Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga) (11 page)

CHAPTER XIV

Thad felt something light land in the middle of his chest. Opening his eyes he awoke to find Jeanie sitting uncomfortably on his chest. “Mr. Mage
tell me a story.” She said enthusiastically. “But we have to be quiet mommy and daddy are still asleep.”

Sitting up Thad looked out the window to see that it was still pitch black outside. Thad wanted to go back to sleep but looking at the
enthusiastic face of the child in front of him he knew that it was going to be impossible “What kind of story do you want to hear?” Thad said in a hushed voice.

“
Ummm…Ummmm. One with a princess, and ummmm, a dragon and a… a… with lots of magic.” She said smiling wildly.

“Oh! I don’t know if I can fit all that in but I know a couple of stories that you might like.” Thad said lifting the girl up off his lap and sitting her on the bed. “Once long ago there was a princess with red flowing hair who lived in a giant palace. She had everything a person could want money, power,
and thousands of people who bowed to her every whim, but when she was alone she was lonely. Many suitors tried to win her hand but she could tell that none of them cared for her but only for the power of the throne. After being turned down one, of her suitors was mad and returned with a large army and forced the princess to return with him to his castle where she was locked in a tower.”

“That’s so sad. Did she get out?” Jeanie said emphatically.

“Every night the princess would sing from the top of her tower. One night a young mage from the village heard her voice and was enchanted, after that every night he would sneak onto the place grounds and listen to her song. Then one night all of a sudden, the princess quit singing. The mage missed the songs, so one night he snuck into the palace. He found the princess sitting sadly on her bed. ‘Why have you quit singing?’ he asked the princess. ‘I am a caged bird who no longer has the will to sing in my cage.’ The princess replied sadly. The mage took the princess by the hand. ‘Then shall we escape the cage?’ he said as he pulled her to the window and called upon a great burst of wind to carry them to the ground below.”

Thad went to continue his story but he found Jeanie sleeping soundly curled up beside him. “I’ll take her from here.” A light voice said from the door startling him. Alicia picked the small child up and carried her from the room.

Thad was still tired but he couldn’t make himself go back to sleep so he stumbled into dining room to wait on his friends to wake so they could be on their way. “Thank you for spending time with Jeanie. She has always been a restless child. You must have had a good mother to turn out so well.” Alicia said smiling.

The irony of her words made him laugh. “I wouldn’t even bring myself to say she was a decent mother, she was the worst kind of mother a son could have.” Thad said with little emotion.

Alicia frowned and walked over to where Thad sat and handed him a hot roll fresh out of the stove. “I can’t believe that. You’re such a kind boy. That doesn’t happen by accident.”

“When I was about your daughter
’s age maybe a bit younger my mother sent me to the slave academy. There I had many mothers who took care of me and trained me to make sure I would grow up to be the perfect slave. If anyone should get credit for my behavior it would be them.” Thad said dejectedly.

Thad felt Alicia’s hand on his shoulder. It was warm and Thad could smell the gent
le scent of spices covering her. “I’m sorry to have brought up such a subject. No matter where you have come from you have grown to be a splendid man.” She said reassuringly.

Thad reached up to his eye and flinched slightly. “Are you so sure about that? It was only yesterday I threat
ened to burn your husband to a crisp.”

Thad heard Alicia gasp slightly but she never took her hand from his shoulder. “Anyone who is kind to children cannot be evil at heart. You might have had a tough life. You might have had to make choices you didn’t like, but I can tell from watching you with Jeanie that you have a good soul.”

“Honey, you’re not growing sweet on our guest because he gave you a pretty rock, are you?” Holbar said from behind them.

“Well he is younger, handsome
, and rich.” She replied teasingly, “But I don’t think I want to get rid of you just yet.”

