WarMage: Unexpected (The Never Ending War Book 1)

by Martha Carr

  “Yeah, I noticed, flyboy.”

  “He’s tired. Wait ‘til you see him in the daylight. Swears as good as anyone. If I had done what you did back there, I would be a charred corpse right now. You stood in the middle of wild, untrainable dragons, and they listened to you. You can do this. You’re the one who can train Leander.”

  Raven didn’t know whether to laugh at him or punch him in the face. “But I’m not a dragon trainer! I’m a mage, or I’m going to be, anyway. I don’t have the time to train Leander.”

  William stepped closer. “Did you or did you not get upset at the thought of dragons having their wings clipped and sent to the valley?”

  “Yes, but…” She paused for a moment. “When would I train him? I’m in training myself.”

  “Raven, I’m giving you the chance to try out your dream, and you can save a dragon from being banished to the valley. You can help him fulfill his destiny. You’re always telling me about the day you’ll lead people into battle to protect the kingdom and be the biggest ass-kicker and blah blah blah.”

  “That was with spells and magic.”

  “You don’t have to leave any of that behind. You can share your destiny with this dragon. He has a destiny, too, and it’s not to be clipped. You can help him fulfill his destiny and yours.”

  Raven glanced over her shoulder at Leander sound asleep in his pen, his tail wrapped around his body as his back rose and fell with each long, heavy breath. “I’ll think about it. I promise I will.” She looked up at the night sky and the stars. “I have to get home. We should get going.” She walked past him toward the gate.

  William put one hand on his hip and stared at the sleeping Leander. “This isn’t over. You chose her, and she’s going to be here for you,” he muttered. He turned and put his hand on Raven’s back. “Come on, we need to get you home.”

  They walked up the road, listening to the tree frogs and the crickets.

  Up ahead, the two guards at the post were passed out, an empty jar of moonshine lying between them.

  “There you are! Are you okay?” Connor Alby was hurrying toward them, a sheen of sweat across his forehead. He glanced at the drunken guards and swore under his breath.

  Raven started. “Why are you still up? I’m fine. Are you okay?”

  “Hello, sir. I’m sorry we scared you.” William put out his hand to shake, and Connor took it, distracted, glancing from side to side into the darkness.

  William held up the torch to cast a wider light but saw nothing. “Has something happened?”

  “No, nothing. I needed a walk and wanted to make sure Raven got home safe.” The twinge of panic passed, and all he wanted was to be home with the door locked behind them.

  “Yeah, sorry. William had a lot of work to do, and… Are you sure you’re okay?”

  He looked at her, shaking his head. “With Isaac still missing, I got worried.”

  Raven hugged him and felt a shiver go up his spine. She stepped back, puzzled, studying his face.

  “We need to get home. William, you get home too. Get inside.” He was doing his best to let it go. To not let old signs mean anything new. “Everyone needs their sleep. And, Raven, you have to feed the goats in the morning before you head off to the academy.”

  Raven squeezed his hand and peered at William, mouthing the word “Weird” with a look of concern on her face. “Thank you for today.”

  William waved and said, “Come by when you can.”

  She smiled and turned to go, trying to make sense of it all as her grandfather hurried them along. He glanced behind them every so often as if he expected to see someone he knew.

  They got inside the cabin and Connor locked the door, resting his forehead against it for a moment.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Raven sank into a chair, cradling her wounded arm, which was still in the sling.

  “Yes, but your shoulder has seen better days.” He hesitated, chewing his bottom lip and pondering the consequences of what he was about to say. “What if I’m wrong?” he said under his breath.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. I need your help with something, and I have to trust that you’ll tell no one.”

  Raven’s eyes widened with curiosity and she got up, still supporting her injured right arm. “Okay, now you have my attention.”

  “This is important, Raven. I have to be sure you can keep my confidence.”

  Raven watched him closely as he came over and sat down heavily in a chair opposite her. “You look like you saw a ghost. Did word come about Isaac? You can tell me. I can take it.”

