Wild Sorceress

by Margaret L. Carter

  Aetria was exhausted. The rest and stew of a day ago, and the unexplained magic of the Tierian, were wearing off. She dismounted and led her horse over to a large rock sitting in a tiny glade of high grass. The horse lowered her head and began to feed. Aetria sat down on the rock and put her aching head in her hands, elbows propped on her knees.

  Am I thinking clearly? she asked herself.

  How can I be? she answered.

  * * * *

  Primed and ready to cast the most magnificent spell of her career, Aetria strode confidently to the crest of the hill overlooking the battle raging below. To her right cantered the 23rd Kelrossian Lancers, preparing to charge. On her left were the elite Royal Guard, ready to supply the crushing blow to the Hermanian front lines before her. In front of her was the bespelled squadron of cavalry she had previously conjured for this most grand diversion of hers. She turned and looked behind her at the small group of black-robed Magi watching her from a not too distant hill.

  Raising her arms, she summoned the Power and cast the spell, pouring every ounce of energy she could into the illusion. She felt the surge go through her as the Power shot out and the spell blossomed into being. With horror, she watched the glamor fall from the be-spelled squadron as it became the herd of cows that it was. The glory and grandeur disappeared from the assembled armies, and the power of truth exposed all for what it was. She looked down at her body and saw a sad, frightened little girl clutching a stuffed toy dragon, and she began to cry.

  The Hermanian army sent up a wild cheer and began their attack. The Kelrossian Lancers wheeled in anger and ran. Their leader charged directly for her, his lance pointed at her heart. She hugged the dragon to her and begged him, “Save me, Rajii, save me.” The thunder of the horse was upon her, the gleaming silver of the lance point at her heart.

  "The projector weapon is still exposed, Little One. Why?” Rajii said.

  * * * *

  Aetria jerked awake, almost falling off the rock and startling the horse, which whinnied in protest. “Not that cursed dream again. How long was I asleep?"

  She looked around in the darkness, the stars shining brightly in the clear mountain air. The moon was peeking over one of the mountain ridges.

  "No more than an hour,” she told herself aloud. Standing slowly, she walked over to her horse to steady her, patting the horse's neck reassuringly. “Sorry, girl. It is a bad dream I used to have back at Inhestia. I always awake before the lance kills me. And Rajii said ... Wait a moment. Rajii never spoke before. He said, ‘The projector weapon is still exposed. Why?’ Why, indeed? That's it. If Coleni is working for them, she would have gotten rid of the weapon to prevent me from tracking them. Thank you, Rajii, wherever you are."

  She mounted her horse and started up the narrowing river to the mine.

  * * * *

  Aetria watched the three women in black labor up the hill to the mine. She was lying on a small ledge to the right and above the entrance, her position shielded by rocks and shrubbery. With all the energy pouring from the mine, she had risked a hiding spell as well. The women had to watch their foot placement very carefully and were not spending much time looking up into the harsh morning sunlight.

  Fernonia was flanking Coleni, slightly behind her and to Coleni's left. If Coleni had tried to drop down on the women behind her, she would only have collected Corerilla on the way down. Fernonia had learned a lot in her short period of time with the guard.

  "Stop a moment, Novice. I must catch my breath,” Corerilla said. While the older woman braced herself with a rod made from a sapling, Coleni looked up the hill at the mine entrance, gauging the distance remaining. Her eyes looked up and locked on to Aetria's position. A slight smile flitted for a moment across her lips. She turned and started to her left toward Fernonia.

  "She said to stop, Novice, not move around and stir up gravel to fall on her.” Fernonia had been leaning on her projector weapon, but now had it swinging in Coleni's direction. Coleni stopped.

  "Standing where I was, I was doing just that, Lieutenant. However, I will do as you wish."

  "Now that we are almost there, you are thinking cooperation is a good idea? I wish you had made up your mind days earlier,” the lieutenant said testily.

