The Chimera Jar: The Aegis of Merlin Book 3

by James E. Wisher

  “Watching something interesting?” Angeline walked over to the mirror and tapped it with the Death Stick.

  An image flickered to life. A black spiral blasted through the chest of the monster exposing a glowing sphere. A moment later an orb of dark magic streaked in and destroyed it. The creature collapsed into so much rubble.

  Angeline grinned and tapped the mirror again, breaking the connection. “Impressive, the boy learned Death Spiral. And under adverse conditions as well.”

  “No!” Amelia shouted. “He was supposed to die.”

  In the doorway behind her the students from upstairs had gathered.

  “I don’t suppose you’ll come along quietly?” Emily asked.

  Amelia thrust a hand forward and hurled a stream of fire. The blue-orange flames struck an impenetrable black barrier.

  Angeline held the Death Stick horizontally in front of her, dark magic crackling around the silver skull. “You think you can threaten my student and get away with it?”

  She slashed the Death Stick toward the group blocking the doorway. A wave of dark magic blasted Amelia and her followers back and stripped away the defensive magic they’d already cast.

  Amelia was the first to her feet. “You think you can best a Sub-Hierarch of the Le Fay Society, hag?”

  Angeline snorted a dry laugh and crooked a knobby finger. “This one’s mine. Can you handle the pups?”

  Emily nodded and eyed the handful of students collecting themselves after the blast of dark magic. There were two seniors, they would be the most challenging. The rest were a mix of third- and second-year students.

  Demarlza was the first to her feet. She snarled and summoned a pair of fire cats. She wasn’t an especially attractive girl to begin with and the ugly expression she wore did nothing to help.

  Emily summoned a pair of wind wraiths. The invisible spirits hung in the air beside her. Since it was six against one she’d have to fight defensively.

  Her pulse pounded in her ears and power crackled around her fingers. Emily hadn’t been this excited in years.

  Conryu sat in the brush and held his throbbing head. The effects of the magical backlash had let up a little, but damn little. Prime was floating well above them keeping a look out for any approaching threats. After the chimera he had serious doubts that anything nasty remained on the island, but at this point he wasn’t prepared to take it for granted. Considering the shape he was in at the moment Conryu doubted he could handle a fire cat, much less a stronger opponent.

  Beside him Kelsie groaned. He raised his head in time to watch her trying to sit up. Conryu held out his hand.

  She took it and he pulled her to a sitting position. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better than I have any right to be. You healed me.”

  He nodded and winced as the movement brought on another stab of pain. “Yeah. You were in pretty bad shape after that blast.”

  “I felt your concern. You were really afraid I was going to die.”

  “If you’d seen how you looked you’d have been afraid too.”

  “I’m glad I was unconscious. Thank you for saving me. I don’t know what I can do to repay you, but whatever you want just ask.”

  “If you hadn’t distracted the chimera when you did I wouldn’t have been able to kill it. I’d say we’re even. Besides, I don’t keep scores with my friends.”

  She smiled. “How did you heal me?”

  “Light magic channeled with willpower.” He rubbed his temples. “I don’t recommend it.”

  “Don’t worry, I doubt I could channel enough light magic to heal a paper cut.”

  “If you’re up to walking we should lower the barrier for Mrs. Saint. I’ll feel better once the school nurse takes a look at you.”

  “I’m good to go. My leg doesn’t even hurt.” Kelsie wiggled her foot around as if to prove it.

  Conryu climbed to his feet without fainting, then helped Kelsie up. The pain behind his eyes was already receding, thank goodness. He broke a path through the brush and branches back to the nearest trail.

  Prime flew down beside them. “There’s smoke coming from one of the little houses on the lakeshore.”

  “The sorority bungalows?” Kelsie said. “Which one?”

  “The farthest from the school.”

  “The Le Fay Sorority.” Conryu clenched his jaw. He’d bet his bike they were behind the attack. Someone else must have figured it out as well. “We need to get over there.”

