Spell Mason: Light Mage Trilogy, #2

By Alex C. Vick

Devin is a Light Mage on the run. When his boyfriend is accused of murder and sentenced to death, Devin manages to rescue him just in time. The two boys escape the magical dimensions for Tudor England, hoping to remain anonymous while they figure out what's going on.

 

But witchcraft is a capital offense in the sixteenth century. It's not the best place for a pair of seventeen-year-old Light Mages to hide, especially when one of them doesn't know he's carrying a deadly tracking spell. In order to have any chance of clearing their names, they'll have to accept help from some unlikely sources and push the limits of their combined magical abilities.

 

The alleged murder could change things forever. Light Mages are the trusted protectors of the earthbound dimension. Discrediting them could turn magical society upside down. The stakes are high, and the potential prize is more than enough to turn any magician's head. All Devin has to do is stay alive long enough to uncover the truth…

 

Spell Mason, the second book in the Light Mage series, is a contemporary fantasy story with time travel, m/m romance, and no cliffhanger. Recommended for 14+.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alex C. Vick
• Release date: Jul 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201297657

Book preview

Prologue

This is speculation, said the Master Mage, enunciating slowly, as if the scorn in his tone weighed down his words. I do not lend my name to the absurd. You’re wasting my time. Get out.

You have nothing to lose by allowing me to try, said a second magician. The potential would be extraordinary. If you could just—

"It is not possible to corrupt a guardian. The Master Mage’s voice was sharp with exasperation. Why do you think our perfect system of equality has lasted so long? I should turn you over to a Spell Master for even suggesting it."

Give me one week, and I’ll prove it to you. That’s all I ask.

A pause. And if you fail? What will you give me then?

I won’t fail.

A short laugh. You know better than that. The price of this private audience alone is a great deal of magic.

No, said the second magician, sounding anxious. I can’t donate today. I need everything I’ve got for this. And… and anyway… I thought the donation was voluntary.

If you believe that, then you deserve your profession, Spell Mason, said the Master Mage.

I’ll donate double when I return.

Hmm. Very well. But not double. You will donate ten times the customary quota.

"What? The second magician’s voice was incredulous. If you drain that much all at once, I might never recover. I won’t be able to do my job."

I have added a surcharge for your stupidity. If you are certain of success, then you have nothing to fear. Do you?

Another pause. All right. I agree. But only if I fail.

The Master Mage gave a short laugh. Indeed? You certainly don’t lack conviction. This might be interesting after all.

1 An Accusation

My boyfriend worries. It’s kind of cute.

We get audited every earthbound month, I said. What are you pacing for?

It’s still an audit. Carried out by a Spell Master working for the High Council. Aren’t you even slightly nervous?

I grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him to a stop. Luca. This is stupid. You nearly tripped over the threshold, for God’s sake. You haven’t used your magic for anything forbidden. You never do.

He stared at me for a second. Here, in the primary dimension, he looked nothing like his earthbound form. Slender and wide-eyed, magic lending his caramel skin a slight iridescence, he was the most beautiful Light Mage I’d ever seen.

Who says I’m worrying about me? he asked with a faint smile.

Hey, I protested. I haven’t broken any rules.

"Devin. You practically told that guy his life path last week. If I hadn’t dedisco’d him, we’d both be in trouble."

I love it when you speak Latin, I said, grinning.

Yeah, you love not taking me seriously, too.

I’d only been a guardian for a few months. A lot of the time I still spoke like the American teenager I used to be. Luca, or Avi, as he was known in the earthbound dimension, was supposed to be training me. He was doing a pretty good job. When I bent the rules, it wasn’t because I was oblivious to them.

It was just difficult seeing my fellow magicians facing what sometimes appeared to be insurmountable odds. Who could blame me for wanting to help them as much as possible?

Luca frowned. He wouldn’t thank you for it.

Who?

The guy. Amner, or whatever his name was. If you screwed up his chance to qualify as a Spell Tech, he’d blame you.

I just don’t always see eye to eye with the system, I replied.

"You are the system," said Luca.

I suppose he’s right. The earthbound dimension was a magical creation. It acted like a giant multilayered examination spell. The only way to qualify for a profession was to prove your skills and character in a place where you retained no memory of your magical identity. Guardians were the only signposts the High Council permitted.

