Castle War

Seventeen Badlands

They fled through a bleak landscape. The sky was gray and so was the terrain, which looked like a vast overfilled ashtray or the surface of some forlorn moon. Gray strata thrust up from the dust. The sun was small, white, and dim as suns go.

They hid behind an escarpment, peeking over it. No one was following.

Linda sat and put her back against the rock. “What do we do now?”

Sir Gene squatted while Snowclaw kept a lookout. “There’s obviously nothing here.”

“We could wait a little and then try sneaking back, I guess.”

“Yes, we could duck in and make a dash for another aspect.”

Linda shook her head. “We’d get caught for sure.”

“You may be right. But we have to try it.”

“Let’s wait.”

“Right.” Sir Gene went to one knee. “Of course, if there’s a problem with the castle’s aspects, as it seems there is, then ducking into any aspect becomes chancy.”

“Yeah,” Linda said. “We don’t have many options.”

“We could scout around here. Perhaps there are some resources we could tap.”

Linda looked around. “Like what?”

Sir Gene shrugged. “Magical ones, perhaps?”

Linda closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. “Nope. No magic here, at least none that I can use. I’m pretty much a castle-oriented magician, though I’ve done some stuff outside the castle now and then.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing here?”

“Pretty sure. What exactly did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know, really. What we need, of course, are reinforcements to counterbalance Incarnadine’s advantage.”

“I don’t see any armies handy,” Linda said.

Sir Gene chuckled mirthlessly. “I suppose not. But an army is precisely what we need. If we can get back into the castle, we might go about recruiting one.”

“Where?”

“I know a few aspects —” Sir Gene clucked and shook his head. “But they may have disappeared or changed. Still, we must try.”

“But the castle’s swarming with enemy Guardsmen. And there’s some crazy duplicate of Incarnadine running amok.”

“You can use magic when we’re back inside.”

“Against Incarnadine? And this one’s pretty mean.”

“Yes, he is that.” Sir Gene shifted his weight. “Look, let me ask you again. Are you entirely sure there are no magical resources you can avail yourself of here?”

“I told you —”

“Absolutely sure?”

Linda sighed. “All right, I’ll check one more time.” She shut her eyes again and folded her arms. She remained still for a long while. Then one eye popped open.

“Wait a minute.”

Sir Gene leaned forward expectantly. “Something?”

“Yeah. Very faint. Very strange, too.”

“Can you work with it?”

Linda frowned and looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. There’s a … I think there’s a line of force running along there somewhere.” She pointed toward a shallow depression. “And it goes off in that direction.” She pointed in the direction of the sun.

“And that means what?”

“It just means that it could lead to a node.”

“A node?”

“Yeah. Look, I’ve been trying to explain this to people for years now, but, you see, magic is all laid out in patterns. Power patterns —”

“Yes, yes, I understand. But if you got to this node, could you work some magic?”

“Maybe. We have to follow that line of force and see.”

“Well, let’s do that thing. Anything coming, Snowclaw?”

“Nobody,” Snowclaw answered.

“Good. Let’s give it a try, shall we?”

Linda shrugged. “Can’t hurt.” She got up.

They walked toward the pinpoint sun. Here and there a gray bush blended into the monochrome landscape. The fainter gray of a mountain range banded the horizon. All was still. They skirted a good-sized impact crater, eroded and probably ancient, then passed a few smaller ones. A dry gulch cut across the flats, and this they descended into and climbed out the other side. Linda stopped on the far ridge and scanned the terrain ahead.

“Feeling something?” Sir Gene asked.

“It’s getting stronger,” she said.

“A node?”

Linda peered off, squinting in the harsh sunlight. “Don’t know what it is. Some kind of … focus, like.”

“Focus?”

“Whatever. Like a concentrated center. Hell, I’m no good at words.”

“Never mind the words, just find some magic.”

“Aye aye, sir.” Linda gave him a mock salute.

Sir Gene smiled wanly. “Sorry. It’s just that the castle must be saved.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“Yes, of course. Please carry on.”

Linda chewed her lip thoughtfully, scanning ahead. She pointed slightly to the left. “There.” Bringing her hand back to rub her chin, she added, “Maybe.”

They walked on. Sir Gene wandered off to the right to inspect an unusual rock formation. When he got out of earshot Linda went to Snowclaw.

