Mage- The Guardian's Oath

by S A Edwards

  A black cloak hung from the bony shoulders of the Seeker. The hood cast shadow over his face. A gnarled, dark-wooden staff rested in his hand. A purple stone glowed atop, and a single scar stretched down his cheek. Purple tendrils of light curled from the stone, paralysing me.

  The presence of the hunter’s magic poured through my blood, and my body tingled.

  Charlie yanked his hand from mine and crouched.

  The snarl of a Beast cut through the trees.

  The Seeker lurched sideways, thrown through the trees by some invisible force, releasing me from the paralysis.

  My knees met the ground.

  “Are you okay?” Someone touched my shoulder, and I stared into the eyes of the Seeker from the village below the mountain.

  “You? You’re hunting me now?”

  “I won’t take you until I understand what’s really going on. You healed the boy with the burn. If you were Corrupted, you wouldn’t have. Now, go. Quickly. The Council are raising the bounty on your head daily. More are joining the hunt every hour.” He tugged me to my feet.

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I will find the truth. And if you are our enemy, I will take you.”

  Charlie yanked me to my feet and pulled me on.

  Raindrops pattered against the leaves, growing louder with time and merging with the padding of our feet. I shivered against the damp, a stitch beginning in my side. The thick fear of the Seekers’ magic grew fainter, and hope rose of our escape.

  Charlie kept pace with me easily, his expression darkening more with every step.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  He shook his head and slowed. “I don’t think we should go this way.”

  “Why not?”

  We stumbled on to a path. Silver moonlight mixed with the pink of dusk, and he fell behind.

  “Charlie?”

  He stared away from me, to where a rickety stone wall stood in the distance. “Go that way. Away from it.” He hurried back to me, pointing along the path behind me.

  “What’s that way?”

  “That’s my village.” He peered back, face pale. “It was. When I lived with Mama and Papa.”

  “Oh, Charlie, I –”

  Purple smoke billowed between us, and a dark silhouette emerged.

  Charlie’s cry cut through the rain.

  Rough hands grabbed me, the smoke thickened, and the scene blurred.

  Firelight swam into focus under a large, stone hearth. Several unkempt and sombre men surrounded me, their bare arms muscular and ringed with black markings.

  I jerked away from the skinny Shade holding me, scowling at his dark eyes and greying stubble.

  “Settle down,” he said.

  The others parted, and a tall, brown haired man approached. His red cloak distinguished him as a Refiner. “Welcome. Clara, is it? I’m Kilkerran.”

  “Why did you bring me here?” I glared at the Shade. “If you hurt Charlie, I –”

  “Relax,” Kilkerran said. “We just want to talk.”

  “Take me back. Now.” I snarled.

  “You haven’t given me a chance –”

  “You’re Corrupted. You had your chance when you chose to fall.”

  His eyes darkened. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear. We’re not all bad.”

  I snorted.

  “Look, we haven’t taken you far. You’re in one of the turrets of the Old City, and you’re free to leave anytime you choose.”

  My gaze rested on a door behind him, slightly ajar, and my lips tightened. The Old City meant nothing to me. Perhaps it would have in a previous life, but not now.

  “Really,” he said. “All I ask is that you hear me out first.”

  My arms folded, and my fists clenched. Charlie was still out there. I had to get back to him before the Seekers did. But with Kilkerran still positioned in front of the exit, doubt pressed on my mind. “Step aside.”

  “Come on, now.”

  “It wasn’t a request. Move. I’ve stopped Corrupted before. I’ll do it again.” I had four of the seven gifts. They didn’t stand a chance against me.

  Kilkerran scratched his shoulder. “You stopped two out of the three. Kooja still escaped as I’m sure you recall. With Kyra.”

  Low laughter reverberated around the room, and anger turned my cheeks hot.

  “What did you do to her?”

  “Never you mind.”

  Flames sprang to my palms.

  Ice cold darkness swarmed around me, blocking out the light. My body shook, threatening to overwhelm me, and the crackle of the burning hearth faded into the background.

