The Sartious Mage (The Rhythm of Rivalry) (40 page)

“Move back, my king,” the other man in steel said, still shoving Danvell Takary away.

“Lisanda needs the antidote!” her father screamed, clawing the air in my direction. “Bring her here.”

Exo produced a wicked smile. “She dies. It’s what she deserves. She never obeyed you like I did, my king. I saw her fight every command you gave.” His whole body tensed as he angrily pointed at himself with his thumb. “I followed every order. I did what no one else could. She would never do what I did for you. She
could
never. And neither will Jek.”

I’d moved back and set Lisanda down on the grass where I figured she would be out of Exo’s range. With no time to spare, I ran toward the hill, gathering all the SE I could.

“King Danvell, have your guard fetch Lisanda!” I shouted to him. “I’ll handle Exo.”

The mad mage let out a childlike laugh, a high giggle that made him seem giddy. Then, as quickly as it had erupted, his excitement evaporated, leaving just a serious stare.

“Before we play, there’s something I want to do.” Quicker than I was prepared for, he thrust his wand out and a hot gust of Bastial wind lifted me from my feet, causing me to tumble down the hill I’d just begun to climb.

Disoriented, I felt Bastial Energy passing by, knowing he was gathering for a fireball. I created a Sartious shell around me. But to my surprise, he sent the fireball hurling in another direction—toward the King and his guard. Though, I saw the guard wasn’t there anymore as he already was rushing toward Lisanda.

The fireball exploded near Danvell’s feet, sending him soaring. With his loose white robe, he looked almost like a dove until he crashed into the ground, tumbling three times before coming to a stop. He got to his feet and stumbled farther away, screaming out a flood of curses and holding his wrist.

Exo cast another fireball, and again I thought it was at me. But it sailed over my head, finding the guard far behind me. The swirling ball of orange and yellow connected with the guard’s body. I didn’t waste another moment watching to see if he would get up. I knew he wouldn’t.

Before Exo could test his luck shooting at Lisanda, I sent my own fireball his way. It was difficult to aim up the hill, and my fireball sailed over his head. He ducked, though he didn’t need to, and looked somewhat surprised before a twisted grin took over his lipless mouth.

“My turn,” he said, standing and flicking his wand at me. It wasn’t his largest fireball, about the size of my torso, so it was easy to block with a Sartious shell. The emerald green energy floating in front of my outstretched wand sucked up the fire, glistening as the sizzles quieted.

I kept the shell hovering a few feet in front of me as I trudged up the hill. Exo grunted and sliced his wand through the air. He broke my Sartious shell, turning it into dust. But in just a blink, I reformed it. He tried again, screaming as he cut his wand vertically. A tear came across the shell, but I kept my mind focused and my wand steady, melding it back together before Exo could ready another fireball.

Figuring out he couldn’t disrupt my Sartious Energy, he concentrated on Bastial instead, pulling in a great deal of it.

Knowing this was my chance, I quickly tried to create my own fireball. I knew that as long as I could cast it faster than him I could take him out. It didn’t have to be large. I just had to hit him.

But with sudden terror I found I didn’t have enough Bastial Energy at the ready. He’d managed to suck too much of it away from me. So I stuck with the SE, focusing on thickening the turtle-shaped shell I kept hovered in front of my wand.

Exo let out a river of fire that rolled down the hill at me. I turned my long shell sideways and crouched to make sure it was pressed against the ground. The fire crashed against it, slipping around the sides and falling down the rest of the hill, but none made it through to my body. The moment it passed, I continued up the incline.

Exo no longer could hide his exhaustion. He was covered in sweat, breathing fiercely.

“Why won’t you die?” he yelled, shooting a meager fireball that easily was absorbed.

I was nearly to the top of the hill. He drew a knife from his belt and ran at me. Completely shocked, I hadn’t prepared any Bastial Energy. The Sartious shell was only strong enough to stop the fire, not a man’s body. I would need ten times the density of SE to create a wall he couldn’t break through.

Knowing I didn’t have the time I needed to gather enough SE to stop him, I hurried to crunch all the energy already floating in front of my wand into a small, sharp point.

I was just as exhausted as Exo, but I needed something to stop him. I figured he would stop if he saw a sharp floating object blocking his path.

My heart jumped when I found that I hadn’t squeezed enough SE together in time. He crashed right through the short point I’d tried to make, swinging the knife at me.

I barely managed to roll out of the way and turned expecting him to circle around. But it seemed as if he’d tripped. He was sliding down the hill face first, the knife no longer in his hand. I gathered Bastial Energy and prepared a fireball, but then I stopped when I saw the streak of blood trailing him…and that he wasn’t moving.

Rolling down the hill after him was the short emerald point I’d made, hard as a rock. It looked like an arrowhead. I had managed to make it in time! And he’d run right through it!

Relief came through me for just one beat of my heart and then terror took over…Lisanda!

“Bastard broke my wrist!” Danvell Takary yelled. “Help me with Lisanda.” He was dragging her toward the carriages with one arm.

I already was running down the hill as quickly as my legs could carry me, giving only a glance at Exo as I passed. He was face down with blood seeping from a hole through his chest and back—just as dead as the bodies around him.

Chapter 32: Rush

Though Lisanda’s body was limp and her mind was elsewhere, she was still conscious as I carried her to the carriage. I laid her along the bench in back.

“I’m coming with you,” I stated firmly before the King had a chance to tell me otherwise.

“Who do you think is driving the horse? Grab the reins.” He sat next to Lisanda, putting her head on his lap.

I had plenty of experience driving one horse with a carriage, but never anything like this. I was in the heavy royal carriage about to control two massive horses that looked as ready to go as we were, fidgeting back and forth impatiently. A thought came to ask the King to switch with me, but then I remembered his broken wrist. I could do this. I had to.

