The Academy Volume One

by Maxine Mansfield

  Uthiel sighed dramatically and grinned, “Just goes to show you, a paladin’s work is never done.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Mist swirled about her ankles as the wind whipped her hair so ferociously it stung her face. Briar fought to wake herself. If only Carnelian had spoken to her as she normally did.

  She hadn’t though, not this time. This dream was different. Silence prevailed―a silence broken only by the wind.

  Chilling rain pelted her skin through her thin tunic, and the skies were so dark she could no longer see. She yelled Uthiel’s name, but the wind threw her words back at her. Roots tangled about her bare feet and sharp stones slowed her progress as she hurried…somewhere.

  She stopped in the middle of a road to get her bearings. Nothing in this place was familiar. Not a tree, not a rock, not a bush, not a mountain, not even a smell.

  Without warning, the rain stopped, the wind stilled, and the world took on a disturbing, silent calm. The hair on the back of her neck rose.

  With a whoosh, a humongous dragon landed at her feet. Larger than any beast she’d ever seen, its scales gleamed blood red and its teeth dripped venom. Blood oozed from its massive wing where a blade protruded. One claw held tightly the limp form of a man.

  Briar peered more closely. It wasn’t just a man―it was a paladin. And not just any paladin, either, but her paladin.

  Uthiel Stoutheart.

  The dragon dropped his lifeless form at her feet.

  Briar’s heart shattered and the stone about her neck chilled her to the bone with its icy coldness. She screamed and screamed. And kept screaming.

  “Briar…? Briar…! Briar…!”

  Familiar hands shook her and strong arms cradled her as she woke. A quake of heartwrenching sobs threatened to swallow her back into the abyss, and Briar’s tears fell hot, fast, and heavy as she clung to the owner of the arms.

  “Now, now, my sweet lass. Bad dream again, was it? You’re fine now. Papa has you.”

  Briar raised her face to her father. “Something’s wrong with him, Papa, I…I…know it is. I can feel it. Something’s gone hor-hor-horribly wrong.”

  With trembling fingers, Briar stroked the stone inside her tunic, where it rested against her skin. She grasped the thin piece of leather Uthiel had used to fashion her a necklace, and lifted the gemstone out to show her father.

  “Feel this. It’s growing colder by the day and pulsing weaker. It’s not supposed to do that.”

  Terror seized her as the dream’s scene of Uthiel’s limp body and the horrid dragon played in quick flashes through her mind. “He’s…he’s…he’s badly hurt, I know it in my heart. I can’t go back to the Dak Forest with you tomorrow. I have to find him, Papa. I have to.”

  Midan Tumbleweed patted his daughter’s back.

  “It was just a dream, lass. Things will look brighter come morning. You’ve had bad dreams for the past three nights now, and even you admitted the lad’s only been gone a little more than a quarter phase of the moon. What kind of mischief could he have possibly gotten into in that short amount of time?

  “If you’re still sure in the morning something’s wrong, instead of us heading back to the Dak Forest like we had planned, I’ll ask around about your young man. I can see you’re worried about him, but I’d bet he’s fine.”

  He laid her back down, tucked the cover under her chin, and gently kissed her cheek.

  “Go back to sleep now, daughter. I’ll be right outside your door. You’ll see. All will be well.”

  Briar grimaced but forced herself to smile. Something was wrong―very wrong―and with or without her father’s help, she was going to find out what.

  For now, though, she nodded. “You’re probably right, Papa. All will be well come morning.”

  She closed her eyes tightly and grasped her half of the Dragon’s Heart Opal. It radiated first cold, then hot, then cold again. It pulsed slowly then quickly, erratically then steadily.

  Briar prayed morning would come soon. Uthiel was in trouble. At first light, she intended to do what needed to be done in order to begin her search for him. She spent the remainder of the night making mental lists.

  ****

  Clouds hung heavy in the sky, and the gloominess of the woods just outside the grounds of The Academy matched Briar’s mood this morning.

  All wasn’t well, as her father had promised during the night. Nothing was well, and it wasn’t ever again going to be well if she dawdled at her task.

