“Thank you for noticing,” said Stavius. “What, exactly, are you doing?”
“I’m giving you one, last chance to learn to access your magic using the patented, Janus, magical training technique. You see, I believe that you have more magical ability than anyone here except me, of course. I can feel the entire magical energy field of this valley quiver every time you strain to use it, but nothing happens. You need the proper motivation.”
Janus waved his arm over the sandpit, and the sand began to jiggle. A moment later he reached into the pit and pulled out a long sandstone bar. He spun around and threw it at Stavius with all his strength. It was a gleaming, stainless steel spear by the time it left his hand, and it was speeding straight toward Stavius’ heart.
Chapter 9
Battle Magic
Stavius reflexively raised his arm, thrust his hand, palm forward with his fingers spread wide, and a small, glowing blue disk appeared. The spear turned to dust as it drove into this small shield. Stavius looked down and saw a small pile of white sand at his feet.
“Nice reaction, Stavius. Now let’s see how you handle fire,” taunted Janus as he flung a giant, orange and yellow ball of fire at Stavius.
“Hey!” yelled Stavius as he defensively raised both arms in front of his face and ducked. A blue sphere of energy formed around him, but he wasn’t quite quick enough this time, and his left forearm was singed.
“Ouch, that hurt, you little prick,” he yelled as he threw a brilliant red fireball of his own at Janus.
Janus flicked it away with a wave of his hand and said, “Ooooh, so you decided to come out and play, Stavius. Do you think you can handle it?”
Janus then threw three small fireballs at Stavius in rapid succession. Seeing Janus’ dismissal of his attack with a wave of his hand gave Stavius an idea. He blocked Janus’ fireballs with a left and a right and another left forearm block. It was like doing martial arts with magic wrist guards.
The fireballs bounced off his blocks into the darkness and Stavius looked at his arms. His hands and arms were surrounded by a golden glow, and he could feel the magic energy coursing through his body.
“You’re going to lose if you stop to admire the pretty colors,” laughed Janus as he blasted a lightning bolt at Stavius.
Stavius extended his left arm straight in front of his body and dropped his right arm behind. He caught the lightning bolt and felt its energy surge over his body, down his right arm, and into the ground behind him. He didn’t know how he knew how to do this but then remembered the long nights of fantasy games he played with Malik, Tyler, and Ethan. They would role-play their enchanted battles, and these were some of the moves they invented.
Janus finally stopped his attack and an idea formed in Stavius’ mind while they both stood there panting. He remembered how Ethan and Tyler had been deadlocked between two perfectly matched warlocks when Ethan tried something different. Tyler claimed it didn’t work, and they argued for an hour, but it was worth a try.
Stavius wound up and blasted a power bolt towards Janus, who raised a block. The bolt didn’t hit Janus, though. Instead, it exploded the earth at his feet, which threw the boy a good ten feet in the air. Stavius immediately smashed him with a fireball thrown with all his might before Janus could react, and Janus was knocked through the air for half the length of a football field.
A crowd had gathered and was talking in hushed tones as Stavius struggled to catch his breath. He ignored them and began running toward Janus as he realized that his friend wasn’t moving and might be seriously hurt. Stavius had almost reached him when he heard Janus yell, “Yeah, baby! What a rush!”
Stavius slowed to a jog and reached down to help Janus up. “Are you all right, man?” he asked as he pulled his friend to his feet.
“All right? That was awesome, dude! I knew you had it in you,” Janus laughed. He noticed Stavius’ burnt forearm and said, “Let me help you with that.”
Janus passed his hand over Stavius’ arm, and the ugliest scab Stavius had ever seen appeared.
“Don’t worry. That will start itching like crazy tomorrow, but your skin will be healed as soon as you pull it off.”
He was grinning, but his expression turned serious as he said, “Dude, you are in so much trouble. Look at what you did to Bor’s precious practice field.”
