Battle Mage Broken Empire (Tales of Alus Book 14)

by Donald Wigboldy

  "Is this where you see if you can play on my ego enough to get me to dance with you?" Megan asked with a cool smile.

  He looked away from the girl to the musicians. They were playing a much quicker tune. The dancers would rarely touch and even exchanged partners four times if they followed the rules of the dance.

  "Hmm, not for a dance like this. If we joined for a dance, I would rather have it be one where I could see my partner for more than half of the song," he replied. Appearing to suddenly realize something, the man introduced himself, "Ah, where are my manners? I am Drayden and you are?"

  "Megannah, though most people just call me Megan. People tend to be lazy or perhaps they are saving time? I can never decide."

  Drayden chuckled and added, "If they were truly lazy, they would simply call you Meg, though you do look like a woman that deserves more than one syllable. You are definitely too pretty to be just Meg, I think.

  "Speaking of pretty, the man was correct earlier. You do stand out, so I wonder where you have been hiding. I would guess that this is your first time to this establishment."

  Wondering how he could possibly have overheard the conversation in such a loud room, Megan replied, "I prefer quieter evenings, but my boyfriend wanted to take me dancing tonight."

  "Ah, the vision of loveliness has a boyfriend making all men jealous and sad at the same time," Drayden answered touching his chest over his heart as if he had just felt pain there. "Now that line could hurt from any sort of woman, but I doubt that you meant it as a way to brush a man away."

  Megan gave the matter some thought and shook her head, "I would have danced if we had a good song. My boyfriend could probably do with seeing me in the arms of another man, if only to remind him to be jealous once in awhile."

  The fast song ended and Torva still hadn't returned. As they stood waiting to hear what was next, Megan got her announced wish.

  "Ah, this must be our song then," he said and offered the girl a hand.

  Megan followed even though her eyes strayed towards the bar looking for Torva.

  "One could wonder at seeing a pretty woman suddenly showing up in a tavern," the man mentioned as he began to lead her. His feet were perfectly placed and though he was much larger than Megan, it was the smaller woman who felt less graceful as they moved. "Did you know that there have even been people reported as spies of late?"

  Her feet stumbled betraying her more than her face and mouth could. "Sorry, I don't dance very often. I find it hard to have a conversation and walk at the same time too by the way."

  Chuckling at her self-deprecating humor, Drayden shook his head saying, "Oh no, I wouldn't think you were a spy, though this dress doesn't seem quite like you."

  Megan frowned, "What is wrong with my dress? It is too cold to walk around with a short dress so I needed pants, but I thought my dress looked nice."

  "Oh, it is almost as pretty as you, but I don't think you are the kind of woman who usually shows off her breasts as much as this dress does. They certainly work to distract men like the two drunkards earlier, but you seem too intelligent to bother with such things normally."

  Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at the man's face. "Can't a girl show off a little? Winter makes it too cold to do very much, but with a jacket I can at least show off my chest a bit. I mean, my boyfriend likes them too, even if you seem put off by my breasts."

  Again Drayden chuckled at her angry retort. "Oh, I am certainly not put off by them. I just meant that you probably don't have to use your looks to get ahead normally."

  It was the man's turn to look at her intently before he guessed, "You are a wizard, aren't you? I can't tell if someone has magic, but you aren't from around here and like quiet nights. Those warlocks don't have dancing in the school, do they? For someone who rarely gets to dance, you are quite good by the way."

  "How...?" she started. "It isn't like I am using magic to make you think such a thing. Maybe you are a spy instead, Drayden? Do I hear an accent? What do you do to earn a living here? Maybe I should report you as a spy to the guards?"

  "Now, now, no need to get angry. I won't tell everyone that you are a wizard. Your boyfriend is likely a wizard too and you just wanted to get out of the school for some fun. It doubt that you can likely drink alcohol there and dance. I would be ready to get out for some fun also. Do they ever let you have any fun there?"

