The Royal Wizard Page 16

  Nia had made her wishes clear. She slept away from the camp they set up each night and told them she was not to be disturbed. The only way she would make sense of these things was if she could do so in her sleep.

  Rising from her pallet, she winced at the ache in her shoulder.

  There was snow everywhere. It was their constant companion this far north, the air so cold all the knights had donned their thick woolens and animal skins for protection. Nia still wore only her cloak and wolf skin. It was all the warmth she required.

  With a thought she dried her clothes, wet and frozen from sleeping on the snow-covered ground, and stretched out her spine.

  Straightening her cloak around her, she took up her staff. Arnaud was on his feet again, though his breath was still uneven. He had a look on his face that told her he was cursing himself a thousand kinds of fool for trying to wake her. “It is late,” she told him. “We need to be on our way.”

  More than a month since they’d left the castle. At least ten more days until they reached Sir Frederick’s coveted treasure. This journey was stretching much longer than she’d anticipated. It was, in part, because of her dreams. She slept late and wasted daylight so none of them could cover as much ground as they wanted. But there was no help for it. It wasn’t only that she needed the sleep. Once she fell into those dreams, she became trapped in them and couldn’t tell how much time has passed. Her mind became so absorbed in the scenes that it took her longer and longer to relinquish the unsolvable mystery and return to her waking world.

  Nia feared there might come a day when she wouldn’t wake at all. It was as if a sickness had taken hold of her, and she knew nothing of its source to fashion a cure. It was placing all of them in danger.

  The land was so silent she could hear her heart beat like a drum as she led the way back to the camp. The absence of animals unnerved her. It had been weeks since she’d heard a bird’s song or a predator’s soft whisper. Even the earth sounded different here, its voice sharper and colder than Nia was used to.

  Her feet buried in the snow as she walked, making her shiver, but she continued on, longing for the surety of Stardust’s company.

  “You were screaming,” Arnaud said and coughed as he caught up to her. “We heard you in the camp.”

  “I was perfectly all right,” she said, though her shaky voice left something to be desired. She wasn’t all right. Something was draining her in a frightening way. It felt as if she was using her own essence to work spells without realizing it. Not only did it leave her weak in body, she found it harder each morning to simply cleanse herself.

  And it was getting worse the closer they got to their destination. If she was left completely drained by the time they got there, the lot of them would be left defenseless against whatever was waiting for them.

  But that wasn’t all of it. Her magic was tied to her soul, her essence. It could replenish itself if she used too much, but if it drained out of her completely, it would take her life force with it.

  Arnaud caught her arm, pulling her to a stop. “Enough of this,” he said. “I don’t know what is happening to you, and I no longer care. But you have a duty to us that will not be so easily dismissed. We all know something is awry. If you are ill, all of us are in danger, and you need to tell us.”

  “Arnaud,” Lucca said, his voice hard. “Release her.”

  “You know I am right!” His hold on her arm tightened.

  Lucca drew a long dagger from his belt loop. “You are in a temper. You are not thinking clearly.”

  Arnaud stared at the blade a moment, and Nia almost feared the two would come to blows. The others were already on their feet, keeping their distance, but ready to step in should they be needed. “What is this?” Arnaud said. “Are you all so blind that you do not see what is happening?” He shoved her toward Lucca. “Whatever happened to her back there, it has left a mark. Can you not feel it? The evil has tainted her. She is not the same wizard who rode out with us.”

  Lucca’s knuckles turned white, clutching the dagger.

  “I am well enough to lead you where you need to go,” she grated, stepping in front of Lucca to get between him and Arnaud. “But be warned, Sir Arnaud, if you touch me again, you will regret it.”

  “You will walk today,” Lucca told Arnaud. “It seems to me you have a need for exercise to clear your mind. Were I you, I would use the time to reflect.” Sheathing his dagger, he turned his back on the man. “Mount up,” he told the rest of them. “We have a long way ahead of us.”

