Battle Mage: Forging New Steel (Tales of Alus Book 9) (63 page)

“And you kill us, because the emperor makes you,” Sebastian replied a bit distantly as his mind was distracted in his use of the spell. “You’ve lost tonight, but it is over. I’ll heal you and send you home.”

Other eyes looked at the mage incredulously. The orcs understood common as well as the troll, Sebastian thought to himself. It was odd to realize that they could all communicate. Perhaps the viles understood him as well beyond his spell’s calming affect.

It was an interesting thing to understand. The only real thing keeping their races from getting along, as far as he could tell, was that the emperor had control over them making the creatures fight. Without the Dark One pushing to exterminate Southwall, could they all get along? He doubted that there wouldn’t be those hungry for power and land on both sides that would never let peace rule the land completely, but perhaps one day they would remove the emperor’s hold on these creatures and learn to get along.

Sebastian moved to heal the orcs one by one receiving similar queries. The orcs had little accent to their words and if he closed his eyes, the mage could almost imagine that they sounded like a human from Southwall. It was strange to think of the enemy as reasoning creatures that he could communicate with and teach each other mutually.

By the time he was finished healing them all, the creatures of the dark army were looking at him with questions in their eyes as well; but he knew that they could not stay here. The soldiers might not be attacking them now, but it was mostly because of the battle mage’s magic. They were calmed and at ease, though Sebastian guessed some held their hands because he and Ashleen would likely be killed trapped between the enemy soldiers and viles.

“I can send you back to Ensolus,” he stated clearly for the troll and orcs’ benefit. Worry over what would happen if he sent them back now, since this portal wasn’t one of their warlocks’ gates, gave them the time to decline.

Receiving nods from the surprisingly intelligent creatures, Sebastian spoke, “Door.”

The gate was charged by a trickle of power through Bairh’loore now that Ashleen was growing exhausted from sharing the work of healing. Created just beyond the wall, but between it and Southwall’s soldiers; the glowing portal stood out brightly in the darkness of night. It was growing late and Turas’ red moon now held the sky replacing his brother. A war moon, it was strange that he would be showing the enemy mercy at this hour.

Moving to the gate without hurry, the second vile moved past the first guardian who seemed unwilling to leave until it knew everyone was safe first. Orcs followed as the troll seemed equally protective of the smaller creatures. When it too had disappeared into the light, the vile looked down on the owl giving him a knowing nod before stepping through the portal.

“Was that wise?” Ashleen asked tiredly.

“Was what wise? Healing their wounds, showing them mercy or sending them home?”

Sighing as she was too tired to laugh at him, Ashleen replied, “Probably all of that, but where did you send them?”

“To the stronger shared gates near Palose’s personal magic. I am assuming that he lives near the Dark Emperor, of course; but if I am wrong I am sure that their warlocks can send them wherever they need to be.”

The girl looked at him incredulously. “You just told them that you can get to them by doing that. Didn’t you?”

Nodding, Sebastian replied, “Maybe knowing that we can get to them will make the emperor and his generals a bit more wary. He wanted to challenge us. I just let him know that we can get to him as well.”

Releasing a low whistle, Ashleen warned, “You are playing a dangerous game without your leaders’ permission, Sebastian. You could get in trouble for letting an enemy go as much as alerting the emperor to your abilities.”

“They know we can use gates, but the warlocks we learned from told us that the gates are guarded. We can’t storm their city through them, but that doesn’t mean I can’t put the worry in their heads.

“As to my being in trouble, I doubt that they will say much of anything. Even if I did get in trouble, I know how to use portal magic. Where could they hold me?”

Her eyes widened in shock. Sebastian was telling her that he was willing to defy his country and didn’t fear any penalty. Looking at him, it was getting harder to see that young mage she had met only months before who had ridden out to save her people north of the wall.

Sebastian was changing, hardening like the steel he now forged, but he hadn’t changed so much that she didn’t see what had drawn her to him from the start. His new strength came from leading and changing. He cared for his people and chose to do what he could to protect them, but the mage was beginning to grow beyond the restraints of a normal falcon. He was an owl growing with knowledge and as Sebastian continued to gain more experience his wisdom grew as well.

“Do you want me to send you back to the Black Smith Inn? You look tired from all that healing you helped me do,” Sebastian asked looking a bit drained as well. Whatever he had done to cause himself so much pain before she arrived seemed to have been healed. When that had happened, Ashleen wasn’t sure. He had held that pain even as he started to heal the soldiers of Southwall. Now he looked stronger once more, but Sebastian was tired in his eyes as well.

“Only if you come with me,” she replied worrying for his health.

“I want to send back any other troops left behind first.”

“Why?” she asked less from surprise than curiosity.

“Maybe its time to start showing them mercy. If the enemy knows that we are capable of it, maybe their soldiers will start to wonder why they fight. We can hope that one day we will learn to get along. Maybe this is how it starts.”

Ashleen nodded though she was less convinced as they moved to roam the battle field. There were other soldiers and beasts of the emperor which had been left behind. The soldiers of Southwall had them contained, but most still had yet to be executed.

Sebastian hurried to save the lives that he could.

Chapter 35- A Question of Loyalty

Palose held onto Sylvaine’s hand stepping through the gateway from the shadows of Ensolus in its cave into the sunlight of a southern city. Cadmera wasn’t along the coast where Kolban had sent so many spies to create unrest in Southwall. It was a large town well north of that set in between the branches of the Cadhalla River. The second river was called the Caldene River made from combining the names of two former countries which met in roughly the same place.

