The Elementalist (The Kothian Chronicles Book 1) (16 page)

Chapter 15.

Maxim decided to sit upon a fallen log to rest for a while, as he could see the waters of the Great Lake in the distance, and a town just before it. Quite what the name of the town was he was unsure, although he hoped he could reach it before nightfall. He was cold and hungry; feelings he thought he should be accustomed to.

He looked skyward to try to judge the suns position, hopefully giving him an idea of how many hours light he still had left. He reckoned it was probably early afternoon, and that he must have been walking several hours already. He felt down to his pocket, and found the coins he had still there, given to him by Zack, and he was now glad he had not spent it all. He knew it would not last long, but perhaps, it may at least give him enough time, to perhaps find a job in whatever town it was he was heading for. He was smartly dressed, and neatly presented; surely, somebody would be willing to at least give him a try?

His eye was caught by a strange looking bird, which appeared to be circling overhead. It was like nothing he had ever seen before, and he wondered what it might be. He observed it a while longer, before he realised he needed to be getting a move on. If he was to make the town before dark, he needed to start walking again.

Without realising it, he had wandered onto what looked like some sort of track, and although the layer of snow covered most of it, he could see tracks of wagons and horses along it. All he need do now was follow them, and they would lead him right up to the gates. With the thought of warmth and food, he quickened the pace just a little.

Maxim stopped as he noticed a group of riders, all wearing the same clothing. He thought at first they must be soldiers, and he thought about running, however, he decided to pull his hood up and keep walking. Perhaps he could walk by them without incident. As he neared the group, he kept his head low, trying to remain as inconspicuous as he could. It clearly did not work however as he heard the sound of hooves alongside him. He could feel his heart rate increasing, and he thought trouble had found him again.

"Need a lift sonny," he heard. Surprised as much as anything, he stopped, and looked up at the man who had spoken. Dressed in some kind of dark uniform, he did not look like any soldier he had seen before. Perhaps he thought, these men were something else. "I don't want to burden you," Maxim replied.

"It is no problem my young friend, me and my men are going to Denley anyway."

Maxim at least had now learned the name of the town to which he was heading. "Are you soldiers?" he asked, not sure, he really wanted the answer.

The man chuckled, "No friend, I admit we probably look a bit like soldiers, we are after all dressed similarly. No, we are just King's Rangers."

Maxim did not know the king even had rangers, but it all seemed plausible enough. The man told him they were on their way to Denley to collect the taxes from the town. Apparently, that is what the rangers were used for. Shrugging his shoulders, Maxim took the hand of friendship that was offered, and lifted himself up onto the man's horse. He sat behind the rider, and glanced around at the others. All eight appeared normal enough, none had threatened him in anyway, and not having to walk was surely a bonus.

They had barely even started moving forward when they stopped again. A cloaked figure was just stood some fifty paces in front of them. "Riders approaching from behind," Maxim heard one of the men say. It appeared they picked up pace a little, only the cloaked figure in front was not moving from their path. Instead, the figure held his arms aloft as if trying to stop them. Maxim was just beginning to wonder on the foolish man's actions when the cloaked figure removed his hood.

"Darion!" he heard himself mutter. The man whose horse he was on kicked his heels, making the animal go faster. Maxim was certain Darion was going to be run down, and was just about to shout for him to move. Something however seemed to spook the horse and it veered away bucking. Maxim felt himself falling backwards and hitting the snow covered ground with a real hard thump. The fall knocked the very wind from his lungs, and he lay there unsure as to what was going on.

He could hear shouting and cursing as he lifted his head, and he felt a little dazed as another of the riders appeared before him. He felt the man grab him by his cloak, "Get up and come with me." Maxim noticed the man had a sword in his other hand, but was totally confused as to what was happening. He tried to get to his feet, as the man pulled at his cloak harder. There was a sudden dark shape that flashed before his eyes and he felt the grip on him released, causing him to fall back to the ground once more.

Lifting his head up again he could see Shadow with his powerful jaws, clamped about a man's throat. The man twitched and spluttered but after a few moments fell still. He looked over as Darion was stood first in one place, then another, before seeing one of the riders swung a sword at another figure, "Zack!" Maxim gasped.

Maxim felt the strength returning to his body, as he stood. He watched on as Zack vanished from his horse and reappeared, standing just a few yards further away. The rider was clearly quite confused, and turned his horse about, holding his sword aloft, but before Maxim could do anything, that rider was thrown from his horse. He felt a familiar pair of hands grip his shoulders, "Don't do anything Max, Ramon and Darion have this all sewn up."

"Zack...What are you doing here?" Maxim asked already feeling much calmer.

"We are here to get you," his friend replied as Shadow and Mikel, came over and positioned themselves in front of them. "This is fun..." Mikel grinned preparing to defend Maxim should another of the riders make a grab for him.

Darion clapped his hands, and a massive booming sound echoed out. Even Maxim felt his ears ringing, as he watched the last four riders struggle, as their horses went into a panic. "You should be telling those horses to throw their riders Mikel," Ramon said as he walked over towards them.

"Should I?" the youngster said. "Can I do that?" he asked.

Without any more delay, Mikel closed his eyes and concentrated, if he could command a wolf, then certainly a horse would be a doddle. He could feel the panic in the creatures before him, sensing the noise had frightened them for sure. One of the riders however was already making a dash for it, his creature not quite as afraid. It was this creature that Mikel started concentrating on. He did not want to frighten or panic the horse anymore, but merely suggested it stop and turn around.

