Black Coven (Daniel Black Book 2) (28 page)

Then I had to stop and curse myself. Why had I spent all that time dicking around with explosive flame and force spells, when I could conjure up a dandy explosive material almost trivially using earth magic?

At that realization I broke off the work on personal weapons to take another shot at artillery. Well, no, artillery was overkill. It didn’t matter how big the projectile was, and since we didn’t have radios or forward observers there was no point in making a high-velocity weapon that could lob shells over the horizon. A couple of miles would be more than enough range to give anyone attacking my island a really bad day.

Mortars, then. A relatively light one, maybe two hundred pounds of tube and base plate, launching a two-pound shell at less than half the velocity our rifles produced. A little experimenting confirmed that it would lob a shell far enough for my needs. No need to make it conjure the shells, either. Make an enchantment factory that would create mortar rounds with the magma-conjuring spell on them, and we could just let it run and store them.

I played around with the conjuration effect a bit, and settled on a design that conjured five times as much molten nickel-iron as the bullets from my gun. In my testing that produced a nice, big blast suitable for tearing holes in an approaching army, while still being small enough that we could direct fire near the base of the city wall without killing friendly troops. Assuming I could make the mortar accurate enough to reliably hit a reasonable-size target zone.

I’ve never fired a mortar myself, but I’ve read enough military fiction to know how that’s supposed to work. Just build a couple of screws into the mortar that you can use to make small adjustments to the angle of the tube, and then you can walk your fire over the enemy until you get it where you want it. Easy, right?

Three hours later I was seriously wondering how the fuck Renaissance-era clock makers made stuff like that by hand. Conjuring a screw with earth magic was tricky. Making a screw where the threads were a consistent size, to within a fraction of a millimeter, was damned near impossible. Making that, and then perfectly matching the threads on the hole it was supposed to go into… ugh! I was about ready to tear my hair out.

That was when I was interrupted by a messenger. One of Oskar’s men, and panting like he’d just had a good run.

“Milord! Visitors at the water gate!”

“What? The water gate?” I said in surprise.

He nodded. “Yes, milord. A boat from the other side of the river, with a man and three women aboard. The sergeant of the watch wants to know if we should let them in?”

              The water gate was a massive portcullis of nickel-iron that could be laboriously raised using a winch in the gatehouse above it. When I’d thrown it together I’d noted that I really ought to come back and put some kind of motive enchantment on it eventually, or maybe redesign it entirely. I wasn’t sure how long the metal gate would survive being half-immersed in water before it rusted through, after all.

              But the gaps in the bars allowed me to get a good look at our visitors, especially after I threw a force wall over the surface of the water and walked out to them. A man and three women in a little wooden boat, just like the messenger had said. But the description didn’t capture the sheer strangeness of their appearance.

              The man was a little taller than average for this world, maybe five foot eight, and tremendously hairy. He wore a cloak that appeared to be woven from leaves stitched together with small vines, although that the fact that it was all green made me suspect it was actually alive. Beneath that he wore a breastplate of smooth, dark wood, along with leather greaves and a sort of skirt made of thick leather strips. The outfit reminded me of the armor ancient Greek warriors wore, aside from the complete lack of metal.

              The three women were similarly equipped, although the generous proportions of their breastplates left absolutely no doubt as to their gender. All three were gorgeous, a wild beauty unmarred by any hint of artifice, and for a moment I wondered if this guy was a traveling wizard. All three of the women carried short spears and seemed to know how to use them, but the man was unarmed.

              When I arrived they were having a rather heated discussion among themselves, which seemed to involve a lot of arm waving and finger pointing. But they composed themselves as they noted my approach.

              “Hello, travelers,” I said as I got within easy talking distance. “I’m Daniel Black. Who are you, and what brings you to my stronghold?”

              “See, Corinna, I told you we were in the right place. I’m Demetrios, of the line of Pan. This is my head girl Zoe, and our temporary allies Pelagia and Corinna. Obviously they’re all elder nymphs with their own circles and retinues, but if you’re willing to extend guest rights we’ll all vow to cause you no trouble in return. I was told to mention Dark Hecate’s name?”

              Zoe had long, curly hair in a chestnut brown, while Pelagia’s was lighter brown and Corinna’s was midnight black. Aside from that they were similar enough to be cousins, if not sisters.

              “Ah. That explains a few things. Come on it, then.”

