“To stop them from spreading apart?” Theos asked.
“Sort of,” Tanya replied. “Just weaken their shields and hurry up about it.”
The ground shook violently, and dozens of great trees toppled to the ground. The black-cloaks stumbled, and Tanya’s arms moved rapidly together until both arms were straight out before her.
“Hit them with fire, Theos,” Tanya shouted in a strained voice.
Theos watched as the black-cloaks stumbled and then they all suddenly flew towards one another until they were stacked like a season’s supply of wood. That was when Tanya shouted for fire. Theos did not hesitate. He dropped the spell controlling the tornado and sent sheets of flames towards the black-cloaks. The Zaran battle mages screamed in agony as the flames devoured their bodies.
“Time to go,” Jenneva stated. “Balamor, cover our retreat.”
The mage from Pog nodded and cast an illusion before dropping his shields. Anyone looking towards the Alcean diamond would see nothing but the large thorn bush. They would not see the four unicorns come out of hiding to carry away the Alcean mages. Moments later the four mages returned to the camp of the Rangers. Alex and Arik were waiting anxiously for them. Alex and Jenneva left the camp in one direction while the king and queen left in another, leaving Theos and Balamor alone.
“What happened back there?” Theos asked Balamor. “Was Jenneva trembling the ground?”
“She was,” nodded Balamor. “She is quite effective with that spell.”
“Quite effective?” echoed Theos. “She brought down the forest. I cannot begin to imagine what power that must take. How did she manage to stack the black-cloaks?”
“That was Tanya’s doing,” answered Balamor.
“Tanya?” frowned Theos. “She was merely holding physical shields to keep the enemy from fleeing. It is a rather curious use for a shielding spell, but it certainly stopped them from splitting up. Why do you say that the stacking was Tanya’s doing? Did she abandon the shields?”
“No,” Balamor replied. “She merely brought the two shields closer together.”
“What?” Theos asked. “That is impossible. You can’t use shields as offensive spells, and you can’t drag them across the ground. If you want them moved, you need to recast them. You can’t just move them.”
Balamor smiled at the Tyronian mage. “Obviously, the queen can. She used those physical shields as a vice to crush the black-cloaks. I would say it was a novel and effective use of the spell.”
“I would call it more incredible than anything else,” Theos said with awe. “I cannot imagine the power that must take. I thought the queen only knew a little magic?”
“The queen is modest,” chuckled Balamor. “I often wonder who is stronger, Jenneva or Tanya, but I think that is a question that will never be answered. I have never known them to use the same spells as each other during a battle, as if that would invite a comparison of their powers.”
* * * *
General Tauman and Colonel Dorfan stood near portal seventeen in Camp Destiny. Nearby was a company of cavalry from the 1st Corps of the Empire of Barouk.
“Do not approach this assignment casually, Dorfan,” warned General Tauman. “General Montero is a very popular general. If his troops get the idea that you are there to arrest him, a company of cavalry will not save your life. You will have to use deceit to snare him. Perhaps you can tell him that King Harowin has died, and he is needed to assume the throne immediately.”
“He only has three more days in Alcea,” noted Colonel Dorfan. “He will not be anxious to return home before the war is won even if the crown awaits him.”
General Tauman pressed his lips together in thought and nodded. “I think you are correct. What will get him home is if he thinks someone else is seizing the throne while he is away. He will feel compelled to hurry home and set things right.”
“I will try that,” agreed the colonel. “Is Prince Lyker or Prince Lindmyr the eldest?”
“The next in line after Montero is Harold,” stated the general, “but Harold is a sickly boy. Montero would never believe that story. I believe Lyker comes next. If I am wrong and he wants to know why Lindmyr isn’t seizing the throne, tell him that Lindmyr is dead.” The general sighed and shook his head. “Look, Dorfan, I don’t need to tell you how to lie. You’ve been doing it just fine for years. Just make sure that Montero is sent back here. This portal opens in Pontek. There should be no Alcean opposition after Montero has passed through. Between him and Gattas they will have killed anyone they came across, but play it safe anyway. You will be in hostile territory. Good luck.”
“Thank you, General,” replied Colonel Dorfan.
The colonel signaled the captain of the company accompanying him to Alcea. The captain addressed his men and sent a squad towards the portal. That squad was to secure the other side of the portal for the rest of the company. The squad leader approached the portal and started to open the door. Unexpectedly, the squad leader was thrown back as the door sprung open. Water started surging through the door with such pressure that a wall of water shot over three paces before touching the ground. The squad waiting to go through the door was immediately caught by the flash flood. Their legs were swept out beneath them and they tumbled in the surf as the water plowed up the dirt and spread out.
“Shut that door!” shouted General Tauman. “Shut it now!”
The company of soldiers raced to obey the general’s orders, but the flow of water made it impossible to approach the door directly. Some of the men ran around the rapidly spreading flood to approach the door from behind, but they could not budge the door. The flow was too strong.
“It’s like trying to walk up a sewer in a storm,” shouted one of the men. “It can’t be done.”
General Tauman looked at the rapidly building flood with dismay. He sniffed the air and frowned deeply. He turned to Colonel Dorfan and said, “Get on your horse, and go get some mages. Be quick about it and send as many mages as you can find.”
“Won’t it eventually just stop?” asked the colonel.
“When the valley is full it might stop,” snapped the general. “That is seawater coming through the door. Wherever the other half of that portal is, it is underwater, and I don’t think this valley is large enough to hold the entire ocean.”
The colonel swallowed hard and raced for his horse. The general turned his attention back to the portal and the futility of his men trying to close the door. He shouted for them to retreat and then mounted his own horse as the waters reached his boots and began to rise. A thousand thoughts went through the general’s mind as he waited for the mages to arrive, but none of them could explain why seawater would be flowing through the portal. Portal seventeen led directly to an inn in Pontek, and while Pontek was a coastal city, the inn was not near the shoreline. For this much seawater to be flowing through the portal, the whole city of Pontek would have to be underwater. That would indicate a flood of massive proportions, and General Tauman thought that was too much of a coincidence to be a viable answer to his question.
The mages finally arrived and began casting spells to hold the water back so they could close the door. General Tauman appeared to be watching, but his eyes were unfocused, his mind still pondering why the water was coming through. When the mages were finally done and the door was closed again, the general waved them to him. They promptly complied.
“Can you do that again?” asked the general.
“With a short rest,” replied one of the black-cloaks.
“You will have a ride of three leagues to rest,” stated the general. “We are going to portal eighteen to see if it also floods.”
“You think the other portal will also flood?” inquired the black-cloak.
“I hope not,” answered the general, “but I have a sinking feeling that it will. If water does come out of it, we will need to check every portal in the valley.”
“You think the whole country of Alcea has sunk beneath the waves?” gasped the black-cloak.