The Phoenix Ring (The Thunderheart Chronicles Book 1) (21 page)

              As the sun set over Argentah, there was still no sign of Aaliyah or the amoghs who had pursued them.  At some point Timothy woke up and went to the bottom level, coming up with enough food for five people.  Still Aidan waited.  When Timothy went back to the bed, muttering that Aaliyah had probably run back to her camp, Aidan didn't move.  Part of the young mage wanted to give up and find a new way to get to the isle, but something kept him by the window, even when it was too dark to see and the city gates had been shut.

              It was when he had almost dozed off that he was awakened suddenly by a bright light outside.  He sat up suddenly, his mind reeling at what he saw.  There was a man outside, probably about fifty years old, holding a torch in his left hand.  That wasn't surprising, only a fool would walk these streets in the dark.  What made the man different was the object in his right hand.  A wand.

              Aidan's mind exploded in hope.  This wizard wore the robes of a master of his art, and held his wand with ease.  His graying, round beard gave him the appearance of a friendly yet strong sorcerer, and his handsome face seemed to radiate wisdom and power.  Aidan had no clue what a King’s Sorcerer might be doing in Argentah, but he knew that this man's help could mean the difference between success and failure. 

              Aidan stood and was about to turn around when he saw another light fly up over the wall and into the street.  The wizard didn't flinch.

              A moment later the torch was followed by a huge, hooded man, and then another.

             
The assassins.

              The third had just come over the wall carrying a large, dirty sack when the first strode to the wizard and began speaking in hushed tones, pointing back at the sack and past the walls.

              Aidan felt a smoldering coal settle in his stomach.  Whoever this wizard was, he was no King’s Sorcerer.  The young mage turned around and was about to wake Timothy when he hesitated.

             
He can barely think for himself.  No, best to leave him out of this,
Aidan thought.

              Aidan pushed opened the door and made his way down the steps and across the inn as quietly as he could.  The room was completely deserted, even the bartender had long since retired to his bed.  The young mage pushed open the door as quietly as he could and crept through the entranceway, his blood rushing through his ears.  He half walked, half ran to the other side of the street and in between two houses, where he could just barely make out the two men's words.

              "So you mean to tell me you lost the Guardian?" the wizard said.

              "No, we have a temporary setback.  As I told you, the girl knows their location, she just hasn't been very talkative.  We know your interrogation techniques are better than any other's.  So will you help us, or must I tell my master that you are being… uncooperative?"

              The wizard laughed.  "Don't threaten me, you piece of filth.  I know my standing with the Lord, and I know that you are no more than a grunt, a soldier sent to his death.  But of course I will… talk to the girl.  It has been a while since I have been able to test my skills on one of your kind."

              The smoldering coal in Aidan's stomach became a burning one, until he started to feel the magic coursing through his body.

              "Bring her to my lodgings.  I will deal with her there."

              The wizard turned and walked swiftly away, followed by the three amoghs, the last carrying the sack that could only contain one thing.

              Aidan followed them more slowly, though every molecule of his body told him to let forth a volley of spells.  As powerful as he was, Aidan would never be able to take on three trained amogh assassins and a wizard at once.

              They took a twisting path through the streets and side alleys of the city, leaving Aidan hopelessly lost.  As they travelled deeper into the heart of the city, Aidan began to see that the massive, richly built houses were vastly outnumbered by small shacks and huts that were built from cheap, rotten materials.  They finally stopped at a squat, one story house made of stone that was slightly smaller than the orphanage where Aidan had grown up.

              The wizard murmured a spell and the door, which radiated with a strange spell, clicked open.

              "Bring our guest downstairs," the wizard said, "And then go recheck the woods.  You probably stumbled over them and didn't even notice it."

              "I'll warn you, she's a fighter," said the amogh who had been carrying the sack, after he had deposited it inside, "You might want one of us here."

              The wizard laughed.  "I can take care of myself.  Go do your job, and let me do mine."

              The assassin shook his head, but didn't try to argue.  As soon as all three were gone, the wizard disappeared into the house, leaving Aidan alone.             

              The boy breathed a sigh of relief.  He didn't know how he had managed to stay unseen, but now he felt fairly certain he could handle the wizard.  The man was far less powerful than a warlock or dragon, and Aidan had already defeated both of those.

              The young mage pointed his staff at the door and closed his eyes.  He could feel some sort of locking spell, but didn’t know what it was.

              "
Mahor yok wenne."
             
The spell flowed out of the wood with only minimal resistance.  Aidan hesitantly pushed on the door, which creaked open on rusted hinges.  The young mage squeezed the Phoenix Ring against his staff and stepped into the dark house.

              "Why hello, Aaliyah," said a sickeningly familiar voice.  "You've turned out far more… attractive than most of my experiments." 

              The girl's head snapped up.  She was chained to a chair, gagged but no longer blindfolded.  She was in a torch lit room built of stone, with cluttered tables lining the walls.  She noticed her bow and other weapons lying on a table tantalizingly close.

              A few feet in front of her was a face she had hoped to never see again, unless it was decorating a sharp stick.

