The Making of a Mage King: Prince in Hiding

by Anna L. Walls

  Jenny was in the pep squad at school. She and Larry had been virtually inseparable for over a year now, but she was Sean’s friend too. Tears made her face wet.

  Larry and Jenny had been there for him when Analeace had died. Today had been a school day, so wasn’t yesterday and the day before. They must have heard what had happened and had come to see if Sean was all right.

  Sean gripped the chair he was leaning on until his fingers hurt. “What’s the meaning of this?” His voice was raw, but he staunched the urge to cough.

  “We couldn’t allow…” Ferris began with a glower. Cisco started to rise from her chair. She was probably going to help Sean, but he forced them both back, willing them to remain in their seats. Cisco let out a squeak of alarm and Ferris’s eyes bulged in open astonishment.

  Gordon hurried up behind him. He must have heard Sean’s voice, but then he was buffeted aside by the other five stones as they came rocketing in from the other room.

  As soon as they arrived, all six stones hovered over the table and started to spin. “These are my friends,” growled Sean, “You have no right…” He made their bindings vanish. His fingers dug into the chair. He needed it to hold himself up. With his teeth clenched tight, he said, “You will not harm my friends.” A different echo was behind his words, but he paid it no mind. He reached out to the spinning stones and they came together in his hand with a smack, then he reached out to the rest of them and took them away.

  Sean had been told many times that he learned quickly, but he also had a temper. It didn’t come out very often – in fact, he could count the times he’d lost his temper on one hand without even using all his fingers – but when it did come out, the results were pretty nasty. Thinking to protect his best friends from these people who had suddenly become strangers, Sean thought to take them away to somewhere safe, but the spell felt unwieldy, and his head was exploding again. He had no idea if he’d succeeded. He lost the chair and all the lights went out.

  The first time he woke up, all he knew was that there was not enough room inside his skull for this much pain. He could scarcely discern that hands were holding him down.

  He woke like that a number of times before he figured out that things were improving. As long as he stayed very still, it felt like only his face was exploding. The rest of his body just felt like he had fallen from his apartment window fourteen floors to the pavement below.

  Sean improved slowly. The day came when he could pull the cold rag from his face without dying or fainting. His head still hurt enough to make him leery of moving it, but he could open his eyes a bit and look around. Jenny’s face was the first thing he focused on. “Hi,” he said, or tried to; scarcely a whisper came out.

  Another face replaced hers. “Do you know my name? Do you know your name?”

  Sean reached up to touch her short gray hair. Her hair has always been too short. “Cisco.” He tried to swallow. “Water.” But when her hand slipped under his neck, he screamed.

  Sean’s recovery continued to progress, and eventually he felt brave enough to try sitting up. At his first struggles, Cisco came over to help. “You seem to be very lucky. You could have turned yourself into a complete vegetable using that much magic so soon,” said Cisco, as she saw Sean propped up against the wall at his back. “As it is, you’ve dropped us into the middle of nowhere, and you’ve managed to lose the stones. You may never be strong enough to go back for them.”

  He knew better – or he thought he did anyway. He prodded a hard knot in his belly and winced. I haven’t lost the stones, but she doesn’t need to know that just now.

  As Cisco went back to whatever she was doing across the room, she threw a rag into a bucket of water with enough force to splash some of the water onto the dirt floor. Why is she so pissed? She must be angry about being dropped in the country instead of being left in the city. Some people can’t abide the country, but what did she expect for my first try.

  He took the opportunity of being left sitting by himself in his corner, to take in his surroundings. He recognized the place, but he couldn’t remember where he’d seen it. Where did the roof go? Their camp was inside what was left of a small house. It had four once-white walls that had suffered a substantial amount of fire damage, yet the walls were mostly intact. There were three windows and two doors, all missing, likely victims of the fire. A crumbling fireplace dominated the fourth wall. If there had been any other things in and of the house that survived the fire, they had been cleared away or used in the current little blaze that flickered on the stone hearth in front of the useless fireplace.

