Born of Magic (Channeler Series) Read online

  Illusion or not, I couldn’t deal with the inner torment I would face if I were to let him die. I dove for him and grabbed onto his right wrist with both of my arms. As I used every ounce of strength in me to help, he inched his way back up, rolled away from the edge, and sighed with relief. Both of us were out of breath from the exertion.

  Aton stood up and bowed to me, then disappeared. Felinon smiled as he now stood before me. “I learn much of you from these tests, just as you learn much of yourself from them.”

  I ensured an expression of distaste was on my face as I looked at him, “May I go now?”

  “Yes, you’re doing better, so far. I’ll see you again in three days.”

  As fast as my legs would carry me, without tumbling to the ground, I fled from his office. I found Tevon on the other side of the door and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into his robes as a few tears ran from my cheeks. I never wanted to go back there again, but I would have to in three days.

  “It’s all right, little one, it’s all over.” I could tell he wasn’t very accustomed to comforting students in this way, though he was good at it.

  By the end of the school day I had managed to get through several more classes. At lunch I crammed a pile of food down my throat with Tevon as he continued his campaign to increase my appetite. When the day was done and I was on my own again I sought out Denarah after I realized that we hadn’t spoken since we first arrived here—I still felt attached to her.

  The academy was large, and somewhat scattered, but I just had to look for a beautiful girl in a red uniform. After some time searching I found her nestled underneath one of the trees that still stood in the housing area. She stared up at the stars, content with just being there. I was on my way over to her, but Yurios beat me to it. She had worked her charm on him already, it seemed. It was night anyway and I needed to go meet Maaryn for more self-defense practice, I told myself.

  She was already at the sparring area, waiting for me. I had changed into my uniform before going over there so that she would feel less alone at the academy. Her face brightened up when she saw what I was wearing. We wasted little time and began sparring. We had much catching up to do.

  We were comfortable around each other and our skill levels were pretty close, so we seemed to make quick improvements. As we sparred, we exchanged playful insults back and forth. “Nice move.” “Too slow.” “Can’t it me.”

  We continued practicing until the cold night air made our lungs sting as we gasped for air. By the time we decided to stop, we were both sore and exhausted, and I was certain there would be at least several bruises from some of our better-aimed blows. We sat down on a bench just outside of the training area—there were many benches spread throughout the academy, especially near the various class areas.

  “What’s your power?” She asked. I could tell that she had been waiting to ask that question all night.

  “I’m a channeler. Do you know what yours is yet?” I asked, revealing I had heard about her before.

  There was a twinge in her expression for a moment—probably thrown off by the fact that I was a channeler. “I’ve known what my power is for some time; I just don’t like others to know.”

  She could have told someone and been assigned a new, more common color, alienating herself less. Why hadn’t she? What was so terrible about her ability? I had to know.

  “What’s your power, then?”

  She placed a hand on my shoulder and a chill went up my spine, not sure if she was about to reveal some evil power that lurked in her. Instead she pulled me close, her eyes darting from side to side. “You must swear to never tell anyone,” she said, and then waited for me. I nodded, and she drew in a deep breath. “When I was gone for a week, as I’m sure you heard about, I was in the dream world.”

  “The dream world?”

  “That’s what I call it. There, I can enter other peoples’ dreams. The first time I went there, it was unintentional, and I didn’t know how to get back. It took me some time to figure it out—I actually started to feel like I would die there. By the time I made it out, I had seen a lot of the students and instructors’ dreams. If they knew about it, they would hate me. They’d probably think of me as some violating snoop, so I decided to keep my ability a mystery.”

  Of all of the possible powers I had considered, none were as harmless as this, though I could see how people might feel uncomfortable from the intrusion. “What’s it like there?”

  She perked up. “This doesn’t bother you?”

  “Not at all.”

