Jake's Justice, Book Three of Wizards Read online

  Jake’s Justice

  Book Three of Wizards

  By

  John Booth

  Jake is in trouble with his wives. The wedding happened over two weeks ago and his marriages are still unconsummated. All because he made a deal with the Wizards of Valhalla to save their lives, you’d think they would be grateful.

  Jake is about to find that the problem with his wives is as nothing to the trouble the Valhallans have brought down on his head. Now everybody wants him dead. To be fair, that’s only somewhat over two hundred thousand…star systems.

  On the positive side, young women are falling over themselves to give what his wives are denying him, but then Jake is a moral young man and he is desperate to stay loyal to the two women he married. Who would ever have thought that agreeing to go to a multiverse conference would cause so many problems?

  The big question is whether Jake will survive until the conference starts.

  JAKE’S JUSTICE

  Book Three of Wizards

  Copyright ©2012 John Booth.

  Second electronic edition published by John Booth Enterprises Limited

  Cover Design by Sessha Batto (PubRight Manuscript Services)

  Edited by Diane Nelson (PubRight Manuscript Services)

  John Booth asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Available on Kindle by John Booth

  Horror

  The Inspector Monde Mysteries

  Adult Fantasy

  Wizards

  Jake’s War

  Jake’s Justice

  The Spellbinder

  Scotland Hard

  Revenge of the Brotherhood

  Jalia on the Road

  Gally Delbar

  London Gothic

  Young Adult

  House of Silver Magic

  Sapphire Magic: Breaking Glass

  Gold Magic: Terror in Mind

  The Magic Series (Anthology)

  Children’s Fantasy

  Shaddowdon

  Visit the author’s web page Scrawls in the Dust

  Contents

  1. Arrival

  2. Betrayal

  3. Salvation of Sorts

  4. Needs

  5. Treasure Hunt

  6. Good Knight

  7. Complications

  8. Malevon

  9. A Reckoning

  10. Night Knights

  11. Fool’s Gold

  12. Talks

  13. Grand Hotel

  14. Some Days

  15. Are Worse

  16. Than Others

  17. Attacked

  18. Conversations

  19. Small Gifts

  20. Once More With Feeling

  21. The Fedre

  22. Insanity

  23. Counting the Cost

  24. Nothing Changes

  25. Farewells

  26. Revenge

  27. Time

  28. Uncovered

  29. Surprise

  30. Reparations

  1. Arrival

  Mr. Griffith’s old coach fell to the ground and bounced a couple of inches as we arrived from Salice. Everybody was flung forward. I had been standing with my hand resting on the top of the driver’s chair and ended up with my nose pressed hard against the windscreen.

  “Getting a bit tired, are we Jake?” Mr. Griffith asked in that fake Welsh accent he often affects. “Not surprised. I imagine those two wives of yours have been wearing you out, boy?”

  It was a sore point and I didn’t answer. I’d been married for two weeks and the only place I’d been sleeping was on the couch or my bed back in my parent’s house. The women who ruled my life had not forgiven me for the deal I’d made with the wizards from Valhalla. The fact that we would be dead if I hadn’t cut the deal didn’t count as a reasonable excuse in their eyes.

  Which was typical of Esmeralda. Unfortunately, Jenny became more like her with every day that passed. Despite the fact they came from different universes they were more like twins than rivals these days. And I was the sole focus of their ire.

  “I think Jake’s bitten off more than he can chew,” Malcolm said snidely from a couple of seats back. His girlfriend, Silvia, sitting by his side, squeezed him with the hand suspiciously resting on his lap and I was pleased to see him wince.

  Silvia smiled at me with a look on her face that took no notice of the fact that I was now a very married man. You can’t easily get more married than by having two strong minded and increasingly pregnant wives.

  “Leave Jake alone, Malcolm. I expect he could do with a rest. Though they tell me a change is as good as a rest.” She winked and I swear the little vixen parted her legs as well as her lips. Malcolm was going to have a hard time keeping that one from straying; assuming he’d managed it during the time they were in Salice.

  Mrs. Griffith made a throat clearing sound from her seat on the other side of the bus. “We should have gone with the others on the last trip. Jake must be exhausted.”

  I smiled at her. I liked Mrs. G. and I wondered how she’d react when she discovered she was pregnant. She had been unable to bear children the first time she’d got on this bus with me and I’d changed that without her knowledge. I was smugly satisfied with myself over it. It amused me that Mr. Griffith had done the deed with her so quickly. There must be life in the old dog for all his age. He was at least forty.

  “We’re here now, Mrs. G. Can I leave you to sort out the rest of the journey? I have some things I need to attend to.”

  “A wizard’s work is never done,” Mr. Griffith said, nodding his head sagely. “Not going to check on Bronwyn, are you?”

  I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was to visit the Matthew’s.

  “Best I don’t. If she sees me it might trigger a memory. That’s why I took them home right after the ceremony. It’s Urda I’m going to visit.”

