Welcome To The Age of Magic

by C M Raymond et al.

  When the man released him, he staggered away and looked up to see a weathered Alastar, smiling back at him.

  He was about to return the smile when he noticed the army of remnant that had formed a circle around them.

  “We did it,” Alastar said, stumbling to one knee. He pushed himself back up, glanced around and said, “Now, we’d better run like hell.”

  All Donnon could do was mutter, “What?”

  “They… they have Kia.”

  At those words, a new power rose within Donnon as he remembered his little girl’s face as she had healed earlier that day. All concept of time had faded, judging by the position of the sun in the sky, it couldn’t have been that long ago.

  The closest remnant paused long enough for them to see skin that looked to be rotting, and this one was taller than the rest, eyes dark. He sniffed, then snarled. “Let’s kill these bastards,” it said in a gravelly voice, then charged.

  “NOW!” Alastar shouted, and tossed Donnon his sword.

  Donnon caught it and tested its balance before spinning and chopping off the top half of the remnant’s head. It went spinning through the air and slapped another in the face.

  Then, all hell broke loose.

  Luckily for Donnon, he was full of energy, and his mind was at its peak—he saw that the fallen remnant wore a crude metal breastplate, so he quickly struck the sword against it and watched with excitement as a spark formed. He did it again, and this time pulled from his internal energy, unleashing the potential of that spark so that it shot forward, creating a path through the remnant.

  “On me!” he called back to Alastar, and together the two darted past the burnt grass and flaming bodies of remnant that had been caught in the fire.

  He was almost past the small army before they even began to realize what was happening, but when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw that Alastar was lagging.

  Dammit, he must’ve used his magic to heal him, which meant he couldn’t very well be left behind.

  Giving it his all, Donnon began to cut down remnant left and right. One leaped over the others and almost had him, but Donnon thrust the sword up and skewered it in the air, continuing the trajectory so that the remnant flew off of the sword and knocked over two more.

  “I can manage,” Alastar said, holding his hand up to cast a ball of light as he caught up. “Close your eyes.”

  Even behind closed eyelids, the flash was bright. When Donnon looked again, the nearby remnant were blinking. One swung wildly, taking down another at its side.

  Alastar wrapped an arm around Donnon and said, “Get me to safety, and we’ll find your daughter and my sister.”

  “Deal,” Donnon replied, and the two took off in a staggering run.

  The remnant were fast, but each time one caught up with them, Donnon would drop it with a swipe of the sword. One tried to throw its spear, but Alastar simply caught it, yelled a “Thank you!” and used it to help him balance like a walking stick as he ran.

  They reached a river with a small rope bridge, which Donnon cut free so that the remnant trying to cross over were swept away by the river rapids. More tried to follow, but the same thing happened to them.

  Alastar stood, catching his breath when finally, one of the remnant got smart and used his spear to stabilize himself as he crossed the river. A quick thrust in the chest with Alastar’s spear sent him back into the water, but the two decided to keep on the move, in case others saw what happened and realized how to cross as well, in larger numbers this time.

  Alastar and Donnon crossed a swamp and several rocky hillsides before finding themselves on a plateau Donnon recognized as being on the border between his clan’s land and that of the neighboring one.

  The trail of remnant was long gone, and the two were able to catch a breath of air. Donnon knelt at the nearby stream and cupped his hands to bring water to his mouth, eyes never leaving their surroundings.

  After he had his fill, he sat back and pointed to the reflection of the now setting sun, glimmering off of a lake not too far off.

  “We’ll find Clan Lockmire there,” Donnon said, pointing to the far side of the lake, where plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the point where a grouping of trees was nestled between the hills.

  “Can we rely on their assistance?”

  Donnon shook his head. “Not likely. They’re a clan of water mages, and not exactly friendly with my type.”

  “I’d always assumed the clans fought together in this war.” Alastar breathed deep, and Donnon was pleased to feel a gentle warmth come over him a moment later, regenerating his muscles.

