by Philip Blood
“I didn’t, I just picked up the chair which Myrka had been using, and hit him over the head with it. Then I tossed the Actuality knife into the corner, which freed us to use our powers.”
“You didn’t kill the guards, did you?” I asked.
“No,” Myrka said sourly.
Hydan explained, “I yelled out that you wanted them alive, so Myrka electrocuted them, I think, but only enough to render them unconscious.”
Myrka sniffed, “Those mundanes laid their hands on me; they deserved to die.”
I ignored her, and said, “OK, now we need a plan to get out of the city.”
But Toji said, “Before we go, remember I was coming to the Hall of Records to find out if there is a Nimue Sivaeral listed in the records, and where she dwells. If we can find her perhaps we can obtain Caliburn! That would give you some protection when we face Medrod, Morgain, and her necromages!”
I nodded, that was probably a good idea, so we went back to the genealogy room, and searched for a sorceress named Nimue. She was listed as a Third, daughter of Gunder Sivaeral and a mundane Sivaeral named Emalain. Then I asked Toji, “Well, you were right, so we know she is a Sivaeral Third, but is she still alive? What should we do next?”
“We could check family history,” he replied, and then Toji led us out of the genealogy section and back to the oval entry room to inquire about history books. I noticed our guard still there looking bored, so I figured no one had yet discovered the unconscious guards back in Myrka’s cell, or at least word had not reached here yet.
We followed Toji and he went to a shelf with a bunch of large tomes on it, and he selected one without pause. In moments, he opened the book, right to the page where the Nimue Sivaeral was mentioned.
“That ‘knowing you will find it where you think it is’ thing is really useful,” I noted.
Hydan looked at me strangely, “How did you learn to do that?”
“An ugly bird told me,” I noted.
Hydan raised a small eye fin and said, “A chicken told you? How extraordinary!”
Toji read for a moment, and then reached out to the page and touched it.
I leaned in closer to see what he touched and spotted a red pentagram symbol on the page. “What does that do?” I asked.
Toji stepped aside and said, “Close your eyes and then touch it,”
So I did, and it was like someone had opened a curtain on a stage in my mind, I was looking at a placid lake, in some tree covered hills of green. It was just like I was standing there; I could even feel a breeze and smell the evergreens. Then I opened my eyes and the image closed down again and I was back in the Hall of Records.
“Wow,” I stated.
Toji smiled, “This is an Image Mark, which only a mage can see if they touch the symbol another mage created.”
Hydan and Myrka also touched the symbol so we all had it for the future.
Toji closed and replaced the book on the shelf and then said, “OK, we know where to find Nimue, and we can Five Point travel there. Shall we go back to the storage room, and get out of this city?”
“What about Mystical Island?” I asked.
Hydan answered, “I have already been there, and I can get us close to the island on the coast, but no one can Five Point travel onto Mystical Island, Morgain has a massive StarWard running.”
I nodded, so off we went to the storage room, and Toji started forming a Traveling Star on the stone floor.
Just as he finished it, I heard the sound of guards calling out, and boots running. “They are onto us!” I said, and then Toji motioned for us to jump into the flaming star.
Chapter Eleven
I'm your Sword of Light tonight,
Going to scorch you deep inside,
Make you glad to be alive
Because I'm your Sword of Light
-Horslips
I stepped out of the spinning blur into the reality of the image I’d seen when I touched the pentagram in the book. We were standing on a large stone, near the sandy shore of a lake, which was glass smooth on the surface. The surrounding tree covered hills were perfectly mirrored on the glossy lake water. As soon as all of us were there, I said, “Where to?”
Toji answered, “The book only said Nimue Sivaeral dwells within the waters of this lake.”
I nodded and walked down to the edge of the lake and then called out, “Yo, Lake Lady!”
Hydan stepped up next to me and said, “Perhaps a more cordial greeting would be advisable.”
“I don’t do cordial very well,” I noted with a sniff.
