Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11)

by Donald Wigboldy

  "The wizards of Hala use magic to bring water and cooling air to some buildings in the city. There are sewers beneath the streets too, but none of it will hurt you, Evie," he managed to say without a sigh. "Just go back to bed or Rilena will wake up worried about you."

  Bouncing slightly on her legs again, Evie glanced to the door as her hands moved to her arms hugging herself tightly.

  Unlike Sebastian, Ashleen did sigh. Sliding out of bed, the wizard pulled off his shirt that she had worn to bed and threw it to the younger girl. "She's frightened, Bas. She can stay, but only if she covers up," the pretty blonde stated standing naked save for her panties. Her breasts were larger than Evie's, which were likely small from her young age but most likely would never be large based on her body type as well. "There's a second bed. She can sleep there."

  Without bothering to find something else to sleep in, Ashleen slipped back into their bed as if showing the younger girl that it was her bed and Sebastian was hers as well. The mage glanced to the blonde sitting beside him without any apparent shame. She was comfortable with him in any state of dress and seemed to want to cow the other girl with her presence despite her permission to stay.

  Evie sniffed at the shirt with a bit of a content smile and said quietly, "It is his, but you wear it?"

  Ashleen's arms wrapped around his left arm pressing her breasts against him possessively while making sure that Bas knew that he was hers also. Her chin rested on his shoulder as the young woman stated clearly, "I am his. He is mine. I like the smell of him on me too," the young woman stated with a slight frown for the girl. "I am being nice enough to share the shirt, but I don't share everything."

  Evie rose up as she drew the shirt over her head. Still smiling, the girl let the shirt drop down to her legs covering her better than the smocks she wore most of the time. After pulling her long hair free of the collar to fall over her left breast, Evie looked at the other bed with a bit of a worried frown.

  "Would it be all right if I slept with you two? There is enough room for three and I don't want to sleep alone," she asked with a face that reminded him of a puppy or perhaps a toddler plying her parents for permission to sleep with them.

  He glanced to Ashleen, who in turn groaned and moved back a little more. "Whatever," she complained, "but I'll warn you. He tends to get up early too, and I better not find you snuggling me in the morning!"

  Evie smiled and quickly found her way beneath the covers while Sebastian found Ashleen pulling his right arm over her to sleep in his arms once more. Trying to ignore the younger girl, Sebastian closed his eyes feeling her behind him.

  Soon both girls settled into even breathing surprising the mage. It didn't surprise him when during the night he eased back only to awake with both girls' heads on his shoulders and their arms crossed over his stomach. Caught between the two, he did his best to sleep, but the sun was upon them before he knew it.

  When Sebastian awoke, the man tried to remain unmoving with his eyes closed to the light peeking through the thick curtains. It was cool enough that they didn't need to have the windows completely open, though the mage was warm thanks to the girls.

  His mind played to the younger girl and realized that she did seem like a child, but he also feared that Evie was more cunning than most might give her credit. Using her looks to get her way, might just be something the girl might do. He didn't know her well enough to know if she could be manipulative, but Sebastian didn't get the same feeling from her that the more sensual Ashleen gave him.

  When he could no longer take it, the mage tried to extricate himself from the two young women. He pulled the sheet off of Evie moving arms and legs from them both to try to climb over her. She was the intruder, so if he woke her, Sebastian figured it was the price that the girl should pay.

  Green eyes opened as the man straddled the girl. His right foot was on the floor already, but he paused in surprise as Evie looked at him. Her vision seemed clear of her night's sleep and her mind knew what was going on very well.

  Sebastian stood and moved to the dresser to find a new change of clothes. He heard footsteps and turned to see Evie pulling off his shirt to hand it to him.

  With a frown on his face, he asked, "What are you doing? Keep it on, Evie."

  "I thought that you would need it?" The girl questioned still holding the brown shirt before her. At his words, she pulled it back to her body. Her hands held the collar just beneath her chin as if using it as a security blanket as she stood in front of him.

