The Four Nations Tournament

by James E. Wisher

  “Kai,” Conryu said.

  His ninja bodyguard appeared and took a knee. “Chosen?”

  Everyone was staring at Kai, but he didn’t have time to waste answering their unspoken questions. “See if you can find out what happened.”

  “Yes, Chosen.” Kai vanished and half a second later reappeared. “I can’t leave the stadium.”

  “The protective barrier also seals the area dimensionally,” the Kingdom coach said. “It wouldn’t do much good to stop a spirit from leaving physically if it could just leave magically.”

  “Dammit! So how do we escape?” Conryu asked.

  “We don’t. We’re all stuck here until someone on the outside deactivates the ward.”

  A second explosion rocked the building. They needed information, and the sooner the better.

  “Can’t we at least look outside?” Conryu asked.

  “No, the playing field is completely sealed off from the city. The Ministry made the changes to accommodate the tournament so no magic would escape and potentially harm people passing by.”

  A third explosion rattled the roof and cracks ran through the cement. It sounded like World War Three outside, and he was stuck in here. Conryu hated it, but for the moment he was stuck.

  He only hoped that when someone finally showed up, they didn’t have to dig them out from under a pile of rubble.

  9

  Hotel Raid

  Maria finished buttoning her blouse and tied her hair in a ponytail. Not going to the stadium with Conryu this morning sucked, but it was awfully early and she hadn’t slept well last night. When she’d mentioned skipping the morning match to Jonny and Kelsie the night before, they suggested surprising him for the afternoon matches. That struck her as an excellent idea so they agreed to meet in her room to watch the morning matches on tv before heading over.

  She’d barely stepped out of the bathroom when someone knocked on the door. She opened it and found Jonny and Kelsie waiting.

  “Good timing, I just finished getting ready.”

  “What time does the first match start?” Kelsie asked.

  “Eight thirty, but they’re on a ten-minute delay so it could very well be over before it even begins.” Maria closed the door behind them.

  “How do you like their chances?” Jonny asked.

  “In a winner-take-all melee, I think they have a good chance,” Maria said.

  “Cool, I put fifty bucks on Conryu this morning. Got two-to-one odds. The bookie downstairs didn’t think much of the Alliance team.”

  Kelsie smiled and shook her head. “He’s never seen Conryu in action. If I had any money, I’d have bet it all on our team.”

  Jonny grinned. “Yeah, I sort of feel bad for the guy. Not bad enough to refuse his money, but kinda bad.”

  Maria switched on the tv and put it on the local network. Angus sat between two sportscasters, a man and a woman, behind a long table. The professor looked surprisingly at home. Maybe he’d found his calling.

  “The countdown is about to start,” the man said. “Let’s go to the live feed.”

  Looked like they planned to pretend that the broadcast was live. Probably gave a sense of immediacy to the audience, especially if they didn’t realize it was on a delay.

  The screen turned black for half a second and then shifted to show the field. The Alliance team stood facing the Kingdom team. From what she could tell, everyone seemed pretty relaxed.

  The countdown began, and the contestants furiously cast defensive spells. Maria recognized most of them, but watching on tv she couldn’t get any sense of the power behind the castings.

  The countdown hit zero and spells started roaring back and forth. The two teams exchanged blasts and then the Kingdom team raised a wall of stone.

  In short order the Alliance team was down to Crystal and Conryu. Kelsie had gnawed her fingernail down to a nub. Despite her professed confidence, she still worried about him. Maria did too as far as that went.

  The Kingdom team came out from behind their defensive structure and advanced. Kelsie gasped when Conryu cast Reaper’s Cloak.

  He stepped out from behind the wall of stone.

  Multiple spells struck him. They all fizzled against his defensive casting. He countered with a black wind that gave Maria chills just seeing it.

  The entire Kingdom team fell and Jonny thrust a fist into the air. “Yes, that’s a hundred bucks for me. Way to go, bro.”

