Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) (9 page)

BOOK: Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12)
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While not every mage gave their hearts or bodies away in each new posting, he understood the meaning of the words. For Sebastian, he fell somewhere between the two notions. He had loved an apprentice healer. While deployed far from his love, he had met Ashleen and fought to be true to the girl he wasn't even sure that he would see again.

Months later, Yara was gone and Ashleen remained. They were in love, but being a battle mage meant he was always busy. Well, it wasn't just because he was a battle mage; but more because of who he was. The demands on his time meant that he sometimes had to leave Ashleen behind, but he always came back.

"I wonder if it is dark on Gerid's island," he mused with a topic seemingly unrelated to her words.

The island was far to the southeast. It was likely dark there, but it might be warm. Elzen's idea of leaving the cold behind for a time wasn't exactly a bad one, but Sebastian wasn't sure that Red Hall was a place he wanted to be.

An island paradise far from the troubles of Southwall, on the other hand, sounded pretty good.

"If you think Elzen, Rilena and Serrena would complain about us staying up here; I am certain they would cry foul if we slipped off to a tropical island," Ashleen giggled. "It was a pretty island though."

"My portal on the north side of the island would be far enough away from the main village that we could be alone too," he mused knowing that it was just talk.

Pushing up on one arm, Ashleen's long blonde hair cascaded off of her right shoulder to touch his arm. Sebastian noted the thoughtful look on the girl's face and wondered what he had said to make her pull away. It wasn't in a negative way, but the warmth of her was seeping away from his clothes in the cool air of the room. The inn was a marvel thanks to wizards who had created a central heat source which flowed into all of the rooms of the inn, but it was still cool thanks to the bitter cold outside.

"Has Gerid returned home since he arrived in Hala? I mean, if you have a gate on the island; if you wanted to he could return home to visit his family. King Alain and Queen Alyanna might be family too, and his granddaughters are here; but his wife and other children remain on the island."

Sebastian considered the idea and realized aloud, "I've barely seen him in weeks. No one else knows about the gate, but maybe I should send him a letter to let him know."

The girl rolled away to step back onto the floor untying her belt. It was color matched to the green outer layer of her dress. In the Kardorian style, Ashleen's dress opened in front without the belt to hold the robe closed. She turned towards him as she peeled the outer and inner robe revealing a brown leather bustier and brown shorts touching the tops of her knees. This layer had been worn to work in the forge, but she been comfortable enough wearing her dress since they had moved to the office away from the heat.

The bodice required untying from the back and Ashleen moved between the two beds to sit on the edge in front of Sebastian. An unspoken request, it wasn't the first time since they had been living together that the girl had undressed in front of him.

"You could have worn these clothes to dinner, you know?" he stated as the mage sat to work the laces of her bodice. 

Turning her face wrinkling her nose before shaking her head, the girl replied, "The leather rubs me uncomfortably if I move too much. Dancing would make me want to rip it off before half the night is over."

Loosened enough to lift over her head, Ashleen bared her upper body and shivered with the cool air; but she tossed the bustier onto the other bed turning towards him again revealing the creamy bare skin as she continued, "You really should send him a note or tell him yourself. If I had to be separated from you for several months, I'd..."

The girl stopped as he smiled and jokingly finished her sentence, "...hop on a boat and follow me through the North Sea?"

Rolling her eyes at him, Ashleen walked over to her wardrobe as she replied, "Ha! Very funny, Sebastian; but seriously I would hate every minute. It's bad enough that you slip away on all these missions without me, just because you're worried about me."

Drawing a new top that looked similar in form to the leather except that it was made from burgundy cloth that looked like velvet in texture, Ashleen tied it in front. The short laces at the top were made into a bow before she buttoned the support leaving a show of cleavage for Sebastian to see. He knew that it was still for him. Ashleen had always had a sexy way of dressing and since she had set her sights on him, her outfits seemed to tow the line of being immodest.

A dress that looked like more of a buttoned jacket colored to match the top only buttoned around her waist as lower panels dropped down her legs below her knees. Her brown pants peeked out as she moved, but Sebastian supposed that the outfit was safer than some the girl had chosen since he had known her. Ashleen was called a wilder because she was a wizard, but there was a certain wildness to the girl beyond her magic.

"It isn't always because I worry about you, though I'd rather keep you out of harm's way. You're Kardorian. Your country is allied, but you know that if it was found out that you were working with me for Southwall's interests there could be consequences too," he stated before glancing to his pillow with a sigh. His break had ended too soon. Curling up with Ashleen was something that he could do for hours, though it rarely remained innocent for that long. He could rarely spare that kind of time just relaxing these days.

"I'll try to get a message to him tomorrow. If you're already dressed, then I guess it's time to head down for dinner."

With a teasing smile, the girl touched the upper button of the jacket feigning opening it once more and said, "Well, if you would rather stay here with me. I could just take this back off and buy more time."

Walking over to hold her wrists to lift her hands to kiss her fingers, Sebastian tried to be tactful as he replied, "I do enjoy spending time with you alone, but it is getting late so it probably makes more sense to get our dinner. Besides I'd hate to waste that dress just on me. It'll look great while you dance tonight."

"Flatterer," she said as her blue eyes sparkled at him in the lamp light. The gray light of the day had given way to darkness that they could see through the windows. "I suppose that earns you dinner."

At that moment, he could hear the grumble of her stomach and added, "Either that or you are hungrier than you were letting on before."

