Return To Sky Raven (Book 2) (37 page)

The old man eyed me and snorted, “The trial, huh? Are you expecting me to have some test for you? Send you out to procure a golden cockatrice feather? Bring me a flask of water from the well of the eternally endowed? Hmmm? Was the trial of the dark forest not hard enough for you, oh hefty human?”

“Uh, well no, I wouldn’t say that but it’s not that far of a walk or anything.”

“Not that far of a walk he says! You’re right, it’s not. But tell me, how many days did you spend in that forest on your short hike?”

I shrugged. “I’d say only about a half hour or so. It was only two miles and I was moving rather slow. If I ran, I could have made it in no time, but I didn’t get the feeling there was a time limit.”

His eyes were wide. “Truly? You had no troubles at all?”

“No, not really. There were some pointy rocks and sharp sticks, and a marmot that just wouldn’t get out of the way. I guess I don’t go barefoot much.”

The man was stunned. “That forest has broken the minds of many young men and women; and you, a human, walked right on through it? What are you?”

I shrugged. “Well, I guess me being an enchanter might have had an effect.”

“An enchanter? Ha! You might as well tell old Mingt that you were whelped by a six-headed goat as claim to be an enchanter! There’s only one in existence and you’re not her!” He scoffed, batting at another loose item on the skull hat.

I nodded. “Well, there’s actually two of us at Xarparion now; at least, there was before the attack.”

“You’re from Xarparion? What do you know of the events there?”

“I was there during the attack; my friends and I were able to get a few hundred people out. Sadly, two towers of students are still trapped there,” I said.

“What of the Headmaster? And the tower Primuses!” he questioned sharply.

“All dead. My master, Rosa, is now the Headmaster.”

He smiled fondly. “Rosa is the Headmaster? I remember her; she was a sweet girl and I regret my treatment of her.”

“You were at the school?”

He laughed. “I was a teacher, in fact.”

“
He is being modest. This is Headmaster Mingt, Primus of the Fire Tower before he was kicked out.”

“Why was that?”
I asked Rosa.

“The rest of the fire wizards thought his methods were too soft and that fire is exclusively a force of destruction, not of creation like he taught. He was a good man. Though I hated him at the time, I knew what he was trying to do for me and I thank him for the lessons he taught me.”

I nodded to myself. “You weren’t just a teacher, you were the Primus of the Fire Tower. You were also a kind man who believed that a fire wizard should be taught to create, as well as destroy. They drove you out because they feared what you might change.”

His jaw dropped. “How did you know that?”

“Rosa just told me. She forgives you, by the way, and is actually very thankful for your teachings.”

“She is? Wait a second, that must mean that you two have formed a bond then, correct?” I nodded as he paused and stroked his chin. “Interesting, very interesting.” Then he smiled and took off the skull hat and tossed it casually back in the basket. “Since you’re a colleague, I can dispense with the silly props for the misinformed,” he chuckled, waving his hand around, indicating all the contents of the hut. “There are certain expectations for a shaman, you understand.”

Getting more input from Rosa, I leaned forward. “She could really use your help if you are willing to give it. The Headmasters are all gone; the teachers are gone. The Fire Tower is down to only four troublemakers now. Our two towers are being led by our oldest students, leaving the Enchanters Hall as the most effective group left, and there are only seven of us.”

He nodded solemnly. “That’s unfortunate and I would help if I could, but I am just too old for this kind of thing. I am probably on borrowed time as it is. But I won’t send you off with nothing when my life’s work is in danger. I know a few people who retired early from the school; I’ll contact them and see if they can meet up with your group.”

“Thank you, sir; any help is welcome. But if you change your mind, we would be glad to have you. I have to say, you aren’t like any fire wizard I’ve ever met before.”

His face took on an amused expression. “If you mean that I’m not a mean-spirited, egotistical bully with poor anger control and a fireball in each hand, then I’ll take that as a compliment.” He sighed. “Son, fire is the most human-like of the elements. It lives, breathes, eats, and dies. Because of that, it’s also the easiest to use, and also to misuse. It’s learning the discipline of the mind that’s hard. Unfortunately, that’s where my successors failed their students. You tell Rosa I think she will make a good Headmaster.”

