Glyphbinder Read online

  Kara leaned forward. “Elder Halde—”

  “I just don’t understand it. Any mage who wanted you would need to know the answer glyphs to every ward in Solyr, and only Ine, Gell, and I know them all. I trust Ine and Gell as I’d trust my kin. They did not betray us, but something broke through our wards.”

  Kara sucked in her breath. “Cantrall.” She imagined Halde’s twin brother screaming as he burned, the smell of scorched meat.

  “What?” Halde’s face turned ashen.

  “Cantrall knew the answer glyphs too, didn’t he? He was your equal here. You promoted Gell after Cantrall…”

  “Yes.” Halde shuddered. “If some Soulmage has managed to enslave Cantrall’s soul, after all this time, no one here is safe.”

  Kara squeezed his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

  “There’s no time to be sorry. We need to think. Now that a Soulmage has enslaved my brother’s spirit, he may enter Solyr and attack whenever he wishes. That’s how the Demonkin destroyed the Magic Academy of Terras. How they started the All Province War.”

  “You really think that could happen again?”

  “All I know is that someone tried to abduct you today, and I cannot guarantee it won’t happen again. It took little more than a moment for the chaos the Demonkin released in Terras to slaughter everyone in their academy. If the Demonkin are rising again, that could happen here.”

  “Elder—”

  “Halde.” Halde laid one big, warm hand on top of Kara’s. “From now on, always Halde.”

  Kara forced a brave smile. “You know that nothing like what happened at Terras could happen again. You know how that battlemage got in now. You can change the wards.”

  “Changing the complex web of wards around Solyr will take years. Each is linked to the other in a myriad of ways. Change one without the others and the entire network can fail, leaving us defenseless. It’s delicate work, but we’ll need to start at once.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Stay here with us. Tarna can wait, at least until we know who wants to abduct you.”

  “That’s why this mage sent graybacks, isn’t it? He wanted me paralyzed, not dead. Like Trell.”

  Why was her hunter so desperate to capture her? What terrible plans had he made? Kara did not dare think about it. Her mind would go places she did not want it to go.

  “I believe so,” Halde said. “That’s why you’re staying with me.”

  “You mean—?”

  “You’re in my quarters, under my protection, until we know why this man wants you. It’s the only way I can keep you safe.”

  Kara thought about that. If she stayed with Halde, how long would it take to track down the mage hunting her? Weeks? Months? How long did she have until her mother completely wasted away?

  “No,” Kara said. “That’s not the right course.”

  “What is?”

  “Living my life. I’m not letting this person lock me inside the elder quarters until I’m your age.”

  “Think about this. Think hard. I can’t change your mind?”

  “Now that’s a silly question.”

  Halde sighed. “There is logic in making your journey now. Tarna’s wards are impregnable. It is impossible for anyone save Anylus to penetrate them, and he, unlike my brother, is still alive.”

  “That was my thinking as well.”

  “If your hunter expects you to hide, leaving for Tarna could throw him off. Only a blind, stubborn fool would be so brash.”

  Kara snorted. “How sweet of you to put it like that.”

  “We’ll put up a glyphscreen here, make a show of putting you in elder quarters, glamour a Journeymage to look just like you. Make sure whomever happens by sees her. With luck, whoever hunts you will think you are here long after you leave.”

  “That’s more than I would ask.”

  “There are conditions.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’m still not sure you’ll be safer on the road to Tarna than here, but you will have an escort. A dyn.”

  “I’m to command a dyn?” Journeymages usually held that responsibility, or at least seasoned apprentices with real experience in the world. Kara was not sure she felt comfortable with this. Leading people. Having them depend on her.

  “Choose only those you trust. Take them and Trell and make for Tarna as quickly as you can. I wish I could go with you myself, but with all that’s happened, everyone here is at risk.”

  “I understand.”

  “I need every experienced mage I have to protect them, Kara, everyone in this academy.”

  “You must do what’s right for Solyr. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I can’t help it.” Halde pulled her into a hug. “You know that.”

