“Rule number one,” she smirked as they slid to a halt and turned to face her, “never follow a fool into battle.”
The two remaining men charged StarWind and she showed them that she knew how to use the borrowed sword. She blocked the swing of the sailor on her right and used the force of the deflection to propel her sword across the other man’s bare chest. He staggered back in surprise and StarWind turned her attention to the fat man on the right again.
“Rule number two,” she panted, “never underestimate your opponent. I would explain rule number three but I fear you will never hear it.”
StarWind summoned a gust of wind and flung it into the sailor’s face as she lunged forward. The man’s hands went to his face to clear his eyes and StarWind pierced his heart. She pushed his dead body away and pulled the sword free in time to drop to her knees and swing the sword. The shirtless man with the gash across his chest had been in the process of charging the Sakovan spymaster again and her swing took his legs off at the knees. She rose and swiftly ended his suffering as she looked to see if Goral needed help.
Goral swung his huge club into the first man charging him and the man flew from the impact, colliding with the bald man next to him. Goral braced himself with the pole still extended outward and caught the third man in the stomach with it. Goral raised the pole swiftly upward, carrying the man with it, and let it slide through his hands as he reversed it and caught the fourth man in the gut with the end of it just before the hoodlum’s sword started to descend. Goral heard the thud of the third man landing behind him and turned his attention to the bald man who was knocked down by the first swing. He was the only attacker moving and he was moving quickly away, trying to reach the end of the alley before Goral could catch him. Goral shook the body of the fourth man off the pole and hurled the long post after the fleeing thug. The pole connected with the man’s back and he slid, face down, along the alley.
“You do fairly well without magic,” StarWind stated. “I just hope the owner of the balcony doesn’t come after us next.”
“Make sure they are all dead,” Goral said. “We may have to come back to this city someday and I do not want to be remembered.”
“Well the three I got certainly are,” noted StarWind, “not to mention the one you nearly dropped on my head. You nearly split him in two with that lance of yours.”
“I will try to perfect my thrust next time,” Goral mumbled as he checked the bodies. “We need to be moving along smartly now. I have grown tired of the city life.”
“The wild animals of the wilderness are more cordial than these city folk,” chuckled StarWind. “A lot smarter too. Lead the way my gentle giant.”
Chapter 23
Minister of Defense
His crimson robes flowed as Alazar strode down the corridor to the Mage cell block. The guard opened the door to the block and allowed the First Minister to enter. Inside the musty stone walls, Alazar met another guard and indicated for the man to follow him. The First Minister steeled himself for the talk with Master Malafar as he indicated to the guard which cell door to open. Alazar was growing impatient with the mage and knew he must avoid showing that impatience. The guard opened the cell door and Alazar swept into the cell.
“Greetings, Master Malafar,” smiled Alazar. “I trust you are feeling well. The guards inform me that you have not been eating well. Is the food not to your liking? I can order a change in menu if you wish.”
“Why do you bother me, Alazar?” Master Malafar scowled. “I have told you repeatedly that I will not do whatever you want. Kill me or leave me be.”
“I have no wish to kill you,” smiled the First Minister. “In fact, I am working on your release with the Katana. The task he wanted you to perform for your country is no longer needed. We found a very talented student who was quite capable of handling the job. It was not as difficult as we had thought.”
Master Malafar was torn between surprise and confusion and the confusion won. “I don’t understand,” he confessed. “I thought the task was so difficult that only a Master Mage could accomplish it. Isn’t that why I was kidnapped? How could a mere student succeed?”
“My dear Malafar,” Alazar sighed. “You still do not get it. I have told you repeatedly that the government did not kidnap you. I understand your skepticism and haven’t even bothered repeating it the last several times I was here because you refuse to see the truth, but the fact is that we sought to use your services because you were already here, not the other way around. I do believe that the kidnappers’ purpose was at odds with the services we needed and that is why we kept you locked up in here.”
“Just what services did you require?” quizzed a still skeptical Malafar.
“There have been several assassination attempts on the Katana,” confided the First Minister. “You many not be aware, but the Katana is magically shielded. The spells are ancient and after the last attempt, the Katana became alarmed. The last attempt, you see, almost penetrated the shields. We believe that the reason you were kidnapped was because you had the power to penetrate the shields. The service we wanted from you was to bolster those very shields.”
“Then why didn’t you just come out and say so,” growled Master Malafar. “I imagined many evil uses you might want my power for. Had you told me the truth, I would have complied.”
“Malafar,” Alazar sighed as he stroked his goatee, “you never gave me the chance. Every time I spoke with you, you refused to even hear what it is we wanted. That is of no consequence now though. The job is complete and the Katana is protected. I hope to have you freed in a matter of days. Unless you wish to stay that is. We still have not captured all of the villains that attacked your academy. I can release you because you are no longer a threat to the Katana, but they are still a threat to you. We have not told anyone else about the new shields so they will still plot to assassinate the Holy Katana.”
“The Katana saw me as a threat to his life?” Master Malafar asked with astonishment. “How could he even think that after Alfred gave his life to save the Katana?”
“I am afraid the Katana does not share your view of Alfred’s death,” the First Minister frowned. “The fact is, I was the one who sent the message to you detailing Alfred’s death. He did not die as I said he did.”
“What do you mean?” asked Master Malafar.
Alazar walked over and sat on the bed. “Alfred and I did not get along well,” he confessed. “He did not trust me very much and I cannot say that I blame him. When Alfred was first chosen for the Monitors, I gave my blessing to it. He came from a good family and his skills were extraordinary. He was a very promising young man and he served with distinction.”
“It is hard for me to believe that I am hearing this from you,” interrupted Master Malafar. “Of all the people in Okata, Alfred trusted you the least. Now you tell me that his mistrust was correct? Why are you telling me this? Am I still to die?”
“No, you are to go free as I said,” insisted the First Minister. “I am loyal to my country, Master Malafar, and Alfred was loyal to his. The problem lies in the fact that we are talking about two different countries.”
“What are you talking about?” growled the old mage. “Get to the point.”
“Very well,” sighed Alazar. “This is hard for me, because I am about to tell you something that you will not want to hear. Alfred did not die protecting the Katana. The Katana had him executed because he was a Sakovan spy.”
“Preposterous!” exclaimed Master Malafar. “Alfred was no more a Sakovan spy than you or I or the Katana himself.”