A Deepening Knowledge (A Life of Magic)

by Matthew Mitchell

  A Deepening

  Knowledge

  By

  Matthew D. Mitchell

  Illustrated By

  R. Nicole Mitchell

  A Life of Magic: Book II

  Copyright © 2013 Matthew D. Mitchell

  Illustrations Copyright © 2013 R. Nicole Mitchell

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1494203596

  ISBN-13: 978-1494203597

  Dedication

  Thanks to my wife for everything. You have put up with all of my weirdness and been supportive while I struggled through the writing process. Thank you for providing such great illustrations for my second book. You are my greatest adventure and I look forward to spending the rest of our lives having great adventures.

  A Life of Magic Books:

  Book One: The Wandering Apprentice

  Book Two: A Deepening Knowledge

  Find the Author online

  @

  www.facebook.com/matthewthewriter

  Chapter I: Lost and Found

  The first thing to reach my brain was noise. A muffled sloshing, like blood in a bowl. Shallow breaths being taken by two other people. No other noise. I opened my eyes and there was no change. No light penetrated the depth of the darkness. I could now feel that I rested on a squishy surface that slid and heaved under my body. Suddenly a gasp rang out from my left.

  "OTT?" Suzie's voice cried out.

  "Over here." I called. The sudden sound of a body scrambling across the uneven surface startled me. Suzie bumped into my arm, which she seized quickly.

  "Where's Raven? Where are we? What happened?" I could hear the panic rising in her voice.

  I wrapped my arm around her, "I am not sure just yet. I just woke up myself. But I could hear both of you girls breathing so she is here somewhere."

  "I am over here." Raven's voice glided into the air. I could still hear the sleep in her voice.

  "Feel like joining us, wherever we are?" Suzie asked.

  Raven sighed, "How about a light?"

  I stopped and thought. Right, magic. I could just make a light. For that matter so could Suzie. Evidently Suzie had the same thought, she started laughing.

  "That did not even cross our minds." Suzie choked out around her laughter. Her body shook with the violence of her humor.

  I shook my head, "Hold on and let me think of the right spell." Without knowing where we were or what was around us then a fire was a bad idea. "Okay, I have an idea."

  Focusing deep I recalled a water spell that Stain had explained yet I had never practiced. A soft glow started in my fingertips. I could see Suzie still leaning against me, no obvious harm done to her. I held up my left hand and pointed it towards where Raven's voice had come from. She was sitting up about two arm lengths away. There was something different about her. I stared until I noticed her eyes. She knew I was staring.

  "Um. There's something different about you." I still could not figure it out.

  Her expression darkened and she pointed to her outfit. "I am missing all of my knives. Every blasted one!"

  Now that she mentioned it I could tell that all of her sheaths were empty. It made her seem more feminine, more approachable.

  "So, where are we and what happened?" Suzie asked.

  "What is the last thing you remember?" I asked them.

  Raven moved closer, keeping away from my glowing hands. Smiling I touched her arm.

  "It is not dangerous. It just glows." I stated. Drawing my hand back I realized her arm now glowed where my fingers had touched it.

  "Not dangerous?" She replied wryly.

  I stared once more and then reached out and touched her other arm. It glowed after my touch also. This did not make sense. I looked at Suzie and touched her arm. No change, no glow on Suzie's arm.

  "Weird." Suzie stated. "I do not think the glow is dangerous but I would stop making Raven glow before she stops your breathing."

  I grinned and repeated, "Well, what is the last thing either of you remember?"

  Raven was touching the glowing spots on her arm and now her fingertips glowed. The glow seemed to be spreading like pollen in the spring, at least on her skin.

  "I remember getting in the boat. Then nothing." Raven absently said. Now her hand had small glowing spots.

  "Stop playing with it." Suzie chuckled. "I remember Raven slumping over and a surge of magic. Then everything went dark."

