The Chimera Jar: The Aegis of Merlin Book 3

by James E. Wisher

  “Do you know Sonja Chard? She’s a senior, fire wizard, came to visit me a few weeks back.”

  She hung her head and gave it a shake. A moment later she perked up and whistled something in the piping language of the wind.

  Conryu sighed. “I don’t understand.”

  She stared at him for a handful of seconds then turned into a breeze and blew out the door. Maybe he offended her.

  “Pixies are flighty creatures.” Prime flew up off the desk. “A random thought probably popped into her empty little head and she flitted off to explore it.”

  “Why do you dislike her so much? As far as I can tell she’s an absolute sweetheart yet you’ve done nothing but growl and snap at her since we got here.”

  Prime flexed his cover in what Conryu had come to recognize as his approximation of a human shrug. “I’m a demon.”

  He said it like that was the only explanation required. “Would you care to elaborate?”

  “Demons and other spirits have never gotten along. Just being in their presence makes my pages crawl. I can barely tolerate the wind spirit and the water spirit peeking at us from the bathroom.”

  Conryu turned his head just in time to catch a glimpse of the naiad vanishing out of the doorway.

  “But only because you command it, Master. To put it simply, demons do not play well with others.”

  “Great.”

  The pixie blew back in and turned into a girl. She grabbed his robe and tugged him toward the door. He started to ask what she was doing before he remembered he wouldn’t understand even if she told him. Conryu held out his hand and Prime flew into it, shifting as he went so he resembled an especially ugly leather-bound book.

  “I’m coming.”

  He followed her up and out of the basement, down the long hall to the cafeteria. Sonja sat by herself in an ill-lit corner, a bag of vanilla cookies on the table in front of her. She nibbled one with a distant look on her face.

  “You found her for me, thanks.”

  The pixie rubbed her cheek against his and blew away.

  Now he had to figure out why Sonja looked so depressed. Conryu had always favored the direct approach so he walked over, laid Prime on the table, and sat across from her. “Hey.”

  Sonja looked up at him. She had dark ridges under her eyes. “Go away.”

  He grabbed the bag of cookies out from under her nose. “Can’t do that. There’s a new rule: depressed people aren’t allowed to eat cookies, it just brings the rest of us down and insults the cookies.”

  He grabbed one and popped it in his mouth. It was dry, bland, and way too sweet. Why on earth did she favor the nasty things?

  “I refuse to be cheered up. Now give me my cookies and leave me alone.”

  “At the very least you owe me an explanation. I half froze on my way out to the shed. And when I arrived, instead of my favorite fire wizard, I find a closed door and not so much as a note.”

  She reached for the cookies, but he pulled them further back. “If you’re a good girl and tell me why the only club that would let me join has disbanded I’ll let you have one.”

  “There’s no point to meeting anymore. The Brawl’s over and I’m graduating this summer. I am sorry I forgot to tell you.”

  “So, what, you’re going to spend the rest of your Sundays alone in the cafeteria moping and eating cookies?”

  “That was my plan.”

  “Fine, but if we’re going to mope we are going to do it properly. Just a minute.” Conryu went over to the kitchen and bought a pair of ice cream cups and grabbed two spoons. He opened one and set it in front of Sonja. “There. According to my mom you can’t have a proper mope without ice cream. Now, do you want to eat in silence or do you want to tell me about it?”

  Sonja grabbed a cookie, nibbled it, and blew out a sigh. “It’s my family. They want me to come work for them as soon as I graduate. I love my parents, but I really don’t want to work at the factory.”

  “Did you tell them?” Conryu took a bite of ice cream. Much better than the cookies.

  “No. They were so excited about me joining the company I didn’t have the heart. I don’t know what to do. If I tell them I want to work with them I’ll be miserable and if I tell them I don’t I’ll feel like a shit-heel. It’s your classic no-win situation.”

