by Lisa Cassidy
I have to be strong. She willed herself to live up to those words, trying to ignore her visceral fear and drawing upon more and more of her magic.
I can be strong.
“I’m going to kill you,” she said.
The two concussive bursts almost appeared to move in slow motion as they sailed towards the lord-mage, lighting up the room with their silver-green glow. Shock rippled over Casovar’s face and he barely raised a shield in time to deflect them.
She was already running as the successive booms went off, allowing the concussive force to wash over her before leaping high, bringing her staff slamming down towards his head. He ducked aside at the last moment, gesturing desperately with telekinetic magic to yank the staff from her hand.
Alyx landed lightly, reaching out and tugging the staff back from his loose grip. The shock on his face deepened as they regarded each other, both breathing heavily.
“I’m no second-year apprentice,” she panted. “And I’m just as powerful you.”
“You’re stronger than I thought, to keep that hidden.” His jaw tightened, and his eyes turned dark. “But you can boast all you like. We both know you pose little threat to me.”
Alyx swallowed, straightened her shoulders. “You tried hard to break me, but you failed.”
Casovar threw back his head and laughed again, cold eyes coming back to rest on hers. “We both know I broke you, girl. I tore you apart.”
She shuddered in memory, her grip on her staff suddenly slicked with sweat. Her heart was pounding too hard in her chest, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from that implacable gaze. His magic slid into her mind, just like before, and she froze.
“You’re pathetic,” he hissed. “And I own you.”
Her knees hit the floor with a thud and she let out a low moan, hands reaching for her head. Her staff clattered to the floor. She tried to fight but he was too strong—he’d dominated her before and he was doing it again.
“No.” It was only one word, one single word, but spoken with such a tightly controlled fury it broke right through Casovar’s mental hold. Dawn attacked without hesitation, ripping Casovar’s thoughts out of Alyx’s head with an icy confidence that shook the lord-mage so utterly he was slow to respond.
“Dawn...” Alyx gasped, one hand scrabbling against the marble floor as she desperately tried to regain coherency.
“I’ve got you, Alyx.”
And she did. Casovar reeled back, one hand clutching at his head, mouth snarling as he battled her. Alyx closed her eyes, taking a single deep breath to centre herself. I have to do this. She was still alive. He hadn’t beaten her. Not yet.
And she wasn’t alone.
Forcing herself back to her feet she drew on her magic, summoning a concussive burst and flinging it at Casovar. He gave a massive roar of effort, managing to fight Dawn off in time to leap aside from Alyx’s magic.
After the bright flash faded, she blinked rapidly, one hand reaching out to call her staff back to her hand. Casovar was running, heading for one of the doors leading out to the gardens.
She stumbled into a run after him, shaky legs still not fully under her. He spun around before disappearing outside, sending a roaring wind at her. Not quick enough to erect her shield in time, Alyx was caught up in his wind-magic and hurled back into the ballroom. Her flying ability kicked in, controlling the free fall and allowing her to land lightly on her feet.
She stood there for a moment, trying to catch her breath and regain her focus. The terror was still there, and it took everything she had to fight it back, to immerse herself in the magic that burned bright and hot inside.
“You okay?” Dawn’s voice was a balm to her anxiety, and she almost smiled.
“I’m good. Thank you. You saved my life.”
“He knows from our thoughts about the Bluecoats storming the palace.” Exhaustion made Dawn’s mental voice faint, but she persevered. “He’s going to flee with the Mage Guard. Go... get him.”
The link snapped out, but Dawn’s determination had given Alyx the strength she needed.
She would show no less courage than Dawn had.
Running after Casovar, Alyx burst through the door and into the chaos of battle. A full cohort of Mage Guard filled the opposite end of the garden, engaged in a bitter fight against a rapidly shrinking number of Bluecoats trying to prevent them from leaving.
Casovar was halfway between her and the fight, making straight for his soldiers. They were clearly trying to fight through to the gate that was part of the secret route the king had used to flee during the Shiven attack on the palace. It seemed Casovar had had an escape plan in place.
