Circles, Chapter 1.10

Circles

Chapter 1.10

Maze of Madness

Mage Forrest stepped forward. "Surrender, children."

Alissa didn't move. The other three Aspirants looked at each other.

"They killed everyone else," Thomas whispered. "He won't spare us. They can't let us live."

Forrest motioned the soldiers forward instead of hitting them with a spell.

"He's exhausted his magick!" Derry said.

Glemma drew magick to her. She caught a hard wind and blew dirt, stones, blood, and smoke at the advancing soldiers.

"Run!" Thomas shouted. He rushed toward the door, pushing Alissa ahead of him. She dropped the fade shield. Derry caught Glemma's hand and pulled her along.

The soldiers, slow to react, now began to fire at them.

The four Aspirants tumbled through the door. Bullets whistled past them.

Derry rolled and came up, his hands outstretched. The ironwood door swung shut. Derry magick-locked it.

"That won't hold," he said.

"Alissa's been hit!" Glemma cried.

Thomas rushed to the unconscious girl. Blood began to spread across her back. He grabbed at the magick and sent healing into her body. The wound refused to heal.

"It's a iron bullet," he said. "It's got to come out."

The door shook as soldiers tried to batter it down.

Derry poured magick into the door, strengthening its planks. "This won't hold!"

Glemma pulled up her skirt and slid a knife out of a leather sheath. She handed it to Thomas. "Will this work?"

"Too large a blade," Thomas said. "But we have no choice. Hold her down." Glemma pushed down Alissa's shoulders and added magick to the hold.

He used the blade to open up the hole the bullet had made. He could see smoking curling out of the wound as the iron heated from his magick. He sent magick into the blade to burn off any bad humours attached to it. "I'm sorry, Alissa." He worked the knife into wound.

Alissa awakened and began to struggle. She screamed.

"Just a moment more!" Thomas said. "Hold her still!" The knife tip found the bullet. He worked it out until he could reach it with his fingers. The blackened ball of iron burned him. He could see glowing symbols on it. He tossed the nasty thing aside.

"It's okay, Alissa," Glemma said. "It's out. It's out."

Thomas unleashed the full force of his healing magick. Glemma's eyes widened as the wound closed, the flesh drawing together tightly and closed until only a faint pale pink line remained. It vanished, leaving only her torn top and the congealing blood as evidence that she had ever been shot.

"Gods," Glemma said, awed. "How did you do that?"

He ignored her question and looked around. He had never been in the Testing building. Aspirants were forbidden by the Strictures, but he now thought most of the Aspirants hadn't kept the rules as he had. The building was barely thirty paces deep and fifteen wide. One magicked lantern hang from the ceiling, giving light. The door seemed to be the only entrance. At the back of the room stood two tall columns of black stone. A third shaft of the same stone lay across the columns. The columns made a doorway of sorts, but Thomas could see the back of the building through the opening. He could see no entrance to the Maze and no exit from this death trap.

The door shuddered. Cracks begin to show.

"They're bringing up a cannon," Derry said.

"Where's the Maze?" Thomas shouted.

Glemma helped Alissa up. The swamp witch's face looked as pale as new snow, but she pulled magick and began to regain strength.

"Through the columns," Glemma said.

"There's nothing there," Thomas said desperately.

"There will be," she said, stepping toward the columns.

Outside a cannon bloomed. Pieces of the door flew into the room, pelting the Aspirants.

"Hold hands!" Glemma shouted. She grabbed Alissa's hand, Thomas grabbed Glemma's, and Derry grabbed Thomas's. The four ran toward the columns.

The door exploded behind them.

They ran through the columns.

Into the Maze.

Into madness.

Copyright 2011 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved. No copying without prior express written permission.

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