A Spell Misplaced, page 15
part #4 of Gags & Pepper: Protection Agents Series
“Can I join in?” Ann asked.
“Of course.”
A servant led Gags and Lucian to the dining room, which seated twenty. Ann followed them while her father checked on accommodations. “It’s permissible that I eat with you?” she asked.
“Have some food. It will do you some good,” Gags said.
The food was served, and Gags asked for more when he saw the portions. “As you know, we are good eaters.”
“I’m getting hungrier while I’m around you,” Ann said.
She ate more than Gags had ever seen her consume and looked to have put on a bit of weight from the meal.
“People will notice,” Gags said to Ann.
Lucian winced.
“Notice what?”
“Your weight. Magicians show when they eat a lot. Lucian tries to keep his down when we aren’t fighting.”
Ann stared at Lucian. “Don’t talk about my weight. My mother was well-rounded, too.”
“I can tell,” Gags said. “Your mother must have been a magician.”
Ann looked down and pushed her plate away. “She was. My father didn’t know until she was on her deathbed. My brother doesn’t have a lick of magic. I was surprised to make the scepter glow.” She smiled self-consciously.
“That just makes things better,” Gags said.
“It does?” Ann asked.
Gags nodded. “It shows that you two are meant for each other. Right, Lucian?”
“Right,” Lucian said. He took Ann’s hand. “I’ll take you to Peria to meet my parents, and then I can teach you.”
“You don’t have to wait until then, whenever that might be,” Ann said. “I want to know now.”
The minister walked in. “Know what?”
“Lucian said he’d teach me the real history of Peria when we were married. I told him that we didn’t have to wait for that.”
“Probably a good idea that you didn’t,” the minister said, sitting down with them. “There might come a time when life won’t be as simple, and you’ll have to be flexible. You can’t put everything off.”
Gags stared at the minister. “There are developments?”
“None to talk about around this table,” Pearton said. “One of our group took sick and won’t arrive. There is a modest suite available that should accommodate both of you. Finish your meal, and I’ll show you to your rooms.”
Gags made sure he had filled up. He needed to recharge his magic, and he needed enough extra energy to give his healing a boost. When they were done, they found the minister chatting with other residents in the sitting room. Gags noticed the frostiness in their faces when he greeted them.
Their room was on the second floor in a room facing the rear. There was a view of the stables, but the zoo and conservatory were out of sight.
Pearton closed the door after two servants delivered their bags. Gags stared at the one containing the potion and the translation dagger. He would use it that evening.
“The king has elected to remain in Baxterton with General Francis and Captain Dyre. These are the general’s rooms. There are rumors of a coup, but with the king in his palace, the coup's timing will probably change.”
“There is nothing to stop it?” Gags asked.
Pearton shook his head. “Not until the perpetrators come out into the open. We know that it isn’t just Manxists who are behind this.”
“Lord Julius, the old prime minister?” Gags asked.
Pearton shook his finger at Gags. “Tell no one that you suspect him. Benjamin’s involvement in any action against the king is ambiguous. You don’t need any more people after you.”
“It has already happened,” Gags said. He related the burglar visit and how Gags would be “delayed” in getting back to the townhouse.
“My advice still stands.” Pearton walked to the window and looked at the stable. “Let’s get your sightseeing over with so you can leave as soon as possible.”
They left the house and walked to the stables. Pearton found his driver and footman and told them to get the coach ready. Ann arrived but said she wasn’t feeling well and would return to Baxterton tonight.
“If there is trouble, I can get back to Baxterton with someone else,” Pearton said as they walked across a garden into a structure made of iron and glass.
“This is a genuine Baxterian treasure,” Pearton said. “Exotic plants not grown on Oroia are raised here.” The tour began, and Pearton had been through the conservatory many times. It seemed he knew all the plants. “This one is interesting. It is rumored to have medicinal properties, but no one in Baxter knows what the flower cures.”
Gags looked at the placard. Azure Drops was its name. He had seen the flower before, but Gags couldn’t remember where. He thought of Gammy and her books. Gags couldn’t wait to introduce Miria to the professor.
There were other interesting plants, including the meat-eating varieties from southern Atto. Gags laughed. “Meat eating means they capture insects and can digest the juices. Lucian and I have seen them before, haven’t we?”
“Not that big one,” Lucian said, pointing to a flower that looked like a lily, but the little card said that instead of nectar, there was a pool of poison at the bottom. “Sounds like some people I know.”
The conservatory was fascinating and only made Gags more anxious to see the zoo. He checked his bag for the potion, the dagger, clothes, and a cover for Miria’s de-transformation. The zoo was a short walk from the conservatory, and Pearton held the door open for Gags and Lucian.
The aroma from the plants clashed with the smell of unwashed animals and worse in the zoo. It smelled just like a farmyard once Gags took a couple of whiffs. Most of the animals were in stalls. There were tiny horses the size of dogs and a few huge horses almost as big as the wild boar Gags killed.
At the end, Gags saw the tip of a horn pointing out of the stall. Gag’s heart was in his throat as he approached.
“Miria?” he said. The unicorn turned to Gags.
