Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13)

by Donald Wigboldy

Nodding, the owl informed her, "I got the idea last night after she went off on me. I tracked down Garrett and we went to see the high wizard. Herrol didn't seem to mind and part of what I just told her came from his mouth. He was the one that said it was better than having her wasting time as a chaperone for an apprentice who would be bundled up in the cold."

  Ashleen reached over and took his hand making him look her way.

  "Sometimes that is still enough, but at least she can be certain that they'll be too cold and busy to do anything too naughty."

  Rolling his eyes as he looked back at his friends, "Anyway, Garrett says Kharrik went through the training about as fast as anyone. He teaches a lot of the new spells in White Hall now.

  "If anyone is likely to figure out the gate spell in White Hall, it is likely to be him. Do what you can to help him, Elzen. You two are the first duo to figure it out, but keep practicing if you can."

  Saluting with a grin on his face, the younger mage replied, "Yes, sir, Owl... that doesn't really sound right," he added with a little laugh.

  Ignoring Elzen's bit of humor at his expense, Sebastian moved to his stool frowning at the wood piece. After so many hours sitting on the furniture, he had come to a conclusion that it was barely more comfortable than standing braced against a tree.

  Ashleen still held his hand, and quickly exchanged a kiss. The mage sat before sending his mind out on the currents of air.

  When Sebastian returned after setting a new stone far to the west, he looked at the camp as he stretched. Ashleen moved to join him even as his eyes looked at the other pairings.

  "So how did they do?" he asked quietly. Only Ashleen seemed to have noticed his return so far. Elzen and Serrena opened one of the gate pairs even as he watched.

  "Xander came close a few times. He's making a flicker of light now that is mirrored in both. If the gates were only as large as a doorknob, he could probably do it. Shaylene tried a couple times also, but had no success today."

  "And have Haylee and Kharrik managed to survive the morning working together?" he asked plainly seeing the fire wizard with her hand placed on the falcon's right shoulder.

  "She continued to make it plain that she was doing this in protest; but once he began working with Elzen to get the feel on the spell, I haven't really heard them complain. Haylee hasn't tried to make a gate yet and seems to be content with just letting him give it a try."

  "Haylee played with the frames yesterday too. Maybe she was tired of trying and failing?" he suggested.

  "Maybe. I wonder if you were here to work with them if it would go a little better. Elzen is barely a novice at using the gates, so he is hardly the one to teach this," Ashleen stated with concern.

  "If I could ever figure out how to teach you to move against the winds as quick as I do, then I wouldn't have to be the one distracted all morning," Sebastian replied. He wasn't complaining or asking for her to help, the mage was simply stating the facts. While he had tried to tell her how he was doing it, Sebastian was new to this added speed also. It was likely something he would need to show her with their magic entwined before the concept would fully pass on to the air wizard.

  Elzen and Serrena suddenly noticed Sebastian watching the clearing. The mage retrieved the two practice squares and started towards the couple.

  "If everyone else continues to work as well as they just did," Ashleen began, "maybe you could show me after lunch."

  His stomach suddenly rumbled and the mage realized that he had yet to eat or drink. Whether his power had grown or not, he wasn't certain; but the last few trips on the wind Sebastian had felt little tiring or hunger by the time he returned.

  "Perhaps, but I can probably make it to Velius by the end of the day without taking any time away from the flight."

  Ashleen tried to hide her disappointment, but she could understand. His time was limited and if the ravens in Hala knew that Sebastian was fine, the mage would likely need to do something else for them. No one knew of his bringing gates to Kardor, even though it had been more of an excuse since the goal was to reach her home city.

  Though the first meeting with her family and Sebastian hadn't gone well, at least with a temporary gate there, more visits would be easy enough. Then she could work on her parents some more before needing to give up.

  "Well, if everyone else has worked up an appetite, maybe we should gather them and return to White Hall then," the owl decided out loud, though it was more rhetorical in nature.

