Dallas woke and rolled off the haystack where he slept the rest of the night after the midnight dismantling of the spelled door. He heard Swift and Sweetie moving around in the stall the other side of the pile of hay. Misty remained asleep on a lower stack of hay inside the next empty stall to the trackers.
Weak sunlight streamed in through the open stable doors highlighting dust swirling in a gentle breeze. The pale light and cool breeze reminded him autumn was quickly passing and he needed to return to the property to wait out the winter months, as soon as Swift and Sweetie removed the second wall of magic.
He shook straw off his cloak and tossed it on the top of his bedding. He quickly rolled and tied the bedding before he dumped it in the corner of the stall on top of his saddle.
He grabbed a brush and worked his way down Swift’s back, appreciating Swift’s images while she leaned into each brush stroke.
Misty woke five minutes later and rolled her bedding before she joined him in grooming the horses.
“What now?” Misty frowned at a spot of mud that remained on Sweetie’s chest after she brushed it.
“We wait for Mage Stantworth to deliver Veda to the dragons for healing. When he returns, I will make him understand that Mage Crompton, and possibly Mage Vince, set the trap to capture you by paying slavers to remove folk from my property.”
“They did not succeed!” She scratched dried mud off Sweetie’s chest, then brushed until the mare’s chest shone.
“Don’t remove all her hide.” Dallas smiled at the look of outrage on Misty’s face.
She could not hold her shocked expression of raised eyebrows and open mouth for long. A smile spread and her eyes twinkled. “Idiot!”
“Seriously, I don’t think Mage Stantworth understands what is happening at Idion’s property.” Dallas finished brushing Swift’s rear legs and dropped the brush next to his saddle.
“What doesn’t he understand? The family was killed. The two youngsters escaped with one of their slaves. Mage Crompton is torturing everyone he can, to gather more magic.” Misty reached for Sweetie’s saddle blanket. She spread it over the lower half of the stable door and attacked it with her brush. “Saddle them now?”
“No. Leave them here to rest until we are ready to remove the second wall.”
Satisfied both mares were comfortable in the stall, Dallas and Misty walked around to the front of the three storey building.
A young boy, about eight or nine, waited on the top step. “Nebar said you have to break your fast now, because you will be busy once the mage returns.” He bobbed his head and raced inside.
Misty smiled. “In a hurry to get somewhere. I guess the food is in the same room as last night?”
“Likely.” Dallas led the way along the corridor and entered the large dining room.
The smell of candle wax mixed with the strong smells of waiting food, even though the half-melted candles were extinguished.
Unshuttered narrow windows allowed enough morning light into the room for Dallas to see waiting platters of cheese, cold sliced mutton, fried turnips and marrows spread along the table, along with jugs of milk, cider and water.
Misty retrieved two plates and stacked food on them before she took a seat close to the opened door.
Dallas sat next to her and ate everything on his plate before Mage Stantworth strolled into the room.
“Good! Both here!” He reached for a chunk of cheese and ate it while he stared out one of the narrow windows. “Misty, I need to talk to Dallas in private. Wait outside.”
“Why? I know more than Dallas understands of this situation.” Misty glared at the mage.
“What do you know?” Mage Stantworth walked across to the table and sat opposite Dallas.
“First, is Veda a mage?” Misty smiled at the mage.
“No! What makes you say that?”
“Well, we know she was visiting Idion’s place. We know Mage Crompton attacked Idion and killed everyone he could find. We know his son and daughter escaped and fled north. I know Crompton tortures his victims to gather magic.” She paused to see if both Dallas and Stantworth agreed with her list of facts. “Now, either Veda is a mage and escaped her pain by returning to her room and setting the magic in the walls to stop Crompton from reaching her, or, Crompton put her in her room so whoever broke into her room would follow the magic back to him. I expect he wanted a strong mage so he could steal their magic.”
Dallas was surprised with Misty’s thinking but he agreed with all of it. “Or it is another trap to recapture you and the trackers.”
Misty nodded. “Yes, Crompton wants to get me back. And he did steal Heath’s horse until clever Swift rescued him.” She had another thought and stared at the mage for a moment before she spoke. “You were in a hurry to remove Veda. Was it to get her away from her brother before he understood she is a mage?”
“Do not repeat that!” Mage Stantworth stared at Misty until she nodded acceptance. “I believe the adobe wall is a doorway to another place, so, you may be correct in thinking it is a trap. It is only a trap if we are not aware of it.” He reached for another chunk of cheese and chewed while he thought.
Dallas broke the silence. “Can all mages create such a doorway or only a few?”
The mage swallowed what was in his mouth. “Only a very strong mage can create a doorway. I doubt a minor mage like Crompton could do so.”
“Then it was Veda!” Misty smiled smugly.
Mage Stantworth ignored her remark. “The council sent me to Hedgehill to locate the mage and stop his excessive use of ichur. I found the spell and tried to remove it. It just kept rebuilding. I decided to ask the trackers to help remove it. Which they did.”
