God Mage (19 page)

Something hit Bren from behind, and while he
felt no pain, he did find himself laying on his back in an awkward
position just in time to see a large double bladed axe headed
straight for his head, while his sword was down by his side. He
tried to get it up to defend but he knew that it was useless. When
the blade was only inches from his face, the soldier wielding it
was knocked to the side by an unseen force. “Faye?” Bren asked in a
shocked tone.

“Who else?” a soft voice said as Bren felt
someone grab his hand and pull him up just as another soldier tried
to attack.

“Are you okay?” Bren asked as he ducked under
a blow and gutted the attacker.

“I feel fine,” Faye responded from somewhere
to his left. He was worried about her using magic, especially
considering what he had happened to the Brotherhood mage, but with
so many swords aimed at him, he didn’t have much time to check on
her.

You know as much as I enjoy your dancing
around you could use me from time to time. I do get bored just
watching you jump about as if someone put hot coals down your
trousers.

Thuraman’s words came to his mind just as the
staff appeared in his hand. Bren extended the staff hitting the
nearest soldier in the gut and throwing him back with a loud pop.
With both his staff and sword in hand Bren felt a little off
balance but after a few strikes, it almost became a dance to him.
He would block with his sword then attack with the staff. He was
right-handed, making his sword arm just slightly faster and more
accurate, and while he knew attacking was important, blocking the
blades aimed to take his life seemed the more pressing matter.

As skilled as they were, the Brotherhood was
skilled as well, and they were outnumbered seven to one. Bren was
holding his own for a bit, with Faye jumping in to help when more
than one came at him at a time. The longer the battle raged, the
more and more soldiers surrounded him, making it hard for him to
keep pace. A few blades tore through his clothes and hit his skin,
but none of them had made a scratch on his person, but at the rate
things were going, it was only a matter of time.

One of the soldiers lunged forward awkwardly
and Bren easily sidestepped the blow and on habit dealt the falling
man a downward blow. The blade cut deep into the man’s back but
Bren took a sharp blow to his exposed side. The blade dug into his
skin, cutting a fine line just above his hip. Bren didn’t feel much
pain, but he could feel the blood dripping down his side.

The wound didn’t hinder him much at first,
but within a few moments, Bren started to grow light headed.
Dropping down to one knee, Bren parried another blow, but his arm
was coming up slower with each continuous strike. After the third
blow, Bren lost hold of his sword hilt and it flew into the
distance. Sitting on his backside, Bren looked up to see six
soldiers gathered around him with fierce smiles on their face. Bren
gave them a smile, and waited for the finishing strike.

Just as one of the men raised his sword a
black piece of wood seemed to appear from his chest. The man looked
down and weakly took hold of the shaft sticking out of his chest
before his sword rolled out of his hand landing beside Bren.

Bren quickly grabbed the sword but he had
little strength left in his body to use it for more than blocking.
A few soldiers came at him, but most of them started screaming and
moving off behind where he sat. With most the soldier’s attention
elsewhere, Bren mustered what little strength he had left and
forced himself to his feet as one of the soldiers made a strike at
his head. Bren parried the blow and answered back with a backhanded
blow that sent the soldiers head flying from his shoulders.

Limping, Bren moved toward the next soldier,
but the man was felled by an arrow before Bren could reach him.
Bren weakly brought up his borrowed sword and looked for the next
attacker but found that the whole area was filled with the bodies
of soldiers, and most of them had the familiar black shafts
sticking out of their body.

Bren looked around and found that two of the
guards had been slain, and Cass had taken a large wound, and his
left arm looked as if it was just hanging on by a thread. Bren
tried to move over to him but his own wound sapped his
strength.

Dropping down to one knee again, Bren tried
to get back to his feet, but his hand kept slipping. As she slumped
forward, Faye was there, pushing herself under his arm and helped
him to his feet.

Once he was standing, Faye handed him his
black bladed sword. Bren tried to thank her but his words came out
slurred and incomprehensible. “Help,” Bren said to Thuraman. As
soon as the words left his mouth, the pain subsided, but his head
was still light and his body weak.

Before Bren could say anything to Faye a
billowing cloud of grey smoke surrounded them. Once again, Bren
could feel magic being used, and he tightened his grip on his
sword, though he still risked dropping it with every step.

Just as quickly as the smoke billowed in, it
left, though when it left, it was replaced by numerous black-clad
people, none of whom looked too pleased. Bren forced himself
upright, but as soon as he stood, he nearly buckled as his legs
started to give out.

“This is not the place for your kind,” one of
the men said loudly as he raised his bow and pointed a deadly
looking arrow at Bren.

Bren tried to think of something to say, but
his mind was too fuzzy to form anything like a coherent thought.
Luckily, Hayao was not so hindered. “We understand your duty to
protect the hidden valley, but we have come to meet with your
elders and to seek rite of passage into the valley of the
gods.”

Though Bren couldn’t see the other man’s
face, he clearly noticed his eyes narrowing dangerously, but he did
lower his bow. “Come with me,” was all the man said before he
turned and walked back into the darkness.

Bren started to comment that he was in no
condition to walk, but one of the dark clad soldiers walked up to
him and pressed something cold against his wound, and almost
instantly the blood stopped, and the wound started to close. As the
wound healed, Bren could feel magic being used once again. It was
irritating to know that these people could use magic when he
couldn’t. In that moment, all he wanted was to know how they had
done it.

After they had gone less than a mile, Bren
and the others found horses waiting on them. They took the offered
horses. As soon as they were mounted, one of the men approached
Hayao and pulled down the thin layer of cloth that covered his
mouth. “Ride due east until you reach the village. Any detour and
you will find yourself in an extended stay in the afterlife.”

Hayao bowed his head and spurred his horse
into the darkness. Bren and the others quickly followed his lead
and raced after him.

