The Mage War

by Ben S. Dobson

  A sensation of sudden euphoria rushed through Indree, swelling in her chest—almost the opposite of the Astral drain she’d just experienced. Like the first moment of casting a spell, but one she hadn’t called for. It faded almost immediately. She’d felt this once before, too, also in that cave in Belgrier. This time, she knew what it was.

  She glanced at the man beside her, a red-scaled kobold from the Silver Dawn. He had one of Tane and Bastian’s talismans lodged in his shoulder. The gem set into it had begun to glow.

  The siphon. Endo had activated it now, taken all that power he’d stolen and turned it into a weapon. In Belgrier, it had only extended a few yards at first, but the distance between them and the center of the ruined warehouse was much greater than that, and for all she knew it went further still. Any non-magical in range without a protective talisman was already being drained.

  Indree opened a sending. “Tane, we were too late. Endo’s activated—”

  The dragon swiveled its head, looked down at the small crowd standing before the warehouse. Indree interrupted her message mid-thought.

  “Take cover!” she yelled, and hurled herself into the shadow of the warehouse’s still-standing front wall.

  Dragonfire seared the air overhead. Shouts and screams came from behind her. She picked herself up off the ground, turned back. The cobbles of the street had melted into a channel a few yards across and several feet deep; the edges still glowed molten orange. If anyone had been caught in the blast, there was nothing left of them. To either side, men and women were getting to their feet, helping one another up. It didn’t look like they’d taken many losses, by Indree’s count. That was a relief, at least.

  A shadow passed overhead. Indree looked up to see a vast reptilian shape darkening the sky. The dragon didn’t bother with another attack, just flew toward the harbor, leaving them behind.

  “Indree? Indree, are you alright? What happened?” Tane’s voice in her head. She’d never closed the channel.

  “The dragon’s back,” she answered. “And it’s headed your way.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  _____

  TANE CLUTCHED THE rail of the ship with white-knuckled hands, watching the dragon approach.

  “He’s carrying the siphon, Tane,” Indree sent. “And it’s big. He sacrificed his own people to Thorpe’s machine for extra power, and as many of ours as he could get. That’s why he couldn’t do it in advance—he had to draw on the machine’s reservoir at the moment of casting. Hobbier was a distraction, to keep us busy until all his targets were in place at the peace talks.”

  “How far does it reach?” Tane grasped the talisman in his pocket. He couldn’t feel the effects yet, but there was no point waiting. Wincing in advance, he jabbed the pin into his shoulder.

  “Far. Endo is half way across Porthaven now and our talismans just stopped glowing. Enough to cover the harbor and the surrounding city.”

  “Mister Carver? What is going on?” Lady Abena joined him at the rail, and her eyes went to vast bulk of the dragon as it drew nearer. “Is that…” She swayed on her feet, put a hand to the rail to catch herself. “What… what is this?”

  The Rhienni captain and many of the guards surrounding Lady Abena staggered, swayed on their feet, cried out in alarm—only the Mageblades and those few from other nations with magic of their own were immune. Across the deck, the crew showed the same symptoms. Tane looked to his shoulder; the diamond set into his talisman was glowing dimly. It’s in range, then. The bulk of the Belgrian and Estian security forces were non-magical, and many of the Rhienni as well. The siphon had reached them. Just the weakest edge now, but it would grow worse as the source came nearer. Already the dragon had reached the waterfront, winging swiftly toward the harbor. The Hesliar and the rest of the half-dozen airships hovering above turned toward the threat, bringing ancryst cannons to bear.

  “It’s exactly what it looks like,” Tane said. “A dragon. And it’s carrying Endo toward us, with a siphon spell that’s already ten times the size of the one in Belgrier. You need to activate your talisman. Now.”

  Lady Abena didn’t question him, just produced the talisman from a pocket and jabbed it into her shoulder, flinching only slightly. It lit up immediately; she straightened once more as the protection set in. “The others. We’ll need to protect everyone we can. I left your pack in the ward room.” She turned to the nearest Mageblade, a big human woman. “Send word to the guards there immediately. I expect our Belgrian and Estian neighbors to be resistant to the idea of applying unfamiliar artifacts, but if they feel what I just did, it shouldn’t take a great deal of convincing. Tell them if they require more, they are welcome to come above deck and see what I am seeing.”

