by John Booth
As I crossed that section I sensed the first layer of magical defense. Someone had set up a negation field. I’d read about them at the university, but never experienced one. They prevented wizards hopping through them.
A wizard can hop to anywhere they can see. It is our most basic talent after mind control. The negation field distorted reality just enough to stop that talent working. Anybody who tried to hop across the lake would end up dropping into the middle of it.
A loud splash had me walking to the side of the bridge to lean over and take a look. Magic sight showed the lake was full of large fish equipped with vicious looking teeth. A wizard dropped into that lot might find it hard to hop back to shore, especially if those fish were poisonous. I was certain the fish would turn out to be poisonous. The Knights were the kind of people who would settle for nothing less if a wizard was involved.
When I reached the far end of the bridge I detected another kind of magic blocking my way. When I moved my hand towards the impressive double doors of the temple a force pushed back. When I pulled my hand back, the force vanished.
There was no visible magic when it wasn’t active. I poked a finger towards the door and saw forces build up against my finger. It was like pressing against the surface of a balloon, the further in I pushed in, the more the force pushed back.
This was tricky. I didn’t want to reveal myself to the people inside, but there was no telling how much magic would be needed to break through the barrier. I sat down in front of the doors and considered my options.
15. Caught
The spell preventing my entry was fascinating. According to the Dragons, a powerful wizard had created the Knights of Justice to protect the Diamond Worlds. I could understand that desire and could see the wisdom in it. Most hedge wizards get drunk on their power and turn some innocent little country into their playground, usually with hot and cold running sex slaves. Only if there were lots of wizards on a world did some kind of balance develop with concepts like law and justice taking hold.
The Diamond Worlds did not seem to have a lot of wizards and the sophistication of this spell was so great I was sure the wizard who had set it up came from somewhere else in the multiverse. I hadn’t seen anything like it on Balmack, which was a center for magical learning, and where they called themselves mages rather than wizards because they were cultural snobs. On the other hand, I was only in the second year at university so there might be a few things the university knew that I hadn’t learned yet.
The spell was inactive until someone storing magic tried to get through. Wizards store magic inside them and the more powerful they are, the more they can store and the faster they can discharge it. I think of it like the fuel tank and engine of a car. However, in reality the raw magic is stored within our cells.
When I tried to poke my hand through the barrier, my own raw magic was used against me. The more magic in a wizard’s cells the more difficult it would be to penetrate the thing. A Knight would probably be able to walk through this barrier without even noticing it was there. But for someone like me, a direct approach would be impossible. It was a perfect shield against wizards.
I’ve learnt a lot about the theory of magic these last few years and I had already thought of two possible counter-spells. The first would be to put a shield around my body hiding the raw magic so the spell never activated. The second used brute force. Much like the answer to defeating the Knights swords, a spear containing enough raw magic would probably fry the spell to hell and back.
It occurred to me that the first spell might make me invisible to the detectors. The one thing I hadn’t tried was to shield the raw magic in me. I constructed the spell, but didn’t apply it. I wanted to try the other option first because it promised to be much more fun.
The first thing I did was to back away from the barrier. Ten feet should be far enough. Forming a raw magic spear, I cast it at the Temple door.
Pure white light erupted as the spear reached the spell. Forked lightning ran up the length of the building and over its top. There was no thunder, but my hair stood on end and the ozone levels must have been off the scale. Then it was gone.
I hadn’t expected that much light. It was annoying.
“Hmmm, I hope there’s nobody awake in there,” I said to myself. However, it was too late to worry about it now; the deed was well and truly done.
On approaching the door, I cautiously reached out a hand. The barrier was gone.
The double doors were unlocked and glided open on well-greased hinges. The interior of the building turned out to be lit by gas lamps. That was unexpected and I wondered if the lighting was special to the Temple or a city wide facility. I often wonder stupid things at times of stress. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the building and strode down the corridor.
Half an hour later, I was beginning to wonder if I was being led somewhere. There had only been a single path to follow. Doors were locked at junctions, except for the one that was always conveniently open.
I travelled down flights of stairs and through many corridors, but saw nothing that looked like chain bridge or even a place of worship. It was like wandering around an office block built in the 1930’s. Lots of oak doors, flock wallpaper and the slightly damp smell that natural gas gives off when it’s burning.
The flock wallpaper gave way to stone and a room that looked remarkably like a prison cell. As soon as I stepped into it I knew I had made a mistake. I turned to leave and an iron studded door slammed in my face. I tried to hop, but nothing happened,
A Knight in fancy clothes and light amour watched me from the doorway on the other side of the room. He seemed amused.
“Did you really think a wizard could breach the Temple undetected?”
I sent a spear of raw magic at him and he slammed the door on me. The spear dissipated against the wood in a way that told me that the door was a lot more than just wood.
