Her hand shoved Elzen away as the woman complained, "I told you that those two shouldn't be paired together for this unofficial training of yours, mage. Now they are acting like they are a soldier soliciting a serving girl!"
Serrena shook her head and rolled her eyes as her auburn hair appeared to reflect the fire in the lamps which augmented the wizard orbs in their glass balls making it easy to see every inch of the large room. It wasn't just the wizards showing their skill with magic or choosing to light rooms to ignore the night. White Hall was a school for predominantly teenage boys and girls. Teenagers, whether endowed with magic or not, were notorious for following their hormones; so there were adults making sure that nothing promiscuous happened especially when they came together to dance.
"They look cute together and it was only kissing, Haylee," her fellow fire wizard said playing down whatever had happened.
Leveling a finger at the woman who dared dispute her claim, Haylee countered, "It starts with kissing. If I hadn't interrupted them, who know what those two might have done!"
"Maybe you should try that sometime," Elzen stated a little too loud if he was trying to keep the wizard from hearing. His arms folded, the younger mage had to quickly step back from the petite, blonde haired wizard. Usually calm and cool, her finger nails looked like claws wanting to scratch his face.
"You little snot!" the older wizard snarled before catching herself. Fire wizards were notorious for tempers that followed their magical nature. Though Haylee practiced calm that rivaled the more practical earth and nature wizards, when pushed too far it was easy to see that she might have a temper to equal Serrena's when she was angry. After a settling breath, Haylee said more calmly as she leveled a finger at Elzen's chest, "I will not be taking advice from the boy who released frogs in the girls' baths to get them to flee naked into the halls."
"Allegedly," Elzen replied with a satisfied smile slipping onto his face as he waved off the charges. "No one has ever confirmed who released those frogs. It could just have been a nature wizard's spell that went awry."
"You were the only boy in the hall when it happened! Everyone knows that it was you, Elzen," the flesh of the blonde wizard's cheeks was turning a bit pink even as she tried to control her anger.
Serrena suddenly appeared thoughtful. "That was around five years ago, wasn't it?" The fire wizard's attention settled on Haylee as she reminisced aloud, "That was the last year you were an apprentice too, I think. You always liked to use the bathhouse too..."
When Elzen smiled and started to look the blonde up and down slowly, his face suddenly lit up and he snapped his fingers, "You know I think I do remember her being there that day. She was wearing a lot less, so maybe I didn't get a good look at her face at the time."
Turning dark red, Haylee covered her chest with her arms recoiling from the mage again. "You-you- you're incorrigible! Maybe High Wizard Herrol would be willing to punish you retroactively for your horrible behavior, mage!"
Unable to do more than issue a weak threat, the fire wizard ran off in the direction of the wizard's classrooms.
Elzen and Serrena began to laugh at the poor wizard as Sebastian shook his head with a small frown.
"I honestly have no idea if she was there," Elzen said with a shrug and a chuckle.
"That poor woman," Ashleen said with a shake of her head as she looked in the direction of the embarrassed wizard.
Serrena complained, "Oh, she deserved it for picking on Shaylene and Xander. You missed her pull him away from the girl by nearly pulling his ear off earlier."
Her nod towards the cadet sitting with a couple other mages beside another table still rubbing his ear led Sebastian's eyes to the boy. "She was pretty mean about it. I wonder if it's really about the two of them though. Shaylene and Xander have been a whispered item since returning from the battle at the Towers last fall, according to your sister."
Elzen waved towards a crowd bringing Katya towards them with her friend Piotr. The two had been dancing until Haylee made a spectacle of herself a moment ago.
"What was that about?" the younger girl asked curiously.
Serrena replied, "She just complained to your brother about Xander kissing Shaylene earlier. When she mentioned the frogs in the bathhouse incident, Elzen and I reminded her that she was an apprentice at that time. We were guessing, but Haylee must have been one of the girls scared out of the bathhouse into the hall without remembering to grab a towel."
