Wizard Tournament: Chapter 38 (Patreon)

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          With an illusion of himself pinned to the wall of their booth and Draevin himself wrapped in invisibility he looked to Peter for guidance. The human made a shooing gesture in Draevin’s direction from behind Sylnya’s back. Draevin took that for a sign that he needed to leave. He looked around and saw that other contestants were already heading towards their booth to see what the commotion was about. Kot had leapt out of Sylnya’s shadow after her scream and had posted himself as a guard at the entrance to the small space. The night-black panther was watching his master closely and twitching his tail in distress but when Draevin tried to edge around him he sniffed the air and gave a warning growl. That was more than enough of a warning for Draevin, so rather than leave he decided to tuck himself against the far wall opposite the illusion of his dead body. Peter clenched his jaw and flashed an angry look his way but he wasn’t sure what the human expected of him with Kot blocking the only exit.

          For his own part Peter had elected to pretend to be just as shell-shocked as Sylnya. “What just happened?” Peter cried. He looked around the room with wide eyes when Sylnya looked his way as if just noticing the situation for the first time. “Is that Draevin?” He stood frozen in place until he was out of Sylnya’s line of sight, then quickly grabbed the real Draevin by the shoulders and guided him to the corner of the room. “I don’t know how long I need to keep up this ruse,” he quickly whispered. “Caelnaste can’t have seen you surviving in the past. Try to stay out of the way until I run out of mana.” Peter then darted back and put a comforting arm on Sylnya’s shoulder.

          Draevin’s head was spinning. Caelnaste had tried to kill him. Again. A lot more directly this time. But what Peter had just said left him feeling confused. Peter needed to “keep up the ruse” long enough so that when Caelnaste looked into the future in the past she would foresee Draevin dying? That couldn’t actually be how foresight worked. How were they supposed to know when it would be safe for Caelnaste to find out she’d been wrong? If he revealed his survival too soon would she choose a different action in the past and succeed in killing him? It hurt his brain to even think about so he decided to just trust whatever Peter asked him to do. The human had proven his ability to fool Caelnaste before and if saving his life wasn’t worthy of trust then nothing was.

          Draevin felt a passing regret for not paying better attention during his chronomancy course and did his best not to make the slightest noise.

          Sap was leaking steadily from Sylnya’s eyes. “Draevin. I can—I can cast Healing Lotus,” she stammered.

          “Sylnya I don’t think that—” Peter tried to say, but she went through the motions to cast her Healing Lotus anyway. When the flower bloomed over her heart she plucked it and tried to move towards the fake Draevin still slumped against the far wall.

          “Sylnya there might still be dangerous demonic energies on the body,” Peter tried again as she approached the illusory corpse. It was impressive how quickly Peter had come up with such a plausible lie. She stopped just shy of touching it.

          “Is there? Don’t I have to try though?” She tried to hold the lotus above the illusory corpse and drip healing nectar onto him without actually touching him.

          Peter gently pulled her hand back and said, “I’m sure Draevin would be touched by how much you care, but there’s nothing you can do right now and he wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself trying.”

          Several other contestants were crowding around the doorway to their private booth now, trying to get a look inside. Kot was keeping them at bay with a deadly growl and a flick of his tail until Tenna peeked her head through the crowd. Kot gave her a sniff and let her through.

          Tenna had a mildly worried look on her face, but when she saw the illusory corpse of Draevin she let out a gasp and her face shifted to a look of abject horror. “Draevin no!” she cried out. She moved to embrace him but thankfully Sylnya cut her off with an arm.

          “No don’t,” she said, “it might still be dangerous to—” her words choked off before she could say any more and she embraced Tenna in a fierce hug and buried her face in Tenna’s collar.

          Draevin was touched but he also felt like he was going to be in huge trouble for letting this go on for as long as it already had. The crowd outside the doorway was already starting to talk.

          “It’s Draevin,” he heard Shea say, “no way she hit him by accident.”

          It occurred to Draevin that even if Caelnaste’s last vision had been entirely fooled she could always take a second shot. He looked out at the arena; Hanu was standing where Caelnaste had been. He had a hand above his eyes and was squinting in their direction. Floating in the air just outside their booth Draevin could see a black smoking hole marking the spot where the bow had pierced through the arena’s wards. Of Caelnaste there was no sign.

