The Worm That Wasn't

by Mike Maddox

  "I think the Mage is dead, Rilston."

  "What do you mean, you 'think' he's dead? Have you seen a body?"

  "I... I don't know. I have seen something, but whether or not it is still the Mage I cannot say with certainty. Tell me, did the Mage have any views on the illness that he might have shared with you? Anything at all?"

  "Listen, the illness is somehow magical in nature and has unexpected side effects. If the Mage is infected, then the illness will almost certainly mutate into a new strain, transmitted magically. It could infect those with whom the Mage is in constant communion."

  "You mean the other Mages? But that would mean..." Grefno's voice tailed off, horrified at his own thoughts.

  "It would mean the end of peace. It would mean that there would no longer be the comfort of mutually assured magical destruction holding Inan together." Rilston held Grefno's appalled gaze. "It would mean the start of a new war." Rilston coughed, his face pale as snow. "Find him, Grefno. Find him and stop him." Then he was gone.

  Another sound from outside made Grefno turn. If Rilston was to be believed, then whoever was responsible for this madness may still be at large in the Castle. Closing Rilston's eyes, Grefno turned and ran down the corridor in front of him. Passing a control panel, he activated the emergency seal, bring a shield down in the corridor behind him. He came to a halt outside his personal office, a defensive spell readied at his fingertips. Cautiously entering, he was relieved to find the room empty.

  He ran to his chair and opened a concealed compartment. He dragged a case from the bottom, tools he'd had hidden for such a day as this. Slinging the case over his shoulders, he gave one last look around the room and headed out into the corridor.

  Whatever had attacked the people of Allesh, the Castle had fallen to it. For Grefno to stand any chance of defeating the threat he would have to gather what troops he could find, and regroup. The longer he was in the Castle, the more likely it was that he would succumb to the horror that roamed its corridors.

  Feeling his heart about to burst, Grefno ran to an ornate stained glass window and, without a second's thought, hurled himself though it. Instantly his armour shielded him from the shattering glass. With a jolt, a silk parachute unfurled from his back. The ground rushed up to meet him - not the best landing ever. But then, he had just survived a fall from one hundred and thirty feet straight up.

  Pulling the harness from him as fast as he could, Grefno set off towards the group of soldiers who had ran towards him as soon as they had seen him crash out of the Castle. Captain Krillan was watching in disbelief, mouth open. "We need to get away, Captain. The Castle's done for," said Grefno.

  "That was amazing!" said Krillan.

  "Airborne assault troops," said Grefno. "I served with them as a Chemical Warrior for five years, during the war. Thankfully none of my former colleagues are here to laugh at my undignified landing today."

  Leah looked out of the window of the bakery. Across the street, by the well, was a transport, a small utility vehicle used to deliver milk and groceries.

  "How fast do you think that thing is, Rendolph?" said Leah. "Do you think it could outrun the worm?"

  "Why? You thinking of making a run for it?"

  "No. I was wondering if we could lure it away from the village. Use ourselves as bait."

  "Well, we're only trapped with no weapons and a monstrous slavering beast outside trying to eat us! But let's see if we can put ourselves in even more danger!"

  "I only asked," said Leah, sniffily. She looked up and down the street again. "I wonder if any of the horses survived."

  "Leah, will you stop it!"

  "Well we can't just stay here for the rest of our lives."

  "I know that. It's just if we go outside, then 'The rest of our lives' as you put it will be measured in minutes, not years!"

  "I suppose you're right."

  "I am right. Now come away from the window, before it sees you again."

  Grefno and Krillan were leading the men down the hill towards the heat barrier and the village. After a brief discussion they had decided that the only course of action was to try and find the worm. They left a detail of men at the Castle gate, to wait for Sergeant Wallas, whilst the rest followed the Captain and the Sage down towards the village.

  "What do we do about the heat barrier?" asked Krillan.

  "It's clever. It's not some brutish protective charm designed to kill everything on sight, it operates with rules. And if it's clever then that means that it contains some rudimentary intelligence, and if that's true," and here Grefno waved his fingers in front of his face. "If that's true then that means it can be lied to."

