Soul of the Sorcerer - Part Three: Daughter of the Dragon (14 page)

Horace Burnaby walked along the portside rail of the Stormracer, his hand running along the newly varnished wood as he walked.

“She’s ready then J” he stated to the tall man walking alongside him.

“Aye Cap'n, she’s ready” he said slipping back into his seaman’s drawl.

Horace smiled up at him “I suppose I had better get changed back into my sea clothes then and send a message up to the senate; they promised that Airon and Ziron would be part of the group of mages that would help launch us back into the sea,”

“While you do that boss I will stock up on supplies, I presume our first trip will be south to Júarn to get some Hurg and the secrets of making it?”

“Yes indeed my friend, I start to get the shakes when I think about not touching any for days now!”

Horace turned and went to the doors leading down to the cabins to write a message for the Elders of the Bremethren.

Several hours later a group of six albinos came walking down the path from the city. Horace, still up on deck, recognised the two Elders; Senator Cathiana and her husband Jakarn, their long flowing white robes dragging in the sand. He then did a double take at the four young men walking down the beach just behind their parents. He realised that he could not tell Airon and Ziron apart from their brothers who he was yet to meet.

However, one of the quadruplets did not exude the arrogance of the others, in fact Horace’s astute instincts told him that this individual was not at all happy. Horace climbed down the rope ladder to the beach to greet the group.

“Senators” he said with a bow to the two elders.

“Horace Burnaby, it is as ever a pleasure” Cathiana said taking his hand.

Her husband nodded to Horace as he too shook his hand. Horace turned to the four young men, they were now identical in every way, from their clothing to their haircuts.

“Amazing,” he said looking from face to face, “which one of you is young A and Young Z?”

A blush from the sad looking young man at the back, confirmed Horace’s suspicion that this was Ziron.

“Horace, Ziron and I would like to thank you for giving us board on your vessel across the sea; mind you, you did work us hard for it” Airon said standing forward to shake Horace’s hand.

“You're welcome young A” Horace replied.

“Are you sure we cannot persuade you to stay a while longer and spend more of your wonderful wealth in our city?” Cathiana asked.

“Ha, part of me would love to, but I always fear for my life a little when I get my gem bag out!”

The noble looking senator chuckled softly. “It’s because other than Opals, precious stones are very hard to come by on the islands. The wealth in your homeland must be extensive?”

“I believe so, the mountains in particular are a source of great wealth for those hardy enough to acquire it”

“I would very much like to visit there once we have the ships to reach there”

Horace felt his
itch
start.

“I’m sure the mages of our world and the dragons would love to meet you” he said levelly, intending to dissuade them from attempting such a journey.

Cathiana’s smile thinned, “From what Airon has told us, the mages on your world are few in number and far weaker in the craft. I think the Bremethren may enjoy a visit”
itch.

“Well, for all I know the thingy’s...
Daemen,
may have completely overtaken my home, so I may be back before you have built the ships to follow me” Horace replied with an equally thin smile.

“And you will always be welcome as a friend of the Elders” she replied and turned to the quadruplets. “Now my children shall we see to the launch of our good friend’s vessel?”

Horace could not see the streams of magic that the four albino mages utilised, but he could see their concentration as they focused their attention on the Stormracer several yards across the beach. After a few seconds Horace could feel a strange vibration in the ground around them and hear a low pitched humming sound. Wooden creaking noises were then heard before the Stormracer suddenly lurched forward, it then lurched again before the wooden cradle that supported it began to roll down the row upon row of wooden logs upon which it sat. These logs had recently been run right down to the sea’s edge. Finally the cradle and ship beached on the bottom of the sea in just a few feet of water. Suddenly the humming stopped to be replaced by a swishing sound as water collected around the ship’s underside and lifted it into the air on a column of water, the cradle left behind. The column and ship then moved about one hundred yards out to sea before the water gently collapsed lowering the vessel into the sea.

Horace watched bemused as a shocked Jerack and crew quickly ran to release the anchor and then check that all was watertight below deck.

“Thank you my friends, I hope to see you again one day” he said aloud...
but not too soon I hope;
he said in his head.

