A Mage Born Ch. 02

Etan's jaw tightened for a moment at the insult and the feeling ebbed because, whatever happened, the job was done and, to be brutally honest with himself, his man wasn't entirely wrong, at least in the case of tonight. Still, there were concerns. "What about both of them, Dex?"

"There was a struggle, as you might expect, but I left the stranger in mostly the same condition as the target. She was a witness after all. Had I left the person be they would have sought help and set the authorities on us. Now, she's likely to rethink that. There was no way he was going to tell Stranix all of it. He wouldn't want to know about the difficulties, and there was a chance that he wouldn't need to anyway. Despite everything that had happened, the mages were a pragmatic sort. He lost people himself and he had left the woman alive. Unless she took a turn for the worse, which was possible, as even a simple beating meant to send a message wasn't an exact science, he was sure an understanding could be reached.

The man he lost didn't really matter. He was just muscle, and there was always more muscle to be found. He would proceed as Stranix wanted him to and whatever the mages extracted from him he would get back from his employer in upcharges for future work.

"I'll leave that to you," Stranix began before a pause, "just make sure it doesn't come back to me."

"Has it ever?"

"I'm just telling you, Dex. Anyway, stick to the plan: follow her. Make sure she's gotten the message. Make sure anyone with her gets the message, too."

He turned on his heel and the the harsh clicks of boot to floor began again.

"And be polite."

Dex's voice grew more distant. "Unless there is reason not to be, I always am."

* * *

Guild eyes were everywhere, almost by necessity. They watched out for one another, despite the aforementioned rivalry, gathered intelligence for and about clients, and sought opportunity. It was said that if a guild decided it mattered, by morning they would know what you had for dinner the night before.

That being the case, it didn't take long for the incident at the jewelry maker's house to become known. Once it was known that a user of magic was involved, the guilds took added interest. And once they had a name to put to the story, word was sent to the appropriate guild while others kept watch, waiting to see if there were dangers that threatened them or opportunities to be had.

Her guild came to her aid rapidly, taking up observational positions at the four corners of the block while others met Vale in the home, moving her and Hanah quickly to the clinic of Deres, mate of their guild mistress. It was slightly more distant than the nearest, but it was a safe place for mages for that reason as well as the fact that Deres himself practiced the art of magic well beyond the use of the healing arts that was legal. Deres arrived first, assessing his patients and directing Hanah into an examination room in the back. As she was being moved, with the both of them following behind, he took a moment to assess Vale. Dried blood freckled her face, congealed at her lip and her jaw and the left side of her face still with the blue and purple of bruising, but her green eyes were still sharp, "You look all right, more or less." He tried to give her a reassuring smile.

She spoke quietly, as she usually did. "I just...did what I had to do in the moment for myself so that I could help her. If I passed out...I don't know."

"That you made it here under your own power tells me you learned the basic healing magics well enough. He used his own magic to give her a quick examination. He could see how the energy of her body surrounded her wounds and how that made the damaged tissue harder to see through as he traced her frame. It didn't surprise him that she'd left some of her injuries be. Soft tissue damage took skill to heal. "You're bearing those injuries very well."

"I'm glad you think so, but I'm just breathing as little as possible." It still felt to her that she had broken ribs even though that she could fprce a full breath if she were willing to endure the discomfort told her no. She closed her eyes for a moment wincing at not just the continued pain, but anticipation of what she thought was to come. "Does Mistress know?"

He gave a small nod, "Of course. She'll be here soon." He watched the stretcher turn left into the room, "I have to go now. I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"Can I help?" Her skill in those was nothing compared to his, but she felt the need to ask.

"No. You've done enough in every good way, Vale. She'd probably already be dead without you. Sit. Rest. Bryana or I will be back to see to those ribs or whatever else. I'll have one of your guild mates bring you something for the pain in the meantime. No need for you have to constant cast to keep the discomfort away." With that and a parting touch to her back, he'd moved on to the patient who needed him more.

