by Bob Blink
Hyndl grinned as he saw his belief confirmed. The cursed rebels had acquired Brryn magic. He had expected as much when he had seen Rigo’s hair. How many had inherited the characteristics? He would have thought over the thousands of years the Brryn had been inactive the trait would have been less likely. Perhaps this was the only one. Briefly he thought of the missing Nyk and wondered if he had fathered a group of bastards who had somehow gained control. As Rigo’s beam struck, he pushed it away effortlessly. If that was the most he had to contend with this wouldn’t last long.
Rigo was already launching another beam, this one much like the first. Hyndl wondered if he should play with him a bit more to see what else he had learned, but then decided there was little point. He was out here alone, and it would be best to eliminate this wizard. Hyndl could tell Kytra they had enough of the magic to have surprised Tryll. Playing with this one wouldn’t tell him anything about how many there might be, and he didn’t want to risk more showing up to join forces against him. He was strong, but enough of those with the power working together would represent a risk he didn’t wish to deal with. Kill this one now, and hunt down the others.
Just as Hyndl prepared to launch an even more intense beam that should overload the protective barrier, he was jolted by a blast from the rear. His own barrier was weaker in that area as he hadn’t been expecting an attack originating behind him. The beam he triggered went wide, missing the one called Rigo as Hyndl attempted to see who was behind him. He was rattled as another of Rigo’s beams hit, and then again as something else struck him. Strengthening his barrier, he scanned around and tried to understand what was happening. He saw a woman with long lavender hair who must have fired the magic that had surprised him. Before he could trigger a response, she vanished as she Transferred somewhere else. He discovered where when he was struck again from the side, and then once again by Rigo.
Hyndl grinned. They had tried to ambush him, but it wouldn’t matter. Now he could deal with the two of them. While he had been surprised, he was easily strong enough to absorb the magic they were pummeling him with and still fight back. He tried to locate Rigo first. He would kill that one, then deal with the woman.
Jeen watched as the twin beams struck Hyndl. He appeared startled, but not really harmed. Drawing on the power given her by the linkage to ten of the most powerful wizards who had survived the hunt for them, she launched an intense beam of Brightfire from the mouth of the small cave where she was hidden. The air crackled as the beam transitioned across the open pit and struck the shields of the distracted Brryn. He hadn’t been expecting that. As she stepped through the Ghost Doorway that Suline had been holding open, she saw another attack being launched by both Rigo and Nycoh. Moments later she was preparing to fire again from another of the cave mouths.
They had planned this after Rigo’s meeting with Queen Mos’pera. He had known he couldn’t face Hyndl alone, and even wondered if he and Nycoh had a chance. Mos’pera hadn’t said he needed to deal with Hyndl alone, and a little experimentation showed that the Linked Brightfire, especially as powerful as Jeen could be with it, could help weaken the Brryn shields, especially those already being battered by others with the Brryn helix. They had chosen this place for the attack. With Suline able to move Jeen between sheltered caves, and Rigo and Nycoh able to use the Transfer magic to jump to new locations without revealing their intent, they had a chance to battle Hyndl from three directions. Hopefully it would be enough.
Jeen’s second blast of enhanced magic lashed out at Hyndl. This time she used Greenfire multiplied by the force of those she was Linked with. She thought she saw a flare around the point where she struck. Beams from Rigo and Nycoh impacted at the same time. She turned and stepped into the Doorway that Suline had waiting.
Hyndl launched a beam of bright green magic at the cave where the Greenfire had originated. Unlike the standard Greenfire, this was a broad beam that appeared to pulse and change intensity as it flowed across the bowl of the mine. It struck and the mountain erupted as if it were a volcano. Rock and debris flew high into the sky. Fortunately, Suline had built the Doorway to take the team of wizards around to the far side.
The blast was still echoing in the distance when Hyndl was struck again by three almost simultaneous beams of magic. He probably should have fled in the respite a moment ago, but he was annoyed at the sudden change of circumstances. He wasn’t certain how they were creating the Greenfire with such intensity, but it was nearly effective enough to disrupt his shields even without the added influence of the helix beams being thrown at him. As he adjusted the shields, and sensed them regain full strength, he Transferred to a spot he saw across the floor of the bowl, expecting it to give him a fresh perspective for his attack. It should take them a few moments to relocate him.
He didn’t know that Rigo and Nycoh had mapped out the area carefully before the battle, and had identified likely places their quarry might move to. When he disappeared, they were ready to target the places they expected him to appear, and he no sooner appeared than he was peppered by two more beams of intense magic. He slid behind a large bolder for additional protection. That was blasted into powder by Jeen’s next shot of Greenfire, but Hyndl had already relocated again.
