The Roots of Wrath

by B. T. Narro

  I suddenly realized what emotion I saw behind Ray’s stoic expression. Sometimes a man can become so afraid that he blocks out everything in the world, even the danger that threatens his life. But this fear would not last. Instincts would kick in. I could see him starting to panic as he ran to the window for a look.

  I hurried into the other room to grab the bag of swords. “Here,” I said as I handed them to Michael. “Gather everyone.”

  “What good will these do?” Michael asked. “The officer is the metal mage, Jon. He melts metal, if that wasn’t clear already! Wait, where the hell are you going without me?” He followed me back through the kitchen.

  “I’m not running away. I’m getting Leon and coming back.”

  I blocked out Graham and his mother speaking to each other fearfully. I also ignored Ray’s question of, “How far away is this Leon person?” Instead, I looked directly at Michael.

  “I will be back in time,” I said. “Gather as many as you can to fight.”

  “Jon, you promised we’d leave if this went wrong,” he whispered as I was headed toward the door.

  “I promise you it hasn’t yet. We can do this, but you need to believe. Otherwise, there’s no convincing the others. Now do you believe me?”

  Michael looked into my eyes. His expression hardened. “I believe you.”

  “Gather them. I will be back in time.”

  “How can he get someone that quickly?” I heard Ray asking as I was running out from the house.

  I didn’t mind if Ray now found out the truth about me. It was the soldiers of Rohaer possibly seeing me fly off that I needed to prevent. Surprise was the only way this was going to work out in our favor.

  I sprinted out of the town and into the nearby forest. I wasn’t sure if anyone in Drayer had noticed me. If so, they might’ve assumed I was fleeing. It would be up to Michael to calm them and convince them I would be back with help.

  As soon as I was deep enough in the woods, I took flight. I navigated through the trees as I picked up speed. I wasn’t sure if Leon and the others were still traveling or if they had made it to the fort. It was only five miles away. I would head there first.

  I pulled up on my dvinia, my body lurching higher. At this speed, I risked a blow from a branch. I put my arm up as I threw myself still higher, flying through leaves and thin branches high up in the trees. I felt cuts on my arms as the wood cracked. It didn’t matter.

  The pain brought out my anger. Damn that boy who’d betrayed us, the lord’s son. I didn’t even know his name, and yet I was so enraged I might order his death when this was over. People were probably going to die now, and it was his fault. What had happened to the guard who claimed he could watch over the lord’s family? Was he the one who had betrayed us?

  Soon I was flying over the forest in the open air. I had never gone this speed before. If I wasn’t so panicked, I might’ve been proud at how quickly I was improving.

  I found the fort and landed in the middle of it.

  “Leon!” I yelled. “Are you here?”

  I was relieved when I saw him jogging to me, especially because he still had on his armor and his sheathed sword.

  “What the hell is it now?”

  “We were betrayed by the lord’s son, but this kid doesn’t know what we’re capable of.” I saw I was attracting a crowd, with a few of my peers joining. “There are thirty of Rohaer’s soldiers coming. I’m sure the kid told them there would only be two of us there trying to rally the people to stand with us. Rohaer thinks we’re just buying time, scaring them, to set up a trap for their officer and take him out with arrows. I have no doubt they believe they have us trapped now because their officer will melt our swords. That’s why I’ve come to get you, Leon. We’re going to fight them right now. They’ll never expect it, especially with our swords of Valaer steel. We’re turning the trap around on them, but we can only do it with your help right now. There isn’t much time before they get to Drayer.”

  “Then let’s go,” he said.

  I was a little surprised that he didn’t put up an argument, but I got over it pretty quickly. I turned around for him, and he hopped on my back.

  He was about as heavy as Michael, but I hadn’t had time to get the harness ready.

  “Don’t drop me,” Leon growled in my ear as I got my hands under his legs.

  “Hold on tight and don’t choke me.”

  I jumped as I hoisted up the dvinia around my torso. There were no trees to block us as I hurled us up and out of the forest.

