Choice (Majaos Book 3)

by Gary Stringer

  “Granted,” Suzanne accepted, “but there comes a point where you have to make a choice and trust someone.”

  “Trust must needs be earned,” Hannah countered. Michael took a deep breath to control his anger. Losing control would not help. No matter how desperate he was to make the Knight let him do what he must, he also respected her point of view. If positions were reversed, he would probably make the same arguments himself. It was wrong to expect her to accept his word on faith. She was right: trust had to be earned...and suddenly he had an idea of how he might do that.

  “Lady Hannah Collins,” he said, formally. “As a gesture of my good intentions, I have a suggestion.”

  “Go on.”

  “Instead of pointing your knife at me, use it to threaten my wife instead.”

  “I beg thy pardon?”

  “You took the words out of my mouth,” Suzanne agreed, acidly. Michael persisted. “Put your dagger to Suzanne's throat and threaten her life. Then let me act as I must. If I try to do anything against you, you will have plenty of time to kill Suzanne. You just saved her life, so it's rational to trust you with her life again. I love Suzanne more than life itself and I would never risk her life, but I know there is no risk. It will give me the chance to prove my word is true and save all our lives into the bargain.”

  Hannah considered, and then nodded. “I accept thy terms, but if thou art lying...”

  “He isn't!” came a new voice - it was the opalescent dragon who had recovered during all the confusion. “It takes more than what those things can do to fool a dragon's senses,” she asserted.

  “That's true,” Suzanne confirmed. “Michael based the design of his tech goggles on the magically enhanced senses of a dragon.”

  “Very well,” Hannah agreed. “I wilt trust thee.” Decision made, she sheathed her knife. “Threats shalt not be necessary methinks.”

  Suzanne was relieved. “Thank you, my Lady.” The Catalyst returned the lenses to her husband, who put them to his own eyes. With his other hand, he found the weapon he had chosen, simply by feel. He held it out and activated it, with Suzanne's help, emitting a chain of fire that arced from one enemy to another. From everyone else's perspective, statues materialised at random all across the landscape. Some were less than a hundred yards away - Hannah was glad she had had not delayed the decision to trust Michael any longer.

  When the dust and snow settled, Michael put both the weapon and the goggles away. “That should be all of them,” he said.

  “I can scout the area for any stragglers,” the dragon volunteered, “but I don't think it's really necessary.”

  The other two Knights and the warriors had by now killed all the dog-bear things and walked over to join them.

  “Mayhap some more traditional scouting mayest be in order,” Quentin suggested. “'Twould be good to know how close the swarm are now.”

  They explained the reason why they had come to the settlement in the first place - to warn them about the approaching swarm.

  “I don't have much time to prepare, then,” Michael said, grimly. “Thank you for the warning. I'm sorry I didn't let you give it earlier. It was a bad misunderstanding.”

  “It seems to have been a day for them,” Tanya offered. “Hannah, Quentin, would you mind taking care ofthe scouting this time? I'd like to stay and have a word with these people.” The two other Knights agreed and a pair of Michael’s warriors volunteered to join them - keen to see the threat for themselves and to discuss the strategy by which the Knights had bested them in combat so they could improve their skills.

  * * * * *

  When they returned, an hour later, Tanya was nowhere to be found.

  “It seems the Knights of Balance teach diplomacy and arbitration as well as they train for combat,” Michael told the other two Knights.

  Suzanne nodded, adding, “Tanya skilfully negotiated a very amicable arrangement between us.” “She's gone to get reinforcements from her order,” Michael explained. “The opalescent dragon gave her a ride to the Corridor entrance and she'll bring her back when she returns with a unit of Knights to provide support and security. We’re going to need them if we are to defend this treasure.”

  “Above all,” Suzanne added, “they'll give us time to sort through the weapons and tools, and learn to use them effectively. We know enough to take care of this particular swarm, thanks to your warning. But in the longer term, there's a lot to do for me as well as for Michael.” She gave him a loving smile. “Being a Catalyst to a Techmage is complicated.”

