Honor Raconteur - Lost Mage (Advent Mage Cycle 06)

  Published by Raconteur House Manchester, TN

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  LOST MAGE

  A Raconteur House book/ published by arrangement with the author

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Raconteur House mass-market edition/November 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Honor Raconteur Cover design by Honor Raconteur

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  Purchase only authorized editions.

  For information address:

  Raconteur House

  164 Whispering Winds Dr.

  Manchester, TN, 37355

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  www.raconteurhouse.com

  Other books by Honor Raconteur

  Published by Raconteur House THE ADVENT MAGE CYCLE

  Book One: Jaunten Book Two: Magus Book Three: Advent Book Four: Balancer

  Advent Mage Compendium The Dragon’s Mage

  The Lost Mage

  Special Forces 01

  The Midnight Quest Kingslayer

  THE ARTIFACTOR SERIES

  The Child Prince

  The Dreamer’s Curse

  DEEPWOODS SAGA

  Deepwoods

  Foreword

  The reader should be forewarned that this book is part of a series. In fact, it is a spin-off book of the Advent Mage Cycle. The events and characters of this story are directly connected to the original series. It is highly suggested that you read the first four books, starting with Jaunten, before reading this one. (Reading the other side novel, The Dragon’s Mage, is not necessary but encouraged.)

  To all my fans that so patiently waited for two whole years,

  politely nagging for this story. Wish granted!

  Also to Dave, our real-life Shad, for inspiring the character to begin with.

  Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

  Confucius

  I stretched my arms above my head with a sigh and smile as the blood got to pumping. Ahh, what a perfectly clear and bright morning. I hadn’t seen a day as pretty as this since I’d come back to Ascalon. Xiaolang had talked me into returning with him after Garth and Chatta’s wedding, as he wanted me to keep training recruits up here. That was fun, I had to admit. Beating up raw recruits brought a smile to my face.

  It had been a year since Strae Academy was built and running, our mission given to us by King Guin deemed complete, and we all returned home. In my case, I’d been building a life here in Ascalon, working alongside the Red Hand. The people had been accommodating here, and welcoming to me, but it didn’t feel like home. I found myself longing for Chahir sometimes, but my home country had changed past all recognition so that it felt like as much of a stranger to me as Ascalon did.

  The home I longed for no longer existed except in my memory and some history books.

  I’d been restless and growing unsatisfied for several months now, but I had no direction on where I should go next or what I should try. Xiaolang had talked to me about it several times, but even his empathy and precognitive abilities hadn’t been able to really help. I’d been on the verge of recklessly deciding to go on a long, extended trip when a certain letter arrived yesterday.

  Garth had written, asking me to become an instructor at Strae Academy. He apparently needed someone to teach weapons.

  The school had only been functioning for a year, and I heard that he was getting more students than he knew what to do with. I’d spent most of the night toying with the idea of taking him up on the offer. Perhaps being around my own countrymen again, working with magicians, would give me that elusive sense of belonging I was missing in my life.

  Besides, Garth really did have too much on his hands. If nothing else, I could go help him out in the interim while he looked for a more permanent man for the job. Although I wasn’t sure if I went and took up the post, he’d ever let me go again. Hmm, decisions, decisions.

  I was an active thinker. When I debated something, I tended to go for a run. Part of it was to get blood to my brain so I could think better. But the real benefit was that no one could keep up with me long enough to distract me. So I pulled on a pair of worn-in boots and a thick sweater against the morning chill, before locking up my apartment and leaving.

  Several people greeted me as I passed them on the street, but I just waved back without trying to speak and kept up my jog. Once I passed Ascalon’s outer wall, I broke into a full run, feeling my muscles warm and loosen as I fell into the right rhythm.

  It felt good out here, with the wind in my face and the smell of sunshine and grass wafting around me. I really should come here, outside of the city, to run more often. There were a few farm houses and barns on either side of the road where I ran, but no one was paying attention to me, as they were focused on morning chores. I passed the outer rim of farms and kept going into the open and empty fields.

  Only then did I slow down to a walk, breathing hard and wiping sweat from my forehead. I felt better for the run. Now, time to do some serious thinking. What to do about Garth’s offer? I was inclined to go just because it was a friend asking for help, and he desperately needed it. But there was a part of me, too, that wanted to invest in Chahir’s future. Two hundred years ago, I’d fought to protect the magical community and nearly lost my life in the process. For the past year and a half, I’d fought again to protect it, and this time succeeded. As much as I could within the parameters of the mission, anyway.

  If I joined Garth and Chatta at Strae, became an instructor, I could protect the future generations of Chahiran magicians in an entirely different way. I could give them the skills to protect themselves, and wasn’t that a better way of doing it? Rather than me running around like a madman trying to protect them all myself?

