Veilspeaker (Pharim War Book 2) Page 5

  The guard pulled back as if he’d touched a flame. His gaze was locked on the sheet of paper with wide eyes. The other took a step back and didn’t seem to realize it until he backed up against the wall.

  “Just let me in,” Jez said. “You can watch me leave it.”

  The guards exchanged glances. One gave a slight nod and the other pushed open the door. Varin’s sitting room was even bigger than Jez’s. It looked like it could hold a hundred people. A long table sat in the middle of the room with a dozen chairs on each side. A massive window was covered by velvet curtains, and a map of Ashtar hung from one wall. Jez’s eyes instinctively sought out the Barony of Korand and his own hometown of Randak. A massive picture of Lord Varin himself stared down at Jez as he walked in. Jez extended his senses, trying to find any signs of a ward, but there was nothing.

  “Do you sense anything?”

  “I think so,” Sharim said. “There’s something hidden by an illusion. Give me a second and I can take it down.” Suddenly, he spun and stared into a corner.

  “What is it?” Jez asked.

  “Sorry, I thought there was someone there. It’s nothing. Give me a second.”

  Jez walked to the table slowly and placed the paper on it. There was nothing written on it, and Varin would probably be upset when he found out Jez had been in his quarters, but as low as Jez’s status already was at court, he doubted anything worse could happen. He felt a hum in the air and glanced at Sharim. The other boy had his eyes closed and was saying something under his breath.

  “Well?” the guard said from the doorway.

  “We’re coming,” Jez said, but he didn’t move.

  Sharim let out a breath, and Jez’s sense of protection magic flared to life. There was powerful ward in this room, one of a complexity he could scarcely imagine. A circle of yellow light came into being and runes appeared in the air. They only lasted a second before fading. The guards said something, but Jez wasn’t listening. He grabbed Sharim by the wrist and tugged him out of the room. They had left the hall and were nearing Jez’s room before Sharim managed to pull his arm free.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Didn’t you see the runes in the air?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t recognize them.”

  “I did,” Jez said. “They were the same kind Dusan used when he was trying to summon a nightmare demon.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Jez spent a few minutes telling Osmund what had happened. The other boy was doing much better, and the healers said his strength should return by morning. He was still having trouble staying awake, but he made Jez promise to be careful before leaving. As soon as he stood to leave, Paleel went to Osmund’s side to see if he needed anything. Jez nodded to her and walked out. Villia was waiting for him when he came out of the sick chambers.

  “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”

  Jez looked over his shoulder at the door to the sick chambers. He turned back to Villia and cocked his head.

  “Talking to Osmund? He’s not contagious or anything.”

  Villia narrowed her eyes. “That stunt you pulled in Lord Varin’s room.”

  “He didn’t see us.”

  “No, but his guards did. More than that, by leaving a blank paper, you ensured he would come looking for me wanting to know what it was about.”

  “Did he?”

  “Yes. He was quite angry I had sent you into his rooms.”

  Jez tried to force down the lump that had formed in his throat. “I guess we didn’t think that all the way through.”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “I told him it was a test for my apprentice and apologized for not letting him know ahead of time.”

  “He believed that?”

  Villia shrugged. “Probably not, but he won’t call me a liar to my face. My position is too secure. Now, tell me what you saw.”

  Jez turned away. “Nothing.”

  “Don’t give me that, boy.” Villia’s voice came from everywhere at once, and it echoed in the long corridor. Even an empty suit of armor seemed to be speaking. Jez jumped and looked back at her. “Sharim told me about the circle, but he didn’t know what he was looking at. He said you mentioned Dusan.”

  Jez hesitated for a second before nodding. “I saw some of the same symbols Dusan used.”

  “Then you did see his lair before the king’s mages got to it?”

  “Yes.”

  “What was he doing?”

