“Ah.” Jehubal was known to him. It had been a small town on the edge of the ocean the last he remembered. “Then let’s begin.”
Chapter thirty-one
Hunters
Migo strode back to his room, intent on changing out of his wedding clothes before setting out. A castle tailor had supposedly fitted a robe for him that would be easy to discard should he feel the need to let his inner monster out.
Somebody was waiting for him in a nook of the hall before his room. He could sense her familiar magic. He was starting to recognize the way different auras felt. This was an aura he was still cautious about.
“They will betray you,” Ris said as Migo paused to face her. She leaned up against the wall in her casual attire, dressed the same way a shamanfolk of the Bayvana Tribe might, with a tight brown robe over simple tunic and trousers, and black varman leather boots.
“Who?”
“The shamans you’ve taken into your court. They are not to be trusted. My son kept them close not only because they were skilled in their craft, but because he did not trust them.”
Migo loosened the button of his black jacket. “You also said that your son trusted nobody. Perhaps that contributed to his downfall.”
Ris shrugged. “True, but this was for good reason.”
“Well, what other choice do I have?” Migo said. “They have abilities that I require. Just because I can’t trust them, that doesn’t mean I can’t use them.”
“The words of a true emperor,” Ris said with a shake of her head.
“Don’t worry about me,” Migo said, turning back towards his room. He realized he was practically stormwading, trusting too much to chance, but it was like he told Ris, what other choice did he have? Besides, the odds had played in his favor so far. The Ashjagar potion hadn’t killed him, he’d become an emperor, and he’d married Katsi. How much more lucky could he get?
He quickly changed into the clothes that were set out on the dresser beside his bed, then went to the shelf with the orbs and artifacts. He grabbed a few of them, placing them in his inner pockets before rushing back out the door. He’d directed the team to meet in a very specific room on the bottom floor of the castle. The science behind a portaj was only briefly explained to him, but he had to believe that if Ranaz could stop the entire planet, then the limits to magic were far beyond how everyone was using it.
Everyone was waiting for him when he arrived, including Katsi, Adrina, and Jafir. Each of them had dressed up in leather armor, tendrils of magic woven through the garments. A nostalgic feeling overcame him as he regarded Katsi looking more like she had when he’d first met her. Seeing the purple smear on her hand and the dot on her cheek brought a smile to his face, knowing he still bore the same markings from their wedding.
The room was mostly bare, save for some furniture that had been pushed to one side, everything draped in cloth. A single large window on the far side let in enough light.
“Jafir,” Migo said. “You brought the portaj for Rhian, right?”
“I did, Your Excellency.”
“Just call me Migo,” he said. “I need no appellations from you.”
“Understood,” Jafir said.
“Now,” Migo said, withdrawing an armlet from his pocket. He held it out to Jafir. “You may want to use this.”
“You are certain?” Jafir said, eyebrows furrowed.
“I am. You will need it.”
Jafir placed the armlet on, and Migo got his first impression that perhaps Jafir had some sense of reverence for the artifacts that he hadn’t noticed in other shamans.
“Adrina,” Migo said, tapping his foot on the floor. “Beneath this floor is the top of the plateau, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Uncover it. I want the floor peeled back and the plateau exposed.” Migo stepped back, and Katsi came with him.
“Just to verify,” Adrina said, holding up her hands. “You want me to remove the tiled floor?”
“Yes.”
Adrina sighed, clearly hesitant to perform such an alteration on the castle. Or was it that she was hesitant to take an order? Whatever the case, he did feel her magic start to work, though nothing happened for a while. In fact, he thought he heard a strange disturbance from somewhere else in the castle, but then the floor in front of them rippled like water before it rolled to the side like a scroll. The only portion she hadn’t removed was where they stood and where the furniture rested on the side. The bare stone beneath was a smooth, pale gray.
“Excellent,” Migo said. “Now hew a large slab out of it, roughly rectangular. Use whatever available surface we have.”
“Do you plan on explaining what I’m doing and how this relates to traveling to Rhian?” Adrina said. The sound of grating stone vibrated beneath them.
Migo smirked. “That’s the best part. Jafir, hand me the portaj.” Migo took the portaj and placed the elongated stone against the floor, point down. “We’re going to take this entire stone slab with us to Rhian, where Jafir will enchant it as a portaj to bring us back to Mazanib. We will then experiment with larger transportation by having people stand on the slab of stone. Instead of a tiny rock for a portaj, we’ll make it an entire slab. Sound like a plan?”
“But Emperor Rikaydian,” Jafir said, “it takes quite a bit of energy for me to be able to create that enchantment. I may not be able to create it fast enough.”
Migo pointed at the armlet. “That’s why you have that.” Then he withdrew another. “Or one more if you need.”
Adrina pursed her lips, then shrugged and said. “Very well.” She used earthmelding to sink the portaj into the stone floor just a little. “We’ll see if this even works.”
They all gathered around, placing one hand on the stone, then Jafir muttered the words. Migo felt the awkward stretching as the portaj carried them the long distance. One moment they were in the room, a late evening sun fading away through the window, the next moment they were outside, the blazing sun directly overhead. It was a surreal experience, having the sun directly over the Ring. It wasn’t as hot as he may have thought, though it was humid. It looked like they’d just missed the rain. Wispy clouds lingered in the sky and puddles of water clung to the rocky landscape.
Migo recognized it already. They were just north of Rhian. He’d gone on walks through this area with some of the other students on several occasions.
But most importantly…
He looked down. They stood atop the stone slab.
