A Clash of Magics

by Guy Antibes

“Their game is to win politically, not militarily,” Trevor said, “but I killed another of their magicians in Sirland. I don’t know how many magicians have the power to perform the invisibility spell.”

  They rode through a fortified camp at the border, and Henkari had the fort commander explain what was happening in his area.

  “Do they ever try to circumvent your fort?” Trevor asked.

  “All the time, but we have scouts to monitor that. We have strategically placed our camps to funnel most of the Maskumite troops toward our strongest forces.”

  “And that works?” Volst asked.

  “It works to discourage them,” the commander said.

  The four of them returned to pick up Lissa, Akku, and Escarik.

  They spent the next three days riding from outpost to outpost. There were walled villages all the way to the border with Sirland.

  “This is as far as I go,” Henkari said. “It isn’t politically wise for me to enter Sirland. The queen continually rebuffed any attempts at cooperating.”

  “I understand,” Trevor said. “Coosin, Lissa, and I will continue south for a bit and then travel to Wistfall. I’m hoping Crater has clarified the situation with the queen. Lissa and I will teleport back to the general’s garrison from Wistfall.”

  After making the horse exchange, they left Potur, Volst, Akku, and the general and took a road on the Sirland side of the border with Maskum. It wasn’t long until they arrived at a Sirland checkpoint.

  “Names and papers,” the soldier said.

  Trevor had retrieved the identification papers that he was issued in Okora.

  “This may become a hostile border,” the soldier warned. “The Maskumites turned our queen against us, and we expect a Maskumite incursion.”

  “This is common knowledge?” Coosin asked.

  The soldier shrugged. “We all know about it at the garrison.”

  “Where is your encampment?”

  “Five miles south. It is on this road.”

  Trevor nodded. “We will visit your commander.

  Before they reached the garrison, Trevor saw smoke rising above the treetops. “That must be the garrison. Maybe we can help!”

  He urged his horse on and left the others galloping behind. When Trevor reached the garrison, Maskumite soldiers were pouring oil on the wooden palisades of the fort, which had already been set on fire. He didn’t know of any magical spell that would stop an oil fire, but then what did he know? He pulled out his bow and began shooting at the invading soldiers at long range. When his arrows began to hit the soldiers, they turned, and a few of them peeled off to engage him.

  Trevor realized he had outrun his defense again and turned to retreat to the north when a large squad of Sirland soldiers rode from the back of the garrison and cut off Trevor’s attackers from their main body. Trevor turned around and exhausted his arrows before pulling his sword. By the time that happened, Lissa joined him to fight the Maskumites.

  Lissa had no problem shooting lightning bolts, and Trevor and Lissa combined sword and fire in their offense. Coosin didn’t join in the fight. Suddenly a thin white lightning bolt shot out from the woods and hit Lissa in the side. She fell from her horse. Coosin rode to her aid while Trevor moved toward the wood. The magician was on foot, running toward his horse when he turned and shot the same white lightning bolt. Trevor could see the fear blossom on his face when the Maskumite realized his special weapon didn’t work on Trevor.

  Trevor tackled the magician in the middle of the woods, jumping from his horse. He needed to do some interrogation. The man struggled with Trevor, but the Maskumite simply lacked the strength to fight with Trevor for very long. Trevor finally gave the man enough punches to the jaw to render him unconscious.

  He loaded the magician on his horse and rode out of the woods. The Maskumite force had been given a chance to withdraw their dead and injured, but Trevor called out that they were keeping the magician.

  Trevor found Seer Coosin treating Lissa inside the enclosure of the garrison. An officer walked up to them. “I didn’t expect strangers to come to our aid,” the man said. “I am Major Darien Boarson, the company commander.”

  “I captured a magician. He is the one who injured Lissa.”

  The commander looked at Lissa, who was sleeping through Coosin’s ministrations. “I’ll have my healer take a look. We spanked them a little more than we usually do,” Boarson said.

