Uma walked right up to the mage and looked him up and down before she replied. “No offense, boy, but you look barely out of short pants yourself. I cannot leave a pup to train a pup. How old are you anyway?”
“I am nearly one and twenty. Napu told me a bit about you in his instructions. I should think you, above all people, would not confuse age with ability. Let me at least get a proper look at the lad. What have you got to lose?”
Uma sighed heavily. “Please yourself, and when you are done, I am sure you will agree we need to be on our way.”
He took up the long wooden staff that was leaned against the wall. I had not noticed it until he grabbed it. He looked me in the eye for the first time since I entered the room then tilted the top of the staff in my direction. “Touch the crystal.” I reached out with my hand and placed my fingers on the smooth, glittering stone. Almost instantly, he snatched the staff out of my grasp. His impassive eyes grew wide with shock. He pointed at Uma accusingly. “Did you think I would not find out? Did you think I would not know?”
Uma pitched her voice low, “I know I prefer to be spoken to in a civilized manner. Quit your ranting and keep a civil tongue in your head, boy.”
He turned accusing eyes to me. “What is your real name, girl?”
“Safara Zayn .” I answered automatically. I turned an apologetic gaze to Uma. I had clearly been unconvincing as a boy.
She shrugged at me. “ We knew he would suss you out, girl. He is a mage. If he had not figured it out fast as he did, I would have known he was a fraud.” She turned back to him. “I did try to take her away when I saw you was not Napu, if you remember. You was the one who insisted you just had to have a proper look.”
“You are right,” His expression turned placid again as he regarded me. “I sense the power in her, but why call for me? You are much better suited to work with a powerful young witch.”
“Is it that you are slow or is it that you think I am slow? I just got finished telling you that she ain’t a witch! Witch’s power is rooted in living things. That is the center of our magic. Just yesterday, I watched this here girl set a whole building on fire with her mind. That ain’t witch magic and we both know it.”
The mage raised an eyebrow and slowly turned his cool, murky gaze on Uma “Set a building on fire? That’s not possible. No mage alive can do that.”
Uma gestured at me with her chin. “She can.”
“You are saying that this child has fire magic?” The question was quiet.
Uma nodded. He turned his gaze on me and addressed me directly. “Let us see what you are capable of, young man, I mean lady. Light this candle.” He gestured at the candle on the desk in front of him.
I shook my head in horror and backed away from it. I looked at Uma for support of my defiance. Uma threw her hands up in exasperation. “This is exactly why I cannot leave her with you. You ask her to light a candle, not knowing the strength of her magic and knowing that she is untrained. She will light your candle alright, as well as the desk it is sitting on and the wall behind it for good measure. Keep standing where you are standing and she will light you up too.”
The mage calmly raised an eyebrow at Uma, then looked at me again. “Are you mute?”
“No, Sir.” He had just heard me speak my own name moments ago so I was confused by the question.
He nodded, approvingly. “Are you simple?”
“No, I am not.” My answer came more quickly.
“I thought not. So I can count on you to have common sense and not to endanger life, limb and property simply because I ask you to do it, correct?” I nodded. “Excellent. Now, if control is the issue, I have another task for you.” He turned to Uma. “I will send the mayor’s man back in with tea and cakes for you. I will take young Safi into the back yard. We need a few moments alone.”
I looked again to Uma for guidance but she did not return my gaze. Her eyes were on the tall, pale skinned mage, but her expression was unreadable. When she spoke though, her words were for me. “Do not fret, Safa girl. This here mage was trained by Napu so I know he will be a gentleman at all times. I will be sure to save you a cake or two. You go on. I will be here when you return.”
The tall mage strode in front of me, with a quick but slightly uneven gait. I had no choice but to follow, jogging slightly to keep up.
