SORCERER (The Elemental Magic Series Book 1) (25 page)

He pulled out his lunch made of an apple, a small loaf of bread and some cured ham that he made a sandwich out of. He felt around for the letters then realized he'd left them on the table that morning. Damn, he thought, I was going to read them while I ate.

Steven would probably put them back in his room for him; he'd have to thank the guy when he saw him. He read the last two chapters of the book, one on spiritual magic and on the combination of the different elements. He put the seeds from his apple on the ground by the trail and pushed his power and vision of it growing into it.

It spouted little roots into the ground and a small trunk sprang from it. He then went over to a mature tree and placed his hand on the bark. He had it move its branches this way and that. It dropped several small twigs on his head so he left them high enough that he could ride under them. It took more power than with air but not quite as much as with earth.

The book had said while manipulating any of the elements was possible for any user, it was more difficult and took more power to manipulate elements that the user didn't have an affinity for. That makes sense, Alec thought, it was that way with earth and spirit. But air was fairly easy for him too, almost as easy as fire and water. He wondered if he could mix the two in some way. The book had said fire wasn't just flame but really heat. So maybe he could heat the water or try to remove it.

He still had better than half his power left so went back to the river and pulled water from it. Putting the water in a shallow depression in a rock prove harder than he thought it would be. It took a couple tries after finally moving the rock around in the sand so most of the water wouldn't just run off it.

With a fair amount of water he pushed his power into it and tried visualizing it being heated by a flame. Soon the water started steaming then boiling and Alec stopped. Putting his hand above it he could feel that it was hot and not just his imagination. He had an idea of how to make it cold which he suspected was really just the absence of heat.

He visualized a flame beside the water with the heat in it fueling the flame; he kept it up for a few minutes till he heard a cracking sound coming from the water. Looking into the water he could see ice had formed around the edges. He stuck his finger in it to see how cold it was.

Ha, he could make a drink cold in the summer. He thought of all the practical uses of his new skills. He could warm a water skin in the winter rather than holding it in his jacket. He wondered if he could do the same with the air. He tried heating the air around him but as soon as it started getting warm a breeze would come and blow it away. He figured he could do it inside but then most places were heated and it wouldn't be necessary. He lay back in the sand and tried to think of a way it would work. He really didn't like the cold, his toes never felt warm in the winter.

He thought of just warming his body but then thought better of it. He didn't want to accidentally hurt or kill himself. He might be able to cool the inside of a room, which would be nice. His room in the tower was very stuffy.

Alec lay back thinking about other things he would try, just not with his power so low. And he wanted to try cooling his room in the guest wing tonight. With the sun fairly low in the sky he dug his supper out and ate, thinking that time went by fast when he was practicing. It was hard to believe almost a week had past of his suspension. As the sun sank lower he came to a decision within himself. Thinking on what Christi had told him before he'd left. He realized that she hadn't done anything other than act as a girlfriend to him, it wasn't her fault that she was forced to follow rules set for nobles.

Besides if she really did have feelings for him and intended to ask for leniency from father in regards to them dating. He really owed her the benefit of the doubt. After all he was the one who had acted like an ass. He just hoped she would forgive him.

Alec packed his things and mounted the horse. I should just name it since Erik didn't tell its name when he gave it to me. He thought about it as he headed back toward the city. He didn't know any good horse names. Maybe he'd keep an ear out and see if he heard any from others when he came to the gates.

Shortly after leaving the clearing a woman appeared. She looked at the young apple tree Alec had left and dipped a finger into the water sitting on the stone by the river. She could almost taste the power he’d used. The sheer amount of power the boy had been playing with set her teeth on edge. If her priest didn’t get results soon she would be forced to take matters into her own hands and that would set back her plans for war.

Alec dismounted at the gates and made his way in. Every other person was talking in a whisper. The guard at the gate recognized him from the other day and gave him the news.

Rumor was that there was a good chance that Sundaria was going to try to take this end of the eastern coast again, the guard told him. People expected King Randolph of Sundaria to make his proclamation of war this fall.

Chapter 26

Alec made his way back to the Morton's house as full night descended on the city. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts of there possibly being another war he failed to notice the three extra horses in the stable. He no sooner than opened the door to the house from the stables than he was almost knocked to the ground by Christi hugging him.

He laughed and hugged her back swinging her around in a circle.

"Hut hum!" Someone cleared their throat.

Alec looked over her shoulder to see Allen and Bill standing there.

"What are you guys doing here? Why aren't you at the school?" Alec asked shaking Allen and Bill’s hands halfway untangling himself from Christi.

"If you'd read your mail you'd know that we were coming for the weekend." Christi reprimanded him.

"I forgot it on the table this morning. I meant to take it with me when I went to practice. How long have you been here?" Alec felt bad about not reading it sooner now.

"Just after supper, so not long," Allen told him.

Alec followed them to the sitting room with Christi clutching his arm possessively. George and Jessica were there sipping wine and shared a knowing look at the sight of Christi holding on to Alec. Allen and Bill each took a chair while Alec guided Christi to the couch.

George got up and pored Alec a drink and told him he was glad he was back so his daughter would stop looking out the window, getting a laugh from everyone.

Allen, Bill and Christ took turns telling Alec about things at the school and that Peter had sent a package with them. They'd set it in his room. After making small talk for a while their parents went to bed saying it would be a big day for all of them tomorrow and not to stay up too late. Alec switched to fruit juice not caring for the taste of the wine and was busted by Christi when he chilled it in his glass.

