Branded Mage (5 page)

He found his little room, where his papers and items were stored. He found his staff learned against the wall and quickly picked it up in his hands. It had taken him a lot of effort and
making it had nearly killed him. The staff was made of marblewood and had a large diamond set in its top as well as many cat eye gems throughout the rest of the staff, allowing it to amplify his magic.

With his staff, notes, and diagrams of other projects he had worked on in hand, he made his way back through the sewer. It
was a bittersweet moment. The sewer, while not the most inviting place, had offered him sanctuary when he needed it. Now he was moving on to a new chapter in his life. He was moving on, where he could practice magic openly.

After checking to make sure no one was around
, he slipped from the hidden door leading to the sewer. Thad allowed his mind to wander, not paying as much attention as he should have. He ran into a group of ragged men. The squatter’s district was the main living area for males, and most of them worked for small wages, usually living off what scraps the females were willing to toss them. Many of them resorted to preying on anyone they could to survive. Thad couldn’t really blame them, but he was also not willing to become one of their victims.

Noticing him
, the men began circling around him. “Look what we got here. One of the hoity-toity slaves from the palace.” Someone said behind him. “Poor little lamb got lost in the big bad woods, and it looks like he’s found the wolves.”

Thad moved his ha
nd for his sword, and cursed when his fingers only touched cloth. He had let himself get comfortable in the palace and had stopped carrying it with him. Cursing his own carelessness he spread his feet and prepared to fight.

“There is n
o reason for this to turn ugly. Just turn around and leave me be and no one needs to get hurt.” Thad said keeping his tone low and deadly.

Without a response they all moved in for him. Thad waited until the nearest thug was so close he could smell his rancid breath then let loose his spell. A giant wall of fire sprung up around him
, moving outward. The sounds of screams and smell of burning flesh soon filled the air as the thugs rolled around on the ground trying to put out the flames that had taken hold of their clothes and hair.

Two of the men had hung back from the charge and were unscathed from his magical assault. Both men appeared to hold no fear. Their eyes looked as if they were promising Thad a slow and painful death. The closest one ran at him full force while the other, who carried a deadly looking sword, maneuvered to get in Thad’s blind spot.

The first man barreled heavily into Thad’s shield in
, what he guessed was an attempt to knock him to the ground, but the thug could find no hold on his shield. Thad slammed his staff down hard into the man’s head, shattering it like a cheap clay jar, splattering his shield with red and pink gore.

The other man attacked as soon Thad’s staff descended. His body
, conditioned from years of training, reached to the slight movement and he pivoted on his right foot moving the majority of his body outside the reach of the blade. The thugs attack still scored a small cut on Thad’s left side. It was not deep, but the fact the sword was able to get passed his shield was the bigger concern. Keeping his guard up, Thad reached out to the weapon with his magic, testing it. A small blue gem flared to life confirming Thad’s suspicions. The weapon was magic in nature, but with his current knowledge and skill, he was unable to judge what qualities it held.

The two men circled one another
, neither wanting to close with the other. Getting tired of the foreplay, Thad stretched out his hand and let loose a massive lightning bolt. The bright flash temporally blinded Thad, but he could hear a high-pitched hum coming from the direction of his opponent. As his eyes regained focus, he could see the thug, his sword held out defensively in front of him. The swords blade had gone a bright white and was shaking slightly. It appeared to be causing the noise that filled his ears.

The thugs face had also turned pale white
, but it seemed to be more out of fear than a reaction to the swords absorption of his spell. He was starting to get an understanding of how the magical weapon worked. If he was right, direct magic would be ineffective. Another spell popped into his mind, one that so far he had only used to help the masons who worked on his new workshop.

Slamming the end of his staff hand into the ground
, Thad send a massive amount of magical energy surging to the man in front of him. He had never tried the spell on such a level before and his head quickly began to ache and his vision began to blur. Knowing the price of failure, Thad held on by sheer will until his spell took effect. The ground below the man turned to a semi-solid state, and the man slowly sank down screaming as he tried to escape.

Releasing the spell
, the ground quickly became solid again, slightly sloping toward the man held fast in the middle of the alley. He was encased from the knees down. The man uselessly struck at his stone prison with his sword. Consumed with his own predicament the man paid little heed of Thad as he walked over and took the sword from the man’s limp grasp.

The man pleaded with Thad to let him go
. He was visibly shaking. He had killed before, and even in self-defense it left him feeling hollow. He had even killed men who were unable to move, but this was the first time he had to listen to a man plead for his life. The screams of the dying men would haunt him for some time.

He could easily walk away
and leave the man there to die a slow death, but the result would be the same. The only true difference in the two would be the amount of suffering the man would have to endure. His mind made up Thad took a deep breath to steady his nerves then turned and with one deft stroke removed the man’s head from his body.

His shield down Thad was sprayed with more blood then he thought the human body could hold. His emotional, and magical reserves depleted he dropped to knees. The lifeless head of the man he had killed stared at him, condemning him for his coldblooded
murder.

Forcing himself to his feet
, Thad stumbled back toward the security of the palace. The guards at the palace gate knew him well, and rushed to his aid when he came into their view. Through the pounding of his head and the tearing of his soul, he could hear them call for help. One of them gently lifted him from his feet as if he were no more than a babe.

