Primal's Wrath: Book VI of 'The Magician's Brother' Series

by HDA Roberts

  I switched to High Magic. I tried to open a Portal to the nearest magma flow, but the creature blocked me somehow. I leeched entropy from the world around me and carved a rotting hole through the centre of the monster that nearly chopped the building across the street in half, and it still regenerated!

  My thoughts turned to the dagger. The Gods' Blade.

  That would do the job, no problem.

  But then I thought about the potential consequences of using an item that would transfer a piece of that thing to me, and I dismissed it out of hand. That was a last resort, and I wasn't there yet.

  Yet being the operative word.

  Alright. New plan.

  I started building a construct in my head, and it took a long, draining time, as I was trying to hold the Entity in place while I was doing it.

  It was the most colossal piece of Shadow Magic I'd ever attempted, and when it worked, damn, but it was amazing!

  All my Shadows coiled and compressed into the air between me and the creature. As they left the abomination, it rallied and lashed out, so I returned some chunks of torn up driveway to keep it at bay. It didn't have too many bones, so blunt damage wasn't too effective, but it was distracting, and a punctured eye is a punctured eye. Believe me, it hurts.

  Finally, my Spell was complete, and a twenty-metre tall version of my Shade Armour stood in front of the Entity. Even the monster looked shocked for a moment, and then my construct brought both its colossal fists down on the Entity’s beak.

  I could feel the impact through the ground as the monster’s beak shattered. I quickly brought the Armour up to hit it again. The abomination roared (not that I could hear it), and leapt on the Golem (technical term. When I was in it, it was armour, when I was outside and controlling it, it was a Golem).

  It was fiddly balancing the control of the armour with what else I was trying to do. Thankfully the creature had made it much darker, which helped to keep the power costs down. That was important, as I was approaching the point where I would start to run low.

  I reached into the Shadow Realm.

  Are you there? I sent.

  Yes, replied dozens of little minds, sending their feelings of welcome and devotion to me down the link. I'd been hoping that my Leviathan was around, but the Lesser Elementals would be fine, too.

  Can you help?

  Yes.

  I let my Magic pour into the Shadow Realm, and the Elementals of my domain came to my aid. There must have been more than a hundred of them, though there was nothing larger than a Common Elemental and most of them were Lesser. They were shaped mostly like predatory fish, but that was as a result of my imagination, not any preference on their part. I thought of the Shadow Realm almost as an infinite black sea, which was why they looked like big, toothy fish, sharks and flippered snakes.

  They surged for the Entity and set on it with a vengeance. I let my mind sink fully into the Golem, and just started tearing that thing apart. The Elementals bit, wrenched and pulled at it while my construct simply yanked things off by the handful. I'd deliberately made the fingers sharp and the palms pliable so that it could get a good grip when tearing.

  Bits of other-worldly flesh started falling to the ground, instantly rotting away to nothing, the essence drawn back into the creature to be reused. After noticing that, I started throwing the pieces farther away. The Shadow Colossus (my name for it) was hugely strong, stronger than the creature by a factor of ten at the very least, so those parts flew.

  I could see the monster screaming as it was torn apart very slowly. As its pieces were thrown further away, it couldn't recoup the lost mass and energy, so its Well had to drain faster just to keep it alive. The foul ichor that it used for blood was everywhere, releasing a toxic cloud that would have killed me but for the specially designed layer in my shields (I only had to make that mistake once).

  Dozens of my Elementals were swatted away, or struck by lightning to be banished back to the Shadow Realm, only to reform and come right back into the fight. The monster didn't have the intelligence to attack the Magician, not the minions, thank goodness. As far as it was concerned, I was far and away the smallest problem it had to deal with.

  Gradually, its movements started to slow. The Colossus ripped its beak off for the twentieth time, and it only came back slowly. Tentacles re-grew in slow motion, eyes stayed blind. Stingers remained empty of venom (not that they'd done any good against creatures without internal biochemistry), fangs remained broken, teeth stayed shattered.

  It started to die. Inch by awful, dreadful inch, I killed it.

