Awaken (The Mortal Mage Book 1)

by B. T. Narro

  “Don’t do it, Desil! Come this way.”

  He turned toward his father. Wade was quick but not as fast as Kirnich and Adriya catching up behind him. Desil gritted his teeth as he feared an arrow would impale him or his father at any moment.

  Only one more was shot, and it sailed over Wade’s head. It might’ve struck Adriya had she been Kirnich’s height, and it startled her into falling in a late attempt to dodge it. Desil made it to his father and Kirnich, then spun around. The Kanoan archers had fallen behind the rest. It was a large group, none of them with armor, some only with daggers. Was this a fight that could be won? Against so many, it was likely to be impossible. But was it possible for Leida and Beatrix to outrun them?

  Kirnich must’ve had the same idea, for he stepped to the front and took out his bow.

  Desil was glad he still had his sword, though his father had nothing. Adriya came up beside Kirnich and took the bow from her back.

  Soon Leida and Beatrix had caught up, all six of them sucking in air.

  “This is madness!” Beatrix shouted. “We can’t fight them.”

  “We can’t run, either,” Kirnich said.

  The Kanoans slowed as they approached, giving Desil a moment to formulate an idea.

  “Let me talk. Don’t shoot them yet.”

  There were about thirty of them, with the four archers still behind. Those with daggers sank to the back of the group. Desil counted the swords he could see. Only eight.

  “How well do they know how to fight?” he asked his father.

  “Most don’t at all. But a few are actually quite skilled, like Van.” Wade gestured with a lift of his chin at the older man at the front, the same one who had incited the mob against him. The same one who’d captured Basen’s group. Desil had never wanted anyone dead before, but now it was a matter of protecting the people he cared about. Van clearly had no plans of stopping his search for Basen and would certainly kill Wade along the way.

  “We’ve all been trained to fight!” Desil called to them. A short field of tall grass separated the two sides, the river too far for Desil to have any hope of using it. “We have a psychic, a master swordsman, archers, fire mages, and I am a Majlan like my father. You might think that you can kill us all, but we’ll take at least half of you with us. Van is about to tell you something in an attempt to get you to fight, but think for yourself. What would you get out of killing us?”

  Desil could see his words damaging their morale as they held their weapons in a less aggressive stance. Van turned to them.

  “We’ll take them alive and use them to get to the portal mage.”

  “Except we don’t know any better than the rest of you where he is,” Desil said. “And he doesn’t know any of us are here except for Wade, who he assumes is dead. The mage is not coming back for us.”

  “We’ll hold one of them until the boat comes!” Van announced. “Then we’ll force whoever the captain is to take us back.”

  “All of us can kill even with our hands tied behind our backs. Don’t think we’ll give up at any point, especially if you kill even one of us.” The archers caught up, but they stayed at the back where they could hide their cowardly expressions. The same look was spreading across the rest of the group.

  “All of you are a coin flip away from death if you fight us,” Desil continued. “Because while some of you might live, the rest will die. Is it really worth taking such a risk?”

  Van said something to them that Desil couldn’t hear. To Desil’s shock, an archer jumped out from the back and shot at him. The arrow nearly brushed his shoulder, it was so close. Before Desil could turn to see if anyone had been hit behind him, Adriya had loosed her own arrow, which struck the enemy archer square in his chest. He let out a strangled sound as if he’d tried to scream but couldn’t. He lost his weapon as he fell on his back and lay as still as death.

  “Anyone else want to try?” Desil challenged.

  The Kanoans dared not move.