“I will, thank you, sir.”

He nodded. “Now, we better get you under way. So, you’re doing the trial to become a man, huh?” he said as he gathered a few things together that were within reach of where he was seated. “Any particular reason? I say this not because I don’t think you’re worthy, but it’s not often a human chooses to undertake the trial.”

“I hope to marry a remarkable dark elf girl.”

“Ah,” he said, smiling as he started grinding up herbs in a bowl, “of course, and who might this lucky lady be?”

“Maya, your granddaughter.”

He paused and stared at me for several seconds. “I am really hoping your name is Alex.”

“It is.”

“Good.” He continued mixing ingredients in the bowl. “Then you better be good to her and prove to my son-in-law that you are worthy of her.” I nodded firmly. “Now, close your eyes and hold still. I am going to put paint on you and you mustn’t look at it until I am done or the spell won’t work.” He closed his eyes and held up two brushes loaded with paint. I clamped my own eyes shut and even refrained from using my mage sight.

I felt the brushes contact the skin on my chest before they started to move. It felt strange for a bit but I soon got used to it, and the smell the paint was giving off was oddly relaxing; it reminded me of Rosa’s workshop. After another few minutes, he stopped and put down the brushes.

“You may open your eyes now…well, this is odd.” He pointed to the painting on the left side of my chest. “This one is supposed to represent your spirit guardian, but I’ve never seen that image before.”

I looked down at my chest; the painting was upside down from my point of view. “It’s a Vahka, a Steppe Guardian!”

“If you say so, it looks like a horse to me. My point is, no one has ever had that before. Their spirits tend to be an animal of the forest, not the plains. And this other one…I don’t even know what that is, but I have seen it come up once before.”

“On whom?”

“Why, on Maya, oddly enough. Do you know what it is?”

“It’s the crest of the Nova,” I replied absently, turning over the revelation about my dark elf in my mind.

“The Nova? Why is their crest on your chest; and more importantly, why is it on Maya’s?”

“Because they’re my parents, and Maya and I are the Child of Darkness and Child of Light from the ancient prophecy.”

He was speechless with shock at first, but that was quickly replaced with puzzlement before he nodded in agreement. “To say you are lying would be saying that my magic is as well. If you are really Prince of the Nova, then I hope that my granddaughter is truly worthy of you.”

“More than I ever deserve. By the way, if it’s not a secret, what is Maya’s spirit guardian?”

He grinned. “I’m surprised you don’t already know; but then, if you two have kept your relationship proper as you should have, the guardian might not have manifested itself fully yet. Her guardian is a Jag’uri Puma, the fastest, stealthiest, and most dangerous cat in the jungle. They mate for life and are extremely territorial. You, young man, are in for an interesting life with her.” He turned and found a small pot with several small tied cloth bags resting inside and brought it back to the fire.

“Before you go, let me take a look at your immediate future - no charge,” he chuckled, throwing some herbs into the fire and watching them char. “The young people of the tribe often ask for one of these before a first date. Ah…to be young again.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, sir, why all this?” I motioned broadly to the hut and its contents. “You are obviously a powerful wizard.” The old elf stroked his chin and nodded. “You are wondering why I am living in this dirty hut instead of in a fine castle somewhere, sitting on a huge pile of gold and surrounded by concubines.” I tipped my head to the affirmative.

“Life is not about power and gold, Alex. It’s about the love and friendships you find along the way, but I expect you already know that.” He cast more ingredients into the fire and breathed in the smoke. “Almost ready.”

His eyes became opaque and I recognized the effect as something similar to the mage sight that I use. He rocked back and forth for a few seconds. Suddenly, his back snapped to rigidity, his face became panicked, and he uttered a cry of soul-rending dismay as tears began to stream down his face.

“Renalla! So much blood! The King and Queen are down!”

I leaped to my feet and ran out the door, leaving it flapping in the night air. The dirt thundered under my feet as I reached out to Winya. I could sense that they were still at the rock confidently waiting for me to return.

