Read SORCERER (The Elemental Magic Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Michael Nowotny
SORCERER (The Elemental Magic Series Book 1) (28 page)
Allen walked back the way they'd come as Bill rode off to find their carriage. He was careful to keep an eye out for the group that had ambushed them.
With the night so clear and knowing the road well he made good time back to the ambush site. He was walking along the ditch when he literally stumbled upon Alec. He was lying face down in it. Allen dropped to his knees and felt for Alec's pulse. It was there but barely.
Pulling Alec from the ditch was hard with a hole through his arm, but he ground his teeth and did it anyway. Not seeing any wounds on Alec's front he rolled him over and found where the arrow had been ripped from his back. Allen had seen wounds before but this made him lose the contents of his stomach. He knew that he had to get Alec to a healer or he'd die of blood loss. The hole in his back was still seeping blood.
Allen tore his shirt into strips and tied them together till he had enough to go around Alec's chest several times. Placing the left over cloth on top of the wound he tied it in place. With the help of the ditch Allen managed to get Alec up on to his shoulder, getting a small moan from him.
Allen told him to hang on as he walked down the road but got no response as Alec had passed out again.
When Allen made it to the trees where his horse was supposed to be, it was gone. He was about to curse his brother when he saw the numerous hoof prints in the soft soil and realized it had been stolen. Most likely by the same bandits.
Making his way back to the road he was determined to make as good of time as he could. He started to talk to Alec even if he was out cold. A good twenty minutes later he spied the carriage in the distance and picked up the pace. As he walked up he saw Steven lying on the ground with two bolts in his chest, obviously dead, and Christi sitting against a wheel crying.
George helped him lay Alec down in the carriage as he told them the bastards had shot him in the back, and then ripped it out.
Christi cried harder when Alec didn't make a sound or move at all. They loaded Steven's body in the back luggage rack and George climbed in the front of the carriage.
They took off at an almost break neck speed, as the horses thundered down the road. George knew Alec didn't have much of a chance but knew he had to try at least for Christi's sake.
When the city came in view Allen raced past the carriage to warn the guards so they wouldn't have to stop. The carriage flew through the gates with Allen waving them on. The streets were only occupied by a hand full of people who jumped out of the way when they saw them coming. Bill ran to the temple doors they'd stopped in front of and started banging on them.
A very old man opened the door and ushered them in seeing George and Allen carrying Alec. The old man directed them to a small room where they laid Alec down on his stomach. The old man tore Alec's shirt the rest of the way with surprising strength. He placed his hands over the wound and began to pray to his god for the power to heal.
When he took his hands away he shook his head no even though the hole in Alec's back was now just a horrible scar. The old man told them that the arrow had nicked Alec's heart and it was a miracle he was even alive.
There was nothing he could do for the nick with the heart moving constantly as it pumped blood.
Christi and her family stood in shock. To lose someone they'd gotten so close to in such a short amount of time left them speechless. The old man rolled Alec over so they could say their good byes when the time came and left the room.
Father Henry went to the room across the hall; he wanted to give the family time alone with the boy and needed to vent some of the extra power he’d taken. Closing the door behind him Henry cast several balls of fire lighting the room around him. He felt like he was about to burst he was so full of the boy’s power.
Father Henry dropped to his knees as the goddess appeared before him.
“I trust you have taken the boy’s power.” She said.
“I took as much as I could my Lady. There is just a sliver of it left and I managed to tear the nick in his heart more.”
“The boy is as good as dead then?” She asked.
“Unless he somehow manages to wake up and heal himself with that sliver of power, he will be dead by morning my Lady.”
“Good. You have done well.”
The Goddess disappeared leaving Henry to continue burning off the excess power.
Chapter 30
Alec slowly became aware of someone lying on his chest. He opened his eyes there was only a small lantern set into a wall lighting the room he was in.
Christi was half seated half lying on his chest sound asleep. Her parents were seated in an oversized chair together with George's head tilted back snoring loudly, and Jessica’s head resting on his chest. Allen and Bill were sprawled out on a couch.
As he looked the room over he realized something felt wrong in his chest very wrong. Then he remembered the ambush. Someone had obviously healed his back but his chest was beginning to really hurt.
He closed his eyes and searched through his body till he found the problem. He had a small tear in the side of his heart, and it was leaking blood into his chest. He found his well and saw that there was barely any power left in it. He realized it would take everything he had to heal the tear. He knew if he used all his power he would burnout and no longer be a sorcerer. He would die if he didn't, though. It was a miracle he was even alive let alone awake. It was one of those decisions that weren’t really one at all.
He pulled all the power from his well and started trying to hold it to the outside of his heart but it would slip off every time he tried. Becoming frustrated he pushed it hard against his heart and felt it push through the tear giving him an idea. He calmed his mind and relaxed allowing his heart to slow.
