Dragonhunters

by Sabrina Chase

  It perched immediately and allowed Ardhuin to take the thing it was clutching. Dominic reached for it.

  “There’s something magical inside…‌and the creature itself has a cloud of magic about it. Oh, it’s a bubble like MacCrimmon sent us—‌and the skull! It was one of these animals?”

  MacCrimmon nodded, smiling. “Then the message must be from Sonam.”

  “Already?” Markus bent slightly to examine the dragonet, which flared its neck scales at him but did not attempt to leave Ardhuin’s hand. “He’s been busy.”

  They gathered about MacCrimmon’s pallet so they all could hear. MacCrimmon gently scratched the dragonet’s back, and it stretched and arched its neck and closed its eyes.

  Sonam’s voice in the message was tight and abrupt. He had much news, and none of it good.

  “Denais,” breathed Dominic. “It has to be him. And he is taking down the barrier…‌he could be doing it now!”

  “I want to know more of this Korda,” Gutrune said. “He does not appear to be entirely loyal to Denais—‌in fact, is actively sabotaging him.”

  Ardhuin felt a chill. “Sabotaging Denais by giving one of the geas–‌controlled commands. Is it possible that he…‌but Denais would hardly have taught him how to do it.”

  “We should certainly look out for this Korda fellow, but we have a more immediate problem to deal with.” Markus paced restlessly. “What will happen when the barrier is destroyed? It sounds like Denais doesn’t have as much of that magic salt as he’d like—‌how long will it take him to make more?”

  “It doesn’t matter. He is powerful enough without it to be dangerous. We have to stop him, now.” Ardhuin thought hard, ignoring the fear that knotted her stomach. No time to wait for the reinforcements or to make careful plans.

  “It will take him more effort to take down the barrier than it took me to make it,” MacCrimmon said softly. “I am ill, but he is old. It will depend then on whether he feels it likely he will need to dispel a subsequent magical attack himself, or if he will rely on his enslaved magicians until he is recovered.”

  “Then I should not reveal myself until we can prevent him from using either the magical essence or his magicians,” Ardhuin mused.

  “Can we release the geas? It is likely once freed the magicians will be able and willing to assist us,” Gutrune said.

  “I can. Unfortunately, it is necessary to know how to create the geas to dispel it.” Ardhuin felt her face heat, and she did not look at Dominic. “It is…‌not common knowledge, and teaching it is forbidden for very good reason.”

  The little blue kai–‌ling wriggled up her arm and nuzzled her hair, braided for simplicity. She scratched it as she had seen MacCrimmon do, but it would not be still.

  “Ah. That was the last part of Sonam’s message.” MacCrimmon smiled. “We owe our little messenger some food in payment.”

  Ardhuin was glad of the distraction. “What do they eat?”

  “Insects, mice…‌other small creatures.”

  “Would a sardine do?” Stoller held up a tin. “We don’t have much else left. Or much at all, actually.”

  Another reason to act quickly.

  The kai–‌ling regarded the sardine with initial suspicion, but when enticed it grasped the fish in its forepaws and took a darting bite. It then proceeded to stuff the entire sardine in its mouth.

  “It appears to be acceptable. Now when—”

  A distant boom echoed from the cliffs, followed shortly by a vibration in the ground.

  “What, has he taken down the barrier already?”

  They ran for the cave opening. Dominic scanned the valley below, looking puzzled.

  “It’s still there. The barrier.”

  “What’s that?” Markus pointed. A thin column of dust rose into the air in the distance.

  Gutrune was looking through her field glasses. “The location is very close to where Herr MacCrimmon said the passage was. Perhaps Sonam has been forced to defend himself.” She lowered the glasses, her brows wrinkled in a look of worry Ardhuin had rarely seen on her. “Denais will be more wary now, regardless. We must act quickly. I regret to say I had been counting on resupply from the Preusan detachment. I do not have much ammunition left, and we have only three effective magicians. We must make our targets come to a place of our choosing.”

