The Weapon Bearer (Book 1)

by Aaron Thomas

  “No not that friend, the other one. He was about this tall, a little older than you. He said you would be stopping by, and when you did he wanted me to give you a message.” Kilen knew exactly who had been there. Jace.

  “What’s the message then?” Kilen got frustrated that Jace would so obviously predict his movements when he knew nothing of Jace’s. He was chastising himself for not paying closer attention to his movements.

  Her sweet honey of a voice spoke such frustrating words. “He said that when you stop thinking like a farm boy and start thinking like a weapon bearer you will find him. He said your work was finished when you gave up or found him and he would know either way.” Kilen thought the words over. It had given him no more clue where to find Jace.

  “Well I’m here now, so is there anything I can do for you?” Still frustrated, with the words he tried to think of something else.

  “I was hoping that you would have brought that boy with you. I got all cleaned up and put on one of my best dresses and yet again you didn’t bring him.” She put her hands on her hips and reminded Kilen of what his sister looked like when she was pouting. When Kara did that he would ruffle her hair and push her down until she stopped her pouting . He knew that if he attempted with Izabel he would be likely to lose an eye or a hand in the process. Instead, he tried to think of a neutral solution in his response.

  “I was going to bring him but I didn’t want him causing any more problems. If you don’t mind I will grow your plants out today and send him to collect tomorrow. If you don’t mind of course?” She looked him over and finally gave a nod in agreement. Kilen closed his eyes and felt every struggling plant in the room. Soon they bloomed to life, growing rapidly into tall plants. Each produced its own scents, flowers, and seeds. The room was filled with bursting plant life and Izabel twirled in wonder, giggling.

  “I don’t think that I will ever become tired of seeing that. It’s a wonder how these plants grow like that all the time…but much much slower. May I do another casting of you, Kilen?” He smiled and nodded, knowing it would be the same as before. She found her bag of bones and purple book under the counter and performed her ritual. She held her hands to the sky and casting the bones along the counter. They skidded to a stop in a different formation than before. Izabel clicked her tongue at the bones, “seems your enemies stack against you, Kilen.” He looked up in confusion.

  “What enemies?” She shrugged and looked through her book and showed Kilen pages showing the two bones on top of each other meaning “enemies.” She showed him the identity bone meaning the person getting the casting. Enemies stacks lay on every side of the identity bone, showing it was surrounded.

  “Well, it seems that you have been making some enemies and they have found each other and are working to come at you from all sides.” Feeling very isolated and alone, Kilen wanted to draw his sword in the middle of her store. He looked about as if these enemies would jump out at him as he stood there. She laughed, “it’s some time away yet, silly. See how the bones don’t touch the identity bone, that means you have time to find them and prevent them from attacking.” She frowned while she searched though the book, “Although it doesn’t say how long. Strange.” Kilen swallowed, he desperately wanted to know the amount of time he had before they attacked, but knew it was no use.

  “Thank you for…well the message and the casting. If you don’t mind, I have some more errands to get to. I will send Leroy tomorrow to collect some herbs.” He attempted to smile, then turned to leave the store. He was freighted and now found himself avoiding shadows and alleyways. He heard Izabel whistling as he passed the windows of her shop, as if it was just another day. He knew now she was crazy. She had just told him that he could be attacked at any time, by a lot of enemies. She wasn’t worried at all. In fact, she was happy and whistling. He kept moving through the city, towards the shop he had purchased his cloak from. He felt as if eyes were watching his every move. He pushed his vision in all directions until Joahna spoke to him.

