Caster's Spell (A Mage Tale Book 1) Page 7

  The girth of soil crashed down to the Earth, shaking the ground beneath Wesley’s feet.

  "You seem like a smart guy to me," Wesley said.

  "Nope, my IQ is only one twenty-three," the Sorcerer said humbly. "They say I’ll never be able to do any complex spells. But it’s good, man—you get what you get. Besides, I prefer it this way, less pressure."

  "Yeah, I guess. But I don’t believe what they say and you shouldn’t either. You’ll be able to do all of the complex spells."

  Axel laughed, "Right. And you’ll be an A-class mage someday."

  "That’s right."

  "Well then, Master Wesley," the bald boy joked. "You gotta be able to pass this class first."

  Wesley laughed with Axel for a bit, before the Sorcerer turned his back.

  "I got an idea."

  "What’s that?" Wesley took a few steps after Axel.

  "Stay where you are. You’re gonna use Earth Sorcery today, right now."

  "What?" Wesley said in disbelief.

  "You can do it," Axel turned to face him, from a small distance. "I taught you the basics of how to manipulate your source. And after all that training, you’re strong enough. Now’s the time."

  "Ugh…"

  "Ready, Wes?" said the Sorcerer, already juggling three large rocks, each around the size of the one Wesley had used for his workout.

  "I don’t know."

  Axel laughed before hurling one at the Warlock. "You better be!"

  As if manipulated by puppet wires, Wesley moved without thought. He stepped forward and raised his hand like a traffic officer, and the projectile came to a halt less than a foot away. Then he slowly closed his fist and the rock crumbled.

  "Ni-hi-ice," cheered Axel. "You’re finally casting like an Earth Sorcerer. Good thing too, cuz that prolly woulda killed you. You ready to do it again?"

  Lift

  "It’s called Lift," said Axel, as chipper as a kid in a candy store. He was holding a large, yellow ball and standing with Wesley in one of the open courtyards, on a sunny Saturday morning.

  "It’s a game we earth elementals play to hone our Sorcery,” Axel went on. “The point is to get the ball past the goal-line. The rules are simple: the ball can never be static. It must only bounce on lifted earth. If it touches your body or you let it hit the ground, it automatically goes to the other team. And the field is sixty meters wide and one hundred and fifty meters long. That’s it."

  "That’s it? No fouls?" asked Wesley.

  "No fouls," Axel said matter-of-factly. "But serious injuries and death are looked down on."

  "Uh… okay." The Warlock gulped, swallowing down a well of fear. "How many people play?"

  "Anywhere from two to twelve per team. By the way, some people I know are meeting to play with us today."

  Again! Wesley’s heart sunk, as he remembered the ordeal with Cameron’s friends. Why couldn’t they understand?

  "You shouldn’t have done that," Wesley said louder than he had planned.

  "We can’t play one-on-one," replied Axel.

  "This is just inviting something bad to happen. They’re not gonna accept me."

  "Yes they are. I asked around all week. You have no idea how hard it was to find people willing to play with you."

  "So they already know I’m here?"

  "Of course," the Sorcerer said with a grin.

  He took the time out of his schedule to ensure that the Warlock would be tolerated. If his previous actions weren’t enough, this was a true sign: Wesley had found a second real friend.

  "And you better hustle, cuz they’ll be comin’ for you,” Axel went on. “But trust me when I say this: one week of Lift under your belt and you’ll be a full-fledged earth elemental."

  Then a voice called from a small distance, "Hey Axel, Warty, ready to lose?"

  Axel turned around. "Only if that’s new slang for ‘destroy the opposition.’"

  A group approached, laughing, with one even shaking Wesley’s hand. Unlike his original assumption, they weren’t all G-class magi, but spanned every grade of the underclass. Though the single D-class Sorcerer was acting only as referee.

  "Well now that we know the teams, let’s get playin’," suggested Axel.

  The two teams stood on their respective goal-lines, the ball set exactly at the center of the field. A person on either team tossed rocks into the sky, and when they made contact, colliding with a thunderous boom, all of the students rushed forward.

