Master of Magic Read online

  “No, Ivy.” I pulled away only slightly so I could look her in the eyes. “I was a dick for saying those things. You were right, I shouldn’t have relied on Excalibur like I did, just like you don’t need to rely on that ring. It’s a tool, not your power.” Her lip quivered as she gazed up at me, her green eyes shimmering with magic and emotion. She gave me a small nod and then hugged me again.

  “Thank you for standing up for me last night.” She whispered in my ear.

  “Of course, I’m your knight, remember?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “You are my knight, remember that.” She assured me. She stepped away, inhaling a deep breath, and returning to her regal self.

  “I will summon Excalibur before the fight. So don’t worry, she’ll be close if you need her.” Ivy said to me. I gave her a long look.

  “I don’t need her,” I replied. I knew who I needed now, and the sword wasn’t part of that grouping. A look of uncertainty overtook her face, and she stepped closer, resting her hand on my arm.

  “Ryker, I’m going to lie out there.” She told me. I nodded, understanding that we all had a part to play.

  “You do your job, and I’ll do mine,” I assured her, giving her a smile. She nodded then and then turned to leave. There was something else I had to do.

  “Ivy.” I grabbed her hand gently. “May I kiss you?” I asked. She gave me a wide smile and nodded, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  About an hour later, I was summoned to the arena. Ivy had left long before that to take her place. The arena floor had been cleared of all tables and other furniture that had been there the day before. Everyone was safely up in the stands while Owen walked around the bottom of the stands weaving a containment spell. That way Tobias and I could go full out without worrying about destroying anything or hurting anyone. Toby stood at the other end of the arena with his father and a couple other knights. My father stood with me. Ivy and Admiral Gilgamesh stood in the middle. I spotted a guard at the top of the stands, still strutting around like a chicken. I forgot to ask her to drop that Command.

  Owen and Ivy had told me about the Command Ring the night before and what that meant for Ivy.

  Admiral Gilgamesh grabbed a microphone from an assistant. “Knights, we are making history this meeting.” He said, “My Lady, if you please, summon Excalibur.” He gave her a soft bow. Ivy raised her hand, her ring glowing green, as she moved her finger in a circular motion. A green circle formed and then when she pressed her palm in the center a portal to her dimension manifested. I had never seen her do that without a mirror before. That ring really did bring her great freedom of power. Reaching in, she pulled Excalibur from the dimension, stone and all.

  “The true king can pull the sword from the stone,” Ivy explained into the microphone. She dragged it to the center of the arena. I stared at my sword. Toby would never get his hands on her. I’d kill him first. That kind of power in a guy with his character was a recipe for disaster.

  “How did she do that?” I heard General Achilles question as he stormed across the arena floor. As his voice wasn’t magnified, so only those near him heard the question. “What is that on your hand?” He demanded his stomping speed growing faster. I ran towards them, pushing Ivy behind me and glaring up just as the General stopped in front of the place she once stood. I grabbed Ivy’s hand and held up her finger for the General to see.

  “Is that what I think it is?” He demanded.

  “The Ring of the Commander.” Admiral Gilgamesh replied.

  “What ring is that?” Admiral Orion was suddenly next to us.

  “I’m okay.” I heard Ivy whisper. “Go back to your spot.” It wasn’t a command, but I did so anyway. She had told me that she and Owen had a plan, and for me not to mess with it. After being with both of them for two years, I knew better than to intervene.

  “That’s my ring, you little thief!” Admiral Orion shouted.

  “Actually it’s mine,” Ivy replied. “This is the Ring of the Commander. Therefore, it belongs to the Queen of Sorcery, or is the Code wrong on that?” Ivy asked, giving him a daring look. Both high brass stared agape at the young blonde girl who just had the audacity to sass them. I wished I could take a picture.

  “That is my ring, it has been in my family for generations.” Orion took a step forward. I tensed, ready to run over there.

  “Stop.” Ivy raised her hand to the Admiral, and he stopped in place, unable to move.

