Born of Magic (Channeler Series) Page 8

  "We need to get him inside," Aldred said. He gestured for the nurse that had followed us to give him a hand in carrying Aeden. They exercised great caution as they carried him, and set him down on an empty bed in the main room of the doctor’s office. I could see Eldrin's head peeking out from our room.

  "What the little brat do this time?" Eldrin’s voice revealed a bit of joy.

  Aldred looked up at Eldrin and closed his eyes, shaking his head, "Now's not the time." He returned his attention to Aeden, desperately trying to determine what was wrong with him. He reported his findings to the nurse, who made note, waiting for her next task to help. "He’s breathing but his pulse is slow. He’s not responding. He appears to be in a sort of coma like state, although his eyes do seem a little alert now."

  Aldred looked over at me, "Do you know what exactly he was doing before this happened?"

  I grew nervous that they would realize that this was my fault. "I asked him to show me his power. I didn't do this, did I?"

  "No, it isn't your fault, little one. Go back to your room. I'm not sure how long this will be." Aldred's eyes were dancing around like a pair of bees trapped in a small jar as he made every effort he could to help Aeden.

  He stood back, his eyes filled with shock as Aeden blinked. Aeden looked around in confusion for a moment, and then sat up. "Where am I? How did I get here?" He rubbed his head with both of his hands, his fingers pressing on his temples.

  "You passed out. Fortunately, Jasminis found me and we brought you here." Aldred explained.

  Aeden’s eyes pierced through me as he pursed his lips. “That’s never happened before. I’m not sure what happened. My mind just became overwhelmed. I could see every fish in the ocean, all at once. It hurt. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I blacked out. Then it just stopped.”

  Aldred placed his hand on Aeden’s shoulder. “Well, I think it best you lay off on using your power for a little while. Just as well, the big fishing season is over for a few months. Especially with all you brought in.” He rubbed his fingers through Aeden’s hair.

  Aeden looked over at me once more. We held stares for a few minutes. His eyes were cold and dark. I couldn’t tell if he though I had meant to do this to him, or if he even suspected me. All I knew was that my welcome here felt like it was wearing thin.

  I waited until everyone had gone home for the night and Eldrin was fast asleep. When I felt comfortable that everyone was out, I grabbed my new coat and snuck outside. The town was quiet, and empty. Most of the torches had been doused, with a small cloud of smoke emanating from the embers, filling the village with the smoldering smell of wood. I began searching for Aton, who was my only escape from this mess that I had started. I figured he would be somewhere just outside of town.

  I walked over to the tunnel that we had come in through, hoping to find some sign of Aton there. The clearing outside of the tunnel was empty, so I moved down along a small patch of forest to the right of it. He’d be far more comfortable in the forest than in the village.

  There he was, hunched over in a blanket behind a thick tree. The closer I got to him, the more concerned I became. He didn’t move or show any sign of life. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he jolted back and looked up at me with wide eyes and a desperate stare.

  Jas, is that you?" He asked, his voice weak and dry. "I knew they would take care of you."

  While I knew that it probably was for the best that they had taken me into the hospital and treated me there, I couldn’t completely shake the feeling of abandonment. Even as I saw him at the brink of death after having spent all of this time out here on his own, I was bitter. I was probably being overly sensitive.

  "I'm sorry I wasn't there, but I thought it best to leave you in their care while you recovered. The less they know of me the better." As he spoke, the feeling of betrayal left me. I could see just how much pain he was in.

  "What now?"

  "With you here once more, I can safely enter the town, grab what we need and we can get out of here. I can only hope your mysterious arrival didn’t alarm anyone."

  I shook my head. "I told them we were traveling and I wasn't sure where you were. Not many questions were asked about you and they didn’t seem too worried about my intentions. I gained their trust."

