Michael Manning - The Line of Illeniel

Since that day in Lancaster when I had struggled to get into Devon Tremont’s room I had not met a door I could not pass. One of the first things I studied when things calmed down was the art of spelling locks to open. This was not a lock however, it was a magical barrier. Using a few words and a mental push I tried to force my way through the barrier but it resisted me. It felt as though it were as hard as the granite the house was made of, resolute and unyielding.

Penny spoke up, “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to get in. It seems my father forgot to put a key under the doormat for me.” I redoubled my efforts, seeking to pry apart the magic that held me at bay. The air began to crackle with static discharges as I put more and more effort into forcing the barrier aside. I tried subtle tricks to slip past the protections, I tried clever spells to hide my presence, and I tried brute force. Nothing worked. “Goddammit!”

It was frustrating to be so close to such a major part of my past, yet be unable to enter. The thought of the secrets and knowledge my parents might have left inside filled me with yearning. The door didn’t seem to care. I lost my temper and attacked it, driving at it with a wedge of pure force, attempting to batter the door down. The house didn’t like that. Lightning enfolded me, wrapping me in blue light, burning through my shield and setting my nerves on fire. Screaming I collapsed in the doorway.

I came to in the middle of the road; Penny had dragged me, still twitching back from the door. “Dammit Mort, if you’re going to do something stupid at least warn me first!”

“Let’s just assume I’m always doing something stupid. It’s quicker and easier for both of us,” I replied as I tried to stand up, but my legs had turned to jelly. Penny steadied me.

We can rend it asunder son of Illeniel. Let us tear it down.

“ Who is that!?” I yelled, looking around me.

“What’s wrong Mort?” Penny had a worried expression.

“They’re talking to me, but I can’t find them!” I was staring around me; paranoia was beginning to take hold.

“Who? There’s no one here but us,” she was talking to me in a soothing tone. I realized she must think I was going mad.

“The voices…” I started, but I decided to let it go. I was beginning to wonder about myself. My legs were feeling better so I pulled away from her and walked toward the door again.

“Let’s go back. You’re just going to hurt yourself Mordecai.” That was Rose. She sounded reasonable but I was tired of being reasonable.

“No, I’m not done yet.” I pushed up my sleeves and reached out for the door handle again. Too late I remembered I hadn’t replaced my shield. The lightning had burned it away from me. My hand touched the door handle but nothing happened. I stood still for a moment, wondering why the barrier hadn’t stopped me. I let go and stepped back. “That’s odd.”

“What?” Penny asked.

“I just touched the handle, but a minute ago I couldn’t even reach it,” I responded. An idea came to me and I re-shielded myself. Reaching for the handle I found myself stopped by the invisible barrier again. My hand couldn’t get within six inches of the handle. “I’m going to try something stupid,” I said, looking at Penny.

“Let me get the fire brigade first,” she replied. I’m not sure if she was joking, but I didn’t wait. I removed my shield and reached for the door handle. I gripped it without problem and pulled. The door opened easily.

The doorway revealed a large entry hall. The walls were paneled in oak and stained a dark color, contrasting the lighter brown of the wood floors. I stepped inside and a crystal globe hanging above lit up, casting a warm golden light across the room. “Oof!” That was Penny; she had run into the barrier outside the door.

“Oh let me fix that for you,” I said and removed the shield I had put over her. “Ok now try.” She cautiously tried to enter once more but the barrier stopped her anyway.

“That’s odd, when I removed my own shield it let me in.”

“Maybe the magics are keyed to allow the descendants of your line inside,” Rose put in. As usual her quick insight made sense but a few things still didn’t fit.

“I know my mother lived here with him and she wasn’t a descendant so he must have had some way for her to enter.” Not to mention the protective magics had nearly fried me before I removed my shield. My best guess was that they couldn’t identify me while my shield was in place. Still there had to be a way to let strangers and guests inside. “I’m going to look around a bit, I’ll be back soon.”

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” That was Penny, she wasn’t happy about being left outside. I gave her a smile and shut the door.

Before I had gone two steps she started banging on the doorknocker. Apparently she was allowed to touch that. I started to turn back but a voice stopped me.

“There is a woman at the door.” It sounded very similar to Benchley but I could tell the voice emanated from the enchantments around the house. I suppose they had people like him back then too. No accounting for taste I guess.

I was in a contrary mood, “See who it is.”

A moment later the voice replied, “She says her name is Penelope Cooper and she is accompanied by a Rose Hightower.”

Of course, I toyed with my options, but I didn’t really know what they were, “What are my possible responses?” I asked.

“You may deny them entry, permit them to enter, or have them eliminated,” the dry voice responded. I didn’t like the sound of ‘eliminated’. It probably entailed the same sort of lightning attack that nearly put me in an early grave.

“Allow them entry,” I commanded. The door swung open on its own and I could see an exasperated Penny standing outside.

“Would you please explain to your talking door who I am?” she said.

“Already did, come on in… we’ll see what happens this time.”

She and Rose were both able to enter without a problem. The door politely closed itself once they were inside. The complexities of the enchantments were beyond anything I had previously imagined but they set my mind spinning with ideas. Meanwhile Penny glared at the door as if she were plotting revenge. “I hope I don’t have to go through that every time I come in,” she said finally.

“What do you mean?”

With a sigh she answered me, “It’s your house now Mort. We’ll probably be living here whenever we’re in the city.”

I hadn’t given it any thought before but she was probably right. Assuming we ever returned to Albamarl. I doubted I’d be back within the half a year I had left to live. “Um, ‘House’ I have a question.” I was addressing the enchantments now. It didn’t respond. “Door, is there a way to let someone in without my permission?” Still no answer, obviously I had a lot to learn.

“Just forget it for now Mort. Let’s see what the house looks like,” Penny interrupted.

I didn’t feel like arguing with inanimate objects in front of her and Rose anyway so I quickly agreed. We made our way through the entry hall to examine the rest of the house.

King Edward Carenval sat in his reception chamber looking over the man who stood in front of him. The fellow was in his mid-forties and looked like he’d led a hard life. He stood six feet in height with dark hair and eyes, though his hair had gone grey at the sides. He bore no weapons, being in the presence of the king, but something about his stance gave the impression that there should be weapons on him.

“Do you know why we have called you here today?” Edward began.

“I would prefer not to make hasty assumptions your majesty, but given my past I would think it might have something to do with the Count di’Cameron.” The man looked up from where he knelt, meeting the king’s eyes.