Page 25 of The Wand of Lore

It wasn’t long before Marvin bested the stranger— Greyson, was it? Marvin towered over him as he cowered on the ground, arms shielding his head. The goblins grabbed their weapons and disappeared into the woods.

“You can’t kill me, boy. You would never outrun the consequences. Drop your sword, and apologize at once.” Even now, on his back and at Marvin’s mercy, the stranger sneered at Marvin arrogantly, as if their positions were reversed.

Marvin lowered his sword an inch but kept it pointed at Greyson.

“Boy, you are no killer. You’re too weak, like your mother was before you. Drop your sword. Go to your lover and do your job.”

“Why are you here?” Marvin asked, his voice wavering.

“I’m here to ensure you fulfill your duty. King Egar doesn’t want any problems.”

“He doesn’t want any problems? Then what exactly is this if not a problem? Why won’t you leave me alone? You have what you want, and now you’re ruining everything.”

“Drop your sword, son. Your lover should not have attacked me. She’ll have to pay for that, but beyond that, you two can go unharmed on your . . . journey.” His last word was thick, coated with something, but Gwenneth couldn’t tell what. How did they know each other? Why were they chatting about her as if she wasn’t there? As if they had discussed her before.

“I’ll let you go if you promise to leave us and never show your face again.” Marvin’s sword trembled in his hand. The scowl he had sported all day was gone, and in its place was something scarier. His eyes were wide and unsure, and he was shifting his weight between his feet, looking unsteady. Afraid.

“Absolutely. I’ll let you go,” agreed Greyson.

“Marvin,” Gwenneth said, “you can’t let him up. He’s obviously lying.”

“King Egar will hunt us if we harm him,” said Marvin slowly. “The king would kill me and take you.”

Who was this man who had such power over Marvin, even as he posed an obvious danger to them both? Gwenneth raised her wand higher as Marvin lowered his sword.

“Drop your steel and be gone. If I ever see you near her again, I’ll kill you,” said Marvin, but Gwenneth could hear his voice shaking.

“Of course, boy.” Greyson got to his feet, turned, and walked away with his hands in the air, dagger left on the forest floor, glinting in a stray beam of light.

In the next moment, he was in front of Gwenneth, swinging another dagger at her. She didn’t have any time to think, but the spell swirled out of her and his dagger flew out of his hand. Yet he came, fists curled, flying straight at her. She swished her wand again, but before the spell could land, Greyson’s eyes shot wide open. He stopped for one long moment as his mouth hung in a perfect “o,” then he crumpled to the ground as burgundy red pooled on his chest. Gwenneth looked up at Marvin, who stood frozen, eyes wide, red sword suspended in the air.

“You killed him . . .” she said.

Marvin opened his fingers and watched the sword drop to the ground. He pulled his hands close to himself and turned them, examining them closely. He looked confused as he finally broke the silence. “He attacked you.”

“Who was he? Why was he after you? Or me?”

“He was going to kill you. I wouldn’t have done it, but he wanted to kill you. Or something else. Something worse.” A tremor ran down his shoulders until his hands, then his whole body, was shivering. His teeth clattered, his gaze locked on his hands.

Gwenneth walked over to him and put an arm on his shoulder. She cupped his chin in her hand and held his dark gaze. They stayed like that in silence as Marvin continued to shake. He looked down at Greyson’s body, but Gwenneth pulled his gaze back to her. “Marvin, look at me. It’s okay. You saved my life, and I’m so grateful. But please tell me, who was that man to you?”

Marvin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “That’s Greyson, or it was, and he wasn’t lying. He was sent by the kingto watch over me. As I told you, the king and I are old enemies, and he keeps a close eye on me.”

“Is Greyson the one who had you cursed, then?”

“I’m not sure. If the king wanted me dead, I’d be dead, and Greyson wouldn’t act outside of the purview of the king. He’s arrogant, but not that stupid. The curse could have been cast by anyone, like my brother maybe, or any number of angry villagers. I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m not that popular throughout much of the kingdom.”

Gwenneth snorted. “What are you doing anyways, gallivanting around the kingdom, riling people up about witches, and making enemies?”

“The king deploys me to different villages and townships, mostly to collect taxes and perform other mundane but unpopular tasks. It’s his way of punishing me for my supposed transgressions while still putting me to use, like some common goblin. It’s a win-win for him; he insults me but uses me at the same time.” Marvin narrowed his eyes as he spoke, resembling more of a trapped wolf than a king’s man.

“Well, if your job is to find witches, I’m not surprised someone got around to cursing you. If the king wants to keep you alive, he would do well to halt your work of deliberately attacking and insulting powerful witches!”

“To be perfectly honest, you are the first witch I have knowingly angered. Most of my work is much more trivial. Tax collecting on behalf of the crown is about as tedious as it gets, except when the villagers protest to my face. Usually they have the decency to save their complaints for the privacy of their hovels.”

“Ah. Well, that would do it too. Nobody likes a tax collector thieving from common people to make the king rich. Even you have to admit that he takes way more than he couldpossibly need. Many villages have never recovered from the last war.”

Marvin shrugged. “I think the king would rather die than ask for my advice, or I would tell him it is inadvisable to leave villagers with no sustenance. And what he does take should be used on behalf of all of Innsbrook—to protect and defend our people. He will be remembered as a cruel king, if anyone remembers him at all.”

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