A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (56 page)

Kasile was glowing. An outline of fiery red power shone in
her skin and in her eyes. “Your family tree is the most distinguished of all
the noble houses. Why have you made it so rotten?” She laid her sword against
Siron's neck; he didn't move. “And dropped this rotten fruit?”

“If you seek rotten fruit, then look no further than
yourself.”

“How
dare
you—”

Selen scowled. “Your paranoia endangers this kingdom. Your
arrogance is unbefitting of the Highest Public Servant. Your bleeding heart
drove my son to lethal despair.”

The short sword clanged on the tile floor. “I . . . Siron .
. .I . . .didn't . . .”

“I wanted Your Highness to be happy,” Siron said softly. “So
I confided my grief in my father alone. In my weakness, I agreed to his plan.
For that I will beg your forgiveness till my dying breath.”

“Siron . . .I'm . . .I'm so sorry . . .”

Selen looked past Kasile. “Just as planned.”

While they were talking, soldiers had been creeping into the
room. At a signal from their lord, they tackled Kasile and Siron. The pair were
disarmed and held down by four each.

Dengel, help them now!

 
Do not presume to or
d
—“Ahhhh!”

A mana bolt the size of an anvil slammed into his back. The
force of it drove his human body to the ground. His attacker pounced and
snapped something around his neck. A vice clamped his soul and squeezed its
power deep within his body.
Curses! Another suppression collar . . .

“See? Now aren't you glad you hired me?”

I know that voice!
But . . . there's no way . . .she
wouldn't . . .
Dengel forced his head up and saw a green-haired girl holding
a white staff.
Kallen!

“I am indeed, Miss Selios. I didn't believe you could do it
but I am glad to be wrong.”

“How!?” Dengel shouted. “How could you sneak up on me like
that?! You are a mere
human
!”

For that, Kallen hit him with a solid beam of mana. “I'm not
just
any
human: I'm Kallen Selios.”

“King Ataidar,” Selen said. “Continue, please.”

The smug bastard stood before his defeated adversaries and
looked down on them in triumph. First, he stopped at Kasile and told her to get
used to prison because she would spend the rest of her life there until she
acknowledged him as king. Then he stopped at Siron. He spoke at length of how
foolish his son was and how poorly planned his betrayal and then he gave him
advice on how to patch up his relationship with Kasile, up to and including the
name of a florist he himself frequented. The boy's ensuing red-hot blush mixed
rage and embarrassment. Finally, he stopped before Dengel.

“It would be a waste of talent to dispose of you. I trust
you have no objections.”

“None.”

What!? You can't do that!

My body. I may do with it what I wish. If you object, try
taking it from me.

Eric focused all of his willpower into a mighty mental shove
and he succeeded in jarring his own spirit. In a parody of his previous
lectures, Dengel explained how Eric was too weak to best him in a trial of
wills. He went further to say Eric was too weak to best him at
anything
.
It was his knowledge that found Kasile; it was his spells that allowed Eric to
triumph in the Black Cloak hideout; it was he competing in the New Scepter
Tournament; it was his power that defeated the soldiers.

Compared to me you are second-rate trash.

Eric couldn't argue. He was a pitiful mage before he
received Dengel's spirit and afterward he relied on the dead mage for support.
In the throne room, the light of dawn shined in stained glass windows, but in
Eric's soul, only darkness grew and it fed the Looming Shadow in the corner.

“Hey, old fossil!” Kallen said. “Now that we're on the same
side, I'd like to ask you something.”

Dengel scowled, but said, “Speak and I shall answer.”

“Why do elves hate you so much?” Kallen asked. “Parents tell
their children stories of you to scare them. You're the elfin boogeyman.”

“There are many reasons, but a likely candidate is my deal
with my glorious patron, Emperor Uinatos Cath Marius Xia Kintsan of Cehia;
unlimited resources and academic freedom in return for revealing the location
and defenses of elf villages.”

“In other words,
backstabbing;
like you did just now.”

“Exactly. Unlike my brethren, I know when to make deals.”

Deals; black outs; the night at Tahart's apartment; the
pieces flew together and a new hatred was born.
You! You caused the
blackouts! You took over my body and made a deal with Tahart!

