The Archmage unbound

Chapter 46

Now that I was of a more modest size the damage done to the palace was much more apparent. Large swaths of the complex had been utterly ruined. Rubble and wreckage were strewn about willy-nilly… as if two titans had run amok with giant hammers. The destruction was far from complete however, for at least three quarters of the place remained utterly untouched.

In places I found perfectly sound areas bordered by sections where even the stones had been crushed into gravel. If I hadn’t known the cause I might have thought some bizarre earthquake followed by a tornado had done the damage, but even that explanation wouldn’t have been sufficient.

As I walked (and sometimes picked my way through) the palace, I searched with my mind for my companions. Scanning the undamaged areas I found Rose and Elaine had been laid side by side on a bed in one of the guest suites. Frighteningly a section less than twenty yards from them had been crushed and it appeared that mere chance had saved the two unconscious women.

Dorian still lay where I had last seen him, in the now collapsed main throne room. He was partly buried under stone and rubble but I could tell he was still breathing so I decided to check on the two ladies first. The last time I had seen Rose she had been bleeding profusely from some sort of wound. I found no sign of Penny.

Moira, where is Penny? I asked mentally as I headed for the room where Rose and Elaine lay.

She is with me. Fear not, she is safe, came the reply.

Bring her to me, I commanded.

Moira’s answer had a strange feel to it when she responded, as though strong emotions were overwhelming her thoughts. Not yet, we are… talking. I will bring her back when she is ready.

That was interesting, and it did little to relieve my anxiety. Pressing onward I found the room that Rose was in, I needed to make sure she wasn’t dying before I addressed anything else. I found her lying on a large bed where it appeared she had been hastily dumped. Her arms and legs were askew and by their unnatural positions I didn’t think she had moved at all since Cyhan had presumably left her there. That didn’t bode well, normally even unconscious people move a bit.

Elaine was curled up at the foot of the bed and a cursory examination showed she had nothing more wrong with her than a large goose egg on the back of her head, along with an assortment of scratches. I passed over her immediately and set my hand over Rose’s forehead.

Her skin was cold but not clammy for she wasn’t sweating, in fact if felt remarkably similar to what I would have expected from a corpse but I could tell her heart was still beating. Her gown had been ripped and a large wadded up ball of the fabric had been tied against her abdomen. Even so blood had seeped through the material and the bed beneath her was soaked with it. Shit! I thought and immediately I focused my senses on her wound.

She had been stabbed and likely with a very sharp blade, for her assailant had ripped the blade out with a slashing motion rather than simply withdrawing it. Cyhan had probably had to tuck her innards back in before binding her wound. I had no more time for thought, forgetting my weariness I began sealing arteries and torn vessels, knitting everything back together as quickly as possible before she could lose any more blood.

Unlike the terrible wound Penny had suffered once this one was much simpler and I was able to effectively repair the injuries without trying to work from the inside as I had done before. The biggest problem was loss of blood; she had lost so much of it that I feared her body might shut down from that simple lack. Her heart was beating at an incredible rate trying to make up for the paucity of blood.

I glanced down at the brilliant golden stone I held in my hand and wished I could heal the way the gods were able to. I had seen them heal far worse and yet I struggled with something as simple as a mere shortage of blood. In desperation I briefly considered connecting her blood vessels with those of the girl next to her and trying to share some of Elaine’s blood between them.

More likely you’ll kill both of them, I chided myself. I didn’t know enough to try something like that. Instead I found a pitcher of clean water and used my magic to coerce it through the air and then slip it through her mouth and down her throat. I filled her stomach halfway and stopped, and then I stood back and wiped my forehead. I could only hope that it would help.

A wave of fatigue washed over me and I knew I couldn’t keep going for much longer. I needed rest like a starving man needs food. I ignored the impulse to lie down on the floor and instead I moved Elaine close beside Rose, arranging her so that she might help keep the other woman warm and then I wrapped them both gently in the large comforter that lay underneath them.

Closing my eyes I fought the urge to sleep and sent my mind outward again. Briefly I checked on Dorian… he was still breathing steadily and his heartbeat was strong so I moved on. Searching the grounds I finally found the man I was searching for, Edward, King of Lothion. Soon to be the late-King, I added mentally.

He had had plenty of time to escape, but for the stone column that had fallen and pinned him beneath a pile of rubble. Moving steadily through the palace and across torn gardens I drew closer and I could tell that his left leg had been crushed. I had trouble imagining a better man to suffer such misfortune. As I neared him I felt Cyhan approaching from a different direction and I paused to wait for his arrival.

He saw me standing amid the rubble and changed direction to meet me. I called out to him when he was close, “Thank you.”

Cyhan frowned, “What’s that for?”

“You freed Penny and Dorian didn’t you? I’m fairly certain Edward wouldn’t have had him locked up with his armor and weapons,” I said as if it were a matter of plain fact. “I also appreciate your help getting Rose and the girl out of there,” I added.

