Mindbender (71 page)

Alexander laughed, shaking his head. “I invited you here to listen to your counsel and ask for your assistance. As for seeking power, I didn’t. It sought me and I’d gladly give it all up if I could take my wife home and raise a nice little herd of cattle. But I can’t because Phane is out there plotting to kill everything and everyone I care about.”

“We will gladly offer our counsel,” Constance said. “As for our assistance, Lady Reishi, as the only triumvir of the Reishi Coven present, is the commander of our forces. We will follow her orders.”

“Triumvir, huh?” Alexander said to Isabel. “I bet there’s quite a story behind that one.”

“You have no idea,” Abigail said, rolling her eyes.

Isabel gave her a look but Abigail just shrugged.

“All right then,” Alexander said, “does anyone have any suggestions for killing the hundred thousand or so enemy soldiers holed up in Northport without grinding our army into dust in the process?”

The table fell silent for a moment before Kelvin cleared his throat and sat forward. “I believe that I may have a way, with the assistance of the Sky Knights, to do immeasurable damage to the occupants of Northport.”

Alexander gestured for Kelvin to continue and sat forward to listen.

“As you may recall, there were a number of powerful explosions during the battle at the Gate. Those were the result of a weapon that I created while you were away. The ones used by our forces during that battle were delivered with a very large catapult. I have created several more of much greater power, but they are very heavy and I had to leave them at Blackstone Keep until I could devise an effective means of delivering them into the midst of the enemy.

“If the Sky Knights can drop them into the city, I can detonate them. A dozen of the larger versions would devastate everything within the walls.”

“All right, I like it. But that still leaves the problem of the weather wizard and his lightning,” Alexander said. “I don’t want to send anyone in under that dark cloud of his.”

“We noticed the clouds over the city on our way here,” Bianca said. “They are most unnatural. Am I to assume they’re the result of a spell of some kind?”

“One of the wizards in Northport can control the weather,” Alexander said. “He killed at least a hundred men today with lightning called down from the sky.”

“I see,” Bianca said. “How long does it take him to call lightning from the clouds?”

“Ah, simple solutions are always the best solutions,” Alexander said. “It takes him a good twenty minutes. How heavy are these weapons of yours, Kelvin?”

“Easily the weight of a full-grown bison,” the Guild Mage said.

“That’s no problem for a wyvern,” Isabel said.

Alexander nodded to himself, considering the plan and liking it more and more. “Dad, order the army to withdraw, and make a show about it. Isabel, send a couple of dozen Sky Knights to the flight deck on Blackstone Keep. Kelvin, which one of your wizards knows enough about these things to find them and move them up to the flight deck?”

“Wizard Hax would be the one to speak with,” Kelvin said.

“Good, I’ll send the message,” Alexander said. “They should be ready by the time the Sky Knights arrive.”

Alexander sent his orders into the dreams of a Ranger in the sleep room at Blackstone Keep. With his plan set in motion, he and his family spent the time talking and sharing stories of their past few months. Reports came to them from time to time but the enemy was quiet and seemed content to wait. Alexander was happy to learn that the reinforcements the Regency soldiers were expecting were never going to arrive. Lucky came and went to attend to Anatoly as needed, but he reported that the big man-at-arms was resting and would recover from his wounds.

By midafternoon a report came with news that the wing of Sky Knights had returned from Blackstone Keep with the weapons. Kelvin rode out to the staging area where the wyverns had landed and prepared his magically constructed weapons. The weather wizard had let his spell lapse and the sky had returned to the clear blue of a warm summer afternoon. By the time Kelvin returned to the command tents, the wyverns were just passing overhead, carrying the large, barrel-shaped weapons in their talons.

Alexander stood with his arm around Isabel’s waist, flanked by his family and friends as the Sky Knights released the weapons to fall indiscriminately into the city of Northport. Within moments of their passage over the city, dark clouds began to form overhead. The wing of wyverns circled out from under the conjured clouds and set a course for the staging area behind Alexander’s army.

“I haven’t tested this version of the weapon,” Kelvin said. “I’ll be interested to see just how powerful it actually is.”

The wing of Sky Knights floated overhead and out of harm’s way.

“It’s time,” Alexander said.

Kelvin nodded and set a handful of twelve little pebbles on a nearby table and corralled them into one spot. He raised his hammer and gently brought it down onto the dozen stones, crushing them into powder. Alexander saw the telltale flare of magic as the stones shattered. There was a sudden stillness in the air, followed by a bright flash of light. A fiery cloud of smoke and debris rose from within the walls of Northport. A moment later the sound hit them. It was a stunning shock to hear something so loud. Even thunder didn’t compare with the fury unleashed by the Guild Mage’s enchanted weapons. Everyone stepped back when the shock wave hit them. The ground shook beneath their feet. The plates and cups on the table rattled as a great ball of flaming smoke lifted into the air and formed a massive cloud of destruction over the city.

“I have never in all my life seen such power,” Bianca said with a mixture of awe and fear.

“I know what you mean,” Alexander said. “Well done, Kelvin, but let’s hope we never have to use those things again.”

The Guild Mage nodded somberly.

Here Ends Mindbender

Sovereign of the Seven Isles: Book Three

www.SovereignOfTheSevenIsles.com