          He didn’t have to wonder where she’d gone off to for very long. She shoved her way through the crowd of onlookers and inside the booth. Not only did Kot let her pass, but he rubbed against her legs affectionately as he did. Draevin thought he needed to have a discussion with Sylnya about her pet’s affections after this was over.

          “Oh no, Draevin!” Caelnaste called out when she saw the illusory body. Sylnya and Tenna were too busy holding each other to look her way, but Draevin saw the slightest smile touch her face in the moment she saw the body which she covered up when she gave her speech.

          “You!” Sylnya spat. “How dare you show up here acting upset after… after…” her voice caught before she could complete the sentence but her eyes were suddenly burning with hatred instead of grief.

          Caelnaste held up her hands innocently. “I didn’t—I don’t remember doing anything. It just happened! I swear! I didn’t even know I had hit him until just now.”

          “Don’t you dare try to sell me that line of shit!” Sylnya screamed at her. “I thought you said Tomrha’s manipulations were fading! Was that just a lie?”

          Caelnaste took a step back as Sylnya advanced on her, but there wasn’t really that much room in the booth to begin with so she was already against a wall. Kot sensed that Sylnya was angry but rather than jump to her side like normal he merely tucked his tail between his legs and looked back and forth between the two of them.

          “Look, I’m just as upset as you are—” Caelnaste began to say. Sylnya didn’t even have to say anything. The anger emanating off of her was enough to make Caelnaste think twice about what she had just said. “Okay, maybe not quite as upset as you.”

          Peter, who had been focusing on his spell and keeping out of everything so far, looked directly in Draevin’s direction and made a grasping motion with his hands then nodded his head to the right. It seemed like he was trying to say something but Draevin couldn’t even guess at what it might be.

          “I think what she’s trying to say,” Peter said, jumping in between the two of them, “is that she was a victim in this too.”

          Caelnaste looked surprised to hear anything out of Peter’s mouth and both women looked surprised he was speaking in Caelnaste’s defense. Sylnya turned on him. “You’re defending her? After what—after she killed—” even at the peak of her anger she couldn’t quite say it.

          Peter shook his head and fiddled with his glasses. Behind him the illusion of Draevin’s dead body disappeared. Nobody noticed. “I’m just saying,” Peter began, hesitating when he noticed the empty corner of the room. Caelnaste’s eyes flickered towards where he was looking just in time for the illusion to reappear. “Maybe if someone had taken her bow from her as soon as she realized her mind had been tampered with none of this would have happened.” While he was talking Peter slipped one hand behind his back and pointed insistently towards Caelnaste from an angle that only Draevin could see while he stressed the words “someone had taken her bow.”

          Draevin realized what he meant this time. He wanted Draevin to take Caelnaste’s bow from her while he was invisible. Any plan that left Caelnaste disarmed was a plan Draevin could get fully behind. He tiptoed towards her.

          “Are you saying this is my fault?” Sylnya asked. She looked down at her hands with sap-filled eyes.

          Tenna put a comforting arm around her shoulder and said gently, “No, of course not. Nobody thinks that.” She then glared in Peter’s direction. Peter responded with an awkward smile.

          Caelnaste jumped on the opportunity to deflect blame. “He’s right! I should have given you my bow until I was sure all traces of Tomrha’s manipulations were gone. No competition was worth endangering our friendship.” The illusion of Draevin vanished a second time; this time in plain view of Caelnaste. She looked from the empty wall to Peter and narrowed her eyes at him. He adjusted the frames of his glasses and gave her a knowing smile. She reached back for her Dred’Slynt bow, but Draevin—now visible—snatched it from her back before she could.

          It was too late for Caelnaste to use that bow on him a second time. Now that he had it in his hands. “What was that you were saying about keeping your bow until all traces of his manipulations were gone?” Draevin asked the stunned onlookers.

          “Little human shit-stain!” Caelnaste said under her breath. Draevin appeared to be the only one close enough to hear her. There wasn’t much else she could do. Without her bow she was powerless.

          “Draevin! You’re alive!” Sylnya gasped. She wiped the sap out of her eyes and stepped close to hug him. Draevin opened his arms to receive her embrace but instead he received a green fist to the face that put him on the ground. “How could you let me believe you were dead you horse’s ass!”

          Tenna came and offered him a hand up, which he gladly took. “I’m so glad you’re not dead,” she said, while covertly wiping a tear away from the corner of one eye with her other hand.

