The Sorcerer's Dragon (Book 2) (20 page)

The Story Continues in:

The Sorcerer's Blade (Seven Sorcerers Saga, Book 3)

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An Excerpt to

Rise of the Sages (Sage Saga, Book 7)

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James was startled to find out that he had been humming to himself. He hadn’t done it absentmindedly like that since he was a child, and after careful consideration, he supposed it was a testament to how peaceful his life was now.

And that wasn’t good.

James stopped staring at the ceiling and sat up in bed—a spread of silk comforters and cloud-like pillows. The mattress itself felt as light as air and it put him to sleep instantly at night.

It was more annoying than comforting.

There were times in which he just wanted to think, and so he would plop down onto it, but the next thing he knew, he would be waking up hours into the evening.

James kicked the blankets further off the bed and kept his eyes closed as he spun around and sat on his knees, so that he could look out the bay window behind him. His room was so distracting with all of its fancy decorations, plush furniture and extravagant paintings—he didn’t want a single piece to steal his focus.

He opened his eyes and stared out the open window.

Birds were tweeting away. The sun was already giving him a sponge bath of warm rays, and he could hear the clashing of students in the distance, sparring with each other over steel and not eidolons. There were no insects to swat away. There were no dangers in the vicinity. Friends and family were in abundance. Everything was so….freaking peaceful.

“Ugh,” James muttered as he rested his elbows onto the foot-wide windowpane and then placed his chin on top of his arms. His eyes glazed over as his ears picked up the voices of two people talking loudly down below.

“We should get some lunch,” he heard Arimus shout as he walked by James’ window.

“Perhaps James would want to join,” Kyran said aloud. James snickered. Kyran was still his moody, dark self, but he had certainly lightened up since he entered Paragon. The clean air and beautiful atmosphere had affected them all—for better or worse.

“What time is it?” Arimus asked, stopping to look up at James’ window. Their eyes met.

“Probably two o’ clock,” Kyran muttered, glancing up at James as well. “Which would mean James won’t be up for a couple more hours. No point in bothering.”

James chuckled to himself and launched himself from the windowpane, somersaulting and summoning his white Sage robe in mid-air. By the time the soles of his feet hit the polished brick pavement, he was fully covered.

“I hope you’re not going to just wear that all day,” Kyran stated, wrinkling his nose. “Because you do know that you’re wearing nothing but shorts underneath.”

“I’m aware,” James said, flashing him a smile. Kyran was not amused. Kyran bent his head down, trying to hide the lower half of his face behind his collar, but all that he was wearing was a green dress shirt, and therefore, there was nowhere for him to hide. James knew that Kyran wished he had his old black trench  coat back, especially since he was surrounded by so many people lately, but at the same time, he didn’t want to become the person he once was. Now that he and Chloe were reunited, he wanted to be the husband she deserved.

The assassin full of secrets had to be killed.

And sadly, Kyran had to murder the assassin every single day.

“You know we were joking, right?” Arimus asked and James nodded his head. He stretched and gave out a short yawn, rubbing a hand through his short brown hair.

“I’m glad you came by. I swear, I’m at the point where I might start sleeping on the bricks out here. I hate my room.”

“There’s plenty of rooms to choose from,” his former mentor replied, crossing his arms across his massive chest. Arimus still sported his long grey beard, and his wise blue-grey eyes were as full of compassion as ever, yet he had stepped up his training in recent years and so the already big man had gotten significantly bigger. He too only wore a grey dress shirt, but it might as well have been armor with how much his chest protruded outwards. His legs were like tree trunks and his arms were no different (James still found it strange seeing Arimus with both arms). His hair had been cut short at the top, and he kept a pair of scissors on him to continually keep it at that way. He said that when it was longer it had gotten in the way in battle.

Battle, he said.

That was Arimus’ reason to keep his hair short.

There had been nothing but peace since the Great Collision, and yet, he was already prepared for the war. James found this unsettling, for he felt the pull within him as well—that no matter how beautiful Paradise was, it could become Oblivion in a second. There were so many people counting on the Sages to defend them—to protect the place that had been at peace for centuries. Any warriors they had at their disposal other than the Sages had either long forgotten their fighting skills or lost their drive, while the Sages were still relatively new. Most of them had died just before the Great Collision, and so conflict and war was still fresh on their minds. By all accounts, they were the most equipped for any attacks Cimmerian may send their way, and yet, James was sure their collective power wasn’t enough.

“All of the rooms are similar,” James replied. “It’s not my room specifically that bothers me, it’s the atmosphere it portrays. Makes me…too comfortable. If I didn’t fight it, I’d probably find myself in there napping all day.”

“There’s no reason you couldn’t,” Kyran replied. James knew he was testing him.

“Napping is the last thing I want to do,” James said adamantly. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

“Not really,” Arimus said. “As it’s been for years, we’re in a waiting game.”

“Speak for yourself,” James laughed, poking Arimus’ huge chest. “You’ve been working harder than the rest of us.”

“It’s because Ashalynn loves my muscles.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” Kyran scoffed. “When you and your wife were reunited, we couldn’t keep the two of you apart, but ever since the Great Collision, you’ve been spending more nights with us.”

“I’m not going to lose her again,” he said, clenching his fists. “It’s just…” he paused to look out over the brick walkway, to the rolling hills and lush green fields that went on for miles. The blue sky was filled with clouds as thick as cotton candy but there was no sign of rain. Their entire academy was floating in the air—a fortress of brick towers and glass buildings. Being off the ground, they could perform their training without interruption. Out of sight, out of mind.

“What?” James asked, wanting to hear what Arimus was going to say.

