AsterMarsh
This is the last chapter of Book 2 and next week, on Friday, I will start posting Book 3, which will be the last book of the Mage Smith series.
Please let me know what you think of the series so far. Any comments on Book 2 and what I can improve is deeply appreciated.
The first 15 chapters of Book 3 are available now at my patreon for 1 dollar a month. Please join us over there if you'd like.
Otherwise I will see you next week with a brand new cover for Book 3. I'm sooo excited!
Happy New Year!
/Aster
Marcus sat up in his bed and stared at the sleeping figures around him. From the bunk above, he heard snoring coming from Leeroy’s form. He had thinned out quite a bit since they’d joined the army and his snoring had gotten quieter, but it was still there. Like the steady beat of his heart.
The sound calmed him and settled his nervous emotions. But it was like the edges of him still tingled slightly, some sort of foreboding of what was about to come. He didn’t quite understand these emotions. Tonight, something awful had happened, but he thought it was all over by now. Left in the shadow of the dragon was a peace that had settled into every last citizen in Aldrion, and Marcus thought this meant things would get better for them. For him and Mel.
She’d managed it somehow, to kill the dragon. Marcus had seen it from the edge of the city in the west. He’d been far away, but he’d felt something rip apart inside and his eyes had trailed the horizon, looking for what he already knew. He’d seen the dark creature fall to the ground beyond the walls and he’d heard its howl of death in his ears.
He didn’t like what Mel had done. She’d gone against what they believed in and perhaps she had left her beliefs behind, just as she had left him behind. He didn’t know. But every time he thought about her now, he felt a pang of anger and disappointment.
They could have saved the dragons together. He knew it somehow. But now the voices in his mind had quieted, and he didn’t know if there were anymore dragons out there or if they were all dead now. She’d been the one who was supposed to bring them back, not kill them.
Marcus sank down from his bed, letting his knees hit the cold, hard floor. He flattened his feet against the surface and a chill crept up his spine. The hairs on his back stood up and he let out a long sigh into the darkness. Marcus closed his eyes, bringing his hands to a prayer, and tried to connect to the dragons. He desperately wanted to hear their voices, any of them. He wouldn’t even mind hearing the one who sounded like a creepy old lady.
But there was nothing except for loneliness waiting for him here. Mel had taken the dragons away from him, away from this world. He didn’t understand why she’d done such a thing.
Marcus knew he needed to trust in his gods. Maybe there was a plan to all this, one he couldn’t see yet. One that would be revealed to him if he was faithful enough. Maybe it was like he’d first thought when the black dragon emerged, that it wasn’t one of his gods at all. That it was the void who was playing tricks on them all. It probably had been, since that creature had killed innocent people, too.
Marcus shook his head, his brows furrowing in the dark. He didn’t know anything and he couldn’t understand what he was supposed to do now. Mel didn’t want him by her side, and he couldn’t protect her or anyone else. If his destiny was to protect people, then why hadn’t he been the one to kill the black dragon?
“Please, please, tell me what to do,” Marcus whispered into the night. “I don’t understand my own destiny. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do to help you.”
He was met with only an empty silence and the soothing sound of Leeroy’s snoring in the background. Marcus opened his eyes and looked out the window, seeing the first rays of sun hitting the horizon and marking the mother’s influence.
Marcus’ ears picked out steps in the stairway leading up to the floor and his head turned to the door. He had a moment of confusion at why anyone was up at this hour and then the door flung open in front of him. Several elemental warriors piled in and surrounded Marcus. One bent down and clasped his hands behind his back before forcing him to his feet.
Leeroy woke up with a jerk and nearly fell out of his bed. “Woooh, what’s happening?”
The man holding Marcus’ arms turned to Leeroy. “We’re taking him in for crimes against Aldrion. Finally, the governor has taken a stand against these wretched void worshipers.”
The man spat on the ground and then pushed Marcus toward the door. His breath was on Marcus’ neck and it made him shiver with displeasure.
“Let’s go, scum.”
Marcus moved his feet toward the door, feeling his steps heavy with dread. He didn’t know what he’d done exactly, but he could guess this had something to do with the dragon.
