Awaken (The Mortal Mage Book 1)

by B. T. Narro

  The memory was bittersweet. Wade had only pretended to be incapable of convincing the rock to melt, hiding his true power from Desil. After his father was gone, Desil had asked his mother why Wade had pretended to be weaker than he was. Her answer had made him cry later that night.

  “He enjoyed accomplishing these feats with you. If you knew he could do everything on his own, it would’ve taken away from the excitement. Perhaps you even would’ve felt disappointed for being so far behind him, which was the last thing he wanted.”

  “So you knew what he could do the whole time?”

  She’d nodded. He remembered the look she’d followed with, as if there was more he didn’t know about his father. When he asked about it, she admitted it came from missing Wade.

  Desil spent the rest of the wet day in the sleeping quarters, instructing Leida and Adriya how to connect with the water. They seemed to have a decent understanding of it by nightfall, but neither of them had been able to morph the water into another state.

  There was no rain the next day. Before all the water was mopped off the deck, the three of them collected some and brought it back down to the sleeping quarters. Captain Mmzaza told them the weather had delayed the journey, but they would still reach Kanoan today, and both Leida and Adriya seemed determined to shift at least one drop of water into ice before they got there. Desil appreciated their tenacity, figuring it and their desire to improve themselves meant they did well at the Academy. He had no doubt he would’ve as well, perhaps one day even surpassing the power of his father.

  Watching the two women trying to do something that was easy to him eventually gave him the itch to train. He needed a challenge, so he went back up to the deck and picked a spot at the side of the ship with the least amount of sailors around. He looked over the side and turned the passing waves into ice, making sure only to affect the water far from the boat so as not to tear open a hole.

  He pushed himself to alter bigger sections of water at a time until he broke a sweat. He practiced changing the liquid to ice and then back again. When that became easy enough, he pushed himself to make the water go from liquid to ice, to liquid, to gas. He was panting by the time Leida showed up.

  “Had enough of our failed attempts?” she asked with a smirk.

  “Just wanted to practice on my own.”

  “How often do you push yourself this hard?”

  “Every day, every chance I get.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not?” he countered.

  “I’m curious what you’re planning to do with your ability.” Her tone carried worry.

  “I’m not planning anything.” He knew she was referencing his father. “It’s a simple matter of preparing myself for when a challenge presents itself.” He gestured ahead of them, the hostile island of Kanoan quickly approaching. Mountains formed a wall at the middle of the coast, the land dipping on either side to nearly sea level. The mountains were their target destination, though Desil couldn’t see from here how they would get through. Thankfully he had grown to trust Captain Mmzaza to get them there safely. The old man was different captaining a ship than he was sulking over an empty glass. He looked fifteen years younger as he steered and called back orders to his crew.

  Desil knew what Leida was getting at, but he didn’t know how to address it. She’d clearly heard about what his father had done. Perhaps she was concerned Desil might one day do the same. Silence came over them as they looked ahead at Kanoan. The island was only about half the size of Ovira from what Desil had heard, but looking at it now—those guarding mountains—inspired a feeling that he didn’t belong here. No man did.

  As they came closer, he noticed a tiny island that hadn’t been part of Basen’s map. It looked close enough to the mountains of Kanoan to reach the main island from it after a quick swim, but it, too, seemed to be protected by an outer barrier of mountains. Captain Mmzaza would have to navigate his ship between this tiny island and Kanoan to get to the canal.

  Desil thought of the Elves’ ship that brought Leida’s parents here and wondered if they’d had the same fear once they’d seen this place. At most, they were only a day or two ahead. Desil tried to think of the best case scenario of them all meeting soon, but what would happen when Beatrix and Kirnich demanded Basen make a portal back to Kyrro? Perhaps a fight would be inevitable after all.

  “I’m not my father,” Desil finally had the courage to tell Leida. Bringing it up felt like inflicting a wound he had suffered countless times before. It was no easier now to speak ill of his father than when Wade died, but this had to be said. “I would never hurt anyone innocent.”

  “So it’s true what he did?”

  Desil swallowed to clear the swell in his throat. “What did you hear?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Adriya’s voice surprised Desil. “We heard that he killed two people and hurt many others.”

  Desil usually had a good sense about people coming up behind him, but Adriya had been stealthy. “Hurt” was a gentle word for what he’d done to those he hadn’t killed. Many were brought to the healers with broken bones.

  “That’s true,” Desil acknowledged. But he needed to know something before continuing. “Is this the only thing known about my father among those in the Academy?”

  “His name isn’t well known,” Leida said. “Most of us only heard there was a man who could control land and water. He was a student at the Academy and became an instructor. Eventually he left the Academy, and many years later there was the…incident. He’s known as the only instructor who…” She stopped herself.

  Murdered.

  “We don’t know why he did it,” Leida said.

