by Eric Vall
Her own mare managed to keep pace with us, but she was certainly better suited to Shoshanne, and she took cues from the healer without any complaints. The mare didn’t appreciate the nips my horse kept trying to take at her, but after a thorough scan of the area, I let him break into a gallop to burn off some more steam.
I’d forgotten how much I liked riding, and the wind coursing through my hair had me feeling almost as hyper as the horse after a solid twenty minutes at an all-out gallop. I wore a huge grin on my face when I finally reined him in once more, and as he stomped impatiently and took a few anxious turns, Shoshanne chuckled at the two of us.
“You may have found your long lost brother,” she teased as she patted the pretty mare who kept her distance. “He’s as stubborn about work as you are.”
“I might have to buy this damn horse off that mage,” I chuckled in agreement. “He does need to be worked way more than he has been.”
Shoshanne smiled. “Every knight should have a horse.”
“Hey, I’ve got a Mustang,” I pointed out as I sent her a wink. “That’s my steed.”
Shoshanne rolled her eyes and gestured to the woods around us. “Any luck yet?”
“No one so far,” I replied more soberly, and I scanned one last time in the hopes of picking up anything through the soil besides deer and rodents. “We may be too late already, but let’s head back to the east and check beyond Magehill. We might have some luck just outside Serin.”
We took a different route to bring us behind the village as we headed east into the foothills, and about fifteen minutes north of the castle bounds, my Terra Magic finally sparked with something more promising than wildlife.
I swiftly reined in the black beast, and while he snorted and tossed his mane defiantly, I trained my ear carefully with my magic still coursing through the soil.
Three people were running about half a mile ahead, and I could tell by the weight of their footfalls that two of them were much larger than the third. They were also tiring out judging by the scuffing of their heels, and I figured with another ten minutes at their pace, they’d be just about exhausted enough to make them an easier target.
“They’re heading northeast,” I told Shoshanne as I let the horse continue at a slightly slower pace. “One of them is smaller than the others, and if we give them some time to wear out, we might be able to snatch him easily despite the rune.”
“How do we separate him from the other two?” the healer asked.
“Don’t worry about that,” I chuckled. “Terra Mage over here, remember? You just focus on getting him unconscious for me, and I’ll handle the other two.”
“Be careful,” Shoshanne warned with a nervous glance. “We don’t know their elements yet.”
I nodded my agreement, and we continued making our way across the western foothills while I kept my magic trained on the ground beneath the mages’ feet.
Once we were drawing closer, we dismounted and tethered our reins to a pair of trees, and the black horse was finally content enough to not argue against the pitstop. I gave him a good pat before I motioned for Shoshanne to follow, and we crept up the edge of a rocky ridge to get a look down into the next shallow ravine.
Sure enough, the mages weren’t running any more, and I could hear them panting with exhaustion while they briskly started to scale the opposite ridge. I focused on their pumping arms since I couldn’t see their mages’ robes under their cloaks, and I caught the mark of a Flumen and Aer mage on their weathered hands.
The smaller of the three was an Ignis Mage, and I grinned when I realized I was in luck. Without a Terra Mage around, I could handle them pretty easily.
“When they get to the top, start on the Ignis Mage,” I told Shoshanne in a low voice. “There’s an Aer Mage over there, though, so if they catch on to what you’re doing, this is gonna get difficult. Be quick about it if you can.”
Shoshanne nodded and focused her attention on the smaller mage who was trailing behind the other two, and when they finally mounted the rocky ridge opposite ours, I swiftly broke the ground apart just behind their heels.
The mages yelped in surprise as they stumbled off balance, and as soon as Shoshanne’s breeze kicked up around us, I shifted the ridge forward to send the two large mages tumbling down into the next hollow.
I could hear their bones cracking here and there on the way down, but they were still alive when they finally came to a crashing stop, and Shoshanne’s Ignis Mage was staggering around trying to catch his breath.
