by Bob Blink
Cheurt was now facing them, and Jolan could almost sense the hate in the man’s gaze. Feeling it was time, Jolan executed the Reflection spell, hoping the powers that Cheurt unleashed would be turned back at him. Even if it happened, Jolan didn’t know if the man would be able to withstand his own energies when they turned on him. Asari hadn’t time to shift his aim to try for a head shot as he’d been trained, well, as Jolan had been trained, before a light brighter than the sun flashed their way. Immediately Jolan knew the spell wasn’t working. His shield went from clear, to pink, to violent red almost immediately. In seconds it would fail. Sorry Asari, he thought. Sorry Shyar. We failed.
He could feel the heat from the energies that were fighting just inches from him. Then the world went impossibly bright, a huge roaring filling his ears. The rocky ground on which they crouched was replaced with hard white marble, coated with a layer of dried mud. It was quiet and peaceful. Jolan looked around. No longer could he see Cheurt or any of the stone structure that had been there moments before. It took a moment before he realized where he was.
“We’re in Tilano,” Asari said in surprise.
He was correct. They now crouched on the floor of one of the ruined buildings in the lost city.
“How did you manage it?” Asari asked in wonderment.
“I didn’t,” Jolan said. “The staff did. It saved us.”
As he stood, Jolan showed Asari the blackened and crumbling Staff of War. It was now a burned out hulk, already falling apart into a black powder. Within moments it was gone, simply dust on the ground in front of them.
“Somehow it used whatever reserves it held to strengthen our shield and bring us here. It destroyed itself to protect us.”
Jolan looked bleakly at the dust that was all that remained of the staff he’d carried constantly for the last couple of years. He’d failed miserably. Not only had he failed to rescue Shyar, but he’d let two friends get killed, had lost the Staff of War, and worse, had allowed Cheurt to acquire the amplifier which would make him all but unstoppable. He had to tell Vaen the bad news. They would have to assume that Cheurt had access to all that Ronoron had known. The day had turned into the worst disaster he could have imagined. He could only guess what might happen now. If he’d been patient, they probably would have won the war. Now, he might have lost it for them. It was all his fault.
“I hit him,” Asari insisted angrily. “Why didn’t he fall?”
“Body armor,” Jolan said, having thought about it for a bit. “At least that’s what I suspect.” He explained to Asari what he meant by his answer.
Chapter 156
Knowing that Cheurt’s disorientation wouldn’t last very long, Shyar understood she no longer had any option left but to flee. She’d hoped to make her escape during the less active evening hours when her absence wouldn’t be noticed and there would be fewer guards and wizards around, but now she would have to try and get free of the building while the castle was more heavily populated. She suspected the daytime guards would be more attentive than those she’d encountered in the middle of the night. Working in her favor was a change in the rules. She no longer had to worry about leaving a trail. If she needed to take out a guard or two, it didn’t matter. Cheurt would sound an alarm about her escape as soon as he discovered she was missing. A couple of bodies showing she’d fled the building wouldn’t change her chances or alter her ultimate fate. The wizard woman who was responsible for watching her wasn’t around, a mixed blessing. Shyar had promised herself to take the woman out at some point, but now she would have to forego the pleasure.
She’d been lucky. It had apparently taken Cheurt longer than she’d thought to recover, and no alarm had been sounded while she was still in the building. Also, she’d only needed to take out one guard before she’d been able to slip out a side door that hadn’t been accessible to her at night. Walking quickly, but not running to give herself away, she’d crossed to the factories, and quickly lost herself among the buildings. Her shield-pair in place, she considered what to do next. It was quite obvious that there was little immediately to the north of her location. Escape and people all seemed to come from the south. For that reason she slipped into the first band of bushes on the northern edge of the factories, hoping any searchers would be focused on the more likely southern direction. Attempting to get ahead of any search would be foolish for now. She needed to stay out of sight, and make her move after they had decided she’d gotten away. Besides, Jolan was supposed to meet her near the factories. She didn’t know how he planned to get here, especially now that Cheurt and his guards had been alerted that something was happening, but she’d try and stay as close to the planned meeting point as she could for as long as possible.
The commotion started ten minutes later, with several dozen guards coming from the south. They must have a facility in that direction. Some went into the castle, but the majority fanned out and began searching the areas around the castle, while others made their way across the street to search in and around the factories near where she was located. Her hiding spot was backed up against a steep hill, with shade provided by the bushes she was hiding in. When the guard approached, she was still and had activated her concealment spell. He looked right at the shade where she was crouching and, of course, didn’t see her. After checking behind all of the bushes the man turned and walked away. He hadn’t expected anyone to be hiding in a spot where there was nowhere to go. The steep hill would prevent anyone from climbing out from the small courtyard.
Shyar slowly released her breath. She waited and watched as the searchers worked their way around the buildings and then started down the river. She also had a view of the castle entrance, and wasn’t surprised when Cheurt appeared sometime later, stopped and looked at the river, and then started south. Although she wanted to know where he was headed, Shyar elected to stay put for now. Too many were looking for her, and while her clothes were not distinctive, she would be questioned if seen simply because she was a lone woman not dressed as a wizard. Given the number of wizards out at the moment, using a glamour would be dangerous.