“I hadn’t noticed,” he replied with a wink. Then Hydan called out, “Most esteemed Lady Nimue, we come in great need. The land is wounded with the scars of Civil War, and the rightful rulers of Abal are in dire need of assistance. A fell being from another world, whom we call the Island Witch, is corrupting the mages of this House, destroying the beauty of this world, and will not stop until Abal is no more. We come with a wizard of House Sivaeral in quest of Caliburn!”
A white shape glided up under the surface, and the water was so clear we could see that it was a saeran woman, wearing a white gown seemingly made of silver scales. When she stopped she was on her back, facing upwards, looking at us from underneath the shallow water.
Her lips did not move, but I could clearly hear her voice in my head. “I am Nimue. Whom so comes, and what is thine desire?”
I wanted to say something sarcastic, but Hydan anticipated me and nudged me with his elbow, so I rethought my response and said, “I come seeking to, ah, borrow your sword, Caliburn.”
“And why dost thou need the Sword of Kings?” her voice said in my head.
Some sarcastic part of me wanted to reply, ‘strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government’, in Michael Palin’s voice, but I restrained myself. What I did say is, “As Hydan said, I have an Island Bitch to slay.”
“Thou would oppose Morgain and Medrod?”
“You’re damned tootin,” I replied, thinking of the captured Ziny.
Then her voice said, “Let me gaze upon thee.”
I shrugged; I figured she was already looking at me, not to mention getting in my head, so what the hell?
Her face suddenly changed expression to one of puzzlement. “One of thine line has already wielded Caliburn in the past, dost thou not know thine heritage?”
“I only learned my father is Oberon today,” I replied. “I am going to stop by and surprise my pop right after this gig.”
“Thou dost speaketh strangely, yet thine words only cloak the great anger I feel inside of thee.”
“Honey, you have never seen me angry,” I retorted. “Besides, ‘thou’ saying I speak strangely is kind of calling the kettle black.”
She looked at me sternly, “And if I were to grant thee access to the sword, which is mine duty to guard, dost thou swear to return it to my care when thine task has been completed?”
“Of course, I just need to borrow your pig sticker long enough to poke an evil sorceress where the sun don’t shine,” I answered.
Toji spoke softly from behind me, “Master Justnick, perhaps a politer approach would benefit us? It is imperative that we obtain this sword.”
Hydan snickered, “Nicholas rubs most people the wrong way.”
I lifted my shoulders and turned my palms up as I replied, “It’s a gift.”
But my words didn’t seem to cause Nimue any angst, and suddenly she had a sword against her chest, hilt by her chin. Her hands grasped it by the top of the blade, just below the hilt. She lifted the blade and the hilt came out of the water. I had to wade out a bit to take it from her saeran hands.
As soon as I had the sword I gave it a quick once over, and just like the Actuality knife the Captain had used, this sword also had strange ruins cut slightly into the metal, running down both flat sides of the long sword. The blade was bright silver, and the grip black, with a hexagonal silver pommel.
“Bitch
in,” I said with a grin.
Nimue started to glide away under the water, but her voice came into my head one more time, “Remember thine oath.”
“Right, gotcha, kill the bitch and return the blade before my rental period is over,” I replied. “Is there a late fee?”
But she didn’t answer, and she was out of sight.
“With your rude behavior, I’m surprised she gifted you with such a precious relic,” Hydan noted.
I gave him a grin, “I think she was sweet on me. Girls always love the bad boys.”
Hydan sniffed and then chuckled. “That must be true. It is interesting how Oberon wielded Caliburn in the past, I wonder why your father gave the sword back to this Third?”
“You’ve got me; let’s go ask my dad,” I said, and then asked, “Do you have an image of Ouroboros?”
Hydan shook his head, “I’ve never been to Ouroboros.”
Toji hadn’t either, and this was Myrka’s first time on Abal.
