by C. Gold
“A ditch?” Amira asked with one brow raised.
Radcliff tossed another load against the crumbled wall. “Actually, it will be a moat. Something I once read about.”
“You know they’ll be able to cross it.”
He grinned. “I have a plan for that too. Besides, we only need to delay them long enough.”
“I’ll go stand lookout.” She climbed up part of the wall that was still standing.
Radcliff wiped the sweat off his brow and tore into more fresh earth. He made the channel wide so they’d have to work at getting across, but left it shallow since he planned to fill it with molten rock as an added deterrent. When he deemed it long enough, around forty feet, Radcliff used magic to lift the rock and debris that was still susceptible to his power and rebuilt the broken wall on either side to make it look impassable. It borrowed from Ekewaka’s illusion wall idea in order to concentrate them where he wanted them—trying to cross the trench. Knowing some would try the edges anyway, he turned it into a deathtrap. The piles were so loosely stacked that anything trying to get up it would cause an avalanche and bury them. Of course once a pile was used, that trap was gone, but it was the best he could do in such a short time.
“I see them,” Amira called out.
He waved her down and began filling the mote with the remaining rocks. Since these had no magic left, he had to use bursts of air to shove them into the trench.
As soon as Amira joined him, Radcliff said, “I need you to channel your staff’s fire into these rocks until they turn molten.”
“Does it have enough energy to do that?”
Radcliff sighed at her complete ignorance of the basics. “I filled it to capacity. You won’t have to worry.”
“I don’t—”
“No time to argue, fire them up now.” Radcliff could see a dark stain on the horizon approaching quickly—about the time it would take to turn the stone molten.
She fumed and shot a forty foot fire column out the end, just barely missing him.
Radcliff jumped back and laughed which took him by surprise. The other shock was the feeling of admiration that she stood up to him.
Knew you’d grow to like her. The image was still sitting on the blanket but he had a smug smile that made Radcliff want to wipe it off.
Why are you still here?
The image dropped the smile and let its concern show. Making sure you keep her safe.
She won’t be if you distract me, Radcliff warned.
The image nodded its agreement and said nothing more.
“When they arrive, make sure to keep the flame on our side of the trench so they don’t drain the magic. I’ll take care of the creative ones who think of ways to get across.”
Amira nodded. “Anything else I should do?”
“Stay alive.” Radcliff was disturbed to realize he would mean it even if they weren’t bonded. Since when did he have emotional entanglements? It had to be more taint from his other self. He shook it off and focused on the task at hand. Battle was coming and distractions could get them both dead.
The faster creatures arrived ten minutes later and made straight for the channel. Without slowing down, they tried to make the jump. Radcliff lost count of the numbers who burned to ashes as they failed and fell in the molten rock. Unfortunately, that didn’t even make a dent in the hundreds more who came after. These halted at the edge and fell unnaturally still. As the slower ones caught up, they too went immobile. Past them, Radcliff could see thousands more approaching, swarming around one of the red eyed humanoids. That’s when the battle truly began.
Radcliff used chunks of rock to blast holes in each tube they made in their attempt to arch across the lava. The other side of the chasm was growing knee deep in sludgy black ooze as more and more of the creatures were cannibalized to create ever more inventive ways to try getting across. Their last concoction consisted of over a hundred flexible struts shooting across at the same time. Fortunately for Radcliff, they aligned their bridges in parallel, letting his one rock shot cleave them all with a single blow. That sent the red eyed creature into a spasm of fits as it spit and shrieked its rage.
He was feeling pretty confident until the temperature dropped and something foul pressed against his mind. Bolstering his shielding, Radcliff looked for the new arrival. What he saw instead was a small hole that pierced the very fabric of the world. As it grew slowly wider, a powerful menace began applying painful pressure to his mental shielding. For the first time in his life, Radcliff choose to retreat. “Amira, run now.”
“I’m not leaving without you.”
“I’ll be right behind.” He pushed his limits, more concerned about speed than elegance with the pressure pounding on his mind. Too bad he couldn’t lift the molten rock. But he could do something else to give them some time. He lifted over a thousand boulders in the air and placed them just shy of the enemy’s shoreline. He added a hundred more over the portal which was now sporting a familiar black tentacle. “Run!” he shouted and dropped his hold on the rocks. Without looking back at his rock splat, molten splash handiwork, he grabbed Amira’s hand and sprinted through the ruins. When he careened around a corner and came face to tip with a spike of broken off stone, Amira jerked him aside in time for the miss. When she stumbled, he kept her from falling and together they reached the fortress.
“They’re coming!” he shouted at the men and women who were putting the finishing touches on the wall. He scrambled to a halt when they climbed up instead of going inside. “What is going on?” he asked, confused.
The emperor came dashing around a corner. Radcliff’s eyes widened. He hadn’t seen the old man move that fast in many years.
“Get inside,” the emperor commanded.
“What about the others?” Radcliff nodded at the men and women even now scrambling up the spiked wall.
“They will fight from above and hold them off the shield.”
