Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1)

by Kayleigh Nicol

“What do you know of Cera’s death?” Kestral asked.

  Laki sighed, his knife pausing in its work. “When I felt her slip through the Canvas, I read the stars. A star of chaos and storms eclipsed Cera’s star of light and when it passed, her star had burned out. I couldn’t see what made Velyn’s star lose its balance, its alignment, but I can see it is still raging as it burns among its brethren.”

  I blinked. This was all just a little too mystical for me. I had never been very religious; most of what I knew about stars came from gambling games.

  “I am sorry now that I did not go to Cera when she urged me to,” Laki continued, his knife slowly resuming its task. The lump of wood was beginning to take shape as slivers of curled wood pooled around Laki’s feet. “Once, she allowed me to divine her stars and I found that our values were closely aligned. But Cera wanted us to stand united against the hunters and I . . . I just wanted to hide.”

  “I understand that.” I said, relieved to find we agreed on something. “That was why I didn’t join her either. At least not until—”

  “Not until the hunter was upon you.” Laki glanced up at my silent partner. “And now the both of you would like me to fight our brother Velyn. Is that right?”

  “Not exactly.” I leaned forward on my tree stump, bracing myself with my hands. “We think Velyn might be targeting you next. Kestral has agreed to help me kill him, for what he did to Cera. Your help would be appreciated, but we’re mostly here to keep Velyn from killing you.”

  “And to keep him from stealing my power.”

  I nodded.

  Laki turned to look up at Kestral. “And then what?”

  Kestral met his eyes and said nothing.

  “Will you collect Velyn’s bounty?”

  Kestral remained silent, meeting Laki’s gaze calmly.

  “And after that?” Laki continued. “Will you kill Reshi and collect his bounty?”

  The hunter stared back, unperturbed.

  “And after you kill him,” Laki asked, “Will you kill me?”

  Bright blue eyes stared into deep green. The silence grew until it was deafening. I shifted in my seat, trying to avoid antagonizing either of them. Stars, this wasn’t easy! I nudged a nearby wooden carving of an angry badger with the toe of my boot. Someone say something, I begged silently.

  Kestral finally took a breath and uncrossed his arms. “I have no plans to harm you or Reshi until well after Velyn has been dealt with. My promise to Reshi is that I will give him a head-start before I renew my hunt for him. It was never my intention to hunt you, Laki.”

  “Not your intention,” Laki repeated. “Yet here you are, a strong mage hunter on the verge of collecting three large bounties. What holds you back, ice star?”

  Kestral flinched. I almost thought it was his liar’s brand, but it didn’t originate from his left arm. Instead, his shoulders hunched, and his gaze dropped to the ground.

  “Yes, I see the ice in your eyes. My twin’s is a hot violence, quick to flare up but also quick to burn out. But yours . . . yours is enduring, cold and long-frozen.” Laki narrowed his eyes at Kestral. “You have had your stars divined before, haven’t you, exiled warrior? What can you offer that would make me trust one such as you?”

  “Laki,” I cut in, no longer able to sit quietly. “I don’t know dust about stars or religion or anything, but I’ve spent a lot of time with Kestral. He’s had a lot of opportunities to kill me, but he hasn’t. He’s been . . .” I almost said he was like a friend, but I wasn’t sure how Kestral would react to that. “Honorable.”

  For some reason, Kestral’s eyes flicked up to me then dropped just as quickly. Had I offended him somehow? We had traveled together for just over a week; we were still a little awkward around each other, but each night Kestral allowed me into his bedroll to draw a little of his life force as he slept. That took trust, didn’t it? On both our parts, really. It wasn’t fair for Laki to judge him without knowing him.

  Laki continued staring at Kestral, who was now avoiding his gaze.

  “Look, Laki, how can we trust you?” I asked. “Cera and I trusted Velyn and look where that got us. I’m taking a risk here, too.”

  Laki blinked, glanced down, then shyly met my eyes. “I suppose you’re right. It wouldn’t be hard for me to turn on you as Velyn turned on dear Cera. But you have nothing to fear from me, Reshi. I desire neither power nor a throne. The stars and my solitude are enough for me.”

