When we all gather in the meeting hall it"s with a great deal of uncertainty.In a few minutes we"re supposed to go into battle but we haven"t so much as seen our leader.
As for our strategist - she"s gone.
Her note left no illusion that she was coming back.
A simple "I have no reason to stay. I"m no longer needed." in her quick untidy scrawl.
I can understand her wanting to leave but right before a big battle seems is a bit ridiculous.
Still after our last encounter I have to admit I"m a bit relieved.
I don"t think I"d be able to handle another unshielded taste of her emotions.
My hand subconsciously goes to where the pendant now lays hidden beneath my clothing.
She had father"s gift enchanted to hide her emotions from others.
It"s only fitting.
He was always inscrutable.
m.u.f.fled whispers bring my attention back to the hall.
Riel has stepped forward to talk to the gathered ma.s.ses but they don"t afford him the attention he seeks.
He tries to speak but his words are drowned out by shuffling of the crowd.
I glance at Kent but he doesn"t seem to be paying attention to the going ons.
When I turn my attention back to the makeshift stage Arabella is up there trying to help her brother get the would-be warriors to listen.
She"s visibly frustrated by the way they all seem to be ignoring her.
I"m about to lend my aid when a commanding voice cuts through the noise.
"Silence!"
It"s the unexpectedness as much as the tone of the voice that causes everyone to comply.
When Larcen steps onto the stage there"s no trace of the broken man from the past few days.
He"s every bit the strong confident leader that I first met.
His eyes sweep over everyone gathered.
"Today we take back our lives."
Adrian makes his way to my side looking every bit as determined as his father.
Larcen goes on with his speech but I"m too busy trying to figure out what caused this change to pay much attention.
It"s only once he gives the order to move out that I"m brought back to myself.
Riel and Arabella had made their way over to us at some point during the speech - I"m not sure when exactly.
For a moment none of us are sure what to do.
Then Kent lays a hand on the hilt of his sword and begins to walk.
We follow, not wanting to get separated.
I"m not sure how long the journey to the castle takes us but all too soon we"re sneaking into the castle while a large amount of our "soldiers" are serving as a distraction.
We"re found almost immediately, of course.
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A crackling in the air is all the warning I have before a bolt of lightning arcs through it, landing in the spot I was in seconds before.
I"m about to retaliate with magic of my own but Kent beats me to it.
He dispatches the mage with such deadly efficiency that the mage doesn"t even feel it.
For a moment I"m too stunned to move.
I know that father trained Kent but I"d never seen him fight before.
"Let"s go."
His voice reminds me of the urgency of our situation and we continue through the corridors.
There are more mages but this time I"m not caught off guard.
I use my own magic to fend off their attacks and keep the others safe while they attacked.
Riel and Arabella move together like a well oiled fighting machine.
I can practically see the fury radiating off of them, fuelling their motions.
It"s so different from the way Kent moves.
He moves like a tightly leashed beast.
Every motion is controlled but brings with it the threat of a deep rage bubbling under the surface as he moves from one target to another without pause.
Adrian stays close to me and I can feel the tendrils of fear that he"s trying to clamp down on.
A part of me wants to comfort him but this isn"t the time.
I need to focus on keeping my magic flowing.
Some people think that every mage has a private store of magic that can be accessed at any time.
That"s not true.
It"s more that there"s an ever present energy that exists in the very air around us.
We can channel and convert it into "magic" for our own purposes.
It"s an instinctual knowledge that each mage possesses.
Just like how Empaths know how to draw out emotions.
As a low level the amount I can convert at a time is less than most of these mages but that just means I have to use it more creatively.
I collapse the ground beneath some of the mages before spinning around to redirect an attack aimed at Adrian.
I wince at the pain that reaches out to me before tamping it down to block another attack.
I"m not sure how long I can keep this up.
Still, as long as everyone else is still going I can"t afford to give up.