by Chris Africa
The camp erupted around her, but she could not take her eyes off her brother. Alystra's next slash connected solidly with Andrev's bo, which came away undamaged. The sword bore a dull gray area where it had touched the bo. Andrev's eyebrows went up in surprise as if he hadn't expected that to happen. Terror masked the queen's face for a second before she redoubled her effort, throwing slash after slash at Andrev. Whatever had he done to make his bo work like that?
In the background, Nita could see Chassy and William throwing down with three of Gnarkvetch's toughs. The old wizard himself looked like he was trying to fade out of the fight, and Cherise was dragging Nita back, but Nita remembered something Alystra had said. Her fingertips tingled with energy, and she attempted to make a globe.
It worked! She stretched out her hand to Gnarkvetch and held him, then reached for the queen. Her hand hit what felt like a wall, and the queen kept pounding at Andrev from behind her shield. He hadn't forgotten all of his fighting skills from the previous summer, but there was definitely no improvement. He looked weary and like he was ready to turn back into the angry, frustrated Andrev.
The answer came to her from far away, literally. William shouted, "Use the amulet!"
Of course! But how did it work? Nita pulled the artifact up in front of her face and stared at it. There were no buttons or levers, just a giant gem with a tree on it. She ran her finger over the tree and sent her magic trickling into it.
The resulting jolt running through the amulet staggered her, flooding her with warmth and joy. She could tear the sun from the sky and crack the world in half.
She wouldn't. But she could. And the mountain queen knew it too. Her pale face paled even more, and her strikes against Andrev grew less sure. At the same time, Andrev's attacks doubled in ferocity. He moved boldly, striking and parrying like some heroic fighter. Chassy looked taller. Cherise flipped and spun, kicking people in the face, the groin, any unprotected part. William…
Nita's breath caught in her throat. His golden hair had fallen from its leather thong, and it fell in curls around his glowing face. In her eyes, he was suddenly an angel, beating back an army of demons.
Her friends all glowed, or at least to her eyes, they shone with energy and confidence. Chassy whacked a soldier in the head, and the man crumpled to the ground. William took off another man's arm, and he went down.
Andrev sweated as he backed his grandmother down the center of the camp. Her sword was nearly all dulled by now from contact with his bo. He smacked her hand, and she dropped it altogether. He swung his bo round and slammed it into her shoulder. Alystra hugged her arm to herself and turned to run, but this time Nita was ready. She pulled a log from the campfire and threw it under the queen's feet. The queen collapsed in a tangle of hair. Before she could pick herself up, Cherise was on top of her, with her knees pinning the larger woman's arms to the ground. Andrev was there, too, to help tie her up.
Nita looked around to where Gnarkvetch would be waiting to be similarly bound, but he was gone.
41: Chassy
Chassy saw the queen's sword fall and watched her crash to the ground. At the same time, Gnarkvetch started moving, trying to sneak off into the woods. His magical suppressors must have somehow started working again, releasing him from Nita's hold.
Oddly enough, the elation that flooded him when Nita touched the amulet was still with him. He felt confident he could capture the rogue wizard without any help from the others. Without hesitation, Chassy followed.
Chassy had to give it to him, Gnarkvetch was fast for an older guy who had finished a journey up and down the mountain. He followed the sound of the man's labored breathing and crashing and finally came upon Gnarkvetch in a tiny clearing with a boulder in the middle. The wizard leaned on a rock, panting. Chassy approached quietly from behind, his daggers in front of him. He put one to Gnarkvetch's back.
"In a moment, I will discharge this suppressor," Gnarkvetch held up a smooth wooden disk. "And you will be robbed permanently of any inborn magical abilities."
Chassy pressed harder with the dagger, tearing a little hole in the wizard's robes. Could he do that? Could this wizard steal his magic and leave him useless, as he had been before he became a shapeshifter? He shuddered to think of it.