  My knees met the ground, eyes searching for sight.

  Kilkerran’s voice cut through the black, “You are outnumbered here. And I am a Mage of my word. Hear me out, and then you can leave.”

  Whether my fire remained was unclear to me. My fingers pushed against my palms, aching under the chill. “What do you want?”

  The darkness receded, heat flooded over me, and the Corrupted shifted back into view.

  Kilkerran stood over me, his dark eyes fixed on my face. “We have a common enemy. You’re fighting against the Council. We –”

  “My reasons for defeating them are my own and are pure.” Ish. I wanted to stop the Council, to destroy them for what they did, to take any chance of getting the comet’s magic from them forever. I scrambled to my feet, teeth clenched. “And I won’t kill innocent villagers to get what I want.”

  “That’s not what we do.”

  “I’ve seen what you do. A hall full of wounded. A boy burned near to death. The kidnap of a Preserver. And all because they stood against you.”

  “We can be powerful allies,” he pressed. “With your gifts –”

  “We will never be allies. I have enough power to destroy the Council without stooping to your level.”

  The Corrupted exchanged looks.

  Kilkerran smiled. “Destroy? My dear Clara, we have more similarities than you realise.”

  My stomach churned. Bad choice of words. “I am nothing like you.” They would hurt anyone to succeed. I wouldn’t.

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” He tossed something to me. The small surface glinted in the orange light.

  I caught it. Tiny holes and slits broke the smooth surface of a golden ring, leaking light from the other side. “What’s this?”

  “It’s how you’ll find us when you change your mind.” He sidestepped, leaving the doorway clear. “And as I said, I’m a Mage of my word.”

  I slipped to the door, half-expecting them to attack again, and tugged it open. Stairs led down, disappearing in the darkness. Torch brackets lined the brick, and the scent of rain drifted through the draughty passage.

  “When you’re ready,” Kilkerran said, “use the stars. You can’t find the Intrigue without them.”

  I padded down the steps, shoulders tense. What was the Intrigue? Something else I knew about in my past that I’d forgotten? Frustration tightened my jaw. The constant foreign references grew old.

  I paused by a narrow window, unable to make out anything other than the rain beating against the stone. The ring’s weight pressed against my palm. I should throw it away, but something about it intrigued me, and a faint tingle of magic touched my skin. I ran my finger over the golden surface, longing to know its secret.

  I slid the ring on my finger.

  My feet tapped on the cold stone, echoing in the confined space.

  The darkness increased, so I called my flames to eliminate the shadows. Power surged through my arm, coursing through my blood. The warmth of the fire buzzed through me, filling me with insatiable satisfaction, and a smile danced on my lips. I was powerful. More powerful than anyone. This was mine.

  Cool air and pattering of rain on stone signalled the end of the staircase. Reluctantly, I balled my fist, swallowed the fire, and skittered into the cold rain.

  It bounced off my face and shoulders, soaking through my clo
thes.

  My arms outstretched, embracing the downpour. The rain warmed at my touch. My body tingled, energised by the contact, and I spun, drawing in the sensation.

  Cold sweat broke through my pleasure, and goose bumps rose on my arms.

  Thoughts of Charlie and the oncoming threat poured back to me.

  Foreign laughter rippled through my mind. “I see you.”

  Heart thudding, my gaze fell on a crumbled alley to one corner of the weathered courtyard.

  “Flee if you will. It makes no difference. I can taste your fear. I am drawn to you. I will have you.”

  36

  The other end of the alley led onto an unprotected ledge overlooking the Old City, the scene as corrupted with wildness as the people that just gave me the golden ring. The forest had claimed the City as its own, though failed to hide what once must have been a magnificent sight.

  Trees and roots stuck out from the windows and crumbling doors of the decaying stone buildings. Ivy and stranglers grew up the sides, covering the near forgotten place in a tangled wilderness of untold wonder. Unsure of the location of the City, I couldn’t tell how close the Seekers were or which way to turn to reunite with Charlie.

