27. A Reckoning
Amelie woke abruptly; had someone called her? Jim lay beside her, his sleeping face peaceful. He’d had a hard day, he needed his sleep, but something was nagging at her. She slid from the bed, careful not to jostle him awake and went to Daisy’s cot.
‘Were you calling me?’ she whispered noticing her daughter’s eyes were open, but it hadn’t felt like Daisy. She sent her senses out beyond the glowing wizard student presences so close in the house and felt a very different signature. Frowning, she wrapped Daisy warmly and went outside. Something was out there just beyond the perimeter wall. It felt like a dragon. Could it be Stripe? It didn’t feel exactly like Stripe but close. She had no idea how similar another dragon might feel, but either way she needed to investigate. They had cows and horses at pasture within the grounds that might prove an attractive feast for a dragon. Of course, there were also the villagers down that way, some of whom might be outside and become an unsuspecting target. She transformed into her dragon and picked up Daisy again. She looked around carefully but nothing seemed amiss, so she flew slowly for the presence. She saw nothing as she cleared the perimeter wall. Beyond the cleared space, either side of the moat, the forest pressed thickly. No dragon would be able to move on the ground in there and a bad feeling came over her. In the process of turning to head back, something passed over her.
‘JIM!’ she mentally screamed as a thick syrupy something seemed to flow over her, enveloping her. She realised she was caught in a spelled trap! She screamed again as the spell triggered her to change form and she lost her dragon and with it her ability to fly. She desperately clutched Daisy to her chest in terror as they began to plummet hideously fast. Something moved in the shadows of the trees; a group of men, hands linked together, stood watching her with intense concentration. Melded wizards had caught her. They’d tricked and captured her! GRRR! She’d managed to take control of merges before, if only she could conquer her terror and concentrate. However, the bubble she was trapped in was falling far too fast; there was no time. Moments before impact and sure death, there was a sharp pain and she lost consciousness.
Jim woke with a start, Amelie’s scream still echoing in his ears. She wasn’t beside him, or in the room and nor was Daisy. He dashed outside and scanned; why wasn’t she answering? Why couldn’t he now feel her? The possible reasons terrified him. What was that familiar presence? Daisy; he could still feel Daisy. Amelie never let their child out of her sight; they would be together. He roared his fury, and heard the shattering of some windows. He hadn’t even noticed he’d transformed into his lion. He began running; Daisy’s presence was a directional beacon of hope. The ground under his feet blurred as he super-speeded to the wall. Daisy wasn’t far from the main gates but he didn’t even consider diverting to a gate he would then have to stop to open. His lion sprang to the top of the wall, kicking off the other side in one motion and before the defensive spell could claim his power. The wall seemed to reach for him as he landed and he absently knew that touching it had triggered some kind of awareness. He hastily moved away from the danger it posed.
Twenty wizards stood on his side of the moat, and all flinched and paled at his arrival. Amelie lay naked and unconscious at their feet. What had they done to her? He roared again, ears flat and every fang on display in a murderous fury. He barely noticed that the strangers apprehensively backed up before him; all that mattered was that he could reach her. Arriving beside her he realised she was not lying directly on the grass; she hovered above it, as did Daisy. Neither appeared injured, but what had they done to Amelie for her to be unconscious? He snarled angrily again, discovering that a substantial shield barred even him from investigating further. What the hell was going on? How dare they imprison his family! His senses were already attempting to discover what manner of shield enclosed them, but all he could really tell was that he could not forcefully breach it without risk of harming them.
‘Release them, Jared,’ he snarled spotting a familiar face.
‘No, I don’t think I will.’
‘That is my wife and daughter.’
‘I know. It’s not nice when someone uses your family against you, is it?’ he added. ‘Now change form, I have no intention of talking to a spitting beast.’
Jim snarled and stalked closer to the man.
