Born of Magic (Channeler Series) (29 page)

I built up more magic than I could contain and held my hands into the air. The sky shook and trembled as it filled with dark clouds. The clouds formed everywhere except over the castle.
They grew darker, turning the day into night. No light could break through as they grew thicker. Water began pouring out from them in a drenching rain. The fires fended it off at first, but I used one large burst of magic and the rains released a small flood all at once. The fires sizzled as the water hit them, smoke and steam roaring out as the cool water met the smoldering hot embers. We were hit with a scolding rush of humid air. It was nearly impossible to breathe through it all.

The nightmares from Caspere’s factory came back to me as I relived some of the horrible sensations I had experienced there. The steam,
scorching waves of heat, the burning in my lungs, it was just like I remembered. This time however, I chose to be here and endure this hellish environment.

As the smoke cleared, a barren land of ash and the remaining spots of embers were all that could be seen.

The General looked at his kingdom with a look of dismay. “Those monsters.”

Tevon
stood next to the General. “We can rebuild this.”

His comforting statement was shrugged off by the General. “We must get this boy some medical care, he’s a hero to the Kingdom of Ordana.”

Tevon interjected, “That was only a small portion of what lies ahead, you know.”

“We must look for hope right now. Their men were crushed. That will hopefully buy us some of the time we nee
d; we have a war to prepare for,” the General said, a bit of passion in his voice. He was a military man, and this is what he lived for. He proved today that he would take on anything that threatened his people head on. Though he had imprisoned me, he had already managed to gain my respect.

Waves of soldiers
hurried out of the city gates. The lookouts had apparently seen we had someone in need of medical condition, as several soldiers with a horse-pulled wagon came out and took Yurios back to the castle. The rain continued on for several hours, and large puddles formed everywhere. It would take some time to rebuild from the destruction the mages had inflicted.

“Tevon has informed me of your victory
, Jasminis. You did amazingly. We have sent several experienced mages to assist in the situation,”
Helendra said. She surprised me as I was staring at the wreckage when she started talking.

“What about the General? He’s still not wild about mages…”

“Tevon is certain he can convince the general to accept further help from us before they arrive. The academy has determined that Ordana shall be the location of our blockade. We are going to help hold those lands at any cost.”
She sounded hopeful about our chances; I tried to embody her spirit as well.

With a slight hint of hope now, I couldn’t help but ask,
“Will you be coming here as well?”

Her tone changed, a little
bit of sadness buried within it.
“I must remain here to help coordinate our efforts. With the first confirmed attack, we are now in communication with many throughout the North. We are building an army.”

So much had taken place in such a short period of time. I found myself a little overwhelmed. We still had all of the crops to replace. It would take at least a week, based on the pace we maintained the last time we did this. Yurios was still in horrible condition as well,
and it was partially my fault.

While the clouds dissipated, rays of vibrant light now rained down. I couldn’t help but imagine a small cloud still remaining over my head.

“What now?” I asked Tevon as we stood near the river.

“We help them rebuild. I know you’re tired, but these people need help.
Without us, people will starve,” he answered, though it was not the answer I had hoped for. I knew he was right, but it was a heavy burden being a mage.

As the sun continued to reveal itself from behind the few remaining patches of clouds, the people of Ordana poured out of the city. They appeared to be in shock from the condition of their home
land.

The General turned to u
s, “We must restore the people’s faith.” He paused and looked down at me, “Can we call upon you for help one last time today?”

Tevon and I both nodded. I
had an idea as to what it was he had planned. We mounted our horses and rode to the city entrance where all the people looked out in awe, still unaware of the impending war that would follow this battle. There was no applause as we dismounted and walked before them.

“People of Ordana,” the General
said with a stern, booming voice, “today has been a day of loss and a day of victory. Thanks to our new friends from the Mages Academy, we have survived today.”

One of the townspeople interrupted boldly, “Survived what? Our food is gone.”

The people broke into an uproar. Tevon tapped me on the shoulder, signaling he was ready. I channeled a large but steady stream of magic into him, like a steady river. He placed his hands on the ground. The people fell silent as a fully ready to harvest field of wheat shoved itself up from the ground in a few heartbeats.

The General once again
had the attention of his people. “Our friends are here to help us. A war is coming, with an army far fiercer and greater than the forces that inflicted this damage upon us today. We find ourselves facing difficult times ahead. It’s for this reason that we must look to new ways and new friends. We must open our arms to those who seek alliance with us; we have an enemy to crush.” He raised his sword into the air. A thunderous applause broke out, accompanied with confident and proud cheering. I caught a glimpse of a tear that subtly rolled down the General’s cheek and disappeared into his beard before anyone else took notice.

With the people now celebrating and my body about to give in, the General released us to go for what was left of the day. He had a company of soldiers escort us to our own guest quarters. As we passed through the crowd of people, they all cheered for us. My heart couldn’t help but flutter at the sight. I was finally beginning to live up to the person
that Helendra and Tevon saw in me.

First we were led to our rooms.
They were next to one another on the side of the castle that faced the plateau where the academy was. The rooms were chosen for us for obvious reasons. I quickly made myself familiar with the room. I was more concerned with Yurios’ condition than anything else. While a small part of me knew that really it wasn’t my fault, I still had to carry the guilt of anything that may happen to him as a result of my channeling.

