The Sorcery Code

Chapter 30: Augusta




“Augusta, this is Colin. He is a blacksmith’s apprentice from Blaise’s territory,” Ganir told her, gesturing toward the young man standing in the middle of the room. The man was a peasant; it was obvious both from his appearance and from the deferential way he held himself.

Augusta raised her eyebrows in surprise. What was this commoner doing in Ganir’s chambers? When the Council Leader summoned her this morning, she had gone eagerly, knowing he likely had news about Blaise’s creation.

“Tell her what you told me,” said Ganir to the young man. As usual, the Council Leader was sitting behind his desk, observing everything with his sharp gaze.

“I was dancing with her, as I told his lordship,” the man said obediently, staring at Augusta with awe and admiration. “Then she just disappeared.”

“The ‘she’ in question sounds like the one we’re looking for,” Ganir told Augusta. “Physically, she’s just as you described—blond, blue-eyed, and quite beautiful. Isn’t that right, Colin?”

The peasant nodded. “Oh yes, quite beautiful.” There was something about how he said the last word that rubbed Augusta the wrong way—aside from the fact that he apparently lusted after the creature.

Augusta’s eyes narrowed. As she had suspected, Blaise had lied about the creature being unstable in the Physical Realm. “Explain what you meant by ‘disappeared’,” she ordered, looking at the commoner.

“One moment she was backing away,” the man said uncertainly, as though embarrassed about something, “then she made me feel awful, and then she was not standing where she was.” His face flushed unbecomingly.

“Tell Augusta exactly what happened,” Ganir commanded, a slightly cruel smile appearing on his face.

“She didn’t want to dance with me, and I was trying to get close to her,” Colin admitted, his face reddening further.

“And what happened next?” Ganir prompted. “If I am forced to repeat this question one more time, you might visit the dungeon of this Tower.”

The peasant paled at the threat. “I soiled myself, my lady,” he admitted, looking like he wanted to disappear through the floor. “She made me feel scared and confused at the same time, and all my muscles involuntarily relaxed. And she just vanished, like she wasn’t even there.”

Augusta wrinkled her nose in disgust. Peasants.

“You are free to go, Colin,” Ganir said, finally taking pity on the man. “When you come out, send in the clown.”

Still visibly embarrassed, the peasant hurried out of the room.

“So it is definitely a she,” Ganir said thoughtfully once they were alone again.

“It is an it.” Augusta didn’t like where Ganir was going with this. “We already knew that it had assumed a feminine shape.”

“It’s one thing to have a feminine shape,” the old sorcerer said, a curious expression appearing on his face, “but it’s quite different when that shape is one that young men want to dance with. And it’s yet another thing altogether when the shape starts acting like a girl and refusing some idiot’s attentions.”

Augusta gave him a sharp look. What he was talking about was the very thing that made her so uneasy. Blaise’s horrible creation was acting human, like it was one of them. “That’s partially what makes this thing so dangerous,” she told Ganir. “It manipulates people with its appearance, and they don’t see it for the horror that it is.” The whole situation was sickening, as far as Augusta was concerned.


The Council Leader shrugged. “Perhaps. The fact that she’s so beautiful does make her more noticeable—and easier to track. All my men had to do was ask about a pretty blond who may or may not have done some strange things.”

“That is a plus,” Augusta agreed, though her stomach clenched with disgust and something resembling jealousy. She hated the idea of this creature out there, seducing other men like she had already seduced Blaise.

“Indeed.” Ganir smiled, looking inexplicably amused.

Augusta thought back to what the young man just told them, her eyebrows coming together in a slight frown. “So it sounds like the thing spontaneously teleported itself after making that peasant sick,” she said, puzzled. “He didn’t say anything about it using an Interperter Stone or doing any verbal spells.”

“Yes.” Ganir looked impressed. “It seems like she doesn’t need any of our tools to connect to the Spell Realm. It makes sense, given her origins.”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and another man came in. This one was a bit older, with tired-looking features and thin, greying hair.

