by Rain Oxford
I didn’t have enough dark magic to fight Zeustrum, but my wand had shown me that it wasn’t really necessary. Saving Merlin was more important than killing Zeus. I focused my mind on what happened so many days ago. It felt like ages when I wandered into a little village, trying to make a name for myself. Magic tensed inside me, ready to strike, but not to injure. I remembered my state of mind, my desire, and the sensation of my magic when I turned every sword in an entire village into flowers. Magic released from me, not my wand or staff, and Zeustrum was suddenly holding a bouquet of flowers.
The shock on his face was instantaneous and I used that distraction to reach out my hand and call my staff to me. It leapt up from the ground, across the room, and into my hands. Since Magnus was still disorientated, I poured my magic into the circle. The sigils came alive and blue energy swirled around my unconscious brother. Fortunately, I didn’t have to know anything about the world I was sending him to, because it was the sigils and their arrangement that determined what world the portal opened to. It took longer than with my other brothers because this was just my magic, but eventually, Bevras vanished.
“No!” Zeustrum had his wand in hand when I turned back to him and I could sense the magic swelling inside him.
There was no time to think, no time for defensive magic, and no time to feel regret. There was only the absolute certainty that I was about to die. It would be quick and very painful, and then I would be dead. There was a flash of burning red light.
Zeustrum didn’t yell, or even show surprise on his face; he just fell. Behind him, my father stood. I gaped, but he simply pocketed his wand, put his finger to his lips in a gesture of silence, and disappeared.
I had no time to even let the shock settle in because Zeus was still alive. I used levitation on him just like I had on Bevras, but when I finally dropped him in the circle and poured my magic into it, I knew I didn’t have enough left in me to send him off.
My heart beat too quickly, my breath was too hard to draw in, and my vision was becoming blurry. I pushed every drop of what I had left into that circle and right before I failed, white energy joined mine in the circle. Magnus was back in the fight. I held on just long enough to see Zeustrum fade out of our existence.
* * *
I woke in a soft, comfortable bed. My eyes felt sore, but I opened them anyway. Merlin was curled up on the rug in front of the fireplace. I wondered why Magnus hadn’t broken his curse, but the door burst open before I could ask.
Merlin hadn’t expected the sound and popped up on all fours with a furious growl. He stopped growling when he realized it was just Bralyn. The werebear grinned at me. “I’m glad to see that you made it.”
“I could say the same about you. How long have I been asleep?”
“Just a day. Magnus gave you a healing potion, but---”
“But they don’t work on strained magic,” I finished, sitting up. “Why are you still here?”
“I just wanted to make sure you survived. I’ll be heading back to my guild tonight. Thank you. Shapeshifters make good warriors, but not one who is allergic to fur. With your help, I proved to myself that I am just as good as the rest of them. If you ever need help on another quest, I’ll be around.” He left.
“Why didn’t Magnus break the curse?” I asked.
“I never told you what Dessa told me when we were alone.”
“I thought she told you how to break the curse.”
“Not exactly. She told me it would be broken on the day you die.”
“Seers can get it wrong.”
“I know, but she assured me that is not the case. She could not tell me how or why, and I could not exactly ask her, but she was certain.”
“That’s why you didn’t want me to try?”
“Yes.”
“Then what are you going to do now?”
“I realized while fighting your brothers that it is not so bad being a wolf. Yes, I want to have my powers back, but this form is not without its defenses. Furthermore, it is somewhat peaceful. For hundreds of years, my life revolved around magic. Now I realize how tired of it I was. I shall think of this as a vacation.”
“It’ll be a short vacation. My mother will be hunting me down now that my brothers are gone.”
“No, I think not. Your mother only wants you for your power, and as far as she will know, you only have white magic now. Yes, she will eventually seek revenge on you and Magnus, so I highly suggest you stay here at the castle. Magnus has already asked me to relay the offer. You lived your life in dark magic and you have made your choice. Now is your chance to learn light magic. When your mother eventually comes to fight you, you will both stand a better chance together.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Well, Magnus has extended the welcome to me and I am strongly considering taking him up on the offer. After all, I still have a thing or two I could teach you.”
I grinned. “I guess we’re going to stay then. The sorcerer who isn’t a sorcerer and the wolf who isn’t a wolf.”
“Does that still bother you?”
“No. I think I’m okay. I am who I am.”
Epilogue
“I can’t believe you had black hair and I missed it,” Kisha said.
After a few days at Magnus’s castle, I told the old wizard about Vactarus and that I needed to return the magician’s hat. Magnus said that he had no idea the hat’s owner was still around. He gave me the hat and transported Merlin and me to Vactarus’s mansion. I tried to tell him I could just take a ship, but he insisted. Apparently, I would become powerful enough to transport myself that far if I practiced for as long as he had.
Vactarus was overjoyed to have his hat back and offered me any of the leftover stuff left in the mansion. Since I needed more clothes and I really wanted to start my own collection of books, I took him up on the offer. That was how I came to spend five days going through boxes of old junk. Kisha couldn’t help sort, but she was fun to talk to. Even if she didn’t have memories of her life, she could read books.
“You should write stories that people can read for fun,” she suggested thoughtfully.
“Maybe after I see more of the world.” I was actually hoping Merlin would take me to see other worlds when we break his curse. Despite the fact that he was willing to wait for my sake, I was determined to find a way to break it without getting myself killed in the process. The first step in doing that was to go back to Dessa and ask her how I’m supposed to die on the day his curse is broken. Unfortunately, the tournament was over and I didn’t know how to find her again.
“Hey, I’ve seen that before,” Kisha said, pointing to a small painted wooden doll in a box.
I picked it up and studied it. It was very creepy, especially since it resembled Kisha. In fact, the doll wore a blue dress identical to Kisha’s. “I think it’s supposed to be you.”
“I don’t remember it, only that I’ve seen it before.”
The box was full of a young girl’s clothes and just one other thing; a drawing of Kisha standing between a man and woman. The disturbing part was that the heads of both the man and woman were cut off.
“What is this?” she asked.
“I think this was a drawing of you and your parents, but maybe someone didn’t want anyone to know who your parents were.” More likely, whoever killed Kisha had killed her parents or was planning to afterwards. I turned it over to see three names: Magnus Vobristum, Livia Dracre, and Sonya Dracre.
About the Author
Rain Oxford is a teacher who has been writing for more than half of her life. She does most of her writing in a secluded cabin in the woods with a four-pound Maltese as a companion. When she’s not teaching or creating worlds, she usually enjoys cooking, playing the piano, or photographing exotic wildlife.
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/rainoxfordauthor
Website: rainoxford.wordpress.com
Amazon Page: amazon.com/author/rainoxford
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Books by Rain Oxford
The Sorcerer’s Saga Book 1: The Sorcerer’s Quest
Elemental Book 1: Dark Waters
Elemental Book 2: Hungry Earth
Elemental Book 3: Furious Flames
Elemental Book 4: Insidious Winds
Elemental Book 5: Soul Guar
The Guardian Book 1: The Guardian’s Grimoire
The Guardian Book 2: The Dragon’s Eyes
The Guardian Book 3: God of the Abyss
The Guardian Book 4: The Demon’s Game
The Guardian Book 5: The Wizard’s War
The Awakening
