24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

A strange silence fell around them. Elizabeth could no longer see anyone else. Not Darcy, not Redmond, not Mr. Bennet. It was as if she was looking at the others through thick cotton. She did not dare to move in case she stumbled into something, or someone. She had no experience of fogs on the sea. The closest thing to this was when, once in early one spring, she was caught in pea soup fog in London. But even that was not so extreme.

Still, she could not help feeling there was something missing, something she did not experience in London. Then it struck her. All sound around her was smothered, as if she was underwater.

Was it possible the French were using a giant mirror to travel across the sea? She was overcome with dread. What if, as Darcy firmly believed, Riquer had betrayed them? What if they were using Elizabeth's mirror to cross over?

There was only one way to find out. Her hands trembling, she took out the mirror. To see it through the thick fog, she had to hold the mirror very close. To her intense relief, her own face looked back at her. There were no murky mists and no suggestion that the mirror was active.

At least her Mirror magic was not aiding in an invasion.

Now that she knew it was an external fog, she needed to find Darcy. She moved in the direction where she had last seen him and was relieved when she bumped into him.

"There you are," she whispered in his ear, reluctant to talk too loudly in case there were Imperial mages around them. She did not want to give away their position. "Darcy," she whispered. "This isn't a real mist. It's an Illusion."

He gripped her hand firmly. "Don't let go," he said. "I don't want to lose you."

"I won't." She strained her ears to hear other sounds, but everything was muffled. "Can you feel Redmond?"

"I can't feel anyone's signatures." His voice sounded strangely flat. "I agree, it has to be some kind of Illusion."

As if in answer to his statement, the fog parted to reveal Miss Bingley and Lady Alice marching forward along with Lord Grayson and Lord Harcourt, their arms raised. They seemed to be moving in a large circle, murmuring a spell in unison. A few moments later, the fog disappeared around them, within the circle. Elizabeth winced at the bright light. Beyond the circle, however, the world was still painted white. It was like an empty space where ghosts might dwell.

"If we all walk around in different locations," said Miss Bingley, "we can use the Dispersal spell from The Compendium to undo the Illusion and clear the beach."

Elizabeth glanced at her father, but he declined to join them. Elizabeth gave the signal to Darcy and Redmond to Bond. The Bond would help them cover a larger area.

But before they could do anything, the fog lifted, leaving them with an open view of the sea. There was no longer any doubt. The fog had been a way to cover the French approach. Now that it had lifted, a light wind was blowing towards the shore.

The masts of the sailing boats were black lines against the orange morning sun, and they were coming straight towards them.

The sight of the enemy boats propelled everyone into action. Elizabeth's pulse sped up as she checked and rechecked the Wards that would keep the French mages out.

As she did so, the winds grew stronger, and the waves rose into swells that pounded against the shore in great thrashing movements.

The boatmen started cheering.

"They'll drown or be dashed against the Goodwin Sands if this weather continues," said a man in a blue coat.

But as the waves grew higher, an older boatman tugged at his beard thoughtfully. "Those ain't normal waves. They're too regular. It's magic they're using."

"That cannot be," said Mr. Bennet. "Everyone knows that magic doesn't work over water."

"It has to be magic," said Miss King. "Look, the boats are moving perfectly smoothly. They would normally be tossed about by the waves."

Matlock's shoulders drooped and his face turned gray. "It appears the French mages have found a way to use magic even in the Channel." He looked ten years older. "We are undone."

Elizabeth saw her dismay reflected in the eyes of everyone around them. The Channel was supposed to be their protection against the French Mages. What were the Royal Mages supposed to do when their enemies were able to control the Elements over water?

"Let us stay calm and not lose our heads," said Lady Alice. "We knew Napoleon would have a few surprises up his sleeve. We knew we would be up against something unexpected. Let us rally and see how to deal with this new challenge." She looked around. "We are resourceful. And in the last year—" she nodded in Elizabeth's direction, "—we have learned to adapt ourselves to unaccustomed situations. But first, we need to set up Wards against the waves immediately," said Lady Alice. "I have grown up close to the sea, and I know how easily a rogue wave can sweep someone off their feet and into the water."

"We have built Wards intended to keep the mages out. We can adapt the Wards to keep out the water," said Darcy. He turned to Elizabeth and Redmond. "Shall we use the spell to repel an Elemental attack?"