Dallas hoped he did not show surprise on his face when he heard that admission from Mage Stantworth, that his trackers were stronger at removing ichur than Stantworth.
“Bring the trackers back to Veda’s room. When they remove the ichur you two can return to your property.”
“What do you expect will happen if Swift removes the adobe wall?” Dallas wondered if the wall left an opening to another place or just disappeared. “If the door remains, any strong mage could step through into Hedgehill. Once here he would have a base to attack Convane’s border guards and establish another base inside Convane.”
“It was a pity you did not question Carl and his sister before they reached the border.” Mage Stantworth stood. “Or questioned the slavers before you killed them.”
“Did you question Veda? Or the female Bren delivered to the city?” Misty stood.
Dallas thought Misty pushed too hard. If Mage Stantworth got angry again, the horses were not close enough to protect her, or him. He also stood. “I think we should study the wall again before I get the horses.”
* * *
When Dallas walked into the room he noticed someone had placed a new candle in the holder next to the bed, but it remained unlit, leaving the room in dark shadows hiding both side walls.
What he could see of the room was the same as the previous night. Crumpled bed covers, same sparse furniture.
Except for the adobe wall.
Even in the dim light, Dallas could see that the adobe wall had crumbled. Piles of dirt covered the floor. All that remained were two wooden posts supporting a wooden lintel which framed an adobe door. No hinges or gaps. Just a faint silvery glow embedded in the timber posts.
“Well. I think this proves my theory.” Misty walked across to the door and stared at it. “Once Veda was removed from the room the magic stopped.” She held her hand out, inches from the right post.
“Do not touch it. Magic remains.” Mage Stantworth retrieved the candle and waved his palm over it. The wick smoked, then a flame danced on the tip of the wick.
“I know a spell when I see it. Heat haze!” Misty stepped closer and studied the door. “I need light.”
Dallas pressed his lips together. He did not want to discuss heat hazes around strong spells, not in front of Mage Stantworth, or any one else. Then he smiled at the thought that one day she might place her hand against something that emitted a heat haze, not knowing if it was extremely hot or a spell, and get burnt. He dismissed that thought and looked at the mage to see how he interacted with Misty.
Mage Stantworth held the candle up.
Dallas tried not to smile at the sight of black haired Misty and the tall, thin. dark haired mage standing with heads close together, as they studied the adobe door. The mage hunched his shoulders and bent his knees to lower his head level with Misty, who was only five feet, four inches tall.
“No hinges. But I can see a very thin line between the door and the pine posts.” She pointed to the gap. Then she noticed a small depression close to the right side of the door. “And look here. A depression. Could it be the door handle?”
Dallas moved to stand on Misty’s left so he could see the depression. She was correct. The candle Mage Stantworth held cast a shadow over a small depression. “Let me.”
Misty stepped back.
Dallas placed his right palm over the small depression and pushed.
Nothing happened.
Mage Stantworth used his left index finger to trace the edge of the depression.
Nothing happened.
Then the mage placed his finger in the middle of the depression.
A click sounded and the adobe slab swung inwards.
Dallas and Misty moved back from the door, so it would not slam into their bodies.
The door stopped swinging three inches from touching the left post. Fascinating. No hinges that he could see, but the door worked.
Misty bumped his right arm as she moved closer to see through the opening around the mage’s body. She did not pull back, too engrossed in the view.
Dallas looked through the opening. No heat haze distorted his vision.
He was at the back of a cell with bars on the far side. On the far side of the bars, light from a recently lit brazier flickered off whitewashed adobe walls and a bench next to the brazier. Metal knives, chains, tongs, and other torture implements were spread across the bench.
He did not want to imagine how the tools worked, so studied the rest of the room while he breathed in hot humid air, filled with stale sweat and other bodily wastes.
“What will happen if we step into the cell?” Misty took a step forward, ready to walk through the opening, but Dallas grabbed her arm and stopped her.
The mage studied the wooden posts supporting the door. “Interesting! No heat haze. No residue! Whoever created this distance door knew how to set a permanent spell.”
“Is it safe to step through?” Dallas understood that a vast distance was compressed into the six inch width of the door posts. If he stepped through he would end up a long way south of Hedgehill.
“I expect you will feel slightly disoriented for a moment. Or,” Mage Stantworth touched the edge of the left post then moved his hand across to the far side of the post. As soon as his fingers reached the far edge, he pulled his hand back. “nothing at all.”
“What do you mean by nothing at all.” Dallas looked at Misty. “I will go through first.”
Misty frowned but did not respond.
Dallas took a step across the threshold. Humidity wrapped around him. He breathed in. And out.
Dallas stared through the bars at two naked slaves strapped to tables. The unconscious male on the left bled from multiple cuts. The other table held a woman. Dallas thought she was dead until she moaned softly.
Even though he could not see any cuts, he sensed she was in pain. Then he realised her feet pointed at odd angles to her legs. Both were broken. So were her hands.
He looked at her face and recognised her. She was one of the slaves who bathed him when he visited Idion’s property.