The Four Nations Tournament: The Aegis of Merlin Book 6

by James E. Wisher

  The guard nodded, unlocked the door, and opened it for her. “Good evening, ma’am. Enjoy the party.”

  She strode through, completely ignoring him. The elevators waited at the rear of the lobby. She got into the first one and rode it up to the top floor. The elevator chimed and the door slid open.

  Thirteen pedestals had been erected in the large empty space. Each pedestal held a single elf artifact. Her gaze was drawn at once to the broken semicircle that was a twin to the piece Lady Wolf had already acquired.

  “Dear Lady Tish.” Ms. Pollock came striding up to her, hands extended in greeting. Lady Tiger steeled herself and took the approaching noblewoman’s fingers in a gentle grip. They exchanged kisses on the cheek. “You’re a bit late, dear. I was afraid you might not make it.”

  “Fashionable, I believe is the word. Never fear,” Lady Tiger said. “I wouldn’t miss tonight for the world.”

  “It’s quite exciting, isn’t it?” Ms. Pollock gestured at the gathered rich and famous. “The interest was greater than I expected. I don’t know what it is about magic, but it always seems to draw people’s curiosity. Though I must admit, I’d hoped the artifacts would be more showy.”

  Lady Tiger restrained a grimace at the woman’s ignorance. As they walked around the room and Ms. Pollock introduced her to this or that famous personage, she noticed a number of people dressed in red robes standing unobtrusively here and there around the room. When they finally had a moment of peace Lady Tiger asked, “What’s with the wizards?”

  “Ugh, the Ministry insisted that their guards remain here at all times. Tacky, I know. If they can’t trust the cream of the Kingdom’s wealthy, who can they trust? I tried to convince them that having guards would ruin the atmosphere, but they made it clear that if we wanted the artifacts, the guards were nonnegotiable.”

  Lady Tiger made soothing noises while inside she seethed. So far she counted ten Ministry wizards and that only included the ones inside, there had to be more outside patrolling the skies above the museum. There was no way she was going to be able to steal the artifact with that many wizards keeping watch.

  Silently cursing the Ministry’s efficiency, she went through the motions of chatting with her so-called peers. After an hour of schmoozing she couldn’t take any more.

  “I fear, Ms. Pollock, that my stomach is in a foul mood tonight. I’m afraid I shall have to retire early, but please believe me when I say I had a lovely evening.”

  Ms. Pollock patted her on the hand. “I’m sorry to see you go, dear, but sometimes you get bad hors d’oeuvres. No help for it, you know. Get some rest and I’m sure tomorrow you’ll be right as rain in the morning.”

  Lady Tiger offered a wan smile. “You’re very kind. Good evening.”

  She wove her way over to the elevators and rode down, her mind racing as she tried to come up with a new plan. If they kept constant watch over the artifact at the museum, there was no way she could get it there. She crossed the street and dropped into her driver-side bucket seat.

  Several deep breaths calmed her racing mind. She hadn’t come this far just to fail now. One way or another she would complete her task.

  An hour past midnight, a black panel van with the Ministry logo painted on the side pulled up to the front of the museum. Lady Tiger perked up. Maybe this would be the opportunity she was looking for.

  Five Ministry wizards leapt out of the van and formed a circle around it. Moments later the wizards from upstairs emerged, each carrying a case. In less than a minute all the wizards as well as the artifacts were in the van and on the move.

  Lady Tiger started her car and followed them. She tried her best to keep one or two cars back from the van at all times. Surveillance wasn’t her specialty, but as with most wizards, they were more likely to notice a magical attempt to spy on them than someone simply following along behind.

  Hopefully.

  She followed them through the late-night London traffic for the better part of fifteen minutes. After weaving a circuitous route around the city, they finally pulled into the underground parking lot at the Ministry building. Lady Tiger drove on past as though she was just another partier on her way home after a late night.

