“What happened?” Farrell asked Thedeus as he followed Kerstand’s progress down the hall. “Your father sacrificed himself to allow a group of villagers to make it to the city?”
“I don’t know what story they told you, but this was not planned. Father and the others were conducting a last sweep to exhort people to get to the safety of the city. They were escorting the last group back when a clutch of Chamdon burst through the trees.
“My father and his soldiers charged the brutes to give the people time to flee. The wizards with him got into a fight with the handlers. They killed all the Chamdon, but it cost us a great deal to do so. My father, brother, and cousin Glaus were among our dead.”
“Why did he go himself?”
“He felt the people would listen to him more than anyone else. He also said he wouldn’t ask another to put themselves at risk for his mistake.”
“I’m sorry.” It rang hollow, but there wasn’t anything else he could say. “And I’m sorry to ask this in your time of grief, but I need your help so I can bring your brother and Sanduval back.”
“Whatever I can do, I will.”
“The shield won’t last long enough for everyone to get away. It hasn’t had time to charge properly. I’ve gathered energy to give it enough life to evacuate the city, but I can’t get to the central stone. If you can help me find it, I can open a Door and give the shield a boost.”
“I know where it is, but how do I help you?”
“Will you let me see the image in your mind?” He knew it was a lot to ask, but otherwise it might take too long.
“If it will help bring my… the king to safety, I’ll do whatever you need.”
Farrell admired his control. He remembered losing his mother and how he’d nearly torn the mountain down. “The fastest and least intrusive way is if you focus on the room and keep the image foremost in your thoughts. It will be the first thing I see and I can get out faster.”
Thedeus nodded. “You have my permission to proceed. Just give me a moment to do what you suggest.”
Several seconds later, Farrell had his image and opened the Door. Farrell would have siphoned energy right from the Source, but Kel had advised against it. He said the unstable nature of the void could cause the stone to explode.
Farrell and Miceral were the first to go through. He emptied his armor and then Miceral’s. What they carried was about what the lesser wizards had combined. The collection spells around the stone soaked up the energy like a thirsty dog.
Lyn-wel, Honal’s throne city, was twice the size of Belsport. Farrell had used twice the stones to create a shield of suitable strength. Haven’s wizards tried to bring energy to Lyn-wel with every visit. It helped, but they hadn’t had enough time to fill the stones. Another two months might have been enough.
“Can you go back and get more?” he asked Miceral. “Your armor can carry more than any five wizards combined.”
“Of course.” Miceral stepped back to the Haven side as the wizards shuffled back and forth.
“I’m going to find Sanduval.” Zenora pointed to him. “You go back to Haven and help fill the central stone.”
“I’ll go with you,” Kel said.
“Wait!” Farrell grabbed his mother’s arm. “Let me go and you two fill the stones.”
“No!” Kel said. “You are not to engage Meglar away from Gharaha. Besides, you can tell the shield is holding. Sanduval is in no danger.”
“Then why are you both going?”
The twinkle in Kel’s eyes told Farrell he was up to something. “Someone needs to convince him to come to Gharaha.”
They left before Farrell could stop them. “Damn.”
Before he went back to Haven, Farrell emptied his staff into the web. Kel was right, the shield would hold. The evacuation was far enough along that he told everyone to empty what they had but not to make more trips. When he left Honal, he planned to blow up the shield-generating rocks and bring the central stone back to Haven.
Miceral waited for him by the Door. Silently he filled his armor and staff. When he finished he led them back to Honal.
“Kel and Mother are going to find Sanduval.”
Miceral raised an eyebrow. “You sound unhappy about that.”
“Hmph.” He decided not to empty Miceral’s armor into the grid. It didn’t need more energy, and he wouldn’t be able to recover it once it went to the stones. “They reminded me Honorus had said not to fight Meglar anywhere but on Gharaha. Then they left without me.”
