Return To Sky Raven (Book 2)

by T. Michael Ford

  By this time, all the eyes at the table were squarely fixed on the two druids who were trying to sink as low as possible in their chairs. Lin hissed at Jules under her breath, “I thought you said it was temporary!”

  “Well, you were the one reading the spell,” Julia whispered back.

  I cleared my throat, looking at Julia. “Is there anything you would like to share with everyone at the table, young ladies?”

  With a big sigh, and tears in her big blue eyes, Jules stood up and walked over to Faeron. “It was my fault, sir. I tried an animate plant spell that we found in one of the old journals that was very different than what we had been taught, and I guess I put too much power into it. I am very sorry, and I will go back to the park today and ask the plants to grow back the way they were so that the gardeners are not out of their jobs.”

  Maya’s father enveloped Julia in a hug and patted her on the back. “Thank you for telling me, Julia. I will let the gardeners know that you will be by later. I’m pretty sure they will be willing to forgive you if you work with them for a little while, answer some of their questions, and maybe talk some sense into the big apple tree in the center courtyard that is so stingy with the good apples.”

  She nodded happily and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she dashed back to her plate. Faeron brushed his cheek and beaming, looking over at his wife. “Who knew it would be so exciting to have young visitors in the Capital?”

  The food went over wonderfully. Renalla even made a joke about Kalah getting this recipe from me. Of course, I spent the rest of the meal with a vampire holding a notebook over my shoulder. After the meal was done, Kalah insisted that she be the only one to clean up and that we go on with the rest of our day.

  “Alex, it looks like you have another female admirer to add to your vast list,” Winya teased.

  “Aw, Winya, it isn’t like that. She’s a good person and she’s trying really hard to fit in; I can admire that.

  Suddenly, Faeron clapped a hand on my shoulder and smiled. “You ready, son?”

  It took a second to remember, but yeah, I was ready. “Ready when you are.”

  He smiled. “Alright, go get your armor on and I’ll meet you out back in my private training circle. We will have our duel there.” I think he would have said something else but Maya’s laughter was too loud. “Oh, is there something funny about this?” he asked playfully.

  She was still laughing as she tried to talk. “You want to fight Alex when he is in his armor? Ha! You have no idea how funny that is! You do realize that I have a hard time beating him, right? And now you want him in his armor as well? You see how crazy this is, right?”

  He eyed me a bit. “He is stronger than I am; ok, a lot stronger. But I have fought his type before and I know I’m faster than he is.”

  Maya and Nia both snorted and tried their best to keep from rolling around on the ground. “I get the feeling that either they have great confidence in you or simply none in me.”

  I smiled. “Let’s just say they’re a bit overconfident in my abilities.”

  He smiled and nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit, I’ll be waiting.”

  It took no time at all to get the armor back on; the more times I do it, the faster I am getting. I grabbed my hammer and shield and went out the back door of the weapons room into the training yard.

  Once outside, I was greeted with a training circle of the same kind that Maya and I duel in, except here was a nice sitting area as well. All the girls were in attendance; except Kalah obviously. But Maya and Renalla were also in their own armor.

  Faeron stood already in the circle in the same light chain armor I saw him in the previous day. I entered the ring as he unsheathed his long rapier and I, my hammer.

  He smiled and leaned in close. “Alex, the whole purpose of this exercise is just to prove to me, the father, that you are capable of defending my daughter against those who would offer her harm. It’s not a death match, and over the past couple of days the stories I’ve heard convince me of your fighting prowess. So I propose I give you one symbolic hit on your shield to prove we fought and then we just spar for a short while so I can evaluate your technique. Sound good?”

  “That is very acceptable to me, sir.”

  “Alex,” Maya called from the sitting area, “let him have it!”

  Renalla had her own comment, “Just because he’s Alex doesn’t mean you should go soft on him, dear! “

  “Well, the ladies want a show, I guess,” I chuckled.

  “Then we might as well give them one.”

