Threat of the Shadow Mage

THEY CONTINUED THEIR LESSONS WELL INTO THE DAY, AND THE stranger was doing well in his learning. A quarter to one, however, the stranger stopped and looked towards the entrance.

“What is it?” Aspen asked as she turned to look. He got out of his attack position.

“Whatever you do, don’t say a word.”

“What?”

He shot, what she assumed to be, a look at her. “Don’t speak child.”

Just then, the two soldiers from earlier entered the room. They looked around, and then the one in front spoke. “I thought you didn’t like the light,” he said sarcastically.

“Only when I’m trying to hide, Gerchef. What is it you want?”

Gerchef looked at him. “Our scouts have spotted a mob coming from the southern borders. We think they may be after the girl,” he told the man, and then looked at Aspen as though he wanted her for himself.

She knew better and whipped up flaming ice in the palm of her hand.

Gerchef gave a small wince, and then looked back at the man.

“So what are you doing messing around here? Go warn the people, and prepare the ghosts.”

He bowed in respect, and left. The other soldier was still looking around admiring the light for it had been years since he’d seen daylight.

Gerchef called for him. “Okami!”

He looked into the tunnel and pulled himself in to follow.

“Come child.” The stranger extended his arm, telling Aspen to come over. “We must get you to safety.”

Aspen went over to him quickly and he started for one of the walls. “Don’t be fooled. There’s an enchantment here that I placed just here for this very reason.” She stopped as he continued forward, and he lifted his hands feeling for where the borders were, though he didn’t touch the wall. Aspen heard him begin to mumble something, and then something on the wall moved. He mumbled faster, but still nothing he was saying was clear to her. As he continued, it looked like the section he was in front of was freezing and cracking, but nothing turned to ice. From the center outward, the pieces of it began to fade. He stood back as it finished, and then he turned to Aspen and offered his hand. She stepped forward, and took it and they went on their way.

As soon as they were all the way in the hidden doorway, it sealed itself quicker than a blink of an eye. Aspen turned to look having heard something, but it was just the sound the door made. Her light shown bright and the man just followed the narrow paths of the tunnel. They made at least a mile before Aspen spotted a flickering orange light up ahead. She knew someone was standing with a torch, but who it was wasn’t clear until they got there.

“Take her to the paths of the mountain. Take her northeast. There should be someone there to guide her.”

The woman nodded and took her hand. “Come dearest. We must hurry.”

The man then cried out as they began walking. “Keep her safe! She’s our only living hope!”

Aspen looked back at him, and he was still standing there. He lifted his hand, saying farewell, and she gave him a look that said that she didn’t want to leave him. She didn’t know why she had that feeling, but she did.

“Come child. There’s no time,” the woman said as she gave her a tug. Aspen looked at her, and then looked back again, but he was already walking away.

“Goodbye, my faire niece,” he said under his breath.

Aspen didn’t hear this, but she still looked at him before another tug brought her to look forward and keep up.

As the two of them continued, Aspen kept looking at the woman who escorted her, and began to realize who she was. “Miss?”

The woman continued walking.

“You’re Tex’s mother.”

She remained quiet, and then Aspen yanked her hand back to get her to face her. “Beatrice. Wife of Kraizon, mother of Orianna, Tex, and Sophie. Are you not?” Beatrice hung her eyes. “I am.”

“I thought you were,”

“A Shadow Mage? No. I only pretended to be. Kraizon never had the heart to turn me. He loved me too much. Come along. We’re almost there.” Beatrice took her hand again and led on.

“What happened? I never see you guys out anymore.”

“Both Kraizon and Sophie…” she hesitated to finish for the pain was still fresh. “They’re dead.” “What? How?”

“Tex killed them. His father made the mistake of turning Tex into a Shadow Mage, and we’ve paid dire consequences because of it. I do not wish to discuss it further,” Beatrice then said.

Aspen began to feel the hurt Beatrice was feeling, and said, “I understand.”

Beatrice’s eyes began to water, but she blinked the tears away. The two of them were silent the rest of the way.

As they reached a certain point along the road, Beatrice pulled Aspen beside her as she looked ahead. “This is as far as I go. Your guide is just there.” She pointed to a very dark silhouette. Aspen looked and saw it.

“Will you be alright?” Aspen asked her.

“I’ll be fine. It’s you that I’m worried about.” Aspen began to walk away, but Beatrice caught her arm. “Aspen?”

She looked at her.

“King Akoff was turned, and he was persuaded by Tex to start this war against your family. It was Akoff who killed your father, but it was Tex you encountered in the forest.” Aspen’s mind flooded with the images of what happened, and it was clear. It was Tex in the forest. But how did she not recognize him?

“Be careful with who you trust. You never know who is real and who is not.”

Aspen nodded understanding, and Beatrice released her.

Aspen began to glow again as she went into another part of the dark, but she was stopped by a booming voice. “Dim yourself! No light is needed from this point.” Aspen stopped and looked hard for the silhouette she saw before, but nothing was there. “I don’t know how. It’s just something my body does.” “Focus!” the voice said. “If you focus hard enough and tell your body that you’re not in intimate danger, it will dim.”

“Focus on what?”

“Just do it!” The voice made her jump, but she closed her eyes and tried to focus really hard. When she opened her eyes, it was pitch black, and she couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face.

