Her muscles cried out as she started walking, the Assistant Prefect in her arms.
“You won’t make it.” He started coughing, the smoke filling both their lungs.
“We’re both going to make it, now shut up, Mason.”
Riley went forward, step after step. She saw no one. Heard no one. She had to turn back from certain pathways, the fire too hot.
The world began to grow hazy, but not from smoke. Mason had passed out in her arms, and Riley felt her knees start to buckle.
Forward, she thought. Keep going forward.
She went another ten feet and then fell to the ground. Blackness overtook the Right Hand.
Chapter Thirteen
“She’s too stubborn to die.”
Riley heard the words, the first she could remember hearing in... Well, what seemed like forever.
She opened her eyes.
“Told you. Way too stubborn to die.”
It was William, and he was looking down at her.
“Mason?” she asked, her vocal cords feeling like someone was rubbing sandpaper over them.
“Quiet, my Savior,” Thomas said. “Quiet now. You need rest.”
“The bastard is still going on about you being his savior.” William chuckled.
Riley reached out, unsure where she was or what was happening. She gripped William’s arm as tight as she could. “Mason?” It was the only word she could get out.
“Calm down, skinny. He’s alive. Hurt, but he’s gonna make it. Now listen to your little lackey here and get some sleep.”
Riley stared at William for a moment, searching for any sense of falsehood in his face.
She saw none. He was telling the truth. Wherever she was right now, whatever was happening, Mason was alive.
She closed her eyes, and yet again, darkness overtook the Right Hand.
William hated being underground. To him, the entire place felt too small, like he was trapped.
Probably because he was a damned giant.
Yet, right now they had no choice. He’d spoken to Riley briefly, but they couldn’t move her any farther. Making it this far across the desert had been hard enough. Going all the way to New Perth in such a state?
She would have died, as would Mason.
They’d been here five days, and while William talked bullishly, he didn’t feel that way. Not about Riley, at least.
Mason was already awake. His arm and leg had been set, and while he wouldn’t be walking on his own anytime soon, the Assistant Prefect was doing well.
Riley was not.
William and Mason had been summoned to the queen’s chambers. Her name was Alexandra, and while William knew she was only the queen of a few underground tunnels, he was beginning to trust her.
Everyone in here had an almost slavish devotion to Riley.
They truly believed her to be some kind of savior; they believed her magic would grow that powerful.
William didn’t know about all that, only that his friend was sick and not getting better.
Mason was in a type of chair William hadn’t seen back in New Perth. The thing had wheels on the sides and William was pushing it from behind, ensuring that Mason could get wherever he needed.
“How are you feeling, sir?” he asked the Assistant Prefect.
“Please cut that shit out, William,” Mason directed. “I feel awful, but there’s no reason for us to continue with the sirs and such, given how far you’ve come for me. We’re friends.”
“Yes, sir,” William responded before snapping his teeth shut. It didn’t matter what Mason wanted; he wouldn’t be able to stop etiquette.
They reached the queen’s chambers. William stepped around the chair and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Alexandra called.
William opened the door and rolled Mason through. He closed the door after they entered, pushing Mason to the middle of the room. The queen sat on a couch opposite him.
William and Riley had been in charge for a long time, both of them given free rein to do what was necessary to return Mason to the kingdom. Now, though, Mason was back and in charge.
William moved to the corner of the room, placing his hands at his sides as he looked on.
“Thank you for coming, Mason,” the queen said.
“Again, we’re grateful you’ve given us refuge,” Mason answered.
The queen nodded. She had shown great respect to Mason’s entourage, most likely because she knew how Riley felt about them all.
“We’ve been studying your Right Hand carefully. You know how important she is to us, as she is to you.”
Mason nodded in silent agreement.
The queen continued, “Her wounds are not physical, at least not in the same way yours are. The mage hurt your body, but we think he did more to her. We think he hurt her…” the queen’s voice trailed off. “I don’t know the word. I’ve thought about it quite a bit, but I can’t figure out how he did it.”
She stared at Mason for a second, then said, “You might think I’m crazy, but his wounds are inside her. Her mind. Maybe her very soul, if such a thing exists.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Mason responded, “but that doesn’t do anything to help me fix her. That’s all I care about—getting her healthy.”
The queen nodded. “Me too. I’m saying soul and mind, but that’s because I lack the knowledge to diagnose her.”
“Who has the knowledge, then?”
“Well,” the queen answered, “the dark mage does, clearly. Other than that, I can only think of one person.” She looked away almost wistfully.
“Who?” Mason asked.
“Her name was Linda. I don’t even know if she’s alive anymore. I actually doubt it. She’d be... Well, as old as this mage of yours, if not older.”
“Who is she?”
The queen stood and walked behind the couch. She remained with her back to Mason. “She’s the one who started magic here. She’s the one who taught the originals. She might even have taught that dark mage. If anyone knows what’s happening to Riley, it’ll be her—if she’s alive.”
“Where would she be?” Mason asked, his voice edged.
“It’s hard to say,” Alexandra murmured. “The last time anyone saw her, she was leaving the continent.”
“Why?”
Alexandra turned around, a slight smile on her face. “How old do you think I am?”
“I...I’m sorry. I just thought you might know,” Mason answered.
Alexandra’s smile widened. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not sure why she was leaving, but legend has it that she was heading to the reef. If there are any clues to finding her, that’s where we should start.”
“And you think this Linda can save Riley? You think she’ll know what’s going on with her?” Mason asked.
“I think that if anyone knows, it’ll be her. The Chosen are extremely adept at magic, but I can’t touch what is going on with her. None of my people can either.” Alexandra’s face grew grave. “As much as you want to save Riley, understand I want it at least as much. She is our Savior, whether you believe it or not. She will change mankind. It’s important that we go west again.”
