Robert Newcomb - The Scrolls of the Ancients

"You'll pay for this, you know," she said coyly.

Smiling, Tristan raised an eyebrow. "And as you already know, my good captain, that has always been my intent," he replied. "But first we have to get home." Looking for Traax in the melee, he finally found him, and walked over.

"Tyranny, Scars, and Geldon are coming with me," he said. "I grant you three days to carry out my orders. After that, I expect you and the fleet to return to Eutracia with all due haste."

Traax was holding Tristan's weapons. Smiling, he handed them back to him. "Three days, then," he answered. He held out his arm. Reaching out, Tristan heartily slapped the inside of his forearm against Traax's and grasped it. Neither of them spoke more, for there was no need.

Tristan turned away and walked back to the waiting litter to find K'jarr standing there with two large packages, both wrapped in sailcloth. "Well done," Tristan told him. He ordered the Minion to lash them to the top of the litter. As the last to get in, Tristan found barely enough room for himself and his weapons, but he managed. He looked back out at K'jarr.

"I want you and fifty of your finest warriors to escort us home," Tristan ordered. "What I carry is of the greatest importance, and it must reach there safely. Make your course directly for the palace. And we shall need a few additional bearers, because of the extra weight."

Honored to have been given the privilege of seeing the Chosen One and his entourage to Tammerland, K'jarr clicked his heels together, and went to select his warriors.

At last the litter rose from the deck of the sinking ship. Leaning back, Tristan closed his eyes. He was drained and exhausted, but his heart sang with the knowledge that he was finally going home. Home-to see Wigg, Faegan, Abbey, and Shailiha and her baby.

And Celeste.

Fifty-two

S tanding in the midst of the white, silent Scriptorium of the Citadel, Wulfgar looked lovingly down at the subject sleeping on the marble table. Krassus stood by his side. The Scroll of the Vagaries hovered nearby, glowing brightly. Wulfgar's hazel eyes danced with the power of the craft.

"You have done well," Krassus said quietly. "Your use of the Forestallment calculations provided by the scroll proved even faster than mine. I have now done all I can for you, because your blood and your current gifts already outshine mine by a considerable degree. Even greater, I daresay, than the combined talents of the two wizards of the Redoubt." Pausing for a moment, Krassus took his eyes from the subject on the table and turned to Wulfgar.

"And that is to say nothing of what you will both eventually become," he added. "After today, you and Serena will no longer need my powers to gift one another with additional Forestallments, the calculations for thousands of which can still be found in the scroll. But for now, far greater, more urgent plans await your newfound talents. The work for which you have been prepared is about to commence."

The transformation of the bastard half brother of the two Chosen Ones had easily exceeded the wizard's wildest dreams-even more so than his late master Nicholas might have guessed, he surmised. Wulfgar stood tall and unflinching in his newly realized gifts. His mind and blood were alight with the power of the craft; his determination to see Nicholas' work through to its glorious end had become even more resolute than Krassus'.

He wore emerald-green silk breeches and a short, matching jacket that lay partially open to reveal his chest. Black leather sandals adorned his feet. The hard, smooth muscles of his body rippled every time he called upon them, as if even they had somehow also been enhanced by his recent transformation. His sandy blond hair was still tied behind his neck, but the old worn leather strap had been replaced with a narrow, flat band of solid gold.

His sessions with Krassus finally complete, Wulfgar was now protected by the time enchantments. He was also fully committed-heart, blood, and mind-not only to the exclusive practice of the Vagaries, but also to the work that his nephew Nicholas had begun, but was unable to finish. As yet, however, the dying wizard had not told him what that was to be.

Krassus reached down and gently placed one of his palms on Serena's abdomen. As he closed his eyes, a smile came to his lips.

"She is pregnant," he said, opening his eyes again. "Well done. Your firstborn is to be a daughter."

"I know," Wulfgar answered quietly. "Serena has been with child for only a few hours. I saw the azure glow gather around her the moment conception took place. It is good that this happened during, rather than after, the gifting of her blood. For now the child will be born with many of her mother's Forestallments intact, and will thereby be spared the painful process of their installation."

Wulfgar looked again at the woman he so loved. Serena's strong, beautiful face was placid in sleep, framed by the dark ringlets that spilled gracefully down over her shoulders and breasts. She wore a black, full-length gown of the finest satin, with matching, bowed slippers on her feet. Pure gold adorned her delicate throat, wrists, and fingers.

She was a true queen, Wulfgar thought. Worthy of standing by his side in their coming struggle with the Chosen Ones.

"She will command powers of the Vagaries that are virtually unheard of," Krassus said. "Only you will be more powerful." Picking up one of Serena's hands, Krassus held it as though it were made of the finest porcelain.

"It is now her time in history, as well as yours," the wizard continued softly. "Awaken her, Wulfgar. Let her finally see the world through her newborn eyes."

This time it was her lover's turn to touch her. Placing his palm on her forehead, Wulfgar watched her eyes flutter softly and open. Immediately she looked up into Wulfgar's face and smiled. He reached out his hand. Grasping it, she slowly sat up on the table. Then she placed her satin slippers on the marble floor and stood up.

Without hesitation she threw her head back and stretched her body like a cat. Breathing deeply, she smiled again, clearly reveling in her newfound power. Without hesitation, she purposefully walked closer to Wulfgar, placed her arms around him, and kissed him on the lips.

"Thank you, my lord," she said simply as she drew one of her long, freshly painted nails down his cheek. "Thank you for granting me the time enchantments. And for so generously opening the psychic portals of the Vagaries and exposing their many wonders to my mind. Now I am able to serve you not only with my heart, but also with my endowed blood. I shall be forever grateful." Suddenly her eyes went wide, and she took a quick breath of realization.

"Oh…," she exclaimed, as she placed one hand on her belly. Then she looked back up to him and smiled again. "A girl. It truly seems there is no end to the gifts my lover has bestowed on me."

Krassus held his hands out to them, and they each took one. "Come with me," he said simply. Walking them over to a pair of marble double doors, he employed the craft, and they swung open.

Still holding hands, the three of them walked out onto a broad balcony overlooking the Sea of Whispers. The red-orange ball of the sun was descending into the ocean, and the night birds called softly to one another. A gentle sea breeze swirled up, bathing everything in its fresh, clean scent.

Turning around, Krassus looked them both in the eyes.

"From this point forward your lives and your blood are inextricably bound to each other," he said solemnly. "And all of what you see before you I bequeath to you and your heirs, just as my late master Nicholas told me to do if he perished in his travails at the hands of the Chosen Ones. This Citadel, the fleet, the demonslavers, the Brotherhood of Consuls, and the island that provides them safe haven are all yours, as are all of the many creatures of the Vagaries that call this sacred isle their home, whether they be of the surrounding earth, sea, or sky. Protected by the time enchantments, from here you will forever perpetuate the Vagaries and strive to destroy the Vigors. Never forget that your enemies-the so-called Chosen Ones and their wizards-shall endeavor to annihilate you from their lair in Eutracia. And so you shall do the same to them from your new home, here in the Citadel." Smiling at them both, Krassus took a deep breath of the sweet sea air.