Rising of a Mage: Book 03 - A Mage Risen (12 page)

Fairies came from all over to see what he had done. Hundreds of them were all around them. The light was beautiful. Then they began to sing. None of them understood what the music
meant, but it was the most beautiful thing any of them had ever heard. Even Grundel was finally mesmerized.

When the song was done the fairies dispersed. “Anwar
, you are welcome to stay as long as you like. When you are ready to leave I will have one of the fairies lead you out of the forest.”

Grundel stepped up next to Anwar. “So we can leave? Everyone we talked to told us that if we came in here we would never be al
lowed to leave.”

“
Humans believe that we abduct them because of the pixies, who lure men into the forest. The pixie is an abomination of the fairy. The fairy is the essence of purity. That is why we are able to travel into the waiting, and between planes. Thousands of years ago an evil wizard abducted a fairy who traveled outside the protection of the forest. He transformed himself, making himself as small as a fairy. He mated with her and the offspring was the first pixie. Pixies are beautiful and enchanting. They have long lives longer even than dwarves, but they do age and die. They are mortal. Unlike fairies, pixies have only daughters, so they must breed with mortal men. That is why men are often lured into the forest. Once the men are with the pixies they are enchanted and never want to leave. They breed with the pixies for the rest of their lives. The men are happy and treated well, so we do not interfere. The pixies will not bother you again.”

Anwar looked around. He didn’t care about fairies and pixies right now. Mariah was dead and he needed to repay Delvidge for that. They needed to get back and stop whatever he was sending against Evermount. Once Evermount was safe
, he would learn how to control all the power he had and then he would go after Delvidge.

The
fairy queen must have seen something in his face. “Anwar, remember to hold on to the love that you and Mariah shared. If you don’t, you could become the thing you hate most.”

“I will remember. I will never let go of her.
But we need to get back. Delvidge was not finished when he attacked us. He is starting a war with the dwarves. We need to get back and help fight that war.”

“Fae will guide you to the edge of the boundary. Navaeh will not be returning with you.”

Rundo immediately became defensive. “What? You said we would all be free to go. What about all that fairies are the essences of good stuff?”

“Navaeh’s connection to the world is to
o strong. The magnificence of everything she has felt here is too great. If she left the forest now the loss would be too great, and she would soon die.”

Grundel was about to protest, but Anwar stopped him. “When I connected with my magic I felt this place. What she says is true.” For now he had covered his pain with determination. He had lost Mariah, but he had something to do now that could occupy the empty space she left. They needed to get back. He looked at
Navaeh, who still stared at the queen, entranced. “Will she be like that forever?”

“No. Her connection is very strong. Being in my presence is overwhelming for her. The other fairies will teach her to adapt to the connection here. It won
’t be long before she gets used to me, and she will live normally.”

Anwar believed her. “We are ready to go
, then. Thank you for your help. Please take care of her.”

“Navaeh will go with you to the edge of the boundary. Once she is out of the clearing
, the connection won’t be as overwhelming, and you all should be able to say your goodbyes.”

Anwar, Rundo, and Grundel each took the lead of two of the horses. Navaeh walked in front of them. She followed Fae, and they followed her. They all walked for a long time. Anwar hadn’t asked the others if they had slept when he had. He hoped they had.

Finally Fae stopped and floated in the air. She turned to Navaeh. “I will wait for you over there. Whenever you are ready I will lead you back,” then she floated away.

Navaeh turned to them. She seemed like her normal self again. “I am sorry that I cannot go back with you all. I believe what the
fairy queen told you about me. I don’t really want to leave anyway. The connection here is unimaginable. I don’t know how I will ever get used to it.”

Anwar stepped up and gave her a hug. “Thank you for everything you have done for us. I will miss you.”

Grundel gave her a hug also. “Thank you for helping save us.”

Rundo was last. They had really bonded since they had met. Navaeh was his best friend. He was really starting to like Grundel, but
he and Navaeh were a team. “I’m going to miss you. You are a good friend. I hope you will be happy here. I wish I could say goodbye to Messah.”

Navaeh put her hand on his shoulder. “I wish
I
could say goodbye to Messah. She is not able to travel through the boundary. Take my staff. The goddess has plans for you; I think I won’t need it here. When you leave I think Messah will bond to you now that our bond is broken. If she does, let her know that I will miss her.”

“How will I do that? I don’t understand. And what will I do with this staff? I don’t have your power. I am not a druid.”

Navaeh smiled down at him. “You have more power than you know, and you are not a druid yet. The link and the staff, you will have to figure out on your own. It is all part of the process.” She bent down and kissed his forehead. Then she turned and walked in the direction that Fae had gone.

Vingaza stood in a room full of wizards. He saw that most of them had brought their underwizards with them. He had not, of course. He didn’t need anyone else to cast magic around him. He had all of the wizards in this room already. He needed men who could protect him while he was doing magic. To keep anyone away who tried to sneak up on him. He was of course bringing Malvagio and Cattivo. They were deadly and efficient. They were also loyal.

The
y both also wore items that protected them against magic. It was important that no one but he knew about the items. If any of the Dragon wizards came after him, they would assume they could eliminate his guards easily. They would be dead before they realized their mistake. Malvagio wore a ring that deflected magic away from him. It wouldn’t completely protect him, but it would save him from most direct attacks. Cattivo wore a belt buckle that would draw in any direct attack and absorb it. The magic would then be displaced harmlessly. Both items were very valuable, but they couldn’t withstand really powerful magic. He could attack them with magic that would overpower the items. There were a few others who would be able to. That was the beauty of the secret. The ones who could would not know about the items, and would use simple magic to kill them. By the time they tried to use their more powerful magic they would probably be dead already.

