Born of Magic (Channeler Series) (11 page)

Aton pulled a blanket out of his bag a placed it over some of the brush, then took a running start and climbed over the brush onto the low hanging branch of a tree that was just outside the barrier. I tried to listen, but heard nothing other than red beard as he spoke again.

"Child, you have a great—" he was silenced by a loud thud, and then the brush disappeared back into the ground. Red beard was on the ground, with Aton standing over him with a big branch in his hand.

"Let's go, Jas. We need to get out of here. He has powerful friends, and they're not very kind. "

I rushed to catch up to Aton and we bolted down the mountain even faster than before. By the time we reached the forest, I was struggling to stay conscious. Even Aton was gasping for air. He gave us a couple minutes to recover. We walked in silence the rest of the day, making camp once we were deep into the forest. It didn’t take me much effort to get to sleep.

I awoke with much resistance when a few wayward beams of light made it through the thick forest and landed on my eyelids. My arms and legs were sore from all the hiking we had done the previous day.

Aton was already up, as usual, preparing a breakfast for us. "I feel like we’re deep enough into the forest now that we may take a little time to properly recover."

A warm feeling came to me with this news. The only thing I could think of right now was relaxing long enough to let my muscles stop throbbing in pain. The second most prominent thought in my mind was a series of questions regarding some of the statements Red Beard had made yesterday. "What’s the Academy of Mages?"

Aton looked over at me, staring in silence for some time before answering, "It's a collection of powerful mages that hoard their abilities and decide how everyone should use magic. They’re a hypocritical group of power hungry mages that seek nothing but power. They would probably love to get their hands on you."

"Why do we keep running into Red Beard?"

"Red Beard, huh? Well, I guess I can see why you would call him that. As soon as I took the first stone, the Academy sent a group of their tracking mages to find the others. One of the holders of the stones was a member. They'll stop at nothing to get all of these stones back so that they may keep them from everyone else."

I found the idea of a giant group of mages hunting us for our quests terrifying, but I was sure Aton had a plan for how we would make it. "Why don’t they want people to use the stones if they have the power to help people, like your brother?"

"Their greed. They like to hoard anything magic so that the people remain dependent on them. I think we’ll need to increase our pace greatly. No doubt the other stones will be moved soon, we can only hope to find them before they disappear."

"What if they move them before we can get there?"

He grinned, "I know people I can go to for the information we need, for the right price."

So many other questions ran through my mind, but I knew I should be more concerned with recovering so that I could keep up with Aton when we began to move again. It sounded as though things were not going to be any easier any time soon.

"Get some sleep for now—I’ll keep watch."

I gave no argument against his request, and lied back down. I closed my eyes as the calm campfire Aton had made warmed my back. I was nearly asleep when I heard a familiar voice.

"There you are, finally. It's good to see that you are okay."
The voice was soft and sounded sincere, but was still very faint. This was the perfect opportunity for me to learn a little more about these people, without being interrupted. I kept my eyes shut and breathed at a steady rate to appear as though I was still sleeping.

"I know you are wondering what is going on here, and you are probably being told many different things, but you must trust me. The man you are with is not who he claims to be."

“She’s lying,” I though to myself.

Apparently I thought too loudly,
"I am not lying, you saw me that night in the castle. Do you remember?"

There was silence. Did she want me to answer? I tried the same thing once again, thinking loudly in my mind,
"I think so. What were you doing there?"

"The man you are with has been stealing powerful gems, even killing those who stand in his way at times. We have been trying to track him down and stop him. He is a murderer."
Her voice was stern and there was great conviction in her tone.

"You’re lying. There is no way he could—"

"I know, he has been nice to you, but it’s because he needs you."

"You have no proof,”
I said. I was growing angry with her as she tried to convince me to believe her, convince me that the first person to really change my life around and show me any sign of hope for myself was a murderer.

She sounded a bit stunned by my response.
"I am sorry, but you must believe me. If you won't, then at least allow me to watch over you a bit. Let me be there as your guide."

I figured there was no way I could make her go away. Plus, another perspective guiding me through this journey, where I often found myself lost, didn't seem like too bad of an idea.
"Alright.”

“Good, but you need to trust me at least a little in my judgment. Like right now you need to get some rest. You have a long journey ahead of you. Take advantage of his offer to rest. He will be relentless the rest of the day."

"Will you stop hunting us?"

The long silence revealed just how awkward it was for her to answer my question.
"We must stop him. No harm will come to you by us. I can promise you this."

I found her answer satisfying enough for the time being, and I let my body give in to the overwhelming sensation to sleep. I fell asleep and my mind made no effort to comfort me with beautiful dreams. Instead, it chose to recover every ounce of energy possible. The sun was still beating down on my eyes, so I pulled the blanket over my face.

After what felt like a few seconds, Aton poked at my shoulder several times until I finally responded. I attempted to swat him away like an annoying fly, but he remained persistent and I woke up. My mouth was dry and my body continued to ache. However, my mind felt a little clearer and I could focus on the world around me. Aton handed me a pouch of water. "I stepped away for a moment and filled our water at a nearby stream. There should be enough to last us until the next town on our list."

"Where are we going now?" I found it best to make no mention of my conversation with the mage woman. I had yet again forgotten to request the name of another possibly kind individual in my life.

