Magician Prince (39 page)

It only took an instant for Xander to grab
hold of Janus with his tendril and yank him in front of the
fireball so that the king took the brunt of the blast. Xander was
still burned by the attack and fell to his hands and knees. He was
a retching husk of a man that was made sick by the pain and the
smell of his own burnt hair and flesh, but he had won. Janus’ body
lied before Xander. He was a scorched mass that was barely
recognizable as a person and completely unrecognizable by any other
means. Queen Wendi shrieked and was held back from the body by one
of her royal guardsmen. Alia grabbed Byrn as his body went limp and
she gently lowered him to the ground.

Sane could not remember how to make his legs
work. He wanted to go to his prince and former student. There must
be something else that he could do. There had to be some way that
he could save Byrn, but his legs refused to listen.

Then Alia sobbed and looked directly at Sane.
“He is dead.”

The world was colored in shades of grey.

Byrn stood up from where he was lying on the
ground. Alia was there, cradling him in her arms, but she did not
move. It was disconcerting to look down on himself like this. His
birth mother, the queen, was frozen in a portrait trying to run,
but one of her guards held fast to her. Sane was there too. He
stood not far away from them all, looking like a statue.
Southernstar was behind him and Byrn hoped that she would survive
this ordeal. Where were those healers he had called for? She was in
desperate need of help. Xander was there too. It saddened Byrn that
the necromancer had survived the attack, but he took some
satisfaction in Xander’s haggard state.

“Xander is not dead,” he said.

“No,” answered a sultry voice. It had been a
long time since he last saw that face, but he could not forget the
beauty of the goddess of death. “He lives… such as it is. However,
you, dear child, are very much no longer one of the living. You
killed someone and so your soul is mine. I admit I am impressed.
The higher races have long known the thrill of killing, but you
killed your own brother. Not many men ever do that. Then again it
may be a family trait. Your brother murdered your father. Do not
look so surprised. Your father tried to have you killed as a baby
and numerous generations before yours would drown their magically
gifted young. Perhaps it is simply a part of your nature.”

“But I didn’t mean to kill Janus!”

“No, you meant to kill Xander Necros,”
Kassani agreed. “Unfortunately your intentions do not change the
results. You took a life and now yours is forfeit in return. Now
come. Follow me to the underworld. There are loved ones waiting to
see you: your parents, Avelice Necros, even your old friends from
the Collective and the magic school are waiting.”

“My friends…” Byrn longed to see them again.
Tannys. Marian. Avelice. Turshyn. He longed to see them and many
others whose lives were cut short. Then he looked to Alia and Sane.
Somewhere his daughter was still missing and Kaleb would need him
too. “My friends in the world of the living still need me. I cannot
go yet.”

“Do they?” Kassani sounded incredulous. “The
higher races always seem to overestimate their value in the world.
‘How will my children go on without me?’ or ‘If I die, the
magicians will destroy the world.’ That last one was your brother,
by the way. But the world will go on with or without you. It may
not move in the way you wish it, but it will continue to turn.
People will be born, live, and die in their short existences. Then
they will all come to me. It is an undeniable fact of life.”

“And when will you claim Xander?”

Kassani shrugged, uncaring. “He will come
eventually. Judging from his current state it may well be soon, but
even if it is not he will make a hazardous mistake one day and it
will cost him his life. I am patient.”

“Then can’t you be patient with me? Send me
back.”

“You must not be listening. Everyone wants to
go back, but they cannot. Now come with me.” Kassani turned to
leave. Byrn did not know where she intended to go, but he started
to follow her without thinking. A living darkness was starting to
creep around them and Byrn froze. Kassani turned to him. “There is
nothing to fear. Now follow me.” She started off into the waiting
black void, but Byrn did not follow. Again she turned to him,
clearing growing angry, “In death, you are my servant. Now I
command you to join me.”

“No.”

“Come here!”

Byrn took a step back. “You can’t make me can
you?”

