Ferryl Shayde - Book 3 - A Very Different Game

by Vance Huxley

  “No problem.” Shawn’s laugh had just a touch of hysteria. “I ought to do something useful.”

  “Burn them?” Jenny wasn’t saying no, but she sounded dubious.

  “Their choice.” Kelis meant every word. “After all, it’s not our house.” She laughed suddenly. “That’s right, little girl, you are going over to that wall or getting a wonderful suntan. When your shield starts to fail you’ve got two choices.” Since the woman had to be in her thirties, little girl probably made her more determined to win.

  Abel’s opponent started backing towards the door he’d come through but Abel crowded forward, because from the sounds of that Kelis would be free to help in a minute or two. The man reached the door, but Abel kept coming so there wasn’t room to open it inwards. The part of the wall and the door touching the apprentice’s shield began to smoke and blacken. “If you stay there, you’ll roast long before the flames reach me.” The apprentice, probably a strong one because he wasn’t worried about the drain as yet, began to work his way along the wall towards the French window. More wallpaper smoked and charred as he moved.

  “Mine’s surrendered!” Jenny sounded triumphant, and definitely relieved. “Her shield stuttered so she’s not very good at it. I’ve got loads of magic left?”

  “Has she dropped the shield, Zephyr?”

  “Yes, she is defenceless. The shield facing Rob weakened just for a moment, but he might have been distracted by the smoke. Patches of wallpaper and some of the chairs are smoking where a shield has touched them but none are on fire, not yet.”

  “Can you come out a little so they can see who is watching, please? Providing the shield won’t hurt you.” Abel remembered to say the next part out aloud, this business of talking in his head then in words was confusing. “Her shield is down, Shawn. Watch her please. Jenny, could you put out any fires, then block the French window so none of these get away?” The man facing Abel glanced desperately towards his exit, then at the shimmer by Abel’s shoulder. “Had enough?”

  “Perhaps I should ask you that. I have more magic and a better shield than the others, so I’m not even close to finished.”

  “Not yet but soon it’ll be four against two, because Rob has his opponent on the run. Kelis has hers trapped in a corner, and when she gives in it’ll be four to one. How much have you got?” Abel put his hand inside his shirt to draw more magic and saw the man’s eyes narrow, wondering why. “Shawn brings extra magic in lead bars to fill the hexes.” A terse nod acknowledged that. “He’s not our strongest. Us four carry a lot more magic, in belts, and know more glyphs. Sort of like senior apprentices.” The apprentice’s eyes flicked towards the office where Ferryl sat. “Not Ferryl’s apprentices, we don’t work like that. Us four have our own tree to supply magic. It helps with training.”

  Zephyr reported that the woman who’d surrendered had her hands against the wall, with Shawn watching every move, and Jenny had moved to the window. Though Jenny must have been feeling much more confident now because she kept going. “I’m going to help Kelis, Abel, but I’ll cover the window if anyone tries to get in or out.”

  “Mine’s had enough, he’s backing away. I reckon he’ll be done in a minute or two.” Rob sniggered as light flickered and flashed behind Abel. Zephyr reported the man’s shield had started to fluctuate and wouldn’t last much longer.

  A man’s voice called out from behind Abel. “Mannan, his shield hasn’t faltered and he’s still pushing hard. Mine’s nearly done, and there’s no point waiting until I run out and get burned.”

  “I understand. I’ll tell our master I ordered you to stop, both of you. You’re no good to him badly burned or dead.” The man in front of Abel, Mannan, tried to move back towards the door again but Abel had pressed in off-centre so he couldn’t get past.

  “Come on Kelis, you’re slipping.” Rob herded his victim towards the wall, though Abel had to rely on Zephyr to let him know because his opponent wasn’t done yet.

  “Oh, this one is going down, believe me Rob.” As Kelis spoke a brighter flash caught Abel’s attention. He looked over to see that Jenny had pressed her shield in alongside Kelis’s, doubling the assault on the apprentice trapped in the corner. Kelis laughed. “Hi Jenny. Just give her another nudge or two. Ooh, did I just feel the strain on her shield? Do it again.” A voice murmured. “What’s that, you want to be good? Drop the shield and lean against the wall then. I’ll keep my shield up until you’ve assumed the position.”

