The Wounded Guardian

by Duncan Lay

  ‘What do you think, Barrett?’ the Queen asked. ‘About the bandit, not about the girl’s strange obsession with the militia.’

  ‘Could go either way, your majesty. The Sword may have worked on him and he did not realise it. Or it could have been a whim of his and he does not count because he is a bandit.’

  ‘I have done some dark deeds, your majesty,’ Conal admitted.

  Merren rubbed her eyes. Being called ‘your majesty’ when they were sitting around a rough wooden table in a hut in the woods seemed ridiculous. The title seemed almost obscene, given all that had happened.

  ‘I think we can forget about my title when it is just we few,’ she suggested. ‘You may use my name.’

  There was a short silence at this.

  ‘What do you know about the Sword—Merren,’ Martil said, eager to test out how her name sounded. ‘How do you know if it is working for you?’

  ‘I could not say, I am afraid. My father rarely spoke of it to me, probably thinking that as I could never draw it, I would never need to know. Just as he insisted I would never need to know anything about warfare, as my cousin Gello would be looking after the army,’ she finished bitterly. ‘Barrett, did you find anything in your library?’

  Barrett nodded. ‘We did find a book about the Dragon Sword, which claimed that you could tell when its magic was working from the dragon on the hilt.’

  ‘Then let us see it,’ Merren requested.

  Feeling slightly foolish, Martil produced the Sword and they all peered at the dragon carving.

  ‘I can’t tell anything,’ Karia declared.

  Merren sighed. ‘We shall have to keep watching it, to see if there is any change. After all, it is one of the most pure forms of magic.’

  ‘Can I try it?’ Karia asked immediately, perking up at the thought of magic. Martil had explained they wanted to talk but to her it all sounded very boring. Battles and sieges—yawn! She wanted to hear about elves and dragons. Or at least some dolls.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Martil smiled.

  Merren looked at Karia quizzically. ‘Do you want to try magic?’

  ‘I think she may very well be able to do magic,’ Barrett interrupted. ‘In fact, we can try a quick test now, if you like.’

  ‘Yes, please!’ Karia said excitedly. This was more like it!

  ‘Is that wise?’ Martil asked him pointedly. ‘Is it safe for her?’

  ‘Of course. I will be here,’ Barrett smiled. If this warrior could impress Merren by feeding apricots to a small child, then he would impress her even more by showing off his magic. He told himself this was merely an opportune time to test her; that impressing Merren and putting the arrogant warrior in his place was a much less important priority. ‘It will not take much energy.’

  At the front of the cabin was a wide railed veranda, with carved wooden benches that ran its full length. It was obviously a pleasant place to sit and watch the sunset. On the other side of the veranda was a garden bed, free of weeds, with a handful of seedlings trying to grow. Martil had been surprised to see a fresh crop this late in the year but obviously a Norstaline winter was further away—and probably milder—than the Ralloran equivalent. Barrett had Martil, Merren and Conal sit down on the bench, then sat down on the veranda steps with Karia, close to the garden bed.

  ‘Who does the planting?’ Conal wanted to know.

  ‘The family tasked to look after the lodge. I would say they are using this land to grow some food on the side, food not subject to the local taxes,’ Barrett shrugged. ‘Now if we are finished with the foolish questions, perhaps I can begin?’ On receiving silence, he smiled, then indicated Karia should reach down to the ground.

  ‘Dig your fingers into the soil,’ he invited her.

  ‘I love getting muddy,’ Karia smiled, and wiggled her fingers into the rich earth.

  Barrett copied her and then closed his eyes. ‘You need to shut your eyes, then feel the magic within the soil. It has plenty of manure and plenty of fallen leaves raked through it, so it should be full of earth magic, waiting for things to grow.’

  Karia shut her eyes then squeezed and squished the dirt between her fingers. It was the strangest feeling. The closest thing she could come up with was when she had stroked a pregnant cat and felt the tiny kittens stirring within their mother’s belly. It was something like that, but completely different as well. ‘I can feel it!’ she exclaimed excitedly. ‘There’s something there!’

  ‘Can you feel the roots of the nearby trees, feel the insects marching above and the worms underneath?’

