Branded Mage (29 page)

“Now
, none of that. Don’t want to mess up my cut do you?”

The first cut was sent tendrils of pain through his body causing Thad to scream out loud. The bald man seemed to get some perverse pleasure from the noises coming out his mouth. The pain only increased when the saw reached his bone. When Thad began to beg for the man to kill him
, the cutting stopped and the bald man set down the bloody saw right next to his head.

“How marvelous,
you haven’t even passed out yet. It’s not very often someone stays awake for the filing.” The man said running his bloody hands over Thad’s sweat soaked scalp.

Thad watched in horror as the man walked back over to the table and picked up a long thin piece of metal with a wooden handle. Bracing his now free leg under his arm
, the man put the piece of metal to his bone bringing it up and down hard on the bone. It pain was so bad Thad couldn’t keep his body from involuntary convulsing.

Thad didn’t know how long he was able to keep his eyes open
, but when he found himself in the void he was thrilled even though the throbbing in his leg continued, but it wasn’t bad enough to make him cry out in pain.

The light was still there taunting him. “Why won’t you let me near you? Please
, I don’t want to be in the dark anymore.” Thad said, tears flowing down his face.

Suddenly
, the light started to grow closer and closer until he was in the middle of it. The brightness didn’t hurt his eyes, but it felt warm on his skin. He could fell his magic once again infusing his body. It was like welcoming back an old friend. The magic flowed through him without him having to force it to his will. It just came as naturally as breathing. He only had to think of what he wanted, he didn’t have to form the magic to his will, but let it form itself to his design.

He didn’t know if it meant anything in the real world
, but there was no backlash from the magic. No struggle to force it to its place. It just simply flowed though him caressing him like a gentle lover.

CHAPTER XXII

Thad opened his
eyes; the fog that had clouded his mind was gone. Letting his magic flow through him, he simply let the manacles flow away from his body. Sitting up, Thad looked down at his leg. Where his right foot had once been now there was nothing but a stump that was red and swollen.

Just thinking about his staff
, it jumped into his outstretched hand. Slightly surprised, Thad looked at the staff that he now held in his hand. Sliding off the table, he let his magic flow down his body replacing his missing limb with magical force. The slight pressure from the magic hurt, as if he had jabbed a knife into an open wound.

Sending out the magic he searched to see if any of his other items were within range. He wasn’t sure if it would work so he was pleasantly surprised when he felt a magical presence not far away. Following the resonance
, he left the room and took a left turn. The walls to wherever he was were a dark gray, and only a few torches were spaced sporadically giving only enough light to navigate by.

He was obviously in a dungeon of some sort, but it was far different from the one in the Farlan palace. His magical senses led him to a large room with a heavy steel door. Melting the lock to the door with his magic
, Thad threw open the door and stepped inside. The room was filled with numerous items, he figured belonging to the many prisoners that had visited the cells over the years.

Thad found his pack on top of the pile nearest him
, along with his two magical swords. He couldn’t find his rings, but he was happy just to have his weapons and supplies back. His bed roll was still sitting on top of the battlements, but he at least had a small amount of food as well as his canteen and his sending box, ink, and quills. If nothing else, he could escape and alert the Queendom to his location and wellbeing.

After strapping on his weapons
, Thad searched through the room for anything that might be of use. Most of the items in the room were worthless, but he was able to find a few daggers that were in decent shape, as well as a small bedroll and some other items that might be useful on the road.

With his pack full
, Thad left the room and quietly made his way down the hall. It was impossible to tell which way the exit was. All he could do was hope he was going in the right direction. His movements were slow and every step sent a jolt of pain through where his foot used to be. He could only wonder how much pain he would be in if he didn’t have his magic to help him move along.

Turning a corner
, Thad could hear voices down the corridor to his left. Pressing his back to the cold stone, trying to stay in the safety of the shadows, he slowly made his way toward the voices.

“It’s your turn to check on our new guest to see if he’s awake. The general wants to see him as soon as he opens his eyes.”

“Alright, but it’s only been a few hours since the doc got finished with him, do you really expect him to be awake yet.”

Thad
stepped from his hidden spot in the shadows and stunned the two men before their minds had a chance to register his presence. For a brief moment, Thad thought about killing the two men so they would be unable to raise the alarm. He knew he was angry at what had been done to him and killing these men in cold blood would in no way bring his foot back. He knew it was wrong, but he still had to fight the urge to kill the men as they lay helpless on the ground. He settled instead of hitting them repeatedly with his staff until he was sure that they wouldn’t be waking for a long while.

With the guards incapacitated
, Thad searched their bodies for anything of use. Their coin pouches were fairly light on gold, but there was enough to fill his belly assuming he could make it out. Nothing else they had really seemed prudent to take with him. He already had two swords and every item that he carried would weigh him down, forcing him to use more magic to keep his stub from touching the ground.

Directly across from the guard station
, Thad found stairs leading up. Going up the stairs was only slightly harder than walking on a level surface. Thad was slightly surprised that he wasn’t tiring yet. He still wasn’t sure of how the magic was flowing through him without him having to force it to his will.

At the top of the stairs
, Thad opened a door to find another long hall decorated with rich tapestries depicting different battles. Every time his staff landed on the stone beneath his feet it sent an echo down the hall that made him wince. The halls were empty, so Thad hoped it was late in the night and he would be able to make his escape long before people started to stir.

