The girl with the closed eyes turns toward the group. “We are desperate. I know you will accept our plea. I welcome you all as our defenders.” The girl in white looks to Mikal. “I've tried to explain to this girl whose body I appropriated that when I leave she will become confused and perhaps frightened. When this is finished, please have someone escort her back to the school. She is cold. Thank her. She's been very accommodating. Hurry please. I will now return to the protection of my hideaway.”
The vessel of the spirit slumps in the chair and her head slowly lowers to the table. Suddenly, she sits up, her eyes wide open, and she frantically looks about. She recognizes Mikal. “I am sorry. I thought I was dreaming. I should not be here! Help me. I am very cold and confused.”
Mikal asks for a blanket and wraps it around the trembling girl. “Well, Ashling, it looks like we meet again. I am afraid I cannot stay, but I will get someone to escort you back to the school.”
Aden interrupts, “You do not mean to go out this night do you?”
The White Wizard answers, “Our help has been requested. How can I refuse?”
The Red Wizard responds, “That’s easy. Simply ignore the brat.”
Mikal shakes his head. “This girl did not ask for help but, if she did, I would do everything in my power to comply with her wishes. No, another has requested our aid, and it is very important that we honor her desperate wish. Why do you worry, Aden? You need not participate.”
The dwarf steps forward. “Isle goe.”
Mikal and Talon look to the maimed dwarf. “Ike ann fite. Eye em stron gurr then nall ov yew, eve vin with won narm.”
The White Wizard is surprised by the offer. “Your assistance is welcomed and appreciated. We must leave immediately. Talon, would you show us the way?”
The half-elf nods. The night innkeeper appears at the door. Mikal says, “My good man, I need someone to take this young lady back to the School of the Red Salamander. I will pay good coin.”
The young man smiles. “Where did she come from? It's late and no one else is awake. I will personally show her the way.”
“Very good. May I make another request? Have you an axe that we can borrow?”
“Certainly,” the innkeeper’s son responds. “It’s out back next to the pile of wood. It's double-bladed and I sharpened it just this morning.”
Aden addresses the group. “You are fools, but I will not be left behind. With me along your chances of success have greatly improved. You will need my fire.”
Chapter 16
Talon informs Mikal, “Since we are in a hurry, I’ll try to find the hidden door that we entered the last time we were here.”
Mikal agrees. “But I do fear we may run into difficulty trying to pass through.”
The group follows Talon and his cat Tamarix. They make very good time. Mikal uses Majam’s senses, and, next to him is Aden, followed by Kairn carrying a double-bladed axe. After many twists and turns down long streets and back alleys they come to a small clearing. There stand two night guards brandishing long, sharp spears. Mikal steps forward with his magical, wooden staff in his right hand. One of the sentries lowers his weapon.
“Halt! Identify yourselves and state your purpose.”
“I am Mikal Novastar and these are my associates. We are on a mission to assist the city.”
The night watchman stares at Mikal. “I don't know. You look different, wizard. What has happened to your eyes?”
The other guard walks up to Talon. “Hey, you’re that young archer who placed in our contest last month. I made ten coins off you. Well done.” He pauses. “For the good of the city, you say? I think we can let them pass.”
The other guard begrudgingly opens the hidden door. The would-be rescuers step through the stone portal and find themselves on the outside of the thick, stone wall.
“That went better than I thought,” comments Mikal.
Talon orients himself. “This way. Follow me.”
They move quickly but cautiously. The group becomes silent, listening to the sounds of the night. The two cats are in their element and nothing can surprise them. The half-elf slows, turns, and whispers, “We are getting close to the hidden grotto.”
Aden is about to say something but Talon holds up his hand and silences him. He points to the two cats. Both are sitting, staring at two strange-looking fireflies. Their lights blink at the same rate. The two are soon join by many, all flickering in unison.
“These must be our guides,” observes Talon.
The fireflies start to slowly move off as the group follows. Every so often the glowing insects surround large old trees. It is as if they are somehow embracing the ancient wooden sentinels. In the distance, Talon can see the outline of a large hill. A good place for a cave, he thinks. Both cats stop suddenly and look to the right in unison. Their tails point straight up and their backs arch high.