The animal didn’t look like the unicorn Gags remembered visiting for those few moments at Pakingoru on northern Atto, but it had been years. Browning had not kept Miria looking well. The coat was dull and shaggy, and the horn had a broken tip now that Gags was over the initial shock.
“Use the dagger,” Lucian said.
“I will,” Gags said as he opened the bag.
Voices came from the door, and Count Paul Browning entered, escorting two noble couples.
“Lord Vingus,” the count said, his voice filled with venom.
Gags didn’t have the time to ask Miria what to do, and he poured half of the potion on the unicorn.
“What have you done?” Browning said. He knocked the potion bottle out of Gags hand, and the rest of the potion drained away into the straw.
“This is no unicorn, Count Browning; it is a person,” Gags said.
“Impossible!” Browning said, but the unicorn was writhing on the floor. “Did you kill it?”
“No. The transformation is painful,” Gags said.
He pulled the sheet from the bag, and as the shaggy coat began to change into skin, Gags covered the unicorn with the large cloth. The writhing continued, and the honks and sounds gave way to more human moans.
A foot stuck out from the cloth.
“Put this on,” Gags said.
“I will n-n-not!” the voice croaked. “It f-f-feels so g-good t-t-to t-talk again.”
One of the women fainted.
The figure rose, clutching the sheet around its body. Gags felt like fainting when he looked upon the face of a middle-aged man shorter than He Bin. He had seen that face before, and it had been on Atto.
“You l-look as you kn-know me,” the man said.
“Eno Banban,” Gags said.
The man reached out a skinny arm and tried to invoke a spell, but nothing happened.
“He is obviously disoriented. I’ll take care of him,” Gags said. He opened the door and led the man back toward the conservatory.
“You can’t do that. I own him!” Count Browning said.
“When was slavery introduced in our country?” Lord Pearton asked.
“I paid a lot of money for that unicorn,” the count said.
“And where is it?” Lucian asked.
“It?” The count looked confused.
“Come with me, Eno. We have some catching up to do,” Gags said. He had to focus on the next step, the next, and the next. His mind was spinning as fast as Eno Banban’s, but Gags didn’t have time to think.
“I do?” Eno looked around. “I do, I do.”
Eno needed some help walking, and Pearton stepped forward to help Eno as Gag and Lucian walked behind, guarding Eno’s retreat.
Gags tried to concentrate on getting out of the zoo. Where was Miria? His mind went back to the potion, dribbling out of the bottle. Now he’d have to return to Yearsend to get more potion, but Miria could still be in Dixoia.
He should have used the dagger, and then he’d know that the unicorn wasn’t Miria. Why did he have to be so reckless? But Browning would have ordered him out of the zoo so he couldn’t delay.
“The coach should be waiting for you,”
“Where are you taking me?” Eno said. “Do you know who I am?”
“I do,” Gags said. “I killed you in Gaolong more than four years ago.”
The man furrowed his brow. “But I was a unicorn, then, if my calculations are correct.”
“We can talk on the way to Baxterton. You are in the kingdom of Baxter, and Baxterton is the capital.”
“It’s a port, right?” Eno asked.
“It is,” Minister Pearton said. “I don’t know who you are, but you’ll ride in my carriage. I’ll get a change of clothes for you since anything Gags and Lucian give you will be much too big.”
The carriage was waiting, and Ann had gathered all their possessions in the suite they’d never use, and after Pearton handed clothes through the window, the carriage headed toward the capital. Gags and Lucian only stuffed what they needed into a bag apiece into the cab and jumped in.
Ann leaned out the window and waved at her father, standing at the window. “We need to leave now!”
The carriage lurched forward and hurtled down the main road of the estate before merging onto the public road.
“Do you have to go so fast?” Eno asked as the carriage jerked along the road.
“Count Browning will be sending men after us. He’s already tried to have me killed once today,” Gags said.
“You were in the magicians army?” Eno said. He dressed while Ann looked out the window.
“Lucian and I served on a special operations team. We were tasked with assassinating you,” Gags said, “or whoever was taking your place. Was it a female assistant?”
“She was the best magician I’d ever had as an apprentice. We were together for years and,” Eno glanced at Ann, “grew fond of each other.”
“Or so you thought. Who came up with the transformation spell?”
“I did. It was in an ancient Perian text engraved on pages of bronze.”
Gags nodded. “From Go-Greva?”
“You know a lot for a common soldier.”
“He’s no common soldier,” Lucian said, folding his arms.
“I found the antidote on golden chalices in a Go-Greva treasure room. I convinced a very nice lady to translate the words, and it looks like the antidote works.”
“It is more painful to become human than a unicorn,” Eno said.
They talked about various subjects. Eno wanted to know the war's outcome and what happened to Pilan, the capital of Gaolong.
“I never liked Shing Tao Tao, and here he is, the ruler,” Eno said, shaking his head. “I can’t go back, not with him running the place.”
“I can take you to Peria,” Gags said. “I have to find another unicorn, and she can be anywhere.”