  “Give her our best,” Mrs. Griffith said as I hopped universes and arrived back in Salice.

  I materialized in the village of Trefor, a small community that nestled in a valley along the banks of the river Scown. Urda’s cottage was somewhere around here, but I hadn’t managed to fit in a visit since she moved out of the Palace so I couldn’t hop directly to it. Wizards can hop to anywhere they’ve been or can imagine, but the multiverse is a big place and using the imagine route is fraught with danger.

  Fortunately, this village had been on the royal tour I’d taken around Salice with Esmeralda after the wedding. At least, I hoped this was the right village; we’d stopped at so many.

  I’d arrived on the spot where we had got out of the coach to be greeted by the villager elders. The village consisted of two rows of cottages separated by an immaculately well-made road. Salice doesn’t have modern technology, but they aren’t a backward people. I often suspect they are all better educated than me.

  My arrival seemed to have flustered the locals. Kids ran to cottage doors and the adults got off the street almost as fast. I was wearing faded jeans and a white tee-shirt, which shouted ‘Wizard’ as effe
ctively as a Batman costume would have. Local fashion is more into frilly colored shirts and baggy trousers.

  “My Lord Wizard Morrissey, you honor our humble village…”

  I turned towards the speaker and my action stopped the man in mid flow. I thought I recognized him from our visit, but then I’d met so many people recently it was difficult to be sure.

  “Call me Jake,” I said and smiled as warmly as I could. The people of Salice had lots of reasons to fear Wizards, even one married to their future queen. Maybe that made it worse, come to think of it.

  “Can we be of service to you, Lor… Prince Jake?”

  “A friend moved here recently. Urda Bretch. Can you point out her cottage?”

  I hadn’t noticed how rigid the man held himself until he relaxed. He didn’t quite sigh out loud, but he came close.

  “She and her sister have moved into the cottage nearest the river. It’s just visible through those trees.” He pointed and my eyes tracked in the direction he was pointing. Wizard’s eyes can be better than binoculars when we choose and I saw the thatched roof through the branches of a willow in the distance.

  “Thank you.” To my surprise he continued to look at me expectantly, though I hadn’t got a clue why. Tact and diplomacy were not skills I possessed, but I couldn’t just turn my back on him. I struggled to remember what Esmeralda had taught me about etiquette.

  “Can I be of service?” Well, come on, it was better than, ‘what do you want?’

  “The fire… It destroyed the crops and winter is coming. Has…”

  His voice trailed off, but I knew what he meant. There were still signs of the fire that had ravaged Salice on the other side of the river. We’d saved a lot of crops, but far from all. It seemed like it had happened ages ago, though when I did the calculations it was less than three weeks. It was not a subject that had come up in discussions with the King since the wedding.

  “No one will starve,” I said confidently and let him have the full-on Morrissey smile I saved for those occasions when I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. “The King will announce measures soon.”

  He bowed so low I thought he was going to get on all fours and grovel. Then he backed away without once looking up. I made a wow that these people would not starve, even if I had to raid every supermarket in Wales. They were my people now, and my responsibility. How the hell had that happened?

  I walked to Urda’s cottage with my eyes fixed firmly on the ground. It was difficult enough coming to terms with being married, not to mention the girls being pregnant, now I had to worry about thousands of people I’d never met as well. Perhaps I could spend the next few months in Wales, helping out at Mr. Griffith’s Woodyard? Would anybody notice?

  A frightening vision of Esmeralda chasing me down the street with a toe-tapping Jenny directly in my way came to mind. Nope, the Welsh option was definitely out of the question, if I wanted to live.

  My feet led me to Urda’s cottage and I lifted my eyes from them to take a good look at it. It was a simple one story affair and looked to be in immaculate condition with even the thatch trimmed incredibly evenly. A second longer look confirmed the first one. Only magic could paint the walls that evenly, remove the gaps between door and frame despite their less than square trim, keep the windows that clean. She was good, but I wondered if it was wise. To someone like me, the cottage gave rather too much away about its occupant. I lifted the brass knocker (polished and gleaming like gold) and let it fall.

  A curtain flicked and then the door opened cautiously. I smiled when I saw a questing eye.

  “Hi Anna, it’s Jake. Is Urda home?”

  The door swung open silently and Urda’s sister beckoned me in. It was gloomy inside as the cottage’s small windows let in little light.

  “Do you mind if I light the lamps?”

  She shook her head hesitantly and the lamps sprang to life causing her to jump. Now I could see the girl, it was clear she still had a long way to go to fully recover. Assuming it was possible to recover from the abuse Urda rescued her from. She turned and went to the range to prepare tea. I picked a chair and settled into it. As I expected, it was extremely comfortable.

  “Urda is at the Palace. She said she might be late.”