“My lord, you summoned me?” His voice shook slightly. It was clear the commoner was terrified to be at the Tower.

“Tell her what happened, clown,” said Ganir, gesturing toward Augusta.

Augusta gave the visitor a small, encouraging smile. The man looked far too frightened; the last thing they needed was for another peasant to soil himself.

Her ploy worked; the man visibly relaxed. “I was at the fair, entertaining children and doing tricks for them,” he began, and Augusta realized that the man was quite literally a clown. “A little girl got pushed into a stack of barrels at the ale merchant’s stall next to mine. A barrel started falling on her, and a beautiful sorceress saved the girl by stopping the barrel. She made it float in mid-air, my lady . . .” His tone was almost reverent.

Augusta got chills down her back. The thing could levitate objects, as well as teleport on a whim. Granted, most sorcerers could do a relatively simple verbal spell and make a barrel float, but no one would’ve been able to do it fast enough to save the child from the falling object.

“Did she utter any words?” she asked, staring at the clown. “Was there anything in her hands?”

“No.” The man shook his head. “I don’t think she uttered a single word, and I didn’t see her holding anything. It all happened so fast.”

“Was she alone?” Augusta asked.

“There were two older women with her.”

“Please describe them for me,” Augusta requested, although she was beginning to guess at their identities.

“It is Maya and Esther, as you would suspect,” Ganir interrupted. Looking at the man, he waved toward the door. “You can go now, clown.”

“Are you sure it’s those old crones?” Augusta asked when the man left the room. She remembered them well. The two old women had constantly meddled in her former fiancé’s life, showing up at his house unannounced and generally fussing over him. Blaise tolerated their attentions with good humor, but Augusta had found them annoying.

“Quite sure,” Ganir confirmed. “I had both witnesses use a Life Capture and recall the event.”

“So what’s next?” Augusta asked, taking a few steps toward his desk. “We now know where the creature is, right?”

“No, actually, we don’t.” Ganir leaned forward, looking at her intently. “Apparently, Esther and Maya’s house is abandoned. No one close to them was able to say where the women went. It seems like we’ll have to wait longer to locate the creature—or we could try reasoning with Blaise again.”

Augusta frowned. Talking to Blaise again sounded like a terrible idea to her. She certainly wasn’t about to confront him by herself. “Do you think he would talk to you?” she asked doubtfully.

Ganir considered that for a moment. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “If I thought he’d talk to me, I would not have gotten you involved in this. But it might be worth a try at this point.”

“Didn’t he vow to kill you on sight?” Augusta asked, recalling Blaise’s fury with the man he’d once regarded as a second father.

“He did indeed.” Ganir’s face darkened with something resembling sorrow. “But we have to get through to him somehow, to contain the situation before the rest of the Council hears about it.”

“Yes.” Augusta could see Ganir’s point. “Something must be done and swiftly, before this creature has a chance to wreak further havoc.”

The Council Leader nodded, but there was a thoughtful expression on his face. “Have you noticed that she saved a child?” he said slowly, cocking his head to the side. “This creation of Blaise’s might not be as monstrous as you imagine.”

“What?” Augusta stared at him in disbelief. “No. That doesn’t mean anything. One act of compassion—if that’s what it was—does not eliminate the threat that this thing poses. You know that as well as I do.”

“Actually, I’m not sure I agree,” Ganir said quietly. “I think we need to study her before we make any rash decisions.”

“Are you saying you no longer wish to destroy it?”

“I never said we would destroy it. I need to know more about her before I do something so irrevocable.”

“You just want to use it,” Augusta said incredulously, the truth beginning to dawn on her. “That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? You just want to use the creature to gain more power—”

Ganir’s expression hardened, his eyes flashing with anger. “You’re accusing me of grabbing for power? I’m already the head of the Council. Why don’t you take a closer look at your own affairs instead?”

Confused, Augusta took a step back. She had no idea what the old man was talking about.

“Leave me now,” he said, gesturing dismissively toward the door. “I will send word when I hear more.”