by Paul Kater
They summoned their brooms, holding up their hands. The two brooms shot up from the tent where they had been waiting. Once they reached the walls, their speed dropped to a mere crawl as the magic around the labyrinth was more forceful and thick during the challenge.
The floor under their feet started shaking.
"Crappedy crap, William, they're not coming through. We have to do something." Hilda pointed her wand at the floor and blasted magic into it, diverting the tremors so they were not hindered by them. "Come, the mess is coming from there."
William followed Hilda as she ran towards the place where the artificial earthquake seemed to originate from. The closer they came, the more the floor behaved as a rollercoaster. It made it almost impossible for them to walk on; it looked as if someone was shaking the ground like a carpet.
William grabbed Hilda's arm and pulled her into a side corridor where the ground was unaffected by the violent shaking, even when the walls were tilting dangerously because of the strange movement of the surface. "Brooms," he said, and they summoned their brooms once more.
The brooms inched their way through the almost slime-like magical layers.
"Stop!", Hilda exclaimed. The floor they were on had started to shake also, so it was time to evacuate that temporary shelter as well. Jumping from one spot to the other, they left the corridor. The large area they reached was not moving. Neither were they. Lamador had cast a spell to solidify the air there, and the magical couple was caught inside it.
"Can you hear me?", William asked.
"I can. I wish I could move though," Hilda replied.
"Yes. This is bad stuff." William pained his brains, trying to remember anything from the physics books he had read about air. "The only way I know to make air this compact is to put it under a lot of pressure. That means he must be using a lot of power to keep this thing in place. Which in turn means he is quite occupied with this. I guess there are two things we can try."
"William. What are you talking about?"
"Physics and action versus reaction."
"I would suggest that you think of a fast reaction, because on the far end of this thing I see fire." Hilda struggled to get her wand in position. It wore her out but she managed it somehow. With a tremendous show of force the witch created water that was forming a shield between William and herself, and the blue and red flames that slowly were approaching as they slowly ate their way through the heavily compressed air.
"Hilda, you're brilliant!"
"I know, but you have lousy timing finding that out now! Do something!"
"Get that waterscreen as thick as you can."
"Oh, great, thank you for the vote of confidence. Do you have any idea how hard this is in this situation?"
William started to help her generate the waterscreen, which made quite a difference. When the screen was half a yard thick, he said: "Now let's fight fire with fire."
"What?"
"I'm starting a fire on the other side of the waterscreen and will push that away from us. If you can spare a push or a spark, please help me," said William as he ignited the air beyond the waterscreen.
"Be careful, William, please, don't boil my screen unless you want to cook us!"
William fought the pressure of the air as the witch joined forces with him. The fire caught and they convinced it to head towards the fire that was coming their way. The waterscreen started shimmering as the layer that was closest to their fire began to heat up.
"Crappedy crap, William, I love you but I am not sure why at this moment!" Hilda sensed, through the bond, that he was struggling.
William pushed and fed the fire, as he also tried to generate a layer of ice on the waterscreen.
"You do the fire, I'll freeze! Great plan!", Hilda tried to scream as she pumped magic into the waterscreen to make it as cold as possible. It came out a loud mutter but that was fine.
Their actions worked. The counter-fire approached Lamador's flames that suddenly stopped burning as there was nothing more to burn for it.
With a simple push, Hilda made the iced-over waterscreen fall away. It hit the ground and shattered in one thousand and seventy-three pieces.
The thin layer of compressed air was not a big problem now as that was already dissolving because of the magic they had been slamming through it, so less than a minute later they stepped out of the also dissolving block of air.
"Hey, Lamador!", Hilda yelled out. "Nice try!"
A few hundred yards away sat a sorcerer, panting. He felt betrayed. The man William was not a mere ordinary. This air-trick should have done them in. Instead it had worn him out more than he had expected as there had been far more resistance than he had assumed. And they had gotten out of it alive.
"Too bad that these walls block every magical person from locating other magic," Hilda said. They were summoning their brooms again, and again there was not much movement in these objects as they tried to get over the wall.
"It should not be too easy, really," a voice said. Both Hilda and William looked around to where it came from.
"Gurthreyn??"
"At your humble service. I wonder if you would like some tea or another refreshment."
"That's very kind of you, but we're in the middle of a challenge to the death," Hilda said.
"Oh yes, I know. You told me a few weeks ago. I am sure we can create enough of a diversion to make sure your adversary will not miss you." The magician smiled and the three of them were in the large open area again that they had been in before. There were three chairs, a few tables laid out with all kinds of food and drink. "Do take something and relax for a moment."
Flabbergasted, the magical couple walked around the table. Hilda took some fresh fruit, William settled for tea and a small cake. Then they all sat down.
"You know, somehow this feels like cheating," said Hilda as she was munching on her grapes. "We should be fighting, not sitting here."
Gurthreyn smiled. "I am sure you feel like that, Grimhilda, but in fact you are now doing what the adversary did constantly. He is not only using his own powers against you. He uses the magic of at least six others also, and he is draining them. A few of them are so far gone that they will not survive. And there is no way to reverse this or save them after all."
