‘Where is it?’ Max asked Ebony.
‘Under his desk; I could smell it,’ she added and watched Max close his eyes, obviously passing that message on.
‘He wants us all in the dining room so he can throw it outside,’ Max told her. Where they were was far too close to Jim’s office should the thing go off. Max ushered his students out quickly. Most were clan so understood that when a warning to get out was delivered, run first, was the only way to stay alive. Asking questions could come later. They hastily helped drag their uncomprehending and dithering schoolmates along.
Max stood in the doorway to the dining hall and saw Jim run out of his office. His hands were wide spread and seemed to be holding air, but within that, was a small lumpy object that seemed to be blinking red. Max hastily kicked the dining hall door shut between them, and ran to the windows. He watched Jim run down the steps outside and throw the thing. As it left his hands, however, there was a deafening boom. Jim flew into the air, and went down hard. Max opened the window and leaped out. Amelie arrived and fell to her knees by Jim’s side. ‘He’s not moving. Is he ok?’
‘He’s just knocked out, I think. Oh, that’s nasty,’ she added, seeing blood. She carefully pulled a metal spike from his arm. He groaned and she blocked his pain, magically going in to his body to mend the jagged wound. While there, she quickly assessed the rest of him. Luckily he was not injured anywhere else, but he had certainly been winded and battered by the blast and would be badly bruised.
‘Any other injuries?’ Drako asked kneeling by Amelie. ‘I hear he was thrown about ten feet in the air. This is the device: nasty.’ He held the splintered remains gingerly; it was still hot to the touch and had many sharp edges.
‘No, I’ve mended his arm from this spike but otherwise he’s battered, bruised and winded. I should get him inside,’ Amelie added.
‘Not yet. We need to check there aren’t any more of these devices first,’ Drako said.
‘Good thinking,’ Amelie said her lips thin with anger. She let Drako take charge, ordering the animus “with noses” to search all the rooms on the ground floor. She was very glad she had been carrying Daisy in her cradleboard and that she had not been alone where an attacker could have found her.
‘What are we looking for?’ Kathy asked, volunteering to join the search party.
Cassy realised Ebony was struggling to put into words the scent she had detected. She was a bear like Drako; her sense of smell was acute.
‘Let me help,’ Cassy suggested. ‘Remember the sight and smell of it for me,’ she advised and touched Ebony’s arm. Quickly she captured the image and touched each animus in turn, sending them sight and smell. Now they would be able to narrow their search.
‘But that image isn’t flashing red,’ Max commented when it was his turn to receive the input.
‘Perhaps it only went active when he touched it,’ Cassy said. ‘If it’s flashing, run,’ she called.
‘I will check your quarters are clear,’ Drako told Amelie. ‘If Jim was the target, then that might be the other place they’d expect to find him.’
Amelie growled at that but was happy Drako was taking over. She created a bubble shield over Jim, Daisy and herself, filling it with warm air. Now she could hold her love off the cold snow and protect him and Daisy from the icy wind. He would soon wake; she could feel his mind clearing. Yellow eyes opened to meet hers. ‘How are you feeling, my love?’ she asked him.
‘Like I nearly died,’ he admitted and winced as he slowly sat up.
‘Drako’s got his people checking the rest of the house for more of those things,’ she told him just as they heard a shout.
‘Drako is that you?’ Jim asked reaching for his mind and in an instant saw an image of another of these things sitting under the bedside table in his private quarters. ‘Damn. Throw it out the window. Get Cassy to shield you both.’
‘But you and Amelie are outside,’ Drako objected quickly.
‘We’ll get out the way. Just throw the damn thing before it goes off in your face. I’ll take care of it once it’s out here. Now Drako,’ Jim ordered.
Drako exchanged a glance with Cassy already sitting behind the meagre shelter of the bed. He gingerly picked up the bomb, careful to avoid the various triggers sprouting like tentacles on the top. He threw it as hard as he could at the window. As it left his hand, he saw it light up red then it smashed through the glass. He grabbed the edge of the mattress and flipped it over them both. Almost immediately, he heard a loud explosion, but it seemed further away than he expected. He threw off the mattress, checked Cassy was unhurt and went to the window. Jim and Amelie stood looking across the snow-covered field at something smoking. They hurried outside to join them.