She watched his hands hover just above Hanah's body and a pale, white, wispy magic fill the space between as his eyes examined his patient intently, his eyes beginning to carry a hint of the magic themselves. She took an examination room at the other end of the hall, closed its door behind her and stretched herself onto the examination table, managing to keep the hisses and winces involved with doing so.

Mere minutes later, her friend Lasker had come to give her a potion to ease the pain. He had nothing new to tell her and offered to stay, but the last thing she wanted was company. He nodded kindly, told her how well she'd done and that he would pass word of her to their friends.

Vale could hear the silence and it was a mixed blessing, welcoming because she could pretend that she had distance from what had happened, but an anchor because she now had more than enough time to replay her mistakes, and, in her mind there were so many. She pumped cold water into the sink and splashed her face, careful not to move too much, relishing the cold as it numbed her skin a little. She took a cloth, rubbed it across the soap bar, and cleaned the dried blood from her face, hands, and neck. It speckled her outfit as a continuing reminder of her failings.

Hanah wouldn't have been harmed if Vale had the skill that she should have, that much she was sure of. The more experienced mages would have been able to protect her and themselves. Lian? Hovis? They weren't all that much beyond her in years, but it seemed like they had so much more skill and confidence as she did. They would have done better.

And Guild Mistress Lia? Lia would have ashed them all before they got through the door. She lived in awe of that woman. She felt less embarrassed by that knowing that most of the her guild did the same. Even, Lian, who once chafed mightily against her governance for reasons she didn't understand beyond him wanting his own power no matter how he tried to justify it. For Vale, she wouldn't even be where she was now if not for Mistress Lia. At first, even the most basic skills of a mage seemed difficult to master, despite her yearning to do so. Other guilds might have dismissed her, or simply allowed her to live as their servant, or worse, mascot.

Lia cared about her, though Vale was never sure why. She took Vale under her wing, spending countless hours helping her build her skills, with understanding, but resolve that she improve and not accept any excuses for not doing so. And she did, slowly and steadily. She wasn't as good as the others, of that she was certain in her heart even though Mistress would have none of it, but she was far better than the girl who couldn't lift a chair without shattering it to splinters. Maybe Lia just thought of her as a mascot or something. Vale never gave it much thought though, mainly because she didn't believe it was true.

And she didn't want to know.

She floated mostly pain free with her thoughts until the door opened. Her eyes followed suit and she saw Mistress Lia enter the room. Surprise led her to try to raise herself from the table, "Mistress." The damage she had almost forgotten about announced itself, but she tried to push through it anyway. Lia's hand firmly pushed her to the table again. "Enough of that. Stay where you are, dear, and let me take care of you."

Even just seeing her over Vale to tend to her like this, to Vale, she looked like royalty herself. Her height, sea blue eyes, fine features, and natural grace always told Vale that this woman could blend seamlessly into High Court. Add her power, intellect, and cunning, Vale knew Bryana Lia could rule the world if she ever had that hunger.

"How is the client, Mistress?" She tried to sound detached, as she thought Mistress would expect her to.

Magic from Bryana moved down Vale's body and her hand stopped over the various points on her left side that hosted most of the wounds that couldn't be seen beyond the wicked bruising that Bryana knew was there. "Deres and I just finished. She will be well, thanks to you. The worst of her injuries are healed and she's resting. Her love is with her." Her tone was a bit clipped only because she was multitasking.

"Dina," Vale answered, watching the ceiling as her body tingled and she felt the flesh mending.

"That would be her. Tell me everything."

She began from the guild's first contacts with Hanah in the event that she wasn't familiar. She left nothing out until the moment a piece of hard leather cracked against her temple and she blacked out, and what came after until she ended up in the examination room. Bryana took it in and in return shared her part of the story, from the extent of Hanah's injuries to Dina's arrival, sobbing the moment she saw Hanah in treatment. Vale could see Bryana's empathy as she spoke and anger over what had happened.

Vale took a breath, noting with relief that now that she could take a complete one and moved to a sitting position on the table. "I'm sorry, Mistress. I failed."

