by Booth, John
“I don't see Bronwyn's plan.” I said. “These attacks are more like diversions than anything planned to kill us.”
Esmeralda gave me a disbelieving look and tapped her spoon rhythmically against her saucer. This sent Jenny into another fit of giggles.
“What?”
“They are diversions, Jake. She's keeping you busy so you can't spend any time working out what she's up too.”
“Oh.” It was pretty obvious once explained. “Was the attack at the funeral a real attack then or just something to keep me busy?”
Esmeralda picked up a slice of toast and considered the question. “Perhaps a little of both. She might have hoped to hurt or kill some of the guests or even one of us, but I think she expected you to chase her to Barren and take the kids. That's why she and Wenna were gone before you arrived.”
“Those kids are time bombs set to go off in stages, just like Ida did.” As I'd already worked this out I thought I'd say it quickly before the girls said it was obvious. “I got Urda to defuse them by commanding them never to use magic.”
“But not until after Ida attacked you,” Jenny reminded me. “Maybe Bronwyn thought one attack would be enough?”
Esmeralda disagreed. “No, the attack on Jake's mother was an improvisation. They probably discovered the other children were harmless and needed to do something to keep Jake busy.”
“Why?” I couldn't imagine anything I might have done that needed them to kidnap Mam to stop me doing it. I learned something interesting about Wenna and Bronwyn and was going to tell the girls as soon as I got a chance. It changed everything.
A knock at the door stopped Esmeralda. Urda walked into the room and we stood up to greet her. Then we rearranged the breakfast plates to give her a place at the table. Esmeralda sent a servant to bring more food.
“I looked in on your father, Jake. He's fine,” Urda said.
Damn. I should have done that myself. Women seemed better geared to remembering things like injured parents.
“I was just about to tell my brides what I discovered yesterday.”
All three women looked at me expectantly. Okay, technically only two of them were pregnant, but you know what I mean.
“Wenna isn't a bad person.”
Urda's face turned hard. “She tried to kill Anna and she kidnapped your mother.”
“She's a child at heart. She had to do something to stop Anna talking and she lashed out with that spell. She didn't hurt Mam, she took her somewhere she felt safe and left her there.”
“What about attacking you and Retnor, not to mention the attack at the cathedral?” Jenny asked.
“They were with Bronwyn, who led her on. Bronwyn offered Wenna the chance of revenge against the men who hurt her.” I looked pointedly at Urda. “Even you can understand why she might want revenge.”
Urda nodded, but I could see that she was far from being convinced.
“The rest was just escalation from that. She was obliged to help Bronwyn as part of their deal and it's got out of hand.”
“Why are you so sure?” Esmeralda asked.
“The world she took Mam to is special. It took me three goes to get to it because it's protected by magic far cleverer than anything a human could do.”
“She took your mother to one of the protected worlds?” Esmeralda sounded astonished. I wasn't surprised Esmeralda knew about them. She knew a lot more about magic than she let on.
“What's a protected world?” Jenny asked.
“Paradise. An unspoiled natural paradise where wild animals aren't frightened of man. On top of that there's calming magic about the place that keeps it at peace. No one who can hop to a place like that is a bad person.”
Esmeralda pursed her lips. “You're right. The fact they let her in pretty much proves it. I'm amazed they let you in though.”
“I kicked the door down.”
“How does this change anything?” Urda scowled as she spoke.
“It made me think about Bronwyn. We all have moments of rage when someone punishes us. If you're a wizard at Bronwyn's age you can lash out and do terrible things. Then you feel you can't back down and have to do other terrible things. Isn't that exactly what happened to Bronwyn?”
“You didn't do things like that to your parents and you were a wizard from the age of eight,” Jenny said as she took my hand.
“I got lucky with my parents. Besides Bronwyn didn't kill me when she had me helpless in the magic circle, did she?”
Urda frowned. “Bronwyn couldn't kill you. The kids told me about it.”
