Chapter 18
With Iannis’s mind made up, we packed up and headed for the Resistance camp. Fenris and I changed into beast form, and with the aid of Iannis’s spell Annia was able to keep pace with us as we ran. The moon was nearly full now, and gave enough light for us to pick our way through the forest.
I wondered again just how it was that Iannis was able to keep up with us so easily.
I hadn’t seen him use the energizing spell on himself, and since expending any magic drained the body’s energy, such a spell would only cancel itself out.
I resolved to ask him about it later, when we weren’t in the middle of a rescue mission, and also to fill him in on the problems back in Solantha.
Even at a steady run, it took us several hours to reach the abandoned mining town.
By that time, dawn’s fingers were painting the peaks of the mountains pink and gold.
The camp was still covered in darkness, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before the light washed over the tops of the rickety old cabins and the soldiers began stirring.
“I bet the cook is pissed that he’s stuck back in the kitchen again,” Annia muttered, and I snickered mentally.
“Stop.” Iannis held up a hand, and we came to a halt. Standing between Iannis and Annia, I peered through the trees and tried to see what had caught Iannis’s attention, but there was only the dark, barely visible outline of the crumbling buildings.
“What is it?” I asked Iannis.
“Someone has set up wards around the camp.” His low voice simmered with anger. “It must be that renegade mage you and Fenris mentioned earlier.”
“Shit.” I squinted through the tree line again, trying to see whatever Iannis was looking at, but I couldn’t. “How the hell do you know there are wards out there?”
“With enough practice you can train yourself to see the residue from active spells,” Fenris explained. “It takes years to master though, so in the meantime you’ll have to trust us. I can see it too.”
“I don’t see how the wards matter right now,” Annia said. “We’re heading for the mineshaft, not the camp. As long as there aren’t any wards outside the mine it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“True, but it’s very likely the mage has warded the mineshaft as well,” Iannis said tightly.
“It’s what I would do in his place. No matter though; I don’t intend to walk away without confronting the traitor.
Any mage foolish enough to side with the Resistance must answer to the Federation for his crimes. ”
“That sounds a little hypocritical, considering that you saved Fenris from execution for defying the Federation,” I couldn’t help pointing out.
Even though I wasn’t a fan of the Resistance, I did think that the current establishment needed to change.
I liked the idea that maybe, just maybe, there was a mage out there who agreed and had the balls to join the fight for equality.
“Now is not the time to debate politics,” Iannis growled, and the hairs on my spine rose in challenge.
“Maybe, but could you at least hold off on erasing the mage from existence until we find out a little more about him?” I snapped back.
Part of me couldn’t believe I was saying this, but I’d come a long way from my black and white viewpoint about mages ever since I was forced to stay at Solantha Palace.
“If we could turn him back onto our side, he could help us bring the Benefactor down.”
There was a long pause. “I will consider your suggestion. In the meantime, lead the way to the mineshaft.”
Who knew I could actually be the voice of reason? I thought as I changed back into human form. Once the glow had faded from my eyes, I swept my gaze across the horizon again…and in the growing daylight, spotted something I hadn’t seen before.
“Guys,” I muttered. “Any of you see that airship over there?”
Everyone turned their heads in the direction I was pointing. Settled about fifty yards from the camp was a small airship, with a wooden cabin attached under a faded canvas cylinder. It was half the size of those owned by the Mages Guild.
“I’m pretty sure that’s how the camp receives their supplies. It could fit all four of us,” Annia said, excitement in her voice. “Maybe we don’t have to walk all the way back to Solantha after all!”
“You’re forgetting about the delegates,” Fenris said dryly. “Not to mention that Iannis needs to get to the Convention as soon as possible to thwart whatever the Benefactor is up to there. If we commandeer that dirigible, we’ll be heading away from Solantha, not toward it.”
“Okay, but we are agreeing that we’re going to commandeer it, right?” Annia demanded. “The Chief Mage can send back a larger aircraft to pick up whoever is left behind, and any prisoners we take.”
“Indeed.” Iannis’s eyes were focused on the dirigible. “Miss Melcott, I suggest that you stay close to the dirigible to make sure that no one takes off in it, while Miss Baine, Fenris, and I rescue the delegates.”