‘Wake her,’ Jared ordered one of his men, unnerved by the raw fury blazing in the lion’s eyes. The power sparking around him was terrifying. He’d never seen a wizard with so much magic. He suddenly wondered if his personal shield would be enough if Jim decided to actually attack.
‘Jim?’ Amelie struggled to sit up, her vision only slowly clearing. Jim was here in his lion form to defend her, but things could not be going well; she’d never seen him so angry.
‘Are you hurt?’ he demanded.
‘No,’ she hastily assured him. Her returning anger cleared the last of the fogginess from her mind. She was disgusted with herself; she had fallen into a trap and put her vulnerable daughter in danger too. She was the warrior wizard yet she was helplessly trapped, unable to aid Jim and he was her only defence against the twenty experienced wizards he faced.
‘Fur,’ he told her. She flushed crimson, only just realising she sat naked close to a bunch of strange men. That she felt disadvantaged and vulnerable was not helping calm his state of mind. There were some gasps as thick black fur covered her body. He shared her satisfaction that she could thwart their pettiness and recover her dignity. A thought summoned her favourite clothes and while they arrived he reverted to his human form so he had hands to catch them.
‘She needs her clothes.’ He sent the bundle of cloth to the man Jared had glanced at before and whom he knew led the merge controlling her prison. He watched the man wordlessly drop the clothes on top of the shield prison in readiness.
‘If we drop the shield to give her clothes you’d better not try to release her,’ Jared warned him.
‘You’d make her sit there, surrounded by strange men, naked?’ Jim asked.
‘Wouldn’t bother me,’ Jared told him. ‘She’s pretty.’
Amelie’s boots flew through the air and hit Jared’s shield hard enough to knock him flying off his feet. The boots then changed direction and landed gently on top of Amelie’s prison beside her clothes. Before Jared could get back up, his colleague let the items through so Amelie could dress. Jim was certain a tiny smile had momentarily crossed the man’s face. The glimpse of a normal and fair response helped Jim rein back his fury. Whatever was going on here, he needed a clear head.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Amelie demanded, standing to face Jared.
‘You are going to come with us to Circle Valley,’ Jared informed her.
‘Why would I do that? My place is here.’
‘Not any more. Since you enrolled at White Haven you have in effect chosen to become an Eastern Guild Novice. As leader of the Eastern Guild’s military arm your future, until you become fully trained and accredited, is ultimately under my control.’
Amelie noticed Jim blanch; he then recognised the validity of the man’s claim of authority. ‘Why do you want me to go with you? I enrolled here because I want to be here and can learn wizard stuff.’
‘You are a warrior wizard and as such require specialised training. It will be in your best interests to leave here,’ Jared told her.
‘Send us a teacher then,’ Jim said. ‘This is a school.’
‘No. I have made my decision.’
‘You have noticed I have a young baby, I trust? I will not be going anywhere!’
‘Yes, a novice with a child,’ Jared sneered. ‘That’s a mistake that should never have happened. You should have known better.’
‘Is that so?’ Jim said coldly. ‘Do not talk about my wife and child in such disparaging tones. They both have more class and ability than you. You have no right to look down on them.’ Jared merely shrugged.
‘The fact remains,’ Amelie interjected. ‘That my family is here and
they are my priority.’
‘Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear,’ Jared said. ‘This is not a negotiation. Your wishes are not relevant. You are leaving this place right now, today. Your only choice is whether to leave the child behind or not.’
‘Why don’t you admit to the real reason you sneaked here in the dead of night to kidnap my wife. You want to use her to control me,’ Jim said.
‘That’s not true; I wouldn’t do such a thing.’
‘Really? You’re lying; I can smell it.’
‘No. You’re a leach and you’ve had access to a warrior wizard’s strength longer than is safe. That has to stop. Now!’
‘She’s my wife. You will not keep us apart.’
‘This is for the best, boy! When your Guild summons you, you will not be able to take her with you anyway, for she now belongs to us.’