  Ferris and Larry came in. Ferris noticed that Sean was sitting up and headed in his direction. “You’re looking better,” he commented as he squatted down in front of him.

  Sean waved his hand limply. I’m not that much better. “What is this place?” he asked. “Where are we?” He reached up to hold his head together with one hand while Ferris filled him in.

  “I can’t be sure until I find someone to ask. I think we’re quite a ways from the city, or there’d be more traffic. I’ve taken a look around as far as I dare to go. Two more farms are in no better condition than this one, and another is just empty.”

  Sean closed his eyes and leaned his head gently back against the wall, and Ferris gave way to Larry and Jenny.

  “Hey man,” said Larry. “What have you gotten us into? Gordon told us a little, so did Cisco, but Ferris just glares and tolerates us.”

  Jenny was snuggled under Larry’s arm.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just learning all this. I guess I screwed up,” said Sean.

  “Cisco said you almost died,” said Jenny.

  Sean gave her his best smile. His head was hurting a lot and his hand wasn’t helping anymore. “I’m indestructible, remember? You always said so.”

  “Yeah, with a sword, against wimpy New Yorkers, but this is different. You scared me.” Jenny sounded almost like a little girl when she said those last three words.

  Sean was truly sorry; sorry for this, sorry for everything. He held out his free hand, but instead of just taking it as he expected, Jenny came close to crawling into his lap. Grunting with the aches that Jenny’s actions found, he was glad to see that Larry moved closer too. Jenny was Larry’s girlfriend. He didn’t want Larry jealous over her. “I’ll get you back to the city as soon as I can. I promise. When I’m better, we’ll go back.”

  Jenny’s warmth and Larry’s shoulder touching his were soothing, and Sean found himself dozing off.

  The day after Sean made it out of the house for the first time under his own power, Cisco gave him a small exercise to work on. She handed him a little rock about the size of a shooter marble. As he looked at the thing in his palm, she said, “As soon as you can lift that, we’ll continue your lessons.”

  Confused, Sean looked from her to the rock.

  “Air magic,” she said. “Use air magic to lift it.”

  Okaaayyy – air magic – she wants me to suspend the stone on air. The first time he tried, he knew that he had to have done something right because he found himself on his hands and knees trying to turn his stomach inside out.

  Cisco was back at his side in a flash. She propped him back up on the bench, then she gave him a drink of water. She looked concerned, but didn’t apologize. When he handed her back the chipped cup, she found and handed him back the rock.

  Within a week, he could manipulate the four different elements of magic with some ease, though he’d only done small things, so Cisco made the tasks a little more difficult. “Here,” she handed him a few old, dried-up corn kernels. “Make them grow.”

  After that, she brought him a bucket of water and an empty bucket. “Make the water flow from one bucket to the other. Try not to lose too much.”

  Then came fire. “Make this stick burn.” She didn’t put the stick in his hand, which was a good thing since the entire stick burst into flames the first time he tried.

  When he had mastered the four separate ele
ments of magic enough to satisfy her, she had him begin to combine them. Combining the magics was more a matter of imagination than rote, but after he developed a feel for each one, doing the small tasks Cisco came up with weren’t really all that difficult. She had him doing things like making a crooked stick straight, or turning a handful of dead grass into a flower. Larry liked that one. Sean let him give the flower to Jenny.

  As soon as Sean was strong enough, he started accompanying Ferris on his scouting trips. He went nearly every day in order to protect their location from unwanted eyes, and to bring back meat. With Ferris, the lessons were very different. With him, Sean learned how to stifle sound and hide their tracks. He even learned to kill. That was black magic. He knew hunting was important. They needed to eat, but killing with magic was…unsettling. Finally Sean asked, “Ferris, why are we still here?”

  “You’re not strong enough yet,” he said as they crept up to a small rise to see if anyone might be interested in their little corner of the world.

