Balancer (Advent Mage Cycle) Read online

His eyes were bright with unshed tears, voice husky and tight as he accepted my hand in a firm clasp. “I do.”

  I squeezed once, then let go. I tried to keep my face straight, but I couldn’t help smiling like a lunatic. I just hope it didn’t look demented right at that moment because I felt like I was flying in a thousand different directions at once.

  Trying to think of something to say, the door opened admitting Chatta—looking particularly lovely in a dark red dress and her hair done up—talking as she came through the doorway.

  “Da, I want to…er…” she paused, studying both of us. “Am I interrupting something?” she inquired, hope flashing across her face.

  I knew what she was really asking. “He said yes.”

  “Yes!” she bounced over to tackle me. So used to this reaction from her, I caught her without thinking about it, arms wrapped tight around her waist. She was laughing in sheer delight, and just for the fun of it, I twirled her around once, which made her laugh all the harder. The sound settled into my bones, warming me up like a roaring hearth fire on a cold evening.

  I reluctantly let go of her so she could hug her father.

  “Da, thank you!” she said, face pressed against his chest. Delheart hugged her back just as tight, torn between smiling and crying.

  “I could never say no to you,” he told her, shaking his head. “I truly can’t say it now, not when you’re giving me such an excellent son-in-law.”

  I couldn’t help but stand a little taller at those words.

  “But you have to wait a while,” he said sternly.

  “Oh we will,” she assured him. “We have to tidy up a lot of things and get a house ready and everything before we’re married. We think that will take at least half a year.”

  I know it was silly, but I liked the use of that “we.” It made it more official for me, somehow.

  “I think that’s wise,” Delheart agreed in relief. “But now, we need to tell your mother. She’ll definitely want to hear about this, and I am sure she will be asking a few questions of her own.”

  “And my parents,” I realized suddenly, with a stark picture of my mother’s face in my mind. I’d been so focused on Delheart’s approval that I hadn’t even thought to mention the possibility to them.

  That oversight was probably going to get me into a lot of trouble.

  “Garth…” Chatta’s expression turned slightly appalled. “When I marry you, my name will become Chahiran, won’t it?”

  I wasn’t sure where she was going with this. “Yes…why?”

  “So my name would be Rheben-chattamoinitaan?”

  It almost sounded like some sort of a rare disease. “Actually, it would be,” I agreed, fighting a smile.

  “That’s an absolute mouthful!” she complained, hands planted on her hips. “Da, what did you do to me?”

  “It was your mother’s idea to name you that, not mine!” Delheart protested. “And how were we to know that you’d marry a Chahiran Mage?”

  “Maybe you could leave your name shortened,” I suggested, struggling to keep my face straight, and avoid getting smacked.

  Can’t laugh, can’t laugh, can’t laugh…

  “Rhebenchattan isn’t too bad.”

  “At least you can say it without having to take a breath in the middle,” she grumbled.

  ~*~

  My family took the news of Chatta’s and my engagement with hearty congratulations and comments that followed along the lines of “It’s about time!”

  I ignored those.

  Mom was all ready to sit down and start going over wedding plans when I pointed out that we wouldn’t be able to have a wedding until after the situation with Chahir was at least semi-settled. Judging from her glare, that wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear.

  Now that I was finally free of that Oath of Protection, all I really wanted was a little private time with my fiancée. But with so many friends and family members bombarding me I couldn’t even locate Chatta in the crowd! This was ridiculous. I should have absconded with her tonight and told my family about everything tomorrow.

  Well, maybe it wasn’t too late to abscond with her yet. I knew she was still somewhere around the house, as I could feel her magic quite clearly, but I couldn’t catch sight of her. Somewhere around the kitchen maybe…I passed by the back door when a hand shot inside, grabbed me by the arm, and yanked me onto the back porch. I’d normally be worried and fighting back at this sort of assault—my brothers were notorious for dragging me somewhere where there are no witnesses for pranks—but I recognized who it was. I willingly closed the door before anyone could figure out Chatta and I were out here.

