Bren was surprised when Jin’s aura changed. It wasn’t a dramatic thing, like when Faye used her magic, but a very subtle thing, so much so that had he not been watching the young man, he wouldn’t have noticed it. Using his magic Bren allowed his eyes to focus on where Jin’s aura was coming from, but what he saw was far different than he had expected.
Instead of the young man he had left with from Rane, Bren saw a large mountain lion, twice the size of a man with fur the color of the night sky. A part of him knew that the cat was Jin, but Bren still looked around for his friend;however, when he found nothing, he went back to following the large animal as it stalked through the thick underbrush. “What is that?” Bren asked himself as he watched the beast.
You didn’t notice. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you haven’t met a shifter yet. Jin and his father are shifters. They are a type of internal mages who can change into beasts when they feel threatened. From his aura, I would guess that the young man has not used the ability much. I would suggest that you keep your distance for a few days.
“Why?” Bren asked Thuraman as his eyes were glued to the large black cat as it moved toward a small encampment of Brotherhood soldiers.
Shifters are different that other magic users. They don’t just change their form, but their minds also shift once they change, and some of those changes become more pronounced the more often and the longer they stay shifted. Your father once said that shifters were neither human nor animal but a mixture of the two, so they should be treated with the same caution one would use with a wild beast.
“Weren’t father and Jayden friends though?” Bren asked, watching as the cat crouched behind a large bush only a few feet from the resting group of soldiers.
He treated Jayden as a friend, though in honestly, he was one of the few people that your father was truly afraid of. There was a reason that your father seldom visited Rane and that Monique rarely visited Farlan with her husband and child. Thad might not have voiced his dislike of the man, but it was obvious to anyone who knew your father.
“I see,” Bren said as he continued to watch the large cat below.
Jin could smell the men, he could hear their hushed conversations about the mage they were looking for. The smell of their metal armor made his nose itch, and their deep vices annoyed his sensitive ears.
Shifting his weight onto his back legs, Jin jumped from the ground to a limb more than ten feet in the air with little trouble. The sound from his jump alerted one of the soldiers who looked to the spot Jin had just left a moment before.
Jin watched curiously as two of the solders searched the area he had watched them from. When one of the men looked up and into his large, golden eyes, he stumbled backward and fell onto his companion, letting out a loud scream. Jin turned his head slightly, watching the men below as they rushed around pointing toward him. One of the men picked up a bow, pointed it in his direction, and let loose an arrow that raced toward him.
Almost lazily, Jin jumped from the tree limb into the middle of the camp seconds before the arrow would have found its mark. The powerful muscles in the large cat’s legs twitched when one of the solders charged at him, and with one large paw, Jin ripped through the man’s metal armor with his sharp claws nearly splitting the man in two.
The other soldiers took an involuntary step back as their comrade was ripped apart. Jin paced around the dead man then looked at the other men who gripped the hilts of their swords nervously before pouncing among them. It only took moments for the small encampment of soldiers to be destroyed by the massive animal. Once they were all dead, Jin didn’t move on, he walked from body to body smelling each corpse until he found something that caught his nose and using his massive jaws ripped into the dead man’s torso ripping out large chunks of meat.
As Bren watched the large cat, he started to understand why his father never felt comfortable in the presence of such a creature. It was truly hard to believe that the large cat was the same gentle man he had talked to only that morning.
Bren shook the thoughts from his mind and searched for his other friends among the crowded forest.
He found Faye first, who unlike Jin, worked alongside a group of seven other soldiers. The men she was with intrigued him a bit, as unlike the others, they wore no armor and instead wore tight dark blue clothing. The group moved through the trees as if they were wild animals—easily at home in the treetops as they were on the forest floor. Faye walked below them, her eyes darting to them every few moments. She stopped when they did and only moved when they did.
When they neared a large encampment of soldiers, one of the soldiers dropped from the tree tops and landed a few meters away from Faye and spoke with her briefly. Bren wished that he could hear what was being said, but not even his magic was strong enough to make voices carry that far along the wind. For a moment he tried to enhance his own hearing, but when he did, the sound of the people near him breathing drowned out anything he might glean from the forest below. After giving up trying to hear what was being said, Bren went back to watching the group as they circled around the large camp of more than two dozen Brotherhood soldiers.
Faye had never felt so nervous before in her life. She knew what she was supposed to do, but she had never taken a direct part in a battle before, and the few times she had seen something killed before this trip, was when her grandfather had taken her hunting. She had never taken a liking to those trips and hated the look on the deer’s face when they were dead. To her, it was almost as if their large black eyes asked her why they had to die, and the first time, she still remembered crying late into the night. This time though, she wouldn’t simply be watching, and it wasn’t animals they were hunting.
A shiver ran down Faye’s back when she remembered the small encounter they had when they had first arrived in Northern Kurt. It had happened so fast then, and she had snuck away and cried late into the night afterwards even though she had remained hidden during the whole battle.
