A feeling of satisfaction rolled through me as a very large square opened up in front of me. I could see the city as well as travelers on the other side of the field entering and leaving the city gates. I waved our soldiers and the carriage to come, then I stepped through to test it myself. I felt nothing, it was like walking through a doorway from one room to the other.
It took a few minutes to get them all through, there was plenty of time left on the portal. I nodded to Captain Samuel and manually cast the cancellation glyph closing the portal. I blushed a bright red at the look of awe on the soldiers, knights and Maria’s face. Trying to deflect I started talking.
“I am going to go help Hollis at the pass okay?”
Maria gave me a hug and whispered, “Be careful.”
Jason gave me a look like he wanted to come, but he couldn’t, his duty was to guard Maria. I recast the protection on Maria just because I would be gone for a while. I smiled and turned, then opened up a portal somewhat close to the pass. A grove I memorized on the way past. I was thankful I had to forethought to do that a number of times on the way to Sandoval, not just at our destination.
I made it smaller, just for a single person, and for five seconds. When it appeared I stepped through. A moment later it closed behind me. The pass was only a mile away, so I started jogging in that direction. As I got closer I detected a bunch of mage and demon auras. There were too many auras to conveniently count. I started to run at that point, worried about Hollis facing that alone. I felt about twelve enchanted weapons, that wasn’t nearly enough to back up one mage against the demon numbers I felt.
When I broke out of the woods into the clearing around the pass I couldn’t believe my eyes. Hollis couldn’t have gotten here too long ago as the pass was already in the hands of the enemy. I saw dead soldiers littering the ground behind the demons and apprentice mages. They had already won the pass before Hollis could reinforce, and it wasn’t looking good.
The demons were distracting the knights, a lot of them. Hollis was fighting a master, I knew this because I could feel the aura on the arch-demon and it was almost as strong as the master I had fled from over fifteen months ago now. The Zual apprentices, an alarmingly large number, were just watching the fight between Hollis and the Zual master, looking supremely confident in the outcome.
Somehow Hollis was holding his own against that master, a demon lord and a giant earth elemental, but he looked to be weakening. Currently he was hitting the demon lord with banishment, it made sense, it would halve the Zual master’s power.
But it seemed to only slow the demon lord down, he was even still attacking. A bare three seconds had occurred since I exited the woods and took in the situation. I cast my personal sigil for the four elementals with the intent to destroy all the demons and black robes, but starting with the arch-demon and the master. I chose the form of a small dragon. It appeared and swooped down spraying pure energy at the arch-demon.
Between that and Hollis’s banishment the demon screamed in pain and disappeared. To my horror however at the exact same time Hollis’s shield failed under the combined attack. The earth elemental struck him in the chest and he went flying back about fifty feet. When he hit the ground, he didn’t get up. I screamed.
I don’t know what happened after that, I was told the screams of the Zual master were horrifying when the energy dragon tore him limb from limb. The apprentices without a master were a joke compared to the elemental. They all died in one pass of the dragon’s energy breath, taking all the summoned demons with them as they died. I will choose to believe the accounts, because up to this day I couldn’t tell you what happened.
My memories return at a soldier touching my shoulder and shaking it.
He said, “Maam, are you alright.”
I was confused, I was pouring out an avalanche of healing energy but it wasn’t connecting to anything. I looked down and through my blurry eyes I saw my master, the man who had seen something in me despite all the evil I had done, saw something good and he made me his apprentice. He taught me so much and I loved him like a father. But his chest was completely caved in. There was nothing for my healing energy to do. He was dead.
And… it was all my fault.
If I had used my staff to return a week ago instead of selfishly dragging out the time with Maria, I would have been here from the start. I knew my master was stronger than me, we could have easily taken the Zual master together. We did take him together, but I got here too late for it to matter.
I choked out, “No, I’m not okay.”
I sobbed and rocked back and forth, holding Hollis in my arms. I had failed him, how could I be alright?
I looked around, I didn’t see any more of the enemy and for a moment of insanity I was angry there was nothing left to kill. Then overwhelmed with sorrow again I started to whisper over and over how sorry I was. I was angry, why was I alive when one of the best men I had ever known had to die.
The soldier whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I stayed there for hours before the dead feeling came. This I could handle, I recognized it after all. It was the broken part of me. I looked around and there were about forty soldiers and eight knights. They were piling bodies on the ground, building a huge pyre.
I said, “Do you know if there is more activity in the pass?”
The soldier shrugged, “No maam, no idea.”
I frowned and cast another powerful four elemental being in the shape of an eagle. The intent was to guard the pass and destroy any demons or black robes that showed up. It started to circle above the entrance to the pass.
I said, “That should last a few hours, I am going back to the palace, do you have anyone that needs to report. I don’t know how under strength you are here or what you need. And to be honest I can’t handle it right now.”