  New life pushed mossy paving slabs out of place, and a trail of bugs scampered across the crooked surfaces. Fireflies glowed in the low light beneath an empty doorway, darting in the silver moonlight.

  My arms hugged close to my body, fighting the loneliness of the abandoned structures. What happened here?

  My neck prickled. Skimming along the precarious ledge, I hunted for an escape.

  A tree slanted across the stone toward a window, the knotted trunk old and weathered with time. Rough bark scratched my fingers when I clambered up it and slipped through.

  A cold, square room lay before me. Broken wood scattered across the floor, leading to another staircase.

  I raced down it, my feet tapping too loud against the stone, and shot outside once more.

  Broken paving threatened to trip me, slowing my flight. The ground sloped down to my left. Weeds and untamed grass dominated what appeared to be an old canal, and a bridge stretched across it in the distance. The middle had broken. Cracked and weathered rocks lay half-concealed in the grass.

  My feet stayed parallel with the canal, keeping to the more manageable trail. I tripped on a slab and tumbled. Pain stung my knee and palm. Dirt clung to my clothes, the scent of musk mixing with the rain. My aching body protested, pleading for rest, but I pressed on.

  I drew level with the bridge. The dark cloak of a Seeker slipped onto the path ahead, so I skidded to a stop. Crumbled stone of the old bridge led up over the tangled canal to my left, weeds pushing through the cracks.

  Another hunter treaded the trail I had fled along. A third approached from a side street. The stone atop his staff flickered violet.

  I threw out my hands. “Stop!”

  They paused several steps away, amusement dancing on their lips.

  My heart pounded, chest constricted. “Please.”

  “Where is the other?” one said, his hair darkened by the rain. “The boy?”

  Hope flickered within me. Perhaps he had escaped. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  The Seeker frowned. “No matter. We will find him.”

  “You’re hunting me. Leave him alone.” Images of them taking Charlie stabbed at my mind, and my jaw tightened. I’d kill them if they touched him.

  The hunter to my right chuckled, two scars running along his cheek. “The Council have placed a bounty on his head, as well as yours.”

  “But why?”

  “He was with you in the Council Chambers. Along with a girl.”

  A lump rose in my throat at the thought of Lallana. “She died.”

  Scar Face smiled. “I know. She was easy. You were easy. I’m almost disappointed there was no challenge.”

  Anger sparked, intense and deep. It stormed through me, driving away my fear.

  The Seekers exchanged glances. Rope leapt from the hands of the hunters and curled round my wrists. It cut into my skin and slithered around my body, restricting all movement.

  My feeble struggles did nothing to rid myself of their grasp.

  The hunters closed in. Their energy buzzed around me, coursing through the air I breathed.

  Pleasure filled me at the presence of their power, casting renewed strength. I smiled and stopped struggling. “You want a challenge? I’ll give you a challenge.”

  The bindings burst into flames.

  The hunters dropped the flaming ends with a cry and staggered backward.

  The rope dissolved. Heat washed over me, and I pulled on the energy, bathing in the tingling surge that flowed through my flesh.

  The heat increased within me. Fire burst up from the wet ground, evaporating the falling rain before it made contact with the flames. Orange light surrounded the Seekers, threatening, mocking.

  They huddled into themselves, afraid to be burned, clutching their staffs to their chests.

  Scar Face raised his staff. “Stop this!” His magic stabbed against mine, and part of the fire extinguished.

  I smiled. “Very well.” Fire needed fuel. I lifted my hands and drew the oxygen from the air. The flames died, and the hunters sank to their knees, hands at their throats.

  My fists clenched, increasing the power. I was unstoppable.

  They grasped their staffs, and one by one, dragged the oxygen back.

  Their magic tingled down my spine.

  They stood, chests heaving.

  Razor-sharp needles of ice speared toward them from my fingertips.

  Two Seekers shattered the frost with violet light, but the third was too slow. His staff cracked. Fragments of wood tumbled to the ground, and horror distorted his features.

