Free Silver Mage (Book 2) by D.W. Jackson Page A

addresses the public. I believe he would be the best choice as it would seem that he has a better grasp on the current situation.
    Bren could almost feel Master Turneal’s hate as they walked down the stairs back toward the ground level. “Do either of you know of a way to amplify my voice so that everyone will be able to hear me clearly?” Bren asked in an effort to ease some of the tension.
    “Master Turneal is a master with wind magic so I believe he will be able to take care of your needs, isn’t that correct Master Turneal?” Master Rouma said with a sly smirk.
    “Of course I can do something as simple as that,” Master Turneal said, his voice low and dangerous sounding.
    “Then I shall be relying on you master,” Bren said calmly, though inside he was anything but.
    Before they reached the doors leading out of the tower, Bren could hear the voices of the many people gathered outside. Taking a deep breath, Bren looked over to Cass and his friend gave him a confident nod.
    As the doors swung open, the loud cries slowly died down and before they reached the amassed group, it was as if all the noise in the world had come to a crashing stop.
    “Ready?” Bren asked Master Turneal, who simply nodded in reply, his face no longer holding the look of contempt and open hate it had before, though his eyes clearly showed his true feelings.
    “People of Torin,” Bren said loudly, but his voice rang throughout the small square like a raging thunderstorm. “As you might have heard, King Killian’s men have found a large force of the Brotherhood far to the north. At the moment it doesn’t look as if they are moving toward us, but we cannot ignore the movements of our enemies. As soon as the weather permits, we will be hosting Rane, Farlan, and Abla so that we may discuss the best course of action. During this time, patrols will be increased and the magical warning wards will be checked daily by the tower to make sure that we all remain safe. I ask that you do not panic and remember that we shall do everything within our power to keep you safe.”
    As Bren finished his short speech, the gathered people remained silent for a few moments until they were sure he was finished. Slowly, the small sounds of whispers begun to spring up, and there were a few raised voices, but for the most part the crowd begun to disperse. As he watched everyone leave, he wished that he had been given more time to properly prepare for addressing them, but sometimes life didn’t give you what you wanted or needed. You just had to make do with what you had.
    “Well said your majesty,” Rouma said, patting Bren on the back. “Let us hope that next time we will have a bit more time before the people become aware of such a situation. It is never good to address the public on short notice.”
    “If you two would be so kind as to excuse me, there is much I have to get ready for,” Bren said apologetically. “I must admit that I am not prepared to host three visiting monarchs at the same time and might need to call on the aid of the tower.”
    “Considering the situation, I am sure that it won’t be a problem,” Rouma said smiling. “As you said, now is the time to show that we can work together when needed.”

 
    CHAPTER VIII
    Everything began to happen so fast over the next few days. The tower council began to send over Karin daily to check on what was going on, even though he had not received any more information from the king as of yet. The magical races were not silent either. It seemed that they felt left out and created their own council.
    Bren might have been taken aback by a small group of citizens requesting a meeting if Crusher and Lillian had not been among those within the council of magical races. It seemed that the council wasn’t just based in Torin either, but each council member took orders from those back in their homeland, giving the council much more weight, at least in an official capacity. Bren would have listened to