  Kara hung limp in his arms. Breathed in his warmth. Then, she hugged him back. It felt like hugging her father should have.

  Halde released her and smiled. “Ever since you designed that eye-changing glyph, as a mere initiate, I knew you were special.”

  Kara laughed. “Special? In what sense? You know I meant to turn my eyes blue, not orange.”

  “Designing new glyphs is a task best left to the elders, yet you did it in your third year. I knew from that moment on that you would gain the post of royal apprentice. You were my hope all along.”

  “That means more to me than anything you’ve ever said.” Kara swallowed. “Halde.”

  Halde stood. “Once you’re in Tarna, you’ll have the full backing of the royal family. Whatever this person’s reason for abducting you, they will have no prayer of doing so once you are safe with King Haven and Adept Anylus.”

  “What about my mother?”

  “That’s up to you.”

  Kara thought of her mother on the road, having her bones bounced by a horse all day. Sleeping on the rough ground as the pain of her illness flared. “Keep her here.”

  “You’re certain?”

  “No, but it’s the only thing I can come up with. Landra’s a miracle worker, but if I’m riding to Tarna with a rogue battlemage at my heels, I don’t want Mother anywhere near that.”

  “There is a chance—”

  “That whoever is after me will try to get at me through her. I know. That’s why I want my mother to stay with you. In your quarters, just like my double.”

  “I’ll protect her as I’d protect my own blood.”

  “I believe you.” Kara hopped up. “This is happening, isn’t it?”

  “It is. Do you know who you will have in your dyn?”

  “Byn and Sera.”

  “We’ll go tell them now. Who else?”

  Kara pondered and came up blank. “Anyone you’d suggest?”

  “Jair Deymartin.”

  “Really?” Kara remembered Jair’s warning about Aryn. “Why?”

  “He came to me, this morning, and requested a horse to travel to Tarna. I don’t know why, but I suspect it has something to do with his quest to find his mother. To speak to her.”

  “But his mother’s dead.”

  “Indeed. He wishes to consult Adept Anylus about that. I believe Anylus knew his mother when she was still alive.”

  “I’d love to have him with me. If he’s willing.”

  “I would be surprised if he refused. He made apprentice today as well, under Adept Norus, in Cyan, and escorting you to Tarna would be excellent experience.”

  “All right.” Kara tried to picture others at the academy, students she knew by name, but could think of none she would trust with her life or her mother’s. Having her own small circle of friends was nice, but she realized now how few in Solyr she truly trusted.

  “We’ll worry about your fifth later.” Halde reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a small leather pouch. “This is yours.”

  “What is it?”

  Halde handed her the pouch. Curious, Kara undid the clasp and tilted it. A brilliant green stone fell into her hand, slightly bigger than a grape. She stared at it.


  “Halde, this is—”

  “Yours.”

  “I can’t. It’s too valuable.”

  “It’s necessary, and Elder Ine can make another.”

  “That takes years.”

  “You’re worth more than a few years to us.”

  Kara took a breath. “I’ve never used an echo stone before. What do I do?”

  Halde produced the stone’s twin. “Give the stone a drop of your blood. It will glow. Elder Ine has already attuned it to your soul. My stone will respond, and we can communicate wherever you might be.”

  “I just talk into it?”

  “Yes. You will hear my voice and I yours.”

  Echo stones were extremely rare and always produced in pairs. Because the painstaking process to make them took almost five years, a process that consumed both blood and magesand, elder Skywatchers were the only ones who made them.

  A single pair cost more than a small army. The trust it represented intimidated her, but just holding it made Kara feel safe. No matter where she traveled, she could call on Halde for help.

  “Thank you. Let’s pray I don’t need it.”

  “Keep it close. I trust your friends, but I would keep the stone to yourself unless absolutely necessary.”

  “I will.”

  “Now, let’s speak to the others. It needs to be their choice, too.”

