Balancer (Advent Mage Cycle) Read online

  When it became obvious I had nothing else to say, they filed past me and went upstairs, muttering to each other as they went. I turned an accusatory look on Tyvendor. “Just how fast did you go?”

  “People are always afraid that I’m going to drop them,” he mused. “I wasn’t really going fast.”

  Uh-huh. I didn’t buy that for a second. “Since you’re here, we’ll assign you to transporting all of the Priests we find. Is that alright?”

  “Oh, sure,” he assured me with a half shrug. “Raile said you might. But we’ll hash out details tomorrow, right?”

  “Right,” I confirmed. “Get a good night’s sleep, Tyvendor.”

  With an analyst’s salute, he turned and headed upstairs.

  Since I had done all of the work that I could for the day, I went hunting for my fiancée. I found her in the study at the back corner of the ground floor, lounging at a comfortable angle across a wide, wing backed chair. She had her eyes closed and an empty vial in her hands, which meant she had a ferocious headache too.

  “Can I have one?” I asked as I came around the chair and sat next to her.

  She cracked open one eye and frowned at me. “I thought I gave you one this morning.”

  “It wore off about an hour ago.”

  “Ah.” She dug in her pockets and handed a full glass vial to me.

  With a smile of anticipation, I unstoppered it and downed it quickly. They tasted vile, but the effect made it well worth it.

  Chatta shifted so that she leaned against me instead of the chair, her head on my shoulder and an arm comfortably slung around my waist. “What a day.”

  “Truly. I thought my head would just split open at certain points.”

  She uttered a disgruntled sound of agreement.

  “Tyvendor just arrived with eighteen magicians in tow,” I informed her. “We’ll be ready to start investigating in the morning.”

  “Then all of my hard work today was worth it. Good.” She let a soft sigh of satisfaction. “So, after this problem is solved, what are we going to do?”

  “You mean besides plan for a wedding?” I smiled at her, earning myself a dazzling smile in return. “Well, for starters, we probably should figure out where we want to live.”

  “Del’Hain?”

  I considered that for a moment, then slowly shook my head, rejecting the idea. “No, I don’t want to be that close to Guin’s immediate grasp. He would be too tempted to load me down with so much work I wouldn’t ever be home. That man, no matter how much I love and respect him, has an unholy ability of coming up with an endless stream of plans for my time and talents.”

  She frowned, considering this. “Not Del’Hain, then. But I know how you prefer to live in a good sized city. For that matter, I like living near a city. There are more places to shop, and eat, and it is more convenient for getting the things that make life more comfortable.”

  “So we just need to decide which city.”

  We spent our time debating which city might be the best to live in, and why. There were pros and cons to every major city we could think of, and we hadn’t really made any head way on a decision by the time the sun set.

  “Chatta?”

  Prince Audax? I turned to look, but the high back of the chair blocked my view of the door. Chatta twisted and braced herself with a hand on the back so that she could see better.

  “Prince! Come in.”

  “I’m told that Magus Rhebengarthen is with you…” the words grew in volume as Audax crossed into the room. When he rounded the chair, he spotted me instantly and a flash of discomfort crossed over his face. “Forgive me, I seem to be intruding on the two of you.”

  Since he was apologizing and not ordering me into action, I assumed that he hadn’t tracked me down to deal with some emergency. “It’s quite alright,” I assured him. “Please, join us.”

  Chatta, in deference to our Chahiran sensibilities, did untangle herself a little from me. She stayed in the chair, it was more than wide enough to accommodate both of us, but limited herself to linking her arm through mine. Audax noticeably relaxed at the change. For that matter, I felt far more comfortable with this considering our audience.

  As he settled himself into a chair adjacent to mine, I took the time to study the man before me. I’d only ever seen this man in very dim lighting, or from the far end of a court room, so this was the first time I had a proper look at him. Now that I could, it entered my mind that Nolan must take after his father. They had that same look to them. Pale, clear skin with a high forehead and generous mouth. Audax had a more striking look to him, as his face was leaner than his son’s but the resemblance was uncanny. The only difference I could see was that Audax’s hair was straight as a board instead of wavy, and his eyes were a cool grey. He looked at me with sober intensity.

