Advent (Advent Mage Cycle)

by Honor Raconteur

  Since they were all running, Shad and I took advantage of the situation and started running too. It still seemed eons until we reached the outer door, though. Even when we stumbled out into the clear, cold night air, we couldn’t relax. The outside was in as much of an uproar as the inside of the Palace.

  From here, I could take over. I knew the outside of the Palace well enough to navigate our way out. Shad and I kept up a steady pace as we weaved in and out of frantic people, heading into the city proper. At different points, I felt Nolan’s fingers dig into the shirt on my back, trembling. I wished I could spare him some words of encouragement or comfort, but didn’t have the breath to do either.

  We were within sight of the main city gates when Shad and I slowed down to a fast walk. No one was running here. I was hoping that we had outrun any message sent out that the prince was missing. It might be protocol to seal the city, for all I knew.

  The gate guards were talking with each other as we walked past them, clearly debating on whether the alarm meant they should close the gates or not. Apparently they couldn’t decide if that particular alarm was a general fire alarm, or abduction alarm.

  “I think someone skimped on their training,” Shad muttered in amusement to me. “Luckily for us.”

  I nodded in agreement. Still, despite the idiots on the gate, I didn’t breathe easy until we were well past them and out of sight of the main road.

  “Garth!” Xiaolang hissed from the darkness.

  I wasn’t surprised to find him there, of course, because I had felt the team moving in closer to the city as we went out to meet them. I went directly to him. “We managed to get out without them suspecting us.”

  “Good,” Xiaolang responded in relief. “Our young prince is on your back, I assume?”

  “You assume correctly.” I swung Nolan around in my arms and lifted the amulet off his head so everyone could see him.

  Xiaolang took one look at the little boy in my arms and jerked back in surprise. I gave him a suspicious look. That wasn’t Xiaolang’s normal reaction around people. “Xiaolang?”

  “That’s the boy,” he breathed, so low I barely heard him.

  I almost asked what boy? Then I remembered a certain conversation on my family’s back porch, so many nights ago. I blanched. “Are you sure?!”

  Words were beyond Xiaolang. He just nodded vehemently.

  Great magic…well. “I think it just became very important to reach Hain as soon as possible.” Not that we didn’t have enough reasons for that to begin with.

  “I cannot argue with that.” Xiaolang snapped out, “People let’s move!”

  Chapter Ten: Sneaking

  We didn’t dare use any sort of magic while near the capitol. Or in the whole of Banaszak Providence, for that matter. The whole Providence was swarming with Star Order Priests—this was practically their headquarters. Fortunately for us, Banaszak lay right on the Chahir-Hain border, which meant we were only about a day and a half’s travel from reaching the safety of Hainian soil.

  It would still be a very nerve wracking day and a half.

  It being too late to travel, I searched around until I found a deserted clearing next to a small stream. It was well off the main road and out of sight behind a thick covering of evergreen trees. This early into spring, most trees were still budding, leaving little coverage. This dense gathering of evergreens was a godsend.

  We all fell into our normal patterns of making camp. It wasn’t until I had my bedroll settled and was turning to help Hazard cook dinner that I took any real notice of what Nolan was doing.

  The young prince had Didi in his arms—the Meuritta was nuzzling against his jaw and chittering in a happy manner—and a hand was gently stroking Night’s nose. My nreesce seemed completely absorbed in whatever conversation he and Nolan were having. Hayate half-curled himself around Nolan, head pressed against the boy’s side, and his eyes were nearly closed, a warm rumble echoing from his chest.

  I took in this picture of contentment with a rueful smile. Life Mages were a magnet for animals of any kind—apparently even young, untrained Life Mages.

  Aletha drifted up to my side and gestured to the group. “Is that typical behavior around Life Mages?”

  “Pretty much,” I confirmed. “I’m actually glad we’re traveling with him when he’s not trained,” I added thoughtfully. “Fully trained, and he’d be a magnet for any animal in twenty miles.”

  Aletha’s eyes went wide when the implications hit. “…Oh. That would be, er, interesting.”

