Leo watched as Daron tilted his head slightly, looking at the pair of young sorcerers behind the barrier of magic. “Bloody hell,” Leo uttered under his breath, knowing the old man was going to push him further. “If I fail you Chad please accept my apologies,” he added through gritted teeth trying to maintain his concentration. Chad, clearly had no idea what was about to happen, nor a clue as to what Leo was mumbling about.
Daron smiled with some satisfaction as he watched his young protégée, show some real skill for the first time. Increasing the power in his attacks, Daron still did not want to push too hard. Knowing that Leo’s shield might yet still fail he tried to keep the blasts of energy weaker than he would normally use. However, that did not stop him firing them more quickly, and after being satisfied that Leo could hold the shield, showed the youngsters something knew.
Leo felt quite self-assured as he watched his barrier hold up against his mentor’s attacks. However, he was certainly not prepared for what was to come next, as he was shown just how vulnerable he was against a skilled magician like Daron. Whilst keeping Leo busy shielding with small blasts of energy being fired from one hand, the sorcerer slowly flicked out with the other. Leo watched on helplessly as Chad was entrapped by a smaller shield, similar to the type he had used so badly on Carlton. Entrapped and forced to shuffle his feet, the youngster was dragged by the magical barrier over to the left, and out of the range of protection Leo was offering. “That’s not fair!” he uttered as Daron ceased his attack on Leo and sent a small and very weak blast of energy at Chad, striking the lad full on.
Leo looked at his Mentor with some disgust as he ran over to check Chad was okay. Fortunately, Daron had the skill enough to control how powerful his attacks were, and Chad just lay there, looking up at him. “Ouch!” the lad said with a grimace, “That hurt,” he added as he took Leo’s offer of a hand to pull him up.
As they dusted down their robes, Daron walked over clapping his hands, “Excellent work. Well done both of you.” Leo screwed his face up, “That wasn’t very fair,” he mumbled under his breath. Daron may have been much older and far less agile than the younger lads, but his hearing was better than Leo gave it credit for. “War is not fair Leo. You did well holding and shielding both of you. However, as you have already learned from your own experiences out in the field, the enemy does not always play the way you expect them too.”
Leo nodded, understanding exactly what Daron meant, although that did not make it right. His small engagement in the forest against the Belarian raiders had seen him encounter that exact situation. With the enemy using varying tricks to outwit and overcome his superior power, he realised the lesson Daron was trying to teach. Having a more powerful attack did not necessary make you the better sorcerer. Guile and speed of mind would also be required, something Leo was not so good with.
Chapter 23.
Mia looked about her cell. For a prison it was actually far better and cleaner than she would have ever expected, although very basic in the facilities it provided. Aside from a rather tired looking mattress placed on the rickety old bed frame, her room contained two chairs and a small table. Light was supplied via a small globe of magical energy created by her guards, who sat outside her cell every hour of every day.
Several times she had tried in vain to enter into conversation with them, but her words were constantly ignored. Aside from that the two weeks she had been incarcerated had gone without incident. Twice a day an old man called Daron came in and drained the magical energy from her body, leaving her feeling a little tired for all the questions that inevitably followed.
Each day the same questions were asked, and each time she remained calm, drip feeding her captors a little information at a time. Sooner or later she was certain their patience with her would wear thin, but until that time she was content to play the perfect prisoner. If and when they decided she was no longer useful, she knew she would need to make good her escape. Already she had devised several methods by which to make her possible bid for freedom, and was sure the longer they allowed her to stay the more relaxed the guards would become.
Mia felt a little annoyed that neither Gallien nor Fennick had tried to force a rescue for her. After all, had she not stood up to the guild and put her own life on the line, they would not have been able to make good their escape. As a result of the lack of action on their behalf Mia had absolutely no qualms about giving away the secret location of the rogue sorcerer’s compound, although she had yet to reveal the tunnel leading from the city. This she knew was only a matter of time, and those questioning her only needed to enquire and she would have to reveal the answer. She was unsure as to why, but she had found it difficult withholding certain information when it had been asked of her.
Mia was unsure as to whether it was the food they were giving her, or the drugs which she was forced to take prior to any questioning, but whichever it was it had left her feeling nauseous. The drug they gave her was actually quite pleasant, as it made her feel very lightheaded and calm. The questions that followed seemed they needed to be answered, although she tried to fight it. Fortunately for Mia, her captors kept asking the same questions, as if uncertain they were truthful, and hence she had revealed very little considering the time spent asking them.
She actually felt quite proud and pleased at the fact she had told them so little. Old Mia would have probably broken down and revealed everything at the first opportunity. New Mia however was far more cunning, with her sole purpose being self-preservation.
Other than the times she had her energy drained, she had no idea what time of day or night it was. Meals seemed to be a poor indication of time as there appeared no pattern as to when they arrived. Aside from the man known as Daron, and those guild members asking the questions she had no visitors, not that she really expected any.