“That’s better. Now take my hand.” Aspen searched for his hand, but didn’t find it. “Where are you?”

“Come forward two steps. I’m here.” The voice said gently.

She did so carefully, and then felt his hand, and grabbed it.

“Now hold on. We’re going for a little ride.”

Aspen brought herself to him and held on to his arm. They then shot forward unexplainably, and the so called ride lasted about fifteen seconds before they stopped abruptly. Aspen jolted forward, but the man caught her and kept her back. “You alright?” he asked as she regained her posture. She nodded, and they continued their journey.

As they saw the exit to the cave, the figure stopped her and turned her to face him. “Where is it you’re running to?” he asked.

“Uh…somewhere in northern kingdom by the enchanted forests,” she told him.

The figure was silent, trying to scout out the route she needed to take. “Alright, here’s what you need to do. As soon as you reach the outside, you need to dart out to the right by 30 degrees. From there, you follow the western sun for three days. You’ll know when to stop. Once you’ve reached that point, turn to your left, walk five steps in that direction, and then turn 45 degrees to your right. Another days’ journey, and you’ll reach the enchanted forests. There will be other elves there to help you find your way from there.” “They with you?” she asked.

“No. They’re the natives. Some are always out in the forests. They wonder the woods to gain knowledge from the trees.”

“Oh.”

“Now go; before it’s too late.” Aspen began to walk away, but then she was yanked back and kissed. Before she had time to react, he disappeared, leaving her confused and reminded. “Tex?” she whispered in the dark. Shrugging off the feeling, she turned and went on her way.

As she reached the mouth of the cave, she faced the direction she was told, and then darted off. Now her journey had officially started. She didn’t know in what matter she would reach her destination, but she did know that she had to get there. Her life depended on it.

Dusk soon fell, and Aspen was tired, and out of breath. She placed a hand on a tree to help support her as she bent over feeling like she was going to be sick. Remembering that she’d not had anything to eat all day, it made sense that she felt weak. Then, as if by a strange magic, she looked over and saw a satchel with a canteen sitting by it. Aspen looked around to see if anyone was around, but no one was in sight; so, she hesitantly went over to it, still looking around, and picked up the satchel. Since the coast was clear, she flipped it open and found three days’ worth of meals inside.

Aspen immediately took out the yellow sweet bread and devoured it. It was still somewhat warm, but she was too hungry to think about it. After she had her fill of the bread and sticks of beef, she opened the canteen to find a sort of non-alcoholic red wine. She looked down and found a water skin for when she’d need it. That answered her need of food, but she had no means of bedding. She scanned the area she stood in, and spotted a nicely grassed spot that lay under a broad tree. Just wanting to get some real sleep, Aspen went over and curled up in the soft grass.

Sleep soon found its way to her, and she was content as she dreamt soundly. What she didn’t know, though, was that someone had provided all of the things she found and had hidden, watching what she was doing. Hiding behind a tree not too far from the one she slept under, Tex smiled with content knowing she was safe. Having this knowledge, he turned into mist and headed back for the hideout.

Morning came slowly, and the rays of the sun twisted through the leaves to reach Aspen’s peaceful face. As these rays reached her eye lids, a blue bird flew up and perched on a branch of the tree and began to sing. With both the bird and the sun, Aspen woke, blocked the sun with her hand, and propped herself up. The bird chirped its final notes before it flying off again, and Aspen sat up to look around. Nothing had changed.

She was homeless, mentally lost, and alone for the last of her known family had been killed. Her eyes turned to glass, but she wiped the water away and stood as she pressed on her knee. She gathered up her new belongings and looked around. “Uh oh. Which way do I go?” she thought, not remembering which way she was headed.

A squirrel was carrying an acorn across a branch when it slipped from its grip and fell in front of her. Aspen followed it down, and as it rolled, it stopped by an arrow that was drawn in the dirt. It pointed slightly to the left, and Aspen looked in that direction. Yep. That’s where she was headed alright. The squirrel came down to retrieve his acorn, but stopped, seeing Aspen was beside it. She looked at the small thing, and then squatted to pick up the nut. Holding it out, she offered it back to him. He wiggled his nose, sniffing the air, and slowly made his way to her. Once he reached her, he stood on his hind legs and stared at her for a moment. Then he looked to the acorn, cocked his head one way and back, and then grabbed it from her as he fled back to his tree. Aspen giggled, stood, and started running again in the direction she needed to go.

The day was long, but Aspen couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to lose her way again, and that arrow was probably not going to help her again due to the lack of mere chance. Her hair flailed in the wind, and bounced with every step she made.

The next two days were a flat out sprint without stopping. Aspen would pull something from the satchel and take a swig of water every now and again, but she never stopped to rest; not once. She didn’t want to risk getting lost, but she didn’t know that all that sprinting was hurting her from the inside out.

At noon of the second day, she began to slow down and came to a stop. Weary, dazed, and suffering from slight malnutrition and dehydration, everything around her began to spin. Aspen tried to stay up and looked at the trees. They weren’t trees that grew in the Eastern kingdoms, but then things got too blurry to make out the finer details. Just before she stumbled, she thought she saw an elf with semi-long blond hair come towards her. She couldn’t make out a face, but he had reached her before her head hit the ground.