Solivagant

Chapter Two

Almost immediately, Asher was consumed by shadows. A thin, silver mist hung in the air. After spending an entire day beside the great flames of the forge, Asher welcomed the feeling of cool water against his face.

He jogged through the darkness, careful to avoid tripping on the many roots that burst through the damp earth. The underbrush in this section of the forest was sparse, allowing him to see several yards in all directions, even with the mist.

When he had traveled a half-mile or so, he slowed to a halt and looked around. Soft gray light filtered in through the canopy, just enough to see by. A few flowers were in bloom, but Asher knew they would soon wither and die as the winter progressed.

With a sigh, he sat down under a towering oak, leaning into the old, rough bark. He raised his hands in front of his face, blankly staring at his palms as he listened to the scraps of birdsong echoing through the trees.

It was a stupid idea to do it with the Valkir so close, but Asher reached for the magic anyways. He hadn't used it in years, and he desperately needed a reminder he wasn't powerless.

It was difficult: magic was ancient, immense, and hard to control. Most of the time, Asher had to sort of bend it to his will in order to use it. The only exceptions were times when he lost control of himself, and the barrier he usually kept between himself and magic was broken. When that happened, it became highly attuned to his emotions. Once, years ago, Asher had lost his grip on it while in such a state. The results had been quite . . . explosive. As far as he knew, the Matron, the woman who ran the orphanage, was still trying to find the scoundrel that had burned the entire vegetable garden to ash.

With a small crackle, a single white flame flickered to life above his hand. He watched the fire twine around his fingers. It did not harm him, but the heat it produced was strong enough to instantly evaporate the mist around it.

This could kill him. All it would take was one mistake. Magic was forbidden, the only exception being the Valkir. If Asher was discovered as a magic-user, he'd be hunted like a dog and forced to choose between two fates: pledge himself to King Soren and become a Valkir himself or die. The King claimed any magic-users that resisted him were only imprisoned, but Asher knew better than that. He was only sixteen, but he had heard the stories. The King's cruelty was not to be doubted.

Asher had no desire to serve the King. There were so many awful things he and the Valkir had done--children murdered, families ripped apart, brutal punishments for the smallest of crimes. Soren claimed he kept the world safe by controlling magic and all those that used it, but crime still plagued Eldernia and its people. If he ever faced that choice, Asher would rather die than become a part of that. He could only hope he would have the strength to hold to that belief when--no, if--the time came.

This is idiotic. With a flick of his wrist, he extinguished the flames. There was no point in risking discovery for such a simple thing. His thoughts turned back to the Valkir visiting Aleran, and a trickle of dread shivered down his spine. Asher knew nothing about magic, except from what he had discovered on his own. And as far as he could tell, magic had no boundaries. It was draining at times, and overextending oneself could have consequences, but magic could be used to do anything. Anything. If he wanted to--the thought made him feel cold--Asher could probably kill everybody in Aleran with a wave of his hand. He didn't even want to think about what the Valkir could do. What if the assassin was somehow able to sense his power?

Asher forced himself to take a deep breath. If that was true, he'd already be dead. Besides, he wasn't sure that was even possible. On the rare occasions he had opened himself up to magic, he had discovered that it was inside all living creatures. He didn't know why, but he'd also found his own level of natural magic was the same as Wade's or Henry's. So it would be impossible to distinguish magic-users from anybody else. Hopefully.