  Dominic’s face was pale. “They will come if their traps are triggered, I think. And I can watch for any magic they send ahead. The magicians are most likely to come, and only Ardhuin can release them to help us.”

  Ardhuin closed her eyes, hating the necessity of what she had to say. What if something happened and she was unable to protect him? It is possible none of us will survive this. And yet it must be done.

  “You have another task, equally important, that only you can do. Someone must find the supply of magical salts and keep it away from Denais.”

  Markus nodded. “Yes, we must first weaken him before we go on the attack together. The salts and the enslaved magicians first, each in our own way. Then we can take him down. And with young Sonam even now rousing the local population to action, matters are not hopeless.” Markus rubbed his chin. “Better if we draw off the magicians to more than one location, the better to aid Herr Kermarec’s mission.”

  “I may be able to find it, but I can’t touch it or get near it,” Dominic protested.

  “That will be my job, sir,” Stoller said. “I can’t do much with magicians so I might as well come along with you.”

  “But you will need a magician yourself to trigger the traps, will you not?” Dominic asked Gutrune, looking a bit desperate.

  “I can give her another magic–‌infused token that will be effective enough,” Ardhuin said. “That will give us three diversions.”

  “Four.” A shaky MacCrimmon stood at the mouth of the cave tunnel, leaning heavily against the wall. “If you will permit me to lie in wait here, where I do not need to walk as far. I have enough power for that.”

  Chapter 21

  Dominic took out his watch one more time, knowing he was just worrying. They still had over an hour until the plan went into effect. If you could call it a plan, and every time he thought about how shaky it was, he panicked and checked the time again.

  “You shouldn’t do that, sir,” Stoller said in a quiet voice. “It’s not invisibility she’s given us. Motion draws the eye, and the little click when the case closes doesn’t help.”

  Dominic nodded, sighing. The early morning light cast dark shadows, which helped, but people in Denais’s facility were going about their work already despite the earlier explosion. He had been able to scan the open areas with Gutrune’s field glasses before they split up, and no bright sources of magic were visible. Unless the magical salts were deeply buried, they must be hidden somewhere in the buildings. Which meant they had to go closer. But how could they do that without being seen?

  Smoke was drifting up from the center of the camp, and the smell reminded him of how hungry he was. The location was near where Sonam had reported some kind of open kitchen.

  “Let’s go in now. I think they may be having breakfast.” Maybe they could steal some before the war started.

  Stoller got up and started moving away from the clump of scraggly bushes they had been hiding behind, so it appeared he agreed. Dominic did his best to follow as silently as Stoller, with indifferent success. Several times Stoller halted suddenly or darted into concealment as they got closer. Denais had set guards, a ragged lot but armed, and they had clearly been told exactly where to patrol and to look. Once you knew that they would not vary, it was possible to sneak by. Although many of the larger trees in the area had been cut down,bushes and rough boulders dotted the landscape and slopes of the valley.

  Inside the guard perimeter it was easier. While there were more people about, they also were constrained to certain areas and activities, and there were more buildings to hide behind or in some cases, underneath.

  Where was the damn stu
ff? Was it possible Denais had hidden it in a completely different location? Ardhuin didn’t think so, and Gutrune had agreed with her. The magical salts were too valuable and too useful. Denais would keep them close at hand, both for his convenience and to keep an eye on them. And Denais was staying in the camp, from Sonam’s information.

  More people. Dominic darted around a corner, breathing heavily, his heart pounding. Stoller had his pistol out. These people did not look like the guards and workers—‌they were Aeropan and walked with stiff precision and expressionless faces. They all had geasi—‌but Dominic could see two of them that had the curious second layer.

  Staring at them, something else caught his eye. A building. He tapped Stoller on the shoulder and pointed. Stoller watched for a moment, then gestured him forward. Dominic ran.

