Without Magic

  Chapter 19: Traitors, Death, and Desperation

  Arty staggered back. The sword that Lance had given The Queen seemed to enhance the woman's natural fighting ability, making her stronger and faster than she normally would be. Arty swung her weapon, trying to keep up with her foe, but it was almost impossible, and the desert warrior was forced into an entirely defensive stance to avoid being hacked to bits. What really annoyed her more than anything else was the fact that The Queen knew she had the upper hand, and was toying with Arty rather than finishing her off directly. The warrior woman grunted as The Queen's blade scored a wound across her shoulder. Soon Arty was forced back into a pile of crates. She had almost nowhere to go, and The Queen continued to whittle away at the desert warrior in a sadistic rage. Arty cried out as her sword hand was struck hard. With blood running down her arm making the handle of her sword too slick for a weakened hand to grasp, the warrior was forced to drop her weapon. Never one to give up, however, Arty scrambled to her feet and took up an unarmed stance.

  'Hah! Give it up already. Why don't you beg on your knees for a little bit and I will make your death as quick as I can?' Arty did not respond, instead hitting out with her bloodied knuckles. The Queen laughed at the attempted attack, skipping back before twirling in to smash the pommel of her sword into Arty's head. The red clothed warrior stumbled, but managed to remain upright. With a snarl The Queen kicked her opponent in the chest, knocking Arty back against the crates again. Swiftly The Queen raised her sword and plunged it toward her enemy's chest. Arty was unable to get out of the way in time, and the desert warrior faced her foe unblinkingly, ready for the shock of pain that would run through her breast. At that moment, the magic that Lance had used to kept the sword formed ran out, and the sword crumbled to dust, starting from the tip but working its way up the weapon faster than The Queen could use it to stab. Arty did not waste her chance, kicking at The Queen to drive the woman back before leaping back to her feet and pursuing the fight. Bodily Arty launched herself at The Queen before her foe could recover, delivering blow after blow that set the assassin stumbling. The Queen fought back, relying on the wounds Arty had already sustained to weaken her opponent. Striking at the open wounds, The Queen managed to force Arty into a retreat until the two were fighting in the middle of Alexander's army. With a shout, The Queen landed a high kick, causing her opponent to stumble and trip over the debris that littered the ground. Wasting no time she pounced, wrapping her hands around Arty's throat applying pressure. Arty kicked her opponent in the gut but The Queen held tight, choking off the desert warrior's breath. Arty could feel her tired limbs deadening and giving up the fight for survival, no matter how much she willed them to move. Spots danced wildly across Arty's vision, but behind The Queen, she could just make out a figure rising from the crates like a ghost from the grave. Shucking off the broken timber and miscellaneous items that had been stored in the boxes, Alexander took in the scene before him. He had passed out for a few minutes after Lance's attack, but had been brought around by the acrid tang of smoke, as the crates caught that surrounded him caught alight. This had given him enough motivation to wrestle his tired body from the wooden debris, and he had quickly found his feet. Alexander still had a knife sticking through his hand, although he had dropped his axe. His beady blue eyes gleamed with the light of the fire that was burning brightly around the battlefield. The air shivered with heat, but Alexander's gaze was on the battle between his Queen and the desert warrior that he'd met only weeks before. Without pause, Alexander tore the long bladed dagger from his hand, and stabbed it deeply into The Queen's back.

  Arty's view suddenly began to clear, as The Queen's grip slackened, and her eyes widened in surprise. The desert warrior kicked her foe away, gasping and massaging her neck as the assassin stumbled backwards. With a groan of pain The Queen toppled backwards, but Alexander was there to catch her, and he gently lowered his ruler to the ground. The weapon master's hand was bleeding profusely, and Arty quickly deduced what had happened.

  'I geev knife back, yez?' Alexander muttered grimly. 'You muzt make Ruben keel arte-fact- my hand iz not good. Cannot fight vell enough to protect.' Arty nodded curtly, understanding that everyone had their limits in a battle, and Alexander had just passed his. The tired weapon master sat heavily next to his Queen as she lay, unable to move, and slowly dying. Not wishing to intrude, Arty left them to search for Ruben amidst the confusion of battle. The slaves were clearly starting to tire as the fight wore on. The desert mages were pale and had a number of wounds. Some lay dead, their corpses intermingled with those of regular fighters, slaves and politicians. Many of the demons had been dispatched but those who were still left could sense that the battle was shifting in their favour - especially after the strong point made up of Arty and Alexander had been taken out. Slowly the slaves were being forced back and away from the altar, as the demons drew strength from the hope that they would win if they pressed forward.