Stavius turned around and saw the ordinarily immaculate tournament field grass scarred with burnt streaks and a large, ten-foot diameter, half-foot-deep crater at midfield. He said, “Hey, some of that’s your fault.”
“Yeah, but I don’t have to take combat classes from the man,” chuckled Janus. “He’s going to kill you.”
Bor ran onto the field at that very moment and yelled, “What in the name of Mars is going on here?” and they both doubled over with laughter.
Everyone had rushed over to watch once the fireworks began and no one could believe that Stavius was involved. “Let me ask again,” bellowed Bor. “What in the name of Mars is going on here?”
“Sorry about your field, Bor,” said Stavius. “Janus was just teaching me some, um,” he wasn’t sure what to call it.
“I was teaching him how to do battle magic,” explained Janus.
“It’s called Manipulation,” interjected Ms. Birquel.
“No, it’s called battle magic,” insisted Janus.
“Can you do Manipulation?” Bor asked Ms. Birquel.
“Well, no, and I’ve never heard of anyone doing it before,” admitted Ms. Birquel, “but it has been discussed as theoretically possible by the most advanced wizards of our time.”
“Then I say that the people who can do it are the people who can name it,” growled Bor and Ms. Birquel backed off. “Tell me what happened,” he continued. “Stavius couldn’t create an illusion when he left the dinner table and now there’s ... all this.” Bor was now looking at his damaged field.
“Stavius still can’t cast an illusion,” said Janus. “He cannot control magic like the rest of us; however, he can tap directly into the energy emanating from Mearth and direct it however he wants. It took me years of practice to do this, but he’s a natural. We just had to draw it out of him.”
“And how did you do that?” asked Ms. Birquel. “I’ve been working with him for weeks with no success.”
“I tried the Craan method and sucker punched him,” grinned Janus. “It seemed to bring out his fighting skills, and I figured, why not. He’s about to head out and be killed anyway. There was nothing to lose.”
“You know, you really are a jerk,” said Stavius. “But thank you anyway.”
“No problem, man,” laughed Janus. “That was the most fun I’ve ever had. It was awesome! Woo-hoo!”
“Here’s the deal, guys,” said Stavius. “I’m heading out to rescue the other heroes tomorrow morning, and Janus is coming with me.”
Janus looked startled, but Urtish interrupted before he could say anything. “Janus can’t go because he’s the Key. He’s not a hero.”
“The Key is useless unless we acquire the talismans,” argued Stavius. “We all know I can’t do that alone, but maybe it’s possible with Janus’ help. Besides, did you see us fighting out here? This guy has hero written all over him.”
There were several muted cheers from the trainers, and Bor cut Urtish off before he could complain. “I agree. Janus is definitely a hero. And one more thing, I’m coming with you. You’re going to need all the help you can get.”
“No, you’re not,” came an unfamiliar voice from the darkness. The centaur stepped into the light and continued, “I’ll carry these two to Septumcolis, but there’s no way anyone your size is ever getting on my back.”
Bor looked disappointed, so Stavius quickly added, “Don’t worry, man. We’ll go bring the heroes back, and if we don’t get the talismans this time, we’ll save some fighting for you for the next attempt.”
Urtish then clapped his hands and said, “OK, everybody, we have some serious packing to do. These boys need to leave
at first light if they hope to make it out of the mountains before nightfall.”
Stavius and Janus had been sent to bed to rest before their journey, but the rest of the village had pulled an all-nighter to pack for them. The boys were awakened at four thirty and arrived at the town square at five, ready for breakfast and departure. The large cart the villagers had used to carry the centaur was now fully loaded and ready to be hitched up. The boys were amazed at how much they were bringing and asked whether there was enough left to get the village through the coming winter.
The centaur was not as amused. He took one look at the supply wagon, grabbed two bushels of apples off the top, and said, “I’m not pulling any wagon. Oh, and don’t forget that magical essence decays out there. You don’t want any embarrassing moments when your illusions fade and your clothes revert to leaves.”