When magicians entered the earthbound dimension, they signed up to a bespoke life path with predetermined choices, then reincarnated their way along it until graduation. The more challenging the desired profession, the tougher the life path.

Guardians like Luca and me graduated by sacrificing our lives for someone we loved. Luca had been my someone. He still is. Like him, I was seventeen years old, preserved at the age I’d graduated, to ensure I’d remain forever the selfless Light Mage I’d been in that moment.

Well. That’s the theory. There were days I thought being a perpetual teenager might undermine the logic of the model a little. A lot.

I just don’t want to lose the privilege of being earthbound, said Luca. We can help so many more magicians this way.

Usually guardians didn’t cross over—Luca had broken the rules far worse than I ever had when he’d taken that step. Fortunately, he’d also unmasked a corrupt Shadow Mage in the process, so the High Council had been inclined to go easy on him. On both of us.

Is that the only reason? I asked, stepping closer and closer until I could feel his breath on my face.

He swallowed.

It’s not the only reason for me, I added. I tilted my head and leaned in to give him a slow kiss. He has the most perfect mouth.

You… Luca trailed off, giving me a look that was halfway between fear and longing.

What? I prompted, and he shook his head.

The interesting thing about the earthbound dimension was the physical covering we assumed to hide that we were magicians. It made every sensation more intense. Luca and I were very compatible.

It was only a kiss, I said. We’re not earthbound now. If your imagination is taking you to another dimension, that’s hardly my responsibility.

"Contego," he replied, taking a step back.

You’re cheating, I said.

I am not being audited while I’m thinking about… about fooling around with you, he said.

Bet you’re still thinking about it, I replied.

He laughed. I hate you.

I was about to reply when our Spell Master, Caladelle, stepped into the room. The opaque layer of magic shimmering across the doorway admitted her without a sound. There were no exterior doors in the primary dimension. The doorways were configured to admit magicians who had right of entry. Everyone else had to wait for the owner of the magic to grant them access.

It was always interesting when younger magicians first learned that spell. They weren’t supposed to use it on the doorway to their own rooms, but of course they all did. Most times the parents were the stronger magicians and could override the spell, but not always. Not in my case.

Luca, Axior, good to see you again.

It’s Devin, I said, keeping the irritation from my voice with some difficulty. She knew very well I’d adopted the name from my final incarnation. I preferred it. And it made it easier to live the life of that earthbound teenager when Luca and I crossed over.

Devin. Of course, she replied, unsmiling. She turned one hand palm up and her magic swirled above it, orange and yellow. Would you like to go first?

She didn’t even give me a chance to respond before I felt the cold sting of an auditing spell. I hate this. There was no escaping it. Everything I’d used my magic for was hers to inspect. Spell Masters were at the top of the tree in terms of magical ability. I comforted myself with the thought that Caladelle had endured the most testing of life paths to earn the right to do this to me. Her integrity would have been challenged over and over.

Doesn’t stop her from being a bitch.

Once again, you remain just on the right side of the line, she said. She opened the folder of mage-paper she carried and pressed her palm to the uppermost page. When she lifted it again, a series of colored charts appeared.

You sound disappointed, I replied.

Not at all. I’m merely stating a fact. Luca. Your turn.

Luca pushed his hands into his pockets and stared at a point on the wall over Caladelle’s shoulder. He’d told me it was easier if you relaxed. Me being me, that only made me more determined not to relax.

Caladelle shifted position, her face tightening. It was the only warning she gave. Suddenly Luca’s hands were out of his pockets and pushed behind his back. The crackle of a binding spell followed, and he gasped with pain.

What’s going on? What are you doing? I asked, my voice rising.

Directive Seven. He is in breach.

I recoiled. Directive Seven. No, he’s not. That’s impossible. We’ve only been back in the primary dimension for five minutes since our last audit, and he’s been with me the whole time.

I went up to Luca and put my hand on the binding spell. Shit. The burn traveled all the way up to my shoulder in a matter of seconds, and I was forced to move my fingers back.

Why have you used a magic-blocker? Luca, are you OK?

He gave me a brief nod, keeping his lips pressed together. His eyes revealed the pain he was in. My temper rose.

