Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11) (78 page)

Lord Liev started as he realized that the mage had already written him off. It had been the lord who had hoped to push his advantage after the resurrection man's lack of results. Kolban would want to know why the enemy was able to escape. Taking the village had been an insignificant victory and their foes had escaped mostly intact. With portal magic in the enemy's hands, they could reappear anywhere to continue the battle at another time and place.

Watching the dark mage and his men disappear through a glowing doorway, Liev wondered if he should try to use the man as a scapegoat after all. They had won and removed the threat of course, so it was still a favorable battle; but the resurrection man had been right, they would need to be aware of the new weapons and magic that the enemy had discovered.

His portal warlocks opened a gate to Ensolus so Liev might report the defeat of the enemy to the emperor directly. He would have to consider if it was worth attacking the resurrection man in front of Kolban, but Liev had time to think as he walked to the emperor's fortress to decide his plans.

Sebastian awoke in an unfamiliar room, but he recalled being assisted to a guest room in the battle mage dorm of White Hall. The mage had attempted to walk there by himself, but his legs had turned to gelatin after eating a meal in the dining hall and sitting on the bench too long.

Gentle breathing drew his attention to the young woman lying beside him.

Ashleen's blonde hair covered her face as if that would screen out the early morning light peeping through the split in the draperies. He wondered when the wilder had arrived. She was dressed rather scandalously for one staying in the dorms, but then again school girls and boys weren't supposed to be in each other's rooms either making it even more of a scandal usually.

A short night dress covered the beauty as did the sheet and blanket covering them both.

"She caused quite a fuss and wouldn't let anyone talk her out of being with you once she got here," a familiar girl's voice spoke up after noticing the mage had awakened.

Looking to a stuffed chair in the corner, Sebastian found Katya curled up with a blanket in the chair. She looked tired as well, but as he slid his legs out from under the blankets, her brother asked quietly, "How did she get here? I was too exhausted to use a portal to return to Hala, but I didn't send a messenger there either."

"I asked them to do it for you," Katya replied still remaining wrapped up in her blanket like a caterpillar in a dark blue cocoon. The air was cool this morning as White Hall was in the middle of the fall season. "She seems attached to you, so I let her know that you were safe and staying in White Hall for the night.

"Apparently that wasn't good enough, so Ashleen came here and pushed her way to you even when the other battle mages told her that it wasn't permitted." The girl seemed to see something with her mind's eye that she found amusing and added, "I think she gave a falcondi a black eye when he told her no."

"He's lucky that she didn't use her lightning on him then," Sebastian nodded with a polite smile. Feeling tired still, the mage reached to the night stand to pour a glass from a pitcher resting there. He remembered asking for water before settling into the bed, but didn't recall hearing anyone bring it in. Then again, Sebastian didn't remember Katya being there before he went to sleep either.

Shrugging, Katya replied, "I didn't say that a few people weren't shocked literally as well as physically, when Ashleen made it known that she was sleeping with you."

Fighting off a blush, the older brother stated, "We sleep in the same bed, but we don't usually do much more than that."

She was thirteen and probably knew enough of adult relationships to guess the 'more', but it wasn't his job to teach his little sister about such things. Her brother only hoped that his mother had made time to have a talk with her about that subject before she left with him for the tournament. That thought broke his ability to control his face and the mage did blush.

Turning to look at the wilder a moment to mask the look, he continued, "We're very close and Ashleen doesn't care who knows it."

Again Katya laughed quietly, but this time it was more at her brother than something else. "You don't need to explain it to me. I know that she's your girlfriend. That's why I let her know that you were safe."

The girl grew quiet a moment before adding, "And you made sure that we were all safe too. I thought that you hoped to hide the dragon magic?"

Standing up, Sebastian found his legs stronger, but there was still weakness in them. Another trip to the dining hall should take care of the last of it, the mage thought to himself.

He put on a clean falcon uniform. It was a new one, so someone must have sent to the laundry for a change of clothes for the battle mage. The army clothed their military, so uniforms were available even for those who had been promoted and moved on apparently.

"I'm going to find some breakfast. What time is it?"

"I heard the first bell, I think, but I am not sure really. Those of us who came back from the front aren't exactly on a schedule right now."

That made her brother say, "Shouldn't you still be here working on becoming an apprentice then?"

"Pfft, the teachers are all complaining that I am worse than you. Ylena said that I'm already learning apprentice level spells and skills," Katya said about her current mentor. A wizard who trained novices initially, Ylena had indeed discovered the thirteen year old to be a challenge to the norm.

"Are you coming?" her brother asked inviting Katya to join him by doing so. His boots and uniform were all set so Sebastian was ready to go off in search of breakfast. He was feeling better now, but a good breakfast sounded like the perfect answer to what ailed him.

Stepping into her white slippers, his sister looked very dainty in her white novice frock. She glanced to the bed and Ashleen before asking, "Shouldn't we bring her along? I mean won't she be angry if she wakes up and finds out that you left her behind?"

He laughed and shook his head. "I'll be back well before then and probably still have to pull her out of bed to get that woman moving this morning. Let her sleep and we'll come back for her."

Walking beside his sister, Sebastian couldn't help praising the girl. "You did well yesterday. Your magic is remarkable. I've never seen a diplomacy wizard using magic like that."

The two passed by other mages and cadets receiving confused looks. Novices in the mage wing were almost unheard of in the mage wing. A girl wizard walking with a battle mage in that wing might lead to rumors if they weren't siblings. It would also have brought trouble for both.