  One of the Warlock’s teammates, Viktor, came to the ball first. He stomped and a pillar stabbed up from the ground, tossing the sphere into the air.

  "Over here," called Axel, from his side.

  With a stroke of Viktor’s hand, another column jutted out and whacked the ball to his teammate. Axel shot his fist up and a wall grew to fifteen feet in time to absorb the ball’s momentum. Then Axel aimed his other hand at the ground and a piece of the earth rose under it. He swung his arm like a hammer and the chunk flew as if flung from a trebuchet. It hit the ball forward to another one of his teammates.

  A Sorceress, riding a pillar into the sky, stole it away.

  "Mine," she laughed.

  The game was more violent than Wesley had anticipated. Although it seemed to be in good fun, and everyone was laughing and cheering, they were crushing each other’s foundations, leaving them to fall from high positions, and tossing large hunks of the ground at one another.

  Lift was a brutal sport by every definition of the word, yet even Wesley found it to be oddly appealing, fun-promising. Still, thus far, he hadn’t even tried to touch the ball, let alone get mixed up in the vicious exchanges that the Sorcerers happily dove into.

  Then to his dread, he heard one of them cry out to him.

  "Wes! The ball’s comin’ your way. You can do it!"

  "Pass it over here," called another.

  He saw the large yellow sphere heading for him, the pressure bearing down on him like the radiating sun. He looked down and saw the herd of students sprinting towards him, some shooting themselves into the air.

  A Sorceress was leading the pack, stark black hair and a white emblem dangling from her wrist. Wesley watched in terror as she made her approach, riding a tall platform sliding along the field under her control.

  "Do something!" Axel shouted.

  Just raise your hands and focus your source, thought Wesley. You can do this. Move Wes, move!

  It took his every ounce of willpower, but he was finally able to break free from the stillness that held him. Stumbling forward, he looked up at the Lift ball. Calling on his source, he mustered up all that he had access to. He squatted down and put his hands at shoulder height, as if to carry something on his back.

  The ground stirred as Wesley watched the Sorceress hoist three boulders and blast them his way.

  Wesley explosively stood tall and pushed up as hard as he could, his source firmly tied into the ground behind him. An obelisk of dirt and gravel grew at his back to a height that he didn’t have time to confirm.

  Then Wesley jabbed both arms with forked fingers and beams shot from the mass behind him, smashing through the three boulders. He spun to build momentum and punched in two directions, one fist at the ball and the other at the oncoming Sorceress. Two more missiles shot off of the mass.

  One hit the ball, whacking it back across the field.

  The other projectile smashed through her platform, throwing the Sorceress into the air. Wesley clapped his hands together before extending his arms wide, angling one hand high and the other toward the ground. The medium, mimicking him, tore away from the Earth and formed a slide. It caught the E-class mage at its peak, allowing her to reach the field safely.

  Axel used the time created by the other students’ amazement to score.

  "I knew you had it in you," he said to Wesley after returning to his side. "But the game’s not over yet. You ready?"

  "Yeah!"

  They charged.

  At the end of the day, the two headed ba
ck to the Western Dormitory. As they walked, Wesley pondered over his growing friendship with Axel. He wanted to trust him, but he had to be sure, so he asked, "Why don’t you treat me like the others?"

  The Sorcerer laughed. "Don’t be a girl."

  "C’mon, really."

  "Why, why, why, why, why," Axel mocked with crossed eyes and wiggling limbs. "I knew you wouldn’t let that go. Why does it matter?"

  Unable to find an answer he that was sure to satisfy the Sorcerer, Wesley shrugged.

  "Okay, if it’ll make you shut up, I’m cool with you for two reasons. One: Cameron Elegro is a really chill guy. That Sorcerer doesn’t hang with too many people; he doesn’t even acknowledge most of our class. If he thinks you’re okay, you must be pretty cool. And the second...”

  Axel stopped for a chuckle. “I assumed that being your friend would mean that I could get in some pretty sweet fights.”

  "You like to fight?"

  "I’ve already had three."

  “You’re insane,” laughed Wesley as the two reached the dormitory entrance.

