Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (57 page)

  “You have
nothing to apologise for. I’m sorry I cannot fulfill the role. I think I will
retire before I have to ride out tomorrow.”

  Pete grabbed
his arm, “I’m sorry, Kilen. You cannot stay here. Sometimes in the night the
soldiers come and check. Your presence here puts all of our lives in danger.
You must leave.”

Kilen looked
around at the last of the dancers departing.

“We have packed
your bags with supplies. I hear you have taken a liking to my sons Kapal
dishes.”

  Kilen gave a
half-hearted smile. He wondered if he would have been allowed to stay if he had
chosen to be the king. “The food is very helpful, but I wouldn’t say I liked
it.”

The cook laughed
enough for his belly to shake.

“I will be on my
way.”

  It did not
take long for him to gather his supplies and give his farewells. Max ran along
the beach making his own tracks disappear behind him. They headed east towards
Humbridge, perhaps his mother had made it home and would know where to go from
here.

  She laughed at
the thought of needing to have a campfire as she looked over to see Bowie and
the others cooking some food. Kara had taken to teaching every moment that she
could. At first the lessons were strange, but as she rode she was able to think
about what to say and how to say it.

  They had
stopped their travels only three times in their attempts to flee the Earth
Realm. Most of the time the fugitive wizards ran beside Ria’s cart or sat down
inside. Instead of trying to focus on learning to control their anger they,
used their energy to keep up. If they fell behind they would be put in the cart
only long enough to catch their breath. Kara did her best to teach them while
they sat in the back. She knew if she didn’t keep them focused, she would be
paying for a new cart. When the party did stop, Kara used every minute to teach
while they recuperated and ate. The escaped wizards sat in silence, sending off
sparks and catching flame as they murmured to themselves.

It seemed to
calm them when she spoke, “I am telling you. It’s not about anger, it’s about
passion. You all must think deep within yourself and find the one thing you
desire most. You must find something or someone that you can always look to for
control.”
            “My family is what I desire most, and I won’t put my family in
harm’s way.” Al’tore was angry and starting to catch fire. His long black hair
and unkempt beard still intimidated her just as it had when he stepped out into
the dungeon’s hallway. Al’tore was the largest of the wizards that had helped
defend the dungeon, he had been an asset in gaining the other’s trust. “What I
desire will not work for me. You must teach me another way.” He had come from a
mining family in the Wind Realm. The day his magic awoke it caused the mine to
fill with flames, killing hundreds of men. He escaped the Wind Realm leaving a
trail of fire until he reached the Earth Realm, seeking sanctuary. His relief
was short lived when he was imprisoned.

 
Finally,
one of them has found their passion
, Kara thought.

“You will not
put them in harm's way. You do not even need to be near them to use them for
inspiration.”

His hair came
aflame again as she knew his frustration for her grew.

“Al’tore, close
your eyes and do as I say. Please.” She added in an attempt to calm him. She
moved near him and whispered in his ear. “Think of your family. The ones you
want to see most. Pour every emotion, every bit of your love from them into
seeing every detail of their smile, their laugh, and life. Remember them as
best you can. Can you see them?”

  Al’tore was
slowly being consumed by the flame as she pushed it away from her body to keep
him from burning her dress. She continued to whisper, “I know you want to see
them again. I know that you
have
to see them again. Make a promise to
yourself right here. Right now. Pour every bit of emotion and love into that
promise. Make a promise to yourself that you will do everything in your power
to control yourself so you can see them again and not harm them.”

  Like a candle
being blown out by a strong wind, Al’tore’s flames vanished. He slowly stood,
looking at his hands in wonder, then the others, and finally the sky. The
others started to flame a small amount but Al’tore was fireless. He let out a
scream of happiness. Brent and the others jumped to their feet in fear as they
ate their noon meal.

He was hugging
Kara, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  “I didn’t do
it, you did. I will be polite though, you are very welcome. Come, lets have you
join the others for lunch.” She turned to the other wizards sitting around a
circle of stones that should have contained a fire. Instead, the fire was
around the circle, on top of its inhabitants. “I will be back with some lunch.
Please be thinking of the thing you desire most in this world.”

None of the
other wizards spoke to her as she turned to leave. Bowie was still watching
Al’tore come to sit with the others.