  “Nonsense,” he disputed. “I’m a simple man with simple pleasures.” “Whatever you say, my love,” Suzanne replied, obviously not believing a word of it. “Anyway,” Michael continued, “the dragon, Rikkala, has kindly agreed to put aside our earlier misunderstandings and allow us to borrow her lair for a while. After the war is over, she and the Knights will help us move all the Techmagic devices and she can have her home to herself again.”

  “We'll have to consult with the Council of Magic, aswell,” Suzanne put in. “Of course,” Michael agreed. “We've got no way of contacting them now, but afterwards, well, we don't want them to start thinking we're renegades. We want to build bridges with the Council, to finally heal the old scars of the Tech Wars.”

  “We must needs get through this war first,” Hannah reminded them.

  “Quite right!” Came a voice from the sky it was Rikkala with Tanya on her back. “Then I can get my lair back!” The opal dragon landed. With her, was bronze Brash who had had some trouble finding them in the unfamiliar snowbound landscape and was now, as usual, flirting with the latest female dragon to catch his eye.

  “I don't mind, really,” Rikkala admitted, “I would've gladly loaned it to these people for such a worthy cause if they'd just asked. They want to use my lair for a time? Sure, why not?”

  “After all,” Brash put in, “what is time to a dragon?”

  “Actually, I’ve never liked that phrase,” Rikkala said. “Time can mean a great deal to a dragon.”

  Brash frowned. “Why?” He objected. “We’re immortal! We’ve got all the time in the world literally!” “We may be effectively ageless,” the opal dragon allowed, “but we’re not invulnerable. I was nearly killed twice today, so you’ll understand if I’m not feeling particularly immortal at the moment. No matter how much time we might think we have, it is too valuable a thing to be squandered!”

  “I’m sorry,” Tanya interjected. “You say you were nearly killed twice?”

  “Yes, that’s why I attacked these people. I just assumed they were with the other group and they’d come to finish me off. I was just defending myself and trying to retake my home.”

  “Of what other group dost thou speakest?” Asked Sir Quentin.

  “Didn't get any names,” Rikkala told them, “But they were led by a very powerful elf maid.”

  “Yes, I remember her,” Suzanne mused. “She had a very strange kind of magic.”

  Something stirred in Hannah's memory. “Was there anything about this elf maid to identify her?”

  “Not specifically, no. Sharp, angular face, cold expression, dark hair. She just said she was an agent of `Her Divine Excellency`. Seemed rather proud of that, actually.”

  Hannah named her. “Z'rcona.” “You know her?” Michael asked.

  “I hath encountered her before.”

  “Eilidh must needs be informed of this without delay,” said Quentin. “As well as the successful completion of our mission here.” “Indeed,” Hannah concurred. Offering the mage and Catalyst a courtly bow, she said, “I wish thee well, Sir Michael, Lady Suzanne, but we must needs depart immediately before the swarm doth cut us off from our route to the Corridor.”

  “No need to worry about that, I’ll give you a lift,” Brash volunteered.

  “Still,” Michael said, warmly shaking hands with Hannah and Quentin. “I won't keep you.”

  “Farewell,” Suzanne said simply, planting a kiss on the cheek of first Qu
entin and then Hannah.

  Hannah and Quentin turned to leave, but Tanya wasn't following.

  “Ah...” she began, hesitantly. “I'm afraid I'm not coming with you.”

  “What?!” her friends demanded. “Wel l, when I got back to Sir Marcus Braithwaite - Supreme Commander of my Order - and briefed him on this place, he was quite pleased. In fact, he was very pleased. He was so pleased that he put me in charge of the reinforcements - they're making their way up from the Corridor on foot; there's not enough room up here for a wing of dragons.”

  “Thy first command,” Quentin remarked, shaking her hand. “I am impressed, but not surprised.” Tanya smiled and nodded, trying hard to resist the urge to jump up and down and squeal like an excited little girl. Knights of Balance may be less formal than their Light and Dark counterparts, but such an act would be going too far even by their standards.

  “I’ve been in charge of a Scout unit before, but this is on a whole different scale.”

