The Scofflaw Magician (The Artifactor Book 3) Read online

  Published by Raconteur House

  Antioch, TN

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  THE SCOFFLAW MAGICIAN

  Book Three of the Artifactor Series

  A Raconteur House book/ published by arrangement with the author

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Raconteur House mass-market edition/November 2015

  Copyright © 2015 by Honor Raconteur

  Cover Illustration by Honor Raconteur

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  Purchase only authorized editions.

  For information address:

  Raconteur House

  3425 Daisy Trail

  Antioch, TN, 37013

  www.raconteurhouse.com

  Other books by Honor Raconteur

  Published by Raconteur House

  THE ADVENT MAGE CYCLE

  Book One: Jaunten

  Book Two: Magus

  Book Three: Advent

  Book Four: Balancer

  Advent Mage Compendium

  The Dragon’s Mage

  The Lost Mage

  Special Forces 01

  The Midnight Quest

  Kingslayer

  THE ARTIFACTOR SERIES

  The Child Prince

  The Dreamer’s Curse

  The Scofflaw Magician

  DEEPWOODS SAGA

  Deepwoods

  Blackstone

  Fallen Ward

  KINGMAKERS

  Arrows of Change

  Arrows of Promise *

  *Coming soon

  Acknowledgements

  To Ben, who can’t understand why more fantasy books don’t have lizards in them.

  Also to the fans who couldn’t understand where the next Artifactor book was.

  This book is for all of you.

  A special remembrance to my brother, Jarrett, that I lost this year. He was my strategy expert, enthusiast, and partner in crime. It was through his support and constant enthusiasm that Raconteur House was even formed and continued to exist.

  I’m not quite sure what I’ll do without him.

  The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.

  -- Robert G. Ingersoll

  What in the world was that clamor? It sounded like a battle was going on in her backyard.

  Sevana, having pulled an all-nighter to finish a project for a client, did not wake up quickly or easily even after being unconscious for six hours. In fact, she probably would have kept on sleeping if not for her Illeyanic wolf pup insistently sticking his nose into her ribs. Blearily coming awake, she batted him away and rose up onto one elbow. “I hear it, I hear it!”

  Grydon let out a yip and his tail started wagging, no doubt satisfied he’d finally gotten a response from her. At six months old, he had grown considerably and he now had enough body mass to him that when his tail wagged, the whole bed vibrated. He jumped off the bed and went to the ground, then looked back at her with an obvious, Well, come on!

  Unlike with most dogs/wolves/pets of any sort, that signal did not mean he wanted to go outside for personal business. The Illeyanic wolves were intelligent enough to open most doors used by man and could find their way in and out of buildings as they pleased. Even if that were not the case, Big would just open the door for him if he needed it. So Sevana interpreted that body language to mean something serious was happening outside, something that she needed to handle, and she really had to get up. Now.

  Groaning and growling a few choice words, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and to the cold stone floor. She hissed as her bare skin touched the icy coldness of the floor, growled some more, but kept moving until she was fully dressed. During this process, Grydon danced around in front of her bedroom door, impatiently waiting for her to actually leave the room.

  As she buttoned up her vest, she realized that her first impression of a battlefield out behind Big might actually be dead on instead of a simple metaphor. She could hear trumpets sounding out long notes in hauntingly hollow tones, a great deal of shouting, and the clamor of metal striking something solid. How completely strange. What on earth would be the point of having a battle here? There was no large human settlement on the western border of Windamere. In fact, no large settlement of any kind could be found here except, perhaps, the Fae. (Even after four months of regularly going in and out of their territory she had no idea how big their village was.) But suggesting that a human army would march against the Fae ranked right up there with trying to build a dam in a typhoon in terms of ridiculousness. Aside from needing a very good reason to go to war with the Fae in the first place, no human stood much of a chance against them, no matter how many in number there were.

  But the only other possibility that came to her mind was that two of the other mythical races that lived in Noppers Woods were battling it out, which made even less sense. Everyone had cohabited peacefully in the woods for the past several centuries, and she had not seen any reason for tension. So what would cause this flare-up?

  Since her own conjectures just confused her further, she snatched up sword and jacket and headed straight for the front door. “Big, what’s going on?”

  Visitor. Front room. Big sounded distinctly nervous.

  That made her pause in mid-step and look up at him in surprise. Big? Nervous? The only time she’d seen that happen was when he’d found Baby as a cub and didn’t know what to do with him. Being as indestructible as a, well, mountain, Big usually let most incidents slide without too much concern. If he was worried, then she should be outright panicked.

  With that thought in mind, she dove into her workroom for her magical pouch even as she demanded, “Who?”

  Fae.

  She fumbled and dropped the pouch. Fae. She had a Fae in her mountain? “I now understand why you’re nervous. Ah, why is he or she here?”

