God of Magic 3 Read online

  After our guide delivered us to the infirmary, the next several hours passed in a blur. In truth, I wasn’t fully conscious for all of it, and I drifted in and out a hazy sleep as I sat propped up against a stack of pillows in one of the narrow beds alongside my friends. When I was awake, I was foggily aware of Aerin and Lena standing by and talking to me in gentle voices or helping the attending healers care for me, Lavinia, and Maruk.

  It was dark outside when I finally awoke and felt certain that I wasn’t going to drift off again in a moment, and when I sat up in the bed, Aerin and Lena were each curled up in a chair nearby, fast asleep.

  Maruk was asleep as well, but as I turned to the bed on my other side, I saw that Lavinia was awake. She had a tray on her lap with a muffin, and I watched as she broke off a piece and tossed it at Aerin. It bounced off the elf’s knee onto the floor, but Aerin didn’t wake.

  When Lavinia realized I was watching her, she flashed a grin and held the muffin out to me. “Want some?”

  Relief flooded through me at the sight of the ranger’s mischievous grin. She looked like her old self again though I noticed with a pang that there was the slight shine of fresh scar tissue just beneath her collarbone where Cuvier had transferred his arrow wound to her. At least she was alive.

  “To eat?” I asked with a small smile. “Or to throw?”

  “Whatever you want,” Lavinia replied with a shrug, and Aerin stirred at the sound of our voices.

  A relieved smile broke across the elf’s face, but she frowned again almost as quickly when she realized that she was covered in crumbs and saw the muffin Lavinia held.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  “You wouldn’t wake up,” Lavinia said, “and they said we couldn’t leave until you and Lena said so.”

  “Well, excuse me for being a little tired after I helped save your life,” Aerin retorted as she stood and brushed the crumbs off her robes. She tried to sound annoyed, but the relief was evident in her tone. “I’ll go get the healers and see about getting you all discharged since you’re so eager to go.”

  Lavinia grinned at me as Aerin slipped out of the room, and the elf returned a moment later followed by a human mage, one of the infirmary’s healers. As they entered, Lena woke up as well.

  When the healer went to check Maruk’s vitals, the orc groaned and tried to pull the thin sheet up over his head.

  “Surely you can spare five more minutes,” he muttered. “I did almost die.”

  “You did not,” Lavinia argued. “I almost died. I got way closer to dying than you.”

  “Oh, please do not turn that into a competition,” Aerin pleaded, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Well, you’re all free to go if you feel up to it,” the mage told us with a patient smile. “If you need anything else, I’ll be in the next room.”

  “I want to get out of here,” Lavinia said emphatically as the healer left us again. The ranger swung her legs over the bed and stood, then she eyed her muffin scornfully. “And I want some real food.”

  “Oh, yes, I’m famished,” Maruk agreed, and to prove his resolve, he threw back his sheet and got up as well. Like Lavinia, his skin was marked with the faint traces of scars from Cuvier’s attack.

  When I saw his scars, I reached up to the bridge of my nose and pressed my finger against the raised section of skin there.

  “It looks cool,” Lena said, and I turned to find the blonde elf had been watching me. She smiled. “Really, it makes you look like a hero.”

  I returned her smile as I got out of bed.

  “Thanks,” I replied.

  “Yeah, it’s a real don’t-fuck-with-me look,” Lavinia agreed. “It suits you.”

  “Are we ready to get out of here?” Aerin asked. “The streets are still packed, news spread pretty fast about Cuvier. Everyone wants to talk to us. Actually, a lot of people have come by already to pass on their thanks. It looks like he screwed over a lot of people, and they’ve decided we Shadow Foxes are their personal heroes since we killed him. If we want to make it back any time before midnight, we should get going.”

  I was surprised to hear that the public had already been informed about everything that had happened, but I guessed Maderel had decided that given the circumstances, transparency was the best policy. Or maybe he just hated Cuvier, too, and didn’t care about exposing him. I supposed it didn’t matter now. We had secured Emeline’s innocence, and tomorrow, we could return to Yvaine’s and tell her in person. That was tomorrow. For now, a good meal seemed like the perfect way to end the night.

  “Let’s go home,” I said.

  Chapter 17

  The streets of Ovrista were still crowded when we left our guild hall just before noon. We were headed, of course, to Yvaine’s estate to inform Emeline and Etienne about all that had happened the previous day. Unlike the confused and nervous crowds that had gathered at the time of the explosions, however, the people here now had a goal in mind. They all wanted to see us.