It wasn’t until he realized Mel was probably being taken away at this moment too, that the panic settled in, making his limbs stiff. He wished they would put them in the same prison cell so he’d get to see her, but at the same time, he didn’t know if he wanted to see her at all.
#
Marcus had spent days in the dungeons below the city in a rocky cell, just big enough for him to lie down inside. He didn’t often actually lie down, the chill down here with the never ceasing dampness made for the kind of cold that crept inside your bones. His skin was always moist and his fingers blue.
At first he’d waited for Mel, knowing she’d come here too. But then he’d started counting the amount of times he received food in this place and the shift changes of the guards and realized he’d been in here for far too long. If they’d caught Mel, they’d brought her by now.
He’d realized he was alone down here in the cell and that no one would come for his rescue. He didn’t know where Mel was, but he knew she wouldn’t save him. This simple fact felt like a knife to his heart. Even if she didn’t love him back, even if she hadn’t chosen him. Did he really mean this little to her?
They’d been friends since they’d started school in Windbrook. That first day at age seven, she’d given him a small smile and asked if he’d liked to join her and Minnie after school. They’d gone to the apple trees by her house and played among the branches.
Now she was gone. She’d left him here to rot, all alone in a dungeon cell. He couldn’t believe it. If the tables had been turned, he'd have done anything for her. He had followed her to this city, to the edge of the world, and this was her thanks to him.
Marcus’ lips curled into a snarl and he pulled his legs tighter into his chest, trying to keep the heat inside of his body. His head sank down against his knees and he closed his eyes. He tried once more to connect to the dragons. To see if they were out there.
So far, they’d left him too. They’d never spoken to him after Mel had killed the black dragon. He wished they’d speak to him now.
He wished they’d say anything. Even if it was cruel or impossible. He just wanted someone, anyone, to release him from his utter loneliness. A tear spilled down his cheek, and Marcus was almost startled by its presence. He hadn’t known he had the energy left to create tears. For days, there’d been this hole inside of him filled with rage and emptiness. But now it had changed somehow when he hadn’t been looking.
He let the tear slip past his cheek and down to his chin. He knew there wouldn’t be more, so he savored this one proof of still having other emotions than hatred. A small, barely noticeable smile, played on his lips and he wished things would be different.
He wished so many things would have gone differently.
“There is another way,” a small voice said in his mind and Marcus was startled by the sudden sensation of sound.
He looked around him, like someone was just playing a prank on him and there were no dragons speaking to him. But there was no one in the dungeons and when he strained his ears, he heard no one coming either. He was entirely alone, except he wasn’t anymore. Because someone had spoken to him.
“A way of shadows that we can offer you.” The voice was growing louder, more bold. “All you have to do is give into it. Surrender your body and mind and become one with us.”
Marcus wiped the tear away from his chin and lifted his gaze toward the rocky ceiling. “How? What do you want me to do?”
“Come to us.”
Marcus shook his head. “I can’t. I’m stuck here.”
“Come to us. Surrender to the many faces of the dragons and you’ll be rewarded. We’ll set you free.”
Marcus didn’t quite understand what they meant. He couldn’t come anywhere and his brows knitted together in frustration. He’d prayed for anything and the dragons had come to him once more. They’d heard him when no one else cared to listen and he wanted desperately to please them, to not make them leave.
“How? I’ll do anything.”
There was no answer, only silence.
“No, please don’t go. Don’t leave me. I’ll do anything. Come back. I’ll come to you.”
Still no answer.
Marcus stood up and paced the cell back and forth, looking through the metal bars and wondering how he could escape. But even if he did, how could he come to them? Where did they want him to go?
He heard sounds from the stairs leading down to the long corridor. He heard several people walking, and Marcus felt his hands knot into tight fists.
He needed to escape. He’d kill the guards and steal the key, escaping tonight. He couldn’t bear to be down here for a second longer, not now when he knew the dragons were out there waiting for him. He needed to go to them.
The sounds grew louder and Marcus snuck back to the edge of his cell, hoping the guards would have to open the door to get close to him. He didn’t know what they wanted. They’d never come down here in a party except for when they’d thrown him into the cell. Maybe there was a new prisoner arriving. In that case, this was his chance to escape.