  Jez looked around. Villia pursed her lips but nodded after a few seconds. She motioned for him to follow, and they went to her workshop. She waved a hand, and when she spoke, her voice came out sounding flat. The sounds drifting in from outside became a muted buzz.

  “I’m shielding us from sound. Even if anyone would dare to try to listen in, they wouldn’t be able to hear us. Now, tell me about Dusan.”

  Jez nodded and briefly related how Dusan had eventually summoned the demon lord Marrowit, only to have it destroy him. Jez had followed the demon into the dream world and defeated it in its place of power and thus utterly destroying it. The only thing he left out was the truth about his own past, letting Villia believe he was a limaph.

  “The runes that appeared in the air in Varin’s quarters,” Jez said. “They were the same ones Dusan used.”

  “You think he’s trying to summon this Marrowit?”

  “Maybe. He would have no way of knowing Marrowit was destroyed.”

  Villia looked at him for several seconds before nodding. “All right. I believe you. We’ll need to gather proof before we can move against Varin, though.”

  “What do you mean proof? There’s proof in his quarters.”

  Villia shook her head. “And I can take the king to see that, but Varin is still an influential noble, who is extremely skilled at the politics of the court. He’ll likely have plans in place in case he’s discovered. He may even be implementing them now, with the stunt you pulled.”

  Before Jez could say anything, a boy wearing purple livery burst into the room. His face was flushed, and he was sweating from the effort of running up the stairs.

  “Mage Villia. Murder. The king. Immediately.”

  He spoke between breaths and leaned heavily on Villia’s table. Villia and Jez exchanged glances. Villia walked to the boy and gripped his shoulders.

  “Calm down. Say it again, but this time slowly.”

  The boy nodded and took a minute to catch his breath. “Mage Villia, the king requires your presence immediately. There’s been a murder.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Jez stayed by Villia’s side as she pushed past the guards in the north wing of the keep. They turned down the hall leading to Lord Varin’s chambers, and Jez stopped in his tracks. The coppery scent of blood filled the air, and he almost gagged. Two still forms sprawled across the floor. The first was a bearded man with a black eye and a crooked nose. Jez recognized him as one of Lina’s bodyguards. The second dead man was Sileon.

  Each body had a slash across its stomach. Jez started to examine them, but his stomach churned as his lunch threatened to come up. He turned away for a few seconds. When he looked again, he focused on their faces. They were pale in death. The guard’s mouth was open, and his eyes were wide. He’d had green eyes. Jez didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone with green eyes. He thought about that for several seconds before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. This was no time to lose his wits. He examined the other corpse. Sileon looked like he was trying to scream. His eyes were closed and his arms were outstretched as if trying to push someone away. The one commonality was that their expressions were frozen in terror.

  “What happened?” Villia asked.

  For the first time, Jez realized there were others in the area. Three guards stood near the bodies. The king was a little ways away flanked by two others. Lina stood next to her father. Her face looked a little green, but she didn’t turn away.

  “Lord Varin sent me to
summon Lady Lina,” one of the guards said. “When I returned with her, we saw...” His face drained of color, and he reached up and tugged his collar. “They were already dead.”

  Lina looked up and her eyes locked on Jez. She pointed at him and screamed. Jez could almost hear the hatred in her cry.

  “It was him! He accused Brallion of attacking his beast, and he was upset that my father hired away Sir Sileon.”

  “What?” Jez said. He glanced at Villia and she put a hand on his shoulder.

  “It wasn’t,” she said.

  “Are you sure?” Haziel asked as his eyes flickered to the sword Jez wore at his hip. “Lady Lina makes a good point, and we’ve already seen his ability against armored men.”

  Villia inclined her head. “That may be, Your Majesty, but the boy has been with me for the past half hour, and these men haven’t been dead nearly that long.” She looked from Lina to Jez and frowned. “I don’t think they should be here, though. This isn’t a sight for young eyes.”

  Varin started to protest but stopped when he saw the king nodding. His face reddened slightly, but Jez didn’t think anyone but him had seen.

