by Vance Huxley
Henry’s lips moved, saying something and Abel moved nearer but couldn’t hear except the last words, “Knock him out.” Henry bent forward and started retching. He dropped to his knees, coughing and choking, and then his throat bulged. One last convulsion and something gushed out of Henry’s mouth, something too big to be in a person’s throat. It landed and writhed, and Abel tried to make sense of it. He shouldn’t have been distracted, because a blow to the head picked him off his feet! Abel shook his head, put both hands palms down, and blasted himself up and back again.
Once his head stopped spinning Abel could see that Henry had charged out of the circle, face convulsed in rage. Now he headed straight for Abel to hit him again. At least the blow had finished clearing Abel’s head, got him thinking straight. Just to check he threw a small branch at Henry and the big youth caught it and tossed it contemptuously aside. Abel limped backwards, looking for the right sized piece of wood and crouching behind it. No time for finesse, he used both hands under the log to blow it up towards Henry, putting up with the scraped fingers. As Henry raised his hands to catch the wood, Abel brought both palms up and hit the missile with a double blast.
Abel ended up on his backside, again, because of the sheer effort he put into the push and the backlash through his weakened arms. Henry had expected to knock the thick branch aside, and when it accelerated there simply wasn’t time to dodge. Despite his muscles the youth screamed as the wood struck, splintering as it shattered against his outstretched hand and arms. Abel sat a moment, getting his breath back because Henry had finally gone down despite his glyph. Remembering the protection glyph got Abel to his feet again because he had to break that now, before Henry recovered.
Abel opened his penknife, but didn’t need it to cut the glyph. As Henry rolled onto his back Abel could see that pieces of the wood had lacerated the glyph and Henry’s chest. It had been designed to stop magic, but nothing else. “Get away from me.” Henry glared. “Your tricks still won’t work.” He held up a hand to threaten Abel, then paled when he tried to clench his fingers. Henry glanced down at the protection glyph, spattered in his blood. “Tricks won’t work” he mumbled, trying to clean it with the edge of his hand. “No! She said, Claris said.” Henry looked up at Abel with dawning horror in his eyes because his hand had wiped a path right through the glyph, destroying it!
Abel raised his hand and waggled a finger. “That’s right Henry, it’s broken. I warned you. Now what’s that thing in the trap?”
Henry glanced at the trap, eyes wide. “It told me, said things. Get you, knock you out. It promised, things.” He looked back and forth in panic. “Get me out of here. I can feel eyes. There’s things watching. Get me out of this wood!” The last came out almost as a scream and he tried to get up, then screamed properly as his weight came onto the other arm. Abel winced as he took in the distinct kink half-way down Henry’s forearm.
Abel realised the barrier spell had got to Henry now the glyph had stopped protecting him, but simply hadn’t got the energy or magic left to help. “You got in here Henry, so now you can wait.” He turned away. “Welcome to my playground, you stupid shit.” Henry didn’t even reply to that, and as he limped painfully towards a lovely big oak tree Abel could hear the youth still demanding Abel got him out, now, before the things arrived. “I’m sorry, oak tree, but I’ve got something to deal with and need help.”
“The tree will not mind, as long as you kill that.” The dryad kept a good distance, pointing to the creature still writhing and pulsating inside the magic trap.
“I think you can bet on that. Thanks for the branch.”
“My tree is too far away so that is all I could manage. I wanted to warn you, but you didn’t come past.” The dryad moved back close to his tree, but continued to watch the creature in the trap. “Blood magic, very bad.”
Abel relaxed, letting the magic from the oak wash through him. “Not for long.” He healed the glyph and limped to the trap. As he came closer Abel suddenly felt a strong urge to release the creature, to help it, and his ward flashed to icy cold. “Nice try. No sale.” Abel turned to the dryad. “Fire or wind?”
“No fire in the wood please. A big club works. Dryads drop branches on anything smelling like that.”
