Page 75 of Pawns of Fate
“Have you been to Kai? Their mountains make the ones in Onanish look like gentle hills.”
Rose shook her head. “The Talbots never had any businesswith my uncle. I’m sure he doesn’t have enough power to bother a duke.”
A strange look crossed Nicholas’s face, but Rose changed the subject. She had enough on her mind and wanted to leave thoughts of her uncle in the past, where they belonged.
“I heard that Talbot has been dealing with the western wolf riders lately.” She said the statement as though it were a question.
“I think he’ll always have to deal with the western wolf riders,” Nicholas replied with a small, thoughtful hum. Oh, how Rose had missed that sound. “They’ve stopped raiding his lands since last winter, though. He wouldn’t have made it to our wedding otherwise.” Nicholas’s horse stepped gingerly over a branch, and Rose’s followed. “But I’m sure they’ll lash out again once they’ve had time to lick their wounds.”
“Will he help with the monster attacks on the Ojoh settlements?” Talbot was a renowned fire mage, an even more fearsome knight on the battlefield than York. Not to mention all the mages in his employ, or the armies at his disposal.
Nicholas’s shoulders slumped, as if the weight of the past few days chose that moment to land on his back. “I’m not sure that the best way to handle it is to keep fighting the monsters.” His lips pursed, and he furrowed his brow. “I think the best strategy is for the mage tower to clean up the mess by taking out the man responsible for creating it.”
“Right, all of this has been the work of one rogue shadow mage,” Rose replied, though she struggled to believe it herself. How could one mage manage nearly simultaneous monsterattacks all over Albion?
“I think Syzman and Lyla know who it is,” Nicholas added. His voice carried a note of distress.
Rose felt her chest tighten. Syzman and Lyla were hiding something from them?
“I suppose there aren’t multitudes of shadow mages running around Albion. That does narrow the list of suspects,” she replied.
“Syzman said there are only five mages capable of traveling through shadow like he does.”
Rose shuddered as she remembered the malevolent life force she’d seen in the garden, and then the sight of the man who’d tried to kidnap her in the library melting into shadow. She glanced around at the dark forest; the urge to use her aura and check their surroundings was overpowering her.
“You truly don’t think that he’ll follow us?” she asked, voice shaking.
“I think he’s still recovering his mana, and by the time he realizes that we aren’t on the road to Onanish, we’ll already be in Talbot’s castle.”
Nicholas’s confidence warmed her heart. Still, the urge to connect her senses to the aural plane lingered. The tips of Rose’s fingers tingled with anticipation.
“I’m going to use my aural magic to check,” she declared.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Nicholas said with a smile. “I’d be grateful if you did.”
Rose felt a little pride at his words. She’d been so helpless the past few days, being saved first by Lyla,then Syzman and Nicholas. It felt good to take some control.
She reached for the aural plane, letting her senses roam. She looked at their surroundings and sensed the life force of the plants, especially the trees. There were a few rodents, and she could feel the tiny pulses of life that she knew to be the insects of the forest—ants, bees, and the like. But there was nothing amiss. No violent shadows hiding in the trees, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.
She smiled at Nicholas and told him that things were clear. He straightened his shoulders, and their horses continued up the mountainous path. Perhaps their troubles were behind them, after all.
They set upcamp in a wooded glen as the sun disappeared and the chill of night settled in. Nicholas caught a pair of brown rabbits for their dinner, so Rose roasted the meat while he tended to the horses.
Rose pulled a few apples and a loaf of bread out of their saddlebags, sat beside the fire, and scooted herself close to her husband. The plain dinner turned into an enjoyable feast in Nicholas’s company.
“Have you sensed anything on the aural plane today?” he asked.
Rose shook her head. She’d checked several times and neversensed any hint of shadow mages.
“Why do Lyla and Syzman think the rogue mage is afterme? What value do I have?”
Nicholas let out a low hum. “I told you this before, but please don’t question your value.” He tugged on a strand of her hair playfully. “You mean the world to me.”
Rose felt her cheeks flush. Nicholas had never really been one to hide his affection, but since they had reunited, he’d been so forward with it that she almost found it overwhelming.
“I’m talking about my aural abilities, or lack thereof,” she replied. “All I can really do is tether my senses to the aural plane and soothe troubled hearts. This mad mage would be better off kidnapping my cousin if he’s got a monster army. Hermes can make small monsters fall asleep with his aura.”
Nicholas frowned. Rose wondered if these thoughts had already occurred to him.