“Ah. Now I understand.” Miceral reached for Farrell’s free hand. “I think Kel and Zenora are capable of finding Sanduval without your help.”
He knew they didn’t need his help. Especially now that the shield was back at full strength, but he chafed at being left behind. “We should check on the king and see how the evacuation is going.”
Jagwin and a dozen guards suddenly appeared. No one spoke as they positioned themselves around the kings. This soon after Christian’s death, Farrell knew better than to object. He nodded when Jagwin looked back at him.
Marching through the halls of the palace, they drew attention despite the frenetic atmosphere. Every room they passed was empty. Sanduval had spent weeks with Honal’s wizards enchanting as many places as possible. They’d transferred most of Honal’s wealth and treasures months ago. Now they were denying Meglar anything else he might want.
They found the king and several senior advisors in the throne room. Soldiers came in and then left, following a blue ball of energy that emerged from a tall column of stone. Farrell had helped Sanduval create the spell to search out people still in the city.
“Your Majesties.” Albert bowed. “We appreciate your help.”
“I’m sorry about your father,” Miceral said. “He was a good man.”
“He didn’t think so,” Albert said bitterly. “His inability to forgive himself cost me a father, a brother, and a cousin who was like a brother.”
Farrell wanted to defend Christian, but he understood Albert’s pain. The burden of ruling at this moment was high enough. “How is the evacuation going?”
“Too slow.” He shook his head. “Every time a soldier comes in, I keep hoping a ball won’t appear, but a new one always pops out.”
“The shield will hold for a while, and I can add more energy if needed.”
“We may need it. My father was successful in convincing a lot of people to flee. The city was packed when the shield sprang to life.” He stared hard at Farrell. “He came.”
Farrell knew who he meant without asking. “What happened?”
“The soldiers were bringing Father, Hendral, and Glaus back, and Sanduval raced out of the castle. He must have sensed him coming. He protected the convoy, and something struck his shield so hard it drove him back twenty feet.
“Sanduval dug in and stopped the next blow. That’s when Meglar pushed through his army. He kept pounding Sanduval and pushing him back. After the fourth or fifth time, Sanduval reactivated the shield.”
“He let Meglar move him,” Farrell said. He hoped Sanduval wasn’t badly hurt.
“Why do you say that?” Albert asked.
“When the fight started, was Sanduval in front of the shield?”
“Yes,” he said. “But why would he let Meglar hammer him like that?”
“It was the safest way to get inside the safe zone,” Farrell said. “I could explain, but take my word Sanduval knew what he was doing.”
“He took a beating doing it.”
“Was… was he hurt?”
Albert nodded. “He declined a healer and refused to leave the field. Said he had to monitor the shield.”
Farrell felt a strain on the shield and then heard someone use high magic. He scanned the room for the nearest window. “It stopped.”
“What has?” Albert asked.
“The balls.” He pointed to the column and the line of soldiers waiting for a new guide. “Everyone’s left the city.”
“Not
yet. It only identified people outside the castle. But it means everyone is inside the palace. Sanduval needs to recalibrate it to search for people inside.”
“I can do that.” He reached out to the pillar and changed the search thread. “Kel and my mother must be fighting Meglar. He’s attacking the shield. Hard.”
“Will it fail?” Miceral asked.
The pressure on the shield let up some, but the sound of high magic filled his mind. “Doubtful. I don’t know how he could breach it while defending himself from Kel and Mother.”
A flurry of green balls shot from the top of the stone column. “I changed it to search for people inside the palace.”
“Thank you.” Albert glanced at the continuous stream of balls. “That’s a lot of people.”
“We have a lot of Doors leading to your area of Haven.” He pointed to the mass swirling above them. Several winked out as they watched. “As people leave, the pace will slow and balls will disappear.”
The king nodded to an advisor. “Send the final order.”
“At once, Your Majesty.”
Albert nodded and followed the man out with his eyes. “It will take some getting used to being called Your Majesty. I still look for my father.”