  “Thou hast done well for thyself, Tanya,” Hannah told her. “It's going to be a real challenge, though, Hannah. Combining Knight Infantry, Michael's warriors, Techmagic and one opalescent dragon stuck on a freezing cold mountain, all guarding a treasure that might just be the key to the war against the chaos horde. That's quite a job.”

  “Thou shalt manage, I daresay," Hannah assured her. "Thou hast earned this; that is clear. My only regret is that I hath not had more time to get to know thee better. There art many things I would discuss with thee.”

  Tanya smiled warmly at that. “Tell you what, Hannah: you help Eilidh stop Niltsiar, I'll help Michael exterminate the chaos creatures and then we'll get together and I'll buy you a pint to celebrate the end of the war.”

  “I shalt look forward to that, Tanya.” “Just one other thing: could you give Bernice a message for me, please? You see, we had a bit of a bet.”

  “Ah,” Hannah said, “she didst have a bet with me, also.”

  For some reason the Paladincould not comprehend, Tanya looked hurt. “She did?” asked the lady in silver.

  “Indeed,” her golden comrade affirmed. “If she doth return first, I shalt owe her twentygold.”

  Tanya laughed, seemingly relieved. “Oh, is that all?”

  “Why? Didst thou wager more?”

  “I’m not sure. How much does a posh dinner in Shakaran cost these days?”

  “I follow ye not,” Hannah confessed.

  “If Bernice gets back first, I promised to buy her dinner because…well…I really like her and I’d hoped to get to know her better, if you see what I mean.”

  “But now thou must needs stay,” said Quentin who had been following the conversation. “So thou art unable to honour thy wager.”

  “I’m unable to make our date,” Tanya corrected.

  “So what is thy message?” Hannah asked. Tanya considered f or a moment, and then said, “Tell her that dinner here might not be as lavish as at the palace, but I’m sure I can find something that she’d enjoy, so if she wanted to join me in this frozen wasteland, I promise to keep her warm.”

  Hannah agreed with a smile that matched Tanya’s own. Then the Knight of Paladinia did a most un- Knightish thing:

  She gave a speechless Tanya a hug.

  Chapter 20

  Eilidh sat down on the floor opposite her friend, his eyes tight shut against the pain.

  “Don't worry, Phaer,” she said, touching his arm reassuringly. “I'll soon have you sorted out.”

  She concentrated on affecting the flow of Life in the room, and though he didn't know why, Phaer felt his pain and sickness diminish markedly.

  “I haven't actually cured you, yet,” Eilidh warned him. “This is just a temporary fix so we can talk about what's happened to you.”

  His head clearer, Phaer cautiously opened his eyes, but something was wrong with his vision.

  No, he reconsidered, not wrong - just different. Everywhere was bathed in colour. The natural colours were enriched, but it was more than that: colourful lightshows were flowing freely around the room, making everything sparkle. It seemed to Phaer that every colour, shade and hue was represented. He looked at Eilidh's face and gasped involuntarily at the way her skin was lit up and glowing.

  “Phaer, you're experiencing a Life Link,” Eilidh explained. “We're connected magically. It has some...interesting effects.”

  Phaer thought he understood. “You mean this is how you see the world all the time? All this light and colour?”

  Eilidh nodded. “As a Life Gifted Catalyst, I see the ebb and flow of magic across the world.”

  “It's beautiful!” he breathed, astonished. “You're beautiful,” he added with genuine warmth.

  “You're delirious,” she sparred.

  “No I'm not, I'm just...” he gave a crooked smile, “seeing you in a new light.”

  Eilidh groaned, but smiled all the same.

  “It's like that Great Fountain of Light in Avidon.”

  “Same cause and reason,” Eilidh agreed.

  “Yes, of course, it was just so concentrated that anyone could see it. I remember you saying.”

  “That's what I always liked about you, Phaer,” Eilidh remarked. “I could always rely on you to use your head and pay attention even with magic when it had nothing to do with you, really.” “Of course I pay attention. It's always good to learn and just because I don't have any magic doesn't mean I'm not interested...” he trailed off as his mind latched on to something Eilidh had said. “What do you mean it `had` nothing to do with me?That past tense means something, doesn't it?”

