“The priest not interested in fighting. The one with the fancy trim on his robe, who’s just standing around watching. That’s the keystone.” I grabbed Shad’s arm to keep him from flying when Night did another one of his bucking attacks. “If I put you on the ground and vault you into his direction, can you manage?” I asked rapidly.
Shad gave me a sharp nod. “Do it!”
He dropped from his perch, knees bent slightly as he landed. As soon as he touched earth, I sent a sharp pulse up through the ground, vaulting him in the sky a good five feet. He didn’t flail as I half expected, but instead tucked into his chest a little and flipped, coming down toward the priest with targeted precision.
I lost all sight of him as priests swarmed me.
It was completely against my training to release all of my shields. Still, they were doing more harm than good at this point. Every time that a priest hit them, it sent a wave of power at me, which bloody well hurt. I couldn’t afford to be injured or distracted, not when there was that many of them. I trusted in my weapons training and my instincts instead, fighting with the bon’a’lon alone.
Night had not been idle while I was fighting. In fact, he had taken out two more. It became a blur of staffs, and faces, and those strange silver robes. I could feel the blood pounding in my ears, the sweat trickling over my skin and down my back, the ache in my arms from the force and speed I demanded from them. None of my training had prepared me for this.
But I wasn’t going to lose to them. Not ever.
Night let out another scream, sounding like a war cry, and his back legs lashed out behind him. Over the sound of wood cracking, and the moans of pain from the priests, I heard Shad yell.
A staff came whistling at me again, and I had to catch it or be hit in the face. I bent a little over Night’s back, sending the bon’a’lon up and around, unarming him and hitting him squarely on the side of the face. He stumbled to the ground, crying out in pain.
Night broke the staff before I could reach it, snorting in satisfaction. I think he enjoys breaking things. Silly horse.
Shaking my head, I looked up, guarding for the next attack. Three more priests were heading for me, the promise of grim death in their faces. I snarled in response. They weren’t going to take me down.
From the opposite end of the barrier, I heard an anguished cry. Startled, I jerked around, searching for the source. Shad? Surely not! Shad was a much better fighter than me. If I could defend myself, then he shouldn’t have any problem.
Unless a priest had somehow used blood magic to get around his guard….
I didn’t like that kernel of doubt one iota. “Shad?” I yelled in panic.
The three priests in front of me abruptly jerked to a stop, the most astonished surprise scrawled on their faces. And then they stumbled forward, like they were on some sort of taut rope that had been suddenly cut.
“Got him!” Shad’s voice rang out jubilantly.
I had a brief moment to indulge in a wave of relief. In the next instant, a powerful spell whipped through the air, striking every shield within sight and shattering them completely. I blinked, somewhat surprised at the ferocity of the attack. I recognized Chatta’s magic easily, after so much time sparring and working with her. For her to do a spell like this, someone must have given her enough time to do an elaborate incantation.
With their personal shields broken, their main source of power gone, and most of their weapons shattered at their feet, the priests around me looked terrified. They backed away slowly, the ones closer to the entrance actually turning to run. Some ran forward, toward the still fighting soldiers.
“Stop them!” Xiaolang yelled in desperation. “They’re stealing power from the soldiers!”
I could feel my blood run cold as I realized what he meant. The priests, desperate for power, were trying to drain the soldier’s of their life force to augment them. But a normal man doesn’t have the power that a magician does—a drain like that would kill him. I whirled around, sensing the priests that were working active magic, and grabbed them ruthlessly with tentacles of stone. Without no finesse, I dragged them away from their intended victims and roughly gathered them into one mass in front of me.
Three more joined from the opposite side, bound by magical tethers that I recognized as Chatta’s handiwork. As she rounded up that side, I reached for the ones trying to escape, scooping them all up in a wave of the earth and pitching them into the group as well. I didn’t dare let anyone escape.