He
tried to keep going in one general direction, but with so many twists and turns it was hard to keep his bearings. After what seemed like an endless walking down dark corridors, he finally found a door leading outside.

The courtyard of the building was surrounded by a tall wall that even with the aid of his magic
, Thad was unsure of his ability to cross. Not wanting to attempt it just to fall and injure himself further, Thad followed the outside wall of the building, looking for an exit to the compound.

He
found the main gate to the compound after turning the first corner of the large building. It wasn’t a large gate; it only had the room for a single wagon to pass at a time. It was easy to see the building was designed for defense. The gate was guarded by five heavily armored and armed men. There were no men walked the top of the wall and for that Thad was grateful.

Thad knew he would only get one chance to break through the gate. He doubted that if he was recaptured
, the Ablaians would give him a second chance. That is if they even let him live. Letting the magic flow into him like a great torrent, Thad mixed his illusionary magic with fire making a large flaming horse the size of a small house and sent it toward the guards.

The guards had mixed reaction
s, but the primary one seemed to be panic. Only one of the guards stayed in the path of the raging beast as it rushed the gate and Thad involuntary heaved as the man was run down and turned into a burnt husk.

Shortly before the horse reached the gates
, the small portcullis slammed down, but it was of little use as the metal melted away as if was made of wax. The thick wooden doors burst apart flaming as the magical creature continued a short way into the town beyond before disappearing.

The sheer force of the magic that had coursed through his body left him feeling tired and spent
, but it wasn’t followed by the normal pounding in his head that he had grown to expect. Thad continued his slow pace, hobbling his way toward the gate where the guards quickly recovered and sounded a loud bell through the night. Thad cursed slightly knowing that if he didn’t act soon, he would find himself surrounded.

Allowing more magic in
, Thad lifted himself off the ground until his remaining foot was clear of the cobble stone and shot forward with as much speed as he could muster. The guards moved to block his path. He leveled his staff at them and sent a torrent of force knocking the soldiers aside as he soared past them.

His victory was short lived as numerous soldiers rushed through the town toward him. Though his head wasn’t hurting
, he knew his body was starting to reach its limit on magic. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he felt fatigued as if he had been running for hours. Not wanting to chance it, he flew toward the direction of a small ally.

Turning every few minutes
, Thad continued to evade his captors until he saw the edge of the town. He was happy to learn that there was no wall, just open field beyond the houses. Thad dared not look behind him, as he could hear the clanging and scraping of metal close behind him.

Ahead of him
, all Thad could see was a large looming mountain. He hoped that it could provide some shelter or a way to elude his followers who were closing quickly. His hopes were soon shatter as the walls of the mountain were steep and with his waning magic, he dared not try and float up to the nearest edge. Turning sharply, Thad followed the canyon wall looking for anything he could use to his advantage.

Noticing some large boulders perched close to the edge
, Thad send a small tendril of force against them, causing them to lose their hold and plummet toward the canyon floor behind him. He heard as they impacted and from the sounds behind him it had bought him some time, but not much.

Off to his right he saw an overgrown mine entrance. With little other choice
, Thad shot inside the safety the mine offered. He wasn’t sure if his pursuers saw him, but when a few minutes passed and still no one followed behind him, he let out a sigh of relief.

With hopes that he had made
a good escape, Thad sat down on the cold ground letting the magic that had been holding him up slip from his grasp. Once the magic was gone, the fatigue from its use hit him full force and he had to fight to keep his eyes open. He was glad his head wasn’t pounding, but passing out would be just as bad in the current situation. In the end, Thad had little choice as his mind shunt down sending him into a deep restful sleep.

Thad awoke with a start as the sound of men moving around outside of the mine carried to his ears. He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep
, but the light from outside said it was for more than a few hours; plenty of time for the guards to bring in trackers to find him. From the sound of things outside, that is just what they had done.

The voices continued to come closer and Thad’s fears were realized as the first group of soldiers made their way into the mine. Thad moved behind a large bolder
, hugging the side of the cave hoping the darkness would conceal him.

“He’s still somewhere in the mine
, there are no signs of anyone leaving. Spread out, there’s no telling how deep he went. If you find him, yell out. Don’t try and fight him by yourself. He’s already proved a difficult foe. Johnson, you go let the rest know we found him.” a commanding voice said from the mouth of the mine.

Thad wanted to curs
e.  There were easily thirty of them and from what he had just heard, there were more outside. He had no clue what to do. The chances of continuing to elude capture were dwindling with every second.

Thad only saw one way out of his current situation and even
then, all he would be doing was sending himself to a slow death underground. After his short stay with the Ablaians, he figured even death was better than spending what was left of his life as their guest.

From behind his boulder,
Thad sent his magic into the mountain, weakening the integrity of the mine entrance. Nothing happened. He started panicking as the soldiers began to draw closer to his location. He sent a massive surge of energy into the earth.

With his effort to collapse the entrance to the mine failing
, his only option was to fight. Shutting off his link with the earth, Thad readjusted his magic and brought himself off the ground using his magic once again to replace his missing foot. Stepping from behind his cover, Thad drew his sword and faced off against the soldiers who were blocking his escape.

The soldiers began to yell out
, and then form up to attack him as a single group. It was obvious they were well trained, and it also was apparent that from the orders their leader were giving, they expected to take him alive. Thad knew his chances of winning were almost nonexistent, but he promised himself that before he allowed himself to be taken back as a prisoner, he would end his own life.