by Jamie Hawke
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.
119
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 playing 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.”
I wrapped an arm under her shoulder, helping her to stand, and then we were on the move. Getting out of there was more complicated than entering. For one, I felt extremely depleted. It wasn’t often that using my magic made me so exhausted, but using it to this extent certainly took its toll. When Ebrill was around she could heal me from physical attacks, but I assumed this was more mental.
“Can you defend yourself?” I asked, wary of our situation.
She grunted. “I could tear you up.” She stumbled on her next step. “But… at the moment, I might need some help, still.”
I nodded, hoping my help would be enough.
She felt warm against me, comforting, and that thought brought me clarity of mind. Enough to at least get us out of that first room. We could hear fighting above, and I pulled her aside, staring into her eyes.
The answer to my question was clear before I even asked it. “Can you fight?”
“She… drained me,” Megha admitted. “But… kept me alive as bait.”
“Drained?”
“The Eye. It allows her to sort of absorb others.” Her legs nearly gave out, hand clutching mine. “Complete absorption.”
My eyes went to the ceiling, only now noticing the intricate carvings there, old images of nude women performing magic. An ancient coven, apparently. Old politics of D.C., maybe, as this was likely a house that had been passed down over many generations… or maybe it was even worse than I imagined. Just one witch, taking on different faces of men and women throughout the years, playing various roles in the governing of our country.
It sickened me, and yet I didn’t feel so surprised.
I had to hope my team would make it out of there, and sent Shisa the message to run, along with Riland.
“Come, quickly,” I said, holding tight to Megha, feeling her slim body against mine, her oddly out-of-place calm breathing.
We moved through rooms that had slats of wood, charred flesh. Offerings, sacrifices… and then cages. Empty, thank the heavens. But clearly used at one point or another.
Then we were out, moving into a passage that followed a canal—the old Georgetown canals? I didn’t know enough of the region to understand it, but we went as quickly as her energy level would allow.
A strange connection held us together, one that I assumed she felt, too. It came from that dark land, where we had met. As if both of us existed on more than one plane. It was through this that I could sense her panic, in spite of how calm she appeared.
“There was a time,” I told her, not sure what would be best here, but knowing I needed to talk, “that I wondered what sort of man I was. Put me in a ring, could I hold my own? Keep my fists up? Last even a round against someone who knew what they were doing?”
“You’re talking with me about… boxing?” she let out a wheeze of laughter.
“I’m talking about… questions. Trying to figure out what we’re capable of. And I was. Capable, I mean.”
“You’ve proven that here, with me.”
I waved that off. “Before. When there wasn’t any magic, or at least magic I knew of. When I found out I’d gotten into Johns Hopkins, my best buddy who was going off to the Marines challenged me. Got me in the ring at this place he trained, and we went at it.”
“You won?”
“Fuck, no.” I laughed, remembering it. “The way each punch felt like I was being hit by a car? The way he put me in the corner and was just going at me like we were the worst of enemies… I thought I was going to die, for a minute or two. Then I was still there, still standing, and I started laughing. He was confused. I got in one good cross that nearly knocked him on his ass. Then I really got it—but still stood. At the end of it all, he just stopped and started laughing, too, and then we showered, went out for beers, and spent the rest of the evening reminiscing. The good ol’ days…”
“What was the point of this?” she asked.
“Just… I don’t know. I guess that I’m not leaving you. Okay? No matter what it takes, I’m standing here, and I’ll keep standing. Now, are you with me?”
“Punch me and see what happens.”
“I think you missed the point.”
She winked, showing me that indeed she hadn’t. Putting one hand on the wall, I sensed that we were past the main part of the house, so I created a stairway up. While I was at it, I figured I’d have the stairs move, carrying us up almost like an escalator.
“It was a fine story,” she said, marveling at what I was doing.
My gut clenched at the use of my power, but I breathed deep, reminding myself how much of this was mental. In fact, her own lack of energy was in part under my control, right? I mean, I figured that, if I could alter the states of buildings and whatnot, why not learn spells to heal—why not use my power to heal her powers? Maybe it was a sense of duty to her, or maybe related to our Dark Lands connection, but I felt myself inside her. Not in the fun, sexual way, but in that I was there, looking through her eyes and seeing myself for a moment, feeling a ball of light growing within, circling and expanding, tingling up my limbs, and then bursting free.
“Next time you enter me, ask permission first,” she said, and then I was back in my own body, staring at her smile and loving it. “Thank you.”
I nodded, a hand out for hers as we ascended. An explosion came from nearby, and I sensed Kordelia there, alone. The stairs stopped moving.
&nb
sp; “Sorry,” I said to Megha. “I have to help her.”
With a wave of my hand, the wall moved and I charged through, where I found two witches—a male and female—sending blasts Kordelia’s crouched form. She had her wings around her but was so large that I had no doubt it was her. At first. My senses had told me it was a large gargoyle. The largest, and so I assumed, but now that I was there, I realized something was off.
She was too large.
The size of two Kordelia’s almost, and still… stone? Some of it cracking, threatening to either break free or reveal the gargoyle beneath.
“It’s her, who I came for,” Megha said from behind me.
At her words, the witches realized we were in the room with them. They turned, their attacks now directed at us. My alert went out, my ice wall up. My screen next to me, with the option to wake the gargoyle.
I grinned, ready for this—and watched the witches stumble back as stone broke free, blue light shooting out as the gargoyle rose with a roar. Even as changed as she was, I recognized her instantly.
Yenifer.
The large, hugely muscular woman in her time was now more beast than woman, more terrifying than any of the others. I stood back, ready to watch her tear them to bits, ready for her to thank me and rejoice at joining the others.
Instead, she gave one more roar, looked at us with red, glowing eyes, and then charged out of there. Breaking through walls. Gone.
The two witches shared a confused look, but that didn’t last long. One shouted in surprise as Megha leaped onto her back, hands glowing as she reached into the witch’s head. But the other was fast and hit Megha with a blast of green, sending her falling to the floor, writhing.
I healed Megha, then cast an Ice Claw at the witch while Megha thrust up her hands from where she lay on the ground, pulling so that purple flowed from her attacker, draining the witch.
My attack took the other witch, cleaving her in two, but a moment later a creature on six feet plowed through another wall, followed by Kordelia. The two were grappling, Kordelia winning, and she looked up at me, shouting, “Go! Get her out of here!”
