Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

crushed it in his hand. Flames roared up around his fingers, and he thrust his hand into the water surrounding his head. There was a great burst of steam, and then both fire and water were gone. Jordan spat out the clay tube and slumped to his knees, gulping in air. His breathing finally slowed, and he shook his head disgustedly. He should have stuck to the theatre; the worst you had to worry about there were the critics.
    Jordan leaned back against an overturned table, and enjoyed the simple luxury of breathing. It would appear Dominic had decided not to give him twelve hours after all. And yet ... if Dominic had really wanted him dead, there were any number of other ways that he could have done it, most of them much more efficient. Filled his lungs with water, for example, or drained all the water from his body. Dominic might be crazy, but he wasn't stupid.
    Dominic's messenger, the faceless man, had known he was an
    actor. Or at least suspected it. Perhaps they weren't sure one way or the other, and the water attack had been a test, to see if he had fire magic. If they were watching, they should be thoroughly confused by now. Jordan got slowly to his feet. He supposed he should be feeling scared or angry or both, but he was just too tired. All that mattered to him now was getting some sleep. Anything else could wait till the morning. He entered his bedroom and flopped down on the bed fully clothed, too worn out even to make an attempt at undressing. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment, and then his eyes slowly shut. Fifty thousand ducats . . . fifty thousand ducats . . . Stuff the bloody ducats.

Chapter 5
    Sanctuaries and Damnations
    Prince Dominic sat alone in his private quarters, slumped elegantly in an ivory throne carved from the skull of a sea creature long since extinct. The room was dark and gloomy, lit only by a dull blue glow from the wall of water before him. Dominic stared into the endless depths with brooding, unseeing eyes.
    His water attack had failed, and Dominic wasn't used to failing. It had only been a simple spell, but it should have been more than enough to take care of some over-ambitious actor pretending to be a Prince.
    Dominic had watched intently as the man staggered back and forth, slowly drowning . . . and then Viktor had destroyed the spell with his fire magic. From now on Viktor would be constantly on his guard, and his death would be that much harder to arrange. Moreover, Dominic had been made to look a fool. He frowned, and gestured sharply with his left hand. The air stretched and split open, and the man with no face appeared before him. He sank down on to one knee before the ivory throne, and bowed his blank head.
    'You told me the man in my brother's apartment was an imposter,' said Dominic. 'You told me you had arranged an opening in the protective wards, and that this actor had no magic of his own. But my water spell failed, dispersed by fire magic. Why did you lie to me?'
    The faceless man jerked silently as long hairline cracks appeared in the skin of his blank face. Blood ran sluggishly from the cracks, and dripped from his chin. He raised his hands to Prince Dominic in supplication, and more blood ran from hairline cracks in his palms and fingers. 'I didn't lie, Sire. I swear I didn't lie to you. The imposter is a conjurer, and very quick of mind.'
    'Why didn't you tell me this before?'
    'It didn't seem important, Sire.' Blood ran down his face in a steady stream, and his unfinished features twisted in agony.
    'From now on,' said Dominic, 'tell me everything. I'll decide what's important and what isn't. How long before you can arrange another opening in the wards?'
    'A few hours, Sire. Maybe more.' The wounds on his face slowly began to close. The last of the blood began to dry on the blank face. He remained kneeling before Dominic, head bowed.
    'Viktor's death isn't really important,' said Dominic finally. 'He's no threat to my position, as long as I have you to tell me his plans. And the poison will kill him soon anyway. But this actor annoys me. He has intruded into a situation where he doesn't belong, and he seeks to meddle with my life, my destiny. And the low-born scum actually has the nerve to play at being a Prince. His presence in my home offends me.
    I could kill him easily, but that's not enough. I want him broken and publicly humiliated first.'
    'There is a way,' said the faceless man. 'There's a Testing scheduled for tomorrow, before the Stone. A young