  I raised my shield, and with my mage sight, it was easy to see that he was aiming at its very center with a wicked slash. His blade impacted on the white metal, but his weapon lacked the mass to make the heavy tower shield ring like a bell. Instead, his sword made a tinny noise, fractured and the blade snapped in half, leaving Faeron standing there with a broken weapon in his hand, staring at it without comprehending what just happened.

  Oops. Maya and I had thought perhaps his sword wasn’t heavy enough to go up against my armor, but this was embarrassing. I heard a gasp from the girls and a giggle from Maya as she rummaged around under her seat and came running up to us carrying something wrapped in leather.

  “Father, I do believe that was your best sword, is that correct?” Maya beamed.

  He frowned down at the jagged hilt. “Yes, it was my favorite one, too.”

  Maya, still smiling, started to unwrap the package. “Now father, there are a few things in this world that I will not accept; dream reading, being pulled underwater, black ginger, and my father not having a weapon worthy of him. Especially when I am to marry an enchanter like Alex.” With a flourish, she displayed the sword and let him take a good look at it. Dazed, he reached for it and brought it out carefully, admiring the appearance of the blade and the weight and balance.

  “I don’t know what to say,” he murmured, as Renalla rushed up to take a look as well. Soon all the girls were huddled around us, admiring the mirror-like shine of the metal and the intricate wire windings in the handle.

  “It’s gorgeous. But how did you…?”

  “Alex and Nia made it for you this morning,” Maya smiled lovingly, placing her hand on his arm. “It will never break, discolor, or lose its edge, and you may find it has a few other features that will only reveal themselves with use.

  ……………………………………………………….

  Maya

  It’s hard to describe my feelings standing there watching the two men I love most in life. My father was speechless holding his beautiful new sword, my mother and the other girls admiring it and cooing over it. And then there’s Alex, hanging back, watching it all with that self-depreciating, half-embarrassed smile.

  Ever since we arrived here, it’s been like a dream. I mean, how strange it is to be nervous about introducing your parents to the love of your life, only to find out they already know and love him.

  Part of me kicks myself for not listening to my father when he wanted to introduce me to that nice boy from the next village. I could have known Alex for years already. I was surprised when Alex set his hammer and shield aside and retrieved a practice buckler and sword from the training room racks. My father and Alex exchanged a few low words and grins. Faeron asked if it was alright to use the new blade and Alex confirmed that it would be fine. Then they backed up and began to spar.

  I really wasn’t worried as Alex was still wearing his main armor, although without the helm. But the use of a sword instead of a hammer would definitely level the playing field. Leave it to Alex to worry about other people’s feelings more than his own. I allowed myself a smile, remembering our conversation on the steps that morning, and how easy it was to kindle his interest. The wild essence of my dark elf personality, the part we keep hidden away and only release in battle or in the throes of passion, growled like a jungle cat in deep approval of my choice of a mate.

  The two of them circled, beaming at each other
like happy fools. They were doing a modified version of the light sparring that Alex and I often do when we are just enjoying each other’s company. No real hard strikes, no going for the throat, just a forum for showing the moves you enjoy.

  I watched happily as Alex sidestepped every one of my father’s thrusts, none of which even touched the armor. It was interesting to see the expression on my father’s face as it changed from surprised, to frustrated, and finally, real happiness.

  “How does he pull off those moves in that much armor?” Renalla questioned with Ryliss simply nodding next to her. The scholar might be a bookworm, but she was also a dark elf and trained with the warriors.

  I knew I was smiling from ear to ear but didn’t care. “As you know he is an enchanter. But what you might not know is that he can’t cast spells like Nia or the girls can. The only thing he can do is shape the magic that is already in something to make it better. That’s what he does, he makes magic items.”

  She looked at me in wonderment. “That armor is enchanted?”

  I nodded. “Very much so. Mind you, not as much as mine but, yes, there is a lot of magic in his armor and the hammer. Especially the hammer; but I don’t really know if the shield does anything except block.

