Broken by Magic: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Dragon Gate Book 3), page 14
Had she been asking him those questions, he might have blurted out answers.
“Tell me why you want that information,” Yidar said, flying closer to her, his eyes locked with hers, “and perhaps I’ll share it. Are you planning an attack? Another attempt to take the portal from us?”
Yidar also exuded power, and Sorath felt the urge to answer his questions too. Next to him, Sasko mouthed words, as if she were on the verge of blurting answers. Her eyes were fixed on the two magic users, unblinking.
Sorath lifted a hand to block her view. It took her a few seconds to blink and focus on him. When she realized she’d been responding to their magical compulsion, she closed her mouth and nodded to him.
“What if we were?” Kywatha asked. “Do you care about the portal, or are you simply following your ruler’s orders, because that is your duty?”
“That is why I follow his orders, yes. The portal means little to me.”
“Oh? If it disappeared, you would not care?”
“I would not. But if that is what you plan, others would fight you. Many others.”
“We know this. We are powerful but few. To act against such a large conglomeration of mages would be unwise, and yet you have invaded our land and brought this danger to life once again. The people of Zewnath live in fear. The memories of our ancestors have not been forgotten.”
Yidar waved a dismissive hand, and Sorath highly doubted he cared about what the locals feared.
“If I could help you get rid of it,” Yidar said, “would your people assist me?”
She squinted at him. “In what way?”
“I seek to conquer a land of my own.”
“In one of the worlds accessible through the portal?”
“No. I do not want to rule some forsaken predator-filled hell devoid of people. I want subjects who would make my kingdom great. I wish a land here.”
“Few lands are unclaimed in this world.” Kywatha’s squint deepened. “We would strike down anyone who attempted to impose rule over ours.”
“I am aware of that, and this land is too remote for my interests. You have nothing to fear from me.”
She scoffed. “We would not fear you, regardless.”
Yidar’s chin rose. “I am zidarr and highly trained. You would be wise to respect my power.”
“You are one man, and I am not alone.”
The cat growled, though the way Kywatha glanced toward the trees made Sorath think she might have druid allies out there. Camouflaged in the same way that he and Sasko were?
“I am the equal of many men.” Yidar flew closer to her, his chest puffed out.
He did ooze power, and Sorath wouldn’t want to tangle with him—he well remembered his failure to best Stone Heart—but Kywatha gazed back, not intimidated.
“Tell me about the fleets and if there are tensions between them that might be exploited,” she said, her voice again full of compulsion.
But it didn’t work on Yidar. He only smiled. “Tell your leader that I’ll consider helping you with your problem if you help me with mine.”
“What makes you think I’m not the leader of my clan?”
“Because you were chosen for your looks and to wiggle your boobs at me.”
Indignation flared in her green eyes. Sorath couldn’t tell if it was because Yidar was wrong or simply if he was offensive.
“I’m not unappreciative of those assets, but they will not sway me.” He reached out and patted her cheek, the gesture far more condescending than flirtatious.
The jaguar growled and stalked up to Kywatha’s side, jaws parting to show fangs.
Too arrogant to see either of them as a threat, Yidar only chuckled and gave a final cheek pat. “Make my offer to your leader, and tell him to speak with me directly next time.”
Sorath rolled his eyes, wishing Kywatha would strike him down using some superior druid power. With her eyes narrowed and still blazing with indignation, she seemed to be considering it. And the feline seemed to be considering how delicious zidarr organs would be to nosh on.
But she didn’t strike out at him. Sadly, Yidar probably was more powerful than she. The kings only chose the best to train as zidarr.
Kywatha stepped back from him, and the jaguar shifted protectively in front of her, growling again as it eyed Yidar’s crotch.
“I will discuss your offer with my people,” she said stiffly.
“Excellent.” Yidar pulled a green oval out of his pocket, one that matched the one on the ground. “I will be available when you have news, but don’t contact me unless it’s important.”
