Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,70
fury.
Torches cast flickering shadows as they entered the main hall, the walls made of the same black basalt as the rest of the fortress. There was something peculiarly Spartan about the castle, giving the impression it was built for military purposes more than anything else. The furniture was aged and scratched, a confusing jumble of long tables and wooden benches. The only splashes of ornamentation were a few tapestry scenes—mostly depictions of battles—covering the stone walls, hiding behind curtains faded and dusty from years of neglect.
The pièce de résistance was obviously the large skull that graced the walls of the main hall, displayed proudly for everyone to see. Its jaw hung open, large enough to swallow a grown man whole, and bony wings extended on either side.
“Goddamn,” Ken said, staring. “That’s one hell of a way to welcome someone into a castle.”
“Dragon, maybe?” Zoe guessed. “Not all their bones find their way into museums.”
Some of the knights eyed her warily, and Tala thought she knew why. The torches that littered the walls inside the Count of Tintagel’s castle were obviously made of some kind of ancient spelltech, and every one of them flickered out when Tala passed by, only to glow back to life once she was some distance away. Despite their lord’s geniality, his men’s faces were dark and grim, their eyes lingering on the firebird at Alex’s shoulder with the same unease they did Tala. If Alex shared her worries, he didn’t look it; he walked like he was born for these walls, head raised and chin jutted out proudly as if he weren’t the exiled ruler of a forgotten nation. She briefly caught his eye, and he managed a small smile.
“Later,” he murmured.
West conversed quietly with his uncle, gesturing enthusiastically with his hands as he explained their situation, with Zoe quietly filling in details the boy neglected to mention. At one point, the count gave a sudden bark of laughter. “You must have found my mother’s gingerbread cottage. She was a fairly well known witch once, before she married my father. T’would explain how you found yourself within our boundaries. I’m surprised to find the mirror still works.”
“She doesn’t eat children or anything, does she?” Tala muttered, not really intending to be overheard, but Zoe was a few feet away and grinned.
“Don’t believe all the tales you’ve read. Not all witches are bad. Although I’m not really sure I’m a big believer in divination. Sounds a little like pseudoastrology to me.”
“That’s so typical of a Taurus to say, Zo,” Ken scoffed. “You think the Snow Queen’s responsible for prolonging time here?”
“Maybe, but I’m not sure how that would serve her.”
Ken and Loki were looking around. Cole appeared impatient, glaring at the main doors like they affronted him in some way.
A few servants approached, offering bowls of clean water and rough washcloths. Tala stared at hers in confusion, until Zoe dipped her fingers into the nearest bowl, washing off the dirt and soot of the day’s journey from her hands, and Tala quickly followed suit. It felt like she’d taken a step into the pages of a history book; there were no modern conveniences as far as she could determine, and she was briefly worried that their host preferred all feudal magic over recent technology, favoring chamber pots and outhouses instead of a good working toilet.
“So, that’s what the knights were doing, weren’t they?” Ken asked suddenly, his eyes widening in belated understanding. “They were checking our eyes to see if we were one of the Deathless.”
“After what happened to the students in Invierno, I’m glad they’re choosing to be careful,” Zoe said, voice grim. “I’m sure there’s quite a few of them still wandering Avalon. The ice maidens have been busy.”
“Why do they keep looking at me like that?” Tala muttered.
“The Makilings are one of Avalon’s more renowned allies, and from the way you’ve been disrupting their enchantments, I think they’ve guessed who you are.”
“And they know…about my father?”
Zoe paused. “Do you know your uncle’s opinion on that, West?”
The boy shrugged. “My uncle, like most of my family, is loyal to the Avalon king first and foremost.”
“Can your uncle be trusted to keep his silence, then?”
“My uncle follows the old ways and the old loyalties. They’re a weird family, even by our standards. He won’t say anything. The Tintagels like firebirds. Even dragons, when others hated them. My family are fans of old bespelled magic, but my uncle takes it to extremes. It’s why they left Maidenkeep