As soon as we had all of the soldiers and priests in one area—all of the living ones, anyway—I dropped a barrier around them. They’re able to penetrate my barriers when they have powerful blood shields around them, but they can’t do it now.
Shad sauntered toward me, glancing at the injured enemy as he skirted the outside of my latest barrier, rubbing at his chin idly. “Are they secure in there?”
“Perfectly,” I assured him. “Was the key priest hard to get to?”
Shad gave me a gamine grin. “He was ridiculously easy to defeat.”
I laughed, clapping his shoulder. “Shad, you’re so modest!”
“Hey, you brought me along for my fighting abilities, remember?” He mock pouted at me. “It’s not all just looks and charm.”
I rolled my eyes. “What charm?”
“Oh, now that was low.”
“Save the banter for later,” Night advised. “Someone is coming out of the pool.”
Huh? My head snapped around. Night was right, there was someone coming cautiously out of the building. He had a crystal in one hand, which I assumed he knew a little of how to use. I found it interesting that he wasn’t the typical Chahiran—his hair was a thick chestnut in color, and his skin was a more swarthy tan.
The team gathered around me as he approached. I took a second to do a quick inventory. It looked like Xiaolang had a nasty gash along one arm, which someone had hastily bandaged, and there were some obvious bruises forming on everyone but for the most part we were alright. I let out a breath of relief. Thank the Guardians we hadn’t lost anyone in this frantic battle.
I turned my eyes back on the man as he stopped directly in front of me, eyes wary but not condemning. We regarded each other without a word, the silence taut and almost thrumming between us.
“If you defeated the Star Order Priests,” he finally stated, “then you must be our allies. Who are you?”
“Did you read the letter?” I asked cautiously.
A rueful smile flitted over his face, almost too fast to see. “A blind man couldn’t miss that letter. We know where you come from, and what purpose you are here for. But who are you?”
A reasonable question. “I am Rhebengarthen, an Earth Mage.”
His breath hissed in between his teeth. Recognition was clear in his eyes. “You’re of the Rhebens!”
Um…hmm. Why does he recognize my family name? “Yes, I am.”
He relaxed noticeably, even smiling. “We found records in the building that listed the known Mages before the war. There was three of the Rheben line.” Thoughtfully he added, “All of them were Earth Mages, actually.”
“It’s hereditary,” I admitted. “With me are Captain Riicshaden of Jarrell—” he definitely recognized that name, and his eyes flew to Shad, looking a little astonished “—and my Nreesce, Night.”
If Shad surprised him, Night flabbergasted him. “So that’s what a Nreesce looks like…” He shook his head. “Forgive me, Master Night, we heard only rumors of what a Nreesce was. We did not recognize you.”
“Yes, I know.” Night winked at him. “You make really good peanut butter up here.”
A startled laugh burst from his mouth. “So it was you! Jillian was telling me that she almost had a stallion bribed away.”
“I assume that Jillian is the Life Mage?” I inquired politely.
“Yes. Um, you can tell?” That unnerved him a little.
“Yes,” I confirmed dryly. “The same way that I can tell you’re a Wizard.�
� Oh he was definitely surprised by that. “Do I glow brown and green to you?”
His eyes narrowed. “Actually…yes.”
“You’re seeing my magic,” I explained patiently. “Most magicians see magic. I’m one of the few exceptions. I can only feel it.”
“Oh.” That took a moment for him to fully absorb. Then he blinked back into the present. “And who are your companions?”
I turned and introduced everyone. He responded politely to every person. “I am sorry, I’m being very rude. I am Nihuishen. Just call me Huish, everyone does.”
“Thank you for the gift of your name.”
“Will you come in?” Huish invited, a hand extending toward the building behind him. “I think, all things considered, you have the right to.”
I hit the spell on the bon’a’lon, putting it up on my belt. “We would be very pleased to come up, Huish.”
