WarMage: Undeniable (The Never Ending War Book 4)

by Martha Carr

  “And that firedrake doesn’t know when to quit.” When the girls looked at each other again, they broke into muffled laughter.

  They sobered as they saw Alessandra walking quickly toward them from the stone archway from the main courtyard, her arms swinging at her sides. “Here comes War Mage Barnasis.”

  Raven wiped all trace of emotion off her face and stared straight ahead. “Don’t smile.”

  Bella squared her feet toward their trainer, clasped her hands behind her back, and muttered from the side of her mouth, “Don’t move. Don’t even breathe.”

  They both snorted and fortunately, they had sufficient time to recover before the gray-haired woman joined them beyond the stables. She stopped short only a few feet away and studied them warily. Her gaze cut from one young mage to the other. “What happened?”

  Raven shook her head a fraction of an inch. “What do you mean?”

  “Two of my trainees standing there like they’re trying really hard to not look like they’re hiding something.” Alessandra’s eyes narrowed. “So what is it?”

  “Our enthusiasm,” Bella muttered, her voice completely monotone like their trainers and her face completely expressionless.

  Her fellow student barked a laugh and clapped her hand over her mouth to wipe the smile from her face as quickly as she could.

  “Uh-huh.” The woman turned partially away from them and glanced at Leander before she scrutinized her trainees with an implacable expression. “You know, I put up with more crap from you two than any of the trainees I’ve had in the last twenty years. And that’s only because of what you can already do and what you’re capable of, understand?”

  “It’s an honor,” Bella said, inclined her head, and pressed her lips tightly together.

  “One might even say a privilege.” Raven bit her lip after that and had to stare at the grass at their feet to keep from laughing again.

  The veteran war mage grunted. “I think I liked you two better when you were at each other’s throats. Let’s get started.”

  The girls watched their trainer stalk farther onto the field before they followed her slowly. Raven leaned toward Bella and muttered, “I’m fairly sure the day we get her to smile during training will be the day she says there’s nothing left for her to teach us.”

  Her companion smirked. “Now that is a lofty goal.”

  Alessandra spun neatly, her hands clasped behind her back, and nodded. “You ladies had better pay attention today. We’ll dive into some advanced combat magic that’s only been approved for higher-level mages—and you, now. You two seem to be the exception to every rule, so I’ll simply assume from here on out that nothing’s off the table. Listen up.”

  Raven glanced briefly over her shoulder when she heard Leander approach and he stopped directly behind her with his huge head hovering beside hers. Yeah, he wants to hear the good stuff too.

  “This spell, in particular, is one of the most difficult to perform,” the trainer continued, her voice dry and monotone despite the exciting subject. “It requires both the mage casting the spell and the mage receiving it to be fully versed in its application and in casting it with each other. In turn, this means if you want to cast the Full Appearance to communicate, you both have to master this spell.”

  “What does it do?” Bella muttered.

  “I’ll get there, Miss Chase. Settle down.”

  The two young mages shared an exasperated glance but neither of them said a word. Wesley finally swooped from the sky, settled on his mage’s shoulder, and curled his long, thin tail around her neck to pay attention with her.

  “You know what a calling potion can do,” the veteran war mage continued, her hands still clasped behind her back. “The Full Appearance is a much more advanced version of that potion with the added convenience of not having to carry bulky vials around or running out of resources. Except for your own limited magic, of course.”

  Raven bit her bottom lip. That is not a conversation to have right now.

  “Many mages have used this spell during times of danger. The Great War was one such time. And you two have been an active part of what, I imagine, might have become something of the same threat level to this kingdom if you hadn’t stepped in when you did.” Alessandra raised an eyebrow and glanced skyward. “Yes, that was an actual compliment. Don’t let it go to your heads. And you’re not as adept at hiding that smirk as you think you are, Miss Chase.

