Advent (Advent Mage Cycle)

by Honor Raconteur

  It was strange grass—I’d never seen the like before. It wasn’t really green, but a strange blue with fine yellow stripes down the middle. Some of it was cropped short, as if a certain four legged herbivore had eaten it recently. I knelt down at the nearest patch, letting my magic sense study the area.

  I found, living in those blades of grass, tiny little crawling insects.

  The parasites. At long last.

  A scuff of boot against rock sounded behind me. “Did you find them?”

  “I found them.” My joints and bones creaked when I pushed myself back to my feet. “What kind of grass is this, Small Rider?”

  He frowned down at the grass at my feet. “We call it cave grass—it only grows in dark, sheltered areas like this. But we’ve never had trouble with it before.”

  “I can’t tell you how the grass was infected with parasites; only that it is now.” I shrugged. That part was another mystery, but one that I wasn’t in the mood to solve. “I can tell you that your water source is clear.” I could sense that from here.

  “Well, that’s a relief, certainly.” His frown hadn’t eased in the slightest, as if he were trying to think. “How do we get rid of this grass and the parasites without risking a return next year?”

  Good question. Hmmm. “Fire would probably do the trick. We’ll have to ask Cora—she’ll know.”

  “Do we need to take some of this with us?”

  I shook my head. “She didn’t request it. She just wanted us to find the source.” I think. Women were notorious for leaving out details like that when they were requesting something and then getting mad at the men later for not realizing what they wanted.

  We ambled back to the tents, neither of us having enough energy to hurry anywhere despite the news we carried. I had to hunt Cora down, as she had moved since this morning. She was completely on the opposite side of the camp now. I hoped this meant that at least half the camp’s horses were healing.

  When I ducked into the sick tent I found Cora next to a young foal—a pretty palomino, probably, although it was hard to tell when the poor thing was so sweaty and exhausted. As I watched, the foal’s breathing became easier. Cora sat up, hands pressed into the small of her back, vertebrae cracking like she was an ancient crone instead of a fifteen-year-old. Her fair hair stuck in damp tendrils to her skin, the rest of it thrown up in a hasty, messy knot at the crown of her head. At some point, she’d rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, baring her arms. Her clothes had damp impressions of sweat in patches all over either from her, or a horse’s, I’m not quite certain.

  “Did you find it?” was her greeting.

  “Found it,” I replied with a tired smile. “Have you ever heard of cave grass?”

  “Yes…” she responded slowly. “The parasites are in cave grass?”

  I nodded, then winced when my head protested the movement. “Small Rider tells me they’ve never had an issue before this with cave grass.”

  “Well, they normally wouldn’t. Cave grass itself isn’t dangerous to a horse—it was probably just the only warm, living thing that the parasites could find to roost in.” Her eyes stared blankly at the tent wall, clearly lost in thought.

  I made an effort to regain her attention. “So if we torch the grass, would that get rid of the parasites?”

  “Oh yes. Do that. In fact, suggest that the Tonkawacons torch that area every year before they make camp here. It’ll prevent any further trouble of this sort.”

  They’d probably do that even without me suggesting it. “Right. How goes it here?”

  “I believe I have about ten horses left. Rosa has been keeping an eye on the ones that I’ve healed, and she tells me that they’re rapidly regaining strength. I predict in three days they’ll be back on their feet again.”

  I let out a relieved breath. “Good.”

  “You have an awful headache,” Cora informed me. “Magically induced, it looks like.”

  “Thank you,” my voice terribly dry, “I hadn’t noticed.”

  Either too tired to care about my sarcasm, or so used to griping patients that it no longer fazed her, she didn’t even blink.

  “Tell someone to go torch that cave, and then get some sleep.” As I turned to go take care of that, she motioned me back. Without a word, she raised her right hand and placed the tip of her index finger on my forehead. With a brief stroke of Life Mage power, electrifying and soothing, my headache immediately disappeared.