  I didn't stop until my Colossus had pulled it apart completely, and the very last mangled piece had rotted away into a dull, toxic mulch, which I set on fire just to be on the safe side. I was reassured by the fact that it caught fire at all. That meant that the life force sustaining its anti-Magic and energy defences was gone. And yet I still ran a beam of Entropic Energy over the ashes. I was taking absolutely no chances that it might come back. But, eventually, the ash became dust and the remains of the poison was blown away by the last of the Entity's wind.

  It was gone.

  Thank you, I sent to the Elementals, which were already fading away as the sun returned.

  Joy, Loyalty, Life for the One, they sent back before returning to their home to rest.

  My Colossus stood over it all as the sun finally reappeared, before finally vanishing as I recycled the Magic from my Spell. I finally allowed myself to relax and cast a Regeneration Spell on my eardrums. My ears popped, and I was jolted by the sound coming from behind me.

  I turned, and my whole household was cheering out of the windows, my parents front and centre with Des. Cassandra was standing by the, now open, front doors, a proud smile on her face, Tethys right next to her. I blushed and smiled as they came forward. Tethys yanked me into a hug and kissed me hard on the lips.

  "Never do that again, what is wrong with you?!" she snapped before hugging me again, "There are other Archons for a reason!"

  "Yes, where the hell are they?" I asked. "Did nobody go for help?"

  "Demise is still going as far as I know. The phones were jammed, the hard line cut, the satellite uplinks were shut down and we couldn't Portal out of the city. Someone went to a very great deal of trouble to make sure you wouldn't get any help," Cassandra said, though she was still beaming at me. "Not that it made a difference! That was some good work, Matty. I'm proud of you."

  "Aw look, he's blushing again," Tethys said with a giggle, kissing my cheek.

  "It's just hot out here," I grumbled.

  Cassandra thumped my shoulder gently, "They'll be talking about this one for centuries. Do you know how many Magicians can say they've taken on a Dark One alone? One; you, that's how many!"

  "It was only a little one," I said, feeling a bit self-conscious, actually.

  "It still counts!"

  I smiled.

  The air thrummed with power and seemed to erupt as a Portal opened with enough force to plough through whatever was jamming Stonebridge. Hopkins, Kron, Palmyra and Killian came running through along with what must have been fifty Wardens... and Myrddin of all people.

  They skidded to a halt almost as one as they took in my devastated front lawn and the houses across the street that might have taken a little... friendly fire. In fact, there was a rather nasty crunch as the facade of the closest one collapsed into its front garden, flattening Mrs Preston's prised roses... oh, she was already not a fan of mine.

  Kron didn't look happy, she was wearing a full set of shining, gold armour that covered her from head to toe, carrying a pair of silver hand-axes that were so packed with lethal Enchantments that they hurt my eyes just to look at them.

  "I was promised a Dark One, where the hell is it?" she snarled turning towards me. "I can feel the energy, one was definitely here. Don't tell me you let it get away from you?"

  I frowned at her and she rolled her eyes.

  "Sorry. Alright, what did you do with it?"

&
nbsp; Chapter 28

  They didn't believe me at first. Not in a 'he's lying' sort of way, more in a 'he must have made a mistake' sort of way. Tethys had to show them the security footage on her tablet.

  That shut them up.

  "Well... that was unexpected," Kron said, suddenly looking very deflated.

  "Don't worry, Van, you'll get the next Dark One," Killian said, patting her armoured shoulder, raising a dull clang.

  I must say, I didn't like that name too much, it sounded a little melodramatic to me. I’d suggested calling them Squidlings when I’d first been told about them, but Kron had glared and Hopkins had smacked me upside the head, so Dark Ones they would remain (they also went by 'Children of Hate', 'Never-born' or 'Cruciae', but those were even worse).

  "You said that the last time, too," Kron said with a sad sigh.

  Myrddin, the other Archons and I had gathered in the drawing room, the Wardens had adjourned to the kitchen and were no doubt devouring everything in sight.

  "Does this kind of incursion happen often, then?" I asked, not happy about the idea of a ‘next one’.

