14: Duel by Firelight

“Who is he?” I asked in alarm, still staring at the smooth, glasslike surface of Esra’s Grove in confusion. “What’s happening?”

I had no idea what she was seeing, even with my magical senses there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

“One of my many enemies has come to take advantage of the situation,” Esra told me, her voice betraying a note of worry.

Crap, if she was worried then I definitely had to be worried.

Now anxious and still very confused, I asked, “What is he doing?”

“Laying waste to my grove,” she sighed, then turned to look at me with a hard, serious expression. “When we enter, we will be coming in from the edge, as is always the case when you arrive at an established Grove. I will go to meet him and slow him down. You will go to the cottage, in my room you will find a pack that has provisions, clothes and tools for survival. Next to it you will find a sack, that will also contain clothing and some small amount of protection. Once you have these items, you must leave the Grove.”

My mouth ran dry, I was meant to leave? “What about you? And where do I go? Back to my Grove? But it’s so far away!”

“So many questions, little one,” she smiled sadly, and reaching up tentatively, she brushed some of my rebellious floating hair out of the way. “Your mark will be where mine is, that is the way of mage birth. When you return to the Nameless Garden, you will find yourself in your own Grove. This one will most likely not exist by that time. As for me? I will manage, it will be some time before we meet again, I will have to flee, but when the time comes I will move and create a new Grove near to yours.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” I asked worriedly. I didn’t want to be thrown into yet another strange situation. I’d only just gotten used to the rhythm of life in her Grove and now I was forced to flee!

“I will be fine, I have survived worse attacks and far greater setbacks, but you are young and new to this world. I must see you safe, you have been a far greater joy than my last apprentice, the man who now waits within my Grove,” she told me affectionately, and I couldn’t help a small scared little smile as I realised she really did care about me.

“Okay,” I said sadly, my chest already feeling hollow. I just wanted a sense of normality and safety in my life, was that too much to ask for? What did the universe even fucking have against me?

“Let us go,” Esra said, turning to look into the Grove again. “Fate has plans for us.”

We moved forward, approaching the barrier between the chaos of the garden and the order of the Grove. Esra went through first, the surface rippling with her passage like liquid glass and I followed quickly, not wanting to be left behind.

The interior of the Grove was like a nightmarish version of the place I had spent almost two months learning in. It burned, fire swirling in terrible vortices of carnage. Ash and smoke were thick in the air, the sun just a distant angry red point in the haze above us. Although, we’d stepped through into an area of relative calm, the fire not having yet spread to this area. Before us was a wide trail encircling the border of the Grove, with more trails leading further into the magical forest in front of us.

“Come,” my teacher whispered, motioning towards one of the paths.

The trail was dark as we moved through the trees, the crunch of gravel under our feet sounding all too much like the pop and crack of the distant fire that burned not so far away. I didn’t like this at all, the way this once tranquil place of magic and safety had been turned terrifying and hostile. Shadows danced even here due to the size of the fires.

It took us five minutes of walking before we made it to Esra’s lawn, and that was where he was waiting. I felt my stomach drop out further, already feeling the conflict to come in the back of my mind like a sick worming thing.

The man stood calmly between us and the cottage, just waiting with his hands casually clasped behind his back. He wore an expensive looking suit of what I would consider ancient design. Ruffles and tight pants, the whole medieval noble shebang, although a little more restrained than the pictures I’d seen in the past. The outfit almost looked reasonable.

His dark red hair was short and done in a perfect comb over, while his beard was honestly a little strange. There were little shaved breaks in it halfway down his jaw that made the whole thing look weird. I guess they had different styles in ringworldland.

“My, my, Esra Rihm, is that another apprentice I see?” he asked in a slow, smooth drawl. “And here I am rather vividly remembering you proclaiming never to want another one after me. I see that even the terrible High Mage Rihm can go soft after the years.”

“She’s far more intelligent than you ever were, both mentally and emotionally,” Esra frowned, her fists clenching and unclenching like a cowboy ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

“Hmm, possibly,” the man said, his eyes flitting to meet mine before they slowly trailed up and down my body, sending a shiver of revulsion through me. “She is certainly beautiful, I might have to… take her off your hands, after this little confrontation is over.”

“You even try to touch her and I’ll cut off your fucking balls, child,” Esra spat, her words sending my eyebrows high into my forehead. Wow, alright, she clearly had strong feelings on the subject, that was nice. I would rather not get within groping distance of the asshole either.

“Oh why don’t we let her decide, hmm?” the man laughed, before meeting my eyes again and sketching a low bow. “Hello there sweetness, my name is Gresham Fennimore, or Lord Fennimore to you. Might I know your name, my lady?”

