The Path of Giants by B.T. Narro (year 7 reading list .TXT) 📗

no longer a threat. What was going to happen with him? I looked at Kataleya, hoping she might be able to provide some insight. I noticed Michael doing the same.

“The girls have spoken with Aliana about that,” she told us. “She trusts the king, whatever he decides. Perhaps he has already begun bargaining with Luther Prigg. Perhaps he has even confiscated much of Luther’s valuables. It’s certainly within his right, as Luther has admitted to treason. But I doubt his majesty has done this.”

“He’s worried about revolt,” I said, figuring this was where Kataleya was going.

She nodded. “Luther has a large family who are well-known and powerful…and he probably has an even larger family that we don’t know about. Maybe some of the boys he sired were made aware of their relationship to him and are doing business for him in exchange for something. Coin, most likely, but maybe something else. He’s a shady noble. Caution is required. I’m sure that’s part of the reason he hasn’t been executed yet. The king is still figuring out the extent of his dealings with unsavory company.”

“Are you saying there’s still corruption we’re going to have to deal with?” Michael asked.

“There will always be corruption,” Kataleya said. “But we need to find out if these criminals are organizing with each other and, worst of all, if they are loyal to Valinox. We have eliminated most of them, but the late king, Oquin Calloum, poisoned Lycast for many years. It goes deep into our roots. Our best bet is probably to find other powerful groups who have also been affected by these extortionists, like we did with the Thieves’ Guild.” She fluttered her hand. “Anyway, this is none of our business.”

“It seems like you were born for this sort of thing that’s ‘none of your business,’ ” Michael said.

“In one way, I have been.” She gave a long sigh as she looked toward the portcullis. “I constantly wonder if I might be more useful to our cause by joining my mother in Livea. I do believe she could use someone like me right now.” Kataleya turned back to us. “She does have people, advisors, but I don’t know how many of them can be trusted. I don’t know how many of them…” She glanced at Michael briefly before looking back at me. “Might wish harm upon our king for the benefit of my family.”

“Whoa,” Michael uttered in shock. Then he looked at me from the sides of his eyes.

Kataleya seemed pained as her eyes took on a distant look.

“Kat.” I waited for her attention. Her eyes focused on me. “Think about how much you’ve helped Michael and me just this morning. It would not be better for everyone if you left. We need you here. Not only are you the only water mage, but you know what to do about all sensitive matters, political or not. This war isn’t just about fighting. Decision-making has proven to be just as important. Let’s be honest. The king has been overwhelmed since the start of this, and now we have to worry about Valinox dropping off an invisible archer at any moment. You’re safer here. We all are, if you stay with us.”

“Agreed,” Michael said.

“I believe you’re right,” Kataleya said. “But I warn you that things may change depending on what kind of news we receive. You don’t know my brother, and you don’t know Trevor Chespar and his family. The death of my father might have already set something in motion. Or maybe not. Maybe my leaving would do nothing but remove me from here, where I know I’m needed.” She put up her hand. “All right, I’m putting my foot down. This is not the right way to start a day of training. I’m definitely staying for now, and we are definitely getting started, Jon.”

I was a little shocked when she made a sphere of water between us, forcing Michael and I back a few steps to keep from getting wet. It felt like she didn’t want to speak about this any longer, and I supposed I was fine with that. It was time to get started.

CHAPTER THIRTY

I spent most of the morning training with Kataleya. She made small spheres of water, and I grabbed them with my mana. We pushed in opposite directions, a mental wrestling match. We each increased our power until Kataleya said that she had reached her limit. I still had a ways to go to reach mine, but that didn’t necessarily mean I was much stronger than her. I explained why this was to Kataleya, who had seemed a little dejected.

My grab spell of dvinia was a very powerful spell, generally speaking. By that, I meant that the spell had a strong force compared to the amount of mana I used and the strain it caused my mind. This was the only explanation of why I could cause Valinox to strain himself so greatly when I grabbed his dteria and tried to break it free from his mind’s grasp. He was much stronger than me, but I always managed to put up a good fight.

Because of this, I could restrain Kataleya’s push of her water spell without too much effort. That way, she simply had to announce when it was time for me to let go, and I would throw the water the other way. With the force of her mind and mine combined, and the added pressure of me pushing the opposite way up until the last moment, we were able to shoot spears of water into the wall faster than I could fire an arrow.

We stopped, however, when we noticed that we were starting to chip away little bits of the wall, leaving white, ugly marks that I was certain would get us in trouble. We didn’t need much more practice by then, anyway, as it turned out that the slingshot spell was actually quite easy to perform.

“My turn,” Remi said as she approached us with