The door swung open and Marcus' cell was cast into the light from two torches. It hurt his eyes immediately, and he had to avert his gaze. He wasn’t used to it, and even these dim fires were enough to make him temporarily blind.
He heard their footsteps like a thunderstorm descending on him. The sound amplified by the silence he was now used to. Then one of the guards jangled with his keys and Marcus tried to look over at the party. But his eyes could only make out four black silhouettes in the distance beyond his cell door.
“Here he is. Not much to look at. I don’t know what you thought you’d gain from staring at an ugly void worshiper. You could have spent your money on better things than this piece of shit.”
“Could you please leave us?” Catherine’s annoyed voice pierced through the darkness.
It hit Marcus in the heart with full force. His eyes adjusted faster to the light and he made out two guards and with them were Leeroy and Catherine. They’d come for him. His hands twitched at his sides and hope surged in his chest. Were they here to save him?
“Are you crazy? Leave you with the most dangerous criminal in the entire city? You do know they don’t throw just anyone down into the dungeons, right?”
“He’s not dangerous,” Leeroy said, his voice uncharacteristically low.
The guard laughed. “He sure has tricked the two of you. You should stay away from him and his mind control.”
Catherine waved a hand at the guard. “Fine, but can you at least stay by the door? We’ll call if we need you.”
The two guards shuffled away to the door, standing a few steps behind Catherine and Leeroy now, staring at Marcus. Leeroy stepped closed to the cell, gripping the bars with his hands and peering inside. Marcus took a few hesitant steps closer, too. But his hope had crashed like a fallen angel to the ground. They weren’t here to save him. He didn’t understand what they were here for at all.
“How are you?” Catherine asked.
Marcus shrugged.
“We’re so sorry,” Leeroy said. “I can’t believe they threw you in here.”
“It’s not your fault,” Marcus said.
He watched Leeroy’s face, stricken with sadness. It didn’t change as he said those words, and Marcus didn’t think Leeroy and Catherine had anything to do with why he was in here.
“We tried to get you out,” Catherine said. “But they won’t budge. The governor has gotten it into his head that you are a void worshiper and that you destroyed the dragon stones. I think since he can’t find Melissa, he’s putting the blame on you.”
“Yeah, but we know it wasn’t you,” Leeroy chimed in. “We’ve been trying to tell the guards that. We were with you when the dragon fell and when the dragon stones were destroyed, but they won’t believe us. No one believes us. How could you have destroyed the stones when you weren’t even anywhere close to the dragon forge?”
Catherine shook her head. “It makes no sense. This is injustice and I can’t believe this is happening to you.”
One of the guards snorted by the door, clearly listening in on their conversation. Marcus said nothing. He didn’t know what to say. So Mel wasn’t in Aldrion anymore, or she was hiding really well. Marcus dragged a hand through his damp hair.
“We don’t know what to do to fix this,” Leeroy said, his eyes welling up with tears.
Marcus sighed. “You shouldn’t do anything. Please, just leave me.”
Leeroy and Catherine shared a confused glance. A tear streaked down Leeroy’s face and he turned his hurt eyes on Marcus again. “Why would we leave you?”
Marcus shook his head, taking a step back into the cell. “There’s nothing you can do. Just leave me here. I’ll find my own way.”
Catherine’s eyes grew wide, and her mouth formed into a thin line. Leeroy shook his head. “Why are you like this? What happened to you?”
Marcus didn’t reply, and after an uncomfortable silence between the three of them, Catherine pulled at Leeroy’s arm. “We should leave.”
Leeroy’s eyes were locked on Marcus as Catherine gently pulled him out of the room, the guards following behind them. They threw a last look of distaste at him before they closed and locked the door behind them. He heard the footsteps of the four people walking away from him in the corridor, and Marcus let out the breath he’d been holding.
He slumped against the bars, leaning his temple onto the cool metal and letting it chill his head. He wasn’t sure he’d done the right thing. But he didn’t want Leeroy and Catherine to spend all their money on coming down here to see him. He didn’t want them to fight for him.
When Marcus heard the footsteps ascending the stairs beyond the corridor, he was rewarded for his rejection.
“Come to us,” a deep voice said in his mind. “We’ll set you free.”
