Mage (The Elemental Magic Series Book 2)

by Michael Nowotny

  Knowing that taking Fleetfoot would most likely be considered steeling, Alec walked away from the house. Glancing back he almost prayed someone would stop him.

  When loud yelling came from the back of the house he reasoned that they’d had found his note and began walking faster.

  Feeling more and more depressed as the anger wore off Alec walked away from the Morton’s. Not able to go back to the school, being unwelcome by the parents of the woman he loved, he wasn’t sure where he should go. Alec just hoped the gods would leave him in peace.

  Jessica rushed back to the sitting room. She thrust the note she’d already read into George’s hands and went over to hold Christi and tell her that Alec had left.

  Christi jumped from her seat with a scream and ran from the room. Allen followed her out of the room and spotted a blade in its sheath on the floor outside the room. He knew what it was immediately, Alec’s blade to his larp.

  He took it back into the sitting room and showed it to his father.

  “You know what this means?” He asked.

  “It looks like the blade from that larp, so what.” Bill said.

  “It means, Alec most likely woke up and heard us talking. I found it right outside the room next to the wall.” He looked toward Teresa pointedly. “If I were him I’d probably leave too.”

  “Well, you better go get him. Gods be damned and his note too. As far as we’re concerned he’s still engaged to Christi and like you said Peter, it may be only be one goddess.” George told them.

  “Let the boy go, he obviously doesn’t love her enough to fight for her,” Teresa told them.

  “Actually, he does!” Christi said from the doorway. She had a note in her hand and tears in her eyes.

  She handed the note to her mother.

  “To my dearest Christi.

  I have chosen to leave though it kills me to leave you. I cannot take the chance that you and your family could be hurt by being near me. I am sorry I won’t be able to marry you without your parents’ permission. I am so sorry. I will love you forever, Alec.” Jessica read it aloud to the rest of the family.

  “Go! Now! Get that boy back here!” George told Allen and Bill pushing them toward the door.

  George and Sherry could feel Alec’s power moving away from the city the next morning. It looked like he was running. They quickly gathered their things and set out after him. He was headed east and they would try to find him on the road.

  They tore through the streets and out the gates of Kingston. George could see a lone person riding in the distance. They raced to catch up with him.

  King Bernard Manister was in a panic but had to make it appear as anger. One of the servers had slipped poison into his son’s wine glass and now his son was lying in his bed dying. The woman had been caught and was now lying in a heap in the dungeon awaiting his pleasure.

  King Manister sat next to his son’s bed lightly holding his hand as his queen sat on the other side doing the same. The only thing holding back the poison was Bernard’s magic. He had tried using a combination of earth and water magic to heal the poison from Steven’s body. Nothing had worked and it was taking everything he had just to hold the poison back. Blood continued to run for his eyes, ears and nose as color slowly left his skin.

  Bernard wasn’t concerned about emptying his well or even showing his power to the archbishop. He was the only living mage and had the approval of the temples and gods. Very few of his subjects knew that he was even a magic user let alone a mage.

  Steven had just released his power again a few weeks ago making him a mage as well. Now he was dying. Having received only a basic introduction to his magic he hadn’t learned to heal, not even himself. As Steven bled out Bernard was using every ounce of power with in him to hold back the poison.

  A servant threw open the door and tried to announce the Archbishop only to be pushed out of the way by the man himself. Moving to the foot of the bed Archbishop Oliver winced at the sight before him.

  “The sallow complexion and bleeding out like he is, I have to assume he was given Blood Root.” The Archbishop said.

  Glancing to the other priest, Oliver noted the blue wavy lines on the cuffs of his robes.

  “Assist me. Call upon Lord Aaron to help me heal the prince.”

  The two priests held out their hands above the prince and golden light mixed with a pale blue. Sweat dripped down the younger priest face and he began to shake. Time passed and still the two priests poured the healing power of two gods into the prince. Both priests collapsed to the ground and the light left with them. Steven breathed out and did not breathe in, he had died. As the priests were escorted from the room cries and cursing could be heard through the door.

  On a plane of existence above that which most mortals could perceive, the Goddess of Twilight, Melanie, lay gasping on the ground. Her blood no longer ran on this plane but the damage was still there.

  The damned abomination had cut her, she couldn’t believe the amount of power the boy had. She should have been able to defeat him easily. She was waiting for the other gods to come. Only with other gods help could she be restored and she had a war to orchestrate as well as revenge to deliver.

  The other gods began appearing around her. There were only seven of them left, the God of Fire and Goddess of Air having been killed by Mages. There were other gods of less power. None of which could hold a candle to the power of her or the other greater gods.

  “You seemed to have picked a fight you couldn’t finish. I warned you to let the Mages be. They are not the insane power hungry people they used to be.” Marcus told her.

  “They are abominations! I will protect myself and kill them all!” She spat back at him.

  “I’ve healed the insanity from their power. They are not a danger to us so long as you don’t start something. Now there is one angry young Mage with a lot of power out there that thinks we all want him dead.” He looked to Silvia, Goddess of Magic.