The memory of what it had done to Yurios, what I had done to him, was like a cold stake in my heart.
I knew when I had channeled that much magic into him that it would hurt him, but there was no other choice. The idea of anything happening to him seemed unbearable to me. I didn’t know how I would ever be able to face Edgar again if Yurios didn’t recover. These thoughts played games with me as I stared out the window of my room. I watched the shadows cast by the castle as they painted a charcoal silhouette on the landscape. Its walls shifted like ripples in a gently disturbed puddle as the wind grazed the fields with a delicate touch.

Time taunted my thoughts, relentless in its efforts to dampen my spirits. I wanted to see Yurios
, but every time I requested to I was told it would be just a little while longer. The answer grew more wearing with each repetition. I knew that the longer it was until I could see him, the worse his condition truly was. Were he fine, I would be able to go see him, but he’s not, he can’t be bothered and hasn’t been fine for some time.

Tevon hadn’t come to visit me in my room, nor had I gone to visit him in his. With the anticipati
on building for news of Yurios’ condition, I needed support. I left my room and went down the hallway to Tevon’s. I opened the door to find our rooms were almost identical, outside of the varying tapestries.

The castle was full of them, and while they maintained a similar set of colors, their designs differed greatly. The ones in my room were themed around women sitting or standing near trees. The woman was never the same
, but the tree seemed a little repetitive. I recognized it as one that was common only in this area, and they were scattered outside the kingdom walls everywhere. Or they had been, before they were burned by the fires.

In Tevon’s room the tapestries were themed more around mountain ranges. They lined up with the ones that could be seen from the very windows in his room. I found the choice to be a little boring at first
, considering all he had to do was look outside his window to get the same view. However as I inspected his more, there was an interpretation to the mountains that you could not see yourself by looking out the window. The proportions were severely altered as the mountains were made to look gargantuan in size in comparison to the landscape around them. The only thing that stood anywhere near them in stature was the shadow cast by this castle.

Tevon was in his room, sitting on the side of his bed with one of the potted plants that could be found in our rooms resting in his hands. He stared down at it as the plant that was in the pot changed. It turned from a simple set of white flowers in bloom to a single stunning purple flower with a big collection of pollen at the center. From the flower I could see a yellow mist leak out into the air, and it stirred around Tevon’s face.

“That should help,” he said, not having to turn around to know I was there behind him.

“What is that?” I asked. T
he flower continued to release the yellow mist.

“It will help heal Yurios. It’s a mending tulip. The pollen is released into the air and as you breathe it in
, it helps heal your body, particularly the mind,” he answered with a happy tone, now holding the plant towards me for closer inspection.

“How’s he doing?” The question left me with a bitter taste from fear of the possible answer.

“He’s doing better. They said it will be a bit until he’s back to normal, though,” Tevon answered, his voice showed a bit of happiness while his eyes revealed distraught.

“Can we see him?”

“Not until tomorrow, he needs his rest. I’m going to have the guards leave this at his bedside for now. If he sees us, he’ll be tempted to visit rather than sleep.”

While I knew he was right, I hated the answer. I wanted to see Yurios with my own eyes, so that my heart would believe he was going to be
all right. At this moment, no amount of comforting could do what just a single glimpse could for me. Frustrated, I sat down next to Tevon.

“Jasminis, if you hadn’t done what you did, we wouldn’t be alive here. Yurios wouldn’t be alive.” He attempted to comfort me for at least the confliction I felt for what I had done. “It appears as though this may be part of the curse that comes with being a channeler, at least for the moment.”

“For the moment?” I was a little hopeful at what he had said.

“While it still isn’t the most pleasant of sensations, it was a bit easier for me to handle the magic you channeled into me a few days ago back at the village.”

This was a little helpful to hear, but it was a long draw from making me comfortable with who I was, and what I would have to do to others in time of need. Then I remembered what I was able to do to Yurios when he was passed out, when I was able to take his power from him and use it myself. Although I don’t know if that had a negative effect on him, it was a possible solution for me, though it would require me being much closer in any battle that may require my help. It would put me in direct danger rather than my friends.

Tevon had not mentioned it yet, causing me to wonder if that was a concern of his as well. Was he opposed to the thought of placing me directly in harm's way? Either way, I knew at some point I would have to do such a thing again, an
d that I would be in harm's way many times to come.

There was little left to say as we were both emotionally and physically drained. The proximity we shared between one another was all that we needed for now. At some point I fell asleep, though the terrible day was still young. I assume Tevon had carried me back to my room, as I later awoke to find myself there. It was dark out
, but I could sense the night was still young. Sleep came to me as a haunting shadow rather than a comforting blanket; I had to find something else to pass the time.

With no guards posted outside our rooms, I was able to freely walk about. While still remaining cautious, I explored the empty parts of the castle. It was empty and very still, with guards only posted at the outer portions of the castle closer to the main entrance. They appeared to have little distrust for their own people or for us either anymore.

Empty hall after countless empty hall, I searched with no real direction or intent, passing the time away, one mocking second at a time. I paced, uninhibited by anyone, until I turned down one hallway to find Dhamlaic standing there. I could see through the corner of his eye he had noticed me. His attention stayed focused on the window he looked out while he still watched me.

“Out late are we?” He spoke, his soft words managed to carry down the hallway to me with little effort.

I stood at my end of the hallway without answering, intimidated by his catlike demeanor. On the surface he seemed calm and docile, but beneath hid an agile killer that had fended off four men at once. He was a vicious fighter disguised as an artist. He seemed brittle, gentle, even kind, but all it took was one glance at his eyes and your heart could turn to stone.