by Casey Wolfe
Rowan nodded. He had been guilty of doing the same thing himself. There were things to remind him of his grandmother everywhere. Some days, it was like nothing was wrong, and then others, there was a gaping void that seemed nothing would ever be able to fill again.
“I should go check on the cottage,” Rowan mentioned. “It’s been a while.”
“I’ll go with you, if you like. Or take that wolf of yours with you. You shouldn’t go alone.” It was said casually, but the pinch of her features told a different story. He knew Frey was worried. It may have been roughly six years since her passing, but the memories of her home could still be painful for him.
Rowan had tried calling in the afternoon—their normal time to chat—but when Gram didn’t pick up, he figured she was simply out and about. He tried again later and then in the evening. That was when Rowan started to worry. They talked every day, or just about, and he started to ring her phone over and over again.
When still no answer came, he drove his bike the roughly five miles through the woods to her cottage. “Gram!” he called, opening the door. Her car was out front. “Gram! Where are you?”
Rowan wasn’t prepared to find her in the bathroom, bundled in her robe as though she were getting ready for the day, laid out on the floor. “Gram!” Her body was stiff as he rolled her, blood on her face, the wall, and pooling on the floor. “No, no, no…”
The healing spells fizzled as he tried to cast them, partly due to his own incompetence, while the rest was because of his shaking hands and hot tears blinding his vision. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, fumbling for his phone and dialing blindly.
Caleb had been on the other end of the line. He honestly couldn’t even remember anything he said, but it was enough to get Caleb on his way to the cottage. Rowan had called Frey next, who had the sense to contact the police and medics to meet them out in the Sacred Timber.
Rowan’s mind must have wandered for a while, because the next thing he knew, Frey was patting his leg. “You’re all done.”
The puncture wounds were all neatly stitched up. The flesh was still red and slightly swollen with irritation, but it already looked better. Frey was wrapping it loosely with gauze in order to keep the area clean.
“Stay off it as much as possible. Don’t lift anything heavy. Keep everything clean and dry,” she rattled off. “Quail should have potions for you to take home to help with healing and to keep any infection at bay.”
“Yes, yes, just finishing that now,” Quail said. He was using a ladle to pour a light blue liquid into a row of small vials. “One week should do it. We’ll see how things look after that.” He ladled a full spoon’s worth into a glass and brought it over to him. “This will start you off. I want you to take a vial every morning.”
“Thanks.” At least this one was sweet, with a cooling peppermint aftertaste.
“Alright, dear,” Frey said, rubbing the side of his head affectionately, “as much as I want to keep you here and go over every little detail of last night, you need to go back home and sleep.” She leaned in, pressing a kiss to his temple. “I should scold you for driving yourself out here in this condition at all.”
“I was careful,” Rowan said, not needing for her to know about Shaw. He pulled his pants back on and wiggled into his shoes.
Quail had already put the vials into his satchel and held it out to him. “Sleep sounds perfect. Just as well all classes were canceled today.”
“Well, with three of our teachers worse for wear…” Frey reasoned. She gave Rowan a hug and another kiss. “You go on, dear. I’ve got to talk with Quail yet.”
He nodded, thanking them both again, before leaving.
Halfway down the hall, a door opened and Tate stepped out. “Rowan,” he greeted, his hair going in every direction, clothes that he wore the day before rumpled. “Everything good?”
“Still in one piece. You?” Rowan noticed a slight mark left on Tate’s neck from Badger’s strangling vine spell.
Tate hummed, looking half asleep himself. “Crashed with Jorah last night.”
“You headin’ home?”
Tate raised a shoulder, but then asked, “You want to grab breakfast?”
“I think it’s lunch now,” Rowan pointed out, his lips twisting upward a moment. “Sure, why not?” They were both beat, but it would likely do them some good, and Rowan could stand to have the company.
Outside of Temperance Hall, it appeared Ieus was waiting for them—or Rowan, more like. “I’ll wait for you,” Tate offered.
“Rain check?” Rowan asked instead.
