Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) (28 page)

"You're coming with?" Dorgred asked perplexed as the four moved into the main street.

"No, I just figured that we could look with you for awhile. If we split up, it will take less time to look through the city. It is one of the larger cities of Southwall since it sprawls across most of the island. If we try the major markets, maybe we can find someone that fits; but there are still several of those here as well."

"Does it still let me off the hook as done if you find the Visionaries first?" the wizard asked warily. It was always the fine print that one had to worry about.

Giving a laugh that was barely forced, Palose shook his head. "If we find one, then you don't have to as long as they can answer my questions."

Sylvaine rolled her eyes at him as they held hands. Hopefully without Dorgred the house's atmosphere would improve and he wondered if sending out more of his people wouldn't be a good idea. For some reason keeping everyone so close together wasn't as enjoyable as it was convenient. Perhaps it was the nature of the black magic used, but Palose wasn't sure. Still, it was good to be out of the cave city and the winter weather. He hadn't really been able to enjoy it while in Litsarin, but with little to do in particular, the mage hoped to have a nice day out with the girl he had found love with during his second chance at life.

The four split up as they began to look for information on the local markets and the fortune tellers that they hoped could be found there.

Sebastian awoke to darkness. His room had been plain, but it was on the outer wall with two windows. Unless it was still night, the mage would have expected sunlight to illuminate the room at least slightly through the wooden blinds.

His head felt foggy and his tongue seemed slightly swollen. It was as if he had been drinking all night to awake to the inevitable hangover most shared in the morning. He was also on his side, which was a rare position for him to use to sleep. One of those who tended to lie on his back, Sebastian noticed that his arms were bound up in front of him. His neck felt sore like there was something around it. He hated high neck collars, but it felt worse than one of those shirts.

Trying to sit up, the mage found that he couldn't pull his wrists apart from each other, though they weren't directly in contact either. Something separated his wrists, but prevented them from twisting also.

What had happened to him? Sebastian quickly reviewed the last few minutes before going to sleep in the room provided for him in Red Hall. There was nothing unusual. He had slept in his shirt, but pulled off his boots and pants. Warmer than Hala, the room was still slightly cool and Ashleen wasn't there to warm his side.

Something was wrong his instincts told him as he continued to try to wake up fully. He felt sluggish. Feeling for his magic, the battle mage worried even more when it felt blocked.

"Light," he called on one of the simplest of their spells. Rarely used for combat, it was one of the spells used in their first classes to learn to tap into a mage's magic. Unlike the spell which could bring light to destroy darkness spells, this should have managed to create a small fireless light to bob before him.

Nothing came and the darkness remained.

Shifting to his knees, the mage worked to stand up. His balance felt off as well. If it was magic used on him, he wasn't sure. Without being able to tap into his core, he couldn't look for lingering magic either.

"Fireball," he tried again lifting his hands together to form a flame just beyond them. It was even more natural to a battle mage than the simple light, but not only did it not appear, Sebastian couldn't seem to feel the elements at all.

"You can stop wasting your time," a voice called from a few feet away.

Sebastian moved towards the sound and he wished that he could summon his night vision. While it was dark, the mage found iron bars blocking his way before the light of a lamp came swaying towards him. A hall beyond the bars began to appear and the dull flame nearly blinded him as a figure came into view holding the contained flame.

"Who are you? Where am I?" he asked knowing that there had been no vertical bars in the room where he had gone to sleep.

Sebastian noted a red shirt and looked to the man's face. A blond with a receding widow's peak, his chin and upper lip seemed to be trying to make up for the lack with a well groomed goatee and mustache. Blue eyes looked at him somewhat amused as he replied, "We blocked your magic with spells and those chains. The liquid added to your drink must have been stronger than I thought though. It made you sleep a lot longer than we were told it would."

"Hassar? Who is this 'we' that you're talking about? Has Red Hall turned against the king?"

It was a significant leap, but after all the dissent in the southern cities, it wasn't quite as far as it would have been a year ago. Though why they had kidnapped him, he wasn't sure; Sebastian had shared his spells and magic enough that there shouldn't be anything more he could give the school.

