Shining Armor

by Halle Dean

  "Warner, he's going to do it!" Melody said.

  "I know." His voice was much calmer than she felt.

  "What are we going to do?" Sophie's tone matched Melody's panic far better.

  "What is he doing?" Alex asked. "I don't understand."

  "I will take care of it," Warner said.

  Truss had started the spell. Melody could almost see the magic swirling around him. The air grew dark.

  "Annihilate," he began.

  Warner placed his forearm out in front of himself, as if he was holding up a shield. His other arm was out straight in front of him, palm facing the black cloud forming around Truss. The dark magic began to sound like a heavy gust of wind. Sophie was yelling, but Melody couldn't hear what she was saying over the noise. She guessed she protesting Warner's use of true protection magic. Melody was afraid for him as well; she didn't want to lose anyone else. She prayed that Warner would somehow survive, but her hopes were not high.

  "Decimate!" Truss continued, barely audible over the storm surrounding him. The ground cracked at his feet. "Obliterate!"

  Warner looked focused. His eyebrows were pulled together and his stance was firm. The wind beginning to swirl around them blew his clothes and hair around, but he was unmovable. Melody wondered if it was because he was determined or if it was his spell beginning to take effect. He was glowing faintly, but it was getting brighter and brighter.

  Truss grinned maniacally as he opened his mouth for the final word of the spell. "Devastate!" he shouted.

  At the same instant, Warner countered, throwing his arms wide. "Shining Armor!"

  The words were everywhere as he said them, booming out above the noise of the storm. Melody covered her ears, and then had to cover her eyes. The glow emanating from Warner grew impossibly bright. The howl of the wind was replaced by a loud ringing. It seemed to take several minutes before the light and sound died down.

  Melody unfolded from the ball she had unconsciously curled into. Everything had a strange shine to it, as if someone had come through and polished every surface. Even the people seemed to sparkle, though that went away once her eyes adjusted. Everyone was exactly where they had been a moment before, standing in the same way. Truss appeared to be frozen, but Warner collapsed.

  "Warner!" Sophie yelped, running to his side. Tears were already streaming down her face. Melody ran forward as well, followed by Layla and Alex. "No, no, no, no, no," Sophie murmured. She knelt and pulled his head into her lap. "Please, don't," she pleaded. "Please, stay with me."

  "Can't..." he mumbled, his eyes shut tight. He seemed to have a hard time breathing. Melody felt tears on her cheeks as she sat down next to him. She tried to think of a way to save him, but she didn't know how to transfer her life force. "I knew… you would be… upset," he said.

  "Of course I am!" Sophie's tears fell onto his face as she placed her hands on either side of his head. "You mustn't do this," she said. "You've nearly died so often. Let this be another nearly. Please."

  Warner laughed, wincing and coughing along with it. Then he opened his eyes. First he looked at Melody with an apologetic expression she didn't entirely understand. Then he looked to Sophie.

  "I know..." Strain was obvious in his voice, but he smiled. "I know you don't... trust me..."

  "I do trust you," she interrupted, her voice pleading.

  Warner shakily brought his hand up to touch her cheek, silencing her as she tried to continue. "Believe me... one time..." His arm dropped to his side again and his eyes began to close. "I do... love you..."

  He took a final, shaky breath, and stopped moving. Sophie was trembling and Melody was in too much shock to try to help her. She wasn't sure if she could handle more loss. Was every person she cared for going to die? It wasn't fair.

  "But—Wait," Layla stammered. "No. He can't. He can't die."

  "I don't believe it," Alex breathed.

  "He can't," Layla repeated. "What do we do? Won't evil Warner come out now?"

  Melody's heart started beating faster at the thought. She started to back away. Sophie, on the other hand, held Warner close to her and wept. Melody had to think of a way to get her away from him. They had a while before he could do anything, but she didn't want to take any chances that would lead to more deaths.

  "Sophie," she said softly. "She's right."

  "I don't care," Sophie said, her voice quiet, but high pitched. She hugged Warner tightly. "He used up all of his magic anyway. He can't hurt you if you stand back, and I don't care if he hurts me."