              "We don't have much time to talk, your mage boyfriend is almost here.  It took a lot of spellwork to keep him hidden from your assassin friends, but it was worth it.  Can't have them taking all the credit for his capture, can we?" the wizard laughed.  "I'm going to take this gag off, but if you scream then I will be forced to remove your tongue.  Are we clear?"

              Aaliyah nodded her head.  The wizard stepped forward and pushed the cloth down just far enough for the girl to be able to speak.

              "If I recall correctly, the last time we were in the same room I received these," the wizard said, pulling down the neck of his robe to reveal huge burn scars.

              "They're an improvement," Aaliyah said.

              She saw the wizard's fist a moment before it slammed into her cheek. 

              "Ow, that tickled," she said, giving him a cocky smile. 

              The man's eyes narrowed.  "You've been trained well.  In fact, I'm quite sure that nothing a human could inflict on another human would make you talk.  But as we both know, I am well aware that your kind is far from human."

              He walked to one of the tables and picked up a jar full of red liquid. 

              "You remember this stuff, don't you?  It's been perfected now.  And I am the only person in all of Sortiledge that knows the antidote.  One sip and you'll be… dying to tell me your secrets."

              "That was the worst play on words I've ever heard.  And you told me some bad ones," Aaliyah said, the smile never leaving her face.  But for the first time in nine years, she felt truly afraid.

              The wizard smiled and poured some of the vile liquid onto the gag.  It was at that moment that they heard the door open upstairs.

              "Aidan, don-"  Aaliyah was cut off by the soaked rag, which had been thrust back into her mouth.  The wizard smiled and leaned back into the wall, whispering a spell that made him shimmer and almost disappear.

              "Let's see what happens when the bearer of the Phoenix Ring meets the amogh slayer."

              Aidan had only been in the house for a few seconds when he heard his name being screamed.  The home, if it could be called that, had no windows, no bed, and no fireplace.  The only objects Aidan could see were a table with two chairs, three torch hooks holding lit torches, and another door, far more protected than the first.

              "Hang on Aaliyah, I'm coming!"  he yelled back.  Throwing caution to the wind, Aidan didn't even bother to remove the second locking spell, but smashed through it with a quick "
Eslang!
"

              The wood cracked down the middle and the door fell off its hinges at the strength of the mage's onslaught.   The door fell back and clattered down the steps, followed closely by Aidan, a red haze filling his vision.

              When he saw Aaliyah, his anger only grew.  The girl's face and arms were bruised and cut, and her eyes were wide.  She hadn't even been given the dignity of a dry cloth for a gag, the rag was soaking wet.  She was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't make out was she was saying.  He ran across the room and pulled her gag down so she could speak.

              "Are you okay?" he asked.

              "You idiot, he's behind you!"  Aaliyah yelled.

              Aidan spun around, the blade on his staff clicking into place, just in time to see the wizard shimmer into existence.

              "Hello, boy.  I hope you came ready to die."

14

              The wizard flicked his wand nonchalantly, sending Aidan crashing into the wall.  The young mage heard a crack as his left wrist slammed against the cold stone, while his vision exploded with white light.  Somehow he managed to hold on to his staff.

              "Well, technically I'm not allowed to kill you," Aidan heard the other sorcerer say through the pain, "But I can certainly make you suffer."

              The mage instinctively rolled to the side as a blast of heat seared the place where he had been laying.  His vision returned just as the wizard raised his wand.

              Aidan was faster, but only barely.

              "
Ingo!
"

              "
Morka!
"

              The two spells collided in midair, forming a ball of magic not unfamiliar to Aidan.

             
I have him
, the mage thought,
if I can defeat the most powerful warlock in a duel, then this traitor will never stand before me.

              But then the boy felt a change in the magic.  In every other duel he had fought, the enemy felt like a wall, or a house.  If Aidan pushed hard enough, then he would eventually come crashing through.  But this was different. As the wizard began to speak in The Sorcerer’s Tongue, far too fast for Aidan to comprehend, it was as if a hole opened up in this wizard’s wall, allowing all of Aidan's magic to drain into it.  But this hole didn't lead to the back of the wall, instead it turned and twisted, becoming a chaotic maze that Aidan's power was soon lost in.  And the more power the mage pushed into it, the more he lost. 

              "I expected more," the wizard said, "It is true that you are strong, but you know nothing about magic.  And knowledge, not magic, is true power,"

              Finally, the mage pulled back, though much of his magic was lost in his opponent's web.  As Aidan's power faded, he was suddenly struck by the wizard's spell.

              The pain was so sudden, so strong, that Aidan didn't even have time to scream.  It seemed to come from every part of his body, but from none of it.  Soon, everything ceased in Aidan's mind, except the light and the pain.  He wanted nothing more than to curl up and die, but he was not granted even that small mercy.

              And then, from somewhere deep within him-no- on the ring finger of his right hand, he felt one word.  And that word, somehow, through the pain, sprung from his lips.

             
"Reklatorr."
Open.

              The pain ceased as quickly as it had come, accompanied by a scream.  Aidan opened his eyes, his brow dripping with sweat. 

              Aaliyah was standing, her padlocks open and on the ground.  In her hand was a long, bloody knife.  The wizard was retreating backwards, holding a stump that had once supported his hand.  Aidan nearly threw up when he saw the severed limb on the floor, still clutching its wand.