Luther, Magi: Blood of Lynken II

by Geoffrey C Porter

  Juxta wanted to weep. Lisa did begin to shed a few tears. Monroe jumped up and down, shouting, "Curse you, ghost."

  "Release my soul from torment. I held up my part of the bargain," Isher said.

  Juxta spoke the words very slowly. "We need to know about Quintak's crown. How to break the magic."

  Isher groaned, and his form started to shift and quiver. "Distance is key. If you can separate the slave to the crown from the crown, the magic will weaken."

  "Now we're getting somewhere. A hundred yards? A mile? How much distance?"

  "That I don't know. The farther the distance, the weaker the magic."

  Juxta smiled for the first time.

  "Help me," Isher said.

  Lisa began to pray in the language of the priesthood. Juxta normally expected these prayers to last three or four minutes and be done, but this time Lisa droned on for almost a half hour.

  Isher breathed in and out a few times. "Thank you."

  Lisa leaned into Juxta's ear. "Banish him."

  "I banish thee, Isher!" Juxta said.

  The ghost didn't disappear.

  Juxta focused on summoning power. He drew it in as naturally as drawing in a breath. He said the words with power, "I banish thee, Isher."

  The ghost drifted off into nothingness one smoke strand at a time.

  "Nobody's ever going to believe this tale," Monroe said.

  Lisa and Juxta chuckled. Now they had a solution.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  The next week or so passed quickly. William, Father, and the chief man-at-arms, Xander, stayed in constant conference. Samantha went through the library and filled two leather satchels with her favorite books. Two satchels made sense since she had two handmaidens.

  The whole troop of four thousand Cat Riders was assembled. Father gave a boring, pointless speech. Xander howled at the top of his lungs, "Let's ride!"

  Samantha pushed a bag of books into the left handmaiden's grasp. The little bitch shook her head. "We're not going to Lynken."

  The other slut said, "We're getting married. John the scribe proposed to me."

  "His brother Ben proposed to me."

  Samantha snarled. "They're commoners!"

  "We're commoners. They love us."

  The first handmaiden said, "They're young and healthy. And they asked us."

  "Yes, that was the most important part."

  "We'll be here for you when you return from Lynken, my lady."

  They left her alone. The Cat Riders were already marks in the distance. Xander glared at Samantha. "Aren't you coming?"

  The men of Lynken were waiting, as well. Xander steered his cat after the army. Samantha set one bag of books on the steps of the castle. Mathew and William thundered after the army. Father looked at her and sighed. "Leave the books, go with them. It's your destiny."

  Destiny smestiny. Samantha set the second bag of books down and climbed on Kit. "Follow them. Run!"

  The cat took off at a sprint. Samantha hugged the beast around the neck. She caught up with the army. A part of her mind wanted to vow that she wouldn't slow them down, but she knew she would. The army hunted for food and ate jerky. The royals slept in inns every night. It was cold, and it snowed on them twice.

  At meal times, William said nice things to her, but her butt and legs hurt too much to even care. She admitted to herself on more than one occasion that he was handsome. She didn't even like to sit and eat, and it made more sense to stand at the bar. She didn't slow the troop.

  They made it to the docks and stayed one last night in comfort. She was standing at the bar. William approached and sat on a stool next to her. "You've kept up."

  "It hasn't been easy," she said.

  "In Lynken, a young man is taught to look for a woman with strength to raise strong children. A prince is taught to look for a woman with a brilliant mind so she can be the brain behind the brawn."

  "So what?"

  William smiled. "You're both."

  She hit him on the arm, but it was a friendly tap not intended to cause any harm.

  "It's good to be away from the castle," she said. "Just me and Kit."

  "You cannot say you're alone if I'm around."

  "The men of Lynken are more like ghosts than men, never making a sound."

  "I have spoken to you every day since I arrived in your castle."

  She leaned in and pecked him on the cheek with her lips. He almost fell off of his stool and died right on the spot. Instead, he shouted, "Barkeep, another ale for the lady."