Airon and Ziron embraced Horace and in Ziron’s case it was definitely with genuine affection. Cathiana and Jakarn nodded to Horace before turning and leading their sons up the beach back towards the city.

Horace watched them with an uneasy feeling that the Bremethren posed a huge threat  to whatever remained of Kalana or even the Crescent Empire at that. When the albinos had disappeared beyond the sand dunes Horace turned and was pleased to see that Jerack and four of his new albino crew members were rowing one of the smaller ship’s boats to come and collect him.

“She’s all shipshape and ready go Cap'n” Jerack said with a grin.

“Good man J, let's get out of here and go find ourselves some Hurg” Horace replied with a grin while climbing into the boat. He then sat watching the city of the Bremethren some way beyond the beach. Boy did he wish he could scratch that itch.

“Lightning bright, lightning consume!” Darrion yelled thrusting both arms forward as he unleashed the power of the forbidden spell. Unlike the lightning spell Lloyd had cast on Arrenloft, the electrical energy was more of a solid beam of energy and it leapt from a point between both of his hands across the space to the first of the possessed mages. This man vaporised within a microsecond along with the Daemon within. Darrion did not look into the man’s face as it vanished, lest it be an old friend. The beam then changed direction striking the second and third with equal devastation. Finally it veered with blinding speed towards the possessed Brother Justin. Mordja reacted instinctively, bringing the staff of Arren in front of the beam. The two met with a devastating and unforeseen effect.

The five foot dark wooden staff was bound with five rings of gold, spread equally along its length, for its head it had a golden hand holding a crystal ball, from which the mesmerising beams had been cast.

Now the electrical energy of Darrion’s forbidden spell arced from ring to ring on the staff and fed at last into the crystal ball. The energy then spread along every beam and each and every person in its grip spasmed in shock, before falling to the floor continuing to writhe around with involuntary muscle spasms.

As each person collapsed the beam from the staff disconnected from that person and withdrew into the staff, making the crystal glow brightly.

The possessed form of Brother Justin still stood with the staff pushed forward, but the smoke rising from his hands told Darrion that Justin’s human form was failing under the intense energies. Darrion moved closer to the monk, his soul vision revealing that Mordja too was suffering and struggling to break free.

Darrion would never recall the concussion of energy that knocked him to the floor when the Staff of Arren exploded, but he would always remember the charred body of Brother Justin and the abject terror when Mordja finally eased itself out of the human and slowly stood making its way toward him with malevolent eyes. Darrion tried to move, but like the others in the room the electrical energy had for the moment paralyzed him.

“I see the Staff of Arren has been unkind to you Darrion, you will make an ideal new host” it said, head moving ever closer to that of the mage’s. Darrion was not even able to speak, he could only watch as the creature knelt next to him and lowered its head towards his - yellow eyes getting closer and closer.

Outside the school, Kenelm and Brother Kenneth stood with masters and apprentices from all elemental schools; on either side of them were three of the school guards, each had a sword in hand which glowed blue with air energy.

“It looks very quiet friend Kenneth?”             

“Yes it does, worryingly so.” the older monk replied.

A sudden bright burst of light from within the school grounds, followed by the sound of an explosion, made all of them jump.

“Prepare yourselves!” Kenneth ordered the mages and the guards.

Kenelm could tell from their stance that all of the mages were pulling in their power, ready to strike at any moment.

Silence.

They waited and watched until some smoke began to appear above the walls.

“Looks like it’s near the dining area” Kenneth said to no one in particular.

“I think we should make a move Brother” Kenelm said placing a hand on his friends shoulder.

Kenneth turned to the nearest group of earth mages, the Master in this case was a woman in her thirties that Kenelm had not met before..

“Master Rhodalie, please open the way” Kenneth asked the tall skinny master, who had long mousey blonde hair tied in a simple ponytail. Although fairly plain in looks, she had fiercely intelligent eyes and a pleasant smile.

“It will be a pleasure Brother” she said with an accent which marked her as a child of the wolf clan.

