by Marc Johnson
“Are you all right?” I asked her. I used my wizard’s sight to peer into her aura. It was more stable now, but Renak’s curse was still intertwined in it.
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” She pulled my arm and helped me sit up.
“You don’t ask how I’m doing,” Fortune said. “It wasn’t easy fulfilling my part of the bargain.”
“I hired Fortune,” Krystal said. “He showed Ardimus and me around and has filled us in on what’s been happening in Southern Shala. I also paid him to be on the alert lest we run into trouble.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You didn’t hold up your part of the bargain, Fortune. The princess and Ardimus were tortured by the council.”
He shrugged. “I tried, kid.”
“That’s not good enough. They could have been killed.”
“Hellsfire, it’s all right,” Krystal said. “We’re safe now.”
I took a deep breath. I was more angry at myself than Fortune. I wasn’t there for her the way I’d said I would be. I couldn’t protect her from all of this, or it seemed, from anything. I gave her a subtle nod.
“Be thankful I’m here now,” Fortune said. “Rescuing you from these dungeons and retrieving your weapons was far easier than some foolhardy attempt to wrest you from the council. I expect the rest of the payment when we arrive in Alexandria.”
“You’ll get your money,” Krystal said.
Fortune bowed his head. “Now that you’re all awake, I can fill you in. The council and their army are gone. They’ve mobilized to Northern Shala.”
“So that’s what they were up to,” I said.
“There’s another thing,” he said. “There was a reason they didn’t kill you all outright.” Fortune paused and looked up.
“Which was?”
“They were told not to. Someone wanted you all alive—especially you.” Fortune pointed at me. “But I wasn’t able to find out who.” He reached into his pouch and pulled out a red apple.
In the short time I had been in Southern Shala, I had made my share of enemies—we all had. But who would want us alive? It couldn’t have been Ashton’s council, as they already had us. They wouldn’t have worked together with Romenia’s council. There was only one person who it could be. Krystal and I shared a look as I raised my eyebrows. She gave me a subtle nod. It could only be Premier.
“Let us hurry back to Northern Shala,” Prastian said. “Our people must be warned.”
“Agreed,” Krystal said.
“I have your horses and supplies ready,” Fortune said. “We’ll have to go around the Dead Zone and away from the main roads the army is using. If we force march our way to the Ennis Mountains, we should be able to beat them.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Krystal asked. “Move out.”
The others put on the cloaks that Fortune gotten for them. I put my hood up and we left the dungeons.
There were no guards nearby, as Fortune had paid them to be elsewhere. We hurried down the hallway, with Fortune leading the way.
“Wait,” Prastian said, his ears twitching. “I hear something. Someone’s coming.”
We froze, and a familiar aura of power I hadn’t felt in quite a while came down that hallway. Premier. I had a fleeting thought of attacking and finally putting an end to the untrustworthy wizard. He deserved to die for what he had done to Krystal. I glanced at my friends. Their people had to be warned. As much as I ached to kill Premier, Northern Shala came first.
“Is there another way around?” I asked.
Fortune shook his head. “This way is clear. I have no idea how well guarded the other areas are.”
Loud footsteps stomped into earshot. We scouted around for side passageways. The nearest doors were locked. I reached for one handle, getting ready to use my power. My magic swelled inside before I stopped it. This close, he might feel my power, especially since I could feel his. I glanced back. The long, curved hallways didn’t leave any room for us to hide, and if we ran, they would hear us.
We heard voices approaching. “I should have been notified of this earlier,” Premier was saying.
“You were notified as soon as possible,” Paige said.
“We had a deal. I fulfilled my part of the bargain. I expect the council to fulfill theirs.”
“They did. We’ve been busy.”
“Invasion or no, I should have been told.”
“What’s your hurry?” Paige asked. “They’re not going anywhere.”
“You don’t know Hellsfire as I do. He’s tricky, that one.”
I whispered to Fortune. “Lead us out of here.”
Too late. Premier and Paige came around a curve and saw us. “Hellsfire!” Premier’s voice boomed out.
We stopped creeping away. My friends tore off their cloaks and freed their weapons. I summoned my magic. Captain Paige and the half-dozen men with her drew their own weapons. Premier’s burnt face stared at me with cold, angry eyes.
“Going somewhere?” Premier asked.
“Fortune,” Paige said, glaring at him. “I should have realized you were up to something.”
He bowed. “Always, my dear.”
“You’re the one who wanted us alive,” I said to Premier. “Why?”
“Revenge. You defeated me, humiliated me, and almost killed me. I was going to enjoy making you and your friends suffer for what you did.”
“You already did.” My hands balled into fists and my knuckles cracked. “You’re responsible for the condition the princess is in. You broke your word, Premier.”
“Not I,” he said, granting me a taunting smile. “That was Renak’s spell. I just...altered it a bit. The magic’s all his. If it got that far, you were meant to die in the nexus.” His dark eyes briefly stared at Krystal. “It’s all your fault, Hellsfire. If you had died or never had come into the Wastelands, none of this would have happened.”
Premier was right. This was all my fault. Every decision I made affected others. And I just made things worse. But I couldn’t think about such things now. I had to focus on the present and not get distracted by him, of all people.