  The screen went black again then filled with snow. Maria raised her hand to slap the side of it when the snow cleared. Instead of the sportscasters, the news anchor from the night before appeared. He had a wan, pasty appearance, like he either hadn’t slept well or didn’t have time to get his makeup done.

  Behind him, a scene of burning cars played out. Men in masks sporting machine guns walked through the street shooting at anyone they saw.

  For a moment she thought it was from the former Dragon Empire. It seemed every week new fighting broke out over there. The image shifted and Maria recognized the name of a burning department store. She’d walked by it yesterday when she went shopping with her mother.

  “Breaking news, it appears terrorists are attacking the city.” The anchor licked his sweaty lip and swallowed hard. “The authorities request that everyone remain inside and stay calm. Police and military units are responding and will have things under control soon. When we have new information, we will bring it to you so please stay tuned to this station.”

  A muffled explosion sounded.

  That wasn’t on tv.

  Maria leapt off the edge of the bed and ran to the window. Smoke was billowing from the ground floor. It looked like a large black van had rammed the doors and caught on fire.

  A string of rapid cracks had Kelsie and Jonny on their feet.

  “That’s machine-gun fire,” Jonny said.

  Maria took a step toward the door, but he grabbed her arm. “Are you nuts? Don’t go out there.”

  “There might be people in trouble.” She tried to pull away, but he held tight.

  “There might be people looking to kill us too,” he said.

  He made an excellent point. Part of her insisted they needed to go help, but another part balked.

  The chatter of gunfire grew louder and another smaller explosion went off. “That sounded like a hand grenade,” Jonny said. “Whoever these guys are, they aren’t screwing around.”

  Kelsie looked at them with wide eyes. “What are we going to do?”

  That was a good question. Maria wished she had a good answer. Unfortunately, despite everything that had happened over the last two years, her combat experience remained limited. Conryu generally handled this sort of thing. She looked to Jonny. He was trained for combat, maybe he knew what they should do.

  “Any thoughts?” she asked.

  “Yeah, we hunker down and hope they don’t kick in the door.”

  “That’s your brilliant suggestion?” Maria couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “There might be people that need healing.”

  “You can’t help anyone if you get shot,” Jonny said. “Protocol in these situations is you let the cops deal with the threat then the medics go in to help the wounded. Dead healers can’t help anyone.”

  She ground her teeth in frustration, but he had a point. Most of her study so far had focused on healing with a few minor defensive spells thrown in for good measure. She’d only learned two reasonably effective attack spells and wasn’t confident with either of them.

  Maria glanced at Kelsie. She didn’t know what the girl had learned this year, but she didn’t get the impression it would be of much use. At least not if Kelsie’s reaction to the attack was any indication.

  More shouts and gunfire rang out.

  Something heavy slammed into their door and the frame splintered. Hiding in their room wasn’t an option anymore.

  Maria cast, “Sparks fly and bind, Lightning Grasp!”

  Her hand crackled with energy and she took a position beside t
he door. Jonny stood on the opposite side and Kelsie ducked behind one of the chairs.

  A second blow smashed the door off its hinges. A man lunged inside, a rifle to his shoulder.

  Maria put a hand on his back and released her spell. Lightning crackled into him and he collapsed. A second man followed.

  The soldier was so distracted by what happened to his friend that he didn’t notice when Jonny came up behind him, wrapped an arm around his neck, and squeezed.

  The man flailed and fought. His gun fired several times into the ceiling. Finally, he collapsed and Jonny let him slide to the floor.

  He picked up the rifle, checked how many bullets were left in the clip, and slammed it into place.

  “Well,” Jonny said as he bent down to collect the ammo belt on the man he choked out. “We can’t hide if there’s no door. Shall we step out and see what kind of trouble we can get into?”

  Maria bent down and applied Lightning Grasp to the unconscious man. The spell lasted an hour—win or lose, the fight should be finished before the effect ran out.