  He stumbled as a fresh pain stabbed through his brain.

  Kelsie slipped his arm around her shoulders. “You’re in no condition to go anywhere and I’d only be in the way.”

  He couldn’t argue with that, at least for the moment. The two of them stumbled along like the walking dead until they reached the central clearing. The jar sat in the same place near the pillar, both seemingly undamaged by the monster.

  Kelsie went to the pillar while he continued on to the jar. For such a small thing it certainly caused a lot of trouble.

  He pointed his hand at it. “Shatter!”

  It blew into a dozen pieces. There, no one else would have to worry about fighting a chimera for a while and no spirits would be tortured into such an obscene form.

  “Conryu.”

  He winced. “Did you want to take that back to your mom?”

  “I don’t care about the jar, we have another problem.”

  He suppressed a groan. There was always another problem. Conryu joined Kelsie beside the pillar. She held up one of the keys. It had snapped in half.

  “Shit! Looks like we’re stuck here until morning.”

  “Do we still pass if we break a key?”

  Conryu couldn’t have cared less if he passed or failed. Mrs. Umbra had all but admitted the classes and tests didn’t really apply in his case. Kelsie, on the other hand, seemed genuinely worried. Given her family situation he wasn’t surprised.

  “I suspect defeating an unknown magic beast will get us enough extra points to make up for the broken key. How do you want to kill the next eighteen hours?”

  “Let’s go down to the beach and see what’s happening at the sorority.”

  Conryu shrugged and started out. It wasn’t like there was anything else to do.

  Angeline twirled the Death Stick, creating a shield of dark magic that negated the stream of flame roaring out of her opponent’s hand. So complete was her defense that she didn’t even notice the heat. She hadn’t been in a real fight in years. The rush of adrenaline mingled with a burst of fear set her heart racing. Angeline had missed that rush these past years teaching.

  Finally the fire ended. Angeline was only distantly aware of roars and explosions coming from other areas of the building.

  “Cloak of Darkness!” Angeline covered herself in liquid darkness.

  “Shroud of Flame!” Flames swirled around Amelia as she countered with a defensive spell of her own.

  “By your name I call you, by my will I bind you. Rise, hell hounds!”

  A hell gate opened on either side of Angeline and two dogs as black as a moonless night stalked out. Each of them stood as tall as her, their eyes burning with a red glow. The servants of Cerberus snarled.

  “Attack!”

  The hell hounds lunged towards Amelia who leapt. A burst of fire from the soles of her feet launched her higher and farther than an ordinary woman could manage.

  As she flew over the hellhounds she pointed both hands at them. “Burn to ash!”

  A torrent of flame consumed the demon dogs. Amelia landed and turned her flames on Angeline who negated them with another dark shield.

  Amelia panted and leaned with her hands on her thighs.

  She had skill, but no stamina. Pity.

  “Oh sweet death, lend me your strength.” The Death Stick pulsed with dark magic. “Dread Scythe.”

  Her artifact transformed into a black-handled scythe with a silver blade. Black wings grew from Angeline’s back and what appeared to be a billowing bl
ack cloak covered her from head to foot.

  Amelia took a step back. As well she might when faced with an avatar of the reaper. Dread Scythe was Angeline’s ultimate trump card.

  She kicked the floor, her wings beat the air, and she launched herself at the woman that had caused her favorite student so much grief.

  “Flames of Protection!” The hastily chanted spell called a wall of flames into being between Angeline and her target.

  She might as well have not bothered. A casual slash cut the spell apart. With her barrier gone a wide-eyed Amelia stared at the descending blade. The shining silver was the last thing she saw before the Dread Scythe cut her in half.

  Wisps of dark magic rose from Angeline as she slumped to the floor, her spell ended. For all its power, Dread Scythe took a toll and she wasn’t as young as she used to be.

  An explosion shook the building. Sounded like Emily was getting serious. She forced herself to her feet and hobbled toward the door. If she didn’t fancy getting buried under a heap of gaudy decorations she needed to leave the basement in a hurry.

