Branded Mage (25 page)

Eloen returned in short order
, carrying the travel sack that Thad had made. “Let’s go, we’re burning daylight.” She said, grabbing his arm and tugging him outside with Darryl and Alden following behind laughing. Eloen turned quickly, giving the two men a scathing glare. “I think you two could use some time off yourself why don’t you go see what the others are up too?”

Alden face took on a hurt expression. “That’s very kind of you but we would be remiss in our duties if we did such a thing.”

“It wasn’t a suggestion, now go before I have you scrubbing pots in the mess for the foreseeable future.” Eloen said pointing toward the barracks.

Darryl turned to Alden
, holding out his arm. “Shall we?” Smiling Alden too Darryl’s offered arm and the two ambled off.

With their shadows gone
, Eloen quickly took off, Thad racing to keep up with her. When Alden said that it took a bit of effort to get to the hot springs Thad imagined a long hike. Instead, it was more of a series of long climbs up and down steep sections of the mountain. Thad knew he needed to exercise more, but this was ridiculous.

When the hot spring finally came into view
, it was like seeing an oasis in the desert. Everything around them was barren and rocky except the large pool of water that had trees and flowers sprouting around it.

With her normal disregard
, Eloen stripped down to her underclothes and jumped in the water laughing like a child at play. Thad followed her example except with a bit more decorum. The water was hotter than what he normally liked and the cool air blowing down from the mountain caused him to shiver.

Eloen floated around him
, splashing him every so often with water. Suddenly she jumped up and placing her hands on his shoulders shoved him under the water. He could hear her laughing as he resurfaced.

“Lighten up
and have some fun.” Eloen said, swimming back up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She placed her wet lips against his. The feel of her tongue darting inside his mouth and taste of her breath left him speechless. Pulling back, she looked him seriously in the eyes.

Nothing was said
as the two just floated in place staring into each other’s eyes. Thad felt his heartbeat speed up and his temperature rise. It was the most peaceful moment he could ever remember having.

“Hungry?” Eloen asked
, pulling away from him and swimming over to where her pack sat on the side of the pool.

Without waiting for a response
, Eloen started pulling food and drinks from her magical pack. Thad was surprised on the variety of food she had thought to bring along. There were cold meats, cheese, and fruits.

Thad drifted over to where Eloen was and
pulled himself out of the water, being careful not to get the food wet. As soon as his body left the hot water, the chill air hit him making him wish he had stayed in. He quickly went to his pack and pulled out his towel and dried off the best he could, then went to rejoin Eloen at the pool.

Thad sat down
, letting his feet dangle off the edge his toes dipping in the water. Eloen handed him a gray looking plate filled with food. Cutting a piece of bread off with his knife, he made himself a quick sandwich. The food was still fresh and tasty even if the cheese was a bit bitter for his taste.

The stone cup Eloen handed him was filled with a sweet mixed berry juice. It faintly reminded him of his favorite juice back at the capital. All the worries that had been weighing him down seemed to wash away as he sat in front of the steaming water.

Eloen scooted over next to him, her arm and leg bumping into his. She swayed slightly knocking into him. “You know my aunt likes you a lot. She was pushing me to try and rope you into getting married.” Eloen’s voice was steady but Thad could see her cheeks take on a rosy tone as she blushed lightly.

Thad tried to keep the heat from his own face but failed miserably
, blushing a deep crimson. “I know, she talked to me about it too. She said she thought it would settle you down.”

Eloen let out a flamboyant Laugh. “Got to give auntie one thing
, when she wants something she goes after it head first.” Eloen said bumping into him again. “So what did you tell her?”

Thad was unsure how best to answer her question. He did like Eloen
, but he was still unsure of himself. He silently wished that the Slave Academy had given classes on how to deal with women. It seems like that was a grave oversight, considering all their owners would be female.

“I told her I wasn’t really ready to get into a committed relationship. There is just too much going on and I’m not one to rush into things. I’m not even a free man, to make the choice really.” Thad said so softly
that Eloen had to lean in close to hear him.

She gave him a slightly sad smil
e. “Well, at least it’s not a no. That means I still have a chance to steal you away from the little princess.”

The sun was already past
midday and was lowering fast. “It looks like we should start making our way back down to the fort. It’s hard enough to navigate this terrain during the light, it would be impossible once the sun sets.” Eloen said as she started to pack up the leftover food.

The climb back to the fort seemed just as hard if not harder than the climb up. It was made even more so by the uncomfortable silence between the two. Thad was relieved when they made it down the last slope and the walkway to the fort was visible.

“Well, it’s getting late. You better get some sleep, you never know when the Ablaians are going to attack.” Eloen said a as she turned in the direction of her barracks.

Thad gently grabbed her arm
, forcing her to look at him. “Eloen, maybe when the battle is over we can discuss the marriage again.”

Eloen kissed him gently on the cheek and lined his arm with hers. “No reason to rush things. As long as we make it through the siege
, we will have all the time in the world for me to harass you about it.” She said smiling sweetly.

When they reached the main compound
, they immediately noticed something was wrong. Soldiers ran all over the place frantically. Eloen grabbed the first person who came within arm’s reach, yanking the poor young man to a stop and nearly dumping him on his backside.

“Report.”
Was all Eloen had to say before the young soldier started giving them a full run down of what had happened while they had been away.