“The cats! Something Wicca this way comes, and that is not good.”
The fireflies scatter and are gone in an instant. The four unlikely travelers wait. A dirty, dusty, dark, feathery cloud, ever so slowly spinning, approaches the group. The White Wizard instantly places the tip of his Staff of Light on the ground and traces a circle.
“Everyone stay in the protective sphere. I will allow nothing to harm us.”
“Not even me?” comes a high-pitched, grating voice. The misty, dirty cloud coalesces into a female form. She is tall and thin. Her head and shoulders are covered in raven-colored hair with motley, dark feathers. Her skin is like alabaster, unnaturally smooth and white. Her eyes are dark and set deep. Her dress is made up of many different hues of black feathers. It appears that some grow out of her. The Red Wizard’s iron staff flares defensively and he points.
“That is a Witchraven.”
“What do we have here? A Red Wizard?”
Suddenly a glamour appears over the beguiling fowl. She strikes a seductive pose and becomes beautifully dangerous. “I’ll wager I can make you hotter than you could ever imagine.”
Aden unleashes a thin, crimson flame directly at the Witchraven. With a deft gesture, she deflects the fire harmlessly away.
“Best save your flame for later…you will need it.”
Gradually she sidesteps to the left. Her image fades back to the feathery, alabaster female form. “Oh, look, a dwarf,” she sneers mockingly. “You seem out of balance. I can help you with that. What happened to your arm? Did you lose it?”
She laughs hideously. A deep, guttural sound slowly escapes from Kairn. Deceptively, she continues to move to her left. “I see a young half-human. Why, you look absolutely scrumptious, I could just eat you up.” Again foul laughter fills the night air. “And I just might.”
Abruptly she stops. “So you are a White Wizard. I’ve heard there are only a few of you left. I would be careful sticking your staff into affairs about which you know little.”
Mikal looks sternly at the feathery, female creature. “Then educate me. What is this is all about?”
The ungainly fowl screeches, “I am here to plant discord. But before I let my minions have their way, I must dispense with these two irritating, screeching, flea-infested felines.”
Without hesitation, two ebony bolts burst forth from the witch’s hands and streak toward the two magnificent animals. Instantly, Mikal raises his staff and the glowing sphere easily absorbs the deadly bolts.
“Curse you, wizard!” Furious, the deadly female raises her arms and morphs into a large, raven-like creature and takes flight. For an instant, all is dark and quiet. Mikal’s eyes narrow and dart around the woods, as if they had sight. Talon’s Elven ear twitches and Aden grips his heated, iron weapon and the dwarf wields his double-bladed axe.
Mikal cautions the Red Wizard, “I will not tolerate wanton destruction, no unnecessarily dangerous feats of fire.”
Aden responds, “As you wish, Master, but I will not be denied my amusement.”
With practiced words and gestures, ever so slowly at first, th
e Red Wizard evokes a thin, fiery line from the tip of his magical, iron staff. The orange, searing column continues to grow. Amazingly, every so often, red, sizzling barbs appear. The fire whip grows to almost eight feet in length. The Red Wizard holds it above his head and produces a blazing, deafening crack, leaving wisps of flame dancing in the air.
“Let come what may, for I am ready.”
Talon strings his enchanted bow that the dragon Em-Le had given him. He readies an arrow and peers deeply into the night. The dwarf brandishes his axe defiantly.
Mikal explains, “As long as I maintain my concentration, the sphere should protect us. I will only allow things to pass from it.”
Tamarix is the first to sense the incoming horde. He meows loudly and points with his nose the direction of the invasion. Talon can make out a large pack of shadowy wolves coming from the northwest. He readies his bow, which starts to glow blue, and lets his arrows fly. Unnatural squeals fill the air but the pack does not slow. From the east, a sizable number of wererats appear. Aden turns, lashes out with his flame whip, and scores a hit, tearing flesh and muscle from a creature’s leg. A screeching howl escapes from the injured beast, and it backs away. Majam sits in front of her mage, her senses extend everywhere. Mikal is aware of all the attacks on his protective sphere, that glows white and blue. Finally, the pack of wolves slows their attack, their numbers greatly reduced. Talon continues to unleash his deadly assault, but it takes two to three strikes to fell one ravenous wolf. Dark birds crash into the protective bubble, producing eerie and unnerving, crunching sounds.