Rubbing his chin, Elzen mused, "But I really don't remember her before being introduced recently. Too bad, she looks pretty cute still."
Serrena smacked him on the back of the head. "Stop it! She's not even here to pick on now."
"Seriously I don't remember... Ow!" the boy complained as the fire wizard repeated her attack again.
"Anyway," Sebastian said focusing on his sister. "Have the two been in trouble for this sort of thing before? I mean, has Haylee been involved with breaking them up like that?"
"I haven't been here as much since helping in Litsarin..."
Piotr shrugged and answered, "I don't think they've ever been accused of anything beyond an occasional kiss that most of the teachers have mostly overlooked until now. During the summer and fall, there are wizards and mages out in the back courtyard all the time. Some do more than kiss from what I am told."
Making a face of disgust, Katya reminded those who had gone to the school, "Those who hope to get away with more tend to sneak off to town or into one of the wizard courts since they're mostly empty at night. Teachers and officers take turns keeping an eye out there too."
Ashleen shook her head. "It was almost always just me and Wendle, since Deiclonus only took two apprentices at a time. Of course, I never saw him as more than a brother type. It sounds like White Hall is much more interesting," the girl added with a smirk.
Sebastian wanted to say something funny, perhaps implying that she had made up for lost time; but knew that would only get him in trouble. Looking over at Xander, the mage left his small group to check on the cadet.
"Heal," the mage said reaching over to touch the side of the boy's head. A quick use of his magic removed the pain and the minor damage that would have caused bruising later.
"Thanks," Xander said as Sebastian removed the touch of his fingers.
"So Wizard Haylee laid into you pretty hard? You two were caught kissing by her though."
Nodding, the cadet rose as Sebastian gestured for him to follow with his fingers. It was a conversation best had in private, the owl thought, so he led the boy away from the other mages listening nearby. They had watched the owl heal with open mouths as well. Nearly having the celebrity that High Wizard Darius had among their wizards, it could be distracting when others paid too much attention to what he was doing or saying.
They moved to the door into the joining hall to the mage dorm. Surprisingly, a pair of apprentices started at the sound of the door. It was obvious that they were doing what Xander and Shaylene had been caught doing earlier.
"Inside," he ordered with a thumb towards the main room. Mage or wizard mattered little when it was just apprentices or cadets. He was an authority figure and the two didn't even argue as they retreated still holding hands.
"You knew that Wizard Haylee has a problem with the two of you being too close," he said after closing the door.
"It was just a kiss," the boy said brushing at his dark hair anxiously.
"Was it the first?" Sebastian couldn't help asking, though he usually didn't let himself pry.
Shaking his head, Xander sighed as a slight smile touched his lips. "When she woke up in Windmeer... well I was relieved that she was alright and..."
Sebastian held up his hand. "You shouldn't kiss and tell. Maybe I should have asked that differently, I guess. Would Wizard Haylee have known about you two before this to the point that most would think that she's been ignoring your relationship?"
Shrugging, the boy looked uncertain as he said, "We weren't being blatant about it
, and it isn't like we've really done anything more than a kiss or hug; but she probably knew."
The owl sighed. "Well, all the extra time seeing you two together must have made her more sensitive to it, I guess."
"Too bad there isn't a battle mage that she might be interested in," Xander remarked simply.
"Funny," Sebastian replied sounding like he wasn't amused at all. "Elzen tried that joke already more or less."
"I wasn't joking," Xander countered looking a bit surprised that his comment would be viewed that way. "I just meant that Serrena and Elzen managed to work together to figure out how to open a gate. I am comfortable working with Shaylene obviously, but all Haylee can do is sit there watching for the most part. If pairing mages with wizards manages to unlock these harder spells, it would be nice if maybe she had someone else to work with also."
The idea was surprising for the owl. Rubbing his chin in thought, Sebastian finally replied, "Well it is a thought."