AsterMarsh
This is the last chapter of Book 2 and next week, on Friday, I will start posting Book 3, which will be the last book of the Mage Smith series.
Please let me know what you think of the series so far. Any comments on Book 2 and what I can improve is deeply appreciated.
The first 15 chapters of Book 3 are available now at my patreon for 1 dollar a month. Please join us over there if you'd like.
Otherwise I will see you next week with a brand new cover for Book 3. I'm sooo excited!
Happy New Year!
/Aster
Marcus sat up in his bed and stared at the sleeping figures around him. From the bunk above, he heard snoring coming from Leeroy’s form. He had thinned out quite a bit since they’d joined the army and his snoring had gotten quieter, but it was still there. Like the steady beat of his heart.
The sound calmed him and settled his nervous emotions. But it was like the edges of him still tingled slightly, some sort of foreboding of what was about to come. He didn’t quite understand these emotions. Tonight, something awful had happened, but he thought it was all over by now. Left in the shadow of the dragon was a peace that had settled into every last citizen in Aldrion, and Marcus thought this meant things would get better for them. For him and Mel.
She’d managed it somehow, to kill the dragon. Marcus had seen it from the edge of the city in the west. He’d been far away, but he’d felt something rip apart inside and his eyes had trailed the horizon, looking for what he already knew. He’d seen the dark creature fall to the ground beyond the walls and he’d heard its howl of death in his ears.
He didn’t like what Mel had done. She’d gone against what they believed in and perhaps she had left her beliefs behind, just as she had left him behind. He didn’t know. But every time he thought about her now, he felt a pang of anger and disappointment.
They could have saved the dragons together. He knew it somehow. But now the voices in his mind had quieted, and he didn’t know if there were anymore dragons out there or if they were all dead now. She’d been the one who was supposed to bring them back, not kill them.
Marcus sank down from his bed, letting his knees hit the cold, hard floor. He flattened his feet against the surface and a chill crept up his spine. The hairs on his back stood up and he let out a long sigh into the darkness. Marcus closed his eyes, bringing his hands to a prayer, and tried to connect to the dragons. He desperately wanted to hear their voices, any of them. He wouldn’t even mind hearing the one who sounded like a creepy old lady.
But there was nothing except for loneliness waiting for him here. Mel had taken the dragons away from him, away from this world. He didn’t understand why she’d done such a thing.
Marcus knew he needed to trust in his gods. Maybe there was a plan to all this, one he couldn’t see yet. One that would be revealed to him if he was faithful enough. Maybe it was like he’d first thought when the black dragon emerged, that it wasn’t one of his gods at all. That it was the void who was playing tricks on them all. It probably had been, since that creature had killed innocent people, too.
Marcus shook his head, his brows furrowing in the dark. He didn’t know anything and he couldn’t understand what he was supposed to do now. Mel didn’t want him by her side, and he couldn’t protect her or anyone else. If his destiny was to protect people, then why hadn’t he been the one to kill the black dragon?
“Please, please, tell me what to do,” Marcus whispered into the night. “I don’t understand my own destiny. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do to help you.”
He was met with only an empty silence and the soothing sound of Leeroy’s snoring in the background. Marcus opened his eyes and looked out the window, seeing the first rays of sun hitting the horizon and marking the mother’s influence.
Marcus’ ears picked out steps in the stairway leading up to the floor and his head turned to the door. He had a moment of confusion at why anyone was up at this hour and then the door flung open in front of him. Several elemental warriors piled in and surrounded Marcus. One bent down and clasped his hands behind his back before forcing him to his feet.
Leeroy woke up with a jerk and nearly fell out of his bed. “Woooh, what’s happening?”
The man holding Marcus’ arms turned to Leeroy. “We’re taking him in for crimes against Aldrion. Finally, the governor has taken a stand against these wretched void worshipers.”
The man spat on the ground and then pushed Marcus toward the door. His breath was on Marcus’ neck and it made him shiver with displeasure.
“Let’s go, scum.”
Marcus moved his feet toward the door, feeling his steps heavy with dread. He didn’t know what he’d done exactly, but he could guess this had something to do with the dragon.
