Mind Forged: Book One of the Enchanters of Xarparion (30 page)

“
I’m sorry I even mentioned it!” an exasperated Rosa was saying to a very grumpy looking dark elf.

“
Mentioned what?” Nia said, looking up from her notes.

Maya shot me a glare and stalked around me doing a very thorough
inspection, she even paused to sniff me thoroughly. “Mentioned why some lavender-scented, young, blonde human girl was running her hands all over my mate!” she hissed, showing some teeth at the thought.

“
Like wow, Maya, get a grip,” Nia buzzed. “Alera’s a healer for petunias’ sake! Alex was badly hurt!”

My dark elf
’s eyes softened and she laid cool, gentle hands on my shoulders. “I know, Alex, I heard you were in pain, but by the time I raced back to the arena, it was over and you were gone. Hons told me that you looked hurt but were still mobile. He was pretty shaken up and kept apologizing. I think he was far more upset about what happened to you than losing the match.” She took another experimental sniff across the back of my neck. “But whatever she did to you, you better not have enjoyed it!”

“I didn’t,” I blurted honestly, and strategically tried to go for the quick change of subject. “How goes the investigation?”

B
oth women sighed and Maya sat down and dropped her head hard onto the table. “I hate paperwork! Tracking down this betting scam is excruciatingly boring”

Rosa placed a hand on her
shoulder. “I know, sweetie, I know.” She turned her chair to face me. “Well, it’s going ok for now. We know it’s the fire wizard Primus who is trying to open the new school, but we don’t have all the proof we need to have him imprisoned, or even removed from office. But we also know that his chance has passed. Your opponent is a wind user, so even if you lose, he still won’t win anything and; therefore, not have the money to finish it. But I am still concerned about his backer. We looked through everything we could find about the bettors and got nothing. As far as we can tell, there is not one duke or kingdom that has the money to fund him like this.”

“
So we have no idea?”

“
I do have one thought, but I really hope it’s not true. The only one who could fund him is the Lifebane himself.”

Duke Pharmon
, the Lifebane, leader of the undead and all around bad guy, against everything with a heartbeat and a functioning moral sense. Many years ago, he forced many of the magic races: dark elf, troll, orc and the like, to serve him or die. The dark elves were the only ones that he ever feared, but he tricked them into a deal that they still honor to this day.

“
So Duke Pharmon wants his own Xarparion?”

“
We think so, and to make matters worse, his armies are definitely on the move.”

“
How long do we have before they get here?”

She
sighed again. “That’s the thing. If they walk here, we have months. But if they have magical help, they could open a portal and be here tomorrow. That’s why we’re going to do what we can to prepare for the battle.”

Maya
raised her head off the table. “That’s why I am stepping up the guards’ training from now on. But that’s about all we can do without permission from each tower’s Primus and the Headmaster and they won’t believe us anyway.”

Nia was getting
impatient again. “Ok, this can all wait for later. Alex has to get going, and if you’re both going to stay here, I’m going to watch this one in person.”

N
ia and I started to make our way out when Maya got up from the table. “If you two think you’re leaving me behind, think again.”

The three of us left for the arena
. I split off from them and when to the staging area. Once there, I was greeted by my favorite judge with his usual pained expression on his face.

“
Bad news again! Your opponent, for some reason, stepped down. Normally, that would make you the victor, but somehow your opponent disappeared and was replaced before we could confirm that he stood down voluntarily. Now, it seems you’re facing Naton Rad in this match.”

I
smiled, “That’s fine by me. I was hoping to kick his ass again.”

He threw up his ar
ms and started to walk off. “You’re nuts!”

I
entered the ring and, not at all to my surprise, I found Naton there grinning evilly. Thankfully, I was saved from his normal comments by the voice of the Headmaster above us.

“
Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the final match of the tournament! As you all know, this match is between the Fire Tower and the Enchanters Hall. The Fire Tower, the ultimate wielders of destruction, versus the best crafters of our age. This should be an exciting match. And without wasting any more time, I will hand things over to the Fire Tower Primus.

The re
d-robed man stepped forward. “As the enchanter delegation has been voted to act as the challenger in this match and the Fire Tower as the defender, I claim the right to choose the rule! And for this match, I choose a five-wizard team match, of wizards from the same tower. Five fire wizards and five enchanters, but they must not be teachers or other staff.” The spectators remained strangely quiet as the rules sunk in. Shortly thereafter, a number of boos and catcalls started erupting from the crowd.

Well
, crap. There are only six of us even if you count staff. But the ass continued speaking anyway.

“
But seeing that the Enchanters Hall is so small, I will allow you to fight an uneven match. So just find who you can to face us.” Then he laughed manically; yep he’s evil.

Well
, my options were limited. Rosa is a master so she’s out. Maya is staff to them, as are the twins. So that leaves Nia, and last time I checked, she was a student.

I shouted into the stands
. “Nia, get down here!” Using my sight, I could see her expression and it was hilarious. A mix of horror and excitement. She flew down to me and perched herself on my shoulder. I turned back to the red-cloaked Primus. “My team is ready.”

He burst out
laughing again. “That’s your teammate? A pixie? What’s a pixie going to do?”

Nia was
pissed. “Pixies were using magic when your kind was still swinging from trees!” she hissed, barring her sharp teeth.

He
continued to chuckle. “Is that ‘bug’ even a student?”

The
Earth Tower Primus stepped forward. “Yes, she is. And I would recommend that you show some respect. Pixies are not limited to single elemental disciplines as we are, she will be a worthy opponent I think.”

I was
grateful to him; it seems that at least the Earth Tower Primus likes us.

“
Whatever! The pixie can be your ‘team’, but you’re still against five fire wizards. Naton, collect your team!”