  When their company rode out, Nia took the lead. Lucca was behind her, and behind him rode Jonah and Alec. Frederick took up the rear with Arnaud’s mount, keeping pace with the unhorsed knight to lecture him. Such was their arrangement for the next three days.

  There was no path here to follow. No animal tracks to mark the white snow. The trees were bare of not only leaves, but sometimes entire branches. The absence of life was worrying. What happened here? Why did nothing live in these woods?

  “There was truth to his words,” Lucca said, coming up to her right. “We have all noticed something is not right with you.”

  “I am well,” she returned, keeping her eyes on the ground in front of Stardust.

  “You mistake me. I did not say I believed you have made a pact with the devil. But there is something troubling you. Gravely, if your sleep is so disturbed.”

  “Be careful, Lucca,” she told him. “Any more of such kind words and a lass might think you care.” A sharp breeze laughed at her. It pierced through her clothing, stabbing into her body until she had to suppress a shiver.

  Lucca smiled. “You are an extraordinary woman. If I did not know your heart to be engaged elsewhere, I might come to care.” He held his hand up to silence her when she would have spoken. “I know, I know. No need for your lovely voice to carry harsh words. I will leave you in peace. But something you should know, Lady Nia, is that we do not take something for nothing. You have provided us with direction, and for that we are grateful. In return, we are honor bound to protect you against whatever lies ahead. We will do it, whether you want us to or not.”

  Nia would have told him there was no protecting anyone from what lay ahead, but he’d already slowed to fall back and give her space. She considered telling them something, preparing them for the possibility that they might all die, but in the end thought better of it. If she was being overcautious, there was no need for them to fret. And if she wasn’t, there was no reason for them to fret and tire themselves needlessly. If they were to die, better it be a surprise.

  Knowing one’s end didn’t make the remaining days any sweeter. Rather, it killed a man before he was even dead.

  They passed through nine days of snow. Nine days of battling the wind and knocking ice from their belongings. Nine days of absolute misery during which a fire once lit had to be shielded and watched over the entire time to burn. If Nia so much as glanced away from those flames, let her concentration slip for an instant, the fire went out. It took effort and energy to keep a flame burning. It took even more to get one started when everything was too wet and frozen to catch the flame.

  As cold as she and the knights were, the horses were colder. They had no woolens to keep them warm, and the more skittish of them could not be cajoled closer to the fire for anything. They’d already lost two to this bitter winter, and they all had to walk the rest of the mounts to spare them as long as possible. When they made camp for the night, humans and animals slept huddled together, sharing what warmth they could.

  Their food had run out, and melting snow for water took hours in this weather. Arnaud and Jonah had taken to praying whenever they stood still, seeming to derive some strength or courage from ritual. Even Frederick and Alec joined them every so often. Lucca alone refused to say the words, warming himself instead with memories of his wife and children. Whenever the wind died down a little, he sought Nia out to speak to. He told her stories of his past for his own comfort and allowed her to lean on him wh
en the weight of her staff became too much of a burden to carry.

  It was more often than not now that Nia needed to lean on something or someone. She’d stopped sleeping because she was needed to keep the fire burning at night. It was just as well; it kept her from her nightmares and whatever was casting them over her. But the effort was taking a terrible toll. Already she was stretching her powers thin. Keeping everyone and herself warm took precedence, and so she’d stopped casting a glamour over herself. The knights could now see how badly she was faring.

  It wasn’t only her magic that was draining, it was her body as well. Her legs were always weak, and though she didn’t want to, she was forced to lean on Stardust to stay on her feet in the harsh winds. They ought to have turned back days ago, but none of them would hear of it. Whatever it was they sought, it was more important than their lives. And she’d pledged to lead the way. So long as they had the will to continue, she had to as well.

