by Guy Antibes
“How many?” Jack asked.
“Eight, I believe. The strongest wizards in the village were spelled.”
“What about Tanner? He isn’t very strong.”
Fasher smiled. “He tells that to everyone. My friend denies it, but he is more powerful than he accepts he is. If you will excuse us.”
Jack and Myra stepped out of the bedroom and closed the curtain.
“Fasher Tempest is the strongest wizard I have ever felt,” Myra said. “I could feel the power move from you through me and into the feather. Whatever that object is, it used all that power to drain the magic from Fasher.”
“It is Grishel’s Feather,” Jack said. “I have no idea why a male wizard can’t remove the magic, but it is obvious it still needs a woman, even to cure a woman.” He shrugged. “I really don’t care how it does what it does. It worked, and that is all that matters.”
Fasher and Corina stepped out of their bedroom. “The feather works just as I expected. You did well to retrieve it. I am sure the clergy of Passoran didn’t let their relic go without objection.”
“We didn’t get it from the clergy. There are three feathers in existence,” Jack said. “One in the Fassira mother church of the eagle sect, another at the Ullori monastery, and this one hidden within a metal tube at the Black Finger abbey close to Grishel’s Cavern.”
“Three?”
“The two in the churches were in thick glass cases. I could touch the glass, and the feathers would rise. The feather in Grishel’s cavern was a fake. We know that the one I brought works.”
“That is enough for now. Let’s do some healing before the Black Fingers attack,” Fasher said.
“You acted like you didn’t even know,” Jack said.
“I knew, all right, but we couldn’t do anything about it,” Fasher said.
They circulated through the village. The other sick wizards responded well to Myra as the conduit. Jack had to supply her with additional power for the last few. All of them were much older than Fasher and Corina. The pair looked on while Myra and Jack went to work. Fasher started charging healing rods after the third patient.
“The Black Fingers are approaching,” said the armored man that challenged Jack when he first arrived. “Two men and a woman.”
“Talk to them. Try to delay while the wizards are recuperating.”
Jack noticed Corina clutching a rod that Fasher had made. His mentor’s magic had regenerated quickly.
“Do you know who cast the spell?” Jack asked.
“The man no longer exists,” Fasher said. “He lost his life when he invoked the sickness. The magic came from an object of power created by Borigore, god of the Kadellians. The Black Finger wizard stood in the square. Both he and the object vanished. The spell required that much power. The man had to be Kadellia’s most powerful wizard.”
“How do you know this?” Myra asked.
Jack was glad she was the one to ask. He was very interested in the answer.
“A god would have to be involved. The villagers witnessed the wizard and saw his fingertips. The other gods wouldn’t sponsor such a thing. Evidently, Borigore sees me as a threat to his precious Black Finger Society, and now that I’m cured, I am sure to be. It was a bold move that failed.”
“Then why would the Black Fingers attack Rockedge?”
Fasher smiled that wry smile of his. “Why don’t you find out?” He gently pushed Jack toward the group heading toward the Black Finger contingent.
Now that Jack didn’t have to worry about losing his power, he joined the group of villagers heading to talk to the Black Fingers.
He still wore the breastplate he acquired from the Black Finger abbey. Jack clutched the warded box to top up on his power, but it seemed he was already there. The efforts during the last hour hadn’t drained him. He didn’t know what Fasher’s cure had required of him, but he was ready to protect the villagers. He guessed that was why Fasher urged him to join the village contingent.
He wasn’t the only one wearing armor. A lot of the armor worn was mismatched. A few villagers carried shields. Corina currently held the feather, back in its metal case and wrapped in leather, so he didn’t have to worry about the Black Fingers demanding that. Fasher didn’t accompany him. Myra, Fasher, and Corina were back at the square.
“You have Fasher Tempest in the village?” the woman Black Finger asked.
“We don’t have anyone. The wizard is on vacation. He chose to stay here. I would welcome you, but it appears you haven’t come to enjoy yourselves,” the older man said. Jack realized that he had been treated in relative kindness now that he experienced the village leader’s other side.
“He has an object of power that we demand.”
“Wizard Tempest is a powerful wizard. I am sure he has many objects of power. Can you be more specific?”
Jack smiled. He could see that the leader was extending the discussion. They bantered back and forth. The woman finally reached the end of her patience.
“If you don’t produce Fasher Tempest, we will kill everyone in the village.”
Jack couldn’t restrain himself. “Isn’t that against Corandian law? Aren’t you Corandians?”
“Stay out of this, boy,” the woman said.
“I’m in the village. Evidently, I am going to be one of your targets. Don’t I have a say here? I’m very much interested in living.” Jack drew his sword.
“You think a mere sword intimidates me?” the woman said.
Jack sighed. “This isn’t a mere sword.” He fired a wizard bolt at the woman’s feet.
“You dare try to kill me?”
Jack had had enough of Black Finger arrogance, so he countered with a bit of his own. “If I had wanted to kill you, I would have.” He shot another wizard bolt that curved around the woman and hit the ground behind her. “See?”
The woman jerked and looked at the puff of smoke rising where the bolt hit. She squinted. “You aren’t Fasher Tempest, are you?”