  “That’s one word for it,” I agreed blandly. With another amused glance at the foursome, I turned back to the cook fire.

  I was just turning the rabbits (that someone had caught earlier) over, to prevent them from scorching, when Nolan appeared at my elbow. “Garth, who’s Trev’nor?”

  I blinked at this question, confused, until I remembered that Shad had mentioned Trev’nor earlier. “Ah, he’s a young Earth Mage about your age.”

  Nolan apparently found this information very interesting. “Can I meet him?”

  “Oh, you’ll definitely meet him.” I’d make absolutely sure of that. “You’ll be living with King Guin when we get to Del’Hain, of course. Trev’nor already lives at the Palace with his parents. I have no doubt the two of you will run across each other often.”

  He smiled, heartened by this news. “Maybe we can be friends.”

  I had absolutely no doubt about that. “I’m sure you will, Nolan. Trev’nor is a very friendly person.”

  Satisfied, he sat next to the fire and resumed talking to his captive audience.

  When dinner was ready we all gathered gratefully around the fire and started consuming hot food. We were about halfway through our plates when Nolan asked the inevitable question.

  “Xiaolang, why do you glow blue? Are you a magician too?” He blinked curious blue eyes.

  “No, Your Highness,” Xiaolang responded patiently, “I’m not a magician. I’m Q’atalian. All of my people are empaths, and empathy is apparently close enough to magic that you can see it.”

  “Oh.” Nolan chewed on this new information for a minute. “Why are Q’atalians empaths?”

  I paid more attention to the conversation, wondering why I had never questioned that before. It was just something you grew up knowing. The sky is blue, summer is warm, and Q’atalians are empaths. It was a fact that I’d never questioned.

  Xiaolang cocked his head, eyebrow quirked, looking slightly amused. “Do you want to hear the story? About how my people came to be.”

  They had a story? This was news to me.

  Nolan nodded eagerly.

  “All right then.” Xiaolang put his plate aside, assuming a storyteller’s position-legs crossed, hands palm up on his knees. “In the beginning of time when the world was new and humans young, the land lay untouched, untamed. A man could journey for weeks and see nothing but the sky above his head, the dirt beneath his feet, and the trees that lay between. Humans lived apart, their numbers no greater than the members of their family. Caves were their abodes, for they lacked the tools to create houses, and fear of the ever changing elements keeping them in hiding.

  “A man could labor in the soil from sun-up to sun-down day after day and yield little more than enough to survive. Nor could he keep all his thoughts upon his labor, for monstrous beasts came from the North, beast of claw and fang, scales and fur. Beasts that hunted and killed whatever was in their path. Within five generations, people lived in constant fear, leaving no energy to care or love any but themselves.

  “The great guardian of this world, Gramercy, looked down from the heavens and wept for his people. So great was his sorrow, his tears fell from the sky, watering the land and making it fertile. Soon there was more food to eat, more fish in the river, game in the woods, plants in the ground. Humans grew strong enough to slay the monsters that preyed upon them.

  “Yet their hearts remained hard. Instead of banding together, humans fought each other. They s
quabbled over food, killed for prime caves. The world had changed around them, yet they had remained the same. Gramercy surveyed the world once again, distraught for his people. He wanted to show them a better way to live, a life beyond what they had known. So he selected the angriest, the most downtrodden, granting them a piece of his own heart so that they may feel as others felt, love as he loved them. These selected few learned sympathy and empathy—the first step towards kindness—and learned to teach others to feel the same. And it is said that ever since, every Q’atalian carries a piece of Gramercy’s heart that grants him the ability to feel the emotions of others, to be the balance of the world around them.”

  I’d been just as spellbound as the boy and was a little disappointed the story was over. Xiaolang had a gift for telling stories.

  “Did he make magicians too?”

  “Not according to the story I was told,” Xiaolang denied. He quirked an eyebrow at me and Chatta. “Well? Did he?”

  “Not according to any story I’ve heard,” I answered with a shake of the head. “Chatta?”

  “Actually, no one knows why there are magicians,” Chatta admitted to Nolan. “We wish we did. If so, maybe we could influence more to be born.”