In the labyrinth, Lamador was doing heavy duty battle with two copper-coloured dragons that blocked both ways from the corridor he was in. Nothing he did made any difference, his magic just seemed to bounce off the two dragons that sat there, looking at him, taunting him with their silence.
"Six others?" Hilda sat up and stared at the magician with the bald head and the black robes.
He nodded. "I do not know them, but there are four witches involved and two minor wizards."
"So we basically are fighting seven people?", William asked.
"Not exactly, as they are not physically present in the labyrinth, but you could say you are fighting at least four others."
Hilda stared at the famous magician. "And he was going only against me... He'd have finished me."
68. Challenge (3)
The copper-coloured dragons disappeared. Lamador was almost shocked to find them gone. There had been no trace of magic when they appeared nor when they left. "Damn you, Grimhilda, you will pay for this!", he shouted. It angered him that there was no reply. He threw fierce lightning bolts around that bounced off the walls and through the corridors.
"So you see," said Gurthreyn, "you are not cheating in the challenge. You are now just paying back. In a slightly more comfortable way than he does."
"But I think we should go back and deal with him," said Hilda. "He is now killing people that are innocent. We can save them, perhaps."
"If that were possible, dear witch, I would have chosen a different approach. Unfortunately, there is no hope for most of them." Gurthreyn sauntered back to his chair with a new glass of wine. "I suggest that we let your adversary work down his energy on the walls until he is at a decent level of power to be a fair match. That is
good for the energy in the walls, and more fair to you."
"Sounds like a plan, really." William got up and went to fetch a glass of wine. "You want some wine too, Hilda?"
"Yes, I want. Sheesh, this is quite something," the witch said. She leaned back and made herself comfortable. "Do you know what Lamador is doing now?", she asked the bald magician.
"Yes, the walls tell me. He was doing interesting things with lightning. Very creative, I must say, they would fry anyone in their path. He is now walking around. He seems angry."
"Hah, that does not surprise me," said Hilda, "he's out for blood and so far the only thing he got was the surprise that William is not as ordinary as he feels."
"I saw that little event with the spider. I appreciate things like that. His compressing air act was quite good, though." Gurthreyn emptied half his glass. William wondered about the liver of that man.
Lamador had by then found himself caught in a small space. A wall had snuck up behind him, closing off the short corridor he had inadvertently walked into. He uttered very nasty words, knowing that he would have to wait for any of the walls to move again so he could get away. And that would give the witch and her treacherous wizard an advantage. He had decided that he hated William. The man had pretended to be an ordinary. The spider should have gotten to them and they had finished that as if it weren't there. And he still pained his brain about how they had gotten out of the solidified air blob.
"You should really try some of the fish," Gurthreyn said, pointing at the centre table where a large selection of seafood was waiting to be eaten.
Hilda looked at William. "This is the weirdest challenge I've ever been in." Then she got up and picked up a plate with shrimp and sauteed mushrooms. "Ohh... this is really delicious." She slowly licked her fingers.
Lamador sat in a corner of his thick-walled prison, staring at the grey floor in front of his feet.
William nibbled several kinds of cheese from a small tray and sipped some more red wine.
The judges that were racing over the labyrinth were puzzled. They could only find Lamador in his distressing situation, the other two had disappeared.
Gurthreyn looked up. "Your referees are becoming impatient. Perhaps now is the time that you re-enter the labyrinth and bring the challenge to an end."
Hilda looked at the plate with the shrimps. She had not finished yet. She shrugged and put it on the table, where William also put his remaining cheese.
"Good luck," said Gurthreyn and they were in the labyrinth again.
A wall moved. Lamador was free again. He jumped to his feet, his wand at the ready and his mind raging to get the two traitors and finish them for good.
Hilda and William gave the getting of the brooms a last try. It was the last pull the brooms needed.
"Looks like we are in business," Hilda grinned as they mounted their brooms.
One of the judges was flying overhead and noticed that. It was Nultos, the black witch. She grinned and decided to forget seeing it. She hated Lamador's guts and anyone who was going against him got the edge from her.
Hilda and William started flying through the corridors. The magic that was everywhere was holding them back, like the first time, but that was in this case an advantage. It prevented them from going too fast and hitting surprises.
"Grimhilda!"
They heard Lamador's screaming. The man sounded not happy. Hilda took her broom up to about ten yards. William followed her. They turned a corner.
Lamador was walking through the corridor, very angry that there was no sign of the two he wanted to crush. He had spent far too much power on nothing and he knew it. The witches and wizards he had drained energy from were close to dead and now mostly useless. He had to get to them fast and mercilessly.
Hilda and William saw the great Lamador walk under them, oblivious of them hanging over his head. They saw how his wand was sparkling as he was angrily throwing magic around. Hilda thought of Gerdundula. Of Calandra. And of Fidelma, the flowerwitch from her village.
