Battle Mage: Forging New Steel (Tales of Alus Book 9) (29 page)

Iron wound around the staff and, using his magic, it was even threaded through the wood lacing the two materials together into a stronger staff.

“When did you make that?” the girl asked.

“One of the mornings that you slept in,” he chuckled. Since Bas almost always allowed Ashleen to sleep later than he did, that could have been almost any day for all she knew. “I had been planning this for awhile, and thought having a second staff would help. It isn’t as advanced as Bairh’loore, but it should do.”

“So you hope to go from one side of the courtyard to another then? There isn’t any magic I can lend you if you mess up, so be careful, Bas,” Ashleen cautioned showing worry on her face.

Giving her an embarrassed smile, the mage replied, “Of course I might not even be able to make the first part of the gate, so there is that problem. If I do succeed in making the entry, then at least using it to go to a destination inside the courtyard, we’ll see the other side I would assume.”

She nodded and watched as Sebastian closed his eyes holding the staff in his hands before him. The mage wasn’t sure if he could open the portal, but there had been other spells which he had eventually been able to use less power on once he figured them out. Riding the winds had once been impossible, but the air spell had been conquered using Bairh’loore and now he could do it at will with the power he had.

Visualizing the gate and the destination as the warlocks had tried to teach them, Sebastian attempted to open the rift with just his power feeling nothing. After nearly a minute, he began to believe that his first success would be from using more magic than he had inside of him, so the mage willed the power of the earth through the staff into him. The power was brought in a controlled flow as Sebastian hoped to keep from overloading his body. Each use of the earth seemed to make it easier and since the wizards’ tournament he hadn’t passed out from doing too much.

“Gate,” he muttered searching for the keyword that would let him open the door. It didn’t feel right so he said, “Door.”

The owl mage thought that he could see a glowing door in his mind, but there was a handle. Reaching out with one hand while holding the staff with the other, Sebastian gave it a twist and felt a rush of air.

“You did it!” Ashleen cried out in shock seeing the glowing rectangle in the air. Looking to the far side of the courtyard, Sebastian could see the second doorway and, holding onto the flow of power which held it open, the mage stepped into the light.

The feeling of moving air whipped up around him and his eyes noted the change of light to the silver of the void. A yellow glow before him told him of Bairh’loore’s presence just beyond the golden glow. Almost before he knew it, the mage was through the second doorway and nearly stepped on the staff on the ground.

He released his hold on the magic. The earth’s power had been cut while inside the void, and he was surprised that he didn’t feel the loss he often did letting go. The twin portal’s disappeared in a blink letting him see Ashleen sitting on her barrel with wide eyes. Her worry faded seeing Sebastian safely through the doorways.

“You did it!” the girl cried jumping up to run over to the mage. Her boots forgotten, Ashleen ran across the courtyard throwing her arms around him as if to make sure that it was really him. Her hug was strong and he could feel her shivering with her relief. He could also feel the clash of their slick sweaty bodies.

Blushing, Sebastian hugged her back even as he held the staff in his right hand. He liked the feel of her in his arms, but the man quickly released the girl stepping back until he could see her face. Ashleen grinned at his achievement with pride.

“Well, it was a short trip and controlled. I don’t know if distance makes it any harder, but at least this means I can do it.”

The girl looked a little disappointed with his words and she confessed, “I think that it is really the second time you managed it. Getting us out of the void really felt more like your magic than mine even if I tried to contribute to the effort.

“Frankly, I just didn’t feel the magic the right way, even though I tried to follow the advice of those warlocks.”

“They didn’t tell us about having the personal anchors. Maybe they didn’t realize it, since Oster and Ceresh said they couldn’t even create a portal without help. If they were incompetent in the magic, maybe that is one of the reasons why,” he said with a shrug; “but maybe I can do it again and show you how I did it?”

“How will you do that?” Ashleen questioned curiously. She hadn’t made any real strides in mastering the casting of a battle mage. Single word magic in common didn’t seem to resonate though the wilder wasn’t the first wizard he had noticed preferred using the longer chants and gestures of his more powerful cousins.

He took her hand and said, “Use your healing spell and feel the way I make the portal and I will take us back across. After all, I wouldn’t want your feet to get any dirtier than they are now,” he finished with a laugh at the girl with her bare feet. Since this was a courtyard for the stables, there were a few landmines to avoid along the path though the stable boys tried to keep the area clean.

Making a face at Sebastian, she complained, “Very funny. Now how will using the healing spell to monitor your body help me to see this exactly?”

“Using a shared link like when air wizards train to ride the winds should be a similar way of learning to this.”

“Whatever,” the girl sighed and intoned her spell letting her mind move into his body.

Unlike the shared wind riding, Sebastian wasn’t trying to hold her mind for the trip. He planted the staff and closed his eyes again summoning the feeling of the doors. The power of the earth flowing into him made Ashleen gasp as she felt the rush. “Door,” he called seeing the handle again. With both hands full between the staff and the girl, Sebastian saw the portal opening in his mind and the rush of wind accompanying the gateway rushed past his skin again.

“Come on,” he said drawing the girl toward the glowing rectangle confidently.

Her eyes opened seeing the doorway and he felt the mild shock of her electricity running through him and stopped. “Calm down or you might strand us there again.”

She nodded as the wilder took a deep breath letting her nervous magic disappear. Sebastian pulled her into the void willing them across the courtyard to the Hollow Sword nearly depositing her at the barrel seat.

“Does this mean that the owl has mastered portal spells too now?” the girl asked as Sebastian picked her up with his free arm to carry her the last few feet to the barrel.

Leaning the staff against the wall of the workshop freed up his other hand letting him lift the girl onto the barrel to sit.