  "Oh, once every four hundred years or so," Kron said with another sigh. "I miss them every time!"

  "Why would you want to go near one of those things?" I asked, horrified.

  "Because they are my Everest!" she said, a fanatical light in her eyes. "The last great threat I haven't had a chance to sink a weapon into. The great unconquerable menace to Humanity... though that may be a bit much if you can beat one."

  "It was a small one. And hey!"

  "And... you didn't use the Gods' Blade because?" Myrddin asked, really looking rather annoyed.

  "Why do you always look so offended that I'm not carrying around a god-killing weapon? I have butter-fingers, knowing my luck I'll drop that sodding thing and lose a foot!"

  "It's true. He dropped my hammer once and shattered a priceless mosaic," Kron said, starting to re-watch the footage of my fight from the beginning.

  "I warned you, I have no upper body strength. I told you that, and let's not forget that you threw it at me!"

  "Tossed. I tossed it at you. A toddler could have caught that thing!"

  "A toddler that can catch twenty kilos one-handed, sure."

  "But... the Blade... it would have killed the creature in one strike!" Myrddin said, interrupting us. "How can you be so foolish! So... arrogant!"

  "Yes, it does take a certain idiocy to take on a Dark One by yourself," Kron said, not looking up from Tethys’ tablet. "I'm actually a little proud of you... oh! I love this bit! The thing looks so startled when the construct-"

  "Shadow Colossus."

  "I'm not calling it that. It looks so startled when your animated armour arrives. I'm turning that into my desktop."

  "You have a computer?"

  "I'm old, not obsolete," she said briefly looking my way with narrowed eyes.

  "Does your house even have electricity?" I replied.

  "Yes, I brought some with me, want to see?" Kron growled, holding up a handful of Lightning.

  "My God, are you all children?!" Myrddin snapped, earning five glares for his trouble. "You could have unleashed an unspeakable horror on the world, the Blade would have stopped that, and you didn't even have it on you?! Are you mad? Struck by possession?!"

  "What would I even keep it in?" I asked the ridiculous man. "That thing cuts through all known substances and Magic. What am I going to do, walk around with a two foot box in my trousers? People will get the wrong idea about me."

  Hopkins, Palmyra and Killian burst out laughing; Kron tried to look disapproving (and failed).

  Myrddin swore and left the room.

  Kron settled back into her chair, "We're going to have to deal with that soon," she said, waving at the door before turning back to the footage.

  "Relax," Hopkins said, "We're not there yet."

  Palmyra grunted and leaned in to watch with Kron.

  "I have to say, Kid, your duelling is getting better. Less sloppy," Killian said before stuffing an entire cupcake into his mouth (the valets had provided a nice spread before the Wardens had descended on the larder. That was good, because if Cassandra was anything to go by, four sets of Wardens would leave nothing behind).

  "Is there no other word that you could use?" I asked.

  "Flimsy?" he offered, earning him a glare.

  "Weedy?" Kron added.

  "I hate you."

  They stayed for dinner, thankfully Tethys had a caterer on retainer and we bought food wholesale from a very understanding retailer. It was a celebration, of sorts. Kron was equal parts proud of me for winning and annoyed that she hadn’t had her shot; her praise made me feel ten feet tall.

  I was a bit worried about a second attack, but that was assuaged when Kron and Killian consulted with Mira and had a look at the Gateway site. It didn’t take the three of them long to determine that a device was used, and how it had been made. They were fairly sure that the materials required to make it would not be easy to come by, and besides which, the same trick wouldn’t work twice. Mira would be able to shut it down with no trouble whatsoever, now that she knew what she was looking for.

  It would be a few days before we found out who was responsible, and more before we could track him down. It was Demise who eventually had the pleasure of running Kroupal to ground. What little of him ended up at the Farm (Magician and Magical Creature Jail), was very sorry for what he’d done, believe me.

  Even with those unknowns, when I finally tumbled into bed, I was tired, but happy. I'd had a pretty good day, all things considered.

  Alas, that was where my good mood ended.

