Dragon's Eye Read online

  Felicity’s Challenge

  “Roughing it, as you so casually put it, is highly overrated,” he

  scoffed. “I much prefer the fact that I don’t have to.”

  “Ha,” she chuckled. “Just as I thought. I’ll bet that you couldn’t

  last one night if you tried camping the Mundane way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not talking about simply sleeping out under the stars, with

  your wand at your beck and call whenever a whim may take you,” she

  explained with a smirk. “I mean good, old-fashioned Mundane

  camping.”

  “Are you serious?” he laughed. “You mean as in rubbing two

  sticks together to start a fire, building a lean-to out of a bunch of twigs, and sleeping on a bed of leaves type camping? Of course not.”

  “I’ll bet you couldn’t last one night out in the wild, could you,

  Master Lancelot Jones?” she teased him.

  “Oh, and you think you could, bookworm?” he scoffed good-

  naturedly, sitting forward in his chair so their noses were practically touching. “All right, I’ll tell you what. We won’t pop from here to Mont

  Blanc, as I planned. We’ll go straight back to Calais and take a train south to Geneva, just like the Mundanes would have to do. And when

  we get there, we’ll build a fire, pitch a tent, and toast some marshmallows or something.”

  Copyright©2018

  Robin Joy Wirth

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 9781980355809

  Originally crafted as Terratica’s Talisman for NaNoWriMo 2013,

  this work has now undergone numerous changes and taken on a new

  name to serve as the first in a series of stories to be set within this world.

  You can look for the new books upcoming in the near future.

  For updates on this and her other works,

  please visit Robin’s website:

  http://www.redshadow67.com

  RedShadow’s Quill is a site with tips and tools for writers of

  steamy romance, both fan fiction and original. Ready to take your writing

  up a notch? Stop by and have a look around today.

  Dragon’s

  Eye

  Robin Joy Wirth

  Dedication

  For Jeffery, the hero of my real-life romance. Thanks for putting

  up with my muse.

  ONE

  From the perspective of the unsuspecting

  Mundane eye, the huge crowd of people now

  gathered in front of Big Ben, right in the heart of

  the city of London, did not exist. Anyone

  walking through that area beyond the Veil

  occupied the exact same space, just in a different

  dimension.

  Big Ben itself occupied a space which

  was of great importance to many Londoners,

  though anyone who lacked magical skills didn’t

  know it. The site was, in fact, the same place that

  was occupied by the Magehold of London—a

  large and somewhat forbidding structure not

  unlike the castles of old—although some people

  might deem it quite the largest of them all.

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  Magehold was the meeting place of the

  Council of Elders, and it contained all other

  important offices in that hidden world. It was

  also the place to which the Magi flocked

  whenever anything of importance happened in

  their society, just as it had today.

  The High Mage of London, Archibald

  Flanders, stood on a balcony overlooking the

  enraged group of witches and wizards with a

  smug look plastered onto his face. His lips were

  pressed into a tight line as the roar of the

  protesting members, and those who completely

  opposed them, echoed louder and louder below.

  He stepped forward at precisely five

  o’clock, as indicated by the dim, chiming sound

  coming from beyond his world. Most witches

  and wizards could not hear the old clock, and he

  felt the same surge of satisfaction he always did

  each time he, himself, could.

  “Silencity!” he shouted, raising his

  hands above his head and neatly casting a spell

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  to quiet them down. It may have earned him a

  few glares, but he was more than willing to force

  his will upon the throng if it served his purpose,

  which it did right now.

  “Everyone here is well aware of the

  gravity of this situation,” he intoned, his voice

  booming over them as he cast a voluminate as

  well.

  “Thas a gross understatement!” shouted

  a stalwart wizard in heavy brogue. Archibald

  didn’t need to look to the back of the crowd to

  recognize who had spoken, nor did he bother to

  acknowledge that he’d heard the wizard in

  question at all.

  “You all know it is forbidden for any

  Mage under the age of twenty-four to venture

  beyond our realm without an accompanying

  Mage who has weathered the dangers of

  Mundania many times before,” Archibald

  scolded. “There are things beyond the Veil

  which are incomprehensible to any witch or

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  wizard who has never experienced the place for

  themselves.”

  “Get to the point, mon,” the same wizard

  complained, and this time Archibald cast him a

  glance meant to quell.

