Still, with this spell wall the odds were certainly stacked in their favor, far more than last time. He also wouldn’t hesitate, no matter what it would cost him, or his soul. Lia was in there, after all. Right side, right decision, or not, even justified, it would still cost and change him. He just didn’t know how much.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The act was horrific, in the fact the enemy didn’t even have a chance to fight back, much less win. Defending against the enemy and saving people with his magic and blade was one thing, but it seemed almost wrong to do so when the enemy didn’t even have a chance.
Which… was more emotional than logical, preventing any chance of death on his side could only be a good thing, wasn’t it? They’d already paid their blood price, earlier that day, they didn’t need to pay more.
Perhaps that was just his psyche shying away from the power implicit in that place, in the rooms far below the earth’s surface. He wondered what it would feel like to be on the other end of it, as a vast rushing power rose up. Their shields and protections were snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane, and the powerful spell strengthened by the planet itself, dove into fifty-one mages and burned out a small part of their brains.
There was a momentary pause, perhaps out of shock at the power behind that spell. Even their side hesitated for a moment, as if their minds were stuck trying to process the magic they’d just felt at work, and if it might be pointed at them at sometime in the future.
Or, maybe the door was just stuck. He didn’t really know, he was projecting his own emotions, fears, and distaste at what he’d just done onto his allies.
The doors opened, and he felt the groups mix. None of them were killed, on either side, in that moment. He supposed the queen would want to make it all official, and she’d execute Tanner and Sun properly for their crimes.
He was also surprised to feel and identify all the spells cast in the brief confrontation, spells to freeze, sleep, or otherwise capture the enemy. The detection spells on the wall were far more extensive and elaborate than he’d realized. As he’d expected, the undead army that accompanied the mages simply collapsed to the ground, inert, once the magic that fed their unnatural movement and awareness was stopped.
He said, “It’s done, shall we go?”
Talia asked, “You’re sure? No urge to take over?”
He snorted, “Don’t even joke about that. I’d have to live down here, and I’d miss your daughter too much.”
Talia faux accused, “So you have thought about it.”
He got the idea she wouldn’t be teasing him about this, if they weren’t alone and Elissa was still there.
He shook his head, “More imagined what it must’ve been like for the mystics long ago. It’s no way to live, and that level of control is just an illusion anyway.”
He disconnected from the spells, and he hoped to never see the place again as Talia and him left and headed up the stairs. Sure, it’d be interesting to study, but he couldn’t use any of it, or come up with a good use for it, without the nodes to power it. So what was the point?
He’d rather not know.
He said deliberately offhand, “All that power, and they couldn’t put in a teleport alcove? Walking a half mile up these stairs is going to suck.”
Talia giggled.
“Weren’t you a blacksmith?”
He smirked, “Yes, but we don’t use our legs all that much.”
Their banter degenerated even further into silliness as they walked up the stairs. No doubt a natural attempt to distract themselves from what he’d just done.
Talia didn’t seem to fear him, but he worried the rest of the council would. At the very least, they’d be keeping a close eye on him for the rest of his life. He was fine with that, as long as it didn’t go too far.
He hid his true worry deep in his heart, even from himself, until they made it back up top and he saw Lia again. The look of love and welcome in her eyes, calmed him, like nothing else could have.
Olin could deal with a lot, but he wouldn’t have dealt very well at all with Lia fearing him after what just happened. He felt different, like he’d lost something precious, even if the taking of their enemy’s lives were just, that didn’t mean there was no fallout or consequence. There was no doubt in his mind their deaths were on his hands, he’d captured and disarmed them, might as well have put the rope around their necks.
He’d get over it though, in time, though he hoped he’d never come to like it.
He took his place by Lia’s side behind the queen with a smile, and he nodded at Karina and Carolynn as well. Those two looked speculative, and curious, but they all knew better not to ask exactly what had just happened.
It took a few hours to go through the aftermath, and to question all the mages.
Tanner, and all the mages with him were questioned. It did turn out those fifteen mages were caught trying to leave the castle, Tanner hadn’t lied about that, so they were pardoned almost immediately, once they’d given renewed oaths to the queen and were judged to be loyal. They were also healed on the spot, that very night, as soon as they were pardoned.
Kaitlyn was spared as well, but also lost her position as a consequence of her bad judgement, there’d be a new tower master or mistress for the air mages. She had been defecting, in fact she’d persuaded almost half of the fifteen to join them. Still, she’d shown foolish judgement by getting herself in the predicament in the first place, Tanner had apparently sold her a much rosier plan that she’d fallen for. She’d never wanted to rule like Tanner, she’d just wanted freedom for her mages, and herself.