‘I will not leave the country without my family.’ He noticed Jared’s small and satisfied smile and everything dropped into place. If Jim left, then Jared would have control of a warrior wizard and Jim’s undoubtedly gifted child to augment his ranks. If Jim stayed, then he had not only leverage to force his compliance, but Jim would have to join the Eastern Guild. It was a win win plan for everyone, other than Jim and Amelie themselves. Jim ground his teeth in frustration, his anger mounting again. The shield around her was designed to block mental conversations, but he would not be denied. He would not give this man the privilege of eavesdropping on the private conversation he needed to have with Amelie. Jared’s second winced and looked at him sharply. Jim decided if the man wanted to try to prevent him, then he deserved to feel the pain losing such a battle of wills would cause. Abruptly he reached Amelie’s mind and she latched on to him. Now with them both holding the connection, the merge stood little chance of overpowering them and perhaps they realised it for the link suddenly stopped being so difficult to hold.
‘Jim, I don’t want to be apart from you.’
‘I don’t like it either, but you know why he’s doing it,’ he said heavily and replayed his suspicions.
‘They won’t be able to watch me all of the time. I’m sure I’ll be able to get away.’
‘I have no doubt, love. I know how resourceful you are. The main problem is that if you do run away they’ll punish you. They could even treat you as a renegade, block your magic, and throw you out of the system. If he’s being honest about training you properly, you would quickly become a real force to be reckoned with, as you were born to be. They are offering you the chance to earn your place as a top rank wizard. You’ll be entitled to earn well, live openly where you like and have a revered status. At the rate I’m going no-one’s going to give me that opportunity, but for you the door’s still open. We just have to decide whether we can live with the short term consequences, I suppose.’
‘You think this is a good idea?’
‘Am, this is ripping me in two,’ he admitted gazing from her to his beloved Daisy. ‘But do you see any other options? Have they left us any way out?’
‘No. You are correct that he fears you, though. He is seeking to separate us, simply to thwart and conquer you. He would have approached us openly with these orders otherwise.’ She glanced at the other wizards; all of them were watching her and Jim closely. She had the sudden suspicion that should she or Jim try anything then these wizards were ready with some nasty defensive spells.
‘Are they privately conversing, Derek?’ Jared demanded, aware suddenly of silence but the exchange of meaningful looks and nods.
‘I believe so,’ Derek responded, unperturbed by Jared’s scowl. ‘It’s clear they have a link that was strong enough to penetrate the shield.’ A shield powered by twenty wizards no less. He was still nursing a splitting headache from attempting to block the young wizard. He’d thought Jared was being over-cautious when he’d warned them all of the strength of the wizard they were likely to be up against. Kidnapping a man’s wife and child was a serious offence; he was not at all surprised Jim was furious. He was actually relieved he had caught them. Surely, Jared hadn’t expected Jim to calmly accept such an affront, without retaliation. That lion transformation had been just as impressive as her dragon. Both were savage and powerful predators, even before you threw in the ability to spell-cast. No wonder the idea of them being a couple terrified Jared. He noticed Jim glance aside and followed his gaze to the wall. A row of faces, many in animal form, had appeared over the top and were staring at them with cold glittering eyes. Animus and wizards co-existed, as they always had at this school, despite the current trend to shun animus as a people. Whatever happened right here and now was being observed by far too many witnesses for any mistakes.
‘Jim, I don’t want to go. My future is here at this school by your side,’ she said aloud for everyone to hear. ‘We are accepted and have made a home here, and what better place to safely raise our daughter, than amongst so many friends?’ she added privately.
‘You heard her wishes Jared. She has chosen. She is not going anywhere with you. You cannot separate us against our will. Leave.’
Amelie knew by his golden eyes and chillingly calm cold tone that the lion was definitely in charge, no matter that he wore his human form. She gazed at him, admiring his protectiveness and strength. These were older, and more experienced wizards, yet they all trembled before her man. Jim had given them the opportunity to leave, why didn’t they? Jim was in no mood to back down; couldn’t they see that? If they had any sense, they would go. Why must they continue to push him?