Protect that which is important, not that which you desire, the Nydwon had said. If Gnarkvetch slipped away, he would keep killing people. Next time they found him, it would be harder to take him by surprise. Chassy might have to take this chance.
"I don't believe you. You're trying to escape." He heard his voice waver and wondered if he could even do any harm to Gnarkvetch. His battle lust had evaporated, along with the confidence lent by the amulet. He would have to hurt the old man standing in front of him. His hands shook.
"Believe it or not, I will do it," Gnarkvetch insisted. "And I will escape, regardless. I'd rather avoid a dagger in my back, but I'll take you with me if I must."
"Lay down on your stomach with your hands above your head. I will tie you up, and you will not be injured." Sweat ran down Chassy's face.
Gnarkvetch stood and raised his hands but the wooden disk was still in his hand. His thumb rubbed the smooth surface once, twice, and he muttered something.
Chassy felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He doubled over, his daggers dropping to the ground. Gnarkvetch turned to watch him, with a smirk on his face. "I told you I would do it. You should have saved this fight for another day, boy," the wizard said. "Now, I will find your village—Spell of Mysteries be damned—and I will eliminate this plague on our world."
He took a ring out of the folds of his robes and threw it into the air. It widened until it was large enough for a person. Chassy's head throbbed, but even through the fog of his pain, he knew he couldn't let the wizard escape. In one last desperate motion, he grasped his daggers and staggered toward Gnarkvetch, the blades pointed at his back. He jammed the daggers in, one on each side of the old man's spine. Then he flopped backward, and Gnarkvetch fell forward with a wrenching groan—mere inches short of the portal he had opened.
The forest spun around Chassy, and the sky blurred. He was looking up into four wizened faces he didn't recognize.
"Is he dead?" Loros' squeaky voice came from the tall, thin one.
"Nah." Zoslip shook his head, setting black coils of hair bouncing.
Why were these old men talking like his face stones? He tried to shake off the hallucinations.
"We'd best move along," Varicanthus said. "Xillith needs to hear about this."
Chassy shut his eyes to the anguish and confusion.
42: Nita
A silver ring lay in front of Gnarkvetch's outstretched hands, as though he had been reaching for it when Chassy stabbed him. The wizard's bedraggled hair covered him from the shoulders up like a shroud. Nita pushed it aside and felt his neck for a pulse.
Nothing. The wizard was dead; the people would be freed now, and the war would be over. Looking at his soulless body, she felt sick and angry. This man should have gone to Xillith and had the opportunity to reform. Everyone should get a second chance.
Nita's anger evaporated when she saw Chassy a few feet away with his face in his hands. Her friend would never kill someone for revenge; there must be a reasonable explanation. "Are you okay?"
Chassy took his hands from his face, and she could see he was an odd color.
"Not feeling well—" Chassy turned and vomited on the ground beside him. He waved her away. "Check Gnarkvetch. I stabbed him."
"I saw that," Nita murmured. "Did he do something to you?"
Chassy nodded. "He used the disk."
William was examining the disk already.
"It looks like a hard, smooth piece of wood. An expensive wood." William flipped it over to look at the other side. Nita had never seen such smooth wood, or whatever it was.
Andrev was searching the wizard's robes, the silver ring grasped in one hand. "We can ask his men what the disk does. Don't you think we should get out of he
re?"
"What are we going to do with your grand—Alystra?" Cherise stood beside the woman, who now looked substantially more bruised and average than she had when they'd first seen her. Nita was holding her—not only because it was the easiest thing to do, but because some part of her liked the fury in the queen's eyes at this perceived indignity.
"There are also the guards to consider," Andrev added. "At some point, her backup soldiers will arrive, and we don't want to be here."
"Let's put Gnarkvetch's men in the camp, tied up as they are now," she said. "We'll take the queen with us. When her soldiers arrive, they'll free everyone."
Chassy stood, still looking weak and pale, but better than he had a moment before.
"We can leave that thing for the crows to peck over." He motioned to Gnarkvetch's body. William had removed the daggers and cleaned them. He handed them back to Chassy with a wary look.
