The Warlock Senator (Book 2) Read online

  Fear gripped Erik’s heart for a brief moment, but then he felt a wash of relief. If there was anyone he could trust with his secret besides Al, it was Braun. “Yes Braun, it’s me,” Erik said.

  Braun chewed on his bottom lip and squinted one eye down at Erik. “How?” he asked.

  Erik sighed. “I am not sure. It happened after I went back to Valtuu Temple. Master Lepkin had turned into his dragon form to fight a nightwing.”

  “A nightwing?” Braun asked.

  “A dragon that has been turned evil by Nagar’s Secret,” Erik responded. He looked off into the distance. “Lepkin managed to slay the beast, but he had been in his dragon form for too long. Nagar’s Secret had warped his soul. I used my power to try to save him.” Erik stopped and his eyes watered.

  “Did you succeed?” Braun asked.

  Erik shrugged. “I’m not sure. From what Lady Dimwater and Marlin say, Lepkin and I went into comas and when I woke I was in Lepkin’s body.”

  “And Lepkin is in yours?”

  Erik nodded slowly. “We think so.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “He hasn’t woken up yet,” Erik replied.

  A knock came at the door and then Gildrin walked in, holding a silver tray with a plate of eggs and bacon. “Braun I thought you might like some…” he stopped in his tracks upon seeing Erik awake. “Master Lepkin, how do you feel?”

  Erik shot a glance back up to Braun and then answered Gildrin. “I am much better, thank you. I appreciate your hospitality.”

  “Nonsense,” Gildrin replied. “It is the least I can do for the man who slew my captor.” Gildrin moved in and set the tray next to Erik. “Braun, would you mind if I let Lepkin eat this? I can make a new plate for you.”

  “That is fine,” Braun said quickly. “He needs it more than I do.”

  Gildrin nodded and left the room quickly. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said as he left.

  After the two of them were alone again Braun looked back to Erik. “Well, as always, Master Erik, I stand at your service.”

  Erik smiled. “I know, Braun. Thank you.” A tear fell from Erik’s eye and he fought the lump in his throat. “Thank you for standing with my father.”

  Braun squeezed Erik’s arm but said nothing. He directed Erik’s attention to the food and went to sit back down in the chair. As he watched Erik eat the food he cleaned his fingernails with a short knife. “Tell me something,” he said. “How did you turn into a dragon?”

  “I have no idea,” Erik said. “I guess somehow I was able to tap into Lepkin’s ability since I am in his body.”

  “Hm,” was the only response Braun gave as he went back to cleaning his fingernails.

  Gildrin returned with another tray and brought it to Braun. “When would you like to be off?”

  Braun looked back to Erik. “I will leave that to Master Lepkin,” he said.

  Erik let his fork clank down onto the plate after his last bite of egg and wiped the corners of his mouth with his forefinger and thumb. “I would like to check the bedroom before we leave.”

  Gildrin frowned. “I don’t think there is anything in there. He never even locked that room when he went on trips outside the city.”

  Erik shrugged. “Even so, we are here now so it would only take a little bit of extra time. I would rather make sure we don’t overlook something.”

  Braun piped up through a mouthful of bacon. “I can go now and search the room,” he offered.

  Erik started to move and then stopped suddenly. “Did the healer say I had to take it easy with my leg or anything?”

  Braun shook his head. “No, he said the wound itself wasn’t so bad, it’s just that it had nicked an artery.”

  “But he said he was able to completely repair it with his magic,” Gildrin added quickly. “He said you might ache for a day or two, and there may be some seepage from the wounds, but otherwise you should be alright after that.”

  Erik nodded and slowly swung his feet down to the ground. He gingerly pushed himself up and tested putting his weight on his legs before standing up fully. It stung slightly as he shifted his weight, but it was not overly bothersome. Next he carefully shrugged his left shoulder up and rotated it around. “I think it’s alright,” he told Braun.

  “Alright then, let’s go check out the other room.”