“Do not be ridiculous. Everyone wants to
live, but none of them can ever go back. What makes you think you
are so special?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because my death
wasn’t natural or maybe it’s because I don’t need to be bound by
your mortal coil, but I do know that if you could take me against
my will, then you would have done so by now. I read it in the
remaining pages of Xander’s grimoire. Magicians have been defying
you for who knows how long. Maybe I can too.”

“They used magic to extend their lives, not
to come back from the dead. You are too far gone.” There was a hint
of something in Kassani’s voice. Her anger was apparent, but she
seemed somehow desperate too.

Byrn returned to where his body still lied.
Alia was no longer holding him. She held onto Xander’s arm, pulling
at him, while the charred necromancer stood over Sane. Wendi was at
Janus’ side and her guard stood over her protectively. Byrn’s
disembodied hand touched his lifeless body and he felt something
there. It was like a spark. No it was more of an ember. There was a
tiny fire still burning in that lifeless pile of flesh. He
attempted to gather magic to him and found that he still could do
it as long as he touched that shadow of himself lying on the
ground. However, now he was no longer limited by Xander’s old
decaying frame. For the first time since Xander stole his body Byrn
truly felt like himself and called all that magic around him that
he could hold.

“Stop doing that!” Kassani demanded
furiously.

***

There was a great surge of heat as Byrn’s
corpse spontaneously combusted. It was not anything like someone
would see from a cooking fire or even an out of control forest
fire. The flames that shot up from the dead body held the intensity
of an all-encompassing inferno focused in one small spot. The hair
burned away from the corpse followed quickly by the skin and
clothing. Next were the organ and bones that quickly dissolved into
ash and the flames fed upon the air. They grew ten feet, then
twenty feet into the sky before spouts of flame shot out from the
top at angles, forming into enormous wings. His head was next, but
as the flames took shape they resembled a bird of prey more than
anything human.

Xander turned to look at him. His body was
worn out, but he continued to feed on those around him to stay
alive and apparently to exact his revenge, beginning with Sane. No
one would follow the grand necromancer now, not after trying to
kill his own people. Revenge was all that Xander had left. His
intention was clear. First he meant to kill Sane. Then he would
turn his attention to the rest of Aurelia.

Sane looked at the fiery bird in utter
amazement. He mouthed the word, “Firehawk.” It was the name that
Byrn used while amongst the dwarves taken from their ancient lore,
but Byrn now understood what he had become; a being of flame
destined to rise from its own ashes. He was now a phoenix.

Hundreds of black tendrils burst out of
Xander’s hands, legs, arms, and back. They snaked around Byrn and
tried to smother him while simultaneously taking his power for
Xander’s own, but as they touched Byrn’s new form they caught
aflame and could find nothing to attach to.

“Damn you!” roared Xander and began to make
one of his black energy bombs, but he would not have enough time.
Byrn breathed air deep and converted the oxygen to more fire before
breathing it out in a spew that engulfed Xander Necros. The grand
necromancer tried to shriek as the flames ate away at him, but all
of the oxygen around him was burned away as he was consumed. Still
the fire raged over Xander, though he was dead, until there was
nothing left of him except for a pile of ashes. There would be no
chance of him coming back.

Byrn’s fire-form started to dissolve with his
final objective accomplished. It required great magic to restore
oneself back to life even if it was for only a few moments to right
one injustice and he felt his power dwindling.

It was Southernstar who caught his eye. She
looked at him wearily. The healers had not yet arrived, but Byrn
was thankful that she was still holding on. Then he understood what
he needed to do in a flash of inspiration. He focused all of his
thoughts on shrinking down his body of flame, but did not allow the
energy to dissipate. Instead it became more and more condensed
until it became solid like a constructed fire weapon. Then he
imagined his human form as he had done earlier that day to regain
his appearance and began to bend and shape and change the
constitution of his body just as he had done before. The fire died
away and Byrn, the true Byrn, stood whole again before Alia, Sane,
and all those gathered in the square.

Sane removed his cloak and came over to Byrn,
wrapping it around his shoulders. It was only then that Byrn
realized that he had been completely naked when he reformed.

Then blackness overtook him and he felt his
body begin to fall.