“That's what I just said.” Didn't, couldn't, it was all the same wasn't it?
“She tried. When her magic didn't work she got an axe and tried to cut off your head. When that didn't work she tried setting fire to the house. Your magic put out the flames.”
I was too surprised to say anything. Esmeralda took advantage of the silence to get the meeting back on topic.
“I want you back home with us, Urda. Now that everybody knows Anna is alive there's no point in keeping her in Wales and we need you here.”
“What about Bronwyn's children?” Jenny asked.
Esmeralda waved an arm. “Bring them here as well. They're harmless according to Jake and we have quarters where they can stay.”
“I can only bring them over a few at a time,” Urda pointed out
I sighed. Even without magical interruptions I never got the time to think.
“I'll bring them over using the coach. It'll be less suspicious and we can do it all in one go.”
Jenny grinned. “You'd better make sure the Inspector and the Sergeant don't see you. They think you can't take them back.”
“I very much doubt the Inspector has recovered from his hangover yet. I'll go and find Mr. Griffith as he'll have to drive it.”
“There's a danger we are being manipulated by Bronwyn again,” Esmeralda told us solemnly.
I smiled. “If she's that much cleverer than us, we're probably doomed anyway.”
“Trust our husband-to-be to come up with that cheery thought,” Jenny said a little too brightly. Esmeralda put her hand on Jenny's and smiled comfortingly.
I got up, because a man knows when the time for talking is over. Besides which, I finished all the toast.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Magic
The coach arrived back at the Woodyard a good two feet above the tarmac and dropped to ground with an almighty bang as its springs broke and tires burst.
Mr. Griffith took a moment to recover and then looked anxiously at me.
“What happened, Jake? Are you all right?”
I shook my head as I tried to figure out what was going on. I felt dizzy, not tired as I'd felt when I fought the forest fire, but somehow empty. Mr. Griffith stood up shakily and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Let's go up to my office and I'll make you a nice cup of tea. You can get your breath back and we can decide what to do next.”
While I waited for the kettle to boil I considered the problem. Something had happened to my magic. Then pages from one of Esmeralda's magic book appeared in my vision and explained it all.
Wizards have the ability to absorb and store magic. The rate they can absorb magic and the amount they can store is different for every wizard. The page compared it to a tank of water constantly being replenished by a steady trickle from the outside. The bigger the tank the more spectacular the magic a wizard can perform, but if the wizard uses too much magic too quickly they can run out. Using magic is tiring; I've always got tired long before my magic ran dry.
The book explained what I'd done to Urda. Some people are born with their tank scrunched up, so they can't hold enough magic to do anything useful. A wizard can restore their tank to its natural size and turn those people into wizards. Wizards can also exchange magic and fill each other's tanks. I'd filled Urda's tank to overflowing. You can also take magic from another wizard, which is what Bronwyn must have done to Ida, making him look harmless when I examined him.
Moving a coach made of iron and steel through hop-space used up a lot of my magic. My reserves were running low because a certain person had me chasing through the multiverse, putting out fires, fighting Ida and seeking Mam. A young girl who read the magic books months ago and knew the only way to defeat me was to drain my magic. I had to admit it was a good plan. It looked as though it was going to work too.
“There you go, boyo,” Mr. Griffith said as he put an enamel mug in front of me. “You look a bit down, Jake. What's the problem?”
I explained about magic to Mr. Griffith. He didn't seem all that bothered.
“You'll find a way, Jake. Good always triumphs over evil in the end. You tell me one story where it doesn't.”
I had to smile.
“There, boyo. What did I tell you? Have you looked into yourself to see if you can increase the flow of magic? What you need is a fireman's hose to fill yourself up quickly.”
That was a good idea. Now I knew what I was doing, I could see how much magic I had left and how much was flowing into me. I knew how much magic I'd given Urda and she was a reasonably powerful wizard.
