Mage Hunter (Lost Tales of Power Book 8)

by Vincent Trigili

  74

  06-29-0067 — Greymere

  “What do you mean, you lost Lyshell?” I demanded.

  Stones’ voice came over the comm. “Sir, there was an explosion and we were thrown clear of the station. We’re working our way back to where we last saw him, but without comms it’ll be hard to find him.”

  I cursed and punched the wall. Lyshell shouldn’t be alone right now. It could easily send him spiraling into depression, and no one would be able to help him.

  “You okay, Wings?” sent Phym privately.

  A blue gate shimmered behind her as a couple of Battle Wizards helped evacuate the magi prisoners. There were at least a dozen in this room alone, all of whom were being transported to the Hospital Station for evaluation. If they were stable enough, they would be moved to the Kingdom for recuperation and potential training.

  “Stones, Dave, find Lyshell and find him now,” I ordered.

  “Yes, sir!” replied Stones.

  The magi in this room were in such bad shape, I didn’t expect most of them to live. I shuddered to think what must have been done to them. Perhaps Master Kellyn could restore their bodies, but the trauma they had been through would leave deep mental scars.

  Each Battle Wizard carried through one magus at a time, while Saraphym and I stood guard. I knew Master Raquel was on the other side of the gate, doing the same thing. Gates were a huge convenience for travel but also a major security risk; they were essentially large holes in space-time that anyone could walk through.

  So far, no one had interrupted us. The main force of Battle Wizards kept the cyborgs engaged in combat and we …

  An explosion blew the door off its hinges and slammed into a back wall. The Battle Wizards had their arms full and were unable to respond. They sprinted through the gate, and Saraphym and I turned to face the newcomer.

  She stood tall, perhaps two meters. Her skin was tight against her bones and a sickly gray hue, almost bloodless. Long stringy hair fell around her face, and two black holes acted as eyes. She cackled and moved her arm behind her head, as if to throw something.

  Saraphym called out a command word and spirit bolts leapt from her staff, crossing the room in an instant. They exploded as they hit some invisible barrier between us, and the woman cackled again.

  She snapped her arm forward and a ball of black energy headed towards the remaining magi. Saraphym’s attack had given me just enough time to gather myself. I pulled on the darkness and it halted in place. Resisting my pull, it started to drift away.

  I pulled with all my strength, but the ball of power continued to move slowly towards the remaining magi prisoners.

  “Push!” came Saraphym’s voice in my head.

  I smiled and pushed on the power. My sudden reversal set the ball of energy spiraling out of control into a wall with a loud crack. Debris flew everywhere, and someone shouted, “Get down!”

  I turned on the sorceress in the doorway to find her cranking back her arm again. This time I jumped, throwing myself in the path of the energy ball.

  The ball hit me, and it was more solid than I had anticipated. The wind was knocked from my lungs, and I dropped to one knee as the room spun around me.

  Saraphym was moving - no, she was casting. A shimmering wall filled the space between me and the sorceress. Then Saraphym cast again and shards of light rained down on the sorceress, but she ignored them.

  The sorceress tapped on the wall with her knuckles and cackled again. She raised her hand above her head and pulled down a staff which looked like the leg bone of some massive beast.

  I leapt to my feet as she swung the staff into the shield wall which Saraphym had erected. The wall shattered, and as it did mage bolts flew past me and slammed into her.

  The Battle Wizards had returned!

  Her shielding held under the attacks, but I smiled as an idea occurred to me. I walked up as she prepared to cast again and reached out to her shields with my bare hands.

  She paused and looked at me, baffled by what I was doing. That’s right, I’m just a foolish mundane and you’re safe from me, I thought to myself.

  “Be ready with the next wave of attacks,” I sent across our telepathic network as I placed my hands on her shield and pulled the power in. It tasted foul, worse than sour milk, but I took it in.