  Sounded like Sonja had the same problem as Kelsie. Did anyone have a good relationship with their parents besides Conryu and Maria? “Do you get along with your parents?”

  “Oh, yeah. They’re great, a little workaholic maybe, but otherwise great. I never planned on working with them you know. I was going to go into engineering, but senior year I passed the wizards’ test with a decent score and they immediately began planning how I could help out. It was like they forgot I had other plans.”

  Conryu smiled, thinking of his own plans, now on hold. A burst of inspiration struck. “You ever think about building a motorcycle with an engine that runs on magic?”

  She stared at him. “Why would anyone build an engine that ran on magic? A gas engine is much simpler.”

  “Just to see if it was possible. You’d need earth magic to make the parts move. Water magic for lubrication.”

  “No, earth magic would handle that as well, oil comes from the earth after all. You could use fire magic for extra thrust and wind magic to keep the bugs out of your teeth.”

  “What about something for safety?” He took another bite of his ice cream and struggled not to smile.

  “The wind bubble could probably handle that too.” She dropped her cookie and frowned at him. “I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work. I’m determined to be miserable.”

  “Right. Do you think fire magic in the combustion chamber would work better than earth magic to power the engine?”

  The discussion lasted for another hour and by the end he doubted he could have kept Sonja from trying to build a magic engine even if he wanted to. “Do you think Crystal, Onyx, and Jade would be interested in working on it?”

  “Crystal for sure, as long as she doesn’t make the academy team. The others were pretty pissed when I closed up shop so they may have moved on.”

  “Wait, the academy team? You mean for the Four Nations’ Tournament?”

  “Yeah, they’re holding tryouts today down by the lake. Crystal wanted to give it a shot, but I don’t think she can beat the earth magic wizard from last year’s team. Crystal will be a senior next year and the current girl will have graduated so she should have a good chance if she wants to try again.”

  “Why didn’t you try out?” Conryu asked. “You’re pretty strong in fire magic.”

  “One of the girls in my grade is way stronger than me and she’s trying out. I’d have no chance against her.”

  “Oh, well, we’ll just have to focus on the engine. I can handle the repairs if you two take care of the magic. It shouldn’t be hard to lay my hands on a motor and tools. Shall we get started next week?”

  “Might as well. We’re out of cookies and ice cream.” She jumped up, ran around the table, and hugged him. “Thanks. This should be fun.”

  He grinned, thrilled at the prospect of working on a motor again, and even more thrilled to see Sonja back to her usual self.

  Lady Mockingbird’s heels clicked on the stairs as she led her four strongest girls down to the basement casting chamber. She’d spent her every free moment the past week poring over the research notes taken from the Kincade’s lab. She’d never admit it, but some of the magical theory was way over her head and she considered herself well read when it came to advanced wizardry.

  Nevertheless she felt confident that she understood the process sufficiently to begin the summoning and binding portion of the project. She would, however, be taking all necessary precautions, thus the line of girls following with bowed heads.

  At the bottom of the steps she turned left and entered the austere casting chamber. Everything had been removed, even her full-length scrying mirror, to be certain no stray
magic would interfere with her casting and to protect the valuable item from out-of-control spirits.

  Following the directions in the lab notes, she’d spent hours after her classes inscribing a spell circle. The complex mix of runes intertwined and covered most of the floor. She had to be careful not to stare as the runes had a tendency to twist and writhe in her vision, filling her with nausea and a hint of vertigo.

  “Places, ladies.” She’d gone over the project often enough that the four girls hurried to the four corners of the room and settled in to await her next command.

  Lady Mockingbird stepped to the center of the circle and placed the jar at her feet before tiptoeing back, careful not to disturb any of her delicate runes. She would start with fire as that was her strongest element.

  She threw her hands up and to the sides, a dramatic and unnecessary gesture, but one that pleased her nonetheless. This was a moment to savor, the moment when Conryu Koda’s life ended and her ascension to Hierarch became reality.

  “Begin.”

