Questing Sucks! Book II (22 page)

Sehn grinned with pride. “But of course.”

“And yet,” Kellar continued, his voice indicating he wasn’t finished and Sehn’s interruption had annoyed him. “You put it all to waste. I don’t think any mage has ever thrown away such incredible talent the way you do, but then again, what do I know? I only just turned thirteen.”

Kellar’s words stung in a way that no amount of bodily pain could. Even with the muscle aches, the stiffness, the headaches, and the constant nausea, nothing had ever brought Sehn such a stark feeling of disappointment. He bit back his humiliation and whispered, “Your point?”

“My point is that if you ever wanna make it out of here again, tell me the truth—what can you cast?”

Sehn took a deep breath. He needed a moment to collect himself. When he was confident he’d suppressed this new form of pain, he began to speak. As soon as the first word left his lips, he found it unbearable to continue. What was wrong with him?

“Two,” he whispered. “Fireball and Earthquake, which is what I call them. I…I was once attacked by this giant green thing in the Death Woods that first appeared to me as a false version of Nero. It changed and grew bigger until it became this awful creature.”

“Ah, a Primordial Shifter,” Benjamin spoke up—then waved a hand in apology. “My apologies for the interruption, but I’m an expert on exotic wildlife, and I’d recognize that description anywhere, but please, pay me no mind.”

Sehn ate his pride and continued. “That was the first time in my life—until now—that I realized I wasn’t what I thought I was. That was when I…when Nero and I almost died, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”

Sehn tensed as Kellar grabbed his hand and held it to his heart; the boy’s chest was rock-solid. “You asked me why you couldn’t cast that spell earlier. Well, it’s because magic comes from here.” He released Sehn’s hand and then bent down, picking up a loose pebble from the cold, stone floor. Standing back up, he held out the pebble for Sehn to see.

“What will happen when I drop this?”

Sehn laughed. “Obviously it will fall back to the floor.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure!”

“Well, let’s see about that, then.”

Kellar opened his hand and, as expected, the pebble fell back to the floor, as all objects did when dropped. Sehn knew there was supposed to be some kind of meaning behind Kellar’s actions, and he struggled to figure it out.

“How did you know it would fall?” Kellar asked.

“Because all things fall.”

Across the room, Sehn noticed that Shina, Cah’lia, and Orellia were watching the demonstration, clearly fascinated by whatever Kellar was doing.

“You’re right,” Kellar said. “All things fall. But how did you know
this
pebble would fall?”

“I just…did. I knew it would.”

Kellar laughed. “Because you had faith. You have seen the way the world works since the moment you were born. You knew what would happen if I let go of that pebble—you believed in it. There was no questioning it.”

Sehn thought he was beginning to understand. “So you’re saying that I question my ability?”

Kellar nodded. “Yup. I think you don’t believe you can use magic, at least not anything more than what you already know. I think that you could learn to use any spell you wanted if you let go of whatever is clogging up your heart. There’s no room for dishonesty when it comes to magic. To use magic, you must be true to yourself. Even the most evil mages put aside their personal delusions when they cast, because to do otherwise is to fail.”

Clogging up my heart
?
Sehn repeated in his mind.
Am I delusional
?

Cah’lia occasionally grunted in agreement while Kellar spoke, as if she, despite being unable to cast magic herself, could see whatever flaw resided within Sehn that stopped him from succeeding.

Sehn, without muttering a word, turned his back on Kellar and walked over to his cot in the back corner of the cell. Sitting down, he repeated the boy’s words in his head. They were troubling. His father had once said that the truth hurts, but was it always supposed to be this painful? Sehn trembled while he considered what Kellar had said.

How can someone so young be so wise
?

“Elf,” Orellia whispered. Sehn looked up at her. “I think you should try practicing that spell again.”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Kellar said, drawing everyone’s attention. “He can get us out of here now. No need for practice.”

Both Shina and Orellia frowned at him. “Kellar,” Shina said, “don’t be ridiculous. He needs to practice before we let him try something like that again. Otherwise, he’ll—”

“No,” Kellar restated, even more confidently this time. “Sehn will break us out. And he’ll do it now. Right, Sehn?”

The words were distant to Sehn. He heard what Kellar said, but the boy’s voice sounded far away. Sehn turned over his hands and gazed into his palms. He remembered how much it had stung the first time he’d cast a ball of fire. It was the first spell—of only two—that he’d been successful in casting, and his father had been so proud of him on the day he’d mastered it. He’d tried for weeks to use various different spells, but nothing ever seemed to work for him.

