Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1)

by Kayleigh Nicol

  “Any more friends coming?” Kestral asked, turning the boar aside again.

  Seriously, he expected me to be chatty now?

  “One,” I wheezed. “Far.”

  The stag lowered its head and tried to gut me from groin to neck. I ducked its antlers and kicked at its finely-carved legs, hoping to break them. The stag merely shifted its weight so the kick glanced off, leaving me off-balance for another blow. It swung its head again, but this time I grabbed its antlers and yanked, toppling it on its side. It righted itself quickly enough, but that was enough time for me to back away.

  “Shift,” Kestral called to me, still trading blows with the boar. It had scored a hit while I’d been distracted—blood ran down Kestral’s pant leg. “Fly away.”

  I shook my head, unable to use my breath for both combat and speech at the same time. The stag charged. I dove recklessly, simply trying to stay away from it. I landed on my injured ribs, my breath rushing out of me as starbursts of pain blossomed before my eyes. The stag reared and spun, ready for another pass.

  A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the clearing. Even the fake creatures stopped and turned towards the source. I finally got to see Kestral’s look of shock as a nightblack cat slunk into the clearing. He moved like a shadow, paws padding soundlessly across the ground, tail lashing, teeth gleaming. He pounced, leaping nearly thirty feet to land on the stag attacking me, ripping its stone head from its shoulders in one sharp motion.

  “Your friend?” Kestral asked.

  I was a little proud to hear the tremble in his voice. All I could do was nod as the cat swatted the boar into a tree, finishing the network of cracks Kestral had begun. From there, the predator targeted the larger carved animals while the wolves finished off the smaller ones. I looked up for the hunter-birds, but it seemed they had already considered their contribution over. I rolled up to my knees, wrapping one arm around my ribs, gasping for air with Kestral at my side, guarding my right. Each movement a fresh wave of pain, I forced myself to my feet, dagger in hand in case of another attack.

  Once the lifeless attackers had been broken beyond repair, the nightblack cat faced down the wolves. He screamed a challenge and the lead wolf snarled a response, her hackles raised and ready for a fight.

  “Reshi?” Kestral’s voice was low, eyes focused on what was about to be an epic fight.

  I closed my eyes, leaning my right shoulder into Kestral for balance. It was harder now to reach that well of golden fire than it had been earlier. It was still just as bright as before; I hadn’t used a lot of it. But concentrating through the pain in my side kept me from grasping it fully. I had to hold my breath to dull the pain as much as possible before I could grip my magic and reach out to the cat and wolves. I soothed away their protective instincts and instead made them think about sleep, conserving strength for the next hunt, and healing from their wounds. The animals continued to posture for a moment until one of the male wolves scored down his flank from a stone tusk, whined softly and tucked his tail. The other wolves shrunk in on themselves too, seeming to ask the lead wolf’s permission to leave. The cat pinned its ears, then turned and slunk back into the forest. Once its tail disappeared into shadows, the wolves turned as one and trotted silently in the opposite direction.

  Kestral’s arm was somehow already around my waist as I lost my balance from holding my breath too long. He lowered me gently to my knees and whistled for Shan. The horse came running, eyes still rolling in fear of the predators. Kestral reached into a bag, pulling out a jar of ointment and a roll of bandages.

  “Lift up your shirt,” Kestral ordered, crouching beside me.

  I wanted to make a quip, but the pain overwhelmed me. Groaning, I lifted my shirt high enough so Kestral could smear ointment over it.

  “No bleeding, that’s good.” Kestral wiped his hands on the grass then wrapped the bandage so tightly that I gasped. “Looks like three broken ribs, maybe some fracturing. Binding them will help. The ointment should numb it a bit.”

  The wrap hurt as he pulled it tight, but a moment later I noticed some relief. I was able to draw shallow breaths without wishing for death by the time Kestral tied the bandage off.

  “I think we scared Laki,” I panted, lowering my shirt again.