  He knew as soon as he looked at it that it was Denais’s work. Rather than a single ward like a bubble, magic was infused in the building itself. It was better looking than the other, functional structures of the camp as well, matching Denais’s known love of comfort and luxury. Fancy or not, with the magic protections there was no way he could get in. With Stoller on guard, Dominic examined the exterior as much as he could.

  A nearby building, an older stone structure that had been incorporated when the camp was set up, had a low, dusty cellar with a rotted door. They hid inside.

  “I’m not sure what we can do.” Dominic described what he had seen. “Besides the defenses, there’s something else with very strong magic inside. It could be the salts, but I can’t tell for sure. We don’t have much time left before the others start. What can we do besides keep an eye on it? We’ll have to wait for someone with magical ability.”

  Stoller scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe. Or we can do like the others and give the enemy something more to worry about. If it’s that important, they’ll come in a hurry if it’s threatened, I’m thinking.”

  “But what can we do? It’s shielded with magic.”

  Stoller smiled grimly. “Let’s see if magic can shield wood from fire, sir.”

  Gutrune hid behind a large granite boulder with a band of pure white running through it, and swore. She had only twenty–‌eight rounds for the triple. One box had gotten lost somewhere in the desert when that miserable camel dropped its load. More had been used hunting for food. There had not been space for heavy ammunition when they made the last segment of their journey, and she had been counting on the Preusan detachment for resupply—‌a terrible mistake. Too late to remedy now. She would have to make every bullet count.

  Dominic had pointed out the web of detection near her position. She could see nothing, but she knew where the web was anchored. Ardhuin had given her the magic–‌infused token that would trigger the web, and that was in her hand. In her other hand was her watch.

  She had found a group of boulders that would give her cover near the web, and spent the time while waiting carving holes in a piece of wood to hold her extra rounds ready to her hand. There might not be much time for reloading, and having her ammunition set out would make things run more smoothly. Until it didn’t, and then it would have to be the pistol and the knife. And no Stoller to reload for her.

  You see, Heinrich? Nothing is safe, nothing is certain. Winning was…‌unlikely. But the more damage they did, the more it improved the chance that the detachment would succeed. It could not have been destroyed, not so completely that word would not have gotten out. Someone would come, eventually.

  She spared a thought for Heinrich, and another for Markus. Perhaps it was better this way than hoping for the impossible. Kinder, in the end.

  It was time. Gutrune lifted her head, forced her sorrow aside, and threw the token at the web.

  He had a lovely view, not that Markus really felt he could appreciate it. For one thing, it was just possible to see the curve of the valley slope where Gutrune was, and it was too tempting to watch that location instead of the section of road where the defenders most likely would appear to attack him.

  Markus had tapped the web assigned to him on schedule, just a light little pulse of sensing magic likely to be used for general detection. Nothing serious. No one had shown up. He was beginning to think he should try again, more forcefully.

  Motion on the road, near the camp. Ah, this was more promising. He took out his battered telescope and squinted through it. A foreboding feeling troubled him. A sizable group, yes, but…‌weapons?

  The feeling of foreboding only increased as they came fully into view. Every single one of the motley group had weapons. What? I don’t rate a single magician?

  He thought furiously. The others must have triggered their own webs by now. This could only mean the available magicians were either held in reserve, defending Denais and the magical salts, or were attacking the other triggered webs. Such as Gutrune’s—‌and she was no magician.

  That just meant he had to deal with these attackers thoroughly, and with speed.

  As soon as the front row of the fighters emerged around the bend of the road, Markus let loose with a powerful blast. It hit the rock opposite the road, but none of the fighters. They stopped immediately and aimed their weapons up the hill, but before they could fire, Markus had captured the rock shards created by the blast in a cloud of magic, sending them ripping through the fighters. It was a secret schutzmagus spell designed to shield against mass gunfire, but Markus saw no reason not to repurpose the general intent. Besides, he had no bullets himself and didn’t want to wait for the fighters to give him any.

