Conrad Edison and the First Power

by John Corwin

  "I believe Galfandor and the professors can defend against portals inside. The rest of you should help the rubies set up a perimeter." Kanaan glanced at me. "Are you rested enough to cast?"

  I aetherated and felt only the tiniest twinge of nausea. Two days of uninterrupted sleep had helped "Yes."

  "I will join you once I confirm the caverns are secured." Kanaan turned and marched away.

  My stomach twisted in knots. We were about to fight a huge battle against impossible odds, unless Cora and Evadora came through fast.

  "I can't believe this is happening," Max said. "I've never fought in a war before."

  "I've fought in a lot of them," Ivy said. "This one time, Justin and I rode a flying carpet and blew up a goliath. The trick is to blow up their power gems."

  "We don't have any decent flying carpets," Max said. "We'll be on foot."

  "It's frightening." Ambria shivered. "This will be an onslaught, Conrad. We might die in the first five minutes."

  Max groaned. "You're really killing my confidence. We can't go into this thinking we're gonna die. We've got to come up with a way to survive until Cora and Evadora come back."

  "I hope they come back soon." I tried to loosen the knots in my chest and stomach, but I was too scared. Fighting Victus one-on-one seemed simple compared to holding off an army of cobalt spiders, frogres and other monsters. Unfortunately, it was something we had to do.

  We walked up the tunnel and outside. A ruby soldier dragged the corpse of a cobalt spider down the hill a little way and left it there.

  "The cobalts already found the entrance?" I asked.

  "I'm afraid so," Shushiel said. "We fought off several of them when we came outside."

  The ruby commander, Ush, clacked the bangles on his forelegs and the soldiers scurried down the hill a few hundred feet in all directions and began webbing the trees.

  "Can we help?" I asked.

  Shushiel twisted side-to-side. "Not right now. We will block off the hilltop and hope it is enough to keep the enemies at bay for a little while. I hope the message I sent to our people reached them."

  I climbed up the stony peak above the entrance to the caves for a better view. The forest looked clear for now, but I suspected that would change shortly. Ivy, Max, and Ambria joined me.

  A large glowing sphere rose from the trees and arced toward us. It looked like a ball of glass filled with sizzling energy.

  "Holy smokes, it's a crucible!" Ivy shouted. "Everyone take cover!"

  The crucible crashed onto the hilltop a hundred yards away. Ivy channeled a shield of Murk around us an instant before a blast of wind bent over the treetops and showered the area with rubble and dust.

  The battle had begun.

  Chapter 33

  A breeze cleared the dust cloud and revealed a deep crater where the crucible hit.

  "It missed us by a mile," Max said.

  "No, it didn't." Ambria pointed straight down. "The corridor leading to the caves passes right underneath us." Another crucible arced out over the trees and headed toward the same spot. "They're trying to blow a hole in the top of the cave!"

  Ivy maintained a shield and another shockwave washed over it. "They're going to kill everyone inside."

  Trask and Beetle staggered out of the cave entrance, coughing violently. More professors rushed outside. Another crucible streaked over the trees and I realized what Victus meant to do—smoke us out of the cave and into the open.

  "It hasn't been nearly three hours," I said. "How did they get here so fast?"

  Ambria slapped a palm to her forehead. "The cobalt spiders must have communication pendants or something similar."

  "Ugh." Max watched the incoming crucible with dread. "That spider probably told them where we were an instant after it escaped."

  The crucible slammed into the hilltop. Professors cried out and shielded themselves from heat and dust.

  I saw Percival, Galfandor, and most of the others, but two people were missing. "Kanaan and Nightliss aren't here."

  "They'll be trapped inside or killed," Max said.

  I tapped Ivy's shoulder. "Open the shield."

  A narrow opening formed and I slid through it. "Keep them protected."

  The shield closed my friends back inside.

  "Conrad, where are you going?" Ambria said.

  "Stay here. I'm going to help Kanaan." I looked at Ivy. "Don't let her out, okay?"

  Ivy looked back and forth between us. "Sure thing, Conrad."

  "Let me out of here!" Ambria banged on the shield. "Conrad, get back here right now!"