Chapter 20- Shared Magic
It was still early in White Hall when Sebastian arrived to meet the rest of his team. The sun struggled in the east as if it was too early for the golden ball to rise, though it had already begun to climb the eastern sky in Hala when they had left from his inn room. With portal magic, it often felt like he was also moving through time, the mage thought not for the first time. Moving north and south it was barely noticed, of course, but traveling the path of the sun or against it meant finding his position in time was always changing.
He wasn't too surprised to see Xander already waiting in the cold air of the gate courtyard with Shaylene and Haylee, who was not only beside the younger girl but between the younger members as well. The previous night's blow up must have remained fresh in the older wizard's mind and her eyes had received some subtle makeup to mask any darkening around the woman's eyes from a probable restless night.
Wizard Haylee was frowning at the new arrivals from the moment their senses recalibrated to the new location. She seemed surprised when Sebastian didn't immediately make a new gate into Kardor for the last of his planned trips to seed gates in the allied country.
Noticing the mage glancing towards the door leading into the courtyard, the woman asked, "What are you waiting for? I would like to get this last trip over with so maybe I can refocus my apprentice on her studies. She may have visited the wall, but the girl still has a lot of work to do if she ever wants to become a full wizard. Getting distracted by these trips of yours... and other things," she added looking at Xander who did his best to ignore the glare, "is the last thing that she needs right now."
The door opened as if on cue letting a dark haired falcon into the courtyard. He was slightly taller than Sebastian, if the owl was to guess without standing back to back. With the cold of winter, the falcon was like most men in the north using a beard for extra warmth; but his dark blue eyes seemed to stand out even more because of the dark brown hair framing them.
"Am I late?" the man asked. "Falconi Garrett only let me know of the assignment last night, so I am afraid that I am playing catch up now."
Sebastian shook his head and answered, "We just arrived ourselves, Falcon Kharrik."
Confusion on her face, Haylee asked, "Who is this? Are we taking yet another mage to Kardor?"
Intentionally keeping his face even in emotion, though the owl wanted to smile at the woman's discomfort; Sebastian replied, "Well, after talking with Falconi Garrett and High Wizard Herrol last night, it was decided that we are wasting your time. Serrena has Elzen to work with and Shaylene has been working with Xander while you pretty much just waste time watching over them.
"Falcon Kharrik was recommended to join us because he has done well with a lot of my new spells."
"I have learned to heal, though I am not on the level of our healing wizards yet. The basic air spells have gone well though I am still seemingly unable to use the scouting spell without help from a full wizard. Light and dark spells have gone pretty well..."
Haylee interrupted with irritation, "We don't need a resume of what you can do. Why do we need him?"
The fire wizard, who had once appeared so calm and controlled, had seemed to lose much of her control over the last few days. Whether it was because of her apprentice's attachment to Xander or interacting with Serrena, who also appeared grouchier than normal around the other woman; Sebastian wasn't certain. He only hoped having someone to distract her would help morale, though Kharrik probably had no idea that was his most important task.
"Like I said, Herrol agreed that we are wasting your time and talent just babysitting Shaylene." The younger girl frowned slightly at the term, but he continued, "Kharrik is supposed to be quite intuitive, so you will work with him to see if he can make a breakthrough with portal magic."
"I am not just going to sit around being a battery that a mage wants to use!" she refuted the idea strongly.
Shrugging, Sebastian spread his hands as if he was defeated so easily and replied, "Well, that is your decision. Ashleen can split her time with Xander and Kharrik to work on their air magic while Shaylene helps with portal magic then. It isn't like you can teach air anyway."
The wizard's face looked perplexed for a moment. Haylee had just been told that she had little worth to him and that was a blow to the woman's pride. Too many wizards seemed to overvalue their worth in the grand scheme of things, he thought. She was a fire wizard, one of many he had just reminded her.
