Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (13 page)

She hoped that
the time it would take Twilix to build back up the ice would enough enough for
Kara to get a decent night’s sleep. With only a finger’s width of ice left
underneath Twilix, Kara stopped her efforts. Brandon again patted her back and
re-energized her. She smiled and Brandon looked at her with his eyebrows
furrowed.

“Are you okay?”
He said, taking a step back.

Kara smiled
back, “I’m fine. I think I will get some sleep now while I have a moment.”

She sat down and
Brandon stood with his back facing the doorway of the tent.

“I am not sure
that would be a good idea with your shoulders sparking they way they are. You
might catch your bed on fire.”

A confused look
came over Kara’s face and she looked over at her shoulder that was indeed
letting off random sparks. She raised her hand and her fingers flickered flames
on and off. She stood, startled by the loss of control.

“I’m not doing that!
Well, I am but I’m not meaning to. I’m not angry!” She looked pleadingly to the
king’s adviser. “Help me! I don’t know why it’s doing that.”

She moved around
the small tent with flickers coming from random parts of her body. “I’m in
control. I’m in control,” she chanted as she moved around. She even started to
breath heavy to try and control it like she had with her guards in the dungeon.

“Kara, if you
are unable to stop this I will have to move you to the dungeons for our
protection.”

Kara turned on the
wizard and flames shot up all around her, catching the tent on fire. Brandon
escaped out the door and Kara followed. The four guards jumped to their feet.
Each one sprayed the tent with ice and water, leaving the tent in shambles. The
men turned their efforts on Kara, a fully energized Fire Wizard. The ice and
water had little effect on her. She watched as their attempts turned to steam.

“I will not go
back down there!” She screamed at Brandon.

“I didn’t say
you would!” He snapped back. “I need you to control it so I don’t have to!”

It took a moment
for the words to sink in. The flames died back, but the flickering still
remained. Tears sizzled and steamed on Kara’s cheeks as she cried.

“I can’t stop
it,” she said in a whimper.

The three guards
had swords drawn and were standing ready to attack. She knew if given the
chance the three would not give mercy to even a newborn baby if it were a Fire
Wizard. They hungered to eliminate the threat. She stared nervously between
Brandon and the three men now surrounding her. She took a step towards Brandon
to apologize and the men started to attack.

“STOP!” Brandon
commanded.

The earth shook
and only Brandon remained upright. He came to kneel beside Kara sobbing on the
ground.

He said to her,
“I know you cannot control it, but that doesn't mean you are not dangerous.
Kara… I think you are aging.”

  The sun on the
side of the white tent made for a very bright morning. The light seemed to
splash the inside of the tent, leaving no shadows to be found. Bowie took a
moment to lay on his pallet before he put his feet on the grassy ground. He
heard Auburn and John calling out orders. Auburn seemed to be more harsh with
her words than John. Bowie hurried and got ready. The way John and Auburn were
talking, there seemed to be a commotion in the camp.

  Bowie walked
out of his tent and knocked over a soldier standing at his door.

“What are you
doing there?” Bowie asked.

The boy
scrambled to stand and put back on his black hat.

  “Sir, I was
told to guard your tent. There are two guards on the wizard’s wagon, one on
your tent and, one on the scouts tent. Although, they didn't seem to stay
longer than a few hours.”
            Bowie straightened his own hat and left the soldier at his tent.
Obviously John had been hard at work.

“I see. Carry on
then.”

Bowie walked
through a camp that was bustling with work. Fletchers ran all over and archers
on horseback in groups of four came in and out of the camp. Bowie was assaulted
with the smells of freshly cooking foods. He walked past one of the fire pits
and was handed a plate full of meat, beans, eggs, and an apple. He accepted it
as he made his way to the large apple tree, giving shade to a fire pit. When he
approached, he found that Auburn had made her fletching site at the fire pit.
Fletchers were working fervently, making arrows. Each did their part then
handed their product to the next, all seated in a circle.

  Auburn smiled
and made one last pass around the circle to inspect each man’s work.

“They are doing
well,” She said. “We found a whole field of strange plants that made the most
perfect arrows. They were only a short walk outside of our camp. Do you think
Wizard Ria had anything to do with it?”

Bowie nodded,
taking a bite from his apple. He pointed in the direction that he and Ria had
gone the night before. He stopped chewing and held his hand in front of his
mouth.

“Did Ramos send
word when he would be ready for me to make another purchase?” he asked.
            Auburn nodded, “He already came by and dropped off some supplies. I
told him we may be able to help the town some more. John and I sent more
hunting parties out. There are now five groups of four, all riding the new
horses. So far, they are finding a lot of game. We have more meat than we can
possibly eat. We take a portion to feed your men, and the rest is going into
town. Ramos is collecting the meat in barrels and salting them for the king’s
army. He is trading us supplies for all that we can bring in. I told John that
if Ramos gives us all the supplies in town, the king might be pretty angry. ”

  “Didn’t I tell
you to ask before you made any decisions like that again?”