  I ignored her pleas and slid down the rocky slope. Dust filled the tunnel leading inside, so I cast a wind spell ahead of me to clear my vision. I dodged past rubble and over large chunks of ceiling that had fallen. Debris littered the main cavern. It seemed the beanstalk and its network of vines was the only thing holding up the cracked and crumbling cave ceiling. The tunnel leading to the human living quarters was completely blocked off.

  I stared at it for a moment. The cave shook with another impact. I scrambled out of the way of falling stones and cast a shield overhead while I wracked my brain for ideas.

  "Brute force isn't always the answer." But what was? I couldn't physically move most of the large rocks jamming the tunnel. Cutting through the shattered stone with Fireblade would have no effect. I needed a bulldozer but couldn't magically conjure one.

  Or could I? I wove my wand through several complex patterns and cast the strongest shield spell I knew. But I didn't cast it in front of me. I cast it inside the blockage as a thin wall. Resistance formed in the back of my mind, the physical weight of the rock pressing down on the tiny shield. I focused everything I had on that small presence. In a burst of energy, I willed it to push toward me.

  Stone and dust exploded from the tunnel mouth. I shouted in alarm and dodged to the side as my spell worked better than expected. The shield wall scraped the tunnel clean and shot past me before fading away to nothing.

  I wiped the sweat from my forehead and headed inside. I cleared another blockage and the next before I found Kanaan with an unconscious Nightliss slung over his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow when he saw me. "How did you get through the cave-ins?"

  "I scraped them out with a shield."

  Kanaan blinked. "You removed tons of stone with a shield?" He sounded as if he didn't believe me.

  "Yes." I cringed as the tunnel shook again. "Can we go now?"

  "Of course." The magitsu master strode down the tunnel ahead of me.

  Cloudy skies showed through cracks in the ceiling of the main cavern. I wanted to run to the beanstalk and call out for Cora, but it would do me no good.

  The impacts had been so evenly spaced, that I found myself bracing for the next hit in advance as we made our way up the rubble-strewn tunnel to the exit. But the next hit didn't come.

  "It seems like no matter what plan we make, Victus comes up with something completely different." I used another shield spell to smooth out a pile of rocks ahead of us. "How are we going to beat him?"

  Kanaan shook his head. "We can only try our best."

  For the first time, Kanaan sounded completely defeated. The only other time he'd sounded anything like this was when he squared off against Garkin and nearly lost. At that moment, I wanted to get my friends and slide down the beanstalk to the underground forest where we'd take our chances against the giant bugs.

  I didn't want to give Victus the pleasure of killing us himself.

  I took a deep breath and let the moment pass. My hands trembled and my body shook. Oddly, it wasn't fear that gripped me, but rage.

  Victus is going to win. He killed my mother and hundreds, maybe thousands of other people. He tricked Justin Slade into exile. He's evil. He's corruption. I could not run away from that vile man. Somehow, I had to stop him.

  A small aether generator projected a shield outside to protect our meager forces from debris. But no more crucibles came.

  "He could kill us a
ll with one well-placed strike," Grace said. "What's he waiting for?"

  A silver line sliced the air and spread into an oval portal a few feet away from us. Victus, flanked by Garkin, Zarin, and the wandslinger, Talbot stood on the other side. I recognized the omniarch room near the underground mansion. A shield shimmered in front of them.

  An oily smirk spread across Victus's lips. "Hello, son."

  I was so angry I could barely speak. "Victus."

  "You've had it rough these past few weeks, haven't you?" Victus's eyes flicked to Kanaan and the unconscious Nightliss. "You took things that didn't belong to you."

  "People don't belong to you."

  Ivy ran toward me, but I held out a hand to stop her before she came into view of the portal. I didn't want Victus to know she was here.

  "If one of your friends is trying to sneak up so he can hit me with a spell, I want you to know that I will order another crucible launched, but this one will land right on top of you."

  Ivy scowled, but held her ground, outside the range of the portal.

  "What do you want?" I asked.

  "I'll make it simple, son." Victus pointed at me. "I want you. In return, I'll let your friends live out their natural lives. I know you won't willingly join my side, but I have ways of making you a little more flexible."

