Wildfire and Steel

by J. J. Green

  “I’m sorry that showing you the images of your parents upset you the other day,” the old woman continued. “That wasn’t my intention.”

  “It’s okay,” Carina replied. “I understand now that you were trying to help. You couldn’t have known the effect it would have. I didn’t know it myself. And though it did make me unhappy at the time, I’m glad I have those memories now.”

  The Spirit Mage reached out to Carina’s forearm and gripped it tightly. “I try to help, you see, but I don’t always succeed. I was only given the gift of feeling what others feel, but not the wisdom of how to make them feel better. It’s been the labor of my life to learn that, but I was a poor student.”

  Though Carina was no Spirit Mage, she sensed the woman’s deep sorrow and for the first time saw things from her perspective. The woman had an unenviable responsibility. She carried thousands of years of mage lore in her mind and it was her duty to pass that on as fully and faithfully as she could. If she failed it would mean the loss of their history and everything that made them who they were. Carina had only been seeing her as someone who was taking Darius away and overloading his young mind. She had seen the toll it was taking on him. He was constantly fatigued and low spirited.

  But the Spirit Mage was trying to save their clan before it was too late, and Darius was her only means of doing so.

  “And I’m glad you don’t hate me for what I did,” said the mage. “Though I don’t think that after this Matching we will part as friends.”

  “Huh? Why not?” Carina had a sudden sense of foreboding.

  “Please come inside so we can talk.”

  They were at the old woman’s tent. She lifted the flap to invite Carina to enter first and then followed her. The interior was dark, only the light from the dying campfire creating a glow through the wall. The woman lit a lamp and invited Carina to sit down.

  As she had done when she’d shown Carina her memory of her parents, the Spirit Mage sat opposite her and took Carina’s hands in her own.

  “I wish you were older, and one of Darius’ parents. But you are the closest person he has to a parent now. Carina, there’s no easy way to say this. I know how much Darius means to you.”

  Carina’s stomach tightened. What was the woman going to say?

  “When the Matching is over, Darius must come with me.”

  Carina snatched her hands away. “No way. Absolutely not. He’s far too young. He needs to be with the family he has left. He needs to be with me.”

  The Spirit Mage’s eyes were sad. “I guessed that would be how you would feel. Nevertheless….”

  “Nevertheless nothing! You’re right. I am the closest thing Darius has to a parent. I have the final say over what he does and where he goes. And I don’t give permission for you to take him anywhere. He’s six years old, for stars’ sake. He’s much too young to leave his family.” Despite her words, Carina was deeply conflicted. Keeping Darius by her side meant he would be subjected to her emotional pain.

  “He is very young,” said the mage. “But he will be well cared for. Carina, please listen to me. This is unavoidable. Jace, Justin, and all the others agree. The work I’ve done with Darius so far is only the beginning of what I must teach him. If I were only to see him at Matchings, it would take decades to impart everything he must learn. And I have so little time left. He has to live with me so he can study every day. The future of our kind depends on it.”

  “I don’t care,” Carina retorted. “He’s just a little boy. It’s too much to ask of him. It isn’t fair.”

  “I agree. It isn’t fair. And yet that’s the situation we find ourselves in. Such is the lot of mages. We sacrifice so much in order to keep our heritage continuing.”

  “Then maybe it’s time to give up.”

  The Spirit Mage had been looking downward, but at this she raised her head. “You mean give up being mages?”

  “Maybe we should. Maybe it’s the only sensible thing to do. Ma told me once that it was only because someone once stumbled on the secret of our abilities millenia ago that we realized we weren’t the same as other people. If we give up, we’ll go back to being like everyone else. No running, no hiding, no persecution, torture, and rape. Did you hear what my mother went through?”

  “No, I didn’t, but I know. It’s written on your heart.”

  Carina’s eyes stung. “And my father—murdered. All because they wanted to use their powers to help people. Now you’re telling me you have to rip a little boy away from the people who love him so he can help to keep magehood alive. Why? What’s the point? We don’t use our abilities to improve humankind, we only use them to help ourselves, in secret. We live our lives in fear. Maybe it’s time to call it a day, right now.”

  She stood up, crouching under the low ceiling. “You’re right. I am the person who is responsible for Darius, and I say no. He isn’t going anywhere with you. He’s coming with us. In fact, I don’t even know why we’re here. I’m not interested in Matching with anyone and all my brothers and sisters are too young. We’ll be leaving in the morning.”

  Carina left the tent without looking back. She was furious. How dare the old witch think she could just take Darius away for her own ends? He wasn’t a sack of flour to be carted around, passed to whoever wanted him.

  When she arrived at her tent, everyone was asleep. In the dim light, Carina surveyed the low, black humps that represented everyone she cared about. No one was going to take any of them away from her, and she would kill anyone who tried. She had already lost three of the most important people in her life and endured years of isolation and loneliness. She wasn’t going to lose anyone else.

  Carina tiptoed between the sleeping forms to reach her spot and slipped under her blanket. She was settling down, her mind still whirling from the conversation with the Spirit Mage, when she felt someone gently grasp her foot. It was Bryce, who slept along from her.

