Wizard Pair (Book 3)

by James Eggebeen

  "I see you can feel it, too. Can't you?" Sulrad led her to the back of the room. "Wait here while I go get the sacrifice." Sulrad left her standing there and departed.

  She saw the beam of sunlight working its way across the wall, marking the progress of the setting sun. She felt around the room and located the source of magic. I was deep inside the altar. Something in the altar stored magic. She tried to access it. It was something she had advised Zhimosom not to do, but she was desperate. The power felt wrong, muddy, and impure.

  As she touched it, a sense of evil grew in her. It was as if the altar was laughing at her, taunting her to take the power and embrace it. Rotiaqua knew that if she did, something inside of her would be forever changed.

  Rotiaqua shied away from the power, wishing she could talk with Zhimosom about what she had witnessed. She reached out to contact him, but she could not. Rotiaqua feared the worst.

  The door opened and Sulrad led in a young boy. Rotiaqua was relieved to see that it was not Zhimosom, but she was ashamed at her reaction. The boy was set to be the sacrifice. Sulrad intended to take his magic as soon as the sun hit the proper position.

  Sulrad led the boy to the altar and laid him on his back. He tied him to the cold stone and leaned over him. He spoke the words of release that Rotiaqua could not make out and the boy came awake as if from a spell.

  He looked at Rotiaqua and then Sulrad. "What's happening?"

  Sulrad spoke calmly to the boy. "Relax. You are to take part in a very special ritual. You will be helping some very important people."

  Sulrad glanced at Rotiaqua. "It's important that the subject be calm. Fear blunts the transfer and too much power is lost." He gently stroked the boy's hair, bending down and speaking softly to him.

  As the sunlight reached the statue, Sulrad snatched the knife and slit the boy's throat letting his blood flow freely across the altar.

  A bright cloud of magic arose from the boy. It separated from him as Sulrad channeled some of the boy's magic into the altar, but some, Sulrad drew into himself.

  Sulrad's power surged, then ebbed. He was almost powerless as he integrated the boy's magic into his own. She sensed that he had drawn all of his magic into the effort to absorb the boy's power.

  She grasped the opportunity. She reached out to Zhimosom, breaking the spell of silence Sulrad had cast around him. She drew Zhimosom's power for her own use and broke the spell of compliance that Sulrad had placed on her. She rushed to build a new spell of her own that would make Sulrad believe his spell was still in place. She did all this while Sulrad was occupied with taking the boy's power.

  The magic aura around the boy and the altar weakened and the boy's body disappeared in a shower of sparks. The sparks turned into a cloud of golden dust motes, swirling in the single sunbeam, and then they too, wafted away in the evening air.

  Sulrad stood there basking in his renewed power, laughing. "That is how we get the power to do the healing that will draw the faithful and keep them coming back.

  "Even the most powerful Wizard can heal only once or twice in a moon if they reserve all their power for it. My priesthood will be able to heal the faithful at will. And in return, the faithful will supply all our needs: gold, sacrificial animals, offering and gifts ... and young Wizards."

  Rotiaqua had recognized the boy from the Temple. It was the boy who'd been brought by his family when they discovered he had magic. Sulrad promised to train the boy, but instead took his magic.

  Rotiaqua stood still, listening. She wanted to act, but she didn't want to betray the fact that she had broken the spell. She reached out to Zhimosom. He'd also felt the weakening of Sulrad's power just as she had. He'd used that opportunity to reach out and build a shielded bridge that they could use to contact each other, even under Sulrad's watchful eye.

  Sulrad turned to leave. "Back to your room, Rotiaqua," he called over his shoulder. "Soon, you will do the sacrifice. I have your Wizard friend in my cell. It is you, who will take his life and his magic. He's very powerful. He'll make a good addition to our growing reserves."

  It had taken all Rotiaqua's strength to pretend to be subservient to Sulrad, until she was finally alone. She reached out to Zhimosom.

  "He killed a young Wizard," Rotiaqua said.

  "He has to be stopped. We can't let him take another life. He's growing too powerful. If we don't act now, we may never be able to escape."

  "Did you feel how his power dropped while he absorbed the boy's magic?" Rotiaqua asked. "Is this something we can use against him?"

