The Phoenix Ring(41)

He finally put the book into his pack and sat down.

The Phoenix Ring began to pulse slightly, and Aidan slipped it off of his finger for the first time in weeks.

It was amazing how well it fit him, almost as if it had been made for his finger, not for Marcus’s. He had never really noticed before how beautiful the Soulrock inside was, gently letting off waves of magic that dissipated as they came into a camp inhabited by an anti-magic people.

Marcus is somewhere in there. If I could just find him, then maybe he would know what to do.

Aidan laid back on his cot and closed his eyes, trying to focus all of his energy on the ring.

It was hard, the cot was surprisingly warm and he was very tired…

He never noticed when he fell asleep.



Aidan opened his eyes.

He was in the Phoenix Ring, that much he knew. There was a strange feeling in the air, of some sort of magic that was too powerful and ancient for Aidan to recognize. But this place didn't look like the Phoenix Ring. For one thing, Aidan's vision was blurred, as if he was looking through a cup of honey, and every sound he heard seemed to echo. What little he could see was solid white, very unlike the study where Marcus resided. This white was broken only by the thin silhouette of what may or may not have been a human.

"Marcus Thunderheart?" Aidan called.

"Aidan? Is that you?" The silhouette moved a little to the left.

"Aidan, I can feel you, but I can't see or hear you. You're trying too hard. The only way you'll be able to come here is if you wait for the time to be right. Don't worry, you'll know when that time is."

Aidan felt some anger rise, but it was cushioned, unreal.

"I need your help!" the mage called.

"You'll come back when the time is right." the silhouette said. Then it turned and walked away, becoming smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the nothingness.

"Marcus!" Aidan yelled.

The world turned from white to gray, and then went black.





"Wake up, mate," Timothy said, shaking Aidan's shoulder. The green-eyed youth sat up, the world coming into place around him.

The Phoenix Ring was still clenched in his hand, so he slipped it onto his finger.

Was that really Marcus? Or was it just a dream? He thought

"Dinner's in a few minutes, you need to get ready." Timothy said, pulling Aidan back to reality.

Within each of the mages’ packs were three robes, two for travel, and one that was longer and more formal.

When the mages became wizards, they would be allowed to decorate their robes with whatever they wanted, for now they were plain brown.

The boys threw on their robes, grabbed their staffs, and walked outside, into the twilight.

Two long tables had been set up on the grass, with unlit candles every few feet. The smell of something roasting from the large middle house made Timothy's stomach rumble.

"Oi!" Shouted a young boy, coming from what must have been the kitchen. Unlike all of the other amoghs Aidan had seen, this one was slightly chubby. Somehow it only made his face more round and perfect. "The rest of them will be back soon, they wanted to see if they could shoot anything extra for dinner. Borin said you would want a bath."

Aidan and Timothy suddenly became conscious of the fact that they had been in the presence of so many girls after not bathing through a week-long hike in the woods.

"Follow me," the chubby boy said. "Get your traveling clothes so we can wash them. By the way, you can call me Cook. Kind of a nickname, but it's pretty descriptive."

"Cook" led the boys out of the camp, to small stream about knee deep.

Aidan dipped his foot into the water. Of course it was freezing.

"That stream comes from the mountain snow. It's the cleanest water within fifty miles. Go ahead, hop in!" Cook said, chuckling as he politely turned around.

The mages bathed as quickly as they could in the freezing water and hung their clothes on some branches to dry while they ate. Cook provided them with robes that were tight around their stomachs and loose around their arms.

The three boys arrived back at the camp at about the same time as the rest of the amoghs, who were bearing a large wild boar.

They feasted that night, more than Aidan could ever remember. Cook and a few other amoghs constantly brought out more food, which Aidan and Timothy ate without thinking, even as the sun went down and someone lit a set of torches.

There was boar, venison, fish, and just about anything else you could find in a forest. The only thing that was lacking was wine, but Aidan had never been able to afford it, and besides, Timothy had told him that the alcohol did strange things to a sorcerer. It was substituted with something that tasted like milk and honey. The flavor of the food would never compare to that at Fort Phoenix, which had been magically enhanced, but it felt somehow more wholesome and real.