  Bo and Ruben stumbled blindly through the carnage. The smoke stung at their eyes and it felt like the sounds of battle would never cease. Bo stumbled over a body. Looking down he discovered that it was a mage. For a moment his throat closed, until he realised it was not Erasmus. A quick search of the nearby debris, however, revealed that Erasmus was still lying where he had fallen in the battle with Lance. Hurriedly the teen knelt next to his friend, turning the mage onto his back and checking his vitals. There was no physical sign of damage, but Bo could only imagine what had been going on when the desert mage had been fighting Lance. Erasmus was alive, but he seemed weak, and Bo closed his eyes with worry. He didn't know if he could continue to fight any longer, but he knew that the battle wasn't yet over. Hayes joined the two. She was looking a little the worse for wear, having been both fighting like a warrior and healing like a mage, her stamina would have impressed Bo if he'd been in the right mind to appreciate it. The kindly woman gave Bo a flask of something,

  'Here have this. It's just some tea. I used magic to make it more potent, but it should clear your head and your throat.' Bo hadn't realised quite how thirsty he was until he had been handed a drink but he was certainly grateful for the rehydration as fat drops of sweat slithered down his back and sides. Feeling much better, he handed the flask back and Hayes smiled, tapping the inscription on the side of the bottle and muttering under her breath.

  'Doesn't take too much effort to refill this one!' she exclaimed, but Bo noticed that she was looking more worn down than ever. Gently Hayes splashed some of the fresh water into Erasmus' face to wake him up. The mage jolted awake, gasping and spluttering as though he had been running without stop for the last five minutes. His eyes were terribly bloodshot and he didn't seem to be looking at anything in front of him. Erasmus struggled desperately to rise, shouting out to be released immediately. Bo and Hayes held him down to prevent him from rushing blindly out into the danger of battle, fearing he had lost his mind. The mage bucked and kicked, but slowly he began to settle down. Blinking slowly, his intellectual brown eyes came into focus on his friends' concerned faces.

  'Erasmus, are you okay?' asked Bo cautiously. The mage croaked out something through dry lips, and Hayes offered him the flask, which she had to refill two or three times before Erasmus was sated. As soon as he was able to speak, the lanky mage began to babble, his voice strained with agitation.

  'Books- on fire. So many. I tried to save them but The Pied Piper was there. His music- I couldn't break free. I can still hear it Bo-' Once again Erasmus struggled to rise, heaving and bucking in his attempt to get free.

  'Erasmus stop! He's- he's gone,' pleaded Bo. The teen didn't know who the pied piper was, but he'd not seen any pipers during the battle. Erasmus gave his companion a sharp look that wasn't entirely friendly.

  'What did you do?' taken aback by the sudden mood swing from frightened to aggressive, Bo simply stared at Erasmus, wondering if perhaps his friend had suffered some kind of damage after all. Before Bo could think of a reply Ruben limped back toward
s them, accompanied by Arty. There was a deep wound on the teen's left leg that Bo hadn't even noticed before now.

  'Hayes. Please see to the boy. We need him fighting fit.' Arty allowed Ruben to fall next to Erasmus. The desert mage fell silent and still, his eyes staring heatedly at Bo in a silent accusation as attention drifted to the state of Ruben's leg. Bo shifted uncomfortably, not quite sure what he had done to earn Erasmus' ire, and afraid that there was something deeply wrong with his friend's mind.

  Hayes claimed Ruben had been easy to heal, as it was almost the first time he'd ever needed such a large spell cast on him. Arty merely nodded her approval, more concentrated on the task at hand.

  'We need to get to the artefact, but the battle has turned and there is a ring of defenders around it now.'

  'You looking for someone to blow a hole in the enemy's ranks?' Bo looked around to find Will had managed to find his way back to the group. 'Come on you weren't going in without me were ya? I got my beauty sleep an' all, see don't I look fresh as a flower?' Bo gave his friend a long stare. Will was stooped with fatigue and covered in minor cuts and bruises, along with the occasional larger wound. His skin was pale and sweaty, and his hair was matted with a mixture of perspiration and blood.

  'Only a flower that's been hacked at by a mad gardener,' Bo said bluntly. A tired grin forced its way onto Will's face.

  'Blasting our way in is good. Let's go with that?' suggested Ruben. Uncharacteristically he was the only one focused on the matter at hand and Bo quickly focused back on what they had to do. He looked over the burning battlefield at the monster that loomed ominously. Despite the flames that surrounded it, the monster's body remained as black as pitch, slowly shifting as its galaxy of eyes swirled and moved, watching the battle eagerly. Bo realised with a shudder that the largest eye was staring directly at him. Cold crept up and down Bo's spine as the horror of approaching the monster hit him full force. It was waiting for him, and he was going to walk directly into its grasp. Unable to tear his gaze from the creature, Bo trembled as it flexed and undulated. Hayes decided that she would join the group, and nothing Arty could say would stop her.