  The Mageblade nodded, and her eyes lost focus—now that the wards were down, a sending would be much faster than delivering the message in person.

  Kadka already had her talisman in place and aglow; she’d felt the pain of the siphon before. “What does this mean for Indree and others? If Endo gets by them…”

  “She’s alive,” said Tane. “Sending to me now. They got there too late, but—”

  Indree’s Astral voice cut him off. “You’re talking to Kadka.” The words must have reached her through the sending—it was hard to keep thought and speech separate. “She should know… we lost people. Silver Dawn, some of Bastian’s, most of the Mageblades.” Pain and regret came through, as sharp as if Tane had been feeling them himself. “And… and Vladak. He made sure I got out, but… He was riven.”

  “By the Astra.” Tane wasn’t sure if he’d sent it or said it aloud. Apparently both, because Kadka cocked her head, obviously concerned.

  “Is more?” she asked. “Tell me.”

  “Kadka, it’s…” Tane hesitated, tried to put together the words. “It’s Vladak. He… he saved Indree, but he didn’t get out before…”

  “He is riven,” Kadka finished. Her throat convulsed as she visibly fought to steady herself.

  “Please, tell her I’m sorry. He would have made it, if he hadn’t stayed for me.”

  “Indree wants you to know she’s sor—”

  “No.” Kadka gave a short, hard shake of her head. “Is… is good that she is safe. Is not her fault. Vladak does this because of man he is. First orc I meet who does not look at me like I am nothing. He is… family.” She lifted her eyes to look at the oncoming dragon, nearly overhead now. “Another thing to break Iskar’s heart. And the little ones.” Her hands curled into fists. “But time for tears is later. Now, we make Endo pay.”

  “She’s right, Mister Carver,” said Lady Abena. “We need a plan, and I cannot say I fully understand our circumstances. Senator Stooke warned me about Miss Hobbier, but clearly I vastly underestimated the threat.”

  Tane opened his mouth to answer, but a series of loud explosions overhead cut him off, drew his eyes up. Shields shimmered around the dragon, deflecting a volley of cannonfire away. It had come within range of the airships, and they’d opened fire.

  Or at least, some had.

  Three airships—the Hesliar included—held their fire, and they were turning again. Away from the dragon.

  Toward the other ships.

  “Spellfire,” Tane swore.

  The Hesliar’s massive cannons roared, and heavy ancryst balls tore through the hull of the airship nearest to it.

  “What is this?” Lady Abena whirled to the same Mageblade as before. “Open a sending to the Hesliar! I need to know what is happening up there!”

  But Tane already knew. “Same thing that happened here,” he said. “Endo had people aboard. Apparently they had worse luck than we did.” His reach goes so much further than I imagined. How did I miss it?

  The Mageblade nodded, though her eyes were unfocused, concentrating on a sending. “He’s right. I’m hearing… there’s fighting on the decks of those airships. Traitors have taken the controls.”

  The damaged airship started to wheel about in retreat, but it moved slowly. Too slo
wly. No sign of magical defenses, either. The surprise attack must have cut the power from its shielding artifacts. Another of the loyal airships came about, tried to move to the defense of its sister-ship. Too late. Endo’s dragon closed the distance. Silver-blue fire lit the sky; when it faded, the hobbled airship’s envelope was gone, burned to ash, and half the deck was crumbling into flame. The ships below tried in vain to move aside as debris rained down over the harbor, and then the remains of the airship hit the water, crashing down upon another Audish vessel below, causing catastrophic damage. A great wave surged across the harbor; Tane barely kept his feet as the deck of the Aquilon rolled under him.

  “By the Astra,” Lady Abena breathed, in a tone somewhere between awe and horror.

  The remaining two loyal airships tried to retreat, but the dragon was already too close to the one that had moved in to help. The ship’s defensive artifacts were active, but a concentrated torrent of dragonfire shattered the magical shield in seconds. The beast soared over the envelope, raking sharp talons through shimmering silvery skin. Rapidly losing lift, the airship raised its shield once more and began a rapid descent, retreating toward shore. The last air-worthy Audish ship had already pulled back, and was now hovering at a wary distance from the dragon, not daring to come any closer.

