SORCERER (The Elemental Magic Series Book 1) (27 page)

Once out of ear shot Jessica turned to Christi. "One of the Morsess elders wants to come to your engagement party dear. I definitely think you've chosen well with Alec here. Things are looking very good for our little family." She smiled at George.

They entered the house and were shown to a large ballroom where people were fanning the crowd. It was very warm and humid in the room.

Alec checked his well. He hadn't even come close to using an eighth of his power. He felt bad for all the people in there sweating profusely.

"I think I could cool the entire room if they closed the doors. Do you think they'd mind?" He leaned over and whispered in Christi's ear.

Christi went over to her mother and spoke to her after she was done talking to a grandfatherly looking man. Jessica came back over to him with Christi.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yah, least till the sun goes down."

"Marvelous, this is humiliating. I'll go speak with my sister. When you see the doors start to close do your thing dear." She told him patting him on the arm. She headed for a group of people and dragged an older woman from their midst.

Shortly a small portly man was going from door to door getting the occupants to close them. Alec leaned back against a wall and closed his eyes. He thought if he just cooled a large area it might work but had no way to contain it so he spread his power out through the entire room. It was starting to warm up fast.

He visualized a large fire outside one of the doors that were now closed. He fed the warmth from the room into it then just monitored the spell for the next ten minutes as the heat dropped to a more comfortable level before he dampened down the tether.

It was still really humid so he modified the tether to pull the humidity out with the heat.

Alec opened his eyes to see Christi and Tomas standing in front of him.

"Welcome back. Good spell! Care to fill an old man in on what you just did?" Tomas asked putting an arm around both of them and leading them to a set of chairs. He took one for himself and gestured for them to sit.

"You’re what, third year sorcerer?"

"We're both first year sir." Alec corrected him.

"First! Not possible. Even I, as a wizard know they don't teach spells of this complexity in first or second year classes and I doubt third year classes. So spill the beans son."

Alec told him he really was first year then went on to explain the book he'd been reading and practicing. He then explained how he removed the heat from the room and modified the tether to take out the humidity.

Tomas just sat and listened shaking his head every once in a while.

"Son, you can't... Well I guess you did. Forget it. Just be careful you don't burn yourself out. I'm sure I'll talk with you again. I better make the rounds or they'll start griping.

Christ gripped his arm. "You know he's one of the heads of the family, right."

"Yah, that's what your mother said," Alec told her. He was fine one on one with strangers. He just felt claustrophobic when talking in front of a crowd. "I think your mother is trying to get our attention," he told her.

Jessica's was looking pointedly at them and waving.

Alec and Christi made their way over through the now full room to her mother and her sister. She introduced Alec as her future son-in-law after Christi received a hug from her Aunt. Teresa looked him over and gave a wink to Christi saying she expected to be invited to the engagement party, at which point Jessica asked him when she would be able to meet with his Aunt. Alec explained, for Teresa's benefit, that his best friend was getting married and he had been asked to be the best man. He took a deep breath and asked if it would be possible for Christi to go to the wedding with him as it was custom to at least try to bring a date.

Jessica asked who else was going with him and he told her just himself and Christi, with her permission. Jessica told him they would have to have a chaperone and volunteered to go with them thus allowing her to meet with his Aunt.

Teresa looked a bit confused at the mention of his Aunt rather than his mother so he filled her in on the fact that his parents had died quite a while ago. With that info she wrapped him in a hug saying how sorry she was to hear it. She then asked if there might be room for a fourth to go with him as she loved weddings.

Alec told her that with a country wedding the tradition was the more people the better it was. So he informed them that the wedding was in three weeks’ time on seventh day and the farm was three days by horseback, pushing it at a fair pace. Teresa told him she'd stop by the Morton's house over fall festival and they could make arrangements then.

They all took their places at tables lined up to one side of the ballroom. Alec was seated between an older woman and a man possibly a few years older than Allen. Servers brought out roast duck, noodles with some type of creamy sauce and a loaf of sweet bread. Across from him sat a girl close to his own age who couldn't keep her feet on her side as she seemed intent on kicking him throughout the meal. The older woman introduced herself as Mrs. Morsess and Michael her son was on his other side. He made small talk with the lady since he didn't see Christi anywhere.

Behind him and down a ways he spotted Bill, who was chatting up a storm with a woman closer to Allan’s age. He lifted his glass and toasted Teresa when everyone else did. The people around him dug in to the food so he took the opportunity to check his power level. He was happy to note that he still had a bit over half his power left.

He felt a hand on his arm as he closed his eyes and dampened down the cooling effect. With the sun going down it was rapidly becoming almost cold in the room. It was the third time he'd had to do it. He felt the hand on his arm again as he opened his eyes. Mrs. Morsess was asking him a question that he'd missed.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you," he told her.

"I asked if everything was alright dear. That's the third time I've seen you check your power well? Are you maintaining a spell dear?"

If he'd not just brought himself out from checking the spell he might have had the wit to evade the questions.

Instead he answered in a strait forward daze. "Yes ma’am, just checking my power and making some adjustments. It was starting to get a bit chilly in here."

The older lady almost choked when he answered, obviously not expecting that particular answer.

"You are maintaining this cooling spell young man?" she said quite a bit louder than was necessary.

"Yes ma’am," he replied shyly now that he realized what was being said and that they had the attention of everyone around him.

He was rescued, in a way, by Jessica and Teresa. They got him out of the chair and led him to the center of the ballroom where they asked for everyone's attention.

