Wizard Unleashed Page 27

  "Puny?"

  "Not bad, but ‘insufficient’ was the word I find closest," she replied.

  "It is like the beginning of a bad joke. Eight wolves and eight ogres stormed a castle with a wizard…"

  The lycan pack formed up on Joe. They'd started with eleven and had been whittled down to eight by the archers. Although, if we were successful, I believed a few of those might yet recover.

  "We will need to embellish, sister. We have slain legions on the field of battle. I find myself embarrassed by our participation in this affair."

  "It is at the Shahbanu's personal request."

  "I find I would prefer not to disappoint Shahbanu Adajania. Felix Slade, will you ask your companions to simply jump from the parapet to their deaths? It would save us considerable time."

  A purple spell thread snaked from Thing One and wrapped around Squirrel's head. Without hesitation, he ran at full speed toward the unprotected edge of the platform.

  "Scutum." I broke the thread by projecting my shield and cutting through it. Squirrel yipped and skidded to a halt a few yards from the edge of the platform and the several hundred-foot drop.

  "Did you see that, sister?"

  "Nervy."

  Thing One lifted the sword over her head and placed it into the scabbard on her back. Nine spell threads snaked out, wrapping themselves around the wolves, as well as Amak. This time, I was faster on the draw. I had the shield already up and sliced through the threads, breaking them.

  "The wizard has sight on our plane. That is most interesting. Perhaps the reports from Tinder Haut were not manufactured. I feel we might have been hasty in terminating those that provided false information."

  "The terminations served multiple purposes. All is not lost."

  "Such as?"

  I was growing annoyed at their insistence that we were insignificant; as if we weren't even there. I had to admit, I’d had that same imperious feeling during the fight in Tinder Haut. I knew to stand around and wait for these two to act was suicide.

  "Lapide Pugno." I lashed out with a punch, planting a solid blow just below Thing One’s eye.

  "He struck me!" she responded indignantly, placing a hand over her eye.

  "That is an old spell. I wonder where he got it?"

  "Are you sure we're to leave him alive?"

  "Oh, it is not a requirement. It was just a request. I might have that wrong, but I don't think so."

  "Your bickering is tiresome," Smaragdinus grumbled in his low voice and rose from his squat.

  "It speaks!" Thing Two said excitedly.

  “Repartee, my dear pet. We do not bicker.”

  "Joe. It's now or never," I whispered harshly. “Take the demons.”

  With speed that only the likes of werewolves possessed, the pack launched themselves at the demons. The sisters were not taken off guard for long, as they turned to brace against the charging wolves.

  “Finally, war.” Smaragdinus groaned, catching a wolf’s hind quarters with its giant paw as the wolf scooted by. Giant teeth snapped, catching only air, as it tried to bite a second.

  Goodap started forward and I grabbed his arm. “No demon, Goodap. Dragon only.”

  “Goodap fight.” He pulled away and lumbered forward, ignoring my command. His clan joined him, falling in behind.

  The demons fought with a combination of magic and physical might. Their huge swords, while well suited to taking on large groups, were no match for the preternaturally fast wolves. It took everything I had to deflect their magic and let the wolves do their thing.

  A mighty crash announced the arrival of the ogres as they joined the wolves in the pitched battle. I watched in horror as one of the sisters found her opening and cleaved an ogre cleanly in two. Her high-pitched squeal of delight was cut short as a charcoal coated wolf launched itself off her sword arm and locked his huge maw onto her exposed throat.

  For a moment, I abandoned all other defenses and pulled my shield down tightly over Joe as she dropped her sword and clawed ineffectively at her throat, trying to pull him free. The frightening thing about a wolf pack is their ability to instantly respond to a strategic command. Without regard for their own safety, the pack abandoned their attacks on Smaragdinus and the other sister to join Joe in a frenzied attack.