One day, while Sehn ate breakfast under a giant oak tree near the waterfalls outside Elvar, his father had shown up unexpectedly with a tray of moon-crackers and a glass of milk. He’d set the tray down in front of Sehn, and then had leaned forward to whisper into his ear. “Sehn, try casting
Remmos Salas
.
”

“What’s the point, father?” Sehn had asked. “I’m shit with magic.”

“Maybe,” Suhn had said, “but you haven’t tried this one yet.”

“And why would this one be any different?”

“Because, umm…” His expression had been comical. Whenever Sehn’s father strained to think of something, his face scrunched together. “Ah! This one is a spell that only a God can cast!”

Sehn remembered the way his ears had twitched. “Really?”

“Yes, son.
Remmos Salas
is a special spell, one that I think only you can do.”

So that’s why
,
Sehn thought as he recalled his first successful spell cast.
It was about belief—it’s always been about belief
.

Sehn laughed to himself, ignoring the confused stares from Cah’lia and Shina. His father had been right. Sehn had succeeded with
Remmos Salas
on the first attempt.

He stood up from the bed, wincing at the pain in his knees, but he didn’t let it slow him down. He made his way to Kellar over by the window in the back of the cell, which was directly opposite from the cell’s door across the room.

“You two, get out of the way,” Sehn demanded.

“What are you doing?” Cah’lia asked.

“I’m using magic—what do you think?”

Cah’lia gave a questioning look, but she followed along as Orellia tugged on her sleeve and pulled her away.

Sehn stared at the steel door. He knew he should’ve felt nervous, agitated, anything other than what he felt now—a terrible, longing sadness. At first, he wasn’t sure what upset him. He knew it wasn’t because of Kellar’s words. Sure, that had rattled him a bit, but the Great Sehn would never feel this kind of pain over a few jarring words, even if they were a harsh revelation.

No, what bothered Sehn was something more fundamental—something he hadn’t believed could cause him such hurt. Though he’d been away from Elvar for some time, it was only now that he understood what was missing in his heart. He was shocked that he could feel something so…basic.

“I really miss my dad,” he whispered, low enough that only Kellar could hear. “I don’t know why I’m only first realizing it now, but I really miss him.”

The boy nodded sympathetically and whispered back, “I miss my dad too.”

“I want to go home.”

“You can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because if you go home, the world dies. The Hawk will burn everything.”

“I never should have come to this place,” Sehn whispered. “What the fuck am I even doing here? I’m in some prison in the sky when all I ever wanted was a bit of treasure and gold to spend at the markets.”

“Hey, you’re not the only one who doesn’t want to be here, and I don’t just mean in prison. I didn’t wanna be a mage at all, you know. I wanted to stay at home and learn how to rule my people. But life had other plans for me.”

Sehn looked at the boy, who despite being the youngest in the room, Sehn was certain was the smartest—perhaps the most brilliant individual he’d ever met.

“I need to ask you something.”

Kellar raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“First, you have to promise you will tell me the truth.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” he said with a grin. “I never lie.”

Sehn paused a moment. He repeated the question in his mind before he asked it. Did he want to know the answer? To his surprise, he realized he did; he needed to.

“Mage-boy—I mean, Kellar, I…am I ever going home again? Am I going to die?”

Kellar winced. “Ouch, that’s a tough question to lay on me.”

“Will you answer it?”

He nodded. “I don’t know for certain, especially since I’m not one of the Gods, and only they can know what’s in store for a person, but if I had to place a bet, well…I’m sorry to say this but my money would be against you.”

Sehn wasn’t surprised. He’d known the answer before he’d spoken the question, yet he needed to hear it confirmed, said aloud. He stole a quick glance at Cah’lia, who was watching him skeptically, as if expecting him to blow the entire prison up. But there was something more there, something Sehn had noticed but until now had been unable to explain. There was grief whenever she looked at him, a terrible sadness that falsified even her cheeriest of smiles.

And that was when Sehn knew he wouldn’t—no, he
couldn’t
die. He wouldn’t allow it. A rush of stubborn defiance hit him, and for a moment the aches and pains in his body seemed to dull while he silently swore an oath to the Gods that they would never claim him, not without risking their own destruction.

Still keeping his voice low, he asked, “Does Cah’lia know? The truth about me, I mean?”

Kellar let out a muffled chuckle. “I think everyone knows.”