  “You see, Admiral, I’ve done some research on this ring. Stayed up all night actually. And do you know what I found?” Ivy asked as she walked all the way around the stuck general. “I found that there has not been a Queen of Sorcery since Morgana and it was entrusted to the Orion family to keep safe until a new queen can be named, isn’t that right?” Ivy went on.

  “You dishonor this meeting!” General Achilles snarled at her.

  “Silence.” She said to him, raising her hand. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.

  She turned back to Admiral Orion. Carefully, she smoothed his hair from his face as she glared into his wide, panicked eyes. “This ring is mine. I dare you to try to take it from me.” She said. Gilgamesh explained to us that morning that Ivy could not officially take the title Queen of Sorcery until Morgana could be found and formally stepped down. Though Morgana could not have the ring, she still got the title by default.

  Ivy kept her face emotionless, but I knew her well enough to see the triumph she felt. I hadn’t realized before yesterday how inadequate she felt. I always thought she knew her worth, especially being a record-breaking Le Fay sorceress, but I could also see her point. Though she did have more power than anyone else, she couldn’t manifest it. The ring was a manifestation tool. The magic was Ivy’s, but the ability to Command came from the ring.

  Orion stormed towards my side of the arena, his eyes lit with fury. I tilted my head, wondering why it was such a big deal that the ring had finally found its master. Or was it, that Orion already had a master chosen for it, and Ivy ruined his plans? Chip Orion had taken Toby’s side last night, I wondered if he picked that up from his father.

  Admiral Gilgamesh led her away to ascend the steps in the middle of the arena up into the stands. As she walked across, she gave me a long look. This fight wasn’t just about me anymore, but it was about her and Owen as well. If Toby won, they would be banned from the Order, stripped of their titles.

  A Pendragon should be king, and it was time to show him why.

  Once everyone was cleared of the arena, a bell rang to signify the start of the fight. I took a moment to stretch my neck and shoulders. Toby started to run towards me. When he was about halfway across, I began to run towards him. Let’s see what his Achilles magic could do. I wanted to know the strength of my opponent. The fight the night before was more of a warm-up, I didn’t even use a percentage of my magic, and I didn’t think he did either.

  As we stepped within swinging distance, Toby swung down, his magic sparking on his fist. I dodged right and used the opening to slug him in the side of the face, no magic. He took a few steps to the side and spit blood. The crowd roared, making the room deafening.

  “You can’t win this Pendragon.” He taunted. I wondered why he would take the time to do so.

  Moving forward, he tried to jab with his left. I grabbed his fist, pushing it to the side and knocked my head against his. We both took a few steps back. Though I had been trained on how to execute that move, it still hurt like a bitch. His fist glowed more brightly. I could actually start to sense his magic, though it was faint. I lunged forward this time, taking a hit to my shoulder, but using the momentum to grab the back of his neck and swing him over my body, he landed face first on the concrete floor. I stretched my shoulder; it was already healing. Toby pushed himself up slowly, his face bloodied and bruised from the impact. I just wanted to see how much power he had. That’s all I wanted. And I’d keep irritating him until he did.

  His fist was now encased with his burnt ora
nge magic. It still felt weak to me. What would it take to get this guy to use his full power? Running towards him, I used magic in my feet to launch myself high up in the air. As I came down, I wrapped my fist in magic, hoping this would coax him to his full power. He dodged before I could place the hit and I landed on my feet. His eyes were wide as he stared at me. He almost looked afraid. I gave him a questioning look, but his face quickly turned back to a scowl.

  “When I win does that mean Ivy’s mine?” Toby taunted. I felt my rage ignite at the thought of such a thing.

  “Ivy’s her own person,” I replied back.

  In a quick motion, he rushed forward, his fist encased with magic jabbing my jaw. Pain exploded throughout my head as I stumbled back, spitting blood. It hurt, but it wasn’t the worst. I was already healing. I didn’t understand. Why wasn’t he using full power? Now was the time to do it. I didn’t want to use mine if he didn’t use his. Stepping forward, I nodded my head towards him.

