To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles)

by Buttrick, John

  Cherin Colegus, a Two-bolt Ducuanan Accomplished, standing six paces from Jere, raised her baton and a bolt of lighting short out and struck an Accomplished of the Serpent Guild in the chest. The man flew backward ten paces and did not get back up. His partner aimed his baton at her and a yellow beam of light struck her in the face. A bright blue glow formed as her shield took in the potential, yet she screamed and fell to the ground. Jere ran over to provide assistance with Lou right behind him.

  The forty year old Ducaunan was still breathing. Jere looked into her eyes, which were wide open and frozen solid. “Lou, Convey her to the North Wing,” he ordered, since Cherin was barely conscious.

  “It will be as you say, Strike Leader,” the seventy-one year old replied, and then vanished.

  Petrin DuCollus engaged the Accomplished who had injured Cherin. Petrin dropped to the ground just as a yellow beam passed through the air where his head had been. It struck a sequoia and formed a large white splotch on the bark. From his baton shot a jet of flame that bathed the offender, who screamed and collapsed on the ground.

  From the Serpents came blades of air, lightning bolts, and fire balls. The enemy Aakacarns were filtering through the trees and launching their spells. A Two-bolt aimed his baton and Jere ducked his head just as a crimson beam shot out and struck the tree behind him. The sonic boom caused a loud ringing in his ears and blew a massive chunk out of the base of the tree. Pieces of bark and wood splinters flew at him, tearing his cloak, but otherwise doing him no harm. He cast Die Now at his opponent but the fellow’s female partner managed to get a shield in place, rendering the counterstrike ineffective. A ball of fire struck Jere in the back of the head and he was forced to throw off his cloak as the flames devoured the silk. By the time he turned, the pair was no where in sight.

  He sensed, through Find All, Aakacarns flowing out of the lower caves, and knew the enemy force outside the mountain was now larger than when he arrived, regardless of the amount killed up to this point. Many people had died and were dying as the fight intensified and Jere wished he could say none of the casualties were among the Sentinels and Aakacarns of the Atlantan Guild. He began issuing orders, adapting to the dire developments.

  -------

  Thirteen years ago Judas Scarott interned under Fenton Chan and was recruited into the Serpent Guild. Being an Aloe and a servant of Tarin Conn had not been difficult until today. It was clear as a Cenkataaran sunrise that Benhannon had deliberately misled the Accomplisheds of Aakadon about the arrival points. Most people paid more attention to Fenton and ignored Judas, which had given him the opportunity to report the battle plan to Nest Leader Bellomy Brockhouse. The Commander of Serpent West will be angry with him, not Fenton, over the losses taken during the first exchanges of the battle raging around them. Judas shifted the shield to cover the Senior Practitioner, who was supposed to be launching offensive spells at the defenders of the mountain. Chen missed every target but no one else was paying him enough attention to notice at this point in the conflict. They were both staying close to Maestro Reese and eyeing the flute.

  “He uses his baton more than the flute,” Chen’s monotone voice sounded in his head.

  The man actually wore the amulet Judas had given him on the back of his neck where it is well hidden inside his cloak. “I am guessing there is a reason you are sharing this observation with me,” Judas sent back in reply.

  “He retrieves the baton each time from his belt using his right hand, while the flute remains in his left,” Fenton’s unemotional response gave no hint of what he might be feeling.

  The usual reason for switching from an instrument to a baton was to use a Melody the Accomplished does not want broadcast before the spell is cast, even a level one Talented knew that much. Judas worked well with the man for many years and trusted him to a degree, yet he wanted an answer beyond the obvious. “You are giving me more observation instead of the reason I queried you for.”

  Fenton’s reply came back instantly. “Brockhouse will be furious with you when this is all over. We will be successful, yet the initial losses on our side will be ascribed to you. We are so close to Maestro Reese that either one of us could snatch the flute of Della Lain and destroy it, thus depriving him of the ability to strengthen the shields. More than that, the destruction of the cursed crescendo will free the Supreme Maestro from Kelgotha.”

  Every member of the Serpent Guild longed to be the one to find and destroy the cursed flute. Judas thought about the honor. If he was the person to obliterate the crescendo, Tarin Conn would reward him, and the loss of a few thousand members would be over looked.

  Maestro Reese aimed his baton and launched an Eagle Guild favorite, the Talon Strike. Potential flowed out like a giant talon and snatch up a loyal member of the Serpent Guild. The flute was right where Fenton said it would be and less than a pace from Judas. While the Five-bolt’s attention was on his prey, Judas reached out, snatched the flute, and took off running while summoning the potential for Corrosive Light. He could only manage a small sphere, but it would be big enough to do the job. He focused the potential at the flute and then lost his focus as his legs gave way and he fell to the ground. His arms trembled as he did a push up and looked back to discover what tripped him. Oh, my legs are over there, the thought entered his mind just before the Maestro’s Beak Strike took off his head.

