Phoenix Imagining (Phoenix Prime Collection Book 1)

by Kat Lind

  He spread his arms wide to suggest himself and his hovering in midair. Gravity held no sway over him. He flew into the air and swooped around close to the children. Some of the younger ones cried out, but Madeline was too impressed to do anything but watch. After some rolls and tricks, almost like dancing in the air, Larkin righted himself again. The playful expression on his face was now gone, replaced with a serious demeanor that made Madeline shiver.

  “Before you think magic is only fun and games, heed my words. Magic can be very dangerous. Especially in the hands of some mages. Untrained mages that is. Wild magic flows in your vein, and you must harness it before it controls you. One can go mad from lack of training.”

  Madeline shivered. She longed to ask why the wizard didn’t train them all. It had to be dangerous having so many untrained children living in such close proximity. Usually, royals from a castle would train any child, regardless of their bloodline. Unfortunately, this town was too far away for such a service to be offered.

  A few of the children began to mumble to each other as they shared Madeline’s thoughts. One of the youngest girls opened her mouth.

  Larkin continued, “I do not wish to frighten you all so I will stop there.”

  The girl’s eyes grew wide, and she stepped forward. “Please, Mage Larkin, I have a question.”

  Larkin eyed her, his face emotionless. He nodded.

  She bit her lip and took another step. “Please, Mage Larkin, I don’t understand how my magic works.”

  The mage’s face relaxed.

  Relieved she didn’t ask him something else, perhaps? Something seemed slightly off kilter with Larkin. Despite her enthusiasm and desire to be his pupil, Madeline was beginning to eye the mage warily.

  “Regardless of how your magic manifests itself, magic works the same way within us all. It requires something of ourselves to be utilized. And that is the inherent danger of magic. Untrained mages, even those with great skills, must always be vigilant that their magic does not drain their life force to the point of death.”

  Larkin paused and glanced at each of them in turn. His light eyes pierced through Madeline, and she shivered. An alien presence poked into her mind, and she looked away, breaking the connection.

  Does Larkin also have the power to read minds? I hadn’t thought it possible to have two different kinds of magic.

  “Just a few more words on magic before we shall get down to business. Magic has its limitations. Your own power, your energy, is what controls your magic, and conversely, what your magic draws upon when you use it. You must always be mindful of the connection between the two or else you could fall deathly ill or even die. Magic is not all-powerful, and its scope is finite.”

  Larkin approached the land and glided down until his feet touched the grass. “It would please me now if you would all line up so that I can talk to you individually.”

  The children scrambled over each other to form the line. The boys were near the front of the line. Madeline was last, and she watched Larkin as he questioned the others in turn. She ignored the nervous prattling of the eager, young ones and the annoying buzzing of water insects. Instead, she concentrated on her breathing. Forcing the air in and then out helped her to calm down. She even lost track of time, and suddenly, she found herself face-to-face with Larkin.

  “And you, dear girl, have you shown promise? How has your magic manifested itself?”

  His voice was deeply lyrical and nearly lulled her into a trance. “I can cause objects to move through space and into my hands, but only if I first visualize where I first take them from.”

  “Interesting. How old were you when you first did this?”

  “Eleven.”

  “Your name?”

  “Madeline.” She smiled inwardly. Although nervous enough to tremble, her tone did not belie her anxiety.

  He pointed to a small twig of a tree near the water’s edge. “Could you demonstrate on that?”

  Madeline blanched. “I can try,” she said, failing to keep her dubious thoughts out of her voice. “I never tried to move a tree before.”

  “What are you worried about?” He crossed his arms.

  His eyes were so light and unnatural looking that she had to glance away from his penetrating stare. She willed herself not to stammer. “The roots. I can’t see them so I don’t know how far they extend into the earth.”

  He nodded, his expression unreadable. “Good.”

