David Coe - Spell Blind

“I do not know,” Namid said. “Several, I would think. Perhaps more.”

I frowned. Several. One to heal himself, one to ward himself from whatever assailing spell I managed to throw at him, and one to kill me. Not the answer I’d been hoping to hear.

“Then how do I beat him?” I asked.

“I am not certain you can. That is what I have been trying to tell you.”

“There’s got to be some way, Namid. The guy isn’t invincible.”

“No, he is not.”

“How would you defeat him?”

“I would take hold of his magic to keep him from assailing me, and then I would reach into his mind and crush his will.”

I shuddered. I’d known for a long time that Namid possessed powers I could barely understand. But in that moment, for the first time, it occurred to me to imagine what it might be like to have the runemyste as an enemy rather than as a teacher and guardian.

“I’m not sure I can do any of that,” I said, my tone dry.

Namid smiled. “I would be surprised if you could.”

“Where can I find him?”

The runemyste shook his head. “You should not try.”

“Where, Namid?”

“I do not believe I should help you in this endeavor.”

I stared at him, thinking it through. “You won’t have to,” I said after a few moments. “He’ll find me. As soon as I’m exposed, he’ll make the attempt. Normally he’d wait until nightfall, for the phasing to start again, but he knows that you’ll protect me then.”

“I can protect you now, as well.”

“So you’re going to follow me around all day?” I demanded.

“I have no interest in spending every moment with you, but I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself to Cahors. It is a senseless act, a waste of your life.”

“How do you know I can’t beat him?” I asked. “How do you know I’m not supposed to?”

“I have touched his magic. And I have trained you. I believe I know the extent of his power and yours.”

“All right, then tell me this: why does he want to kill me?”

“You are a threat to him.”

I opened my hands, as if to say, “See?”

He scowled at me.

“Don’t blame me,” I said. “Your words, not mine. I’m a threat to him. He wants me dead because I know who and what he is, because I have you as my friend, and because I’m a weremyste with a weapon. I can defeat him. But I need you to tell me how to do it.”

“And I am telling you, I do not know.”

We looked at each other for some time, his pale glowing eyes boring into mine. “You have to let me do this, Namid. Unless you intend to do it yourself.”

“You know that I cannot.”

“And you know that I can’t let him kill again. Not now, knowing what I do.”

His waters roughened and for a second I thought he’d grown angry with me. “Yes, all right,” he said, sounding more concerned than mad. “You are right. Once you leave here, and once I stop protecting you, he will find you quickly. Your one hope may be that he will not expect you to fight him. He may be weaker now, more vulnerable, but he still thinks of himself as a runemyste. That could be his undoing.” He faltered once more before adding, “And you are more powerful than you know. Like your father was. With great power comes great risk. I did not know how strong Leander Fearsson was until it was too late. The training I gave him was not sufficient to save his mind. I have been more cautious with you. As a result, your mind remains strong, but you are not as skilled as you could be. I wish now that I had taught you more. It would have made this day easier for you. Still, you are strong, Ohanko. I believe Cahors knows this. It may be that you can defeat him. As I told Cahors, that has not yet been scried.”

“Is that why you saved my life?” I asked. “Because of my dad?”

“I saved you because you can do much good in your world. And yes, because I failed your father. He could have done much good as well. Together, the two of you might have defeated Cahors long ago.”

I gaped at him, struck dumb by what he had said. I tried to imagine being on the force with my dad, both of us whole, both of us wielding magic. But the very notion was so far from reality, so far from the life I had known, that no image came to me.

“I have to call Kona,” I said, my voice low. “Don’t leave yet. I don’t want him coming at me before I’m ready.”

“Of course.” He lowered himself to the floor again and a moment later was as still as an ice sculpture.

I took the phone back into my bedroom and dialed Kona’s number.

Margarite answered and I went through enough of the niceties so that I wouldn’t sound rude when I asked for Kona. I love Margarite, but at that moment I didn’t feel much like chatting.

“You survived,” Kona said when she picked up.

“Barely.”

“That bad, eh?”

“As phasings go it was all right. But Red showed up. If it wasn’t for Namid I’d be dead.”

“Damn, Justis! This guy has it in for you, doesn’t he?”

“So it seems.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What I have to,” I said. “I’m leaving the house, going somewhere I know he’ll find me. And when he does, I’m going to do my best to kill him. Before I do that, though, I need my weapon.”

Kona took a long time to answer, and when she did it was in a tone I knew all too well. “And what does Namid think of this idea?”

“He thinks I’m throwing my life away for nothing.”

“That sounds about right,” she said.

“What should I do instead? He’s coming after me anyway, and Namid can’t protect me forever.”

“I don’t know. Leave town. Get away from here.”

“Is that what you’d do?” I asked.

She didn’t answer.

“This isn’t a guy you run away from,” I said. “He can find me anywhere I go. Distance and time don’t mean much to him. And besides, if I leave, he’ll kill again. Guaranteed.”

“He will if you’re dead, too. And the rest of us won’t stand a chance of stopping him.”

“I’m stronger right now than I’ll be any other time for the next four weeks. This is my best chance.”

“Uh-huh,” she said. It was amazing how much sarcasm she could pack into two syllables.

“I’m coming over now. I need my Glock.”

“What if I don’t give it to you?”

“Then I’ll have less of a chance of killing him, won’t I?”

“It doesn’t sound like you have a much of a chance now!”

“Thanks for the pep talk. Between you and Namid I’m brimming with confidence.”

“This is a mistake, Justis. It’s suicide and I won’t-”

“I’m coming over now,” I said, raising my voice, which I almost never did with Kona. “I’ll expect you to hand over my weapon when I get there!”

I hung up before she could say more. For a minute or two I stood in the middle of my bedroom, staring at the phone, wondering if she would call back, and not certain whether or not I wanted her to. At last, I tossed it onto my bed, changed my clothes, and headed out into the living room.

“Your friend tried to dissuade you,” Namid said from where he still sat on my floor.

“Yeah,” I said. “She didn’t have any more luck than you did.”

“The magic he used on you two nights ago is rudimentary for my kind, though quite effective. A simple shield warding will not work, nor will deflection or reflection. But if you can shield your heart, that might protect you.”

I gazed back at him, not bothering to hide my surprise. “Are you trying to help me with this?”

“Of course I am. As I have told you before, if you die it will put to waste all the time I have spent trying to teach you.”

“I can use a shielding spell against that magic?”