by D. R. Rosier
“How long have you been able to get around the bracelets?”
I frowned, “I suspected I could when the magic of a diviner was explained to me. I didn’t really know for sure until we were in battle, and I felt the need to help. Before then I never actually tried. The bracelet is active now, it takes a lot of focus to get around.”
She nodded thoughtfully, “Yes, but now I have no way of knowing if you speak the truth, or if you’re lying while bending the bracelets magic. We should be at the island sometime this evening, the elders will decide what to do with you. Frankly, the fact that your intervention saved us is the only reason you still breathe. You will return to your cabin, and you will not leave it for the remainder of the voyage.”
I bristled slightly at the words, but suppressed that reaction. I supposed it could be a lot worse. Still, I wasn’t happy at all with this turn of events. I also redoubled my conviction that I shouldn’t share my insight about the stripping, I needed to give it more thought, and learn more about the world first. I nodded sharply, turned, and headed back to my room…
The rest of the day was dreadfully boring, and quite depressing actually. Neither Lia, nor Sharon deigned to show their faces, and besides feeling slightly betrayed, I also missed them. Far too much for two women I’d just met a couple of days ago. The only person I saw was Marie, and even she didn’t have a smile for me when she delivered my midday and evening meals.
To kill some time, I practiced a little, but limited what I did. For one, I was mentally and physically exhausted from the battle. Two, I knew they couldn’t feel other magic, but the women could surely feel their own if I tried anything with it. So I practiced suppressing the bracelet, and played with the light spell on the lamp in my room. I also studied the other magic I connected with, although I did nothing to change or effect it.
I used the time to try and get used to the feeling of being bombarded, which mostly involved letting my mind get accustomed to the new input.
It was almost sundown when I felt the ship stop, and it was almost a half an hour later when someone knocked on my door. It was Melinda and Kelly. Melinda had a neutral but closed look on her face, and Kelly was as ever, not my greatest fan.
Once again I felt betrayed, when there was no sign of the two women who I’d started to think of as tentative friends, and had begun to believe my hope for more was actually possible.
Well. They say no good deed goes unpunished.
I figured out the reason for the half hour delay, as we made our way to the top of the ship, and took the gang plank down to the wharf. There were no other people around at all, everyone had disembarked while I’d waited in that cabin. I probably should’ve been nervous, but I found it hard to find that emotion. All I felt right then was anger at the perceived betrayal. Perhaps they’d been ordered to avoid me, but I doubted it, Lia had been afraid of me.
The wharf was large, and there were a couple of other ships tied down, and next to that was a beach. Inland, I could make out a forest in the distance. There was also a fairly large sized town, bigger than I’d expected, and I could make out people quickly moving through the streets, and disappearing into buildings. No doubt to stay away from me I thought bitterly.
I followed the captain along the beach, and was led to a small crude house that was far from the town. It was basically a shack. I shrugged, as she gestured me inside, it was better than a prison. I went inside, and there was a bed, a small dresser that doubled as a night table, and a lamp. It was also quite drafty.
Melinda said in a no-nonsense tone, “Remain here, the council will see you tomorrow.”
I nodded in agreement, and started to plan just in case things went south. The goddess had sent me here to help these women, that much I was sure of. I was also sure of two other things, I wouldn’t let the young ones suffer and be stripped out of spite for whatever these paranoid women did or tried to do to me. The second thing was, that helping didn’t equate to staying here with them. It would highly limit my options however, if I left.
Assuming leaving was even an option, they might just kill me. One thing was for sure, I wasn’t inclined to be a lamb led to the slaughter.
I frowned in thought as I got into bed, I was still tired from the fight, and the day. The sun sank behind the horizon. Despite my worries, I managed to fall asleep rather quickly…
I felt a bit better when I woke up. My circumstances hadn’t improved, but my use of magic yesterday had drained me and I’d been feeling a bit sorry for myself. I supposed I was even being a bit clingy toward Sharon and Lia, they didn’t owe me anything, not really. They’d just been the people I was closest too in this crazy new world of magic, evil kings, and paranoid women.
Whereas I to them, had been a duty, a prisoner to watch. Perhaps I’d merely been naïve to think they’d enjoyed that duty.
I managed to get cleaned up, all while suppressing the magic of the bracelets. It was almost… easy now. I still had to keep them in mind, but it was a lot more passive and took less focus after the practice all day yesterday, and feeling fresh this morning.
Kind of like driving a car, I had a feeling my subconscious was doing most of the work now, which meant one day I might be able to suppress multiple people or spells at the same time, as long as it was familiar. I also knew I had a long way to go, and the idea of that kind of power scared me. It was… heady.
It was about an hour later, when I felt Melinda and Kelly come in range of my magic, and I looked out the window and they were about fifteen feet outside of the town and coming toward me. Of course, the shack’s location kept me from sharing or suppressing anyone’s magic in the town due to that distance. I got ready, and waited by the now open door, until the captain saw me and waved me forward.
She didn’t say a word, and we didn’t head for the town either, but to the right and around the town. Eventually we did head towards it, but obviously she didn’t want to walk me through it any more than she had to allow. There was a large stone structure on the outskirts that was made of a white stone, not marble though. It looked more like stucco honestly, but it was some kind of stone.
