Jake's Break - Book Six of Wizards

by John Booth

  I didn’t paying any attention to the ceremony because I was too busy scanning our surroundings with magic sight. The only unusual thing I could see was Merlin. He was sparkling with gathered magical energy. He was either excited about the wedding or preparing for a fight. I couldn’t tell which.

  Malcolm had to nudge me to give him the ring. I thought about imbuing it with protective magic, but remembered what Jenny had said about interfering. They didn’t need anything from me to make them happy. They already had the lot.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  As the priest finished his speech I felt some of my tension ebb away. I had got away with. Nothing had happened after all.

  Roman Catholic priests in Wales have to be Registrars to be able to perform a wedding, otherwise the bride and groom would have to do it all over again in a registry office afterwards. The priest was a Registrar and with that role came a certain amount of paperwork. The appropriate papers were waiting for us in the sacristy to the side of the church. As the best man, I was one of the witnesses so my job wasn’t quite over.

  We formed a queue to get through the small door and gathered in front of the table where we would have to sign the various papers. The congregation waited in their pews until we finished.

  Then the bridal music started up again and we headed out into the church with me walking behind the bride and groom.

  The screams started from the pews. I couldn’t see a thing with normal vision, but magic sight showed a dozen or more Knights of Justice had appeared at the front of the church, splitting us into two groups. They began to advance outward with their swords drawn.

  I hopped in front of the altar and fired spears of raw magic at armor and swords. Shield bearers managed to stop most of my blasts and four of the Knights pointed their swords at me as the rest started attacking the nearest person to them. Magic started being drained from me at an alarming rate. They were too close and too many of them for me to prevent it.

  I raised a bar of raw magic in front of Malcolm as a Knight tried to cut his head in half. The Knight’s sword dissolved in bright flashes of lightning and he stared at his bladeless hilt for just long enough for Malcolm to kick him in the balls. One for our side.

  The Knights coming against me were cautious, but determined. I stepped back leading them away from the guests until I was pressed against the altar. Their counter magic had already robbed me of my power to hop.

  I heard a child scream and looked up to see Merlin flying at the Knights that were attacking the congregation. Golden balls of fire were shooting from his hands and each one that hit a knight forced him back.

  A force field sprang up between the Knights and the congregation. Esta and Lana stepped in front of the milling people who were desperately trying to get out of the church. A Knight reached towards my son, who had dropped in height.

  A hymn book hit the Knight in the face and I saw Jenny step into the fray, another couple of books ready in her hands. That was my Jenny.

  “You really don’t want to make me mad,” I told the nearest Knight.

  He poked his sword at me and I grabbed it, flowing magic down it and into his armor. I healed the deep cuts in my hand as I hit him with upper cut with my other hand. The Knights could drain my power while they pointed the damned swords at me, but I could use my power inwardly so my fists became harder than steel. That was one Knight out of it, possibly forever.

  Merlin was doing something to the fabric of reality. Space-time twisted in front of him and a Knight fell dead as he stretched too thin for a human to survive. Three Knights pointed their swords at Merlin and he fell, no longer able to defy gravity.

  A hand caught him in mid-air. Morgana had hopped into the battle from God knows where. She screamed like a banshee and the fighting paused. Then she fired raw magic spears at the Knights like a machine gun.

  I don’t know what the Knights were feeling, but my kids sure scare the hell out of me.

  The church was more or less clear of congregation. There were bodies of guests on the floor and I tried not to think about them. The Knights were surrounded by wizards, but were far from surrendering. This despite the barrage of hymn books that Jenny was sending their way.

  Lana and Esta held hands, combining their powers while deploying the spell to stop the Knights from draining them dry. Morgana and Merlin were a few feet behind them. Merlin looked exhausted and ready to burst into tears. At least eight Knights were still in the fight. Malcolm and the Father O’Brien stood by the sacristy door. Malcolm was holding one of those incense burner things Catholics use in church and was wielding it like a mace.

  There was a high pitched scream, abruptly cut off, from inside the sacristy. The fighting stopped as we all looked around. The door opened and something the size of melon bounced out into the church.

  As it came to a stop at the front of the aisle it became sickeningly clear what it was. Silvia’s dead eyes stared accusingly at me from her severed head.

  One of the remaining Knights laughed and crushed her skull with his armored boot.

  46. Blood

  I was stunned. Unable to formulate a coherent thought as I stared at the bloody mess on the floor. The Knight was still laughing when a collection plate cut it short.

  The spinning metal plate had hit him with sufficient force to embed itself deep in his throat. When he pulled it out, arterial blood began to spurt.

  Jenny looked at what she had done with grim satisfaction. “Kill them, Jake. Kill them all.”

  That snapped me out of it. I ran into the nearest Knight’s shield and stamped on his foot. Even though the blow was fleeting it was enough for me to flow magic between us and turn his leg to stone. When he fell to the ground I stomped on his helmet and snapped his neck.

  "Contact magic” I shouted at Lana and Esta in Balmackian.

  Esta caught on immediately and dived at a Knight’s feet. The sword he swung at her never made it as he became stone and toppled over backwards.

