Sorcerer Rising (A Virgil McDane Novel) (21 page)

“Well, they weren’t really fish people,” Al said, watching the screen. “At least not like any merfolk we’ve ever seen. They don’t just walk around the city that often.”

“Could they be Aetherial?” Tiffany asked.

“They might,” he replied. “But they’re not any race I know of. Hold on. What is this?” He adjusted the antenna and the picture shifted to the
creature dissolving to Aether in the tent. “Is that really how it happened?”

“Yes,” we both said together.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Al said. “If they were brought out of the Aether by a mage, they’re permanent. No matter what happened, they shouldn’t have been able to just come apart like that. Do you know why they attacked you?”

“They were looking for someone,” I said. “A traitor. Maybe one of them.”

“What does that have to do with you?”

“They said they smelled him on
me.” I thought about it. “I’ve seen a lot of people in the past week, but I didn’t get a vibe like this from any of them.”

“Could be a number of things,” he said. “You could have bumped into him on the street, he could live in your building.” He looked up at me. “And what with the elbows you’ve been rubbing with, this hasn’t exactly been a normal week. Who knows?”

“Whatever,” I said. “I need a new ring. That’s what’s important right now. Can we do it?”

He forgot the TV and began picking up random odds and ends, stuffing them into his many pockets. “We can, but it will be difficult. It would have been a lot easier, and better for you, if we had done this before you left.” He looked at me. “Which one did you lose?”

“The binder,” I replied.

He grimaced. “It had to be that one.”

“The binder?” Tiffany asked.

“Each of the rings represents an element,” I said. “The one I lost is the binding agent that makes it all work together.”

“Could have been worse,” Al said. “It could have been fire. I don’t think we could have found any more for that.”

We both shuddered.

He nodded. “But it would have been easier if you had lost one of the others. We’ll have to leave the partition, find something to channel into the rings.” He looked at me, frowning. “Unless you’re willing to use a room?”

I thought about it for a moment. It was the safest thing to do. Leaving the partition would be dangerous and I wasn’t in the best shape to do so. A room from the partition could be consumed, co
nverted to pure energy.

I thought back to Sarah’s mind, to her partition and all the empty rooms we had passed, the shattered glass that had littered the floor, the look of desperation on her face as she tried to piece them together.

“We’ll leave the walls,” I said.

Al watched me. He knew what I was thinking. “Good call on that one
.”

“Is it that bad out there?” Tiffany asked.

“Did it look good inside?” She shook her head. “Well, that’s the good part.”

I reached under the table and pulled out a Winchester 1873 lever action rifle. It had been a pet project of mine since before the Guild. I had never been able to convert it into a full blown manifestation, but it was the weapon I always took out into my mind.

Across from me, Al reached under the table and brought out the biggest hunting rifle I’d ever seen. It was twenty pounds of solid oak and heavy blue steel, the barrel almost as thick as my wrist. A massive brass scope sat atop it, nearly two feet long.

“Where the hell did that come from?” I asked.

He looked at me and grinned. “What with this whole Arcus fiasco, I thought we may have a need.”

I looked down at my Winchester with its dinky little barrel. “It’s not the size of the gun that matters, it’s the marksman’s skill.”

Al snorted. “Says the guy who has a pattern the size of a football at a hundred yards.”

I ignored him. “Your
magic won’t be much here,” I said to Tiffany, pulling a pump action shotgun out from under the table. “You know how to use something like this?”

She took the gun from me and began to load shells in. “No problem.”

“First things first,” I said, holding up the ring. “Before we go anywhere, we need to prepare this.”

Reluctantly, Al set the rifle down and took the ring from me, frowning. “This is nice. Way nicer than anything we have. You didn’t steal this did you?”

“I gave it to him,” Tiffany said.

He looked at her and it was like he was seeing her for the first time. “You know, I really can’t believe you of all people let a Wizard into your head.”

“I’m helping,” she said.

“Don’t be like that, Al. Without her I wouldn’t have gotten in here at all.”

He frowned. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t mind her being here. We can handle that.” He turned to me, his eyes narrowing. “It’s you.” He lowered his voice, mimicking my accent. “All your,
she has such lively green eyes, it’s so nice to talk to someone feminine, I can’t wait to see her naked
bullshit you’ve been running through your head. She’s one of them, Virgil!”

Tiffany blushed.

For a moment, I was at a loss for words. That should tell you how embarrassed I was right there.

“Apologize, right now,” I said.

“I will do no such thing!”

“She is a guest in our head,” I said. “Apologize, Algernon.”

He flinched at the use of his full name, but said nothing.

Luckily there was one adult present. “I only want you to be able to defend yourself,” she said.

“Fine,” Al grumbled, looking over the ring. “You know this won’t fit you.”

“It is better than anything I had,” I said. “Do not insult a gift given, Al.”

He fiddled with the ring, nodding. Finally, he sighed. “You are correct. I apologize, Miss Norwood. This will make a fine talisman.”

I relaxed. “Great, now let’s get on with this. I don’t want to be walking around without a focus, the binding focus especially. It’s better than a spoon anyway.”

“What?” he asked. “Never mind. This isn’t a complaint, but this makes it ten times harder. You don’t have the juice to go around molding metal anymore.”

“I know. I’ll need your help. Loan me some of your focus and I’ll direct the spell.”

In my own mind, I had a great deal more power. The Brand had taken much from me, and while that was a major obstacle, it wasn’t the primary one. It had hardened the barrier between my mind and my body. Once I was in my mind though, that barrier no longer played a role.