  Maria settled into her chair. On the table in front of her was a rabbit with a deep gash in its side. Its ribs quivered as its heart raced. All around her the other students had nearly identical animals before them.

  Poor little thing. It was a shame they had to hurt the animals intentionally, but as her teacher said, it was no different than a scientist injecting an animal with some disease so they could test the cure.

  She stroked the rabbit’s head in a vain attempt to calm it down. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ve gotten good at healing. You’ll be right as rain in a little while.”

  She glanced out the window toward the island. Conryu was out there now, with Kelsie, just the two of them. She swallowed a little growl. She trusted him completely, yet part of her worried that despite what he said Conryu secretly had feelings for Kelsie.

  Maria gave a little shake of her head and looked away from the window. Whatever was happening out there was beyond her control. Right now she needed to concentrate on her own final. Bugs was counting on her after all.

  At the front of the class Mrs. Alustrial tapped her pointed stick against the chalkboard. Since her conversation with Dean Blane, Maria’s teacher hadn’t given her a moment of trouble, as long as you didn’t count the glares when she thought Maria wasn’t looking. On the table beside her was an hourglass filled with red sand.

  “All right, class,” Mrs. Alustrial said. “This is where you put what we’ve been studying to practical use. You have three hours to construct your healing ward and repair the damage to your test subject. I have every confidence in you all, but should anyone fail I guess we’ll be having rabbit for dinner.”

  When no one laughed her expression went flat. “Three hours. Begin.” Mrs. Alustrial flipped the hourglass.

  Maria took a breath and centered herself. She’d been studying the spells so much the past months she saw them in her dreams. The rabbit gave a twitch and she put her hand above it. “The light of Heaven is the light of healing. Take that which is injured and make it whole, Healing Ward.”

  A white glow spread from her palms down over the injured rabbit. When it was fully enclosed tendrils of power snaked down from the dome and entered the rabbit. As she watched the ugly red wound begin to close, the muscles knitted themselves together over the animal’s ribs. Its breathing calmed and its pulse slowed.

  Maria grimaced as the effects of the spell began to drain her. Though the power came from Heaven it passed through her and was given shape by her magic and will. Maintaining the flow at the correct pace took great mental focus.

  The wound was fully closed and the skin was growing over it when the explosion sounded. At least she thought it was an explosion. It sounded distant.

  Her ward wavered along with her concentration. She refocused long enough to restore it, then risked a glance out the window. Smoke was rising from the lakeshore. It looked like one of the bungalows had caught on fire.

  A second explosion, louder this time, rattled the windows. Some of the other girls muttered, but Mrs. Alustrial slapped her pointer on her table. “No talking.”

  She looked back to her rabbit. It was sitting up, nose twitching, and seemed free of pain. The skin had grown back. There was a nasty scar on its side, but she was certain it would survive.

  Maria released the magic and raised her hand. “My healing’s complete. May I go see what’s causing all that noise?” She was the first to finish which pleased her greatly.

  Mrs. Alustrial stood up and walked over. She examined the rabbit, running her finger over the scar. Her face twisted into an angry scowl, but she nodded. “You pass. Congratulations on making it to your second year.”

  Her teacher leaned in closer and whispered. “I’m relieved to be done with you. Mark my words, your boyfriend will be the death of you. Go if you wish. I couldn’t care less.”

  Maria got up, grabbed her books, and strode for the door. She wouldn’t say anything, wouldn’t give Mrs. Alustrial the satisfaction of provoking her, but she was relieved not to have to deal with the woman any further. Her irrational dislike of Conryu was every bit as stupid as the other girls’ attitudes. You’d think someone her age would know better.

  She closed the door behind her with a little more enthusiasm than necessary and turned down the hall. She’d passed and that was what mattered. Hopefully her second-year teacher would be more reasonable.

  At the bottom of the steps a group of girls had gathered. They had packed in four deep in front of the lecture hall doors. “Excuse me.” Maria elbowed her way to the front.

