Master Mage (19 page)

Once inside the office, the matron
offered Thad a seat before taking her own across from him. “Mark, I
believe,” she said, giving him a wan smile. “It has been some
years, and I have heard the whisperings of your exploits even this
far away from the capital,” the matron said, a light chuckle in her
voice. “It seems as if even the most exotic ones might even be true
now that I look at you.”

Thad sat in silence for a few moments.
It had been a long time since he had been called Mark. It had once
been his name, given to him by the mother who sold him into
slavery. “Mark has long since died, Matron,” Thad replied evenly.
“I am Thaddeus Torin, the queen’s master mage.”

“Thaddeus … yes, I believe that name
seems to suit you,” the matron said, still smiling. “So, Thaddeus,
what has brought you to the academy this day?”

“If I remember, Matron, you are from
Rane, so I hope you do not take this badly,” Thad stated, his voice
hesitant.

“You mean about the war between Farlan
and Rane?” the matron replied, the smile never leaving her face.
“My family lived in Rane but has since been moved here to the
academy compound. Farlan asks for people to join their army. Rane
demands. My grandsons are just out of boyhood, and a few years ago,
when Rane occupied Farlan, I moved them here along with the rest of
my family. I know about the war and have heard more than one rumor
as to why it is taking place.”

Thad didn’t know why, but he felt
relieved that he didn’t have to consider the matron an enemy. In
all his years at the academy, she had been one of the few people
that never looked down on the child slaves. “Matron, the Rane
forces have taken the small fort we had built to the north of here.
We escaped, but I was separated from the rest of the army. At
daybreak, I will continue on my way to Lady Emeriss’s estate, but
for the night, I wish for lodging.”

“Matron is what the other mothers call
me and what the children call me. I do not particularly like the
name myself … it seems so cold. I would be honored if you would
call me by my name, Sara,” the matron said, standing from her
chair. “Of course you may spend the night. I will have one of the
mothers prepare you a room, but that does not really answer my
question about the war.”

Thad clenched his staff as his mind
whirled about the best way to put everything into words. “It’s
about magic, Sara. The Rane army wishes to destroy all traces of it
from the face of Kurt.”

“Magic!” Sara said, her face confused.
“Magic is just a fairy tale.”

“Magic is real,” Thad declared,
standing from his own seat. He had met with many people who doubted
him and his magic until they had seen it firsthand. Not wanting to
go through the endless hours of debate before he was forced to
prove his word, Thad raised his staff and started to weave the
energies around him.

Sara stepped back, her face clearly
showing her shock as the small carvings of birds around her office
began to come to life. After the initial shock wore off, Sara
extended her hand toward a finely crafted sparrow. “Amazing” was
the only word Sara said as the sparrow hopped onto her open hand
and started to sing.

“Magic is real,” Thad replied,
releasing his hold on the spell and letting the birds return to
their former state.

“I had heard rumors, but … it is
something else to see it for oneself,” Sara said, collapsing back
in her chair, her hand still holding the wooden sparrow. “Why would
Rane wish to destroy such a wonderful thing?” she asked herself as
she looked in awe at Thad.

For over an hour, Thad explained
everything he had learned about Rane, including its connection with
the Brotherhood. He had told the story so many times now that he
didn’t even shed a tear when he told of Brianna and her death,
though he still felt a pulling at his chest. When he was finished,
Sara’s face was one of chagrin.

“For as long as I can remember, every
three years, the merchant guild would send an envoy to inspect the
new children. Every time they visited, they bought at least one
child, telling me that it was in order to free them.” As Sara
spoke, he could clearly see the pain in her face and hear it in her
voice. “I always thought I was freeing them of their future as
slaves.”

“I don’t remember meeting with them,”
Thad said, trying to recall any such event.

“That is odd,” Sara replied, standing
from her seat and going over to the large shelf of folders. After a
few moments of shuffling through them, she found what she was
looking for. “You are right. It seems that you were brought here
the day they arrived for a visit. You must have missed
them.”

“I think my life has been filled with
such luck,” Thad said, nearly laughing. “I do not wish to push my
welcome, but it has been a long day.”

“Ah yes, let us see about that room,
shall we?” Sara said as she led Thad from her office and down the
long corridor. The matron spoke with a few mothers, and after a
short time, Thad was led to a small room, where a soft bed and a
warm bowl of food waited. Thad gave Sara his thanks before he
settled in for the night.

Early the next morning, Thad woke to a
loud banging at his door. As he cleared his head of the last
vestiges of sleep from his mind, Thad opened the portal to find the
matron standing on the other side. “Sara, to what do I owe the
honor?” Thad asked groggily.

“I have given what you have said a
great deal of thought. We have close to thirty young men who would
be destined for the market come midspring. Do you think the queen
would mind buying them?”

It took a moment for Thad to work out
what the matron meant. As it dawned on him, a large smile spread
across his face. Thirty men might not change the tide in the war,
but every soul that could hold a weapon would help. “I think that
can be arranged. If you would be so kind as to fetch me a quill and
parchment, I will write out a note to the queen, informing her that
she owes you some gold.”

It took most of the morning for Thad to
gather the new troops. Luckily, the academy had a healthy supply of
armor and weapons for training. Most of the swords might have been
dulled, but they were still better than nothing should something
arise before they could reunite with the main force back at
Emeriss’s estate. Once everything was arranged, Thad and his new
force stood outside the academy gates, waiting for the last of the
food and supplies.

“I hope that you visit us again soon,
Thaddeus. This time, on better terms, I hope,” Sara said, handing
Thad a small carved canary. “I never liked caged birds. They sing
so much more beautifully when they are allowed to roam the skies
freely.”