  "By corrupting me with demon magic." I bared my teeth. "And if I don't, you'll kill us all with a crucible."

  "That's one possibility." He shrugged. "I also have an army that could kill everyone except you, and you'd still be mine. So really, you don't have much of a choice either way."

  "Don't do it, Conrad." Ambria grabbed my arm. "Please don't go."

  "Innocent love. How precious." Victus's smirk returned. "Your little girlfriend can come with you if you'd like."

  I was about to reject his offer, but as I looked around at Max, Ambria, and the weary faces, I realized that saying no would sign their death warrants. But could I trust Victus to keep his word?

  No.

  He would hunt his enemies to the ends of the earth once he had me in his thrall, and he'd probably use me to do it. I only saw one opportunity with his offer, and it wasn't much. I might be able to buy some time.

  I looked down and slumped my shoulders in defeat. "Can I have an hour to think about it?"

  "I'll give you fifteen minutes," Victus said. "Say your goodbyes and kiss your girl, because in fifteen minutes either you leave, or they die."

  "Fifteen minutes?" Before I could argue, the portal winked away.

  Ambria gripped my arm. "Conrad, I'd rather die than let you go with them."

  "Me too," Max said.

  Several professors started arguing.

  "I want to live." Gilbert's trembling voice rose above the uproar. "Make the boy go to his father."

  "If I die, who will record this historic battle?" Beetle said.

  Horace Moon growled. "You'd sacrifice a boy for a history book?"

  "Quiet!" Gideon Grace's shout silenced the arguments. He glared at me. "Whether the boy goes or stays, we die." He turned the glare on the others. "Do you think for one moment Victus Edison will honor his word? Remember the deeds of the Overlord and be very afraid."

  Gilbert gulped. "Oh, god. We're cornered like rats. He'll kill us all."

  "We're doomed!" Beetle declared.

  Another argument consumed them.

  A frustrated shriek cut through the chatter. Ivy Slade conjured a blazing sphere between her hands. "They can try to kill us, but I'll take ten times more down with me."

  Down the hill a distance from us the tops of the trees began to sway. Everywhere I looked, a sea of blue spiders leapt from tree to tree. A wall of green tromped on the ground below. A black cloud of giant crows lifted in the distance and flew above the clouds. Guttural shouts rose from the north. Human torsos crudely spliced to buffalo bodies trotted toward the base of the hill. Behind them came elephants with small wings and reptilian scales. Fire blasted from their trunks.

  The monster army stopped at the base of the hill as my fifteen minutes ticked down.

  Nightliss stirred. "Oh, my head hurts."

  "Well, you've woken just at the right time to die," Percival said. He helped Nightliss to her feet. "As you can see, we're doomed."

  "What?" Nightliss's eyes seemed to lose focus. "I remember everything. The war. The next war. The crystoid war."

  "Welcome to the monster war," Ivy shouted from the crest of the hill. She held out a hand. "You ready to fight again?"

  Nightliss stared at her hands as if they belonged to a stranger. An ultraviolet orb flickered into existence. It grew larger until it enveloped her hand all the way to the wrist. She flattened her palm and thrust it outward. The Murk flattened into a wall. She curled her fingers and the shield curved with them.

  "I hate to rush you, but we only have eight minutes left until Victus attacks us," Percival said. "Would you like an aspirin?

  Nightliss's gaze locked on me. "What has happened, Conrad?"

  Her sudden question caught me off guard. "Victus wants me to join him. If I refuse, he'll attack. If I agree, he'll let everyone live."

  "Victus is a liar," Ivy said. "He'll kill us no matter what."

  "I know. But Cora and Evadora aren't back, and we're almost out of time." I scanned the horizon but saw only enemies. "We can't possibly hold out."

  I felt a strange sensation at my back, as if the air pressure changed ever so slightly. Hands gripped me. Ambria screamed and lunged for me. Ivy shouted a warning. The scene warped as if viewed through a bubble and then vanished, replaced by an omniarch in a small room.

  I ducked from the grasp of my captor, rolled across the floor and turned. Talbot sneered down the tip of his wand at me. Victus, Garkin, and the others weren't there.