“A female?” Eno asked. “She came to Oroia with me. I don’t know where she was headed, but we were delivered to Browning first. After it was clear there wouldn’t be any little unicorns, the female was sold and quickly shipped east. I don’t know where the other unicorn ended up. Most people don’t take the time to explain things to unicorns secured in the hold or left in a stable, so your universe is defined by what you hear. It hasn’t been a pleasurable experience.”
“I can imagine,” Gags said.
“Easy for you t-to say,” Eno said.
“I transformed into a griffin twice. I know that de-transformation is very painful,” Gags said.
Eno nodded his head. “You are a brave man.”
“I want to find Miria,” Gags said.
“Let me tag along,” Eno said.
“That would be a good idea for your protection,” Gags said. “Most kingdoms on Oroia do not welcome magicians,”
“I knew that from before. I suspect my magic will return so I can protect myself, but I’m out of magic now.” He plucked his shirt. “My physique tells you that.”
Gags nodded. “We can always use backup. Baxterton is…”
“Riders are coming from behind,” the footman called.
“Ann and Eno will stay inside. Lucian and I will try to turn them back.” Gags said.
The carriage slowed down and stopped at Ann’s request. Gags and Lucian walked into the darkness, waiting for the horses to arrive.
“Too many,” Lucian said. “I would guess at least twenty-five riders. We shouldn’t have stopped.”
“We will have to run,” Gags said. He grabbed his bags, ordered Ann and Eno down, and led them into the woods. The driver and footman were left with the carriage with instructions not to put up any kind of resistance.
“I can’t walk very well,” Eno said.
“We can leave you behind, and you can talk to our pursuers,” Lucian said.
“I can carry you,” Gags said. “There are rocks this way. They won’t be able to take their horses with them,” Gags said.
“I can’t see anything,” Eno complained.
“Gags can. Let’s go,” Lucian said
They ran off the road before the horses arrived, and Lucian spelled a tiny magic light to light their way. Eno grumbled that his magic wasn’t back. Then they had to stop while Eno folded the shirt and the pants because they were still much too long for him.
They heard voices but not screams, which was a positive sign for the two remaining servants.
They reached the rocks, and Gags led them on a pathway between them and then over a few as they kept heading in a line north as far as Gags could tell.
Torches flickered in the distance, and men shouted at each other that some had found their tracks.
“We have to move faster,” Eno said.
“I have another idea. Keep walking, and I’ll cover our tracks.”
Gags invoked his little cyclone and lowered it to the ground. He walked back the way he came, obliterated the tracks, and then followed the tracks himself, trailing the swirling wind until he caught up.
He spotted a dark hole up ahead. “There won’t be any tracks leading to that cave.”
“What cave?” Eno asked.
“The one I can see, but you can’t. If you can’t, I can only hope they won’t be able to see it either,” Gags said.
He kept everyone outside as he went in, using his night vision to see if the cave was uninhabited. Gags caught an awful stench and coughed. He heard a growl, and then a bear came around the corner. It stood taller than Gags and was about to charge. Gags used his motes, and soon the bear was unconscious. He didn’t want to kill it.
Walking to the end of the cave, Gags saw three pairs of eyes looking his way. They were cubs, and he had just put their mother to sleep. They approached Gags and snuggled up to him. Gags reached down and put them to sleep with a spell. He struggled to drag the cubs by the mother and called the rest of the party inside to help him set up the cave, making sure to cover all their tracks.
Gags spotted an alcove big enough to hide them. “We can rest there. If our pursuers enter the cave, they will see the sleeping bears and depart.”
“They won’t wake up?” Ann asked, looking concerned.
“I’ll make sure they won’t,” Lucian said, putting a more potent sleep spell on them than Gags could muster.
“You killed them?” Ann said with concern.
“No. They are going to sleep for a day or two,” Lucian said.
They sat on the dirt and waited. Torchlight finally bounced against the walls.
“What do you see in there?” a voice said quietly.
Another voice whispered, “Sleeping bears. We’ll tell the others.”
The torchlight left, and the world became silent. An hour or two later, they emerged from the bear den and continued to head north until they reached a road with lots of traffic. The most recent tracks were a group of horses heading west toward Browning’s estate. Gags guessed the hoofprints were the searchers.
“We can take this as far as we can. If we spread out on the road, they shouldn’t suspect we came this way,” Gags said.
“I’d rather ride in a carriage,” Eno Banban said. “My feet are starting to hurt.” Gags hoisted Eno onto his back again.
Chapter Sixteen
~
T he sky began to lighten as they shuffled into a village pub. Gags let Lucian and Ann go in first while Eno and Gags waited out of sight.
“What are you going to do with me?” Eno asked Gags while they stood in an alley.
“I’m not sure I have any right to tell you what to do. Peria doesn’t permit slaves, although the people of Baxter might be closer to being slaves than they may think,” Gags said. “I don’t know what Count Browning will do. He is very influential in the government.”
“I picked that up when he had his friends look at me. I think he is planning a revolution,” Eno said.
“And where does that put you?”
Eno put up his hands. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to be owned. Do you have a ship ready in Baxterton?”
“No. I have to find Miria,” Gags said. He reached into his bag and pulled out the dagger. “Would this have worked on you?”
“It would if the edge is sharp,” Eno said.
