A Spell Misplaced, page 16
part #4 of Gags & Pepper: Protection Agents Series
“Didn’t your apprentice make a dagger for you so she could communicate?” Gags asked.
Eno sighed. “Does that work?”
“It does on Miria,” Gags said.
“We talked about communications. Yoki and I talked about a similar spell I developed to communicate without speaking. It required tuning. She used a dagger as the device. I was going to use a metal eating stick,” Eno said. “Can I touch it?”
Gags held it out, Eno furrowed his brow, and the wizard shook his head. “I need something to eat.”
“I supposed we’ve spent enough time waiting,” Gags said, taking off his sword before hiding his weapons in the grass at the side of the alley.
Gags followed Eno into the pub. The pub still had plenty of patrons having their breakfast. Gags and Eno sat on the opposite side of Lucian and Ann.
Gags ordered four portions of breakfast, two for each of them. He hoped he would have time for another.
Eno looked around, presumably trying to get used to his surroundings, and when the food came, he bolted it down.
“It’s not a Gaolong delicacy, but everything tastes sublime. Unicorns don’t perceive taste like humans. It has been a long time since I’ve had food this delicious,” Eno said.
Gags watched Eno eat between his bites. The man filled out before his eyes, but two plates were too much for the former unicorn, and Gags dragged the half-finished potion to his side of the table and continued.
“You were blessed with power,” Eno said.
He held his hand as if to invoke a magician’s light, but Gags leaned over and put his large hand over Eno’s. “Not in here. No magic.”
Eno’s eyes grew wide. “I forgot.”
“That is why we are taking you to Baxterton.”
Eno kept his eyes on Gags’s hand covering his. “Count Browning already knows you are a magician.”
“And so do others, and I’ve been attacked multiple times because of my talent.”
Eno removed his hand from Gags’s. “And if everyone knows who I am?”
“You are a competent wizard and will be on Browning’s list, too.”
“He didn’t get a good enough look at me,” Eno said.
“We still need to go to Baxterton.” Gags folded his arms and sighed. “There is a person I need to talk to about Miria. I don’t want to wander in Oroia for years trying to find someone I might be able to free in months.”
Four men walked through the doors, their eyes on all the patrons.
“Watch the door, Douglas,” one of the men, who looked to be the leader, said.
After a night of walking in the woods, none looked fresh or particularly noble-looking, but Gags couldn’t hide his height, so he slumped. “No magic,” Gags said softly to Eno.
“We are looking for four fugitives. They escaped from Count Browning’s estate,” the leader said.
Gags looked over at Lucian and Ann to see Ann with a handkerchief tied over her hair. He restrained from smiling.
“One of them is a big man.” The leader said, turning around in the room and stopping his gaze at Gags. “You’re a big man.”
“I may look large, but not large enough for three people along with my father,” Gags said.
The leader walked closer and peered at Eno. “One of them is a scrawny old man. You aren’t particularly scrawny, but you look funny.”
“I favor the Attoan side of the family,” Eno said. “My late wife and I never did find out what side of the family my son favored!” He smiled, and a few people in the pub laughed.
“Not here or in the back,” one of the four said, coming from the kitchen.
The thugs filed out. Gags continued to clear his plate.
“That was too close. Aren’t we going to leave?” Eno said.
Gags shook his head. “Not until I’m done and not until a few more customers leave. The four of them are probably waiting to see if we run. We’ll stay here for a bit.”
When the disruption from the interruption had settled down and a few tables had left, Gags helped Eno to his feet, and they left, walking back to the alley.
“The men haven’t gone,” Eno said, looking across the road.
“Try not to look too nervous,” Gags said as he led Eno to the alley, quickly buckled his sword belt, and picked up his staff to confront the four men.
“Where are the other two?” the leader said.
“How did you know we were two of the fugitives,” Eno asked.
“Shoes,” the man named Douglas said.