              There was nothing holding the portcullis down except gravity, and this seemed like a good time to show off a little. So I pulled deep on the power of my amulet, and levitated the whole thing with a gesture. It rose eight feet with a rattle of chains and a rumble of metal against stone, and hung there dripping with river water.

              Zoe and Demetrios were only surprised for a moment. Then Demetrios grinned and said something to Zoe in another language. She punched his shoulder and smiled, and they chatted for a moment while Zoe fetched an oar from somewhere and started paddling the boat through. But Pelagia and Corinna both stared in astonishment for long moments, before Zoe nudged them into action. Then Corinna shook herself, muttered something about wizards and their tricks, and glared sullenly at me as she reluctantly took up an oar.

              Pelagia kept glancing up anxiously at the portcullis as they passed under it, and then back at me with an increasingly awed expression. Ah, someone was calculating how much magic I was burning to hold up that multi-ton weight.

              I lowered it gently back into place once they were through, and jumped across the little inlet to the dock. Cerise had shown up while I was out on the water, and was leaning against the wall waiting for me.

              “This looks like an interesting crew,” she commented. “Nymphs, dryads and a satyr who knows how to change his shape? Should I tell Avilla we’ve got company for dinner?”

              I checked the sky, and realized it was about that time. “Could you? Give her a little warning, before we spring unexpected guests on her?”

              “Sure. Just don’t let the hot nymph babes seduce you while that guy’s around, or you might get a little more action than you were counting on. You know what they say about Greeks, right?”

              I laughed, and gave her a swat on the butt to get her going. She took off with a giggle, and was on her bike and flying back to the keep before our guests reached the dock.

              It was pretty obvious Demetrios was the only one in the group who had any experience with boats. The other three were clumsy with their oars, and Corinna tried to stand up as they came alongside the dock and nearly capsized the boat. They didn’t seem to have a rope to tie up with, either. With some coaching from Demetrios the three nymphs managed to scramble up onto the dock, although at one point I had to grab Pelagia’s arm to keep her from falling in.

              She flushed in embarrassment. “Thank you, Daniel. Will you keep hold of me for a moment, in case I need saving again? This is going to be tricky, and I can’t trust Demetrios to keep his hands from roaming.”

              “It’s your fault for having such a spectacular ass,” Demetrios teased. “My hand just moved on its own.”

              She rolled her eyes. “Isn’t your own grove enough for you, lech?”

              “Enough? There’s no such thing, milady!”

              “What are you doing?” I asked, interrupting their banter. Pelagia was kneeling on the dock, and reaching down for the boat. Which, I noted, was just as odd as the rest of their equipment. The whole thing seemed to be a single piece of wood, with no seams or nails anywhere.

              The reason for this became apparent when a brown-skinned arm reached out of the wood to take Pelagia’s hand. She pulled, and a naked girl emerged from the boat to tumble onto the dock with her. The boat itself seemed to shrink as the girl emerged, the last of it vanishing into her feet a moment before they would have lost contact.

              The girl clung to Pelagia, shivering violently in the cold. “M-mistress? T-that was s-s-scary!”

              Brown skin, green hair, and came out of a piece of wood? Probably a dryad, then, although her powers didn’t quite seem to match the legends I was familiar with. She looked more like a teenage athlete than the giggling sex objects dryads are usually depicted as, although I suppose she’d be cute enough if she wasn’t turning blue.

              “Is she going to be alright?” I asked.

              Pelagia nodded. “Yes. We’re on land now, and my little shield is a strong one. Aren’t you, pet? Come, your sister is inviting you into her heart. Rest, and recover your strength.

              The dryad nodded, and hugged Pelagia. Then she sank into the nymph’s wooden breastplate, and vanished.

              Pelagia stood, and shook her head. “Thank you for your concern, Daniel. The winter has been hard on my girls, and I fear holding such an unfamiliar shape over water took a harsh toll on her. She’ll recover, but we’ll need to find another way to make the return trip.”

              A gust of wind blew over the island, and she hugged herself against the cold. Right, just because I was protected didn’t mean they were.

              “Well, for now let’s get you all out of the cold. You can guest with me tonight, and we’ll discuss things.”

              “Thank you, Adept Black,” Demetrios said smoothly. “We accept your hospitality. Don’t we, girls?”

              There was a chorus of agreement from all three, although I noticed that Zoe still spoke in that language she and Demetrios had used before. Was that Greek? Italian? That might be a problem, although she seemed to be content to let Demetrios speak for her.