  The girls chanted the same spell, each in the language of their aligned element. Lines of energy climbed the walls and ceiling; red, white, brown, and blue intertwined and fused, creating a massive protective barrier around the chamber.

  When all the lines had appeared and the girls had fallen into a monotonous, sustained chant, Lady Mockingbird began her summoning. “From the hottest realm I call you, child of fire. Appear and serve a loyal ally of flame. Fire Summoning!” The power built slowly as the heat in the room rose. Sweat drenched her body, running down her back and legs, and soaking her red robe.

  She ignored all the distractions, focusing on her will and desire. A flaming gate appeared in the middle of the chamber directly above the jar. She called the name of a spirit well known to her. “Azoth Blazewing.”

  It was a shame to sacrifice such a valuable servant, but she wanted to be certain her first summoning went smoothly and the blazewing was of sufficient power for her needs.

  The flames shifted and swirled before a shining, translucent wing emerged, followed by a second. The moment they cleared the flames the wings beat so fast they became a blur. Wind rushed around Lady Mockingbird, drying the sweat for a moment.

  A dragonfly as long as she was tall pulled itself free of the portal. The moment the blazewing cleared the gate she collapsed it. The giant, flaming insect zipped around the room a couple times before hovering in front of Lady Mockingbird.

  She crooned to it in the language of fire, soothing the spirit’s distress. With gentle coaxing she positioned it directly above the Chimera Jar. She offered it a gentle smile and spoke the activation phrase for the artifact. “Make many into one.”

  Black tentacles shot up out of the mouth of the jar and dragged the blazewing down. It buzzed and spat flames, all to no avail. A minute later it was gone and the temperature of the room had dropped back to normal.

  Lady Mockingbird wiped her brow. One down, three to go. “Take five, ladies.”

  The students fell silent and slumped against the wall. They’d done well. None of her girls had faltered when the blazewing appeared nor had they fumbled a single word during the lengthy summoning. She expected no less, but was still pleased that they met her high standards.

  Ten minutes later, when the girls had caught their breaths and her strength had returned enough to resume, Lady Mockingbird clapped her hands. “Positions.”

  They all scrambled up and restored the wards. When they’d fallen into a comfortable rhythm she chanted in the language of earth. It was essentially the same spell only in a different language. As a fire wizard Lady Mockingbird knew far fewer earth spirits than she did fire, but one whose name she’d found in her research should closely match the blazewing in power.

  The lab notes had been very definite that all four spirits used in the chimera had to be of like power. That was why she used the blazewing instead of one of the more powerful fire spirits she’d met over the years.

  The floor rumbled as the spell reached its conclusion and the earth portal opened. She called the name of the spirit. “Prima Basilisk.” A moment later the knobby, horned head of the basilisk emerged from the gate. It dragged itself into the chamber using eight heavily muscled legs that ended in talons as long as her forearm.

  The basilisk turned its yellow gaze on Lady Mockingbird and loosed a roar that shook the chamber. She ended the spell, closing the gate and trapping the earth lizard in their reality. Unlike the blazewing, the basilisk didn’t look on her with a gentle expression.

  Though earth and fire got along most of the time, summoning the beast into the close confines of the casting chamber put the basilisk on its guard and her at a disadvantage. She couldn’t give it time to attack. It had appeared close enough to the jar that she risked speaking the activation phrase.

  The tentacles shot out again, and the ends flailed against the basilisk’s pebbly hide. Damn it! The earth spirit was just out of range.

  Lady Mockingbird raised a hand. “Burn my enemies to ash. Flame Blast!” A jet of fire streaked toward the basilisk. Her spell splashed against its tough skin, but instead of driving it closer to the jar it only enraged the beast.

  The basilisk roared, lowered its head, and charged toward the wall. The house trembled, but the wards held.

  Many more blows like that and the building wouldn’t survive. Even from a distance the tension on the face of the girl protecting that wall was clear. One more solid hit would knock her out.

