Chapter 8

"Well, a part of my plan depends on how long it would take to construct a brizium suit."

Agar thought for a moment and said, "There is no way that such a suit could be fabricated by using magic. It would have to be made as chain mail by hand, one link at a time. Even with several skilled armorers working on it, it would take several weeks, I think."

"OK, I've had another brain storm. Can you have Teekay meet us in your laboratory? I want to try an experiment with that brizium cage you trapped me in when I first came here."

"Sure, come on." They walked to Agar's laboratory and found Teekay waiting for them just outside the door.

"Come into my laboratory, gentlemen. OK, Sam, so do whatever you had in mind."

"Thank you. Teekay, please step into the brizium cage and close the door."

"OK, here I am. Now what?"

"I think that your abilities, Teekay, have nothing to do with magic, and I want to prove it. In my world, there are stories of people who have a touch of your TK ability, but we have no magic. I want to see how it works in this world.

"Teekay, do you see that large crystal globe?" At Teekay's nod, San requested, "If you think that you can do it without damaging it, please use your ability to lift the globe off its supports and then set it back down, undamaged."

"Sam, I can't do that! I am inside a brizium cage that blocks all my powers!"

"Have you ever actually tried to work through a brizium shield, or are you just a victim of 'common knowledge'?"

"Shit! I never thought of it that way! OK, here goes!" Teekay stared intently at the globe for a moment. The globe jumped into the air about 3 feet.

Both Agar and Teekay gasped in surprise, but Sam displayed a smug grin, as if saying "I told you so!" The crystal globe started to teeter on its invisible support, so Sam said, "You better put it back, Teekay, before you drop it."

Teekay got a pained look on his face and declared, somewhat indignantly, "I never 'drop' anything! But I will put it back before Wizard Agar has a heart attack."

Agar said, "Teekay, please be careful, some of the things in this laboratory are nearly irreplaceable. With that in mind, I would like to see if the brizium puts any limits on your ability. Please test your limits."

Teekay spent about 30 minutes in various experiments, moving things about it the laboratory, first singly, and then in groups. They could find no limits placed on his ability by the brizium. Sam and Teekay were ecstatic, but Agar looked worried.

Sam asked, "What's the matter, Agar. I thought that you would be happy."

"Oh, I am happy for Teekay, but I worry that there are now no limits on what he can do, except for his own moral values. What if other, less moral individuals, can do the same thing? There is no way we can keep this secret for very long."

"I see what you mean, and I was going to ask if we could test some of the other wizards. If the firebrands and illusionists can also work through the brizium shield, we can produce an irresistible army in a short while. Then we will be able to take on the evil wizards that work for the Devil; we should be able to free the whole world from his influence. Even magic from the Devil, himself, can't pass through a brizium shield.

"I'd like to perform one last test. Agar, this will require your direct cooperation. Will you allow Teekay to lift you a few inches of the floor? Once he has you held, I would like for you to break the hold and return to the floor, able to move freely."

"OK, but if word of this gets out, my dignity as a Wizard will be destroyed. Teekay, if you say one word about this, I will turn you into a toad! Go ahead and do your best."

Agar rose from the floor a few inches. He mumbled a few words, but nothing seemed to happen, except that Teekay started to sweat with strain. Agar mumbled a few more words and dropped like a rock back to the floor. No matter how Teekay strained, he could not regain control of Agar's body.

Both men were showing signs of strain, so Sam said, "OK, enough! I've seen what I needed to see. Agar, you are obviously strong enough to break Teekay's hold, but just barely, and I think that answers your objections to my new army."

"Yes it does, but I can't help worrying a little."

"OK, Agar, can you construct a shell around a small quantity of brizium powder that would block its effect on magic. I know that sounds like a contradiction of the laws of nature, but it's important to my plan to get rid of the devil. Please give it a try."

"I don't know where to begin such a spell. I'll need several days to work on it. That's a real tough one, but I'll see what I can do."

"OK, one last quick trial. Teekay, please come out of the cage and see if you can use your skill to move it."

Teekay had no trouble moving the brizium cage, so Sam had several angles he could follow up on in his anti-Devil campaign.

As they walked out of Agar's laboratory, Sam said to Teekay, "I have a fall-back plan to use against the Devil, but it will depend heavily on you. Are you willing to face the Devil while wearing brizium mail?"

"I think so, but please remember that I can't match the Devil in muscle power, and I'm not sure how long my TK ability can stand against his super strength."

"Have you ever tried to make a barrier that nothing solid could penetrate. It seems to me that you cold freeze air molecules in place and anchor them to the ground so that they could not be moved."

"No, I never tried that; let me see what I can do." Teekay concentrated for a moment and said, "OK, I think that I've got it. What do you think of this barrier?"

A haze formed in front of Sam and he pushed against it. He couldn't move it, so he said, "That's the sort of thing I had in mind. Will it stand on its own, or do you have to maintain it?"

"I don't have to give the barrier my constant attention, but I think that it would collapse after about 15 minutes if I didn't recharge it."

"I think that we had better get Agar's advice on just how strong the barrier needs to be to stop the Devil's efforts to break through. I'll talk to him the next time he comes out of his laboratory."

That evening, after their supper together, Sam and Olena went for a walk in her private roof garden. "Oh, Sam, I really enjoy the time I can be with you!"

"I, too, feel that way. I wish it could be permanent. Do you think that you could stand to have me around all the time? I confess that I am in love with you, but I don't know how you feel."

"Sam, I love you! I felt something for you the first time I saw you, and my feeling for you has grown stronger as I have gotten to know you."

"Olena, would you marry me? I know I don't have much to offer you, but myself. Would that be enough? And how would the people of Alieria react to me being your husband?"

Olena grabbed Sam around the neck in a glorious hug and kissed him like he had never been kissed before. "Of course, I'll marry you! And my people will adore you!" They were in bliss the rest of the evening and parted reluctantly to return to their own apartments.

The next day, Princess Olena announced to Her Advisory Council that She planned to marry Wizard Sam as soon as all the arrangements could be made. She estimated that it would take about 3 months to get everything set up.

The news was all over the palace before the meeting even broke up. Except for absolutely essential business, the upcoming wedding became the sole topic of conversation. Nearly everybody thought it was a good idea; after all, Wizard Sam had saved them from the Devil and His evil forces. This would insure that they would be protected by the most powerful wizards in the whole world! Between Agar and Sam, they had nothing to fear!

The only dissenters were those people who were never for anything out of the ordinary. If it broke the pleasant routine of everyday life, it was potentially dangerous, so don't do it. However, these people were so few that they were easy to ignore.

Olena was so busy supervising the preparations for the wedding that Sam saw very little of her. He found this disappointing, but he had learned long ago that there was no percentage in fighting a force of nature. He consoled himself with the thought that he would see plenty of her later.