He spun his skyboard to fly off without waiting for confirmation. Sorath held his breath as Yidar neared their hiding spot. Even though Vinjo’s device had been working thus far, Sorath remembered that Vinjo had grown visible to him when he’d been within a few feet. Sorath crouched, preparing to spring aside.
But Yidar veered around their trees instead of flying through them and sped back toward the pool, gaining in elevation to return to his ship.
Kywatha said something in her language that sounded like a curse—or a comment on what an ass Yidar was—and glared after him for a long moment before picking up the green device from the ground. The light disappeared as she slipped it into a pouch at her waist and padded off in the opposite direction with the jaguar trailing her.
Sorath waited for several minutes before stirring.
“I was so hoping that cat was going to bite him in the balls,” Sasko whispered.
Sorath wouldn’t have minded seeing that either, but he said, “I’m sure Uthari will bestow a far greater punishment on him when we tell him his zidarr was chatting with a druid about establishing his own kingdom.”
“Far greater than having his balls chewed off by a jaguar? Are you sure? That sounds unpleasant.”
“True. Maybe we can suggest it as punishment when we report.”
“As long as you’re sure we won’t get in trouble for this,” Sasko said. “We won’t, right?”
“With Uthari? I doubt it. But if Yidar only gets a slap on the wrist while finding out we ratted him out… that could be problematic.”
“You better start sleeping with that thing.” Sasko had released him, and she pointed at Vinjo’s device.
“If we can get Vinjo released and working for us, he might be able to make enough so that we could all sleep with one.”
“Why would Uthari let him go to do that? He’s Zaruk’s mage.”
“I’m hoping he can become our mage.” Sorath touched his chest.
“I didn’t know you were in the market for mages.”
“Mages that create devices that can help mercenaries avoid being detected and attacked by those with magical power? Oh, yes. I’m in the market for one of those.”
“To what end?”
Sorath blew out a slow breath. “Let’s not think about that right now. We’ll just see if we can save Vinjo from torture and death first.”
“He should be grateful to you if you do that.”
“So I hope.”
Chaos broke out so quickly that Tezi almost dropped her axe. She’d been leaning on it during the long exchange with the locals, until the man who’d identified himself as Ambassador Rajesk whirled and launched a magical attack at Jak and Malek.
Malek must have been ready, for the blast of power didn’t stir his hair through his defenses, and somehow he protected Jak and the hatchling, but it caught Tinder and Fret. They flew backward twenty feet and hit a wall with painful thuds.
Tezi had been standing apart with Jadora, and the attack only glanced off her side, but she still stumbled and fumbled the axe. But she recovered quickly, hefted it, and sprang toward the ambassador.
A barrier kept her from reaching him, but Malek drew his sword and main-gauche and sliced through the invisible obstacle. The ambassador leaped back with a curse. Malek might have struck him, but the other men, who’d seemed simple advisors, surged at Malek from the sides. From somewhere within their tunics, they produced short swords, and he was forced to deal with them.
The curtains at the entryway were thrust aside, and four more armed men rushed in. Tinder had recovered enough to shoot at one as Fret scrambled behind a chair in a corner, her medical kit clutched to her chest. Tinder’s magelock blast ricocheted off a barrier. Here, even the armed guards were mages.
One of the newcomers leaped for Tinder and Fret, but Rivlen sprang into his path. Their blades met, and power flew around the room, making the floor and walls shake.
As the ambassador’s allies battled Malek, Jak scrambled to protect the hatchling and stay out of the way. Two of the men who’d charged through the curtain rushed toward Tezi and Jadora. Tinder fired again and again, trying to halt their progress, but they didn’t glance back. They were confident their barriers would protect them.
Tezi growled and hefted her battle-axe. It had killed a giant magical worm; it ought to be able to slice through a mage’s barrier. It had to. She wouldn’t let these men kill Jadora.
The two mages seemed startled when Tezi lunged in to confront them. She swung the battle-axe straight at the lead man’s face. He spotted the blade, maybe realized it was dragon steel, and dodged away as it cleaved through his barrier. The magic popped like a pricked soap bubble.