From the west, the dwarf spots a pack of grotesque figures lumbering toward the circle. A soldier, who should still be buried, carries an old, broken, rusted sword and is leading this foul pack. Without thinking, the dwarf hurls his axe. It lands squarely into warrior’s head, knocking him down. Now finding himself weaponless, Kairn leaves the protective circle to retrieve his only weapon. It is not far, but before he can wrench the axe free, another undead grabs him around his shoulders. Kairn begins to panic, but with unnatural strength he starts pummeling his assailant in the head and mouth. Teeth start to fly, the skull caves in, and the undead thing mercifully collapses. Before Kairn can retrieve his axe, he hears a subtle, dangerous sound. He turns and is taken aback by an unnaturally huge, golden viper, its sinewy tongue darting in and out between two outsized, scaly lips. The serpent bares its fangs, ready to strike. A flash of fur comes between the dwarf and the summoned reptile. Tamarix hisses and moves his tail back and forth. He commands the attention of the golden viper. It strikes, but the cat evades the deadly attack. Again the feline hisses and raises his front claws. For a second time, the venomous serpent strikes and misses. From the right, a double-bladed axe strikes and severs the golden head from the snake’s writhing body. The dwarf thanks the cat and they both scurry back into the protective sphere.
In a stern voice Mikal demands, “Stay in the circle! You make it difficult when you leave and return.”
Aden retorts, “What do you expect? He's a stupid dwarf.”
The Red Wizard snaps his flame whip again and this time it entangles a grinning wererat. Aden smiles as the fire barbs sear into the filthy creature’s flesh. Suddenly, the flame erupts and instantly the scorched rat crumbles to ash.
“Did you see that? Now I'm having fun and it is for a good cause, to boot!” He laughs. Another wererat starts to claw at the protective shield.
Talon quietly declares, “I am running low on arrows. I had no idea we would be facing so many.”
Unnervingly, the entire protective shield shudders for a moment. A large dire wolf slams into Mikal's protective ward. Again, from above, foul birds crash into the shield. From the west, more undead approach and pound on the white and blue bubble. Every time the dwarf impales his axe into one of undead, and it falls, another takes its place. Somehow, red-eyed rats have dug their way under the shield. Talon’s Elven cat and the dwarf make short work of them.
The White Wizard feels the pressure of the attacks on all sides. The Red Wizard yells, “You know, Mikal, I have a powerful, dangerous spell that could take out most of these disgusting creatures.”
“And probably burn down half the forest,” Mikal mutters.
“Probably,” Aden smiles.
“We must hold,” Mikal demands.
The two cats turn as Talon looks southward. “Riders. At least two score approach.”
The group turns, and are astounded by the sight of two ghostly giants surrounded in a preternatural, bluish light. They are running right toward the group.
Moments later, the two eerie giants disappear. Talon looks deep into the night. “It's the night watch and they will be here soon.”
Mikal orders, “I have an idea. Everyone face me and tightly close your eyes.”
The White Wizard holds his staff high as their surrounding shield dissipates. Then a clean, blinding white light flares. Their enemies are temporarily blinded and disoriented. Before the group can act, the Baron and his son ride up, leading the rest of the night watch.
“I do not know what happened. We were chasing those ghostly giants and they seem to have purposefully led us here.”
Mikal nods his head. “Do not concern yourself with the giants.”
The Baron agrees and raises his sword. “There is still work to be done this night. You've set them on the run, now we will ride them down and finish them.” He continues dramatically, “Onward, men!” The dwarf chases down slow moving undead and hacks at them.
Aden announces gleefully, “I'm going to see if I can find any more wererats. They burn so well.”