  “Oh, believe me, it does!” said Nia. “He just hasn’t had a need for it yet.”

  “Great! I bet it’s another cool thing like the ice wave that he didn’t give me,” Winya pouted.

  “Wait, what does the shield do? And how do you know what it does?” I questioned.

  Nia smiled, showing her pointed teeth. “It’s a secret. And I’m the one who helped him make it, remember? I even know that you and Winya have only found about half of the enchantments in your armor.”

  “Half! What do you mean, half? This thing can do more? So where the hell did you hide those enchantments? Ugh! I need written instructions on myself!”

  Mother wasn’t so patient. “But that doesn’t explain why he is doing so well.”

  I shrugged. “I still don’t understand it completely, either. But the way it sounds is that enchanters also have the ability to see magic; in the earth, plants and even people. They are then able to see where the magic is flowing and, therefore, where your body will soon be. In short, he knows every move that Father is going to make before he does it. Believe me, it’s hard to fight him like this; but I’ve learned some work-a-rounds, sort of, anyway.”

  She was staring at him, wide-eyed. “That’s incredible!”

  I smiled and removed a gauntlet. “Want to see something even more impressive? Here, hold this.” As I was about to hand her the gauntlet, she reached for it with only one hand. “Both hands, please.” She looked confused, but did as I asked. I carefully dropped the gauntlet in her hands and chuckled as she was still caught off guard and nearly toppled over in the dirt.

  “By the gods! What is this stuff?”

  I snickered, as Ryliss reached over and cautiously touched it as well. “That gauntlet weighs about eighty pounds by itself and our armor is made almost completely out of the stuff. In his armor, Alex is about 5600 pounds of handsome armored power, with the strength to match! If Alex was using his hammer, one small tap could kill Father if he wasn’t careful. I’ve seen him blow five foot holes through stone perimeter walls with one blow.”

  Renalla was shocked again. “But how can he move in that? How can you move in it?”

  “The armor increases our strength to where it really feels like nothing to me and Alex. If anyone else put our armor on, it would crush them.

  “But how can you ride a horse? Or even walk down the street without sinking to your knees into the dirt?” Ryliss protested. She actually seemed kind of offended that our gear went against common sense, as she knew it; but her inquisitive mind was begging for answers.

  “Special horses and enchantments that offset the weight.”

  Looking back at the boys, I decided they had been fooling around long enough. Alex’s skill with a sword wasn’t really good enough to score points on my father. By the same token, my father couldn’t get past Alex’s defenses, even with the new sword. So it was pretty much a tie.

  “Alex, end this if you please!”

  Father made a heavy thrust, seemingly not caring about only hitting him lightly at this point. But this time, Alex didn’t dodge; instead the blade impacted right above his heart and the point skittered off without leaving a scratch.

  “I stabbed you! Alex, are you ok?”

  Alex laughed and tossed away his training shield and sword. “I’m fine! We didn’t want to say it, but even that sword will never penetrate this armor; hell, even a demon couldn’t pierce it!” He walked over and retrieved his tower shield, hammer, and helm. Settling the helmet over his head, he sealed it and dropped the faceplate.

  “My Lady, would you care to demonstrate?” he said, performing a low bow.

  “Why thank you, Magic Boy, I thought you’d never ask!”

  ……………………………………………….

  Alex

  Maya snapped her headgear in place and started out with dual crossbows, which she whirled around and fired simultaneously into a four-inch post set into the ground about thirty feet outside the sparring arena. The metal bolts sang slightly as they shot out of the barrels; the first five or six striking so close as to make a single hole. The last grouping across the bottom snapped the post off completely.

  Faeron, Renalla and Ryliss were mesmerized; but Lin and Jules, who had seen it all before, were clapping their hands and whistling.

  Next, Winya dismissed the crossbows and reemerged as the serrated dagger. Maya held it up for everyone to see. A few seconds later all but the faintest outline of the dagger went invisible, immediately followed by Maya’s armor performing the same disappearing act. Renalla gasped and grabbed the King’s arm in amazement. Ryliss just shook her head in disbelief.

