A Spell Misplaced, page 29
part #4 of Gags & Pepper: Protection Agents Series
“Can’t we research what it can do?” Miria asked again.
“Research?” Eliza said. “In Baxter, books on magic have been destroyed for centuries.”
“What about records about Beryl’s reign? Maybe there might be a myth that might be true,” Gags said.
“There could be a few histories in the king’s library. The Ministry of Rites and Protocols is in charge. We can look,” Flora said.
“I’d rather do that than walk through the city with a glowing rod,” Gags said.
“I’m sure the king would let you ride,” Lucian said with a smirk.
“Then let’s go. Do we still have horses to ride?” Gags asked.
“We brought a coach,” Ann said. “There’s no time to lose.”
“You’ll still have to get King David’s permission,” Flora said.
“Then we won’t get it talking here,” Gags said.
~
King David did not look happy, trussed up in armor, sitting uncomfortably on his throne.
“You want to look through a pile of books to save my kingdom?” the king said. “I’d rather you do as I command.”
“No,” Gags said. “You are not my monarch. I am willing to help, but a few magicians will not save you from fighting against three armies.”
“But I have more men in my army than any of the others,” the king said.
“Than all three?” Gags asked.
The king pursed his lips. “Do your studying. If you want to survive to leave Baxterton, you’ll have to save me.”
Gags nodded and turned to Flora. “We have our permission.”
Flora led them out of the throne room and back into the Palace Auxiliary. “The king’s library is next to the Ministry.”
“Then why did we need the king’s permission?” Lucian said.
“It’s the law,” Flora said frostily.
Gags nodded. “Lead on.”
The library was a three-floor cavernous room. Flora spoke with the single guard, and the door was unlocked.
“Spread out and look for royal histories,” Gags said. “Call out so we can help through the books if you find them.”
They split up, and Gags was surprised to see Miria join him.
“Let’s go up the top level and work our way down while the others move up,” Miria said.
“Good idea,” Gags said.
They ran up an open staircase to the top level and sorted through titles. Miria examined the lower three shelves, and Gags took the higher ones. He was moving too quickly, outpacing Miria, before he stood to take a deep breath to slow up.
“These aren’t the subjects we need,” Miria said.
They were halfway around the top level when a squad of soldiers burst into the library.
“Down,” Gags said to Miria.
They dropped to the floor and kept out of sight as more soldiers flooded the library. Gags didn’t think they were royal soldiers because their uniforms were a different color. There were too many to fight, with Gags and Miria hiding above.
“Where are you taking us?” Lucian asked, talking very loudly.
“Admiral West has some questions to ask,” an officer said.
Flora, Darlia, Lucian, and Ann were taken, leaving the library empty, except Otto stuck his head over the railing on the second floor. “Are you okay?” he called.
Gags leaned over. “They didn’t know who was in here. Do you think they are West’s men?” Gags asked.
“I don’t think so,” Otto said. “Those are not the colors of West nor Browning’s soldiers.”
“Then Benjamin Julius?” Miria said.
“Right!” Otto said. “What do we do now? I don’t think we should follow them.”
“No. Does the king have the scepter?”
“A fake,” Otto said. “The real scepter is still where you and Lucian hid it. We decided King David wasn’t ready for the real scepter. When he began discussing parading you through the streets, he thought you would kill all the enemy with your magic, and the scepter in your hands would make it seem that the scepter did it.”
“But if the scepter was fake, that would never happen,” Gags said.
“The king doesn’t care. He’d have you killed by an assassin to show that Beryl is helping King David’s royal line and retrieve the scepter.”
“And the assassin was going to be you?” Miria asked.
“Bright lady,” Otto said.
“Not so bright,” Miria said.
Gags ignored her comment. “We have to give the library a chance,” Gags said.
They continued their quest until Otto called up to him. “Royal histories in order.” There was a few moments' pause. “Here are the chronicles of Beryl’s reign.”
Miria followed Gags down the stairs and around to Otto.
“There are five books,” Otto said when Gags and Miria reached him.
Gags took one and began flipping through the pages. Queen Beryl wasn’t as ancient as he thought since these books were written in the universal language. He remembered how to search books for magic passages and worked faster than the other two. He still wasn’t the lucky one; it was Miria.
“There are accounts of Beryl defeating enemies with the scepter,” Miria said. “The scepter would glow blue, and butterflies would issue forth and smother her opponents, but that is all I could find.”
“You read through the interesting part,” Gags said. There is nothing like that in my books.
“Same here,” Otto said.
“Motes! Nestus Deliry didn’t come up with the spell. He discovered an old account of the effect,” Gags said. “The scepter was a ruse, after all. I’ll bet Beryl put a magic light inside the blue stone. A little magic is applied, and the light appears.”
“Then what do you propose?” Otto said.
“If the king thinks it’s a war killer, then it’s time to retrieve the scepter and have a little talk with Benjamin Julius. Why is he rebelling? The other two are ambitious usurpers, but the ex-prime minister's intentions are unknown. What do you know about him, Otto?”