  Kestral laughed as he tucked his ointment back into its bag. “This may be difficult for you but try not to—”

  The rest of his words were drowned out as the trees surrounding the clearing began moving. Not just branches shaking, or leaves rustling, but actually moving. The trunks groaned and creaked as roots lifted themselves. Branches snapped and waved as if reaching for us. Shan reared and might have bolted but I pressed my hand to his flank, reaching for my magic to soothe him. It was easier to reach his mind with my magic through the physical contact. It also helped that over our last week of travel, Shan and I had come to an understanding of sorts. The horse stilled under my hand as Kestral stepped in front of us, his hand on his sword.

  “I knew you were dangerous from the moment you stepped into my forest.” Laki’s voice came from somewhere above us.

  I gripped a stirrup and pulled myself to my feet.

  “We don’t want to fight you, Laki!” Kestral called. “Your brother is injured. We just want to leave.”

  “I won’t let you leave.”

  I spotted Laki in a tree to my left, perched on a high branch, one hand wrapped around the trunk.

  “You’ve taken my protection from me by killing all my friends. You die here today, hunter.”

  “Die?” I tried to shout but it only came out as a wheeze. “You don’t kill hunters, Laki. You never have.”

  “Dear Reshi, the only thing that will stop an ice-hearted hunter like him is death.” Laki shook his head sadly. “For some, it is a mercy. Step away from him, Reshi. Let him be crushed by my friends.”

  I drew closer to Shan and to Kestral. Kestral took a step towards Laki.

  “What happens to Reshi if I stand aside?” Kestral called.

  “What?” I turned, the pain in my ribs burning at the movement. “Kestral, what are you—”

  “Reshi comes with me,” Laki replied, his voice soft. “If we make it to Kila without running into Velyn, he’ll be safe.”

  “And if Velyn catches up to you before you reach your sister?”

  Laki shrugged, his tree mirroring the movement.

  “You would use him to buy your own freedom, wouldn’t you?” Kestral asked, his hand going to the hilt of his sword. “Either you would trade him to Velyn for your own safety or you’d kill him for his power. Isn’t that right?”

  Laki dropped his gaze. “It is unfortunate times when brother turns on brother. I don’t want to fight, but I will preserve my own life. The stars guide—”

  A sudden roar and a powerful wind cut Laki off. The tree he rode burst into flame so suddenly that I barely heard him scream before the whole thing was charcoal and ash. The tree crumbled, showering the clearing with dust and smoke. Coughing was agony; I fell to my knees, eyes watering and lungs fit to burst. A hand found my shoulder and a wet cloth was pressed to my mouth. Breathing through the cloth helped me find my breath again and when I could see, I found Kestral at my side, wet cloth in hand. His skin and clothes were black from ash. Shan shook violently, dusting us with another layer of soot.

  “What happened?” I coughed again, my throat raw. Kestral only shook his head, staring ahead where Laki had been not a moment before.

  When the ash finally settled, and the smoke cleared, I saw Laki’s charred remains at the edge of the clearing. Green mist rose from his body, twining through the smoke still rising off of him. A figure in a long cloak stepped out from between the trees and knelt beside the body, holding its hand in the middle of the mist. When its hand closed, the mist became a glowing ember. As Kestral and I watched, my oldest brother stepped forward, clutching the ember of Laki’s magic.

  “Little brother Reshi! Such a pleasure to meet you.” His voice was cheerful enough to make the g
reeting sound genuine. He was dressed stylishly, like a noble, with embroidered leather boots, black hunter’s leggings, a dark grey tunic over a red silk shirt and a black cloak edged in a shining orange ribbon. For the first time I saw myself in one of my siblings: the same face shape, the same quirk of the mouth, the same impertinent raised eyebrow. We were even within a few inches of the same height. The biggest differences were in hair and eye color: his were flame-orange with his hair long and brushed back. His eyes seemed to flicker like candle-flames. As I watched, he pulled the ember close to his chest and crushed it, drawing Laki’s power into himself.

  “Eagan,” Kestral said, rising to his feet and starting forward.

  “Hunter.” Eagan inclined his head politely. We could have been meeting at a dinner party, the way my brother was acting. “I don’t mean to be rude, but if you’ll just stay right there.” Eagan raised a hand and a circle of waist-high flames sprung up around Kestral. “I have a few matters to discuss with my baby brother before I get to you.”

