by John Booth
13. Gone
I hopped into the Bat Cave the next morning before Jenny woke. Merlin had been fast asleep in his cot so it seemed like a good time to visit my dragon and see if the Dragon Elders had come to any conclusions about the Aleph and the Krake.
The cave echoed like a church. It felt empty and a quick search confirmed that Fluffy was gone, probably out hunting sheep. I wondered vaguely if I was going to have to placate the hill farmers again. Last year I donated a sizeable sum of money to their hardship fund, losses of sheep through the year had been very bad.
I sat on the singed sofa and thought about Diabli swords. To create a sword required the deaths of wizards from at least six universes. Or to be more precise, it needed their blood. The swords were easy to make assuming you knew the runes to etch into each layer of folded steel. However, the activation of each layer required soaking the blade in the blood of a wizard. Magic from the wizard’s blood was absorbed by the runes.
The sword blade was heated after each dousing in blood, beaten and folded into one piece again on a wooden anvil and new runes were etched into its surface. Do that six times with wizards from different universes and you had a Diabli sword.
Simple if you were a mass murderer without a conscience. The method implied that magic was somehow different in each universe. It must be subtle because I’d never seen any.
Galator had included how the Dragons constructed the virtual sword for the Conference. Being dragons, just sending me a sword that looked like a Diabli one wouldn’t do. They had to be faithful to the original construction, it was their way. The Conference existed in many dimensions, though I think that would be ‘objects’, or maybe ‘levels’ in software terms. So I was simultaneously a human, dragon, elf and others depending on who was looking at me. The dragons had ‘etched’ the magic of six of those layers into the virtual sword, and unexpectedly it had worked.
It shouldn’t have worked. The sword had cut through the software and the Conference had collapsed around us. All that was missing was the blue screen of death. But how could you cut through code with an imaginary sword? It was all nonsense.
Fluffy should have been back by now and I was starting to get worried about him. There was one person who could tell me exactly what he was up to, if not where he was, so I hopped back to Jenny.
“Number seven, please,” Jenny said sleepily as I gently shook her awake.
I kept on shaking her and eventually her eyes opened.
“Merlin?”
“Is fine. I need to know where Fluffy is.”
“Retnor?” Jenny eyes finally focused on me. “What time is it?”
“Seven forty.”
“Wake me at eight.” Jenny rolled over and started making little snoring sounds. I shook her again.
“He’s fine,” Jenny protested. “Not on Earth, somewhere else, far away. Safe. Go away, Jake.”
The door opened and Merlin floated into the room, at about head height. He was horizontal and it looked as though he was flying in his sleep.
“Back to bed,” I said in my sternest daddy voice. Without showing the slightest sign of waking, Merlin’s body spun through 180 degrees and floated out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
“Back to bed,” Jenny echoed. “Want Retnor? Go find him.”
Which was excellent advice. I hopped back to the Bat Cave, even though I was beginning to feel like a human yoyo.
To hop to someone, a wizard needs something owned by the person as a focus. I rejected the remnants of Fluffy’s last meal and went looking through the cave. My dragon was a dab hand at the internet, but his computer had never been handled by him, just communicated to by magic. After fruitless minutes of searching I gave up and decided to link using our friendship. What could possibly go wrong?
Sitting cross legged on the cave floor I concentrated on our friendship, thought about the times we’d fought together, and hopped.
I was in some sort of amphitheater, like something out of ancient Rome. Thousands of people roared approval from the stands. I had arrived sitting cross legged on the parade ground. Hundreds of men in green amour stood with their backs to me. Getting to my feet I brushed beige sand off my jeans.
The armor looked familiar though the green color was all wrong. Once I got to my feet I could see the people on a raised platform in front of the ranks of men. Most were in robes, but two were in a type of armor I recognized instantly, they were Knights of Justice.
Now me and the Knights of Justice go back a few years. They hunt Wizards and Dragons as both are seen as threats in the Diamond Worlds. Unfortunately for them, Dragons hold grudges and when the chance presented itself they killed almost all of them while making it look as though I had done it. The two knights on the platform must be the remnants of the order.
The man in the most impressive robes at the center of the platform stared in my direction as if he recognized me. That was impossible. Every single person from the Diamond worlds who had seen my face was dead. On impulse I switched to magic sight and saw his aura included a black bird embedded in his head. He was possessed by a Krake.
He pointed at me and shouted.
“Jake Morrissey, the Genocide.”
He didn’t shout it in English, but I had learnt the Diamonds Worlds main languages some time ago as a precautionary measure.
Time to make a fast exit. I tried to hop and nothing happened. I must be close enough for the Knights on the platform to be blocking me with their magic armor. That could be fixed. I sent myself flying backwards, my magic worked on me even in the presence of anti-magic armor. It was a big stadium and I flew back hundreds of feet to the far end, at least three hundred yards away from the Knights.