The man laughed. "I don't think all of Red Hall would, but it doesn't really matter. We aren't doing this for High Wizard Wyman or even Gefflen."

"Shut up, Hassar!" a familiar woman's voice demanded causing the wizard to look back the way he had come.

His eyes tightened at the rebuke, but Hassar kept his lips together even if it looked like he was grinding his teeth as he did so. A second wizard appeared after a moment to look in on Sebastian.

"Erethia," the mage said with a frown. Two of the wizards that had gone to Hala were there. Hassar had already stated that Gefflen wasn't involved, so was this some plan hatched by the two wizards and if so why?

She looked up at his face to see his eyes. Her red hair was pulled back into a tail with loose strands caressing the sides of her cheeks framing her face which still looked pinched to him. Erethia was almost pretty, and yet he felt like it was the face of a rodent or ferret. Her green eyes were piercing and the mage thought that he caught a glimmer in them that might have been magic. Devoid of his own apparently, Sebastian couldn't see their auras or use of passive magic.

"Why am I here?" he asked again. "I gave you all the runes and magic I've gathered. There isn't any reason for you to kidnap me like this."

Barking a laugh in his face, the woman replied, "Like I believe that! You've written down runes, but I doubt that they are all you know. Beyond those, you have already created your own. Given time, I wonder how many more runes and spells you will think of."

Frowning in return, the mage stood tall as he glared at the woman and retorted, "I can't very well do any of that bound and without my magic. What do you hope to gain here?"

"It doesn't matter," she stated as her face seemed to drop as if life and humor had left the wizard. An attempt at stone to fool him or keep him in the dark, Erethia wasn't the best he had seen, but he was still uncertain of what was transpiring.

"If it doesn't matter, then why are we here? What do you want from me?"

"The only thing I want from you at the moment is for you to shut up. They will be here soon enough and any information you need can be given by them," the woman informed him before turning to go. "Hassar, ignore him and come with me."

The elder wizard frowned at the researcher as she left, but followed anyway. He was probably a bit stronger and from a different guild, yet it was Erethia in charge. Sebastian could just add it to the many things wrong with the picture.

As the lamp disappeared with the wizards, so too did his light. "Vision," the mage tried again hoping, but not expecting much from the attempt. His magic power was trapped and Sebastian wondered if it was akin to the spell used by Darius on his sister to restrain her diplomacy magic. The wizard had said that containing a wizard's magic completely was likely to cause the inner flame to build until the magic was ready to burst out doing whatever damage the wilder might be inclined towards. It was dangerous, the high wizard had said, but the mage didn't know enough about that kind of spell.

In retrospect, Sebastian wished that he had asked to see that spell again. Darius was a wealth of magic that made what he had learned seem insignificant. If they had tried to capture the high wizard, that would have brought conflict from Eirdhen and the wizard school of Enchwold. Sebastian wasn't even sure that any wizard could contain an immortal like Darius, but he was just a mage. He wasn't in the same league as the high wizard and now the so called owl had only his mind to try figuring his way out of this mess.

He hadn't seen it coming, but was glad that Ashleen and the others were in Hala. They should be safe there, but what would they think? How soon would anyone begin to worry about him? Could these wizards have hidden that he was gone for very long?

Sebastian didn't know magic like that either, but maybe a research wizard like Erethia had found something to fool anyone looking for him. He doubted anything would last for long and Ashleen was likely to be wondering where he was by first light. Even a girl who preferred to sleep in would have to notice pretty quickly that he hadn't formed a portal to get her.

Was it morning yet, he wondered? From Hassar's slip, Sebastian had to assume that he had slept longer than a normal night's rest.

He still stood near the bars, but could no longer see them. Without magic to lean on, the mage tried something else. Runes surrounding his eyes glowed slightly before his vision began to compensate for the darkness.

Sebastian glanced around the small cell noting bare walls, a dirty blanket on the floor and a bucket in the corner. He looked at the metal shackles holding his arms together before raising his hands to his throat. A thick, metal band felt nearly seamless to his fingers. A small hole on the left side might have been a lock hole, but the mage doubted that a normal key was the only thing keeping the neck band in place. Magic had been added to his bonds and magic was likely the only way out.