Tate gave him a warm smile, leaning against him a moment and resting their heads together, before heading off.
“Nice to see the two of you getting along so well,” Ieus commented.
Rowan shrugged. There weren’t all that many mages in the Guild that were in their age group, and Tate was one of the few who had never treated Rowan like a freak of nature. Granted, they had become closer in the last couple years, since Rowan had been making a conscious effort to allow more people in.
Without waiting for a reply, Ieus looked him over. “Go get some rest.”
“No lecture?” Rowan asked.
“Later. Don’t worry; I’ll be sure to prepare something.”
“Wonderful.”
They shared a half-hearted smile, and Ieus escorted him toward the bridge. “For now, I am satisfied you are in one piece and healing. The lecturing, as you so put it, on how many years you have taken off my life, can wait until you don’t look so ready to fall asleep standing up.” He paused in order to pull Rowan into a hug, rubbing his back. “Well done out there, my boy,” Ieus murmured.
That choked Rowan up. His fingers curled around Ieus’s shoulders. It wasn’t that Ieus was ever light on the praise—he gave it when it was due—but all of it was too much at once. If Jorah appeared and started singing his praises next, Rowan was going to spontaneously combust.
“I’ll see you later” was all Rowan could manage.
He made it back to the parking lot in a daze—a mixture of the lingering pain and the urge to sleep. Even if he had his bike, it probably wasn’t safe for him to drive. He could call Caleb in a heartbeat—he would be home, working on some website design or other for a client—and crash on his couch, but there would be too many questions and Rowan wasn’t willing to get into any of them at present.
The only other option Rowan could figure was going to his shop. He wasn’t meant to open today, but he could always lay out a few blankets and take a nap between the shelves. He already had his phone out, ready to call for a cab, when the thought hit him.
“Badger.” His shop was the last place he wanted to be. It didn’t matter that Badger was dead. It may have been safe, but he didn’t want to face those memories right now.
Rowan groaned. What am I gonna do now? He sat on the curb, leaning back against one of the brick columns of the archway.
He took a deep breath. If he was being honest, he wanted to go home. So he dialed the one person he had left to count on—despite the fact he felt extremely selfish doing it.
“Ro? Everything okay?”
“Can you take me home?” Rowan asked. “I just… I really want to go home.”
Shaw must have heard the weariness in his voice. “Yeah, I’ll head out right now.”
“As long as you’re not gonna get in trouble.”
“No, no, actually there’s been a weird bug going around, and I did walk in looking less than stellar.”
Rowan managed the semblance of a laugh. “See you soon then.”
“Be right there.”
“Just don’t get me sick,” Rowan mused.
Turned out, more than anything, what Rowan truly needed was someone else to be there. Shaw never complained. He stayed with Rowan the remainder of the day while he drifted in and out of sleep, missing entire chunks of movies.
Shaw’s energy was a calming balm, allowing him to rest while they curled up together on t
he couch. Late in the evening, when Rowan was once again drifting off, he was fairly certain he sent back all the affection he could muster, what he could only describe as love.
Chapter Fourteen
ROWAN SMOOTHED OUT his light-blue robes, the traditional mage apparel appropriate for all formal ceremonies within the Everstrand Guild. The last time Rowan had worn them was when he obtained his second masters. He knew other mages that practically lived in the things, but it wasn’t for him. He was well past being an apprentice or a “college mage” as the journeymen tended to be called.
“Relax, would you?”
Rowan attempted a smile as he looked over at Caleb.
Caleb grabbed his arm, giving it a little shake. “You’ll be fine.”
Rowan let out a nervous laugh. “Not so sure about that.” Caleb raised a brow and Rowan knocked their shoulders together.
“Want me to stay?” Caleb offered.
“Go ahead and grab a seat.”
Caleb nodded, slapping his shoulder. “Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Rowan murmured, watching Caleb enter the Hall of Enlightenment.
Rowan had received a phone call from Ieus the previous day, ordering him to be there. Apparently, he was to be presented with a special commendation from the Mages Guild for his actions against Badger. No doubt the whole of the Guild would be filling up the rotunda, along with any of the general public who had read the announcement.
