Sworded Affair

Dinner was already laid out on the table by the time Emma returned; a heaping bowl filled to the brim with hearty lamb curry. Noah was at the table, having laid out two servings; evidently, Elizabeth had communicated her absence ahead of time. The latter was expected, given the circumstances, whereas the former...@@novelbin@@

"How'd you manage that? I've seen you make curry before, it always took at least an hour to cook through."

Emma was expecting an answer along the lines of a new high-powered stove of some kind, possibly with a degree of magic involved. Even so, she wasn't prepared for Noah to summon a thin black plume of flames, barely visible as it hovered above his outstretched hand.

[Balefire: All things have a boiling point, even causality.]

"Dad, why are you using Balefire to cook?"

Even just looking at it, Emma felt the urge to activate Null Zone to smother the flame; it felt dangerous in a way that defied description, something at the back of her brain urging her to run or lash out, whichever was quickest in the moment.

"I haven't had much free time lately, whether to cook or to practice magic, so I figured, why not kill two birds with one stone? I burned more than a few steaks to begin with, but I've got it down to a science now, and it's a lot faster than the gas cooker. My spells cost less mana too, which is a nice side benefit."

[Um.]

Emma couldn't help feel that there were a few problematic parts in that, but she was unsure how to tackle it, and instead began to eat. Admittedly, it was a very nice curry; warm, fragrant and with enough spice to be punchy without drowning out the subtle flavours in a lake of fire. If Noah hadn't mentioned it, she'd never have realised there was anything more to it than a deft hand and a good recipe. Before she knew it, her first bowl was empty, quickly followed by three more. Only after they were both full, and the leftovers packed away into Noah's storage item, did Emma broach the more important matter at hand.

"Is there anyone who'd benefit by removing you from the festival?"

"In what context?" Noah frowned, cradling his chin in thought; it wasn't an immediate denial, which was already somewhat worrying.

"I found a trapped parcel left outside the tent earlier. It held some sort of stasis spell, enough to trap someone in time for a week before running out of juice. My anti-magic stopped it easily, and Edith agrees it wasn't aimed at me, so that means it's either for you or Mom, and Mom has barely spent any time here since we arrived."

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"Ah. Well, that's troubling. You're sure it was specifically to make me miss the festival? Not an IED to take me out of the picture more permanently?"

[They wouldn't dare. It's one thing to temporarily lock someone away; in magical terms, that amounts to little more than a practical joke. A blatant lethal attack, on the other hand, would be a slap in the face to the festival organisers; it would imply that my peers couldn't keep guests in their hospitality alive.]

"Right," Noah sighed. "In that case, I've got a fairly good idea what's going on. You know I more or less stayed away from magical society for the most part?"

Emma nodded non-noncommittally; she'd seen enough by now to realise that her past was complicated, through instances of sealed memories and unfortunate magical interactions, but Noah's statement held true for the most part. Her childhood, what she remembered of it at least, was mostly mundane.

"In light of recent events, I have been made aware of a lot of old family knowledge. To put it bluntly, there are certain inheritances that run in the family, some from a very long time ago, ones that have been stashed away for decades because nobody has claimed them. Weapons that last saw use during the London Blitz, as a more benign example. The annual gathering at the Solstice is one of the few opportunities during the year to claim them, as it's a time for taking oaths, legal and magical alike."

"You said it yourself, they've sat in a vault for what, eighty years at least? If someone was interested, couldn't they have gone behind your back to claim, them rather than getting you involved?"

"There was probably never a need," Noah shrugged. "Life has been peaceful until now, so any other claimants were happy to let sleeping dogs lie. Not so much any more, with over ninety percent of humanity dead, at a generous estimate."

"So, someone wants the goods, and probably has some level of claim to them. A weaker one than you, so if you were present to contest the issue, they would lose, which is why they tried to make you go away for a week. In an ideal outcome, by the time you were freed, their claim would already be a done deal."

[You know what they say; possession is nine-tenths of the law.]

"It still seems rather reckless," Emma decided after thinking it over. "Neither of us are without allies, some of them very powerful, even if we're both new to the scene. What's so valuable for them to risk the attempt?"

Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire

"You know how the Knight family first earned its name?"

"Through great deeds accomplished for King and Country during the height of the Crusades." Emma recited from memory, having spent many a night listening to what she now realised were sanitised versions of family history.

"Exactly. Now, the mundane aspect of that time is more or less as is commonly known. The magical aspects have largely faded into history by design, but at one point, our family was legendary in the manufacture of magical weaponry. Swords that can split the sky from here to the horizon, mirrors that show a target's greatest weakness and are invisible to defensive wards, poison that can compel the drinker do whatever you want, to name but a few. I never saw a reason to lift the lid on any of this, but clearly, someone wants to force the issue."