  "I don't want to wait until he sacrifices someone else."

  "No, but he's performing animal sacrifices every morning and evening. Maybe that would buy us the time."

  "I'll try to come up with a plan. If we break through the enchantment on these cells, we can use magic to leave the Temple."

  "Let me know when you're ready to try."

  She let the connection drop. The enchantment on her room was no less oppressive than the one on Zhimosom's cell. She sat heavily on the bed, drained and exhausted. Sulrad wanted her to take Zhimosom's magic. She wasn't sure she would be strong enough to resist when the time came.

  The next day Sulrad invited Rotiaqua to participate in the evening ritual. "Tonight you will perform the sacrifice." Sulrad led her to the altar room. She resisted the temptation to argue with him. It would reveal the fact that she had broken his spell, and she was not ready to do that just yet.

  She was sure that she would find Zhimosom tied to the altar when she arrived. What would she do to fight Sulrad? How could they defeat him before he sacrificed Zhimosom?

  The altar room was empty when they arrived and Sulrad called for the sacrifice. Rotiaqua steeled herself for the battle she knew was coming. When the guards brought Zhimosom into the room, she would join her power to his and together they would ... what? She needed a plan.

  The door opened and Rotiaqua tensed up, but it was not Zhimosom, as she feared. A young girl entered carrying a field rabbit by the ears. It was already trussed and ready for the altar.

  Rotiaqua's heart leaped to see the rabbit. At least for now, Zhimosom was safe. She almost missed it when Sulrad addressed her.

  "First calm the animal." Sulrad stroked the rabbit gently, soothing it. He nodded to Rotiaqua. She stretched out her hand and rubbed the animal, as he had. She felt its heart racing. As she stroked it, the rabbit stopped struggling. Its heartbeat slowed and its breathing calmed.

  "When the sunbeam strikes the blade, quickly slit its throat and utter the spell to take its magic. I will guide you through it this time, but in the future you will do it on your own. It is important that you complete the spell before its heart stops beating or else you will lose much of its life force back into the great void."

  Rotiaqua watched the sunbeam advance. Dust swirled up from the altar when the rabbit breathed, sending sparkling motes into the light as it advanced. When the light struck the statue, she grasped the handle of the knife and slit the rabbit's throat.

  Its life force separated from it as its heart pumped its blood out onto the altar. She grasped the life force and directed it towards the altar. She directed almost all of the magic into the stones beneath the altar, taking only a very small portion into herself.

  She felt a surge in her power as she absorbed the animal's life force, but something felt wrong. She experienced the powerlessness that she had witnessed in Sulrad, then she felt the life force of the animal inside her, but it was foreign, as if something had gotten stuck under her skin that didn't belong there.

  "Excellent job." Sulrad reached out and took the knife from her hand, replacing it against the statue's throat.

  "You will be ready to sacrifice a Wizard soon. Then you will know power like you never imagined."

  Flight

  Zhimosom reached out for Rotiaqua from his dark cell in the Temple. He was relieved to be back in contact with her. It had taken a great effort to work his way through the enchantments on both of their cells, bu
t finally he'd found a way to communicate with Rotiaqua at will.

  “He means to sacrifice you,” Rotiaqua said. “He intends that I do the ritual and take your life, and your magic.”

  “I know, but when?”

  “I don’t know why he hasn’t done it already, unless he’s trying to wear me down. He’s been forcing me to participate in the sacrifices. I feel dirty and contaminated already.”

  Zhimosom felt the contamination in Rotiaqua’s magic through their link. He worried what it was doing to her. He had to get her free and see if he could rid her of the corruption Sulrad was forcing on her.

  “I feel my magic weaken, just like Sulrad’s does when I perform the sacrifice.”

  “We have to be prepared. The next time he performs the sacrifice, we must act while he is weakened.” Zhimosom shuddered. When Sulrad had sacrificed the boy, his power had been severely reduced. If another opportunity like that came along, they might be able to break free.

  “He has a mini dragon,” Rotiaqua said. “I heard him talking. I hope he’ll want to sacrifice that himself. I don't want to touch it. I don't want to take its magic.”

