Chapter XIV: Magic fight

Maid of darkover
Copyright © David Cherry.

"What's the matter?" said suddenly the young voice of the priest.
Seeing him I understood why Beauty thought he looked gentle. In this very moment, his usually kind eyes were blazing with fury. The crowd opened before him and at the end of the path, there was Beauty, her face buried in the ground. I held my breath an instant. The priest of Chyraz knelt beside her and laid a light hand on her shoulder. Beauty started and curled a bit more. She was no more a brazen girl, but just a frightened child.
"Don't hurt me more, please," she whimpered.
"Stand up, my child", the priest coaxed her gently. "Don't let thy pride fade away in front of them!"
She raised up the head and I felt my heart tighten when I saw the defeated look on her face.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked bitterly with a choked voice. "That I stand up and fight against forestry workers and women twice stronger than I am?"
"No, child. I want thee to stand up and raise up the chin with that look of defy thou worest when thou wentst near the temple."
Beauty reddened and whispered:
"I didn't know anything about the Gods then. But I have learnt."
"Yes, thank the Gods, our lord is kind and didn't let thee in ignorance. Why wast thou so afraid?"
"I was not really afraid of you. But people kept turning me away and I feared you'd have done the same."
"I wouldn't, my child. Canst thou stand up?"
Beauty nodded and stood up, the priest keeping his hand on her elbow, without seeing Beauty's discomfort. They both looked at the crowd around them, the young priest and the girl everybody used to despise.
"What was all about?" asked the priest, eyes blazing again with fury.
The foreign prince advanced.
"Beauty and I had a discussion about our lord. I said I wanted to see him and she pretended to forbid it to me, saying that she was his messenger. The discussion sort of became poisoned..."
"So thou didstn't hesitate to throw on her thy fighting troops," said sarcastically the priest.
"Not at all! I just wanted her to come to her senses. But other people tried to help me..."
Tiger shrugged helplessly. Suddenly Beauty clung to the priest's arm.
"Please, don't let them harm him! He was kind to me, I don't want him to be hurt by my fault. Or even hurt at all..."
The young priest didn't need to ask who was the 'he': he obviously knew I was the subject of Beauty's worry. He smiled.
"Don't worry, my child," he whispered. "Last night, I had a dream about thee and our lord..."
"A dream? About me?"
"Yes, indeed, child. And I know everything he did for thee as well as everything thou didst for him."
"I did nothing for him!" protested Beauty. "Except bringing him sorrow...," she added softly.
"Our lord is kind," said the priest aloud. "The gods, especially Chyraz and Shuqra, told me about him last night. Nobody can enter the castle without being invited."
"So he's a vampire, isn't he?" Tiger mocked, referring to the superstition saying that a vampire couldn't enter a home without being invited, but holding it up to ridicule and reversing the meaning.
"Young fool!" answered the priest, quite angry.
I was rather amused, since the priest wasn't much older than this foreign 'prince'.
"The castle is protected by magic and whoever entering without being invited catches an mortal illness."
"I am invited by the lord, whatever this crazy girl says."
"Crazy girl you wanted to marry not so long ago," muttered the priest under his breath. "Oh, really?" he said aloud, quite sarcastically. "Where are the lord's servants to lead you to the castle?"
"Isn't she here?" replied Tiger with a grand flourish of the arm, pointing Beauty out.
"Well said, young man," I murmured. "You're almost worthy to see me... But it wouldn't be fair..."
In fact, I was so weak that he would have killed me in less than two minutes. I saw Beauty glancing anxiously toward the castle and then, she answered:
"I'm not our lord's servant. I'm only his messenger and the only message I know is that you're not invited!"
"How can you be his messenger? You brought no message to us!" protested a quite plump woman, putting her hands on her hips.
"No message?" repeated Beauty. "Well, I didn't think I had to tell you about it, I thought you would have noticed by yourself... The decree about the women's town was cancelled, wasn't it? Isn't that a message? Our lord cares for us and that's his way to show us his care."
They looked at each other, quite ashamed. Then, another woman intervened:
"Donansian! Leave this loose girl at once!"
"Stop calling me like that, mother!" replied the young priest. "My name is now Fra Vestris, remember it for good!"
"Are you telling me you're not listening anymore to your mother?" asked the woman whose eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Please, Father, do as she tells you," whispered Beauty. "Don't get into trouble because of me. I'm not worth of it."