  Maya finally reappeared, holding the dagger, which then morphed into Winya’s preferred and most impressive incarnation - the white and silver long sword. Sliding it slowly past her helmet, she bent into a spring stance, paused for a second and then launched into the attack.

  I heard the breath go out of the spectators as Maya’s sword lashed out and was barely intercepted by the left edge of my tower shield. I flipped a quick snap of my hammer at her head to drive her back to a more respectful distance. Like an enraged panther, she paced around my defenses looking for a hole and selecting her next moment to lunge. Whenever Winya did strike either my shield or armor, sparks would spray out like a fan, much to the delight of the crowd. Maya was getting better at masking her intentions so I couldn’t always rely on my mage sight to provide accurate estimates of her whereabouts anymore. On two occasions, she managed to slip by my shield and get in a blow to my helm that I actually felt. She was putting a lot into this match, probably to show off to her parents a bit.

  Once when I ventured an overhand crushing blow with the hammer and Maya elected to block instead of evade, I was pretty sure I heard a muffled “Ow!” and a curse from Winya.

  “Sorry, girl,” I sent over the conduit.

  “Grrr, It’s a good thing you didn’t give that damn hammer a voice, Alex, or he and I would be having words right now,” Winya gritted.

  “Yeah, he is a brute, isn’t he?”

  After about twenty minutes of this, I stopped and bowed low to my dark elf maiden and removed my helmet.

  “My lady, I surrender to your superior skills.”

  Maya ripped off her helmet and sauntered over, catlike, and whispered, “I have skills you haven’t even begun to dream of yet!” Any reply I might have made was drowned out by the applause from our spectators. Even Ryliss suspended her disbelief for a few moments to run over and congratulate us on the show.

  Renalla rushed up and wanted to examine Winya more closely. Fortunately, Maya remembered to warn her at the last second not to actually touch her. Examination and questions finally over, Maya looked up into her mother’s shining eyes
.

  “Well, Mom, what do you think; is this an acceptable courting gift?”

  Renalla didn’t answer right away; she just grabbed her daughter, and they shared a tearful hug. Finally, she whispered something in Maya’s ear and the two of them burst into laughter.

  Maya’s father walked up slowly and patted Maya on the back. Turning to me, he bowed formally. “Alex, I accept you as my daughter’s courted. You are a fine young man, Alex, and an even better warrior. It comforts me to know that she has you by her side to protect her.”

  “Thank you, sir. I will protect her with my life,” I said, meaning every word.

  Later, toward sunset, I was told to dress in my robes and leave my armor and weapons behind. I had no idea where they were taking me, but it was starting to get really dark. Our small procession, with a few guards trailing behind, slipped through the now thinly-travelled streets leading to the back of the Capital on the edge of the dark foreboding forest. Traversing through a set of gates and down a cobblestone path, I soon found myself standing in a clearing with a large carved rock in the center with many burning candles on it. At the opposite edge of the small ceremonial area, was an arch made from still living trees.

  “This is the trial for manhood and is not something to be taken lightly. For some, this trial takes a day; for others, almost a week,” said Faeron.

  “What do I have to do that takes that long?”

  He smiled slightly. “The task is very simple really; all you will have to do is find the shack about two miles to the south of here, speak to the shaman who lives there, and return.”

  “But be warned,” said Renalla, “the forest does not like unwelcome guests and will test your mind.” Then she smiled, killing the ominous mood they had both created. “Say hello to my father for me, will you?”

  “Your father?”

  Maya wrapped her arms around me. “Yes, the shaman is my grandfather, so be a good boy and behave; not that I’m worried you won’t, but you get my point.” She kissed me gently, getting a pleasant sigh from Renalla. “And before you ask; yes, we girls undertake a similar trial, so I know what to expect and you will do just fine.”