Flames shot from his palms in his panic, and as the leaves on the forest floor began to catch fire, he dropped to his knees and rolled down the hill he’d just climbed up.
“Go,” I ordered at once, and Shoshanne and I raced into the ravine as I felt the other mages already clamoring to their feet.
Her wind was stoking the flames into a rage, though, and even though the smaller mage was suffocating, he wasn’t unconscious yet. He’d also ignited another ring of flames where he landed, and as we came barreling down the hill, I realized we couldn’t reach him with the fire building between us and him.
I broke the base of the ravine open to swallow as much of the flames as I could manage without dropping the mage into a trench, but when the trees began catching fire as well, Shoshanne had to cut her connection to her element.
“Mason, we’ll be stuck down here if we don’t hurry,” she warned as she eyed the growing flames and squinted through the smoke.
“He’s still conscious,” I told her as I saw the mage pulling himself to his knees as he gasped to fill his lungs. The flames between us had stubbornly held out against my Terra maneuver, but I tried once more before the mage could get to his feet.
Then I heard a cry from the top of the ridge, and the two other mages pinned their deadly gazes on us. So, I sent a tremor through the ground that slowly built in strength like an earthquake, and just as the possessed Aer Mage caught hold of both mine and Shoshanne’s lungs, he was knocked to his knees.
The Flumen Mage tumbled into the ravine with us from the strength of the tremor, and Shoshanne stumbled while she tried to keep her place beside me.
“Hold on,” I gasped as the Aer Mage on the ridge refused to be brought down, and as his eyes locked on me once more, the last of the air I was clinging to siphoned from my lungs.
I thought I could hold out like I had when Wyresus attacked me in the cellar of the library, but there was something different about the hold this Aer Mage had on me.
My lungs didn’t just lose their air, they felt like they were being shriveled up into nothing, and the pain shooting through my chest caused my healing rune to retaliate with a vengeance.
The voices rose up as the weight of the rune fell on me like lead, and while the ground shook angrily and the flames billowed up around us, my vision blackened into a tunnel with only the Aer Mage in sight.
The runes chanted louder as the pain in my chest became unbearable, and without any conscious effort, I suddenly tore the ground beneath the Aer Mage apart.
A flaming tree crashed to the ground while the tremors continued to increase, and Shoshanne screeched as sparks flew up with a fresh wave of flames.
My lungs were saved, though, and the last two mages couldn’t manage to flee from the chaos of the ravine, but the runes were too angry now.
I felt like a witness standing by as I watched the Flumen Mage drop into a fiery pit, and then my eyes darted straight to the Ignis Mage next.
Shoshanne had gotten hold of my arm and pulled desperately at me to get my attention back, and I held onto the sensation of her touch as I fought against the lethal direction of my thoughts.
We needed to finish this without killing the last of them, but there was a thrumming in my head now that egged me on, and I knew I would kill the mage any second now if I didn’t get a hold on it.
“Mason, the ground!” Shoshanne hollered above the sound of another tree crashing down, and I vehemently turned my attention to my Terra Magic
. It was pulsing wildly through my veins, but I knew I could at least control this, so I locked my jaw and fought to rein in my powers. The more I concentrated on my magery, the calmer the runes became, and as the ground slowly ceased its shaking, I felt Shoshanne’s grip on my arm loosen as well.
The drumming of flames echoed all around the burning ravine, and when I finally had a hold on my powers again, I whipped around in a circle to scan for the Ignis Mage. Then a fresh jet of flames sprung from the inferno, and just on the other side, I saw the crazed glint in the man’s eyes.
I shielded his attack with a wall before it could envelope us, and with the jet streaming around us on all sides, I tracked the man’s footsteps as he walked amongst the flames with ease.
He was moving in for a better angle around the wall, but we couldn’t risk using Shoshanne’s Aer Magic with the forest raging into an inferno like this.
