“Hey, you!”
I turned to see a black wizard with a grey staff just ten steps behind me.
Damn!
I looked around.
We were alone.
I cursed once more.
The wizard came closer.
I stepped backward.
He halted.
“I have orders to bring you to my lord,” he said with a creepy voice.
“And who might that be?”
“The Supreme.”
Martell…
I shuddered.
I must buy some time…
“What does he want from me?”
“He will tell you himself.”
“Why did he send you? Why doesn't he come in person?”
The wizard's eyes were as impenetrable as a wall. It took some time before he answered.
“It's not for you to know.”
And in that moment I realized he wasn't telling the truth…
“I'm not going anywhere.”
He beckoned slightly as if he was expecting my refusal. The colors in his eyes began to darken.
“In that case…”
During our exchange I weighed my options. It was obvious.
Escape! The nearest brick houses were not far away, maybe some twenty feet…
I crouched…
Now!
A shadow fell over my shoulders as another tephir flew over my head!
An incoming wizard was dressed in a sky-blue coat with carmine stripes. His black staff was decorated with a silver spiral triangle.
Both wizards approached cautiously.
“He is mine!” proclaimed the black one. “I have orders from the Supreme.”
The blue one shook his head. “I follow the will of the Council.”
They sized each other up, tephir to tephir, head to head.
“The Supreme rules the Council, you know that!”
“Not for long, my friend.” The blue wizard said with a deadly tone. “Besides, I have consent from the Great!“
I gathered my wits. The situation was favorable for escape. I waited for just the right moment.
And it came a heartbeat later.
The two foes crossed their fingers at the same time.
Run!
I saw a burst of light and heard a painful scream whilst my legs reduced the distance to the nearest house by ten feet.
The wind carried the smell of blood, and another dreadful yell followed by a flesh ripping sound that made me shiver.
Behind me something very different from a tournament exhibition took place. It was a fight for life and death.
Another ten feet.
And another breeze accompanied by the groaning of a dying wizard.
I slipped into a gap between two walls and squeezed into a hole that led to city's sewer. I began to crawl feverishly into the darkness, fearing the wizard who was still alive would use some spell to get me out.
The only light came from sporadic and narrow vertical light wells. The tunnel branched. I took the left passage heading deeper. I crawled in disgusting brown slurry reaching to my ankles and wrists. The smell was horrible, but I moved on as fast as possible. A flock of bats, disturbed by my unexpected visit, took off with irritated squeaking, leaving me with a heartbeat twice as fast. At another branch, I took the right one.
I've made it…
A second later a quake shook the walls and the tunnel began to crumble…
♠
When I regained my senses, there was absolute darkness and disgusting stink coming from sewage. I felt pain behind my left ear and under my left knee.
But I'm still breathing…
I choked and coughed in the dust filled air. My eyes grew accustomed to the dark slowly. The tunnel was blocked by rubble from either side, and the only sound was that of dipping water.
I'm buried here alive!
♠
After several hours of effort my situation didn't get any better. I managed to move a heap of stones from one side of the tunnel, but it was fruitless. The collapsed roof might extend a half mile or more. My hope of getting out was dwindling.
I'm trapped here. This sewer will be my grave! If only I had some light…
And then something miraculous happened. Right before my eyes a glowing sphere materialized. Its yellow light illuminated the walls and floor covered with dust and fallen stones.
In that light I saw my salvation. The wall on my right was cracked, revealing another tunnel beyond it which has survived the quake. The rift was too narrow for a grown man, so I hammered its edges with a sharp stone until I was able to wriggle through.
There was a new passage.
And a new hope...
♠
A lonely breeze swept the pavement of Swallow Bridge as the sun disappeared behind the Wall. The city seemed calm and peaceful, but it was the most deadly and merciless place I have ever been to.
Especially for someone like me...
A rustling under the bridge sent my heartbeat to a gallop.
Elisa!
I rushed down the stairs and around a corner she bumped right into me.
“I have dreamt about beautiful women falling into my arms,” I embraced her and she chuckled quietly.
Her lavender scent was intoxicating. She raised her palms from my chest to my cheeks, her skin so warm and pleasing that I forgot all about the rest of the world.
“You've got a scar behind your ear,” she said worriedly.
“I'm fine...”
She broke the embrace and looked into my face. “What happened?”
I told her about my unintended meeting with the duo of wizards and my unpleasant adventures underground. I skipped the last part, where I had to borrow some money from Quasim to cover expenses for clean clothes and a thorough bath.
The story had an unexpected effect. Her eyes filled with tears...
She wiped them with her wrist.
“It's gone too far... I'm going to stop it. I will meet with my father,” she whispered and kissed me.
It caught me by surprise, and I was not able to speak for a while. She was dressed in a very thin sleeveless, knee-length robe and her neck was decorated with an amulet of some kind.