I shivered as he addressed me, everything about it coming off as sleazy and disgusting. It was his tone of voice I think that I hated most, the way it sounded like he already considered me conquered or something. I took a step back, looking away in the vain attempt to get a handle on myself. I was… scared.

I didn’t say anything, I couldn’t really. I had no idea how to deal with the unwelcome advances of a sleazeball like this guy. I hadn’t gotten the years of learning that came with growing up as a girl, where from an age that was far too young they would have men like this creeping on them.

“Somehow, I think she probably has standards,” Esra replied, her tone one of sharp edged amusement.

“Pretty sure I’m not into men at all,” I murmured, thinking of my attraction to Grace and my lack of attraction to the many guys at Avonside.

I met Esra’s eyes to find her brows quirked in surprise, but she shrugged and turned back to Lord Fennimore with a hard expression. “Time for you to leave now Lord Fennimore.”

There was a whisper of a breeze, and I heard Esra’s voice in my ear as though she were right next to me. “Ryn, dear. When the fighting starts, duck back into the forest and circle around. Enter the cottage and gather the items I told you about. Hurry, it will not be long before I lose this duel, too much of my Grove has burned already. As it stands I will be hard pressed to cover your escape and obfuscate your location within the mundane realm.”

I froze, my heart pounding in my chest as it cried out in worry and pain, sadness and a yearning to help. But again, I was too weak to do anything, too scared to rush forward and join her in the fight that I hated but knew was inevitable. Finally I nodded and whispered back, “Thank you Esra, for everything. Please live, I’d really like to see you again.”

Her only response was to glance a small smile at me, then like lightning she flashed forward towards Fennimore, her hands alight with a blistering beam of energy. The attack was swift and true, but it hit a shield of shimmering energy around her target with a sound like electric nails on a chalkboard, causing me to flinch and rush to cover my ears.

Returning fire came quickly, but Esra was gone again, her teleporting spell taking her behind Fennimore, where she hit him again with another beam. After that, the duel was everywhere, quick and deadly as they flickered from place to place, attacks coming in fast and terrible.

My limbs refused to move as my eyes drank in the spectacle. I’d been expecting it to be one sided, but Esra seemed to be holding her own with no problems. It was honestly quite beautiful to see, the way they danced their deadly dance, and if it had been just a dance I would have been cheering for the display. But it wasn’t, each flicker of dark energy was pain, each blast of power was limbs burned and lost. It was terrifying.

So only when a bolt of sickly green energy detonated against the trunk of a nearby tree did I snap out of my daze, bolting for the cover of the forest. I wove through the cultivated underbrush, my way lit by glowing plants and brief flashes of light from the duel. Several times attacks came sailing my way, only to be blocked by a shield formed by Esra. She was protecting me.

Once the duel was out of sight, I veered out of the trees and ran headlong towards the cottage. It seemed so strange, ominous in the amber light of the fires, and I again found myself wondering what kind of asshole would destroy such a peaceful place. Then I realised that yeah, I knew exactly which asshole would do that. Lord Fucking Fennimore.

The door was ajar as I arrived at the cottage, a little winded from the sprint, and I shouldered it open and rushed inside. Esra’s bedroom door was still closed, but when I wove through the living room and tried the handle, it was unlocked. Pushing it open carefully, I took a moment to let my eyes adjust to the twilight before I began my search.

It wasn’t hard to find the pack and bag where they were leaning against the side of her wardrobe. Rushing forward, I pulled the pack on, tightening the straps until they fit my slim frame, then hoisted the drawstring bag over my shoulder. It was kinda heavy, and I winced as the weight of it settled in.

Esra had told me to leave as soon as I got these, but I couldn’t, not without one last look. I moved back into the living room and found a window that would give me a view of the duel. They were still going, although I could see Esra beginning to tire, and she wasn’t using her big beam of energy anymore. The plants required for it must have burned in the inferno outside.

I took in the sight of my mage-mother and teacher one last time as she fought tooth and nail for me after only knowing me for a little over a month or two. She was a good person, gruff, stubborn and grumpy, but also kind and caring under all that. I hoped she’d come to place her new Grove next to mine someday. I hoped she lived to get there.

Turning away from the duel, I concentrated, feeling for the seams of Esra’s Grove and then beyond, finding the boundary between the Nameless Garden and the mundane realm. Esra had helped me find it a few times as practice, but we’d never actually gone over. Now would be the first time, and I’d supposedly be coming out where Esra had last left it.

I took a deep breath in preparation, then pushed, bending and stretching the veil between worlds until it was thin enough for me to pass through, and with nothing but a small tremor, that’s exactly what I did.