The Warlock Senator (Book 2) by Sam Ferguson

bench with a sour grimace across his face. He hated to travel this way. He was sick of the pageantry, the sycophantic boot-lickers, and the horribly tortuous snail’s pace it forced him to suffer. He would much rather open a portal and be done with it. But, he couldn’t afford to expose himself. As it was he found it difficult enough to mix his own mercenaries with the standard escorts such as Captain Thorgrave. Always needing to stop in a village for food as a pretext for getting his prisoner alone in the back of the prison transport was getting to be quite exhausting.
    So, he played the part of a pompous senator. He employed a garish entourage and employed full military protection on occasion when he traveled beyond Drakai Glazei’s walls. This visit had been trickier than most, with the need for his military detail to join with him after he had already been travelling, but the soldiers knew better than to ask questions of a senator, and the mercenaries cared little as long as they were paid. Arresting Lord Lokton was the first time he had actually used his military escort for something productive, however. He knew other senators that used their escorts to pick up food from the market, or even to finish yard work that their regular household staff had done improperly.
    “Senators,” Bracken grumbled while wiggling himself back into a comfortable position in the cushion. “All of them corrupt and too preoccupied with their own petty self-interests to have any real power.” They only had the appearance of power, he knew, perhaps with the exception of Senator Mickelson. He was a fairly young senator who seemed genuinely ethical, but his influence was still too small to pose any real threat to Bracken. His family had never been impressive to begin with, and Bracken often wondered why that family had ever been chosen to serve in the senate.
    He straightened his left sleeve and shifted in his seat again, finally finding the groove he had been creating during the last couple hours of his nap. As he closed his eyes he thought how pleasing it would be to finally rip off his false identity. He could see the other senators’ reactions. They would all stand dumbfounded with their drooling, wrinkled mouths hanging open and not the slightest clue what to do. Many of them were already close enough to him that they would likely remain as supporters, but what of Mickelson and the few that had thus far resisted him? What would they say? What would they do?
    Likely nothing, he knew. What could they do in light of his fully revealed power? For now he played the part of a waiting pit viper. He would bait the trap with Lord Lokton. The Keeper of Secrets would have to come. Not only would it discredit Lepkin and his position to ignore the summons, but Erik would demand his father’s rescue. Bracken smiled wickedly and cracked his knuckles as a bit of blue fire danced across his fingertips. Master Lepkin would come to rescue Lord Lokton. Then, Bracken would be able to spring his trap. He would kill Lepkin and Lokton in the same day, and destroy any chance Erik might have to grow powerful enough to defeat him.
    The warlock senator closed his eyes and savored his anticipated victory. The master would be pleased, and the warlock would be closer to achieving his innermost desires.
    “We are approaching the city!” a shout came from outside.
    Bracken opened his eyes resentfully. “Perfect timing,” he grumbled. He popped his head through the window again and looked up just as the carriage rounded a curve in the road. The late afternoon sun glinted off the copper flecks speckling the black granite walls of the city. The walls stood a foreboding forty feet tall, affording a great vantage point at each of its several towers for the garrisoned forces. Only the king’s tower rose above the walls enough to be visible from the road. The great, square spire reached three times as high as the walls, casting its great shadow over the whole valley