Battle Mage: Forging New Steel (Tales of Alus Book 9) (24 page)

Throwing the feather into the air, the mage pushed his power into the circle of magic. Like the runes of the shielding, the hole lifted from him catching the feather from the air like using a night shield to catch a fireball. Releasing his flow of magic, the spot returned to his arm as if nothing had happened. He placed his fingers over the rune and willed the feather to return from the void it created like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat.

“Unbelievable,” Maura replied genuinely impressed with the display of magic.

Raising his hand as Sebastian held a smile of satisfaction on his face; the mage took her right hand with his left and closed his eyes again. The runes on his arm began to glow, but instead of pulling away as a shield, they doubled flowing from his hand onto Maura creating a duplicate of the defensive runes.

“There you go. An exchange of runes so you can study them both,” he nodded in satisfaction sensing that her new tattoo was tied to her as his was into his magical aura. With some experimenting, she should be able to manipulate both in the way he had, the mage believed.

“You recreated both spells!” Maura exclaimed in shock. Ashleen had moved to watch the second spell looking stunned by the relative ease the man had doubled their tattoos including the powers of each.

Sebastian nodded and replied, “I could sense how they tied into our bodies and the magic underlying them. Whether I can place them on someone without magic to make it work, I am not sure.

“I also don’t believe that I can create a rune from scratch. I need the originals to copy, at least for now, until I learn more.”

His thoughts turned to the handful of spells given to five of his people. “Maura, do you know whether you can find Captain Drayden?”

Drayden was the only one among them who wasn’t able to use magic and he had two runes bound to one arm. He could also find Mecklin obviously, but the captain had been noticeably absent and hadn’t even attended the king’s banquet for the Grimnal’s return.

Shaking her head, Maura replied, “I haven’t seen him since we returned.”

She looked at the new tattoo and asked, “Do you think you can gather the other runes for me to research as well?”

Shrugging, Sebastian answered, “If I can figure out how it works on Drayden once I find him since he isn’t a mage or wizard, then I don’t see why not.

“Maura,” he started as he looked to the floor a moment thinking, “do you know if the wizard’s guilds have set anyone to study the Hollow Swords yet?”

The woman suddenly looked unsure of what to say. “I am not positive.”

Her answer surprised him and Sebastian wondered aloud, “Do the wizards not want to figure it out because it may not benefit them? Both wizards and mages can certainly use the weapons; though wizards rarely fight close to an enemy. Surely they can see the importance of being able to make more of them.”

Looking uncomfortable before his gaze, Maura admitted, “I think they are being obstinate because the idea comes from a battle mage rather than something created by a wizard. To admit a battle mage had a good idea might disturb some wizards; since they might feel that it means we have to finally admit that having greater power doesn’t always mean that they are better.”

He wanted to growl at the idiocies of the hierarchy among wizards in particular. People often remained small minded and short sighted whether they were wizards or battle mages he thought of the annoyance earlier.

“Do me a favor and find me as many wizards willing to at least look into the matter and send them to me at the Black Smith Inn workshop in two days, please,” he asked knowing that the wizard wasn’t exactly close enough to be somebody willing to do him favors, but if someone didn’t cross the barrier between them, it could never be conquered.

The woman paused for a moment before nodding in return.

Now he could just hope that Maura would actually help him to move his plans for the Hollow Swords forward.

Chapter 13- In the Loop

Sebastian and Ashleen sat on the bed with their legs crossed and knees touching. He had been trying to get the girl to try working with healing magic again. Over the last few days, the mage had mentioned it; but Ashleen had seemed a little reluctant to try. Since they had been keeping busy, usually working in the workroom using comparable magic searching within metal, he hadn’t pushed her on it other than in conversation.

Her legs were bared below the pink summer dress from just above her knees to her bare feet. In preparation for dinner and her hoped for dancing, the pretty blonde had changed into the dress before being talked into trying the practice he had in mind.

“I’m not sure about this, Bas,” the girl said trying to get him to change his mind. He had brought a platter of food to the room and a pitcher of juice was at the ready if she pushed the use of her magic too far. Having passed out the one time she had actually managed to use healing, Ashleen had been reluctant to try again. She had needed a few days to recover as well and knew that healing him had taken all she had, a feeling that the wizard wasn’t used to at all. The girl was a wilder and had never been used up like that relatively short use of power.

“Well, if you don’t at least try, we’ll never know if it was more than a fluke. Come on, I’ll be with you every step of the way. Besides, I know how you feel. The first time I tried a major bit of healing I passed out and had pains running through me for hours.

“You had it relatively easy waking up in a hospital full of wizard healers who are used to such things,” he chuckled trying to make her smile.

It worked to a point as Ashleen tried to summon a smile in return, but her worry wouldn’t let her completely embrace the look.

“I’m going to have my healing spell up and can make sure that you don’t overdo it, besides you aren’t going to actually heal. It’s just like searching the metal in the workshop and you do that easily enough,” he assured her.

Trying to procrastinate one last time, Ashleen tried to make a deal to buy her time. “I’ll do it, if you can explain to me what happened with you today with those battle mages. What made you so angry? I’ve never seen you like that before.”

While he realized that she was only asking to try and build up her nerve or sidetrack him long enough to decide to let her off the hook, Sebastian had been wondering the same thing and had come to at least part of a conclusion. “It probably came about for more than one reason. I’ve been dealing with these looks from my fellow mages always wanting to see if I can figure out every little piece of magic every wizard can cast. Some have even gone on to try and demand answers, as if that makes it any easier to figure out new magic. That has been going on for a year now, so the time away aboard ship was a nice break, even if we all were trying to figure out the portal magic as well. We were all trying to discover that together and for once it wasn’t just up to me.

