Through the Eyes of a Fae

Weeks passed, but no word about the assassins came to light. Malik was furious. All their lives were in danger on that ice, in his own city! He had guards out by the hundreds, scouring every alley and hiding hole. Gate security guards were questioned, the guards who had been with them ran through the ringer. He ran his hand through his hair again and punched the stone fireplace. The stone cracked and he cursed. He turned and flung everything off his desk. His sisters, his best friends - his love. That arrow could have pierced any of them. The poison meant for a fae would have killed any of the others in seconds. For Kora, it would have caused immense pain and delusions - their goal was to cause her to lose control, to send her rampant. To destroy the city. With that knowledge, there had been thousands at risk. He had no leads, no witnesses - nothing. Malik seethed and sat abruptly, his head in his hands. If he were unable to get this under control, he would lose those closest to him. He put his whole kingdom in danger, brining Kora here. But he could not bring himself to regret the decision. He genuinely loved her as a sister now, her gentle heart and fierce disposition had become a constant in his life. He loved her as dearly as he loved Stella, and a feeling of protectiveness filled his chest. His heart squeezed. A knock sounded on the door and Malik barked-

“If you aren’t Cade, enter at your own risk!” It was Cade. He entered, and after surveying the wreckage in the room, quietly closed the door. Malik looked wild, he whipped around and stared down at Cade. He stood silently next to the door, hands behind his back.

“Tell me you did not come here with nothing to report. Why bother?” Malik thundered, his anger igniting further. Cade was his spy master, and the fact that something of this magnitude had slipped past him did not go unmentioned. Several times.

“Of course not, your grace. I value my life.” Cade said quietly, eyes level. Cade had been just as upset when he had learned of the attempt on Kora’s life. It was personal for him, that this had slipped past. Anger burned in his eyes, much the same as the others. He pulled a small role of parchment from behind his back and handed it to Malik. He snatched it, and quickly unfurled it, reading the contents. The mages Ludis had sent to Cade were back and waiting to report.

“If you are … unwell, I can complete questioning, your grace.” Cade gestured to the room, and Malik shook his head.

“No. I will handle this myself.” The implication that Cade could not handle an interrogation was not missed. Cade’s eyes were icy as he bowed to his king. They left the room, and Malik asked the attending knight to request a maidservant to straighten the study. It would not do for Ludis to see it and know he had lost control. The men made their way down the hall to Cade’s study, and Cade was not surprised at all to find that Ben and Royce were already present, Ludis standing between them. Silent, Cade opened the door and motioned for them to enter. The mages stood to bow to their king, and Cade motioned for Malik to take his spot behind the desk. Agitated, he chose to remain standing and steered Ludis to the chair instead. He motioned for the mages to sit.

“No doubt you four are tired, thank you for agreeing to meet as soon as you arrived. Please, tell me anything you have learned.” Ludis was the calm in the room, and everyone could feel the tension between the men. The mages looked at each other, and Fletcher spoke first.

“We received your report that the Men of the Grey had infiltrated the castle. We began to focus on how such an entry to the capital was even possible. As I am sure you are aware, Master Ludis cast a powerful spell years ago. A trigger for when tainted magic touches the borders of the city. There was no trigger to indicate that they had made it into the city.” Cade coughed, as Ben and Royce’s eyes grew stony. Malik gritted his teeth.

“We are aware that the signals hadn’t worked as they should have, Fletcher.” Ludis spoke quietly, feeling a pang at her failure. Fletcher coughed and Meredith spoke up.

“Forgive Fletcher, he is just nervous. What he meant to tell you is that he found evidence that the barrier had not failed, it had been tampered with.” Ludis’s head snapped up in surprise. The others, too, were surprised. The fact alone that Ludis’s spell had seemed to fail had been hard enough on Ludis. Thousands counted on her magic for protection.

“Where? How?” Ludis was leaning forward - and Bailey pulled a few pieces of parchment and a large map from a satchel at her side. Looking for permission to approach the desk, Malik waved her forward. The others stepped closer to lean over as Bailey spread the map across the desk. Fletcher leaned over Bailey’s shoulder as Meredith laid the remaining parchment out to the side. It did not go unnoticed to all in the room that Sara had not spoken, nor stood to come closer to the desk. Fletcher looked at her expectantly, and when she did not rise, he coughed again, taking the lead.

He pointed out two smaller gates on the east and south of the city. Mostly used for goods and smaller traffic for the common born, he pulled a piece of parchment closer. It detailed the devices that Ludis had built herself, out of Basilisk bones and Obsidian. It was an old and complex magic.

“The devices here and here -” He indicated the two gates, “Had additional runes added. These runes,” Grabbing another piece of parchment to show the runes, “Were to add the command to lower the guard on either gate at command or would stay open for a set amount of time.” Meredith spoke next.

“The interesting part of this is the addition to the spell could only be activated from the inside of the barrier. It would have taken months to add the runes unnoticed. This was most definitely an inside job.” Meredith spoke quickly, confident in their findings. Bailey spoke next.

