Fated

I didn’t answer. In my time as Richard’s apprentice, I’d met hundreds of Dark mages, often briefly; it was quite believable that Morden had been one of them. What bothered me was how much he seemed to know. Dark mages tend to have good intelligence networks, but there were very few who knew all the details from that time. ‘We have a word for mages such as you, Verus,’ Morden said. ‘Rogues. Mages who reject the tradition in which they’ve been trained. Most look down on them, but in truth some of the most powerful mages in history have been rogues … on both sides. Of those, several of the most famous have been ones who ended up rejoining the tradition in which they were raised.’ Morden steepled his fingers and looked at me with raised eyebrows, as if waiting for something.

It took me a moment to get it. ‘Are you … suggesting something?’

‘More of an offer, actually. Competent diviners are so rare. One of the reasons Richard went to such an effort to recruit you, and why he was so disappointed at how things turned out.’

Richard had gone to an effort to recruit me? He’d always acted as though it had been something casual. ‘I thought you said rogues weren’t highly thought of.’

‘I believe in second chances.’ Morden tilted his head. ‘It can’t have escaped your attention that you could use some allies. As things stand, you’re friends with neither the Dark alliance nor the Council of the Light.’

‘I wasn’t aware there was a Dark alliance.’

‘At present?’ Morden smiled. ‘If the fateweaver should be retrieved, I’m sure you can see how things might change.’

‘Yes …’ I said. ‘Listen, given that you seem to know so much about me, I’m assuming you know that my last association with Dark mages didn’t exactly end well. For any of us.’

Morden shrugged. ‘A certain degree of conflict is expected in the apprenticeship process.’

‘That’s one way to put it.’

‘Remember, Verus, you never completed your training. Disagreements such as yours are quite normal. Their purpose is to teach an apprentice the True Path. In your case, while events certainly didn’t go well, the end result would have been considered acceptable, I think. You’re a Dark mage in all but name already.’

‘No, I’m not,’ I said sharply. The words were out before I could think.

‘It’s natural you should be unhappy at the comparison,’ Morden said calmly. ‘You associate the name of a Dark mage with Richard’s behaviour. But being a Dark mage doesn’t mean being destructive or vicious. We don’t believe in evil for its own sake, or any of the silly propaganda that others spread. We simply recognise the truth – that all definitions of good and evil ultimately come down to points of view. You no doubt consider Richard’s behaviour evil. He would have disagreed. But think for a moment. How did you eventually survive?’

‘On my own.’

‘Exactly.’ Morden pointed at me. ‘You didn’t waste time trying to convince Richard that you were right and he was wrong. You broke away with your own abilities.’

‘I know what I did.’ A part of me remembered that I shouldn’t piss Morden off, but it was getting harder and harder. ‘I was there.’

Morden simply watched. I took a deep breath, and slowly regained my cool. ‘What are you trying to say?’ I finally asked.

‘I’m simply pointing out the obvious. You survived and escaped because you were powerful enough, which is, of course, what this is really all about. If you hadn’t, none of your beliefs would have mattered. Certainly the Council doesn’t seem to share your views about, well,’ Morden raised an eyebrow, ‘anything, really. I’m sure you know they’re never going to accept you. They didn’t employ you for this job until they’d exhausted literally every other alternative, even though you were more than qualified. So, once again,’ Morden looked at me pleasantly, ‘you’re an enemy of the Council; you live on your wits and your power. Effectively, you’re a Dark mage in all but name – except for one thing.’

Morden raised his eyebrows as if inviting me to ask what it was. I didn’t. ‘A true Dark mage has purpose,’ Morden went on once it was clear I wasn’t going to speak. ‘Those who lack purpose are pawns to those who do not. Which brings us back to our original question. What do you want?’

‘What do you want?’

Morden smiled. ‘I want the fateweaver, of course. That’s hardly a secret. The question is who you want to get it.’

I started to answer and realised suddenly that I didn’t know. I’d been so busy manoeuvring between the different factions over the last two days that I’d never stopped to think of who I actually wanted to win. And why should I have thought about it? It wasn’t up to me.

Except now I did stop to think, I realised it was up to me. Enough of the pieces of the puzzle had ended up in my hands that I could make a difference. Morden was right. Until now I’d just been reacting, being pushed around by one faction or another. If I was going to get out of this in one piece, I’d have to stop reacting and start acting. And that meant figuring out exactly what I wanted.