Jack laughed. “I am not. I’m nineteen, but I know a spell or two.”
“Did he make your sword?”
Jack shook his head. “I made it myself.”
The woman glowered and sent a coercion spell at him.
“Doesn’t work,” Jack said, wiping the black smudges on his trousers. “You should go back to wherever you came from.”
Jack countered with a spell of his own. He clutched Eldora’s box and shouted out, “Clean!”
He focused on the three Black Fingers standing in front of them. They all wavered after he invoked the cleansing spell.
One of the Black Fingers tore off his gloves, looking at smudged fingertips. “I didn’t know such a spell existed,” the man said. He looked at his fellow Black Fingers and didn’t say another word.
The woman looked a little less certain. “If you think your tricks will persuade us to leave, you don’t know the Black Finger Society. We are going to take over this village, regardless of your feeble powers, and wait for Grishel’s Feather to arrive. If you want to live, you can help us capture it.”
“The feather is already in the village and has cured the inhabitants, including Fasher Tempest,” Jack said. He didn’t know if he should have said that, but it was the truth.
“Already here. Impossible! It was stolen from the society ten days ago. It can’t possibly have made it to this village from Passoran.”
Jack shrugged. “You don’t have to believe anything. If you think you can walk all over incapacitated wizards, think again.”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “We won’t accept impudence from a mere boy.”
“Suit yourself,” the village leader said.
A wizard bolt shot out from one of the three and hit the village leader in the chest. The man staggered back, but finally returned to the front of the line.
“We are not without teeth ourselves. Remember that,” the woman said as she mounted and the three galloped away.
Jack was tempted to strike one of t
heir horses but decided against it, since Fasher intended getting more time for the village’s wizards to recuperate.
“Now we put up barricades,” the leader said. He turned to the villagers standing close to him. “You know what to do, we have practiced it enough times.”
The villagers dispersed, running to different parts of the village. Fasher, Myra, and Corina walked from behind one of the cottages close by.
“I’m surprised my helper showed so much arrogance,” Fasher said.
“You wanted the attack delayed, didn’t you? I thought a little demonstration was needed to make them reconsider invading the village after thinking they wouldn’t meet with any wizardly resistance,” Jack said.
Fasher pursed his lips. “They wouldn’t get much from me.”
Jack knew that fighting in the army was what turned Fasher to into a healer. Jack hadn’t made a vow and hadn’t kept his hands particularly clean when it came to a fight.
“I want to leave,” Myra said. She looked at Jack. “You promised.”
“I did. I can’t take you back to Raker Falls, but I can take you to the hill where we first saw the village,” Jack said. “You can walk wherever you like from there.”
“Raker Falls.” She looked at Fasher. “That is where my two hundred gold crowns are.” She sighed. “I might as well get started. Fasher has given me enough money to get there.” She dangled a purse in front of her eyes.
“Then we should get you started before I have to worry about you,” Jack said.
He looked at Fasher, who nodded.
Jack held out his hand, and the next thing he saw was the ocean from much higher than Rockedge.
“There.” Jack squeezed Myra’s hand. “Thank you for what you’ve done. It is better doing that than thieving. I’m sure Fasher appreciated it.”
“He showed me how appreciative he was.” She patted the purse at her hip.
“Buy a horse or a carriage. Maybe we will see you again in Raker Falls.” Jack handed her the map that they had used.
“Oh, I’ll be there when Fasher Tempest returns.”
“Good luck,” Jack said. He gave her hand another squeeze before he let it go and returned to the village.
Chapter Thirty-Four
~
F asher raised an eyebrow. “You have become proficient at teleportation, I see.”
“I couldn’t get here any faster without becoming proficient. As I said, a lot of jumps make me sick.”
“Good. You deserve to be sick doing something a young wizard shouldn’t do.”
Jack pursed his lips. “Would you rather have Myra and me riding? We might be halfway here.”
“No,” Fasher said casually. “I will accept the urgency that drove you. Now I can enjoy my Corina,” he lifted his new wife’s hand and kissed it, “sooner than I thought I would have.”
“And I am happier to stand at Fasher’s side rather than occupy a sick bed. What are you going to do with the feather?” she asked.
“It goes back to the Grishelian abbey. You should hear the entire story, if you are willing to listen.”
Corina groaned. “That sounds like a challenge, Fasher.”
“I look forward to hearing Jack’s version of his errand, even if it hasn’t quite ended. We have a few more hours, I would guess.” He took Corina’s hand and threaded it through his arm. “We will order some food from the local inn to be delivered to our cottage first.”
Corina and Fasher gave him a reasonable amount of undivided attention. They had both been sick for most of their vacation, and it seemed they were anxious to continue where they left off when they were attacked with the spell. Fasher paid for Jack’s room at the inn when he ordered the food.
Jack started with Tanner staggering into Fasher’s house and described Penny’s experiences as best as he could. He even mentioned the telepathy that they had shared. For some reason, Fasher thought that was a good idea. Jack had thought he would be castigated for overdoing it. Dinner arrived at the door, and the three of them ate. Corina and Fasher seemed famished. He thought they should have eaten sooner, but then what did he know? Fasher was the healer.