  “Let that go; it’s not what I need to tell you. Focus. That will be vital if we are to pull it off.”

  He darted up and went toward his room. “I need to get something.”

  Raven rolled her eyes in frustration. “If you’re trying to draw out the suspense, it’s working.”

  Connor came back with a small book and held it open in his lap.

  “Where’d that come from?” asked Raven, leaning over for a better look. “I’ve not seen that one.”

  “It was your mother’s, and her mother’s before her. Look, I need you to say these words.”

  Raven took the book from him, held open the page, and scanned the words. “This is a potent healing spell. I don’t have the skill level for it, not yet.”

  “I’ll help you,” he said, clearing his throat.

  “What do you mean, you’ll help me? You haven’t had any powers for my entire life. Not since the…” She hesitated, not wanting to poke at old wounds. “Since the wars.”

  Connor pressed his lips together and let out a deep breath. “Things change.”

  “No way! That’s great news!” Raven’s excitement grew, and it felt as if a weight had lifted off her.

  “Focus!” he shouted, then composed himself. He said sternly, “You must let no one know my magic has returned.”

  “But why?”

  “I have my reasons. I want to be left alone. I hoped never to have to raise my hand in battle again. It was too much!” He waved his arm in frustration. “Don’t betray me.”

  “I would never!”

  “Now, take my hand and let the magic work with you. If it works, you’ll feel a sudden surge. Don’t fight it, and don’t stop the spell. Let it do its work. We are just the host.”

  Raven looked at her grandfather, waiting for more of an explanation.

  Connor grew impatient. “You trust me, don’t you, Granddaughter?”

  “Of course. Always.”

  “Then get on with it. We can do this together and heal your wound.”

  “Haec ossa mente unoque consilio…” The long stream of words poured out of Raven as her eyes scanned the pages. She felt the magic move through her like a warm liquid, settling in her wounded shoulder and curling around, then flowing down her arm and out the tips of her fingers.

  It was straining the muscles in her back, and she wasn’t sure she could hold on long enough when she felt the presence of something new.

  She glanced up from the book, surprised at her grandfather. His eyes were shut, and he was whispering something unintelligible.

  “Your magic—it is back!” Her eyes filled with tears as she repeated the spell, grunting and clenching her teeth as the bone in her shoulder began to repair itself. Raven squeezed his hand tighter, determined not to let go.

  When it was done, the book fell from her lap, and she doubled over in a wave of nausea, finally releasing her grandfather’s hand. “Why was that so hard?”

  “You’ve never had to manage that level of magic before. It takes some getting used to, and usually, it’s learned over time.” Connor Alby let his voice trail off and sat back, his heart pounding from the effort. “Try your shoulder,” he said, his throat dry.

  Raven gently lifted her right arm, expecting pain, but there was only mild soreness. “It’s…amazing!” She slipped her arm out of the sling and lifted it higher, rotating it. “We did it! We did it! What a
night!”

  Connor shut his eyes and swallowed hard. “Get to bed. You have school tomorrow.” He opened his eyes again and sat forward. “And remember what I said, not a word to anyone. If anyone asks, you tell them it was a flesh wound, and that was it.”

  “What about Deacon?”

  “I’ll handle Deacon.”

  Raven got up to go to her room. “I promise it’s our secret. A flesh wound.” She went down the hall but came back for a moment. “You’d tell me if you needed my help? If there was something more, right?”

  “I just entrusted you with my greatest secret and asked for your help. That should answer your question.”

  “I suppose so…”

  “Just like your mother. Always curious. Go to bed and get some rest so you can use that curiosity at school.”

  Raven didn’t say another word but wondered as she walked away, what else is he hiding? She got to her room and sat on her bed, waving her right arm in circles, tapping her toes on the floor. She leaned over so she could look out the window and up at the stars. “Best day ever.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning, Raven groggily lumbered out the front door. Her feet shuffled against the grass as she headed to the barn. The tip of the sword in her right hand dug a skinny ditch in the dirt next to her, running from the front porch to the door of the barn before she realized she was dragging it.

