Third Power

by Robert Childs

  “Steven, this is helping no one!” Haldorum yelled as he unleashed another bolt. “They are all through the camp. We have got to leave! Aahh!” The old wizard screamed as a jalkora scored him across the shoulder and Haldorum turned with a fierce swing to crush the monster’s knee. It fell forward and met its end as the metal-tipped end of the energy-charged staff crushed its skull in a vicious downward swing.

  Winded and growing nearer to exhaustion, Steve could not—or would not—listen to the wizard’s words. He fought on like a maddened animal, now attacking with wild swings that threatened to overbalance him as his stamina waned. He growled his hatred for himself and for the things he fought, the death of his friend and for who knew how many untold thousands of soldiers who died that night. Another jalkora rushed toward him and the youth was already swinging his blade when a golden, translucent hemisphere materialized all around him. The shock of it made Steve forget his anger for a moment and the charging jalkora crashed into it with bone breaking might.

  Haldorum looked around from within the protection of the translucent, golden dome in wide-eyed amazement. He could not help but run his finger along the interior, finding it smooth to the touch and harder than iron. “A shield,” he breathed. He looked around for the source but could not see through the ever-thickening mass of armored bodies that now surrounded the two men and the pacing tiger that hissed at the pressing enemy. Then he saw her above, hovering in the air, lost in concentration with her hands held toward them.

  Steve followed Haldorum’s gaze. “Sonya, let me go!” he screamed at her. He lashed out in anger at the golden shield but his sword only screeched against the surface with a flash of white and gold sparks.

  And then Haldorum’s hands were on Steve’s shoulders, spinning him around. “Listen to me, Steven! There is nothing more you can do here. If you stay, you die, and we still need your help.”

  Steve sagged in the wizard’s grip and looked down helplessly at the sword in his right hand. He shook his head and shrugged, not knowing whether to cry, scream, or both.

  “He’s dead, Haldorum. He was standing there and she killed him.”

  “We have all lost friends, and there are others who’ve lost families as well. Thousands have died tonight but there are still thousands more who need us—more than ever!”

  Steve seemed to deflate as he raised his eyes slowly, the fight seemingly draining out of him. He knew the the elder wizard was right.

  He nodded.

  “All right then,” Haldorum said. He turned to open a portal and Steve seized his wrist.

  “Wait, where are we going?”

  “To the plains outside the Memsherar.”

  “No,” he said with a shake of his head. He sighed, not believing what he was about to suggest. “I have a better idea.”

  Chapter XXIV

  “What is the meaning of this?” King Gorium bellowed as he stormed into the library. The Jisetrian king was dressed only in an evening robe and slippers, a clear indication his four unexpected visitors had awakened him from a sound slumber. Haldorum, Steve, Sonya and Kayliss looked up as His Majesty stepped into the room with the old librarian Duncan, who had carried the message to his monarch.

  The king, upon seeing them, opened his mouth to bellow further but then stopped as he took in their condition, battle-worn and covered in blood and ichor, both red and green.

  “By the Third! What happened to you?” he asked.

  “I’m starting to hate that expression,” Sonya replied wearily.

  “We fell under attack,” Haldorum answered, “almost before we had warning. We lost nearly a third of our forces, most of our supplies, weapons and, except for a few cavalry mounts, all of our animals.”

  Gorium looked them over as suspicion slowly crept over his features. “I am sorry to hear of your losses but that hardly justifies your presence here. You may tell the Emperor that—“

  “If the emperor was still alive I would gladly tell him anything you wanted,” Steve interrupted. There was an uneasy silence as the king looked genuinely struck by that news. By way of explanation, Steve continued, “Azinon put some kind of creature in him. The Emperor died of his wounds before the initial attack had even begun.”

  Gorium breathed deeply and exhaled slowly. “I see. I am truly sorry to hear this. I wish there were more that could be done.”

  “What do you mean you wish?” Steve asked with such temper even Haldorum looked surprised. “You know damn well what you can do!”

  The winged monarch’s brow knit together in recalcitrant stubbornness. “Impossible!” he blurted, and then marched back toward the entrance. “Now all of you get out!”

  Steve raised his hand and the force of his will slammed the chamber doors shut with a resounding double boom.

  King Gorium whirled back again, “You dare!”

  Haldorum stepped back out of the way and seated himself atop the table as the young wizard and Jisetrian king closed the distance between each other with tempers flaring; fully prepared, it seemed, to let this play out

  “That’s right, I dare!” Steve shot right back. “You know it’s the only way.”

  “I know that since the time of the end of the Emperor’s reign there has been nothing but distrust and animosity between the races—and for good reason! I know also just the presence of you four alone in my kingdom puts my people at risk.” King Gorium’s wings flew out wide in a gesture that imitated the same motion with his arms. “Never mind what you are suggesting!”

  Steve didn’t budge. “On my world change and adaptation are the things that allowed us to survive throughout our history”—he pointed at the monarch’s chest—“and as much as you might like to think otherwise, things are no different here. You and your people have been idly watching the human race wage a war that is every bit as much your fight as it is ours. And while you watch Azinon slowly wear us down, you are watching the clock count down on your own race as well.”

