The Last Oracle: The White Mage Saga #1 (The Chronicles of Lumineia)

by Ben Hale

  Tess shrugged. "I'm pretty sure Hawk can handle himself."

  "He's going to the wrong place," Iris said, catching her arm.

  "How can you possibly know that?"

  "Because I have been tracking the person controlling the Harbinger's network. He's made a pretty extensive effort to hide it, but it's not impervious. He and a large group of Harbingers are going somewhere else."

  Tess was at a loss for words. Iris's tone made it clear that she thought action was required, but what could they do? They were just students. For some reason she thought of how Hawk had always talked to her. How would Hawk react if he found out that she'd left the school without permission?

  "Where are they?" she asked.

  "Where are who?" Derek said as he joined them. Rox was by his side.

  "Where did you guys come from?" Tess asked. She knew they had conflicting schedules, so what had brought them? She turned to Iris.

  "Glad you got my message," Iris said to them.

  "You didn't give me much of a choice," Rox said with a faint smile. "You sent a message to my professor to cancel the class at the same time you summoned me. Now what's this all about?"

  Tess filled them in. When she reached the part about the intercepted message Derek stiffened.

  "A key—and a sword," he said. "Are you certain?"

  Iris nodded, her gaze narrowing as she read Derek's expression. "You know what they are."

  "Not they," Derek said, and his tone carried a harsh intensity. "It. The sword is the key."

  "How can a sword be a key?" Rox asked.

  Derek wiped his face before replying, as if the movement would ward off the answer. "It's the Sword of Elseerian. In the Second Draeken War it was used to slay Draeken—who had linked his own life to the portal that contained his army. Since the sword was used to kill him, some mages think it became a key that could re-open the portal."

  "Wait," Tess said, "I thought the portal to his army was closed forever."

  Derek shook his head. "Not forever. A lot of people have speculated that it was just closed for 10,000 years, just like it was after the First Draeken War."

  "And the anniversary is next spring," Rox said, her face turning to ash. "That's the only time it could be reopened . . . right?"

  "I don't know," Derek said. "It's been a long time since then. All I know is that the last time the fiends were released they nearly annihilated everything on the planet. I can't imagine why the Harbingers would want—ˮ

  "Control," Tess said, all emotion draining from her voice. "With the fiends at their command, aurens and mages would have no choice but to submit. They would have the power to make the nations obey."

  "If they get the sword," Iris said.

  Derek cut in, "Where is it?"

  "The rock trolls guard it, don't they?" Rox said, and they turned to her. "I once heard my father talk about them. I think he mentioned that the villages take turns guarding a sword."

  "That makes sense," Iris said with a nod to herself.

  The three of them stared at her, until Tess ground the question out, "Why does that make sense, Iris?"

  "Because the Harbingers are headed toward the village in southern Utah."

  "How!" Derek exploded. "How can you see where they are going!"

  Iris shrugged like it should have been obvious. "Because I have placed my own monitoring motes all over the city. Most are video, but some could only be audio—like the ones in the high council chamber. That's where someone is leaving to meet the Harbingers."

  Iris raised an eyebrow when the three of them stared at her. "What? Did you think I was just slapping the walls for no reason? That would just be crazy."

  Derek blew out his breath in exasperation. "Can we stay focused? We can't go after them. We are just students, and not trained like that."

  "Who are we supposed to trust?" Iris threw the words at him. "I don't know everything, you know."

  "We can contact my father," Rox said. "He's an upper level Rayth. We can trust him, and he will know what to do."

  "Can you get him a message?" Tess asked, grasping at the lifeline.

  Iris sniffed. "Of course. What's his name?"

  "Breaker," Rox said. "He's a first rank Rayth in the Battlemages . . ."

  Iris's face had gone white. In barely above a whisper, she said, "He's the one that Hawk is going after. The Harbingers already have him."

  Rox's face went rigid with disbelief. "That can't be. He's one of the best stone mages in the last decade."