He led me through the hall, and into the kitchen, where all conversation stopped as soon as we entered. The cook and her assistant looked at him with terror even though he greeted them pleasantly. “Good morning, ladies, will you please prepare tea and cakes for my visitor?” Then he pointed to me. “I am taking this young man to the garden and we require privacy. Will you please draw the shutters and tell the rest of the staff to stay away from the area until we return.” Both women looked at me as if I were a doomed prisoner on my way to the gallows. That is exactly how I felt.
I followed him out past the kitchen garden and to the stone surround of the well. “First things first. I need you to face me and look me in the eyes. I need to check to make sure you have not been put under any sort of enchantment.”
“Yes, Master Wylan,” the cleric in our village had insisted on being called Master. It was the name I used for all teachers.
The mage winced at the word. “My name is Wylan. I have no title and no honorific. You may call me Wylan.”
“Yes, Mast--.” I corrected myself. “Yes, Wylan.” I turned and raised my golden eyes to meet his, trying to appear much stronger than I felt. After a few moments of meeting his gaze, I became more impatient than frightened, but he would not look away and neither would I.
Finally, he shook his head, then he walked to the well and pointed to the wooden bucket, hanging suspended just below the line of stones. “Set this bucket on fire.” I frowned at him, puzzled. “You heard me. If you lack the control necessary to light a candle in a closed room, you can prove yourself by incinerating that bucket. It is down a stone hole full of water. You can do no harm there.”
I had not had any marigold tea since we left home. I had never deliberately tried to use my power. I had seen the destructive results. I thought about all the things I had destroyed by accident over the last few months. Nearly half of our wooden dishes, Father’s favorite chair and of course, the privy. Maybe Uma was right. Maybe he truly did not understand what he was asking of me. I looked at the stone well. He had asked me to shoot a flame through a stone cavern and down into a pool of water. I decided he was right. Likely no harm could come of it if I could not turn the power off fast enough.
The wooden bucket swung slightly as the breeze pushed on the rope that suspended it. It made an easy target and I knew I could set it alight without much trouble and that it would fall harmlessly into the dark, sparkling water below. I took a deep breath and called the familiar tingle of heat to the back of my neck. I let it spread through my chest and arms. I focused the power and pushed it deliberately out of me with all the force I could muster. Flames shot out of my fingers and my palms and they incinerated the bucket and the rope attached to it. The waves of heat energy poured out of me long after the charred bucket splashed down into the water below. They were uncontrolled at first, I could not have stopped the flow if I had tried. The force of the power flowing through me began to slow as I grew tired, and I became aware that I could stop comfortably and naturally, so I did. Small wisps of steam puffed out of the well when I finished, as if I had heated the temperature of the water itself. His pale face got slightly more pale and he turned and walked back into the house without another word. I again had no choice but to follow.
He strode into the room and stopped in front of Uma, speaking in a hoarse whisper. “She is a gods be damned fire mage!”
Uma spoke around a mouthful of cake. “That is what I have been trying to tell you, boy!”
Words poured forth from him, but he appeared to be speaking more to himself than to either of us. “There is no such thing as a fire mage. They have not existed for centuries. Mages are rare to begin with. There a
re a few, low level earth mages scattered around the four nations, there are even rumors of one water mage in the kingdom of Geronia, but that is just a rumor. Fire mages are the stuff of legend. Imagine the knowledge we could gain.” He suddenly looked up, the excitement that briefly lit his eyes was gone. “But I cannot take a female mage into service for the king, even if she is a fire mage.”
“Who says so?” Uma asked indignantly.
Wylan stared at her incredulously. “The law of the land! It is written down in a giant book which is stored in the royal archives. There is a slight possibility that I would be hanged for training her, but she would most definitely be burned at the stake if anyone were to discover the truth.”
Uma shook her head. “I read that book myself and I know for a fact that it do not say nothing about burning a mage just for being a girl!”