  She nodded agreeing with his assessment.

  “Now that he has injured you, you expect the rest of us to heal you.” Silvia told her. “I will be putting myself in more danger when I go down to explain that the rest of us bare him no ill will.”

  She looked at the other gods and spoke for all of them. “We will heal you, this time. However, if you continue to pursue the Mages, we will not heal you again. Your fight will be your own.”

  Each of the gods laid a hand on Marcus transferring some of their power to him. He knelt and began healing Melanie as she seethed in rage.

  With the other gods gone Aaron turned to Lord Marcus and Lady Silvia. “Alec is perfectly stable and I seriously doubt he would consider coming after any of us, even in revenge.”

  “How do you know? Have you met the boy?” Marcus asked. He looked toward Silvia.

  “I have and he doesn’t seem to distrust me all that much. It may be because I was up front with him about who I am or because I don’t have as much power as you elder gods. But I do have the start of some kind of relationship with him,” Aaron said.

  Aaron went on to tell them how Melanie had met with him and some of the other gods and wanted them to help her eliminate Alec.

  “I think it would be best one of us were to stay near him at all times,” Silvia said.

  “I agree but it would be a mistake to spy on him especially if he were to find out. We don’t want to give him any more reasons to distrust us.” Aaron waited for their decision.

  “If you can find him, see if you can travel with him for a while and gain his full trust. Let him know that not all of us are out to get him. I don’t know what Melanie’s game is and I don’t like where this is headed.” Silvia told Aaron.

  Aaron hurried to Kingston in the hopes that he could find Alec before Melanie had a chance to fully recover and go after him again. He knew there were bonded-mages searching for him too, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  Chapter 13

  Alec walked silently into the evening. His staff an
d his sword were gone and the only weapons he had left were his knives and his power. He wasn’t sure where he was headed and had just picked east at random.

  Having started out so late it was already getting dark and he knew he would have to find a place to camp soon. Alec had a lot of money with him and could easily afford to stay at an inn but he knew it wouldn’t last long if he did.

  With the light failing, Alec made his way off the road and into a small wooded area. Kicking the leaves and branches from between several trees, he had a decent little spot to make camp. Gathering deadfall and some of the fallen branches, he had a fire going quickly with the help of his magic and would sleep under the stars tonight. Having eaten the fruit from the Morton's earlier, he regretted not buying the proper supplies before leaving Kingston. Climbing into his bedroll Alec fell asleep fast being tired both emotionally and physically.

  Alec awoke slowly the next morning unable to remember any of his dreams. He was nice and warm inside his bedroll and could faintly smell the fire from last night. The rumble of his stomach reminded him of his lack of food or any other supplies causing him to get up.

  Looking around his campsite Alec finally settled on a branch that would work as a stave. It was a little thin and short with a long curve toward one end. Having made his way back to the road Alec continued heading toward the east. It was late in the afternoon by the time he came upon a small town. A sign carefully nailed to a fence post named the town Masonville.

  Walking down the side of the road Alec received nods and greetings from the townspeople. Alec stopped an older woman carrying a basket and asked for directions to a general store. She pointed him down the road and explained how to get to the right building. Turning down the road, he noted that the majority of the older buildings were made of stone and reasoned that the town had gotten its name from a nearby quarry.

  Alec stopped in front of the small general store. He could feel someone with power near him, a lot of power. He looked around quickly for anything that would help him to defend himself and started for the entrance to the store. Before he could take another step a man stepped into the doorway, Lord Aaron. The god had a pleasant smile on his perfectly symmetrical face. Alec gripped one of his throwing knives and brought up a shield between them using as much power as he dared.

  “Stop! I don’t want to fight you!” Alec looked for a way to escape.

  “I don’t want to fight Alec. I’m not with Melanie and don’t blame you a bit.” Lord Aaron held up his hands to show that he meant no harm.

  “Then what do you want? I haven’t done anything and just want to be left alone.”

  “I just want to talk. There’s an inn just down the way, I’ll buy you a drink or something. You can even keep your shield between us. What do you say?” Aaron asked.

  “I don’t think I can trust you. That priest and goddess attacked me.”

  “That was Melanie, Goddess of Twilight. Most of us aren’t like her. Come, I’ll even buy you some supper while I explain.” Aaron headed for the inn hoping he could gain Alec’s trust.

  Alec followed the god at a distance, keeping his shield between them. He really wanted to believe that not all the gods wanted him dead and gone. He was pretty sure this was the same god that had come to him a few weeks ago but couldn’t remember his name.

  The inn was called The Bedded Swan and was a large stone building that was deeper than it was wide. Alec let his eyes adjust as he stepped through the doorway. The god had taken a seat off to one side by a window and nodded for Alec to take the chair across form him. Aaron ordered them both a round of ale and the house special for the day before starting.

  “My name is Aaron. I am the Lord of Rivers. We spoke briefly several weeks ago.”

  Alec nodded, he remembered now.