“I was quite surprised when I came home to find you asleep at the table and even more surprised when I learned you gave my wife a gem worth the price of half the town. I must say you’re not at all what I expected after our first meeting. Though my daughter and wife have taken a liking to you, I must insist you take your leave as soon as your companions are awake. I spent eight years in the army and have a good sense of when danger is around, and it’s not hard to tell it follows you.”
Holbar said taking a seat next to Thad.

“I can’t argue with you on that point, and I do appreciate your hospitality. As soon as the other two wake we will be on our way.”

“There is no reason for thanks. I told you the reason I brought you to my house wasn’t for your benefit but for the idiots who would have been fodder to your blade had I not. Even then, you have more than paid for your stay, though finding someone to buy such a large gem will be troublesome. Maybe when the next large trading company comes through I can find a merchant that will pay a good price.”

“
Ya finally awake Thad. Ya missed out on tha ale, though it was so weak I had ta drink half a barrel before I could tell I wasn’t drinking water.”

“What else
da ya expect from a bunch of humans.” Brianna said teasingly.

“Now that everyone is up we might as well be on our way.” Thad said standing from his seat.

Alicia poked her head out from the kitchen. “Not before you eat. I already made enough food for everyone otherwise it’ll go to waste.” She said waving her wooden spoon around like a weapon.

“Yes my lady.” Thad said bowing slightly.

They didn’t have to wait long before a large piping hot meal was brought out. It looked more like a banquet than a simple breakfast. Boiled eggs, ham, and many other dishes were placed on the table. Not only was there plenty to choose from it was also well made. It was the first meal in a long time Thad actually enjoyed. The dwarves were nice but their food was simple fare with little variety, often accompanied with large amounts of ale. Thad never complained but it was nice to have a decent meal for a change.

Jeanie was still asleep when
Holbar escorted Thad and the others to the edge of town. As they walked, the eyes of all the villagers were on them. Avalanche was the only one who seemed not to notice as she bounced around playfully as if nothing was wrong.

There were no long goodbyes when they parted
Holbar simply turned back toward the town while the three companions continued down the small road that winded along the coast. The cool breeze coming off the water felt good to Thad but the salt in the air made his skin feel sticky.

Avalanche enjoyed the outside and often wandered off to play with some animal or inset that had stirred her interest but she always came back usually pouncing on Crusher whenever he let his attention slip. It was always enjoyable to the large rock dog
to roll the dwarf around as if he were a ball. Crusher would curse and sputter at Avalanche for hours afterwards but Thad knew that he enjoyed her company as much as anyone. The only time Thad had seen the dwarf really mad at Avalanche was when she had been playing around in his house and broke three barrels of ale the dwarf had been keeping to age.

Brianna made sure that she was right next to Thad during the walk. Thad was surprised she didn’t simply grab his arm. The last thing Thad would describe her as was shy but since the night they had spent together back in the dwarven village
, she had said little to him. He knew he should say or do something but he had no clue what that would be. Looking over at her he noticed that she was watching him out of the corner of her eye. “Why did you decide to come with us?” Thad asked as he fumbled for something to say.

The question had obviously been the wrong one to ask because as soon as the words were out of his mouth the smile that had been on her face turned into a scowl. “I just started
ta get ya hooked, not about ta let ya prance off inta tha sunset and ferget about me now was I.” She said cheekily.

Thad laughed nervously. “That’s a relief. I thought you had tagged along so you could find your chance to dig out Avalanches eyes. I know you always get a gleam in your eye when you look at her.”

“What’s wrong with a girl liking pretty things?” Brianna said laughing, “Why do you think I took such a liking to you. Handsome figure, with such a pretty eye, what woman could resist?” She said stretching to reach up to his face and rubbing his cheek where his real eye had been replaced by the magically enchanted gem.

Self-consciously Thad reached up and touched his eye. “If I lose too much more I will be more magic than man.” Thad said his voice laced with self-loathing.

Brianna grabbed Thad’s arm and forced him to look her in the eye. “So ya got a few scars. Who doesn’t? If anyone thinks less of ya because of it, I’ll beat some sense into them. Now stop yer wallowing and get a move on, that darn fool friend of yers is leaving us behind.”