“Temper, temper,” he chided through the small iron grill high up on the door.
It was imperative to act before they could use their swords to draw my magic from me. I formed a bubble of solid energy around me and expanded it. When it hit the walls and roof I heard stone grind against stone. I continued to increase the pressure, trying to bring the building crashing down around me.
It should have worked. Even given the size of the Temple, I held enough power to destroy a cathedral or an office block in this way. But though the sides of my cell were bending outwards they weren’t moving anything like enough to bring the building down.
Magical sight revealed the problem. The walls were reinforced with an iron cage whose bars were bound together by magic. I targeted the bars with destructive magic, but someone had thought of that and the magic bounced off.
Somewhere out there, Knights were pointing swords at me. Magic started to flow out of me at an alarming rate and I had no choice but to stop my attack and conserve my energies. It was a good thing that I knew how to do it or they would have bled me dry. I also applied the second spell I’d created for the barrier outside. With a bit of luck their detectors would show me drained of magic.
I collapsed onto the floor and tried to give the impression of a wizard with no magic left inside him. If one of them came in and touched me I might still have a chance. Any magic I used outside my body would be drained away by those swords, but I could still channel it through my flesh into theirs if I got the chance.
They must have believed I was drained because the tug on my magic largely stopped. At most a single sword pointed at me and that was some distance away. Enough to keep me incapacitated had I truly been drained.
The damned Knight on the other side of the door chuckled.
“And so all enemies of the Diamond Worlds are defeated.”
A groan seemed an appropriate response. I groaned.
“We have brought your fellow wizards to join you.”
The door I had come in through opened enough for Esta and Lana to be thrown into the room. Their hands were tied
behind their backs and they both fell painfully.
“I leave you to contemplate your fate.”
I heard the sound of footsteps going away.
Dragging myself to my feet I made my way to the girls and untied them.
“They knew where we were,” Lana said, rubbing her wrists which were bleeding from where the ropes had torn into them. “The first we knew was when we felt our magic being stripped from us. By then it was too late.”
“We killed ten of them,” Esta said with satisfaction. “By blade.”
“What will they do with us now?” Lana asked.
That was an interesting question and it begged the bigger one.
“The Knights don’t take prisoners. We should be dead.”
16. Escape
“Arrogance,” Lana said, for what might well have been the twentieth time. “Arrogance and complacency. How could we have been so stupid?”
I shrugged. There was little point in worrying about it.
“Damn it, my wrists hurt,” Lana said. “If I had any magic I could fix them.”
I looked at the two doors in turn. There was no sign of our captors.
“Come here.”
Lana came over reluctantly. “Hold out your hands”
I grabbed her wrists and she shrieked in pain, struggling to free herself. I held on and deflected the kick that would have turned me into a eunuch had it landed.
Now I was in physical contact with her wounds I could let my magic seep into them while extending the shield that covered my body into hers. It was the work of moments to heal her wrists. I let her go and she fell to the floor.
“You bastard.”
Then she looked at her wrists and her expression changed, “You wonderful bastard.”
I put a finger to my lips. If anyone was listening it was vital they didn’t find out I still held magic.
Esta caught on at once. She held out her hands to me. There were only slight scratches on them, but I knew what she wanted. I sat cross legged and she kneeled in front of me.
“Two spells,” I whispered. When she nodded her understanding I took her hands in mine.
I have very large reserves of magic. Much greater than my companions, and I had been alerted before the Knights started to drain my power. As I let power seep into Esta I extended the spells that kept the magic in her and hopefully hid it from view. Esta shuddered orgasmically as magic flowed between us. I felt her take control of the spells and let her go.
“That looks like fun, can I try?” Lana asked.
“I heard the bit about the spells,” she whispered as she knelt in front of me. “Your whispers could be heard at the back of an arena.”
Everyone is a critic.
A minute later she sighed in bliss.
“You never know how much you will miss it until it is gone,” Esta told her.
“How do we escape?” Lana asked
We huddled in the middle of the cell, heads touching.
I started the discussion. “I can force the door lock by magic while touching it, but it will set off their alarms and hop space is blocked to us. I don’t want to risk investigating it in case it sets off their alarms.”
“We need to get them to come to us,” Lana suggested.
“They would have to be really stupid to come in here one by one,” Esta put in.
“Unless we got them angry enough,” I pointed out.
“Insult their Gods,” Lana offered.
It was a good idea except for one small problem, “Does anybody know what God’s they worship?” It turned out none of us had a clue.
“What if one of us pretends to be ill?” Esta asked.
I groaned. “Is there anyone left in the multiverse that would fall for that one? I still can’t figure out why they haven’t killed us. They might laugh if we tried it, and then they’d know what we are up to and be on their guard.”
Esta glowered at me. “Well you come up with an idea.”
“They are a bunch of sick prudes,” Lana said.