His comrade stabbed a short sword at Tezi’s chest as the other man lifted his hand. She anticipated a magical attack that would hurl her back, but all she could focus on was holding her ground and parrying the sword. If she dodged out of the way, the men would be able to reach Jadora.
Axe struck sword, her dragon steel meeting normal steel. It not only blocked the blow but cut the lesser blade in half. The man cursed and sprang back, hurling power at her. Both guards were throwing power around, and a chair beside her upturned, flying into the wall. For some reason, the power didn’t strike Tezi.
Was the axe protecting her from it? It had to be.
Aware of men flying into walls to her side—Malek’s work—Tezi slashed at the two closest to her with her axe, trying to drive them back. She feared the repercussions of killing them in the middle of their own city, but she had to defend herself and her friends.
Knock them out if you can, she thought to her axe, remembering Jak’s suggestion that she try to communicate with it.
To her surprise, both men flew back, struck a wall, and crumpled. They didn’t rise. She had no idea if the axe had been responsible or if Malek or Rivlen had launched an attack from across the room.
Unfortunately, another guard rushed in, this man armed with a blue-black sword the same color as Tezi’s axe. He must have thrown a magical attack at her, for another chair behind her went flying. Thinking her distracted, he sprang in and sliced his sword toward her head.
Tezi swept her axe up, thankful it was far lighter than it looked. She parried his blade, but he was already attacking again, raining a combination of blows toward her head and chest. Lightning erupted from his sword and shot at her.
She leaped back, envisioning being electrocuted. But her axe pulsed blue, and the lightning disappeared before it touched her.
That didn’t keep her foe from continuing to attack, his blade slashing toward her with daunting speed, and she couldn’t help but back away. Aware of the wall and Jadora behind her, Tezi again tried to hold her ground. She couldn’t let herself be pinned in a corner.
As she parried another blow and tried to lunge in fast enough for an effective counterattack, Jadora threw a vial at the man’s face. It struck his cheek, spattering something, and startled him. It only distracted him for a second, but it was long enough for Tezi to land her blow. The axe sliced through his tunic and bit into muscle.
He roared in pain and staggered back, clawing at his face instead of his chest. He kept his sword up and pointed at Tezi, but he was too busy trying to wipe off the acid, or whatever Jadora had thrown, to attack Tezi again.
A cacophony of weapons clashing rang out from the side, Malek fighting two men as he kept glancing at the ambassador, who stared at him with a hand outstretched, fingers splayed, as if they were locked in a mental battle even as Malek used his blades against other foes.
Rivlen drove her sword into the belly of the guard she’d been attacking, and he pitched to the floor. She whirled to try to get over to help Malek, but someone threw a dagger at her. Her barrier was up, and it struck a foot from her face and clanked off. A magical attack followed right after it and slipped through her defenses—or tore them away? Rivlen staggered back, fighting it but being pushed as if by a hurricane gale.
Jak crouched by the wall, trying to protect the hatchling, who was intent on climbing out of his sling and up to his shoulder. He spotted Rivlen in trouble. The man attacking her had her pinned against the wall with magic and was striding toward her with a dragon-steel dagger in hand.
Jak yanked out his pistol and fired at the man. It didn’t hurt the mage, but it distracted him enough for Rivlen to push away from the wall and heft her sword to challenge him. He paused, but he didn’t appear worried. He attacked her again as she sprang at him. Tezi couldn’t sense their magic, but their faces were twisted in concentration and pain, and she knew they fought with more than blades.
The guard Jadora had struck with acid recovered enough to raise his sword and come at Tezi again. She swept her axe up, deflecting a blow, and tried to knock his weapon out of his hands. What if more guards were on the way? How could she put an end to this?
A thunderous boom came from the doorway—one of Tinder’s grenades going off.