"It isn't easy being your battery all the time," the girl answered good-naturedly before stepping towards the windows to release the closest of the drape ties. He knew that Ashleen was just doing it to save time for later that night. They would either be tired and ready for sleep; or they would be worked up for some things that would eventually wear them out for sleep. Either way, they would want the drapes pulled to prevent anyone from looking in the second story window.

After helping her close the drapes, the couple left their room locking it behind them.

 

Night settled over the hills to the east of Helsen. From the city, fires could be seen lit throughout those hills indicating the large numbers of the enemy's troops. By day, the monsters and men of the Dark One's army tested the allied lines. By night, both sides waited looking across a shadowed battlefield to the lights taunting each other.

Palose stood on one of those hills surrounded by other men and a pair of massive armored viles. In the dim light cast by the first moon, Epsilon, and the stars; one could see a red glow to most of the eyes closest to the dark mage. His company of men, women and monsters consisted of those who had already died once. With the power of necromancy, the dark mage had been reborn. By the power he inherited from the one who had resurrected him, Palose in turn had created wraiths and undead with less of their souls restored.

The wraiths were intelligent with their souls and minds bound to their bodies. If they received no damage, the bodies would remain in a state of suspended decay. They weren't falling apart, but they weren't truly alive either.

Aside from a handful of wraiths, the rest were closer to puppets given life through the strength of the mage.

Palose considered his title given to him in Southwall. He had been recreated as a resurrection man and found that his master shared some of his power with his creation. It was a flaw of the spell, if one considered it to be a problem. Since it benefitted him, Palose had used the strange joining of strength to increase his power even more.

He had discovered that a resurrection man was as alive in rebirth as he had been in his first life. Palose wasn't a decaying corpse and seemed to be living as he had before. His body was warm. His heart pumped blood through his veins as he breathed in air. It was all as it should be and using the resurrection spell the dark mage has discovered that he had to be alive. According to that spell, only the living could raise another and restore their souls to their bodies.

It had taken time, but Palose had found wizards to add their magic to the ring of people in his circle. Their magical power was restored with the resurrection and joined to him. They were also free of the controls set on him by his master. His only price for giving them life was to have them protect him when his master turned on him.

Atrouseon had died even though Palose couldn't raise a hand against him and the warlock's power had flowed through the tie they had increasing his power. Those who followed him benefitted as well, but he didn't mind. He had more than enough power to satisfy his limited greed.

Now after more than a month of keeping this company of undead alive, Palose had begun to bond with his wraiths. He had even made promises to them. If they served him well and faithfully, the dark mage would make them whole once more.

Becoming a resurrection man or woman had its price. The warlocks of Ensolus feared and despised them. Palose knew some of that hate, but had proved himself enough that few revealed any true malice towards him. The others in his circle were a secret from the general population of the city. He had hidden them, but they were also his spies blending in without notice, after all they were as alive as he was.

Balish and Tongold were his first wraiths. They had been soldiers in life, but were competent enough to lead the puppet soldiers when he returned home from the front. While they were useful as wraiths, Palose wondered if he should bother to make them resurrection men. They held no magic, so they added nothing to the circle; but the two had served him well and he actually liked them.

The second pair was more useful to him. Nalack was a warlock of middle years. He was skilled and powerful even though that hadn't prevented his death. A massive battle just over a month ago had been his demise, but Palose had rooted through the refuse of dead bodies and found him. There hadn't been the time to make him a resurrection man then. The process was too intricate and he didn't know the man. To bestow that bond on him, the dark mage preferred to know him, even though that hadn't been how he had been forced to build his circle originally.

Oween was a female warlock and much younger than Nalack. She was still older than Palose, but the woman had been killed in her prime. Oween would have been considered pretty; though her strange red eyes would probably give a man chills now. The woman had proven a bit shy at first, but over the last month Palose had broken through that shell a bit to find her sweet and even funny. A wraith with humor, it was an odd combination to find; but Oween still had hope that he would release her from being a wraith and remake her as one of his resurrected people.

None of them knew his circle existed. They remained in Ensolus and these had been the tools of war. Letting undead soldiers fight in front of him gave the dark mage a virtually limitless supply of soldiers to give themselves for him as often as he could raise them from the dead on the battlefield. These wraiths were more than just puppets to him, but they were still tools.

"It's a standstill," Balish stated folding his arms across his chest. The wraith was surprisingly intelligent and Palose appreciated his talent as leader while he was away. Even the warlocks followed him when necessary, since they supported the others with their magic but weren't warriors.

"Again," Nalack agreed with the other wraith.

Southwall and Sileoth had changed tactics after the first few weeks of the war. Palose had to blame much of that on Sebastian. His rival was a battle mage and a former friend. In theory, his increase in power and similar skills as a mage in his previous life should have given him the edge over the other man; but each time they faced off Sebastian used new spells. Some of his magic had the power of a warlock behind it, but he didn't sense that kind of increase in his magical aura.

Sebastian had conquered the portal spell, a feat that should have been impossible without help. That spell led to a change in warfare. Litsarin was being reinforced by their enemy as quickly as Ensolus could resupply their side. Wounded could be removed and fresh troops could replace those killed or removed from battle keeping both sides strong.

Golems and traps had met them here. Magical fortifications and weapons with greater range had formed an unofficial line where man and beast feared to tread. Entering the dangerous valleys usually meant death for their forces. The dark army couldn't move forward and the troops supporting Helsen didn't care to press their advantage. It was a stalemate that had left a lot of dead in those fields, but the last few weeks it had tapered off.

BOOK: Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12)
8.76Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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