  “When did he get it?” This could be the break Zhimosom was waiting for. If Sulrad sacrificed the animal himself, they could put Zhimosom's plan into action.

  “Today," Rotiaqua said. "A servant came in just after the morning sacrifice with it. Maybe tonight will be our opportunity.”

  “Be prepared,” Zhimosom said. “If he performs the sacrifice, we’re going to travel to that grove where you and I met before. Sulrad won’t know how to find us." Zhimosom hoped the Priest would not be able to follow them. "Then we run.”

  “I’ll contact you when he’s ready,” Rotiaqua said.

  Zhimosom felt Rotiaqua drop the contact. She was weak despite the additional life force Sulrad had her taking at the sacrifices. Sulrad must have a spell on her that we keeping her drained. Zhimosom hoped she would have enough magic to escape when the time came.

  Zhimosom sat in the darkness of his cell. He didn't know if it was night or day, when a tingling feeling came over him shaking him back to consciousness. It was.

  "He's preparing to sacrifice the mini dragon. Now's our chance."

  Zhimosom forced his head to clear despite the spell that had been placed on his confines. "How long do we have to prepare?"

  "He just summoned me for the sacrifice. I can sense the mini dragon in the altar room. It won't be long."

  "We wait for Sulrad's power to ebb, and then we go. Are you ready?" Zhimosom had replenished his magic as he sat in the cell in the Temple. He'd spent his time probing around and absorbing any power he could in preparation for this chance.

  "I'm worried. Do you think it will work? Can we really get away?" Rotiaqua sounded skeptical.

  "I've been studying Sulrad's spells," Zhimosom said. "He has stolen magic at his disposal, but Sulrad must use his native magic to create and maintain his spells. The stolen magic just reinforces the spells it does not create them. I think I can defeat him through his native magic. Without the stolen magic, he's not that strong."

  "Be careful. He's still dangerous. I'd rather just get away from him without a fight if that's possible."

  "I won't make any promises,” Zhimosom said. “If I get the chance to kill Sulrad, I'll take it without hesitation. He's killed too many people already. He must be stopped."

  "I'm at the altar room. I'll open my sight to you so you can see what happens, but I have to be quiet."

  Rotiaqua's vision overlaid Zhimosom's and the dark cell faded out and was replaced by the altar room. Sulrad stood before the blood encrusted altar, knife in hand. On the altar, a mini dragon was trussed and ready for the sacrifice. Through the slit in the wall, a moonbeam shown on the altar. It was close to the statue and signaled the time for the sacrifice was near.

  Sulrad looked up as Rotiaqua entered the room. "Watch this sacrifice carefully. The mini dragon has magical power much like a Wizard. Feel how I take its power for my own, how I integrate its magic into mine. You will need to know how to do this yourself."

  Sulrad gestured to the mini dragon. "Soon, you will perform a similar sacrifice and take the magic of the Wizard. Then you will be a Priestess of Ran and ready to join me as we will build the Temple into a force to rule the land."

  Rotiaqua stood in silence.

  "Do you understand?" Sulrad demanded.

  "I understand," she said.

  "Good. You must do this to gain power to heal the faithful. It's an important part of how we keep them faithful."

  Rotiaqua simply nodded her head.

  "Start speaking the words of the spell before you strike the sacrifice. Feel for the creature's magic and grasp it. It will resist you at first, but as you become accustomed to it, it will become easier."

  Zhimosom felt Rotiaqua reach for the magic of the mini dragon. It was clear and pure, not like Sulrad's dirty twisted magic.

  Sulrad muttered his spell and the magic of the mini dragon lifted ever so slightly away from the beast. A faint cloud of gold flecks shimmered in the air a scant digit away from the creature's fur.

  Sulrad took the knife and slit the mini dragon's throat. Blood spurted out to splatter the altar before settling into a pulsing stream.

  The cloud of magic grew more pronounced. It swirled above the creature as if a small tornado had settled there.

  Sulrad raised his voice and the magic altered its course. It twisted and turned around the Priest moving faster and faster. Finally it settled into Sulrad's skin and vanished.

