Chapter 45

I kept running but I didn’t make it in time. I could feel the waves of mana pulse through the air, wave after wave of power that far surpassed what was more than enough. I slowed, physically repelled by the sheer force of the magic. My father groaned, grunting under the force of magic that blasted his soul into the earth. Hector grunted, grinning victoriously. I kept pushing as Rose urged me desperately and our father struggled to rise up.

Then Hector’s grin faltered. The pulses of power that radiated off of him like tidal waves died down and Jard began to rise. “W-What’s going on!?” Hector stammered, leaning back as he stared in confusion. “Why won’t you die!?” He tried again, slamming his hand on Jard’s shoulders but the larger man broke the hold with ease.

“My wife… is the source of your power…” Jard groaned as he got to his feet. “That’s the nature of mages. It was never yours, just something you stole from her… And you can’t force her to kill me. You’re just not strong enough!” Hector tried to leap back but Jard was quicker, sending a fist into the other man’s jaw.

Hector reeled, stumbling onto his back in a momentary daze. His hand flew upward, sending grass and dirt into the air. It didn’t stop Jard, the larger man hurling himself forward, but it did prevent him from seeing Hector dodge to the side. Jard rolled, springing back on his feet, appearing to get his movement and flexibility back.

I wanted to help but I had no idea how. I watched helplessly as the men exchanged blows, one with fists and the other with magical force. Each step that my father gained was followed by him being forced back threefold. He was pushed to the defensive, blasts of air and fire and earth gradually knocking him around. I wanted to run in, but I had no way to help him. If I tried to control his clothes, I knew from Andor that he would cut the connection immediately, and probably hurt Rose in the process.

“Hold on, hold on!” I heard Andor call behind us. I turned to see him running over, holding something large, just over half his size, flat, and covered in a sheet.

“Andor,” I gasped. The timing seemed odd but I felt betrayed just from seeing him again. “You really went and got the captain?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I went to get this.” The sheet thrown over what he was holding fell away, revealing a battle axe. Jard’s maigoid battle axe.

It had taken a second but between hurling magic and dodging blows, Hector appeared to notice the newcomer. “Andor, you traitor! I’ll have you executed tomorrow, too!”

“Sorry, Captain,” Andor replied. “Just thought you could use a better opponent.” And with that, he hurled the axe through the air.

“No!” Hector shouted. He turned his attention from Jard, pumping with both fists. Simultaneous blasts of fire and earth erupted at the axe as it soared toward them, but they had no effect, losing any force behind them as the metal absorbed the mana driving them.

It also gave the opening for Jard to ram into him, knocking him onto his side. With a raised hand, Jard caught the axe, grabbing it out of the air, swinging it with practised precision.

Hector visibly panicked as he got back to his feet. That didn’t stop him from attacking. He ran at Jard, throwing blasts of fire that consumed the air. The axe spun, stopping them in their tracks as Jard swinging back.

“Andor!” I turned, begging. “Please, help us here!”

Andor leaned from one foot to the other. “I’m more of an observer. Don’t think I would have the same safety here.” He crossed his arms, clearly resolute to just watch.

“Forget him!” Rose interrupted. “Father needs our help!” I looked back at the men. Hector was on his back foot, swinging both hands up wildly but not in a disorderly motion. The earth obeyed him, spraying the air with dust. Jard swung the ace wildly, fanning the air right before it ignited in his face. “Hurry!” Rose urged. But I didn’t know what I could possibly do.

“Here, this might help,” Andor said, watching me be indecisive long enough. He hooked a foot under the bunched up white sheet, tossing it into the air at me.

I caught it with magic, a hand in the air projecting our mana at it. “Yes! Now come on!” I didn’t need to be told again, my other hand hovering up as I controlled my own clothing. I began to hover over the ground before flying, lifting higher and higher. The fight was too chaotic from the ground and I needed a better view.

Hector slammed the air down on Jard’s back as he overextended, knocking him down on his chest. A sudden increase in gravity reinforced it and the axe struggled to counter the power.

“No!” I shouted as I sent the sheet down. It flew between them, breaking Hector’s line of sight on our father. He stepped back but I sent it after him, wrapping it around his shoulders and head. The corners swung around and around as he reeled back, his head cocooned in the white sheet. Hector’s arms swung, sending blasts of earth and fire swirling around him, keeping Jard off of him for just long enough to grab the covering. I heard Rose scream in my mind as the mana connection to the sheet was torn to shreds.

The sheet itself was also torn, ripped in half and thrown to the sides. The downswing of the axe was barely seen in time, Hector nimbly slipping to the side and elbowing Jard squarely in the jaw with his right arm. It was not a clean dodge, the axe slicing shallowly into Hector’s left arm before he could return the favour. Jard took the blow, not looking away, but had to yank the axe out from where it was embedded into the earth, the silver side not speckled red. In that time, Hector turned to me, cradling his arm and sneering. I felt the air around me suddenly heat up.

