Deceived by Magic by Jasmine Walt

Author:Jasmine Walt [Walt, Jasmine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BA
Publisher: Dynamo Press
Published: 2016-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

16

“This is fucking awful.” I grimaced as we huddled beneath a tree to wait out the storm. There was basically zero visibility out here with these howling winds and torrential rains, which had made swimming to shore very difficult. Iannis had conjured a glowing light over the river to ensure that we stayed together, and we’d eventually crawled onto the banks. Once we’d accounted for everyone, we erected a dome-like magical barrier beneath a tree ten yards from the river to keep out the storm. We’d also dried ourselves and started a little fire to keep warm, but it was still pretty damn miserable.

“You’re telling me,” Henning agreed gruffly, staring into the fire. His expression was bleak, and my heart sank for him—as the pilot, he had to be taking the loss of the aircraft harder than the rest of us. “We could have been in Leniang Port by morning if not for this damned storm.”

“How is it that the aircraft was unable to withstand the storm?” Iannis asked sternly. “Didn’t you claim it had been tested several times?”

“Ah, yes, but now that I think back, the tests were always done in dry weather,” Henning confessed. He glanced nervously at Garrett, who was scowling. “I guess it’ll be back to the drawing board for the next prototype.”

“This weather is likely a remnant of a typhoon, like the one we hit on the way in,” Director Chen mused. Her arms were folded over her knees, which she’d drawn to her chest, and she stared out at the frothing river. “We’re lucky that we weren’t badly hurt by the crash landing, or separated. You did a good job, Henning, considering the circumstances.”

“I suppose we’ll have to find the nearest town tomorrow morning, and secure transport,” Garrett said. He sat cross-legged, his hands curled into fists atop his inner thighs, and he looked a bit like a wild man with his hair sticking out every which way. I didn’t even want to know what my own hair looked like—we’d dried off, but we hadn’t concerned ourselves with grooming, and everyone else around me was dirty and disheveled from our battle with the river. “Any idea how far we are from our destination, Henning?”

“At least three days’ ride on horseback,” Henning said glumly. “If we had horses and found a road southward.”

“That’s too long.” Garrett’s features tightened. “The Minister will have our heads if we’re not back in time.”

“He will do no such thing,” Iannis said calmly. Of the five of us, he looked the least ruffled—his pale skin was clear of smudges, his dark red hair tied back from his stern face with a tie he’d procured from that magic sleeve of his. I wondered if he kept any blankets in there, and if so, why he hadn’t produced one yet. “Your hysterics are not helping the situation, Director Toring, and are unbecoming of a mage of your stature.”

Garrett’s eyes narrowed, and I stiffened at the ire rolling off him. “I refuse to be spoken to as a child,” he said stiffly.

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