Fire Mage by John Forrester

Author:John Forrester [Forrester, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy
Publisher: Amber Muse
Published: 2011-11-11T05:00:00+00:00

After three grueling days north through the desert, Talis stared out across the stormy horizon, wishing they’d leave this bleak place. How far was it to the northlands? Jarvis was sullen and quiet, refusing to answer his questions. They’d stopped to rest in a gully underneath a massive sand dune.

Rikar was entertaining the soldiers—again, at Talis’s expense—telling stories about Xhan, Talis’s older brother, and what a tremendous fighter Xhan was (as opposed to Talis). It didn’t matter that Talis had beat him in the Blood Dagger competition, Rikar always chose to tell stories about older fights in which Talis lost. Rikar whispered something in a younger soldier’s ear, and they both scoffed and shook their heads at Talis.

This was the worst expedition possible. Talis wished he’d gotten to know his father’s men better, as they seemed to have the same challenging attitude towards him that his father had had for all these years. Especially the younger ones.

Mara kept quiet, keeping her face covered in disguise; she wasn’t about to get escorted back to Naru by one of the soldiers. Talis caught her gripping her dagger as Rikar was deep in ridiculing Talis. This wasn’t easy for her either.

Talis opened a pack and withdrew more dried meat from his dwindling supplies. He was getting sick of dried pork and dried beef. With the wind and storm as strong as it was, they didn’t even attempt to start a fire. He knew he couldn’t expect much in the way of variety on the expedition, especially the farther they went north and the colder it got. But still he missed the ovens of Naru filled with sweet bread and pies, dumpling soup from Fiskar’s Market, and most of all, his mother’s cooking.

But after an hour or so of waiting out the storm, the wind slowed and the clouds dissipated. An eerie calm possessed the desert as the soldiers stared around in wonder. Then one of the soldiers let out a shrill whistle, and Talis turned and noticed that the others behind him were staring at the western horizon.

“Raiders,” shouted Jarvis.

Talis squinted. Far away, a dust cloud swirled towards them.

“Prepare to ride!” Jarvis yelled, charging around his men. They gathered their gear and mounted up. “Battle formation, but keep it loose and fast, I’d rather not engage whoever is out there.”

Talis scrambled onto his horse, and rode after them, the wind stinging his face as they sped north. The horses of Naru were famous across the western world. Bred for speed and endurance, the thoroughbreds selected for the expedition were among the finest champions of Naru. But as Talis glanced back, whoever was chasing them rode like demons….

An inky-black sandstorm swirled behind the group chasing them, the fringes of which reached up to the zenith. The storm rose higher and higher as they gained on them, until it seemed that darkness would blot out the sky. White uniforms against the blackness. Jiserians.

The enemy soldiers on horseback didn’t travel alone. A hundred feet in the air behind them flew three figures in blood-red cloaks.

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