  “That’s what I wanted to do in the first place,” she said.

  Kelsie peeked out from behind the chair. “I’m coming.”

  “Do you know any offensive spells?” Maria asked.

  “Just a couple weak ones.” She bit her lip. “I wish Conryu was here.”

  “So do I,” Maria said. “But he’s not, and we can’t always depend on him to be. We just have to do our best and hope we can make a difference.”

  Kelsie straightened and nodded. She looked determined if nothing else.

  Jonny rushed to the smashed-in door frame and peeked out. “The hall’s clear. Let’s move.”

  “Wait.” Maria put a hand on his back and murmured Lightning Shield. “It’s not much, but it’s the strongest defensive spell I know.”

  “I’ll take whatever I can get, thanks.”

  Jonny stepped out into the hall and raised his rifle, Maria followed, and Kelsie brought up the rear. The next door down the hall had been kicked in.

  Johnny peeked inside and immediately slammed the door. “You don’t want to look in there.”

  He hurried down the hall, but Maria paused just outside the door. She knew what she’d find inside, but if someone was wounded and playing dead... Better to be certain.

  Inside the room, three bodies lay on the floor riddled with bullets. Blood covered everything. Her breath caught in her throat. Her stomach churned. It was only through sheer force of will she kept from throwing up.

  She could do nothing for them. No one could.

  Turning away from the horrible sight she rejoined the others outside. Jonny angled across the hall to the elevator control panel and pressed the button.

  “It’s dead, probably an emergency response.”

  “So what are we going to do?” Kelsie asked.

  “Take the stairs, I guess,” Jonny said.

  “The stairwell is at the end of the hall on your right,” Maria said.

  He brought his rifle up once more to the ready position and led the way. They passed more smashed-in doors, but Maria didn’t feel the need to check inside.

  When they reached the end of the hall, he looked at them and held up a hand. Maria might not have had any military training, but she recognized the sign for “wait a minute.”

  Jonny ducked around the corner and immediately retreated ahead of a spray of bullets. “Back! Back!”

  The three of them ran up the hall towards their room. Maria looked over her shoulder and saw six men round the corner. Five of them had machine guns and one, she was fairly sure, carried a rocket launcher.

  Kelsie paused and chanted. Gray mist filled the hall, obscuring their view.

  They hugged the wall as bullets zipped down the passage.

  Only a few steps.

  Maria panted as she ran.

  They slipped into her room. There was no door to lock and she had no way to seal the entrance.

  Jonny stood in the doorway and fired down the hall. His weapon nearly deafened her.

  An explosion outside the door sent them all flying.

  Maria struggled to her knees in time to see the soldiers rushing into the room, their rifles raised.

  Heather paced back and forth in front of the window in her room. She’d begged off going to the morning matches, claiming to not be feeling well. It was true enough, especially after her last conversation with Malice. The evil old woman had insisted that Heather kill Conryu’s current girlfriend so that he might turn to one of her choosing in his time of grief. She didn’t know whether to be terrified or disgusted at the emotionless tone Malice used to give the order, maybe a little of both.

  While Heather hated losing to anyone, killing the competition pushed the envelope beyond where even she was willing to go. Willing or not, Malice made it clear that if she didn’t follow orders she’d lose everything.

  Could she kill someone? It wouldn’t be that difficult, the girl was just a sophomore. She hadn’t reached her full magical potential and wouldn’t for another year. Any number of spells would do the job quickly and efficiently. The problem was, Heather had never killed anyone. She didn’t know if she had the stomach for it. That sort of squeamishness might surprise some of her detractors who thought she had a heart of ice.

  She paused in her pacing and glanced at herself in the mirror. Dark smudges ringed her bloodshot eyes. She hadn’t gotten more than a few hours’ sleep last night. Damn Malice and her precious mission.

