by Riley Storm
Do I have a choice?
Allying himself with the insane magic user would also likely see him in magical restraints, at least until he’d proven his loyalty. The only option, it seemed, was to fight. The next question then, was would Kvoss join him?
It didn’t matter, he realized, taking slow, even breaths, increasing his lung power. This was what Kasperi had to do. A move had to be made now, before the Magi could establish his power any more. How he’d done so with the other Title Holders was still a mystery, they were strong and numerous enough that they should have been able to stop this. Somehow.
If the Magi grew any stronger, any more entrenched, then he might never be removed from power. Kasperi had to act, and he had to act now.
“Well, have you made a decision?” Korred asked, bored, tapping his other hand on the stone that his chair was hewn from, fingernails clicking against it. “Where do your loyalties lie?” he asked calmly. “With me, at my side, or in the dungeons with the other weaklings?”
Kasperi reached up and drew both his swords in one smooth motion, jade fire lining their edges. “My loyalties lie with the rightful ruler of High House Ursa, and that is not you!” he bellowed, and charged the Throne.
35
The Magi jumped up from his seat, eyes wide in surprise.
“You think to defeat me?” he shrieked. “The most powerful Magi to ever grace these halls?”
Kasperi didn’t say anything, too busy trying to close with him, and waiting for the inevitable strike.
It came, and came hard. The Magi wrapped his fingers into a fist, and punched at Kasperi. Flinging his blades up in a cross above his head, he blocked the strike, though the kinetic energy drove him back across the stone floor, feet sliding despite the massive strength trying to push him forward.
Growling with effort, Kasperi sliced his blades out and to the sides, cutting through the Magi’s spell. The older shifter tried to strike again, but Kasperi dodged to the side. The magic instead crushed and bulled its way through the floor, chunks of rock zipping about the room. One of them sliced across Kvoss’ face, but the Assassin simply backed up, refusing to take any sides.
Maybe he’s still a traitor after all…
There was no time to think that over, however. Just the fight. Jabbing his left hand forward, Kasperi sent a stream of green fire at the Magi. Almost as soon as he started though, he stopped, pivoting around, driving one hand high and slamming his magic-lined sword deep into the ground, focusing on what he intended.
Magic split the floor like an earthquake, drawing a jagged line from him, up the stairs and stopping just short of Korred, exploding against his shield. The sheer kinetic discharge of the spell caught the Magi by surprise, and he tumbled off to the side and down the stairs.
Kasperi rushed forward, slamming his blades together as he came, each strike of metal on metal sending out pulse-blasts of magic, trying to keep the usurper from recovering. He closed to within sword range and sliced at Korred with both blades as he slipped by on the right. They rebounded hard off a shield, in close, barely inches from skin.
Not for the first time, he cursed himself for not carrying around uranium-tipped blades. The weapons of war would have made swift work of the shield and cut deep into Korred, nearly slicing him in half as the radiation nullified the magic. But those were kept in the armory, and he only broke them out when he was leaving the House on a mission. He’d never expected to need to use them against his own kind.
He wondered for a split second what had happened to the weapons Khove and the other members of the Queen’s Own carried. They were the only ones who carried such swords and the uranium-bullet firing pistols at all times.
A snarl from Korred pre-empted a swirling mass of green energy from both his hands. It wound around itself over and over again, before resolving into a titanic snake, with a head larger than Kasperi’s. The magical creature opened its jaw and lunged forward. Kasperi swung out to the side and tried to decapitate the creature, but his sword only bounced off it.
“Shit,” he yelped, throwing himself backward, narrowly avoiding being wrapped up in the snake’s coils. Another swipe, but his sword deflected away without so much as harming the construct.
He danced by Kvoss, ignoring the man, trying to buy himself some time.
“Try red.”
Kasperi forced his gaze to remain upon the snake as it slithered after him at lightning speeds. Had he heard the voice, or just imagined it? A quick glance out of his peripherals showed Kvoss standing completely still, ignoring him.
“What the hell,” he muttered to himself, dodging another snap of the humungous jaws. His blade was in perfect position for a backhanded strike. With a mental order, the flames on that sword warped and became crimson red. Kasperi slashed it along the snake’s side.
Green energy spilled out onto the floor and the Magi shrieked, working his hands, controlling the creature from where he stood. “You will pay for that!”
Kasperi’s other sword came around, its flames now red as well, and he stabbed it deep into the snake’s side, pinning it to the ground. Letting go of the weapon, he whirled, and with both hands sliced upward, neatly decapitating the snake.
The construct exploded, blowing Kasperi, Kvoss, the two Asps and even the Magi to the ground.
First to get to his feet, Kasperi shook himself and then advanced on the Magi, who seemed stunned by the turn of events. He lay face down on the stone floor, half-curled in on himself.
“This ends now!” he shouted at the usurper, blade pointed at his throat. No more traitor. No more strife within his House.
“I agree,” came the whispered reply. The Magi rolled over on himself and thrust an outstretched palm at Kasperi.
A torrent of blue energy, the most powerful magic on earth, swept forward. Kasperi crossed his blades in front of him and fully opened himself up, letting magic pour into his shield.