Raising her hand in the air, Alyx sent a bright concussive burst flying at Casovar’s back. The flash of light warned him and he stopped mid-run, calling upon his own magic to raise a shield.
“Why are you running?” she taunted. “Afraid of us, are you?”
“Foolish girl,” he sneered in contempt. “You’re all going to die. If not today, then soon.”
He sent fire at her, bright orange balls reminiscent of Fengel. Alyx spun her staff, slammed it into the ground and pushed out as much power as she could. Jayn’s shield shimmered into the air around her. The fireballs hit the ward and flared out of existence.
At the same moment, she dropped the shield and summoned her offensive magic. Concussion bursts thundered through the air towards Casovar. As they crashed against his shield, blue lightning forked across the sky above. Bright light flashed, and then came the sonic boom as her concussive magic spread out across the field.
Not letting up, Alyx sent more concussion bursts flying at Casovar, simultaneously using her telekinetic power to try and yank the mage staff from his grip. Satisfaction flared briefly as she sensed how much power he had to draw upon to fend off her attack, but a moment later he seemed to find his balance. The last of her concussion bursts crashed against his shield, and a brief silence hung between them before shouting, screams and the ring of steel quickly filled it.
Her gaze flickered behind Casovar, where too-few Bluecoats were trying to hold their own against what had become a wall of red-cloaked soldiers trying to drive through them towards the exit. More Mage Guard were arriving, clearly being pushed out of other areas of the palace. Or maybe Casovar had summoned them. She wavered, uncertain whether to go after Casovar or help the Bluecoats.
“Cover us, Alyx!” Tarrick’s voice called from behind her, and then he was running past, Finn and Cario with him, Bluecoats streaming behind them, heading straight for the fight at the other end of the garden.
Frantically she summoned more magic, throwing everything she had at Casovar before he could attack them. Hope surged at their appearance. If the Bluecoats could deal with the Mage Guard, and she could hold Casovar here, they could end him. End all of it now.
But he was powerful, and he wasn’t backing down without a fight. He retaliated quickly, and for several long moments her focus narrowed entirely to feeding energy into her shield as his fire and concussive power rained down on her.
As she hunkered down under the shield, the cries from the battle raging in the garden took on a different note, and her eyes widened. The number of Bluecoats had doubled—and she recognised some of them, Josha and Nario, and then... there, Casta too! Not only were there more, but they were rapidly re-forming into solid units, closing ranks and taking on the Mage Guard as a disciplined group. A new fighter led them, not wearing blue or red, but wielding a sword that caught the light of every flash of magic and sent it spinning out around him.
“On me, Bluecoats!” he roared over the fighting. “Form up on me!”
Dashan cut through the Mage Guard lines with Tijer and Roland at his back, forcing the red cloaks around them to break and scatter. The Blue Guard responded quickly to his shouted commands and his energy, and now suddenly it was the Mage Guard looking scattered, breaking away in smaller groups.
Then Dawn’s voice was in her head. “Alyx—Tarrick, Cario and
Finn are coming back to help you now the Bluecoats have the upper hand. I’m on my way too.”
It was a tightly shielded sending, but Casovar’s magic must have sensed something, because his magical attack on her faded and his gaze flickered away from the battle, narrowing on Finn and Cario as they re-appeared, edging around him warily. Her magic told her Tarrick was there too, staying in the shadows.
She clutched her staff, using every shred of determination she possessed to ignore the weakness trembling through her muscles. She’d used too much magic with the shield and now she dropped it to conserve strength. She had to hold on... just a little longer.
“You think you’re going to make a difference?” Casovar laughed at them, looking genuinely amused. “A healer and a council traitor.”
“I am no traitor, Lord-Mage Casovar.” Cario moved as casually as if he were taking an afternoon walk, deliberately drawing Casovar’s attention away from Finn as he came up beside her and laid a hand on her arm. The balm of his healing magic swept through her, restoring some of her energy. “I am a representative of the Mage Council. They want you dead as much as Alyx here does.”
