With the coming of night, the houses of Hala dotted the way with lit windows. It was just past dinner time for most, but families would be gathered together to talk of their day. Many had probably gone to the wizards’ duels and would have much to say about their favorites as well as the grand displays of magic that most normal folk were rarely ever at liberty to see.
The north wall drew her attention as they neared. Like a uniformly created cliff, the stone rose over the nearest homes and buildings dwarfing them. Shadows played along the lower wall blending houses into the night and making the distance between them and the massive barrier hard to judge. Sounds of music playing and people laughing called to Cheleya, who wished that she could just enjoy the evening as she had since coming to Hala, but darker matters were before her and the girl could no longer hide.
When they reached the guarded temporary north gate, guards moved to bar their path. Cor’Dargan stepped in front of them and held up a rolled sheet of parchment. “I have permission from the tournament directors for use of the north fields for practice. General Rabismon, your garrison commander’s signature is on there as well, you’ll notice.”
Cheleya now knew at least one of her father’s destinations from this afternoon. He had bought time to deal with Malaketh without bringing all of Hala down on them if they should need to fight. Calling it a basic duel’s training for the tournament would bring fewer eyes, though if they checked the names on the list of remaining wizards not even Tilana would be eligible. She wondered whose name or names her father had told to the tournament directors to get permission.
As the group walked through the stone archway, Cheleya moved closer to her father and asked, “How did you get the right to use the fields? We don’t have anyone left in the tournament.”
“Arronnon, Draasstmass and Steleneth have moved on to round three. Being che’ther, they never bothered to ask if I represented our wizards.”
With hope starting to well up, she questioned him one last time, “And are they coming to help?”
Shaking his head in response, Cor’Dargan reminded her, “Ambassador Sselanus remains firm that they can’t actively help us with Malaketh. He still has the council’s writ making their only options to either help him or abstain from this matter entirely. Theress made sure to remind the others to stay out of this matter. When it comes to a fight, we are on our own.”
Cheleya glanced to the Staronen mages and Tilana. They were along for emotional support, but they too would have to stand aside when Malaketh came for her. Since her friends were from an allied kingdom, they could not in good faith fight for her or in anyway stop Malaketh and his trackers. This was a matter just between those from Mar’kal. Before they were even halfway to the Colonnades, Colbie and Evantus gave their friend a quick hug and wished her luck.
Hugs were a very human expression, and new to the dragoness as well. Cheleya found that she liked embracing her friends and wished that she had more time to see what other behaviors these humans still had to show her. Using spells for night vision and stealth, the four disappeared into the night. She knew that they would be near, but after almost two weeks in their midst, Cheleya felt somehow lonely despite her father and the remaining che’ther continuing with her to the field.
Since Mor’treya had found her at the Colonnades, Cheleya was forced to return to face her accuser. She wondered in Malaketh would actually show or if he would let the others handle his affairs. The more the dragoness learned of her former master, the more that she questioned his strength of character. He had sent the wolves and werecats. Then the shrikes had come after her, though she didn’t know if they were his minions or those of his partners. They were all dispatched to kill her and Kel’lor as well when the first attack failed.
Then Malaketh had used his amulet to control Kel’lor as he had the masters in Mar’kal. Though he had done that himself, it was still a coward’s act. Forcing others to one’s will was a coercer’s magic, but this black amulet seemed something beyond that. Cheleya had felt some of its power the night her master had bound her in place. It hadn’t just been fear and confusion which had halted her ability to flee and defend herself, she knew now.
Scanning the field of the Colonnades, Cheleya and Cor’Dargan moved to stand closer to the central pool. The field was strewn with broken columns as of yet and was abandoned by the wizards who wouldn’t reset it until the morning. Not wanting anyone to get any unfair advantage by sneaking out to the fields in the night, they would hold off until a couple hours before round three to exact the changes to the arenas. There was a change to the set up of the matches that had set the town to buzzing. There would be an unprecedented round with four wizards in each match. Apparently the standard one on one hadn’t been exciting enough and now four would stand not as teams, but one against three. Cheleya thought it had sounded interesting. Sadly, she guessed that she wouldn’t be able to see the remainder of the tournament.