Or tried to. The Magi’s spell blew right through his defenses, slammed Kasperi into the far wall and started sucking the life right out from him. Stone fell around him and his vision wavered as he slumped into the pile of debris, feeling his own energy being pulled from him.
Stubbornly, he whipped a sword across, pushing his energy into it, as much as he could, giving it his all. The blade pulsed briefly with a light so brightly blue it seemed white, and cut through the tendrils snaking into his body.
“It’s not possible!” Korred gasped as his spell died.
Wearily, not entirely sure what he’d just done, but knowing he was discovering something new about himself, Kasperi got to his feet. His legs were weak, and he was forced to drop his other blade to hold himself up on the wall. But he retained enough focus to point the tip of his silver blade at the Magi. The magic was gone from it now, and Kasperi knew he’d not be able to summon any more.
But he wasn’t going to die while sitting on his ass.
The Magi sliced a hand through the air and a rent shimmered into being next to him.
“Yield,” he said, his hood falling from his head, revealing the gray-haired man within.
There was still strength in his body, more than in Kasperi’s, and he knew then that the Magi wasn’t defeated. Not yet. Despite his best efforts, he’d lost.
“No,” he said, unwilling to give in. “You’ll have to kill me.”
“Yield, or I will visit your mate.”
Kasperi’s legs finally gave way from under him, and he slumped to the floor weakly, both his body and his spirit broken now.
“You would kill her.”
Korred nodded easily. “Yes.”
“But if I yield…she will live?”
The Magi smiled, and the malevolence poured off him as he let loose with one his patented cackles. “What better insurance policy to turn you into a tool of my own choosing? You will help me fix this House whether you want to or not.”
“You truly believe you’re helping us…by fracturing us?” Kasperi asked in disbelief.
“
I’m not fracturing anything. I am sorting the strong from the weak, the knights from the pawns, the—”
“I get it,” Kasperi growled, feeling some of his energy begin to return. Not enough to challenge the man, but he no longer thought he was going to die. “Okay. I agree.”
The rift disappeared with the telltale pop as the Magi closed it. “I always knew you could be reasoned with.”
Reason? This wasn’t reason. This was insanity. Holding a knife to his mate’s throat to get him to do what he wanted. Still, what else was Kasperi to do? He couldn’t fight. The Magi was too strong for him to defeat alone, and Kvoss didn’t seem intent on helping. His eyes were glued to the Throne, face sickly pale.
What was going on inside his head, Kasperi wondered. What inner torment was he wrestling with?
“Now drop your blade and come over here,” the Magi said, pulling a pair of wristlets from his pockets, and yanking the hood back up over his wizened face.
Kasperi did so reluctantly.
“A little insurance, until I’m convinced of your loyalty. These will act just like your mate’s collar—which I expect you have put back on her, since I know you didn’t kill her when she came to you.” He snickered. “Though she is likely now realizing she can no longer take it off herself. Only magic can do it now. And you’re both mine.” He cackled and turned away.
A great feeling of weariness overcame Kasperi, and he sank to one knee, ignoring as best he could the cool press of the metal to his skin.
“Take him to his quarters,” the Magi snapped, pointing at Khove. “I don’t want to see him again unless summoned.”
The Queens bodyguard slipped out from her side and shuffled reluctantly down the steps, putting an arm under Kasperi’s shoulder and hoisting him to his feet.
“Come on, Perri,” he said quietly. “Pull it together.”
Kasperi stiffened at the nickname. It was a sign, he knew. A sign of Khove’s true loyalties. The man wanted to act, to do something, but he couldn’t. Not without help.
The beginnings of a plan formed in his brain, only to be dashed as he limped past Kvoss, who remained stone-faced.
“Leave us,” the Magi snapped, and the pair of Asps departed as well, reluctantly leaving their boss behind. “Now, Kvoss, let us talk.”
Kasperi turned to look back, catching a glimpse as the Assassin straightened his spine and approached the Throne, where Korred the Usurper now sat once more. The rogue Magi gestured with his hand and the huge doors swung closed.
Kasperi collapsed then, as his weakness overwhelmed him and he passed out, dragging Khove down to the floor with him.
36
She leapt to her feet, hearing sounds in the hallway through the hole in the wall. A second later, the door burst open. Amber’s arm came up, immediately projecting her shield, ready for any attack.
“Who is it!” she screamed, quickly jutting her head out around the opaque red rectangle and then pulling it back.
It was the Queen’s bodyguard, the one who had summoned them in the hallway, and he was carrying a groaning Kasperi. Dropping her shield, she rushed forward, taking Kasperi’s other arm, trying to help out as best she could to stabilize him. Together, they got him sprawled out on the couch.
“What happened?” she asked, bending over Kasperi, taking one hand into her own and holding it tight, the other pressed to his forehead. “He doesn’t look injured.”
“He tried to fight the Magi,” Khove said dully. “He was winning too, until some sort of leech spell hit him and started just sucking energy out of him.”
“Fight the Magi?” she yelped, staring down at her idiotic man. “Why would he do something like that?”
