Forgotten Mage (21 page)

“You’re a man now, or so you claim, so
start acting like one,” His mother chided him. “No matter age, any
person wearing the mark of the Brotherhood is to be executed. That
is what your father, King Killian, and I all agreed upon. There can
be no leeway in this, otherwise we might find ourselves with
another Fae War in a generation or two. I know it sounds harsh
dear, but that’s the truth of life. And before you ask, yes, you
have to be present.”

After his mother left, Bren sat down on
the bed, feeling defeated. He had never seen someone actually die
before. He knew that the Queendom had executed people, though
normally only for the most heinous of crimes, but he had never seen
the life leave someone before, and was not sure he wanted to
now.

“From the look of it, you haven’t
witnessed an execution before,” Cass said, laying his hand
comfortingly on Bren’s shoulder.

“Have you?” Bren asked, his friends
face turning light pale.

“Yes, four of them,” Cass answered
without hesitation. Whether on the order of your mother or not, you
would be forced to watch tomorrow. Weapons Master Jacob makes all
of us watch every one that is performed. He says it is better to
see death from a distance before you must see it up
close.”

“At least I will have company,” Bren
said, giving a weak smile.

“That you will,” Cass said. “A lot more
than you might wish. The Weapons Master was really vague about
leaving you alone, so unless he orders otherwise, one of us will be
with you at all times.”

Bren cocked his head to the side. H had
heard the Weapons Master’s words himself, why would Cass bring it
up now. Then his friends meaning hit him. “Oh come on you won’t
need to follow me into the bin…I am sure only one person can fit in
there at a time.”

“You might be willing to risk it, but I
am not. Your death would be bad enough, a mad weapon’s master is
something far worse,” Cass added with a smile, making Bren give out
a long groan.

CHAPTER XVII

Bren woke early to find both Flynn and
Cass already prepared for the day. From the look of Flynn, he had
drawn the last watch, as his eyes had light dark circles underneath
them. Bren started for the door, but he stopped when Cass grabbed
his arm.

“We haven’t received word that you are
allowed out of your room yet,” Cass said, almost apologetically.
“Remember what the Weapons Master said...”

“What about food?” Bren asked, his
question accented by the grumbling of his stomach.

“Until we are told otherwise, we are
not to leave your quarters,” Cass said again. “I am sure that you
can survive a day or two without food, and even when you are free
to leave, we will only be eating what we prepare ourselves. If it
makes you feel better, you can consider it a part of
training.”

Bren groaned again as the realization
of everything hit him. He had wished that part of it was a dream,
or that when he woke, he would hear news that the intruders had
been captured, but it seemed like there was no such
luck.

It wasn’t until almost noon when the
first knock came on his door. Cass opened it, sword at the ready,
to find Weapons Master Jacob and a host of other students with him.
“Good, if Bren had been the one who opened that door, I would have
had you two lashed,” the Weapons Master said coldly. “The execution
will be starting soon. We need to make for the town square. Bren,
you will stay in the center of the other students…that isn’t a
question either.”

“Weapons Master, what about food?” Bren
asked, his stomach so empty it was starting to cramp.

“Afterwards boy. It will most likely
just go to waste if you eat it before…executions are a nasty
business,” Jacob said before leaving the room.

As he hurried to buckle on his sword,
Bren grabbed his staff, following behind the Weapons Master. Down
the stairs, the trainees made sure no one was allowed to pass. Bren
could see the glares from the other mages for having to be forced
down the steps, but there was little he could do about their
discomfort.

Once outside, everyone formed a large
circle around Bren as they marched toward the square. It felt a
little odd, and more than a little embarrassing, but Bren didn’t
complain. It wasn’t until he started hearing the murmurs of the
local townsfolk that his face began to glow a light red. He
couldn’t see very well in front of him, so he could only hope that
they would hurry and reach their destination. Everything that was
happening made him wish that he was simply locked in his quarters
again, starving or not.

When they reach the town square, the
Weapons Master barked out orders not to let anyone within arm’s
reach, then marched off. Once he was gone, Cass broke free of the
circle and came to stand beside Bren.

“Where is he going?” Bren asked, trying
to peek over the others to see where the Weapons Master was
headed.

“The Weapons Master handles all of the
execution for the city,” Cass said, shrugging his shoulders as if
Bren should have already known that.

“I thought the city guard captain would
do that.”

“I forgot how new to the city you are,”
Cass replied, laughing. “We have a deal with this city, and many of
the other countries that allow us to set up training schools. We
only look for those that are of the best quality, those that do not
pass, end up working for the town or country… usually in their army
or guard. The Weapons Master is, for all proposes, the head of the
guard here. They do have another fellow who holds the title, but he
always defers to the Weapons Master on everything, so it’s a kind
of joke around the barracks.”

Having grown up in the capital, Bren
couldn’t imagine a city allowing an outside force so much control,
but he could see the advantages of it. That was as long as they
stayed friendly. Tuning his thoughts away from policy, Bren watched
Jacob ascend the stairs to the raised platform. There, Morus was
forced to kneel, waiting as the crowd jeered him.

Everything that happened next seemed to
move as if time had slowed to a near halt. Jacob didn’t wait for
any charges to be read, not any statement to be said from the
accused, he simply used his boot to push Morus’s head onto the
wooden block. Then, with one sweep of his sword, the boys head
bounced onto the ground below. Bren watched the head as it rolled
off the platform and into the crowd below, and his stomach started
to churn.

Unable to control himself, Bren doubled
over gagging. He was glad that the Weapons Master had forced him to
skip breakfast. Looking around though, he was happy to see that he
was not the only one whose stomach could not take the sight. Three
of the other boys, all his age, were doubled over and the rest
looked pale and worn.