  “The dream world is safe—no one can find or hurt me there. It’s my own world that I am in control of. I go there a lot at night. It leaves me a little tired afterwards from the lack of sleep, but it’s worth it. It lets me escape from being an outcast. What’s being a channeler like? Do people treat you differently?”

  She had trusted me with her secrets; it was only fair that I return the gesture. “Yes, very. Many of them fear me actually, because of what I can do.”

  Maaryn looked a little relieved to hear that I was feared for my ability. “What exactly can you do?”

  “So far I’ve been able to take away a mage's powers temporarily, or give them a nearly unlimited amount. Recently, I’ve also been able to take a small amount of someone’s magic and use it myself, but only for a short period.”

  A devious crept onto her face. “It doesn’t take much power to enter the dream world.”

  The idea sounded intriguing. Together we could get away from everyone that feared us and be in a world that was our own. It sounded too fun to be true. “Let’s try it.”

  “What do I do?” She asked.

  “Just collect your magic like you usually do when you go there, but don’t actually use it. I’ll then take your magic from you and use it to follow you there, I hope.”

  She crossed her arms at her chest and closed her eyes. The magic flowing through her welled up and then, like a rising sun, shifted from a listless blue to a vibrant pink. When she had collected all she could, I called it over to me. A pink tendril of magic floated between us like a fog rolling in.

  When I thought that I had gathered enough, I focused on the magic, unleashing it to fulfill the purpose it had been crafted for. The world around me melted away and I was now surrounded by a giant void. I stood on nothing but didn’t fall. There was no sound. From the empty black abyss rose stacks of smoke. I watched as the bright white clouds crept up from nothing, climbing high into the sky, as though they had somewhere to go.

  “Welcome,” Maaryn said as she skipped into view. “Here you are in control.” As she spoke, a field of flowers of every color, all in full bloom, appeared around us. They swayed back and forth as if a breeze was pulling them about.

  I pointed at the columns of smoke. “What are those?”

  “Those are people’s dreams,” she answered. It was apparent she was very accustomed to this world of hers. “We can go look at one of those later, first there’s something I want to show you.”

  She grabbed my hand and spun me around. Behind us stood two beautiful horses with soft, well-groomed, black hair, and a saddle nestled on their backs. She walked me over to them and climbed onto one. “Climb on,” she said as she pointed to the other. I had never mounted a horse before, but it looked far more difficult than she made it out to be. I grabbed onto a handle at the top of the saddle and tried to pull my weight up. To my surprise, in one swift motion, I was up. My body seemed almost weightless.

  The second I was on my horse, Maaryn gave hers a gentle nudge with her heels and her horse galloped down the field of flowers at a swift gait. I did the same, and my horse followed after her, as though it knew exactly what I wanted it to do, in spite of my total lack of understanding. I looked down at the ground as her hooves trampled over the countless flowers, never breaking a single one.

  “Catch up,” Maaryn called back to me.

  I leaned forward and gave my horse a light jolt with the sides of my feet
. I had almost managed to catch up to Maaryn when she stopped abruptly. I nearly went flying off of my horse as I tried to stop. She climbed off of her horse and pointed off into the distance, a confused look on her face. Our horses disappeared as we walked towards whatever it was that had caught her attention. The pungent stench of tension filled the air. As we walked, I could see a blurry object ahead of us. It darted towards us so fast that it looked like a red streak. When it stopped in front of us were able to make it out. It was a man.

  Our hearts stopped as he stood before us, his eyes glowing red. He was dressed in red pants with a charcoal black piece of cloth that went from his pants, across his chest, and over the opposite shoulder. His body was covered in tattoos, like the people in Laharah, but these ones were far more chaotic and jagged.

  The world Maaryn had created disappeared and we were now standing on a cold flat stone. A thick smoke filled the air around us, filling my lungs and burning my throat.

  “You should leave here now,” the man said. There was something familiar about his accent. It was similar to Caspere’s, but his voice was much deeper, more commanding.