“Korred’s gone insane, taking over the entire place. He’s got the Queen under the same sort of mind control spell as you, and now he’s assumed command of the entire House. He tossed the rest of the Council into the dungeons before we could react. Threatened me and my men, said if we tried anything, he’d take off her head.”
Amber gasped, horrified at what she was hearing. “Where are the rest of your men now?”
“In the dungeons, guarding the other Title Holders and most of the soldiers.”
She shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. “It’s a coup.”
“He’s a usurper,” Khove hissed, eyes blazing with hatred.
“How? How is he doing this without any help?”
Khove looked away. “He has help,” he said bitterly. “When he stormed the Throne Room, he wasn’t alone. He had a host of creatures with him. Not human, I don’t know what they were. They were small, fast, and just as strong as we are.” He shook his head. “We didn’t stand a chance. Our weapons didn’t affect them like they normally do magical creatures. It was over in less than a few minutes.”
She could feel the self-disgust radiating from the Queen’s man. To have the most elite unit of soldiers in the House overrun like that…She was surprised he wasn’t entirely broken. There was still defiance in him.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, desperate for a plan. Any plan.
“Me? I can’t do anything without him hurting my Queen. I won’t allow any harm to come to her. Only once she’s safe will I and my men act. Not before.”
Amber frowned. “Well, who else is left then?”
“Not Kvoss. That bastard stayed behind,” Khove snarled. “I don’t know what his plan is, but he can’t be trusted either. That slimy asshole would sell out his own mother for more power, I’m sure of it.”
“Everyone else is in the dungeons?” she asked weakly.
“Everyone except for you two. And he put those wristlets on Kasperi to prevent him from using his magic.” Khove looked at her abruptly. “Oh, and he said he modified your collar. Said you can’t take it off yourself anymore. So be careful.”
She nodded, barely acknowledging the warning as the truth of it all dawned on her. The only ones who were free to act, were she and Kasperi, and he was without his magic. That left one person in the entire House to take down the madman on the Throne, and it was one Amber Ferlund.
Great.
Something else clicked into place. “That explains why I was sent to kill him,” she said quietly. “Because Kasperi is the only other one with magic. Natural magic. The only one who could stop the Magi.”
Khove nodded.
“That means Kasperi is the key to this. If he wasn’t strong enough, then there would be no reason to fear him, no reason to send me under mind control to try and assassinate him.” She felt buoyed. “All we need to do is get those wristlets off you.”
“No,” Kasperi said weakly, speaking for the first time. “I can’t. He’s too strong. Too powerful. Nearly killed me.” He looked away. “And if I try again, he’s going to kill you. Please, Amber. Don’t ask me to do that. I won’t watch him kill the woman I love.”
Amber stared at him, stunned by his words.
Khove cleared his throat and stood up from where he was crouched nearby. “I’ll, uh, I. Um. I gotta piss.” He walked quickly into the bathroom and closed the door. Seconds later, she heard the tap running.
“Do you mean that?” she asked nervously.
Kasperi took a long, slow breath in, and opened his eyes, focusing the pale green circles on her. “I love you dearly, Amber. I just haven’t had the strength to tell you until now. I would do anything for you, but I won’t see you killed. Do you understand? I won’t!”
She smiled sadly and nodded, bending over him, kissing him softly as she stroked his face, tears slowly running down her own as he slipped into unconsciousness, resting easily at last.
“I understand,” she told him, still holding his hand, staring down at the peacefulness that had come over him, broad chest rising and falling with slow, rhythmic precision.
And she did understand. In those seconds, looking down at the man who had nearly died trying to save his House, she understood that he cared more about her than he did himself. She understood he was scared
of unleashing his full potential, of truly releasing how strong he was.
Amber had already been there. She’d been down that path, and she knew what she was capable of and what it would take to defeat the Magi. Most of all, Amber understood one critical thing.
She understood there was only one option left to her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and kissed Kasperi on the forehead one last time.
Grabbing up her collar, she slipped from the room before Khove could realize she was gone.
37
Fiddling with her collar, she remembered what Khove had told her. That the Magi had altered it, and if she put it on, she wouldn’t be able to take it off. Only a magic user would be able to do that, and the last one in the Manor was the Magi himself.
Taking a look at the silver band, the runes etched into it, and the clasp, she made her choice. Pausing in the Grand Hallway, taking long, deep breaths, she worked her first spell. The magic came easier to her now, unwinding like a spool of rope. Once it was cast, she tested it out, hoping she’d made it right.
When nothing happened, she grinned, though it was a wavering, unsteady thing. There were still all sorts of things that could go wrong, things that could result in her winding up dead. But she doubted it would go that far. Korred needed people to rule over, and the insane Magi would want others like himself, others he would continually try to convert to his cause.
At least, that was what she was counting on, in case her plan didn’t go as advertised in her head.
You don’t have much of a plan. You’re just as insane as the Magi if you think you can make this work.
“Let’s hope so,” she muttered as much to herself as to the silence around her.
Striding forward, she reached the doors to the Throne Room, hastily shoving the collar in her pocket. It stuck out halfway, but she had no more time to fiddle with it. The doors opened smoothly at her touch, admitting her inside.