“Well, now I know, too.”

“Yep.”

“Not that it matters, of course.”

“Oh?” Kellar asked. “And why’s that?”

Sehn raised the upper left corner of his lip. “Because there’s no curse in this world strong enough to kill me, and just for thinking there is, when we get out of this place, you shall be charged eight-thousand golden coins for doubting your God. You know what? Fuck the curse! I’m serious.” Louder, he shouted, “Fuck the Items! Fuck the Hawk! And most of all, fuck that stupid Archmage who will soon know my wrath. I am the Great Sehn, and I will destroy them all!”

Sehn extended his hand in the direction of the cell door. He would show them—he’d show all of them. Sehn would not die to some curse. Was this what Cah’lia had been so bothered about as of late? Was this why she always looked to be on the verge of tears? Was this the reason she’d been acting strange since Koringrath?

Foolish woman
,
Sehn thought.
How dare you think that I could die to some bullshit curse
?
I shall live just to say I told you so
.

Sehn drew a breath and, in a shout loud enough for the Gods who had cursed him to hear, he roared the words of his newest spell.

“
Remmos MAHR
Vi
Nara Sallos RAHL
!”

As much as Sehn wanted to admire his handiwork, it was a struggle for him to keep his head raised. His legs trembled, and a wave of exhaustion rolled over him. For the first time in recent memory, he felt a rumble in his stomach that he recognized as hunger, something he never thought he’d feel again.

A moment before his legs buckled, Kellar steadied him. “Easy, now,” he whispered. “I should’ve warned you this would happen. What you just did was at least fifty times more powerful than anything you’ve ever cast before, if not more. So just take it easy, okay? You’re exhausted.”

Sehn wanted to mutter something back about how his everlasting body could not be touched by the forces of fatigue, but he couldn’t even find the strength to spit out a few threatening words. So instead, he nodded.

Cah’lia, Orellia, and Shina, along with Benjamin and Iona hugged the wall near Sehn and Kellar. Even from across the cell, the intense heat coming from across the room felt as if it were singeing the hairs on his arms and legs. Sehn couldn’t believe what he’d done.

He hadn’t expected the spell to be as powerful as it’d turned out. Who knew mixing the forces of wind and fire could yield such explosive results? It had traveled so fast that Sehn had only been able to catch a glimpse of it just after it had left his hand.

Dark, spiraling, and flickering, the nexus of energy exploded the moment it crashed into the cell’s door, followed by an ear-shattering boom. Half of the bars on the door had simply vanished, leaving not even a fragment behind as proof they’d once existed. There was now a gap more than wide enough for them to escape through, but they couldn’t pass while the remaining steel still burned. Sehn had never seen anything like it. The metal was melting before his eyes, dripping to the floor like silver raindrops.

“Good thing this place was built to be magic resistant,” Orellia said. “Otherwise, without the dampening effect, Sehn would’ve just blown the entire cell block up, and we’d all be dead.”

Sehn tried to disguise his nerves as he released a shaky laugh. “I spared you all because I was feeling generous.”

There was no doubt that the guards would be on their way to see what all the commotion was about, which meant Sehn needed to be ready. His hands shook on their own, and he tried to squeeze them into fists, but he lacked even the energy to do that.

“How long is this going to take to melt?” Cah’lia asked. “We need the element of surprise on our side.”

“Shouldn’t take much longer,” Orellia answered.

Sehn evaluated the destruction he’d caused. With so many sections of the cell door blown out, it now resembled a broken-up spider web. Diamond-shaped sections slowly lost their shape while they melted then splashed against the floor, which was now covered in rapidly cooling steel.

Shouts came from both ends of the cell block’s hallway, along with the other imprisoned mages. The sound of feet clicking against the floor meant the guards were on their way. Cah’lia had the shiv she’d created in hand, and a grin was planted on her lips.

“I think it’s safe to pass now,” she said. “Just watch your step.”

Shina called after Cah’lia as she ran out of the cell. Then Shina shrugged and followed behind. Orellia, Benjamin, and Iona joined her, leaving only Sehn and Kellar in the room.

“Can you walk?” Kellar asked.

Sehn was only a moment from going through his usual routine of boasting—while secretly hiding his agony—but he paused as he took a single step forward. He felt weak, worn, and it was a struggle for him not to collapse. Yet something was missing. Something felt different.

Sehn gasped. “The pain! It’s gone. Mage-boy, the pain is gone!”