  Laki caressed the roughly shaped carving in his hand lovingly. He glanced around at his clearing, a fond smile on his face. “I should hate to leave this place.”

  “So, you’ll help us with Velyn?” I asked.

  Kestral was still looking away, almost as if he felt out of place.

  Laki shook his head and stood slowly. “I am not one for confrontation. For that, you need my twin.”

  “Kila?” Kestral asked, turning back to us. “Is your sister coming here?”

  “No. In truth, I was going to go to her for protection. But my forest warned me of your approach and I decided to wait for my little brother.” Laki smiled softly at me.

  “Have you spoken to Kila somehow?” I asked, surprised.

  Laki nodded. “Ever since Cera’s death, the bond between my twin and I has strengthened. In the time before we sleep, our thoughts connect, and we converse. Haven’t you noticed changes in your power, brother?”

  “No, I—” I paused. Wait, had I noticed something different? A voice, or thoughts that weren’t mine? I would have to pay more attention in the future. “Kila is going to protect us?”

  Laki tilted his head, eyes considering. “It is not Kila’s way to protect. But it is her way to fight. She is looking forward to the confrontation with Brother Velyn and sees my arrival as a means of hastening it. She is expecting me shortly and I will bring you along, Reshi.”

  Kestral shouted out suddenly. I spun, hands reaching for the hidden daggers at my back. At first, I couldn’t see what had happened but as Kestral struggled I understood. The rock he had leaned against had somehow grown and closed around his right wrist, trapping it. As I watched, the rock seemed to ooze around him like mud, though it was clearly solid from the way it held him.

  “Don’t worry. Your hunter will be freed once we are away.” Laki picked up a small travelsack from behind his stump. He slipped his carving inside it before shouldering it. “Come, Reshi.”

  “I’m not leaving him!” I stared at my brother in shock. “He’s been protecting me since Velyn—”

  “I can protect you.” Laki turned his back on Kestral, walking towards the trees. “You don’t need him any more. You’re with your family now.”

  “I was with my family before, too,” I reminded him, standing halfway between Kestral and Laki. Kestral had stopped struggling against the rock, his eyes on me. “Laki, I can’t just leave him.”

  “Why not?” Laki stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “He’s a hunter, Reshi. The only thing he needs from you is the price on your head.”

  I looked back, meeting Kestral’s eyes. “I need him.”

  “You need him?” Laki asked, voice soft.

  “Yes!” I spun to face my brother, relieved to have found a good reason to keep Kestral. “My magic—I don’t know how yours works, but for mine I need to draw life force from sleeping humans.”

  Laki grimaced. “We can get a more compliant human for that, I’m sure. Come now, Reshi. Kila won’t wait forever.”

  I turned back to Kestral, trying to find another reason that would keep him with me. Laki walked away; in a moment he would be out of sight. My heart twisted in my chest as I thought of just leaving him there, alone, for what might be days.

  But why? I wondered. He’d told me that he’d kill me. He was hunting me specifically. Why do I care? I should have been relieved. I should have felt free.

  But I didn’t. Laki had reached the edge of the clearing by the time I made my decision. Before I could take a single step, Kestral cleared his sword from it
s sheath with his left hand. He reversed his grip and slammed the hilt against the rock gripping his right arm. The rock shattered as he yanked his wrist free and stepped forward, transferring his sword to his right hand.

  I froze in surprise. Laki turned, an expression of terror on his face.

  Oh no.

  We’d done the very thing we had wanted to avoid from the beginning.

  We’d scared Laki.

  I turned to face my brother, hands held wide as I backed towards Kestral. There was a plan in place for this, it just wasn’t very elegant: run.

  Laki beat us to it. He dropped the bag he was carrying and lit off into the trees. Before I could make my way to Kestral, a bellowing roar shook the trees around us. In horror, I watched as the enormous, carved wooden bear in front of Laki’s home began to move. It dropped down to all fours, rolling powerful shoulders, flexing dagger-like claws. On its head were wide, curling horns, like a ram. It took a step, roaring again and showing rows of vicious teeth.

  “So, when you read the reports of Laki’s magic, did they mention anything like this?” I asked Kestral, my voice high-pitched and wavering.