  When he glanced over again Abel saw Jenny headed his way, her eyes on Abel’s opponent. “Hello, my name is Jenny. Want to dance?” It had to be some sort of hysteria affecting them all. Jenny had a bright smile, momentarily obscured as she rammed her shield into Mannan’s. “Budge up a bit, Abel, so I can get proper contact. This is like a cross between bumper cars and Guy Fawkes. Anyone got candy floss?”

  Maybe it was Jenny’s obvious confidence, or the thought of Kelis or Rob joining in that finally decided Mannan. Abel saw the fight go out of the apprentice, his shoulders slumping and a resigned expression crossing his face. “How do I stop without dying?” The man wasn’t beaten, but now he thought he would be. If two shields or more were still pressing when he ran out of magic, Abel could only assume the result would be horrific.

  “Kelis, guard the French windows please. Rob, cover the double doors to the office.” Abel glanced towards Jenny and smiled. “If you back off that way, and I back off this way, he stays pinned.” He turned back to the apprentice. “You drop your shield when I say and head for the wall. Once there, spread your legs and put your palms flat against the wall.” Abel narrowed his eyes and tried to look threatening. “We’ll pull our shields in tight but we’ll keep them up. I’ll know if you try anything and there’ll be no second chance.”

  “I heard you confirm the other shields going down, so whatever you’ve bound can see them. Just for the record, we weren’t to hurt you. My master was told you could be subdued and possibly recruited because you weren’t properly trained or tethered.” The man glanced at Jenny as her shield stopped sparking on his. “I don’t want anyone feeling vindictive.”

  “None of us are hurt, so fair enough. I’m Abel.” He almost stuck his hand out but remembered the shield. “Zephyr, please tell me when his shield goes down.”

  “I’m Mannan. Our master, Redwolf, likes Celtic names.” The apprentice moved to the wall and with a wry smile assumed the position as instructed. “Please don’t pat me down.”

  Abel had to smile at that. “Not if you behave. Will you help Jenny to watch them please, Rob?”

  “I’ll do it, Abel. Rob’s got to put a bandage on his bat.” From the humour in Kelis’s voice it wasn’t too bad. Abel turned to see Rob scowling at his magic club.

  “I’ve got another scorch mark to sand out, but not as bad as last time. Just for future reference, a seeming isn’t fireproof.” Rob held up his bat. “The tape caught fire.” He’d put gaffer tape over the lead in case it came loose, then disguised it as wood.

  But Abel wasn’t looking at Rob, his eyes had gone past him to the doors and the office. The two doors hung open, both with a charred section at the bottom corner where they’d met the bat. One had half-opened then jammed or just run out of magic. The other had almost opened, but hung at a drunken angle because the bottom hinge had broken and the middle one was warped and stretched. Beyond them Ferryl still lounged in the chair, while Redwolf had stood up and backed off about three steps. “He has a full shield up, out in a globe.” Abel nearly laughed aloud, because he’d have bet money on that. Redwolf looked like a man who’d stuck his fork into his spaghetti and come up with a rattlesnake.

  Ferryl smiled, raised her hands and patted them together. “Well done.” She turned back towards Redwolf and her voice hardened. “Sit down.” The sorcerer looked at her, back to the dining room full of unfriendly faces, and back at her. “They aren’t going to attack you, you fool. They came to discuss business. Now sit down, Redwolf.” Her tone lightened, bec
oming thoughtful as he moved carefully towards his chair. “You do know that your namesake was female? The Red Wolf was a form taken by the Morrigan. If I had come to these shores a little earlier we might have met.”

  His eyes and face looked shocked now. “But you are newly orphaned, a child.”

  “No, just arrived in Stourton with a new identity. You are a child compared to me and Pendragon is an infant.” Ferryl turned to Abel and beckoned. “You should have listened when I offered to introduce us. You asked to see the sorceress, so I came. If you had asked to meet the man in charge, you would be talking to the master of Castle House.”

  Now Redwolf seemed to think Abel was the rattlesnake. “You?” he croaked. “No, you were in the gardens but the house remains sealed.”

  Abel would bet on that information coming from Pendragon. “There’s a terrific library in there, and a really nice aquarium. I don’t think much of the wardrobe, but Jenny fancies a few of the frocks as fancy dress.” Once again Abel had to stop himself sticking out his hand. “Is the shield still up?”