It was a place of trade since boats traveled up and down the rivers to the cities further north and the ocean trade cities at their end. It was also close enough to Hala that its citizens wouldn’t fall for the same talk of breaking from their king like those to the south. They knew what it meant to support King Alain and the troops guarding the wall.

In the past, the dark armies had pushed this far a time or two, though that was generations ago before the wall. Still the people of Cadmera didn’t forget, but they worried less than those to the north also.

Leading the pretty, dark haired girl by the hand, Palose smiled receiving a loving look in return. They enjoyed slipping away when they could to see the cities and towns he had seeded with his lodestones. The dark mage needed to guard his hard earned portals now, however, since four of his gates had been interfered with or destroyed.

While the trip was partially for fun, Palose had brought Sylvaine with for another reason as well.

The curly haired girl in her sundress, originally bought in this town, looked happy to be with him; but when he stopped her to let go of her hand and pick up the two lodestones, her face became a bit more serious. She was often serious and a good match for the dark mage, he tended to believe. Sylvaine was also very intelligent and a former apprentice of the warlocks in Ensolus. Only her death had changed her future path.

One of his resurrected people, Sylvaine’s magic was tied to his, but still completely different. Placing the two stones in her hands, he hoped that using the girl would prevent whoever was targeting his portals from finding more.

“You just need me to channel my magic into them until your signature fades away?” she asked as her violet eyes questioned him with both a look and her words.

Nodding, Palose added, “Once you’ve changed them we will find a new place to hide them. I’m not sure if the wizard chasing down my gates has figured out to track my magic or if it was luck, but three destroyed portals in one day was hardly a coincidence.”

Her magic formed over her hands as she held the lodestones pushing his magic from them making the rocks her own. While Sylvaine still had problems with portal magic, imbuing her magic in items was a simple task that any warlock or wizard could do. Palose thought most battle mages could even figure out such a simple thing, but he always hoped for more from his former corps.

“They have only just figured out how to make a portal. Do you think that they have managed to track your gates as well?”

Palose had been considering that since he had first noticed the destruction of his portals and his answer remained conjecture as he said, “Since they are new to the magic, someone may have come across the idea of using a map to chart portals. Not everyone can keep the points separated in their minds and a map can be used to give them a marker to focus on a gate.”

A small frown nearly made the pretty girl pout at his statement and he laughed. Touching the tip of her nose playfully before moving closer to kiss her sweet lips, the dark mage clarified with a rueful chuckle, “I hadn’t meant you. If sharing our magic makes it possible for you to create portals in the future, so much the better; but I have used a map to find the points set by the warlocks as well. Those I am familiar with like mine or those I have used in Ensolus I can keep straight, but there are others that I need the help.

“No, I am just thinking it would be a learning tool for a wizard new to the magic and likely that someone might discover it or maybe already has.”

His mind considered who knew him well enough to chart his spells in particular and frowned. Sylvaine noted the look and asked, “You think that he figured out how to return to Alus?”

Sylvaine was his confidante and had been in New Harbor when Palose had battled Sebastian. She knew his nemesis by face now and had even fought against the girl who had disrupted their fight. The blond wizard had released lightning into the gate which he and Sebastian had fallen into while they struggled. It had shifted the placement of the portal stranding them in the Silver World, but Palose had used her distraction to leave them both behind.

While the dark mage had thought it funny and a good place to leave his rival, he had always figured that Sebastian would discover how to escape somehow. The mizard was a genius at translating wizard and warlock magic into usable spells for battle mages. It was likely that he might manage to figure out a way to find Alus and a way home. Portals were tricky to use for those just learning and could strand a warlock anywhere. Not just getting lost in the Silver World or elsewhere on Alus was possible. Warnings had revealed that other worlds could be discovered as well.

The likelihood of a complete novice, without supervision, figuring out how to accurately use portal magic was low, but the proof that it could be done was manifest from the battle at the Twins. Calling their gates to multiple places around the battlefield meant someone had discovered how to use them almost as well as those taught in Ensolus.

“I wouldn’t put it past Sebastian,” he finally answered as the two walked holding hands looking like the young lovers that they were. Palose had another place in mind for the gate and hoped that if it was far enough away, whoever was targeting his gates would be unable to track down the charged stones of Sylvaine. “When we fought in New Harbor, he countered every new spell I had except for portals. At least, he countered every new one I tried anyway.

“His knowledge and power seem to grow every time that I see him. To think that I could be rid of him forever was probably just wishful thinking.”

Sylvaine glanced towards his face from the corner of her eye. She waited a moment before asking, “Do you truly wish that? I would think that you would still like to beat him first.”

The girl knew him too well and she was correct. Until he managed to defeat the man once and for all, Palose would hope to see him again and figure out how to do that. Sebastian wasn’t invincible and he had thought him killed over a year ago during the invasion of Windmeer. It was just dumb luck that had let the mizard survive. He had left his execution to others and in that Palose had failed. Leaving it to others had left Sebastian to plague him ever since.

“I want to be the one to kill him, I think,” the young man replied less than definitively. “Well, I want to win against him for sure anyway.”

Stopping in an alleyway a few blocks away, Palose looked to see if there was enough seclusion to keep prying eyes from seeing a glowing portal opening. If they were discovered by the locals, it would be hard to erase that mistake as well.

“Does he scare you?” Sylvaine asked after the mage set the stones where he believed they would be safe.

Frowning at the question, Palose complained, “Why would you ask that? I’ve already faced death and returned. What could he do to me that I would have to fear?”