Wild Magic (5 page)
Authors: Ann Macela
Tags: #General, #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Paranormal, #Romance, #Suspense
Irenee kicked herself mentally for not remembering to follow one of the basic rules for dealing with nasty items. The robes, with all their heavy-duty protective enchantments, were their first line of defense, able to repel harmful spells on their own. She quickly pulled the sides together, hooked the loops over the buttons, and tied the sash. “It stopped.”
“With me, too,” Annette Chang reported.
Glynnis nodded. “As for its identity, I can’t be totally certain without more research, but it’s ancient and extremely powerful, even in its fractured state. The total blackness and the absorption of light have been documented in only a few items, and all except two of them have been found and destroyed. If it’s what I think it is, we may be fortunate to have to deal solely with this portion. It’s a coup for us that we confiscated it. Since the fifteenth century, Defenders have been looking for the Cataclysm Stone.”
CHAPTER THREE
While Glynnis and Fergus moved the Cataclysm Stone to the specially spelled and protected underground chamber where they would destroy it, Irenee ran over to her condo to change into comfortable clothes. There was no telling how long demolition would take with such an ancient artifact, even a somewhat diminished one. It was midnight already. She might be standing for hours.
Fergus had taken her aside for a moment to say she had accomplished her mission exactly as required and with great success. If the piece of the Stone was all Alton had, so be it. There was nobody else they could have sent or who would have confiscated the item with so little furor.
She’d smiled and thanked him. Although one part of her knew he was right, the other part wasn’t totally convinced. Should she have looked around more? No, she couldn’t have. Not with that man in the study with her.
Oh, goodness, she hadn’t told anyone about him.
How could she have forgotten him? Even with all her attention on the Stone? She’d tell the team immediately after they took care of the item. For the moment, she’d put him out of her mind. The destruction process required that she pay close attention. One tiny mistake, one break in concentration, one weakness in her blade could bring horror to them all.
She could do this, she assured herself.
She headed for the other building’s basements, fastening her robe securely as she went.
The team had gathered in the larger of the two “D” rooms, those used only for practice with and actual destruction of items. Her Defender team members were colorful as always: Glynnis in her purple robe; Thomas Canterbury, jewelry maker with copper, gold, and silver tracings; Bill Trusdale, landscaper with green leafy designs on his; Annette Chang, a meteorologist showing off dark blue swirls reminiscent of weather patterns; Denton Jones, tall in his banker’s robes, with multicolored engravings like money. A healer in yellow, nurse Mary Ann Matlow, was on the side preparing her medical kit.
Those in the conference room had also accompanied the team, including her father Hugh in his gold economics robe, Jacob Mbuto with black and white letters from varying alphabets on a beige background, and John Baldwin in his Sword black.
As she had been trained and was her duty, Irenee surveyed the room carefully to make sure all was ready. The five stone-clad walls glowed with spells designed to restrain unleashed, undisciplined power, and those were at full strength. Stone benches were set about two feet from the walls. Candles in sconces along the walls provided more conventional light.
A large pentagon, fifteen feet from center to corner point, was engraved into the floor. When activated, it would become their fortress. In its center a five-sided stone pedestal rose to a height of two feet. On the top sat the crystal platter and bowl containing the Cataclysm Stone.
A shiver snaked through Irenee when she glanced at the evil item. If she didn’t know better, she would swear it was looking back at her.
“Don’t stand directly in front of its broken smooth face,” Fergus said. “I don’t like the feeling I get from it.”
“Neither do I.”
“We’ll attack the Stone from the sides. The key to destruction is to kill the facets, and they’re reached more easily that way. Is everything set?”
She nodded to the big mage. “All’s in order.”
“Team members, take your positions,” Fergus said. “The rest of you get comfortable. I hope we won’t need you. Thank you for being our backup in any case. Mary Ann, are you ready?” When the nurse answered yes, he and Irenee stepped into the pentagon and placed themselves on either side of the pedestal, the length of their individual swords away from it. One Defender stood inside each corner.
“Munire aegis. Castellum. Tenere
,” they all said together and pointed at the pentagon in the floor.
Build protection. Fortress. Hold.
,” they all said together and pointed at the pentagon in the floor.
Build protection. Fortress. Hold.
Multicolored lights flared along the five-sided figure, which glowed as shimmering walls formed and climbed to the ceiling, where they met overhead to form a roof. The walls did not prevent people or objects from passing through them in either direction, but the spells as cast would contain an inside discharge of harmful magic. Without the “hold,” the fortress protected against magic from outside. Every team member fed power into the shield until it was a gleaming rainbow.
When Fergus nodded, he and Irenee both cast their swords, holding them firmly in two-handed grips. She cast her spell to create an energy weapon looking like the gladius, a Roman shortsword about thirty inches long overall. Since the weightless magical blades required both hands to wield, she had modified the original design to increase the length of the grip. Her sword was elegant, she thought, and it fit her perfectly. She started hers on a lower seventh level, green laced with yellow swirls and brought it up to blue.
To match his size, Fergus’s weapon was a massive claymore, fully five feet from pommel to tip, and he also began at a lower level before raising it to a silver-striped gold. Both pointed their swords toward the ceiling.
A low hum vibrated through the air, and the light generated by the energy in the swords, plus the pentagon shield, made the room brighter than day.
She and Fergus saluted each other and brought the tips down to point directly at the Cataclysm Stone. The evil item seemed to grow blacker in the bright light.
“Is everyone ready?” Fergus asked. They all said yes.