  “Abegdenine!” Thing Two, who’d been abandoned by the wolves, screamed for her sister. With sword in one hand, she backhanded two ogres who were sent sprawling and punched a third with the fist she had closed around the pommel. She stomped forward and quicker than I’d have thought possible, brought her sword around, grabbing it with both hands and swinging it expertly across her fallen sister’s body. I winced as a wolf who’d lost track of the battle was cut in two, not even slowing the blade’s progress.

  The weapon struck my shield. Magic reverberated along the tenuous connection and I was launched backward by the force. Thing Two’s blade deflected and careened upward, causing the demon sister to spin. I saw Joe’s head jerk around in time to the sound of a sickening crunch. In his jaws, Joe held the dripping flesh of Thing One’s throat.

  “I will kill you all!” Thing Two roared as she stared at the lifeless body of her sister. Regaining her balance, Thing Two planted her feet and buried her sword in an ogre, just as Smaragdinus caught a wolf in his massive jaws.

  A wave of flame exploded from the dragon’s mouth and he dropped the dead were. Smaragdinus drenched the fallen demon with its oily fire, causing the wolves caught off guard below to howl in pain.

  “Goodap. The dragon!” I yelled as the ogres continued to engage the demon. They were unaffected by the dragon’s flames and, as such, considered the demon a greater threat. I wanted to kick myself. The ogres were my foil for the dragon, but they were too simple to understand the strategy. As a result, we had no real attack.

  “We’re losing, Slade,” Amak said. “I’m going in.”

  “Don’t,” I said, but it was too late. Amak’s bo staff was a blur as she rushed the demon. She caught Thing Two’s sword as it sped toward another ogre who was too slow to respond.

  Smaragdinus wound up and blew another sheet of flame, no longer caring if he hit the demon. I swung my shield, just in time to protect Amak, hoping the ogre’s capacity for flame resistance was sufficient.

  Amak was right. We were losing. The wolves could not reasonably attack the dragon and the ogres were not fast enough to take the demon. Amak was successfully slowing the demon’s slaughter of the ogres, but it was just a matter of time.

  I like to tell myself that it was with great reluctance that I reached into the mountain and grabbed hold of the plentiful energy. But, that’s not true. I’ve read plenty about addiction and I was sure Kaelstan was my drug of choice.

  When the energy washed over me, I felt like I’d been sleeping and every part of me had now come fully awake. The world jumped into perfect focus. The delicious pain of those in battle excited me, just as the anger of the dragon and the rage of the remaining demon sister brought a smile to my face.

  “Stop!” I commanded. The power of my voice swept across the courtyard and I smiled as wolves, ogres, troll and puny demon warrior stopped in mid-battle and turned to regard me. They had no choice as I held them all.

  I waited for quiet to fill the courtyard and soaked in the joy of the battle. What a glorious day this was turning into.

  Large claws scraped gratingly against the marble floor. “It will be as you wish, Prince,” Smaragdinus intoned slowly. “I have no quarrel with you.”

  The dragon lumbered to the edge of the platform and jumped free, initially falling from sight, then returning to view several hundred feet away as it lifted on the air currents, flapping its giant wings.

  “My Lord. I did not know,” the remaining demon sister said, still kneeling.

  I walked toward her and stopped at her sister’s charred corpse, picking up the huge sword. The weapon felt as if it were a feather, even though it was as long as an ogre was tall.

  “What did you not
know?” I asked, genuinely curious. She looked up from her kneeling position and struggled against my power, attempting to stand. I grinned at her weakness, although I appreciated her attempt.

  “Felix, dear young Felix.” Adajania’s voice came from the grand archway that led into the mountain. “I am so glad to see you embracing your destiny. How does it feel to be a god?”

  Almost inconsequentially, I swept the long blade through the kneeling demon. I’d been excited about killing her, but Adajania was much more interesting. She controlled my mother and the red-haired witch with a single braided rope around each of their waists. The rope contained considerable power and I was not surprised that neither could do anything more than stare at the floor.

  “It feels great,” I agreed. “Why shouldn’t I squash you and take what’s yours.”

  “I so enjoy the directness of youth,” Adajania said. “It was bound to come up. Gods do not kill each other, there are so few of us and, after all, you are my seed.”