  Bending to pluck yet another herb and situate it in her medicine bag, Briar pondered the best way to convince her father of the urgency of the matter.

  It wasn’t as if Midan Tumbleweed didn’t usually believe her when she said something was wrong, and it wasn’t as if he himself wasn’t willing to do whatever it would take to ensure Uthiel returned safe and sound.

  The problem, Briar decided as she plucked flower heads from a large patch of medicinal marigolds, was her father’s adamant refusal to allow his daughter to accompany him on this potentially dangerous search.

  Quests are no place for females, daughter, he’d said. Stay home and tend the fires, like a good lass.”

  Briar sighed, and stared up at the pink and red hues of the breathtaking sky. Her heart lurched at the memories of long afternoons in Uthiel’s arms. Some of those afternoons were right here in these woods.

  The Dragon Heart Opal around her neck pulsed slowly where it lay cradled between her breasts. Its alternating coldness and near-burning heat radiated through her skin and seared a path directly to her heart. She clutched the stone tightly.

  Briar closed her eyes and thought of Uthiel. Of the way his hands had roamed her body while his lips tasted her skin and his eyes pierced her very soul. The way his tongue ravaged her breasts and tormented her pussy. The way his cock filled her, completed her, and had fed her spirit.

  A sob escaped, and she was glad she was deep in the forest where no one could hear. Sliding to the mossy floor of the woods, Briar cradled herself and cried. She missed him, she needed him, and she needed him now.

  The stone suddenly pulsed with renewed energy, as if Uthiel was aware she was thinking about him.

  Briar slipped the jewel over her head and stared into its depths, searching for a glimpse of the man she loved, or even just a sign he was safe. Anything. Anything to provide a moment’s comfort.

  The opalescent stone vibrated, and then a low-pitched hum suddenly emanated from it. Briar was so startled she almost dropped it, but quickly hugged the gemstone close to her heart. After all, it was the only remaining physical thing she had of the man she loved.

  Wherever he was, and whatever he was doing at this very moment, was his half of the stone vibrating and humming too? Was this his way of assuring her that, for this moment anyway, he was all right? If she held it even tighter, even closer to her heart, would she be able to somehow let her love flow through her half of the stone and send a moment of comfort to him, no matter what he was facing?

  The thought intrigued her, and Briar pressed the stone secure against her breast.

  The humming intensified as, in small circles, she rubbed the Dragon Heart Opal over her heart.

  When it grazed her nipple, Briar caught her breath but didn’t shift the stone away. Instead, she gloried in the sensation of a thousand tiny sparks of energy flowing through her. The junction between her thighs throbbed, and her heart ached for his touch. She smiled past her tears and, in her mind, saw his face.

  “Make love with me, Uthiel,” she whispered to the wind. “I need you.”

  With one hand, Briar raised the hem of her tunic until she could slip it completely up and off. She triumphed in the awareness of cool moss against her bare, heated skin.

  With her other hand, she guided the stone across her chest, allowing it to tease first one nipple then the other. They hardened, and they tingled. Her pussy spasmed in want, but still Briar hesitated. She didn’t crave a stone―she yearned for Uthiel.

  The myst
ical heirloom thrummed with a will of its own as she slowly slid it down her body, until finally it came to rest at the entrance to her core. With trembling fingers, she parted the folds of her pussy and gave the stone and herself what they both sought.

  Lightning strikes of pleasure vibrated through her clit and arrowed straight to her heart. Holding the jewel firmly in place, Briar pressed inward, harder, rotating her hips, and arching up toward the heavens.

  “Now, Uthiel. Fill me now!”

  She slipped a finger in and out of her pussy while massaging the stone along her swollen nub. She twisted and turned in the throes of ecstasy, yet still she shoved harder, faster.

  An energy grew. It started somewhere behind her eyes, traveled to the pit of her belly, and shot out the tips of her toes. Her body hummed with its power.

  “Yes!” she screamed, as wave after rolling wave of delightful spasms rocked her frame.

  All too soon, they subsided.