Shortly after Cheurt disappeared down the road, she felt several sudden draws of power. An encounter had begun a short distance away to the south where Cheurt had gone. It almost had to be Jolan. It was likely that he had been surprised by Cheurt and the guards, which meant he might need help. Despite her earlier decision to remain put, she pushed herself up and out of the shrubbery, and started making her way along the river. She’d be following behind the searching guards, but maybe she could get close enough to see what was happening and perhaps help out. If she hadn’t been able to affect Cheurt’s shield a while back, she knew Jolan wouldn’t either, even with his powerful staff.
She crested a small hill from which she had a view of events spread out across the road a couple hundred yards ahead of her. Cheurt was standing in the clearing and exchanging magic with at least two different groups. While she watched, she caught a bit of movement out of the corner of her eye. Something was familiar about the hair, and she realized it was Asari. Then she briefly saw that Jolan was with him. She looked back as a powerful beam, something stronger than she’d seen before, struck Cheurt’s shields with no effect.
While she was trying to decide what action to take, a second attack was made by the mage casting the powerful beams, Luzoke she thought, and from Jolan as well. She was impressed by the strength of his Firewrap. The two spells combined almost defeated the magnificent shields that Cheurt had raised. She realized that had she been quicker and added her own magic to the attack, they might have taken the wizard down right then. She was a bit too far away to be effective, but it looked like only a little more power would have been needed. Now that she had her bearings, she’d be ready for the next round. She looked to see if there was any way to get closer without being observed. Unfortunately, the area ahead of her was mostly open grass and she’d be fully exposed. Only moving along the river was there any concealment, but here that would be moving
further away from the battle.
She wasn’t going to get a chance anyway. Horrified, she watched as Cheurt attacked Luzoke with some kind of a green band of light that she’d never seen before. It took only moments and her friend was gone. Knowing where Cheurt’s attention had to be focused next, she tried to think of what to do. Jolan seemed to be taking no action at all, although she thought Asari might have fired a couple of rounds at the wizard. Suddenly Cheurt attacked, a bolt of energy that surpassed anything she’d seen yet today. She knew she’d be unable to withstand the power in that attack, and feared that Jolan would be unable to either. The energies engulfed Jolan and Asari, and holding her breath she waited. Moments later a booming blast originated from the center of the energies that engulfed her love, the blast smashing the walls of several adjacent structures. When the light faded, there was nothing to be seen.
For a moment she couldn’t sense anything, and she feared that Jolan had been killed. Then, suddenly she could sense him, far away to the west, although not in his familiar location in Cobalo. He’s alive; she breathed a sigh of relief.
Shyar didn’t know how Jolan had escaped, but all that mattered was he was safe. Maybe this was how he had been moving about when she detected him moving the equivalent of weeks of travel in an instant. She would think about that later, but now all attention seemed to be on the battle below and where Jolan and Asari had been moments before. She needed to slip past and down the river before the search for her began again in earnest. She didn’t know where she would be going, but once she was clear, she’d try and figure out her next moves.
* * * *
Shyar was hiding in an old storage shed behind a market in the middle of the village. Not only had it provided a bit of concealment, there were a variety of fruits she’d been able to stuff into an old sack she found in the back. It would at least give her something in the way of supplies. Hopefully she would be able to wait here until dark, now a short time away, before continuing.
While she waited she tried to contact Tishe. Perhaps she could learn what had happened. Once the link was established she realized the girl had no knowledge of events and was surprised to learn that Jolan had gone to Ale’ald already. Sending a sense of disaster, Shyar tried to learn if the girl could help her understand where to go from here.
Communication this way was difficult and often slow. For a few minutes Shyar could sense nothing, and wondered if she’d lost the link. It had happened before. Then a picture seemed to form in her mind. She had a crude map of the area, and Tishe seemed to be directing her to cross the river and head to a point a bit north of the city. Shyar objected. There was nothing but wilderness and soon steep mountains she would have trouble crossing. Tishe was insistent, and the picture of one of the odd but familiar stone structures came clearly to mind. Shyar realized there must be one of the structures where Tishe was sending her, but couldn’t understand why she wanted her to go there. Well, she’d sought help, and she didn’t have a better idea of her own.
Hearing sounds outside, Shyar looked and discovered that a house to house search had been mounted, and they would be coming to the small store before much longer. It was unlikely she’d be able to stay hidden this time. A number of wizards were moving with the soldiers, and they would see through the concealment spell. Shyar slipped out of the shed and started heading in the direction of the water. If Tishe knew what she was talking about, the bridge had to be nearby somewhere.
Shyar wasn’t eager to expose herself on the bridge, but there was no choice. At least a number of other commoners were crossing in either direction, so she shouldn’t stand out as she might if she were the only walker. She had made it across and turned to the north when she heard a shout and looked back. A wizard had come out of a building near this end of the bridge and was waving at her to come back. He clearly wanted to talk with her.