Thad stood watching Brianna’s back as she quickly outpaced him. She was one of a kind
woman, that was for sure. She was strong, blunt, brutal, but her heart was as kind as anyone he had met. Monique, Maria, and even Eloen didn’t see him as just Thad like Brianna did. They might have cared for him in their own fashion, but to them, he was a mage first and a man second. Brianna might be a lot shorter than him and far from what most would consider the vision of beauty, but Thad thought she was beautiful in her own way. The only thing he could find that he didn’t like about her was that he wasn’t sure if he should get involved with a woman who could easy beat him in a fight.

When the sun began to s
et, they found a good spot to camp next to a large outcropping of rocks that blocked most of the wind. Brianna made sure her mat was right next to his, so close it was hard to tell the difference in the two. Thad looked at the fire and then looked over to where he was supposed to sleep and hoped that Brianna didn’t have any wild ideas while they were on the road. It was one thing to fool around in the privacy of a room but Thad wasn’t up to doing anything with Crusher only a few feet away.

As if she could hear his thoughts Brianna sat down next to him at the fire. “
Ya seemed ta have a lot of fun playing with tha little girl tha other night.” She said teasingly.

Thad poked a long stic
k into the fire rolling the coals and causing it to spark lightly. “She was cute wasn’t she, all bright eyed and innocent. I wonder when we lose that sparkle in or eyes. Children don’t judge you based on the views of the world but only through their own eyes. Sometimes it’s harsh but it’s always honest.”

“Aye, tikes see things through untainted eyes.” Brianna said leaning her head against his arm. “I think
ya would make a great father one day.”

Thad laughed, “Me a father. I fear for the future if I ever have children.” Thad said bluntly.

Brianna pulled Thad into a strong kiss. “Don’t ya be doubting yerself. I swear ya think too lightly of yerself. If I said ya would make a great father, ya would.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.” Thad said blushing lightly.

With his mind thinking about what Brianna had said, Thad made his way to his bed. The ground was hard and cold making it hard to get comfortable but in no time Thad was able to drift off into a peaceful slumber.

CHAPTER XV

Thad found himself standing next to Maria in his dreams. She wore the normal battle leather he had gotten used to seeing her in, while he slept. Her hair was cut short barely touching her shoulders anymore. She had filled out a great deal more than he remembered her. The look on her face was what surprised him the most. Her eyes no long held the inquisitive innocence that he remembered. It had been replaced with the cold look of someone who was used to seeing blood.

“Are you doing well?” The image of the princess asked him. Her voice was kind but much harder than it had been the last time he had heard it.

“I am well. I have found many friends along the way, and if everything works out I will soon be back in Farlan.” Thad said smiling.

The princess’s face grew hard again. “I don’t think you should come back yet. Things have c
hanged. Farlan is no longer a safe place for you.

Thad wrapped Maria up in a tight hug and laughed. “I don’t think anywhere in the world is safe for me. Wherever I go there seems to be war and death. People hunt me simply because of my power. If I am going to
be in danger, I might as well be home. I miss gazing at the moon lilies in the palace gardens, and the annoying hardheaded women that constantly harassed me.”

Maria pulled back from his hug and looked at him intensely. She opened her mouth but her words were lost to him as darkness began to creep in around him. Thad tried to focus and bring the dream back into focus but no matter his efforts
, the darkness continued to advance.

“Maria!” Thad yelled as he jolted up.

“Who’s Maria?” Brianna asked her face set into a deep scowl.

“A friend from home,” Thad said solemnly.

“Well do a lady a favor and try not to yell out her name when yer asleep.” She said slapping him on the back of the head.

“Thad gently rubbed the back of his head. “It’s not like I have much of a choice about what I dream about.” Thad replied in a pained voice.

