A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) (59 page)

“I'm sorry, Eric. It's out of my hands.”

The Trickster grabbed Eric's wrist faster than he could
blink. He twisted and kicked and even shot a mana bolt, but it was all for
nothing. A golden-brown portal appeared behind Tasio and Eric was pulled into
it. Again, he saw the tunnel of light. It blinded him and all he knew
dissolved.

He jumped up as if from a spring coil. He was in a dark room
and there was a computer in front of him. Not one of crystal, but plastic and
wire. He shook the mouse to turn off the screen saver and looked at the blank
document. The date was the same as when he asked Tasio for help. He had been in
Tariatla for a total of four months and yet his computer said not a day had
passed.

A horrible dread flooded his body.
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
Not a dream! It just couldn't be! NO! . . .no! no . . .
Eric slumped as the
Shadow of Despair loomed over him. He bashed his head on the keyboard and
pounded his desk in useless anger.
Please don't let it be a dream . . .

Was that all it was? All his adventures? The walk in the
Rose Forest, the city of Roalt,  the journey through the Yacian caverns and
Kyaaran desert; his triumph in the Altar of Rebirth and foiling a coup. Were
they all just the dreams of a failure? All his friends: Annala, Oito, Revas,
Kasile, Kallen, Aio and all the members of the Dragon's Lair, where they just
figments of his imagination? The wish fulfillment of a lonely man?

“NOOOO!”

“Hey, keep it down.” Oliver moaned from the next room. “I'm
trying to sleep.” Eric's short and lanky neighbor walked in. “What's eating
you, pal?”

“I thought I was a mercenary in a magic world.”

“I've had dreams like that. Except I'm a monkey. It's rough
waking up after that.”

There was a knock on the door and Oliver answered it. He
returned with something in his hands; a long, thin something in brown paper. “Hey,
pal, this might cheer you up.” He handed the package to Eric, who half-heatedly
grabbed it.

A rush of power flowed into his fingers, up his arm and to
the rest of his body.
Eric's eyes shot open.
Could it be!?
He
ripped off the paper and there it was; his staff. Exactly as he remembered it
in his not-a-dream: a head shorter than he, made of dark oak, a knot of wood at
one end as large as his closed fist, and smattered with runes. The staff grew
pleasantly warm in his hands.
I missed you too.

Fixed to the opposing end with golden-brown amber was an
addition. The crystal arrowhead he found in the Altar of Rebirth transformed
his staff into a spear.

Not a dream! Not a dream!
He really
did
go to
a world of magic, work as a mercenary, and defeat a Greater Mage! His friends;
all of them really did exist!
Annala, Oito, Revas, Kasile, Basilard, Nolien,
Tiza . . .Tasio!

The mage dashed to the front door, knocking Oliver over and
hoping beyond hope to find a pointy-eared deliveryman. Someone in uniform
disappeared beyond the corner and he pushed himself faster. He reached the
elevator just before it closed and shoved his staff between the gap. The doors
opened onto an empty elevator car.
Abyss take it!

Oliver was still in Eric's apartment when he returned. He
was holding a book entitled
Introduction to Magecraft
and flipping
through its pages. Eric grabbed it and noticed a slip of paper taped on the
front. It read:

Dear Roomy,

You forgot this.

Love,

Your Bestest Friend in
the World

 Eric pocketed it. “After high school, I had the acting role
of a mage in a mercantile company. My roommate sent me this when I lost it.”

Oliver nodded and munched a chip. “We have to talk about
your mooching. If you eat it, you buy it. I put food in the fridge so
I
can
eat it.”

“Ah come on, it's not that much.”

“Actually it is. You spend more time here than
I
do.”
Eric pointed at the door with his staff. “Now please go back to your own
apartment. I have work to do.” Oliver didn't move. The staff swiveled to point
at him. “Don't make me cast a spell on you.”

Oliver snorted, but left all the same. Eric sat down at this
computer to type. With several cups of coffee and an all-nighter, he finished
the report in time to make the bus to work.

Just as before, Aaron was waiting for him at the elevator.
He hadn't changed, but Eric had. Eric had faced orcs, mages, and masterminds
and triumphed over all of them. He could handle a bully. In Hanson's office, he
gave his report. It wasn't perfect by any means, but the boss general was
impressed with the increased quality. Eric spent his lunch hour with Emily and
finished it by asking her to dinner.

 Floating outside the cafeteria window, Tasio flashed a
victory sign.

“You may ask, ‘wasn't there a safer way to build his
confidence?’ Of course, but I wasn't helping him alone. Annala wished for a
friend that could have an intelligent conversation and Kasile wished for a
friend she could relax around. As for Kallen, well, that's a smidge more
complicated. I'll tell you later. Anyway, being the generous humanitarian that
I am, I decided to help all of them at once.

You don't believe me? I'm hurt. Oh well, I must be going
now. There is a little girl who wishes she were better at the piano. Duty
calls.” Tasio snapped his fingers and vanished.

Eric's Journey Continues!

Journey to Chaos Book II: Looming Shadow

Visit http://trickstereric.blogspot.com for more information

follow on twitter @brianwilkerson4

About The Author

Born in
Kansas, US, Brian Wilkerson grew up playing Final Fantasy and watching Power
Rangers. During middle school, he discovered Cartoon Network's anime programming
block “Toonami” and was inspired to write fanfiction based its shows. All
together, these inspired him to write his own original novel. While attending
the University of Minnesota he wrote the first draft of
Trickster Help
Service
and over the next seven years everything was revised and rewritten
until it bore the name
A Mage's Power.