most helpful. My Lord Baron will be pleased."

"I suppose I could make you a cup of tea. You can tell me your tale of the castle. I admit to a weakness for gossip."

She let him in and put a kettle on the fire to boil. While it heated, she ground spices and bark into it. Sulrad watched for an opening to take her magic, but decided he'd wait until they'd finished their tea. After all, he could use a little company, even though this meeting was going to end badly for the woman.

Theria poured the tea and sat across from him. She was a good listener as he regaled her with tales of the castle, and how he had been allowed to glimpse the crown jewels. He was beginning to regret the necessity of his visit when he felt light headed. His throat was dry and the tea had refreshed him, so he drank more. Too late, he realized that it only made make matters worse. He saw double, his speech slurred. His arms felt heavy and he lost control of his bladder.

"You think me a fool?" Theria stood up, leaned over him and reached for his knife. Sulrad could barely make out what was happening. Why was she blurry? Why was she hovering like that?

Sulrad crumpled to the floor. He felt the weight of the Sorceress as she knelt down, on his chest. She bent over and put her arm on his throat and pressed down with all her weight. She leaned in so close that Sulrad felt her breath even as he himself could not breathe.

"Not so sharp now, are we?" Theria said. She placed the point of the knife against Sulrad's temple and traced a line of fire towards his jaw. She repeated the process on his other side. Sulrad screamed in pain as she continued drawing on his skin with the knife. Theria smiled at him through the fog and distortion of the drug.

The pain seared into Sulrad's brain with each cut of the knife. He wrestled with the magic of the potion as she sliced away at him. The pain distracted him, but eventually, he found it. The spell was based on rotting swamp plants and festering wounds. He let his anger well up in him and directed it against the poison. He grasped for the magic and channeled it towards the knife, the special knife that was meant to separate the magic from a dying Wizard, but it would work on a living one, too.

He drew her magic out of her, pulling particularly hard at the poison. Sulrad felt it separate from her. He directed it at the knife, willing it to absorb that magic.

The disorientation lessened. The clearer Sulrad's thoughts became, the easier it was to remove the poison spell from his mind. Soon, he was completely free of its effects. Sulrad was heartened; he knew he could win. He bucked hard in an attempt to dislodge Theria from his chest.

She loosened her grip and Sulrad rolled away from her. She slashed at him as he bucked, trying to dislodge her. The effect of the poison was fading, but he was far from his normal self. She sliced him on the arm, opening a slash that spattered blood across the room.

He cradled his arm and rolled behind the table, knocking it over, trying to put something between himself and Theria. She hit the table with a thud and it rocked over, landing on top of him.

Theria reached around the table, slashing wildly. She caught him in the leg this time and a burning pain shot through him. Blood trickled from the wound.

He tried to push her off him, but her weight on top of the table was more than he could lift. She slashed again and again, each time striking a little deeper in his flesh. He tried to recall a spell of binding to use on her, but his memory failed him.

He pushed on the table once more, trying to dislodge her. He saw her foot hit a pool of his blood and slide from beneath her.

The pressure on the table lessened and he pushed it off. Theria sat stunned on the floor, knife in hand. He lunged at her, grabbing for the hand that held the knife. He missed it and she thrust the knife into his arm, once more searing his flesh.

Pinning her to the floor, he dropped his knee on her arm. He outweighed her, but not by much. Strength was his only advantage now. He reached for the knife, prying it from her fingers. He slashed his own hand in the attempt, but he managed to force the knife away from her.

He brought the knife to her throat. Breathing hard, he looked her in the eye. "I don't think you a fool. But I do need your magic."

Sulrad sliced through her throat and spoke the words of the spell that would take her magic. Her power rose out of her, wrapped around him and slowly sank in. He fell to the floor as she turned to a shower of sparks and vanished.

He quickly performed a spell of healing to staunch the flow of blood from his wounds. He didn't want to heal himself completely, or else taking her magic would have availed him nothing. He needed her power to travel to the vault and return again. He could not waste it on himself, no matter the pain.

Sulrad stayed at Theria's house so the King's Guards would not find him while he nursed his wounds. He felt the power of Theria inside him and was constantly tempted to use it to heal himself. Only the knowledge that her magic was going to get him into the treasury kept him from squandering it on his own healing.

As he lay abed, he visualized the treasury as he had glimpsed it that day. The shelves of precious jewels and gems lay before him, but always forefront was the amulet on its chain. He imagined how it would feel in his hand. In his mind, he lifted it, judging the weight of it.

Over the next several days, his strength returned. He was far from healed, and would have waited longer if not for a dark feeling that came over him. Something had happened that would work against him. He tried to ignore it, but the overwhelming sense of dread grew until it was intolerable. He had to act.

He focused on the treasury. This time, he let his body follow his mind. He visualized himself in the room, standing next to the amulet where it sat on display for those few who were privileged enough to enter.

It was dark. In his mind, it had always been light. He reached out his hand. "Incendo ignio." The vault was lit from above just as it was in his many imaginings.

He touched the amulet and felt the power in it come alive. He had not expected that. He presumed it would be dead, no different from any other relic. He lifted it from its display, feeling the weight of it. It was heavier than he'd imagined it.