White Hall (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 10) (49 page)

“Come down, Magnus, slowly before you get too high!” Cheleya yelled up to him, but the wizard was already high enough that if he fell to the roof now he might be killed from the impact.

She noted the strength of his wings and control he was showing. While Cheleya had done very well her first time, the dragoness knew this was the easiest forms of flight. If he should push beyond the roof or try to fly with any speed, wind currents and concentration to maintain his spell might cause him to fall.

“Dragon wings,” Cheleya recalled her wings to life. She didn’t even look back to see the glimmering red wings that looked like rubies reflecting fire.

Turning to address the remaining students, the girl ordered, “No one else do anything so stupid while I go try to bring him back safely.”

Without waiting for an answer, but knowing that Falconi Martina would probably be an enforcer of her wishes should anyone else get such a thing in their heads; Cheleya launched into the air after just two steps forward and a quick thrust of her wings. Once in the air, the dragoness felt the wind whip past her face noting a change in the air. A breeze was starting to come in from the west making things trickier.

Looking at Magnus, who had watched her take off as well; Cheleya made a quick turn as she circled rising higher swiftly. The dragoness was floating at his height in seconds looking quite comfortable using her wings. They had called her a prodigy in magic and dragon magic specifically. Testing her skills, the girl had even bested Kel’lor and another mar’goyn’lya repeatedly in either their human forms or that of the gargoyle, which had frustrated them repeatedly.

“You will reduce the strength of your wing thrusts and let me guide you back down. If you wish to continue your training, Kel’lor will assist you next.”

The fire wizard looked at her calmly and stated, “I am fine doing as I am. Your concern is noted but not merited. Thank you.”

As if he were addressing a request as opposed to an order, Magnus smugly turned and rose even higher starting to go with the flow of the breeze. He was beyond the roof now and steadily crossing the lower Courtyard of Wind. Such a route would take him beyond the outer school walls towards the river at this rate in a matter of seconds.

For Cheleya, his movements were slow and despite being fairly steady in his flight, there was still a degree of the novice flyer causing awkward adjustments as he moved forward.

“I was not asking your permission,” Cheleya said as she swooped up in front of the wizard in an instant. The girl was an expert flyer. Though she and Kel’lor had not officially been declared to be finished with their studies in the vein of training, both would have graduated to their next area of study within a month, if not for the treachery of Malaketh who had sent her life into disarray. “You will turn around and work your way down slowly so I may help you land on the roof.”

Magnus frowned and replied, “I do not believe you have the authority to order me to do anything. As Arrimus said, you are not our teacher and I am also a full wizard and older than you besides. You go back and I will not be forced to discipline you in front of the others.”

Normally an easy going, fun loving type of girl, the wizard’s obstinate attitude and obvious threats were enough to make her irate. “You know nothing,” Cheleya determined angrily. “I was better than Kel’lor at this magic and in your world I would already be a full wizard. You only need to learn one source of magic to pass. We study all magic mastering what we can. If I wanted I could defeat you easily, champion of Winter’s Edge. I was there. I watched you win by default.”

Her words stung the wizard causing him to physically jerk his head back at her verbal assault. “I earned my title,” he quickly responded even as his eyes looked towards the ground to see who else could possibly hear their voices. “It was not by default.”

Her cold smile was wicked knowing the buttons to press in the vain fire wizard. “I watched as you were given a pass instead of dueling the mage. Then he saved the girl with a spell beyond your ability, as if you were even intelligent enough to know you had won and were about to kill the poor air wizard in the final round.

“You are not the great wizard that you want everyone else to think you are, Magnus Trekanus.”

Anger was his weapon in the face of her words. The initial shock of her opinion faded quickly from the wizard and he shot back, “I defeated everyone they set before me. Sebastian retired before I could beat him as well!

“Even if you wish to try and demean my efforts there, I am a full wizard and teacher here, not you, little girl.”

“Dragon wind,” Cheleya called on the power of her magical wings sweeping a strong wind into the wizard. He surprised her by remaining aloft and in turn used his wings to thrust upwards above her before propelling forward towards the river at a quicker speed.

She heard his voice before he turned to cast a cluster of fire balls towards her. This was the sort of magic used to drive someone away without intending harm. Her wind spell had been meant to disrupt him enough to force the wizard down, but the champion had other ideas, the girl noted with annoyance.

“Dragon scale,” the girl called ruby armor over much of her body. Formed in scales that appeared like clear gemstones, her dragon scales could protect her from most magic damage.

Moving quickly forward, Cheleya proved immediately that she was the expert by catching up to Magnus above the river. The fire wizard turned seeing her armor spell catch the sunlight as she paused to give him another chance to return to the roof.

A smug smile preceded the wizard’s next spell. “Gust,” he declared using an air spell similar to her wing driven magic. The wind was strong, but the girl didn’t even bother to dodge his spell; instead she looked down preparing to show Magnus that despite her youth, she was not to be trifled with.

Her fingers moved and ancient words called forth a massive water spout from the river below. “Dragon gale!” she ordered a stronger force of wind from her wings even as she transitioned to a third spell.

A handful of blue battle mage shields arose around the wizard as he realized that Cheleya was no longer playing around as he had pushed her too far. Her wind caused a spray, but her third spell changed the spray of water to ice and snow. Shards of ice buffeted the blue shields distracting Magnus enough for the dragon mage to sweep around behind him.

Before the young wizard could react, she drove him towards the river with another blast of the gale spell. The wind was powerful, but would do little to harm Magnus. It was only meant to push him from the heights he had attained.