Auburn looked
down and nodded her head without raising her eyes to look at Bowie.

  “I thought
that I should find a way to keep him from wanting to kill you. At least this
way Ramos will have something to offer the king,” she said.

  “Yes, well.
How are the arrows coming along?” Bowie questioned.

She moved around
the fire pit taking an arrow from each of the fletchers. Bowie followed and
watched each fletcher continue their work.

  “Each man has
a job. We have some men just collecting shafts or making arrow heads. Some of
the men strip the turkeys and other birds the hunters bring in for their
feathers. One man glues and ties on the feathers with the string and hands it
to another. He puts in the arrow head. Another puts in a knock. For each group
of three fletchers, there is a man to keep supplies stocked near by. It is
working quite well,” Auburn said pleasantly.

“How many completed
arrows do we have?” Bowie said, picking up an arrow from the stack and
inspecting it.

  Auburn
answered quickly,“We have already made about a hundred arrows, and it was a
slow start, making sure to get supplies ready before we began. It should go
quicker now.”

The arrow was
decent quality but inferior to his own. Improvements to make his own would have
added extra steps to prepare the arrow shaft. It would probably double the
amount of time. He would teach Auburn and let her do what she could to improve it.

  As he
inspected the arrow, he saw Alexander, the Wind Wizard, approaching John. He
needed to confront the wizard about some training for the imbuement he kept in
his wrist guard. He dropped the arrow back onto the pile and made his way to
John and Alexander.

“You were
supposed to teach me on this trip. What good is an imbuement if I can’t use
it?” Bowie demanded.

  “It will still
have to wait for another time, but I did come to see you and Wizard Ria. The
guards at her door said I was not allowed inside. I decided that instead of
killing them, I would come and tell you to remove them from my way.”

The wizard
displayed no hint of sarcasm in his voice, yet chuckled and whispered something
under his breath as he walked away towards Ria’s wagon.

  Bowie looked
at Alexander, trying to figure out if he was being sarcastic or not. When he
couldn't decide, he said, “I put those guards there because she exhausted
herself making arrow shafts last night. Perhaps I should go in and see if she
is up to seeing you?”

The wizard
talked to himself and ignored anything that Bowie said. He stopped at the door
and waited. The two young guards looked nervous at seeing the wizard again.

“You did well,
go and join the others. We will take it from here,” Bowie said dismissing them.

The two guards
looked relieved at being released from standing between two wizards. Alexander
stood waiting, still mumbling to himself.

  “Well, are you
going to check on her?” He said finally. Bowie didn’t think the wizard had
heard him so he was startled by the question. Bowie knocked and heard Ria on
the inside telling him to enter.

  Bowie removed
his hat and reached for the door.

Alexander
smiled, “Good, yes. Remember your manners.”

Bowie smiled, at
least Alexander wasn’t entirely crazy.

  “Ria, I have
Alexander the Wind Wizard here to see you,” Bowie called out to the wagon’s
closed door. He heard Ria moving around inside of the wagon.

  “Come in
Sergeant, and bring the wizard with you.” Her voice seemed to be in high
spirits and fully energized.

Bowie opened the
door for the wizard, who was still gathering his folds of clothing.

  “Good morning,
Ria. How are you doing today?” Bowie said, standing in the doorway.

  “I am feeling
very well.” She turned to look at Bowie. “Did you bring those items I told you
to look after?”

Bowie nodded and
handed the small pouch containing the numerous earth imbuements to Ria. She
turned her back to the wizard but Bowie could see her dropping the beads from
her hand one at a time into the bag. She held up an open hand to Bowie and
smiled as she tucked it away in the cupboard that the plants hid.

Ria said, “To
what do I owe the pleasure, Alex?”

  Alexander
closed the door behind him, “It seems I’ve upset the king. I wish not to get
skewered today so I have come to report word on the Weapon Bearer. I was hoping
you would be able to get the message to the king.”

  “Alex, I am
under the direction of Master Crescent here. He is using me to the extent of my
abilities. It seems he pushes me so hard, I am confined to my quarters to rest
most days. If you wish to send a message to the king, you had better give it to
Master Crescent to deliver.”

Alexander tapped
his fingers on the table, still looking at Ria who was now slowly pouring tea
for the three of them.The wind wizard took a sip of his tea and grabbed a berry
out of the bowl on the table.

“You always have
the best tasting fruit,” he said, grabbing another. While chewing, he pulled
out a piece of parchment.

“Your friend
seems to be doing well,” he said, glancing at Bowie. “Last I saw him, he found
the Elder Wizard’s camp. I was unable to follow inside, but he didn’t come back
out. I would assume that he is in negotiation for their help.” He wrote while
he spoke. “Take this to the king and hand it to him yourself. Tell him that I
will do as I please, and if his tasks are in alignment with my own, he may get
some use out of me. You will make that clear.”

