Gavin sighed and stood. He placed the documents back in the strongbox and walked around the table to stand with Mariana and his friends.
“I don’t know, Kiri. The big question is whether those documents are real. If they’re not real, I’d say it’s all part of a plot to overthrow the Council and lay blame at the king’s feet…which would probably spark a civil war. If they are real…I don’t know.”
Gavin’s voice trailed off as his mind sorted through all the implications he could see, and he knew he was missing some. Not for the first time, Gavin wished Marcus were still alive, but he didn’t give voice to that thought. It wouldn’t do for anyone to see his doubt.
“We must take this evidence to the Council,” Mariana said.
Gavin nodded. “You are correct. That is exactly what we should do, but it is not what we’re going to do.”
“Why not?” Mariana said.
“We’re going to take this to Valera. She will be able to authenticate these documents and call a meeting of the Council. I do not want to bring this before the Council as a threat from the king if it is merely an internal matter. Mariana, in the very near future, I will be facing Tauron again, and I highly doubt it will do your career any good for him to see you standing with me. You should sit this one out.”
“The Great Houses of Tel stand together, Gavin,” Mariana said. “They always have, and I hope they always will.”
Gavin chuckled and shrugged. “Ah, well…I tried. Okay. Get your people in here to catalog this place according to proper evidence protocols. I want all this packed up and ready to take before Valera as soon as possible. In the meantime, I think I need to have a conversation with Ektor. It looks like I won’t be selling this vineyard as soon as I thought, after all.”
Gavin, Kiri, and Declan traveled down the main north-south avenue in Tel Mivar, having entered the city from the north gate. Nine Battle-mages, including Mariana, rode with them in their wake. Gavin could hear Kiri, Declan, and Mariana chatting behind him, but his mind was too focused on what they had discovered at the vineyard to pay much attention to what they were discussing.
Before long, the group entered the markets, and screams erupting from the crowd around them destroyed Gavin’s focus on the evidence. In the now-open space around them, Gavin saw a woman on the ground, her hands pressed against her abdomen. Blood oozed between her fingers. A man stood over her holding a bloody dagger. A small boy started to move toward the woman, while she shouted at him to run away. The man began moving in to finish the job.
Gavin’s jaw clenched at the sight. “I don’t think so,” he said, his tone resolute.
Gavin invoked a Word, “Thymnos.” Pain savaged Gavin’s guts as the invocation took hold, and the man froze mid-motion. He still breathed and could blink his eyes but not much else. A strange tattoo dominated the right side of the man’s neck.
Declan eyed the tattoo and sighed, saying, “Well, damn.”
“What?” Gavin asked.
Declan paid him no mind, though. He turned over his shoulder to Mariana and said, “Take the Battle-mages to the Mivar Estate, and secure the evidence there. Tell Torval this is a request from Gavin, but tell him nothing about the contents of these strongboxes. Go…now!”
“Who are you-” Mariana said, and Declan made a small gesture to direct her attention to the paralyzed man. Mariana’s eyes locked on the tattoo, and the color drained from her face. “Oh, no.”
“Take the Battle-mages and go,” Declan said. “We’ll be fine.”
“I’m not leaving you guys here alone!”
“Trust me,” Declan said as he slipped from his horse and handed Kiri the reins. “We’re not alone.”
It was clear as the sky of a cloudless day that Mariana didn’t want to leave, but she knew her duty. She turned her horse toward Mivar Estate and led the Battle-mages away.
Six people in worn leather armor broke through the crowd on the far side of the tableau. They looked at the man leaning over the woman, and then, their eyes shifted to Gavin. They started to move. Declan stepped forward, drawing a dagger out of each sleeve and holding them with the point facing his elbows. Two more people in common clothing stepped out of the crowd, holding their own daggers. Declan made a point of exaggerating the motion of looking at each of the plain-clothed newcomers before lifting his left hand and waving his fingers in a beckoning gesture.
Now, the six leather-clad individuals slowed their approach, their eyes flicking between Declan and the other two. The woman leading the charge, as it were, stopped at last and stretched her arms out against her closest fellows, shaking her head. Just as they turned to leave, Gavin saw they all bore the same neck tattoo…just like the guy he had interrupted.
Town guard whistles blared nearby, and the crowd parted to let them pass. Gavin was surprised to see a healer from the temple with them. The healer went to the woman immediately and began seeing to her wound.
“All right,” the sergeant said as he surveyed the scene, “what happened here?”
“Sir?” Gavin said, drawing the man’s attention. “There was a scream, and the crowd parted around…well…that. She was begging the boy to run, and the man was leaning back in to finish the job. I didn’t appreciate a woman being murdered on the street in front of a boy I assume is her own son, so I stopped him.”
“Hey, Sergeant,” one of the guardsmen said, his voice raised. “He won’t drop the dagger!”
“He can’t,” Gavin said.
The sergeant whipped his head back to look at Gavin, asking, “What do you mean, he can’t?”
“He’s paralyzed. Well, all voluntary muscles are paralyzed anyway…stuff like his jaw, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, and neck. His heart still beats, and he can still breathe; that’s about it. Oh! And he can blink. I didn’t want his eyes to dry out before the paralysis fades.”
“That’s very kind of you,” the sergeant said. “So, when does the paralysis fade?”
Gavin frowned. He started to speak, then stopped. He rubbed his chin, still frowning, and started to speak again, only to stop again. He settled on a shrug, as he said, “That’s a good question. I wasn’t really thinking of a duration when I invoked the Word; I just wanted to stop him from murdering the woman.”
“Every spell I’ve ever heard of fades eventually,” the sergeant said. “What spell did you use?”
Gavin shook his head. “You missed what I said, Sergeant. I didn’t use a spell; I invoked a Word. I’m a wizard, not a mage.”
For the first time, the sergeant lowered his eyes to look at Gavin’s medallion. Gavin knew the man recognized the House glyph, because Gavin watched his eyes widen and the color drain from his face and neck.
“Yes, Sergeant,” Gavin said with a sigh, “I’m House Kirloth.”
The man took a step back and seemed to shrink in on himself just a bit.
“Yes, well,” the sergeant said, “I want to thank you for taking the time to defend the woman, milord, and while we will be in touch if we need further information, we will do everything in our power not to impose upon you. You’re free to go about your business.”
Gavin smiled and nodded, saying, “Thank you, Sergeant. My name is Gavin Cross, and you can find me most days at the College.”
Gavin turned to resume traveling to the College and found Declan turning away from a group of five people in plain, everyday clothing. They nodded almost in unison, one of their number leaving at a brisk jog while the rest moved to surround Gavin and Kiri.
“Uhm, Declan?” Gavin said. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain once we’re back at the College, but we need to hurry. I’m not sure five of us will be adequate if they come at us in sufficient numbers.”