  “Thanks,” I murmured in complete amazement and surprise, but she had already turned back to her work. Not even Chatta’s headache potions worked that fast!

  I could have a long uninterrupted nap, without a headache? A terribly alluring thought, to be sure. “You won’t need anything from Del’Hain?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I’ll come get you if the situation changes.”

  Good enough for me. With a wave, I took myself out of the tent. There was a man standing just outside, waiting from all appearances. He looked vaguely familiar. What was his name…Chase, that was it! “Master Chase, we’ve found the source of the infection.”

  He perked right up hearing that. “Truly? What?”

  “The cave grass.” I didn’t want to get into an involved explanation, so kept my sentences short. “Someone needs to go up to the cave and burn it down.”

  “The water?” he asked in worry. “Will it be alright?”

  “It should be fine,” I assured him, stifling a yawn. “You don’t need to have a bonfire in there, just make sure that the grass is thoroughly burned. Cover it with a wet blanket to protect the water, if you feel it necessary.”

  “We’ll do just that,” he said eagerly. “Thank you, Magus. I’ll see to it myself.”

  Since the man had far more energy than I did, I let him do just that.

  My only thought was to hunt down Risa and see if she couldn’t spare a blanket for an overworked Mage.

  Chapter Three: Answers

  We spent another full day at the Haru Tribe Camp, just for Cora’s peace of mind. She wanted all of the horses to be well on the road to recovery before she went back to Del’Hain. While she was there she had several long discussions with Rosa, Small Rider, and a few other trainers about the proper methods to prevent this from happening again, as well as what medicines to use to cure the horses. I sat in on these conversations, trying to remember everything I heard. One never knows when information like that will be important. I’d rather know and not ever need to use the knowledge than vice versa.

  Late that afternoon Cora finally declared the danger passed. I was hoping to make a clean escape, but Rosa leaked that we were planning to leave and the whole camp descended on us. Cora and I were surrounded on all sides by people wanting to personally thank us. And while that was gratifying, it was also a little embarrassing.

  We stood in the center of a ring of tents very similar to Roha’s camp, pressed in by happy people, without an escape route in sight. Even though the cold hadn’t released its grip on this part of the country, so much body heat pressed close to us that I didn’t really feel the chill. I also couldn’t understand a single word anyone uttered because of so many voices overlapping.

  Fortunately Small Rider intervened after a few moments of this, saying that we had other tasks that we needed to attend to. I seized on this statement, leading Cora outside of the line of tents and therefore out of sight. Small Rider tagged along.

  “Garth, Cora, we truly do appreciate your quick response and help,” he told us as he put a hand on each of our shoulders. “I think we would have lost our horses if you hadn’t.”

  “Some of them, yes,” Cora agreed. “But I hope that you know that we’ll respond just as quickly next time, if you ever need our help.”

  “Yes, I do.” His eyes and voice were soft. “And I trust that you know if ever we can return the favor, you can call upon us as well. The Haru Tribe is the friend of the Mages, always.”

  “You proved that at our first meeting,” I pointed out. “And a
fterwards, when you helped me to train Night. I consider this more like returning the favor.” I held out a hand, which he grasped firmly. “I hope we meet again soon, Small Rider.”

  “I hope so too, my friend.” He let go, only to take one of Cora’s hands gently in his large browned ones. His braids swung forward to rest on his collarbone as he bent his head slightly to look Cora directly in the eyes. “And if you ever wish to have a horse, Cora, know that you may have the pick of our tribe. You have certainly earned that right.”

  Cora’s eyes flew wide, as if someone had just knocked the breath out of her, so I trusted that she understood what an incredible privilege she had been handed. Not even Guin had the pick of the tribe, and he had a long standing contract with the Del Tribe.

  “Thank you. If spring comes, and I am still not chosen by a nreesce, I might take you up on that offer.”

  “You may come at any time,” he assured her. “Until then, light unto your path.” He put both hands over his heart and bowed his head in deference of his respect for her.