  "You're not going to get me drunk."

  He put his arm around her. "Not with a second mug of ale, but we could break out the whiskey."

  She let him keep his arm around her. "I don't enjoy whiskey, and I don't want something to dull my senses."

  "Well, I'm all out of Druid's Wine."

  She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Your touch alone lights a fire in my heart."

  He turned beet red. "I'm a man of few words, my dear. Let my actions speak for me."

  She shook her head. "Not tonight. Xander claims the first batch of ships leaves before dawn."

  "We can catch the second batch."

  "You sleep alone tonight. Maybe I'll still be talking to you tomorrow."

  William bowed. Then he shouted, "Whiskey for me and my men!"

  Adam and Clark howled. Mathew said, "I'm fine with ale."

  The next day, as promised, fifty or so longships sailed for Druidia. Samantha, Xander, and the men of Lynken, plus forty Kergian cats and riders rode in the flagship vessel. The wind was at their backs all day. William didn't speak to Samantha at all. The sun started to set behind them.

  William approached Samantha and held out his hand. "Will you watch the sunset with me?"

  She smirked. "You want to just stare at the sunset?"

  "It won't take long. My father often spoke of the joy of traveling west, and watching the sun set as he rode. I have found it relaxing, too."

  She grabbed his hand in hers. They went to the rear of the ship. The clouds were painted like swords across the horizon in shades of red and orange. The colors began to shift into blends of purple. Lightning danced in front of the sun as two long clouds crashed into each other. William and Samantha held hands through the great rage.

  "It's a sign," William said. "The One True God approves of our union."

  "What union?"

  "Will you marry me?"

  "Do you have a ring?" She said it in a loud and accusing manner.

  Mathew wasn't far away. "He may not, but I'm a damn fine uncle, and I picked up pauper's rings in Kergia proper."

  She looked into his green eyes. "Pauper's rings will do, but I don't think there's a priest on board."

  "Maritime law, the captain of this ship can marry us," William said.

  "Then I guess, yes, I'll marry you, William of Lynken."

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Kirl was tired. Most years in winter, with the shorter days, and his advanced age, he slept with the sun. Instead, he pored over ancient texts and scrolls. The day came when they assembled the fifty Magi and apprentices. Many of the Magi insisted on bringing wagons, so they were leaving well ahead of the first break of frost.

  Josah, Kirl's apprentice, was getting a little old, but he'd do. They were ten days from Weslan's capital when they camped for the night. Younger Magi took turns on guard duty. Kirl was fast asleep.

  "Wake up!" Somebody was shouting at him. He opened his eyes. Spiders with riders on top surrounded them, hundreds of them. A rider pointed his hand at one of the Magi. A great silvery shadow danced along the ground and hit the Magi in the stomach. He puked up his guts and fell, writhing on the ground. More and more of the silvery shadows bounced along the ground. One hit Josah, but he did not fall. He raised his voice, "Give me your strength!"

  Kirl summoned a great vortex of power and poured it into Josah. Spiders' armored legs pierced through fallen Magi and apprentices. Josah rained lightning with all his strength
on every spider he could see. They fell one by one, but there were too many. Every Magi except Kirl and Josah were pierced by spider legs or pincers. Josah drove them back with blazing fireballs.

  Josah looked at the carnage around him. So much death. Kirl still breathed, still pushed magic into Josah. He knelt down to the older man. "Rest, they're gone."

  Kirl grimaced but stopped the flow of magic. "How many dead?"

  "I think everyone."

  Kirl groaned. He pushed himself up. His eyes followed the outline of the pieces of the dead. "If we return to Weslan, no telling if the Council will send more Magi."

  Josah shook his head. "If we return to Weslan, we'll miss this war."

  "How did you stand against their magic?"

  "I'm from south of the Southlands. My people have been getting hit with that magic for thousands of years. I must be immune."

  "All this because we could not find turquoise."

  A moan echoed across the plain.