It wasn’t until he realized Mel was probably being taken away at this moment too, that the panic settled in, making his limbs stiff. He wished they would put them in the same prison cell so he’d get to see her, but at the same time, he didn’t know if he wanted to see her at all.
#
Marcus had spent days in the dungeons below the city in a rocky cell, just big enough for him to lie down inside. He didn’t often actually lie down, the chill down here with the never ceasing dampness made for the kind of cold that crept inside your bones. His skin was always moist and his fingers blue.
At first he’d waited for Mel, knowing she’d come here too. But then he’d started counting the amount of times he received food in this place and the shift changes of the guards and realized he’d been in here for far too long. If they’d caught Mel, they’d brought her by now.
He’d realized he was alone down here in the cell and that no one would come for his rescue. He didn’t know where Mel was, but he knew she wouldn’t save him. This simple fact felt like a knife to his heart. Even if she didn’t love him back, even if she hadn’t chosen him. Did he really mean this little to her?
They’d been friends since they’d started school in Windbrook. That first day at age seven, she’d given him a small smile and asked if he’d liked to join her and Minnie after school. They’d gone to the apple trees by her house and played among the branches.
Now she was gone. She’d left him here to rot, all alone in a dungeon cell. He couldn’t believe it. If the tables had been turned, he'd have done anything for her. He had followed her to this city, to the edge of the world, and this was her thanks to him.
Marcus’ lips curled into a snarl and he pulled his legs tighter into his chest, trying to keep the heat inside of his body. His head sank down against his knees and he closed his eyes. He tried once more to connect to the dragons. To see if they were out there.
So far, they’d left him too. They’d never spoken to him after Mel had killed the black dragon. He wished they’d speak to him now.
He wished they’d say anything. Even if it was cruel or impossible. He just wanted someone, anyone, to release him from his utter loneliness. A tear spilled down his cheek, and Marcus was almost startled by its presence. He hadn’t known he had the energy left to create tears. For days, there’d been this hole inside of him filled with rage and emptiness. But now it had changed somehow when he hadn’t been looking.
He let the tear slip past his cheek and down to his chin. He knew there wouldn’t be more, so he savored this one proof of still having other emotions than hatred. A small, barely noticeable smile, played on his lips and he wished things would be different.
He wished so many things would have gone differently.
“There is another way,” a small voice said in his mind and Marcus was startled by the sudden sensation of sound.
He looked around him, like someone was just playing a prank on him and there were no dragons speaking to him. But there was no one in the dungeons and when he strained his ears, he heard no one coming either. He was entirely alone, except he wasn’t anymore. Because someone had spoken to him.
“A way of shadows that we can offer you.” The voice was growing louder, more bold. “All you have to do is give into it. Surrender your body and mind and become one with us.”
Marcus wiped the tear away from his chin and lifted his gaze toward the rocky ceiling. “How? What do you want me to do?”
“Come to us.”
Marcus shook his head. “I can’t. I’m stuck here.”
“Come to us. Surrender to the many faces of the dragons and you’ll be rewarded. We’ll set you free.”
Marcus didn’t quite understand what they meant. He couldn’t come anywhere and his brows knitted together in frustration. He’d prayed for anything and the dragons had come to him once more. They’d heard him when no one else cared to listen and he wanted desperately to please them, to not make them leave.
“How? I’ll do anything.”
There was no answer, only silence.
“No, please don’t go. Don’t leave me. I’ll do anything. Come back. I’ll come to you.”
Still no answer.
Marcus stood up and paced the cell back and forth, looking through the metal bars and wondering how he could escape. But even if he did, how could he come to them? Where did they want him to go?
He heard sounds from the stairs leading down to the long corridor. He heard several people walking, and Marcus felt his hands knot into tight fists.
He needed to escape. He’d kill the guards and steal the key, escaping tonight. He couldn’t bear to be down here for a second longer, not now when he knew the dragons were out there waiting for him. He needed to go to them.
The sounds grew louder and Marcus snuck back to the edge of his cell, hoping the guards would have to open the door to get close to him. He didn’t know what they wanted. They’d never come down here in a party except for when they’d thrown him into the cell. Maybe there was a new prisoner arriving. In that case, this was his chance to escape.
