by Lisa Cassidy
At the edge of the forest lining the valley floor, they left the horses to move on foot. It was too dark to see much beyond the hulking shadows of DarkSkull’s buildings, but the ring of steel and cries of battle from the north and south were unmistakable.
Rather than magic—detectable by any of Shakar’s mages—they used their knowledge of the academy grounds to sneak from cover to cover, slowly making their way to orchards that were now overgrown and wild, despite winter having shredded the leaves. Now she had no choice but to use magic.
“Dawn? We’re hunkered down in the orchards.”
“I found Brynn, he’s in the main hall, but upstairs. I think maybe the library but it’s hard to be sure with all that thick stone. Alyx…”
“What?” Her pulse picked up at the strange note in Dawn’s voice.
“I can barely sense him. I think…it’s not good.”
In the darkness, Alyx reached out to touch Tarrick’s arm. He shifted closer, sensing her need for support. “I don’t suppose you can sense Shakar?”
“No, he’s shielding. He could be with Brynn for all I know.”
“And the mages?”
“There are some in the main hall, but if you take the entrance through the kitchens and go up via the servants’ stairs you’ll avoid them. Most are scattered through the old dormitory buildings, but they’re awake, restless. I think they’re waiting for Shakar’s order to move.”
“Thanks.”
“Be careful.”
Alyx let go of the connection and turned to the others, relaying what Dawn had told her.
“I’ll go first,” Jayn said in a murmur. “That way if we hit unexpected trouble I can shield us.”
“Check your mental shields too,” Finn warned. “If you slip and there are telepaths in there, this thing will be over before it begins.”
They dashed across the open space, then pressed themselves against the wall of the main hall. Jayn led the way as they crept towards the kitchen entrance and eased open the door. At the threshold, Alyx took a deep breath, gripping her staff with tense fingers. Her heart pounded. This was it.
Dawn’s magic suddenly brushed over her mind, and she let the mage in. “Dawn, what is it?”
“It’s Brynn. I can barely feel his thoughts anymore.”
“I’ll find him.”
“Brynn’s in trouble,” she told the others. “We need to find him quickly.”
Once inside, running as quietly as they could through darkened kitchens and then up the servants’ stairs, Alyx wondered with every step whether they were about to run into Shakar. Her hands were slick with sweat, and worry for Brynn was so fierce she was barely able to keep herself calm enough to maintain her shield.
They reached the hall leading down to the library without running into Shakar or any of his mages. Light crept out of the open doors.
Tarrick groaned softly. “Could it look any more like a trap?”
“You know the plan.” Alyx swallowed. “If we get caught in there, Finn takes Brynn while the rest of us fight.”
Jayn led the way again, her hand raised and ready to summon a shield in an instant. They moved cautiously into the library. All Howell’s beloved books were gone, burned or taken by the council after the attack. The rows and rows of empty bookshelves gave the place a mournful air. But Alyx barely noticed, her gaze going straight to the crumpled figure lying in the centre of the floor.
“Brynn!”
She sprinted across the room and dropped to her knees by his body, letting her staff fall to the ground so that she could turn him over. His head lolled in her lap, limp. Numerous cuts bled sluggishly through tears in his mage cloak, his face was badly bruised, and his arm lay at an awkward angle on the floor.
Brynn’s eyes flickered open. “Alyx…” he breathed.
That effort was too much and his eyes closed again. With her limited healing power, Alyx could sense how close to dying he was; he’d lost too much blood and his skin was pale and close to translucent.
“I’ve got him.” Finn dropped down opposite her, one hand going to Brynn’s forehead, the other resting against his chest. She glanced up to see Tarrick hovering over them, staff drawn, while Jayn guarded the door.
“Oh Brynn, I’m so sorry.” She took his hand, cradled it in both of hers. “I took too long, I’m sorry.”
“It…okay,” he whispered, then coughed. “Worked…what you wanted. Followed, captured…me…distraction from…”
“I’m here,” she murmured. Finn’s expression was one of deep focus and effort, and she suppressed the urge to ask him how Brynn was. Sweat beaded on the healer’s forehead, and Alyx silently wished him all her strength. “Stay with us. Finn’s here, he’ll help. Stay with us.”
