Pawn Of The Planewalker (Book 5) Page 9
He thought of Pru’s unborn child, already tied to her planewalker.
He could not let them win.
“One thing more,” Garrick said.
“Yes?”
“I will lead your Torean House, but you have to agree to leave me be. No more pulling me back and forth. I’ll do your bidding as best as I can. But I’ll fight you if you whisk me away without warning again.”
A row of cilia waved along Braxidane’s farthest edge, stretching toward the flow.
“I thought your friend led the Freeborn.”
“Darien is my friend, but he cannot succeed.”
And at that moment, Garrick knew what he said was true.
Darien was familiar with people who wanted to be led, but Torean mages had no interest in organization. Their support at the outset had buoyed Darien’s spirit, but he had been doomed to failure.
Yet, leading the Freeborn was important to Darien. Wresting control from him would be devastating.
“I’ll keep Darien with me,” Garrick said. “It will work out.”
“I don’t care about Darien one way or the other,” Braxidane said, flashing the color of a smile.
Garrick paused. The idea of being responsible for the mages scared him. But whether he deemed himself a worthy leader or not, the Freeborn would respond to him, and there was no one else on Adruin who could address those things that needed to be addressed. Actions and consequences. If the consequence of taking control of the Freeborn was that Adruin could be made free of the planewalkers, he was willing to take that action.
“I hold your promise, though,” Garrick said. “No meddling anywhere on Adruin.”
Braxidane pulsed a lack of care.
“I’ll refrain from my meddling in your dealings if that’s how it has to be—though you may find my distance troubling at some point.”
Garrick grinned. “That is how it has to be.”
Braxidane’s coloring dropped brightness, the blues growing dull and the greens drab. He turned, and waved what might have been a hand.
“Go, then,” Braxidane said.
And Garrick’s vision swam.
Chapter 20
Braxidane sat at his node, anticipating Hezarin’s arrival.
It would not be long.
He dipped a tendril into the stream of consciousness that connected the Thousand Worlds, letting currents cross over him, feeling the balance that existed here. Cause and effect. Action and consequence. The flow had a simplistic beauty that he would never grow tired of admiring.
Hezarin did not disappoint.
He tasted the metallic nature of her approach, coming upon him fast, her shape pulsing with blue and red heat.
“You will pay for this, Braxidane.”
“For what?”
“Don’t play stupid with me. You sent Garrick to Rastella.”
“And what if I did?”
“I had cordoned off that plane. Now anyone can get in there and—”
“Don’t waste my time with false premises, Hezarin.” Braxidane flashed with an acidic tone. “Rastella is a desolate place. It has no value to you. You blocked it off only to spite me.”
“The plane was mine, Braxidane.”
“No. The plane was mine. You stole it and placed a dictatorial puppet on the emperor’s throne, and then you gave him the robe so he could control the links.”
Hezarin glared.
“You are, again, coming very close to violating every agreement we’ve ever made, Hezarin. That robe was one step too far.”
“You’re the one who sent a foreign mage into Rastella.”
“Only after you opened the door and gave that mage the power of All Existence.”
“Karasacti,” Hezarin said with spite. “The man’s name is Karasacti.”
“I believe,” Braxidane snapped back, “the correct tense is was. As in the man’s name was Karasacti. It is not my fault that he was not powerful enough to handle the gift you gave him, though.”
Hezarin emitted waves of animosity.
“Laugh while you can, Braxidane,” he finally said.
Then she stepped back into the flow and was gone before Braxidane could reply.
He grumbled. An upset burn permeated the center of his being. Hezarin was right in that he had stretched the rules. Sending Garrick to Rastella was no more allowable than Hezarin’s theft, but the fact that she had violated the agreements wouldn’t protect him from penalties in a formal inquiry. Leaving the sword with Garrick had been a particularly egregious breech of etiquette, and would not play well with Joint Authority—but she hadn’t specifically mentioned the weapon, so perhaps he had gotten away with that small portion of his gambit. And at least Garrick had destroyed the robe. That would speak well for him.
Regardless, it had been worth it just to feel her anger. Nothing was better than setting a radical on her edge.
He settled back and let tendrils drift into the flow.
With Hezarin on the warpath he would have to be careful, but things were moving along nicely. Garrick’s acceptance of his lot would help, and he had several other tricks at his command that might well cause his siblings in Existence to take note later rather than sooner.
Yes, he thought. It had been worth it just to feel Hezarin’s anger, but he had plans.
Much bigger plans.
* * * * *
This is the end of Pawn of the Planewalker, but the story of Garrick, Braxidane, and the struggle between the orders continues in Changing of the Guard, due to be published January of 2015!