It was far from ideal. The spell was a limited one and would only cover a small area. Elizabeth tried to think of another way to do it, but nothing came to mind. She was too anxious. Perhaps something would come to her later.

"It will have to be extensive to cover many sections of the beach. It will take time."

"There is no other choice," said Redmond.

"Good. Then get to it," said Lady Alice. "Meanwhile, the Elemental Mages will discuss strategies to use their Elemental magic. We already dispersed the fog. We need to keep our eye out for illusions, and, Miss Bingley, when the time comes, we will build illusions of our own. Let's confer. There is no time to be lost." She turned to Captain Lake and Sir Robert Fremantle. "We may need to rely on your cannons to keep them away for now."

Somehow Lady Alice had taken command of the situation. Elizabeth could not afford to wonder at it – she had her own problems to attend to.

Just as the fog had suddenly gone away, the wind and the waves calmed all at once. The sea grew completely calm. The wind dropped.

Gradually, all the mages stopped working. It was clear that the Imperial flotilla was not sailing any closer. The wind had died down completely.

"What is happening?" said Redmond, puzzled. "If they are using Elemental Magic, why have they suddenly stopped? How are they going to come ashore?"

"They might be holding off until nightfall," said Miss Bingley. "Perhaps they will come in using another fog illusion."

"They are worried about being attacked if they come too close," said Lord Grayson.

"The best part is that we are out of reach of their fire as well," said Mr. Bennet.

"What if it was not the mages who whipped up that storm," said Miss Kingsley. "What if it was merely a coincidence?"

Elizabeth allowed the seeds of hope to settle inside her. Perhaps they panicked too soon. They might still be able to salvage the situation.

"We do not know whether that is the case, but we must take advantage of the calm as long as we can. If they are not coming in until nightfall, then we have the whole day to prepare."

Lord Grayson nodded at her. "Agreed."

The Elementals returned to their tasks. They had come up with a way to extend the reach of their Elemental magic and try it, using each of the Elements to see what worked best.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth threw herself into her work with renewed effort, now that the situation did not look quite so hopeless. Still, she could not help growing more frustrated. They had started by working on blocking the waves, but now that the waves had slowed down, the specific Wards they had weaved had to be reworked again to block out other types of attacks. That was what they had carefully constructed before, and now they needed to redo it.

All the mages were so focused on their tasks, they did not even notice the first hailstone falling, followed by a second, then another and another. Blood trickled down the side of Lady Catherine's head, and people covered their heads with their hands and started running for refuge as large hailstones the size of cricket balls rained down ferociously on them. They bounced off the pebbles on the beach and flew everywhere. Lord Harcourt gave a cry as a hailstone hit his cheek and a large gash appeared. One of the boatmen was struck on the head and fell to the ground.

"We need a large tent," shouted Darcy. "Bond! Now!!"

Thinking quickly, Elizabeth imagined a giant blanket and started imbuing it with magic, Darcy and Redmond soon joined in, interweaving her threads with theirs. Mr. Bennet worked on extending one of the sides to make it larger. The fabric was loose, with gaps in it, more like a net than a tent. There was no chance to refine it. It was a makeshift solution, but it would have to do. As long as they could slow down the hailstones and reduce their impact, and people could find shelter.

It seemed for now, at least, they could prevent the hailstones from causing too much injury.

"People can't see the net, Lizzy. I'm going to go out and bring them here."

She nodded. Mr. Bennet abandoned the net and ran out under the hailstones, herding people under the invisible net. Once she was satisfied that it would hold, she stood back and looked around her. It was chaos. Several of the mages were holding bloodstained handkerchiefs. There were people sitting on the ground. Far more worrying, many of the soldiers on the cannons had abandoned their positions to take cover under trees or behind walls.

"Is that the best you can do, Boney?" said Lady Alice, with a glint in her eyes. "Hailstones?" One of them struck her on her brow and a small gash appeared, but she did not even seem to notice.

Looking around her, Elizabeth was shocked at the mayhem that had followed. People were running in all directions. They had abandoned their work to hide from the hail.

"Darcy," she said urgently. "People need to return to their positions. Where is Sir Robert? The men need to hold their positions. Could you send someone to find him?"

A few minutes later, she heard orders being issued and the redcoats scrambled to escape the wrath of their commanding officers. The Elemental mages were back in their assigned positions, spread out along the sea, braving the hailstones.

Not long after, the hailstones slowed, then stopped.