  She screamed and jumped back as she realized what I was doing, but in that moment of realization mage bolts slammed into her weakened shields and broke through. Her cackles were soon replaced by cries of pain.

  I turned that dark power back on her, all of it. I didn’t want to risk consuming something so vile. The power leapt from my hands in a manner not unlike a mage bolt and pounded through her useless shields to blast a hole through her midsection.

  Her body collapsed and turned to dust. The room fell silent for a long moment, then Phym walked up and put her hand on my shoulder. “Not bad for a mundane.”

  I turned and pulled her into an embrace. “Thanks for that shield,” I said when I finally let her go.

  I looked at the magi. “Did we lose any?”

  “No, sir,” said one of the Battle Wizards.

  I nodded. “Then let’s get back to work. We have two more rooms like this to get through.”

  Saraphym was studying the dust on the ground.

  “What is it?” I sent privately.

  “She had shields far stronger than anything we could cast, and yet a simple touch from you defeated her,” she sent back. She looked into my eyes. “It seems strange that one so powerful should fall so easily.”

  “Her pride took her down, not my powers. She was so sure she was safe from me, a simple mundane, that she didn’t bother to do the simplest thing in the world.”

  “Which is?” she asked.

  “To teleport out of my reach. Had she done that, we could not have won without Master Raquel’s help,” I sent.

  Phym looked at the remains of the sorceress and shook her head. “I don’t think I would have thought of that.”

  75

  06-29-0067 — Lyshell

  The corridor echoed back my voice and nothing more. I climbed to my feet and slammed my head into a low-hanging chunk of metal that had embedded itself into the wall over my head. Stars danced in my vision and a scream of pain escaped my lips as I fell to my knees, woozy from the blow. Gingerly, I reached up and felt the back of my head; my hand came back wet with blood. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

  My vision was a mess, but for a brief moment I thought I saw Joan pointing to something and shouting soundlessly. She faded from view and I was alone in the corridor.

  “Some help that was, calling on Light,” I grumbled as I painfully rose again.

  With one hand on the wall to steady myself, I looked down the corridor. My vision had not quite cleared, and the lights were blurred into lines. There was something familiar about what I saw, something I should recognize. There was something I should see and could almost make out.

  As my head cleared the lights came into focus, and I could see piles of debris all around me. My leather armor must have taken a few hits, as it was torn in several places, but the skin underneath was unbroken. Impressive, though I really should have asked for a hat.

  “How are you going to find your way back this time?” I asked myself out loud. Then I remembered my spells. “The lights!” I exclaimed.

  I recast my tracking spell and then cast another spell, one that enhanced awareness. Finally, I cast a camouflage spell. I wasn’t sure how long I could keep so many spells going at once, but I had to try; Joan would never forgive me if I didn’t. I imagined the look of disappointment on her face if she found out I was sitting in a corner having a pity party, and that was enough to keep me going.

  The station around me lit up with color and sound. The combination of increased awareness and my tracking spell made everything much clearer. I could do more than merely see the lines; I could read them. A pair of lines shooting off toward the hole in the station belonged to Stones and Dav
e. A pair that led off in another direction belonged to Greymere and Saraphym. Many more led in various directions, representing the cyborgs who lived on the station.

  Seeing the light in my vision again filled me with joy and caused something to click inside me. I was a magus! I scanned the lines and found the solitary black one which represented a sorcerer. It was following a group of lines that represented Battle Wizards. Parsing the lines was a lot like using my old sensor system, yet superior to it. I could track magi! That was a feat no Cyborg or Imperial Mage Hunter could ever manage.

  The lines pointing to Stones and Dave were strong but dim, so they were alive but far from me at present. They would circle back and contact the rest of the force. Greymere would take charge in my absence and keep everyone focused on the mission. They had left me to do my part.

  With an effort of focus, I could filter out the lines I didn’t need and separate the sorcerer’s lines from those of the Battle Wizards. A smile broke across my lips as I remembered something that Master Raquel had said: “Magic is about belief and willpower. It is necessary to believe you can do it and to want it, then it will become real for you.”