  The love of my life stood with a hand on one hip, giving me an exasperated look. “Why did you have to tell everyone tonight?”

  “I was just wondering the same thing,” I admitted ruefully. “I think my main thought was that my mother would kill me if I delayed telling her.”

  “She might have,” Chatta allowed thoughtfully. “But I’d like to have some time for just us.”

  “Sounds good to me!” I slipped both arms around her waist and snuggled her body against me tightly. She came into my embrace willingly, sliding her hands up my arms to rest them behind my neck. Chatta was sending me every visual signal that she wanted to kiss me, which matched my designs perfectly. My neck bent slightly, lowering my head towards her. After so many months of wanting this, I could finally, finally—

  The door behind me creaked on its hinges a little as it opened.

  I snapped my head up and around, glaring murder at the interloper that was interrupting such a perfect moment.

  Xiaolang poked his head outside, apology in his eyes. “Sorry. Truly. It’s just…I’ve got bad news.”

  A selfish part of me wanted to throw my head back and scream with frustration. Couldn’t the bad news have waited five benighted minutes?!

  It was Chatta that sighed, reached past me, and took the letter out of Xiaolang’s hands. I let go of her, a little, so that she could unfold the paper and tilt it so we could both read.

  I felt my blood go cold.

  The letter was from Saroya, addressed to King Guin, but clearly meant for the team. Saroya had discovered a handful of Doms, those in their later years, who were willing to defy the King’s orders by giving refuge to the Star Order Priests. Among these were some of the more powerful and influential Doms. His request was for the team to go back into Chahir immediately, and help pinpoint which Doms for certain had sheltered Priests inside their provinces. The Star Order was off balance, and he didn’t want to give them time to regroup and set up a power base again with the aid of these Doms. Of course, we were the only hope that he had. The only people in Chahir that could detect magic were the Priests themselves.

  I felt like swearing.

  “Okay,” I admitted grudgingly, “I can see why you didn’t wait. Do we need to leave now?”

  “Situations like this, in my experience, are best dealt with as quickly as possible, before they’re given a chance to grow into impossible situations.” Xiaolang rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I wish we could have just had one more day…well. If we leave tonight, we’ll be able to start recon tomorrow. Even a few hours at this point will make a huge difference.”

  I hated the idea, but I knew he was right.

  Chatta let out another soft resigned sigh and handed the letter back to him. “I’ll go pack. I’ll be back here in an hour.”

  Xiaolang nodded both his approval, and his thanks. “I’ve just sent the rest of the team off to get ready.”

  As Chatta slipped away, I felt a strange sense of loss for that broken moment, like part of me was leaving with her. Realizing that I had to do something immediately, to salvage a part of that special moment, I held her hand long enough to press a kiss against the palm, and then closed her fingers over it.

  “For safe keeping,” I murmured. The smile she directed back at me, as my reward, would have made angels break into song. She gave me that quirky
little wink that always makes me weak, before disappearing back into the house. As simple as the exchange had been, my heart felt lighter because of it, and it would do until we had time for a real moment.

  Xiaolang was smiling indulgently, no doubt picking up on both of our emotions. The smile faded as he regarded the letter in his hand. “I’m truly sorry for the timing of this, Garth.”

  “If you’d interrupted while I was talking with Delheart, I truly would have been upset.” I shook my head, a little exasperated at the whole turn of events. “As it stands, at least I’m free now. We’ll have time in the future. For now, I think we’d both better pack.”

  Chapter One: Dismantling

  We reached Alvacon late in the evening, just as most people were sitting down for dinner. Despite the late hour of the day, Vonlorisen left standing orders that as soon as we appeared we were to be shown directly to him.

  The Chahiran court ran on a similar schedule to the Hainian court, so they were in the midst of dinner when we arrived. Actually, even the setup of the room looked very similar. One long table at the very front of the room held the nobility, and then a variety of shorter tables connected to it from there, almost like a miniature maze. Everyone at the tables froze as we entered the room, some of them in nervousness, others in rabid curiosity.