  “Take my daughter back to her room,” he said to Lina’s guard.

  The lean woman nodded and took Lina by the hand and led her away. Lina gave Jez a hard look, but other than that, she seemed listless, almost as if she were in a trance. One of the king’s men motioned for Jez to follow, and Jez fell into step behind him, and they walked away from the hall Lina had gone down. Just before they turned a corner, Jez took one last look over his shoulder. Villia was speaking to the king, and she kept glancing at the bodies. Jez started to turn away when he caught a faint hint of sulfur in the air. He gasped and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He took a deep breath, hoping he’d been wrong, but the smell was there, not quite hidden by the scent of blood. These men had been killed by a demon.

  CHAPTER 16

  Jez practically ran to the sick chambers. One of the healers was leaving as he approached, and she scowled at him. It was an older woman, the one who was the head of the sick chambers. Her silver hair was tied in a bun, and she wore the yellow robe of someone who had been trained at the Academy.

  “I suppose he’s with you,” Mage Rana said.

  Jez stared at her. “What?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Your bodyguard.”

  “Osmund? Isn’t he here?” His eyes sought out the bed Osmund had been in last time, but it was empty, the blanket having been thrown off.

  “No. He kept insisting he didn’t need to be in bed. As soon as I turned my back, he was gone. He hasn’t been gone half an hour.”

  “Where did he go?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t the slightest idea.”

  He nodded, trying not to look too worried. He started walking out of the sick chambers. Rana called out to him, but he ignored her. Osmund would’ve probably tried to get to Jez’s quarters. He couldn’t have had worse timing. Jez had an alibi during the murders, but if Osmund didn’t have that same protection, it was only a matter of time before he was accused too. Jez doubted Villia would be able to help him then. That was assuming the demons hadn’t attacked Osmund already.

  He was only halfway to his quarters when he found Osmund leaning against a wall breathing heavily. His eyes were sunken and looked a little red. He still wore the sick robes, and when he saw Jez, he gave him a weak smile.

  “Maybe I should’ve listened to the healers.” Jez grunted and Osmund raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”

  Jez lowered his voice. As quickly as possible, he told Osmund about the murders and how Lina had accused him. Osmund nodded. He scanned the hall as if looking for guards. A young man and woman of the nobility came around the corner, arm in arm. Jez didn’t recognize them, but when they saw Jez and Osmund, the lady whispered to her companion, and the pair turned to go, leaving Jez and Osmund alone.

  “What do we do now?”

  “You should find somewhere to hide. It has to be Varin summoning the demons, and he doesn’t like you very much. Once I tell Villia what I detected, she’ll have to convince the king to move against him. There’s no way Varin will get out of this one. I’ll come find you once this is all taken care of.

  Osmund nodded. “Be careful. Last time you thought you had an advantage over Varin, it didn’t turn out well.”

  “Last time, he wasn’t summoning demons. Do you need help finding a place to hide?”

  Osmund forced himself to stand up straight. “I’ll manage.”

  Jez nodded, but helped Osmund down the hall. They found an empty room and he left Osmund there to rest. He went back to Villia’s workshop to wait for her. She didn’t take long to arrive and seemed surprised to see him.

  “I didn’t expect you so soon.”

  “What did you find?”

  Her eyes hardened. “I may respect you, limaph, but do not presume to make demands of me. You’re in enough trouble as it is.”

  “Those men were killed by demons,” Jez said through clenched teeth. “Tell me what you learned.”

  “How...” she looked Jez in the eye. “Oh, I see.” She sat at her table and Jez took a seat across from her. Absently, she fingered the crystal Sharim had used in his attempt at scrying. “I didn’t learn much. They were killed quickly, too quickly to cry out. The cuts came from a sword, or at least from something as sharp. It wasn’t the stomach wounds that killed them, though, at least not directly. They just served as a conduit to their bodies. They were cooked from the inside out. I told the king they were killed by an expert in ember magic. Are you sure it was a demon?” Jez nodded. “Do you know what kind?”

