Free Magic (complete)

Chapter 22

Jak knew in his gut it was Ghilda. Anders wouldn't have been so concerned unless somewhere deep down he knew there was a chance it was her. The sick room told him all he needed to know. No one knew where she was, how convenient. When he was sure he was alone, he pulled a vial from his pack and a lens. He was going to make his own truesight, and he was going to investigate for himself.

Peeking in the larger room, he saw what Harlow had described. The magic gently flowed upwards, some turned slightly different directions than others, but upwards still. He wasn't sure what to do with that knowledge. He watched some of the moving mages, and as one crossed the back of the room he saw it. The magic was moving up and drifting slightly to the north, but as the mage moved, so did the trail of power. He watched another mage walk some distance away. Same thing. He pocketed his lens and tried to think, if he were hiding the device and an ancient spirit spell where would he do it?

"Shadow pox it the roof." He smacked his forehead and dashed to the stairwell. Up and up to the top floor he went. He looked at the ceiling, walking the halls. The access had to be there somewhere. He rounded two corners before he found it. There, in the North East corner was a drop down ladder and wooden door. He reached up and pulled down the whole thing as quietly as he could and scrambled up the ladder.

The roof was actually fairly large. The wind from the sea danced around him, pulling at his clothes and making him squint. The salt licked his skin and attacked his new clothes. He stepped out of the hatch and closed the door as the first rumble of thunder shook his bones. A few scant drops of water began to chill his face as they were blown into him.

"Where the hells are you?" Jak pulled his lens out and scouted out the roof. He didn't see anything at first, then in the middle he saw the glow of power. Many colors of power, tangled together and struggling. He cautiously walked towards the light to find a dozen or so devices scattered over the middle of the roof in a large round pattern. That's why the powers drifted up and slightly different directions. Each ring of wire had slightly different crystals in it than the next. In the middle of the rings of crystals lay a pile of bones. Old ones. Human ones. The pat pat pat of the rain grew stronger.

"Where are you?" Jak yelled into the wind, it stole his voice and whisked it out to sea. He looked around the roof and couldn't see anyone at first, but there was a large rock to the side that someone smaller could hide behind possibly. Jak put a hand on his favorite dagger and slowly walked towards the stone. Blue light was spreading form behind the granite as he approached.

"Give it up, I've got more comin' and you can't resist us all." Jak bluffed. The glow of blue light swelled behind the rock and out stepped a willowy woman with a neat bun and blue robes.

"Are you Ghilda?" Jak asked, dagger drawn. Her answer was a huge wave of water. She had been gathering it behind the granite rock, the light was her collecting the rain. Magic waves slammed into Jak, he lost his truesight lens as it was pulled from his fingers and smacked into his eye, stinging and making his vision blur. He was knocked back from the force, but he managed to keep a hand on his dagger and draw the other. He struggled to raise and defend himself, but the pressure kept coming. The water that had already knocked into him and flowed away moved itself into position to do it again. Ghilda walked slowly over to him, her palms out and the blue mark on her neck glowing.

"Why?" Jak roared over the wind. "You're killing people!"

She said something, because her mouth moved. What it was Jak couldn't tell. When her head snapped to the side so did his, the rush of water was stopping him from hearing anything, but he saw with relief Anders running towards them. The water let up just enough that Jak could roll out of the pressure and he stood.