“Ugh,” I said immediately. “I really didn’t need to know that.”
“What was so important that you wanted me to come right away? You should be resting,” continued Walter.
“I need you to fetch Dorian’s mother, tonight,” I said plainly.
“Tonight is almost over,” replied Walter.
Dorian frowned, “You think Mother will be able to help?”
“She’s probably my last chance,” I replied. What I didn’t voice was my suspicion that his mother had been much more than a simple healer and herbalist. She had named herself a ‘poisoner’ back when I had questioned her about drugging Walter into unconsciousness for days. I now believed there might be more to it than simple knowledge passed from mother to daughter, as she had claimed.
“How do you want me to get there?” asked the other wizard.
“Just walk out the door,” I answered. “I’m sure you’ve figured out the secret of my portal door by now. Once you’re back in the castle, you can just make your way to the circle building.”
Dorian spoke up, “The castle side is buried under stone rubble. Some of it had collapsed already. We cleared a bit to get to the door, but the rest fell as we entered. I don’t think it’s passable.”
Probably a direct result of Doron’s theatrical exit, I mused. “Can’t you just clear it?” I asked, looking at Walter.
He nodded, “Certainly, but it will take time. I am not as strong as you were.”
Were. His use of the past tense stung a bit, but I ignored it. “Make a circle then,” I said, changing tacks.
“I don’t know the circle keys for Lancaster,” said Walter gruffly, “and even if I did, I don’t have my book of diagrams handy to guide me in constructing a circle anyway.”
He was forgetting that I probably had my books stored nearby. We were in my home after all, but it was a moot point either way. “We don’t need any books. Just get me a sheet of parchment and some charcoal. I’ll draw it out for you.”
His eyebrows shot up, “You’ve memorized the keys and the circle design?”
I had yet to forget any of them, not just Lancaster, but I didn’t feel like gloating, so I just said, “Yes,” instead.
A few minutes later, I had created a passable depiction of the circle and given Walter my stylus to use in creating it. I handed it over to the other wizard. “I was a little hasty sketching it out. Can you read all of the symbols?” I asked.
Walter nodded and studied it carefully for a few minutes before commenting, “I have no idea how you remember things with such intricate detail, but this is certainly clear enough. My hand is not as steady as yours but I’m sure I can produce a workable circle using this; shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes or so if you have a suitable spot. I do have a question though, why don’t you have any circles here?”
“Paranoia,” I replied. “I put this house in the most remote, and inaccessible place I could find. Making a circle that could reach it, would just be like giving away the keys to my treasure box. I decided to only use the portal to get in and out. I figured I could always make circles later if I needed to for some reason.”
Walter seemed to accept my reasoning, but he had another question, “This design will take me to the circle in Lancaster, but I’ll need to create another circle that leads back to this one if I am to return with Lady Thornbear…,” he let his words trail off.
“So make one… we can always destroy it later to prevent anyone else from finding my home,” I replied, completely misunderstanding his hesitation.
“I don’t know the formulae to calculate the return keys for this circle,” admitted Walter finally. “I’ll need to borrow your books so I can work it out in advance.”
I couldn’t fault him for that. The formulae for calculating the return key for the other end was complicated, although solving it wasn’t particularly difficult if you remembered all the steps. “Here, let me add that, it won’t take me but a moment,” I said, waving for him to hand the parchment back.
I ran through the process in my mind before jotting the rune keys down, and then I took the additional step of drawing the rest of the other circle out around them. That part probably wasn’t necessary, since it was identical to the previous circle, but it only took a few minutes and it couldn’t hurt to be sure. I hadn’t realized how much Walter relied upon his references before this. Possibly, it was due to the late point in his life at which he had been exposed to it.
“Thank you,” said Walter, with visible relief as I handed the sheet back to him.
“There’s a stone patio on the side of the house facing the mountain, it would probably be the best place to set it up. Take Dorian with you. He’ll be able to explain things to her more quickly,” I told him.
“Yes, my liege,” Walter answered rather formally, completing the phrase with a quick bow. He and Dorian turned and left the room.
I grimaced at the extra formality and shouted after him, “You’d best hope I die soon if you intend to keep using honorifics in private!”
Easing into a more comfortable position, I closed my eyes. My head felt foggy and considering the recent sleep I had had, it probably was due more to the effects of the poison than to anything else. At least the painful part he told me about hasn’t started yet, I thought.
Penny woke me up as she laid Moira down beside me, and a bleary-eyed Matthew crawled into the bed on the other side. “You asked for children,” she told me, with a wan smile.
My wife had never looked more beautiful in my eyes, sitting on the edge of the bed; the candlelight behind her set glowing highlights in her soft brown hair. The thought of dying didn’t bother me as much as the thought of losing her. I glanced down at the little girl I held snugly in front of me. Losing them, I mentally corrected. “How are Irene and Conall?” I asked.
“Sleeping,” Penny replied softly, “as they should be at this hour.”
I nodded. “But they’re alright?” I prodded. “They weren’t hurt or badly frightened by all the fighting?”
She shook her head to indicate that they were unharmed. “Irene was hardly aware and little Conall was more disappointed that he didn’t get to see me battling the bad men,” she added with a slight laugh.
“He couldn’t see?” I said questioningly before I realized. “Oh, Elaine hid them!”
“She kept everyone invisible,” agreed Penny.
“How is she?” I asked.
My wife’s face took on a pensive expression. “It isn’t good. Rose was being optimistic earlier. You know… she almost took a second, fatal blow,” observed Penny.
“What do you mean?”
“I had just come from the stairs, but I saw what happened. She was already down and there was one of them standing over her. She had her wand in her hand, and she could have killed him before he struck, but she attacked a different one instead,” said Penny, describing the scene for me. “I didn’t understand why at first, until I realized afterward, that the one she slew had just found Rose and the children.”
“What happened then?” I asked. Walter had relayed the story to me at the time, but Penny’s description was much more detailed.
“I threw my sword. I didn’t have time to reach him otherwise. It didn’t kill him, but it bought me enough time to get there,” explained Penny.
“You fought the last two barehanded?”
“I was very cross at that point,” she said, without elaborating.
“Makes me almost feel sorry for them,” I commented wryly.
Penny’s tone changed, turning sad, “I feel terrible for Elaine. She was a hero, Mort. She sacrificed herself for our children. If I had just been there a minute sooner, I might have prevented what happened to her.”