Rogue Magician (The Magician Rebellion) (31 page)

“
No
need to worry,” Byrn forced a smile that he hoped looked more confident than it
felt. “You have taught me well,” he added sincerely, knowing it to be true.

Byrn
went outside to cast the transportation spell. It was not necessary to do it
outdoors, but it felt more natural to him to do it this way and so it was
easier to cast under the night sky. The transportation was almost
instantaneous. One moment he was standing in the school's courtyard, then a few
seconds later Byrn found himself inside the Mollifas temple to Ashura over
fifteen hundred miles away.

Byrn
was in an alcove connecting to an empty hallway of the temple. If the layout
was the same as other temples, then the priest quarters would be down the hall
to the left and the right would lead to the great hall. Byrn turned right
seeking a way out. Priests were brothers to magicians in a sense and many of
them were sympathetic to the magicians' plight. He suspected that Mantellus
would be sleeping in the priests' quarters. The image of his mother's
decapitated head popped back in his mind and Byrn had to fight the urge to
confront the magician until after he was sure that Marian was no longer in
harm's way.

The
great hall opened out to a large square that led to what looked like a row of
shops all closed at the late hour. Byrn looked around for a street from his
vision and found he recognized the streets from his dream. Sane had complained
that his visions would fade rather quickly especially after using magic, but
Byrn was having no difficulty recalling the nightmare’s details. Perhaps Byrn’s
nightmare was not a true vision then, but he could not deny that the street
before him was the same as the one from his dream though he had never been to
Mollifas before.

Byrn
headed into the market district and navigated the streets with unerring
accuracy, reaching the edge of the warehouse district in a half hour. However,
identifying the right building took longer than he had hoped. The district was
much larger than the warehouse quarter of Colum or even Lion’s Landing and the
elementalist became confused by all of the similar looking buildings. The night
was lightening and dawn was not far off. After Byrn's third unsuccessful
attempt his search became more frantic as he became convinced that his mother
was dead and he had failed her.

Finally
he came to a warehouse that felt very familiar. The windows were boarded up and
it looked abandoned. Byrn felt a ray of hope and entered the apparently empty
building. A quick assessment of the interior revealed that the entire warehouse
was one large empty space. There was no door against the rear wall like in his
nightmare. The magician turned to leave then stopped. There was a weak presence
in the room like a gently pulsing heat- magic.

The
pages flew as Byrn flipped through his grimoire looking for a particular
manipulation spell. It was called True Sight and allowed the user to see
through any illusions placed before him for a short time. Placing his hand to
the book he closed his real eyes and pushed his mind's eye outward revealing a
door and several windows just before him. When next his eyes opened the door
and windows were still there, just as they had been all along. Byrn tested the
door and found it was unlocked.

The
fire magician pushed the door open and was prepared for a fight. Instead he
found the two women from his nightmare sleeping. They appeared unharmed, but
pain was etched in their faces. Even in their dreams they could not escape from
whatever torture Mantellus had been inflicting on them. The dark haired girl in
yellow was tied to a bed and his mother lay on the floor with an arm tied to
each bedpost.

The
young magician created a small flame knife construct with an unconscious ease.
Byrn carefully cut Marian's bonds making sure not to accidentally burn her
hands or wrists. The sleeping woman’s body was tense as Byrn pulled her close.
He cradled her like a parent would a child. Placing two fingers against his
mother's neck, Byrn checked her pulse and found that it was strong. He breathed
a soft sigh of relief unaware that he had been holding his breath up until that
moment. Some gentle shaking woke Marian from sleep and she was startled at
first to see her son.

“
Byrn?”
she asked unable to trust her own eyes. Her fingers trembled as she reached out
and touched his face.

He
nodded in the affirmative and they both started to tear up. Byrn helped Marian
to her feet and said, “There will be plenty of time for a reunion later. Right
now we have to get you to safety,” as a large grin grew across his face.

“
Please
untie me,” asked the other woman awakened by the sound of voices, “I do not
think I could stand to have the hope of release taken from me twice.” Then she
started to cry, but they were tears of joy. Then her relief turned to terror
and she began to scream and squirm when Byrn reconstructed the flame knife to
cut her free.

“
It
is alright, Tian! Tian!” Marian tried to yell over the girl’s screams. She
stepped between them so that the young woman could only see her face, ensuring
that Marian had Tian’s full attention. “He is here to help! This is my son!”
Seeing Tian lost in hysterics Marian looked around for her hunting knife or
dagger to cut her free and finding neither she asked Byrn to cut Tian free
quickly.

Grabbing
her wrist with one hand to hold her still Byrn cut the bond around her left
arm. She flailed wildly with her now free arm and tried to undo the rope on her
other wrist, but after a minute was calm enough to allow Byrn to do it for her.
A still shaken Tian asked, “You are not like the other one. Are you? He burned
me down to the bone and when I thought my body would give out he would heal me
so that he could start all over again.”

Byrn
was taken back by the realization that Mantellus could use Ashura’s healing
arts and for a moment wondered at what that might mean for the priesthood, but
quickly returned his mind to getting the women to a safe place. “I am not like
Mantellus, my lady. Most magicians are not like him. The Firekin is a depraved
person with or without magic.”

Once
Tian's other arm was cut loose Byrn wasted no time getting the women to the
door of the office only to be greeted by a ball of fire as large as a man. Byrn
brandished his staff like a weapon and hastily erected a magic shield. The fire
dissipated as hit the shield, leaving a cloud of smoke wafting from the
barrier. Through the smoke a figure in green stepped forward bearing a staff of
his own in hand. As the smoke cleared the elementalist-turned-sadistic-priest,
Mantellus Firekin, confronted Byrn Lightfoot.