Chapter Twenty-Three: Homeward Bound
I’ve never been inside a Watchmen Building, obviously, but it wasn’t at all what I pictured. It wasn’t open and airy, like Don’s pool, but the hallways were narrow and made of dark stone. And there were lots of boxes, bags, and the like strewn in neat piles to one side. The building wasn’t very large, and it was easy to see that a lot of people were crammed in here—their effects were spilling out of the cracks.
The whole team was walking behind me, looking a little sweat-soaked, tired, and grubby. But we were all definitely relieved to be actually invited inside. We had taken a moment to do one more precaution before coming inside. Chatta had cast a heavy sleep spell on all of our captives, just in case the priests decided to try something else to get out of my barrier. We had a good eight hours to think of what to do with them.
“Huish, how did all of these people gather here?” Xiaolang was honestly curious. This puzzle had been driving him crazy for days.
“That’s actually my doing,” he admitted. “When the Star Order Priests first came for me, I ran and managed to hide from them here. They never even looked for me here. I thought it made a really good hiding place, and then I found the scrying pool. It took me a few months to figure out how to use it, and then I started seeing other people that were doing magical things, or were being pursued by the Star Order…and I just couldn’t ignore them.”
The courage and sheer gumption of this man astounded me. It wasn’t enough that he was hunted by the Star Order—he had pushed it over the edge by actually helping out other magicians! I felt respect for him raise another notch.
“It could not have been easy to find fifteen magicians, and bring them and their families here,” I commented.
Huish gave me a penetrating look, his quick walk slowing a little. “You said that you can feel magic. You can feel all of us?”
“If I’m close enough,” I admitted easily. I found it intriguing that he hadn't figured out that people who glow had magic. Or maybe he had attributed some other reason for it? When this was all over, I was definitely going to sit down and talk to the man. And then I started to slow, too, as I started to detect something I hadn’t felt three days ago. It felt very familiar. Oddly familiar. In fact, if I hadn’t known better, I would have said it was a Jaunten.
But that was impossible. There was only one other person with Jaunten blood in Chahir.
Huish turned and nodded toward someone coming from a different hallway. “Aidan, come meet the Red Hand and two magicians from Hain.”
It took only a moment for me to recognize him. This was a face that I couldn’t ever forget.
His hair was different, of course. Being made into a Jaunten always turns a person’s hair white. I hadn’t expected anything different. He’d seriously aged since the last time I saw him, looking to be in his late thirties instead of late twenties. His grey eyes went wide when they saw me, and for a split second he looked terrified.
“You.” My voice was thick with venomous loathing. Without any conscious direction on my part, my bon’a’lon leaped into my hand and out to full extension. With a hiss and click, the blades snapped out, one of them hovering inches away from my enemy’s throat.
Huish went rigid with surprise. “What are you doing?!”
Dolanaiden flung out a hand to stop him in his tracks. His eyes were sad, almost defeated as he stared at me. “You cursed me that day, Magus. Is that not enough?”
“That was before I knew she was pregnant, you filthy whoreson!” I snarled back.
I would swear that he hadn’t known that until I told him. The surprise on his face was too genuine to fake. “…I didn’t know,” he whispered.
“What difference does that make? You were ready to sacrifice your three year old son!” I spat out, reliving the horror I had felt that day. To my dismay, Dolanaiden bowed his head in shame, and slowly sank to his knees there in front of me, waiting patiently for his destiny to embrace him.
Chatta laid a restraining hand on my arm. “Garth, who is he?”
“Asla’s ex-husband.” The words were clipped.
“Ah. I see.” There were layers of anger under those words. The restraining hand on my arm dropped. I took that as tacit permission from her to continue.
“Perhaps she understands, Garth, but we don’t.” Xiaolang sounded calm, but there was this ring of authority that stopped me in my tracks.
“Not that it’s not entertaining,” Shad assured me with irreverent humor. “I didn’t know you could get angry. You’re normally such a relaxed fellow.”
“It’s not a good thing, believe me,” Aletha muttered to him anxiously. “Buildings tend to be demolished when Garth loses his temper.”