Sebastian looked at the air where the glowing doorways had been and he stated, “I haven’t mastered them until I can learn to cast without the crutch of the staff pulling the earth’s magic into me, but at least I can do it if I have the link set.”

“You could leave Bairh’loore between our beds in the room and use it to save us a walk home from a restaurant,” Ashleen stated with a grin.

“Then I wouldn’t have to carry you home if you get drunk.”

Frowning at him, Ashleen leveling an admonishing finger at him and said, “If you would stay with me and dance all evening instead of letting other men buy me drinks, I wouldn’t lose track of how much I’ve drank.”

“Most wizards I know try not to drink too much alcohol.”

The girl wrinkled her nose in the way she often did when confronted with things that were unappealing to her. “They buy me drinks with funny names and I don’t always realize how much alcohol is in them. I don’t drink mead or beer very often, but those sweet drinks confuse me.”

He laughed, “So all I need to do is buy you sweet drinks to confuse you?”

Ashleen stuck out her tongue at his teasing.

Her mind moved away from the talk of drinking as she added, “But seriously, if you leave Bairh’loore in the room, you can show the others it is possible.”

Knowing that having portal magic known to Southwall’s wizards and mages was quite important, Sebastian wasn’t sure that he was quite ready to unveil the ability until he could figure out how to compensate for the extra power needed. “I can’t show off how I draw power through the earth into a staff in public. If someone tries it the wrong way, they could be killed in the attempt. A staff makes it safer, but Darius warned me that wizards of hundreds of years ago died young from abusing the power of the earth.”

Ashleen sighed and rebuked, “Then don’t do it in public, per say. We can walk into an alleyway after we are finished dancing before portaling home.”

“You just don’t want to walk home after dancing all night, do you?”

The girl laughed and smiled before giving him a shrug.

“I suppose that I will need to inform Raven Leros and the high wizards that it I am on the verge of figuring out the magic.”

Hopping off of her perch, the girl pressed her forefinger to his bare chest before flattening it against him with a distracted look on her face as she said, “You might want to put a shirt on first. Raven Leros probably wouldn’t want you walking around Castle Grimnal all sweaty either.”

Sebastian bent to pick up her shoes, before tossing the girl over his shoulder saying, “Like you are one to talk.”

“I’m just the apprentice,” she laughed as her voice carried from behind him. “I blame my master for not knowing any better.”

Placing the girl in the workshop on one of the stools beside his bench, their antics were noticed by Ivol and Aric, but the men didn’t comment beyond the smiles for the playful couple. It was too late to avoid being called a couple, Sebastian thought catching their looks.

“Put on your boots at least and we’ll go inside to clean up before lunch. I’ll go collect my tools while you change.”

The mage collected both staves and his sword, the last of which he attached to his belt. By the time he faced the workshop doorway; Ashleen was there and threw his shirt to him. The girl held her tunic and said, “Putting it on before I can clean up would just mean more laundry.”

Passing through the back door, the two retreated up the back stairs without being seen by Hilda to find their room. Once inside, Ashleen took off her boots placing them next her bed. She took off her top in front of him without any embarrassment before removing her skirt. She walked to the dresser while Sebastian poured water from a pitcher into a large empty bowl on the one holding his clothing.

Ashleen withdrew a pair of the knee length shorts and blouse from a drawer before taking a towel from on top of the dresser to wrap around her torso. As if it was completely natural to be undressed in front of him but knowing it was inappropriate to walk the corridor to one of the inn bathrooms, the girl wrinkled her nose at his attempt to clean up.

“You should take a bath. You could even come share one with me, if you want,” she giggled knowing that Sebastian would decline as he was too much of a gentleman to have rumors of such a thing spreading through the inn.

“I will be fine. Go ahead and take a bath. I’ll meet you in the dining room when you are done.”

“One of these days I will wear you down,” she laughed and waved to him as the girl stepped out into the corridor.

After the door closed, Sebastian had to admit, that Ashleen might be right. Flirting with the girl had become almost second nature, even when he hadn’t meant to do so. Since he had liked her from the first and was free to pursue her, Ashleen was feeling like the right person for him after all.

He tried not to think of Yara, since the young man didn’t regret any of his time with her and hated thinking that he might have caused her any pain; instead Sebastian pulled out a couple stones that he had placed in his pocket.

Looking at one sitting in the palm of his hand, the mage thought back to another spell and commanded, “Spark.”

The last time he had used the spell, Sebastian had been deep inside of a mountain readying a distraction of charged corrinuts. Those sparks were used to set off explosions which brought down the stone of an enemy fortress’s tunnels. He didn’t need such a thing from these stones and the mage attempted to saturate the material of the rock with the essence of his magic rather than trying to store it in the stone.

His magic became part of the round rock and Sebastian repeated the process with the second stone before placing one in front of his dresser and the other at the foot of the bed. If he were to use them to create a portal, they should help him make it between the two avoiding damaging anything in the room. He decided not to tell Ashleen and quickly cleaned up using a wash cloth and the water.

“Are you sure that I should come along?” Ashleen questioned facing the falcon guardsmen standing before the raven’s door. They were still far enough to avoid being heard as the stairs led to a brief corridor between them and the men.

“Well, you saw what I did and accompanied me through a portal, so if they have questions that need a different view point, it makes sense to bring you,” he replied.

The wilder wore her knee length shorts and blouse with the short, leather boots that had become her favorites since finding them in Hala. Her clothes didn’t have the look of a wizard to them, but it also didn’t resemble a uniform so Sebastian could imagine the guards questioning who she was. Whether bringing Ashleen with him was necessary or not was probably still a pertinent question. Why he had brought her he wasn’t quite sure, though Ashleen had become his assistant or apprentice and been by his side almost constantly for a couple months.