That was so left field I had to ask. “Your point being?”
“While we were walking beside the cart, the men kept making crude remarks about women’s breasts. One man said a woman who showed her breasts should be burnt at the stake. That kind of thing.”
It gave me an idea. “What if we stage an orgy? If the people here really are prudes they would rush in to stop us.”
Esta sighed. “And if they do not, you finally get the threesome you have been begging for.”
Okay, so it was win-win situation, but it was also the only idea I had.
“We only have to pretend,” Lana said. “And it’s not as if Jake hasn’t seen us naked before.”
“Pretend?” I guess I couldn’t keep the disappointment out of my voice.
“You,” Lana said, prodding me with her finger, “Need only take off your shirt. If this works, and we had to wait for you to get dressed by hand, we could end up with the whole Temple in here before you get your trousers on.”
“Can girls do it faster?”
Lana grinned, “It is a survival skill for teenage girls on my world.”
It was the most disappointing orgy I have ever attended, as well as being the only one. I made a note to remedy this dismal situation if we got out of this alive. I needed a bucket list.
Lana and Esta had not completely stripped off as they said it was more effective if their sexy bits were partially covered. I disagreed, but was outvoted.
I listened by a door with my shirt off, Esta listened at the other and Lana lay on the floor ready to take up a provocative pose.
Esta signaled someone was coming and we assumed the position, as it were. The girls had considered the view from the doors and made sure that the Knight outside would get an eyeful.
Do you have any idea how sexual groans and moans sound when you are not aroused? Well believe me when I say they sound worse than stupid.
There were gasps of outrage from behind the door, then much heavy breathing. However, while our Knight might have been indulging in some form of self-gratification, he wasn’t unlocking the door.
Lana sat up and revealed her glorious breasts in his direction.
That did it. They really must find them obscene on the Diamond Worlds. We prepared ourselves as the door’s bolts were drawn.
A Knight charged into the room shouting “Harlot.” His sword was out and ready to swing. I couldn’t help but notice that his other weapon was sticking out between his chain mail boxers. Lana stood and waggled her breasts at him, while Esta stepped to one side.
“Brazen witch, you will not befoul the world with your bosoms. Cover them now or die.”
“Are they too much for you, little Knight?” Lana said, looking pointedly at the Knight’s groin. “It takes a grown man to handle them.”
The Knight screamed an obscenity and swung his sword. Lana darted closer and grabbed at the Knight’s now dangling member. His sword-arm hit her and knocked her sideways, she didn’t let go and the Knight’s scream was more high pitched than his previous one. I grabbed the man by the back of the neck and flowed enough magic into him to render him unconscious.
“I could have taken him,” Lana said as he fell. She walked over to her clothes and started to dress.
“A man should die with dignity,” I told her.
“You killed him?” Esta asked. She sounded surprised.
“No, but Lana would have the way she was holding him.”
“Put on your shirt and shut up,” Lana said. When I looked at her, I was astonished to find she was fully dressed. My wives could take ages to get ready when we were going out somewhere. I considered ways that I might get Lana to teach them her technique, but quickly realized it might prove suicidal… for me.
By the time I got my shirt on the girls were waiting impatiently at the door. I followed them as quickly as I could.
17. Magic?
At the first branch of the corridor, Lana stopped and waited for me to catch up.
“Which way?”
“How should I know?”
Esta gave me a push, as though I needed one to think.
“We came in as prisoners with blindfolds on. You found that cell all on your own. Can’t you remember how you got there?”
“Perfectly.”
I sighed as they stared at me. “But I got to the cell via the other door, so this is all new to me.”
“You are hopeless,” Lana said after a significant pause. “Which way would you like to go?”
Now wizards know exactly where they are all the time, except when something is blocking them from hop space, which is our external GPS coordinate system. However, the block was nowhere near as bad as the one the university had put on us and some directional information was leaking through.
“The left turns leads in the direction of the Temple’s door.”
“You are sure?” Lana asked. “I was drained dry when the brought us into the Temple, so I don’t have a clue. Do you have anything, Esta?”
Esta shook her head.
“I’ll lead,” I suggested. To my surprise neither woman objected.
The Temple’s interior seemed to have been designed by someone with far too much time on their hands. Unlike the night before, most of the doors we encountered were unlocked and led to tiny rooms equipped with wooden benches and not much else.
“It looks like people use these rooms to meditate or to pray,” Esta suggested.
“The must hate each other as much as they hate wizards,” I put in. When Esta gave me a puzzled look I explained. “The rooms are too small for holding communal prayer meetings.”
“I knew a brothel that was laid out like this,” Lana said thoughtfully.
I raised an eyebrow, Spock-like at her. That was something we were going to have to discuss later, assuming we got out of the Temple alive. Esta looked slightly horrified at Lana’s words.