With that settled, we split up, Annia sneaking toward the dirigible while I led the way to the mines.
The sun was creeping closer to the horizon now, bathing the dark, rocky mountain face with a muted glow, and we moved a little faster, not wanting to be caught in the sunlight where sentries might see us.
To our surprise, there were no wards set up around the entrance to the mineshaft, and nor was there a guard on duty. Were we too late? No – a grumpy-looking mule was harnessed to the pulley mechanism that operated the cage, and I could hear voices coming from below.
“Hang on,” I said, lying flat on my belly at the edge of the shaft and tilting my ear toward the opening. “Let me see if I can hear what’s going on before we go down there.”
Fenris copied my pose while Iannis stood guard over us, and together we tuned in to listen to the furious argument occurring down in the mineshaft.
“You can’t do this, Chartis!” Bosal, the delegate I’d spoken to earlier, shouted. I froze, straining to make sure I’d heard him right – his voice was thick and hoarse from the drugs in his system. “You’re one of us! How could you side with these filthy mongrels and use your magic for their gain?”
“I was one of you,” a cold voice answered, and a shiver crawled up my spine as I recognized Argon Chartis’s superior tone.
“But that was before Lord Iannis stripped me of my title and tossed me out into the cold, without so much as a recommendation. You did not lift a finger to help me then, Bosal.”
“And so what, that justifies your becoming the tool of these barbaric humans instead?” the Secretary demanded. “I didn’t realize you’d sunk so low, Argon. That any mage could sink so low.”
“Silence!” There was a crack, and I imagined the delegate slumping against the wall beneath the force of one of Chartis’s air-slaps.
My cheek throbbed in sympathy – I’d been on the receiving end of a few of those from him myself.
“The Resistance has offered me the means for getting my own back! Did all of you really expect me to just slink away after such injustice, like a chastised cur? A mage of my experience and standing?”
“Iannis!” I hissed, jumping to my feet. “It’s Argon Chartis! He’s the mage the Resistance recruited to help them, and he’s about to execute the delegates now!”
Iannis swore, then sprinted for the mineshaft, speaking the Words of the levitation spell as he went. Rather than fumbling with the spell myself, which I still wasn’t super confident with, I hopped onto Iannis’s back as he dropped down into the mineshaft.
“Ciach,” he swore as my arms and legs wrapped around his torso, but one of his hands wrapped around mine and squeezed, as if to reassure I was safe. “Are you trying to get us both killed?”
“I was going for efficiency,” I muttered in his ear as we descended into the shaft, far faster and smoother than when I’d done it on my own.
As the elevator cage came into view, I realized Iannis wasn’t going to be able to squeeze by it with me on his back, so I dropped onto the top of the cage, then waited until Fenris floated past him before I swung myself over the side and dropped down into the tunnel.
Chartis swung around, his eyes wide with shock at the sight of us.
Power crackled in his left hand, which was aimed at the delegate he’d been arguing with.
All seven prisoners had been lined up against the wall, rune-engraved cuffs weighing down their wrists and preventing them from being able to use their magic.
Four Resistance soldiers surrounded them in case one of them decided to attack, but it was hardly necessary – the mages could barely stand.
“You!” Chartis shouted, jabbing a crackling finger in Iannis’s direction. Strangely, he almost looked triumphant at seeing the Chief Mage alive. “I knew you had somehow survived that fall.”
“Well, I am a Chief Mage,” Iannis said coldly, stepping forward.
“It would be rather pitiful if I could be killed so easily. Step away from the delegates, Argon. I made the mistake of letting you go quietly, and I won’t be doing that again.
You are coming back with me to face trial for your treason. ”
“Come with you? Not in this life!” Chartis yelled, his eyes sparking with rage.
He shouted a Word, and a bolt of lightning shot from his palm, heading straight for Iannis.
Iannis raised a hand and shouted another spell as he caught the bolt in his hand.
The deadly lightning dissipated, much to Chartis’s fury.
“You’ve already stripped me of my rank and thrown me out of the Guild – I won’t allow you to humiliate me by putting me on a public trial as well! ”
“Stop this!” Iannis commanded, his eyes flashing. “If you throw around magic like that in this tunnel, it will collapse and kill us all!”