  -------

  Jere caught a glimpse of Maestro Reese launching a Beak Strike at Fenton Chen’s partner. The temptation to free his master must have gotten the better of Scarott. At least we now know who the spy is, Jere thought as the first mark of the fight rolled into the second. An Accomplished of the Serpent Guild suddenly appeared right in front of Sentinel Rollen and launched one of those sonic beams of light right in his face. His shield absorbed most of the potential, but was no protection for the eyes. He screamed and fell to the ground, hopefully not dead. A tree branch swung down with a whooshing sound and smashed the assailant flat. The twenty Senior Foresters of the Willow Guild were manipulating the trees and Jere would have admired their effectiveness if the over all battle had been going better.

  In every direction he looked, scores of Accomplisheds suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere. He did not hear the sound of displaced air, so they could not have teleported in. A sonic beam struck a Senior Practitioner and the man exploded in a spray of blood and gore. The horrific death had one benefit. The outlines of three cloaked figures were now covered in bodily fluids and other bloody bits. The missing five thousand Accomplisheds had cast spells to become invisible and then quietly strolled in among Jere’s forces. The results were devastating. Three Senior Artisans each sent a beam of light at the gore covered Accomplisheds and petrified them, but the little victory was small next to the many lives being lost.

  A huge wave of harmonic energy struck Jere, knocking him to the ground. He began to push himself up when yet another wave washed over him. All around people were getting to their feet, some had fallen back down from the affect of the second wave, and others were standing. The entire battle had come to a stop. Everyone, Serpents included, looked to Shantear, and all was quiet. Whatever happened did not change the mission. Jere stood up straight and shouted, “Attack,” while sending the same order through his array.

  The lull was over and the battle resumed. Spells flew back and forth and Jere began to worry. If the Maestro does not secure the Crystal Chamber soon, this battle will be over shortly. An Accomplished of the Serpent Guild appeared four paces away and Jere summoned the potential for, Die Now, through his baton and sent six bolts of deadly life force energy into the Aakacarn. The beam blasted through whatever inferior shield had been in place and killed the man instantly. It was the first time in this battle Jere threw his full power into a spell. He had been trying to conserve his energy to keep the fight on the surface going longer, but he expected to exit this world soon, and decided to take as many Serpents with him as he could. Blue light radiated up out of the ground, turning night into day. H
e smiled at the sight, and then fell into a deep sleep.

  -------

  Joel Glader was pleased when the Maestro chose him to lead a squad of Accomplisheds. He had only spoken to Daniel twice since being restored and was more surprised than anyone else at the assignment. Joel recently overheard Simon Trenca telling the First Accomplished that Daniel never promised to keep an eye on him, he just does. Joel had not realized until his selection to be a leader, that the statement was true about him as well.

  He stood in the cavernous staging chamber created by the Maestro. “At midnight the battle begins,” Daniel stated, and then walked right over to Joel. “This is your arrival point,” he said, and then blue light flooded into Joel’s eyes and he saw the chamber containing the Great Crystal through multifaceted eyes.

  The focus narrowed to one facet and he could clearly see Accomplisheds in their black silks illumined by glowing spheres spaced throughout the roof of the chamber. Barrels of water were stored in a small chamber to the right, which is where he and his team were supposed to convey. To the left, in front of the Great Crystal, stood a group of Serpents gathered around a short man with broad shoulders. The stout two-bolt Accomplished seemed to be issuing orders and receiving nods of respect in reply.

  The spell ended and the Maestro went on to Michael Kayten, but the scene remained in Joel’s mind. Time passed and each Accomplished had been shown where to appear. Leah Barryn went over the plan until she was satisfied everyone knew what to do, even the Chosen’s Sentinels. Joel spoke to each member of his team, all were Ducaunans and taller than him. “Be ready to focus your first casting on my command,” he told them and received, “It will be as you say, Team Leader,” from ten voices at once.

  The youngest was Joel’s age, forty, yet he appeared to be twenty while she looked her age, as did they all. The six women and four men were Two-bolts, like him, but without experience. And like him, they all had been issued level four batons by the First Accomplished and thereby would be wielding up to six bolts of potential. By the time he finished reviewing the plan to each person on his team; Daniel Benhannon’s baritone voice filled the chamber. “Summon potential for conveyance,” he paused, gave sufficient time to comply, and then added, “We go in three, two, one.”

  Joel and his team appeared in the chamber with the water barrels, facing a large group of Accomplisheds who were standing in the main chamber. “Now,” Joel commanded and focused, Die Now, through his baton, as did his team. Eleven beams of light shot across the room like a horizontal rainbow, striking the startled group of Accomplisheds. Each of the men and women in the direct line of focus fell dead, but the ones behind them had time to raise their shields and scatter.

  Daniel and his team were out of sight on the other side of the chamber near the opening of the Great Crystal. Scores of Serpents were dead all over the battle area, some burnt to a crisp by Sherree, while others were flattened to pulp by Leah, and many simply died without any wounds, like those killed by Joel and his team. He estimated the Serpents had lost about a tenth of what had been in the chamber. His team continued to cast spells at the opposition, but was making little progress against the shields.

  Simon cast what looked like dust at a group of shielded Accomplisheds. The dust surrounded the shield and then coalesced into minute areas and flowed through what were probably air passages. The dust then scattered within the shielded area, floating in the air, settling on each Aakacarn, and suddenly plants sprouted out of their noses and mouths. The shield vanished and they all fell dead as flowers bloomed and covered their corpses.