"But Shaylene is my apprentice..."
Gesturing to Ashleen and Serrena, he reminded her, "We have plenty of wizard supervision for her, if you would rather stay here. They will be kept busy and it is a little too cold for them to try doing much kissing."
The apprentice and cadet grew red in the face more than the cold could be blamed for as Sebastian teased them with his words. They were also to annoy Haylee. He hadn't lied when he had said that she wasn't truly needed; but having the woman along was still the plan.
Kharrik remained quiet but attentive realizing that he had been put in the middle of something.
"Fine, I will work with him," the blonde haired wizard agreed through gritted teeth angrily.
"If it's a problem...," Kharrik finally responded agreeably.
"Nope, it's settled then. It will be a long day, so let's get started," the owl decided before opening a new portal.
The shift in scenery was significant by the time they exited the silver light of the void. Trees and shrubs still covered in snow encompassed the eight travelers' vision on a hill overlooking a valley. They stood in a partially cleared circle surrounded by snow that came halfway up an adult's leg creeping towards drifts even higher by the brush line.
Kharrik looked around as his vision began to inform his mind of his surroundings. He was quicker to adjust than Haylee and a couple of the others who were used to using gate magic of late. That was a good sign, Sebastian thought. While it was no guarantee that the man would be able to use the spell, if he had a poor reaction to traveling through the gates it was pretty universal that he never would.
"Where are we?" the falcon questioned without fear. If he was going to be in danger, Kharrik assumed that he would have been informed.
"About halfway between Fort Delial and Interus," Sebastian answered as he pushed magic into the oval to retrieve his stool. "The two cities are about the same distance from Velius, but since I veered a little west in my attempt this should be the shortest point I have for reaching the capitol."
"And what am I supposed to be doing?"
"Ashleen can help you with wind walking, but the rest of the time you will work with Wizard Haylee on creating a portal gate. Elzen and Serrena can make them so they can help the other groups while they continue to practice to get better at the spell as well," the owl informed the falcon who was a little older than he was. He guessed that Kharrik was about Haylee's age, so he hoped that being peers in age would help the two get along. More accurately, Sebastian hoped the older man would help keep the wizard more in line and profe
ssional.
Nodding, the taller mage walking over to Haylee extending a hand towards the woman in a friendly manner introducing himself, "I'm Falcon Kharrik Antalfus. My friends call me Karr for short."
Examining his hand with a frown, the smaller woman looked up at his smiling face and replied, "I am Wizard Haylee, Falcon Kharrik." Looking towards Sebastian, she added, "I am doing this under protest, I'll have you know. I wasn't consulted on this at all."
Placing his hand on his waist Kharrik nodded maintaining a slight smile, though Sebastian was pretty sure it wasn't forced. Sounding a little amused, Karr stated, "Neither was I, though I guess that I came out better on the deal. I get to spend time with a lovely fire wizard. You just get me."
The woman looked back up at his face and grunted in disappointment, "Hmmph."
While not the best of starts, Sebastian finished pulling out the practice gates. Though seemingly easier to do than making the doors, it was better for them to practice on shorter distances with smaller windows than trying to focus on distant cities. It would also prevent the wizards guarding any of their cities from becoming annoyed with those just playing with the spells should they open.
He moved beside Elzen drawing Ashleen with him. "Do your best. Hopefully Kharrik will win her over enough for them to get some work done. Haylee might want to try to make a gate also, but mostly I want her to help him by boosting his magic. Maybe being forced to share will make her less angry with the situation."
Elzen looked at the new mage with his dark hair and beard. It was still pretty dark so far to the west, but a glow in the east told of the upcoming daylight. "Well, at least he is trying. Do you know him at all, Bas?"
Shaking his head, Sebastian replied, "I went with Garrett's recommendation."
Serrena asked a different question at the mention of the head mage's name. "Did High Wizard Herrol really sign off on this?"
Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13) Page 26