  Without another word, he stepped into the air and floated above them. His eyes closed, and he appeared to be meditating. The children remained hushed for several minutes but as time went on without the wizard moving, they began to murmur. A few even left. Finally, Larkin opened his eyes, his dark robe fluttering in the wind despite the calm, night air.

  “I have made a decision. Luck has shone on you all tonight for I have decided to take on not one but two apprentices. Gerard and Roderick. The rest of you, I must bid adieu too.” He clapped his hands. A large cloud floated and covered each of the children, save for the new apprentices. After another clap, Madeline found herself standing in front of her house.

  How did I get here? Larkin must be an extremely powerful wizard to have teleported us all at the same time.

  Madeline eyed the wooden structure before her. She knew as soon as she walked in the door, her mother would yell and punish her, not something she relished. Might as well put that off a little longer.

  She hurried back to the waterfall. For the second time that day, she spied on the two boys, this time as they started their training.

  Larkin stood near the boys, talking too softly. She crept closer until she hid behind the tree that the boys had leaned against earlier. The thick tree completely hid her, and she was now within hearing range.

  “Gerard, I know of a great earth wizard. He can move mountains. Would you not like to learn how to accomplish such a feat?”

  The boy’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. “I can move mountains?”

  Larkin laughed easily. “Not yet, my boy, not yet. But you can, with your ability. Under my tutorage.”

  “What about me?” Roderick stepped forward eagerly. Gone was his self-assured arrogance, replaced with eagerness and enthusiasm, reminding Madeline of her brother.

  “Ah, young rain-maker. One day, you will be able to control all of the weather elements, not just rain. Wind, tornadoes, hurricanes, snow…”

  Roderick frowned. “I’ve already tried—”

  “Without my help,” Larkin cut in, his normal lyrical voice turning harsh. His face twisted into a nasty scowl, and his eyes flashed darkly despite their light color. He placed his hands on Roderick’s shoulders and closed his eyes. A blue aura surrounded the boy and withdrew from him to enter the wizard’s hands.

  Roderick staggered back and collapsed to the ground. His hand clasped to his chest. “What did you do to me?” he wheezed.

  “In order for me to teach you, I must first understand it myself.”

  Madeline gasped. Had Larkin stolen Roderick’s power?

  This certainly seemed to be the case as Larkin pointed his hands at the sky. A large thundercloud appeared, and the wind, nonexistent previously, picked up.

  “What’s happening?” Gerard yelled.

  “Don’t let him touch you!” Roderick called out.

  But Larkin somehow brought Gerard before him without movement or gesture. The boy floated before him, another victim as Larkin then stole his ability too. The wizard held out his arms, parallel to the ground, and flung them apart. The earth tore apart, leaving a huge, gaping hole that he dropped the two boys into.

  This is bad. Really bad. Madeline closed her eyes and tried to calm down. She had to think clearly. Larkin had obviously come here to steal magic. But why? And what was he planning on doing with his newly acquired powers?

  Madeline waited until Larkin’s attention returned to his brewing storm before running over to the huge crevice. Water quickly filled the fissure, from the torrential rainstorm, and th
e boys floundered in it.

  Gerard noticed her first. “Leave. Quickly, before he sees you.” He whispered the words with paranoid intensity, and she had to read his lips to understand him.

  She shook her head. “No. I have to save you.”

  “How?” he managed to say before his head dipped beneath the water.

  How indeed. “Don’t fret. I have a plan.”

  Not a complete lie but it certainly wasn’t the truth either. She closed her eyes and attempted to calm her racing heart. All of their lives depended on her, and she didn’t have much time.

  She raced back to the cover of the tree. The first obstacle, save the boys.

  Madeline had never transported a person before, but she couldn’t think of anything else to try. Obviously, neither of the boys were able to swim, and she couldn’t either. She closed her eyes and teleported Gerard. He appeared instantly, so close they were hugging. He gripped her, his entire body shaking as he hacked and coughed up water. “Roderick,” he murmured in her ear.