  "Alright, man. Keep being yourself, and I hope everyone continues to hate you," the muscular boy spoke with a grin.

  Wesley rolled his eyes. "See you later, man."

  "For most of yah tots, today eez da first class assessment, and for uhdas, a final test in earth-castin’," said the Master of G-class Earth Sorcery. "I want yah’ll to raise a plotform to fifteen feet. Every student must do da task alone, begeenin’ wit yah, Woh’lock. "

  Wesley, now finally getting a grasp on the master’s accent, stepped forward. When it came to earth-based spell casting, he wasn’t the same frightened and weak boy that he was just four weeks prior. He confidently walked to the front of the class, took a couple preparatory deep breaths and aimed his palms at the ground beneath him, bending slightly in the knees. He pulled his fingers back into a fist, and then in a hurry, drew his hands up to his chest and successfully heaved a platform exactly five yards up out of the ground.

  "Congra-jalay-shuns, Woh-lock," the master called. "Yah’ve offeecially passed dis class."

  Bad Blood

  "So what are you starting today?" Cameron asked, standing on the other side of Wesley’s perfectly conjured rose-bush.

  Wesley grinned at the thought of the class. "Wind Sorcery."

  His roommate's face lit up. "Really!? That’s great! I can teach you everything I know."

  "I’d doubt I could ever learn that much. I’m not a genius like you," Wesley laughed and then, inspecting one of the bulbs, he changed subjects. "Hey I was thinking... I wanna conjure moving things."

  "Like Animals?"

  "Yeah."

  "Okay," said Cameron. "Sounds good to me, but let’s get started on that tomorrow." He walked over to Wesley and put his hand on his shoulder. "Why not call it a day?"

  "Sure." Wesley stood up and together, they headed back to the Lockhart Building.

  "Wes," said the Sorcerer after mindfully stepping over a crack in the pavement. "I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something."

  "What’s up?"

  "You’ve been hanging out with Axel Stone."

  "Yeah."

  "I’m not telling you to stay away from him, or anything like that. But you should be careful when you’re around that guy."

  Wesley stopped. "Why?"

  "Nothin’ too major," Cameron said. "Axel’s a good guy, I hear. But he’s from a family that’s violent. In fact, they love to fight."

  "I know," said Wesley. "He told me that was one of his reasons for becoming my friend."

  Cameron laughed. "Of course. But he’s strong and knows it. He’s not afraid to fight a number of people at once. If you get caught in one of those brawls…"

  "It’s okay, Cam. I’m not dumb. I’ve avoided those situations so far. And besides I’m not totally helpless, you know."

  “That’s not what I meant. Axel’s family is one of the wealthiest in the world. They write a lot of checks to keep the school’s favor. He’ll get a slap on the wrist for unsanctioned duels. You? You’ll get expelled.”

  Wesley nodded, understanding the truth in his roommate’s advice. Then he looked up in time to see several students fly by. As he stared enviously, he asked, "How do you know about his family?"

  "Axel’s family is attempting to become the seventh noble clan. Pretty much everyone knows about them. If he can become at least a B-class mage, he may be the one to pull them up." Cameron scratched his head. "Well there’s that, and he’s kinda my second cousin."

  "What?" Wesley blurted. "Really? Why didn’t he tell me?"

  "Well… I’m not really part of their family anymore."

  He squinted.

  "You see, noble Sorcerer families only produce one type of elemental. In order to prove their pure blood, they have to be the same. I’m not an Earth Sorcerer, so we were disowned."

  Wesley didn’t know what to do. The situation had just become a little too heavy for him. As he struggled to think of something to say, the Sorcerer kicked a small rock that had found its way onto the path and spoke again.

  "But that’s all water under the bridge,” he said. “As far as I'm concerned, we’re just students that go to the same school. My advice to you has nothing to do with latent feelings towards the family."

  "I know," Wesley said and slapped his friend on the shoulder. "But with Earth Sorcery over with, I don’t think we’ll be hanging out too much, anyway. C’mon, I wanna get a snack before source class."