  “You bore me?”

  “Nothing so human. I planted you in this one you call mother,” she said, shaking the rope that held my mother. “I required a powerful sorcerer to withstand the pains of delivering children. I must admit to being surprised by how you came to be so powerful. Your siblings were such disappointments. Your pathetic sister is only capable of changing forms and at such a cost. What a waste. But you, dear boy. All the power of a sorcerer and such capacity to control the wild energy of Kaelstan. Together we will rule everything we see.”

  “I have little power on Earth.” It was a shocking admission, even for me. The amount of power I wielded on Kaelstan eclipsed my power as a wizard at home.

  “That is understandable. Your earthly magic was inherited from a human and the magic has been gone from earth for so long, you must struggle to gather it. Kaelstan gives of its magic freely, although many burn up from its use. But this is not the time or place for arguing. Dispatch the trash you have littered my home with and we will talk at leisure in my palace.”

  “What will you do with them?” I gestured toward Mom and Missy.

  “Nothing more than servants. The red-headed child has an amusing skill of hiding herself and she is able to activate the Key. Your mother has served her purpose, though. You must divest yourself from the trappings of sentimentality. Show me your commitment and I will give her to you as a gift.”

  I nodded in understanding. I wanted to have my mother back, but the idea of killing the wolves and the ogres didn’t sit right with me. It was true; they were insignificant, but a small part of me saw them as allies. I was ashamed at my weakness.

  “I can’t,” I admitted. “I do not want to.”

  “Which is it?” Adajania asked. “You can’t or you don’t want to?”

  “They are my friends.”

  Adajania produced a slim, curved dagger from thin air and dropped the ropes that held Mom and Missy. She yanked Mom’s hair, brought her head up and held the dagger to her throat. I hadn’t been able to see Mom’s eyes to this point, but now she looked at me. I smelled her fear and there was something else: a confusing emotion, an echo of my old life. The word I searched for was love, although it made little sense to me.

  “Send the dogs over the cliff, Felix, or I will kill this one,” she said.

  I turned to the wolves and ogres. They all stood just where they had before Adajania had entered the room. I realized I’d been holding them in place without really being conscious of it. Sending them over the cliff would be easy. I looked back to my mom and then to Adajania. I wasn’t sure why I was hesitating. Something was holding me back.

  “I could just send them back,” I said. “I have the Key.” I pulled it from my pocket.

  “It’s an object lesson.” Adajania pulled the blade across my mother’s throat. The blade must have been sharp as the skin opened easily and blood streamed down her neck.

  “NO!” I pushed as much energy as I could muster at Adajania. A look of surprise crossed her face as she was forced backward several feet. It was virtually every ounce of power I had and she’d just barely been moved.

  She backhanded in my direction. Even though twenty feet separated us, the blow felt like I’d been hit by the dragon. I flew to the side and crunched into the wall. Even in my demon form, I felt the searing pain as bones broke.

  Adajania straightened her hair and pulled on my mother’s lifeless head. “Stupid boy,” she spat. “I am the master of illusion. I have not killed your mother and you have failed this test.”

  The blood disappeared from Mom’s neck and there was no slash on her throat. I blinked back the pain and tried to grasp what I was seeing.

  “I will not kill my friends,” I said, defiantly, bringing myself to my feet. I touched the nearest wolf and tossed it through the Key back to earth. “You do not win.” I touched another and sent it back.

  “I care not for those pawns.” Great pain coursed through my body and I was forced to my knees. “Today you learn what it means to be Prince Adajania. You will take my name, even if I have to rip out your soul.”

  “Lapide Pugno.” I roared and sent the strongest punch I could manage. Adajania stumbled backwards. In her place stood an ancient, gnarled woman instead of the olive skinned, Persian beauty.

  She twisted her clawed hand as she turned back to me. I was lifted against the stone wall and an unseen force wrapped around my neck, cutting off my breath. I grabbed for my neck, trying to remove what I couldn’t see, but nothing worked. My sight started to dim as I fought for breath.

