by Andrew Wood
Melia's lessons had gone well, although she did not like the theory side of things. Her tutor wanted her to write and explain the purposes of all the human anatomy. Currently her healing abilities could cater for bruising, burns and maybe a fractured bone; however, with knowledge of how organs worked, and more importantly how they could be repaired, she had been told she had the potential to be a very powerful healer. Firstly though, she needed to work hard on understanding how the different parts functioned.
In Weltham, capital of Bosaria, Gorius was stood over a large map laid out over the top of a table. Now he knew the whereabouts of the Kothian magicians, he needed to deal with them. Knowing what he wanted to do, and actually achieving it were quite different, although, now he had control of a young man's mind in amongst his enemy, things were certainly looking up.
Gorius had been surprised to learn that the Kothian king had also taken up residence in the place known as Pitford. Getting the young magician close to the opposing monarch might however prove a little problematic. For now, he needed to continue building the strength of his own magical forces, as these it would appear, were as yet, no match for those opposing him. With the king only having recently left the Kothian capital, and for him to have appeared so soon, so far away, must have meant using magicians of great power. Although the young man, who's mind he was now controlling was not the person he had wanted, he had been fortunate in finding one of reasonable power.
His own magical forces were still relatively small scale, although their numbers were swelling. Having the old lady controlling the creature known as an Aclat, was still his largest and greatest asset. Making use of her special skills and those of the beast would need to be given particular thought. From his link with the young man at Pitford, he had also confirmed that his more regular forces had been defeated. Apparently, the elementalist he sought was being assisted by an elderly man, and this man was evidently quite powerful in his own right. If the thoughts transferred to him via the ring were to be believed, the pair of them had merely brushed his small army aside. This was obviously something he would have to eliminate, before committing any large-scale force that direction.
It was late afternoon, before Maxim, Zack and Darion teleported up to the outer wall with the last of the royal family with them. Having earlier transported Frena and Anden, only Queen Tiana had remained with the soldiers and staff from the palace that had chosen to follow the King. Those that were left would now have to make the journey south by more traditional means, and would ultimately mean them being some several days or more behind the man with whom they had sided.
Ramon, the seer, drew the shutters closed in his study and locked the door, before sitting himself down on his chair. He closed his eyes and calmed his breathing, and once satisfied he was in a clear frame of mind, free from the burdens of the outside world, he directed his thoughts to Maxim. Any visions about the young man were becoming vaguer by the day. Some occasions he could not even detect anything to do with him, and he was beginning to think there was a link. He had deduced, whether rightly or wrongly, that the more powerful Maxim became, the harder it was for him to see any future about him.
He opened his eyes quickly, as if waking from a bad dream, shuddering from the images in his mind. Although he could not interpret exactly what they meant he was certain of one element; danger was close. He was unsure as to whether that danger was already in Pitford, or just nearing it, and he needed to know more.
After standing, and walking around his study, stopping off part way round for a swift glass of brandy, he resumed his seated position. Knowing he could not follow Maxim's path, he decided instead to try to detect that of King Oran. Ramon worked on the principle that if it were known the monarch had travelled there, he would likely be a key target.
After his short respite, he found a possible future for the king. He was looking in a room, one that he recognised as one in Pitford. He saw five bodies slumped on the floor of the room, four of which were guards. The images had no faces but all wore the uniforms depicting them as such. The fifth body was finely dressed and this time he saw the face, and it was that of Oran who was lying on the floor, his arms spread out. Ramon opened his eyes once more, puffing his cheeks and taking several deep breaths; these types of visions were always the worst.
He felt he had the energy for one more as he needed his mind to visualise the future once again; this time however, not so far forward. He had to attempt and detect the danger he sensed was coming. With heavy breathing and a sweat appearing on his brow, he saw what he wanted; a dark figure moved about the keep. He focused on the shape, trying to see a face or some clue as to the identity. At first, it was blank, but then features appeared, although it looked strange, as if more than one person's face was being shown at a time. He felt parts of it he should recognise, but with the images overlapping, he could not quite put his finger on it. After focusing on this for a few seconds, he was left with no option but to give up.
His eyes opened slowly, as he felt fatigued by his ordeal. Keeping track of Maxim was so much of a chore; he was starting to doubt the worth of trying. After standing a little precariously, he re-opened the shutters on his windows, where he stood staring blankly out of the casement, summarising what he had seen. Maxim's path was too difficult to see, that much he was already aware of. The king's life was in danger, and if there were to be four dead soldiers with him when he died, meant there were many attackers, with only one other alternative. If it were only a single assailant, only one type of person would be able to dispatch five men with such ease, and that was a magician. Moreover, if that were the case, it was quite likely they were already in Pitford. Ramon turned and headed for the door, this was a future, but not the one he was willing to let be. His visions were only possible ones, and with enough intervention could be altered. He decided to discuss what he knew with his most trusted friends, before telling the king what might lay ahead for him.
