Battle Mage: Winds of Change (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 11)

by Donald Wigboldy

  Ashleen waited until he closed the door trying to stifle a yawn, before the girl slipped off her short boots. Her shorts dropped to the floor quickly as she got comfortable, but that was as far as she went before sitting on the bed crossing her legs to face him.

  The mage looked at the pretty young woman sitting on the bed gazing at him with blue eyes that sparkled with the light of the lamps he lit with his magic. Her blond hair had bleached with the summer sun appearing almost a pale silver by daylight. Now in the golden glow of the lamplight, it reflected the glow placing more of the yellow of darker blond onto her hair.

  "Well, that went pretty well," Ashleen stated with a slight smile for him as he continued to stand beside the dresser next to the door looking at her. "Well, except for having to save Evie from being kidnapped by pirates, of course, but even that wound up helping out negotiations with the islanders."

  He nodded. "I had hoped going with Yaroma and Naoromi would give us a better start. We did help them get rid of the pirates after all."

  "I suppose that I should miss the girls, but we just left them. Tomorrow or the next day it will probably begin to set in. They were nice girls and we spent a lot of time together."

  "A lot of time shopping, you mean?" he joked touching the coin purse hidden beneath his shirt tied to his belt.

  "Oh, like I've been spending all your money," she countered pursing her lips feigning being insulted by his words. "Most of what I have bought has been paid for from the account my father has set up with Southwall's banks. You've spent more on Evie and the mermaids than me."

  After being in the fresh tropical air of the islands all day, the air in the inn room felt stuffy. It had been left closed up during the day, since only the maids had been there. Sebastian crossed the room to open one of the two windows to try to bring in some of the evening air. The first brush of a cool breeze made him note that winter was coming. Spending a beautiful day on the islands had almost made the mage forget that truth.

  Ashleen watched him holding her tongue, but as he turned from the window the girl said, "Now that they have returned home, will you keep paying for the second room? Rilena and Evie are using it tonight; but unless you are going let them sleep in here with us, they will continue to need it. That will take more coins from your pocket than my shopping trips.

  "Except when I am buying clothes for the other girls," she finished with a grin.

  The wilder enjoyed shopping and, when allowed to make projects out of Evie and the mermaids, she did it well.

  Letting out a breath of air trying to decide an answer to such a problem, Sebastian mulled her question over in his mind. If their relationship remained stagnant, sleeping beside Ashleen and having others using the other bed wouldn't be a problem; but that meant sharing his room with even more women. He wasn't positive how Evie felt about him, but he had camped with Rilena before. Camping with a squad of battle mages, soldiers and wizards was hardly the same thing as sharing a bedroom with three attractive young women, however.

  He was only truly attracted to one woman these days really. Even his thoughts for Yara had faded into the background, further proof that their love had truly faded as well.

  Sitting on the opposite bed, Sebastian pulled off his boots as he said, "I think it would be better to have two rooms than share it with so many people. I really only want to be here with you."

  Ashleen looked at him hopefully. Testing the truth of his words, she asked, "If you're only going to sleep next to me like a brother, then it probably doesn't make much of a difference, does it?"

  Taking off his shirt, the mage dropped it onto the bed before standing to cross the gap to the other bed. Kneeling on the mattress in front of the pretty woman, he took a breath before saying, "If you are only thinking of me as a brother, then I guess we really have been doing this wrong."

  Shifting to kneel in front him, Ashleen looked at him hopefully. She placed her hands on his bare shoulders looking unsure of what to do. "We could change that if you like," the girl replied looking at his chest less from a need to look at him as the place her eyes had dropped because she couldn't look him in the face.

  His hands went to her sides and lifted her blouse up and over her head. Her breasts were bared drawing his eyes, which made Ashleen smile shyly. Though she had first tried to seduce him by being naked in front of him in their room, it was the first time the wilder had ever seemed unsure. Shyness had never been her problem with the mage, even from the first day he had known her she had been forward compared to most girls.