“
When
you dispelled the illusion hiding my secret room you also triggered a ward
alerting me that I was about to lose my playthings. It was fortunate that I was
already on my way here for some early morning entertainment.

“
I
must admit of all the people that I expected to find I have to say that you
were the last person that I thought would be here messing up my fun, Byrn. That
is you, is it not? Byrn Lightfoot?” Mantellus held his staff at the ready
anticipating an attack, “You have grown much since we saw each other last.”

“
You
know this
monster
?” Marian asked with
disdain as she almost spat the word.

“
We
were in Baj together,” Byrn told her as he motioned with a curt nod of his head
for the battered women to move back into the room. To Mantellus, he asked, “How
did you get free?”

“
In
a roundabout way it was your escape that made mine possible, but Ryonus was the
one who faked my death in a misguided attempt to...” Mantellus seemed to think
on it, then admitted, “To tell you the truth I do not know what he could have
been thinking. Surely he did not think I would go back for them.”

Looking
over Byrn's shoulder at the ranger peeking out from behind the doorway
Mantellus added, “You seem to know each other. Who is your friend?”

“
She
is my mother,” Byrn told him taking a defensive position. “Let us pass or I
will kill you.”

Mantellus
laughed derisively. “Byrn, you are like a cub growling at a bear. Do not think
we are on the same level. I have been using magic much longer than you and am
not bogged down by the same sense of morality that you are, but for old time’s
sake I will make you a deal. Your mother and Tian can go free... if you agree
to come with me.

“
Think
of the things we could do together. I can teach you ways to use magic that you
never considered before.”

“
Do
not listen to him,” Marian warned, but Byrn held up his hand asking for
silence.

“
Mantellus,
you are a rabid animal. Step out of our way and use what little time you have
to escape the city,” Byrn said showing a strength of will even he did not know
he possessed. “Once they are safe, I will be coming back for you.”

Without
warning Mantellus created a wall of flame and threw it at Byrn, who enlarged
his shield enough to protect himself and block the doorway with ease. Another
attack from Mantellus immediately followed. This time it was a volley of
fireballs. They bounced harmlessly off the shield, but the barrage had the
effect of weakening Byrn slightly.

When
Mantellus fired his next volley Byrn dropped his shield. He reached out with
his mind to Mantellus' fireballs and altered their direction so they swung wide
to the left and circled behind him flying by Byrn on the right and back towards
Mantellus.

The
counterattack caught the mad magician off guard and he faced the full force of
his own attack throwing him into the wall and searing his arms and hands. Now
that Byrn had the advantage he did not intend to lose it. In a battle of
elementalists Byrn thought that he was now superior to Mantellus, but with his
mother's life in the balance he dared not take the risk. As an elementalist
Mantellus was powerful, but he lacked knowledge or skill in the other
disciplines. Byrn held his free hand in the air and shouted, “I call upon the
spirits of Vailon, god of war, hold my enemy!”

A
screeching sound echoed through the warehouse and dark clouds flowed up from
the floor in several spots taking the shapes of four war wraiths on mounts.
“Feel free to hurt him, but I need him alive,” Byrn told the wraiths.

The
four ghostly figures swarmed around Mantellus delivering glancing cuts whenever
he allowed them to get too close. The elder fire magician formed whips in each
hand and lashed out at his assailants pulling one off his mount and striking
another. The wraiths kept Mantellus contained for the moment, but it was
apparent that he would gain the upper hand over the spirits soon.

While
Mantellus was distracted by the phantoms Byrn circled to one side attempting to
get behind him. Any number of spells came to mind that could kill the dark priest,
but disabling him would require more finesse.

The
last wraith hissed at Mantellus as it was dispelled back to the realm of
spirits. The priest panted in satisfaction at his victory just before he felt a
sharp jab to his shoulder that quickly changed to a crippling internal pain
that felt like little bolts of lightning bouncing around throughout his body.
As quick as the bolts came they were gone, but Mantellus was unable to move.

Byrn
stepped in front of him.

“
The
paralysis will wear off soon enough,” Byrn yanked the staff from the priest’s
grip, “but not soon enough for it to matter to you. Next time you might want to
consider releasing a burst of flame all around you to eliminate the riders more
effectively,” Byrn gloated. Then Mantellus’ staff erupted into flames and Byrn
tossed it across the warehouse like so much useless trash.

Byrn
looked Mantellus over examining the minor cuts he received from the war
wraiths. He held his hand with an open palm and his fingers together like his
hand was a knife. After a few moments smalls flames burst from Byrn's fingers
and he set about raking them over all of Mantellus cuts and scratches. Although
the pain must have been intense Mantellus could not voice a protest or even
scream out, so great was the paralysis spell.

“
I
am cauterizing your wounds so that you can not cast any magic directly from the
blood source,” Byrn told him as he worked to close Mantellus' wounds. A few
more minutes and his work was complete. He put Mantellus' arms behind him and
called for the women to bring some of the rope that the priest had used to tie
them up. Byrn wrapped the rope around Mantellus' wrists and tied them together
tightly yanking on the knot to make sure it would not come undone.

Once
the paralysis spell wore off enough that Mantellus could walk Byrn led the
group outside. At first Mantellus tried to resist, but Byrn simply pulled hard
enough to make Mantellus fall and took to dragging him while Marian and Tian
kicked at the evil magician until he agreed to walk on his own. “We need to
take Mantellus to the castle,” he told them, “He needs to be secured by the
Kenzai there so they can decide how to handle him.”

“
I
want to go to my parents first,” Lady Tian said.

“
She
has been through a great deal,” Marian added.

“
You
are free now,” Byrn said to Tian, “You can do as you wish.”

“
I-
I do not wish to be alone,” Tian admitted apologetically.