SORCERER (The Elemental Magic Series Book 1) (15 page)

Using his stave to move the branches out of the way Alec was immediately thankful for his seal skin cloak. Carefully moving past the tree he looked down and saw where the moss was smeared from one side of the walk to the other.

Alec hoped that little Pete was alright, sliding from one side of the walk to the other and then over the edge would not be a fun trip.

Having only made his circuit four times Alec met his replacement, Mary, at the end and warned her of how slick the walk was near the tree before signing out at the guard room.

He snatched up his pack and hurried to Tom’s building to find Allen. Alec checked his boots for mud before entering the front of the barracks and made his way toward the back where he found Allen going through several things spread across a table.

“Hi Allen.”

“Alec.”

He held out his hand for Alec’s pack and promptly upended it on the table next to his own.

“Hey? Why’d you do that?” Alec asked.

“We’re only taking the necessaries.” He explained. “Now of the things we have here what do you think you really need? Keep in mind that you have to carry it.”

Alec looked the stuff over. What he thought was a tent, a small hatchet, canteen, map, compass, some dried food and a blanket, plus all his things in a pile. Looking over at Allen pack he knew all it wasn’t in it.

“I’d guess all of it but doubt I’d be able to carry all of it.” Alec said.

“Your right, you wouldn’t last two days. You need the tent with the weather turning cooler and this one will hide you from all but the most persistent lookers. Next you need some of the food and the canteen. You have your bedroll but you don’t need all of your clothes, just a change or two. We will be roughing it and you’ll learn how to find your way without a map or compass.”

“What about my toiletries?”

“The gods have already supplied them if you look around you.”

Alec repacked his things leaving most of his clothes and toiletries. Allen just stood there watching him. The tension was thick as syrup between them. As Alec finished Allen continued to stare him down.

“Um, is that it?” Alec asked nervously.

“No.” Allen walked over and closed the only door to the room and leaned against it.

Alec felt his eyes widen and tried to swallow.

“My sister seems pretty taken by you. I know you’re not a noble and could care less. What I want to know is what you’re planning.” He said it all in a perfectly flat voice without a hint of emotion.

“Um, no I’m not a noble and I don’t having any plans. I really like Christi and I think she likes me too.” Alec shrugged.

“So what are you planning? Is this just a while you’re at school then bye or what?” Allen took a few steps closer to him.

“I hope not, Allen. Christi hasn’t told me what she plans to do exactly. She said she’d like to continue seeing me and I would too.”

Allen took another couple steps closer.

Alec tried swallowing again before continuing. “Christi said she was hoping her mother would chaperone us to my friend’s wedding so she could talk to my aunt! We haven’t done anything other than kiss! Honestly!” Alec said rapidly while backing away.

“I was just asking Alec, I like you, you’ll be good for her. I think Christi can make her own decisions. Just be honest with her and we won’t have any problems.” Allen patted him on the shoulder and motioned him out in to the hall.

Allen got him a decent bow and a quiver of arrows. Alec felt like he was both fully loaded and completely unprepared.

Alec found out there were only six of them going, Tom, Allen, Erik, Lena, and Jaime. They all lined up and waited for Tom to come out, Allen told him to pay attention and try to follow along as best as possible.

Tom cleared his throat, “Single file, and stay together till we exit the wall,” he ordered.

Alec followed along behind Allen. Rather than striking strait for the front gate Tom lead them north back behind the other buildings and toward the rear of the academy. Exiting through a double man sized door in the wall Tom lined them up next to it.

Alec had never been to this end of the academy and hadn’t even known there was a rear gate. Further to the north was another walled area, he could see columns of men marching to the instructions yelled at them, the enlisted.

“Three of you are here to learn that which you lack. We, your instructors, hope to learn things too. Jamie, you lack self-confidence. You know the necessary skills but are unwilling to try to put them to the test. Lena, you have the skills but won’t put them to use outside of a circle. Alec, not only do you lack the survival skills but also lack confidence.”

Tom paced back and forth till he stopped in front of Jamie. Erik stepped out and stood in front of Lena and Allen did the same with Alec.

“We will make our check point the large clearing ten miles into the forest. Your instructors know where it is. We will meet there every other day till you have that which you need.”

Alec was stunned as he watched Tom and Erik lead their charges off into the forest.

“Any questions Alec?”

“I have confidence, just not in things I don’t know anything about.”

Allen smiled. “When I confronted you about Christi and started toward you it didn’t seem like it. You continually backed down. You knew you weren’t doing anything wrong but refused to stand up for yourself. That is why we are here and to give you some training.”

Alec followed Allen into the forest stumbling over roots and snapping every stick under foot. They didn’t follow a path or even an animal trail, just seemed to meander through the forest. Almost an hour in Alec noticed that he could hardly hear Allen take a step even though he was less than five feet from him. Allen suddenly stopped and sat on a fallen log.

“Tell me what has been going on and where we are.”

Alec looked behind him. “I’ve been following you and we’re going that way.” He pointed the way they were headed.

Are you sure? Is there anything else you’ve noticed?”

Well, you seem to be quieter or something?” Alec wasn’t sure how to explain it.

Allen told him that when he walked Alec walk like most people, heel first then rolling to the toe and to the next step. He then showed how he stepped, toe first and allowed his foot to slide if he felt something under it. Doing it this way took a lot of practice and was very tiring. Allen then led him a short ways in the direction that Alec had pointed. The trees thinned quickly then opened up.

Alec stood dumb founded; they were less than thirty feet from where they had entered the forest. He turned and asked how it was possible to return to the same place they started without turning around.

