The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds (25 page)

Tsoya tried again and again. Frustrated, she stood and began pacing. She had two options; abandon her post to tell Milisda or stay. Tsoya was not terribly strong in magic; she was stronger than any human, but she could
n’
t resist an attack from a
searean bre
. With Milisda and Anaelle she could. Since she would have to go personall
y…
What if the
searean
came while she was gone? What if it decided to kill the Heir?

All would be lost then.

As Tsoya weighed her options, the sun set and the moon rose. An owl hooted nearby. Tsoya stopped her pacing as a candle was lit in her head. She could ask this owl to find Milisda and give her a message.

She called to her fellow hunter with a soft song. In soft whispers the owl came. It alighted on her raised arm. It was a great Mountain Grey owl. The ow
l’
s eyes appraised her.

“
You called, lady
?”
It asked.

“
Yes
.”
She whispered
.“
Could you find Milisda Salidon on the other side of the mountain, in the town of Kada
?”
The owl blinked and nodded
.“
Warn her that I saw a
Searean
flying over Plarn
.”
Tsoya trusted the owl to remember her message, but owls were known to put their freedom above all else. If what she asked seemed to be a demand, the owl would keep from delivering the message until next week. She needed Milisda now. So, to sweeten the deal, Tsoya loosened the chains a bit
.“
You can hunt along the way. I know of a mouse nest near Kada
.
”

“
So do I
.
”
The ow
l’
s voice held some humor
.“
I will take your message
.
”
With that the night hunter lifted away.

Tsoya smiled, satisfied. There were more ways than one to get something done. Milisda would get her message just after midnight. Tsoya got out her supper ration and settled down for the night.

The owl flew through the night on silent wings. He made all haste to complete the mission the lady had given him. It was an intriguing request.

The night wind was still slightly chilly as it blew. Naked branches swayed gently. Silver light danced in the moving shadows. Something moved in the undergrowth. Moonwin
g’
s stomach growled. The lady said he could eat along the way.

Moonwing tucked in his wings and dove. His prey never knew what hit it. Or maybe it did. The mouse was stiff in his claws. When he tried to take off, he found it was too heavy. Moonwing realized his silly mistake. It was just a root.

Embarrassed, Moonwing took off and found himself on his face. What happened? He looked back at his feet and saw the root dissolve into a mist. His feet tingled as they were absorbed into the veil. Moonwing struggled futilely as the mist shrouded him. There was no owl latched onto a root. Not anymore. The root was missing too.

In its place a dirty child, neither boy nor girl stared up at the moon. The owl would make a nice pet for the Master, its message safely lost. To have the three dragons at the pass in the coming days would not do. There were places the Heir had to go. People to meet, things to see; before the dragons took her home.

Pershara

Kairevasigh woke suddenly. It was still dark. Her little fire was little more than dull coals. She gazed about, searching for what it was that had woken her. She noticed  the horse was
n’
t there.

Where are you?
She thought.

You woke up, finally. You need to run. As quickly and quietly as you can.
The voice was urgent. Kairevasigh gathered her bag with the book of swords in it and the bundled sword. Everything else she left. She started to run as quickly and silently as she could.

What is going on?
She asked silently.

The voice was silent for a moment before it answered, as if it was trying to figure out the best way to explain.
Let us just say that it is better for you if you never find ou
t
…

So not helpful.

Very helpful.
The voice insisted.
Keep running!

Suddenly she heard a howl and a hors
e’
s scream.
Are you okay?
  She asked panicked.

RUN!!!
The voice demanded.  At the same time, something howled again. Both the voice and the howl kicked her into a faster stride. She could hear something pounding through the forest on either side of her. Kairevasigh was really starting to hate forests. The grasslands back at home may have been difficult to see through too, but at least they were easier to run in. In this strange land she had to be wary of upraised roots and fallen logs. Branches snagged at her and lashed at her eyes. Kairevasigh kept her head down and kept going.

Arrruuu RUP!  The sound was like the noise a hanging wet carpet makes when struck by a broom. Kairevasigh startled at the sound and lost her stride. Her foot snagged on a loose rock and she went down. The wrapped sword flew from her hands. The cloth unraveled, revealing the black blade and shining brass hilt. Kairevasigh heard something padding toward her. She turned and her eyes widened. Coming out of the shadows was a dog-like creature. Its yellow eyes were fixed alarmingly on her. It paused to stand on its hind legs, sniffing the air. It fell back to all four, its mouth open in a toothy grin. Saliva dripped from its fangs. It was huge, well over seven feet long.