  Anna’s voice was so quiet I almost missed her words. A thought occurred and I looked into her. There is a capacity in some humans to store the magic that permeates the multiverse. Those that can store enough of it can use it. Recently, I’d found out how to see that capability.

  How it actually looked is impossible to describe as it isn’t using sight in the usual sense, but in Anna’s case think of a crumpled metallic balloon. Anna would have the same capability as her sister if I was to sort that balloon out. As it was at the moment, she wouldn’t be able to store the magic to light a match. I straightened it out without thinking and then wondered about what I’d done. I had made her a wizard without asking her first.

  Anna came over with a tray and poured me a cup of tea.

  “If you’ve come to grant Urda her birthday wish, I can go up into the loft.”

  It took me a couple of seconds to understand what Anna meant, and then I choked on my tea. They have some strange customs on the world Anna and Urda come from, especially what they expect of a chosen man when a girl comes of age.

  “My wives would kill me,” I said and smiled weakly. Not many men get to say something like that. I had a feeling I might be saying it a lot from now on.

  “Oh, then why did you…?”

  “I haven’t seen either of you for a couple of weeks. I wanted to check you were all right.”

  Anna blushed and bent over in her chair so I couldn’t see her face.

  “Would you like to be a wizard, like your sister?” I might as well ask since I’d already done it. She nodded, to my immense relief.

  Time was getting on. My wives would expect me back in our quarters in the Palace and I didn’t want to give them any further excuses to be mad at me.

  “I have to go. Tell Urda that…”

  “Tell Urda what?” Urda asked from behind. Is it too much to ask that other wizards should materialize in front of me rather than behind? I think not.

  “Urda,” I said as I swiveled in the chair to face her.

  “My Lord Wizard, Prince Jake.” She sounded angry. Maybe exasperated.

  Never get into that kind of conversation with a woman, they always win. I prepared my ‘call me Jake’ response with added Anglo-Saxon, but she interrupted before I could get started.

  “You are needed at the Palace. They have unexpected guests.”

  “The Valhallans?”

  She shook her head. “Much worse than that, and they are angry with you.”

  So why wasn’t she telling me who they were?

  “And they are?” I asked. Urda frowned.

  “Everybody is searching for you. I have just been to Barren to see if you were there. It’s… changed.”

  “No clues then?”

  Urda shook her head. “It’s best you go before they get any angrier.”

  I hopped.

  2. Betrayal

  I arrived into darkness. I had teleported to the large rectangle of grass that the cloisters bounded. There should have been blue skies above me. As my eyes adjusted to the gloom I saw lights in windows, but that wasn’t enough to illuminate the darkness I landed in.

  [WIZARD MORRISSEY!]

  The voice that boomed in my head was so loud that I clapped my hands over my ears, (not that it helped) and fell to my knees. An impossible jet of flame shot straight at me from above. I instinctively created a reflective shield. Those flames weren’t just fire, they possessed a magic that beat against my shield and started to eat it away.

  “Stop! How dare you attack a prince of Salice?”

  There was only one woman in the multiverse that could sound that indignant and so sure of herself at the same time. The flames stopped abruptly and I looked up into the furious eyes of Princess Esmeralda, h
eir apparent to the throne of Salice and one of my two wives. She held some sort of square glass jar up in the air as though it was a weapon. The reason I could see her at all was that Jenny stood by her side holding a lamp. She is my other wife and she was glaring at me.

  [HE HAS BETRAYED US ALL.]

  The voice in my head was angry, but now I recognized it, or rather, its type. This was a dragon talking to us using telepathy.

  I stood up and brushed grass off my jeans. My hair felt a little singed, but it was certain the flames had never reached me. I knew that because I was still alive. Dragonfire is about as lethal as it gets, except when they use it to cook sheep before eating. Even then, it’s always lethal for the sheep.

  Esmeralda looked up into the darkness as if she could see something I couldn’t. “Jake is many things and often acts like a fool, but he would never betray anyone. It is not in his nature.”

  Well thanks for the vote of confidence, Esmeralda. Talk about damning with faint praise.

  [HE HAS CONSENTED TO REPRESENT THE VALHALLANS AT THE CONFERENCE BETWEEN THE WORLDS.]

  How the hell did they find that out? The only people who knew were the Valhallans, my wives and my pet dragon. Not that he thinks of himself as a pet, but I’ve had him since he was an egg. He’s very young in dragon terms and doesn’t do the voice in capital letters thing. But the fact remained that I’d been betrayed by my own dragon.

  “Fluffy told you. That sneaky underhanded son of a flying reptile.”

  [IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW WE KNOW. DO YOU DENY IT?] The ground shook; there was so much energy in his question.

  I stood straighter. If I was going to be condemned, I planned to go out fighting. Creating a halo of light above my head I expanded it and raised it upwards, making it shine brighter. Red eyes like burning rubies shone across the sky. Only it wasn’t the sky. A hemisphere of dragons, their wings spread wide, blocked the sky from sight. They were tightly interlaced together.