by Halle Dean
As soon as the dust settled, Lane was on his feet, running to see where they had fallen. Before he could reach that side of the hall, a shadowy figure appeared in front of him. He would have sliced straight through it and gone past, but it took on the appearance of Warner. Lane hesitated and glanced at the real Warner, still on the ground, covered in the dust of the decimated ship. Other shadow figures had appeared around the hall as Alex and Blue got to their feet. They were all familiar; James, Robert, Joseph, Noah, Blue, Melody, Layla, Alex, and Sophie were all there. Lane even saw one of himself.
"I suppose I am not very creative," Truss said with a shrug. "These will have to do."
"I thought he had no magic left," Alex said. "How did he do this?"
Lane glanced over at Noah, who was not moving. Truss was standing beside him, looking winded, but pleased. Lane didn't know a great deal about magic, but he wondered if Truss could have stolen Noah's energy. The shadowy figures converged, forcing Lane, Alex, and Blue to back towards each other. All the shadows looked angry and carried swords. It struck Lane as odd to see the princess of Coriander coming after him with a longsword.
"What are these?" Alex asked. "Why do they look the same as us?"
"It's only a trick," Lane said. "They're not real."
"Would you cut them down?" Truss asked with a smirk. "These shadows represent the life force of each of you."
"Damn," Lane murmured as the shadows came upon the knights. "We must take great caution."
The shadows seemed skilled in sword fighting, regardless of who they imitated. It was difficult to hold them off, even for Lane. He hoped the women had somehow survived and were making their way back up. Perhaps Melody or Sophie would know a spell to get rid of the shadows without killing them. He supposed they must be alive if there were shadows of them.
That must have meant that Robert, Joseph, and James were alive as well. Warner's shadow must have been for the other version of him. Lane contemplated trying to kill that one, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Perhaps Warner had survived. Or perhaps Sophie had been right about other Warner. Alex and Blue were obviously wearing down. Lane tried to think of a way to help.
"What should we do, Captain?" Blue asked. "We can't kill them. We can't make them leave. We can't even run; they're surrounding us too tightly."
"I'm thinking," Lane said, worried that they would die very soon. "We need some sort of magic."
"We don't have any magic, Captain," Alex pointed out.
"I know that," Lane snapped. "We must hold out long enough for Melody or the princess to return."
The shadow Melody swung at him and he blocked her attack, doing his best not to hit her on accident. She attacked again, causing strange sparks to fly at the meeting point of steel and shadow. Once more, she went to swing, but stopped short as a sword came through her middle. Lane watched in horror as Warner—the real Warner—pulled the sword from her back and she slumped to the ground.
"These ones are much easier to kill," Warner remarked, turning to the other shadows.
Lane's anger had never bubbled up so quickly in his life. He lunged at Warner, seeming to take him completely by surprise. Warner still managed to block the attack, which irritated Lane beyond belief. He sliced and stabbed, again and again, causing Warner to back up quite a bit. The shadows had become distracted from the knights, and were instead pursuing Warner.
"You son of a bitch," Lane growled, infuriated by the lack of damage he had done to Warner.
"Mason!" Warner said. "You're alive?"
"You killed her!" Lane shouted.
"It wasn't her!" Warner argued. He was entirely surrounded by shadows and Lane didn't feel one bit sorry for him. He did, however, start to panic when he realized that Warner wasn't going to hold back from killing them all. "They're not real," Warner said.
"They're connected to the real thing!" Alex protested.
Warner sliced through James and Layla in one swipe. "They're not," he said. "There's no such magic."
Lane scoffed. "As if you would tell us the truth."
"What are you—" Warner began. "Oh, of course." He swung the sword in a circle around himself, clearing the entire rest of the shadow group. Lane flinched, but didn't feel any pain as his doppelganger hit the ground. Warner and the other knights were still standing as well. "You have the wrong idea," Warner said as he turned to face Lane.
"We're alive!" Blue cheered.