  Given the time it took to drive from the Ministry to the museum, as well as the time the display opened to the public tomorrow, she knew the wizards would have to leave at about eight thirty in the morning.

  Her tires screeched as she slammed on the brakes and pulled across three lanes of traffic. The other drivers honked at her but she paid them no mind. If she could convince Father Salvador to move up his schedule, she might still have a chance.

  The neighborhoods grew poorer and poorer as Lady Tiger grew closer to the warehouses. Soon her car was the only one visible without rust or bullet holes. She suspected that if she wanted it to disappear, all she’d have to do was park it on the side of the road in this area for five minutes.

  As she drove she tried to think of an argument that might sway Father Salvador. The priest was dedicated to his mission, so perhaps if she framed her case in terms of improving his odds of success. More likely he’d simply reject anything she had to say out of hand because it came from a wizard. Well, that’s what mind control spells were for.

  She pulled into the open area in front of the warehouses, got out, slipped her mask in place, and wove a simple protective ward around her car. That would ensure it was still there when she returned.

  Lady Tiger marched over to the warehouse door and knocked. It seemed to take forever, but finally the same doorman as the night before appeared. “You again? What do you want now?”

  “I need to speak to Father Salvador immediately.”

  He glowered at her for a moment then slammed the door. If she didn’t need every man for the attack, she’d have happily killed the moron where he stood. Instead, that pleasure would belong to someone else.

  After what seemed an eternity, he finally returned. “Father says he’s got nothing more to say to you. So step off.”

  “It’s very important that I talk to him. Did you make that clear?”

  “I told him, and he don’t seem interested.” The doorman pointed a gun at her. “Now bugger off.”

  She glared at him and the gun began to glow red hot. He hissed and dropped it.

  “My will is your will, my wish your command, Puppet Master!”

  His expression went slack and a moment later he said, “How may I serve, Mistress?”

  “Take me to the priest.”

  He opened the door for her and then led her through the warehouse. A few people glanced their way, but most seemed to have fallen asleep, either in ragged cots or on top of heaps of equipment. The grubby man led her to an office at the rear of the warehouse.

  “He’s in there, Mistress. Be careful. He has a violent temper. Shall I shoot him first, just to be safe?”

  “No need.” Lady Tiger waved him off.

  She tried the knob and found it unlocked.

  When she entered Father Salvador looked up from a map of the city. “I thought I made it clear I didn’t want to speak to you again.”

  “You did, but circumstances have changed. I need you to alter your plan of attack. A morning strike would serve you better than a midday battle.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “With fewer people out you will be able to move around more easily, but still have plenty of targets.” Even in her own mind it sounded like a weak argument.

  He steepled his fingers and looked at her over the tips. “Fewer people mean fewer heretics to send to their final judgement. We will attack at noon as planned. Leave now while you’re still able.”

  “I had hoped to convince you reasonably, but I can see that is not to be. My will is your will, my wish your command, Puppet Master!”

  Her spell ran into a barrier of some sort and fizzled.

  He glared at her. “You think I am some weak-willed fool you can control with your godless magic?”

  She couldn
’t believe the spell didn’t work. An ordinary man like Salvador should’ve had no defense against her magic.

  He reached into the front of his shirt and pulled out a silver cross. “God’s blessing protects me from your evil spells. As long as I have this, no wizard can control me.”

  With a thought she activated detection magic. As she feared, the cross radiated a protective spell. She doubted the idiot even knew he had on a magic item. Lady Tiger didn’t have time to determine exactly what it did, but it was enough to know that protected them from a domination spell.

  Father Salvador leapt to his feet. “You betrayed me and the Archbishop, witch. For that you will die tonight.”

  He reached under the desk and an alarm went off. The sound of boots thumping on wooden floor filled the air. Lady Tiger didn’t fear the men or their feeble weapons, but she didn’t want to kill them all either. Dead soldiers were of little use.