Bryana had busied herself making sure the room was organized as she allowed the young girl to rest. The words made her turn to Vale in genuine confusion, "Failed in what way? You're alive, the client is alive, and she lives because you acted as you did. And you took an enemy before you fell. I'd say that, under the circumstances, you did quite well. Where do you see failure?"

Vale knew that teaching tone well. "I should have been able to eliminate them all," she began with a hint of bitterness as her eyes grew distant. "When she hit the wall...it was so loud. How does a body hitting a wall like that crack like thunder? And that's not even mentioning the screams. They were moving on me so fast I... I froze, Mistress. I froze when I should have acted, and the only reason either of us are alive is because they didn't intend to kill us."

"Yes." Bryana briefly debated a white lie to save her confidence, but confidence based on delusion tended to be short-lived and fall apart in spectacular fashion. "Dina told us her side of the story and that seems to be the case. Hanah was a message to her and your presence was simply a matter of poor timing."

"But under a slightly different scenario, the assailants could have seen mage fire and thought better than to kill one of us or someone we valued enough to be in their company."

"Lucky me then."

She continued to speak plainly. "Yes. No matter how skilled the mage, you will still find there are times when your future depends on the fortune of the moment."

Her head hung low as she shook it. "But I hesitated."

"You were shocked for a matter of seconds, Vale. You had no reason to expect such a thing and when the unbelievable happens, sometimes one hesitates simply because they cannot trust their senses. It's normal, Vale. It's human. While we are capable of great power we are still limited by that humanity."

She looked up, "Mistress..."

"Denna Vale, you are good enough." Bryana's tone was sharp, but still gentle somehow. "Your skills don't hold you back to anywhere near the extent that you believe. Learning never ends, but you live in those moments when it took you longer to master the fire or the way the tongue rolls to accent some of the deeper spells. You live in those moments and no success is enough and no praise is enough to silence the voice that tells you you are unworthy."

Almost as if to tell her she was right, the little voice within whispered to Vale that Mistress was right and that this is as far as she might ever get. Vale frowned at herself, but didn't get very far in her self-recriminations before several rapid fire knocks at the door. Lasker popped his head in, his features displaying his wide-eyed youth, only choosing the guilds weeks before. His eyes darted briefly before focusing on Bryana, "Pardon, Mistress. There's a man here that wishes to speak with Vale. He says it's important."

"Did he give his name?"

"No, Mistress. He said that she wouldn't know his name anyway. They only met briefly...this afternoon."

The words hung in the air and Vale could feel the blood drain from her face, by the feel of it, to rush to her legs and hold her in place, "What does he look like?" She was almost surprised that she wasn't whispering.

"Tall. Thin. Dark clothes. Dark eyes. Just...dark all around him." He was clearly almost as unsettled as Vale.

"Is he alone," Bryana wanted to know.

"Yes, Mistress. Only him in the waiting area and the lookouts saw no one else approach."

Bryana gave him a nod, "Thank you, Lasker."

He took the gentle dismissal and left. Bryana watched the young woman before her carefully, imagining the war inside. She allowed it to be waged for several long moments before speaking. "Vale."

"Mistress, would you..."

"No." There was no room for discussion in the word. "He asked to see you."

"I can't. I just can't." Bryana found it somewhat remarkable and definitely amusing that Vale could pace the floor with only her voice. "I mean, what could he possibly want? It can't be to hurt Hanah. It's too late for that, and why come alone?"

"You should go ask."

She shook her head, but said nothing.

Bryana sounded proud, as she always did when speaking of the skills of her kind. "You are a mage. You have power he can only imagine and more. He is one man and you are prepared. Do you really believe he can hurt you?"

She looked to Bryana, "I thought I was prepared before, too. Still..." Her body suddenly hurt like it did when she came to on the floor of Hanah's home feeling like every inch of her was broken.

"That was then, this is now. Think of it as the new opportunity that it is."

"Opportunity for fresh terror." Her green eyes dropped their gaze to the floor, feeling naked as the day she was born before her idol with the unintentional admission.

"There is no shame in fear, Denna. Everyone with a hint of sense has been afraid. As humans, we aren't immune to that either."