“He seemed to serve King David and his father well enough until he retired.”
“And when did he retire?”
“When the kingdom began to retain nobles to marry into Baxterian noble families.”
“Like Ann Pearton’s mother? Was she from Oroia?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“I’m liking King David less and less, and I’m beginning to wonder about Benjamin Julius,” Gags said. “We need to find out who abducted our friends. I think now is the time to leave the library. We don’t need the books any longer.”
They put the books back and exited the library. The single guard was already gone.
Chapter Thirty-One
~
“L
et’s start with a visit to Lord Pearton’s ministry,” Gags said.
They walked into the foyer of the Ministry of Rites and Protocols. No one was there. They split into two. Miria went with Otto, and Gags searched on his own. That gave each group a magician.
Gags found two soldiers wearing different colors guarding Lord Pearton’s office. He confronted them. “I suggest you let me through,” he said.
“Gladly,” one of the soldiers said and opened the door for Gags. As he walked through, he saw Lucian, Ann, Flora, and Darlia sitting at a conference table. Lord Pearton was behind his desk, and opposite Pearton was Lord Benjamin Julius seated at the far end of the table. There were no other guards in the room.
“Come in, come in,” Lord Pearton said. “There are seats for the three of you. We have a distinguished visitor with us.”
“Lord Benjamin Julius,” Gags said.
“Ah, you guessed the truth behind our little play,” Lord Benjamin said. “Was it the uniforms?”
“Of course,” Otto said.
“And I suspect you needed help to infiltrate the Auxiliary,” Gags asked. “West would never stop here. He’d go directly to the palace.”
“Good, Duke Gags,” Lord Benjamin said. “Why am I here?”
“To keep Admiral West and Count Browning from usurping the throne. They both want it.”
“I told you he was smart,” Lord Pearton said.
“And I told you he was smart,” Lucian said.
“What are you going to do?” Gags asked.
“Under different circumstances, I would be killing the king,” Lord Benjamin said, “but now is not the time. I need to unite with King David to defeat West and Browning. Then we will see if David is willing to take counsel from a former minister.”
“And he should,” Lord Pearton said. “We’ve lived under his thumb long enough. Benjamin and I feel the thumb needs to be lightened rather than replaced, but circumstances have ruled out a benign change.”
“And how do you view us?”
“You being Lucian, Darlia, and you?” Lord Benjamin said. “You will be free to return to Peria. Ann can join her fiancé.”
“What about others who have stayed out of the fight?” Gags asked.
“Like Otto and Eliza Farris?” Lord Pearton asked.
Gags put his hand to his chin, surprised that Eliza’s name came up quickly. “I suppose they would qualify as others.”
“They serve a purpose in Baxterton, even though some of their tactics aren’t the best. They will continue as they have unless they lift a sword against us,” Lord Pearton said.
“My sword excluded, now that I have listened to your offer?” Otto said.
“If you are on our side.” Lord Benjamin said.
“And who would become king if King David steps down, one way or another?” Otto asked.
“Grant Dyre, if he will accept it,” Lord Pearton said. “He is of royal blood. I have guided his training. Neither of us is closely related to him. Grant is currently leading the royal army that approaches Lord Browning’s army.
“He is the successor, should he survive,” Lucian said.
Pearton nodded. “He is the alternate of a malleable King David.”
“Why are you telling us this?”
“The scepter,” Lord Benjamin said. “You know where it is, and the king holds a fake. It can bring down armies.”
“False,” Otto said. “We found the volumes we sought.”
Lord Pearton looked at his daughter. “Ann! You said you didn’t find anything.”
“Lucian, Darlia, and I didn’t.”
Otto smiled from across the table.
“And?” Lord Pearton asked.
“Queen Beryl never vanquished an army with the scepter. That is a legend and not fact,” Otto said. “She was able to shoot butterflies at people.” Otto turned to Gags. “Did I get that right?”
“I call them motes,” Gags said. “They take a great deal of magic to create. Beryl might have been a wizard. Motes look like leaves or moths that are attracted to faces. People suffocate when no one stops the motes. They aren’t alive, but I can see an observer calling them butterflies.”
“Lost magic,” Lord Benjamin said.
“Not lost,” Gags said. “I can spell them.”
“That is how you killed West’s wild boar? There were rumors you killed it with your bare hands,” Pearton said.
Gags laughed. “Rumors like Queen Beryl’s powers? I learned to spell motes after an attack that I barely survived, but I could duplicate the spell.”
“That is amazing,” Miria said.
“You know I have a bit of talent along those lines,” Gags said.
“I remember.”
“Can you retrieve the scepter and generate motes?” Lord Benjamin asked.
“I don’t want to be king,” Gags said, “and when I sent magic through the scepter, it only glowed.”
“We need a little more intimidation,” Lord Pearton said. “Our goal is not to vanquish the two enemy armies but to stop the fighting.”
“No one knows about the motes or moths or whatever they’re called,” Otto said. “Soldiers aren’t going to remember something they were never taught. I think the symbolism of the scepter is overblown.”
