Master of Magic

by Bebe Lightsmith

  How powerful was Ryker? I had noticed that he seemed hesitant while fighting with Toby. While Toby was giving the fight everything he had, Ryker seemed to be toying with him. I wondered why he had let the fight go so long. Was this the full force of his magic? Lupev went flying back as Ryker stood his ground from the blast. I felt a sudden swell of power as the Dark Knight skidded to a stop on his hands and knees. Inhaling, he opened his mouth. I could see the swell of black flames in his throat.

  What the hell was he?

  Ryker was still recovering from the blast. Lupev released the swell, shooting the black fire across the small space at Ryker. I funneled my magic, not sure what I was going to do, but I hurled it towards him. Since I had encountered the Codex, sometimes I can get the magic to just manifest to its best use of the situation. The success rate was still low, though. My blue magic hit him a split-second before the black flames encapsulated him. I watched through the black flames as streams of red and blue magic traced around the outline of the Pendragon tattoo. In instinctual defense Ryker raised his left arm over his face, Excalibur still recovering from the force of the blast, swinging away from him. The magic filled in the tattoo glowing blue and then red. The ink then started to move. The tattoo swirled up his shoulder and over his arm. Before my eyes, a gigantic metal shield in the shape of the Pendragon crest manifested on Ryker’s arm. It protected him from the blast of black flames and absorbed the force, so Ryker didn’t even have to take a step back.

  I needed a closer look at that thing.

  Ivy was fine. She was having a blast lording her new royal powers over those poor bat creatures. I could hear their shrieking just before they were Commanded to explode. It was good she was starting to feel useful, though, so I didn’t worry about her.

  Turning invisible, I carefully moved towards Ryker. Lupev still was on the other side of the small space, on his hands and knees, a look of outrage on his face as he realized what had happened. Excalibur flew back to Ryker, the red and gold magic emanating from both the shield and the blade. Ryker was staring at the shield on his arm with wide, shocked eyes. Apparently, he didn’t know he could do that either.

  Then, his eyes shifted over the shield, glaring down the Dark Knight in front of him. Before I could reach him, he charged forward, using his knight magic to enhance his speed. Lupev dashed forward as well, the black flames surrounding his legs and arms, holding his fists out. Lupev jumped and swung down on Ryker, blasting magic from his fist. Ryker dodged, raising his shield and swinging his arm. The shield knocked Lupev to the side. At the last moment, the Dark Knight had the strength to move his hips, just missing the mighty swing from Excalibur. It was at that moment when Ryker truly looked like the King of Knights to me. I always knew he had it in him, and he still had a long way to go, but in that infinite moment, I saw why the universe had chosen him to be king.

  Lupev used his magic to blast the ground, changing the direction of the momentum of his body. He landed gracefully on his feet, immediately breathing out the dark flames. Ryker shielded. This was my chance. I sprang forward, using my magic to block the flames, and reached over Ryker’s shoulder to touch the back of the shied. I yanked my hand back. It was hot! Just from that moment of contact, however, I could feel the complicated magic in the item.

  Once the flames had receded, Ryker opened the shield to swipe Excalibur. She made contact, slicing through the weird reptile skinned armor as the Dark Knight sprang back. Lupev glared down at his chest. The rip was so wide I could see his skin.

  “This is indestructible!” He shouted in outrage.

  “Obviously not.” Ryker shot back.

  I held back my laugh as I scurried away from them. The blasts and booms of their fighting carried on as I ran towards Ivy. I didn’t think she felt it yet, but something big was coming right at that side of the wall.

  As I ran, it occurred to me that the tattoo had Emrys magic. Merlin made the tattoo for Arthur, sure, but it was actually his magic. Picture a person’s magic like a gigantic ream of cloth. To make that tattoo, Merlin had to literally cut a piece from his magic and place it on Arthur’s back. When the tattoo was passed to an heir lacking in Pendragon magic, it would remain dormant. That is, until Ryker. It was Emrys magic of course, so it needed a little jump-start from me, but in actuality it needed constant fueling from its host, meaning Ryker had to fuel that thing for as long as he had it out. It also surprised me that Excalibur could give it magic. The more magic one funneled into it, the more powerful it became. That magic from Excalibur would give it just enough sentience to move on its own to protect Ryker.