  “Light unto your path,” she returned the formal parting, mirroring his gesture perfectly.

  I waited until Small Rider had backed up a few feet, then I dropped Cora and I into the earth. Trev’nor, again, must have sensed that I was close by, as he was hovering within the tent’s doorway.

  “Are the horses okay?” was the first question out of his mouth.

  “They’re fine,” Cora assured him with a pleased smile. “They’ll all be back on their feet in another day or so.”

  He instantly relaxed, returning her smile. “Good!”

  Night stuck his head out above Trev’nor’s. “So what was the problem?”

  “Parasites had infected their intestinal track and was slowly killing them,” Cora replied with a faint grimace. “It was not fun purging their systems.”

  Night’s skin rippled. “Yuck. I’m glad I didn’t go with you.”

  “Me too. I’m not sure if I could have handled another patient.”

  Now that they were updated I wanted some answers of my own. “While I was gone, did you two find any more information?”

  “Not much,” Night’s tail swished irritably.

  “Will you two stop leaving that door open?” Roha called from inside in exasperation. “You’re letting the cold air in!”

  Night and Trev’nor nearly simultaneously looked slightly guilty, as if they hadn’t thought of this, and rapidly backed out of the way. That gave us room to enter. Cora and I ducked inside where it was much warmer. Roha was in her normal seat by the fire, hands occupied with some complicated weave in her lap of dark leather strips. I knew better than to try to figure out the pattern.

  Roha looked up in interest. “I do not know this young woman.”

  No, they hadn’t had a chance to meet, had they?

  “Roha, this is Life Mage Hevencoraan. Cora, Roha of Del, the DauZmor of the Del Tribe.”

  Cora didn’t miss a beat, just put both hands over her heart and bowed her head. “A pleasure to exchange names.”

  Roha returned the greeting, just as politely. “A pleasure to exchange names, Magus. We are grateful for your help.”

  “My pleasure,” Cora assured her.

  “Come sit down,” Roha invited us. “You both look very tired. I trust the horses have been cured?”

  I let Cora fill her in on all the minute details. The DauZmor was something of a shaman/doctor/councilor for the tribe, so Roha was well able to keep up with all the technical details. About half of what Cora was saying went straight over my head. I was more interested in what little Night had found. I sat down next to him, gesturing him closer.

  “So what did you find?”

  “Well, we reached the end of the diary this morning. I think Trev’nor’s mother had a suspicion that something was going on. When he turned three, she writes that strange things keep happening around him. Whenever he was around dirt or stone, patterns would appear without any explanation.”

  That definitely sounded like earth magic—but at three years old?! I shook my head, trying to yank my mind out of that numbing moment of shock. “Mage accidents, by the sound of it.” I frowned, trying to figure out a reason why his magic had woken up so early.

  “Yes. Fortunately, her husband was something of a student when it came to history. He’d heard that the Rheben line was famous for producing Mages at one point—although she doesn’t write what sort of Mage. But he knew enough to recognize what his son might be.”

  Interesting. My family history didn’t include that information. But then, we were something of an offshoot of the main family. If I had my genealogy straight, Trev’nor would be a descendent of the main family. Maybe they kept better records than we did. “So she and her husband knew that something was up.”

  “They were just concerned enough to do something about it,” Night confirmed. He glanced at Trev’nor, sitting by Cora’s side, glued to the conversation the women were having. “Brenna writes that she and her husband were moving into the Empire of Sol as they were short on blacksmiths up there. The diary ends about a month into the journey when they both fell victim to some sort of fever. My guess is she was too sick and delirious to write more at that point.”

  I nodded to show that I was listening. It fit with what Roha told me. She said she had found the young couple and their then three year old son in a small camp off the road. The parents were both terribly sick, on death’s door, when they were discovered by the Del. Roha had been able to get very little information out of them before they died. All she had known was that they were traveling north, which was where she derived Trev’nor’s name.