“Then there is the fact that men like Jeriah are just tiresome at any point and teaching him or anyone for that matter like that doesn’t sit well with me either. I do alright one on one, but the larger the group the more uncomfortable I get.

“Lastly, I am probably still a little cranky from trying to regain my energy back after stupidly forgetting to at least attempt to use a protection spell during the Hollow Sword test. That was careless of me, but I guess that I went in a little too optimistic and didn’t think that it would break so catastrophically,” he finished laughing at his arrogance.

“Well, I’ve answered, so now you have nothing left to stall. Let’s see if you can use the examining spell used in healing,” Sebastian said with a nod of determination.

The girl sighed, but began to move her hands to cast the more comfortable earth related spell that had let her also try to heal him after his accident though she had managed to call it up with a word like a mage. As her fingers stopped, so did the ancient language which sounded like gibberish to the Sebastian.

“Heal,” he ordered so much quicker and simpler than his wizard counterparts.

Ashleen’s hands reached for his and Sebastian closed his eyes as they held hands. He had gotten good enough to project his sense of healing without touching, but he still needed to be close. Touching hands would help their minds extend the spell in an easier way, though their knees would have worked as well. Holding his hands was more for the comfort of having him there to guide her.

In the loop of their combined spells, Sebastian could feel everything about her physically. Ashleen shivered with the sensation of the touch of their hands, the feeling of their legs against each other and the slow stiffening from sitting the way they were.

He had chosen to cross legs because neither of them was wounded. As they sat, the flow of blood would slow to their feet. Aches would build in their legs and they could use these to hone the girl’s novice healing abilities.

“Try to look for the wounds you fixed and see the condition of the healing skin,” the mage suggested knowing that her attention was mostly invested in searching inside his body and her hearing would be secondary.

“Ok,” she answered even so and moved to check his arm before glancing at the scar on his side. Dropping below the hip as the wizard found each healed up scar, she followed his next suggestions.

“Can you feel the sensation of my knees feeling you at the same time as your knees can feel me?” It was the feedback loop that could be enjoyable beyond the basics of healing. Such feedback had been part of what had made Yara and his relationship grow in a very unique way. When they had been careful to avoid sex, this was the closest their physical relationship could be.

“Yes, it feels so strange. I can feel you, but I can feel me touching you through the nerves in your skin too,” she replied in surprise.

“Try doing that with our hands,” he said and switched from holding her hands like they were shaking them to interlacing their fingers and back in slow shifts.

“That is so weird, but it feels kind of amazing too,” Ashleen commented as they continued to change the pressure and position of their hands and fingers.

“This is the basic part of healing magic,” Sebastian replied. “From this sense, you can help injured muscles shift to remove an arrow or seal a cut. Illnesses are more difficult to work on, but injuries like those aren’t, at least for me. Of course, if it was all easy, there would be just one spell used.

“In my battle mage spell, the word is just the jumping off point and my mind works with the patient’s body to fix what is wrong.

“You can also use your mind to do things that don’t involve healing,” he said and used the spell to caress the nerves of her stomach causing the girl to start as if he had tickled her with his hand.

“You did that didn’t you?” she complained, though the humor was still in her voice.

“Nerves are the easiest things to play with. They use energy like we can use magic. Being able to shut them off; stops the pain to the area while you heal.”

He moved the nerves on her arm making the fine hairs feel like a breeze had brushed against them causing her to shiver. The feedback of her shiver could be felt through their link and Ashleen complained once again, “That tickled, Bas, now stop that.”

His legs were starting to stiffen and the ankles were beginning to feel the first signs of pain. “Try playing with the nerves in my lower legs or shift the flow of blood enough to reverse the constriction caused by crossing my legs.”

In an act of revenge for his teasing, he felt the lower right leg suddenly feel like it was waking from falling asleep. Sucking in a breath through his teeth at the pins and needles feel, he shook his head and said, “Really? You had to put it to sleep instead.”

He heard her giggle and considered getting her back, but instead the mage released the spell and let go of her hands. “That’s a good start. We don’t want to overdo it before dinner begins or we’ll be going to bed early.”

“You don’t want to overdo it, or do you want to go to bed early?” the girl asked jokingly insinuating that going to bed didn’t necessarily mean to rest. Ashleen had backed off on trying to seduce him since the injury, but it didn’t mean she never let him think that she wasn’t interested anymore. In fact, her presence had become reassuring while he recuperated and he enjoyed having the girl around even more now that she wasn’t pressuring him.

Standing up, Sebastian tried to stomp out the pins and needles in his right leg. It was a feeling that could have happened naturally, but Ashleen had made sure that it happened and the feeling was no less annoying when created through magic. As the sensation began to fade, the mage took some cheese and crackers before he poured two glasses of the juice handing one to the girl who watched him with an amused smile for the trouble she caused him.

After a couple sips, Ashleen’s forehead wrinkled and she asked, “So does this mean I pass?”

“Pass what?” he replied in confusion as he paused in making a sandwich of crackers and cheese, one of the staples he had brought on the tray.

“Whatever test you need to put me through to have a chance with you.”

“I was just helping you to discover that you have a talent for healing. There wasn’t any test beyond trying to build your ability; after all you were the one who wanted me to help you learn more magic.”

Sighing as she frowned, the girl nibbled at a piece of cheese so delicately that she reminded him of a rabbit with a carrot. After taking a moment, Ashleen countered, “It was my excuse for you to give in to my being around, but you know that I was hoping for more than just being your student.