  “Airinold’s taint!” Leon said as the wind screamed.

  “Hold on!” I hurled us again, straining my mind to throw us as fast as I could.

  Leon cursed in my ear as he clutched my chest.

  I didn’t have to guess how far the town was from our location. I would see it soon. What I was more worried about was Valinox spotting us, or perhaps someone else would and tell him we were on our way. I wouldn’t be able to land in Drayer without spoiling everything.

  Soon, we could see the town from high up. There were few good places to descend into the forest, so I picked one at random where the leaves didn’t seem as dense.

  I came down fast. We crashed through light twigs and leaves. Leon seemingly held in a scream of terror as he groaned. I felt more cuts on my arms.

  We crashed down near the edge of the forest, the town in front of us. I was wildly out of breath. The strain of carrying another person with no harness might be something I never got used to.

  I healed the cuts on my arms and asked Leon if he needed any healing.

  “No. Now what, Jon?”

  “It doesn’t sound like they’re here yet.” I panted. “There’s no screaming. We can’t let them see that I can fly. Do you see that house there, near the river? That’s where I left Michael.”

  “I see it. Let’s go.”

  We bustled out from the trees. The town seemed too quiet. I didn’t see anyone out of their homes.

  I looked south to find the soldiers of Rohaer on horseback as they entered Drayer through its only road. They were too far away for me to tell their speed or what kind of armor they wore, but there looked like a lot of them.

  We made our way to the Craw house. I was sweating and still regaining my stamina as I opened the door for Leon. Michael and the two Craws were in their kitchen, Michael using the window there to look out with a spyglass.

  “Where’s Ray?” I asked.

  “He’s been trying to round up the volunteers, but no one wants to leave their house.”

  “Do they at least have the swords we brought?”

  “I made sure everyone got one,” Michael said.

  “How many are there exactly?” Leon peered out the window with a squint.

  “Thirty, probably all sorcerers.”

  “Any archers?”

  “A few.”

  “How many exactly?”

  “Two.”

  “That’s not a few. Be specific!”

  “All right, two archers. What do you want to do?”

  Leon stared out the window a while longer before looking back at the Craws. They stood on the other side of the room, Bertha beside her son.

  “Any others like him ready to help us?” Leon asked us while pointing with his thumb at the massive lad.

  “No others like him,” Michael answered.

  “Then maybe it’s best we handle this ourselves, but tell me something first. What happens if we leave?”

  I spoke up. “This town will be drained of its harvest. People might be killed, and girls will surely be raped. It’s happened already.”

  “And what does winning look like?” he asked.

  “Rohaer won’t be able to take any food or use this town to bolster their supply chain,” I said. “Not only do they have a healthy harvest here in Drayer, but there’s a blacksmith.” I wasn’t sure about the healthy harvest, but I wasn’t about to let Leon leave these people unless we determined it was absolutely necessary to our survi
val.

  “A skilled blacksmith?” Leon turned toward the Craws.

  “Very,” Bertha said. “I’m sure the good people of Drayer would be in your debt, sir, if you defended us.”

  “The fort’s only five miles from here,” I muttered quietly. “Having the town in our favor would be very beneficial. Plus, we might get to kill that metal mage who seems strong enough to turn the tide against us in battle.”

  Leon stared out the window again. “I’m not seeing anyone coming out to help us.”

  “They’re probably waiting to make sure it’s a fight we can win,” Michael said. “Once we start, they might join in.”

  A silence passed as we watched Leon observe our enemies with the spyglass. Then he stepped away from the window and eyed Michael and me. “Are you both ready to give this your all?”

  “That depends,” Michael said. “Are you convinced the three of us can take on thirty armored sorcerers?”

  “Hell yes we can with the right battle plan.”

  I got my armor into place as he spoke, knowing we were going to fight. Michael was already dressed in his.

  Leon looked out the window again. “The two of you are lucky. There’s only one thing I like better than killing dark mages, and that’s killing rapists.”