Lystheir and Elenek broke away as they entered the field summoning stealth and invisibility. She knew they planned to stand on the bleachers to either side of the Colonnades to watch for Malaketh and the mar’goyn’lya. There was now little trust between them thanks to the actions of the human in their midst.
Looking to the east, Cheleya noticed a pink glow beginning to form at the horizon. Turas was coming. The god of war, his moon seemed to bring doom with it as the celestial orb drew near.
She turned from the light to stare at the walled city to the south. A glimpse of movement in the air alerted the dragoness to the coming of her countrymen.
“Night vision,” the mage whispered the spell to life as any battle mage could. Her sight changed to that of some night animal, though perhaps no night creature found on Alus. The moon’s light magnified to that of the sun by day and the battle field came to life giving detail where her eyes had once only seen lines blurred by shadow.
Her eyes could also see the four gargoyles in flight. They were no longer hiding their true selves behind that of the human forms inhabiting Hala. There was no longer any need to fit in as their quarry awaited them north of the city in a space unguarded and mostly dismissed by the people of the city. Truly the tournament had breathed life into a space of land abandoned for nearly two centuries of war and fear of invasion.
The fifth set of magically created wings held the center and Cheleya could almost breathe easier knowing that Malaketh had come to take charge of her capture, though she doubted either side believed this would happen without any conflict. The master’s power was on display for her to see. Great black wings longer and stronger than the larger mar’goyn’lya around him, Malaketh was coated in dragon scale armor as well. He had no doubt that Cheleya didn’t trust him. After all, he had already tried to kill her.
Landing at a distance from the two standing in the middle, Malaketh, Mor’treya and Fa’Alk’leyal stood at the edge of the southern battle ring. The remaining two mar’goyn’lya spread out to the base of the two stands keeping an eye for the unseen and the seen. These were expert trackers and they knew the other che’ther would be nearby.
Malaketh glanced to the bleachers and back to the pair in front of him. “You don’t appear ready to surrender. Cheleya, you will return with us to appear before the council’s courts to present your case against the charges of theft and treason to Mar’kal and the Academy of Magic as an extension of our country.”
“Our country?” the girl questioned managing to control her anger enough to respond in an even tone.
The man gave a rueful smile and replied, “It is my adoptive nation. In its defense, I have pursued you and Kel’lor to capture you if I can. He was found dead, but you can still answer for your crimes. Now come back with me. There is no reason to hide and fight any more. There is nowhere you can run that we can’t find you.”
“If I surrender to you, I have no doubt that I will never see trial,” the little blond said with a brisk shake of her head. “You tried to kill me once and then I know that you used your amu
let to kill Kel’lor, Malaketh.”
Shaking his head and putting on a look that made it look like the girl was imagining things, the wizard replied, “Kill Kel’lor? We found him dead in a Southwall hospital. A poison of some sort brought on his death. Only someone deeply delusional would believe that everyone is out to kill them. Perhaps the court will find you mad and put you in a place where you can receive help.
“Whatever their decision, you need to return home to answer for your crimes.”
“You call me delusional? You bound my form and magic before throwing me from the academy spire in the hopes that I would fall to my death! Then you chase us down to use your black amulet on Kel’lor to kill my friend and brother!
“You are the one who should be hunted down for your crimes, but you have used your black magic to conceal and corrupt minds too much for that to happen. Haven’t you? You controlled Fa’Kelman’zer to get you into the vault to steal those artifacts and blamed me. You sent wolves and shrikes to hunt me down and kill me that you could find us dead to avoid trial. How will you make my death look accidental so the mar’goyn’lya won’t see your hand in it? Will you simply use your amulet to erase their minds or will you kill us all?” the girl hurled her accusations at her attempted murderer. Her hope was that those following the master would see him for what he was, a liar, thief and traitor to their people. At worst, Cheleya hoped that her words would help them to see before he attempted to kill her.
