Jake's War, Book Two of Wizards

by Booth, John

  Two adults cowered in the far corner. They had their backs to us and I could make out little more than there were two of them.

  “Mother, Father? It's me, Urda.”

  The larger of the two waved an arm behind him as though warding off something.

  “We have done nothing. Take someone else.”

  It was a man's voice and he sounded desperate.

  Urda put a hand on his shoulder and he cringed away from her.

  “It is your daughter, Urda.”

  A muffled female voice screeched at us. “Father Drog took Urda. It wasn't our fault. He said the Lord would punish us if we didn't and we believed. You shall not suffer a witch to live.” The woman cackled insanely. It was all beyond me and I hoped Urda would give up soon and we could go home.

  “Where's Anna?”

  The couple started moaning and huddled closer together. Urda's temper seemed to be rising as she looked around the hovel. She stared down at the floor of rotting wooden boards covered by a small threadbare rug.

  “Is she in the cellar?”

  The woman started shrieking as though someone was stabbing her. I flinched because it was a horrible sound.

  Urda went down on her knees and flung the rug at her parents. A crude hatch was underneath with a rope handle. She pulled at the rope but the hatch didn't move.

  “Help me, Jake!”

  I took the rope and used magic to free it. It came completely away as there were no hinges, revealing a cellar beneath the floor.

  Urda's parents struggled to their feet as they heard the hatch bounce on the floorboards. They stood with their backs to the wall, still cringing and keeping their eyes focused on the ground.

  I took a small flashlight from my pocket and switched in on. I'd picked it up from home after the episode on the Dragon World. I had vowed to myself that never again would my boxers remain hidden in the dark at a critical moment.

  “Just point it where you want to see,” I said, handing it to Urda. She moved the narrow beam of light around the cellar. She stopped and held it on a bundle of rags someone had thrown in a corner.

  “Anna, it's me.”

  The rags moved and I saw a couple of eyes appear. Urda moved the light so it wasn't blinding the girl and she stood to reveal an emaciated child of ten or eleven. She was filthy and I thought I could see bruises under the dirt on her face.

  As soon as she stood it was clear that Anna couldn't get out of the cellar as she would be unable to reach the hatch. Urda lay on the floor and offered a hand to the girl. I don't think it took her any effort at all for Urda to lift her out of the cellar.

  “Don't take her. She's all we've got,” Urda's mother pleaded. When I looked at her she shied away in terror.

  Urda wiped the hair away from Anna's face and kissed her forehead. Then she rounded on her parents.

  “Still beating up your children to show you're a man, Father.”

  The man cringed away from her.

  “Don't torture us. We meant no harm.”

  “I'm taking my sister and you'll never see me or her again.”

  “Take her. Just don't hurt us,” he begged. He dropped to his knees and put his arms up in supplication. “Please don't hurt us.”

  Urda stared at her parents in contempt.

  “I used to look up to you. Hop us back, Jake.”

  There was something not quite right about this whole situation. Things were moving too fast and I wanted to take a few moments to try to work out exactly what the wrongness was.

  “You take her. I'll be along in a few minutes.”

  Urda nodded, took her sister by the hand and vanished. Her mother gave a wail of despair and fell to the floor weeping.

  “Who do you think we are?” I asked her father, who knelt before me with his head bowed.

  “Demons who take and torture, bringing bodies back to leave them rotting in the streets. The servants of the devil who rules Barren.”

  Urda's father stopped and seemed to think better of what he'd said.

  “Our Masters, and we your humble servants. We give you our daughter, Anna. Use her as you wish, but spare your servants.”

  Well that made it all much clearer, didn't it? I gave up and hopped to Urda's room.

  Chapter Eighteen: Deeper In

  Urda was wiping Anna's face with a wet cloth. As the dirt came away the damage below became more visible. I felt sick. I often do when confronted with what the strong do to the weak. Urda didn't want me here, but I couldn't leave until I knew she didn't need anything more from me, so I stood like an idiot and waited for her to notice I was there.

  The door flew open and smashed against the wall. Anna screamed and magic flowed as Urda and I put up shields. Shields we dropped a few seconds later as my brides-to-be strode into the room.

  “What the hell do you two think…?” Jenny stopped in mid-sentence as she saw Anna. “Oh.”

  Esmeralda stood a little behind Jenny and I noticed that a couple of servants were behind them by the door. Esmeralda took in the scene and addressed us.

  “We were concerned when we heard that you and Urda had been alone in her room for several hours. I see our concerns were unfounded.”

  Urda's face flushed red. She put an arm around her sister who was cowering. “It's all right Anna, these are my friends.”

  Jenny sidled up to me and nudged me in the ribs to whisper. “Who is she?”

  “Ladies,” I said grandly. “May I introduce Urda's younger sister, Anna Bretch. We've just returned from her world where we visited Urda's parents. Anna doesn't know the language of Salice and I think you're frightening her.”

  “We should leave,” Jenny said quickly. “The poor child needs time to adjust.” She grabbed my hand and started for the door. I resisted and she came to a halt. “Jake, we need to talk.”