It is standard procedure, said Caladelle. You will leave now. As soon as I transmit my evidence, Luca’s sentence will be carried out. If I were you, I would forget you ever knew him.

"What? I just told you—"

She interrupted me with a repelling spell so strong I staggered under the force of it.

Leave. Her face was expressionless. It’s all in a day’s work for her. And how in hell am I supposed to resist a Spell Master?

I knew I’d only have seconds before she removed me by force. I was a powerful magician, but my spellmanship fell way short of hers. Panic turned my thoughts into a jumble of useless information. Light Mages aren’t fighters. Light Mages… Wait. I was a Light Mage. Just like Luca. And we were connected.

Before I could change my mind, I projected my magic outward, flooding the space between me and Luca until his magic responded, drawn inexorably away from the inhibitor in the binding spell. Our connection was unique, formed while I’d been an earthbound teenager. We knew there was a magical synergy when we combined our powers, though we’d never put it to the test before.

Caladelle’s magic was clawing at the edges of the glow we’d created, but failing to penetrate it. I curled my hands around Luca’s collar. Are you free of her? I murmured.

Yes.

Immediately, I dragged the two of us back into the earthbound dimension. We appeared in a backstage area at the high school we both attended. "Hampton Court Palace, June twelfth, 1520," I said. Our surroundings flickered, finally settling on a small empty bedroom in Cardinal Wolsey’s mansion five hundred years earlier.

Let her find us here, I said with grim satisfaction. She can’t even cross over to this dimension, let alone navigate along its timeline.

Luca swayed on his feet, and I helped him to sit down with his back resting against one of the bare wooden walls. Thanks, he said. He sighed. Gods, that was horrible. It felt like my insides were on fire.

Normally his use of gods made me smile. He used Latin for spells because it had been his language when he graduated. I used ordinary English—not nearly so magical-sounding. Right then, however, I had nothing to smile about.

Magic-blockers are nasty for Light Mages, I said. My brother used one on me once when we were young, and my parents were so mad at him.

Why are the effects worse for us? he asked.

Because the blocker travels to the source.

Luca raised a hand to his chest, and I nodded. Yes. The heart is weaker than the mind. Apparently.

Although Luca was an expert guardian, his knowledge of conventional magic and life in the magical dimensions was sometimes sketchy. A lot of the time I knew more than he did.

He spread out his fingers until they were flat against his T-shirt and closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them, they’d settled into the blue-green of his earthbound appearance. Our eyes were always the last to change when we crossed dimensions and the first to reveal our magic if we made eye contact with the earthbound for too long.

How did you break my bonds? he asked. I thought Spell Masters were unbeatable.

I didn’t use a spell. I just used our connection.

Really? He leaned forward. Wow. The High Council won’t like that. There’s no precedent for ordinary magic being so powerful.

"I think we’ve got bigger problems than our connection. God, Luca… Directive Seven. What are we going to do?"

He made a face. I don’t know. The Master Mages will start tracking us as soon as Caladelle raises the alarm. Thank the gods our energy signatures aren’t on the main network.

I don’t understand how this happened. How could she think you…? I trailed off.

Ask me, he said.

What?

Ask me if I did it. I know you want to. I can feel your doubt. He managed a small smile. I don’t mind. I’d be the same.

You wouldn’t. You’re too loyal.

It’s just… I stopped. I felt guilty, but Luca was right—I felt anxious too. Spell Masters are supposed to be infallible.

I know. Until today, I thought so too. But I promise you, Devin, on my own life, I didn’t kill anyone.

I relaxed. There wasn’t the slightest hint of darkness in his magic or his emotions. Our connection was good and bad like that. Deception between us was impossible.

There’s something else, he said. It’s part of guardian training, but I hadn’t seen the need to cover it yet. Light Mages aren’t able to survive such an act, even if we could bring ourselves to carry it out in the first place. Our magic is too aligned with the light to withstand the evil it would take to commit murder.

He shrugged. It’s another reason why we’re the only magicians who can become guardians.

Oh. Well, that’s… reassuring, I guess. I frowned. Wouldn’t Caladelle have known?

I would have thought so. But she didn’t hesitate, did she? Not for a second.