  Haylee sat across from her work partner as they ate lunch. Shaylene sat beside the full wizard by decree rather than by chance. Even after a morning of being distracted by trying magic that felt impossible to the fire wizard at times, the woman had remained vigilant in keeping her charge where she could both keep of her eyes on her and keep her away from the cadet as much as possible. The boy was like a magnet to the young girl, Haylee thought in annoyance.

  Her eyes wandered to Xander sitting next to Kharrik. She worried what might be going on under the table, but could only do so much to keep them away from each other. The youths were paired together and touching during the magic practice as well. At least that was limited to touching an arm or shoulder.

  Straying from her intense stare at the cadet, who managed to appear like he didn't notice; Haylee looked at the older man next to him with his dark brown hair and beard. Like night to her day, Kharrik was her opposite in all appearances. He had brown hair dark enough to look black in poor light. She was blonde which would shimmer in moonlight. He was tall and she on the small side as well as being petite. She guessed that he wasn't fat, though his jacket and winter clothes masked much of that.

  His eyes caught hers even as he took another bite of beef stew. The meal was popular in Southwall for warming a body in winter.

  She noted the blue of his eyes, so intensely blue and not the light crystal blue that many northerners had. Hers were merely brown contrasting with her light complexion and hair color. Again they were opposites, though perhaps the color of one's eyes couldn't be called that, the wizard contemplated before realizing that she was staring.

  Starting from her daydreaming, Haylee wasn't ready for him to ask, "Are you alright?"

  "Um, yes, just a little tired. It was a long morning," she replied trying to cover for her mistake. It wasn't a lie at least. She was a little tired from getting up early and then using her magic even when it was sharing it with the mage, another opposite fact or nearly. Had he been a mere soldier without magic, that would be more accurate; but a battle mage was physical while a wizard preferred standing back to use their minds and magic.

  He nodded. "Did you get a sense of the magic at all? I have to admit it feels slippery compared to a lot of the new spells."

  "Slippery?" Haylee questioned finding the description odd for magic.

  A slight smile pulled at the corners of his mouth and she wondered what his jaw might look like without that beard before the woman even realized that her mind had taken her there.

  "Well, most spells, especially battle magic, have always felt like I could grasp it. You know, like you must feel with fire magic. You might not get it right away, but the general feel of it was there from the moment an instructor cast the spell in front of you. If they walked you through using touch, you could identify the magic of the spell even easier.

  "Even watching Elzen and Sebastian using the magic, it feels odd. I can feel it, but grasping how to make it appear has been more challenging than any of his new spells that I have been shown."

  Still uncertain of what he meant, Haylee nodded not wanting to appear unintelligent. "I sense it, but I would say that it was more like smoke or fog. There is texture and a feel of it, but your hand can't grasp it."

  "Hold out your hand long enough and you might at least get your hand wet with fog though," the mage replied smiling more obviously though not enough to bare his teeth.

  He had a pleasant smile; Haylee couldn't help thinking and fought reddening with embarrassment. At least it wasn't s
omething that she had said aloud.

  "I suppose," the woman answered and looked away catching Xander looking at her. From the corner of her eye, she thought Shaylene was smiling at the side of her face.

  Haylee looked at the vegetables cooling on her plate. There were more vegetables than meat compared to her partner's large bowl of beef stew. Again their choice in meals was drastically different. As the scent of his meal wafted across the table, she did have to admit that it smelled pretty good as well.

  When Sebastian declared it time to go to the new point where they would train some more on the difficult magic, Haylee was almost glad. Their conversation had lapsed into near silence for the last several minutes, but she caught him looking at her from time to time even as the wizard found her eyes looking at him. Blaming it on the fact that he was directly in front of her and large enough to block her view without craning to look around him, Haylee walked with Shaylene making sure that the apprentice didn't get too close to the cadet.

  Xander walked beside the falcon comparing notes. The younger boy had listened to their conversation, the wizard thought. Some of what he said involved agreeing with Kharrik.

