Jake's Quest - Wizards V (5 page)

8.
  
Bronwyn

I arrived at the front door of Bronwyn’s house and immediately thought better of it. I hadn’t seen her for ages and the truth was that I was a little bit scared to see her again. She was the only other major league wizard on Earth and was born only a few miles from me. Given how few wizards Earth produced over the centuries, that was so unlikely I seriously wondered if we were related. But we were not.

That wasn’t reasonable and neither was she.

I was about to hop to the Bat Cave when the door was pulled open.

“Jake.”

It took me a few moments to realize the young woman staring at me was Bronwyn. She looked so much older than fifteen, and years older than when I saw her last.

“I sensed you out here.” She looked at me intently. “You were going to leave, weren’t you?”

“No. Maybe, I don’t know… You’re looking… well.”

Anger fought with amusement and fortunately amusement won. She did one of those flouncing movements girls do so her hair rippled across her face and she turned her back on me.

“Come on in before I change my mind.”

Then I was alone on the doorstep again.

“Jake!”

I hurried into the house.

I found her in the kitchen making a pot of tea. For a goddess in charge of a world of wizards, it was such a Welsh girl thing to do that I found myself smiling. You can take the girl out of the valleys, but you can’t take the valleys out of the girl. Tea and biscuits offered every time you visit, usually just before they rip your face to shreds.

“Sit.”

I sat, wondering how she was controlling me. It didn’t seem to involve magic.

She brought over a tray with scones, jam and cream as well as tea and placed it on the table in front of me, then sat down facing me. Neither of us moved as her eyes roved over me and mine over her.

She wasn’t a little girl any more. Her figure had filled out and every boy close to her age would be fighting to ask her out. If they liked powerful girls that is, because there was tempered steel in her eyes when you took a moment to look.

“You look well, Jake. Less haunted than when I last saw you. Why are you here? I know it isn’t just to say hello.”

I swallowed. Bronwyn had grown up in so many ways.

While I tried to get a few words out she poured me a cup of tea with hands so steady they could have been robotic. She cut a scone in half and smeared raspberry jam and clotted cream onto both pieces. I thought she had done them for herself, but she placed the plate in front of me.

“Eat.”

It was easier to obey than trying to formulate a sentence, so I did. I still wasn’t sure if I actually had a choice. Bronwyn exuded confidence and power.

“Why haven’t you come to see me, Jake? I’ve missed you.” Suddenly the confidence was gone and there was a hurt little girl in front of me.

“You have your life.” I paused trying to find the right words. “A world to run; a childhood to recapture.”

“But not you as a friend to lean on, to guide me?” she whispered.

“I…”

“Esmeralda, Jenny, and the kids are always welcoming. Even though Esmeralda still hasn’t forgiven me for the damage I did in Salice, but she lets me visit.”

I thought about telling her that it was a coincidence that I was never there when she visited, but that would be a lie. When I knew she was visiting, I fled. This girl had sent wizards to crucify me and then she defeated me in battle without the slightest effort, despite the fact that I am much more powerful than her.

Moving my arm across the table I took her hand and squeezed gently.

“We have too much history.”

She pulled her hand away as though I had burned her.

“So why have you come?”

“The Diamond Worlds are behaving oddly. The Malevon want a third party to spy on them to find out why.”

I saw wheels spinning behind Bronwyn’s eyes. The girl knew politics backwards.

“Do it yourself, or send Urda.”

“I’m unavailable and Urda’s needed to guard Salice. Salice isn’t exactly flush with wizards to protect it.”

Her eyes narrowed and she stood and leaned over the table.

“Balmack has accepted you? Why do you keep trying to get yourself killed?”

I shrugged as I didn’t see I had a choice. I didn’t see her hand coming either and nearly fell off the chair with the force of the blow across my face.

Bronwyn turned away from me, standing facing the kitchen sink, her hands gripping the sink tightly.

“Okay, you’ll get your spies. Now get out of here.”

I hopped to the Bat Cave. I could have sworn that Bronwyn had spoken through tears and that didn’t make any sense at all. My cheek hurt from Bronwyn’s blow and I put a hand up to soothe it.

[The women are fighting back? I knew it would happen eventually.]

My dragon sent spurts of flame across the cave as he laughed. I looked at the hand I’d been using to nurse my cheek and found it speckled with blood.

It wasn’t difficult to heal the scratches, but I still didn’t understand why she’d hit me. It was not as if we were close. Fluffy found the sight of me healing myself even funnier and the cave was soon engulfed in dragonfire.

9.
  
Diabli

By the time Fluffy stopped laughing and I’d had a quick clean up so the place no longer stank of dragonfire quite a lot of time had passed. Jenny would be furious if I didn’t get to her soon.

[Jake, the Elders would like you to check on the Diabli before you go to Balmack.]

“That’s easy for them to say. My life is getting complicated again.”

