A Ride Through Hell and Back

by Lazette Gifford

we can't force the bastards over the cliff," the Governor General snarled, sounding annoyed and tired. "But I know charging wouldn't work."

  "Fire," I said, lifting my head. Things didn't move so badly now. Nearly sunset: We'd ridden a long time and they'd likely run out of drugs.

  Faces turned to me. I blinked and forced my thoughts to become coherent because I didn't want to die. "They hate fire, remember. Probably why we have had the storms. Not just cover their movement, but also to make certain no one can set fire to things."

  "Ah. Good point. But we can't set fire to the woods. Not because I wouldn't burn down the entire forest, but we just can't. Everything is soaked from this storm, and we'd never get enough fire going to truly trap them."

  "Magic," I said. "Only magic could keep the fire goring."

  "The mages haven't arrived."

  "Me. I know enough to do this." And we had the tools I would need, too. I had intended to sell those lovely jewels to some less-than-scrupulous mage who would know how to use their power and didn't care where they came from.

  A hand tightened on my arm, warmth through the cold cloth. "I don't think you have the strength to do anything with magic," the medic said.

  "I can borrow the strength," I answered as I sat straighter, watching the slightly blurry figure of Weblin riding nearby. "I can do this, but I need the jewels."

  The man rode closer and stared into my face. "I'm still considering hanging you."

  "Which means you're considering not hanging me. That's better than I expected."

  "How do you borrow the strength? What do you need?"

  "Horses. A couple of the less tired horses. I don't want to kill them."

  He nodded. We stopped and prepared to make our stand.

  I'd never performed magic with an audience watching. They stood close by, remaining silent as I laid a hand on one horse and whispered words. I drew a little power from the creature, but I didn't allow the transference include my wounds to the animal. I could bare the pain, and I didn't want to leave the horse unable to run if need be. We had no extra mounts and I wouldn't risk anyone falling to the enemy. I didn't take strength from another human, either, because I didn't want anyone too weak to escape.

  I gathered a little more strength from the second horse. The feel of horse energy made me queasy, dancing through my body, making my arm twitch for a moment until I got control.

  "I'm ready," I said. The governor general held the bag of jewels in his hand and frowned. "You needn't worry. I can't run."

  "We could be riding, though," he said, looking around at troops who remained mounted and uneasy. I could see none of their faces clearly in the pouring rain. I didn't mind.

  "You can go. You can ride and leave me to do the work. I might fail, after all."

  He glanced at me and frowned for a moment, and then turned away. "Captain, send all but a dozen volunteers to head for the city. We'll try to hold the Devildins here, whether he can make the fire work or not. And someone find out where the damned mages are!"

  Weblin placed the small leather bag in my hand and nodded. I sat on the ground, both of my legs in agony, but after a couple breaths I could think clearly. The rain fell around me, the ground muddy beneath my hands, which I found distracting and annoying. I used a quick spell to bake the near-by surface into something hard and mostly flat. Even the little bit of magic left me breathless.

  "I need a knife," I said as the medic knelt behind me with a steadying hand on my shoulder. It helped. "And someone to draw out a crude map of the area around us."

  I used the knife to draw enchanted designs in the hard dirt as someone else sketched a rough map before me. When I put the knife down someone reached for the blade, but I stopped him. "No. I want it, in case this doesn't work."

  No one argued.

  Borrowed strength wouldn't last long, so I quickly opened the small, leather bag of jewels and considered the pattern I had made and what I would need. I would hate to see them scattered in the dirt, but they gave me hope of survival.

  I poured the gems into my palm and touched the first jewel, a bright red ruby I had chosen as my favorite the moment I picked the lovely gem up. I concentrated on the fire within the stone; the fire from which the world had been made and to which all creation would return. Primeval power, the strongest kind of magic.

  The jewel glowed, fitfully at first, and then with an intensity that brightened the area around us. I looked up to see startled faces. I placed the jewel in the pattern and traced a line from it to a spot on the map, drawing power along the path in the real world. I closed my eyes and could almost see the fire ignite.

  Good.