"Leaving the body for animals to eat is a barbaric tradition," Andrev said, "used by the old kings to show ultimate disrespect for their enemies. Are you trying to send a message?"
Chassy nodded. "That man did not deserve our respect. He did not fight honorably. He was no king. Besides… he stole my powers. So I say, let the crows have him."
Nita gasped. "Are you sure? Have you tried—you know, communicating?"
"Yes and shifting. It's like I never had those powers, but worse. Because I always had them and didn't realize it. It's like… like he took a piece of me. I'm sick from it." Chassy sounded angry, which was an unfamiliar tone for his voice.
"Well at least you still have those spell ingredients and the spell book Vornole gave you," Andrev said.
"Why lucky?" Chassy's voice was dark.
"Because anyone can learn to use magic, even if they're born with no abilities of their own," Andrev said. "But you'll need a teacher."
"So I can be more like you?" Chassy sneered. "I've been trying to do magic for more than a year and only learned my abilities a few weeks ago. Do you even know what that feels like?"
A look of annoyance passed across Andrev's face. "Yes, I do." He turned and walked away.
43: Chassy
The blades slipped in too easily. Chassy hadn't planned to stab Gnarkvetch all the way through—just injure him a little, as a warning. Or maybe he had wanted to kill him; the pain was so intense after the wizard used the wooden puck. It had been so hard to walk, so hard to think. He must have stumbled, and that's why the daggers went all the way into his back. He never meant to kill anyone.
No, he didn't stumble, because he didn't fall on top of Gnarkvetch. He remembered letting go of the blades and watching as the wizard collapsed to the ground.
It was so hard to remember, impossible to think.
Chassy shook his head to clear it, but a wave of pain coursed down his spine and his stomach lurched. He would have vomited again if there was anything left in his stomach.
Andrev sat nearby watching him; Alystra lay a few feet away, bound and gagged, but mirth danced in her eyes, and his anger flared. And there beyond was Gnarkvetch's dead body.
"You may feel better if you have some water." Andrev stepped between them and a water skin appeared in front of his face. Chassy sipped without thinking, spitting out the first mouthful to wash away the terrible taste.
"Where did everyone go?"
"They're carrying all the soldiers back out to the camp, so Alystra's people can find them."
Carrying the soldiers. What soldiers? Chassy reached for the memories flitting around in his head but failed to catch any of them and gave up.
"Chassy, are you feeling better?"
He didn't know how long he had spent inside his own head, trying to grab the memories, but it seemed darker. William and Nita were on either side of him pulling him up.
"Andrev do you know how to use these rings?" Nita asked. "I saw Granny give you one before she left."
"Yes, but I think it has to be charged up by someone who can do that. But—" His face brightened, and he dug around in his pack. "We can use the one from Granny. We can make the trip back to Granny's place and ask her to teach you how to charge it, seeing as you are the only one capable of that right now."
Nita raised an eyebrow to Chassy. "Should we all go?"
"Perhaps some of us should stay here and watch the queen," Cherise said, "While Andrev goes to get the ring charged up."
"No, I think it will be faster if we all go." Andrev said. "Besides, jumping through this ring is disorienting. I don't want to do it any more than necessary. But cover the witch's eyes."
"So she can't see Granny's place, right?" Cherise guessed.
"Exactly right. Someone who sees it can return easily with a ring of their own."
The others blindfolded, gagged, and bound Alystra's wrists before Nita released the magical hold. The minute she was free, the queen started to run. She tripped over a large stone and fell hard on her stomach.
"Don't do that, you fool," William picked her up off the ground. "Where are you going to go, blindfolded and tied up? Like as not, you'd take a tumble and end up killing yourself. And according to our friend, the Silver Sorceress, we're not killing anyone else yet today."
Why not? She conspired with Gnarkvetch to kill us all. But Chassy's mouth had forgotten how to talk, and the thoughts stuck inside his head.
