A Clash of Magics by Guy Antibes (read this if txt) 📕

minutes, but Trevor finally made contact with Reena. He told her about their experience with the innkeeper. “Can you or Brother Yvan research how the first messenger died? I don’t know what will be a legend and what will be the truth, but I’d be interested in how successful he was.”

“Are you sure you want to know?” Reena asked.

“I am. If you know your history, you’ll have less chance of repeating the bad parts,” Trevor said.

“I noticed you said a chance. Nothing is for certain, is it?”

“Some things are certain, but circumstances can shift certainty into something else pretty quickly.”

Reena laughed. Trevor could hear it through the link. “You are a philosopher messenger,” she said.

“I am at this moment, but I’m afraid the certainty of what you just said won’t last long.”

She laughed again. “I’m afraid it won’t. Is that all?”

“It is,” Trevor said as he cut the connection.

Lissa moved her hand from Trevor’s wrist to clasp his hand. “What were you talking about? I can only feel that the link is active and that the expression on your face changes while you talk,” she said.

“I wanted to know what happened to the original user of this.” Trevor tapped the leather cuirass underneath his tunic. He shrugged his shoulders. “It might be nice to know.”

“Or nice not to know,” Lissa said. “He or she died wearing it.”

“So legends say, but I’d like to know.”

Lissa leaned against him. “Someone said knowledge is power, but I think it depends on who the knowledge holder is.”

“When you plan for battles,” Trevor said, “knowledge is power. It gives you more ability to act and make better decisions, even if the new knowledge tells you to retreat.”

Lissa shook her head. “I don’t know if Dryden’s messenger is allowed to retreat.”

“Who will stop him?” Trevor said. “Although I have an appointment from Lister Vale, even he can’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do because he doesn’t know.”

“So you move ahead blindly?”

“I’ve been in the dark before and managed to survive. I’ll do it this time too.”

Lissa punched him gently. “You’d better.”

Chapter Eleven

~

T hree days later, close to the Brachian border, Trevor, Volst, and Lissa began riding through the stragglers. They increased the pace, and a few hours later, they approached the carriage carrying King Worto.

They were stopped a few hundred paces from approaching by a rear guard.

“You will have to follow us,” the officer said.

“I’m Trevor Arcwin and spoke to the king at the Fulerian border with Ginster. I have some charms for him.”

“You mean you want to kill him,” the officer said.

Trevor shook his head. “Take my weapons.”

“There are other ways to kill a man,” the officer said.

Trevor sighed. He removed the scabbard from his back and handed it to the officer. “Take this to the king and have him make the decision.”

The officer narrowed his eyes, but then one of his men drew closer. “He really was Ginster’s negotiator.”

“Escort them at this distance,” the officer said to his men before riding ahead.

“Nothing is easy,” Volst said.

Trevor nodded. “If we have to wait a few minutes, so what? We’ve been on the road for five days.”

“Perspective? I like it,” Volst replied.

They didn’t wait long before the officer rode back. “Go forward. We will be right behind you.”

“There is an entire army behind us,” Trevor said. “We’ve noticed.”

They approached the king’s carriage, which pulled into a farmyard at the side of the road. Trevor thought it would be best to dismount before approaching King Worto. At least he didn’t see evidence of Gareeze Plissaki.

“Isn’t my retreat sufficient?” King Worto asked, clutching Trevor’s Jarkanese sword.

“I want you to have these.” Trevor gave the king a bag of tokens. “These should work to expose any Maskumite magicians using the invisibility spell. I had a few gold-level magicians…” Lissa gave him a slight bump when he said it. “…and members of the Jilgrathian Magical Academy create these. They are a little different than the charm you used before. We aren’t entirely sure they work because there weren’t any Maskumite magicians around. Spread them around.”

“I will,” Worto said. “And you don’t need a charm?”

“No.” Trevor noticed a man sliding into hearing range at the corner of Worto’s carriage. “We can test it now. Pull a charm out and hold it while you look at your carriage, then drop the charm to the ground to see if anyone disappears.”

King Worto did as Trevor said and gasped the moment the charm dropped to the ground. “Over there!”

“They can’t see,” Trevor said. He ran toward the magician before he could get a few steps away. Trevor tackled him to the ground. Both men were bathed in fire. A silver lightning bolt splashed against Trevor as they struggled until he swung his fist, connecting with the magician’s cheek, knocking the man out.

The officers and soldiers shouted as the magician appeared. Worto picked up the charm and examined it. “I didn’t have to activate it. Good work!”

“None needed with the new ones,” Lissa said. “It is more like a ward than a charm. A reflection of the invisible person’s magic powers the detection spell.”

Worto walked over to the unconscious man. “He is one of Plissaki’s minions,” Worto said. He examined the tiny metal disk again. “You followed me all the way from Collet to give me this?”

“Don’t you think it is that important?”

“I do now,” Worto said. He looked at Trevor. The man’s mind seemed to be whirring. “You haven’t done so bad for such a new duke, other than put me into a full retreat.”

“Weren’t you having problems with your army?” Trevor asked. “You left Bassington in a hurry when I met you for the first time.”

“I was. Who knows?