“Air it is.” Henry had shut up, squinting as if he couldn’t quite see the dryad. He turned to Abel even as Abel scraped through the feed to the trap and dropped it. The long red bag covered in thin wriggling tubes reared up at one end as if it looked at him. Abel raised both hands and punched two tight balls of wind, powered by all that lovely strong oak magic, straight through the glyph burned into it. The creature splattered, bubbled, and rapidly disappeared except for what looked a lot like blood staining the ground and nearby vegetation. Abel limped to the beech he’d used for the trap, topped up again and healed the glyph. “Thank you, tree.”
When he finally got to Henry, the youth couldn’t do much more than babble. He was terrified of Abel, possibly the dryad or whatever he could see there, the spatter where the creature had died, and a squirrel that ran up a tree. Abel reverted to lifting him with wind blasts because both arms throbbed from Henry’s punches. So did his cheek, head and shoulder, and pain jabbed through his knee with every step. Henry yelled and screamed a bit, but Abel didn’t think the wind did much more damage before getting out of the wood.
“Where’s your phone, Henry? Either that or give me your Dad’s number. I can’t carry you.” Abel considered slapping Henry. It probably wouldn’t get an answer, but he still fancied it. It crossed his mind Rob would be mad as hell he’d missed this, and he’d definitely want to take a swing. Abel actually had his phone out to ask Rob if he’d like to come over when he realised that he wasn’t quite rational. “Come on Henry. I’m not staying once it gets dark.” He wasn’t leaving Henry here either, because dryad kept glaring at the youth and after all Henry had cut its old tree up.
Now they’d come out of the wood Henry gradually recovered his wits, or some of them. He still seemed very confused about the whole thing and kept saying if he caught Abel he’d get everything, though Henry couldn’t say what he’d get, or who told him. Henry ranged from denying the creature existed to retching over the memory of it going down his throat or coming back up. He’d confirm kissing Claris, and then he’d start retching over the thing in his throat. By the time Abel got the phone number he felt sure Claris needed help, or possibly a mercy killing.
Henry seemed at least as worried by his injuries as all the other stuff by the time his dad came bouncing over the field in a 4x4. The youth would probably freak out again when the pain wore off, because Henry could definitely see some magical creatures now and kept flinching. “You two been fighting again?”
“Yes, Mr. Copples.”
The farmer looked Abel over, then his son. “You whipped him properly this time. I told him when you cracked his cheekbone, lay off, that lad is tougher than he looks.” Mr. Copples helped Henry into the cab, then opened the back door and beckoned to Abel. “Come on. I’ll give you a lift home, unless you need the hospital as well?”
Abel considered telling him to stuff it, or finding something sarcastic to say about how it hadn’t seemed to matter when Henry won. Instead he shrugged, got up and climbed into the vehicle. “No hospital thanks.”
“I’ll tell Tyson to lay off.” Mr. Copples chuckled. “I can’t afford to have him laid up as well. I reckon this one has learned his lesson, haven’t you, son?”
The “Yes Dad” sounded resigned. Henry kept his head down, possibly to avoid looking at the thorny rummaging in the glove compartment. Abel amused himself trying to work out ways to squish it without Mr. Copples seeing it, but gave up. Instead he thanked the farmer, tottered up the path and let himself in.
Abel’s mum heard him come in and called him through. Resigned to a good ear-bashing, Abel didn’t expect to find Rob in the kitchen. “Your friend has good news for you.” She stared at Abel. “You probably need good news after whatever happened to
you. Those Copples boys? That’s enough! I’m going to bend that man’s ear properly. He thinks he owns this village!”
“You’ll find him at the hospital, with Henry. I won.” Dead silence followed that, so Abel got the worst over with. “He’s got at least three broken fingers and probably a broken arm.” Still no answer. “Mr. Copples gave me a lift home and says Henry and Tyson will leave me alone now.”
Eventually Rob spoke. “Will they leave me alone as well?”
“He didn’t say so.” Abel finally began to smile, because he knew what came next.