  Several of the fighters were dead or severely wounded, but they made no sound. All ensorcelled, still trying to fight. Well, he should give them something to fight, then, if they were so determined. He did not have even a tenth of Ardhuin’s skill with illusion, but with the dust stirred up by his blast and the fighters running about, he didn’t need to.

  Two vague figures emerged from a clump of bushes farther up the road and ran. The surviving fighters ran after them, and even the wounded crawled or staggered in pursuit. In a few moments the road was empty again.

  Markus emerged from behind his rock, making sure he was unobserved, and set a few powerful magical surprises for when the fighters decided to return. Now he needed to go find the enemy magicians.

  The first part of their plan had worked well. MacCrimmon triggered the web outside the cave, and Ardhuin concealed herself to trap the magicians who came in response. Three came. She used the tricky but powerful Gerverin Tangle spell, which absorbed and used magic to further contract and constrain those it trapped. It was a difficult mage–‌level spell, and she was profoundly grateful that her great–‌uncle had made sure she had command of it—‌although she had complained bitterly at the time.

  Then she tried to remove the geasi. Oh, the removal was a complete success. The first man she freed seemed only a little dazed and confused at first. He kept asking, “Am I truly free?” She thought he was referring to the Tangle spell, and released it. The man gave her a weary look, thanked her, then ran for the edge of the cliff and jumped. He did not even scream as he fell.

  After that she left the Tangle spell on, but it made no difference. The second man she freed did not speak at all, just stared vacantly, and the third would only weep.

  “It is not surprising the balance of their minds is disturbed after so long under the geas,” MacCrimmon said. “It has been nearly two years for them, and forced to do terrible things all that time.”

  Ardhuin finally cast vital stasis on the two survivors to keep them quiet and to limit their suffering.

  “Will they all be like this? Can we not rescue some to help us?”

  He shook his head. “It is possible one with greater strength of will may be found, but the only way to know is to free them. You have little time available to you,” he said gently. “I do not envy you your decision.” He was seated on a rock just inside the cave tunnel. His color had improved since they had found him, but he was still too weak to walk more than a few steps. “I am afra
id the fact that we do not have any likely assistance makes my request of you more urgent. Leave me. There is one final spell I can perform.”

  Fear and anger made her feel nauseous. She knew what he was referring to. “I can’t possibly leave you to destroy yourself,” she gritted out. “Someone needs to survive. I can cast a very strong ward for you—”

  “No, you must conserve your power to defeat Denais. What we truly cannot risk is for me to be taken alive in my weakened condition,” MacCrimmon said forcefully. “This is the calculus by which the Mage Guardians live. We are the last defense. You cannot permit him to put a geas on me. If you fail, I will have no choice. The most I can do is hope to take him with me.”

  “Then permit me at least to give you an illusion, the better to take him unawares,” she managed to say. Her throat was tight.

  He leaned back against the rock wall, sighing. “Very well. But then you must leave and not return. Your duty is not to me.”

  Korda waited and watched in concealment until he saw Denais leave his quarters, two enslaved magicians following him. One carried the rucksack still containing the two jars of magical essence, and Korda ground his teeth in frustration. He had hoped to steal that to replenish his own supply, since the main store was under powerful protections only Denais knew how to remove. The rucksack, on the other hand, had been kept inside the quarters—‌and Korda knew he had access there. Denais still thought he was under control.

  He had no choice. He had to take the risk. The essence here he would never be able to take, but he could prevent Denais from using it. And he knew Denais would return soon after taking the barrier down. Korda drew back his lips in a snarl. Denais was powerful but old. Even with the essence, he tired. He would return to rest and to ingest the essence in protection. All Korda had to do was use his own magic to trigger a spell. A minor one; that should avoid detection. But it would set another, nonmagical, effect in action.