“Yes! Oh, yes!” came a voice beside him. Dakon turned to see Narvelan gazing at the crowd, his eyes bright, almost hungry. He looked at Dakon. “How can we lose now? Even if Takado finds the servants... how could they match what we have here? All these people, begging us to take their power. The king... I never knew he was so good at this.”
“He probably didn’t either,” Dakon pointed out. “It’s not as if he’s had to do it before.”
“No,” Narvelan agreed. “But if it’s the result of good training, I want to hire his teacher.”
Dakon chuckled. Sabin turned to address the magicians, explaining how they were going to organise themselves in order to take power from the crowd. Dakon sobered. They were going to have to work fast, before doubt or impatience dulled the people’s enthusiasm.
And we have no idea how long we have before the Sachakans arrive to finish us off.
The idea of taking power from hundreds of ordinary men and women had discomforted Jayan so much at first, that he had to force himself through every step of the somewhat simplified ritual. The volunteers were nervous at first, but once those behind the first man saw how easy it was, and how he shrugged and grinned as he walked off, they relaxed and began chatting among themselves.
The magicians had spread into a wide line. The crowd hovered, someone stepping forward to face a magician as soon as the previous volunteer moved away. Almost all those who approached Jayan voiced encouragement, urging him to “give the Sachakans some of their own treatment” or “wipe out the lot of them’.
He nodded each time, assuring them he’d do everything he could. He also thanked them. Time passed in a seemingly endless stream of support, reassurance, and taking of strength. Simmering beneath the civility was a sense of urgency. A tension that would have had him looking over his shoulder constantly, if he could have seen outside the city.
The king moved up and down the lines, thanking people and giving encouragement. Jayan saw the families of magicians come to greet them and express their relief that they were alive. He also saw the grief of those who came only to learn that their loved ones had perished. His own father and brother did not appear. He would have been astonished if they had.
As the day wore on a weariness stole over him, and he stopped worrying or pausing to watch these emotional encounters, and fixed his attention on the task of taking power. Face after face appeared and disappeared. He no longer noticed if the arms stretched towards him in offering were dirty or clean, clothed in rags or decked in fine cloth. But then a particular pair of very thin arms made him pause and look twice at the volunteer before him.
A boy no more than nine years old stared back at him. Behind the boy, the volunteers had thinned to a few people, so that he could see through them to where a crowd now lingered around the edges of the square, watching and waiting for the final battle to begin. The dim light of dusk shrouded all. The day had passed. What power the people could offer was nearly all taken. He was thirsty. Mikken had brought him food and water earlier, but the apprentice was no longer near.
Looking at the boy, he shook his head. “You have courage, young one,” he said, smiling. “But we don’t take power from children.”
The boy’s shoulders drooped. He gave a deep, comical sigh. Then he reached into a pocket and thrust his hand at Jayan.
What is this? Is he trying to give me money? Or something else? Something dirty... Pushing aside doubts, Jayan opened his palm. The boy dropped something small and dark into it. He smiled.
“Give you luck.” Then he turned and darted away.
Jayan looked at the object. It was an unglazed square of pottery, chipped at one corner. A hole in the top had been made for a loop of leather or rope, and into the surface had been carved lines to form a stylised insect that he recognised from one of Dakon’s books.
An inava, he thought. I wonder if he knew inavas are found in northern parts of Sachaka? Probably not.
Pocketing it, he looked up and realised that the reason nobody had stepped forward to take the place of the child was that the crowd was now gone. Magicians were striding about, or gathering in groups. Looking around, he located Dakon and Tessia, and began walking towards them, but before he reached them the magician turned and hurried away. Tessia saw him and beckoned.
“The Sachakans have been seen from the palace towers,” she told him. “They’ll be here in an hour or so.” She frowned. “Do you think we’re strong enough to defeat them this time?”
Jayan nodded. “Even if they managed to hunt down all the servants, and people from the villages, that’s only a few hundred people. We’ve just taken the strength of thousands.”
“The healers arrived an hour ago. They said the servants split up and headed in different directions so it would take a lot of time for the Sachakans to track them all down. The healers had their own horses, of course, so they rode straight here.”
He could hear the disgust in her voice.
“It’s unlikely anyone the Sachakans found would need healing,” he pointed out.
“Yes, but there were sick people the healers were tending. I’d have waited until the Sachakans had moved on towards Imardin, then gone back to see if my patients had survived.” Then she flashed a wry smile. “But I have to admit to being selfishly glad to see Kendaria again.”
He smiled. “I expect the two of you will go around trying to heal people tonight. Safely inside the city, I hope.”
Tessia pulled a face at him, then her frown returned. “While you’ll fight the Sachakans for the first time.”
He felt a flash of fear, but pushed it aside. The strength of thousands, he reminded himself. We can’t lose. “At least this time I have something to contribute.”
“You will be careful, won’t you?”
She was staring at him so intently, and the concern in her voice had been so obvious, he found he could not meet her eyes. I can’t hope that this is more than the concern of a friend, he told himself. It is still good that someone cares if I live or die, though, he found himself thinking. I doubt my father and brother do. “Of course,” he told her. “I haven’t spent nearly a decade studying and itching to be independent only to die just after becoming a higher magician.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Good. Just making sure the sudden independence and recent taste of leadership hasn’t gone to your head and given you more silly ideas.”
