by Eric Vall
I drew Nerfrina to a halt to let a pair of what looked to be noblewomen pass, one blonde and one brunette. The blonde looked up at me and winked as she went.
I wanted to stop and admire the new view as she walked away from me, but then Aurora hissed quietly in pain at my back. Immediately, I craned my neck around in the saddle and frowned at her.
“Is it your arm?” I asked as my eyes tracked down to the bandage at her elbow. She tried to turn it away from me, but even in the dim moonlight, I could see the tinge of red that had begun to soak through the white cloth.
The half-elf maiden rolled her eyes, but I could see she was gritting her teeth. “For the thousandth time, I told you it’s not a mortal wound.”
“I can’t help it,” I admitted to her as my frown deepened. “I don’t like to see you in pain. Can’t we stop at a doctor or healer’s place first? My questions for the Order can wait.”
Aurora smirked. “Well, that is very considerate of you,” she remarked, “but I have my own report to give to Mage Abrus. The healer can wait until after. Now, come on, let’s go.” She shoved at my shoulder playfully and clicked her tongue at Nerfrina, who quickly set off at a trot. “I don’t know about you, but I am starved. The quicker we speak with Abrus, the quicker we can get some food.”
“And see the healer,” I argued.
“And see the healer,” she sighed, and her warm breath on the back of my neck somehow made me shiver.
A smile spread across my face as she snuggled against my spine again, and I nudged her horse to be a little quicker. After that, it didn’t take us long to reach the castle. There was a small road that led out of the craftsmen’s quarter and wound up the cliff side toward the castle proper. We passed through the castle guard with a little more scrutiny, but Aurora kept repeating how she had an urgent report for Mage Abrus, and they quickly let us through.
I found myself gawking as we entered the castle courtyard, but Aurora didn’t give me much time to take in my awesome, new surroundings. Now that we were so close to our destination, she urged Nerfrina on by digging her own heels into the horse’s side. Our steed cut sharply to the right and skirted the courtyard. Once she reached the corner, she slipped down a passageway or tunnel that I somehow didn’t notice until we were walking into it.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I turned to Aurora. The tunnel was so black, I couldn’t see a thing. The only sound in the dark was Nerfrina’s clopping hooves on the cobblestones.
Almost as if she could hear my thoughts, the half-elf maiden unwrapped her arm from around my ribs. The air on the back of my arms and neck rose as the air suddenly became supercharged, and then a moment later a flame flickered in the darkness. Aurora plastered herself against my back as she lifted the orange fire that danced in her palm up over our heads.
“I told you there were four gates,” she murmured against the outside shell of my ear. “The Order resides separately from the castle. We just went through the final one.”
I thought back on how the tunnel had been hidden from my sight even though it was right in front of me, how it had been a blind spot, a darker blur at the corner of my vision.
The last gate had been magical, enchanted somehow to hide in plain sight should the castle ever be breached. It was a brilliant defense mechanism.
A thrill of anticipation raced up my spine. I couldn’t wait to see what else the Order had in store.
We walked through the tunnel at a steady pace and thanks to the flame in Aurora’s hand, I noticed that the walls were slowly widening and the ceiling rose up and up into the darkness. As we rounded a bend in the tunnel, a faint glow from up ahead cut through the gloom. When we got close enough, I saw that two torches flickered on either side of a cavernous doorway that stretched at least thirty feet above our heads. Nerfrina tossed back her head and trotted forward, obviously eager to be home.
The moment we got within twenty feet of the huge, stone doors that marked the end of the tunnel, the power in my veins resonated throughout my body. It pulsed like a separate heartbeat within my chest, like a war drum beneath my ribs. A moment later, it rushed out of me, like water through a sieve, and there was a great grinding sound as the stone doors began to swing inward.
The chamber beyond was brighter than the tunnel had been so I had to blink to adjust my eyes. However, once they adjusted, my mouth fell open.
An entire, separate city lay before me.
The cavern was massive, almost without scale. The whole foothill that Serin was shored up against must have been completely hollowed out, and this is what lay beneath its exterior. Great pillars of stone and grand edifices were built into the cave walls. Small, square houses sprung up here and there between the stalagmites, and fires burned in a thousand torches spread throughout the underground city. However, I was even more shocked to see the strip of water that flowed from one end to the cavern to the next and the reflection it gave of the moon overhead. I tilted my neck back to see that above the city, the ceiling had been shaved away, leaving a crater that opened up to the beautiful night sky.
I was overcome with awe and stunned speechless as the horse moved forward, and we officially entered the gorgeous and awe-inspiring, magical city.
“Welcome to the Order of the Elementa, Mason Flynt,” Aurora said behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know she was smiling.
“And welcome home, Ignis Mage Solana,” another voice intoned behind us.
Aurora and I, even Nerfrina, gave a start. The three of us turned as one to find a severe looking man, who had apparently materialized out of thin air. He was perhaps as tall as I was, but thin and frail looking in the long, black robe he wore. His head was bald, pale, and the skin looked no thicker than an eggshell. He also had two pitch black eyebrows, a long, hooked nose, and a stern mouth.
