Michael Manning - The Archmage unbound

I turned my back on her and began descending the stairs. The quiet part of me observed that the darkened stairwell might well be a metaphor for my own spiritual descent into darkness. “You don’t want to see this Ariadne,” I said as I went. I didn’t particularly worry about whether she heard me or not.

“Penny left you a note! Did you see it?!” she yelled at my back. Her words were muffled slightly by the screen of force blocking her way, but I heard them nonetheless. My feet stopped of their own accord.

“What?” I turned back in annoyance. The poor girl, beautiful as she was, was in tears.

“She left a note for you. Joe McDaniel was supposed to give it to you.”

My anger made room for a bit of ordinary irritation. “I can read it later, nothing is going to change my mind at this point.”

I started to turn away again but she screamed at me, “She had a vision! She wanted you to read it before you did anything else… she knew Mordecai! She knew!”

My cold rage was becoming a rather more normal hot anger, “Just tell me what it said damnitt!” I removed the shield from the doorway and walked back up to her. I wanted nothing more than to finish our conversation so I could go down and take care of my unfinished business. My hands were itching with impatience.

“I don’t know!” she said desperately. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me, but she wanted you to read it. She knew what was about to happen and she said only you should see the note.

For the first time since I had resolved to slowly torture the man held below to death, I truly paused to think. If she knew then she must have had a plan, I thought. That might mean she isn’t dead, but for some reason didn’t want anyone to realize that fact. That meant her note might have been left to prevent me from making a mistake, based on that assumption. There really wasn’t any way to second guess her without reading it first.

I looked at Marc’s sister. She was a wreck. Tears stained her cheeks and her eyes were swollen. I had given her quite a fright. Still my heart was not capable of much compassion, not yet anyway. Mechanically I embraced her, “I’m sorry for scaring you.” Then I pushed her away and headed for the teleportation circles. I needed to see Joe. “Tell your father I’ll pay the bill for the door,” I said absently as I went.

At first she didn’t answer but as I passed from her view I heard her mutter behind me, “Nobody cares about the damn door, least of all Father. We just want you to stay sane Mordecai.” She probably thought I hadn’t heard her, not that it mattered.

I found Joe pacing outside the building housing the teleportation circles in Castle Cameron. His eyes lit on me emerging from the double doors with obvious relief. “Thank the gods you came back!”

I gave him a grim stare. “You know better than to praise the gods in front of me Joe.”

His face registered shock at my tone, “It’s just an expression of habit…”

“Well change it. Where’s the note she sent you?” I said bluntly.

“Ya know I’ve spent most of every day waiting out here for you to return and sure enough you show up when I’m in the privies…” he said nervously. His slightly foreign accent became more pronounced when he was anxious. Reaching into his jacket he withdrew a sealed envelope.

I took it from him and began walking. He fell in beside me. “I’ll take lunch in my rooms,” I told him.

“Pardon ser?”

“I’ll be in my rooms for a while, thinking.” I held up the envelope and waved it at him. “I’m sure I’ll have a lot to think about. Make sure I’m not disturbed, except for some food and wine.”

“Of course your Lordship,” he said and when we entered the keep proper he headed in the direction of the kitchens to relay my instructions to the cook. As he walked away I felt a twinge of guilt for my abrupt behavior. Joe was a friend, and I had rarely treated him roughly. Hopefully he would understand later.

Pushing that thought aside I mounted the stairs leading up to the apartments I had until recently shared with my wife. That thought made me clench my teeth anew.

Once I had closed the door behind me I carefully opened the envelope Joe had given me. It was still sealed with the bit of wax she had carefully pressed onto it. The impression in the wax showed the delicate seal of a woman’s ring, small and bearing the Cameron arms. I held my breath as I pulled it loose and looked at the contents.

My Love,

I know how frustrated and angry you are, for I have seen the events that have led you to this moment. What I do not know is how you will react to these words. My hope is that you will take my advice and do what is best for everyone. The vision I saw was one in which you did not receive this, and I did not like what I saw. You must not let your anger blind you, if you do so, you will damn us all, starting with yourself.

The man I know, the man I love, is given to compassion. Do not let this break your spirit. I have seen what will happen if you pay heed to your darker impulses. It is a bleak and empty path, and you will no longer be the man I have loved. There is still hope if you do not despair. I cannot say more than that.

I must apologize for the deplorable lack of information here. I cannot tell you most of what I have seen, lest it change things even further beyond what I have seen. You will have to trust me yet again. I will say that I had no intimation of any of this until you left us in Lancaster. That was probably for the best, for I doubt I could have kept it a secret if I had known. You would have seen through my acting and drawn the secret from me, possibly dooming everyone.

Here is the important part, the part that might change the future for the better. Do not let your anger rule you. The wizard in Lancaster’s dungeon is not your enemy. His surname is Prathion, and if you will open your heart he may be your greatest ally. Ask him who healed Miriam; his answer should help you understand.

Do not seek vengeance with the king. That may come later. Your answers lie with the shiggreth for now.

That is it. I can say no more, nor can I offer you any consolation. Do not let grief warp your heart and soul. You are not the first, nor the last to suffer a tragedy, but your actions from this day onward could do much to reduce the number of people that lose their loved ones. Do not lose hope. Show the world the kind heart that I have always loved.

Love,

Penelope

P.S. If you ignore my advice I will make you regret it for the rest of this life and into the next one, if there is such a thing, and I’m not joking.

The last line made me smile through my tears. “Your handwriting is still simply awful my dear,” I said to myself with a chuckle that turned into a choked sob. Taking hold of myself I drew a deep breath and carefully refolded the sheet of paper and set it aside on my writing table. I didn’t want it marred or damaged by a thoughtless accident or poor judgment on my part. Once I had it safely tucked away I slowly collapsed on the floor. I lay there for a long time and my sorrow threatened to drown my reason, but I didn’t let it. That’s not what she wanted, I thought to myself.

What she would want me to do is think, and think carefully, I mentally reminded myself. “I cannot promise you I will retain my kindness and compassion,” I said, speaking as if to her directly. “But I won’t let anger control me, I will be cold and clever, like a viper, until I have gotten my vengeance. Justice can be damned, I will make those responsible pay.” I clenched my jaw as I said the words.

I lay there on the floor for some time, until a servant knocked, delivering the meal I had asked for earlier. I opened the door calm and composed, with little trace of the turmoil inside remaining on my features. After I had eaten I spent the rest of the day thinking. My next steps would be made carefully lest I give away my intentions to my enemies.