by Jake Kerr
The walk was exactly what I needed. I tapped the cane on the pavement, where its the sound reminded me of the days when I would walk with my grandfather and he would do the same thing. I wondered how he was.
He had retired to his apartment in Manhattan, and I had not seen him in months. I had visited him a few times, and each time he happily took me in and listened to my adventures. He was very proud of how I was freeing the Marids. He was a good man who, in his own reckless way, always looked out for those who needed help. Despite his obvious pride in me, I could sense some jealousy—after all, he was a hero during the Great War, and he had clearly loved the role of the mighty warrior. But he never was bitter or angry. More than anything I think he wished he could join me.
I made a left on Boulevard de Courcelles, and it hit me that this was the exact street that Iggy said Ana would be staying on. There were brown stone homes that reminded me of my grandfather’s house, and at street level there were shops and cafes. More than anything it felt familiar, as I had been raised in a similar bustling city—New York.
A line of trees started on the right, and behind an iron fence I could see a park. I walked across the street to the entrance, which was a couple blocks further down the street. The sign said Parc Monseau. I assumed the Russians lived in the brown stone houses to my left. Why did they settle here? I thought. Was the park somehow important? Did it remind them of Russia? The sun was bright, and the weather was beautiful, so even if the park was just a distraction I decided to walk through it.
There was a rotunda at the entrance, and ornate iron gates behind it that were wide enough for automobiles to pass through. Despite the war, there were a lot of people walking the well-manicured grounds—couples, families with children, and individuals out for a picnic.
As I moved further along the path around the park I couldn’t help but feel it was wrong somehow. There was a wide array of miniature buildings and replicas of things like a Chinese fort and a Roman colonnade. The Roman colonnade was popular, as it sat next to a lake full of ducks. I continued my walk past the lake, and the crowds started to thin the further along I went. The trees became more numerous, and the shade deepened. I eventually came across what looked like a miniature Egyptian pyramid.
I stooped down to get a closer look at its base when something bowled into me and sent me flying through the air. It felt like a giant had just swept me off the path with a flick of his finger. Dazed, I looked up to see Iggy standing next to me. My shoulder was sore and my hip hurt.
“What the heck!” I said as Iggy knelt down.
“They were close to casting at you, Staff Bearer. We must find cover. This was a very foolish place to visit.”
“First of all, you know you can call me Tommy. And secondly, what do you mean this is dangerous?”
Iggy looked in all directions, his head darting around. “You were followed by the Germans.” I looked around but couldn’t see anyone. “This park is full of illusions, and I fear the Germans can use them to harm you.” He pointed toward a bush. “We should hide behind that for now.” He took my arm and tugged. The force nearly pulled my arm from my socket.
“Ow! Are you trying to kill me?” I stood up, rubbing my shoulder and hip. I followed Iggy toward the bush. “Illusions? What do you mean?”
“You are familiar with follies?” We were in a space behind the bush and near a dense copse of trees. As he spoke about follies, my mind immediately went to Fort Belvedere in London, the citadel that was a folly—a mansion designed to look like a pretend fortress but actually hid a real fortress.
“Wait, do you mean to tell me that all of the fake things in this park are real?” I thought back to the Roman Colonnade, the arch, the fort, and the pyramid standing not ten yards from me.
“Some are real. Some are physical replicas. Some are illusions. The magic in this park is very strong.” Iggy must have noticed my confusion, as he added, “Not all illusions are meant to harm or hide. Most of the illusions here are to entertain, but you should never underestimate how a magician could take an existing illusion and twist it to his own uses.”
“I didn’t even know you could do that,” I exclaimed.
“There is a lot you don’t know.”
“Gee, thanks.” I peeked around the bush. “I don’t see anyone. Should we try to sneak back to the hotel.”
“We should, but be prepared for a battle.”
