Description: Arram finally catches up with Ozorne but even with his divine power he's forgotten something crucial to his victory.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to Tamora Pierce.
Author's Note: Why are mage fights so hard to choreograph? This one took me a while to figure out. I didn't want it to be as fast as the others but that meant I needed to think of ways to counteract Arram's distinct power advantage.
Chapter 16
Arram hovered above the palace grounds, golden-brown eyes searching, certain Ozorne was down there somewhere. There was no way the emperor would have joined the navy down at the docks before breakfast, it just wasn't his way to be awake before dawn. Movement near one of the collapsed slave tunnel exits drew his attention and the mage sharpened his sight. Prince Kaddar exited a tunnel near the menagerie followed closely by Tristan Staghorn. Arram would bet his life that it was one of Ozorne's illusions, but he wouldn't be able to confirm that until he transformed. Tucking in his wings, the mage dove towards the pair, transforming into a man at the last second. He never would have managed the transition so smoothly with his own power.
"Hello old friend," Arram smiled coldly at the fake prince.
"Draper? You did all this?" The illusion dispelled to reveal Ozorne glaring in outrage.
"I can't take all the credit. I had a little help," Arram replied mildly. "I bring a message from the Graveyard Hag: you have ignored and insulted the gods for too long and they won't stand for it anymore. Carthak will fall due to your stupidity and selfishness."
"More sermons, Draper? You make me sick!" Tristan sneered. "You always thought you were better than the rest of us, didn't you? If it weren't magic that no one else could see it was creatures that didn't exist. Now you expect us to believe you're some sort of emissary for the gods?" the blonde mage snorted in derision.
Another tremor shook the land making all three mages stumble for balance.
"Believe what you will but I'm going to stop you," Arram asserted. "Your reign of terror ends here, with me. I won't allow you to turn Tortall into another Siraj."
"Big talk from a puling, gutless bookworm," Tristan scoffed.
"I should have had you put you down when I had the chance," Ozorne scowled. "Slaves, just like animals, are meant to be culled when they don't meet the quality threshold. I blame sentimentality for your current existence. It's such a pity that so much power was wasted on the likes of you. We could have done such great things together, but it is you who failed the empire. You who betrayed me." The emperor turned to Tristan. "Deal with this nuisance while I check on the army and navy."
"Your army no longer exists," Arram smiled, his voice deceptively calm.
"What nonsense are you babbling about now?" Tristan rolled his eyes.
Ozorne's disinterest in his pet dissolved into pure malice. "Kill him!"
Tristan attacked with yellow forked lightning which Arram caught with his right hand, channelling the power through his body. Ozorne took the opportunity to flee while the mages were locked in battle, but Arram couldn't allow that. Muttering a spell under his breath, thorned vines sprang up quickly from the ground to cover the wrought iron gates, tangling through the bars making them impassable. Ozorne whirled to glare spitefully at his pet, sending out his own emerald lightning. Arram caught it with his left hand but, even with divine power running through his veins, the lightning still hurt. Bringing his hands together, Arram shot the combined lightning into the sky with a cry before calling it back down on the pair tenfold. Tristan, instead of countering the spell or shielding, yanked a piece of ornate metal framework to catch the lightning, sending it into the earth. He'd always been the more tactically minded when it came to duelling.
In retaliation Ozorne and Tristan threw their most powerful fire spells at the mage which Arram countered by drawing water from a nearby fountain. Fire and water exploded with a hiss, covering the battlefield in white steam which scalded the skin. Summoning a gust of wind to clear the area, Arram was completely unprepared when Tristan used the steam as cover for his next attack with magma erupting beneath the mage's feet. With only a heartbeat to make a decision or be melted from the feet up, Arram transfigured the molten lava into sand when another quake shook the land causing both mages to fall to their knees.
In the brief respite Arram saw the emperor fleeing towards the river and shot silver forked lighting at him. The lightning passed through the simulacrum in a shower of light as Arram turned just in time to see Tristan and Ozorne attack as one with a swirling inferno of fire. Activating his shield before he was burned to a crisp, Arram let the pair drain off more of their power when a crippling thought hit him. He swallowed hard against the torrent of conflicting emotions when an arrow zipped across the battlefield to strike Tristan directly through the throat, startling all three mages. Arram dropped his shield and turned to see Daine, pure hatred shining in her eyes, notch another arrow to her bow while she advanced. The projectile hit Tristan square in the chest as the blonde mage dropped to his knees coughing up blood. Another arrow pierced the mage through his eye causing Tristan to slump over backwards.
Arram caught Daine's hand when she loaded another arrow. "He's dead. You have your vengeance," he whispered.
It took a long minute for the young woman to register his words before she lowered her bow and met his eyes.