A smile flickered across his face. “Did…what you needed. Tell…” He coughed again, his body convulsing as it went into shock. “Tell…Sarah...” His voice rallied. “Love her…I’m sorry.”
Tears streamed down her face. “You’re going to be okay. You can’t die on me, Brynn.”
Brynn shook his head and his eyes flickered shut again as he fought against unconsciousness. His body was trembling in hers, his breathing becoming weaker.
“Brynn, no!” Alyx shouted as he slumped against the floor, eyes closing. “Finn!”
Finn sat back on his heels, white with exhaustion. “His body has lost too much blood. I don’t know if I can save him.”
“You have to!” Alyx stared at him. “This is Brynn, you have to help him.”
“I’ve done what I can for now.” Finn stopped, shook his head as he fought for his own clarity. “But we need to get him out, somewhere safe, away from the fighting. If he’s going to recover, he’ll need more healing later and space to rest.”
Alyx glanced between Finn and Tarrick, and the Zandian mage’s jaw clenched. “Finn, it will have to be you,” he said. “Jayn can’t carry him and I need to stick with Alyx.”
Finn nodded, kneeling to pick up Brynn gently in his arms. “I’ll get him clear, then I’ll come back to join you.”
Finn turned and left, his long strides carrying him quickly out of the library. The hopeless look that he’d worn was too much. This was her fault. She’d asked Brynn to be a part of her plan and now he was probably going to die for it. She swayed on her feet and would have fallen if Tarrick hadn’t been standing right beside her. The same gut-wrenching grief she’d felt on watching Cario die swept through her.
“We have to keep going.” Tarrick’s voice was strong. “It’s what he would want. Let Finn get Brynn out while we do what we came here for.”
Alyx nodded, piece by piece putting away her grief until she could stand straight-shouldered again.
“Alyx?” Dawn’s magic brushed her shield.
“What?”
“Shakar is in the main hall. He’s waiting for you.” A pause then, “The mages are moving too. He’s sending them out to engage our army. The Bluecoats have taken the northern half of the valley, and they’re herding all the remaining Shiven towards the militia and Hastor’s soldiers. Rothai is moving to meet them. There are so many, though.”
“Get the soldiers out. Tell Ladan it’s about to begin,” she said then, unable to keep the grief from her voice, “Finn has Brynn. They’re coming to you.”
Sadness came back through their link. “Trust Finn, Alyx, and focus on what you have to do.”
Alyx bent down to pick up Cario’s staff. “Let’s go and kill Shakar.”
Alyx ran back down the stairs with Tarrick and Jayn and out through the kitchens. It was well past midnight, but a full moon overhead bathed the wide valley floor in its glow. They stepped outside the kitchen door just as an explosion of fire plumed into the sky from the south, lighting up the night.
The valley floor was covered now with fighting soldiers. Voices shouted—the Bluecoats responding to the retreat order. Mage fire lit up again, followed by the bright flash of a concussion burst. Magic tingled against her senses, alive and all around her.
She hoped Ladan’s soldiers got clear quickly enough.
“Where’s Shakar?” Tarrick asked.
She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then turned to face them. “He’s in the main hall, waiting. Tarrick, you and Jayn need to go and help Rothai.”
“What are you talking about?” He frowned. “We’re fighting with you.”
“Tarrick, Rothai needs Third Patrol right now,” Alyx told him patiently. “If Shakar’s mages overwhelm us, the battle is lost. I can’t fight Shakar and his mages together.”
“How many times do we have to have this discussion?” Tarrick was angry. “Shakar is right there. We’re your mages, Alyx, and it’s our job to fight with you.”
“Your magic isn’t going to help!” she shouted. “He is invulnerable. If you come with me, you’ll only be a liability, leverage he can use against me. He knows you’re my weakness, because he knows how much I love you.”
Tarrick flinched as if struck. “I’m your protector.”