  “We heard he became crazy,” Adriya added. Leida gave her a look that changed her expression to one of apology. “I—”

  “It’s all right,” Desil said. “It was the alcohol. My father changed when he drank, but he didn’t become crazy. At some point he let go of his control over the drink and it consumed him. My mother and I could only take so much before we told him to leave our tavern one night and come back when he would agree to stop. It was that night that he went to Kyrro City, walked into the first tavern he came across, and acted so belligerent they wouldn’t serve him. He didn’t remember what he’d done the next day. He might not even have been fully aware of his actions at the time. But he did make a choice, in his drunken state, to soften the wood of the tavern until it collapsed. He was responsible for that. My mother and I spent months wondering if we were at fault for sending him away, but now we are done blaming ourselves. We tried everything before forcing him out. It was up to him to stop. Not us.”

  He couldn’t tell if his rant had brought out pity or shock from the looks the women were giving him. This was one reason he hated speaking about his father. There was so much he needed to say before anyone could truly understand his family, yet the more he spoke about it the darker the hovering cloud became.

  Desil now felt removed from the boat, Kanoan a distant thought. Nothing mattered anymore as this feeling of darkness covered everything that usually gave him light.

  “Desil, it’s all right,” Adriya comforted.

  “You shouldn’t feel guilty,” Leida agreed.

  “I try not to.” But it’s hard because I miss him more than rain after a drought.

  “He made one horrible drunken decision,” Leida said. “And all this sadness is the result. I’m so sorry.”

  “As am I,” Adriya added. She gave his back an awkward pat.

  “Thank you, but it’s fine.” It wasn’t, really, but what else could he say?

  After a long heavy silence, Leida leaned over the side and reached her hand down. “Would I be able to feel if I change part of the water? The boat’s moving too quickly for me to see.”

  “You would,” Desil confirmed.

  “Can you tell me again what it feels like?”

  “Similar to grabbing hold of bastial energy with your mind.”

  “So squeezing some
thing we aren’t touching?”

  “Yes.” He wanted to be excited about helping her, but he felt as if he were still climbing out of the hole created by the sour memory of his father.

  After an hour of Leida’s failed attempts, Desil felt like himself again. Adriya seemed to have given up, watching the growing mountains of the island instead. She appeared to be feeling better.

  Eventually Beatrix and Kirnich came out from the cabin and stood beside Captain Mmzaza at the head of the ship. Desil was thankful that they were leaving him alone for at least a little while longer.

  “You’re wrong about something,” Leida told him.

  “What?”

  “There are some of us who can alter bastial energy, rather than just move it.”

  “How so?”

  “Psychics,” she said. “They change the properties of a living creature’s natural bastial energy to cause feelings. Perhaps it’s more similar to your alteration of the essence of water than you realize.”

  “I don’t know enough about psyche to tell you.”

  “I don’t know enough about altering water to tell you. If you had joined the Academy, I’m sure many people would know more about your ability than what’s known now.”

  “My mother convinced me the contract wasn’t worth it.”

  Both Leida and Adriya nodded. “It does feel inhumane, doesn’t it?” Leida asked rhetorically. “To be forced to fight whenever the king requires, for the rest of our lives. I understand your mother’s issue with it.”

  “I would’ve joined anyway if it wouldn’t have broken her heart.”

  He could feel them looking at him as he glanced out at Kanoan. Eventually Leida went back to leaning over the side with her arm stretched out.

  Desil watched the land grow in the hour that followed, glancing between it and the shifting sun. They wouldn’t have much daylight by the time they arrived. He hoped Leida and Adriya would stick to his plan to separate from Beatrix and Kirnich while they slept. Or should they all stay together for at least a day until he could figure out just how dangerous the island was?

  “I did it!” Leida muffled a yelp with her hand. She let out a whisper that sounded almost like a scream while continuing to hold her hand over her mouth. Then she let her hand down and took a breath. “At least I think I did.”

  Desil smiled at her. “I’ll collect some water so you can test it. There should be enough of it in the air for a small puddle.” He connected to the water in the air around them and pulled his hand down. Tiny droplets fell against the deck. He kept his eyes on Beatrix and Kirnich as he continued the process, drawing more out of the air while Adriya and Leida swept it together with their boots. Eventually they gathered enough for a small puddle.

  Leida had tied her auburn hair into a tail that fell forward over her shoulder as she crouched down and stuck out her hand. She instantly made the water solidify into ice.

  “Incredible,” he said. “It took me minutes to shift that amount of water into ice when I first learned how.”

  “You’ve given me hope, Desil. This is the beginning of breaking through limitations.”

  Her sweet little smile brought out a grin from him. “I’m glad to hear that because I was hoping one day we could see what we could accomplish together.”

  “Bastial hell,” Adriya grumbled with a roll of her eyes. “Save your flirting for when this is over.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” Desil objected.

  “Sure you didn’t.”

  Desil tried to keep his cheeks from reddening, but it was too late. “I really am interested in exploring these abilities more,” he told Leida. “I used to do so with my father, and I felt just like you do, that it was the start of overcoming my limitations.”

  She wore a teasing smile. “You saw so much for us just from those shared lake memories?”

  Why did she sound surprised? Of course he had. It was a connection he’d had with no one else. Did it mean so little to her?