Kairevasigh scrambled forward, snatching up the sword and turned on the beast. Arruu RUP! It barked. Another answered, looming next to it. Kairevasigh growled at the two beasts. They were not impressed at her attempts to intimidate. After all, she was a small twelve year old human. They were seven foot long, dog-like killing machines. And there were more of them then her solitary self. Kairevasigh found herself once again brandishing the sword before her against a monstrous foe. Again the beasts were not impressed. She could hear more of them circling behind her. It was a large pack of whatever these things were.

The one who had come out first decided that it was done waiting. It leapt for her. She raised the sword between them and, looking into the creatur
e’
s yellow eyes, shoute
d“
STOP!
!
”

***

Arathin

The beach stretched for a long way both up and down the coast. The Golden Ocea
n’
s waves lapped soothingly at the sand. The beach was the no ma
n’
s land between two vastly different, yet similar worlds. It was the land of scavengers who fed upon the waste of both worlds. It was timeless and forever. Always it shifted, yet stayed the same.

Like her.

She was always shifting to stay with the changes in culture and time. She learned new magic and how to improve upon old magic. Her name even shifted to fit the world she found herself in; Carcha
né
zeil, zan neshelain
n’
A
l’
Dap. A pretty mouthful for a bittersweet truth
;“
Hidden Jewel of Time, the passion of A
l’
Dap
.”
She was lost in time and place. That was the bitter part. The sweet was that she was the passion of Gawin A
l’
Da
p…
wherever,
when
ever he was. 

Yet she was the same. She was still Jewel A
l’
Dap Holden. Daughter of King Randalph Holden and Kindra, the last of the dragons. The wife of Gawin A
l’
Dap and the mother of a daughter she had
n’
t even had the time to name.  The last of Pershara she had seen was Altana coming to kill her friends and family. The small group who had traveled as quickly as they could to save the man she considered her father. A man whose fate, like so many other things, she still did
n’
t know. She never did hear what had happened in Castle Mortia. Was the man who had raised her still trapped there? Had they failed? Or was he out there somewhere or some
when
? The questions looped about in her mind as she looked out over the endless gray sea.  In the distance a storm was brewing.

Jewel narrowed her eyes at it. It would be a bad one. She bent and picked up a fluffy white kitten who had been unwisely playing with a crab
.“
Come on, Sam-the-Unwise. Le
t’
s go back to the cabin
.”
As she walked back to her little cottage, Jewel had the feeling that something was on the verge of changing. It might start slow, but it would pick up and the whole world would be caught up in its whirlwind. She shivered and glanced over her shoulder at the darkening clouds. Lightning flashed and muted thunder rumbled in the distanc
e
…   

Here ends book two of The Ways of Mages: Two Worlds. Read on for a sample chapter of book three; The Ways of Mages: Starfire.

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The Serpent Storm

“
Ask your questions. I
may
answer. For every question you ask, be prepared to pa
y
…
”
The Spirit of the Well
sé
kan.

The world was gray, blac
k…
and very, very wet. Thomas GrimHolden, the newly minted King of Pershara clung desperately to the yardarm with his legs. His hands were busy securing the oiled sail cloth. About him were tried and true sailors. A man, Jingles if Grim remembered the name correctly, was next to him, muttering incessantly. Grim could only make one word out of ten. Maybe, thanks to the howling winds and the crashing sea. It was obvious the man was on the verge of a full scale panic. But he seemed to have mastered the art of venting said panic in talking. Something about bad luck and sea demon
s…
or was it something about the ruination of a good thing?

Grim glanced away from the knot he had finished tying. It was chaos about him. Salt laden water soaked him to the bone. It pooled in puddles about the deck. The taunt rigging vibrated when the wind played it as accompaniment to its howls. Which was constantly. Captain Willaim stood at the helm with JayDee. Earlier, the wheel had been too much for the old captain to hold onto and JayDee had jumped in to help. Now the two of them stood side by side, struggling to keep the ship going straight. The captai
n’
s hoarse voice shouted orders. Grim was amazed that any soul could hear him over the sounds of the storm. Seeing that there was nothing left to be done, Grim made his way down the rigging to the slippery deck.