"What are you doing –? Never mind." The mage really didn't care how or why she was here. "Why is it you are so adamant to refuse my help?"
"'Cause I don't need it," Daine retorted. "Not that kind anyway. If you try magicking me away, I'll be truly vexed with you, and I might just stick you with one of these!"
"Where did you get…?" Three hyenas appeared beside the young woman and Arram's temper snapped. "Did you make a deal with Her?"
"No," Daine shook her head making the curls tumble around her face. "They showed up to lead me to you."
The mage hung his head in defeat, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It seems I am to accept your help whether I like it or not."
The young woman smiled brightly up at him. "Where to next?"
Arram suspected even if he dropped her down the deepest crevasse known to man, she'd still find her way back to him somehow. "And you accused me of being stubborn," he muttered. "This way."
Ozorne hadn't stuck around when Daine appeared, blasting the gates off their hinges to enter the Immortals menagerie where the pair found him in front of a griffin's cage.
"It's over, Ozorne. Surrender yourself," the mage demanded.
"Over?" the emperor glanced over at the pair before throwing back his head laughing. "You are a fool if you believe that."
The hyenas snarled and charged at Ozorne, hurling themselves at the emerald shield that sprang up around him while Daine loaded a griffin-fletched arrow to her bow and fired. A cruel smile appeared on the emperor's face, and, with a flick of his wrist, he threw one of the male hyenas into the path of the arrow. The projectile struck, killing the creature instead of its intended target. Wailing with grief, Daine notched another arrow to her bow, tears leaking from her eyes.
Arram placed a restraining hand on her arm. "He'll just force you to kill the other two."
Ozorne dropped his emerald shield shooting fire at the remaining hyenas which Arram deflected quickly with his silver sparkling Gift.
"Call them back," he whispered to Daine. "I'll try to create you an opening so you can shoot Ozorne."
The young woman nodded, slowly sidestepping to put a little distance between them. The emperor smiled triumphantly when the hyenas retreated to stand beside Daine, snarling viciously.
"Give up, old friend. You know you don't stand a chance against my power." Arram called the silver sparkling Gift to his hands preparing to strike.
"Don't I?" Something nasty flickered behind Ozorne's eyes. "You forget your place, my pet. You belong to me, or did you forget this?"
Arram's heart froze in his chest as he stared at the black lock of hair encased within a glass vial. He had hoped, rather foolishly, that the focus had been lost with the destruction of Ozorne's rooms. After eight years of loyal service His Majesty no longer carried the focus on his person, relying entirely on the collar and cuffs to control his pet, or so Arram had thought. His recent actions had caused worse repercussions than he'd thought.
Ozorne grinned spitefully, bringing the vial to his lips while the lock of hair glowed green. "Kill Veralidaine Sarrasri."
The command took instant effect. Arram cried out in defiance as his body turned to face Daine who stared at him, eyes wide, when his hand rose unbidden to shoot a blast of fire in her direction. The young woman rolled out of the way at the last minute coming back to her feet, bow raised, an arrow already notched.
Do it, Aram silently begged her. Please, kill me!
Another blast of fire forced Daine to dive to the floor again as the mage swirled his finger, whipping the fire into a circle to surround the young woman, trapping her and the hyenas inside. She turned to face him, blue-grey eyes pleading, with an arrow aimed at his chest. Arram's mind screamed in protest, but he couldn't refuse a command from a focus no matter how hard he set his will against it. Raising his hand one last time, the mage prepared to obliterate the extraordinary young woman when he felt something cool touch his wrist. The badger's tooth! Arram didn't even think about what he was doing. With all the resistance he could muster the mage drove the tooth into his flesh. White hot pain seared through his veins, burning the command from his mind. When he looked down, Arram saw the tooth dissolve leaving a white scar in its place. Dropping to his knees the mage extinguished the fire with his Gift, sobbing in relief. Hesitating for a moment, Daine approached cautiously with the hyenas yipping and growling at her side.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I cannot refuse him," Arram apologised into his hands.
"What was that? That he used on you?" she asked. Something in her voice made the mage look up to meet her stormy blue-grey eyes.
"It's called a focus." Wiping away the tears, he climbed slowly to his feet. "When the emperor first made me his slave, he took a lock of my hair. With it he can command me to do anything."
It wasn't even midday and Arram already felt utterly hollowed out and exhausted. After everything he'd done, Ozorne still owned him. It was as though the mage wore an invisible collar and cuffs that weighed as heavily upon him as ever. Would he ever be free of the Emperor Mage?
The young woman's eyes hardened as she looked out to where Ozorne was escaping on the back of a griffin. "I can't shoot him that far with this," she looked scornfully at the bow she carried. Arram raised his hand, but Daine snatched at it quickly. "What are you doing? You'll hit the griffin!"