  He had avoided answering any of her questions as he put her off. Megan hadn't really heard anything unusual in his accent, but his continued teasing of her had caused her to push back.

  "We can have fun, but they don't invite musicians to the school. If we want to go dance, we need to find a tavern or someplace like it. Those are only in the south like here.

  "So, Drayden, what do you do for a living anyway?"

  "I thought you had a boyfriend. Are you looking for a change?" Noting the lack of amusement on her face, the man replied, "I work in trade. I typically broker information between two sides to encourage more profit between them. It is interesting since I don't need to make anything and can make money by pairing those who sell and those who create."

  "And you make money doing this brokering?"

  "I make enough," he said with a tight smile. "Is being a wizard lucrative? There are some in the spires, so I suppose it can be, right?"

  "It takes awhile, but I can live in the school and teach there until I have made enough income to find a place of my own.

  "Where do you live?"

  "But you have a boyfriend. Is that an appropriate question for a young lady to ask, especially a wizard?" Drayden countered in such a way as to make her blush.

  "I didn't mean it like that," she refuted in annoyance.

  The song ended and Drayden pulled away. "It has been quite interesting dancing with you. Perhaps we can do it again sometime, but for now I think your boyfriend is looking for you."

  Megan looked towards the table she had vacated to dance with Drayden. She spotted Torva looking her way before turning back to find Drayden had disappeared into the crowd. She wondered if he had found a new partner to dance with, but unable to find him the girl returned to the table with more questions than answers.

  The man had been a challenge, even if he didn't have magic. Would the spies in the city have magic? No, probably not all of them. It had taken a third party to rescue the ones captured earlier from what she could tell from Torva and the rumors. Drayden was certainly interesting, but the wizard wondered who had left the dance knowing more about the other? At least, Megan didn't feel like she had given away too much, but he had guessed her identity surprisingly well.

  "You found someone to dance with while I was gone?" Torva asked sliding a glass towards her.

  The girl took a large swallow and coughed. It was stronger than she had expected. Torva hadn't asked what she wanted to drink, yet it was the same as Megan had mentioned to her unwanted pursuers earlier. This bartender had gone with more vodkey than juice making it very strong. The girl wondered if Torva wanted to get her drunk. It wasn't like he couldn't have his way with her when they returned home anyway.

  "I could have had three different men actually," she proclaimed before taking a second sip of her drink. The girl would need to nurse this powerful of alcohol or she'd be drunk by the end of a second glass. It wasn't even a full glass, but the alcohol was served that way intentionally. "When you left, two men who were partially drunk came up and propositioned me. I sent them to the bar to get me a drink and hoped that you would return first.

  "Then a third man named Drayden asked to dance with me. He commented on my intelligence."

  "To try and stroke your ego?" Torva asked curiously.

  "Don't you think I am intelligent?" she questioned trying to put him in a bad position to try and tease Torva.

  "Of course, but this man seems to have struck a chord. Do I need to be jealous?" the warlock asked as if he had read her mind and wanted to make her believe that he truly was.

  "While we danced, we talked and
before the end of the song he had guessed that I was a wizard and that you are a warlock, though not that you are a wizard hunter per say."

  This caused the hunter to frown and he looked into the crowd of dancers saying, "He seems remarkably intuitive. Do you see him? Maybe he would know something about the spies in the city."

  "He made me look towards you and disappeared into the crowd," she answered frowning at the idea that a man without magic could so easily manipulate her.

  Torva appeared equally annoyed by the tactics of the man, but after a few more dances and a couple strong drinks the couple retreated to the next tavern. Feeling woozy even with the cold air trying to startle her, Megan didn't let him buy her any more alcoholic drinks and even made Torva get her some food.

  If the hunter had truly discovered any good leads, they would be proven when Torva and the hunters followed up on what he had learned. They went back to the school and Megan was wobbly enough that the woman let him undress her. Whether Torva had planned to do more with the girl mattered little, since she rolled into the blankets and fell asleep before he could remove his shirt.

