He attacked the same way he had before, overwhelming the Dark Mages with a blend of Heart-Tree and Soul Magic to render them unconscious. The nature of the magic resembled the curse used upon Councilwoman Elizabeth, but would not harm the Dark Mages in any way. They would only sleep, unable to awaken, for several hours.
Gabriel turned and informed the two Grace Mages of the plan and where to rally. The two men, both in their early twenties, one African, the other Chinese, looked momentarily confused. Gabriel recognized them but couldn’t remember their names. He remembered they were both Wind Mages.
“There are wounded.” The African man pointed to two fallen Grace Mages in the nearby grass.
“I’ll take care of them.” Gabriel pointed to the Horse Show Cloister. “Go.”
The two men hesitated a moment and then ran for the rallying point in the Lower Ward.
Gabriel turned to the fallen Grace Mages, noticing their hands clasped together on the soot-covered grass. As Gabriel knelt beside them, he realized he knew them. A man and a woman. Abigail and Stephen. Leah and Liam’s parents. She had the same copper color hair as her children, while the man possessed their same color eyes.
The father’s eyes stared lifelessly toward the heavens. The mother’s eyes were closed, her face burned. Gabriel knew death when he saw it, but he reached out with Heart-Tree Magic nonetheless. He sighed. They had been dead too long. Even with all the magical imprints at his disposal, their bodies had suffered too much damage to be revived. Even if it were possible to revive them, the attempt would take precious time from fighting back the hordes of Kumaradevi’s invasion.
Gabriel stood up, pushing from his mind the image of Leah and Liam when they would receive the news of their parents’ deaths. As he looked up from the bodies of the children’s parents, a huge explosion reverberated through the air and shook the ground. Gabriel felt the imprints of the bracelet vanish. He spun around to see billows of black smoke violently racing skyward from what had once been St. George’s Chapel, the place where the imprinted artifacts connected to his bracelet had been stored.
Gabriel staggered back, the shock of the lost imprints hitting him like a fist to the gut. While he still held the imprints of the pocket watch and the Sword of Unmaking, the loss of the other imprints filled him with heart-chilling terror. The tide of the battle, already in Kumaradevi’s favor, had now turned decisively toward her advantage.
Gabriel looked down to see his hand shaking as it held the Sword of Unmaking. He took a deep breath and tried to push the fear from his mind. It felt like trying to wrestle clouds of acid from a room with no windows.
He shook his head and looked up, seeking a group of Grace Mages he could assist and inform of where to mass for a last ditch defense of the castle. He spotted such a team under attack near the fire-filled ruins of St. George’s Chapel. As he prepared to jump, he sensed a space-time seal enclose him. He raised the Sword of Unmaking and magically pushed back against the space-time seal as two teams of Dark Mages appeared around him.
The space-time seal held firm. He could see two Time Mages, a man and a woman, each wearing a necklace of seven concatenate crystals. Even though the origin of the dark imprints in an alternate reality lessened their strength in the Primary Continuum, their combined power proved far too strong for Gabriel to counteract. He found himself wishing the Sword of Unmaking still held a connection to the imprints of the Battle of the Somme. As that thought faded, he had no more time for thinking — the twelve Dark Mages surrounding him attacked.
Held firmly in place by the space-time seal, Gabriel swung his blade at the nearest opponent, a Wind Mage who tried to magically throw him to the ground. Gabriel fought back the Dark Magic, trying to simultaneously block the multiple magics assailing him from all sides. Fire tried to encase him, the ground grasped at his legs, the flesh of his body attempted to disintegrate, pain wracked his mind, while his heart felt as though it might suddenly freeze mid-beat.
Had he not begun his training with such multi-mage attacks in the arena of Kumaradevi’s Palace, he would not have lasted long. Unfortunately, he did not have enough magical power to do more than defend against the Dark Mages. Instead, Gabriel feinted with the Sword of Unmaking at the head of a Fire Mage, only to pivot and stab a male Wind Mage in the side. He whirled, deflecting different magics while slicing toward a Time Mage who jumped through space to safety at the last moment.
