The Militant Magician

As she pulled her coat further over her shoulders to shield out the rain, Briar Rose could still not remember her parents’ faces. Somehow the lack of memories made her angrier every year she edged older. Not that she missed them, she didn't even possess an idea of who they should have been. It was the principle. Every day she was closer to sixteen and every day felt like she was more and more of a disappointment.

Every block she crossed and every street she hiked, faceless people passed, completely absorbed with their lives. Each and every one of them paid her no attention, not even to shoulder her out of the way in their rush. She stared back at them but not one triggered a memory, all strangers.

Music blasted in her ears, her punk rock playlist on shuffle. It helped with the headaches, despite her godmothers’ warnings. Her sixteenth birthday crept closer and the headaches grew more painful.

Thunder blasted out overhead, another torrent of water bursting from the sky. Coat or no she was now soaked to the bone. Tonight the city was streaked with a fuzzy filter, each lamp or headlight lingering in the rain like darting lightning streaks. Colours ran together, making the grungy buildings almost pass for livable.

Briar couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t lived in the Timberland, the slums encircling Marchen City. Looking to the north, Marchen’s massive glowing skyscrapers towered over the Timberland. Anyone who didn’t fit in wound up in Timberland, and Briar in her leather coat and short hair couldn’t pass for one of the Haute Monde with their elaborate clothes and extravagant bank accounts. The Haute Monde were notorious for their ridiculous parties, not that you could meet anyone who could claim to have been to one. People from the Timberland didn’t even have enough money for electricity, let alone enough power to make Marchen blaze like a second sun twenty four seven.

Her comm tracker buzzed in her pocket.

“Shit.”

She was running late.

With only one block to go, Briar picked up her pace, pummeling her feet into the unforgiving ground. Massive splashes further soaked her pants, each filled with grime and dirt.

The Timberland was forever coated in a layer of filth, the result of decades of neglect. Buildings in need of repair were abandoned, only to be taken up by street punks who wrecked them even further. Homeless littered the alleyways, those who couldn’t find a squat to claim. Squads of robots used to come out from Marchen City to keep order but even that had stopped, leaving the Timberland to become its own lawless mess.

The buzzing in Briar's pocket urged her on as she hit the last corner, racing up the front steps to the main door of her building. With slick fingers she keyed in the code, grateful when the massive iron door swung open.

The moment her wet shoes squelched on the lino floor, Briar was surrounded. In the space of a heartbeat, seven women materialised out of nowhere, shrouding her in a haze of yelling.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Do you have any idea that time it is?”

“Do you have a death wish?”

“You’re absolutely soaked.”

“I hope you have a good explanation young lady.”

Briar held up both hands. “Please stop yelling,” she screamed. Her voice broke through, echoing all the way to the top floor. A moment of silence followed, with only the rain pattering outside and the constant drip drip drip of her clothes.

She looked at the faces glaring at her. Each was angry and worried and hurt in equal amounts. Her godmothers, Aqua, Cherry, Ebony, Hazel, Jade, Silver and Violet were as young as they were beautiful. But Briar knew that they were older than she could imagine, a fact that had only recently started to plague her. Each year she grew taller and ganglier while they were always the same, like they hadn’t even aged a day in her whole life.

Ebony broke the calm first. “Do you have any idea how worried we have been Briar?” She wiped away a stray tear, her black hair a mess of tangles. “You didn’t leave a note or comm us. Cherry was about to send out a search party.”

Briar looked around. Cherry’s face was caught in a frown but her eyes spoke volumes. “You better have a good excuse young lady.”

Without thinking, Briar bit her bottom lip.

“Ha,” Violet snapped, her purple hair flying. “I knew it was intentional. Where did you come from little miss?”

Briar tried to divert. “Does it matter? I’m home now.”

“None of that now.” Jade moved in from the side, wrapping her arm around Briar’s soggy shoulders. “You know you need to tell us. We have to make sure you’re still safe.”

Despite the tenderness in Jade’s touch, Briar shook it off. “Can’t we just leave it alone? It’s really late and I might as well be swimming right now based on how wet I am.” She pushed through the ring of women, heading straight for the stairs. “I just need to get changed.”

Hazel called after her. “But Briar…”

“Just leave me alone.” Briar shouted over her shoulder. “Sometimes we all need our space to breathe. Even if the air outside is filled with crap it’s still quieter than in here.”

Only the thump of her heavy footsteps on the stairs sounded as she headed up to the quiet of her room.