The ship rolled from side to side as a monstrous wave dove under it. Training as a knight granted Thomas the steadiness found with great strength.  It served him wonderfully on land. But for all its tests, land just does
n’
t move like the sea. His strength only made it barely possible for him to make it across the bucking deck on his own two feet.  Clinging to the rail of the stairs that led up to the helm, Grim glanced up to see JayDee who stood on this side of the helm.

JayDee was in her element. She looked like a pirate queen. Her dark hair barely contained in a streaming ponytail. Her hair piece looked like a crown. She stood balanced with a solid wide stance. When Grim was close enough she flashed him a fierce smile. Her eyes glittering with a reflection of the stor
m’
s power
.“
What ho, Thomas? Enjoying the dance of elements
?
”

“
Sure. If clinging for my life counts as enjoyment
.”
Grim answered as lightly as he could. JayDee and the captain laughed.  Grim shook his head, eyeing the roiling sea warily
.“
Are storms normally this bad or are my land legs showing
?
”

JayDee shouted an order to a passing crewman. She then turned back to Grim
.“
I told you, I have never seen so many storms before. And no, not quite this bad
.”
A look of concern flitted across her face
.“I’
m not sure how much longer the crew can keep this pace up
.
”

Grim had been wondering the same thing. They had been caught in this storm fo
r…
God only knew how long. In the beginning, the crew had been cycling through shifts. But then the storm increased in violence and no man could find any rest. There was nothing dry left on the ship and everyone was exhausted. This was when even the best of men made mistakes.

And the storm showed absolutely no sign of slowing down.

“
God must be with us
.”
Grim heard JayDee mutter
.“
Your protection wards have held so far. Without them, I think we would have capsized a long time ago.

“
I
know
we would have
.”
Captain Willaim said as quietly as the storm would let hi
m…
which was
n’
t that quiet
.“
Do
n’
t be getti
n’
me wrong, the Lucky Blue Wing be a right goot ship. But sh
e’
d be made
o’
wood. Sea seems inclined to break wood this day
.”
The last he said even softer. If Grim had
n’
t been watching the ma
n’
s face he would
n’
t have understood.

A lance of purple-white lightning zinged close to the ship and sliced a wave. Flurries of snake-like lightings licked over the waves. The flash almost blinded the entire crew. The crash of thunder that followed on the lightnin
g’
s heels certainly deafened them.

“
Bloody hell
!”
JayDee snarled, shivering from the electric charge in the air.

“
I could
n’
t agree more, my l
a
…”

“
Can it
!”
JayDee interrupted her friend. Willaim blinked before muttering an apology.  He was interrupted again, but not by JayDee. The Blue Wing bounced up in the trough of a wave with a groan.

“
What was that?
!”
Grim asked alarmed. Men on deck were knocked down thanks to the unexpected movement.

JayDee shook her head then called to the men in the rigging
.“
What we hit?
!
”

“
I do
n’
t see a thing m
a’
am
!”
A man called back.

The man was right. The sea was black, the sky was a dark gray and the shi
p’
s bow lantern had long since gone out.

Another wave pitched them toward the sky. Grim narrowed his eyes and pointed at something in the distance
.”
What i
s…!”
The rest the wind carried away. But it caught the attention of the captain and the dark haired woman. They stared. Grim could hear the shouts of the men pointing, calling their fellow
s’
attention.

In the distance, in a world of black and gray, was a constant pulsating light. It fell from the sky to the sea in a curtain-like way. A curtain that was caught in a wind storm. Where the curtain was pulled apart wa
s…
blackness.

Everyone on the Lucky Blue Wing wondered what it was as they stared at it in awed trepidation. The sleek cruiser road along the back of the wave heading straight for the unknown.

“
I do
n’
t like the look of that
.”
JayDee breathed.  Willaim nodded mutely. The two of them went to work turning the ship.

“
Captain!!
!”
Jingles screamed. In the pulsating light, Grim could see the man imitating a spider down the main mast. He called out again as he hit the deck and took off running toward them, heedless of the rocking boat. Grim had a brief moment of envy. Jingles ran as if a rocking ship was little more than dry land.

“
Spit it out, man
!”
The captain commanded.

“
Mmmmma
l…
ma
l…
maelstrom!!
!”
The ever talkative Jingles stuttered.

