Wizard Unleashed Read online

  I walked to the back of the vehicle with Flick. “Adoloret.” I launched a stream of fire onto the smoldering fuel. The boiler had cooled significantly so I placed my hands on either side of the shiny silver and bronze kettle, injecting it with enough heat to get it rolling. It wasn’t lost on me just how much less power I had on Earth than on Kaelstan. The allure was an insidious drip on my subconscious and I questioned my reasons for returning.

  Aside from making a tremendous racket through the sleepy neighborhoods, the trip back to the ruins of my home, Tenebrius Manerium, was uneventful.

  “We will need more water and fuel if we are to travel further,” Flick yelled over the steam engine’s racket.

  “Behind that glass building.” I pointed to the only remaining structure. “There’s a hydrant and firewood.”

  Flick nodded and we bounced along the bumpy path. We finally pulled to a stop next to the greenhouse, where he mercifully vented the firebox and released the built-up steam, quieting the noisy vehicle.

  “Let’s try to get some sleep before morning,” I said. “It’s warm in here.”

  A sense of peace greeted me as I entered the greenhouse. I didn’t resist the urge to remove my shoes and sink my toes into the fertile soil. While my home had been spoiled by Fagin, the positive energy I’d pushed into the ground around the greenhouse had been built up sufficiently to withstand the assault. The earth greeted me as an old friend when I stretched out on the floor. Unlike the insidious demon energy of Kaelstan, the greeting was subtle, like the warmth of a favorite, old blanket. But a sense of loss pervaded my heart as I fell asleep.

  “Master, there are visitors.” Flick shook me gently. Dawn was just starting to break through the trees and I felt refreshed as I often did after communing with the earth.

  “Thank you, Flick,” I said. “Would you prepare the vehicle?”

  “As you wish.”

  I stretched. My body was sore, but not as bad as it should have been given the punishment it had endured. Amak’s Jeep slowly approached, followed by a trail of motorcycles and two white panel vans. Maggie, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. I took it as a sign that she’d decided against coming along.

  “I didn’t know if you were coming,” I said as Amak exited her Jeep.

  “I didn’t either,” she said. “I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t my fight. Turns out you’re part of my tribe, Slade. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I turned my back on this just because it’s suicidal.”

  Together we watched as the lycan lined up their rides, dismounted, and started disrobing.

  “Well, damn. Now, that’s worth showing up for,” Amak said, enjoying nearly a dozen fully naked, heavily muscled men as they stuffed clothing into packs on their motorcycles. It didn’t escape me that there was only one female among them. The loss of Daphne had been a significant blow to their diversity.

  Joe and Squirrel left their jeans on and approached, barefooted, accompanied by a single, very large ogre.

  “The wolves said talk wizard. Goodap no like wizard,” The ogre struggled to speak. The anger I’d seen in this ogre’s face when it attacked me had been replaced with distrust.

  “The wizard Fagin is dead,” I said. “I will release your clan from the power of the necklaces, just as I did you.”

  “Never free. Always payment,” Goodap said.

  “I’ll release your clan as payment for listening.”

  “Wizard do. Goodap listen.”

  “Take me to your people,” I said.

  Goodap turned and walked toward the vans. His stride was long enough that I had to run to keep up with him.

  A grumble of discontent accompanied Goodap opening the door. The ogres had modified the vans so there were no seats in the over-sized vehicles. At eight feet tall and with the shoulder width of a correspondingly large football lineman, a full sized van was barely large enough to hold four.

  “Out.” Goodap said. The ogres piled out ungracefully and looked menacingly from Joe to me.

  “Tell them to kneel down. I can’t reach,” I said.

  Goodap nodded. I wondered how much power the necklaces retained now that Fagin was dead. I received my answer when I grasped the first. There were two enchantments. The first held the chain in place, making it nearly indestructible. The second exerted control over the ogres. Both enchantments were very powerful.

  I grasped the first chain and, as expected, my hand locked around it. Having experienced and defeated the spells once, I found it much easier to do so a second time. It was like riding a bike; once learned, it was difficult to forget.

