The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 (39 page)

His face changed from shock to anger
and I switched my hands from scales to ice. Magic was going to be
nothing less than support in this battle. Victory would go to the
one who was strongest physically. He turned his staff to me and
launched me across the room with another Pulse. The sound of sword
and staff again filled the tiny room.

I stood back up, the
long travels and being tossed like a ragdoll taking its toll on my
legs, and headed for the fighting. Desroche’s staff now glowed with
fire on each end and he fought with a ferocity that only Cathy
could match. She was strongly glowing pale blue and her eyes were
even starting to go white as she matched Desroche’s speed and
strength. When Desroche sensed me approaching, he swung around,
knocked the feet out from under me and slammed me to the ground
with his staff. It wasn’t my finest moment.

Once again, I started to pick myself up
when Desroche knocked Cathy back, launched her across the room and
reached out towards another Davalin guard to steal more strength. I
jumped up, grabbed his arm, twisted my body and threw him over my
shoulder and onto the ground. His arm still extended, he launched a
Pulse at me, knocking me straight up to my feet and followed up
with an Ice Bolt. The pain was incredible and it pierced the scales
on my chest.

I pulled the ice out and grabbed my
chest to heal the wound. It was only a minor cut, but it would
always be on my mind how close I was to having my heart pierced. I
circled around Desroche in a stagger, forcing him to follow me and
turn his back to Cathy’s direction, wherever she had ended up.

“
Damn your Harden
Skin!” Desroche spat.

He pointed the staff
towards the remaining Davalin guards. I was too far away to make a
move but saw a flash rushing up behind him. Cathy emerged and
chopped down, taking Desroche’s hand off and causing the staff to
fall to the ground. Desroche screamed out in pain and turned
towards her. With his left hand, he launched a wave of lightning
that covered Cathy from head to toe. With another Pulse, he sent
her flying into the wall. She hit the ground hard and remained
still.

My heart dropped and my legs found
their strength again. The ice on my hand grew stronger as I ran
towards Desroche. He turned to me in time to receive a devastating
punch to the face, breaking his nose and causing blood to spray
out. I followed up with a gut shot from my other hand and another
punch to the face. The new found strength flowed through me and
Desroche could only stagger back before sending a small Pulse to
temporarily shake me. With my stutter, Desroche reached out and my
mind felt like it was on fire.

I stopped and grabbed my head,
concentrating on my mental barriers. Attempting to Mind Control me,
showed that Desroche was desperate. This was merely a diversion to
buy him some time and I used every trick I knew from growing up in
the Tower to keep him out.

Desroche laughed. “You’ve got a mean
right hook but you’re messing with the best, son. You’re too weak
to defend against me for long. Soon I will destroy your mind and
finish off your little girlfriend.”

I slammed the last barrier shut and the
fire in my mind went out. Desroche’s face twisted in shock before
he pressed his attack harder. My mind was secure and I reached out
to feel for his. He was attacking me with his remaining strength
and I easily slipped past his mental barrier and planted an
Illusion spell. It wasn’t anything fancy, just him thinking I was
weakening and collapsing to my knees.

He smiled down at the imaginary me.
“See, Mind Controls are kind of my thing. You can’t mess with the
master.”

I drew my sword and
drove it into his chest, piercing his heart. His jaw dropped in
surprise and I dropped my Illusion. “See,” I said, mocking him,
“Illusions are kind of my thing. You can’t mess with the master.” I
pulled my sword out and drove it through his chest again, dropping
him to the ground.

I dropped to my knees
beside him and took a couple of deep breaths. A couple of bright
flashes filled the room and I turned to see the runic symbols had
disappeared to release the remaining soldiers.

One immediately ran up to me and I
smiled up at Bill. “You’re back.”

“
Where’s Rob and Lady
Middleton?” he asked, helping me back to my feet.

I pointed to Cathy, still lying
unmoving on the ground. “And Rob must have been the soldier
Desroche killed. Did you see anything after being trapped in the
rune?”

