Spellslinger (Spellslinger #1)(98)
There was no fear in him, only in me. There was also no point in holding anything back. I used even more powder this time – so much that I felt it burn the skin on my fingers even before I spoke the word. The explosion followed the line of my index and forefingers right for Ra’meth’s heart. Again my spell struck true, again he shrugged it off.
‘Remarkable,’ he said, as the last trickle of flame faded. ‘And you escaped the thirstfire in the barn. Impressive all round. I take it since you’re here that you also dealt with my sons. Did you kill Tennat?’
‘I figured having you for a father was punishment enough.’
He gave a good-natured laugh. I took advantage of the moment’s distraction to fire the spell again. Even with only a tiny shred of his focus, he could keep the shield up. I wondered for the first time whether maybe Ra’meth had been wrong all these years. Maybe he was more powerful than my father, he’d just never had the courage to challenge him to a duel.
‘That little spell of yours, Kellen,’ he said, head tilted as he looked across the fire-strewn ground at me, ‘it’s just the first-form breath spell channelling the explosion from some sort of chemical powders, isn’t it? Truly ingenious. It reminds me of those old spellslingers who wandered around, combining a few little spells with other tricks to make their way through the world. Quite a romantic notion, don’t you think?’ He cast his own spell then – a minor pain cantrip that ought to do little more than cause an itch.
It felt as if my insides had turned to ice and I screamed.
‘The problem is, however, that there’s a difference between a boy with a spell and a real mage. The true Jan’Tep is complete. He can attack but also defend. He knows how to weaken his opponent’s power while enhancing his own.’ He cast another spell, and this time I was thrown backwards through the air until my back struck the same tree as Reichis had and I found myself on the ground next to him.
I gasped for air, tasting blood in my mouth. Ra’meth ignored my moans. ‘I don’t hate you,’ he said, turning to survey his handiwork. ‘In fact, I admire your daring. You’re a better man than your father, I’ll give you that. All he’s ever done is treat magic like a little castle he builds around himself, brick by brick, hoping to climb its pathetic walls to become clan prince. And for what purpose? None. He would sit back and have us live here like frightened animals, hoping the real predators pass us by in search of better prey.’ He turned, pointing south. ‘I would see us be a great power again, Kellen. I would see the Daroman king begging at our feet.’
I don’t know if he was waiting for some sort of clever retort from me, but given I could barely breathe, he was going to be waiting a long time.
Finally he turned away again. ‘We were meant to be the rulers of this world, Kellen.’
I looked around and noticed a large outcropping of rock a few feet away. Reaching down, I took hold of Reichis as gently as I could. He groaned from the pain of his broken ribs. At least he’s alive. Now keep him that way. I crawled, slowly, quietly, towards the rocks.
‘I wish my sons were more like you,’ Ra’meth said. ‘For all I’ve given them, they are little more than dull-witted bullies. They giggle and preen like complacent fools, content for others to be weak rather than making the sacrifice to become powerful themselves.’ He turned and fired another spell that struck me in the side. Suddenly I was rolling on the ground, trying to protect Reichis. When the force dissipated, I continued my pathetic, almost instinctive effort to reach the dubious safety of the rocks.
‘I could make something of you, you know,’ he called out as I cowered behind them. ‘You’ve earned that opportunity, with your cleverness and your daring. Besides, our people always love a good story about the brave young orphan boy taken in by the master of a great house. We just need to make you an orphan first.’
How about I make your sons orphans instead? I removed my pack and reached inside for Ferius’s deck of steel cards. Every shield spell has gaps. Maybe if I flung the cards fast enough, at different parts of the shield, one might slip through. The odds weren’t good of course, but I was all out of ideas.
‘I know I should kill you, Kellen. It’s always better to wipe every last trace of your enemy off the face of the earth. We should have done that with the Mahdek centuries ago. Now we jump in our beds at every mention of their name, fearing that somewhere out there lurks one more, waiting for their chance.’
I laid the cards out in front of me. I’d have to time things perfectly, Even then, will it do any good? Ra’meth could just keep his shield spell up until I ran out of cards.
‘But damn it all, boy, I really think you and I could make a go of it. I need an enforcer for my house. Ra’fan hides behind the work of others. Ra’dir has the stomach for violence but not the intellect, and Tennat … well, let’s just say that if you feel you must kill him in order to accept my offer, it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker.’
Who talks about their children this way? I was in serious danger of sympathising with Tennat.
A creeping motion from the shadows caught my eye and I saw a squirrel cat – not Reichis – crawling on its belly towards us. The creature was bleeding from wounds all over its body, and its fur was charred by fire. The poor thing is looking for a place to die, I thought, and picked up one of the cards. Did I have the nerve to give it a quick death? The squirrel cat got close to me and I recognised her as Reichis’s mother.