“Get down!” Rose shouted and I followed, right before the air ignited. Lightning crackled overhead, splitting the low light with a bright flash that blinded me. I spiralled, falling to the earth in a disoriented tumble, barely stopping myself before I hit the ground.

The ground rose to meet me though, grass and dirt suddenly coming up and biting at me. I flew, trying to outrace it but it circled around to my knees, pulling me down. I tried to pull myself out but the earth constricted, squeezing harder and harder. Blood stopped flowing properly and I grunted in pain as pebbles and dirt pressed into my skin.

Then it stopped. I heard a scream and looked up, seeing Hector bleeding. His right leg had been sliced. He limped, attention no longer on me as he limped, then floated, forced to expend mana and concentration on a magic crutch. I worked to dig and get myself out of the ground but Rose and I were forced to watch as Hector barraged our father with a stream of flame to the face. Jard swung the axe up, letting it stop the fire from reaching him.

Hector must have anticipated that. He lifted higher, flying through the air. I could, even from the distance, feel his mana pulsing in the air as he put all of his effort into the action. His good foot made contact with the axe, slamming the flat of it into Jard’s face. That sent him reeling, stumbling backwards. His grip loosened on the axe and another fist to the face broke it completely. Hector held the axe with a sadistic grin and lifted himself before kicking the dazed Jard into the ground.

Hector swung the axe down and narrowly missed Jard’s arm. “ENOUGH!” he screamed. “You’re dead, Michael! You never had the right to take her from me!” He lifted the axe again, slowly, wearily. Blood oozed down his leg and dropped from his elbow. He panted, sweat dripping from his brow as he positioned the blade so that just dropping it would split Jard’s head in two. “Guess I have to do this the old fashion way.”

Rose screamed, and I screamed with her. My feet were still stuck in earth, anchoring me. So I hurled all of my mana, Rose’s mana, at him in a blind, undirected attack.

My magic began to glow, forming swaths like sheets of cloth. The faint golden glimmer shifted to a bright yellow. One half of the white sheet was caught up on the way, swirling in the surge of power. That piece wrapped itself around the axe, pulling it out of the way. Hector struggled, grunting as he yanked it back but the yellow illusions of cloth swarmed him. They wrapped and curled around his body, around and up and over, covering and layering against him, so thick that I couldn’t see him inside of the layers that covered vertically. It was a tulip of light that suddenly bloomed, spreading out undeniably into a lily. The axe was gone, tugged away and discarded to the side. Inside the light, Hector fought, writhing and yelling. The yellow fabrics of light lengthened from the bottom and swung up, wrapping him in layer after tightening layer that he couldn’t resist. He screamed as they finally formed a blooming yellow rose. The blossom closed in on him, snapping shut. A beam of light erupted from the centre of it, going straight up, then it all faded.

Hector stood in the centre of it all, still looking over my father. The axe had long left his hand but I doubted that would stop him from attacking. Then he collapsed, crumpling to the ground like a rag doll.

I dug out the last of my feet and ran over as my father pushed Hector’s legs off and slowly got to his feet, rubbing his eyes. Rose, I thought, are you ok?

There was a hesitation. For a moment I thought that the Soulspeak had worn off at a truly inconvenient time. But then I heard a small “Yeah… Yeah, I’m alright.” It was soft and quiet, fading in sensation. It felt like there was more but I contented myself in the moment with her answer before turning to Hector. The man lay there, eyes open and motionless; his whole body was, chest still, limbs unmoving, and the overwhelming pulse of mana that he radiated only minutes ago had disappeared.

“Is…” I didn’t know if I could hope, but someone had to ask. “Is he dead?”

Jard put an arm around my shoulder. “Yes, appears so. Though this could cause more problems soon enough.”

“Not so much with some helpful intervention.” We both turned to Andor, who was walking over the horse, soothing it as he went. “She’s still a little woozy, so walk with her for an hour or two,” he advised, handing the reins to Jard.

My father nodded, taking the horse. I began to follow but Andor’s hand stopped me. “I would advise you stay here.”

Rose bristled at the denial. “But, I have to go with him,” I counterobjected.

“And warn the king of High Commander Alexander’s plan?” he asked rhetorically, though just because I didn’t answer, momentarily shocked that he knew. “Just because Hector is finished doesn’t mean that the plan will not go on. And just because you try to warn the king doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to prevent anything.”

I hated the logic of that. I knew I was next to no one of importance, and without proof my odds of being believed were next to nil. “What do you think I should do then?”

Andor looked at Jard then back at me. “Stay here. Stay and play the part of an innocent bystander, become added to the conspiracy, and see how to sabotage it from the inside. With your blessing, of course,” he added, looking back to Jard.

“I… think that might be a good idea.” He didn’t sound like he believed his own words. “Just, be safe, ok? You can ask Farmer Horray if you ever need to find me.” He stepped back but came right up to me. “Ren, Rose, you are the best children I could have,” he told me, pulling me in for a hug. “I love you so much. Take care of yourselves, you hear?”

I teared up a bit, uncertain which of us was causing it more. “We hear you, father. And we love you, too.”