“What did you give them in return?” I asked.
“Information. They were quite eager to learn some of the things I knew from Masep, and were pleased that I agreed with Renak.” I knew he was lying. He cared little for Renak. He was just using these people, much as he had used the Wasteland creatures. “There were things of interest they gave me, but then you showed up. And I also wanted you.” He pointed his long finger at me.
Then why did they offer me the chance to lead them to Masep? They genuinely seemed willing to work with me. Then it dawned on me. They didn’t trust Premier any more than I did, which was why he was here now instead of with them.
“Damn it, Premier!” I said. “This is bigger than you or me. Do you realize what you’ve done? What you’ve brought into Northern Shala?”
“I care not for the war or your land.” He spread his arms wide. “This has always been my home. If you turn yourself willingly over to me, I may not kill your friends or your beloved princess.”
I smirked, because I wasn’t going to make the same mistake of trusting him again—wizard’s promise or no.
“Why don’t you surrender, and maybe I’ll let you live.” Before Premier could respond, I said, “Captain, you can’t trust Premier. He’s a lying snake. I beat him before and I will beat him again. This time for good. He still hasn’t recovered.”
I accessed my wizard’s sight and glimpsed Premier gathering in mana. It was slow and carried nowhere near as much power as the first time I’d faced him. This time I had my friends with me—all battle-tested warriors.
The soldiers standing around Paige were different from my friends. Three of them were so young they had no growth of hair on their faces. They nervously looked at one another. The goblin with them had a shaky hand, and another aged man was missing his left hand. They couldn’t possibly take on all of us. Not with the bulk of their forces mar
ching into Northern Shala.
“Captain, please,” I said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Her enchanted sword glowed brighter. “I’m duty bound, wizard.”
“Paige,” Fortune said. “Now’s not the time to be foolish. I beg you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Before she could respond, Premier raised his hand and unleashed a funnel of fire towards me. I expected the tiny fireballs to ram into me, but only a portion of them flew my way. The rest attacked my friends, and a large portion of the magic aimed for the princess.
I dispersed the tiny flames and Premier smiled at me. He might not be able to beat me in his current state, but he could easily kill my friends. I was going to have to protect them and leave myself open for an attack.
Paige and her men charged us, and my friends met their attack. Premier stayed behind the melee, flinging spells not at me but at my friends. They weren’t powerful spells, but they could do enough harm if given the chance.
I couldn’t counterattack Premier. He didn’t give me a chance. He kept hurling quick and easy spells at all of my friends while they fought against Paige and her soldiers. My friends heeded the soldiers more than the magic, as that was their instinct. I paid too much attention to Premier and his spells as that was my training, but I should have been mindful of everything.
I was yanked backwards as Paige’s enchanted sword passed through where I had stood. I instinctively cast a fireball at her and her sword cut right through it.
“Paige!” Fortune said from behind me. “What are you doing?”
“What I must, Fortune. You of all people have never understood duty. You never chose a side.”
The couple continued to argue and yell despite all the fighting around them. I looked over Paige’s shoulder, worried that Premier would cast a spell at my friends. He didn’t. He finally released his gathered energy at me.
I didn’t have time to disperse Premier’s powerful spell, as a crackle of lightning raced through the air. I could have redirected it, but it would have harmed someone else.
Paige didn’t see it. Without thinking, I grabbed her, narrowly avoiding her sword, and threw her to the ground. The lightning grazed my back. I cried out in pain as it sizzled against me and seized my muscles.
As my body crushed Paige, I stared at her, seeing a hint of green in her questioning eyes. Those eyes hardened and her sword pressed up against my side, the sharp blade digging into me. The magic I brought forth to defend myself was absorbed into the sword. The sword’s power grew and the blade brightened. There was nothing I could do to stop her.
Paige was going to kill me. All to fulfill a duty I didn’t understand or agree with. And worst of all, there would be no one to stop Premier. He would finish off my friends and Krystal after I was gone.
“Stand down!” Paige yelled. The sword’s pressure against my side lessened, and she squirmed out from under me. Fortune helped me up. I placed a hand on my back, feeling the tingling, painful sensation of Premier’s magic.
Paige’s soldiers and my friends halted. They didn’t put away their weapons, but they did lower them.
“What are you doing?” Premier asked. “You were ordered to—”
“I was ordered to escort you to Hellsfire. I did.”
“You know these were not the terms of our agreement. They were supposed to be bound and imprisoned, not free and armed.”
“Not my problem.”
Premier glared at her. “You don’t understand what you’ve done. Foolish woman.”
His eyes darkened until the two globes became pure black. His power swelled inside him. This was the Premier I had faced the first time. Paige readied her enchanted sword. Premier couldn’t possibly take us all on.
Magic exploded from Premier and a gloom smothered the room, drowning out any and all light. The light from Paige’s sword shone in response, but not even her sword could draw out that much of Premier’s magic.
“Find him!” Krystal said.
We groped around in the pitch black of the hallway. I used my power to sense whether Premier was going to attack us, but I couldn’t sense any magic besides my own. Thirty long seconds later, the darkness lifted and Premier was nowhere to be found.