Kellar scratched his black hair. “What pain?”

“Lately I’ve been in unbearable—wait. You won’t repeat this, right?” Kellar swore to keep his mouth shut, and Sehn continued. “Recently I’ve been unable to eat, and I feel as if my body is falling apart. But now…now it’s gone, all of it.”

“Ah,” Kellar said, nodding. “That makes sense.”

“It does?”

“Yeah. Now, I’m not exactly an expert on this curse thing, but I know a thing or two about magic. They say that the cursed continue to get more powerful until the day they die. It’s probably why you could use magic in here when no one else could.”

“What do you mean? I don’t feel any more powerful than usual.”

Kellar gave Sehn a look of disappointment, which was odd coming from such a young boy. “It’s ‘
cause
you never do anything with it. You’ve gotta actually use your magic to feel powerful. But anyways, back to my point. The closer you get to your…expiration, the more powerful you’ll get. At least, that’s if I’m right. And what’s even cooler is that the closer you get, the bigger the increase. So, like, your last week alive, you’ll probably be strong enough to conquer a town, and on your last day, you might be able to bring down a nation.”

Kellar’s mouth widened as if he couldn’t contain the excitement his own thoughts brought him. “And your last hour? Well, you could probably take over the world if you did it quickly enough.”

Sehn thought on the boy’s words. The kind of power Kellar was talking about was the kind Sehn had always craved, yet now he wondered if it was truly what he desired. Sehn’s ambitions to conquer the world dulled with each day. Lately, he chided himself for his fantasies of spending his life with Cah’lia, Rina, and Nero in a tall, well-furnished home on the top rung of a great Elvar pinewood.

I can always do both
,
he reminded himself.
The Great Sehn will not allow some curse to claim his life
.

Sehn wiggled his arms and flexed his muscles—there was no pain. The realization brought him an even greater relief than a midnight piss did after he’d consumed too much ale. Even his back didn’t ache, and it no longer hurt to breathe.

“Kellar, I understand what you are saying to me, but why does my body feel so much better?”

Kellar smiled. “Because, like I said, you don’t do anything with all that power you’ve got in you, Sehn. Now, this is just a theory, and I’m not gonna promise you it’s correct or anything, but I think that you’re bursting with magical energies, and it’s ripping you apart. But I think if you expel some of it, you’ll feel better. Of course, if I’m right, and if you keep getting more powerful and faster, you’ll have an even harder time getting rid of it.”

Sehn blinked in astonishment as he realized what the boy was saying. “So wait! You mean all I’ve ever needed to do is blow a bunch of shit up every once in a while to make me feel better?” Sehn stomped his foot against the cell’s floor. “Why the fuck didn’t someone tell me this sooner? I love destroying other people’s things. You know what? As soon as I return to Hahl, the first thing I shall do is blow up Patrick’s castle. I
hate
the fact that he has a castle and I don’t.”

There was more Sehn wanted to ask of Kellar, but the conversation was cut short as wailing cries filled the cellblock. Sehn made his way over to the wrecked door, which had finally finished melting off the last of its steel bars. He looked to his left, and what he saw made him suddenly recall every disrespectful thing he’d ever done to Cah’lia.

Maybe I’d better show her just a bit more respect from now on
,
he thought nervously.

Ten armored men surrounded Cah’lia, five on each side, with more streaming into the hallway every second. Yet despite their numbers, the advantage clearly belonged to Cah’lia. Using nothing more than a sharp weapon made from bedsprings, she managed to defend herself and the others huddled around her from the larger male opponents. They were well armed and had massive swords bearing down on her, yet they were unable to use them to any decent effect. None of the ten men made a move, and even though only their eyes were visible through their helmets, Sehn could spot fear in them.

What has them so spooked
?

Then he saw the collection of bodies lying at Cah’lia’s feet. The sight made Sehn want to vomit. For some reason, Sehn had always sickened up at the sight of death. He knew it couldn’t be because it bothered him on an emotional level—the Great Sehn enjoyed slaughter!—so he chalked it up to another side effect of the curse. Still, whatever caused it, he found himself unable to continue looking at the unfortunate men, who lay dead on their backs with their throats slit.

Is it really necessary for her to kill them
?
Gah
,
the hell am I thinking
?
Of course it is
.
Killing is awesome
!

Within half a minute, twenty armored men were piling around the lone elven woman. Cah’lia’s posture was relaxed. She grinned at them. “Who wants to be the first to join these five?” she asked, pointing at their fallen comrades.