  She dumped a bag of feed into the trough in the outside pen. Clapping her hands, she yelled, “Come and get it!” Dozens of dwarf goats bleated as they bounded past her ankles to their breakfasts. Raven leaned against the door and put her head back, releasing a loud yawn. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she struggled to keep them open.

  The occasional nipping of a goat at her boots snapped her awake before the dim morning light soothed her back to shutting her eyes and dreaming of riding a dragon at night.

  “Enough of this! A new day awaits and a few new adventures!” She stood up straight and stretched her arms over her head. Across the ranch, she could see Deacon exiting his cabin with the scowl of a man whose dreams were interrupted early. A light breeze blew across the ranch, making the grass dance.

  Need to let the goats into the north pasture. The grass is getting a little long.

  Raven spotted Henry kicking rocks and waiting for her by the gate. She ran into the cabin for her satchel, yelling, “Bye, Grandpa,” and back out, not waiting for an answer. She walked briskly down the gravel path to meet her friend, the satchel banging against her back.

  “What’s got you so excited?” Henry unhooked the gate and stepped back, waiting for Raven to pass through before he secured it again.

  She bit her bottom lip, making herself think before she answered. There was so much bubbling in her mind, and most of it Raven couldn’t say.

  “I got to get closer to the dragons on Moss Ranch last night.” Not a lie, exactly.

  Henry’s eyes widened as he kicked another rock, getting it to skip ahead of them. “Sounds better than my day walking behind the wrong end of a plow horse.”

  “I wondered what that smell was,” laughed Raven, holding her nose.

  “Very funny.” Henry nudged his old friend. “Those boots stay in the barn where they can only bother me. I’m pretty sure my superpower is my inability to smell anything.”

  “Maybe the academy will help you discover a couple more.”

  “First full day at school today! I’d be a triple threat,” he said, winking. “Man, I would love to get near a dragon!” He spread his arms out like they were the wings of a dragon. “I hear they’re more intelligent than half the people we know. I could tell him about my day, ask him how he’s doing…”

  Raved laughed and ran ahead of her friend, the spires of the school in the distance. The wind blew her hair back as she ran, remembering what it felt like as Teo dipped a wing.

  “Hey! Wait up!” Henry’s long legs helped him catch up with Raven, his arms still spread out wide.

  They passed through the center of town, the shops opening, and the merchants busy pulling their signs out to the street or opening their windows to let in some fresh air. Raven took in a deep breath as they passed the bakery and felt for the nickel in her pocket. “Still there. Wait here,” she said, running to the window. “Two rolls, please, Mrs. Whittaker?”

  “Raven! Your shoulder is doing better! That was fast.” The large woman wiped her hands on her apron and turned around, not waiting for an answer as she put two fresh rolls in a brown paper bag, folding over the top.

  Raven’s face reddened and she drew in air. She smiled at Mrs. Whittaker as she came to the window.

  “Here you go, dear. Say hello to your grandfather for me, and tell him we miss seeing him around town.” The smile faded from her eyes, but she clucked and tsked and went back to what she was doing, not waiting for an answer again.

  Raven left the nickel on the sill and took the bag, running to catch up with Henry, who had kept walking.

  “Hey, I thought you were waiting.”

  “We need to be on time. I know I’ll get in trouble for something eventually, like turning another student into an unfortunate creature. I need all the goodwill I can get for when the inevitable happens.”

  “I don’t even think there’s a spell that can do that. Here.” She handed him a warm roll, pulling off a bite for herself from the other one.

  “Not yet,” he said, smiling and taking the roll from her. “Race you!” He took off like a shot, bounding ahead and looking back over his shoulder at Raven.

