Michael Manning - The Archmage unbound

“Will it hurt?” she asked, a bit nervously.

I drew my chair close beside hers. “It shouldn’t, unless I need to fix something.”

“Maybe I should lie down then,” she suggested. I almost smacked myself, I should have thought of that.

“That’s a good idea,” I replied. Once she had gotten comfortable on the bed I sat beside her and put my hand on her midsection. Closing my eyes I turned my attention entirely to my magesight, focusing on the woman beside me. I hoped that whatever I found would be simple, if it were too much I might have to leave my own body, as I had with Penny once before. Something like that was risky as I had already learned.

After several minutes I had satisfied myself. The cut had severed the skin, fat, and muscle of her abdomen. It also appeared that her liver and one of her lungs had been damaged, but those had already been repaired. The abdominal muscles hadn’t been completely rejoined however, which was probably what was causing her pain. I damped the nerve impulses in that region and carefully knitted them back together.

Opening my eyes again I looked at her, she had been watching me carefully the entire time. “I think I found the problem. It wasn’t anything serious, but it would have hurt for a long time.”

“Do you know how I was healed?” she asked.

“Magic,” I said simply, “but I don’t understand why.”

She put her hand over mine, “You will find out.”

I smiled at her, “I will.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid along the way,” she cautioned.

“I’m in much better control of myself today.”

She shook her head. “I don’t mean that you shouldn’t punish those behind it. Just make sure you know for certain who the blame falls on before you do anything permanent.”

“I understand,” I said to reassure her.

She continued anyway, “Then when you’re certain, you make damn sure they never have a chance to hurt anyone else we love ever again.”

We agreed on that at least.

Lady Thornbear and one of the duke’s guards preceded me into the cell. The man imprisoned there was bound and his eyes were covered with a blindfold. He moaned quietly as we entered. A soft bed had been placed in the cell and I looked at Dorian’s mother questioningly.

“I didn’t want him dying before you returned,” she said. “If we had left him on the floor he might have developed sores and died of infection.”

I nodded, “Is he awake?”

“He should be close to conscious but it hardly matters. After a week of this his mind is muddled, it will be hours after he wakes before he regains his senses completely,” she replied.

I was learning to see Lady Elise in a new light. As a child she had simply been Dorian’s mother, strict, but kind and loving as well. Now I was forced to face the fact that she was also a skilled herbalist and poisoner. Somehow the two pictures refused to come together for me.

“You’ve done this before haven’t you?” I said without thinking.

There was a gleam in her eye as she answered, “Never a wizard… that made it much more difficult. When you find out who sent him let me know, I’ll make something special for you to give them.”

A shiver went down my spine as she said it and I remembered, this was a woman that had just lost her son. She probably wants revenge just as badly as I do.

“I’m going to move him to Castle Cameron,” I told her, and then I nodded toward the guard. “I’ll need your help moving him since he’s not quite sensible yet.”

She looked at me questioningly, “Are you sure that’s wise? You have no dungeon in your keep.”

“The dungeon isn’t what kept him here milady, you were, or rather it was the use of your arts that held him. I will keep a close watch upon him using other means,” as I finished the statement I leaned over and carefully clasped a delicate silver necklace around the prisoner’s neck. I kept my movements casual but I was very careful as I did so.

“What is that?” Elise Thornbear asked.

“Something I devised,” I said smugly. “It will keep him contained until I can decide his fate.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Very,” I answered.

She smiled, “You were always a good boy Mordecai. My son thought the world of you.”

“I was never as good as Dorian, but I hold him as an inspiration for what people could be,” I replied with complete sincerity.

Lady Thornbear leaned over then and surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. It was sudden and gentle, but I imagined I felt a trace of her tears there as well. “Thank you for that Mordecai. Here take this.” She thrust a small glass phial into my hands.

I didn’t question her but my look said the words for me, with one eyebrow slightly raised.

“It tastes sweet, like honey liquor. Flavor a drink with it, or use it as a sweet garnish for a dessert and the recipient will fall into a deep slumber, never to awaken again,” she said quietly.

“Why me?”

“If anyone is going to find those responsible for this it will be you. I doubt you’ll need it when you find them, but sometimes subtlety is the only way, even for a wizard,” she answered.

“How long does it take to work?”

Her eyes twinkled in the dim light, “Good question… a day at least, sometimes two if they don’t get a large dose.”

“A day before they fall asleep or a day before they stop breathing?” I said to be sure.

“A day before they sleep, death follows hours after that.”

I frowned, “That seems terribly slow.”

“You have much to learn. Speed is not usually the poisoner’s friend. Slow and certain is better, and it gives you more time and distance to allay suspicion. People tend to blame the last meal eaten rather than the one from the day before.”

The more I learned of Lady Thornbear’s secret profession the more she frightened me. How could a creature so well versed in subtlety and lethal deception have been the same woman who raised my friend Dorian?

My confusion must have shown on my face for she patted my cheek reassuringly, “Don’t fret about it Mordecai, we all must take on various roles in our lives. Some people confuse their identity with what they do. Don’t mistake a ‘role’ for your ‘self’. I have done many things, but I am none of them, I am Lady Elise Thornbear. I have been a healer, a wife, a mother, and sometimes when necessary, a poisoner.”

Her words struck a chord within me, resonating with some inner truth. I knew I would remember them for a long time to come. “Thank you Elise,” I said, using her given name for the first time in my life. “You were always kind to us as children, except when strictness was called for. I never doubted you, no matter what hidden talents you possess.”

I turned to the guard, “Help me get him up. I want him back in Castle Cameron and in a soft bed before he comes to his senses.”

The man I had brought back was still lying in the bed where I had had him placed, but he hadn’t shown many signs of consciousness yet. Occasionally he would open his eyes and stare about the room, but his pupils were dilated and his gaze seemed unfocused. After a week in a drug induced slumber I imagined he was very confused. Instinctively I worried that the treatment he had endured might have permanently damaged his mental faculties. Then I caught myself, Why the hell would I care if he’s damaged?

A knock came at the door, but I already knew that it was Lisette. “Come in,” I yelled in the direction of the door. She came in followed by several other maids bearing a large copper tub and towels. “Just set the tub over there,” I directed, pointing to one side of the room.

Harold entered a moment later, his eyes following Lisette as she bustled about the room. I didn’t say anything, not wanting to embarrass either of them, especially since he didn’t realize I knew about their relationship already. After a moment he pulled his gaze from her and addressed me, “I still don’t understand why you have him in this room, your Lordship.”