The mage pursed his lips but nodded in agreement. "I must go after him."
Taking a deep breath, he began to shapeshift, sprouting feathers on his arms and head until Daine grabbed his arms furiously and shook him, breaking Arram's concentration.
"Stop being a dolt! You'll get yourself killed!" she yelled.
That really depended on whether he could get the focus away from the emperor before he used it again. Death was the best the mage could hope for in this situation. "He forced me to send thousands of people to their deaths. He forced me to kill you. Let me go, Daine."
"What are you going to do? Claw at him?" The young woman glared incredulously. "My friends stood no chance against mages, unless you can throw magic at him in hawk-shape?"
Arram swallowed hard. She made a very good argument. "I have to uphold my end of the bargain."
"You did your part! Look around. Carthak's in ruins 'cause of you!" Daine held out her arms to emphasise the point. "Ozorne doesn't even have a palace anymore."
Cackling laughter greeted that statement. "I'd listen to the girl if I were you," the Graveyard Hag appeared. "You had your chance, handsome, unless you really are intent on getting yourself killed? Personally, I'd love to see Ozorne taught a lesson for neglecting me."
"Don't encourage him!" the young woman snapped. "Hasn't he done enough for you?"
A strong tremor shook the ground causing the mortals to stagger. Daine's instinctive reaction was to cling to Arram, burying her face into his shirt while the mage held her tight, feeling honoured she still trusted him after all this. When the quake ended, Arram wasn't sure if it was the ground still trembling or the young woman in his arms until he saw the naked terror in her eyes. Releasing her gently, the mage knelt, sending out his silver sparkling Gift deep into the earth to seal the cracks he'd made in the tectonic plate.
"Kaddar cannot rule if Carthak falls into the ocean," Arram smiled up at Daine sheepishly.
The Graveyard Hag approached and grinned. "You did well. It's a shame for the fun to end so soon, but I'll take back what's mine now."
The mage bowed his head, feeling the divine power drain from his body even before the Hag rested her hand on his head.
"Prince Kaddar stands ready with his army to take the city. He won't forget the appropriate worship to the gods," he promised on behalf of His Highness.
"It will not be easy for that young man," the Graveyard Hag stepped back, releasing him. "I hope Kaddar has a long memory if he manages to take the throne. What's left of it," she cackled.
Arram tried to get to his feet and found that his legs no longer worked. Was it him or was the earth spinning?
Daine hovered close to her teacher, worried at how grey he looked after the goddess had removed the silvery magic from him. She'd been wondering why Arram's Gift wasn't its usual colour. Daine wasn't quite ready to deal with what had just happened with the – what had Arram called it? – focus? One moment they were preparing to kill the emperor and the next her new teacher was trying to incinerate her with his magic.
"I shall miss those pretty eyes," the Hag winked at the young woman. "Take good care of him, dearie. He's going to sleep for at least three days."
Daine gaped, looking down at Arram who gave her a tired smile before his eyes rolled back and he passed out on the floor.
Teeu padded over towards the fallen body of Iry, Aranh trailing after his mother while the pair keened.
"Can you do anything for Iry?" she asked the goddess.
"I'll take him with me, and you two," the Graveyard Hag beckoned to Teeu and Aranh with a gnarled finger.
"I'll get revenge for Iry one day," the young woman promised, giving the hyenas one last hug.
Good hunting, pack sister, Teeu yipped as she took her place beside her mistress.
Daine was about to ask the goddess what was to be done about Ozorne but she'd already vanished taking the hyenas with her. Great! How was she supposed to get an unconscious man five inches over six feet back to the harbour?
– You did well, kit. – Badger waddled up to stand beside the young woman.
"I'm not sure I did much of anything," she shrugged. "Arram did all the work destroying this place."
– You stopped him from throwing away his life needlessly. He will be needed in the days ahead – the animal god grunted.
"Who is this Queen of Chaos?" Daine asked crossly. She hated that her mentor had kept something important from her.
– Let your new teacher explain it to you once he wakes. – Badger chuckled, ruffling his fur. – I haven't the time nor the patience for such things. –
The young woman rolled her eyes.
"Oi, stripe face. You're not planning to leave us trapped in here, are you?" a female Stormwing cried nastily from her cage.
– I was considering it, flapper. – the animal god snarled.
"You wouldn't really, would you, Badger?" Daine lowered her voice so the Immortals couldn't hear her. "I've no love of Stormwings, but what about the others? They don't deserve to be caged." The Immortals wouldn't starve like mortal animals, but their conditions were far beyond what any creature deserved.