  “Am I wrong?” he asked.

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  They certainly would. The sailors had turned the sail, slowing the ship as they got ready to take a wide turn around the mountains. Captain Mmzaza watched through a spyglass most of the time, while Desil waited for any sign of trouble. It came when the old captain started discussing something with Beatrix, giving her the spyglass to look through while he pointed ahead of them.

  Leida didn’t seem to be aware of the potential problem as she concentrated her efforts on the sea. At their slow speed, Desil could actually see her shifting the surface of some waves into ice. He hoped she would continue discovering her abilities as fast as she was now.

  “Leida,” Adriya said as she watched the water change as well. “Are you going to fight when war begins?”

  Leida pulled back her arm as she turned to Adriya. “I’m not sure. Are you?”

  “Yes.”

  “But with the power of the Wind Knights behind them, your parents have made it so you don’t have to fight.”

  “I don’t want that. I have imagined battle many times, fighting beside my allies. What I can’t imagine is sitting idle in our Academy home while everyone else fights.”

  “You’re right. I think I’ve always known I would fight.” Leida gave a quick sigh. “But I’m just not ready for war.”

  “You’re more ready after a year at the Academy than most in Tenred,” Adriya said.

  Desil recalled many conversations with his parents years ago when the topic of war was new to him. He hadn’t understood why soldiers on either side would fight each other. Even after his father’s explanation of how all in Tenred and Kyrro were paid a salary to join their king’s army, and how promotions through the army could lead to more money, honor, and land, Desil still didn’t understand. None of those seemed to be a good enough reason to risk losing his life. His parents had smiled at his answer.

  Stopping war, however, was worth the risk.

  The ship came to a complete stop, ending the discussion. Mmzaza and Beatrix seemed to be arguing as Kirnich stood by with his arms folded. Desil walked to the head of the ship to listen, Leida and Adriya behind him.

  “There’s no way around,” Mmzaza told Beatrix in a lecturing tone. “Not without them seeing me ship.”

  “Then we wait for night,” Beatrix said.

  “Night, hah! It’ll be a tight enough squeeze with light, and every rock could cut a hole. We go at night, we sink. You’re not listening to Captain Mmzaza, but he knows best. If you want to live, we must turn and dock south of the Dead River.”

  “We can’t do that,” Leida interjected. “We are to meet my father when we dock between those mountains ahead of us, not on the southern side of the island. Even you said we have to stay away from the people there. They won’t let us leave once they realize we have a way off.”

  “Aye, but they might not kill you. The Marros definitely will.” He pointed at the small island sitting just north of them and gave his spyglass to her. “Have a look.”

  Leida watched in silence for a long while. “There are only two of them.”

  “Hah! Yes, only two. But they’ve seen us. Now they wait, guarding the island. Once it’s clear we’re coming, they fly off to tell the others. You’ll see. It will take too long to turn around by the time you regret your choice.”

  Kirnich took the bow off his back. “A few well-placed arrows will scare them off.”

  “You don’t know Marros, boy. Hundreds of them aren’t going to be scared by a few arrows.”

  “You told us the canal is narrow,” Beatrix said. “It will be too difficult for hundreds of them to attack us between the mountains.”

  “Aye, it is narrow, and it will be difficult for them. So they wait until I get me ship to where it’s too tight to turn around. Then they wait more for you to swim and walk onto their island. Then, when the mountains no longer block their view, they attack. Captain Mmzaza does not get his passengers killed. Never has he lost one soul! H
e will die himself before he lets it happen.”

  “If my parents went this way,” Leida said, “then we need to as well. Otherwise, I will never find them.”

  “The girl is right,” Beatrix said. “If Basen went this way, so will we.”

  “The birds might’ve been here yesterday as well!” Mmzaza argued. “His Elven captain could’ve taken them south like Captain Mmzaza suggests.”

  Desil shook his head. “They wouldn’t have known the sight of two birds on that rocky island meant they should flee, just as we wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t said something.”

  “It doesn’t matter, boy. I will not take the risk.” He called back to his crew, “We’re turning south!”

  “No!” Leida yelled. “We have to go through the canal.”

  But Mmzaza’s crew was already obeying their captain’s order as they shifted the sail.

  “By the order of the king, you will take us through the canal,” Beatrix threatened.

  “The king doesn’t control these waters, and when he finds out I saved his daughter’s life, he will be thankful.”

  “We won’t die,” Desil promised the captain. “There’s a forest near the end of the canal.”

  “A mile away, boy.”

  “We will make it.”

  “Not taking the risk. Sorry, lad.”

  Adriya grabbed Mmzaza by his wrinkled cheeks and thrust her lips against his. She ran her hands through his white hair as she shifted her head from side to side, all the while still connected by their mouths in what turned out to be one long, passionate kiss. He seemed too stunned to return any of the passion and was left with a gaping mouth and wild hair when she finally pulled away.

  “You will take us through the canal,” she said with confidence. “It’s the only way you’re getting another kiss.”