“What is your name?” Her eyes were bright again. “Do you know I couldn't sleep because of it?”
“My name's Syrdan,” I didn't recognize my own voice.
She looked dazzled. “Do you know what it means in the wizards' old language?”
“No.”
“Syridan means strong. Syraedan means foundling. I've expected something like that.”
I touched her hands, and this time she didn't pull away. My fingers explored her soft and gentle skin, and her slender fingers responded swiftly.
I bent to kiss her in a moment when a gust of wind covered her face with hair, foiling my intentions.
She brushed the hair back to shoulders, blushing and laughing.
What a fool am I?
“I'm sorry...”
She shook her head, bent toward me and kissed me hungrily.
♠
“Please, tell me what you know, Elisa. Who are my enemies? Why are they chasing me?” I asked when the world stopped turning.
She nodded. “That's why we came here. From Swallow Bridge you can see the whole city. So where to start... There is an opposition to the King, an opposition to the Council, and even an opposition to the Warlock. Everybody protects his interests by any means. I suspect that there are at least two fractions in the Council according to your story. Well, it's called politics...”
“It stinks.”
“Yeah. The King is a puppet, a clown with a crown. The Council is the third hand of the Warlock and Ver'del the Great is The Great Mistake...”
On the top of the bridge she snuggled to me.
“Are you prepared to learn the truth?”
“Yes, I am.”
But, in fact, I wasn't...
♠
In the eastern sk
y first stars appeared while the tops of the four spires were flooded in orange.
“Close your eyes,” Elisa said and tied a blindfold over my eyes.
I shivered in the wind.
“What are you doing?”
“Magic.”
That's not funny...”
“Done,” she announced. “You can take it off. And please don't scream.”
I blinked.
And then I gave a scream!
♠
“You're a wizard!”
My heart swelled.
“Yes, I am,” she confessed with a hint of sorrow.
She wore her long hair plaited into a single braid falling down her back. Around her neck an amulet made from a dragon's tooth glowed. Her legs were naked halfway to her thighs, where a plain dress with a flower pattern passed around her slim waist and split into two parts to cover her firm breasts, leaving the rest of her body bare...
I swallowed.
Her brown eyes stared at me. They were the same as before, but much sharper and a little older. Her beauty was simply beyond man's imagination.
I didn't know where to look first...
She had to anticipate what I felt because her stare was lit by amusement. She touched my hand gently.
“Now look around and tell me what you see.”
“I see...”
Averot'h was definitely not the same as before...
The bridge was the spine of some sea monster and under the bridge a horrible smelling liquid was flowing instead of water. The buildings' walls were crumbling and many houses were reduced to ruins. The streets were covered with dirt and mud; rats swarmed everywhere accompanied by clouds of flies. Sewage flowed freely through the streets. Domes were leaky and King's spire was fractured at its foot and below its top, but still stood tall into the air somehow. The Gatherings tower tilted at an angle that denied gravity and even Ka'tan was not without flaws. Its greyish walls were covered with crevices here and there, but it looked certainly better than both human towers. And above all this devastation Mag'reb shone more brightly and splendidly than ever.
“What, what...”I stuttered in confusion.
“Without Mag'reb the city is only a heap of rubble. The only power that keeps it alive is that of the Warlock.”
“I think I understand...”
I stroked her naked back tenderly from her spine to her shoulder blades. “Aren't you cold?”
I took off my shirt and draped it across her shoulders.
She grinned. “I'm fine, but please continue. No, I have a better idea. Let me do it myself...”
Her fingers released the belt on my trousers and they fell to my ankles. I was left in underwear.
Below my feet a soft carpet of grass appeared suddenly.
“I've wanted to do this since we met that first night,” she whispered while her skillful fingers untied the cord that kept the last piece of my clothing in its place...
♠
We stood on Swallow Bridge dressed again, a little tired and ruffled...
“Are you ready to know about yourself?” Elisa asked.
“I have to be.”
She crossed her fingers and a small mirror appeared in her hand.
“So look at yourself.”
I guess everyone experiences a fateful moment in his or her life. And mine was to come when I looked into the mirror...
♠
I looked at my face as if it was the first time in my life!
Perhaps because it wasn't human!
I saw my face, older by ten years at least, a delicate nose and chin, long brown hair and wide eyes the color of a storm without any white...
I threw the accursed piece of glass to the ground where it shattered into million pieces.
Elisa put her hand on my shoulder. “Syrdan, you're a wizard as well.”
I was too shocked to reply...
♠
“It can't be true!”
Elisa didn't comment.
“How is it possible?!”
She raised her eyebrows. “A very strong and complex spell protected you and gave you a human look. Only from very close inspection an experienced wizard could distinguish your true identity.”
“I don't want to be a wizard!”
