Chapter 31: The Forbidden Arts
The "cleaners" arrived twenty minutes later. They were a group of stoic men and women wearing heavy aprons, the kind usually worn by butchers.
They were professionals, paid to ignore secrets. But even they stopped dead in their tracks when they walked through the workshop gates.
"Gods above..." the head cleaner muttered, staring at the entrance.
Two bodies lay stiff near the main gate, their muscles locked in unnatural poses. Inside the courtyard, another man lay foaming at the mouth in front of Seraphina's door.
But the real horror was inside the apprentice's quarters.
Nine men were scattered across the floor of Lucas's room, unconscious and twitching occasionally from the residual nerve damage. And in the center of the room, tied up with thick rope, was Garret Blackwood.
The feared assassin looked like a piece of raw meat. His face was swollen beyond recognition, and blood had splattered so far it stained the curtains across the room.
"Do you want us to ask questions, sir?" the head cleaner asked, looking at Asher with fear in his eyes.
"No," Asher said, wiping his hands on a rag. "Just clean. Pack the trash up and dump them at the Blackwood estate's front door. Send a message that the 'trash' has been returned."
The cleaners nodded quickly, terrified of the man who had done this. They got to work, scrubbing the blood as if it were just spilled wine.
An hour later, the sun was fully up.
Asher and Lucas sat in a small, sterile room in the lower district. The sign outside read Dr. Aris – General Practitioner, but the inside smelled of herbs and ozone.
"Hold still, boy," Dr. Aris grunted. He was an old man with spectacles and shaking hands.
He hovered his hands over the deep stab wound in Lucas's thigh. Asher watched closely, expecting him to stitch it up.
Instead, Dr. Aris's palms began to glow with a soft, green light.
Asher's eyes widened. "You..."
"Hush," the doctor muttered. The light intensified, and right before Asher's eyes, the skin on Lucas's leg began to knit together. The bleeding stopped instantly. The deep gash closed up, leaving only a faint pink scar.
"That will be five silver coins," Dr. Aris said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Stay off the leg for a day."
Asher paid the man, his mind racing. He waited until they were outside, walking down the cobblestone streets of Silvercross City, before he grabbed Lucas's shoulder.
"Lucas," Asher hissed. "That doctor. He was using magic."
Lucas blinked, confused. "Yes? He is a Life-Mage. Dr. Aris is the best in the district."
"You act like that's normal," Asher said, lowering his voice. "I thought magic was rare? I thought only the nobility in the Capital had access to it?"
Lucas laughed, limping slightly. "Asher, you really did lose your memories, didn't you? Healing magic isn't rare. Every estate owner has a healer on retainer. It's a utility, like a blacksmith or a cook."
"Then why didn't the Blackwoods use magic to attack us?" Asher asked. "If magic is common, why use swords? Why not just throw a fireball at our gate?"
Lucas stopped walking. His face went serious.
"Because this is Silvercross," Lucas whispered. "Using magic for Offense or Defense is strictly prohibited here. It's the Emperor's oldest law."
Lucas pointed toward the distant north, where the mountains touched the clouds.
"Real magicians—Battle Mages who can burn cities or summon storms—are only trained in the Capital, at the Imperial Academy. And no one from a merchant city like Silvercross is allowed to attend. We are banned from learning the 'War Arts'."
Asher's eyes narrowed as the pieces of the puzzle clicked together.
"I see," Asher muttered. "That explains everything."
"It does?"
"The Blackwoods," Asher said, a cold smile forming on his face. "They are rich, they have soldiers, but they don't have power. They aren't allowed to hire Battle Mages because of the law. They are stuck with swords and arrows."
He looked at his own hands—the hands of an engineer.
"That's why they want me. My machines... my electricity... they mimic high-tier magic. But since it's 'science,' it doesn't break the Emperor's law."
Lucas nodded slowly. "Exactly. If they possess you, they possess the power of a Battle Mage without technically breaking the rules. You are the loophole, Asher."
Asher looked up at the smoking chimneys of the city. He wasn't just a target anymore. He was the most valuable asset in the entire region.
"Let's go home, Lucas," Asher said. "We have a lot of work to do. If they want a war without magic... I'll give them something much worse."