  “No.” How could he sound the same as he always did in a situation like this? “Can you scare it away, like the horses?”

  I shook my head, still backing towards Kestral. “That’s no animal. It may look like a horny bear, but it’s still just a lump of wood. My magic can’t do anything to it.”

  Kestral stared at the bear-carving for a moment then suddenly sheathed his sword. “Keep it busy.” He turned to walk away.

  “What?!” I cleared my daggers, but I turned back to look at Kestral. “Hey, you’re the warrior! I’m barely—” The ground shook as the bear charged in earnest. I dove to the side with a roll, narrowly avoiding a swipe from sharp wooden claws. “Kestral!”

  I heard a whistle, then hooves pounded across the clearing. Kestral had called Shan. He wouldn’t run away and leave me, would he? I didn’t have time to look; the bear had reared and was attempting to crush me. I dodged again, this time swinging one of my daggers, scoring a hit against its flank. Silver scraped against wood, gouging a shaved ribbon free but otherwise causing no damage. How do you kill something made of wood? I ducked another swipe and rammed my dagger into the beast.

  The blade bounced, sending shockwaves of pain up my arm. I flinched and a heavy backhanded swing from the bear sent me flying across the clearing. Luckily, I avoided crashing into any of the smaller carvings and was able to roll to my feet.

  What was Kestral doing? I could barely see him with the wood-bear between us. It looked like he was stringing his longbow, but what good would that do? A dagger at close range couldn’t leave a mark.

  No time to think about that. I leapt as the wooden beast charged again, landing lightly on its back. It spun, perhaps thinking I had landed behind it. I slammed a dagger between its shoulder blades and hung on as it tried to shrug me off. The bear glared at me over its shoulder, sightless eyes full of fury. It reared, standing at its full nine feet of height.

  “Reshi, get clear!”

  I kicked off, ripping my dagger free and landing several paces away. I heard a thunk, and as the bear turned to chase me, I saw an arrow had pierced its chest. Wait, was that an oilcloth bag suspended from the arrow? I darted in close, ducking a swipe before lighting off towards Kestral. He stood with an archer’s perfect form, an arrow sighted on the bear.

  A flaming arrow.

  As I reached Kestral’s side, the arrow flew, perfectly hitting the little bag the first arrow had carried. The bag split and as I watched, liquid fire rolled down the bear’s chest and stomach, quickly growing and spreading to its head, back and limbs. The beast roared its defiance and charged at us, flames and smoke pouring off it as it ran. My heart beat fit to burst but Kestral stood firm, watching its approach. Before it could fully reach us, it collapsed in a heap of shapeless, burning wood.

  “Wow.” My knees buckled as the air in my chest left me all at once. “Wow. What was in that bag?”

  “Cooking oil.” Kestral set his bow down against his foot. “I’m sorry that Laki didn’t—”

  “Uh, Kestral?” I set my hand on his bracer, stopping him before he could unstring his bow. “I think you’re going to need that.”

  All around the clearing Laki’s carved creatures were coming to life. None were as big as the bear, but the fox family had sharp teeth, the boars had long, pointed tusks and the winged critters stretched their wings and took flight. Not all were wood, either, but stone and clay as well. And each one of them turned their lifeless eyes towards Kestral and me.

  Kestral swore darkly as he quickly nocked another arrow. A clay rivercat shattered as an arrow shot through it, but a stone boar barely noticed as his second arrow glanced off its hide. I stood shakily, unsure that my fae daggers would be of much help against wood and stone.

  “You need to do something,” Kestral said, backing up a step to shoot another arrow at a clay beast. It crumbled to dust as he sighted on another clay carving.

  “Me?” I asked. “I distracted the bear. The rest is on you.”

  “I used all my cooking oil already and the stone ones wouldn’t burn anyway.” Another clay figure burst but now the animals had drawn too close. I kicked at a stone fox, driving it back as Kestral dropped the bow in favor of his small crossbow. “There must be something you can do.”

  “I’m the mistress mage’s youngest, remember?” I kicked again, this time the fox caught my boot and hung on. I slapped it away with the hilt of my dagger. “All I can do is shapeshift and . . .” I trailed off, a thought occurring to me.