Which you ruined. The orc drove a hard bargain.

The new soldiers fitted the princess and noble with shackles
and leg irons. Selen called them with a pager; that's why his hands were in his
pockets. It was an emergency signal for his A team and green-haired secret
weapon. He wasn't gloating when he revealed his plan; he was buying time!

Eric! Listen to me!
Kasile's voice pierced the
darkness of Eric's soul.
You can overcome Dengel!

No, I—

Yes, you can! The synchronization worked both ways! I saw
you challenge Laharg. I saw you save your team from the xethras and perform
element fusion to guide them out of the Yacian Caverns. Dengel never did that
at your age! I saw you overcome the trials of the Altar of Rebirth with only
your wits and tools. Did Dengel win all those bouts in the tournament? No! And
when I need someone to talk to I would pick you over Dengel any day. He's just
a walking encyclopedia! You can beat him! Take him to our mental meeting room
and then take him down!

Dengel didn't hear Kasile's pep talk. He was deaf to
anything Kasile said over the private line. He didn't realize his former
landlord became more and more confident with each word.

But Dengel's spirit is stronger than mine . . .

Every one of the Black Cloaks had a stronger spirit than
you! Not only did you out-maneuver them, but you beat two at once.

That was different . . .

Fine! You think that's
impossible? Me defeating
all these guards by myself is impossible!

Exactly! So we should just gi . . .

Before he finished the thought, two guards collapsed; their
chests punctured by mana claws.
That's two!
Kasile's next target was the
guards holding her arms. She retracted her claws, re-aimed, and extended them a
second time.
That's four!
Severed chains flailing she dove at the guards
restraining Siron.
That's six!
The two remaining guards drew their
swords. Siron head butted one and Kasile pounced on the second.
Seven!
The princess cut her knight's chains and together they killed the last escort.
Eight!
They stood back-to-back as the soldiers regrouped.

Selen pointed at Kallen. “What are you waiting for? Do something!”

“Sorry, but I can't.” Kallen pulled out a sheet of paper. “It
clearly states here in our contract that I'm only supposed to fight
Dengel
.
We'll have to renege if you want me to fight anyone else.”

“Never mind her. I'll—” Dengel's throat closed, his pupils
dilated and he collapsed.

The Mental Meeting Room was no longer empty but populated by
statues. One was of Aio and others of Oito and Revas. A fourth statue resembled
the Dragon's Lair and a fifth, Eric's bridge house. More were shaped like his
teammates: Tiza, Nolien, and Basilard or other guild members like Mia and
Culmus. Dengel found his tenant standing between statues of Annala and Kasile.

“Giving yourself the home field advantage? It will do you no
good.”

“I don't need it to beat you.”

Dengel sneered. “How amusing: the ant thinks it can defeat a
dragon.”

“Have you ever been bitten by an ant? It hurts.”

“Enough small talk! Either you renounce this silly challenge
or I will extinguish your soul!”

“No. I will defeat you. Then I'll defeat the Esrah duke.”

Dengel fired enough spiritual power to break Eric's soul
into tiny pieces and erase him from existence. With both hands anchored to the
statues, he weathered the attack. The living mage looked back at the dead one
with a smirk. Dengel frowned and fired mana bolts instead. Eric ducked and
dodged around every one. All the while, his right hand never left the statue.

“You can't hit me! You can't hit me!”

Dengel growled and charged. Eric yelped and ran away. Two
silver-blue strands caught the dead mage's chest as he barreled past the
statues. He noticed them, but was distracted by Eric shaking his butt. Enraged,
he chased Eric to Aio's statue and didn't notice him tapping it with his right
hand. A third silver-blue strand caught on his leg.

 From Revas’ statue to Oito’s and then to Eric's team, the
dragon chased the ant. Eric touched each one with his right hand and more
strands gathered on Dengel. Then the elder landed a blow that sent Eric
skidding along the ground. He loomed over Eric with a mana boulder held high.