Though the village was a good walk from where
they were camped, on horseback it took less than two hours to reach
the edge of the village. When they arrived, a host of more
black-clad soldiers greeted them. They were ordered to disarm and
dismount, and then led to a large building in the center of the
village. They were marched inside where they found that their
quarters for the night would be small rooms surrounded by iron.

“Where is Cass?” Bren asked as he was pushed
inside the small cell. He hadn’t seen his friend since they had
arrived in town. While his own wound had been mostly healed back at
the camp, Cass’s seemed a bit worse, and only the blood loss had
been stanched.

“Do not worry, my friend,” Hayao said from
the cell next to his. “He will be well taken care of. In the
morning we will be taken to see the elders of the village, and if
all goes well, we will be given more…accommodating quarters.”

“Then let us hope that it goes well,” Bren
said, slumping onto the hard cold mat that was meant to be his bed
for the night. He didn’t like the idea of not knowing where Cass
was, but he had little choice in the matter.

It had been the first time since he had
become king that he had been without his sword and staff or the
company of Cass. Having to do without one of them might not have
left him feeling so vulnerable, but with all three gone, he felt
like a newborn babe in the middle of a storm. With little choice,
Bren closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.

B
ren woke the next
morning when someone opened the door to his cell. The sound of
metal on metal set his nerves on end. “Come with us,” the man said.
Bren thought about refusing, but he noticed that Hayao was already
with them and decided it was best to comply. Anyway, it was better
than staying in his cell.

Hayao and Bren were led to the far edge of
the village. Carved into the very face of the mountain was a large
building. The inside didn’t really feel like cave as all the walls
were covered in much the same style as any other house. They were
led directly to a large circular room in the center of the
building.

Unlike the other villages where there had
been four elders, this time only one elder man sat in the room.

“It has been years since we have had
visitors,” the elder said once their escorts had left and closed
the door. “Sorry for the treatment, but you must understand that we
have our duties to attend to, and with so few visitors, we do not
have a proper inn. Now, would you mind telling me why you have come
to our part of the world? I can’t believe it is for our food…though
it is well worth the trip,” the old man added with a chuckle.

Bren stepped forward and gave the elder a low
bow. “I am Bren Torin. I have come to seek entrance into the valley
of the gods,” Bren said, deciding the best choice was to get right
to the point.

“Well, Sir Torin, I am Ren Chido,” the old
man said giving his head a slight nod. “I cannot show you to the
valley as I have never been there myself, but I can show you the
door to it. Many of the villages that send their children here
believe we are to guard the valley, but that is only partially
true. We were placed here to protect those who come here in search
of the valley. Many…many centuries ago, long before the time of the
Fae War, mages used to come here in search of the beginning of all
magic. None who entered through the door, have ever came back with
their sanity intact, so we were placed here to warn all those who
came and to care for those who returned, though legends say they
were few. The door has laid dormant—unopened for my entire time
here, but we will hold true to our role. You many enter but beware
of what lies beyond.”

“Must I go unaccompanied?” Bren asked
hesitantly.

“While most mages did go alone,” the elder
said haltingly, “Some did take people with them, and if records
hold true, they fared better than the mages themselves.”

“So I may take others with me?” Bren asked
again.

“Yes, but I ask that you pass on the warning
I have given you about the dangers that lie beyond,” the elder said
with a slight sigh.

Bren turned toward the door to the elders
room but turned back just before he exited. “One more thing,” Bren
said turning back toward Ren. “How did your people use magic? I
tried and I was almost overcome by it when we first entered the
Deadlands.”

The elder gave a hearty laugh. “It is true
that the magic out in the Deadlands is wild and untamable, but
there are other ways to get magical energy. While one cannot use
the magic outside they can still pull it from gems.”

“I see,” Bren said feelings slightly foolish.
Of course, it had to be something simple. That was the same reason
that Faye could use her powers. She didn’t pull in magical energy,
hers was completely internal, so she was unaffected. Gems by nature
were crystallized magic and absorbed magical energy from the area
slowly, so one could pull energy from them without having to worry
about being overtaken.

Their escorts were waiting for them outside
the building. As they walked the roads, Bren thought for a moment
that they were being led back to the prison, but instead they
turned down a side road and were taken to a rather large house that
looked as if it had been built a century ago. As they entered,
large clouds of dust billowed around, causing Hayao to sneeze.

Inside they found a host of women with long
dusters cleaning. “Sorry lords. This building hasn’t been used in a
long time, and we have had little time to clean it,” one of the
ladies said, bowing over and over.

“I see why they had us sleep in the dungeon,”
Bren said with a slight laugh before turning back to the woman who
was apologizing. “Miss, it is fine,” Bren said, bowing himself. “It
is not as if you knew that we were coming.”

Bren was led to a room in the northeast
corner of the building. The room had a large four post bed that
looked like it hadn’t been used since before he was born, but he
did find all his effects waiting on him. He never knew how much he
relied on his sword and staff, but now that he had them back, he
felt much more relaxed.

“I see you’re already settled in,” Faye said
from the doorway. “We’re going to help the ladies clean, want to
join us?”

“Cleaning sounds fun,” Bren said, looking
around at the thick layer of dust gaining him a punch and dirty
look from Faye. “Honestly, I would, but I want to see how Cass is
doing. That wound was pretty serious the other night.”

Faye narrowed her eyes then gave him a thin
smile. “Well, I guess I can’t fault you for that,” she said after a
tense moment. “You might want to see if Phena wants to go with you.
She won’t say it, but she is worried about him. I thought that she
was going to chew through the bars last night.”

“I will ask her,” Bren promised.

“If you ask her, she will refuse,” Faye said
seriously. “You just need to tell her you need someone to escort
you.”