Suddenly, Gabriel remembered a possible source of imprints close at hand. He reached out with his magic-sense, attempting to forcibly grab the imprints held by the Dark Mage he had wounded. The Dark Mage looked up in surprise and confusion as Gabriel stole his Malignant imprints. Gabriel pushed again at the space-time seal with his own Time Magic, but the seal held. He swung the Sword of Unmaking at another mage and concentrated on stealing the dark imprints of her concatenate crystal.
Gabriel nearly managed to wrest control of the imprints from the Dark Mage when a searing pain erupted in his side. The Sword of Unmaking fell from his hands as he reached around, feeling the hilt of a dagger blade protruding from his back.
He fell to his knees, his vision blurring as the pain in his head intensified and lightning struck him in the chest. He fell back to the ground, barely conscious — his hold on the imprints of the sword and pocket watch slipping away.
Fear cut through the pain in his mind as he struggled to breathe, panting for air that seemed to have vanished from his lungs. He looked around, the faces of the twelve Dark Mages filled with contempt and fury. Their visages blurred as the pain in his back and his mind increased.
“Not so special now, are we?” One of the Dark Mages, a man with a long gray beard, laughed and spat in Gabriel’s face.
“Burn him,” one of the Time Mages said.
“Let me get my dagger first.” A woman Wind Mage gestured with her hand, and Gabriel felt the pain in his back double as the blade slipped from his flesh.
Gabriel struggled to remain on his knees, fighting against the pain, unable to speak as the fear of his impending death shattered his anger at the Dark Mages and Kumaradevi and his own weakness at being defeated.
He felt a wave of heat and light enclose him, building in intensity until the space-time seal faded, along with the pain in his mind and all the other magical forces besetting him. He blinked back tears and looked around as the brilliance surrounding him faded to reveal the twelve Dark Mages lying upon blackened grass, twisted arcs of blue electricity still shrouding their fallen forms. Gabriel fell sideways, his hand reaching back to cover his wound. As he looked up, a familiar face filled his vision.
“Idiot!”
Teresa reached out to grab his shirt as tears pooled in her eyes. She pulled him behind the corner of fallen stone wall and out of sight. “This is why you don’t leave me behind!”
“How?”
Gabriel didn’t think he could manage more than a one-word question. The ache in his head had begun to subside, but his back pulsed with pain in sync to the pounding of his heart.
“I ran from the room as Ohin jumped through time.” Teresa raised her arm, displaying a variety of bracelets and necklaces. “Then I collected a few extra talismans from fallen mages. It took me a while to find enough, and to find you, but here I am. We’re not even yet. Consider this the first payment of an installment plan.”
“Thank you.” Gabriel reached and pulled Teresa down into a kiss.
“You are such a romantic idiot.” Teresa shook her head and pulled back from Gabriel’s kiss. “The castle is under attack. There are Dark Mages everywhere. You’re leaking blood like a punctured wine sack, and you want to kiss!”
“You are really annoying when you’re right. Hand me my sword, please.” Gabriel grimaced against the throbbing in his back as Teresa handed him the hilt of the blade. He embraced the imprints of the pocket watch and the sword and set about healing his wound with Heart-Tree Magic. He breathed a sigh of relief as the flesh of his back and internal organs knitted back together. Whe
n he had finished, he sat up and looked around at the twelve Dark Mages still encased in flickering miniature lightning storms.
“That is really impressive.” Gabriel held out a hand and Teresa helped him to his feet.
“I may wear twenty talismans all the time.” Teresa frowned and pointed to the bodies of Abigail and Stephen nearby. “That’s them, isn’t it? Liam and Leah’s parents.”
“Yes. I was too late to save them.” Gabriel felt a surge of anger return to him as he thought of the death of the children’s parents.
“Now what?” Teresa looked around at the battle destroying the castle.
“The plan is to assemble as many mages as possible in the Horse Show Cloister and…”
I have the old fool. Come to me now and I will spare him.
Gabriel looked around, knowing who had placed the words in his head but not knowing where they were supposed to lead. As if in answer to his unspoken question, the voice in his head spoke again.
I am on the rooftop.
An image filled Gabriel’s mind.
