Metal Mage 11

by Eric Vall

Then I focused all of my attention on connecting with the steel of my worktable, and I stayed there without doing anything but embodying the metal for several moments. The longer I stayed there, the more I became the metal itself, and I waited until I felt like there was no divide between myself and the metal.

  Once I was sure I was as in tune with my element as possible, I refocused, and I tried to access that part of my consciousness that could sense when an area was charged with magic. At first, I immediately regressed into sensing Aurora and Shoshanne’s presence from the air around me, but as I forced my mind to return to the metal a few times, everything changed. Suddenly, the worktable itself began to connect with their presence, and I could feel Aurora’s static energy reacting with the metal. Then I could sense Shoshanne’s powers as well, and even though my magic was dwindling and my head throbbed, I clung to this recognition for several minutes just to be sure I wouldn’t forget the sensation.

  Then I broke my connection, and when I opened my eyes, Aurora looked ready to burst.

  “I knew it!” she gushed. “You can already do it! How do you feel? Was it more difficult than scanning the perimeter or about the same?”

  “A little more difficult as the distance increased, but it felt different, too,” I mused. “My powers felt lighter once they reached a certain distance, and shortly after you tapped me, they seemed to move away from me at a faster rate, but they weren’t as powerful when I tried to use them to alter the terrain.”

  “I’m sure with some practice, you could strengthen your powers from any distance,” Aurora said as she clutched the side of the table in her excitement.

  “That seems logical,” I agreed. “Then I switched elements, though, and it took me a little while, but I think I sensed your magery through my element.”

  Aurora stared. “Like Hulsan talked about?”

  “Yeah,” I said with a grin. “It was a strange balance. At first, I couldn’t stop sensing your presence just from myself being near you two, but when I redirected my focus … I don’t know how to describe it exactly. Your powers felt electric, and my metal was some sort of conduit for them. I found them like a magnet, but through the metal rather than my body.”

  “Could you do it again?” the half-elf asked eagerly. “I want to see if I can--”

  Aurora froze mid-sentence as the bells of the lookout tower began to clang, and her emerald eyes went wide.

  “Godsdamnit!” I growled. “Again?”

  “Noooo,” Deya groaned. “No battles, I’m so tired.”

  I swiftly hoisted the elf off my lap and propped her against Shoshanne, and both women looked like they couldn’t decide whether to cry or just drop to the ground and refuse to move.

  “You two are excused from the battle,” I sighed as I dug two handfuls of magazines out of the ammunition cabinet. “Starting tomorrow, though, the vacation is over. For now, go get in bed. We’ll kill whoever just showed up.”

  “And then we get to cuddle?” Deya asked.

  “Then I’m repairing the damage and finishing these automatons,” I told her as Aurora tossed me my gun belt.

  The half-elf secured two pistols in her own holsters before she ran for the door, and I quickly followed after.

  “But then we cuddle?” Shoshanne tried.

  “Then we cuddle!” I called over my shoulder.

  Cayla got to the door at the same moment I did with her pistols already drawn, and I caught her by the belt to shove two spare magazines into their pouches.

  “Ready?” I checked.

  The princess sent me a curt nod, and we were sprinting together across the bridge of our moat when the lookout on the infirmary tower suddenly called out.

  I flipped around just as they threw four torches over the battlement, and in the flickering light, I realized something was crawling all over the walls of the infirmary. I sparked my Terra powers and immediately sealed off all the windows of both the infirmary and the mansion, and I squinted while I tried to decide if what I was seeing were giant spiders or some other spindly legged insect. They moved so quickly, I could hardly tell one from another, but whatever they were, at least a hundred of them were emerging from the shadowy floor of the western woods.

  “Mason, move!” Aurora screeched, and Cayla dragged me backward by my shirt just as something scuttled across the toe of my boot.

  Then the creature charged, bared its green fangs at me, and spewed a black tar-like substance from its mouth like a fire hydrant.

