The Black Mage: Apprentice (43 page)

"Ryiah?"

I bit my lip. Alex was looking to me for an
answer. This was, after all, my forte. What had I told my parents
before we left home? I would join Combat or die trying.

A fine choice of words. What had been meant
as a melodramatic proclamation was now to be my intended irony. I
could not fight our way out of this. Not against four grown,
arms-holding men. Not without magic.

For the millionth time I silently questioned
the gods' motive in my inability to cast. But this wasn't the time
to sulk in my inadequacies. I needed to pick a plan fast.

I peered into the trees, straining to see any
sort of upcoming detour. If we could find a way to circle back,
lose the men in a chase, and then return to the main road… Or maybe
lose them in hiding, taking cover under darkness and then move out
again at first light?

Perhaps Alex was right, and the men would
just carry on. We could just set up camp here and now and be none
the worse.

Yes, and pigs might fly
, I scolded
myself.
You want to be a warrior mage, and yet you shirk at the
first sign of danger
.

I
do not
shirk.

"When I say 'go,'" I whispered, sidling as
close to Alex as my own mount could manage, "I want you to take off
west. I'll head east—"

Alex opened his mouth to protest, and I
hushed him.

"We have to split up. Staying together would
only increase their chance of catching us."

My brother stared me down defiantly. "I am
not
leaving you, Ry."

I ignored him. "We can meet up at that tavern
we passed earlier just before the fork… If…If one of us isn't there
within a couple hours of daylight, then we hire the local guard to
help search out the other. It might take a little longer if we are
on foot." I swallowed. "Local thugs don't usually kill unless
someone puts up a fight." At least that's what I'd heard.

"But what if they—"

"They won't," I said.

He shook his head stubbornly. "If they find
out you're a
girl
—"

I looked my brother in the eye. "It's our
best bet, Alex. If you stay with me, you will not be helping either
one of us."

Alex swore. "Ryiah, I don't like this plan
one bit."

I motioned for him to get ready, and leaned
forward to stand in the stirrups with both hands gripped firmly to
the horse's mane. Alex copied my movements, and as soon as he was
in a similar stance, I nodded.

"
Now
!"

In a cloud of rising dirt and debris, my
charge took off at a breathless gallop. The thundering clash of
hooves and the cries of surprise from the party behind us left me
with an elated sense of victory. We had managed to catch them
off-guard.

As tempting as it was to check their
progress, I kept my eyes glued to the forest in front of me. Dark,
twisting branches struck out at my face and ripped across my skin.
Harsh wind tore at my already-chapped lips. I willed myself to
ignore the numbing cold and sudden, jarring cuts from above.

I hoped Alex was having better luck in his
bit of the woods. I could barely see five feet in front of me and
had to rely on the mare for navigation. Now that she knew our
general direction, it was up to her to avoid what I could not.

The subtle whistle of steel slicing through
air alerted me a second too late. One of the men's blades flew
past, nicking the back of my right thigh in its course. I cried out
and then immediately regretted the noise.

The wound felt shallow, but it was still
sudden and biting enough for me to lose balance. I fell back
against the saddle, and the mare startled at the sudden shift in
weight, slowing her gallop to a canter. I hastily moved to correct
the error, ignoring the added pressure on my leg as I attempted to
crouch once more in the stirrups and return her to speed.

At that same moment the mare stumbled over
some loose footing and sent me pitching forward. My hands, slick
with sweat, lost hold of her mane, and I was sent careening to the
ground. I barely registered what was happening before I hit the
dirt with a sickening thud. I had only a fraction of a second to
roll before hooves came clamoring past.

The mare took off into the darkness. I
attempted to stand and ignore the shaking of my legs. My entire
right side ached, and I had new cuts on my hands from trying to
brace my fall. I wondered if the hammering in my ears was from the
pulsing of blood or the approaching of bandits.