  “You’re kind of sick,” Michael said with a grin. “And I kind of like it.”

  “Oy, big boy,” Leon told Graham. “Point out the metal mage to us.”

  Graham moved up to take Leon’s spot in front of the open window. “He’s there in the front, with the best armor.” He quickly moved back.

  “That ugly fucker with the nose?”

  “Yes.”

  “Got it. All right boys, here’s the plan.”

  *****

  The soldiers of Rohaer waited until they were deep in the town before they dismounted. The officer, a pale skinned man with a long nose, took off his helmet and handed it to one of his people. He brushed his hand through his blond hair and seemed happy to be here, a little smile on his face.

  “For those who didn’t catch my name the last time I was here, I’m Davon Rimner.” He had a deep voice that carried across the town. “Your lord reports to me, and you report to him. Therefore, you would be wise to think of me as your superior. I can see all of you are hiding in your homes because you are afraid. There is no need to be. As long as someone tells me where the two sorcerers of Lycast are currently hiding, then we will leave with some of your crops. I promise you peace so long as you cooperate.”

  “He promised peace the last time, and we did cooperate,” Graham told us as we watched from the kitchen window.

  All remained quiet in the town. Davon spoke again, anger coloring his voice. “If no one comes forward right now with the information we want, then the last time we were here will look like a mere warning compared to what we are about to do!”

  I could see my enemies well from here. There were a few who looked to be close to my age, but most were older, seasoned. I figured they had seen combat before.

  I gripped the Induct stone in my pocket. Even I wasn’t aware of what I could do in battle with my new power. My pulse was rapid with my nerves tingling, excitement coursing through my veins. I could see by the looks on the faces of my enemies that these men felt like gods. They thought this town and all the people in it already belonged to them. Perhaps that would be true except for one thing. Us.

  “We go now,” Leon said to Michael, who gave a nervous nod. “That’s good,” Leon said, “keep pretending you’re scared.”

  “Yeah, pretending, right.”

  Leon opened the door and walked out toward the large group of armored sorcerers. “We’re the sorcerers you’re looking for.”

  Michael looked reluctant as he remained a step behind Leon most of the way there. I wondered if Leon could feign fear, because he seemed confident even now as he marched up to the soldiers and stopped in front of them.

  “What do you want with us?” Leon asked.

  “That’s some armor you’re wearing,” Davon said. “It would be a shame for me to ruin it with mtalia, but I assure you I can even melt the swords resting in your sheaths before you draw them. Take off that armor and drop your weapons. You will be kept alive as my prisoners, I promise you.”

  Another empty promise.

  “You’re a man of honor?” Leon asked. “You’ll stick to your word?”

  Davon put his hand over his chest. “I swear.”

  “Then we submit,” Leon said. He put his hands up and looked at Michael.

  But Michael seemed too busy waiting for an archer to loose an arrow or possibly for one of the sorcerers to shoot a fireball. Leon kicked him with the side of his foot.

  “Ow, oh.” Michael put up his hands.

  “You can take the armor off yourself,” Leon said as he and Michael approached the officer standing in front of his men.

  That was the signal.

  The last I saw before I crept out of the Craw house was Davon shrugging and gesturing at Leon and Michael as he gave a nod to his soldiers. Even if he figured Leon and Michael were powerful sorcerers, there was no way he thought the two of them could defeat thirty of his men.

  With the Valaer steel protecting my heart and my sword ready near my hip, I took to the air, my eyes on the soldiers. One man saw me and gaped, but he seemed too surprised to know what to do.

  I was quick, coming down over the officer as his soldiers started to lift ropes in place to tie up my comrades.

  “Watch out!” yelled the man who had seen me earlier. “Above!”

  The soldiers stopped looking around and glanced up as I readied my blade to drive it through Davon’s skull.

  A sheet of clear energy stopped me dead in the air as my feet hit first and then the rest of me tumbled into it. It remained between me and the officer as I tried to break through with stabs of my sword. I expected it to break any second, but whoever held me was more powerful than I had anticipated.