“Good, I’d hate to miss my chance.” Rob smiled happily. “It’ll have to be four broken fingers or break both arms, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Steady on you two.” Abel stared because his Mum giggled! “Let the poor boy heal up first, and maybe Kelis will want a go as well. Coffee, Abel?” He nodded. “You’d better tell him Rob.”
“Good news Abel. That accident Jenny got into? She’s all right so it can’t have been too bad. Una says she saw Jenny and her family in town, the whole tribe, and she’s got bandages and a sling and a bit of a limp. Jenny waved to Una, which came as a bit of a shock.” Abel relaxed. Jenny had made it, presumably, and that had to be Ferryl waving so she’d got control. No police, and hopefully the end of Seraph’s rumours.
Abel drank his coffee, talked a bit more, and pointed out he might have won but it wasn’t a bloodless victory. After a shower he laid on his bed feeling sharper, more alive, as if he’d finally come out of a bad dream or at least a really deep sleep. Even if the circumstances might not have been great, Jenny would survive. His tattoo still felt empty but at least Ferryl wasn’t bound now, in any way.
There would be problems dealing with the Tavern, this whole new magical world, and whoever had sent that thing for him, but he’d got friends and a safe haven at Castle House. He actually felt a bit proud, because he’d fought Henry and that creature without any help from Ferryl. Maybe he hadn’t relied on her as much as he thought. Perhaps he could keep going with the Tavern, because Rob and Kelis had magic as well. That’s if Kelis would talk to him after shutting her out like that. He’d certainly killed any chance of persuading her to kiss him again. So he’d lost his shy magical friend and his girlfriend, but that wasn’t the end of the world, was it? Abel had nearly convinced himself by the time he fell asleep.
THE END
The next book in the series
A STUDENT BODY
will be coming soon
Ferryl Shayde
Players
Brinsford - a small village in rural England, eight miles from Stourton
Consists of:
Main Street - with pub and small shop
Brinn Lane - off village green, leads to a small bridge then up valley to local farms
Riverside Close - a dozen council houses
Castle Road - road from village to main road half a mile away
Residents:
Abel Bernard Conroy - 15 - lives with widowed mum
Christine Conroy - 40 - Abel's mum, has part-time job
John Tyler - Rob's dad
Terri Tyler - Rob's mum
Rob Tyler - 15 - Abel's best friend
Melanie Tyler - 13 - Rob's sister
Samantha Tyler - 18 - Rob's sister
Jessica Ventner - Kelis's mum
Kelis Ventner - 15 - Abel's best (only) female friend
Stan - local pensioner and reputedly poacher - has a shotgun
Mr. Copples - local farmer
Henry Copples - 15 - local bully
Tyson Copples - 18 - Henry's brother - bully with crossbreed dog (Cuchelain) Cooch
Stourton - Town eight miles from Brinsford
Stourton Comprehensive - local secondary school
Seraph Courts-Pederson - 17 - wealthy young woman who manipulates the rich, influential, athletic and good-looking to form an elite, the seraphims
Laurence Sperrick - 17 - seraphim - minor nobility but not wealthy, attends local comprehensive - he is an Acro dancer
Jenny Forester - 16 - seraphim - Acro dancer
Diane Forester - 14 - Jenny's sister
Claris - 17 - seraphim - likes the rugby players
Arabelle - 16 - bubbly redhead, one of the seraphims - Acro dancer
Petra - 16 - game beta lives in a village
Warren - 15 - game beta in town
Eric - 19 - Warren's brother
Una - 17 - game beta in town with character costume
Sarah - 15 - beta in town
Justin - 15 - beta in town
Rachel - 14 - Justin's sister
Shannon - 17 - beta at church school
Shawn - 19 - friend of a friend of a beta
Mark - 17 - friend of Petra’s - devout Catholic.