"You have not been afraid." There was a part of Vale that simply refused to believe it.

Bryana laughed softly, her blonde curls moving with her as she shook her head, "I suppose I should be pleased that my acting skills are adequate. I have been afraid, Vale. I've been afraid countless times and I expect I will be again. Not showing fear in the face of danger or to an enemy doesn't mean you have none."

"You show me someone with no fear and I'll show you a person who will soon be dead. Some fear keeps you thinking; keeps you quick. Too much and you're just waiting to die. Too little and you're rushing to die. Bravery is facing your fear and doing what has to be done in spite of it."

She sighed and her head shook again, but this time with some sadness. "I have failed you, Vale, and I truly apologize."

The shocks just kept coming for Vale, who just stared incredulously at her teacher, "You have never failed me. I would not be where I am if not for your patience and your care."

"I have failed you. I like you, Vale. I like you and you are as dear to me as I like to tell myself that I am to you. I like you because you have a gentle soul. You are quiet, kind, generous, and thoughtful. In some ways you are too good for the guilds, as we are sometimes called upon to do distasteful things."

"I wanted to help you hone your skills because I see greatness in you if you could get out of your own way. I told myself that I was hiding you from the difficulties of our life because you weren't ready. That was true."

Bryana approached and placed her hands tenderly on the smaller young woman's shoulders as she looked at the reverence in her eyes. "But I was selfish, too. I hid you from what we do because I feared how it might change you. To keep your soul pristine I allowed you to hide. It's now a greater harm to you to allow you to keep hiding."

"I, for the good of the guild, have to know that you can do what has to be done. And, my dear young lady, you have to know, too."

The answer was within those green pools behind the anxiety.

"Go out there, Vale. Now. Face him. Face your fear. Control it. Use it. No one will interfere."

"So...what? Am I to just go out there and burn him down?"

The thought amused Bryana. He certainly deserved it. "If that's your wish. But I suggest, and only suggest, mind you, that you take your time. You know how to read people, Vale, and you do it well. It's part of why few are better than you at initial meetings. It's your gift. Use it."

"You glean the truth from them. You see into them. Let this man show you how to ruin him. Use what he shows you."

Vale's jaw clenched. Going out there was still the last thing she wanted to do, but maybe Mistress was right. She didn't like feeling as though she was so much less than her guildmates. Maybe it was so. Maybe the voice within her was right. Maybe it wasn't. But she would never know just standing here. Run away and she would one day be an old woman still arguing with a piece of herself.

And there was a consideration that was, in its own way, just as important: Mistress would be disappointed in her if she didn't try. Oh, she would still have a place. She believed that Mistress cared for her and valued her for herself so she wouldn't send Vale away. But she would never have a real place within the guild. Vale would never have a place of leadership. She would never really be one of those that the young students to come would come to admire. More, there would be no place with the Guild Mistress she admired so. Bryana would still trust her with things, but she would never truly trust Vale if she ran and hid.

So, in a way that she could never escape, from then on, Vale would actually be that pet, and it would be a position in which she'd placed herself.

Better for that man out there to slit her throat.

Vale gave a nod and hoped she looked more confident than she felt. She smoothed her dress, stepped away from Bryana and headed for the door, hearing her call after, "If he does somehow manage to harm you, he'll die for it."

"Thank you, Mistress," she said with sardonic gratitude. "At least that's something."

It was enough of a salve as a matter of fact that he kept her from feeling too much like she was walking to the gallows. Indeed, the cold lump in her stomach didn't appear until she actually entered the waiting area to find one of the last images she remembered of the afternoon whole in front of her. As he took cautious steps towards her, his hands open at his sides in the most non-threatening manner he could manage she'd actually considered setting him aflame. It would be simple. He would scream and burn and it would be over. No one would question it. She still could when she chose, she decided, so she could at least hear him out. She stood in silence, doing her best to copy Bryana's look of regal indifference.

He grinned, which is about all he usually did because a full-on smile usually looked fake, even to him. "I'm afraid we had no real opportunity to be introduced earlier."