Red mage, p.8
Red Mage, page 8
“Do you know anything about this Thessa, Sarren?”
“Absolutely not. She is lying. No one has been in here but her.”
A figure appeared at the parlor door. “No, he lies!” Hana felt relief at the sound of Thessa’s voice.
“Who the devil are you?” the warden asked.
“I am Thessa,” she said. Her face was ashen, and her eyes were still sunken and dark.
“What has happened to you, girl? You look like a corpse!”
Thessa pointed at Lord Sarren. “He did this to me.”
“Lord Sarren? What is the meaning of this?”
Sarren removed a long dagger from his belt. “Oh, for the love of the gods,” he said as he plunged the dagger into the surprised warden’s chest and twisted until he stopped convulsing. He turned to Thessa, who immediately got down on her hands and knees.
“Please, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
“Get up, you insolent whelp,” he said.
A wicked smile crossed Thessa’s lips. “As you wish, Master.” She leaped from her submissive position to drive Sarren’s own dagger into his stomach as he was attempting to sheath it on his belt. He staggered back and fell. He pulled the dagger from his wound, and it healed almost as soon as the blade was free.
He ominously licked the blood off the blade. “Ah, my own daggers and swords won’t harm me, child.” He sprang up and took Thessa by the arm. When his eyes connected with hers, she froze, mesmerized by his gaze.
Hana concentrated on the blood in the hallway. It lifted from the floor and floated into the parlor. Sparks of light began to arc through the whole of it. Lord Sarren’s eyes widened with fear. He pushed Thessa into Hana to distract her while he ran from the house. Hana still kept control of the fuel for her power. Her eyes began to burn with the power.
“Your eyes! They are glowing red, Hana!” Thessa said.
“Get out of here. Go out the back, Thessa. Grab the cheese and the wafers of bread in the cupboard as you leave.”
“But, Hana.”
“Go! Go quickly!”
Thessa ran down the hallway. Hana waited a few more seconds until she heard the back door slam shut, and then she unleashed her power on the walls of the house—all of them at once. The walls ignited in white-hot flame, yet Hana felt nothing. She let the fire catch, and then she walked calmly through the house and out the back door. She turned once more toward the house and raised her hands. All the windows exploded out with flames.
Chapter 13: RUN!
“What will we do now?” Thessa asked.
“We run,” Hana said. “Did you get the food?”
“Aye, it’s right here.” She held up a leather shopping bag.
“Good. Lord Sarren will be after us soon. I think he is a blood feeder himself, judging by what he did in there.”
“Aye, he is. He is their leader.”
“It was foolish for him to leave so much blood in my presence.”
“Did he kill those people?”
Hana stopped. “It was Lord Immoran. Sarren turned him into a blood feeder. Didn’t you shout so that boy would hear this morning?”
“No, it wasn’t me.”
“Where have you been?”
“I was with Sarren when you were returned to the house. He was planning on taking you to the others, but the warden called him to a meeting, so I helped him put you on the sofa. He told me to wait in the woods.”
“He must have seen it as an opportunity to frame me. He had Immoran kill them and then had the boy alert the warden.”
“Why is he after you, Hana?”
Hana hesitated. She still didn’t fully trust the girl now, even though she seemed to have tried to make amends and come to her rescue. She could still be a ploy for Sarren. Then again, if Sarren was after her, he already knew one of her secrets. It wouldn’t hurt to tell Thessa. It wasn’t her deepest, darkest secret, after all. “Have you heard the tale of the Tournament of Mages?”
“No.”
Hana didn’t believe her but decided to go along with it. “Long story short, every one hundred years, six mages are born, one to each of the six kingdoms. I am the Red Mage.”
“You are? What does that mean?”
“It means my life isn’t my own. I am supposed to fight in the tournament against the other five mages.”
“To the death?”
