Jake's Quest - Wizards V (2 page)

2.
  
The Council of Wizards

I hopped into chaos. Men and women shouted at each other from behind curved desks that looked down upon the stage where the leaders of the council held court. The din made it difficult to think and at first I thought that no one was in charge.

Then I saw Meldar Lind get to her feet and begin to bang a gavel. At first the gavel’s knock was lost in the sea of voices, but she applied magic to the sound and by the third bang the sound it made was close to knocking me off my feet. Everybody stopped shouting and the silence that followed was in some ways more shocking than the sound of the gavel had made.

Meldar gave the assemblage a mocking smile. She spoke in English, which was a blessed relief as Valhallan is tedious beyond belief.

“You may not have noticed, but Wizard Morrissey has joined us. Do you want him to think we are nothing more than a pack of baying hounds?”

There were some shamed-faced looks from the men and women of the council and they resumed their seats with much shuffling of papers. Meldar turned to face me.

“Wizard Morrissey, we had barely sent our messenger to contact you and you have caught us at a bad moment. We rarely act like this. May I offer my apologies?”

I was never comfortable among Valhallans, but at least she was speaking English. Apologies in Valhallan might have taken two or three days to complete. I decided to use a bit of diplomacy.

“I am sorry to have interrupted the Council in debate. However, as you know I am eager to get to Balmack so I hopped here as soon as I got the word.”

“And why has Delft not returned with you?”

Now that was unexpected. Delft Lagan was one of the three council leaders and it was unusual for one of them to take on the role of errand boy.

“I recieved your message indirectly.” A raised eyebrow from Meldar demanded more. “From Issus of Zelphi.”

There were a few gasps and even a couple of whistles. Zelphi must be higher up the pecking order than I had assumed.

“And did she offer you any words of advice?”

“She wished me luck.”

I don’t think anyone there believed me. Tough, that was the most they were getting from me.

Meldar sighed and motioned me to sit in the solitary chair that faced her. She and Carl Brindel occupied two of the three chairs behind an imposing bench. As Delft was off trying to find me, his chair was empty. I didn’t think we needed him, this was a simple matter.

Meldar picked up a document and squinted at it. Her already bony face looked even more like a skull than usual as she read it.

“We have received word from the Chancellor of Haldor University on Balmack. He has accepted our request to include you in the Enrolment Competition for Unaffiliated Wizards.”

I stood and punched the air, then sat back down in response to many disapproving looks.

“We have stuck our necks out for you, Jake. The Balmack Accord has a fearsome reputation for punishing those who cause them trouble.”

“When have I ever caused trouble?”

I had on my innocent face. Several people groaned and I saw a man bury his face in his hands. I have a certain reputation.

“When do you not?” Meldar was not amused. “Even though we are only your sponsor there is still risk for us in this. You killed the Balmack Accord Representative at the Conference Between the Worlds…”

“That was an accident. He should have got out of the way.”

Meldar frowned and I shut up. It was still his fault though.

“…which means that you are a banned alien in the Balmack Accord. They know what we have done to get you around that ban and they know why. Their laws give you an opening to join Haldor University as an undergraduate,
if
you can prove yourself worthy. We believe the tests involved are arduous, almost certainly life threatening. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

It was a fair question, one my wives had already expressed a little more forcefully.

“The man who bombed and killed dozens of people in my world wrote taunting letters to the police in Balmack script. I think this man is my cousin, Dafydd Williams, but even if he isn’t, the Bomber must have some connection with the Accord. It’s the only clue I’ve got left.”

Meldar smiled. It stretched her thin lips white.

“And your presence in the Accord will force him to act?”

“I’m hoping so.”

“Given your propensity for trouble I would say it is a certainty. The Balmack have assured us that no one in the Accord would commit acts of terrorism. They see you as a dangerous lunatic, as do a number of the members of this council. Try not to kill too many people while you are away.”

“I always try,” I said, and I meant it. I never set out to kill people, I’m not a murderer, but to be fair the body count around me has been rising steadily over the years.

The meeting was apparently over. Meldar beckoned me over and led me out of the council chamber to a small room where she offered me a drink.

I took it and sat down in an armchair opposite her. She raised her glass and we silently toasted my trip.

“You have five days and three hours before you go.”

I checked my watch and did the conversions. Four twenty five on Friday afternoon. Her bony fingers clenched my wrist and a set of coordinates flowed into my mind. When I say coordinates, they were nothing like a map reference, but for a Wizard they were easy to understand. The location was somewhere on Valhalla I’d never been.

“What should I take with me?”

She shook her head. I guessed she knew as much as I did.