Maybe they hadn't seen me fall. Maybe they
still thought I was astride. It was dark enough. I scrambled to my
feet, ignoring the stabbing pains as I stumbled toward the nearest
brush. I took a couple of hobbling steps until the hammering gave
way to the shouts of men and the unmistakable sounds of heavy
footfall.

The bandits had dismounted and were searching
the area.

I ducked under the bush, ignoring the many
thorns that raked across my face and arms, and prayed that the loud
snapping of branches was just a quiet rustle outside my head.

Burrowing as deep as I dared, I waited. My
breath was shaky and ragged, and I tried not to imagine all the
horrible possibilities that could await me if I were found. I
willed myself to breathe slowly, letting my racing heart ease. It
was no use.

I could hear their voices. They were getting
louder. A flutter of soft wind brought the rancid smell of days'
old sweat and ale, and I wondered how close they were. The bush I
hid under smelled oddly sweet, like some sort of forest berry. I
hoped its leaves would hide me well.

How many had followed me?
I wondered.
Where was Alex right now? Was he still riding west?
I
strained to hear the approaching voices.

"…Saw the boy limping…" one was saying.

Another man cleared his throat. "He couldn't
have gone far."

There were only two that I could distinguish.
If there were a third man, he was staying silent. Judging from the
number of footsteps, however, I was inclined to go with the
former.

The crunching of pine needles a mere step
away froze my heart in my throat.

One of the men was right beside the bush. I
could hear the shuffling of feet against some of the outlying
roots. I made a silent prayer to the gods that he would continue
on.

"I reckon he went the other way, Jared," the
man said. "There's nothing this way but brush."

"Naw, he's got to be this way."

The voices were now both coming from the same
spot just above me. My pulse pounded so violently I was certain
they could hear it. I refused to breathe as I waited for them to
pass.

"Smells good out here," the first was
saying.

"It's the blackberries, you dolt," the second
man, Jared, replied. He shoved a hand in to grasp at a dark
clumping of fruit and pulled it back back with a curse: "Fool
thorns!"

The other man pushed past and reached in
further, managing to catch a hand full of berries and my hair in
the process. I didn't realize some of it had come loose from my
braid, tangled in the thorns until the man yanked his fist back. As
the hair ripped from my scalp an unwilling cry escaped my lips.

I slapped a hand over my mouth, but it was
too late. They had heard me.

The next second flew past in a blur as the
men yanked me from my den and tossed me roughly to the bare forest
ground at their feet.

"Well, well," Jared drawled. "Seems your
appetite has it uses, Erwan." He slapped the second man, a tall
fellow with a big gut and muddy boots, on the back.

It was hard to see either of their faces as I
struggled to push myself up off the ground. The bandits allowed me
to draw myself onto my knees, making crude remarks and laughing as
I fumbled once or twice before finally sitting upright.

"Now, boy," said Erwan. "Tell us where you
and your little friend were headed."

I breathed a small sigh of relief. With all
the blood and grime covering my brother's riding clothes they had
mistaken me for a redheaded young man. The tunic was baggy, and
though ripped at the arms, it still hid my form well.

I stayed silent, unwilling to answer for fear
that my voice would reveal what my clothes did not.

"The man asked you a question," Jared
growled. "Answer him."

Silence. And then the loud, resounding slap
as Jared's palm struck my cheek. My face stung and bled in places
the thorns had already opened.

"Now," Jared said. "I'll give you one more
chance to answer before I start removing limbs." The bandit was
holding a sword. It bore the familiar crest of the Crown's Army.
But this man was no soldier. No man who pledged to defend Jerar and
its people would dishonor the Code of Honor.

I wondered how the weapon had fallen into the
outlaw's hands. Had his band cornered a lonely soldier on some
deserted trail and robbed him blind, much like they were planning
to do to my brother and me? Or had Jared killed him to prevent the
soldier from seeking justice afterward?

There was an odd stain on the hilt, much like
the rusty color of blood. Bile rose in my throat, and I forced
myself to swallow it back down. In the gruffest voice I could
manage, I coughed, "The Academy."

Jared's eyes glittered dangerously.

