“I think that I should be asking that question of you two,” Tamara replied as she looked closely at Malcolm. “Did you sleep well? You had quite the day yesterday.”
She waved the warriors to their seats and offered them some tea. There was a large urn of the hot liquid sitting on the table, along with a pot of honey and cups and spoons.
Aiden poured tea for himself and Malcolm as the big man sat down and looked at the mages.
“Is it true?” he blurted out.
“Is what true?”
“Are some people afraid of us now that we've actually shown what we can do?”
Tamara glanced quickly at her brother, who looked troubled by the question, before replying.
“I'm afraid so,” she admitted. “People are people, my friend, and after ten years of fearing monsters and things that go bump in the night, they are skittish. But they're in the minority, Malcolm,” she added firmly. “I know they are. You have no idea how many of our neighbors have spoken to me both last night and this morning and told me how grateful they are to you. They admire you, Malcolm, and now they have some hope that the next attack by the goblins will be thwarted. Surely a few grumblers shouldn't matter. No one is universally loved.”
“Including us,” Sebastian told them with a wry grin. “Do you think that all of the people living here loves the Council and us mages? I assure you that they don't.”
Malcolm accepted a cup of tea from Aiden and sipped it before answering.
“Yeah, I know that's true,” he said slowly. “But this morning is the first time that I've seen people openly looking at me with expressions of fear and disgust. I could understand if Aiden or I had done something bad. But we haven't. In fact, we did the exact opposite. It reminds me of how my family and friends reacted to us back home when we began Changing. They ended up locking us away 'for our own good'.”
He scowled at the mages.
“I will not allow anything like that to happen again. Do you understand me? I won't be treated like some kind of freak, nor will I stand for Aiden being treated like that either. We've been given a unique ability and, if worse comes to worst, we'll be able to survive out in the wilds very well on our own.”
Tamara looked alarmed at the sudden turn that the conversation had taken and she looked quickly at Aiden.
“Surely it won't come to that,” she asked him.
Aiden was looking at Malcolm in surprise.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked the big man. “Since when have you been so thin-skinned? So we aren't the most popular people in the castle. So what? We never have been! You just haven't noticed it until now, that's all.”
Malcolm scowled at him.
“I've dealt with racism and distrust my whole life, Aiden, and so have you. It just bounces off of me now. This is different, just like it was when we Changed. I'm not looking for admiration. Hell, I'm not even expecting to be liked. That isn't what I'm talking about. But risking our lives for people who hate us is not what I signed up for. In the old town of Nottinghill, we never faced anything like that. Everyone worked together to survive. We all cared about each other and risked our lives for each other and for the town. I don't know. Maybe this place had become too big for us, or at least for me. I just...”
He shrugged and let out a long sigh.
“I just wish that some people weren't assholes, that's all.”
Aiden laughed at his remark and both of the mages smiled, looking relieved.
“We all wish that, Malcolm,” Tamara told him. “But with so few humans left in the world, we have to take the bad with the good if we want to survive as a species. I don't like it either, but unless they are a threat to our home, we can't turn anyone away. You know that.”
The big man nodded silently and drank some more tea.
“So just ignore the idiots,” Sebastian suggested. “And let's all move forward. I know that I speak for the rest of the Council and the vast majority of Nottinghill's citizens when I say that we are incredibly grateful to you both.”
“Thanks, Sebastian,” Aiden replied. “We know that you are. So, anything new? Any new threats or whatever?”
“We were about to do a sweep of the coast just before you arrived,” Tamara said. “You can watch with us if you'd like. Bastian, would you do the honors, please?”
Sebastian stood up and walked over to a tall piece of furniture set against the wall that was covered with a long black sheet. He gripped it firmly by its sides and wheeled it back to the table, moving it until it stood a few feet behind Tamara's seat.
Malcolm and Aiden watched him curiously.
“What's this?” the big man asked. “Something new?”
“Well, new-ish, I suppose,” Tamara told him as she stood up. “We decided that we needed to use something a little bigger when we cast the Magic Mirror spell to scout out the coastline. And then someone remembered seeing this monstrosity in the ruin of a nearby farmhouse and Sebastian and I went over and Gated it back.”
“So what is it?”
“Ta-da!” Sebastian said dramatically as he pulled off the sheet with a flourish.
The warriors both smiled at what was revealed beneath the covering.
It was a six foot tall oval mirror. Housed in a dark walnut frame, it rolled on a platform with wheels at its base and reflected the room around it perfectly.
“Huh. Someone must have really loved themselves to have a thing like that in their home,” Malcolm commented.
“Actually, I think that it must have been a family heirloom,” Tamara disagreed. “It's very old. The leaf carvings on the frame were all done by hand and it's really heavy. Nothing like the modern junk we had to deal with before the dragons returned.”
Aiden got up and walked over to examine the mirror more closely. He ran his hands along the frame lovingly and sighed with pleasure.
“He loves that sort of stuff,” Malcolm told the mages with a wink. “If there were still garage sales and second-hand stores around, I'm sure that he'd be dragging me to all of them every chance he got.”