  TRELL STOOD TO BOW when Halde entered the ornate Council Chamber. No one else stood with him. All bowed their heads instead, still seated, and Trell hid his embarrassment by marveling at the glowing sun on the ceiling. He sat back down.

  Byn and a young woman Byn had introduced as his sweetheart, Sera Valence, sat beside him. She had long dark hair, a soft face, and green eyes. Her pale skin looked blistered and red, but she showed no other ill effects from taking a burst of flame to the face.

  “No need for ceremony.” Halde thumped down on an observer’s bench and adjusted his robes. “We still have no explanation for what happened today. What we do know is someone wants to abduct Kara, and they’ll kill anyone who tries to stop it.”

  Kara followed Halde into the room, emerging from a door off the main chamber, and hurried to the benches where they sat.

  Byn gave her a nod as she approached. “Nobody’s taking Kara away. Not unless they want their neck broken.”

  Kara sat down and gripped Byn’s arm. “If it comes to that, we’ll throw squirrels at them.”

  “When Aryn Locke wakes up,” Halde said, “we may learn more. For now, Trell, we’ll start with you.”

  Trell leaned forward. He waited and listened.

  “You wrestled Kara’s attacker down in the square. Could you determine anything from your struggle? Sex, build, clothing?”

  “I believe the attacker was male. He was at least as tall as I am and I believe he wore a robe, like yours. It felt like a robe. He was strong with thick arms and there was a smell, also. I can only describe it as the smell of dead things rotting in the sun.”

  “I’ve heard about that smell before,” Byn said. “Could it have been a revenant?”

  Halde shook his head. “No one has ever raised a revenant capable of scribing glyphs. They lack the most critical element ... living blood.” He stroked his bearded chin. “Anything else?”

  Trell glanced at Elder Halde, then at Byn. “What is a revenant?”

  “It’s like a golem, Trell,” Byn said. When Trell just stared blankly at him, Byn rubbed the back of his neck.

  “A doll. Think of a giant doll, made out of dead body parts, walking about of its own accord and killing people.”

  Trell grimaced. He did not like the sound of that.

  Sera took Byn’s arm. “Elder, why is this happening? Why would someone want to abduct Kara?”

  Halde leaned back in his seat. “If we knew, we would already know how to stop him. Things being as they are, Kara and I have agreed that she will depart for Tarna immediately.”

  “Why can’t she stay here?” Byn asked. “Can’t you keep her safe?”

  “Whoever wishes to abduct Kara has already struck at her in Solyr’s center square, one of the most secure areas of the academy. Somehow, they’ve compromised our wards.”

  “Drown me in burning oil,” Byn whispered. “That’s never happened before, has it?”

  “It did once,” Sera said quietly. “When someone murdered Elder Cantrall.”

  “Tarna’s wards have stood for generations,” Halde continued. “Kara will be safe there. No mage will reach her.”

  Byn stood up. “You can’t send her out there by herself!”

  Halde merely smiled. Byn winced and Trell realized he had spoken out of turn. Even so, Byn didn’t sit down.

  “She will have help,” Halde said. “We will pretend to move her to secured chambers and post elders in that wing. Tonight, under cover of darkness, Kara will leave Solyr and journey to Tarna, disguised as a torasel. Whoever wants her may not even know she has left.”

  Byn relaxed and sat. “You know I’m going with her, right?

  “Kara might have mentioned that.”

  Trell looked at Halde, then at Byn. “What’s a torasel?”

  Byn snorted and shook his head. “Really, Trell?”

  Sera poked Byn, shushed him, and smiled at Trell. “They’re quite common in our lands, perhaps not so much in yours. They’re merchants. They travel in heavy cloaks and veil their faces to make it difficult to tell one from the other.”

  “So they can rob you blind,” Byn added.

  “Don’t be crass.” Sera poked him again. “It’s simply their way, how they accord respect to each other. In torasel circles all are equal, and their robes are a representation of that.”

  “Regardless,” Halde cut in, “their robes make an excellent disguise, and secrecy is vital if we wish to sneak Kara out of Solyr. She will be leading a dyn on the journey to Tarna.”

