The Elementalist (The Kothian Chronicles Book 1) (2 page)

Chapter 2.

The southern gate was guarded as usual, as Maxim slipped into the cover of a nearby building to check on the situation ahead of him. The soldiers on duty looked bored, almost waiting for something to do, and if he made a dash for the gate, they would surely expect he was up to no good. Even walking casually by might mean they stop and question him; neither method seemed particularly promising. What he needed was something or somebody else to draw the attention away from him.

He moved on to the main thoroughfare, walking as he normally would. He hoped the gent trotting his horse ahead of him, would give the guards enough distraction for him to slip quietly through. As he got within ten yards, his heart beat faster and faster; he felt that if it kept as it did, it surely burst from his chest. It was then he heard shouts and whistles, and he glanced back to see what was causing the noise. His greatest fear was realised, as he could see dozens of soldiers, some on horseback, heading his direction.

Taking a deep breath, he was left with no option, as he heard the words 'Close the gates' ringing in his ears. At first, he thought the guards on duty had not heard what he had, so he kept walking, but he picked up the pace just a little, and lifted his head just a tiny bit. The man on horseback that he was using as a distraction pulled to a halt. He sidestepped past the horse and could see one of the guards on the gate moving to bar his path.

His window of opportunity was diminishing quickly, as the other guard was already pushing one of the gates closed. Maxim had no choice left to him, other than run, and run hard. The second guard started drawing his sword as he approached, and just as the shining blade was free of the soldier’s scabbard, Maxim barged past him. Not hanging around to see what was following through the gate, he headed off down the road.

The night's frost had left a glistening shine to the surface of the track that led away from the town gates, with Maxim almost losing his footing as he ran, as his worn boots slipped on a patch of ice. Breathing hard, his legs started cramping and he knew he needed to get to cover quickly. Slipping from the main track, he headed into the rows of dense trees that lined the route. Now away from the eyes of his pursuers, he peered back from behind the cover a tree trunk.

The gates of the town were once more wide open, and troops were rushing out, and he could then hear the clattering of horse's hooves, and the sound of hounds barking. Maxim sighed, and turned to continue running, only this time through the trees. The forest floor at least, was free from the frost that had caused him to slip as on the road. He hoped the density of the trunks would prove difficult for the riders to follow him; losing the hounds would likely be more of a problem.

With every step he took becoming a struggle, he knew he just had to stop, it was not only his legs that hurt, but his lungs felt they were on fire. He stumbled across a small stream and slumped down on the bank the other side. He cupped his hands to pick up the cold clean fresh water, and after splashing his face, he drank deeply.

"Ah There you are," he heard a voice say from behind him.

Maxim turned, his shoulders dropped in defeat, "I cannot run anymore," he admitted to the stranger.

"The hounds are tracking you. The soldiers shall be with you in a few minutes. What do you plan to do?" The stranger asked.

Maxim looked up and stared at the man, "If you are going to hand me in, just do it. Please don't play games."

"Oh I am not here to hand you in. I am here to help you."

His first thought was that the man was just playing with him, however, given his current situation and the fact he could hear the sound of hounds barking off in the distance, he had little option. He looked the stranger up and down; he was smartly dressed, slim, with dark neatly cut hair, and Maxim reckoned probably somewhere in his twenties.

"How do you plan to help me?" he asked trying to get to his feet.

There was a moment's silence, and Maxim was beginning to think the man was just messing with his mind. He could hear the pursuers getting nearer and the sense of hopelessness started overwhelming him.

"Take my hand," the man said offering it out to him.

Not sure why holding hands with a stranger would help him, he did as was asked. When his skin touched that of the stranger, he felt a strange feeling running through his body.

"Don't let go," the man said firmly.

The trees around him appeared to look strange, almost blurry looking, as if they were there one second and gone the next. He almost flinched as the first of the hounds and soldiers came into view. Thinking the stranger had tricked him, he tried to pull free, but the man held his hand firm, "Trust me!" he heard.

Maxim and the stranger stood beside the stream, hand in hand, yet the soldiers and hounds appeared not to be able to see him. One man was no more than three feet from his position, yet appeared to look straight through him, almost as if he were not there. Realising that perhaps the stranger had kept his promise of help, he relaxed just a little. He thought it almost funny as even the dogs used to track him simply passed him by. He was not sure though how long he and the man assisting him would need to stand there, for now, he was just thankful for the help.

For almost ten minutes, the two stood invisible to the world amongst the tree's of the forest. The last of the pursuers had long since passed their position and disappeared out of sight. The stranger finally let go of Maxim's hand, "We can go, this way," he added gesturing a different direction.

Maxim nodded, "Thank you," he said still surprised at the method of deception.

"No problem. You're lucky I got to you before they did," the man replied. "Causing a soldier to combust in daylight was a bit of a daft thing to do," he added.

Maxim followed behind the man, "What is your name?" he asked him. The man turned his head back, "My name is Danton Hickson, now what is yours?"

"I am Maxim...I don't know if I have a second name," he replied.

"Well Maxim, perhaps you would like to tell me how long you have been using magic?"

Maxim paused, clearly unsure as to what Danton was on about. "I'm not sure what you mean? I don't do magic...at least I don't think so," he added doubting his own remark.