We walked in through the main door, and went down a wide hallway, with a few closed doors on either side. Four of them. Then I was led through double doors, and saw four people in front of me. I got a small shock, two of the people on the council were men, and they were very strong magically. Then I got a bigger shock, but more on that in a minute.
The captain said to them, “This is Tony, the diviner that landed on my ship. Tony, this is the council. Elders Mary, Bernard, Matthew, and Caroline.”
Caroline looked to be in her mid-forties, I knew by now that probably meant she was in her sixties or even seventies by now. She was still attractive, with long red hair and green eyes. I frowned as I saw the family resemblance, was this Sharon’s grandmother? She was also a water wielder like Sharon and Melinda, and at about the same strength. Not that it proved anything.
Bernard and Matthew also looked in their forties, but that’s where the comparison failed. Bernard was a large man, almost as tall as I was, and built. He had a sword on his side and looked very comfortable with it, as if it had been there for a very long time. I’d taken enough martial arts classes from various masters to recognize one. He had decently powerful fire magic.
Matthew was almost the exact opposite, five foot eight, maybe a hundred and fifty pounds wet. I wouldn’t underestimate him though, his air magic wasn’t quite as powerful as Lia’s, who had the strongest magic I’d ever felt, but he was damned close, and he had very wise and canny eyes.
The last person, Mary, was a conundrum, except I was sure her name wasn’t Mary at all. She had light blond hair, and looked about sixty years old. Problem was, that was just an illusion. Underneath that, she was the second most beautiful being I’d ever seen in my life, second only to the goddess herself.
Her hair was the color of platinum, and seemed to shimmer with its own light. Her eyes were very large, and she ha
d the darkest blue eyes I’d ever seen. She was tall, willowy, and her whole being radiated grace. She looked eighteen, but I knew she was far older than that, far older than even the illusion of the old women she held. Those blue eyes of hers were ageless. I wondered just how long she’d been here perpetrating this illusion on the humans here.
Because she had beautiful upswept pointed ears, and a long graceful neck that was just a mite too long to be human. She was… a vision of loveliness and grace. Just as clearly, she was an elf. I thought fast, and decided the elves may approve of giving the sorceresses space for their little haven, but also kept a close eye on them. I also decided they had every right to do that, so I’d keep her secret. I guessed I could see through her illusion because I was connected to the magic.
It felt weird, her magic I mean, and I remembered that I’d been warned to never try to manipulate elven magic. Still, even if I hadn’t seen through the illusion, I’d have caught her by her magic. Regardless, for all those reasons I’d keep her secret.
The fact that she was smoking hot might have affected my decision as well. No one’s perfect after all.
I nodded toward them all, and waited patiently for the questions to start…
Chapter Eight
Caroline started, “We’ve been told quite a tale, by the captain here, the first mate, and the captain’s daughter. What do you have to say in your defense?”
First, I felt betrayed again by the two women I could have so easily cared for, was it all a lie?
Second, defense? What the fuck?
“Defense? For what actions? For being nothing but polite, for not fighting back when I was kicked in the head and jailed? For risking my life when I saved the ship and the women aboard it against nine ships? Or that I was calm and obeyed orders when I was being treated like a poisonous snake afterwards? For being honest perhaps? What in all that needs a defense?”
I added slyly, “Surely you can’t expect me to defend how I was born, and the fact that I’m a diviner. I understand only the king judges people for how they’re born,” I said with a pointed look.
A little sharp perhaps, but I was pissed off. Fuck them. Defense my ass.
Caroline’s eyes narrowed, but I wasn’t done.
I shrugged, “I’ll leave if you wish it, just tell me to go. I have no desire to be where I’m not wanted. It seems obvious your fear of what I am clouds your judgement. Amazing how that works isn’t it? I’m clearly not being judged by my actions, which clearly show me to be an ally. I am not feared by my actions, only for being born what I am.
“That’s exactly what you want isn’t it? To be judged for what you do, and not for what you are, a sorceress. I find it ironic, that you all are doing to me, what the king is doing to all women of power, no doubt because he fears you for some reason. I don’t have the patience for it, I’m about all out.”
Wow, apparently I’d been suppressing my frustration, or maybe it was simply because Lia and Sharon hadn’t been around to take the edge off for a whole day. I missed them, and that actually made it worse, because I felt like I shouldn’t. I hardly knew them after all.
Mary said, “You could have inserted yourself as a spy, and all your actions until now were to deceive.”
I shook my head, to stop myself from laughing. The spy accusing me of being a spy was just… absurd.
“I can’t prove a negative. Besides, if I was a spy I wouldn’t have told Kelly I could feel magic. I didn’t even know what a diviner was at the time, and I’m new to this world. In fact, if I was a spy, I’d be a really bad one, possibly the worst ever.”
Bernard sighed, “He has a point Mary, he keeps putting his hand out in friendship, and keeps getting it whacked. If we believe he is a spy, then there’s no point in questioning him if we won’t believe his answers. If he isn’t a spy, then we’re wasting time.”
He looked at me and said, “We are afraid of you son, the diviners are… evil.”