  "Healing, Josah!" Kirl shouted.

  Josah walked through the pieces of the dead. There was a man still alive with a hole in his chest near the left shoulder. Josah spoke healing chants, and the hole closed up. The man was an apprentice, although a little older. Kirl had made it to his feet by then.

  "Nick!" Kirl said.

  The younger man opened his eyes. "Spiders?"

  "Josah drove them back, but everyone’s dead. Except us three."

  Nick stood.

  "Josah and I are continuing to Lynken," Kirl said. "You could return to Weslan and summon more Magi."

  "Alone, on the road, with spiders?" Nick asked.

  "If the spiders come for us, being with us is not likely to save you."

  "Sadly, you have a point."

  "The horses are not dead," Josah said. "Chain together five or six horses and ride fast."

  "I'll do it," Nick said.

  "We're going to take extra horses and hurry," Kirl said.

  Nick headed west without waiting for dawn. Kirl and Josah went east into Lynken. They left the bodies of their friends and comrades in the snow.

  * * *

  Samantha, William, and Mathew knocked on the captain's door. It opened, and a man maybe thirty years old stood in his robe. William said, "Marry us!"

  The captain laughed loud and bright. "Never in all my years."

  "We're being serious," Samantha said.

  "Oh, in that case. Wait for me on deck." Then he closed the door on them.

  They went out to the deck and waited. The captain climbed up the stairs in clean clothes and combed hair. He held a Bible to the One True God in his hand.

  "You've got rings?" The captain asked.

  Mathew held out a box.

  The captain looked around. "Do your parents know you're getting married?"

  "They'll be fine with it," William said.

  The captain turned to Samantha. "You're not under any duress? You're of sound mind? You love this young man?"

  She looked into William's face. She saw hope and dreams and a future. "I love him."

  The captain turned to William. "And you're not being forced into this by her father? You're of sound mind? You love her?"

  "No one is forcing me. It was my idea," William said. "I have loved her since the instant my eyes fell on her."

  "Put the rings on."

  They fumbled with the rings, but they fit.

  "Kiss," the captain said.

  They kissed in a way that would become famous.

  "By the power vested in me as captain, you're now man and wife."

  They kissed again. Later they were lying in bed together. William said, "My mother is going to be furious."

  Samantha smiled. "Why? Were they hoping you were gay?"

  "No, but mother has spoken on countless occasions that her children were to have big, extravagant weddings."

  "I don't care if my parents are angry about it, but I doubt they will be."

  "My mother is going to rage."

  "Go to sleep."

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Prince William waited on the docks for the last of the Cat Riders to cross the sea. The four thousand headed into the forests of Druidia mid-afternoon. They traveled for days along a beaten path, sometimes passing farmlands and plains, other times dark forests.

  The men of Lyken rode at the front with Xander and Samantha. They traveled in a forest so deep it seemed like twilight. Some of the trees were three arm-spans across at the base.

  William felt an uncanny sense of doom, as if the air temperature were a dozen degrees cooler in an instant. "This forest’s the quietest we've been in."

  "It’s odd," Xander said.

  William pulled his horse to a stop. The Cat Riders followed in step. William said, "Something’s wrong."

  Samantha was the first person to look up. Spiders. Big ones with steel plated bodies and legs. A rider on top of the spider threw a blast of silver gray shadow at Samantha. She clutched at her gut and fell off Kit.

  The spiders numbered in the hundreds. Xander shouted, "Crossbows!"

  Adam, Clark, and William readied their bows. The spiders began to drop out of the tree branches with a webbing string slowing their fall. Men on cats fired crossbows, but only the luckiest of shots took out a spider. The spider's armor deflected almost every projectile. A few men aimed for riders, and that seemed to be more effective, but many of the bolts were caught mid-flight by some magical force.

  Mathew summoned a great storm of power and cast lightning down on spiders as they got close to the men. The steel armor on the arachnids made for good conductors. The three Rangers fired arrows with precision at joints in the armor. The shaman on top of the spiders threw more and more silvery gray shadows at the Cat Riders. Hundreds fell to the sickness.