“Well ya better try otherwise I’ll cut ya up and serve ya fer dinner boyo.” Brianna said giving Thad an icy stare. Thad knew she was mad, it was more than evident on her face, but he couldn’t help but laugh which earned him another slap to the back of the head. “What da ya find so funny?”

“Your face when it’s all pinched up like that. I’m sorry I couldn’t help but laugh.” Thad said his voice still on the verge of laughter.

“Ya won’t think it’s so funny when I take me axe ta ya.” Brianna said sulkily as she rolled over in her blankets and turned her back to him.

Letting out a heavy sigh
, Thad followed suit, curling up in his own blanket and closing his eyes. Why did he keep dreaming about the princess, and why was she so different than she remembered? Thad wished Sae-Thae was around to ask if it might be more than a dream. None of the books he had read had mentioned much about visiting others in dreams. Thad knew it was possible as Sae-Thae had done it but even with his power he had to have the assistance of a magical item and even then the distance was limited. Maria was on the other end of Kurt for all he knew, there was no way he could be talking to the real princess in a dream. So why was she such a frequent visitor?

As Thad drifted off to sleep
, he tried to clear his mind but it was no use. Flashes of memories shot through his mind. He remembered the first time he had met the queen and princess. He had been put up for show at the slave academy before the auction. The princess had decided that she had wanted him for her own slave, and her mother, the queen seemed just as eager to purchase him. They had purchased him and during transport he had managed to escape thanks to a bandit attack. You would have thought Thad would have been smart enough to make a dash for Rane, or one of the other countries where men had a better standing but the thought had never crossed his mind. As with most of his life, he simply moved his feet as if a force outside his control steered him back to the capital and the princess. Even now that he was free of Farlan, he was trying to find his way back. Thad wasn’t sure why he felt he needed to return but something inside him called for him to go back to Farlan and finish what he had started. Thad drifted off into a restless sleep with his past rushing through his mind.

Even after he woke the next morning his dream the previous night continued to bother him. Thad was intelligent enough to understand every dream had meaning behind it no matter how small. Was he unconsciously worrying about Maria
, even if that was true, why had she changed so compared to when he last saw her, and how he sees her in his dreams? The fact he was seeing her wasn’t the large problem for him. He often dreamed of women he knew. It was the fact that she alone was different in his dreams than he remembered.

“Still thinking about your friend from home?” Brianna said cuttingly.

“She changed so much from what I remembered.” Thad said absent-mindedly.

“
Ohhhhh, so ya are thinking about yer girl back home.” Brianna said hitting Thad squarely in the arm.

“You don’t have to hit me.” Thad said rubbing his arm. “The dream bothers me much more than it does you. In my dreams she is a lot different than I remember. When I left Farlan she was just a child and one of my first real friends. She was innocent
, but in my dreams that innocence is gone. The harsh look in her eyes bothers me.”

“How old is this friend of yours?” Briana asked coldly.

“She had her twelfth birthday while I was wandering the Underearth. How much time has passed since then I don’t know.” Thad laughed getting an odd look from Briana. “I don’t even know my own age anymore. I could have been in the Underearth for years. I kind of lost track of time while I was down there.”

“She’s still a child. Why didn’t
ya tell me? Ya had me all worried over nothing.” Brianna said sounding slightly relieved. “I don’t know much about magic but I’ve heard some of the elders can talk to each other in their dreams. Maybe ya have the same ability. When we go back fer our ceremony ya can ask Grenlor about it.” She said grabbing his arm and pulling him close to her side.

“Ceremony, I already had my rite with the dwarves. Did I forget something?” Thad asked slightly confused.

“Ya don’t expect me ta get hitched in a human ceremony do ya. We got to do it in good ol’ dwarven fashion.”

Marriage, she wanted to get married. How far down the line did women think? Couldn’t she just enjoy what they had for the time being without having to look so far into the future?
Thad still didn’t believe he could truly love anyone. If he was going to settle down with someone, it might as well be Brianna. She was one of a kind and he knew that she cared for him without conditions. She was a bit bawdy and loud but Thad liked that part of her. “If you insist on a ceremony it will be awhile. There is no telling when we will be able to return to the dwarven village.”

