Forgotten Mage (20 page)

“I think even at that age, she would be
a force to reckon with,” Humanius replied. “She has magic in her
blood, just like you, though not as strong…still, she should live
to be well into her hundreds.”

“You’re not very good at reassuring
people,” Thad said grumpily.

“My job isn’t to reassure you, or to
make you feel good. I watch. It is all I have done for the past few
thousand years. I have seen enough angry women to know, that no
matter how much times passes, or how old and infirm she gets, that
the second she gets a chance, she will make you regret what you
did…even though you did it well before you two were married,”
Humanius added with a chuckle.

“Normally, when you hear of gods in
stories, they are all power, knowing, and caring,” Thad
retorted.

“That is why they are called stories,”
Humanius replied, laughing again.

CHAPTER XVI

It was four days before Bren was
allowed to leave the medical ward. He had sustained massive injury
to his body, thanks to the excess amount of magical energy that had
coursed through him, but still he had recovered at an alarming
rate. The mages were baffled by it, as they didn’t want to use
magic to heal him and expected him to be abed until the new
moon.

His mother and sister stayed in town
and made visits each day to check on his progress. After he was
allowed back to his normal routine, they still stayed in town. His
mother was adamant that she would get to see just how the mages
were training her son to control his power.

Bren hadn’t brought up staying again
with his mother, hoping that by the time the issue needed to be
readdressed, he could come up with a better argument, or she might
soften more to the idea, but after seeing her reaction the first
time, he highly doubted either would work. In the end, he knew that
he would most likely have to go against her wishes and fight to be
able to stay at the Tower.

As Bren dressed for his first day back
at the Katanaga academy, he stopped to look at his right hand. The
silver scar that had always been there, seemed larger and brighter
than it had before. The tip of his index finger had a sliver glint
to it as well. Bren figured it was just a side effect of the magic
he had used, and pushed it from his mind as he grabbed his sword
and Thuraman. He didn’t know if the staff could really ease the
pain from the beating Cass gave him, but he figured it was worth
the try. He had his fill of being abed, and didn’t want to risk
another trip to the medical ward so soon after being
released.

I see that you are starting
to believe me. That is good, at least it is a step in the right
direction. It was so much easier when you were a child. You never
questioned me, and would sneak around to carry me. Now, you seem to
think you are better off alone. It is those women’s fault. Now that
you have them to talk to, you don’t need me anymore, but remember
they can’t be trusted.

“Yes, I know women can’t be trusted,”
Bren replied lazily. “You have said that numerous times over. If
you are not pointing that out, you are making sure that you are
pointing out every mistake I make…. On that note, are you sure
you’re not female yourself?” Bren asked, the last bit as a joke,
but Thuraman didn’t seem to find humor in the statement.

Feeling a bit of accomplishment, Bren
began to whistle as he walked toward the training grounds. The sun
was still down, but he had woken a bit later than normal, so the
streets were already beginning to fill with people headed about
their day. Even with all the people around, the same feeling of
being watched followed him, but it had followed him for years. When
he was younger, his mother would tell him that it was his father
keeping an eye out for him, but even at a young age Bren had not
believed such was possible. Thuraman claimed that Thad was still
alive somewhere, but Bren wasn’t sure if he believed that either.
However, if it were true, he intended to find out where his father
was.

Just as the squat building of his
training ground came into view, a loud piercing noise rang through
the air. Not knowing what was happing, Bren quickened his pace and
ran for the safety of the buildings.

As he was running toward the buildings,
Jacob began yelling at the older trainees, including Cass, to run
to the small building next to the training storeroom, emerging
moments later with swords and other weapons.

“Farlane, inside now!” the Weapons
Master yelled at the top of his voice.

Bren did as he was told and ran through
the doors to join the other younger students in the main classroom.
Moments later, Cass and two other of the older trainees joined
them. Still confused about what was going on, Bren approached Cass
who had a stern look on his face. “What in the nine hells is going
on?”

“Brotherhood,” Cass said, as if that
should explain everything.

“How do you know?” Bren probed, wanting
more than a one word answer from his friend.

“About three miles outside the city,
there is an enchanted field. It doesn’t do anything really, but if
a member of the brotherhood, carrying their white swords crosses
it, the alarm sounds. One of the mages tried to explain it to me
once, but I didn’t really understand.”

It was clear that Cass was not in the
mood to talk, so Bren moved back to where the others waited. He
could feel the eyes on him. He turned his head, noticing the deadly
look in Morus’s eyes.

Bren expected the young fighter to say
something to him, but instead Morus lunged at him, a dagger held
tight in his fist. Bren reacted without thinking, swinging his
staff around and smacking the other boy hard in the side. A blue
jolt of energy traveled down the staff, throwing the boy into the
far wall. Still confused, Bren just stood there as Cass ran over
and pinned the smaller boy to the ground.

Someone get me a length of rope,” Cass
yelled, and one of the younger boys ran from the room, returning a
moment later with a thin length of rope about two foot
long.

As soon as Morus was secured, Cass came
over to where Bren still stood dumbfounded and shook his shoulder.
Bren, are you injured,” His friend asked in a worried
tone.

“Ahh….No,” Bren replied still in a
daze. “I was able to knock him away before he could get to
me.”

Grabbing Bren by the arm, Cass hauled
him over to stand in front of Morus. “Why did you attack Mr.
Farlane,” Cass asked the other boy.

Morus snarled and gave Bren a disgusted
look. “Filthy abomination needed to die,” Morus said, hate seething
through his voice.

