Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2), B.T. Narro [digital book reader txt] 📗

with the promise that he would convince his fellow krepps that we humans in Lycast were honorable and that our enemies in Rohaer were dishonorable. He’d also excitedly told me that he and other krepps would be back soon to trade with us. I didn’t know exactly what that trade would entail, but it wasn’t my duty to worry about it.

My duty was to train, and so I trained as I started to wake up. After a short while, I heard multiple footsteps on the stairs.

I wiped a sheen of sweat from my forehead. I’m perspiring just from holding my mana at lower frequencies. I really need more rest. The king stepped up onto the last step, and a man I had not seen before came up just behind him.

“Sire,” I said with a bow. “I assume you heard from the councilman about the incident last night?”

“Yes, that is why I’m here. First let me finally introduce you to Byron Lawson.”

Byron was younger than I’d imagined. I’d always pictured him as a mentor to my father because my father had joined his service when he was about my age of eighteen. But Byron was not an old man, not at all. The only gray hair on his head was mixed into his salt-and-pepper beard. He had lush brown hair, a little messy, but it did nothing to detract from his handsome face. He had kind eyes and an approachable smile. If I hadn’t trusted him already from everything my father had said, his friendly demeanor probably would’ve done it alone.

He must’ve been a young man when he started acting as lord of Tryn. Perhaps his father had died young like mine, like Michael’s…and like so many others boys’ fathers, especially given the recent rebellion in Lycast that had led to the coronation of Nykal Lennox.

“It is an honor to meet you,” I said as I bowed in front of Byron.

“Please, Jon,” he said as he stuck out his hand. “I would much prefer a handshake.”

I gladly shook his hand. I used to have so many questions for him about my father. Though after the recent encounter with Cason, my curiosity seemed almost pointless.

My father had kept a few things from me, I’d discovered from Leon, who had actually met my father in Tryn many years ago. Father had never spoken of dark mages or of Leon—a sorcerer who wanted revenge against these dark mages for stealing all his hard-earned coin, yet Leon ended up in prison. It was an interesting story even if I had never met him. There had to be a reason Father had kept it from me when he’d shared many other tales of his work.

He’d also never told me how he wanted the lord of Tryn to do more to stop these dark mages. It was most likely the reason he had decided to leave Tryn with my mother when she was carrying me in her womb. He didn’t trust the lord of Tryn or the king at the time to stop the growing corruption that now infested Lycast…and threatened the good people who lived here, along with the new king.

But I could feel no bitterness toward Byron, who seemed pained as he looked at me. I felt like I knew him. He’d always tried to do the right thing; my father had said this. Even if Byron had been wrong and my father right, I could not hold a grudge against someone for trying their best.

“I’m very sorry we couldn’t meet sooner,” he said.

“The king explained to me how busy you are. It’s not a problem.” With the help of Barrett Edgar, the king’s harbinger and councilman, Byron had been relieving every guard from service who did not agree to the new contract. New men vowing to surveil and protect must first pledge to end the spread of dteria and stop abuse in all forms. Barrett bound each new constable to this pledge through ordia. The seven other sorcerers and I were also bound by a contract of ordia, this one ensuring we’d protect the king against all harm. Apparently, it was possible to act against such a contract, but it required so much willpower that it would have to be the most important thing in the world to violate such an agreement.

It reminded me of the guard who said he would leave service because of his worry for his family. Violating his contract really did involve the most important thing in the world to him—keeping himself and his family safe. I figured Byron had spoken with this man last night, as well as dealt with the body he had delivered. We couldn’t have dead guards lying in the street.

“You did well last night,” King Nykal told me. “What happened after you apprehended those three men was not your fault.”

I lowered my head in gratitude but could not say the words. I still felt like I might’ve been able to do more.

“What’s the plan now, sire?” I asked.

“Cason will be found as soon as he makes himself known. Once we have him, the entire organization of dark mages should crumble. According to Jennava, all of them rely on Cason. There are other dark mages ready to take his place as leader, but none with the same skill of sorcery.”

I wondered if that meant Cason’s plan largely relied upon his strength. There were things he did with dteria that I didn’t know were possible. But dvinia was similar. I figured that meant I might be able to one day lift someone off the ground.

Can I even lift myself? I didn’t see why not. It was just a matter of enclosing the force of mana around my body strongly enough to hold me and then directing the mana upward.

“Are there any leads that might point us toward Cason’s whereabouts?” I asked.

“Many after last night,” the king said. “I expect him to be brought to the castle today if he is not killed outright.”

I wondered if the king’s