  Vonlorisen looked up from the head table, saw us, and he gave a nod of greeting. “You made good time, Magus. Wait a moment.” Standing, he turned and ducked enough to whisper something in his son’s ear. Prince Audax nodded in understanding. Satisfied, he straightened and called out, “Pray continue.” With no explanation whatsoever, he rounded the table and walked toward us, gesturing with one hand to follow him.

  We all trooped back out, retreating down the hallway we had just traveled and down two more to Vonlorisen’s private study. I was very glad he guided us there—I’d never have found it otherwise.

  He had all of us enter, Shield close the door behind us, and sit in the various chairs arrayed around his desk. As there weren’t quite enough seats to go around Chatta selflessly offered to sit on my knee and let someone else claim a chair. Everyone suppressed a smile. some better than others, at her antics. Vonlorisen just studied us through thoughtful eyes.

  The king took a seat behind his desk. There were so many rolls of parchment, books, maps and the like that he quickly realized that he couldn’t see everyone from his seat. In quick, agitated motions he grabbed several piles and dumped them carelessly on the floor. I winced watching this. I didn’t know who his aide was, but I felt sorry for them having to re-sort that mess. Satisfied, Vonlorisen looked up. “There are two problems that I need resolved. One, as the missive said, I know that some of the nobility are harboring Priests. I want these men found. You will be working with Saroya and the Special Forces to deal with this.”

  Wouldn’t we need more manpower than just the Special Forces? This was a large country, after all. I opened my mouth to ask…then paused as another thought struck. Saroya, I was sure, knows the background of every member of the Forces. He was the type of man to do thorough background checks. He’d know if anyone was a follower of the Order. The same guarantee could not be applied to the other military forces. No, it was probably best if we limited ourselves to the men we know we could trust.

  Vonlorisen watched me, as if waiting for me to speak, but when I closed my mouth again he continued. “The other problem is that the upper echelons of the Star Order have still failed to make any open protest. We are experiencing small skirmishes with the younger, more hothead Priests and some of the more devout followers. Those we can handle. But I do not like this silence from the more affluent members. They’re up to something. I want to know what.”

  Both problems were serious ones. I had no doubt that they would lead to more grim events if given the time to do so. I looked to Xiaolang. “Time is not on our side to unravel this mystery.”

  “No,” he agreed with furrowed brows. “We need to do reconnaissance to figure all of this out, but with just us and the Special Forces…it will take too much time to cover the entire country. Your Majesty, respectfully, we need to bring in help.”

  “Magical help,” I added. “Your Majesty, how would you feel about the Remnant assisting us?”

  His eyebrows rose in mild surprise. “They are willing to do so?”

  I had to phrase this carefully. “Your Majesty, in truth, they wish to return to Chahir. The Remnant has outgrown the bounds of Coven Ordan—their population is growing too large. The rising generation wishes to move here to Chahir to live. They are very interested in Chahir’s well-being.”

  Vonlorisen sank back in his chair and stared at the ceiling in thought for a long moment. “Magus, you trust these people?”

  “Yes,” I answered without hesitation.

  “Your Majesty, if I might add…” Chatta waited for his eyes to rest on her before she continued. “The Remnant would be an excellent ally and source of expertise for this situation. They are the ones we consult with when dealing with blood magic. They are the ones that have the tools we use to search Chahir. Given half a chance, they will prove their loyalty to Chahir.”

  Vonlorisen locked gazes with her for several taut moments before slowly nodding in acceptance. “I believe it wise to speak with their leader about this first. Who leads the Remnant?”

  “Wizard Raile Blackover,” I answered. “He is the mayor of their city. If you wish…” I turned to Chatta with an open palm. She knew what I wanted, unpinning the broach and placing it in my hand without a word. I turned back and held it up for Vonlorisen to see. “This mirror is connected to the one Wizard Raile Blackover holds. We can talk to him instantly through this.”