“It’s very easy to get turned around in the forest or even out in the open when you don’t have definable landmarks. Follow me and I’ll show you what to look for.” Allen told him leading the way.

Over the next several hours Allen pointed out different molds and tubers explaining where they grew and what it meant. Alec tried to walk as quietly as possible; it was a lot more difficult than it looked. As the afternoon grew late Allen stopped in a small clearing caused by the falling of a larger tree and announced it to be their camp.

Alec pulled out his tent and stopped in confusion. It didn’t look like any tent he had ever seen. The material looked like it was waterproof and a dark brown color but that was where the similarities stopped. First, there were only two poles. Second, it was just one piece of cloth with ends sewn together with cords attached to it.

Allen took pity on him and showed him how to put it together. He had Alec stake out four of the corners then stick a pole at each end running the cord out a ways. When he was done he had a small triangle with the cloth stretched tight across the top, the front was determined by the fabric being cut down the middle so he could crawl in.

With their tents and bedrolls set they scraped out a small fire pit away from the tents. After gathering fallen branches and a couple small logs Allen set some rocks at the edge of the fire. Alec was told to just sit and watch as Allen started the fire and broke out two small steaks and large unpeeled potatoes.

With the steaks drooped over rocks and the potatoes set between two more Allen cooked their supper. Reaching out with his knife to turn the food Allen broke the silence.

“Tell me about yourself Alec.”

“Well I grew up at Mr. Phillips’s farm.” Alec started.

“No. I know all that. This is about you and what you think and feel. Start with your earliest memory. Tell me what you thought, what you felt. I want to hear the crappy stuff too.” Allen turned and looked him in the eye. “Nothing you or I say will leave this camp. Nothing.”

      
Alec waited unsure how to begin.

“I’ll start with something to so you understand. There is a part of me that almost hates Christi and to a degree my parents. It’s not like it sounds, I don’t actually hate them. When Christi was tested for magic it should have been me. I’m the oldest. I have to carry the family name. Everyone was so thrilled and still are. When she tested and became a sorceress that just made it worse. I have learned to get over it and know it isn’t their fault. Even now I have to check myself to make sure jealousy doesn’t rear its ugly head.” Allen smiled showing a trust in him.

Alec stared back. He was astounded. Allen seemed to be the perfect guy but here he was saying he was jealous of his sister.

“I don’t think I could have kissed you, Christi is a lot prettier than you are.” Alec told him.

“See, I get it. When you get nervous or embarrassed you joke. I do it too.” Allen chuckled. “Don’t be afraid to tell me things and we’ll get to Christi eventually. So start.”

“The earliest memory I can think of would be in the back play area at the farm. I was stuck back there with all the other kids but I was older than they were.” Alec continued tell how he was teased by the older kids till Jake’s finally got Karen to let him out to play with Jake. He told Allen how he was so mad a Karen that he was being laughed at.

It was like a dam had burst. He was jealous of the other kids having their parents. Mad at them for teasing him for not having any, saying Karen played favorites, at Karen for not favoring him. Alec told how he was forced to move in with the field hands how alone he felt, crying himself to sleep at night with no body there to comfort him. He hated the king for taking his father away from him and the gods for taking his mother.

Allen didn’t judge him. He just sat there and listened as the tears rolled down his cheeks. The food was done and had been for a while. Allen passed over a potato then asked for his knife, spearing a steak with it as Alec clammed down.

“How do you feel?” Allen asked around a bite of his steak.

“Better. I just have so many questions as to why the war even started. I know now that Sandaria tried to invade us, probably for our land and such. I just don’t get why they’d want ours, they have their own land.”

“It’s a good question. Greed, jealousy, hate, past feuds. I don’t know either.”

The two of them finished eating their food as the sun set. Allen threw some more wood on their fire and asked Alec to continue with his story.

He’d made it up to a couple years ago when Greg and Jason had started pushing him around. George had just moved to the room next to him and told him he should be careful around some of the younger girls. It was at about that time that he and Jake had had their first really big fight.

They were playing games with the older kids and Jake was one of the leaders. Alec had thought that with his best friend being one of the leaders he wouldn’t be the last to be picked for once. Wrong. Alec told Allen how betrayed he felt and had lashed out later that evening bloodying Jake’s nose.

Alec had realized even then that he was a lot shorter than most of the other kids, especially Jake, but that didn’t stop him. Jake had busted his lip, bloodied his nose then yelled insults at him before pushing him to the ground.

They eventually made up and even joked about every once in a while. Alec knew Jake had a competitive side and that he hated it about himself.

Alec went thought the things that he had gone through recently. How happy he was to get in to the academy then irritated about the split between the martial and enlisted. He was reluctant to fight back very much when Travis and his buddies cornered him simply because he knew he was smaller and would just get beat.

“Stand up Alec.” Allen told him.

Alec stood as Allen climbed to his feet. This was the part where Allen kicked his ass and left him in the forest.

“How much taller was I when we first met?”

“Um, maybe a little over head I think.”

“Look at me. The top of your head is at about my mouth. You’re still growing Alec. Your shirts are tighter too aren’t they? You’re still growing. Some people are like that. You grow slower but continue growing when everyone else stops.”

“I hope so. Karen said my father was about average.”

“Alec you have a lot of anger and you’ve felt powerless because of your height. You have real power inside of you. I’m told you’re fairly strong when compared with most other sorcerers. You’re learning to defend yourself and coming along nicely. Have some confidence in yourself. You need to find an outlet for your anger; you were given the short stick, it sucks. When my father gets bent he splits wood out back. I go through my routines till I can’t any more. Find what works for you.”