  It dawned on me that I had gained their trust, hurt one of them, and was about to betray that trust by helping Aton steal from one of them. There was no turning back now. I had gone this far, and when I was done, they would never trust me again, were they to learn the truth. They shouldn’t ever trust me again.

  He smiled up at me as he struggled to stand up. "All right, we go tonight then. We can be out of sight before morning. You stay here in the forest and channel as much energy as you can to me. Just in case something goes wrong, I don't want to be caught off guard once again."

  I found a safe place for my body to stay in the forest and followed Aton in Etherea, keeping my distance as he approached the town. His pace was steady and in a specific direction, so he appeared to know exactly where he was going. The town was very dark as we entered. There were no signs of life, and not a sound in Etherea.

  Aton signaled me to stay where I was and then he crept into a small hut. I watched him disappear inside. Time seemed to pass at an uncomfortable pace as I waited outside, anxious for him to come back out. I almost broke down and was about to go inside and check on him when he came out, walking now in a more hastened pace towards me. I followed him back to the patch of forest where I had left my body along with our supplies.

  Once I was back to my body and able to control them both again, I looked to Aton. "Did you get what you needed?"

  He grinned and patted his side pocket. "Yes, now let's make our way back up the tunnel and out of here. Once they notice you're missing, they'll probably start looking for you. We'll need to put enough distance between us and them tonight before they notice."

  In a flurry of haste we packed our bags and made our way towards the cavern. I took only a few heartbeats to look back at the town I had grown to love during my stay, before I ruined my welcome there. I imagined saying my goodbyes to everyone inside and caught back up with Aton. My heart beat like a steady drum in the back of my throat as I thought of how I was repaying the kindness everyone had shown me, and how much I would miss them. There was no turning back now.

  "How will we cross the gap this time?" I made sure that my voice was filled with concern.

  "I placed a series of sturdy logs across that recently. We’ll be able to walk across them with ease. I didn't lie around the entire time you were gone." He sounded almost defensive.

  As night passed, we continued to march through the tunnel in a hurry. I grew tired and my ability to properly place one foot in front of the other faded. I began to stumble from one side of the passage to the other, but we continued on. Aton ensured we didn’t stop until we were through the tunnel. By the time we reached the other side, it was midday.

  We stepped out into the bright sun. It reflected off the white snow and blinded me, making it near impossible to see. My eyes adjusted to the light, and as my vision returned, I could see the figure standing in front of us. I didn't need to see whom it was to know it was trouble. I could see the mage in Etherea. Then I recognized him—the red beard and green robes gave him away. I looked to Aton, who I could tell was already hidden from the mage's eyes.

  "It's pointless, mage. I know you're there," Red Beard shouted. He then placed his hands on the ground and closed his eyes. The earth trembled around me. Mounds of snow welled up in a circle around Aton and me, and then giant patches of brush sprouted out of the ground.

  A thick circle of brush surrounded us and I couldn’t find a way out. I tried tugging on some loose branches, but they didn’t give. Their branches spread out in many directions and wove themselves together. There was no break in them anywhere big enough for me to crawl through. I didn’t recognize the type of plant, but it was jagged and bare, with no leaves, just thousands of little
thorns.

  "Now we may talk." Red beard said, taking in large huffs of air. It sounded as though he was trying to regain his strength after what he had done. "Little girl, there are two possible reasons for you being here: either you don't know what sort of monster you are with, or you are a monster as well. Which is it?"

  Aton rushed over to me and placed his hand over my mouth as he stood behind me. He whispered into my ear, "Don't answer him, he's trying to divide us so we’re easier to stop. He's weak right now. He has little energy or strength left after doing something like this. I’ll find us a way out."

  "Monster, what sort of lies have you fed this girl? I know not why you seek the stones, but the Academy of Mages will not let you continue. This ends here!" As he shouted, the branches around us shook and moved closer. They crept towards us, the circle shrinking inward.