  “I mean you no harm and actually would like to travel with you for a while as I show you how to use some of your power.” Aaron told him.

  “Why would you want to help me with my power and what about the other gods?”

  “Melanie is part of a very small minority of the gods who believe that only we should have the power of magic. Most of the other gods including the elder gods were very irritated at her for starting a fight with you. Because we have met before I’ve been asked to show you a few things so that you can better protect yourself from her and the Banished.”

  Alec had many questions and asked them while eating. Aaron tried to explain as much as he could in such a short time starting with his suspicion that someone had caused mages in the past to go insane and that Melanie had been secretly instructing various temples to seek out and eliminate those with power. He refused to talk about The Banished other than to say that it would take a while to explain who they were and why. By the time they were done eating Alec had agreed to let Aaron travel with him but would be staying alert.

  Allen had sent his brother back to let their family know that he was going to continue tracking Alec. He was at least a full day behind him and had a better chance of catching up by himself. Having gotten an early start Allen set an easy pace knowing Alec was on foot.

  With a quick glance over his shoulder at the sound of hooves, he saw two horses quickly catching up. The riders were apparently in a huge hurry as they had their horses at full gallop. Being on one of the narrower roads Allen pulled his horse off to the side pulling Fleetfoot aside with him.

  Robert could feel Alec’s power coming from the rider but knew it wasn’t him as they pulled their horses up next to him.

  “You’re not Alec.” Robert frowned.

  “What do you want with Alec?” Allen asked. He suspected that by their descriptions they were the bonded-mages his mother and Peter had run into.

  “You have something of his that has held his power. We can feel the power emanating from it,” Robert said.

  Peter and Christi had told Allen that both Alec and his staff had radiated power, almost to the point of being overwhelming. He wasn’t very surprised to find out that the brass ends of Alec’s staff still held power.

  “I’m guessing you’re Robert and Sherry. My sister and Master Peter told me you were looking for Alec and that you were mages. What I would like to know is why?”

  “The boy needs trained before the gods find him. If you know where he is then speak up so we can help him.” Sherry glared at him.

  “If you just want to train him then maybe we can help each other. I’m Allen, Alec’s martial instructor and Christi’s brother; he needs to come back to Kingston with me.”

  “We can feel him even from this distance and will catch him with or without your help.” Sherry told him.

  Allen watched as the two mages kicked their horses back to a gallop shaking his head. He had no doubt that they could find Alec but they would do it by walking if they continued to push their horses that hard. Allen nudged his horse back on to the road pulling Fleetfoot behind him and set a comfortable pace.

  Alec hadn’t planned to stay at an inn but if the god was going to pay for the room then he saw no reason not to. Having gotten the supplies he needed from the general store Alec finished packing as the door opened. He knew who it was having felt the god appear on the other side of the door. Apparently, Aaron was going for polite and not trying to scare him.

  Aaron dropped a pack on the floor next to the door and smiled. “This should be fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve traveled roads like a person.”

  “Show me how you do that appearing and disappearing thing and we wouldn’t have to,” Alec said.

  “If I could I would. It’s part of being a god and understanding a different plane of existence. In the meanwhile I think it would be more helpful if you could hide your power so you don’t stand out like a beacon.”

  Alec was disappointed. He’d hoped it was something he could learn, and then he could be anywhere he wanted almost instantly.

  “Close your eyes and find your well. I’m going to have you put a shield over it so others can’t sense your power.” Aaron hoped t
his would go well having never tried to teach anyone else.

  Alec followed Aaron’s instructions, forming a shield and laying it over his well leaving a small hole at the edge. When he asked why he needed the hole Aaron told him this was the method used to cap someone else’s well so they couldn’t use their power. The hole allowed access to the well without the power bleeding out. The only downside was that if he needed to draw large amounts of power he would need to drop the shield.

  As late afternoon turned to evening, Aaron told Alec about some of the other gods and tried to explain the basic principles behind fighting magic with magic. Fire and water were used to cancel each other, air and earth, and spirit was countered by spirit. The most deciding factor was the amount of power used to power the element.

  Aaron was happy that Alec was able to grasp the concepts so easily; it made things between them easier. If Alec had been arrogant or full of himself, Aaron doubted that they would have gotten along so well. He just hoped Alec continued to be such a fast learner. Aaron took the bed closest to the door and laid out his clothes for the next day over the footboard then followed Alec downstairs for some supper.

  Alec didn’t expect the god, Aaron, to pay for his supper even if he seemed to have no problem handing out money. The food wasn’t the most flavorful but it was filling and Alec ate his fill before starting to ask Aaron questions again.

  “You said you were over twenty thousand years old. I take that to mean you were born; you have a mother and father? Were you a human then turned into a god? How does that work?” Alec asked.

  “I was born in what is now northern Sendaria. At fourteen I came into my power and was apprenticed to Master Hallihart. The old man was a mage and trained me as best he could. I was twenty-four when I became a god. To become a god you have to be able to perceive the realm that the gods exist within then have the power and awareness to consciously crossover.”