Hana shrugged. “I don’t know. I left before I found out. I was supposed to be trained, but I ran away. I think Sarren was sent after me. I’m not sure, but I would assume that’s what is going on.” She hung her head. “I was thinking about moving on before this happened. I should have gone the moment I was attacked by the blood feeders. If I had, the Sepheras would still be alive.”
“Then you wouldn’t have me.”
“True, but you see, blood feeders are the perfect foe to come after me. My magic comes from the power of blood, and the blood feeders must have fresh blood before I can do anything to them unless I cut myself, but that makes me too weak to fight them all off.” She wondered if she had just told her little friend too much. “I can let one bite me and fight just fine, so don’t get any ideas.”
“I would never dream of it,” Thessa said. “I’m sure there is more to your power if you had stayed for training.”
“Well, that’s where we are going now. The arena isn’t that far. I think it may be the only place safe for me now. The wizard who runs the tournament is said to have the power of all the mages. I will go to him and plead for him to let me go.”
“Will he do that?”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt to try. The people from my . . . uh, village said that sometimes there is more than one mage born. Maybe I can be released from being the Red Mage before anyone else gets hurt.”
“What will you do if he releases you?”
“I am responsible for those children. I have to find them. In fact, I’m going after them no matter what the old wizard says.”
“If Lord Sarren took them, he will turn them,” Thessa said.
Hana stopped again. “You think so?”
“Aye, he will.”
Hana looked behind her and then ahead, uncertain what to do now. She sighed and started off again for the arena. “I turned you back. Maybe the wizard can tell me how I did it. Maybe he can help me turn you completely back.”
“I don’t think I would want you to do that. I like this way I am now. I told you, I was weak and picked on before.”
“Come on. Pick up the pace.” Hana widened her stride.
“There is a flaw in your plan.”
“Oh?”
“If you are the Red Mage and the wizard will not release you or there is not another to take your place, you are going to be in the belly of the beast, so to speak. If what you say is true and the wizard has the power of all the mages, how will you escape him, or your fate, for that matter?”
“I’ll find a way. I have so far.”
“Really?”
“No one said my future was set in stone. I have to believe that my destiny is what I make it and not predestined.”
“Sometimes you don’t choose your destiny but it chooses you.”
“That’s nonsense. If there are a roast duck and a roast chicken in front of me, I can choose to eat whichever I please, and my choice isn’t predetermined by anything. My choice is based on my preference and tastes.”
“Why were you hiding, then? Why didn’t you just run away to the wizard?”
“I think you answered your own question earlier. I’m only going now because I have no place else to run.”
Hana could see that Thessa was about to respond, but instead she stopped and listened, holding up her index finger. “I heard something.”
“Blood feeders?”
“I don’t think so. It’s big and fast.”
Hana focused and picked up the heartbeat of something enormous. She glanced up at the sky when the daylight dimmed. “Gods! It’s a dragon.”
“Run!” Thessa said.
They both set off in a sprint. Hana wondered if she could touch the blood of the creature, but when she tried, she knew it was impossible. Dragons were magical, and their blood was different somehow. She scanned the path ahead for anything to take cover. She didn’t think the dragon had seen them yet.
Finally, Thessa pointed to a creek bed with high, rocky sides. They both jumped over the edge and backed into the rocky incline. Hana felt the sharp pain of rocks impacting her back, but she ignored it. The dragon flew overhead. It was greenish-brown and close enough to the treetops for its wings to fan the branches down. It didn’t appear to be looking for them. In fact, if it knew they were there, it was completely ignoring them. It traveled over them and away into the distance. Hana had never seen a dragon before. They were rare in Vestia and stayed primarily up in the mountains of Adendalind.
“That was something!” Thessa said.
“What is a dragon doing so far south do you think?” Hana asked.
“Hunting for deer or something, I guess.”
Chapter 14: The Arena
Another two days and two nights of travel passed before they laid eyes on the massive walls of the arena in the distance. The morning sun falling upon the glistening walls made it seem closer than it was. It still took all morning before they reached the outskirts of the massive structure.