  "How? How do we lie to a spell?" said Krillan.

  Grefno drew a circle in the air around the group of men. It was suddenly bright daylight and blues skies over them.

  "I can make it think that it's yesterday inside this circle. As far as the spell is concerned, it hasn't happened yet. It's still yesterday and it hasn't been used."

  "That's clever," said Krillan.

  "Yes," said Grefno. "It is."

  "Is it time travel? Is it somehow yesterday in here?"

  "No, of course it isn't. That would be ridiculous, you know that. However, the heat barrier doesn't know it. It thinks it can't possibly hurt us in here because it hasn't happened as yet."

  With a few nervous glances at each other, Krillan and the men followed Grefno through the gap in the heat barrier and towards the village. There was no sign of the creature as the men advanced, weapons at the ready.

  "Captain Krillan!" A shout came from a building, and a figure came running out. To everyone's surprise, the figure threw her arms around the captain and hugged him. "I'm so happy to see you alive! And to think, only yesterday I thought you were a total prick!"

  The Captain looked back abashed, red faced in front of the other soldiers. "How kind, Miss Carleaf," he said at last.

  "We need to get to a place of safety," said Grefno. "Is the shelter open?"

  Private Shaule came jogging up behind Leah. "I would have recommended the Inn," he said. "But unfortunately it has been compromised. Nowhere is safe I'm afraid."

  Sergeant Wallas lowered his weapon and nodded to the two militiamen to do likewise. "Honoured Sage, what's happening?"

  "I don't know!" said Niaal, wide eyed. "My magic isn't working! There's something wrong, something blocking it. I have been trapped in my room all this time." Niaal followed the men out of the room, along the corridor.

  "Captain Krillan has found the Sage Grefno. They believe they have found the cause of the sickness."

  "Grefno still lives? Oh, this is wonderful news. I feared everyone to be dead."

  "Who is guarding the Mage?" said Wallas.

  "The Castle guards have sealed the inner sanctum. There's no way anyone can get in or out. I tried to make contact, but there is no one to be found who would answer me." Niaal looked down at the dead bodies. "Tell me, how much has Captain Krillan found out?"

  "Hard to say sir," Wallas said, reloading his weapon. "We know that the sickness is more complicated than we first thought. It may well have spread to other Mages across Inan."

  "I see. This is dreadful. Dreadful! Has anyone been in contact with General Vale yet? Has anyone alerted him?"

  "Not as far as I'd know, Sir. Besides, all transports have left for the front. There's no way we can get a message in or out."

  Niaal twisted his cloak, nervously. "Come," he said. "It's not safe here."

  With a squawk of static, Wallas' comm burst into life

  "Wallas? You receiving me?" It was Krillan's voice. "Please report your position."

  "Captain Krillan? Sergeant Wallas here, receiving you loud and clear, Sir. We're in the Castle, moving towards the postern gate."

  "Sergeant! What news?" said Grefno said, cutting in. "Any survivors? Anyone at all?"

  "Not looking good, sir. Looks like the worm's handiwork again. Only one person found alive so far."

  "It's b
etter than nothing. Who is it?"

  "The Sage Niaal, Sir. Only one still alive."

  There was silence.

  "Captain? You still with me, sir?"

  "Yes.... I mean, yes, Sergeant. We're in the village, planning our next move. Hold your position, please."

  In the Castle, Niaal paced impatiently up and down in front of Wallas and his men. "Well? What do they say?"

  "They're conferring now, sir. They say we're to hold."

  "Tell them to hurry up. That worm could be here any second."

  "Very good sir, said Wallas, discreetly flicking the comms switch to transmit. Krillan and the others were now hearing their conversation.

  "How long did you say you'd been hiding in here, Sir?"

  "What? Oh, since this morning. Since Grefno came back from the town."

  "Did you have the chance to talk to him at the time? Did he tell you anything useful? Anything at all?"

  "No. No, I didn't even see him."