[Again?] I dodged a small jet of dragonfire Fluffy wasn’t able to suppress.

“Whatever. I was just with Bronwyn asking her to use the Cult to spy on the Diamond Worlds for Malevon.”

[Impressive. No wonder you arrived with scratch marks. Have you mated with her as well?]

I was shocked. “She’s a child. That’s disgusting.”

Fluffy cocked his massive head to one side and stared at me. [Human mores are beyond my understanding. She is of an age to bare offspring and it is obvious that she is deeply attracted to you.]

I spluttered. There are some things that you just can’t explain to a dragon. And anyway, the idea of a girl Bronwyn’s age lusting after me was ludicrous. She was still a child for God’s sake.

[The Elders will be upset if you do not check on the Diabli for them.]

“They told us it would take a hundred years for them to escape.”

[Probably. They said it would
probably
take the Diabli a hundred years. There is a difference, Jake. And there are things going on across the multiverse that worry them.]

I waited for an explanation, but Fluffy remained silent. This gave me a chance to ask him a question that had been nagging at me ever since I was first found out that the Diabli were trapped in the Damaged Zone.

“How come there are no Diabli anywhere in the multiverse? Humans, Elves and Dragons are everywhere.”

Fully sat on the floor and stretched his head forward in a way that reminded me of a cat. [Mathematics was never your strong point.]

“I can add up if I have to.”

[Mathematicians describe two types of infinities, one infinitely bigger than the other.]

Now that was plain silly. How can anything be bigger than infinity?

[In the bigger one, anything is possible. If the multiverse was that big then there would be an infinite number of Jake’s talking to an infinite number of dragons called Fluffy. In the smaller infinity, even one other Jake Morrissey would be extremely unlikely. The multiverse is of the smaller variety, for which we should all be duly thankful.]

I sat down by Fluffy’s neck and leaned my back against him.

“A pretty story, but how do you know?”

Fluffy grinned. [Because the lizard men we call the Diabli come from one galaxy in one universe and nowhere else.]

Do you know that trick with three cups and a ball? I had a feeling I’d been caught in a circular logic version of that.

“But why didn’t they spread out, like humans?”

[Humans spread to compatible worlds, but the Balti could only find such worlds in their own galaxy, and not many of them. It is why they are so belligerent. Their worlds are poisonous to us and ours to them, if they remain long enough to eat the food.]

“If they breakout of the Damaged Zone they will be dead in a few months?” Well that was a problem solved.

[They can change worlds to make them compatible with their metabolism. Naturally all the plants and animals already on those worlds would die as a consequence.]

I spotted a logical conclusion.

“That’s why Humans, Elves and Dragons fought on the same side against them.”

[Finally, you understand. The Diabli do not want an empire of slave worlds. They wish to make us all extinct.]

I looked at my watch and grimaced.

“I have to go. Jenny’s expecting me. I’ll try and fit a visit to the Diabli into the schedule.”

I hopped into our bedroom. Jenny wasn’t there. When I opened the door I nearly fell over Britney waiting on the landing. She stared at me suspiciously. “How did you get in there?”

“Secret passage,” my mouth replied. My brain caught up a few moments later and wondered what I was going to do if she asked to see it. Then the thinking bit reminded the rest of my mind that I was a wizard. If I wanted a secret passage, there would be a secret passage.

She stared around me into the bedroom. “I can’t see one?”

“It’s secret. What are you doing here?”

“School’s finished and Mam told us to come here as they’re out shopping.”

“It’s only two thirty.”

“Finished for the summer holidays.” If I could bottle the sarcasm that dripped from her words, well, I’d have a lot of sarcasm in a lot of bottles.

I edged past her to make my way to the playroom. I could feel her eyes boring into my back as I walked.

“You’re always coming from nowhere.”

“I’m a wizard.” I could have bit my tongue off for saying something so stupid.

Britney’s eyes narrowed and brow wrinkled.

“Where’s your wand?”

“Lent it to a friend of mine called Harry.” I didn’t seem to be able to get off this track. It was like being caught in a death spiral.

“Yeah, right.” So much contempt from one so young didn’t seem right.

“Jake, is that you?”

Rescued by the wife.
“Coming,” I yelled in Jenny’s general direction and set off at a run. Give me evil wizards over little girls any day. Evil wizards I can hit.

Jenny was in the playroom with Merlin and Brad. Merlin was watching Brad, who had used the alphabet bricks to construct a rude word. Jenny hadn’t seen it because she was facing the other way talking on the phone.

“Good, then it’s all set for tomorrow. See you then.”

She put down the phone and smiled at me. “That was Jean. They’re coming over tomorrow for Gwydion’s birthday. Esmeralda’s bringing Morgana along with Urda and Anna.”

“Can we come?” Brad asked. He sounded sullen.

“Gwydion’s only one. You’d be bored.”