Then Toji asked if he could see Caliburn, so I handed him the sword. He looked it over and took hold of the grip. I was a little uneasy when he held it ready for battle, but then he turned and held the blade, presenting the hilt to me so I could take back the sword.
Then I realized Nimue might have an image of Ouroboros, so I tried calling back Nimue, but she did not respond; the lake just seemed empty. The others went to make camp, and I stood at the side of the lake.
“Hey, sorceress in the pond! Yo, keeper of wet swords! Hello!” I called out for the fiftieth time. Then I muttered to myself, “Crap, I should have asked her when she was here! What was I thinking? I mean, who else am I going to ask?”
Then I had a thought, and immediately spoke out, “Hey, Pox, little ugly dude!”
Pox spoke from behind me, “You called, Master?”
I spun around, “There you are, you sneaky little snot. Can you give me one of those images of a place here called Ouroboros?”
He shook his head, his long nose moving back and forth swiftly. “I have no knowledge of that place.”
“You Prat! What good are you then?” I demanded.
Pox sniveled, “Perhaps I can bring someone to aid you, Master!”
I looked at him suspiciously, and then demanded, “Who?”
“Fiona Albus, she has been looking everywhere for you.”
I thought about that, “Fiona is on Earth.”
He shook his head, “Not so, Master, she has come seeking you here, on Abal. I saw her at the Hall of Records, soon after I left you. I was bringing her to find you, but you Five Point traveled away to an unknown location and have not contacted me until now. I believe she may still be in Poseidon.”
The thought of seeing Fiona again was very pleasurable, but I wasn’t sure what Fiona would make of Myrka, or Toji, for that matter. Back on Earth she had seemed somewhat vexed with me when I had confided my missing memory to Hydan, so who knows what she would think of me taking up with a Bakemono, or worse, a bloodthirsty Tarvos. But on the other hand, I was almost aching to see Fiona again. In the end, I decided I better have a conversation with her first, before bringing her to meet my new companions.
“I just want to talk to her, like I did when I was at Stonehenge and she was at her home at Camington castle. Can you arrange that?”
“It would be safer for her to come to you,” he noted. “If you Summon her the bridge might be discovered!”
I ignored him and demanded, “Just tell me how I can talk to her, without bringing her here!”
He shrugged, “If she is not distracted, she might hear you if you speak her name aloud, assuming she is listening and wishes to heed the summoning.”
“All right,” I said, and then I looked off into nothing and said, “Fiona Albus, are you there?” I immediately felt ridiculous, and a little like Scotty speaking into the old Mac computer mouse in The Wrath of Kahn.
A cold wind seemed to suddenly blow in off the lake; it tousled my hair. Then I heard her silky warm voice, which sounded as if she was right next to me, “Nicholas, at last.”
Damn that girl had a sultry voice; it literally sent shivers up my spine. “Yes, I’m here, Fiona.”
“Where are you? I’ve been seeking you everywhere!” she asked.
“I’m in the countryside, by some lake, here on Abal.”
“There are many lakes in the countryside, where, exactly, are you located?”
“I don’t know the name of the lake,” I answered, which was true, though I didn’t mention it was the one where Nimue Sivaeral resided. “I’ve had some trouble with a few necromages controlled by Medrod and Morgain.”
“Medrod is alive?” Fiona said in surprise.
“In some fashion, yes.”
She paused a moment, absorbing what I’d said, and then replied, “Are you all right?”
I nodded, but then remembered she couldn’t see me. “Yes, I’m fine. But, Medrod kidnapped a little saeran sorceress I was protecting, and I’m working on getting her back!”
Fiona’s voice was very cautionary, “You are not ready to take on one such as Medrod or his necromancer wife.”
“They took Ziny!” I said as if that was reason enough.
“I’m sorry, Nick, but if you are going to have any chance you will need my aid. Have you located your parents yet? My research showed your father may be Oberon,” she answered.