  “Yes. His, not Ferryl’s.”

  “Abel claimed the right to Celtchar’s estate, by power and blood, while holding the token in Woods and Green’s office. As you can see he survived.” She frowned at Redwolf. “If we are being polite, you should drop the shield.”

  Abel would have to ask Ferryl how the sorcerer sat down without burning the chair. He dropped his eyes to her. “What happens now?”

  “We talk business. Younger sorcerers do this, beat their chests and shout at each other to sort out some sort of pecking order. Now it’s all over, Redwolf will talk sensibly.” Ferryl frowned again, her hand moved and a glyph smacked into the plush chair Zephyr had warned Abel about. It spun away across the room, shedding scraps of burning fabric before toppling over. “You’d better get another chair, Abel. That one is ruined.” She turned to Redwolf. “I said put the shield away. What did you expect, after offering a chair like that?”

  “Ferryl did that on purpose. She hit the chair as soon as his shield went down so he put it back up again.” Then she’d told Redwolf off about the shield. Ferryl kept telling Abel she’d forgotten most of her glyphs, so was she running a bluff? It was working, the sorcerer looked lost for words instead of objecting to having his furniture trashed.

  Abel turned away, dropping his shield and calming down enough to send a wind glyph to bring a dining room chair. Some of the others were toppled over or scorched. “We all may as well drop the shields and sit down, the prisoners as well. They can use the floor and keep their palms flat on the boards.” Abel smiled at Shawn. “You can stay on the table, or pick a chair. My bound spirit will warn you if they start anything.” Shawn would think Abel was hiding who Ferryl really was.

  Shawn sat with his legs over the edge of the table, an active glyph still in one palm. “I’ll keep an eye on them from up here.”

  Abel turned back, catching the chair as it arrived and setting it next to Ferryl’s. He sat down and took her hand so he could hear any hints. Zephyr connected to her, and everyone else. “Phew.” Abel could hear the humour in Ferryl’s mental voice. “I feel quite useless. That was a really good idea, clashing shields like that, because it stopped them throwing glyphs. Redwolf daren’t interfere because he doesn’t know how strong I am.” Abel remembered, sorcerers didn’t get involved in fights, not personally, in case they woke up bound to someone.

  “That was a bluff?”

  “Of course. Now it’s worked, he’ll be a good boy and negotiate. Charge him a penalty for the glyphs hidden in the chair I damaged, and the glyphs in the doors, because we have the contract to maintain things like that. Everyone cheats, but he’s been caught.” Ferryl squeezed his hand, smiled into Abel’s eyes and chuckled. “So how much is the penalty clause, Abel?”

  “For hexes he’s been maintaining himself? I’ve no idea, but it’ll be in the contract someplace.” It was, and a substantial sum, but Redwolf paid for the chair, doors and the extra hexes outside. He also admitted that the woman Kelis had faced wasn’t his apprentice. He’d been offered extra help just to make certain. Abel didn’t even bother to push him; it had to be Pendragon. After a few minutes Kelis complained about the catering. Abel turned to find her lounging in a chair in a very similar pose to Ferryl’s.

  Redwolf took the hint, despite it coming from an apprentice. He very politely asked Abel to release an apprentice, to let the kitchen know. Abel chose the woman Jenny defeated, since she seemed the weakest, and she took their orders for tea, coffee and cola. When the refreshments arrived, Ferryl called the young woman over and passed her hand over everything on the tray. Redwolf looked offended, but she ignored him until the apprentice had re-joined the other captives. “Yes, I just insulted you. You insulted my employer, so perhaps you should consider it payback and not get any silly ideas?” The sharp jerk of the head showed that Ferryl’s bluff still held. Abel really didn’t fancy the consequences if Redwolf ever found out the truth.

  Interestingly, after the basic business had been sorted out, Redwolf began to ask about how much of Pendragon’s business had gone to this charity. Some of his interest was in finding out how they managed to pocket the money once it had been paid over. He seemed surprised it really was a charity and promptly lost interest in that part. Abel wouldn’t have understood without Ferryl’s hand to guide him, but the next questions were to find out if Pendragon had lost his precious monopoly. Abel confirmed the rest of the business in Stourton, such as creating or charging hexes for manufactured goods, remained Pendragon’s.