  Chapter 9

  “What the hell?” I yelped as the bridge began to boil and burn away right in front of me. “Whatever tarrish shit this thing’s spitting is acidic!”

  “Yes, and it will scald straight through to your bones, so move!” Aurora growled, and she wrenched me aside before lighting the entire bridge up.

  The spider shrieked and scampered all over trying to escape the blaze, but when tar began to ooze from its body, it finally collapsed.

  I didn’t have any time to ask what these creatures were, because they were already spewing tar all over my infirmary and the lanes of Falmount, and the air smelled like burning tires as the mages who had gathered behind us began slowly backing away.

  “Shoot them, what are you waiting for?” Cayla yelled, but when Pindor nodded and pulled the trigger, his target burst open like a tar firework.

  The acid almost scalded half the nearby mages, but the hoard of spiders was still swarming in, and as I began to panic, Aurora wrenched Mina from Pindor’s side.

  “Burn these fuckers up,” the half-elf growled, and Mina’s sweet smile was suddenly eerie as hell while both women ignited their palms.

  Then they sent an inferno out that would have burned my eyebrows right off my face if I hadn’t jumped back in time.

  “Aer Mages, form a circuit,” I ordered as I turned to the rest of the mages. “Blow the spiders back from the rest of the village and keep them contained on this side of town! We don’t want any of them hiding around! Ignis Mages, this one’s on you!”

  The Ignis Mages all pushed through the crowd as they holstered their guns, and the Aer Mages dropped back to position themselves like a shield across the center of town. Then they summoned their powers as a fierce breeze kicked up, and I squinted through the dust as spiders began tumbling over each other and back toward the infirmary.

  The Ignis Mages were already waiting with their palms ignited, and they sent jets of flames over the beasts while the winds built the inferno up to an alarming height.

  I eyed the ancient oaks towering above me as the flames flicked higher and higher, and then I jumped up onto a rock to begin organizing the rest of our troops.

  “Flumen Mages, douse the trees and any undergrowth!” I bellowed above the shrieking of the spiders. “We have to contain the blaze! The forest is our only cover out here!”

  The Flumen Mages promptly took to the edges of the trees, and I cocked a curious brow as I sensed them forming a massive circuit. I had no idea what they planned to do, but drawing water from the trees themselves seemed like a terrible idea given it would only dry the wood out and make it more flammable. Then I heard the sound of rushing water, though, and I turned to see an entire lane flooding as the torrent swelled and came right toward us.

  That’s when I realized they were drawing from the new well I’d ordered to be built in the market, and as the river drew closer, it suddenly redirected. The Flumen Mages sent the water blasting through the forest, and it soared straight over our heads to douse the brush and branches.

  I grinned and squinted through the water, flames, and dust, and even though tar was currently scalding its way through most of the infirmary walls, I could tell we had this one already handled.

  Aurora and Mina were cackling like little demons while they strolled amongst the inferno, and they drove the fire toward the incoming droves of spiders still attempting to swarm the village.

  The gust of wind kept the bastards from making it far enough to escape the flames, and while the Flumen M
ages sent another wash of water cascading through the trees, I turned to the Terra Mages.

  “Repair any damage to the infirmary,” I ordered, “but be careful not to unseal any of the entrances! The healers are still inside!”

  A group of young mages knelt to form a circuit, but just as I sensed them summoning their powers, the scuttling of more spindly legs registered above the chaos, and I whipped around.

  “Shit!” I growled, and I could see more spiders spilling over the tracks now. “We need two groups! Half of you head for the tracks! Kurna, where the fuck are you?”

  “Here!” I heard the brawny mage call back, and I pointed to the tracks as the man nodded diligently.

  Then he began organizing the troop of Ignis Mages running that way, and I grabbed Odin because he was the only Flumen Mage I knew at this point.

  “Odin, you’re being promoted,” I informed him, and the kid paled. “Lead the efforts on the east side of town, now!”