She let her magic flow over her body as she nervously gripped the hilt of her small dagger. Once she was sure that no one could see her, Faye moved out from her hiding spot and walked through the trees toward where the soldiers slept.
A third of the solders remained awake, some sat around the fire while the others walked the perimeter of the camp, looking for anything or anyone. Every time one of her feet touched the ground, the noise they made sounded like falling trees to her ears, and she kept looking around to make sure no one else had heard. The closer she came to the first sentry, the more nervous she felt.
Taking a deep breath, Faye grabbed the man by the mouth as she slid the blade over his throat. A small gasp escaped the man’s mouth, and Faye heard the sound of blades being drawn as her stomach began to wrap in knots.
Her breath coming hard and fast, Faye looked around to see that the soldiers were looking around for the assailant. The fact that she hadn’t been noticed didn’t help calm her nerves nor the retching of her stomach.
The soldiers quickly woke their comrades who had been asleep. As they spread out, Faye moved around them, driving her dagger into them as she quickly walked past. The men had told her to aim for the back of the men slightly above the hips and to the right side. She didn’t know why, but she did as she was instructed.
When the fourth man fell to the ground holding his side the soldiers moved closer together so that it became impossible for Faye to get close to them easily. Faye breathed a sigh of relief as her job was done. She moved to the back of the camp and watched as four thin chains shot out of the darkness wrapping around the soldiers throats and pulling them into the air.
At the same time that the four soldiers were pulled into the air, a number of small daggers shot into the group, bringing three more soldiers to their knees. The previously composed nature of the soldiers began to break down as they moved farther apart, looking around for their attackers. They found them quickly enough as the men dressed in dark blue seemed to simply appear out of nowhere in front of t
hem, moving through the camp quickly and quietly, and within moments, the few remaining soldiers were sent to their maker.
As the men moved from body to body driving their long daggers into the men’s chest to ensure they were dead, Faye moved into the forest where she could no longer hear the sounds of the daggers biting into flesh or see the eyes condemning her for their deaths. Dropping to her hands and knees, she emptied her stomach onto the forest floor.
Bren felt a pang of pity for Faye as he watched the tears flow from her eyes while she sat on the ground. He knew that a part of her would be forever changed after this, but as much as he cared for the young girl, he knew that he couldn’t let that sway his choice. Right now, the Brotherhood posed too much of a threat to let those who could fight sit and rest in safety.
It was not hard to find Phena who moved through the forest as if she was at home. Four others traveled with her, and they moved in unison as if they had fought together for years. Bren didn’t know why he was surprised. The Vathari were a warrior race and are trained from birth to fight.
Unlike with the others, there was no hiding or sneaking up to the camps they came across. They moved through them as if they were a force of nature giving their opponents little chance to counter attack. Phena was especially devastating, using not only her sword but also her magic in deadly harmony. Bren watched as she ran from the cover of the forest, killing a standing guard before he had the chance to cry out and using her lightning magic on another within the space of a heartbeat. Shortly after she had made her way through the camp, the others quickly followed behind, killing the ones who had turned away to chase after Phena.
Bren slumped to the ground. His friends were much better at killing than he would have ever suspected. He now felt more than a little foolish about having gone into the Brotherhood camp alone.
Given the chance, I believe that most humans will kill. Your race is a bloody one, whether you wish to believe it or not.
“I like to believe that they would prefer to live in peace than war,” Bren said in disgust.
You can keep thinking that, but from what I have seen, the history of your race is built on war. Your books are filled with wars, and the times of peace are barely remembered.
Bren ignored Thuraman’s taunting, knowing that the staff was only trying to anger him. The fighting continued to last late into the night, and by the time the sun crested the horizon, nearly two hundred Brotherhood soldiers had fallen to their blades. Bren felt bad that he had only watched it happen from a distance, but he took comfort that they had not lost a soul during the many hidden battles that had taken place that night.
When one of the generals made a disgusted sound, Bren turned to him to find the man shaking his head. “What?” Bren asked worriedly.
“We didn’t do enough damage,” the man said with a slight hint of anger in his voice.
“We killed nearly a tenth of their forces without a single loss,” Bren said holding back a smile. “What more could you wish for?”
“Half would have been nice,” the man answered quickly. “Tonight was our only real chance to strike a heavy blow. Tomorrow, as well as every night in the future, they will be ready for our attacks, and at the same time, they will search for us during the day. We cannot risk attacking during that time out fear of giving away the entrances to our valley. We have not done nearly enough damage, and with their numbers, they will find us within a fortnight, if not sooner.”
Bren thought the man was thinking too hard, but a part of the man’s worries began to creep into his mind. What if they found the entrance? There was no way that the soldiers of the valley no matter how skilled could hold off such a large force without heavy loses if at all.
If that happens, we run.
Thuraman’s cold words struck him like a blow, and Bren instantly wanted to argue, but instead he found himself nodding his head. If the battle was lost, he would gain nothing from dying along with them. He still had something he had to do, and he wouldn’t let anything get in the way. The real problem was how to get his friends to agree to leave with him.