  “I’m teaching you this spell to hopefully avoid any of the same close calls we’ve had in the last few months. When you’re separated from your fellow mages—and especially in the heat of battle—the ability to communicate with each other as quickly as possible is imperative. It may even save lives. For instance, take a moment to think about what might have happened if the two of you had been separated in Azerad before the raiders arrived.”

  “Things would’ve turned out very differently, that’s for sure.” Raven patted the side of Leander’s scaled muzzle beside her head.

  “And I would never have ridden a dragon,” Bella muttered.

  “I see both of you have threaded out the most important lessons from our little escapade in that city,” the woman added dryly. For a few more seconds, she stared at her trainees without any expression at all. “This spell is for your arsenal of magical knowledge only and is to be used when no other options are available. It is not a toy.”

  “We may be first-years but I think it’s very obvious neither one of us thinks magic is a game,” Bella quipped.

  “I’m merely covering all my bases with this.” Alessandra inclined her head toward the young mages and raised her eyebrows. “I know what each of you is capable of achieving and I would fail all of us if I left any important warnings out of this lesson. Such as this next one.”

  The girls shared another sidelong look with their eyebrows raised.

  “Like I said, this is a high-level spell and requires a tremendous amount of concentration and willpower.” The instructor’s gaze flicked across Leander’s face for a brief moment before it settled first on Raven’s, then on Bella’s. “It also consumes large quantities of your stored magic. The longer the connection is open, the more it will take out of you. Nothing quite like the Magic Meld which, ironically, you two already know quite well. But the Full Appearance most definitely takes a toll on the mage casting it.”

  Raven took a deep breath. “What if more than two mages know the spell? Can it be cast to speak to more than one person at a time?”

  Alessandra tilted her head with a little frown. “Don’t get any ideas about using this spell for a group chat over the week’s end, Miss Alby. I’ve only seen the Full Appearance used a handful of times with multiple receiving parties at once. Those were under life-threatening circumstances. Try that, and you may find yourself in the same condition as after you two dabbled with the Magic Meld.”

  “It wasn’t dabbling,” Bella said through clenched teeth.

  “Dipping into a highly advanced spell without ever having used it before, even in practice, is most definitely dabbling.” The veteran war mage took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled slowly. “If no one can effectively keep two curious, talented, infuriatingly stubborn young mages from somehow discovering and working with magic that has not yet been approved for their use, I might as well be the one to bring this knowledge to you. That way, you’ll know what you’re getting into, and we’ll all understand the consequences once you’ve had the time to practice under the watchful gaze of someone who actually knows what they’re doing. And in case you’re wondering, that someone is me. I’ve done this for decades.”

  “I’d take you over Professor Bixby any day of the week,” Raven responded. Bella snorted, and Alessandra pursed her lips.

  “I hope you take this as seriously as I do, Miss Alby.”

  “I do.” Wiping the tiny smile right off her face, Raven nodded and held her trainer’s gaze. “I’m serious about this training and learning these new spells. And I’m serious ab
out you being much better than some of our other options. For real.”

  The veteran war mage narrowed her eyes as she searched for whatever she might have hidden within her words.

  She thinks I’m messing around. Why does the truth have to be so serious all the time?

  “Well, you can work on improving the way you offer compliments on your own time, Miss Alby. For now, we’ll focus on the Full Appearance. And I’m also very serious when I say that both of you need to be absolutely certain you’re not distracted by anything else once we start this.”

  “I’m ready,” Bella said with a curt nod. The amusement had vanished from her face now too.

  Before Raven could echo the sentiment, Leander stepped out from behind her and stopped directly between her and Bella. He lowered his belly to the grass and raised his head, staring intently at Alessandra the whole time. Bella was so close, she could have touched him if she wanted to.

  And they both know it. How’s that for serious?

  Raven looked at their trainer and nodded. “We’re ready too.”

  “Good.” Alessandra studied them a little longer and the moment was broken when Wesley added his solidarity with a soft screech from Bella’s shoulder. “Then buckle up and repeat after me. Loquimi magus.”