  The energy hooked and tossed me away from Davon. I caught myself in the air with dvinia and soared right back toward my target, who stared up at me in shock.

  Leon had tossed away all of Rohaer’s troops on one side, while Michael had blown back those on his side. Together, they charged Davon with their swords drawn as I came in from the air, the sun glinting off our reflective weapons and breastplates.

  Leon was first to Davon, swinging to take off his unprotected head. Davon ducked and moved forward past Leon. Michael swung at him next, but this officer was faster than he looked. He jumped out of the way of that attack as well.

  Turning back with his hand out as if casting a spell, Davon’s face contorted, he said, “I can’t melt that metal!”

  “Above!” said someone else.

  I was just about to land on Davon sword first, but I was hit with dteria. Gravity took me the rest of the way into the ground before I could catch myself. Vulnerable, I shot a look toward the two archers standing away from the fray. Both had arrows lined up at me.

  I made a wall of dvinia that caught the arrows. It bought me a moment as they loaded more. Davon scurried into town, away from Leon and Michael. They fought back-to-back while most of the thirty men tried to get in their licks with their blades, only to be blown away.

  My comrades were doing their part of the plan. It was up to me to get Davon. As I picked myself up, I noticed Graham charging toward Davon from his house as Ray charged in from the other direction. There were many more watching from their doorways, including some of the people who had volunteered to stand with us. All had swords, but none looked ready to use them.

  Davon stopped short of running into Graham, then turned to see Ray coming toward him. He lifted up two hands, and their swords melted off their hilts from ten yards away.

  Graham and Ray stopped short as Davon took out his own sword. I landed near the two teens.

  “Get out of here,” I told them as three dark mages flew toward Davon and landed beside him. Each of them stumbled upon landin
g, as if this was a skill they weren’t used to using. I took it to mean their power was far from my level.

  I put up dvinia to block several blasts of dteria. As soon as the onslaught was over, I hurled a dense cluster of dvinia at one of the armored sorcerers. It punched the man in his chest so hard that it rolled him back several yards. I wondered if it might’ve been strong enough to break bone if he hadn’t been wearing armor.

  The spell had brought out looks of shock from the other two mages. It gave me a moment to take them out in the same fashion.

  When I was done, and only Davon stood in front of me, I noticed someone from the corner of my eye. He rushed toward me as he formed a ball of fire in front of him. He performed a throwing motion with his whole body, his fireball spiraling toward me at shocking speed. I put up another wall of dvinia. There was an explosion of flames too bright for me to see anything, forcing me to keep up my wall until I could figure out where the next attack was coming from.

  It was the fire mage again—closer to me now. He let out a jet of fire into my wall of dvinia. The painful heat caused me to grit my teeth as I blocked all of it, though I felt my dvinia burning away. It reminded me of the time I had held Remi’s fireball to see how fast we could launch it, but I had grown much stronger since then.

  I pushed my wall of dvinia hard against the jet of fire, unable to see past it, but that didn’t matter. I felt it connect with something solid, the sorcerer. His fire spell came to an end as I flung the mage away from me like an annoying bug.

  Davon shot a look over his shoulder as if thinking about fleeing. It gave me time to check on Leon and Michael. I didn’t know how, but they had killed two men among the dozens of sorcerers trying to get through to them, and neither of my allies seemed to show any fatigue.

  I could feel the tide shifting, our enemies looking to retreat as the aggression drained from their faces. They glanced at one another, waiting for an order. I was horrified to see Davon flicking a ring on his finger because I knew it meant he was calling for aid. There wasn’t much time.

  Davon sprinted away, but there weren’t many routes for him to choose from. Ray jumped in his way, forcing him to veer off toward Graham. The boy was slow, and Davon seemed to take his chances to get around him, but Graham reached out with a meaty arm and hooked his fingers over the top of Davon’s armor. He yanked Davon to a stop and fell on top of him.