  Odin gave a frantic nod as he turned to the rest of his crew, and he ordered ten mages to follow him before sprinting after Kurna. The attack from the east came on too suddenly, though, and I could see dozens of spiders who’d managed to get at the homes and were heading toward the market as well. They left a tarry path of acidic sludge behind them, and I ground my teeth at the sight of my village being melted away by acid.

  “Terra Mages, protect the homes and bury any stray creatures who break through our front!” I ordered. “Aer Mages take it down a notch, we don’t want to send them flying into the woods. They’ll be able to wait us out and attack when our guards are down!”

  The wind let up just a bit at my command, and I jumped down from the rock I was on as I grabbed Cayla by the arm.

  The princess had been staring wide-eyed at the collective work of the mages, but when she turned to me, she managed a grin.

  “Mason, your mages are incredible,” she told me. “They’re all--”

  “I know,” I cut her off, “but I was actually wondering how you feel about heights?”

  “Fine, why?”

  “Because you’re my go-to sniper,” I informed her, and I raised the ground beneath her feet as she yelped and dropped to her knees. “They’re crawling over the roofs! Take ‘em out!”

  Cayla nodded as the pillar she clung to finally stopped gaining in height at about twenty feet, and I ordered a nearby Ignis Mage to ignite a ring of fire at the base so no stray spiders could get to her.

  When I craned my neck, Cayla was back on her feet with both pistols drawn, and spiders were already bursting into flames all over the village while she shot them down with her fireball bullets.

  The defenses at the eastern edge of the village were well underway, too, and I was proud to see Odin was a damned natural at leading his own troops. The Flumen Mages followed his instructions while they worked to avoid dousing the flames by mistake, and Kurna led his Ignis Mages in forming a swirling inferno that undulated along the tracks to swallow up every incoming creature.

  With both fronts covered, I sprinted down the lane to join the Terra Mages who were making their way through the market, but as my feet pounded across the dirt, I suddenly tripped over a giant, spindly creature who was clawing his way out of the ground.

  “Shit! Terra Mages, stop burying them!” I belted as I swiftly sparked my powers, and I tore a house right off its foundation. “Smash them first!”

  Then I hurled the entire structure into a swarm of spiders who were burrowing out of the dirt, and tar splattered everywhere as I hopped to avoid being scalded by five tar-spewing beasts clawing at my feet.

  Cayla ignited all five of them in seconds flat, and she sent me a wink when I whipped around and looked up at the pillar she stood on. Then she pointed toward the woods with her pistol, and as she gave a nod, I caught her meaning.

  “Good call,” I muttered under my breath, and I turned full circle until I found Pindor smashing a swarm of spiders with a bench he’d uprooted. “Pindor, you’re in charge of the Terra Mages, I’ll be right back!”

  “What?” the kid yelped. “Why? Where are you going?”

  I was already ducking between a line of Flumen Mages, though, and I drew my pistol as the light of the flames in the village began to fade behind me. I bolted through the dim forest at mach speed while I headed straight north, and then I turned west and slowed my pace to scan the trees of the western woods. At first, I couldn’t see any of the spiders who were filling the village, but then I realized the forest floor in the distance looked like it was rolling, and as I silently came closer, I could make out the spindly legs while hundreds of spiders trampled one another on their way to Falmount.

  I steered clear of the swarm as I slowly headed further west, and after jogging for nearly five minutes, I finally found the point they were arriving from.

  “Got you,” I growled, and I crouched behind I patch of nettles so I wouldn’t draw any attention from the swarm.

  They appeared out of thin air in groups of ten at the base of a gnarled oak, and in the thirty seconds I spent watching them, at least a hundred more showed up. They made their way directly toward the village without pause, and as one batch after another just kept arriving, I realized the Master had an endless supply of these tar-spewing spiders.

  “Great,” I mumbled as I crept through the underbrush, and as much as I wanted to kill off his whole cluster tonight, I knew my mages could only keep up their efforts for so long, and it didn’t look like this would be ending anytime soon.