“It will get easier,” Miceral said.
“Make way!” The shout came from outside the throne room. “We need to see the king!”
Jagwin and the dwarves moved closer to the kings and drew their weapons.
A company of guards in Honal’s colors carried a stretcher. Farrell’s heart seized when he saw the occupant. Pushing his guards aside, he ran to Sanduval’s side. The Honalese soldiers set their patient down.
“Is he…?” Farrell couldn’t get the words out.
“I’m not dead.” Sanduval growled. “I just feel like it.”
“What happened?” Farrell asked.
“Your mother put a healing spell on me and pushed me onto this stretcher.” Despite the words, Sanduval didn’t sound angry. “I can’t undo her magic, and it saps my energy.”
Farrell scanned his body. “You’ve got serious power burns that require a master healer.”
“Bah!” He weakly waved off the comment. “I don’t need a healer.”
“As one who’s had a few burns in his life, I think I’m an expert on this topic.” Farrell searched again for any magic clinging to the wounds. “I say you do.”
Sanduval laughed for a second, then groaned. “Don’t do that, boy.”
Farrell felt another blow to the shield.
The balls coming from the tower had slowed and the cloud circling above had shrunk. Farrell estimated for every two that appeared, three disappeared. There were still hundreds left and more coming, but it was manageable. “What’s happening out there?”
“Zenora and Kel are making sure Meglar can’t figure out your fancy new shield.” Sanduval winked and let his head sink back against the stiff fabric of his stretcher.
“He needs to get back to Haven.” Farrell nodded to Jagwin. “My guards and I will take him back.”
“No.” Sanduval grabbed Farrell’s arm and pulled until their gazes met. “You need to stay and call them back when you’re ready. He can’t get your shield or he’ll figure out how to defeat it. Only you’re familiar enough with the stones to detonate them properly.”
“My dwarves will get him to Master Heather with all speed,” Jagwin said.
The weight of the moment slowed Farrell’s decision. He could get his mentor to a healer faster than the dwarves, but Sanduval made a good argument. Keeping Meglar from studying the building blocks of his regenerating shields was important to the success of his plans.
“If I may?” Albert said. “There’s a Door in the next room. We plan to use it to leave. Can you redirect it to your infirmary? If we end up there instead of our designated area, so be it.”
“I can easily change the terminus.” Farrell nodded to Jagwin, and four guards picked up the stretcher. “Let’s go.”
THE CLOUD above the pillar hadn’t thinned as much as Farrell expected when he returned from Haven. Only a trickle of new balls appeared, but the pace of deletions had abated. The throne room, however, was packed.
Farrell reached for the spell and tweaked it to ignore anyone in the room. Several people cried out in surprise when more than half the globes winked out. The king scanned the room and stopped when Farrell pointed to himself.
“My apologies, Your Majesty,” he said when he joined them. “I was trying to gauge how much longer Zenora and Kel need to engage Meglar.”
“Those….” He pointed above them. “Are they…?”
“They are the people not in this room.”
Albert frowned. “I gave the order to leave before you left with Sanduval. Now we need to hunt them down.”
“With your permission, I can bring them here.”
The king raised an eyebrow. “You can?”
Farrell nodded and waved his staff at the orbs. “I can send a ball to find and carry everyone still in the castle to the throne room.”
“Do it.” Albert sounded tired and angry. “They don’t deserve another gentle reminder.”
He pushed additional magic into the spell, and the balls sped off through every door and window.
“Anyone not assigned to my detail, go now,” Albert said. “I want this space clear so everyone who defied my order can see my displeasure when they arrive.”
In short order the balls returned. They’d expanded so they could carry the person they’d been sent to retrieve. The stragglers were a collection of different people: children, adults, commoners, and nobles. Most appeared to be part of the palace staff. They received a disapproving glare, were released, and sent through the Door.