  The next one, a garnet, proved a little harder to work with, but the three diamonds proved easier to work with. I glanced at the map, with the river behind us, the forest on two sides and the city too far away. I would only need four more jewels. Good. I didn't have the strength to put power into many more.

  "There's fire, sir," someone whispered.

  "Quiet."

  Two jewels left, another ruby and a topaz. If I didn't get the spell set quickly, the Devildins would be able to escape the trap through the opening, which would bring them in our direction. I didn't want to be here for a pitched battle.

  I put all the power I could into those last two jewels until they sparkled in my hand. I placed the stones in the map, drew the lines and whispered a final spell, giving extra power to the fires.

  And then things went black again.

  "The fire is still spreading, sir," the Captain said. "We're holding the damned Devildins back at the breaks in the line but it's getting dangerous. The fire is wild, and the winds are uncertain. We've had as many injuries from fire as from the battle."

  "But we are holding them back?" Governor General Weblin asked, though he didn't sound hopeful.

  "Yes, sir. And we've driven a few over the cliffs in places. But there are hundreds, sir, and they're desperate. I would suggest you and your group move from this area. We think they've sensed the magic and are trying to get to our friend here."

  I panicked, of course, but the medic held me down. there in the half dry mud I had created.

  "Any sign at all of the mages?" Weblin asked.

  "No, sir."

  "Damn. Get the thief back on a horse, Captain Dennis."

  "Yes, sir."

  Someone started to lift me, but I pushed the hand away in haste with the last of my fading energy.

  "We have to go," the medic said softly. "I'm sorry."

  "Gods all, don't leave the jewels!" I said, appalled.

  I made the Governor General laugh. "You do have your priorities, don't you?"

  I shook my head while the medic took hold of me and got me to my feet. Everything began buzzing and the air tingled. "I would never leave -- the mages are coming, sir."

  "Pardon?"

  "Get the jewels before they're trampled into the dirt!" I sagged in the hands of the medic, hardly able to keep my head up. "The mages are --"

  Here.

  The mages appeared in a tight circle, a full dozen men and women of such power they glowed. They didn't waste time; in a moment a wind grew, blowing back towards the dwindling fire I had barely kept going. Bright red flames danced up through the trees and reached towards the stormy sky. For a brief moment I wondered if I had chosen the wrong profession after all. This was true power.

  I could see a line of Devildins barely a few yards away, their heads held high, horns gleaming as they rushed forward, screaming in attack -- but the mages destroyed them as well.

  We were going to win.

  I looked up to find the Governor General staring at me. There was still the little matter of whether or not he would hang me. I decided not to ask just now, and closed my eyes, going to the quiet peace of unconsciousness.

  A month later I stood on the docks at Acklin, I watched, with some dubious thoughts about my future, as the three rigged ship prepared to sail within the hour. Sailors shouted wor
ds I didn't understand. I'd never been tempted to take the sea and I stared at the endless blue and the distant clouds with growing trepidation. However, the alternative didn't much appeal to me, either.

  "Good luck, Lauren," Captain Dennis said with a hand on my shoulder. "And if you can't stay out of trouble, at least don't get caught again."

  "I have never been caught," I said, indignant at the words. Professional pride had been wounded. I leaned on the cane, wishing I felt slightly more surefooted for this journey. "I don't consider riding to find the army exactly the same thing, you know. You never would have found me."

  Dennis laughed. "I know. We're going to miss you."

  "Not enough to get my exile revoked."

  "Well, you know. Between the exile or hanging. . . ."

  "Good point. Time to go." I grasped the man's hand and nodded to the other guards. "Good luck, friends."

  "You, too," Captain Dennis said with a friendly nod.

  It was a better parting than I really expected. And no, they plainly had on intention of leaving before I sailed on the ship. Damn. I had hoped to slip away at the last moment.

  I went up the gangway onto the rocking deck, liking the feel less and less with each step. Sailors began loosening the ropes holding the ship at dock and the tide pulled at us even as the sails unfurled.

  I turned back to see Acklin one last time, looking at the hills beyond and searching out the Governor General's palace where I had been a guest while I recovered, although a guest under guard.

  Nonetheless, I was really rather surprised no one had bothered to search me before I went aboard the ship. The