Born of Magic (Channeler Series) (10 page)

After the cheering died out, the drinking and dancing began. Aldred disappeared into the festivities. It did not take Aeden long to notice there was someone else there with him in Etherea. I saw him look across the festival at me; we were the only two standing there in Etherea. As he walked towards me, he stumbled through the crowd, forgetting there were other people around us as he approached.

"Another mage, you must not be from here," he said with a low voice. He spoke as though he was accustomed to being answered without hesitation.

"Yeah, I’ve spent the past week at the hospital here. My name is Jasminis. I’m from out of town." I offered my hand to him in both Etherea and the real world.

He was hesitant at first about shaking my hand in Etherea. He took a moment to look me over. Finally, he took my hand and shook it firmly, "What brings you here?"

"I was traveling with a friend when I fell down a tunnel. Please don't tell anyone else I’m a mage, I like to keep it a secret."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why on earth would you want to hide it? Don't you want the attention that comes with it?"

I shrugged off his question. "I’m new to it, and don't like others knowing yet."

"What’s your power?" His eyes scanned me again, as if he was sizing me up for competition.

"I don't really know yet. How does your power work?"

"I don't know exactly how it works either, I just think of where the fish I want to catch are, and then I know." He answered. He beckoned me to follow him down an alleyway, where we could talk more privately. I could tell that he was just as interested at meeting another mage as I was.

We were now in a quiet area a little ways away from the festivities. There were a few crates stacked up against a building that made a perfect bench for us. I watched the mist flow through him uninhibited, just as it did with Aton. I couldn't tell if he knew exactly what I was. He seemed to find me not all that remarkable, so I assumed I was safe.

"How’d you know you’re a mage exactly? Just the fact that you can see everyone in the spirit world?"

"Spirit world? You mean Etherea?" I figured that is what he had grown to call it without anyone around to tell him otherwise.

"Etherea? That's what that place is called, huh? Well, either way, yeah. Is that how you know?" He sounded a little more determined to get the answer he sought.

I found this answer to be an easy way out, allowing me to explain how I knew I was a mage without knowing my ability. "Yeah, that’s the only sign I’ve shown of being one. Can I see your power work?"

Aeden smiled. He seemed excited at the opportunity to show off his ability. He closed his eyes and I could see the mist flow through him and turn into a wavy blue energy as he used his power. His eyes glowed, even though they were shut. He opened his eyelids and revealed them to me; they were dark blue with energy swirling around. I could see the ocean in the area where his pupils normally would be.

As I watched, I grew curious of the extent of his power and I sent a surge of magic into him while he was busy concentrating on using his ability. The mist flowed into him like a giant storm. His eyes grew even brighter and a look of confusion crept onto his face. He began to grab his head, as if in pain, pulling at his hair. I watched in horror as blood trickled down his nose. I was confused, unsure of how to act next. I stopped channeling magic into him and ran back to the festival.

I sprinted through the crowd, shouting for Aldred. He heard my calls and found me, then placed both of his big hands on my shoulders, "What is it Jas, what's wrong?"

It took a moment to catch my breath, before I could speak again, "It's Aeden, he was showing off his power when something went wrong. He started bleeding from the nose—"

"Where is he? Take me to him." Aldred said with a concerned look on his face. I grabbed one of his giant hands, my fingers barely making it around his thumb, and led him to where Aeden was. A small puddle of blood was near his face as he lay on the ground, his eyes open and gray. My heart sank as he laid there, his body limp.

"We need to get him inside," Aldred said. He gestured for the nurse that had followed us to give him a hand in carrying Aeden. They exercised great caution as they carried him, and set him down on an empty bed in the main room of the doctor’s office. I could see Eldrin's head peeking out from our room.

"What the little brat do this time?" Eldrin’s voice revealed a bit of joy.

Aldred looked up at Eldrin and closed his eyes, shaking his head, "Now's not the time." He returned his attention to Aeden, desperately trying to determine what was wrong with him. He reported his findings to the nurse, who made note, waiting for her next task to help. "He’s breathing but his pulse is slow. He’s not responding. He appears to be in a sort of coma like state, although his eyes do seem a little alert now."

Aldred looked over at me, "Do you know what exactly he was doing before this happened?"

I grew nervous that they would realize that this was my fault. "I asked him to show me his power. I didn't do this, did I?"

"No, it isn't your fault, little one. Go back to your room. I'm not sure how long this will be." Aldred's eyes were dancing around like a pair of bees trapped in a small jar as he made every effort he could to help Aeden.

He stood back, his eyes filled with shock as Aeden blinked. Aeden looked around in confusion for a moment, and then sat up. "Where am I? How did I get here?" He rubbed his head with both of his hands, his fingers pressing on his temples.

"You passed out. Fortunately, Jasminis found me and we brought you here." Aldred explained.

Aeden’s eyes pierced through me as he pursed his lips. “That’s never happened before. I’m not sure what happened. My mind just became overwhelmed. I could see every fish in the ocean, all at once. It hurt. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I blacked out. Then it just stopped.”

Aldred placed his hand on Aeden’s shoulder. “Well, I think it best you lay off on using your power for a little while. Just as well, the big fishing season is over for a few months. Especially with all you brought in.” He rubbed his fingers through Aeden’s hair.

Aeden looked over at me once more. We held stares for a few minutes. His eyes were cold and dark. I couldn’t tell if he though I had meant to do this to him, or if he even suspected me. All I knew was that my welcome here felt like it was wearing thin.