              I led them up the ramp and across the island towards the keep, chatting about little things. They seemed impressed by the fortifications, especially when I told them this was only the beginning. Demetrios asked a few questions about the defenses, and I pointed out an armored skimmer and a platoon of recruits drilling with their guns.

              As we walked, a marked transformation came over Pelagia. Her magic spread out into the ground, reestablishing some sort of metaphysical connection, and grew much stronger over the course of a few minutes. Her body underwent a similar transformation, her already generous curves becoming so impossibly lush that no one could have mistaken her for a human. Her long brown hair practically glowed with vitality, and her movements took on a preternatural grace that reminded me of Cerise when she went full demon. An aura of supernatural allure rose up around her, and then was quickly leashed and drawn in before it could cause more than a momentary flash of desire.

              Even so, it took an effort of will not to throw her over my shoulder and carry her off somewhere private. It didn’t help that some niggling instinct in the back of my mind was telling me that she’d be overjoyed if I did just that.

              Then Zoe underwent a similar transformation. She was older than Pelagia, and her magic much stronger, although physically she wasn’t quite as stunning. I realized then that this was their natural form. They were spirits of the earth, and what I’d seen on the boat was only a washed-out shadow of their true selves. But then, why hadn’t Corinna changed?

              I got my answer a minute later, as we approached the keep and she stopped to growl in frustration.

              “The whole island? Really? What arrogance led you to claim an entire island to yourself? Is this some kind of male ego thing?”

              Huh. It had been long enough since I’d heard that kind of crap that I’d started to forget how annoying it was. I wasn’t entirely sure what she was talking about, but given their connection to the earth I could make an educated guess.

              “The island is mine because I made it, Corinna. If you have a problem with that you can always leave.”

              “You? Alone? That’s absurd,” she huffed. “This is some wizardly plot to drive a chink in my defenses, isn’t it?”

              “Grow up, Cor,” Pelagia chided. “Not everything is about you. Now do you really want to meet the priestess looking like that?”

              “Ugh. Fine, Pel, I’ll do it. But I’m blaming you if we all end up getting raped.”

              “I’m pretty sure I’m safe on that count,” Demetrios put in dryly. “Now stop being a bitch before the nice wizard decides to take offense.”

              Her transformation was similar to the other two, although her aura was a bit weaker. I could vaguely feel their connections to my land, and through it indirectly to me. Interesting. I’d have to look into that when I had the time. If I were actually some evil bastard who wanted to enslave them the link could probably be used to bypass their magical defenses, at least to some extent. But there were probably other, more useful things that could be done with it. Maybe I could feed them power without an amulet, or something.

              There was definitely some kind of empathic aspect to it, though. Flickering, uncertain, just little flashes of emotional impressions that came a little into focus if I concentrated and faded from awareness the rest of the time. Was that impression I’d gotten from Pelagia real, then? Maybe. Zoe felt… taken. Polite, but not interested and hoping I’d respect that. Fair enough.

From the way she acted I expected Corinna to reek of disgust and hatred, but what I got instead was a tangled ball of confused emotion that I couldn’t begin to sort out.

              Oh, great. One of those types. Well, whatever.

              I gave her a minute to finish recovering herself, and then turned and led them into the keep. They stared in amazement at the architecture, my people stopped to stare in amazement at the nymphs, and I ushered them into the elevator quickly before one of the men worked up the courage to approach them and make a scene.

              Demetrios looked a little green on the way up, and Zoe clung to him nervously. But Pelagia pressed her face against the glass I’d recently added, and looked down excitedly as the elevator rose.

              “We’re so high!” She exclaimed. “But still connected to the earth. This is marvelous, Daniel. I mean, Adept Black. Sorry, I don’t see humans very often and I have to keep reminding myself of the customs. I mean no offense.”

              “It’s fine, Pelagia. I only insist on the title in formal situations. Feel free to call me Daniel unless there’s a big crowd of humans close enough to overhear us.”

              Corinna scoffed. “If we’re being formal she would be High Mistress Pelagia of the Grove of Red Thorns, and I’m the Black Fang of Vengeance.”

              Demetrios sighed. “Sorry, Daniel. We passed through her grove on the way here, and I didn’t have the heart to leave her followers to wither and die in eternal winter.”

              “I understand, Demetrios. Although technically it won’t actually be an eternal winter. Europe with thaw again in a hundred thousand years, give or take a few millennia.”

              Pelagia and Corinna both shivered at that.