The older warrior’s eyes appraised me silently but he only grunted and gave a small nod. “Have you found the King?” he asked, ignoring my gratitude.

“He’s close by,” I said guardedly. I still had doubts regarding Cyhan’s motivations. “First I’d like to know where you and I stand.”

A ripple went through the big man’s shoulders as his muscles twitched. “Twenty years ago I gave my oaths to the king and I have not yet broken them. So long as that remains true the only thing that can change between us is either your death or my own.”

I felt a surge of anger at the other man’s irrational behavior. Clinging to his outdated vows he wouldn’t be satisfied till one of us was dead, even though he obviously no longer believed in the reasons behind those vows. “Why don’t we just settle things now then,” I ground out. “I’m sick of waiting for you to try and kill me.”

Cyhan glanced at me and then looked away, scanning the area for some sign of Edward. “I’m not a fool, nor do I plan to issue a challenge and face you in some knightly bout. My only chance of killing you will be when you are either unconscious or badly wounded. Pray I do not find you so. Where is the King?”

“What’s to stop me from just killing you now then?” I said bitterly.

The large man spun around and glared at me as if I had just caught fire. His eyes were lit with fury. “You should have done that long before now!” he almost shouted, spitting the words from his mouth as if they had left a bad taste there. “Since you won’t, why don’t you tell me where my King is.”

I fought down the impulse to give the other man what he so obviously desired… a quick death. Taking a deep breath I answered him, “I want to talk to him first. You can see him after that.”

“Then hurry, I grow impatient,” Cyhan replied.

I bit my tongue rather than reply and began walking to the north. Crossing a ruined garden and stepping over a fallen wall I found the large stone pillar that had fallen upon the king of Lothion. Edward was lying quietly near the base, wedged between the stone column and a heavy bench that had kept the massive weight from completely crushing his lower body. He was losing blood slowly for the heavy weight had effectively compressed his torn blood vessels. It would take him hours to die, unless he was healed.

Watching me approach he gave me a pained smile. “Count di’Cameron, it is a pleasure to see you again. Have you come to finish your business or just gloat over an old man?”

I had no intention of healing him. After a long pause I spoke, “Time will finish our business. I merely wanted to ask your advice regarding the succession.”

“A cruel reply, Mordecai, you would let me bleed to death while in considerable pain. Why should I give you advice? The world is done with me.” There was a tone of resignation in his voice.

Leaning down I touched his throat and uttered a few words quietly. Standing straight again I disguised myself as the King and answered him in his own voice, “If you care about Lothion you should want her ruler to act wisely.”

His eyes went wide and anger grew in his features. “It appears you have no need of my advice if you simply intend to usurp my place,” he said acrimoniously.

I resumed my normal features and voice. “This kingdom will go on without you Edward, and someday they will remember you as a wise ruler. Your life is ebbing away as we speak and I will not heal you. Given the choice you should do what you can to prevent a civil war… if you love your people at all.”

“I badly underestimated you, young Illeniel, but I do not care one whit for those I leave behind. I will help you only on one condition… that you give me a swift end afterwards,” he responded with pain in his voice.

“That I will not do, but your servant is close at hand. If you advise me well I will let him see you and perhaps he will grant your wish,” I answered.

“Very well,” he replied, “What would you know?”

“Who is next in line for the throne?”

A choked laugh escaped the dying monarch, “You really didn’t prepare for this did you? You should have known that already. My second cousin, Brian Southwell, the Earl of the Eastern March is next in line since I have no surviving children of my own.”

“I had not planned to kill you until a few days ago Edward. This is your own doing,” I said. I was surprised that such a minor noble was his heir. I had thought one of the members of the greater families, such as Tremont or Lancaster would have been more closely related. I learned later that the royal family had avoided matches with the more powerful noble houses to avoid giving them more influence. “I’m afraid that the Earl simply won’t do,” I added.

Edward smiled wickedly, “Then you must kill him and dozens of others besides him if you wish to clear your path to the throne.”

I stared down at him without compassion. “I do not intend to take the throne; I will install James Lancaster in your place.”

“His claim is little better than your own. If you want him as king you will have to issue a royal decree naming him as my heir and simultaneously declaiming the rights of more than a dozen men that would come before him. You would then have to have me die, or rather give the appearance I had died recently if you are still deceiving people with my likeness.” He paused for a moment as a sharp pain stole his breath away. “Once you have my doppelganger die, the noble houses will revolt and it will take a bloody war to enforce your decree making James king.”

“What if you abdicate?” I suggested. “I could have you retire due to declining health and advise the new king from your sickbed. After a year or two you could pass away quietly in your sleep.”