“I disagree, and I want to save lives,” Lord Benjamin said. “Help us save some lives, and you will be free to return to Peria. King David was planning to have you assassinated when your usefulness was over.
“He told me himself,” Lord Pearton said.
“And if I refuse and commandeer a ship to take me to Pearton?” Gags asked.
“Lucian said you have an excess of honor. Those were his exact words,” Pearton said.
Gags sighed. “Lucian is right.” Gags had found his allies. “Let’s get this thing over.”
~
“Why didn’t you take us to Pearton directly?” Gags asked Flora as they rode back to Eliza Farris’s warehouse, squeezed into a carriage.
“They wanted to show that they had some power to trade,” Flora said. “The soldiers were from the ministry. The workers who we couldn’t rely on were sent home yesterday. A few assisted Lord Benjamin’s entrance into Baxterton. They were more impressed that the men didn’t capture you.”
“And who do you work for?”
“Lord Pearton, but I also assist Eliza. Both of them know my role in the other’s organization,” Flora said.
Gags shook his head in confusion. “And Otto?”
“Eliza’s person,” Flora said.
“Who guards our house?” Gags asked Lucian.
“Grant Dyre’s men. We can get in and out, but it is better if we aren’t seen,” Lucian said.
“A night foray,” Gags said. “Miria and I can see in the dark, so we will go in with Otto, Darlia, and you watching from the outside.”
“You trust me?” Miria asked.
“Why not? If you can still spell night vision, it won’t be difficult. No one will be in the house.” Gags looked at Lucian. “Will anyone be inside?”
Lucian shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. No one was there when Otto and I checked the inside.”
“Miria is also good at putting people to sleep.”
“Better than me,” Lucian said.
Miria snorted. Something that she often did when planning with the squad and someone questioned her abilities. The memory made Gags smile.
“We’ll tell Eliza we are going back to the house….”
“She knows the scepter is kept there,” Flora said.
“Then we’ll tell her that we are going to retrieve it as well as the rest of the story,” Gags said. “No need to hold anything back.”
Gags thought between Otto and Flora, Eliza would know everything before they left the warehouse on their mission.
The carriage rolled through the doors, and Eliza was waiting for them in the conference room. Gags let Flora and Otto discuss the library search and the conversation with Lord Pearton and Lord Julius.
“That clarifies a few things,” Eliza said when they had finished. “You are going to do Pearton’s bidding?” she said to Gags.
“We can’t trust anyone, but we distrust them less than Browning and West. Lord Pearton said King David plans on killing us as soon as we’ve completed our purpose,” Lucian said.
“Gags?” Eliza asked.
“I think you’d prosper better under someone other than King David,” Gags said.
“What if I were to offer you passage on a ship tonight, leaving two hours after dusk to Sheerport?”
Gags looked at the others. “I’d have to consult with the others, but I don’t like breaking commitments,” he said.
“There is no ship,” Eliza said. “A test passed. Get your things packed away. I expect you will succeed in obtaining the scepter, but I suggest you return here before you leave to fight Browning.”
~
A few hours later, Gags and Miria, wearing black clothes provided by Eliza’s group, stood at the alley entrance to the townhouse. Miria’s night vision wasn’t as efficient as before her transformation, but she followed Gags to a back window. Gags used magic to unlock it, and they both slithered through the window.
“I’m not as good at this as Pepper,” Gags said.
“You haven’t mentioned him very much,” Miria said.
“He is a little guy and a former thief. He doesn’t have a lick of magic, but he can go places where I can’t. Enough talk. Let’s get downstairs and back to Eliza’s.”
They spelled night vision while Gags led them down the basement stairs. The only light was a few shafts of moonlight piercing the windows. Miria was better than Gags at creeping in silence until Gags used his air-walk technique.
The basement was empty, and Gags opened the closet door. The dust on the floor showed two sets of footprints, but no one had broken into the wall. Gags tore down the wall and removed the scepter.
“Unwrap it, and tell me if you can feel the magic,” Gags said.
Miria reached the last layer, and the cold blue light began to glow before she even touched it. When she held it in her bare hand, she closed her eyes and sent a strong pulse of magic through it. Motes flooded the room, attacking both of them.
“Spell a shield!” Gags said, initiating a shield that pushed the motes away.
Miria had panicked, and the motes began to clog her throat. She gasped.
Gags put his shielded hand over her mouth, but loosely enough to allow the motes to escape and air to fill her lungs. Whatever motes were, they did not like shield energy.
Miria gasped and fell to the floor, breathing heavily. “You didn’t tell me the scepter reacted this way.”
Gags took the scepter from her hand and spelled the light, trying to push more magic through the scepter. A much smaller flurry of motes escaped the blue stone, but then they dissipated.
“You are much better at the scepter than I am,” Gags said.
She smiled with a promising look of confidence. “We each have our specialties,” Miria said. “Let me hold it again while holding a shield. I was too flustered to make one when the motes attacked.”
They successfully repeated the experiment, and they weren’t affected this time.
“This is useless against magicians,” Miria said.