  “I hope one of those matters is about where you commissioned those boots.” I said, leaning casually against Shan’s shoulder to hide my injury, a careless smirk plastered on my face. “Or maybe that you have an extra pair to lend? It looks like we might be the same size.”

  Eagan’s smirk was a mirror of my own. “They are a beautiful pair, aren’t they? I doubt you could afford them. But if you manage to kill me, they’re all yours.”

  “That sounds fair.” It didn’t sound fair at all, not with me unable to shapeshift and Kestral held captive by fire, but I had the seed of a plan beginning to sprout. If he was anything like me, it should be easy to keep him talking.

  “You see, Laki was kind enough to demonstrate his powers for me, so I was kind enough to grant him a quick death.” Eagan flipped his cloak back, revealing a narrow sword belted at his waist as he began walking towards me. “You, on the other hand.” Eagan reached out to me, but Shan lunged, snapping at my brother’s hand. The fire mage backed up a step, glaring at the horse while I hid a gasp of pain with laughter. Eagan looked over his shoulder at Kestral. “What do you feed this thing? Untempered steel and small children?”

  “Mages,” Kestral replied. He stood ready to draw his sword, flames licking at his boots, blue eyes promising a swift death. I had seen that look before.

  Eagan tossed his head back and laughed easily, like a courtier at a ball. “Pretty and terse. We have similar tastes in more than just boots, Reshi.”

  My chest tightened inexplicably at the comment, but I kept my smile in place. “I’ll trade him to you for the boots. The horse is part of the deal, though.”

  “Well, that’s a deal breaker.” Eagan turned his back on me, walking towards one of Laki’s unshaped boulders. The same boulder that had grabbed Kestral earlier, in fact. He placed a hand on it and my stomach rolled as the boulder’s shape twisted and changed. Part of it flattened out into a seat, the back part rising in what appeared to be flat, shallow mountains, or perhaps misshapen flames. “Hm, that didn’t quite work out the way I had hoped.”

  “If it helps, I think Laki carved the stones by hand and only used his power to enliven them,” I explained.

  “It does help, thank you.” Eagan smiled brightly. Dust, we had a lot of similar mannerisms. He sat back in the chair, crossing his ankle over his knee and placing his chin in his hands. He looked the part of a prince preparing to pass judgment. “As I was saying, I found Laki’s demonstration of power quite helpful. Reshi, if you would be kind enough to do the same, I promise you a quick death.”

  “You know, as tempting as that is, I think I’m going to decline.” I gave him a one-shouldered shrug.

  “Oh no, you haven’t heard the whole offer yet.” Eagan held up a finger to halt me. “You get a painless death and your hunter friend here gets to walk free. And before you give me the whole ‘I don’t care what happens to him’ farce, I saw how he patched you up after that last fight. You care, and I know it.” Eagan laced his fingers together and set his chin on his hands. “Or I can begin burning him slowly, letting him scream long and loud for you until you show me everything you can do. Which will it be, baby brother?”

  “That is a much better deal, I’ll give you that.” I kept one arm wrapped around my ribs while I scratched my head with the other, pretending to consider the deal. Eagan watched me patiently. I had a feeling that throwing a knife at him would only hasten the second option. “I’d like to take you up on it, but I’m afraid I can’t.”

  Eagan narrowed his eyes and the circle of fire drew tighter on Kestral. I could smell the leather of his boots burning.

  “It’s not about him, Eagan, it’s about my condition.” I raised my shirt to show the bandages. “I’m a shapeshifter, but I can’t physically shift while I’m injured. I’m not able to show you anything, even if I wanted to.”

  “Hmm.” Eagan glared at me over his fingertips, mouth pursed while he considered. “All right. Just this once, I’m going to let you tell me all about your powers. You still get a quick death and he still goes free.” He flipped his hands up in an elegant shrug. “You’re getting a real steal here; I’m the one losing, really.”

  “You are generous.” I nodded my thanks. “It makes this request sound selfish, but can I also ask a question?”

  “Ah, well, if you make it quick.”

  “Why come for Laki and me in the first place? Why not hunt down Velyn? He collected Cera’s magic so he’s a much better catch than I am.”