  “For most of us, there is no war. There’s the paladins, murdering our people and those of the other clans. Some would rise against your type—”

  “Not my type,” Alastar interrupted with a shake of his head. “Not anymore.”

  “Aye, good. It’s about damn time.” Donnon shot him a grin. “Their type then. Others hope to wait it out, hope the king of the south will unite these lands as it’s rumored this place once was.”

  “You believe those stories?” Alastar scoffed. “Half of what you hear can’t be believed. These lands are full of ghosts, they say, even now. But that’s at least explainable, with the underground tunnels and buried cities, and people like Estair and theirs. But the stories of old? Some say there were vampires, werewolves… even visitors from the stars.”

  “Is that so hard to believe, considering?”

  “You mean because we do magic… and aye, I have come to the realization that it’s magic. If this is possible, why not the next step? Why not vampires and all that?” Alastar shook his head, staring off at the plumes of smoke. “Sure, and then dragons, next. Maybe we’ll meet ourselves one of them someday, and it’ll be sitting on a pile of treasure.”

  Donnon laughed. “Aye, and then we could hire ourselves bands of mercenaries to keep it from the Storm Raiders.”

  “Or just keep the dragon as a guard-dog instead of killing it.”

  “You’re mad if you think anyone can be friends with a dragon.” Donnon laughed.

  Alastar turned to him and frowned. “I was only suggesting a hypothetical idea, yet here you are sounding like you believe in those, too.”

  “When you live in the highlands, you start to believe anything is possible.”

  “Like a fairy of light coming to our aid.” Alastar stood, ready to carry on, and Donnon joined him.

  “You learn to do the magic without the fairy,” Donnon said. “Or spirits, or whatever. Even hand gestures and other means of summoning a spell, it’s all in our minds, really. Some would say I’m crazy for thinking so, but I’m certain.”

  As they walked down the hill and toward the lake, Donnon glanced up at the sun, wondering how much time they had left.

  “I hope you have a plan for following them,” he said.

  “We’re connected, just like me and you are.”

  Donnon shook his head. “I assure you, the two of us aren’t connected in any way.”

  “The fairy, she took me right to you,” Alastar explained. “I have a theory that she’ll go to whomever I have a connection with. She led me right to you, and will lead us to Rhona and Kia when I’ve replenished enough energy to summon her.”

  “Good,” Donnon said, leading the way down through the craggy rocks he’d loved to climb as a child, but now served merely as a hindrance. “They might give us food and offer shelter, but I’d just as soon have Rhona and my Kia back before nightfall. Who knows what those monsters are doing to them.”

  “We’ll have them,” Alastar promised. “And when we do, those monsters will suffer for this day.”

  A glance at the former paladin was enough to see that he meant business. His sister was, it would seem, as important to him as Kia was to Donnon. That gave him hope, knowing that the man beside him would fight to his last breath to keep those two safe, just as he would.

  And with Alastar’s newfound understanding of his magic, there wasn’t anyon
e Donnon would rather have at his side in a fight such as this.

  18

  Rhona blinked, looking around to clear the haze from her mind. She had closed her eyes to rest so that her magic would return faster, but must have drifted off to sleep.

  Inches from her face, the little girl stared at her with wide, hazelnut-brown eyes.

  “Kia… how long was I out?”

  The girl leaned back and shrugged. “I can’t really tell in here. A minute’s like an hour.”

  “True enough,” Rhona admitted as she stretched and stood. She focused and felt her eyes cloud over with black, then smiled. “We’re ready.”

  “How does this work?”

  “I haven’t the slightest idea.” Rhona looked around at the purple glow of the walls, wondering where it was coming from, then went to the door to see if she could see light through the cracks. Nothing. “My best bet? See if we can become shadows and get to the other side of that door, then figure it out from there.”

