Spell Fade (13 page)

“I’m afraid I can’t help you there. I don’t even pretend to understand how a wizard’s mind works.”

Aliet eyed him silently for a moment. “How did he get you involved in this? What did he tell you?”

“He told me that I would be paid … handsomely. Although, if he had told me half of what I was getting in to, I would have told him to forget it.”

“No, you wouldn’t have.”

“Well, I would have demanded double what he offered.”

Aliet smiled, but there was something else he wasn’t telling her. “It’s more than just the money. What’s the real reason?”

Logan almost dismissed the question with a wave of his hand, but the look on her face told him she wasn’t going to just let it go. “Another story from my father. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but essentially it tells of the time when dragons ruled this land. It was a burned and barren landscape, and we used our power to just stay out of their way, hiding from them.” He was looking into the darkness, hearing his father’s words echo in his head, remembering the visions it had conjured in his mind. Aliet shifted beside him, the noise reminded him he was not a boy listening to his father anymore.

“Do you know what we were before we became slayers?” He stared straight at her and Aliet shook her head. “Riders.” Her eyes widened. She barely believed the old stories of dragons even existing, and now he claimed men actually rode them?

“It’s true,” he added, perhaps sensing her disbelief. “At least, according to my father it is. From father to son, for I have no idea how many generations, it has been passed down. Stories of man and dragon, riding as one, protectors of this land. Until one day some of the dragons decided they were no longer content to be our equals. They sought to rule over man and this entire realm. They slaughtered hundreds of riders and any dragon that wouldn’t join them. Then they turned their attention to the land, razing every bit they could.”

How long ago was this, she wondered, thinking of the thick forest they had been hiking through for almost a week now. It was hard for her to imagine a burned and dead land when she had been surrounded by so much life. Logan continued his father’s story.

“Then he came – the Great Wizard, my father called him. He showed my kind how to use their skill to fight back. With his help, we pushed back the dragons and reclaimed this land for man.”

“And you think this ‘Great Wizard’ was Alain?”

Logan shrugged. “My father did. And so did every other father who passed it on.”

“But that would make him-”

“Old,” Logan agreed. “Very, very old. It also makes us indebted to him. Forever.”

Chapter Twelve

“Incoming!” Logan’s voice rang through the early morning air, and Aliet looked at him, puzzled, question poised on her lips.

A hail of “Good Morning!” from behind her changed the question to a smile. Alain had appeared in the middle of their camp, and when Logan saw her smile, he gave her a quick wink.

“That really is a useful talent,” she whispered. Dartan simply looked from Logan back to Aliet, shook his head, and finished packing his own supplies. Oblivious to this exchange, Alain headed towards Marcus. Both of them turned towards the looming mountains, discussing something amongst themselves as they pointed towards the still distant peaks.

“We’re headed straight into that pass.” Logan had moved next to Aliet, watching the two men talk. Aliet looked up at them, saw her brother look back at them and shake his head.

“No, Marcus wouldn’t do that. Not after the way he talked about it last night.”

Logan held out his hand. “I’ll wager a third of my earnings. That’s where we’re headed.”

“You’re on,” she answered, roughly shaking his hand. There was no way her brother would march them straight into certain death.

“Here it comes,” Logan said as Alain and Marcus turned around. He called out to them, “Where are we headed, chief?”

Marcus glanced at Alain, then answered, “The village of Kinsley.” Aliet smirked, hitting Logan with an elbow to the side.

Logan coughed, but managed a discreet, “Wait for it,” from the side of his mouth. Then to Marcus, “What are we doing there?”

“We need some more supplies.”

Aliet raised her eyebrows, but Logan held up a finger – wait. “We just left Amstead, and it looks like we’ve got plenty of supplies. Where exactly are we going afterwards?”

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“Varlain Pass,” Logan grumbled in what was admittedly an almost spot-on impression of Marcus. After the tenth time though, Aliet had had enough.

“Ok, you were right,” she said, giving him a light push. “Can you please drop it?”

“Alright,” Logan put his hands up in surrender, but his broad smile refused to be silent. He leaned in closer to her. “Let me know if you need to discuss, um, alternate forms of payment.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Honestly, I can be very flexible. How about you?”