  Oh, I wanted it. I wanted it with all that was in me, but until now I had never truly believed in my ability.

  I ran down the hall, focusing as I ran. Light had helped me after all; I was just so dense that it had taken a bang to the head to see it. The blow had shown me that I was a mage and a hunter. My prey was still out there. I couldn’t lie around; I had work to do. That sorcerer was heading for my men, and I had to stop him.

  The two paths wound through the station and I ran on. The physical training with Lythiran was paying off, as I had enough stamina to keep running. Paths came and went, but I kept my focus on the two that mattered: the sorcerer and the Battle Wizards. I flew past cyborg patrols who never saw me, thanks to their inorganic eyes. They must have registered the wind as I passed, but by the time they could react I was already gone.

  I was a mage hunter again, in both senses of the word this time. The inferiority of the cyborg technology was becoming more apparent as I ran. The call of the cyborgs rang hollow in my ears; everything they offered paled in comparison to the doors that now opened before me.

  A bend appeared in the corridor, and I skidded to a halt. The dark path of the sorcerer turned left, but the Battle Wizards went to the right. Which way should I go? Dave and Stones had said that sorcerers don’t usually get directly involved in fights; they watch from a distance and cast what spells they can from there. That being the case, this sorcerer was probably looking for a secure point from which to cast.

  I started down the left path, then remembered my last two encounters with a sorcerer. These were not like the untrained magi back home. I probably didn’t have enough training to take one alone; I would need back-up. “Wizards never fight alone.” I remembered Laurel’s words. She had called it my first lesson, and it was one I had finally accepted.

  The Battle Wizards’ path was bright and strong, indicating they were close, so I took a chance. “Ramsong? Are you out there?” I sent.

  “Yes, sir! Good to hear from you,” came Ramsong’s reply.

  “I’m alone and in pursuit of a sorcerer. Have Dave and Stones made it back yet?” I sent.

  “They’re on the other side of the station, searching for you, sir,” he sent.

  They must have guessed the direction I’d taken from where they’d seen me last, and guessed wrong. I projected an image of where I was, complete with the junction markings, across the link to Ramsong. “I assume nowhere near me?”

  “No sir, but I can send you two Battle Wizards for support,” he sent.

  “Please do, and make it fast. The sorcerer is not far off,” I sent.

  “I’ll send the twins; they’re my fastest runners,” he sent. I received an image of two young, female, blue-skinned Battle Wizards whose primary art was lightning. Earth, like Dave and Stones, was slow and plodding, but lightning was all about speed. They should easily reach me before the trail grew cold.

  “Okay, tell Stones and Dave to replace them on your squad as soon as they can,” I sent.

  “Affirmative, sir,” he replied.

  I ate some of the chocolate while I waited for the twins. It was tasty, but I couldn’t tell if it was working or not. As I sat there, the dark line representing the sorcerer remained unchanged. If he were moving away from me, I would expect it to grow dimmer; if he was coming closer, I would expect it to grow brighter. Instead it was unchanged. That could mean only one thing: he was waiting for me.

  Before I could dwell on that thought, two Battle Wizards came skidding to a stop beside me. I canceled my camouflage spell so that they could see me, since there was little point in my being hidden if they couldn’t do the same.

  “Elanil and Lensa, reporting for duty, sir!” sent Elanil.

  They were shorter than I, perhaps one-and-a-quarter meters each. Their blue skin was covered with spikes, and they had red-orange eyes. They seemed to move almost as one.

  “Excellent. Come on, and be as discreet as you can. I think he already knows we’re coming, but the less information we give him, the better,” I sent and went down the corridor.

  I moved slowly, following the black line as it turned a corner and then passed through a door. I didn’t need to be a genius to guess that the door was a trap, and the sorcerer was waiting on the other side.