The Tavern - proposed new board game - becomes
Bonny's Tavern because there are lots of places called The Tavern
Game Characters: Players choose their own names when adopting a character:
Saint Georgeous - Paladin, severe but beautiful. Innate magical defences
Roughly Hewn - Barbarian adventurer - buys charms and spells to hang about him
Robyn D'Ritche - female mercenary, scruffy inebriate, part-owner of the Tavern
Bonny - Barmaid - part-owner, half-sister to Robyn
Champ - Bouncer - ex-pugilist
Ferryl Shayde - half-cat sorceress
Shayde Warrior - fighter-mage trained in magic and weapons
Abel’s Magical World
Ferryl Shayde: a sorceress, trapped until she almost faded and cannot survive except in a host.
* * *
Magic: a power that permeates the air, but cannot be utilised in its raw form. All living creatures absorb magic but plants are unable to dissipate it. Trees are the greatest natural reservoirs of magic, if old enough. Animals from insects to elephants will dissipate any surplus in an uncontrolled fashion, unless they are sentient and learn to utilise glyphs and store more.
Glyphs: patterns drawn or etched on solid objects or in air or water, used to control magic and give it specific purpose. The strength of a glyph depends on the magic put into it, the medium it is drawn on, and the intent of the wielder. Glyphs in metal are the strongest, scribed in air the weakest.
* * *
Gods: possibly originally sorcerers who have learned how to draw magic from worshippers using a symbol or mark. Their power grows with the number of prayers, but old gods act quickly to crush young ones. Eternal as long as one worshipper still lives. Legend claims that the glyphs were stolen from the first God
Sorcerer or Sorceress: advanced glyph wielder who has learned how to prolong their life either with magic or at the expense of other living creatures. They are usually wealthy, living in a well-guarded home and keep a wide area clear of any large or particularly dangerous entities.
Witch or Warlock: minor magic practitioner who sells charms and hexes, and removes or creates curses. They have a normal lifespan, usually training a replacement who will also support them in old age. The profession is dying out in the countryside and smaller towns due to the current disbelief in magic and magical creatures. There are fewer paying customers to provide a living so apprentices prefer to take up other jobs.
Bound Servant: a being branded with a mark allowing a glyph wielder to control them completely. Will ignore pain or injury, hard to kill because partly protected by brand.
* * *
Creatures visible to humans
Dryad: creature that utilises the magic gathered by trees to protect its home tree and prolong both their lives. Gnarled, bad-tempered, rude creatures, they can manipulate magic to create a veil to hide their surroundings or to change their appearance. Will trade answers to questions in return for honey.
Blood Leech: old blood magic remnant that survives by possessing a human and feeding on fresh blood. Prefers pale skinned hosts to shed excess heat. Wear dark glasses because their eyes show red around the pupils. Most find a
willing victim, usually promising a fixed period of possession and the curing of otherwise fatal illness. Once vacated the discarded husk looks young and healthy but is barely alive and infected with a seed. If it finds enough fresh blood, the abandoned host lives and another Blood Leech is created.
Goblins: the well-known greenie of legend comes in various sizes such as batlins, ratlins, Hobgoblins, and Stonelins. They eat too much real food to remain invisible, some resorting to posing as gargoyles or garden ornaments (Stonelins) to escape notice. Have been hunted almost to extinction because they are very flammable if their skin is punctured, making them a severe fire hazard. Some sorcerers use captives as entertainment at feasts, heating them slowly until they explode.
* * *
The following are invisible to normal human sight, unless the human is awakened by magic.
Free Spirit: semi-sentient fragment of a force of nature that has absorbed a fraction of the life magic from a dying entity. A ripple in the water, a flame or a puff of wind can become alive though not really thinking, and will persist if it finds enough magic to feed on.
Wild Spirit: Free Spirit that becomes sentient, deliberately hunting for magic and becoming stronger. They usually start by killing insects or fish eggs for their magic, but can grow enough to learn glyphs and threaten humans. Relatively weak unless they can possess flesh. Are destroyed on sight by most magic practitioners.
Skurrit: pack hunter. Long thin low-slung body with a variable number of short legs and clawed feet, all covered with long, matted, dirty brown fur. A light brown bald tail and a nearly bald head and snout each about 40 cm long. Tiny red eyes in a small skull, with a long thin pointed snout containing several rows of sharp teeth.