  “Young Theodore Lundy was acting

  well outside the laws set forth by the institution

  when he took his little jaunt outside, and as you

  can see it was indeed a foolish thing to do.”

  A tall, determined-looking wizard strode

  through the crowd, and they all moved aside to

  let him through. No one could blame them

  really, for the wizard had dressed in his best

  robes, and his long, golden mane was drawn

  back into a ponytail. His intent was only to keep

  the hair out of his face, but it lent a look of

  severity to his overall appearance that people

  had long-since learned they should heed.

  As he neared the front, the man cast a

  voluminate of his own so he could be heard.

  “Sir? Where is Theodore Lundy now? He was

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  not unduly harmed by this unfortunate

  experience, I trust?”

  “Only his pride, Lancelot Jones, though

  it could have been much worse if he’d been

  harmed, or chosen to injure any of the four

  Mundane thugs who accosted him,” Archibald

  replied. “Now please, I must ask you to hold all

  of your questions until everyone is on the same

  piece of parchment.”

  Lancelot squared his shoulders and

  curbed his tongue at the slight, but the crowd

  surrounding him went wild with indignation on

  his behalf. Many of them shook their fists at the

  High Mage, while some others turned their

  backs to him completely.

  “Sir, you cannot silence a wizard’s


  questions like that!” shouted a nearby witch as

  she pushed Lancelot forward. “Every witch or

  wizard among the Magi has the right to be

  heard!”

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  Another wizard grabbed Lance’s arm

  and drew him to the front of the crowd, saying,

  “Yes, Archibald, you must let Master Jones

  speak, if he will. That’s one law at least that you

  cannot tamper with.”

  Lancelot reclaimed his arm and said, “I

  shall wait as the High Mage has asked, if you

  please. And so should you all, so that we may

  discover what it is he’s come all the way out here

  to tell us.”

  Archibald waited for everyone to quiet

  down again before he continued. “The

  Mundanes have been completely unaware of the

  presence of Magehold for many centuries. Our

  spells, and the presence of the Veil, have helped

  keep us hidden most effectively. We have

  survived as the Anglo-Saxons held sway, and we

  have thrived throughout every other regime

  since.

  “In all that time, we have interacted with

  the Mundanes any way we pleased, using them

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  to farm our foods, provide us with all of our

  goods and clothing, or to do any other task a

  wizard cannot do behind the Veil. We cannot

  simply disappear completely into our fortress of

  magic, for that magic’s very existence disallows

  our own crops to grow or our magical beasts to

  be shorn for wool.

  “But thanks to Lundy getting caught on

  film using magic to save himself, all of Mundane

  London has been in the worst kind of an uproar

  ever since. A hundred thousand memory spells

  cannot possibly eradicate such hard evidence.

  “If the lesser folk begin to balk, our

  entire way of life is under severe threat. It was

  therefore my unfortunate mission to seek out the

  Mundane Prime Minister and plead for Lundy’s

  immediate release. I explained to him that the

  lad had broken the laws of his own kind, and

  should therefore be dealt with by us.

  “He voiced a great concern that the Magi

  walked among them at all, and wanted us to

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  withdraw from their world completely. I had to

  explain to him that in our dimension it is

  impossible for us to grow food, and I was able

  to convince him that should he press such an

  issue he would not succeed in the attempt. No

  Magi would be willing to starve just for the sake

  of a Mundane’s pride.

  “So, in the interest of preventing an all-

  out war between our two worlds, I had to agree

  to a compromise. I was forced to strike a deal.”

  “Wot sort of a deal?”

  Archibald flinched as the stalwart wizard

  whipped his wand into the air, high above his

  head, and used it to float over the sea of bodies

  that stood in his way. He landed beside Lancelot

  Jones with a flourish, and gave that wizard a nod

  of respectful greeting, which the other man

  summarily returned.

  “Now, Dervish, there’s no need to be so

  forceful. We don’t want to stir these good people

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  up even further,” the High Mage admonished

  him.

  The rest of the crowd backed up slightly,

  leaving the two outspoken wizards alone in front

  of them to continue their tirade.

  “McTavert’s a member of the Council,”

  Lancelot reminded him with a triumphant smirk.

  “You’ll not be able to disrespect him the way

  you just disrespected me, Flanders. This angry

  mob would never stand for it.”