  Both mages took a deep breath and held their hands out. “Loquimi magus.”

  They said it in unison, and a large circle of air in front of each girl shimmered with a wavering, opalescent light. A shock of powerful magic burst through Raven’s chest and spread to her open hand. “Woah.”

  Bella looked at her and grinned. “You felt that too, huh?”

  “Well, I know I’m not imagining it.”

  Alessandra unclasped her hands to fold her arms across her chest instead. “Actually, that’s a fairly good start.”

  Raven watched the shimmering air in front of her fade away again. “Nothing happened.”

  “I wouldn’t call that nothing. Most people take weeks to even cast that much.” Their trainer snorted. “Now, I have two sixteen-year-old witches casting twenty-five-percent of an unlearned spell on the first attempt. Together.”

  Bella’s lips twitched into a small smile. “You can’t really be surprised by that at this point, can you?”

  “I can be whatever I want to be, Miss Chase. And I want to be impressed. We all know you both are capable of that. So, go impress me.” The woman pointed at Bella, then flicked her finger toward the stables. “Behind the stables. You’ll cast first and I’ll be here to see what happens on Miss Alby’s side. Keep the receiver in your mind. Be very intentional about who you want to connect to this spell. Then, you’ll switch off until I call it quits, understand?”

  “Yep.” The girl turned, passed Leander with a small nod, and stopped briefly to lean toward Raven and mutter, “This is gonna be awesome.”

  “Right there with you,” she whispered and glanced away from Alessandra as the woman fixed her with a stern look.

  Wesley took off from Bella’s shoulder as she headed swiftly around the back of the stables and vanished from view.

  “Whenever you’re ready, Miss Chase,” the trainer called. “Make it quick.”

  Leander turned his huge head to meet his mage’s gaze and uttered a soft rumble of amusement.

  Yep. We have the hardass trainer who cares too much to mess around. Lucky us.

  A few seconds later, Bella’s voice rose softly from behind the stables. “Loquimi magus.”

  The same circle of opalescent light opened in front of Raven, only she hadn’t done anything to put it there. The air seemed to flicker and she caught a brief glance of half of Bella’s face floating in front of her before the image blinked out.

  “Wow.”

  “It worked, right?” Bella called.

  “For only your second time, it was better than nothing,” Alessandra hollered.

  “What?” The dark-haired mage’s impatient protest carried softly from behind the stables.

  The veteran war mage turned toward Raven with a nod. “Your turn.”

  “Right.” With a deep breath, she raised her hand again and thought of Bella. “Loquimi magus.” The glistening window of light appeared again to reveal as much of Bella’s face but this time with a sharp tingle that stretched from Raven’s core, down her arms, and to her outstretched fingertips.

  Her fellow trainee smiled in the image, which then disappeared as quickly as the last one had.

  When it was gone, she drew in a sharp breath and rubbed her chest.

  Alessandra leaned toward her and murmured, “It takes its toll, exactly like I said.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t think I’d actually feel it.”

  The woman studied her from head to toe, then glanced away. “You felt something when you cast the Magic Meld, I’m sure.”

  “I went numb. It’s not the same thing.”

  “You overloaded yourself with magic you weren’t quite ready for. This time is different.”

  Raven nodded and shook her hands out. “Fair enough.”

  She jumped a little when the woman straightened and shouted, “Chase! Again!”

  As she glanced at her huge red dragon familiar settled in the grass beside her, Raven shrugged. Here we go.

  Chapter Six

  They only went through two more rounds of practicing the Full Appearance before Alessandra called it quits. “There’s only so much you can handle in one day. I’m the one training new war mages, which is why I’m the one calling the shots on how much you can handle.”

  Raven shook her hands out and stared at them for a few seconds. “Whew. We’ll practice this again, right?”

