The Way of the Sword and Gun (3 page)

Salia seemed placated but wary. Owl felt the same. He'd been Chief Master's pupil for so long, had spent so many years seeing the man display the strongest spirit, that it seemed bizarre to watch him behave as an inferior. Chief Master had said this was politics, but just in the opening words, Owl found the whole thing confusing. Who had the real power? The old man who showed weakness or the grand Queen who showed arrogance?

"You are wasting this audience," Salia said.

Chief Master bent over unnecessarily — Owl knew the old man could stand firm and strong — which made him appear smaller. "My apologies. And thank you for meeting us without all the pageantry and soldiers."

"I have no fear of you."

"Nor should you. But it is a great sign of your trust, and we acknowledge it. Though you requested this meeting, I am most grateful for the opportunity. I come on behalf of the Order of Kryssta for I see great potential in an alliance between us."

"A bunch of magicians?"

"The best magicians. We have devoted our lives to the study of magic and a resurrection of the wonderful benefits magic once brought this world."

Salia's face darkened. "Like the Devastation. Meddling with powers you didn't understand took everything away, destroyed all the cities, killed off nearly all the life. My own scientists have calculated that the Devastation probably left our species with maybe a million people. On the entire planet."

"And we feel the full gravity of those events every day. We understand why so many fear us. But generations have passed since those days. And, if properly trained both in magic and in Kryssta, there is no reason for magicians to lose their way ever again. We once powered the world with buildings that flew and vehicles that moved on their own. We brought light into homes and created ways for people to communicate over vast distances in an instant. With your help, we can do this again. Safely. Carefully. And you, as Queen, will have the most control over this power."

"And in return?"

Chief Master stepped closer to Salia, his back straightening just a bit. "We wish to be allowed to cross the Great Field and find a safe haven in Salia City. My magicians can provide for the people, but we will not become slaves nor will we allow persecution."

"Interesting word." Salia stepped in front of Owl, moving in precise, stiff motions. She looked him over and said, "Tell me, Guard Dog, what does he teach you of persecution?"

Owl looked to Chief Master, but there was no way to receive any instructions other than a nod. "I-I know that fear can make people do many things they wouldn't do otherwise."

Raising her eyebrows, Salia said, "Let me take Chief Master's place for just a moment and educate you." She pushed close against Owl's side. She smelled of flowers — he didn't know the names — and that delicate aroma made her words more threatening. "When the Devastation came," she said, "the world fell into anarchy, chaos. Many lands, like those in the South, were sparse to begin with which made it easier for them to survive on their own terms. In Penmarvia, however, we lived in densely-packed cities. Even after the Devastation struck, even after so many millions upon millions died, there were still too many to get along easily."

Trying to sound understanding, Owl said, "I know my history."

"Do you? Did the Order teach you how they formed to protect themselves from the backlash against magic, and then, when they thought it safe, they descended upon the city and carved it up between them? Each Order magician claimed a section, and each magician answered to nobody. Isn't that right, Chief Master?"

"That was a different time," Chief Master said. "Long before any of us was even a glimmer of thought."

"The problem with you magicians is that you
never
bother with those glimmers, never think about tomorrow. You just satisfy your immediate desires, and you're never satisfied."

"That's enough," Chief Master said, and though his voice remained steady, Owl saw the flash of fire in his eyes.

Salia matched it with her own fury. "You and your kind's insatiable desires created war upon war within the blocks of my city. I don't care how long ago it began. It was still going on when I grew up. It was the world I lived in."

Through a forced, placating expression, Chief Master said, "You changed all that. You rallied the people, defeated those misguided magicians . . . and disposed of them. You brought Salia City into prosperity. It is the reason you are called Queen. In recognition, we retreated to the other side of the Great Field and built the Order compound. Please. I have spent my life educating my students about peace. We are ready to work for your people as equals."

Salia crossed her arms. "Strange how you've chosen now to come before me."

"How so?"

"When I first became Queen I offered to discuss terms between our kinds so that we could live peacefully. I was rejected."

"That was a different time, and I wasn't Chief Master then."

Salia raised her index finger. "I think you are here today because you know I have recruited my own magicians and use them like dogs on the outlying towns, helping me bring more people into my fold. You're here because you know that when I finish with these magicians, they'll be executed. And I think you suspect my army is closing in on the Order compound."

"Please, listen. We have much to offer."

"We have no need for sharing with magicians, and we certainly have no need for the Order. As descendants and accomplices of those who tortured us, your very existence is a constant threat to ours."

Chief Master clenched his fists and said in a voice Owl had only ever heard when he wanted to cow a student, "Listen to me now. We have a chance to create peace before there is war."

Salia patted her chest in mock surprise. "Now that sounds like a real threat."

Chief Master pulled back his sleeves and raised his arms. It was a dramatic pose, but it served a practical purpose — Chief Master could easily see the tattoos he needed in order to enact a spell. Things had turned sour so quickly that Owl's skin prickled when he saw the pose. His hands moved toward his weapons, prepared just in case.

Without losing a sliver of her amused expression, Salia said, "Just like your kind. You don't like a situation, you resort to magic. What's the matter, Chief Master? Not really good at diplomacy? Can't you handle things on your own? Perhaps dear Kryssta will help you."

"How dare you!" Chief Master's eyes blazed wide open. "You act like a Korstra-worshiper, whining that life has been hard and unfair. You're a child who has wet her pants and doesn't know what to do."

"You forget your place."