 “This ends now!” Eric grabbed Basilard's leg with his right
hand and pulled himself out of the way. He jumped to his feet and ran to his
bridge house while Dengel stumbled over the fallen Nolien and Tiza statues and
becoming more tangled in the process. He started to untangle himself when—

“The Great Sage is dead!” Eric shouted from the roof of the
bridge. “Because he wet his bed!”

Dengel jumped up and shouted, “Silence!”

“Your 'Glorious Patron' told you what to do, and when you
didn't, he spanked you.”

Dengel fired a hailstorm of mana bolts that Eric dodged by
ducking behind his bridge house and allowing the spheres to pass harmlessly
overhead. Dengel jumped over the statue and brought his staff down with deadly
force, but he struck only air. Eric was already back at Annala's statue.

The pair crisscrossed the mindscape and every lap multiplied
the threads entangling Dengel. Every time he stopped to examine them, Eric
taunted him again and his pride overcame his caution. At last, he brought the
full force of his power to bare and slammed Eric against the Dragon's Lair,
pinning him in place. He allowed just enough free movement for Eric to tremble
in fear.

 Dengel glowed with spiritual might. “Foolish little boy.
You should have known better than to challenge Greater Mage Dengel Tymh the
Sage.”

“I don't know
what
I was thinking.” Eric said. “You're
so
much more powerful.”

“I would advise you to remember that for your next life . .
.” Dengel created a mana blade on the tip of his staff. “But you are not going
to have one.” He thrust it into Eric's chest.

Kasile and Siron were surrounded. After the element of
surprise wore off the soldiers became hard to kill. They enclosed the teenagers
and parried all of their attacks. Siron tried to break their circle and get his
back to a wall but they easily thwarted his attempt. The only reason he and
Kasile were not yet dead was their restraint. Like the others, they hesitated
to seriously harm their country's princess and their lord's son. A big man with
a hammer knocked Siron over and a skinny one with a lance struck Kasile in the
rib cage with its shaft. Their loyalty didn't preclude simple incapacitation.

The Knight leaped to his feet. Despite full armor, his
stamina held steady but the same could not be said of his princess. After the
eighth soldier, Kasile's claws wavered and bounced off the ninth. She shut them
off and stole a sword from a dead man but the professional soldiers disarmed
her easily and Siron had to save her. She dropped behind him and fired mana
bolts but even those were useless against her enemy's armor. By now, her breath
came in gasps and sweat soaked her gauntlets.

“Your Highness, I will finish them. You may rest now.”

Kasile stood up straight and said, “Whatever happened to 'ladies
first'?”

“Your Highness,” Siron said drily, “I doubt whoever created
that had battle in mind.”

“My son is right, Princess,” Selen called over the clamor. “Though
some women may bear arms the same cannot be said of gently bred ladies such as
yourself. Your body is exhausted, that much is obvious, but your spirit is weak
as well, isn't it? Those spirit claws take more out of you than you thought,
don't they? Surrender and I will switch your cell from the dungeon to your
bedroom.”

He ducked a mana bolt. “Come on! Die by the hand of a
'gently bred lady'!”

“NOW!” Eric shouted.

 Dengel's arm snapped back. His other arm was pulled
forward, his legs sideways and head up. Eric stood triumphant. He lifted his
right hand and a thread shimmered. It led from his hand to the statue of the
Dragon's Lair, to the mercenaries he'd worked with, to the bridge house he
lived in, and to all of his other friends. Dengel was entangled in these
threads like a kitten that played with a ball of string. “Come into my parlor said
the spider to the fly.”

“I am not aware how you made this without my knowledge, but
it does not matter. I will break out in a minute. You have won nothing.”

“A minute is all I need to banish you.”

 A seething pool of darkness appeared behind Dengel. He
looked over his shoulder and gasped in horror. The darkness grew and expanded
into a closed door. Eric pointed his left hand and an ominous click echoed in
the void. The door opened into utter nothingness. The creature that struggled
within the threads was no legendary mage, but a man terrified of dying; the
threads held firm.

Wide-eyed, he shouted, “You can't! You
need
me! You
are
nothing
without me!”

Eric tightened the web. “I can and I am!” The mage swaggered
to his ensnared prey and looked him square in the eye. “For the record: I don't
need your knowledge, I don't need your power, I don't need
you
.
Now be gone.”