  I walked from one ogre to the next, spending a few minutes acclimating to the chains around each of their necks and then breaking them. It left me spent, but at least I’d started the morning fresh.

  Unexpectedly, I was lifted from behind as large arms wrapped around my shoulders. “Goodap likee wizard. Clan happy.”

  I can tell you it is disconcerting when a five-hundred-pound ogre has hold of you and is jumping up and down for joy. It is also quite hard on broken arms.

  Goodap’s enthusiasm was infectious as his brothers and - I think - sister (but that’s not as easy to tell as you might think) joined him in celebration, jumping up and down and whooping in joy.

  “Down, Goodap. Put me down,” I said. “You’re hurting me.”

  Goodap stopped immediately, set me down, and then joined with his clan. For a full five minutes Joe, Squirrel and I stood by; helpless as the ogres celebrated wildly.

  When they settled, Goodap turned to me. “Wizard true. We listen.”

  “Would Goodap’s clan like a chance to go back home to Gaeland?” I asked.

  “Wizard no truth.” A second ogre immediately interjected.

  “I cannot send you, but I know of a portal controlled by the elves. I have been to Gaeland,” I said. “I could take you there.”

  “What wizard want?” Goodap asked, right to the point. I suspected ogre negotiations were relatively quick affairs.

  “There’s a castle. They’re holding friends of mine. I need Goodap to help me rescue my friends,” I said.

  “Danger?”

  “There are demons and a dragon,” I said. “There might be more.”

  “Goodap smash demon. Goodap talk clan.” The ogre walked away, gathering his clan.

  “Get changed, Squirrel,” Joe ordered. He placed his hand on my back so I’d walk with him back to where Flick was working on the car. “You about ready to leave, Slade?”

  “I’d like to hear what the ogres have to say first.” I tried to stop, but Joe’s hand pushed me along.

  “Ogres are coming,” he said. “Pretty fucked up – holding that out to them.”

  “It’s real,” I said.

  “You can’t deliver. You’re not planning on coming back.”

  “How? What?”

  “Don’t play me, Slade. Why’d you leave your girl behind? Where’s your sister? I smell the lie on you, but I’m willing to risk a one-way trip as long as we get revenge for Daphne, Max and Cody.”

  “That’s messed up, Joe.” As I said it, I knew he was right. I was thinking of this as a one-way trip.

  “That’s our code. It’s why no one fucks with a pack. What I don’t get is why you’re bringing the troll.”

  “I’m right here, Joe,” Amak said. “And I’m coming because Felix is my pack.”

  Joe nodded.

  “We are ready, Master,” Flick said as we approached.

  Our wait for the ogres wasn’t long and I had my answer before they arrived. Instead of jumping back into their vans and driving away, all eight approached with Goodap in the lead. They held rough, wooden clubs.

  “We come, wizard,” Goodap said.

  “When we get there, Goodap. I need you not to fight the demons,” I said. “They will hurt you. I need you to fight a dragon. The dragon uses fire when it attacks. Goodap can stop it. Let the wolves take the demons.”

  “Dragon bad. Goo
dap help,” he agreed.

  “How are we doing this, Slade?” Joe asked.

  “Wolves first,” I said. “We’re going to land on a brick road. You need to clear out of the way so we don’t pile up.”

  Wordlessly, the wolves who’d been milling around crowded in to where we stood. I’d previously wondered if Joe had some capacity to communicate with the pack and that question was now answered.

  I laid my hand on Squirrel’s back and activated the key. I found I could open the portal without fully stepping through. I quickly moved the wolves through, one by one, followed by the ogres, and finally I brought Flick and Amak through in the steam-powered car.

  “Why did you bring that car. We’ll have no stealth,” Joe said, still in human form. He shucked his jeans off and threw them into the back of the vehicle.

  “Damn, Joe,” Amak said. “Give a girl a little warning.”

  He smiled at her and shook his head. “Sorry, troll princess, I’m spoken for.”

  “Let me know if that changes.”