“You have to be more careful.” Aqua’s voice was filled with concern, even as her disarming spell raced towards Briar’s face. At the last moment Briar dodged, the pulsing ball crashing into a training robot.

“I’m allowed to leave the house every once in a while.” She yelled, bringing her two nightsticks together in front of her. The spell started in her eyes, flashes of purple flames, before surging through her arms and out like a beam of arched lighting. Aqua was caught off guard and send sprawling.

Cherry came in from behind, her staff swelling with power. Briar struck out with one arm to defend herself while using the other to break an oncoming robot’s head unit. Sparks sizzled from the huge hole, the mechanical frame crumpling to the ground, destroyed. Without the robot to distract her, Briar moved to attack Cherry with full force. They clashed, nightstick to staff until Briar saw her opening and struck. Cherry hit the ground with a thud, floored.

“Every day I train.” Briar kept going, every strike and spell one fluid movement, like a dance. Before they could stop her she had disabled both Hazel and Jade, more lighting spreading from her nightsticks.

“Every day you make me push myself harder and harder." Briar was screaming the words now, her anger flowing through her in a wave, powering her limbs to block and smash and pulverise. Violet tried to catch her off guard, using her sister Ebony's blocking spell to strike Briar's shoulder.

With a grunt Briar collapsed to her knee, the pain of the hit evident on her face. The flames in her eyes flared a deep black, a pure lightless flash that sucked in every ounce of energy she could muster.

Her three remaining godmothers and the two training robots approached. Ebony was conjuring a shield while Violet and Silver chanted new attack spells. Both bots reloaded their guns, ejecting the spent laser cartridges.

“I.” Briar stood, her magic shimmering around her like a shroud.

“Am.” She pulled both nightsticks together in the pattern of a cross.

“So.” She sucked in a breath.

"Finished." As the last word blew from her lips, all the built up curse spread from her, a supernova of power flooding out in an ever expanding wave. Everyone was knocked off their feet, catapulted back to the walls. The robots, however, were cut in half, electricity spluttering as their cleaved bodies fell to the ground.

Briar took a moment to collect herself. Sweat was dripping down her neck, strands of hair adhered to her skin. She forced air down into her burning lungs, her heart pumping in overdrive. Slowly the magic began to subside, her senses dulling. Magic attacks the body like pure adrenaline, racing through the blood, permeating the muscles. It burns, singeing the senses.

Slowly and tentatively, the godmothers picked themselves up off the ground. Despite their exhaustion, something different was passing between them. Each woman around the group, sharing a private unspoken message.

“I agree.” Aqua nodded.

Hazel smiled. “Yes. Today.”

Uncertainly Briar sheathed her nightsticks in the holsters attached to her back. "What are you talking about?" With the back of her hand, she wiped her forehead, making her hair spike up in strange directions like a mad cactus.

Cherry moved over, gently placing a hand on Briar’s shoulder. “You are ready my dear.”

“Ready?” Confusion clouded her face.

“For your task, your mission.” Jade and Silver joined hands with the others, moving to form a circle around Briar.

Before she could ask any more questions, a power began to vibrate amongst the women. Unlike their unique powers which varied, each a different frequency and colour, this pulsing was stronger, purer. Their energies blended, infusing together into a perfect white light. And then the chanting began.

“For you.”

“Our beloved.”

“We gift.”

“Our powers.”

“To embody.”

“And use.”

“As prophecy.”

“Comes to pass.” So said all at once.

As the last word was uttered, all of the magic pulsed, seeking Briar’s heart. Vibrant white light entered her being, filling her body and soul. In her eyes the black flames of her own magic mixed. Instead of extinguishing the power the new mixed with the old. Surrounding her, Briar’s aura became black flickering waves, edged in luminescent white.

And then it was over.

Everyone rushed in as Briar’s legs buckled beneath her.

“Breathe my girl.” Silver cooed. “It’s a lot to take in all at once.”

Briar’s words were intermixed with gasps for air. “But I thought I wasn’t good enough…” She coughed. “I thought you wanted to…”

“Abandon you?” Hazel asked.

Aqua touched Briar’s cheek. “We just knew that if you weren’t ready, you would be vulnerable without the gift.”

“If we gave it to you too early, your body would have rejected it.” Violet nodded, her affection uncharacteristic.

Briar knew what happened when magical gifts went awry. Stories still existed from a time when curses lingered everywhere, hiding in the shadows of the world. Magic without purpose could be deadly and dangerous.

“But now that we have,” Jade sighed, “You have to leave us.”