  Madeline nodded, the movement causing a sharp wave of pain from the base of her skull through her back to her legs. She wanted to collapse, but she forced herself to concentrate and saved Roderick. She crumpled against him, and the boys leaned her against the tree.

  “Now what?” Roderick whispered.

  The wind grew even fiercer, causing the sturdy tree to sway dangerously. Hail drops rained down on them, leaving red welts on their skin.

  “He’s going to destroy the entire village!” Panic filled Gerard’s eyes.

  “Or seek out the rest of the kids and steal their powers first,” Roderick guessed.

  “We have to stop him!” Madeline’s words were hardly audible. The toll of her magic drained her of all her energy. But she was the only one remaining with magic. She had to be the one to stop Larkin.

  The thought made her body break out into a cold sweat, and she shivered uncontrollably. Gerard touched her forehead and pulled his hand away immediately. She dimly heard him say, “Hot.”

  Regardless of the possible repercussions, there had to be something she could do to even the odds. She closed her eyes, imagined the sword with the jeweled hilt from earlier, and dropped it at Gerard’s feet. Unable to support herself, she collapsed against the tree and struggled to remain conscious. The battle was now out of her hands. She had done all she could and given the two boys a fighting chance.

  Gerard grabbed the sword, and the two boys raced toward Larkin.

  The wizard laughed manically. He lowered his arms from conducting his magical storm and created more holes in the earth.

  The boys had to jump and dodge them as the dirt crumbled beneath their feet. Gerard held the hilt in two hands and thrust it at the mage.

  Larkin batted the sharp metal away, and the wind claimed it.

  Roderick stood rooted, his forehead full of wrinkles and lines as he concentrated. After a moment, frustration lined his face, and he clenched his fists tightly. He jumped several times before he was able to pluck the sword from the swirling storm.

  Larkin barked a laugh. “You fools. I’ve been traveling from town to town, acquiring power—”

  “You mean stealing it!” Gerard shouted.

  “And no one has been able to stop me yet. You think you two can?”

  Roderick’s lips formed a thin line, and his knuckles were white around the sword’s hilt. Still, he did nothing to approach or attack the wizard.

  “Why did you send the other children away?” Gerard asked. “Why us?”

  Larkin laughed again. “Because I already have those children’s power. There are only a few kinds of magic that remain elusive, but I shall soon claim them all, and be the most powerful wizard in all of the land!”

  “And then what?” Roderick asked.

  “Then, my boy, I will rule this land. The age of magic has come upon us. Magic should never be held back by the field of science. No, magic needs to be at the forefront.”

  “Even if that means killing others with magic?”

  “There are always causalities when it comes to the natural order of progression for society. Starting with you two.” Larkin dropped his arms to his side, to the frothy, churning water below him. Then he called up a large portion of the water. Flying around it, he created a nasty water tornado that he sent spiraling toward the two boys. Roderick managed to avoid it, but Gerard wasn’t so lucky. The funnel claimed him. He thrashed about wildly, his body visible at times, others he disappeared into the water.

  Madeline watched through half-slit eyes, rising horror mounting within her. I have to do something. She tried to sit up and collapsed against the wet grass, too weak to support her body. Maybe I could… She closed her eyes and focused on the water funnel. Instead of calling it to herself, she imagined shoving the water back into the river that fed into the waterfall.

  Larkin’s hand gestures guided the funnel, making it turn faster and chase after Roderick. But suddenly it stopped for a moment before making a beeline for the river. The water tornado collapsed and plunged Gerard into the water.

  Large black spots threatened Madeline’s vision, and her head pounded. Her entire body ached, and her breathing slowed. She tried to cover her head. The hail stones were increasing her migraine. Unfortunately, her arms were too heavy to lift.

  Larkin’s face turned white with rage. He glanced around the clearing. “Who is helping you?” he roared, his voice nasty, the complete antithesis of its earlier melodious quality. “Who else is here?”