Jack even took off his bracers, now that Fasher knew they were objects of power. The wizard smiled at the tattoos.
“I told him you had evidence of Eldora’s kiss. Now you’ve got the hawk of Grishel,” Corina said.
“I liked the aspect that Grishel showed, both of them really. I could talk to them—” Jack said.
“Talk back to them, you mean,” Fasher said without anger. “You followed their advice, so you didn’t invite their wrath.”
“Should I have been afraid?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” Fasher said, without humor.
The castigation finally came when Jack described the overloaded Penny. “I know you are stupid, but Penny? Really?” Fasher said. “Myra was right there. She is an experienced wizardess. You should have used Myra. You didn’t know how strong or how weak Penny was.”
“She was bound to her horse at the time,” Jack said. “I didn’t trust her then, and I can’t say I trust her now, but she does like money, so that will guide her to Raker Falls.”
“I hope she’s learned a valuable lesson,” Fasher said.
“I doubt it,” Jack said, “but I hope she does. She did have a good side, the few times she wanted to show it.”
Fasher nodded. “Now what happened on your way here?”
Jack told Fasher about being tipped off in an inn. “I couldn’t rely on their stories, but I could be warier, and we were. If we had used the road to teleport, we would have run right into them. You know the rest.”
“Indeed we do,” Fasher said. “Now we have a herd of wild animals at our doorstep. Are you going to wade into their camp and destroy them?”
Jack sighed. “That’s not what I do. I won’t kill in cold blood. There are a few occasions where that might have been a safer alternative, but I have figured out that I need to be attacked before I strike. That justifies my striking back.”
“What about the innocent Black Finger members in Gameton? Eldora’s spell killed them all.”
“Is there an innocent Black Finger member?” Jack asked. “I had given those at Grishel’s Cavern the benefit of the doubt, but still I couldn’t just kill them. I had no idea what spell Eldora’s Bone would unleash. If I had to do it all over again, I’d do the same thing.”
“I’m sure you would,” Corina said. “You saved many more lives doing what the goddess commanded.”
“She didn’t command me. I could have just left those in Gameton to fight amongst themselves,” Jack said.
Fasher laughed. “That isn’t the Jack Winder that I know,” he said. “Good judgment or not, you have ended up doing the right thing, after all.”
That was a compliment, and Jack nodded, grateful to get it. “So can you help fight?”
Fasher’s face turned serious. “No. I can support the villagers by healing. Corina can fight. I will make her an object that will fire wizard bolts.”
“I would appreciate that,” she said.
There was a knock on the door, stopping their conversation.
“The Black Finger wizards are on the way. Our retired wizards are stationed around the village.”
Jack looked at Fasher. “Retired?”
“Rockedge is a vacation spot, but it is nice enough here to have attracted several wizards retired from military service. I knew a few of them, so we came here to visit and to have some new experiences together.”
“I guess this qualifies as a new experience,” Jack said.
Corina laughed. “Not one to laugh over, but it is one I’ll never forget.” She looked at the messenger. “Do you have some protection for me if I choose to fight?”
“We can do that, Lady Tempest.”
Corina smiled. “I’m a lady now.” She twirled around and landed in Fasher’s arms.
“My lady,” Fasher said, smiling at his wife.
Jack knew it was time t
o go. “I’ll be leaving.” Jack was ushered out the door, and he found the leader in the square looking over a map of the village lying on a table dragged onto the grass. Rocks held the edges down. Jack thought of Rockedge, the name of the village.
“Where can I go?”
“The main entrance to the village where we talked to the wizards. We will provide you with a horse to get you where we need you. Some of our residents are competent wizards, but I think you exceed their capabilities in a few areas.”
Jack nodded. One of the villagers introduced him to his new horse and positioned him at the center of the barricade that had been erected in the past few hours.
The sun hadn’t set yet, but a few villagers returned at a gallop with news of the enemy wizards stirring in their camp. Jack looked down the empty road. He guessed the Black Fingers weren’t letting anyone through the only road linking Rockedge to the rest of the world. He wondered if the Black Fingers were intending on laying siege to the village.
“Can’t you get word to the outside?” Jack asked the villager, who led him to the barricade.
“We sent two riders out right after the parley. They didn’t take the road, but the closest force of any kind is a day away,” the man said.
Raker Falls could fall the same way, Jack thought. There was one major road in, but there were lots of tracks and trails leading into the mountains and elsewhere. Jack hoped Fasher was thinking how to protect the village, if the Black Fingers were looking for him, but what if they were they seeking the feather?
Jack concluded Fasher knew enough to help anyone use his objects to protect the village. After thinking of Raker Falls, he unshielded his mind and sought out Penny, but his effort was futile. Either she was still unconscious, or his telepathy spell didn’t go very far. He concentrated on Fasher.
“Jack, is that you?” Fasher said in his mind.
“I tried to link with Penny, but I wasn’t successful.”
“Don’t worry about her, worry about keeping the Black Fingers from getting in the village. The villagers don’t deserve this kind of treatment,” Fasher said.