He gazed at her silently for a few moments, “Perhaps it has been some time since you visited the capital city. Nearly a decade ago, the regional governors passed a resolution that strictly limits women’s magic use. They claim it serves to limit the oppression of mortals. This scheme of yours could mean very real danger for both of us, but mostly for her.”
He looked at me. “I cannot ask you to do this. You are much too young to be asked to risk your life for this foolish charade.”
I wanted to protest that I was not too young, but I kept silent. Instead I responded, “I cannot be burned at the stake.” I could not believe the words were coming from my own mouth. “I do not burn.” I had known this long before I gained my powers. Most of my childhood misadventure had involved fire because I had always been fascinated by it. I had made contact with flame and scalding liquid many times before and always emerged unscathed.
Uma nodded. “It is the damndest thing I ever seen. She can hold her hand directly in a fire and it do not even leave a mark.” Uma reached for the plate of cakes and popped the last one into her mouth, chewing noisily. “Point is, what are you going to do? You seen her. You know now that I was telling you the truth. Can you really pass up this chance? What would the king say if he found out you had missed the opportunity to bring a living fire mage to his court? Seems to me you only got one choice here.”
Wylan looked at me as he spoke to Uma. “I feel like a madman for even considering this, but you are right.” He looked as if a troubling thought had occurred to him, “You say she is twelve, correct?” Uma raised her chin but did not nod exactly. Wylan nodded as if he was reassured. “Only a child at this point. The king would not put a child to death, no matter the offense.”
He began to address me. “I will only consent to train you if this is truly what you want.” These were the words I had been waiting to hear. No one had given me a choice up to this point and the prospect was both freeing and terrifying. “I can help you control the accidental fires and send you back to your family.” As frightened as I had been all day, suddenly the prospect of turning around and going back home seemed like failure. I did not want to go home. Wylan kept talking. “Or you can take a considerable risk and come with me as my apprentice. I will do my best to train you. You will be required to live and work as a boy for the next several years so that neither of us loses our heads, but I can do my best to help you develop your magic. I know very little about your element. My element is earth as was Old Napu’s before me. You are something completely new and unknown. I have no idea what you may be capable of, with proper training. I think there are a few books back at the tower to guide us, but we will largely be learning together.”
My ears perked up at the sound of that. “Books?”
He misunderstood my comment. “If you do not read, you will be required to learn quickly. There is a library full of resource materials, and we cannot do our job without them.”
I opened my mouth to speak for myself, but Uma interrupted, looking positively insulted. “She is a witch marked girl under the care of Adi Mogoro. Do you think I do not know my business? Of course she can read!”
Wylan nodded at her, apparently satisfied, then he turned his attention to me. “What say you, child? Do you wish to become a mage’s apprentice?”
I considered it for a moment, though I knew there really was only one answer I could give. I was frightened, to be sure, but my thirst for knowledge was greater than my fear. All my life I had been made to believe that I was a freak. In the short time that I had known Wylan, I had learned that I was a fire mage and that I was rare and special, a thing to be cherished and not shunned. I had to accept his offer. “I would like to come with you to the palace. I will be Safi grandson of Adi Mogoro. I want to train to be a mage.” It was only after I had said the words that my knees began to tremble.
“Come here, Safa girl.” Uma’s voice was quiet but brimming with pride. I walked over to her and she put her hands on my shoulders. “This here path I am setting you on, it is gonna work out just fine. Down the road, it is gonna get real hard and you will face some trials. Just make sure you do not forget that this is your path. If ever you are in danger, you just run back home or you find me, you hear, child. You run and you find me or if I am gone, you find someone like me.”
“Yes, Uma, I promise.” I was actually starting to feel a bit excited for my new adventure. I was going to live in a castle, surrounded by books. I was going to learn to be a mage and serve the king. I would not allow fear of death to stop me from becoming the person Uma had seen in her visions.”
Uma turned and fixed Wylan with one of her patented stares. “I am sending this child with you, but she is under my protection. You have been trained by the best so I know you know how to conduct yourself like a gentleman. If ever I hear otherwise, I will find you and you will regret it.”