  To speak with you.

  Her first thought was that something must be wrong with one of the kids that she’d brought to them, although what she couldn’t begin to imagine. But then again, maybe it had something to do with all that racket in her backyard. The Fae would not be tolerant of any antics so close to their territory. Gulping nervously, she hastily scooped up the bag from the floor and belted it on even as she spun on a heel and went for the front room.

  The Fae stood in the center of the room, idly staring upwards at the light charm she had sticking to the ceiling. When she entered, he dropped his gaze and a look of relief flashed over his face before he adopted his customary composure. “Sevana.”

  She let out a breath, panic receding. “Lorien.” She had seen him many times over the past few months. He was the one that typically accepted the children she brought, ever since she’d handed Sky over to him. The other Fae were not interested in forming human connections, but Lorien had proven to be an amiable business partner, if not friend. “What is going on?” she asked for the second time that morning. Well, it was closer to afternoon, but regardless.

  “There is a human army attempting to penetrate our borders and invade Noppers Woods,” he answered succinctly.

  Even though she had harbored that wild speculation not minutes ago, she still stared at him blankly, not quite able to
wrap her mind around the idea. “Ah, why?”

  “We hoped that you would know their purpose.” He spread his hands palm up in a graceful shrug. “They have made no declarations to us.”

  Sevana rubbed at the bridge of her nose. A human army of any nationality would not challenge a Fae nation without a very good reason. Not to mention a suicidal determination. “Tell me you haven’t met them in combat.”

  “We have not,” he assured her in bleak amusement. “We have asked the trees to be our guardians and they have prevented their advance.”

  How, she really wanted to ask, but sensed this would not be the time. “You obviously came to me for a reason. For help or information?”

  “Intervention,” he clarified. “We do not understand their motives nor know who we are dealing with. But we trust your judgment concerning the world. We wish for you to go as our ambassador and find out their purpose and what might appease them.”

  In other words, lucky day, the Fae weren’t really in the mood for a fight. Sevana blessed the heavens for this mercy as if they had been in a feisty mood, the world would be minus one army right about now. “I will go speak with them.”

  He gave a half bow of thanks. “Tell your mountain I meant no harm. We are agitated because of the threat on our borders. They are too close to our children for peace of mind. I may have acted…hastily.”

  Lorien had threatened her mountain? She glanced up at Big. Oh was she ever going to get the full story on that later. “I will. For now, I will go to meet the army. Um, how should I communicate with you once I have spoken with them?”

  “I will be nearby.”

  And would obviously come when he wished to and not a moment before. Right. Sevana politely showed him out the front door before doubling back and grabbing a few more wands and the mini-skimmer. She didn’t really need to fly for this short of a distance, but she didn’t want to try and wade through soldiers either until she reached their commanding officer. The mini-skimmer would attract their attention, give her the perfect way to spot the right men in charge, and save her some valuable time. As she moved, she asked Big, “Where is Baby? Stalking the soldiers?”

  Yes.

  Now that figured. The cat loved free entertainment and an army at his door qualified as that. She was lucky that he hadn’t yet started chasing them around for the fun of it.

  As she threw a leg over the skimmer, Grydon attempted to climb up as well, although his paws skidded a bit on the slick surface. She rolled her eyes, grabbed him around the waist, and tugged him all the way on. Trying to argue with him into staying here would do her no good, as she had learned from previous experience. In this sort of tense atmosphere, the wolf would sense danger and he wouldn’t let her out of his sight if he could help it. Once on top, he settled into the seat and the anti-falling charms would prevent him from losing his perch. Satisfied, she kicked the mini-skimmer up and into the air.

  Fall had just started to come across the land, but the air still felt warm and welcoming as she rose into the sky. She didn’t go up very far, just enough to clear the tree line, letting her ears tell her which direction to go. With the din the army raised, a person would have to be blind and deaf to not be able to sense them. The skimmer hummed as she drove it forward, sounding like an oversized hummingbird.

  As soon as she got free of the trees and past the edge of the woods, the stupid and foolish humans came into view. Oh…mercy…not good. Sevana had hoped that because Lorien didn’t have much experience with the world that he had misused the term army and that it would be a much smaller gathering of men. He hadn’t. There must have been five thousand men arrayed in front of her, most of them lined up in battle formations, the others already setting up a camp of sorts with white tents being pitched and cookfires blazing. Just how long had they been at this to already be this established?

  Her eyes turned toward the group near the edge of the woods and finally understood what Lorien had meant by ‘the trees preventing their approach.’ The limbs and branches of the trees had woven themselves together, like some giant hand weaving a basket from nature, and the pattern was so dense that not even a mountain lion would be able to squeeze through. (Although she’d lay odds Baby would try it later just for the fun of the challenge.) The army hacked through the limbs, using swords and axes to try and force their way through, but their progress was marginal at best. They would get through one layer only to meet the next layer directly behind it. They could be here for the next twenty years and not make any significant progress.