“Rowan.” Tate walked up, dressed in his guard uniform. “Looks like you finally got some sleep.”
Rowan chuckled. “You too.” It may have merely been about forty-eight hours since they killed Badger, but it sure seemed like a lot longer than that. “How’s your neck?”
Tate pulled his collar aside to show the barely there bruising. “I’ll survive. Think it’s you we should be worried about.” He nodded to Rowan’s bandaged hand pointedly.
Rowan sent him a look. “I’ve got enough people fussing over me, thank you very much.”
The door to the Hall opened. “Ah, there you are,” Gabriella, one of their other guards, said. “They’re ready for you.”
Rowan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Alright.”
Sure enough, it was a rather full house. He caught sight of Caleb down in one of the first few rows, giving him an encouraging grin and a double thumbs-up. Rowan nodded at him, proceeding to the middle of the ring. His gait was slow and stiff, trying not to show his limp. His gaze was fixed to the raised panel where the Masters Board sat.
“This session will come to order,” Ieus announced and the chatter of the crowd died down. “We’ve gathered here today for a special purpose. Most here know Rowan. Our youngest mage to ever obtain a masters, let alone two. Well, Rowan has once again accomplished an amazing feat that we are here to honor.”
Looking down at the arena floor, Rowan felt a blush creep up his face.
“Rowan has shown bravery in the face of incredible danger and insurmountable odds. He put his own life at risk to save several fellow mages in peril.”
Because of the public form of these meetings, Ieus could not speak in detail for fear of rebuke from the Inquisition, but many of the mages knew the truth—or at least part of it. Even Caleb didn’t know what was going on. Rowan had written it off as no big deal, just a group of mages who had gotten themselves caught off guard in the Sacred Timber.
Ieus looked down at him. “Rowan, for your acts of valor, we of the Everstrand Mages Guild thank you. But we wish to do more than that. Because of your display of skill and power in the School of Spirit, particularly with the use of spirit walking and blood magic, we of the Masters Board are proud to declare you a Master of Spirit.”
Rowan’s jaw fell. This can’t be happening…
“Which means, Rowan, you are now officially a high master mage.”
Rowan felt himself start to shake. “I… I can’t…” Tears flowed over and he didn’t bother to stop them. He had never expected anything like this.
Ieus gestured for the crowd to settle, apparently not done. “It has also been decided that from this day hence, Rowan is to be the newest member of the Masters Board.”
The crowd erupted once again, but to Rowan, it all seemed far away. His legs felt weak and he could do nothing more than stand there in complete shock.
For a mage to pass a masters exam, they simply had to have a majority favor of the board members present at the time of testing. To add a new member, however, required a unanimous decision by all the board. In that, they had chosen Rowan!
In his daze, he missed the rest of the Masters Board coming down into the ring. Ieus pulled him into a hug, and Rowan buried his face against his shoulder. “Congratulations, son. You’ve made us all proud.”
“Rowan.” Frey smiled up at him, stealing a hug of her own.
Sacha was next, smiling just as brightly. “I look forward to working with you.”
“Welcome aboard, kiddo!” Quail congratulated him cheerfully, thumping his back with enthusiasm.
Jorah genuinely softened a bit, the hint of a smile on his face as he held out his hand. “Congratulations, Rowan. It will be good to have you.”
“Ro!” He turned around in time to see Caleb barreling at him. As he ran into him, Rowan grunted, looking over Caleb’s shoulder to where Tate shrugged. The little smirk on Tate’s face said he hadn’t even bothered to attempt stopping Caleb from coming out into the ring.
Of course, that meant Rowan was able to spot another familiar face. Shaw stood in the tunnel entrance to the rotunda, leaning against the wall and smirking. Rowan felt his face heat again, returning Caleb’s embrace. When he had called Shaw to tell him about getting an award, Rowan honestly hadn’t expected him to show since Shaw needed to be at work for once. He was rather glad to be wrong.
