Mageborn_The Age of Dread by Stephen Aryan

Author:Stephen Aryan [Aryan, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Action &#38, Adventure
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2017-10-03T04:00:00+00:00

The lights had barely dimmed when Wren heard a scuffing sound in the dark. She lay on her bed fully clothed and had told her friends to do the same. A faint blue glow filled the room as several magic lights blossomed around the dormitory.

A few students seemed to have no idea what was happening but the majority scrambled out of bed, heading for the relative safety of the washrooms. Word spread and they all realised what was about to happen.

Wren rolled to her feet and moved away from the bunks to the clear space towards the front of the room. Tianne and Danoph moved to flank her on either side and she felt reassured by their presence. Whatever happened she would not be facing it alone. Danoph’s face was without expression, while Tianne was visibly scared, making Wren realise her friend was braver than she’d thought.

Across the room Brunwal and five of his friends watched her in silence. They seemed to be waiting for something. One of his companions, a boy from Zecorria, seemed particularly on edge and he kept staring at Tianne. Perhaps he had been instructed to attack her first.

This silence wasn’t what she’d expected from Brunwal. Perhaps a speech about embarrassing him and that she deserved this. Maybe threats about what he was going to do to her. She had not anticipated the icy silence that now filled the dormitory. When it began to stretch out so much that it echoed in her ears, part of Wren wondered if he’d lost his nerve now that the moment had finally arrived.

“Oh no,” whispered Tianne, her voice seeming loud in the silent dormitory. A fire was building behind Brunwal’s eyes. Wren could see it growing. A rage that would not be quenched by just another beating.

With the speed of thought Wren drew power from the Source into herself and shaped it into a series of threads. She wove these together into a shield in front of her, layering them over and over like folding metal in the forging of a blade. Others preferred a solid block of force to stop an attack, absorbing all of the energy, but the jarring impact could still cause an injury if they were not careful. Her shield would bend and keep bending as it absorbed and reflected energy away from her.

Brunwal hurled something at her with a shout. A fiery spear shattered against her shield with enough force to drive her back a few steps. To Wren’s relief there was little real damage to her shield beyond destroying a few of the outer layers. Nevertheless, moving her left hand in a series of twisting gestures, Wren repaired her shield while she waited for his next attack.

Brunwal was screaming incoherently now, a sound of pure rage. Every now and then he’d curse her as he hurled bolt after bolt of energy laced with fire towards her. Wren could see he was expending so much energy she knew he wouldn’t be able to sustain this level of attack for long.

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