He looked up at her. “More silly ideas? What—?”
“I’ll be watching you,” she warned him. “Though . . . where do you think the battle will take place? In the city?”
“No,” he replied. Does she mean my guild of magicians idea? “That would put the people in danger, from both our magic and the enemy’s, and rubble from any houses that are struck. We’ll go outside to meet them. What do you mean, sil—?”
“Where do you think the best place to watch would be?”
He felt a pang of concern. She should stay out of sight – out of any danger. But he doubted she would, so he had better think of a safe place to suggest. “Somewhere elevated, so the closer to the palace the better. Avoid houses. You don’t want to be inside a house if a bit of stray magic comes your way.”
“But magic could come my way anyway.”
“If your feet are on the ground, all you’ll need to do is shield. If you’re in a collapsing house you have a bit more to deal with.”
“Ah.” She grinned. “I see what you mean.”
His heart seemed to shiver within his chest. I don’t think I could endure it if she died... He pushed the thought away. “So what did you mean by—?”
A gong rang out, drowning out his words. Tessia turned away. Sighing, Jayan followed her gaze to the cart in the centre of the square. The king had returned and was climbing up onto it. Sabin followed, holding a large striker. A large golden gong hanging within a frame had been placed beside the cart, probably wheeled down from the palace.
Magicians and apprentices shuffled closer. Dakon appeared with Narvelan and the
other leaders. Seeing Jayan and Tessia, he beckoned. Together, they wove through the crowd to his side where, curiously, they found Mikken. The young man grimaced apologetically at Jayan.
“Sorry for disappearing. They recruited me as a messenger,” he murmured.
Dakon leaned closer. “There are more Sachakans,” he told Jayan. “They appeared in the south a few days ago and made their way here.”
Jayan felt his heart sink.
“How many?” he asked.
“About twenty.”
Surely it won’t be enough. Not against the strength of thousands. But then he realised that if Takado thought his army wasn’t a match for the Kyralian army, strengthened by its people, he wouldn’t be attacking again.
Dakon looked at Tessia. “The king has said that if we lose this battle, apprentices should leave Kyralia.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Dakon lifted a hand to stop her.
“The Sachakans will kill you all. Your only chance is to seek safety in other lands. Then, perhaps, you might work towards winning back Kyralia in the future.”
She closed her mouth and nodded. The crowd had quietened now, and everyone turned towards the king.
“People of Kyralia,” Errik began.
As the ruler addressed the crowd, in a speech similar to the one he’d made on arrival, but full of thanks and praise, Jayan’s attention strayed to the small group of Elynes standing nearby. They looked relaxed and unworried. Some of them looked bored, though the leader was watching King Errik with thoughtful attentiveness. Dakon had told him that Ardalen’s method had been no revelation to the Elynes.
I wonder what other magical tricks they’ve known all along that we haven’t yet discovered? Could they be persuaded to share them with us? Perhaps in exchange for being part of a magicians’ guild? He glanced at Tessia. Does she really think it’s silly?
Suddenly everyone was cheering. Jayan joined in.
“Tonight Sachaka will learn to fear the people who once feared them,” the king shouted. “Tonight the Sachakan empire ends for ever!”
More cheers followed. The king jumped down from the cart, Sabin following. As he strode forward, magicians began to follow. Dakon paused to look at Tessia. She patted his arm and shooed at him. Then she looked at Jayan and her eyes narrowed.
“I’ll be watching,” she told him, barely audible over the noise.
Then she hitched an arm in Mikken’s and led him away. Jayan quashed a sudden flare of jealousy and hurried after Dakon as the magicians of Kyralia started towards the edge of the city, and their last chance to defeat Takado and his allies.
CHAPTER 40
Tessia wasn’t able to take Jayan’s advice at first. Once the magicians had passed, the crowd fell in behind and she was carried along with it. Her arm slipped out of Mikken’s and when he looked back at her anxiously she waved to show she was fine. Whenever she could, she resisted moving left towards the river side of the road, and took every opportunity to move right, where the land sloped upwards.
Soon the last of the city buildings slipped by and the crowd was moving past the slum houses and makeshift shelters of the poor and homeless. Tessia finally made it to the edge of the crowd. As she stepped out of the tide of people, she joined a thick wall of spectators. Back towards the city, she noticed a group dressed more finely than the rest, and then her heart skipped a beat as she recognised them.
The healers, she thought. And Kendaria!
Her friend had seen her, and was beckoning. Weaving and dodging between the spectators and the edge of the moving crowd, Tessia made her way back. A few of the healers nodded to her politely, but they said nothing. She saw one lean close to another and whisper something, and they both stared at her with narrowed eyes.
“Apprentice Tessia,” Kendaria said, shouting over the noise. “What is going on? Why are the people leaving the city?”
“Probably to watch the battle,” Tessia shouted back. “Which is not a good idea. They should stay inside. Keep their distance.”
