Jake's Quest - Wizards V (17 page)

28.
              
Survival

I did a quick count up in my head. Over seven weeks since I’d last been here. The time had flown by; probably because keeping up with my courses was a full time job and I had to do that if I wanted to stay here. Not that it had done me any good so far. I had not found a trace of the Bomber.

I lifted the huge knocker with a flick of magic and the door opened as before. No public address though, maybe the battery had run down?

[Hello Jake. Have you missed me?]

I walked into the huge cave that made up most of the embassy.

“How could I miss anything your size?”

Fluffy looked offended and wiped at his face with a claw. [I am a svelte dragon, I’ll have you know.]

“One too many sheep if you ask me.” I clasped his neck as best I could and hugged him. I had missed him and now thoughts of wives and children were flooding through me.

“How are they?”

[Your wives are angry with you. They blame you for the state of their pregnancies.]

“But they insisted.” God knows, I wasn’t overly anxious for more kids.

[I should have said;
the lack of progress
in their pregnancies.]

I worked out the dates. They should be three months pregnant, maybe a little more.

“I don’t understand. I can’t make a pregnancy go any faster.”

Fluffy inclined his head and nuzzled against me.

[The problem is that they are stuck at one month pregnant, maybe two. Urda has examined them and found there is no growth. The fetuses are otherwise healthy.]

I had to think about closing my mouth because my jaw had dropped open.

“Merlin and Morgana told me they would stop them.” The self-centered little ragamuffins.

Fluffy shook his head and smoke drifted from his nostril. [You cannot blame your children for this. Your wives are convinced you put a spell on them, probably without even realizing it. They are extremely annoyed.]

I stared at the bracelet on my wrist. I had to get rid of the thing before I ended up divorced in duplicate. Then it occurred to me, Fluffy could hop me home.

“Take me back to Wales.” I slid up and onto his back.

[The Balmack will know. That bracelet does more than stopping you hopping further than you can see. And then your time here will have been wasted.]

I got off him.

“Then why did you come? Did Esmeralda want you to torture me?”

[That is always a possibility,] Fluffy mused, [But I was sent here by Merlin. He is upset that you didn’t take his advice. He is worried there might be consequences.]

“Tell my baby son that he should give clearer advice, because his Daddy didn’t understand it the last time.”

Fluffy laughed and I shielded myself as dragonfire spurted around me. Next time I would choose a unicorn for a friend or maybe a giant turtle. They would be easier on the furnishings and my eyebrows.

[I think Merlin is well aware of your limitations.]

More laughter, more flames.

Anger rose in me and I stomped out of the embassy, leaving my dragon laughing himself silly. I was no cooler as I walked down the wide avenue towards the chain bridge back to the university.

A premonition washed over me like a million feet trampling over my grave and I looked at the furthest tree and hopped to it, magic shields at full.

The blast was enormous and the bubble shield around me was flung into a building with staggering force. The momentum alone would have killed me in days past, but I’ve learned a few things at the university and I dissipated the energy.

I ordered my shield to lift me into the air. A crater cut the wide avenue in two. Trees were uprooted and scattered across the previously immaculate gardens. The Embassy was a heap of rubble.

Fluffy.

I dived down to what remained of the embassy roof. It was almost at ground level. My magical senses showed that Fluffy was buried beneath, protected in part by a large stone beam. Despite that miracle, it looked as though he was dying.

Trying to remove the roof would bring more of it down on Fluffy. I couldn’t hop to him because though I could see him with magical sight that wasn’t the same as seeing him with my eyes. I stared at the bracelet and felt my magic flow through me binding its powers. The multiverse came flooding back and I knew exactly where I was. I was dizzy and disoriented, but I couldn’t afford the time and I suppressed it.

I hopped to Fluffy and touched him. His body was crushed and he couldn’t breathe with so much of the roof pressing down on him. I held onto him and hopped us halfway across the multiverse to the meeting world of the dragons. This is where I had saved Galator and it is where I would save my best friend.

Fluffy is a big dragon and the damage done to him was catastrophic. Most of his internal organs were crushed, many bones were broken and he was only holding on to life by a whisker.

I reshaped his body holding him in position with magic and put his organs back where they belonged. Bones were easy and I started knitting them together. Soft tissue was much more difficult and his stomach sack had been punctured. That was where his dragonfire came from. Free from magical encapsulation, it had burnt much of his abdomen. The only good thing was that he was unconscious and could not feel the pain.

Healing takes a lot of power and I was using most of what I had to keep him alive. Energy flowed out of me at a rate I would have believed impossible. It was a race to heal my dragon before I ran out of power and that was only seconds away.