Staring at his right arm, the mage watched as the wire of the harpoon tattoo began to writhe. The metal appeared to restrict the line physically, but it was a different kind of magic that didn't require his power. Perhaps with some work, it might cut him free. His strength, even amplified with runes, couldn't break such stout bonds.

As the tattoo wire started to move back and forth at his mind's continued attention, Sebastian let the back of his consciousness ponder what more could be done. When the ones Erethia and Hassar waited for arrived, what would happen to him?

He preferred to be free of his bonds before that if possible. With his magic back at his command, surely no prison could withstand the power of a battle mage, who could call on the greater spells.

The thought made Sebastian try something else, even as he pressed on with the wire. Placing his hands against the wall, the mage tried to call on the power of the earth. There was no answer to his call. Without magic, his mind had no way to call on that power.

Sighing at the thought, Sebastian sat against the back wall. The only other sound was the back and forth of the tattoo wire. It sounded like real, steel wire scraping softly against the heavier metal of the shackles.

Concentration remained though his head still felt foggy. The containment of his magic wouldn't change that feeling no matter how long he continued to work at his bonds. He was trapped for now, but the owl refused to give in to his captors.

The waiting went on. Sebastian fell asleep. He awoke with a mouth that was too dry. It was hard to swallow.

Did his captors want him dead? There were quicker ways than starvation and dehydration, the mage thought.

One thing the mage did notice was that the magic of the wire was slowly whittling away at his strength. It didn't tap into his magic, but the runes had been designed to use the life force of the warriors without magic in them. If he could have stopped, Sebastian would have, but he hadn't given up and continued working at the metal on his right wrist until he fell asleep again in exhaustion.

Ashleen had slept restlessly and been up with the light of dawn. She had left word for Hilda Alamore to send someone to wake her early if the wilder over slept, but the inn keeper had been surprised to see the pretty girl awake so early.

"You look tired child. Maybe you should go back to sleep?" she cautioned the wizard.

Yawning, Ashleen shook her head and replied, "I tried all night. Without Sebastian sleeping next to me, all of a sudden I couldn't sleep."

Answering with a light laugh, Hilda answered, "I was that way after sleeping next to Ivol for awhile. A few children later, we had to make sure to kick them out and make them sleep in their own beds. If we didn't, it got awfully crowded.

"I love every last one of them, but a single bed isn't enough to hold my entire brood, even when they were younger.

"There have been a few trips taken by Ivol when I slept by myself. I could have found someone to fill the spot, but I have to say getting the bed to myself feels wonderful now," the woman finished with another laugh.

Smiling at Hilda, she replied ruefully, "I wound up hugging his pillow so I could smell him and that helped for a bit; but I still missed him."

"Oh, child, you are dreadfully hooked, aren't you? I wouldn't condone a relationship without marriage for my sons and daughters, but you two do seem to be in love."

"I am in love with him and I am pretty sure that he loves me, but it took awhile for him to give me a chance. He was with another girl before he met me, though she was assigned to a different city then.

"I have to admit when a man comes to your rescue and then reaches in to heal you besides. It is hard not to look at him a bit closer."

Hilda looked a little confused by the last and admitted, "I am afraid I don't really know much about a healer or magic. While I think Ivol would save me from harm, if he could, the most my husband has had to face were unruly guests and an occasional dance partner that got too frisky."

Again Ashleen had to smile at the simplicity of the inn keeper's love for her husband. When they were together, the wilder could see the love in their eyes. She hoped that they saw that from Sebastian, since the girl thought that she did.

"Magic is definitely something hard to explain for those who can't use it. When Sebastian heals, he sort of joins his spirit with yours. Once he taught me to heal, I could feel his mind like he was running his fingers over and under my skin in a caress," the girl said hugging herself while playing her fingers along her shoulders and upper arms. "It's like love taken to the next level or something."

Hilda laughed with a little embarrassment at the description and said, "I wish that I could truly understand that, but I'll take what I have with Ivol even so."