Knowing this wasn’t going to end well, but knowing also that she was doomed if captured, she turned and ran to the north. She’d have to hope the girl knew what she was doing in sending her this way. The wizard shouted something, but she had enough of a lead that his words were lost behind her. She continued to run, only looking back briefly at one point to see that two more men dressed in wizard’s garb had joined the chase.
The small bag of fruit made her running awkward, and reluctantly she threw it aside. Then she ran for all she was worth, realizing she was out of shape from months of being in the cell. She’d done what exercises she could, but there had been little to tax her breathing and stamina, and she felt the lack now. Already she was getting winded, and a quick glance told her they were gaining on her.
She broke free of the village, and now ran along the river. Ahead was a cluster of tall trees, and she thought she could see the outline of the structure she’d been told to seek partially revealed between the branches. She sent a mental image to Tishe that she was almost there, and tried to convey a sense of being chased. She was uncertain how successful she’d been.
Finally she rounded the outer perimeter of trees and came to an abrupt stop in front of the old stone structure. No one was here. There was also nowhere to go. She was breathing hard and knew she couldn’t run much farther. It looked like this was where she’d make her stand. She turned to face the three wizards who slowed suddenly when they realized their quarry was simply standing and waiting.
As strong as she was, three against one weren’t good odds. The wizards were close enough, and she sensed they were strong in the power which only made matters worse. There was no point in waiting to talk, so she blasted the one who’d initially called out to her with her strongest energy-beam, fully expecting to be hit in return by the other two before she could respond.
Suddenly a series of rapid shots rang out behind her and she could see the two wizards taking hits. Both slowly collapsed to the ground, their chests red with blood. Unbelieving, Shyar looked around to see a young girl standing on the structure platform with a couple of Cobalo military men. Both held rifles, but one was lowering the one he’d just fired. It was clear from the way the men stood that he’d been the only one who’d fired. Whatever the rifle was, it had the ability to fire far more rapidly than anything she’d seen. She owed this man her life.
Tishe was waving for her to hurry, and Shyar stumbled toward the girl, taking her hand when she got close enough.
“How?” Shyar tried to ask, but Tishe shook her head and pulled Shyar with her. While the two men watched their backs, the two women stepped into the structure opening and moments later Shyar stepped out into a room in Cobalo that she recognized.
Chapter 157
Once Jolan and Asari had realized where they were, it hadn’t taken long for them to make their way through the rubble of the old city to the portal that waited adjacent to the Nexus entrance. Jolan activated the portal, and then, cautiously they made their way through, appearing in the portal room where Morin waited. They were greeted by the guard with his Mini-14 aimed and ready until they were recognized. One look told Morin that something had gone wrong.
“Lads?” he asked. “What happened? How come you’re returning here and from Tilano instead of Ale’ald?”
“Disaster,” Jolan told him. Promising to explain later, Jolan told him to shut down the portals, stay ready for trouble, and he’d learn after they came back from seeing Chancellor Vaen.
It hadn’t taken Vaen more than a second to know the rescue had failed. “How bad is it?” she asked.
Jolan shook his head and handed her the blackened remains of the top of his staff, the only piece that hadn’t crumbled completely to dust. Her eyes widened when she took it. “Your staff?”
“What’s left of it,” Jolan said glumly.
“What about Shyar?”
“We never saw her. We ran into Cheurt on the way to the castle. That’s where Luzoke and the others were killed.”
Vaen sat down heavily. “You’d better tell me from the beginning.”
Jolan walked through events carefully, start
ing with his discovery of the missing amplifier, and then Ronoron’s failure to appear for the planning meeting. He finished with the description of the battle in which the spy-mages and Luzoke were killed, and how the staff had somehow transported them to Tilano.
“You’re sure that Ronoron took the amulet?”
“We never saw him with it, but I can’t see any other explanation. Whatever the specifics, Cheurt now holds the power amplifier, and he is strong beyond belief.”
“Can we mount a counterattack? Is there any chance of still getting Shyar back?”
Jolan’s heart surged at her name, but he doubted there would be any way to make it happen. “We need to find Tishe. Maybe she can find out Shyar’s status. Until we know something, we are likely to simply be sending more men to their death.”
Vaen sent her assistant to find Tishe, and asked Jolan to describe what he’d observed in careful detail during the battle with Cheurt.
“You didn’t mention the staff he held before,” she scolded. “Describe it.”
Jolan tried to visualize when he’d seen during the fighting, and while doing so he told Vaen what he’d seen.
“Dragons!” she exclaimed. “It sounds like he has found Farsight.”
“Farsight?” Jolan asked.
“One of the handful of special staffs. Like yours did, it significantly raises a mage’s abilities. In addition, Farsight gives one the ability to see where someone the owner is interested in is currently located. A vision of his current surroundings is shown with the person’s actions at the time. It supposedly can only be used once a day, and the visions are limited to less than a minute, but it is a powerful advantage.”