“Cass bent down and yanked the other
boy’s shirt over his head and searched his body. When he found
nothing, he ordered the other boys to strip Morus. It wasn’t until
Cass checked the bottom of Morus’s feet that he found what he was
looking for. In the center of the boys foot was a dark tattoo of a
fox. “Brotherhood,” Cass said, spitting on the ground, as if the
word alone was a curse.

Morus was moved into one of the other
rooms, one of the older boys set to guard him. After the attack on
Bren’s life, Cass had all the other boys stripped and checked
thoroughly. When no others were found with a tattoo, then, and only
then were they allowed to redress.

It was late by time the Weapons Master
and the others returned, and none of them looked too pleased. They
were even less pleased when they learned of what had happened in
their absence. Jacob said little to anyone, but he did make it
clear that he wanted Bren to have at least three guards at any
given time, and that would include being escorted to and from the
Tower.

Bren didn’t think he was all that
important, but from the look on Jacob’s face, it was not a
negotiable subject. After everything was settled, Jacob had Morus
and Bren brought to his office, while Cass and another older boy
named Flynn stood guard outside.

“Bren, do you know why you are
present?” the Weapons Master asked as soon as he entered the
room.

“No sir… I mean, Weapons Master,” Bren
answered, utterly confused by the day’s events.

“You are here because you are a
witness, and not just any witness, but one of royal lineage.
Whenever a person is accused of a crime, the person with the
highest rank who witnessed it is required to be present during any
questioning. In case they can shed some light on any events that
might have occurred. Your father sat down that law, shortly after
he founded the Tower. Now that you know your place, I ask that you
remain silent unless you have some information that is pertinent to
what is being discussed.”

As soon as Jacob removed the gag from
Morus’s mouth, the boy began streaming curses at Bren. This ended
promptly when Jacob slammed the hilt of his sword down into the
boy’s knee. “What was you task?” The Weapons Master asked, his
voice cold and hard.

“”
I was supposed to join
the Katanaga and try and convert your fighters to the Brotherhood,”
Morus said with a sneer.

“Smart, at least you are well trained.
Giving me just enough information to keep you from being tortured.
I could get more out of you, but it is such an unreliable method
since only half of what you would say would be the truth. I can
guess much of the rest though. What concerns me, is why you would
risk your cover to go after Bren?”

“I was ordered to kill him if given the
chance. They didn’t think I would really succeed, but I was
promised great rewards if I did. It doesn’t matter though, the
others will get him,” Morus said, spiting at Bren.

“We will talk again later,” Jacob told
Morus as he stuffed the gag back into the boy’s mouth.

“It would seem that the Brotherhoods
motives for coming here would be you,” Jacob said, turning toward
Bren. “I guessed that you would be one of their prime targets,
because of who your father was, but I didn’t expect you to be the
sole reason for their arrival. I will have to talk to master
Sae-Thae, but until such time as I decide otherwise, Cass and Flynn
will be with you night and day.”

Bren didn’t answer, he simply nodded
his head as he was pushed from the room. The Weapons Master
repeated his instructions to Bren’s new bodyguards, and ordered
that he be taken back to the Tower and not allowed to leave his
room until they received word.

Bren cursed his luck as he was herded
back to the Tower. He had spent his whole life as a prisoner in the
palace. He was allowed free roam of the palace, but not allowed to
step a toe outside of its gates unless approved by his mother. It
was one of the reasons he had left, and now he was to be confined
to a single room.

When they reached the Tower, it was
oddly quiet. There were no apprentice mages running about. The tall
dark walls seemed more like a tomb under the fog of the eerie
silence. As they walked up the wide steps, Bren was forced to walk
behind Cass, while the other boy walked behind him. It wouldn’t
have been so bad, but they insisted that there be little or no
space between them as they climbed, making it awkward at
best.

Once in his room, the two boys decided
on shifts to who would watch the door. It wasn’t until that moment
that the true danger of the situation hit him. He had been so numb
and surprised by the events of the day, it had passed him by that
the brotherhood wasn’t looking for him to play, they wanted his
life, and his friends might be the one to pay that price. That
thought alone bothered Bren more than anything. He knew that all
the precautions were necessary, and while he might not like them,
he would follow them. If he didn’t, not only would he risk his
life, he would risk those of his friends, and he had too few of
those to lose.

Less than an hour after returning to
his room, a large commotion could be head outside. “My lady, you
can’t have royal guards within the Tower walls. It is against the
regulations. I promise you that we have more than ample security to
keep you and your son safe,” A voice pleaded in the
hallway.

“Have you found the members of the
brotherhood that have snuck onto the grounds? Have you found the
murderous bastards that are after my son? No! Then get out of my
way, or my men will move you out of it permanently,” Bren heard his
mother’s voice say in a tone that froze his blood.

His door burst open only a moment
later, and Bren found himself smothered in his mother’s arms.
Thankfully, he had grown taller than she was, otherwise he wouldn’t
have had to worry about the Brotherhood; he would have died from
embracement. “Mother, I am fine,” Bren protested, trying to
untangle himself.

“I know you are, and I am glad that at
least one of the two masters are taking this seriously,” Maria
said, letting her son escape. “I will have to send my regards to
your Weapons Master,” She said, giving the two older boys a warming
smile. “The reason I came was, that after the execution tomorrow, I
will have to head back to Farlan. If the brotherhood is here, they
might strike there next and I will be needed.”

“Execution?” Bren asked confused. “Did
they catch one of the assassins?”

“You were there, or at least I was told
you were. The boy that attacked you this morning,” Maria
replied.

“But he is still my age, you’re going
to execute him?” Bren asked mortified. He didn’t like Morus, and
the boy had tried to kill him, but he still couldn’t imagine him
being executed.