The door swung open and Marcus' cell was cast into the light from two torches. It hurt his eyes immediately, and he had to avert his gaze. He wasn’t used to it, and even these dim fires were enough to make him temporarily blind.
He heard their footsteps like a thunderstorm descending on him. The sound amplified by the silence he was now used to. Then one of the guards jangled with his keys and Marcus tried to look over at the party. But his eyes could only make out four black silhouettes in the distance beyond his cell door.
“Here he is. Not much to look at. I don’t know what you thought you’d gain from staring at an ugly void worshiper. You could have spent your money on better things than this piece of shit.”
“Could you please leave us?” Catherine’s annoyed voice pierced through the darkness.
It hit Marcus in the heart with full force. His eyes adjusted faster to the light and he made out two guards and with them were Leeroy and Catherine. They’d come for him. His hands twitched at his sides and hope surged in his chest. Were they here to save him?
“Are you crazy? Leave you with the most dangerous criminal in the entire city? You do know they don’t throw just anyone down into the dungeons, right?”
“He’s not dangerous,” Leeroy said, his voice uncharacteristically low.
The guard laughed. “He sure has tricked the two of you. You should stay away from him and his mind control.”
Catherine waved a hand at the guard. “Fine, but can you at least stay by the door? We’ll call if we need you.”
The two guards shuffled away to the door, standing a few steps behind Catherine and Leeroy now, staring at Marcus. Leeroy stepped closed to the cell, gripping the bars with his hands and peering inside. Marcus took a few hesitant steps closer, too. But his hope had crashed like a fallen angel to the ground. They weren’t here to save him. He didn’t understand what they were here for at all.
“How are you?” Catherine asked.
Marcus shrugged.
“We’re so sorry,” Leeroy said. “I can’t believe they threw you in here.”
“It’s not your fault,” Marcus said.
He watched Leeroy’s face, stricken with sadness. It didn’t change as he said those words, and Marcus didn’t think Leeroy and Catherine had anything to do with why he was in here.
“We tried to get you out,” Catherine said. “But they won’t budge. The governor has gotten it into his head that you are a void worshiper and that you destroyed the dragon stones. I think since he can’t find Melissa, he’s putting the blame on you.”
“Yeah, but we know it wasn’t you,” Leeroy chimed in. “We’ve been trying to tell the guards that. We were with you when the dragon fell and when the dragon stones were destroyed, but they won’t believe us. No one believes us. How could you have destroyed the stones when you weren’t even anywhere close to the dragon forge?”
Catherine shook her head. “It makes no sense. This is injustice and I can’t believe this is happening to you.”
One of the guards snorted by the door, clearly listening in on their conversation. Marcus said nothing. He didn’t know what to say. So Mel wasn’t in Aldrion anymore, or she was hiding really well. Marcus dragged a hand through his damp hair.
“We don’t know what to do to fix this,” Leeroy said, his eyes welling up with tears.
Marcus sighed. “You shouldn’t do anything. Please, just leave me.”
Leeroy and Catherine shared a confused glance. A tear streaked down Leeroy’s face and he turned his hurt eyes on Marcus again. “Why would we leave you?”
Marcus shook his head, taking a step back into the cell. “There’s nothing you can do. Just leave me here. I’ll find my own way.”
Catherine’s eyes grew wide, and her mouth formed into a thin line. Leeroy shook his head. “Why are you like this? What happened to you?”
Marcus didn’t reply, and after an uncomfortable silence between the three of them, Catherine pulled at Leeroy’s arm. “We should leave.”
Leeroy’s eyes were locked on Marcus as Catherine gently pulled him out of the room, the guards following behind them. They threw a last look of distaste at him before they closed and locked the door behind them. He heard the footsteps of the four people walking away from him in the corridor, and Marcus let out the breath he’d been holding.
He slumped against the bars, leaning his temple onto the cool metal and letting it chill his head. He wasn’t sure he’d done the right thing. But he didn’t want Leeroy and Catherine to spend all their money on coming down here to see him. He didn’t want them to fight for him.
When Marcus heard the footsteps ascending the stairs beyond the corridor, he was rewarded for his rejection.
“Come to us,” a deep voice said in his mind. “We’ll set you free.”