  I slid my hand out of Jenny's grip and smiled at Anna. Urda could teach her the local language in seconds but I needed to ask Urda something and I did it in the language of her world.

  “Can you heal Anna's wounds or should I stay?”

  “Go, I can manage.” Urda flashed a smile at me before turning back to her sister. “And thank you, Jake.”

  “My pleasure,” I said as I allowed Jenny to herd me from the room.

  As soon the door closed Jenny rounded on me. “You could have told us where you were going. I feel such a fool.”

  “He is making a habit of doing that to us,” Esmeralda chipped in.

  “I don't know why you burst in anyway.”

  Esmeralda gave me an appraising look. “If he ever learns to lie…”

  As Esmeralda's rooms were nearest we went there and I filled the girls in on my latest adventure.

  “Local wizard,” Esmeralda said with certainty. “Someone living there has finally got the power to stop them burnings witches.”

  “I thought it might be wizards from Valhalla,” Jenny said. I nodded in agreement, as that was my opinion too.

  Esmeralda considered for a few moments before replying. “Wizards usually make examples of the rich and powerful when they take over. To the peasants, when a wizard takes a kingdom it's just a change of who tells them what to do. Wizards want order, not terror. Whoever's running Barren has the whole population in fear and not just the locals. That sounds like a grudge to me.”

  “Urda's parents talked about there being several of them.” I put in. “It's not likely a single wizard would fit the bill.”

  “Go and look, if you want,” Esmeralda suggested. “But don't go getting yourself killed. It might be best to wait until after the wedding.”

  She had a point. Going to Barren could make me a whole new set of enemies. Did I really care what an unknown number of wizards were doing to a bunch of strangers? Especially when the majority of those I'd met deserved to rot in hell.

  “Jake, we have to talk about the transport arrangements,” Jenny said. She took my arm and led me to Esmeralda's table. It was covered in pieces of paper. Jenny rummaged through
them and found a set held together with a paperclip.

  “Here you are. This is a list of the people who are coming from Wales. It's Sunday in Wales and we get married next Saturday, which is Quarter Day here. I want you to ferry the guests over on Thursday to give them a chance to acclimatize. You can pick them up Thursday morning. They'll be waiting in two groups, family outside the Grand Hotel and our friends at the Calbredd Services.”

  I glanced at the list and then gave it a more detailed look. There were thirty names on the first page and the list was seven pages long! Jenny was expecting me to transport over two hundred people to Salice.

  “Are you leaving enough people back in Wales to keep it going?”

  Never joke with a pregnant bride. She hit my arm hard enough to leave a bruise.

  “I left lots of people out.”

  “Callum Jenkins… Isn't he the guy with the dyed blonde hair and the nose ring? I remember him. He's a git.”

  Jenny's face went darker and I backed away.

  “Bad enough you get me pregnant and then take a vacation in hospital. Bad enough I had to quit college. Do you have any idea of the whispering that's been going on? How much my friends pity me?” Jenny spread her arms wide.

  “This is my chance to prove them all wrong. They'll find out I married into a fairytale with a wizard and Kings and Queens as guests. Nobody will believe them back in Wales, so they won't be able to gossip about me without appearing insane. This is how I win.”

  Jenny grinned. “Besides which, it will show that toffee nosed Carol Barnes that her wedding wasn't the best North Wales has ever seen.”

  I grinned back, this was the Jenny I knew and loved. The whole thing was impossible, but then I expected I'd find a way. That's what wizards do.

  “Okay. I'll think of something.” Jenny ran to me and gave me a hug.

  Esmeralda smiled. “I'm glad you two have sorted out your problem because we are going to have four Kings and Queens at the wedding, not mention a host of powerful noblemen and each one of them needs to be treated with appropriate respect. You'll have to learn a lot of protocol and we have very little time.”

  I groaned. If there's one thing that I've learned since becoming a royal wizard it's that I hate protocol.

  An interminable time later, Esmeralda looked up at the big pendulum clock mounted on the wall.

  “We have a dining appointment. The Bishop of Salice arrived this morning and is to be presented to the King. Since he will be officiating at our wedding, it's important we are introduced as soon as possible.”

  I thought about mentioning I'd already met him, but then the horrible thought occurred that Esmeralda might keep me working on protocols if I told her. She had scolded me innumerable times in the last hour for saying 'your lord' instead of 'your grace' and vice versa. Why they didn't invent a catch- all phrase like, 'your importantness' for them was beyond me. It wasn't like any of them earned their titles.

  We trudged wearily down to the Banqueting Room. Even Esmeralda was showing signs of the strain and held her tummy as we walked.

  The Banqueting Room is the other major state room in the Palace. It's much smaller and more intimate than the Ballroom. A long polished oak table dominates the center of it. The table can hold up to fifty people though it was only set for twenty or so when we got there. Most of the guests were present and the King and Queen were seated.

  The King and Queen sit at each end of the table and guests are arranged according to their relative importance. Esmeralda sat on one side of her father and I sat on the other as befitted our respective roles of Heir and Royal Wizard. Jenny and Urda sat at the Queen's side. Dispensing with protocol, Anna sat next to her sister. She looked much better and someone had found local clothes that fit perfectly. I have never figured out how messages get passed around the royal household. I suspect that Thom has the place bugged in some way. But in any case, word of Anna must have spread quickly and a sensitive solution found.