With little else to do to occupy her mind, Mia often spent hours fascinated at the small globe of energy that lit up her cell. During her time spent staring at the magical creation, she had come up with several theories as to how such a thing could merely hang there without the original caster having to stand and feed it power. Whether any of them were right she did not know, although she had tried to muster her own. However, with her magical energy being drained to an absolute minimum she barely had the power to create little more than a few flickers of a light.
Mia thought it a little odd that the person at the door of her cell knocked, something one only did when waiting for permission to enter, and being as she was locked in a prison something that was far from the norm. To say she was surprised to see the young man holding her dinner tray would have been an understatement.
Leo stood there smiling, feeling a little nervous before stepping inside the small room that had been Mia’s home for the past few weeks. Daron followed him in before the guards closed the thick metal clad door behind them. “Hello Mia,” Daron said taking it upon himself to sit upon one of the two chairs, “I’ve brought an old friend to see you,” he added gesturing to Leo.
Mia scoffed, and although thought about making some derogatory remark, decided to keep up her pretence of being the perfect, well-behaved prisoner. Leo gave a bashful grin before placing the tray of food on the table, “Hello Mia,” he said again thinking how awful she actually looked. Her hair was knotted and dirty, and the less said about her odour the better. This was far from the girl he had once shared a kiss with, and he actually felt pity for her.
Daron explained he was there to ensure her power was drained, but did not give the reason for Leo being present. Leo had in fact asked several times to visit Mia, although each time Daron had flatly refused. However, for some unknown reason that morning after lessons, he had completely changed his mind and had actually made the suggestion of him going. Although not knowing the reasons why, Leo had naturally jumped at the chance if only to check that she was okay.
Leo watched on as Daron placed a hand on Mia and knew he was taking the energy from her small source of power inside her body. Th
e entire process took no more than a few moments, and although illegal to all sorcerers, was permitted by royal decree in situations such as this.
Daron looked up at his young mentor, noticing the rather quizzical look he was getting, “Remember your first lessons Leo? Where you were asked to find one of your fellow apprentice’s magical source?” Leo simply nodded, although as he recalled that lesson had not gone as planned due to him being somewhat more powerful than the others in his group.
After having it explained that he merely drained that power source, Daron suggested Leo check for himself. Naturally Leo was a little apprehensive about doing such a thing, more so that the process would inevitably mean touching hands with a young girl he clearly still had some feelings for. After a little persuasion from his mentor, Leo finally nodded and stepped forward placing his hand gently on top of Mia’s. Not sure quite what to expect he actually felt somewhat disappointed when making contact with Mia. He looked at her for a few moments, and realised this was not the same girl with whom he shared a kiss, but merely an empty shell of a girl he once knew.
Pushing silly ideas of teenage romance from his mind Leo concentrated, trying to recall what he had been told during those early lessons. Only a few moments later he found what he was looking for, although it had been a little more difficult than he first thought. The source of Mia’s power was now so small that it barely existed, meaning he had been forced to heighten his senses to find it. “I leave just a little,” he heard Daron explain. This stopped Mia from collapsing in a heap and although she would feel tired and lethargic, it would mean she could still function.
The Belarian sorcerer they had held captive and eventually killed by Leo as he had tried to escape could not have his magic taken. Leo was just about to ask why, when Daron already started explaining. The Belarian sorcerers did not drain magical power from people, they drew the life force from them. This most heinous of crimes caused that sorcerer to have a tainted magical source, which would eventually need feeding, meaning more and more had to be killed to stop that taint from consuming the sorcerer. “So like a drug addiction,” Mia added to the conversation as Leo was clearly not paying much attention.
Leo, with his senses still alert, was about to remove his hand from the young girls. Having found her depleted power source, there was no need for him to keep in physical contact with her. However, something made him hold it there a little longer. He closed his eyes and moved his senses through Mia’s body, as if being called to a different place.
His eyes opened quickly as he pulled his hand away. Something else was there, not another source of magic, but something else, he did not know what. Unsure if he should say anything he kept this to himself, although his reaction clearly had both Mia and Daron confused. Whatever he had detected had been so small it was barely noticeable, yet there it was.
Noticing both prisoner and mentor were still looking at him, he thought he best say something, “Sorry…Got a chill,” he said not even sounding convincing. Daron seemed to glare at him for a few moments, before standing, “I will leave you alone for a minute,” he said before walking over and knocking on the door for the guard to let him out.
Leo was unsure as to why Daron had left him alone with Mia, but knowing a minute was not long he wanted answers to questions that had been plaguing his mind. “Why did you kill Ewan?” he asked straight out.
“Ewan was a part of my old life, as are you.” Came the rather blunt reply.
“So you would kill me given the chance?” Leo asked wondering how long he had left of his minute.
Mia scoffed at the remark, “Of course. I have new friends now Leo, you are merely an irritation.”
