The Serpent Waits

by Bill Hiatt

  Magnus looked near the breaking point. He’d taken out maybe a couple hundred enemy archers and spellcasters—but how many were there? Thousands by the look of it.

  Nearby, Gwynn’s archers, Eva, and Khalid were firing back. Magnus’s attacks had surprised the enemy sorcerers enough to breach their shields, and some of our arrows now found their marks. That was a few dozen casualties at most—a drop in the proverbial bucket.

  Pain slammed through my brain as if someone had hit me with a sledgehammer. Everyone around me convulsed from the same blow.

  “It’s Tal and Carla,” moaned Gordy. “They’re hurt. I’m not sure they finished the spell.”

  The guys around me, stoic until now, didn’t do a very good job of hiding their anxiety. They looked up at the sky as if they could send help to Tal, but their moist eyes revealed their doubt.

  “This is bad,” mumbled Shar. “Unmasking Oberon is the only hope.”

  Magnus was no longer lashing the clouds with the collective magic of the group. The shield was holding—barely. Hellfire and lightning dealt alternating blows as the arrows rained down. Each shot tore into my nerves.

  I felt as if the grim reaper were tapping on my shoulder, telling me my turn was near. Maybe I should have fled, after all. I might have died even faster that way, though. If I had to die, at least this way, I would die among friends.

  Amenirdis rose up inside of me so fast I had only seconds at most to fight her.

  I used those seconds hesitating. Amenirdis had her own agenda—and giving up control of my body once she had it was not part of her plan. Nor was it clear whether Tal and the others could rescue me again.

  On the other hand, Amenirdis wouldn’t want my body to perish, which meant she’d have to fight against the forces of Nicneven and Oberon. Unlike me, she had powerful magic and knew how to use it. If it weren’t enough to turn the tide, I’d die whether she controlled my body or not. If it was, then at least there was some kind of hope.

  Grabbing that pale hope, I relaxed and let Amenirdis have me. I thought I cried out reflexively before the darkness closed in, but I wasn’t sure.

  Testing the Boundaries

  I didn’t want to risk showing the mortals how quickly I could take control of Amy, how superficial her hold on her own body really was, but I had no choice. If this body perished, all hope of restoring the world to order would be lost.

  I perceived more clearly than Amy how close to complete exhaustion the mortals she traveled with were. I also knew better than she how overwhelmingly superior were the forces against which they fought. Choosing combat had been brave, but foolish.

  Even the gifts Amun had given me would not suffice by themselves—but there was one other source that I might yet tap.

  I found Lucas nearby, staggering with exhaustion. I locked my gaze upon him and called forth the one known as Chango.

  “Stop this!” he bellowed as soon as he had sufficient control of the body. “You have been warned how dangerous this is, how forbidden.”

  “This body will die if you do not act, Orisha. Is that what you want?”

  “No, but I am prohibited from possessing it in this way.”

  “Heed not the servant of a false god,” said the one called Stan—no, David. “But heed the Lord’s anointed.”

  I ached to put this descendant of slaves in his place, and not just for his blasphemy. He had already figured out who I was, and he had doubtless told the others, though he had been careful to keep me from hearing. I knew from the way the ones who were being used as power sources by Magnus turned in my direction and stared at me as if I were more of a threat than the hostile armies. However, they didn’t make any move against me. Besides, Chango appeared to be listening to David, so I refrained from smiting him—for the moment.

  “Once you aided us,” David said to Chango. “You told us you could because we were on Olympus and not on Earth. And here we are again, not on Earth but in Annwn. Perhaps it is God’s will that you help us once more.”

  “That was one time, a special exception,” said Chango slowly. “And doing it in this way, forced into this world by the servant of Amun, weakens the barriers among planes of existence still further. Would you have me risk God’s carefully made design, King of Israel? Would you?”

