Battle Mage: Forging New Steel (Tales of Alus Book 9) (4 page)

“Apparently, the entry and exit gates are joined within the void,” Sebastian added though the others looked a bit more confused. “We were stranded in between points because the lightning interfered with the link between entrance and exit. Luckily, that meant we were halfway home. I just needed to find something that I could sense from within the void.

“I used my magic to make Bairh’loore, so I was able to use it like a lightning rod for our return.”

“But Maura took it to the wizards’ guild building,” Liam said realizing that the falcon had probably arrived somewhere near Maura, who wasn’t one of their favorite people.

“She did,” Sebastian agreed. “We landed in her research room where I took possession of Bairh’loore and found out that the king had set aside some money for me out of the loot from the black ships.”

The waitress came to take the order of those who had arrived late. By the time she had left, Mecklin changed the subject. “The king gave you a reward for defeating the black ships?”

At Sebastian’s nod, the older falcon questioned, “I wonder why. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a falcon getting a bonus for doing their job. Not that I begrudge you that; it is just strange.”

Ashleen smiled and stated, “Maura said that she thinks it is a bribe to keep Sebastian working for the corps as if he needed to do that. Sebastian seems very content with life as a falcon and learning new magic.”

Laughing at the idea, Liam replied, “I think that would result in the opposite if it happened to me. If I was paid enough to retire, but asked to stay, I might stop using my magic in the guild.”

Serrena snorted in disbelief and shook her head saying, “Yeah, right. Magic is too much a part of me to make me quit trying to learn more. I couldn’t bring myself to retire like that.”

Ashleen asked, “So you would continue to fight the emperor north of the wall, if you had the choice to live somewhere safe like one of the southern cities?”

The question made the fire wizard stop and think a moment. In the pause Sebastian stated, “I’m too young to think of retiring yet, though admittedly having a chance to spend a little time in quiet to figure out some of the spells I’ve been working on would be nice.”

Snapping his fingers, Liam nodded and agreed, “A long vacation using the money, now that is an idea.”

Frell shook her head and sounded almost as negative as Serrena when she replied, “Like the guild would let Bas rest for any length of time. They want the owl out there learning new magic for the corps.”

“He could still do that somewhere nice and sunny like Siltrene or Southpoint,” Liam stated with a smile. “Bas can practice magic anywhere and teach what he learns to other battle mages there. I’m telling you, Bas, you can lobby for better duties than riding north of the wall or manning one of the towers in the cold of winter.”

Smiling politely at his friends’ concern and ideas for his best interests, Sebastian gave his judgment, “Well, Raven Leros seems intent on having me train other mages for now. He is considering sending me to White Hall to teach.”

Serrena’s face brightened in surprise and she blurted, “You could go see your sister there!”

Other eyes looked at her trying to instill caution as they worried about Sebastian’s concerns for his sister. Like Ashleen, his little sister had been found by Sebastian and his tournament team on the verge of becoming a wilder. She had been sent off to the school for wizards, battle mages and soldiers right after the end of the Winter’s Edge tournament under the care of High Wizard Darius, who had diffused a wilder outbreak for the girl and had centuries of practice dealing with young wizards being an immortal.

With a nod, Sebastian took the worry out of the others as he said, “She’s probably still in some sort of early training to become a wizard, so even if I was there I might not be able to see her initially. If Leros decides White Hall is my new post, I guess I will have time to find out how she is doing at least.”

As the discussions continued, both those of the past and the future, plates were emptied and eventually the evening’s entertainment arrived. A blond haired young woman led four musicians to a small stage set to one side of the room. Like the castles and some inns, the Eternal Phoenix tried to keep patrons there in various ways. Unlike the others, the restaurant hoped to keep them there to make more money selling drinks and extra food as the evening lengthened.

Ashleen was his first dance and the girl was quite skilled. He remembered when he had first met the wilder during the winter at Falcon’s Keep. While he was already smitten by Yara, the corps had split them up sending him on his way west where he and Ashleen quickly hit it off. They had always been good together while dancing and some said that those who moved well as dancers were often good matches in other ways as well.

The crowd in the Eternal Phoenix was exuberant and lively. Soon the two were separated to find other dance partners. Serrena and Frell joined him for a dance or two also before Sebastian found other men vying for their attention as well.

Given a breather as the women he knew were occupied and the mage managed to avoid being caught by any other dancers, he found Mecklin standing off to the side of the room. A mug of ale was half consumed by the older man and Sebastian found a waitress to bring him a similar drink.

“So how was your time spent in the void?” the older man questioned in a different way than the general questions earlier. “Did Ashleen finally give in and throw herself at you?”

As a man he trusted to stand by his side in a fight, Sebastian still wondered if talking about such personal things fell within that realm of trust. The owl tried to remain private concerning his personal life, but Mecklin was almost like an older brother to him now. “The island was pretty peaceful. If we weren’t trapped there, it would make a nice place to take a vacation. Refusing to be trapped made us practice the spell the way those warlocks taught us. That part, the question of returning home hovering over us all the time, was the hardest for me.

“If we couldn’t have found a way home, I don’t doubt that one of us would have given in to temptation. Luckily, it only felt like a couple weeks; so we hadn’t given up ever returning home yet.

“Ashleen respects that I am tied to Yara, but she definitely made certain to show that she was available there.” Bas frowned and added, “The girl is still doing what she can short of truly forcing herself on me. She changed the separate rooms to a suite, so now we share a bathroom.”

Mecklin shook his head in disapproval and cautioned, “Yara will be here in a couple weeks or maybe a little more depending on how quickly these wizards can send their message south to New Harbor and they can catch a ride north. If you want to stay with Yara, you need to get rid of Ashleen.”

