The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (42 page)

“
Thank you, Chieftain,” I said bowing my head
slightly.

“
If there is anything I can get you. I already know you are
looking for a tail feather,” he smiled, “but if there is anything
else. Just let me know.”

“
How about a ride down the mountain?” I asked. “I still have
to visit the Szwen Forest.”

“
We’ll drop you right down in front of it,” Harik said. “Just
let the Flyers know where.”

“
Thank you,” I said.

“
There is no talking you in to staying here and helping?”
Nerrilok asked.

“
I will be needed at the Tower of the Watchful Eye,” I said.
“Besides, maybe I can stall them from sending reinforcements up the
mountain.”

“
We’ll be ready if they do,” Nerrilok said.

“
Now,” Harik started, “spend the rest of the day and night
here. I’ll pluck my tail feather tomorrow morning. I’d rather my
butt didn’t hurt all night while I partied.”

“
I’m sorry that you’ll be unable to fly for a few days,” I
said.

He waved it
off dismissively. “You sacrificed a lot to help us. They least I
could do is make a small sacrifice of my own. Besides, with the
trials coming up, I’ll be too busy to fly.”

“
Whose idea was it to hold the trials?” I asked. “I was going
to suggest it but it looks like I was too slow.”

“
It was the Chieftain’s idea,” Nerrilok said. “Mine was to
line them up in front of the archers.”

“
After Nerrilok told me about the Battle of Casik Valley,
where you discussed the creation of a new civilized society,” Harik
explained excitedly. “I read through some of Nerrilok’s books and
saw The Trial of the Red Beaks, a radical group that was put on
trial and sentenced to death to intimidate other groups. I figured
it would be the best way to send a message to the Mages of the
other towns that we will not stand for their crimes.”

I looked to
Nerrilok. “Seems like somebody grew into a leader overnight.”

Harik
chuckled. “Small steps. I’m not there yet but I will be the
Chieftain the Evenawks need during this time. Only time will tell
if my name will be up there with the Great Chieftains of
Legend.”

“
Stick with Nerrilok and you’ll be fine Chieftain,” I
said.

“
Now, enough with the serious stuff,” Harik said standing up.
“Let’s get this party started.”

***

I landed
softly on the ground and waved to the two Evenawks. “Thanks for the
lift.”

“
Anytime, Diason,” the one called out as they flew back to the
mountains.

I adjusted my
new pack and looked into the Szwen Forest. There was a spooky
atmosphere to the gnarled and dense trees. From here it was too
dark to see any real distance into the forest. It was no wonder
people steered clear of the north side of Kalenden.

Luckily I
didn’t have my heavy old pack to weigh me down should I need to
move quickly. The Evenawks gave me a Mail Runner’s pack for the
rest of my journey. I could fit the Demon’s Bane, Tail Feather and
my Ritual Book in there comfortably without it straining my
shoulders. A welcome change.

Yeah, now I don’t have to listen to you complain about
it,
Cathy said.

Did YOU want
to carry it?

Yes
, she said
excitedly
. Let me take
control
.

Forget I said
that. I wasn’t thinking.

Damn
, Cathy said.

I entered the
forest and started weaving through the trees. There were no
established paths through this forest. My plan, as it says on the
Keeper’s Map, is to walk as far as I need to until I encounter a
Nao. With the trees closing in around me making me feel
claustrophobic, I couldn’t wait to be taken prisoner.

What’s the plan should they become hostile?
Cathy asked.

You think it
will go that far?

I’ve never trusted the Nao,
Cathy
explained
. They live in a magical world
that is separate from the Spirit Plain. Other Demons have said they
can see through your soul. What’s the plan if they think we are a
threat?

I...I don’t
know. I never planned to hack and slash my way through this
forest.

Then it is time we had this talk,
Cathy said
. We need to branch out
into different spells. You can’t keep using the same ones over and
over again.

I don’t
remember anymore.

I know, you have never been a fighter so you forgot how to do
everything,
Cathy said
. I’ve been going through you memories for other spells. The
Lightning one the Mage used to disarm your sword is easy enough and
you should use more Nature Magic, especially in here. In Nesqa, you
used the Staff to make the ground shake. You can do that easily
too.

I probably
have a few spells in the Ritual Book that could help.

Most definitely
, Cathy said.
Here
.

A memory
flashed through my head, transporting me back to a class where we
were learning attack spells. I watched in amazement as spells I
have always thought were pointless returned to my mind. Everything
came to a screeching halt as I walked into a tree and staggered
back. I hissed in pain and grabbed my face.

You should probably stop walking, you dink, when I’m showing
you memories,
Cathy said barely containing
her laughter.

Sound
advice.

I sat down on
a stump as Cathy cycled through memories to show me spells that had
been buried away in the back of my mind.

This is an important one,
Cathy
said
. I always had fun with Ice
Fist.

I always hated
that one.

Well, when you are punching an enemy in the face with your
hands covered in solid Ice, you’ll learn to like in quickly,
Cathy said
. Ice and Fire
have so many uses. You even have a spell to BREATHE fire in here.
How could you forget that one?!

You have to
remember that I never pictured myself using these spells. Yes, I
was constantly in danger from the other Mages but excessive use of
Magic was forbidden. Besides, the School of the Elemental wasn’t
one I was in a hurry to get into.

Breathing fire is Demonology,
Cathy
replied.

Really?

Cathy laughed.
It is best used in
short bursts when you hands are otherwise busy.

Alright, flash
the memory through my head.

