The Elementalist : Next of Kin: The Kothian Chronicles (21 page)

Next in line, was a man of a similar age to the first woman, although this man had a young boy in tow. "Please be seated," Danton asked politely. "I think my lad is what you are looking for Sir," the man said looking nervously. Danton smiled, "Please don't be afraid, I may be a man of magic but I do not use it to harm anyone other than those who seek to do me harm." The man nodded, and turned to the boy sat quietly beside him, "I think Ben is magical Sir...He can make things move without touching them," he said before looking worryingly at Danton.

Danton suddenly realised the man was not nervous because of him, but because he was chancing placing his son in danger. If anyone had found out before that day that the boy was indeed capable of magic, he would have been arrested and tried, with the possibility of being put to death. Danton reassured them that having magic was no longer illegal, "If it is so, then he must come back to Pitford with me for training.

Danton placed a coin on the table in front of the boy, "Ben wasn't it?" he asked. The boy nodded shyly, "Yes Sir," he said in a squeaky little voice. "Well Ben, do you think you can move this coin with your magic, to show me?" Danton realised he was putting the boy under pressure, and asking him to actually perform the task there and then was unlikely to give any possible results. The boy nodded, and starred at the small silver coin, "Come on Ben show the man what you can do," the man said adding extra pressure to his young son. The coin did not move, and the boy appeared completely deflated, "I am sorry," he said turning tearfully to his father. Danton watched the man place a loving arm about his young son, "Not to worry lad," the man said softly, "I know you can do it," he added.

Danton watched the pair, and decided to do a little check; he quickly vanished and indeed could see the makings of an aura about the youngster. Making himself visible again, he calmly picked up his pen, "Right Ben, go home tonight and pack your things. We meet here early tomorrow morning for Pitford."

"You'll take him then...you believe he has magic?" the man asked seemingly surprised by Danton's reaction.

"I will indeed Sir," Danton replied with a smile, "Just pack his clothes and any personal belongings he needs, and he can travel back to Pitford with me tomorrow morning," he added.

Danton gave a quick briefing of what then lay ahead for the youngster, and had his father make his mark on a form giving permission for his son to be taken in service of the king. Being taught to read and write, as well as given the chance to nurture his magical talents, on top of being given a room and fed, was a life his father knew he could not give his son.

After over an hour of interviewing the other candidates in the room, Danton now had six names on his list. Four girls and two boys were far more than he could have hoped for, although none of them could actually demonstrate their skills on request. Only after he had vanished and detected their magical aura about them did he know for sure they were telling him the truth. His time had also been wasted by a number of people claiming they had abilities, or had done something unexplained, and although he remained patient and polite, he did not offer them a place at Pitford.

He thought he had finished until he noticed one more young man sat at the back of the room all alone. "Do you want to come and take a seat at the front?" Danton asked. The rather scruffy looking youth, probably about fourteen or fifteen years of age slowly stood and shuffled his feet towards the front of the room, finally stopping at the table. Danton gestured for the youngster to take a seat, "Right and what can you do?" he asked not holding out a lot of hope.

The youngster looked up at the globe of light that Danton had produced, still hovering near the ceiling and waved his hand. Danton was shocked to see the light flicker out, and even more so when the youth flicked his fingers to produce his own. Giving off a dim red glow, it was clear the boy was not quite as proficient as Danton was at producing such a thing, but the ability was certainly there. "Well at least I do not need to vanish to see you have magic," Danton smiled. The boy gave a glimmer of a smile, through his grimy look hair that hung long over his face. "Do you have any parents?" Danton asked him, checking he did not need to ask anyone's permission but admitting the boy to Pitford. "No Sir," the boy said keeping his gaze lowered.

Danton nodded his understanding, "Are you an Orphan?" he asked, to which the boy nodded. These were the kind of people Danton liked helping most, those that had been dealt a bad hand in life. "My name is Kellan," the boy told him as Danton made some notes. He was just about to ask the boy to go to pack and prepare for Pitford tomorrow, when he realised that the boy was probably already in possession of everything he owned.

Danton looked at the scruffy looking youth before him, and thought back to the day he had found Maxim. Another poor boy who had nothing, and had been forced to endure a hungry, lonely existence, with each day being a battle for mere survival. After shoving his chair back he stood and collected his papers, "Come on Kellan...How would you like to have a meal and a nice warm bed to sleep in?" he asked.

With Kellan in tow, Danton returned to the inn a little later than he had originally hoped, but thankfully not so late that he had missed the innkeeper making them a cooked meal. After handing over a few coins, Kellan was then shown to a small room, where a fire burned in the hearth giving it a comforting warmth. "Tonight my young friend, you can sleep here...Oh and Kellan...make use of the wash facilities," Danton added with a smile.