She stepped up to him. “And you can help me by using that powerful magic of yours to defeat Shakar’s mages. We can do this together.”
For a long moment he stared at her, then he stepped forward and threw his arms around her. “You’re my Magor-lier and my friend. Please come back from this.”
“I’ll do my best,” she said, utterly taken aback by his show of affection.
“I want a hug too.” Jayn shouldered Tarrick aside and hugged her warmly. “You go get him, Magor-lier.”
Feeling the brush on her mind, Alyx opened herself to Dawn.
“I’m with you too, Alyx.”
“Finn will be back any moment. Go lead Third Patrol and win this fight for us, Tarrick,” Alyx told him.
He nodded, gave her one last look, then he turned and began running towards the battle. Jayn was only a step behind. They held their mage staffs high, their profiles illuminated in the sudden flash of mage fire.
“Brynn is with us.” Dawn spoke to all of them. “So is Cario. Let’s do this for them.”
Chapter 50
Alyx walked around to the front of the hall and up the stone steps. Her cloak was warm around her shoulders, Cario’s staff glimmering in her hand. Now that he was no longer shielding himself, Shakar’s presence was clear and bright. It was the presence from her nightmares. But it was also her godfather, a man she’d loved.
Unlike the last time she’d been here, the hall was lit by lanterns running along each wall. The chairs and tables that had once been used for academy assemblies were pushed to the side, cluttered together in a heap. The stone at the far end was charred from his attack all those years ago.
There was little left of the place that had once been full of mage initiates and apprentices, yet their magic lived on, in the walls, the floor, the very fabric of the place.
Shakar waited for her in the middle of the hall. He wore a flowing black mage robe, looking just like the Astor she’d known all her life, but his eyes gleamed with a power she’d never seen in her godfather, and his face was harder and far less forgiving than the man she’d loved. He said nothing when she appeared, merely watched her move inside the hall and take a few steps towards him.
“You’re outdated, Astor.” She pointed at his clothes. “We wear blue now.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You’re going with humour?”
“I thought about threats and a promise to see you die.” She shrugged. “But I don’t like to brag.”
“Your mother couldn’t kill me. What makes you think you can?”
Alyx stilled.
“That’s right,” Shakar said, catching the flash of pain on Alyx’s face. “She came to me, thinking she could best me, could kill me. She thought if she defeated me, the Mage Council would leave her and Garan alone.”
Tears pricked at her eyes. He thought he was being clever, causing her pain, breaking her focus, but he was wrong. The knowledge of what her mother had sacrificed gave her strength.
“I won’t fail where she did,” Alyx told him.
“A sickeningly sweet sentiment.” Shakar sounded bored. “But erroneous. Very soon, I’m going to be the head of the mage order.”
Outside there was a loud explosion, followed quickly by two more. Through the windows high in the wall came bright flashes of mage power in battle. Quickly, she reached out to Dawn.
“Rothai and Tarrick have engaged the mages. Shakar’s Shiven fighters are falling back into the western foothills and our forces are attacking from behind. I think they’re clear of any magical fallout.” Dawn informed her.
“Good. Make sure they stay back.”
“It’s not going so well for you out there,” Alyx said.
He shrugged. “We both know I don’t need a conventional army. Your trick in Karonan was clever, but once I defeat you here tonight, I’ll use my new mage order to take it all back.”
“I’m curious as to how you plan on doing that, given I’m now invulnerable.” She kept her voice light, curious.
“Invulnerability only lasts as long as one’s stamina. I will exhaust you, and then I will kill you.” He seemed momentarily puzzled. “You were foolish to come here, to walk into my trap like this—I truly worried my ruse wouldn’t work.”
She chuckled then, a fierceness rising up in her. “Oh, but Astor, don’t you see? The ruse was mine.”
He frowned, clearly not understanding.