  “Nay, wizard! The only travelers going to the gray are those of your pathetic Resistance. If the Dark One turns his sights on the Jisetrian kingdom, let him come! We are well fortified and there is not a single Jisetrian who is not to take up arms and fly into battle. What the humans of this world have refused to grasp these nearly twenty years of fighting is if Azinon was powerful enough to seize the empire in its prime then the efforts of your pitiable band are nothing to him! Resisting only speeds you to your graves—as you have proven this night.”

  “And the plague?” Sonya’s voice came from the side.

  King Gorium and Steve seethed at each other in silence for several long heartbeats before the winged monarch finally turned his gaze in her direction.

  “How many men, women, and children do you lose every day, Your Majesty? Ten? Twenty? On the average, that’s about how many humans I have cured each day since discovering my powers. If you were to join us, you would not only be securing the fate of your kingdom, but I could ensure you never again lose a Jisetrian to the sickness. Ever.” When at first King Gorium did not answer Sonya added, “Your daughter told me you lost your wife to the plague. If she were still here—”

  “My wife is not here!” he hissed, and in his face was a mixture of grief, anger, and despair.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.”

  “None of my memories of her are such, but it is painful to remember those whom you can never have back again.”

  Sonya nodded, but she continued to press. “Your Majesty, you must do what is best for your people. You have before you an option to solve their problem. Think of your daughter.”

  King Gorium smiled at some sad, inner joke and slowly paced away from Steve. “Always, my dear, do I think of my daughter, for what she feels and thinks can affect much of what I do. She was greatly saddened—and ashamed, I would think—when she returned to inform me there would be no wedding. And as for our ‘problem’, as you put it, it is indeed my duty as ruler to see to the welfare of my subjects. But
even I cannot expect them to put aside their personal feelings toward your kind, regardless of what they have to gain.”

  “Your people,” Steve said, “seemed willing enough to accept me—and I was engaged to your daughter.”

  “You are but one, Steven; and a human, yes, but an alien to this world at the same time. Odd as that sounds, it makes a difference to them—to us all. Moreover, you are a wizard, and the children you would have produced with my daughter would have introduced powerful magic into the line. Even the most stubborn of my people cannot deny the advantages of that.”

  “From the time the first signs of the sickness are discovered it can take less than a week to die,” Steve argued, almost pleaded. “Can the most stubborn of your people deny they could very well be next?”

  Gorium shook his head sadly. “They will not ally with you merely for reason to save themselves. We are a proud people. When the time comes to fight, those of us who are left will be there to answer the call.”

  Steve looked aside at no one in particular and shook his head with a look that spoke a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. “I’m talking to a wall,” he said, then looked back. “Do you understand anything I’m saying to you? You – are – going – to – die!”

  King Gorium remained stoic and unyielding in the face of the young wizard’s argument. “If so then it will be because we chose it. Now, please feel free to show yourselves out.”

  He turned around and Steve watched him walk several steps away from him. The young man looked clearly torn, reluctant to lay his final card on the table.

  “Your Majesty, wait.” The king paused a moment and Steve breathed deeply, clearly hesitant to speak further. Finally, “What if I agreed,” he said, “to go through with the wedding?”

  “What?!” Sonya started.

  “And in exchange you are to give your full cooperation to the Resistance. An alliance with all that that entails: lodging, weapons, supplies, joint operations…everything”

  King Gorium half turned and looked at him thoughtfully over his shoulder. “You ask a great deal to be sure. An alliance of this kind would be fraught with problems—especially with the Resistance camped at the very foot of my home.”

  King Gorium appeared to think about it some more, then he nodded once. Without looking away he said, “Duncan, see that our guests are supplied with whatever they require. Rouse my generals and tell them their king orders them to give the Resistance their full cooperation. In the meantime, Steven and I are going for a walk.” He paused then and looked pointedly at the young man. “We have much to discuss.”

  “Wake up, beloved,” came a soft, crooning voice in his ear.

  Steve mumbled incoherently, still rooted somewhere in that place between consciousness and sleep, and rolled to his other side to escape the annoyance that disturbed his rest. The cool softness of the pillow under his head lulled him further into sleep and made the voice seem far, far away.

  Princess Vessla crawled off the bed with a giggle and rushed across the room to throw open the drapes covering the glass doors to the balcony. Sunlight flooded the room with brightness and Steve retreated under the covers with a frown.

  “You have been sleeping far too long now, beloved. It is time to rise.”

  Steve slowly poked his head out from under the lavish covers and squinted across the room and into the beaming face of Princess Vessla. His body ached from a multitude of bruises and his face itched with two days growth that matched the bedraggled clothing he still wore from the night before. Across the room, the door to the bath chamber stood ajar and to either side stood a pretty, young Jisetrian woman; one holding a pair of towels folded over one arm and the other holding a dish filled with fragrant herbs and perfumed soaps.