  Calm down, it’s some time yet before we are attacked. We cannot be frightened by enemies that we don’t know or we would live in fear of every moment. Instead, we must see as Jace told you. We must always expect an attack. He said that spies could be anywhere, which should tell you that you should always think of yourself as being in danger. Just prepare yourself for an attack at all times. Let your enemies think that you’re not prepared and you shall prevail. Kilen took the words to heart and felt Max bolstering his courage. He felt a little better and thought about how he had prepared himself by pushing his vision out. He did something he thought would be unpredictable by his enemies. He turned down an alley that was shadowed by the tall buildings. He felt the water surrounding him and beggars and homeless people in the corners and under garbage as he moved through the dark alley. One man he saw had only stagnant water inside him. He knew now that he was in the darker parts of the city when he passed by the dead man. When he felt as if he was out of the eyes of his enemies on the street he gathered his strength and leapt to the top of the building and scrambled onto its roof. He now stood high above the city and he could see into the castle grounds and the roofs of all the buildings surrounding. Kilen looked up at the three massive trees that shaded the noon sun from the city. In the evening sun he knew that he should be searching the city for Jace, but he had no idea where to look for him. Instead he sat thinking of the message relayed to him, picking it apart as though it were a word puzzle. He spoke aloud to the roof and the two men inside his head, “Stop thinking like a farm boy, and start thinking like a weapon bearer. What do you think that means.”

  Joahna spoke first, It means don’t go looking for him where you know he won’t be. You will have to find him somewhere other than where he has shown you that he has been known to visit. Max added his agreement. Kilen moved on to the second part of the message.

  “‘Your work is finished when you give up or find me’, and he will know either way.” All three sat in silence as the sun slowly drifted towards the evening horizon. Joahna and Max voiced ideas and disregarded them after short discussion. Nothing was making any sense until Kilen worked the words over in his mind. “I might be onto something guys. He said that he would know either way. That means if I give up he would know that I returned to the castle. He has to be near the castle, or at least one of the gates.”

  Either that or he is having all the gates watched and he has runners to get him if you give up, Max said.

  I think you are on to something. If he is inside or watching the gates then the only way to find him is to give up, Joahna felt like a ball of excitement in his mind.

  Not the only way, Max said. If we want to pass this test, then we will need to figure out how to get him to show himself. Which means setting up a decoy. Kilen let the two men argue about the way to get Jace to reveal himself and how to find a decent enough decoy to fool Jace.

  “Guys,” Kilen said, stopping them from arguing. They both stopped and listened intently. “I have a plan. Max, I will form an elemental and put my cloak over it and let you take its form. You will walk in, keeping yourself covered as much as possible. They would recognize the pins on the shoulders and will send for Jace. I will go through the side gate and come to the front. When Jace comes to let me know I have failed I will show up behind him.” The two were floored by the plan’s lack of flaws.

  How did you think of that? Max asked.

  “I thought like a weapon bearer,” Kilen said simply. He dropped down into an alley near the main gate and started forming a man of water that resembled himself. He closed his eyes as Max described how to keep Kilen from passing out when Max returned. When the elemental was as perfect as Kilen could make it, he tried to extend his mind into the form and found Max pushing as well. The concussion in his head made him wobble on his feet. Max moved slowly in the form, as Kilen moved to throw the cloak around his shoulders and put the pins identifying himself as a weapon and blade bearer. Kilen leapt to the roof and leaned down to
talk to Max who was jumping and stretching his watery arms. “Give me a moment to get started towards the side gate. I won’t enter until I see a fog cloud at the main gate.” Max looked up and waved.

  “I’ll see you inside,” Max seemed to smile, relishing having the opportunity to have his own body again, even if it did look like Kilen. Kilen moved along the roofs and found the side gate. He saw the cloud moving to the main gate. Weapon bearers and armor bearers alike came out to challenge the wielder of the fog. Kilen heard them call off the alarm and he made his move for the side gate. When he did he saw a man near the front gate that he had barely noticed before sitting on a barrel whittling on a stick. The man was now sheathing his knife while approaching Max in elemental form. As silently as he could, Kilen leapt through the grounds to catch up to Jace. Which was not silent at all. When Jace came to where he could see the person in the fog he stopped and tilted his head to the side. Then the cloaked man spun to face Kilen coming from behind, drawing his sword. Kilen did the same and formed a water shield on his wrist. Jace slammed the sword into Kilen, as guards and soldiers scrambled to collect their weapons to come to his aid. The first hit of Jace’s sword stuck into Kilen’s shield and Jace left the blade in place as he smiled at Kilen.