  “What about Mages?” Nolan pressed, eyes darting between Chatta’s face and mine.

  Such an inquisitive child. He and Trev’nor were definitely alike. “That is even more of a mystery. In all of history, only Chahir and Bromany have produced any Mages,” I answered, scraping up the last mouthful of food from my plate. “We do know that there are certain factors that are necessary for a Mage to be born.”

  I could practically see Nolan’s ears perk at that. “What?”

  “Well, inheritance. Their ancestor has to be a Mage. And the ley lines under them—”

  “What’s a ley line?”

  Oops. I’d forgotten he wouldn’t know. “Ley lines are like…um…” I had to think a second before I could come up with a simplified explanation he could understand. “The earth itself has power. You can probably sense that, can’t you?”

  He nodded firmly. “It glows too. Not like animals do, though.”

  Well, he was a Life Mage. Living creatures would be brighter for him. “For you, that’s true. Ley lines are like the living pulse of the earth. They’re long lines of pure energy. Okay?” When he nodded in understanding, I continued my explanation. “Anyway, the land has to have a certain amount of power where the Mage is born, otherwise they don’t awaken. And there’s some third factor, some other element, that makes a Mage a Mage. I think its sheer talent.”

  “Otherwise everyone in a Mage family would be born a Mage?” Chatta hazarded, looking intrigued at this idea.

  “Yup.” I put my empty plate aside, only then realizing that I had everyone’s attention. “I thought I mentioned this before….”

  “Well, you did,” Shield responded wryly, “except for that last bit. Why talent, precisely? Why can’t it be something else?”

  “Why do certain children inherit talents in a family, and others don’t?” I parried. “Why can my sister and I sing, and my two older brothers are so tone deaf dogs howl twenty miles away for mercy? There’s no rhyme or reason I can detect. It’s just talent.”

  “Interesting,” Eagle noted. The wheels were obviously turning in his head as he considered the idea. “So what happens when a Mage—like you—has children in Hain? What are the odds then?”

  I opened my mouth to answer and then paused when I realized I didn’t have a sure answer. “I’m not sure,” I admitted slowly.

  “I don’t think the odds would be very good for a Mage being born,” Chatta finally stated. “From what you’ve told me, Garth, Hain doesn’t have as many ley lines as Chahir does.”

  “It doesn’t,” I confirmed. “You’re probably right. I can’t envision that a Mage would be born in Hain, even coming from a Mage parent.”

  Hazard grinned from ear to ear. “So when your wife’s expecting, everyone will make sure that you move to Chahir before the baby’s born…is that what I’m hearing?”

  I hadn’t taken the thought to its logical conclusion so I was a little surprised by Hazard’s words. And then I realized that he was right and started smiling too. “You know, I’ll probably be told to do exactly that.”

  “I can picture Guin and the Trasdee Evondit Orra ordering you to do precisely that.” Chatta shook her head in amusement. “All the other Mages will probably be given similar orders.”

  I had no doubt about that.

  Xiaolang cleared his throat. “All of this is interesting, but it’s already late and we need to get a very early start. We’ll continue this tomorrow on the road. Shield, I don’t like being in this Providence, so you’re taking first watch. Then Hazard, Eagle, Aletha, and Shad. I’ll take last watch.”

  “We can stand watch too,” Chatta protested.

  The look he gave her was rife with sardonic amusement. “Assuming I can wake you two up, I’m sure you could. But I want you both well rested, just in case. I don’t want tired magicians facing down energetic Star Order Priests.”

  He had a definite point.

  We all turned in. I noted with amusement that Nolan chose to snuggle in with Chatta to sleep. He didn’t explain his choice, but Chatta offered no protests and wrapped an accommodating arm around his waist as they snuggled in together. Didi chose to curl up against Nolan, half-chittering in a sleepy manner.

  I settled in next to them, just in case I needed to throw up a quick shield. My body barely settled before darkness snuck up behind me and pounced.

  I don’t remember anything after that.

