Alchymist

The chilly dignity took over again. 'Come inside.' Yggur caught Flydd by the arm, gesturing to Nish and Irisis with his other hand.

They followed him into his workroom. 'Flydd, would you operate this for me?' Yggur handed him the little beetle flier. It's much improved from the one I had when you came to Fiz Gorgo.'

The scrutator touched the device, which hummed to life and rose unsteadily in the air.

'Fly it around the room, any way you choose.' Yggur put the transfer controller in his pocket and went into the adjoining room. 'When I try to take over, fight hard against it.'

'It'll be a pleasure,' Flydd said with a wicked gleam in his eye. He moved his hands. The flier shot just over Nish's head, ruffling his hair. Flydd made a hasty gesture; it turned the other way. 'Stupid thing!' the scrutator said.

'Gentle movements,' said Irisis, who had spent long hours watching Yggur master the art of controlling the flier. 'You've got to have a calm mind.'

Remarkably, in a few minutes Flydd had gained enough control to keep it circling around the centre of the room, using just the movement of one hand. It was a strain, though; he had to sit down and his fingers had stiffened into hooked claws.

'Ready?' Yggur called.

Flydd massaged his fingers until they would straighten.

'Yes.’

The beetle flier kept circling, its pattern unchanged. Minutes passed.

'Knew it couldn't be done,' Flydd muttered. His gnarly hand was shaking. 'How much longer do I have to keep it up?'

Yggur put his head around the door. 'What's happening?'

'Absolutely nothing,' Flydd said with great cheer.

Yggur scowled. 'All right, bring it back to the table.'

'Can't you do that yourself?'

'It's keyed to you and your Art, until you release it or I break your hold.'

Flydd brought the flier down to the table. It landed on its side and thumped over onto its iridescent back. He touched it and the hum died.

'No luck?' said Flydd, not displeased that the great Yggur had failed in front of witnesses.

'You can leave now,' said Yggur evenly.

They hurried to the door. Irisis lingered, looking back at him. 'You too!' he said in a forbidding voice. 'I've not had a second's peace since you arrived.'

That afternoon Yggur called them back. There was no sign of his earlier euphoria. He sat with both elbows on the table, chin cupped in his hands, staring at the transfer controller.

'All right, let's try it again.' He went into the other room.

Flydd sent the flier up and circled it over their heads. There was silence from beyond the door. After a few minutes, the scrutator felt confident enough to try more complicated patterns: a series of vertical figure-eights, followed by a flat spiral down to the floor, another back up to the ceiling.

Yggur cursed and banged something on the wall. It sounded like his head, thud-thud-thud. The flier dipped sharply, flipped end for end and slammed into a stack of books on the table. It spun around on its curved back, making a whistling hum, struck a pile of papers and sent them whirling into the air. The hum died away. Yggur burst through the doorway. 'What about that?' 'Fabulous!' said Irisis, running towards him. She stopped abruptly. 'What have you done to the scrutator?'

Xervish Flydd lay on his side behind the big table, his arms clutched to his chest. One knee was drawn up; the other leg licked feebly, and his bloodshot eyes stared at the ceiling, unblinking.

Falling to her knees beside him, Irisis put her head on his chest. 'His heart's going like a racehorse but his eyes are blank. What have you done to him, Yggur?'

'Seizing control can be .., traumatic to the mind,' said Yggur, who looked rather shaky himself. 'Both minds, as it happens. I thought he'd be strong enough to endure it.'

'Did you warn him, so that he could prepare himself?' she snapped. Irisis was a terrier when her friends were in trouble.

'I wanted his reactions to be as natural as possible. Anyway, he's been working with the Art for most of his life. He knew the risks.'

'I'd hate to be one of your enemies,' muttered Irisis, 'if this is the way you treat your friends.'

Yggur put his hands on Flydd's head, and then on his chest. 'I don't have any friends, thankfully. He'll recover in an hour or two. Take him to his room and let him sleep, and don't come back. I've got a lot of work to do before we try again.'

The scrutator recovered with no more harm than a piercing headache and a furious temper. He seemed to think that he had, somehow, been unmanned, which made Irisis even more livid. However, in the morning he was ready to try again.

'Are you sure you're prepared for this?' said Irisis. 'Do you want me to take your place?'

'I don't think that's such a good idea,' Flydd said without elaboration. 'I know what to expect now.'

They began again. The iridescent metal bug flew in figure-eights about half a span below the ceiling. Flydd stood leaning against the table, his eyes following the flier, his fingers barely moving.

Time passed. Nothing happened. 'What's Yggur doing, do you think?' whispered Nish.

'I haven't got a clue.'

Flydd groaned and slipped to one knee, but his fingers kept moving and the flier held to its pattern. There came a cry from the next room, swiftly cut off.

Nish thought he detected a faint smile on the scrutator's face. 'He's not letting go this time,' he said quietly to Irisis. 'He's making Yggur work for it.'

'He's a proud fool,' said Irisis. 'Yggur is stronger than he'll ever be. He'll kill himself. I'm going to stop it.'

Nish caught her wrist as she passed. 'Never interfere in the affairs of mancers. Surely you know that?'

She swung her other hand at him, but he caught it as well. Irisis looked furious but it passed in a moment and she sat down, watching the scrutator. Flydd's other leg collapsed. He wobbled on his knees, his teeth bared, but his fingers still moved. While there was breath in his belly he was not going to give in to Yggur.

Another cry ripped through the door. Yggur let out a bellow and the flier dipped in the air.

'Ugh!' Flydd grunted, but regained control and flew another perfect figure-eight.

'Be damned!' roared Yggur, sounding as if he was thumping from one wall to another.

The air rushed out of the scrutator's lungs and he subsided gently to the floor, still smiling. His fingers stopped moving.

The flier turned sharply, bounced off the wall, jagged across the room, struck the door and disappeared through it.

'Ha!' cried Yggur. 'I knew I could do it.' Then silence.

Irisis lifted Flydd to his feet. 'I'm all right,' he said in a faint voice. 'I showed him a thing, didn't I?'

'Bloody idiot!' Letting him fall, Irisis hurried into the other room.

Yggur lay on the floor with the flier clutched in his hand, and he was actually smiling. 'We can do it. I never believed it would be possible.'

That evening, Irisis had just carried a tray into Yggur's room when a servant came running in, carrying a message pouch. 'It's from Uritz, surr, by skeet, and it's marked of the utmost urgency.'

Yggur dismissed the servant, pulled himself up in bed and broke the seal of the pouch. He still looked wan.

'Do you want me to leave?' said Irisis.

He did not answer. Yggur was staring at the paper as if he could not believe what was written there. Irisis felt her skin crawl. Another defeat? Was ruin imminent?

He threw the paper aside, slid the tray to the other side of the bed and levered himself out. Standing on shaky legs, he began to dress.

'What is it? You must rest, Yggur.'

'There's no time. It's come from a spy I have near Alcifer, sent this morning. The skeet must have burst its heart getting here so quickly. A flying construct came across the sea from the east yesterday, went well north of Alcifer, crossed the range and circled back after dark. It's now believed to be hidden in the forest somewhere near the abandoned city. This is our chance!'