He shook his head and
Gina hurried over to Cathy. Cathy started to stir and Gina helped
her back to her feet. Cathy looked down at Desroche’s body and
pouted. “I wanted to be there when he died.”

I was just happy to see that Cathy was
alive and didn’t trust myself to say anything coherent.

“
You look like you’ve
seen better days,” Cathy smiled to me. “Ready to free the
Evenawks?”

I nodded and grabbed
the Nao staff on my back. The abuse from the fight had left it
covered in ice and almost snapped in half with a couple of threads
holding. I brushed off the ice and held the two pieces together.
After a quick test, it proved to be shaky but functional. I
approached the Evenawk Chieftain, still suspended in his
prison.

Aiming for the staff
supporting the rune, the yellow light shot out from the Nao staff
and caused the rune to waver. The Davalin soldiers stepped back,
not knowing what will happen and I entered their minds.

The power from the
Nao staff increased as the rune glowed brighter. The entire room
had taken on an eerie red glow but the support staff was starting
to glow white and shake. The shaking soon caused the entire room to
shake and I started to strain to hold the staff steady.

“
What’s going on?”
Cathy asked.

“
I don’t know,” I
answered. “This is different. The staff is too damaged. It’s making
it unstable.”

“
Can it still work?”
Cathy asked.

“
I’m doing my best
but I’m not getting enough power,” I answered.

“
Here,” Cathy said,
grabbing the staff as well. “Use my life to help.”

“
Are you serious?” I
asked, stunned.

“
My Lady, surely
you’re joking,” Bill said.

“
We need to destroy
Desroche’s control on the Evenawks. Whatever the cost,” Cathy
explained. “I would gladly give my life to save them.”

“
But we need you to
rebuild, my Lady,” Bill said sadly. “Allow me to take your
place.”

Cathy shook her head
slowly. “It won’t work with you. I still have a bit of Kairu’s
magic from when he healed me. He can use that connection to power
the staff. I’ve been on borrowed time anyhow since that day. I
don’t know how much longer the magic will hold.”

Bill looked sullen but nodded slowly.
“Thank you, my Lady.”

“
Take care of Davalin
when I’m gone, Bill,” Cathy said. Bill nodded and Cathy turned back
to me. “Do it.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“
That’s an order,
Mage,” Cathy said.

I frowned but focused my magic on the
Nao staff. The white light from the support staff grew brighter and
Cathy groaned and fell to her knees. I looked down at her one more
time before sending the final wave of magic. The glowing staff
exploded in a bright white light and I had to shield my eyes. The
room turned to black as the rune disappeared.

I made my left hand
glow with fire and searched the room. Bill and Gina stood in shock,
staring down at the spot where Cathy used to be. She had
disappeared completely.

The Nao staff begun
to crumble into ash from the power and I dropped it to the ground
and hurried towards the fallen Chieftain. He lay crumpled on the
ground sobbing gently and hugging his knees. I fell to my knees and
dragged him close to me, pulling my friend into a hug.

“
Never again,” he
said.

“
It’s over,” I said
softly. “He’s dead and we’ve freed your people.”

He looked up at me
with tears in his eyes, but his voice turned cold and determined.
“Never again.”

Chapter
35

Bill searched the dark room looking for
any signs of his Lady but only found her shield. He picked it up
and said he would carry it to Davalin to be put in the great hall
of the palace. It was the right thing to do for the memory of the
woman whose body Cathy and I borrowed for our mission.

With Gina’s help, I
was able to get Chieftain Harkis up the stairs and into the
entrance of the city hall. Scert’chak civilians had begun to gather
in the building, disoriented from the brainwashing. We handed the
Chieftain off to the group and explained the situation to them. The
men left to track down the army while the women remained to care
for the traumatised Chieftain. When I asked about Warlord Narrilok
or Commander Bak, the citizens looked at me blankly while the
Chieftain repeatedly muttered ‘dead’. I maintained some small hope
that they would turn up despite where the signs were
pointing.