"I suppose I should explain what—Hey!" Warner started to speak, but Lane marched forward and placed the tip of his sword at Warner's throat. "Mason, listen to me."
"Shut your mouth," Lane ordered through his teeth.
Warner sighed, but no one had the chance to speak again before another shock wave disrupted the room. Everyone was sent flying into the wall at the far end of the hall. Lane hit his head hard, but managed to stay conscious. Truss looked furious as he stomped toward them. Lane saw Warner wave his hand toward Truss out of the corner of his eye.
"Damn," Warner mumbled. He got up and looked around for a moment before picking up one of the swords lying on the ground. He looked a little worried, but didn't hesitate to walk straight up to Truss. "How do you have magic energy?" he demanded.
"I think it was from the magician," Lane offered, holding the back of his head. "Noah."
"Noah?" Warner repeated. "Is he against us now too?"
"No," Truss said, magically tossing Warner to the side like a ragdoll. "He is dead."
"Mason," Warner said, coughing. He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth and got to his feet. "I'm not sure how you are here, but, now that you are, you must kill him."
"What makes you think—"
"I don't care if you don't trust me," Warner said. "Do as I say."
Lane had tried to say that he couldn't do it if Warner couldn't, but Warner's expression was unyielding. Lane turned to Truss, who smirked, as though daring him to try. Lane thought of Melody. Knowing the shadows weren't linked to real people, he was no longer sure if she was alive. If she wasn't, it would be easy to make himself run directly into danger.
"What are you waiting for?" Truss asked. "Is there a reason left to live? Your woman is dead. And you've no obligation to the crown with the princess gone as well."
"What do you mean?" Warner asked, looking around. "Where are they?"
"They fell," Blue said, gesturing to the broken wall.
"Why do you care?" Truss asked, his head tilting to the side. "Do you not want them dead?"
"No, I don't!" Warner sounded exasperated and Lane wondered if he really was telling the truth.
"And the rest of us?" Alex asked apprehensively.
"The only one I want dead is Barry," Warner said. "Or Truss. Or whoever this is. So, you kill him." He looked directly at Lane. "Only you. Don't allow the others near him. I must find Sophie and Melody."
Why me? Lane protested internally. What is he thinking? Why is he not trying to kill us? Was Sophie right? Has he really changed? "I can't!" Lane insisted. "He'll kill me."
"He won't," Warner said, clapping Lane on the shoulder for a moment as he ran past him. "Trust me!" he called back.
"I don't care if he has changed," Lane grumbled, refocusing his attention on Truss. "I'll kill him for leaving me to do this."
Truss still seemed amused. Lane took a deep breath and, before he could think of a reason to stop himself, ran towards the elderly sorcerer. Unsurprisingly, he was thrown backwards once again. He got to his feet and continued trying to get to Truss. If he could get in close, he could easily win.
The only difficulty was getting past the magic. As long as all Truss did was toss him around, it would be easy to stay alive. The second a more lethal spell was thrown his way, he was done for. He had to be quick. He wasted no time, continually leaping at Truss and getting magically thrown back. Truss tired of the game quickly.
"I thought you would be more interesting to fight."
A dark sort of cloud formed, headed towards Lane, and he cou
ld feel heat emanating from it. He closed his eyes, waiting for some sort of impact. After a short moment, he opened his eyes in confusion.
"What happened?" Alex asked.
Truss looked even more bewildered than Lane felt. He cast another spell, but it dissolved just before reaching Lane. Three more spells went the same way. Lane stood still and watched, unsure of what was happening.
"How are you doing that?" Truss demanded.
"I don't know," Lane admitted. "Oh!" He recalled Warner and James arguing about a protection spell being placed on him. He wondered if it was still in effect. "That's what he meant."
"What did he do?" Truss asked, fear tinting his voice.
"Even after dying, he still managed to save the day," Lane said with a wry smile. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to live up to him." He collected himself and faced Truss, once again. "But I'll do what I can. And I'll start by killing you."
