The Price of Magic

by Gavin Neale

  He used some pixie dust to create a magic circle and weave a concealment spell. In the distance he could hear creatures coming to a confused stop. Some were natives to the Land of Fairy but, shockingly, there were others. They would have to wait; there was nothing he could do until Pedir and the human child were safe. Florian flew off into the forest, hatching a plan.

  Inside the spell, Pedir continued to whisper urgently in Elvish, using Abby’s talisman to create a magical bond between himself and the human child, a bond that he had not known was possible before they had stepped into the Land of Fairy. It was not easy; Abby was not a magical practitioner and there were only tiny strands of her potential left behind from when the false king who had ruled the Land of Fairy for so long had ripped away the magic Abby sacrificed to save her mother. The tree spirit that did that had been clumsy, almost deliberately negligent; it was only because Abby lived in a world without magic that these injuries didn’t hurt her constantly.

  The very power of the Land of Fairy was a hindrance in itself, tearing at the strands of Abby’s remaining magical senses as the magic passed through her. It would take time to heal her properly, time they did not have right now, so Pedir used their bond to strengthen the human child’s magical defences and take away some of the pain. They would have to remain close for now but he only had to hold this together for the length of their mission.

  Pedir felt Abby adjust to what he had done.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she asked weakly.

  20

  Diplomacy

  Daphne winced but she couldn’t identify what was scraping against her magical senses. Nora turned and Daphne could tell she was experiencing the same feeling but didn’t want to acknowledge it in front of Erykah and her court.

  Einion was flexing his hand, seemingly desperate for the feel of a solid hammer or axe in his grasp. He spotted the look that the two witches shared but he wasn’t giving anything away.

  ‘You think the Ruined will listen to us?’ asked Erykah, still considering what the Guardians had proposed.

  ‘There’s no “us” in this instance. We will approach the Ruined in our official capacity as Guardians of the Accords,’ said Nora, pointing to Daphne and Einion.

  Daphne was impressed by Nora’s control. Then whatever was setting their magical senses on edge stopped. She was troubled; the pain was somehow familiar but she couldn’t place it and right now she needed to focus on the task at hand. ‘The Ruined won’t listen, but there are protocols that have to be observed.’

  ‘And this is all of you?’ asked Harmonia, who seemed to be fascinated by Einion’s weapons and armour.

  ‘Of course it isn’t. These Guardians are playing as coy with us as they plan to be with the Ruined.’ The Court Mage sounded amused and scornful. ‘Nothing will be resolved for countless days to come.’

  ‘I wonder what you are really up to,’ Erykah said, her brow furrowed for a moment before her usual grin returned.

  ‘Your majesty, the protocols that govern the intervention of the Guardians were set out in the Accords and are well-documented,’ Tobias began. ‘Their actions are quite in keeping with the formal contact they announced when we first met. I would be happy to take you through the relevant scrolls if you could spare me…’

  ‘Enough, Tobias.’ Erykah silenced her master of lore with a wave of her hand. ‘I have you to go through the scrolls so I don’t need to. Very well, we shall wait with interest to see what this pointless round of diplomacy will gain us. I am sure you witches are up to something. Humans almost always are.’

  Einion snorted but held his tongue.

  ‘We shall go,’ said Nora. ‘We will report back once we have met with the Ruined. Harmonia, if you would lead the way.’

  ‘Of course, do follow me.’ Harmonia led the three Guardians away from the clearing and into the Grand Forest. They walked in silence until finally she felt they were a safe distance from the politics of Erykah’s court.

  ‘Guild Master.’

  ‘Aye, lass?’ Einion asked. He didn’t really trust the fairy, despite Nora’s earlier assurances that she had looked at Harmonia’s soul and deemed her trustworthy.

  ‘Are you here to fight, arm or observe us?’ Harmonia asked.

  ‘I do what is deemed best by the council, although a runesmith’s gifts are best utilised by being used as he or she sees fit.’

  ‘Have you ever made anything for a fairy?’

  ‘What would your lore master say?’

  ‘That there is no precedent for such a course of action in the scrolls,’ said Harmonia. She did so in a remarkably accurate impression of the aged Tobias; it was quite uncanny to hear the old fairy’s voice coming out of the warrior fairy’s mouth.

  ‘That’s some talent you have,’ Einion said.

  ‘Hardly,’ replied Harmonia. ‘If my mimicry was that good, I’d probably walk a different path. It is a highly sought-after skill among mages. Just ask your witches.’

  ‘You’d know better than us, dear. It is not something that we humans use in our magic,’ said Daphne, who was listening with interest and smiling broadly at her companions despite the nerves she felt.

  Nora walked silently, surprised that her companions were being so open with the warrior fairy. Perhaps they were getting soft, but she trusted Daphne’s judgement in these matters. ‘How far are we from the Ruined’s camp?’

  ‘You will feel it shortly. I can sense it already but we fairies are much more closely bound to the land than you.’

  ‘Depends where you find us,’ Nora said, thinking how much she would rather be back in her garden, tending to her goats.

  ‘They will be expecting us?’ Einion asked, scratching his beard.