"That is part of why Ylena doesn't seem to know what to do with me. I learned dragon magic and she can't fly with me." That comment made the girl smile evilly and add, "Maybe I should see if I can get her to try dragon magic. It would probably annoy her to be a beginner, but I could be her teacher and make her do drills. She'd hate that, I bet."

He sniffed in a weak attempt at showing humor. "I've had to teach ravens, falconi and falcondi as well as my fellow mages since graduating. Most take it well enough. I have something they want to learn and we keep it to that."

Sighing, Katya complained, "You take all the fun out of making Ylena my student."

That did make him laugh and he reminded the girl, "Just remember that if you become her teacher for that one course. She has you for a student the rest of the time. Ylena can get you back if you are mean to her."

Her nose wrinkled with distaste, though Sebastian was pretty sure that Katya had realized as much before starting the conversation. She was just trying to lighten the mood.

By the time they arrived in the dining hall, the second bell rang. The line for the buffet was already long enough that the two had to wait. Sebastian was carrying his sister's tray with his and looking for a table when he spotted Magnus striding into the cafeteria like the fire wizard owned the place. At least he was a teacher now and had some claim to the school, the mage supposed.

Belted to his side, the fire wizard's hand rested on the pommel of a Hollow Sword. He approached Sebastian and pointed at the mage's chest saying, "You have got to make more of these swords. If we had more, we could have prevented being routed. By the gods, we could even have killed those warlocks if they didn't turn tail and run."

Sebastian's smile was tolerant and grim as he replied, "I don't think those warlocks run from much of anything."

Shrugging at his side, Katya stated, "They ran from me."

Magnus laughed genuinely at the girl and nodded, "Well, I've always told you that you are very frightening."

"You have not," she countered looking unhappy with his joke and crossed her arms in protest.

"Well, I am sure that I said it the first time I saw you using that magic in a fight at least," the fire wizard said looking towards the ceiling as if trying to remember the picture in his head which resembled that memory. "Anyway, Bas, this Hollow Sword needs many, many brothers and sisters. If you can put them in the hands of even a hundred wizards and battle mages, we can change the world!"

Sebastian's eyes strayed to the tables closest to them and the many eyes beginning to look at the trio talking about things unknown to the general public. The mage placed the two trays on the table helping Katya to sit before sliding in beside her.

"I haven't had enough time to make that many yet," he stated in a quiet tone trying to bring the wizard's voice down to a more discreet level. "They take time and a lot of magic."

Magnus sat while Embrell and Wellas walked to the buffet line to pick up breakfast for the three of them. The fire wizard didn't even need to ask, he just seemed to assume his companions would do what was needed while he talked with Sebastian.

"Surely if the ravens had seen this weapon in battle and the increase in power that it can bring to a wizard or battle mage, they would have decided you must become a full time sword smith. I thought I knew power before, but I was deluding myself. This Hollow Sword is amazing, Bas."

With a wave of the bacon in his hand, the mage said, "Feel free to use it for awhile. The war isn't over in Litsarin, so we can assume that there will be more call for dragon mages and the swords."

It was an admission that came from a weary man. Since returning from the void the first time, Sebastian had barely had time to rest. It made him miss the time on the island when it had just been Ashleen with him for company and the only demand on him was his own wish to discover gate magic to return home. Ashleen had seemed fine with remaining alone with him there, but nothing had happened since he was technically still with Yara despite being stranded.

Magnus looked pretty happy in spite of the fact that they were wrapped up in a war against the emperor in Litsarin while they couldn't be sure what would come from the mountains to the north at the same time. The enemy had struck and broken part of the wall a little over a month ago, so there was little question that the empire still had plans for destroying Southwall and its allies.

"I will make good use of it," the fire wizard confirmed thankfully, though Sebastian still feared that the man wouldn't take his warnings about abusing the power of the earth. There didn't appear to be any new grey hairs on the twenty-two year old wizard, but the mage didn't know how much of the earth's power Magnus had used in yesterday's battle.

The fire wizard's eyes seemed to lose focus as he looked upward in thought. "Where did you go during the battle? Arrimus said that he and Edwar were given your other Hollow Sword and left to fight on without you."

"Palose showed up again," Sebastian replied as the fork stopped short of his mouth with a bite of eggs. It wasn't a question that he had expected from the wizard, but he knew that someone would eventually ask him. "I gave Edwar the Hollow Sword, since I doubted that I would need it against him."

"The Betrayer?" Magnus questioned appearing slightly surprised. The other two wizards only knew the dark mage from word of mouth, though Arrimus and Magnus had been students at the same time as Palose and both had been trained in White Hall. "He seems to have a need to fight you that makes him find you quite regularly. Didn't he attack you in Windmeer last summer?"

"And I saw him in Parik before cornering him in New Harbor. Palose was also at the battle for the Twins, though he didn't challenge me that time."

"Hmm, another rival and an enemy to you besides," Magnus summed up. Sebastian could have said nearly the same things about the fire wizard not too long ago, but now the man was attempting to be a friend; which still felt odd to the battle mage.

Katya spoke up looking thoughtful as the girl mused, "He doesn't really seem too worried about killing you, to my thinking. Maybe this Palose isn't the fiend that everyone says he is?"

At both of their surprised looks, the girl sat straighter with a start. "What I mean is, he seems to be trying to kill you, but when he should have been able to do so, hasn't Palose left you to maybe die. There is no finishing blow, but then again Bas hasn't killed him either."

Magnus shook his head. "In my opinion, an attempt on your life is just as bad as actually accomplishing the deed. You can say that he hasn't succeeded, but perhaps Palose is too cocky from his way of thinking.