[
USE THIS
.] Galator’s voice almost knocked me to the ground. I felt a claw touch my leg and power flooded through me. Now we had a chance, Galator was an old and powerful dragon. Fluffy’s bones had healed and most of his arteries were pumping blood, but several of his organs were not regenerating fast enough. It still wasn’t going to be enough.

“For my lover.” A soft voice I never expected to hear told me. Issus placed her hand on my shoulder and for a second or two heavenly choirs sang and the world was at peace. Then I redoubled my efforts to save my friend as her calming influence and massive power flowed into and through me. Time ceased to have meaning and there was only the task.

 
“It is done. Let him go, Jake.”

I slumped onto Fluffy, who was snoring. Little puffs of flames and smoke jetted from his nostrils. Rolling over I found myself looking into angels eyes.

“How strange that the Great Destroyer should also become the multiverse’s greatest healer.”

I wanted to protest, but I was far too tired.

[I WAS THE ONLY DRAGON NEAR ENOUGH TO HELP] Galator said wearily. [THE SEARCH FOR THE KRAKE HAS TAKEN US TO EDGES OF THE MULTIVERSE WE DID NOT KNOW EXISTED.]

Issus stroked my forehead and I heard birds singing.

“I like what you have done to your bracelet.”

I looked at my wrist and saw swirling magic defeating the bracelet’s power. The magic involved looked far too sophisticated to be anything I could manage.

Issus stood and sighed.

“We nearly lost everything today. It is fortunate that Lord Retnor and I are tied in a lover’s bond or I would not have been able to get here in time.”

She looked at me in a most severe fashion.

“You should heed your children in future. But all is not yet lost. Do you remember what I told you the last time we met?”

It was an effort to speak, but to ignore her would be a blasphemy.

“Justice is more important than revenge.”

She smiled and my heart nearly broke.

“There may be hope for you yet, Jake Morrissey.”

Then she drifted into nothingness, with birdsongs echoing around her.

[IF YOU DON’T MIND, I AM GOING TO SLEEP.]

“You do that, Galator. And thank you for helping me save my friend.”

He was asleep before I finished speaking and I quickly joined him, snuggled up against my dragon.

29.
              
Revelation

I woke with a crick in my neck from lying against Fluffy. Fortunately, that kind of thing is not something a wizard has to suffer and a few seconds later I felt great.

I opened my eyes to an extraordinary scene. Massed around us were dragons sleeping head to tail to form a protective circle. As soon as I moved the nearest dragon opened an eye, but said nothing. I stood and addressed him.

“Thank you for protecting us.”

Eyes opened around the circle.

[IT WAS OUR PLEASURE. GALATOR HAS LEFT ON URGENT MATTERS. RETNOR WILL NEED MANY DAYS TO RECOVER. DO YOU WISH US TO GUARD HIM?]

“I’ll take him home. He should be safe there.”

[THEN WE WILL TAKE OUR LEAVE.]

And then they were gone.

Fluffy was snoring and snorting flame. I touched his flank and extended my senses through him. The dragons were right. It would take him time to fully recover as the shock to his system had left his adrenal systems in a mess.

[Did we win?]

I patted him on the neck. “We survived. Sometimes that’s the best we can hope for.”

Fluffy opened his eyes wearily. [Jenny needs you. She suffered when I suffered.]

That link of theirs was more trouble than it was worth.

“I’ll take you home.”

I hopped us to the Bat Cave and Fluffy sent me a thought of pure delight at being home. I’d stock the cave with sheep later.

Hopping home I found Jenny lying on the carpet in the recovery position, a pillow under her head. I knelt beside her and checked her over. She was in shock and I reduced the levels of endorphins in her blood. Jenny smiled and rolled over.

Where was Merlin?
Panic overwhelmed me for a second.

[Safe Daddy. In cot.]

A rush of relief ran through me and it took me a few seconds to realize Merlin had used telepathy.

[Mummy good now.]

It wasn’t a question. I felt the relief in his thoughts.

“Jake, you’re back,” Jenny said sleepily. “Is Retnor safe? There was so much pain.”

“He’s back in the Bat Cave sleeping.”

“I know, but is he
safe
?”

I helped Jenny to her feet and into a chair.

“I think so.”

“Who attacked him?”

Without any warning rage filled me. My legs shook and I found my fists clenching and unclenching.

“It was the Bomber again. I always end up having to save people afterwards.”

Jenny got to her feet unsteadily and hugged me. “This isn’t your fault, Jake.”

