[Magister 03] Legacy of Kings by C. S. Friedman

Author:C. S. Friedman
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, General
ISBN: 9780756406936
Publisher: DAW Hardcover
Published: 2011-09-05T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

E

THANUS WAS working on deciphering a Bursan codex when the knock came on his door. At first he didn’t hear it. Daylight was fading, and the effort it took to make out the figures on the well-worn parchment required all his concentration. He could have used his power to refresh them, of course, drawing upon the memory inherent in the ancient fragments to restore them to their original condition. But where was the challenge in that? And so he didn’t hear the knocking at first. Only when it was repeated with increasing volume did he realize that that it was a signal meant for him, and not just the rapping of a hungry woodpecker in the forest outside.

Carefully putting his work aside, brushing a bit of dust from his woolen gown, he headed toward the door, wondering who on earth would be bothering him at this hour. Or at any hour. He doubted that more than one person even knew where he lived, and she would surely have better sense than to come here. The Law was not a thing to be taken lightly.

But when he opened the door, he saw that she was indeed standing there. The dying sun backlit her bright red hair, lending it a fiery aura, like that of an angel. Or a demon.

Or both, he thought.

“You fled my custody,” he admonished her. Not because he was really angry, but because dealing with the murderer of a Magister had certain requirements. “It was my duty to see that you were punished for your crime. Failing to do that, I’ve been dishonored in the eyes of all sorcerers. And now you’ve come back? For what purpose? To compromise me further? What possible reason would I have to welcome you into my home?”

“Your desire to learn the true history of the Magisters,” she said. Green eyes burning with a quiet defiance that was achingly familiar. “The name of the secret darkness that lurks within our blood. The reason that we must play a role in the war to come, or watch the entire world go up in flames. The part you must play in that war, in order for us to be successful.”

For a moment he just stared at her. Digesting her words, as though they were some foreign and unfamiliar food. Finally he decided he had done it long enough to satisfy propriety . . . or at least his own conscience.

“That’ll do it,” he said at last, nodding gruffly as he stepped aside to let her enter. “Come in.”

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