  Raven let out a whoop of delight and ran after him, keeping just behind him, even as he turned around to run backward for a stretch, pretending to play a fiddle. They neared the last of the shops on the far end of town, and he turned around, tripping over a stone and falling at the feet of several women gossiping by the bookstore.

  “Henry Derks, get yourself off the ground. What would your mother say?”

  “Watch where I’m going, ma’am?”

  The woman opened her mouth to answer as the old veteran stumbled off his perch and yelled at Raven, leaning on his cane. “Hey! Hey it’s you! Did you see it? Did you see the sky last night?”

  Raven stopped running and looked back, recognizing Peter. She was breathing hard but still smiling and waved at him. “What?” She took a step toward him as Henry streaked past her, shouting, “And Derks takes the ribbon!”

  She forgot the old veteran still waving at her, his face twisted in concern as she ran after Henry. They made it past the woods, the smell of pine in the air, and ran on toward Fowler Academy, their feet pounding on the dirt road.

  They ran over the wooden bridge that covered the creek and past the few houses outside the grounds of the school and up the short path to the gate. “I win!” Henry grabbed the iron fencing, barely able to get the words out since his chest was heaving from the long run.

  Raven stopped short and bent over, her hands pressed to her knees as she took in as much air as she could manage. “Henry. Derks. You are more talented than you know. Good job!”

  She slapped his hand in the air, then followed him up the long driveway. “Let’s not do that every day,” she said, still panting.

  “Deal, but you know that means my record stands. Undefeated.”

  “Enjoy the victory, Derks. Spell class is coming.”

  “Don’t ruin this for me, Alby.”

  Students were already making their way into the center building. Henry and Raven blended in with the crowd and went up the granite steps, flowing into the main hall.

  The pair walked into the foyer of the old castle and made their way into the large cavernous room. It was filled with wooden chairs in neat rows with one center aisle. The echoes of hundreds of students all talking at once bounced off the vaulted ceiling that looked as if it had painted white ribs that went from one long end to the other.

  “Raven! Raven! Over here!” Murphy stood in the middle of a row near the front, waving her arm, her blonde braid swinging back an
d forth.

  Henry scowled and shook his head. “You go sit near the front. I need deniability. I’ll be back here with my kind.” He gave her a short salute and went to join a group of boys trying to create a spark by snapping their fingers.

  “He’s right. We do need to get here on time for his sake,” spoke Raven, as she made her way down the crowded aisle to where Murphy still waved.

  “Come sit by me. You know Jenny Connors,” she said, tugging on Raven’s hand and pulling her past the other girls.

  “Did you bring the herbs from home like we were supposed to? I couldn’t find milkweed,” said Jenny, pushing her brown bangs out of her eyes. “I looked everywhere.”

  “You can have some of mine,” said Raven, stepping over her feet.

  “Did you see what’s on stage?” Murphy sat down, pointing at the shadows at the back of the stage. Raven turned and looked, gasping at the sight of a gray wolf standing motionless, staring straight ahead and occasionally looking offstage. Several students walked up to the stage, reaching their hands out to try and get the wolf to speak or move.

  Henry and his friends had noticed too and were making their way to the front, some of them still snapping their fingers but with no success.

  Henry was laughing, slapping a friend on the back and leaning over the apron of the stage, waving at the wolf. Raven shook her head and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  Raven pushed her way to the aisle and to the front, grabbing Henry’s sleeve as he was urging on his friends.

  “Try it! What’s the worst that could happen?” he said, laughing. “What, hey? Oh, Raven, look, did you see the weapon of some destruction up there? I think it’s a pet.”

  “I thought you were trying to fly low and unnoticed.”

  “Still am. Nobody’s here yet. We have a few minutes. I think he’s stuffed.” Henry shook his head. “That up there is a dead wolf. I bet Flynn put it there just to mess with us.”

  Raven looked at her friend, rolling her eyes. “What purpose would that serve?”

  “Maybe it’s some kind of intimidation tactic.” He shrugged. “Mind games,” he said, tapping the side of his head