“Find him,” Paige said to her soldiers. “And alert the city.” She faced me. “We’re even now, Hellsfire. Leave Ashton and do not return here.” She eyed Fortune. “This includes you.” She stormed away.
“Paige!” Fortune said. “Paige!” He looked back at me and grinned. “Women.”
“What about Premier?” I asked. “He has to be stopped. Paige will need our help.”
“She can handle herself,” Fortune said. “She knows how to deal with wizards.”
“He’s my responsibility. It’s my fault he’s here in the first place. He’s weakened now, but you have no idea what he’s capable of, and I still owe him for what he did to the princess.”
“Hellsfire,” Krystal said. “Fortune’s right. Premier is no longer our problem, at least for the moment.”
I grimaced. “All right.” I would see Premier again and we would finish what we’d started.
“I suggest we hurry,” Fortune said. “Paige won’t be lenient for long.”
We exited the castle and got our supplies and horses. We departed Ashton and rode hard and fast, moving like a flying dragon. Fortune took us on roads Ashton’s army didn’t travel, but they added distance to our ride. I wished I had more of my rejuvenation potions so that we could push the horses faster. We had to warn Northern Shala before Ashton’s army reached them, but we couldn’t ride the horses to exhaustion.
We made good time. A week after we left Ashton, we arrived near the Ennis Mountains, where we would cross back into Northern Shala.
But there was one last obstacle standing in our way.
CHAPTER 27
Ashton’s council wasn’t the only one who thought sending their army into Northern Shala was a good idea. Romenia did too, and we stumbled straight into their battle.
We got off our horses and crept toward it in complete silence. We stood on the crest of a hill, overlooking the struggle on the plains. My eyes followed two dozen of Romenia’s centaurs charging into the fray from their right flank. They tried to reinforce the line, but galloped into a wall of pikemen. I winced as their bodies buckled like exhausted horses, but their human torsos cried out like a man would.
A dozen of Romenia’s ogres bullied their way through, smashing through Ashton’s weakened line. The tiny humans were crushed beneath their powerful blows. It took half a dozen men to bring down one of the ogres. With their strong armor and broad swords, the ogres were nearly unstoppable. They cut a swath through Ashton’s line. If Premier had properly armed and trained his ogres, Alexandria would have fallen in no time.
A gigantic fireball crashed into the ogres. A green-robed wizard stood firm and hurled wind at them. One ogre was lifted a hundred feet into the air, limbs flailing. From behind the wizard, three dozen elves shot arrows into Romenia’s encroaching army. The army scattered, unprepared for the elves’ assault. The elves and wizard turned the tide, and Ashton’s army counterattacked. Dwarves took the lead with elves providing them cover.
A red-robed wizard sprinted to the area to counteract the green-robed one. Those two dueled amongst the intertwined blue and red armies. They cast spells and counterspells against one another, and struck at the opposing armies when they could.
Throughout the battle, about a dozen wizards, witches, and sorcerers were interspersed on each side. They struck where they thought their side could break through, and held where their line was weakest.
As I watched the bright and colorful manas blaze across the battlefield, a part of me marveled at how skillfully they used their magic. Then I glimpsed a gnome screaming out in pain as a wizard’s fire devoured her alive.
Magic wasn’t supposed to be used for horrors like this. Stradus had taught me it was supposed to be used to protect the people and the land. The two armi
es slaughtering each other here weren’t fighting in defense of anything. It was because of a war centuries old. A war that no longer mattered, with the Great Barrier down.
They were wizards. Couldn’t they see what they were doing? The ground ran thick with blood, but it also ran with something else. Because of all the fighting, the land’s magic was twisted and weakened. It was the beginnings of what had happened in the Wastelands and in the Dead Zone.
Far too much of the land had been destroyed because of magic, and they were bringing their war into Northern Shala to continue it, not end it.
All because of me.
I ignored the ground troops, peering past them to the vital part of the battle. None of the others could see what I saw, but the magical fighting between the council was much worse and could be far more devastating.
Both councils and the majority of their wizards had linked themselves in a group. Elite guards surrounded them because of how vulnerable they were to attack. The groups hurled magical tidal waves of spells at each other, the power soaring through the air, trying to splash down onto the other group. Brilliant rainbow light shows fired back and forth. Each side vied to be the winner and push past the other.
They used their mana within and drew on the land’s mana to strengthen one another. Together, they were able to perform complex spells that would have been too difficult or time-consuming to do otherwise.
“What do we do now?” Demay asked.
“Stay back, out of harm’s way,” Behast said.
“Fortune, are you sure you don’t know of another route?” Prastian said. “Anything would be helpful.”
He shook his head. “There was never any money to be made in the Ennis Mountains, so why would I go?”
“We’ll have to risk getting lost in the mountains,” Krystal said. “Our people must be warned.”
“And we’ll have to try not to run into the winning army,” Jastillian said.
The others walked their horses away, but I stood firm. I stared at the horrors in front of me, seeing how the magic scorched and twisted the land when it was deflected away. Couldn’t the council see what they were doing? They were wizards, for the gods’ sake! They had a duty to perform.