Valera traversed the Chamber of the Council and sat in her customary place at the apex of the table, and Gavin led his apprentices and Ovir to stand before the Council.
“I hereby call this session of the Council of Magisters to order,” Valera said and touched the square to seal the chamber.
Tauron lifted his hand, and Valera said, “The Magister of Evocation has the floor.”
Tauron stood and turned to glare at Gavin, saying, “This city is in turmoil, and that turmoil rests at your feet! Give us one good reason why the Council should not declare the lot of you renegades and have you executed!”
“The Conclave of the Great Houses voted to invoke Article 35 of the Arcanists’ Code,” Gavin said, “and Ovir’s not an arcanist, which means you can’t name him a renegade to start with. There…that’s two reasons.”
Gavin heard suppressed snorts from opposite sides of the table, but he was too focused to see who produced them. Tauron’s nostrils flared, and his hands clenched into fists.
“The fact is, Tauron, you yourself drove the Council into inaction. You have no grounds to stand there and threaten the people who were forced to act. The bulk of this crisis could have been averted, had the Council done its job…much like the situation with Rolf Sivas. I’m finished listening to you people; I answer to the Code, not the Council.”
“It is sentiment like that which leads us to consider naming you a renegade might be the best course of action,” said Drannos Muldannin, the Magister of Thaumaturgy.
“Then, do it,” Gavin said, “and stop the threats. Be the first Council in the history of the Society to name a wizard of the Great Houses a renegade. You just better be sure that’s what you want to do, because I am Kirloth. My mentor didn’t train me in half-measures.”
Gavin turned to those standing with him and said, “We’re finished here. Let’s go deal with the king.”
As he reached the inclined path that led to the doors, Gavin invoked a Word of Tutation, “Klyphos,” dispelling the magical seal on the Chamber. The red dots of light at each of the upper corners disappeared, and opening the door, Gavin left the Chamber of the Council.
Outside, Gavin waited for the door to the Chamber to close and said, “All right. That’s one down. Now, we just have to deal with the king.”
“Unless you specifically want me to go,” Kiri said, “I’d like to head up to the suite. I’d love to get out of this armor and put on some real clothes.”
“You just want to go soak in the bath for a while.”
“I refuse to comment on any thoughts that may have crossed my mind,” Kiri said, grinning and drawing smiles all around.
Gavin smiled. “I’ll see you when we get back.”
Gavin stopped at Valera’s office down the hall from the Chamber. He took one step into Sera’s outer office, snapped his fingers, and gave the royal messenger a terse, “You…let’s go.”
A few moments later, Gavin and his associates mounted the waiting horses, which had been brushed down, watered, and fed by the College’s grooms while Gavin visited the Council. Gavin glanced at the royal messenger and found him wearing an expression of forlorn consternation.
“What’s wrong with you?” Gavin said as the last of his friends mounted their horses.
“I…I didn’t ride a horse,” the messenger said.
“Ah, yes; that is a problem. Try to keep up.”
Scanning his associates, Gavin saw they were all mounted and waiting. He nudged Jasmine into a trot and led them out of the College grounds.
Gavin led his associates onto the palace grounds, and they dismounted. A nearby guard left the place where he was standing and approached.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“You know who I am,” Gavin said, pointing at his medallion, “and the King wishes to speak with me.”
“Yes, well…follow me,” the guard said and turned to lead them into the palace.
Gavin and company were just stepping through the palace doors when the royal messenger staggered through the gates, gasping and soaked in sweat from running the entire distance from the College. The messenger’s toe caught on the edge of an uneven flagstone, and he fell to his hands and knees. He lifted his head, and seeing the group he was supposed to be escorting entering the palace some thirty-odd yards ahead of him, he allowed himself to collapse.
The guard led Gavin and his associates to the residential section of the palace and stopped at a door flanked by guards.
“His Majesty will receive you in here.”
“Ovir, come with me,” Gavin said. “The rest of you, wait here.”
Inside the door, they found themselves standing in a room lined with bookshelves. An emaciated man with sandy hair sat in an armchair and stared into a fireplace with no fire. He turned at the sound of the door opening and stood to receive his guests.
Gavin watched the man rise out of the chair and realized he now faced the King of Tel. Gavin was not impressed.
“You killed my friend,” Leuwyn said.
“Your friend deserved it,” Gavin said.
A silence descended on the room as Gavin and the king stared at each other. After several moments, Gavin broke the impasse.
“You and I both know you sponsored Sivas’s plot to overthrow the Council, but the Kingdom cannot afford the chaos and turmoil that would occur if the Conclave removed you from the throne. Ovir conscripted those units of the Army of Tel in accordance with Article 12 of the Constitution, and if I hear of anything happening to those men-even the slightest event-I will come for you. Do you understand?”
Leuwyn’s eyes tightened into a glare as he said, “I want to watch you die.”
“Sivas said almost the same thing; think about what happened to him.”
“Get out of here,” the king said. “Get out!”
Gavin nodded once, saying, “I’m glad we understand each other.”
Gavin then turned and led Ovir out of the study.
In the hall outside, Ovir pulled the door closed and looked to Gavin. He said, “I think that went well.
Chapter 59
Awareness returned to Gavin at a gradual rate. His consciousness floated up out of the void. It was the first night since Sivas Manor he had slept the whole night through…without nightmares. In the wake of Sivas Manor, Kiri argued that Gavin should take half of the bed for himself, but Gavin maintained his stance that he wasn’t about to do anything against his ethics. He chose instead to add a few more blankets to his space on the floor.
As he lay there, Gavin admitted that he could’ve moved into Marcus’s room, giving Kiri this room to herself, but the chests that held Marcus’s journals almost filled that room with little space for anything else beyond a footpath from the door to the bed. Besides, Gavin couldn’t quite bring himself to take over that last remaining space of what had once belonged to Marcus.
Gavin and Kiri entered the dining hall for the morning meal, and they watched a wave of furtive looks progress through the room as the ambient conversation settled to a lower volume. He could almost feel their nervousness, or maybe it was fear. He even saw clusters of students he had helped with their studies shy away from him, and Gavin wanted to sigh. But he did not. Without missing a step, Gavin led Kiri to the table set aside for the Great Houses of Tel.
A short time later, Gavin, Kiri, Lillian, Braden, Wynn, and Mariana were sitting around the table enjoying each other’s company. They were discussing everything from training to Lillian wanting to go on maneuvers with the Battle-mages.