Page 11 of War Mage

The queen looks suddenly nervous. A strange expression to see on her usually confident face. “No. It’s not important right now.”

The trolless looks up, light censure in her eyes. “Adalind, I’m sure she would disagree. She is going to be risking life on this mission, for the safety of both Adrik and Orik. For the survival of all Anar’i. She deserves to know everything.”

It’s interesting to me that the troll woman speaks to the queen without titles and feels comfortable enough to admonish her. Who is this wisewoman? But it is her words that take most of my interest. “What is she speaking of? What truth?”

“It’s nothing,” insists Queen Adalind. “A translation issue, that’s all.”

“Adalind . . .” the troll woman says, more firmly. “Tell her, or I will. Be better than our enemy.”

“You said that we need to be honest with each other,” I point out, using her words against her.

“Fine,” the queen bites out, obviously annoyed. She takes a deep breath and blows it out before hesitantly saying, “There isn’t a . . . guarantee that youcankill the demon.”

“What?” I sputter. “But then, why are we even doing this in the first place?” I gesture at the tattoo forming across my forearm.

“The queen means that the text we found says that soulfire makes a demon’s hostvulnerable,” Urim explains. “Those are the exact words. So it isn’t clear whatvulnerablemeans, exactly. That could mean that it can kill the demon, and the host they are in, or it might just mean that it weakens them so that theycanbe killed. There’s no way to know for certain without more information, but records from the God War are rare. The scholars are scouring the archives for more information, but it’s likely they won’t find anything before we leave on the morrow.”

“So I could go through this entire mission, succeed in getting in front of the demon, hit him with my soulfire, give up my life, and still fail?” I am aghast. They would have truly set me up in such an impossible way and not told me if it weren’t for the trolless? I mean that little to them?

“It ispossible,” agrees the queen reluctantly.

“Then, I want to renegotiate the deal,” I declare. “I’m not going through all of this just to fail because of a misinterpreted scroll.”

“What is there to renegotiate?” Urim asks in that even tone of voice of his. “You either do this mission or you die.”

“But as I’ve said before, you need me more than I need you,” I point out. “If I’m going to die anyway, whether now or on this mission, I don’t have anything to lose, do I? But you all, you have your lives and your freedom and your country.”

“What are you saying?” asks Queen Adalind calmly.

“I want the success of the mission to be redefined. If I get in front of the demon, as long as I hit him with my soulfire, I want it to count as a success. Even if Grazrath doesn’t die outright. The Mage’s Tower is to be freed if I can do this. That would make it still worth doing.”

The queen and Urim exchange looks again. Then Queen Adalind turns to me, looking at me with a searching gaze. I meet her eyes with determination, letting my will battle hers.

A minute, maybe more, passes, but I don’t back down. Everything important to me depends on me winning this battle. Then she finally nods in acknowledgment.

“So be it.”

Chapter 6

Urim

The door closes behind Adara as Larek escorts her back to her cell, her tattoo finally finished. Lady Melelea readies her inks and needles in one corner, preparing to give me my own magical tattoo. She is conversing with Queen Adalind in hushed tones, carefully cutting the queen’s palm to add more blood to the ink. When I know that the prisoner is out of earshot, I turn back to my queen, interrupting her conversation.

“This will end badly, My Queen,” I say evenly. “The mage has no loyalty but to herself and the other mages.”

“Which is why we promised her the freedom of the Mage’s Tower,” replies Queen Adalind just as evenly, the cut on her palm healing before my eyes. “It will bind her to her mission. She wants its success almost as much as we do. Do not fret so much.”

“If My King were here . . .” I start, but immediately know that it was the wrong thing to say.

My Queen’s eyes go pained for a moment before she shutters her emotions to my gaze. “Rognar is not here,” she says, more firmly than before. “He is at the battlefront with the Horde. He is not here to give orders, but I think he would agree with me even if hewerehere. This is not a regular war, Urim. We all know that. Our enemy is an immortal, powerful creature, akin to a god, with an army of powerful vampires fueled by the blood of sentients. It would be arrogant to say that we can win against such odds. Do not let your dislike for the mage cloud your judgment. She is the only weakness we have been able to find thatmayslay Grazrath, our dagger in the dark. We must use her and pray that her flame strikes true or all will be lost.”

Queen Adalind cocks her head to one side, looking at me questioningly. “Do you wish to find someone to go in your place, Urim? To take your part in the mission? I will not blame you if you do.”

I balk at the suggestion, but reply in my same measured tones. “No, My Queen. With a mission of this import and delicacy, I will trust it to no one else. Though I know that I was left here to protect you and the heir . . .”

The queen waves a hand, dismissing my words. “There are months left until I give birth. Besides, I have Dame Zera and my Gold Guard and am behind the castle walls. My child and I will be safe for the time being. And if we lose this war, nothing will save me from Grazrath’s clutches anyway. Nothing is more important than getting Adara in front of the demon.Nothing. If we are to save Anar’i from Grazrath’s dreams of conquest, he must be killed.”

I nod my head, dropping my arguments. “It is as you say, My Queen. I will not fail you.”I will not let the mage fail either, I silently add.

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