Tezi glanced in time to see two more men who’d been about to charge in to help stagger back into the corridor. Stone tumbled down from the door arch, crashing to the floor and hurling dust into the air. It wasn’t enough rubble to fill the doorway and block others from coming, and shouts and sandals slapping on the floor sounded in the corridor. Reinforcements.
“Stop!” Malek ordered, such power infusing the word that Tezi found that she couldn’t move.
Everyone halted, each fight pausing. Malek had downed one of the mages and grabbed the ambassador, securing him from behind and putting his main-gauche to his throat.
“Attack us further, and I will kill him,” Malek said, speaking telepathically as well as out loud, though the remaining men in the room surely didn’t need a translation. “We came in peace to offer trade, not to start a fight.”
The hatchling squawked and jumped up and down from a new perch he’d attained—the top of Jak’s head. The little dragon’s wings flapped, as if he wanted to fly somewhere, but they weren’t capable of that yet.
The ambassador smiled and spread his arms slowly, careful not to alarm Malek. We surrender. Forgive me, visitors. It was a test. That is all.
“A test?” Jadora clutched another vial and looked like she wanted to pour it down his throat.
Yes, yes. To see if you are worthy. I cannot bother the etchers with requests from every foreigner who wanders into our city. They are very busy. The four etchers rule our entire world. They don’t have time to speak with weaklings without power.
“How unfortunate,” Jadora muttered.
Jak plucked the hatchling off his head and tried to slide him back into his sling.
The ambassador licked his lips and looked at him. Call off your bodyguard, Favored Traveler. You have passed the test. I will arrange rooms for you and take your offer of trade to the etchers.
“Order all of your people to drop their weapons,” Jak said.
Rajesk hesitated.
Malek tightened his grip, and a bead of blood dribbled from a cut in the man’s neck.
Rajesk forced another smile. Yes, yes. Everyone lower your weapons. They have passed the test. We will attack them no more.
His people grumbled words Tezi couldn’t understand, but they set their blades on the floor.
Servants are on the way, the ambassador said. Rooms are being prepared. You will enjoy our hospitality while I seek an audience with the etchers on your behalf. It is my honor to serve. Favored Traveler, have your bodyguard release me, yes? I am your host, and you have my word, I will not attack you again today.
Today? Would he be at them with swords and magic again in the morning?
Malek and Jak held gazes, some telepathic words passing between them.
After a long moment, Malek lowered his blade and released Rajesk, who grimaced and wiped the blood from his neck.
Malek watched him warily, and Tezi had no doubt that his magical defenses remained up. Malek glanced at Jadora and must have telepathically asked if she was all right, for she nodded.
As Jak joined his mother, squeezing her shoulder and whispering something to her, Tezi made her way to Tinder and Fret to check on them. She had to step over large stones that had fallen, thanks to the grenade.
Like Malek, Tezi kept an eye on Rajesk, certain he was lying about the attack being a test and that they all would have been killed if they’d failed to gain the upper hand. He’d been staring covetously at Jak’s hatchling the whole time they’d been talking. She feared Rajesk would only try again to kill them, so he could take the little dragon for himself.
Tinder clapped her on the shoulder. “You all right, Rookie?”
“Yes. Are you two?”
“A mage threw me into a wall,” Fret said. “Tomorrow, my back will be swollen to twice its normal size and bruised darker than blackberry jam.”
“Don’t you have a cream for that?” Tinder asked.
“I’m not sure. I landed on my medical kit. My creams may be swollen and bruised too.” Fret grimaced and held up her kit. “I heard something break.”
“It’ll be fine.” Tinder gave her a gentler pat on the shoulder. “Later, I’ll rub your back with whatever isn’t broken and oozing all over the place.”
Rivlen didn’t complain of bruises, but she rubbed her own back gingerly. Blood trickled from a cut in her arm.
The promised servants clambered in, saying nothing about the rubble all over the floor and the half-collapsed archway. They bowed to the ambassador, then to Jak, and waved for the group to follow them.