  On the tenth day, the storm finally died down. They made camp at the foot of a slight hill which provided at least some shelter from the wind. The fire needed only wood to keep burning that night, but Nia kept watch over it nonetheless. Several times she caught herself casting her will into the fire to bring up a vision. She was too weak to complete it, but the intention kept resurfacing, as if it was a habit she couldn’t rid herself of. Those dancing flames kept singing their lullabies, making her yearn for her home, her bed.

  She missed Saeran. There were times now when her mind recalled memories of him without Nia having any say in it. She would pat Stardust’s neck and feel Saeran’s hand squeezing hers. She would sit before the fire at night and feel his arms around her. Nia couldn’t be sure if it was her imaginings or something entirely different, but she felt as though Saeran was there with her, hiding in illusions. His presence comforted Nia for a short while, but then she remembered everything that happened before she left, and since, and she was left aching and weary, tempted to lay her head in the snow and simply sleep.

  Sleep until this wretched winter passed. And if it never did, then so be it.

  Staring into those flames, she didn’t notice when night turned to day. Lucca’s hand on her shoulder startled her out of her trance and she struggled to her feet to help them ready to move on again. For all her good intentions, she couldn’t make her body obey. It was all she could do not to fall back down once she’d stood.

  The knights did everything on their own, telling her to mount Stardust and wait. Even Stardust agreed with them, butting his nose against her back until she nearly fell over. Nia couldn’t argue after that, so she did as she was told.

  After hours of riding at a steady pace, Stardust halted at the edge of a clearing. I go no farther, he said, ears back.

  Nia swallowed past the lump in her throat, her gaze fixed on the cliff face before them. It towered up to the sky, a dark barren rock face rising from a level clearing big enough to hold an army. Even the wind didn’t blow here.

  This was it.

  She dismounted, taking care to find her balance before she let go of Stardust’s saddle. She felt weak and what little magic she had left, she was using to stay on her feet. Her body shivered in the cold she could no longer keep away and the wolf skin hugged itself tighter around her. Nia was grateful for that little comfort.

  The knights tied their horses.

  “We are here,” Sir Frederick said, his eyes feverish as he looked for something that clearly wasn’t there to find. “Where is it?”

  Nia listened. The effort made her head pound, but she had to know what was around her.

  There.

  In the shadows of a deep cave it stood still. It waited to see what they would do, ready to strike, should they be so foolish as to approach. “This is madness,” she managed to say.

  “This is what we came here for,” Sir Frederick countered, moving forward.

  “No!” Nia caught his arm. Bracing herself, she spoke the words she knew would spell all of their dooms. Death waited for them where the knights expected to find treasures untold. Death by means no mortal could imagine. “I will go first.”

  Sir Frederick hesitated, but half bowed in ascent and backed away from the edge to allow her passage.

  Nia took a step into the clearing, carefully placing her foot to make as little noise as possible. She fell through, knee deep into the snow. The beast did not stir. Shaking, dizzy, she took another step and almost collapsed.

  Come back, Nia, Stardust pleaded, sensing her weakness.

  She couldn’t reply.

  Instead, she focused all her energy on wading through the snow. Nia felt the knights following her, and she knew they worried. She heard Lucca swear under his breath each time her knees buckled in the deep snow.

  It became shallower the closer they got to the rock face and Nia would have sighed in relief if she didn’t know something far worse was waiting for them there.

  At last, she reached the face of the cliff. It hummed with power, its own as well as something else’s. The knights lined up on either side of her, their weapons drawn. They treated her now as what she was, a deathly ill woman, shaking and hunched over, her hair frozen and her face bloodless. Nevertheless, they didn’t say a word. As the warriors they were, their eyes didn’t linger on her, but searched for enemies to slay.

  Not much energy left in her. No more time to waste.

  Reaching out with one shaking hand, Nia touched the jagged rock.

  All at once, a terrible roar shattered the wall before them, the earth shuddered and shook. Boulders rained down on them, and they fell to their knees for cover as the beast in the cave rushed out of the darkness.

