God of Magic 3 Page 10

  It seemed I’d been right about the magical nature of the guns, because the projectile that shot forth wasn’t made of lead, but rather seemed to be a ball of condensed magical energy. The pulsing ball of light clipped the side of Sulla’s head before it exploded against the bookshelf behind him, and the orc let out a terrible roar of pain and fury as he rounded on the pirate who’d shot him. As he turned, I saw that the magic bullet had vaporized his ear, and all that was left was a bit of smoking, discolored flesh on the side of his head.

  The gunman scrambled back, but Sulla caught him easily with one gigantic hand around the man’s throat and lifted him into the air. The pirate didn’t even have the chance to scream before the orc crushed his windpipe and dropped him back to the floor.

  Smoke filled the room as bursts of light erupted throughout the library, fire from the pirate’s guns, Emeline’s flame attacks, and Lena’s homemade bombs. I had no idea what maritime battles were usually like in this realm, but Drakon and his crew seemed to be entirely in their element and thrived on the chaos and confusion of the fight as they cleaved the human pirates in half with their massive swords or caught them in chokeholds and broke their necks.

  On my right, Aerin and Emeline stood back-to-back as they fought off pirates with axe and flame, and on my left, Lena disoriented Quikk’s pirates with her smoke bombs while Rezo proved his skill as a swordsman.

  A lean man with a wild beard and wilder eyes charged at me with his sword raised, but I was just slightly faster and cast an illusory clone of myself between us. Confusion flashed across the man’s face, but he had too much momentum to stop, and as he drove his sword through the clone’s chest, I closed my hand into a fist. The clone exploded in a burst of blue light, and the pirate staggered back, momentarily blinded by the flash.

  I summoned my mana dagger and moved in before he had a chance to recover and stabbed him through the chest. As his body slumped to the floor with a soft thud, I saw that one of the pirates had backed Lavinia into a corner. She was out of arrows, and the pirate laughed as he raised his gun to shoot.

  Before I had a chance to react, Maruk seemed to materialize between the ranger and the gunman with his shields up to block the blast. It exploded in a shower of sparks against Maruk’s shield, and I saw the orc wince as some of the errant sparks flew into his face.

  The pirate with the musket had already begun to reload, but Maruk couldn’t see him. He struggled to rub at his eyes where the sparks had hit, and the movement left him vulnerable. I threw up my hand, and my mana surged down my arm as I cast an augment to Maruk’s shield. The blue light of my magic sprang up around the metal shield just as the pirate shot again.

  The explosion that occurred when the magical bullet hit Maruk’s shield, enhanced with my own magic, was enough to shake the building. The pirate with the musket and several others in the immediate area were thrown off their feet as raw mana, pure white and blindingly bright, shot out in every direction. Only Maruk protected by his shields, with Lavinia safely behind him, managed to keep their footing.

  The carpet where they stood was blackened and smoking, and the bodies of the last of Quikk’s crew lay dead on the floor, their flesh melted down to the bone where they’d been directly exposed to the explosion. The fight was over.

  Aerin rushed toward Maruk and Lavinia, and Emeline, Lena, Rezo, and I followed close behind.

  “Gods,” Aerin breathed as she stood on her toes to examine the burns on Maruk’s face. “Can you see? How many fingers am I holding up?”

  “I can see, Aerin,” Maruk answered, but he winced and seemed to be fighting the impulse to rub at his face. “It just stings.” The burns were scattered like freckles on his forehead, and one cut through his left eyebrow dangerously close to his eye.

  “Well, you’d better let me take care of those burns, anyway,” the healer replied. “Or else they’ll scar.”

  “Don’t.” Drakon stepped forward and laid a massive hand on Maruk’s shoulder. “Scars won in battle are marks of honor for our people. You should be proud of yours, Maruk. I know Auntie will be when she finds out how you fought here.” The orc captain smiled around his tusks. “And I’m proud, too. You’re finally growing up.”

  A bit of a blush darkened Maruk’s cheeks, and he waved Aerin away. “It’s alright.”

  “Here,” Drakon said then, and he retrieved the large feathered hat that Quikk had been wearing and placed it on Maruk’s head. “That’s your style, isn’t it?”