Briar’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“You have a destiny Briar, one we have tried so hard to prepare you for.” Ebony smiled, her face filled with love and hope. “You are so much more than we could have ever hoped for. But now you have a mission. One that will change everything.”

As one, everyone rose. A new vibe had swallowed the room, sadness mixed with hope.

With her weight back on the ground, Briar could feel the change in her, the magic moving through her muscles. All the exhaustion had fled, replaced with a new sense of buzzing radiating out from her chest. She was different now. Stronger. Powerful.

Just as her godmothers were about to begin their new instructions, Briar stuck up her hand.

“Before we start, can I take a shower? I have a feeling I’m gonna need one.”

Like a banner of gloom, the rains followed Briar as she headed towards the district gate that divided the Timberland from Marchen City. The gate was connected to a wall that ran the full distance around Marchen City, one gigantic metal behemoth separating the poor from the wealthy.

The last few blocks, Briar hadn’t seen a single soul. Even the houses seemed empty, as through the wall itself was poisonous. Looking up at it, she could see why.

Gigantic metal spikes protruded over the entire surface, glistening with every rain drop that rolled off the barbs. The metal seemed alive, shining under the bright lights of the skyscrapers above. This close to the city, the light seemed embedded within the very walls, every floor of the towers brighter than the last.

Craning her neck, Briar looked upwards, searching for her target. The penthouse of the tallest building, cresting against the sky, was dark. Surrounded by light, the single dark spot stood like the last missing piece from a puzzle, a hole in the world.

“Halt citizen. This is a restricted access point.” A recorded voice boomed out from the gate. “Further proximity will result in weapons fire.”

Briar stepped forwards.

Metal grated on metal as the two halves of the gate opened, the bright interior light blinding Briar. She blinked, shielding her eyes with her arm. Through the glare, a dozen military class robots marched through the opening, each with a gun pointed at her head.

“Retreat now or we will be forced to fire.”

In one motion, Briar pulled both nightsticks from their holsters. Crossing them over her chest she began to run, chanting as her feet pounded into the ground.

"Schirmen mich." The words were barely whispered but the power bloomed at their utterance. A haze of darkness surrounded Briar like a second skin, conforming to her body.

Without another warning, the robots opened fire. Each bullet bounced off the darkness, harmless. Reaching the first robot Briar swung with one arm, right for the central processor. Wires sparked as the head was ripped off, the machine slumping to the ground. She kept moving, using her other arm to strike the next and next and next, over and over. Twenty seconds later, all twelve robots were useless scrap.

Without stopping Briar raced through the open gate, just as it began to close again. Despite the ruined bots in the way, the gate halves smashed shut, pulverising the remains into dust.

Briar looked back. Instead of a spiked monstrosity, a hologram of calm, green forest stretched out to the horizon. Only the destroyed robots wedged in the hidden door even showed it was there.

A temporary wave of exhaustion swept over her. With a slight fizzle, the protective haze vanished, the magic moving back into her chest. This new strength was more temporary than she had thought.

As if as a warning, thunder boomed out from above. A shiver raced down Briar’s spine, a voice urging her onwards. A part of her had imagined fancy people, in their expensive clothes waltzing around. Maybe they didn’t even get wet, somehow above such simple realities.

Instead, empty streets spread out in every direction, twisting organically between the towering buildings. As she walked further and further into the maze, a ghostly feeling overcame her. Every shop front, every lobby, every restaurant, even the parked vehicles, were empty. Nothing moved, except her. For blocks and blocks Briar walked, alone in a massive graveyard.

Without meaning to, she began to voice her thoughts, just to hear something.

“None of this makes sense.” The words echoed around her. “Where did everyone go? This can’t be what’s behind all those stories. What about the Haute Monde and their radical parties?”

Silence and the rain answered back.

“Maybe the godmothers were wrong. Maybe this is some kind of next test.”

Briar crossed the street, heading for the centre. Staring up at the sky she could make out her goal, the tallest tower right in the middle. It dwarfed the others and shined brighter, like a beacon.

“Halt citizen.”

Her hands tightened around the nightsticks.

“This is a restricted access point. Further proximity will result in weapons fire.”

Peering around the next corner, at the base of the central tower stood at least four platoons of military robots, well over a hundred, arms at the ready. A thin layer of grime clung to their outer shells, despite the heavy rains pelting down on them. Not a single one had shifted, even through the echoes of the recorded voice still lingered. Briar knew they were still dangerous, even if they did resemble long forgotten statues.

Briar took a long, deep breath. “Schirmen mich.”