“This was all quite last minute,” Frey spoke up apologetically, “so I’m afraid there’s no grand celebration planned. However, we most certainly want to organize a proper feast.”
“We’ll let you know the details,” Ieus said. “For now—” He cut himself off, looking past Rowan to where Shaw was standing. “An inquisitor,” he observed quietly. “Perhaps we were not quite so lucky with staying off the radar.”
Rowan wasn’t about to admit to knowing him. It would involve too many questions. Therefore, he remained silent when Ieus motioned Tate to bring Shaw forward.
“Inquisitor,” Ieus greeted diplomatically. “Was there something you required?”
Shaw glanced at Rowan before replying, “Nothing at all Master Ieus.” If he was surprised Shaw knew his identity, he didn’t show it. “We naturally received the announcement at the temple, and I decided to come observe the proceedings. Though, I must say, I had not expected to see anyone be made a high master, let alone join the board.” He turned to Rowan, attempting to hide his slight smile. “Congratulations, Master Rowan.”
Rowan smiled in return. Master had a nice ring to it.
“Well, that’s kind of you to come,” Frey said, with forced politeness. “We wouldn’t want to take you from your other duties.”
Shaw waved it off. “Really, it’s no trouble. Frankly, I’ve hoped to build better relations with the Mages Guild, but being a newcomer in these parts, it seems my voice falls rather flat with the other ranking members of the Order.”
Ieus and Frey didn’t bother to hide their surprise. In truth, it was an unusual stance for any in the Inquisition to take, let alone an inquisitor.
“Well, I won’t take up any more of your time,” Shaw continued. “Congratulations, again.”
As Shaw made his way out, Quail was the one to comment, “Well that was strange.”
“Do you suppose they know anything?” Jorah questioned.
Ieus meaningfully tilted his head in Caleb’s direction. “We’ll talk about it later.” To Rowan he said, “Why don’t you get out of here? Go celebrate with your friends. Frey or I will call you about all the details of your new appointment later.”
Row
an was still a bit overwhelmed by everything, so all he did was thank them, and allow Caleb to drag him off. Tate at least managed to get a quick “Congrats” in before they escaped the throngs of people, who no doubt wanted to congratulate Rowan as well.
“This is so awesome, dude!” Caleb barked as they made their way across the courtyard. “I can’t believe it!” He shoved Rowan playfully. “Not a big deal, he says. Yeah, right. You sure as hell impressed someone.”
“Yeah,” Rowan said dejectedly. He had to tell Caleb the truth. Knowing how he would react, Rowan wasn’t exactly looking forward to it.
“What’s wrong?” Caleb lowered his brows. “You should be happy.”
“I am. Just—” His phone chimed with a text message. “Shaw wants us to meet at the shop.”
“Great.” Caleb brightened a little. “We can all go out to celebrate!”
Rowan couldn’t return the same enthusiasm, but Caleb didn’t seem to notice.
They took Caleb’s Jeep the short drive across town to the street mall. There wasn’t any sign of Shaw, so Rowan let them inside to wait for him. Not that it took long.
When the door opened, Shaw was standing there beaming at him. “You’re amazing,” he declared, meeting Rowan halfway across the room and wrapping him in his arms. Shaw kissed him deeply, pouring in enough passion that the emotions trickled off Shaw and onto Rowan. Shivering at the sensation, Rowan laid his hand on Shaw’s neck as he deepened the kiss.
Caleb wolf whistled, breaking them apart. Rowan shook his head, smiling all the same, and Shaw chuckled.
“I’m serious, you know,” Shaw continued, holding Rowan’s face in both hands. “Congratulations. You did it!”
“I’m glad you were there.” Rowan couldn’t rightfully explain how good it felt to know that both Shaw and Caleb had been there to see him reach his goal of high master.
“Quite the nice surprise.” Shaw gave him another quick, soft kiss. “You deserved it.”
“This is insane, Ro,” Caleb practically squealed. He was perched up on the counter, kicking his feet. “I can’t believe it.”
Rowan attempted to smile, but it fell short.