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

one day, and I didn’t want to encourage the competition. He was like you, Jon, with a wide range of mana and big dreams. Nykal was the one who Cason first found to fulfill these dreams.”

I didn’t care how similar Leon said we were. I knew Cason couldn’t ever have been that much like me.

“How did the patronage work?” I asked.

“The same way it does now. Most sorcerers are working for a rich family akin to the way you work for the king. The patron pays the sorcerer each week and also provides certain perquisites for the sorcerer. This could be access to rare metals for enchanting, invites to luxurious parties, or something as simple as fine wine from Korrithin. In exchange, the sorcerer has to do whatever the patron asks, or their business deal will come to an end. Most patrons make money off their sorcerers, and the sorcerers are happy to work without negotiating payment for every task they complete. It’s daunting to look for work all the time. Most people would prefer to take the jobs they’re told to take, and sorcerers are no different—except that they’ve got a bit of power to use however they want.”

“I’m surprised. I thought you would’ve rather worked by yourself.”

“I did for many years, but I’m old now. If there was no conflict in the land, I’d be working for a patron right now. Anyway, Nykal supported Cason by giving him his own home here in the capital for a year. Jennava remained friends with Cason, visiting him at times. She’d tell me about him when she came back to Tryn later.”

“Was she around the same age as him?” I wondered if there might’ve been something romantic between Jennava and Cason.

“I’m not talking about ages. Stop asking, or I’ll shut up right now. The only reason I’m telling you anything is because we’re walking back to the castle and we might as well talk about our enemy, but only if you don’t piss me off. You don’t need to know what he was like back then to see what he’s like now. He’s completely lost it to dteria.”

“Fine. What happened after Nykal recruited him?”

“He trained for a while, but then he started dabbling with dteria. When Nykal found out, he told Cason to stop using it or he would have Cason arrested. Cason disappeared soon after that. Jennava didn’t find him anywhere. We both looked for a while. We thought we might fix him before it was too late, but we eventually gave up and I lost touch with Jennava for a while. She must’ve reconnected with Cason in Koluk not long ago and convinced him that she, too, was a dark mage now. It was through her help that we knew about his plan. I’m sure he wants her dead more than anyone.”

“Were they romantically involved when they were younger?”

“Perhaps,” Leon said. “And perhaps again later. It might be something Jennava used to gain his trust.”

I didn’t know much about Jennava, but I was still shocked to hear this. It did give me a clue about Cason’s age, however. If he and Jennava were involved when they were younger, she couldn’t have been too much older than him. She had gray hair now, but there was a youthful spark in her eyes. I didn’t put her over fifty.

Or perhaps she could’ve been much older than Cason when they were involved the first time? Maybe this wasn’t much of a clue after all. I knew so little about Jennava.

“So Jennava met Nykal when all of this started with Cason?” I asked.

“She was probably introduced, but she never got to know him personally. I didn’t get to know him either. Not until recently.”

I thought about all of this in the silence that followed. It was a simpler time back before Cason became powerful. If he’d really had similarities to how I was now, I wondered what his dreams used to be. Probably the same as mine. He wanted to be as strong as he could. But why would he start using dteria? I never would’ve by choice. I didn’t understand the temptation.

But then I realized something.

“I’m assuming Cason doesn’t have access to dvinia?”

“No. I’m pretty sure the highest frequency he can reach is your natural frequency.”

uF. Now it all makes sense. It was easy to forget that even powerful sorcerers like Cason might not be able to reach the notes high enough to cast with dvinia because an extremely high frequency of mana was required.

I was pretty sure it was the same with Eslenda, the elf who lived in Curdith Forest. She was an illusionist, like Cason, and extremely powerful with erto. If she knew how to use dvinia, I would’ve seen it from her, or maybe even felt it.

“You said he has a wide range,” I commented. “How low can he reach?”

“Certainly to ordia, but you must’ve figured that already because you’ve seen his illusion. I don’t know how much lower he can go past ordia.”

“Could he know the earth?”

“He might.”

“So he can sense people like Aliana can. That’s going to make it extremely hard to catch him.”

“We will find a way.”

I could see the castle ahead, just a few streets away. Something else jumped into my head as I wondered about this witch working with Cason.

“Pamela told me something about the curse before you arrived.”

“What?”

“She said it felt like she could pass out without warning, but she hadn’t done so except once. I’m wondering—”

“If the witch could make her pass out at will.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure. All I can tell you is that a curse is a form of mana that stays active within a person’s body.”

That made me curious about something else. “Is all mana within our body? Because it feels to be right outside my skin when I focus on it.”

“It exists inside and out. Anyway, we know that mana can be controlled, and a curse is a form of mana. It’s for that reason I said the witch