  Nia couldn’t defend herself, much less the knights; couldn’t even shield herself from the horrendous sound. She felt, rather than saw, one of the knights being lifted off the ground and tossed carelessly back toward the tree line. Two more met the same fate, and then the beast reached for Nia. It lifted her up by the shoulders so high she couldn’t tell how far off the ground she was. She dared not look.

  But then the beast stilled and became quiet, and Nia opened her eyes to behold Saeran’s beloved face just beneath hers.

  She fainted.

  CHAPTER 21

  A fortnight had come and gone. It’s been almost a month since Nia and the knights had ridden out, and still there was no sign of them. Saeran had sent a trio of soldiers north to where the road ended, marking the border of his kingdom. They’d returned with no news whatsoever. He was beginning to worry, and he wasn’t the only one.

  Nia’s absence had been noted and was much remarked upon in all circles. Some were saying the wizard had abandoned him and took it as a bad omen for his reign. Without confirmation, rumors had begun to spread, one more outlandish than the next. The wizard had died. She’d run off to join the knights’ order. She was battling monsters in the north. She’d been abducted into the Otherlands, never to return. It was the last which bothered Saeran because of all of them, it was the most believable.

  Something had changed. His people grew discontent, the elements spoke to him less and less. It had been days since he’d heard even the wind speak of Nia. It was as if she had disappeared from the face of the earth, and in her absence Saeran saw how important a wizard truly was to the wellbeing of Wilderheim. Without her to interpret the weather, the winds, the changing seasons, Saeran felt blind and dumb, at a loss as to what needed to be done.

  But it was worse than that.

  At some point, even his mind turned against him. Where not long ago he went to sleep each night eager to see his wizard in dreams, now he dreaded the time when he had to close his eyes. Nightmares tormented him, dark portents of disaster and death. He saw it everywhere he turned, even in himself. For days now he’d dreamed of everyone he knew dying in some horrible way, yet there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to any of it.

  Wary without knowing why, Saeran had ordered Manfred away for his own safety. His father had protested, of course. Now that Mari was with child, h
e’d wanted to stay for both of them and the birth of his grandson or granddaughter. But the more insistent he’d been, the more nervous Saeran had felt until he’d put his foot down and ordered a contingent of soldiers to pack up his father’s belongings and escort him back to Lyria. The sense of dread only left him when his messenger returned with news that the company was well beyond the mountain pass, and his sudden relief assured him that he’d done the right thing. One life, at least, he could save.

  But what to do about the rest of them, including his own?

  Half crazed with worry, Saeran struggled for control, but it proved elusive. With a foul curse he made a circuit around the chamber before falling back into his path from window to door and back while his advisors watched him as if he had lost his mind.

  Saeran’s step slowed, and his gaze snared on the floor, refusing to be moved as his latest nightmare came back to haunt him in his waking hours. His vision blurred until he could see it unfold in his mind’s eye and he shuddered, unable to call out, unable to escape the sights. He saw his queen lying dead in a pool of blood, his own hands covered with it. Shock held his body still, but his hands refused to stop shaking. When at last he looked up, he saw Nia, doubled over in tremendous pain. He felt with her, his own body contorting, muscles locking until he couldn’t draw a breath. Terror made ice of his blood, but he kept looking at her, fighting his fate and trying to reach her, touch her. Help her, though he himself was dying.

  “Majesty?”

  The tentative voice brought him back to the present, and Saeran found himself staring at his own shaking hands. Gods, this had to end. He had to get Nia back. If for no other reason, than to ensure that she was safe. If he could just see her, even from a distance…

  “Majesty.”

  A little stronger this time. Despite his torturous thoughts Saeran felt a smile pulling on the corner of his mouth. He glanced at the frail-looking girl with her cloud of unruly russet hair and made an effort to soften his gaze. “Yes, Braith?”