  Pulling Ashleen closer, the two kissed. It was almost like it was for the first time. After a long drawn out kiss, it took less time to finish removing the last of their clothing. They kissed again and often. Caressing one another, the two continued to escalate their intimacy.

  It was Ashleen's first time and her nervous energy translated onto her skin. Electricity flowed between them, even to the point of occasional sparks. The wilder would apologize, but Sebastian would simply kiss her lips. He wasn't worried over her abilities. They had touched when she was excited before and he knew of the extra electricity her hands and body would hold.

  Coming together, he felt another jolt as the excited lightning wilder's power wasn't trying to push him away, but caressed him in her electricity. It wasn't the same as his time with Yara. They shared healing and could feel each other differently. While Ashleen could use that magic as well to a point, it seemed better just to be the people they were. There were no short cuts and he tried to please her without cheating and using his magic. It seemed right and better this way for them.

  They were young lovers and even after the long day, the two went until they were spent only to recover a little while later to try again. Ashleen was passionate in a way completely different from his only other lover and the mage barely let the thought of Yara touch his mind while making love to the woman he truly loved right now. Yara was the past and Ashleen was his present and hopefully his future as well.

  Sebastian awoke early. He had snuck out before the musicians had finished playing to bring some food and drink to their room. Love making made them thirsty and hungry. Used to using food and drink to keep up their energy for magic, the two thought nothing of it to use it help them extend the night of passion.

  Eventually they tired and fell asleep in each other's arms. Sebastian awoke a bit tired; but looking at the beautiful girl in his arms, where she had been most of the night, he felt elated as well. His worries over using Ashleen as a rebound after Yara seemed unfounded. It felt like love to him and the wilder was someone he truly cherished having beside him.

  The man had to admit that he had felt love for her from the first and fought it all along, but now they were finally a couple. Lovers, Sebastian thought. He almost couldn't make himself leave the room to wash up for the day. While in the bath soaking and refreshing himself; the mage opened the oval rune pressing his magic into it long enough to make it able to give him the small bag of corrinuts.

  Charging each one with light and enough fire to create a concussive blast to stun anyone close to it, the mage prepared to do something he had been told not to do. Sebastian had been feeling the need to try Palose's old gate into the enemy city, or at least where he believed the enemy city might be. Going in understanding that such a point could be a trap that he couldn't escape without planning, the owl readied the light bombs.

  Sebastian replaced the bag into the void and finished bathing. After a meal spent talking to Hilda and her children waiting on the tables for breakfast, the mage went upstairs to check on Ashleen. Wondering if he should leave a note for her on the dresser, the mage wasn't surprised to see Evie pacing in the hallway in front of his door.

  The girl spotted him coming up the stairs and smiled quickly before noting something about the mage that he didn't even think was written on his face or from his posture.

  "Is something wrong?" Evie asked with definite worry.

  "Should I be asking you the same thing?" he counter
ed without answering her question.

  Again she looked a bit surprised and shook her head sending the red mane shifting back and forth. The cascade of red was mesmerizing as the girl answered aloud, "Um, no, not really. I couldn't sleep. I felt like something was wrong, but here you are, so I must be wrong. Right?"

  "Everything's fine with me. Ashleen is just sleeping in like usual," he chuckled trying to put her at ease. If the mage was as in control of his emotional appearance as he believed, the changeling shouldn't see anything more than his sense of humor. Sebastian didn't need to broadcast what he had done with Ashleen during the night and didn't want Evie to feel any tension over what he planned to do very soon this morning.

  The man also noted her short night gown revealing most of her legs. Hoping that she at least wore underwear beneath it, the mage said, "You shouldn't be walking around like that in the hall, Evie. Go back to bed or get dressed and have some breakfast. We don't have anywhere in particular to be this morning, so there's no rush to get up today."