Talon asks, “Mikal, are you all right?”
The mage nods his head and leans on his staff. “I am fine…a little weary is all.” Talon accepts this. “I'm going to try to retrieve some of my arrows.”
Mikal bends to one knee. Majam comes closer and stares at him. “I am unharmed, really,” and he starts to gently pet his cat. Unexpectedly, Majam perks up and looks sharply to her left. The night becomes very still. Mikal enters her mind but sees nothing out of the ordinary, hears nothing threatening. He does smell an odor like dusty, old feathers. The White Wizard breaks contact with his cat and looks in the direction that Majam's nose is pointing. The whites of his eyes start to swirl. Mikal can make out a shadowy, spinning form coming his way.
Mikal cannot hear its approach. I fear no one will sense her presence. The White Wizard can see beyond her shadowy, concealing shield. The Witchraven stops and creates a mental link with Mikal.
“It's just you and me, wizard…mind and magic. Now let's see who will prevail.” She hurls a powerful, dark green bolt of energy at the White Wizard. Mikal raises an invisible, mystic shield and deflects the assault with some difficulty.
“You look tired, mage. Worry not. This will be over soon.”
A thick, black bolt races toward the White Wizard. With his staff he intercepts it, but the force of the blow knocks him back a step. He returns a solid white light that his opponent seems to absorb. She shudders for a moment. With great anger, she launches her third attempt. An acidic, thin, green line squirts toward Mikal. His defense seems strong but when the putrid green hits, it splits and attempts to ensnarl the White Wizard. For a moment the mage feels trapped. Somehow, ever so slightly, he expands his white light defense and it snaps the encircling, green energy, releasing him. Mikal is forced to admit that he is getting weary. The Witchraven also senses that her opponent is weakening. She starts to gather her strongest spell but before she can fully prepare it, she hears a terrifying sound. Too late, she sees a large, black cat leaping and landing, clawing and biting at her chest. An instant later, a second cat jumps on her and starts to claw at her side. The White Wizard seizes this opening and, with the last of his fading strength, lets fly a pulsating, solid, white light spear. It penetrates the relentless creature’s chest and instantly explodes into a blinding brilliance. The foul thing heavily falls to the ground. The two cats are thrown free.
> Warily, Mikal approaches his downed opponent. Joining him are the two cats, Talon, Aden, and Kairn. The Wizard is about to prod his prey with his staff when a dusky-hued flock of scavenger birds descend upon the group, causing much confusion.
Unbelievably, the wicked thing sits up, opens her indecent mouth, and expels a green slime that strikes Mikal on his face. Some of the filthy, thick fluid spatters into his nose and mouth, causing him to cough profusely. He tastes her sting.
“Curse you, White Wizard,” but before she can finish her laugh, Talon's arrow and Aden's solid fire shaft deliver a dual, killing blow. The birds quickly scatter, producing a irritating squawking. The dwarf inspects Mikal’s face.
“Thiziz knot gould. U’ve ben curst bye a dine wich.”
Chapter 17
Mikal leans heavily on his staff. “I do not think I am injured. I feel more strange than anything.”
The two cats perk up and look to the east. Talon asks, “Did anyone hear that?” Aden responds, “I heard nothing.”
The White Wizard turns to the east. His white eyes begin to focus. Not far away, appears a young duchess and a handsome satyr from long ago. They are flanked by two giants and all are outlined in a shimmering, vivid gold line. The beautiful noble girl approaches.
“We thank you.” All four of the apparitions bow. The dark-haired satyr lifts his woodland pipes and plays a few haunting notes. As mysteriously as they appeared, they vanish.
Talon again asks, “Surely you heard that?”
Aden shakes his head. “It was only the wind. Are you hearing things, elf?” He looks around at the carnage strewn everywhere. “I wonder what the young girl in our room thinks now that we’ve done what she asked of us.”
Mikal answers, “She is quite satisfied, and she thanks you all.”
The Warrior and the Wandering Wizard (The Way of the Wandering Wizard Series Book 2) Page 9