  Drowsily, Steve lifted his arm to check the time, and then remembered he had long since given up his watch. “What time is it?” he asked.

  Vessla flitted over the carpet, past the massive lounging form of Kayliss, and seated herself on the side of the bed. “Nearly mid-afternoon,” she answered cheerily.

  Steve groaned and let his head sink back into the pillow. “It’s not time yet.”

  “Oh, but it is, beloved. If you sleep much longer you’ll never get to sleep tonight.”

  Steve growled his discontent, and then realized it was Kayliss who stirred the response in him. “Wake me up when the sun goes away,” he said rolling to his other side.

  “If you persist, beloved, I will have your servants undress and bathe you where you lie.”

  “Promises, promises,” he muttered.

  Vessla clapped twice and the two young women moved to either side of the bed.

  “All right, I’m up. I’m up!” Steve said hastily sitting up.

  Vessla laughed. “Will you require them for anything else?”

  “No, they can go anytime.”

  Vessla gestured toward the door and the two young women placed the towels and soaps on the dresser and left.

  Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Steve noticed he was even still wearing his boots, as if the sheets at the end of the bed couldn’t attest to that. Never before could he remember a time when he had been more tired than he had been last night; and he felt somewhat guilty for having left Haldorum and Sonya to…

  Then of a sudden, he remembered Scott.

  “Are you all right, beloved?” Princess Vessla asked as she sat down next to him.

  “Hmm? Yeah. I’m okay.” He stood and walked over to the wall mirror above the dresser and looked himself over, if only to try and stave off the sorrow threatening to overwhelm him yet again.

  “What happened with the Resistance?” he asked.

  “Haldorum went back to the rally point and then brought them all here. With the help of my father’s men, they have set up camp at the base of the fortress.”

  At least he’s keeping up his part of the bargain, Steve thought. He then looked over his shoulder and asked, ”Doesn’t it bother you to have so many humans this close to your home?”

  “Whatever for?” Vessla laughed. “Aside from our ability to fly, how is your race any different from mine?”

  “Exactly my point,” Steve muttered as he turned back again, remembering his discussion with the king earlier on. One of the conditions of their agreement Gorium insisted on was for Sonya and he alone to take up quarters within the palace. His Majesty’s own personal prejudices would allow no others, no matter how sensible the argument. At least, Steve noted, it appeared his daughter had been spared such misguided, bull-headed beliefs.

  “I am sorry, say that again?”

  Steve looked at her through the reflection in the mirror. “Oh, it’s nothing. Never mind.”

  Vessla only shrugged. She then stood and walked across the room to leave him to his privacy.

  “Princess.”

  Vessla paused at the door. “Yes?”

  “How much do you know about what happened last night?”

  “I know you were attacked,” she replied. “I know you changed your mind about our marriage, and also that you somehow managed to change my father’s mind about an alliance. I am told the two of you had a very long talk about it all. Why do you ask?”

  Steve managed a smile for her sake. “Just curious, is all.”

  She smiled back at him and left, closing the door softly behind her.

  “Damn,” Steve cursed, more at her father than anyone else. King Gorium had indeed told her the truth—just not all of it—and Steve was not certain it would be altogether wise to do so himself.

  Oh well, there would be time to worry about that later. Steve stripped off his clothes and let them fall about him where they may. Then, taking the towels and soap from the dresser, he stepped into the next room and indulged himself with a hot soak in the massive, twenty foot by twenty foot sunken tub there. Never, ever, could he recall a time when a bath had felt so good. With a sigh, he slid into the water up to his neck and closed his eyes, and then disappeared completely below the surface.


  A moment later, a tremendous splash brought him sputtering back above the water. Steve wiped the water from his eyes with a hand and frowned at the face of Kayliss gazing innocently back at him, water dripping from his whiskers. A thought passed between the two and then Steve said, “A little warning would have been nice.”

  Kayliss only slightly opened his mouth, tongue lolling out.

  Haldorum approached the door and knocked. “Steven, are you in there?”

  “Yeah, come on in,” came the reply.

  Haldorum turned the latch and stepped inside. There was Steve, clean-shaven, sitting at the foot of the bed wearing a pair of clean, black trousers and white shirt. The young man reached for his remaining boot and tugged it on.

  “Did you sleep well?” the old wizard asked closing the door.

  “Well enough. Look, I hope you didn’t let me sleep through any important work in the new base camp.”

  Haldorum afforded a dismissive wave of his hand. “The wounded have been taken care of. And besides, after the fight you went through last night”—he lowered his voice respectfully—“and losing Scott, I thought you could use the rest.”

  Steve didn’t know what to think. He had never lost anyone before—let alone a close friend. His emotions swayed back and forth between depression and sorrow, and he didn’t know if it was normal or just selfish to want to shut it all out as he did and not feel anything, not think about it anymore. In all his life he could remember no greater vision of horror than watching his best friend murdered before him; and it was a memory, he knew, that would stay with him forever. “I have to go back for him,” he said at last. “I can’t just leave him out there.”