Oh, and one of his eyes was a normal brown, and the other was solid white, with no iris, no pupil, nothing.
The breath stilled in my lungs.
A Lux Mage.
This had to be Abrus, head of the Order, the right hand of the king of Illaria.
Goosebumps flecked my arms.
“Mage Abrus,” Aurora said hastily. She dropped her arm from around me and slid off the back of the horse. She landed nimbly on the ground and stepped toward the other mage. “We were just coming to look for you.”
“I told the city guard to be on the lookout for your return,” Abrus replied smoothly, but he didn’t take his eyes off me for one second. “They sent a raven mere minutes ago.”
I began to feel awkward under his unwavering, two-toned gaze, so I swallowed tightly and swung off Nerfrina’s back. Aurora’s gaze flicked to me for a moment, and from her expression alone I could tell she wanted me to leave the talking to her.
However, as much as I respected the badass half-elf maiden, I couldn’t defer to her. The power that writhed in my chest told me to lift my chin and meet Abrus gaze for gaze.
So, I did.
The Lux Mage looked impressed at my confidence, but his gaze flickered over me almost dismissively. “I do not believe we have had the pleasure of meeting each other,” the older male said. “I am Abrus Zorick, leader of the Order of the Elementa. Now, who might you be?”
Within this mountain, my power felt almost alive in my veins. It squirmed through me and made my fingertips itch as it yearned for a way out. I channeled all that pent-up strength into my voice as I respectfully inclined my chin.
“My name is Mason Flynt,” I responded.
“And your business with the Order?” Abrus replied smoothly as he arched the brow above his white eye.
Before I could respond, Aurora stepped forward again. “This man saved my life, Mage Abrus,” she said adamantly. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and saw her face was set with steely resolve. She looked more like the warrior I had met on the battlefield than the woman that had spent the last few hours clinging to my back
Abrus’ two-toned eyes finally shifted over to the half-elf maiden. �
�Oh?” he asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
The blue-haired woman nodded firmly. “I discovered the threat that lurked outside of the southern villages. It was a drake.”
This time, blatant surprise showed on the older man's face.
“A drake? So far from the mountains?” he asked with a furrowed brow. “Are you sure?”
Aurora laughed dryly and lifted her bandaged arm. “I am sure,” she replied. “It took a good slice out of me. It was… stronger than I anticipated. More… angry and bloodthirsty somehow. I hate to admit it, but it might have gotten the best of me if Mason had not stepped in and used his own powers to weaken and then kill it.”
“So, you are a Mage then,” Abrus remarked as his strange eyes came back to mine before they dropped to my hands. “A Terra, by the looks of it.”
I frowned at the tone of his voice. “You sound skeptical,” I noted.
A wry smile spread across Abrus’ face. It wasn’t a pleasant expression. “A good advisor to the king is forever distrustful and wary of spies,” he replied.
My hackles rose at his implication. “I am no spy.” “Well, you would be a rather poor one if you admitted it,” Abrus said in return. “But, for the sake of argument, if you are not a spy then why have you come to Serin?”
I took a deep breath and willed down my irritation. I schooled my features into something more neutral, almost suppliant.
“I’ve come seeking instruction,” I said honestly. I met Abrus’ strange eyes and added, “From the Order. From you.”
A shadow of confusion replaced the suspicion on the older mage’s face. “In what regard?” he questioned.
“Regarding my magus abilities,” I replied as I lifted my arm and flashed the Mage’s Mark on the back of my hand.
Abrus furrowed his brow. “But you are not a child,” he pointed out as if that wasn’t obvious.
“Astute observation,” I joked with a patient smile. “No, I am not a child. However, I do hail from a kingdom far, far away. There we did not have magic, not like this. I had no one to teach me what I am or how to use my powers. Today, against that drake, was the first time I had used them.”
Now, another blatant shock showed on the Lux Mage’s face. “For truth?” he asked as he looked between Aurora and me.
“Yes,” I replied as the blue-haired woman nodded her head in confirmation.
Abrus lifted his hand and stroked at his pointed chin in contemplation. “An untrained, adult magus,” he mused aloud to himself. His eyes seemed to slip out of focus as he became lost in thought.
I looked to Aurora in question, but the half-elf maiden merely shrugged. She didn’t know what the mage was thinking either.
When the silence had stretched on too long, I finally cleared my throat. “So,” I asked, “will you teach me, Mage Abrus?”
The older male blinked and seemed to come back to himself. He met my eyes again, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose as he seemed to peer deeply into me.
Whatever he found there seemed to be to his liking, however, because a moment later the rest of the sharp suspicion faded from his expression. In its place rose a neutral, placid look as the older mage folded his pale hands into the dark folds of his robe’s sleeves.
“The sworn duty of the Order is to train any mage who seeks instruction,” Abrus intoned formally. “If this is your wish, then we will welcome you, Terra Mage Flynt.”
I swallowed tightly and glanced around the wondrous cavern we stood in. Beneath my skin, my power writhed, eager to be stretched and tested.
“I humbly accept your offer,” I said, and I bowed my head toward the prestigious and powerful mage. “Thank you.”