“You’re a pig.” She smiled as she said it. She had calmed down considerably since she first heard Marcus so casually announce their destination. At the time, Logan had tried putting a comforting arm on her shoulders, but she had brushed him off like a fly.

Marcus had seen her coming, expected her actually it seemed, and one wondered if he might have even thought he deserved it. Whatever his thoughts, his stern face betrayed nothing. He simply shouldered his pack, and started leading them towards Kinsley, even as Aliet stormed across the camp towards him. He had refused to talk to her, or even look at her. Even now he walked out ahead of them. Alone.

Aliet looked behind them and saw Alain and Dartan falling further behind. “What do you suppose they’re doing back there?”

Logan glanced back as well. “Training, I would hope.”

“How do you think he’s doing?”

“He hasn’t used any magic, yet.” Logan paused and looked closer. “Spending years as an apprentice slayer under my father, I’d say he’s getting his ass chewed out right now.”

“That’s your professional opinion?”

“Yeah. Disappointment is easy to read on both their faces, but if you look closer you can see they both feel it for the same person.”

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“Know you nothing of the workings of magic, boy?” Alain was at a loss. He had no memory of a life without magic (and his memory was long), and he had been without an apprentice for centuries. He looked at Dartan, wondering how anyone could live their life completely ignorant of magic. Dartan’s answer didn’t help matters.

“Sure, you wave a wand around or say some words, and magic happens.” Dartan’s frustration was evident as well. How could Alain expect him to understand magic when he was the very person who insisted magic be kept from him?

Alain took a deep breath. “As I told you before, magic comes directly from your own will. Its strength and purpose come from within you. A wand or words can help focus your will, but will ultimately become a hindrance. They stymie your potential, limiting what you are capable of by the movement of a wand or words in a spell. Those with true talent need nothing more than the desire to make something happen.” Dartan stared blankly at him, bringing the frustrated glare back to Alain’s face. “How can someone who cast and maintained such a complex spell to keep his farm running not have a clue as to what I’m describing?” A slight shrug accompanied the stare. “Think back, boy,” Alain pleaded. “Has there not been a time in your life when you wanted something so badly you could almost feel your desire reaching out to grab it?”

Dartan immediately thought of the night at the tavern with Aliet. Her bare, smooth skin and that slipping fur. “There,” Alain pointed at him. “Whatever you’re thinking about. That’s it.”

“What are you talking about?” Dartan asked, slightly red-faced and relieved the wizard couldn’t read his thoughts.

“The thought you were just having. That was a moment when magic happened.”

“No,” Dartan shook his head. “It wasn’t.” He had replayed the moment hundreds of times in his mind, and he knew, “It was-”

“The wind?” Alain interrupted. “Coincidence? A mistake, a slip, anything except your own doing?” Alain shook his head. “It was you. Something you wanted badly enough to reach for, but weren’t brave enough to do with your hand. Instead, your will reached out and acted for you.” Dartan had not wanted to admit it, but what the wizard was saying, it was exactly what he had felt that night. “If you can remember that feeling, then you can learn how to use magic.”

Alain looked ahead, noticed how far behind they were falling, and began walking. Dartan followed. “Look around you, Dartan,” Alain instructed. “Everything has a will, a desire for something. Magic is figuring out how to use that desire to meet your own needs.”

Dartan nodded slowly, so Alain continued. “Do you see the leaves on the ground?” Again, Dartan nodded. “Reach out to them with your mind. Feel them, as if you held them in your hand.” Thinking again of Aliet’s fur, Dartan put his hand out and reached for the leaves.

He felt nothing. He stretched further and wiggled his fingers. Still nothing. Glancing up, he was relieved to see how far ahead the others were, sparing him from the embarrassment. He was, however, not pleased to see how close Aliet and Logan were walking together. He should be up there, between them, keeping her from getting too close. He pictured himself next to her and was startled to see Logan stumble away from her, almost as if he were pushed.