  Still panting, Briar lay on the forest floor with her eyes closed. She hugged her half of the precious opal to her chest. “Thank you, my love.”

  She opened her eyes and reality rocked her. Once more she was alone. All alone. So very alone.

  Her heart broke and Briar sobbed. “I’ll find you, Uthiel, I promise. Nobody or nothing is going to stop me.”

  ****

  “You’ll not be saying such things to my daughter and worrying her when she gets back.”

  Her father’s angry voice stopped Briar in her tracks, just steps away from the turn in the hallway leading to her dormitory room.

  “I won’t have her running off on some lame-brained, half-thought-out, probably-get-herself-killed-scheme with a pointy-eared wizard I don’t even know.”

  Briar wondered who her father could be yelling at, until Sarco Sunwalker’s familiar voice answered that question.

  “It’s not a lame-brained scheme, and for your information, sir, I’m not just some pointy-eared wizard. I’m an instructor here at The Academy.

  “Uthiel Stoutheart is my closest friend in all of Albrath, and I’m telling you something is wrong. Very wrong. You said it yourself; even your daughter suspects and feels it. I can understand you not trusting me―you don’t know me―but you ought to trust her.”

  Briar smiled and listened avidly. At last, someone else on her side. She felt a smile dance across her face.

  “I’m not here to put your daughter in danger. All I ask is for her to accompany me to the library. Perhaps together we can figure out where on Albrath Uthiel’s Isle of Mist lies at the moment. I have a general idea, but I’m not sure. Briar has a…a connection with him. Perhaps together we can find him.”

  Midan Tumbleweed roared, “I already told ya. You’ll not involve my daughter. I won’t have it.”

  Briar slowly turned the hallway corner as the frustration in Sarco’s voice rose a couple of notches.

  “I’ve already explained to you how difficult his Isle is to find and why I need her help. My connection to Uthiel is strong, but it isn’t enough. I’ve been trying to locate him since the day he left, and I kick myself for not demanding he take me along.”

  Oh thank Draka. Sarco, at least, understands! Briar walked toward the two men, who hadn’t yet noticed her. It was time she settled the matter.

  Sarco’s voice rose. “He needs her help. Something is wrong. Don’t ask me how I know, but my gut just says it is. If Uthiel believed me to be in danger, sir, nothing would stop him from coming to my aid. He’s a man of true honor, and I’m sure you can respect that trait. I just pray it isn’t already too late.”

  That’s it. Enough!

  She strode down the hallway and planted herself between the two men. “The library’s already closed for the evening, but we’ll go at first light, Sarco. I’ve spent today refurbishing what plants and herbs I may need when we do find him.”

  Midan Tumbleweed turned and glared at his daughter. “I haven’t yet decided you’ll be going anywhere, lass. Except home, that is. That’s why I’m here, remember? To take you back to Dak Forest for the summer.”

  Briar’s anger rose, but she fought to tamp it down. “Papa, I love you with all the love a daughter can possibly have for a father. You are a wonderful man, and you’ve taught me most of what I know of this world. Trust me now to do what it is I must do.”

  Briar grasped Midan Tumbleweed’s arm and looked her father in the eye without blinking. There could be no misunderstanding.

  “I have to help find him, Papa. I love him. I can’t imagine my life without him in it. Something really is wrong. He’s somehow hurt, and I must go to him. I simply must.”

  With her free hand, Briar lifted the almost translucent stone from its resting place close to her heart, and thrust it toward her father.

  “This stone connects him to me. I don’t understand why or how, but I know it does. I can feel his heartbeat, his life force, and he’s hurt. The stone’s pulse weakens and it grows cold at times, like in my dream last night. Come with me if you wish, if you feel you must, but please understand and accept I am going―with or without you.”

  Sarco’s touch startled Briar as his fingers grasped the stone. He held it, still attached to the leather string around her neck.

  “Well, I’ll be. This is but half of Uthiel’s Dragon Heart Opal, isn’t it?”

  Briar grimaced at his wide grin.