The Valhallans weren’t allies with the Balmack, but unlike the Malevon, my other principle allies, they were on speaking terms with them. Apparently the Balmack were patriarchal and prudish, while the Malevon with their queens, were the exact opposite. Finding out about the university loophole had taken time and I’d almost given up hope of getting to Balmack without starting a war. After the Valhallans applied on my behalf it still seemed to take forever to get to this point.

“You are a remarkable man, Jake Morrissey.” Meldar shook her head again. “The Balmack understanding of magic makes our research look like the work of children. If they were not a peaceful and inward looking culture they could have carved out a massive chunk of the multiverse for themselves. Their worlds are the last place anybody would look for a deranged killer. Anybody but you.”

“I have to find him. Too many people have been killed by his hand.”

“Perhaps he has finished with you? It has been a long time since his last attack.”

It was a fair point. It had been 18 months and four days since he blew up my street. I was keeping count. But no one as deranged as him was going to give up on trying to kill me. He was just taking a breather.

“I can’t risk the lives of those around me on that supposition.”

“I understand.”

And I believe she did. We stood and shook hands.

As I turned to leave I heard her whisper.

“Come back safely, Jake Morrissey.”

3.
  
Galator

I appeared in the Bat Cave near the wall, where it’s safest. The cave is looking pretty good these days, Fluffy seems to appreciate cleanliness a great deal more since regaining his eyesight and he tidies up all the time. No more half roasted grinning sheep heads on the sofa these days. Of course, it might be down to the babysitting he does for us. Our toddlers adore him.

While I call him Fluffy, everyone else calls him Retnor, which is his proper name. He’s a genuine fire breathing, orange and yellow iridescent scaled dragon and I’ve known him since he was an egg. He’s in the middle of a growth spurt and has put on ten foot in length and twenty foot in wingspan over the last year. It’s lucky that fate and a few of Bronwyn’s fanatics remodeled the cave before it happened.

[Jake. Your timing is unusually apposite. We have been summoned.]

Fluffy grinned at me and his thoughts carried more than a tinge of excitement.

“We have?”

[The Dragons have reached a decision on your request.]

And in less than two years. That must be close to a record
. The Dragons were making hasty decisions these days. I had bargained with them for knowledge of how to create a Diabli Sword in exchange for keeping a watch on the remnants of that species in the Damaged Zone. Which reminded me; I should go and have a look at how they were getting on sometime soon.

“Can’t they just tell me through you?”

Fluffy shook his head reprovingly. He has a large head and it’s very impressive when he shakes it.

[Galator is waiting at the Gathering Place. We are already late.]

“Never let it be said I kept a Dragon Elder waiting.” I climbed onto Fluffy’s neck and he hopped us far across the multiverse.

The Gathering Place is an ancient hollow volcano on a small dead planet. The dragons have been using it for millions of years. The bottom of the volcano is flat, forming a huge stage and that was where Fluffy materialized. Galator stood before us, looking very impressive and just a bit impatient.

Now Fluffy looks huge, but when I compared him with Galator he was more like a small dog. If dragons ever stop growing, I’ve yet to see any evidence of it.

[JAKE MORRISSEY. WE HAVE REACHED A VERDICT]

Did I mention that older dragons shout, all the time? I decided to avoid deploying sarcasm, Galator was
big
.

“I thank you for your consideration.”

[DIABLI SWORDS CAUSED THE DEATHS OF BILLIONS. THEY DESTROYED A HOST OF UNIVERSES. YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT REMAINS.]

I nodded, it was a sobering thought.

[IF YOU RECREATE THEIR SWORDS…]

“I just want to see if I can create a defense against them.”

This was their dilemma in a nutshell. They would be mad to trust me with such knowledge, but I had to ask.

[THE KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE IMPARTED.]

Fluffy looked stunned and I almost fell off his back. This was unexpected.

[YOU MUST TOUCH ME.]

I dismounted and walked over to him. I could sense Fluffy shuffling behind me.

A flicker of overwhelming dread ran through me and I instantly created a shield around us, though Galator was too big to cover completely.

Dragonfire splashed over my shield, which barely held. Galator screamed as the fire tore at his tail. My shield was ripped apart as Galator took to the air through it, bellowing with such power my ears rang. Three large dragons hovering above us fled as Galator took chase.

Fluffy put a protective wing over me as I struggled to restore my shield around us. My view was blocked by his wing so I switched to magical sight.

At first I thought they had all hopped as no dragons were visible in the heavens. Then two burst into existence and gouts of dragonfire spurted across the sky as they tried to cook each other. Then they were gone again. The fight was being fought mainly in glim, a halfway house between reality and hop space. The dragons maneuvered in glim and waited for their enemy to become visible. Only in reality could they use dragonfire against each other.

