Death Incarnate: Aegis of Merlin Book 7 (The Aegis of Merlin)

by James E. Wisher

  A hundred yards from where she started, Morgana finally stopped and righted herself. The boy floated towards her, a scythe held in his right hand. She pointed her scepter and hurled a lightning bolt at him.

  The scythe cut it out of the air and he continued to advance at the same methodical pace, as if there was no rush. As if she posed no threat and he could eliminate her at will.

  He would regret that insult. She hurled flames then mixed wind magic with it to make the spell even more powerful. A sphere of flames surrounded him, creating a ten-thousand-degree oven.

  An instant later her spell blew away revealing his cloaked form, unharmed, still advancing.

  Morgana hurled ice and boulders, lightning and tornadoes. All the wrath of nature fell on his head and nothing slowed his relentless advance. She went from a goddess of destruction to helpless in a minute.

  As the spells continued to rain down, the boy spoke not a word, chanted no spell, he simply advanced, as inexorable as the rising sun.

  When only fifty feet separated them even Morgana was feeling the strain of casting so many spells one after another. She considered summoning help, but refused to acknowledge she needed it. Besides, if her power wasn’t enough to stop this monster, nothing the others might add would help.

  “What do you want from me!” she screamed.

  The hood shifted a fraction, allowing a shaft of light to reach his face. For a moment she would have sworn a skull mask covered his face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

  When only ten feet separated them he spoke in a flat, cold voice. “I want your head.”

  The scythe lashed out and she dodged it by inches. The wind of its passing hit her full on and sent her tumbling back until she struck the side of a building, smashed through windows, and came to rest on a desk. All her defensive spells had been negated and the glass cut bloody furrows in her back and arms.

  She groaned and sat up. In all her many battles, no one had ever struck her that hard. The dark figure was rapidly approaching. Morgana seriously doubted she could beat him, not now that she’d felt the full force of his power. The only chance she had was to do something she’d never done before: run away.

  The words to a wind portal tumbled from her lips so fast she almost bobbled them. When she spoke the last word nothing happened. No familiar magical tingle, no disk in the air, no nothing. Her magic failed her. That terrified her more than the apparition flying through the shattered window.

  She thrust her scepter at him and willed fire to consume him. Nothing.

  The scythe lashed out, slicing her scepter in half. His hand reached out, grabbed the front of her shirt, and hurled her with terrifying strength out the window.

  Morgana fell and the winds refused to lift her.

  The pavement grew closer by the second. An instant before impact some force slowed her enough that she hit hard, but didn’t splatter all over the pavement.

  She forced herself to her knees. Something cold touched the side of her neck. Morgana didn’t dare move, but her eyes swiveled enough to reveal the edge of the scythe at her throat. This was it. Her eternal life was about to end.

  “Morgana,” the hollow voice said. “For your crimes against humanity, your life is forfeit.”

  She laughed, ignoring the trickle of blood that ran down her neck. She laughed at the absurdity of that statement.

  “My crimes against humanity? What about humanity’s crimes against me? Did humanity give me a chance after the elves fled? No! They feared me or worshipped, but none saw me as a real person. Morgana isn’t even my real name. I saw it in a stupid story book and took it as my own.”

  “What is your name?” The tenor of the voice changed, becoming warmer, more human.

  A tear ran down Morgana’s face. “No one has ever asked me that before. I don’t have a name. The elves grew me in a vat. My designation was human-elf hybrid number 37 of 40. I was the only survivor of my batch.”

  For a moment she believed she might survive this then a shudder ran through him and the cold voice returned. “It doesn’t matter. You are too dangerous to live. Make your peace with whatever god you worship.”

  “No god would have me. Do what you will. I weary of this life.”

  “Don’t do it!” Morgana didn’t recognize that voice, but it was clearly a woman. “Don’t kill her, Conryu. It’s not you.”

  “She must die.”

  “Maybe, but not by your hand. You’ve done enough. She’s defeated. The war’s over.”

  “It’s over?” the warmer voice asked.

  “No!” the cold voice said. “Not while she lives.”

  “So tired. Tired of fighting. Just want to rest.”

  “That’s right,” the girl said. “You can rest now. You’ve saved everyone.”

  “Everyone’s safe? Maria?”

  “That’s right. I’m here and I’m safe. You did it. Let the power go.”

  The coldness at her neck vanished and Morgana let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She slumped on her back and stared up at a couple of kids holding each other like there wasn’t another person in the world.

  On a whim she called the fire, but it wouldn’t come. Whatever he’d done had removed her ability to wield magic. She was no different than a pathetic human. It would have been better if he’d killed her.

  Conryu came slowly back to himself as the Reaper’s presence faded away. He’d never experienced anything like having Death living inside him. It was like being a passenger that couldn’t affect the car. Despite that, he’d seen everything the Reaper did with his magic and felt confident he understood his unique abilities better than ever.

  The warmth of Maria’s arms around him drove the last of the chill away. If she hadn’t shown up when she did, god knows what he might have done. Best not to think about it.

  “Are you okay?” Maria asked.

  Conryu stroked her hair and sighed. “I am now. I didn’t realize I had that much power lurking inside me.”