“It’s over. You need to give me the baby
before this gets any worse for you,” said Tomlin. He managed to
catch up to Riona at the outside of the square. They had arrived
just in time to see the phoenix utterly destroy Xander Necros.
Riona looked to be in shock, but she could turn violent if he was
not careful. Tomlin surreptitiously drew his dagger even as he
channeled a feeling of calm at Riona.

“How can this get any worse?” she asked.
Tomlin relaxed a little. If there was any fight left in her, then
he did not see it in her defeated expression.

“Do you really need me to answer that? Xander
is dead. Alia is not and you know that she will hunt you down to
get Avelice back. Give her to me and leave. I will tell Alia that
you are dead, if you wish.” Tomlin reached out one hand to take the
baby from her, but Riona stepped away.

“So I can go back into hiding? I was going to
have real power. I was going to become a ruler over man. I was
going to live forever. Now what do I have left?” Riona held Avelice
against her shoulder and bounced her gently to keep the child
soothed. “Look at Alia over there, standing with the queen. She’ll
sell us all out.”

“You know she would never do that! Maybe you
would, but not Alia.” Tomlin took another step cautiously toward
Riona.

“Maybe I should keep Avelice… just for a
while until everything has settled down. It would be best for the
baby in case the fighting starts up again.” Riona took another step
back from Tomlin. Did she have a transportation rune on her? He
could not let her get away with Avelice.

“Riona, you’re not thinking straight. I’m
begging you to give me the baby.” Tomlin took another step. His
right hand gripped the dagger hidden beneath his traveling cloak
firmly in preparation to strike while the left reached out for
Avelice.

Tomlin stopped short when he suddenly felt
the tip of something sharp against his back. It could have been a
Kenzai or a soldier that drew his weapon on the bard, but Tomlin
knew better from Riona’s sudden wide smile.

“Sheathe your dagger,” said Ryonus from
behind him. He jabbed the staff’s blade a little more into Tomlin’s
back to make his point and the bard did as he was told, replacing
his weapon in its leather sheath. “Good boy.” The blade point never
turned away from Tomlin as Ryonus moved around to stand at Riona’s
side.

“Now what?” asked Tomlin. He could not hope
to outmaneuver Ryonus. Instead he looked around carefully to see if
there was any aid he could call upon. Alia was too far away to
notice him and was distracted by some other concern along with
several others looking at something at their feet. There were some
soldiers and other magicians not far off, but they were eyeing each
other warily. Trying to get them involved could escalate into a new
round of fighting.

“Riona, give Avelice to me,” Ryonus told her
kindly and the necromancer did so willingly. She looked relieved to
relinquish the responsibility to him, but her expression changed to
a look of shock as Ryonus promptly handed the baby over to Tomlin.
“It is alright,” he said to Riona, noting her desperate look. “We
don’t need the babe and we don’t want to have to watch over our
backs for the day that Alia tracks us down.”

“What will we do now?” she asked.

Ryonus favored her with a smile. “Whatever we
want.” To Tomlin, he said, “You will tell Alia that we died in the
fighting?”

“I will.”

“Good. Our hopes for freedom will have to
ride with Alia now.” Ryonus put an arm around Riona and held her
closely. “Do you truly believe she can broker a peace with the
kingdom?”

“Have you ever known her to fail at
anything?” Tomlin answered almost certainly.

“We will be watching,” was Ryonus’ ominous
reply before the pair disappeared to only the gods knew where.

“And I will be waiting if you should ever
come back,” replied Tomlin although there was no one there to hear
him except Avelice who squeezed his finger tightly. “Let us find
your mother. She will be very happy to see you again.”

The square changed from a general bustling of
wary former combatants to a flurry of activity as Tomlin neared
where Alia and the queen were issuing orders to their respective
people. The old man, Sane, was with them and looked distraught as
he bounced from one group of healers who were tending to what
appeared to be a naked man covered only by a green cloak although
Tomlin could not see his face to find out if it was anyone he knew
to another group that was caring for a… he did not know what it
was. It was a large creature with a hide of what looked like red
plates and as he started to take in its entirety he noticed its
wings and tail. He could not see the rest of it, but the only thing
that he had heard of that even remotely matched this creature’s
description was a dragon.