Chapter 10
Elias roared his rallying cry and emerged from behind the stacks of boxes where he was hidden. He charged alone at Miles Farrow’s house, and barged in with his spellblade.
Miles Farrow stood there defenselessly by his mother, the fruit and the groceries he’d brought lying on the table.
Elias stared from the mother to the son, and then unleashed the death curse upon them both.
No sooner than he’d done that, the villagers of Horrow’s Heap, alerted by the dying screams of Miles Farrow and his mother, flocked to the house, only to find Elias and his two companions standing there.
“Solignites!” the man at the head of the mob yelled, and before the three could defend themselves, the followers of the Grath Nomad broke upon them, beating them with their bare fists, choking their necks, kicking their bodies.
They strung the three corpses on a pole by the village square for all to see. Above the pole flew the Grath Nomad’s flag, a black handprint on white fabric.
* * *
Elias Solwyn awoke with a gasp. He was lying down in the same spot as where he’d been hiding, Freya and Theo standing some distance away, looking scared. Elias looked up to see his grandfather standing there, his hand on Elias’s forehead.
“I am disappointed, Elias,” Eldric said grimly. “That you’d throw your life away this callously.”
“I…I…”
“I merely showed you a version of the future, one that would have come to pass if you’d gone through with your murderous intent.
This is not where you make your stand, boy.
Not in this village where the Grath Nomad has won the hearts of the people,” he said, staring daggers at his grandson, then at his two accomplices.
“Recklessness like this is exactly what got your father killed. If you continue in his steps, you shall?—”
“Don’t talk about my father!” Elias snapped, getting up and dusting the dirt off his clothes. “You don’t know?—”
“I am the only one who knows!” Eldric shouted. “I am the one who forbade him from making such a rash mistake. You seem to be keen on following his path. Is that how little you value your life?!”
Before Elias could retort, Eldric grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and put his arm around the other two, immediately transporting them all back to his hill house.
Elias fell on all fours in the entrance hall, gasping. Teleportation magic eluded most mages. It was exceedingly difficult to perform, and its effects were even more unpleasant. It felt like being pulled through a tight, airless tube.
Eldric stood in front of him, his hands twitching with anger, eyes narrowed at Elias.
“What am I going to do with you, Elias?” he sighed. He walked toward the giant door that led into the great room and pushed it open. “If the house help hadn’t alerted me to your sudden departure, if I hadn’t been there, I’d have lost a grandson. And for what?”
“There is a war going on, you old fool!” Elias said, standing up with the help of Theo. “Are you too blind to see that?!”
“You want to see war?!” Eldric turned around and strode over to Elias, grabbing his collar again. “Is that it?”
“Send them my way and I will kill them in the name of the Sol-Father!” Elias said, grabbing his grandfather’s hand and holding onto it firmly. “If there’s a war happening, I will not sit on the sidelines.”
Eldric stared into Elias’s defiant eyes and raised his finger.
“If you really wish to join the fight as a warrior, you must show me that you have the resolve of a fighter, the patience of a soldier, the determination of a captain. Can you stay your hand when it’s called for?
Do you know that the answer to violence isn’t necessarily always violence?
Can you make the right judgment call when it comes to saving yourself or your fellow soldiers?
! If you cannot answer those questions, then you are a loose cannon, as harmful to us as you are to your enemies. ”
Elias rolled his eyes and exhaled. “I’m sorry, Grandfather.”
“Will you be able to show restraint going forward?” he asked.
Elias looked at Freya and Theo. They stood away from him, and when he looked at them, they both gave him a don’t-look-at-us stare. He clicked his teeth in disappointment. He couldn’t have asked for worse friends.
He then looked at his grandfather and asked, “Restraint?”
“Yes. Restraint. Restraint that, if you had shown earlier, you’d still be at Umbrveyl. Restraint that, if you had shown today, you would not have put your life and the life of your friends in danger. Restraint that…”
“Fine! Fine! I’ll show restraint!”
“Good,” Eldric said, leading the way to the great room. “You’ll have an opportunity to show your newfound restraint in a minute.”