I knew we’d be burned alive with the Ignis Mage’s element closing in on all sides, and the looming threat had my runes agitated once more. Before they could take over completely, I moved out of instinct and pulled the revolver from my belt, but instead of aiming it at the mage emerging from the flames to our left, I shoved Shoshanne behind me against the wall and hurled the revolver with all of the force I could muster.
The handle struck the mage right in the skull, and he jolted before he dropped unconscious in a pool of enchanted flames.
Then I sprinted into the fire and caught hold of his arm to drag him with me, and I summoned my revolver back to me as I went.
When I made it back to Shoshanne, the healer frantically tore my flaming sleeves from my shirt and tried to douse the rest of me, but I caught her wrist and shoved her toward the edge of the ridge.
“We need to get out of here!” I hollered above the thrumming of the flames. The ravine was nearly fully engulfed now, and the smoke in my lungs grated with every breath. My runes were already working to heal the burns on my skin, and while I tried to ignore the chaos they were causing in my mind, I dropped down to douse the last of the flames on my leg.
Then I grabbed the limp Ignis Mage and threw him over my shoulder, and when Shoshanne saw I was alright, she finally continued up the hill toward safety.
I followed as quickly as I could, and I collapsed at the top of the ridge with sweat dripping down me from the heat of the flames and the exertion of trying to function against the weight of the runes.
“Keep going,” I choked through the smoke in my lungs, and Shoshanne ran for the horses without looking back.
I turned to eye the wildfire that was beginning to eat its way up the edges of the ravine, and I dragged the Ignis Mage a few feet further until there was enough distance behind us. Then I sparked my Terra Magic, and with a heavy surge of power, I forced the walls of the ravine in on themselves. The ground split in several directions as I churned the flames into the ground, and when the last of the fire was swallowed up, only a smoky crater remained.
I fought to catch my breath for a moment while I waited for the runes to quiet down, and as my pulse steadied itself and my lungs cleared, I finally felt like I had a hold on myself again.
“Godsdamnit,” I panted.
The strength of the runes caught me completely off guard that time, and even though we’d gotten what we came here for, another two mages had died in the process. Then I heard Shoshanne call out to me, though, and the relief of knowing she’d been unharmed in all of this helped to keep me focused on the important part.
So, I turned away from the destruction of the forest and hauled the Ignis Mage up to bring him over to where Shoshanne was already mounted and waiting on the chestnut mare.
“Are you okay?” the healer demanded. “I was so worried you were … ”
She was covered in soot and still had a terrified look on her face as she trailed off, and I tried not to sound too defensive when I responded.
“Thought I was what?” I clarified as I draped the Ignis Mage over the black beast and mounted the saddle.
“O-out of control,” Shoshanne stammered uneasily.
“I’m fine,” I assured her, and I sent her as casual a grin as I could. “Let’s get back before he wakes up.”
Without another word, I kicked the horse into a gallop, and I let him throttle forward without restraining him even a little. The pounding of hooves across the forest floor kept my attention from the words Shoshanne had spoken, but in the back of my mind, I was honestly as terrified as she’d looked.
Because I’d been out of control, and I couldn’t understand why I lost it so badly back there. The image of the flames and the earthquake shaking the world apart swarmed through my head as I tried to only think about the hooves barreling beneath me, and even when we made it to the western woods, I still had a nervous energy pulsing through my veins that I was struggling to ignore.
I brought the black beast to a quick stop outside the house, and when Shoshanne came to my side, I kept my eyes averted and dragged the Ignis Mage to my shoulder.
We entered the atrium to find the others practicing with the daggers, and all three women gasped as they saw the state of our singed clothes.
“What happened?” Aurora demanded.
“Nothing,” I mumbled and dropped the Ignis Mage to the floor of the shop. “Help Shoshanne get this rune off.”
Then I left the women and the house behind to mount the beast once more. He didn’t hesitate to barrel into the mountains without me having to urge him on at all, and the further he ran, the clearer my mind became until I knew exactly what had happened in the ravine.
