Where is he going? Corvin usually didn’t lose his composure—it was one thing he prided himself on. But he couldn’t stop his eyes from widening and jaw from dropping. Talon was willingly riding with King Harold toward the enemy lines! Talon and his guards were riding up the hill and were out of sight a minute later.
Corvin thought furiously, trying to think of what reason Talon would have to go with Harold to their camp. In the end, the only thing that made sense was blackmail, or Harold was surrendering—and he doubted the latter. He couldn’t see blackmail either; what could Harold have on Talon?
The only secret Talon had was that he could use the power and his School of Power, both of which he was going to show off today. Talon had no wife and nobody close enough to where he would surrender himself. The king had been closed off ever since Besurlde's betrayal.
“Commander, what is King Talon doing?” Lord Tygrias said.
“Whatever he's thinking, he is putting his life at risk!” Lady Tyleen said.
“We'll have to trust his judgment,” Corvin said. The last thing he wanted to do was cause a panic. Something was wrong, and he hated not knowing what. He wished he had an Ashtari here; perhaps they would see something nobody else could.
Some of the men started talking amongst themselves. Corvin could imagine the questions his men were asking. “Remain here,” Corvin told the lords and turned his horse around.
“Where are you going?” Tygrias asked.
“I'm going to look at something. If anything changes, let me know. Ivorn, with me!” Corvin urged his horse forward and galloped toward the camp. He could hear some of the soldiers asking where the commander was going. It didn’t look good to leave the battlefield, but he had no choice. Things were happening that he didn’t understand.
When he reached the camp, he hopped off his horse and walked past a couple of guards, who straightened when they saw who had arrived. Ivorn followed suit. Ivorn was a loyal man and had served him for fifteen years. Corvin needed things to get done quickly.
“Ivorn, send scouts out and try to locate Talon in the camp. Make sure they go in pairs of two, so one can return to give me any news while the other keeps an eye on our king,” Corvin said.
“Yes, sir,” Ivorn rushed off.
Corvin walked straight to Talon’s tent. Perhaps there was something there that Talon was hiding from him. It was a long shot, but he had to try and find something. He didn’t see what the king could be hiding. Talon had told him he could use the power and had a secret army of Ashtari. If Talon would tell him that, what could he hide?
He walked into Talon's tent and looked around. He read some documents, none of which were about the war, and tried to find anything unusual. Corvin stopped rummaging around; there was nothing here. If there was anything, it was probably hidden with the power. Nothing infuriated him more than the lack of information. It was hard to make the proper move without knowing what was going on.
If he ordered an attack, it could put Talon’s life at risk if this wasn’t part of the plan or jeopardize whatever the king was doing. Movement outside forced Corvin's attention to the entrance of the tent, and Ivorn entered.
“Commander, we can’t see what’s going on inside the camp. The enemy has put a good portion of their army around the camp, making it impossible to see what’s going on,” Ivorn said.
“Did the enemy break army formation?” Corvin asked.
“Yes, I would say half their force has returned to camp while the other half remains on top of the hill.”
Not good. Corvin hoped Talon had a good reason for going with Harold. This information made it sound like Harold wanted this. A trap? Did Harold tell Talon he would surrender to get him into an anti-power field? It wouldn’t surprise him if Harold had an artifact that prevented someone from using the power.
“The lords want to attack,” Ivorn said.
“Tell the lords not to attack and make sure the scouts keep an eye on Harold's camp,” Corvin said.
“As you command,” Ivorn said and left.
This was not a situation he liked. The last time Corvin had felt this way, he had almost died. He had been a younger man, leading his first group of soldiers and getting most of them killed by not thinking of what his enemy could be doing. A harsh lesson but one that helped him understand leadership and its responsibilities.
Attacking was not an option. If Talon was being held captive, then Harold could execute him, and that would be the end of Azzellia. Corvin didn’t know what would happen with the School of Power if Talon died, but he doubted they would follow his orders, not like he could reach them anyway for he had no idea where the Ashtari were hiding.
Time passed, and he had no idea how long he had been in Talon’s tent. Corvin walked out of the tent, shaking his head. He didn’t make it far before Lord Tygrias walked up to him. “Commander, what are you doing?”
“Nothing that concerns you,” Corvin said.
“Well, while you're slacking off, we should be attacking! The enemy broke formation; this is the best time to attack!”