Nodding with a smile, Ashleen continued to hold her arms as she replied, "You two do look happy. I wish that I could spend more time with Sebastian, but he's always busy."

"Ivol stays busy as well. You can't put a leash on them and expect a man to be in arm's reach every minute of the day." A thought crossed the older woman's face wrinkling her nose. "There are days where I wish that I saw him a bit less too, I guess. It's different when you're so young, but I doubt that you would like him to be that clingy.

"Unfortunately love means we need to let them do what they need to do while trying to keep them close enough to know that they love us." The woman laughed self consciously and amended, "Or something like that. I am an inn keeper, not a poet after all."

Ashleen smiled and conceded, "It sounds about right though."

The girl's food arrived as the two women sat chatting. Ashleen ate picking at it with less appetite than normal. Making sure that she ate even so, the wilder figured to be ready for another day of teaching his spells at Red Hall. At least, it was another way for her to be near him. Ashleen didn't mind teaching anyway, and they could always share lunch after the morning classes were over.

Elzen and Serrena came down looking a bit surprised to see her already waiting for them and nearly done with breakfast besides.

"You're up already?" the falcon questioned adding shock to his voice. "Bas always said that he usually gave up on trying to wake you at a normal time."

"You mages seem to think getting up before the sun is somehow normal," she retorted in amusement. "Just because the rest of us prefer our rest and to get up after the sun is here, doesn't mean we aren't the normal ones."

Serrena asked noting her eyes, "How did you sleep?"

"Not real well," Ashleen replied and found herself yawning at the mere thought of being tired. "I missed having him next to me and not just to keep me warm either."

Elzen barked a laugh and said, "I like having a bed all to myself."

"Like you've ever not," Serrena quipped with a smirk on her face.

"Ha ha, I had to share my bed as a kid. My family had seven kids and too few rooms to be spoiled with their own beds. And if you want me to talk about not sharing my bed when I was older..."

Waving him off frantically, the fire wizard worriedly warned, "That is quite all right. I don't need to hear about your conquests whether made up or not."

Elzen decided not to pursue the line of conversation as their breakfasts arrived.

Time passed giving them plenty of time to finish their meals. The breakfast rush ended. While Hilda and her crew cleaned up the room in preparation for the early lunch crowd, the three waited until well after the expected time for Sebastian to appear.

"Where is he?" Ashleen questioned feeling worry in her gut. She wanted to say that something was wrong, but didn't want to look like some clingy girlfriend in front of the others.

By the time lunch was starting to begin, the three had all begun taking turns pacing. Worry consumed them all now forcing Ashleen into action.

"Serrena wait here in case he comes back while we're gone."

Elzen looked confused. "Where are we going?"

"To see Raven Leros, we need to let him know that Sebastian is missing."

"We don't really know that for sure. He could be tied up in Red Hall with something that made him late."

"I don't want to wait all day and find out that Sebastian's in trouble. Come on. They might not let me meet with the raven, but they know you for sure," the wilder ordered grabbing the boy's arm.

Elzen felt the excited electricity of the young woman lift the hairs on his arm. Her worry was already making her lose some control. The younger mage's mind made him wonder what happened when she made love. It was an inappropriate thought, but he couldn't help thinking that Sebastian was pretty lucky to have someone like Ashleen.

Chapter 16- Missing

Ashleen stood beside Elzen with Serrena on the mage's opposite side from her. Like the wilder might have done working with Sebastian, she found herself following the younger man to Raven Leros' office in one of the towers of Castle Grimnal. It was a place of honor as well as meant to keep one of the king's protectors close to him. Having a Kardorian this close to him had made the other mages nervous as they passed through the final doorway into the raven's office.

"He hasn't shown up yet?" Leros questioned calmly. His face was steady as well, but thoughts were running through his head that reflected partly in his eyes. "It isn't like Sebastian to be late. That boy is pretty prompt."

"The only time I've ever seen him running late was because he was in trouble," Ashleen acknowledged but received a frown and a quick, warning glance from Elzen.