  “No!” From out of nowhere, Gabriella appeared and jumped at the demigod, clawing at her face.

  I was confused, but free, and slid down the wall, sucking in much needed air.

  “Impudence!” Adajania yelled and Gabriella was flung away from her. The dagger in the demigoddess’s hand flew as Gabriella slid across the floor.

  “Scutum” I hastily erected a shield in front of Gabriella.

  “She holds you back?” Adajania exclaimed, comprehending and enraged at the same moment. Purple-white streams of energy poured from Adajania toward Gabriella. The onslaught was fierce and I focused to strengthen the shield. I reached into the mountain and funneled everything I could hold, but Adajania continued to increase the power she used. She was weakening, but her reserves were massive and I was barely holding on.

  “Stop!” I yelled between gritted teeth.

  “I will kill this one. You will be free. I do this for you,” Adajania said and redoubled her efforts.

  Gabriella was looking at me. She was so beautiful and selfless. I wished she hadn’t come. I walked toward her, each step an exercise in pain.

  “I can’t hold her, Love,” I said. “I am sorry.”

  “Let go, Felix. If my last act is to show you how much I love you, then I accept my fate.”

  I stepped in front of her and allowed the energy to strike my back, unshielded. I could feel parts of myself disintegrating.

  “We go together,” I said.

  Gabriella smiled and closed her eyes.

  “Holy fuck! No way would I have come if I knew this would turn into a damned soap opera!” I spun around as the energy pouring into my back was suddenly cut off.

  Smaragdinus had returned and from its maw, the legs of Adajania protruded. A quick tip of its head and the demigoddess was swallowed.

  The dragon shook its head and then spit small droplets of fire onto the ground. “Oh. My. God! Moldy-old-woman taste... Shit, it’s disgusting!” The dragon’s voice belonged to Maggie and she jumped around making retching sounds while holding her massive belly. I barked a laugh at the irony of just how badly Adajania had underestimated the power of my sister's magic while in Kaelstan.

  After ten seconds, she stopped, settled down and burped a small cloud of dark, blue smoke. “Oh. That’s not so bad, then. I don’t suppose any of you feel like brushing my teeth?”

  Epilogue

  "How did you get here?" I asked, slumping to the ground next t
o where Gabriella lay.

  Gabriella pushed herself up to a seated position. "Your back. She hurt you."

  As Gabriella inspected my back, Lace appeared next to Missy and everything fell into place. Maggie and Gabriella had used Lace's capacity to disappear so they could follow us to Kaelstan. I suspect Gabriella had known there was no way I would allow her to return with me.

  Kaelstan's energy still coursed through my body and part of me wanted to tell her just how stupid it was to be concerned for my mortal body. I was, after all, an all-powerful god. The words sounded ridiculous in my head and I recognized, perhaps for the first time, the price of the demon blood’s gift.

  Closing my eyes, I focused the energy that remained within me on the task of restoring my physical body. It was a painstaking business and every moment was agonizing as I bent Kaelstan to my purpose in a most foreign way.

  "Master, you should release the wolves," Flick said quietly. I hadn't seen his approach. I swung my head around to find Joe. He stood, frozen and unblinking, his eyes tearing. It was not without effort that I released the ogres and the wolves. Some part of me still saw them as adversaries and I didn't feel it would be safe to let them go.

  "Collect your wounded, Joe," I said. "I'll send you back."

  I looked for Goodap and found him bent over one of his fallen clan. His huge shoulders shuddered and I realized he was sobbing at the loss of a friend. The first thing that came to mind was blame; it lay squarely at his feet for not following my instructions, after all. Had the ogre clan attacked the dragon as I'd specified, the battle with the demons could have gone much differently. Even as I had the thought, I knew the truth. I'd used the giants for my own, selfish purposes. I was no better than Fagin. It was something I'd have to live with.

  "Lean forward," Gabriella said, ripping the remains of my shirt and coat from my back and painfully dislodging bits of fabric from my skin. Beside me, she placed a fabric bag that contained quantities of salves and bandages.