Spellbreaker (Spellbreaker Duology, #1)(6)
“I didn’t think it possible, but you’ve grown.” The Duke of Kent had a glint in his eye.
Although the man had turned seventy last month, his grip was strong as ever.
“Only because we’re at sea level.” Bacchus’s tongue easily slipped into a British accent. “Once we ride up those green hills by your estate, we’ll see eye to eye.”
The duke chuckled. “You need a lesson in physics. Are you sure you picked the right alignment?”
Bacchus had studied physical aspecting—magic that affected the physical world—since he was an adolescent. His father, being a landowner on a prosperous sugarcane plantation, had been able to fund his studies. It hadn’t been hard for him to choose a specialization. The last thing he wanted was to give the English another reason to distrust him, so the rational arts were out. He didn’t need anyone suspecting he’d bewitched their thoughts. Spiritual magic dealt fundamentally with blessings and curses, which seemed a poor investment for day-to-day life. And temporal magic had always come off as vain to him. A temporal aspector couldn’t change time, only time’s effects. And while aging plant sprouts and turning back the clock for livestock could prove beneficial back home, Bacchus knew he’d more often be hired to lighten wrinkles and strip the rust from antiques. He used to think poorly of those who spent their life’s savings on temporal spells, assuming they were driven by vanity.
Until the day he’d needed one for himself.
His men, John and Rainer, stepped up beside him, bug-eyed as they looked around. John, the older of the two, had been to Europe once before, on Bacchus’s last trip three years ago. Rainer was new and absorbed everything as though the cobbles and clouds were nails pounded into his bones.
He wouldn’t like it here.
“Come.” The duke placed a hand on Bacchus’s shoulder and led him down the narrow road to a carriage awaiting them. “You must be tired from such a long journey. Your room is ready, and I brought a cushion in case you can’t wait the hour it will take to arrive there.”
“Truly, I’d like nothing more than to run until my legs give out.” Which took less time than it once had. Hiding a grimace, Bacchus glanced down at his legs, then rubbed a spot on his chest. “That ship is a cage, and the ocean its bars.”
“So poetic,” the duke said. One of his servants opened the carriage door, and Bacchus stepped back to allow his friend—though he’d always been more of an uncle—to enter first. Bacchus followed after, feeling the carriage shift as he sat down.
“If it isn’t much trouble,” Bacchus said after the carriage door shut and his bags were loaded onto the back, “I’d like to contact the Physical Atheneum as soon as possible.”
The duke clasped his hands over his knees. “Is there a reason for the rush?”
“Not a rush, merely a desire to utilize the time given me. I’d rather not waste it.”
“Ah, so time with me is wasted?” The duke quirked his brow.
Bacchus chuckled. “I suppose that depends on what leisure you have planned for us. I did receive your letter about the estate; I’d be obliged to help you where I can.”
The duke nodded. “I greatly appreciate it. As for the atheneum, I’ve been trying to throw my weight to get you an earlier meeting. I think it’s working. With luck, I’ll hear back in the morning.”
Not wanting to seem ungrateful, Bacchus nodded his thanks before looking out the window as the carriage jerked forward. As an aspector registered with the London Physical Atheneum, he was entitled to a meeting. But as with everything, there were politics involved, and his appointment had been set for the end of summer. The four-month wait was preposterous, especially given that he’d petitioned for the meeting in February. While the duke was not a spellmaker of any sort, he was an influential aristocrat with money to his name, and thus could hopefully bend the politics in Bacchus’s favor. Either way, he feared his meeting would not go smoothly.
He watched the docks pass by, rubbing the light beard encircling his mouth. While such a thing was fashionable here, his long hair certainly wasn’t. But long hair ultimately required less upkeep than short. He supposed he’d consider cutting it if it would make a better impression on the Assembly of the London Physical Atheneum.
He knew the spell he wanted. He’d known it for years now, and aspired to claim it far more vigorously than he did any title. The ambulation spell would allow him to move an object—any object—without touching it. The trick was convincing the self-righteous hermits in the atheneum to let him have it. Although hundreds of spells existed for each alignment, the atheneums guarded the powerful ones as carefully as a miser did his money, selling them only to those deemed worthy and reliable. And even if a spell was made available to an aspector, there still remained the challenge of absorbing it—a costly procedure that did not always work.
Bacchus rubbed his eyes. Perhaps he was more tired than he cared to admit. It would do him well to get a full night’s rest at the Duke of Kent’s estate before tackling his mission in the morning. He needed to think clearly and tread carefully if he didn’t want to mix himself up in these aspectors’ games.
CHAPTER 3
After Elsie finished logging Ogden’s receipts the next morning, she wrote and folded a letter, put on her nicest hat, and strode into town with a basket on her arm and Emmeline’s shopping list in hand. She headed first toward the church, which was at the other end of Brookley’s high street. The farmers from the nearby town of Clunwood often set up there to sell their goods, and Elsie was in the mood for a walk. The clouds had parted to reveal a brilliant morning sun, while a subtle breeze kept the air from getting too warm.