They never do. High-and-mighty assholes, all of them.

Luca shook his head. If she found evidence of a life-taking spell, she would have had no choice but to condemn me.

Don’t defend her, I said, scowling. Now is not the time to think like a guardian.

What, then? What are you thinking?

No mention that I’m supposed to be a guardian, too. I don’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed.

Two things, I replied. "I think the person who trained you could have told you a lie to make sure you never would break Directive Seven. Which means our Spell Master thinks you are capable of it."

Luca blinked. Gods. You’re right. That’s possible. What’s the second thing?

Someone has to have tampered with your magic. I don’t know how or when, but it’s the only logical answer.

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak we heard the sound of footsteps approaching and voices raised in disagreement. A quick glance left and right confirmed there was nowhere to hide. The door was opening. We’d have to brazen it out.

2 A Boy

I’m so sorry, sir. I can’t even be sure if the damned thing will fit. I swear I didn’t—

The voice cut off abruptly at the sight of us. It belonged to a young man, smartly dressed for the times, presumably part of the cardinal’s household. He hesitated next to the half-open door, until he was jostled by someone and pushed further into the room.

Behind him was an older man, equally well dressed. His doublet had a fashionably full skirt and sleeves, the latter being slashed in places to reveal contrasting gold-colored cloth beneath the outer black. The lines on his brow deepened. Who are you?

No one. Er… guests, I said, hastily correcting myself. Guests of the cardinal.

His eyes narrowed. How did you get in? And what are you doing hiding away in an empty room?

He admitted us. I pointed at the younger man, adding, "Yes, you did," in an undertone. His bewildered expression turned into a nod as my spell settled.

I did, he agreed.

The older man remained unconvinced. This is not a guest room, and I’ve been with you all morning, Arthur. When—

It was just now, said Luca, interrupting. He pushed himself to a standing position. "I was feeling unwell. Me credite."

Oh. My apologies, sir. The older man turned to Arthur. I hardy think this a suitable room for a guest to recuperate, Arthur. I trained you better than that.

I… Arthur, understandably, was at a loss.

We apologize for the inconvenience, I said. We know the cardinal is away in France. According to my history lessons, King Henry and his court were supposed to be at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, impressing King Francis. I’d thought the cardinal’s home would be nearly empty.

The two servants looked at me expectantly. Great start, Dev. Why the hell are you here if you know the cardinal’s away?

We’re here because we have information about… about… I trailed off. The Tudors had been my favorite part of history in eleventh grade, but at that moment my brain wasn’t supplying me with anything helpful. We have information about how and when your master will be arrested for treason didn’t seem appropriate.

About a potential new agreement between His Majesty and the Holy Emperor, said Luca. We are recently arrived from Spain and His Excellency knows the Treaty of London will not prevail. He rolled his eyes. No matter this ridiculous display in France.

Indeed, said the older man, his expression becoming warmer. Spain, you say? You are most welcome, young sirs. Any friend of the emperor is a friend of this household.

I gaped at Luca in admiration. He gave me a brief smile, before introducing us as Philip and Francisco de Soto. Apparently, we were cousins and originally from the Navarre region of Spain. He apologized for our traveling clothes. When he put his weight on one backward foot and bent from the waist into a brief bow, I copied him.

In reply, the older man told us his name was William Monkton and that Arthur was just Arthur.

"Saccus, murmured Luca, then reached behind his back to grasp the brown leather satchel that appeared out of thin air. Literae."

Spells were easy for a magician in the earthbound dimension. The whole thing was made from magic, after all. Luca lifted the flap of his bag to show that there were several wax-sealed documents inside.

"Ut esset tibi placet Latine? asked William. Forgive me, but I assumed… your English is quite well spoken."

We are happy to use English, said Luca. Our command of the language is one of the reasons we were chosen for this visit.

He closed the bag just as William was leaning in for a closer look. We are, however, rather tired from our journey. If you would be so good as to take us somewhere with furniture?

Of course. Of course. Arthur, the blue rooms, I think.

Arthur indicated that we should follow him into the narrow corridor outside. It had walls of dark red brick and was perfectly straight. The only windows were small and crisscrossed with black lead, revealing glimpses of an enclosed courtyard beyond.