Radcliff was skeptical, but he looked up and saw at least a thousand spell casters from many locales standing on solid reinforced platforms. Hundreds of stone javelins were stacked on either side of each mage. Then he noticed they were paired up—earth mage with air mage in order to rain projectiles down into the enemy. But he saw a huge flaw. “How will they get inside?” A twinge of something suspiciously like worry flitted through him, making him scowl at the threat of more attachments.
The emperor waved his hand in casual dismissal. “I attuned them all to the mountain so they can use the small escape holes to get back inside.” He grabbed Radcliff’s arm and pulled him into the fortress. “Now it’s time for us to find a lasting solution.” With a swirling gesture, the emperor pulled down the stone covering the double-door entrance and welded it shut. It settled with a loud bang of finality. It was do or die time. Radcliff only hoped they had bought enough time to figure something out.
CHAPTER 24
Uneasy Partnership
They didn’t get far before a mob of people crowded around them, demanding answers or seeking reassurances.
“We’re safe, aren’t we?” One woman asked.
“Where’s my son? Has anyone seen Josheem?” A distressed father called out as he pushed through people to get closer.
The emperor answered each question patiently. For the missing child, he appointed a few people to check the nearby rooms and spread the word.
The crowd was slowly settling down when one person pointed to Radcliff and shouted, “Destroyer!” Then the frightened mob turned ugly as people accused him of all manner of atrocities. Most cried out about his offenses from the past and how he ruined lives, killed families, and destroyed cities. The loudest one though was from a man accusing him of bringing those creatures down upon them. That accusation spread faster than a fire in a stiff wind.
Amira gripped her staff and stepped closer to Radcliff. He frowned and gave her a warning glance to back off. If there was fighting to be done, he’d settle things real fast.
“That’s enough!” Th
e emperor had to shout above the angry, fist waving mob surging towards them. He adopted his patient parent voice. “Radcliff has been very instrumental in buying us enough time so that we can solve this problem. He didn’t bring those things here, but he will help deal with them. You just need to be patient.” He looked each person in the eye, until they backed down, then he escorted the group through the currently subdued crowd.
Radcliff wasn’t fooled. He’d read about past sieges and how ugly they got the longer they lasted. It was one of the main reasons he was so brutal when dealing with recalcitrant leaders. Far better to strike a swift, true blow that forces capitulation than have the entire population endure months of suffering. His solution was more efficient on both sides.
You can’t do that now. His image stated the blunt truth.
No, I can’t. For once he agreed with his annoying copy. It was a bitter feeling being on the other end of victory.
You don’t know that yet. Have a bit of faith, his image admonished him.
Radcliff scoffed. I gave all that to you, remember?
Perhaps we should merge? The image looked a bit sickly at the idea.
Why did it bother to offer if it didn’t want to? Although a small part of him was sorely tempted, he knew of too many ways it could go wrong. Having a fractured, but sane mind was better than a scrambled, crazy one. No. I don’t want your emotional distractions.
Fine, it huffed.
The emperor paused at a wooden door with ornate scrollwork carved into it. Radcliff couldn’t make out all the designs in the low lighting but he did spot a depiction of a figure reading a book under a tree. It vaguely resembled him. He leaned in to get a closer look but the door opened and the emperor ushered them through.
Radcliff straightened and entered a vast chamber dedicated to keeping all the known books of the empire secure. Memories flooded him of days spent doing research in this very room. When his eyes landed on his old mentor sitting at the center of chaos, it reminded him of when they were first introduced.
One of the emperor’s many lackeys led young Radcliff down corridor after corridor. He’d never seen such wealth before and it distracted him from his usual caution. Caught gawking, he had to be prompted to keep up. When the punishing blow didn’t land, Radcliff was confused, but it snapped him back into his reality—that punishment could be meted out at any time for the slightest of reasons. He focused on the floor until he walked into a gigantic library. His mouth dropped open as he stared at shelves upon shelves stretching as far as he could see. His dead master’s book room wouldn’t occupy a tenth of this one and he’d thought that was impressive. Words couldn’t begin to describe what he saw now.
“This is Archmage Candlass. He will be your mentor.”
Radcliff expected another mean, skinny man like his dead master. He wasn’t expecting the plump man with friendly eyes—clearly a ruse to lure him in. Apparently he was a slob too. Scattered scrolls and leaning towers of books cluttered the desk, blocking off his view of the man below the chin.
Radcliff shook off the memory. The man before him was fragile looking now and somehow aged. For a brief moment, concern bubbled up before he remembered what this man did. All eyes stared at him as if expecting an explosion. That irked him. Seeing the shaking scroll held in too thin fingers and the man’s palpable fear made him suddenly weary of it all. Am I truly this bad person everyone seems to make me out to be? His image remained conspicuously silent. Thanks, he said, aiming the sarcastic barb its way.
It was in that moment that Radcliff realized that his revenge, this man’s fear, even his image’s fate no longer mattered unless they found a way to escape the certain doom coming for them all. That realization relieved a burden he didn’t even know he carried. With a newly defined purpose, Radcliff got straight down to business. “I’m not going to hurt you. What have you found so far?”
