The man’s eyes widened as he realized what Darcy meant. He looked from him to Mr. Bennet, then stepped back.
“Of course, sir.” He turned to the men. “If you will all stop what you are doing, we have mages here to help.”
Despite the sounds of hammering and sawing, the word ‘mages’ had an immediate effect, and the work stopped immediately.
“If you could all step out of the way,” said Darcy, enhancing his voice so it could be heard above the thudding of the axes against wood.
The men exchanged uneasy glances, then backed away as far as possible, a reminder to Darcy that not everyone was comfortable in the presence of magic.
Mr. Bennet was not an Elemental mage, and neither was Darcy. That meant they would have to rely on specific spells to accomplish their task.
“If you will take one end, Bennet, I will take the other. We can use the Hover spell from theCompendium. Do you remember it?”Heremembered it well enough, and remembered the apprentices who had caught him using it.
“I do not recall it,” said Mr. Bennet, “but I can come up with something.”
That did not sound very promising.
“If necessary, I can teach you the words of the spell.”
Mr. Bennet seemed to find that entertaining. Darcy paid him no heed. He preferred to save his effort for the spell itself. It would exhaust him, but hopefully he would not need magic again before they reached the inn, and he could rest for the night.
He hoped Mr. Bennet knew some Arcane magic that would prove useful. If not, Darcy would have to do it alone.
It took more effort than he expected. Lifting himself with a Hover spell was simple. Controlling the log demanded air magic, which was his worst affinity. He wished he could Bond with Elizabeth, but that was not an option, unless they wished to inform half of Kent of their presence.
Mr. Bennet did indeed have something up his sleeve, some strange magic that Darcy did not recognize, but trying to match their movements was almost comical. Mr. Bennet’s magic was erratic. The branch moved in sudden jerky movements, rising on one side, and dragging along the ground on the other. Even though Darcy did his best, the log seemed to take on a life of its own.
“Can you not find some way to control it?” said Darcy, sheer frustration making him irritable.
“It is not as if I use Arcane magic every day to lift logs,” said Mr. Bennet. “I need to try different approaches.”
In contrast, Darcy’s method was supremely controlled and very slow. It consisted of first changing the direction of the log so it was parallel to the side of the road, then nudging it towards the ditch. It was completely incompatible with Mr. Bennet’s more spectacular but less effective methods.
He explained this to Mr. Bennet, who merely grunted in response.
Darcy was aware of their audience who were watching every move. He felt acutely embarrassed as the side of the bark flew up and then crashed to the ground with a loud thump, showering debris over them, and evoking laughter.
Mr. Bennet chuckled and gave a bow, completely unconcerned at the lack of dignity they were displaying. He was not in the least discouraged. He merely redoubled his efforts. Darcy waited, pondering whether to give Mr. Bennet more time, or to wrest control of the log and move it by himself.
Yet even as he watched, Mr. Bennet slowly began to grow more confident, and the movement of the log became smoother.
“I think I have the hang of it,” said Mr. Bennet, his voice strained. “Shall we work together now?”
Darcy returned to the Hover spell, and to his surprise, found Mr. Bennet was matching the movement of the log to Darcy’s. As the log turned inch by inch, he felt a grudging respect towards the older mage. Mr. Bennet had much in common with Elizabeth. He was resistant to traditional approaches, but he learned quickly and was able to adapt to the situation.
Still, even with the two of them working hand in hand, they still heaved and struggled. Painfully slowly the log shifted direction. It was difficult work. By then, sweat was pouring from Darcy’s brow, and Mr. Bennet had turned an unpleasant shade of green.
“Easy,” said the gentleman farmer, kindly. “Take a few minutes’ rest if you need to.”
“Thank you,” said Darcy. “Unfortunately, magic does not quite work that way.” If they did not complete it soon, Darcy feared his magic would soon be too weak.
The two mages persisted. As the log finally rolled off the road and into the ditch, a roar of approval rose up around them. The men who had worked on the tree earlier took off their caps and bowed, expressing their thanks. The farmer insisted on presenting Darcy and Mr. Bennet with a basket full of strawberries and carrots from his cart. Someone gave them a large ham. And one farmer tried to hand Mr. Bennet a squawking chicken.
“She’s very hardy, sir. Lays lots of eggs.”
Mr. Bennet declined to take the hen, saying politely he was traveling too far.
Meanwhile, Darcy braced himself as a surge of dizziness followed his release of the magic. He hoped he would not need assistance to walk back to the carriage.
