Michael Foster - She Who Has No Name

‘To what end?’

‘He is absolute evil! That is the only reason he needs. He has already begunpreparing himselffor the task. Have you guessed why you and the woman seemed to lack all presence, Samuel?’ Samuel looked at his hands and, despite the fact that he could no longer see magic, he could sense power shimmering around his skin-something he could never do before. ‘You have lost that blessing and we can sense you now easily enough. As magicians, we can sense other living things. Everything has energy within it. It is the boundary of their selves, where the extent of their life force ends, and what we can feel are the vibrations that occur at the edges of this energy.

‘The boundary of my power is larger than most and,to see it,I must stand in an open space, where the walls do not get in the way, for it is only the edges that give themselves away. I can then see it, shimmering around me like moondust or glitter. Lin had left half of his power to you and half to the girl-a vast reservoir of energy. To see such power,you would need to look to the horizon, or further, out to the edge of this world, towards the stars. You had access to almost limitless supplies of power, the remnants of every soul who has died since the last Age, gathered and awaiting Lin’s return. You were not invisible, Samuel, but hidden at the core of a power that surrounds this very world. Now that power is his. If you had known how to properly harness it, you could have been something akin to gods yourselves. But,as you have found, it takes the experience of a god to wield such power, and you seem to have enough trouble dealing with your own petty woes and worries. Now, I have dallied enough. I must kill you, for I had hoped you would be completely powerless once the demon was born, but it seems you did develop some skill by yourself. I can’t risk you escaping away with that demon. He needs to wait here for his end.’

Cang raised his palm without further ado and Samuel had only that instant to prepare himself. He cast up a shield of spells, but was startled when nothing appeared before him. In the moment it took to remember that he could no longer see his magic, a blast from Cang had him flying onto his back and he screamed with pain upon the stones.

‘Eric!’ he cried.

But Cang kept the other back with a warning glare. ‘Stand back and do not interfere, Master Pot. I have no need of you, either, although I would not readily see you dead. Now I have witnessed your Journey spell,I can cast it for myself. Do not tempt me.’

‘You may not need me, but I can still cause you some grief,’ Eric called out, and summoned a fistful of magic into each palm. He was still on the dais, and he aimed his spells at the stones beneath his feet. ‘Harm Samuel and I will destroy the circle. You may have learnt the Journey spell, but you still need this circle to focus on your destination.’

‘Damn you, boy! Don’t be foolish. I have been to the other temple many times. I don’t need some rocks to find my way.’

‘That may be so,’ Eric responded, ‘but if you have only just learned my spell,then you have had no time to master its details. It is quite tricky, as you can understand. It took me years to perfect. If I were you, I wouldn’t risk burying myself inside a mountain. Even the slightest mistake can be fatal.’

Cang was enraged and the floor around him crackled black as furious magic seethed from within him. ‘Damn you twice, boy! Very well. We will not harm him, but the demon child must stay to meet its fate.’

Meanwhile, Lomar, quiet all this time, crepttowhere Samuel lay upon the floor and helped him to his feet. ‘Ready yourself, Samuel. I will save the child and its mother, but you and Eric will need to distract Cang and Balten while I get them away. When I call to you, do whatever you can. If I can get them to the dais, we can escape. Then, I will return for you.’

Samuel nodded and Lomar backed away, bound for the birthing room.

‘You’d better take care, Cang, or you will find yourself stranded here beneath your star,’ Samuel called and Cang again spun round to face him.

The knotty magician made a cruel smile. ‘Then so be it. I was hoping to escape and help the survivors of this mess to recover, but if you insist that we all need to die, then so be it-but whatever happens, I will not allow the demon to leave this valley.’

Lomar then came stepping out of the side room. He had his cloak bundled up andhemoved stealthily, but Cang immediately turned towards him and knew what was happening at once. He seemed to have eyes in the back of his head.

‘What are you doing, Lomar, you insolent fool! Put the child back with its mother!’ he roared and that was when Samuel struck.

He knew he had little power left, but he had not spent the last few minutes being idle. He had spent his time crafting a subtle Sapping spell. Blindly and numbly he had acted, fumbling with magic by feel and from memory, when normally he could have cast such a spell in an instant. He had enshrouded the thing within the best concealment spells he had learned from Grand Master Tudor and across the floor he sent it. He attached it to the leg of Cang and it began nibbling cautiously at his power.

The stream of power that came back into Samuel revitalised him. He took a few refreshing gulps and then he sent out a blast of magic towards the leader of the Circle. The spell struck Cang without effect, for the cunning magician ever had his defences in place. He took the blow without flinching and, turning from Lomar, he sent a spell of his own back that evaporated Samuel’s hastily crafted barriers in a single swipe.

At this, Balten seemed to lurch into life and came forward to assist his master, but Eric in turn struck out against him, sending a spell into the man’s back that made him spin around with a grimace. The two fought, trading spells that whistled and roared, but Balten had to take care not to damage the circle. Eric, however, was under no such limitation.

Samuel opened his Sapping spell further, for the thing had rooted itself deeply within Cang and had a tight grip. He started gulping at the power and only then did Cang realise what was happening.

‘Damn you all thrice!’ he howled and struggled to disrupt the spell, stamping his legs and blasting at the elusive magic with magic of his own.

Samuel took the chance to send more spells hurtling at the old magician, using the wiry man’s own power against him, and Cang howled in rage as he deflected the blows with one hand.

A shadow caught Samuel’s eye and he was relieved to see that Lomar had finally gained his place beside Eric, with the child moving about inside his robe. It was Master Celioswhogave him away, for he came running up behind Lomar laughing and clapping.

‘The King is here! The King is here!’ he cried, like a buffoon and,in response, Lomar acted. He twirled about like a tornado, once in full circle and with the deftness of an acrobat. Something had glinted in his hand amongst the blur of flying black cloth and Celios froze on the spot, clutching at the red line across his throat.

‘What in blazes are you doing? You fool!’ Cang called aloud.

Lomar’s hand then reached Eric and he gripped on and hugged close. Eric looked as surprised as Samuel at the deftness and ferocity at which Lomar had dispatched of Celios, for the seer had been more of a pest than a threat. Still, Eric’s spell hadanticipatedthe plan, and his second Journey spell snapped out around the both of them and they were gone.

Cang stood wide-eyed with disbelief. The room was quiet, with smoke rising from scorched pieces of stone where spells had landed astray. Only Master Celios’ gurgling and final coughs of blood broke the silence, until he, too, was quiet, lying still on the floor.