I don’t break everything when I get angry, Aletha….
“Garth?” Xiaolang prompted, not entirely patiently.
I’d never told anyone this story, and I didn’t want to now. After a moment of wrestling with myself, I gritted out through clenched teeth, “When Guin was still negotiating with Vonlorisen, I had the task of rescuing anyone nearby with magical abilities. At one point, I rescued a young mother and her three year old son from being burned at the stake. The person who turned them in was the woman’s husband.” It took another deep breath before I was calm enough to finish the story. “At the time, I thought it a befitting punishment to turn that man into a Jaunten—effectively showing him how stupid his beliefs were, and painting a target on his back at the same time. That was before—” my hands tightened on the bon’a’lon “—I knew that Asla was three months pregnant.”
“And why are you feeling so protective of that woman?” Xiaolang was carefully neutral.
“Asla became a Rheben six months ago.” I figured that was explanation enough. I wasn’t protecting some random stranger, I was protecting my sister. That changed things.
Dolanaiden hissed in a shocked breath. “You married her?!”
How did he jump to that asinine conclusion? “No, we adopted her.”
He didn’t lose his surprise, but he did become rather confused.
“So you’re the Mage that turned him.” Huish scanned me from head to foot, expression pensive.
That phrase had a great deal of understanding in it. My eyes cut to him. “You know the story?”
“Aiden told it to me before we let him in here. I had reservations at first, but he’s worked as hard as anyone to protect the people here. And his knowledge has been invaluable. What you did, Magus, gave us an ally.”
I didn’t want to hear that. I was all wound up, and I wanted someone to pound on. Huish’s words just took away my target.
Shad drifted up to my side, eyebrows cocked at an amused angle. “We had a saying in the service, Garth. ‘A weapon is something that makes your enemy change his mind.’ I think you’ve already changed this man, and for the better. That—” he jerked his chin to indicate the bon’a’lon “—would be overkill.”
I was getting outmaneuvered on this one. “Xiaolang, is he sincere?”
The Q’atalian was fighting a smile, no doubt sensing that I was on the verge of caving
in. “Yes.”
Rats. With a desolate sigh, I shut the bon’a’lon off, putting it back to its normal size. “Oh all right, you win.” I sounded like a petulant five year old, but I couldn’t help that. And I wasn’t completely sold on Donalaiden’s supposed change of heart either. Maybe I was just prejudiced, I don’t know. If I wasn’t ten layers of angry at the man, I might have a better perspective on the situation.
Dolanaiden licked dry lips, eyes darting nervously to the weapon still in my hand. "What… The baby. Was it also…?"
I could guess what he meant to ask. I just scowled back, not willing to give him any more information than he had.
“I wouldn’t push that question,” Xiaolang advised, not entirely without some sympathy. “Aletha’s right on this score—buildings tend to be demolished when Garth loses his temper. Fortunately for us, he’s normally quite calm.”
I sighed, rolling my eyes heavenward, and shut the bon’a’lon away again. “Once, only once did I have a fight where buildings got hit. And that was because I was fighting another Mage! Why is everyone insisting on painting me as some sort of out-of-control natural disaster?”
“Because that’s the only time we’ve seen you that mad?” Aletha offered.
“You can’t assume something from only seeing it once!” I protested. “And I fixed everything afterwards,” I added as an afterthought.
“No, really, he doesn’t destroy buildings normally,” Chatta came to my defense. “The time before that, he just punched Kartal.”
I ran that through my head. “Um, Chatta…that didn’t really help.”
Xiaolang was snickering behind one hand. Everyone else just outright laughed.
~*~
It took the rest of the day to get everyone packed up and ready to go. The team was scattered throughout the building, helping to organize people. Chatta and I focused on the storeroom Huish pointed us to. As she had guessed, the room was full of weapons, crystals, a few wands, and books—lots of books.
Magus (Advent Mage Cycle) Page 36