Secrets of the Elders (Chronicles of Acadia: Book I)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Lady Cassandra pushed her mind, probing the vast distance of the wildlands, riding on currents of psychic energy to return to her body after trying to find Corbin. She had set out to speak with him and was just about to establish a connection when he had been knocked unconscious by Bipp’s frying pan. Any conversation they were able to have after that would likely be forgotten or written off as an after effect of the blow.

  A commotion in the passageway outside instinctively brought her reeling sharply back into her corporeal form. As she reentered her body, she could hear the guard apologizing that he could not let anyone in under Magistrate Fafnir’s personal orders.

  “I don’t care if the All-Father himself came down here, tugged on your ear, and gave you the orders. Fafnir has no rule over the Twelve; you will obey as you are told, citizen.”

  Cassandra smiled to herself. Elder Esther was not one to be bullied, and certainly never by a dungeon guard.

  The rusty wrought iron gate creaked open. Every time it moved, it hurt her ears. Visitors filled up an area in front of the barred cell and Lady Cassandra stood, mussing her robes into a more presentable shape. She was embarrassed that her friends would see her in such a state and could not help feeling self-conscious about the fact that she had not bathed in two days and could smell her unwashed skin beneath the dirty clothes.

  “Greetings, Elder Esther,” she said, kneeling respectfully.

  “Oh, do rise, Lady Cassandra,” Elder Esther retorted like a whip. “After all these years, everything we have all been through together, you bow to no one.”

  “I thank you for your gracious words, Elder,” Cassandra said, bowing slightly again. After almost two centuries, it was hard to break old habits.

  The other three Council members and two lords greeted her with proper decorum. “We are calling in favors from all corners of the city, milady,” Sir Robert said. “Soon enough we will have you out of this dreadful place.”

  “And into that empty Council seat as well,” Elder Esther added.

  They had been working all morning, gathering support for her cause. There were many who would not stand for her being locked up under such ridiculous charges. Teaching magic was outlawed, true enough, they themselves were the ones to write that law into existence.

  “But that was meant for destructive magic, as Fafnir knows well enough. To haul you down here for sharing the art of telepathy, after all these years, it’s nothing short of ludicrous,” Elder Marcus said. Everyone knew he took on a new apprentice every fifty cycles. Just as Lady Cassandra had taken Jayne in, seeing her potential from the moment they met, and trained her to be a disciple of the psionic arts.

  “If we are not keeping the teachings alive, how will our successors survive when we are all gone?” Lady Cassandra pointed out.

  “That’s right, but this Fafnir does not think the same way. He expects us to live on forever, just because we have already made it all these years,” Esther said, referring to one of the popular rumors about the magistrate, although Cassandra was not so sure it was correct. There seemed to be something else behind his nefarious motives to gain power. He had shifted somehow in the last quarter century, but she was not sure why.

  They spoke for a bit longer, swearing allegiance to her cause, before departing. None of them felt good about leaving her there alone in a cell, treated like a common criminal. Jayne and John lingered behind so that they could speak privately. Jayne had looked angry since she arrived; the sight of her mentor locked away in this musty cell was clearly making her blood boil.

  “Jayne, what is it, dear?” Lady Cassandra said, tenderly soothing her apprentice.

  “I mustered the clergy members and got the support of the labor leaders. Tonight they are going to gather out in front of this dungeon again and demand your release,” Jayne said. She was excited by the prospect of all those voices uniting to her Ladyship’s cause.

  “Hmmm…that could be dangerous for them,” Cassandra said.

  “That pig Fafnir would never dare make an open move against so many innocent people,” Jayne said. “They all know it too. I think in a lot of ways this protest was a long time in coming.”

  “Best tell them to keep it peaceful and stay safe,” Cassandra advised, absently rubbing her palm up and down the rusty bars of her cell.

  “No doubt the magistrate will try to lure them into violence,” John agreed, moving closer to the pair.

  “What else is there?” Cassandra asked. “Surely the two of you did not stay behind to tell me about the protest?”

  Jayne silently motioned to John, signaling him to check the gate and make sure the guard was not listening in. Once he nodded, keeping watch so she could speak, Jayne moved closer to the cell and began to explain in low whispers.

  “John has a plan to help get you out of here,” she said. “You see, he overheard his uncle talking to one of Fafnir’s henchmen. It seems Fafnir was the one who ordered the execution on Mr. Beauford, because he was trying to get some documents off the goodly gnome.”

  Lady Cassandra was less surprised by the revelations than Jayne would have expected. “That’s all well and good, but there is no way to prove its truth,” she said. “John’s uncle is not likely to step forth, and Fafnir’s assassin is even less likely. All we have is hearsay.”

  “Wait, there’s more,” Jayne said. “It appears the assassin ran off to Malbec with the loot and documents. He was drunkenly bragging about it at the Lion’s Tooth Tavern, and Fafnir has dispatched men to kill him. John and I are going to intercept them and warn the constable who is holding the vagrant. If we move quickly enough, we should be able to get those documents before Fafnir does. And the best part is that the assassin has already agreed to hand them over, at a price of course.”

  “With those in hand, not only will we prove Fafnir has become corrupted, but also that Riverbell is completely innocent of the accusations he has been spreading around the aristocracy,” Cassandra said, growing excited. They had the magistrate right where they wanted him.

  “And Arch Councilor Zacharia will see through these weak charges set against you. He might even commend you for helping the hero, Corbin Walker, bring home his innocent brother!” Jayne clapped her hands.

  John spun his finger, signaling the guard was back.

  “John, Jayne, you must both get to Malbec with due haste,” Cassandra implored.

  “We are leaving as soon as we walk out of the building, milady. Rest assured, I’ll be sure Jayne will get what she needs.” John bowed to Lady Cassandra, who noticed Jayne was slightly blushing at his new chivalrous behavior.

  “Be safe, my dear girl, and may the light of the Crystal guide you,” Cassandra said.

  Things had certainly shifted in their favor. Maybe I don’t need to contact Corbin after all, she thought, rolling an egg-sized Onyx in her palm.