is Soddan.’
‘A fitting name,’ the man said light-heartedly, but he continued at once on noticing Samuel’s lack of amusement. ‘Oh, yes. I know him,’ he replied, ‘but I haven’t seen him for quite some time.’
Samuel nodded. ‘Very well. I’ll be going then.’
‘Would you like me to pass him a message?’
‘No, it’s not necessary. I’m sure I’ll bump into him eventually.’
With that, Samuel pulled his sodden hood back over his head and left the smoking house. Surprisingly, before he had even reached the end of the street, the rain stopped as if the clouds had abruptly ran dry. Water continued to pour from the roofs and gutters for some time, forming an impressive array of streams and tiny waterfalls that cascaded down onto the glistening streets. Many of the city’s drains had obviously blocked up and some streets had become like rivers. Great ponds lingered in some corners and Samuel had to wade knee-deep in places, with his boots filling up with water and making the going all the more difficult. People were sweeping the rain out their doorsteps and throwing bucketfuls of water out into the streets as they began to clean up.
Before Samuel had even reached halfway back to the school, the sun had begun shining through a few gaps in the clouds and it was almost looking like becoming a decent day. More people had begun to fill the streets and Samuel quickened his stride, hoping to get back to safety before the crowds came out in full force. Several patrols of Royal Guard had begun marching the streets, but they passed by Samuel without even a glance. It came as quite a surprise, however, when he spied a group of black-cloaked magicians coming up one of the slippery streets towards him. What made matters worse was that he recognised the short, stocky shape of Lord Vander at their head.
Samuel decided it was safer to turn around altogether and avoid them, but as he made back up the hill from where he had come, he ran into further trouble. A patrol of guards was spread across the street and they were questioning a clot of Paatin merchants. There were no side streets to slip down, so Samuel stopped in place, caught between the magicians and the soldiers. He looked over his shoulder to see if the magicians were still following. Lord Vander had his head turned and seemed to be arguing with the barrel-chested Lord Hathen at his side. On their farthest left, Samuel was quite alarmed to spy Lord Jarrod. The man’s legs carried him as if he were weightless, for he almost seemed to float along in his boots.
He must have paused a fraction too long, because Lord Hathen raised a hand in Samuel’s direction and began muttering to Vander beside him. Magician’s robes were a convenience at some times, but now they made it near impossible for Samuel to hide amongst the crowd.
‘You, there!’ Hathen began to call up towards him. ‘Stop a moment.’
Samuel acted as if he had not heard, turning his back to the men and starting away. He was terribly bad at looking casual at times like this, and he could not help but hurry a little, hoping to be away from them. They were by no means youngsters, after all, so Samuel just needed a little space and, as soon as he could, he would be off as fast as his feet could carry him. However, he still had to slip past the Royal Guards. Their captain was still engaged in chastising some apologetic hawker, but his men were waiting idly by and seemed on the lookout for anything to remove their boredom.
Samuel changed his steps into long strides, taking as much ground as he could while doing his best to appear unhurried.
‘Hold there!’ Hathen shouted again behind him.
‘Stop there!’ Vander shouted as well. ‘Stop there at once!’
A few of the guards had been attracted by the fuss and the captain had turned from his business to look directly at Samuel. Samuel looked over his shoulder and could see the councillors now puffing and hurrying after him. Only Lord Jarrod seemed unaffected by the exertion and stayed easily beside the other two without breaking his stride, pinning Samuel with his glinting gaze. Their shouts had now attracted the full attention of the Royal Guard and the men now stood attentively as Samuel approached; three agitated old magicians in pursuit. The captain waited there with his hands on his hips, a mix of puzzlement and amusement set on his face.
‘Captain! Stop that man!’ Vander called out through his wheezing.
Samuel was trapped like a rat between the guards and the councillors. ‘Yes, Captain,’ Samuel called out also. ‘Stop that man!’ and he pointed to one of the city folk who just happened to be standing nearby, watching the show. At being singled out and realising that the Royal Guard were now staring straight at him, the man turned about and darted into his house in a panic, slamming the door quickly behind him.
The captain was not fooled, however, and remained waiting patiently. As Samuel reached the guards, he realised he had no other recourse but to run. He burst into a dash and tried to scrape past the men, but they had their arms around him and held him firm as he struggled to wriggle free. Each man had brutish strength and Samuel found his squirming quite futile. They scuffled on the ground a moment before hands had him by the collar and the guards brought him to his feet.
The captain stood before Samuel with a look of great fascination. ‘What do we have here?’ he asked. ‘Magicians chasing magicians? How intriguing.’
Samuel realised he had no choice but to use his magic to escape but, as soon as he began to summon, streaks of magic came flashing in around him and he felt his hold on the ether suddenly severed. He recognised the weaves of Vander and Hathen and together the councillors had succeeded in blocking Samuel from reaching the
‘See! I was right!’ Lord Hathen said, striving to catch his breath and looking rather ill. ‘It’s that young troublemaker Samuel. Here! In the city!’
‘By the gods, lad, what are you doing here?’ Vander asked, red-faced and glazed in sweat. ‘You don’t know how much trouble you are in for, young man.’
‘You should not have returned at all,’ Lord Jarrod stated. Samuel was somewhat surprised by the sound of his words, for his voice was surprisingly thin and nasally-rather laughable, in fact, and not at all as menacing as he would have assumed. Samuel had not had any such dreams since he had last left Cintar, but it did confirm to him that the two scheming voices in his head had indeed belonged to Dividian and Jarrod.
‘May I ask what’s happening here, My Lords?’ the captain of the guards asked.
‘Thank you for your assistance, Captain,’ Hathen replied. ‘We’ve had no end of trouble with this young man in the past. We thought he had left the city for good, but now he seems to have had the gall to return. He has some serious questions to answer.’
It was pointless for Samuel to struggle against the men who held him so firmly, and his magic was blocked by the councillors’ spell. Together, their magic was too strong. If he had had his wits about him, he would have called a spell shield into place at first sight of the men. It would have guaranteed a confrontation, but at least he would not have been defenceless.
‘What shall we do with him, then?’ Hathen asked.
‘Perhaps you should just let him go,’ Jarrod said as smoothly as he could. ‘I’m sure he won’t bother us any further.’
‘Release him?’ Vander asked with disbelief. ‘You must be mad! No, we will take him to the Archmage. He asked to see the boy if he ever had the chance.’
At this, Jarrod only smirked.
‘Would you like some assistance?’ the captain asked, still looking quite fascinated by the situation.
‘Thank you, Captain. We certainly would. We don’t want to risk having this good-for-nothing slip away from us. What’s your name, good Captain?’ Hathen asked.
‘Captain Orrell. We’re just heading back to the palace, so I’ll be happy to escort you back.’
‘Very good, Captain. If you would, we need to take this young magician to the palace. If your men can help us, we would be very appreciative. We have the young man’s magic in check, and I’m sure he won’t want to risk upsetting you and catching a blade in his back-would you, young man?’
‘That’s right,’ Samuel replied darkly.
‘And we don’t want the city folk catching sight of such a scene,’ Lord Vander added. ‘It would not be good for the Order.’
The captain nodded to his men and they released Samuel’s numbing arms.
‘Then, if you are returning to the palace, I will go on,’ Lord Jarrod stated. ‘I have other business to attend to. You seem to be managing things here.’
