Battle Mage: Dragon Mage (Tales of Alus) (33 page)

It was Kel’lor who replied somewhat angrily, “He managed to fool everyone for a decade as he moved up into a position as a master of magic. I doubt that he would suddenly become careless now.”

Cheleya wagged her finger in the air as she countered, “Not necessarily. He nearly gave himself away when I caught him in the act.”

“He fooled you into believing that he wasn’t going to harm you,” Kel’lor stated wondering at how she could have forgotten so easily.

Shaking her head, the girl said, “No, I just didn’t think he could be so cruel to try and kill me. He was my teacher for a year and had always treated me well enough. Even so, I could see a danger in his eyes that night. We hear of so little crime in Mar’kal. Our races attained peace with the burning of our old world that helps hold us all to a different ideal than the greedy humans serving the Dark One. Seeing such darkness in him that night, I was afraid as soon as I knew that he had seen me watching. I feared that he might kill me then. I just couldn’t get my mind to trust my instincts.

“If Malaketh can be pushed to that point again, I have no doubt that our brothers and sisters would turn against him as well.”

A moment’s pause as the others considered her words was finally broken by Kel’lor as he replied, “Still, how can we be sure that he will show his true colors?”

Starting to pace as she thought, Cheleya considered his question even as she wondered if his very human nature was the flaw that could be used against Malaketh.

As the four remained quietly watching the little dragoness pace, a wizard dressed in yellow followed by a pair of apprentices entered the room. His face went from calm to a slight frown before speaking to those assembled in the room, “I am sorry, but visiting time needs to end. There are tests for this man that we need to run now and you will just be in our way.”

“Can you heal him of this poison?” Cheleya countered standing her ground as her eyes revealed the worry she held for her friend.

Softening slightly at the beautiful girl and her fears, the man changed to comforting in a blink as he tried to encourage her with his words, “We are doing the best that we can for him. After dealing with the Dark One for nearly two centuries, our healers have seen almost everything and can heal nearly everything he can throw at us. Just give us a little more time and I am sure that we will have your friend back to full health soon as well.”

The wizard finished by taking her by the shoulders and gently escorted her out of the room. Colbie and Evantus watched in near awe of the man’s softening by Cheleya. Once again they realized that there was something to the girl that just made people like her and want to help.

Outside in the hall of white with only yellow clad wizards and white robed apprentices visible, Cheleya in her green and brown clothing with her two mages in their dark uniforms, stood out looking completely out of place. Such a feeling, as well as the door closing off Kel’lor, encouraged the three to leave the sterile building quickly.

The cold air of late winter caught their faces making the mages from Staron blink at the chill breeze. Cheleya was virtually immune to the cold, but she started for another reason as she spied her father and one of the che’ther she had fought the previous night. Clad in human guise and clothing of a nondescript nature, Cor’Dargan and the dark haired Lystheir were a bit of a surprise standing beyond the guard wall of the hospital.

“Father?” she questioned as the girl hurried outside of the protective walls. The two mages followed right behind her taking in the forms of the two che’ther curiously. Cor’Dargan looked like a man of early middle years with brown hair and eyes. He was shorter than Evan with a lighter frame and a slightly soft belly. His brown shirt and pants, a leather jacket thrown over the former, and brown leather boots gave him the simple appearance of the farmer he claimed to be.

Lystheir, while taller than Colbie and Cheleya, had long, brunette hair slightly curled and wore a black blouse and skirt that rubbed the tops of her black leather boots. Like most transformations from the amulets, the woman had controlled the clothing she would wear, but her deep, blue eyes were something that came from the character of a che’ther. While dressed in a subdued manner, the woman’s appearance was still pleasant to the eye, though somehow unremarkable as well.

Evan’s eyes strayed from her father, a truly unremarkable looking man who would be missed in a crowd wandering Hala, to the slightly more interesting woman pretty quickly. How the amulets could change the huge dragons into these human forms was beyond his comprehension despite his years using magic. The two che’ther in turn, all but ignored the humans flanking the little, blond girl who was too special to be ignored.

“These are your allies?” Dargan asked quiet enough that only the five would hear his words.

“They are my friends,” Cheleya confirmed catching a slight frown from Fa’Lystheir thrown towards the mages. Not every che’ther could be said to like the humans occupying this world. Few could be said to hate them, however, since few from Mar’kal dealt with them in any manner despite several hundred that lived in the mountain city these days.

On the other hand, Cor’Dargan merely nodded at her clarification and asked, “Have you found the delegation from Mar’kal as of yet?”

He was a dragon of few words, especially in public where the quiet man appeared shy. Away from the land and his plants, the farmer became uncomfortable with people, even che’ther.

“We were checking on Kel’lor first. Our friends went to register with the tournament officials since the ambassador virtually forced her to do so in order to get our place to stay at the inn. If we head over there, perhaps we will find the delegation sent to compete in the tournament.

“Tomorrow the first rounds begin. If we miss them here, then we will have to try and find them among the battle fields.”

Shaking his head considering the second part the harder of the two tasks, Dargan suggested, “Then we should probably head over to the office also. We can wait until they show.”

“Where is your other member?” Cheleya asked as she moved to walk beside her father. Feeling the close presence of Colbie and Evantus right behind her, the girl spoke conversationally feeling quite secure.

“He is watching the outer gate furthest north. If Malaketh and his team arrive, he will try and give us warning.”

“Will he try to change his appearance? They should know him by sight after traveling together so long,” the girl worried to the others.

Fa’Lystheir answered from her right, “Elenek knows what he is doing. We are trained as trackers. For those who haven’t been through the training, you don’t realize that we are put on both sides of the search. We get to be both the trackers and the quarry, so we learn to avoid detection as well.”

