Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
Isadau gave me an odd look.
“While his actions are deeply problematic and criminal in multiple ways, calling you his woman wasn’t an insult,” I told her. “That is how Grador band-men speak. They refer to their loved ones as my man and my woman. It is their term of endearment.”
“I don’t care.”
“That’s fair. Do you want me to finish the story?”
“Yes.”
“You had an argument, and then you attacked him. He defended himself. You had a duel. You lost and he shattered your mind and used his own name as the key. He placed a spell that prevented anyone from touching you and turned you loose in Kair Toren. He made sure someone came by to feed you every day and heal your injuries, and he watched you. By now he knows you’re gone. Did I leave anything out?”
“No.”
I shifted my weight in my chair and rubbed my thighs. Ow. Maybe sitting had been a mistake.
“I suppose you want something from me,” Isadau said.
“I could use your help.”
“I can’t teach you to dance. That would take a miracle. I’m a mage, not a saint.”
“It was my first polhe ever. Leave me alone.”
“I don’t like debts.” Her voice had an edge. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want a door opened.”
“Who does it belong to?”
“Ulmar Hreban.”
“Are you trying to rob the richest man in Rellas?”
“Do you know what lugur campur is?”
She made a hissing noise. “How did you come by that?”
“Someone has been making those contracts for Ulmar Hreban. They are hidden in his secret vault, which is sealed with a spell.”
Isadau raised her left eyebrow. “And you want that spell cracked?”
“Yes. There is a catch. Ten years ago, when Damaes had just come to power, he needed a lot of money fast. Hreban offered him an outrageous fortune to seal his vault, and Damaes did it.”
“Fool.”
Damaes understood magic and little else. He spent his time contemplating incredibly complex spells, but he never quite got the complexity of human relationships. To Damaes, doing something for Hreban in exchange for gold was a simple barter. Political or moral implications hadn’t crossed his mind. It was a weakness Isadau had compensated for when they were working together.
“If you break the seal, Damaes will come to see who dared.”
A glint of golden fire sparked in her eyes. “That’s not a catch. That’s a bonus.”
“You will fight again.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“Don’t you need time to meditate and recover?”
Isadau raised her hand. A beautiful red glow coated her fingers and trailed as she moved them.
“Mages meditate to build up their reserves. We set the world ablaze with our spells, so we must stack wood within our soul to fuel them. For two years, I sat by that temple like a mindless beast, while my body absorbed and cycled magic, storing it within me. Had I been in my right mind, I would’ve been spending it casting spells and training. But I wasn’t. My tower of wood is so high, it scratches at the heavens. I’m so full of magic, I’m about to burst. I must burn some of it.”
And it would be one hell of a bonfire.
Isadau cracked her knuckles.
“Take me to this door.”
“Let’s make sure you’re fine first.”
“Tonight,” she said.
“Let’s do it in three days.”
Getting the contracts was crucial. Everything was riding on it. But I wanted her to rest, and eat, and get her bearings.
Erodel motioned me over.
I got up.
“Maggie!”
“Three days. I want you to remember what it’s like to live before you decide you want to fight Damaes again. He might kill you this time.”
Her eyes shone with red. “Not in his wildest dreams.”
CHAPTER 39
REDBERRY 11
The boat glided across the midnight-black water, propelled by the oars in Will’s and Lute’s hands. The river was silent except for the gentle whisper of the oar blades sliding under the surface. No wind troubled the night, and our sail drooped from the mast, secured by a line.
Above us, an endless sky glittered with alien, unfamiliar constellations. The world seemed huge, the river and the sky blending into one, and our boat with the lone lantern on the bow was just a speck of cosmic dust within it.
I stood at the stern, working the rudder. Steering the boat was a lot less complicated than I had expected. We’d been going upstream for a couple of hours now and I wasn’t even tired.
Sushi crouched by me. She had crawled into the boat before we cast off and perched by my feet. There had been a brief commotion, until I picked her up to assure everyone that we were on a petting basis, and she wouldn’t be biting any ankles.
Isadau sat on the nearest bench, wrapped in a cloak, her amber eyes swirling with starlight. She was cycling magic, drawing it into her body and pushing it out, and it tugged on me with every shift. Next to her, Clover looked over the water, deep in thought. I’d pulled her away from my dress. I needed every pair of hands I could get, and Gort and Shana had to stay home. Someone had to protect the house and Gort wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to help us anyway.