"Thou art worth everything, child," answered Fra Vestris. "It is I who am not worthy of thee. I won't let her alone, mother," he said aloud. "Why would I let her alone? So that you and your riffraff could come to hit her again, perhaps kill her? I thought better of you, mother."
"She's a loose girl!" repeated the woman. "I won't let my only son in the company of a loose girl."
"She's not a loose girl," intervened calmly a deep masculine voice.
A man in the middle age came out of the crowd and went straight to Beauty.
"May I thank you for all you did for my wife, when she was not yet my wife and when she needed help? My gratitude won't be enough to repay the debt I have toward you, but for the moment, that's almost all I can do for you..."
I didn't know who this man was, but I understood it quite quickly: he was Daisy's husband. But for me, he could have been a murderer, I would have thanked him for standing up for Beauty. She looked at him quite lengthily and then sighed.
"Please, could you say to Daisy that I apologise? I was harsh with her and I see now she was right. I'm sorry."
"You didn't know then and your reaction only proves how much you like Daisy," smiled the man.
He said to the crowd:
"This girl is better than most of you! When everybody was criticising her, she was doing her best to help her friend in distress, she was throwing her own reputation to the four winds so a child could live. You can only destroy, she can give life."
"That's why she let my brother die from his wounds she caused!" accused the plump woman who already spoke.
"Who's to blame? Who was accusing her all the time? Had you just said 'Beauty, we know you're not guilty, we know it's only a misunderstanding, but please, he needs you, he needs your skills', she would have come and she would have saved him. But she was scared, as only a child of sixteen can be scared by the crowd."
"You're lying to save her!" argued Fra Vestris' mother.
"Oh, really? Let me show you something!"
He called a name and the little boy ran to him.
"The child is still alive because of Beauty. She's the one who feeds him everyday, who cares for him, who even plays with him! Which one of you would have done the same for a child who's nothing to you?"
"I'm proud of thee, child," intervened Fra Vestris, and his eyes were indeed glowing with pride.
"Donansian!" barked his mother. "Let this loose girl! Whatever one can say, she is a loose girl! Who knows what happened in our lord's castle!"
"All men are not like the brother of your friend, mother," answered Fra Vestris. "And to show you how I believe in Beauty's honesty, I would be ready, right here and now, to marry her if she only wanted me as her husband!"
Beauty looked at him with wild disbelief.
"It seems I have some rivalry," commented Tiger.
"No, I don't think so," replied Fra Vestris. "Thou art out of the competition. How could she trust thee after what thou just didst to her?"
"Stop that!" shouted suddenly Beauty. "Father, it's very kind of you to say such things, but I don't want to get married. Is that clear? Not with you, Tiger, nor with you, Father, nor with anybody else!"
"And with me, Beauty?" I thought. "If you don't think to your fear of contact, will you still refuse me?"
This time, she didn't look toward the castle, but I saw her starting slightly. There was no more doubt, she could hear me. I would have to be careful.

The Tiger Prince wasn't very willing to lose the face like that, so he snatched Beauty's left hand and used his magic on the diamond. Once again, the beam of light showed my face, but this time, before the whole town. I noticed that Fra Vestris was very calm, as if he already knew. Beauty, once again, had this slight cry of dismay.
"What's that?" cried some people in the middle of the confusion.
"It's the person she calls our lord!" exclaimed Tiger with an avenging tone.
As everybody was yelling - or insulting Beauty - Fra Vestris said with a resonant voice:
"It seems to me thou didstn't prove it."
Silence fell on the crowd.
"Sorry?" asked Tiger, confused.
"Thou saidst this Beast is our lord and thou accusest Beauty of being responsible. I say, prove it. Thou art the magician here, not us. So please explain to us what it means."
I had a smile as nasty as Tiger had not so long ago. As the Tiger Prince opened the mouth to condescendingly explain something, I played a bit with the light beam showing my accursed face: I made it show the prince's face, with a smile none-too-gently, as if he was laughing openly at the stupidity of the others. Some gritted the teeth and Tiger let appear his surprise.
"It's you!" he accused Beauty, losing all restraint.
"How could I?" replied calmly Beauty, still standing between Fra Vestris and Daisy's husband. "I'm only a green witch, not a powerful magician like you!"
It was obvious that Tiger knew where the attack came from, but he was helpless against it. I didn't do much but it was enough to make him understand that my attention was still awake and that I was still ready to defend Beauty. She understood it too and a happy smile appeared briefly on her lips.