  But the dragon didn’t pursue either airship. Instead, it used the space to come alongside the Hesliar and hover there. At this distance, Tane couldn’t see exactly what was happening, but he could guess. “Endo’s boarding. He’s making your flagship his.” The ship that bore Allaea’s name. She would have hated to see all those cannons strapped to it to begin with, but this was far worse.

  “Tane?” Indree asked through the sending. “What’s happening over there? I heard… were those cannons?”

  “Endo’s taken the Hesliar, and two other airships. They opened fire on the rest. His dragon just burned one out of the sky and grounded another. This is going bad fast, and I don’t know how to stop it.”

  “I’m bringing everyone I can to the waterfront,” Indree sent back. “We’ll find a way to get to you. We’ll… we’ll figure something out. We’re not going to let this happen. He doesn’t get to make Allaea’s legacy his weapon.”

  Tane didn’t answer. Whatever he sent back, she’d feel the truth—that he wasn’t sure he believed her. But the sending pressure in his ears didn’t abate. Indree was still holding it open, waiting.

  The blockade around the harbor was beginning to fragment now. Belgrian and Estian ships broke formation, reversed, tried to retreat from the siphon. Tane could only imagine the chaos aboard as people felt their essence draining away. He remembered the feeling, the sheer horror of everything that defined him being devoured from the inside.

  The stolen airships were faster and more maneuverable than the seabound Belgrian and Estian vessels. They moved quickly into position to block escape, firing down across the bow of any ship that tried to flee. The three of them might have been enough to hold the narrow harbor-mouth alone, especially with the heavily-armed Hesliar—it hardly mattered that they were outnumbered when they were out of reach of the enemy’s weapons. But it was the dragon that made it certain. It parted from the Hesliar’s side to swoop down over the mouth of the harbor, breathing silver-blue fire along the water. An obvious warning: don’t try to leave. Everyone had seen what dragonfire could do now. The first ship that tried would burn. In forming their blockade where they had, the Belgrians and Estians had chosen the perfect location to be blockaded themselves.

  Audland’s remaining airship wisely held back. Engaging the dragon or the Hesliar directly would have been suicide. From a distance, it peppered the hijacked airships with cannonfire, but to little effect; they had already raised their defenses. Shields of silver-blue shimmered in the sky, protecting from attack on all sides. They wouldn’t hold forever, but they didn’t have too—only long enough for the siphon to do its work.

  “We’re trapped,” Tane said as it fully dawned on him. Breaking out might be possible, but against that kind of superior firepower, every inch would take time.

  Time they didn’t have.

  The talismans Tane had brought were being distributed throughout the Aquilon by Mageblades now, but there weren’t enough to go around. Dignitaries and essential crew took priority, which left everyone else in dire condition: pale, sunken-eyed, sweating, stumbling as they were escorted blow deck to the medical facilities. These people didn’t have a great deal of time left. Nor did the non-magicals crewing ships trapped in the harbor, regardless of which flag they flew. Or those who lived nearest the Porthaven waterfront, already in range. Further from the shore, some would have briefly felt the effects already as Endo and his dragon passed overhead—their reprieve would soon end. The siphon would feed and grow until it covered that area once more, and then grow larger still. It wouldn’t be more than an hour or two before it covered the whole of Thaless.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Kaiser Gerrolt’s voice. He was just emerging from the lower decks, accompanied by Henred Klenn, High Provost Elena, and a handful of guards from their two nations. All of them had pierced their shoulders with glowing talismans. Gerrolt jabbed a finger at Tane and Kadka. “Why do they still walk free? This must be their doing! The same spell they brought into my palace! Take them at once!”

  Belgrian and Estian security forces advanced at Gerrolt’s word, weapons drawn. Not a great many of them remained and fewer had been given protective talismans, but it was enough to force a confrontation. Of course. Tane almost laughed, although not with any particular good humor. Endo’s bringing about the next Mage War and we’re still looking for ways to kill each other before he can get to us.

  Kadka stepped forward to meet them, knives in hand. “Is not good idea,” she said. “We are not enemies now. We can be.” She was outnumbered, but her size and the menace in her voice and eyes made more than one of the guards hesitate.