“I just like handcrafted furniture,” Aiden said as he stepped back to admire the mirror. “I have great respect for artisans. Probably one of the reasons that I like our blacksmith so much. Daniel isn't just a tradesman; he's an artist.”
He walked back to his seat and sat down. Malcolm grinned at him and Aiden rolled his eyes in response.
“Well, however old it is and whoever made it, it serves our purposes quite well now,” Tamara said as she stepped up to the mirror. “We can see a lot more detail now than we could with just a hand mirror. So, let's see what we can see.”
She began casting the Magic Mirror spell, gesturing gracefully as she chanted.
Malcolm and Aiden watched, fascinated as always by the mage's skill.
“Invectis!” Tamara exclaimed as she invoked her spell.
The mirror's surface began rippling with fine waves, making it appear like the group was looking into a clear pond. Then it fogged over for a moment before displaying a clear view again.
It looked just like they were staring through a window. Beyond, the sea roiled and crashed as waves hammered on a rough shoreline.
“Where is that?” Malcolm asked with interest.
“Somewhere close to where the giants came ashore,” Tamara replied. “An interesting aspect of the Magic Mirror spell is that it will reacquire the last location it was focused on when it is recast. A handy feature sometimes. It's actually somewhere between the ruins of Portsmouth and Brighton, on the southern coast.”
She stood next to the mirror and twirled a finger. The view spun around so that they were looking inland.
“The giants fell right there,” she said as the mirror zoomed north a few hundred yards up the coast.
“Whoa! What's happened to their bodies?” Aiden exclaimed.
Instead of seeing a pair of huge corpses lying amongst the thin trees close to the shore, the watchers saw two large piles of brown earth and r
ock baking in the sun.
“They were made of dirt?”
“Or something like it,” Malcolm said in wonder. “Wow, no wonder they seemed so mindless. It's like they were molded from clay and then sent on their way like robots.”
“Golems,” Sebastian said thoughtfully.
“What?”
He looked at the others and shrugged.
“An old story I read once mentioned creatures called golems. They were formed from the earth and followed orders just like automatons. Sounds a lot like those two, doesn't it?”
“It does indeed,” his sister replied as she stared at the dirt piles. “Yet another mystery. Well, let's move on. I'm going to change the view and cross the channel from this point. Maybe we'll get lucky and find the spot where those two entered the sea. Get comfortable, everyone. This could take a while.”
Tamara was right. Even though she accelerated the crossing, it took some time to reach the opposite side of the English Channel. Malcolm and Aiden relaxed and watched the view with interest. Staring at the large mirror, it felt like they were looking at a television show from the old days and they rather enjoyed it.
“Maybe someone could build a really large mirror and we could have movie nights in the courtyard,” Malcolm said at one point.
The others looked at him curiously.
“What was that?” Tamara asked.
The big man looked embarrassed.
“Oops, did I say that out loud? Sorry. I was just thinking that it feels like I'm watching TV. If we had a big mirror and placed it out in the courtyard, one of you mages could do a weekly tour of parts of the world for members of the community to watch. It would help to break up the monotony of day to day life, don't you think?”
“That's brilliant!” Sebastian said enthusiastically. “I don't know if any of our artisans would be able to create a big enough mirror, but I'll ask around and see if any of them have an idea of how that could be accomplished.”
“Good idea,” Tamara agreed. “Let me know what they have to say, Bastian, and we'll see what we can put together.”
Aiden leaned closer to Malcolm.
“Clever lad,” he said softly.
Malcolm grinned at him.
“Hey, I'm not just a pretty face,” he replied under his breath.
“That's true, but I do like your face as well as your brain,” Aiden told him with a fond smile.
The big man chuckled and they both returned to watching the mirror.
The French coast drew closer in they watched. A low-hanging fog bank obscured the view from the sea, making it impossible to see the shoreline.
“Isn't it a little weird to see fog at this time of day?” Aiden asked as he frowned at the mirror.
“Hmm, yes it is. Maybe it's just a low band of rain clouds or something,” Tamara replied.
She made a lifting motion with her hands and the view from the mirror changed as it rose high over the water.
“Let's see if we can go over it,” Tamara said as she adjusted her spell.
The speed of the view decreased as the spell entered the clouds. For a moment all that they could see was a blank gray mass.
“Flying blind,” Malcolm observed.
Aiden nodded silently as he strained his eyes, trying to see through the mist.
“It's getting brighter,” Sebastian said. “We must be getting close to the other side of that stuff.”
“I hope so,” his sister replied as she continued to control the view with subtle gestures. “I have no idea how high off of the ground the spell is now.”
They all waited, holding their collective breaths as the surface of the mirror slowly cleared.
“There's the beach,” Malcolm exclaimed with a grin.
The smile faded from his face quickly however as they all saw what was gathered on the shoreline below.
“Oh. Damn,” the big man muttered.
Aiden began cursing softly.
“We are so screwed,” Sebastian said weakly as he stared at the mirror's surface.
Tamara clenched her fists and the view stopped moving abruptly.