That shocked Casovar, the emotion rippling across his face. “Lies.”
“I am the grandson of Councillor Duneskal and a full-blooded mage warrior. Do you really think I’d be here if the council hadn’t sanctioned it?” Cario raised an eyebrow.
Casovar smiled then. “The council’s support is of little matter. They’ll be destroyed too, soon enough.”
“You’re talking about Shakar, I suppose?” Cario asked.
A twisted sort of hate crumpled Casovar’s face. “You all think you’re so clever. So sanguine in the face of your certain destruction.”
Casovar spun and flicked his hand, and fireballs shot from the end of his staff towards Alyx and Finn.
Alyx shouted a warning, thrusting out her right hand and using her magic to pull the fireballs off course. Casovar fought her, and for a moment they pitted their strength against each other. He was the more experienced mage, and Alyx only barely managed to pull the fireballs off line. They shot past Finn’s head as he ducked, frantically scrambling away from Alyx.
“You should give up now,” Casovar hissed. “Do that, and I might not kill you.”
Tarrick stepped out of the darkness to Casovar’s left, forearms lighting up in a pearly glow. “We don’t give up, Lord-Mage Casovar.”
“Then you’ll die.”
Casovar spun his staff, sending a whirlwind spiralling outward from his body. It was a magic Alyx had never seen before, and it gained strength as it spread outwards. Her shield was useless as the air spun right through it, picking up each of them and sending them flying in all directions.
Angry, Alyx drew on every bit of strength she had and sent her flying ability outwards, grabbing onto Tarrick, Cario and Finn and controlling their flight. Once again, her strength was pitted against Casovar’s, and she fought bitterly to hold onto them.
Casovar let go suddenly and they dropped to the ground. Alyx fell hard as her magic failed, and she sat up, wincing, pain stabbing through her bad shoulder. Casovar watched them a moment before striding towards Alyx, the expression he wore murderous.
“I’m afraid.” She whispered the thought, almost to herself.
“Me too, but I’m here.” Dawn sounded stronger than she had, but still weary. “Let’s finish this.”
“Alyx!” Tarrick shouted a warning.
She staggered to her feet and faced the oncoming threat squarely. Cario had fallen some distance away, and was scrambling around behind Casovar, whose focus was entirely on Alyx. The sight of Dawn, standing close to her twin, bolstered her.
Her grip on her staff tightened. She could do this. She was going to do this. And she didn’t need to do it alone.
“Cario, this will go better if he doesn’t have his staff.”
His blue eyes shifted to hers, and she read his acknowledgement in them. A small smile flickered at her mouth. A glance at Tarrick, then each of the twins in turn. The connection between them—the one they’d forged in adversity at DarkSkull and used to beat Galien—surged with magic.
Alyx swung her staff and sent concussion ball after concussion ball directly at Casovar. Tarrick stepped up beside her and followed suit. Finn came to stand behind them, a hand on each shoulder, flooding them with every bit of his healing strength. Dawn unleashed her magic on Casovar’s mind, battering his mental shield with everything she had left.
The lord-mage summoned his shield to deflect the concussion bursts, then raised his staff, gathering his magic to fight back. At that same moment, Cario threw his head back and let out a roar. He extended his right arm, body rigid with effort, mouth curling in a snarl as he pitted his strength against Casovar.
The lord-mage fought to keep hold of his staff, but it was a losing battle. Mage of the higher order he might be, but there was no mage alive who could match Cario’s telekinetic skill. A moment longer and the staff flew from Casovar’s hand across the garden and into Cario’s. The blonde mage slumped, gasping for air, sweat streaming down his face.
Before Casovar could turn his power on Cario, Alyx resumed her attack, forcing blast after blast to burst from her staff. Finn’s energy replaced some of her draining magic, but it took everything she had to employ the utter focus and effort required to do what she was doing.