  “It wasn’t you, it was the Reaper.”

  “No.”

  Maria looked up at him. “What?”

  “It wasn’t Null that gave me the power boost. All he did was force me to act without restraint. Until he took control, I hadn’t even realized how much I held back when I used my magic.” He looked past her at the giant black horse with the mane of flame standing a little ways away. “I see you got the ring to work.”

  “Yeah, Charra flew me here in like two minutes. I’ve never been so terrified or excited.” Maria waved the hand with the elf ring on it and the giant horse vanished.

  Conryu glanced at Morgana, but the half-elf seemed content to sit quietly for the moment. Given what he did to her, Conryu wasn’t surprised she was in shock.

  “How did you even know I needed help?”

  “Kai. She told me the Reaper had taken control of you and that if you killed anyone while the demon possessed you, he’d never leave your body.”

  Conryu couldn’t speak for a moment. “Did you know about that, Prime?”

  “No, Master. I’ve never encountered anyone that was possessed by such a powerful demon. I’m impressed your bodyguard knew about it.”

  “The women who live on Kai’s island worship the Reaper, so if anyone should know his secrets it’s her. Kai.”

  She appeared from nowhere and took a knee. “Chosen. I disobeyed your direct order and encouraged the one I was supposed to protect to go into danger. I will accept any punishment you feel I deserve. If you desire another guardian I can—”

  “Kai! I don’t want another guardian and for goodness’ sake stand up.”

  She stood, but refused to meet his gaze.

  “Look at me.”

  Finally her dark brown eyes met his.

  “Thank you. I don’t know what might have happened if you hadn’t acted when you did. I hope you know by now that I’m not looking for blind obedience. Your judgement has proven sharp and welcome. Please don’t stop doing what you
think is right, especially because you’re afraid I might get mad.”

  “I will honor your confidence.” She bowed before disappearing again.

  “She loves you, in her own way,” Maria said.

  “What are you doing?” a familiar, hated voice said.

  Conryu winced and looked over Maria’s head to find Malice Kincade approaching along with a squad of heavily armed soldiers and a pair of Department wizards.

  “Celebrating. I haven’t heard an explosion in a while. War’s over, isn’t it?”

  “The other escapees fled when you defeated their leader,” Malice said. “We will hunt them down in due time. My question was, why haven’t you killed Morgana?”

  “There’s no need to.” Conryu moved between Maria and the heavily armed men, mentally activating an invisible light shield around both of them. “I put a block in so she can’t use her magic anymore.”

  “You can do that?” Maria asked.

  “The Reaper can and I watched how he did it. It was so simple I’m surprised I didn’t think of it before.”

  “That’s irrelevant,” Malice said. “She’s killed tens of thousands and done billions in damage. She’s earned death many times over for her crimes. Not to mention what one wizard can do, another can undo.”

  “You want to execute her, that’s up to you. As for undoing the spell, that would require a dark magic user more powerful than me. I wish you the best of luck finding one. We’re going home.”

  “You’re not going anywhere until I’ve decided what to do with you,” Malice said.

  Conryu tapped the ground and released a pulse of earth magic. A wave ran through the pavement and knocked Malice and her cohorts on their collective asses. Before they recovered he summoned the library door and vanished.

  12

  Aftermath

  When you were cleaning up and rebuilding a city built from stone and steel, being able to use earth magic at a high level came in very handy. Two days had passed since Conryu defeated Morgana and ended what the newspapers were already calling The Lonely War. He’d lost track of how many reporters had asked for an interview, enough that he’d taken to leaving his cellphone in the library when he went out.

  Immediately after returning to Sentinel City with Maria, Conryu had gone to check on Anya. The Land of the Night Princes had suffered no damage and Anya made it perfectly clear she planned to stay with her mother, magic be damned. Conryu didn’t blame her and his offer to visit now and then was eagerly accepted.

  With their building in ruins, Conryu and his mother were living in the library while Maria and her parents had found space at the Department’s temporary headquarters. He’d offered to let them stay in the library as well, the magical space seemed to expand or contract depending on his desire, but Mr. Kane said he needed to be available at all hours should the mayor or someone from Central need him. Conryu just shrugged and said the offer stood if they changed their minds.

  He shook his head and focused on the heap of brick that had once been a three-story building. Four dump trucks were parked nearby, waiting for him to finish loading. The excavator that was supposed to do the job had broken down so he offered to fill in. He tapped the staff and quick as thought chunks of stone flew up and into the boxes. In less than a minute all four were full and nothing remained but an empty lot ready for rebuilding.

  The drivers blew their horns and drove off, leaving Conryu leaning on his staff and contemplating his next task. He’d discovered that as long as he had the staff, he could wield magic without words or gestures, instead simply willing the elemental energy to do what he wanted. He’d asked Prime about it, but the scholomantic pled ignorance.

  It wasn’t even noon yet so he couldn’t go to Giovanni’s for lunch. That his favorite pizza place had survived the battle without a scratch was a minor miracle. Mom and Maria were both helping out at the temporary offices. Maybe he’d go see if they needed a hand.