          Draevin gave Tenna a strained smile, and then directed a scowl at Sylnya. “I fink you boke by dose!”

          Sylnya just put her hands on her hips. “Good.”

          “It was my fault, Sylnya” Peter said. He stepped forward. “I saw Caelnaste lining up the shot and pushed him out of the way and created an illusion in his place.”

          Draevin watched Caelnaste carefully, but her smile had every appearance of being genuine once she heard this. “Without you I might have killed him!” she said. “Thank you so much, Peter!”

          “Anytime,” Peter said with an answering smile that almost looked malicious to Draevin.

          Sylnya wrapped Peter in a hug so fierce it picked him up off the ground. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” she said.

          Draevin rubbed the bridge of his nose, pleased to find it wasn’t actually broken and plugged one nostril to expel some clotted blood. “What’s this shit?” he said. “Peter gets a hug and I get punched? He even admitted it was his fault!”

          “He saved your life, you let me believe you were dead,” Sylnya said as she released Peter. She then cocked her head to the side and looked back at the human. “Why did you make that illusion?”

          Peter glanced at Caelnaste for a microsecond before answering with a shrug of his shoulders. “Istven told me to keep an eye out for him,” he said casually. Draevin knew that wasn’t true but he noticed Caelnaste’s jaw muscles tighten when Peter said it.

          Sylnya offered the healing lotus she had discarded earlier to Draevin almost as an afterthought. He took the lotus cautiously, figuring it was the closest thing to an apology he was going to get. “Well don’t do it again,” Sylnya cautioned Peter. “I’ll have to thank Istven later.”

          “About that bow of mine,” Caelnaste said. She tried to reach for it.

          Draevin retreated a step and tucked the bow behind his back to keep out of her reach. “I seem to recall you saying you can’t be trusted to have this just yet.”

          “Well you see, it’s not actually mine,” Caelnaste explained. “It belongs to Queen Fayse. If I must be without it for a time, it should be returned to its rightful owner.”

          She had him there. Draevin wasn’t sure how he was going to talk his way into keeping the damn thing. If he gave it back to Queen Fayse she’d just return it to Caelnaste, or one of her other lackeys, and she’d be back to trying to kill him again tomorrow. He didn’t believe the crap about Tomrha mind controlling her from the grave. “Well if it’s the same to you I really think I should be the one to return it if it must be done. How do I know handing it back won’t activate some latent programming left by Tomrha and force you to use it on me again?”

          He’d have plenty of time to lose Dred’Slynt on the walk to Queen Fayse. He just had to leave the room with it. Caelnaste’s smile stayed unnaturally still. “It’s actually not the same to me,” she said. “I think I’d rather Sylnya return the bow to my queen.”

          “Well too bad,” Draevin answered, “I wasn’t actually asking for your permission.” He tried to leave but Kot was still blocking his way. “Sylnya, call off Kot, will you.”

          “Don’t do it!” Caelnaste ordered her. “I don’t trust him.”

          “Feeling’s mutual, sweetheart.”

          Sylnya looked between them, but didn’t make a move. “Uhh…”

          “I can take it,” Peter offered.

          “I don’t trust him either,” Caelnaste said.

          “Why should any of us give a damn who you trust?” Draevin asked sternly. “You just tried to kill me! Remember that?” He pointed an accusatory finger at Caelnaste and addressed Sylnya. “Do you remember the part where she just tried to kill me? When did that stop mattering?”

          “It still matters,” Sylnya hedged. “I’m just not sure—”

          “I’ll take it,” a familiar voice said from outside the doorway. Draevin looked that way and found Istven standing there. “Couldn’t help overhearing,” Istven explained with a haughty smirk.

          Draevin looked back and scanned the room; Caelnaste’s eyes were staring daggers at him; Sylnya looked unsure; Tenna seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible; Peter looked exhausted… When Peter saw Draevin look his way he very subtlety nodded his head. Though he hated to deepen his ties to Istven, Peter’s suggestion made sense. Draevin knew Sylnya was the obvious choice to return Dred’Slynt to Queen Fayse. He also knew she would actually return it.

          “The enemy of my enemy,” Draevin said resignedly. Before anyone could stop him, he tossed the bow over Kot’s head toward the black-skinned eldrin prince.

          “No!” Caelnaste shrieked as her weapon flew through the air.

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