  “Magus, I’ve received several invitations on your behalf that I think you should be aware of.”

  I blinked at him several times. Invitations?

  “Invitations to what?”

  “To visit the Doms in their estates,” he answered, a note of amusement in his voice.

  He was joking, surely…no, the expression on his face was quite serious. “Why by the four winds would they want me visiting?”

  Audax shrugged. “They’re curious. They want to meet their King’s pet mage. They want to see if they can curry any favor with you. One or two even suggested that they had information they wanted to pass onto you. Discreetly, of course.” Audax added very dryly.

  “I’m not good at political maneuvering like this,” I whined to no one in particular.

  “Still,” Chatta rubbed her chin thoughtfully, “It’s a beautiful opportunity. You can walk right through the front door and scan for Priests while you’re at it. I doubt anyone who is harboring Priests would invite you in like this, but we do need that confirmed. I wish I could go with you, but there’s too many things that Xiaolang is depending on me to do here.”

  Unfortunately true. She was the one that has to keep in contact with all of the teams.

  “When are these invitations for?” I asked Audax, not sure how much time I had to prepare for this sudden turn of events.

  “We didn’t set an exact time, but I would think sometime in the next week,” he answered easily. “I would suggest taking a man with you, someone that looks like a bodyguard, as these people wouldn’t look twice at him.”

  I started shaking my head before he could even finish the sentence. “No, Your Highness. Forgive me, but that’s ridiculous. No magician in the world needs a bodyguard. Besides, I need someone with me that can deal with the conversational part of the evening. I’m not good at speaking with people.”

  He studied me for several moments before giving a noncommittal hum. “In that case, take someone with you that looks like a bodyguard but knows the politics. Trust me, Magus. Image is very important in this realm of words and innuendo. You’ll find it easier to deal with them if you play the role they expect you to. Actually…” he studied me for a moment before a mischievous smile crossed his face. I recognized that expression instantly—Nolan got the same look when planning something. “I have just the man for you. I have a bodyguard that has been with me for two decades. He’s very well versed in the politics, knows the faces, and yet no one would suspect him of being a political mastermind.”

  Huh? I found it difficult to believe a man like this existed. Generally, if you’ve been in the game that long, someone eventually put it together just what a person is capable of. “How did he manage to keep such a low profile?”

  “He’s from Kaczorek Province,” Audax responded with a slight shrug.

  “Ah,” I responded with instant understanding. My fiancée poked me in the arm and gave me a questioning look so I explained, “Kaczorek has a reputation for birthing people with brawn and not brains. They’re well-known fighters, but no one expects them to be thinkers. If he’s a bodyguard by profession, that reputation is only going to be reinforced.”

&nbs
p; Audax’s smile grew. “He’s been with me since I was five. The man has thwarted more political maneuvers than my father, I think. Trust me, Magus, he can steer you through these meetings without a hitch.”

  “It’ll be quite the political statement as well,” Chatta noted with an approving nod toward Audax. “For him to be escorted by the crown prince’s bodyguard. Well played.”

  Audax gave her mocking bow from his seat.

  So I didn’t have any choice but to go, eh? I pinched the bridge of my nose and blew out a heavy breath. “Fine. I’ll talk to Xiaolang about this in the morning. Your Highness, which Doms wanted to meet me?”

  “Habbick, Goldstayn, Choi and Aboulmana.”

  Provinces in practically every corner of Chahir. That’s interesting. I wasn’t sure what Xiaolang would make of that. “Alright, I’ll tell him.”

  Audax flashed a satisfied smile and rose from his seat. “Then I’ll say good night.”

