“A lot of talk for a man who hasn’t done shit yet,” William shot back. “I wonder, if I cut your dick off, will the crowd be able to see it, or is it too small?” William smirked, bringing his sword up to a defensive stance.
He’d have to fight like this. Offense would leave him stranded.
Harold brought his own sword up.
“Come and get it, lackey. When I’m finished with you, I’m going to go up there and kill your master.”
Harold said nothing, only stepped forward.
He slashed weakly with this sword. William knew he was hoping that he’d defend with his own, damaging the blade more. William simply dodged, however.
“That all ya got?”
Harold grinned. “Smarter than ya look. Knowing the sword is fucked won’t save ya, though.”
He dashed forward again, this time moving quickly. The man was well trained, but William was better. He dodged left, then right, then spun. He kicked Harold in the ass, sending him hopping across the stage.
The crowd roared with laughter, and William looked out at them. “This is the person they sent to kill me? They’d have been better off sending a group of toddlers to take me out!”
Laughter soared into the sky, the crowd nearly unable to believe William was defying the mage.
He turned to look at Rendal. “This is the best you got?” He caught Riley’s eyes again, but he still couldn’t read her. Was it rage beneath her skin, or acceptance?
For Rendal’s part, he gritted his teeth but said nothing.
William looked at Harold.
“Lucky I got this stupid necklace on, or next time I kicked you in the ass, you’d be burning alive!”
More laughter, and William loved it. He was feeding off it.
Harold came again, this time aiming for William’s torso. It was harder to dodge, forcing William to deflect with the blade. He felt each hit, knowing the thing wouldn’t last. He’d have to make a kill shot soon.
Harold moved in close, and William felt him lodge something in the front of his pants. William shoved him hard, throwing the smaller man ten feet across the platform.
“The fuck are you trying to do?!” William pulled the front of his trousers open and looked down.
Oh, fuck, he thought. It was one of those damn orbs and…
It was hooked inside his pants. The bastard had attached tiny pieces of metal to it and lodged it in William’s trousers.
He looked up just in time; Harold slashed with his sword. William leaned back, the blade nearly slicing through his Adam’s apple, missing by bare inches.
Harold smiled and pulled out a small black block. “They call this a ‘remote control.’ That thing in your trousers is gonna blow up the moment I tell it too.”
William didn’t understand everything, but he knew enough. He had to kill this son of a bitch before the man blew his dick off.
William rushed forward, slamming his weak blade into Harold’s stronger one. The crowd had grown silent; they weren’t able to hear everything, but they knew something had changed on the platform.
William slashed at Harold’s free hand and the tip of his blade hit the fat of Harold’s palm, spilling blood on the stone below. Harold let out a yell, and the black box he held bounced away.
William didn’t slow. He knew his sword was nearing the breaking point, so he turned it and pummeled Harold’s face with the hilt. His nose smashed beneath the assault, and the lackey let out another cry. William grabbed him with both hands and threw him to the ground, landing on top of him.
“Where’s your little remote now, bitch?”
Harold looked up at him, real fear in his eyes, understanding that his plan had gone to hell.
“That’s right,” William spat. “It’s over for you, lackey.”
His fists started to rain down on the doomed man—at least, for a moment.
And then William realized it might actually be him that was doomed.
Rendal couldn’t believe his eyes.
He looked at Riley, but her face was stone.
William had somehow gotten the upper hand and was now pummeling Harold. Rendal didn’t give a damn whether Harold lived or died at this point. Truth be told, he just wished the man would die. But in front of the crowd?
That couldn’t happen. The Right Hand had to die first.
Rendal stood, his red cloak covering his head.
His eyes turned red, and he didn’t look at Riley as he spoke. “He’s going to die. You will watch, and then you will take the oath. Nothing has changed.”
He saw her nod slightly, and that was enough. She understood what would happen if she didn’t. Everyone she loved would die within moments if she did anything else.
Rendal rose into the air and glided down to the stage. William didn’t turn around; didn’t even realize what was happening. His only concern was killing Harold.
Rendal heard the crowd’s raucous cheers, which sounded like a single organism instead of thousands of different voices. He paid them no mind. They would understand soon enough. William would die, and the oath would be taken. The others would still be allowed to leave.
Rendal took his time as he stalked silently up to William, letting Harold’s blood spill from his battered face.
Electricity sparked on Rendal’s fingertips and he reached forward, touching William’s shoulder.
The current swept across the Right Hand’s body, his back arching and his hands clenching into fists while his arms jutted down. His jaw clamped shut.
Rendal looked at the crowd through blazing eyes. “He will still die a warrior’s death, but now it will be at my hand.”
The current moved through William and to Harold beneath.
Both men would now die.
Riley watched.
In the crowd, those she loved were watching her. She knew Mason and Goland watched her as well.
Riley stood and stepped forward. She didn’t touch her sword or try to remove the necklace. She saw that Rendal wore a bracelet, and she knew what it meant. He was growing more powerful right now, even as he used his magic to destroy William and Harold.
