Мария Снайдер - Magic Study - Study 2

As I searched my backpack, I heard a rustling and I looked up in time to see my mother shimming down the tree’s trunk. I found my fire amulet in one of the pack’s pockets. Considering my recent run of troubles, the amulet would be safer with my mother.

“I won this during a time in my life when fear was my constant and only companion.” I handed it to her. It was the first place prize for an acrobatic competition at Ixia’s annual Fire Festival. What followed after was the worst time of my life, but I would have competed for the amulet again, even knowing the outcome.

I handed the amulet to my mother. “This is one of only four items I hold dear. I want you to have it.”

She examined the fire amulet. “What are the other three?”

“My butterfly and snake.” I pulled out my necklace, and I showed her my bracelet.

“Did someone make those for you?”

“Yes. A friend,” I said before she could ask more.

She raised a slender eyebrow, but only asked, “What’s the last thing?”

I rummaged in my pack while I decided if my mother would be shocked to know I held a weapon dear. Far from being the perfect daughter, I figured she wouldn’t be surprised at all. Handing her my switchblade, I explained what the silver symbols on the handle meant.

“Same friend?” she asked.

I laughed and told her about Ari and Janco. “They’re more like older brothers than friends.”

My mother’s smile felt like the sun coming out after a storm. “Good to know there are people in Ixia who care about you.” She tucked my fire amulet into a pocket of her cloak. “Fire represents strength. I will keep it with me always.”

Hugging me tight for a moment, Perl pulled away and declared, “You’re freezing. Put your cloak on. Let’s get inside.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Esau and Irys waited for us in the Keep’s guest quarters on the west side of the campus. I endured a bone-crushing hug from my father, but had to decline an invitation to dinner with my parents. My desire for a bath and sleep overrode my hunger. I had to promise to spend most of the next day with them before they allowed me to leave.

Irys accompanied me to the bathhouse. Dark smudges lined her eyes and she looked as tired as I felt. She seemed in a contemplative mood.

“Did you use magic on your mother?” she asked.

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“She seemed at peace. Perhaps you did it instinctively.”

“But that’s not good. I should have complete control. Right?”

“I’m beginning to think that not all the rules apply to you, Yelena. Perhaps it was your upbringing or the fact that you started controlling your magic at an older age that has made your powers develop in an unusual way. Not to worry, though,” she added when she saw my expression. “I believe it will be to your benefit.”

Irys and I parted at the baths. After a long hot soak, I dragged myself to my rooms. My last thought before drifting off to sleep was to marvel over the fact that Irys had trusted me enough not to assign more guards to me.

It seemed a mere moment that I had sunk into a dreamless slumber when Irys’s mental call woke me. I squinted in the bright sunlight, trying to orient myself.

What time? I asked her.

Midmorning, Irys said.

Morning? That meant I had been asleep since yesterday afternoon. Why did you wake me?

An emergency Council session has been called, and your presence is required.

Emergency session?

Goel was murdered, and Cahil is claiming Adviser Ilom is Valek in disguise.

Goel murdered? Valek caught? My groggy mind couldn’t quite understand Irys’s comment and her attention pulled away before I could question her. I changed as fast as I could and ran toward the Council Hall.

Did Valek kill Goel? And if Valek really was in custody, he just gave the Sitians one more reason to execute him. Should I act surprised by Valek’s presence or admit I knew about him? Would I be considered an accomplice to Goel’s murder? Perhaps they suspected me. I only told Irys where to find him; I hadn’t mentioned the others to her.

Questions without answers swirled in my mind. I paused before the steps to the Council Hall, smoothed my braid, and adjusted my clothes. I wore one of the new shirts and skirt/pants that Nutty had sewn for me. Glancing at my surroundings, I checked to make sure no one had followed me. Irys trusted me to take care of myself. I couldn’t let her down.

The Council’s members, four Master Magicians, a handful of the Keep’s guards, and Cahil had assembled in the great hall. The noise of their various arguments reached deafening levels, and I spotted Cahil gesturing wildly to the Sandseed’s Councilman. Cahil’s flushed face contorted in anger as he replied.

Roze Featherstone, First Magician pounded a gavel to bring order to the meeting. Conversations ceased as the Councilors took their seats. The decorations from the greeting ceremony had been removed, and a U-shaped table had been brought in. Roze and the other three Magicians sat at the bend, while the clan Elders sat along the straight sides. Six on one side, five on the other with Cahil taking the sixth seat. A wooden podium had been placed in the middle of the U. I stood with the Captain of the guard and his men near the side wall, hoping to blend in with the white marble.

“Let us address the matter of Lieutenant Goel Ixia,” ordered Roze.

I glanced at Irys in surprise.

All the northern refugees are given Ixia as their clan name, Irys explained in my mind. Cahil is considered their clan leader. It is an honorary clan and title. He has no lands and no power to vote in the Council.

That explained Cahil’s resentment toward the Council and his continuing frustration of not getting their support for his campaign against the Commander.

“Lieutenant Ixia was found dead in a fallow field east of the Citadel in Featherstone Clan lands,” Roze recited. “The healers have determined that he was killed with a sword thrust through his heart.”

Murmurs rippled through the Council members. Roze stopped them with a cold stare. “The weapon was not found at the scene, and a search of the surrounding fields is currently in progress. According to Fourth Magician, Yelena Liana Zaltana was the last person to see him alive. I call her to the witness stand.”

Sixteen pair of eyes turned toward me. Hostile, concerned and worried expressions peppered the group.

Don’t worry, Irys said. Tell them what happened.

I walked to the podium, guessing that was the witness stand.

“Explain yourself,” Roze demanded.

I told them about the kidnapping and my escape. A collective gasp sounded when I explained about taking control of Goel’s body. Whispers about the Ethical Code started to spread.

Irys stood and said, “There is nothing illegal about using magic to defend yourself. In fact, she should be commended for extracting herself without harming Goel.”

The Council members asked an endless amount of questions about Goel’s motives. Only after the guards that had been assigned to protect me confirmed they had been drugged did the Council run out of inquiries.

“You left Goel chained in the shed, and that was the last time you saw him?” Roze asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“She’s telling the truth.” By Roze’s sour expression, I knew that statement had been hard for her to say. “The investigation into Goel’s murder will continue. Yelena, you may sit down.” Roze gestured to a bench located behind her and the other Master Magicians. “That leaves us with the other matter. I call Cahil Ixia to the witness stand.”