  The Bishop sat next to Esmeralda and the next three places on either side of us were occupied by the Valhallan Wizards. The remaining places were taken by the nobles who advised the King along with their wives.

  Formal introductions were made and there was a certain amount of bowing while sitting going on. This always struck me as silly, but it was easier to go along with it than end up insulting people.

  After the first course, the King addressed me.

  “I understand that you and Bishop Danedi have already met.”

  I nodded. “We met this afternoon in the cathedral.”

  “You have never struck me as a religious man, Jake. What were you doing there?”

  I didn't want to explain to the King while sitting next to the Valhallan wizards, and as it has already been pointed out, I'm a terrible liar. While I tried to figure out what to say, the Bishop leapt in with his own explanation.

  “I saw Jake in the street and asked him to speak with me, your Majesty.”

  I may not be a liar, but I recognize greatness in the art when I see it and the Bishop had the gift.

  “You recognized him?”

  “He wore the uniform, so to speak.”

  The King nodded. “He does that sometimes. I take it the servants had taken all your other clothes?”

  “As your majesty surmises,” I replied. I might as well try out the protocol phrases Esmeralda had been drumming into me.

  Meldar Lind leaned forward to speak from her chair next to the Bishop. “Is the Church of Light the religion on your world, Jake?”

  I sensed a trap in her question. Frankly if she'd asked me to pass the salt I would have sensed a trap.

  “The Church of Light is new to me. But as religions go, it appears better than most.”

  “Praise indeed,” Lagan said from my side, generating a ripple of appreciative laughter, not least from the Bishop.

  “I cannot help but notice that the girl beside Wizard Bretch seems to be ill at ease.” This was from Wizard Brindel, who was looking more irritated than the last time I'd seen him.

  He had a point. Anna looked as though she would like to run and was having great difficulty using her knife and fork.

  “Anna is new to court,” the King said smoothly. “We must make allowances for her.”

  “Perhaps it would be best if she and Wizard Bretch were to retire to eat the rest of their meal together?” the Bishop asked. I really was beginning to like the guy.

  “An excellent suggestion,” the King said. “Perhaps you could suggest it to them?”

  The Bishop left his chair and went over to whisper to Urda. Urda looked anxious and looked to the King, who smiled and nodded. She got up and Anna ran to the door, waiting for her sister to follow while obviously delighted to have escaped.

  “You have a habit of collecting waifs and strays, Wizard Morrissey,” Meldar Lind said. “You should be careful because sometimes they bite.”

  Chapter Nineteen: Plans

  “I hate you, Jake Morrissey,” Jenny groaned from her bed as I opened the curtains to let in the bright morning sunlight.

  “What have I done now?” This was the first morning we would get to have breakfast together in four months and she was already annoyed with me.

  Jenny flung the covers off her bed and put her hands on the bump where her flat tummy used to be. “You have the nerve to ask that. Do you have any idea how many times I have to go to the loo?”

  “What's being pregnant got to do with that?”

  Jenny sat up with a moan and gave me one of her exasperated looks.

  “Pay attention. I know you got to sit out the early stages of my pregnancy in a hospital bed, but you really should know some basic anatomy. The weight of the baby presses down on my bladder. Get it?”

  Okay, I haven't had the time to read any baby books or attend ante-natal classes or anything, but I'm not totally thick. I should have known that. I sat beside her and took her hand. She moved my hand so it was flat against her tummy and I felt the baby kick. It was surprising
ly vigorous.

  “He does that a lot,” Jenny said. “It hurts.”

  “It's a… I mean he's a boy?” Somehow that small sign of life had changed Jenny from being pregnant to carrying my child. I put my arm around her and gave her a hug. The thought of being a father was suddenly overwhelming and I tried hard not to cry.

  “I don't know for sure. I asked them not to tell me when they did the scans. But I'm certain he's a boy for all that.”

  “We never talked. Having my baby is what you want?”

  Jenny grinned. “He's my baby too, Jake. And I never considered not having him.”

  “He'll be a wizard. Esmeralda's baby will be too.”

  Jenny's grin turned into a smile and we kissed for long moments.

  “We can only hope they inherit their mother’s brains,” she said when we came up for air. “The multiverse isn't ready to handle three Jake Morrisseys.”

  Thirty very pleasurable minutes later we left the room and headed down for breakfast. Breakfast in the Palace is an informal affair. Food is put in candle heated dishes on tables around the edge of the dining room. Hot drinks are similarly kept simmering. You turn up, grab a clean plate and help yourself. A couple of servants keep an eye on things to make sure nothing runs out. There were cold meats and fruit for those who preferred them.

  The dining room was deserted except for a serving maid I'd never seen before. She smiled back when I smiled at her and curtseyed. She watched Jenny put her food on her plate and rushed over to pull a chair out for her and help her to get seated.

  I wasn't really sure what I wanted and went up and down the line of covered dishes lifting the lid on each one in turn but taking nothing.