  “I believe that the sorcerer is on the other side of that door. If this goes the same way as last time, the door will be trapped and he’ll be waiting to seize the advantage,” I sent, along with the memory of how Stones, Dave and I had dealt with this same situation.

  “Our elementals are not solid like the earth elementals, so they might not set off any traps,” sent Lensa.

  That was a problem. “Suggestions?”

  “One of us goes first and draws fire, while the other follows up and attacks,” sent Elanil.

  I chewed another piece of chocolate, because it was tasty but also because it seemed like a good idea to top up my energy as much as I could before a fight; mainly because it was tasty, though.

  I knew that when she’d said ‘us’ she’d been referring to herself and her twin, but I was having none of that. “Excellent idea. I’ll open the door and draw fire while you two move into position and attack.”

  “No, sir, that’s not what I meant. Let me draw fire, sir,” sent Elanil with a hint of panic in her mental voice.

  “Nonsense. I’m the weakest caster of the three of us, and I was trained in shields by Master Phoenix himself. You two get ready. As soon as it gets too much for me, I’ll teleport clear,” I sent.

  Elanil sent, “But, sir … ”

  “That’s an order, soldier,” I sent. I understood the concern. I was a Second Rank Battle Wizard, which placed me near the top of the chain of command. It was their duty to keep me safe, and this situation was dangerous. In the normal military, someone of my rank would never go on a mission like this; leaders were considered too valuable. That was complete rubbish. These two were far more valuable than I in the current engagement.

  They each drew down their staves from the air. Someday I would have one of those, but it was hard not to feel jealous now. A magus skilled with the staff could use it to greatly multiply their effective combat power. Staves could be used as more powerful wands or as shields. Some spells could even take advantage of the power stored in the staff.

  I stepped up to the door and took a deep breath, held and released it slowly, trying to steel my nerves. I concentrated on reshaping my shields into a wedge shape, as Phoenix had taught me. Doing that tended to cause attacks to land as glancing blows instead of direct hits, extending the life of the shield.

  Another deep breath and release.

  I drew a pair of wands.

  Another deep breath and release.

  “Okay, here we go,” I sent and then pushed the command to open the door.

  Fire whooshed out around me, deflect
ed by my shields. I raised the wands into an attack posture. Most magi only used one wand at a time, but Master Phoenix had stressed that such a tactic was foolish. It was harder to focus on two at once, but the flexibility and speed gained by wielding two independent weapons at once was worth all the effort.

  As I broke clear of the fire, I saw the sorcerer standing there. She was very tall, easily dwarfing me, and younger than I had expected, probably in the prime of her life. She had a full head of brown hair, fair skin, pointed ears and stunning blue eyes. She was beautiful by any normal, human definition; the kind of beauty that could easily distract a weaker man in battle.

  She raised her staff and I started firing with my wands, rapidly pulsing between them. She swung her staff with the speed and agility of a master warrior, stopping each bolt as it came in. She was fast; impossibly fast. No human could move like that.

  I kept pushing forward, trying to randomize my attack pattern so that she wouldn’t be able to guess my next target, but she always knew and blocked my attack.

  She smiled as I approached. Her teeth were perfect white pearls, her lips full and a soft red. Her cheeks were shapely, with a slight blush, her skin without blemish. Shouldn’t a sorceress be ugly? That was how it always was in the stories.

  I continued to press my attack but my wands were running low on power; when they gave out, she would be free to counterattack.

  Lightning arced over my head, but the sorceress lifted her staff in time to catch those bolts, too. My wands were almost drained and the twins had joined the fight, so I teleported to safety. Under cover, I exchanged my wands for two more full ones, my last two.

  The twins fought hard and showed the experience gained by many years of working together, as they constantly played off each other’s attacks. The sorceress blocked and countered like a true master. She was a pyromancer, and fire often filled the room, forcing me to stay low. The sorceress was winning. The twins were far superior to me in skill, but she was equally far above them. It was only a matter of time until they fell.