The roof of the state apartments in the Upper Ward.
“Gabriel, what is it?” Teresa reached for his hand. Gabriel grasped her fingers tightly and tried not to let the fear in his heart fill his voice.
“It’s Kumaradevi. She’s captured Akikane.”
Chapter 25: Sacrifice
A moment later, Gabriel appeared with Teresa on the rooftop of the old state apartments and felt a space-time seal surround him. Kumaradevi stood twenty feet away, near the northern end of the rooftop. She wore a suit of finely crafted battle armor painted black with the six magical symbols of her Dark Mages etched in a red circle across her breast plate. Embedded in the armor, within the circle of crimson symbols, sat a set of six brightly glowing concatenate crystals. More embedded crystals encircled the neck and arms of the armor. A look of triumph accentuated her already frighteningly beautiful features. Around the perimeter of the rooftop stood at least fifty Dark Mages, silently staring at Gabriel with palpable loathing.
Gabriel held the Sword of Unmaking in one hand, his other still entwined with Teresa’s. She refused to leave his side or let go of him for a moment. His eyes rose above Kumaradevi to where Akikane floated in a bubble of white-orange lighting, his face contorted in agony.
Looking down, Gabriel stared in to Kumaradevi’s deep black eyes, struggling to keep the hatred of the woman boiling in his heart from overwhelming his thoughts. He would need his mind clear to deal with what came next. Whatever it might be.
“I understand you were instrumental in repelling the attack of our Greek friend and his duplicates.” Kumaradevi stepped forward, her pleasure at his predicament evident in her every movement. “I believe I should take some credit for that, as your training began with me.”
Gabriel said nothing. He knew Kumaradevi well enough to know his words were not required at this stage of the conversation.
“Of course, he made a strategic error, relying only upon himself.” Kumaradevi gestured toward the Dark Mages surrounding the rooftop. “However, his short-sightedness has allowed me to significantly expand the ranks of my own Soldiers of Light.”
Gabriel frowned in surprise. He hadn’t expected Kumaradevi to poach the Dark Mages from Apollyon’s former army. But it made sense. As the Apollyons became more paranoid and more reluctant to rely on anyone other than fellow duplicates, their former henchmen would need to find a place to fight. Another imbalance in the war that Kumaradevi had shrewdly turned to her benefit.
“You seem very quiet.” Kumaradevi’s eyes glittered with malice and amusement. “Has this little girl stolen your heart, or your tongue?”
“I won’t let you take him again.” Teresa’s voice sounded thin in the wind rushing over the roof, but Gabriel could feel the determination of it echoing in his ears.
“She is very fiery.” Kumaradevi laughed. “Fiery and foolish. You have so much in common.”
“I know what you want.” Gabriel had to speak before Teresa could say more. “What are you offering in return?”
“What is to say I won’t simply take what I want?” Kumaradevi’s silky smile did nothing to conceal the venom in her voice.
“Because you are…” Gabriel searched for the right word. “Magnanimous.” Another, unspoken reason made it more likely she would barter than try to take him by force.
“You flatter me.” Kumaradevi nodded slightly in his direction. “I offer you a simple choice. Come with me and I will spare the castle, those within it, and even your precious mentor.”
“And if I refuse?” Gabriel already knew the answer, but he needed time to think. Time to come up with a different plan from the one he held in his mind. That plan didn’t end well. For anyone.
“Refuse and I will destroy the castle, slaughter everyone within it, and leave Akikane in agony for decades before I kill him.” Kumaradevi’s gaze knifed into him, her voice filling his head.
And what I will do to your little lovebird beside you should not be spoken aloud.
Gabriel didn’t bother responding to her taunt. That would be a sign of weakness. Kumaradevi thrived on weakness. Unfortunately, Teresa didn’t know the rules of this particular game.
“Why don’t you take what you want if you’re so powerful?” Teresa nearly shouted in anger.
“I may be powerful, but the boy does have considerable skills, even for his age.” Kumaradevi seemed to relish the effect her words had on Teresa. “He knows he can kill himself before I can take him. He might even be able to kill you at the same time. It’d be very much like him to try and save you from my wrath. He couldn’t, of course, save the mages still dying as he dithers, or this old fool dangling above me.”