Angry burst of magic flames shot across the sky.

“Galator is winning.” His flames were much stronger than theirs and his aim was excellent.

Fluffy aimed a wave of disagreement at me. [Galator is grievously hurt. Only his anger sustains him.]

Whether injured or not, it was clear the other dragons were not willing to stay and fight. I could sense they had fled. Galator dropped back into reality and glided down towards us.

[HELP HIM] Fluffy shouted as Galator’s descent became a plummet. Dragons fly by magic, being far too heavy to fly on their wings, which they use for fine flight control and effect. Galator had no control at all.

Fluffy was using his magic to slow Galator down, but Galator was very heavy and his magic was having little effect. I added my own power, which was much stronger and between us we brought him down to a perfect three point landing.

I was running towards him before he landed.

[
WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WIZARD?
]

He might be injured, but he sure could shout.

“I can heal you.”

The damned lizard was thinking about it. I stopped, all too aware I was facing the front end and Galator breathed dragonfire. Fluffy put in a word.

[He is very good at healing dragons.]

I can read dragon faces very well and Galator was in agony. If he didn’t let me help him soon it would be too late.

[VERY WELL.]

I stepped forward and put a hand on Galator’s face. So like Fluffy’s, but so much bigger. My consciousness expanded and encompassed the dragon’s body, flowing through his arteries and examining his cells.

Dragons have evolved to resist dragonfire, but the other dragons had hit us at point blank range and my shield had not extended to Galator’s tail. In some ways it was surprising that his flesh had survived at all. As it was, his back end was more barbeque than dragon.

But if there is appropriate material available, and if the rest of the body is strong enough to survive the shock, a wizard can remake flesh from what remains. The problem was that there were tons of flesh involved, more than Fluffy whole body weight. I bore down on the problem and felt my magical reserves depleting at an astonishing rate. There wasn’t going to be enough.

I felt a claw touch me and fresh power surge through me. Fluffy was adding to my power and he seemed to be tapping into other dragons, for he was providing far more power than he possessed. The flesh healed and I stimulated Galator’s adrenal glands to try to offset the shock his body was going through.

It was done. I dropped to the ground and opened my eyes. Perhaps a hundred dragons surrounded us, creating a vast circuit that had been feeding Fluffy as he fed me. The dragons started to hop away until only the three of us remained.

“Why did those dragons attack us?” Despite my tiredness that question was uppermost in my mind.

[NOT ALL DRAGONS THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE YOU SEEK. THEY THINK YOU REPRESENT A GREATER THREAT THAN THE DIABLI. THEY WILL BE HUNTED DOWN AND KILLED FOR THEIR TEMERITY TO ATTACK AN ELDER.]

I have enough blood on my hands and there are far too few dragons in the multiverse as it is. They are a dying species.

“Don’t do that, I withdraw my request. Do not kill them for doing what they think is right. I will watch the Diabli for you without conditions.”

Galator stared at me. We must have been a right sight. Both of us struggling to breathe and totally exhausted. Fluffy was curled up on the ground and I thought he might already be asleep. I wished I could join him.

[IT SHALL BE AS YOU WISH. THEY SHALL BE EXILED FOR A MILLENIUM INSTEAD.]

Whoever said dragons were never reasonable?

“I need to lie down for a while.”

[AGREED.]

With a little effort I sat on the ground instead of falling. The world went away.

When I woke I opened my eyes to find Fluffy looking down, reminding me a bit of a cat guarding a mouse. Galator was still asleep.

“How long was I out?”

Dragons always know the time; it comes of being telepathically connected.

[Just under six hours. Thank you for saving Galator. The Dragons will not forget.]

“It’s been eighteen months since the last time this sort of thing happened. I’d been hoping for a longer break.”

Fluffy sighed, black smoke drifted between his teeth.

[It does appear that the old Jake is back.]

“We ought to be going.”

Galator opened a massive eye. I could have sworn he had been asleep.

[YOU ARE A GREAT HEALER, WIZARD. TOUCH MY CLAW AS A SIGN OF FRIENDSHIP AND MY OBLIGATION TO YOU.]

I stepped towards his enormous claws and reached out and placed a hand on the nearest one.

[MAY YOUR QUEST BE FRUITFUL.]

I nodded and went back to Fluffy and mounted him.

As we hopped back to the Bat Cave, I mused on the information Galator had surreptitiously passed to me during our brief physical contact. Now I knew how to make a Diabli sword, I wondered if the information would be of any use.