“And put the king's life at risk?” Corvin said harshly.
Tygrias paled and quickly recovered. “Of course not.”
“That's good. I would hate to execute a lord today,” Corvin said and walked past Tygrias, who looked stunned at the remark. With Talon gone, he was in command. He hated that, mainly for the politics. He wouldn’t put it past Tygrias to hope that Talon died if he attacked.
Annoyed and uncertain, Corvin walked back to his horse and rode back to the front of the army. His soldiers had remained in their positions, though a lot of them were talking. They had come here expecting to fight; instead, nothing made sense. He wished the feeling in the pit of his stomach would go away. For now, he could only hope that this was part of Talon’s plan because he had no idea what to do if it wasn’t.
In the middle of a tent, strapped around a wooden log, was Talon. If a stranger looked at him, they would wonder why he wasn’t moving, not realizing the invisible threads that bound him to this log. Standing in front of him were the six mages who stopped him from accessing the power. These six people were between him and freedom.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Peitar, Arthur, and the other guards were put in another area. Talon hoped they weren’t put to death. Of course, that should have been the least of his concerns. The mages had introduced themselves as if this were a friendly meeting! The strongest of them was Asagara, a powerful mage who was somewhere in his thirties. Next to him was Zelena, the second strongest of the group. Then there were Morphan, Daloria, Buchar, and Eserdina.
The only satisfying part of all this was the frustration in the mages' expressions. Talon had his ideas as to why.
“Why can’t we portal away?” Zelena was saying. Her golden hair flowed freely, and she stared angrily at Talon as she asked the question.
“It doesn’t make sense. We portaled here weeks ago with no problems!” Morphan said.
Portaled here a few weeks ago? Talon wondered if that was how they discovered he could use the power. Panic rose within him as he wondered if that meant they knew about the Ashtari. He had brought four of them here! Somehow, he was able to keep his emotions under control, for now, he would hope they only knew about him.
His only hope was Corvin Malice. If Corvin figured out something was wrong, he could try to rescue him. Talon wasn’t sure how the commander could do it, but if there was anyone in the world who could figure out a way to rescue him, it would be Corvin. There was no point in praying for his Ashtari, for they would fear being executed. Another one of his mistakes.
He had gotten arrogant. Talon was so sure this battle would be his that he hadn’t prepared anything else. The last thing he had expected were mages. A mage advisor would have been no problem, but six mages? He should have had a backup plan or allowed one of his Ashtari to check in with him if they didn’t hear from him within a day of the battle.
Now it was too late. Talon was captured with a slim chance of rescue. Corvin would have five days at most to rescue him before the mages would be out of the barrier preventing them from accessing the power, and his Ashtari would stay away. How long until they returned to the School of Power? If they did that within a couple of days, Qidan would check on him. Perhaps that would be his saving grace.
Asagara stepped forward, and the room went silent. “I bet you had something to do with this,” he began, his voice cold and calculated. “You know why we can’t portal here, much like you must know where Dajrone, Danisha, and Onyakoon are.”
“Yeah, he must be behind this,” Eserdina said.
“Release the hold on his mouth. Let’s hear what Talon has to say,” Asagara said.
Talon felt the pressure clamping his mouth shut disappear. He wanted to open his mouth but forced himself not to. He wouldn’t give the mages the satisfaction of begging to be set free.
“Listen closely, answer our questions and things will go easier for all of us, understand?” Asagara said. He waited several moments and sighed when he got no response. “Tell us why we can’t create a portal.”
Talon didn’t so much as twitch. He tried to look unconcerned until something slammed into his chest and he started coughing as blow after blow slammed into his chest. Invisible punches were the best way to describe what was happening. As quickly as it had started, the blows stopped and he stood there, gasping for air and coughing.
This was the first time in his life that he’d been beaten like this. A spanking was nothing new, but this was pain he had no control over. I must remain strong. I can’t break, no matter what these mages do to me. Talon felt saliva dripping down his chin and he glared at Asagara.
“I’ll ask one more time. Why can’t we create a portal?” Asagara said. The power was raging in the mage.
“I don’t know,” Talon gasped.
He might as well have said nothing. The invisible punches began again, this time pounding his stomach alongside his chest. All Talon could feel was pain, and he was having a hard time breathing. After what felt like an eternity, the attacks ceased and he felt dizzy. He was wheezing and coughing like crazy, yet he refused to say anything else.
