Darkmask (Pharim War Book 5) Read online

  “Jez, what is it?” Lina asked.

  “I didn’t even realize it. I used to come here so often when I was a child that I walked in without thinking.” He took a drink of spiced wine to return moisture to his mouth.

  “I don’t understand. Where are we?”

  Jez was too caught up in his emotions to trust himself to speak. He motioned for Osmund to tell her, and the other boy nodded.

  “This is where Jez’s father died.”

  Lina paled. “Oh.”

  “We can go somewhere else, Jez,” Osmund said.

  Jez took a couple of deep breaths and shook his head. “No, we don’t need to do that.”

  His voice cracked as he spoke. Lina touched his hand for a second and smiled but didn’t say anything. Jez retrieved his spoon from the ground. A quick application of aqua magic pulled water out of the air and cleaned it. They ate in silence for several minutes before Osmund spoke up.

  “Are you going to go to your house?”

  “It was my father’s house,” Jez said.

  Osmund rolled his eyes. “The manor was Dusan’s. The house was your father’s. Don’t you have anything of your own?”

  Jez channeled a stream of aqua magic into his stew, causing it to swirl for a few seconds before he looked up. “The Academy.”

  Lina met his eyes. “Jez...”

  “Jez?” a deep voice said from behind “Jezreel? Is that you?”

  Jez looked over his shoulder to see the portly innkeeper. He had put on a little weight, and his hair was grayer, but it was Clont. The man’s eyes went wide when he saw Jez’s face, and he bowed deeply.

  “Forgive me, Jez. Baron, I mean. I didn’t mean to presume. If I had known it was you, I would’ve served you myself and given you only the best. Me and my inn are at your service.” He turned to the serving girl. “Get the baron a fresh bowl. Only the best, mind you. I don’t want you scraping the bottom of the pot.” His eyes wandered down to the spoonful Jez had spilled. “And clean up this mess. You’ll have to forgive her, Baron. She’s new. Say the word, and I’ll let her go.”

  Jez shook his head quickly. “No, please don’t do that. She’s fine. I’m the one who dropped the food.”

  Clont sputtered. “Oh no. Was there something wrong with it? Tell me what it is, and I’ll fix it. I can send someone down to the docks to buy a fresh fish. I can have a new batch ready before you know it.”

  By now, everyone in the common room was staring at him. Clont hadn’t exactly been quiet, and Jez heard his name whispered through the crowd. Some people looked at him with awe while others were obviously afraid. He heard Dusan’s name more than once. He shook his head and tried to think of a way to avoid making the situation any worse.

  “No, the food was fine. Everything was fine. I was just distracted.” He stood up and placed a heavy gold coin on the table. It had to be at least three times what their food was worth, but he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. “We were just leaving.”

  “Oh, there’s no need to pay, sir. Your honored presence is more than enough.”

  “My honored presence doesn’t put food on the table,” Jez said, leaving the coin. He looked at the spilled food. “In fact, it takes it off of it.”

  Clont kept trying to object, but Jez and his friends walked out. Somehow, news of him had already spread because now everyone was staring at them. Jez pulled his friends into a dark alleyway. People stared after him, but no one followed.

  “You see? This is why I’ve spent the last couple of years at the Academy.” He waved his arms to encompass the entire city. “None of this is home. It hasn’t been for a long time.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”

  The deep booming voice came from the entrance of the alley. The bear of a man stood over six feet tall and had arms that looked strong enough to crush stone. He wore scarlet robes that reflected light when he moved so that it almost looked like he was on fire. His hands had the callouses that only came from years of working with the sword, though this man was deadly with either steel or magic. The face, normally displaying the kindness that only those who had mastered their fear could manage, showed deep lines of worry, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

  “Master Fina,” Jez said. “I didn’t expect to see you here. You don’t look so good. Is everything all right?”

  Fina, the destruction master of the Carceri Academy, shook his head slowly. “Would that it was, Jezreel. I took a fast horse to get here as soon as possible.” He grimaced. “I hate riding, but you needed to be informed. We think we’ve found Sharim.”

  Jez’s muscles tensed, and Osmund gasped and grabbed his arm. Master Fina raised an eyebrow. Jez looked down and realized he had summoned his crystal sword. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and dismissed the weapon before addressing the destruction master.

  “You have? Where is he?”

  “Somewhere in the northern wastes.”

  Jez stared at him for a second. “But there’s nothing in the northern wastes.”

  “Precisely. Can you think of a better place to hide?”

  “But that’s not a reason at all. You could just as easily say he’s out to sea or in some hidden valley.”

  Fina looked around and stepped in close to Jez. “There are other reasons, but none that should be spoken of unless we’re away from prying ears.”

  Jez looked around, half expecting to find demons hiding in the shadows, but it didn’t take him long to realize he was being foolish. Townspeople would talk, and once they did, it would only be a matter of time before Sharim heard. He nodded, and they started walking toward the manor. By now, everyone had realized he was in Randak, and he itched under the constant weight of the people’s gaze. Walking with a master mage certainly didn’t help matters, and Jez found himself regretting his decision to leave the carriage behind.

  “How did you find me?” Jez asked.