‘I didn’t think I could throw it that far,’ Drako commented once they reached Jim’s side.
‘No, I helped it carry on to a safer distance,’ Jim admitted. He walked across, picked up the still smoking, and hot device. ‘Someone wants me dead and it’s someone who can walk about the house unchallenged. That isn’t a happy thought.’ A further device was discovered in the animus classroom. This was a different style of device, bigger and less obviously scented.
‘That’s designed to kill many people,’ Drako said soberly. ‘I’ve seen that sort before. The inquisitors use them. Usual practice is to compel an insider magically, to plant them. Usually that person doesn’t even know they’ve been used.’
They returned to the house and heard from the other teams who confirmed the rest of the downstairs rooms were clear. Drako then sent them to check all the areas that animus people used, including the kitchens, staff rooms and staff quarters.
‘Thank you very much for your help Drako,’ Jim said. ‘I suggest you get down to the village and warn your people. All their homes will need checking, yours particularly. Cassy would you go with him? If you find any, throw it and cast a spell to make it travel to a safer distance. That seems the safest and easiest way to handle them. Can you do that?’
‘Yes, I’ll look after that,’ Cassy assured him, knowing he had been injured and knocked cold. He did not need the worry of the village on top of a school full of potential suspects. She collected their coats and returned to Drako.
‘Are you coming with us?’ Drako asked his sister, not commenting on the fact she was clinging to Max. Max did not seem to mind though.
‘No, I’ll stay up here and help Max check everywhere else. I’ve probably got the best nose for the job,’ Ebony added. Whilst seeking out these dangerous things was not something she wanted any part of, she never shirked responsibility, especially when lives were at stake. Leadership was in her blood too.
Drako nodded and taking Cassy’s hand jogged down to the village. He was almost pounced on when he arrived. Everyone was scared and desperate for explanations having heard two explosions.
‘We found three bombs, two obviously meant for Jim and Amelie,’ he briefed his wolves. ‘The third was hidden in the animus classroom. It looked like inquisitor work. Those ones started blinking red once activated. I need you to check out our people’s homes. If you see or smell anything strange, run. Cassy and I managed to deal with one; we will take care of any down here. I must check my own place first, it’s easier for someone to break in unnoticed up there and I might be a target.’
‘Should we not come with you first then?’ Freddie asked.
‘You know what to look for and have good noses. I’d rather you concentrate on safeguarding our people and preventing panic,’ Drako said and Freddie nodded, immediately heading off.
Cassy squeezed his hand, silently reminding him he was not alone, and they hurried up the track to his house. Dusk had fallen; it was not as easy to see anymore. Cassy had all her senses open to everything around her and knew Drako did too. He turned into his bear, particularly needing that form’s acute sense of smell.
‘Someone with magic has been here not many minutes ago,’ Cassy told him anxiously. ‘The presence was strong then vanishe
d. Don’t touch the door,’ she added urgently and he took his paw away from the handle. She turned instead to go around the side of the house.
‘A stranger has touched this,’ Drako said sniffing at the handle of the side door.
Cassy magically opened the door so she didn’t ruin the scent for him and they silently entered. She hastily let light flare from her hand to light the room. She felt a presence and gasped at a cloaked intruder staring at them. She had never seen him before. His gaze went past her and widened at the sight of Drako’s huge bear. The wizard abruptly turned and ran out the kitchen door with Drako in immediate pursuit. Cassy ran after them but both were running astonishingly fast through trees and in near darkness. She could only follow because she could sense Drako’s presence. He suddenly yelped in pain and her heart leaped to her throat. She came out into a clearing to find Drako struggling against something. He was obviously pinned by a spell. The wizard moved in to finish him off and without thinking, Cassy shoved him magically. The spell on Drako dissolved and he reared up snarling. Cassy shoved again, disrupting the wizard’s concentration from creating something else to fling at her love.
‘Defending a beast? Traitor,’ the wizard said coldly and aimed a spell at her.
