Forging Divinity by Andrew Rowe Read Free Book Online Page A

teleportation, it was likely they could catch up to her.
    More importantly, returning to Velthryn now would require abandoning her mission. Her responsibility was to gather information on the most prominent local sorcerers, as well as the supposed gods of the city. She delivered her reports during the infrequent opportunities her position gave her the excuse to travel to Velthryn’s territory, and she had no such excuse right now. Her mission had no set end date – she would be dismissed when her superiors felt she had done sufficient work, or if her cover had been significantly jeopardized.
    The Sae’kes was most likely worth abandoning her mission – but the prisoner who had carried was potentially even more important.
    I need answers. Conclusive answers. And for that, I need to meet with the prisoner directly.
    Lydia returned to her chamber, making preparations and strategizing for contingencies. And then, after preparing an extra set of robes and a putting a mask matching that of another sorcerer in her pouch, Lydia initiated the first stage of her plan.
     
    Since Lydia lived in the palace, passing by the Adellan room a few times throughout the day – hours apart – didn’t attract any undue attention. Each time she ensured she had an unrelated agenda nearby, just in case she was asked.
    It was on the third pass that she deemed the halls sufficiently clear. While there were always at least a few guards on rotation, she knew from experience that there were lulls, especially during meals. It was supper hour, and most likely her best chance to avoid being noticed.
    The sorceress pressed her hand against the door’s lock, speaking in a whisper.
    “Dominion of Knowledge, show me the structure within.”
    The Structural Analysis spell functioned differently from most of her other spells, presenting her with a series of images rather than text. She could see the interior of the lock, the positions of the tumblers, and the amount of open space inside the keyhole.
    Taking a breath, Lydia flexed the fingers on her right hand and formed an image of the necessary key in her mind. “Dominion of Protection, form a key to this door.”
    The shimmering construct in her hand wouldn’t last long, but she took a moment to knock lightly on the door. There was no one in the hallways nearby to hear her, and now she needed to focus on making a first impression on the prisoner within. She wanted to be polite, but firm, and ultimately sympathetic if she decided to help him.
    She turned the sorcerous key in the lock, hiding her uncertainty beneath a veneer of stoicism.
     
    Several minutes later, Lydia knelt over Istavan’s fallen body, whispering a spell into his ear.
    “Dominion of Dreams, ravage his mind with nightmares of different versions of this confrontation.” She shuddered involuntarily in the aftermath of the spell – it was a horrible thing to do to a person, but better than slitting his throat.
    Lady of Destiny, forgive me for abusing the gifts you gave me in your great kindness.
    Using dream sorcery too frequently would wreak havoc on her ability to concentrate, but she had practiced frequently enough to be able to handle the use of two spells in a day without significant side effects.
    She had faked casting the knowledge spell that would supposedly erase Istavan’s memories – she didn’t have any spells with that exact function, and most people didn’t have a high opinion of sorcery that caused nightmares. She didn’t want Taelien to formulate a poor opinion of her; especially now that it was looking more plausible he really might be an agent of the gods.
    The nightmare spell wouldn’t have any lasting negative effects on Istavan, but she hoped it would sufficiently disturb his memories of the event to prevent him from reporting her as a traitor. And, even if he did report her, she could point out that he had been affected by dream sorcery – making his testimony unreliable.
    Taelien and Lydia stripped Istavan