“We have corrected the runes, which is why delayed in reporting. It took… patience to be able to move enough magic between us without drawing unwanted attention from the tower.” Ludis was impressed with her images. She had not even felt the disturbance in the spell, nor the magic, as they had made the corrections. She still aimed to check these herself as soon as possible. Eager to head out, she looked up at Malik. He nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. Fletcher was shaking his head, and Royce was exasperated.

“Spit it out, mages-always dragging things out.” Royce too was impatient, wanting to know where the enemy was, so he could crush their skulls. Fletcher paled a little at Royce’s tone and swallowed hard.

“Well, you see-we cannot figure out exactly who did the change to the barrier. Normally, when a mage casts a spell, there is something - a signature essentially- that indicates the caster. This had none… It was like they had just bent it. Based on our knowledge-only the original caster could make such a change, and not leave a mark on the spell.” All eyes turned to Ludis, who went pale.

“Impossible.” she whispered, grasping Malik’s hand. She looked up at him, about to protest, but he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

“You realize what you are indicating, don’t you? Are you one hundred percent certain of your assessment? Is there no room for error?” Malik’s voice was quiet, but the mages quailed at the veiled threat of his words. Meredith spoke up, trying to ease the sudden tension.

“We are by no means making an accusation. What we are trying to convey is that the person who is responsible is capable of severe magic. There are only so many mages within the walls who could do such a thing and remain undetected.” Ben spoke up now, furious.

“It still sounds as if you are pointing a finger, Mage Meredith. Speak plainly!” Ben was at the end of his wits. There was no way Ludis did this, and they knew it.

“All we can do is report our findings.” Bailey spoke now, and she sounded defensive. She looked at Ludis.

“Master Ludis, none of us believe you did this. We must tell you that. We just want to be as transparent in our findings as possible. Just like you taught us.” Bailey looked at her, sympathy in her eyes.

“No, of course. I had chosen you four because I knew you would speak the truth and had the talent to acquire it. Please, do not spare my feelings in this.” Ludis’ eyes were amethyst, fury in them. Not for her mages, but for the fact that this had gone on, under her own nose! The mages began to pack up, and Malik stepped forward.

“I would like a word with Sara, you three may leave.” Sara looked up, seeming to have been snapped out of some trance. She looked ill. The mages shrugged and left. Ludis looked at him, imploring silently. He made a small motion with his chin towards Cade, and Ludis, catching the slight movement - turned to Cade.

“Cade, as much as I want to talk to Sara as well, I feel like this cannot wait. Will you please escort me to these gates? I must check the barrier for myself.” Cade hesitated, looking at Ben, Royce, and Malik. He then bowed, his face blank. Malik nodding his permission-Cade and Ludis left the room, leaving the others with Sara, who was starting to sweat.

“Sara, you have not spoken at all. What is it that holds your tongue so still?” Malik’s voice was velvet over steel. Sara began to fuss about her skirts and would not look up. Royce leaned forward to cup the girl’s chin.

“Come now lass, we are all on the same side, tell us what you are afraid of. We can help you.” Royce’s voice was comforting. There was real fear in Sara’s eyes now. Ben came forward and went on one knee in front of her.

“You are from Althan, are you not? I know your brother. Sara, we are trying our best to protect everyone. If you know something that can help us, it is imperative that you speak now.” Ben was calm, but the storm was brewing within, ready to explode. Despite that, he handled Sara gently. She began to cry.

“It is … I do not know anything exactly. But I have a feeling. When your grace’s encampment came home, well, there was a soldier who came to the Mages tower. He was seeking access to the restricted section of the towers’ library. An exceptionally smooth talker he was. He was … handsome. Wanted to learn magic. So … So, I showed him. I caught him there late one night… and the scrolls he had pulled out-they were on the barrier spell Master Ludis had cast. He was pouring over them, see-taking notes.” Sara was shaking.

“When I demanded he give me the notes- I informed him that was forbidden! - He … He struck me, told me if I ever breathed a word, he … he would kill my whole family. That he had people in Althan- that they would hear of anything that happened to him, and they would kill my poor mother and brother. My brother - he is special, see? Not all there, Sir Ben, you know my family. They count on me for financial support, which is why I came to the Mages Tower. Please, I did not mean any harm to come to anyone. Please.” Sara was sobbing now, clearly terrified. Ben took her hand and Royce patted her shoulder.

“There, there lass. We will have your family brought here as soon as we are able. We will not let no harm come to em; you will see.” Royce promised and looked at Malik - who stood with barely contained rage.

“The name, Sara, we need a name.” Ben implored when Malik did not speak.

“His … His name was Joseph, my lord.” She whispered the confession. Ben promised to send word to Althan to have Sara’s family move within his castle for protection, until they could bring them safely to the capital. Sara was handed over to a knight-she would need to be hidden until they could locate Joseph at least. Malik left the room, murder in his heart-Ben and Royce on his heels.