  Jez searched his mind, looking for some the knowledge he’d been able to access during the ordeal with Marrowit, but Sariel had bound those memories away, leaving him with only mundane knowledge. He’d done research into demons in his study of how to bind the creatures, but even that was limited to lower level demons whose knowledge wasn’t considered too dangerous by Master Besis. He shook his head.

  “Not exactly. I mean there aren’t many demons that can kill and not have it obvious it was a demon who did it. Most don’t use swords, but a couple have claws that can make wounds that look like swords. Almost all of them can use at least some level of ember magic. I just don’t have enough information.”

  Villia nodded. “Can you find them?”

  Jez shook his head. “I’ve been learning how to bind them, not how to track them. Can’t you use divination?”

  “No. Divination touches on another world. That’s not exactly right. It’s difficult to explain. It’s not really a world.”

  “Between,” Jez said before he could stop himself.

  Villia’s eyes widened slightly, but she nodded. “Yes.” Her voice cracked on the word, and she cleared her throat. “That’s as good a name as any. Where did you hear it?”

  Jez waved off the question. “What does that have to do with divination?”

  She narrowed her eyes but continued. “Rumar seems to be cut off from this...Between. No magic that touches it is functioning. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  A chill ran down Jez’s back. “I have. Dusan could do it.”

  Villia raised an eyebrow. “Could he? That’s not a small working.”

  “Varin has been after me to give him specifics of what Dusan was doing. First the circle in his room and now this? He’s trying to do the same thing. Marrowit is destroyed, but that’s not stopping him from summoning other demons.”

  “I need more time.”

  Jez shook his head. “Dusan could’ve destroyed the kingdom, if not the world. There’s no time for subtlety. We have to move against Varin now.”

  Villia pursed her lips but nodded. She looked up, and the stars in the ceiling began to dance. “You’re right. By the seven, you’re right. I hate moving so openly, but if Varin is summoning demons into the keep, we don’t have much of a choice.”

  “So what do we do now?” Jez a
sked.

  “Let’s go speak to the king.”

  CHAPTER 17

  As soon as they stepped out of the tower, they were surrounded by guards, all with swords bared. On instinct, Jez reached for his power. The three swords closest to him clattered to the ground, but in the next instant, he felt a point pressed against his throat. He froze. It might have been his imagination, but he thought he felt a trickle of blood running down his neck.

  “We were warned about your ability,” the guard holding the weapon said. He had a gold sun pinned to his chest, an indication of his rank as captain. “Lord Varin instructed us to avoid hurting you if possible but to take no chances.”

  “What is the meaning of this?” Villia asked. None of the guards were holding weapons at her, and a few backed up at the tone in her voice.

  “Forgive the inconvenience, Mage Villia. By your own admission, the men who were killed died by ember magic. His bodyguard is a known battlemage. One who specialized in ember magic. He is one of the few who would have the power to do that, and he’s missing.” The guard glared at Jez. “He had reason to hate Lord Varin.”

  “Even if that were true,” Villia said, “and I don’t believe for a second that it is, why would you come after Baron Jezreel?”

  “Lord Varin expressed concern that it was done on the Baron’s orders.”

  “That is utterly ridiculous.”

  “We are here on Lord Varin’s orders to take him into custody.”

  “Well, I am giving you new orders. Put down your weapons.”

  The guards exchanged glances. The pressure of the sword at Jez’s throat lessened slightly, but the guard didn’t lower it. Jez looked down without moving his head. He glanced at Villia and took a step back. The guard didn’t follow. After another second, he lowered his weapon. Jez touched his neck looking for blood, but his fingers came away dry.

  “You will convey us to the king.” Once again, Villia’s voice took on that strange resonance that made it seem like it was coming from everywhere at once.