Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

CHAOS MAGE Chapter 30: A Karman-Hannan Force

The temperature of the air continued to drop. Seiren's sweat-soaked robes clung to her skin, giving her chills. Magus seemed to be able to read the ancient glyphs on the walls at every corner and lead them down winding staircases in high-ceilinged halls and through heavy double doors that groaned on opening, like the joints of old people when they moved. Stone bridges were interspersed with barriers that overlooked floors below — some of them many storeys below, bathed in an ethereal glow from the iridescent stones Magus called Tophalite, a mineral native to Hanna. Stone statues of guardians sat astride their seats, staring down their strong, curved noses at Seiren and Madeleine with ill-suppressed disdain. The entire inner tomb was lit by Tophalite, emanating enough light to move by but not enough to give Seiren reassurance nobody would jump them from the shadows, which moved like assassins at night. The air was musty and thick, reminding Seiren of ancient tomes, caked in dust, that had sat upon bookcases for decades.

Magus held out a hand, pausing Seiren and Madeleine. He touched several apparently unrelated parts of the nearby wall studded with Tophalite, which depicted a battle scene between two great monsters, before one of the glowing stones on it changed colour. He indicated at Seiren and Madeleine and led the way ahead again.

"The place is filled with traps and other dangerous devices," he said in a low voice. "My father said he never intended anyone to enter this place ever again. I'm not sure what his reasoning was — he never explained it — but he said he would have destroyed the body if he had the means to. The elusiveness was what attracted Fautos, I believe. The more you tell my brother he couldn't or shouldn't, the more he will seek it out."

"We heard about it in Karma. He killed your father and your other siblings, didn't he?"

"My father was planning to announce the heir. We were pretty confident it was going to be Lufer. He was the better fighter and strategist, very personable and persuasive, and an excellent critical thinker. I have yet to best him in a game of chess or in a physical fight. I believe that was why Fautos went after him first after Father died. Lufer had more civilian supporters, but Fautos had more land, more money, and more soldiers. Lufer earned his respect through spurring speeches and respect for all, but Fautos gained all his through sheer power. Gerta tried to take Eleia and flee, but he caught her, too. I was... very glad to hear Eleia is alive. Her conditions put her at a disadvantage in battle, but she is a strong and pure soul."

"Strong and pure souls don't make you any hardier to a knife in the stomach," Seiren said bluntly. She'd met too many strong and pure souls who never made it. Loren's kindly smile flashed across her mind's eye.

"That's true. But fighting with fists isn't the only way to win."

"You think Eleia will succeed in rousing the royal daemon," Madeleine murmured. Seiren did a double take.

"Really?"

"Out of all five siblings, I believe Eleia is the one who truly listens and hears," Magus said softly.

"But she's dea—"

"When you are reliant so wholly on what's before you, you miss that which is actually in front of you."

Seiren narrowed his eyes at him. A poetic one. Great.

"Tell us about the Karman woman. You said she wanted Hanna's corpse. Why?"

"I wasn't privy to Fautos's plans, but I wasn't wholly hopeless, even if they did remove my summoner's dust so I couldn't fully summon Durah, my daemon." A wry smile spread beneath his bushy beard and across his dirtied, scratched face. "It all began at the end of last year, not long after Fautos grappled his way to the throne. A voice... I cannot describe it in any other way. Soft, sweet, but ancient. And dangerous. The voice woke me from my sleep when I was in the dungeons beneath the palace at Falnash. I don't believe the guards heard it, though. It called for help. It claimed to be the voice of the royal daemon, but I knew it couldn't be. Whilst Fautos was busy attempting to flaunt his power and wealth like some bird seeking a mate, I spent every summer of my adult years accompanying the senior members of House Solidor to Traquair to reinforce the ancient seal upon the royal daemon — to prevent the likes of Fautos forcing his way into places he had no right to, just as he had no right to even breathe within twenty miles of His Holiness King Feures Tophalis — may his Holiness prosper in the distant lands."