Bowie nodded and
reached to take a cup of the tea that was offered. He drank while he waited for
the wizard to finish writing on the parchment.

Alexander spoke
while scribbling, “When I leave, I will resume scouting the Fire Realm troops
and report back to the king when I feel it is necessary.”

Bowie replied,
“I will tell him everything and give him the parchment. But I won’t be able to
give it to him for a couple more days.”

“When you do it
is for you to decide. I also want you to have this.” The wizard flicked his
wrist and a small arrow appeared in his hand.

“This is one of
the most basic weapons of a wind wielder. In order to learn to use it, you must
first learn to control the wind. Controlling the wind is easy, stopping it is
hard. Go somewhere with lots of trees and leaves. Find the peace in your mind
and quiet yourself. Feel the wind blowing, and eventually you will see it. When
you can see the magic, open your eyes and watch. Only when you see the wind can
you begin to push it to your will. After that, I will teach you, if you haven't
already taught yourself before I find you again.”

Bowie’s eyebrows
furrowed in confusion, “Wait that’s all you’re going to teach me? Go and feel
the wind?”

The wind wizard
ignored his comment and stood. Taking a couple more berries and tucked them
into a cloth hidden in his pocket, Alexander smiled as his head scraped the
roof of the wagon.

“Ria, it was a
pleasure, as always,” he said. “I hope to see you again soon. Make sure that
this young man does not work you too hard. He has a reputation from the
training fields for demanding excellence.”

Ria smiled and
collected the tea cups, “You are welcome to stop by any time you need to chat,
Alex. Please, visit often.”

She seemed
pleased to see Alexander, and started humming as he exited the wagon.

As Alexander’s
feet hit the ground Ria turned to Bowie and tried to warn him, “Brace
yourself.”

Vines curled
around her feet and wrists as a gust of wind pushed Bowie onto the floor. Bowie
watched as the wind wizard was lifted out of sight. Bowie’s black hat landed on
the stairs to the wagon slowly, and un-naturally.

“I told you to
brace yourself,” Ria chided. “Pick up your hat, we have work to do.”

Bowie did as she
said. The earth wizard walked out of the wagon and headed straight for the
field of arrow shaft plants she had grown. The field was picked clean and now
stood with short plants all around.

“I can grow a
bit more if needed?” She asked.

Auburn came
bounding after him and the wizard.

“Wizard Ria!”
Auburn said, getting the wizard’s attention. “Thank you so much for the plants.
They have given us enough work with for a week!”

“You don’t need
any more?” Ria asked.

Auburn shook her
head so Ria replied, “Very well. I would ask a favor, though. In the future,
when you cut your materials free, be sure and collect the pods that rest at the
top so I can make more later.”

She bent over to
collect a few discarded pods that had fallen to the ground upon harvesting.

Auburn gathered
her skirt and curtsied, “Yes, ma’am.”

The wizard
gathered a few more before Bowie and Auburn joined in. They each held as many
as they could in their hands. The pods blossomed opened at the wizard’s command
and new seeds fell out. Ria collected and put them into the same pouch she had
used to grow the plants.

“Thank you for
your help. Perhaps if you do not need my help growing arrows, I will be able to
grow you a bow or two.”

Bowie and Auburn
looked excitedly back and forth at each other to see if she was serious,

“I’ve heard that
black yew is the best wood for a bow?” Ria asked, searching through her seed
pouch. “Ah, yes here is a black yew seed. Now, Auburn, tell me the traits of a
good bow.”

Ria bent down to
push the seed into the ground and Bowie reached for his water skin and motioned
Auburn to do the same. They emptied them on the hole the seed went into and
watched as a tiny tree crept out of the ground. It grew about knee height and
stopped.

Ria looked at
them both,“Well? I cannot grow you a bow if I don’t tell me how.”

Auburn tried her
best to describe how a bow was made, how the curve was supposed to pull the
string and without one attached it would bend at an unnatural angle. When
Auburn was finished describing the length and height needed for Bowie’s
proportions, the tiny tree grew again. A single branch began extending until it
was so long that the small tree bent over from the weight of the new growth.

The final result
was grotesque, and only slightly resembled the bow Auburn had described. The
bark was black, cracked, and had warped as it grew.

The process
seemed to take a lot of effort from Ria, as she physically slumped and took in
a deep breath. Bowie hadn’t noticed that she was holding her breath while she
used her magic. After a moment, she moved to kneel by the thick branch that was
laying on the ground. She put her hands on the bark and slowly ran her hands
over her creation.

“There, it is
finished. I’m sure I will be able to do that easier after I get a few more attempts
in, but for now I must sit and rest. I will try again later.”

The three stood
looking at the branch. None attempted to pick it up until Ria spoke.