  “Whatever it is, do it.” Kestral loaded the crossbow with an armor-punching bolt and shot down a stone falcon that had been diving for his head. He stepped down on its wing, then crushed the bird beneath his heel, snapping the wing off. It thrashed at his feet as he stepped coldly over it. “I’ll distract them.”

  I wanted to find a safe corner to hide in while I attempted magic I had never performed before, but with my brother able to control any inanimate object at will, there didn’t seem to be any safe corners left. I put my back to Kestral and tried to keep pace with him while I reached for the well of golden magic in my chest.

  Animals had instincts. The instinct to eat, the instinct to sleep, the instinct to flee from hunters or to chase prey. The instincts varied with each individual species, but some were very nearly universal. For instance, almost all species would flee a fight they have no chance of winning.

  Unless they had something to protect.

  The closest animals to the clearing were all small—songbirds, rabbits, tree rats and the like. Nothing like that would help us in this fight. Instead, I sought predators, waking them from their dens and stoking their instinct to protect their young. It wasn’t easy, trying to convince strong-minded carnivores that they should come to my aid, but I prodded that protective instinct and they came.

  Wow, did they come.

  The first to arrive were the hunter-birds, unsurprising as they were already awake and hunting, unlike most furred hunters. They dove into the clearing, scattering Laki’s flying critters. A heavy hawk drove its talons into a stone pixie, sending it spiraling to the ground where it shattered. An eagle pierced a wooden dove with its beak, severing the dove’s neck. Bits of wood and stone began raining down as the raptors tore the lifeless flyers to pieces.

  “What’s happening?” Kestral called. At some point he had switched to his sword, using the hilt to rap a stone badger over the head.

  “I found help for us,” I replied, focusing fully on the fight once more. “There’s more coming but it might take—Uff!” A wooden ram charged into my side, driving the air from my body. Pain—hot and white—blurred my vision as my right arm dropped, hand barely still clutching my dagger. Kestral was there in an instant, slicing off the wooden creature’s head.

  “How bad?” Kestral asked, cutting off the ram’s front two legs as it continued staggering about.<
br />
  I grunted, trying to remember how to breathe. My side was on fire, my arm tingling and numb. I was pretty sure I’d heard something snap but before I could fully explore the injury, I had to drop my left dagger and throw a knife through a clay winged-rabbit with tiger’s teeth. Seriously, did Laki just make creatures up as he carved them? That just wasn’t fair.

  “Reshi, are you—” Kestral cut himself off. I finally caught a breath and turned to see what he saw. “What did you do?”

  Wolves streamed into the clearing, their hackles raised, lips peeled back in dangerous snarls. Kestral took an offensive stance, his sword glittering before him. With a gasp of pain, I reached up and grabbed his arm.

  “Don’t.” So much pain. I gripped his arm tighter. “Friends.”

  Kestral paused long enough for the lead wolf to snatch up a stone fox in her jaws. She shook her head violently, the fox crying out soundlessly. When she let it go, it slammed into a tree trunk and shattered. The other wolves snapped at the carved creatures, driving them back from us, forming a half-ring around Kestral and me. Kestral kept his sword up, but refrained from attacking. Around us, wood snapped, and claws scraped on stone, but for the moment we could catch our breath.

  For me that was a little more literal than I would have liked. I drew air into my chest, despite the searing pain in my side. Kestral dropped to one knee, his sword still in front of him but his free hand checked my ribs, the light pressure making me see stars.

  “Broken ribs,” Kestral reported, standing up in a guard position again. “Try not to move your right arm.”

  It was hard to move anything at all, but I staggered to my feet, keeping my right arm pinned to my side. I had broken bones before, sure, but never had they felt as intense as this. Every breath was agony, but I didn’t have time to waste complaining about it. A stone boar charged through the ring of wolves, overly-large tusks drawing a yelp from one of them. The boar closed with Kestral, who reversed his grip on his sword and slammed the hilt into the stone beast’s head. It diverted the boar to the side and sent a spider web of cracks through the stone, but the boar turned and charged again. As Kestral turned to face it, a delicate stag with mighty stone antlers leapt over the wolves, coming at us from the opposite side of the boar.