  Sera gasped. Trell wondered what a dyn was, and why it was so unusual for Kara to command one. Kara turned to her friends.

  “Byn. Sera. I won’t ask if you’re not ready.”

  “You don’t even have to ask,” Sera said. “Of course we’re with you. You’re not leaving my sight until you’re safe with King Haven.”

  “You don’t know how much that means to me.” Kara smiled at them both. “Just so you know, I’m also inviting Jair Deymartin. I think a Soulmage will be useful, and besides, I trust him.”

  Byn nodded. “I’ve always found him a likable sort, despite his bizarre tolerance for ‘His Royal Lockeness.’”

  The doors to the Council Chamber creaked open. Trell stood and stepped in front of Kara as the raven-haired man he had seen in the square stumbled inside, dressed in cloth pants and a flimsy shirt. A melted lump of metal hung around his neck.

  “Speak only once of the storm,” Byn said, “and over the waters it comes.” His big fists clenched.

  Several healers, including Senior Mender Landra, followed the dark-haired man into the council chamber. Trell evaluated him with wary eyes. This man had almost burned Kara alive.

  Landra spoke first. “We tried to keep Aryn in bed, elder, but he insisted on speaking with you. He would not let us help him walk.”

  So this man’s name was Aryn. Trell would remember. He sat back down.

  “Elder.” Aryn barely kept his feet. “I must speak with you. There was a mage—”

  “Help him sit,” Halde ordered.

  Aryn tried to push the menders off, but Landra and another woman forced him onto a bench. When Halde approached them, Aryn relented. Trell did not miss the dark look Kara gave her friends.

  Aryn looked up at Halde. “A mage … he came to me this morning, in crimson, like yours. I thought he was an elder.”

  “Did you see his face?”

  “No. When he grabbed me, his hands were like ice. I knew then that something was wrong, but from then on…” He glanced at Kara, then away. “I felt nothing but his hate.”

  Trell heard Kara huff. He kept his eyes on Ary
n, searching the man’s posture for deceit or lingering resentment, but what he saw was a man who was both tired and dejected. His slumped shoulders and slouched back gave him away.

  “I have failed you and brought danger to this academy.” Aryn hung his head. “I accept exile.”

  Halde loomed over Aryn. “You are aware that the hatred you harbored toward Kara made you vulnerable to manipulation?”

  “Yes, respected elder. I made a mistake and I regret it.” He looked up at Sera. “I’m sorry I hit you. You can’t imagine how sorry I am.”

  “I’m fine,” Sera said quietly. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I know it wasn’t you.” She smiled, and Byn looked askance at that.

  Halde gripped Aryn’s shoulder. “What happened in the square was not your doing. You made a mistake and you feel the weight of it, but you did not attack these people. You were compelled.”

  “That doesn’t excuse my falling victim in the first place.”

  “You’re correct. But it does mean there is still a place for you in this academy.”

  Halde glanced at Kara, and Trell saw her nod. She didn’t want Aryn exiled. It seemed natural to Trell, reading people, and he knew he had done it often before he lost his memory. Had he been more than a soldier in the Tellvan army? Had he been some sort of spy?

  “You will be placed in the elder wing, with Kara,” Halde told Aryn. “Once we are certain no trace of madness remains—”

  “Kara’s not going to the elder wing,” Aryn cut in. “She’s leaving Solyr tonight. I hope you’re at least sending someone with her?”

  Byn muttered a low curse.

  “If you could protect her from whomever attacked us,” Aryn continued, “that mage couldn’t have burned a glyph inside my head. My grandfather did much the same in the All Province War, when the Tassauns marched on Locke. He surrounded our estate with soldiers and hired actors to take the place of my father and brothers. Then they went to Tarna in a commoner’s wagon, surrounded by his most trusted guardsmen.”

  “A pleasant story,” Halde agreed after a moment, “but this is not Locke. Have you spoken of this to anyone else?”