  "And you've been locked in your study all this time?"

  "Yes. Really, Sergeant, must I explain everything?"

  "But if that's the case... how did you know about the worm?" said Wallas.

  Niaal sneered. "Peasant!" he screamed, flicking his fingers. Wallas dived as a sheet of air became as hard as diamond, sharp as steel, killing the other two soldiers flanking him instantly. Wallas dropped to his knees, aiming to fire, but found that he suddenly couldn't move.

  Giving up on his weapon, Wallas mentally re-routed the electrical charges in his life support, trying to jumpstart his seized muscles. Niaal came closer, spitting with fury. "You were all dead anyway," he laughed.

  Grefno looked at Krillan as they heard Wallas dying. Leah backed away, her hands over her ears.

  There was a stunned silence from Krillan as he attempted to take it all in. "But why?"

  "It's the plants. It's always been about the plants," Grefno said.

  "I don't understand," said Leah. "What's about the plants? "

  Grefno looked out towards the Garden, his face full of worry. "Inan has seen all manner of warfare. Biological, mechanical, magical, but never agricultural before. It all started with weeds. They had been struggling to contain an outbreak of weeds; our enemies, I mean. They found a way to destroy them. Not to contain, but to totally and entirely eradicate an entire plant species, using magic. The only trouble is, if they could control one species they could control others too."

  "What sort of species?" Leah asked.

  "Corn. Barley. Maize. The staple crops. They would have the power to starve a country. Starve the world if need be."

  "So what happened? I mean, there haven't been any major famines these last fifteen years, so something must have happened."

  "We found a way to stop them," said Grefno. "The Sage Niaal, together with General Vale, or Colonel Vale as he was in those days, helped your father come up with a plan. Our enemies were so wrapped up in magic and science that they forgot about the natural world around them. They were so convinced that they could control the botanical structure of the world, that they forgot just how closely dependant plants and animals are. It's like this: Kill all the bees and the plants won't pollinate. Without pollination, the plants all die, without plants the animals die, and give it six months after that and we all die too."

  "They used bees?" said Krillan.

  "No. Not bees." Grefno sighed. "Your father and Niaal stopped them controlling the plants. I never had the chance to discuss how with your father, he died too suddenly. Niaal was always very modest about his part in it, putting it down to your father's expertise and brilliance with plants. But he lied. To defeat a botanical weapon, they must have countered with zoological warfare."

  Leah looked at him, suddenly understanding. "He found a worm. Didn't he?"

  "Yes. A filthy creature normally found burrowing in the Hirvan wastes. An evolutionary blind alley. It has the ability to make plants obey it. It can animate plant life, by some crude form of telekinesis."

  "But if it's vegetarian, why the big teeth?" said Leah.

  "I never said it was vegetarian. Living in a desert, a creature that size, it has to be able to consume any and every living thing that comes along. It has no natural predators, because its skin is poisonous. Some people say that's why the Hirvan wastes are like they are. That they were green and fruitful before the worms settled there."

  "But the Hirvan wastes are on the other side of the world from us," said Krillan. "How would they ever have gotten hold of one?"

  "Towards the end of the war, a madman, a lunatic warlord, turned his hand to ever more extreme weapons. For years we thought he might have tried to seed Hirvan worms, but we never found any proof. His own men were left in a vegetative state by his use of them. The warlord died in the chaos that followed the collapse of Varn. Obviously, somehow or other, Niaal must have come across one."

  "It would explain a lot," said Leah.

  "But they can't all be the result of this one worm?"

  "No. What if there are lots of them, though? What if they were scattered all over the world? What if there are groups of people like us, right now, wondering how they're going to sort this out?"

  "But why don't their Mages do something?" Krillan said.

  Leah looked at him. "You mean like ours did?"

  Grefno sank to his knees in shock. "Or what if they're all dead..." He felt his vision narrowing, suddenly ashamed that he might faint. "But if that were so, then what is holding the magic together? What is containing the vast magical energies of Inan?"

  "Niaal?" Krillan said.