With Harkis in safe
hands, I wanted to track down Desroche’s belongings and destroy his
notes about the brainwashing machine. I was sure the Evenawks would
be in a hurry to ensure their destruction, but this was something I
felt safer doing myself.

Through the notes on
his machine, I found corresponding letters between him and other
Mages. They mostly detailed orders to spy on selected cities and
targets. The information would be useful if the Mages involved
didn’t use codenames. It would take some time to decipher them, but
it would be worth it.

All the letters had a
hooded figure with white eyes above “SS” in fancy writing. I
believe this confirmed my suspicion that Desroche was starting a
new Order of Magic. With his death, the group would disperse or,
most likely, destroy itself over who the new leader is. I bundled
up all the letters, destroyed the notes on the brainwashing
machine, and was ready to head back down the hill.

Before leaving, I
promised Harkis I would be back shortly. I left Scert’chak behind
to find my friends still waiting by the bridge. Natalie was helping
Aaron despite a couple of arrows in the back and shoulders. Donkor
was covered in bandages around his chest and arm saying that he had
already taken care of himself and not to worry about him. When he
noticed Cathy was missing, his smiled turned sad and he picked me
up into a hug, trying to comfort me because he thought the woman I
loved had died. It was hard to lie to him, but it was
necessary.

I healed the couple
of remaining Davalin soldiers and helped Natalie with her arrows
before using the remainder of my magic so we could cross the
bridge. I assisted Natalie in carrying Aaron and the walk to the
base of the mountain was slow and quiet.

At the base we saw the aftermath of the
battle. Bodies from both sides littered the ground in Archanion.
Once again, the field swallows the souls of countless innocents in
battle. Only this time the scar that is left behind won’t be as
hideous as the distortion.

We crossed the field,
looking through the bodies for friends or familiar faces. I prayed
that I wouldn’t find the face of King Markus looking up at me and
was pleased to see him and the Balendar-Nesqa army marching towards
us.

King Markus called
out for a cheer as the ‘Heroes of Balendar’ returned. I made a
quiet joke to Natalie about how much ‘heroes’ get paid and the
three of us shared the first chuckle in what felt like forever.
Field medics and doctors arrived from the group to look after
everyone and Markus approached me covered in mud and blood, but
smiling like it was his birthday.

“
My friend,” he
started, “if you had told me back when we first met that we would
be standing here in victory I probably would have called you
delusional.”

“
Didn’t you anyway?”
I asked, turning to Lord Kyle as he joined us. “Good to see you’re
still here too.”

“
Took you long
enough,” he joked.

“
We were going to be
fine,” Markus said to him. “The Nesqian’s fought like crazy
people.” He turned back to me. “I owe you and Lady Middleton a lot.
I...see she didn’t make it.”

I shook my head. “Sacrificed her life
to free the Evenawks.”

“
That is a shame,” he
said sadly. “We are already so short on leaders but she will never
be forgotten. I will make sure everyone knows she died protecting
our home.”

“
She deserves no
less,” I replied.

“
We’ll check the
records and see who is next in line for succession of the Davalin
title,” King Markus said. “But in the meantime, I need to talk to
you about something.”

“
As do I,” I
said.

“
Allow me to go first
then,” King Markus started. “I want to extend to you Sandra’s title
of Advisor to the Crown. Your work with Sandra proved you are the
most qualified for the job.”

“
I...am honoured,” I
said stunned. “Are you sure it is wise so soon after Desroche
though?”

“
You are not
Davenport...or Desroche as you call him,” King Markus said. “People
thought my Uncle was a fool for making a Mage an advisor but it
needs to happen. Magic/Non-Magic relations are very important now.
It’s no secret that Mages were helping the Evenawks and maybe so
many wouldn’t have been in a hurry to join up if they weren’t
hunted down like wild animals. With the respect and reputation
you’ve earned here today, you can be the face and voice of Magic
users and teach everyone that they aren’t the boogiemen of the
past. It’s a new age, Kairu. People will change with people like us
showing them the way.”