  “Everything okay?” he whispered.

  Carina was too choked up to answer. She silently shook her head, though she doubted Bryce could see the gesture. A moment later she heard him leave his spot and crawl over to her. He lay down opposite her. She couldn’t see much more of him than the glint of his eyes in the darkness.

  His proximity brought back the vivid memory of her failed seduction and her face became hot. She was glad he couldn’t see her.

  “What’s up?” he murmured.

  “The mages want Darius to leave us and go with the Spirit Mage when the Matching is over.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “I wish I was.”

  “You aren’t going to let them take him, right?”

  “Of course not. But that means we have to leave tomorrow, early.”

  “Okay, that’s what we’ll do. I’m not sure how far the closest city is, but we can make it there.”

  “What if they try to stop us?” Carina asked. She didn’t know how the mage council would react, and, stupidly, in her anger she’d announced her intention. There would be no slipping away quietly while no one was looking. She didn’t relish the idea of trying to fight off a thousand mages in order to leave, even with Darius’ exceptional ability on their side.

  “I don’t think they will,” Bryce replied. “They’ll probably only try to argue you out of it, but I doubt they’ll try to stop you physically. Mages seem to be gentle, non-confrontational people.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. I wouldn’t have survived long as a merc by being gentle and non-confrontational.”

  “Good point.”

  A pause stretched out.

  “Bryce…I’m sorry—”

  He kissed her. “It’s okay.”

  ***

  The following day, the news that they were going to leave the Matching didn’t go down well among Carina’s brothers and sisters, with one exception.

  After Carina made the announcement, Parthenia said, “So we’re finally going back to Ostillon to deal with Castiel?”

  “I thin
k so,” said Carina. Maybe she’d been wrong all along. If the Matching had taught her anything, it was that her family should stick together and take care of their own, whether that meant a small boy’s welfare or preventing his elder brother from committing terrible acts.

  “Great! At last.”

  “But don’t I have to stay with the Spirit Mage?” asked Darius.

  “No, not any longer,” Carina replied. “You’ve spent enough time with her already.” As she spoke knots of anxiety formed in her stomach. Was she doing the right thing? She just didn’t know. Nothing seemed right, but if one thing was for sure, her family was not going to be split up again.

  Oriana and Ferne looked glum but didn’t say anything. Nahla began to pack their few belongings.

  “How are we going to leave?” Darius asked.

  It was a good point. They had arrived via the Haihu’s shuttle. Even if the mages agreed to their leaving, Carina doubted they would give them a ride to the nearest spaceport. She didn’t know how the other people at the camp had traveled there, or where the nearest city was. Perhaps leaving the Matching wouldn’t be so easy after all.

  The tent flap was open, and the morning sunlight was suddenly cut off as a large figure appeared in the entrance. It was Jace.

  The children stopped their packing, but the newcomer’s expression registered that he understood what was happening. “The Spirit Mage Sent to me when I woke up. She told me you might be leaving. I see that you are.”

  His tone was neutral. Carina couldn’t guess what he thought of her decision or if he would try to stop them. She sized him up. Though he was far larger than her, she might be able to take him if he didn’t know how to fight.

  “That’s right,” she replied. “I’m not prepared to let Darius go with the Spirit Mage.”

  “I understand…Is it okay if I come in so we can talk?”

  “I guess so,” Carina said warily. “But I’m warning you, if you try to stop us you’ll regret it.”

  Jace halted as he entered the tent, stooping low, and looked Carina in the eyes. “It seems you haven’t learned much about mages in your time here.” He sat down and continued, “Have you considered that you could also live on the Spirit Mage’s world and see Darius whenever you wanted to?”

  “I-I…” Carina felt suddenly foolish. “No, I hadn’t considered that. But he’s too young to be trained in this way. The fate of all mages is too heavy a burden to place on the shoulders of a young child. Besides, we have other work to do. We must find our Dark Mage brother and stop him from hurting anyone.”

  “So, you don’t want Darius to live with an old lady in safety on a backwater planet, but you’re happy to take him into conflict with a Dark Mage?”

  The way Jace put it made Carina think again, but she quickly came to the same decision. “I know how it sounds, but I will keep Darius safe, and the rest of the younger children too. You have to understand that we’re a family. We have our own path to follow. And though you say the Spirit Mage lives on a safe, backwater planet, that’s exactly what Ostillon was before the Dirksens decided to make it their base. The same with my home planet—safe, boring, and dirt poor. But that didn’t stop Regians from paying us a visit and starting a massacre. Nowhere in this galactic sector is safe with a Dark Mage running loose. Castiel is our brother and it’s up to us to neutralize him. Then we can leave the Sherrerrs and the Dirksens to continue their feud while we search for Earth.”

  Carina took a breath. There, she’d said it, crazy as it sounded.

  Jace’s eyebrows rose. “You have it all figured out, don’t you?” His words sounded mocking but his intonation was serious. “If that’s your wish, no one here will stop you.”

  “You won’t?” asked Carina. She found it hard to believe he would give in so easily. “But the Spirit Mage was telling me it’s vital that Darius is trained by her. She seemed to think the future of mage lore depended on it.”