“Gabriel, you can’t…” Teresa yanked at his arm.
Gabriel ignored Teresa, continuing to stare at Kumaradevi. The Dark Mage knew his mind well enough to guess his actions. Could she guess his final decision? If he surrendered to her, she would never treat him like a favored pet as she had before. No, she would use Soul Magic to twist and control his mind, turning him into a weapon to use against Grace Mages and the Apollyons alike.
He couldn’t allow that. He doubted she could stop him in time from taking his own life, and probably Teresa’s as well, but did that decision hold any more promise? Kumaradevi would keep her word. She would destroy the castle and every Grace Mage she could find. What would happen to Akikane hurt his heart too much to contemplate. There were no good choices.
He thought about his earlier attempt to take control of the Dark Mages’ imprints and tried to figure out how it would impact his chances of survival if he could accomplish the feat against Kumaradevi. He might be able to hold enough imprints to spare himself and Teresa, and possibly enough to free Akikane, but there were simply too many Dark Mages besieging the castle to fight them all. With every moment he wasted, more Grace Mages died.
He tried to think back to the words of Akikane and Aurelius and Ohin about leadership and duty. What was his duty in this situation? To defend the castle? To protect his fellow Grace Mages? To protect Teresa and Akikane? To protect the Primary Continuum? To keep Apollyon from destroying the Great Barrier? Which duty took precedence? Could he protect only one and abandon all the others?
If only he could surrender to escape again.
Wait.
Could that be possible? Would it work? Did he have another choice?
“Magnanimous does not mean patient.” Kumaradevi’s eyes still held his own. “Have you considered all the possibilities the way our mutual friend would? Has it helped you realize you have no choice?”
“I may have no choice, but the decision is still mine to make.” Gabriel tightened his grip on the hilt of the Sword of Unmaking.
“Semantics,” Kumaradevi said. “When I leave, you will leave with me. We both know this. Now kiss the girl goodbye. You may not recognize each other when next you meet.”
“Gabriel…” Teresa pulled him to face her.
His kis
sed her. To keep her from talking. To fulfill Kumaradevi’s expectations. To steel his own nerve. When he broke the kiss, he looked in her eyes.
“Be ready.”
Gabriel turned slowly back to face Kumaradevi, already beginning his plan, reaching out with his magic-sense. He could not commandeer the imprints of more than one mage at a time. However, one mage standing on the rooftop possessed far more magical imprints than all the others combined. A mage so power-hungry and paranoid no one would ever be allowed to command even remotely as many imprints in her presence.
As Gabriel’s eyes locked again with Kumaradevi, she gasped aloud. Gabriel’s face contorted with effort as he focused on the imprints she held, seizing control of them before she could mount a counter attack. In the space of a single breath, he usurped her command of the concatenate crystals studding her armor.
Gabriel gagged and steadied himself against the wave of nausea accompanying the ocean of Malignant imprints connected to his soul and will and desire. Kumaradevi stumbled backward in shock as the Dark Mages lining the edge of the rooftop looked about in confusion. Gabriel knew he had only a moment to accomplish his task.
“No!” Kumaradevi shrieked, seeming to guess his intent.
He swung the Sword of Unmaking in a tight arc as he focused all of the magical energy in his grasp into the blade, driving it down into the black tar of the roof, flooding it with the same Stone Magic spell he had used to destroy the observation outpost outside Vindobona while under attack from the Apollyons. The Stone Magic activated and amplified the magical spells already clinging to every inch of the castle buildings and grounds. A pool of black ash spread from the tip of the sword blade like a tsunami of ink, a crackling wave of destruction, racing away from Gabriel and engulfing the rooftop and the buildings below in moments.
Gabriel used Wind Magic to support himself and Teresa as Dark Mages all around began to fall through the roof. Kumaradevi turned and fled, fear and hatred in her eyes as she glanced back at Gabriel before leaping away from the expanding circle of ash and clasping the arm of a nearby Time Mage.
The Sword of Unmaking (The Wizard of Time - Book 2) Page 26