Gags looked down along with Eno, and the shoes were three or four sizes too big. No wonder Eno had complained about his feet.
“So where does that leave us?” Gags said.
The leader shrugged. “You tell me. Captain Gyre told us to escort you back to Baxterton.”
Gags laughed. “Your answer just saved your life.”
“I was a guard at the exhibition, and I’d lay down my arms before I’d fight you,” the leader said.
“Good. Let’s find a shop and buy some new clothes for Eno here,” Lucian said, standing behind the four men with Ann.
They all bought new clothes in the style of commoners except for Ann, who insisted on wearing the only riding outfit on sale at the shop. Eno bought some personal items like a brush for his hair and a smaller brush for his goatee.
“Now I have to break these boots in,” Eno said as he hobbled to a modest carriage.
Lucian rejected Gags’s request to ride a horse.
“I will give you a few more treatments on the way to Baxterton, but you need to give your body a better chance to heal,” Lucian said.
What received the most treatments on the journey to the capital were Eno’s blistered feet.
~
Two uniformed guards stood at the entrance to Gags’s townhouse.
“What are you doing here?” Gags asked.
“Waiting for you and guarding the premises,” one of the guards said. He nodded to his partner, who mounted one of the four horses tied up in front of the house and rode away. “The capital is getting unstable,” the guard said. “Captain Gyre didn’t want any unwanted surprises when you returned.”
Gags nodded. The leader of their escort from the village took the other guard aside, and they saluted.
“If you let him in, he’ll go through to the back, and we will relieve the guards,” the leader said. “I hope you don’t mind if we don’t wear our uniforms.”
Gags shook his head. “We stay here until Gyre comes. Can we send someone out for food?”
“What do you want?” the leader asked.
Gags and Lucian ordered while Ann showed Eno to the guest bedroom. The wizard looked very tired, and despite Lucian’s treatments, his feet still hurt.
Gags took a quick bath while Lucian and Ann poured some wine and served it.
Gags joined Lucian and Ann in the sitting room with fresh clothes on.
“Eno?”
“Asleep like a baby,” Lucian said. “I removed his shoes, and the wizard didn’t stir.”
“We all could use some sleep. I’ll take the settee so Ann can rest in my bedroom,” Gags said.
The food arrived, and they all made quick work of the food. Gags took a tray to Eno’s bedroom. The wizard stirred when he smelled the food.
Gags helped him to the small table in the guest room.
“I need to walk around more, but not until my feet heal,” Eno said.
“We are all going to sleep after we eat.”
Eno nodded with his mouth full. He stopped and lifted his palm. A red magic light appeared, floating above his hand. Eno grinned. “Magic’s back,” he said. “Is there more?”
“Waiting for you downstairs. I’ll be in the bedroom at the end of this corridor,” Gags said.
The bed beckoned, but someone was snoring on top of the mattress. Gags backed out of the room to let Ann continue to sleep. He padded downstairs and tried to get comfortable on the settee, but his frame was too big, and he dropped down on the rug and fell asleep.
A foot nudged Gags.
“You have a visitor,” the leader of the escort group.
Gags blinked his eyes and stood as Grant Dyre entered the room.
“Please sit,” Grant said. “I understood I woke you.”
“Sleepless night,” Gags said, pointing to a chair. “What is happening?”
“Some of my guards have left their posts and are heading north toward Browning’s manor. General Victory has notified me that he has soldiers that are also deserting and heading north.”
Gags thought for a moment. “How loyal is Admiral West?”
Grant pursed his lips. “Unknown. He is a friend of the count’s.”
“Then send a squad south to see if men are heading toward the Admiral’s estate.”
“I see. A squeeze on the capital?” Grant asked.
Gags nodded. “Let’s go upstairs and talk to Eno. He could listen in when he was a unicorn.”
“Unicorn? Eno?”
Gags leaned back and told the story to Dyre before they visited Eno, sitting by the window looking at the lane below.