Feeling like the elder che’ther wanted to call her little girl as she lectured Cheleya, the tone of the speech rubbed her the wrong way. Strangely if Lystheir had said the same thing when they were che’ther, the girl thought that her thicker skin would have caught less of that. Unfortunately almost two weeks of being trapped as a human was making her more susceptible to the human mood swings that the che’ther and mar’goyn’lya often noted to one another after their dealings with the other race. For all the charm of being more nimble and the dexterity they had, the flaws of the humans’ nature was the one thing Cheleya didn’t enjoy. She missed the calmer, more exact demeanor of her race.

Little more was said before they found a building with a line extending out into the cold. The officials had set the time to sign up not realizing how many wizards would come to Hala for the challenge.

Cheleya noted the strange dress of several wizards and even the unusually dark skin of men and women from lands far away. The king of Southwall had a long reach apparently and the draw for wizards and nations was strong. As Colbie and Evantus found Tilana and Orlerin standing near the doorway of the building, Cheleya noted several people with the amulets worn by the che’ther. Easier to note were a handful of mar’goyn’lya, who apparently refused to change despite the crowds, or maybe because of them.

“Do we just come out and ask them if they know about amulets?” the girl looked up at her father inquisitively.

Ignoring the question, Dargan moved closer and greeted one of the che’ther delegation, “Fa’Arronnon, I see you are preparing to join the tournament.”

“Fa’Dargan’zer? Did they call you out of retirement to join the humans’ little tournament?” a dark haired man with piercing brown eyes and appearing of an age with her father replied as he extended a hand in a very human handshake. It was one of the gestures the che’ther had learned along the way as they began to associate with mankind.

Cheleya knew that the amulets often created the illusion that best suited the user. She saw two more men of a similar age to her father, a younger man looking like he was in his twenties as well as a blond woman of the same range, and last was a girl with copper hair and green eyes like Cheleya though darker like evergreen.

Paying attention to her father’s conversation, the young blond heard him say, “No, I joined a group that came on other business for Mar’kal.”

“It’s a pity then. You know Draasstmass and Varesen, I believe,” he gestured to the other two older men. The first of the che’ther was a rough version of a man with a dark bushy beard and eyebrows beneath wavy black hair. The second was thin with long brunette hair that looked like an oiled pelt. His brown eyes were so dark they almost looked black.

Cor’Dargan nodded as Arronnon went on asking, “If you’re not here for the tournament, then what brings you so far from home. The last I heard you became a farmer of sorts.”

“I’ve used my magic to create more farmland for other farmers and decided to run my own on the side,” he acknowledged the wizard’s information. “Some of what brings me here I can’t say in public, but we were wondering if you or any of your entourage might know about our transformation amulets?”

The other che’ther appeared confused as Arronnon replied with a shrug, “We all use them and there is little to be said on that, but if you are asking if we understand how to make them, then I do not know anything of that. What kind of trouble could you be having with them? They are pretty fool proof.”

“Have you ever heard of one being broken while a che’ther was in their transformation?”

Cheleya almost cringed at the blunt way her father led into her problem. Though he hadn’t said everything about her state or even inferred that it was her, the girl watched the new group of che’ther as they appeared mortified by such a thing. Had they know that she was also locked into this state with the pieces embedded within her body, how much more shocked would they become?

Glancing at the other che’ther, where he found only shaking heads, Arronnon was forced to shrug and answer, “I am afraid not, my friend. Perhaps if we were to study the problem and the one afflicted, we might be able to solve this together. After we finish here, why don’t you meet us at our inn, the Crystal Well? We can discuss it further there. Perhaps we can discuss your other problem as well.”

His brown eyes seemed to lock onto Cheleya as he spoke and she wondered if he knew that both problems revolved around her. There was no way that he should have heard about the stolen artifacts or her alleged part in it, but that didn’t mean that the girl didn’t feel a little paranoid as the man spoke.

A hastily jotted note, thanks to paper not needed from the sheets given out to sign up for the tournament, and they gathered up Colbie and Evantus once again before heading back towards the inn.

Chapter 20- Hazy Day

With a cool breeze blowing across the city, Cheleya wouldn’t have thought to worry over a scent or covering her tracks. Using magic broke so many of the laws of nature that would prevent anyone from finding her amongst so many humans, but instead of returning to the inn Cor’Dargan and Fa’Lystheir revealed a new set of tactics to help keep Malaketh and his team from finding the dragoness.

“Lystheir will be shadowing you as we walk letting only traces of your scent and magic reveal when and where we want them to be. She’s been using the spell since we entered the city just like Elenek is doing near the gate. You had asked how he can avoid being detected by the trackers, that is one of the techniques that he is using,” Dargan revealed to the three walking close to him.

Cheleya had thought that the dark haired che’ther had been up to something. Her bright blue eyes had seemed lighter than before, though the girl had barely had time to notice such things in the night before, but for someone who used magic it was one of the details that gave a wizard away when using their spells.

The woman added as they walked, “Essentially I use two or three spells to cover both your tracks and your magic. When you are close by me, I can also radiate your essence away scattering your scent to the wind and diffusing any latent magic trails caused by your unique power. We’ll cover a large part of the city lessening your presence in any certain place while eventually Hala will come to hold your scent everywhere and nowhere at once.”

Evan looked amazed by the idea and Colbie was only slightly more contained as he asked, “You can mask a scent and magical power like that?”

Her blue eyes stared at the human down her nose as she replied, “That is what I said. We can’t completely dismiss or hide Cheleya’s aura and smell from the air, but by pushing it away and masking what I can, essentially she’ll appear like she’s all over the areas we cross. The more parts of the city that we can disperse her qualities, the more that it will become a fog to a tracker.”