He felt as someone tried to remove the sword and staff from his hands, but he refused to let the go. He held on
to them stubbornly until the weariness of the day’s events took their toile, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

He woke his head still thrumming as the even
ing sun peeked through his window, assaulting his tender eyes. His body had been cleaned of the blood, and his clothes had been changed. He now wore a thick wool night gown. Trying to not think too hard about who had bathed and clothed him, he got unsteadily to his feet. With his stomach complaining from lack of food, he decided it was prudent to make his way to the kitchen and see if he could snag something to eat.

Though it was late in the afternoon
, the palace halls were still swarmed with people. He hadn’t taken the time to change out of his night clothes. As he passed a group of giggling female servants, he lowered his head, his face burning bright red.

He found the cooks in the kitchen
, doing preparations for the morning meal. They were more than happy to use the leftovers to make him a bowl of quickly thrown together stew. Wanting to avoid any more loss to his already shattered dignity, he took the less used back corridors of the palace to his room.

As he passed by one of the smaller meeting rooms
, he heard raised voices though he couldn’t quite pick up what they were saying. From the tone and pitch it sounded like the queen and princess as well as a few others were arguing. Creeping softly, he moved closer to the door. The words were still muffled and he could only pick out a few from time to time. Knowing he shouldn’t, but too intrigued to stop himself, he placed his ear to the door.

“Mother he still doesn’t trust you.” The princess said in a much more commanding tone then he was used to.

“I know dear, but there is little I can do about that. He has every right to hate me after everything I’ve done. Honestly, I can’t understand why he agreed to take on the mantle of the slave even in title if not practice. He’s a good boy, if a bit naïve. I’m sure if we explain the situation he will be willing to help.” The queen said, her voice retaining the quiet dignity he always associated with her.

“Yes he do
es have a cute naivety to him, but in my short time with him, I found him quick to defend those in trouble. It is an admirable trait for one so young.” A familiar female voice said, though he couldn’t place who it belonged too.

“I don’t want to hear your advice,
trollop.” The princess said so venomously Thad had a mental image of her biting the unknown woman.

“Ah! The little princess
is growing up so fast. Maybe your young mage will pay attention to you more once you look more like a woman.” The unknown woman replied mockingly.

“Will you two stop it?
Maria we do not treat our guests in such a manner, and Eloen, you are more than old enough to know better.” The queen said trying to sound serious, but Thad could detect a hint of laughter in her voice.

The room quieted down as the two ladies apologized to each other. Neither of them sounded sincere to Thad
, but the queen didn’t push the issue. The thought of the dainty little princess facing off against the tomboyish Eloen almost made Thad double over laughing. Only his desire to remain unnoticed helped him hold his tongue.

“This is the worst possible time for an invasion. With the current social upheaval, we can’t pull many so
ldiers from their normal duties, and the soldiers that are currently stationed at Southpass won’t be enough if the information on the size of the Ablaian army is correct. Thad could turn the tide not only with his magic, but his presence should bolster our soldier’s moral and weaken the enemies.”

The rest of the conversation faded from Thad’s ears. Silently
, he made his way back to his room. His thoughts fixated on what the queen had said. Abla was planning an attack, and they wanted him to help defend the Queendom. The princess was right. While he tried his best to be nice to the queen, he didn’t trust her. It was hard to forget the long months of neglect while chained to a wall.

The main question in his mind was
, should he help protect the Queendom? The royal decree that had gone out only a few days prior, had been met with mixed results. To his surprise a majority of the common people welcomed the change, with the exception of female business owners who saw a threat to their current monopoly.

It was still too early to see if the decree would calm down the current civil strife that had been plaguing the count
ryside. He didn’t like the idea of killing, but he had grown fond of many people and he knew that if Abla invaded, their safety as well as many others would be in jeopardy. With his magic, he could make a large difference.

Hi
s mind warred with itself as he sat on his bed, nibbling from his plate. The Queendom had done little for him, but it was also the only home he knew. When he escaped his slavery he could have went to another country, but he didn’t. He wasn’t even sure why he stayed. He could have gone anywhere. He was glad he had stayed though. Being the quiet type, he never got along with any of the boys at the academy.

He never thought he really needed friends
, but since his escape, he had met many people who had helped him, for no other reason than to be kind. He had people he cared about now. Not many, but that made them even more valuable. Maria, Bren, Shariel, Monique, Joan, and her family; if they were in trouble he would gladly fight for them. They might not be the whole Queendom, but they were part of it.

His mind heavy
, he closed his eyes hoping sleep would bring him some peace. After a few minutes of tossing around, he decided it was futile to sleep when he had woken up not long ago. Pacing back and forth in his room, he noticed a large brown package on his dresser. Ripping the paper, he found a large stack of books. For a moment he stared at them, confused until he remembered that the dean had promised to send over just that. In the day’s events, he had complexly forgotten about his project for the masons.

Unable to sleep and his mind frantic for a distraction
, Thad grabbed the first book in the pile and jumped onto his bed. The book talked about heat stored deep below the ground. It was an interesting read and held many examples of different phenomena where massive amounts of heat had been seen released from the earth. The idea was neat but depending on how low the heat resided would decide if it was useful or not. If he had to go more than twenty feet it would be impossible.

He read until late into the night
, until his eyelids grew so heavy he could no longer keep awake. All the books had had great ideas on how heat worked, but none of them were practical for use with magic as far as he could tell. Maybe after some sleep and the different ideas had a chance to set in, he would figure it out.