Soon, we were flying down the road so fast I wasn’t sure I could get comfortable with the way the trees blurred. But Danvell urged me to go faster, so I did. Driving two horses at this speed was like singing a difficult song I’d never tried before. I had all the skill I needed to get through it smoothly, but without practice I fumbled here and there.

Most of my mistakes were corrected easily, like veering to the side of the road instead of staying in its center. But before we even reached the wall of The Nest, I sent the horses a few yards off the road completely. The carriage bumped about violently, and the King yelled at me to put more force into my turns.

He was murmuring something to Lisanda most of the time, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying over the sound of the horses galloping.

In moments where the path was straight enough for me to take my eyes off it, I glanced behind me to Lisanda. Each time she looked confused, but in more pain than before. Her hands were on her stomach and her face contorted, her head drifting back and forth.

“What kind of poison is that?” I yelled to keep my voice louder than the horses.

“One that works well against dangerous mages. There are no physical side effects until after the mind has been dulled. She must’ve swallowed very little to still be conscious, but we don’t have much time. Pick up the pace!”

The southern entrance through the wall came into view. A host of guards on horseback had formed a line. The King stood, holding on to my shoulder with his one good hand for balance.

“Slow down for a moment, this will save us time.”

I slowed as he instructed while the men rode out to meet us.

“Lisanda’s been poisoned!” he yelled. “Clear a path to the palace in front of us. Go now.”

“Yes, my king,” one of them said. He whistled, made some hand gestures, and each of them turned their horses around and galloped at full speed.

“Stay close behind them.”

“Yes…my king,” I said, unsure if it was the appropriate response. The silence didn’t give me an answer.

Danvell’s murmurs were loud enough for me to hear now. “Lisanda, I’m sorry. Stay strong. We’ll be there soon.”

She groaned and then coughed violently.

I looked back to find blood on her chin. Suddenly, the speed didn’t feel fast enough, but I knew better than to push the horses. They already were galloping hard, and we had ten miles to go. The horses in front of us were nearly trampling people as the guards atop them were shouting to make way.

We used the Palace Road, as it was the straightest and widest in the city. Unfortunately, it was also the most crowded. Everyone scattered the moment they saw us coming, warning those behind them to get out of the way. I could hear their frantic screams moving with us, staying just out of reach of our stampeding horses. The sound of their screams would explode into baffled excitement the moment we passed. It felt like riding alongside a roaring wave, its tail end crashing onto itself behind me.

Lisanda’s coughs worsened, and I could hear the wetness of blood thickening in each one. But the most terrifying was when I heard nothing. Even if it was just for a few seconds, I couldn’t resist the urge to look behind me to make sure her eyes were still open. They were, though the light within them was fading.

As we neared the massive Takary Palace, I shouted behind me, “I’m carrying her inside when we get there.”

“No. What do you expect to happen when you come inside the palace, a warm welcome? Just let my guards handle it.”

“No…my king,” I added. “And no one is going to stop me. You will make sure of that.”

“You’re just going to slow this down. My guards have orders to stop you.”

“So run with me and tell them not to. I’m taking her myself. If anyone tries to stop me, it’ll just slow this down. No one will take her where she needs to go as fast as me, my king.”

I could hear him grumbling something about me being a stubborn bastard. “Fine, we’re going to the basement. I’ll lead.”

The gates to the palace already were open, and countless guards lined the path. I steered the horses as close as they could get to the wooden entry doors, which stood tall enough for a giant. Marble steps led to them, forcing us to dismount.

I jumped off and grabbed Lisanda. The King was already halfway up the stairs, shouting for me to follow. The guards at the door parted, though their glares at me were noticeably annoyed and confused.

The long hallway was crowded with guards, each awaiting instruction from their ruler.

“Let us through,” he shouted. A few came to the King’s side, but he shooed them away. “I don’t need protection right now. Just stay out of the way.”

Lisanda’s eyes were closed now. Her body hung lifeless in my arms.

“Lisanda!” I shouted. “Can you hear me?”

No reply.

We reached the stairway that must’ve descended to the basement, but a man stood in the way. “Move, Varth Farro,” the King demanded. “Lisanda’s been poisoned!”

The prince pointed at me with a sword. “He’s the one who took her! What’s he doing here?”

“We don’t have time!” Danvell yelled. “Get out of the way.”

Varth’s eyes were slits, locked onto me. “If you let this scum any farther into the palace, then the marriage is canceled, and my family will offer yours no support. He’s an insult to me by still being a free man!”

Holding Lisanda against my chest, I switched her limp body to one arm to snag my wand from my belt. I gathered as much Bastial Energy as I could.

“Jek, get him out of the way,” the King said calmly.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” I sent a gust of Bastial wind at Varth Farro so strong he let out a startled scream as he was hurled a few yards, tumbling backward twice.

We ran to the stairs, Danvell yelling back at him, “And your singing is atrocious, the worst in the world!”

Varth gave the longest, most dramatic gasp I’d ever heard.

The basement was not what I’d expected. The floor was tiled, white as snow, and lavish banners and paintings hung on each wall, just like the rest of the Takary Palace.

We went down a few halls before finally reaching our destination—a double wooden door that the King, now panting, pushed open forcefully.

“Oleya! Oleya, where are you?” he screamed with desperation.

The room was an even square with not much to see besides a few velvet seats. A blonde woman with pale skin that seemed to yearn for sun burst through a door. She wore a long white coat so pristine and fresh it made the immaculate floor look dirty. I put her somewhere in her thirties.

“My king.” Her calm eyes found Lisanda strewn across my arms, and panic struck her. “This way, hurry!”