The Weapons Master didn’t return
quickly, he took his time arriving after most the crowd had
dissipated. “For many of you, that was your first time witnessing
death… It doesn’t get any easier as time goes by. You might get
used to the sight of blood, but as long as you keep your soul
there, it will be that same tugging of pain when you see a life
ended, even more so when it is by your own hand. Part of our job
here, is to get you used to that feeling, so it doesn’t slow you
down on the battlefield. I know it sounds cold, but for every
second you waste, you will put your fellow brothers in arms in
danger.” Jacob said, in a loud booming voice.

Jacob started to lead them toward the
training ground when something behind them grabbed his attention.
“Let me though this instant,” Maria shouted, the sound of swords
being drawn filled the air.

“Stand down!” Jacob yelled, getting all
the trainees to sheath their swords. “Let her pass.”

Bren tried to imagine the look on some
of the guards faces as his mother waded into a ring of heavily
armed boys. “Bren, I just wanted to tell you goodbye before we
left…I will be back to collect you as soon as possible. Until then,
at least I know you will be safe,” She said, beaming at the large
ring of armed trainees around him. She gave him a gentle hug, being
kind enough not to embarrass him in front of the others before
tuning and leaving.

As the trainees parted, Bren caught a
glimpse of his sister. Her face was whiter than it had ever been
before. He gave her a kind smile before she was once again covered
by a group of armored soldiers.

As soon as they reached the training
hall, Bren and his two guards went straight to the kitchens. Bren,
having never cooked a meal for himself, was forced to watch and try
to mimic the other two. He watched as they started the fire in the
stove, and once it was hot enough, they placed their meat on its
top. Bren did he same, but in the end, his was still slightly pink
on the inside. It didn’t really matter, his appetite had left him
long ago, and he only pecked at the corners of the ham.

Once his meal was finished, the rest of
the day proceeded like any other. With the exception, that almost
everyone’s eyes were on him. They mostly did sparing practice, this
time though, instead of blunt swords, they used the magical ones
that Bren and Cass had used in their first sparing
match.

“Why don’t we use these every day?”
Bren asked, during one of their short breaks.

Cass looked at the sword in Bren’s hand
and shrugged his shoulders. “The Weapons Master believes it’s much
better training if you get to feel when you make a mistake. Right
now though, he doesn’t want anyone injured in case they have to
fend off one of the Brotherhood. I for one, much prefer these for
training since I can tell not only where I hit, but how deep the
wound is.”

Now that the reasons were pointed out,
Bren could see how both help, but he had to agree with Cass. He
much preferred the magical training blade, though his reasons were
far less grand.

Once the training came to an end, the
three headed back toward the Tower. Bren kept looking over at
Flynn, who had not said more than three words in the past two days.
He was happy enough to have one friend among his guards, but it
felt odd that the other said nothing. “Flynn where are you from?”
Bren asked, slowing down his pace slightly.

“Farlan,” Flynn said
blandly.

“What part of Farlan?” Bren asked, a
little more excitedly.

“Calleoure,” Flynn replied, his voice
bored with the slight hint of annoyance in it.

“What did your parents do?”

“Listen Prince, we both know that you
could care less about me, or any other commoner, so don’t try and
play nice. I will guard you because it’s my duty. Now, if you don’t
mind, why don’t you try paying attention instead of distracting
me?”

“Sorry,” Bren mumbled under his breath,
as he turned his attention back to the near barren road. Even
though it was midday, no one was out, as the guards were still
searching for the people who had infiltrated the city. It did make
Flynn’s and Cass’s jobs easier, but it felt a little lonely to
Bren. It was almost as if all the life and vitality that the city
had, only days before, had been drained away. Bren decided that he
would continue his day as if nothing was happening. It was one
thing to be extra cautious, it was another all together to let the
Brotherhood completely rob you of your life when they hadn’t even
lifted blade.

Bren heard Flynn’s heavy sigh when he
continued up the stairs, past the floor on which his room resided.
“Where are we going?” Cass asked, a hitch of humor in his
voice.

“I still have my studies to attend…That
is, unless the Weapons Master has demanded I remain confined to my
quarters,” Bren said, almost cheerfully.

“No, as far as I know, he has not
demanded that you return to your quarters…But, I will not say it is
wise to journey too far afield. Remember that you are the main
target of the Brotherhood.”

“That is a little hard to forget,” Bren
replied, rolling his eyes.

When Master Carnear opened the door of
her room, she had a slightly surprised look on her face. “Mr.
Farlane, I did not expect to see you today…I am honestly surprised
that after everything that has happened, Sae-Thae would let you out
of your room.”

“I don’t know what Master Sae-Thae
would want…I haven’t seen him since everything happened,” Bren
replied, suddenly glad he hadn’t run into the vathari mage. “I
believe that with everything going on, it means I must work even
harder, otherwise…” Bren said, leaving the sentence hanging, as he
was unable to think of what might occur other than his death,
should the brotherhood catch him unaware.

“
That is a very mature way
to look at things,” Carnear said with a smile. “I must say, I am
impressed. Most children your age never think past what they want
to have to eat.”

“Wouldn’t know about that either
master…I have never spent much time around other children,” Bren
tried to make his words calm, but even to his ears they came out
more than a little sad.

“Ah yes, the hazard of duty when one is
born into royalty…Well come in, might as well get you
started.”

Bren took his place on his favorite
seat while Flynn and Cass took spots beside him. Most the time, it
took more than an hour for Bren to ease his mind enough to even
start to see the flows of magic, but today, it happened nearly as
fast as he closed his eyes.