Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) Read online

  Kara bit her lip and gave Twilix a nod. So it would be about more than just anger control, she thought. Concentrating, she used the heat from the first candle, increasing it slightly to melt the candle. The wax started to drip down the side until Twilix doused the wick with water.

  “You must use the heat in the room, not from the candle.” The small wizard said in the darkness.

  Kara gave a nod, unsure if Twilix could even tell she was nodding. She gathered the heat in the room around the candle making sure not to overheat the candle to the point it would catch fire. The melting started slowly at first but went quicker the longer she applied the heat. Soon the wick slumped over as the wax dripped off the washstand and onto the floor. She let the heat go and watched as both sides of the wick hardened into place so that it formed a small archway on her washstand.

  “Yes, good. Now I would like you to light the wick,”Twilix said.

  Kara was unsure how the wizard could see in the darkness but she lit the middle of the wick. “Like this?” Light flooded the room chasing the darkness away as she liked to think of it.

  “Yes, that is very good. Now I want you to remove the flame from the wick but keep the flame alive. After that I want you to bring it to the center of the room.”

  Kara knew the water wizard was trying to get her to do something Mary used to do every time she came to visit. Holding a flame in the air while it wasn’t burning anything. She tried to concentrate and remember what it looked like through the vision of heat. All the heat in the room was pushed to one area and it caused a glow and flame.

  Kara focused on the wick and pushed heat into it until it came alive flickering back and forth. She then concentrated on the heat it gave off and gathered it back to itself. The flame changed color from red to blue. The tiniest of flames cast a flickering light around the room. She pulled on the flame removing it from the wick while pushing more heat into it from around the room. The flame dimmed and Kara watched it almost disappear. Scrambling with her magic she pushed as much heat as she could gather into it. She watched in awe as the fire magic bits collided with one another to form the flame.

  Twilix then moved faster than Kara thought possible. A hand struck Kara’s face so hard that she saw sparks in her vision. Although it wasn't truly sparks that she had seen because her flame had winked out. The water wizard stood straight with hands before her gathering balls of water to herself, readying for a inferno. Kara felt her cheek. She had never been hit that hard before, she still felt the hand print in her face. Tears ran down her cheeks as she did her best to smile back at Twilix, this was the true test.

  “Well now perhaps you should teach Mary that trick. She hasn’t been able to control herself like that.” Twilix said. She seemed truly impressed with Kara, “I wonder how much control you really have. I want you to understand what I do next is for the safety of this castle and the remainder of its guard.”

  Kara nodded and braced herself for whatever Twilix was about to do. Instead of another strike, Twilix gently knocked on the door and requested for the guard to open. The bolt in the lock turned and Twilix stepped out into the hallway. Kara gingerly felt her cheek, she knew there would be a bruise there tomorrow. She stood as she waited for the next test.

  Kara nervously tried to smooth her dress but found she was still wearing the tight leather outfit designed to withstand the flames from a fire wielder. It was a habit she had formed wearing dresses all her life, but she thought dresses were a thing of the past. She was now reduced to feeling indecent everywhere she went; never to attend a ball in a beautiful gown or dance around with a man at springfest in her home town.

  The door opened again and Twilix entered, once again looking over Kara as if to make sure she was ok. Kara started to smooth her dress again and stopped herself, putting her hands behind her back. A large guard stepped through the door reluctantly looking between the two women.

  Twilix nodded towards Kara, “the girl has been utterly defiant, Bastion. This was the wizard who burned all the nobles, food, carpets, tapestries, and servants in the castle the last couple weeks. She is the reason the castle’s tapestrestes were aflame and food was burnt just before the last graduation. Wizard Parker has ordered her punished so that she learns a lesson. My delicate hand is not as strong as yours. As you can see I already tried.” Twilix pointed to Kara’s face, still red with a hand print where she had been hit. “One swing should be sufficient, but don’t go easy either. She is tougher than she looks. See how she stands there defiant of my attempt?”