  “So you think it’s funny, too, do you? Uthiel laughed at me when I broke it. He laughed at me. Men! You all make me crazy.”

  She tugged the gemstone from Sarco’s hand and tucked it securely inside her tunic. Frustrated, she paced.

  “It was an accident, I swear. The opal simply fell apart. I didn’t drop it or anything. I don’t destroy everything I touch, Sarco, no matter what you’ve heard to the contrary.”

  Sarco laughed deeply, and its rich sound caught her attention, especially when she noticed his smile reach the depths of his eyes.

  “You really don’t know what this means, do you? Never fear, Miss Briarlarn Tumbleweed, I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing because I’m happy. I now know for a fact my friend is indeed still alive, and together we have the tools and means to locate him.”

  Briar gasped, “Really? I mean, I thought, I hoped, but…really?”

  “Yes, really,” Sarco winked, “and if we’re lucky enough to find him soon, I’d even predict the two of you will have years to work on your own personal happily ever after. That is, as long as Uthiel keeps all things flammable out of your reach.”

  Heat wicked up Briar’s neck.

  Midan glanced her way. “Flammable?”

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Bad joke, Papa.” She shook her head. If she lived to be a thousand, she’d never understand the workings of a man’s mind. Even though she’d been raised with five brothers and no woman in sight, men still confused her.

  Why couldn’t they simply accept the fact that accidents happen? And why couldn’t they say straight out what they meant, without all the hidden meanings, mystery, and subterfuge? Men were strange creatures.

  Her father’s voice pulled Briar from her thoughts.

  “Well, I may not be able to stop you from helping this wizard, lass, that is the truth. But I don’t have to let you go anywhere without me, and I won’t. If you are VoT bent on traipsing all over Albrath to search for your young man, then,” Midan stopped and glared at Sarco, “you aren’t going alone with a near stranger.”

  He hugged her close, and the warmth of her father’s embrace had Briar smiling.

  “After all, lass, I am a ranger and a damn fine one, if I do say so myself. Why, I can track anything. Even dragons, if need be, though they are sly, slippery creatures.”

  A cold chill filled her. Briar no longer heard or cared about the conversation going on around her. The gemstone grew colder, icy even, as it lay nestled between her breasts. She clutched it, trying to infuse it with her own heat, her own energy.

  Uthiel was in trouble, of that there was n
o doubt, and if there was ever going to be a happily ever after, it was up to her to find him.

  The deep rumble of Midan’s voice broke through Briar’s worry.

  “…and as far as this happily-ever-after stuff you’re spouting, Wizard, I’ll be meeting this lad who has an eye on my daughter. I’ll make my own judgments about his and her plans.”

  She smiled against his chest. One battle at a time.

  “Right now, let’s sit down to supper and then get a good night’s sleep so we can start early in the morning. I have the feeling tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Briar tossed and turned as the dream solidified.

  It had probably once been a glorious castle. Now it wasn’t much more than a pile of rubble with partial walls here and there. Through the swirling mist, a single high tower shot proudly upward, surrounded by a spacious courtyard where one unmarred statue of an elfin soldier stood on silent, unwavering guard. Hewn from white marble, it was so large she could’ve only reached the heel of his boot.

  The remnants of a frayed, weather-worn flag flew from the top of the tower. Upon its faded, royal-blue background, a golden fist gripped a long sword and hefted it heavenward.

  How odd. Briar squinted at the flag. Its image had somehow withstood the passing of so much time. She longed to inspect it closer but could see no clear path through the rubble to the tower.

  Briar twirled, taking in more of her surroundings. The trees and bushes near the castle were green, lush, and ripe with fruit; the grass beneath her feet as plush as a carpet.

  Fierce battles must’ve been fought here in the past, however. Rusted, dilapidated sections of shields and swords littered the ground. Odds and ends of a way of life long before her time caught Briar’s eye. A rusted tankard here, the shattered, crumbling pieces of an old barrel over there.

  An eerie, surreal sensation of being watched, or followed, or even stalked―perhaps by those long gone, or those yet to be met?―sent shivers racing down her spine.