Brianna slapped him on the back of the head laughing. “Of course we have
ta have a ceremony. I’m not in any rush; today, tomorrow, five years from now, as long as ya understand,” Brianna said pulling him down to her height, “ yer mine boyo.”

Thad laughed nervously. How was he going to explain to her that he didn’t even belong to himself? He was a slave to the princess of Farlan. As Thad searched for the words to explain the painful truth to her he was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a child screaming. Thad put aside his thoughts for the moment and quicken
ed his pace and began running in the direction of the scream with Crusher and Brianna not far behind.

The
scream had come from a large thicket of trees that grew only a few yards from the road. Though the grove didn’t look that large it was overgrown with large thorn bushes. To shield his eyes Thad raised his arm as he ran, the thorns grabbing and tearing at his exposed flesh. Thad knew he could use his magic but without knowing what awaited him he wanted to save every drop of his strength in case of a fight.

Bursting through a last set of bushes Thad emerged into a small clearing where he found a large group of heavily armored men. It took a moment for Thad’s eyes to understand what he was seeing. As everything registered in his mind Thad’s stomach began to heave as he stared at the bloody bodies of children that lay on the ground no longer moving. Thad’s hands griped the hilt of his sword as a feeling of extreme range burned through his veins.

Before he really knew what he was doing Thad felt the warmth of blood wash over his hand as his sword burst through the nearest warrior’s chest. His mind blank Thad only saw the enemies around him. Thad allowed his blade to dance cutting down anyone within its reach. He could hear Avalanche and his friends joining in the battle and the cries of the soldiers as they were pushed back. From the corner of his eye Thad caught the sight of one of the men moving in to get behind Brianna and quickly acted, throwing a bolt of energy at him. Thad’s heart began to race harder as he noticed the bolt disappear into the pale white blade of the man’s sword. Though the attack had no effect the flash of light gave Brianna enough of a warning to let her parry the man’s blow.

Seeing that his troops were outmatched by the small group of unexpected travel
ers, the man with the white sword called out for a retreat. Thad hated to let them leave but he knew the dangers of chasing a fleeing group in unfamiliar territory. With the battle over the three took stock of themselves to make sure they hadn’t sustained any major injuries. Thad’s armor and magic had left him with only the cuts he had obtained from the thorns on his way in. Brianna had taken a nasty wound to her upper thigh but it wasn’t life threatening. Crusher had taken a dozen cuts but none of them deep enough to be a real danger.

“Nadirie, annoying little
buggars but they didn’t deserve this.” Crusher said in a disgusted voice.

“Walking over to one of the childlike bodies Thad took a close look though his stomach fought with him. As Crusher had said
, they weren’t children but looked extremely close, the only real thing that set them apart was their thin leathery wings. “That was the Brotherhood, right?” Thad asked his voice dark and menacing

“Aye, they were dirty foxes out on
tha hunt.” Crusher said as he cleaned the blade of his axe off on one of the down foe’s cloaks.

Placing his hand on the ground Thad Let the element of earth flow into him and pulled hard forcing a large hole to open up in the ground. The bodies of the Nadirie were so light it was as if he was holding onto air.
Looking down at their cold lifeless faces as he placed them in the pit, made a new flow of anger burn inside him. 

Walking over to one the dead B
rotherhood warriors Thad began to search his body. The man only carried a few silver coins and what appeared to be weapons of standard make. Around his neck, he did find a small medallion made of the same white metal he had encountered before. It wouldn’t protect the man from all magic but it would keep most effects from harming him. Searching the other bodies he found similar medallions on them. Other than the medallions, there were no identifying items or marks on them that would make a person think they were aligned with the Brotherhood.

Thad had the urge to take one of the medallions but he knew that just having it touching his skin would affect his draw of elemental magic. Just touching the strange white metal made his blood run cold.