  As they neared the entrance to the Lockhart building, Wesley felt a vibration in the ground that he only recently began to recognize. He looked back over his shoulder, to see that his hunch was true. A stone three feet wide was heading straight for them.

  "Look out!"

  He immediately spun around and pushed his roommate out of the way. Then he raised both hands and stepped into a push. The piece of earth slowed and eventually came to a halt in Wesley’s palm.

  "Thanks," shouted a girl from a point near the end of the pathway.

  Cameron, after returning to his feet, remarked, "Nice. I guess I won’t be fighting your battles anymore."

  "Yeah," Wesley laughed.

  "Hey, Warlock! Quit runnin’ your mouth and send it back already!" called the girl.

  "Cam, I don’t know if I can throw it that far, by myself," Wesley admitted, now struggling to hold the weight. "Can you help me?"

  The Sorcerer smiled. "No problem."

  Wesley tossed the stone as hard as he could, and with his wind, Cameron pushed it the rest of the way back to the Earth Sorceress.

  From their distance it was hard for Wesley to be sure, but it looked like she was smiling at them when she said, "You wanna join?"

  At first, Wesley thought she was referring to his popular E-class counterpart, but when he turned to face him, Cameron shook his head.

  “Not my medium.”

  "Wes, I’m talking to you!" called the girl. "Show some respect."

  "Umm… No thanks," Wesley called back. "Gotta get ready for class."

  With that, the Sorceress turned back to her game.

  Cameron grunted as they approached a small staircase, leading up to a wide double-door archway. “On first name bases with an E-class Sorceress, are we? Didn’t know you were such a lady’s man.”

  "Shut up," Wesley said with a smile as he ascended the stoop. "We played Lift together. Now let’s get that snack."

  Sri Ranuka

  "Hey," called a voice from behind Wesley as he rushed through the halls, navigating his way back to the Western Dormitory. He had been practicing in the courtyards for longer than usual and was now out past curfew.

  "Yeah?" He turned around, anticipating trouble. But then… "Sri?"

  "Um… Hi," she smiled.

  "Hi," said Wesley, before glancing around. "Do you want me for something?"

  She paused with a frown.

  "No," she said. "I just… How are the flowers coming?"

  Wesley scratched his
brow. "You know about that?"

  "Well I missed today’s tries, but you looked pretty good last week." Sri walked past the boy. "Aren’t you coming? We’re past curfew, you know."

  "Uh… yeah." He rushed to her side. "So you’ve been watchin’ me?"

  "No. I’m not watching you. I mean, just some kids have been placing bets, that’s all."

  They stepped into the outer hall that ran around the building. This buttress-filled corridor was directly exposed to the outside world through countless archways. On that night, it was flooded with the light of a full moon. The conflicting glows of the halls interested Wesley, the orange flickering flame on one side and the bluish-white gleam from the moon on the other.

  "What was your bet?" Wesley asked.

  "What? I—I never took one," Sri said quickly with a shrug.

  "Why not?"

  "Because it makes you seem like an animal." She looked up at him.

  He noticed the movement and looked to face her, but by then, she was staring straight ahead. Instead, he saw the sheen of the moon’s radiance reflecting off dark shoulder-length hair. "Oh. Well I can consistently conjure a perfect rose in about two seconds now. The bush takes longer.

  “That’s good.”

  “So… why are you still out?"

  "Same reason as you," said Sri.

  "But you’re ‘gifted’. You don’t have to," Wesley said curiously.

  The girl giggled, "I’m afraid it’s not that simple." She pulled a stray hair from her face. "We’re all in someone’s shadow."

  "Like whose?"

  "Well… There are a lot of people. Like, for instance, Brittney Benson is someone I’m looking to pass." She bit her thumbnail.

  "Who is that?" Wesley asked as they rounded a corner.

  "She’s the most powerful E-class Witch in our school."

  "Why do you care about being better than her?" He glanced up as they past the case of forbidden relics.

  "Because she’s considered the best, and—" Sri noticed his glance and stopped. “Which one do you like?”

  "None," Wesley said with all the haste of a guilty man on trial.