  “Thanks,” Maruk replied with an uncharacteristic amount of sheepishness. Still, he looked proud as he adjusted the tilt of the hat over his brow.

  “Where’s that guy?” Lavinia asked as she shouldered her bow. “Edmund, or whatever his name was...”

  “My name is Edward,” Edward corrected testily. “Viscount Edward, to you.” He sniffed proudly, but his pompous indignation was undercut slightly by the fact that he was half-hidden behind a curtain and still clutched the sword I’d given him like a child with a teddy bear.

  Lavinia rolled her eyes and muttered something about ungrateful rich people.

  “Now, perhaps you’d like to tell me what you’re all doing in my home?” Edward demanded.

  “We just saved your life,” Emeline scoffed.

  “You destroyed my library,” Edward shot back.

  I stepped between them and held up my hands.

  “Your cousin Yvaine sent us,” I explained. “She hired our guild to retrieve an heirloom from you, a ring.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the note Yvaine had given me as proof and handed it over to Edward. He frowned at me as he moved out from behind the curtain and plucked it from my fingers, and he frowned deeper as he read it.

  “You do have it, don’t you?” I asked.

  “Yes, I have it,” Edward replied with a sigh. “One moment.” He strode across the library and took great care to avoid the bodies of Quikk and his men as he did so before he stopped before one of the tall shelves. He muttered to himself as he ran his fingers over the spines, then he pulled one book out and stepped back. There was creak, then the sound of wood sliding against wood as the shelf retracted and slid behind the one next to it to reveal a small room beyond. No doubt this was the safe room that Rezo had told us about.

  There was only a small table inside, and on it, a tiny dark box. Edward took the box and walked back over to me. He hesitated as I reached out to take it and caught his lower lip between his teeth.

  “Perhaps, er, perhaps you could refrain from telling my dear cousin about the, erm, events that have transpired here today, hmm?” he asked hopefully. “She already thinks I’m irresponsible and, well, I’d just prefer if we could keep this little incident between ourselves, you know.”

  I frowned. The pirates had attacked the whole city, it wasn’t as though the news wouldn’t reach Yvaine eventually, even if we didn’t tell her.

  “Sure, whatever,” I replied, and Edward placed the box in my hand.

  Given all the trouble we’d gone through just to get it, I wasn’t about to leave without checking that we had the ring that Yvaine had described, so despite the sour look the nobleman gave me, I opened the box. Sure enough, it did contain the heirloom ring that Yvaine had sent us to retrieve. A large, rectangular sapphire was set on a band of silver and surrounded by diamonds. It was beautiful, and I was sure that it was worth a fortune.

  At my shoulder, Aerin let out a low whistle. “That’s a big rock,” the elf said softly.

  “Indeed it is,” Edward remarked with a sneer. “And it’s worth more than any amount of money you’ve ever possessed, I’m sure, so do take care with it.”

  I raised my eyebrow at the nobleman as I closed the box and handed it to Aerin, who I trusted to guard it more securely than any of us could.

  “It’s not as though we can’t do any worse than you,” I told him coldly.

  Edward dropped his gaze and said nothing.

  I knew that Yvaine had promised her cousin would host us for the night, bu
t given the state of the place after the attack and Edward’s attitude, I didn’t find the prospect particularly appealing. What was more, part of me suspected that if we stayed, Edward would try to enlist us to clean up his palace and set the city in order like we were some sort of personal police force, and as far as I was concerned, my guild’s business here was done. We could drive to another town for the night.

  As I turned away, Edward moved as if to stop me.

  “Wait, you’re leaving? Just like that?” he demanded. “What about all this?” He gestured at the bodies that were sprawled across the floor.

  “We came to get the ring,” I replied. “You’re welcome, by the way, for saving your life.”

  Edward scoffed in disbelief. “You can’t just leave!“

  “Actually,” I said without looking back, “we can.” I waved to the others to follow, and we filed out of the library with Drakon and his crew following close behind.

  “Aitona’s close,” Lavina reminded us as we made our way back out onto the grounds. “We could stop there for the night, then keep going to the ogre’s keep.”