  Walking into the cold of the courtyard was unpleasant. She was a fire wizard. It meant she made fire and was comfortable with heat. Even being born to North's cold winters, Haylee hated the cold. The woman was slim and made sure to watch what she ate to avoid growing fat. Staying in White Hall to teach didn't keep her as active as she had been in the field. There were places to work out in the dormitories, but Haylee didn't enjoy the sweat. She didn't want to become so muscular that she appeared less feminine to her ideal either.

  The large rectangle of golden light formed at the owl's single uttered word and she wondered again how a battle mage could wield such difficult magic like he had been born to it. He did too many things as good as a wizard, or perhaps even better, Haylee thought starting to frown as she walked through the light. Silver surrounded her, an odd counter to the golden light of the doorways at either end of the gates before winter surrounded them again.

  Ashleen used a wind spell to clear a large circle again to bare the grass. As a woman with a long skirt, Haylee certainly preferred the clearing to the snow. Trees were to the north and west of their circle. There was no hill here and the wizard wondered why the mage had chosen this place to plant his lodestones this time.

  There was another combination of his magic well beyond her knowledge, which Haylee hated to admit as well. He used different spells involving wind. She was a fire wizard and incapable of doing anything like it. Haylee doubted her skills would lead her to learn other kinds of magic. She would likely never wear the white of a high wizard, but few did the woman realized.

  Her eyes went to Sebastian curiously and tried to remember all the kinds of magic he could do. If he just had the power of a wizard, this man would have become a white wizard for sure. They called him an owl because being just another falcon wasn't enough.

  "Ready?" Kharrik questioned the distracted looking wizard.

  She had watched the mage sit on the stool drawn from more magic that Haylee couldn't comprehend. The fire wizard didn't have any runes on her, though she supposed that she could have asked. Men and women without magic could use the runes to a similar degree; so a fire wizard could do much more, but perhaps that felt too common because anyone could use it?

  Nodding her head as her vision focused on the mage, her partner, Haylee replied, "Do you want me to share my magic again?"

  "In a moment," the mage answered looking thoughtful. "Have you shared your power with people very often?"

  The question threatened to make her blush. Fighting the embarrassment trying to compromise her, the wizard scolded her mind for thinking it meant anything other than magic use.

  "Rarely," the woman replied evenly though she had to clench her teeth almost immediately. Pressure in her jaw helped hold back the annoying feelings from his words.

  "You can't heal at all, can you?" he asked receiving an expected shake of her head. "When I heal, my mind goes into the patient. I feel what they feel unless I block the pain with my spell. I can also turn off the pain triggers when we can't put them to sleep."

  Shaking his head, Kharrik smiled ruefully. "Sorry, what I meant to say is that, isn't it a little weird sharing magic?"

  "What do you mean?" she asked trying to focus on his words rather than thinking of the alternate meanings.

  He gestured towards Shaylene and Xander sharing their magic already as the cadet focused on the square in front of him. Each try from the boy seemed to get him closer to accomplishing the spell.

  "When those two work together, their magic seems to come together making something new. I can see the blend of their auras, but maybe I am wrong and it is just an overlap."

  Haylee didn't have to look to know what he meant. The wizard had noticed Shaylene and Xander combining magic. It didn't always happen that way when two or more wizards came together. Usually their magic seemed to swirl touching each other without changing color or type. Her apprentice seemed to have a different color and Xander's aura was definitely blended with Shaylene's to her eyes. Serrena and Elzen were almost as tightly bound as they opened the squares easily as long as the mage led the spell.

  Holding up his left hand with the palm towards her, Kharrik waited for the wizard to place her hand against his. Their fingers entangled but she didn't extend her magic because she remained uncertain of his intent; but they had worked together for hours so she trusted the mage at least to a point.

  "Heal," Kharrik called on magic that Haylee couldn't fathom. "Try and read the magic," the mage ordered gently. "Feel the flow."