At that moment, with her closest friend dying and the people she had sworn to protect in chains, Riley remembered Linda.
All those people on the beach. All those Lindas. The wave that had been about to crash down.
None of it had been real. She’d only needed to see through it all.
And she had.
Psychic magic had been lost to her for so long; the ability to make people see what she wanted them to see. The ability to read minds and play with people’s thoughts.
Yet now, looking out at everyone, she knew that she had finally mastered psychic magic.
Those in the crowd? They saw a traitor. She’d once been a hero to them, even the ones who had only heard her name or seen her in the streets. Now they knew she was against them.
Last night? With Lucie? The old woman who’d known her since she was a child believed the same as this crowd, and had no doubt told everyone else.
Worth and Alexandra? She could see them now. They looked completely defeated. They too thought she had switched sides.
What about William—the man who’d been by her side this entire time? Only he still questioned whether she’d made the jump, but still, she thought he had been fooled now too. It was only his complete faith in her that hadn’t done for it fully.
Now he was dying as she watched.
The person killing him? The dark mage she had chased across the whole fucking continent? He believed too, because his back was to Riley. He trusted that she would take his oath.
What did she believe?
Because that was what Linda’s main message had been. To defeat Rendal, she had to believe in herself. She had to know she could do it.
Even with the damned necklace on, Riley had used psychic magic on an entire kingdom, although no one would recognize it as such.
She hopped gracefully off the platform onto the main stage, h
er feet hardly making a sound as she landed.
No one was looking at her now. She was forgotten, because everyone believed her fate was sealed with Rendal. Only those dying mattered now.
Riley pulled her sword from its sheath.
Believe, she thought. Believe in yourself, or all this was for naught.
“Rendal, darling, I’ve had a change of heart.”
Her voice rang out strong across the platform. She was the Right Hand, the hero of New Perth, the one who had sworn an oath to protect that kingdom, and all before her now heard it.
The electricity flowing from Rendal’s hand stopped. He paused but didn’t turn around.
“I think rather than join you, I’ll kill you, if it’s all the same to you.”
William let out a groan and fell to the ground, rolling over. His eyes were open, and despite the pain that was wracking his body, he was grinning. “I knew it,” he croaked. “Took you long enough, skinny.”
Riley winked at him and put her focus back on the mage.
Slowly Rendal turned around. “Why all of this? Why not just show up and die? Why go through all this nonsense?”
Riley smiled. “I had one last domain of magic to master.”
“There can be no magic with that necklace on.”
“Then tell me why everyone here thought I was going to join up with a piece of shit like you, Rendal. If that wasn’t psychic magic, there is no such thing.”
Rendal looked perplexed for a moment, then smiled. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve proven yourself to be a fool, and now everyone will see it.”
Riley caught movement out of her left eye. Her hand moved like lightning, grabbing something small that William tossed through the air.
A rock?
Even Rendal was staring at her hand now. She saw the parchment and held onto it, letting the rock fall to the ground.
Help is ready. When Riley attacks, so will the city.
Riley closed her eyes for a brief second, smiling broadly. They had believed in her enough to rally the entire kingdom. They only needed her to lead.
And that was what she was here for, damn it.
She opened her eyes. “Let’s see who the fool is, old man.”
Rendal chuckled and let his hands drop to his sides. Electricity flowed from his fingertips slowly, the streams snaking their way across the platform to Riley.
“What are you going to do with that necklace on? Going to slice through my magic with it? Cut the electricity to death?” He laughed as the white lightning drew nearer, moving lazily through the air.
“Maybe.”
She knew this was a risk, and that it was going to hurt like hell, but there wasn’t any choice.
Riley moved like the wind. She whipped forward, slicing into the electricity with her sword and then ripping it upward toward the circlet on her neck.
Her body froze as the current swept through her, producing pain like she’d never known.
Seconds passed, each one feeling like an eternity, but the electricity was flowing through the necklace.
Riley felt it fall, and in that same instant, her eyes blazed red.
She focused on the sword and the current flowing through her body. She shoved it back, forcing the electricity down to the blade.
Her eyes met Rendal’s.
“Who’s the fool now?”
Riley’s left hand flicked to the left, and Rendal was thrown as if some giant’s fist had swung from the side. The electricity ceased immediately and he slumped across the platform, his robe billowing out around him.
The Honor Guard came next, falling on her quickly. Riley danced her deadly steps, dodging, ducking, and striking as if they were in a choreographed play. They sliced with blades and hacked with axes, but nothing touched her. Their screams filled the air, their blood spilling from them.
After the last one had fallen, Riley stood in the midst of the twelve bodies.
Rendal was staring at her from the other side of the stage.
“You have improved,” he told her.
“You don’t know the half of it, old man.”
Riley’s eyes blazed red and she turned to the crowd, her left hand rising. Fire roared from it, soaring above the heads of those gathered.