  “This is not the time for such arguments,” I said. I looked up at the shield, which sparked, burned, and shuddered from each new attack. It would not hold long. However, both David and Chango ignored me, except that Chango raised a hand as if to forbid me to speak. Since I had no power to compel him, I held my tongue—but I kept one eye on the sky above. If the shield looked ready to collapse, I would make them hear me.

  “However you got here, is this not also an exceptional case?” asked David. “Look around you, mighty Chango, for this is not the Annwn in the universe you know. It is a parallel, one you could not reach on your own. You could not have reached the Olympian plane in your own universe, either. Did you not at the time say that your arrival must have been consistent with God’s will?”

  Chango smiled. “King of Israel, your reasoning would do credit to the young genius you are in this life. Still, there is no way to know God’s will for certain in a case like this—for men or even for orishas.”

  “Yes, God often expects us to do what we know is right without having to tell us every single time. However you got here, here you are. The barriers between planes will not be harmed any more than they have been if you help us. Is it not right to save so many valiant men and women from slaughter?”

  Fire flared, and lightning flashed. The shield shook like a building on the verge of collapse.

  “Cannot we dispense with the legalities?” I asked. “The defenses could collapse at any moment.”

  Chango laughed. “God help me, I cannot stand by and let my mortal friends die. He turned to the trembling and weary group that had been supporting Magnus. “Warriors, hear the orisha of battle—you have your strength again!” Power flowed out from him in bursts that looked like mingled fire and lightning. As they burned and sizzled across the group, the grayness of fatigue faded from them and from Magnus. The shield pulsed with renewed energy.

  “Your blessing upon them, excellent as it was, will not last forever, will it?” I asked. “What is our next move?”

  “Patience, Amenirdis!” Chango sounded stern, though he continued to smile. “We must take the fight to the enemy. What can you do besides disrupt the separation among planes of existence?”

  “Amun-Ra has pleased to grant me the power of wind and sun.”

  “Then fly us at those enemy masses, and let us wreak havoc upon them, for they will not expect such a bold move.”

  “Will not they simply blast you from the sky with magic or shoot you down with arrows?” asked David. “Your bodies are both mortal.”

  “Ah, one forgets so easily. Amenirdis, if we stay on the ground, can you raise a wind that will drive away the arrows?”

  “With ease.” I invoked Amun, and I felt the wind answering my call, snatching the arrows from their intended course and blowing them far afield. The thudding of the shafts against the shield stopped.

  Chango raised both his arms. From his left hand poured fire; from his right poured lightning. They surged into the air, crisscrossed, and the fire burned its way toward the lightning casters, while the lightning sizzled toward the fire casters. The screams as his two attacks struck were music to my ears. The hostile magic ceased.

  “What is this magic?” yelled Gwynn. “I have seldom seen so much power.”

  The air vibrated with Chango’s joyous laughter. “Majesty, you have never met an orisha.”

  “Do not celebrate just yet,” I said. “Behold how our enemies adjust.”

  I could feel the hostile sorcerers trying to twist the wind away from me. None of them could equal the might Amun had gifted to me—but there was a multitude of them, and together they pulled hard upon it. Given time, they would rip it from my mental grasp.

  Cha
ngo’s fire attack contorted as other sorcerers strove to drive it back. His lightning snapped and spat as still others tried to turn it aside. His power was great than what Amun had seen fit to grant me, but it was not infinite. The mob of hostile sorcerers would eventually beat us if nothing else changed.

  “I see what you mean,” said Chango. “We have put them on the defensive, but only for a short while. If we cannot fly at them, we must bring them closer.”

  “We faeries are natural fliers,” said Gwynn. “Pushing so many to the ground would not be easy.”

  “Think upon it while we keep them busy,” said Chango. He started to dance. His style was similar to Lucas’s but much more energetic. Every step spread fire until he had a flaming circle around him. Lightning flashed from his eyes. His body started to blur as he pushed beyond even the speeds Lucas could normally achieve. Far above, both of his attacks struck with renewed energy. The sorcerers trying to seize control of the wind abruptly abandoned that effort, doubtless to work on countering the stronger threat.