Hyndl struck Rigo squarely with a carefully aimed beam of helix magic. His second shift in position had bought him a few moments to survey his surroundings. He watched happily as the protective barrier around the wizard collapsed, and prepared to send the deciding beam that would end his involvement in this attack. Before he could follow-through, he was struck simultaneously by a beam from the lavender haired woman and whoever was creating the fierce Greenfire from the caves around the perimeter of the mine. Both struck him at nearly the same place, and he sensed a breach in his own shield which he needed to attend to. As he remedied the fault, he saw that Rigo had somehow managed to resurrect his own protective barrier and had Transferred out of sight. A missed opportunity. Quickly he scrambled behind a rock to get out of view of those attacking him while he searched to see where Rigo had gone.
If he could simply eliminate the wizard producing the Greenfire, the situation would change significantly. He guessed correctly that whoever it was didn’t have the ability to create a powerful shield, which would make him or her an easy target if they would just stay put. With that individual gone, Hyndl was certain he could handle the two remaining wizards despite their ability with Brryn magic. Then he realized it might be enough to simply eliminate the cover they were using, by destroying the various caves they were using. It would take a while, but it might be enough.
He wished he had Kytra here with him. If she had been here to back him up, this would be over already. Unfortunately there was no way to contact her as far away as she liked to stay without the amplifier these bastards had destroyed. When he had spotted Rigo this morning he’d had a choice of going for help or following Rigo. He had believed he could handle the situation alone. He probably still could, but this was turning out to be more of a battle than he’d expected.
Hyndl triggered another release of the powerful green magic and blasted the set of caves at the far left end into rubble. An impact against his shields required his attention and he turned and shot one of the helix beams toward the woman. She was gone almost as soon as she’d fired and his beam struck the stone behind where she had been standing.
The next set of caves he destroyed blew up as satisfyingly as the first. If he kept this up, the wizard with the Greenfire would have no place to hide. He targeted the third set of caves and he fired just as the wizard hiding inside released one of the immensely powerful beams of Greenfire. His magic and the attacking Greenfire met in the middle. A wall that looked like a wall of ice a half pace thick but which was something else entirely formed between them as the two magical energies neutralized one another. Even Hyndl had never seen anything like that before.
He’d let his attention wander, and he realized that Rigo and the woman were hammering at him once again. He’d s
wear that Rigo’s magic was gaining strength as the encounter stretched out. It was supposed to weaken. He released his own magic in response, and watched as his beam made a glancing strike on Rigo, not enough to disrupt his shield, and missed the woman entirely. He couldn’t figure out how she managed to dodge his attacks. It almost seemed as if she was able to divert his beam slightly.
They exchanged fire several more times, and Hyndl was able to destroy another cluster of caves, when something different started to happen. In addition to the attacks he had been enduring, suddenly more than a dozen pinprick beams of Greenfire struck him from multiple locations. None were very powerful, and he realized immediately they had to be simple wizards, or perhaps what Kytra called Casters, who had joined in the fight and were attacking him. They probably could be swept aside easily, but there were so many of them and in different locations. Already the two wizards he had been fighting began triggering multiple beams of their own, and Hyndl realized if he were to be hit by the powerful beam of Greenfire originating from the caves at the same time, he might not be able to withstand the combined assault. He was pretty sure of it.
Quickly he fired back at Rigo, hoping to divert him. It worked, and he shot a beam to distract the woman wizard as well. In the moment before they could reappear, or the wizard in the caves could join in, Hyndl activated a Transfer and fled the area.
Rigo watched to see where Hyndl would reappear. Several moments passed and nothing. He looked over to Nycoh, who was alert as well. After a few more moments, Rigo asked, “Do you think he ran?”
“I think so,” Nycoh replied. Either that or he went for reinforcements. It might be wise to get out of here before that can happen.
“Go,” Rigo said, and shouted the same up to Jeen. He walked a few steps toward the unexpected support they had received from the perimeter, when he saw Fen step out from behind a large boulder. “Get out of here,” Rigo shouted, but grinned at the brave but foolhardy teenager. Rigo didn’t know where Fen had found the group of Casters he’d brought, but their arrival had made the difference.
Seeing Fen wave his understanding, Rigo created a Transfer and disappeared. When he stepped into the chamber in the Ruins, he wondered if Hyndl would return and chase down the Casters. There would be many Doorways to choose from, and he doubted Hyndl would bother. He had to know they weren’t the ones he was after.
Well, they had done what Mos’pera had said was required. Would it be enough? Rigo could only hope so, but given the ferocity of the encounter, he wondered how they could hope to deal with Kytra and Hyndl at the same time.
Chapter 85
“You were the one who was certain these wizards had learned our magic,” Kytra scolded as she checked the line of burned skin along Hyndl’s arm where the Greenfire had slipped through a tear in his shield. He had come directly to her island when he fled the ambush and had not had time to see to healing the damage. She would allow him to do so himself. It was his bad decision that had led to his wound. “How could you have taken such a risk?”
Hyndl cursed. He was clearly pissed off by the encounter and that he had been effectively thwarted by the rebel wizards.
“Calm down,” Kytra soothed, taking a different approach. “Look what we have learned. It might be a good thing this happened.”