“Love,” she gently took my face in her hands. ”I think you're the most handsome being I have ever met. Handsome, kind, brave...” She whispered, while smiling, “And naive as a child at times...”
I began to smile a little too.
“Good...”
“You knew... my true identity... from that first night?”
She bit her lip. “Do I have the right to remain silent?”
“You knew!”
She kissed me slowly. Her shy, tender lips became more and more passionate with every kiss. And this was the only thing that mattered...
“Yes, I did,” she sighed.
CHAPTER 4
Day four
Yesterday was Lokmi's most memorable day. He participated in his first truel, and he was damn lucky. His two opponents eliminated each other with some wild magic and Skw'r had no choice than to spit on my brother's boots in apparent disgust.
The applause was somewhat restrained, but Lokmi advanced to the second round. A few hours later he celebrated his success with folks at Quasim's and drank so much cranberry beer that it took four men to get him to his bed finally. He spent almost all our money, by the way, but it was definitely worth it.
I regret I have missed that. But I was much more concerned over what I learned that morning at Swallow Bridge...
♠
Swallow Bridge was lit by thousands of stars as my fourth morning in the city approached.
“Before I go you must hear this, she said. “Where are wizards' women and children?”
Women and children...
I stared at her with an open mouth.
I was completely blind!
“There are female wizards, she made a solemn face, “Not many though. I'm a woman, aren't I? Besides, I'm the youngest of all. I was born on that very day when Ver'del defeated Gael and became the last Warlock. Since that day no wizard children have been born.”
“That sounds weird...”
“But it's true.”
“Does anybody know why?”
“I know. It's a punishment imposed by Mag'reb on the wizard race.”
“For what reason?”
“Because Ver'del defeated Gael.”
I frowned. “Ver'del won the challenge and became the Warlock. What's the problem?”
Her braid skipped from side to side in disagreement.
“You don't know the most important point. It was not a fair battle of two. Ver'del cheated. He had a mighty secret ally who joined him at the moment he began to lose. And that ally reversed the outcome of the fight. That ally was...”
“Martell,” I guessed.
The image of the red-haired demon with the burnt face filled my mind.
“Right. Maybe that's why Mag'reb is punishing us,” she said. “Martell was only supposed to be an impartial witness representing the Council. And that's why Gael burnt the brand of a traitor on his face.”
♠
“You should know about ka'tans too. They carry people away, mostly men, and feed tephirs with their flesh,” she said flatly.
I was left speechless.
Of course I knew tephirs were not inanimate! They had to eat something, but even in my worst nightmares I would not dream about tephirs consuming human flesh...
I stepped back in a horror. “I can't believe it!”
“I'm very sorry.”
“It's atrocious!”
“Don't look at me that way! I have a tephir, under my bed, but I use him only rarely and I feed him with fruits and vegetables! I would never hurt a human or an animal!”
I paced around her like a tiger in a cage.
“So the tournament is a pretext for a supply of fresh human meat?”
She frowned in disgust.
“The Council must stop it immediately!”
“The Council has approved it! I was there when they were voting. It was eleven votes against one, one abstained...”
I clenched both fist towards Ka'tan spire. “You evil monsters! You nasty bastards!”
My hatred for that vicious breed I had once admired had to be released. When I calmed down, I found Elisa standing on the edge of the bridge staring into the distance, her face turned so I couldn't see it.
“Do you love me?” she whispered. Her braid and shoulders trembled.
She was weeping.
I embraced her. “Yes, I do.”
“Say that...”
“I love you!”
She turned to me finally, her eyes full of tears.
“I feared...” She sobbed. “When you learned the truth you would hate me...”
“I love you now more than ever...”
She calmed down slowly. “You are my love at first sight, do you know that?”
I grinned. “You too... There is one thing I don't understand. How it is possible that you don't have a ...” I hesitated.
“A boyfriend?” she helped me.
“Yeah.”
“I had,” she admitted. “A boy from the neighborhood when I was fourteen, then an older cousin, nothing worth your time. Only one suitor was serious.”
“So you don't have anyone now?”
She giggled. “No!”
“What happened to that serious one?”
She scowled. “I would rather die than to be his spouse!”
I had to think it over.
She is extraordinary. Her suitor had to be exceptional too. That means...
The words stammered in my throat. “Was it Martell?”
She stiffened for a moment and then she broke out laughing. “No, it was not Martell... You demonize him so!”
“Who was it then?”
“It was... Ver'del the Great.”
“Wow... So you're hiding from him pretending to be a human girl?”
“It's more complicated than that. Once I realized he wanted me, I had to flee. I spent four years traveling on the human side of the Wall, avoiding Averot'h from a distance. One day rumors were heard. I was in the city of Gedah then, some fifty miles away. On the first day of the tournament, before noon, I received a message from my uncle E'van. Maybe you have met him. He sells sa'ne close to Quasim's.”
The City of Wizards Page 3