  ~*~

  I woke up groggy and out of sorts the next morning. Not a single fiber of my being really wanted to be awake. Only one of my eyes would even partially open. I dropped my socks three times before I managed to get one on, and for the life of me I couldn’t get all of my hair to stay in my clip.

  Now, I was not a morning person. Being semi-functional before nine o’clock passed for normal. But even this was worse than my average morning. I stumbled to the bathroom, trying to remember as I went my tasks for today. I wet a washcloth to wash the sleep from my face. As the blood began circulating in my head, my mind started to function. Right, all of those reports still needed to be sorted through. That wouldn’t be fun. But wasn’t there something else…oh.

  Right. Talk to Xiaolang about playing nice with the Doms.

  Busted buckets, no wonder I didn’t want to wake up this morning!

  Now, don’t get me wrong. Visiting the Doms like this was the perfect opportunity in many ways. Vonlorisen had autonomy in his country, true, but the Doms had special rights over their areas as well. To legally search each province required a great deal of paperwork and legal negotiation before we were allowed in. Part of that had to do with foreign magicians being allowed in to search, but part of it simply had to do with the inherent rights that each Dom had in his province. If I could circumvent all of that by responding to an invitation, so much the better.

  But that didn’t mean I was really the right man for the job. Witty dinner conversationalist I was not. The fact that I would be escorted through this by a man I didn’t know didn’t help to settle the butterflies in my stomach any.

  I went downstairs at a shuffle, my head focused on just navigating to the dining room and breakfast. In fact, I had filled my plate from the buffet and sat down before my mind alerted me that something was different. I froze, hands still on my plate, and looked slowly up and around.

  A man I’d never seen before sat across the table from me. He screamed military—close cropped fair hair, strong build, with a large bone structure to him. From the prominent wrinkles in his weathered skin, I put him somewhere in his forties. The scars on his chin, hands and the missing tip of his ear spoke of a great deal of battle experience as well. The trim grey on grey uniform he wore did not belong to any military, however, but to Prince Audax.

  Xiaolang sat next to him at the table, a half-eaten plate in front of him. Casually he looked up and said to the newcomer, “I told you he’s not a morning person. Actually, he’s more alert this morning than normal.”

  “Duly noted,” the man responded in the deepest voice I’ve ever heard. His facial expression could have been carved from granite, but something about his eyes suggested that he found the situation amusing.

  His accent had a thickness to it, a distinctness that I recognized. It was a Kaczorek accent. “You wouldn’t happen to be Prince Audax’s bodyguard, would you?”

  He gave a simple nod of the head. “I am Tresriesen.”

  “Thank you for the gift of your name,” I responded automatically. “I am Rhebengarthen.”

  “Thank you for the gift of your name, Magus,” he responded cordially.

  “Garth, please,” I requested as I relaxed into my seat. I gave him the best smile I could muster with half-asleep facial muscles. “We are, I think, going to be working with each other for some time after all.”

  His head cocked slightly, as if puzzled by the invitation for informality, but he responded in that same calm tone. “Then please call me Ries.”

  I’d met this type of man before. On the surface, it looked as if they contained absolutely no personality. They were hard men, with a reputation for fierce loyalty. But Audax had told me enough for me to ignore that outer mask. Behind this man’s cool grey gaze laid a very sharp mind and a great deal of knowledge that I would sorely need in the next few weeks. I would be a fool to underestimate him. “Ries, can I assume that you’ve already told Xiaolang everything he needs to know?”

  Ries simply nodded.

  I looked to Xiaolang, tearing off a chunk of bread as I did so. “Any questions?”

  “Just keep me updated,” Xiaolang ordered as he went back to his own breakfast. “I know this isn’t your forte, Garth, but you’ll be fine.” He shot a pointed look at Ries. “You’re in very capable hands.”

  Apparently Xiaolang had a very good empathic reading from Ries. That didn’t surprise me. Any man that’s spent twenty years guarding and protecting the crown prince without being corrupted in the process has to have an amazing moral character.

