by Jamie Hawke
You much of a beer drinker? I mentally asked Riland.
A long pause. I used to drink whatever I could get my hands on, although that was a low point. You need someone to share a drink with, I believe I could be your man.
Cool.
It was about the most awkward reply I could have hoped for, but it would do. We arrived and a dog barked in the distance, but a pair of security guards met us at the gate, apparently expecting us. They quickly guided us in, checking behind us to ensure we weren’t followed, and then led us to the senator.
He stood at a large, wall-mounted television, watching the news. Images of the French Embassy showed on it,. Several college kids were being interviewed, then a policewoman.
“They’re looking for you,” Senator Funai said. “Word is, they put together that you were staying with your aunt. Since they found no sign of either of you, you’re on their radar related to the French Embassy attacks.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I replied. “All I’m focused on right now is finding this coven. Glitonea told me—”
“Glitonea?” his eyes went wide.
“I’ll explain later. Point is, she said Fatiha is calling forth the Nine and making a portal to the Dark Lands. She’s bringing an army into our world.”
“But to do that, she’d need the Eye of Balor, and, of course…” He spun, striding past us and to a hall that led to the right, where he opened a door and cursed under his breath. “It’s gone.”
“How?” I asked, but the answer came in the form of an assassin—a female member of his security.
She had a blue blade that trailed purple light, moving through the air as it went for my throat. Each spell and strike from our end to intercept her was met by a wave of color and her suddenly appearing from a different direction, until the cold of her blade was right against my throat.
Something heavy landed in my arms, and I felt Shisa’s stone and fur, then heard a clank as the blade hit my skin. Only, my skin had apparently turned to stone. The assassin cursed, but she had lost. In that moment Riland had appeared, hands on her face, and muttered a chant.
Her eyes went black, then she faded into what I sensed was the Dark Lands.
“You just… banished her?”
He gave me a grim stare. “I did.”
“Nice work.”
The attack had happened in only a matter of seconds. All eyes turned to the second security guard, who knelt, golden symbol on his neck glowing.
“He wasn’t involved,” the senator insisted. “And regardless, it would appear the enemy already has the Eye.”
“Why would she need it?” Aerona asked.
“The part she stole has great power,” the senator explained. “With it, she’s one step closer to opening that portal to the Dark Lands you mentioned. To raising her army.”
“I’ve seen them,” I muttered, but when he gave me a curious look, I waved it off. “We have to stop her.”
“On that, I couldn’t agree more.” He sighed, eyeing the corpse of the assassin. “But it’s more than that. The Eye of Balor has its own magical qualities. The power of the scorching sun, able to drain one’s life force and give it to the holder.”
“And you had this item?” Aerona asked. “Why weren’t you using it?”
He shook his head. “It saddens me to say that I did, many times. It’s how I became as powerful as I am.”
“It can also be used to steal powers,” I said, more in realization than as a question.
He nodded.
“We have to stop her.”
Senator Funai’s eyes lit up and he motioned for us to follow him into the room where he had gone to check on the Eye. It was full of glass cases and old books, artifacts, and several swords.
“We can track it.” Senator Funai held his hand over a piece of parchment. “This from the deadly one’s hide. They were connected, see, and—”
“You’re saying that’s this Balor creature’s skin?” Steph said, scrunching her nose.
“I am.” He waved his hands over it, chanting, and a moment later an image appeared over the skin. As it became clear, the senator’s face went pale. “That’s Senator Ohlo’s house.”
“Competitor,” I explained to the others. Like Senator Funai, she was one of the main candidates for the next presidential race.
“That and… with the Order. If she’s in on this, you won’t have the Order’s support. And I… I can’t be involved.”
“You have no choice,” Aerona insisted. “It’s already begun. Lines have been drawn.”
He nodded. “True as that might be, she is part of the Order. If she’s gone over, there’s no help from me to be had there. Defeat her, and when it’s done, let me know.”
Disdain was heavy in the eyes of my team, but I simply said, “Thank you. You can lead us there?”
“Actually, I think I can,” Riland said, then nodded to me. “With your help.”
He explained how he could connect items that held magical essence, much as this one had already proven to hold, and believed from what he saw of me that I’d be able to form a portal to get us to the other piece of the puzzle. It was worth a shot.
“We’ll be seeing you soon, Senator.”
Joining hands with the others, Shisa in my arms, I closed my eyes and focused on the piece of Balor’s hide. A moment later, the portal appeared in our midst and we all stepped into it, on our way to the coven and to find Megha.
20
Stepping out of the portal, we found ourselves in the backyard of yet another house the size of which, as a youth, I never could have believed people actually lived in. Above us, there were two white, curved balconies, behind us a pool.
Bright security flood lights burst on and I cursed.
“What is it?” Ebrill asked, shielding her eyes.
“Likely cameras, maybe even an alarm.” I motioned the others forward. “Move in.”
I was like a child leading my military team on a raid. A team that consisted of three gargoyles, Riland—who stepped out of me now—a witch, and a stone lion-dog that had come to life. Not your average black ops team, for sure.
