The Wizard's Treasure (The Dragon Nimbus) by Irene Radford Read Free Book Online

tendrils of flame too close to his head and spread to his hair. He yelped and scuttled away.
    Lanciar sent a quick spell to negate the witchfire—only magic could douse it.
    Rejiia whirled to confront the one who dared to interfere with her games. Blotches of red on her white skin showed her outrage.
    Lanciar ducked out of sight.
    At that moment of distraction, Zolltarn physically grabbed the statue of Krej and retreated. He and his men seemed to disappear before Lanciar’s eyes.
    But Lanciar knew Zolltarn of old. The Rover used tricks that mimicked magic, requiring little actual magical energy. Here in Hanassa magicians could not tap the energy of ley lines or of dragons. Both shunned the city of outlaws.
    Lanciar allowed his eyes to cross once more and looked for the distortions in light patterns that meant stealthy movement. He had to smile at the trick played upon Rejiia. Her own arrogance had given her a false sense of security. Good. She’d be so outraged at the challenges to her authority she might drop her guard around her son.
    Ripples in the light showed all of the Rovers headed for the tunnel exit from the city. The rest of the clan waited just outside the gates with their loaded sledges, and their steeds, ready to flee.
    “I expected more subtlety from you, Zolltarn,” Lanciar chuckled.
    The Rover chieftain flashed his magnificent smile in Lanciar’s direction. Zolltarn spoke directly into Lanciar’s mind, The game is not yet finished, young soldier. But time is short. She planned to free Krej this night. The Commune cannot allow that.
    The statue of Krej passed from Rover hand to Rover hand. One wrapped it in silk. Another threw a coarse blanket over it. Then it disappeared inside the round cabinlike structure atop the lead sledge.
    Lanciar could find no trace of the statue or the life it contained with either his magic or his mundane senses.
    Rejiia whirled and watched the activity.
    “After him! I want Zolltarn’s head.” She stamped her foot, and three magicians ran to do her bidding. “One thousand gold drageen for the return of my father!” she added.
    Krej didn’t seem nearly as important to her as the blemish to her dignity.
    Rejiia’s magician entourage wrung their hands in indecision.
    Zolltarn turned and saluted Rejiia with his famous smile and a wave of his hand.
    “Damn!” Rejiia stamped her foot again.
    Was that an aftershock of the previous quake that seemed to drop the Kardia from beneath Lanciar’s feet or a measure of her anger?
    “When I retrieve my father, I’ll have my son back from his Rover wet nurse as well,” Rejiia called in the wake of her magicians.
    What?
    Lanciar burned with anger equal to Rejiia’s. Had one of the babies carried by the Rover tribe been his son?
    Rejiia drew in a deep breath, held it, and let it out through her teeth three times in preparation for a trance.
    Lanciar mimicked her actions. He’d follow both Rejiia and Zolltarn into the void and back if he had to. Quickly, he sought Zolltarn’s mind along the path of his earlier communication. This little bit of magic would drain his energy reserves, but he had to try. He needed to know the Rover’s next trick.
    He met a blankness deeper than the void. All Rovers had impressive and instinctive magical armor.
    Rejiia scrunched her face in an ugly scowl of frustration. She hadn’t been able to penetrate Zolltarn’s mind either.
    A peculiar sparkle appeared in the light surrounding the entire Rover clan and their possessions. All of them disappeared in a flash of crackling lightning.
    Wind rushed to fill the vacuum left by their transport to elsewhere. It moved so quickly and violently that bits of wood and cloth, ash, leftover food, and broken tools swirled together in a series of tornadoes.
    Lanciar threw up an arm to protect his eyes.
    Then all became quiet again.
    S’murghit! Zolltarn had mastered the transport spell. Lanciar couldn’t follow them. He didn’t know the secret of coming out the