  "What about your daughter?" Blue asked, approaching the grieving group.

  Sophie sniffled, but stopped shaking. She looked up, distraught. "What will I tell Ella?" she asked. "How can I..."

  Melody and Alex extracted Warner from her grasp and pulled her away from him. Melody silently thanked Blue for distracting her.

  "What will we do?" Layla whispered.

  Melody shrugged helplessly and wiped the tears from her face. She had no idea what would happen next. She looked over at Truss. He had seemed statue-like before, but his arm was quivering. Melody hoped against hope that that didn't mean anything bad.

  "We should move Warner somewhere else," Alex suggested.

  Before Melody could say otherwise, the knight began to lift Warner up by the underarms. As he did, he accidentally kicked Warner's pack, which was lying nearby. The green sphere rolled out and across the floor, towards Melody. She stared at it for a long moment before picking it up. She started to feel an irrepressible rage toward the object. Fresh tears—angry tears—began to fall.

  Everything has fallen apart, she thought. The little pieces of my life were coming back together. I suppose I wasn't meant to have happiness. I suppose it's my fault that everything went wrong. I helped Truss and caused all this.

  She continued to glare at the sphere, directing all of her hatred toward it.

  "What is that?" Blue asked.

  I hate this, Melody thought. I hate myself. We would never have needed this if I'd never cast that spell.

  "It's a magic object that destroys things," Alex explained in a low voice, still holding Warner's arms. "Mason was in the building when that sphere destroyed it."

  Lane would never have gone near this if it weren't for me.

  Melody poured all her fury at herself into despising the sphere. Her hands trembled as she held it. It seemed to twinkle at her, mocking her. She cried out, enraged, and threw it with all her might. It soared past Truss and smashed against the wall.

  She didn't have time to see how the pieces scattered, because Truss was no longer frozen in place. He looked over his shoulder at the broken sphere and then back at Melody, eyebrows raised. Alex dropped Warner and he and Blue drew their swords. Melody wasn't sure if they would be any help. She felt no magic energy from Truss, but it seemed likely that he would have some sort of defense planned.

  "Damn brat," Truss grumbled, turning his attention to Warner's still form. "I used up the rest of my magic and he countered it."

  Alex backed away as Truss approached Warner's body. Melody couldn't blame him for being afraid. However, she felt her anger flare up even more as Truss kicked her brother in the side. Sophie pushed past Alex to get to Warner again. Melody marched toward Truss, prepared to fight with everything she had. Then she saw a strange sight down the hall.

  There was a bright green glow. She looked closer to see it was coming from where the shattered sphere was lying. The light was growing, or, that's what it looked like at first. Everyone else seemed to notice too. Truss turned around and began to move towards it.

  "That cannot be…" he mumbled. "The sphere?" He looked to Melody. "Is that what you threw?"

  She didn't respond, watching as the glow started to form into a shape. It seemed to gain the texture of wood as it grew larger and larger, mystifying everyone as it took on the form of a ship. The bow of the ship pressed against the wall and began to crack. It didn't stop growing until it broke through the castle wall and reached its
full size. Large chunks of stone tumbled and crashed to the floor of the hall. Melody backed away, but she saw Truss was still approaching the spectacle.

  The ship stopped glowing and was growing no larger, but it started to skid across the floor towards them. The castle walls crumbled further. Another light came from behind it. Something else was starting to grow out of the sphere. Melody saw bricks, which she found very strange.

  The ship was breaking apart as an entire building pressed against it. The wood seemed sturdy, though the ship looked very old. The bricks were stronger, breaking through the ship and sending giant splinters everywhere. Melody crouched and covered her head with her arms.

  When everything finally stopped moving, she looked up to see a sight that she wasn't expecting. Amidst the broken ship and stone walls was a castle-like, brick building. Melody had been sure she would never see the building again. Out of that dreadful sphere, had come the Magics Society's house, fully intact.