  We were the only three in the dining room, which meant that everyone else had likely beaten me down here, ate, and left already. “Where is everyone?”

  “The team is still collecting intel,” Xiaolang answered without looking up from his plate. “Shad is forming up his own team as we speak and laying out the plan of attack. I expect he will leave within the hour.”

  I felt a flash of envy. Why did Shad get the honors of beating people up while I got stuck having to play nice? I was much better suited to fighting than talking. I wonder if he’d switch places with me?

  “They specifically asked for you,” Xiaolang added out loud, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. He shook his head at me, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You’re not getting out of this, Garth.”

  Well, since he knew what I was thinking anyways… “I’m better at breaking things.”

  “Yes, you are,” Xiaolang agreed calmly. “But you’re not switching jobs.”

  I didn’t quite pout at him, but it was close. “Why?”

  “Because you have one quality that Shad doesn’t. Discretion.”

  A very good point, unfortunately.

  Chapter Four: Darlington

  Shad had no problem with going to a Dom’s manor house to bash heads together. All of those weeks of planning, and training, and research paid off at moments like this, when he got to knock evil down and stomp on it a few times.

  He’d just prefer not to have a prince in tow while doing it.

  All of the legal reasons why Audax had to be there for the search had been explained to him. Several times, in fact. “Legal” had become his new swear word because of those lectures. The Doms had rights governing how they operated their own province, fine. Even though he had been deputized with the power to enter a Dom’s house, he would still have problems doing the job because they likely wouldn’t recognize his authority. Having the prince along—one of the few people that could overrule a Dom without question—would circumvent a lot of trouble later. Shad understood that.

  But did he really want to be held responsible for Audax’s safety? Not at all.

  Tyvendor set them to earth a little roughly on the front lawn of the Darlington Manor. The fifteen passengers he’d transported looked very grateful to have their feet firmly planted again. The unorthodox travelling method hadn’t really bothered Shad. Garth had done crazier stunts than Tyvendor had. At least with this method, he could actually see where he was going.

  The manor had the
grandiose scale that most manor houses did, although this one had been constructed of a pale grey brick that must have cost a pretty penny to haul in. The landscaping around it had that overly pruned look that most Chahirans favored. The place had more security problems and breach points than a beggar’s shoes. If it did come down to a fight, Shad had plenty of options to send people through.

  Since someone in that house had undoubtedly spotted their rather flamboyant arrival, Shad had perhaps only a few moments before he needed to focus. Grabbing Audax by the arm, he hauled him close.

  “Prince, I don’t want you any farther from me than this the entire night, understand?”

  The prince’s face drew together in displeased frown. “I can see to myself.”

  “Not with renegade Priests, you can’t,” Shad disagreed instantly. “Listen to me. I’ve fought these men before. Even seasoned veterans will have a hard time against them, and you aren’t one. Your safety is my responsibility. You will keep your arse right here within arm’s reach of me. Clear?”

  One of the Special Forces, acting as Audax’s bodyguard, stirred at the implied insult of Shad’s manner. He opened his mouth to say something, outrage painted across his face, only to be cut off before he could issue a word by Audax. The prince simply raised a hand, gesturing him to stand down, his steel grey eyes locked with Shad’s blue ones. When he didn’t stand down or flinch, Audax gave him a slow, approving nod. “Very well, Captain. I won’t venture from your side tonight.”

  “Good!” Shad gave him a sunny smile, bouncing a little on his toes in anticipation. “Let’s go beat people up.”

  “You mean capture and detain people,” Audax corrected drolly.

  “That’s what I said.” Shad started for the main doors of the manor with a quick stride, calling to his team as he went. “Alright, people, do just as we planned. Bornemeier, is that triangle thing of yours working?”

  Wizard Bornemeier, a lanky, sandy-haired youth with an infectious smile, held up the crystal triangle with a grin. “Works just fine, Shad. I’m picking up people already.”