A Clash of Magics by Guy Antibes (read this if txt) 📕

Book Five – Last of the Series

By

Guy Antibes

Table of Contents

Copyright Page

Author’s Note

Map of Boxster’s World

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Desolation Boxster Characters

Excerpt from Chapter One of The Mud Elf

A Bit About Guy

Books by Guy Antibes

Copyright Page

A Clash of Magics Copyright ©2021 Guy Antibes. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without the permission of the author.

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This is a work of fiction. There are no real locations used in the book; the people, settings, and specific places are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual persons, locations, or places are purely coincidental.

Published by CasiePress LLC in Salt Lake City, UT, March 2021.

www.casiepress.com

Cover Design: www.ebooklaunch.com

Book Design: Kenneth Cassell

Editing: Amy Hoffman

Principal Reader: Bev Cassell

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Author’s Note

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The end of a series is always a bittersweet event. I say goodbye to characters that have lived with me for a year or so, but I get to greet a new set having a different set of adventures. Desolation Boxster was a bit of a departure for me. I tried some things that worked and some that didn’t. The world was an interesting one in this series and I am sad it is disappearing into my archives after this volume. Enjoy the climax of the Desolation Boxster series.

— Guy Antibes

Map of Boxster’s World

Chapter One

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D es Boxster walked into the bank where he had encountered Lord Summer, the late regent of Listenwell, one of the notable domains in Brachia.

“You have finished the accounting?” Jacob Stoolage, the original regent of Listenwell, said to a bank clerk as Des looked on, looking purposefully stern.

The man gave Jacob an answer and Des had to keep from making a sound. Summer was a rich man, who had left no heirs, and since the account was in the name of the domain, the money was Des’s. His father, King Henry of Presidon, often had not much more sitting in the royal treasury.

“Is any of this money rightfully King Worto’s?” Des asked.

Jacob looked shocked as he turned to Des. “A good portion of it is.”

“Then send what is rightfully King Worto’s taxes—and not one bit more—along with a note disclosing what happened in Listenwell. If you were party to this theft, blame it all on Summer commanding you. Am I clear?” Des said.

“I am. Not quite half will be sent to Bassington.”

“Document it,” Des said.

“It will be,” the banker said, his face shining from perspiration.

“I will send Brother Yvan to retrieve a small portion to fund our travels.”

“Travels?” the banker asked.

“I have unfinished business in Ginster and will be leaving very soon,” Des said, turning on his heel and walking out of the bank.

Jacob had to hustle to catch up to him. “Why pay the money to King Worto? Everyone keeps back something.”

Des stopped, breathing heavily. “I had no idea Summer stole so much from the domain,” Des said. “It was all I could do to keep from gasping when I heard the amount. There are other banks that received portions of the funds that were stolen from me in Bassington. Those will stay where they are; I don’t have the time to search them out. I want to show King Worto that I am not an enemy.” Des said it, but he knew he spoke falsely. Worto was an enemy, and he had sent assassins to kill Desolation Boxster, but Des wanted to maintain Listenwell for himself, so he had to respect King Worto as the ruler of Brachia regardless of the man’s ambitions.

They walked over to the ruin of the Lucky Duck inn. Des found the owner and his wife rummaging through the wreckage.

“I will pay you to rebuild your inn,” Des said. “It was only because of me that it burned down.”

Both of them bowed to Des. “You needn’t do that.”

“But need and want are different. I want to help. I only ask that you put up any friends of mine for free. Will that work for both of us?” Des said.

“We will be partners, then,” the owner said. “Half for you and half for us. We will do more business if we are approved by the new duke.”

“Then fifty-fifty,” Des said. He turned to Jacob. “Can you have our solicitor draw up a contract?”

Jacob nodded.

They strolled to the ducal residence with Des stopping to chat for a moment or two with random citizens that he encountered. He recalled reading in his scouting journal about sizing up a town that the army might invade or use as a billeting site. A good scout talked to the common people so a workable strategy could be developed by the officers. Des knew he was doing the same thing in Parkintown. If he had the time, he would have toured the domain, but that wasn’t going to happen until the Dryden’s messenger business was over.

Once inside, Des wandered around the residence, observing servants cleaning the neglected personal apartment of the duke, which comprised the opposite wing from where Summer had lived. His meanderings ended when a servant found him.

“Time for dinner,” the woman said.

“If you would show me the way,” Des said. If he were