  The power of this thing . . . It baffled me.

  Not to mention that it was a real shield. The metal was thick and, I questioned, steel? That would be way too heavy, right? But it had the same texture and feel of those huge steel beams in modern buildings. That didn’t make any sense. That much steel would weigh almost two tons. Knights were strong, but not that strong. Especially not with the way Ryker was quickly and effortlessly moving it. But then again, I did find myself questioning just how powerful Ryker was only moments before.

  Reaching Ivy, all the flying bats were dead, but she was staring at the same spot of the wall that I was concerned about. She had a scratch on her arm, and her face was a little dirty, but she was fine. In fact, she looked more confident. A loud boom came from the other side of the wall. We listened to the blasts and clashes of Ryker and Lupev’s fight, keeping our ears out for another sound from behind the wall. I heard heavy, growling, breathing. Was it another one of those terrifying spider things?

  I funneled magic into my staff piece, manifesting its full length.

  “I got this,” Ivy said, giving me a long look. She was telling me that she needed to do this on her own. I hated spiders, and made no secret of it, and absolutely did not want to fight this thing. Just as the first hairy foot made it to the top of the wall, I nodded my head and turned back towards Ryker and Lupev.

  The two were locked in a battle of the Titans. Debris was scattered around the area; rolled Humvees and tanks, and shattered buildings. I glanced around, seeing several sleeping people in the danger zone. I decided I would make myself useful. Ryker would never be able to live with himself if he had taken – to him – innocent lives in his battle over who had the biggest sword.

  “Ivy, dear, when you get a chance, open a portal,” I called to her. She was running towards the gigantic thirty-foot spider creature.

  “You do it!” She yelled back over her shoulder.

  She knew damn well that I hadn’t quite mastered that yet. The Codex enabled me to use any type of magic, but dimensional powers were tricky. Since I wasn’t born with them, I had a much more difficult time tearing open a rip in the universe. Turning invisible, I started to gather the sleeping members of the base, using magic to levitate them across the small fort towards the back wall. There were only a few left. I had no idea what Ivy did with the other hundreds of people that once inhabited this base. I found about thirty people in all, levitating them to the prison cells built into the wall and locking them. It was the safest place I could think of without opening a portal.

  I had just saved them in time as Lupev inhaled a mighty breath, breathing out his black fire and destroying a section of buildings near the east wall. Ryker dodged just in time, as the magic literally ate through every object in its path, like acid. Excalibur glowed brightly through the darkness, but as Ryker raised his shield, Lupev’s magic was unable to destroy it.

  “Team Camelot, this is HQ, come in. Over.” I heard just behind me. Turning, I spotted the radio Ryker had swiped sitting on the hood of a Humvee. Grabbing it, I brought it to my mouth.

  “HQ, this is Cadet Emrys, over,” I said into it. With a slash of Excalibur, Ryker released so much power he flipped a row of tanks that were parked against the east wall. Lupev caught one right before it crushed him and threw it at Ryker. What the hell was this guy? To have that kind of strength!

  “What the hell is happ
ening? It sounds like a war zone.” The operator shouted through the radio. The tank exploded as it hit the ground, Ryker pulling up his shield to protect him from the flames.

  “You’re not far off,” I said into the radio.

  “Report the status of Special Team Charlie. Over.” The operator then ordered.

  “Uh . . .” I watched as Ryker leaped about a hundred feet forward, using his magic to propel himself and swing down on Lupev. The Dark Knight dodged his attack and then turned on his heel to breathe another blast of fire.

  “Well, if you’re talking about the helicopter, it’s been destroyed, survivors unknown. Over.” I said back into the radio. The radio was silent for a long moment.

  “Sending in Special Team Alpha. Over.” The operator then said.

  “Not by the sky. Over.” I told him. No one else needed to die tonight.