Chapter 4.
After evening mealtime, Melia wandered the corridor with her new friends. The three chatted idly as the group slowly walked towards the boy's rooms. A tall figure walked purposely past them going the opposite direction, "Hi Kurtis," Kaitlin said. Her greeting was ignored, as the young magician's mind appeared focussed elsewhere. At first Kaitlin was going to say something, but her attention was soon drawn back to her friends.
Kaitlin was just turned sixteen, and slim with short dark hair, and despite the fact she looked more like a boy than a girl, Melia had taken an instant like to her. Despite being younger than her, Kaitlin was certainly a very forward girl, with a strong interest in the opposite sex. Many of the conversations the three had were usually about boys; this normally consisted about deciding who was good looking, who was the most charming and the like.
The third member of the group was Lisandra. The curvaceous, slim girl, with long black hair had met the boys before. On the previous visit, she had been quite taken by the lad known as Mikel, although she confessed to the others, she would not mind getting to know the one known as Zack a little better. Kaitlin had not met any of them before, although news of their deeds was now commonplace. She had told Melia that the boy called Maxim sounded particularly tempting. On first hearing that, Melia had considered not taking her newer friend along, as her own feelings for Zack and Maxim were somewhat mixed, still feeling an attraction to both.
Maxim was sat up on his bed talking to Zack, whilst Mikel was stood beside the table trying to wrestle a large bone from Shadow's jaws in a playful manner. As big and strong as Mikel was, it was clearly one battle he was not going to win. Their antics were interrupted by a knock at the door, and as the one standing, Mikel walked over to answer it, much to the disappointment of his wolf. The creature, realising he was not getting any more attention, dropped the bone they had been fighting for, and went and lay down on his master's bed.
Mikel's face lit up when he saw who was at the door, suddenly standing up straight as he vainly attempted tidying his hair. Lisandr
a was stood beside a happy looking Melia, and a girl he did not know stood behind them. The girl at the back barged her way in, "Hello," she said shoving past both girls and Mikel, "I am Kaitlin," she announced scanning the others in the room before her. She quickly put names to the faces, recognising each as they had been described to her, and trying to decide which to make a move on.
Shadow lifted his head just a little at the visitors, and although he placed it back down, the wolf kept an eye on them as they entered. Mikel's eyes could not help but look at the more curvy parts of Lisandra, something the young girl did not miss. She cast him a cheeky smile as he closed the door behind her. She went straight over to Shadow, and sat down beside him, although a few feet away, "Hello Shadow," she said.
"Well?" Mikel said to the wolf as he positioned himself down between them. The massive dire wolf stood and leaned over his master, and licked Lisandra's hand.
Melia sat down opposite the other two boys. Zack was his usual well-dressed smart self, his brown curly hair showing off his warm smiling face and brown eyes. Although not the best-looking young man she had ever seen, he was still quite a handsome one. Sat beside him was the other young man that had caused her so much confusion. Maxim was not particularly pretty to the eye, and although his ginger hair and bright blue eyes did have a certain appeal, she could not comprehend as to why there was even any attraction to him.
After all, she thought, Maxim was merely a penniless orphan, whilst Zack on the other hand was a member of the royal family no less. Her attraction to Mikel had not lasted long, once she had realised he could at times be a bit of an idiot. Although to be fair, he had been much better since getting to know the other boys.
Melia watched on as Kaitlin started flirting outrageously with Zack. She was not sure how she felt. Did she feel jealous? She did not have to worry however, because it was quickly clear, Zack was either not interested or just too naive to pick up on the signals being sent his way. The young royal instead seemed more interested in the boy sat beside him, focusing on him by telling the girls how Maxim had saved the royal family.
Of course, the rumours had spread through Pitford, and probably beyond, of the young elementalist who had merely brushed aside an entire enemy army. Even Maxim afforded a smile when he realised just how those rumours had veered from the truth. They made him out to be some kind of hero, when in fact he had done little more than act as a power source and throw a few wayward fireballs. He did feel his control had been a little better when he had, although it had still taken Zack to calm him down sufficiently.
After realising her words were not enough, Kaitlin decided on a new approach. She stood, before re-sitting very closely beside Zack. He looked at her as she did, and gave her a little smile, although he was clearly not sure about her reasons for doing so. She then proceeded to brush right up against him as Melia watched on, regretting bringing her latest friend with her. Her flirtatious nature was clearly cringe-worthy, and not at all subtle as her own was.
Their talking was interrupted by a further knock at the door, and Zack used the chance to escape from Kaitlin to answer it. He was surprised to see Danton stood there before him, and duly greeted the man that had bought them to Pitford, before gesturing a hand for him to enter. The girls suddenly looked far less comfortable now one of the more senior figures of the place had entered the room. Either that or the thought they might well be in trouble for being in the boy's room, when it was prohibited.