“I don’t even know what I can do to fight. I can’t stop time, and I don’t want to blind everyone. There are children near the lake. I guess I could just create darkness, but without knowing where we are going that will hurt us as much as them.” I rubbed my shoulder again. It really hurt. “I wish Naomi were here.”
“Yes, she is much more powerful than you are.”
“You’re not exactly helping,” I replied. “So what do we do?”
“The nearest exit is to the east, but we should navigate through the trees and exit through the south. Let us hope that the Germans can’t guard all the exits.”
It was a well-maintained park, so walking through the trees was not at all that difficult. Iggy would stop every so often, look left and right, and then continue. As we walked I had to give Cain credit—his chaperone was actually helpful.
We exited through some trees and there to our left was a large gate. It was made of wrought iron and, like the gate to the north that I had passed through, was large enough for automobiles.
It was also chained shut.
“That’s not good.” I said, glancing back into the park. It seemed oddly empty. Where did all the people go? “What do you think?”
“This is a trap.”
“Well, for once you’re not telling me anything I don’t know.” I walked toward the gate. “Can we break through?” I was a few steps down the path when there was the sound of scratching and growling. As I turned to see what the sound was Iggy grabbed my arm to pull me back. “Those are Djinn!” I cried out. Four huge Djinn with massive claws and teeth were walking toward us.
“No. They are illusions,” Iggy replied.
“Well, I’m not good with illusions, so I’m not sure it matters.” I remembered Cain’s lesson with the gun. “They’d still kill me.”
Iggy nodded. “Wait here.” He walked over to the Djinn, who arranged themselves around him. I was sure he was about to get cut to shreds. He crouched down and as they prepared to jump him, he spun around in a whirlwind of amazing speed. His arm reached out and with a pop pop pop, he eviscerated the Djinn, turning them into their elemental essence of air. He was so fast I couldn’t even see the knife in his hand or where he pulled it from.
I started toward him. “That was amazing!”
Iggy looked at me and held up his hand. “Stay there, Staff Bearer!” As he spoke an explosion of light hit him in the back and knocked him a few feet in my direction. He lay sprawled on the ground. I ran toward him. It looked like he got hit with a detonation. I hadn’t seen a Djinn survive that, let alone a human.
To my shock, he pulled himself up onto his hands and looked at me. It didn’t seem like he was in pain. In fact he didn’t look hurt at all. “Are you okay?”
“I am injured, but it is not life-threatening.” He scrambled to his feet, and stumbled toward the tree line. “We need to escape. There are many magicians. They are coming from the north, but we should expect them to enter from other directions soon.”
A loud voice with a German accent yelled out from the distance, “Tommy Black. Where are you, Archmage? I know you are there!” The voice sounded friendly, as if he was calling an old friend. “Come now, Tommy. You know the staff belongs with the other artifacts. Just hand it over to me, and you may leave in peace.” I didn’t reply, and the voice added, “Or you could join us. You love magic, no? You can help us research and learn. We respect your knowledge. You would like that?”
“I guess the Nazis found us,” I said, grimly. “Can we defeat them?”
“I don’t know. If you cannot use the Staff, th
en no. I can only do so much.”
I was going to ask Iggy how he could help at all when the German shouted out again. He sounded closer. “Now now, Tommy. Don’t be foolish. We know you are protected by an Ifrit, but he will not save you. We have defeated greater creatures with fewer forces.”
Ifrit? I looked at Iggy. He was looking out toward where the voice came from. “Are you an Ifrit?”
Iggy turned and looked at me. He attempted a smile, but it retained that comical formality I attributed to him being overly disciplined. I realized the truth—he didn’t know how to smile. It was one of many things that I had missed. “I am Ifrit, Enayat.”
Enayat. It was the honorific that I hadn’t heard used in a long time. The magical creatures gave me the title when I provided a home to the Shadows and started to free the Marids from the trains. It was Persian for “kindness.” I had so many questions but no time to ask them. All I knew was that I felt my chances had just increased dramatically. Ifrit were powerful.
“Tommy, I’m afraid my patience is running out.” The voice was closer still.