  The wizard hunter thought about the mystery man who had toyed with Megan and wondered if he could find this Drayden. Whether the man could help him find the spies that must still be here, or if he was actually a spy himself; Torva wasn't certain, but he did want to find him and figure out why the man had been able to get under Megan's skin.

  She was intelligent as the other man had said. Did that make her a challenge for Drayden as well?

  Sighing, Torva adjusted the blankets to slip under the covers enough to hold Megan close. Her warm body felt right as her steady breathing made for a comfortable sound to help him fall asleep as well.

  Chapter 5- Unexpected Visitors

  Holdy joined the other apprentices in the practice courtyard. Maya stood next to Defrienne looking at him strangely for a time. They were waiting for Wizard Megannah to arrive. Fordenna looked in annoyance at the door expecting the other wizard to come through it at any moment. Megan was definitely late this time.

  While they waited, Holdy moved closer to the girls and asked quietly, "What's wrong? You keep looking at me. Is there something on my face? I washed it after breakfast."

  Maya started at the question, but Defrienne answered first, "Nope, your face is clean."

  The boy looked down at his jacket and pants finding nothing improper about them either, yet the pretty girl with her curly blonde hair continued to look at him oddly.

  "Turless said that you went to the wizard hunter's guild with some elves. There was a pretty elven girl, some royal lady, he said," Maya questioned meekly by just stating the facts. The girl could come off shy at times when she felt uninformed. Not wanting to look unintelligent, Maya did her best but most would call her a bit flighty to say the least. It wasn't that she was stupid, but perhaps the girl wasn't the wisest of persons he had ever known. She was usually had a generally positive attitude and a buoyant personality that came out with her friends at least.

  He nodded in answer. "Talithia and her mentors stopped me in the library. They wanted to know about Palose's magic. Turless was the only person aside from the emperor's brother that I know of who had trained with Palose."

  "Sylvaine did too," Maya said sadly and again the boy nodded.

  "Warlock Thielius and a few of the hunters apparently managed to get a few sessions with him also before Palose got so busy with the war." Holdy paused debating on whether he should mention that their friend had also pulled away from them after Sylvaine's death. Defrienne's mentor Gestiya had died in the same mission, but the taller girl masked whatever emotions she had much of the time, at least from him, so he wasn't sure if her mentor's death had even affected her.

  Before much more could be said, the door opened letting in Megannah who looked a little under the weather to her students. Fordenna didn't seem to care if the woman looked ill or not, as she said, "You really are late today, Megannah."

  Looking miserably at the other warlock, the woman answered in a hushed tone, "Torva made me go out with him last night for something he was working on. He gave me a few drinks and not enough food to go with them. I woke up feeling sick, so now please stop shouting."

  "I'm not shouting," the other woman responded a little louder seeing Megan cringe. Amused by the sight, Fordenna added, "Maybe I should though. It would serve you right."

  Megannah simply groaned, but Fordenna ignored her pain and started to put the apprentices into pairs to practice duel. Using a stone dummy as a proxy, each young wizard would try to destroy their opponent's target while protecting their own. The resulting noise made Megan raise her hands to her temples as she closed her eyes making her friend even more amused.

  Their training had barely started when the door opened again. Holdy was waiting to duel with Maya, so the boy was quick to recognize the four elves entering the courtyard. Fordenna noticed them almost as quickly and warned, "This is a closed class practice. Since you aren't part of this class, I would ask you to leave."

  Talithia pointed towards the teacher and Effenore crossed the distance looking annoyed to be the girl's messenger. Before Fordenna even received the envelope he bore, the elven blonde began to walk towards Holdy. She didn't seem to notice the other wizards as they practiced and stepped through an exchange of spells that were extinguished by his classmates for fear of hitting the girl. They yelled in protest even as Adalyen and Seleyus hurried after her throwing up wards to protect Talithia.