  "He's insane," whispered Grefno. "He deliberately infected the Mage. The worm is magical. If a Mage was infected, then perhaps they could spread the illness via magic itself?"

  "So how do we stop it?"

  "We can't. The Mage is dead. The worm killed him. If we are right, then Niaal has assumed the magical power of the most powerful beings on all of Inan. There is only one solution, only one way to stop him."

  "Which is?"

  "We kill him, outright. The only trouble is, if we do that without replacing him with another Mage, or rather another set of Mages, then we risk putting an end to magic itself."

  "Don't be ridiculous! You might as well say you'll put an end to gravity, or electricity!" said Krillan.

  "It's the most powerful piece of magic that the Mages could come up with. Brought in during the treaty that ended the war, it guarantees that no one person can assume total power. And yes, I know that's exactly what he's done! He was instrumental in helping draft the proposals for the spell. This was probably his plan all along." Grefno stared up at the Castle, his face grim. "But the facts remain, if we don't replace him, then the entire magical flow of the world of Inan will almost certainly dissipate and vanish."

  "Then we find some new Mages, " said Leah.

  "At such short notice? Who do you suggest, Leah? Me? You? Captain Krillan, over there?"

  "But, destroying the magic? It's just..." Leah struggled for the words. "It's just wrong."

  "This worm? It killed the other Mages?" Krillan said.

  "Yes," said Grefno. "It channels magical energy."

  "Fine. So in order to take out Niaal, we need to hit him with the same poison."

  "You mean we need to go looking for the worm again?" said Leah.

  "Oh. Goody," said Rendolph with a complete lack of enthusiasm.

  "Not all of us," said Krillan. "Niaal has manipulated events, played us for fools to such an extent that our armed forces, who might have reasonably attempted to stop him, will attack our neighbours in a few hours time. He's making sure that the countries of Allesh and Prash-Romari are in such a state of chaos that there is no-one in a position to oppose him. If the attack goes ahead, then things will escalate quickly, especially if the Mages are not involved, and before long we will have a world at war again. We need to stop the attack. Someone needs to go and tell the general to call it off, tell him that the true enemy is here, back in the Cast
le."

  "I'll go," said Krillan. "Something of this magnitude, he needs to hear it from another officer."

  "With the greatest respect," said Grefno, "I think it better if you stay with us." He closed his eyes, and slid a small wooden stick into his wrist-port and withdrew it again. "There. That should tell the good General everything he needs to know. Make sure it goes to him in person. If Niaal has set himself up as some kind of super-Mage, then he'll be blocking every transmission as it is. It must be delivered in person."

  "Fine, but who do we send?" said Krillan.

  "Rendolph, there's no easy way around this." said Leah. "Thing is, and I say this as a friend, you're going to be pretty hopeless for what's coming next. You can't shoot, you're a bit of a coward, and are probably the least intelligent person currently left alive in the village." She smiled at him. "Which is why I'm volunteering you."

  "No."

  "Yes."

  "I'm not leaving you."

  "Yes you are. You want to save Gim, to save all of us? Well that's what I'm telling you to do."

  Leah handed Rendolph the datastick from Grefno.

  "This message? You need to take care of it," said Grefno. "The first part is a letter of authorisation. The second is personal to General Vale, from me. Without this, Vale will launch us into a war that will threaten to spill out and destroy all of us. Rendolph, if you fail to get this message to Vale then Niaal will have won. Everything we've achieved since the Great War will have been for nothing."

  Rendolph held the stick in his hand tightly, his knuckles white. "How do I get it to him?"

  "There's one machine left that everyone has forgotten about," said Krillan, smiling at Leah. "I think it's time I paid a visit to our friends the firemen. They can take him as far as the next town where he can pick up a fast military transport."

  Leah beamed. "Oh! Lovely." She smiled at Krillan as he ran in the direction of the fire station, calling after him. "Did you ever consider a career in the fire service, Captain? I think the uniform would suit you."

  One of Krillan's men came running from the opposite direction. He stood to attention before Grefno.