Michael Manning - The Archmage unbound

That evening I took out the silver stylus I had found and began working on an item I thought might prove useful. It took several attempts before I got the rune structure properly balanced, but luckily I was able to test my device upon myself to ensure it worked properly. The final adjustments were trickier, since I had to be careful not to accidentally trigger it and possibly injure myself. I did that part while using the strongest shield I could create, but I still wasn’t certain it would protect me at such a close range if I made a mistake.

By the time midnight had arrived I had finished and I felt my plans were as complete as I could make them. I decided to put myself to bed.

I had taken to approaching each step with methodical carefulness, as if it was a ritual. I did the same with retiring. I washed up and removed my dirty outerwear, taking care to neglect nothing. It almost felt as if I had a duty to Penny to properly manage the mundane tasks of life. She would have wanted me to take care of myself. Still, it took me a half-bottle of wine before sleep would claim me, and my dreams were far from restful.

I returned to Lancaster bright and early the next morning. I had taken particular care with my grooming and when I appeared every hair was in place. My beard and mustache were carefully trimmed and my clothing was immaculate. Again, I felt it was something Penny would have wanted, though upon further consideration it might have been a symptom of the effort I was taking to control the emotions within myself.

James met me soon after I had entered. He appraised my appearance with one look and I saw a look of approval in his eyes. “You look better today Mordecai.”

“Indeed your Grace, I am much improved. I hope you can forgive my behavior yesterday, I was distraught,” I told him in overly formal tones.

“No need to be so serious, we’re family after all,” he told me. In point of fact his wife was my aunt, a fact I had learned only two years previously.

“The formality is perhaps part of my way of coping, sir. I hope you’ll understand, but I cannot afford to be too loose with my emotions right now,” I replied.

“Are you referring to the ‘earthquake’ we had yesterday?”

William must have seen more than I had thought and of course he had spoken with his master. Of course I couldn’t have reasonably expected them not to connect the dots even without William’s account. “I got a bit carried away. The worst is over now, please don’t worry. I won’t let something like that happen again,” I reassured him.

James’ eyes crinkled into an expression of sympathy. “There’s more to come lad, you know that from your father’s passing. It never really goes away.”

“How has Lady Thornbear taken it?” I asked suddenly. I felt a bit selfish for not having thought of her before; she had lost her only son after all. I was not the only one suffering.

I could see the duke’s jaw clench, “She has dealt with it admirably, like all those of her lineage. Still it has been hard on her, having just lost Gram two years ago, and now her son as well. She has kept to her quarters for the most part, though Genevieve and your mother have visited her frequently.”

I nodded, for I didn’t know what to say. We walked on toward the hall and James asked if I had eaten. I hadn’t and so we took breakfast together that morning in his sunroom. Somehow he kept everyone else away, though I’m sure they all wanted to see me. My mother in particular certainly, but I wasn’t really ready to deal with her emotions. My own were almost more than I could stand.

We didn’t talk too much as we ate, but eventually I brought up my main reason for showing up so early that morning. “I’m ready to talk to the wizard now,” I said without preamble.

James set his plate aside. “You nearly frightened poor Ariadne to death yesterday.”

“I need to apologize for that, and to thank her. If it hadn’t been for her I might have made a serious mistake,” I replied. “I’d also like to pay for the damage to your door.”

He waved his hands in a dismissive motion, “Don’t worry about it, we’ve been through too much to squabble over doors. I’m curious as to what Ariadne might have said to you though, you’ve calmed down considerably since yesterday.”

I looked down in embarrassment, “She simply reminded me of things Penny had said before, and what she would think of what I was planning to do.” I told him the truth, but it was in a roundabout manner, neglecting entirely the fact that the information had come from one of Penny’s visions.

We talked for perhaps another quarter of an hour before I excused myself and went to find my mother. There wasn’t much use delaying the inevitable. I found her sitting alone in the room Genevieve had given her. I didn’t fail to notice it was located directly next to the duke’s own suite, or that there were two guards posted outside it.

The guards stepped aside without a word as I approached, both of them knew me. I knocked on the door. I already knew Miriam was inside, and awake, but I didn’t want to startle her. “Yes?” came her voice a moment later.

“It’s me Mother, may I come in?” I asked.

“Of course,” she said drawing the bolt and pulling the door back. “I wondered if you would show up today.”

I gave her a solemn look, “I am sorry about yesterday. I was not myself.”

She nodded, “I think everyone knows that already. As far as grief stricken reactions go I don’t think yours was too far beyond what anyone might have done.” She stepped forward and slid her arms around me after I had shut the door.

I held her silently for a moment. No matter how old I might get I didn’t think that simple gesture would ever fail to comfort me, though I couldn’t help but notice how small she was. Had she always been so small? “In my stupidity yesterday I didn’t even stop to ask how your recovery was coming. How badly were you wounded?”

She let go of me and returned to the table where she had been working on some embroidery. She rarely let her hands stay idle for long. “I don’t really know,” she answered. “I’ll show you the scar if you’re not too embarrassed to look at your old mother’s bosom.”

A moment later she bared her chest and midriff and what I saw there made me gasp. A long silver line traced its way up from her belly, from just above her naval to her short ribs on the right side. It had been an ugly wound, yet even more surprisingly; it appeared to be fully healed. “Does it still hurt?” I asked immediately. She was already pulling her under tunic down to cover herself again.

Miriam grimaced, “Yes it does. Some of the tissues underneath are not fully healed as far as I can tell.”

“But how?”

“The last thing I remembered was that woman’s nasty blade gutting me like a sow in a slaughterhouse. I was trying to hold my insides in when I blacked out. When I woke up again I was back here, in bed, and my wound was sealed,” she explained.

I questioned her for a bit longer, and she described in more detail exactly what had happened: Penny’s words to Dorian about his visor, the way the assassins had entered… the resulting fight. From her description I could see that Penny had clearly been expecting what had happened. But why didn’t she avoid it? I wondered. She had seen her death approaching, she could have hidden instead of following the expected routine, but she didn’t. What could have been so terrible that she had accepted her own death to prevent it?

I looked up and realized I had missed my mother’s last few words. “Pardon?” I said.

“I asked what you were thinking.”

“I was thinking I should examine your wound more properly,” I said to cover my distraction.