“Oi? What’s all da shoutin’ goin’ on?” a guard asked, pushing his way through the row of onlookers. Sehn concealed himself behind the cell as he passed, hoping the guard wouldn’t spot him while he watched. “What’s appenin’ ‘ere?”

The guard nearest Cah’lia backed away and pointed. “This woman is dangerous—far more dangerous than she looks.”

The man, who Sehn now assumed to be the leader, shoved the other guard aside and stared down at Cah’lia. “Oi! Youse tellin’ me da’ little missy ‘ere has been killin’ all dese men?” He placed his hands behind his back and reached for the blade sheathed behind his shoulder. “I ‘finkin it’s time wese showed ‘dis girley who—”

Cah’lia moved so fast that there was simply no time to react to her sudden dash forward. In the span of a second, she bent down, traded her shiv for a sword from one of the dead guards, and then gripping it sideways with both hands, she lunged forward and ran the guard through, puncturing his chest. A pool of blood drained from his lips in a constant stream, and he gurgled as if trying to form words.

Cah’lia raised her boot and placed it on the man’s waist, then kicked forward and pulled the sword out of the guard’s chest in the same motion. There was a clang as the man, covered in armor, fell to the floor. At the sight of this, the prisoners in the cellblock banged on their doors and cheered.

Cah’lia yawned. “Next?”

Sehn’s strength was rapidly returning. He needed to do something quickly before Cah’lia ended up turning this place into a graveyard. It wasn’t that Sehn wanted to save the guards’ lives, but rather, if Cah’lia murdered them all, then Sehn would stain his boots in their blood, which would take forever to wash out.

No matter how badly the odds were stacked against her, Sehn had no doubt that, if pressed, she could easily take on every last man at the same time and all without breaking a sweat—especially now that Nero and Rina weren’t around to see her ferocious side. Freed from worrying about the children seeing her this way, she would go wild and kill everything that stood against her.

Two more guards, who from their boyish faces appeared little older than children, raised their weapons and took a step towards Cah’lia while four more approached cautiously from behind her. She would make quick work of them and anyone else that tested her, and knowing this, Sehn realized he had to intervene. Because they were as good as dead if he did nothing. And so, with that thought in mind, he ignored his exhaustion and drew a deep breath of air, enough to fill his lungs.

“
Remmos Salas
!
” he shouted. Compared to whatever hellish inferno he’d conjured up before, his old fireball trick required an almost trivial amount of effort to cast. The ball of flame soared across the hallway and took one of the rearmost guards in his armor-covered back, knocking him off his feet. It would definitely leave a bruise and likely a nasty burn mark to go with it, but at least he’d live.

“Mortals!” Sehn shouted, raising his voice. “Your eyes do not deceive you. That was magic you just witnessed. I am your God-King, Sehn, and I am the one who broke out of the cell. I am so powerful that
your
pathetic…” Sehn froze up. He shot Kellar an impatient look, and whispered, “What the fuck do you call the things that make it so no one can use magic in here?”

“Wards,” Kellar whispered back.

“…that your pathetic wards cannot stop me!” Sehn finished. He paused to ensure all the guards were looking at him. Then he released a mighty bellow of a laugh. “Throw down your weapons and leave or I shall personally devour your souls, because, ah, I have that power too. I hunger for soul! Give me soul!”

“It’s true!” one of the guards shouted. “That there’s the elf who went and beat up the warden. He’s not bluffing.”

The guards around Cah’lia erupted into a panic. In a hurry, they threw down their weapons and fled. Sehn made sure to bark insults at them as they scrambled out of the cell block from both ends of the hallway. There was a moment of loud, booming cheers from all the wrongfully imprisoned mages. It didn’t last long; soon, the cheers turned into demands to be released.

“Get us out of here, Mistress Orellia!” one of them begged.

“Please don’t leave without us!” another pleaded.

Just as Sehn had expected her to do, Cah’lia began to call out orders and take charge. Sehn was too exhausted to stop her, though he made a mental note to scold her for it later.

“Listen up,” Cah’lia said, speaking loudly enough for the entire cell block to hear. They quieted. “I am Cah’lia, and I am an elf from the city of Elvar. What most of you don’t know—but I’m sure many of you suspect—is that your Archmage, Duncan, has imprisoned you here unlawfully, or so we believe. We need to leave this place immediately so you can report back to whoever is in charge about what Duncan has done to you.”