  “I didn’t.” Fina pointed to Osmund. “I found him.”

  “Me? How?”

  “I’ve spent years training you. I know your magic almost as well as I know my own. Once I got into the city, it was a simple matter to locate you.”

  “What is that?” Jez asked. “Some kind of divination?”

  Fina inclined his head. “I have a little skill at knowledge.”

  “That might be useful. Can you teach it to me?”

  “If you wish. I’ll do it when we’re on the march.”

  “On the march?” Jez asked.

  Fina inclined his head and refused to say anything more. They walked for nearly an hour. The sun was setting, but with the air thick with humidity, the temperature hadn’t noticeably fallen. On top of that, Jez had to endure the constant stares and whispers. By the time they came to the manor, they were all sweaty and irritable. Jez thought he was getting a blister on his left heel. The servants let them in and immediately ran to get some chilled fruit while Jez and his companions sat at a round redwood table in one of the small dining rooms. As soon as the servants had left, Jez motioned to Lina. She closed her eyes for a second and power welled inside of her. She nodded, indicating that she had raised a working to hide their conversation from prying ears. Jez gestured to Fina. The destruction master chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

  “You’ve grown used to command, I see.”

  Jez’s face flushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “Pay it no mind. We’re not at the Academy, and you are not my student. Linala has detected a weakening in the barrier between worlds.”

  Instantly, Jez was on his feet. “Is the Academy safe? The rooms beneath the spire?”

  Fina waved off his concern. “It’s fine. It’s not centered on the Academy. It’s in the wastes.”

  Jez settled back into his chair. “You think Sharim is trying to summon another demon army.”

  The door opened silently and a servant stepped inside, bearing a tray with four silver goblets on it. His movements were completely quiet until he passed through
the border of Lina’s working. He paused and looked back.

  “Well that’s odd,” he said, almost too quietly to hear.

  He shrugged and laid the platter before Jez. Each of the cups held a red liquid, and there was a plate with several pieces of fruit. Jez dismissed the servant and took a sip of one of the cups. It tasted like strawberries, and it was a welcome relief after the heat of the day. The others took drinks as well.

  Fina stared at the door where the servant had departed. His footsteps had vanished as soon as he’d passed through the barrier. “I’ve never been able to manage this working. It’s certainly convenient.” He turned back to Jez. “Yes, that’s our suspicion. We’ve sent a pair of beast mages to fly over the area to see if we can get confirmation. Without a place of power, he can’t bring too many at once, but given time, he could have a force to rival anything we can muster.”

  “The northern wastes are huge, though,” Jez said. “We could have every beast mage there searching and still not find him soon enough to do anything about it.”

  “I know,” Fina said. “That’s why I came here. I want you to try to scry for him.”

  Jez shook his head. “I’ve never really been good with secrets magic. Maybe Lina can.”

  Lina started to nod, but Fina cut her off. “It wouldn’t work. Master Rael has already tried.”

  Jez blinked at him. “If Master Rael couldn’t do it, what makes you think I can?”

  “Because the northern wastes are technically part of Korand.”

  “So?”

  “You were there when King Haziel accessed the royal magic.”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you think he was the only one that could?”

  “Villia said it was the magic of the king.”

  Fina shrugged. “I admit it’s not my area of expertise. Yes, Haziel is uniquely empowered to draw on magic to defend Ashtar, but you don’t need to defend all of Ashtar. You need only to find a threat within the borders of Korand.”

  “Are you saying I can use something like royal magic?”

  “Master Kerag seems to think so. You are the rightful baron of Korand, after all.”

  “Why didn’t Dusan use it?”

  “Are you so sure he didn’t? The working he used to try to summon and bind Marrowit had complexities to it that we still haven’t been able to figure out. This magic may well have been part of it.”

  Jez thought about that for a second before nodding. “I guess there’s nothing to lose by trying. What do we do?”

  Fina pulled a silver bowl out of his pack. It was intricately carved with runes, most of which Jez didn’t recognize. They had been drawn one on top of another, but somehow didn’t interfere with each other. He could only imagine the skill that had gone into creating it. It was of a far better quality than other scrying bowls he’d seen.

  “This will do, provided you don’t have one specifically attuned to Korand.”

  Jez paused. “I’m not sure. What would that look like?”

  Fina waved the bowl in front of him. “Like this, but not so simple. It would have additional runes carved into it according to the flows of power running through the barony.”

  “This is simple?”

  Fina grinned. “You should see Rael’s sometime. Do you have one?”

  “I have no idea. Maybe in Dusan’s quarters.”

  “Haven’t those been pretty thoroughly searched?” Osmund asked.

  Fina nodded. “Linala supervised that herself, but she wouldn’t have taken a scrying bowl. They’re not so unusual as to be remarked.”

  Jez finished off his drink before standing and leading the others to the north wing of the manor. As they walked through the corridors, he noted with satisfaction that some of the more opulent tapestries had been taken down. Only the one bearing the image of Rumar Keep, its stones painted red by the light of the setting sun, remained. He barely paused at it before turning the corner. A thin layer of dust covered the hall outside the old baron’s room. For the most part, the servants had done a good job of keeping the place clean, but by now, everyone knew that Dusan had been involved in dark magic. They stayed away from his old chambers, though someone had carved runes representing the seven pharim high lords on the door, no doubt as a way to ward off evil. Jez wondered if he was supposed to reprimand someone for that, but a part of him wished he had thought of it himself.

