The five guards Tasia had been draining collapsed, and she moved to a new group.
Lainey tore a strip from the bottom of her dress and laid it on the floor about five feet in front of the doorway.
Ashley frowned. “What are you—”
The cloth burst into a wall of flame, creating a barrier between the guards and the girls. Tasia expected a wave of heat but curiously felt nothing. Lainey must have directed it away from them.
“Oh,” Ashley said.
The next five guards fell unconscious as well, and Tasia chose another five.
The men inside the blackout continued to bumble about. Clangs indicated them running into each other, and the volume of vile curses increased.
Two broke free simultaneously and rounded opposite ends of the flame wall. The clothes of the one on the right ignited. A thick beam struck the other’s sword hand, and his blade clanged to the floor.
Both screamed.
Five more men fell to the ground, their life drained. Only two remained conscious and in the fight. Tasia targeted both of them.
One crawled from the darkness. Barely visible through the wall of flames, he rose, and instead of darting around the barrier, he grabbed something at his waist.
A knife.
Before any of the girls could react, he threw it.
Ashley tried to destroy it with a beam, but it flew too quickly, penetrating the fire without altering trajectory.
The blade sprouted from Lainey’s chest. She gasped and sank like a stone to the hard floor.
Thud.
The wall of flames vanished, and a thick red beam shot at the knife thrower, taking his arm off below the elbow.
He shrieked. It was the most agonized, tormented sound Tasia had ever heard.
“Serves him right. No one hurts one of my retainers,” Ashley said. “Time to end this.”
The darkness disappeared. Only one guard remained.
A beam shot at him, hitting him square in the chest and leaving a hole straight through.
Tasia stared at him, shocked. That was no mere injury. Not even a maiming. There’d be no saving him.
“Help her!” Ashley yelled.
What?
Tasia looked at Ashley before seeing Lainey, laying prone with a pool of blood spreading beneath her. If she yet breathed, she wouldn’t much longer.
Tasia rushed to Lainey and turned her over. She didn’t move. Her face was pale. The knife stuck from her heart.
She was dying.
Tasia drew more magic than she’d ever handled and poured it into Lainey.
“Can you save her?” Ashley said.
“Trying.” Spots swam in front of Tasia’s eyes. Her legs felt weak. “I’m close to overextending.”
“What does that mean?”
“If I do much more,” Tasia said, “I’ll pass out, and it might kill me.”
“Stop what you’re doing then.”
Tasia hesitated. Though she’d not served as a battlefield medic, she’d been trained, and the first rule was, “You can’t save anyone if you die. Your first priority is your own safety.” But Lainey wasn’t a random soldier to be abandoned. She was a friend. And Xan’s sister.
“No,” Tasia said.
“That was not a request,” Ashley said.
“If we get out of this mess alive, you can have me punished,” Tasia said, “but I am not letting her die. Period.”
“Anastasia Marie Knox!” Ashley hesitated, and when she spoke again, her voice was softer. “Tasia … I don’t want Lainey to die any more than you do, but … you’re more important. I need you.”
Tasia gritted her teeth. “More life is still flowing from her than is flowing in naturally. If I stop, she dies. Just … a … little … bit … more.”
Tasia put her hand on the ground and closed her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Ashley said.
Tasia barely heard her. The room spun around her. Her thoughts came through a cloud.
She felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Tasia! Speak to me! Are you okay?”
“Just … just let me rest, please.” She tucked her head low and took a couple dozen deep breaths. “I’ll be okay. No more magic for a while, though.”
“And Lainey?”
“She’ll live,” Tasia said.
It had been a near thing, though. Too near.
“Can you walk?” Ashley said.
“Give me a few minutes.”
“The longer we stay here, the more chance that reinforcements come,” Ashley said. “We’ve got to move.”
“And leave Lainey behind as a potential hostage?” Tasia still couldn’t open her eyes for fear of the spinning causing her to throw up.
“If we convince the queen to support us, there’s no reason for Lainey to be a hostage,” Ashley said. “If we fail, it won’t matter.”
36.
Ashley marched through the palace corridors as if she owned the place.
In a way, she did. Her face mimicked Queen Anna’s. Everyone bowed as she passed. She could definitely get used to that.
“Could you please slow down?” Tasia said. “Uh, your majesty.”
Ashley schooled her pace. A little. Her nerves sped her feet. She just wanted the whole thing over with.
Three mages against the queen and her guards was bad enough. Instead, Lainey fought for her life, and Tasia was too overextended to do much of anything.
Ashley huffed. That left only her, and she wasn’t accustomed to engaging in combat personally, the situation with the guards notwithstanding. Seduction. Words. Threats. Promises. Those were her purview.
She passed an older orderly, who dropped to a knee.
“Your majesty?” the old man said. “But I just saw you in your throne room.”
Perfect, he’d told her exactly where to go. Otherwise, she ignored him.
The soldiers guarding the door were as confused as the orderly, but they were too well trained to do anything other than move aside for their queen.
With Tasia in tow, Ashley burst into the room, dropping her façade as she passed the soldiers.