  “She may well be correct. On the other hand, perhaps another Spirit Mage will appear. Maybe someone older than Darius, who has been lost or delayed. Who knows what may happen? But I am convinced your intention is sincere and you are capable of protecting those in your charge. It is clear you would give your life before you allowed them to come to harm. In any case, you have always been free to leave whenever you wanted. It would go against everything we stand for to keep you here by force.”

  Relief washed over Carina. She wouldn’t have to fight Jace. He was a good man and she would have regretted it.

  “Do you have a plan for reaching the city?” he asked.

  “Not exactly. I thought we would have to walk there.”

  “You aren’t well equipped for that. I will wait outside while you finish packing, then I’ll take you to your transportation.”

  It didn’t take them long to pack. They had the clothes they’d been wearing when they’d arrived, plus a few donated belongings. Nahla had been given a doll made from dried grass that she treated as the most precious thing she’d ever owned. Her attachment to the toy was odd considering all the valuable things that she must have been given in her former life.

  When they were ready, they stepped out into the sunlight. A pile of full, cloth bags had appeared beside their tent.

  “Who do they belong to?” asked Oriana.

  “They’re all of yours,” Jace replied. “Word has gotten around that you’re leaving. People know you have nothing so they wanted to help you out.”

  Carina’s throat felt thick and her eyes stung. “Even though we’re taking away the next Spirit Mage?”

  “Even so,” said Jace.

  Carina’s surprise and gratitude almost made her change her mind about leaving. But she was convinced she was doing the right thing. She spotted the edges of weapon butts poking out of a bulky bag. “Are those guns?”

  “The city isn’t well policed,” replied Jace. “Those are for your protection, but I wouldn’t go flashing them around if I were you. There’s no sense in inviting trouble.”

  “I understand,” said Carina. “Please give everyone our thanks.”

  “I will, but they don’t need it. They’re only doing the same for you as they would for any fellow mage. That’s one reason we have survived for so long, I believe. We always help each other. Are you ready?”

  “Yes. Let’s go.” Carina told the others to take a bag and picked up the weapons bag herself. The heavy weight of steel was comforting and familiar. She felt a whole lot safer when armed.

  “Oh, we have lots of elixir,” said Darius, opening a bag.

  “Good,” said Carina. “Come on, everyone. The morning’s passing and we have a long journey ahead of us.”

  Jace led them through the camp, past the central fire pit, now black and faintly smoking, and into a section where Carina had never been. The young mages were rising, preparing their breakfasts, and talking. The scene was one Carina had seen many times but now she realized she might be seeing it for the last time, a pang of sadness hit her. Would she ever see her people gathered in such numbers again? She doubted it. A mage’s life was a lonely one. All the more reason to keep her family close together.

  “Do you think you’ll ever be back?” asked Bryce, as if he’d read her thoughts.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “But what if you’re Summoned again?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t go. What would be the point?”

  And with those words, Carina realized that at some point over the previous few days, she had found herself already Matched. Bryce held her gaze for a moment as they came to their mutual understanding, and then he nodded, satisfied.

  At the edge of the campsite stood Justin, Eira, the Haihu’s captain, and the ship’s hands, Ren and Ione.

  “Are we taking the shuttle?” Carina asked.

  “No,” replied Jace. “My brother and the ship’s crew are here to help Transport you all. We’ll go to a location a few kilometers from the city and then you can make your way in quietly. We try to attract as li
ttle attention as possible.”

  “We? You’re coming too?”

  “Of course. I will stay with you until I’m sure you’re safe.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s no problem. Are you all ready?” Jace asked Carina’s siblings.

  As soon as it was clear they were all prepared to depart the camp, Justin and the other mages Transported them.

  ***

  If it weren’t for the city she could see in the distance, Carina would have thought she hadn’t moved. They were surrounded by the high, tough grass of the prairie. Except she could hear something else.

  “Oh no,” Parthenia blurted. “It’s those horrible animals.”

  Carina turned to see what her sister was talking about. Several meters away thirty or forty large, four-legged animals were enclosed by a fence. A dwelling stood next to the fence along with a barn. The door opened and a middle-aged woman came out.

  “Are you talking about my horses, young lady?” asked the woman. “They aren’t horrible.”

  Parthenia flushed and looked at her feet.

  “You better get used to them,” said Jace, smiling. “They’re your transportation.”

  “Huh?” Carina asked. “How can they take us into the city?”

  “We have to sit on their backs,” said Ferne. “There were horses on Ostillon too. Didn’t you ever see any? The first night we spent there, we slept in a barn that held horses. I think they’re nice.”

  “Do we have to use them?” asked Parthenia.

  Jace replied, “There are no roads hereabouts. That’s what helps to keep this place unnoticed. It’s the safest route into the city for all of you. We can’t risk people popping up out of nowhere all the time.”

  Carina sized up the creatures. She could see how it might be possible to sit on their backs, though it didn’t look like it would be very comfortable.

  “So, will the little ones sit with the grown ups?” the woman asked Jace.

  “Yes, that would be best.”

  “Okay, can you give me a hand to saddle them up?”