Arimus sighed. “Sometimes I think about when we fought the Yama, and how they were able to overtake us so easily. If I had been training, I could have done more. I could have kept my mind and body sharp while still spending time with my love. I could have had both, as I do now. Kyran understands what I’m talking about.”

“I’m not going to talk about my marriage with you,” he muttered.

James threw his hands up in the air. “Oh c’mon. It’s not like we haven’t earned your trust by now. We’ve been through a lot together. You could tell us something about your relationship.”

“It’s none of your business,” he replied. “It’s a private matter.”

“You know I could go to Chloe,” James winked. “She would tell me anything I wanted. She can’t help herself.”

“You could,” Kyran said, his beady eyes unwavering through his long black hair. “But you will soon forget what is said after your head is severed.”

“I don’t take threats lightly,” James frowned.

“No one does,” Kyran said. “Believe me. Heads will roll.”

“No one’s killing anyone,” Arimus chuckled, putting a hand on their shoulders. “We need each other now more than ever. At least before the Great Collision, we had the comfort of knowing that we could see our loved ones in Paradise. Now, that is no longer the case. Someone dies…they cease to exist. We lose them forever.”

“Is that why you’ve been keeping Chloe from our senior training classes?” James demanded to know. Kyran’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and even James was taken aback by how quick his own demeanor had changed. But it was something he had to do.

“What are you accusing me of?” Kyran said. He wasn’t on the defensive, but he wasn’t attacking either. It was a good sign. James might get the information he wanted out of him after all.

“When we have our senior training sessions, we go all out. No holding back. But I’ve noticed that as we’ve picked up the intensity, Chloe has been more and more absent. Listen, I get that we’re still in Paragon. We have to enjoy ourselves, but that’s no excuse to habitually miss the most important classes we have here. We can’t get soft.”

“Is that what I am?” Kyran goaded, taking a step toward him. His eyes were cast down upon him as if he was a bug. “Soft?”

“No one said it but you,” James said, maintaining his resolve. His instinct was to apologize to Kyran for the unintentional insult. But to get the desired result, he couldn’t back down. Kyran would respect him more for not being weak. For not apologizing.

“You’ve gotten bolder,” Kyran said. “Don’t know how that’s possible with so much peace and beauty around you. What’s happened to you?”

James fought back a smile. In the midst of conflict, asking a question was usually a way to diffuse a situation without admitting guilt. Kyran wouldn’t admit it, but he was on the defensive now. It was almost time to strike.

“I’m the leader,” James said, reaffirming his place in the ranks. “And that means I don’t have the luxury of getting soft, no matter how I may be received on the outside. So while the rest of you can sleep without worry and have fun in the meadows, I’m constantly planning the next move. Moves that won’t be implemented if my star soldiers are nowhere to be found.”

Now it was time to strike.

“Chloe will be at our next session,” James ordered. “Period.”

“Hmph,” Kyran said, pushing him slightly to the side and walking past him. James watched him stroll down the path, until he disappeared into a passing cloud afar off. James sighed and his knees nearly buckled. Arimus burst out laughing.

“Well done, James,” Arimus laughed. “There’s hope for us all.”

“That was scary,” James mumbled to himself. “I felt like he was going to kill me.”

“The thought crossed his mind, I assure you.”

“It was a risk I had to take. Chloe needs to be training with us.”

“I know. It was a matter that had been on my mind lately as well, but I wanted to leave the problem up to you. As you said, you’re the leader around here.”

“How was that decided again?” he groaned.

Arimus shrugged his shoulders. “Luck of the draw, I suppose. The fact is, we fought for so long down on Terra that once we died, it was like something snapped within us. We just don’t have the same drive we once had. I guess we thought that once we came to Paradise…that would be it. But war is still looming over us, and the stakes are higher than ever…still, it’s difficult to replace that drive we lost.”

“If Catherine was here, she would be leader,” James said. “Of that I’m sure.”

“Yes,” Arimus agreed. “But she’s not.”

“She’s still on Terra,” James said. “And…she’s getting older. While I,” he reached up to caress his cheek. “I stay the same. It’s like we’re ghosts. Our bodies are more like spirits than anything.”

“A minor inconvenience—aging. At least she’s still alive.”

“Yes…and I’ m trying to do everything I can think of so that we’re all reunited safely. I don’t want to lose a single person. Not one Sage. Not one Paragon.”

“As long as you stay vigilant, and do what you have to do, you’ll be fine. Though Kyran will be pissed for a couple days, he will respect your leadership and your decisions more now that you didn’t back down from his challenge.”

“So what’s on the docket today?”

“More training with the senior Sages,” Arimus said, uncrossing his relatively new arms. “Scarlet won’t be there though. She and a young one named Eckard went to Terra.”

“What for?”

“You don’t remember? It’s their turn to go on scouting duty.”

“Right,” James said, slapping a hand on his forehead. “I forgot. Hopefully they can find us some allies…what else is going on?”

“Nothing much. A few of the young Sages are requesting an audience with you.”

“What about?”

“They’ve expressed concerns that they aren’t receiving proper training. They want to join the senior classes.”

James scoffed and shook his head. “They’ll be murdered. And we can’t slow down our training to have them catch up. We don’t have time for that. Aren’t their own classes enough?”

“Am I correct in assuming that they will be taking a more background role in the coming war?”

“That’s safe to say.”

“James, the young Sages died the same as we. Maybe they didn’t deliver the final blows to Thorn or Lakrymos. Perhaps they didn’t do much against the Yama…but that doesn’t mean they are useless. They can learn as well as we. They deserve a chance to show their worth.”

“It will hold us back.”

“The King of Paragon and his officials are already wary of us. They think that we’re not completely aligned with him and that we may seek to take Paragon. The last thing we need is for the Sages to be divided. Every soul matters here.”