  “We’re going now,” Desil announced. “A Marro scout was flying around earlier. You shouldn’t stay out here too long.” He turned and ushered his group north. All of them shot looks to their right. It seemed that Van was trying to get his group to attack as he pointed and demanded something in too low a voice for Desil to hear, but half the Kanoans were already running the other way. Van yelled for them to stop, then called them cowards, but his words did no good as the rest of them fled too.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Everyone’s stamina was gone when night came and they still hadn’t reached the forest north of the Dead River. From a distance, these trees had looked no different than the shortwoods Desil was used to in Ovira. But when he finally got close enough to get a good glimpse in the dark, he noticed one irregularity. These trees seemed to shed. There were faint rings of dust around their bases. He didn’t know if it came from the beige bark, the yellow leaves, or something else. What he did notice was that he seemed to be the only one interested as everyone shuffled into the forest, their heads drooping.

  “Wade,” Beatrix said, “are there any Kanoans on this island who don’t live in the settlement?”

  “Yes, we’ve exiled lawbreakers. Why?”

  “Would any of them try to kill me while I slept?”

  “I don’t believe so. The two people who murdered were executed. Others would steal your belongings, but I doubt any of them are still alive. None had the skill to defend themselves from everything wild in Kanoan.”

  “Whoever it is,” Kirnich told Beatrix, “we lost them days ago.”

  Desil silently agreed. They’d gone from the northern to the southern side of the first forest in two days and two nights, nearly killing themselves in the process. Whoever had tried to kill Beatrix probably hadn’t been able to keep up. But if he somehow had, Desil didn’t see how it was possible he could’ve followed their group to the settlement, to the mountains, and now to another forest closer to the center of the island. One of Desil’s comrades would’ve seen something.

  “But it still leaves the question of who they are,” Beatrix said. “And whether they came here after me or were here from the start.”

  No one offered an answer.

  “Let’s find something to eat,” Kirnich suggested.

  Beatrix nodded.

  It was slow going through the forest at night, even with Desil, Adriya, and Leida giving them light. The lack of a path was the most detrimental to their speed, as each step submerged their boots into thick grass.

  Their party was often blocked by clusters of low and wide bushes that tried to swallow any boot stepped into them. Adriya’s came off eventually. She muttered a curse as she yanked it out, then spent a moment tightening her laces.

  Desil couldn’t tell what was worse, his hunger or the cold. He had been fighting back shivers since the Kanoans had left them alone, his damp clothes still clinging to his body. His father wrapped his arm around Desil’s shoulders, then rubbed his hand up and down for friction. When Wade finished, he started to take off his cloak.

  “Give me your wet shirt,” Wade demanded.

  Everyone stopped to give them a moment. Desil thanked his father as he removed his two shirts, the outer one with long sleeves.

  “We should’ve done this hours ago,” Wade said. Desil was glad his father had been smartly wringing out the water from his cloak while there was still sun left.

  Bathed in the light from the mages’ wands, Desil became aware that all were staring at his bare chest.

  “You’ve been hiding some muscle from us,” Kirnich commented.

  Desil would’ve blushed if his whole body wasn’t numb from the cold. He quickly fastened his father’s cloak and pulled it shut in front of his chest with his arms crossed inside. Kirnich gave a laugh.

  As they started walking again, Wade took on the responsibility of trying to wring out Desil’s wet shirts and shaking them dry. Desil knew it would do little good without a fire, but he appreciated his father’s efforts noneth
eless.

  As they walked for an hour longer, they all ached for Beatrix to sense something they could eat soon. Desil thought he heard the sound of Wade’s teeth chattering a few times, but whenever he looked over to check, his father didn’t appear cold. His arms were not crossed, nor were his shoulders hunched. But Desil still suspected. He could see others showing signs of a chill.

  Leida took her sleeping blanket from her bag and offered it to Wade. “You can wrap it around yourself as we walk.”

  He took it without hesitation. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. You and Desil can share. I’ll share with Adriya.”

  It wasn’t long before Desil was walking beside his father, matching his stride, both wearing Leida’s soft blanket around them. Adriya had taken hers out as well, she and Leida walking together in the same way.

  Rather than taking out his blanket, Kirnich drew his bow and held an arrow ready. No doubt he felt responsible for their protection if everyone else was going to be huddled in a blanket and vulnerable to a surprise attack. Beatrix kept hers in her bag too, though her arms stayed crossed against the cold.