  “I’ll gather the trays and be right behind you,” Gildrin said. He took two steps forward and then stopped. He looked at the tray next to Erik and frowned. “I suppose I don’t need to do that anymore.” Gildrin stared at the tray for a moment with longing eyes and then motioned for Erik and Braun to follow him. “Come, I’ll show you to his bedroom.”

  Erik limped at first, mostly because he wasn’t sure how his leg would respond. It felt a bit tight as he took the first few steps, but it loosened quickly and he was almost walking normally by the time he exited the room.

  He followed Gildrin through the hall, noticing that the man was slowing his pace just enough to look at each bust in the hallway. Erik looked down at the first one and realized that the figures were an homage to ancestors past. Each held a brass plate in its base with the name of the individual the bust represented as well as his birthdate, date of death, and how many years he served in the senate.

  Braun seemed unimpressed by the busts and started to pass Erik and Gildrin on his way to the large double doors at the end of the hall. “You said he never locked it?” Braun asked.

  Gildrin nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Still, perhaps I should check it first?” Erik said. Braun reluctantly stopped and waited for Erik to catch up. Erik called upon his power to search for any spells or barriers. He found none. He nodded to Gildrin and Gildrin pushed the doors open with hardly a care as he strolled into the room.

  The curtains were drawn over the windows, nearly blocking the sunlight out entirely. Gildrin was quick to open them and tie the fabric back in place with gold silk tassels. “I am not sure where you would want to look,” he said. “There are a couple of bookshelves there, a desk there, and…”

  “How about the locked chest?” Braun asked.

  Gildrin frowned. “What chest?” he asked.

  Braun walked over to the side of the bed. A metal corner poked out just enough to be visible under the black coverlet. “This one.” He bent down and pulled a long, rectangular box out from under the bed. Erik inspected the cold, dull gray metal as Braun set the box on the bed. There were three bands of black iron, each with hinges and heavy locks upon them. Braun tapped on one of the locks. “It might take me a few minutes, but I can probably get these open.”

  Erik nodded and went to the desk. This one was not like the desk in the library. It was made of cherry wood and was extremely simple in design. A short hutch held two cubbies and a small drawer. In one cubby was a gold plated hourglass. In the other was a small figurine of a mammoth carved out of ivory. Erik opened the drawer and found some writing instruments, but nothing of interest. Next he turned his eyes to the books on top of the desk. One was a treatise on senate protocol, and another was a history of the senate.

  “Did he spend much time reading these?” Erik asked.

  Gildrin shrugged. “I would find him perusing them on occasion, but most of what I would call his study time was spent in the library.”

  Erik nodded and fanned through the books to see if any notes had been left inside. Other than an old, pressed yellow rose he found nothing. He turned the preserved flower in his hand and then gently set it back inside the book. He then reached down to pull the side drawer out. Inside he found a tray for rings and other jewelry. They looked nice, but none of them were particularly special from what Erik could tell. Most of them were simple silver rings with various patterns etched into them.

  “My former master enjoyed those,” Gildrin said from the other side of the room. “He often purchased a silver ring while he was traveling on business.

  Erik closed the drawer.

  “I got it,”
Braun said. Erik turned and the last of the locks popped open. Erik turned and walked over to Braun.

  “What’s inside?” Erik asked.

  Braun frowned and gently pushed the lid back. “It looks like he might have been the wizard from that tale after all,” he said.

  Erik peered inside and scooped up a short, wooden sword. It was very light, obviously made as a toy for a small child. Under that was an old, threadbare doll with one of its button eyes missing. Erik pulled it out and set it next to the sword. Next he saw a long yellow silk dress. As he unfolded it, a large gold ring with a ruby cut into the shape of a heart fell out and clanked inside the chest.

  “Am I correct in assuming these are the warlock’s?” Braun asked Gildrin.

  Gildrin nodded. “They do not belong to my real master. Senator Bracken never had a family of his own.”

