Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

47. Collision

Elaine's breath caught as she saw Ellend swing open his closet doors with so much force that they slammed loudly against the walls; had their parents been home, she imagined it wouldn't have been long before she heard the heavy footsteps of their enraged father as he stormed the flight of stairs. Discounting Liam—who was asleep in the room over—and Milo, who was tied to his post in the front yard, it was just herself and Ellend, and the latter hadn't any intention of sticking around for much longer.

She'd tried to get him to stop or, if nothing else, stall him with a conversation or a directionless argument until Mother returned. Only that woman would be capable of quelling his passionate rage. However, once news of the incident fetched its way into their potion's store that very same morning, Elaine had never seen Ellend get so enraged. Even still, she couldn't necessarily blame him. 

In spite of her obvious affection for him, Ellend and Lacy had been friends for as long as she could remember. He pretended as if he didn't, but it was obvious that her brother cared for her a great deal, and so when it was that he learned that their farmhouse—their only means of livelihood—was ransacked in the middle of the night and left to burn in a fire, why, a fuse had gone off inside of Ellend's head, and what only he longed for was that the iron hammer of justice.

But Page was a small town, and so they didn't have much to turn to when it came to situations such as these. Then again, on account of practically everybody knowing everybody, there were hardly ever any reports of thievery, much less arson. However, the burning of Lacy's farmhouse was only another in a long string of attacks committed by none other than the infamous criminal band known as the Velvet Wolves; apparently, the rumors about them establishing a headquarters in the area were true.

A small-time gang of thieves and rogue mages like them wouldn't normally be considered much of a threat anywhere else, but out here in the countryside where Professional Sorcerers and military officers were few and far between, why, the savage lot would have no problem doing as they pleased. At first, it started out as minor offenses; a mistress would come crying about a man who stole her clothing off the rack or a lone wagon going missing in the night, things of that nature, crimes that one would hear of and not spend too much time lingering over.

However, as the weeks went by, the attacks became increasingly bold and more frequent, so much so that Page's residents held a meeting so that they could address it all. They were holding another tonight as well, and that just so happened to be where their parents had gone, ordering Ellend to watch over the house in their absence. 

He promised them he would, of course, but Elaine already knew what he was plotting, and sunder her, there was little she could do to change his mind; sometimes, he was too stubborn for his own good.

Cursing to himself, Ellend pulled out a small, wooden box that neither Mother nor Father knew of, and as he uncovered its lid, the boy froze, his Adam's apple bouncing up and down his throat as he swallowed. Even as she stood by the door of his bedroom, she could see the sweat beading his forehead. Obviously, he had doubts. 

He could be as reckless as a newborn wolf pup, but even he had to see how dangerous this plan was, if it could even be called a plan. Finally, as he inhaled a long breath through his mouth, Ellend reached into the box and gripped in his dominant hand the Commoner Wand he'd only just received two months ago. A secret present for a fledgling sorcerer.

"Ellend," Elaine started, her voice so soft that the floor cracking under Ellend's weight as he moved was almost enough to overpower it. "Don't do this," she pleaded, hands clasped in front of her. "Let the Mayor and the Town Watch handle it. It's their responsibility, not yours."

"None of them have got wands, El. I do." Ellend didn't bother to meet her gaze. Instead, he kept a watchful and frustrated glare outside of his bedroom window. Nothing lay in that direction but the trees that comprised Gallow Forest, though from this distance, the colossal trees appeared as little else than thin sticks poking out of the earth, shrouded by the thick shadows of night. "You and I are some of the only mages in Page. You know this. Anybody else who's got a wand is either too old or too unwilling to fight." He turned around with an expression that turned stiff and started for her in a defiant march. "All they've been doing these past few days is talk! Much good that's done. Well, I'm through with talking. I'm getting rid of those damn Wolves once and for all!"