“Snowy, I was wondering …”

“Yeah?”

“It’s about Gene. Have you noticed anything strange about him?”

“How did you know?”

“Know what, Snowy?”

“That he smells funny.”

She smiled. “I didn’t notice that. But ever since he reappeared he seems different. Talks different. His personality’s changed.”

They continued walking.

“Really? Maybe you humans can notice these things better,” Snowclaw said. “I noticed the smell, but I didn’t think anything of it. You people use stink water a lot, so I thought Gene was using a new kind.”

“It’s not stink water. What that phony Incarnadine said worries me. He could have been mistaking our Gene for his twin in the mirror castle, but the way Gene answered him … I don’t know, Snowy.” Linda’s eyes widened. “Snowy, what if he’s not really Gene? What are we going to do?”

“I sure wish I knew,” Snowclaw said. “Here he comes.”

Sir Gene caught up to them.

“Rather a waste of a world, isn’t it?”

Linda said, “Yeah, but there are no tourists.”

“Always some good point if you think about it. Getting any closer to the focus affair?”

“It’s getting stronger all the time.”

“Good. Very good.”

“But I still don’t know if I can use it. Magic is different on different worlds. You know that.”

“I’m magically inept in any world.”

“I really need the castle as a power source. It’s the easiest to use. I —”

Linda suddenly stopped.

“What is it?” Sir Gene said.

“It’s getting really strong.”

“I assume that’s good.”

“Maybe.”

“Why don’t you try something?”

“Like what?”

“Anything. You’re good at conjuration. Try conjuring.”

“Okay. Uh … like —?”

“Food,” Snowclaw said. “I’m hungry.”

“What news. Okay, here goes.”

Linda looked around and chose a wide, flat rock to stand in front of. Shutting her eyes tight, she held her arms straight at her sides, fists clenched.

Two plates of barbecued ribs appeared on the rock.

“Smells good,” Snowclaw said, his nostrils flaring.

Linda looked troubled. “That’s funny, I didn’t order two.”

“You usually control quantity?” Sir Gene asked.

“Always. That’s strange. You were right, Gene, there’s really something here.”

“And you can conjure anything?”

“Well, not anything. You know I have trouble sometimes.”

“Yes, of course. But with this new power …”

“The problem is its newness. All magic isn’t alike, Gene. I really have to feel that I’m in control when I’m doing anything magical, and I’m not fully in control here.”

“Circumstances may dictate that we work with what we have.”

“I understand what you’re saying. But I don’t understand what you want to try.”

“See here. You can conjure. Can you conjure some reinforcements?”

“You mean like Guardsmen?”

“Yes.”

“Gene, in the castle I’ve done all sorts of things. In a fight I’ve even made clones of you and Snowy. Aren’t you forgetting?”

Sir Gene looked away. “Yes, of course I know that. Can you do it now?”

“Make doubles of you and Snowy? This isn’t the castle, Gene.”

“Then we should try to go back to the castle.”

“Don’t you think Incarnadine could conjure more of his Guardsmen to offset any advantage?”

“Guardsmen, yes. But what if we conjure not Guardsmen but a force that can best any Guardsman one-on-one?”

“Like what?”

“Like Snowclaw.”

Snowclaw was busy devouring ribs, crunching them up bones and all.

Linda turned to look at him. “Snowy?”

“Yes, don’t you understand? Snowclaw can take on three Guardsmen at a time. Any force composed of Snowclaw’s duplicates would have an intrinsic advantage.”

Linda took a breath and let it out noisily. “Gene, the point is we’d be fighting against Incarnadine. A nasty, evil one to boot. There’s no telling what he could pull out of his hat to go up against us.”

“Yes, I realize that. But we must make the attempt.”

“I think it’s a crazy idea.”

“Perhaps. But — what is it, Snowclaw?”

Snowclaw was sniffing the air. “Humans coming. Should’ve smelled ’em before, but the food was in the way.”

“Up to that ridge,” Sir Gene said. “But first, hide that debris.”

Linda hid the empty plates behind the rock while Snowclaw picked up stray bones and stashed them in the bushes.

They ran up a slight rise and took cover behind a stone ledge. They waited. A few minutes later three Guardsmen came into view. They approached on the far side of the dry wash, stopping at its edge.

After exchanging a few words, they gave a cursory look around, then went back the way they’d come.