  Maaryn stammered as she spoke. “Who are you?”

  A feral grin grew on his face and my legs began to tremble. “A messenger.”

  From the corner of my eye, I could see Maaryn channeling magic. I pulled just enough from her to leave the dream world. As I did, a look of awe replaced the man’s grin—he could tell what I was. Before he could do anything, Maaryn and I were out of the dream world and back at the bench next to the sparring field.

  Tears filled Maaryn’s eyes. “My sanctuary—“ she started. She slammed a fist on the thick wood and then rested her elbows on her legs and placed her forehead on her hands. “It’s ruined.”

  “Who was that?” I asked.

  Through her tears and sniffling she answered, “I don’t know, I’ve never seen anyone else there before.”

  “We have to tell someone about him.”

  Maaryn stood up and placed her hands on my shoulders, “No, you promised you wouldn’t tell anyone about my power.” She was desperate—angry—as she spoke.

  I remembered the promise that I had made her. While I wanted to tell someone about the creepy man we had seen, I could not break my promise to her. I looked into her eyes and she knew I would keep my promise—I only hoped she would change her mind before something bad happened. “Let’s get some sleep,” I said.

  Maaryn shook her head. “That man is in the dream world. If we go to sleep, he’ll find us again.”

  “Well what do you suggest, we never sleep again?” I asked.

  “I… I don’t know,” she said with apparent conflict in her voice.

  “There are so many people dreaming out there, Maaryn, there’s no way he could find us amongst them all. Can he?”

  “Okay, we can try.” Her voice was uneasy and she wasn’t very reassuring.

  I hugged her and then we both got up and went back to our homes. I was nervous about seeing the man again, but was also in desperate need of sleep. It had been a long day for me, and it was very late. That night, sleep came with much protest, but my dreams went undisturbed.

  ~10~

  That morning, Tevon didn’t awake me like he had the first day I was here. He would have awoken me on the second day as well, but I was already up before he arrived. Today, I was able to sleep in and wasn’t going to argue it. I figured he was letting me take the day off.

  Having slept a good portion of the morning away, I decided to go grab some breakfast then track down Denarah to try and talk with her again. The dining hall was far less busy than usual when I arrived. As I grabbed myself a plate of food I could overhear many conversations between the other students—most seemed to be regarding bad dreams. Almost everyone that I passed was talking about either bad dreams they had had, or someone they knew that had.

  I grew nervous as I overheard their conversations; they all involved a weird man with glowing red eyes. Some said the man just stared at them, others said as soon as he appeared their dreams turned into nightmares. My appetite faded from me and I left my plate, hurrying off to find Maaryn.

  Last night, when Maaryn and I parted ways, I noticed which direction she left for her home. I hoped she would still be there, maybe hiding. I ran around the housing area where I thought her home might be, peaking in through small gaps in the doorways for her. Did she go back to the dream world? The thought terrified me, but there was no denying that something was wrong.

  I broadened my search and continued for a while longer with no luck. No one had seen her, and she hadn’t shown up to any of her classes. I knew where she was. She had to be in the dream world again. It is the only place she would be right now. How would I join her again though? She could be in danger and in need of help. I didn’t know what he could do to her in the dream world, but knew she needed my help.

  I knew I would have to break my promise to her now, for her own sake. I sought out help.

  “Helendra, I have a problem.”

  “My dear, there is a bit of concern going around right now. Is it possible this can wait?”

  “Is it about the nightmares everyone had?”

  She sounded surprised. “Yes, you had them to?”

  “No, but I met the man who is causing them all.”

  “Where is he? Are you alright?” Helendra said with haste and desperation in her voice.

  “Maaryn knows what her power is. She can enter the dream world, I joined her there last night and we saw him. He threatened us.”

  She only said five words, then fell silent, “Meet us in the tower.”