  I had another dream.

  I saw a huge room, all of white marble, five hundred metres across, the walls covered in beautiful frescoes depicting Sidhe and Fairies in a thousand different landscapes. There were a hundred fountains and water features in the floor, each one with in-built statues and carvings, each a work of art. The high ceiling was made of some sort of crystal, letting in the midday sun, which sat in a nearly cloudless sky.

  I was standing next to Gwendolyn, the Seelie Princess. She was blonde and fair, of a type with Evelina, only slightly softer in her features. She wore a long white dress, adorned with a smattering of pearl and diamond. There was a circlet around her forehead, a simple band of platinum, and I recognised a familiar black crystal on a chain identical to Evelina’s around her neck. I smiled as I saw her. I had really missed her gentility and her sweetness.

  My smile faded as I took in her expression. Gwendolyn was clearly upset; her big blue eyes were filled with tears that she was trying to hold in. I so wished that I could speak to her, or just hold her hand.

  We were standing on a dais at one end of the huge room, where a shaft of soft light was falling on Gwendolyn’s mother, Queen Elora. She wore the same style of dress as her daughter, though far more richly decorated with precious stones and platinum thread. Sat on her head was an elaborate crown made of some sort of liquid metal that shifted from one web of intricate shapes to another before my eyes.

  Elora was speaking to an Unseelie man. He was dressed in black and purple silk robes, a black, ruby-encrusted choker around his neck.

  "It's that bad?" Elora asked.

  The man, who I assumed was some sort of Unseelie Ambassador from his clothes, nodded, "Worse. The Soul-eaters have gained control over Tyr-hassa, the whole continent is lost. Tens of thousands were slain trying to get the civilians away. We can't compete without our Portal Magics. They can relocate troops far faster than we can, and they don't tire. The loss of 'Hassa hurts us, as well, that was a third of our food production."

  "What of Tyr-durnia?"

  "Her Majesty holds, but there are too many enemies for her to hold forever, not like this."

  "Has she thought on my proposal?"

  "She has, and she is willing, but you must do the work from this side. She can't spare the power to help you."

  "If I have to bring down the barriers alo
ne, then it will take weeks, probably months, and I won't have the power to enter the battle myself for weeks afterwards, not in Unseelie. She understands this?"

  "She does, Majesty. But she is growing desperate. The Prime has been sighted."

  "Where?" Elora asked, a tinge of fear in her voice.

  "Closing in on Del-Sora," the man said, looking down.

  "Is that not...?"

  "The Crown Princess' command? Yes."

  "How long can she hold?"

  "If we're being optimistic... not long enough. Not once it gets there," he said, a defeated look crossing his face.

  The room went silent.

  The tears fell from Gwendolyn's eyes.

  "Is there nothing that can be done to summon aid from beyond?" the Ambassador asked.

  "All that can be done, has been done. We have hopes, but they aren't extensive. We have no way of knowing if anyone has heard us."

  "I heard!" I shouted. "I'm coming as quickly as I can!"

  Naturally, nobody heard me.

  "Queen Adriata sends another message. She says... she says that if you cannot correct our mistake before she has fallen, then you must leave the barriers up forever. They must not be allowed to spread beyond Unseelie."

  Elora looked the man in the eye. Gone was the softness that I normally saw there.

  "No," she said firmly. "This I will not promise. She will survive, she has to. She must do what is necessary to endure so that her people can as well. I will be there, I swear it."

  The Ambassador bowed low, drawing gasps from Seelie I hadn’t spotted before, lining the walls. I think that wasn’t the sort of thing that happened very often in another's Court.

  "I shall inform my Queen, your Majesty... and- and bless you."

  Elora nodded and he withdrew. She raised a delicate hand and the other Sidhe left as well, leaving her alone with Gwendolyn.

  "We will have to work together, Little One, you and all your sisters, too."

  "Mother... Evi..."

  "I know," Elora said softly. She stood and came over to her daughter, bringing her into a hug, "She will hang on. All is not lost, trust in your fellow princess, and trust that all will be well, that help is coming."