  “They fight you from time to time?”

  Boarson nodded. “We are doing much the same as the Jarkanese are doing to the north of us, but our fortifications aren’t as well placed as theirs. We’ll have our palisade repaired before the end of the day tomorrow. The fire keeps them out as well as us from a counterattack, until today, that is. When we saw you out in the field, I sent cavalry to save you, but my office quickly saw an opportunity to cut the devils off and reduced their numbers more than usual.”

  “That magician has been worth twenty of their men. He hides in the woods. You saw what he was able to do.”

  “No longer,” Trevor said. “When Lissa recovers, I’d like to interrogate him. You can join in,” Trevor said.

  “Interrogate him? You sound like you are in the army. Are you from Wistfall?”

  “Collet,” Trevor said. “I have been charged by the head seer to coordinate the offense against the Maskumite magicians.” He laughed. “The head seer calls me—”

  “Dryden’s messenger,” Coosin said. “And he is telling you the truth.”

  “Is it this way all along the border?” Trevor asked.

  “It is. Unfortunately, we need more soldiers, but Queen Marta has been adamant about reducing the army’s presence on the border,” the major said. “That might change with what is happening in Wistfall.”

  “We have been in Jarkan,” Coosin said. “What might change?”

  “The queen had a breakdown, and there is talk of a regent. The prime minister has been keeping everyone calm,” the major said.

  “Watch the Maskumites,” Trevor said. “They may want to take advantage of any regime change.”

  “Don’t worry about that. If anything, our vigilance has increased.”

  Lissa woke. Coosin must have put her to sleep with a spell.

  “How do you feel?” the seer asked.

  “I hurt, but not as much as when that lightning struck me.” Lissa frowned and sniffed. “My charms failed.”

  Trevor took her hand. “The white lightning is something new and more powerful than the silver kind.”

  The major grunted. “I can’t understand why you weren’t killed.”

  “I have exceptional defenses,” Trevor said before turning to Lissa. “Do you feel like helping me talk to the magician?”

  “I’ll do it. Don’t let the magician use that spell again.”

  Trevor had soldiers bind the magician so he couldn’t move a finger. The major threw a bucket of water in the magician’s face.

  “That felt remarkably good,” Boarson said.

  Trevor patted the magician’s cheek. “Wakey, wakey,” he said.

  The magician’s eyes blinked a bit. “Untie me, or you’ll regret it.”

  “You will regret it for a very short time if we do,” Trevor said.

  The magician narrowed his eyes. “You should be dead. Where did you get a protection charm for white lightning? No one should have one.”

  “I’m asking the questions,” Trevor said, but he clenched his fist. “I put an end to your foolishness using this.” He put his fist inches away from the magician’s face. “How many magicians on the border can throw the white lightning?” Trevor said, starting the interrogation.

  It went on for half an hour, but they didn’t learn much more than they had already surmised. Lissa found that the magician lied as often as he told the truth. They found out that the magician attacking Major Boarson was one of a few magicians capable of projecting white lightning on the east side of Maskum. They found that out by letting the man lie during que
stioning for Lissa to discover the truth. The Maskumites were in a taunting mode, even with a few magicians with the same capabilities.

  “Which cabal are you a member of?” Trevor finally asked.

  “Cabal?” the magician said, suddenly much warier.

  Trevor nodded. “I know about the cabal system at the enclave,” he said.

  “I won’t tell you which one,” the Maskumite said.

  “Then I will assume a spy cabal rather than a fighting one,” Trevor snorted. “Spies are generally killed out of hand. We let your fellow Maskumite soldiers go, but since it appears you are in a spy cabal…” Trevor looked at the Major.

  “What do you do with spies?”

  “We boil them in oil and then hang them to make sure they are dead.”

  “Boiled in oil?” the magician asked.

  “Of course. We want to make sure eyes, tongues, and ears no longer can be used against Sirland.”

  “I’m not in a spy cabal.”