Chapter 26.

Maxim stood rather nervously as his father introduced him to the two other High Lords of Icenia. Both men were much older than his father was by a good few years, and it was immediately apparent neither was particularly bothered by his arrival. Maxim did not take it personally, and knew he only needed to tolerate being in their presence whilst he asked them to help Kothia's cause.

Unsure of the correct protocol needed for such permission to be given, he waited for his father to speak on his behalf. "I am here for a purpose," the man told them, making sure they were aware his visit was not merely a social one. The elder of the two men stared intently at Maxim, even bothering to take the time to walk around him, as if seeing the boy from behind would give him so kind of different perspective. "You want something from us?" the man finally said stopping right in front of Maxim's face.

Joren nodded, and explained the situation Kothia was in, although even Maxim thought his father laid it on a bit thick at times. "And you seek our permission for Icenia to fight this squabble for you?" the oldest man surmised. "Yes High Lord," Joren replied, keeping the meeting as formal as possible. The other man, who had remained seated, spoke for the first time, "You know we cannot aid your cause. Why...who is to say Kothia is more deserving of our help than the nation that has taken its lands?" The man added, much to Maxim's annoyance.

His listened to his father, all but plead the Kothian's case, but it was very soon apparent these two men were not willing to listen. "You know High Lord that ours laws, written by all our fore-fathers, forbid you to intervene," The seated man reminded Maxim's father. With it being quite clear they were not getting anywhere, Maxim found himself losing his temper, "I am a Lord of Icenia am I not?" he snapped, looking at both the high lords. "Naturally, if you are the son of a high lord then yes that is true," One of them replied.

Maxim's father went to place a hand on his son's shoulder, as if to say leave the talking to him, but Maxim was having none of it. If his time in Kothia had taught him anything, it was to say what you thought and not let it eat you up inside. "Well High Lords," Maxim added with more than a touch of sarcasm in his voice, "The Bosarian king kidnapped me, tried to control my mind, and then tried to kill me when he realised I was not so easily oppressed. If I understand your laws correctly, an attack on an Icenian noble allows you the use of force?" he added feeling the adrenaline pumping in his body. Maxim waited for the two men to reply, and did not have to wait long for them to do so.

The man who had been seated stood and walked over to his colleague, as if he was speaking for both of them, "A sad series of events if true of course, although we cannot help you." Maxim fumed, "What do you mean...If they are true...Look into my mind and you will see exactly what happened."

"It is against our laws to enter the mind of another."

"Well I give you permission...Go on look," Maxim raged finding it harder by the minute not to let his temper take control.

One of the high lords looked to Joren for approval, "If my son permits it, then I will not stop you," Maxim's father replied, hoping he knew what his son was letting himself in for.

Maxim flinched as he felt an aged hand touch his forehead. He felt a sharp agonising pain shoot around his body, as images from his memory were forcibly dragged to the forefront of his mind. Had he realised allowing someone to view his thoughts was so painful he might not have been so keen to volunteer them. Maxim saw images he had suppressed, a picture of a man he knew to be the Bosarian king appeared, ordering him to release balls of fire at some dummy targets; a memory Maxim somehow had little recollection of, yet it was there in his mind.

Thankfully, the ordeal was over in a few seconds, although Maxim had to admit it felt far longer. His father grabbed his arm to support him, as his legs almost give way, "Lending your mind to another can be a little draining," he told him. Maxim nodded, before thanking his father for the help. The high lord stepped away from him and returned to his earlier position beside his colleague, "The boy speaks the truth," he said whilst keeping his focus on Maxim.

Joren decided to add a little more weight to the argument, "My fellow High Lords, if it were one of your sons treated in such a manner, I would not hesitate to offer my support for justice. My son has been attacked, violated and you stand there and tell me we can do nothing about it." The two older men looked at each other as if agreeing upon something, before returning their gaze to Maxim and his father. "If you wish justice for your son, then surely we only need punish the one man who has committed the crime? Yet you seek our permission to side with these Kothians to fight a war they cannot win."

Maxim sighed, he felt this was going nowhere, every case they seemed to make, was merely dismissed. After listening to another lecture as to why the high lords could not assist in such a thing, Maxim had finally had enough. He turned to his father, "I am sorry Father, but I cannot stand here and listen to these two pompous old farts, whilst my friends are under threat," He snapped, turning to walk away. Maxim felt his body hit an invisible wall as he found any progress forward blocked. He heard his father shouting, "How dare you use magic against my son," As the barrier before him suddenly disappeared.