  I sensed the staff’s magic fizzle out and escape into the invading forest.

  Behind them, crowds of Seekers twisted into sight, purple light aglow atop their staffs. Their cloaks flurried behind them, damp from the falling rain.

  I gasped. So much more than 11.

  The ground trembled beneath me. Stones pattered along the rock.

  Terror cut through my confidence, and I fled the only way available: up the bridge. Rubble grasped at my feet, vibrating stronger than before.

  The path ended abruptly.

  Gasping, I skidded, half my foot hanging from the jagged edge of the bridge. My heart lurched, and I fell back. Broken cobbles dug into my back.

  The forest lay across the canal, dark shadows dominating the shelter of the trees, impossible to get to for the gaping gap in the bridge.

  Tremors travelled up my arms, shaking my bones.

  Scar Face and Wet Hair ran up the path toward me, their staff light bright.

  A roar screamed through the noise, and from the forest two Beasts tore, raced up the bridge and leapt, then slammed on to the stone on either side of me. Their long fur skimmed my bare skin.

  The Seekers adjusted their staffs, flinging my Guardians off the ledge with invisible force.

  A shadow covered me, blocking out the moons’ light, and a huge Beast soared over my head, dropped to the rock, and pummelled into the Seekers.

  More Beasts bounded along the path from the City and on to the bridge, galloped toward me, and sprang toward the forest. Their musky scent and body warmth showered over me, spraying me with escaping droplets from their fur.

  A pure black Beast clamped its eyes on me and barrelled up the bridge. White teeth flashed in the moonlight. Its jaws snapped around my waist, and it vaulted from the bridge.

  My stomach leapt with the sudden height, and then the Beast lighted on the opposite side and capered between the trees.

  They passed in a blur, the taste of wet maple in the air.

  It dropped me.

  I rolled, mud clinging to my clothes and face.

  The padding of paws faded, and I drew to a stop, left in silence in the dark.

  37

  Wet leaves crunched under me
when I clambered to my feet. My eyes adjusted quickly to the low light. Several well-built men stood on either side of me, their expressions sombre in the shadow.

  Someone shifted behind them, and they parted to let Custos through, instantly recognisable by his gleaming crystal. His muscled arms were bare and streaked with dirt, and a burning torch flickered in his hand. Eyes as green as the forest glowed under the torchlight, matching the crystal around his neck. Material was draped over his other arm.

  He surveyed me with a slight frown. “You are not the same as when we last met.”

  “Course not. I’m strong now.”

  “Power and strength are not the same thing.”

  “I’d say they’re pretty close.”

  He handed the torch to one of the Mage. “My dear, you have a lot to learn.”

  “Isn’t that the point? I can’t stop the Council without more knowledge.”

  “Yes.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Orator told me about the incident with the Council. I was sorry to hear about Lallana.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and gritted my teeth.

  “Still,” he added, “you also need wisdom.”

  “Never mind that. Charlie is still out there. The –”

  “I’m here.” Charlie slipped out from behind a tree, his tunic torn. Bulging muscles rippled beneath the fabric, and he stood a head taller than me.

  I stared at him. “Charlie! How …”

  He grinned, his brown eyes glistening. “Not the little brother so much anymore, huh?”

  “How is this possible?” I looked to Custos for explanation.

  “Charlie is pressing on in years. These changes were expected.”

  Puberty? “But surely not this fast,” I said.

  Charlie shrugged and grasped me in a tight hug. “A Shade took you. What happened?” he asked.

  “He was Corrupted,” I said.

  Custos’ expression darkened. “You escaped?”

  “No. They let me go.”

  “Why?”

  I shrugged. “They figured I’d change my mind, I guess.”

  “Did they tell you how to find them again?”

  My finger ran over the cool surface of the ring. “No.”

  Custos narrowed his eyes, and then handed the material to me. “Change quickly. The deeper we journey through Malicern, the safer we’ll be.”