  My frown deepened. “Nothing about where they are from or what area they lived in?”

  “No, unfortunately.”

  Busted buckets. I growled under my breath. That was the information I really wanted to have.

  “Well, we definitely know more than we did three days ago. This wasn’t a wasted trip.”

  “Actually, it was a good idea to come here all around. Small Rider would have been in dire straits if we hadn’t come up when we did.”

  Very true. “Not to mention what this might mean for us in the future.”

  He cocked his head slightly. “Meaning what, exactly?”

  “I hadn’t considered the prospect of actually looking for families with the right bloodlines,” I said slowly. “But if Trev’nor and I are from the same bloodline, then it’s entirely possible that more Mages will show up within the same family. Instead of blindly searching Chahir, like we’ve been doing, it might be easier to just track down the families that we know have a magical inheritance.”

  Night blinked comically. “Shrieking hinges, you’re right! And that Index you and Chatta found at the pool will give us a really good list of families to search for, doesn’t it?”

  “It does indeed. I need to get a copy made before we meet up with the team again.”

  Night nodded in vigorous agreement. “Xiaolang will definitely be happy about this idea. He hates not having a plan.”

  That was an understatement. Xiaolang lived for plans. “I expect that we’ll have just enough time to get a copy made before we meet up with the team again.”

  My nreesce gave me an odd look. “But it shouldn’t take more than a day to get that book copied. And the snow won’t melt for another two weeks, at least.”

  “If we time it right, we’ll have just enough time to get it copied,” I agreed blandly.

  Understanding dawned and Night started snickering. “You rat, you don’t mean to return to Del’Hain until the snow melts, do you?”

  “Guin can’t reach me here,” I pointed out smugly. “And we can hardly leave now, not when Trev’nor hasn’t had a chance to do a proper visit with Roha.”

  “And what about Cora?”

  “They were tasking her just as ruthlessly as they do me. Don’t you think that she’ll want a chance to take a vacation too?”

  Night gave an exasperated snort.
“You have this all planned out, don’t you?”

  I leaned back onto my hands, smile unrepentant. “Why, yes…I do believe I have.”

  ~*~

  Night’s prophecy about the snow melting within two weeks was dead on. Almost two weeks to the day, the snow started to melt quickly, leaving patches of bare earth and new grass behind. I knew that if the snow was melting here, to the far north of Hain, then it must be completely gone in Del’Hain. The capitol was far to the south of us, after all.

  These two weeks had been excellent, as I had anticipated. Roha was delighted with the company and happily played hostess for us. She and Cora became fast friends over their mutual love and expertise with animals. I think Cora learned more about horses and herb lore from Roha than she had in her six months of training at the Academy. During the two weeks, Cora assisted the DauZmor with every patient, helping to heal all injuries. After about a week of this beautiful, charming girl healing everyone, I think the whole tribe was ready to just adopt her.

  I was tempted to stay another few days but I could not ignore my duty to Chahir. If the snow was melting here, to the far north of Hain, then it was surely melting in Chahir as well. I had no way to know if there was someone who desperately needed a rescue over there—they might be waiting with baited breath for the roads to clear enough to make an escape. The possibility was real enough to hover in the back of my mind, persistent and troubling. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, or that there was something that I needed to be doing.

  It was time to end my time here, as enjoyable as it was, and go back to the task I was given.

  And so I gathered up boy, Mage, and nreesce readying them for the trip back south. We exchanged thanks and regretful goodbyes with Roha before disappearing into the earth.

  Quiet reined the whole trip back. Cora was having an in-depth conversation about something with Night, and Trev’nor focused on the diary again. He couldn’t seem to leave it alone for long.

  I pondered on where to go first but since Cora and I both needed to report to Guin—her about the Haru Tribe and the assistance she’d given them, me to explain about Trev’nor’s heritage—I decided we might as well go to the Palace. Besides, I had to give Trev’nor back to his parents anyway.