The Bowl of Souls: Book 01.5 - Hilt's Pride (18 page)

“Oh, I was going to tell you,” Beth said. “There’s something else I learned at the top of those stairs. There is a much easier path along the back side of the mountain. We took the hard way up.”

“Ah,” Hilt said and his shoulders slumped. “That should make me feel better, but somehow it doesn’t.”

“I found an answer for you too,” she said, linking her arm back in his. She turned him away from the stair.

“Oh really?” he asked, eyebrows
raised
in interest.

“Remember yesterday when you told me that once you have reached the peak, there is nowhere to go but down?” Hilt nodded and she shook her head. “You were wrong.”

“Was I?” he asked.

“Yes, Hilt.
You see, this is a big world. There is always another mountain to climb.”

He thought about it for a moment,
then
gave her a knowing glance. “You saw a lot more up there, didn’t you?”

She gave him a coy smile and led back towards the ridge line. “Why yes I did, Sir Hilt.”

They headed out of the trees, Hilt expecting her to elaborate. But she didn’t. They hiked back down the ridgeline and Hilt was glad that Yntri was such a light old elf. When they arrived back at the boulder that was the source of the hot spring, Beth showed him the narrow trail that led down the back side of the mountain.

“Beth,” Hilt said. “Aren’t you going to tell me what you saw?”

“Perhaps,” Beth replied and as they walked down the narrow path, she rested her head on his shoulder again. “But some revelations are best saved for later.”

The following is a preview of The Bowl of Souls Book Four:

The WAR of STARDEON

Coming 2013

Author Note

This preview will contain some spoilers for those of you who have not read the first three books. I don’t believe that there is any information contained in this section that will ruin your enjoyment of the other books. But nonetheless I feel compelled to warn you ahead of time. As always, thank you for reading and if you like what you read, please tell your friends.

Trevor
H. Cooley

“Lord Protector Vriil behind this siege?
Hmph
, preposterous,” said a man Willum had never seen before. The man stood with arms folded and spoke with calm measure but his round face had grown quite red. It was not a good look for him. His nose had been bulbous and dark when Willum had started his report and now it looked positively purple.

“This is what my father said, yes,” Willum replied. He looked around the
Battle
Academy
council table but no one leapt to his defense. The reason he had been brought in was to retell his story for the members of the newly assembled War Council. He hadn’t expected to be interrogated. The first time he had told the council of his father’s warning
,
the table had been supportive and full of questions. This time they just sat quietly and listened. Even Tad the Cunning said nothing. He was watching the stranger’s reaction over
steepled
fingers, his elbows resting on the council table. 

The War Council was put into effect whenever the academy came under siege. The members were comprised of the leaders from the different factions held within the academy’s walls. The members included the regular
Battle
Academy
council, the Training School Council, and Demon Jenn, the mayor of Reneul.

“Hearsay.
And it comes from a man living in another kingdom. That is what the Queen would say if I told her this rubbish,” the stranger said. He was short and stocky and wore an expensive puffy shirt of silken brocade with collar and cuffs made of flowing lace. Willum thought the outfit looked itchy. Perhaps the man was a noble or merchant of some sort, but that didn’t explain why everyone was listening to him.

The stranger sat down in his chair and leaned back, placing his hands behind his head. “Why are we even considering these accusations?”

“Master Coal is a named wizard and a friend of the academy,” said Hugh the Shadow, head of the academy’s Assassin Guild. “We have no reason to doubt his word.” Hugh gave Willum a pointed look as he spoke and Willum felt his face flush with embarrassment. The council hadn’t exactly been happy with him when he had revealed his father’s identity. He had been keeping it a secret, determined not to let Coal’s status be part of the factor determining his entrance into the academy. He had wanted to do it on his own. Hiding the identity of one’s father wasn’t uncommon, but it was frowned upon, especially hiding it from the council. Willum was just glad that they didn’t know the identity of his birth father. That would have complicated things greatly.

“And Master Coal has sworn witnesses to Ewzad Vriil’s actions,” said Sabre Vlad, head of the Swordwielder’s Guild.

“Oh, right.
The witnesses.
An elf, a dwarf, and an ogre.
An ogre?
Please.” Despite his nonchalance, the mystery man’s nose was getting even
purpler
.

“There is also Sir Edge,” Willum added. “He is the named warrior who was imprisoned by Ewzad Vriil for a time. He saw Ewzad Vriil use magic. He even saw him call an army of goblinoids to fight for him.”

“More hearsay.
Tales from a named warrior no one has ever heard of, talking about a battle in the Lord Protector’s keep that supposedly released hundreds of prisoners and yet no one has heard of the incident!” There was definite anger in his voice now and he was scowling. A vein throbbed on the man’s temple and his nose had become so engorged Willum feared it might burst.

“What I think would help is if you could show us the letter in your father’s hand,” said Demon Jenn. “Or perhaps you could produce some kind of signed statement from the witnesses?” Jenn was an academy graduate, as most of the mayors of Reneul had been over the years. She had earned her name on the battlefield and was well respected, but the years had not been kind to her. Her face had been disfigured by a goblin dagger while protecting a caravan in her youth and as she had aged, the scar had shrunken and puckered, leaving one lip pulled upward in a permanent sneer.

