Hidden Power by Tracy Lane

was close enough, or wise enough, to hear.
    “He cast you?” asked the silver haired mage, inching closer to Kayne to hear his answer. “Just now? He could be thrown off the Council for that.”
    “I think he’s got bigger fish to fry,” chuckled Kayne humorlessly, testing his sore shoulder by stretching first one arm, and then the next, feeling the cool material of his sleeves caress his skin.
    “What does that mean, boy?”
    Kayne shivered to hear the mage’s shift in tone. He wasn’t mad, just… intensely curious. “Where did he go just now?” Iragos asked. “When he left, boy, where did Kronos go?”
    Kayne thought of Aurora and her small, ungainly Nayer. He thought of the horror that awaited them both once Kronos caught up to them and discovered the Ythra orb hidden in the Below-dweller’s battered leather knapsack. 
    Iragos stood, seeming to hover before him, eyes kind but persistent. “Well?” he asked. “I asked you a direct question, Kayne. I demand an answer before I—”
    “I must…” Kayne sputtered, interrupting the towering light mage. “I must not betray my master.”
    Iragos shook his head. “It stays between us,” he says, pacing impatiently now, arms folded across his chest. “The Council, and your Master, will never know.”
    Kayne wasn’t sure he could trust Iragos, but neither could he let Kronos loose on the unsuspecting Aurora without at least warning the other mages on the Council. 
    “He had me steal the Orb!” Kayne blurted, burying his face in his arm as he covered himself in shame. “He cast a spell on the guards and ordered me to steal the Orb of Ythra.”
    Iragos stood, mouth agape, eyes half-slits. For the moment, standing still, arms sliding to his sides, the light mage was speechless as his silvery hair fluttered around his distinguished face. 
    “But I couldn’t give it to him!” Kayne blurted, shaking his head, staring up at Iragos. “I… I was on my way to when you bumped into me.”
    “So what did you do with it, Kayne?”
    “I hid it in Aurora’s knapsack.”
    “Aurora?” Iragos said aloud, as if to himself. He began pacing again, as if jump-starting his circulation might also revive his memory. Then, in mid-stride, his eyes grew wide.  “The girl from Synurgus? The Citizen from Below? How… why did you do that, Kayne?”
    Kayne shook his head, confessing, “I thought… I thought if she could get away, I could fool Kronos somehow and, when his guard was down, slip down to Synurgus and find her and hide the orb in a better spot.”
    “Hide it?” roared Iragos, advancing on Kayne in the tiny space. “It is not a plaything to be hidden, boy! That orb represents the security of our world, of this entire planet…”
    “I know,” Kayne sputtered. “Don’t you think I know that? I didn’t… I didn’t know what to do!”
    Iragos turned, suddenly, robe flowing around him as he fled toward the door. “Where will you go?” Kayne dared to ask.
    Iragos turned just once before fleeing the room. “I must pursue Kronos and find the orb before he does.” He turned, advancing on Kayne once more. 
    Kayne shriveled against the wall until Iragos paused, midway across the room, and held up a comforting hand. “Don’t tell anyone what you’ve done,” warned the tense mage, shaking his head warily. “Or where I’ve gone. Can I trust you to do that, Kayne?”
                Kayne scrambled to his feet. “Yes, yes,” he promised, quickly, dusting off his cloak. “But what of the elections? The Council? What will they do without you?”
    Iragos considered the question briefly before turning back toward the door. “If I don’t find the Orb before Kronos,” he said over his shoulder. “There will be no elections, for there will be no Council. There may not even be a me…”

10

    Aurora was amazed that, as the mage had warned her, time had actually stood still while she was in the City of Ythura. The day was still only half done, the