  The thing about Krav Maga is that it’s essentially a fast and efficient way of fighting. They train you to go for the vitals, the pressure points, the places that are going to hurt the worst. A fight isn’t supposed to last for more than a few seconds. It is the art of taking down an opponent as quickly and painfully as possible. Therefore, this fight had already lasted too long.

  Glancing around the crowded Coliseum, as knights cheered us on, I realized something that would change my life forever. It didn’t matter if Toby went full power or not. This wasn’t about him. It was about them. The thousands of people who were watching and the millions of people out in the world who would hear of this. Did I want them to say it was a close one? Or would it be better for them to gasp at my name and marvel at my power? Was it better to be a kind leader or an intimidating one? It didn’t matter if everyone knew you could take them.

  My reign as king started at that moment when I realized that Toby was, in fact, using the full extent of his powers.

  With a smile on my face, I let him rush me. Wrapping my hand in power, in my full magical ability, I dodged his swing and then hit him square in the chest. The force of it actually paused his momentum just for a second, before he went flying across the arena, landing hard on the concrete and rolling a few times before slamming into the far wall. The crowd cheered so loudly I couldn’t hear even my own heart beating as they chanted my name. I glanced over to where Ivy sat. She smiled widely, shouting my name as well.

  Slowly, Tobias Achilles pushed himself to his feet. He was gasping for breath, his body bruised, and his skin was covered in road rash and lacerations. He limped towards me. I walked towards him, wondering if he wanted to shake hands or something. As we met in the middle of the arena, he stretched his hand out into the air. A magical sword appeared. The crowd gasped as Toby swung at me. I had no way to defend myself, and I told Excalibur to stay put. I wasn’t going to win this with her. I needed to prove to myself and everyone else that I was meant to be King, not because I held Excalibur, but because of who I was. I dodged back, flipping backward and landing on my feet. Toby glared at me. The sword glowed that burnt orange color.

  He swung again, and I dodged, grabbing his sword hand and twisting the handle from his grip. I threw the sword to the side of the arena and held him by the shoulder while I built up power in my fist.

  “Yield,” I warned him. He laughed, blood pouring from his mouth. “Yield,” I ordered.

  “The honorable Pendragon, you’re going to have to dirty yourself up to defeat me.” He laughed. I glanced at Ivy, unsure of what to do.

  She gave me a long look and then nodded.

  Forcing all the power within me into my fist, I punched him square in the chest. The red magic exploded around us as Toby disappeared from my sight. The crowd gasped and then was silent as the particles of magic dissipated. Toby lay on the other side of the arena, on his stomach, and was still. The crowd cheered, chanting my name, and “Long live the King.” Holding out my hand, Excalibur went to my palm, the red and gold lightning filling the arena as the crowd cheered louder and louder. I stood in the center of the arena, basking in the glory of my triumph.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the old man with the long white hair and beard in the black tunic. He appeared next to Toby. With magic, the old man levitated him in the air. I started to rush towards him, not waiting to see if he was a threat or not. The old man turned to look at me. He winked one of his ethereal blue eyes and then snapped his fingers. In response, the magic that held Toby constricted, snapping the Achilles Legacy neck. I stopped mid-stride, gasping in shock at what I just saw. The crowd went silent.

  “King of Knights, I declare war.” The old man shouted loud enough for the crowd to hear. With that, the building started to quake beneath me. I turned to look at Ivy, she was gone.

  Screams started to echo from the top of the bleachers as robed people wearing masks charged in through the doors, blocking all exits. It was the Cult of Uasal. My heart thudded in my chest as knights in the stands started to fight them off. The building quaked again, and that was when I heard the eerie shrieking sound of the creatures. They came through the tunnels, horrible beasts with scaled skin and entirely black eyes. Their scales were all different shades of black and reds. They crawled on all fours, even though, by the shape of them, they could probably stand on two legs as well. They crawled onto the ceiling, their wings flapping as they ascended into the air.