Much to the man's disgust, and despite swearing and kicking his heels as much as he could, the horse did just as Mikel asked. "Well would you look at that," the youngster beamed, surprising even himself. Darion saw to it the other riders were soon dismounted; merely a wave of the old man's hand was enough to knock them from their horses. "Whoa! That old guy who teaches you Maxim can certainly kick ass...Look at him go," Mikel added, clearly enjoying what was happening.

It was all over in just a few minutes. Two of the eight riders were dead, one having died being chucked from his horse, the other suffering at the vice like jaws of the wolf. The others were all clearly dazed, and were disarmed, before having their hands bound. Despite Ramon knowing who they were and what they were after, he would not kill them in cold blood. Darion however, clearly had no such qualms.

The others watched on as the captured men, were ushered off the main track. They gathered the eight spare horses they had now required, giving one to Maxim to ride. "Come on Maxim, let's get you back home," Danton said. "Let us talk through your problems; you gave us all a scare running off like that." Maxim felt a little sheepish, having caused all this trouble. Who the other men were he had no idea, but it seemed Darion was going to 'deal' with them, before catching up.

For a man, who appeared at times he could barely walk, Maxim thought how quickly Darion moved when he wanted to. With the group all once more back together, they headed back toward Pitford. Maxim felt a bit silly having caused so much hassle for everybody, and stayed silent. Zack made sure he rode alongside him, and although nothing was said, he could tell Maxim was unhappy.

It was completely dark by the time the group returned to Pitford, as the layer of snow on the ground reflected the light from the moon as they approached the outer wall. It had been a long day without food for Maxim, and one that had seen him return to the very place he had tried to leave.

Ramon decided they should all head for the dining hall, get something to eat and talk. It was clear Maxim had issues, and with the additional threat that other people were taking an interest, something needed to be done. A few of the kitchen staff were asked to prepare some food and hot drinks, despite them already having cleared away for the day.

They were surprised even Darion joined them in the hall, as the old man suddenly appeared to shuffle around again as if walking was a chore. Zack sat one side of Maxim and Mikel the other, whilst Ramon, Danton and Darion sat facing them. Shadow contently positioned himself on the floor at the end of the table, keeping a watchful eye on his master, and the possibility of any dropped morsels of food. Ramon asked Danton for a little more light, and the man duly responded by creating a globe that glowed, and just hovered in the air above them.

The meal only consisted of re-heated stew left over from suppertime and was served with bread rolls. There was a huge pot of tea made and even the remains of a sponge cake, if anybody wanted it. With the three elder members of the group on one side and the three younger on the other, they started eating. Mikel cringed as he watched Darion slurp and dribble his way through his supper. The old man grumbled and swore randomly as he ate, and for some reason Mikel did not feel so hungry.

"You don't want that boy?" He said abruptly looking at Mikel's bowl.

Mikel just shook his head.

"Bloody kids, wasting food, pass it 'ere," he grumbled snatching the bowl from across the table.

Darion was still eating when Ramon started talking. Mikel was quite glad, at least he would not have to watch the old man make a complete pig of himself, and have something else to occupy his mind. The first topic of conversation, was centred around, who the men were that had tried to take Maxim were.

"They were Bosarian," Darion uttered between mouthfuls of sponge cake.

"Yes, I thought as much," Ramon replied tapping his fingers on the table.

Maxim remained quiet; his head still felt a little tender from being thrown off the horse earlier. Whilst they had been travelling down from Woodhaven, he had felt as if his magical powers were all coming to the fore. He had felt calmness and in control, and he had even started feeling as he was embracing his gifts. Since being here however, he did not feel anything but a burden. Now he felt he needed to fight against them, or risk hurting someone he cared about.

"Why did you feel the need to leave us Maxim?" Danton asked him. Maxim felt all eyes upon him, and in a way, he felt guilty for having caused them all so much trouble. It was not a case of wanting to leave, he had felt it a case of needing to. "I hurt Zack...and I was worried next time...well...you know," he said presuming the others knew what he was thinking.

"Stupid boy!" Darion exclaimed, as subtle as usual. "I thought that's why you were supposed to be coming to me each day. Took me months to control even the easiest skills."

"Maxim," Ramon intervened, speaking calmly. "We all make mistakes. Accidents will happen, no matter how good we think we are. Even Darion probably still slips up, even at his age."

"What, a hundred and twenty," Mikel mumbled under his breath. Only to receive a kick under the table for his troubles, and an evil stare from the man in question.

Ramon explained it was not Maxim making a mistake with his magic that was his main concern. They had healers that could sort out most things, if that happened. His biggest concern now, was why men from Bosaria wanted him. He knew he would have to get word to the king, and explain the situation. If their neighbours had found and located Maxim, they might well discover the type of people who dwelled at Pitford.

Zack looked up at the glowing orb hovering above them. Danton had created it with barely a rub of his hands, and still it hung there, like a miniature sun illuminating the part of the room, where they were seated. He wondered if he might be able to learn such a skill, and decided to ask Danton sometime if he would teach it to him.

Ramon asked Maxim if he had asked Mikel or Zack about their concerns. After all, did they feel in danger staying in the same room as him? Zack was first to answer, "No...Never," the young royal called out almost immediately, before Mikel quickly reiterated the same view. Ramon held his hands out, as if to say so why did you feel the need to flee.