Casovar was close to overwhelmed, but he wasn’t beaten yet. His sheer power charged a shield that was becoming almost annihilated by a continuous blast of concussion energy while his mental shield was battered without respite.
She stood firm, refusing to back down until his shield broke. It weakened slightly at her onslaught. Beside her, Tarrick slumped and faltered, at his utmost limit. Alyx gritted her teeth, willing herself to continue. Her concussion bursts lost some of their power, but she kept going.
Casovar’s shield flickered before strengthening.
Her legs trembled and sweat poured down her back, but she forced herself to keep sending her magic soaring through the night. Casovar couldn’t hold on indefinitely, not when he was being attacked from all sides, and he knew it. He let out a furious roar and Alyx felt him gather up every bit of strength he had left.
It was terrifying to behold, the sheer power he had, and the skill with which he used it. Desperate, he attacked their minds. Tarrick was already out, and now the twins faltered, both driven back by Casovar’s mental attack. Cario swayed on his feet, nothing left in him.
Alyx alone remained standing.
Casovar strode across the grass towards her. He battered at her mind, a smile of triumph spreading over his face. She cried out, fighting back, pushing him away, refusing to let him beat her. The memory of him tearing through her mind distracted her, weakening her for a moment. It was all he needed, and he was inside her mind again.
No.
This time she didn’t have to hide.
Alyx didn’t know how she did it, or where that final reserve of strength came from, but it was there. She screamed aloud as she tore him from her thoughts. Casovar stopped mid-stride, shock written all over his face.
Then his shield failed spectacularly, winking out of existence. Without thought, Alyx released two more concussion bursts. They sailed straight at Casovar, hitting the mage in his chest and face. A concussion ring swept outwards as they exploded, and Alyx clasped both hands over her ears, her chest squeezing so tight she couldn’t breathe.
Then, the light faded and Casovar was no longer standing there. The two blasts had disintegrated him completely.
She dropped to the ground, gasping for air and suddenly feeling as if she were going to vomit up the entire contents of her stomach. Too much. Far too much magic. Blackness darkened the edge of her vision.
“Alyx!”
Dashan’s voice, she’d recognise it anywhere. She tried to look up, vision blurry, body not properly responding. He was moving towards her, but then Tarrick stepped into his way, holding him back.
&n
bsp; She slumped to the ground, unconsciousness claiming her.
Chapter 36
For the second time in a week, Alyx awoke battered and exhausted in the soft bed at the safe house. Rain pattered against the window to her right. It took only a moment before memory assaulted her. She sat up, glancing down at her trembling hands. Concentrating on them only made the shaking worse. Her head ached, and her body was sore all over.
“You’re awake.” Cayr appeared at the door, saving her from the panic that had begun creeping into the back of her mind. Relief replaced it—he was okay. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” she lied. “I... is everything under control? The king?”
He sat beside her, taking her hand in his warm one. She clung tightly to it. “Father is weak but all right. Finn thinks that whatever Casovar was doing to him, it was draining his body’s strength. He’s thinking clearly now, though. The Bluecoats are firmly back under Lord-General Caverlock’s command and on duty at the palace.”
“The Mage Guard?”
“Those we’ve caught are under arrest. Dawn is helping us track down the others.”
“Good,” she said, swallowing. “How did your father react to everything that happened?”
“We’ve had a long talk,” he assured her. “He’s upset, and furious we went behind his back, but your father, Sparky and Astor have been his dearest friends his whole life. He trusts them, and me.”
She relaxed a little, leaning back into the pillows, but Cayr hadn’t missed how tightly she was gripping his hand. “Your father is okay, Alyx. He’s terribly worried about you, but I convinced him my father needs him more than you right now, and Finn assured him you were going to be fine. Even so, I’m sure it won’t be long until he visits.”
“Thanks. Are the others all right too?”
“Tarrick and Cario are back at your home, sacked out in the spare rooms. They’ll probably sleep for hours.” He smiled faintly. “Finn is helping with the wounded and Dawn with tracking down the remnants of the Mage Guard.”