Page 18 of The Mage and His Stolen Prince
“When did you meet the Princess of Calamity?” Dad asked. Then he held up a hand to stop my answer. “Wait, no, evenIcan predict what you’ll say: it’s related to whatever weird magical thing is going on with you.”
I sighed. “I wish it wasn’t.”
“I don’t like not knowingwhereyou’ve gotten this—” Father paused as he searched for the right word “—precognition, but it sounds like you understand what we’re asking of you. This spell requires sacrifice. You might think you want to go on a quest now, but that will put you in danger.”
“You do have an out,” Dad explained. “Since you’re adopted, we don’t actually know if you can represent Bane in the spell. It might only acknowledge blood relations.”
“The only way to find out is if I try,” I said.
This ‘dream’ seemed centered around the Kingdom Defense Spell, so I’d use this opportunity to figure out what was going on.
Interruption One
Present Day
The Private Meeting Chamber for The Old Council of Wizards Who Fight on Behalf of the Greater Good, a.k.a. the Good Wizard’s Council
Holding a Trial
The Good Wizard sneezed. It was a loud, disruptive sneeze that got the attention of all the other good wizards in the chamber. To distinguish between the various good wizards present, this Good Wizard always thought of himself asTheGood Wizard, while everyone else was simplyagood wizard. Of course, he knew everyone else also thought of themselves asTheGood Wizard, but this was his mind and his narration, so he was allowed to be the one and onlyThe.
The Good Wizard sneezed a second time, spraying the papers in front of him with spittle. “I apologize,” he mumbled, voice nasally as he rubbed his nose. “Someone must be considering using my services.” Whether it was true or not, it made him sound important.
“Ah, you set your alerts up as a sneeze?” a good wizard asked. She leaned forward and grinned behind her enormous gray beard. “I prefer a ringing in my ears. Doubles as a way to drown out annoying noises.” Her eyes slid slyly to the leader of their organization.
Their leader was the only one who was not, in fact, a good wizard. Instead, he was the Grand Chancellor of Good Magic, and the only person to hold that title in over three hundred years.
The Grand Chancellor scowled at her. Another way he separated himself from the other wizards was by being the only one present who did not have a beard, so his displeasure was easier to see. “If that’s quite enough side chatter?”
Both good wizards bowed their heads apologetically.
Satisfied, the Grand Chancellor guided everyone’s attention to the small black mass in the center of the arena.
The evil mage was allowed to wear a black cloak for his own comfort. Nothisblack cloak of course, in case he’d enchanted it, but one provided by the council. However, he was not allowed to put the hood up to cover his face, so they had cut it off. Which technically made it acape, not acloak, but semantics aside, it served its purpose.
“The Good Wizard’s Council has gathered today to discuss the crimes of Brutus Arnulf, Formerly Known as the Lord of Grimnight—”
“I amcurrentlythe Lord of Grimnight!” Brutus shouted.
The council members sat in stands that were twenty-feet tall, so no one could really blame the mage for shouting. It was the only way he could be heard. Still, the lack of respect in his tone made the Grand Chancellor’s eyes narrow.
“Neither our council nor our counterparts in the Council of Evil can confirm how exactly you earned your title. You claim it was when you cursed the city of Traumstead into the Grimnight Forest, yet our records indicate you are fifty-nine years old. You would have been nine years old at the time the curse was cast.”
“Fine, so I am not theoriginalLord of Grimnight, but I stole the title fair and square, so I amstillthe Lord of Grimnight!” The evil mage stomped his foot to emphasize his point.
The Grand Chancellor remained unconvinced. “For the purposes of this trial, we shall refer to you as Brutus, if you don’t mind.”
“I do.”
The Grand Chancellor ignored him. “You are accused of interfering with a defense spell cast by one of our good wizards.”
The Good Wizard straightened. It washisspell the mage had tampered with. For decades, the Kingdom Defense Spell around the DesolatedLands had stood unchallenged—aside from the minor confusion of Prince Frederick and Prince Brendon’s marriage.
“I’m an evil mage,” Brutus replied. “OfcourseI’d be tempted by an untouchable land protected by a complicated spell. Any evil mage worth their salt would want to conquer those unsullied lands.”
“Interesting that you say that. The Lord of Darkness, Prince of Shadows, Bringer of Terrible Evil, The Great and Powerful Cyril, has known the truth about the Desolated Lands for decades and never raised a finger against them.”
“He’swhat? How did he find out? Just thisone bloody timecan’t I know a secret he doesn’t?” As Brutus raged, he stomped around the little arena, kicking at the air. It would have been an impressive temper tantrum for a toddler.
