Master Mage by D.W. Jackson Read Free Book Online Page B

Maria’s mother who had still been
queen, he might have held some fear that she would cave in to the
pressure of her nobles and the invading force. Maria, he knew,
would hold firm. Not out of love for him or his people, but because
she hated the Brotherhood as strongly as he did. They had taken
over her home and made a prisoner out of her mother. When they were
forced to abandon the palace, they stabbed Maria’s mother and left
her to die in her daughter’s arms.
    When the two nobles left, their faces
looked none too happy. The looks that were directed at him as they
walked past were aggravated, to say the least. Not wanting to cause
any further problems, Thad held back his laughter until he was sure
they were well out of earshot.
    Entering the throne room, Thad found
Maria sitting with her thumb and forefinger pressed against the
bridge of her nose. Her red hair had been curled and bounced
lightly on her shoulders.
    “I see you’re back,” Maria said, her
brow furrowed slightly. “When I first heard you scampered off, I
nearly had the guards ride out and drag you back. If it hadn’t been
for the arrival of one of your friends, I would have done just
that.”
    “Who saved my hide?” Thad asked, hoping
it was news from either Reeve or Crusher.
    “Captain Kain came with a message from
Reeve and the elves. Would you like to hear it?” Maria asked, her
face taking on the stony façade her mother had done so
well.
    “It would be great to know what was
actually said, but I can tell it was good news. You still need to
work on your mask. Your lips tend to twitch when you’re holding
back a smile,” Thad said with an innocent smile.
    Maria threw up her hands in
frustration. “You could at least play along,” she said, pouting. “I
swear, you don’t have one ounce of tact within your body. Yes, it
was mostly good news. The elves have pledged to send as many
soldiers as they can as well as put four boats out to help guard
our harbors. The captain also brought news that the Miramer would also be
helping guard the waters.”
    “What’s the bad news?” Thad asked,
knowing that she was holding something back.
    “The elves have sent a little over two
hundred soldiers right now, but the captain says the rest will not
be coming until early spring. The elfin island seems to be prone to
heavy ice drifts during the winter months, making travel nearly
impossible.”
    Thad cursed to himself. A contingent of
elfin warriors would greatly bolster their strength, but it would
do little good if they arrived after Farlan had already
fallen.
    “From the initial reports, Rane has
already rallied far more soldiers than we had thought possible.”
Nearly ten thousand soldiers had been gathered outside of their
capital. The Rane army alone was over eight times the force Farlan
could muster, but they didn’t want to simply conquer Farlan. They
wanted to destroy it. Rane had petitioned other nearby kingdoms to
aid them in their assault, claiming that Farlan had started the war
by attacking the merchant guild and capital.
    The first reports were vague, but from
what Thad could tell, most of the kingdoms had pledged at least a
small force to aid in the coming battles. “How are we going to hold
out until they arrive?” Thad asked as his mind searched for
answers.
    “Don’t ask me,” Maria said, shaking her
head. “All I know is that we have to win and that you better find
out a way to make it happen.”
    “I might have a bit of good news as
well,” Thad said slyly.
    “Did our eastern force triple since the
last report?” Maria asked sarcastically.
    “No, though I wish it had,” Thad said
thoughtfully. “I have been in contact with the Ablaian queen, and
she is willing to try and sell us ore and weapons as long as
certain taxes are negated.”
    Maria leaned forward, a look of shock
plastered on her face. “I won’t ask how you came to contact the
Ablaians, but are they really willing to come to an agreement? A
few of the