"What are you doing?" She asked him interrupting a story Allen was relating.

"What?"

"You used magic." She stated now that she had everyone's full attention.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you could feel it. Here." He handed her his now cold glass.

"What did you do?!" She almost dropped it, which got her brothers to crowd around them each wanting to hold the glass in the too warm room as the glass started to sweat.

Alec explained that it was a combination of a couple spells from the book Peter had given him.

Christi just stared at him while Allen and Bill asked if he'd do their glasses of wine.

Which he did, as well as Christi's herbal tea. She asked how far he'd made it through the book and he told her he'd finished it that morning and could do all the spells in it.

She sat there astounded. She told him Peter had just started her on fire making and constantly drilled Beth on shields. This reminded him that he still had the internal shield on. He told them as much, saying it would protect him from being stabbed and cut.

Allen thought to test it and asked, in a look, not actually saying anything knowing the trouble he was about to get into.

Alec nodded his consent.

Allen quickly drew his knife and reached over attempting to stab him in the chest. Christi and Bill watched it happen in horror.

The knife sliced through his shirt but didn't penetrate any further. Christi tackled her brother to the floor with a cry. Alec pulled her off of him before she could land the punch she had aimed for Allan’s face.

"I'm fine Christi! Look no blood! Remember I just told him I had on a shield that was impervious to a blade, he told her.

"Well he could have warned the rest of us." She tried to hit him again.

"Then you would have objected."

"Duh, moron, who would willingly be stabbed?"

"Well I tried to stab my arm myself."

"Point made," she said hitting him in the shoulder.

Allen reached over sticking his finger in the hole his knife had made.

"Why'd you try it in the chest? Now I have a hole in my new shirt. Couldn't you try for an arm?" Alec asked him.

He explained the different types of shields he was able to make t
hen told them about the bandits that had attacked him the other day. 

"I think this makes it a good time to hit the hay. Besides I still need to open my mail and take a shower." Alec got up to go.

He said good night to the brothers and gave Christi a kiss good night. Alec headed for his room.

Stripping off his clothes and laying on the bed to open his mail, he thought he pretty much knew the contents of Christi's letter but read it anyway. She had such neat flowing hand writing. It said what he expected. He opened one from Karen detailing Jake's up-coming wedding and including a note from Jake asking Alec to stand with him as his best man. Alec was really excited. He was going to be a part of his friend's big day. He went in to the shower and started the hot water.

On the other side of the house in the residents wing Christi slipped out of her room and down the hall wearing a thin sheer night gown and an evening robe. As she passed her parents room, Jessica peeked out after hearing Christi's door latch. She could guess where her daughter was headed.

Christi kept an eye out for Steven as she moved through the dining room and towards the guest rooms. She quietly entered Alec's room and heard the shower running.

Alec was just adding soap to his hair when he heard the door to his room open. He quickly rinsed off and dried wrapping his towel around his waist as he exited the bathroom.

"Hi Alec," Christi said sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Oh, um, hi Christi. I um..." He stuttered "I'll just get dressed." He grabbed his clothes and stumbled back to the bathroom. He dressed quickly and came back out after getting ahold of himself.

"Christi, I'm sorry," he said dropping to his knees in front of her with his head bowed in what most people would term a formal act of apology.

"You have treated me the best and I returned it by accusing you and making an ass of myself. I formally apologize."

Christ wanted so badly to stop him as he'd knelt down but knew how wrong it was to interrupt a formal apology even to accept or deny it. Even though she didn't think it was necessary, he obviously did.

"I accept, on one condition," she said in a firm voice.

Alec looked up. His eyes sparkling with the affection he felt going out to her.

"I want to know exactly how you feel about me, about us, no more slipping around the subject or trying to give little hints, straight forward!" she told him as she pulled him to sit next to her on the bed.

Alec cleared his throat hoping to stop some of the embarrassment he felt as he told her. "I think I've fallen in love with you. I've never felt like this with anyone else. I constantly think about you when we aren’t together and can't think straight when we're together."

Christi grabbed him pushing him down on to the bed kissing him hard on the mouth.

"I love you too, Alec! I do!" She told him excitedly as she let him back up. "You know you're going to have to properly court me before my father will allow us to be together? He told me he would allow it even though you’re not a noble!"

Alec laughed realizing that by rights he'd already started.

She looked at him confused so he told her. "Actually I think I've already started and so far your parents have consented."

She stared at him with her mouth open in astonishment. She asked what a courtship meant and consisted of where he was from.

He told her that when a man wanted a woman to accept him as a husband and seemed inclined, he first had to gain the approval of her family. For siblings and such he need only to befriend them and as for Allen and Bill he was already friends with them so that was easy. The hard part was getting a woman's parents to accept him as a suitor. The man needed to gift the parents with something that was uniquely his.

“In your parents case I made them what I call my spicy thick bean soup, which your father especially loved. Now that I have the approval of your family I would normally speak with my mother or, in my case, my Aunt Karen and ask her to send a go between for me. Normally it would be a relative since, in my case, I have no other. She would then go herself to negotiate my worth to your family and the worth of your dowry.”

The look on her face was one of concentration, so Alec continued. “Once all that is done, I am allowed to formally take you on dates and such without chaperone now that I have gained the trust of your parents. Traditionally we would have to wait at least six months to a year before being married. During that time if you should become pregnant, the child is legitimately mine under all inheritance laws. It is very frowned upon for that to happen.” Alec was sure his face was a solid red color.