  Eilidh nodded, sending bright sparkling points of light scattering everywhere and changing the flow of Life. Phaer thought she looked pretty.

  “What exactly is wrong with me?” Phaer asked, straight out.

  “Oh that's easy. In many ways, it's nothing I haven’t seen a hundred times before, albeit an acute case: You are suffering from raw magic exposure.”

  “But that's impossible! I'm magically Dead. The flow of magic doesn't touch me.”

  “You really do pay attention, don't you?” Eilidh was impressed. “The thing is, though, you're not magically Dead not any more. You have the Life Gift.”

  “What?”

  “And very strongly, too. That's why the pain and skin blistering was so bad. You’ve probably found that it’s improved your other abilities, too, like maybe shooting your arrows?”

  Phaer confirmed it.

  “Using magic to extend the range of an arrow is no different to making a wine glass float. Let me explain.” Eilidh began with the three distinct states of magical aptitude: Life Potential, Life Calling and Life Gift. A Catalyst could determine the magical aptitude and Life Secret of a baby at birth, but for the first few years of childhood, there was no manifestation of magical talents.

  With the exception of those who were magically Dead, everyone attracted magic, but those with only Life Potential did so to such a small degree that it was easily covered by the simple protection every child learned. That protection quickly became as unconscious as breathing. They could perform simple everyday spells, but nothing more.

  Life Calling was an intermediate state. As people with Life Calling grew in years, so they grew in magic, perhaps learning to do some of what those with the Life Gift could achieve more naturally. Many of these could, with hard work and dedication, become highly accomplished professional mages.

  The Life Gift meant a much greater natural attraction to raw magic, which occurred suddenly sometime during adolescence. When the onset happened, the usual symptom was a rash or burns on the skin, even nausea. In rare cases, usually the most powerful young mages, the symptoms would also manifest in the form of severe, skull-splitting headaches that could cause brain damage and would in all cases be fatal if left untreated. It was imperative that they receive attention from a Catalyst as quickly as possible. The essence of Life magic was a dynamic thing and magical exercise was essential for one with with the Life Gift to maintain a
n active barrier against raw magic.

  “But you’ve been using raw magic directly,” Eilidh continued, “which is a very bad idea.”

  “Every time I did,” Phaer said, “the pain would diminish and my skin would start to heal, but as soon as I stopped, the pain grew until it was worse than before.” Eilidh nodded. “That's what the Ancients discovered. Magical exercise would keep the effects at bay while you were doing it, but that same exercise would increase your magical attraction and therefore increase your exposure. Be thankful for your elven heritage. Elves aren't so badly effected by raw magic. If you were fully human, you'd be dead.”

  “But I was born magically Dead,” Phaer protested. “You know that. You saw the way the flow of magic behaved around me. You can't just suddenly wake up one morning with the Life Gift!”

  “And yet that's exactly what's happened,” Eilidh insisted. “Trust me, Phaer. I'm trained and I know what I'm talking about.”

  “Oh, I don't doubt you. I just want to understand how and why this has happened to me.”

  “Doesn't really matter at the moment. The priority is to treat you.”

  “But this thing you do will stop the pain permanently?”

  “For now, yes.”

  “What do you mean, `for now`?” “Life Gift doesn't develop gradually the way Life Calling does. It advances in sudden bursts. When your Life Gift flares, your symptoms will return, but in the future you'll recognise them and get treatment before they really bother you.”

  “And obviously every mage always has a Catalyst handy.”

  “Or if not, they go to a Church of Life. That would have been my job if not for this quest of ours.”

  “And what about the voices?” Phaer asked, assuming they were a normal part of the Life Gift.

  “Voices?” Eilidh wondered, puzzled.

  Too late to hide it now. “I'm hearing voices,” he admitted.

  Eilidh's eyebrows shotup, but she remained professional, reassuring him, “It's unusual, but then your situation is unique, so who knows what strange sideeffects you might have?”

  “You think so?”