Wincing, Sebastian nodded slowly making Mecklin ask, “Unless you actually want to be with Ashleen instead?”

“And that’s where things get complicated,” the younger mage replied with a sigh. “It’s like Yara covers the part of me looking for peace. She is gentle, kind and beautiful in so many different ways; then there is Ashleen. Like her lightning, the girl is used to combat and while she seems loving there is just something that calls to the darker side of me.

“Yara has seen me in battle before, but until we fought men in Litsarin, she didn’t seem to completely connect that part of battle to me. She only wants people to be safe and healthy. I don’t think healers like her remember that the warriors we fight in the Dark One’s forces aren’t always monsters. Ashleen doesn’t have the same qualms about fighting back to win, so people have been saying that she makes more sense for being compatible with a battle mage.”

Mecklin shook his head and said, “So you are unsure of where you stand with each girl and where your heart lies. Well, you don’t have a lot of time to figure that out. If you don’t settle things with Ashleen, you’ll probably lose Yara. If you keep leading Ashleen on, eventually you’ll lose her too.

“Make a decision, boy.”

Sebastian nodded weakly.

Sebastian had given Mecklin’s words some thought, even as he was swept up to dance throughout the remainder of the evening. He danced with Ashleen again as well as other women, but the wilder seemed to try to pull him onto the dance floor as often as she could get away from the many men interested in dancing with her.

That she was a desirable young woman, the mage had no doubt; and he wouldn’t lie to himself about thinking she was beautiful. Still, Sebastian held back and he knew that was because he needed to know where he stood with Yara before daring to move forward with someone else. They had been separated for only a few weeks, so even Ashleen’s tempting looks and personality were resistible for now.

Walking back from the Eternal Phoenix, the two found very little traffic in the street. A red light was cast on the buildings and stone of the streets while the second moon, Turas the god of war, held court in the night sky. His first brother was far to the west and only a few hours remained before the third brother rose to contest the night sky. Even the lit lamps couldn’t change the red tinting of the world around them.

He had little to say to the girl as they walked back to the Two Circles. The night had been fun and it had been great to see his friends on the team once more. Dancing was usually enjoyable, so dancing with Ashleen and the other women made the night go by in a pleasurable way.

“You’re quiet,” Ashleen finally said as they stood in the lift of the inn.

“It was a good night, but I must just be getting a bit tired,” he said playing off his thoughts as a need for sleep.

“Do you wish that it was Yara you were dancing with instead?” she asked sounding a little sad.

Such a question felt like a trap, but then again Bas realized that he had been telling Ashleen for months that he was following his heart by being with Yara. The problem was that Yara had been giving him the cold shoulder off and on for weeks, so he wasn’t really sure where he stood anymore. Trying to be gentle, the mage replied, “It would be nice to see her.”

It was a noncommittal answer, he thought, but Ashleen prodded again, “Do you still love her?”

His eyes looked at the blue eyed girl wondering if she wanted the truth or a watered down version that would suit her interests better. He wasn’t a good liar and preferred using the truth as much as possible. Still, Ashleen had asked a question that could only bring pain. “There are levels of love. I definitely love her, but I need to see her again to make sure where we stand. You can keep pushing; but until I know her heart, mine is made up.”

The door opened and they stepped into the hall. Even nearing midnight, the wall lamps remained alight making the polished tiles shine around them.

They were pushing into their suite before Ashleen chose to reply, “Do you love me, at least a little bit?”

Another dangerous question, the mage thought. “As a friend definitely, but beyond that I am not sure exactly. You know, and I have told you often enough for you to be sick of hearing it, but until Yara tells me she doesn’t love me, I will continue to love her first.”

“And if she tells you that she doesn’t love you, does that mean I am your second choice?”

He wasn’t sure if the girl asked with hope or belief that coming in second would just be him settling. Settling usually meant disappointment, but Sebastian thought that coming in second just because they had met too late wasn’t quite the same thing. Ashleen might feel the same or give up not wanting to be second though.

“Ashleen, why do you want to ask something like that?”

Slipping off her shoes, the girl leaned against the doorframe leading into the bathroom. It was dark beyond the lights in his chamber, so the glow of the lamps lit the girl’s face for him to see easily; but the darkness in the next room behind Ashleen resisted the lights. Her blond hair caught the light of the lamps while her satin, blue dress glimmered faintly.

“You met me second, but now I am here and she isn’t. Would you risk giving me time to win you over until she arrives? If you still want her after she returns, then I will find my way home and get out of your hair.”

“What do you mean?” he asked guardedly.

Her eyes strayed towards the ceiling looking for the words she meant to say before shrugging. “I need to learn more about casting the portal spell and maybe you can teach me how to cast like a battle mage. You taught your team of wizards the techniques and if you could teach me I can bring your teaching to my country. We have fewer mages because no one knows how to train those with lesser magic ability the way Southwall and Staron do.

“Teach me and spend time with me. If there is no spark between us then, when we are through or when Yara returns; I will find my way home. If there is something between us, then...” Her voice drifted off avoiding saying the last part; but he could tell that, if something happened between them, Ashleen would have to decide between him and her country since they both knew that he wouldn’t abandon Southwall.

Sebastian stood silent a moment drawing the girl’s eyes again as she waited on his reluctance. Giving her a soft smile, the mage nodded. “I will be teaching both wizards and mages anyway. I can get approval for you to come and we are stuck together at least for awhile here anyway, so we’re bound to talk during that time.”

He chuckled nervously at his words trying to let the girl know that he didn’t feel her being around was a hindrance, though in some ways Bas thought maybe it was true. “We’re friends either way, so we’ll see if anything changes before Yara returns.”