  ‘I can!’ She laughed delightedly, as she felt those things brush against her mind, like the faintest touch of a feather.

  Martil stood up and leaned over the rail, trying to see what was going on.

  ‘Then call to the worms. Ask them to come up and see you.’

  ‘Here, wormies! Come here, wormy, squirmy wormies!’ Karia almost sang, and Martil had to struggle to keep a straight face.

  Barrett merely cleared his throat. ‘You don’t have to say the words, worms can’t actually understand you. What you need to do is use your mind to…’ his voice trailed off as dozens of worms squeezed their way to the surface and began wriggling towards her.

  ‘I can feel them tickling my fingers,’ Karia giggled.

  Barrett looked at Martil for a moment, then regained his concentration. ‘Excellent work. Now tell them to go back home.’

  ‘Bye-bye, wormies!’

  Instantly the worms burrowed back into the soil and within a few heartbeats, were gone.

  ‘That was fun!’ Karia laughed. ‘Can we do it again?’

  Martil was not sure what to think about this development. ‘Is it wise to keep going with her? I thought magic was dangerous, and she’s still so small,’ he said quietly.

  Barrett shook his head. ‘This is the safest way for her to explore her powers. What would be far more dangerous is for her to use them by herself, without guidance. That could lead to problems. I would not try this if she did not have the ability. And she does. This was one of the first tests I was set. Summoning basic creatures is a relatively easy task. And she would have brought at least as many to the surface as I achieved.’

  ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘She’s going to be as powerful as I am.’ Barrett struggled with himself for a second, then sighed. Much as he wanted to look impressive, magic was far more important. ‘Perhaps more so.’

  ‘More so?’

  Barrett shrugged. ‘It comes down to dedication. I had it. If she does not have it, then she will not be able to develop her talent. But I tell you, this girl has some special powers.’

  ‘Are you talking about me?’ Karia demanded.

  ‘Special powers and big ears,’ Martil muttered. ‘Are you tired?’ he asked Karia, remembering how Barrett became after performing magic.

  ‘No!’

  ‘The young are able to recover quickly. They have boundless energy,’ Barrett agreed. ‘We can try something else, but perhaps this time you should not say the words aloud. Or if you do, use their normal names. Magicians do have a certain image to uphold. People won’t pay you lots of money if you go around saying things like “come here, squirmy wormies”.’

  Karia thought that was hilarious.

  ‘Let’s try something with plants this time. We’ll need a volunteer. Conal, how about you?’

  ‘Perhaps I should have told the tale of how Danir’s band used to call me Conal the Cowardly,’ the old bandit grunted, but obediently stood in the middle of the garden bed, as instructed.

  ‘Now, Karia, reach out to the seedlings at his feet. Feel them growing. Feel the magic pulsing through them. Can you do that?’

  Karia, her eyes closed, merely nodded.

  ‘Good. Now make them grow! See them as tall plants, as tall as Conal.’

  Karia muttered: ‘Grow!’ and they were astonished to watch the tiny seedlings, barely above the ground, shoot up, until they were the size of small tr
ees in a few heartbeats.

  ‘Excellent! Now see them growing around Conal,’ Barrett encouraged her.

  ‘Hey! Nobody mentioned this!’ Conal protested, but it was too late. The plants leaned over and wrapped themselves around his legs and body, so he was unable to move or escape.

  ‘Try and get free,’ Barrett urged him.

  Conal struggled and thrashed but the plants held him firm.

  ‘Zorva’s b—!’ he started to exclaim, then caught himself in time. ‘Zorva’s stinky feet!’

  Barrett stared at the old bandit, then decided it was probably best to move on. ‘Excellent work, Karia! Now, let them go back to being seedlings. See them as they were.’

  Conal, who was still thrashing around, fell over as the thick plants that had been around him shrank back into seedlings in an instant.

  ‘That should not have taken much effort, as we replaced the magic by making the seedlings back into seedlings again,’ Barrett explained.

  ‘Didn’t take much effort? I’m exhausted!’ Conal protested, as he walked back to the veranda.

  ‘Did you see what I did?’ Karia bounced up and down. ‘Are you proud of me?’