Cassy threw up a shield but the force of the blow knocked her off her feet.
Drako roared and rushed him, but the wizard shielded himself from the bear’s savage claws and teeth attempting to rend their way through. Drako didn’t stop; he knew from Cassy that it took considerable effort to sustain a shield under concerted attack. He might get through. The wizard abruptly turned and ran through the remaining trees to the perimeter wall. He rushed up a ladder, safe within the bubble of his shield. As the ladder emerged from under the edge of the wizard’s shield, Drako grabbed it and yanked it away. The wizard jumped for the top of the wall however and managed to scramble over.
Cassy ran to Drako and cast a shield over him, just in time, as the wizard threw another powerful spell at them. Then other presences registered with her; he had backup waiting on the other side, probably a troop of ordinary catcher soldiers. She touched Drako, reaching for the man beneath the bear’s hot wrath and giving him that knowledge. She was terrified that in the heat of the moment he would follow the wizard over the wall and fall into their trap.
Drako roared again, venting his angry frustration that the wizard had escaped. He swept Cassy up onto his back and ran back into the cover of the trees and away from any immediate retaliation. Learning from Cassy that the wizard had backed away well clear of the wall, he decided it was prudent to pull back too. Cassy was safe. His next priority was checking if Cassy had truly seen a bomb in his house. If so, he needed to deal with it before anyone accidentally triggered it and got hurt. Moreover, damn it, that house was his, given to him by Cassy and Amelie. How dare someone try to destroy his home?
On their way back to his house the hunters, all in animal form, appeared. They had heard Drako’s furious snarling, knew he was under attack and rushed to aid him.
‘Jim! Don’t go into Drako’s house; the front door is booby trapped,’ Cassy suddenly shouted aloud but calling him mentally as well.
‘How did you know I was here and what I was about to do?’ Jim the lion demanded as they came out of the trees and saw him standing behind Drako’s house awaiting them.
‘I just did. The same way I knew the wizard Drako just fought was not alone. There were four men waiting on the other side of the wall for us to cross and fall into their trap.’ She slid from Drako’s back quickly, to walk beside him.
‘You had a good look at the one responsible?’ Jim asked Drako.
‘Yes. You can look later. I need to be sure my house isn’t about to blow up in our faces,’ Drako said tersely.
‘Of course,’ Jim said quickly. ‘Shall I sort that for you?’
‘You are welcome to assist. Wolves take the scent from the door handle first. We need to be on guard for that wizard sneaking in again,’ Drako said.
‘You’re in pain my friend, let me help you with that,’ Jim said gently. He ignored Drako’s growl that it was nothing. His lion could smell lots of blood but Drako’s thick black fur hid the injury. Jim simply put a hand on Drako’s back and found a crushing pain up through one front leg; yet despite that, he had insisted on carrying Cassy to safety. ‘Stand still and let me heal that arm. I’m relying on you to throw that damn bomb and you can’t with your arm in shreds,’ he added, knowing that although Amelie had just repaired his own arm it was not healed enough around the shoulder to be up to such an action.
‘Just as long as you let it fall the other side of the wall and on their heads. See if his shield can withstand that,’ Drako growled vindictively. He hissed then, feeling Jim’s power rushing through his blood stream and pooling around his badly torn arm. The wizard had pulled a knife, slashed him, and then covered himself with a shield to thwart Drako’s retaliation. His arm burned and slithered weirdly. New skin was slowly sealing the long deep gash from the inside out. Yet behind the burning, it cooled quickly. When the two sides met, there was a sense of rightness and sudden relief from the excruciating pain.
‘Thank you Jim,’ Cassy said well aware of Drako’s agony and sudden relief. She wrapped her arms about her bear’s neck needing to hold him. His chin dropped to her shoulder and he soaked up her reassurance, love and the strength she was offering.
A minute later, he changed to being a furry man and was striding inside his house by the side door. Jim waved his hand and lit all the candles so they could see clearly and they warily approached the object by the front door. Strings linked it to the handle; clearly, whoever opened the door would activate it.
