Shifting Stars by Gary Stringer (best fiction books of all time txt) 📗

“You see, there’s a drawback to wizard magic. You need to use your hands to inscribe the language of magic in the air. You can't do magic if you can't move. Now, I’m not sure about blood magic, but I figure if you’re immobilised, you can’t prick yourself, so you can’t access that power!”

Dreya’s smile was chilling, and suddenly Cat wasn’t quite so smug. Her mind raced, frantically, trying to see if there was something she’d overlooked. If there was, she couldn’t see it.

“If you were dealing with any other wizard, you'd be right,” Dreya conceded. “But this is me. Do you really think I'd let this stop me? Here’s a little thing I’ve been working on…”

She focussed her gaze on Cat through the clear ice and spoke but one word.

“STUN.”

Cat found herself completely unable to move. A new anti-magic field formed around her, skin-tight and completely encasing her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. Dreya wasn’t one to make the same mistake twice.

Dreya moved her penetrating gaze to the roses trapping her.

“BREAK.”

The wood and green stems snapped, allowing Dreya to step clear.

“SHATTER,” she told the ice wall, and it blew apart into a million fragments.

Cat was grateful that Dreya’s stun magic allowed her to close her eyes against any incoming ice shards. She still had her eyes shut tight as she felt Dreya’s breath on her face.

“SQUEEZE,” came Dreya's voice, and at her command, a force of magic took hold of Cat in a vice-like grip.

Her eyes flew open in genuine fear and panic.

“Shapeshift into something smaller, and I squeeze tighter,” Dreya warned her. “Finally out of tricks, druid? Feel free to nod your head.”

Cat thought hard but had to admit defeat. She nodded.

Still not releasing her, Dreya turned her attention to Catriona’s Crystal Mage Staff. “Interesting staff you've got there. It seems to be giving off higher planar energy as well as a very mixed up magic signature, like druid, wizard and cleric magic all squeezed together like, well, like you are at the moment,” she taunted, like a spider savouring her power and control over the annoying insect snared in her web. “Mind if I take a closer look?” Dreya asked. “Oh, that’s right, you don’t have a choice, do you?”

Higher planar energy was the power of the shadow warriors. The power Daelen StormTiger wielded. If ever she was going to take him on as she planned, she would need that power. She had begun experimenting with the residual traces left behind after their devastating battles. Scraps off the shadow warriors’ table. But the power within the staff this druid girl possessed was a feast by comparison. It was irresistible.

Dreya reached out, but as soon as her hand touched the staff, a brilliant flash of energy broke all magical bindings and sent both mages flying. Cat landed in the soft garden. Dreya was not so lucky. Her head collided with her door, throwing it wide open and knocking her unconscious.

This was Catriona’s first peek inside the Black Tower. She could see that the front door led to a large porch or portico area, and eventually to an interior door made of frosted glass. Through that glass, Cat could just make out figures rushing closer: Dreya’s personal staff, she realised. Presumably, while Dreya was conscious, she had kept them out of it, preventing them from interfering while she ‘dealt with’ Cat, personally. But with Dreya unconscious, there was nothing holding them back anymore. They were going to come rushing out, believing their Mistress to be under attack.

Catriona had never intended to seriously harm Dreya – throughout their fight, she had carefully avoided that – but her elite guards were not likely to take intentions into account. They would kill Catriona without a moment’s hesitation.

Cat still had a couple of small vials of the water Mandalee had blessed, in her pocket dimension, in case of emergency. This definitely qualified. With a prayer to Blessed Alycia, Mother of Nature, she used one to create a new ice wall to keep them trapped in the porch. Mandalee’s blessing meant it was effectively frozen Holy Water, which would make it difficult and painful for the undead guards to break through, but it wouldn’t stop them for long.

She knew how powerful Dreya’s elite guards were. They weren’t like the lumbering, unthinking ones in the grounds, still unable to work out how to break free of the ties that bound them. No magic Catriona possessed would stop them, and if they touched her…well, she didn’t want to think about what would happen then. Suffice to say, when dealing with powerful undead, simply dying is often seen as a positive result.

My mother could have shifted to falcon form and flown away, but if she did that, there was no way Dreya would ever let her into her tower. Moreover, ‘Get the Greatest Mage Who Ever Lived really annoyed and out for your blood’ was not on Cat’s to-do list for the day. If Dreya interpreted this as an actual attack, their next fight would be for real, not the fun playtime of this afternoon. Cat had to pray she could make her see reason and healing her would be a pretty good first gesture.

Catriona ran to Dreya's side and focussed all of her energy on restoring her. She told Blessed Alycia to take what she needed directly out of her own body. It would weaken her but, given the way her ice prison was breaking up, if Dreya did not recover quickly and in a favourable mood, Cat’s strength would make no difference.

After an eternity, Dreya came around. The ice was beginning to splinter. The guards would be through any second.

Cat panicked. “Not an attack!” she exclaimed desperately. “Promise! Not an attack! Please call off your guards so I can get you inside!”

Dreya’s head was fuzzy from the concussion, but she still managed to quip, “You’re determined to get in my tower one