  “Won’t we get, I don’t know, squished?” Kia knelt and looked at the lack of a crack at the base of the door. “Or worse, what if we’re trapped there forever as shadows?”

  “You ask smart questions for a kid.”

  “When you grow up in the clans, you gotta grow up fast.”

  “Nowadays, I imagine that saying holds true for much of the world,” Rhona said as she held out her hand for Kia. “Come. If we don’t try, we’ll never know.”

  “Kid here,” Kia protested, “not exactly worrying about life regrets and what ifs.”

  “Some kids do,” Rhona replied. “I know I did. How about a longing to see your dad?”

  Kia frowned and took her hand. “That was a mean way to get me to go along with this. I don’t think I like you very much.”

  “As long as you like me enough to want to get out of here with me, we’re good.”

  It took a moment, but then Kia nodded.

  “Great,” Rhona said with a laugh. “Just, hold on.”

  She felt the room darken as her eyes became a deeper black, and then imagined the two of them as shadows moving for the cracks in the door.

  Only, nothing happened.

  Kia cleared her throat.

  “I’m… trying,” Rhona protested, and then focused even more.

  “Maybe you still don’t have the energy?”

  Rhona shook her hand and let the girl’s hand drop. This wasn’t making sense. She tried to feel the shadows around her, to manipulate them, but nothing worked. In the short amount of time during which she had been able to work with these powers, nothing like this had happened before.

  The purple glow, she realized, must be related somehow. Something was blocking her powers.

  “Let’s just hope that your dad and my brother come looking for us soon,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. She had been so certain she was going to get them out of there.

  “You’re giving up?” Kia turned on her, furious. “You blink a few times and then call it quits? Damn, I had a pet cat once that tried harder than you.”

  A curse coming from the lips of a child somewhat startled Rhona. Childhood in the clan was certainly different than growing up around the Order.

  “I’m all for ideas,” Rhona said. “Right now, faced with powerful magicians and some sort of spell or something that’s blocking my powers, I have to admit that it doesn’t look hopeful.”

  “Blocking your powers,” Kia said with a smirk. “Your, being the key word there.”

  “I don’t exactly see any flames around here for you to manipulate.”

  “Yeah, see, smart for a kid again.” Kia smiled an arrogant smile that said she knew something Rhona didn’t.

  “Might as well spit it out then. What is it?”

  “Well, I got to thinking while you were passed out. Thing is, your magic doesn’t work like ours. I mean, sure, there are shadows everywhere. Even when the sun is at its brightest, shadows are strong. But I think it’s not that—I think you’re able to pull on your magic without the presence of your skill-base. Meaning…” She held out a hand, and suddenly a ball of flame was flickering in its palm. Her eyes went from the flame to Rhona, and creased into a wide smile.

  “You practiced that while I was asleep, didn’t you?” Rhona asked, voice hushed in awe.

  “A little bit. Too rehearsed?”

  Rhona ran a hand through her strawberry hair, considering this. “If you can do it, couldn’t everyone?”

  Kia shrugged. “Maybe, sure. But maybe it’s one of those things about believing, right? A nine-year-old finds it easier to believe, and therefore easier to call upon a power that is based on belief.”

  “I’m not sure if… Well, if I believe you really are nine. Are you serious with all this? I mean, who the hell taught you to think and talk like this?”

  The girl laughed. “In the clans, men are the warriors, women raised to be leaders. I’ve had tutors since I was four who ingrained in me different ways to approach problems. This, as I see it, is simply another problem to be solved.”

  “Okay, smarty-pants,” Rhona said, crossing her arms across her chest and frowning. “Go ahead, show me how you get us out of here.”

  A hint of doubt crossed Kia’s eyes, but then her smile returned, and she said, “Stand back,” before pulling back the hand with the flame still coming from it. She then pushed forward, so that a stream of flames poured forth and had the door hinges melting before their eyes.

  “Holy… Remind me to tell your dad to teach you how to be careful with this magic stuff,” Rhona whispered, then jumped as the door fell outward with a clang that echoed through the chamber beyond.