  "Damn, that was easy." Talbot chuckled. "Oh, the look on your face, boy."

  I stood slowly, easing to the right so the omniarch stood between us. "Where's Victus?"

  "Oh, he's just down the tunnel from here," Talbot said. "He thinks you're going to join him so your friends can live, so he went to fetch one of his demon dolls." He shrugged. "After tracking you for so long, I know better. You don't trust your father a bit, and for good reason."

  I put up my hands. "Congratulations. You got me." I sensed high concentrations of aether all around me, tickling my hair like static electricity. Talbot had left the circle around the omniarch closed. Unfortunately, if I couldn't reach my wand, all that aether was useless.

  The sneer darkened into a scowl. "Damned straight, boy. I don't care about the bounty anymore. You got my sister killed."

  "She got herself killed."

  He shook his head. "This hunt is over, and I'm gonna make you suffer. Your father can have your bloody corpse when I'm done."

  For once, I wished my father was nearby. "Just going to kill me in cold blood? No chance for a fair fight?"

  "The time for that is long past." He aimed his wand. "Let's see—should I blow off your kneecaps, or your hands first?"

  There was no way I could draw my wand in time. Talbot would kill me and my friends would die.

  Chapter 34

  I had one last chance. The circle around the omniarch was still bound shut. Concentrated aether tickled my senses. Talbot aimed his wand and I reacted with panic. I opened a portal to a place right in front of my eyes just as he fired a magic bullet. From my side of the arch, I saw the destination. From Talbot's side, he saw the same thing—a dark stone wall. It also happened to be the wall right behind him.

  His kinetic bullet ricocheted off the wall and struck him in the back. Talbot cried out. I leapt through the portal and stepped out behind him just as he turned to face me. This time I had my wand in my hand.

  Talbot sneered. "You bastard." Blood pooled in the shoulder of his robes. His hand moved.

  I flicked my wand. A silvery ripple sliced through the air and struck Talbot in the forehead. His eyes rolled up and the wandslinger toppled. I didn't have time to feel anything. A
glance down the outside corridor told me I had little time left. Garkin and Victus stood near the entrance to the mansion cavern, engrossed in conversation.

  How much time did I have left on his ultimatum? Five minutes? Two? He'd walk this way any moment. Talbot's trickery had put me in a dangerous place, but it also might have given me an opportunity.

  What if I could kill Victus right here and now?

  I turned off the portal and reopened it back to the hilltop crest where Ivy had been. Her eyes flashed with surprise. I put a finger to my lips to quiet her, and stepped through.

  "Everyone be quiet," I hissed as loudly as I dared.

  Mouths gaped at the sight of me. Ambria looked up at me with tear-streaked eyes.

  "No time to explain," I said. "I need Ivy and Kanaan. We're going to kill Victus."

  Ivy pumped a fist. Kanaan climbed up to us and we went through the portal. I closed it to hide our presence. Footsteps tapped down the hallway. Victus was already on his way back. I didn't dare peek out of the doorway, but assumed Garkin was with him.

  Two figures entered the room. One was Garkin. The other wasn't Victus.

  Garkin drew his staff just in time to block Kanaan's wand thrust.

  "Die, bitch!" Ivy channeled a brilliant beam of power that incinerated the other mage.

  Garkin blocked her next burst with a shield, but it buckled beneath her fury and shattered. Kanaan drove him back with a flurry of attacks and took the fight into the hall. Victus glared at us from down the hall.

  "How did you get here?" he shouted.

  A group of mages rushed around the corner and charged us. Ivy focused her attacks on the newcomers. They shielded themselves but a torrent of Brilliance burned through the first one and blasted a hole in the next mage.

  "Victus Edison, you bastard!" Ivy shrieked and attacked the next battle mage. "I'm going to burn you to ash!"

  Victus turned tail and ran.

  Kanaan and I launched another barrage of attacks at Garkin. With Ivy off his back, he stood his ground, smashing his staff down. The ground rippled beneath us. Kanaan rode the waves. I stumbled and fell. Superheated stone seared my elbow. I cried out and got to my feet before rolling into another patch.