The soldier nodded and went to the knights, one of them came back and said, “Ready when you are Lady Silvia.”
I said, “Please, carry Hollis. I don’t even know what kind of burial rights we have here. It… it never came up before now.”
He said softly, “We usually treat the body as an empty shell. Normally we would just burn him with the rest.”
I nodded. Better than Zual, there you became a zombie, or you were left to rot in a pit.
“Do that then. Where should we come out, will you report to the king or maybe by the barracks offices?”
He motioned a couple of soldiers over, but I couldn’t watch.
He said, “The barracks are fine ma’am.”
I turned my back and activated my bracelet and a stab of pain hit me again. Would every time I use it remind me of my failure, my selfishness?
A portal opened behind the barracks and we stepped through.
I said, “Knight…”
He said, “James.”
I said, “James, if they want to send reinforcements hunt me down, it will be a lot faster than the two day trip.”
He nodded, “Thanks, I’ll let my commander know.”
I just stood there for a minute. My mind not prompting me to move. After a minute or two I actually thought about it and decided I didn’t need to go anywhere. The thought of seeing the king, Emory or Maria was painful. I was too ashamed. I sat down on the ground, right where I was standing. It would make it easy for James to find me too.
Then, when I sent the reinforcements I can just leave. Not sure where, anywhere would do.
A small part of me cried out at that, it knew I had saved lives today and stopped an invasion. Some part of me even understood if I had come back a week ago I would probably have been out of the palace already and not around to go with Hollis.
Still. If Hollis had sent a message it would have gotten to me faster. And I wouldn’t have had to take Maria home first. Even a few seconds earlier would have been enough for me to save Hollis. But would Hollis have asked me for help? After all, he sent the message at the king’s order to safeguard Maria, not to ask for help at all really. That was my idea.
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br /> But that is something I will never know.
I needed to get a grip. I took a deep breath. Hollis would be okay with me grieving, and I will grieve. But he would hate the paralyzed person I was acting like right now. Slipping away might be easy but it would be a mistake. I stood up and took stock. I was a mess. I took the time to cast all my spells to get cleaned up and presentable and headed for the palace. I needed to report to the king, he would need to contact the council and get a new court wizard.
I took a big breath when I got to the door and slipped inside.
Chapter 12
I walked through the halls without thought. It was late afternoon so the audiences were probably finished for the day. I headed toward the Royal wing. At the entrance to the wing I stopped and turned to the guards.
I said, “Is the king back there, I have some news.”
The guard said, “Yes Lady, he is in his suite I believe.”
I moved past the guards and down the hallways, as the feeling of dread increased I shook my head. I have seen a lot of death, caused a lot as well, but this was different. I was having trouble focusing and knew I needed to get it together. Easier said than done. When I reached the king’s suite I knocked on the outer door.
I cursed myself for an idiot when Knight Commander Dane opened the door. I should have realized he would run to the king right after debriefing James. I shrugged and said, “I was going to report the king, but I suppose you’re doing that already.”
He just nodded, looking at me with concern.
I shrugged not really knowing what to say. We both knew I was an idiot right now so I went looking for Maria. Lucky for me she was easy to find. She opened the door and pulled me inside her room. She was a mess. I should have realized, I lost a master and a father figure, but I had only known him a relatively short time compared to her.
In a strange way, it felt good to share the pain with someone I was close too.
Maria said, “It’s not your fault, and you saved a lot of people.”
I replied, “It is my fault,” and I explained why.
Maria just snorted at me through her tears. “Typical Sylvia, if we had taken the quick way home you would have been gone and not even known anything about it. We would have a hostile invasion force inside our territory. You not only saved most of the knights and soldiers that went with Hollis, you saved all those other people too. Grieve Hollis, but don’t be a fool and take the blame for his death.”
I sighed and stayed silent.
Maria said forcefully, “I mean it, stop it.”
I nodded. “It was just… A second or two earlier…”
We talked a bit, until someone knocked on the door. It turned out to be James. Maria came with me and we walked out into the courtyard. There were a number of troops ready to go. I opened a portal up to near the edge of the clearing, right by the forest opposite the mouth of the pass. I stayed until all the troops were through then dismissed the portal. It was about dinner time so we headed there next.
I guess I knew that it wasn’t really my fault, but I still felt guilty.
Dinner was a quiet affair, it was obvious Emory and Tristan were just as devastated by Hollis’s death. The king asked to talk to him privately after dinner and I agreed, imagining I would be told it was time to go.
I shook my head sharply as the third course arrived, I casted detect poison. Realizing how dangerous my funk was as I imagined everyone at the table dying during the first and second course, I used my anger to push down the pain. No good could come of my inattentiveness to what was going on around me. If anything had happened it would have truly been my fault. Well, the assassin too.
For the rest of the meal I was more aware of what was going on around me. As we walked back to the Royal suites I wondered why a private conversation. Did he think I would freak out when asked to leave? Of course, he completely floored me when we got around to it.