  "I have others and that will be placed with my other dirty clothes for cleaning. You can't be running around naked. I know that you are a shape changer, but surely you know better!"

  Blinking as she drew back from his annoyance at her, Evie's green eyes sparkled with tears threatening to flow. "But..." she began and seemed unsure of what to say.

  Breathing an exhausted sigh, Sebastian went to the wardrobe holding Ashleen's clothes. "Ok, that does it. If you want to stay with me and the others, things need to change.

  "You will wear dresses or pants and shirts, like wizards or mages. You are too old to be running around in an oversize shirt. Men will be looking at you differently. You're pretty and old enough to be viewed as a woman, even if just barely."

  He pulled out one of the Kardorian style dresses that Ashleen had bought in the city. His companion liked clothing and only the fact that she needed to be able to move without the clutter of bags weighing her down for travel kept her from buying them like the young noble's daughter that she was. Her father also had money, which was tied to Southwall's banks as well. Much of what she bought came from her family account that the wilder had drawn from using a ring and document to verify her family name.

  A summer dress of a southern cut was placed beside the first before a blouse and pair of shorts that Ashleen often wore due to the warm weather.

  "You can pick, but you will wear one of them. You aren't in the wild and you don't have to be afraid, so changing into an animal isn't going be something that you do on a whim.

  "There will be time to undress if you ever need to change. You are a human wizard, so act like that and dress like one; if you wish to stay with us."

  Evie looked like she wanted to try her tears on him again, but seeing that he was set on this and would brook no discussion, the girl moved to touch the two dresses. The summer dress was closest to what she wore normally, but the silk of the Kardorian made her smile and lift that one.

  Pulling it around her, she was surprised when Sebastian added, "Ashleen will take you shopping this morning. You will wear proper clothes including underwear.

  "I am tired of the chaos you women keep throwing into my life. There need to be some changes around here," he complained.

  Placing a pair of leather boots and a pair of slipper like shoes beside the clothes, he added, "Shoes or boots too."

  Sebastian led the girl wearing the dress and carrying the boots to one of the bathrooms on their floor. He took his clothes and went into the other room after telling the girl to wash up before shooing her inside.

  They went downstairs after bathing. Evie looked a little uncomfortable in the dress and short leather boots, but the girl wanted to stay. Madam Hilda noted the change approving of the girl's new clothing.

  He asked, "Hilda could you put together a list of places that Ashleen can take Evie to pick up more clothing for a young girl like her?"

  The inn keeper paused in pouring from a pot warm enough to use a glove to hold the handle. It held kaffe, the local heated drink that could help wake a man. Some mages brewed their kaffe so strong in the field that the fumes alone could wake Sebastian up in the morning.

  "Doesn't the poor girl have her own clothes?" she asked noting the outfit and probably realizing that it came from Ashleen's wardrobe. "Have you taken in a homeless girl now? First, you house those two dark haired women and now this little mouse?"

  Her words caused the two to smile, but Evie replied, "I have no true home. My master would take m
e back, but I can't live under that mountain. It feels like it is crushing me and I don't want to run with the wolves because I prefer a bed.

  "Master Darius has kept me in Windmeer, but that isn't home either," the little redhead said turning her big eyes on the woman more seriously than the woman had expected.

  "Oh, you poor dear, and now you are in Sebastian's care?" the woman asked looking motherly in her emotion. She had six children of her own, most of which worked in the inn. Being a mother came naturally to the woman.

  Smiling slightly at the notion, Evie's eyes flicked to him and he wanted to sigh again. She was another stray, but his mind had become made up in the night. It was time to straighten up his house, so to speak.

  "Technically, she is Rilena's ward more than mine. She's kind of like a little sister to her," he explained vaguely.