  Most were mages, other students or colleagues of Cuvier’s who he had mistreated and blackmailed. They’d been too afraid to speak against the powerful archmage while he lived, but they arrived outside our guild hall en masse now to thank us for finally exposing his crimes.

  We could barely get off our doorstep with them all gathered around, and of course, they had questions. Eamon Maderel couldn’t stop the news of Cuvier’s death or his ties to blood magic from reaching the public, but he’d managed to keep most of the details under wraps, and with rumors running rampant, everyone came to us for answers. How did we defeat such a powerful blood mage? Is it true that he could use his magic to enthrall others and bend them to his will? Was he trying to take over the Academy itself and train an army of blood mages to serve him? And on and on.

  I had no answers for most of the questions that were whispered or, in the case of the bolder members of the crowd, shouted to us, and even those I could answer, I didn’t want to. At least, not now, and not like this. I couldn’t very well tell the whole truth about the fight with Cuvier without exposing myself as a manipulator, and I needed time to come up with a plausible story that wouldn’t put my friends or me in danger.

  As far as the rest of the authorities knew, Etienne had broken Emeline out of prison on his own and escaped with her, and Aerin, Lavinia, Maruk, Lena, and I had simply stumbled upon Cuvier practicing blood magic later. I was sure Eamon Maderel was smart enough to guess, at least, that these two events taking place within a few hours were not purely coincidental, nor was the series of explosions that so conveniently provided cover for Emeline’s escape. We’d been careful though, and he had no proof with which to accuse us. I didn’t want to give him any by saying anything careless now.

  Fortunately, between Maruk’s bulk and Lavinia’s cutting glare, we were able to make our way through the crowds and out the city gates before too long.

  “If they’re still there when we get back, I think I should be allowed to shoot some of them,” Lavinia grumbled as we left the city behind.

  Though it would make the journey longer, we elected to stay on the main roads and avoid the areas where Lena and the others had set off the explosions, as well as the farmlands where we’d fought off the pixies. There were still plenty of Academy mages crawling around there trying to figure out the cause of the blasts, and we didn’t need to draw their attention.

  “I thought you wanted to be famous,” Lena replied. “Isn’t that why you practice your archery so much?”

  “Well, sure,” the ranger replied as she pulled her white hair back into a ponytail, “but then I’ll be insanely rich, and I’ll hire bodyguards to keep all those annoying assholes away from me.”

  “Annoying assholes?” Maruk repeated with a grin. “You’ll need a good public relations manager if that’s how you refer to your fans.”

  “If they’re standing outside my house at all hours and bugging me with their stupid questions, then yes, they’re assholes,” Lavinia replied firmly
. “You’re saying it didn’t bother any of you?”

  “I rather liked the attention,” Maruk answered, and he smoothed down the front of his tunic with a large, green hand. “It’s nice to be recognized for a job well done.”

  “That attention will lead to money,” Aerin said as a smile crept over her lips. “After this, I bet we’ll start getting more offers for private bounties, and if we get big enough, some of the wealthier citizens might even sponsor the guild.”

  “And it’s nice to know we were able to help so many people,” Lena put in.

  I thought about Lavinia’s question. While the crowds and their questions rightfully put me on edge for fear of being discovered, I had to admit, part of me liked the attention and the praise. We wanted to make a name for ourselves, to become the best guild in Ovrista, and this was a big step in the right direction. We were far from our humble beginnings in our tiny apartment above the tavern with barely enough money to pay our bills. We were well on the road to something far greater, and the prospects that lay ahead, fame, fortune, freedom, were exciting.

  Without really meaning to, I lost myself in daydreams that included a guild hall as grand as a castle, filled with eager recruits and surrounded by adoring fans who couldn’t wait to hear about our adventures, and by the time I returned to the real world, I could see the top of Yvaine’s roof peeking above the trees.

  As we made our way up the gravel road, everyone was out in the front garden. Emeline and Etienne were perched on stools before easels upon which they appeared to be painting the fountain and the elegant rosebushes that surrounded it. Much to my surprise, Sulla and Urim were there as well, though I’d expected the orcs would have taken their leave after dropping off the mages. The pirates were working on paintings of their own though their interpretation of the landscape looked decidedly more like a burning battlefield. Yvaine watched them work eagerly, and as we neared the group, I heard her talking about the best spots in her gallery to hang the orcs’ paintings.

  “Perhaps I shall clear out another of the rooms to make space,” the noblewoman said thoughtfully. “Art such as this shouldn’t just be hung alongside all the rest, it must be afforded the proper respect.”