"I know our history better than you. I know what it's like to be persecuted day after day for something you had nothing to do with. And now, after generations, it seemed we had all settled into an uneasy co-existence. I came here in good faith to solidify that peace, to make it so that no man, no magician, ever needed to fear again. But if your intention is to expand your holdings while misusing and abusing my people, then you will feel the full wrath of a magician."

Salia opened her arms wide and grinned. "It's a good thing, then, that my army has not been approaching your Order. Rather my army has been decimating the Order this whole time."

"W-What?" Chief Master stumbled back as if struck in the chest.

Owl rushed to his side.

"The Order is no more," Salia said, her voice harsh now. Calculating. "The magicians are all dead. And the Library is mine."

Chief Master fell to one knee. "The Library? That's not possible. How do you even know about it?"

Salia gestured toward the darkness of the transport. "Why he told me, of course."

A man dressed in fine crimson robes stepped out. His strong frame supported an arrogant swagger that Owl had seen many times before. Even if Owl's mind refused to acknowledge the truth, seeing the fine sword and well-made gun on this figure's waist could not be denied.

"Brother X?" Chief Master said, tears filling his eyes.

Owl pulled out his sword and gun in one practiced motion. Before he had settled into his fighting stance, though, Brother X flashed out his own weapons and closed in. Owl danced backward with graceful ease, but Brother X's speed startled him.

"Now, now," Salia said and Brother X halted. "We don't want these two dead. Not yet."

Chief Master never took his eyes off his prized pupil. With his hands trembling, he managed one question. "How long?"

Brother X lifted his lip with such disdain that Chief Master's breath caught. Salia moved between the two. "Your dear Brother X has always worked for me. From the day he joined the Order, he has fed me information. All you are has always been mine. We just had to wait for the right time to strike."

Owl knew he shouldn't speak, but he could not hold back. He pointed his blade at Brother X, its tip shivering like his voice. "I-I wanted to be like you. I-I thought you were our best."

"He is your best," Salia said. "And soon he'll be even better. Now that I know of the Library and the Twelve Books; now that the Books are in my possession."

Owl opened his mouth to curse them but a grating laughter stopped him. To his side, Chief Master covered his grinning mouth like an embarrassed child. Even as his eyes continued to tear, he laughed.

"You have nothing," he said, sounding a bit drunk. Then, he stepped forward, and his stern, masterful voice returned. "You have
nothing.
The Library, the Twelve Books, the Order — you have destroyed or taken it all. Congratulations. But Brother X only knows what we tell him." Salia's gloating face faltered. Chief Master went on, "And since you've been here, you haven't had the chance to see the treasures you have won."

"What of it?" Salia snapped.

"Do you really think the learned men and women of the Order would just let our most dangerous knowledge sit around for anybody to take hold of? That was the kind of irresponsible thing magicians did in the past." Chief Master looked at his hands and shook his head. "We were bad people long ago. But no more. The Books are in code, and you'll never find the thirteenth book to decode them."

"And why is that?" Salia asked through gritted teeth.

"I suspect you've destroyed it along with everything else that was useful at the Order. Just like I'll destroy you."

With a flick of his wrist, Chief Master turned his hands outward. Too late, everyone realized that Chief Master hadn't been staring at his hands in regret but rather had been building another spell. A bolt of ice shot from his hand creating a vapor trail in the cool air.

Brother X moved so fast, so fluid, that Owl barely had time to marvel let alone react. Twirling like a Master of the Way, Brother X knocked the ice aside with his sword. As his body spun around, his other hand brandished a handgun that glinted a shred of sunlight. He fired.

Chief Master dropped to the ground, clutching his side. Brother X continued his spinning motion, whipping his sword around for a death cut to the neck. Owl finally snapped into action.

"Chief Master!" he screamed, his sword deflecting Brother X's attack.

He pointed his handgun underneath the crossed swords, but Brother X twisted in the opposite direction. As Brother X unwound, he again used the spinning motion to strike at Chief Master. Owl whirled forward, closing the distance between them, and elbowed Brother X in the stomach. With a powerful hand, Brother X shoved Owl away and both spun into a proper fighting stance.

Salia backed up to her transport. "You've been taught well."

Owl glanced toward her, and when he saw her blood-thirsty grin, he knew he had made a mistake. The glance had lasted no more than a second, but to a fighter as skilled as Brother X, it might as well have been an hour. Just as Owl comprehended his error, Brother X flashed by him. Owl could smell the sweat on his opponent and heard the blade cut into Chief Master.

"Protect the book," Chief Master said, his voice gurgling with blood, his words dying with his body.

Though not as fast as Brother X, Owl didn't just stand there like an open target. He dashed forward, lifting his gun, and leveled the weapon at Salia's head. Brother X would be attacking, but Owl couldn't look behind — Chief Master's lifeless body was there. Only one thing remained — revenge.

But before he could pull the trigger, Owl felt a blade cut his side. Brother X struck the right points to force Owl's hand open — a precision move that required great skill. If he severed a nerve or hit the wrong point, the hand might lock down instead. The gun tumbled away. Owl slipped in the mud. Brother X slashed upward, spinning Owl until he rolled against Chief Master.

"Thank you," Salia said.

Owl didn't move. There was no point. He could never move fast enough to avoid a death blow. While Brother X watched his body for signs of life, Owl kept his face buried in Chief Master's bleeding chest and remained motionless. He didn't move or breathe.

"Come now," Salia said. "I've got to see those Books. If that bastard magician told the truth, we have a serious problem."

Brother X kicked Owl in the leg and trudged off. Only when Owl heard the transport recede into the distance did he stop pretending to be dead. He checked Chief Master's body — no breath, no heartbeat, no life.