  The guard looked between Kara and Twilix, obviously nervous of what would happen if he angered a fire wizard. “One shot then get out. I promise I will let no harm come to you,” she said straight faced.

  Kara knew this was a test. She stood straight and tried to brace herself for the pain that would come. She knew she would overcome this obstacle and hoped there were no other tests involved before letting her go outside.

  Anger appeared to have overcome Bastion, he pulled the steel gauntlet from his hairy hand and tucked it into his belt. Rearing back, he punched Kara so hard in the face that Kara’s jaw cracked loudly, and she crumpled to the floor. The burly guard then darted out the door, putting on his gauntlet as he left. Kara stirred coming to a seated position and spit blood out on the floor while using her finger to check her teeth, taking special care around where her jaw had been shattered. She stood and walked to the washstand, dipping herself a ladle of water out of the vase on top. She carefully poured water into her mouth and rinsed it of the blood. Kara turned to Twilix, knowing that she had passed this test, and motioned for Twilix to have the door opened.

  She saw a single tear roll down Twilix’s face as she closed the distance placing her hand on Kara’s. Kara felt a chill while healing magic ran through her body just as Kilen had done in the past. Only Twilix’s came on slow and was less brutal. It was more of a caress than a tidal wave of healing. Kara’s face was whole again, as if neither strike had been made.

  “Thanks,” Kara said.

  Twilix wiped tears from her own face, “I have had you broken by a guard and slapped you myself and you say thank you. I do not know what you have done to control yourself, but I think that I would be angry if I were you. I cannot deny your control, so I will take you outside as long as you can manage.” Twilix watched as Kara moved around the room collecting her extra set of leather clothes and a small piece of paper wedged into the wall. “What are you doing?”

  “You said you would take me outside as long as I could control myself. Well, I plan on never losing control again. I also plan never to return to this cell again.” She stood watching Twilix with her arms loaded with the possessions she had been given, determined to never return.

  “I will take you outside, but whether or not you return here is something that is out of my control Kara. I cannot make that promise.”

  Kara answered right back, “It is something I can control. Now if you will, I haven't felt fresh air in weeks.” Twilix knocked on the door and Bastion opened it a crack. Twilix whispered to him and both girls stepped out into the hallway. Kara saw the torches on the wall and tried gathering in the energy from them.

  Twilix watched her curiously as she examined the torches. Then Kara saw it, in each of the torches she could see the faces of the fire wizards in the cells. They were watching her through the flames, she stood straighter. She wanted to inspire them to be passionate enough to get out of their cells. She felt the heat and flames on the others side of each door. They were not passionate, they were angry. Kara lowered her head and rolled her shoulders forward as she asked nervously, “Can we go now?”

  “Are you still in control Kara?” Twilix asked.

  “Yes, but I don’t like their eyes on me. I want to leave.”

  Twilix turned with eyes furrowed, “Whose eyes Kara?”

  She did not feel like explaining so Kara passed Twilix as she moved quickly through the hallway to the only door with light showing behind it. The guard sitti
ng on a stool by the door looked at her when she came into the light and stood quickly going for his sword. A ring of ice encrusted the hilt of his blade, fusing the blade and sheath to prevent his draw. Kara took a step back shocked by the formation of the ice.

  “Calm down, she is with me. Please unlock the door,” Twilix said calmly, catching up to Kara. The chunk of ice holding the guard’s sword in disappeared in a whisp of steam and he warily opened the door with his key. Kara wasted no time bolting through the door. Twilix quickly lead her through the hallways of the castle and finally outside.

  The summer sun hit her exposed flesh; she felt as though she had been in the cell for years. She stretched her arms, still laden with her belongings. Without sunlight her skin had turned a pale white, which looked odd in contrast with her midnight black hair. Guards surrounded her and Twilix did nothing to stop it except for shoo them to a distance. Twilix slowly walked around Kara as she soaked up the sun’s rays. “Kara,” she said quietly. Kara opened her eyes to a squint and looked at Twilix. “You know sometimes when a fire wizard comes into the sunlight for the first time they start to lose control. The heat from the sun overwhelms their senses.” Kara said nothing so Twilix continued, “are you going to be trouble Kara?”