Kara followed
Al’tore, but stopped to talk to Bowie. “Three days past and one is in control.”

  “Some of the
aren’t happy about the lack of control they have. I hope that you are able to
teach them before one of them is too frustrated to hold themselves back.” Bowie
did not take his eyes from the small circle of wizards. They had freed seven,
including Al’tore. Six wizards still remained fighting off flames as they sat
in a circle. Food seemed to help calm them, but it only lasted a while.

  “I will keep
them safe,” She said trying to reassure him.

  “It isn’t them
I am worried about,” Bowie said, checking the string on his bow. “You need to
be careful.”

  She rolled her
eyes and went to gather their lunch. The six fire wizards were eating alone at
their empty circle. Al’tore was telling his life’s story at the other fire and
actually laughing as Auburn made jokes. Kara remembered how it felt to laugh
after only a couple months of being angry. She hoped his cheeks would be not as
sore as her’s were the next day.

  Kara left
Bowie to stand watch over the volatile wizards. She pulled up her dress sleeve
and reached into the fire to grab a stick with a piece of cooked turkey Bowie
had caught. She knew normally it would be hot and she instinctively blew on it
to cool it off, but being a fire wizard ment never burning your mouth again.
She bit off a chunk of the still smoldering meat. The turkey was good; Bowie
had always brought fresh meat to their home. He was always there to protect
her. She hoped by teaching the six remaining wizards, he would know she no
longer needed his protection.

  Kara watched
Bowie reach for his hat twice in anticipation for an eruption of fire. Bowie
had worn the hat ever since he saw a merchant with one. He had always looked
good in a hat, but now that he was grown and without it, she thought he looked
better this way.
He will need a haircut though
, she thought that she
might be able convince him to let her cut it.

Twilix appeared
by her side and whispered quietly, “This is Kilen’s best friend?”

  Kara nodded,
“They help each other. My brother would do his best to keep Bowie from getting
into too much mischief. Bowie would teach Kilen skills that my parents wouldn’t
allow him to learn. Bowie has talents handed down from his family, and Kilen
was always good with books. Together they made a great pair.”

  Twilix smiled,
“Sounds like you know a lot about him.”
            “My brother rarely wanted me around. I’m sure it’s because I’m his
little sister, but Bowie let me join them wherever they went. He was like
another brother.” Kara watched him while she spoke about the memories, trying
to remember her brothers smile. Being near Bowie helped her feel as if she were
close to him.

Bowie reached
for his hat again and hit his leg after he realized he had reached up.

  “Well, I think
you should keep an eye out for him. Auburn over here thinks very highly of him.
By her accounts she has saved his life twice. I don’t know why she is here but
I could give a good guess for two reasons.”

  Kara turned to
Twilix, “Auburn? What does she want?”
            “Like I said, I don’t know for sure yet. She was a fletcher’s
daughter so it could be that she wants to learn Bowie’s skills with crafting,
but apparently he’s already taught her that,” Twilix said raising an eyebrow.

  Kara was
turning red in the face, “He would never let me watch when he made arrows. Now
he’s teaching random girls he picks up along the war trail? What’s the other
reason?”

  “Well, the
obvious one.”

Kara knew all
too well what the obvious one was, but did not want to hear it. How could she
not have seen this before? The girl probably did like him. Suddenly Kara felt
very hot, but not like the heat of her fire magic. She felt almost embarrassed
at the thought of her having feelings for her brother’s friend. She looked at
Auburn and just looking at the girl made her jealous. She had grown up into
that body and Kara was just starting to learn to use hers. She could barely
walk, let alone think about dancing with Bowie.

  Dancing! Had
Bowie danced with the woman yet? The image of the girl sitting on Bowie’s lap
in a dance hall flashed into her mind. She was ready to punch the girl and she
hadn’t even worked out if she really liked Bowie like that, or if the girl was
trying to court him. Moving back to the circle of wizards, she tried to push
the man from her mind. If she didn’t, she knew it would haunt her all day long
and end up in an eruption.

**********

  Twilix watched
Kara stalk off towards the ring of fire wizards. Soon she had the escaped
wizards pushing a ball of flame back and forth like some child’s game. She
talked to them about anger and passion while they balanced the ball between
them. It grew larger and smaller, then went up and down and even turned circles
in the air. It was a dazzling show of light. She liked to watch Kara dance a
ball of flame about the room at night but this was something different,
something majestic. Fire wizards were meant to be taught this way.

