by Eric Vall
“Oh, the Master has plans for you, Mason Flynt of Nowhere.” Daibusu began to giggle, an insane glint in his eyes. “First the railroad, so the kingdoms will continue to be divided, and then--“
There was a gunshot and as Daibusu collapsed, his hands to his bloody chest, Aurora and I were showered with sparks from above. Cayla walked over to us, smoking gun in hand.
“He was conjuring up something behind you,” the princess said. “Sneaky little prick.”
I pulled my own revolver out and cocked it, while I looked at him. The son of a bitch was still alive, just barely.
“Thank you, Princess Crackshot,” I said with a smirk. “I don’t think there’s much purpose in listening to these villains give a farewell speech anyhow. I mean, this guy is obviously cray cray.”
“Very obviously cray cray,” Aurora agreed.
“My Master wanted me to deliver a message to you,” Daibusu sneered as he lay in the dirt and gurgled on his own blood.
Though his chest was a gaping wound, I was still able to see the remains of a tattoo across it in the runes I had seen so many times before. They flashed before my eyes, from Abrus’s necklace, to the drawing scrawled in the mine and the “fuck you” graffiti at the station at Eyton, and then I thought of the Bandit Boss who exploded upon revealing his tattoo.
“Nah, chief,” I said as I fired my revolver into his head. “Here’s my message back.”
The three of us looked at the body on the ground before us, and blood pooled behind it like a shroud.
It seemed the score was now Mason - 3 , Master - 0.
“How are you doing?” I asked as I turned to Aurora. I remembered her reaction to the death of Abrus, the feelings of denial and betrayal.
“We stopped the Master’s agent, didn’t we?” Aurora said with a shrug. “I think we need to figure out a way to find anyone else who might be with him, and drive them out of the Order of Elementa.”
“It would be nice to have someone in the Order who was totally on our side,” I agreed, “but you knew Daibusu, too. How do you feel?”
“I feel … ” the half-elf paused to collect her thoughts. “I feel incredibly lucky. I could have easily been recruited by the likes of Abrus and Daibusu, but instead I fell in with you. And for that, I am very happy.”
I pulled her to me, and with my other arm, I pulled in Cayla.
Then we became aware that someone else was about to join us. Looking up, we saw the elderly Baroness of Pautua, who carried a sack.
The three of us blinked at her figure in surprised confusion because she didn’t seemed to be at all phased by the burning wreckage of the train or the corpse at our feet.
“You did ask for your steak to go, right?” she asked as she handed me the sack.
I opened the bag, and my mouth began to water. It still wasn’t quite morning, but I was ready for a steak dinner.
Chapter 15
“So my daughter is now known throughout my kingdom as Princess Crackshot?” King Davit chuckled as he embraced Cayla.
“Sorry, father,” Cayla giggled as she gave me a look. “Mason came up with it. It’s probably not the most ladylike nickname.”
“Nonsense, I couldn’t be more proud of you.” The king grinned and took a moment away from her to give me and Aurora big bear hugs as well. King Davit was a vastly different man than the one I had met mere weeks ago, but a lot had happened since then. In the trenches, I was happy to know we had all grown closer.
Now, more than ever, we needed to be unified and strong.
We were in the king’s throne room in his palace in Eyton, and I couldn’t help but think of the battle we had here with Camus Dred, the Bandit Boss, not so very long ago. It had been an absolute wreck between the fight, the walls and floor I had altered with my magecraft, and the explosion when Dred went out with a real bang. Of course, I repaired what I could afterwards, but it hadn’t been the same. Now, after weeks of hard work, the king’s craftsmen had brought it back to what it had been and then some.
Tapestries with scenes from Cedis’s history covered the stone walls, and the throne itself glowed golden in the torch light. Davit gestured to some benches, which had been cushioned in ornate fabrics.
“Please take a seat and tell me all there is to know about this Daibusu,” the king asked seriously.
“He was one of the most honored and powerful mages in the Order of Elementa,” Aurora began with a frown. “It seems The Master corrupted him, just like Abrus was corrupted.”
“And Camus Dred,” added King Davit.
“There’s a long list of all the men and creatures who have been touched by The Master,” Cayla replied with a nod. “He seems to be at the center of so much evil in the region, but this is the first time he has sent someone specifically to target Mason and us. Obviously, the Master considers us a threat that must be dealt with above all else.”
“I agree,” I said with a crooked grin. “The Master does not want to see the railroad succeed. We can’t say why exactly, but if I had to guess, it’s because he is afraid what will happen when the powers of the region are connected and working together.”
“That’s part of it, I agree,” Aurora spoke up, her emerald eyes on me, “but it’s also something more personal. You heard what Daibusu said. The Master wants you dead, Mason. It’s personal. That can only mean he fears you. However, he can be defeated, it’s connected to you, and he knows it.”
“Let me just say, I hope he’s right about that,” I said grimly. “I would love to be the one to put an end to that son of a bitch.”
