The Phoenix Ring (The Thunderheart Chronicles Book 1) (10 page)

              Aidan and Bartemus were inside room number thirty-seven, sitting across from each other at a large wooden table.  Aidan had learned that there was a storage facility for the furniture that seemed to appear from nowhere.  Timothy had explained to him that sorcerers were incapable of creating objects, instead they moved them from place to place with such extreme speed that any living creature would be killed.  With enough practice and enough speed, the items could even be moved through walls.  Aidan was still baffled by this theory. 

              "We found the Soulrock afterwards, and it was completely dead.  An ugly, gray thing.  It will fetch a good price if we sell it, but it is useless for magic now."

             
So I blew something up, what else is new?
Thought Aidan, who was still steaming a little.

              "I can't train you to be the sorcerer you are supposed to be without a way to access the magic, and rowan wood simply isn't going to be enough. Warlocks are able to use magic without a wand, but they must have a Soulrock. Now, there is a very difficult way to learn to use magic without
any
outside assistance, but only one person has ever accomplished it."

              "Let me guess."  Aidan said, "Marcus Thunderheart."

              Bartemus shook his head sadly.  "No, I wish.  If so, the war may have ended differently.  No, it was Malcommer."

              Aidan sat up a little in his chair.

              "But he was defeated, right?"

              "Yes.  But it was at a great price.  You read about how Malcommer escaped from a prison camp right?"

              Aidan nodded his head.

              "Well, that prison camp only held magical prisoners.  Deserted mages, wizards, and even creatures.  The only way to ensure peace within the camp was to take everyone's Soulrocks and have them destroyed.  Yet somehow, Malcommer figured out how to use magic without his. The guards were all normal soldiers, not a trace of magic in that camp, so Malcommer overpowered them easily.  That was how he escaped and started the Great Wars."

              Aidan thought for a moment.

              "But what did he have in his cell?  If you could just give me those objects, I bet I could figure it out."

              "It wasn't a jail, it was a camp. Despite the fact that these men had done heinous acts of crime, they were still the King’s Sorcerers, and they were treated far better than any other prisoners. He came in contact with so many things every day, you might as well just work with everything instead of trying to chart what he came into contact with.  But I personally believe it was just him, not the objects around him.  Now, I have work to do, I believe your friend wants to show you something.  Rest up today, tomorrow you start training."

              Timothy, Eleanor, and Aidan were all inside a strange building that looked like an overturned boat and sat very close to the pedestal that held Thunderheart's ring. 

              This particular structure was made for housing all the staffs and wands in the camp.  Timothy was having problems deciding which staff to pick, now that he had a Soulrock.  He and Eleanor had managed to narrow the choice down to two, yet the new mage could not decide which one to choose.  Aidan arrived right as Timothy began to read the complex set of runes that ran up each one.  Aidan knew that every staff was equipped with a set of runes particular to the material used to make each of them, and the right mixture of rune, material, and sorcerer would maximize magical output.

              "Hey, how's it going?"  Aidan asked, trying to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

              "Not too well."  Timothy said, trying to keep the excitement out of his.

              The first staff was made of stone, and could only have been put together by magic.  The top was adorned by a large griffin, which held a green, round jewel in its wings.  It was about as heavy as a sword, and the runes on the side would create a rock solid defense.

              The second was created from perfectly polished hazel wood.  The top of the staff was adorned by a small carved tree at the top that held a far larger blue jewel in between the "branches."  The runes would give the user the ability to use very complex spells that were more intangible, as well as supplying a lot of healing magic.  It looked frail, but when Aidan picked it up he realized that it was far stronger than it appeared, and would honestly make a good club. 

              For a moment Aidan imagined bashing Edwin over the head with it.

              "Why are you smiling like that?" Timothy asked.

              "Uh, no reason."  Aidan looked at the two staffs again.  He knew that the hazel staff was far better suited for Timothy, and he thought Timothy would have known it too.

              "Timothy, why did you even-oh."  Eleanor had a staff almost exactly like the stone one, except its crown was a fish.

              "Timothy, can I talk to you?"

              "Oh, don't mind me,” Eleanor said, "I need to do some stuff anyways, see you tonight at dinner?"

              "See you then!" Timothy said, his cheeks red from just talking to her. 

              The girl turned and walked out of the building leaving the two boys alone.

              "Ok, what did you need.  If this is about the Soulrock, then I promise you that we'll get you one-"

              "No," Aidan interrupted, feeling another stab of jealousy at the word Soulrock, "It's nothing like that.  I was actually wondering if the reason that you considered the first staff is because it's just like your girlfriend's."

              "She is
not
my girlfriend.  And…  well maybe, but why does that matter?"  Timothy said, more than a little defensively. 

              "Timothy, do you seriously think she is going to like you any less tomorrow if you don't pick the same staff as her?"

              "Well... no.  But we don't even know if there is going to be another day!"

              "What?"  Aidan said, raising an eyebrow.

              "Some wizards have a sixth sense.  They can't really tell the future, but they get more of a foreshadowing.  Have you ever experienced that?"

              "Uh, no.  Not even close.  But I assume you have?"