  “You may consider yourself fortunate that your lives are still of value to me.” She cast a flight spell and burned her way through the ceiling and out into the night sky.

  She landed beside her car, jumped in, and raced away. There was no help to be had with her former allies. Whatever she was going to do, she was going to have to do it on her own.

  8

  Under Attack

  Conryu rolled over and grabbed his phone. Six thirty, great. Why in the world would they start today’s matches so early? If he knew who was in charge of scheduling, Conryu would have happily introduced them to the Reaper. He was still exhausted from yesterday’s two matches. You’d think the powers that be would want the wizards at their best.

  Oh well, if he was tired all the others would be too so he supposed it was fair. He tossed the covers off and climbed out of bed. At least he got a decent night’s sleep with no unexpected visitors dropping in. In fact, he hadn’t spoken to Heather since her late-night visit, not even in her official assistant coaching capacity.

  “Prime, are you awake?”

  “Yes, Master. As you requested, I’ve been endeavoring to remain more alert.”

  “Good. I have no idea what Heather might try next, but she doesn’t strike me as the sort to just give up.”

  After a nice hot shower and a bite of breakfast, it was time to head downstairs. The group waiting this morning was way smaller than yesterday. It seemed everyone else had sense enough to sleep in. He spotted Coach Chort and walked over.

  “You know why we’re getting started so early?” he asked.

  Coach shrugged. “No idea. For all I know the tournament committee simply decided it would be fun to see how we performed first thing in the morning. It doesn’t really matter, since it’s the same for everyone and everything is shown on tape delay. I trust you’re feeling up to snuff?”

  “Oh I’m fine, though my brain still thinks it’s the middle of the night. If I was a suspicious sort, I might think they wanted to give an advantage to the home team.”

  “That’s entirely possible. The Alliance has done similar things when we hosted the tournament. All part of the home-field advantage.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Kane stepped out of the elevators and headed their way, though there was no sign of Maria. Conryu gave Coach Chort a nod and walked over to talk to them.

  “Is Maria not coming?” he asked.

  “No, when they heard what time we were going everyone decided to stay in and watch the match on tv,” Mr. Kane said.

  He didn’t blame them for not wanting to get up. If Conryu had his way, he would just as soon stay with his friends. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option for him.

  He spotted Crystal a little way off by herself, a worried frown creasing her brow. Curious, he went over. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Sonja, she’s come down with a cold. Probably caught it on the plane.”

  “So she’s not coming either?”

  “No. I offered to heal her. Even though it’s not my alignment I can manage well enough to cure a simple cold, but she insisted I save my strength for the match. She assured me she could sleep it off in a day or two so I left her in bed with a glass of orange juice on the nightstand.”

  “Sonja’s tougher than she looks. I bet she’ll be up and about in no time.”

  Crystal nodded, still looking worried.

  They waited another ten minutes and loaded up the bus. Neither Malice nor Heather bothered to put in an appearance and he couldn’t say he missed either of them. On the other hand, he liked knowing where they were so he didn’t worry about what they were getting up to.

  The ride over to the stadium was smooth enough and before he knew it they were unloading in the morning fog and making their way to the entry tunnel.

  “We’re in the first match against the Kingdom team,” Coach said. “It starts in a few minutes so everyone get your game faces on.”

  Conryu yawned and soon everyone was following suit. Yawning soon gave way to sleepy laughter and even Coach Chort cracked a smile. “This is not what I meant by game faces.”

  A few minutes later, Jemma’s voice came over the loudspeaker and called out the Kingdom team. Coach looked them all over and nodded. “Good luck.”

  “And currently in the middle of the pack, the North American Alliance team,” the announcer said. Middle of the pack was certainly better than last year, but if Conryu had to compete in this stupid tournament, he would have liked to be a little higher in the standings, like at the top.

  The problem was that despite the fact that he won all his individual challenges easily, the rest of the team only won half of theirs. Conryu was only allowed to participate in full team competitions and dark magic challenges. If teams of one were permitted, he’d be in first place, but that wasn’t how the game worked.