  I nodded. "That's basically what I remember, except I saw the mage with the weird eyes just before the surge." Both girls sighed.

  "Figures that is who did this." Raven growled, "That would explain all my missing knives." By now the glow had completely covered her hands. There were even a few areas glowing from where she had brushed her hair out of her face.

  "If you do not stop touching yourself you will end up looking like a human firebug." Suzie was obviously finding Raven's glowing entertaining.

  Raven looked at me, "Could you make it stop. I really have no desire to glow anymore."

  I grinned and thought. "Let me try something." I focused and tried to shut the glow down in Raven. No change.

  "Well?" Raven waited, not so patiently.

  "Give me a moment. I am trying different things." I looked at her and smirked, half her face was glowing now. I focused again and tried to shut down the glow in my hands. Sudden darkness blossomed around us. The glow had stopped, both mine and Raven's. Both girls gasped at the sudden darkness.

  "Okay, let me light up my hands again." My hands started glowing once more. I wiggled my fingers at Raven who scooted back slightly.

  "No thank you Ott." Raven seemed disturbed. "So you saw the evil mage."

  "That makes sense. He was hunting you Ott. Since we were away from the boat and all of your companions it was the best time to make a grab at you." Suzie looked bothered. "I am just surprised that Raven and I are still alive. We are just in the way."

  Raven's face turned dark, "Not if you consider that to get Ott to cooperate the mage could use us."

  Suzie's face showed her feelings about that idea.

  Maybe I needed to change the subject. "Anyone have an idea of where we might be?"

  Suzie grinned, "I do. We are in a bubble." She poked the floor. "It seems to be made out of air magic with water magic reinforcing it."

  Now that she mentioned it I could feel the magic surrounding us in a large shape, much like a shield.

  "So where is the bubble?" Raven sounded nervous.

  "I would say in the lake, most likely." Suzie stated. "It would have to be a large body of water to anchor the bubble."

  Okay, we were in the lake floating inside of a large bubble. What next?

  "Well, why did we wake up now?" Raven asked.

  That was a good question. "A better question is how long have we been unconscious. If we have been out for a few hours then I would say it was our bodies waking us up. If we were out for days or longer then either someone wanted us to wake up or something changed." Time to see what we could do about our situation.

  "Suzie, can you tell any details about where we are in the lake?" I stood up and started walking around trying to find the edge of the bubble.

  "I would say the bottom." Suzie's voice was clear. "I can see the mud under your feet as you walk."

  I looked down and could see that the bubble was pressing into the mud where my feet rested.

  "The bottom?" Raven's voice quivered. "Are we going to die?" The panic was obvious in her tone.

  "Not if I can do anything." I stated quietly. "My magic obviously still works. Let us see what I can do to change our situation." I focused on the bubble, perhaps I could make it float since it seemed t
o be filled with plenty of air.

  "Ott, I think the bubble is anchored. That is what I would do." Suzie pointed. Where she pointed I could feel a concentration of magic, a mix of magic that seemed to provide the anchor for our prison.

  "I think you are right. I want to be smart about this. If the bubble pops now we are all in trouble." I walked back to the girls. "Suzie would you look after Raven since you can handle water magic?"

  "Sure Ott." Suzie took Raven's hand. She looked at me. "If we are at the bottom of the lake we are a long, long way down. Make sure whatever you do, to do it slowly. We do not need to lose you after all of this."

  I grinned. "Neither of you are that lucky." I turned and focused on the bundle of magic that held the bubble to the floor. I could feel the strands of magic woven together. Air magic to keep plenty of air for us to breath. Earth to anchor. Water to provide a shield. Even a little fire magic to keep the bubble warm.

  "Okay, I am going to stop the earth magic. That should release the anchor without anything else messing up." I put my words to action and drained off the earth magic. The spell fought me for a moment before collapsing in upon itself.

  The bubble shifted and started to rise, throwing all of us into a pile. Picking up speed the bubble tossed and turned, shaking us like fish in a net.