Leo was somewhat taken aback by the frankness of the answers, and although he still had feelings for Mia, this was definitely not the girl for whom he had them. “Mia your new friends all deserted you. The guild will probably execute you sooner or later. You think there is a way out of this,” he snapped angrily, although not really wanting that to happen. Once more Mia remained unmoved by his words, “When the time is right Leo I will do what I have to do to survive,” came the reply. Leo just shook his head, confused and annoyed by the girl before him. Was she so deluded into thinking the guild would give her an opportunity to escape? She clearly thought as much.
“Goodbye Mia,” Leo said still confused and somewhat saddened by her state of mind. He took one final look at her face staring back at him, before turning away and exiting through the door. Daron was stood arms crossed waiting for him, with a stern looking face. Leo was not sure why he was being looked at in such a way, but said noting and duly waited for his mentor to lead the way.
They had barely walked ten paces when Daron stopped again and turned to face him. “Why did you pull away from Mia? No lies,” he added saying he did not believe the excuse previously given. “I’m not sure really,” Leo replied trying to recall the strange feeling he had gotten. “It felt as if there was something else, miniscule, but I’m certain it was there.”
Leo was unsure what he had said that caused Daron to stomp off in a hurry, but whatever it was, that was exactly what happened. With little choice but to return to the guild somewhat bewildered he decided to find Alec. The young Literacy apprentice had been praised for his efforts during the recruitment trip he had taken a few weeks back with Leo and the others. Not only had he been advanced in his own year, he was now thought of as a trusted member of the guild. With such trust came the access to much more information and rare books, especially on magic.
Alec had been like a child in a candy store when he was first allowed access to the vaults where scrolls and old parchments were stacked as high as the ceiling. Naturally he knew that most of the information stored on them, was just as likely to be written in more current books. However, the fun part for Alec was delving deeper and finding the pages that contained information on magic, especially those depicting the darker and obscure arts.
As a person with no magic, knowing such information was naturally harmless. However, letting a sorcerer have access to such things may be a little riskier; the reason the documents were stored out of the way. One of Alec’s new responsibilities was to help sort out and document those older pages that might contain useful, forgotten and forbidden magic. The guild hoped that by learning about such things, they may have the knowledge to counter it should it ever be used against them.
Already in the war with the Belarians, it was clear they were using practices forbidden by the Caldronians. Draining someone else’s power was illegal except by royal decree, having the enemy draining the very life force from another person had shocked even the prominent members of the guild. This particular art had thought to have vanished from use centuries ago, yet seemed to have resurfaced on a large scale in Belaria.
With the enemy also mixing the use of magic and alchemy they had also created strange creatures, the like of which had puzzled the guild. With the enemy seemingly using practices unknown by the current sorcerers of Caldronia, Alec was to help find anything that might help counter, or at least give them some understanding of them.
As Leo was a King’s Sorcerer, this also gave him certain privileges, one of them being allowed access to the library area’s often restricted to those from the lower echelons. However, even he was not permitted into the same vaults Alec was in, although that had not been from the lack of trying. Three times over the past week he had been barred access by an elderly Literary Master, and although he probably could have just brushed the man aside if he wished, he always did as he was told.
As a result of Leo not being allowed in, it usually meant Alec had to come out to see him. Lately, Leo had thought that his friendship with Alec had felt much less than it had once been. Whether that was down to anything he had done, or just the other lad expanding his own social group he was unsure. Alec had been spending more time with the Warriors of late, and not so much with the sorcerers as he once had, and although Leo knew he shouldn’t be, he actually felt a little jealous of
it.
After waiting for several minutes, Leo looked up to see his friend walking up the steps that led down to the vaults. In his brown robe and with his usual ink stained hands, Alec greeted him before suggesting they head back into the library area and find a seat. Drinks and food were not permitted here, and although Leo would have liked a little of both, he thought spending time with the one he had considered his best friend was more important.
Leo had decided to tell Alec about his visit to Mia, despite Daron insisting he should keep it to himself. Of course telling Alec something was not exactly going around gossiping, and Leo was certain his friend would keep their conversation to himself. After explaining how surprised he had been about Daron letting him see Mia, he explained how he had watched him drain her power away.
Alec seemed genuinely interested, especially when it got to the magical bits. Leo thought that had the opportunity ever arisen for Alec to become a sorcerer that he would have surely been selected. As it was, those blessed with such abilities were few and far between, so the scenario had never, nor would never arise.
“Explain again how you felt when touching Mia…Perhaps I should rephrase that. What did you feel?” Leo screwed his face up, as if doing so made it look like he was deep in thought, “I don’t know what it was, but when I told Daron about it, he reacted very strangely.” Alec nodded, tapping his fingertips down gently on the table top as he listened. “Hmm, let me have a think on it,” he eventually replied, before changing the subject.
The Rogue Sorcerer: The Caldronian Guild : Book 2 Page 18