  Forty Eight

  Still Living and Breathing

  Lane was in an incredible amount of pain. He felt like he had been torn to shreds and then put back together. The pain outweighed his confusion, which said a lot. He doubled over on the floor, coughing and trying to get his breathing to return to normal. The elderly man he had been helping, Noah, seemed to be in a similar situation.

  "I thought we were done for," Noah gasped.

  Lane laughed in relief. "I think we were," he said, standing up and looking around. "I saw this place collapsing around us."

  "What caused that?" Noah asked, starting to get to his feet.

  Lane helped him up as he explained. "Some sort of sphere, I think," he said. "Munday said it would collapse the house and everything in it."

  "Collapse? Not destroy?" Noah inquired. "I thought you said it would destroy us."

  Lane shrugged. "It means the same, does it not?"

  "It does not." Noah shook his head. "What you described might be an old version of a storing device."

  "Storing?"

  "Newer versions are far better. Won't close on humans for one thing," Noah continued. "The old one is a bit unstable, especially if you're not a sorcerer, so we put it in the closet for safety."

  "Then, it was never going to kill us?" Lane asked, eyes widening.

  "I don't believe Warner quite understood what the sphere was for," Noah said with a chuckle.

  "So, are we inside of the sphere now?" Lane ran to the window and looked out. "I noticed the lighting changed. There's a ship and some castle ruins out there. Is this all inside the sphere?"

  Noah shrugged. "It may be more likely that we were brought out of the sphere," he said. "From what I have read, humans aren't conscious if they're still inside."

  "We should leave," Lane said. "The sphere may collapse the building again. We don't want to be in here when that happens."

  Once outside, it took a moment for Lane to recognize Coriander Castle. Huge chunks of the walls had fallen and dust coated the ground. The large, wooden ship seemed to be in poor shape as well. It was a very old model and must have been inside the sphere for a long time.

  "I wonder how long we were in there," Lane said.

  Noah shrugged. "It could be a few moments. It could be years."

  "The castle is in ruins." Lane began to feel nervous. "What happened?"

  "Someone is here," Noah said, pointing through a gap in the ship next to them.

  Lane hurried to look through the cracked hull and saw several people. A few were lying on the ground and he knew he should care who they were and if they were alive. But he looked past them and all the others when he saw Melody. She was staring up at the Magics Society building in amazement. Without a second thought, he ran to her.

  "Mason?" He heard Alex's bewildered voice, but paid no attention.

  Melody looked down from the building and her eyes widened. She covered her face and fell to her knees, shaking her head. Lane knelt beside her and pulled her into his arms. She was trembling and sobbing into his chest as he held her.

  "It's all right," he murmured into her hair. Suddenly, she shoved him away. "Melody?"

  She drew back her arm and slapped him across the face.

  "How dare you!" she demanded. "You lied to me!"

  He couldn't blame her for being upset, but he wished she hadn't hit him so hard. His cheek stung and he was sure there would be a mark. She held one hand in the other. He reached for her hand to make sure she was all right, but she yanked it away. She went to slap him again, but he took hold of her arm to stop her. She sucked in air through her teeth and he released her wrist, realizing it was broken.

  "What happened to your hand?"

  "How could you do that to me?" she asked, her voice steadier in her anger.

  "It wasn't on purpose," he defended. "I thought I would return in time. How could I have known that magician had a bad leg?"

  "A magician?" Alex asked.

  "He was in the building," Lane said, glancing over his shoulder. "He knows Munday. Where—"

  Lane looked around and finally made note of the bodies on the ground. His heart stopped when he recognized Joseph and Robert, and then James, who was much closer. Then he saw Warner, lying still on the ground. Sophie knelt over him, tears trailing down her cheeks.

  "He—" Her voice broke. "The spell..."

  She didn't seem to be able to finish the thought. Lane looked back to Melody, but she just hung her head and shut her eyes tight.

  "He performed some sort of spell, sir," Blue offered when no one else would speak. "Something that stopped the old man from destroying everything. Then he died."