  The woman raised an eyebrow and studied her trainees. “I’d say you have a good enough handle on it. Tomorrow, we’ll move in a different direction, but we’ll circle to casting this one again in the near future. I’ll see you two in the morning.”

  With a brief nod at Leander, the veteran war mage whirled and marched across the field toward the stone archway into the main courtyard.

  “I have to admit, that was definitely one of the coolest things we’ve been taught all year.”

  Bella looked at her and shrugged. “It was cool, yeah. Next time, why don’t you go behind the stables?”

  Raven snorted. “She didn’t teach me anything special in secret while you were over there if that’s what you’re wondering.”

  “No, I wasn’t wondering. But still, it’s good to know.”

  Behind them, Leander snorted and stretched his wings. “Sorry you didn’t get much of a chance to join in the training.”

  “Yes, I’m devastated,” the dragon replied flatly.

  With a smirk, she turned back toward Bella and shook her head. “The sarcasm on this one, huh?”

  The girl’s smile twitched a little, but she really didn’t seem that amused. Wesley fluttered nervously over her head and she stared at her fellow trainee with a tiny frown.

  “What?” Raven glanced quickly behind her, but Leander lay in the grass and the rest of the field was empty.

  “What do you mean, what?”

  “Um…that’s a new look. Directed at me.” She chuckled and gestured vaguely with her hands. “I can tell when you’re about to cut into me for something I may or may not have done, but I’m not sure what’s happening right now.”

  Bella’s frown deepened before she brushed past her and headed toward the stable wall and her knapsack that leaned against it. “Nothing’s happening right now.”

  “Okay…” Raven glanced at Leander, but the dragon had closed his eyes. I won’t have help from my familiar, apparently.

  Slinging her knapsack over her shoulders, the other girl turned and approached her with her chin lifted in her normal show of confident superiority. “So, I’m going home now.”

  Now, she frowned. “It’s a free kingdom.”

  “I know that,” Bella snapped. She took a deep breath and her gaze darted around the field for a few seconds before she blurted, “My dad and grandparen
ts wanted me to invite you to dinner at our house tonight. Do you wanna come?”

  She gaped in astonishment and fought to keep her jaw from remaining open. “Did you…”

  “Yes, Raven. I invited you to my house for dinner.” The girl stared at nothing over the other mage’s shoulder while Wesley uttered a soft screech overhead. “So are you coming or not?”

  “Um…” Raven couldn’t help a small burst of surprised laughter. “I think I’d better ask first if this is something your family tried to force you into or if you actually want me to come for dinner too.”

  “My family doesn’t force me into anything.” The dark-haired mage readjusted the straps of her pack and gazed at Wesley.

  “I thought so.” She smiled and waited.

  When Bella finally looked at her, she couldn’t keep a tiny smirk off her face either. “I wouldn’t have asked if I was completely against the idea.”

  She folded her arms. “Bella, I’m not coming to your house if you don’t want me to.”

  Rolling her eyes, the girl sighed and gestured impatiently. “Okay, fine. I guess I want you to come for dinner—if you want to—and we’ll pretend this whole awkward conversation never happened.”

  Raven’s next laugh broke the tension enough for both of them. Bella brushed the hair out of her eyes and shook her head as she continued to chuckle.

  “Okay, it sounds good to me.” At least it’s not a sleepover. she glanced at Leander, who acted like he hadn’t heard a single word of the conversation. “I assume there wasn’t an invitation for a dragon too.”

  Bella followed her gaze and tilted her head. “Probably not. We don’t have that much space as it is. And I wouldn’t want to, you know…uh, give my grandma a heart attack or anything.”

  “Yeah, that wouldn’t help any of us.”

  The girls shared another secret smile, and Bella nodded toward the dragon enclosure at the end of the stables. “I’ll wait while you put him in his pen.”

  “Oh.” Raven’s gaze darted toward the stone archway into the school’s courtyard and she wrinkled her nose. “Actually, I can’t go quite yet.”