Robere howled. “ I saw a book. ”
Leonosis lifted the weapon and the torturer quickly placed a clean rag over the wound and pressed down. Robere moaned in agony.
“ What kind of book? ” Leonosis demanded.
“ I ’ m not certain, my lord. I cannot say exactly what it was. But the day after you slew the Graypees, I came in and found Master Tiberius asleep. There was a trunk pulled out from under his bed and on the table was a book. It looked very old and in fact it was only a fragment of a book. ”
“ What was it? ”
“ I asked Master Tiberius and he said it was from the temple. I had no reason not to believe him, but I distinctly saw the word magic on the page. I only saw it for a moment before Master Tiberius swept it away from me. I swear I ’ m telling you the truth. ”
Leonosis leaned back. He had expected to learn something of his brother ’ s plans, but magic had never entered his mind. He considered the possibility that Tiberius had been telling the truth. Magic was forbidden by the holy writings. It could have been a text from the temple describing various abominable practices and the penalties for such infractions, but why would the book only be a fragment? All books on magic had been destroyed in the great purge following the cataclysm, but perhaps it was possible that a few had survived. They would be very old indeed and quite possibly only in fragmented forms.
“ You never saw the book before that? ” Leonosis asked.
“ Never before, never after, ” panted Robere.
“ We didn ’ t find it his room, ” Leonosis said.
He hadn ’ t meant to voice his thoughts out loud, but he quickly decided that it didn ’ t matter. They had found the trunk under Tiberius ’ bed. It was full of keepsakes, mostly junk. There had been no book, no writing of any kind. He would have to confirm that the book wasn ’ t actually from the temple. But if it wasn ’ t, could it mean that Tiberius was actually practicing magic? That would explain why he wanted out of the city. If it was discovered, he would never be allowed to live, not in any of the Nine Cities of Valana.
The lingering question was why. Tiberius was smart, Leonosis knew that for a fact. Tiberius understood the dangers of magic as much as anyone, so why would he have a book about it in his room? If he was a wizard, that would certainly explain how he managed to save Rafe and kill a Graypee. Leonosis had been skeptical that Tiberius could hold off a pack of vicious animals with only his whip. Still, it didn ’ t make sense. Learning magic wouldn ’ t get Tiberius ahead in the family; it wouldn ’ t earn him a place in the palace.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, he remembered his last visit with the Princess. His knees felt weak. He leaned against the door frame.
“ My lord, are you ill? ” the torturer asked. “ Does the sight of blood make you faint? ”
Leonosis looked up, suddenly remembering the other people in the room.
“ Don ’ t be a fool, ” he barked. “ Clean Robere up and await my orders. ”
“ Thank you, my lord, ” Robere cried.
“ You had better hope this story pans out, or I ’ ll see that your skin is flayed from your body. ”
Leonosis spun around and stalked out of the room. He had been worried that the Princess had done something unnatural to him when they last met. In his haste to build his team of spies and learn the truth about Tiberius, he had forgotten that encounter. The truth was, Leonosis didn ’ t like thinking about how impotent he ’ d felt around the Princess. He ’ d wondered if she had used some sort of magic on him, but he ’ d dismissed the thought. How could she? Magic wasn ’ t just outlawed, it was the bane of the empire. No one in all of Valana would ever willingly use magic, or would they?
As Leonosis slowly climbed the dungeon staircase, a plan began to form in his mind. He still needed answers to
Leonosis lifted the weapon and the torturer quickly placed a clean rag over the wound and pressed down. Robere moaned in agony.
“ What kind of book? ” Leonosis demanded.
“ I ’ m not certain, my lord. I cannot say exactly what it was. But the day after you slew the Graypees, I came in and found Master Tiberius asleep. There was a trunk pulled out from under his bed and on the table was a book. It looked very old and in fact it was only a fragment of a book. ”
“ What was it? ”
“ I asked Master Tiberius and he said it was from the temple. I had no reason not to believe him, but I distinctly saw the word magic on the page. I only saw it for a moment before Master Tiberius swept it away from me. I swear I ’ m telling you the truth. ”
Leonosis leaned back. He had expected to learn something of his brother ’ s plans, but magic had never entered his mind. He considered the possibility that Tiberius had been telling the truth. Magic was forbidden by the holy writings. It could have been a text from the temple describing various abominable practices and the penalties for such infractions, but why would the book only be a fragment? All books on magic had been destroyed in the great purge following the cataclysm, but perhaps it was possible that a few had survived. They would be very old indeed and quite possibly only in fragmented forms.
“ You never saw the book before that? ” Leonosis asked.
“ Never before, never after, ” panted Robere.
“ We didn ’ t find it his room, ” Leonosis said.
He hadn ’ t meant to voice his thoughts out loud, but he quickly decided that it didn ’ t matter. They had found the trunk under Tiberius ’ bed. It was full of keepsakes, mostly junk. There had been no book, no writing of any kind. He would have to confirm that the book wasn ’ t actually from the temple. But if it wasn ’ t, could it mean that Tiberius was actually practicing magic? That would explain why he wanted out of the city. If it was discovered, he would never be allowed to live, not in any of the Nine Cities of Valana.
The lingering question was why. Tiberius was smart, Leonosis knew that for a fact. Tiberius understood the dangers of magic as much as anyone, so why would he have a book about it in his room? If he was a wizard, that would certainly explain how he managed to save Rafe and kill a Graypee. Leonosis had been skeptical that Tiberius could hold off a pack of vicious animals with only his whip. Still, it didn ’ t make sense. Learning magic wouldn ’ t get Tiberius ahead in the family; it wouldn ’ t earn him a place in the palace.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, he remembered his last visit with the Princess. His knees felt weak. He leaned against the door frame.
“ My lord, are you ill? ” the torturer asked. “ Does the sight of blood make you faint? ”
Leonosis looked up, suddenly remembering the other people in the room.
“ Don ’ t be a fool, ” he barked. “ Clean Robere up and await my orders. ”
“ Thank you, my lord, ” Robere cried.
“ You had better hope this story pans out, or I ’ ll see that your skin is flayed from your body. ”
Leonosis spun around and stalked out of the room. He had been worried that the Princess had done something unnatural to him when they last met. In his haste to build his team of spies and learn the truth about Tiberius, he had forgotten that encounter. The truth was, Leonosis didn ’ t like thinking about how impotent he ’ d felt around the Princess. He ’ d wondered if she had used some sort of magic on him, but he ’ d dismissed the thought. How could she? Magic wasn ’ t just outlawed, it was the bane of the empire. No one in all of Valana would ever willingly use magic, or would they?
As Leonosis slowly climbed the dungeon staircase, a plan began to form in his mind. He still needed answers to
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