  Martil, who still felt he had to make up for his behaviour earlier, jumped in. ‘Of course I am!’ he smiled.

  ‘Do you think you are up to one more test? This one should be an easy one, but it will see if you have the same mastery over animals.’

  ‘Yes, please! I love animals!’

  Martil smiled at her excitement; her enthusiasm was infectious. Barrett waited until she had calmed down a little and then spoke softly, standing close to her. Martil could not help but feel that the wizard was putting on a show, as well. ‘Close your eyes and feel the magic within the forest. Float into it and find an animal nearby.’

  She closed her eyes obediently and breathed deeply. For a long moment nothing happened, then she pointed out to her left.

  ‘There’s a rabbit there,’ she declared. ‘Here bunny, bunny, bunny!’

  Barrett almost cringed at her words, then smiled as a small grey rabbit bounded out of the trees and raced up to her, stretching up on its hind legs to sniff and touch her fingers.

  ‘He’s so cute!’ she exclaimed, stroking him gently.

  ‘Can he tell you anything?’ Barrett asked softly.

  She patted the rabbit for a moment. ‘He lives nearby and comes here to raid the gardens for food,’ she declared. ‘And he’s nervous of Conal.’

  Everyone looked to where the old bandit stood, watching the scene.

  ‘I was thinking about rabbit stew,’ he admitted. ‘Bit tired of that smoked meat and oats mush that Martil likes to cook. Your rabbit looks mighty tasty. Could you tell him to hop into the stewpot?’

  What happened next was almost too fast for Martil to comprehend. He was looking at Conal, who was smiling at the horrified expression on Karia’s face. Martil knew how Karia had seen many of the animals she had befriended killed for meat by her father, and how that had upset her. He turned to say something, when Karia closed her eyes again.

  ‘Karia! No!’ Barrett yelled urgently, his voice holding a note of real fear.

  Martil jumped to his feet instinctively, then checked at the sight of the rabbit. It had been sitting, allowing itself to be patted by Karia, then in a matter of heartbeats it grew and grew, expanding to the size of a small horse. Its eyes reddened and moved forward to the front of its head, its ears shrinking slightly. It opened its mouth to reveal an impressive set of sharp teeth, then reared up onto its powerful hind legs, towering over Karia. But it ignored her. Its attention was on Conal and it raised its front paws to strike, glittering sharp claws at the ready.

  Conal yelled and stumbled backwards, while Martil went for the Dragon Sword. But Barrett was quicker. He thrust out a hand, and the strange creature shrank back again, going from vicious predator to gentle herbivore in the blink of an eye.

  The rabbit sat there, as if unable to believe what had happened, then bounded off, white tail flashing.

  Nobody said anything, they just stared at Karia.

  ‘That was a nice rabbit. He was my friend. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him,’ she declared.

  ‘I’m never going to eat rabbit stew ever again. In fact, I might only eat oatmeal for the rest of my life,’ a stunned Conal said, sitting on the ground.

  ‘I’m very tired now,’ Karia yawned. ‘Martil, can you read me a story?’

  Martil stepped forward, his hands trembling with the reaction of what he had seen. ‘Of course,’ he said, forcing his voice to be calm. ‘What would you like to hear?’

  ‘Pick me up,’ she requested, and he lifted her into his arms. She snuggled into his shoulder and yawned again. ‘I think I’d…’ her voice trailed off and he looked down to see her eyes were closed, her breathing soft and regular.

  ‘Do you want to tell me what in the name of Zorva’s hairy arse happened then?’ Martil hissed furiously.

  ‘It’s all right. You can yell at me as much as you want. She is sound asleep and will probably remain so until the morning, before waking ravenously hungry,’ Barrett said casually.

  ‘I thought you said that was safe? I thought you said you would look after her?’

  ‘And I did. You notice I returned the animal to its original state? Do not question me on matters you know nothing about!’ Barrett snarled. It had been as much of a surprise to him as to everyone else but he wasn’t about to admit that in front of Merren.

  ‘Barrett, what happened there? Can you explain?’ the Queen said quickly.

