Hemlock And The Dead God's Legacy (Book 2) (25 page)

Though he was struggling for air, he quickly rose and faced the figure of Hamiltus, whose figure was s
till a fuzzy outline to Julius.

"Oh, you're a
fiesty one!" giggled the old wizard.

Hamiltus was still maintaining the constricting field, and gesturing like he was going to try to move it toward Julius. Julius was still disoriented, but he knew some simple spells that he thought would break the ol
d wizard's concentration.

Julius flung an arm across his body clumsily, and a powerful gust of wind knocked both
him and Hamiltus to the ground.

The blue field disappeared and Julius looked to se
e whether Hamiltus was injured.

The woman who had captivated
Julius cried out as she burst through the now open door of the keep toward her prone father.

Julius rose and stood transfixed as the wom
an helped Hamiltus to his feet.

"Get back, Ornella!" yelled Hamiltus as he brandished th
e Wand and began to cast again.

The blue field with the
fish returned as Julius stared in disbelief.

"I could have killed you, Hamiltus!
What treachery is this?" screamed Julius.

"My daughter has aided me in a most unexpected way! And you haven't proven yourself to me! If you are the son of a God
, then you should be able to escape my trap again! That teleportation caught me by surprise, but I won't make that mistake again. Prove that you are worthy to be my king, and her husband!"

Julius choked down his rage
even as the mention of the word "husband" thrilled him. The blue field was constricting him more quickly this time. And Hamiltus was correct—he was now too fatigued to teleport again.

The old wizard was more powerful than Julius had
anticipated—no doubt due in part to the boosting effect of his Father's wand. Julius recalled the cold voice of his father in the cave when he had tested his resolve. In a way, he felt that cold voice had reached from beyond the grave to test him yet again.

"No wonder your plans did not come to fruition, Father. You left to
o much unchecked power in the hands of the weak-minded!"

An idea came to him as he thought of his old desert again. Had the old wizard ever fought a magical duel in the desert? Julius doubted it. Perhaps some desert magic would catch him unawares again. But would it
work in this much denser sand?

Julius scanned the blue field again and cursed when he realized that it was also strongly warded against conjuration. His plan might still work, but it would be more difficult.
He would have to use a diversion to distract the old man while the beast he was going to conjure would hopefully dig beneath the blue field.

Julius conjured a huge desert boar
, which he then set to charging at the blue field nearest Hamiltus. As the beast charged, yelped in pain and recoiled, Julius conjured a giant scorpion. He took a chance and conjured it somewhat below the ground, displacing some dirt from the area on the surface. As he perceived that the scorpion was digging under the magic field, he hoped that Hamiltus hadn't noticed.

His hopes rose as he saw a magical tentacle extend from the blue field and entangle the giant boar as it charged again. He could see Hamiltus laughing outside the magic field as the
tentacle suffocated the boar.

"Yes, enjoy the spectacle, old man," thought Julius as he saw his scorpion surfacing
on the other side of the field.

Julius knew he needed a final distraction to prevent the old man from seeing or hearing the scorpion as it closed on him. He cast an array of lightning bolts that impacted with a loud
crash against the magic field.

It bought his scorpion the time it needed. The huge creature bowled over the old man and the blue field snapp
ed out of existence in a flash.

Julius banished the scorpion a moment before it was about to sever the old wiz
ard's neck in one of its claws.

Not taking any chances this time, he drew his sword and sprinted to Hamiltus' side just as the old w
izard's daughter arrived there.  Julius put his boot on Hamiltus' torso and raised his sword to the old man's neck, despite the protests and resistance of the daughter.

"Is this the proof yo
u seek, old man?" asked Julius.

The old
wizard coughed and spat dirt out of his mouth. "Indeed. Congratulations, young wizard. I yield."

"Say it so that all can hear it," said Julius as the warriors loyal t
o Hamiltus rushed to the scene.

"I yield to Julius!" cried the old man, stopping the warriors in their trac
ks.

"No boss, you don't have to!" said one of his captains.

"Yes, I do! I want to. I now have hope for the future—for my daughter's future," cried Hamiltus. "Sheath your weapons."

Julius reached for the Wand that Hamiltus still clutched.  The old wizard locked Julius in an icy stare before relenting.

Julius held the Wand aloft and turned slowly in place to look upon his people for the first time as their new leader.



Julius stood atop the keep in the early evening and watched the Light Dancers emerging for another evening of indulging their sickening habit of leeching from the ley lines.  Hamiltus stood beside him, but Julius’ mind was on the old wizard’s daughter, who he knew was some feet below him, separated from his lust by many layers of thick, impenetrable stone.

Her name was Ornella, and though she had thus far rebuffed Julius’ romantic overtures, she had done so with an unmistakable and thrilling twinkle in her eye that suggested future success.

The movement of the figures below returned his attention to the issue at hand.  Julius had spent the past weeks organizing and training his warriors, and appointing seneschals to preside over the affairs of the City.  Hamiltus was skeptical that this distribution of power was wise, but Julius had experience in governance that exceeded that of the older man.

The affairs of the City had now reached a point that gave Julius confidence that his warriors were ready to support him in their first major campaign.  It would be
a campaign to drive the Light Dancers from the City.

“So you’re certain that the destruction of the obelisks will extinguish the ley lines?” asked Hamiltus.

“I am.  And I know how to destroy them as well.  They are like great cauldrons storing the Imperial power my Father created.  Their strength is but an echo of what it was in his time, but it is enough to fuel the nightly devilry you see across the Lake.  The obelisks are strong at the sides and bottom, but I can see that their upper sections are vulnerable.  I will have to sunder the tops at their apex, and this should release the magical energy safely into the air.”