  “What kind of cabal, then?”

  “A fighting cabal, of course,” the magician said.

  Trevor nodded. That was an honest answer because Lissa nodded. “How many fighting cabals are there?”

  “Seven.”

  Trevor put his hand on the magician’s shoulder, making the man flinch. “How many spy cabals?”

  “Three main ones, but each one has multiple legs.”

  “And a leg is?” Trevor asked.

  “A faction within a cabal.” The magician said.

  Trevor knew he had broken the man at that point. “Why are the spy cabals working together to subvert the world’s governments?”

  “A common goal, of course.”

  “And when the goal is met?”

  The magician looked at Boarson, Coosin, and Trevor. “Will it matter after Maskum has taken over the world without a major battle?”

  Trevor pursed his lips. “What will happen if Jarkan and Sirland begin an invasion of Maskum?”

  The magician sneered. “Our magicians will fight for the first time, and we will show you our real teeth. Either way, you and your ways will die.”

  “Our ways?” Coosin asked.

  “Dryden and Selara worship will be dead. I won’t tell you anything else.” The magician turned away.

  “Let him go, but cut off his hands,” Major Boarson said. “You’ve killed enough of my men, and I won’t let you kill anymore.”

  The magician struggled in his bonds. “You can’t do that! I will be a cripple.”

  “A live cripple,” the major said.

  Chapter Twenty

  ~

  T revor and Lissa transported to Henkari’s garrison, where they told the general what they learned about Maskumite magic and what enclaves were all about. They returned to the Sirland garrison before morning and got some sleep before heading to Wistfall with Coosin Escarik.

  “I can’t say I approved of Major Boarson’s solution to the magician problem, but I can see his point. Not only does it keep a Maskumite magician out of the conflict, but it might discourage others,” the seer said.

  “It might be kinder to execute him,” Lissa said. “He lied more than he told the truth.”

  “You have a unique talent. I was interested to see it in action,” Coosin said. “It isn’t a happy talent. If you are successful, you catch people doing their worst.”

  “I’ve never thought of it that way, but you are right. It leads me to the truth,” Lissa said.

  “And that is an important contribution to the messenger’s activities, I suppose?” Coosin said. “I’m surprised you came back with me. I could have traveled alone, although that is easy to say now that we are back in Sirland.”

  “It wouldn’t be proper to let you return to Wistfall without some protection,” Trevor said. “Besides, my work isn’t done with whoever rules Sirland, however temporarily.”

  The ride was uneventful, and after leaving Coosin at the Wistfall cathedral, Lissa and Trevor returned to the inn where Trevor had stayed before. This time he used his real name.

  “What is going on in Wistfall Castle?” Trevor said. “Has it settled down since I left?”

  The innkeeper nodded. “The queen became ill, and Prime Minister Crater became regent. If the queen doesn’t recover, her young daughter will take the throne, so I think the prime minister will head the government for some time.”

  “Is that good or bad?” Lissa asked.

  “Good. Very good. No one likes how the queen changed lately. All that has changed, except now we are told we may be going to war with Maskum.”

  “We came from Jarkan and rode along the border. I don’t know about a war, but we ran into a skirmish,” Trevor said. “The Sirlandians prevailed, though.”

  “That is good to hear. How long will you be staying?”

  “A few days,” Trevor said.

  Knowing that the prime minister was now regent was good news. The man seemed sincere when he ushered them out of the castle grounds.

  They walked toward the castle to meet Coosin Escarik. Something was happening in the marketplace in the square.

  “We should walk around this,” Lissa said.

  Trevor bit his lip as he looked at the fist fighting. “We are to meet Coosin on the other side, and I want to see what is causing this.”

  Lissa sighed. “There is always trouble following you.”

  Trevor laughed. “This time, I’m following it.” He strode into the market and pulled a fighter, licking his wounds aside. “What is going on?”

  “The Dryden cleric that deposed the queen had the nerve to show his face in public.”