  'I'm coming too,' said Bo grimly, surprising himself with the clarity and strength of his voice. He knew that he had to help slay the beast, or all of the battle would be for nothing. Arty let out a sigh of frustration, but Bo shook his head, 'I am the only one who can see what it really looks like, aren't I? So what if you need to know what it's doing?' reluctantly Arty was forced to agree. Hayes had cast a spell of sleep over Erasmus, and they left him in the care of Alexander, seeing that the lanky mage was in no fit mental state to follow them into the thick of battle.

  It was tough going, pushing their way through the army of slaves and desert people. Occasionally they would draw the interest of a demon, which had to be fought off as they continued to push toward their destination.

  'Block your ears!' shouted Will. Bo used small strips of cloth that he cut from the bandages around his hands to plug up his ears. Will, in the meantime, slammed his fists together before moving through several intricate hand signals. As he continued he moved faster and faster, a look of intense concentration on his face, until finally his spell was ready. With one last murmured word, the white haired teen stomped, his foot landing with the sound of thunder. A crack quickly spread from the toe of his boot to the altar. It was small and barely noticeable, until it let forth a horrible noise, like the screeching of nails on a chalkboard. Bo had thought the thunder loud, and had instinctively crouched, but the noise afterwards was enough to make his teeth ache, and a powerful headache to blossom in his skull. It was so loud that several of the nearest people reeled back with their ears bleeding, making Bo glad he'd been warned to block his. Everyone around the crack was forced to cover their ears, and many even shut their eyes, unable to block out the noise. Will panted, and dropped to one knee, nearly worn out by his endeavour. Bo quickly scooped up his friend and with the rest of the small group they hurried toward the altar, stumbling from the noise despite the fact that they had been forewarned. They moved as fast as they could, breaking through the ranks of confused and distracted enemies and making straight for the monster on the altar.

  Bo swallowed his anxieties as the largest eye slowly moved down the body until it was level with his head. Likewise, the closer the group got, the more eyes that were attracted to them, until almost every eye on the beast was directed at Bo and his friends. Reaching the altar, Arty and Hayes hung back to hold off the tide of demons, while Bo, Will, and Ruben approached the artefact. Bo paused, uncertain as to how to get to the artefact, but Ruben wandered into the very body of the beast, apparently unconcerned, and Bo had to remind himself that only he could see the truth. The giant eye hovered right in front of him now, as if daring him to enter, and the black body swelled and churned like the ocean in a storm. Hearing a shout from Ruben, Bo forced himself to move forward, taking Will with him. It was a shock as the gaseous darkness of the beast's body enveloped him. Almost immediately his body cooled and the sweat on his skin turned cold. The teen was suddenly aware of his clothes clinging to his body unpleasantly. Ruben was nowhere to be seen, and Bo worried his friend may have already somehow been consumed. Steam puffed from Bo's mouth with every breath he took and the sounds of battle died away entirely. He looked up in amazement as eyes swirled around the group silently in a confusing cyclone. Unable to move in a straight line due to the confusion, Bo stumbled and the eyes descended on him.

  'Stop! Go away!' On Bo's shout, the eyes fled like startled birds, but he could tell they were still somewhere close by, waiting, watching. Suddenly, up ahead, Ruben came into view. He seemed impossibly distant, as though space had been extended and reality warped within the monster. Although Bo knew it must be the honest truth, he could hardly believe that what was set before his eyes was not an illusion caused by magic. In front of Ruben there stood a large rock that was laced with gold veins that throbbed gently, partially covered by a semi-transparent skin of rock. On the face of the rock there was a symbol stamped in a deep black ink, with mysterious indecipherable writing scrawled in a surprisingly hurried hand, as though the maker had been in dire danger as they wrote. Black tendrils encircled Ruben, holding the boy in place.

  'I don't seem to be able to move. I don't know if it is magic though? What's happening guys?' With a shout of worry, Bo dropped Will and grabbed the dagger from Ruben's belt, using it to hack at the tendrils. Like a gelatinous slime, they severed easily, letting forth a small moan as they disappeared. 'uh, thanks Bo. I think.' Ruben turned back to the rock, and with a frown he placed his hands on it. His fingers actually sank into the rock skin until they came into contact with the gold seams, almost as though the stone was made of liquid.