The earth apprentices stood behind her, “Massearth, Mightsurge” they said in unison and energy, invisible to the watching monks, began to feed into the tall Master. Finally she knelt on the floor and placed both hands, fists clenched, on to the rocky ground; “Earthwave, Earthbreak!” She commanded and suddenly the rock deformed like a wave in the sea, just a few inches in height at first, but it then rolled forward gathering height and momentum as it headed towards the sealed gates of the school. The thick wooden doors tried their best to resist the wave of rock as it hit, but within a second a huge crack and a hail of wooden splinters indicated that resistance had been futile.

Darrion’s resistance to the alien mind currently controlling his body had been equally futile; his only source of optimism was that he could feel Mordja’s temper rising as it also tried with increased determination to make Darrion’s body respond to his commands. Unfortunately his body had still not recovered, in the slightest, from the powerful electrical surge.

A huge explosion of splintering wood made both Mordja’s and Darrion’s consciousness jump and Darrion felt the Daemon calm. “Looks like you have help on the way old friend!” the creature’s voice sounded strange in his head.

“You best be on your way then” Darrion replied mentally.

“I notice from your attire that you have spent more time back on the other world, what have you been up to?” Mordja stated, but it was not a question, more an indication of the creatures intent. Darrion started to see his life rewind, before his eyes, at blinding speed. Mordja slowed the memory recall when Darrion was present at Boadaiska’s revival, the Daemon showing interest in the inside of Ingemar’s home where no Daemon had stepped before.

Memories then accelerated again until they were showing glimpses of the last months on Earth. Darrion’s anger grew when the creature paused to perversely glimpse he and Amy making love, fortunately footsteps somewhere nearby in the building brought a greater urgency to the creature’s memory trawl.

It now only paused at each and every set of stone circles that Darrion had visited. Many of these, it turned out, were not world transportation stones, or at least had not been fully constructed. “So you only visited North Western Europe in your travels, good!” Mordja could not hide the jubilation from its voice causing Darrion’s heart to chill in fear. Mordja’s consciousness suddenly pulled away from his and he watched the maimed creature rise to its feet and look down at him prostrate and helpless on the floor. With footsteps now sounding very close, the creature then closed its eyes and vanished in a blinding white light.

Darrion recognised the signature of energy use, required for a transmigration spell, and cursed because he had forgotten that Daemen did not need to be in a circle of stones to travel to other material planes, they just needed one at the destination and he suspected that Mordja knew of one he had not yet had the chance to recharge. He tried to move and speak and although there was some sensation returning, he was still incapable of movement. He relaxed and hoped that those who were approaching would be friends.

The two ebony Beings, one male and one female, sat slouched in the darkest corner of one of the larger warehouses that sat on the river wharf just downstream from the imperial bridge. They had managed to build a nest for themselves among the multitude of crates and the female sat in her robes with her back leaning against a crate.

On her lap rested the head of the male, his eyes currently shut as she gently traced her finger around a tattoo of an occult symbol on his forehead. Even with his eyes closed, his angst at what had befallen was still palpable.

“How can you just forgive me?” he said quietly, finally opening his eyes, to reveal silvery white lenses with no sign of any iris.

“Too much has passed my love. We are entering the end game now and distractions such as what happened with the child of the Psychronz should not divert our attention away from our quest” the female replied.

“I just hate and fear the darkness when it comes. When it has a hold of me I do not think that there is any crime that I would not commit...any” the creature replied in a deep voice.

“Be still my love, tell me about Edala, you say she saw you?”

“Yes, she looked petrified, she saw...everything!” He despaired.

“Shhh! I do not think it will change a thing, I have been to the stones at Arrenloft and seen them return; it cannot be long now before it all begins and we must implant that which we have sacrificed everything to deliver”  she said smiling supportively at the Being below. She then reached across to a basket with some fruit in and took a bright red fruit; the shape and texture of which was very much like an orange. She began to peel the skin off using her fingers, revealing the rich and juicy red meat of the fruit; as she bit into a segment a stream of juice ran down her chin. She wiped it off with her spare hand; “Even food has no flavour now” she complained aloud.

The male Being opened his eyes again to study her, “It is like you say, we have sacrificed a lot and we sacrifice more each day. Becoming a little less, hour by hour, is the price we must pay for the power we have wielded to be here” he said sitting up to steal a segment of her fruit with a sad smile.