“Can you just transform into fire and destroy them all?”
“Possibly. There are many of them, and their mastery of magic is strong.” I was about to tell him to do his best when he added, “But I can only do it if it is required to protect you.”
“Sheesh, Iggy. I think it’s pretty darn required at this point. We’re surrounded by Nazi magicians, and the only reason they aren’t swarming us now is probably due to them being afraid of you.”
“You should use the Staff.” I looked at the Staff. He was right. My confidence had been shaken by the loss of my ability to stop time, but I could still make us invisible. Then we could just sneak out.
Just as I was about bend light around us, Iggy leapt in front of me, and a powerful blast knocked him into me and tossed us both back into the plants at the base of the trees. I was a bit dazed but Iggy seemed badly hurt. His body was twisted, although he didn’t moan or seem to be in pain.
“Iggy! Are you okay?” I stumbled over and knelt next to him.
“I can heal in my fire form, but—” He paused, and it looked like he was taking a deep breath, although with him being an Ifrit I wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing. “—I am too weak to do that now. I need to rest, Enayat.”
“I’ll find a way to stop them.”
“No. You should escape. They are interested in you, not me.”
“They’ll kill you!” Iggy didn’t say anything. “I’m not leaving you.” Before Iggy could object, I added, “I have an idea!” I was going to try something I had never really done before—using two powers of the staff at the same time.
The first thing I did was bend light around us. As I called upon the staff I knew I had done it. In fact, as I became one with the power I was filled with a rush of excitement. I was in my element, using the power of the staff to overcome my enemies!
With both Iggy and me invisible to the German magicians, I shaped the colors of light as I had done in the hotel room with Naomi. I created a massive fiery Ifrit. I had confronted an ancient and powerful Ifrit in Persepolis, and I made this one identical. Burning with fire and impressive in size, my imaginary Ifrit cruised through the air toward the middle of the park.
I left Iggy behind and walked along the tree line, knowing that I couldn’t be seen. There were three Nazi magicians straight ahead in a large clearing that marked the intersection of the north-south and east-west paths of the park. One was off to the left, and to the right were two others moving slowly toward me along the tree line.
In total there were six Nazi magicians. A half dozen masters! I had never seen such magical might. I hoped I could scare them away, but seeing them all made me feel foolish. The appearance of an Ifrit may have made them cautious, but it wouldn’t make them flee. Still, I had to try. I sent the Ifrit forward, expanding the fire along its arms so that it looked like an awesome elemental being. The three Masters at the path intersection crouched down. I could tell that one was casting a shield, while the other two started hurling spells at my light illusion.
I had the Ifrit dodge the spells, but the Nazi magicians were so fast that a few flew straight through my illusion. If only I could add sound I could perhaps convince them to flee by using the ominous voice that I had experienced in Persepolis. As it was, the Masters were clearly alarmed, but my plan to have them flee wasn’t working.
In the distance I heard machine guns and then an explosion. The Germans were bringing reinforcements, and they were troops with machine guns. There was a shout from the left, and I watched a magician walk toward my Ifrit. I had it expand in size, creating a fire so bright that it would burn their eyes if they looked at it.
The Masters in the middle continued to cast ineffective detonations, while the one to the left shielded his eyes while he continued to walk forward. “Very impressive, Archmage,” the magician covering his eyes yelled out. “An illusion of light. You fooled even me.” He turned back and shouted something in German. The Masters stopped casting. I worked my way over to the right and the path that led to the pyramid. I was getting dangerously close to the other two magicians.
I had resigned myself to a plan that I had hoped not to need—leaving Iggy behind while I escaped and went to get help from Naomi. My fear was that even Naomi wouldn’t be able to handle six Master magicians, even as powerful as she was.
“Where are you, Archmage? We have the park exits blocked. You cannot escape. Are you playing more games with light? That is your talent, is it not?” I had a clear view of the leader. He was in a Nazi uniform and had a lot of medals on his chest. He walked with a bit of an uneven gait. He’s a Master illusionist. I shook my head. Why are all the jerks illusionists?