  ‘Oh, I think the Ruined will have been tipped off,’ Nora replied, not sensing any scouts around them but beginning to feel an annoying grating against her magical senses. ‘We’ll find out soon enough.’

  ‘And where should we meet them?’ asked Einion.

  ‘Harmonia?’ Nora preferred to let Harmonia make that decision, given her local knowledge.

  ‘We have been keeping a careful eye on the Ruined’s camp. They have been sticking close to it so as not to be harassed too much. If we wait just inside the perimeter then the Ruined should see us.’

  Daphne fiddled with her carpetbag, touching the talisman that was disguised as its clasp. She briefly located Pedir, who was somewhere in the distance ahead but she could not get a good enough connection to talk to him.

  ‘We should remain quiet until we make contact with the Ruined,’ Nora said. The party fell silent as they walked through the jungle-like trees of the Grand Forest.

  It was not long before Harmonia raised a hand and the four of them stopped. They waited for a tense couple of minutes until a pale elf swaggered into view, a crossbow held low against her leg, a wickedly curved pair of swords strapped to her back and a leer stretched across her pale face.

  ‘So, have you come to surrender or throw pious words like so many stones on a beach?’

  ‘We are a representation of Guardians of the Peace Accords. We are here to lodge a formal complaint to the leader of the unauthorised group of elves currently occupying part of the Land of Fairy. And you are?’

  ‘You may know me as Actaea. I am not foolish enough to give a witch my entire name.’ Actaea raised her crossbow and pointed it at Nora. ‘A formal complaint, eh? Maybe I should show you what we think of your rules and precious Accords.’

  Nora sighed and the string of the crossbow that was pointing at her snapped. The string caught Actaea on her non-trigger hand. ‘Perhaps you should find a superior officer and stop wasting our time,’ Nora said.

  Actaea looked furious but she turned without a word, tossed her dark shiny hair and stalked away.

  ‘I thought we were being diplomatic,’ Einion said quietly.

  ‘That
was diplomatic,’ Nora said. ‘She’s still has all of her limbs, doesn’t she?’

  ‘Was this how you dealt with them before?’ Harmonia knew the old history that was commonly taught but she wasn’t interested in scrolls unless they involved military tactics or martial techniques and so she hadn’t studied further.

  ‘I don’t generally allow people to go round pointing weapons at old ladies. It starts there and the next thing you know they think they can do as they please.’

  ‘Do you think this is going to work?’ Daphne didn’t need her talisman to think her question to Nora because they were standing next to each other.

  ‘I think we’ll provide a suitable distraction to their leader and we’ll get to size them up. But whether Pedir and Abby can get Thomas out of this mess, I don’t know.’

  Nora’s thoughts didn’t do much to put Daphne’s mind at rest. There wasn’t too long to dwell on that, however, as they heard something approaching.

  Actaea walked into view. She paused and bowed elaborately as she waved two more pale elves past her. ‘You may all tremble in the presence of the Malevolent King Richtus the Gaunt.’

  A tall elf with long blond hair nodded his head. ‘Greetings, Guardians. So you are here to reprimand my humble people for daring to seek out a new life for themselves?’

  ‘Your presence here contravenes the terms of the Accords regarding the mixing of magical people,’ Nora said. ‘As is her right, the Queen of the Fairies has requested that we intervene officially. We would like to negotiate your return to your own land. Of course, if you require some help we are more than willing to offer the services that are laid out in the Accords. However, we will not interfere with your internal affairs.’

  The malevolent king cackled. ‘There is no reason for us to return and every reason to stay. This needless separation makes us all soft and allows the weak to flourish whilst otherwise they might be suitably controlled. We have come to make a new life for ourselves, and for our allies.’

  ‘Allies?’ asked Nora.

  ‘We were invited by those that bridle at the haphazard rule of Queen Erykah, although for their own protection at this time they wish to remain anonymous. Thanks to their invitation, we have every right to be here.’

  ‘Come now,’ Nora replied. ‘We cannot investigate such a claim if you will not share the information necessary for us to confirm that what you say is true.’

  ‘You are hardly impartial. You were invited here by the queen herself.’ The king laughed and turned to receive acknowledgement from his two companions.

  ‘Invited, yes, but we owe our allegiance to the Accords. It is unprecedented that anyone would claim that a council of Guardians of the Peace Accords would act in bad faith.’

  ‘Unprecedented but not impossible. Why, you are trying to deceive me already!’

  ‘On what grounds do you make this false accusation?’ Einion stepped forward and glowered furiously at the Elven king.

  ‘I speak, of course, of the rest of your council who are not present here but were skulking around the other side of our camp when we left.’

  Einion stood his ground but didn’t dare say anything that could be misconstrued by the elf.

  ‘Your silence is as eloquent as a false denial. What say you to these charges?’ The king glowered at all three of the Guardians, paying Harmonia no attention at all.

  ‘Well, since you bring it up, there is the small matter of you having kidnapped a human child from their world. That is a very real and flagrant abuse of the Accords – as well as your presence in the Land of Fairy.’