  Starting to enter his room, Sebastian realized that he didn't want to wake Ashleen. Before Evie could turn, the man asked, "Could you tell Ashleen that I went for a run? I'd rather not wake her, but since you are here, maybe you could tell her for me?"

  Her big green eyes looked at him soberly. She didn't seem to believe him, but the girl nodded. "I can tell her that for you. Will you be safe?"

  Her question meant that the wilder must have felt something, but Sebastian smiled and nodded. "There shouldn't be anything to worry about so early in the morning. Go back to your room. I'll see you later as well."

  Turning back to the stairs, Sebastian walked in back of the inn. The stables, holding more than a dozen horses, were quiet with animals that had little to do or worry about. Opening a doorway, the mage stepped through the golden light.

  Stepping into the early morning sun about an hour behind Hala, Sebastian heard the gurgling of a large river. A bridge stood about twenty paces from his doorway as it closed. The Cadhalla River was the primary carrier of water for the eastern half of Southwall. Its secondary streams and rivers brought water from the north and the mountains where the Dark One kept his empire of mountain cities.

  He looked to the north, but couldn't see the Two Towers, or what remained of them, with the hills between him and that legendary piece of North Wall. A battle had been fought there only a little over a month before and the towers had been destroyed. He knew wizards had been hard at work repairing the break in the wall with the help of other repair men. Masons and other builders would be at the wall to continue the work started weeks ago. Even with magic, it would take time to recreate the towers and other defenses needed to keep the emperor's creatures to the north.

  Palose's portals had breached the defenses well before the battle broke the wall. Now he hoped to return the favor. A former friend turned betrayer, Palose had certainly changed and it was believed to have been a magical change. While Sebastian felt he could forgive the dark mage if that was true, there was still a lot for this new version of the man to answer for.

  He wondered if they would have yet another confrontation beyond his next portal. Preparing for a fight, Sebastian drew the black sword. The Hollow Sword might be too much, if he hoped to keep things quiet enough to sneak in and out with minimal attention.

  Looking to the sun, Sebastian waited. If he was right on his timing, the battle mage would attempt to break in a little after dawn.

  When the owl believed it was the right time to test his luck, Sebastian readied three of the corrinuts and held them in his left hand. The black sword in his right, the caster called for the golden portal to the emperor's capitol. He tossed the three light grenades through hoping to get a solid spread. Waiting three seconds, the mage set off the charges before jumping through the gate.

  Before his sight could adjust, he heard cries of shock and surprise. Hoping the light would keep whoever had been caught blinded for a few moments more, the mage let the portal close readying his next spell.

  "Sleep," the owl ordered sending his left arm in a sweeping arc before the man's senses fully comprehended where he had landed. Thumps as bodies hit the floor let the mage know that the spell was successful before Sebastian could even see what he had struck.

  Blinking in the dim light, Sebastian spotted bodies scattered around a common room. He noticed two doors leading into other rooms on one side as well as the front door and one which was closed opposite the others. So many doors meant an uncertain chance to run into his nemesis.

  "Hound," he said quietly summoning his magic. Listening with enhanced senses, Sebastian heard frightened breathing coming from one of the open doors leading into another room. Moving stealthily to the door on the far wall from his entrance, the mage thought that he heard whispers from the female his spell let him smell. Reading her aura through the wall, Sebastian thought it felt oddly familiar; but worse it felt strong like a wizard's.

  Plunging the black sword into the wall several feet from the door making it go through until the hilt stopped its momentum, the mage leaped into the doorway rolling low and put out his hand calling, "Sleep."

  A dark haired girl gasped in surprise whipping her head back from the black blade sticking through the wall behind her. Her spell fizzled as her words caught in her throat in surprise. Like a typical wizard, the girl was no match for a battle mage up close, the man thought.

  As she was struck by the sleep spell, Sebastian righted his balance catching the young wizard even as she fell forward towards the wall behind him.