I tried to hop, but still nothing happened. This was getting irritating. Meanwhile the green knights had been in the process of turning round to look at me. Despite the color of the armor it was clear they were Knights of Justice, though they were all very young. I doubt any of them were as old as me and some were little more than children. However, they drew their swords reasonably quickly and pointed them in my direction.
That was a significant threat. Those swords could drain the magic right out of a wizard. However, I’ve learnt a few tricks over the years. Forming a spear of pure magic I let it fly towards them, using the drawing power of their swords to speed it on its way.
The thing about magic and anti-magic is that they totally annihilate each other on contact. The swords could absorb magic slowly, but a big gulp could overwhelm them. The spear I sent was more like a tsunami than a glass.
Many of the young Knights were scattered in the resulting blast, their swords and armor dissolving under the onslaught. Some looked injured, which wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted out and I wanted out now.
However, I had only scattered about a third of them and the others looked … angry. Like big greed wasps whose nest has just been hit with a big stick.
The crowd were screaming their rage and I retreated from the wall as a barrage of rubbish and a few shoes hit me from above.
I scanned the magical planes for anything that might be blocking my ability to hop. Nothing that I could detect.
“Cover your eyes and duck!”
The command was in English, so I closed my eyes and put my right arm over my face as I fell to the ground. Something incredibly bright went off. So bright I saw the bones of my arm despite having my eyes closed.
Somebody landed beside me. Opening my eyes didn’t help as the afterimage of my arm bones had been etched onto my retinas. I got the impression of someone young and male.
He grabbed my arm and we hopped away. Magical sight showed me what he had done to move round the anti-hop screen. I absorbed how the screen worked and how he defeated it as we left. There was no telling when information like that would come in handy.
“Jake, how nice of you to visit.”
The voice was Bronwyn’s. I blinked repeatedly and used magic to heal my retina. That had been some blast. We were stan
ding in her parents lounge. The person who had rescued me was a lad I sort of remembered. I was sure I’d seen him before but I couldn’t remember where. He was wearing gaudy clothes and a big grin.
“You should have seen it, My Goddess. He hopped into the passing out parade for the new Knights and wiped out a third of them when they pointed their swords at him.”
Bronwyn was looking at me anxiously. “Why were you on the Diamond Worlds? I told you I’d look into it.”
The lad was irrespressible.
“We will not be doing anything there for a while. They will be double checking for wizards and none of their worlds will be safe. I need to go and tell the others to get back to Tydan.”
Bronwyn hadn’t taken her eyes off me since I hopped in. She waved the young man away.
“Go and do it, Dren. But make sure their covers remain as intact as we can manage. Find stories for their absence. It will take the Diamond Worlds authorities’ months to check on everyone.”
Dren grinned and vanished.
Bronwyn helped me to a chair. A cup of tea appeared in her hand and she handed it to me.
“What were you doing there, Jake? You could have got yourself killed.”
“Not my choice. I was trying to find Fluffy and must have been thinking about the Knights of Justice instead.”
Bronwyn pursed her lips. “One hundred and thirty two planets make up the Diamond Worlds. Each one is as big as the Earth or bigger. Their population is over two billion and there are thousands of cities. Yet you hopped into the one place in all those worlds where you might be recognized.”
“I have a talent for it.”
“No one has that much of a talent for trouble, Jake. You have just ruined an operation that has been going on for nearly a year involving dozens of operatives across those worlds slowly gaining acceptance and information.”
“I only asked you to look at the Diamond Worlds two days ago.”
Bronwyn grinned. “I have Tydan to protect and the Diamond Worlds threaten it with their Knights and general hostile attitude towards wizards. Did you know the Knights of Justice are wizards?”
I swallowed some tea the wrong way and spent the next minute coughing and spluttering. When I got my breath back I was dismissive.
“The Knights kill wizards, because we wizards are prone to enslave people. I’m not sure why they hate dragons so much, probably just because they’re dragons.”
“The Knights of Justice wear swords and armor made by magic and developed by a wizard a long time ago. They have to renew the magic regularly and they follow certain rituals to do it. But only wizards can use the armor and only wizards can create it in the first place.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Bronwyn made a cup of tea appear in her hand and sat back in her chair to sip at it.
“If you read their history you would understand. They select Knights at puberty. They don’t know what they are. I doubt the people who select them know either.”
That made some kind of sense. The number of wizards who gained their powers before puberty was infinitesimally small, despite the fact that two such wizards sat in this very room.
“You don’t need to send anybody else to the Diamond Worlds. I know what’s going on.”
Bronwyn raised an eyebrow.
“Have you ever heard of the Krake?”
14. A Few Goodbyes
My phone rang and I was surprised to see it was Dad calling.
“Hi Dad, what can I do for you?”
“We need to talk, son.”
I mouthed goodbye to Bronwyn and hopped.
“So let’s talk.”
Dad put down his phone and ambled over to his favorite chair. He absently tapped at the bowl of his pipe even though there hadn’t been tobacco in it for years.
“What did Bronwyn do to the twins?”