“This is Captain Dyre of the royal guard,” Gags said. “We talked about what you heard at Count Browning’s estate. We are beginning a civil war, and Dyre would like to know what you heard.”
“I heard a lot of things. Most of what I heard didn’t mean anything to me. You’ll have to ask me questions, and you’ll have to see if my answers are relevant,” Eno said.
“I think you are smarter than the average unicorn,” Dyre said.
Eno laughed. “There were two of us, and now there’s only one.”
Eno closed his eyes. “I remember most of the names mentioned, but many conversations were between the count and people he knew, so I don’t know who they were.”
“Were there mentions of troop movements?”
“Not troop movements, but I heard about camps. There were three, Northern, Southern, and Eastern. Whoever was in charge of the southern camp wasn’t with them, somehow. It was all a bit confusing. ”
“Eastern would be on West’s land. Northern would be on Browning’s estate,” Dyre said. The captain looked around the room and spotted paper and an ink bottle. “May I use those?” He turned to Gags and then to Eno.
I’m not going to write anything down,” Eno said.
Dyre began to write notes. “Any names associated with the camps?”
“West is East. I heard that and thought it was nonsense, but you just said someone named West is to the East.” Eno laughed. “It is confusing, isn’t it?”
“To a unicorn,” Lucian said as he walked into the room with Ann.
Dyre rose. “Lady Ann.”
“You can sit back down. One of my father’s men is taking me back to our manor,” Ann said. “You can continue.”
“Be careful,” Lucian said. “Remember who you are.”
Ann waved as she walked back out of the room. “I won’t. Don’t leave without me.”
Gags raised his eyebrows but tried to ignore the talking in code between the two in the past weeks.
“I’ve already…” Eno said.
Lucian put out a hand. “Don’t be. I was teasing. I tease a lot.”
“Oh,” Eno said. “I suppose you do. I remember them talking about Perians.” Eno turned to Gags. “That would be Lucian and you? It was a few weeks ago. Browning was laughing about putting down a Perian. There was a tournament of some kind?”
“There was, and Gags did the putting down, but not as hard as he should have,” Lucian said. “Was there more to the conversation?”
“There was talk about a royal device. I remember thinking we don’t have such a thing in Gaolong.”
“A scepter?” Gags asked.
“Could have been. They would start something when….” Eno thought for a bit before he nodded his head. “When someone retrieved the scepter.”
“Excuse me for a moment,” Lucian said.
“I heard something about a prince, but I had a woman sitting on my back at the time, and it hurt.”
“Valerie?” Gags asked.
Eno nodded. “That might have been her name.”
“Prince Kenneth? Prince Ralch?” Dyre suggested.
Eno shook his head. “I wasn’t paying too much attention at the time. As a unicorn, I’m definitely not as strong as a horse.” Eno raised his eyebrows and nodded his head. “That’s supposed to be a joke.”
“You’ll have to warn us the next time,” Gags said with a smile.
Lucian arrived on the run. “Sorry about that. Nature calls when it wills,” he said, grinning.
“I hope you were successful,” Gags said.
“I was,” Lucian said.
Gags cleared his throat. “We will have to look at Beryl’s statue, and we might as well drive south.”
“You want to go yourself?” Dyre asked.
“We have to find out which faction runs the southern camp,” Lucian said.
“Don’t leave me here by myself!” Eno said.
“Then come with us,” Gags said. He needed to keep Eno close in case there was more information he remembered about Miria.
“Is there anything else you remember?” Captain Dyre asked.
Eno shook his head. “I think I’ve scoured my brain enough for one day.” He rubbed his forehead and sat on the bed. “Is there any food left?”
Gags nodded. “There is. I think it’s time for some action,” he said.
They walked Dyre to the door. “Do you want an escort when you go South?”
Gags nodded. “We will also need horses for a little reconnoitering while your men distract whoever is watching.”