I started the spell, holding up my hand and pointing it at the ring. The world around me became clearer,
crystalizing as I honed my mind. The grey was sharper, more intense. I could make out every fleck of ash the wafted in from under the door. The scent and taste of the shack assaulted my senses. I took it all in, using it to fuel the spell. I inhaled, drawing together the world that was my mind and focusing it on the copper ring I wore on my forefinger.

Fire was needed for this spell so fire was what I drew up. The scent of a campfire filled my nose and the ring began to glow. I focused my will, honing it to the one on the table. A mountain appeared in the corner of my eye, taller than my keep, broader than the whole world, fire belching from its mouth, a hungry, roaring monster of flame and stone. I blinked and it was gone again. Smoke began to rise up from the wood as the metal burned into it.

Now for the tricky part. I had made the metal malleable using my copper ring, the one I used to channel fire. The binder, my missing ring, was usually used for force and without it, I would have to do this the hard way.

Al grabbed my shoulder, adding his strength to my own. Our magic belonged to me, but he was the mental powerhouse that gave that magic the power it needed.

It wasn’t just about size. The ring needed to be honed to me. I focused everything I had on it, widening the band, shifting its very matter to be aligned with my aura. The shed shook, the ground rumbled, and the wind howled against the walls. I focused harder. Thunder ripped through the air, lightning flashing through the cracks in the ceiling.

My vision began to fade, the strength leaving my body. The world was slowing, all motion draining to a halt, flecks of ash and dirt drifting to a stop in midair. I couldn’t let my strength fade now, not when I was this close. I pushed harder and the ground lurched, throwing me to the table.

Finally, the ring shriveled, like paper curling under a fire. It shrank and spun until it was a broad flat loop.

I fell then, my strength gone. For a moment, my vision faded to black, my sight failing. It took everything I had just to stay conscious and for a long, terrifying moment, I hovered over the edge. The taste of copper filled my mouth.

I picked up and ring and carefully slid it onto my thumb. My aura was still a mess, but the web was back in place at least and my fingers moved when I wiggled them. It would take a little while for the talisman to become attuned to me, but it had provided the metaphysical circuit for my magic, connecting everything.

But it wasn’t done yet.

We would have to associate this talisman with something in my mind, the place from which I drew this element. That’s why Al was mad. If it had been earth or air it would have been the easiest. Fire certainly would have been the hardest.

Binding was the second hardest. It encompassed everything I used to make my magic happen. It could stand for force or the mind, my drive and imagination. It was the rarest and most essential catalyst for forcing the elements into cohering to produce results.

The last time I had made my binding ring, we’d had to climb the tallest peak of my mind. From that point, I could see the entirety of the world that made up my psyche, though not the pathways that connected it. Every inch of land was covered with ash, burned to the ground, and shrouded in fog. But I could see it.

That journey, and the revelation that came with it, fueled the focus the ring provided. It was the best thing I could think of to bind my magic together, broken as it was.

I would always carry that with me and a part of it would go into my new talisman. That was the beauty of meditation. That experience had strengthened my magic even without the talisman. That’s how a mage was supposed to grow in his power. Explore his mind, discover more about himself and his motivations.

But I couldn’t use that twice, not once it had been experienced already.

Al interrupted my thoughts. “I was thinking we shouldn’t go to the mountain this time.”

He could mirror my own thoughts eerily sometimes. “Where then?”

He looked worried. That was bad. He usually had no compunction when it came to offering his advice. That meant he was second guessing himself, which was even more unusual.

“I was just thinking that your demands are going to be greater,” he started. “We need to make the supply greater as well. You’ve already climbed to the precipice. You could do it again, but what are you going to gain from it the second time? We need something more, something that will provide a greater talisman than the peak had.”

“If you have a better idea, I’m all ears.”

“I think we should channel Blackthorn.”

“Blackthorn? Are you out of your mind?”

“Who’s Blackthorn?” Tiffany asked.

“An old apparition,” I said. “One of my most dangerous.”

A mind is a dangerous place, your own just as much as a stranger’s and in many cases much more so. That was a natural mind. The damage to Sarah’s mind had been worse by far but the one advantage, if you want to call it that, was that it left it empty. My mind swarmed with the effects of what had been done to it.

That didn’t even count the Nidians.

“He’s made a new lair in the south,” Al said. “That’s where I saw him. He’s bigger than he used to be. The Nidians are terrified of him.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “There’s no way we can channel Blackthorn into a talisman. He’s way too unstable for that. He’d kill us just for trying.”

“We don’t have to channel him,” Al said. “It’s just like the peak. We can face him, maybe collect a bit of him, use it as a regent to power the talisman. Think about it. He is a prime example of a binder, especially as a catalyst.

“What did you say about the Arcus?” he continued. “We don’t have a choice. Well, just because the need is their does not mean the capability is. Look at what you’ve come to, working with the Guild, taking risks. You are far more powerful in here than you are out there. If you want to take on the Rainbow, this is your best shot for making it work.”

He was right. Blackthorn was one of the most powerful forces in my mind. I wasn’t even really sure what he was. He had been there on the outskirts ever since the first time I meditated.

“He’s right,” Tiffany said. “I’ve never made anything like this, but it’s similar to what we would have to do…” she hesitated. “It’s similar to what we need to make a staff.”

The earth rippled under my feet and without looking at him I knew Al had the same look in his eyes I did. It was hunger. A staff. The symbol of the Wizard, of the Guild. A tool, some Wizards didn’t even use one, but mine had been taken from me.