“Amazing.  You can perceive all of this because you wore your Father’s crown for a few seconds?”

“Yes,” said Julius, and he turned to the old man and smiled.  “But do not seek to do the same yourself.  It would likely kill you.”

“Oh, I have no such ambitions.  I am content as your seneschal of war.  Truth be told, I tired of leadership before you came.  I had begun to despair that I would
never find a worthy successor.”

Hamiltus’
response made Julius feel reflective.  He was about to reply when a loud shriek reverberated over the City.  It was quickly followed by the groan of rock being sundered, and Julius saw a building in the eastern side of the City collapse in a great cloud of dust.  He looked at Hamiltus with alarm.

“
The She-Devil strikes again,” said Hamiltus.

Julius recalled the destroyed building he had seen when first entering the City.

“This has happened before?” he asked.

“Yes, it happens several times a year at random points in the City.”

“What is the cause?”

“Legend says it is a
fallen spirit of the earth.  Your Father apparently tricked her into betraying the Red Wizard.  She yet lives, but cannot return to her kind.  So she inflicts her rage upon the City, killing all in her path.  I tried to trap her once, but she burst through my magical field like it was a sheet of papyrus.  She hunted my party halfway across the length of the City and destroyed many buildings in her wake before she lost my trail.  I’ve not attempted to interfere with her since then.”

“Is everything in the City left in disorder?!” cried Julius.

Hamiltus did not respond, and Julius composed himself as the dust raised by the recent tumult subsided.

“So this She-Devil will not return for several months?”

“If past experience is a guide, then, no, she will not.”

“Good, then I will deal with her later.  For now, we will focus on the Light Dancers.  There is no connection between her and the Light Dancers?”

“None that I’ve seen.  She strikes both sides of the City indiscriminately.”

“
That is good.”

Julius thought about the spells he would use to
penetrate the Imperial ley lines.  This campaign would stress his and Hamiltus’ magical abilities.  If not for the Wand left behind by his Father, Julius doubted he would be able to pull it off.  He had practiced with the Wand several times in the recent days.  Its side-effect of strengthening his magic was extremely potent.  But holding the Wand was producing another disturbing side effect: Julius was beginning to appreciate the power of the Imperial magic.  Though he still considered the magic an affront to his code of ethics, he had caught himself fantasizing about the ease with which he could organize the City if he chose to don his Father’s crown.  Because of these uncomfortable thoughts, he had taken to keeping the Wand in a magically sealed trunk.

He returned his attention to Hamiltus
. “Here is my plan for the coming campaign.  We attack in the mid-afternoon, when they are thirsty for the magic, but some daylight hours will remain.”

Hamiltus interrupted
. “And you’re sure this won’t be a replay of our prior daylight attacks?  Remember they seemed stronger in the daytime, despite their discomfort from the suns!”

“Again, it wasn’t the daylight that strengthened them—it was your violation of the Imperial law they’ve reactivated.  You aren’t magically identifiable as Imperial citizens, so the magic gave them extra strength to oppose you.  You must have faith in my assessment.”

“Yes, I suppose I must,” Hamiltus replied haltingly, “but understand that it’s difficult to redo something you’ve already tried and failed at.  Leaves a bad taste in your mouth, for want of a better analogy.”

Julius clapped the old wizard on his back and smiled
. “It’s an excellent analogy.  In the desert we had a saying: a man never drinks twice from a contaminated well.  I can understand your reluctance, Senechal, but you must trust me in this.”

Hamiltus stood a little taller, and Julius judged that his words had had the desired effect.  “I will cast a spell to make the magic think I’m a citizen.  I will then enter the eastern half of the City and make my way to the southernmost obelisk.  You will place our warriors at the northern obelisk
then take another group and move to the obelisk below that one.  We will cast lightning at the tips of the obelisks, as I’ve demonstrated.  This will destroy them.  Once you destroy yours, you will move back north and form up with the warriors. 

Their shaman
s will emerge from their foul holes to energize the Imperial ley lines across the City, and their forces will spew forth onto the streets. You will kill the Light Dancers as they emerge from the buildings around you and those that filter in piecemeal from the south.  I will move north through the City, destroying obelisks as I go.  Their shamans will try to organize to resist me, but as their magic fails, their forces will be routed and break for the active ley lines in the north. The shamans won’t be able to control them.  We’ll be outnumbered, but their forces will be disorganized and running into the teeth of your formations.”

“But the Light Dancers in the north will be at full strength if we leave that obelisk operational.”

“True.  The shaman and his forces there will be a difficult assignment for you, but I have confidence that you will defeat them quickly.  You will have them outnumbered for a time.  The key is to defeat them before their comrades can mass in sufficient numbers to overwhelm you.”

“And how will you destroy the seven other obelisks among all of their shamans and warriors?”

“I’ll rely on the chaos of the moment and magical concealment.  Remember, the Imperial magic will not identify me as an intruder.  And I don’t think their degenerate rank and file will even perceive me.  My only concern will be their shamans, and I do not fear them without their hordes to support them.”

“I still don’t like it.  Take some warriors with you
, at least.”

“I can’t afford to cast the masking spell on many besides myself. 
It’s true that I could take more time to decipher how the Light Dancers have perverted the Imperial magic, but I want a dramatic victory to inspire the people.  I will need an inspired populace to set my plans in motion.  And I want to turn my attention to this She-Devil before she does more damage.  A strike from her while I am in power will shake the people’s confidence in me.”