by Dean Cadman
Lusam had lost track of time as he sat there in the dark cave entrance. He knew he should return to camp soon, but he had no idea how he would tell them all of their impending doom, especially Neala. The weather seemed to be worsening too. The wind had grown gradually stronger since he had left camp earlier, and was now whistling around him in the cave entrance. It was then he realised that the whistling noise of the wind was actually coming from behind him, from within the cave itself. He followed the whistling sound to the rear of the small cave, and found what looked like a pile of rubble. When he looked closer, he realised it was actually made up of debris from the rockslide outside, and not a solid wall as he had first thought. He began to clear the rubble using his hands. As he did so, he felt the wind coming through the widening gaps strengthen, and he instinctively knew it would lead him to the far side of the rockslide. Several minutes later and he was proved correct, when the last of the debris fell in on itself to reveal a small tunnel that led around the rockslide outside. He squeezed through the gap and crawled for a short distance, before emerging on the opposite side of the rockslide.
While standing close to the rockslide, Lusam used his mage-sight to check the path further along. For as far as he could see the path was clear, but it turned a sharp corner and disappeared from view about half a mile in the distance. He wished he had time to check the path further ahead, but he knew he had to return to camp now if they were to have a chance of attacking the Empire agents at first light. He crawled back through the cave, returned to his normal-sight, and exited back out onto the path at the other side of the rockslide. Happy with his discovery, and the fact that he could now deliver much better news, he started to retrace his steps back to their camp further down the mountain path, this time being much more careful not to stub his toes again on any large rocks.
***
Zedd’s patience was wearing thin, but he knew his plan to exhaust the boy-mage would work eventually. He had tried to physically chase them down, but without supplies he had found it impossible to maintain the pace necessary to close the gap between them. He had tried a direct magical assault, but at this range it had also proved ineffective. He had been fortunate that amongst the men he had acquired there was a summoner. Summoners were magi who specialised in summoning magical items, and one of the things they could create was a type of bread. It was created using the magical reserves of the summoner, and although it sated the hunger of the men, it held little in the way of nourishment. One thing a summoner was able to do however, was to summon real water from the ground, or even the air, which meant at least no one went thirsty.
Zedd had noticed the boy-mage always used his magical shield while they pursued him, and had given strict orders to fire on him should he attempt to drop his defences. He knew only the boy-mage and the paladin were capable of seeing them in the darkness by their auras, so he knew one or the other had to always be on lookout duty each night. At first he had issued orders for all his men to maintain their shields at all times, just in case they were fired upon, but after a couple of days Zedd had noticed his own magical reserves depleting. There simply wasn’t enough time overnight to recoup the energy used during the previous day, and so he had issued new orders not to use their magical shields, unless fired upon first. He had seen first-hand some of what the boy-mage was capable of, and refused to underestimate him again. Anyone else, and Zedd would have already ordered an all-out attack, but he knew this boy was far more powerful than an average mage, and he needed to be weakened enough in advance for his attack to succeed.
Zedd glanced up at the enemy’s camp and counted only three auras visible. “Report!” Zedd commanded the man on lookout duty.
“No movement, sir. They seem to be sleeping, or at least resting for now,” replied the lookout.
“Why are there only three auras visible?” Zedd asked.
“One is sitting behind the paladin, sir. I saw one of them move and sit down behind him earlier, and now the paladin’s brighter aura is blocking the view of the fourth person.”
“I see,” Zedd replied still looking up at the enemy’s camp. “Wake me if they attempt to move, or anything out of the ordinary happens.”
“Yes, sir,” replied the lookout.
Zedd turned to find Cole following him like a faithful hound dog as usual. He had considered distancing himself from Cole several times since they had first entered the mountains, but he had somehow taken on the role as an unofficial second-in-command in the men’s eyes, and so now they pestered him with any minor concerns, instead of Zedd; and that alone was worth keeping him around for.
“Sir, all the men report that their magic reserves are fully restored. All except the summoner that is,” Cole said.
“Good. Then we shall attack them tomorrow at the first opportunity we get. Inform the men to prepare for battle. Tomorrow we end this chase, once and for all,” Zedd said, and he started to walk away before Cole had a chance to reply.
“Yes—sir,” Cole replied to Zedd’s back as he disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter Four
“I was beginning to wonder if you’d got lost, or fallen off the cliff, lad,” Renn said quietly as Lusam re-entered their camp.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long. It looks like neither of us will get any sleep tonight. It will be starting to get light soon and we need to prepare for our attack,” Lusam half-whispered, not wanting to wake up the girls.
“Before you fill me in on any details, lad, come over here and sit down behind me again. You’ll need to slowly reveal your aura again, so our friends down there don’t get suspicious. I haven’t been able to move since you left, and this rocky floor isn’t exactly comfortable you know,” Renn said, fidgeting a little on his bottom. Lusam smiled to himself, but decided it would be best if he kept his humour hidden from Renn. Lusam did as Renn asked, and a few moments later he stood up from behind Renn with his aura now clearly visible to anyone watching their camp from below.