He instructed the boys to only pack what they could carry themselves. That would limit their total weight to what he could handle. Then he left.
The trainers were thrown into confusion and began arguing about what was essential. Finally, Stavius and Janus took charge and started getting rid of gear. Removing the dragon skin armor, heavy helmets, and the armory of weapons reduced the load by half. Their mission was going to depend on stealth more than strength. Trying to get all this gear through checkpoints would only raise suspicions.
Stavius stared longingly at his sword. It, his former house, and some funding were the only gifts his family had provided him before sending him out on his own. His sword was now the sole possession he still had from before the Soul Reapers had grabbed him. He set it down, though, because it was probably nothing more than a stick under a plethora of his mother’s powerful magical enchantments.
Bor saw his sadness and said, “Take the sword. The enchantments will return when you get to Septumcolis, but take these two knives for the trip. They’re real, although they won’t be quite as pretty or sharp on the road.”
He handed them two, six-inch Bowie knives in sheaths. They were simple, practical tools more than weapons, but they meant the boys wouldn’t be entirely unarmed as they headed out on a dangerous mission.
They were thanking Bor when Ms. Birquel approached them. “I know you boys don’t think very much of me,” she began. “But I am a very learned and powerful magician.”
She quickly handed Janus and Stavius two, highly-polished stones about the size of their fists before they could say anything stupid.
“Take these with you. These rocks are dragon stones, and you can think of them as being like magic batteries. They don’t hold a lot of magical power, but if you hold them close enough, the energy will slowly transfer to you. It’s not much, but it might keep you alive in a crisis.”
She quickly walked away as the boys crammed the stones into their pockets.
“Well now I feel bad about being such a jerk to her,” whispered Janus.
“Really?” asked Stavius.
“Nah, she’s a hack,” Janus laughed.
“Thanks, Bor and Ms. Birquel, but no more gifts, please. Remember, we’re trying to lighten our load, not add to it!” shouted Stavius.
“Well, I hope I can change your minds on that one,” said Mayre, as she walked up to them with two, large bundles. “Here are two sets of tunics, underwear, pants, blankets, and towels sewn from real cotton cloth. I used some magic to manufacture them, but the material is all real so that they won’t fall off down the road.”
“Um, thank you, Mayre. That’s very thoughtful,” said Stavius as she stretched up to kiss him. He turned his illusion vision to full strength and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
Stavius told the villagers to dump the wardrobes which had been assembled for them and to get rid of anything unnecessary while they went to change clothes. Janus specifically instructed them to discard the tents, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, chairs, and table that had been packed.
“We’re going on a fast-paced journey in late summer,” explained Janus. “This isn’t a family vacation. We’ll sleep under the stars and eat our food raw. All we’ll need are these blankets and towels.”
The boys changed into Mayre’s new clothes and returned to a dramatically reduced pile of supplies a few minutes later. It was still far more than they could carry, though. The problem was that they needed to bring enough food and water for a week.
They were at an impasse until Janus had an idea. He ordered the trainers to reduce the food and water down to the absolute minimum quantity and to organize it by meal. It was nearly six o’clock by the time they had packaged each meal into labeled bags and arranged them next to a pair of backpacks. The result was a tenth of what had been on the wagon, but still, six times what the rucksacks could hold.
Janus walked over to the supplies, spread his arms as though he was going to try and pick everything up at once, and began to hum. The air between his arms started to shimmer like the heat rising off a street on a hot summer day, and the packaged meals began to shrink. Within three minutes he had shrunk them to a point where they could all comfortably fit inside the backpacks.
Ms. Birquel’s mouth was agape. She gasped, “I’ve never seen anyone scale so much so quickly. You two are amazing.” Janus didn’t offer any of his typical comebacks, though and Stavius could tell that the strain of his effort had exhausted him.
“Are you going to be all right, dude?” he asked as he and Janus packed the supplies into the packs.