Hyndl grimaced, then explained. “He was alone. It was the wizard named Rigo, and as we had heard, he has the characteristic look of a Brryn. I thought he had panicked when he saw me and realized who I was. He fled via a Bypass, the standard wizard means of getting around, and not by Transfer, although now I realize that was intentional. He wanted me to come after him. The Bypass he made was easily tracked, which I assumed he was aware of, but had no choice, and was hoping to escape in a crowd somewhere. I didn’t expect him to be leading me into a trap.”
“He had no reason to suspect he would find you in that village?”
“None. That is why I never considered a trap. The wizards must have had some preplanned maneuver in place against such a possibility, as opposed to a specific action associated with his being in the village. Somehow he was able to alert the others and they were there almost as fast as I was.”
“There are a number of crude means of doing so,” Kytra said. “Nothing as flexible as our mental communication.”
“Which is now greatly limited in range since the bastards destroyed the amplifier,” Hyndl reminded her as he directed his healing magic against the burn. “We should resurrect one of these crude means of warning one another for ourselves. It would have altered the outcome today. Perhaps it would have ended this whole problem.”
Kytra didn’t respond immediately to Hyndl’s suggestion. She considered what they had learned. Hyndl had been correct. The rebel wizards, at least some of them anyway, had the Brryn heritage and had learned some of the Brryn magic. That was unfortunate. It was so much easier when they were limited to primitive magic. She and Hyndl would have to work out later how this had happened, but for now they needed to consider how to respond. Finally she asked, “How many were involved in the attack?”
“I don’t know,” Hyndl replied. “There were two who fought me directly. They both were bastard Brryn. They had our hair, but were darker, more like the wizards. They were the only two who I witnessed executing advanced magic. Both carried staffs virtually identical to our own. The others attacked from cover. I couldn’t be certain if it was one or several. Whoever it was demonstrated power with Greenfire superior to any I have seen.”
“That’s the more primitive magic,” Kytra observed.
“Maybe so, but it was intense enough that it was nearly as effective as the magic from the other two.”
“But only two who could wield our magic. Is that correct?”
“That’s all who were involved. I suspect that might be all they have. If they had more, why wouldn’t they have been there as well. Clearly their intent was to overpower me. That would suggest they bring as many to the ambush as they could. There were a number of wizards, including those very weak individuals who joined the fight late, but only two who demonstrated the Brryn skills.”
“They were enough to make you run,” Kytra pointed out.
“Because the combined effect was stronger than I was prepared for.”
“How powerful were the two who confronted you directly?”
Roughly as powerful as Tryll had been, although the one known as Rigo appeared to be gaining in strength as the battle progressed. I cannot explain why I believe that, only that his attacks became more forceful.”
“So, if you are correct, we are the same in number, but we are superior in strength. That suggests we still hold the advantage.”
“I could have emerged victor even against the three original attackers had it not been for the swarm of fledgling wizards who arrived at the end. Another few minutes and I would have destroyed the hiding places available to the one attacking with Greenfire. Then I would have had an easy shot at eliminating that one. I doubt he had shields that would have stood up to my attack.”
“In the future we must ensure any encounters don’t allow them the luxury of such hiding. If there are only two with advanced magic, and any others can’t protect themselves, the battle will be difficult for them to pursue.”
“If it had been both of us, it wouldn’t have lasted but a moment.”
“They must be aware of that as well,” Kytra said. “If not before this incident, certainly afterwards. That you were able to deal with all they could summon will make them cautious of any engagement where we both are present.”
“Based on the encounter today, they have to believe we are unable to summon one another for support,” Hyndl said. “If we can change that, we might be able to lure them in and surprise them.”
“It will be easy to come up with a means of alerting one another. I’m not so sure they will believe we remain restricted. They could alert one another. They won’t be quick to believe we can’t. Nonetheless, we must put our full effort into locating and
eliminating the rest of the rebels, these two in particular. It will be impossible to establish firm control of the peasants if there are those roaming free who can contest us. We will start with the village and specifically the establishment where you discovered the wizard Rigo.”
“It is likely they don’t know.”
“So much the worse for them.”
Kytra considered the situation.
“You should start staying here. I suspect it is less comfortable than wherever you are staying at the moment, but it will provide us mutual support. They can’t possibly know of this place. The islands are far beyond any place they have explored. Even if they somehow learn of it, we would know if they Transfer past the shields, and they will be surprised to learn their magic is blocked within this chamber. Only I can access magic in here. That will have to be changed so you can as well.”
“If they see us together, it will be more difficult to trap them,” Hyndl observed.
“True. They will expect some degree of caution after the encounter from which you fled. But if they observe one of us alone part of the time, they might become bold.”
“Do we plan to try and capture them, or simply kill them and be done with it?”
“I’d like to capture one of them, it doesn’t matter which. Once we have a subject, we will be able to confirm if there are others, and maybe where they can be found.”
“Trapping them is not going to be easy,” Hyndl observed. “They will be cautious now. They know we know about them, and I can’t lead them without them wondering.”
“They have been searching for us for some time. We will have to let them find you.”
“Maybe they should find you instead?” Hyndl suggested.
Kytra was about to object. Then she thought about it.