"Who's trying to fool us?" asked Fra Vestris' mother, quite angry.
"Well, you have the choice between a foreign prince - we have only his word on this title, by the way - and a girl you know since she knows how to walk," said flatly Daisy's husband.
"He's right! We have to obey only to our lord, not to some foreign prince!" yelled the plump woman.
I wasn't listening to the crowd, I was keeping an eye on Tiger: he was still holding Beauty's hand and I knew he was struggling against me via the stone. To confuse him a bit, I played a little more with the light beam and I showed them the day where Tiger had announced to his town he would leave to come here. But Tiger found the way to counterattack and the beam light showed then my own image, on my bed in the vaults, the face quite tense with the effort for using magic.
"He's the one who's playing with the diamond!" exclaimed Tiger victoriously.
But Beauty struggled and got free; she raised the fist toward the sky, the diamond turned to the sun, and said:
"Here is what our lord promises us!"
I understood her call and the sunbeam lightened up on a town where there were no more hungry children, where the whip fell from the hands of the foreman.
"This man," continued Beauty, pointing Tiger out, "is our lord's enemy. Since he's here, he only tried to destroy everything here, from the peace to the trust we had in our lord's justice. He never intended to marry me, he wanted just to take me away from here, from you, from our lord, for I'm his messenger!"
I thought my little Beauty was going a bit far: the poor Tiger was only one of the fairy's pawns and he wasn't really responsible for all that. He just did what the fairy told him to do, probably believing he was right to act so, as Beauty was sure she was right in helping me.
Tiger gritted his teeth and challenged me:
"Hear me, lord of this country! I challenge you, right here and now, to show yourself and to fight against me! A magic fight! Do you take up the challenge?"
Using the precious stone on Beauty's ring, I answered:
"You are a fool, Tiger Prince. You're not challenging me of your own will, but you obey to your dark mistress. Go back to her, Tiger Prince, and tell her that I will only take up her challenge! I don't want to fight against her favourite henchman. I've better things to do than lose my time with second-hand magicians!"
I had done my best to be insulting and, obviously, I had succeeded beyond all hopes.
"Just wait until I get my hands on you!" yelled Tiger, beside himself.
I had a light laugh.
"I can't wait for this meeting!" I retorted sarcastically. "Go to see your mistress, you little dog!" I added with contempt.
Tiger grunted like a wild beast and unleashed his powers. I was expecting that and I riposted at once. Fra Vestris understood what was going on and he ordered the crowd to step back. Beauty couldn't move and she knew it, so she stayed where she was. Strangely, Fra Vestris didn't step back either, remaining at her side. Jerry and Jod stepped out of the crowd and came near her too. She smiled to them and held out her clenched fist, directed to Tiger.
"I unleash the powers of my lord!" she exclaimed.
The diamond shone under the sunlight and I knew I couldn't anymore control what was going to happen. I was so weary that I still marvelled at the fact I was able to use magic, but it was out of question to lose the face against Tiger. He was animated by the fairy's hatred and by her powers, I was animated by my love for Beauty and by my will to be free, but I knew it wouldn't be enough. I was doomed to lose, for I was too exhausted to last long.
Then I heard a dim voice in my head.
"We will help you, master," said gently Stoat.
I felt her gathering all the powers of my servants, from her experience to the calm and firm will of Geolf.
"No, Stoat," I thought back. "It wouldn't be fair to be so many against him alone."
"You will fight alone, master. Alone, but holding our lives in your grip. If you fail, we will die. We give you all our powers for you need them, but it's your fight, it's your task to see it through. Good luck, little one. You'll fight with all our love."
Then, I was alone again, but I felt a new power running in my veins and in my blood. I could fight the fairy!

I changed the view in the light beam coming from Beauty's diamond: it became of a white so shining that it was impossible to see anything in it. Tiger understood it was my answer to his challenge. I saw a part of the fairy's features overcome his own features and I smiled slightly. I was trying to be fair but obviously, this wasn't the fairy's intention.
I hadn't the faintest idea about this challenge. We would use magic, of course, but how? I didn't want to hurt Beauty - whom I needed - nor anyone in the crowd. But whatever it was, I was ready to receive it. Tiger began by a simple blast directed at the diamond. Beauty started a bit and in her eyes, I read the realisation she was coming at: she was at the very core of the battle, she was the one the magic would be directed to. She blinked several times, looked slightly worried and then, took a deep breath, handing her life over to me in this single gesture. I showed to her my acceptance by answering Tiger's blast by another, a bit stronger.