I nodded, no doubt Britney would be full of questions about where Esmeralda lived and how she’d got here.

“Auntie ‘Meralda’s got a funny accent. Where does she come from?” Britney asked from the door. She saw the word her brother had constructed and giggled. Was I like that at ten? I hoped not.

“It’s rude to comment on people’s accents,” Jenny said imperturbably, neatly dodging the question.

“We want to see Auntie ‘Meralda,” Brad chimed in. He had a grin on his face and was pointing at the bricks. Jenny still hadn’t noticed.

“Daddy needs this,” Merlin said loudly, pointing at the bricks in front of him. I turned away, feeling my face heat up.

“Did you do this?” Jenny asked in delight. I turned to see she was looking at Brad, who was squirming. He pointed at Merlin.

“Jake, Merlin is wishing you luck.”

Me, Brad and Britney stared in surprise at the bricks spelling LUCK, while Jenny hugged our son. “You are a clever boy,”

“I hate you,” Brad said, looking at me, and left the room followed by his twin.

“What was that all about?”

“Brad and Britney don’t like me. I appear out of nowhere too often.”

“They have a point. Have you done the deed with Esmeralda?”

I winced. I was still sore from the number of times the deed was done.

“I see you have. Don’t think you’re getting off lightly tonight. Anything you did with her you do with me. There’s Welsh pride involved.”

“Have mercy.”

Merlin laughed. “Daddy silly.”

I picked him up and held him above my head, much to his delight. Then I gave him a hug.

“Brad go.”

Jenny ran to the window and looked out.

“I have to get them back. Their house is locked up.”

Jenny ran for the stairs leaving me with my son.

“Go Diabli,” Merlin said. I held him out at arm’s length.

“Has something happened?”

He smiled at me, saying nothing more.

I put him back on the floor and he stared up at me. He seemed much older than twenty months.

“Daddy go Diabli now.”

Merlin turned back to his bricks. He picked up the L brick and turned it till an F showed, then threw it across the room.

The twins entered the room sullenly with Jenny herding them.

“I need to go somewhere. I should be back in a couple of hours.”

Jenny frowned. “You only just got here.”

“I got an urgent message.” I looked at Merlin. He was totally ignoring me and everybody else in the room.

“You’ll be back for dinner?”

“I promise.”

Jenny hugged me and took the opportunity to whisper in my ear. “Go out the front door. I’ll make sure the twins aren’t looking.”

I kissed her, wondering all the while how I’d managed to marry such a wonderful, clever, understanding woman.

She was shouting at the twins as I made my way downstairs. Something about being responsible enough to know they couldn’t just leave whenever they wanted.

As soon the front door clicked shut, I hopped to a place outside the Multiverse.

There is a dimension called Hop Space that links the Multiverse together. It’s what wizards use to travel, though we rarely stay in it long enough to know it’s there. From Hop Space it is possible to jump outside the Multiverse a little way.

There is a wound in the Multiverse caused when a dozen or so universes were crunched together into a destroyed mess. The wound extends the multiverse outwards to what remains of those universes, a ball of reality called the Damaged Zone that is shrinking as its magical energy is absorbed back into the Multiverse.

The Diabli are trapped in the Damaged Zone. They have not perceived the wound and so they cannot use it to travel back to the Multiverse. That has not stopped them from trying to escape. They are incredibly powerful wizards, determined to survive and they are sending enormous blasts of energy at the surface of the Damaged Zone attempting to break out.

There’s risk in going to look. Should they spot me they might learn how to escape. The Dragons believe the greater risk is not knowing what they are up to, which is why I was here. That and my son’s warning.

I approached the skin of the Damaged Zone cautiously. The last time I had been here the Diabli were firing magic at the skin. The surface had been roiling for distances I could not fully comprehend.

Everything was quiet. There was a haze above the boundary layer as magic left the Zone and flowed back to the Multiverse. The Dragons believed that as the zone shrank the magic inside was becoming denser despite the amount escaping and that eventually this denser magic would allow the Diabli to escape.

The surface of the Damaged Zone was smooth and undisturbed. It was also immeasurably big, so it was only my spatial ability that allowed me to return to the spot where I had seen the Diabli. As there was nothing visible, I moved closer. There was nothing to hide behind. It was only my size relative to the vastness around that made me difficult to see. I was less than a grain of sand on a infinite shore.

The surface of the zone is transparent to magical sight. That was how I had seen the Diabli last time. They were easy to spot in the eye of the storm of energies they were creating. Even though it was quiet now, I still remembered exactly where to look.

They were still there. Looking like lizard humans from a comic book, three of them floated silently at the zone’s edge. But they were not alone. On the outside of the barrier were a cluster of other beings. They were difficult to see, as if they weren’t quite real. Their shapes shifted as I watched and I got the impression of black wings. I had seen something like them before. When a creature possessing an elf called Farolan had fled his body.