Hand of Justice Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4): The Dark Mage, Chasing Magic, Magic Rising, Magic Unchained by Jace Mitchell & Michael Anderle

Author:Jace Mitchell & Michael Anderle [Mitchell, Jace & Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2019-07-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Riley watched the queen walk farther out into the sand.

Worth sat to her left, his diminishing bag of wine between his legs.

Rachel and Thomas were to her right, both silent. Riley knew they didn’t trust her or Worth, but she didn’t care. They didn’t matter. Only the queen—Alexandra—mattered.

Another day had passed, and Riley was dying to learn something, anything, but the queen had insisted they all rest yesterday. Now, they’d ventured out of the tunnels into the Badlands.

“The problem isn’t you, Riley,” Alexandra stated as she turned around. “It’s what you’ve been taught.”

“What do you mean?” Riley asked.

“What do you know about magic?” the queen responded.

Riley didn’t hesitate. “It’s dangerous. It can hurt people if it’s not controlled, and most people can’t control it.”

“See?” Alexandra smiled.

Riley’s brow furrowed. “I...”

“You didn’t even realize you believed that so completely, did you?”

Riley shook her head.

“So, no wonder you can’t activate your magic. You have a mental block against it, Riley. You’ve been taught it’s dangerous. You’re a good person, so why would you use it?”

Riley was dumbfounded.

“She stubborn,” Worth interjected. “Very stubborn. Need better student!”

Riley looked over and saw Worth grinning. “Maybe I just needed a better teacher.”

“Aye, Worth best teacher, betcha. Best in all the world. Brought you to underground people, didn’t he?”

Riley glanced at the queen, knowing that he’d used a derogatory term.

She only rolled her eyes, then said, “Focus, Riley.”

Riley nodded.

“To gain access to your magic, you’ll have to break down the wall your mind’s created. It’s not your teachers. It’s not your enemies. It’s you.”

“But how do I outwit my own mind?” Riley asked.

“You don’t want to outwit your mind. You want to show it that it’s been taught false things,” Alexandra answered.

“I mean, I know that logically. I’ve seen Worth. I’ve seen William. Hell, I’ve seen myself use magic in good ways, but my mind isn’t listening.” Riley looked at Worth for agreement.

The tent man only stared out into the desert as if he hadn’t heard anything she’d said.

“We’re not talking about logic here.” The queen took a step closer. “We’re talking about understanding. We’re really talking about faith.”

Riley looked at her.

“I live beneath the ground in tunnels built by people long dead in the middle of a desert. I do it because I have faith that someone is coming to move the world forward.” Alexandra smiled. “I fully understand how crazy that looks to the outside world. Thomas and Rachel know it looks crazy too. We don’t care. We have faith.”

She nodded at Riley.

“You have no faith in magic, only in your sword. You need faith.”

“How do I get it?” Riley asked.

“Lie down,” the queen commanded.

Riley looked down. “Here? In the sand?”

“If you see some water, you may lie in that instead,” Alexandra offered. “I don’t see any, though, so the sand might have to suffice.”

She winked at Riley.

“You’re as bad as Worth,” Riley remarked. She sat down on the ground, then laid back so that she was staring at the cloudless sky. “Still not feeling any faith.

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