Lusam sat back down on the ground and left Renn to stretch out his stiff legs, before telling him what he had found further along the path. While he was up Renn woke Neala and Alexia, so they too could hear what Lusam had to say about what lay ahead of them in the hours to come. Once everyone was ready, Lusam began to describe what he had found. He told them all about the rockslide blocking the path, and the small cave he had accidentally discovered at the side of it. He explained how he had dug out the loose rocks at the back of the cave, and how it had revealed a small passage through to the other side of the rockslide. When he had finished describing what he had found further along the path, he fell silent, and waited for any questions or concerns they might have, but he didn’t have to wait too long.
“It sounds to me like we may have just got lucky for a change,” Neala said yawning and stretching.
“It certainly could have been a lot worse by the sounds of it,” Alexia agreed.
“Maybe, but that large flat section of path will leave us very exposed. You two girls will have to make it to that cave before the Empire agents arrive at that part of the path. If you don’t, and they gain line of sight of you, you’ll both become a target for sure,” Renn said, sounding a little concerned.
“Neala, I need you to promise me that you will run as fast as you can to that cave, and not stop for anything, no matter what you see or hear behind you. I can’t protect you or Alexia once you start running, and I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you,” Lusam said leaning over and taking Neala’s hand in his.
“I’ll be fine, it’s you I’m worried about. You’re not strong enough at the moment to defend yourself against so many Empire agents, especially if anything should go wrong with your plan. How can you expect me to live with myself if something happens to you, and all I did was run away?” Neala replied quietly.
“Neala, you know as well as I that even if our plan fails and I’m killed, there would be nothing you could do against the Empire agents, they would kill you and Alexia f
ar too easily. Promise me, you will run, and not look back,” Lusam said squeezing her hand gently.
“Only if you promise to stay alive too,” Neala whispered leaning in to kiss him.
“Oh, I think I’m going to throw up,” Alexia said, feigning revulsion at their kiss. “Don’t worry, lover-boy, I’ll make sure she gets to that cave alive. She’ll be right in front of me all the way there. I’ll look after her, and Aysha will look after us both, you’ll see.”
“Thanks, Alexia, I appreciate that. Now, I suppose you better give me that bow of yours, and the quiver of arrows, so I can enchant them for you. We wouldn’t want you falling short of your target after all our planning,” Lusam said teasing her.
“It’s still a long way to shoot an arrow, there’s no guarantee I will hit them from this range, just so you know,” Alexia said nervously as she handed over the bow and quiver to Lusam.
“Oh, don’t worry about hitting them too much. As long as you’re close the arrows will find their targets once I’m done with the enchantments,” Lusam replied smiling.
“How can you be so sure? What exactly do you intend to do?” Neala asked curiously.
“Well, the bow enchantment is simple enough, it just needs to be made much more powerful. I can easily make it shoot three or four times further, and give it much more force behind each arrow, without making it any more difficult to draw back the bow. It was the arrow enchantments that took me a while to come up with, but I think I have the answer now. I will actually put two enchantments on those. One to make them fly truer, and not be influenced by any wind, but the second enchantment should make them very deadly. I will make them magically attracted to the sound of a beating heart. If you get the arrow within five paces of an agent, it should find its own target, with deadly accuracy,” Lusam said grinning to himself.
“Whoa! You can do that?” Alexia asked in amazement.
“Yes, I’m pretty sure I can, but there’s only one way to find out for sure I guess,” Lusam replied. “Renn, I shouldn’t have to use very much magic at all on this, but it may be better if you sit in front of me again to block their line of sight to me, just in case they can detect the slight increase in my aura when I perform the enchantments.”
“Okay,” Renn replied, and quickly came to sit in front of Lusam.
Lusam took less than fifteen minutes to enchant the bow and quiver of arrows. He had Renn watch the agent’s camp carefully for any sign of movement, just in case his activities drew any unwanted attention from below, but all remained calm.
“Lusam, I have an idea which may help you a little,” Neala said.
“What’s that?” Lusam asked curiously.
“I know how tired you are, and how low your magic reserves are right now. I know I don’t have a lot, but I want you to take some of my reserves, like you did with Lucy at the book shop when you healed her. Even if it’s only enough to survive one extra attack, it has to be better than nothing,” Neala said.
“We’ve no idea how that would affect you, Neala. For all we know it could make you sleep for hours. I don’t think it’s worth the risk, but thanks for the offer,” he said squeezing her hand again.
“I’m sure it wouldn’t affect me at all. After you lost consciousness healing Lucy she awoke almost immediately afterwards. All she complained about was a headache, and I’m sure I can put up with a mere headache, especially if it gives you a better chance of coming back to me in one piece,” Neala replied. Lusam hated the thought of draining Neala’s magical reserves simply to replenish his own, but he had to admit he wasn’t looking forward to the coming battle in his current state, and even a small amount of magic could make the difference between success or failure. So reluctantly he accepted Neala’s offer.
“Okay, but if you start to feel tired, or weak in any way, tell me to stop,” Lusam said.
“No problem, but I’m sure I’ll be just fine,” Neala replied.
