“Let me live, and I will.”
~
The next day, Whit had heavy bars installed on all the windows of his house. He tested every inside lock after they were done.
At the end of a tiring day, a visitor walked through the front door without knocking. Whit was on the second floor and looked down from the stairs.
“Canis Bache. Did you come to check on my modifications?” Whit asked.
“I did. I have to make sure my investment in you and this house is secure,” Canis said. He walked in and began checking on the bars. “I made sure the ironmonger you used put this protection in according to my specifications, and it looks like they did.”
“You are satisfied?” Whit asked.
“I am. I wondered if your visitors would have come if you hadn’t exposed Deechie when you arrived back in Herringbone.”
“I had the same thought today, but,” Whit shrugged, “now we know they know Deechie stole fakes. It helped expose his bad behavior.”
Canis nodded. “One less thing to worry about,” he said. “Let’s bring Torius out of his dungeon and have a little chat about your next mission. Some of them have changed.”
“I’m not going to interrupt my expedition for a mission,” Whit said.
“You won’t have to,” Canis said, “depending on where you are going to go.”
Argien appeared.
“Take Canis into the sitting room while I fetch Torius Pott,” Whit said to the angel. He was already on his way to the kitchen and ran down the stairs to get the gnome.
A few minutes later, Zarl wandered in from doing something he didn’t want to talk about on the top floor of Whit’s house.
Whit looked expectantly at Canis. “Here is half my team. What is the mission?”
“Canis shrugged his shoulders. “I assume you are going to Poxaltia and Coria?
“That was the plan, although we might have to cut our expedition short. School starts in three weeks, so I was thinking of skipping Poxaltia this time. There are two artifacts in Coria, and they are both supposedly in Arbelon, the capital.”
Canis smiled and pulled a list from the pocket of his jacket. “I have a different contact for you to make. It is Princess Merrya.”
“And what are we supposed to do after we have introduced ourselves to a real princess?” Whit said.
After raising his eyebrows, Canis said, “You’ve hobnobbed with kings before.”
“With a king, not a princess,” Whit said, but he knew Canis had him. “Do you have a message?”
Canis smiled again. “Merrya will give you the message. There might be a paltry task involved, but I’m sure you are up to it.”
“Is everyone mad at the princess?” Argien said. “We’d rather not repeat what happened in Perisia.”
“Not everyone,” Canis said. “But the queen has, on occasion, been furious with her daughter.”
“No abduction?” Whit asked.
“None envisioned,” Canis said.
Whit didn’t believe him. “Three weeks, and I’ll give you my best effort.”
“Your team can participate all they want. No reason to keep it a secret. You three did rather well fighting off the best assassins the circle could assemble.” Canis said to Whit, Zarl, and Argien. “The three women were from the Magician’s Circle, and the men were hired assassins.”
“That was quick work to find that out,” Zarl said.
“I can work fast if I have to,” Canis said with a smirk.
“Will Torius be protected enough in his flat if we leave?” Argien asked.
“I will make sure of it. You did well, sparing the wench’s life. Your demonstration might have fooled them, but we will see what happens when you have to transport the real parts to show the expedition judges.”
“We can come to that when the time comes,” Whit said. “Perhaps you can think of something,” he said to Canis.
“I can’t possibly think of anyone better to take up that task. I am impressed with the accounts of the fighting,” Canis said. “I’m sure Perisia was good experience. Keep it up.”
“We will,” Whit said, thinking his life depended on it.
End of Excerpt
A Bit About Guy
~
With a lifelong passion for speculative fiction, Guy Antibes found that he enjoyed writing fantasy, as well as reading it. So, a career was born, and Guy anxiously engaged in adding his own flavor of writing to the world. Guy lives in the western part of the United States and is happily married with enough children and grandchildren to meet or exceed the human replacement rate.
You can contact Guy at his website: www.guyantibes.com.
†
Books by Guy Antibes
The Augur’s Eye
Book One: The Rise of Whit
Book Two: The King’s Spy
The Adventures of Desolation Boxster
Book One: Prince on the Run
Book Two: Theft of an Ancient Dog
Book Three: The Blue Tower
Book Four: The Swordmaker’s Secret
Book Five: A Clash of Magics
~
Wizard’s Helper
Book One: The Serpent’s Orb
Book Two: The Warded Box
Book Three: Grishel’s Feather
Book Four: The Battlebone
Book Five: The Polished Penny
Book Six: The Hidden Mask
Book Seven: The Buckle’s Curse
Book Eight: The Purloined Soul
~
Book One: A Boy Without Magic
Book Two: An Apprentice Without Magic
Book Three: A Voyager Without Magic
Book Four: A Scholar Without Magic
Book Five: A Snoop Without Magic
~
Song of Sorcery
Book One: A Sorcerer Rises
Book Two: A Sorcerer Imprisoned
Book Three: A Sorcerer’s Diplomacy
Book Four: A Sorcerer’s Rings
Book Five: A Sorcerer’s Fist
~
The Disinherited Prince
Book One: The Disinherited Prince
Book Two: The Monk’s Habit
Book Three: A Sip of Magic
Book Four: The Sleeping God
Demeron: A Horse’s Tale - A Disinherited Prince Novella
Book Five: The Emperor’s Pet
Book Six: The Misplaced Prince
Book Seven: The Fractured Empire
~
Power of Poses
Book One: Magician in Training
Book Two: Magician in Exile
Book Three: Magician in Captivity
Book Four: Magician in Battle
~
The Warstone Quartet
Book One: Moonstone | Magic That Binds
Book Two: Sunstone | Dishonor’s Bane
Book Three: Bloodstone | Power of Youth
Book Four: Darkstone | An Evil Reborn
~
The World of the Sword of Spells
Warrior Mage
Sword of Spells
~
The Sara Featherwood Adventures
Knife & Flame
Sword & Flame
Guns & Flame
~
Other Novels
Quest of the Wizardess
The Power Bearer
Panix: Magician Spy
Hand of Grethia
~
The Guy Antibes Anthologies
The Alien Hand
Science Fiction
The Purple Flames
Steampunk & Paranormal Fantasy with a tinge of Horror
Angel in Bronze
Fantasy
~
with friends