  "Ott! Make it stop!" Raven was scared.

  I focused, forming a shield around all three of us. The bubble continued to shimmy and shake yet the shield softened the movement to such an extent that we could sit up. Raven had a few glowing spots on her exposed skin where my hands had landed as the bubble tossed us around. She had not noticed yet.

  "Okay. We are rising to the surface. What now?" Suzie looked around. The darkness was the same outside the bubble as it had been before I released the anchor.

  "How deep is the lake?" Raven asked. She was looking at a glowing spot on the back of her hand. I grinned to myself.

  "Well, from what my father has said it is deep enough that it takes a long time for the anchor chains to reach the bottom when the new ones are laid." Suzie sounded nervous.

  "So we probably have a long time till we reach the surface." I stated. At least we knew something now.

  Suzie looked at me and grinned. "Well then. Since we are stuck here should we talk?" Something in her voice made me nervous. Raven's grin did not help at all.

  "Yes, why not talk?" Raven chimed in while scooting closer. The glow on the back of her hand had spread more.

  "What would you ladies like to talk about?" I stupidly asked. I felt like I was missing something, yet I could not stop myself.

  "Why the oldest riddle of all time." Suzie slyly grinned. "Love."

  "What about love?" I again could not help myself. I was walking into a trap, I could see that now.

  Raven's smile grew wider and more sneakingly. "Why, Ott. What do you think of love?"

  Suzie's smile was resembling Raven's, "Yes Ott, who do you love?"

  "What? Who?" I stumbled over my words. "Who says I love anyone or anything?" Time to find another type of escape. Both girls looked at each other and giggled. Giggled! Both of them!

  "Why Ott, I do believe you are blushing." Suzie's eye's glowed with mirth.

  "You do know, dear Suzie, what that means?" Raven's eyes had grown darker. "There is in fact something or someone he loves."

  Oh man. "Well, of course I love. I love my friends, my family, even some of my prized possessions." I was scrambling for safe ground.

  "And that makes you blush?" Suzie just would not let go.

  "I think there is more to it." Raven stated. "I think there is someone he does not want us to know about."

  Both girls grinned. "But perhaps we should discuss this at a later time." Suzie seemed a tad hesitant to continue.

  Raven looked at Suzie and nodded. "Perhaps that is best for now." She looked at me, her eyes deep and penetrating. "But we should discuss it more later."

  I just stood there stunned. I thought I was in real trouble, but now I felt confused. Who did I really love? Did I love either of these amazing girls?

  I looked at Suzie who smiled. She was a fun loving, free spirited woman who enjoyed teasing me. I knew she was interested in me, that had already been discussed. Did I love her? I know I enjoyed her company and she was a very beautiful women. She blushed and turned away at my lingering gaze.

  I turned to Raven and realized she had watched my appraisal of Suzie. Her eyes were dark and mysterious. This woman drove me insane, yet I found her alluring. A mysterious air always seemed to flow around her very being. At times she was abrupt with me and at others moments there seemed to be a gentleness that none other might suspect. She fought like a dervish yet showed a kind hand when needed. A true woman of opposites and more complex than most. Her appearance was equal to Suzie yet different. Suzie had a softness to her. Raven had a strength that showed through her femininity. Raven continued to watch me.

  I turned away, confused yet coming to some conclusions. I could hear Raven sigh and she leaned against Suzie. Their whispers carried just enough that I knew they were talking, yet I could not discern what subject.

  The bubble continued to rise and we waited for it to stop.

  * * *

  "Ott!" Raven's cry rang through the bubble. "The water is getting lighter." Sure enough I could see some light from outside the bubble.

  "We must be getting near the surface." Suzie stated. She stood up and moved around the shield trying to see the surface better. "Does anyone else see those shadows?" She pointed straight above us.

  I looked up and realized that we could see a few dark outlines on the surface of the water. "What are those?"