  I had only been there once. The path to the tower where the mages met was buried in the maze of hallways deep in the bowels in the castle. It took me longer than I liked to find my way to them. I opened the door and found all of the elder mages in there, including Tevon—this wasn’t a day off for me after all.

  Helendra jumped to her feet as I walked in. “Jasminis, tell everyone what you know.”

  It was unnerving to have all of them focused on me once again—I really didn’t like having this much attention. “Maaryn made me promise not to tell, but I fear she’s in danger. She can enter the dream world, which is where she disappeared to for a week when she first used her power. She’s been able to go there for some time, but doesn’t want anyone to know.” I stop and drew in a deep breath, “Last night I went there with her, and there we met the man in everyone’s nightmares. He said he was a messenger.”

  Helendra spoke again with sadness and fear weighing heavily in her voice, “It is as we feared: the war is nearing. They are trying to send a message, to strike fear into our hearts and break out spirits, making us easier to conquer when they arrive. I fear this dream man may be only the first of many forms of attacks coming our way.”

  The room erupted into a storm of conversation. All of the elder mages contested to be heard, some imploring the necessity of war, others protesting the lack of alternatives. None spoke about saving Maaryn. I stood up on an empty chair and spoke as loudly and sternly as I could, “Maaryn needs our help.”

  They fell silent and stared at me, probably astonished at how much sound had come from a twelve year old girl—I was. Now that I had their attention I continued, “I searched for Maaryn everywhere this morning but couldn’t find her. I think she may be in the dream world again. If the man finds her, she may be in danger.”

  “What can we do?” One of the mages asked.

  Tevon stood up, “It’s day, and there aren’t many sleeping right now. Maaryn is a close friend, right Jas?” I nodded. “I can put you into a deep sleep where your mind is still awake. Maybe she can find you there. She will come to you, right?”

  “I think so.”

  Helendra nodded. “Then it is agreed. Tevon, get what you need to perform this. I will take Jasminis to my chambers—I want to keep an eye on her myself. Meet us there.”

  With that, Tevon and Helendra left. I followed Helendra alon
g the spiral staircase as she led me further up the tower. At the very top were her chambers. She opened the door. Her room was elegant and well decorated. The red sheets of silk, which lined the four windows, danced like ballerinas in the breeze. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were crammed full of leather-bound books with gold lining. Each book was arranged in an order that seemed designed more for aesthetic purposes than organizational. At the center of the room was a round bed with a desk at one side of it. The bed had eight gold pillars that went almost to the ceiling. Strung between each pillar was a thick rope that formed a circle over the edge of the bed. Matching red silk sheets hung from the ropes, they were tied to the posts with a small gold cord.

  “Lie down on the bed and try to relax as much as possible,” Helendra said.

  She grabbed a stack of blankets from one of the small cupboards and hung them from the curtain rods of each window, sending the room into a lulling darkness. I managed to catch a peek at the beautiful view from one of the windows before they were covered. I could see out past the valley, to the landscape that lay below the cliff, and three small towns that would have been impossible to see on a less clear day.

  Moments later Tevon arrived with a few items in his arms. “Helendra, can you have someone bring some hot water up here? I didn’t have time.” She nodded. He then sat the items he had brought down on the desk next to the bed, then tossed the herbs into a mortar, and smashed the small leaves into tiny flakes using a pestle. He took the powder and placed it into a thin cloth pouch with a string that went around the opening. He pulled the string tightly and tied it off, sealing the pouch.

  A woman came running into the room with a kettle of hot water dangling from her right hand. Tevon took it and placed the cloth pouch into the water. He let it set for a minute then poured the tea into a cup he had brought with him and handed the aromatic cup to me.

  The smell entered my nose as the cup lingered in his hands and sent a relaxing warmth through me. I took the cup from him and drank the tea. My body went limp and I fell back within moments of drinking it, my head landed dead center on a soft pillow. My eyes no longer had the ability to stay open and I drifted into a deep sleep.