  So, I worked my way toward the oak until I had a clear shot, and then I fired five runed bullets in quick succession. The trunk ignited in a fierce blaze of searing white flames, and as they spread over every inch of wood, the creatures finally stopped appearing.

  Unfortunately, the blaze caught the attention of the hundreds who hadn’t made it to the village yet, and they let out furious hisses as they turned their green fangs toward the brush I was crouching in.

  Then tar spewed out and began eating away at the forest floor, and the entire flock scurried straight for me.

  “Fuck!” I yelped, and I shot up to my feet as I pulled my second pistol out.

  I fired on the creatures like I was at a rodeo until both magazines were empty, and while I fumbled to reload, I zigzagged through the tarry mess and made a break toward the village.

  I said “shit” more times in that three-minute sprint than I’d ever done in my whole life, and I fired blindly behind me as the sound of thousands of spindly legs scurried after me.

  The sound sent a chill down my spine as I heard their fangs slicing against each other like scissors, and the gurgling of acid was drawing so close, I was sure my feet would be scalded off any second. I pumped my legs as fast as I could while desperation coursed through my veins, and my rune began to war in my ears as I finally neared the inferno taking place in Falmount.

  “Aurora!” I roared at the top of my lungs, but then I saw the back edge of my moat and said a silent prayer.

  Every one of my eels leapt and snapped while I took a flying leap over the watery divide, but I crashed down hard just inches beyond the opposite edge, and I rolled several feet as my limbs went numb with relief.

  Then I looked up to see droves of spiders tumbling into my moat, and my heart sank.

  My water spawn may have been vicious as hell, but they were like family to me now, and the thought of them dying tarry deaths just about did me in.

  “No!” I gasped as I scrambled forward on all fours, but when I got to the edge of my moat, my jaw unhinged.

  Tar and water splattered all over the place as my eels wriggled with a vengeance, but it was immediately clear they were winning this one. The spiders were shredded and devoured the moment they hit the water, and the tar didn’t seem to bother my eels in the slightest. They thrashed their way through the swarm like I just broke a pinata open for them, and I grinned from ear to ear while I watched them destroy my enemies with violent enthusiasm.

  Then Aurora screeched my
name, and when I turned my head, she was bolting into the western woods with Mina close behind.

  “Aurora, look at this!” I hollered.

  Both women stumbled to a stop and whipped around, and my half-elf’s expression went from terror to fury in seconds flat when she saw the grin on my face.

  “I thought you were dead!” Aurora spat. “What are you--”

  “Hurry, you’re gonna miss it!” I urged. “There’s only a few dozen left!”

  Mina and Aurora rushed over to the moat with their palms at the ready, but I waved them off before they could ignite the incoming spiders.

  “Look at these guys go!” I laughed. “Have you ever seen such fucking carnage? They’re like a garbage disposal for assholes.”

  “Aww,” Mina squealed. “I want eels! They’re so cute!”

  “Aren’t they?” I sighed, but my gaping grin dropped when I turned to see Aurora’s jaw twitching as she ground her teeth.

  I could tell she was fighting against a smile, though, and I promptly hopped to my feet as I admired the last few spiders being torn to bits.

  “So, should I assume every time you scream your head off it’s about eels?” Aurora asked as she crossed her arms.

  “No,” I chuckled. “I honestly thought I was about to die, but I handled it. I destroyed one of the portals, too, I just have to go get the other one real quick.”

  “I’m coming with you this time,” the half-elf decided. “There’s no moats on that side of town.”

  “There should be,” I chuckled, and we ran along opposite sides of my moat before I met her and Mina at the bridge.

  “I’ll help!” the Ignis Mage offered with a cheery smile, and the three of us sprinted through the village before ducking behind a row of houses.

  The rest of the mages had already joined forces on the east side of Falmount now that the western woods were handled, and Cayla’s shots continued to fire from her perch above the lanes. The tarry beasts had begun to disperse to get around our flame barrier, but as wind funneled past me on both sides, I could tell the Aer Mages were switching up their approach to help contain the spiders.