  She could see his aura and, remaining intent, Haylee could see the extension of his magic inside her arm. Wanting to recoil at the invasion, the wizard fought her aversion and held on as she tried to focus on what he had said.

  Closing her eyes, Haylee could see the mage's aura through her lids. He raised his other hand and she took that hand as well. Like forming a loop, his magic seemed to move through her. She let her magic go out into the man letting the flow of her power join his. Her breath caught in her chest. Glimpses of what he felt from the connection made her gasp. She had no idea of how to heal, but the fire wizard thought that she suddenly had a new understanding. Growing warm despite the cold, Haylee noticed him move his hand with hers before she heard, "Door."

  "Look, we did it. It worked," she heard him say and opened her eyes to look at the square beside them. A strong gold glow formed in their two practice gates. It was a strong connection.

  He let go of her hand, her right, and reached into the golden glow. His hand seemed to get cut off at the wrist before he pulled back.

  "Want to try it?" Kharrik asked the woman still holding the other hand as their magic remained linked.

  She shook her head even as other voices called out in congratulations. Looking at Serrena and Elzen as well as Ashleen who had been watching the pairs since Xander was working with Shaylene; Haylee felt their attention and wanted to blush. Her connection started to waver and the gold glow faded away.

  Kharrik released her hand feeling the joining of her magic begin to fade. His eyes sought hers, but the woman looked down at the squares for a moment avoiding everyone else. She felt the warmth in her cheeks and a different kind of warmth elsewhere in her body. It wasn't something Haylee had ever known before, even from joining to work spells in the past.

  "You did it already?" Elzen said coming closer with the other two from Sebastian's original four. "It took me months and finally working with Serrena to make my first real gate. How did you manage that? I thought that you were having trouble finding it earlier."

  Kharrik glanced at his partner before shrugging at the other mage. "We joined our magic. It was a better blend that time and I could feel the magic better. It might not happen so easily every time, I am guessing; but at least we know that it is something I can do if I struggle again."

  The others seem
ed to agree even as Haylee turned to step away taking a deep breath. While they all noticed the wizard's strange silence as she appeared to need a moment alone, Ashleen followed slowly until the other wizard stopped with her back to the others. The woman's arms crossed holding against her stomach with her fingers touching her back even with the thickness of her winter robes.

  "Are you alright, Haylee?" the wilder asked with worry. She could read the woman's aura and it fluctuated in the way that Ashleen knew came from her emotions making it flutter. If it had been the wilder, electricity would likely be sparking along her skin.

  Taking a deep breath to try and settle herself, Haylee turned to face the other wizard before nodding.

  "It was just an odd feeling to the spell. He used his healing magic to make the connection... different," was the closest to the truth that she would admit. The woman was still warm from his connecting with her and worried what it really meant.

  Ashleen nodded. "Sebastian has used healing magic to make unusually strong connections with me... and others too. It can make for strong sensations, especially if both can heal."

  "I can't heal," the fire wizard stated with a frown at the other woman.

  The other blonde just nodded as if she realized that anything said now wouldn't help.

  After a time, the others went back to their tasks. Ashleen checked in with Shaylene and Xander to see if there was any progress as well.

  Kharrik came towards Haylee and asked gesturing towards the squares, "Did you want to try? I led that time, but aren't you supposed to try as well?"

  Looking up at the man, Haylee noted his dark blue eyes. Even with the sun, they were so blue; but now she asked, "Have you ever thought about shaving off that beard?"

  Blinking at the change of topic, Kharrik thought a moment before asking, "Why? Do you think I should remove it? It's warmer during the winter with it, you know."

  Gesturing with her fingers for him to lean closer, he was only slightly surprised as the woman created a fire spell. His skin felt warmth even as he noted her touch move from his ear to the side of his mouth. She repeated the movement on the other side next before clearing the hairs from his neck. Though her touch was warm, the cold air let him know of the magical shave quickly.