"How strange!" said Redmond. "The hailstones stopped when everyone went back to their roles." He gave a little laugh.

"What if—" Darcy said in a strange voice, as if trying to wrap his mind around the idea. "What if someone is watching us, and the purpose of the hailstones was to cause disorder? We have been assuming the attack is coming from the sea, but what if everything is happening from behind us? What if the Imperial mages are up there, in the hills?"

"How could they?" said Mr. Bennet, who was pressing a cut just above his eyes. "We searched the area thoroughly."

No one answered. There were too many unexplained events, and no one knew what to make of them.

"What if the Council was right?" said Darcy. "And they have us hemmed in? What if it is an ambush?" He looked at Elizabeth. "What if Riquer brought us here so we would be stuck between the hills and the sea?"

"For heaven's sake, Darcy. Must you bring Riquer into every conversation?" Elizabeth snapped. "We can't explain what is happening, but it doesn't mean we can throw the blame on Riquer. If they really intended an ambush, why would they hit us with hailstones when they could do far more damage in other ways?"

"We should not discount anything," said Darcy, stiffly.

Elizabeth was tired of this quarrel, but Darcy was right. It was something worth considering. She was not going to defend Riquer when they did not have any answers.

For now, they had to act on the information they had. "In case we are being ambushed," said Elizabeth, "then we need to conceal ourselves. Anyone looking down on the beach can see us clearly. We need Illusion magic. I will talk to Miss Bingley and see what she can come up with."

"I will go with Redmond to see whether we can find anything unusual," said Darcy.

"And I will come with you, Lizzy." said Mr. Bennet, looking askance at Darcy.

Elizabeth sighed. "You are welcome to come, Papa, but I do not want to discuss any conjectures."

Mr. Bennet's mouth twisted. "Neither do I, but I suspect that may prove difficult."

Elizabeth went down to the edge of the water where the rest of the Royal Mages were gathered. Lady Catherine was demonstrating a spell that could immobilize a wave as it reached its crest. Elizabeth remembered the time Lord Matlock had used a similar spell on her, and she shuddered, but she had to admit Lady Catherine's idea of adapting it for an object was a good one.

"I need Miss Bingley's urgent assistance. We need to conceal ourselves from watchers." She explained the conclusion the Warders had reached.

Everyone conceded it was a good precaution to take.

"We will need to warn everyone on the beach," said Matlock. "Otherwise they may think it is some kind of attack from the French."

"Of course." Someone else could do that. Elizabeth wanted to discuss Miss Bingley's strategy. No one seemed to be helping her. "If you don't mind, I will steal Miss Bingley from you while you continue your work."

Lady Alice looked like she was about to object, and Elizabeth prepared to insist. Fortunately, the older mage was too preoccupied, and she merely turned away.

"Would you walk with me and Mr. Bennet, Miss Bingley?" she said. "We can obtain some refreshments while we discuss possibilities."

"I do not need refreshments," said Miss Bingley. "I am ready to start. Ever since the Council asked me to participate in this mission, I have been considering different spells. I already have several plans. One of them would be to create a rocky coastline, with some shrubs—"

"Lizzy, look out!" cried Mr. Bennet.

He tried to reach for her, but a huge wave came out of nowhere and towered over her, then crashed down, dragging her down the sloping beach and towards the sea. She dug her fingers into the gaps between the pebbles, using a magic spell to anchor her in place. Water filled her nostrils, but she managed to raise her head over the water and gasp for air.

Then the movement of the wave stilled. Everything was frozen. Miss Bingley and Mr. Bennet came running towards her. Mr. Bennet held out his hand and tried to pull her up, but she could not move. She was still in the grip of the wave and the spell.

"Hold onto both of us," cried Miss Bingley. "I will release the spell, but the wave may try to take you out to sea."

Elizabeth dug her feet into the pebbles and prepared to push herself away from the wave. The wave sucked at her, thrashing and trying to take her to the sea, but she was in good hands. They helped her to her feet and the wave retreated, crackling as it moved between the stones.

"That was a close one," said Miss Bingley, bending over and leaning her hands on her knees. "I used Lady Catherine's spell. Thank goodness I had just witnessed it."

"Thank you," said Elizabeth. She was thoroughly shaken. It had been too close. It had felt like a malignant entity had taken hold of her and refused to let her go.

Was one of the Imperial Mages targeting her specifically? She turned to look at the people on the beach. Could one of them have done it?

Was the enemy closer than she had thought?