Maxim realised he may have overstepped the mark, and not wanting things to get out of hand he turned back to see his father stood there with clenched fists, and both of the other high lords hanging helplessly in the air. Maxim suddenly felt a sense of utter panic, what had he done? He did not want to be the cause of any fighting. "Please father...Release them" he said softly "It was my fault... I should not have lost my temper, and for that I apologise to them both," Maxim added turning to the two older men.

Joren released his grasp on the other two high lords, although it was clear he was outraged by what had happened. Maxim hoped he had not caused a situation that would get any further out of hand. "I am sorry my Lords," he reiterated once more. "My words were thoughtless and foolish...I can only hope you will forgive me and we can put this matter behind us." The two men were clearly still in shock by what had taken place, "Using magic on us was a foolish mistake High Lord," One of them said angrily to Maxim's father. "We have lived peacefully for centuries without any such attack taking place..."

"You did attack his son first..." The other High lord reminded his colleague. "Therefore, I think the two cancel each other out, Let us do as the boy suggests and put this matter behind us...We do not want to start family feuds," He added.

Maxim looked at his father, and gave an apologetic look, knowing he had caused the man a very serious problem. There was a period of silence as the two parties merely glared at each other, before the two older high lords once more looked at each other as if agreeing on something else. The one who had used magic against Maxim stepped forward, "Your words were out of order young Lord. However, my actions duly deserved what they got. I apologise for my part in this foolish escapade."

Maxim puffed out his cheeks, "Thank you...I am sorry...I do not wish to cause any trouble, I merely wish to aid my friends. The very people who came to rescue me from the Bosarians are fighting a battle to keep their country free from tyranny and oppression. I showed my immaturity in overreacting to your lack of care," he said hoping it sounded sincere enough. He gazed up to his father, who looked back with a smile, before placing a comforting arm around his shoulder, as if to give a sign that he supported him whatever.

After another awkward moment of silence the two high lords spoke again, "Very well...We do not want this situation to get out of hand. You speak well for one so few in years young man...I give my vote for Icenia to aid your friends on the grounds they attacked an Icenian Lord." To say Maxim was shocked would have been something of an understatement, and when the other high lord mirrored the words of the first he was all but speechless. "Thank you," he said not quite certain what else to say.

The permission was however given with strict conditions. Icenia would only assist Kothia in retaking its lands, and would not be a part of any revenge attack into enemy lands. Moreover, in future, Kothia would have to be responsible for defending itself in any forthcoming conflict, "I want it understood we do not ally ourselves with this nation, other than in this instance," one said, which was once more reiterated by the other.

Before leaving, both the High Lords shook Maxim's hand, as a sign a mutual respect. "You have an honourable son High Lord," one said to his father, "I think your line is in safe hands with this one," he added. His father merely bowed his head just a little in acknowledging the compliment, before gesturing for Maxim to lead the way back home.

On returning to the palace owned by his father, Maxim stopped and turned to his father, before apologising for his actions. "I am so sorry...I did not mean to put you in such a position," he said realising just how lucky they had been in things not escalating. 

"Don't be Max...I think we just went up in their estimation...and besides...it was very exciting did you not think," he added poking Max in the ribs. Maxim smiled before stepping forward and giving his father a hug, "Thank you," He said; his voice all muffled. Despite Joren feeling a little awkward at first at the show of affection, he soon felt an inner warmth by it. This was his son, his blood, and for the first time he felt the loving connection that any father should feel.

Later that same evening, Joren was sat with his son listening to him describe the friends he had left behind. As he lay back in his cushioned chair something dawned upon, something that he knew he had no control over. "Max...Can I ask you something?" he said interrupting him, "I won't be angry, but please answer me truthfully," he added. Maxim nodded, "Sure...What do you want to know Father?" he asked in return. "Well...when all this is over, and we have placed the Kothian King...Anden," he added remembering the young monarch's name, "What do you plan to do?"

Maxim looked his father in the eye, a man whom he known but a few weeks, but still his father nonetheless. "You will wish for me to stay here in Icenia, and my friends will wish me there in Kothia," he said aloud as he thought the answer through. He knew deep down there was only one answer he could give, and he also knew that it would not be the one his father wanted to hear. In fact, he did not even have to speak it, before his father had gotten the answer he needed, "I thought as much son," he said, before Maxim had even given his reply.

Maxim apologised, but his father held up a hand to stop him, "No need to be sorry for caring about your friends, it is what makes you who you are."

"I am glad you have found me Father, but you wish for me to one day succeed you in being a figure of power...and I am so sorry, but that is not something I can do," he added with a tear in his eye. His father's disappointment was clear to see, but the man leaned forward and placed his hand upon Maxim's shoulder, "Son," he said, "I understand...Do not worry, we can work something out," he added, as Maxim felt the need for another hug.