  Something started pounding against the shield. Had arrows somehow threaded their way through my wind? No, it was hail, falling in fist-sized chunks.

  “Nicneven, curse her!” Gwynn ap Nudd scowled. “As if we had not trouble enough already.”

  I called upon Ra and saw the sun flash more brightly. The hard hail melted into soft rain which pattered gently against the shield. I could feel the strain of sustaining both wind and sun attacks at the same time like a nagging ache in my head. Chango made such multiple attacks look easy, but in truth, they were not.

  The faerie called Arianrhod walked over to me. “I fear my lunar powers are of little use in full daylight at long range, but perhaps I can in some way assist your effort.”

  “If not, you’re welcome to add your power to mine,” said Magnus. “That booster shot Chango gave us is already wearing out.”

  “Need help.” The words of the one called Tal whispered in my mind.

  “Where are you?” thought Magnus.

  “Nearby…on the ground. Direct lightning hit when we tried to approach. We’re both too badly hurt to heal.”

  These messages were an unneeded distraction. All of the others wanted to help their fallen comrades—understandable, but not what we needed to defeat our enemies.

  “Lady Arianrhod, Tal and Carla are nearby, badly injured,” said Magnus. “Can you sense them?”

  The ache in my head throbbed more harshly.

  “There is too much magic in the air for me to be certain. I think I can feel someone touched by the lightning of Oberon nearby.”

  “My lady, please link with me, and I will try to extend the shield to include them. They’re what we would call sitting ducks where they are.”

  My chance of support walked toward Magnus without a second thought. Did they not realize what would happen if my defensive magic faltered?

  Moonlight flashed between Arianrhod and Magnus.

  “They’re about a football field west of here,” said Magnus. “I’m stretching the shield to include them, but the wider the area is, the easier the shield will be to break when someone up there sees what I’m doing. I need a rescue party to bring them here.”

  “I’ll go,” said Alexandros, drawing his curved blade.

  This group had no sense of priorities. Several others jumped up as if they too would go.

  “Just Umbra, Gordy, and Alex,” said Magnus. “And you three need to get back as fast as you can. Pretty soon, I’m going to be reliant on power sharing again.

  “I will go, too,” said Arianrhod. “Perhaps sorcery will be needed.”

  I wanted to detain her to help me, but I knew people well enough to know this group would not appreciate that idea. Rather than argue, I trailed along behind them, ready to solicit Arianrhod’s aid the first moment I could. All of the other sorcerers were occupied, and Chango was particularly deep in his own efforts. His flames burned so high now that I couldn’t even see him.

  At least the rescue team didn’t challenge me, and it raced toward its goal. We left the main group behind. The shield was still overhead, but it seemed to flicker a bit as if Magnus was having difficulty maintaining the extension.

  I left the searching to the others, keeping my eyes on the sky. I didn’t need to look at my magic to know that it was working, but looking was sometimes comforting. The winds still blew in exactly the way they must to prevent arrows from raining down on us.

  “There they are,” said Gordy, increasing his pace to a run. The others did the same, so I ran to keep up. I was pleased to discover that the body adjusted well to it. As a God’s Wife of Amun, I had never had to run, but Amy must have conditioned this body for it.

  The air smelled like what Amy would think of as ozone, and beneath that was another odor that smelled like burnt flesh. Taliesin and Carla were lying still, though they were still breathing.

  The others were focused on the fallen, but I looked beyond them, to the area Magnus’s shield did not reach. There was something wrong with the air there. It was shifting in an unnatural way.

  “We should have brought Viviane with us,” said Alexandros. “They’re both in bad shape.”

  “We can carry them back pretty fast,” said Gordy. “You take Carla, and I’ll get Tal. Umbra, Amenirdis, keep watch.” Umbra already had her dagger out as if she had anticipated the command.

  “Something is wrong just beyond the shield,” I said. “Some magic is at work there.”

  “All the more reason to get back to the others as fast as we can,” said Alexandros, lifting Carla gently in his arms.