William sensed her anger and how she was building up magic. He merged his power with hers and suddenly there was a big block of metal around Lamador. Large sharp pins stuck out of the walls and touched his clothes, making it impossible for him to move unless he seriously wanted to hurt himself. He could not raise his wand either.
Hilda maneuvered her broom to a place where he could see her. His eyes shot fire as he saw her flying, but she could easily ward that off.
"You have been playing unfairly, Lamador," the witch said, her wand pointed at the great sorcerer who was not so great at that moment. "You have taken away friends and drawn their magic from them. You have also taken others, and done the same thing. You are a disgrace to the magical community."
"I am the most powerful sorcerer of all times!", Lamador hissed as he tried to make his metal shell go away. His attempts were in vain, as Hilda and William kept a constant flow of magic going into it. And at this moment, with Lamador so relatively weak, they could easily keep that going.
"You, witch, will regret this. Once I have taken this metal thing away, you will suffer for this insult!" Lamador made a movement to add force to his words. A pin scratched through his clothes and a small red spot welled up from his skin. The great sorcerer stared at the wound. He was so shocked about this that it took him more than a minute to realise that he could close the wound.
William, hovering behind the trapped magical man, noticed that it took Lamador quite some effort to heal himself. Calmly he flew his broom forward and positioned himself next to Hilda. Without a word he stared down at the sorcerer.
Lamador, once he had healed himself, looked up at his captors. Seeing William made him even more angry. "You too, you will regret all your messing with my person. Just let me get free."
"You are more than welcome to get yourself free, Lamador," said Hilda. "We'll just sit here and watch you do it, if that's all the same to you. Maybe we can learn something from you."
William grinned, appreciating the words and how they were spoken.
Lamador stared up at them, standing still. He closed his eyes, diving deep inside his magical core. His ability to draw magical energy from others also allowed him to draw magic from the environment.
"I don't know what he's doing, Hilda, but he is trying something," William whispered.
The witch nodded, she had noticed it also. She held her wand pointing at Lamador.
Lamador reached the spot in his magic where he wanted to be. With a tremendous act of force he made his magic stream in it. And it worked.
A few yards in front of Hilda something materialised. It did not go fast, but it was obviously a human shape. As the shape took form and became more clear, Hilda reached out for William's arm. "William," she whispered, her anger and power fading away. "That's Gerdundula..."
The body of the witch, who was already dead, hung in front of them, as in a mock salute. Then Lamador released the magic he needed to keep the body in the air. The remains of Gerdundula fell to the ground where they hit with a sickening thud.
"Hilda." William slapped her arm, quite hard, as he lashed out towards Lamador who was digging into his magical core again. William hit Hilda again, to make her snap out of her state of terror over what had just happened.
William made a bucket of fish intestines appear over the great sorcerer and poured that downwards. It was enough to keep the man from pulling the next trick he was planning, at least for a while.
As Lamador was spluttering and gasping for breath, his flow of magic interrupted, Hilda blinked her eyes. "You are going to regret ever laying a hand on her, Lamador," she said as she lowered her broom, her wand raised. "And you will not lie anymore either."
"I have never lied!", Lamador cried out as he tried to make the metal pins bend away from him. William's power countered his attempts.
"Oh yes. You claimed to be the greatest. You are not. We met the greatest, and he would use you as a mop."
Hilda looked at the brok
en body of her friend. "Gerdundula... this one's for you." She drew power from wherever she could muster it. A few moments later, the metal pins started moving, stabbing through Lamador's body. The great sorcerer fought back at them, but in his weakened state he could not fight Hilda's and William's combined power. The pins took long before they all had pierced the sorcerer. He was dead before the tips of the metal reached the opposite walls.
"Holy Bejeebus." William looked at the mess that hung in the metal block. "I am never going to pick a fight with you, Hilda."
The wicked witch looked up at her wizard. "You can never make me that angry, William."
Bregan was hanging over the spot where the decision had been made. He signalled Nultos to join him and together they descended to where Hilda and William were.
Bregan looked at what they had wrought. "This is... quite disgusting," he said.
Hilda looked at the man and pointed at the body of Gerdundula. "And how do you call that? I'm afraid there are more witches and wizards like that. He did that."
Nultos looked at the two people who had been in the challenge. "Bregan, I think we can say that the challenge is over."
Bregan nodded.
"I'll go and flash the blue light," Nultos said, and without waiting for anything, she raised her broom. Soon after that a bright blue flash spread out over the labyrinth.
69. Scared of heights
Hilda and William slowly flew upwards. Bregan stayed in the corridor with the metal block, to "properly discard of it".
The magical couple pushed through the magical field over the labyrinth and then slowly flew over the large area, to their tent. They felt tired, drained and sick.
"William?"
"Yes, Hilda?"
"Did I do the right thing? I was so angry. He had hurt me and my friends so much."
"It wasn't just you, Hilda. I was there with you. I could have stopped you. He tried to drown us, he sent that spider after us and tried to burn us alive. He kidnapped your friends and did a score of other things to hurt you. And me. He had it coming. If not through you and me, then through someone else. You could have taken longer to kill him. I think it is okay the way it went."