  Tess turned away from Iris's sympathy and Rox's denial. What could she do? She was just fifteen, and had only been using her magic for a couple of months. How could anyone expect her to try and stop this? Still, she felt an inexorable pull to go, as if her gut knew what needed to be done.

  She tried to imagine the conversation if Hawk was there, and saw his level gaze staring back at her. She was confident he wouldn't be upset with her—if she trusted her instincts. He would simply expect her to accept the consequences of her actions.

  Because you are the Oracle.

  The words resounded in her head, but they came in Hawk's voice. In that moment Tess realized why Hawk had treated her the way he had, and tutored her in such a fashion. He hadn't shielded her so she could stand idle. It was so she could act when action was called for. She squared her shoulders.

  "I'm going," she said, interrupting Rox and Iris. Derek and the girls turned to face her, and she added. "I think it's what Hawk would want me to do. You can come or stay. It's up to you."

  "Well of course I'm going," Iris said. "You wouldn't know where to go without me."

  "Me too," Rox said. "I owe it to my father."

  Derek looked at the three of them, and then finally threw his hands in the air. "I can't let you go alone."

  "Iris, can you get a message to Hawk?" Tess said. "He should know where we are going."

  Her expression became uncertain. "I can send him a note, but he may not get it in time. He tends to forget that he left his spectacles off."

  Tess felt a burst of annoyance at him. "So how do we contact him?"

  Her friends stared back at her or shook their heads. Then Tess felt a quiver at her neck. Jumping down her arm, Stel curled around her palm. She raised the creature to her face. "Stel, do you think you can get to him?"

  Stel flickered purple and floated off her hand. Then it morphed into a strange, angular bird. He did not flap his wings.

  "Look at that," Iris said, "he's absorbed a little of your gravity magic."

  Derek reached out to touch him, but the bird changed into a pair of jaws and tried to bite him. He yanked his hand back with a laugh. "Well, at least we know nobody can tamper with him."

  "Are you sure you can find him?" Tess asked the grend.

  Stel yawned and then shifted back into bird form. It flew around her neck before soaring into the sky. "Be safe, Stel," she called. She felt a tightening in her chest as he disappeared.

  "Iris, send the message," Derek said. Tess glared at him, to which he added, "Just in case."

  Rox then swept her hands wide. "Now that we are committed, how do we get there? It's not like the Terminous goes to their doorstep."

  A diabolical grin spread on Iris's face, and without a word she turned south.

  Chapter 31: Seeking the Sword

  To Tess's annoyance, Iris ignored their questions. Instead she walked briskly to the stadium. Once she'd ensured that no one was present she led them to the Tempest shelf and came to a halt in front of a black door that Tess recognized.

  "We can fly," Iris said, and gestured to the locked door.

  "No," Derek said, jerking his head in the negative. "It's beyond illegal. Not even Tess is supposed to use an air board until she earns a fire knot."

  "I'm with Derek, Iris," Rox said, her expression nervously flicking between them. "Air boards are strictly forbidden for anyone but a class two flyer, and the punishments are pretty severe—not to mention it's dangerous."

  "Do we
have another option?" Iris said, and folded her arms.

  "People die because they can't control the boards, Iris." Derek said. "And none of us knows how to use one anyway."

  Iris turned her gaze to Tess, causing her to shift nervously. "I do," she admitted. "Drake taught me a few weeks ago."

  Derek threw his hands in the air. "So we have one person who can use a board. What makes you think any of the rest of us can?"

  "The boards can be used by anyone," Iris insisted. "The only reason the law even exists is because a bunch of nonflyers died."

  Derek's expression became triumphant, but Iris didn't let him speak. "But—the only reason they fell was because they were foolhardy. Besides, if one of us falls, Tess can catch us."

  "What about the flight safety harnesses?" Rox said. "Could we wear them?"

  Tess shook her head in chagrin. "I left mine back in my room, and you have to borrow them from the mind school."

  "We don't need them," Iris argued. "Tess can handle it. She has already proved she can."

