Complete silence fell over the crowd for a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, until it was broken by the sounds of the bell tower beginning to ring. We were under attack.
Chapter 20
I was numb with shock as I stared at the blue light. Not blue, I thought to myself, it should be red. I can’t fight without magic! Panic overwhelmed me for a moment, as all my well made plans crumbled around me, falling apart like a house of cards. Everything had hinged upon my magic, without it I couldn’t face the gods, without it I couldn’t use the enchantments that I had prepared.
Black despair devoured my courage as I realized that everything I had worked for was about to be destroyed. Everything I had ever done would be wiped out. After they kill me, they’ll undo everything I’ve ever done. It was all for naught… The urge to vomit sent me to my knees. “They shouldn’t be here yet,” I said quietly.
Looking up I realized that every eye in the room was upon me. I was their hope, and most of them had no idea that something was seriously wrong with me yet. Run! I wanted to scream at them. There is no hope. Once they discovered that my magic was gone, they would surely panic anyway.
A small voice cut through the madness in my head, “Dad? What’s happening?” Matthew’s small hand was on my arm, and then I saw his blue eyes, looking to me for reassurance.
I spit, trying to clear my mouth and stop my urge to retch. “I’m a little sick. I think I ate something bad, but I’ll be alright.” I’ve been poisoned, came the thought as I said that. “The blue light means that we are under attack, and that the castle defenses have been activated.” Taking a deep breath, I stood and stroked his hair. The gesture was to calm myself as much as it was for him.
Dorian’s gaze bored into me. “Your orders, my lord?” We had stood together through worse before this.
“This should be a red condition,” I told him without explaining.
His eyes widened slightly, “It’s too late for that, the plan is too different. Yellow is the best we can manage if people are already heading for the blue meeting points.”
He was right of course; it was a flaw in my plans that there was no easy way to switch from blue or yellow to red. It was also something I should have realized before now. “Give the men orders for yellow then. I’ll find Walter and have him change the color immediately.”
My friend nodded and turned to his fellow knights, “You heard our Lord! Pass the word and get to your stations. Encourage everyone to pick up their pace! We need everyone to head for the teleportation circles in the courtyard immediately.”
Penny stood next to me now, with a hand on my arm to steady me. “What’s wrong with you, Mort?” she said quietly.
I wanted to lie to her. I needed to lie. If I didn’t she might not leave me to do what must be done, but as I looked into her brown eyes I felt my will falter. “I think I’ve been poisoned.”
“Then you’ll come with me,” she answered immediately. “You can’t fight like that.” Her part in every one of the plans was to take our children and retreat to our hidden mountain cottage.
“No,” I said firmly. “There are things that must be done.”
“You said your magesight was gone. What of your magic?” she asked pointedly.
I already knew the answer to that question. Whatever else the poison might have done to me, it had completely snuffed out my power. “I will have to find Walter and instruct him on what to do.”
Penelope’s cheek twitched as she clenched her jaw. We both knew I was likely condemning myself, and Walter as well, to death. In years gone by, she would never have cooperated with such a plan, and her eyes showed me clearly how she felt about it, but she was a mother now. Instead of arguing she kissed me quickly before whispering, “You’re a good father and a stupid husband. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I managed to reply before she turned away. Tears were starting in her eyes.
Penny began issuing orders immediately, “Rose, you will accompany me. Is Gram in the nursery? We have to stop there first anyway, to collect Irene.”
Before Rose could respond, I spotted Elaine and her brother George heading for the door. “Elaine!” I said loudly, to get her attention.
She stopped and walked toward us instead. Elaine had been avoiding me since our ‘conversation’, and something in her step now told me that she’d rather not have to deal directly with me, even now. “Yes, my lord?” she asked.
“Where were you going?”
“To the building in the yard, to begin transporting people to Albamarl, that is my assigned task if the blue beacons are lit,” she replied calmly, though she had an edge about her.
“I’m changing it to yellow once I reach the central chamber,” I informed her, “for now I want you to escort Rose and Penny.” I put a hand on George’s shoulder, “I want you to handle the teleportation circles. Go now.”
Walter’s only son straightened a bit, and with a mute nod left. His sister seemed confused, however. “You don’t trust me to handle my task?” asked Elaine.
“No, it’s because I trust you that I’m sending you with my family. They will likely need a wizard with them in the days to come, and I won’t be there,” I told her.
Her gaze went to the floor, “You should send my father instead.”
“He’ll be staying with me, and you’ll likely curse me for it later. I’ve chosen you for this, Elaine.” I commanded, and without looking back I began walking. I needed to get to Walter, and I didn’t have much time. Without my magesight, I couldn’t be sure, but at a guess their eyes were on my back. The urge to look back, to see Penny and the children one last time, was almost overpowering, but I knew that if I did so, I wouldn’t be able to continue.
My eyes were burning, and my steps were a bit unsteady, but I made it out of the room without stumbling. The anger helped. People were everywhere in the halls, rushing back and forth, gathering their children and essential items, but they gave way before me, so I had little trouble reaching the entrance to the keystone room.
The wall was unmarked, and few even knew it was there, since I had had it hidden with masonry and enchantment. Even if I had had my magesight I couldn’t have found it; the runes hid it from even magical sight. I hope the door still opens for me, I thought to myself. It didn’t require magic, but I worried that without my magic, it might no longer recognize me. Placing my hand in the proper spot, I was relieved when the door opened silently before me.
Walter looked up in relief as I entered, “I put up the barrier as soon as I sensed him.”
I tried to project a calm I didn’t feel. “Where did they appear, and which one is it?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Walter replied, “I haven’t actually sensed one of them. One of Master Grayson’s foresters spotted a large group of foreign men moving through the woods a few miles off.”
A sense of relief flooded through me, if it wasn’t one of the gods we would be fine, assuming I could survive whatever had poisoned me. A question leaped to the forefront of my mind, “Wait… why did you light the blue beacon then?” An attack by a mundane army wouldn’t be enough to justify evacuating the entire town.
“Our scout was undetected as far as he knows, and he spotted them several miles off, but by the time he reached the town gates, he realized that they were close behind him,” Walter explained. “He barely had time to signal the guard to close the gate before they reached it. He said they were moving impossibly fast.”