“Freeze,” someone shouted, but we were already at the house, and that meant I had access. My hand on the wall, I made it swift in case cameras were watching. No major adjustments, only moving the doors apart and transforming any locks and security systems so that they simply fell away.
There were shots fired, but we were all safely inside, catching a guard by surprise.
“Gorffwys,” I said, and he slumped over, asleep.
“She’s pulling me,” Riland said, hands up and a sort of fiery light trailing from him toward a door to our right. “Megha knows we’re here. She’s showing us the way.”
I nodded and followed Kordelia, who was already plowing through the door. It led to a descending staircase. Bursts of defensive spells came at us—but that’s why I’d brought Shisa. He wasn’t about to let me get taken out by simple security defenses. My hands on the wall, I created a new way for us to go down, to surprise our enemy.
That only half-worked, because moving the walls apparently uncovered some sort of old crypt, where a green, wrinkled witch sprang to life amid all manner of new defensive spells. Her empty eye sockets stared at me, fingers moving as if pulling strings, and I felt my body cede control to her.
Riland slammed a hand to the floor and she started to sink, but resisted his spell that should have sent her to the Dark Lands. Aerona and Kordelia began their assault. Steph joined in with her wraith knights, and soon we left behind a pile of green goo that had once been an old witch. As we descended, a sort of haze of purple and orange covered us. I realized at once that it was a magic cloud that would have caused us to see our worst nightmares, if it wasn’t for Ebrill’s amplification effects on Shisa’s protective magic.
Three more witches entered then, likely assuming we were already in a state of delirium, and moved their hands as one, chanting.
Fuck that, I wasn’t about to
let them finish their little spell. A remnant raised their companion from the goo and sent her after them, while I summoned my staff and the Liahona, taking out the first, spinning to almost get the second—but Aerona hit her first with a blast of light that sent her head flying. Instead, my attack hit the third, frying her to ash. At a frown from Ebrill over the use of the Liahona, I dismissed it but was glad to see that I had leveled up to Mage ten. My screen popped up, showing:
Level 10 MAGE
Statistics
Strength: 30
Speed: 27
Luck: 25
Charisma: 23
Mana: 890
New Spells
Gorffwys (sleep); Frost Footing; Ice Wall; Ice Claw; Frost Bite; Flurries; Freeze; Frost Remnant, Carreg (stone skin)
New Magic Type
Access to Avalon
Rune Magic
Apparently, I had a new spoken spell. I looked forward to trying it out.
Pushing on, we burst into a room that I recognized at once, faced with a person I hadn’t hoped to see anytime soon but wasn’t surprised by.
“Fatiha,” I said, bracing myself. She stood at what appeared to be a gong, various magical artifacts adorning her to the point that I could have mistaken her for an ancient soothsayer or witch doctor. Bones, gleaming daggers, necklaces with jewels that seemed to be alive and watching us. No doubt, she had been busy.
“You’ve returned,” Fatiha said. “And… come for my slave?”
With a wave of her hand, Megha appeared on the ground between us, head bowed and held by metal, barbed restraints. Even without moving, the metal was cutting into her, crimson blood tracing her wrists.
I lunged to kneel at her side and try to help, only my hand went right through her. A quick scan showed this wasn’t her at all, but a magical projection.
“Always the simple one,” Fatiha said, laughing.
“We kicked your ass last time,” I growled, standing and staring her down. “What makes you think you have a chance this time?”
“I’m impressed you found me,” she replied, eyes roaming over me as if looking for my secret. Her eyes froze, then lit up. “You have her…? How?”
My gaze moved to the stone that had lit up on one of her rings. I assumed it gave her insight, maybe even some sort of mind-reading power. She wanted to know how I had managed to find Glitonea and capture her, and I wanted to know how in the hell she had managed to obtain all of these magical artifacts in a matter of a couple days.
Again, her eyes lit up and, and she smiled. “An even trade. See, one of my jobs for dear Gertrude, bless her soul, was to be the one to track down such items. It should come as little surprise that I didn’t report in all that I found. Having found her and brought her up, helped her while tricking her to not realize it was me… I realized I could play both angles—go in search of you all,” her eyes moved to Aerona and the other gargoyles, “while also working to find what I needed to bring back my people, my armies. And also, to learn what Gertrude’s plans were, to infiltrate the Order. It is done, and Gertrude is dead. Soon, you will join her.”
So, that was it. Reading thoughts. That could be problematic when it came to exchanging blows. I nodded, then indicated the runes and the arrow. As her eyes lit up, I knew no words were necessary.
“You’ve become a rune master,” she said, arching an eyebrow. “That’s very… convenient for you, considering.”
“Ah, so you’re aware of what’s to be found down in our house’s foundation.”
She gave a subtle nod.
“Rune master might be a stretch,” I admitted. “But I believe I know enough, and that we have enough power, to see that your plan never comes about.”
“Enough of this,” Aerona growled and she moved as I had never seen her move before. Horns lighting up with fire, skin glowing, she was on Fatiha in a flash, with claws extended and flames bursting forth from her hands.