  “I feel something beneath the ground,” said Umbra.

  “The shield should extend under us, but maybe—” began Gordy.

  Soil exploded upwards, and two beings no more than two feet high jumped out with uncanny speed. They carried pickaxes which they waved menacingly.

  “Out of the way!” commanded Alexandros. “We don’t wish to hurt you—but we will if we have to.”

  “Will you now?” said one of them. “Your hands are full, are they not?”

  “Mine aren’t,” said Umbra. Her raised dagger looked black as midnight against the surrounding sunlight.

  Other holes burst into existence so fast the creatures must have been moving by magic. Now we were faced with twenty adversaries, each of whom could bury a pickax in one of us before we could stop more than one or two of them.

  “Knockers,” mumbled Tal. “The bwca. Not…usually hostile.”

  “We fight with our cousins, the pixies, in temporary alliance with the English faeries against the evil Gwynn ap Nudd,” said one of the knockers. “Surrender to us—or die.”

  The creatures blinked quite a bit in the sun. Seeing that, I invoked a flash of Ra’s purest light. The creatures screamed and covered their eyes. That gave Alex and Gordy time to carefully put down their injured friends and draw their blades. Umbra, oddly reluctant to use her deadly dagger, moved as fast as Amun’s wind. She had kicked five in the face and knocked them down before any of them had recovered.

  “Behold how the evil faeries treat us. Such is the way with Gwynn ap Nudd and his allies,” said a cold female voice behind us.

  I spun around. The disturbances in the air had resolved themselves into portals while the knockers distracted us. From those portals poured warriors twice as tall as the knockers, though still shorter than us. They were bare of any armor and scantily clad like savages, though their dark blue skin was covered with black tattoos that pulsed with magic.

  The woman who spoke wore a gown that contrasted with the meager attire of her warriors. In fact, it would have done justice to a queen. It was a lighter blue than her skin and covered by flashing spots that reminded Amy of will-o’-the-wisps. She carried in her right hand a torch that gave off a smoky light. I tried not to look at it. There was a charm about it that might have trapped my attention otherwise.

  Next to her stood an odd figure I took to be her consort, but he was garbed in an
orange tunic patterned to look like jack-o’-lanterns—carved pumpkins which Amy remembered as part of the tradition for an occasion called Halloween. His eyes were as disturbing as the woman’s torch.

  “Surrender now, and you may yet preserve your lives,” said the woman.

  “We have no wish to harm these bwca or anyone else,” said Alexandros. “Allow us to leave in peace.”

  “Why are we even wasting time on them?” asked Gordy. “They’re on the other side of the shield. Let’s subdue the little ones, and get out of here.”

  “Joan of the Wad and Jack-o’-the Lantern will not be ignored!” shouted the woman. With a wave of her torch, she struck the shield with a series of small bursts like tiny balls of lightning. They seemed trivial when compared to the faerie attacks from above, but they struck with great precision, tearing a small hole in the shield. Through that gap a blue, tattooed mob rushed, weapons extended, ready to tear us to shreds.

  Security Breach

  I flashed the pixies with blinding sunlight, but, unlike their underground cousins, they were deterred only for a second. Most of my magic was tied up in deflecting faerie arrows, but by the grace of Amun, I was able to throw myself into the air just in time to avoid the weapons that would have pierced my flesh.

  Gordy attempted to stab one of my attackers, but the creature’s tattoos throbbed with power, and the blade bounced off him, leaving him without a scratch. Switching tactics, Gordy raised the sword above his head to invoke its ability to create fear. The tattoos of all the nearby pixies pulsed, and they kept up their attacks, undeterred by the power of Gordy’s blade.

  “We need help!” yelled Alexandros through the connection with his friends. He stuck one of the pixies with his curved blade, which slowed in response to the tattoos but still dug into the pixie’s flesh. The creature screamed in surprise and tried to counter, but Alex knocked his club from his hand. Seven pixie weapons struck him, but his armor deflected them all.