Abrus nodded in acknowledgment. “Then, in the morning, I will give you a series of tests before your training truly begins to measure the strength of your abilities. Until then, however, Ignis Mage Solana will show you to your sleeping quarters. After, of course, she has that injury examined.”
He turned his stern gaze to Aurora, who sighed and nodded her head in assent.
“Yes, Mage Abrus,” she muttered.
“Good,” the older male replied. “I will also expect a full report on the drake incident by tomorrow as well.”
“Yes, Mage Abrus,” Aurora repeated.
Satisfied, Abrus looked back to me and then, a moment later, he held out his hand. I hesitated only a moment before I reached out and took it.
“Welcome to the Order of the Elementa,” Mage Abrus intoned formally, and his voice seemed to echo around the amazing city that lived in the very heart of a mountain.
I couldn’t stop the grin that bloomed wide over my face.
This new life was amazing.
Chapter 5
I woke to the sound of thunder.
No… not thunder.
The noise that pulled me from the dark depths of sleep was louder, sharper, and much more insistent than thunder. As I fully came back to my senses, I groggily opened my eyes and found myself staring at a low, sloped stone ceiling.
Where the hell was I?
I jumped a little as the sound that had awoken me rang out again. It took my addled brain a second or two to recognize it as knocking, so then I turned my head in the direction of the racket and saw a wooden door about ten feet away. As I lifted a hand to rub the sleep out of my eyes, I caught sight of the strange mark etched into the skin below my knuckles and the memories from yesterday crashed down on me.
I was really here, in Illaria, a world full of elves and dragons and magic.
I looked down at the back of my hand again as the power in me stirred and stretched as if it were waking up, too.
This was better than any dream I could have possibly imagined.
“Mason Flynt,” Aurora called through the door as if she could sense herself in my thoughts. “It is time to awaken.”
“I’m awake,” I called as I sat up and swung my legs down to the floor. “Give me just a second.”
I cast my eyes around for the shirt I had thrown off before I fell into the bed last night, but before I could find it, I heard a faint click, and the door swung open.
I lifted my head, and the half-elf maiden came to a sudden stop half a foot through the doorway. I watched as her dark green eyes took in my shirtless state. A faint flush rose in her cheeks, but I thought I saw a hint of hunger in her gaze as well.
“Mornin’,” I drawled, and my mouth formed a cocky grin.
“Good morning,” Aurora responded primly and quickly schooled her face into a neutral expression. She crossed her arms in front of her ample chest, and I noticed that while she still wore a bandage on her right forearm, the cloth was pristine, void of even a trace of crimson.
“How are you feeling?” I rose to my feet and stretched my arms above my head. Aurora’s emerald eyes traced themselves across the planes of my chest and abs, and my skin prickled beneath her heated gaze. I finally cleared my throat teasingly when the silence stretched long between us. The blue-haired maiden blinked and snapped her eyes back up to mine.
“I am fine.” She uncrossed her arms and flexed the injured one back and forth. “The healers said it would take a few days more to mend completely, but I’ve almost returned to my full range of motion already.”
“Impressive,” I said as my eyebrows shot up toward my hairline, and then, before I could stop myself, I asked, “Is that mainly due to your elven heritage, or do the healers have something to help speed your recovery?”
A shadow passed over the half-elf maiden’s face, but then she tilted her head and smirked.
“You have just risen from bed, and already you are full of silly questions,” she teased.
“I’m inquisitive by nature.” I realized that my question about her heritage was a perpetual sore spot, so I made a mental note to ask about it a bit more once our relationship progressed further.
Aurora hummed and then gestured with her chin over her shoulder. “Well, Mage Abrus is expecting us, so you’ll have to talk while y
ou walk.”
At the mention of the older, more-than-slightly creepy looking mage, A thrill of excitement raced down my spine. I wondered what these series of tests he had mentioned last night would entail. I thought back to how my power felt as it raced through me, as we fought and eventually killed that drake. If Abrus’ tests made me feel even half as amazing, I couldn’t wait.
“Alright,” I said as I clapped my hands together loudly and gestured toward the door. “We don’t want to keep Abrus waiting. Lead the way.”
“Do you plan on forsaking a shirt?” she asked evenly as she pursed her lips and her eyes skipped over my bare pecs and shoulders once again.
“Does my shirtless state trouble you, my lady?” I teased with a grin.
The half-elf maiden rolled her eyes, but I could see the faint spots of color on her cheeks again. “I merely meant that it is cold under the mountain, but do what you will.”
Before I could say another word, she spun on her heel quick enough to make her long blue hair whip behind her. Then she marched through the door with her spine straight. I stared at her backside until I picked up my white shirt with a chuckle.
“Wait up,” I called out as I tugged my shirt over my head and continued to laugh. I pulled the door closed behind me and jogged to catch up with the beautiful Ignis Mage.
Aurora didn’t slow her pace, but since we were in a long, straight hall filled with doorways of which I assumed were leading into domiciles, it was easy for my long legs to catch up with her. I fell into step with the blue-haired maiden, a grin still plastered across my face. The half-elf’s eyes flicked over to me, but she didn’t comment on my shirt.