  A guard came running, but froze in his tracks at the sight of the little girl with flames coming from both hands now.

  “Wait,” Rhona said, stepping out of the room to join her. “Let me try.”

  She focused on the powers within again, and then, to her relief, the shadows around the man swayed like trees in a storm. With more confidence, she pushed. This time, the shadows moved over his eyes and mouth, and when he tried to scream, nothing came out.

  “Eww,” Kia said, glancing up at her. “That’s like, one of my worst nightmares. Can’t I just burn him to death?”

  “Um, no.” Rhona twisted her hands, and the shadows twisted around the man and then flung him up to the ceiling, where the shadows there engulfed him.

  “What happens to him next?” Kia asked.

  “I forgot how kids love to ask questions,” Rhona said, rolling her eyes. “Instead of hypothesizing, what’ya say we get out of here?”

  Kia shrugged. “I was just curious.”

  “Well, if your dad says it’s okay after we’re back with him, we can try it on you, and you can let us know where you go. Deal?”

  At that, Kia got squeamish and even lost some color. “Let’s just leave it unanswered. I can handle that.”

  “I bet you can.”

  Together, they ran down the hall in the direction the guard had come from, and then up some stairs. As they approached the top step, they heard voices and saw a flickering of light.

  Rhona held out a hand and whispered, “Careful with using our powers too quickly. We don’t want to be forced to slither out of here on our bellies due to a lack of energy.”

  The girl simply nodded, not taking her eyes off of the flickering light ahead, and then took another step. Rhona cringed, sure they would be spotted at any second, but when no shouts of alarm rang, she joined Kia. They came upon a landing with a stone floor that circled around a central area that was like a very large column with a door in it, so it was clear this was either another room or possibly a spiral staircase.

  Rhona was willing to bet the latter.

  A shadow fell across the stones from their left, so they did their best to remain silent as they ran the other way. When they reached the inner wall, they paused, and then slowly starting walking around it, aware of the fact that the voices were moving their way from behind.


  “Why don’t we just leave and deliver the woman?” a weary voice asked. “Get it over with.”

  “They say we’re waiting on the local High Shadow to arrive,” another voice replied. “If he isn’t here to make the delivery…”

  The voices hushed, too low for Rhona to make out, so she slowed.

  “Better to keep them at each other’s throats,” the first one was saying. “Eventually, they snap. Turn on each other.”

  “Keep your politics out of it, I say. Far as I’m concerned, we do our job, get paid, and then get the hell out of here.”

  Rhona paused at the creaking of a door, then heard the voices die off as the other started talking about what he’d do to a woman if he had his share of the pay, before his voice faded away completely.

  “You shouldn’t hear stuff like that,” she said to Kia.

  Kia puckered her lips and then nodded. “On one point, we finally agree.”

  “What do you say to finding out if this is our way out?” Rhona patted the wall behind her. “Get into that stairwell. Run until we see daylight.”

  “Or the moon,” Kia replied. “No windows, hard to tell which it’d be.”

  “Right, run until we see the sun or the moon.” Checking around the bend, Rhona confirmed they were clear and then said, “Now.”

  They stayed close to the wall in case anyone was around to see them, but it was unnecessary. It was also, Rhona realized as they ran, rather pointless. She had forgotten about the fact that the corrupt mystic was using his powers to somehow sense her if she used her magic. The minute they got into trouble, she would give away their position.

  Which made her wonder… why hadn't they already come for her? Suddenly, something felt very wrong.

  But for now it was run, or rely on a nine-year-old girl for their defense and escape.

  Inside they found stairs, as she had expected, and began their ascent. They came to the next level and opened the door a crack to see just another floor like the one they had come from. The two guards, or whatever they had been, seemed to have left the stairs, but that didn’t tell Rhona much. Her best bet, she figured, was to go either all the way to the top, or all the way to the bottom.