Fatiha thrust a hand in the air but was caught with the first swipe before vanishing, everything going black but for the light coming from our side.
“You… mortals,” Fatiha’s voice echoed from around the room, flashing images of her appearing in the darkness. “I’ve risen above you, don’t you see this? Why attack a god when you should be bowing?”
“Go to Hell,” I shouted, sending out a barrage of ice attacks and shouting stun and other spells. She dodged, deflecting them and sending counter-curses that Shisa helped absorb, although one hit and his crack from before grew worse, making me shout for Ebrill to do what she could for him.
“He’s not like us,” she countered. “It’s not like I can heal him, exactly.”
“Do what you can,” I said, running over to Riland and hoping we could work to trap our adversary in the Dark Lands.
Our attacks were no match for her with the magical artifacts, though. Nothing we did worked. This wasn’t the way.
I had the Liahona and my staff, aiming at her, and it all made sense. I wasn’t simply using strong power here, but the power of Avalon. And who was there, in a sense? Rianne, who was stronger than Fatiha! With that in mind, I focused on that magical land, on bringing the power to us and calling on Rianne to stop this witch.
Everything slowed, gold particles of light floating down on me, and I was in Avalon—sort of. More like, it was overlaid on our world, so I was standing in both places at once. As the fighting continued all around me in what felt like slow motion, Rianne appeared, floating in the sky with arms outspread.
Only, she froze there, pointing, indicating a path for me to take. I frowned, confused, until the first of several images came to me. Like the first piece of a puzzle, I saw Megha where she was being kept, then flashes back toward me, but only snippets.
I understood.
Releasing the power, I fought against Fatiha but with a different goal than before. All I had to do was to keep my team alive, keep her occupied long enough for Megha to send me the rest of the puzzle. Working my way to Ebrill, I told her to amplify us in any defensive ways she could and pulled her over to Shisa. With the three of us focused on defense, the others were able to keep Fatiha quite busy.
Then another piece of the puzzle hit me—this time I saw a dark passage, water… beneath the house?
A blast hit the shield in front of me, Fatiha shouting in frustration. She followed up the attack by trying to charge at me, bringing out more magical objects—this time, glowing daggers. Only, I recognized the runes on them and deactivated them, using enough of the Liahona to knock her back and send the blades clattering. Another shout, but this time Kordelia had her, tore off a necklace that glowed bright and was nearly blinding us, then held on to her as Aerona attempted to trap her in a binding spell and I did the same with the floor.
More magical artifacts activated and she pushed out, but in that moment I got the rest of the puzzle. I knew where to go.
“Keep her busy,” I muttered to Ebrill and Steph and then charged for the nearest wall, closing my eyes as I went.
It gave way, as I knew it would. I reached out, sensing for Megha. Shisa charged after me, his shield deflecting any attacks Fatiha sent my way, but then the witch was forced into defensive mode to protect herself from the determined attack launched against her by the others.
I, on the other hand, had a puzzle to solve and a crazy, brain-massaging witch to locate.
21
Bits of the puzzle were coming at me now like flashes of memory. They seemed to be coming from Megha, who was being dragged somewhere, who knew where, nearly unconscious. But when they hit me, the images were instantly pushed over to my digital screen, which analyzed them against the layout of the house.
The pieces kept coming, then, flooding my mind with shapes and images, and I realized that what I’d seen first wasn’t complete, nothing seemed to fit. That didn’t make sense, though, because the house was only so large. Ah, it… wasn’t two-dimensional!
Applying the new images, flipping one in a way that made me feel I was playin
g an advanced game of Tetris or backwards Jenga, I put together the full picture.
Not waiting around and saying ‘Fuck it’ if there were more witches in tombs or whatever, I cleared an opening for myself and then made the floor slant down like a slide. If there was a chance I was going to die in this endeavor, I might as well make it fun!
It was like being on an old-fashioned ghost train fun-fair ride. Spirits emerged from walls as I flew by, but none of them could do shit. I hit them with blasts of ice and laughed, giving out a final ‘Whoo!’ before emerging into the last room of my Jenga map.
There was a form in the darkness. I lit up the room simply by willing it, my exhilaration amplifying my confidence and therefore my powers. The basic act made me wonder, given unlimited confidence in myself, where would my limits be? That was a question for another day, however, because the figure in front of me had stirred and was now looking at me.
It was Megha. Those same narrow eyes, those same little buns in her black hair.
“You came,” she said, barely able to look up at me with the metal cutting into her. Not regular metal, that much was clear. A magic substance that resembled metal. Not of this world, my system said.
It made sense, then—from the Dark Lands.
Riland, I mentally called, and then he was there, seeing it and getting the picture. He gripped the metal, let it cut his hands, but then it was gone and she was free. He gave her a nod, then to me, and went back to the fight against Fatiha.
“We’re getting out of here,” I said.
Megha looked at me, a mixture of curiosity and excitement in her eyes, and nodded. “One way or another, we must.”