  Aton kept his hand on my mouth as he looked around for a way out. He stopped for a moment and turned me around. He placed his finger over his lips as he released his other hand from my mouth, and he whispered in my ear. "I'll be right back, wait here for me."

  “Where else would I go?” I thought to myself.

  Aton pulled a blanket out of his bag a placed it over some of the brush, then took a running start and climbed over the brush onto the low hanging branch of a tree that was just outside the barrier. I tried to listen, but heard nothing other than red beard as he spoke again.

  "Child, you have a great—" he was silenced by a loud thud, and then the brush disappeared back into the ground. Red beard was on the ground, with Aton standing over him with a big branch in his hand.

  "Let's go, Jas. We need to get out of here. He has powerful friends, and they're not very kind. "

  I rushed to catch up to Aton and we bolted down the mountain even faster than before. By the time we reached the forest, I was struggling to stay conscious. Even Aton was gasping for air. He gave us a couple minutes to recover. We walked in silence the rest of the day, making camp once we were deep into the forest. It didn’t take me much effort to get to sleep.

  I awoke with much resistance when a few wayward beams of light made it through the thick forest and landed on my eyelids. My arms and legs were sore from all the hiking we had done the previous day.

  Aton was already up, as usual, preparing a breakfast for us. "I feel like we’re deep enough into the forest now that we may take a little time to properly recover."

  A warm feeling came to me with this news. The only thing I could think of right now was relaxing long enough to let my muscles stop throbbing in pain. The second most prominent thought in my mind was a series of questions regarding some of the statements Red Beard had made yesterday. "What’s the Academy of Mages?"

  Aton looked over at me, staring in silence for some time before answering, "It's a collection of powerful mages that hoard their abilities and decide how everyone should use magic. They’re a hypocritical group of power hungry mages that seek nothing but power. They would probably love to get their hands on you."

  "Why do we keep running into Red Beard?"

  "Red Beard, huh? Well, I guess I can see why you would call him that. As soon as I took the first stone, the Academy sent a group of their tracking mages to find the others. One of the holders of the stones was a member. They'll stop at nothing to get all of these stones back so that they may keep them from everyone else."

  I found the idea of a giant group of mages hunting us for our quests terrifying, but I was sure Aton had a plan for how we would make it. "Why don’t they want people to use the stones if they have the power to help people, like your brother?"

  "Their greed. They like to hoard anything magic so that the people remain dependent on them. I think we’ll need to increase our pace greatly. No doubt the other stones will be moved soon, we can only hope to find them before they disappear."

  "What if they move them before we can get there?"

  He grinned, "I know people I can go to for the information we need, for the right price."

  So many other questions ran through my mind, but I knew I should be more concerned with recovering so that I could keep up with Aton when we began to move again. It sounded as though things were not going to be any easier any time soon.

  "Get some sleep for now—I’ll keep watch."

  I gave no argument against his request, and lied back down. I closed my eyes as the calm campfire Aton had made warmed my back. I was nearly asleep when I heard a familiar voice.

  "There you are, finally. It's good to see that you are okay." The voice was soft and sounded sincere, but was still very faint. This was the perfect opportunity for me to learn a little more about these people, without being interrupted. I kept my eyes shut and breathed at a steady rate to appear as though I was still sleeping.

  "I know you are wondering what is going on here, and you are probably being told many different things, but you must trust me. The man you are with is not who he claims to be."

  “She’s lying,” I though to myself.

  Apparently I thought too loudly, "I am not lying, you saw me that night in the castle. Do you remember?"

  There was silence. Did she want me to answer? I tried the same thing once again, thinking loudly in my mind, "I think so. What were you doing there?"

  "The man you are with has been stealing powerful gems, even killing those who stand in his way at times. We have been trying to track him down and stop him. He is a murderer." Her voice was stern and there was great conviction in her tone.

  "You’re lying. There is no way he could—"

  "I know, he has been nice to you, but it’s because he needs you."