  “You really think I’ll make more noise than the ogres?” I asked. A wave of Kaelstan’s energy wafted past. I breathed it in and tingled with excitement.

  Joe looked at me suspiciously but pressed on. “It remains to be seen. Where are we going?”

  “Arlcliff is along this road, three hour’s walk,” Flick said. “You cannot miss it.”

  “We move,” Joe said and shifted to his charcoal-coated wolf form. He was even bigger than I remembered and stood six-inches at the shoulder taller than any of the others in his pack. Without hesitation, he took off at a run.

  “We go!” Goodap said. The ground vibrated as the ogre clan joined in, following the wolf pack that outpaced them.

  Flick squeezed the clutch handle to engage the steam-powered vehicle’s flywheel and we jolted forward.

  The brick road had seen very little use as the dark yellow bricks were covered in many places by drifts of dirt. We continued to gain elevation causing the steam powered vehicle to struggle when the pitch became nearly too great.

  The ogres lost some of their initial zeal for the run. By the time we traveled an hour, we’d caught up with them. At lower elevation, the road had been wide enough to allow four vehicles abreast. As we traveled along a cutout pass near the mountain, the road had narrowed to a single lane.

  Flick stopped the vehicle. “We’ll have to walk from here. The vehicle makes too much noise,” he said, engaging the brake. He jumped out and placed blocks behind the wheels.

  The ogres, uncaring that we’d stopped, continued up the path.

  “Not exactly a coordinated attack, is it?” Amak said.

  “Yeah, I suppose I should have had a better plan.”

  “What do you know of the palace, Flick?” she asked.

  “Mostly rumors and what I have seen from a distance. You will shortly see for yourself, though,” Flick said.

  “Missy is in a lower level,” I said. “This much I saw in my dream last night.”

  “How can you be sure Adajania isn’t planting those dreams to pull you to her?” Amak asked.

  “I’ve had these types of visions since I was a teen,” I said. “Last night’s wasn’t as intense, but I’ve come to trust them.”

  She nodded and we continued walking. The road was cut into the side of the mountain and the drop-off on our right side was several hundred feet down. On the left, the mountain rose so steeply that I doubted any of us could successfully climb it.

  “A path,” Amak said, pointing to a narrow trail that took off to the right. From my perspective, it was only a path a mountain goat would consider.

  “I like the road,” I said.

  She nodded and we continued forward, following the natural bend of the mountain.

  “There it is,” Flick said as we rounded a final corner. Sure enough, Arlcliff Palace sat at the end of the road a mile ahead of us, nestled between two fingers of the mountain that were on either side of the deep gully we’d been walking beside.

  Even from a mile off, the palace was quite a sight. A solid white face of stone had been set into the mountain and soared a hundred feet from the floor of the ravine.

  “That’s not a palace,” I said. “It’s a fortress.”

  The road we were on ended at a tall stone wall, an extension of the main wall of Arlcliff Palace. It looked like a solid piece of stone had been set in place by a giant. Most of the palace’s structure was either built directly into the mountain or arched between the two sides that contacted the fingered slopes. Above and behind the palace was flat rock rising half a mile straight up. I suspected there was some angle to it, but from the terrain around, it was impossible to make out. At a minimum, no one would be coming over the top of the mountain to the palace or attacking it head on. The only obvious approach was the road on which we traveled.

  “The only weakness I see is supply chain,” Amak said. “No army could attack from this road with any strength.”

  “There must be another entrance,” I said. “No one has been on this road.”

  “Or they get supplies airlifted.” Amak pointed at the outline of Smaragdinus, circling high above.

  Seeing the dragon, I figured we’d better catch up to the rest of the group. We needed to get inside the palace before that dragon decided to get involved in the fray. The ogres might be able to deal with its fire, but the werewolves weren’t nearly as fireproof. As we got closer, we saw a huge wooden gate set into the stone.

  “The gate!” I yelled to Goodap. “Break it down.”

  The ogres turned to the gate and started swinging their clubs. Even from this distance, I could hear that the clubs had little effect on the heavy wooden gate.