  “What’s to getting stronger? I’m out here with you. I don’t get headaches anymore. If you want me to learn more magic, tell me what to do. I already do the things you and Cisco ask me to do; I’ve figured them out. Am I supposed to do bigger things? Let’s just start walking. We can’t be that far from the city.”

  They crawled back down from the rise and Sean erased their passage as they went. “Make it rain,” said Ferris. “It’s the least noticeable big thing you could do.”

  Sean looked up at the sky; there were only a few wisps of clouds being blown about by the wind. He had done this before. He had been grief-stricken and angry then, and he couldn’t remember whether it had been cloudy or not, but if he could do it once, surely he could do it again. He reached up as if to pull the rain from those tiny clouds.

  They surged together into thunderclouds, and as they came clashing together, lightning struck a tree not too far away…then it began to pour.

  “Now comes the fun part,” yelled Ferris over the noise of another lightning bolt, not to mention the deluge. “Make it stop.”

  Pulling the elements for a storm together wasn’t so hard, but pushing them apart again was a different matter. Then Sean remembered something he had learned in science class. Water was made up of hydrogen and oxygen, and lightning was only static electricity. He broke down the water and equalized the electrons between the clouds and the earth. The storm vanished in a fog bank that quickly blew away with the wind. Then he sat down very fast.

  Ferris was beside him in an instant kneeling in the mud that his young charge now sat in. “You did it, and on your first try. I didn’t think you’d be able to. I’m impressed.”

  “Just a little high school science,” said Sean. “I used to be pretty good in science class. I never thought I’d be using it like this, though.”

  “Come on, let’s get back to the farm. Cisco will want to hear about this,” said Ferris.

  “We’re not all that far from the farm. I’m willing to bet that she already knows about the storm,” said Sean. He was still a little dizzy.

  Taking Charge

  When they reached the farm, Cisco was not pleased with the fact that it just rained buckets for all of five minutes, and still definitely not pleased when she learned that Sean had caused it. Then again, she hadn’t been too pleased with anything ever since they’d come here. “What do you mean, taxing yourself like that? You could have set us back days, if not weeks.”

  Sean had never heard her yell before. When she ran out of rant, it occurred to him that she might be the one who was making the decisions for the rest of them. “Cisco, why are we still here? Why aren’t we going back to the city?”

  “You’re not strong enough,” she replied hotly as she chucked a sodden stick back onto the drenched remains of the fire. “You’ll never be strong enough. Without the stones, you’ll never be able to face Ludwyn.” Then she seemed to realize what Sean had said. “Just where do you think we are?”

  “What makes you think I don’t have the stones? Is it because I don’t use them every day? I try not to use the stones. I want to learn the magic first. What good is a tool if you’re handicapped without it?” He grabbed her hand and pushed it against his belly. He had a strong six-pack, but the added lump could still be felt if you pressed hard enough just above the navel. “I hid them from you, so you couldn’t use them against my friends again. Of course I hadn’t intended for you to be anywhere near my friends again, but I kind of messed that one up. The last time you used them, you did it while I was asleep. This way, you can’t use them without my knowing.”

  Sean looked around the camp and noticed everyone staring at him, and he realized that they were all wearing the same clothes they had worn while sitting in his kitchen. Then everything fell into place. He remembered the farm from his vision. “We’re nowhere near New York City, are we?” Everyone just looked at him, confirming his suspicion. Ferris was frowning; he’d probably mentioned it, but Sean couldn’t remember. “Well, apparently we came here a little unprepared.” Sean turned to Ferris. “Stay here and watch out for the others.” Feeling foolishly rash, he pulled Cisco into a hug and thought of his living room.

  * * *

  She guided him to the closest chair and watched him for a moment. “You are doing better and better every time you try something. Did you use the stones with that?”

  “I don’t know, I suppose so,” he said. “Didn’t you tell me I’d never be strong enough to do this without them?”

