The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

Commune about your uninvited wanderings.” The old man grinned, ambled off among his beloved books, and was soon lost from Kinnsell’s sight.

Chapter 19
     
    Past midnight in the tower room reserved for Master Magicians in the University of Magicians, Coronnan City
     
    “I mpossible!’ Scarface screamed. He half stood from his thronelike chair. “I could never violate my oath to the Commune and revert to rogue magic. I am Senior Magician. I am in control of myself and this Commune at all times.” He sat back again, composing his face.
    But Bessel saw the tension in his shoulders and the whitening of the ugly scar.
    “There is no other way you could have sensed a shift in the energies of the kardia when Bessel tapped a ley line. You must have been working rogue magic at the same time,” Nimbulan replied blandly. A twinkle grew in the old man’s eyes. He sucked in his cheeks as if suppressing a laugh. He was enjoying himself.
    Bessel, however, didn’t dare relax. His life and his career were still in jeopardy.
    “Explain your outrageous accusation, Nimbulan.” Scarface stared at the former Senior Magician.
    All of the other master magicians remained absolutely silent. Only their eyes moved, shifting from Scarface to Nimbulan and over to Bessel, then back again.
    “You put forth the theory yourself last year in a very learned document,” Nimbulan continued. “Communal magic is tuned to Air and Fire much like a harp and flute can be tuned to blend their music together. Kardia and Water are similarly tuned—but to a different harmony that does not blend well with Air and Fire. For you to sense the changes in the Kardia energies, you must have been in tune with them. What were you doing in the first moments of the storm? The moment when, under orders, Bessel grabbed the only magical energy available to him in a mad attempt to rescue Ambassador Jorghe-Rosse.”
    Bessel watched Nimbulan cock one eyebrow in question. Then the former magician raised his left hand, palm outward, fingers slightly curved.
    “I was . . . I was . . .” Scarface stammered. He glanced at each magician around the table, as if seeking inspiration. At last he looked Nimbulan directly in the eye and spoke. “I am not on trial here, Nimbulan. Journeyman Bessel is. If I was tuned to the kardia, I was not aware of it. Bessel knew precisely what he did and why.”
    The man lied. Bessel knew it in his gut as surely as he knew the dog waited for him outside the door.
    “The why is important, too,” Nimbulan reminded them all. “You told him to do whatever was necessary to save the ambassador.”
    “And he failed,” Scarface concluded.
    “At least I tried. And I almost drowned trying. None of you offered me any assistance or advice,” Bessel accused. “Did you want the ambassador to die so that you could prove your superiority in another war?”
    The chill of his wet clothes had penetrated to his bones hours ago. None of these judgmental masters had even offered him a towel, or a chair, or a hot drink. Yet here they sat, fat and warm and comfortable and dry.
    “Would you have jumped into the storm-tossed Bay to rescue a foreign ambassador?” Nimbulan asked everyone in the room.
    “I can’t swim,” Scarface whispered.
    “Then how would you have carried out your own orders to save the ambassador at all costs?”
    Silence rang around the room.
    “Masters, come. We have a situation,” Lyman called from the doorway. He breathed heavily as if he had run up all three flights of stairs to the workroom. A sparkle in his eyes indicated he had left much unsaid and that amused him.
    The dog dashed between Lyman’s legs to jump against Bessel. He whined and yipped for attention until Bessel picked up the smelly bundle of tangled curls. Warmth began to penetrate his body immediately.
    “What, Lyman?” Scarface demanded. Every muscle in his body radiated his angry frustration.
    “I have interrupted an attempt to free Maia from our custody. The Rovers have hired a professional to do their dirty work.”
    “Rovers in the capital? We cannot allow Rovers anywhere near Maia,” Scarface said.
    As one, the masters rose and rushed toward the door. They appeared all too anxious to separate themselves from the uncomfortable questions and accusations that had been flung about.
    Scarface grabbed Nimbulan and Bessel by their arms to stay their retreat.
    “This business is not finished. For now, Bessel is in your custody, Nimbulan. See that he