As they approached, it was Thessa who first saw the childlike dryads darting in and out of the trees, which grew thicker the closer they got to the walls of the arena. Finally, when Hana could see the entranceway, a dryad appeared before them. She stood there staring at them for a long moment.
“Hello there,” Hana said, trying to sound as friendly as possible. “Is the wizard available?”
The dryad turned her head as a curious dog might if it didn’t understand.
Thessa came out of Hana’s shadow, and the dryad shrank away from her appearance.
“It’s all right,” Hana reassured her. “This is Thessa, a friend. I am a friend too.”
“The great Tourney Master Ephaltus cannot be disturbed,” the dryad said. “You must go away.”
“I must speak with him, if you please,” Hana said.
“No, go away.”
“I believe he will want to see me. I have been told by the priests of Sheth’s Cradle that I am the Red Mage.”
“Oh, the Red Mage!” Several dryads stuck their heads out from behind the trees and repeated the sentence in unison.
“So, he will see me?” Hana asked.
“No, Red Mage. Go away! Go back to Sheth’s Cradle and train.”
“Go away, Red Mage!” the other dryads repeated.
Thessa wringed her hands nervously. “What’s a Sheth’s Cradle?”
“It’s the village I really come from. It’s in the far southern corner of Vestia. You’ve never heard of it?”
“Who goes there?” came a male voice from somewhere behind the dryads.
The dryad in front of Hana turned to respond. “The Red Mage and her pet of death, Most Exalted One.”
“Pet!” Thessa exclaimed. “I’ll show you pet!” She took a step, and Hana put her arm out to stop her.
“Well, send him to me,” the male voice said.
The dryad stepped aside. “It is a girl, Master.”
“Whatever, just send her to me,” he said.
Hana carefully walked forward, and Thessa followed. The dryads hissed at Thessa as she passed them. Hana rounded a tree, and the Tourney Master exited from an enormous tree truck. He wore green robes and had a flowing white beard. Hana stopped before him.
“I am Ephaltus, the Tourney Master.” He extended his hand.
“I am Hana, the Red Mage.” She took his hand.
“Ah, yes, you are. I have seen you before.”
“You have? You just referred to me by the wrong gender.”
“Oh yes, I do that sometimes.” He waved off the thought. “I have seen a few of you mages. I plan to visit the rest before we begin. What can I do for you, Hana?”
“I wanted to talk to you about this tournament business.”
Ephaltus gave her an inquisitive look. “Say, have you ever seen a real-life dragon?”
Hana was taken aback by the suddenness of his question. “As a matter of fact, we saw one fly over us a few days ago.”
“Would you like to meet him?” Ephaltus asked.
“Uh, won’t he want to eat us or breath fire on us or something?”
Ephaltus laughed heartily, and Hana was a bit miffed. “Probably! He does seem to have a temper.”
“Then, no, thank you.”
“Oh, come on. I will be with you.”
“No, thank you,” she said more forcefully this time.
“Well, he’s in the arena, and I am going to go speak with him. If you want to speak with me, I’m afraid you must come along.” He turned and walked away.
Hana looked at Thessa, who shrugged. Hana sighed and followed the wizard to the gates to the arena.
The old man was speedy for his age; Hana found herself almost running to keep up. About halfway to the gateway, a young woman also dressed in green joined Ephaltus. When Hana got closer, she realized the girl was an elf.
“Look, Thelee, isn’t he magnificent?” Ephaltus said.
“He truly is, Master,” the elf replied. She looked at Hana and whispered to Ephaltus, “I was just watching her. What’s she doing here?”
“You know I can hear you,” Hana said. “How were you watching me?”
“Sorry,” the elf girl said sheepishly. “Tourney Master trade secret.”