  It had seemed like an easy job. Make some quick bucks, no big deal. She’d slept with plenty of men to advance her career. It wasn’t a problem and the way she spent money, Heather always needed more. It wasn’t easy maintaining a supermodel’s lifestyle even on a supermodel’s income. Now look at her.

  An explosion rocked the building, startling her out of her thoughts. What the hell was that? She threw open the curtains and looked out.

  Nothing on this side of the building. She held her breath and listened. A string of rapid cracks filled the air. Was that gunfire?

  She flipped on the tv and switched it to the news. The reporter was blathering about terrorists in the streets. She turned it off again seconds later. This may be the opportunity she needed. She might not have to kill anyone after all.

  Heather pulled on her aqua robe and stepped out into the hall. Nothing happening on this floor.

  She made the short walk to the elevator and pressed the call button.

  Nothing.

  The stairs then.

  It was weird, walking down the empty hall, her steps echoing around her. Everyone left for the stadium an hour ago, so she had the whole floor to herself. Oh well, a few idiots with guns was nothing a skilled wizard couldn’t handle.

  As she got closer to the stairwell door, she cast a simple defensive spell that would turn aside any bullets that came her way. She pulled open the door and found herself face-to-face with a pair of men wearing black uniforms and carrying machine guns. They stared at her and she stared right back at them. For a moment no one did anything.

  Heather came to her senses first and cast a quick offensive spell. A spray of water drenched the two men and froze them solid. They collapsed on the landing and she stepped over them. The ice prison would hold them for several hours. It wouldn’t cause any major damage, though they’d both probably end up with terrible frostbite.

  She ran down the steps to the next floor two at a time. When she reached the landing, she peeked out the door. Conryu’s friends were all running her way down a fog-filled hall. Bullets whizzed through the mist. Heather flinched when one buried itself in the wall a little to her left. She closed the door and resumed her observations through the window.

  The students lunged into an open doorway. Soldiers emerged from the fog moments later. One of them carried a shoulder rocket launcher. He aimed it at the empty doorway and squeezed the trigger.

  A huge fireball burst to life. It looked like she would get her wish.

 
; Maria coughed and choked on smoke. The room was a blur. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her sight. Beside her Jonny groaned and rolled over on his side.

  Shouts and movement drew her gaze. Dark blobs ran in through the shattered door. She blinked again, but still couldn’t make out any details.

  A glint of light caught her attention and drew her gaze to the barrel of a gun. It was pointed at her head. Suddenly everything came into focus.

  She was about to die, helpless and kneeling on the floor. She hadn’t imagined it ending like this. Not that she’d imagined it ending any other way.

  A blinding flash forced her to close her eyes. For a moment she feared the soldier had fired, but when no burning pain struck her, she realized something else had happened.

  That’s when the screams started.

  Maria opened her eyes a fraction, just enough to see the soldiers writhing in the sea of flames. She closed her eyes tight again. Men burning to death wasn’t something she had any desire to watch. Not even when the men wanted her dead. It also wasn’t something she had any desire to experience. Hopefully, whoever had set them on fire was on her side.

  A second later, everything fell silent. She risked opening her eyes again. Of the men in black no sign remained save for the scorch marks on the ceiling. A small figure with blond hair sticking out every which way stood in the open doorway. She wore red pajamas. How did someone’s daughter end up on her floor?

  This was no place for a kid. She scrambled to her feet and took a step toward her.

  “What’s going on out here?” When she spoke Maria recognized Conryu’s friend Sonja. “I’m trying to rest.”

  “I’m sorry we bothered you,” Maria said. “But thank you for saving our lives.”

  Sonja peered around as if trying to figure out what was going on. “I thought someone had the tv turned up really loud, then I opened my door and saw all these soldiers everywhere.”

  “It looks like the city’s been invaded.” Maria glanced up and down the hall, but found no more men in black.

  “Invaded? Invaded by who?” Sonja asked.