“Yeah, I found that out as well. I’m headed to see him now, but I don’t know how to find the town he is at Ouroboros. Can you give me one of those Images of the place?”
Suddenly my view of the world changed, and I was seeing a fortified town, where a river wrapped all the way around the walls.
Then Fiona’s voice said, “That is Ouroboros, I don’t have an Image from inside the town.” Then the vision faded and I was back viewing the lake.
“Thanks, that will at least get us close,” I said.
“Us?” she asked, “Are you still with Hydan Friare?”
I answered, “Yes, and a couple others we picked up along the way.”
“Mages?” she asked.
“Yes, both Fourths,” I answered, though I didn’t mention their Houses.
Fiona then said, “Let me help you, Nick, you are a Third, without current training and mage skills, and both Medrod and Morgain are powerful and knowledgeable Seconds, both wielding the Derkaz. Two-Fourths and a Friare Third are no match for them! Even with my help, I don’t like our chances! Remember, Medrod and Morgain have taken down an entire world of mages! They have grown powerful!”
“I have a secret plan, I’m going to use a weapon which will help me against those Seconds,” I explained.
“A weapon? Is this the secret you stole from The Dragon? If it is, you need to tell me! What if you are killed and the secret of how to stop Morgain and Medrod dies with you? This whole planet and the entire Sivaeral House might be enslaved if you die without…”
“No, you don’t understand; you see I’m not…”
But that’s when I saw Myrka approaching, so I broke off my conversation, “Look, someone is coming, we will have to talk about this later. Just trust me!”
“Nick, I do trust you, but trust has to go both ways,” she replied.
“Don’t worry; I’ll contact you soon. Now how do I cut this ‘Summons’ off?”
But I was talking to myself now, the coldness of the connection was abruptly gone, as was Pox.
I felt a stab of loss, talking to Fiona, even remotely, made my heart grow warm.
Myrka arrived and said, “I heard talking, who was that?”
I thought about it, and couldn’t see a reason not to be truthful, so I said, “I Summoned a friend who might be able to help us on getting to Ouroboros.”
Myrka looked at me strangely, and then said, “When did you learn how to Summon, and who was this friend?”
“I’ve spoken to her with what she called a Spirit Bridge once before, back on Earth.”
“Her, you mean Fiona, the Albus Second?” she as
ked with some interest.
“Yes.”
Myrka glanced at me and then looked away as if trying to hide her interest, though I noticed. Then she asked, “Is she coming here?”
“Not yet, but she gave me an image of Ouroboros. She may come to meet us there, though.”
Myrka accepted my explanation and then led me to where they had made camp.
In the morning, Hydan showed me how to share the Image, though he did most of the magic. Once he had it, we found a large stone, where he made a Traveling Star, and we all jumped into the burning red circle.
Chapter Twelve
You may be right
I may be crazy.
But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for.
-Billy Joel
Ouroboros turned out to be a town in the center of an almost perfectly round turn in the river Trent. It was a place in the river where the water naturally curved around until it almost met itself on the other side. The town was built in the center circle of the river, and they had cut a canal across the short gap in the circle so the town was entirely circled with water. It differed from Terran construction because the outer wall was placed in mid-river, so half the river went around, and the other half was inside. There were bridges, like the spokes of a wheel, connecting the water bound wall to the town on shore. On the canal portion of the round wall, there was one larger bridge which went from the town, across a drawbridge, through the wall, and across another drawbridge to the far shore, across the canal. That outer drawbridge was currently raised to protect the town from assault.
I was currently lying prone on a grassy knoll, overlooking the battleground a couple of mectors away, and I could see Morgain’s army surrounding the city. She had massive siege weapons arranged out in clearings in the surrounding woods. Her ground troops were camped out beyond ballista or arrow range of the walls, though they currently seemed to be forming up the troops for some kind of assault.
I could see several large winged creatures, more bat-like than bird, flying around the air, staying up out of arrow range. They were large enough to support a saeran rider.