  “According to my sources, you have up to forty apprentices.” Redwolf wouldn’t call them trainees despite being corrected several times. “I’m not sure why the Council have allowed it, but with that number you could do with more business. I have friends who would be willing to make an arrangement to find them some.”

  “He means steal business from another sorcerer.”

  “I am not looking for a fight.” Abel shrugged and told the truth. “I’m more interested in sorting out my legacy and finishing school.”

  “The school part is interesting. Too many older sorcerers have trouble with computers or driving, that sort of thing.” The wry smile had to mean Redwolf wasn’t very good at something modern. He glanced at Ferryl with a little question in his eyes.

  “Which is why I am attending school here. Others sorceresses should do the same.” Ferryl spoke seriously, but Redwolf laughed.

  “Can you imagine that.” Redwolf laughed again, then sobered and turned back towards Abel. “My apologies, we were discussing ways to find your apprentices more work.” The sorcerer leant forward, intent. “No fighting involved. If say, twenty of your apprentices turned up and threw a few spectacular fire glyphs at a tree or a wall, that would have a devastating effect. With two or three sorcerers present, along with their tethered apprentices, some sorceresses might want to reconsider their position.”

  “Don’t say a flat no. Let everyone think you might, if the deal is good enough.” Ferryl’s hand squeezed just a little, and Abel saw Redwolf look at it with a little frown. “Tell Redwolf you will have to think it over, because you don’t want to make the wrong enemies right now. It’ll keep them all wanting to stay friends.”

  Abel passed that on, and asked Redwolf to contact Woods and Green with any proposals so they could advise him. From the way Redwolf’s face fell, Abel didn’t expect any more offers. The conversation wound down until Abel and Ferryl stood up to leave. Redwolf looked at their hands again and Ferryl chuckled. “Tell me, how often do you find genuine youth with so much power? Totally irresistible. I came for a holiday, but I might stay for a hundred years or so.” She laughed at the shocked look on the sorcerer’s face and put an arm round Abel. “That should help slow them all up as well.”

  Abel smiled and hugged back. “I’m up for a hundred years or so of private tuition. Who’ll be showing us out?” He looked back at the captured apprentices and remembered Mannan giving one of the ot
hers permission to surrender. “How about Mannan, so we can keep an eye on him?” All the way out of the house Abel kept expecting something to happen, but Mannan led them to the front door where the BMW still sat, untouched. Abel finally gave in to his good manners and after checking the apprentice still didn’t have a shield, put his hand out. Mannan looked at it for long moments, then shook.

  At least Abel didn’t have to explain to the rest, because Zephyr had been keeping everyone informed. Now everyone hoped Ferryl’s bluff and the bloodless victory over the apprentices had worked.

  ∼∼

  Shawn drove them to their next appointment, but didn’t come inside. Shannon had been thoroughly disgusted at missing an entire afternoon, and warned the other Taverners about the way Woods and Green’s waiting room made hours flick by in minutes. After checking Abel had his mobile number, Shawn went back to Frederick’s to see how the orchard dryads had taken the offer of a new home.

  Abel felt sure every visitor didn’t get to see one of the partners, but once again he ended up in a room with Terese Green. Once again he unwrapped a small selection of expensive-looking items. “We’ve thought about what you told us last time. I’d like to sell two or possibly three items. One to give us about…” Abel stopped for a moment because it still seemed a ridiculous amount. “A hundred thousand pounds to invest in launching our game. I’d also like a smaller sum to be donated to the charity side, enough to renovate a church.” Abel turned. “Jenny?”

  She passed across a sheet of paper. “I got this from dad’s computer. We might have to forget the windows, replace them with plain glass, and the same with some of those fancy carvings. That’s if the heritage people allow it.”

  Terese Green took the page, scanned it and shook her head. “The church is eight hundred years old, so you won’t be allowed to get away with anything. You can build the new interior because it’s an independent wooden construct that doesn’t impact the original structure, and could be removed at some time. Unfortunately you will have to repair or at least preserve and protect the windows and any old carvings and inscriptions.” She started to smile. “But there are different ways to do so. How good are your Taverners, how precise is their control of heat, wind and colour?”