  They didn’t look disheartened by this, though. If anything, they seemed more determined.

  Curioser and curioser. Shaking her head, she started looking for a man on a white horse. The general always rode a white horse to make it easier for the men he commanded to find him in the midst of battle. No one seemed to be mounted, though. Alright, where would the command tent be? Or the standard bearer? Her eyes panned the area again. From up here, she couldn’t see much of the uniforms, but that white on tan made her think—in the next second her eyes caught sight of the royal purple and yellow standard of the Sa Kao nation. Ahh, as she had suspected.

  Well, where the standard bearer was, the commander would be nearby. She came in closer in easy stages because surprising an army of men with sharp, pointy objects was never a good plan. Someone finally noticed her, pointing upwards and shouting, and the word rippled and spread. By the time she had done a small circle around the command tent, a small space had opened up for her to land, thereby solving her dilemma of squashing people or not. She set to ground gently, disabling the charms so that Grydon could climb down. As she slid off, she called out, “I am Artifactor Sevana Warran! Who is the commanding officer here?”

  From the throng in front of her, someone pushed their way through, men melting quickly to either side to give him passage. She expected a seasoned and aging general, but what came forward was a young woman of fifteen or so. She wore the pure white uniform of a ranking officer, gold sun embroidered on her breast, a white turban wrapped around her head. Sevana didn’t need any of that to tell her who this person was, however. With that sharp nose, tanned skin and dark eyes, Sevana knew she had to be related directly to the Sa Kaon king somehow.

  “Princess of Sa Kao, you are far from home.”

  She blinked. “You know who I am?”

  “No,” she admitted. “But I’ve met your father on several occasions. You resemble him.”

  Her head cocked slightly, as if she hadn’t expected this, but she introduced herself instead of asking questions. “I am Farah, Fourth Princess of Sa Kao and the commander of this army.” Her voice sounded unnaturally controlled for so young a teenager, making her words more weighty and serious. “Artifactor, why have you approached me?”

  “Well, for one thing, you’re making a terrible mess in my backyard.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder to indicate Big. “I live in that mountain.”

  Farah blinked, eyes darting over her shoulder to see the area with new eyes. “I was unaware of this.”

  “Are you also unaware that several different species live in these woods?”

  “We have been informed of three different species that live there,” she admitted frankly. “But why is this your concern?”

  “One of them has requested that I come and inquire as to why you’re trying to beat down their front door,” she answered dryly. “I’m assuming you have a very good reason.”

  “We do,” Farah responded grimly. A trace of worry entered her voice as she said, “We’re here searching for my little sister.”

  And that related to picking a fight with the Fae…how? Sevana folded her arms over her chest and settled in a little. She sensed a story brewing. “Alright, princess, this looks like it’ll take a few minutes to explain. While you explain things to me, tell them to hold off.”

  Farah opened her mouth on an instinctive protest. “But we’re steadily losing time already trying to hack through—”

  “You won’t get
through,” she interrupted firmly. Farah reeled back as if she had slapped her. “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but you are battling the Fae on their own territory. Only a fool does that and expects to have anything to show for it. Listen to me. You have started a fight you cannot win.”

  An aged officer standing at her back—who she would lay odds was actually the commander of this army—cleared his throat. “Artifactor, we have over six thousand experienced soldiers with us.”

  “And every single one of them is useless.” She shook her head in pity for the fools. “This is not some magical creature that you can defeat through sheer brute force. The Fae are the most feared creature in the known world. Even dragons choose not to mess with them. If there is a hierarchy to the magical world, they are the royal family, alright? They control the elements around you, everything from air to mountains.” She pointed to the wooden barrier keeping the soldiers out. “That is their non-aggressive way of getting rid of you because they’re not in the mood to fight.”

  The princess looked outright disturbed at this information. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides and the stare she directed at the woods was a mixture of helpless rage and bleak understanding. “Then will you help me? They have my sister.”

  They…what? She cocked her head in puzzlement. “No they don’t.”

  The princess stared back at her blankly. “Yes they do.”

  “No they don’t,” Sevana repeated, more assuredly.

  “They’ve been taking children from all over the world and claiming them as their own!” Farah shot back, temper flaring. “And this time they took my sister!”

  “No they haven’t, and no, they didn’t,” she riposted. “Princess, I am the one that has been bringing them children.” She felt like laughing when Farah’s jaw dropped and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Trust me, the Fae do not leave their home unless it’s a very, very serious matter. I have brought to them every child the Fae has adopted. I know exactly who they have in there. Not one child belonged to any family.”