William felt the need to speak up then, although he didn’t want to. This was a meeting between leaders, but William had a duty to New Perth, even before his duty to Riley.
“I apologize, sir, but I feel I must say something.” He stepped away from the wall. “What about New Perth? What if Rendal survived? He will surely still be coming for our kingdom.”
Mason didn’t turn around to look at William, only nodded his head. “You’re right. We cannot forget our obligation, and I appreciate you reminding me.” He focused again on the queen. “I’m going to head back to New Perth. I have to warn my father and help prepare the kingdom. William will go with you and your Chosen to find this woman, Linda.”
The queen nodded in agreement. “We’ll have to bring her with us. Whatever is happening, it’s getting worse, not
better. If we find Linda, we won’t have time to return here. It’ll be too late.”
Mason turned his chair around and looked at William. “You keep her safe, you understand? Not just because we love her, but because she’s the only fucking person who can stop Rendal.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll give my life for her.” William was solemn in his promise.
“All right,” the queen interjected. “Let’s go find this woman and get Riley healed. I’m ready to see her kick some serious fucking ass.”
FINIS
Author Notes - Jace Mitchell
December 20, 2018
That was intense!
I honestly had no idea how this book was going to end. I could see Riley winding her way to Rendal, learning more and more about her powers, but I didn’t understand what would happen when they met. Was she strong enough yet?
Turns out, no. But to me, that feels a lot like real life. How many times do we have to try something over and over again before we’re finally able to master it, or to move past some obstacle? The thing I love about Riley is that as long as there is breath in her lungs, she’s going to keep trying. Rendal will have to kill her to make her stop hunting him.
Full disclosure, I haven’t started Book 4 yet, so I’m not sure what’s going to happen. We know the mythology of Arcadia and how the Founder spread the use of magic there, but we don’t yet know how it happened in Australia. I’m really, really excited to explore the mythology and how New Perth and Sidnie came to be.
It looks like things are grim for Riley; I’ve said this before, but I don’t really know what is going to happen to characters. They lead me and I just describe what I see. I do believe, however, that Riley’s going to rise. There’s a lot of fight left in her, and while she may be down, she’s not nearly out.
Okay, back to the salt mines for me. I hope you’re ready for book 4!
All the best,
Jace
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
December 25, 2018
THANK YOU for not only reading this story but these Author Notes as well.
(I think I’ve been good with always opening with “thank you.” If not, I need to edit the other Author Notes!)
RANDOM (sometimes) THOUGHTS?
You know, I suggest that if a certain author (*cough* *JACE* *cough*) keeps making my poor Riley get in these situations, I’m going to have to put their email address (or at least a forward email address) in these author notes so the fans can have a few words with them.
And I will ratchet it up from there. If Jace didn’t live so far away from me, I could be a little more personal in my application of subjective collaboration disagreement force.
But, alas, I cannot (and I am FAR too lazy to actually get on a plane to do anything.)
Although, the story comes through here (digitally) for editing…
HOW TO MARKET FOR BOOKS YOU LOVE
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AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
One of the interesting (at least to me) aspects of my life is the ability to work from anywhere and at any time. In the future, I hope to re-read my own Author Notes and remember my life as a diary entry.
Merry Christmas, 2018!
We are in our La Puente (California) home for the first time on Christmas. This also means that we have (had) NO Christmas decorations.
After many years of having a much larger home (with a LOT of storage space, and this house is neither that large, nor does it have much storage space) I am trying to keep our decorations down.
BUT, I still was sulking because we had NONE here. (I’m an author, so I’m allowed to sulk. It helps the empathy of my stories come out. You know, I have to feel them, right?)
Hey, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
So, back to the Christmas stuff. We purchased two big red wreaths (front door and what turned out to be for the mailbox), two boxes of lights (they went around the fireplace) and six little tree decorations (three little angels, and three little stockings that say ‘JOY’ with a green wreath about 3” around. No, seriously, these are tiny little things.) It took about ten minutes to put everything up, and it is JUST enough holiday’s for me to feel good about having the holiday.
Now I need cookies… (See you later, I’m starving!)
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Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Other Age of Magic Books
THE RISE OF MAGIC
*with CM Raymond and LE Barbant*
Restriction (1) – Reawakening (2) – Rebellion (3) – Revolution (4) – Unlawful Passage (5) – Darkness Rises (6) – The Gods Beneath (7) – Reborn (8)
STORMS OF MAGIC
*with PT Hylton*
Storm Raiders (1) – Storm Callers (2) – Storm Breakers (3) – Storm Warrior (4)
TALES OF THE FEISTY DRUID
*with Candy Crum*
The Arcadian Druid (1) – The Undying Illusionist (2) – The Frozen Wasteland (3) – The Deceiver (4) – The Lost (5) – The Damned (6) – Into The Maelstrom (7)
A NEW DAWN
*with Amy Hopkins*
Dawn of Destiny (1) – Dawn of Darkness (2) – Dawn of Deliverance (3) – Dawn of Days (4) – Broken Skies (5) – Broken Bones (6)
TALES OF THE WELLSPRING KNIGHT
*with P.J. Cherubino*
Knight’s Creed (1) – Knight’s Struggle (2) – Knight’s Justice (3) - Etheric Knight (4)
THE HIDDEN MAGIC CHRONICLES
*with Justin Sloan*
Shades of Light (1) – Shades of Dark (2) – Shades of Glory (3) – Shades of Justice (4)
PATH OF HEROES
*with Brandon Barr*
Rogue Mage (1)
HAND OF JUSTICE
*with Jace Mitchell*
The Dark Mage (1) - Chasing Madness (2) - Magic Rising (3)
Books by Michael Anderle
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
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Magic Rising (Hand Of Justice Book 3) Page 19