The Rune Knight by Jonathan Moeller

Author:Jonathan Moeller [Moeller, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-10-07T04:00:00+00:00

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Later Mazael sat in Mandor’s pavilion, starting his third cup of wine. Atalia had cleaned and stitched his wounds after Trocend and a group of armsmen had swarmed into the old cellar, and they had returned to the Fair, leaving Trocend to pour over the documents Kolmard and Calvin Astarre had left behind. The cuts throbbed damnably, and Mazael felt tired, but it could have been worse. He was still alive.

Neither he and Atalia had been turned into those undead creatures.

The tent flap opened, and Atalia stepped inside. Her lip had been split, but other than that she had come through the fight uninjured.

“How do you feel?” said Mazael, getting to his feet with a grunt.

“Better than you do, I expect,” said Atalia.

Mazael shrugged. “I’ve been hurt worse than this. It’ll get better.”

She seemed nervous and folded her arms over her chest, and then unfolded them. “Trocend was pleased with what we found in Kolmard’s workshop. He found letters to other members of the School, and he might be able to track them down.”

“That’s good,” said Mazael.

“Yes,” said Atalia.

“What’s wrong?” said Mazael.

“Mazael,” said Atalia. She hesitated, and then spoke the next sentence in a rush. “I am leaving Knightcastle and going to the wizards’ college at Alborg.”

Mazael blinked.

“Why?” he said at last.

“It was Trocend’s idea,” said Atalia. “He said I would be more useful to him with proper training. He has a lot of influence, and he was able to get the master wizards to accept me back. If I go to Alborg and keep myself under control, I can become far more powerful. And I can do it without the filthy necromancy of Kolmard and his lot. I’m leaving tomorrow morning. So…I wanted to say farewell, first.”

Mazael said nothing for a moment. Atalia actually fidgeted a little.

“You’ve known about this for a while,” said Mazael. “It takes time for messages to go back and forth from Knightcastle to Alborg. Why are you telling me now?”

“Because I needed to think about it,” said Atalia, “and I made up my mind today.”

“Ah,” said Mazael, the anger reawakening within him. “It was something I did, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” said Atalia in a quiet voice, not meeting his gaze.

“So saving you from Kolmard and Calvin was a bad thing, was it?” said Mazael.

“No!” said Atalia, meeting his gaze at last. “But, Mazael. You beat him to death. I saw your face while you did it.”

“So?” said Mazael.

“You…were enjoying it,” said Atalia. “The way you always enjoy killing. Mazael…I think there’s something wrong with you.”

Mazael said nothing, too angry to speak.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Atalia. “But there’s rage in you, and I’m afraid of what will happen when you finally can’t control it. I don’t want to be within a hundred miles of you when it finally breaks loose.”

He said nothing.

“I’m not going to claim that I was in love with you, and I know you weren’t in love with me,” said Atalia. “I don’t think people like us fall in love. I want power more than I want anything else.

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