  A guttural sound echoed from the tunnel leading to the arena floor. A colossal beast stomped into the space. It had eight eyes and eight bulbous muscled legs. Though its skin was mostly scaled, small toughs of grey fur covered it sporadically. Its body was short and stubby, with black spikes covering its back.

  What the hell was this? What the hell was happening?

  They all seemed to be waiting for something. A blonde head caught my attention as Angus and Garret were getting Ivy to safety. Thank god for that. The monsters turned, staring at the trio as they rushed to one of the empty tunnels. That was when I realized what they wanted.

  Her.

  I saw Owen on the other side of the arena, he must have made the same conclusion because he jumped down to run towards me.

  “We got to get Ivy out of here.” He yelled.

  He ran past me while I stood in front of the massive arachnid beast in front of me. I would hold them off for as long as it took. Excalibur ignited in my hand, and the creature shrieked coiling back away from the light. They didn’t like her magic.

  Good.

  Using my magic, I leaped onto the stands, in front of where Angus, Garret, and Ivy were running. The creatures shrieked. The ones on the ceiling started to fly down in a funnel formation while the big arachnid began to stomp towards my position.

  “Get down!” I yelled, hoping they would hear me over the screaming, the clashing of weapons, and the shrieking of the beasts. Swinging Excalibur up, I released as much magic as I could before aiming her at the tip of the funnel that was hurtling directly towards us. The impact caused an explosion, covering the ceiling in gold and red energy. The creatures shrieked, retreating back up and flying away from the blast.

  “You have to get out of here.” Agent Rogers was suddenly right next to me, pulling on my shoulders.

  “They’re after Ivy,” I yelled back.

  “And you have to protect her.” He bellowed back. I knew he was right. It was part of the Code and in the universe. I was her knight.

  Turning, Ivy and the others were just reaching us.

  “Portal,” I called to her. She shook her head, her eyes wide, holding up her hand, the ring was dim.

  “It’s not working.” She said.

  “Time to go then.” Owen was suddenly next to us.

  “We’ll hold them off, you three get the hell out of here.” Agent Rogers said, pushing us towards the tunnel.

  We ran through the tunnel and out the front doors of the Coliseum. We paused at the steps. Those flying bat-like creatures littered the parking lot, milling between
the cars and perched on top of street lamps. There was an entire swarm of them.

  “I’ll lead them away, you guys get in the car and leave,” Owen said. I shook my head before he finished the sentence. He turned and gave me a long look.

  “You two go, I’ll hold them off,” I argued.

  “No. Not this time.” He said. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his nub of Merlin’s original staff. “I’ll be fine.”

  “We stay together,” Ivy said. We both looked at her. “Owen, I need my knife.” She then said. I wasn’t sure what she meant to do, but she had that glazed over super focused look in her eyes, which meant that we should follow her lead. Owen handed her the knife.

  “Center of the parking lot, that has the most room,” I said. They nodded. I looked up. The creatures hadn’t noticed us yet.

  “Now,” I said. The three of us rushed down the steps and ran to the center of the parking lot. The flying bat creatures started to take notice, shrieking at each other as we reached our destination. We stood in a circle, with our backs to each other.

  “Ivy, you have to Command that thing,” Owen said. I had no idea what they were talking about.

  Reaching up my hand, I summoned Excalibur. That would also signal to the others that we ran into trouble. Excalibur shot through the domed roof of the Coliseum and raced towards me. The creatures shrieked, trying to fly away from it. She managed to cut right through one on her way to me. The creature exploded into . . . Well nothing, just some dust.

  “It’s not working,” Ivy shouted back, green lightning glittering over the blade of her knife.

  “Ivy!” Owen turned to bellow at her, which he had never done before. “You Command that thing on your hand to work!” She stared up at him with wide, panicked eyes.

  “Incoming,” I warned as ten or so bat creatures started to fly in a circle over us.

  “You are the Commander, not it! That thing is just a tool. It didn’t grant you powers, it just releases them!” Owen yelled at her.