                                                                                    ***

Cold, black water caressed every inch of her body. And there was a lot of body for it to caress. Her serpen
t’
s form was roughly a hundred yards long not including her head, which was large enough to swallow a large man whole. Her jaw was lined with hundreds of hooking teeth. Each covered with toxin that served to rip the soul from the useless flesh. Hm
m…
tasty.

Kaltana smiled. She would soon have a lovely meal. There, her length above and slightly ahead, was a bobbing little cork. The proper term might have bee
n‘
shi
p’
but whatever. It was a little toy that happened to be crawling with two legged snacks.

The Dark Kin Council knew who was on that ship. Thomas Holden thought he had slipped away, but the Council knew. The Council had many eyes and ears. The upstart king who served the light was going to die. A shiver of anticipation swept through her. With the eagerness of a cat playing with a hapless mouse, Kaltana began to swim up toward the little ship.

Roughly three thousand years ago, the Dark Kin had sundered the world. There is more truth to th
e“
divide and conque
r”
axiom then some believed. Their doubt made it so much easier, not to mention enjoyable, to crush them. The same was true for the world and those who served the light. It was even more satisfying to plant doubt in the hearts of those who knew the light. A challenge, but beautiful when they fell. Braking apart Pershara and Arathin had been imperative if the Dark Kin were to rule the world.

As for the worl
d…
The world, with the rise of the barrier, became unbalanced. The sensitive world has this need for balance. Everything from the tiniest atom to the currents in air and sea has this desire. The need for balance causes the flow of energy through the natural world. Same with magic. Magic pools in places and people who are attuned to it till given an outlet to flow. The outward flow produces the work needed. That was the basics of it anyway.

The barrier between Pershara and Arathin was a place of high density magic. The barrier cut deep through the ocean and high into the atmosphere. The magic had been tightly bound. But that was changing. Over the last hundred years the wall had been weakening. That was fine by her because it made it easier to get to and from her favorite hunting ground. It also made lovely storms and turmoil in oceanic currents. Thomas and his friends were going to learn firsthand just how unpredictable magic energized storms could be.

Kaltana gently bumped the ship before diving back toward the depths. Her diaphanous wings giving her extra thrust. The waters were roiling nicely, but she was always a helpful sor
t
…

                                                                      ***

There was a moment when the ship became the still eye of a storm. No one moved on the ship as far as Grim could tell. Every man and JayDee stared to a point just off the port bow. The black sea was lit by the pulsating curtain. Behind them the waves were sixty to a hundred foot tall hills. Before them, the sea was almost flat. There was a rushing sound. It could have been the blood in his ears, but Grim was confident that it was, in fact, the sea. The sea was doing something he had prayed was nothing more than sailor folklore. The water was rushing so fast that it was smooth. All the way to that horrifying point where it vanished. JayDee and the captain had tried to steer the ship away, but they hit something again. The jarring impact had sent them into currents that played in the maelstrom.

“
Please tell me those are not last rites yo
u’
re muttering
.”
Doctor Harding said next to him. Grim looked at him in surprise. Others around them were looking too, for the docto
r’
s words were the first any had said since Jingles had stuttere
d‘
maelstro
m’
.

“
No, Doctor. Those are reserved for those who are about to pass on to the next life. The living have little use for them. I was praying for Go
d’
s guidance
.”
The other man shook his head.

“
Why do they bother putting rudders on these dratted things when they do
n’
t darn work?
!”
JayDe
e’
s outraged question brought Gri
m’
s attention to the helm. She and the captain were struggling vainly with the wheel.

“
Curren
t’
s too hard
!”
Captain Willaim called over the rushing sea. JayDee started cursing useless ships. Which the captain took exception to
.“
Hey now. Do
n’
t be cursing the old boat. She has been doing her darnest to keep us afloat. Blame the sea for being temperamental. But keep it respectful lik
e…
and quiet. The sea is already in a bad mood
.
”

Laughter tinkled over the sounds of water and wind. The sailors glanced uneasily about. JayDee and the captain froze, glanced at each other, than mimicked the crew in looking around. Grim turned to look down at the water. His breath stopped.
Dear Father in Heave
n…
.
An eye the size of a small child curled in a fetal position peered out of the water. It blinked coquettishly at him. But despite the outward playful manner, Grim knew there was no soul within it. Nothing but evil. It made his heart freeze. Gri
m’
s hand fell on the glowing silver cross.