The dragon was sprawled out in the middle of the arena, its tail wrapped around to its massive front claws like a great cat situated in front of a fireplace. It had its head resting on the arena floor. Ephaltus stopped a good distance from it.
“Ho there, Shadar,” he said.
The dragon raised its enormous head. “Greetings, Tourney Master Ephaltus.”
“You’re early, or is this merely a visit?”
“It’s a visit, of course.” The dragon fixed its eyes upon the elf. “An elf maiden?”
“Oh, this is Thelee. She is my apprentice. I am retiring after this year’s tournament,” Ephaltus said.
“And who are they?”
Ephaltus turned to Hana. “What did you say your name was again?”
“Hana.”
“This is Hana, the Red Mage. She is also too early.”
The dragon huffed. “What’s wrong with the other one? She appears to be . . . injured. He sniffed loudly. “And quite stinky.”
“Her name is Thessa,” Hana told the Tourney Master. “She is my friend.”
Ephaltus nodded at Hana and turned back to the dragon. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She is the Red Mage’s friend, apparently.”
“Well, tell her I don’t like her!” the dragon said.
“He doesn’t like your friend, Hana.”
“Now wait one moment. I said she is my friend. She deserves respect,” Hana protested.
Ephaltus rushed to her and spoke in a hushed tone. “Please don’t anger the dragon, dear. After all, he is a dragon! He can breathe fire and all that. Plus, remember the bad temper I told you about.”
“I don’t care. He can show some manners,” Hana said.
The dragon raised its head higher. “Leash your mage, Ephaltus.”
“Hana, I say again.” He pointed. “Dragon!”
“And I say again.” She raised her voice so the dragon could hear her clearly. “He should have some respect, not to mention manners!”
Smoke began to roll out of the dragon’s nostrils.
“Go ahead! Burn us! I dare you!” Hana said defiantly. “I have nothing to lose!”
The dragon roared and got to his feet. Ephaltus had a panicked expression on his face. The dragon puffed a cloud of smoke, followed by a snickering grin. “I like this one. Very well, I apologize to your ashen friend,” he said, returning to his resting position. “You might want to seek out a bath for her.”
Ephaltus sighed with relief.
Hana felt a little foolish. “I’m sorry.” She was directing her apologies to both Ephaltus and the dragon. “A lot has happened to me of late, and it’s quite possible that I’m acting out on it.”
The dragon tilted his head. “All is forgiven. Don’t ruin it for me by being all wishy-washy. Besides, it was my fault for being so insulting. You’re right—I do need to mind my manners.”
Ephaltus took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. “No rush on cleaning and conditioning the arena floor, Shadar. The tournament is still a few years in the future.”
“I came here to relax and get away for a while,” Shadar said. “I will condition the field and have it ready before I leave in a few months.”
“A few months?” Ephaltus seemed surprised.
“Is that a problem?”
“No, not at all, just mind you don’t steal any of the livestock from the nearby farms or there may be trouble.”
“I’ll not take from nearby. I know some prime hunting grounds to the north where no one is the wiser.”
Ephaltus returned his attention to Hana. “Now, why are you here again?”
“I have come to ask that you release me from being the Red Mage.”
“Nope!”
“But you didn’t hear me out.”
“Don’t have to. You can’t back out. Well, there is one way, but you would have to forfeit your life, and I assume that isn’t acceptable. You should go back to wherever you came from and get to training.”
“I have to die to get out of being the Red Mage? I thought more than one candidate was born sometimes.”
“Sometimes, but that’s just a backup in case you die of natural causes or get bitten by a poisonous snake or fall off a cliff or something. It isn’t so you can just say you don’t want to be the Red Mage anymore.”
“It’s unfair! I am to be the Red Mage or die?”
“Yep! I am afraid you are. You know, there are a lot of people in the world who want the privilege to be one of the mages.”
“Good, let one of them have it, then.”
“It doesn’t quite work that way. Look, I didn’t make the rules. The gods did, and they will not budge on them.”