  I’d sorely miss Aletha. I’d miss all the Red Hand, no mistake, but I’d really miss her more than anyone else. We’d been dinner companions and sparring buddies ever since I’d moved up here. What would I do with myself off-duty without her to pester and play with?

  That was the only con that I could think of, though. And the benefits outweighed the cons by quite a bit. My selfishness to keep a friend close didn’t outweigh everything else. Besides, by going, wouldn’t I have Garth and Chatta to play with?

  I snorted at myself, amused. Asking myself all these questions was pointless. It sounded like I was rationalizing my decision to go to Strae. I’d already made the decision at some point. Whelp, that was settled, then. I clapped my hands together, satisfied, and turned around to return to Ascalon.

  Now, how to break this to Xiaolang…. Urk.

  Freezing in midstep, I stared in disbelief. There, standing very calmly in front of me, was a Gardener. Ummm…why did I have a Gardener in front of me? Didn’t they normally only want to talk to Garth? And where was the Gardener Expert, anyway, when I needed him?

  He approached me on silent feet, the grass not making a sound as it touched him. No wonder I hadn’t heard his advance. He moved like he was the wind itself. This Gardener didn’t loo
k like either of the ones I’d met before, although, granted, they all looked very similar to each other. He stood as tall as an eight-year-old boy, skin pale like marble, with fine feathers trailing out from his head and cascading to his shoulders. He wore simple clothing of woven material draped over one shoulder, with a belted pouch around his waist.

  Obviously, he wanted to talk to me. I’d never seen nor heard of a Gardener making a mistake before. Why he wanted to talk to me was a complete mystery, though. I wasn’t a magician, and aside from the Jaunten blood Night had given me, I didn’t have an ounce of magical ability in me. Copying what I’d seen Garth do, I slowly sank to one knee and held out a hand.

  He smiled at me, a small curving of the lips, and took my outstretched hand with warm fingertips.

  “Riicshaden,” he hailed in a surprisingly deep and clear voice, “I greet you.”

  “Well met,” I responded shakily. Busted buckets, his voice and presence in my head was overwhelming. How had Garth done this? And several times, to boot!

  “We have a task for you.”

  “Ahhh…” It was probably stupid, but I felt compelled to ask anyway. “You sure you want me? Not Garth?”

  “We have a task for you,” he repeated patiently, a twinkle in his eye. “A young Weather Mage has awakened in Chahir.”

  A thrill of pure joy and relief shot through me. A Weather Mage. A Weather Mage! YES! I’d feared I’d never hear that another would live.

  “You are relieved to hear this.”

  “I am,” I admitted, probably uselessly, as he could feel everything I felt. “Chahir just doesn’t look right to me.”

  “The land is not as it should be. We awakened a mage and have given her the task of restoring the land.”

  Wh…what did he just say? They’d awakened mage powers in her? So they really had that ability?! Busted buckets, wait until I told Garth that.

  “Wait, you said ‘her.’ The new Weather Mage is a girl?”

  “Yes. She is lost. We task you, Riicshaden. You must find her. You must protect her. She is very precious, and if she dies, there will not be another to replace her.” With the words came flashes of images that showed me what she looked like, the landscape that she was in, and a disturbing danger that was near her even now.

  I swallowed hard. “I understand. I’ll leave now.”

  His eyes crinkled up in a satisfied smile. He leaned forward just enough to pat my arm, as if in gratitude, before he withdrew his hand. Then he turned and walked calmly away.

  Now, I was watching carefully. Very, very carefully. But still, within four steps, he’d disappeared into thin air as if he was never there to begin with. How in blue blazes had he done that?

  I shook it off and rose to my feet, stretching out my legs so that I could run at full speed back to Ascalon. He hadn’t given me a lot of details, but I knew that trouble was brewing, trouble that a young girl couldn’t possibly handle by herself. I had to get to her, and as quickly as I could.

  But first, I had to contact Garth.

  I ran straight to Xiaolang and Asla’s home, as Asla was the only witch in the entire city that could use a mirror broach. People watched me sprinting through the city streets like a madman and called out questions of concern after me. I waved a hand, acknowledging them, but didn’t slow down enough to offer any reassurances. It was too complex to explain, and I didn’t have the time to talk to every single person in this city anyway.

  Fortunately for me, Asla and Xiaolang lived not far from the main gates and it didn’t take me long to get to their door. I skidded to a halt in front of their low white gate, sweat pouring at my temples and down my back, dragging in air desperately. I might have run here a bit too fast. Ah well.

  Asla was working in their front yard, bent near the small garden she kept, her hands efficiently harvesting vegetables and putting them into the basket at her feet. When I roughly pushed the front gate open, she looked up in surprise, eyes wide. “Shad!”

  “Asla, I need to talk to Garth,” I panted out. “Now.”

  Her brows furrowed in confusion, but she sensed the urgency and waved me inside. I followed her through the door and to the front room. I had to dodge toys as I went, as they had two small children in the house and a third on the way. Asla navigated her way across the wooden floor with the ease of long practice. She went directly to the mantle above the brick fireplace and touched the mirror hanging there.