“If you’re with me,” she yelled, “now is the time!”
Rendal turned slightly, staring at the people. A roar came from them, and as Riley watched, people dropped their cowls and hoods.
The guards who stood below the platform spun, suddenly understanding that the crowd was a threat.
And then came the sounds of steel clanging against steel.
“Kick his fuckin’ ass, Riley!” William shouted. He was on one knee now, trying to rise all the way up.
“With pleasure,” she said.
Riley went forward, eyes red and fire in her heart.
Erin watched it all. She stood in the crowd, Lucie to her right, Brighten and Kris to her left. Eisen was somewhere else in the crowd, waiting for the correct moment to attack.
The tactics Erin and Eisen had decided on were simple but effective. Once they had understood that Rendal was calling everyone to the square, they had mobilized. Throughout this crowd were strategically placed men and women—hundreds of them, spread out and near guards. Beneath their tunics and jackets were weapons of all sorts—axes, swords, knives.
When the time came, they’d take the mage’s soldiers by surprise.
Erin had watched as Rendal gave his speech as Harold and William started to battle, and then as Rendal descended and electrocuted them.
She’d nearly pulled her blade from its sheath then and started slitting throats.
Lucie had stayed her hand, shaking her head and mouthing, “No.”
Erin watched William shaking on the stage, unable to do anything.
Yet Riley had stood, and Erin saw her do it. She saw her drop down to the main platform, and while she couldn’t hear exactly what she told Rendal, she knew what it meant.
“I fucking told you,” Erin whispered harshly, barely able to keep the excitement from ripping out as a scream.
Lucie had grabbed her arm, but not to stay her weapon this time. She was excited too.
“What’s she doing?” Kris whispered from the other side.
“She’s standing up to him,” Erin answered, awe in her voice. “She’s going to fight him.”
Erin looked at the two of them. “It’s time for you two to get out of here. Things are going to get dangerous.”
“You’re going to fight?”
Erin nodded. “Hell, yes, we are. My son’s up there too, and in about thirty seconds, all hell is going to break loose. Go on and get out of here. We’ll see you soon.”
“Be careful,” Brighten said.
“You, too. Go now, before you get caught up!”
The two kids ran through the crowd, heading out of harm’s way.
Erin turned to Lucie. “You ready to give this bastard and all his people what they deserve?”
Lucie was smiling, her eyes on Riley. “Oh, yeah. I’ve been ready for decades.”
“It’s almost time.” Erin looked at the stage, not yet ready to pull her cloak off. William was alive. Electricity was snaking across the stage, and Erin watched as Riley somehow used it to break the necklace.
“Oh, shit,” Lucie said. “He’s about to be fucked.”
“Hold steady,” Erin commanded. “She’ll let us know when.”
The Honor Guard came next, and Erin watched as Riley dispatched them.
“Almost time.”
When the fire blazed from her hand and her voice sang above the crowd, Erin looked at Lucie.
“Now.”
Lucie’s eyes were red. “Let’s kill these bastards.”
Erin ripped her sword free from its sheath. “For New Perth!”
She heard other blades being freed, and the resounding battle cry came back, “For New Perth!”
The war began.
Chapter Twenty-One
> Rendal’s hands came together, forming a small circle. Riley watched a blue ball form inside it, growing larger. It didn’t look quite like flames or electricity, but a little bit of both.
He released it, and the ball of energy ripped across the platform.
Riley’s hands quickly drew a square in front of her.
The ball slammed into the forcefield she’d created, battering against it and causing Riley to take a step back.
The energy scattered across the invisible barrier as the ball faded to nothing.
“That’s just the beginning, darling,” Rendal spat. “You have no idea about the trouble you’re in for.”
“Oh, we’re just getting started.”
“No, we’re not,” Rendal answered. “This is the end.”
He dropped to one knee, touching a finger to the platform, then launched himself into the air.
Riley’s head jerked upward as he flew above her.
“Hey, skinny, you going to be able to catch him?” William asked, walking over and staring up with her. His clothes were smoking and she could tell he was weak, but he wasn’t finished.
“Just make sure Mason and Goland stay safe. I’ll take care of him.”
“You better, or I’ll have to do it myself.” He grinned, but it faded. “In all seriousness, go kill him, but be careful.”
“I got this, chubby.” Riley grinned back.
She dropped to one knee, letting the point of her sword touch the platform.
She launched into the air as well, leaving the world below.
Rendal hung about fifteen feet in front of her, his hands spread wide and fire flowing from them. It was spreading out in a globe, encircling both mages.
“Nowhere to run, Riley.”
“Run? You’ve been running the whole time, Rendal. All you’re doing is sealing your fate.”
The heat from the fiery globe pressed on her, causing sweat to pop out on her face. The flames quit flowing from Rendal as the fire completed its process of locking them together.
Magic Unchained (Hand Of Justice Book 4) Page 16