“You have a strange imagination, Cheleya,” the man said with a shake of his head. “I don’t suppose that you can lay your paranoia aside to come with us quietly?”
Giving one last look of askance to Mor’treya, someone she believed to be a friend, the dragoness implored, “Don’t fall for his lies, Mor’treya. You know me. I had no reason to steal from the academy. I would never harm my people.
“This human has come into our city and school full of lies. He works with other men to steal and deceive. Though it is only my guess, I would assume that he works for the Dark One. Don’t let him drag down our city, my brothers and sister. We can return to Mar’kal, but he is the one who should be chained and brought before the council for his crimes.”
For all her hopes, the girl’s fears were realized. The mar’goyn’lya were like the gargoyles of stone the humans called them. There was no change to their faces or eyes. There was no compassion or wavering of allegiances.
Malaketh smiled confidently standing just ahead of those by his side. Cor’Dargan and his daughter could see it though. It was the look of a liar getting away with murder. “If you will not come quietly, then we will take you by force. Dargan, if you and the others stay out of this, it will go easier on you.”
Shaking his head, Cor’Dargan answered, “The truth will come out, Malaketh. My daughter doesn’t lie and I can see your falsehoods easy enough.”
“Fine,” the master spoke loud enough that all could hear. “Take them down and let’s end this farce.”
“Dragon wings, dragon armor,” Cheleya ordered in succession leaping into the air with sweeping crimson wings. Under the light of the red moon, the ground below already looked colored with blood. Though she would try to avoid adding more red to the ground, the dragoness was prepared to fight with all of her might.
Chapter 31- Battle Joined
The night was alive with cries and magic in an instant. Lifting into the air effortlessly on crimson wings, Cheleya twisted dodging Mor’treya’s cast of a fireball. The female gargoyle was in immediate pursuit as her failed attack was ignored by the che’ther girl.
Cor’Dargan raised a stone hedge of spikes barring the path between him and the two wizards standing in the battle circle.
Casting a hand at the che’ther, Malaketh ordered Alk’leyal beside him, “He is yours. I will help Mor’treya with the girl.”
With a look of eagerness, the mar’goyn’lya released a spell that he had been mumbling as the talking had been heading down an irreparable path towards battle. A flurry of fireballs assaulted the stone spikes which heeded Dargan’s power tightening to block the flame.
His ears caught sound from the pool behind him and understood quickly that Alk’leyal must also possess power over water. Using his stone runner spell, Dargan dodged to his right before a wave of water struck the ground from behind.
This was a full wizard master that the che’ther faced, a tall order to fight when he was well practiced, but it had been years since he had been in a one on one battle. The skirmish with Cheleya a few nights before had been his first magical fight in decades and now he struggled against a mar’goyn’lya master of unknown skills.
Catching sight of the wizard taking to the air, Dargan barely dodged as another flurry of flame rained down on where he had been only a moment before scorching the earth. The farmer wasn’t an expert with dragon wings and could see that this battle was going to be an extreme challenge of his skill. How could he use his earth spells efficiently against an opponent who could fly?
Lifting into the air ahead of Mor’treya, Cheleya caught the movement of the others on the ground below her. Her father faced Malaketh briefly before her master lifted into the air to chase his student. Flame lit up the night as the gargoyle wizard attacked Cor’Dargan, but that wasn’t the only point of conflict.
The che’ther wizards in the stands revealed their positions to the gargoyles before the bleachers and soon the four were airborne casting whatever spells they had at hand. Fire and air were chief among those fighting in the sky. The earth could only come in handy close to the ground and water needed to be drawn from the air with great power to be useful at all. As another fireball tried to catch the dragoness, her musing on the inventory of spells available disappeared from her head.
