Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) (76 page)

First, her reflex spell wore off. The struggle of fighting against so many skilled fighters burned through the mage spell, but Martina recast it again. It was dangerous to use the spell too often. Such abuse of the magic could kill a mage, but worse it required too much power. There wouldn't be a third reflex spell anytime soon, the falconi knew. Even with her skill level, she couldn't keep this up for much longer.

Orange and red eyes looked at the woman following her movements as best they could always searching with their weapons trying to kill her. Martina feared that she wouldn't reach help, but the mage could only hope that the girls managed to flee while she slowed them down. It was her only hope as ragged breathing reached her ears and blood drummed loudly threatening to deafen her.

How much longer could she last? The falconi wondered.

Sebastian watched the island disappearing into the distance with a speed that surprised him. How fast was he falling? The mage had been shoved into the air surrounded by stone up to his neck. It had been a surprise, but not one that he had never used before himself. Still Palose's combination had been quick enough that the battle mage had been unable to counter it. His feet had been knocked out from under him before the earth was used to bind him as well.

While Palose should have been able to kill him, his fall had pushed the owl mage beyond the edge of the floating island. In a world with different rules than his own; the mage had fallen into the trap, which could only have been duplicated on a cliff.

At least a cliff would have had eventually let him hit bottom, Sebastian thought wryly. He was spinning end over end. When the bound mage looked away from the island, he saw nothing but the silver void.

The islands had been formed and bound to a revolving circle by the emperor's power when he and his people had been sealed in this world. Even without the Dark One to oversee them, the islands continued to circle around a central point like the layers of a single world floating one above the other creating a loose circle of land separated by air.

How the emperor and his army had managed to live for hundreds of years in this void and created that world was beyond him. As Sebastian continued to fall away watching the islands shrink from sight one by one; he realized that it didn't matter. He couldn't reach land now, not bound by the rock.

Struggling to move, the battle mage couldn't free his hands or arms. His body from feet to shoulders was encased in rigid stone unwilling to give him much room beyond the small breaths allowed to keep air returning to his lungs.

Running through the spells he might be able to cast with just the sound of his voice, Sebastian wondered if the runes of his shield could create any space. He pushed with his magic power, but the stone refused to give. His strength, even augmented by the runes, had no hope to do better than the shielding, which led him to consider what other spells required no gestures to complete.

With a slight frown, the owl wondered if his newest spells might be the answer.

"Dragon wings," he called the magic.

Feeling the wings bound by the stone like the rest of him, he willed the wings to become sharp and strong. His magic strengthened them in place of his runes and he heard the strange sound of stone breaking. It wasn't the normal sound of stone cracking beneath a sledge hammer. This sounded more like blades cutting through stone, which only a master mason might be able to do, and Sebastian had never watched one of them work.

The cracking continued until the stone finally broke free from the dragon mage's upper body. Willing his wings to cut his legs free of the rock, Sebastian soon found himself completely freed of the stone trap.

Righting his falling body with a flap from his wings, the owl looked at the islands in the distance again. He tested his strength trying to call up a portal. Lost in the void, even the feel of air around him seemed to lack the ability to give him strength to augment his magic.

Sebastian shook his head and prepared for a long flight to reach the islands. His first hope was realized at least. The magical wings swept down finding the pressure of air, but it didn't feel like the wind of Alus.

"Wind vision," the mage added using the spell which best described how his eyes could see the air around him to help him fly easier.

There were currents, he noted quickly. While they didn't follow the rules of a world where land and air worked together to form currents, the mage could work with these. To his surprise as he pushed forward towards the distant islands, they quickly returned to sight. He hadn't been as far away as his eyes had told him he was.

Flying brought him rushing towards the circling islands like he was moving at five times his perceived speed. It must have been part of how the void could be used to cross vast distances in his world. Distance was both vast and smaller than his mind perceived. His wind vision verified that fact as well as the shrinking distance to the islands.

It was a small worry that the mage didn't truly need to waste his time thinking about, so he concentrated on the islands and soon returned to the closest piece of ground. Sebastian drew out Bairh'loore, his staff, and planted it on the stone of the island. There was power here like the ground of Alus.

Channeling that power, Sebastian used his magic and summoned a portal back to the village.

Sound rushed to his ears before his eyes and mind could catch up to the change from the void to Alus, but the owl knew that the sounds of fighting were surprisingly close. As his mind caught up, Sebastian looked at the place where he had returned. This was the village where he had set his lodestones, but magic and stones thrown by the siege weapons of the enemy were already striking close to the outer wall. There was even some damage to the wall as the enemy pushed the defenders back.

He could see wizards on the wall using their spells and knew that meant the outer defenses had fallen or were in the process of doing so. His eyes spotted one of the commanders giving orders to messengers who were running out to try and rally the defenders. There was nowhere to run. The village was surrounded on three sides and on the fourth was the sea. Sileoth and the other defenders had to do what they could to save their lives.

"Commander, prepare to signal a retreat," the owl ordered the man who looked at him like he was crazy.

"There is nowhere to retreat to," the commander answered.

"There will be," Sebastian stated placing the staff on the ground.

"Doors," he ordered and to the surprise of the men and women still in the village, a dozen large golden doorways opened both near and far.

Opening his eyes, the owl knew that the power of Alus was the only thing keeping him standing. The surge of power he used had threatened to make him explode, but Bairh'loore made it possible to keep it in check. He could harness the power and this was a spell to save lives, so there should be no negative affects aside from wearing himself out with the powerful use of magic.