  "You have no proof,” I said. I was growing angry with her as she tried to convince me to believe her, convince me that the first person to really change my life around and show me any sign of hope for myself was a murderer.

  She sounded a bit stunned by my response. "I am sorry, but you must believe me. If you won't, then at least allow me to watch over you a bit. Let me be there as your guide."

  I figured there was no way I could make her go away. Plus, another perspective guiding me through this journey, where I often found myself lost, didn't seem like too bad of an idea. "Alright.”

  “Good, but you need to trust me at least a little in my judgment. Like right now you need to get some rest. You have a long journey ahead of you. Take advantage of his offer to rest. He will be relentless the rest of the day."

  "Will you stop hunting us?"

  The long silence revealed just how awkward it was for her to answer my question. "We must stop him. No harm will come to you by us. I can promise you this."

  I found her answer satisfying enough for the time being, and I let my body give in to the overwhelming sensation to sleep. I fell asleep and my mind made no effort to comfort me with beautiful dreams. Instead, it chose to recover every ounce of energy possible. The sun was still beating down on my eyes, so I pulled the blanket over my face.

  After what felt like a few seconds, Aton poked at my shoulder several times until I finally responded. I attempted to swat him away like an annoying fly, but he remained persistent and I woke up. My mouth was dry and my body continued to ache. However, my mind felt a little clearer and I could focus on the world around me. Aton handed me a pouch of water. "I stepped away for a moment and filled our water at a nearby stream. There should be enough to last us until the next town on our list."

  "Where are we going now?" I found it best to make no mention of my conversation with the mage woman. I had yet again forgotten to request the name of another possibly kind individual in my life.

  "Anything on your mind, Jas? You seem a little preoccupied. I need your head in the game here."

  I shook my head. It was probably a good idea that I didn’t try to lie to his face, at least not by stuttering out some ill-conceived excuse. He seemed very keen at detecting such things. We packed up from our camp and began walking once more. I followed closely behind Aton, as usual.

  "We're going to a city
next. Our target there is a very powerful businessman. He owns most of the inns and restaurants in the city."

  I had seen many inns before, but the word restaurant was new to me. "What’s a restaurant? Somewhere where people can sit down and rest a while?"

  As Aton walked ahead of me he shook his head and laughed. "No, Jas. They're the little cafes from your town but the food is much better, though much more expensive as well."

  "How far is it to there?"

  "Judging by our usual rate of travel, if we pick things up a bit we can be there inside of three days. We’ll be staying at one of his inns."

  Aton had yet to tell me the name of the town we were traveling to. However, I found it best that way, as the name would be irrelevant to me and I was less likely to give away where we were to the mages. Aton's pace hastened and I struggled to keep up. My legs were much shorter than his and I had to take more steps than him. It felt as though I was lunging through the forest, my legs warily carrying me along the way.

  He was relentless with his pace, making no hesitation or consideration for my ability to keep up. I knew I had to grow stronger to make it in this new life. He had told me it would be challenging, and he was right. It was difficult to speak as we walked. My lungs were desperate for air, gasping for every breath they got, and hoarding every ounce of oxygen, making any form of conversation near impossible.

  As we walked, our conversations were slow paced and far stretched, taking long gasps between words and even longer breaks between sentences. Aton continued to tell me about the world outside of Saltren. He told me about the ranging mountains along the northern coast that we had crossed, the desert people to the South that could live off of very little water. They would suck moisture out of the ground with a stick during the drier seasons. Most interesting of all were the people to the East, with their towering buildings and dense cities.

  Aton spent much time talking about the people to the East, saying that we would be going there, in time. The people he spoke of had moved there from a far off land, even further to the East, where cities like theirs spread throughout the land. The people were more advanced in some ways, Aton would often say, telling me about the fine cuisines they had mastered, and naming countless foods I had never heard of. His favorite of which was one with a bunch of noodles, meats, and vegetables that were thrown together and cooked over a large heated stone.