There’s nothing more in the School of the Spiritual that can
help you
, Cathy said as the image of the
Fire Breathing class flowed through my head.
You already know the basics: Heal, Pulse, Ward, and
Illusion.

All the
non-threatening stuff that wouldn’t get me into trouble but saves
my skin.

Nothing in Demonology surprisingly,
she said disappointed.
I was really
curious to see if Contee’s spell was in there.

Don’t remind
me of that one. I shuddered.

It really seems like the Tower was just training everyone to
be warriors,
Cathy said.
Especially in Elemental.

Master Pryce
must have had more power over everything then I thought.

I looked
around and noticed that the forest seemed to be less intimidating
then before. The trees weren’t closing in over me and the sun was
starting to poke in through the leaves. Even the air was
fresher.

Not much in Nature Magic either,
Cathy continued.
I guess they like
playing with their vines and trees and that’s it.

Sh. Look
around. The forest has changed.

Well I’ll be...
she said intrigued
as I moved my head around so she could see everything.

“
E-excuse me,” a timid female voiced said behind
me.

I stood up
from my stump and turned to the voice. A small woman in her late
teens with long brown hair and piercing blue eyes stood cowering by
a tree. Her face twisted into one of confusion and fear as she
looked at me but shook it off.

The hat probably scared her,
Cathy
joked.

“
I’m lost,” the girl said. “Can you help me?”

Chapter 36

The girl
continued to look at me, not sure what I was doing. This meant I
was probably making some sort of face at her. I tried to straighten
myself out and stepped towards her. “What seems to be the problem?”
I asked.

“
I’m from the farmlands in Balendar. I wandered too far into
the forest and I can’t get out,” she said quickly as she started
towards me. “You’re the first person I’ve seen in here. Please
help.”

Oh, she is good
, Cathy
said.

Yeah, look at
her inching closer to me.

Notice the brown hair and blue eyes?
Cathy said
. Playing your type pretty
well. Not as good as me, but…

I repressed a
laugh and slowly walked towards her. “How have you managed to
survive out here?” I asked. “The Nao are bloodsucking parasites
that feast on anyone that ventures into their forest.”

The girl’s
face twisted into anger slightly before she looked down to regain
her composure.

Cathy laughed.
Good idea. Let’s see
how long before we can make her snap?

“
All the more reason to help me,” the girl said in a steady
tone.

“
Agreed,” I said trying to keep a straight face. “The longer
we are in here the more likely we are to meet one of the hideously
disgusting tree demons.”

“
I’ll have you know they are quite beautiful!” the girl
exclaimed.

“
You have failed, Nao,” I said as I raised my arm and shot a
Dispel towards her.

The Dispel hit
the girl right in the chest and the forest returned to its dreary,
claustrophobic state. The girl transformed into a short dark green
humanoid, with leaves growing like hair down her head and back and
vines wrapping themselves around her legs and arms. She didn’t wear
any clothes; her entire body was the same colour, glowing slightly
from within, and only showing the basic curves of femininity. So
she wasn’t exactly naked.

Disappointed?
Cathy
asked.

A little.

The Nao’s
black eyes grew thin as she bore her teeth and claws at me. She let
out a loud screech as I covered myself in scales and searched her
mind. The silly ‘girl’ left her mind wide open and I prepared to
teach her a lesson in Illusion.

To her, the
scales taking over my body grew more Demon-like, and covered my
entire head. Horns grew from the top of my head and my eyes glowed
white. She squeaked in fear as I charged her and lifted her into
the air by her throat.

“
You lack discipline in your craft,” I said in a booming
voice. I dropped the Illusion spell and my face and voice returned
to normal. “A good Illusionist doesn’t let personal feeling get in
the way of the spell.”

“
In the name of the Spirit of the Forest, you will drop our
sister and return to where you have come from, Kairu,” a voice said
beside me.

I lowered the
Nao to the ground and let go. She ran off in the direction of the
voices. Three slightly taller Naos stood with their arm up at me.
The little one hid behind the leader of the group,

“
I assume, Kairu means Demon,” I started as the scales
returned to skin. “I assure you the scales are just a simple spell.
I am human.”

“
I do not care about your spell,” the leader said to me. “We
can through the Spirits into your soul. You house a Demon but…it is
unlike anything I have seen.”

“
Put your hands down and talk to me,” I said to them. “I wish
you no harm. Give me the chance to explain why I am
here.”

“
What you wish remains to be seen but you have been surprising
civilized, Kairu,” the leader said. “Speak but know that you cannot
trick us like you did our apprentice.”

The smaller
Nao was still hiding behind the group, watching me with wide
eyes.

“
I have come from The Tower of the Watchful Eye,” I started.
“I was sent here on a mission by Keeper Anderson to gather a vial
of water from the Sacred Well to be used in a ritual.”

The leader’s
face twisted as she seemed to search her memories. “The name
‘Keeper Anderson’ is familiar to me. He has helped us in the past
and we rewarded him with a vial from our Life Spring. Why has he
not come to confirm your story?”

“
He has grown old,” I answered. “He simply couldn’t make the
trip. I am his apprentice.”

“
Is he aware that his apprentice is a Kairu?” she
asked.

“
No,” I replied. “Nobody does. Cath…The Demon and I are one in
the same. Our souls are bound together but I still control things.
She is no threat to you.”

“’
She?” the leader smirked. “I am unaware of them having
gender. The harmony of your soul is unlike anything that has ever
been seen. Mistress Velias will be interested in studying
you.”

“
And I would be interested in speaking with her,” I
said.