Danton looked about at the faces before him, he quickly realised his arrival had caused a little unease. "Don't worry," he said with a smile, "I'll pretend I have not seen you here," he added. He explained he had only called to see if Maxim and Zack had recovered from teleporting the other royals. Maxim looked up, "I am fine, thank you Danton for asking." Danton gave him a smile, such a burden he thought for one who had already suffered so much in his short life. Satisfied both were well he left them alone, although not without a warning for them to behave, and for the girls to make sure they returned to their own rooms before lights out.
After he had gone, Zack sat down beside Maxim. Melia watched him carefully, and wondered how strange it was, that two boys from so different lifestyles could become such close friends in such a short time. Here she was, strangely attracted to both of them, despite them both being younger than herself. She had always found older boys, young men, far more appealing than immature youths, and yet she felt drawn to them nonetheless. The problem was that she did not know why or which one.
Lisandra giggled inanely at pretty much everything Mikel said, and even Shadow seemed to be embarrassed by it all as the wolf decided to move and sit on the floor instead. Maxim happened to mention Kurtis not showing up to help with his reading and writing, though Zack thought that maybe he had been told not to attend because of them fetching his cousins and aunt back. Kaitlin interrupted them, "I saw Kurtis on our way here. He just walked straight by without even saying hello."
"Hmm, perhaps he needed to be elsewhere," Maxim replied, noticing the girl was edging nearer to Zack again.
As the girls prepared to leave, it was clear Kaitlin was disappointed; Lisandra on the other hand was smiling from ear to ear. Mikel watched as she stood waving from the doorway, unexpectedly she darted back towards him. He was completely taken aback when she leaned down and planted a small kiss on his cheek, before running back to the door. He could hear the girls giggling amongst themselves as they disappeared from sight as he could still feel the touch of her lips on his face.
"I'll never wash this cheek again," he sighed rather pathetically.
"You don't wash it very often anyway," Zack replied, causing Maxim to chuckle at the remark.
"Pfft you're just jealous that I got a kiss and you did not," Mikel replied still lost in the moment.
Both Zack and Mikel looked over to their friend, shaking their heads in disbelief.
They both roared with laughter as Shadow decided to walk over and lick the very same spot Lisandra had just kissed on Mikel's cheek.
"Oh thank you very much," he said. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side," he added as the wolf merely lay down beside him.
Not caring about the late hour, Kurtis Raston wandered the corridors of Pitford. Despite having resided here for the past few years, the young man had discovered there were still a few areas he had never been before. Naturally, these places were out of bounds for mere students like him. Now however, it did not seem wrong to venture into them, as he felt the need to explore and discover every inch of the keep and castle area, although he did not really understand why.
Questions had appeared in his mind that he felt obliged to find answers to. If the king was in Pitford, where was he? Moreover, what did he plan to do? After venturing through a door that had always been off-limits to somebody like him, he found himself in a short corridor. Four soldiers, all with swords hanging from their waists, stood guard in the flickering light given off by the lamps on the walls. Just ahead, he could see two more flanked either side of a door at the end. "You're not allowed in here Sonny," he heard a deep voice say. He realised one of the nearer guards was stepping his direction. Kurtis nodded his head, apologised and retreated back the way he had entered, happy in the knowledge that at least one of his questions had been answered.
The following morning after breakfast, Ramon was sat in his study. He had placed several chairs out in an arc around his desk, and sat in them were those he felt he could trust most; amongst them was Danton, who sat at one end. He had just told them every detail of his vision about the king being in danger and the culprit likely to be from amongst their own number. The first part he had already told some of them, after he had first seen the images. The news that a person living in the keep would or could, commit regicide right under their noses was almost too preposterous to be believed. If it had been any person other than Ramon telling them, they would have most definitely thought the events unlikely.
Ramon looked at the faces sat before him, and he realised h
e could see fear where once there had been hope. The peaceful haven the magicians had found at Pitford was no more. War was spreading across the land, and with the King now basing himself there, it was coming to them. News the seer had seen the king and his guards all dead had certainly given them cause for great concern.
An elderly lady bought in a tray, upon which was a pot of coffee. Danton looked and cast the old lady a smile. He had not seen Aileen for a while, and he made a mental note to pop over to check that she and her husband Stanton had settled in. He watched her pour the coffee from the pot into small cups, before the tray was then offered around to those in the room, with Ramon naturally being served first. As she moved on to Danton, he thanked her, before pouring a little cream from a small jug into his cup. She gave him a wink and a grin, and he thought how happy she looked.
Once Aileen had left the room, Ramon hoped serving drinks would ease the tension in the room. After taking a sip from his cup and placing it back down on the small saucer, he told them they needed to keep a watchful eye on everybody. The person they sought was amongst them, of that he was certain. As to when the events would occur he was not so sure, although he was quite happy they at least had a few days grace.