  Sulrad's magic faltered. That was what Zhimosom had been waiting for. He visualized the copse of trees where he'd met Rotiaqua. He imagined what it would look like beneath the light of the moon and how the grass beneath his feet would feel.

  Zhimosom reached out to Rotiaqua and grasped her magic. Just as he pulled her to the safety, he saw her yank the sacrificial knife out of Sulrad's hand.

  The temple faded to be replaced by the familiar copse of trees. The moonlight filtered through the branches illuminating the rock where Zhimosom had sealed the pack between him and Rotiaqua with their blood.

  "I thought we might need a weapon," Rotiaqua said, holding up the knife.

  Zhimosom sighed with relief. "Is it really over?" Was it really going to be that simple? Were they free of the Temple? Would their shields be enough to keep Sulrad from finding them?

  "We should leave as quickly as we can," Rotiaqua said. "Sulrad will find us if we stick around Frostan." Rotiaqua put her arm around Zhimosom's shoulder. "I'm sorry I put you through that. I should have left with you before."

  "Let's get going while we have the moon to light our way." Zhimosom started for the road, but didn't get far before Rotiaqua called out.

  "Behind you!"

  Zhimosom turned back to Rotiaqua. There in the air between them a shimmering cloud of violet took shape. The sparking motes of light quickly solidified in the shape of the Priest.

  "You didn't think you were going to get away that easily did you?" Sulrad took a step towards Zhimosom. In his hand, he held another knife; much like the one Rotiaqua had snatched from him before they'd disappeared.

  "I'll take your magic right here. It's not as efficient as in the Temple, but some things can't be helped." Sulrad reached his hand out and a binding spell enmeshed Zhimosom. Zhimosom struggled to move, but he was held fast.

  Zhimosom picked at the spell, looking for Sulrad's native magic between the strands of stolen magic. It was faint, but Zhimosom thought he had it. He tugged at the cord that was Sulrad's magic and the containment fell apart releasing him.

  "Well, the young Wizard has a few tricks up his sleeve." Sulrad raised the knife and took a step towards Zhimosom. "No matter, this will work on you, bound or free."

  Zhimosom strengthened his shields. Sulrad push against them. They held for a moment, but then slipped. Sulrad took another step towards Zhimosom, muttering the spell he had used to take the magic of the mini dragon.


  Zhimosom's magic pulled away from him. He fought against Sulrad's spell, but he was too weak. The Priest had the advantage on him.

  Sulrad's knife came closer and closer to Zhimosom's throat.

  Zhimosom's magic draw farther away from his body. He panicked, probing once again for Sulrad's magic. He had to find a way to break the spell. He was losing the battle.

  Suddenly Zhimosom's magic snapped back into him with a physical shock that threw him backwards. Zhimosom stumbled to the ground stunned. He scrambled to get to his feet fearful of another attack from Sulrad, but none came.

  Sulrad stood where he was, stiff with a look of pain on his face.

  Behind Sulrad, Rotiaqua held the sacrificial knife in her hand, the blade buried deep in Sulrad's back. "Don't move," she said.

  Zhimosom carefully approached Sulrad. The Priest's magic was bleeding away, swirling around the knife and into Rotiaqua.

  "What are you doing?" Zhimosom cried.

  "Saving your life," Rotiaqua answered. "Get over here and help me."

  Zhimosom wrenched the sacrificial knife from Sulrad's hand and stepped around beside Rotiaqua.

  "Let's draw his magic out of him and spill it on the ground." Rotiaqua said.

  Zhimosom took the knife and slid the point into Sulrad, penetrating his back next to Rotiaqua's blade. Blood spurted forth to coat the blade.

  Sulrad screamed in pain as Zhimosom pulled at his magic. Zhimosom was prepared to separate the Sulrad's magic from the Priest and kill him.

  Sulrad's magic bled out of him but soon stopped. Sulrad was hanging on to a small core of magic. Zhimosom reached for that tiny core to separate it from Sulrad and end the struggle, but he was not able to wrest it away from the Priest.

  Sulrad groaned as Zhimosom pulled at the magic, but it did not come free. Zhimosom frowned. It was not Sulrad's magic that the Priest was holding on to so desperately.

  It was Rotiaqua's.