  'This is difficult,' was all he said, before lapsing into silence. Suddenly the eyes were back, and whirling around Bo faster than ever. Something grabbed at Bo's left hand and the teen struggled to free himself from the shapeless black mass, again cutting at it with the knife. This time there was no helping himself, and the ooze sucked up the knife, like glue, rather than parting easily at the touch of the blade. Desperately, Bo tugged at his weapon, but the ooze was creeping up and over his arm, slowly moving towards his head and chest. He struggled to move away from it, but found his feet rooted to the spot. Looking down the teen was horrified to find that the black had attacked him there too.

  'Will! Help me!' He shouted fearfully. The giant eye loomed out of the darkness, joining the swirling maelstrom of the beast as Bo was ever so slowly enveloped by the cold blackness. Slowly a mouth formed in front of Bo.

  'You are difficult to consume, boy without magic.' Bo struggled furiously. Managing to rip one of his feet free, he tugged violently at the other restraints. Will was uncertainly helping him, trying to pull him away from whatever was holding him, but the white haired slave was unable see what was wrong and was proving useless.

  'Why do you want to consume me then?' asked Bo desperately. The formless ma
ss surrounding his hands started to grow fingers as it crept up his forearm that stroked and pried as they pulled ever closer to his face and head.

  'Magic is what put me here. If I take over your body then magic can never touch me again. I will be strong and fast and wise, and no one will ever catch me again! Don't worry Boy, your death will only be brief.' Panic welled in Bo's chest as he struggled. He could see that a similar black substance had started to crawl up Ruben's legs, even as the teen was working on destroying the stone. It was moving alarmingly quickly.

  'Got it. Now, where's that knife?' muttered Ruben, patting at his belt.

  'Will give Ruben a knife!' screamed Bo. Confused, Will let go of Bo, and grabbed his own dagger from his belt. A vine of black shot out, piercing Will's hand, and forcing him to drop the knife. Will cried out in pain, but with his free hand he stooped and grabbed the dagger as quickly as he could, practically hurling himself at Ruben, who accepted the weapon, even as Will was tugged back by his wounded hand and slammed into the floor. Fumbling slightly, Ruben lined up the blade, and then slammed it down into the rock, causing tiny tremors in the ground that made all of Bo's hair stand on end.

  The darkness had almost reached Ruben's armpits as a large crack formed in the artefact, and Ruben forced the blade of the dagger further into it, grunting with exertion. From every direction a terrible screeching cry ripped forth, and the eyes whirled, pelting themselves against Will, Bo and Ruben in an attempt to blast them away. Ruben shouted wordlessly, holding onto the knife for all he was worth against the hail of eyes and the darkness that had almost completely consumed him.

  With a crackle of electricity, the crack deepened and tendrils of darkness plucked desperately at Ruben's hands, trying to loosen his grip. Ruben grunted, almost losing his grasp on the dagger, as tiny invisible barbs pried at him. Bo struggled as the gelatinous darkness finally enveloped his head, its cold fingers creeping across his face and down his throat, clogging up his breathing. The teen tried to scream as his vision was blacked out and all senses were stolen from him. Seeing Ruben in trouble, Will tore his hand free of the tendril, and returned to his friend's side, hurriedly grasping the dagger in both of his hands and adding his weight, pushing it further into the rock.

  With a resounding CRACK the rock split right down the middle. Ruben was finally pulled down by the beast, landing face first on the ground, but it was too late – the damage had been done. Bright light spilled forth from the rock and Will stumbled back, trying to shield his eyes. The light was so bright that it shone through his skin, and flesh, leaving shadows on his body where his bones were for a brief second, before growing brighter still until all that Will could see was a burning whiteness.

  The beast screeched in pain as it too was blasted by the light, and burned from within. As the dark body dissipated, the coolness evaporated and soon the clamour and heat of battle seeped back into Bo's numbed consciousness. The teen slumped to the ground, panting heavily as his lungs gratefully filled themselves. Slowly he opened his eyes, wincing as he was visually assaulted once more by the carnage of desperate battle. Cautiously, he checked his body, before looking up to his friends and letting out a bark of relieved laughter – he was still himself.

  He saw Ruben slowly picking himself up from the ground looking as confused and bewildered as ever. Will, however, had fallen to his knees and was pressing his hands firmly against his face, even though the brightness eminating from the artefact had completely died out. When Bo helped him up, the silver collared slave refused to remove his hands from his face, stumbling blindly against his friends as they led him away from the altar.