He slowly took his power and made thin strips of it and slid them in through the tear laying them flat on the inside of his heart. Blood pooled up behind the strips holding them against his heart as he pushed the thoughts of how his heart was supposed to feel into them. They slowly closed the tear.
He was careful not to do it too fast, afraid he would use too much power and not be able to finish. Finally it was done and he searched around his heart then his well for any trace of his power. None. Not even a whisper, a shred. Nothing, he was a burnout.
He opened his eyes and looked in to Christi's.
"You did it, didn't you?" she asked him in a sad voice.
"Yah."
"Is there any left, any?"
"No. None. It's all gone. Not even a whisper." Alec heard his voice crack and closed his eyes to check again not fully believing it himself.
It sent Christi over the edge and she started to cry waking her parents and brothers. Her mother got up and rushed over to her pulling her off of Alec.
"It's OK, it's OK. We'll take him to his Aunt. We'll all go," Jessica said trying to console Christi, thinking Alec had passed, as she gently rubbed Christi's back.
Alec opened his eyes hearing Jessica. "I'm not dead yet Lady Jessica." He spoke softly trying not to startle her.
"AHHH!" She let out a yell anyway and spun toward him. Her eyes were opened wide and her mouth dropped open. George stepped up beside her and took Christi from his wife. Christi buried her face in his chest.
Jessica knelt beside Alec's bed and laid her hand on his. "I'm so sorry Alec. It's a miracle you’re awake. I'm afraid the priest has been in and told us you have a hole in your heart, son. It shouldn't be long now. We'll stay with you. We’re right here." Tears coursed down her cheeks.
"Actually, I will be fine, for the most part. I've healed the hole myself. Thank you for your kind words." Alec refuted her claim if a little bitterly.
"What do you mean?" asked George from behind her. "The priest said it was impossible to heal your heart because it was moving."
"Difficult, yes. Impossible, no. I managed it but it took everything I had left. That priest used too much of it while I was out. I should have had more than enough to heal it, three times over." Alec looked away from them unable or unwilling to see their faces. "I can't do magic any more. I'm no longer a sorcerer. I...I'm a burnout." His voice cracked and he kept his face averted scared of what he would see in their eyes as tears rolled down his face.
"Oh my, I am so sorry Alec. But your alive, you’re here! There are other things that you can do. The school will let you transfer, we'll make sure of it, especially for our future son-in-law." Jessica squeezed his hand.
"We can't, there's no reason for you to allow us to be together. I've nothing to contribute to your family," he told her as he turned back to face them.
"Son, while you having magic gave us a convenient reason to allow you to court Christi, it wasn't the only reason. I trust my daughter to make her own choices and if you are her choice then I'm willing to stand behind her." George looked like he was telling it to Christi who was looking up at him, more than to Alec.
"I'm sure Master Stalle will be more than thrilled to have you as a full time student. Besides I can help you out more now," Allen told him getting a moan out of Alec and a laugh from the others.
Alec walked out of the temple with the Morton family into the early morning sun as they headed home to get some rest and let things settle.
Alec stayed up having rested through the night. He sat down in his room with a quill and some paper so he could write to Master Peter. The only thing was he didn't know what to say or how. That was how Jessica found him, staring at the paper with quill in hand the ink having dried on its tip and the paper still damp with his tears.
She came in and sat on the bed. "You missed lunch and it's almost supper. Anything I can help with?"
"I was going to write Peter but I don't know what to say. I should probably talk to him," Alec told her. He felt like he'd let Peter down more than anyone else.
"I can send a letter with Christi asking him to come here for a day? He's an old friend of George's. They grew up together," Jessica said, pulling him to her. "It will get easier and things will become normal again." She assured Alec wrapping an arm around him.
“That would be great. I really think I should tell him in person." Alec told her.
"Let’s go down to the sitting room. It's almost supper time anyway." She led Alec from the room.
Later that night, after enduring the looks of sympathy from the people he had come to know so well, Alec stared up at the ceiling from his bed. That’s when it truly hit him. First Greg and Jason then Travis and his buddies had beaten him. The church had tried to have him killed. Outlaws had tried to kill him.
The tears started to fall from his eyes running back behind his ears. Alec couldn’t think of what he could have possibly done to warrant having all these people after him.
Epilogue
Alec had thought things would be better learning at the academy. True he had wanted to go for training as a warrior like his father but learning as a sorcerer was an incredible feeling. From the beginning he hadn’t been prepared for discrimination toward his lower social status and being beat up every few weeks wasn’t his idea of a good time.
With his power stolen from him and still serving an unjust suspension Alec must decide if he will continue going to the academy and playing their games. With the gods themselves against him does he even stand a chance? The fear of not living up to his father’s reputation may be the only thing driving him on.
Not all heroes are born ready and willing to fight for
the world. Some must be carefully molded lest they break before being put in the fire.
End book 1
Table of Contents