  Emeline, who appeared to be growing bored with painting and had started to drip paint from her brush onto the rocks to see how it would splatter, was the first to see us. The panthera mage jumped up so eagerly that she knocked over her stool and bumped into her brother’s easel as she tried to regain her balance.

  “Hey!” Etienne protested. “Be careful!“

  Emeline didn’t pay him any attention, because she had already started running toward us, and almost before I realized what was happening, she threw herself into my arms. I caught her just in time to prevent us both from tumbling to the ground in a heap, and I returned the woman’s embrace as she laughed.

  “It’s so good to see you!” She squeezed my shoulders tight before she stepped back again. “I was so worried that you’d be caught or worse.”

  By then, the others had all realized we were there, and Yvaine, Etienne, and the orc pirates came around to greet us as well, with kisses on the cheek from the noblewoman and hearty slaps on the back from the pirates.

  “You must tell us everything!” the marchioness gushed. “I shall call for tea, come, come.”

  Once we were all seated around one of the tables outside with cups of tea, I began to recount the rest of the previous night’s events to the others.

  “Cuvier found us while we were searching his office,” I said. “I found several books and scrolls that proved he’d been practicing blood magic, and he attacked us. I killed him.”

  “By the goddess,” Etienne breathed. The panthera man’s eyes were wide and fearful, but his sister’s face was grim.

  “Good,” Emeline said firmly. “He can’t hurt anyone else.”

  “What did you do with the body?” Urim asked. He had his teacup pinched between his thick thumb and index finger, and the tiny china cup looked like a toy in his hand.

  “Mm,” Sulla interrupted around a mouthful of little cucumber sandwiches. “Shoulda cut it up and stuffed all the pieces into the drawers of his desk.” The orc grinned. “That’d be funny.”

  “Do you mind?” Maruk asked with a chastising frown directed at each of his cousins. “We’re trying to tell you.”

  “Maderel and a few other archmages found us,” I explained.

  “What?” Emeline gasped. Her face drained of color.

  Etienne looked as though he might faint.

  “How did you get away?” the panthera man asked breathlessly.

  “We didn’t,” I replied. “We convinced Maderel that we’d only acted in self-defense, and when we showed him that Cuvier was a blood mage, he decided that we’d done the right thing.” I stopped then and took a drink of tea, my mouth suddenly dry. There was some bad news, unfortunately, and I was reluctant to deliver it. “We cleared your name, Emeline, and you can come home, but....” I looked over to Etienne, and he dropped his eyes and gave a slight nod, as though he’d guessed what was coming.

  “Etienne, they know it was you who broke Emeline out,” I finished. “They’ve charged you with the murder of Brennon and the other guards.”

  “I knew that this would be the most likely outcome when we started,” he said with a solemn nod, and he glanced to his sister. “All that mattered was getting Emeline to safety.”

  “But....” Emeline frowned. “But you can’t go back to Ovrista. You’re a fugitive now.”

  “I--” Etienne started, but he was interrupted when Urim clapped him on the back hard enough to nearly knock the wind out of him.

  “No matter,” the orc said merrily. “We are fugitives, too. You can come with us.”

  Etienne stared at Urim, then looked hesitantly to Sulla.

  “Come with... you?” he repeated.

  “You are... what is it called?” Sulla glanced to Maruk. “The whoosh.”

  “An air mage,” Maruk supplied.

  “Yes! Air mage!” Sulla grinned and stuffed another handful of sandwiches into his mouth. “Always useful on a ship. With you, we will not have to row when there is no wind, and we can sail faster to catch up to prey. It is good to have an air mage.”

  Etienne sat silently for a few moments as he processed the offer the pirates had made to him, then slowly, he nodded.

  “It would be better than constantly having to hide,” he said, “but I don’t know anything about ships.”

  “You will learn.” Urim waved him off.

  “My own brother, a pirate,” Emeline said with a little laugh. “I can hardly imagine it.”

  “The novelty wears off after a while,” Maruk muttered as he cast a disdainful look at Sulla, who was loudly chewing his cucumber sandwiches.

  “What are you going to do?” Etienne asked his sister.

  “I still want to join a guild,” Emeline replied. Her bright green eyes flicked over to me, and she offered me an uncharacteristically shy smile. “There was one, in particular, I wanted to apply to.”

  I smiled back at her.

  “We would be happy to have you, Emeline,” I said. “Welcome to the Shadow Foxes.”

  End of book 3

  End Notes

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual
events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Logan Jacobs