As Elias followed his grandfather into the great room, it was to the sight of it packed with people, some of them huddled over a table looking at maps and discussing strategies, others talking about their discoveries by the unlit fireplace.
Some talked in solemn whispers in a corner.
Others strolled across the room in groups. Elias could recognize most of them.
This was the Solignis Covenant, and it had assembled in this mansion, at long last.
They all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him, a range of emotions in their eyes—worry, anger, disappointment, gladness, relief.
He was, after all, the promised champion of Sol, as declared by Eldric Solwyn.
An adept student, a dab hand at combat, the son of martyrs, the grandson of the most powerful mage in all of Aladria, Elias Solwyn commanded a certain degree of respect and reverence.
It was this same degree of command that allowed him to get away with most things in life.
He knew he was the champion of Sol. He’d dreamed the dreams where Sol-Father himself came down and bestowed upon him the Sunflame Spear.
He knew it in his heart that he was going to put an end to this war.
He knew it in his mind that if someone was going to kill the Grath Nomad, it was him.
It was this certainty that had allowed him to walk brazenly into Horrow’s Heap with the intent to kill a few Deathless initiates, the same certainty that had helped him decide to murder the Balthazar students in cold blood during their detention.
And then his eyes fell upon two people sitting by the grand table.
He rolled his hands into fists and seethed at his grandfather.
“What the hell are they doing here?”
“As of some time, Ms. Rosefield has been a member of the Covenant. I’m pretty sure you know Cassian Veilmonte is also a member. Restraint, remember?” Eldric said, nodding at Theo and Freya to ensure that Elias demonstrated self-control. They nodded back meekly.
“She’s the reason I got expelled,” Elias sneered.
“I think you’re a fucking idiot,” Freya said hotly. “Not only did you get me and Theo expelled, you also got us nearly killed today.” She shoved him aside as she walked up to the grand table and greeted some of the people she knew.
Faculty members, members of the Vanguard, and four students, including the three expelled and Lesya.
When Headmaster Eldric took his place at the head of the table, the meeting convened.
Elias noticed Lesya and Cassian sitting together across from her.
Were they a thing? How had he not seen that before?
A snide thought came to him. If something terrible were to happen to either one—and he hated both with equal passion—the other would be introduced to heartbreak like nothing else.
“I am sure all of us will be relieved to hear that Elias, Freya, and Theo have been rescued quite promptly from Horrow’s Heap. Lucky for us, they were extracted before they could do anything.”
“At least I was doing something useful,” Elias remarked, crossing his arms. “What were all of you doing in the meantime besides sitting on your asses and going over maps?
Several members around the table gave him glares. Elara Moore simply shook her head in dismay.
“Headmaster.” Clive Bane, newly elected head of the Vanguard, rose from his seat.
He was a tall, powerful black man who had been serving under Crenshaw as his captain.
He was in his late forties, face clean shaven, a cap on his bald head, and tattoos all over his forearms. His stature and posture demanded reverence from others.
Even Elias quieted down as Clive Bane addressed the Covenant.
“If Elias Solwyn is displaying such radical candor and bravery, why not let him join the frontlines?”
“Thank you! That’s what I’ve been saying,” Elias said. He did not understand the level of irony that Clive Bane was deploying. Apparently everyone else did. Freya covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from grinning. Theo sighed in tired defeat, shaking his head.
“A great suggestion,” Eldric said. “But my grandson is a spoiled brat who has not seen a single day of war. At Umbrveyl, people bowed and kowtowed to him. The academic staff, the castle keepers, all. He’s enjoyed a certain degree of immunity and preferential treatment from most of Aladria.
In his naivete, he forgets that there are those out there who bid him ill will.
People who, if they saw him wandering about a village that’s pledged support to the Grath Nomad, will abduct him and present him to the Grath Nomad.
He forgets his place and his importance. I am afraid he overestimates himself.”
“I’m literally sitting right here,” Elias said, fuming. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”
“Fine then,” Clive Bane said, giving Elias a despicable stare. “If you want to put yourself in harm’s way, there’s a better way to do it than by going unannounced into villages and attempting to kill innocent students.”