“Dartan!” Alain’s voice brought his focus back to his outstretched hand. “I asked if you could feel the leaves.” Dartan started to shake his head, but stopped. He did feel something now. Alain smiled. “You’ve got them, don’t you?”

“I think so,” Dartan answered hesitantly. They were dry, and a little scratchy, but also very light, like …

“They want to fly, don’t they?” Alain asked.

“Yes,” Dartan answered with a half-smile. That was exactly the feeling. They wanted to fly from the ground, swirl in the sky, dance on the wind, and remember their time hanging from a tree.

“So, let them,” Alain suggested.

“How?”

Alain smiled broadly. “Now, that’s half the fun – deciding exactly how to make something happen.” Dartan thought he saw the old man wink, but couldn’t be sure before he continued. “Give them some of your power and let them soar, or bring in the wind to lift them up, or even have the trees bend right over to retrieve their discarded bits.” Wink or no wink, he was definitely beaming as he turned back to Dartan. “The only limit you have is yourself.”

Dartan felt the ideas shuffle through his mind, along with what seemed like dozens of others. As he chased them around he began to feel dizzy, as if he were being carried away in a whirlwind. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to settle on one of those rapidly rotating ideas, desperately just trying to reach one of them now. It was Aliet’s scream that brought him back. His eyes jerked open, searching for Aliet, but it was Alain he saw first.

“Impressive,” Alain said. In a perfect circle, expanding out from Dartan to nearly a kilometer in diameter, there did not remain a single leaf on the ground or in a tree. “We obviously need to work on your focus,” he casually noted, “but the power is impressive.”

Looking ahead, Dartan saw Logan and Aliet picking themselves up off the ground. Before he knew what he was doing, his feet were carrying him to her. The only thing his mind would allow him to think was ‘Please let her be all right’, played in a continuous loop.

Aliet was brushing herself off, but looked up when she heard Dartan approaching. Her entire face glowed with the smile she gave him, and Dartan felt his knees suddenly weaken. He was forced to slow to a fast walk to keep from tumbling at her feet.

“That was amazing!” she exclaimed, looking toward the sky.

“But you screamed,” was all Dartan could think to say.

“Well, I was surprised. And then this jerk,” she punched Logan on the shoulder, “yells at me to ‘Get down!’, as he’s throwing me to the ground with himself on top of me.”

“I’m sorry,” Logan mumbled, not meeting either of their eyes. “I felt the power, but didn’t know where it was going.”

“It was the leaves,” Aliet said. “They were so beautiful, all rising up into the air like a huge flock of birds.” She stepped forward and hugged Dartan harder than she had ever before. The grin that spread across his face was as unstoppable as the beating of his heart, but he did manage to keep his legs from buckling underneath him. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered in his ear. “Really.”

She pulled away and all Dartan could manage was a small, “Thanks.”

“How about a little warning next time,” Logan suggested, brushing some of the loose dirt from Aliet’s back. “With your lack of control, it’s a wonder we all weren’t tossed around like leaves.”

Aliet leaned in close to Dartan and whispered, “I wasn’t scared for even a second.” Before he could respond, she turned and continued her futile effort of keeping up with Marcus, who had barely even paused.

The smile was still on Dartan’s face, in spite of the scowl he received from Logan as he turned to follow Aliet. It did fade a bit though, when he overheard Logan’s comment to Aliet: “I told you he was dangerous.” It faded even more as Dartan focused on coaxing a root up through the ground at Logan’s feet. The resulting face-first crash into the dirt brought the smile back full force.

“Apparently he’s not nearly as dangerous as just walking these roads,” Aliet said, helping Logan back to his feet. Fearing the guilty look on his face, Dartan turned before Logan could flash him an accusing glare. He found himself face-to-face with Alain.

“Now that,” the old wizard smiled, “was perfect force and control. Bravo!” He leaned out from behind Dartan and waved to the others, calling out, “Do be careful. This old road is simply littered with hazards.” He leaned back, hidden from view by Dartan’s body, and spoke low, “I’m fairly certain he suspects you.” He peeked around Dartan, then added, “But, he looks a bit uncertain about coming back here to accuse you of anything.”