  Thick smoke billowed up from the lakeshore. She shoved the door, but it was locked.

  “The teachers initiated a lockdown.”

  She glanced to her left and a little down. Conryu’s friend Sonja was standing there and staring out with everyone else.

  “What does that mean?” she asked.

  “It means we’re stuck in here and we’ll miss out on the excitement.” Sonja sounded like the little girl she resembled.

  A pair of teachers flew towards the lake. Maria frowned. How had they gotten out? The roof! “Can you cast flying magic?”

  “Sure, why?”

  “I think I know how we can get out of here and find out what’s happening.”

  Sonja grinned, reminding her for a moment of Conryu. “What are we waiting for?”

  They slipped past the still-gathering students and rushed up the stairs. Maria set a brisk pace, but Sonja kept up despite her shorter legs. Once they reached the top floor Maria went to a door in the northern wall and yanked it open. Inside was a ladder up to a hatch that opened to the roof.

  “How did you know about this place?” Sonja asked as she climbed up behind Maria.

  “My light magic class is on this floor so I’ve had time to explore. I caught a glimpse of the ladder when one of the teachers opened the door last month. I figured it had to be the roof access.”

  “Cool!” Sonja ran over to the edge of the roof. “Check that out.”

  Maria joined her and her eyes widened. A huge wall of fire blazed in front of the Le Fay Sorority. A small crowd had gathered, but they couldn’t move past the roaring flames.

  Sonja put her arm around Maria’s waist. “Ready?”

  The question proved to be rhetorical. Sonja chanted a spell and they were airborne before she thought of an answer. Maria yelped, but the short flight was smooth. From their position above the fire she could see girls pouring out of the sorority house.

  A few seconds later the roof blew up amidst a torrent of dark energy. Two figures emerged, but she didn’t see them well enough to figure out who they were before Sonja lowered them to the ground.

  The little fire wizard released her and wiped her brow. “Whew, flying two people is way more work than just transporting myself.”

  Maria had just time enough to wonder if Sonja was implying she was fat when the wall of fire vanished. Dean Blane and
Mrs. Umbra were herding the students into a group. Beyond them the house had collapsed.

  “Guess the show’s over,” Sonja said.

  “Yeah.” Maria doubted they’d seen even half of what really happened. Part of her wasn’t sure she wanted to know what was going on. Deep inside she knew it had something to do with Conryu.

  Emily had complete confidence in Angeline’s ability to handle Amelia. As flames burned into her wind barrier on one side and lightning crackled into the other she had a little less confidence in her own situation. Demarlza’s fire cats charged in between the flame blasts.

  The fire cats bared their fangs and leapt. Her wind wraiths flew in and scattered the flames until only embers remained.

  “No!” Demarlza redoubled her flame’s intensity.

  Emily staggered under an especially intense burst of lightning. If she kept playing with these kids, they might actually beat her. While she didn’t want to kill any of her students, this bunch might not give her a choice.

  “Father of winds blow away my enemies, Tornado Burst.” She threw her hand forward and a mini twister sent all six girls flying out the door and into the hall beyond. One of them hit the wall with enough force that she didn’t get back up.

  Emily risked a glance at Angeline. The head of dark magic was under assault from a river of flame, though none of it pierced her shield. She shook her head and stalked out of the casting chamber. Angeline could take care of herself. She needed to convince these kids to surrender before someone got killed.

  “If you give up now, I promise the court will take your age and inexperience into account during the trial. The longer you fight the worse it will look for you.”

  “You think we’ll surrender to someone that let an abomination into our school?” Demarlza forced herself up. “Better we die as true wizards than accept such a thing.”

  Emily shook her head to hear one of her pupils spout such utter nonsense. “True wizards keep an open mind when they encounter the unknown, they don’t condemn it out of hand. Only an ignorant, closed-minded fool judges a person by nothing but their sex. Girl good, boy bad. That’s primitive thinking and unworthy of a student attending this academy.”