  Corerilla waved them upward with a sweep of her arm and a grunt.

  They made it to the entrance shortly thereafter and disappeared inside. Aetria could hear them talking, the sound of their voices echoing off the walls of the mine. She scanned the approach to the hill from the women's camp once more to ensure no one was watching, then began her journey downward to the mouth of the mine. She reached the floor level without causing rock and dirt to fall down the steep slope and warn the women in the mine.

  A quick glance around the corner showed them near the very back of the mine, looking at the exposed shield material. They were close to where Alicia's body had been. She slipped into a small grotto on the right side of the entrance, the better to hear them talking.

  "Fireballs are not going to blast away this rock, Counselor,” Coleni said, poking a finger into the black crystalline flakes coating the walls. “It looks like something a lot hotter than a fireball has scorched this place in the past."

  "Did I say she was going to use fireballs to blast loose the core material? How presumptuous of you,” Corerilla retorted.

  She nodded at Fernonia, who moved over to the wall and found a spot to sit against it as she moved a pouch from behind her back and began to search inside it. Coleni looked at Corerilla quickly and noted with disappointment that the Magess was watching her instead of the lieutenant. Fernonia pulled out several plates of black material and put them on the floor.

  "Since you and your sister were nice enough to discover the timing problem with the weapons, all the lieutenant has to do to make her weapon explode is increase the shield material inside. We put the weapon in the crevasse over there where we can see a vein of source material and spell in a fireball. The weapon explodes, and we—I mean you and the lieutenant—harvest the material."

  Coleni looked into the crevasse Corerilla had mentioned and sensed the outflow of new energy, revealing the presence of the red source material. “And what if her weapon causes the whole mine to explode with it? There is that possibility, Magess."

  Dismissing the thought with a flip of her hand, Corerilla said rather coolly, “My son didn't think so, and he used a much bigger red source to make this hole. If it does, then my plans to rule Delmathia, Hermania, and the rest of the world will be finished. We will be dead. Your sister will be executed, and the Order will muddle along into obscurity as it is now. A very dull future. I would not want to be part of it. So we will explode the weapon and take our chances. Don't you agree, Lieutenant?"

  "Yes, Magess. I will be ready in just a few moments."

  * * * *

  Aetria felt the cold edge of a knife press gently against her throat and she felt a hand grip her armor at the back of her neck. “Don't move, Aetria, and you may still live a few moments more.” The voice was hoarse, garbled, almost impossible to understand. She froze.

  * * * *

  A commotion at the entrance of the mine made Coleni look in that direction. She was shocked to see Aetria slowly walking toward them, a tall figure behind her pushing her by the back of her armor.

  A knife at her throat! The man is Pleates!

  * * * *

  "Well, my son, I am glad you decided to join us. And you brought a friend! Sorceress Aetria, you are supposed to be locked up in Inhestia awaiting execution. I see my loyal troops are not so loyal. That is a problem I will have to take care of as soon as I finish here. I should have listened to you and assumed she would escape.

  "Pleates, my dear, how clever you were to Power down so these troublesome sisters could not detect you. Needless to say you must be very careful with Aetria. You have disarmed her, haven't you? You know what she can do with those wicked little daggers of hers."

  Pleates stopped Aetria a few paces away
from his mother. His response, coming from behind her, was a combination of a coarse growl and a laugh. She felt a stinging at her throat as Pleates pressed the blade inward, and for a moment thought her throat was being cut. Pleates did not complete the cut, growling in her ear, “Not yet, Aetria, but soon."

  She felt what had to be blood dripping warmly down her neck, sliding past her armor and between her breasts. She watched as Fernonia stopped opening her weapon, putting the pieces on the ground by her feet, and moved toward her. In moments, she was stripped of her wrist daggers and sword. The lieutenant tossed them toward the mine entrance, where they fell to the floor with a clatter.