  “You need not remind me of Director

  McTavert’s position, Master Jones,” Archibald

  answered in a quelling tone. Lancelot continued

  to glare at the man, unruffled by his ire.

  “The Magi have been forbidden from

  interfering in the affairs of the Mundanes in any

  way, Dervish. Furthermore, we are barred from

  any use of magic outside of the Veil. And most

  importantly, we are no longer allowed to use any

  spells on the Mundanes themselves, no matter

  what the reason.”

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  “Are ye daft, mon?” Dervish snorted.

  “We canna agree to thot! How will we get on

  without compelling Mundanes to serve us?

  We’ve always gotten by with the concept thot

  the Gifted must further their own needs at the

  expense of lesser beings. We see to our own

  prosperity first, and theirs second. ‘Tis just our

  way.”

  “Not anymore, it isn’t,” Archibald

  insisted. “As of right now I am invoking the Law

  of Three. Whatever a Mage sets forth into the

  world shall return to him threefold. We are no

  longer to command the Mundanes. All help from

  them must be freely given, or we shall be forced

  to do the tasks for ourselves. Without magic

  while we are among them.

  “But we’ve gained a victory of sorts,

  making such a concession. The Prime Minister

  agreed to deem the recorded footage a hoax,

  ending the unrest among his own people, and

  insuring their safety all at the same time.”

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  “Ye’ve gone insane, Archibald,”

  Dervish insisted. “Ye’ll be bringing about the

  ruin of us all!”

  “Yes, I quiet agree with McTavert,”

  Lancelot piped in. “Without the compelling

  spells, how will we stock our larders? Without

  Mundane fabrics, how will we keep ourselves

  clothed? We cannot risk asking for their help

  instead of simply demanding it. There’s too

  great a possibility they’d refuse.”

  The two wizards now linked arms as they

  glared up at Archibald. In turn, he sneered down

  at them. “Of course you agree with him, Master

  Jones. Everyone knows you’re Dervish

  McTavert’s little lap dog. Where would you be

  today if he hadn’t appointed you as the curator

  of his Magical Museum? I’d expect no less from

  you.”

  “I can assure you, sir, that my opinions

  are my own,” Lancelot informed him hotly.

  “Why do you find it necessary to pick a fight

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  with me rather than defend your pathetic Law of

  Three? You know it can never work, you’re just

  too stubborn to admit it.”

  “Enough!” Archibald shouted. “The

  Law of Three has been enacted, and you will

  abide by it. That is all.” Saying this, the wizard

  turned away and went inside.

  Beyond the Veil, Big Ben’s chimes

  echoed into his ears, and Archibald smiled with

  satisfaction as he realized precisely fifteen

  minutes had elapsed since the beginning of his

  speech. He had bee
n just as efficient as he’d

  hoped to be. Now, he only hoped the Magi

  would heed his words.

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  TWO

  Professor Gregory Spine stood before a

  class of thirty acolytes as they all stared at him

  attentively. As the timekeeper called out the

  hour somewhere in the distance, he gave a heavy

  sigh.

  He knew everyone there had only one

  thing on their minds today, and trying to talk

  about anything else would be a losing battle.

  Instead, he decided to talk about the topic that

  was foremost.

  “Good afternoon, class. I’m sure all of

  you heard the news by now that the High Mage

  has set a controversial new law. So today, I

  thought perhaps we could discuss the problem

  completely. As always, I’ll ask that each person

  speaks one at a time, and in the respectful

  manner expected of all Magi. And, since I know

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  that most of you don’t like the law, I’d very

  much like to hear first from somebody who does.

  Anyone?”

  “I’ve got something to say, sir,” said a

  petite, tawny-haired witch seated at the front of

  the class. She brushed a mass of curls from her

  flashing brown eyes and got to her feet as she

  spoke. Several of her classmates groaned in

  response.

  “Miss Felicity Lake, I might have known

  you’d have something to say on the matter,”

  Gregory commented with an indulgent smile as

  he folded his hands behind his back and stepped

  over to her side.

  Felicity nodded sagely. “I’m fairly

  certain many of you believe this new law is

  useless, but I can assure you that it’s not. It’s

  going to have a profound impact on the entire

  future of Magehold and all of its citizens, and I

  for one feel the change will be for the better.”