Magic's Pawn

Vanyel's body screamed with pain, despite the shielding; his hair stood on end, and fire ran along his nerves. He went to his knees beneath the onslaught; reinforced his shielding and felt it weakening - and then remembered what Moondance had said about the power-nodes.

He reached, desperately; found them, tapped into them, and felt their power flowing into him, giving him a heady surge of strength, driving out the pain and renewing the will to fight this monster in human guise.

He staggered to his feet, backed up a pace, and deflected Krebain's own lightnings back into his face.

The fires arced across the square and the wizard retreated, getting his own shields up just in time. Vanyel did not give him a chance to recover from his surprise, but launched an attack of his own; not lightnings this time, but a vise of power, a glowing shroud that he closed around the wizard and began tightening.

But Krebain broke it after a moment's struggle, and countered with a circle of flame that roared up about him and began eating its way inward. Vanyel could smell his boot-soles scorching, and his skin tightened and hurt.

Vanyel in his turn, sweating with the heat, and his fear and effort, called upon the dust of the square to rise and snuff the flames.

This time Krebain gave him no chance to invoke a counterattack, but summoned a mage-storm like the one in Vanyel's dream. It howled down out of the night sky and surrounded him in a cloud of wind and energy, crackling with it, screaming with it.

And like the one in Vanyel's dream, this one ate away at his shields as fast as he could bring them up.

The whirlwind howled and raged, obscuring sight - he couldn't see - couldn't see anything anymore, just the flickering storm of power shrieking around him, coming closer by the moment.

One by one the nodes went drained and dead; now there was only his own strength left.

He went to his knees, holding the last of his shields up with little more than desperation left to sustain him -

 - and a final hammer-blow blew the storm away and smashed him to the earth.

Vanyel lay stunned in the sudden silence of the square, broken and bleeding.

He was sprawled half on his back, and the silence howled in his ears as the storm had. The square was deserted now, but for the silent scarlet figure of the wizard.

Vanyel was utterly spent, and everything hurt so much he could hardly think. He coughed, and tasted blood, and when he tried to breathe, he felt stabbing pains in his chest and back.

He was oddly conscious of little things, of a pebble digging into his cheek, of his ankle bending the wrong way, of a strand of hair tickling his nose, of blood running into his eyes - of a single flake of snow spiraling down into the mage-light.

His vision began to darken as Krebain strode toward him from across the square; he seemed to be seeing things through a shadowy mist.

The wizard stood over him.

And strangely, he felt like laughing. Gods. All that being afraid of that dream, for nothing. He saw the wizard's expression, and sobered. So. This is what it comes to. This is how it ends. At least - he looks a little tired. At least I put up some kind of a fight.

He thought he heard someone, something, whimper. Please, gods - let those people have gotten away. Don't let this have been for nothing. Let the others come in time to save them.

'I told you, Vanyel Ashkevron, that I would have you with or without a mind,' Krebain said softly. 'But I would rather you were mine wholly, and of your own will. You see? I can be merciful. I can be kind to those I love. I give you another chance, beautiful Vanyel. Surrender to me, and I will heal your hurts, and give you all that I promised you. Will you come with me now?'

No. Not ever. Not at the cost of my life. He looked up at those inhuman, chillingly cold eyes. And it will be at the cost of my life. But - gods - I can't let it cost more lives than my own!

He reached, as far as he could, hoping for a tiny bit of energy left in the power-nodes - hoping to find another node, undrained -

 - and touched the valley-node instead.

Gods - it isn't possible!

For a moment he thought he saw a way out, not only for the villagers, but for himself. But when he assessed his own capabilities, he saw that to use the raw, elemental force of the vale would surely kill him. He no longer had the strength to control it. The effect would be like what he had done to himself in practice with Starwind - only a hundred times worse.

He could die painlessly, letting the wizard destroy his mind and soul - or he could die in agony, saving the people of Covia.

I was willing to die before, for 'Lendel - why would I be afraid of pain and dying now? he thought, with a catch in his throat. I surely owe a price for not stopping 'Lendel. All right. Gods, let this be my expiation. Give me this last strength to stop him.

'No,' he breathed. 'Never.'

The wizard's face twisted with anger, and he stepped back to deliver the final blow. Vanyel closed his eyes and reached -

In this last moment, peace came to him. A strange and heart-tight inner stillness, born of total acceptance that what he was about to do would kill him without Moon-dance near to heal what he would do to himself. With a feeling oddly like the lifting of his heart, he opened himself to the valley-node - and focused -

And the raw power poured through him and blasted from his eyes.