  All around the demons realised that the fight was over for them, and began to flee. A few were taken down as they ran, but many managed to escape, either through the chimney in the ceiling, the grate that lead to the sewers, or the secret passages in the castle walls. Soon enough all that could be heard was the moan of the injured, and the crackle of flames as they consumed all that they came into contact with. Bo murmured to Will.

  'You okay?' His voice was scratchy, but concern still clearly coloured his tone. Will shook his head heavily, hands still firmly in place. Confused Bo pulled at Will's arm, trying to see what Will was covering up. Reluctantly, Will peeled his hands away, allowing them to drop to his sides.

  'I can't see' Will whispered. Bo nearly recoiled at Will's eyes. They had been pale before but now there was no sign of any pupil there at all. It was as though the light from the artefact had seared Will's sight away.

  'Don't worry. I am sure we can get you to a healer.' Shakily Will nodded, accepting Bo and Ruben's assistance. They were met by Arty and Hayes who had sustained a number of nasty looking wounds, but who were clearly still trying their best to keep up a positive outlook. Hayes quickly healed Will's bleeding hand, not commenting on the teen's eyes, although Bo caught her flashing Arty a worried look. The small group walked unsteadily back down to find Erasmus sitting with Alexander and The Queen. Erasmus was looking much more alert, although he now sported a steadily blooming black eye. On seeing Bo the lanky mage went red and scrambled to his feet, taking his friend in a tight embrace. Bo winced as his ribs complained, but was oddly glad that Erasmus wasn't angry at him.

  'I'm sorry Bo! I just wasn't thinking right. Alexander er... knocked some sense into me.' Bo laughed tiredly. His ribs felt terrible, along with the rest of his body, but he couldn't stop himself until he'd run out of breath. It felt good to be enclosed in Erasmus' embrace, even through the sweat and the smell of blood. Finally Erasmus let him go, and Bo turned to Alexander.

  'We destroyed it.' Alexander nodded, gesturing to The Queen.

  'She tell me. Demon ztone not known to King, but ve vill be gettink in trouble for killink Quveen yez? All desert people muzt flee Kingdom. Tonight. Iz no trial, iz juzt execution.' Slowly the smile slipped from Bo's face. 'She vas keeping secret. Hopink to haff demon geev her power. Iz foolish. Power come from zelf.' With a tired sigh, Alexander got to his feet. Despite his wounds, the weapon master picked up The Queen's body gently.

  'I vill take back and put Quveen in throne room. Then I find you at stables. Ve leave before sun rise.' With that Alexander walked away, carrying the dead Queen over the battlefield. The ground was torn by magic. Here and there people had been turned to stone, and the floor had been become a grey liquid in some places. Huge holes in the ground had appeared, and plants were growing all over the place. People lay dead and dying on the ground, and fire was greedily making its way across the cavern, stemming from the altar as though it was the blood of the broken stone.

  'We need to get everyone who is alive out of here.' murmured Arty, slipping away to begin the hard work of cleaning up.

  It took several hours to gather those who were still alive. Not many of the slaves had survived, and there was more than one person that needed to be carried. In total, including Bo, Ruben, Erasmus, Will, Hayes, and Arty, the group of survivors totalled 24. Slowly they ascended the stairs and entered the passageways beyond the cavern. The misleading spell had been broken, and the group made their way slowly and carefully through the tunnels. Will, who had often claimed to be able to navigate the tunnels blindfolded, proved to be as good as his word. Despite not being able to see, he managed to guide the group to an exit that came out near the stables. Slave and desert people alike hurried to the large building, to be greeted by those who had fled the battle. Many people did not wish to speak to those who had not stayed to fight, thinking them cowards, but there were others who understood that not everyone had strong enough spirit to endure battle. The magicians who had not seen battle were fresh and eager to heal those who were in need, and by the time Alexander came back, everyone was able to stand on their own two feet. He nodded grimly, refusing to let any of the healers near him.

  'Ve take horses and carts. Get out of city as King's hunters. Hurry, ve get out before dawn.' As everyone scrambled to get themselves transport, Bo asked Alexander,

  'We? Are you comin
g with us?' the weapon master gave the former slave an odd look.

  'I am dead man in kingdom – die in veapon ztore-house fire, remember? I vill come and talk to council at desert. Iz important news to speak, that Queen tell me before she die. I haff to varn.' Without explaining himself further Alexander moved off to help direct people. Bo looked to Erasmus who was frowning, but shrugged.

  'I didn't hear anything. It must have been before I woke up.' Bo rubbed his face, feeling tired now that the action had died down. Taking his friend under one arm, Erasmus lead Bo to a horse pulled trailer that was quickly filling up with people. There was much shuffling aside as Erasmus' bulk was accommodated, and Bo was squeezed in beside him.