Jackal Among Snakes

Anneliese and Argrave raised up their new golden badges and clinked them together. It let out a pleasant metallic sound. Durran and Galamon watched on from another part of the room, both relatively idle.

“High Wizard Anneliese. Sounds nice. A shame it’s a temporary title,” Argrave’s gaze jumped between the golden owl badges in her hand and Anneliese’s amber eyes.

She tilted her head. “How do you mean?”

Argrave shrugged. “Well, soon enough, you’ll be a Magister.”

Anneliese shook her head with an amused smile, but gradually her expression became serious. “Are you sure of travelling with Vera and Hegazar?”

Argrave stowed away the golden badge. “Bit too late to get out of this gambit now, no?”

“We could just stay in the Tower,” Durran posited.

Argrave looked to him. “If I was going to do that, I would have done it all those months ago. Then Anneliese would be conquering Berendar, you’d probably be dead, and Galamon would be… I’m not sure. He’d be fine, I guess. Meanwhile, everyone else would be dying, and then I’d die, too, once Gerechtigkeit comes.”

“Fortunate thing, then,” Galamon spoke. Argrave knew he hated speculation, and likely wished to change the subject.

“Hegazar makes me uneasy,” Anneliese stated. “His emotions… are not human, I think.”

Argrave pointed to her. “You can’t see his real body. Even I can only see a vague silhouette of his form. You’re not seeing emotions at all—it’s illusion magic.”

“You have said that time and time again,” Anneliese nodded. “Never mind that. Even Vera sees us only as tools, means to an end. Can we not travel with better people?”

Argrave sighed. “If they existed… sure, I could. But Castro is busy keeping his apprentice alive. Beyond that, appeals to empathy won’t work for any Magister willing to meet us—the only ones we can get are the ones that are self-interested. At the very least, Vera and Hegazar are consistent in their morals… or lack thereof. It makes them predictable. This isn’t another Orion, Anneliese—I have some assurances. So long as these two vipers think I’ve got something interesting in this head of mine, they’ll keep me alive.”

“The rest of us? Tough luck, I assume,” Durran quipped.

Argrave vowed, “I’ll die long before any of you.”

Anneliese looked ill at ease regarding that vow, but Durran joked, “Guess I have to keep you alive for a long while then, for my own sake if nothing else.”

#####

Argrave rode the central elevator of mystic stone slabs to a certain floor, then disembarked. All of his companions were present, plus another individual—the ashen-haired Magister, Vera.

“You came early,” she noted politely.

“I was already up. Don’t like waiting around,” Argrave explained, stepping off and making room so as not to crowd things for other people.

Vera crossed her arms. “You will find it is a wasted effort. Hegazar is always late.”

Argrave nodded without committing any words to her claim.

stalked up to him languidly. “But it is a good thing. I get you to myself.” She grabbed his shoulder, standing on the tips of her toes to whisper into his ear, “Hegazar put men

thanked her. If Vera had wanted to talk in private, she might have conjured a ward, but instead she did that. He

egomaniac that was Hegazar, but no less spiteful or dangerous. She was the aunt of Count Delbraun of Jast, with the gray-haired, orange-eyed look prominent in the House,

to the wall beside Galamon, where he slumped down until he sat on the floor. As he examined his beautiful new golden badge denoting his status as a High Wizard, his Brumesingers came out. Their fur was growing a bit darker, and they were

Argrave inquired of Galamon to pass

quiet,” Galamon informed

deep, nervous breath. This might be the last time they had of relative safety. They’d have to dance a constant game around these two narcissistic Magisters… but there was still no better security than their presence. One an unparalleled illusionist,

Argrave was briefly worried

is not here?”

Vera

Galamon and Durran. When they did, he quickly pressed something against their chest. An

“They’ll dissipate the moment you

books for you—druidic magic. I’ll get you the

fact—perhaps it was because Argrave had shown he wasn’t lying, or maybe Castro acknowledged Argrave might need them most, fighting against Gerechtigkeit as he

long. Someone came into view in the elevator—Hegazar, with his

benefit of Garm’s eyes, could not see past Hegazar’s illusion. She had known something was amiss nonetheless—she said that Hegazar’s body was somehow wrong, that it projected emotions in an inhuman way. The man made her deeply uneasy because of this. It was like a

newer generation—very admirable. Or maybe you simply have a penchant for stepping on the snake, Master Castro,”

eyes off me,” she snapped

eyes are in my head, fortunately. It’s my gaze that’s on you. I can see why

cut in, putting power into

“Sure, sure,” Hegazar nodded.

again, I

sure it has meaning. I hope we have time to discuss what you brought

Argrave nodded. “You will.”

and he hefted it on. They all prepared to leave. One large stone tablet descended to accommodate all of them, and they stood on it,

they smile, flutter their eyes, show a little leg… but don’t let it distract you. It’s bad enough that Vera’s forced her way onto this convoy—trusting her would

ones to deceive people into sex,” Vera said succinctly. “He’s like

can say is lies,” he interrupted her. “The last thing I’d need is to imitate another’s form—my own body

insults back and forth indiscriminately. Most of what each said was lies—Anneliese confirmed that they were lying constantly with cues to Argrave, though after a time he got

Castro said. “My apprentice wanted to speak with

aside without much warning,

apprentice?” Hegazar noted. “Bring him

know I keep inventory,” Castro warned him blatantly. “Are

of ‘why’ had not been

one will know you’ve left, not for days… the things I

the rest of Argrave’s party made their way

be real, I’ll lend you my aid,” Castro promised. “Unconditionally, at that. This

Argrave questioned. “I already knew you would.

didn’t bring you here to tell you that,” Castro said, obviously off-balance from Argrave’s assertion. “Ingo does want to speak

too deeply. There, he saw

Castro called out gently.