  Curly dark hair wafted in his face as the air caught her hair with her movement. There was a bed in the room large enough for two or three people and Sebastian picked her up to deposit the girl on the thick padded mattress. It felt softer than the bed he used in the Black Smith Inn and the sheets were smooth like silk.

  Looking at the sleeping wizard, Sebastian thought that he recognized her from his run in with Palose in New Harbor a couple months before this. The young wizard had fought Ashleen and proven that she had talent since the wilder was quite powerful. It wasn't completely surprising to see her, of course, since the owl had used the portal of the dark mage. If she lived with him or guarded his gate, then such a meeting was likely.

  The intruder returned to what appeared to be a combination, living room, dining area and kitchen. Pulling the sword free of the wall, he sheathed it in the scabbard fastened to his hip. Sebastian noted the other bodies lying on the floor. Two more girls with a slight aura of magic lay by a couch and the cooking stove. A small blonde and taller brunette, they were equally pretty as the one he had placed on the bed.

  Two more wizards lay on the floor. One was a fire wizard he had seen in New Harbor as well while fighting Palose. The other was someone who would make Ashleen cry to see.

  A tall man when standing, Wendle was a fellow apprentice wizard who had travelled with Ashleen. He was officially an apprentice of Kardor, but his skill with water and air would have made him a full wizard in Southwall. The dark haired apprentice looked a bit pale to the mage who had spent much of his time outdoors of late.

  Checking for a pulse on each of their necks, Sebastian noted one thing that they all shared in common. They felt a little cool to his touch. Like someone who had been outside in the cold without a jacket for awhile, they had some warmth but not as much as they should.

  Touching Wendle's wrist, the mage used his healing spell to check the man. His body felt strange to his healing sense. Sebastian had used his power on dozens of injured and even dying men and women, but even those dying felt warmer to him. Blood flowed and Wendle's magic echoed the lines of the veins, but Sebastian noted more than just the wizard's energy flowing through his aura. It was tainted with another and the mage knew the feel of Palose's magic in that flow.

  Quickly testing the fire wizard as well, Sebastian noted Palose's magic corrupting the second man as well and inferred that the others were likely similarly affected. He wondered what magic had been
used on these people by the dark mage. Wendle had fought them in New Harbor as if they were his enemies, yet Ashleen had been a friend for years and his countrywoman besides. He and Sebastian had become good friends too; but, like the change in Palose, Wendle had acted against them without seeming conflicted over the matter.

  The mage finally took stock of where the house he stood in was. A big window, partially covered by drapes, dominated the wall opposite the room with the sleeping girl. He pushed the drapes aside looking onto a gray city. The light was dim and Sebastian wondered if it was earlier than he had thought. It had been a guess as to when sunrise would be after all.

  Stone buildings standing one or two stories tall were the closest to the house holding the portal. They were plain and few appeared larger than the one he was in now. In the distance he could see spires reaching up into the darkness.

  The city was in a cave. Sebastian had heard rumors from scouts who had tried to infiltrate the emperor's city. A massive city at the base of a mountain extended into that mountain inside a huge cavern, the stone spires had a few lights within them and the mage wondered if they had been hollowed out or if the lights were actually on the surface of the stone. Why they would need to light the spires if they weren't hollow inside would have been the bigger mystery to him.

  There were no people wandering the street at the moment, so Sebastian opened the door leading out from the room. A flight of seven stairs led him down to the stone of the street. It wasn't made of cobblestones, but he was standing on the actual stone of the massive cavern floor.

  Interestingly, looking beyond the house of the wizards, he could see that it was at the edge of the cave butted against the solid wall. If this was Palose's home, perhaps the Betrayer feared someone coming to harm him and had chosen to place his back against the wall, so to speak. Sebastian wasn't sure and, of course, he seemed to have at least five people joined to him; whether by magic or choice, that was a different matter. The mage hadn't been willing to risk staying to find out. Sebastian could find the house again if he had to, but doubted that he could surprise them again so easily.