and exquisitely executed.
They don’t yet seem to realize that they are nothing more than cat’s prey now. And we can afford the time to toy with them. Some of the pleasure, indeed, will be in the chase. By the time they grasp the truth, it will be too late.
I wonder: will my glass show me the face of the last one as he dies?
We went on all night. Once Anazian determined we were far enough away from the boar, should it wake, we took a short break. I had nothing but my cloak, and I knew that before long, I would miss my things, especially my waterskin. But Anazian had his pack, and when we stopped for a short rest, he shared his water with me. Once we moved on, he refilled the skin at the first stream we came to.
The shock of the attack on the camp began to lessen a little, and I started asking Anazian questions.
“What happened? What was all that green lightning? And why . . . ?”
“Whoa! One question at a time! We have all night and then some. To begin with your second question, it was an attack by the Royal Guard.”
I almost contradicted him, but remembered in time that Yallick had told me his fears about the dragonmasters in confidence. He obviously hadn’t shared them with Anazian. It occurred to me that I might get more information if I pretended to know less about events than I really did. “How did the Royal Guard make the lightning? I thought they were strictly military.”
“I thought so, too. Perhaps they’ve started working with the court magicians.” He laughed at this, but I didn’t see what was so funny.
“But why are they coming after us? What difference does it make?”
“If the king says to do something, the Royal Guard does it, no questions asked. My best guess is that it has to do with the dragon. The king hasn’t been able to see reason on that topic ever since the egg was stolen. The rather, ah, dramatic show that you and Traz put on rescuing your brother didn’t exactly improve the king’s temper.”
His way of putting it amused me. I supposed it had been “dramatic” at that, with Traz’s staff emitting red lightning that broke the dragonmasters’ net of spells and let Xyla get free.
“Anyway,” Anazian went on, “I suppose losing the valuable rare dragon was just the excuse he needed to finally root the mages out of Alloway for good.”
Something still didn’t make sense. “But how did they find us so fast? The mages have been in hiding forever. If it was that easy, why didn’t they do it before?”
“I don’t know. If we knew the answer to that, we wouldn’t be in this predicament now, would we?”
We walked on and on through the night, sometimes chatting about inconsequentials and sometimes in silence. I wondered if we might meet up with some of the other mages, if any had come this same direction . . . and hadn’t turned back. I never once questioned why we were continuing; the thought of possibly encountering any of the Royal Guard terrified me.
Just before dawn, Anazian found a hiding place between several large boulders. He built a small fire. It felt good to warm my numb fingers and toes, and I was astonished to see absolutely no smoke. Anazian just gave me a mysterious smirk when I asked how he did that. He didn’t answer the question, but instead suggested that I get some sleep while I could.
I pulled my cloak tight across my chest and lay down facing the fire. I wished for a blanket, but that didn’t make me feel any warmer. For a little while, I gazed into the flickering flames, remembering the nights I’d spent traveling with Traz. Where was he now? Was he all right? I hoped he hadn’t gotten separated from Yallick as I had. Well, at least I was safe with someone who’d been Yallick’s apprentice. He must be a powerful mage in his own right. And with that, I fell asleep.
I awoke feeling toasty warm and found that Anazian had covered me with his own cloak. He sat nearby wearing just his heavy wool trousers and tunic.
“Aren’t you
They don’t yet seem to realize that they are nothing more than cat’s prey now. And we can afford the time to toy with them. Some of the pleasure, indeed, will be in the chase. By the time they grasp the truth, it will be too late.
I wonder: will my glass show me the face of the last one as he dies?
We went on all night. Once Anazian determined we were far enough away from the boar, should it wake, we took a short break. I had nothing but my cloak, and I knew that before long, I would miss my things, especially my waterskin. But Anazian had his pack, and when we stopped for a short rest, he shared his water with me. Once we moved on, he refilled the skin at the first stream we came to.
The shock of the attack on the camp began to lessen a little, and I started asking Anazian questions.
“What happened? What was all that green lightning? And why . . . ?”
“Whoa! One question at a time! We have all night and then some. To begin with your second question, it was an attack by the Royal Guard.”
I almost contradicted him, but remembered in time that Yallick had told me his fears about the dragonmasters in confidence. He obviously hadn’t shared them with Anazian. It occurred to me that I might get more information if I pretended to know less about events than I really did. “How did the Royal Guard make the lightning? I thought they were strictly military.”
“I thought so, too. Perhaps they’ve started working with the court magicians.” He laughed at this, but I didn’t see what was so funny.
“But why are they coming after us? What difference does it make?”
“If the king says to do something, the Royal Guard does it, no questions asked. My best guess is that it has to do with the dragon. The king hasn’t been able to see reason on that topic ever since the egg was stolen. The rather, ah, dramatic show that you and Traz put on rescuing your brother didn’t exactly improve the king’s temper.”
His way of putting it amused me. I supposed it had been “dramatic” at that, with Traz’s staff emitting red lightning that broke the dragonmasters’ net of spells and let Xyla get free.
“Anyway,” Anazian went on, “I suppose losing the valuable rare dragon was just the excuse he needed to finally root the mages out of Alloway for good.”
Something still didn’t make sense. “But how did they find us so fast? The mages have been in hiding forever. If it was that easy, why didn’t they do it before?”
“I don’t know. If we knew the answer to that, we wouldn’t be in this predicament now, would we?”
We walked on and on through the night, sometimes chatting about inconsequentials and sometimes in silence. I wondered if we might meet up with some of the other mages, if any had come this same direction . . . and hadn’t turned back. I never once questioned why we were continuing; the thought of possibly encountering any of the Royal Guard terrified me.
Just before dawn, Anazian found a hiding place between several large boulders. He built a small fire. It felt good to warm my numb fingers and toes, and I was astonished to see absolutely no smoke. Anazian just gave me a mysterious smirk when I asked how he did that. He didn’t answer the question, but instead suggested that I get some sleep while I could.
I pulled my cloak tight across my chest and lay down facing the fire. I wished for a blanket, but that didn’t make me feel any warmer. For a little while, I gazed into the flickering flames, remembering the nights I’d spent traveling with Traz. Where was he now? Was he all right? I hoped he hadn’t gotten separated from Yallick as I had. Well, at least I was safe with someone who’d been Yallick’s apprentice. He must be a powerful mage in his own right. And with that, I fell asleep.
I awoke feeling toasty warm and found that Anazian had covered me with his own cloak. He sat nearby wearing just his heavy wool trousers and tunic.
“Aren’t you
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