Arabella returned after about an hour, reporting that she was only able to get a few bits and pieces of information. None was good.
The others had also rejoined us, and we were now all seated about our small camp.
"The rest of the mages have split up. Most went to the tower, but some also went to the villages nearby, to make sure their plan is not foiled nor disrupted, and also to look for us. About five, including him, are still roaming the forests looking for us as well," she said.
I cursed, as did mostly everyone else.
"What do we do?" someone asked.
I bit my lip. The mages in the forest weren't really a threat unless they found us, which we could avoid. The ones going to the tower and the towns were much more of a threat. I knew that Verlmil was close to the tower, and that they would most definitely go there, as well as some of the others. And not all of them had experienced mages to guard the townsfolk. I knew my family could most likely take care of themselves, but I was still worried...
"How many mages are going to the towns?" I asked.
"There are fifteen in that group. Thirty are going straight for the tower."
That confirmed my fears. "We'll somehow have to get word to the tower to watch out for the other mages. They can handle themselves. But even my family can't handle fifteen mages as strong as this one. We'll have to go back."
"When?"
"As soon as possible. Who would like to do the honors?" I asked, gesturing to the still-unconscious mage. "We can't risk leaving him alive."
Be the cartoon heart. Light a fire, light a spark. Light a fire, flame in my heart. We'll run wild, we'll be glowing in the dark.
"I'll do it," I said, moving so that I was kneeling next to the mage. The look of terror in his eyes was nearly unbearable.
"You don't have to," Ramere reminded me when I hesitated.
"I've got it," I assured him, placing my fingertips lightly on his temple. I put a small amount of pressure on his skull, allowing my magic to flow through him full throttle.
There may have been pain. Perhaps if it didn't kill him so quikcly, he would have screamed and protested. But he did not. He was dead.
I sat down next to Ramere while Arabella went to the mage. Kayla watched me curiously, but she didn't follow.
"So what's the plan? How are we supposed to get word to the tower and help the towns at the same time?"
"There isn't a spell that would do it," Ramere said. "And we can't afford to split up. Sending only one would be too dangerous, and sending more than one would mean less to fight at the towns and the greater the chances of failure on both accounts become."
"You didn't answer my question. All you did was point out the obvious."
He shot me a dirty look. "I don't know. Do you have any ideas, wise-guy?"
"You're supposed to be the brains here. I can't plan a family picnic without forgetting the food and drinks. You know that."
Ramere sighed, letting his head fall to his hands. "I don't know, Caspan. There's no way for Arabella or I to teleport to the tower and back. There are spells of protection guarding it from any and all magical entry. The only way in is to walk into it, and even then you have to start at least a mile away. If either of us tried, it'd take at least three hours. Personally, I don't think we have that long."
"We'll think of something. It's not like we're going to let a bunch of crazy mages kill our family and friends, as well as over half the mages that live today. Who knows, maybe the tower already knows, and even if not, they could easily defeat thirty mages," I said.
"Caspan, in case you haven't noticed, those mages are stronger than Nathaniel, and he's had seventy years of practice. Few of the mages in the tower can say the same. Most are still apprentices."
"Do you love dwelling on the negative?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Or do you just do it out of habit now? Come on, we'll see what the others think we should do."
Just then Arabella returned and sat on the other side of Ramere. I waved everyone else over.
"Ok, we need a plan."
Be the cartoon heart. Light a fire, light a spark. Light a fire, flame in my heart. We'll run wild, we'll be glowing in the dark.
I glanced around the group. "We need a plan. We need to figure out how we're going to get word to the tower, as well as go to the aid of the towns. According to Arabella, at least thirty of the mages are going to the tower, fifteen are going to the towns, and four are still roaming the forests, looking for us."
Everyone sat in silence for a moment.
"One of us could fly to the tower to warn them?" Christian said, gesturing to Caspan and himself. "And maybe we could even get a few of the mages to help with the defending of the towns."
I nodded. "How fast do you think you could get there? From where we are now, I would say the tower is about seventy miles west of here."
"No more than an hour and a half could one of us fly there and back, but that wouldn't include getting an audience with the mages to tell them what's going on. So two hours max."
"That seems to be the only option we have. Alright, decide which of you will go. We can only risk allowing one of you to go, as we'll need all the help we can get if we run into another mage in the forests."
Be the cartoon heart. Light a fire, light a spark. Light a fire, flame in my heart. We'll run wild, we'll be glowing in the dark.
Cara looked at Christian. "I wont be much help fighting wise." She sighed looking at the others. "I could fly on Fire's back. If the mages would listen to me that is." She looked down at Fire who rubbed against her leg and looked at the others. He agreed with the idea.