“Hey, lover-boy. As long as your girlfriend doesn’t mind too much, you can take some from me too. Whatever it is you’re taking,” Alexia said.
“Me too,” Renn said.
“Thanks, both of you, but don’t you need yours, Renn?” Lusam asked.
“No. I’ve already told you, lad, I’m not a mage, I’m a paladin. Our power comes from our weapons, not our own magic reserves like yours,” Renn replied, then after a moment he added, “I take it you’ve done this before, Lusam?”
“Yes, twice. Once on a woman called Lucy, and a second time on the dire wolf in the forest. Both times I used their own magic reserves to help heal them,” Lusam replied. Renn almost choked on his words as he tried to get them out too fast.
“You stole magic from Aysha?” Renn said incredulously.
“Not really, I just used it to heal her wounds. I think it was some kind of test. She tried to stop me from tapping into her magic, but when I bypassed her barriers she appeared to us in her true form, and the rest you already know,” Lusam said defensively.
“You do realise that taking someone else’s magic is supposed to be impossible, don’t you, lad? Then again, I guess you’ve heard me tell you other things that you do are supposed to be impossible too, but somehow you’re always able to achieve them. I’m not even going to ask how you manage to do it, not that I would understand it even if you told me. You really are special, Lusam. No wonder the Empire wants you dead so much,” Renn said, shaking his head slightly.
“Talking of the Empire, I thought they shared magic with each other? Isn’t that how they manage to maintain such strong magical shields?” Lusam asked confused.
“You’re correct, but they share magic through their Necromatic rings. Apparently they undergo an initiation ceremony that links their rings directly to their own magical reserves. It also enables any higher ranking agent to draw magic directly from any nearby subordinate agents. Currently our best intelligence tells us that the magic only travels one way, from low rank to high, and not in the opposite direction. No one knows for certain how the rings work, but our best guess is that a conduit to the wearer’s own magic reserves is somehow formed during the ceremony, forcing open a permanent link between their magic reserves and the outside world. With only the ring acting as a way to control the outflow of magic, if you remove the ring, you also remove the ability to stop the flow of magic, and as a consequence they die when their magic reserves run dry. It sounds like what you can do is very different though. You tap directly into the magic reserves of a person without the aid of any pre-made conduit, and as far as I know, that shouldn’t be possible to do,” Renn said.
“I get the feeling my magic skills may be unique now, but it’s only because the knowledge has been lost over time. Almost everything I know about magic I learned from that Guardian book, and I’m hoping the book we seek now will give me something useful to use against those Empire agents down there. If it doesn’t, we might never leave these mountains,” Lusam said, placing a hand on Renn’s shoulder and draining some of his magical reserves into his own. He felt better almost immediately, and by the time he had taken some of Neala’s and Alexia’s magic too, he felt better than he had in days, and much more prepared for the battle that was to come. They quickly ran through their plans one last time, then sat back and waited for the first light of dawn which would signal the start of their attack.
Chapter Five
Zedd awoke to the unmistakable magical pulse-of-power that follows the death of a mage, quickly followed by three more, and then a fourth moments later.
“SHIELDS!” Zedd shouted at the top of his lungs. All around him sleep-dazed men were scrambling for whatever cover they could find. Zedd saw several of his men return fire, aiming at what looked like several of the enemy fleeing up the mountain path, and disappearing from view once they crested a small ridge. One solitary figure remained. Zedd was about to check their aura, but it wasn’t necessary, as his identity was confirmed almost immediately by several incoming magical-missiles.
“Hold your fire!” Ze
dd commanded. Only moments later the magical-missiles impacted harmlessly on their shields. Zedd knew the boy-mage must be weak by now. It seemed that he too had realised he was becoming weaker day by day, and had decided to mount a challenge against Zedd and his men while he was still able to do so. Zedd instinctively slipped into his mage-sight, and was truly shocked by what he saw. The boy-mage had an aura more powerful than any he had ever seen before. He had no doubt that he would lose a one-on-one battle with this boy should it ever come to that. Fortunately he had fifteen men at his disposal, then he suddenly remembered, five had just been killed. Now he only had ten men. Anger coursed through him at the loss of a third of his men. Men he had ordered not to use their shields. ‘It was a big loss of course, but at least they were fully rested, unlike the boy-mage, who by now should be almost magically exhausted,’ he thought to himself.
His men awaited their orders, and the boy-mage stood his ground further up the mountain path. ‘The boy was arrogant to think he could withstand the combined force of ten fully rested magi and me,’ Zedd thought to himself. He would make him pay for that arrogance, and the death of his men.
“Target the boy-mage, and fire at will. I want him dead!” Zedd commanded his men. Each man sent missile after missile at the figure standing before them. One after another the magical-missiles found their target, but he didn’t falter. On a couple of occasions several missiles came back their way, only to be easily absorbed by their shields.
“Increase the power of your attacks!” Zedd half-screamed at his men. They did as he asked, and the air around them almost sizzled with the intense magic now emanating from the hands of each man in their camp. The boy seemed to stagger a little, but still held his ground. Then he started to slowly walk away, as if in no great hurry at all.