  “Cadet Emrys, what the hell is happening?” Agent Rogers’ voice rang through the radio.

  “Well, Ryker is fighting the Dark Knight, and Ivy is fighting one of those gigantic spider creatures. We have the fort incapacitated for the most part. I’m not sure how much longer Ryker can take this guy. Over.” I said into the radio as concisely as possible.

  Ryker was starting to show wear. His breathing was ragged as he slowly pushed himself up off of the ground. That last blast of magic made Ryker fly quite a few feet, landing hard on his side. He was running out of magic, I could sense it. He wasn’t used to letting the universe flow freely through him yet like Ivy and I did. He still had magical caps, like most other wizards.

  “State your coordinates. Over.” Agent Rogers then said into the radio. I glared down at the small black box in my hand. How the hell was I supposed to know my coordinates? Fucking knights.

  “I have no idea. Over.” I said into the radio.

  Lupev was sprinting towards Ryker, who still held his shield and sword down. The King of Knights was gasping for breath, his magic flickering in and out. The shield started to dematerialize, turning back into ink on his arm. Dropping the radio, I sprinted forward. From the direction I was headed, I should reach Lupev before he reached Ryker. Turning invisible, I summoned my own magical sword. It wasn’t as impressive as Excalibur, but it did the job. Pushing my body as hard as I could, while also making my physical form intangible, I ran in front of Ryker just as Lupev inhaled a deep breath. Holding my sword out in front of me, I braced myself, gathering my magic for defense.

  The stream of fire hit me like a freight train. I had watched Ryker take hit after hit of this attack, but had no idea the power behind it. As I held my magical sword in front of me as a shield, it felt like the bones in my arms were going to snap. I couldn’t breathe; it was so hot around me. My skin immediately slicked with sweat as I stood between the most powerful foe I had ever faced and my best friend. I had no idea how Ryker had held out for so long.

  The fire collected into the blade of my sword. It was a little trick Ivy and I had been toying around with. When the flames finally receded, my blade was completely encapsulated in black fire.

  “Impressive, wizard,” Lupev said to me. With the great exertion of magic, I could no longer hold my invisibility or my intangibility.

  “Give me that,” Ryker said. His voice was weak and raspy from exhaustion. I handed him my sword. Within a blink of time, Ryker swung the sword, releasing all the magic I had just stored. The black fire raged towards Lupev. The Dark Knight’s eyes widened as he held his hands out in front of him.

  Sharp laughter filled the air.

  “My own magic can’t hurt me.” He laughed as the fire died around him. Unlike Ryker, Lupev was fine. He didn’t even have a scratch on him. We had to get out of here.

  “I know,” Ryker said to my surprise. He had Excalibur staked into the freshly tilled soil of their fight, leaning heavily against it. He then set my sword beside Excalibur, with their blades touching. “Come on, sweetheart, you can do it.” He then rasped to the sword. Gold magic started to fill my magical sword. That was when I understood. Ryker didn’t want my sword because of the magic I had encapsulated, but because he needed more magic. Excalibur was giving that to him.

  Lifting the two swords, Excalibur in the right, and the gold glowing magic infused sword in his left. Ryker stood to his full height, the scratches and bruises already starting to disappear on his skin.

  “Get out of here, Owen.” He rasped to me and then stepped forward.

  A flash of green light filled my vision. Ivy was atop of the gigantic spider, riding it like an elephant. She glared down at the Dark Knight, her knife hovering in front of her. She stood on the head of the spider creature, the wind whipping her bright blonde hair around her body, her green eyes glowing with magic and fury. She was no longer my cute but ditsy friend but rather, the Queen of Sorcery, brilliant and powerful.

  “My lady.” I smiled.

  Ryker sprinted forward, raising his swords. The Dark Knight flipped back, grabbing his gigantic sword and blocking the attack. Ivy sent her knife to help as it annoyingly buzzed around his head. We could do this. We just had to work together. Manifesting my magic, I took out my staff. Maybe Ryker couldn’t take on the Dark Knight alone, but together we could.