  Lady Mockingbird chanted another spell. “Flames of protection!” A wall of flames shot up between the basilisk and the wall it had just struck. The beast shook its head and turned toward her. It wasn’t the brightest creature in existence, but it had just enough intelligence to recognize her as the source of its problems.

  It snarled and charged right at her. Its crest horn looked far bigger when it was pointed right at her chest. A quick wind spell empowered her leap and carried her over the beast’s back. She whistled once in midair to adjust her trajectory, avoiding the flailing tentacles and coming to a safe landing on the opposite side of the jar.

  The basilisk slammed full speed into the wall behind her last position, shaking the building and making the wards tremble. If she couldn’t force it into the jar soon she’d have to send it back to its home dimension or risk losing the building.

  It turned to face her and she dared hope it might be stupid enough to charge right through the tentacles in its rage to reach her.

  That hope was thwarted when it stalked to the left, keeping well away from the jar. At least it hadn’t decided to attack one of the girls. If even one of them lost her focus the wards would collapse allowing the basilisk to smash its way out with ease.

  The basilisk didn’t have the right sort of magic to read her mind, but as it passed one of the girls its tail lashed out. The casual blow couldn’t penetrate the barrier, but it startled the young wizard enough that she stammered through a portion of the chant.

  The line of energy fluctuated and collapsed. Dumb though it was, the basilisk was still a magical creature. Its head perked up the moment the wards collapsed.

  It was no use. Lady Mockingbird chanted the portal spell again, this time opening it right under the beast’s many feet. It fell through the opening and back into its own realm. She sealed the gate, not giving it a chance to climb back out. Another quick incantation deactivated the jar.

  Though she hated to admit it, even to herself, Lady Mockingbird was going to need some help if she wanted to secure the remaining spirits required to complete the chimera.

  3

  Sentinel Search

  Terra slowly coaxed the residual energy out of the open box and away from the blob of necroplasma. She’d turned off every light save one in the casting chamber to minimize distractions. She’d been fiddling with the ugly blob since Conryu opened the box for them. Every trick she’d tried failed to coax it to do anything but slam itself over and over again into the containment circle. She’d finally gi
ven up and returned to her original plan of determining the purpose of the artifact once contained in the box.

  The cloud of dark energy rose above the blob and when it was high enough she opened a small gap in the containment field and brought it out. She breathed a sigh of relief when the energy cleared the opening and the field had resealed. Though she had absolutely no experience dealing with necroplasma, Terra didn’t want her first effort to be chasing the mad blob all over her casting chamber.

  Now that she didn’t have to divide her focus Terra used wisps of dark energy to nudge the cloud of energy into its former shape, using the fragmented lines running through it as a guide. It was a tedious task combining optimism and guesswork.

  Hours passed, or so she assumed from the stiffness in her back, but at last the final line fell into place. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized what the spell did. The five artifacts would tap into the power of the floating island to open multiple portals to the netherworld to summon god knew how many shadow beasts into the city. If it worked tens of thousands might die.

  At least now she knew why nothing had happened since the battle with the bikers and the theft of their bodies. Mercia couldn’t trigger the summoning until the island returned this summer. That was their one advantage. If they somehow located and destroyed the boxes before the island returned, Mercia’s plan would fail. If even one remained she could still summon dozens of monsters capable of killing scores or more people.

  That was beyond contemplation.

  The cloud of energy dissipated and she switched the lights back on. The blob appeared less energetic when she left the room fully lit.

  She strode out of the chamber and down the hall to Lin’s office. Hopefully he’d finished mapping the potential hiding places. She paused outside the unmarked door, knocked once, adjusted her hair and robe, and pushed it open.

  Lin sat behind his desk hunched over a cheap laptop, the pile of notes beside him. He looked up and smiled. “Hey. Any progress?”

  “Some.” She told him what she’d discovered and when she finished Lin stared at her, his mouth hanging open.