A throne set upon a dais at the front of the room dominated the space, and a small, middle-aged woman with perfectly coiffed graying hair and an exquisite blue gown sat upon it.
Queen Anna.
She engaged an old, fat nobleman in deep conversation, not even looking up as Ashley stormed in. The thirty soldiers dotting the exterior of the room at equal intervals and the two armed knights in full armor standing behind the throne weren’t so unaware.
Not good odds.
“Hello, your majesty.” Ashley strode confidently toward the dais. “It’s been too long.”
“What … But I had you arrested.”
Ashley hesitated. Keeping her ability secret was, perhaps, still possible if she blamed the magic use on Tasia and Lainey. Maybe, she’d even be able to place all the blame on Lainey to protect Tasia as well. But that was only the safer course in the event of failure. If Ashley won, better to be seen as a powerful force, one loyal to the queen.
“If you wanted to keep me locked up, your majesty, you shouldn’t have stationed only twenty-five guards outside my cell.”
“But … How?”
Ashley waved her hand dismissively, as if the escape had been nothing but a trifle. “I must say, Anna Willingham, that was a rude way to treat one of your oldest friends.”
“But …”
The door behind Ashley burst open, and she glanced back. A dozen more soldiers filed into the room. At that rate, she’d end up facing the whole of the queen’s army.
One of them rushed past Ashley, giving her a wide berth, all the way to the throne, where he whispered something to the queen. Her visage transformed from consternation to pure fury, and the longer the man talked, the madder she got.
When he stopped, she jumped to her feet and glowered at Ashley. “Not only does your father challenge my rule, you and your friends killed one of my guards and ma
imed others. I will see you hang!”
The soldiers, already tense, tightened grips on weapons.
Ashley held back a grimace. There was no way to take out even the visible threats, and murder holes perforated the ceiling. Dozens of deadly arrows were probably pointed at her and Tasia.
When one was backed against a wall by a superior force intent on one’s death, one’s only choice was to attack, and if Ashley were forced to attack, she’d do it with style.
She fired a beam at the throne. A two-inch wide hole appeared a hair’s breadth from the queen’s right cheek. Charred splinters showered her face and hair.
“Stand down!” Ashley locked eyes with Queen Anna. “Anyone moves a muscle, and you die before anyone else.”
The queen seethed, but she held up a hand, stilling her soldiers.
“Your majesty, we’ve known each other for a long time. You bounced me on your knee when I was a babe, and my father did the same for you. My family has long been counted among your staunchest supporters. Do you think we up and decided to usurp your power? Or we acted on a whim? Can you picture my father waking up one morning and arbitrarily deciding to violate the most important law in the kingdom?”
“Yes!”
“That’s not what happened, your majesty.”
“That is what appeared to have happened, and as both you and your father know, appearance is just as dangerous as reality,” the queen said. “Rumors of my weakness are running rampant. I’ve already had to send troops to bring a duke to task when a letter should have sufficed. Kaicia canceled a trade treaty I coerced King Wybrande into signing.”
Ashley grimaced. She hadn’t realized things were going that badly. If the queen didn’t re-establish her hold, she’d be overthrown, and the resulting war for ascension would tear Bermau apart.
“Your death will solve a lot of my problems,” the queen said.
Ashley had to convince Queen Anna that there was another way, a better way, to regain her hold on the throne. “After all these years of friendship and support, your majesty, can’t you at least hear me out?”
“No!”
“Fine,” Ashley said, “But if I must die, I’m bringing you with me.”
37.
Ashley readied her magic.
She’d meant what she’d said. At the first sign of attack, she’d unleash a beam strong enough to destroy the throne. If she had to die, she’d take Queen Anna with her.
A knight standing behind the throne fidgeted, and she almost let loose.
“We’re at the edge of a precipice, your majesty,” Ashley said. “One small mistake means your death.”
“I cannot give quarter to those who appear to usurp my authority.”
Ashley was much more valuable alive than as a symbol of what happens when one crosses the throne. She just had to make the queen believe that. “We always have choices, your majesty. Give me a chance to explain.”
“A treaty oft requires both sides to give,” the queen said. “If I were to grant you the opportunity you seek, what do you offer?”
Ashley took a breath. Time to lay it on the line. “If you do not find my argument compelling, your majesty, I will surrender.”
The offer was a good one. The queen could do nothing to prevent her own death if a confrontation occurred, and a brief respite to talk cost her little.
“Very well.” She issued the order for her troops to stand down.
While the soldiers sheathed weapons, Ashley gathered her thoughts. She was in a precarious position. Even with the powerful magic at her disposal, defeating fifty soldiers exceeded her ability, especially without Lainey and with Tasia not at full strength.
Words were Ashley’s best weapon, but an appeal of loyalty and friendship had already been rejected. And a mere presentation of events that led to her father’s actions likely would do little for her case. Her only chance was to convince the queen that her rule was in dire peril from forces far more powerful than a few wayward dukes and that only Ashley could save her.