  ~*~

  When I awoke, I felt, if not well rested, at least rested enough to face the rest of the day. I rolled out of my blankets and prodded Chatta into motion first. She always takes a few minutes to actually wake up. Nolan woke up as I shook Chatta awake, blinking up at me with bleary eyes.

  “Do we ‘ave to get up?” His words slurred.

  “Yes, we do,” I answered patiently.

  He made an inarticulate noise of consent and started pulling himself up. He was barely sitting when Aletha appeared and picked him up. “Come on, Nolan, I have some breakfast waiting for you.”

  Looking rather cheered by this idea, he agreeably went into her arms.

  I set Didi on the task of waking up his mistress (thereby shifting Chatta’s ire to him instead of me) and went to get my own breakfast. I found, without any surprise, that Hazard and Eagle were still struggling to fully wake up, Shad and Xiaolang were ready to go, and Shield was still eating. Morning people were notoriously consistent people.

  It probably took a half hour to get everyone up, moving, and to pack up the camp. I was very careful to search the road in different directions, looking for anyone traveling, before we ventured out.

  “Garth,” Xiaolang called as I swung myself onto Night’s back.

  Obligingly, Night trotted over to him so we could talk to each other without yelling. “Yes?”

  “I want you to focus on the roads today,” he ordered with a worried glance toward the main highway. “If you feel anyone within a mile of us, we’re going to duck off into the woods. I don’t want anyone to see us leaving Chahir.”

  Considering we were skulking about with the Crown Prince, that was a very good idea. “Understood.”

  “And be ready to take us down to the earth path at a moment’s notice,” he added with a worried frown. “I prefer getting out of here without triggering any alarms, but safety is more important than stealth.”

  I could agree with that, too. “Right. Who’s Nolan riding with?”

  “Me.” Xiaolang aimed an exasperated look at Hayate, who had twisted his long neck around to look up at his owner with pleading eyes. “Hayate will never let me hear the end of it otherwise.”

  Hayate brightened, delight radiating from the tips of his ears to the flare of his nostrils. “Boy ride with us?”

  “Yes, you infernal creature, Nolan is ridin
g with us.” Fond exasperation heavily colored Xiaolang’s tone.

  Hayate twisted his neck again, this time at such an angle that it looked like he was going to break his neck, looking around. “Nolan? Nolan? Come ride!”

  Nolan appeared from behind Shield, trotting as fast as his little legs could carry him. He appeared just as delighted as Hayate. Apparently the adoration was mutual. With no hesitation, he grabbed Xiaolang’s proffered hand and swung himself up to sit in front of the Captain.

  I could swear Hayate started purring.

  “We’re going to have a fight on our hands when it comes time to leave Nolan at the Palace,” I muttered to Night.

  “No kidding,” he responded dryly. “From Didi, too. Personally, I’m more worried about Didi’s reaction. He’s sneakier about getting revenge.”

  Now that was a worrying thought. I made note to grab several puzzle toys from Trev’nor before we left for Chahir again. Otherwise there would be no living with Didi.

  ~*~

  Off and on during the day, I would take a break and let my poor aching head rest. Searching constantly around me was not easy. When I focused on the team, I realized that Nolan was firing a thousand questions at Hayate and Xiaolang. Seriously, if I hadn’t known better, I could swear that Trev’nor and Nolan were related. Xiaolang was patiently responding to every question he was given. So was Hayate, in his limited speech. I wasn’t surprised to see that Didi had at some point decided to ride in Nolan’s lap.

  Late that afternoon we reached the Chahir-Hain border. For caution’s sake, we travelled another mile past it before Xiaolang had me drop everyone onto the earth path and shoot straight for the Palace. Nolan was fascinated by this. He kept studying the walls, and shooting questions in my direction on how it worked. For a child that was deprived of all magic his entire life, he was soaking it up like a dry sponge now.

  We surfaced in the main Palace courtyard, as usual. Fortunately, at this time of night, no one was about to catch our entrance.

  Xiaolang took a deep breath and released it, obviously relieved. “I can’t believe we managed to get all the way here without getting caught. Good work, everyone. Shield, take the team and set them up for the night at the Ambassador Inn. I’ll meet you there later.”