If it comes to that, don’t give them a choice. You might not be able to kill every soldier out there without hurting yourself and others, but you can easily make a few people do as you wish. Even if it is against their will, they will forgive you with time.
Bren wasn’t sure if they would forgive him, but they would be alive to hate him. He gave Cass an odd look then turned his eyes back toward the forest where the Brotherhood had begun to move once again.
Chapter 8
Bren and the other generals stayed up top on the ledge watching over the forest throughout the day and into the next night. They would sleep for a few hours in turns, but there was always someone watching the Brotherhood and what they were doing. As night approached, instead of breaking into smaller groups as they had the night before, they regrouped and slept in one big camp outside the boundaries of the forest.
A few of the groups tried attacking the Brotherhood but with little effect. The second a soldier fell, the whole camp was up in arms and ready to fight back. Bren thought about using his magic but he was unsure how well he could control it at that distance. As night came to an end, a thought hit him, and he asked for a longbow and a quiver of arrows. He might not be able to use large-scale magic effectively at the extended distance, but he could still do a few things to help even the odds.
The bow was brought quickly, though it was handed to him with odd looks from the others. It was well over four miles to the Brotherhood’s camp, and he was sure that the generals thought him crazy for trying to hit anything at that distance, even with the aid of magic.
Bren shut out all thoughts and focused on the best-dressed soldier he could find. The wind was calm, and he could see the currents as easily as if he was watching the waves of the ocean. A surge of magic welled up within him and ran down the length of his arm into the notched arrow.
When he loosed the arrow, it flew straight, and a few moments later imbedded itself into the soldier who had been tending his fire only a second before. Thanks to his enhanced eyesight, Bren could see the surprised look on the man’s face as the arrow pierced through his armor and ripped into his heart.
Bren fired off seven more arrows before his head began to grow light. For such a simple spell, it was done on such an extreme scale and so high up, there was little magical energy in the surrounding area, forcing Bren to bring in more and more magic from further away. There was plenty of earth magic available to strengthen the arrow, but there just wasn’t enough wind magic to be had near him.
Slumping to the ground, he was mentally exhausted from trying to pull in magic when there was none to be had. The looks he received ranged from surprise to awe, but he had little energy to pay them any heed. All he could think of at the time was how heavy his eyes felt and how good a small nap would feel.
When Bren opened his eyes, the sun had started its climb into the sky once again, and the Brotherhood had taken up their search. They had already searched the entire northern section of the mountain and were now moving eerily close to the entrance that Bren and the others had used to enter the valley.
Bren held his breath as the first soldier passed the secret entrance, passing by without any hint that he had found anything. For a moment Bren thought that the entrance would go unnoticed, then an old soldier who walked by the mountain banging the hilt of his dagger on the rock face called out to the others pointing toward the hidden entrance.
Bren didn’t know what to do, but the other generals didn’t seem to be as unsure. As one, the four other soldiers with him raised their hands, and the ground under the entrance began to tremble and opened up to expose a hole filled with sharpened sticks. Four of the Brotherhood soldiers fell inside the trap, but it didn’t deter them from searching for a way to open the secret door.
Bren panicked and pulled in the only magical energy that gathered around him in mass and called to the earth. For a moment, it felt as if the w
hole mountain would fall around them as Bren let loose a torrent of energy that caused the whole ground in front of the hidden entrance to erupt in thin spikes that looked as if thousands of swords the size of a man had simply jumped out of the earth.
As Bren slumped against the entrance to the cliff, the eyes that had looked at him earlier with awe and surprise now looked at him in fear. Bren felt a little pang in his chest at the looks but pushed it aside. Now was not the time to worry about how people he barely knew looked at him.
Turning his attention back to the Brotherhood, Bren noticed that they had pulled back from the mountain and were headed back to the large field outside of the forest. His attack as flashy and as big as it had been had done little damage. Less than a hundred soldiers had been within the range of the stone swords but it had forced them to retreat and that was a victory, even if it was just a small one. That was the problem with magic. It could be deadly, but it was much easier to use against a single opponent than many at once, and even then, experience was the key, and Bren was severely lacking in that.
A few hours after the Brotherhood had pulled back, Bren noticed that they had started cutting trees down from the forest and constructing the beginnings of a fort. The next morning, it became clear that the Brotherhood had no planes to venture into the deadly forest again, and Bren breathed a sigh of relief.
Shortly after the sun reached its apex in the sky, a messenger arrived, telling Bren that the elders wished to speak with him again. Unlike on the way up, Bren didn’t hesitate to use magic to light his path as he made his way back toward the village through the dark tunnel.
Bren found his other friends waiting for him outside the elders’ building. Most of them had a tired and run-down look on their face, but it was Faye’s look that pained him the most. Bren could see that she had not slept in days, and her hands shook slightly as she looked at him. He knew that the battle a few nights before had been hard on her, but it seemed that it was much worse than he had thought.
God Mage Page 6