  Desil began to wonder how far he, Leida, and Adriya would’ve gotten without Beatrix and Kirnich. Desil was eager for them to convince Basen to leave this place, but only if Leida agreed. They were her parents, after all, and Desil would do anything he could to support her. However, the thought of a skirmish between anyone here made him sick. He had experienced enough fighting, his desire for adventure not just filled but spilling over. He was ready to return to the Magic Tavern with his father. He couldn’t wait to see his mother’s face when Wade came home.

  They walked throughout the night. Desil hadn’t gotten used to the fatigue, and he wasn’t sure he ever could. It felt as if everything ached, his head most of all. They’d hardly had a bite to eat the entire day, but that hadn’t stopped Leida and Beatrix from squeezing their legs throughout the journey to build up the muscles in their hands.

  Desil wondered what the chances were of Leida’s family being in this forest. His group had spoken briefly about it, all agreeing that if Leida’s parents were still intent on getting to the center, they would be waiting on the northern side of the forest for night to come. Hopefully they were still traveling through, and it would be tomorrow night that they left the forest in hopes of reaching the center.

  Shadows columned the ground of the forest as the low morning sun illuminated the trees. Desil had spent much of his life traveling long distances with little to eat and drink, but even he was feeling as if he couldn’t go on much longer. Leida looked unconscious on her feet, her eyes barely open.

  But it was Beatrix who stumbled first, everyone rushing to her. She caught herself before anyone needed to.

  “I’m all right,” she said in a weak voice.

  “You’re not,” Kirnich said. “You’re not trained for this, and you’re exerting energy sensing for animals.”

  “I’ll be fine once we find one.”

  They pushed themselves to keep going after Leida and Adriya put their blankets back in their bags. Although the morning had brought warmth, Desil couldn’t tell if he was hot or cold. He felt little else besides weak, as if his heart might give out in the next hour.

  Moments later, Leida fell. Desil walked toward her as he expected Adriya to bend down and help her up, but Adriya was holding her own head with one hand while the other reached out toward nothing in particular. She stumbled, then went to her knees voluntarily before she fell as well.

  “Does anyone have anything left to eat?” Desil asked as he crouched beside the two women.

  “Of course not,” Kirnich said while Beatrix sat and let her head droop.

  “I don’t think I can get up,” Leida whispered for only Desil and Adriya’s ears.

  Desil heard Kirnich curse as Beatrix fell.

  “I’m fine,” she muttered without getting herself up. “I’m just exhausted and fell asleep for a moment.”

  “Or you’re passing out,” Kirnich said. “Stay here. I will find something.”

  “Father, will you go with him?” Desil knew Wade was the better tracker.

  Wade handed Desil his shirts in preparation to leave with Kirnich. They were nearly dry. But as Desil watched his father catch up with the warrior, he noticed something he should’ve paid attention to long ago: the dust around the trees.

  “Wait,” Desil called.

  They stopped as he looked around. He thought he saw something and moved up to it for a closer look. In the dust ring around one tree was the distinct print of a hoof about the size of Desil’s hand. He checked the direction and then walked to the next tree. There was another.

  “Go this way,” he told them. “Use the dust.”

  Soon after the hunters left, Desil wondered why it had taken him so long to think of it. Then he realized that he had been resting his mind as much as he could while he waited for Beatrix to sense something. He shouldn’t rely so heavily on others. Look at the toll it’s taken on them. Leida and Beatrix were on the ground, half dead.

  Adriya forced her head up. She groaned as she fetched her blanket. Desil helped her move it underneath Leida. Then they did the same for Beatrix.

  They cleared a place for a fire and silently gathered whatever was available to burn. As soon as the fire was going, Adriya lay beside Leida and promptly fell asleep or passed out.

  Desil pondered for a moment whether he should stand guard in case the Kanoans had decided to follow them after all, but what use would anyone be if they had to fight? It seemed more prudent to rest. He sat with his back against the base of a tree.