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The Saga of the God-Touched Mage includes:
Glamour of the God-Touched
Trail of the Torean
Target of the Orders
Gathering of the God-Touched
Pawn of the Planewalker
Changing of the Guard
Lord of the Freeborn
Lords of Existence
Epilogue
The robe was gone. Garrick felt that truth before he was fully awake.
He was back in his bed chamber. Back in Dorfort’s government center. He smelled the aroma of Blue Lake and heard sounds of a city working its day. He rose to one elbow and glanced around the room. He was lying on the mattress, his chest bare, his pants Torean black.
The robe was most definitely gone.
He stood and went to the window.
It was early morning. The lake was calm, a calm before the storm, Garrick thought. People milled about the city with only their own simple concerns about them. Garrick could not help but grimace at his strange mix of emotions. The human experience was so isolated. He missed the sense of connection he had in Existence. Yet, he still felt embarrassed of his attempts to trivialize what these people were feeling as they went about their lives.
He thought of Alistair and wondered what his past superior would think of him now. The question left him feeling bittersweet. He was a man. A grown man. A full mage, and more.
He was surprised to think of himself in this fashion.
A grown man.
He felt the full weight of what that meant now.
Garrick sighed, realizing he was hungry.
He had to get the Freeborn together. He had to stretch them. Perhaps, he thought, he had to bring all of the plane’s mages under one hand. He had seen what could one day be coming. The mages of Adruin needed to be a single entity, working together if the plane was to survive.
Yes, he had much work to do.
Garrick turned from the window and strode to his closets to pick out a shirt.
“Will!” he called. “Come help me prepare for the day.”
* * * * *
This
is the end of Pawn of the Planewalker, but the story of Garrick, Braxidane, and the struggle between the orders continues in Changing of the Guard, due to be published January of 2015!
Available at:
Full Amazon Profile
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Search Kobo
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Subscribe to Ron's Ramblings to be the first to hear about new publications!(*)
(*) We promise not to spam you with anything beyond information regarding Ron's work!
The Saga of the God-Touched Mage includes:
Glamour of the God-Touched
Trail of the Torean
Target of the Orders
Gathering of the God-Touched
Pawn of the Planewalker
Changing of the Guard
Lord of the Freeborn
Lords of Existence
APPENDIX
* * * * *
Map of the Plane of Adruin
image by Ron Collins
Acknowledgements
The universe of Adruin and All of Existence has many people to thank for its existence, not the least of which are Tim Brown, Mike Cox, Ken and Jackie Peters, and my wife, Lisa.
I need to single out a few others for their efforts beyond all the rest.
My friend, collaborator, and pre-reader John Bodin's help was—as always—superlative. I want to thank my daughter, Brigid, for stepping into the fray when I needed her. And I want to give thanks to my cover artist, Rachel Carpenter, who was great fun to work with and who did a fantastic job bringing Garrick to life.
Mostly, though, I have to thank Lisa for everything she's done for me. The Saga of the God-Touched Mage has gone through more twists and turns than I could ever have predicted when the idea first hit, and she's been with me through every step. (Don't worry, honey. It's really done. Really, I mean it. It's done. You don't have to read it for the 111th time!).
About Ron Collins
Ron Collins is an award-winning author who lives in Columbus, Indiana, with his wife, Lisa.
Pawn of the Planewalker is the fifth volume in the eight-part Saga of the God-Touched Mage. Ron published Five Magics, a collection of his short fantasy, in 2012. Five Magics includes two tales from Dragon Magazine, a Marion Zimmer Bradley’s FANTASY MAGAZINE Cauldron Award winning story, and another tale that was awarded Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's “Years Best Fantasy.”
Ron is the author of two road trip, alternate-history, fantasy, science fiction baseball novels, the first being See the PEBA on $25 a Day (2010), and the sequel being Chasing the Setting Sun (2014).
He has contributed numerous short stories to professional science fiction publications including Analog, Asimov’s, and Nature. His writing has received a Writers of the Future prize, and a CompuServe HOMer Award. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and worked developing avionics systems, electronics, and information technology before spending a decade in Human Resource management.
Discover other work by Ron Collins at:
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Subscribe to Ron's Ramblings to be the first to hear about new publications!(*)
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The Saga of the God-Touched Mage includes:
Glamour of the God-Touched
Trail of the Torean
Target of the Orders
Gathering of the God-Touched
Pawn of the Planewalker
Changing of the Guard
Lord of the Freeborn
Lords of Existence
How You Can Help
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Table of Contents
Blurb
Title Page
Other Work
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Appendix
Acknowledgements
About Ron Collins
How You Can Help