Forty Nine
Magic Suppression
Sophie's head hurt from the amount of magic she had used all at once. She had panicked and overdone it, but at least they were alive. It took several minutes for them to fall through the thick air, but she dared not dispel it before they landed. She could only hope that the men had survived as well. They were nowhere to be seen, so she assumed they were still inside. If Truss had magic energy, the knights would need more than swords to defeat him.
"This is not good," Melody said, her voice distorted through the thick air. "Truss sapped magic energy from that other man."
"What?" Layla asked worriedly. "Does that mean he can do that spell again?"
"There wasn't enough for that," she said. "He won't even be able to do very many powerful spells before running out."
"But he can still kill the others with ease," Sophie pointed out. "We must return and help."
"What did you do to us to make us float?" Layla inquired. "Can you bring us back up?"
Sophie shook her head, hindered slightly by the spell. "Even if I could, I've nearly run out of magic energy."
"So have I," Melody grumbled. "I don't know how much help we'll be."
Everyone's feet touched the ground in the courtyard and Sophie waved her hand to dispel the thick air. "We still must go back," she said, looking up towards the broken castle wall. "Warner will wake any moment."
"I already have."
Everyone jumped in surprise and turned to see Warner in the archway. Sophie felt her heart skip a beat when she locked eyes with him. She started forward, but Melody and Layla held her back.
"Sophie, no!" Melody exclaimed.
"It's all right!" Warner held his hands up in surrender. "I won't hurt you."
"As if we'd believe you," Melody scoffed.
Warner rolled his eyes. "I've changed my mind," he said. "You and Mason are perfect for each other. He's alive, by the way."
"Are they all still alive up there?" Sophie asked, trying to extract herself from Melody's firm grip on her arm.
"Battered and bruised, but they'll live," Warner said. "And Mason has the protection spell that I cast on him, so—"
"You mean that Warner cast on him," Melody corrected icily.
"I am Warner," he sighed.
"The original Warner."
"Yes," he said. "That's me."
Sophie had shed so many tears that the novelty had long worn off, but that didn't stop her from shedding more. She yanked herself away from Melody and Warner collected her into his arms as she cried.
"How can that be?" Melody asked, still suspicious. "How do we know you aren't lying?"
Sophie was convinced as soon as his arms were around her. She sobbed against his chest and curled her fingers into the front of his shirt. He seemed a bit confused, but she was used to that.
"I was going to use the Shining Armor spell," he explained. "But other Warner wouldn't let me. I had thought he was siding against us but..." Warner stroked Sophie's hair. "He did it himself."
"But, why?" Melody asked.
Sophie felt just as confused, pulling away to look at Warner. He brushed his thumb across her cheek.
"For Sophie," he said with a bleak smile. "He knew you would would be upset if I used my own life force."
"But, you were speaking to me after you collapsed," Sophie said, pulling away from him. "You told me that you loved me."
"That was him," Warner said, holding onto her hands before she could get any further away. "I suppose you couldn't tell the difference."
"Well, I was emotional!" Sophie defended. "And you are identical, occupying the same body. Along with that, he wasn't acting as he normally does." She could still feel the bruising on her shoulder. "Last time he was in control, I was certain he would kill me."
"He realized, at some point, that he couldn't do that," Warner said. "He was trying so hard to justify himself, but, in the end, he could not."
"It's really you, then?" Melody asked, stepping closer. He smiled at her and she hugged him. "I thought I'd lost you."
"The day isn't yet over," he shrugged. Melody stepped back and scowled.
"That's not funny," Sophie said, glowering at him.
He scratched the back of his head and grinned apologetically. "Sorry," he said. "I suppose not." He looked as if he suddenly remembered something and turned to Melody. "Did you know that Mason is alive?" he asked.
"Yes," Melody said. "I smashed the orb against the wall and the whole building came out."
"Hmm," Warner said. "Perhaps we shouldn't have been so careful to not break it all this time."
"Where is he now?" Sophie asked. "And where are the other knights? Why are they not with you?"
"I left Mason to kill Truss so I could find you," he explained. He sounded so casual, but Sophie couldn't believe that he would do such a thing.