It took me some time to figure out how to see the magic inside and what I saw staggered me. My capacity for magic was hundreds of times greater than Urda's, possibly thousands. Even drained, I possessed power many times greater than hers. Magic was flowing into me in considerable amounts. I tried to increase the flow and the rate doubled, but it would still take weeks to replenish my reserves.
“Any luck, Boyo?”
“A little. I think I have enough to repair the coach and hop Bronwyn's kids to Salice, but there's only one way to find out.”
“What about magic to fight Bronwyn, Jake?”
I shook my head as I didn't know.
When the kids got onboard the coach I surreptitiously drained power from the four wizards among them. It would have been easy for them to defend against it, something also explained in the book, but Bronwyn wouldn't have wanted them to know how to do that. It seemed wrong to take it all, so I took half.
I took extra care on the hop and we achieved a perfect landing. Mr. Griffith sighed and I tried to hide my own relief. The hop took most of the power I had. We wouldn't have made it without the magic I took from the children.
Servants were waiting for the kids along with a dozen or so of the children I'd rescued from Barren the previous year. They seemed enthusiastic to get into the Palace and were soon gone.
Inspector Thomas confronted me at the Palace gates. “You lied.”
I nodded. I could hardly disagree as he'd caught me red-handed.
“You'll take us back to Wales after the wedding?”
“Yes. I must say you don't sound too fussed about it.”
“I spoke to Bronwyn's parents this morning and know what's going on.” Inspector Thomas looked almost contrite. “It seems you're the good guy in this and could've saved us all a lot of trouble by telling us what was going on.”
“Would you have believed me?”
The Inspector thought about it and shook his head. “I only believe it now because I'm living it.”
“It's not over yet, Inspector. Bronwyn may kill us all.”
The Inspector shook his head again. “From what I hear there's nothing you can't handle.”
I wished I had his confidence. However, I was already late for my wedding rehearsal. I made my apologies and walked quickly away. I didn't want to use the power hopping would have cost.
The rehearsal was scheduled to take place in the Banqueting Hall. As I expected, I was the last to arrive. Esmeralda and Jenny stood talking to the Bishop. A couple of Jenny's young cousins sat against the wall kicking their feet impatiently. Everybody looked round as I closed the doors and strode through the long empty room towards them.
“Where the hell have you been?” Jenny said looking at her watch. “You're nearly an hour late.”
“Someone,” I said standing in front of Esmeralda a little belligerently, “forgot to tell me that it's possible to run out of magic.”
“Ah,” Esmeralda had the grace to look embarrassed. “Well, I wasn't sure it applied to you, so many of the rules don't. And what good would telling you have done?”
“I would have known what Bronwyn was up to.”
“But it wouldn't have changed anything, would it? Would you have let Ida torture people or not put out the forest fire? Perhaps you wouldn't have gone after your mother?”
I spluttered incoherently. It's very annoying when I run out of words. Esmeralda was the one who lied to me and she was making it sound like it was my fault.
“Worse, you might have hesitated and ended up dead when you fought Ida,” Esmeralda continued remorselessly, “Or ended up using more magic trying to use less.”
I put up my hands in surrender. The only way to win an argument with Esmeralda was with Grimaldi's hairbrush. Though thinking about it reminded me she'd won that argument too.
Jenny faced Esmeralda, “What's Jake talking about?”
“Jake's reserves of magic aren't endless. Bronwyn's been making him use them so she can win the final battle.”
Bishop Danedi stepped forward and smiled.
“The Light always provides a way for its warriors, Jake. Have faith.”
As if in direct contradiction of his words the doors opened and I turned to find Wenna flanked by the four child wizards I'd brought here on the coach. Without a word they raised their hands and beams of energy shot at us.
I raised what shields I could, knowing it wasn't going to be nearly enough.
The energy got most of the way down the room before it was blocked and absorbed. Dragonfire struck at the wizards as Fluffy Glimmed into reality between us. Wenna's shield scattered dragonfire across the back end of the room and the tapestries caught fire.