Dragon armor of red covered the wizard’s body in turn making him even safer. Apparently he had already learned the spell from Kel’lor, she thought, as the mage lifted her hands to alter the course of the remaining water spout. Cheleya hadn’t released the water in case she needed it a second time. Swatting at Magnus with the mass of water nearly caught the fire wizard, but he swiftly sent a pair of his mage shields towards the base of her summoned spell cutting the root to make the remainder fall free as the girl’s magic lost its hold.

It didn’t matter to Cheleya, however, as the water had already set him up for another spell. “Icy breath,” the dragon mage said pursing her lips making it look like she was blowing Magnus a kiss.

The water remaining in the air and that which had soaked into his clothes turned to ice. That which was in the air; fell towards the river as sleet and snow while his clothing developed a coating of ice that hampered his movements and casting. It also turned his red wings to ice.

Surprising her, Magnus released the magic and dropped a dozen feet before calling up a second set of wings to catch himself before he could plummet into the river.

“Dragon gale,” she ordered again driving the wizard down and down until Magnus splashed into the river.

Chapter 25- Disputed Champion

Magnus released his wings looking around him in surprise having not realized how far she had pushed him. It had been a gentle landing, which was likely something that would not have been the case had he been allowed to try a landing on the roof by himself, Cheleya thought.

“Dragon claw,” the dragoness called out a spell of multiple abilities. Most of the time it was an attack spell, though she had used it more mundanely to open things like a wooden chest in her home. For a che’ther, it wasn’t large; but in her human form she couldn’t reach the lid to even lift it, so the girl had improvised while in human form in a che'ther house.

This time it was used to fish the wizard from the river. Whether he could swim to shore or not, Cheleya gave him no other choice. Magnus had chosen to refute her authority as a teacher and had in turn been taught a number of lessons to remind him that in dragon magic he was the student.

A crimson manifestation of her magic reached out to lift Magnus with more strength than her single arm could have done on its own. In magic, Cheleya was powerful and had been considered a prodigy by the teachers of her school. The humans saw her as a pretty, little blond haired girl. Few knew she was more and boys in particular seemed to confuse a pretty face for someone only capable of being that.

It was one of the things that she had discovered being a human for the last few months.

“Well, I guess I misjudged you,” Magnus stated as the magic drew him into easy hearing range. “I wonder how you would do against me in a proper duel though. You certainly have talent in dragon magic. What other skills do you have?”

He was trying to be charming as the young man smiled at her disarmingly. While Cheleya knew the look for what it was, she hadn’t been born human, so the gesture remained mostly lost on the dragoness. Still she chose to answer him civilly; the girl enjoyed people and enjoyed talking with humans after all. “I have never tried to duel in your limited way. Most of my training as a dragon mage involved testing myself against one or more opponents flying through the spires near Mar’kal.

“As to my other talents, if you mean do I know magic beyond dragon magic; it was not my first school of study, though it was always my goal from an egg.”

The reference to an egg slipped out and made the wizard frown briefly at the saying which was common enough among her people. She hoped that humans might not find it too odd and overlook her occasional slips.

“I had always known I would be a fire wizard,” Magnus started slowly searching the girl whose eyes remained on the goal of returning to the school roof.

She wasn’t flying quickly, however, finding herself less motivated to return to standing around waiting for Kel’lor to test the students from the tower. It gave them time to talk and for Cheleya to think as well.

“And now you have seen other magic and seek to go beyond just one element?” the girl questioned without looking at the wizard.

Magnus’ smile slipped as he realized that his looks would not earn him any points with this girl... the teacher he clarified for himself. The young man had written her off as just Kel’lor’s assistant. She was also beautiful, but there had always been something which seemed off about Cheleya. There was also an air of magic around her that felt beyond that of being a wizard or mage.

“Sebastian opened my eyes to that while I was still an apprentice. A battle mage in a combat ring could easily defeat a fire wizard, though I had always believed we were the ultimate war wizards. It wasn’t even close. He toyed with me in the ring and he was just a cadet then. The magic he learned happened after that, but I have learned a lot since then as well.”

“You didn’t like him then. Did you?” The girl’s green eyes looked at him as her pace seemed to slow even more.

Magnus wondered if she was tiring from carrying him with her magic. He only wished that Cheleya had allowed him to practice more. Her question had struck close and the wizard wanted to learn more to become more versatile so that one day he could defeat Sebastian in a duel. It wasn’t hatred for the mage though. Magnus wanted to be the best and the mage appeared to be as good as anyone despite being less powerful in magic.

“I didn’t respect him until shortly after that. Even being beaten so easily; I initially wrote him off as getting lucky. I told myself that I had simply been too cocky and he caught me off guard.

“I had always bullied him thinking that he was just a battle mage cadet of little worth. It wasn’t that I disliked him or had any caring towards who he was back then. I overlooked what battle mages have become and Sebastian had let me get away with it until I was dumb enough to join him in a battle circle.

“Even that revealed how intelligent he was. He goaded me into it before any of the teachers could stop us from entering the circle.

“I don’t know if Mar’kal observes the same rules as Southwall, but a man can kill another in an official battle circle without fear of imprisonment or other punishment. It is a choice of two men to settle things with swords and sometimes magic. As long as there are witnesses, they will be held blameless in the sight of the law.

“So I thought I would just push the cadet around once more and didn’t even care whether he lived or died after the fight. If he retreated from the circle, Sebastian would be safe. Outside the circle, the law returns and the loser is safe from harm leaving the winner in the ring.

“Like I said, he proved me wrong and continued showing me more throughout the summer until I realized that mage magic wasn’t inferior. It has limitations, but even those can be expanded. With more magic, I can do greater things than a mage, but their magic lets me be faster and it is simple to use.”