  Many of the spiders hung about ten to twenty feet off the ground, and the riders focused on their dark magic. Soon almost every last man was writhing on the ground except the men from Lynken. The spiders dropped to the ground and slaughtered men left and right by piercing them with their legs or using their pincers.

  Riderless cats were not dumb, and the cats leaped onto the riders on top of spiders. Sometimes, two or three cats jumped in unison to take out one rider. The cats ripped the riders to pieces.

  The Rangers discarded their bows and drew blades. William kicked his horse into a gallop and pierced spiders one by one. Adam followed close behind. Clark stayed with Mathew, Xander, and Samantha.

  Three spiders landed fifteen feet away from Clark. They sent poison shards of sickness at him, and it was like getting punched in the gut, but he did not fall.

  Mathew was focused on the other direction. Clark aimed his horse at the rightmost spider. His blade plunged into the beast's brain cavity, but the pincers ripped off one of his horse's legs. He jumped from the dying beast. The next arachnid in line opened and closed its pincers. Clark paused.

  He sliced into the pincers themselves with his blade. The spider screamed a high-pitched wail that would stop the heart of a strong man, but the thing also leaned back out of the way to keep the pincers safe. Clark slashed the underbelly, spilling all manner of organs and intestines.

  Clark was focused so heavily on the spiders he ignored the riders. One of them clobbered him on the back of the head with a stick or root. Clark spun about, beheading both shamans.

  The third spider pierced Clark through the left shoulder and picked him up off the ground. He flipped his blade upward and cut off the end of the appendage sticking out of his chest. The spider pulled its injured leg out of Clark. A wave of darkness and pain almost blinded him, but another part of him kicked up a great storm of frenzy, and he turned on the last spider. The creature bucked, throwing its rider off. The spider fled.

  Clark finished that rider with a flash of his blade. He fell to his knees and cried, "Mathew!"

  The Magi turned and began a healing chant on Clark. The last of the spiders and riders routed. Mathew walked among the wounded doing his best to heal whom h
e could. Some were pierced through the heart, and their eyes were open.

  Mathew burnt himself out with the healing and collapsed.

  Samantha was one of the first to recover from the sickness. She shed tears for the fallen.

  "We must bury these dead," she said. "We can't simply leave them here."

  Xander stood next to her. "We've left our dead in the field before."

  "No. We must bury these men. And find a priest."

  A man hopped off his cat and stepped forward. He knelt. "Your highness, a funeral pyre would be as good as a burial."

  "Who are you?"

  "I'm both a man of war and a priest to the One True God. I can send these men on their journey."

  Samantha raised her voice. "Start felling trees. We must have a pyre."

  William and Adam used their arcane blades to cut down trees. They put 341 dead men on the stacks of wood. The priest said prayers in the language of the One True God. Mathew lit the fire with magic. They rode on the next day.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Rubie, the war general Malik, Emmy, and Gregory were having dinner. Derrick joined them.

  Rubie tapped her fork against her wine glass a few times. "I have something I want to show you, Gregory. Malik and Derrick, you need to see it, too."

  "So I am being excluded?" Emmy asked.

  "You can join us, but it's mostly a boy's game we're playing."

  "I want to see."

  Rubie speared a green bean with her fork. "Eat, all of you."

  "What is this game?" Malik asked.

  "Eat."

  One by one they finished, pushing their plates away. Rubie stood up. "Guards, leave us."

  The guards at each end of the hall looked confused.

  "Leave us!" Rubie shouted.

  They wandered off.

  "Follow me," Rubie said.

  "This is no game I know," Gregory said.

  "I'm still the queen, and you'll obey me. Some secrets we must keep."

  Gregory smiled and bowed.

  Rubie led the way down numerous flights of stairs, into the very bowels of the castle. She led them to an iron door with two guards in front of it. "Leave us," Rubie said.