  “What is this?” Erik asked. He reached down and pulled a small leather bound book out of the chest. The binding had come apart and been stitched together with new thread. The pages loosely hung in place and were well worn. “It looks like he read this many times.” Erik said.

  “What is it?” Braun asked.

  Erik turned the book over in his hands, searching for a title. “It looks like the title has been worn off of the cover.” Erik opened the book and gingerly turned to the title page inside. Part of the page had torn away and was missing. “It is hard to make out the title,” Erik said. “All I can see is ‘Aikur’s Wa’ the rest is missing.”

  Gildrin walked around the bed and took the book from Erik. “Of course,” he said with a nod as he thumbed through the pages. “Aikur’s War,” he said. “Have either of you heard of it?”

  “I have,” Braun said. “Isn’t that the legend about the man who travels into Hammenfein to rescue his family’s souls?”

  Gildrin nodded. “The story says that the gods themselves helped him do it after his family was murdered.”

  “Look at this,” Erik said as he pulled out several journals. He opened them to find hand-drawn maps, notes about ancient relics and spells. “It looks like he spent a lot of time studying this book to figure out how to bring his own family back to life.”

  “But the legend isn’t true, it’s just a story,” Gildrin retorted.

  “Story or not, it looks as though he took it as fact,” Braun said.

  “There are a lot of notes in these journals,” Erik said. “We should take these with us.”

  “With us?” Braun asked.

  Erik nodded. “It would take too long to read all of them thoroughly. There are six journals here, each with hundreds of pages. We can start working on them as we travel to Lokton Manor. Maybe something in here will help us.”

  Braun shrugged. “I could pack them into saddle bags.” Braun turned to Gildrin. “Can you help me prepare those four horses you mentioned?”

  “The horses are in a stable nearby, but we can pack the bags here and then take them along with us.”

  Erik nodded. “Let’s go.”

  The three of them left the room and descended the stairs to the main room on the first floor. Erik stopped at the bottom as his left leg began to ache and spasm.

  “Are you alright?” Braun asked.

  Erik nodded. “Perhaps I should sit for a moment before we depart for Lokton manor,” he stated.

  Braun and Gildrin nodded. Erik rested on a couch near a fireplace by the rear entrance while Braun and Gildrin went around the house preparing provisions for the journey. Once they were ready they returned to Erik.

  Erik stood and nodded to them. “I am doing a lot better than I was,” he said.

  “Good, let’s go,” Braun said decisively. “I am not going to let Lokton Manor fall.”

  The three of them walked out the back door and started down the steps. Gildrin cried out and dropped the backpack he was carrying. Erik and Braun turned to see him grabbing his left arm as he fell to his knees and tumbled down the last two steps to land face-first in the flowerbed.

  Braun left Erik’s side and rushed to Gildrin. “What is it?” he asked. He turned Gildrin over and saw the man’s eyes frozen open in pain. Braun put a finger to the man’s neck, searching for a pulse he would not find. “He’s gone,” Braun said.

  “The curse,” Erik said as he realized what happened.

  “No,” Braun retorted. “He said the curse was only active while the warlock was alive.”

  “I know,’ Erik said.

  Braun turned a confused look to Erik. “You killed him yourself, he’s gone.”

  Erik looked down to Gildrin’s body and shook his head. “Somehow, the warlock is alive.”

  Books by Sam Ferguson

  The Dragon’s Champion Series:

  The Dragon’s Champion

  The Warlock Senator

  The Dragon’s Test (Coming Soon)

  The Netherworld Gate Series:

  The Tomni’Tai Scroll

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I like to call myself a well-traveled story teller of Irish and Cherokee heritage. Currently I live near a Stone Bridge on Eagle Mountain, however, I count seven U.S. states as home. I have spent several years abroad, first as a missionary in the Baltic States and currently as a Diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. When I'm not wrestling with my sons or hefting iron in the gym I can be found at home relaxing with my wife or setting pen to paper, bringing stories to life.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Books by Sam Ferguson

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR