The council gave a great cheer and Roma turned to face them, smiling fiercely. Battu sat forward in his seat, staring shocked at the pulpy body of his Apprentice. Tyrellan, at his side, was still enough to be frozen in time. Roma forced the smile from his face and bowed low before Battu.
‘As I thought, my lord,’ he said. ‘This was not even taxing. He was only half a man.’
‘Not even that,’ said Losara.
There were gasps as Roma spun, eyes wide. Losara stood in the shadow of a column, hands clasped before him. Roma glanced at the body on the floor, which was fading. As Losara stepped from the shadows, it disappeared completely.
‘That was quite ferocious,’ Losara said. ‘I must admit, I was curious to see what you intended for me.’
‘An illusion,’ spat Roma. ‘The stuff of street magicians.’
‘I’m trying to find a level that befits you,’ said Losara. He was quite proud of his attempt at ridicule.
Roma bellowed in anger, both hands extending towards Losara, crackling forth twin streams of energy. Losara made a small gesture and the streams slammed into a flat circle of rock hanging in the air. He had cut it from the ground and floated it in front of him like a shield, so quickly that none had actually seen it happen. He moved a hand forward and the circle hurtled towards Roma, who flung his arms over his head. An unseen protective wall went up around him and the rock smashed to pieces against it. Roma lowered his arms as the dust settled, glowering at Losara.
‘Snakes, was it?’ said Losara, and clicked a finger. A black tendril whipped out of the floor, knocking Roma from his feet. The next instant he was pinned to the ground by the same writhing shadow snakes he’d previously conjured. His hands moved in a flurry, disintegrating the snake heads one by one. More grew in their place, hovering over him, poised to strike, but waiting.
‘I could have killed you by now,’ said Losara.
Roma furiously channelled power. There was a blue flash around him and the snakes dispersed like smoke. He leaped to his feet again, summoning an attack.
‘Looks like I’ll need a bigger snake,’ said Losara.
He raised both hands and a huge mouth erupted from the ground beneath Roma, seizing him by the waist as it powered upwards. Murmurs of amazement arose from the council. The huge shadow snake climbed twenty paces into the air, then looped back around itself to send its head slamming into one of the columns. The head broke to smoke against the stone, but Roma did not. He crashed against the column and fell, landing heavily on the hard ground, where he lay groaning on his side.
‘Admit defeat,’ said Losara.
A look of grim determination came over Roma’s face and he uncurled a shaking finger. A blast of freezing wind hit Losara, instantly forming ice crystals on his white skin. His hair blew back and strands froze crazily in place. As he began to chant, crystals forming on his lips broke into dusty fragments. Frost covered his outstretched hands, hardening his flesh. With a wince, he clenched his fingers, cracking the ice from his skin and snapping the veins of frozen blood inside. He made a small batting motion and Roma went rolling violently across the ground. The freezing blast ceased and Roma lay on his back, blood oozing from his mouth.
‘Admit defeat,’ said Losara, almost sadly.
Roma tried to hoist himself up on unsteady limbs, defiance blazing in his eyes. ‘To the death,’ he spat, and began another spell.
Something grabbed him like an invisible hand, lifting him from the ground. The air began to move, and there was a rasping as dust took off from the ground. Pieces of the smashed stone shield began to bounce and roll, and soon they too were airborne, hurtling around a funnel that stretched to the roof. The wind howled, and the awe-struck crowd knew they were witnessing nothing less than a contained hurricane.
Trapped in the grip of Losara’s power, Roma hung in the eye of the storm, struggling and cursing. Then Losara let him go and he was sucked into the wind like a rag doll. Up and down the funnel he went, round and round, twisting and turning, spinning and shrieking. Vomit joined the flying debris.
Losara’s eyes went blank as he left his body, travelling into the shadow of the tornado itself. Inside the funnel his shadowform grew, billowing upwards to the tops of the columns. The giant shadow Losara reached out a black hand and snatched hold of Roma’s limp body. Roma opened his eyes weakly, hiccupping another dollop of sick. Shadow Losara continued to grow, fifty paces up to the roof itself where storm clouds churned about his head. Rain began to fall and thunder boomed. Blue lightning forked downwards, striking the ground in many places, and the wind wailed high.
Shadow Losara spoke calmly in a voice that was somehow louder than the storm.
‘KNOW MY POWER.’
Losara enveloped Roma’s mind, letting the Arabodedas see him truly. Roma fell still with terror as he sensed the magnitude of Losara’s power. It surrounded him like a great ocean, and he was but a speck floating on crushing waves. He knew in that moment that Losara could have destroyed him whenever he’d chosen. He knew that he’d never had a chance.
A world of pain, you said? came Losara’s thought in his mind. Suddenly pain was everywhere, as though each tiny component of Roma’s body was charged with it, as though there was nothing else in the world. His mouth opened in a wide O, but no scream could force its way out. The agony went on and on, into forever and back again, his tears beaten away by the rain. Then, just as suddenly, the pain was gone.
‘Do you admit defeat?’ echoed Losara.
‘Yes,’ croaked Roma.
Do you want to live, Roma?
Roma struggled to open his eyes to the monstrously looming silhouette. ‘Yes,’ he said.
You would serve me?
‘Yes.’
Then, when the time comes, I will build you a grand house in Afei Edres and you shall rule the city as my loyal servant.
The rain stopped and the wind died. As Losara flowed back into his body, he set Roma gently on his feet. The mage immediately collapsed to his knees. Losara blinked, and turned to the council, who were watching with fear and amazement. Battu was unreadable, but there was something very intense about him as he sat tightly gripping the sides of his seat.
‘I am victor,’ Losara said. ‘And though Roma’s life is forfeit, I waive my right to it. He fought with passion and commitment, and I wouldn’t rob our land of his skills. We will need mages of his quality once there is war.’
Roma raised puffy eyes to Losara and knew his lord. He would never fight Losara again.
Uneasy muttering broke out amongst the council. It was an unusual outcome, and the demonstration of Losara’s power had shaken them. One day they would be ruled by this mage of whom they knew so little. Except that he was merciful. That was not a trait expected from a student of Battu.
Battu stood. ‘The challenge is met, then,’ he announced. He gestured at the columns and the glow faded from their runes. ‘Losara is named Apprentice. It will be he who makes the journey across the Black Sea to Assedrynn’s Isle. He will depart in three days.’
Losara was surprised at that. He hadn’t expected to be leaving so soon.