When they were out of sight Sir Gene turned and sat in the dust. “Well, that eliminates going back to the castle, unless we conjure some help.”

“It won’t do any good. Say I doubled or tripled Snowy. He might disappear when we got inside the castle.”

“Then you’d use castle magic to duplicate him there.”

“Yeah. Okay, you have every angle covered. But it’d still be a matter of going up against Incarnadine.”

“Look,” Sir Gene said. “We have to do something. We can’t stay here. With you we wouldn’t starve, but I for one don’t want to spend the rest of my life —”

“Okay, all right, I know what you’re saying.” Linda ran a hand through her blond hair. “Let’s get closer to the node. Maybe then I’ll be able to tell whether or not I can control the force.”

They went down the other side of the rise and crossed a wide depression. The terrain grew more cratered as they progressed. They walked for about fifteen minutes in as straight a line as possible, Linda leading the way.

She stopped. “Jesus, it’s strong.”

“Is it here?”

“A little bit farther.”

They moved on until Linda stopped again.

“This is unbelievable.”

“Can you handle it?” Sir Gene asked pointedly.

“I’m not sure. It’s so strange, so powerful.”

“Try something. Duplicate Snowclaw.”

Linda said, “You know, when I did it before it was in the middle of a fight. It just seemed the right thing to do at the time. I don’t even know how I first thought of it. But just to do it, here, now —”

“You must.” Sir Gene’s gaze was hard, adamant.

Linda stared back. “Are you on our side?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who are you?”

He looked off. “I’m Gene Ferraro, of course.”

“Are you? Or are you really …?”

He turned on her. “See here, I could ask the same question of you. We’ve seen Incarnadine’s double. How can I be sure you’re not Linda’s?”

She had no answer.

He exhaled. “I grant that you’ve every right to suspect me, but for the moment, no matter what my true identity, we’re on the same side. Does that answer your question?”

Linda nodded slowly. “Yes, I guess it does.”

“Then conjure Snowclaw some comrades-in-arms.”

Linda turned to the great white beast. “Snowy, do you have any objection?”

“Do whatever you have to do, Linda. I’m ready to go back there and kick some hind ends.”

“Okay,” Linda said. “We’ll try it.”

Linda sidestepped twice, then moved forward a bit. Sir Gene backed off to give her room.

“Here goes.”

She closed her eyes. There was silence. At length, something began to form in the air above her. At first it was an almost imperceptible movement, a whirling. Then it grew darker and more turbulent. It swelled and took shape, forming a funnel cloud.

Sir Gene and Snowclaw edged back. Linda’s eyes were still shut and her arms were stiff at her sides. She began to teeter, as if caught in the flux of some oscillating invisible force. Her eyelids fluttered.

The thing above her grew. It became a dark cone-shaped vortex, rotating rapidly. Dust rose all around.

Linda dropped to the ground. Snowclaw rushed to her and picked her up, carried her to one side.

“Linda, wake up.”

Head cradled in Snowclaw’s arms, Linda opened her eyes. “What happened?”

“Good Lord,” Sir Gene said.

The cloud was huge now, a black cyclone. A high-pitched whine emanated from it.

Suddenly a white shape dropped out of the cloud, a furred creature. It hit the ground, rolled, and sprang to its feet. It bore a huge broadax.

It was Snowclaw. “I’m ready,” he said.

Linda stood, looked at the Snowclaw who had helped her up, then at the new Snowclaw. “I guess it works.”

“What is that thing?” Sir Gene said, aghast, pointing at the cloud.

“I don’t know.”

“You mean you can’t control it?”

“Nope. Told you it’d be risky.”

The cloud disgorged another furry hulk. Another Snowclaw. The two new ones looked at each other, then at the original, who raised his broadax in greeting.

“Hi, guys,” he said.

“This is getting interesting,” Linda said.

Another Snowclaw dropped, then another. More followed.

“You’ll have to stop it at some point,” Sir Gene said.

Linda shook her head. “I can’t touch that thing. It’s going to make Snowclaws until it decides to quit.”

Dismayed, Sir Gene watched. The phenomenon seemed to be generating Snowclaws at an ever-increasing rate. It was a downpour of white fur and battle-axes.

“Well, General, you’ve got your army,” Linda said. “Now what are you going to do with it?”