  Barrett gestured towards Conal. ‘The bandit here thought he would make a joke. But as he has now learned, it is not wise to anger a wizard.’ At this point he glanced up at Martil, who glowered back at him. ‘She felt her new friend was threatened so she took steps to ensure he would be safe from Conal.’

  ‘But what did she do?’

  Barrett wiped his brow. ‘It is difficult to describe for those unfamiliar with magic. You understand everything is growing, all the time? Well, at the same time many things are changing. Once, men and the creatures we cruelly describe as goblins had the same ancestor. We developed one way, the goblins stayed the same. They no longer look exactly like us, but they are similar in many respects. Other creatures die out, or alter their state. You have seen birds that cannot fly any more. What Karia did was take that process, apply it to an animal that does not need to change, and then compress what should take thousands of years into a few heartbeats.’

  ‘I was following you for a while, then you lost me,’ Conal admitted. ‘But can she do it again? Who needs an army of men when you can have an army of six foot-tall fanged rabbits?’

  Barrett shook his head. ‘She should not have done it. There was no way that creature could have been allowed to live like that. It was an affront to nature and to magic. If we tried to do something like that, we could expect the dragons to intervene to destroy them—and probably us.’

  Martil had heard enough. ‘I don’t want her doing any more magic, it’s too dangerous,’ he declared.

  For the first time, Barrett looked alarmed. ‘She has to have training! We have opened this door and there is no turning back. Imagine if she was to walk around doing things like that at every turn! She must learn discipline, how to focus her powers, and how to test the extent of them.’

  Martil reluctantly saw the logic of this. ‘All right. But Conal stays well away when it’s going on.’

  ‘That’s fine with me,’ the old bandit agreed. ‘Now, if you will excuse me, I need to visit the privy.’

  ‘Is she truly as powerful as you?’ Merren asked softly.

  Barrett smiled. ‘You saw what she did. To apply magic in such a way—she must be trained urgently. Her powers are great but her imagination is greater still. That is the true source of magic.’

  ‘Well, I’ll go and put her to bed now.’ Martil’s shoulder was beginning to ache from holding her.

  ‘I think I’ll rest, as we
ll, while we have the chance,’ Barrett agreed.

  Conal was still in the privy when Martil returned from putting Karia into bed, so he joined Merren out on the veranda.

  ‘We need to get to Sendric early tomorrow. Once we have seen the Count, there will be many things to do. All under the noses of Gello’s garrison,’ she said.

  Martil nodded. But he wanted to talk to her more now they were alone.

  ‘What will happen once we beat Gello?’

  Merren smiled. ‘I like your thinking. Jump straight ahead to the victory celebrations.’ She thought for a moment. ‘Well, you and Karia can come and live at the palace. From what I just saw, I suspect she might well become the next Queen’s Magician. You, of course, will be the Queen’s Champion, until such time as you die or my children take up the Dragon Sword.’

  ‘Your children?’ Martil wondered where she was going with that.

  ‘Well, having a commoner for a Champion gives me the best of both worlds. I have a Champion who can wield the Sword, and at the same time I am free to make a political marriage. I can play the nobles off against each other, bringing them over to my side with the lure of being the Prince Consort, and possibly the father of the next King.’

  Martil felt a surge of anger at the thought, and had to force his face to remain impassive.

  ‘You know, it’s a real blessing that you have Karia. When you move into the palace, there will be far fewer rumours. I’m sure you’ve heard or read the sagas, where the Queen and her Champion end up together. Naturally most of the men in this country will assume that I, a weak woman, cannot rule without a strong man at my side. That I will inevitably fall into your arms. Men can be so stupid.’

  Martil forced a short laugh. ‘Indeed,’ he added.

  ‘Finding a Prince Consort may be a difficult task. Hopefully at the end of this, we might have a clearer picture of the ones I might be prepared to marry for the good of the country.’

  Martil just nodded, secretly thinking that few nobles would survive this coming war if he had anything to do with it.

  13

  Karia woke the next morning showing not the slightest effect of her magic-use the previous day—apart from a hunger that, even for her, was unusually large. In contrast to Karia, the wizard looked tired and drawn.