  "Thank you, Fernonia, I feel so much safer now you have pulled Aetria's fangs. Please step over here by me. Pleates, move away from Aetria, but keep her covered with your weapon. Carefully, son! She is very quick with her feet and hands. Move over by me. That's it. Very good."

  Aetria was now isolated, weaponless, her back to the wall of the mine a few feet away. Coleni stood to her left, the center of attention for Fernonia, whose sword was covering her sister. Pleates was watching her very intently. She could now see the badly healed wound in his throat, his voice box horribly mutilated by her dagger. His eyes were filled with such a hatred for her that she wondered what kept him from killing her. Corerilla stood between them, looking from her son to Aetria, as a cat would watch her kitten worry and threaten a mouse.

  When is she going to turn him loose?

  "First things first. Aetria, you are the easiest of my problems to take care of, so I will fix that right now.” Corerilla hit her with a lightning bolt, knocking her backward into the stone wall. She didn't feel any pain, even after colliding with the wall and careening off the jagged rocks, because the bolt had numbed her. When she hit the rocky floor, she did not feel that either. She lay there, staring out at the feet of Corerilla, stunned, unable to move, but still hearing the witch.

  I have been here before.

  She heard Coleni's yelp of fright and Fernonia's order to stand still. She couldn't see her sister.

  Do what she says, Coleni. One of us has to live. Aetria willed her sister to understand her unspoken plea.

  "Now is the time to make your decision, Coleni. I have no doubt that Aetria's misdirected concern for the people, her vaunted honor, and her sickly sweet goodness would prevent her from ever joining me in my conquest of the land. I don't need her if I have you, and I don't need you since I have my son. You do have talents that would be useful to me, and your shared talents for detecting the core material would make his work a lot easier. I am willing to have you join us. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

  "Your life in Hermania is worthless. No Order will ever let you be a sorceress again. You have no family that cares for you, except for a sister you hardly even knew who killed your lover. You could have great power and wealth if you join me. I could train you to become a powerful Magess, head of my Illusionists. You could do whatever your passions drove you to do. You desire Aggressors; my son would not be displeased to pleasure you, I'm sure. His voice does not work so well, but I think the rest of him will function. Just think of what that union might create! You would be free to rule your own life, just as long as your actions don't interfere with me. Make your decision, Coleni."

  The numbness was wearing off. Aetria felt the presence of Power radiating through her and realized her head was resting on the source of it. The confusion she was feeling was not just due to being stunned. She willed her arms to move and managed to roll onto her back. The movement caused the others to look at her. She twisted her head to look at her sister. Coleni was staring at her, indecision in her eyes. Aetria tried to speak, but only a groan escaped her lips.

  "What about Aetria?” Coleni asked fearfully.

  Corerilla put her hands on her hips and sighed in exasperation. “Now I know you want her to be spared, but she has been such a problem. First, she almost kills my son. If one of the assassins had not been trained in rudimentary healing, Pleates would be dead now.

  "Then she gets that General Borlock curious about the business of the Order, and the general begins to poke around in areas she should not. Between the general and Aetria, the two of them managed to severely undermine my influence with the Council by making me look foolish during the hearing.

  "Finally, she kills the only guide I had to find my son when she tossed one of her nasty knives into Sergeant Ventler. He was going to take me to this mine. I had to move my entire plan's time schedule up by grabbing you to find the mine for me. I now no longer have the possibility of returning to Inhestia and taking up where I left off because you and she interfered with my plan to get rid of the lot of you. No, Aetria must pay the price for her interference."

  Easing herself up until she was sitting upright, Aetria looked down to where her head had been lying and saw the green of a source. It was Alicia's missing student source! The leather thong used to hang it around the neck was coiled around it like a tiny snake. Aetria looked groggily at Coleni, catching her eyes, then looked back quickly at the source. Coleni followed her eyes, saw, and looked away, nodding her head.