  Derek's jaw worked, but no sound came out. In the silence Rox said, "She has a point, Derek. Tess would be able to keep us safe, right?" She glanced at Tess, who nodded after a moment's hesitation.

  "If I can carry all of you, I know I can handle one of you," she said.

  Iris's grin made it clear she sensed victory. "Brother?" she asked. "I know you have always wanted to fly. This is your chance."

  He shook his head and looked away. "I know, Iris, but I wouldn't risk any of your lives to do it."

  "Do you see any other choice?" she repeated. She folded her arms. "Because I don't."

  The girls stared at Derek until he blew out his breath. "You're right. I don't see any other option."

  "So how do we get through the door?" Tess said. "It's warded against intrusion."

  "I cracked it while we were talking," Iris said, her voice smug as she reached behind her and opened the door.

  Derek laughed ruefully, and then said, "If I am going to die, I might as well get to fly first."

  "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Rox said acidly.

  Tess agreed, and then led the way into the long hallway of boards. "Pick one of those four," she said. "I don't know if I can control a wind board."

  As her friends selected from the liquid boards, Tess paused at Drake's. Should she ask him for his help? With all his skill in Tempest he would be an asset if things became a fight. She opened her mouth to suggest it, but at the last moment decided against it. She'd avoided him over the last few weeks, and it seemed he'd made even less effort to spend time with her. Whether it was because she'd rebuffed him or he'd lost interest, she couldn't say that she trusted him.

  Then she noticed an empty space next to Drake's and realized that Shorn's board was missing. She did a quick count and realized that his was the only one not in its slot. She frowned at that, wondering if it implied what she thought it did.

  "Ready, Tess?" Derek said.

  She nodded and grabbed the first fire board she saw. Then she followed her friends out to the shelf. The others stared at her expectantly, so she echoed Drake's words to her.

  "Has anyone snowboarded, surfed, or skateboarded?"

  "Does lake surfing count?" Rox asked. Tess nodded, causing Rox to grin. "If it's anything like that, I'm going to like it."

  Both Derek and Iris had been snowboarding, so Tess set about demonstrating how to balance. One by one the others followed her lead. After adjusting her friends’ stance, she crafted a touch of gravity magic to propel Rox first. Then she attached it to the back of her board the way she'd been trained in gravity class.

  Rox squeaked as her board pushed away from the shelf, and she crouched lower on the board. Tess soared after her, enjoying the momentary thrill as her board obeyed her will. After a few experimental turns it seemed that Rox had gotten the hang of it.

  "It's just like water surfing," Rox exclaimed with a laugh.

  "Stay close," Tess said, "just in case—and no flips."

  Rox nodded, so Tess helped Derek get going. Growing up in Colorado he'd been snowboarding quite a bit, so he took to the board well. Once he was in the air, Tess turned to Iris. Crouched and with her arms out, Iris was as balanced as possible, but her smile had been replaced with tight lips and a white expression.

  "I'm here if you need me," Tess murmured.

  "It doesn't mean I'm not afraid of the fall," Iris said. Despite her earlier bravado, she was trembling. "Perhaps I should have mentioned that when the Terminous orb shattered I nearly passed out I was so scared."

  "You weren't the only one," Tess admitted.

  "Are you guys coming?" Rox asked. She was spinning in a lazy circle twenty feet off the shelf.

  "You can do this," Tess said to Iris, and banked her board so she hovered beside her. Iris swallowed and nodded.

  "Let's go," Iris said. "Before I lose my nerve."

  Side by side they coasted away from the shelf. After a moment Rox took up a position on Tess's opposite flank, and then Derek fell into place behind them.

  "Someone's coming," he said.

  Tess glanced to where Derek indicated and saw a collection of students approaching the arena. They weren't close enough to identify who was stealing the boards, but they would be soon.

  "Hold on," she said, and then accelerated the four of them toward the opposite side of the arena.

  Controlling the four boards was easier when she kept them in sync. If she did, they felt like one object, rather than four. She took them behind a planet and used its bulk to block the view of the arriving students. Then she pushed them through the shield.