Again the dark haze of magic curled around her body, morphing to her shape. This had to be done efficiently or else the magic would weaken her, like before. Twirling both nightsticks in her hands, she loosening her wrists and steeled herself.

Without hesitating, Briar launched from her protected position, racing straight for the lobby entrance. It only took a moment but revealing herself activated every robot simultaneously. As one terrifying force, they rotated and opened fire.

The first wave of bullets bounced off Briar’s shield without strain but as more and more tried to strike her down, she could feel how much the magic was tied to her focus. With full force she obliterated the first fifteen robots one after the other. But then one came from behind her, lashing out with a knife instead of a gun. Unprepared for the difference in velocity, her shield only absorbed some of the hit, a small cut slicing into her leg.

Grunting Briar dove the point of her nightstick into the machine’s chest, destroying its power source. More and more robots came at her, pulling a range of random weapons from different hidden cavities on their bodies.

Keeping her momentum, Briar changed her chants. “Patinnen mir helfen.” She tried to imagine her godmothers standing beside her, tried to feel their energy as they fought with her.

New colours began to entwine themselves with her dark shield. Blue and pink, brown and green, purple and silver and black. Briar’s aura bloomed around her as the machines came at her, wave after wave. From within, every muscle in her body began to flood with magic stronger than she had every felt.

Moving with the fluidity of a dancer, her mind began to see paths through the attackers, see their weaknesses as glowing spots on their bodies. In a cloud of swirling arms, Briar cleaved every robot in two, until she was the only one left standing.

Nothing had moved since Briar had entered the skyscraper, the building one massive tomb. In a cruel twist of fate, the only way to reach the top floor was to walk, floor by floor, step by step. Every floor was empty, not a single person to be seen. A gloom hung over the place, slicky and damned. It had begun to sink into Briar’s skin, like radiation, making her head spin.

After a while the trudging became monotonous, foot over foot over foot. The numbers of the floors melted into each other; fifty, sixty, one hundred fifty, one hundred sixty. Occasionally Briar had to stop and rest, the powerful magic long gone from her muscles. She ached and groaned, her knees grating bone to bone.

But every time she stopped the gloom would swamp her, a million tiny voices whispering in her ears generating waves of nausea. Forcing herself to stand, Briar pushed the feeling away, willing herself to see through the sickness.

Finally she reached the two hundredth floor.

With an extra heave Briar shouldered the door open. All the floors below were filled with empty corridors, leading to empty apartments. But not this floor.

A grand ballroom opened up, several hundred feet tall, made entirely from glass. A single elevator and the stair access were the only wall not transparent and streaked with rivulets of rain. All the world was visible from here, Marchen City and its lights shining out below. Even the holograms of the fake forest couldn't disguise the Timberland from up here; miles and miles of dirty, disused and derelict shantytowns stretching to the edge of the horizon.

“Halt citizen.”

The recorded voice from before echoed off the glass walls. This time a holographic image appeared in the middle of the floor. It was an old man in a wheelchair, grey hair sticking out of this head in tufts.

“This is a restricted access point. Further proximity will result in weapons fire.”

Slowly, Briar approached. She pulled her nightsticks free again, aware of every sensation especially the racing beat of her heart.

“Schirmen mich.” With her eyes trained on the hologram, Briar summoned her defences, her light a rainbow of mixed colours, all twisted together like flavours in a lollipop.

The hologram blinked at her. “All access to this location has been deemed dangerous by the senior AI system. Only a correct authority code will enable access.”

Briar was only a few feet away. She cleared her throat, remembering what her godmothers had told her in their instructions. “Is that you my prince? What a long time you have kept me waiting.” She could hear the uncertainty in her voice. The words did sound a bit ridiculous out loud.

“Authority code accepted. Access granted.” The holograph smiled at her and vanished.

A crack opened up in the floor. It widened quickly, a new floor rising up from beneath. Dozens of computer screens were stacked haphazardly on scaffolding, surrounding a huge desk with an empty wheelchair. Laid out of the desk was a glass coffin and inside was a young man.

Briar edged closer, her eyes glued to the coffin. On closer inspection the coffin turned out to be a stasis chamber, sealed and maintained by a collection of mechanics running around the base. But it was his face she couldn’t pull her eyes away from. He was young, maybe as young as she was and his face seemed to be made from porcelain, smooth and perfect. Lush golden curls rolled past his shoulders, spilling out above his head like a halo.

Sheathing her weapons, Briar placed her hands on the coffin.

“He is beautiful.”