  “Well done,” he said. Jace turned to the soldiers and gate guards who were forming a circle around the them. “All is well. It was just a bit of training for the new recruit. You can all return to your stations.” Max left the elemental body with reluctance as Kilen stood staring at him. The water statue turned to ice, and stood looking at Kilen frozen in time. Kilen felt Max snap back to his mind, but the effect was less than before. Kilen knew that Joahna had done little to help. He was becoming use to the minds moving in and out of his consciousness. He hoped soon it would take no effort at all. Jace and Kilen talked the whole way to the barracks about what had taken Kilen so long, and what other ideas he had thought about when trying to find him. Jace cheered him on or put down each idea that Kilen had, in order to teach him what he should have done.

  When they arrived at Kilen’s barracks Jace gave Kilen his schedule in advance for the first time. “I have laid out your days ahead just like today. You will train with Gortus in the morning, then lunch, then wizard training with one of the four elements. After that you will attempt to attend a class, then evening meal and training with me.”

  “Sword, eat, magic, class, eat, scout training. I think I got it.” Jace nodded that he indeed had the schedule down.

  “If you don’t attend magic training with a wizard I would try and get into extra classes. The less down time you have the more you are able to accomplish. Tomorrow evening when it is my turn to teach, you will find me on the rooftops near the market place in town. Find me there without letting anyone see you, or draw notice of me. Only wielders sit on rooftops and wielders work for the king. We don’t want to scare anyone off.”

  Kilen repeated the instructions and left to find his bed. He spent no time in getting to bed. For the first time he was a little tired. Then he realized that he had only eaten one meal by Leroy. He hoped that his new cooker would allow him to get more cooked in the morning. Max was becoming tense in his mind as Kilen laid down in bed. Kilen pulled the water from the basin in the wash stand leaving all the dust and debris that he had washed off. He formed the water into the shape of a small man and pushed the small voice in his head into it. The lack of Max in his head made him feel a little alone but then he heard the small man slip to the floor in a splash. Kilen looked off the bed as the puddle formed itself back into a tiny person. Kilen rolled back over and fell to sleep.

  Kara was getting a lot better about controlling her anger. The men that came to deliver her meals would now step inside, instead of just unlatching the small hole at the bottom of her door to slide them in. She had eaten considerably better since she started to exert her energy on the inhabitants of the castle above. She often kept at least one hand on fire in order to be able to see her cell walls and interior. It would make her angry to sit and think in the dark and so she would keep her hand as a torch to help control herself. Earlier in the morning Kara had been given a present for being able to control herself. She was given the gift of water in a wash stand. The porcelain basin would glow if it was heated long enough. She had cracked it in her attempt to melt it down. Then she remembered that her mother had told her if you heat types of clay to rapidly they would crack. She hadn’t made a second attempt to melt the basin now empty of boiled off water.

  She had taken a liking to wearing the leather outfit that Mary brought her. It hadn’t weakened or burnt away. It provided just enough cover for her more intimate skin to keep her decent from the men’s eyes. Although the guards that entered the room often cowered behind shields wet and dripping of water. She had been given no other luxury than the basin and the improvement in food as she spent her days trying to control her anger. Soon enough she heard a pair of soft soled shoes walking in the corridor outside her room. The men that visited her wore plate or mail armor and made too much noise as they approached. She wondered if it was Mary coming to visit her again. She was unsure if she should trust Mary, but the effect Mary had on her was calming. She welcomed anything that would make her less angry.