“Yeah, I’ll be back to my exceptional self in a few minutes,” Janus replied. “Scaling things takes a lot more effort than restoring them to their original size. Don’t worry; it’ll be easy to grab a meal, restore it, and eat it on the road.”
They dropped their dragon stones into the packs to maintain the magic, tied them shut, tied their rolled blankets and towels outside, and threw their backpacks over their shoulders. Their bags were heavy but manageable. Stavius stood, clasped his sword belt around his waist, and wondered whether it would survive the journey. Then the boys took one, final look at the place which had been their home and began walking out of the village surrounded by all their friends.
The centaur met them by the bridge and approved of their gear.
“See what a little prioritization can do,” he laughed with what sounded like a slight whinny.
Everyone seemed to be in a good mood as the sky brightened and Stavius thought this would be an excellent time to get to know the centaur. It was the most massive centaur Stavius had ever seen. Stavius was six feet tall, but his head didn’t even reach the centaur’s withers, and the creature’s torso was gigantic as well. It had dark skin and a heavily-muscled chest and arms, which were densely covered with curly black hair. The centaur’s manly face sported a full beard topped by long dreadlocks.
Stavius casually asked, “Hey, why do we never see any female centaurs?”
The centaur stopped, dead in his tracks and said, “What do you think I am?”
“Um, well, uh,” stammered Stavius as he stared up at the giant man growing out of a horse’s body with an angry expression on his face.
“You need to look below the withers, human, not above them,” the centaur growled.
Stavius stepped back and nervously glanced between the centaur’s legs.
“Holy Venus, you have an udder!” he exclaimed. “You’re a girl! And you’re a cow!”
The centaur erupted in laughter and said, “Of course I’m partially cow. What did you think this strong, sexy body was? A horse?”
“Well, yes,” stammered Stavius, who was still in shock.
“This is going to be a long trip,” groaned the centaur. “The name’s Bernice, by the way. Let’s get going.”
The crowd crossed the bridge and began walking up the road leading out of the valley. Stavius thought of Mr. Urtish as he passed the cave entrance and remembered that Mark had something important to say to him.
“Hold on, guys. I need to say a quick goodbye to Mr. Urtish,” yelled Stavius as he trotted over to speak with his
teacher.
“Mr. Urtish, before I go, would you please tell me your host’s name?” asked Stavius when he approached the man.
“It’s Urnest, Mr. Stavius,” replied Urtish. “Why do you ask such a question on the cusp of this great journey?”
“Because I wanted to be sure I was right,” answered Stavius. “You’re Mr. Narwani, my history teacher back on Earth!”
“Very impressive, Mr. Panagopoulos,” admired Urtish. “There aren’t many young men named Marius in the eighth grade, but how did you deduce my identity?”
“Because you yelled at me for being late to your class, just like you did here,” Stavius excitedly replied. “I thought it was you and guessed your host name must start with ‘Ur’ after I found out your first name on Earth is Satish. You see, I remember everything about Mearth when I wake up!”
The blood drained from Urtish’s face as he grabbed Stavius’ arm and dragged him towards the cave. The other villagers looked on in confusion, but Urtish waved them off saying that he had something critical to discuss with Stavius before they left.
“What about the importance of punctuality?” shouted Janus, but Urtish ignored him and continued rushing towards the cave.
Once inside, Urtish motioned Stavius to follow him to a massive, wooden door set into one of the stone walls. Stavius saw the ghost image of a rock wall illusion hiding it as Urtish fumbled with some old keys to unclasp the lock. No one else probably even knew of this room’s existence.
They went inside, and Urtish carefully locked it behind them.
“We have complete privacy now. No one knows this room exists and no one can hear anything we say in here. You can’t tell anyone about what is about to happen,” said Urtish.
“Um, I’m not sure about all this,” answered Stavius, who was starting to feel a bit nervous.
“I have something to show you,” Urtish excitedly said as he took off his tunic
Stavius began backing away from the shirtless man.
Stavius Page 10