  The adolescent girl smiled, “No, not at all. What I will be is starving unless I get something to eat. What time is it?”

  A guard spoke, “It’s just after morning meal m’lady.”

  Twilix waved him away, “It’s best you don’t push yourself too quickly. We can have some food brought over so you can take it slow.”

  Kara let out a sigh, “Please, I’m fine. I hate it when adults treat me as if I’m two years old. I thought that you would understand that, seeing as how we are about the same age.” She squinted at the guard that had spoken, “Where is the kitchen in this place?”

  He looked at Twilix, appearing unsure if he should answer or not. Twilix shook her head no. Kara looked between the two then cleared her throat which got the guard’s attention again. Then Kara’s hair became engulfed in flame for a couple seconds. The guard pointed to the to large tents a short distance down the wall. “Shall we?” she said to Twilix. The guard shrugged and whispered something to the guard next to him.

  Twilix grunted, “Well a useless lot you are. How am I supposed to protect you all if you won't help me?” She turned back to Kara and held out a hand to the kitchens tents. The young girl started to bound her way to the mess tents as Twilix turned to the same guard. “You fetch Wizard Parker, he will undoubtedly want to see this, and you better not waste a second getting him there.” He almost fell down tripping over his own feet trying to run.

  There weren’t many soldiers left in the castle, but the few who were there stopped to stare at the fire wizard running around the training grounds. Kara paid little attention to them. She was happier than she had been in a long time. The food was scarce but there were eggs, ham, and some bread. The bread smelled a little overcooked but she supposed that was her fault anyway. She had worked off a lot of anger before having her epiphany.

  The smell of the food made her mouth water. Everyone backed off the food line and let the small girl through as she grabbed as much as she wanted. She sat down at a table to start eating. The tent was silently watching and seemed to be waiting for an inferno to erupt. When it didn't, they continued to watch the young, dirty girl eat her breakfast. As she ate she heard Twilix talking to a passing soldier, “Find a few water bearers and have them meet me at the wizard training grounds.” When Kara looked up Twilix was pointing the soldier’s attention in her direction. She smiled and bit off a piece of bread.

  When Twilix sat down she took a moment to just watch Kara eat. When she finally spoke she seemed to be confused. “I cannot understand you or your brother. You both seem to have a knack for doing the impossible. After you finish your meal I would like to test the control you have over your anger.”

  “I would rather not get beaten any more today. It has been a while since I have seen anything civilized. Can we just see the castle or the town? I’ve never seen a castle before,” she said excitedly.

  “I cannot let you go where you could harm people until we test your control, and maybe not even then. Kara you must understand that I do not make the decision of whether or not you return to your cell. I can only test you and show results to the ones that do. We must test your resolve and then perhaps we can see some of the castle grounds, if not the castle.”

  “Is someone going to hit me again?”,Kara asked.

  “No, not if you perform well enough. Well, it is my intention to not let that happen again,” Twilix corrected herself.

  The pale girl took the last bite of her slightly burnt bread and went to brush the crumbs from her dress, but remembered she didn't wear one. “Let’s get to this testing while it’s still daylight. I don’t like the drunken crowd that comes out at night; they scare me.”

  Twilix laughed at her, “Well they will be scared of you from now on.” She gestured to Kara’s outfit and the girls giggled. Kara’s cheeks began to hurt from the laughing and she realized it had been a long time since she had laughed without the thought of crisping someone's skin.

  Twilix lead the way to the wizard training grounds. On the way Kara noticed some smooth cookers surrounding a statue. The statue was none like she had ever seen before and resembled her brother, who had given up his life to ensure her safety. Kara walked towards the statue and noticed all the cookers’ openings faced inward towards the statue. “It’s him,”Twilix told her.