"Did he just say—"

"The Academy?" Jared nudged my face with his
boot. "You an apprentice, boy?" He was studying my face
closely.

The large man, Erwan, laughed loudly. "Some
mage! Where's your magic?"

My face burned and I looked away.

"So you are one of the first-years, then,"
Jared surmised. His expression turned from interest to disgust.
"The boy's no use. Just another village kid on his way to that
blasted school. Fools, always thinking they have a gift when they
should be doing real work instead."

I kept quiet, hoping the men would dismiss me
as worthless and continue on in pursuit of the mare.

"Boy, did you travel with purse?"

Not much. Our parents had barely been able to
afford the coin it had cost to lease the horses for the five-day
journey as it was. Though the Academy was to provide a year of free
room and board to each of its students, it still hadn't been enough
to offset the labor Alex and I had provided in the apothecary.

I cringed, thinking of how much we would be
setting the family back when one of those horses was never
returned.

"The purse w-was in the saddlebags."

"Erwan, go find his horse," Jared ordered. As
the stodgy outlaw began to take off in the general direction of the
mare, the swallow-faced criminal kicked my stomach. "Get up, boy.
You are going to help make camp until the others return. If you
remain on good behavior, my companions and I will let you go once
we have passed the night. If you try to run or any sort of
trickery, I will not hesitate to use the sword."

I gingerly pulled myself up, trying not to
let the man see how much it hurt to stand.

I refused to give him the satisfaction.

****

Hours later Erwan returned with my mare and a
handful of logs. Shivering, I quickly obeyed Jared's orders to
fetch them and build up the fire. In my condition I hadn't been
able to gather more than a handful at a time, and so the flames
we'd had hadn't amounted to much. It may have been a summer night,
but up in the mountains encased in pine, it was hard to tell.

As I slowly arranged the wood, I strained to
catch the men's conversation.

"Halseth? He still hasn't…?"

"No. Either way, he and Carl should be back
within the hour."

"Do you think they caught the other?"

"I don't see why not." Jared spat at the
ground, and his gaze fell to me. "You, boy, who was that friend you
were traveling with?"

No
. "J-just some boy, only met him
this morn'," I croaked, attempting the same baritone as before.

"You are lying." Jared narrowed his eyes.
"Tell me the truth. Is he another worthless brat like you, or does
he have power?" His eyes gleamed over that last word. Power.
Magic
.

"I d-don't believe so—"

Before I could finish the lie, the man
grabbed my wrist and thrust my hand into the fire. I screamed out
as the flames licked my skin.

Jared let go, dropping my wrist as quickly as
he had snatched it.

Blinking back tears I cradled my hand,
careful not to touch the skin. It had turned a nasty, glistening
red. It burned, and even though it had only been under fire for
seconds, it felt as if it hadn't left.

"Well, well…"

I glanced up at the men, hate burning in my
veins, and Jared shot me a secretive smile.

Panic struck my throat as I realized exactly
what it meant.

He knew
.

"Why don't you go collect us some more wood,
Erwan?" Jared's eyes never left my face. "I would go myself, but
someone's got to watch the boy."

Erwan shot Jared a confused look. "I just
brought a whole lot of it—"

Jared snapped, "Just fetch us more wood, you
dolt."

As soon as the large man had retired from
sight, the bandit turned to face me, hunger playing across his
malevolent gaze. Shadows from the fire leaped and danced, making
the narrow chin, the long blond tresses, every inch of the
swallow-faced man all the more menacing.

"Who would have thought?" he sneered. "A
girl. And here I said no trickery when you were intending to play
us all along."

I glanced around the site, desperate for an
escape.
If I ran now, would I make it far?
I couldn't fight
in the condition I was in. I'd only tussled with local children,
never a full-grown man. I might be able to wrestle a boy my
brother's size, but not someone a good foot taller and fifty pounds
heavier.

Jared took a step closer, fingering the
scabbard at his hip. "Now if you don't put up a fuss, I might be
willing to forgive you."