The City of Wizards by George Mazurek

Author:George Mazurek [Mazurek, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-10-18T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Day six

At Broken Crow I was lying in Elisa's bed staring at the ceiling until I realized several points.

First, Averot’h stood on the brink of war, not only among wizards but also between wizards and humans. Such a confrontation, the infamous Race Wars, took place before the Convention was settled. Spells proved to be powerful, but when it came to a fight between spells and steel blades the latter showed to be an efficient killing tool as well. Magic is repelled by metals indeed, but it is limited by the elementary laws of nature, such as running of time, seasonal cycles, or gravity. Not even a Warlock can deny them completely.

By the way, there were only nine ka’tans left. One of the Councilmen was hit by lightning after the sunset; though the sky was sparkling clear all night.

Truly unusual incident...

Second, wherever Elisa was hiding, she was safe, though I missed her terribly. Something else bothered me more. Elisa's father killed my father. That's why she had said ‘I owe it to you,’ on the first day we met. I found the reason for her harsh behavior as well. She was expecting another Gael, but on the pavement she saw a weakling boy instead...

A strange sadness squeezed my heart.

♠

I left the inn. It was morning already. People and wizards were milling around as usual, but the atmosphere had changed. They moved in silence, watching their neighborhood closely. Around the corner, I saw a line of people with carriages heading for the southern gate.

People are leaving...

I heard a word here and there.

The humans accused the wizards of killing their king. I was in the Arena, but I cannot confirm that, I didn't see the murder with my own eyes. The assassin could be anybody. Certainly, Rodan the Third deserved contempt, but he didn't deserve to be stabbed to death. Eventually, the King followed the inauspicious fate of his grandfather, who was shot with a crossbow just six months after his coronation.

Who could benefit from the murder?

To answer that question, I lacked even elementary knowledge of local politics.

I should have cared more about it...

There were no official statements from the royal family yet. People were speculating about the heir to the throne, as Jonas, the eldest son of the King, was only eight years old. Moreover, a body of the King's younger brother had just been found on the river's shore.

Martell refused to approve new candidates at the Council meeting last night. Master Cid’rel threatened the Burned could be removed from his supreme post.

As expected, the tournament was canceled with no winner declared. A similar situation had occurred only twice in the tournament's three hundred year old tradition.

People were also talking about the Gatherings under preparation.

It's too late... Martell's words echoed in my head.

Somebody claimed to see Bernal deserting the city with all of his family and servants. If this were true, it added to the growing mountain of bad news. It was probably a wise decision from the deputy nonetheless...

Wise judgment or cowardice?

I'm sorry I've lost you, mister deputy; you could have been my ally.

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