Tanner and Sun were judged guilty of treason, sedition, and regicide, and would be hanged in the morning. A public execution for their crimes. The rest of the thirty mages would also join them on the gibbet. It’d be a busy day.
In the end, peace was restored, and the rebellion was over. The mages had even gotten freedom out of the deal. The water, earth, air, and fire towers had lost almost ten percent of their population in the incident, but it could’ve been a lot worse.
The death tower was hit the hardest, they’d lost almost twenty percent. Only the life mages had gotten off relatively unscathed, they’d only lost their traitor, the one life mage that had defected to the other side as a spy.
The rune mages too, of course, but there were only three of them present. Even one death, Cassandra’s, was over ten percent of their population. So, one death, could be argued as the greatest loss in numbers, when it came to rune mages.
He supposed in a very real way, they had Vemor to thank for their relatively light losses. With the border threatened, both sides had left most of their resources dealing with that, and even working together to keep the enemy at bay. In the end, it could’ve been a lot worse.
Of course, they’d paid a blood price at Sleek Pass as well.
Life went on the next few weeks, he supposed he was insulated from much of the tower gossip and initial shock at whatever had happened. He wasn’t sure, since he finished out his duty time of guarding of the queen until the next competition. It would be the first one he wasn’t involved in, and the winners would relieve them.
Not much changed from day to day, but it all felt different. Between feeling responsible for taking lives, and suddenly having freedom and more options, it felt very different. Whatever happened, Lia was supportive, and still loved him, which was a relief.
Less than six more months, and he could marry her. He knew the future was uncertain, but he was pretty damned sure they’d be making one together.
It would also take time for things to shake out. He imagined the fire, air, and death tower mages weren’t exactly happy with their fellow guilds. Despite whatever side they’d been on. It would take time to heal from that, and he suspected the traditions and customs to keep the towers separate and professional would only drag that out.
Nothing he could do about that though, his own guild was family, and that’s all that was really important to him,
in the end. The rest… they could deal with it as it came.
It also became rather clear over the next two weeks, in the afternoon sessions that Vida held with her generals, that for the moment Vemor had truly pulled back, and it wasn’t just a feint before a change of tactics. The war was over, or at least there was a secession of violence for the moment. He wasn’t sure if the two kingdoms were ever truly at peace.
It was also extremely curious timing, and he wondered if their internal conflict ending had some connection, but there was no way to know. Oh, he didn’t think for a second Tanner had been working with the enemy, but perhaps the enemy had spies and had even arranged their distracting attacks in the hopes the kingdom would self-destruct. Of course, there was no way to prove that.
Except, the way they’d attacked only in one pass and at a standstill for so long was a really bad tactic, outside of luring all the master mages out of the capital and opening the way for Tanner’s betrayal, that is.
He wasn’t sure what would happen next. What his next assignment would be when he was relieved of protecting the queen. Whatever it was, he’d continue to practice and grow his magic, his experience, and he’d do it all at Lia’s side.
Life was hard at times, but given that, it was also very good to be alive.
Afterword:
I hope you enjoyed this story, if you did please leave a review. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent authors, and I would greatly appreciate any constructive feedback or opinions.
There’s one more book in this series, but I’m pretty satisfied with how this ended up. There’s several unresolved questions and threads, but the main plot of the book was settled. The next book will start about six months after this one ended.
About the Author: If you have any comments or suggestions you can send me an email at [email protected] If you like my work, or even if you don’t, please consider leaving a review of this book. I can also be found at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7456808.D_L_Harrison
Other books by D. L. Harrison:
http://www.amazon.com/author/dlharrison
The Formerly Dark Mage, by D. L. Harrison – This stand-alone fantasy book follows the life of Silvia and takes place in a world unique and separate to our own.
Silvia is a dark mage. Unfortunately, she finds herself about to be sacrificed. Someone must have told her evil master about her plans to kill him and take over. After that, things just seem to go downhill. She has no choice but to escape the kingdom of Zual, something that to her knowledge has never been done before. She will need to deal with many issues she never had to face before.
Among those issues, the white mages, and her conscience.
The Rise of a Dark Mage - This stand-alone fantasy book follows the life of Cassandra, it takes place in the same world as The Formerly Dark Mage, but happens three hundred years later, long after Silvia is gone and some shocking changes have taken place in the world.
Cassandra is a dark mage in the kingdom of Zual, she’s also a mage prodigy.
She hates both her kingdom, and her master. She wants him dead, not to take his place, but so she can leave and explore the world. Her ambition will drive her to rediscover the secrets of the strongest of magic.
She is determined to succeed, or she’ll die trying.
Celia Winters Novel Series
Witch’s Moon: A Celia Winters Novel Book 1
Celia Winters was raised by her single mother, and her earliest memories are of the store her mother owns and the nearby coven, who have always been her family’s close allies and friends.