  The smoke had cleared somewhat as the fires around the city burned out, and the patchy clouds from earlier in the evening had grown thicker and promised rain. I knew we couldn’t stay here. We didn’t even know how many of the civilians had remained in the city, and whoever had managed to ride out the attack would be recovering themselves.

  “That sounds good,” I replied.

  “Did you say you were going after an ogre?” Drakon asked. Most of his crew had already dispersed to celebrate and claim Quikk’s ship, but Drakon, Sulla, and a few others remained behind.

  “Yes,” I answered. “We’re going to collect some texts for the Mage Academy.”

  Drakon exchanged a glance with Sulla before he turned back to me. “What do you say Sulla and a few of my men tag along? They’ll help you out in exchange for a few shares of the loot from the ogre’s lair.”

  “And teeth,” Sulla added.

  “And Sulla’s been after some ogre tusks for awhile,” Drakon amended.

  “Fine by me,” I replied, and I glanced back at the others for their input. After having seen how the orc pirates fought, a few shares of the loot was a small price to pay for their assistance, and we would still get all the reward money for returning the bounty, plus the payment from Yvaine for retrieving her ring.

  “Hell yeah,” Lavinia said with a grin as she punched Sulla on the arm. “I still want to learn some of your moves.”

  “Ha!” Sulla bared his teeth in a broad smile. “I like this one. Maruk, you should be more like this tiny dragon person.”

  “Oh, sure,” Maruk replied with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “I’ll just start wearing black all the time and develop an unhealthy attachment to a piece of wood and string.”

  “You wish you could be me,” Lavinia taunted in return, and she reached over and pulled Maruk’s hat down over his eyes.

  “Would you be coming, too?” I asked the orc captain.

  Drakon shook his head. “I have to stay with my crew.” He grinned. “Especially now that we have two ships to look after. Sulla will join you, and Urim.”

  Urim stepped forward and beat his fist to his chest in a salute. Though not quite as large as the mighty Sulla, he was still close to seven and a half feet tall and looked just as terrifying as the rest of Drakon’s crew. He had a pair of axes strapped to his belt, which was decorated with the skull of a boar. The hair on either side of his head was shorn to reveal the tattoos and scars along his scalp, but the hair on top of his head was long and pulled back in a series of braids studded with bits of bone and silver beads, and he wore a leather eyepatch over his right eye.

  “Now, I’ve got a new boat to see to, and you’ve got your ogre,” Drakon said as he clapped me on the shoulder so hard that I nearly lost my balance. “I’d wish you luck, but I saw you fight back there, and I don’t think you need it.” He turned then to Maruk and grasped him by the forearm. “You did well, Maruk. I think you might be an orc after all.”

  Maruk returned his cousin’s smile. “Give my best to my mother, won’t you?”

  Drakon nodded, and with a short grunt of farewell, he turned and followed the rest of his crew back down to the beach.

  Chapter 8

  Since even Yvaine’s magnificent carriage couldn’t possibly fit our whole party now, we took turns riding and walking over the course of the next few days on the road to the ogre’s keep. It made for longer travel time, but no one really minded. The truth was, we were all really enjoying ourselves, and despite their occasional teasing, even Maruk didn’t mind having Sulla and Urim join us on our quest.

  It was our second morning on the road since we had left Edward’s palace, and the weather was warm and clear. Many of the trees had begun to turn as autumn settled in, and I learned that in this realm, the leaves didn’t just change from green to orange and red, but also to blue and purple before they fell. The forest of rainbow leaves was an amazing sight, and the air had a fresh, crisp scent. At the moment, Aerin, Lena, and Emeline were riding in the carriage while Lavinia, Maruk, Sulla, Urim, and I walked. Although we offered several times, the orc pirates never took us up on taking a turn in the carriage, which I guessed Rezo was secretly grateful for. There was no telling what bloodstained armor studded with fangs might do the upholstery.

  “What is this little creature in your bag?” Urim asked as we trailed along behind the carriage at an easy pace.