  The conversation ended shortly as Hilda moved on to some of her other early risers. Evie bravely spoke up, saying, "I would rather be your ward. Rilena is like a big sister, but you could be my big brother."

  He didn't believe that was where her intentions truly lay, but Sebastian fought his instinct to say something so bluntly. While Evie was a sweet girl, he had enough women in his life and Ashleen was certainly the main contender for his heart. Evie was just a girl, a child really, though it was strange to think like that as he neared just his twenty first year of life, still she was closer to Katya's age and his sister was barely a teenager.

  "I think Rilena would be a better sibling for you," he stated placing a smile on his face to take the edge off of his words. "I don't think Katya would think that I am so great at being a big brother besides, so you would be better off, I am sure."

  The girl's eyes went to the stairway making Sebastian look as well. Olan and Yaroma led Naoromi, who still looked tired with her hair a bit of a mess. Her older sister looked like she had spent time in the bathroom working on her hair and outfit, but being on Olan's arm, she may have had a little more motivation to look nice this morning.

  That couple smiled at the notice and were probably smiling before he had looked, Sebastian guessed. Young love tended to put stupid grins on faces. He just hoped that other people hadn't thought the same of him with Yara or now with Ashleen.

  The three moved to the table. Olan held Yaroma's chair, but was too slow to assist Naoromi, who looked ready to sit.

  "Didn't you sleep well?" he asked the younger sister. "Or didn't Elzen give you any time to sleep?"

  His words held meaning and were just a small step from being accusing. The mermaids hadn't been put in charge of Evie after all. That look could possibly be aimed at Rilena when she arrived, though he could hardly fault her for sleeping too deeply to notice everyone else disappearing from her room.

  Blushing at the charge, Naoromi tried to put off the accusations by putting a question to him. "You dressed Evie in Ashleen's dress, is that where she slipped off to? She went to your room?"

  "Only after you two snuck out," he stated. "I think the three of us need to have a talk. Elzen could be a part of it too, of course. It isn't like I don't know that you four have paired up. If you're to that point, either we need to find a way for you all to be together or send the girls home."

  Looking frightened by the idea, Olan started to speak up; but Sebastian held up his hand. "I think maybe it is time to send the girls back anyway. I haven't had the chance to check with the king or Raven Leros, but with the portal spells maybe it makes sense to see if we can join Southwall with their tribe.

  "An expedition could be sent to see if there are any valuable resources on the islands besides the people. The tribe might even wish to come here. They've also been left alone for several months. We can check up on them in just an instant and make sure that things are going well for them."

  Olan still looked ready to fight to keep Yaroma in particular nearby, but to his surprise the elder sister nodded saying, "We have been away for a lot longer than we ever thought and have probably overstayed our welcome. If you can open and set up a portal to our island, I would like to see my people again.

  "If Olan could be sent with one of the expeditions, so I can see him as well, that would be my wish," she added placing her hand gently beneath his jaw. The mage had already shaved, so her hand swept across his smooth skin without interference from any whiskers.

  "I was thinking that I could get Raven Leros to approve an extended leave or maybe create a post there for our people to begin a relationship."

  Naoromi looked less willing to part with Elzen, but she said, "I don't think Elzen would like being away from his country that long."

  Understanding that his friend preferred being where he could fight for his people and that Elzen wished to be at his side as much as he could, since Sebastian was beginning to find himself in the thick of Southwall's actions against the Dark One's forces; he thought that the mermaid understood the other mage pretty well considering their short relationship. Elzen preferred action. Spending his days on a tropical island would only be nice for a little while before the younger mage's boredom overwhelmed him.

  "Elzen is one of the few to learn how to heal. It is possible that he might learn this magic as well. Then it really is just a matter of thinking of where you are to visit," Sebastian replied softening a bit in his resolve. Though he hated splitting up people that might be in love, keeping the mermaids here for no reason as he spent money on an extra room wasn't wise either.