  Merlin and Morgana had somehow managed to get back in the air. Morgana grabbed her brother and threw him at a Knight who had turned away from them. The Knight became a statue as Merlin bounced off him.

  One of the Knights made a run at Malcolm. The poor guy was sitting on the floor and paying no attention to the battle around him. I started to run towards him, knowing that I would be too late.

  Father O’Brien smashed a chair onto the Knight’s back. The Knight turned towards him and raised his sword. Then Lana jumped at him from behind and grabbed him round the neck. She must have had trouble using her magic through his armor as they struggled for seconds before he turned to stone.

  There were two Knights left in the room and I left them for the others to deal with, as there was someone in the sacristy I intended to kill. I used the Knight Lana had just killed as a stepping stone to leap over Malcolm and in through the sacristy door.

  A sword crashed into the ground behind me, cutting the heel off one of my patent leather black shoes. ‘There goes the security deposit’, I thought insanely. I got to my feet while trying to blank out the image of the headless body I’d landed on.

  “Die, cursed wizard,” the Knight screamed at me. He looked to be my age, maybe a bit younger.

  “You killed Silvia,” I told him. “And I wish there was something worse than death I could give you.”

  “A whore. You only consort with whores and witches.”

  I checked my reserves as we stepped around Silvia’s body. The floor was slick with blood and this would not be a good time to slip. They were lower than I expected. I hoped Esta and Lana had enough magic left to cope with the Knights outside.

  “Why attack here? Why now?” I asked. The questions were mainly to play for time while I came up with a plan. He had a sword in one hand and a knife in the other. Playing tag with him for any length of time looked like a sure way to get killed.

  “We came on the hour that the priests deemed auspicious. To rid the m
ultiverse of you, once and for all.”

  “But why here?”

  He wasn’t watching where he put his feet carefully enough and there was a pool of blood beyond Silvia’s neck. If I could get him to step in it he might slip. I cautiously moved to the right, trying to get him to follow me.

  “We came to you. That is how it works.”

  One more step.

  He took it. I jumped a short step towards him.

  “Boo.”

  He flinched and that unbalanced him. His left foot went out from under him and he flailed widely. It isn’t easy to keep your balance while holding a knife and a sword in your hands.

  I grabbed a kicking leg and it became stone. Too heavy for him to keep in the air, it fell. A second later his other leg became stone and I knew I won.

  I could have killed him with either contact. But I wanted to make him suffer, to feel his death come upon him. I wanted revenge.

  He ended up on the floor next to Silvia’s corpse. He lifted his torso up by dropping the knife and using his hand. The other arm waved his sword ineffectually in front of him.

  “Silvia was a good person and didn’t deserve to die.”

  The Knight spat at me.

  There was loud knocking at the door. “Are you all right in there?”

  It was Jenny’s voice.

  “He dies,” the Knight said as he threw his sword at me. I stepped aside and it missed.

  “I’m fine,” I shouted and stepped forward. I grabbed the Knight’s hand and petrified him an inch at a time. He watched in horror as the creeping stone reached for his heart and lungs. His eyes fluttered from side to side as his head slowly followed it.

  Jenny pushed open the door with some effort as a pile of hymn books had partially blocked it. She saw Silvia’s body and put a hand over her mouth. I went to her and held her in my arms, carefully walking her back through the door and into the main part of the church.

  The Priest was comforting Malcolm. Malcolm looked up at me and for a few seconds his eyes focused.

  “Did you kill him?”

  “Yes. Slowly.”

  “Good.”

  His eyes went out of focus and I felt my anger rising as I looked around me. Apart from the Knights there were five other bodies. Two looked to be women in their eighties.

  “I’m not sure I would attend another Welsh wedding,” Lana told me. She and Esta looked totally drained. Jenny was sobbing into my shoulder and I squeezed her a little tighter.

  Merlin and Morgana half flew and half ran to wrap themselves around our legs. I stroked Morgana’s hair.

  “When did you learn how to hop?”

  “Was needed,” Morgana said, and buried her head in my leg.

  Armed police burst into the church. We ignored them as they screamed orders at us. I saw Esta and Lana gather magic and I shook my head. They didn’t attack the police, but they didn’t release the forces they had gathered.

  Chief Inspector Thomas strolled down the aisle and gave me a long hard look.

  “Is it safe?”

  I nodded and he ordered his men to stand down.

  “You were attacked by men dressed as knights and by several statues?” he asked having looked at what remained on the floor.

  “They were all Knights at the time.”

  “How are we going to explain this?” he asked. He had a point. A brawl in the congregation wasn’t going to cut it.

  “Do you have Brandon Jones’s number?”

  The Chief Inspector nodded.

  “Ring him and tell him to sort it out.”

  I looked at Lana and Esta. “Time for you to go, ladies.”

  They hopped.

  “You know how to get in touch.” I gave the Chief Inspector a half salute and hopped Jenny and my children home.

  “Make me forget,” Jenny asked as we embraced again. “I don’t know how you can stand to have such things in your head.”