  Suzie's eyes widened, "Boats, those have to be boats." She looked at me in horror, "We are going to slam into those boats!"

  Raven grabbed Suzie, "Well then you mages have better keep that from happening!" Raven's eyes cut to me, I could see her panic.

  Right, time to do something. "Suzie, could you use your magic to see if there is a clear area of water for us to surface within? I will see if I can move this bubble away from the boats."

  "Okay Ott." Suzie closed her eyes and I could feel her magic reach out towards the swiftly approaching surface. "Over there! No boats are in that direction." Her arm whipped over my shoulder.

  "Hold on ladies." I focused my magic and grabbed a hold on the spell holding the bubble and shield together. With one massive effort I shifted their energies towards the spot that Suzie had motioned towards. The bubble slowly eased away from the oncoming boats and towards open water. I opened my eyes and saw that both girls were looking upwards.

  "Almost there." Raven whispered. "I wonder what is waiting for us at the surface."

  "Ott, could you scan the surface of the water to see who is up there? Maybe my father is out looking for us." Suzie's face showed concern but also hope.

  "Sure. Anything specific I should be looking for?" I put my arm over Suzie's shoulder, thinking she needed the comfort.

  She smiled up at me, "His boat will be the one full of water magic, more so than most."

  I nodded and closed my eyes. Sending my senses up through the water was easy but trying to feel magic through all that water was difficult. Suddenly I felt, off to one side, a huge amount of magic. Earth magic! On the water? Looking closer I realized that there was more than earth magic. There was also a bundle of mixed magic, like a mage with all four magics. Was this our kidnapper, the evil mage?

  I opened my eyes, "Either we have a big problem or we are saved." I looked at Raven. "There is someone up there who can work all four magics. It is either the evil mage or Stain."

  Raven steeled herself, "Did you feel anything else? How many men? Any magic weapons?"

  I thought for a moment, "Nothing that I could tell other than a huge amount of earth magic. I could not tell if it was a person or object."

  Raven relaxed. "I bet it was your gargoyle friend. He seems to be the biggest earth magic reservoir around."

  Now
that she mentioned it that made sense. I reached upwards again and realized that I could feel that the boat had a lot of water magic also.

  "It seems as if Stain and your father may have figured out how to find us. I think Stain is on your father's boat." I pointed off to the side. "We will know in a few minutes. I can even see the waves now."

  We all stood up and straightened our clothes, ready to face whatever waited at the surface.

  "I will hold onto the shield even after we surface." I reached out to both ladies, taking their hands. "I do not know what the bubble will do when we surface."

  Suzie's hand was rough against my hand. There were calluses from handling rope and climbing into the rigging. Raven's hand was smooth except for a few patches, places where her knives had nicked her. Both of their hands grasped tightly to mine as the top of the bubble broke through the surface. Sunlight streamed in and blinded us. The shield bounced upward and suddenly sank downwards.

  "OTT!" Raven's cry was in full panic.

  I focused and pulled the shield upwards, back through the surface. Evidently the bubble had popped upon reaching the surface. Without the shield we would have fallen into the lake and been separated. Now we floated on the surface, tumbled yet again together in the bottom of the shield.

  "There's the ship." Suzie pointed over Raven's shoulder.

  The Daphine Spirit floated a little ways away. The crew standing at the rail, the captain and Stain side by side. The relief on everyone's faces was evident even from where we floated.

  I grinned and waved. "Should we rejoin our friends?" I moved the shield across the water until it floated just beside the ship. The side of the ship was covered with scorch marks and scratches that seemed new.

  Suzie was stunned, "What happened to my baby?"

  Raven looked closely, "It looks like we will not be the only ones with a tale." Turning to me she asked, "Could we get on board?"

  I grinned broadly and nodded, the shield shot up and over everyone's head to land on the deck. Making sure both girls were ready I released the shield.