Great! Out of the pan and into the fire, he thought. He'd have to remember to tell Jessica that he really didn't like to speak in front of people he didn't know.

When the voices died down Jessica started.

"As a gift to my sister Teresa, my future son-in-law has gifted us all with this comfortably cool temperature within the room this afternoon."

"For which I thank you. Sorcerer Alec Carter, friends and family!" Teresa announced to the crowd. Many stood and clapped their hands as Alec's face burned hotter and hotter. Everyone sat back down but for Christi who held out a hand to him in route to his seat giving her mother a look and nod toward the doors.

Jessica nodded back and passed him off to her and Christi led him from the room. It was extremely warm outside and he put up another bubble around them as they walked.

Christi told him she could see him turning red in front of everyone and knew he didn't care for crowds. Alec thanked her and gave her hand a squeeze. She told him they'd have to go back once the meal was over and he said that was fine so long as he was with her. She told him the dancing would start when the sun went down and she probably wouldn't be able to stay with him the whole time.

She'd have to dance with her cousins and uncles too. He told her he would suffer silently so long as he didn't have to dance with the girl who kept kicking him under the table. She laughed so hard she had to stop walking for a minute.

When she looked like she was done he asked her what was so funny. She told him that was her cousin Tracy and that she'd been trying to play footsie with him. Seeing the confused look on his face still, she explained that it was a way for her to flirt with him without anyone else knowing.

Alec told her she didn't get very far because he'd tucked his feet back behind his chair. That really got her laughing again, to the point that Alec felt he should make sure she didn't fall.

Alec made her promise to tell him about the flirting and any other special things she thought he should know. The sun was getting lower so they headed back to the party and Alec stepped off to one side as they entered so he could dampen his tether again

He ended up dancing with Christi, and then Jessica and it felt like every other woman there. He shut down his spell after his fourth dance seeing his power level was down to a quarter of its normal level.

When he was done dancing with all the women who he felt he couldn't say no to he took a seat off to the side, where he hoped he wouldn't be noticed, drinking a very good glass fruit juice.

The elder wizard Tomas spotted him and dragged a chair over and sat.

"Is that actually cold?" Tomas pointed at Alec's glass.

"Yes sir. Would you like yours chilled?"

"That would be great son." So Alec reached out and cooled the wine in the wizard’s glass.

"Thank you," he told Alec. Alec had a feeling the wizard had questions so he waited. It didn't take long for Tomas to get to the point.

"Do you mind if I talk shop with you, son?" he asked Alec.

"Not at all, sir."

Tomas asked Alec what book he'd read that gave him so much information. Alec told him it was called Elemental Sorcery and Basic Spell Working. Tomas just stared at him then asked him to go into detail as to how he was able to cool something.

Alec was happy to do so. When Alec told him that he wasn't making things cold but was removing the heat and putting it somewhere else, Alec got that blank look from him.

"So you’re just moving the heat. That's just so basic, so easy if you have the right affinities for it. What are yours, if you don't mind me asking Alec?"

"I have fire and water," Alec told him.

"No air, are you sure?"

"As far as I know, that's what the test showed." Alec told him. "But it's pretty easy working with air. Not as easy as with fire and water but it doesn't act reluctant like earth and spirit."

"That's it! You have a lesser affinity with air! Who are you studying under at the school? Julie or Peter?"

"Peter. I didn't know Julie taught sorcery."

"She steps in and apprentices one now and then and has classes for the girls, physical development stuff. You know the preventing pregnancy, and easing moon cycle, that sort."

"Oh, I get it," Alec said.

Lucky for him Christi and her family came and got him saying it was time to go. He stood with Tomas and shook his hand saying good bye to him. Alec said good bye to Teresa and received a hug in return.

Alec and the brothers mounted their horses and George got in the carriage with the women.

Chapter 29

It turned out to be a nice clear night. The road was lit by lanterns on the carriage, not that it was completely necessary with the moon being full. They rode, making jokes at each other’s expense.

All of a sudden Alec was hit from behind. He felt himself fall to the side of the horse as it continued on without him. His right shoulder hurt and every time he tried to roll on to his back new sharp pain ran from his back through to his chest.

As his senses started to clear he saw the carriage speed away. Allen and Bill were still mounted but way out numbered with several men trying to surround them. Alec passed out.

Allen heard another twang and saw an arrow sprout from his arm making it go limp. He put his heels to his horse as he saw Bill trying to evade two guys on horses with swords. He shot forward between them. As the two brothers drew near one another Allen saw Bill had a cut on his shoulder and one across his ribs. Allen hadn't seen where Alec landed. He just hoped he was still alive.

The bandits gave up the chase shortly after it started. Their leader Merrill came back swearing. They'd wanted the carriage in the hopes they could get valuables off the women in it. One of his men rode up to Merrill and told him it looked like they'd got one they’d wanted out of the group with an arrow in the back and he wouldn't live long.

Merrill told his men to throw the body in the ditch and be done with it. Timmy told them to bring his arrow back too. No use leaving a good arrow.

Two of the guys rolled Alec over. One of them put his boot to his back and cruelly yanked the arrow from Alec's back and threw it to the ground. One grabbed his arms and the other his legs and they heaved him off the road and into the shallow ditch leaving him there to die.

Allen and Bill pulled up shortly after they noticed the bandits had given up.

"I have to go back and see if he's alive," Allen told his brother.

"I agree. Let’s leave your horse here with me so you two can get back to town. I'll tie it over there by those trees." Bill pointed at a small cluster of trees in the field off to their right.