‘Yes, you all need to leave. Now, before anyone gets hurt,’ Amelie added and noticed a few of the meld team exchange looks. Unfortunately, however, none backed off. They probably thought they were safer standing their ground and keeping her imprisoned so she could not aid Jim. Of course, that stance just infuriated Jim’s lion and made conflict more likely. She silently hoped Jared would show some sense and be conciliatory and apologetic.
‘Do you forget who you’re talking to? I am the Arch-wizard of the Eastern Guild’s warriors.’
‘Do you forget who you’re talking to?’ Jim growled back. ‘You’re not kidnapping my wife.’
Jared stared as Jim suddenly transformed into a lion again. Unexpectedly, the lion leaned on the shield imprisoning Amelie. The meld team cried out in pain as the lion somehow managed to steal the strength they were putting into a spell strong enough to keep a warrior wizard prisoner. In the moments before they could realise what he was doing and disengage from their spell, he had drained them of a great deal of their power and Amelie’s trap dissolved around her. Sparks crackled and glittered all around the angry lion, in a scary display of uncontained excess energy. Jared stared in horror; he was about to witness what happened when a leach absorbed the power from twenty mature wizards.
With the sudden influx of so much prime wizard magic, the lion physically grew into the size of a carthorse. He was immense and terrifying, and snarled at the reeling wizards with enormous white fangs. The sparks of uncontained power zinging around him were like small lightning bolts now. The energy bolts grew and stretched, seemingly drawn like to a magnet to hit the wall behind him. Was he offloading power into the stone or was something drawing the power out of him involuntarily? Then a most peculiar thing happened; the lightning bolts merged into a steady stream, which then reversed its flow, originating in the wall and striking the lion. As the bolts hit the lion he shimmered but it did not appear to be painful or an attack. Was he drawing strength back out of the wall deliberately? Moments later, a glittering blue-white halo of uncontained power surrounded him.
Terrified, the meld threw a range of attack spells at the motionless lion but they too did not have the intended effect. The spells did not bounce off his shield, instead they appeared to transform and be absorbed as power. They were inadvertently feeding the lion, rather than felling him. After sending a particularly vicious spell designed to bring him down, the lion roared loudly enough to rattle teeth. Then without warning, he charged.
The wizards scattered, even jumping into the water to attempt escape, screaming in terror. The bounding lion hunted them, the moat less of an impediment to the vast lion than to the men. He pounced on each in turn and his touch drained the wizards of their power rendering them unconscious. Their strongest personal shields proved no defence against the lion’s brutally efficient retaliation. It seemed to take only a matter of moments, for all the wizards to be down.
The lion hesitated, as another lion roared. Looking round he met the gaze of a female, his female. His mate was calling to him. He looked down at his final enemy trapped beneath his paws, contemplating biting his head off. Such an action was justified, was it not? Certainly it would give him satisfaction.
‘Leave him,’ Amelie said, coming to Jim’s side and looking down at a terrified and beaten, but still conscious, Jared. Jim was holding him down none too gently and welling blood indicated his claws had pierced the man’s shoulders. ‘I’m sure he has learned his lesson and it is better he does not die today.’
‘He attacked you.’
‘Yes, but I’m not hurt. Leave him. You’ve bested him. Let that be enough,’ she said calmly, well aware he could kill Jared too quickly for anyone to intervene, if he wished.
Jim stepped away from the pinned wizard slowly and a little reluctantly, even though he knew Jared recognised he was beaten. He glanced around him rather shocked at the nineteen limp wizards his lion had overpowered. He sensed a presence somewhere in the trees beyond the moat. It was probably Derek. He recalled throwing aside the one wizard showing compassion rather than draining him of power. The man was unconscious; probably hurt, but he couldn’t find any remorse for that just yet. He breathed deeply trying to get his lion under control. The threat was over. Amelie was safe and so was Daisy.
Clan Green Bear: Wizards of White Haven Page 34