  Vonlorisen regarded it with open curiosity. “Can I have one?”

  “It takes a magician on both ends for it to work,” I explained apologetically. Not to mention regretfully. If Vonlorisen had some means of using mirror communication, I wouldn’t have to keep making emergency trips like this.

  “I suppose I have to wait until Nolan returns home, then.” Blowing out a breath, he sat up straighter. “Magus, I will talk with Wizard Blackover.”

  Relieved, I shifted Chatta off of my lap so that I could cross to him. I stood next to the desk and grazed the mirror with a touch of power. “Raile?”

  A moment passed before Raile responded. “Garth?”

  “I am in front of King Vonlorisen. He wishes to speak with you.”

  A thump sounded in the background, as if Raile had just dropped something. Either that, or fallen out of his chair. If so, I didn’t blame him. “Ah, er, I would be pleased to speak with him.”

  I shifted so that I stood right next to Vonlorisen’s chair, lifting the mirror so that he could speak into it easily. I could not relinquish my hold on it—the connection would break if I did.

  Vonlorisen focused on the mirror and spoke distinctly. “Wizard Blackover, I am Vonlorisen. It is a pleasure to speak to Our allies across the sea.”

  “It is our pleasure, Your Majesty. We hope that Garth has conveyed our desire to serve Chahir.”

  “He has. We wish to draw upon your aid to prevent disaster from falling upon the citizens.”

  “You shall have it. We are infuriated at the actions of the Star Order. Do we have your permission to come to Chahir and act for the good of the people?”

  “You do. You will coordinate all actions through Magus Rhebengarthen and Captain Riicshaden. They will in turn keep me apprised. Wizard Blackover, I trust that you and your people will be discreet. I do not wish to tip my hand.”

  “Most of our magicians are Chahiran in appearance. We can come incognito without catching the Star Order’s attention.”

  “Excellent. Then do so.”

  “We will. Garth, are you listening in?”

  I shifted the broach back toward my mouth. “Yes.”

  “Do you know how you want to approach this?”

  “Not yet. We need to consult with the Head of the Special Forces here before
we make any major decisions. Raile, who is your expert on blood magic?”

  “That would be Dassan. There’s a few others that are quite knowledgeable as well, but Dassan is the acknowledged expert. I’ll send them all over. Your Majesty, know that we will not rest until Chahir is safe.”

  Vonlorisen seemed almost surprised by the vehemence in Raile’s voice. “Thank you.”

  “With your permission, we will send over a device that will allow you to communicate with us and with Garth.”

  Vonlorisen gave me an arch look. I shrugged helplessly. I didn’t know that such a thing existed! Although I should have guessed that if it was possible, the Remnant would find a way to create it.

  The Chahiran King sounded almost droll as he responded, “That would be appreciated, Wizard Blackover.”

  “We will send it over with Dassan. Expect them there by tomorrow morning.”

  The king’s head jerked in astonishment. “Your people can get here that quickly?”

  “Of course,” Raile answered voice rich with amusement. “We have Mages too. How many should I send to you?”

  “As many as will come.”

  “Understood. I will call again when they leave so that you have some warning.”

  Even though Raile couldn’t see it, Vonlorisen nodded. “You have Our thanks, Wizard Blackover.”

  “We are very glad to help, Your Majesty. Oh, I understand that your grandson is a Life Mage?”

  Vonlorisen blinked at this abrupt switch in topic. “Yes, he is.”

  “We have several Life Mages here. We would be pleased to teach your grandson when he comes into his full powers.”

  He clearly didn’t know what to think of this offer. “When that time comes, I will certainly keep your offer in mind.”

  “Very well. I will go and get things moving here, then.”

  “We will prepare to receive them,” Vonlorisen promised. At his nod, I withdrew the broach and cut the connection. “I have had rooms prepared for all of you. Rest for tonight. Saroya will meet with all of you tomorrow.”

  We all knew a dismissal when we heard one. We gave him bows of acknowledgement before walking out of the room.