  “Garth,” she called clearly. “Garth, answer me.”

  Some rustling sounds and muttering came through the mirror before Garth responded, “Asla, I’m on the way to class.”

  “Shad needs to speak to you. It’s urgent.”

  “How urgent is urgent?” Garth said, sounding alarmed.

  It was at this point that I irreverently regretted that you couldn’t see people through a mirror. Garth’s expression was sure to be classic. I came up to stand at Asla’s side as I responded, “Garth, I was just given a task by a Gardener.”

  Several heavy thuds were heard, like he’d just dropped a stack of books. “You WHAT?!”

  “I don’t have time to repeat myself. A Gardener came looking for me this morning and gave me a task. He said there’s a young mage that just awakened in southern Chahir. He’s tasked me with finding her and protecting her. Garth, I have to get there with all speed. There’s a danger hovering over the girl and she’s too young to face it alone.”

  “How old? Did the Gardener tell you?”

  “I don’t know the exact age. He gave me an image of her. She looks like she’s about eight or nine.”

  “That’s very young. And southern Chahir is the most dangerous area for budding magicians right now. Shrieking hinges, I don’t like the sound of this. Alright, sit tight. I’ll come get you and bring you into Chahir myself. Where do I need to take you?”

  “I don’t know,” I growled in frustration. “He showed me where she is, but I didn’t recognize the place. I wish he’d told me her location…wait, do Gardeners identify places with names?”

  “No, human names are completely nonsensical to them. They call us by name as a kindness to us, because they know we’d be completely confused otherwise. He probably gave you all the information he could.”

  Curses, I was afraid he’d say that. “Alright, from what he showed me, I’d guess it’s somewhere south of Darlington Province.”

  “I’ll plan to take you to Darlington, then.”

  Doing that would take several hours by Earth Path, but it beat spending several weeks on the road to get down there. “I’ll pack while I’m waiting for you.”

  “Be there in an hour,” he promised before abruptly cutting the connection.

  Asla stood wide-eyed at my side. “Now I understand why you’re so frantic. A mage? Do you know what kind?”

  At least I would get to enjoy her shocked expression. “Weather Mage.”

  Her jaw dropped, eyes flaring wide. “I thought that line had completely died out!”

  “Here’s the fun part,” I answered with a shaky grin. “It had.”

  “What?” Her head jerked, surprised and confused.

  “What the Gardener said, and I misquote, is that ‘we awakened a mage.’ So the line was dead, but they found the potential in a girl for mage ability or something, and awakened it in her. He did warn me, though, that if she’s lost, there won’t be another to replace her.”

  “They can awaken mage abilities,” she breathed, looking as shaken by this idea as I felt. “Then…all the mages now…”

  “Are likely ones awakened by them, yes, I’ll think about that later when I have time.” Right now I had precious little time to stand around and chat. “Asla, where’s your husband? His office or the training grounds, do you know?”

  “Office, I think he said.”

  I’d try there first. I had to report what was going on before I threw a pack together. Besides, if I was lucky, I might be able to borrow someone to go with me. Going into southern Chahir alone on a rescue mis
sion sounded like an astoundingly bad idea. Oh, it also sounded fun, don’t get me wrong. The potential danger sent adrenaline spiking up my spine. But I didn’t dare take this mission just for the thrills, like I normally would’ve. Too much was at stake. I patted Asla on the shoulder in thanks before spinning on my heels and racing out the door.

  Ascalon routinely tried to keep its civilian buildings separate from the military compounds and training fields, so getting to Xiaolang wasn’t a simple matter of crossing the street. Still, his office was relatively close by, so all it took was for me to go through a checkpoint at the gate and turn a corner to get to the right building. People looked at me askance as I barged through the door and up a short flight of stairs to his office, as I wasn’t in uniform like normal, but no one tried to flag me down and talk to me.

  Asla turned out to be right and I did find Xiaolang in his office. Thank all the gods above for that small favor as I didn’t want to have to hunt the man down. Also fortunately for me, it wasn’t just Xiaolang, but Aletha and Eagle there, which increased my chances of being able to borrow someone. They all looked up as I burst through the door.

  Xiaolang, no doubt because of his empathy, took only one look at me before he shot out of his chair. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Well, it’s actually right, with a little wrong mixed in,” I corrected.

  “Shad!” he groaned. “This is no time for your teasing!”

  “What?” Aletha demanded of her captain. “What are you sensing from him?”

  “He’s emitting urgency like a bonfire on a dark night,” Xiaolang explained rapidly. “Shad, what is wrong?”

  I explained as concisely as I could, for once not taking advantage of the situation and ribbing people any. They listened with growing disbelief, jaws dropping in near-unison. I finished hopefully, “Can I borrow Gorgeous?”