  "He's dead?" Lane asked, finding it hard to believe. Sophie doubled over in renewed sobs. Lane looked around at the others, hoping for one of them to contradict him. When no one did, he walked over to check for himself, but found no pulse, no breath—no signs of life at all. He still didn't believe it. He shook Warner. "Munday," he said. "Get up." Warner didn't stir, so Lane shook him again. "Munday... Come on... This is ridiculous... Warner!" He shook him again, but got no response. He got to his feet and ran his hands through his hair. He paced back and forth, trying to think rationally. It occurred to him that, if Warner really was dead, they would soon be in danger. "What about the other one?" he asked.

  "He should wake up soon," Sophie said quietly, brushing the hair out of Warner's face.

  Lane got to his feet. "Then why do you still sit beside him?"

  "I don't know," Sophie said. "I can't bear to leave him."

  Lane sighed and pulled her to her feet. She was crying again as he led her away from Warner's body. It would take a long time to recover from the loss.

  "Where did Truss go?" Alex asked, looking around.

  "Who is Truss?" Lane asked.

  "Barry's sorcerer magic," Melody said sullenly. "Something along those lines, at least."

  "Where did he go?" Blue asked worriedly.

  "He got caught under the ship," Alex said, pointing.

  "Do you think he's dead?" Layla asked, voice shaking. Lane took note of James' still form again. Things had not gone well.

  "I find it unlikely," Melody said. "But he can't have gone far without magic energy left to help him."

  "He has no magic energy?" Lane asked.

  Melody shook her head. "He used it all on the spell."

  Lane drew his sword. "Then he should be easy to kill." He gestured for the others to follow, and Alex and Blue fell in step behind him. He glanced back and saw that the women had not moved. "We all must stay together," he said. Sophie began to protest, looking down at Warner, but Lane cut her off. "I'm not giving you the option, Princess."

  "Come now," Melody said, taking Sophie's arm. "We must hurry before Truss gains energy back."

  "And before Warner wakes up," Blue pointed out.

  Sophie kept her eyes on Warner as Melody pulled her toward the ship and gestured for Layla to follow. The men began shifting chunks of broken wood out of the way, searching for any sign of Barry—
or Truss, Lane supposed.

  "Captain," Alex said, voice low. "What will we do about Warner?" He glanced at Sophie and lowered his voice even more. "Should we kill him?"

  "No!" Sophie said. "No, you can't."

  "Sophie—" Melody started.

  "He let Warner do the spell," she said. "He let him save us."

  "He was saving himself too," Blue pointed out.

  "But still," she said. "What if… Maybe…"

  "He didn't kill anyone last time," Alex said with a shrug.

  Lane's eyebrows pulled together. "What 'last time'?"

  "I left them," Melody said. He looked to her, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. "When I thought you were dead, I left." She used magic to move pieces of the destroyed ship, still not looking at Lane. "In order to get to the castle, Warner had to let his sorcerer magic take control."

  "That sounds unnecessarily dangerous," Lane grumbled, shoving a board out of his way.

  She glared at him. "Well, perhaps you shouldn't have made me think you were dead."

  "I—That isn't my fault!" he protested.

  "It sure seems like it is," Alex disagreed. Lane narrowed his eyes at the knight, who looked a little uneasy as he added, "Uh... sir."

  There was silence for a moment as they searched through the wreckage. From the other side of the ship came a loud yell and a crashing sound. Lane could see a light flash through the cracks in the wood.

  "Ah, the magician!" Lane hurried back through the broken hull, followed by the others. "I shouldn't have left him."

  As the Magics Society building came into view again, Lane saw Noah lying on the ground. Barry—or Truss—stood over him, bleeding and bruised. He glanced over, fury in his eyes, and Lane drew his sword. He took a single step toward Truss before he was knocked backwards. He crashed into the ship and felt the wood give way as it was affected by the same force. He saw Alex and Blue go straight through the crack in the hull as the ship began to crumble to dust. Melody, Sophie, and Layla flew past the broken castle walls and out of sight.