  Brent came to
stand beside Twilix, “Do you think she will be able to teach them?”

  “I wouldn’t
have agreed to them coming if I didn’t, Master Parker.” She did not take her
eyes from the wizards. She noticed they certainly seemed to have a lot of
anger. Kara would have her work cut out for her.

  Brent cleared
his throat, “Yes, but do you think she will be able to teach them before we
reach the Water Realm? Word has it that soldiers are being called to Keepers.
You
know
why they are being called there. Atmos is predicting where
Kilen will go. He will either go home or to Keepers.”

Twilix nodded
her head.

“Do you think
she will be able to teach them before we get there?” Brent asked again.

  “Before we get
there, no. I am surprised she was successful with Al’tore. I hope that he truly
has gained control. I saw the change in her and it feels the same in him. His
body no longer harbors the heat that the others do. If you look, you can see it
using the water vision. He isn’t fighting the magic back like he was this
morning. If she has taught him, then she’s already exceeded my expectations,”
Twilix said glancing at Brent.

  “If she isn’t
able to teach them, we will have a big problem on our hands. The Earth Realm’s
army is waiting for us to arrive. These wielders will most likely attack the
first time we find a soldier wearing a uniform of green,” Brent said.

  Twilix nodded
her head, “We will just have to be ready for that. In the mean time let us do
all we can to help Kara. As of right now we seem to be treating these wielders
as if they all carry the plague.”

  A snap of a
twig nearby alerted the party to someone approaching. Brent and Twilix moved to
follow Bowie as he raised his bow to his cheek.

Brent whispered,
“It’s a man.”

Twilix nodded to
Bowie confirming the approaching visitor. They were still far into the Earth
Realm and were all wanted by the king. Brent watched with water vision as a man
in baggy robes walked through the trees, trying to avoid snagging the cloth on
thistles. The man used a wide sash to gather the extra folds around him.

“He’s a wind
wielder. Bowie, your arrows will do nothing here,” Brent cautioned.

  Bowie nodded
his head and put his bow across his body. He pulled the dagger form the sheath
hidden behind his back. A small breeze ruffled the leaves of the surrounding
trees.

A familiar voice
called out, “I’m glad to see you’ve had some success, Master Crescent.”

  Bowie relaxed
and sheathed his dagger letting go of the wind, “It’s Alexander.”

  Twilix didn’t
even know she was holding her breath until she finally let out the tension of
air in her lungs.

Alexander
finally came out of the bushes surrounding the camp. “Fine gathering you have
here. Took on some extra, I see.” Alexander took a step forward and had to duck
from a fire ball hurled at him from the camp of fire wizards.
            “NO! He’s a friend!” Kara shouted.

  One of the
fire wizards threw a second flame, “He is no friend to me. He helped imprison
me!”

  Kara stood
between the enraged wizard and took control of the projectiles. The other five
began throwing flames as well. The balls of fire collided with what seemed to
be an invisible wall. They struck and exploded with a loud sound like that of
lightning hitting a tree.

“You need to
stop this right now. If you cannot control yourselves, you will force my hand
to cast you out on your own.” Kara screamed.

  Alexander
walked beside Kara with a stone look on his face and gently placed a hand on
her shoulder. “Thank you, child. You do not need to defend me. They don’t have
misplaced anger. I put them into those cells myself.” Alexander turned his face
to look at the six enraged wizards, “Remember that I have defeated you all once
before. When I did, it was for your own good. I stopped you from harming your
families and friends. Now you have a second chance at life. Do not waste it.”
He held his hands out to his side as if surrendering, but Twilix knew the
position of the hands did not mean he couldn’t use magic.

  A fire ball
struck the invisible wall.

“Let the wall
down, child. I will handle them on my own. I won’t be held accountable for the
harm that comes to you when they break through,” Alexander said to Kara.

Kara nodded,
saying she had let her wall down, exposing Alexander. Calmly, he waited as the
wizards spread out around him. Al’tore watched, unsure which side he should
join. His anger did not consume him any longer. Instead of backing away, he
moved towards them until they formed a half moon surrounding the wind wizard. A
female wizard threw the first fireball that rushed towards Alexander's chest.