"Okay, are we ready?" Andrev asked. Nita nodded. He tossed the silver ring up in front of him and it hung there. Seconds later it had grown large enough for a person to walk through.
"You should go first so she knows we're friendly," Nita said.
"I can't—the portal will close after me. Nita you go first, she'll remember you. And take Chassy."
Chassy allowed Nita to pull him along into the portal, and then he was falling. He made no attempt to catch himself. Nita landed right on top of him, with her arms held out in front of her.
"Oh, sorry." She picked herself up and then hauled him to his feet.
Granny stood in front of them, holding out a stick like a wand.
"Granny, it's me!" Nita held up her hands.
Granny's startled face turned to concern, and she tucked the stick into her belt.
"My goodness, dear, is everything okay? Where is that brother of yours?" She examined Nita as if looking for an injury. "You are even more silver than I remember."
"The rest are coming."
Cherise fell through and then William, followed by Andrev and the queen in a heap.
Granny busied herself picking everyone up, dusting them off, and exclaiming over them. The portal closed behind Andrev, and Granny retrieved the ring.
"Andrev, who are all these people and why did you bring them here?" She frowned her disapproval.
"They're all my friends except her." Andrev indicated Alystra. He made quick introductions.
"But why are they here?" Granny said "You should know better than to bring uninvited guests to someone's private home. That's how Gnarkvetch found me before."
"Well, he won't find you again," William quipped. He nodded to Chassy. "That one killed him with two daggers in the back."
Granny squinted between William and Chassy. "Are you sure he's dead?"
Was Gnarkvetch dead? Chassy found himself shrugging. Nita rushed to put her arm around him and led him to sit on a bench.
Granny sank into a chair with shock spreading across her face. "Is the war done then?"
Nita looked at Andrev as if unsure how to answer.
"Well, all of his men still live. And there is Alystra. Even as we were leaving Gnarkvetch's camp, her soldiers were on their way," Andrev said. "Everything I've read of the mountain people suggests they are protective and vengeful."
Granny nodded. "They would certainly come for Queen Alystra."
"So is she truly a goddess?" Andrev asked.
"Unfortunately, gods are not born with special marks on them," Granny said. "Only one of her kind could tell us that. But she is powerful and dangerous. If she had known where to find Waet Tree Village,
she would have marched straight there to tear down the town. Only imagine—the queen who loathes magic watching one of her own grandchildren succumb to the line of that world."
Alystra growled and struggled against her bonds. Nita raised her hand to replace the magical hold, but Granny forestalled her with a look and a shake of her head.
"So now your foolish anger has come home to roost," Granny gave a little chuckle. "You could have been making allies with the most powerful village in the world, but you were too busy trying to turn them into enemies. And they didn't even know it."
"Nita, can you stop her ears? We have important matters to discuss," William said.
Nita had never tried before. "Cherise, I'll try on you first and you tell me if it works."
Cherise gave a little clap as though she was terribly excited to be part of an experiment. A moment later she had her hands cupped behind her ears.
"Can you hear us?" Nita asked.
"What are you saying?" Cherise shouted. "Talk slower, and I'll try to read your lips!"
"It works." Nita made some hand motions toward Cherise and Alystra. "Okay, it's done."
"Now," Granny said, "I want to know what happened to you." She pointed at Chassy. Cherise handed her the wooden disk.
"Gnarkvetch used this on him to cancel his powers," she said.
Granny gasped, almost dropping the disk as it touched her hand. Nita saw a look of horror cross her face, followed by grim determination. "This we will burn for firewood so no one can ever recharge it. For you, Chassy, I have a tea to settle your stomach. And while I make it, I would love to hear what brought this group to these disastrous consequences, with a dead wizard, a blank," she nodded at Chassy, "and a hostage queen."
While Granny made tea, Andrev and Nita took turns describing their adventures since last she saw them. Her eyes narrowed when they told her about Martu.
"I always thought the pact said they could not interfere in human affairs," Andrev admitted.