  Ducking behind the opposite side of the stands, Tess flew them toward the library. Her heart was in her throat as she swerved and banked behind its turrets. Two minutes later they were enveloped by the cloudwall.

  The darkness pressed heavily on her and didn't seem to abate when they crossed into the afternoon sun. For several minutes the four of them flew west in silence. Tess kept her concentration on her magic, unwilling to risk any of them falling off their boards.

  "Should we be afraid that someone will spot us?" Rox said, her gaze on the ground far below.

  The clouds had begun to thin so it was a valid concern. Iris shook her head and motioned to the boards. In response to her magic a stream of white smoke began to issue behind them.

  "What is . . ." Tess began to ask, and then realized what it was. She'd looked into the sky many times and seen the distinct white trail behind a plane.

  "How many times is it a flyer?" she asked.

  "Frequently," Iris said. "But not always. They added this feature to the boards so the aurens would think that flyers were airplanes. The more expensive ones now have invisi-shield spells."

  "Invisi-what?" Tess asked. The conversation appeared to be alleviating Iris's tension, so she kept her talking.

  "It's when a group of light mages bend the light around an object," Iris replied.

  "It's not perfect, though," Derek said. "Up close you can see a sort of reflection, like a mirage. Most of the time the spell is only used to disguise fixed locations or objects that are really small, such as a board and the flyer on it."

  "What about planes?" Tess asked. "Won't they see us if we get too close?" She had an image of a plane bursting through a cloud and splattering the four of them across its windshield. She shuddered at the thought.

  "I'm re-routing the nearest jets away from us. 'Expected turbulence' is always a good excuse."

  Tess began to laugh despite her tension. How many aspects of the mage world had existed right in front of her? How many had she witnessed without realizing it? She glanced behind at the trail of white smoke, and wondered how much she had missed simply because she had not cared to look.

  She listened to the breeze flowing past her head, and looked at the cottony clouds. Between them the mountains of Colorado were visible far below. For some reason her mind was drawn back to summer school, which she would have been finishing
about now. The contrast to what her summer should have been like was laughable.

  But her humor evaporated as the sun began to set, and her mind turned to what lay before her. She and her friends were flying toward rock trolls, killers, and the unknown. For the first time since she had chosen to go with Hawk she questioned the decision. Summer school may have been mind-numbingly dull . . . but it hadn't threatened her life.

  Chapter 32: The Harbingers

  Iris's expression was serene as she dipped her board toward the earth, and Tess wondered how she'd overcome her fear. The tension Tess felt certainly didn't seem to affect her roommate. Then again, it was the first time Iris or Rox had been able to fly, so the sentiment was understandable.

  Under any other circumstances she would have been overjoyed to once again feel the board under her feet. Flying with it was even easier than flying on her own, and the sensation of carving through the clouds was indescribable. But Tess couldn't seem to find its inherent joy, and flew them straight toward where Iris indicated.

  About halfway there Derek seemed to decide there was no turning back, and he curved his board closer to Tess.

  "Have you ever fought with magic before?" he asked in an undertone.

  She considered the time the Harbingers had come for her, but shook her head. "Hawk trained me some, but not exactly. You?"

  "Twice," he replied. "Both were before I started at Tryton’s."

  "They were bullies," Iris called from a few feet away. "And they wouldn't leave me alone."

  Derek waved her comments aside. "This isn't going to be a childhood squabble."

  "No," Tess said, her voice tight with the worry. "From what we know this group does not hesitate to inflict harm."

  "So we're going to be fighting for our lives?" Rox asked.

  "I hope not," Tess said, but her tone made it sound like, probably.

  "Then we shouldn't hesitate either," Derek said, his tone resolute. "We should be ready to fight, and use whatever we have to survive."

  Am I ready to kill someone? The thought sent a shiver down Tess's spine. Unwilling to consider it, she changed the subject. "How close are the Harbingers to the village?"