Once the King’s suite doors were closed he turned to me and asked, “I wonder if I might impose on you for another task.”
I nodded once the words made sense in my head and replied, “What do you need?”
The king said softly, “I know this is a touchy subject but, I need to replace the position of master court mage. I was hoping you would stick around and fill in until that can be done. Things seem to be on edge at the border, plus all the other sundry duties such as keeping up enchantments, being present for audiences. Those are usually late morning to early afternoon, maybe four hours with lunch in the middle. Also, although they wouldn’t officially be your apprentices Zand or Anna may have a question for you.”
It looked as if the king expected me to say no. Like I wanted to leave? Granted, the job would be hard but… “I accept the temporary post, but umm, who is Anna?”
The king’s eyes went wide, “Of course, she’s a new apprentice, just a week ago. Hollis liked having two but he was picky. Took him a month to find this one.”
I asked, “Is there anything else I should be taking care of?”
The king shrugged, “The position also came with a spot on the mage council, but I wouldn’t worry about that part since it’s a fill in type thing you don’t have to deal with them.”
I nodded and said, “Anything else?”
He said, “No, except to say if I thought it wouldn’t cause problems and friction it would be a permanent appointment. I think all of us here in the palace would welcome it of course, but it is a political position and the mage council would be in an uproar at having such a young master mage in the position.”
He looked a little uncomfortable, but he obviously thought he owed me more than he could deliver. “And thanks Silvia,” he whispered.
I left and quietly closed the door. I walked slowly back toward the mage suites, I hoped the red room was still free as I didn’t feel right about moving into the masters quarters, especially when the appointment was temporary. I scowled at the enchant recharging part. There were two bad things about enchanted items. One, it took a mage to recharge it. Two, they only lasted about two weeks, less if there was an actual fight and they were used.
So for a mage like me, having the staff was no problem, but maintaining the knight’s swords would be a pain in the ass. I wondered if there could be an easier way to get it done. Right now they sent riders back and forth once a week to drop off fresh swords and pick up drained ones. And worse, if they get fully drained I would have to reestablish the enchantment.
I also had an idea to make a protection amulet for Maria, her father and the king. I wanted them protected when I did move on. But that was even more complicated as the protection spell only lasted a few hours. I did have the idea to also enchant a ward. Wards were low power and lasted days, so I could have the ward activate the protection spell if they were threatened, then turn it off when the ward detected it was safe. It should work, as long as they weren’t attacked for longer than three hours in a day.
Of course, the charging problem still applied. I scowled. There had to be a way. I reached the mage suites and put a ward on the master’s door and made sure it was locked. I was sure Zand was not a bad person, I couldn’t imagine that Hollis would ever teach someone that was. But still… he rubbed me the wrong way. I walked to the door to the red room and knocked. No answer. The green room was next door and I heard the door open.
I turned and saw who I assume to be Anna. She was short, just over five feet. She had darker skin than I had ever seen before that was very attractive. She had long black hair and chocolate brown eyes… She also had to be not a day older than fourteen.
I smiled as best I could and said, “Hi Anna? I’m Sylvia. The king asked me to fill in until they could replace Hollis. I was just making sure the red room was still free…”
She nodded sadly, “I’m going to miss him.”
I sighed and nodded in agreement. I said, “I am not your official new master, but if you have any questions, feel free to knock.”
Her whole face lit up and she sai
d, “Thank you… that would be great.” Then she frowned as if feeling guilty for being happy.
As I got ready for bed, I felt as though I had a thought stuck in my head. A ritual I read once, but couldn’t remember. I shrugged and decided to look for it tomorrow. My head was hurting from the day I had, I needed a good rest.
I had been expecting bad dreams, but I slept peacefully all night, waking up slowly with the sunlight coming in my window. I got dressed and cast all my morning spells to be clean, presentable, awake, and protected. I had a long day ahead of me. I decided to get the enchantment recharge done first, before I tried to find a way to make it easier. Duty first. I sighed.
Opening the door I had to duck to the side to miss the fist coming at me.
Anna looking horrified, gasped and said, “Oh crap, sorry, I was just about to knock.”
I couldn’t help it, I started laughing. “What do you need so early in the morning?”
Blushing she said, “I have a question, I summoned my first water elemental last night, and there is something I don’t understand.”
I nodded and said, “Let’s not talk about this in the hall,” and led her across to the library and we took seats.
She asked, “Well, the element has my power all the way through the spell, then it dissipates. Why is that? Shouldn’t it get weaker as the spell wears out?”
I answered, “Oh, well no. One has nothing to do with the other, and the element doesn’t truly have your power it has its own. What brings and keeps it here is the small amount of magic you use with the summoning glyph. It equals your power because the summoning finds an elemental that is equal to your power, the power you put into the glyph.
The Formerly Dark Mage Page 10