“I can arrange that.”
“Guard Beryl’s monument unless there are signs of vandalism,” Gags said, then see if the interior is intact.”
“It is already under guard.”
“By loyal soldiers who aren’t going to desert?” Gags asked.
“I’ll check on that,” Dyre said with a grimace. “I’ll have a carriage at your door tomorrow morning. Breakfast will be provided in the coach.”
Gags nodded to the men guarding the townhouse and went back inside. Eno was in the kitchen, and Lucian pointed to the sitting room.
“I hate talking in code, but I can’t fully trust an ex-wizard. He didn’t tell us anything we don’t know, at least after I joined you,” Lucian said. “Ann doesn’t trust him at all.”
“We will continue to talk about the things he knows about, but when we take him with us, we have to assume our movements may reach our enemy,” Gags said. “I have to go for a walk.”
“To meet your strange lady?”
“That is my goal,” Gags said. He grabbed his hooded cloak and buckled on his sword before he descended the steps. “I won’t need anyone following me. The ex-unicorn is the important one.”
Gags turned around before he went round the corner to ensure no one watched him. He took twists and turns in the street but finally ended up on the street where Eliza Farris had found him before.
Chapter Seventeen
~
G ags leaned against the wall, and in a few minutes, a carriage pulled up to the curb.
“Inside, we are being watched,” Eliza said.
Gags did as he was asked, and they lurched ahead and did some twisting and turning, too, until they drove through the warehouse doors close to the docks. The doors were immediately closed after they entered.
“Now, you are on my turf,” Eliza said. “Are you ready for a little refreshment while you tell me what in blazes is going on in Baxterton?”
“I thought you already knew?”
“Then let me test my knowledge,” Eliza said as she took him into a sitting room in the warehouse.
“Is this your mansion?” Gags asked.
The woman laughed. “No, but I have comforts installed in my properties. There is a meeting room adjacent to this room. I have a few of my lieutenants waiting for us.”
“Now, wait,” Gags said, standing up.
“They are trustworthy. I promise,” Eliza said. “That is why there are only a few.”
Gags took a deep breath. He knew meeting this woman carried risk, and he wasn’t done exposing his intentions to get more information.
She poured Gags a goblet of light green wine. He’d had that before and liked it if it was what he thought. He tasted the familiar wine and sat back.
“You found your unicorn?” Eliza said.
“No,” Gags said.
“My people…” Gags raised his hand to stop her midsentence.
“I de-transformed a unicorn, but the spell was misplaced, and the person I saved wasn’t who I sought,” Gags said.
“There are two unicorns?” Eliza asked.
Gags nodded. “I brought the man to my townhouse.”
“It’s not safe there.”
“It is being guarded, and neither Lucian nor I am without the ability to protect him. He is a magician himself,” Gags said.
“So, you don’t need me?”
Gags smiled, “I need you more than ever. Another unicorn is on Oroia somewhere, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking for her.”
“Then it’s time to meet my friends,” Eliza said. “You can bring your wine with you.”
They stepped into the meeting room, and Gags looked upon two strange faces and a familiar one.
“Flora Baker,” Gags said. “We’ve met before.”
“I know you have,” Eliza said.
When he saw the two women in front of him, something clicked. “You are sisters,” Gags said.
“Did I tell you I trusted my lieutenants?”
“I never trusted my siblings,” Gags said.
Eliza grinned. “Well, I trust mine. Sit.”
“What do you want to know that Flora can’t tell you?” Gags asked.
“I didn’t go to the retreat,” Flora said. “What happened there?”
Since Eliza knew about Miria, there was nothing to hide. Gags told them his story, from getting picked up by Valerie West to battling the bear to arriving at his townhouse and Captain Dyre’s interview of Eno Banban.
“A real wizard?” one of the two men in the room asked.
“Real,” Gags said. “He is still getting his magic back, but I’m sure he will be formidable when that happens.”