  He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he awoke to his father touching his shoulder. Desil smelled the meat before his eyes opened, his mouth already salivating. His father had taken care of cutting the meat and putting it on sticks. Then Desil noticed an unfamiliar carcass lying a few yards away from camp. It was some sort of beast with hooves and a thin coat of fur. A long tail spiraled out. Desil hardly gave it a glance before reaching for his prepared portion. His father had already cooked it for him!

  Desil burned his mouth eating the meat. During the little time he gave himself to taste before swallowing, it reminded him of the leg of a chicken. He didn’t remember to thank his father until he was done, but by then, Wade was already asleep with Leida’s borrowed blanket beneath him. Desil gladly lay down beside his father.

  It took but a moment to fall asleep, yet he felt like a child again in that short time, safe and protected. They just might find a way out of this without anyone dying now that Wade was here.

  Desil shed a single tear of relief, only realizing then how heavy his dread had been. He had taken everyone’s lives and well-being onto his shoulders, just as he figured the others in his party had done for him. He’d refused to let the thought pass of how high the chances were of dying here, but things were different now. He finally had hope.

  When he awoke, it didn’t feel as if more than a few hours had passed. But with newfound energy, he got up and walked until he could see the sun through the treetops. It seemed to be about noon or a little earlier. He found both of his shirts hanging on a branch near the fire, done by his loving father, no doubt. He changed into them as Wade awoke, then Desil gave his father back his cloak.

  “We might have a long way to go to get to the end of the forest before nightfall,” Desil said to wake the rest of his sleeping party. “We should start moving.”

  It wasn’t long before they were off again. Spirits were high during the first few hours, their heads up and eyes focused. When their speed began to lag, Desil moved to the front and refused to let himself slow down as much as his aching legs wanted him to. The others kept up.

  They didn’t have time to hunt, but they were lucky to come across a section of forest where every tree had at least a few branches covered in nuts.

  Wade didn’t recognize the tree or the nut, so neither did Desil. But they watched a little creature with a wide and flat tail
sit on one branch and crack open a shell with its tiny hands to nibble on the contents within. It seemed to be worth the risk. Desil climbed one tree while Adriya scaled another. They knocked down every nut they could without risking falling.

  Everyone stashed a handful in their pockets and picked them out one at a time as they continued walking. The crunchy nut tasted bitter and sweet at the same time, the flavor growing on Desil the more he ate. Soon he was done and wanting more. He was tired of this hunger. He promised himself he would do nothing but eat for an entire day when he got back, then sleep all of the next day.

  Suddenly the end of the trees was in sight. Desil almost couldn’t believe it as joy came over him. But then disappointment struck as he realized they had seen no signs of Basen’s group. There was still time, however, before night. They could cover at least a few miles of the perimeter, giving them a good chance to encounter Basen’s group, if they were here.

  Just then, Wade hissed in a whisper, “Everyone get back!”

  Desil looked up to find a cloud of Marros coming in their direction. Everyone ran to put a few more rows of trees between them and the end of the forest. Desil held his breath and peered at the pieces of sky through the forest canopy as the Marros started to pass over, the sky darkening.

  They screeched indistinguishable words to each other, stopping and hovering midair. Desil’s heart slammed against his chest as they went back the other way. Had the Marros spotted them and now were figuring out how best to attack?

  The sounds of screeching faded as the birds went east. Everyone waited, sneaking looks out of the forest and above their heads. Not a Marro was in sight.

  “I’m going to check,” Desil said as a bad feeling came over him.

  He sprinted toward the perimeter, hoping he had the wrong idea about what this meant.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Desil ran out from the protection of the trees and turned in the direction the Marros had flown. His fear came true when a familiar Elf was tossed out violently from the forest, no doubt by Marros. He tumbled across the grass as the flying creatures descended upon him. Desil shouted to his comrades.