  The heavy door creaked as he pulled it open. The dust was even thicker inside. Dusan’s speaking stone, a clear crystal, sat dead in the middle of the room. A wide bed sat against one wall and eye-jarring tapestries hung near it. A part of Jez was surprised that moths or other pests hadn’t gotten in to eat away at the fabric. He supposed even they couldn't stand the sight of Dusan’s tapestries.

  “I should’ve gotten rid of those,” Jez said. Almost immediately, he started coughing.

  Fina summoned a small whirlwind that picked up most of the dust and cast it out a window. Jez nodded his thanks and went to a heavy oaken cabinet at one end of the room. It groaned as Jez pulled it open. For the most part, it was only old clothes, though there were a few pieces of jewelry. Jez shook his head. There was probably more wealth here than most of the people in Randak made in a month. He walked over to one of the tapestries, which displayed a man with a head too big for his body against a background of bright purple. His fingers sent up a small cloud of dust as he ran them along the soft material.

  “I don’t think there’s anything here.” His fingers brushed the wall, and he paused. “Wait.”

  Osmund opened his mouth to speak, but Fina put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Jez nodded and ran his fingers along the wall. The stone felt odd. It tingled against his protection sense, and he sent his power into it. It wasn’t solid. Lines of magic ran through it, preventing detection. They permeated every inch of the stone in a pattern that was almost unimaginably complex, but the working hadn’t been maintained in two years. While they would’ve doubtlessly still been strong when the masters had searched this place, now they were crumbling.

  Jez pulled at a strand of the working, and it snapped, causing the entire ward to collapse. Once it was gone, he could sense the mechanisms built into the stone. There was a rock a few feet to his left that wasn’t real stone. He walked over to it and pushed it in until he heard a clicking sound. A section of wall ten feet wide slid upward, groaning as stone moved against stone. The four of them gaped as shelves lined with books and other materials were revealed behind the false wall. Fina walked over to them and picked up a silver bowl. He waved it before Jez, displaying a complex interweaving of runes that made Fina’s look like a child’s drawing.

  “I guess this answers that question. Shall we begin?”

  CHAPTER 4

  Jez stared at the newly revealed volumes, but Fina had already set the bowl on a small table and was calling for a servant to bring him water.

  “Wait,” Jez said. “What about these?”

  “I’m sure they’re important,” Fina said as he carried the pitcher he’d been given to the bowl and filled it, “but they can wait. If Sharim is on the move, we need to know about it.”

  “But—”

  “Jezreel, we have a veritable army of mages going through the Library of Zandra.”

  “The library was lost thousands of years ago. Anything written after that wouldn’t be in there.”

  “True, but trying to find Sharim will only take a few minutes.” He waved at the books. “Anyone can study them, but not everyone can do this. Please come here.”

  Jez gave the books a longing look before nodding and sitting down across from Master Fina. Lina came to stand at his shoulder.

  “Do you have your keystone?” the master asked.

  Jez nodded and pulled the milky white stone out of his pocket. Normally, these were used to help activate speaking stones. He’d never heard of them being used for any other reason. Lina motioned to the water, and Jez let it hang from its thin golden chain. He dragged the stone along th
e bottom of the saucer.

  “Sharim used a crystal when he was trying to scry,” Jez said.

  Lina nodded. “Those are better, but they have to be attuned to the user, and that can take a year or more. This should work well enough to find an army.”

  Jez nodded. “So what do I do?”

  Lina looked at the destruction master who motioned for her to continue. “Send your power into the stone, the water, and the bowl.”

  Jez gaped at her. “At the same time?”

  “Yes.”

  Fina chuckled but didn’t interrupt. Jez did as he was told, but almost instantly, Lina was shaking her head. “No, not that kind of power. It has to be from the dominion of secrets.”

  “I’m not good with that dominion,” Jez said.

  “You should still be able to send out a trickle.”

  “Split three ways?” Jez asked. “Are you kidding?”

  “You told me you’ve done four before.”

  “With protection magic, during my adept trial. It nearly killed me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Jez, it’s just a trickle.”

  He sighed and tried to summon the power, but it was like trying to bend his elbow backwards. It just didn’t work. The power didn’t slip through his fingers. He never even touched it. Lina threw her hands up, and a white square on a black background appeared in his mind.

  “Oh, for heaven sakes, concentrate on that.”

  Jez smiled and obeyed. Lina’s power swirled around her, and Jez twined his own around it. Her power settled into his grasp. The image she’d put into his mind was a simple one, but the shared thought was enough for them to form a weak contingent. It allowed him to use part of Lina’s strength, though none of her skill. Still, it was enough to allow him to grasp the right kind of magic. Even so, it took him a few minutes to get the correct amount of power. He was far clumsier with secrets than he was with protection or even knowledge, and sweat broke out on his brow as he struggled to maintain the flows while speaking.