“One, two, three,” he said softly in a measured cadence.
The Defenders focused and put their hands first on their magic centers, then extended them palms up in front of them. Magical energy poured from their hands, shimmering with rainbow colors. The individual streams spread horizontally, linked up with those of the others, and began to melt together. What began in various colors coalesced into a shining circle of gold floating midway between the Defenders and the backs of the two Swords.
The hum increased in resonance and went lower in pitch.
As she felt the power growing, Irenee took a firm, centered stance, made sure her shoulders were relaxed, and concentrated on her own magic center. The area under her breastbone, which some called the energy well, came to attention. She nodded at Fergus.
“One, two, three,” he said again.
She tapped into the power source swirling behind them, gathered energy into her well, molded it into a form she could use.
“One, two, three.”
Irenee aimed the power into her sword, and a laser beam of energy shot out of its tip directly at the evil Stone. Fergus hit the item with his beam from the other side at the same time.
“One, two, three.”
They both flooded their swords with energy. His turned pure gold. Hers intensified, moving up the levels from blue to blue with indigo streaks. Where the beams met the Cataclysm Stone, they combined into a pure white. The light flowed like water around the black item, over the facets, down the sheer slope of the ruined side. The surface of the black facets turned shiny, as if the Stone no longer tried to absorb, but to repulse the light. The hum dropped an octave, took on the rhythmic aspects of a slow and steady heartbeat.
They held the pose, deluging the object in good, white power. Irenee lost track of time as she modulated the energy passing through her center, being careful to maintain an emergency reserve while making sure she was reaching all of the Stone facets she could see.
The Stone began to tremble like the facets were moving or the pedestal shaking. A sensation like the rising of a strong wind snaked around the interior of the pentagon. A low moan sounded at the edge of hearing.
“Ignore the moan,” Fergus ordered. “It’s at the frequency that causes unease and often terror in human minds. The Stone’s fighting back. We’re making progress.”
Irenee said nothing, took a deep breath, and blocked the sound out. It wasn’t easy. She could almost feel icy tendrils of evil reaching for her from the Stone, almost see an oily mist of nauseating colors begin to pool in the crystal bowl, almost smell noxious fumes rising from the mist.
She shook her head and reached for a bit more energy. The illusions vanished.
Hah, take that!
Hah, take that!
The damaged crystal continued to shudder, and its faceted surface rippled as though its insides had turned molten and boiled. It began to roll from side to side in the bowl like a boat in heavy seas. The damaged slice, which had been facing between the two Swords, began to shift in her direction.
“Watch out, Irenee,” Fergus said, “the damn thing is maneuvering its smooth side to aim right at you.”
“I see it,” she answered and increased her power output as the Stone turned its fractured face to her. “From this angle, it appears almost transparent or hollow, but there’s something like a black flame burning inside.”
“Pure evil power.” Fergus poured on more energy from his side.
The Stone’s facets began to undulate, trying to throw off the attacks. She and Fergus had tight control, however, and forced the reflected beams right back on their target.
“Give us more, Defenders. We’re beginning to have a real effect.” Fergus’s sword took on tinges of white when he increased the power of his output.
Irenee threw more energy from the team into the mix and forced it through her sword until blue and indigo swirled together equally along the shining blade.
The Stone’s undulations quickened. The facets twisted, writhed, threw off one beam of light only to be deluged by another, until the surface appeared liquid.
Irenee knew they were succeeding as one, then another facet faded, gave off a brief burst of blackness, and sank into the heart of the Stone.
Good, progress.
Maybe she could relax a little, build up some reserve energy. Breathing easier, she set a part of her mind to the task, flexed her shoulders, lifted her beam the tiniest bit.
Maybe she could relax a little, build up some reserve energy. Breathing easier, she set a part of her mind to the task, flexed her shoulders, lifted her beam the tiniest bit.
The black flame at the Stone’s center lunged at her.
“No!” She jerked her sword beam down and forced the flare back into the Stone.
Another blaze of black struck out. She hammered that one into retreat.
And another and another.
She pulled all the power she could—more than she ever had before—from the team, but the flame kept attacking. First to one side, then to the other. Twice in a row she barely managed to bring her beam to bear in time.
She grabbed for more energy. The team responded.
A flare shot out.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” she snarled and threw it back into the Stone.
Breathe, relax the shoulders, keep the wrists flexible.
Another strike. Another block.
How much did the team have in reserve? How long could she keep this up? What would happen if they ran out of energy?
She stopped yet another assault from the Stone and braced herself for its retaliation.
She vaguely heard Fergus shouting, “John, Hugh, the rest of you! Get in here! Mary Ann, call for every Sword and Defender in the Center.”
John came through the shield to stand beside her, and his pure silver blade began to work with hers on the evil reaching out of the Stone.
She increased her power and speed. She wasn’t going to relax her guard again.
She felt her father at her back, his hands on her waist, feeding his energy directly to her, and oh, it was so powerful and so welcome. Her sword glowed pure indigo.
The Defender reinforcements added strength to all three Swords.
More people, including two Swords, joined them inside the pentagon. Irenee ignored them. All she could see was the black fractured face with the hideously obscene flame behind it. The evil continued to attack her alone.
Brilliant light surrounded her and all the Swords as they poured energy onto the Stone. The hum had become a deep roar, and people were shouting or screaming with the effort to produce more power.
She found support. Physical in the bulwark of her father. Mental and magical in the energy the Defenders were pouring into her. She embraced both to increase her output. Her sword developed a violet tinge and settled into violet streaks through the dark blue.
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