Candlass studied him several moments then seemed to relax a fraction. He stood and lifted a stack of books on the corner of the desk and set them on the floor. Then he grabbed another book, already opened, and turned it to face the group. “This,” he pointed at a diagram, “is the largest structure I found for amplifying a magical spell.”
The emperor leaned down to study it. “Yes, that’s what I remembered reading about. Good job.” He tapped the page with one finger. “I can have it assembled in a few hours and I know just where to put it.”
“What about portals?” Radcliff asked.
Candlass jumped at the sound of Radcliff’s voice but tried to carry on as if he wasn’t nervous, though the hand wringing gave him away. Hastily putting some distance between them, He walked to the other side of the desk and lifted three books off a dangerously leaning stack.
Some things about him haven’t changed, Radcliff thought.
The archmage carried them over and set them down on the only other free space on the desk next to the opened book. A puff of dust set him to sneezing, but he took care to turn into his sleeve rather than risk the books. He opened the top one to a bookmarked section. “Here, I found a ritual that might be what you need.”
Radcliff took the book from him and felt a wave of regret when the man backpedaled quickly away from him. Could things have gone differently if he had made more of an effort? He recalled several times when Candlass tried to reach the standoffish child thrust into his care. Radcliff always rejected him. He was always too fat, too nice, too cluttered, too just about anything. As he grew older, his mentor became too weak, too narrow minded, and too unworthy. Then he mentally shook his head. No. Perhaps he deserved the breach in their relationship, but he didn’t deserve betrayal. He could never forgive that.
Studying the book, Radcliff struggled to remember the language. It was even older than Aedon so he was surprised Candlass knew it.
“I don’t know the language, I saw the diagram,” Candlass replied.
Radcliff started. He hadn’t realized he’d spoken out loud. The diagram looked complex but the basic concept was clear. A protection circle was divided into two sections with runes describing everything about the destination along the top half and the anchor point, where the portal was located, was detailed along the bottom half. Along the inner edge, additional runes described the type of link and how it was sourced, either by a magic pool or an individual mage. Radcliff raised an eyebrow at that. Who in their right mind would risk their own magical well on such a large drain? Maybe it was another sign that people used to be more powerful. Or simply more stupid.
“The other two books there are written in the same language,” Candlass added. “I figured you could probably read them and thought they might have more information on the runes.”
“Thank you, that was very thoughtful.” The emperor was right, Candlass was better than the old librarian who used to point him to books only when he specified their exact titles. Old curmudgeon. While Radcliff never liked the old man, he respected the man’s efficiency and zeal about categorizing everything. Radcliff guessed he died long ago since he didn’t have much magic.
“If you have everything you need, I need to begin construction and see to our defenses,” the emperor cut in. He had a worried look and waited only until Radcliff’s slight nod before he brushed past Amira, who stood guarding the door, and left.
“Where are the others who sentenced me?” Radcliff had no idea why he asked that question but suddenly he needed to know where the other traitors were.
Candlass paled and looked away. In a quiet, wavering voice he replied, “The emperor threw me in the dungeon, set a bounty on Andurel, and exiled everyone else.”
“So they could be in amongst the refugees here?” That sent Radcliff’s blood racing. He didn’t know how he’d react if he ran into any of them. He only promised not to harm Candlass.
Candlass dispelled that notion. “They all headed east to Dark Mountain. From what I gather, none of them made it.”
There was a moment of awkward silence as each man became lost in thought.
“So what’s the portal for?” Candlass finally broke the moment.
The man cringed when Radcliff looked at him. It reminded him of when he was a child waiting for his master’s blow to land. I am nothing like him! Radcliff’s hands curled into fists and he didn’t even realize it until Candlass began shaking like the ground beneath a stampeding herd of stone basilisks. He scowled and started to pace. “I’m not going to hit you.” He bit back any further replies that might agitate the archmage further. Instead, he walked over to Amira and nodded her way. “The portal is Amira’s idea.” He leaned against the door, arms crossed. “She thinks we can travel to another world and escape.”
“Can we?” Candlass looked more relaxed and a spark of his old curiosity burned in his eyes.
Radcliff cocked his head and considered what he’d read from the diagram. It certainly seemed to be proof that the ancients were capable of it. But to another world? That was a bit of a stretch. As he stared at the faint spark of hope shining in his old mentor’s eyes, Radcliff found he couldn’t snuff that out. “It might be possible,” he dissembled. If they had the time, if the amplifier worked, and if they found a way to use it without burning him up like an old piece of sun-dried driftwood tossed on a bonfire. Yet the alternative was far worse. Better to die a clean death trying.
All three settled into an odd routine. Radcliff would read the ancient texts and dictate relevant passages which Candlass wrote down on a fresh piece of parchment. Amira stood watch and fetched food and drink a few times. The food usually went cold until Amira manhandled them into eating.
Radcliff didn’t know what time it was when he finished the last of the books, but his eyes were burning. He scanned several of the earlier notes written in Candlass’ neat lettering and finally felt a kernel of hope. It was possible. Risky, but possible. The archmage yawned. He still looked old and worn out, but there was a new energy to him. He feels it too. Radcliff decided they’d done enough for now. “Time to get some rest. Tomorrow we can start experimenting.”