“I knew you would come for me once Karonan was taken. You can’t afford to leave me alive anymore. I needed you to think you had the upper hand.” She spoke slowly, clearly, so he would understand exactly what she was saying. “Brynn’s magic is in his voice, did you know that? I’m guessing not, because to you he would just be a lesser mage. A lesser mage who gave himself up to you, who convinced you that you had the advantage, that you were trapping me. But this is exactly what I wanted.”
“No.” Shakar shook his head. “You expect me to believe you sacrificed one of your closest friends? For what? To walk in here thinking you can defeat me. Good try girl, but I don’t buy it.”
“Wrong, again,” she said. “Because I didn’t walk in here to defeat you.”
True confusion flashed over his face and it almost made her laugh. Finn had been right, gloriously, wonderfully right.
“We’re both invulnerable, Astor. I’ve known for years that I can’t defeat you with magic.” She met his gaze, forced him to look at her. “But you knew that too. And that’s the real reason you suggested to the council that getting rid of the Taliath might be a good idea. You played on their fears to get what you wanted. The removal of the one thing that had the ability to defeat you.”
Realisation started creeping across his face, his eyes widening almost comically.
“I’m not going to kill you,” she said simply. “But they are.”
Three figures moved into the light then, one from each side of Shakar and one directly behind. All moved with the sublime grace of a Taliath, and their naked swords gleamed in the firelight cast by the lanterns.
“You remember my brother, of course?” she said. “And Jenna Aridlen—you sent Casovar to kill her parents.” The smile on her face widened. “Then there’s the man who made me invulnerable. Dashan Caverlock. They’re all invulnerable to your magic, and they’re the finest warriors I’ve ever known.”
Shakar backed up, reaching into his cloak to draw his own Taliath sword. “You can play all the tricks you like, but I wield magic with a skill you’ve never seen before. I can’t touch them directly, but that doesn’t make my magic useless.”
“I know,” she said, and lifted her glimmering arms into the air. “And that’s where I come in.”
“Too much talking,” Dashan shouted, moving faster than lightning. He had Heartfire slashing towards Shakar’s throat before Alyx even realised what was happening. Shakar’s own Taliath reflexes were all that saved him, his blade meeting Dashan’s with a loud ringing. For the briefest of moments they were still, two blades locked, matching snarls as
they stared each other down.
And then they disengaged, and the battle began.
Ladan and Jenna wasted no time in joining the fight. Shakar danced and weaved, moving quickly enough that they couldn’t close on him together. He took a few moments to test them, learning what he was up against, then he summoned his magic. When Mageson came swinging at him he vanished, reappearing a few steps away behind Jenna. She dodged his thrust, sent his blade flying away, then countered. When Dashan closed on him, he vanished again, getting himself out of the trap.
The three Taliath worked together, like they were all tied to the same piece of string. They stalked with the patience of a hunter seeking its prey. Alyx stood ready. Shakar couldn’t keep avoiding forever—he would have to go on the attack eventually.
And then there was a loud whooshing sound as one of the chairs by the wall erupted into flame. It flew into the air, arrowing straight towards Jenna’s head.
Alyx didn’t think. She sank into her magic, drew on Cario’s talent and used it to send the chair flying off course, crashing into the opposite wall. Jenna glanced up, cold fury shuttering her features, and then she leapt at Shakar. Frustration escaped her in a growl when he vanished again.
The Taliath blades rang and hissed as they clanged together over and over. Alyx summoned her power and lit Dashan’s Heartfire and Ladan’s Mageson with bright green flame and Huntress with bright blue. From then on, each time Dashan or Jenna got close to hitting Shakar, whenever their blades skimmed by his cloak, the bright flame would set him alight. Shakar would douse the flames instantly, but it took magic to do it.
Shakar used more magic, lifting chairs and sending them raining down over his attackers. Alyx drowned herself in her magic and fought desperately to send each flying away from its target. The temptation to strike out at Shakar directly was close to overpowering, but she fought it. It would only waste her energy.
It wasn’t only his sheer power that was staggering, but the skill with which he used it. He fought three opponents and used magic at the same time as if it were as easy as putting on his shoes. He’d clearly used every one of his long years to practice and hone his craft.