Edward’s face grew thoughtful. “That might work, though I doubt I would ever have thought of it. Such a peaceful solution makes me wonder whether you have the mettle to rule at all. I think I agree with you, James is a better choice. You are too soft to govern.”

“You’ve earned your reward,” I said suddenly, not bothering to acknowledge his backhanded insult. Turning away I walked back toward where Cyhan stood and beckoned for him to approach. As he passed me I warned him, “He will not leave this place alive.”

Cyhan paused and then responded, “I cannot allow you to harm him.” He had misunderstood the meaning of my words.

I simply shook my head, “You’ll understand when you see him.”

The veteran moved past me and found his king lying where I had left him. I gave him plenty of space but I stayed close enough to hear their words.

“You again,” said Edward as he registered Cyhan’s face.

“Your Majesty,” answered Cyhan kneeling and bowing his head.

“Ever the faithful lapdog aren’t you?” said the King, insulting his guardian even as his own face twisted with pain. “Do me one last service and finish me,” he said after a moment.

The man who had spent his life training Anath’Meridum and then royal guardsmen and assassins answered in a voice that could have been cut from solid granite, “I am sworn to preserve your life sire. I cannot do that.”

Edward’s face clouded with anger, “You are sworn to obey me! Do as your king commands!”

Cyhan’s voice remained neutral, “My oath to protect your person supersedes my oath of obedience your Majesty.”

The King’s voice grew desperate for his pain was unbearable. “Cyhan, please, do not leave me like this? Cut me loose from this agony! I would be done with the world.”

The warrior’s face remained still but his tone became sympathetic, “Release me from my oaths your Majesty.”

“Just kill me damnitt!”

“I cannot. Dissolve my oaths your Majesty… release me,” Cyhan replied softly.

“Very well, I absolve you of your duties and release you from your oaths. Now please, for the love of whatever gods are left, stop this pain!” cried the dying king.

Cyhan laughed and stood looking down on the man he had served for so long. “I would sooner give mercy to a dog,” he said with disdain, and then he spat upon his former master. “You are not worth the effort to lift my sword and cut out your black heart.” Bringing his foot down the big man stepped on the King’s hand and ground the bones into the hard earth until the older man began screaming.

Sickened, I wanted to look away but I forced myself to watch.

The large warrior left him then and marched toward me, ignoring Edward’s pitiful cries. “Let’s get some air,” he said as he drew near. “Listening to him disgusts me.”

I followed him a good hundred yards until we could no longer hear the sounds of the King’s suffering and then he turned back toward me and drew his sword. I drew back reflexively and readied my shield. I hadn’t expected him to attack me after everything that had occurred, but I supposed that recent events might have unhinged his mind. I was utterly surprised and confused when instead of attacking the massive warrior instead went down on one knee and held up his sword, hilt first.

“I have spent my life serving a worthless master and bound by vows that I believed were worthwhile. Now I am free and I find that my life has been wasted,” he said in a voice that was filled with emotion. This was a side of Cyhan I had never seen, or even suspected. As I looked down on his face I saw there were tears welling in his eyes. “I have watched you Mordecai Illeniel and I know your heart. I cannot live as other men do for I have been bound by honor and vows my entire life. If you will have me, I will serve you for whatever remains of my life, in the hope that I can atone for the wrongs I have been forced to witness and commit.”

A sadness and deep melancholy came over me as I looked on this man who even now could not live free. “I do not want your service Cyhan. You deserve to live your own life.”

“You will have it or I will die here. I will not live otherwise,” he answered determinedly.

“Very well,” I said at last. Taking his sword I thrust it into the ground and placed his hands over the hilt before covering them with my own. Looking into his eyes I spoke, “I Mordecai Illeniel do take you into my service. Will you swear to serve and protect me as your solemn duty?”

“I will.”

“I would have you take service as one of the Knights of the Stone, an order sworn to protect the people and serve the greater good. Will you accept a place among them?” I asked formally.

“I will if you so wish,” he replied.

“I do,” I answered. “I have one last oath I would have from you before I will accept you fully.”

“I am willing,” he responded.

“Will you swear to listen to your own conscience? Should fate and events conspire to such an extent that your past vows no longer make sense in the face of the present, I would have you swear to act according to your best judgment, rather than blindly follow your oaths.”

He paused for a moment before replying, “I will gladly swear it.”

“As your lord I have certain duties and responsibilities on your behalf and I shall endeavor to remain worthy of your service. We will hold your knighting in a few weeks once Sir Dorian is well enough to attend,” I told him. “Now get up, I get uncomfortable when people kneel for too long,” I added with a smile.

Cyhan stood and sheathed his sword. “If you don’t mind I’d like to wait here until it’s over.” Although he didn’t elaborate I knew he meant Edward’s dying.

I nodded. “Meet me at my house in the city when it is done,” I said and then I left him there. I wanted to check on Rose and then I needed to find Penny.