She grew up believing her magic was weak, but she was satisfied with her life, and happy. She was a midwife, healer, and supplier of surrounding covens.
Then her mother died, and she’s about to discover she isn’t who, or what, she believes herself to be, not completely. She will learn that her entire life up until now was a lie. She’ll need to figure out her place, who she is when she no longer recognizes herself, and try to hold on to her closest friends as she gathers enemies for the simple crime of her existence.
She’s stronger than she believes, but will it be enough?
Power of Air Series:
Just a Psychic: The Power of Air Book One starts off this series.
Ben has grown up with missing memories of his early childhood.
He has known he was a psychic since his earliest memories, seeing the future and gaining knowledge with his gifts.
Is it possible he isn't just a psychic?
Ben's world is about to be turned upside down as he turns twenty-one, all is not as it seems.
Alicia Jones novels is a series that follows a bright young inventor and scientist named Alicia Jones. It is a space opera and light science fiction.
The first book is titled First Contact:
Alicia Jones is a genius, and a little odd. At just twenty-three years of age, she is close to finishing her doctoral dissertation. But when she tests her latest theory in the lab to generate a strong EM field, it has very unanticipated results. Results that lead to faster than light travel, and first contact with another race.
Her life just gets more complicated after that, when she finds out who she really is, and that the universe may not be as nice a place as she’d been told. Her determination to help keep Earth safe takes her to places more dangerous and strange than she’d ever envisioned.
Spirit Sorceress series, by D. L. Harrison is a new urban fantasy series. Miku is a spirit sorceress who spent the last one hundred years growing up and learning about her power in the forests near Seattle Washington. She’s about to make her debut in the big city, but not in a way she ever expected.
The first book is titled Spirit Sorceress:
Miku is a spirit sorceress who spent her unusually long childhood in the forest away from the city with her mother and father. After tragedy strikes, she finds herself alone and on her own. She knows that one day she’ll need to move to Seattle, and fully accept her birthright, and if necessary finish her training on her own.
But before she’s ready, and still in grieving, a rogue vampire and his band come along and change everything. She’ll need to learn her new place in the world, and find some allies quick if she’s to survive.
Katrina Baker Novels, by D. L. Harrison is a new series about a super named Katrina Baker. Problem is, she gets caught up in her mother’s plan, who is a mad scientist and supervillain, and gets herself transported to another world in the multi-verse. A world where mages, witches, clerics, and the gods are real. Not to mention the monsters…
The first book is titled Banished:
Katrina baker is a super. She has mental abilities such as telekinesis, telepathy, and others. Her parents are supervillains, and she isn’t all that sure she’s cut out for that line of work. Her empathy with others through her power makes it hard to be uncaring, much less mean or evil to people. Problem is, the last thing she wants to do is disappoint mom and dad.
Katrina gets caught up in her mother’s supervillain plot to get rid the world of the indestructible hero Omega, and that’s when it all goes really wrong, and she finds herself on another world.
Banished.
Will she be able to find her way back home, or even understand this new world of gods and magic, or will she die trying?
Rise of the Empyrean Empire – This series is space opera / science fiction. Space, technology, other worlds, aggressive and far more powerful aliens, artificial intelligence, evolution, and advances to the point humanity doesn’t have to work to maintain infrastructure.
The first book is titled: Scout Ship
Michael Williams followed in his father’s footsteps, and joined the UEDF, the United Earth Defense Force, when he turned eighteen. Due to heroism and long distinguished service he’s elevated to the rank of Lt. Commander when most of his peers have just attained senior lieutenant. His career appears to be going very well.
The year is 2263, and the EUDF is in several star systems in a twenty-l
ight year radius from earth, but are expanding even further. He’s assigned to a one year exploratory mission to become accustomed to his new rank, one that will finally culminate in reaching a new star system, 61-Virginis is just short of twenty-eight light years away, and he’s excited to be one of the first humans in a new solar system as they finish the race across the void between stars in the scout ship Columbus.
There will be challenges he never imagined though, especially not on a simple survey mission. Because mankind always thought they were alone in the stars. They’re about to find out they’re wrong, very wrong…
Book Description
Olin’s a rune mystic, and he’s managed to keep it a secret so far. The problem of course, is all secrets are revealed in the fullness of time.
He’s in for a hell of a time, and more secrets than his own will be revealed, as Tanner finally puts his magic where his mouth is and makes a bid for power. He may be a mystic, but he’s still average in power, and still relatively weak as a seven-month-old apprentice.
Will he be up to the challenge?
Note: This is the second book of a trilogy. No major cliffhangers but expect a few unresolved minor and overarching plot threads. This story is told in the third person limited, from Olin’s point of view.
Rune Mage: The Rune Mystic: Book Two Page 18