The badger god puffed out his fur and growled. – Very well. –
He vanished and reappeared beside a griffin cage to breathe on it. The bars rippled before disintegrating into nothing but dust. Going to each cage in turn the badger breathed on it, releasing the occupant trapped inside. The griffins and hurroks immediately took to the air once they were freed while the centaurs and unicorns, peaceful and bloodthirsty, waited for the rest of their herd before they fled in a thunder of hooves. The Coldfangs unnerved Daine as they climbed slowly off their pedestals testing the wind with their long tongues. She'd never been fond of this species since Dunlath. The Spidrens grinned nastily when they were released, rearing on their hind legs to point their spinnerets at the girl.
– None of your nonsense! – Badger growled.
Silver light surrounded the Spidrens before they disappeared in a flash. The animal god appeared beside the Stormwing cage and breathed on the bars, stepping back as a male and female walked forward awkwardly on their claws.
– I'm not doing this for your sake – he snarled at the pair.
"I couldn't care less about your reasons," the female spat. "Where is that motherless worm, Jokhun?"
– The last I knew; he was fighting with Rikash Moonsword for control over your flock. I'd hurry if I were you, Barzha Razorwing. You might be bowing to a new king shortly. –
The female Stormwing screeched in fury and launched herself into the sky, flapping waves of stench everywhere followed closely by her male companion.
"What about the menagerie animals?" Daine remembered with a sharp pang of distress. "They'll die if they're left in their cages."
– The Banjiku already released them by order of your mage, but I will see them returned to their proper homes. – The animal god shifted on his paws. – It's the least I can do for dragging you into this mess. –
"Could you take us to the harbour before you go?" the young woman asked but Badger had already disappeared.
– I will take you. – A deep, amused voice sounded behind her. – You need someone bigger to carry that one. There is so much of him after all. –
Daine tried to stifle a giggle as she turned to see Ernimi plodding up to meet them. Using his silver magic the hippo god floated the mage onto his back, solving the puzzle of how Daine was going to get him up there. The trip down the Zekoi was relatively uneventful. The city was in utter ruins with crumbling buildings everywhere. The people were too intent on digging through the rubble for anyone left alive or searching for anything remaining of their livelihood to notice a girl riding on the back of a giant hippo.
Lindhall's ship was the only one remaining in the harbour when they arrived with the rest having departed for open ocean the moment the quakes started. The captain looked ready to have a fit but between a scarlet dragon and a determined mage, they had refused to allow the ship to leave. Kitten and Zek greeted the young woman excitedly even if the dragonet continued to scold her. Lindhall and two sailors lifted the unconscious Arram off Ernimi's back and carried the mage below deck. Thanking the hippo god, Daine waved goodbye while the ship made ready to leave trying to ignore how many sailors drew the Sign at her. The Banjiku, she learned, were all aboard including their animals who were hiding below. Lindhall returned to join Daine at the railing when the ship left the harbour. She'd never been so relieved to leave a place and that included her home village of Snowsdale.
"What happened to the fleet of ships we saw in the harbour the other night?" Were they already headed to her home?
"Gone," Lindhall muttered darkly. "I'm trying not to think about where they sailed off to."
That destroyed Daine's hope that Arram had sunk them all while she caught the northern mage up on what had happened after she'd left him.
"So, Ozorne got away. That is sad news indeed," Lindhall sighed. "It will make things much harder for Kaddar to take the throne with his uncle still alive. The prince will be branded as a traitor and usurper instead of the saviour of Carthak."
The young woman swallowed. "D'you think the emperor will still invade Tortall? Or will he come back here to clean things up?"
"Who can say," the elderly mage gazed out at the retreating land. "Ozorne might return to put down the rebellion, or he may join his fleet and go to war as he originally planned. The emperor has been increasingly difficult to understand and predict in recent times." The pair fell silent, lost in thought until Lindhall spoke again. "Could I ask a favour of you?"
"O'course. Anything," Daine said earnestly.
The master smiled brightly and beckoned for her to follow him. "It's my animals you see. We had them moved to the ship yesterday and a lot of them are starting to get restless," he explained while they walked down the steps to the bowel of the ship. "I tried to tell them they needed to stay in their travel crates for the voyage, but I fear I didn't explain it very well. They are so used to me getting them out every day for some exercise. I will move them to better enclosures and free the northern birds as soon as the opportunity arises, but I don't like to think of them fretting and worrying themselves sick –"
"Master Lindhall," Daine placed a placating hand on his arm unable to suppress a smile. "I'll explain it to them."
The master opened a door to reveal hundreds of stacked crates chirping and squeaking. He'd saved every single one of his animals! The young woman went to her toes and kissed Lindhall on the cheek before sending out her magic to soothe the frightened animals. She was becoming incredibly fond of the elderly master who shared in her love of animals.