  Chapter Eight:

  Ryker:

  In a coordinated fashion, the three of us took turns fighting the Dark Knight. The guy wasn’t even tired. Those stories that Constance had told me about them didn’t do him justice. He didn’t necessarily weaken me mystically, like I thought would happen. Instead, he was my perfect antithesis, strength, speed, accelerated healing, vast magical power, but not ethically bound to the Code. That was a dangerous combination. I fought the fatigue of my muscles, and I willed my magic to heal them over and over again.

  Sprinting forward, I swung Owen’s sword. Lupev dodged but moved in the direction in which I was swinging Excalibur down on him. Reaching up, he blocked the attack with the sleeve of his weird suit of armor. I found it was indestructible, meaning that the only place to aim was his head. With that block, he sent me flying back. Owen stepped in then, shooting a massive amount of blue lightning in his direction. Lupev dodged, but Ivy’s knife was right on him, speeding down towards his throat. Inhaling, he blew his magic. The knife flew off into the distance.

  Gathering all of the strength I had left in my body. I sprinted forward for one last attack. This was it. This was all I had. Ivy and Owen both knew that; I could see it in the shifty way they looked at me. They knew I needed help. Dodging under Lupev’s sword, I swung Excalibur with all of my might, giving her as much magic as I could to break through the armor and slice his side. The blade bounced off of the scaled suit, and I lost my balance, falling on my back. Lupev swung down.

  My life flashed before my eyes. I saw my father and Constance and Sterling. I saw my childhood playing with Owen and then leaving for the Knights Academy. I saw all of my training, everything I had been through. I saw Ivy, her beautiful face smiling at me with her big green eyes glittering in happiness. The sword struck down on me, and all I could do was block with my hands. I heard Ivy scream and Owen curse. Blue and green magic flew over me, but it was too late, the momentum was already there.

  This was it. The end.

  Suddenly my vision was filled with a bright golden light. It was like looking into the sun. I blinked, turning my head away. When the light receded, Excalibur fell next to me. She had saved me, with her own power. Lupev was across the fort. All of the buildings and vehicles between were utterly destroyed.

  “Good girl,” I said to her, grabbing the handle.

  Three women appeared in front of Lupev, their backs to me. It was an odd sort of scene. As the women were dressed in what I imagined was traditional Victorian fashion. They wore long-sleeved and high collared dresses with full and long skirts. I ran forward, not understanding what those women were doing there. Lupev would kill them in an instant.

  “Watch out!” I shouted as I got closer. One of them turned. She looked to be in her early thirties, her eyes
ethereal blue, and her skin smooth and pale.

  “Our knight in shining armor!” She announced, looking towards me, with a bright smile on her face. I slowed my sprint, coming to a stop a few yards from them.

  “Bartholomew, we have discussed this.” One of the other women was scolding the Dark Knight. Lupev looked down at the ground, taking on the appearance of a little boy who had just gotten caught stealing a cookie. The blonde one set her hands on her hips.

  “We told you which side you should fight for.” She said to him. He mumbled something in response.

  “Well, what do we do with him?” The redhead next to her asked. The raven-haired one, who was still staring at me, turned. She snapped her fingers, and Lupev was gone.

  “He’ll learn the hard way if he must.” She then snapped.

  Then all three of them turned to look at me. Their eyes were all the same ethereal blue. I found myself looking over my shoulder at Owen, just for the comparison. They had the same eyes. He and Ivy were standing just behind me, both flanking me. The spider creature still stood off in the distance.

  “Our gallant king.” The redhead said in a dreamy voice, bending into a deep curtsy. The other two followed, bowing to me.

  “Oh! Look, sisters!” The blonde then shouted, looking behind me. “Our nephew!”

  “Nephew?” I asked. They rushed past me to Owen, pulling him into their arms and taking turns kissing his cheeks. Ivy and I stood side-by-side staring at them, flabbergasted.

  “Hello, ladies.” Owen was grinning, turning his head to look at each one of them.