[I can't help any more, Jake. I'm out of energy.]
“Glim out, you've done enough,” I whispered and my dragon vanished.
“Wenna, stop. We're not your enemies,” I shouted as I put up my hands in apparent surrender. I started to drain the wizards around her of magic. Wenna was bound to be protected so I didn't go near her, but Bronwyn had left her child warriors vulnerable.
“You have to die.” Wenna fired another bolt of energy at me that I was just able to deflect. “I have no choice.”
I couldn't drain the kids any faster and my reserves were almost empty. I needed to slow her down.
“You can go to that world. They let you into it, Wenna. They want you there.”
Wenna stopped as if fighting an internal battle.
“I have no choice,” she repeated as she fired another bolt at me. I deflected it with difficulty. The kids behind her slumped to the floor as I took every last scrap of magic they had in them.
Maybe she didn't have a choice? I couldn't get at her mind with her shield at full strength, but if she really didn't want this fight I might have a chance.
“Lower your mind-shield, Wenna.”
I dived to the floor as she fired another bolt at me. Her mind-shield weakened and I used the technique I'd used on Ida to open her mind.
I lay face down on the floor waiting for the killing energy blast. When it didn't come I looked up. Wenna stood motionless at the other end of the room, her eyes glazed.
“Is it safe, Jake,” Jenny called as I got to my feet.
“Is anywhere?”
I walked over to Wenna. There were tear stains on her face. Fires licked at the corners of the room and I used the little bit of power I had to put them out.
“Should we kill her?” Esmeralda asked. “I'll do it if you can't.”
“Kill her for saving our lives?” I asked. “She managed to break Bronwyn's mind control just long enough for me to stop her.”
“Are you sure?”
“I couldn't have done it without her. She's under my control now, but I'll release her after I've asked a few questions.”
“Wenna, when did Bronwyn put you under mind control?”
>
“After I refused to kidnap your mother. Bronwyn ordered me to take her and kill her.” Wenna responded without emotion, the level of control I had her under blocked most of her mind from working.
“How did you avoid killing Mam?”
“I took her to my special world. You can't kill anybody there.”
“Do you know what Bronwyn's plans are?”
“She will control Salice tomorrow. She never told me how.”
“Would you like to go back to your special world? None of us can follow you there. You'll be safe.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Esmeralda who nodded her approval and I removed the mind-control. Wenna fell to her knees and started sobbing.
I lifted her to her feet.
“I'm so sorry, Wizard Morrissey. Tell Urda I'm so sorry.”
“I will. She'll forgive you in time. But you have to go. You must stay there when you get there, you understand?”
Wenna nodded and brushed away her tears.
“Thank you,” she said and vanished.
“What about these?” Esmeralda asked, tapping one of the unconscious children with her foot.
“That's what kidnapping Mam was all about. While I chased Wenna, Bronwyn powered up these kids and gave them their orders for today. Get Urda to take control of them and find out whether it was their choice or Bronwyn's.”
“And what do we do with them after that?” Esmeralda asked.
“I don't know, but they'll be powerless for a few days whatever we decide. Once Urda gets here, we can get on with the rehearsal.”
[Is it safe to come out now?]
“It all depends on whether you're still wearing that stupid bowtie,” I said.
Jenny and Esmeralda smiled, but none of us felt like laughing.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Wedding Eve
After we completed the rehearsals I went back to my room to sleep until evening. I felt exhausted after the battle with Urda. A sumptuous ball was scheduled for the Wedding Eve as they called it over here. I was hoping that a short nap might help my magic replenish. Using the water tank analogy I carried barely enough magic in there now to get my feet wet. I doubted we would get any more attacks from Bronwyn until the big one tomorrow. Wenna was the last throw of the dice to wear me out and I hoped her failure was giving Bronwyn second thoughts. Considering how powerless I was to defend myself, let alone the kingdom, third and fourth thoughts on her part would be equally welcome.