  Olan looked unusually thoughtful as the others talked and as they paused to eat the food laid out before them, the mage suddenly said, "I could marry Yaroma. They would have to let me go to be with her then, right?"

  Though they were all surprised, the largest eyes looking at him were those of Yaroma. She asked, "You would want to marry me?"

  Swallowing hard as the realization of his words settled on him, Olan finally nodded. "I love you, Yaroma. I don't want to ever see you go."

  Sebastian wanted to escape the change in the conversation, but knew that once let out of the bottle, there was no putting those words back. "You'll need to talk to the falconi at the garrison or maybe go over their heads to Raven Leros, though he might find a falcon doing so a little impudent, which might hurt your case. Either way, I would recommend you two figure out where you will stay and how you will get a home.

  "You're a falcon of Southwall, Olan, so you still have a commitment here."

  The bigger man frowned at Sebastian. "Then that's what we'll do. I have some money saved up and they don't own us, Bas. We can start our families when we are young. Rilena and the female mages might have more difficulty getting away with it, but I know of other mages who have wives and children that aren't much older than I am."

  Naoromi looked at her older sister enviously knowing that Elzen was unlikely to propose to her. The younger mage was less committed in general and had less of a relationship with her. Sebastian wondered what Elzen would do, but couldn't worry over it. His friend had been through relationships before and never seemed to truly tie himself too strongly to any one woman, though Elzen had spoken of Rilena in a way that he had never heard from his friend before when they had talked.

  Surprisingly, Ashleen arrived before they had finished breakfast and looked ready to go despite the early hour.

  "What are you all talking about?" she asked and soon was inundated by everything he had said up to Olan's proposal to Yaroma. Ashleen cried out happily hugging the mermaid, a friend of several months now.

  Her eyes strayed to Sebastian and the young man became worried.

  Chapter 18- A Healer's Request

  The next few days had gone by in a flurry of activity. Sebastian had promised his time to White Hall for training both battle mages and those wizards willing to learn from a mere mage. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for Sebastian who would have preferred to move on quickly to the next castle, his reputation had not only preceded him but cemented him as someone to watch. Not only battle mages but wizards as well, flocked to the training sessions forcing him to s
plit the days between both and he had to use one of the larger courtyards for the many students coming to see him.

  Sebastian had traveled lightly the first day. Ashleen, along with the mermaids, took Evie shopping in Hala picking out clothing the wilder felt more appropriate to living in civilized cities while trying to tailor the options to the younger girl's wilder nature. They were quite the pair and the mage had worried over what he might return to find. Both young women were wilders and Ashleen's Kardorian style was a bit forward thinking for most women in Southwall, but he had been pleasantly surprised when he returned home that first evening to see Evie looking dressed more like a young woman of Southwall.

  He had also returned to a surprising amount of messages at the Black Smith Inn's desk.

  After his talk with the others that first morning, Sebastian had sent Olan off as his messenger. Word needed to be sent to Blackwall and Norcrom; the next two guardian cities on his list of portals needing to be reinforced with his locked gates since new orders had told the owl to work on the problem from east to west. Olan knew enough of what would be done to inform the leaders of the cities to begin setting the defenses properly. The older mage also brought letters of intent to the garrison commander and Raven Leros on plans to send representatives to the Siren Isles, as they had been christened.

  Other letters on his research had been sent to the high wizards of Hala to pass along to those best considered to learn from his experiments, both the failures and his many successes. Keeping the wizards in the loop meant Sebastian had to continue his balancing act as a go between with the battle mages and wizards. The mage found that he didn't really mind. As he continued to evolve in his magic, Sebastian felt caught between the two worlds and comfortable with each as well.

  The returned letters he expected were there. Raven Leros and the high wizards needed to set up meetings with him while they knew his current schedule was quite busy with the gates and White Hall's training. Even some lords' correspondence wanting to know more of his plans to create a foothold in the islands to their east was kind of expected, but one particular message perplexed him.