Michael Manning - The Line of Illeniel

“Indeed. We find ourselves in need of your counsel. Who would have guessed that Tyndal’s child survived?” Edward rubbed his beard as he spoke.

“It was always a possibility. They never found her body or her child’s.”

“We understood that if a wizard died his pact-bearer died with him,” the king’s eyes were curious.

“They severed the bond before his death, your majesty.”

“Is that possible? What is the point then?” Edward asked.

“It is possible your majesty, but according to the histories it had never happened before. Both parties must agree to it and the Anath’Meridum are sworn to never relinquish the bond. My guess would be that they agreed to it so that she could flee with the child.”

“Cyhan, you were involved in Elena’s training, but how would you know she severed the bond rather than having simply died?”

Cyhan answered, “When the bond is formed a gem is created. It is kept by the trainer from that day forward. It glows as long as the bond is intact and crumbles to dust when those bonded die.” He reached into his pouch, bringing out a dull red gem. “Tyndal and Elena’s gem faded but did not crumble, indicating they broke the bond before he died.”

Edward leaned forward to look at the gem, “Why was this not reported?”

“It was reported your majesty,” Cyhan looked steadily into the king’s eyes without wavering.

“No matter,” Edward waved his hand, “we must have forgotten after the news of the Cameron’s destruction reached us. You must do better with the new trainee. We cannot afford another mistake such as Elena’s.”

“I agree your majesty, though if it had not been for that mistake there would be no new Anath’Meridum to train.” Cyhan was overstepping his bounds but he had always been brash.

Edward looked at him sharply, “Be mindful of your words lest they lead you to trouble. If Elena had fulfilled her oath we would no longer have to worry about unbound wizards destroying the world. You will meet Mordecai tomorrow. You are to return to his home and see that he chooses quickly. If he refuses send word immediately, before you try to… remedy the situation.” He left unspoken what the remedy would be, but they both knew there was only one possibility.

“Yes your majesty, I look forward to meeting him. I understand he has been free for over a year now. Did you see any sign of madness in him?” Wizards were always more difficult to manage if they had already become unstable.

“We would not know what to look for, but he seemed sane enough,” Edward answered. “You may go now. You can judge for yourself when you meet him tomorrow.”

I found the home of the Illeniels was fascinating. The upper floors held at least seven separate bedrooms, several parlors and, much to my excitement, a library. The first floor had a large parlor, a workshop and a massive kitchen. A door from the workshop led down a steep staircase into what seemed to be some sort of basement. The house itself seemed to have a foundation of solid stone, and the stairs had been rough cut from that same stone as they led down. Strangely they came to a dead end within the rock under the house. A casement indicated a doorway but the granite was seamless and unbroken. It appeared to be a false door.

Upstairs Rose was eagerly examining the library while Penny studied the master bedroom. I was alone staring at the strange stone doorway, if it really was a doorway. Unlike the rest of the house there were no enchantments or other magical markings here. The rock was smooth and untouched. I opened my mind to examine the stone, trying to see if there was a space behind it, but the world vanished into the stone. My thoughts sank into it without finding any purchase.

He has come, but does he see?

Great, the voice was back. It was easy to distinguish this from the physical voice that the door had used above. This was a purely mental thing, almost a delusion. I had begun to wonder about myself. I imagined I could feel the stones around me pulse, almost like a heartbeat. I’m losing my mind, I thought to myself. A scream from upstairs brought me back to reality.

Grabbing my staff I raced up the stairs, heading for the upper floors where the girls were exploring. I could hear both of them yelling now, followed by a loud crashing sound. When I reached the third floor I saw Penny crossing the hallway brandishing what appeared to be a wooden hat-rack, she vanished through the library door ahead of me.

“Let go of her!” came Penny’s hoarse battle-cry as I looked in the doorway. The scene that greeted me would have been comical if not for the seriousness of the situation. A massive creature made of solid stone held Rose upside down by one leg. Her dress had fallen upward to cover her face and revealed a lovely set of gams. Penny charged at the creature holding Rose with her hat-rack lowered like a lance.

She struck it solidly but it ignored her attack. The man-shaped creature’s mass was such that she failed to move it at all. “Please desist, intruders will not be tolerated.” The voice that issued from it was deep and grating, like the stone it was made of. Penny ignored it and swept her hat-rack back to strike it across the side of the head. The wood snapped, leaving her holding the bottom half.

I had to give her credit, despite her total inability to affect the creature holding her friend she showed no fear. The only sound she made was a low growl as she searched the room for another weapon. She reminded me of an angry cat.

“Let me go you stupid pile of rubble!” That was Rose hissing from beneath her inverted skirts. Meanwhile Penny had found one of the library chairs and was winding up for a swing at the back of the thing’s legs.

“Attacks will not be tolerated.” It said and I saw long stone spikes sprouting from its free hand. As Penny swung at it the arm lifted, preparing to sweep down. The force alone would crush her, the spikes were overkill.

A quick word and I created a shield around her, the room shook as the massive arm impacted the shield. My knees buckled at the strength of it. Uttering several more words I thrust my arm out and an invisible fist drove it back to slam into the bookcase behind it. Rose screamed as she swung violently back and forth. “Stop!” I yelled.

The creature froze in place. Well hell… if I had known it was that simple I would have tried that to begin with. “What is your name?” I asked.

“Magnus, master,” it replied.

“Why are you here?”

“I guard the library,” it answered.

“I hate to interrupt, Mordecai, but do you think you could have it release me before you continue your interrogation?” Rose said.

Why hadn’t I thought of that? I took one more good look at her legs… no sense wasting the moment after all, “Magnus please release the woman. She is a welcome guest here.” It let go of her leg immediately, dropping her unceremoniously on her head.

“Ow!” Rose landed hard, forming a confusing pile of skirts and lovely female limbs. I moved to help her up but Penny beat me to her.

“Back off hero…” she said as she helped Rose to her feet. She gave me a hard stare, “I saw that look.”

I was deeply offended by her lack of trust but I figured now wasn’t the time to profess my wounded innocence. “Magnus, what are you?” I turned my attention back to the library guardian.

“A golem,” it answered simply. That helped, I had no idea what a golem was.

“Please return to your station, you will not be needed further today,” no sense admitting my ignorance. “The two women in the room with me are both guests and have my permission to use the library,” I added with an afterthought.

“Yes master.” It walked ponderously across the room and stood in the corner. Once it stopped moving it looked like statue, a particularly ugly and uninspired one. Its ancient creator obviously hadn’t taken many art classes. Then again maybe its creator had been an impressionist. I had never cared much for what they called ‘art’.