  They marched out onto the field and stopped ten steps from their opponents. As Conryu had expected the Kingdom team looked well rested and eager to go.

  “I’m sure everyone here knows the rules,” the announcer said. “But for those watching at home I’ll just go over them quickly. Today’s match is a group melee that will continue until all members of one team have been knocked unconscious or otherwise made unable to continue. Lethal spells are of course forbidden, so be sure to modulate your attack strength.”

  The ten-second countdown began and everyone cast defensive spells. Though the rule stipulated that you couldn’t attack your opponent until the countdown concluded, there were no rules against getting your defenses in order. Conryu covered himself and Prime in Cloak of Darkness. The countdown reached five and he looked at their team captain. “Which strategy are we using?”

  “Attack Plan Three,” Caroline said. “You’re on defense.”

  Conryu nodded and mentally prepared to cast his Dispel at the first sign of an incoming attack.

  The countdown reached one and everyone raised their hands.

  “Zero!”

  Everyone started chanting at the same time. The Kingdom team’s earth wizard raised a wall of stone and all the Alliance team’s spells splashed harmlessly against it.

  Crystal chanted a counterspell, and the enemy fortification trembled. For half a second he thought she’d bring it down, but the wall held. Crystal bent over and gasped for breath, totally drained by the attempt.

  “She’s strong,” Crystal said.

  Conryu didn’t have time to reassure her as spheres of ice, fire, and lightning came arcing in from behind the wall.

  Conryu threw up a hand. “Break!”

  A dark sphere shot out and negated the fire and lightning spheres, but the ball of ice exploded, showering their team with shards of razor-sharp ice.

  Cloak of Darkness protected him from any damage, but Caroline and Leslie weren’t so lucky. Both of them collapsed and lay still.

  “Dammit!” Conryu said. They’d lost their team captain and their fire wizard—one of their best attackers—in one shot. Worse, with the enemy casting from behind the barricade he couldn’t target them with a wide-area Dispel.

  More spells cam
e screaming at them. This time he wove a wall of darkness, more out of instinct than because he’d learned that spell. The wall absorbed everything that touched it.

  “Crystal, we need cover.”

  She straightened and chanted. A wall of stone of their own appeared not a moment too soon as a fireball slammed into it.

  Conryu shouted for the rest of his teammates, but only Karie, their water wizard, glanced his way. Emily had joined the others on the ground, either unconscious or nearly so. It looked like it was just the three of them.

  Karie chanted and spheres of blue energy gathered around her hands. “I’m going for it.”

  “Wait!” Conryu shouted.

  Too late.

  She ducked around the wall and a moment later there was a crackle of electricity and a scream.

  “Looks like it’s just you and me,” Conryu said.

  “What are we going to do?” Crystal asked.

  Conryu clenched his jaw. There was only one way for them to win, but he didn’t really want to do it.

  “I’m going to have to use some heavy-duty spells. Don’t take this the wrong way, but do you mind just staying here out of the way?”

  Crystal shook her head. “Do it.”

  Conryu chanted, “Shroud of all things ending. Cowl of nightmares born. Dark wrap that looks upon all things’ doom, Reaper’s Cloak!”

  The chill shroud settled around him and he pulled the cowl up over his head. Everything changed to shades of black and white.

  He stepped out from around the wall of stone, a figure of menace out of your worst nightmare.

  The opposing team had emerged from their defensive position. The moment they spotted him three spells shot his way.

  They all fizzled when they struck the cloak. He cast, “The chill wind of Hades blow and slay. Death rides in the blackened air, Reaper’s Gale!”

  Howling black winds rushed from his hands and engulfed the enemy team. For a moment they were lost from sight.

  Conryu focused every speck of willpower he could muster to keep the spell from draining more than the minimal amount of life energy from them.