Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

Chapter 76: A Royal Threat

It was not unexpected, but seeing the truth laid before her eyes still chilled Kommora, despite the winter sun shining through the windows behind her. Liore's neat cursive, to the untrained eye, might have relayed details of her recent social meetings with her fellow old military school comrades, but to Kommora, the underlying message was clear: the king's mages had been selling Karma's runes to Hanna for at least two years.

The changes around them were subtle, but the rune output from Ospringe and Wainscott, the two main mass producers of runes, had remained unchanged over the past two years and yet the demands had gone up in absence of any significant technological or economic change. The runes were being ferried elsewhere, and now Kommora knew where.

War. They wanted a war. And they wanted Hanna to win. But why? They were already at the top of their powers in Karma. No mage opposed them. The king yielded to their demands. They pulled every string in the country. And yet they wished Karma to fall and its demon-wielding country to take over. What did they stand to gain?

King Mephis of Hanna wouldn't have agreed to this. This must be why they waited until he'd died and his son, Fautos, took over. Kommora wondered what the twisted, bloodthirsty son of Mephis must have promised the king's mages, who had no uniting qualities of their own and enough selfishness to last centuries, to make them abandon their own country and betray their own men together.

Kommora's sensors alerted her to their presence long before the clacking of their polished boots reached her ears. She straightened up and incinerated Liore's message with an altered orange rune, leaving no trace. There was a brisk, singular knock on the door. Kommora stood up as it slammed open. A long-necked, sallow-skinned man strode through. Behind him, Liore and Ash followed, flanked by more soldiers.

"Brigadier General Villin," she said, "how nice of you to visit."

"Mage Kommora Haigh," said the greasy-haired man whose presence made Kommora itch. Out of all the higher-ups in the military she had known throughout her career, he was the single one she'd been most wary of; not to mention he was also one of the few Ash had not been able to investigate due to the heavy security surrounding both Villin and his interactions with the king's mages. "You are under detention for suspected crimes against the crown."

Kommora's lips pressed tighter together just a fraction, but she ensured her face showed no emotion.

"You and your military personnel will hereby surrender your weapons and follow us to Department Thirteen. Anything you say now may be used against you in trials. If you struggle, we will not hesitate to implement corporal punishment."

"Of course we will not resist the orders of the state, Brigadier General," was Kommora's cool reply, but her heart gave a pang. It was only a matter of time. Most people were not on her side, after all, and they had ears everywhere. They had no evidence on her; of that, Kommora was certain, however it was not surprising they assumed she had a hand in recent occurrences. It couldn't have been anyone else.

Villin gave her a hard stare as she made her way round the desk, hands behind her back. He wouldn't handcuff her, not when she went without a fight. It would give Department Thirteen a bad reputation if they were shown to be underhanded, especially with someone of Kommora's stature.

They escorted her to the Council of Mages. The sweeping stairs into the marble structure might be grand, but Kommora knew of the dark secrets held there. This was the place that decided which mage was too weak or had questionable loyalty, whose research benefitted the military the most regardless of ethics, and where the king's mages hid. No doubt the damage done when the rebels rescued Halen Ashworth had been long fixed; she'd heard no word about the cause of the explosion that night. The king's mages would never admit they'd let a convict escape.