Caroline looked over and asked Bernard, “What do you suggest?”
Bernard shrugged, “Send him back to the hut, and we’ll interview everyone on the ship, then we’ll vote to accept him or turn him away. He makes me nervous, but I won’t support killing someone just because they could kill me.”
Mary nodded, “I agree.”
Matthew grunted, and had a surprisingly deep voice for his size, “Melinda, escort him back, and then have anyone on your crew that even said hello to him come here.”
Melinda nodded, and we left. We stopped quickly at another building, where she grabbed enough food for a day or two, and then she walked me back to the shack out by the beach.
Then, I waited. I was really tired of all the waiting. I couldn’t really blame them for being gun shy, but I wasn’t very happy with it either.
And still, I missed Sharon and Lia. Neither came by. They were probably under orders not to, just like they’d probably been under orders earlier to spend time with me, but a part of me didn’t care. They didn’t owe me anything, except perhaps human decency, but for the good guys this place seemed very short of that…
I won’t go into all the details of that day, but I did practice my magic. A part of me was concerned. Ironically, most wielders wouldn’t have a chance against me if I was prepared, but a normal person with a sword, or a bow and arrow, would have no trouble wiping me out, without another wielder nearby my magic was mostly worthless.
Mostly, except I could manipulate spells just as handily as I could the magic inside people.
The light spell was pretty simple, it created photons and sent them out in all directions, diffuse pleasant light. Except, I’d been playing with the light spell in the cabin on the ship, and I finally tried my idea. Luckily, I doubted the extra hole in the shack wall would be noticed, since there were plenty there already.
Basically, I manipulated the magic to concentrate the photons to one very thin circle. In other words, I could make a magic light into a pinpoint laser that was powerful enough to burn through a two by four in moments. If they forced me to leave, at least I wouldn’t be helpless against normal human brigands, unless of course they refused my request for a light. Since I couldn’t actually create the spell myself yet, only manipulate it.
I was pretty sure I could tweak it to not only concentrate them, but to make the spell create more photons for a stronger and denser laser, but after putting a hole in the wall I decided that would have to wait. It wasn’t that impressive compared to the scale of other magic I’d seen here, but it would more than enough for an idiot with a sword.
It was also easy, the more I practiced something, the more my mind adjusted and learned, which meant it took a lesser amount focus to achieve. Sort of like muscle memory for a fighter, practice the move enough and thought wasn’t required, the body just knew how to do it. I barely even noticed the bracelets anymore, but hadn’t faltered and lost my control of the spells all morning and for most of the afternoon. Still, the thing annoyed me, and I couldn’t wait until it was off.
It was probably about three in the afternoon, maybe four. I always sucked at judging the hour by sunlight back home, and I no longer had a handy cell phone to look at. That was another mystery, I’d been sent through with my clothes, but no wallet, I.D., gun, or phone. Regardless, I felt the captain’s magic and knew she was on her way. This time alone.
I moved to the door, anxious to get this over with either way, and froze at the look on her face as she got closer. She looked, guilty, and uncomfortable. Bad sign? I wasn’t sure yet.
She waved me over and gave me a tentative smile as we started to walk around the town again.
“I had a long talk with my daughter, and I feel I owe you thanks, and an apology. Please don’t think badly of her, or Lia, they were both ordered by me to leave you alone until a decision is reached.”
I cleared my throat, I hadn’t used my voice since the disastrous council meeting this morning.
“I understand, but at the same time…” I trailed off and started ag
ain, “It’s good to know they didn’t abandon me, I feared they had when Lia looked so frightened after the battle.”
She shrugged, “You… I don’t even know what you did. It wasn’t what you are, it’s what happened to those ships. Those people died, fast. Their bodies… burst in places, and then there was an explosive shockwave that turned the ships into tinder. I’ve never seen magic like that before. Regardless, Lia feels guilty about that, we were all freaked out, but she’s been prevented from explaining things.”
I nodded, I supposed that made sense. No doubt the strong dense wall of air that held the vacuum had caused an explosive pressure wave, all focused inward at the ship. An implosion. I was sure they had very destructive spells, or rather elemental techniques, but with advanced scientific knowledge there were a lot of things I could do with magic that these people probably never even considered. Clearly I was right when I thought they didn’t know anything about vacuum. I wasn’t sure I wanted to explain it either.
I was reluctant to explain about lasers as well.
I sighed, “I felt them die, the eight women under your command I mean. That… gave me the resolve to do what I did. It was the first thing I thought of to take out one ship at a time, I’m too new to magic for subtlety.”
She’d flinched when I said the first part, but nodded, “What did you do?”
I frowned, and sort of answered, “You know how when a person dives too deep in the ocean, they go funny in the head?”
She nodded, “Of course.”
“Well that happens because of the water pressure. Out here, there is pressure constantly pressing against your body, even if you can’t feel it, because it’s equalized inside your body, cancelling out that force. When you dive deep, the force inside your body is too weak against the increased pressure of the water.
“What I did was the opposite, I lessened the pressure of the air around them, which caused the pressure inside them to… burst out. The explosion was that pressure being restored to what it should be.”