“Winya, tell Maya her parents are under attack! Make sure Nia goes with her; I will be there in a few minutes!”

…………………………………………….

Maya

Alex’s warning through Winya hit hard, my parents! I grabbed Nia from the rock where she had been napping and started running. Of course, I had to be wearing another infernal dress and decorative shoes instead of my armor. Kicking off the shoes and leaving them behind as I ran, gained me a little time. Nia was really confused.

“Maya, why aren’t we waiting for Alex to come back?”

“No time! My parents are being attacked! Alex is on his way. Nia, can you fly ahead and help them?”

Stifling a cry, the pixie leaped off my shoulder and flitted off into the night air ahead of me. She, at least, could get back to the house in a straight line and not have to worry about buildings, streets, and blind alleys. I was racing as fast as I could; unfortunately, since I was out of my armor, I had to rely on just my personal speed and endurance. Images of my mother and father were cascading through my brain; how much I had missed them the past seven years, and how happy I was for the reunion. This was replaced by a deep fear and loss as I pushed myself even harder.

Rounding a couple final houses, I hit the main thoroughfare that my parents’ house sat on and I could finally see it. It appeared to be a mass of confusion; there were city guard running back and forth like ants, archers on the roof, and even a contingent of cavalry mounted in the street with swords out. Winya appeared unasked in her sword form in my hand as Nia buzzed alongside.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I didn’t get inside, but there isn’t any fighting going on at the moment, although one of the guards shot an arrow at me! I’m sticking with you. Drat, I can’t even become Combat Pixie without Alex’s armor.”

I raced up to the outskirts of the activity. The guardsmen, seeing the sword, closed ranks to stop me. But as soon as they saw my face, they backed away and allowed me to pass. Reaching the house, I searched frantically for a face I recognized, finally settling on Ollis, one of my father’s oldest guards and friends, who was just coming out the door. He looked stricken and his grizzled face was ashen. I could smell the fresh coppery tang of blood everywhere and there was a substantial trail of it leading out of the house and disappearing into the street.

“Maya! Thank the gods you are unharmed!” he bellowed, reaching out to grab me by the shoulders.

“Ollis, where are they? I need to see them!” Winya retracted back to the bracelet form, and I stormed past the old guard and into my parents’ home. The scene inside was appalling. Chairs and tables were tossed everywhere and there was blood pooled on the floor, arterial spray all over the walls; there was even gore dripping from the polished wood ceilings. Two of my father’s personal guards lay crumpled, obviously dead, in the sitting room.

Moving to the kitchen and eating area, the destruction intensified, until I came to the area of the final battle. There were several higher-ranking guardsmen in here examining the scene, but they turned and quickly fled as they saw me. This room was awash in blood, the furniture was turned to kindling, and footprints and trails of gore were running every which way. Next to the kitchen stove was the broken body of the cook, Kalah; even her vampire regeneration couldn’t heal all the damage that had been done to her. She had died without extending her fangs or claws; essentially, she hadn’t even tried to fight back. I cut off the sob that was forming in my throat as Nia stared silently, still on my shoulder.

Tearing my eyes off Kalah, I started looking through the rubble for more bodies, desperately searching for my parents. I found a very gory Gwiwence lying along the wall and Father’s new sword next to it. This obviously was where the last stand had taken place. Above the carnage on the wall, written in blood, was a message in elvish, “Those who fail to serve the Lifebane in life will now serve him in death!”

Ollis came up behind me and placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Maya. There should have been more men here but, of course, your dad wouldn’t stand for that. He enjoyed being one of the regular people too much to wall himself up.”

“What the hell happened here, Ollis?”

He wiped a tear from his face and explained, “It appears a large group of stealthy warriors attacked the house. Judging from the footprints, I would have to say they were dark elves, probably thirty or more. They took out the perimeter guards with garrotes so they couldn’t raise an alarm and stormed the interior through the front and back doors. They overwhelmed the interior men we had in place, and attacked your parents and the servant. It appears they were looking for something as well, because the entire house was ransacked.

“The key stone!” Nia growled and flew off.