“I am sorry, ma’am. That isn’t possible,” Willum said.
“My-.”

“
Hmph
!
Again, the lack of proof.” the stranger said. “I still don’t see why we are listening to this.”

“This information didn’t come by letter,” Tad the Cunning said, speaking up for the first time since Willum had entered the room. His eyes remained on the fancily dressed man as he spoke, “Willum, please explain to everyone how you received your father’s message.”

“Of course, sir.”

Willum couldn’t tell them of the true nature of the bond he had with Coal. Bonding magic was rare and unknown to most of the wizard community and the rest of the world was completely ignorant of its existence. Instead, he recited the story Coal had concocted the first time he had Willum pass a message on to the council.

“When I left home, my father wanted to be able to keep in contact with me, so he used a spell to set up a . . . mental connection. Even though he is very far away, if we are both concentrating, we can communicate to each other with our minds. It’s not easy. I-I can usually only accomplish it at night, sir.
When I am laying in my bed after all my tasks are complete, for instance.”

The story wouldn’t have held up if a wizard had been in the room. As far as Willum knew, no such spell existed within the realm of elemental magic. There were objects enchanted to carry people or items over long distances, but to send one’s thoughts was a more difficult task. Only spiritual magic could accomplish that.

The man smirked and opened his mouth to retort, but Tad spoke first.

“I have a piece of evidence to back up his claim.” He picked up a scroll and slid it over to Demon Jenn. “This scroll arrived from the
Mage
School
not long before the attack. They had received a similar communication from Master Coal and urged us to heed his warnings. They vouch for his words and his methods.”

The mayor opened the scroll and nodded appreciatively. For a woman that made her name in battle, she seemed to put a lot of trust in paperwork. “This is signed by Master Latva himself.” She directed her gaze to the stranger. “This eases my mind.”

“So one wizard vouches for another? What does that change? Let me see that. Do they include any new evidence to support his claims?” The man snatched the scroll away from her and poured over it with his eyes.

Tad cleared his throat. “You are ignoring another fact. Many of Master Coal’s claims have already proven true. His witnesses knew of the army amassing in the mountains. He warned us that an attack could be coming. If he had not warned us through his connection with his son, we may have been caught unawares.”

Willum’s shoulders sank in relief. Finally Tad was backing him up. The tension in the room had been giving him a headache.

The man stood, his face twisted in anger, more purple than ever. He paused and closed his eyes for a moment. His shoulders quivered briefly and he blinked a few times before clearing his throat. He raised one shaking hand and smoothed back his thinning hair. He saw everyone staring and smiled apologetically before sitting down. Much of the extra color had drained from his face.

“Are you okay?” Tad asked. “Can we get you some water or something?”

“No, I’m fine, fine. Uh, your point is well taken, Tad. However, just because this Master Coal was right about the invasion does not mean that his witnesses are right about everything else. A man can be right in some cases and wrong in others. I for one still refuse to believe that Lord Protector Vriil had anything to do with this attack. I will need to see better evidence than this if I am to send a message warning the queen.”

“I understand your position.” Tad’s eyes left the man and moved to Willum. “Has your father told you anything new to report, Willum?”

Willum swallowed. He was already dreading the stranger’s reaction to his news. “Yes, he has gathered a small band of . . . warriors and along with Sir Edge is
travelling
here to help in whatever way he can. As they began their journey, they were attacked by several of Ewzad Vriil’s altered beasts. They lost one of their
number
but were able to defeat the beasts and have since continued on their way.”

“And when was this?” Tad asked.

“Two days ago, sir.”

“Beasts made by the Lord Protector? Surely you don’t expect us to believe- . . .  Never mind,” the stranger said with a shake of his head. The color was flooding his face again and his voice was loaded with sarcasm as he asked, “Well, why don’t you describe these horrible creatures for us?”

Willum swallowed. He knew that his description would sound outlandish to say the least. “There was an armored orc that spat acid, a large plant-like beast with razor sharp whips, and a huge red beast that flew like a dragon and radiated heat from its very skin. Father called it a bandham.”

The stranger laughed in derision, though to Willum, it seemed that his eyes weren’t laughing. They were watching him with calculating intensity. Thankfully no one else in the room found it funny.

“Thank you, Willum, son of Coal,” Tad said with a nod. “Please keep the council informed of any new developments.” He looked back to the rest of the council. “I believe Stout Harley has a report on our current supply situation.
If you will excuse me for a moment?”

Tad smiled and stood from his chair. He nudged Willum on his way to the back of the chamber and Willum followed him out the rear door of the council hall.

Willum followed Tad down a hallway and passed several rooms that he didn’t know the purpose of. He knew that the rear of the building contained the personal apartments of the council members but had never been in this part of the building. They walked down some stairs and headed down a dimly lit corridor. At the second junction, Tad stopped and grabbed Willum’s shoulder. He kept his voice low.