Both of them also carried a weapon that could get through most magical shields. The daggers had been difficult for him to acquire, but he felt it was worth it. It didn’t help to be surrounded by wizards and have master assassin bodyguards that could be dealt with effortlessly. He was strong enough to overpower them and defend against them, but he had
elevated them enough that they could be dangerous. It was part of why they unnerved him. If they wanted to they could possibly catch him unaware, and if they teamed up against him they might have a chance. The uneasiness he felt reinforced his confidence in their abilities.

He looked around. There were a hundred and fifty dragons in this room.
These were some of the most dangerous men in the world. This group could bring any one of the seven cities to its knees. Black Dragons didn’t look to rule though. They created chaos.

Looking around at the wizards
, Vingaza remembered how foolish men could be. He saw men with all kinds of ridiculous items. One of the wizards had brought two men just to carry things for him. One of the men had a folding chair in one hand and a small table in the other. The other man carried a huge bag on his back that contained a huge tent, and in his arms was a rug. Why? Vingaza wondered. They were the most powerful wizards in the world. They men could teleport. Why they had their men laden with pointless nonsense was dumbfounding. He suppressed his anger and lifted a hand.

He waited until the men around him began to
quiet. They in turn tapped the people near them, who then got quiet. Those men tapped the men closest to them, and so on. It took nearly five minutes before everyone was quiet and looking at him.

“First I will say that I apologize for the delay. Anwar’s brother evaded his first captor and we had to root him out of the house. By now I am sure you have all heard, but Anwar Alamira’s brother died today at the hand of the Black Dragons. Stregone is in Kampar now
, rounding up anyone who was ever connected with Anwar. Even if they were not, Anwar is a man who holds the lives of lower men too high. He would come if we killed strangers in his name. I have insured that agents in every city and large town spread the word. Anwar will hear it. Even in the dwarf kingdom the word is already being spread. Anwar Alamira will finally pay for standing against us, and for defying Delvidge, the great God of Chaos. Before he does, though, he will live to see everything and everyone he has ever cared about dead or destroyed. Today we move against Evermount. We will go to a place just north of the mountain. There we will wait for the orcs.

“
I will take two Dragons with me now. When we come back I will take my own men back with me. Those two I took will each take two with them. The distance is too far to travel individually. One of our men spent all day yesterday traveling small jumps all the way there. He placed a traveling stone there. The other stone is in this room. It will allow our jump to take us the full distance. For those of you who have never used the stones before, all the same rules apply. You still have to know the spot to travel to it. Once you get there, hurry out of the way. The area that the stone will allow us to move to is only about a thirty-foot radius. That means that you will need to hurry out of the way so more Dragons can come. Remember to be cautious. We don’t need any accidents. Every man will show two more where to go before he takes his own men. If I find that any of you did not, I will ensure that you do not make it back when this is done.”

Vingaza put a hand on each of the two Black Dragon wizards in front of him. He pictured the place that he had been taken to earlier, the hill where the stone was. When he appeared there he made sure the area was clear and then rematerialized. The two
Dragons looked around. After a moment they both disappeared. Vingaza pictured the room he had just been in and traveled again. He appeared back in the room. He made sure the spot he was in was clear before rematerializing. He put his hand on the shoulders of his two assassins and was gone again.

Once he was back on the hill he walked away from the stone. The last thing he needed was to have some fool wizard carelessly rematerialize where he was standing. That would be an embarrassing way to die.

Malvagio and Cattivo followed him up the hill where they waited and watched as all of the other hundred and fifty dragons with all their nonsense arrived.

I
t had been nearly an hour and almost everyone had traveled to the spot when it happened. Vingaza watched in shock. He had heard all of the warnings and stories, but he had never actually seen a traveling accident.

The last two wizards who had been brought had both gone straight back and grabbed their own men then traveled back to the same spot. Six men were all taking up the same area. One of the two wizards had appeared
exactly in the same spot as one of the other wizard’s men. Their bodies tried to take up the same space, and they both fell to the ground instantly in a bloody, mangled mess. The other wizard was equally unlucky, maybe more so. He hadn’t appeared in the exact same spot. Only a portion of his and one of the other man’s bodies were in the same place. Their shoulders, part of their torsos, their hips, and parts of their legs were merged. Both men screamed in pain as they materialized together. Both men fell to the ground fighting to get free of the other. They wouldn’t live long like that. Everyone stopped and watched, but no one moved to help them. There was nothing anyone could do, but kill them. As terrible as it was, it was also quite fascinating, and no one was going to be the one to end it.

In the end
it was one of the men who materialized who did. He had materialized with his arm through the chest of another man. The man, who had died instantly, pulled him to the ground. He was a Black Dragon assassin, and even in unimaginable pain he acted quickly. He reached his left arm down to his left hip and awkwardly pulled his sword out. In one determined swing he sliced through his own right arm at the elbow. Then, with blood pouring from the stump, he went over to the two men, who were screaming in pain, and pushed his sword into the heart of each one. Silence fell over the hill. The assassin walked over to the nearest wizard and spoke quietly to him as he held up the stump. The wizard cast fire over the stump. To his credit the man never screamed. He fell to his knees gritting his teeth. Veins bulged in his neck and forehead. A tooth cracked, and after a second of searing pain the assassin patted out the fire on the stump. The wound was cauterized and was no longer bleeding. The assassin stood and spit out the broken tooth. He realized then what the tooth was. He just shook his head until he fell. The tooth had been his poison capped tooth. Every Black Dragon assassin had one. In the event that they were captured and tortured they could choose death.