‘Cassy could you put a shield around it?’ Jim asked carefully detaching it from the door handle. ‘I’m trying not to activate it. Sudden movements or touching those wires coming out the top seems to trigger them.’
Cassy made her shield large enough to clear the sprouting wires and simply maintained it as Jim carried it outside.
‘Well, we managed all this without activating it,’ Jim said in satisfaction. ‘Ok, Drako when you’re ready, throw it towards the wall. Cassy keep your shield up until I tell you to release it. I’ll push it along and follow your presence. Hopefully I’ll sense the inquisitor’s position and we can implement Drako’s plan.’
Drako threw it without further delay, disliking such a deadly object so close.
‘Release it, Cassy,’ Jim ordered. As her shield dissolved, his senses tuned to follow it, returned. They heard the sudden explosion, distant screams and abrupt silence. Lion and bear exchanged a glance and ran back to the wall accompanied by the wolves. Jim utilised the discarded ladder and cautiously climbed up enough to look over. The torn remains of five men lay dead in a small crater some distance from the wall. They had obviously thought themselves far enough away to be safe. However, Jim had been able to sense the location of the wizard through Cassy’s shield spell and aimed the missile accordingly.
‘Someone’s coming,’ Cassy whispered urgently. ‘Come down,’ she added. A sober faced lion and bear joined her. ‘We should hide that ladder somewhere near here so we can use it if needs be.’
‘No, I’m going to try a spell on the wall itself. I don’t want anyone able to climb that wall so easily ever again,’ Jim told them. ‘I’ve just thought of quite a neat little trap. Cassy how’s your strength now?’
‘What do you need?’
‘Drako, you and your men too,’ Jim announced. ‘Your animus magic merged with mine will be difficult to undo by pure wizard magic,’ he explained gleefully. He got them to revert to human form, hold hands and he touched the wall. Their merged magic coursed into the wall feeding the magic already instilled in it by the previous merged strength spells used to rebuild it. On the outside face only, he designed a subtle spell inviting those with magic to touch the wall. The innocent looking smooth white stone would respond by greedily sucking someone’s magic from them. He doubted it would kill a
person but it would rob them of any magical ability and certainly their strength, probably for several days. That would certainly be sufficient to thwart surprise mischief making. Each touch the wall received would feed the spell’s lifespan as well as its strength. It would also add additional resilience to the natural strength of the stone. He knew animus magic was naturally in tune with the land and that their ways required a balance, or choice, be left. That spell would not affect any animal or ungifted person and wizards could certainly choose not to touch. Leaving the inner side bare of the spell, would then provide the opposite side of nature, to balance it.
‘Now anyone touching the wall on the outside will be drained of their magic, but we’re safe on the inside.’ He touched the inner side and felt a slight humming; the wall was responding to his touch and the nearness of his magic. He was satisfied the spell would not extend to the gates however, being of wood. It would not do to render visitors unconscious for daring to knock!
‘It’s probably about time we got the plans finalised for our moat,’ Jim added to Drako as they headed back to his house. ‘If the inquisitors have indeed found out that this is where your clan are, then we can expect plenty more attacks. I’d rather encourage wizards to walk up to the wall rather than be able to ram it with some heavy siege machine. That spell is not going to stop them getting over if they realise what it does and avoid touching it. However, the strength of the wall will grow in proportion to the numbers of those coming along to feed it. The stronger it becomes, the farther away wizards will have to remain from it, to avoid being affected. I’m hoping that because our merge is mainly animus in flavour, the wall will see animus as parent and wizard as prey.’
‘You shock even me sometimes,’ Drako admitted but the lion was in charge and the instinctive predatory laws of the wild governed his responses. ‘I’ll have to warn everyone who goes out into the forest hunting or gathering. Will the gateways draw the unwary to touch too?’
‘Probably; we’ll just have to be careful,’ Jim said with a shrug. ‘I’d rather not reduce its power if we don’t have to. This trap might help catch many enemies. Our gates are not particularly strong defensively; they will draw enemies. Plus, temporarily draining someone of their magic is the kind of non-lethal defence I can justify having at a school.’
Clan Green Bear: Wizards of White Haven Page 22