Ordering messengers into each opening, Sebastian told them to give his name on the other side and to ask the wizards in each city to hold the gates. So many openings required more than just one doorway. Most were governed by the size of the stones or windows he had set. His head ached with the use of power splitting his mind with a dozen cities at once. How he had actually managed it was beyond him when he could rarely remember even half his portals without the map; but Sebastian could only guess that he was tied to Alus as well using the power of the land.

The messengers returned quickly and Sebastian felt the need for his magic lessen. One by one the guardians of each city took control of the portal doorways until finally Sebastian could release the power of the earth. He felt small and immediately reached to his pack to grab some food.

Trying to be understood as the mage wanted to wolf down each bite; he set a retreat into motion. Horns sounded and Sebastian knew that the defenders outside the wall would try to retreat to the safety of the village. While most would wonder what they were retreating to, they would heed the call if they could.

Sebastian noted the shift of his dragon wings and started. The distracted mage had forgotten to drop his wings when he had arrived. Like they were a part of him, he noted the wings and realized that it would save him casting a new spell.

"Commander, get the villagers and retreating soldiers out of here. Once everyone is safe, we will have to coordinate and bring everyone back to Sileoth. For now, Southwall will house your people, though some will head directly to one of the Sileoth points.

"Have the wizards I brought here made it back yet?"

Looking uncertain, the commander replied, "I believe they are holding the line allowing our people to fall back ahead of them. We were attacked by very powerful warlocks, who broke their momentum and drove them back."

He nodded. "Keep your people moving. I will see what I can do," the mage stated before his wings beat towards the ground propelling him into the air.

The men who watched him take to the air gasped at the sight. His dragon mages had managed to hide the fact that they could fly from most of the defenders and enemy alike. Keeping the dragon spells hidden as a potential surprise for the enemy, was also to avoid frightening these people. If one set of wizards could fly, certainly there was the potential that the enemy could fly as well. It was a worry that could only serve to distract them from the fight; but the fight was over now so it no longer mattered.

As Sebastian lifted into the air, the mage quickly realized that the battle had turned dire for the defenders. He looked for his fellow dragon mages. The flashes of brilliant light and explosions of magical power told him where the Hollow Sword holders were at least. His magic could be felt in each weapon also. They were made by him and, even in others' hands; his magic was a part of each one like an extension of the owl that could be felt without truly trying to search for them.

Edwar and Arrimus were close to the wall. They anchored the wizards and soldiers fighting to the north, but they were falling back in the face of strong opposition. The call of the horns had caused a steady flow of soldiers to slip free towards the wall. Wizards from Sileoth and those brought from Southwall used their magic as they fell back guarding the others in their retreat.

Magnus fought hard with his men. The three shared the staff from time to time. While Sebastian returned late to the battle, he could see Embrell with the Hollow Sword while Magnus used his magic sparingly as the wizard stuffed travel rations into his mouth trying to restore his strength while the other two covered him. Even as Sebastian started to fly to the south, he watched as the fire wizards exchanged the sword. Magnus moved back in front of Embrell as they gave up ground to the enemy one step at a time. The defenders closest to them had fallen back leaving the three to defend against hundreds, but the power of the Hollow Sword and their determined minds managed to keep the enemy in check each time they strove to surround the three wizards.

To the south, it looked dire. Iris and Katya had been separated from Martina. The falconi fought in a swarm of soldiers that seemed different from the rest. The two wizards used their magic to fend off the normal enemy troops more than a hundred feet away from the swarm surrounding and attacking the falconi.

Swooping towards the three women, Sebastian readied his magic. The man was tired, but as he moved, the owl began to summon strength from the air. Bairh'loore acted like a lightning rod drawing in the magic power, but it wasn't the overwhelming force which always threatened to burn away the mage. This power felt comfortable to him. Like the wizards, Sebastian had elements that were easier for him and the air was his home now more than ever.

"Dragon's breath!" he ordered the generic call of dragon magic. His mind designated the nature of the spell and lightning erupted from just before his face.

Crackling lightning bolts streamed down exploding against the ground in front of the enemy soldiers. The stone of the ground flew into them striking the men and monsters creating more of a distraction than the lightning which could be absorbed by their armor would do by itself. Shrapnel caused injuries and stopped the soldiers as they tried to comprehend what had just happened. By that time, the dragon mage was further along creating more lighting with his spell disrupting the enemy's attack, which freed up more of the defenders to fall back from the enemy force.

By the time Sebastian neared his sister, the enemy had fallen into disarray, if only for the moment. They were too well trained and driven by strict leaders to fall apart completely, so they could be expected to regroup quickly. The empire was too close to winning the day to give up now.

Sebastian landed in front of the two wizards. The black sword held in his right hand and Bairh'loore in his left, the battle mage scattered the closest soldiers with the power of his wings' gale attack.

"Go!" he ordered the two girls. "I'll get Martina, but you two need to get to safety."

Katya looked exhausted but a defiant frown was aimed at her brother. Unfortunately the disapproving looked was lost as he called his reflex spell.

The owl had never tried using the staff in battle, but using two weapons in practice had been somewhat common. Most mages stuck with a sword and shield, but most tried other techniques as well, if only to rule them out for the future. Sebastian had been one of those capable of using both hands to a point.