  “Him who?” she replied, staring at the details on the statue, so smooth and perfect.

  “Your brother. It looks exactly like him, don’t you think?” Kara nodded in agreement. “He made this in defiance of an order I gave him. In some areas your brother seemed too eager to comply, but in small instances he defied all logic and authority. I am concerned for him Kara.”

  Kara let a tear roll down her face, cleaning yet another line in the dirt, “Why?”

  “I am afraid that the king will stop at nothing to destroy him. Your brother has threatened the King’s hold on the Water Realm. You are part of that problem, but the other part is your brother holds that two-element blade. One mark from you on that blade and he would be in the running to take control of the Water Realm. Now you see why they won't let the two of you be together. One moment would be all it takes to make him a king. Kara, I’m sorry but you must face the truth that you may never see your brother as long as you remain here under King Atmos’ control.”

  Kara set her jaw and stood straighter, “Then tell me what I need to do to get out of here.”

  Chapter 1-Reporting

  The skies were clear on an early summer day as Alexander floated with the clouds. He had been unable to find the boy in the thickly wooded area north of Deuterium. His time to search for the boy had run out. The wind wizard had other matters to attend to this morning. King Atmos awaited his report on the nobles, his steward Wizard Parker, and the locations of his enemies. Alexander swore the King thought he could magically appear anywhere at his call.

  With war on the brink and two new wielders to train, Alexander thought that keeping the rouse of being crazy might actually make him go crazy. In the past, he had always used the rouse to help people tell him things that they wouldn't tell others. Now, he used it to guide them into making decisions to serve his purpose. Acting the part of a crazy old wizard wasn’t as hard as some would think. It was keeping the stories and lies straight that he told and managing not to give one person too much information. Fortunately, flying with the clouds allowed him to give his mind a break.

  He was able to focus on each problem individually as he floated along. The Fire Realm was indeed a great problem; they were raiding multiple towns a day. As a result, King Rekkan’s troops sent wagons filled with supplies of every sort to their now growing fort. If the King did not speed up his troop movement, he would lose this battle because of the defenses, King Rekkan of the Fire Re
alm, had built. He hadn't been able to get too close to see the defenses due to veteran soldiers that had nearly knocked him from the sky with a barrage of flaming spheres. He knew they were experienced wielders because they had heated the air in an attempt to make him lose control of his flight. He had seen it before and easily evaded it, but they seemed confused as to why he had not plummeted from the sky. The veteran soldiers guarding the Fire Realm’s newly built fortress were just another dangerous problem that he had to overcome.

  The other major problem was King Atmos, who demanded that he fly menial messages between his steward and himself. Alexander had dealt with others in the past that thought wind wizards were simple carrier pigeons. He had had to deal with them the hard way. Alexander just needed to figure out a way to show King Atmos, without him taking it out on Kilen.

  The King seemed obsessed with finding a way to dispose of the boy. Alexander had done everything in his power to control the King, like giving the boy’s friend a imbuement. Sure, the fletcher was a good archer but not so much that he deserved one of his imbuements. It was just another hook to sink into the King: if he destroyed Kilen he would still have others leave his ranks as well.

  Alexander came into sight of some stragglers flowing into the Earth Realm Army’s camp. He saw the large conglomeration of tents being packed up for the day’s movement to battle. Protocol was to circle the camp three times, from the air, before descending so that they could form a landing circle. Specially chosen warriors were to form a ring, allowing the wizard to land without hurting anyone. Alexander felt it was more of a protection to make sure they could control the wizard. He never did like being surrounded by Atmos’ barbarians. Four large tents were beginning to be taken down and a fifth stood guarded, meaning the ones being taken down were decoys for the King’s quarters. Atmos was always suspicious of those around him and constantly feared assassination. On occasion Alexander had used this obsession to his advantage. Alexander couldn't stand the King, but he had to put on a good show for those that gave Alexander his orders; the elder wizards.