Thad took the bird and gently stuck it
in his pack. “Maybe one day there won’t be a need for cages
anymore,” Thad replied, giving the woman an odd smile. “Though what
will you do with the academy once the birds are all set
free?”

Sara gave a hearty laugh, surprising
Thad. “I think it would be a good place to teach orphans and those
of lesser means. There are plenty of people in this world who could
use a good bit of teaching. Might one day even rival the royal
school that the royals are so proud of. My father always said ‘a
country’s true worth is in the people,’ and I believe he was right.
If Farlan is going to be my home, then I might as well make it
better if I can.”

Thad looked back up at the imposing
wall surrounding the academy. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t
picture it as anything other than what it was. “I wish you well
should that time ever pass,” Thad replied to the matron, trying his
best to smile. “Now we must be off before we lose too much of the
day to chatter. It will be a two-day march to Lady Emeriss’s estate
if we’re lucky and far longer should we happen upon any of Rane’s
troops.”

“Then I bid you a farewell and hope
that the road finds you safely to your destination,” Sara said,
giving Thad one final smile before disappearing back through the
doors of the academy.

“Time to go, men!” Thad yelled at his
new conscripts. He didn’t have much time to get to know any of the
men, and none of them he remembered from his time at the academy,
but that wasn’t surprising since it had been over six years since
he had last stepped foot within its walls. As was expected, the men
moved out without further urging, making Thad feel a little
wretched. They had no brand marking them as slaves, but within
their minds, that was what they were. Even should he give them
their freedom, they, much like him, would always be bound by how
they were raised within the walls of the academy.

Little was said as they marched down
the thin road that led toward the capital. Thad knew that it would
be faster to travel through the forest, but there was too large a
risk of getting lost once again without a clear view of the sky.
From studying maps, Thad knew that the road would continue on for
about thirteen miles before connecting with the main transport
route into Rane. From there, he need only travel back five miles
before reaching his destination.

It wasn’t a long distance and on
horseback could have been easily reached within a day’s time. On
foot, it was even possible to reach it within a day, but with a
large group, they had to march at the slowest man’s pace, but given
that the men gathered around him were all academy-trained, he
didn’t expect to be slowed down much. He was sure that by midday on
the morrow, they would meet up with the rest of the
army.

To Thad’s amazement, they were able to
reach the crossroads shortly before the sun had fully descended
from the sky. He had the urge to continue on, but from the looks of
the men around him, he decided against it. They would do little
good if they were pushed so hard that they became ill or injured
along the way. Had they had better shoes or attire, Thad wouldn’t
worry, but most of the kids around him had nothing more to wear
than what he now considered rags, though years ago, he would have
seen it much differently.

Thad ordered the group to a halt and to
make camp, though he warned them to keep any fire small so they
wouldn’t attract undue attention. He doubted the Rane forces had
made it this far west yet, but he wasn’t willing to take the
unneeded risk.

Shortly after the camp was set up, a
decently sized blond man with piercing blue eyes approached him.
Thad could tell that the boy was nearing his sixteenth year and
should be considered a man, but looking into the boy’s eyes, Thad
found it hard to see him as anything but a child. “The mothers
didn’t tell me who we are going to serve,” the boy said firmly,
though Thad could tell that he was forcing the tone from the slight
shaking of his hands. “Are we to serve the same master that you
serve?”

“Despite my brand, I only serve out of
my own will. Should I desire it, the queen would have little
recourse should I refuse a request. I serve Farlan at this time,
and so shall you. We are currently at war, and you will help fill
our depleted ranks. Should you survive, then you will have earned
your freedom for what it is worth to you,” Thad said in an
almost-rehearsed manner.

“Are we to be branded?” he asked with a
little more confidence.

“No” was all Thad said in
reply.

“Then what is to stop us from simply
running away?” the boy continued, and Thad could see the spark of
fire within his eyes. Thad had known that spark well as he had it
as well when he was young.

Thad didn’t want to force anyone to
fight that didn’t want to, but he had little luxury of sitting on
his own morals. If they lost the war, many more would die—perhaps
all of Farlan. He didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to risk it.
Stretching forth his hand, Thad called on his magic, and rings of
fire coiled around the boy’s body. “You would find a different sort
of freedom than you are looking for should you try and
flee.”

“Please don’t kill me,” the boy
pleaded, hitting his knees. The look of fear in his eyes made Thad
feel ashamed of himself, but he quickly pushed those feelings
aside. There would be plenty of time to lament his choices after
the war. That was if he was still alive to lament them.

“I don’t plan to harm you as long as
you do what you are told,” Thad said, letting the fire disappear.
“Now go and get some rest. We will be leaving at first light.”
Before the last words had left Thad’s lips, the boy scrambled on
his hands and knees back toward his gathered companions. Thad could
see the looks of fear and hate being cast in his direction, but he
cared little. Setting up a small shield barrier, Thad disappeared
below his covers for some much-needed rest.

CHAPTER XV

It was easy to tell when they got
within the borders of Lady Emeriss’s estate. Not only was the manor
massive, but having been built back when Farlan was heavily
embroiled in the Succession Wars, there was also a large number of
troops out scouting the grounds for any sign of the Rane forces. It
was also evident that more than a few souls were searching for any
news of his whereabouts. Every scout they passed rushed off to give
the news that he had survived the attack at Digger’s Fort and had
brought a small number of reinforcements.

As the small group approached the
manor, they found a large number of people awaiting them—Killian,
Parson, and Bache among them. Thad had expected to see them, but
the one he had not expected to see waiting was Reeve, the elfin
assassin, along with thousands of elves. It was easily the best
sight Thad had seen in his life.