“Your majesty, I and two other women—barely of age; girls, really—with no combat training, defeated twenty-five of your elite palace guard. Solely on my own, I’ve drawn you and your overwhelming forces into a stalemate. My power exceeds your comprehension. I could kill you with a thought. In fact, I marched past your soldiers into your throne room and could have assassinated you before you even looked up.”
She changed her appearance to match the queen’s, including the crown and blue dress. Several of the soldiers gasped.
Ashley dropped the mimicry. “Had I wanted simply to escape that cell, I could have been out of Escon before you even knew what had happened.”
The queen looked to her captain, who nodded.
“You have no defenses against magic, your majesty. A month ago, that fact seemed inconsequential. Today, it presages your undoing.”
“So your suggestion is to go back to the old days?” the queen said. “Another wizard’s war?”
“What choice do we have, your majesty? Dastanar used mages. In battle. Against Asherton. Had we not listened to the dire warnings of a condemned mage, the city would have fallen. My father and I would be dead.” Ashley hesitated. “Like it or not, you need mages, or your rule is worthless.”
Doubt crept onto Queen Anna’s face for an instant before she recovered her calm facade. “My advisors assure me that Dastanar had only those six mages, and they were all killed during the attack.”
“And the twenty we killed before the battle, your majesty?”
“We don’t believe those people were actual mages.”
“I see, your majesty. You must have much confidence in your spies to find their conjectures so compelling. Surely then, since those spies are so, so competent, they must have warned you about those six mages before my father’s men faced them.”
“No, but—”
“Your majesty!” Ashley put all the shock and dismay she could muster into her voice. “If your spies missed even the existence of six mages who, defying custom and law, attacked your sovereign kingdom at the behest of Dastanar, how can you be certain they haven’t missed others?”
“Logically, King Barius risking a larger force makes no sense. If the Wizards War taught us anything, it is that mages cannot be controlled. A few intensely loyal individuals, maybe.”
Before Ashley could respond, the old, fat noble stepped forward. “Your majesty, Lady Ashley has a point. Dastanar is a poor, miserable country. They covet our money and our resources. Our military might exceeds theirs by orders of magnitude.”
“A mage army, though?” the queen said.
“King Barius is an ambitious man, not a cautious one. If mages provide him his sole path to taking over Bermau and Kaicia …?” The old noble shrugged.
Ashley couldn’t have said it better herself. “Thank you …” She fumbled for a name. His face was familiar, but she couldn’t place him.
“Lord Raymon Macias, Duke of Hoyna, at your service, my lady. We have met before, but you were too young to remember.”
Ashley searched her memory. She had heard of him, of course, but no details sprang to mind other than that her father bore some grudge against him. Regardless, she was grateful for Duke Macias’ intervention. He’d said the perfect thing at the perfect time, and that it didn’t come from her helped.
She graced him with a warm smile before returning her attention to the queen. “Even if Dastanar doesn’t have a legion of mages ready to destroy Bermau, your majesty, what defense do you have against even six mages?”
The queen frowned.
“Or even one?” Ashley said. “A sole death mage can assassinate you with a thought, and your guards wouldn’t even know you were being attacked. My father’s advisors believe that’s how Duke Irdrin killed Duke Whiteknapp.”
“Pure speculation,” the queen said.
“Be that as it may, your majesty, it’s hard to deny the existence of a wizard. Lady Tasia personally witnessed the man using multiple powers
at once.”
At a gesture, Tasia stepped forward, looking quite nervous. “It’s true, your majesty. Xan … uh, the wizard … saved my life using kinetic magic, and I observed him using life magic, manipulating mass, and igniting fires.”
“Scores of witnesses back her account, your majesty,” Ashley said. “If he can use four types, he can use all ten. How will you defend Escon against someone who could blight it on a whim?”
“We have people looking for him,” the queen said. “When we find him, we’ll send assassins or an army.”
The queen had no idea the power Xan possessed. He was stronger than any mage they’d found, and the ability to perform so many actions at once gave him a ridiculous advantage. The largest army Bermau could field likely wouldn’t stand a chance. On the other hand, a disguised assassin might hurt him more than his life magic could fix, so the queen’s plan did represent some danger.
Keeping Xan alive was crucial to Ashley’s plans, but the time was not right to advocate for him. She had to prove her own importance first, and if making Xan a common enemy was the only way …
“He’s already killed hundreds of men, your majesty,” Ashley said. “If an attempt is made on his life and he finds out you were behind it, believe me, he will respond. You do not want to risk his wrath.”
“The threat must be ended.”
“What the young lady is suggesting, your majesty,” Duke Macias said, “is that we fight fire with fire. To beat a wizard, you need another wizard. Failing that, you need ten mages.”
“Use my friends and me, your majesty,” Ashley said. “For that matter, consider using Xan. If Dastanar does have significant mages, you’ll need all the help you can get. Build a force. We can test your most trusted soldiers.”
The queen paused, considering. “You’ve raised salient points. Developing a platoon of mages culled from those most loyal might be … prudent. Once the threat is past, we’ll find a nice, isolated place for them to retire.”
With magic out of the box once more, it would not be so easily put back in, but there was no advantage to pointing that out at the moment.
Gryphon (Rise of the Mages Book 2) Page 23