"Why?" Melody exclaimed. "He'll be killed!"
"He has the protection spell," Warner said.
"It hasn't gone away by now?" Sophie asked.
"It won't unless I remove it," Warner said. "Or die, I suppose."
"I'd rather you not do that, then."
Everyone looked to see Mason, Alex, and Blue walking out of the castle, looking worse for the wear. Warner ran to meet the knights, placing his hand on Mason's shoulder. Mason looked apprehensive at first, but then seemed to accept that Warner was not going to attack.
"Are you all right?" Warner asked.
"Yes…" Mason glanced at the women as they joined the group. Then he looked back to Warner, narrowing his eyes. "Are you our friend now?"
Warner sighed. "It's me," he said. "Other Warner is gone."
Mason's eyes widened. He looked to Melody, who nodded and smiled. He looked back to Warner, staring at him for a moment before throwing his arms around him.
"I thought you were dead!"
Warner chuckled and patted Mason on the back. "I thought you were dead," he said. "So I guess we're even."
Mason stepped back, looking somber again. "I failed," he said. "Truss got away. He's badly injured, but I don't think it's fatal. He just vanished." Warner put his hands to his face and sighed. "I'm sorry, Munday," Mason continued, looking down. "I couldn't manage it, even with your help—"
"It's not your fault," Warner said. "I should have considered that he might use The Void when he realized you would be able to defeat him."
"I couldn't defeat him," Mason said. "I'm no use against magic. Even with the protection spell, I could barely get close. He simply tosses me about. And he can vanish when he tires of that."
Mason seemed discouraged and Sophie wished she could say something helpful. From Melody's expression, Sophie guessed that she was having a similar feeling. Warner simply took a deep breath and dropped his hands to his sides.
"You would have killed him if he hadn't vanished," Alex said. "Definitely."
"How can we stop him from doing that?" Blue asked.
Warner shook his head. "There's nothing to stop him," he said. "As long as he has the magic energy to do it, he can. It does take a good deal of e
nergy to use The Void—he likely needs to restore his a bit. But he'll be ready to fight again soon enough."
"What about magic suppression?" Melody asked.
"It will take some time for me to recover enough energy for that," Warner said.
"Edric had some objects that caused magic suppression," she said. "He couldn't always be around to keep up the spell on me, so he created things to do the job for him."
"Where are they?" Sophie asked. "In the lower dungeon?"
"I assume so," Melody shrugged. "I never saw them. He only told me about them to taunt me."
Sophie looked to Mason. "Do you know where they are?" she asked. "Being the knight captain, you should know such things, shouldn't you?"
"I wasn't even aware that she could do magic," Mason sighed. "He never mentioned that he had to suppress anything. If he had, I'd have gone to find them."
"I suppose we have a search on our hands then," Warner said.
"Can't you sense wherever they are, since they're magical?" Sophie asked.
"Not when my magic is suppressed," Melody said.
"I can't do it at all anymore," Warner said. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "I can't go through The Void either, for that matter," he went on. "It seems that I've lost the ability to do such things since other Warner is gone."
"How will we tell what is suppressing the magic?" Sophie asked.
"I'll know it when I see it," Melody said. "But we should hurry before Truss has a chance to heal."
"I'll stay here, I think," Layla said, causing everyone to look at her. She looked very tired and very sad. "I'm sorry. I don't think I'll be very helpful anyway."
Sophie sighed and took Layla's hand in her own. "I know it's hard," she said. "I know you feel like it would be easier to just lie down and cry, but we can't leave you here alone. It's not safe."
"I don't really care anymore," Layla said. "It doesn't matter what happens to me."
"Well, I think it does matter," Sophie said. "So you're staying with us."
* * *
Sophie felt surreal as she walked down the hall. She had been down the very same hall many times with younger versions of Warner, Mason, and Melody. After all that had happened, it was surprising that they were all back in the same place together. Every one of them had been assumed dead at some point. Melody wasn't even the same girl they had known back then.