  "Are you crazy?" Maya asked as the elf stepped in front of Holdy. "There aren't any protection wizards here to prevent you from getting hurt and those were full combat spells. You can't go walking through a duel."

  Giving the apprentice a sideways glance, confident green eyes met Maya's meeker brown before ignoring the other girl. "Holdy, I got permission to join your class for the day. How about you and I duel?"

  "He's my dueling partner," Maya stated with a frown even though she was unable to make Talithia look at her this time.

  "Maya is my partner and we are waiting for our turn yet. Maybe later we can duel."

  "Seleyus can duel with her. This is just your practice and wouldn't you likely get better dueling someone that you don't know?" she said with a wave of her hand beckoning the other elf towards her.

  Maya stiffened as the other girl attempted to take over the class.

  "Maybe I should duel you first," Maya said surprising Holdy. When he turned to look at the curly haired girl, Talithia looked at her coolly as well.

  The smile that had been on the elf's face slipped and her eyes tightened slightly. "Maybe we should. I might as well see if you are even worth his time."

  Holdy wondered if Talithia was still talking about his magic as she spoke. He and Maya had never done anything to become more than friends. While he had a crush on the older girl, Holdy had been treated like a little brother until now, or so he thought. Maya was acting like another person and he wondered if she was jealous of the elven lady. She had been the one to ask about the elves and his day with them as well, he realized.

  Swallowing nervously, Maya nodded shifting the curls enough that Holdy couldn't see her face.

  With the disruption, Talithia was able to push another pairing aside. The elf and Maya fighting had captured the courtyard's attention. Fordenna had read the letter with a frown and didn't stop the two girls as they took their places. He wondered what the message had said to make Fordenna of all people appear to back down. Talithia was from a line of elven lords, so he had a feeling that she had used her family's influence for this particular favor.

  "We're using elemental spells for this practice," Holdy informed the elf who looked to him, smiled and then gave him a brief nod before staring at Maya.

  The second girl was a little slower to approach her spot. Seeing her classmates backing away to let them fight first; felt like they weren't supporting her at all. They wanted to see this duel because they felt like it was more of a grudge match th
an the usual practices they had together. Maya was usually a positive girl and very friendly, so seeing her suddenly picking a fight with this stranger had them all curious.

  "I don't get to duel with a lot of different people," Talithia stated as Maya slowly moved to her position. "Getting to fight someone other than Seleyus or one of my mentors should be a lot of fun; though I had hoped to duel Holdy, since I have a feeling that his knowledge of spells would be a lot more challenging.

  "Still, fighting you should be fun, though I had better warn you that I don't lose very often anymore."

  Holdy thought that if her mentors were full wizards of any quality that might mean Talithia was more of an expert than Maya might be able to handle. Looking at her teachers, however, he noted some concern and wondered if some of her ego hadn't also been bolstered by her teachers letting her win some of those matches also. Holdy could see that Talithia often got her way and they served her family; so as long as they were still training her properly losing, as long as a match was kept close, would be a possibility.

  As the two girls got ready, Holdy moved to the center. Since it seemed like they were fighting over him for some reason, the boy decided that maybe he should referee this match like a real duel.

  "How about we give you thirty seconds to set your defenses for the dummies?"

  "How about twenty seconds?" Talithia asked with a smirk as she tried to stare down the other girl.

  Maya swallowed subtly enough that most of the others watching missed it before the girl suggested, "Why not fifteen?"

  Her voice sounded less confident than she wanted to appear. When the elf grinned, Holdy wondered if Talithia had been baiting the other girl again. "That sounds fun. Fifteen seconds then Holdy."

  Wanting to release a sigh at the ridiculousness of the situation, Holdy raised his hand. "Prepare your defenses now. You have fifteen seconds."

  The boy counted in his head as the two girls hurried to create walls between their proxy and their opponent. Maya used a pair of fire shields angled into a wedge and had enough time to create a swirling vortex around the stone dummy as well.