  “Yes, I did, but you see, I can’t feel the stones anymore, not any of them. I’ve been close to them for seventeen years, and now it’s as if they don’t even exist. That’s why I thought you’d lost them. You’ve not only put them out of easy reach, you’ve managed to shield them. Whatever possessed you to imbed them in your own body?”

  “I honestly can’t say. I was doing good just standing up at the time. I think it was easier than trying to find a pocket.” He wavered to his feet. “Go to your apartment. Get whatever you think you need. I’ll do the same here. Grab some blankets too.”

  Sean started to go through his room. He threw some changes of clothes on the bed along with his sword case. He poked through all of his belongings. He left his treasure box behind; he knew that when it became known that the apartment had been abandoned, everything left behind would likely be thrown out, but he didn’t really have room for such a thing anymore.

  In his parents’ room, (he really liked that word, ‘parents’ – he wished it were true), he selected some clothes for Jenny and some for Larry. Larry was tall like Sean, but not as wide across the shoulders and hips. Elias’s things would fit him a bit loose and a bit short, but they would be better than nothing.

  As he dug things out of the closet, he discovered something way in the back, under plastic; something he never knew existed, but should have expected in light of recent knowledge: a set of chainmail armor with a black and red tabard hanging over it.

  Fascinated and thrilled, he pulled off the plastic and examined it. The shirt was made of a heavy canvas weave and looked long enough to sit on. Stitched to it was thick leather that covered the shoulders and extended down the outside of the arms almost to the elbows. The elbows had their own reinforcement, and the leather at the cuffs, which also reached almost to the elbows, was especially thick. Another heavy panel of leather was stitched down the back and the front. It closed across the front by buckling under the right arm. Covering everything was fine-linked chain mail, caught at several points to keep it from rubbing too much. It reached from the collar down several inches past the cuff of the shirt and nearly a foot below the hem. It was attached tightly to the shirt where it buckled under the arm, and had its own buckle at the neck and several catches in front of the shoulder and at the wrist. The whole thing was stained black.

  Cisco came in just as he found the sword belt on a back shelf. She saw what he had discovered, and said, “You should try it on. It’s not your father’s, but it’s close
; we might be able to adjust it. It might come in handy too. Here, I’ll help you get it right.” She dug in the closet for other things and produced a silk undershirt that hung well past his waist, and a pinafore of quilted felt that would cover his shoulders and chest. Then after some muttering, she produced a box with bits of metal that fit his legs, and a pair of well-used gloves with metal scales stitched across the back.

  As she helped him with buckles and getting things right side front or right end up, Sean asked, “What happened to…um Elias…oh the hell with it. What happened to Mom and Dad? What happened to Uncle Clayton?”

  She looked up at him. “I can only speculate.” She studied his face. “When Clayton’s body was found along side the other man’s body, there was nothing to identify either of them. Of course, they announced that the autopsy revealed that Clayton had died of multiple stab wounds, as had the other man with him. We learned of his death when they posted pictures in the papers in hopes of someone coming forward to identify them. We could do no such thing. We never learned who the other man was or why they’d been fighting. Had we gone to identify him, we would have discovered that his swords were missing as well as the stone. No one else knew such things existed, so how could they know they were missing?

  “Analeace’s death is a mystery,” she continued, after only a slight hesitation. “The police never found any leads, and as Elias’s wife…they looked very hard. I know of one way to achieve that effect, but magic is not used here.”

  Sean also now knew of one way to kill without leaving a trace. Ferris had taught him. It was really quite simple, just reach out and stop the heart – take the electricity away. He had to shudder. Someone must have found us; no one else would be able to do such a thing.

  “Now Elias’s death was much more typical to New York City,” continued Cisco, speaking quickly. “He was involved in a shootout with some gang and caught a bullet in a place not protected by his vest. The bullet hit an artery and he bled to death quickly.”