Naton
stepped forward. “My team is ready to burn some enchanter butts.” And with that, the other four fire wizards entered the ring. This was going to be fun. The idiot then sneered at me. “I’m going to squash that pixie of yours like a stinkbug!”

Nia stood up on her stand
. “You have no idea how much I have wanted to kick your ass! You don’t threaten my friends and get away with it!”

All
of the fire wizards pointed and laughed at her. “What’s the bug going to do, hit us with pixie dust?”

She was
really mad now. “I’M NOT A BUG! I’M A COMBAT PIXIE!” Saying her keyword activated her stand. The mithrul turned to liquid and quickly ran up her legs and arms hardening as it went. Only ten seconds later, she was in her full combat gear. She unsheathed her twin swords and pointed them at the fire wizards. They insulted her more by doubling over in laughter and pretending to be frightened!

“
Nia, I’ll make a deal with you,” I said quietly, and she looked at me, puzzled. “If you promise not to kill them, I’ll sit this one out.”

I didn
’t have to see her to know she was happy. “Hell yes, Mr. Alex!” She redirected her attention to her prey. I took a seat on the ground and leaned back wearily against a boulder to watch the show; I really was pretty tired.

The second the match started
, a large fireball launched from the tip of her swords impacting one of the still laughing fire wizards. The boys in red had no idea what had just happened; one second there was five of them, and the next four. Her fireball hit with so much force that the guy was propelled so far out of the ring that he hit the wall a hundred feet behind him. All fire wizard robes are spelled to resist fire, but it appeared to my mage sight that Nia put a little something extra into her spell.

“
What the!” one of the goons screamed, doing a double take, but it was too late. Another wizard was hit and was also blasted cart-wheeling out of the ring. Now with only three left, they woke up and finally started to fight. Naton and one of the others started throwing fireballs at Nia but didn’t have a chance of hitting her. The third one opened a summoning circle and brought out a flesh golem, which is basically a reanimated dead body, sewn together. They are pretty strong and dangerous, but not very smart. It struck me that it was an exceedingly odd thing for a fire wizard, considering that flesh golems are normally associated with necromancy. The crowd picked up on it, too, and the booing and cries of outrage intensified. The golem trotted out dragging a large wooden club and headed for my pixie.

Nia just
shot farther up into the air, smiled serenely at the golem, and pointed her swords at it. A blinding green ray shot out of the tip and the golem glowed brightly before becoming a pile of ash. I clapped my hands. “Disintegrate, nice!”

She
displayed a dazzling smile. “Thanks, I love that one too; it’s just never worked right for me before!”

The wizards took notice of that one though
. The one who summoned the golem grabbed Naton and shook him frantically. “It turned my golem to dust! Dust! We need to give up!”

Naton
slapped the kid. “Shut up and use a fire shield. We’re not losing to a pixie and a stupid enchanter!”

He did
as he was ordered and, in a few seconds, a thick wall of fire was now stationed in front of them to block spells. Nia just smiled again and pointed her swords to the sky. Dark, ominous clouds appeared on the horizon streaked with tiger stripes of orange and green wind lines, and settled over the arena. The previous light breeze puffed experimentally a few times and then was hammered by a shrieking gale-force wind, centered and directed at the fire wizards in the middle of the stadium. It didn’t so much start to rain, as a waterfall appeared out of nowhere and gushed sideways into the maelstrom, the blades of wind slashing the water into sharp shards of high velocity projectiles. The fire shield drew back, wavering and bucking almost like a frightened living organism. The resulting collision with the angry maelstrom snuffed it out instantly, revealing the red-robed caster cowering on his knees in the mud with his hands over his head. With a malevolent tearing metal shriek the storm descended on its target and snatched him up like a hawk skewering a mouse. It quickly formed a spiral cloud that spun him so fast that when he vomited, the stream hit him in the back of the head! Finally, the fire boy passed out and the storm seemed to lose interest. It casually tossed its victim into a now wet manure pile outside the ring, before it dissipated leaving only a heavy rain in its wake.

The other
fire wizard had seen enough. He screamed as he ran for his life out of the arena. I didn’t think he would stop until he was under his bed in his room. Fear the pixie!

This left Naton by himself
. He desperately fired off a few more fireballs at Nia. She didn’t even have to dodge; his aim was just that bad. The rain stopped abruptly, and Nia hovered and sheathed her swords. She then cast a minor enchantment which mimicked the loud speaking spell the Headmaster used and addressed the entire crowd.

“
So the all powerful, big, strong, very scary fire wizard Naton wants to see some pixie dust from the poor, helpless little bug does he?” she roared.

Naton
’s eyes grew wide and he redoubled his efforts to throw a cohesive fireball. Nia, meanwhile, went from hover-mode to I-can-barely-see-her mode in less than a blink, as she bore down on him. The sound of a million enraged hornets filled the arena, and the younger spectators dived for cover under their seats.

“
No, stay away!” Naton screamed, waving his hands, slapping himself and ducking down like he was under attack. Nia flashed overhead and at the end of her strafing run, released a huge cloud of sparkling dust that surrounded and coalesced around the fire wizard. Suddenly trapped in a shimmering soap bubble, Naton floated off the ground and rose above the floor of the arena. It was hard to be one hundred percent positive with the pixie dust effect in force, but it appeared Naton was turning a particularly unattractive shade of green inside the bubble.

Panicked that he was now
thirty feet up in the air, the fire wizard tried another approach.

“
Alex, please, call off the pixie! Call off the pixie!”

“
Sorry, Naton,” I called out lazily, “I’m just watching this one. I’m enjoying the show just fine sitting here. Thanks for checking on me though!”