  A blade of air struck Joel in the forehead and harmlessly ricocheted into a water barrel, slicing a wide path, and sending water spraying out onto the floor of the chamber. Being a former Reservoir of the Aqua Guild, Joel hated to see water being wasted. He created a barrel out of solidified air, placed a Da Capo on the spell, and then drew the water into the new container.

  Samuel wielded Beak Strike, focused through his baton, at a fat-faced two-bolt Accomplished who was batting aside each strike with a conjured staff. The contest seemed to be at a stalemate. Sam raised his empty hand and a lightning bolt shot out, striking his opponent on the hip, and slamming the Aakacarn against the chamber wall. The silks were scorched away, exposing third degree burns. Even so, the strike had not been aimed at his chest, which would have been lethal, but it clearly inflicted a lot of pain, judging by the stream of profanities coming out of the man’s mouth. The beak portion of Sam’s spell came down and cut fat-face from sternum to groin, ending the offensive vocalizations.

  Joel stepped behind his team in preparation for the next phase of the plan. He backed against the wall of the chamber, removed the shield from his left hand, and placed it flat against the cold stone of the mountain. The spell, Fashioning, played in his mind and he focused his awareness into the granite. Large deposits of quartz blocked his senses to a degree but he was able to go around those and get a feel for the entire cave. He knew Michael and the Sentinels were fighting near the entrance and that battles like the one he was in were taking place in chambers and caves throughout Shantear, as well as on the surface. He formed alcoves for each Accomplished to step into, from which they could cast their spells in relative safety.

  “Phase, two,” his amplified voice filled both the small chamber and the main one. The echo reverberated throughout the entire cave.

  Each person instantly retreated into the alcoves made for them, as did Joel’s team. The spaces were shallow and they provided an excellent view of the target areas. He summoned a shield from top to bottom and side to side. This also had the effect of cutting off his air. He placed a Da Capo on the spell and then cast, Freshen Air, so what he exhaled would be filtered back into breathable air.

  A female Accomplished with black stringy hair launched a head-size sphere of light at him. The ball hit his shield and stopped. He smiled, reformed the shield to cup the sphere, and shoved it back toward the caster. Her eyes widened and then the ball vanished before it could reach her. She grinned; evidently satisfied the danger had been dealt with. Joel instantly reshaped the shield vertically and thrust it forward, crushing her against the chamber wall.

  A fire ball came streaking in and slammed against his chest before he could reestablish the shield on his alcove. Even with the protection of the shield amulet against his skin, he was forced to throw off his cloak with his right hand and stomped out the fire, feeling thankful the shot missed his unshielded left hand. He recreated the shield on the alcove and mentally prepared for the next assault.

  Ten more Accomplisheds appeared in the main chamber and again rainbow beams shot into the group from his team. Three Serpents fell dead but the rest managed to get their shields in place. Balls of fire, lightning bolts, and a beam that created at great deal of frost came hurtling alternately from four of them while the remaining three manipulated the shields. Joel admired their coordination, especially since not a spell from his team was reaching its target. Admiration of teamwork was not enough to keep him from acting. He eyed the barrels around him and could not help but think like a Reservoir of the Aqua Guild, seeing as he had been one of them far longer than his time spent as an Atlantan. He released the Da Capo from the spell maintaining the solidified water container and the contents gushed out all over the chamber floor. The spell, Divert, played in his head and he drew the water up into the air and sent every drop out into the main chamber, over the heads of the seven Accomplisheds, and then let it fall while his team kept up their assault.

  Most of the water flowed over the shields and onto the floor, but a good amount sprinkled down onto the Accomplisheds through gaps in their alternating defense and offense. Joel drew water from three more barrels and dropped it on the Aakacarns, who were casting every spell they had at him, personally, balls of fire, spheres of corrosive light, and blades of air. Evidently they did not appreciate being soaked to the skin or standing in the middle of the floor with water pooling around their feet. Joel summoned potenti
al for his next spell and sent a sustained sapphire blue lighting bolt at the puddle. The shock traveled through the water, to their feet, and they all suddenly went rigid. All spells immediately ceased and their limbs began to twitch until smoke began wafting from their silks. He released the potential and they all fell dead.

  “Great move, Team Leader!” Tanya Hartler, one of the six women on his team shouted.

  “Impressive,” agreed Adeam Bobcat, one of the four men, as he launched a deadly beam at a Serpent over to the right. The spell slammed against a shield, ineffective, but the sentiment was appreciated.

  Joel gave each a quick nod of respect, but had little time to worry about praise. “Stay focused on your tasks everyone, I am about to initiate phase three.”

  He placed his unshielded hand against the wall of his alcove, summoned the potential for, Fashioning, and focused his awareness into the granite and out into the floor of the main chamber. It was time to put a stop to enemy Accomplisheds teleporting into the chamber, like the last ten had done. He pictured the floor being three quarters of a cubit higher and began making the change gradually, like water slowly seeping between cracks. He doubted anyone in the chamber, friend or foe, could feel the alteration.