Kendaria grimaced. “Can’t stop people being curious. Where are you planning to watch from?”
Tessia smiled. “Jayan recommended I go up there somewhere.” She pointed uphill. “Near the palace. Can I get there from here?”
“Sure, but you’ll have to cut through the slums. Can I come with you?”
“Of course.” Tessia looked at the other healers. Kendaria glanced at them, then shrugged.
“Don’t worry; they don’t care where I go.” She hitched a hand through Tessia’s arm. “Let’s go.”
The makeshift shelters were a disordered, confusing maze, but Tessia kept heading uphill, keeping a globe of magical light hovering above them. She was surprised to see how many people were here, either unaware or not caring that a battle to decide their future was about to take place close by. Many looked too sick to care. Some were drunk, slouching or staggering about, or asleep. At one point they stepped over a dead man lying across a gap between shelters. She exchanged several looks with Kendaria, each time seeing that the woman was as dismayed as she by what they encountered. Some day I’ll come back here and try to help...
At last the number of shelters began to thin and the slope grew steeper. Twenty or so paces past the last, collapsed shelter, Kendaria turned.
“Do you... think... this will do?” she panted.
They were still nowhere near the palace. Tessia stopped and looked back. “I think it will.”
The slums, road and land before the city spread before them. The crowd had spilled out on either side of the road, stretching from the edge of the river in a widening arc that reached up the slope of the hill, in front of the shelters. Lamps had been set around the entrance to the city. Beyond it was the Kyralian army, now split into groups of seven magicians and moving out to form a line.
Several strides further away was the Sachakan army. It was two-thirds the size of the Kyralian one. To most of the people watching, this would appear to put the advantage firmly on the Kyralian side. But the group of newcomers to the Sachakan army had been making its way, unresisted, through the south of Kyralia, strengthening itself as it came. Who knew how powerful they’d become?
But we have the strength of all these people, she reminded herself. Surely that will be enough.
Lights floated above the two armies, creating two pools of brightness. Two figures moved from the Kyralian side towards the enemy. Tessia recognised them as King Errik and Magician Sabin.
From the opposite side a lone figure stepped forward. She narrowed her eyes, then felt a chill as she recognised Takado. A memory of him leering at her flashed into her mind. Thinking of the harm he had done since that moment, she knew she had been very lucky. Not just to find the magic in herself to push him away, but that he hadn’t been able to risk killing her at that moment.
Oh, but I wish I had killed him, instead of throwing him across the room. I would have hated myself for doing so, not knowing that he planned to invade Kyralia, but it would have saved us so much death and pain.
With the thought came anger and for a moment she imagined herself down there, throwing the final strike at Takado. The one that reduced him to ashes, or shattered all the bones in his body. She shuddered then, repelled by her own imaginings.
How can I think about wounding and killing, when what I most want to do is heal people and save lives? She sighed. I guess I have a bit of the fighter in me after all.
“What do you think they’re saying?” Kendaria asked.
Tessia shrugged. “Pointing out their strengths and the other’s weaknesses? Calling each other names?”
“Swapping threats, I suppose.”
“Yes. That sort of thing. Perhaps inviting the other side to surrender.”
Abruptly a flash of light shot from Takado to King Errik. A moment later the air began to flash and vibrate. A sound like thunder echoed over the hillside, forming a constant rumble as the last boom never quite fell silent before the next. Through the dazzling streaks
of light, Tessia saw Errik and Sabin step calmly backwards, rejoining their group. Tessia recognised Dakon among them.
Suddenly her heart was racing with fear. The apprentices hadn’t witnessed the last two battles, instead keeping safely out of the way. She had been full of impatience and frustration at not knowing what was happening. But now she almost lamented that ignorance. Now, if Dakon or Jayan died, she would see it, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
Jayan! Where is Jayan? She began looking for him.
“The crowd is having second thoughts,” Kendaria observed.
“What? Oh.” Tessia realised that the arc of spectators was retreating hastily, some people tripping over others in their haste to put some distance between themselves and the heat and vibration of magic.
Yet not one strike, stray or deliberate, escaped the battlefield. Were the Kyralians shielding the city? On the other hand, she had not caught any obvious Sachakan attack directed beyond the army.
Destroying commoners and buildings will come later. For now it will be more important to direct all their power towards fighting. It won’t count as a victory if they’ve smashed a few walls but not defeated the army.
“It’s quite spectacular,” Kendaria said quietly. “If it weren’t for the fact that they’re trying to kill each other I’d find it quite pretty.”
Tessia looked at her friend. A flash of light illuminated Kendaria’s face for a moment, showing an expression of awe and sadness.
“Oh... there goes one of the enemy.”
Tessia looked down and searched the enemy line. Sure enough, one Sachakan had fallen. A slave was trying to drag him away. Looking beyond the enemy line, she noticed tiny figures lying in the grass, faces rising now and then to watch the battle.
Their slaves. I wonder if Hanara is among them? Thinking back, she remembered his shy, nervous smile. Did he really betray us, by leaving to tell Takado the village was unprotected? I thought he was happy, or at least relieved to be safe and free. I guess I never really understood him.