“It's an invasion,” she stated flatly. “It's a bloody invasion force.”
Chapter 21
The beach along the coast of what had once been France was literally teeming with creatures. The group watching from the meeting hall in Nottinghill Castle was appalled at how many there were.
“Goblins,” Malcolm exclaimed through clenched teeth. “Damned goblins. Hundreds of them.”
He was right. The short, hideous creatures were lined up in surprisingly disciplined rows up and down the beach for a mile or more. All of them were wearing mismatched pieces of armor and carrying a variety of weapons. Most of them had jagged swords hanging from their belts or strapped to their backs, but the watchers could see others armed with cudgels, maces, large hammers or spears. And, hideous or not, the goblins looked both fierce and capable.
“They're arranged in squads,” Aiden observed with wonder. “I never knew that the goblins were so well organized.”
“They didn't used to be,” Sebastian said as he watched the scene through narrowed eyes. “Something's changed, and not for the better. Well, not for us anyway.”
“Bastian, could you round up the Council members, please,” Tamara asked him as she kept her gaze focused on the mirror. “And the Elders as well, including Chase? They need to see this.”
“Can you keep the spell activated for a while? It might take me some time to find everyone,” her brother warned her.
“No problem. It doesn't take a lot of power. I just have to make sure that I keep it under control, that's all.”
“Okay. I won't be long.”
“I'll get the elves,” Aiden volunteered as he stood up. “It'll save time.”
Sebastian smiled his thanks and both men ran out of the room.
“Tamara, can you increase the height of the view?” Malcolm asked the mage. “We need to see more of the shoreline.”
He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table as he stared at the mirror.
“Certainly,” Tamara replied.
She raised her hands and the beach receded as the view climbed higher.
More of the vista below was revealed and Malcolm scowled at the sight.
“Yeah, I had a feeling that there might be more of them,” he said angrily. “Look. There are giants down there. Three of them. Damn it.”
Something obscured their view for a moment and Tamara stepped backwards, startled. For a moment the spell flickered and almost dissolved before she regained control of it.
“What was that?” Malcolm asked her.
“I don't know. Something flew past the spot where I've positioned the spell. Let me see if I can find out what it was.”
“A seagull maybe?”
“Too big,” she disagreed. “Hang on a minute.”
She twirled her fingers and the mirror's surface flashed and faded in and out of focus. The beach disappeared and instead they could see the line of the horizon.
Fat, puffy clouds dotted the sky and the sun made them glow and shimmer.
“Looks like the goblins don't fear daylight anymore,” Malcolm said. “That's not good.”
“Not good at all,” Tamara agreed. “The Chaos lords have been busy altering their followers, it seems.”
As she scanned the skies, Malcolm saw Sylvie and Veronique hurry into the hall. He put a finger to his lips as a warning to them before they could distract Tamara. The mages nodded and walked over to take their seats.
“No need to tiptoe around me, ladies,” Tamara said without taking her eyes off of the mirror. “Feel free to speak up. I've got this.”
“As you say,” Veronique told her.
She gave Malcolm a quick smile and stared at the mirror along with her sister.
“So what are we looking at?” Sylvie asked. “Sebastian just said that we were needed in the conference hall immediately.”
“We were checking out th
e shoreline across the channel,” Malcolm told her. “And we found some old enemies gathering.”
“Goblins?”
“I'm afraid so. Tamara is looking around at the sky right now, trying to find out what just flew past us.”
“I've found it,” the mage stated. “And it appears that the elves were right. The goblins have found themselves some transportation to get them across the channel without getting their feet wet.”
The mirror's image became sharper as Tamara adjusted the spell and the watchers caught their collective breaths.
“Bats,” Malcolm exclaimed. “And they're huge!”
“Where did the goblins dig those things up?” Sylvie asked in revulsion. “They look diseased.”
She was right. The furry, winged monsters were flapping and gliding high above the beach. There were dozens of them. Their fur was black but patches of pale skin could be seen through it, as if the creatures has some sort of skin infection. Their blood-red eyes were almost shut in the bright sunlight and they dipped and weaved around each other in constant motion.
“It's hard to tell, but their wings must be at least twelve feet across,” Tamara said. “Can they actually carry an armored goblin?”
“If they couldn't, I doubt that they would be there,” Malcolm replied. “I don't see what use they would be in a fight, though. Their bones are probably hollow and they don't seem to be too muscular. But as transportation? They're probably strong enough for that job.”
More people began to arrive. First Chao came in and, right behind him came Katherine. They took their seats silently.
A minute later, the three Elders arrived as a group. They were also silent as they saw how intently everyone was looking at the mirror. They sat down and Chase, who had followed them in, stood behind their chairs and watched the scene intently.
Finally Aiden and Sebastian re-entered the hall with Daniel, the blacksmith. They had been speaking quietly together but stopped as they walked in and sat down.
“Everyone is here, Tamara,” Sebastian told his sister.
“Thanks for getting them all here, Bastian. And you too, Aiden,” the mage said with a strained smile.
The Werewolves of Nottinghill Page 27