It seemed that shortly before midday
, the Ablaians had begun their march. They had sent a small foray to test the forts defenses, but were quickly pushed back. Since then, they haven’t sent any more troops against us, but have been doing something at the far end of the valley. They have been keeping it fairly well hidden, so we’re not quite sure what. The officers think it’s some kind of siege weapon, either a catapult or arbalest. If it is, it’s a small one. The valley really isn’t big enough to support a full size one and the troops. It would either block their advance or their retreat.

Eloen and Thad rushed to the battlements and were greeted by General Forman as well as the rest of the Captains who were currently on duty. “Glad you two made it back. If I didn’t know better I would have sworn they were waiting for you to leave before they attacked. A few were worried that you might have been attacked during your outing. I must admit I was beginning to worry a little myself.”

Thad walked up to the edge of the battlements and surveyed the ground below him. There were thousands upon thousands of troops. They were easily outnumbered ten to one. Thad had never imagined such a force was even possible to field at one time. He could see what the soldier earlier had mentioned. In a covered area, a large group of men were bringing in wood as well as other supplies, but he couldn’t tell what they were doing beyond that.

The general walked up behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder. “You might want to get some sleep. I doubt they will send any sizeable force during the night, and we will need you up to full force in the morning.”

Thad nodded his head silently and allowed Eloen to guide him back to his room at the command center. She stayed by his side until two of her troops were sent to take back up the job of guarding him. Before leaving, she leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss and a tight hug.

“Make sure you keep your promise and stay safe tomorrow.” She said before leaving him alone with his two sitters.  

CHAPER XXI

Thad was on the battlements well before the sun crested the horizon. The Ablaians had been content to wait for daylight as well
, and they hadn’t even seen so much as a small foray against the fort during the night.

About halfway to midday
, the Ablaians started to form up ranks, uncovering what they had been working on. It was three long ladders on wheels protected by metal shields. They also had the same set up for what Thad believed was a battering ram set on pulleys and ropes so that it could more easily be swung.

The
Ablaians moved in a formation, the men up front protecting the ones behind them with a large rectangular shield made of steel. The ones behind used the same kind of shield held over their head to protect from above. Thad wasn’t sure if his magical arrows would be able to do much damage against their formation, but they weren’t the first line of defense. The exploding orbs were.

As soon as they were in range
, the officers signaled for the mini catapults to fire their payloads. Thad watched with trepidation as the glass orbs sored through the air, two thirds of them finding their intended targets. The resulting effect made Thad sick to his stomach. He watched as the bodies of soldiers were torn asunder, just like the straw dummies during the test weeks before.

After the third volley
, the Ablaians began pulling back their rolling ladders, but the troops and battering ram continued their death march. The orbs were doing a great deal of damage, but each one could only do so much and compared to the sheer number of troops the Ablaians had fielded. They had barely made a scratch on their forces.

              The Ablaians had managed to make it to the front gates and pounded hard on them with the ram. Thad could hear the gates creaking as they refused to budge against the onslaught. He hoped that they would hold, if the enemy made it inside the fort, there would be no way to hold against such odds.

So far
, Thad had held back and watched and let the soldiers and his enchanted orbs do their jobs, but with the ram so close, it was too much of a risk to throw the volatile object so close to the walls. A few soldiers tried to shoot some of his enchanted arrows on the Ablaians, but as he feared the shields were too thick.

The shields were too thick to be destroyed easily
, but that made them a prime target for him. Leveling his staff at the middle of the mammoth ram, Thad let loose the largest torrent of lightning he could produce. The sheer force of magic running through his body made his head begin to throb instantly.

His mind clearing
, Thad surveyed the damage he had done. The Ram was still standing, but any Ablaian that was near it was down and even from the height of the battlements he could smell the charred corpses.

The other Ablaians surged toward the Ram to continue the barrage against the gates. Not wanting to let up
, Thad let loose another lightning storm sending nearly two dozen soldiers to their graves. His strength waned and his legs buckled and his knees hit hard against the cobblestone.

In moments
, he was pulled to his feet by Alden. “You got them unnerved. Stand as tall as you can. You don’t have to use any more magic just let them see you.”

Alden was right
, the solders began to pull back shorty, rolling the battering ram with them as the soldiers from the wall shot anyone who left an opening. It had been a bloody first contact and the bodies of their enemies littered the valley floor. Hopefully they would lose heart and retreat back into their own land without much more bloodshed.

They had used a
quarter of their explosive orbs, and only a small percentage of the arrows had been used. Thanks to the Ablaians fear of death, their archers had remained under cover so no one had even been injured from their side. It was a good start to the siege, but that’s all it was, a start. They still had pitch and oil, but had opted to save it until it was necessary, not knowing what all the Ablaians would bring to the field.

With the first wave repelled
, Alden and Lucas helped Thad down the stairs to a small command center set up close to the battlements where the General and his top officers planned for the next attack.

Thad was unceremoniously dumped in a hardwood chair that was seriously uncomfortable. Shortly after he arrived
, Trent walked over to where he sat, his face dour. “Well that went better than I expected, but we didn’t plan on those large shields. Whoever is carrying those have to be as strong as an ox. Downside to fighting against the country with an almost endless supply of oar, and most noted for their skilled blacksmiths. I fear without your orbs and as well as your other magical assistance, it would have been a very short siege indeed my young friend.”