I thought quickly that I had an advantage: Tiger could not hurt me, since I wasn't on the battlefield, but I could hurt him, even kill him.
"I have an objection!" I said suddenly, still using Beauty's diamond.
"I listen," answered Tiger, lowering his hands.
"It seems to me I have an advantage, since you cannot hurt me. But, in the other hand, you can hurt Beauty. So I tell you this, each injury Beauty will receive, I will receive it but she won't. That is, if Beauty's hand seems to bleed, for example, my hand will bleed, but hers will remain intact. Do you accept this clause?"
"Yes, I accept it. I was not pleased to direct my blasts to Beauty."
"But I don't accept it!" cried Beauty fiercely. "Tiger is a pawn and in fact, my lord, you're confronting his mistress. Well, I am your pawn and I have to run the same risks as Tiger."
"Please be reasonable, child," Fra Vestris scolded her. "Our lord is right. Thou shalt not run any risk. Thy life is precious and dear to us. Our lord wants to protect thee, thou canst not deny him this."
"Whatever your spell consists in, my lord, I'll bleed all the same," said sadly Beauty.
I saw that her eyes were bright with unshed tears and I whispered to her, via the precious stone:
"Fall not a tear, I say; one of them rates
 All that is won and lost; give me a kiss;
 Even this repays me."
She smiled and her smile was suddenly a sunbeam in my heart. Now, I had said it! Beauty raised up the head and, her eyes on my castle, she said very softly:
"You'll always be in my heart."
It wasn't the right time to be moved, so I tried my best to recover. I stared at Tiger, who was patiently waiting my signal.
"Let's go, Tiger," I said finally. "We won't spend the night at that."
"So be it!"
In less than thirty seconds, the main square was crossed by thousands of flashes, red, white or yellow. My fur was a bit burnt here and there, but Tiger was hardly in a better state.
"You can surrender whenever you want, Tiger," I said during one of our breaks. "Mercy will be granted to you."
"It's the same thing for you, you know!" he answered with a lightning effect, giving the signal for the end of the break.
I forced Beauty to avoid the flash of lightning - I had more difficulties than Tiger, since I had to force Beauty to move, even if she moved by herself most of the time - and riposted by a fireball directed on his belly. He only half-avoided it and the smell of burnt flesh spread in the air.
"Well done!" he exclaimed, when he was able to say something without crying out of pain.
"Thank you. I'm doing my best," I said modestly, waiting for his counterattack.
"Try to ward off this one!" he yelled.
Then my little Beauty surprised so much I almost missed the riposte: she rolled on the ground and straightened up squatted, fists held out before her. I reacted instantly and unleashed a thunder of lightning and fireballs. The cry ringing out Tiger's mouth wasn't of his own voice: it was undeniably a female cry and I knew I had hurt the fairy.
"Do you surrender?" I thundered.
Tiger's only response was to collapse on the ground.
"I think I won," I said with detachment. "One to nil. Checkmate."
Then the light coming from the diamond faded out and my presence wasn't perceptible anymore for the townspeople.
Beauty stood up and went to Tiger. He was seriously injured and burnt, but she nodded to herself, as if she knew she could heal him.
"Take him in my home," she said. "I'll treat him there."
"He will survive, Beauty?" asked Fra Vestris.
"He will survive, Father, or I'm not a green witch."
"Beauty, just a question before you leave."
It was the daughter of the plump woman, the niece of the man who scared Beauty so much.
"My name's Alara," she said with a tense smile. "Why did our lord choose you? Why didn't he choose me? I'm of high birth, when you know nothing of yours..."
"Yes, Alara, and you're much more beautiful than I would ever be. But he didn't choose me because of my birth or my beauty. He chooses me because I'm a green witch and he needed a green witch. That's all."
Why had I the impression she didn't even believe what she was saying? Her explanation was a lie, of course, but Alara seemed satisfied with it.
"Beauty," continued Alara, "can we be friends? I would like to make amends for my uncle's fault toward you. I could teach you to read or anything else."
"I already know how to read," Beauty said with a gentle smile. "He taught me. But I would be honoured to have you for a friend."
Alara smiled, a bright smile that transformed her whole, and she was still smiling when Beauty left, following the procession who was carrying Tiger to Beauty's home.