[Magister 02] Wings of Wrath by C. S. Friedman

Author:C. S. Friedman
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780756405946
Publisher: Daw Books
Published: 2010-08-15T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

SOMETHING WAS wrong. Approaching Siderea’s hilltop palace, Colivar could not pin down the source of his disquiet. Nothing seemed out of place, at least to his casual inspection. Brilliant white columns gleamed in the sunlight as they did on every other summer day; the salt-laden breeze blew in from the sea in its accustomed manner; even the distant murmur of human activity in the port far below was its usual timbre and volume. No, everything looked and sounded perfectly normal.

So what made him so sure that it wasn’t? It was something he sensed viscerally, as an animal does, without having a name for it. A fleeting unease that he could glimpse out of the corner of his eye, but not look on directly. It was a kind of thing he had never felt before, and since there were few things in the world that he had not experienced—sorcerous or otherwise—it bothered him.

Perhaps it was simply the lack of welcome that seemed so odd. He was accustomed to having a servant run up to him the moment he arrived so the absence of one was noteworthy. Evidently Siderea no longer expected surprise visits from sorcerers—or perhaps no longer welcomed them. He could hardly blame her for the latter. The Magisters had not exactly treated her well of late. Lazaroth’s comment about maggots came to mind.

And then, at last, a servant appeared. The man wasn’t exactly jubilant to see him, but at least he was properly respectful. “Magister Colivar.” He bowed deeply in respect. “You are here to see Her Majesty?”

“If she is receiving,” he said, berating himself a moment later for expressing himself in such a manner. A Magister should never appear obsequious.

“Of course, my lord. Please follow me.”

Colivar was led into the palace and taken to a receiving chamber, where he was left to wait. That was also a new custom; normally Siderea put all her other business aside when a Magister came calling. Nothing about the room itself looked any different than the last time he’d seen it, but even so his hackles rose as he entered. Whatever disturbance he had sensed outside the palace was clearly active in here as well.

Then Siderea entered. She looked lovely as always, of course, but a trained eye could pick out the change in her demeanor, from her usual languid elegance to something colder. Not a great surprise. The fact that she had made him wait had warned him what to expect.

“Colivar.” She raised one eyebrow as she looked him over, as if not quite sure what manner of creature he was. Then she held out her hand to him, inviting the appropriate homage. “It has been some time.”

He walked over to her, took her hand in his, and lifted it briefly to his lips in greeting. He could smell a strange perfume rising from her fingertips, some kind of warm, sweet scent with undertones of musk. It seemed oddly familiar to him. One more part of the puzzle.

“And to what do I owe this great honor?” she asked, slipping her fingers free of his grasp.

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