  At my back, I felt Merlin stir as he twisted himself around in my pack where he’d spent the morning napping and pulled him out. He sneezed and blinked at me sleepily.

  “This is Merlin,” I said as I gave him a scratch beneath his chin. “He’s a puca and sort of our pet.”

  “What is a pet?” the orc asked.

  “Forgive them their lack of cultural awareness,” Maruk said. “They don’t read. A pet, Urim, is an animal that people keep around for companionship.”

  “It looks like something they would sell in Bagamul,” Sulla put in, “fried on a stick.”

  Merlin’s eyes went wide, and he clambered over my shoulder and disappeared into the relative safety of my pack again.

  “You mean none of you have pets?” I asked the orcs.

  “We only keep animals that are useful,” Urim replied with a shrug. “Creatures that provide meat or milk, or that can hunt and fight alongside us.”

  “Don’t be fooled, it can cause plenty of trouble when it wants to,” Lavinia said flatly. “Trust me.”

  “Merlin can shapeshift,” I explained with a small smile. “He’s helped us in a lot of fights.”

  “I had a wyvern, once, for hunting,” Urim mused. “You remember that, don’t you Maruk?”

  Maruk frowned. “All too well.”

  “We named it Ar-maruk,” Urim said, and he exchanged a cheeky glance with Sulla.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, curious.

  “’Little dragon,’” Maruk answered before either of his cousins could. “Not exactly the most creative name, but those are pirates for you. No need to dwell on it.”

  “But that sounds like your name,” Lavinia pointed out. “Does Maruk mean dragon?”

  “Oh, no,” Urim corrected her. “The word for dragon is ar-uhm.”

  “Wait, seriously?” the ladona archer asked with a glance back at Maruk. “Your name means ’tiny?’“

  “I’ll have you know, it’s a term of endearment among orcs,” Maruk said proudly. “It’s a good name, dozens of great orcs have held it.”

  “Ah, you know we’re just teasing,” Urim said as he gave Maruk a friendly punch on the shoulder. “We can’t all be Sullas.”

  “What does Sulla mean?” I asked.

  Sulla raised his scarred chin proudly. “It means, ’one who cleaves his enemies with a single stroke.’“

  “Oh,” I said. “That’s uh, very nice.”

  “You don’t have to flatter him,” Urim told me. “He know
s he got the best name.”

  “What does yours mean?” Lavinia asked.

  Urim frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then turned back to Maruk. “Maruk, how would you say it? You know their language better than I do.”

  Maruk grimaced and scratched his head. “There isn’t really an analogous term,” he replied. “I guess you could say it means something like, ’one who minces,’ but there’s a more gruesome connotation in orcish. It has nothing to do with butchery, it’s more like killing something until it is soup-like and drinkable.”

  “If you were on our crew, we would call you Mor-dura,” Urim told us as he waggled his eyebrows at Lavinia, “Swift killer.” Then he looked to me with his single eye. “And you would be Ragat-it-zur.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked, curious and a little apprehensive.

  “Light sword,” Maruk answered. He gave Urim a sideways look. “Because of your mana blade. I told you, pirates aren’t very creative with names.”

  “I like it,” I replied with a smile.

  We hadn’t been walking for more than another hour at most when I became aware of a strange and uniquely disgusting odor in the air. On my right, Maruk turned with a frown to his cousins.

  “Urim--” he started.

  “Don’t look at me!” the other orc snorted.

  “Well, what is that, then?” Maruk demanded. He put his hand over his nose. “It’s getting worse.”

  He was right about that. I had no point of comparison to describe the smell, but it was definitely getting stronger. It was as though the air was condensing around us, warm and humid and saturated with the stench.

  “There’s a bog up ahead,” Lavinia said as she consulted her map. “Probably another mile or so, bet it’s coming from there.”

  “Unless that bog is filled with, ugh, rotten eggs and corpses, I don’t think that’s the source,” Maruk replied.

  “It’s on the map,” Lavinia said matter-of-factly. “Mazheaz Mire. The cartographer even drew a little skull and crossbones by it, look.” She held out the map for Maruk to review, and he frowned at it a moment before passing it back with a long-suffering sigh.