  “He is in the middle of this?”

  The man nodded.

  Trevor pushed the man aside and began working his way toward the center of the conflict. Citizen fought citizen. Trevor had no idea how they could find out who was an enemy or not, but then perhaps it was much like a common room brawl. At this point, they were fighting to fight.

  As he got closer, Trevor saw guards sprinkled in the melee. The gleam of weapons was beginning to show, and Trevor drew his sword. He turned back to check Lissa.

  “I’m here covering your back.”

  “But who is watching yours?” Trevor said as he used the fist closed around the sword’s hilt. He was cutting a steady path through all the fighting until he reached a guard fighting a guard.

  “Who is for who?” Trevor shouted at the men as he dodged another punch.

  “I am for the queen!” a guard cried out.

  “And I’m for Crater,” the other said.

  That made it easy for Trevor. He walked up to the queen’s guard and punched him in the nose. “Are you for or against Dryden?” Trevor asked the prime minister’s man.

  “For, of course.”

  “Then let’s get a defense organized,” Trevor said. “We need a united front to stop this.”

  The guard began to gather others in favor of Crater, and gradually the fighting began to take on the character of a battle with defined sides. Trevor found Coosin fighting for his life with a knife-wielding man. The seer tossed tiny balls of flame at the man’s hands to discourage him rather than light him up like a torch, but Coosin’s face was filled with bruises.

  Trevor identified a group of men who seemed to be the leaders of the queen’s faction and fought his way to the three men and confronted them.

  “Cease fighting immediately!” Trevor said as he got closer and realized that the men looked like Maskumites. They might have been confederates of the magician.

  One of them stepped back and cast a sheet of flame at Trevor. This was the first significant show of magic other than Coosin’s defensive fireballs. Trevor stepped in front of Lissa to protect her. He couldn’t rely on her charms against a Maskumite magician.

  Trevor stepped forward and plunged his sword into the magician. The other two were about to do the same when Coosin stepped behind the man and placed hands on each neck, and the men fell to the ground.

  “Fighti
ng is over!” Trevor called. “You are all Sirlandians!”

  It was as if a spell had evaporated, and a few probably had. Fists and knives dropped, and the fighters looked at each other. The guards that Trevor had organized made their way through the crowd.

  Prime Minister Crater, surrounded by guards, made his way to Trevor. “What happened here?”

  “I think these three will prove to be Maskumites. They spelled the crowd and caused all the fighting. It would have been worse, but most used their fists rather than arms and magic.”

  “And a good thing,” Crater said. “It is illegal to do so in this square. You used your sword?” He said to Trevor.

  “The dead man at my feet covered me with flame. I had to protect myself and the people behind me.”

  Crater nodded. “Tell me what you experienced.”

  Coosin came up. “I was on my way to the castle gate when these three men accosted me. They called me an enemy of the queen and jostled me while getting others riled up.”

  “With spells,” Lissa said, kneeling beside the two unconscious men. “It was planned by the three men. I’m sure because this one is awake pretending to be asleep.” She held up the wrist of one of the men. She looked down at the man opening his eyes. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

  “I didn’t do anything!”

  Lissa shook her head. “A lie, of course.”

  “Take them away. Bind their hands first. If they give you any trouble, let them join their companion in Dryden’s fields,” Crater said. He looked at Coosin and Trevor. “I thought everything had settled down.”

  “They waited for the right time. I’m sure they would have eventually killed me,” Coosin said. “It was a close thing as it was. I had to use a little magic to keep a knife-wielding guard away. If you need to incarcerate me, I’ll go willingly, but don’t put me into the same cell as those two.” He looked at the backs of the two magicians being escorted back inside the castle.

  “No need. You were the victim,” Crater said. “I need your services as a seer, anyway. Come with me.”

  Crater took them and his guards through the front gate of the castle. “Their guards had locked the gate,” the prime minister said, shaking his head. “I don’t know what they expected to accomplish.”