"Anything on your mind, Jas? You seem a little preoccupied. I need your head in the game here."

I shook my head. It was probably a good idea that I didn’t try to lie to his face, at least not by stuttering out some ill-conceived excuse. He seemed very keen at detecting such things. We packed up from our camp and began walking once more. I followed closely behind Aton, as usual.

"We're going to a city next. Our target there is a very powerful businessman. He owns most of the inns and restaurants in the city."

I had seen many inns before, but the word restaurant was new to me. "What’s a restaurant? Somewhere where people can sit down and rest a while?"

As Aton walked ahead of me he shook his head and laughed. "No, Jas. They're the little cafes from your town but the food is much better, though much more expensive as well."

"How far is it to there?"

"Judging by our usual rate of travel, if we pick things up a bit we can be there inside of three days. We’ll be staying at one of his inns."

Aton had yet to tell me the name of the town we were traveling to. However, I found it best that way, as the name would be irrelevant to me and I was less likely to give away where we were to the mages. Aton's pace hastened and I struggled to keep up. My legs were much shorter than his and I had to take more steps than him. It felt as though I was lunging through the forest, my legs warily carrying me along the way.

He was relentless with his pace, making no hesitation or consideration for my ability to keep up. I knew I had to grow stronger to make it in this new life. He had told me it would be challenging, and he was right. It was difficult to speak as we walked. My lungs were desperate for air, gasping for every breath they got, and hoarding every ounce of oxygen, making any form of conversation near impossible.

As we walked, our conversations were slow paced and far stretched, taking long gasps between words and even longer breaks between sentences. Aton continued to tell me about the world outside of Saltren. He told me about the ranging mountains along the northern coast that we had crossed, the desert people to the South that could live off of very little water. They would suck moisture out of the ground with a stick during the drier seasons. Most interesting of all were the people to the East, with their towering buildings and dense cities.

Aton spent much time talking about the people to the East, saying that we would be going there, in time. The people he spoke of had moved there from a far off land, even further to the East, where cities like theirs spread throughout the land. The people were more advanced in some ways, Aton would often say, telling me about the fine cuisines they had mastered, and naming countless foods I had never heard of. His favorite of which was one with a bunch of noodles, meats, and vegetables that were thrown together and cooked over a large heated stone.

His stories of the East made the day go by far easier, as it kept my mind focused on something other than the burning sensation in my lungs and legs. Each breath of air that was sucked into my chest became more difficult, and provided barely enough air to make it to the next one. We arrived at a thick concentration of heavily branched trees where Aton said we would make camp for the night. Never before had a bed of pine needles and a thick wool blanket seem so appealing.

My body felt sensations of pain that I had never considered possible before. This is what death must feel like, if it were dragged out over a cruel, long period while you watched your life drain away one drop at a time. I found his tireless attitude beyond annoying and a little careless, but I reminded myself that he was motivated by a great cause.

"How are you holding up?"
The woman in my mind said. Her soft, graceful voice danced around in my mind, bringing me some comfort. She was a nice little secret to have at the end of the day.

I had reached the point where I was too tired to sleep and found her conversation very inviting.
"I‘m so tired, is it always this difficult?"

"No, he pushes you too hard. Where are you going?"

"I don't know really, and how can you tell he pushes me so hard?"
I noticed she picked up on far more than someone who was nowhere near me should.

"I can not only communicate with you, but pick up a bit on your emotions. Your heart seems drained. You are clouded with confusion and frustration. He gives you so little and pushes you so hard."
Her words seemed very concerned but I remained skeptical.

"He has given me so much as well. Before this, there was no hope in my life, no ambition or meaning."
While I did not entirely trust her, I did find it relieving to speak how I truly felt with her. Before this I felt like there was no direction in my life other than the next meal or pile of hay to curl up on.

"We were about to come looking for you shortly after he had found you. One of our mages detected you were in the area. The energy flowed as if it was being influenced in that town. It has been a long time since there was a channeler, but we recognized the signs."

"A long time?"
I knew this was some ploy to make me want to trust her more but for the time decided I would consider the idea.
"Aton said there are a usually at least a few channelers out there."

She snickered.
"It figures that he would tell you something like that. No, your kind are extremely rare, there hasn't been one for hundreds of years. The last time there was a channeler, she shaped the course of history and turned the tides of a devastating war that ripped through the lands. Channelers have the ability to decide which side will win. It is my job to make sure you are on the side of good. A force which has lain dormant for years is starting to churn once more. The times are changing, and you will be needed for things greater than petty thievery."

The idea of being just that important was very appealing in some ways. However, I found the notion of being the shaping force of a war or battle terrifying.

She must have been able to feel my fear.
"It will not be for some time until the world calls onto you to save it, dear. For now, we need to ensure your safety. First I see I still need to gain your trust. I will not force anything on you or ask you anything you do not wish to answer. In return, all I ask is that you consider what I have to say. Does that seem fair?
"

Lying or not, she was fair. She gave me more respect than any adult had before. She treated me as an equal.
"Okay. First, what’s your name?"

"I am Helendra, and if your friend Edgar was telling the truth, you are Jasminis."

My heart stung, I couldn't breathe.
"How do you know Edgar?"
I said in a demanding voice, horrible ideas of my decisions bringing harm to my friends came into my mind like a violent thunderstorm.