I decided that two could use illusion. I let the Ifrit fade away, and then I created a light illusion of myself running across the path on the opposite side of the intersection from me. Immediately, two Masters cast detonations with deadly accuracy, blowing up the entire area where I would have been. So much for them letting me go without hurting me.
“Come now, Archmage. Don’t make this difficult. If you don’t run, we won’t hurt you.” The leader of the magicians glanced around.
I retreated behind the pyramid, but the moment I stepped within a few feet of it, the blocks spread into the form of a mouth and a loud voice said, “Footsteps approach! Footsteps approach!”
I hurried away from the pyramid as all six magicians focused their attention in my direction. At that moment a muffled explosion came from the direction of the main entrance behind the three Masters on the main path. It was so powerful that I felt the force wave push me back. The Masters tumbled forward.
“My, my. That was a very nice shield. I’m impressed.” Walking toward us was Naomi. She was in her black dress, and her blond hair stood out against it as a slight wind blew tendrils of her hair around her face. The magicians looked shocked as they got to their feet.
She motioned with her hand and one of the Masters was tossed backward as if he was made of paper caught in a stiff wind. Naomi laughed. “As I said, it was a very nice shield.” One of the Masters unleashed a series of detonations, but they thudded against a shield that Naomi had cast.
With another wave of her hand, the second magician went flying, rolling across the lawn. “Naomi! There are two magicians to your left!” I was worried about her being attacked by the magicians she hadn’t seen. I didn’t even know what kind of magicians they were.
I found out as one of them turned and cast a detonation right at me. He couldn’t see me, but he must have aimed where he heard my voice. The detonation missed, but exploded about five feet to my left. I went flying. The only thing that saved me was my instinct in holding onto the cane. I remained invisible.
Clutching the staff in my right hand, I reached down to lift myself with my left when searing pain exploded from my shoulder. It was hanging lower than it should be.
I could barely see through the pain, but
what I could see was incredible. Naomi had knocked out four of the Masters, and all four were confined on the ground by some sort of magical restraint. The leader had conjured an illusory wall of fire, which stood between him and Naomi. There was one last master slowly backing up as Naomi advanced on him.
He appeared to be very powerful, as he was maintaining a shield while he cast detonations at Naomi. As Mister Ali had taught me, casting two spells at once was exceptionally difficult. Naomi didn’t cast a spell, she just walked forward, her own shield easily absorbing the detonations. She looked completely unconcerned.
The Nazi magician, however, looked terrified. It was extraordinary. Naomi was a vision in black, an angel of deathly beauty as she strode forward. The magician stopped retreating, staring at Naomi. A moment later he conjured a spell I wasn’t familiar with. Naomi stopped.
“Okay, so you know at least one good spell. Very nice.” Naomi grinned. “But the question for you is whether that spell is stronger than my shield. Here’s a hint: It’s not.”
The magician unleashed his spell, and a green ball of light flew toward Naomi. It stopped a few feet in front of her and then spread around her entire body. The green fire held steady, like a shimmery green cocoon, and then started to squeeze in toward her. As it tightened bit-by-bit Naomi stood still and confident.
I didn’t know what the spell did, but I was getting nervous as it didn’t stop moving. It was mere inches from Naomi’s face when the green fire started to fade. After a few more seconds it died out.
Shaking her head while smiling, Naomi cast the red ball spell, the one that incinerated the target from the inside out. She held her hand toward the magician. “Run,” she said. The magician turned and fled into the distance.
“You should join us, Grandmaster!” The voice of the illusionist yelled out. “Such power can only be appreciated by those who share your talent! We would provide you with an honored position. You could help lead us with the heir of Jamshid!”
While the illusionist spoke, his wall of flame had begun to expand to surround Naomi. The flames were hot enough that I could feel their heat from where I sat.