I wanted to push her away. It was my fault. It was always my fault and I’d nearly lost my best friend this time.

“I have to feed Merlin, Jake. Did you know he can talk telepathically? He told me he was safe as soon as I woke.”

I smiled at her. “Our son is capable of many things.”

Jenny punched me lightly. “Now don’t start that again. Our son is perfectly normal. Just gifted in a few special ways. Takes after his father.”

We went to the kitchen and I filled the kettle while Jenny prepared Merlin’s breakfast. The ordinariness of it calmed me down. Having Jenny near me after so many weeks away was like bathing in warm water. I wondered how I could get her into bed without Merlin knowing. Maybe he’d go to sleep after he ate?

“You can get those thoughts out of your head,” Jenny said with a smirk. “I have a busy schedule today. Jean and I are taking Merlin and Gwydion to the petting zoo. Your Mother asked us to take the twins, so the car’s going to be full. You could meet us there if you wanted?”

“I have to go back to Balmack.”

Jenny’s face fell. “I thought you’d come home for good.”

“I can visit now. I fixed their bracelet thing.”

Jenny pouted. Then she smiled.

“Wait till I tell Esmeralda you came home to me and then had to go again before you could visit her.”

Had it really got that bad between the two of them?

Jenny was undoing her skirt, which dropped to the floor. God, she has a beautiful body.

“How about a quickie over the washing machine? I’ll stick it on spin cycle. It’ll make her eyes pop when I put it on the list.”

“What?” Despite the insanity of it, I had already lowered my jeans and was standing to attention.

“No washing machines on Salice. She’ll never be able to top this one.”

The next ten minutes were glorious if a little rushed.

I hopped to my apartment on Balmack and nearly collided with Lana who was walking across the room. As we hugged to stop from falling over a glint appeared in her eye.

“You can hop properly again.”

I had to think quickly. “No, I was already in the room. I just wanted to get a hug from you.”

She eyed me suspiciously. “Where have you been? I came to spend the night with you and when you were still gone this morning I was worried. I was just about to contact the university about it.”

“There was a small incident at the Dragon Ambassador’s residence.”

Lana’s mouth fell open and then she punched me playfully in the chest.

“If you call thirty dead a small incident. I was worried that might have something to do with you, but the news report said the Ambassador wasn’t in residence.”

Thirty dead? I dropped that information into the part of my mind I hide things I don’t want to have to think about.

“Did they say what caused it?”

Lana shrugged. “They say a small meteor got past the planet’s defense net.”

“Definitely not a person then?”

Lana’s eyes widened. “Are you saying it could have been a human bomb, like the wizards used on Tandon? Was it aimed at you?”

I ignored the question as I’d just noticed a piece of paper was flashing on the notice board. Balmack didn’t have phones, or television for that matter, but they did have paper that would flash if it had received a new message.

I unpinned the paper from the board and scanned it. It was from Roge Saldor.

‘Dear Wizard Morrissey,

Forgive me for writing to you, but I have discovered something that might be of interest. After your visit to my home I looked up my messages to the student who was sponsored by the Elves. The first thing that drew my attention was his name, which I had written down as Daffith. I seemed to recall you mentioned a similar name when talking about the person you were seeking to contact.

He joined the university a little over three years ago, which is more than ten years after my time there. However the coincidence of name is unsettling. He is approximately the same age as me and is currently undertaking his final year.

He was sponsored by an important elf called Farolan. The name is unfamiliar to me, but the important fact is that he was not sponsored by the Hidden Worlds as I was, but by and individual.

I hope this information is of some use to you. Please convey my kind regards to Lord Retnor and let me know what he thinks of my furniture.

Kind Regards

Roge Saldor’

And just like that it all fell into place. I had been looking for Dafydd assuming he had joined the university fourteen years ago when he left for America and pretended to be at a university there. But I was wrong. He had only come to Balmack a few years ago, sponsored by Farolan at a time when Farolan was under the control of the Krake. There might even have been a deal struck between them, access to the university in exchange for my death.

“Bad news?” Lana asked.

“No. Actually I think it’s good news.”

I would need access to university records for the last three years. Going directly to the Chancellor would be the fastest route. If that didn’t work, I’d contact the President and fill him in.

“Jake, where are you going?”

I was heading for the door. I could have hopped to the Chancellor’s office, but I didn’t want anybody in the Accord to know I was free of the bracelet. Much better to walk, it would give me time to get my thoughts in order.

“Chancellor’s office,” I said before shutting the door on Lana. I was halfway down the corridor when she caught up with me.

“I do not know what is going on, but I am coming with you.”

It was good to have the company.