I waited until everyone had gone home for the night and Eldrin was fast asleep. When I felt comfortable that everyone was out, I grabbed my new coat and snuck outside. The town was quiet, and empty. Most of the torches had been doused, with a small cloud of smoke emanating from the embers, filling the village with the smoldering smell of wood. I began searching for Aton, who was my only escape from this mess that I had started. I figured he would be somewhere just outside of town.

I walked over to the tunnel that we had come in through, hoping to find some sign of Aton there. The clearing outside of the tunnel was empty, so I moved down along a small patch of forest to the right of it. He’d be far more comfortable in the forest than in the village.

There he was, hunched over in a blanket behind a thick tree. The closer I got to him, the more concerned I became. He didn’t move or show any sign of life. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he jolted back and looked up at me with wide eyes and a desperate stare.

Jas, is that you?" He asked, his voice weak and dry. "I knew they would take care of you."

While I knew that it probably was for the best that they had taken me into the hospital and treated me there, I couldn’t completely shake the feeling of abandonment. Even as I saw him at the brink of death after having spent all of this time out here on his own, I was bitter. I was probably being overly sensitive.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there, but I thought it best to leave you in their care while you recovered. The less they know of me the better." As he spoke, the feeling of betrayal left me. I could see just how much pain he was in.

"What now?"

"With you here once more, I can safely enter the town, grab what we need and we can get out of here. I can only hope your mysterious arrival didn’t alarm anyone."

I shook my head. "I told them we were traveling and I wasn't sure where you were. Not many questions were asked about you and they didn’t seem too worried about my intentions. I gained their trust."

It dawned on me that I had gained their trust, hurt one of them, and was about to betray that trust by helping Aton steal from one of them. There was no turning back now. I had gone this far, and when I was done, they would never trust me again, were they to learn the truth. They shouldn’t ever trust me again.

He smiled up at me as he struggled to stand up. "All right, we go tonight then. We can be out of sight before morning. You stay here in the forest and channel as much energy as you can to me. Just in case something goes wrong, I don't want to be caught off guard once again."

I found a safe place for my body to stay in the forest and followed Aton in Etherea, keeping my distance as he approached the town. His pace was steady and in a specific direction, so he appeared to know exactly where he was going. The town was very dark as we entered. There were no signs of life, and not a sound in Etherea.

Aton signaled me to stay where I was and then he crept into a small hut. I watched him disappear inside. Time seemed to pass at an uncomfortable pace as I waited outside, anxious for him to come back out. I almost broke down and was about to go inside and check on him when he came out, walking now in a more hastened pace towards me. I followed him back to the patch of forest where I had left my body along with our supplies.

Once I was back to my body and able to control them both again, I looked to Aton. "Did you get what you needed?"

He grinned and patted his side pocket. "Yes, now let's make our way back up the tunnel and out of here. Once they notice you're missing, they'll probably start looking for you. We'll need to put enough distance between us and them tonight before they notice."

In a flurry of haste we packed our bags and made our way towards the cavern. I took only a few heartbeats to look back at the town I had grown to love during my stay, before I ruined my welcome there. I imagined saying my goodbyes to everyone inside and caught back up with Aton. My heart beat like a steady drum in the back of my throat as I thought of how I was repaying the kindness everyone had shown me, and how much I would miss them. There was no turning back now.

"How will we cross the gap this time?" I made sure that my voice was filled with concern.

"I placed a series of sturdy logs across that recently. We’ll be able to walk across them with ease. I didn't lie around the entire time you were gone." He sounded almost defensive.

As night passed, we continued to march through the tunnel in a hurry. I grew tired and my ability to properly place one foot in front of the other faded. I began to stumble from one side of the passage to the other, but we continued on. Aton ensured we didn’t stop until we were through the tunnel. By the time we reached the other side, it was midday.

We stepped out into the bright sun. It reflected off the white snow and blinded me, making it near impossible to see. My eyes adjusted to the light, and as my vision returned, I could see the figure standing in front of us. I didn't need to see whom it was to know it was trouble. I could see the mage in Etherea. Then I recognized him—the red beard and green robes gave him away. I looked to Aton, who I could tell was already hidden from the mage's eyes.

"It's pointless, mage. I know you're there," Red Beard shouted. He then placed his hands on the ground and closed his eyes. The earth trembled around me. Mounds of snow welled up in a circle around Aton and me, and then giant patches of brush sprouted out of the ground.

A thick circle of brush surrounded us and I couldn’t find a way out. I tried tugging on some loose branches, but they didn’t give. Their branches spread out in many directions and wove themselves together. There was no break in them anywhere big enough for me to crawl through. I didn’t recognize the type of plant, but it was jagged and bare, with no leaves, just thousands of little thorns.

"Now we may talk." Red beard said, taking in large huffs of air. It sounded as though he was trying to regain his strength after what he had done. "Little girl, there are two possible reasons for you being here: either you don't know what sort of monster you are with, or you are a monster as well. Which is it?"

Aton rushed over to me and placed his hand over my mouth as he stood behind me. He whispered into my ear, "Don't answer him, he's trying to divide us so we’re easier to stop. He's weak right now. He has little energy or strength left after doing something like this. I’ll find us a way out."

"Monster, what sort of lies have you fed this girl? I know not why you seek the stones, but the Academy of Mages will not let you continue. This ends here!" As he shouted, the branches around us shook and moved closer. They crept towards us, the circle shrinking inward.

Aton kept his hand on my mouth as he looked around for a way out. He stopped for a moment and turned me around. He placed his finger over his lips as he released his other hand from my mouth, and he whispered in my ear. "I'll be right back, wait here for me."

“Where else would I go?” I thought to myself.