She jumped back, hands reaching for the nightsticks. The wheelchair was empty no longer. The holograph of the old man was seated in it, staring at her.

“It’s nice to have company again. What’s your name my dear?”

Briar was on her guard. “Briar. Briar Rose.”

He nodded. “Briar Rose, what a lovely name. His name is Benjamin.” A withered hand pointed to the boy. “No one has ever gotten this far before.”

“I had help.”

He nodded again. “Yes I know. The mainframe has been monitoring your progress. Your magic is strong to have beaten my robots. And made it up here. The building is cursed you know, filled with draining evils that should have killed you before you even reached us.”

Briar pulled one nightstick free, covering her heart with her free hand. “And the voices. I’m assuming that’s part of the curse too.”

“Oh yes. But it’s still better than what happened to everyone else.”

Without answering back, he continued. “You see, I was messing around with the idea of fusing magic with technology but my last experiment came off a bit badly. All of my fellow citizens, my beloved Haute Monde became possessed. I knew they would all die given enough time so I sealed the wall. I programmed a copy of myself into the mainframe and let everything…" he trailed off. "Anyway, I did manage to place my grandson in stasis. But you should know that, miss Rose."

Then Briar did something new. She smiled. “My godmothers told me some of it. So I know you're lying about putting him to sleep. They did that.”

His face grew sour. “Yes. The dear old fairy godmothers. Still looking uncannily young I take it?”

Briar shrugged.

“Hmm. They never did like to show their age. How are my dear sisters these days?”

“Better parents than you were apparently.” Under her breath Briar whispered. “Patinnen mir helfen.”

“No one in a hundred years has been good enough. How did you succeed in being granted the gift of their powers? No, never mind, it really doesn’t matter. You’re here now. Do what you came here to do.”

In one swift movement, Briar smashed her nightstick into the control computer. The old man’s holograph shorted out, quickly followed by every light in Marchen City, plunging the world into the darkness of night. A new clatter of rain crashed down on the glass ceiling, the soundtrack to Briar’s world.

As efficiently as she could, given the lack of light, Briar used both hands to lift the lid off the coffin. A slight hiss met her ears as the seal ruptured. All the internal stasis programming had stopped with the power. Carefully she lifted the boy out, his body as light as it was frail. Holding him close Briar summoned her powers and kicked at the coffin, launching it onto the ground. Glass shattered on impact, knocking over several of the screens.

She placed him back on the table, now clear of all clutter. Her mind ticked over as she grabbed both nightsticks, crossing them over the boy’s heart. She ran through the spell in head one last time, just to make sure it was all there.

Deep inside her eyes, a black flame edged in white began to burn. The magic poured out her, twisting around like brambles, wild and free. The thorns were tipped with different colours, each a piece of one godmother’s magic. When she finally spoke, Briar’s voice was strong and clear.

“Once upon a time there was a King who was so filled with greed that he cursed his lands. His evil heart consumed everything around him until only emptiness remained. The king’s son was also destined to be eaten by the same greed.”

More and more magic poured from Briar, expanding out in wild rushes.

“Only the kindness of his fairy godmothers spared the prince, putting him into a deep sleep.”

With enormous effort Briar pushed down on the boy’s chest, pressing in her weapons point down.

“One hundred years passed and the Prince slept, his kingdom crumbling around him. Only them did a fair maiden journey from the wastes to break his curse.” Briar was screaming now, the energy so great that sweat was pouring of her face.

“With all of her love she kissed the Prince. He awoke. And they lived happily ever after.”

As the last word echoed around her, every spine of magic filling the room dove straight into the boy, filling him with a bright pulsing light.

Briar fell back, her energy spent. She crumpled to a heap on the ground, her hands unable to keep hold of her nightsticks. They too clattered to the cold floor.

Silence and the rain filled her ears.

Her eyes drifted closed, too exhausted to stay open.

“Are you ok?”

The voice broke through Briar’s haze. She willed her eyes to open.

The boy, his golden hair spilling everywhere, was touching her face. His eyes glowed a vibrant blue, like a perfect sky.

“Good. I was starting to worry.” Her voice was weak.

“It’s alright.” His tone wafted around her. She could feel the healing magic seeping into her from his caresses. “I’m going to help you. It’s all going to be right. We’re going to make everything right again.” He smiled at her, the affection clear.

Briar looked up through the glass ceiling. The rains had stopped, the clouds had opened and clear brilliant starlight glittered above her.

She sighed, moving to grab his hand with hers. “Yeah. I think you might be right.”