  “Enough!” Lady Abena yelled. “We don’t have time for this! Look!” She pointed skyward.

  The dragon was impossible to miss—and only a small few living beings had seen one in centuries. Gerrolt’s face went from red to white in an instant; the High Provost uttered a terrified prayer and traced some holy sign in the air in front of her.

  At that moment, an image appeared in the sky, larger than the sun. Tane had seen it before, too many times: a mask of brass, split down the center with the Mage Emperor’s crowned staff.

  “People of Audland, your Emperor has come!” Endo’s voice boomed across the Harbor, enchanted to reach every corner of Thaless. “It is time for the magical to rise! Take this city in my name! Cleanse the non-magical filth from our streets! Any who stand against us will fall!”

  The mask disappeared. Silence fell over the deck.

  “Well, I think we can safely assume that was the signal,” Tane muttered.

  He hadn’t bothered to separate word from thought; Indree answered immediately. “Not very subtle. Durren did say we’d know it when it came.”

  “Signal?” Lady Abena looked at him with a frown. “Were you expecting this, Mister Carver? It’s past time you told us what you know.”

  Tane rounded on her angrily. “That’s all I’ve been trying to do for months, while you were all busy calling me a traitor! If anything is past time, it’s you lot deciding you’re willing to listen.” He didn’t give anyone time to defend themselves, just barrelled on. “Endo’s infiltrated the constabulary. His knights have been waiting for his word, and he just gave it. They’re going to be taking to the streets now. I should have realized before that he would never have let Hobbier take his glory. He just declared the next Mage War. He’s lured all of his enemies into one place, and he’s going to deal with you all at once. Eliminate your leaders, destroy a big part of Belgrier and Estia’s military and naval power, and drain every non-magical in Thaless. Cripple any opposition to the magical nation of his dreams. After that, there’s not going to be much standing between him and his throne. C
ertainly none of us. These talismans aren’t going to last much more than an hour under direct exposure.”

  No one spoke for a moment, and then High Provost Elena shook her head, scowling. “This is nonsense. You expect us to believe that this isn’t Audish treachery? You would wipe us out because we lack magic!”

  Kaiser Gerrolt crossed his arms. “I have seen this power before, when these two breached my palace. How am I to believe what they say now? These talks are over.”

  “Your Grace.” Henred Klenn put a hand on Gerrolt’s shoulder. “Why would they have helped stop the assassins if they were guilty? Why would they have brought us these protective artifacts? I think we must at least consider their claims.”

  Gerrolt looked back at Klenn, and then to the artifact piercing his shoulder. He let out his breath through his nose. “I have considered them. That is the only reason I am not declaring war, for the moment. But we must return to our ships either way. Whether this is Audland’s doing or not, we have to retreat from the reach of this spell.”

  “No,” Tane said. “That won’t work. There isn’t time. We’re too close to the source. Endo just has to sit up there in the Hesliar and let his dragon hold the harbor, and in under an hour everyone without a talisman in a hundred miles will be riven. Sooner, if he gets closer—he’s staying out of reach of our weapons now, but if he wants to speed up the drain, all he has to do is descend. We can’t get out of this by running.” And then it came to him. “Not by running away, at least.”

  No one stopped him; even the High Provost waited for what he had to say. They’re terrified, he realized. All the bluster is just them trying not to show it. He sent a quick thought to Indree, “Don’t worry about trying to get to us. I’ve got another plan.”

  “I’m listening.”

  Tane sent his words to her as he spoke them aloud for everyone else. “We can’t fight our way out fast enough, or evacuate the city. Not before a lot of people are riven. But I’ve studied the scrolls that Endo used to create the siphon. I know how it works. It takes power to sort magical from non-magical, and the spell has no memory—it has to keep checking, over and over. It repeats the test in kind of a wave, starting at the source and moving outward, then doing it again. If that wave only hits scattered targets, the time and power expended wouldn’t really be noticeable, but if it hits a mass of people all at the same approximate distance… in theory, it would have to divert much more power to testing so many at once. Power that would be doing something other than sucking the life out of everyone in its path. It should slow it down, give us more time.” He spread his hands. “That’s the best I’ve got. If we can’t run away, we have to run further in. Gather everyone in one place.”