  A yip from a wolf caught my attention as it spun around to pull an arrow from its haunch. Other than Smaragdinus, I hadn’t seen any evidence of inhabitants, but that arrow hadn’t come from nowhere.

  “Archers!” I yelled, still seventy yards from the entrance.

  Two more wolves were struck with arrows, one of which did not get back up. Realization struck me as I saw more arrows flying. Adajania was a master illusionist. Just because we couldn’t see archers didn’t mean there weren’t any.

  “Altum visu!” I cast my wizard’s sight. Dozens of small demon-kind lined the wall of the palace and were raining hell down on the wolves and ogres who were scattering in confusion. Worse yet, the ‘gate’ the ogres pounded on with their clubs was just a section of wall. The real door was twenty feet to the right.

  “Adoloret.” I launched several beach ball sized fireballs at the demon-kind standing on the battlement atop the wall.

  Not paying attention to anything but their intended victims, the demon-kind fell easily to my attack. Unfortunately, my fireballs didn’t fly that fast. No longer a surprise, my success would be more difficult to repeat. On the plus side, the demon-kind were no longer quite as free to stand and aim.

  “It’s an illusion,” I yelled. “There are archers on the wall.”

  I’d cast my shield and used it to protect us as we ran up to the ogres. “You must move over, Goodap. The sorcerer is hiding the door from you. It is a trick.”

  Joe shifted from wolf to man next to the confused ogre. “Throw me up there,” he demanded.

  Goodap was a simple being. He ignored my words and chose the easier of the two requests. He grabbed Joe and tossed him up, just shy of the lip of the wall. Joe scrabbled and attempted to gain purchase, but missed and scraped along the wall as he fell.

  I swiped my shield forward and attempted to break his fall, only succeeding in causing Joe to bounce away from the wall. Miraculously, he righted himself before hitting the ground and tumbled forward gracefully on bent legs.

  “Again!” he demanded, running at us naked while dodging arrows.

  I dared a glance back into the sky. Smaragdinus flew overhead, having dropped several hundred feet, but was still not engaging.

  I aimed another fireball along Joe’s path just as Goodap threw h
im a second time. Awkwardly, Joe grabbed the stone fascia and pulled himself onto the battlement, shifting almost immediately back to wolf form. Three more wolves shifted to human form and demanded similar treatment from the ogres, with more or less similar results. Apparently, a fall of twenty-five feet from a stone wall is something a human-form werewolf can just deal with.

  “Goodap, the gate is here!” The rain of arrows had slowed as demon-kind were chucked off the side of the wall.

  “Hit wall?” Goodap asked, confused.

  “Yes!”

  Goodap swung mightily and his fire-hardened oaken club crunched into the wooden gate. Hearing the change, his clan joined him. I winced at the blood running freely from arrows lodged in their flesh.

  After only a few minutes, the sound of chains clanking together alerted us and the gate started to rise. On the other side, Joe, still in human form, stood unmoving with his back to us.

  I scanned the sky. I didn’t find what I was looking for, gave up and ducked under the rising gate.

  In the middle of the courtyard, Smaragdinus had landed and was flanked by two demons that made Puft Ball look like a child.

  Chapter 26

  Finale

  We’d entered an open courtyard that on one side had a fantastic view of the valley below. On the other, were tall open archways leading into the mountain. No doubt, Mom and Missy were inside.

  Between us and the doors was Smaragdinus and the demons. The two identical females stood twenty-five feet tall, but their bodies had very similar relative proportions to humans. My perverse sense of humor dubbed them Thing One and Thing Two.

  "By all means, please enter. Shahbanu Adajania has been expecting you, Felix Slade," Thing One taunted. She held a long, flat-bladed sword that required both of her hands to wield. Had I run across the sword in the wild, I might have mistaken it for a helicopter rotor. "Isn't that right, sister?"

  "I find myself disappointed, sister," Thing Two responded. "Is it possible Shahbanu was mistaken? This cannot be the one she seeks. He is so… I find I don’t have the right words."