The ones who were not part of the staff were taken into custody by the king’s guards.
“Fools,” Albert said. “They knew we removed everything of value before Meglar arrived. Why would they try to loot the palace?”
“Don’t be too harsh to them,” Miceral said. “They’ve lost everything.”
“No, everyone had the chance to leave with their possessions,” Albert said. “My father, brother, and cousin died to give them the time. These are thieves.”
Farrell checked to be sure all the balls had returned. When he confirmed they had, he sent his mother and Kel a message to disengage. Next, he triggered the spell to unmake all the Doors in the city.
The pillar spit out a new ball, and Farrell had it show him the face of the person it tracked. Zenora’s image appeared in the globe. He waited for Kel join them, but as time continued without a new notice, his anxiety grew. Finally his mother entered the throne room.
“Where’s Kel?” Albert asked before Farrell could give voice to his fear.
Zenora smirked. “Provoking Meglar into following us to Haven.”
“He won’t come.” Farrell stared at the wall that faced where the fight had taken place. A sudden flurry of activity hit the shield. “Not until I force his hand.”
A new ball appeared bearing Kel’s likeness. The attacks on the shield continued, taking on a frenzied quality. Farrell glanced over and met his mother’s stare. She knew what he meant.
“Everyone should leave,” Zenora said. “I can get the central stone ready.”
“I’ll wait here for Kel.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Miceral said.
“No,” he said. “Please go. We’re going to destroy the shield, and it will be easier if we’re alone.”
That wasn’t the truth, not all of it, and Miceral knew it. Thankfully he didn’t press the issue. He rubbed the back of Farrell’s neck and left with the others.
Alone, he disconnected the rocks around the city from the central stone. Then he sent a spell to release all magic tethered to an object in the city. A tiny wave of energy coursed through the web. When the collection spell blinked out, he knew his mother had handled her part of the removal.
Kel arrived with little fanfare. He didn’t look as ti
red as Farrell expected.
“Don’t try to scan me.” His tone was light but had an edge. “You mother sent most of the attacks on Meglar. She is a formidable wizard. Most people underestimate her.”
“It’s time.” He hadn’t meant to ignore the comments, but he was anxious. “Sorry. Yes, I know Mother is powerful. She helped train me.”
“I know.” Kel gave him a look Farrell couldn’t decipher. “And it is time.”
“Honorus”—Farrell kept his eyes on the floor—“I accept. I will be Your Champion.”
Chapter 34
“HOW SOON will he come?” Farrell asked Kel as he closed the last Door to Honal.
“Impossible to say. I suspect he’ll want to wait, but Neldin will prefer the opposite.”
“Because the more he waits, the more I learn.”
Kel nodded. “That would be my fear if I were Neldin.”
No one knew for sure what Neldin planned, but there was a logic to Kel’s words. “I don’t feel any different.”
“It’s not as if being the Champion confers a new power on you. It is merely a—”
Farrell’s head exploded in pain. “Help! Papa! Help!”
“What is it?” Kel asked.
“Geena!” Farrell reached for the Eye. “Show me Geena!”
Lisle clutched Bren to her chest and held Geena’s face to her skirt. Urana and Teless pressed their backs to a door, and a rage filled Farrell like he’d never felt. “The nursery!”
He didn’t explain but laid out a Door and exited into his bedroom. Kel followed, but Farrell ignored his grandfather and headed for the nursery.
The door from his bedroom to the children’s hallway was jammed shut. Farrell pulled so hard the stone handle broke off in his hand.
“Stand back!” Kel said.
Farrell barely moved away before the door shattered under a thunderous blast of energy. Flecks of stone dropped onto Farrell as he ran into the dark hallway and turned left. A hail of arrows with magically enhanced tips struck his shield. They might have pierced his defenses if he’d been taken unaware, but he was ready for a fight and they bounced off. Acting on reflex, he sent a burst of energy to stun anyone in front of him.
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