Wylan met her gaze, unflinching. “If I ever took advantage of a child, I would deserve your wrath and expect my punishment. The girl will be safe in my care.” The old woman nodded, satisfied.
Uma fished in one of her many pockets. “I got these here coins to pay for my grandson’s passage. It ain’t much, but--”
Wylan held out a hand. “That is not how this works.” He pulled out two coin purses and settled a small bag of silver coins on Uma for bringing me, then he handed her a slightly larger bag of coins to give to Mother and Father. I knew the money would be put to good use and I was glad the kids would have a comfortable winter and that there would be plenty of money left to make fine dowries for my younger sisters when they reached marriage age.
When the old woman left, Wylan turned to me. “Well, here we are alone. We have this entire grand house to ourselves. The Lord Mayor heard of my visit, then found himself called away on urgent business.” He winked at me. “You will find that happens a lot when a mage comes to call.”
He went to the table and took up the candle again. This time he set it on the hearth next to the fireplace. “I had you blow fire down that well for a reason. People often make the mistake of trying to suppress the powers of very young mages because of the destructive nature. The magical energy builds up inside until it spills over, just like an overfilled water jug. Usually a large expenditure of power helps with control. I think you may be ready now.” He pointed at the candle. “Focus on the wick of the candle and see if you can manage the tiniest burst of energy at that point.” I sat on the edge of the hearth and pointed my index finger at the wick. I did my best to control the energy flow as I was told, but the flame that shot out of my finger was too hot. The candle wax instantly began to melt. The force of the magic flowing through me was dampened because I was still weary from burning the bucket, but the brand new candlestick had burned down to the size of my thumb. The wick, however, was lit. “Not terrible for a first effort. The candle is lit and the room is still intact. We will work on getting the accidents under control today and we leave for the capital first thing in the morning. But for now, unless my nose is very much mistaken, the cook has prepared our morning meal and it is time for us to break our fast. Shall we go and enjoy the hospitality of the absent Lord Mayor?”
Chapter Three
“I am going to the inn to stretch out and take a nice, long nap. You are hereby ordered to go out and explore the marketplace.” It was a week long journey from Bedato to my new home in Fadaria, even with our relatively fast coach. We were halfway to our destination but we had stopped early in the city of Okwa to enjoy a long afternoon of rest and leisure. We were both road weary and the horses and driver were grateful for the break. It had been difficult to secure a room because it was market day, so I understood why Wylan wanted to stake his claim to the space. If he did not stay in the room, we might come home and find strangers had stolen our beds right out from under us.
Wylan handed me a small pile of silver coins and I stared at them blankly. Wylan smiled at me patiently. “Go on. I am poor company at the best of times and now I am tired and fractious. It is unseemly for a boy your age to be clinging to his master’s coat tails all afternoon anyway. Your services are not currently required. This is your first week’s wages. I daresay you have not fully earned them yet, but I will see that you do.”
I wordlessly took the coins from his hand. This “weekly wage” was more than my family normally saw after a full season of labor. I tucked it in the purse at my waist along with the few coppers Uma had given me, and then I took my leave.
In the three days since I had left Bedato, I had travelled farther than any member of my immediate family had ever done, but I had never been to a marketplace. Wylan had told me Okwa’s market was one of the most popular in the country and I understood why the moment I saw it. Stalls lined the streets as far as the eye could see. They were full of spices and textiles and exotic fruits and vegetables from other lands. I passed curry bowl sellers and meat pie vendors and then I smelled the sweet scent of the most heavenly temptation. I found the honey cake vendor with little trouble and watched as he took the puffed pastries off the iron griddle and drizzled them with sweet honey syrup. My mouth watered as I closed my eyes and inhaled. I opened my eyes and I was unsurprised to find that the vendor was smiling at me.
Through The Fire: The Alawansi Book One Page 3