  "Since Aetria is feeling better and is now aware of what is about to happen, perhaps she would like to give you a counter argument to plead for her life. Would you like that, my dear soon-to-be dead Sorceress?"

  Aetria nodded. She coughed once and moved her tongue around in her mouth trying to get moisture to her lips. She weakly said to Coleni, “You can put the monster back in her cage, Coleni."

  "Now you are calling me names, Aetria. Kill her, Pleates."

  Snatching up the source, Aetria tossed it at Corerilla. Fernonia just as quickly grabbed it in mid-air before it hit the Magess. It dangled on its leather strap.

  "A student source? What is this?” Fernonia laughed out.

  Pleates looked at Fernonia, and seeing Coleni start to point at the source, croaked out, “No!” He threw his knife.

  Coleni shot a lightning bolt into the source. It was the largest bolt she had ever spelled, but it did the job. The source exploded.

  Just managing to cover her face with her arms, Aetria felt the blast the least because she was sitting on the ground. She was shoved violently against the wall behind her once more and this time felt the pain. The explosion deafened her, and as she rolled over, she could not see through the choking cloud of smoke and dust created by the detonation. She crawled to where she hoped Coleni was and found her sister flat on her back. Her eyes were open, staring into nothingness. Pleates’ knife was buried in her heart.

  "Power, no,” she wailed, grabbing the knife and pulling it free. She pulled the bottle Loreana had given her from her pouch and tried to pour its contents into Coleni's mouth. The liquid filled her sister's mouth and spilled over her lips, and Aetria saw that Coleni was not breathing, for the liquid just stayed pooled in her sister's mouth.

  In sitting up, sharp pains shot up from her back and sides, and Aetria gasped in agony.

  "Oh, Rajii, help me.” She summoned the Power and sent it surging out from her grid, putting all she had into one last Healing spell for Coleni.

  Aetria pitched forward onto her sister, unconscious.

  EPILOGUE

  She was nestled between Rajii's front legs, leaning up against his broad chest. His armored scales felt soft to her, and she could hear the beating of his huge heart, so constant and reassuring. They were in her favorite glade—the glade she had made for him in her favorite forest. It was the glade where she had met the Other.

  "Rajii, when is she coming?” Aetria asked her dragon.

  The dragon looked around them, his eyes searching the void beyond the glade, and he sighed a sad sigh. Aetria looked up at him and watched a tiny tear fall from his large eyes. How could eyes so huge cry such a small tear? she wondered.

  "I see no path for her, Little One."

  Aetria sat upright, alarmed at his words that suddenly put meaning to his tear.

  "No!” she cried, jumping
up from between his sheltering feet, the fierce long talons intertwined to keep her safe. She raced to the edge of the glade and began a frantic search for the path. She found her own path, glowing and alive, with tiny lights darting back and forth along the path. It was where it should be. She raced along the perimeter of the glade, calling for the Other, searching for her path. It was not there.

  "I'll share,” she wailed at Rajii. “Tell me where to share,” she begged her dragon. He only laid his long snout on his front feet and breathed out a tendril of smoke that wafted across the glade and disappeared into the void.

  She burrowed past his face scales, under his horrid fangs and into her safe haven, where she cried her heart out against his blue-green breast. The soothing noises he tried to make sounded like a lion's snarl, but she felt better after a while.

  Then she got mad and punched her dragon, pummeling his protective scales with her little fists.

  "You said you would protect us, Rajii. You promised,” she said angrily.

  "We both did all we could do, Little One."

  "It wasn't enough, dragon."

  Rajii raised his head to look down at his tiny burden, her eyes all red from crying, her lips curled in anger at him. “For so very many of your kind, your concept of enough is so limited you will always believe there is more. And you are not happy thinking you could have it. There are a few of you who understand enough and are content with its vastness, knowing it will meet your needs."

  "Where is her path, Rajii?"

  "I don't know, Aetria. It does not touch my heart anymore."

  * * * *

  "She is awakening, Sonja."