Asagara repeated the question and torture for some time. An hour could have passed or half a day; Talon couldn’t say. Time was slow as he tried to brace for each attack. Surprisingly, he wasn’t bleeding or coughing up blood. With how hard he was getting hit, he had expected to be bleeding. Instead, he was bruised and finding it difficult to see straight as the pain slowly faded away.
“What a fool!” Eserdina said, pressing her hand against Talon’s chest.
It took Talon a moment to realize she was making sure he didn’t have internal injuries. Eserdina removed her hand from his chest and turned to Asagara. “There must be a range to this… Anti-portal thing going on,” she said, glaring at Talon before turning back to the leader. “We should grab a wagon and leave.”
“No,” Buchar said roughly. “Not until we know where our three missing comrades are.”
“He won’t tell us,” Zelena said. “Mortham Tower will get this man to talk.
That’s how they think of me, just another rogue mage. You think you can get away with disrespecting me? Talon thought, trying one more time to move – to no effect. The mages were bickering amongst each other and ignoring him, for the moment. The wall blocking him from the power was steady. He couldn’t detect a weakness, but he refused to give up. The books he had read said it was nearly impossible to break through a block performed by multiple power users. Surely there had to be a way…
“Enough!” Asagara shouted, smoothing his blue robe. “Daloria, get a wagon and rope from Harold.”
“On it,” Daloria said, and disappeared.
Asagara watched her leave before speaking. “We’ll ride and try to get information out of Talon. Regardless, that’ll get us to Mortham Tower faster than remaining here.”
“I like it,” Zelena said.
Asagara returned his attention to Talon. “Tell us how you created this anti-portal barrier. I’ve never heard of such an ability. How could you, an untrained novice, know such a technique?”
Like before, Talon stared at Asagara defiantly. The mages could torture him all they wanted; he would never give in.
Asagara laughed, startling Talon. It wasn’t a joyous laugh; of that, he was certain. “You fool. No matter how tough you think you are, we’ll get you to speak. The pain you’ll experience at the tower will be far worse than anything we could do here.”
A spike of fear shot into Talon, but he was able to keep any expression hidden. Regret for not thinking far ahead with the Ashtari ate at him more than anything else. His arrogance had gotten him captured, and if he wasn’t rescued, all of Aidris would fall to the Durmaddons.
“Fine, keep your silence. You’ll realize how worthless you are soon enough,” Asagara said.
“You can’t treat a king this way!” Talon said. Anger had taken over now. “You mages, always acting so superior. Thinking you can do what you want. Someday, you will regret the way you treat others. Whether by the invaders or someone else, you will learn your place.”
The mage walked up to him, his face inches away. “What power does a king have compared to us mages?” Asagara said softly, turning around and raising his right hand. A nearby bench floated from the ground and split apart, falling to the ground in pieces. “That’s right, nothing! You kings are nothing but glorified headpieces. We mages have real power. Why else do you think nobody tries to challenge us? The last time didn’t work so well, or did you forget? The five kings who banded together only to die by our hands!”
Before Talon could retort, Asagara backhanded his face. “Do not speak unless you tell me how to get a portal out of here or where the captured mages are.”
“I don’t know-”
Another smack, and blood started dribbling down Talon’s chin. “I said do not speak unless you answer my question.”
“I’ll speak when-”
Talon’s vision blurred as a third, harder hand collided with his face. More blood leaked out of his mouth, and he slumped forward, exhausted. The pain was taking its toll.
“We have a slow learner,” Buchar said.
There had only been one other time he had felt this helpless. When his father died of poison. This was just as bad. All Talon could do was listen to the ridicule and realize how helpless he was.
Daloria returned, quickly eying the blood on Talon’s face, and smiled. “Harold has brought us a wagon, and the rope is inside.”
“Good, good. Zelena, Buchar, take Talon to the wagon and toss him inside,” Asagara said.
All Talon could do was look at Asagara with pure rage. If looks could kill, all the mages would be dead. “You’re going to wish you had answered my questions.”
An invisible force clamped Talon’s mouth shut, preventing him from saying anything else. He floated off the ground and found himself between Buchar and Zelena. If I don’t find a way out, all of Aidris is doomed! That was all he could think about and how he would punish the mages if he escaped.
