The War Begins

Chapter 4 - the Council Begins

The Prince weaved his way free of the crowd of people waiting to walk up into the seats around the door and headed toward the thrones with the human on his arm. They may be in the beginnings of a war, but the elves loved to gossip.

The girl was a scandal that was being publicized by his father, a test of sorts. How much ridicule and speculation would Keenan go through to be with this girl? Caine could see Keenan whispering in the girl's ear and, along with every other magician he was sure, sharpened his hearing.

"It's just a test. We'll get through this together." Keenan muttered softly in her ear.

She nodded and straightened her back. Well, at least she has guts, Caine thought. The pair walked down the aisle arm in arm and sat in the two seats arranged one level below the corners of the King's impressive throne.

The magical barrier had fully enclosed the large chamber, when the door behind the King opened. Every magician was on their feet reaching to their core of power by the time the door was halfway open. While they may not always believe in the same ideals, for the time being it was part of any magician's job to protect the King and his elves. That was the reason magicians had been invited into any council chamber in the first place: protection for those in power, even from friends and followers.

"So touchy." A warm feminine voice cooed. A crash of power overwhelmed their senses and many magicians fell to their knees.

But Caine was ranked highly for a reason. He stood tall and tried to push back the overwhelming wave of power with the few others who still stood with him. The strain of keeping his own magic separate from that of the entity pressing down was beginning to overpower his other senses but he could still think rationally in a small part of his brain. His vision and hearing blanked out as he fought to stay strong.

How did someone powerful enough to overpower all the magicians escape all notice and get in the Council room in the first place? All magicians gave off a power signature and they could sense extremely powerful magicians, as this person must be, from far away. The more power a magician gained the more they buzzed with energy to the senses of a fellow magician.

"Enough," the King's voice sounded tired. Immediately the power began to recede. "I said stop!"

"If I let up the pressure immediately, they will collapse and the rush of power back could damage them for a long period of time. Let me do my job and the magicians will be fine." The last sentence was snapped out but the power kept slowly retreating into the body standing next to the King's throne. The voice sounded slightly different this time.

Caine's senses began to function again and the black haze over his vision receded with the power. Many magicians began to rise as their bodies took control from their power fried minds. They all glared at the slight body that moved to sit on the left arm of the King's throne.

"You are in a bad temper today. Return when you have control of yourself." The King spoke harshly. The figure stood.

"You have no faith in me. We'll speak about this privately," The light voice snapped. On the heels of this statement, smoke rose from the floor and engulfed the figure standing by the King's throne. When it settled, the magician had disappeared.

Caine would assume she had left the room other than the fact that the barrier kept such things from happening. The other magician must still be present, invisible and under control. So under control, none of their power leaked into the other magicians; a feat almost impossible for magicians with the level of power this one possessed.

Caine began to try and form a picture of the magician but came up with only a fuzzy outline of a medium height slim figure. With a better picture, he could track the movement of the invisible mage in the room. He could swear that he looked straight at the offending magician, but he couldn't find the image.