Jano pried his sodden clothes from his body with a slap. He didn’t want to imagine what might be stuck to him; every time his mind betrayed him, his stomach turned. He approached the Dome once more, ready to explain in very precise detail the reasons why he would never be crawling through sewers for him again. He had never figured out why such a place would be buried beneath the city, it was truly beautiful. As he plodded down the stone steps a strange sense of caution swept over him.

He entered the grand structure with care. Something felt wrong. At a distance, he could see the Mage sitting in the middle of the arena, head looking forward, his palms upturned. The position looked almost meditative. Jano felt his heart begin to pound a little harder. The little hairs on the back of his neck raised one by one.

“Did you retrieve it?” Darrel asked, his tone somber.

Jano opened his pack and grabbed the items. He lifted it high above his head as he walked toward the robed figure ahead. It looked a little less grand under the dull lighting of the Dome. He thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head to investigate, there was nothing there. Jano could feel his heartbeat in his ears now.

“Good. Thank you for delivering it to me.” The Mage’s voice was soft, subdued. It was unnatural. It was unnerving.

Once more, Jano thought he saw shadows move in the distance. The Mage didn’t so much as flinch, he remained sitting. Jano recognised the body language, it looked like defeat. A noise broke the eerie silence, a stone chipping at the far end of the Dome. Suddenly, crunching noises could be heard. The sound of the loose surface under rushing feet.

A small group of robed figures swept down from their hiding place in the stands in the distance and powered towards them. Darrel didn’t move, choosing instead to remain on the arena floor. There was no reaction. Not even a start or a small jump. A tall man in golden robes led the charge. The robe wasn’t loose or baggy as the others. It was fitted over his upper body, tight against a broad frame.

Seeing that Darrel refused to move, Jano looked to the exits and moved to run. He didn’t want to face the Lesser Court again. The man in the golden robes moved his hand slightly and Jano found that he was held in place with no prospect of movement. As though the floor was suddenly swallowing him. He tried to strain against the invisible force. Nothing happened. He was well and truly stuck.

Had he been tricked? Was this all some sort of ploy to find those who burgled the University? Jano’s head was spinning. He tried to suppress the thoughts, in case somehow they could betray him, but they continued to swim into his consciousness at their leisure.

“Remain where you are.” The man in the golden robes pronounced forcefully. Jano would have smiled at that, if he could have moved his face. He certainly wasn’t moving anywhere in a hurry, so it seemed somewhat pointless to say. The man grabbed Darrel’s head and forced it upward. So that he would be looking at Jano. Seemingly, the Mage offered no resistance to the man.

“So this is your thief?” The golden robes covered the man’s face. Jano couldn’t move, but fear was shaking his insides. “We’ve been trailing you for quite some time! Ever since you broke into our stores. Our excellency was right, given enough time, you led us straight to your master.” He smiled as he looked at Jano. It was a vicious, terrible smile.

“We followed you back to your little shack in the Slums. Found your pretty little wife all alone.” He smiled menacingly. Jano thought he sounded more like a bandit than a Mage. Jano wanted to move. Demand what they had done with Alsace. But he was rooted to the spot. And couldn’t say a word.

“Don’t worry, she’s safe now. She’s at the Palace with a few others. You might even join them if our friend here does what they're told.” He pulled at the jaw of the Mage, who was still sitting silently on the floor.

“Speak! You have been caught in your act of treason. You will be taken to the Emperor to answer for your crimes.” He snarled. The man in the golden robes removed his hood. A thick set of twisted braids tumbled out of the hood, revealing the man’s face. His features and skin were dark and his expression matched. “So this is the mighty Dareia? Once groomed as an Archmage? Now an outsider and enemy of the Empire?”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Dariea? Jano thought. He stared at the scene in the centre of the Dome. That was the least of his troubles at the moment. He struggled once more and found that he was still immobile.

He began to walk around the Mage. “Talk, don’t talk. It doesn’t matter here. You will answer to the Emperor though.” His lips curled and formed a victorious smile. “I expected at least a little fight.”

The man in the golden robes tried to drag the Mage to his feet. The robes flew quickly into the air and he was left holding empty cloth. An overwhelming force began to bear down on the arena. Jano was forced to his knees momentarily. He thought he was being crushed to death by the invaders. Though in an instance he was released. He couldn’t have imagined such a pressure, it was different to being held in place. It felt like his bones were being pushed through his skin. He panted, and was glad that it was only brief.

Another robed figure floated from the side of the Dome. The man in the golden robes briefly broke free of the force and fired something green at the stranger. “Dariea!” He spat.

The stranger deflected the blow and forced the man in the golden robes to his knees once more. In the process, the hood of the stranger had fallen down. It was a woman with long dark hair in a simple robe. Her face looked vaguely familiar, but Jano didn’t think he had never met her before. And there was that name again. Dariea?

Jano looked at her as she landed softly between him and the attackers and she smiled at him. He was free and he moved to run out of the Dome. “Just wait a second there, Jano. I need to keep the Dome sealed while I deal with this lot.” She spoke with an incredible familiarity, and he recognised the voice.

Grateful that he was no longer sealed in place, he backed himself against the comfort of the stone wall. He felt his wrist tingle a little, his purple tattoo glowing, pulsating. As if it could sense the power. “It has been a long time since someone in this place spoke my true name. Let me guess, the Emperor tracked me and sent his little puppet to bring me to him?” She laughed.

“Such a small force. I almost couldn’t believe this was all of you. The city tapers my powers a little to be sure, but not that much.” She raised the man in the golden robes up to face her. His limbs hung lifeless from his body, as though it was only his torso now being held in place.

“Previous Archmages were strong, independent thinkers. Powerful Mages one and all, with the respect of everyone, even the Emperor. What are you if you are not a puppet?” She asked the man, who could not respond even if he wanted to.

That’s the Archmage of the University? Jano thought. He was exceptionally confused and he was constantly fighting the instinct to run. Who is this woman? She was clearly a person of authority and great power. All of the things he had said about Dariea sounded a lot like Darrel. But it couldn’t be the same person. He had talked to him. He had even been held in place by him during the interrogation. While he was distracted by the illusions. He couldn’t have been one? Jano was tying himself up in knots.

“Speak. Tell me everything.” She commanded.

Jano noticed the other Mages were flat on the ground of the Dome. Limbs splayed at weird angles. As though they had been crushed by whatever power was keeping them all in place.

“.... we… you…. We were told you were plotting to overthrow the Empire. That you wanted it all for yourself. That you needed to be stopped.” He stammered.

She laughed. “Overthrow the Empire? Well at least that much is true. That was the plan. Sort of. Keep it for myself? Why would I want to inherit what he has turned this place into?” She shook her head. “No, I’ve simply come to stop him. You have no idea what the Emperor is planning to do. What he is capable of.” She looked at the Archmage with disgust. “Or perhaps you do, and you are just stupid and cowardly enough to go along with it.”

She threw the man down with a crash. But it all seemed effortless. Dust flew into the air as he landed. Jano watched as the group of Mages lay still on the floor. They still couldn’t move, either because of the force he had briefly felt, or because they were dead. He couldn’t decide which. Deep violet strings erupted from Dariea. Dark tendrils swirled across the floor to the intruders and swept across them. Slowly, they were raised to the roof of the Dome and were left hanging there.

Seemingly satisfied, the woman landed maybe five paces from Jano. Now she was closer, he was both sure that he recognised the woman and that he had never met her before.

She smiled as she approached slowly. “I’m sorry Jano. There is much I need to explain. Why is it I’m always saying that to you?” Always? Jano sat in stunned silence.