“Dragon shield,” Cheleya ordered creating ten large scales in an overlapping formation before her left hand. Her preferred color of red was echoed in her construction as the girl watched Mor’treya closing fast. The gargoyles were bred to fly and were faster than the dragoness with her magical wings in a straight line.
“You can’t beat me here, Cheleya,” the mar’goyn’lya challenged her as the small girl continued to rise into the air. “I am faster than you and there are no stone spires to use to create space. Turning faster does little when there are no obstacles to avoid.”
A fireball was avoided with another twist and the winged girl retorted, “There are plenty of things I can avoid if you continue throwing fireballs at me. Now if you desist, I won’t have to hurt you, Mor’treya. Leave this fight between Malaketh and me.”
With her night vision, Cheleya could see an eagerness for the fight in the gargoyle’s eyes that she had never seen before, though she remembered Mor’treya was always the one that appeared more angry in their training missions when the che’ther got the better of her mar’goyn’lya pursuers. Perhaps the woman wanted this fight to prove that she was better than the younger girl. One woman was born with wings and the other had been born to walk the land. It had always irked Mor’treya that the dragoness in her little human body had nearly bested the two gargoyles in their training fights every time. No che’ther should be able to fly more gracefully than her kind. It wasn’t natural and in fact was in complete disregard to the order of the world.
“So you won’t let this go because I can fly?” the girl asked as air whipped her blond ponytail under her chin. Another fireball came for her, but Cheleya’s eyes knew the action from her fellow student. She never seemed to learn anything knew and seldom held any surprises for the che’ther. Her eyes also watched Malaketh following the two students, albeit at a cautious distance. He could see the girls were going to use a lot of energy fighting one another. Whether Mor’treya succeeded or lost, the master would be ready to finish the dragoness.
“I don’t care that you can fly, but you act like you can fly better than I. You’re a che’ther and I am a mar’goyn’lya. Learn your place, dragon girl,” the gray skinned gargoyle with her long black hair fluttering down her back finally
surprised Cheleya with her intensity of anger. An air spell unseen by the eye, but felt by anyone with sensitivity to magic caught the dragoness in a twisting swirl of wind. A small tornado, the girl was caught and her magical wings would have been torn to shreds had she continued to hold her constructs.
Releasing her crimson wings, Cheleya tucked her arms and let her weight pull her from the snarling wind spell. Face pointed towards the ground, the girl hurled like an arrow towards the solid earth, but it was nothing for the little blond to recreate her wings once more. With the added speed of her plummeting body, the dragoness arced back into the air twisting onto her back to see Mor’treya holding in confusion above her.
“Chase her, you idiot,” Malaketh complained as he ordered the gargoyle student. “She humiliated you in class because you couldn’t adapt to her speed and cleverness. Will you let her do it to you again?”
“No!” the mar’goyn’lya snarled pulling her wings in before diving for the dragoness. The man’s words had struck home and Mor’treya’s eyes held a smoldering anger for the che’ther girl that Cheleya had never realized must have been lying there below the surface. Mor’treya had always been the one who complained, while Kel’lor had always been amused by her talent for flying.
Cheleya executed a spell combining the earth and wind sending a large chunk of stone hurling into the air between her and the angry gargoyle. Concentrating on her alteration magic, the hard stone lost its edge and softened. Creating mud, the mar’goyn’lya had been too slow to avoid the stone. As her eyes grew wide fearing the pain of the stone, the mud surprised her clinging to her body weighing her wings down pulling her closer to the earth below the gargoyle.
Despite the distance between them, Cheleya could see the surprise in Malaketh’s eyes as well. The master had never known of her alteration magic. The exchange of looks between them ended quickly, however, as she was forced to watch as Mor’treya landed in the pool with a splash. It had been a controlled landing and the splash was meant to clean the mud from her body.
Battle Mage: Dragon Mage (Tales of Alus) Page 41