“What I don’t understand is how Daibusu was able to get so close to us without anyone seeing him,” Cayla said thoughtfully. “He set off the explosion that nearly collapsed the mine, then he attacked us with a giant fire scorpion outside Rajenne. Next, he’s in Cedis, attacking us with the giant fire beasts, and again, escaping unseen. Finally, Daibusu manages to sneak to the rail station here in Eyton, set it on fire, and almost get away with stealing a train car. It’s like he was able to turn invisible!”
“Well, pretty much everywhere Daibusu attacked was somewhere good for hiding, the mine, the rocky terrain, the woods,” I pointed out. “Still, there must have been a time when someone saw him, right?”
“For that matter, how was he able to even keep up with you on your journey?” the king asked with a furrowed brow. “You went across hundreds of miles, and he was just one man.”
“Near the very end, when he transformed himself into that man made of fire and was able to fly, I felt that feeling again,” Aurora replied thoughtfully. “The one I felt before the collapse of the mine in Magehill, before all the fire creature attacks, and the attack on the station here. It is such the ultimate manifestation of an elemental mage’s power, to make yourself into your element, that I felt it when he was nearby. I just didn’t recognize it in time.”
As she spoke, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Aurora herself would ever tap into that power as an Ignis Mage. I could imagine her bathed in fire in flight over a battlefield, fireballs falling in her wake.
And what about me? What would be the ultimate power of a metal mage? I stopped my daydream when Aurora began to speak again.
“As far as not being visible, I’ve been thinking about that too,” Aurora said as she stood up and walked to the far end of the large chamber. “Humor me for a second and tell me what you see.”
Aurora closed her eyes and concentrated, and I smelled the scent of evergreen from across the room as she tapped into her power. I was expecting fire, but nothing happened, at least not immediately. Then the air around her rippled like it were made out of water. I stared with wide eyes as the half-elf seemed to warp and twist before my eyes.
Then, just as suddenly, she seemed to snap back to her normal, beautiful shape. Her jawline was set, and there was sweat on her brow.
“S-sorry, I think I can d-do it if only for a s-second,” Aurora said between gasps of air.
The Ignis Mage closed he
r eyes and concentrated again. The scent of evergreen was intense like a perfume that emanated from her. Once again, the air rippled around her, her form warped and twisted, and then she seemed to vanish. Just for a second, like she promised, and then she was back.
She looked weak, so I went to hold her, and as I did, I passed through a wave of heat.
“Where did you go?” the king demanded as he blinked at her in shock.
“N-nowhere, I was still here,” Aurora gasped. “I superheated just the air in fr-front of me without allowing it to combust into flame. An Ignis Mage with Daibusu’s power could probably maintain it for longer periods of time so we couldn’t see him even if we were staring right at him.”
“It’s called a mirage,” I said, impressed. “Light goes through the hot air faster than the cold air, and gets bent towards the denser air. You see it all the time when there’s a big difference between the surface temperature and the temperature of the air.”
Of course, I thought of examples the group wouldn’t understand. Hot asphalt, airplane fumes, but none of that would make any sense to them, and that was fine.
Luckily for me, at that moment, there was a tap on the door to interrupt my train of thought.
“Enter,” said King Davit.
Captain Mayard came into the royal chamber, accompanied by Haragh and Yaxin. I couldn’t help but notice the trader still wore his yellow-green cloak, and I was sure Cayla and Aurora took note of it as well.
“What is the status of the station?” the king asked.
“There’s nothing that can’t be fixed,” Haragh replied with a shrug. “Actually, we had our first delivery this morning. Supplies for rebuilding Cedis and a dozen mages from Illaria, courtesy of King Temin.”
“We will make them welcome.” King Davit nodded, and then he turned to Yaxin. “Have we settled on our contract?”
“Yes, I only need to get the signature from my bosses in Orebane,” the lead trader said.
“Ah, so they’re dwarves,” the king mused as he stroked his beard. “That makes sense.”
I felt my excitement build, but I tried to keep my cool. I had only heard mere mentions of the dwarves, but they were said to be master miners. Sounded like my kind of folk.
“Maybe it would be good if I accompanied you,” I suggested calmly, “to meet the dwarves. The mages can now go back and forth along the rail line from here to Serin, and King Temin is still waiting for a reply from the Nalnoran elves. Perhaps if we get the dwarves on our side too, we can be more prepared for when the Master inevitably returns.”
Yaxin blinked at me in surprise but then nodded. “Actually, that sounds good to me. You can be the one to explain this metal behemoth of yours and the beasts of fire to the bosses up north.”
I felt a broad grin break out across my face.
Mages, kings, half-elves, princesses, and now dwarves. Come on.
Life was fucking great.
Especially when I was a metal mage that could make guns, motorcycles, grenades, and now trains.
I wonder what I could make if I had some dwarven help?
End of book 3
End Notes
Thank you for reading Metal Mage 3. I appreciate all the positive reviews and feedback that this series gets. Please leave a nice review here.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Eric Vall