  A quick journey by Hell portal and he emerged at the sprawling collection of tents that served as the seat of government. Winter wasn’t far off, but Department wizards kept the air comfortable. He angled across the pavement toward the medical tent. The red-uniformed security officers didn’t even give him a second look as he ducked inside.

  Maria and her mother were both bent over cots helping injured patients. The tent held fifty cots and every one was occupied. Just another reminder of how much damage had been done. He backed out, not wanting to disturb them.

  Mom should be in the main tent. They’d shanghaied her into setting up the computers. She’d grumbled that having a research scientist networking computers was a waste of her skills, but without a lab there wasn’t much else for her to do.

  Conryu had barely slipped through the tent flap when Mr. Kane spotted him and hurried over. “Conryu, glad you stopped by. There’s something important we need to discuss.”

  Whenever he said something like that Conryu’s stomach twisted. “Okay.”

  They went to a small walled-off area of the tent that served as Mr. Kane’s office. When he’d settled into the cheap plastic chair Mr. Kane said, “We’ve been summoned to Central. Some decisions have been made regarding your future.”

  “That right? I’ve made some decisions about my future as well. It’ll be interesting to find out how many things we agree on.”

  “Please don’t go into this meeting with an attitude. Malice is in a bad enough mood as it is.”

  “You wouldn’t believe how little her mood concerns me. When are we supposed to be there?”

  “Tomorrow at ten. We’re booked on the nine o’clock train to Central tonight. It’s the only open line out of the city.”

  “You go ahead. I’ll meet you at Department headquarters at ten minutes till ten.”

  “I thought we might discuss a few things on our way there,” Mr. Kane said.

  “I don’t think there’s much to discuss.” Conryu stood up. “I’ve made up my mind about what I intend to do. The only question is whether the powers that be will accept it or try and make me do what they want. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find my mom.”

  Conryu emerged from the library door in the Department headquarters parking lot. He’d arrived fifteen minutes early in case Mr. Kane wanted to talk. Conryu had discussed his plans with Maria and his mother the night before and they both supported his plan, though Mom fretted about the possible repercussions. He’d considered them as well and accepted that there might be a price to his freedom. Whatever it was, he’d pay it gladly.

  The building had suffered some damage, but the basic structure appeared sound. He pushed through the front door and into the lobby. Mr. Kane sat in one of the leather chairs and beside him rested Mrs. Umbra. He hadn’t expected to run into the department head today, though it was a pleasant surprise.

  Mr. Kane spotted him and waved him to a third chair. When he’d settled in Mrs. Umbra said, “What did you do to Morgana? I’ve never seen a spell like that.”

  “I didn’t do it, the Reaper did, though I believe I could duplicate the spell if I needed to. Remember how you said all magic is about will? That means spells are initiated in the brain. Null put a ball of dark magic in her brain that absorbs the first spark of magic which prevents the spell from activating. I think he did it so he could take his time killing her.”

  “That sounds like Null. They had me examine Morgana, but I couldn’t find any way to undo your spell. She really is just an ordinary woman now. Or at least as ordinary as an immortal half-elf can be. It’s almost a punishment worse than death.”

  “No, I saw what Null planned to do to her soul. I promise you, she’s better off alive. How’s the Academy?”

  “The damage was surprisingly modest. Emily hopes to resume normal classes after winter break. Will you be attending?”

  Conryu considered his response for a second. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

  Mrs. Umbra nodded. “That’s what I figured. Another year and a half piddling around at school wouldn’t h
ave done you much good anyway. I had intended to pass the Death Stick to you, but I see you’ve found an artifact of your own. Whatever happens, I wish you the best of luck. God knows you’ve earned it.”

  She nodded to Mr. Kane and hobbled toward the exit. When she’d gone Mr. Kane said, “You can’t simply quit the Academy, there’s the matter of the law if nothing else.”

  Conryu’s smile held no humor. “I think we can stop pretending that law has any real application to me.”

  “I suppose not, but if Malice has her way, some new laws will probably pass that apply only to you.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Master, someone’s coming.”

  A pretty secretary in a gray dress paused beside them. “They’re ready for you, sir.”

  They got up and followed the secretary through twisting corridors that finally ended at a small room holding Malice, five Department wizards, and the president.

  The door closed behind Conryu and the president said, “I wanted to thank you personally for saving the capital. I’m not sure what we would have done if you hadn’t showed up when you did.”

  “You’re welcome, sir.” Conryu turned his gaze on Malice.

  “I assume you’ve deduced that your situation has changed,” Malice said. “Given the power you’ve displayed it’s become necessary for the Department to keep tighter control over you. You’ll have to live in Central. We’ve prepared an apartment in the building. You’ll have a minder watching you at all times. I’ll also be taking this off your hands.”

  She reached out to claim the staff. Conryu didn’t bother trying to stop her. The instant her fingers touched the wood a spark leapt from it and she jerked her hand back.

  The wizards raised their hands as though they had power enough to do something to him. He ignored them while keeping a dark magic spell ready.

  “That staff can only be touched safely by someone who’s received the blessing of six elemental lords. You haven’t received that, I take it?”