  Roderick used the wizard’s momentary distraction and hacked at him with the sword. Like Gerard, he wasn’t trained in the arts of sword fighting, and Larkin physically pulled the sword from his grasp. “You boys will now die for your foolishness!” He thrust the sword high into the air, and a bolt of lightning hit it.

  A brilliant light flashed down the sword, through the wizard, electrifying him instantly. His bones appeared white against the harsh darkness of the storm until he burnt completely away. His body collapsed into a pile of dark ash that the wind picked up and scattered across the clearing and the waterfall.

  Gerard, despite his lack of swimming ability, managed to reach the edge of the river. Roderick helped to pull him the rest of the way on shore.

  Madeline crawled over to the boys. “You did it,” she said slowly. Her body still pained her, every part of her ached. She feared that the strain on her heart might be too much for her to handle.

  “It’s not over yet,” Gerard said grimly. He helped her to her feet, and she gratefully leaned against him.

  “But he’s dead,” she protested. Her neck muscles refused to support her head, and she stared at the ground.

  A flash of insight in the form of another lightning bolt that smashed into the tree she had just left made Madeline realize what he meant. The magical storm had not abated with the wizard’s death.

  “Can you stop it?” Gerard asked Roderick.

  The other boy glared at him. “Don’t you think I’ve been trying? I don’t know if I have my power back yet!”

  “Then turn the hail into rain. If you can do that…” Madeline’s voice failed her.

  Roderick pointed his finger at the sky, then a hand, then both arms. The hail stones continued to pelt them. “I can’t,” he said, his voice miserable.

  Darkness battled the edge of Madeline’s vision, but she refused to succumb. If she slept now, she knew she would never wake up. A speck of ash near a large hailstone on the ground caught her eye, and she pointed at it.

  Roderick picked it up. The ash turned from black to the same blue of his aura, and his entire body shimmered brightly. The hail instantly became heavy rain that gradually lessened until it stopped. The wind died down, and after a roar of thunder and another light flash, the monster cloud disappeared. The nighttime sky had never looked more peaceful. Billions of stars sparkled, and the moon hung heavy and perfect, casting a beautiful glow on the scene.

  Gerard handed Madeline to Roderick and picked up another
piece of ash. This time, green emerged, and Gerard set about healing the holes in the earth.

  The shorter, muscular boy helped her to sit. Another ash particle sat in the grass before her. Even though he hadn’t stolen anything from her, Madeline picked it up. A bright whiteness sparked, and Madeline’s aches and pains deserted her. She jumped to her feet.

  “Be careful,” Roderick cautioned. “You don’t want to overdo it.”

  But Madeline was too busy examining her arms. The hundreds of welts had disappeared. She was whole, healed. Madeline laughed. She thrust out her arms and twirled around in a circle.

  The two boys stared at her as if she was crazy, but she didn’t care. Although she wasn’t a wizard’s apprentice, Madeline had the feeling that one day, she would be the wizard. She would learn how to control her power, even if she had to teach herself. Nothing could stop her, or her new friends.

  Madeline grabbed their hands and forced them to dance with her. Life was good. Life was full of magic. And it’s mine to control.

  Introduction - The Slaver’s Tale

  The balance of retribution and just desserts are explored in this dark fantasy tale. The writer’s powerful story will make you think, even as it pulls you into the maelstrom of darkness.

  The Slaver’s Tale

  By Ryland Thorn

  Chapter 1

  It was morning on the day that the wyverns attacked. The sun was high and shone down on all of Balgeron city, even on those parts that would have more suitably remained in the dark.

  One of those places was where the slave auctions were held. Though no slave auction was scheduled until the next day, the place was a hive of activity as those who made their living from slavery began their preparations. Tomorrow, the walls would be lined with Battlemen, watching the proceedings for signs of trouble, and ready to step in at need. The auctioneer would stand at the top of the stage while slaves were brought one by one to be sold. There would be a sea of bidders out in front, mostly men bent on purchasing the lives of others for their own awful purposes.