  The door opened to reveal Mary with a canvas sack on her shoulder. “I hear you have been taking my advice.” She looked around and saw the empty wash stand, then poked her head back outside the door. “Fetch some water to fill this basin and bring her evening meal.” Mary turned back to face Kara, who was now standing with flickers of sparks randomly leaping from her body. Mary reached into the canvas sack and pulled out another leather outfit like the one Mary already wore and then sat the bag on the metal rack for a bed. “I have another present from outside, but I’ll explain before I bring it in. I have a small crate of candles. One of the things I hated most about being down here was there was no light unless I created it.”

  “I have the same problem,” Kara replied raising her lit hand.

  Mary smiled and sat down on the bed, followed by a reluctant Kara. “I found it very difficult to keep myself from melting the candles before they could do any good. I did learn a couple secrets though. The corner near the door is cooler than the rest of the cell, assuming you are still pushing all your heat upward into the pipes. I will bring more candles every time I visit. I’m putting them on your brothers tab so use them as much as you want. I have brought enough to keep you in at least one candle’s light for a week.” Mary looked around the small room again, “Well, keep up the good work. Try not to burn all the candles at once. If you can learn to keep one lit then you will be progressing in your control.”

  “Wait, you’re teaching me to control myself?” Mary looked into Kara’s eyes. “I thought that you were just coming to check on me.”

  “Well it started out that way, but when I met you I was reminded of what it was like to be in here. So I decided that I would give you something that I didn’t have…a teacher. I realize that it may not seem like much, but you have done much already. The key to being released of this cell, is by learning to control your magic. Which means controlling your anger. The ceiling provides a release of that anger, a focus of a type. You are taking your anger out on the people that punish you for being a wizard, the people of this castle. While you do that you weaken the effect that the magic has on you and you release anger.” Kara looked at the pipes and was ready to start turning up the temperature on those people wandering the castle yet again. “Each ability that you learn to control will help you overcome your anger. For instance, since you began focusing your fire through the pipes. You have been rewarded with your wash stand and because you no longer try and burn your guards to cinders when they open your door. I have candles for you now to teach you to control your fire with a smaller target. I believe if you learn to light one candle without melting it to nothing, you will be rewarded with a mattress. Beyond that I will bring some people in here to try and have conversations with you, and eventually
the King to see that you are not dangerous. When you can do that, you will be able to leave your cell for small periods of time with escorts like me or a water wizard.” Mary waited for Kara to say something, but Kara sat looking down at her hands in silence. “Is there anything I can do for you while you learn to control your abilities down here?”

  “Let me know when the people of the castle want me to turn down the heat so I can crank it up a notch.” Mary laughed and Kara turned angrily to face her, she didn’t like being made fun of. Flames started to lace their way up Kara’s arms and shoulders. Mary simply held up a hand knowing she wouldn’t be hurt by the girl’s flames.

  “Kara sweetie, they whole castle seems to have taken a liking to the early spring heat. They cook outside because you have burned every meal since our last meeting, and even the King spends most of his day on the terraces, and battlements now.” Mary was laughing louder now, and soon Kara’s flames trickled away, and she began laughing too.

  ***

  Kilen woke on his own before Leroy, or Max could. It was the first time that he had felt rested enough to do it on his own. A few moments later Leroy walked in the door, and laid the tray on the table before starting in on fussing over Kilen’s ripped clothes laying on the floor, or unpolished boots in the wardrobe. “Master Harvel is having a load of supplies dropped off for more cookers to be made. I think he has bought enough to make a dozen of them.”

  Kilen was already pulling the covered tray over when he paused. “Well he will have to bring a couple of workers to help put the stones in the right place if I am supposed to build that many.”

  “I don’t think that he requires that they are all built today, Kilen. I think he just wants to have the supplies ready so that you can make the most you have time for.” Kilen nodded and started to eat his food which once again contained the familiar heat of spices he had come to enjoy. He quickly finished his plate and ate the tarts that Leroy had put on the tray because he liked them, not because they offered relief from the heat in his mouth.