Chapter 13
The sky was dimming to blue by the time I reined in the horse and turned around, but now it was pitch black with only the firelight of the huts in the town up ahead. The pounding of the horse’s heavy heart was like a war cry thrumming in my ears once I finally found clarity, and I practiced focusing on nothing but this one sound all the way back to the village.
For a while, I managed not to register the noise of the pubs or even the scattering of wildlife in front of the black beast as we galloped at top speed, but eventually I couldn’t ignore the laughter and arguments taking place amongst the young mages as we drew closer.
It was reassuring to know they could feel safe enough to unwind in Falmount Rift, but as I slowed the horse’s pace and headed for the stables, I eyed the western woods that sprawled into unguarded darkness.
I did a quick scan of the terrain surrounding the entire town while I dismounted and began on the horse’s tack, but no human footfall was anywhere outside the bounds of the village. There were several paws I didn’t recognize, though.
I was just wondering if there were coyotes in this realm when the same mage I’d borrowed the horse from came into the stables.
“How’d he ride?” the mage asked.
“He’s pretty wound up,” I told him with a grin. “You ever take him out of this stable?”
“Only to get to the Oculus and back,” the young man admitted, “but now that I’ve stopped going there, he doesn’t get enough exercise.”
I nodded. “You mind if I borrow him once in a while?”
“No, sir,” he answered with a giant grin. “You can use my horse whenever you want, sir. Do you want me to cool him down for you?”
“That’d be good,” I chuckled. “Stick to the lanes of the town though, there’s some animals out in the forest.”
“Yes, sir,” he said once more.
I was halfway out the door when I paused and glanced back. “Hey, what’s your name?”
“His name’s Whiskey,” the kid said proudly. “My dad named him.”
“That’s perfect,” I said with a smirk, “but I asked what your name is.”
“Oh, just Hana,” he said with much less enthusiasm. “My mom named me.”
I was still chuckling when I made it to the western woods, but all of my amusement came to a screeching halt when I saw Shoshanne standing outside the door with her arms crossed.
“You
shouldn’t be out here alone,” I told her immediately, but then Ruela prowled around the side of the house.
I gave the wolf a thorough scruff, and I kept my gaze on her sable fur as I listened to the voices of the other women in the house. They were speaking with a man who I guessed to be the Ignis Mage I’d dropped off, and I felt a bit guilty for leaving it all up to Shoshanne to handle him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t stick around to help out,” I tried. “Did it go alright with the rune?”
“You know I’m not out here to talk about the Master’s rune,” Shoshanne said quietly. She shifted nervously, but I could tell she was gonna hold her ground on this one, so after a minute I stopped avoiding the topic and came to her side.
“What happened in the ravine?” Shoshanne finally asked.
“We got what we went there for,” I told her. “Shit got intense, but it’s all fine now.”
“You never lie to me,” Shoshanne said at once, and the hurt look on her face was impossible to ignore, even in the dark.
“That’s not entirely true,” I admitted as I considered how little I’d shared with the woman about how I came to be in Illaria. Not to mention Deya’s family origin that I’d only told Cayla and Aurora about. “I really don’t want to lie to you about this, but I don’t want to talk about it all right now, so can we please just go inside and deal with this mage?”
“You would have killed that mage,” Shoshanne replied uneasily. “I saw it in your eyes.”
“I would have,” I allowed, “but I didn’t.”
“And if this happens again?”
“It won’t,” I replied firmly. “I’ll work on it.”
“How?” Shoshanne challenged. “You shouldn’t have to be working on anything like this in the first place. You’re not the sort of person who--”
“I get it,” I interrupted before she could get any further.
I knew exactly what Shoshanne would say if I told her the truth about what happened in the ravine, but I also knew there was no getting around the topic with her. She was clearly shaken by the abrupt turn of events, and the last thing I wanted was for her to carry on worrying about me like this. Especially when she clearly just needed some reassurance I was truly okay. So, I took a deep breath and motioned for her to join me a little further from the house.