  Eagan tipped his head to one side, eyes narrowing. “So, it was Velyn who killed little Cera?”

  “Yes,” I said quickly, hope catching in my chest. “He stabbed her through the heart with an icicle dagger, then he gathered her magic. I was too far away to help. He tried to kill me next.”

  Eagan stared at me over his hands for a moment as if trying to decide whether he believed me or not. “While I’m grateful for this information, it doesn’t change the fact that I need your magic. Take heart in the fact that I will use your strength to take revenge for sweet Cera.”

  That wasn’t the response I was hoping to hear, in all honesty. “Why not join us and fight Velyn? I won’t fight you for his magic once he’s dead. I don’t have any designs on taking the throne or stealing magic or anything.”

  Eagan chuckled softly. “What makes you think I need your help to kill Velyn? I’m the second oldest of Laurana’s children; I could kill any of you any time I like.”

  I struggled and failed to keep the smirk from my face. “Any time at all?”

  Eagan narrowed his eyes. “What are you—”

  The rain started so suddenly that for a moment I thought I had been dropped into a lake. The flames around Kestral went out and though Eagan tried to fling more, the rain simply doused them. Kestral and Eagan both looked around in surprise, then Eagan cursed, rising to his feet and looking around.

  “My brothers. So nice to find you all here.” A patch of mist solidified into my brother Velyn, smiling darkly at the both of us. “Looks like I’m too late to meet Laki. Shame.”

  Seeing his face rekindled my rage over Cera’s death. While Laki’s death was sad, he had been trying to kill me. Cera had been innocent. The false humor I played at with Eagan vanished, replaced by a cold fury. I flicked my left hand, a throwing knife falling into place. Before I could throw, Kestral’s hand was on my wrist, holding it back. He shook his head, then tilted it towards Shan. Did he want to run?

  “So, you’re the one who killed little Cera, are you?” Eagan looked Velyn up and down. “I hope you still hear her voice every night before you fall asleep, as I do.”

  “Only some nights.” Velyn shrugged, trying to look callous, but his white-blue eyes flickered with something like shame.

  “Let me relieve you of that burden, brother.” Eagan shoved both hands out before him, fire curling and raging forward. Velyn simply raised a hand, palm up, and the rain increased, dousing the flames.

  “I was going to come for you s
ooner or later, but now seems as good a time as any.” Velyn reached to the sky, calling down lightning. Eagan leapt back, but the lightning singed the edges of his cloak. The playfulness had left his face now, anger and fear replacing it.

  Kestral looped one arm around my waist and reached for Shan’s saddle with the other. Before he could grab it, lightning struck the ground in front of us, sending grass and dirt flying. Shan reared, his eyes wild in panic. I gripped his mind with mine, gritting my teeth as I willed him not to bolt. The boom of the following thunder rang in my ears, making it difficult to hear Velyn speaking. “Stay right there, Reshi. If you rush me, I won’t be able to properly coalesce your power. Just wait until I finish dealing with Eagan.”

  “By all means, come deal with me, rainy-day mage.” Eagan tossed his cloak back over his shoulder before raising his palm towards Velyn. Tree branches whipped against the wind, one striking Velyn in the gut, tossing him roughly to the wet ground. Green vines pulled free of their trees, twining themselves around Velyn’s arms and legs, pinning him in place. He struggled, but the vines refused to break. “You were right, Reshi. This power is more about manipulation than creation. I knew I’d get the hang of it.”

  “Glad to help,” I muttered, reluctant to take sides as the winner would most likely attempt to kill me next.

  Kestral leaned low, still holding me around the waist. “How did you know Velyn was near?”

  “The sky,” I replied, briefly looking up. “It never got bright again after the smoke cleared.”

  Kestral nodded, his expression grim as he watched Eagan advance on the fallen Velyn. A vine snaked its way around Velyn’s throat, bringing a vicious smile to our oldest brother’s face. Velyn’s eyes flashed just before he was struck by his own lightning, burning away the vines and singing his clothes. He stood, unharmed but faintly smoking, and raised a hand towards Eagan. The fire mage snarled, throwing his hands out in front of him.