              "Yes.  And for some reason, I feel like something… bad is going to happen."

              Aidan sat down in the floor, contemplating what his friend had said.

              "But we're safe here, right?"

              "It's not us I'm worried about, it's my father.  He's a merchant, and is probably on a voyage to the elven kingdoms.  If he dies…"

              "I'm sure he'll be fine," Aidan said, feeling that his friend was being extremely dramatic, though he understood the young boy’s need to impress his girlfriend. But he still had a churning sensation in his stomach as he and Timothy left the building with the hazel staff.

              Aidan couldn't sleep.  He had tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, but he couldn’t get the image of the Soulrock cave out of his head.  Every time he closed his eyes, it was there, burned into his memory. 

              It was about an hour after midnight that Aidan gave up and decided to go for a stroll outside.

              Aidan threw his robes on and had just grabbed his rowan staff (which everyone had forgotten to take away from him) when he heard Timothy grunt.

              "Can't sleep?"

              "Not a wink,"  Aidan answered, "I'm going for a walk, wanna come?"

              "You know we aren't supposed to be up this late, right?  Sure, let's go."

              Aidan chuckled and threw Timothy his new staff. 

              The two boys found themselves wandering towards the edge of the camp, and then following the safety sphere.

              Aidan loved the feel of the fresh air on his face, and the smell of the forest.  For just a single moment, he was able to push down the anger that constantly lived in his stomach. 

              "You know, I used to think my father was a really bad person for what he did, and I still do.  But compared to Edwin, how bad can he really be?"

              Timothy, who had heard about Aidan's father multiple times, wisely didn't say anything, but rather just kept walking and listening.

              "Even though he left me, even though he left my mother, he can't be that bad, right?  It's not like he murdered-"

              "Stop,"  Timothy said, putting his hand out in front of the larger boy.  "Something important is about to happen."

              "Why didn't you do this 'foreshadowing' thing before?"  Aidan whispered.

              "It didn't really start until I got my Soulrock.  Now be quiet, I hear someone in the bushes ahead."

              The two boys dropped to their hands and knees and began to climb forward into the plants.

              There were two voices coming from the other side of the bushes, but Aidan could only make out one of them.

              "What's taking so long, when are you going to be done?"

             
Edwin.

              "This is a very complex spell,” The stranger said testily, "It will take a while.  Unless, that is, you want me to hurry and blow this whole place to hell with us in it."

              Silence.

              "There, I'm done."

              Aidan saw the blue safety sphere that covered the entire camp fizzle and spark, and then disappear.

              Timothy's eyes widened a moment before the cold mountain air, apparently kept at bay by the sphere, rushed into the camp.

              "What now?"  Edwin asked.

              "Now, you're getting out of here.  Don't worry, in twenty minutes this place will be nothing but ashes."

              Timothy grabbed Aidan's arm right as the shock of what the stranger had said hit him.

              Aidan pointed at the side of the bushes that they had come through, and both boys began to crawl out as quietly as they could.  It was only a matter of moments before they were out, but it seemed like an eternity for Aidan.

              Then they ran.  Aidan ran harder than he ever had before, and soon left Timothy in the dust.  As soon as he was in the center of the camp he started screaming.

              "Help, we're under attack!  Get up!"

              The entire camp began to rouse, Bartemus and Malachi were outside within ten seconds, the rest took longer.

              "Where are they?"  Bartemus said, looking around.  "I don't see any-"

              The first fireball hit the ground right beside the old warlock, flinging him into the air.  Somehow he managed to land on his feet right as everyone looked up.

              They were massive creatures, anywhere between fifteen and a hundred feet long.  They each had black armor, and a rider.  They came in all colors, scales flashing in the moonlight, and were terribly beautiful. 

              "Are those…"

              "Dragons."  Malachi finished breathlessly.

              And then the dragons attacked, and the sorcerers scattered.

              Aidan managed to get out of the way of a large fireball right as he spotted Timothy running towards them.

              "You can't attack them directly!"  One of the wizards shouted, "Their scales defy the laws of magic!"

              Then a fireball consumed the unlucky man.

              Aidan felt like throwing up and dove out of the center of the fighting, while most of the older wizards and the two warlocks returned fire.

              Aidan saw a dragon hit the girls’ quarters, and his heart seemed to stop.

              "Eleanor!"  Timothy shouted, running towards what was left of the pink building.

              "I'm okay," she said, coming out from behind a piece of rubble. "Everyone got out.  My staff is history, though!"

              Aidan sighed in relief, and Timothy and Eleanor embraced.

              It was obvious the sorcerers were losing.  They outnumbered the dragons five to one, but they did not have the advantage of flying.  The smaller dragons were staying far away from the ground, raining fire on the enchanters, while the larger creatures would physically attack and smash the buildings and people.

              It was at that moment that Aidan saw one of the riders on a small orange dragon get incinerated by one of Malachi's spells.  The creature roared a mournful noise and veered off, away from the battlefield. 

              "That's it!"  Aidan yelled.  "Slay the riders!"

              All three mages began to run towards the bulk of the fighting, screaming, "Slay the riders!"

              Unfortunately, a large dragon noticed them at about the same time as everyone else.