“I don’t know. She only had them alone for a few seconds and she swore there were no bruises.”
Dad nodded, “Your Mam looked and there aren’t. But she can’t go threatening them like that. We’ll have social services down on us and that might stop the adoption.”
I wondered if that might be a good thing. Dad seemed to read my mind.
“We want them, Jake. We had you young and having them gives us something to do. And Colleen named us in her will.”
“I think Bronwyn has improved their behavior.”
Dad chuckled. “There is that, but she hasn’t messed with their minds has she?”
“I’m pretty sure she hates mind control every bit as much as I do.”
Dad fumbled with his pipe in a way that suggested there was something else he wanted to say. I offered to make a pot of tea and when I came back with it he braced himself before he spoke.
“The twins need to know who you really are. And they need to know about Salice. We have to trust them to keep the secret.”
“Not now, when they’re older.”
“Jake, every time you appear here you could give yourself away. Best they know the truth before they imagine something worse.”
“Is there anything worse?” I grinned as Dad shook his head.
“Will you tell them?”
“We should wait until after the inquest. They may well be called as witnesses.” That was prevarication. The government didn’t want an inquest on the bombing and the start date kept being put back. My theory was my kids would be grown before it happened.
“Soon Jake. You have to tell them soon.” Dad wore his determined face and I knew argument was useless. He’d made up his mind before he called me.
“Okay, when I get back from Balmack.”
After all, there was a possibility I might never get back and that would solve the problem for both of us.
Dad didn’t look happy, but he knew it was the best deal he was going to get. I hopped away before he could think of a reason to make it sooner.
I arrived outside Betty’s office to the sound of women screaming at each other. My first thought was to hop home. But I needed to see Betty before I went to Balmack, if only because she had a way of telling me things I needed to know. I also didn’t want to leave it too long since I’d made her pregnant. Better to get any shouting out of the way as soon as possible.
So reasoning, I opened the door and found Betty and an older woman who looked remarkably like her turn to face me.
The woman looked at her watch. “It’s your four o’clock screw.”
“Get out. I never want to see you again.” Betty was trembling as was her voice.
The woman shrugged and picked up her handbag. I stepped aside to give her a clear path to the door. However, when she reached me she thrust her face into mine.
“So this is the great Wizard Morrissey. The man with brains in his balls, having none at all in his head.”
I gave her an elegant bow. All that time in the King’s court at Salice had taught me a few moves. “Any friend of Betty’s is a friend of mine.”
She laughed; a surprisingly warm laugh.
“I might learn to like you. You made my daughter pregnant and I’ve been waiting so long for that.”
“Get out!”
The ex-Mrs. Hardy put her hand across her mouth in a mock attempt to prevent her daughter hearing her words. “I needed to leave to make that possible. She had to grow up a slut.”
“I inherited that from you,” Betty screamed. She picked up a hammer from her desk and threw it at her mother.
I stopped it in mid-air and let it hang there.
“Useful for other things than sex as well,” Mrs. Hardy mused before sweeping elegantly from the room.
Betty advanced on me, plucking the hammer from the air on the way. I prepared a shield, just in case.
“I’m surprised you have the nerve to show your face around here after what you did.”
I backed away and collided with the door.
“I ought to…” Whatever she ought to do she decided to throw the hammer behind her where it slid across
the floor until it collided with and smashed a large middle-eastern looking pot. “Now look what you’ve made me do.”
I repaired the pot and whisked the hammer to the other side of the room, casually covering it with a newspaper.
Betty laughed. “You are useful for more than sex. She was right about that.”
“Your mother?”
“Tina Wells, don’t you ever call her that again.”
“What did she want?” A little voice in my head was saying ‘don’t mention the baby’ and I was doing my best to follow its advice.
Betty took a deep breath and I braced myself. Then she let it out again in a long sigh.
“She wants us to be friends. Told me a load of nonsense about how she had to leave so I could become who I am now.”
“Pregnant?” I could have bitten my tongue off.
Betty smiled sweetly at me and then brought her knee up unexpectedly, catching me completely off guard. I doubled over in agony, unable to concentrate enough to heal myself.
“I am very pleased to be pregnant,” Betty paused for a long second, “And the next time you do anything like that to me without asking I will cut your balls off. Are we clear?”
I nodded; the pain was receding enough for me to think. In another few seconds I would be able to use magic again. She noticed my agony and laughed.
“Well get healing. I have use for those parts of your body and expect an expert performance.”
I was able to lift my head to look at her a few seconds later and found she had positioned herself on her desk, legs spread and not a pair of knickers in sight.
“Come on, I’m waiting here.”
A man has to do what a man has to do.
A desk is okay for some things, but for cuddling afterwards a swivel chair is much better, though Betty was a bit on the heavy side. I wondered vaguely how much heavier she’d get in the next few months.
“You will need to be careful, Jake. Don’t let your guard down for an instant.”
She ran her fingers over my face as if she was using them to memorize the shape.
