Free The Warlock Senator (Book 2) by Sam Ferguson

indications over the years that Lord Finorel is more interested in preserving his own wealth and standing than the integrity of our southern border, or even the lives of his people.”
    Lady Arkyn raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “If that is the case, then perhaps I could travel south and use my bow there?”
    “You are bloodthirsty, aren’t you?” Wendal chided.
    She winked back and him and smiled coyly. “Can’t be a hero unless you do something that people remember.”
    Orres cleared his throat. The other two quieted down and blushed. “It is entirely possible that the letters are harmless. So let’s not convict anyone until we prove their guilt, understood?”
    “Yes sir,” they answered together.
    “Alright, now let’s get to it. I have some students waiting in my office,” Orres said.
    “Schoolyard fight?” Arkyn asked.
    “No, just letters of concern from their parents. Apparently, the dueling tournament with Erik has made quite a stir in the kingdom. All the students write home about how a couple of apprentices got injured and all of a sudden I am justifying the entire academy and doing damage control to keep the tuition money flowing in.”
    “Back to the boring job of headmaster then,” Arkyn teased.
     
    *****
     
    Al took a drink from his goblet and studied Erik. Seeing the boy’s mannerisms acted out through Lepkin’s body was unnerving to say the least, but Al found that if he concentrated on Erik’s eyes, it helped him look beyond the physical body to see the young man inside. “Well, at least you’re taller,” Al said with a grin.
    Erik frowned. “A lot of good that will do me,” he replied.
    Al shrugged. “Whether the boy is in Lepkin’s body or not, I have to take Lepkin to the tribunal. You know the consequences if Lepkin fails to answer the summons.”
    “So, that is how it must be,” Marlin said somberly.
    Erik shook his head. “They will see through me,” he said. “I may be in Master Lepkin’s body, but I am not him.”
    Al nodded and thunked his empty goblet on the table. “That is true, lad, but if you fail to answer the summons, then it will be used against us.”
    Dimwater conjured a shot of absinthe before her with a flaming sugar cube over the glass. She noticed Marlin’s disapproving stare as she reached for it. “It helps clear my head,” she said with a shrug. She tossed the glass back, swallowing the contents in a single, wide-mouthed gulp.
    “My sense of morality aside, such habits would kill a normal person,” Marlin commented.
    “You and I both know that I am anything but a normal person, Marlin,” Dimwater replied.
    “Still, it can’t be good for you,” Marlin retorted.
    Al shuddered as a puff of thin, gray smoke emerged from Dimwater’s nostrils. “Not very lady-like either,” the dwarf put in.
    Dimwater arched her brow and tossed the glass into the air, where it promptly vanished to another realm. “I never claimed to be a lady,” she rebuffed. “Now, shall we debate my habits, or get back to the matter at hand?”
    Al leaned forward and ripped a golden brown turkey leg from the platter. Steam snaked up as the skin cracked and the joint snapped apart. He tore a mouthful of the leg off and sucked in a breath around the piping hot bite.
    Marlin sighed. “Master Lepkin had been gathering allies to the king.”
    Dimwater folded her arms across her chest. “To neglect the summons is to further weaken the kingdom,” she agreed.
    “The Livonian order would likely remain true,” Al put in.
    “They would remain faithful to the king, but they would ignore Lepkin,” Dimwater countered. “As would everyone else. A failure to appear for the summons would be viewed as an insult to the king directly, if not an open act of defiance.”
    Erik pushed his empty plate away and slumped back in his chair. “Tell me what to do,” he said. “I can go, but I don’t know what to do when I get there.”
    The four of them sat for a few moments in