  ‘We have kidnapped no one. We have a human child, yes. He is being cared for by my court because of the shocking neglect of his family. Why, he doesn’t even know how to wield a sword.’

  ‘You just happened to stumble across a human child?’ said Nora, cutting across Daphne before she could say anything.

  ‘Yes. My loyal subject Morgill was most surprised.’ Morgill nodded his head but didn’t speak.

  Before anyone from the group could say anything there was a great cry behind them and a bell started to toll.

  21

  The Ruined’s Camp

  ‘You have to get up Abigail,’ Pedir said, firmly but not unkindly. ‘We have work to do.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘There’s no time to explain fully. We have to focus on the mission. Once that is complete, we will have time to discuss everything properly.’

  Abby trusted the words even though she wasn’t sure why. She got awkwardly to her feet but her strength was returning. ‘You look tired, Pedir.’

  ‘I know.’ Pedir was trying to mask the effort he was putting into helping Abby but he could not fully relax his face. ‘Let us don our cloaks and be on our way. We do not have long.’

  Abby pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and held the rest around her tightly. She shivered for a moment and then felt better, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

  ‘Please keep in contact with your talisman and concentrate on following me,’ Pedir said. ‘You must not talk. Think, if you must ask a question – but try not to. There are too many with strong magic in the camp for us not to be overheard.’

  Abby moved her left hand slightly so she could press it onto the clasp of her friendship band, following Pedir’s instruction to keep in contact with her talisman. She smiled when Pedir wrapped his cloak around himself; his outline was blurred yet she knew exactly where he stood. ‘I’m ready,’ she thought.

  Pedir set off and Abby followed. She saw a bright red blur flash across in front of them and was shocked when Pedir replied.

  ‘Try not to leak so much. It is a friend but not all of them will be. Here, try this.’

  Pedir’s thoughts sounded odd in her head; they had the flavour of his speech and somehow sounded warm. Abby found herself crossing the ring finger of her right hand over her middle finger and imagining a strange character as she pressed those two fingers into her collar bone.

  ‘What am I doing?’ she asked, forgetting not to talk.

  ‘You’re not,’ replied an amused Pedir. ‘But you’re not meant to be talking. Now that I know you still have some magical potential, and with so much magic in the area, we can perform basic spells together whilst we are close. It is a type of secrecy spell to help us stay hidden. We now must be silent.’

  Abby realised she couldn’t say anything even if she wanted to. Her heartbeat quickened but she could feel Pedir’s calming presence and knew that he would never harm her. She swallowed her fear and concentrated on following Pedir as he led the way through the trees.

  Finally they stopped and she crouched in the undergrowth, leaning against a tree for support. Pedir laid a friendly hand on her shoulder. ‘The camp is just beyond those trees. We are being watched but from far away. Stay close. Something is coming to distract the Ruined.’

  Abby leaned against her tree, listening to the quiet chatter of insects and the background hubbub of a large number of people going about their day. She thought she could hear hammering in the distance. Suddenly a noise startled her. She felt Pedir’s amusement, as if he knew something that she didn’t, but there was nothing obvious. She felt him squeeze her shoulder and knew it was nearly time to move.

  It was then that she heard something approaching. There was a startled cry from ahead as a strange creature came bounding past her. It was the size of a horse; its back end looked like that of an enormous lion, complete with tail, but it had a huge set of dark-feathered wings folded along its sides. Its front legs ended in vicious-looking talons and it had a large eagle’s head. It gave a high whistling screech that seemed to shake the world as it burst through the trees.

  ‘What is that?’ she asked. Pedir squeezed Abby’s shoulder once more and she knew it was time to go. The creature had caused some kind of commotion up ahead and she desperately wanted to s
ee what was going on, but she knew through her connection to Pedir that they didn’t have time.

  ‘A griffin. I didn’t know Florian was so well connected. I’ll explain later. I just hope they will be okay. Come on.’ Pedir started to move forward.

  The Ruined’s camp stretched out before them, with rows and rows of tents set out in a clearing that seemed to be made of nothing but mud. There were wooden boards on the main pathways between the tents and smoke rose from the various fires that were dotted about the camp. Pedir started to pick his way through the tents, keeping away from the main pathways and taking long detours round any pale elves sitting around the fires. Abby didn’t know how he did it but he seemed to glide over the mud leaving no footprints whilst she slogged her way through.

  They stopped at a main thoroughfare and waited. Abby glanced behind and saw that she was not leaving a trail; she added it to the list of things she wanted to ask Pedir about. Her heart was pounding in her chest as if she had run the whole way but they had been moving only at a brisk walk.

  Just as Abbey was thinking they would have to run across the road, the clamour they had left behind at the edge of the camp caught up with them. A number of armed elves started running in the direction they had just come from. There was no way they could cross the road without being seen.

  Pedir reached back and into Abby’s cloak, grabbing her hand. She felt a sudden squeezing sensation and she was tugged forward as Pedir stepped out of the Land of Fairy, taking Abby with him, and then re-entered it behind a tent on the other side of the road.

  ‘We will be fine doing that for short distances but I dare not step any further or try any big magic. Their sentries would spot us, even under our cloaks.’