"I suppose then my young friend, that soldier set himself on fire did he?" Danton said stopping and turning to face him fully on.

Maxim just shrugged, "I don't know what happened. One second he was hitting me...then I remember hurting...and mumbling some strange words...but I don't recall what they were or what they meant. Next thing the man was on fire."

Danton placed a comforting arm around Maxim's shoulder and explained how he had seen things. From the description given, he thought Maxim was probably an elementalist, although the ability to manifest fire on such a scale was extremely rare. "I myself can vanish, as you have already seen, but most of us have more than one string to our bows, so to speak."

"One of my other skills Maxim is to detect people with magical ability. They give off a strange aura that I can see when I disappear, and you my friend glowed the first time I saw you. So you have great power inside that brain of yours," Danton added tapping Maxim on the top of his head, "We just need to nurture it out."

The two carried on walking, Danton leading and Maxim happy to follow, although he was still not quite sure what this man wanted of him, or even why he was helping. If, as he had just been told, that he had magic powers, then he would be a fugitive wherever he went. He was just about to ask where they were heading, when they stepped out of the tree line into a forest clearing.

Before them was a small timber cottage, and Maxim noticed a figure moving at one of the small windows. Smoke drifted upwards from the stone chimney, and he knew that meant a fire and the potential of being warm. The door opened and a rather dapper looking youth no older than he was, stepped out onto the small wooden porch.

"Come on Maxim, you will be safe hiding out here with the others until we are ready."

"Others?" he asked confused, "And what are we getting ready for?" he added.

Danton turned and smiled, "All will be explained my young friend, but perhaps we can do the talking inside. I'm sure it will be much warmer and there will most likely be food inside," he added in a tone that was meant to sound to tempt Maxim.

Being as he had nowhere else to go, and Danton had not let him down so far, he decided to follow the man indoors. As he passed the other youth on the porch, he noticed he was being stared at, judged almost, as he felt a wall of warm air hit him the moment he stepped inside. He heard the door close behind, and turned to see the other youth stood there, still watching him.

Maxim glanced quickly around the room, thinking it seemed quite homely. There was a good fire burning in the stone hearth, and several chairs positioned around a table over to one side. Two of those chairs were in use, the occupants of which both looked his direction. There were two other doors, which he assumed led into other rooms and a dresser with an assortment of plates, dishes and cups upon it. The floor was bare wood, but clean and the walls plain.

Danton introduced him, "This is Maxim," he said gesturing with his hand, before explaining who the others in the room were. "The finely dressed young man behind us, by the door, is Zack." Maxim nodded his head as a form of greeting and the boy known as Zack gave him a smile. "The two at the table are Mikel and Melia." Maxim once more gave a nod, only this time it appeared it was not quite so warmly accepted.

With the introductions over, Danton asked Melia to get some food for both himself and their new guest. After being offered a seat, Maxim gingerly stepped over to the table and sat down at one end, slightly away from the others. He watched the girl Melia, walk over to the fireside and ladle something into two bowls. She looked a few years older, with long shoulder length dark hair that rested across her shoulders.

After having a bowl placed in front of him, Danton told Maxim to eat, as he was so hungry he did not need asking twice. Inside the bowl was some kind of stew, and using a wooden spoon, he ate his first warm meal for some time. "Somebody's hungry," Zack said sitting down near him. "Somebody needs a bath," Mikel added, "He smells awful."

Maxim let the comment pass, he was far more interested in filling his belly. Slices of bread were placed before him, and he helped himself, dipping them into the stew. "Slow down Maxim," Danton laughed, "There is plenty to go round." Maxim did ease up just a little, but the opportunity to eat so well was too good to miss.

It was clear Maxim was somewhat an unexpected addition to the small group, and as he ate, he noticed they all sat there starring at him; even to the point of talking about him as if he was not there. "I wonder what power he has?" he heard Melia ask.

"Probably the power to smell bad," he heard Mikel reply. "I am certain he could floor an entire army with an odour like his."

He then heard the other boy Zack defending him, "Leave him alone Mikel, he is one of us."

"He might be one of you Zack, but he certainly is nothing like me. I mean, look at the state of him," Mikel stated.

Maxim was not overly bothered by the remarks, after all, if having a good meal meant having to suffer being called a few names, then so be it.  However, when he came to think about it, he could not recall the last time he actually washed; after leaving the orphanage, personal hygiene seemed less important. "You can bathe and change later Maxim," he heard Danton tell him.

"Well he is not having any of my clothes," Mikel responded sharply.

"You are welcome to some of my spare clothes Maxim," Melia added, "Although I'm not sure dresses would suit you," she giggled.

Again, it was Zack, who showed kindness towards him, "You can help yourself to any of my spare clothes Maxim. We are probably of a similar size, so they should fit you well enough."

Maxim just smiled, still uncertain what to make of this small group. Nobody had ever shown him kindness before, and he was not sure how to respond. Even in the orphanage, those in charge often beat him for no reason other than he stood out from the others. Having red hair, when everyone else's was either brown or black, also ensured that he was picked out by the bully's that ran the place.

After feeling he could not possibly eat another bite, he enquired if he might be able to take some of the stew and bread with him.

Danton chuckled "Are you not staying with us then?" He asked.

Maxim just shrugged, "Would you like me to stay?" he asked timidly, looking around the table.