  “I can make it distant,” I said as I stroked her hair. “It’s not quite as good as forgetting, but it’s far less complicated.”

  “Do it then.”

  So I did. Jenny sighed and then walked into the kitchen.

  “Not us, Daddy,” Merlin said when I moved my hand towards him.

  “Are you sure? Both of you?” My children nodded.

  “You knew, didn’t you? What would happen if I was late.”

  Merlin shook his head. “Not all.”

  “If I hadn’t been late they would have come when we were outside, after the wedding. Probably on our way to the reception,” I said working it out as I pictured it in my head. “Silvia would have lived.”

  “What are you going to do?” Jenny asked as she brought me a cup of tea. She looked almost back to her normal self.

  “Take Morgana back to Salice before her mother starts a war looking for her.”

  Jenny smiled and shook her head.

  “Not about that. After.”

  “I’m going to end the Knights of Justice, once and for all.”

  47. Revenge

  I didn’t sleep that night. Jenny had persuaded me to leave the attack on the Temple until morning and I had reluctantly agreed. There was a burning anger deep inside that I couldn’t erase. I wanted the Knights of Justice gone from the multiverse and I didn’t care what means I used, just as long as they were all dead at the end of it.

  Next morning I got up as usual, had an actual shower using real hot water, which was a welcome change. Magic works well enough, but it lacks the sensual pleasure of water running over your body.

  Jenny went into the shower when I went down stairs. I turned on the television and tuned to a twenty four hour news channel.

  “It is now confirmed that eight people died in the terrorist attack on a Welsh church. Six of the people attending the wedding including the bride died, along with two terrorists. The guests managed to overwhelm the terrorists who were armed with knives.”

  I wondered how Brandon Jones was going to get away with that story. As if in answer to my question the reporter continued.

  “One national newspaper has supposed eye witness accounts of knights in armor appearing out of nowhere during the wedding and the congregation fighting back with bolts of lightning. This account has been ridiculed by experts.”

  I supposed that answered my question. The real events weren’t credible, even though they were true. I switched the television off and sat thinking about nothing until Jenny came down the stairs with Merlin.

  Merlin was unusually quiet over breakfast.

  “How is my favorite son this morning?”

  Merlin shrugged.

  “Do you want me to get rid of those memories from yesterday?” It had bothered me that neither child found the events distressing. They had torn me up and I have seen many terrible things.

  He shook his head.

  “Then what’s a matter?”

  Merlin pointed at me. “You,” he said and left the room.

  I got up to follow him. Jenny stopped me.

  “Leave him be. He’ll tell you when he wants to.”

  “I’ll be off then.”

  Jenny grabbed me and held me tight.

  “Come back safely. And don’t let your anger overwhelm you.”

  I squeezed her back. “Don’t I always?”

  We kissed and lingered over it for some time.

  Then I hopped to the Bat Cave.

  [I was there,] Fluffy said as I appeared. [I arrived in glim just as you were killing the final Knight]

  “You found out from Jenny?”

  He nodded. [Not at first. She was angry with you for being late and then she was very angry over something and I thought you had done something stupid. It was only when she became afraid for you that I realized something bad was happening. I am sorry for not arriving in time to help.]

  “If I had arrived to the wedding on time, none of it would have happened.”

  [Even the multiverse is not big enough for all the ifs that happen in a single lifet
ime.]

  “When can you get the Dragons ready to attack?”

  Black smoke and dragonfire billowed through the cave.

  [They have been ready for days. They await you at the Gathering Place.]

  “Good. Let’s join them.”

  We hopped.

  The niches in the side of the dead volcano walls glowed red with dragon eyes. It was too dark to make out more than large black shadows moving against less black stone.

  I switched to magic sight. It looked as though almost every dragon in the multiverse was there. There were only a few thousand of them left and they bred rarely. Dragons never stop growing and some of those present were enormous, making Fluffy look like a toy in comparison.

  Galator was the biggest of them. He lazily flapped down to the stone stage of this natural amphitheater to join us.

  [GREETINGS, WIZARD MORRISSEY.]

  “Today I plan to cut the heart from the Knights of Justice. Will you join me?”

  Flames of every conceivable color burst from the volcano sides as the Dragons expressed their opinion.

  [That means ‘yes’, in case you were wondering.]

  [DO YOU HAVE A PLAN?]

  “We attack the Temple and kill everyone within its walls.” I projected thoughts of the inner temple, the other buildings and outer wall. “Got it?”

  My dragon’s head ponderously nodded. [All dragons know it now.]

  “I will take Lord Retnor there and he will come back and bring the troops.”

  [Not necessary. We will follow you,] Galator informed me.

  I didn’t care. The next bit was the only thing I cared about just then.

  “I will destroy the Inner Temple. Then we kill everyone we see within the walls. No mercy, no survivors.”

  If the flames had been spectacular before, the ones that greeted those words were beyond belief. The dead volcano lit up brighter than day.

  [YOU WOULD MAKE A GOOD DRAGON,] Galator said to roars that I fervently hoped were of approval.

  “Then shall we go and kill some Knights?”