God Mage - D.W. Jackson Page 0,10

her until the darkness started to pool in around him to take him back.

Chapter 4

The next morning, Bren woke feeling a little more rested than usual. After a quick exercise with Cass and a small breakfast, Bren decided he could use a nice walk.

As soon as he headed outside though, he was met by man slightly shorter than he was who wore a deep blue suit much like Hayao wore. Bren started to walk around the person, but the other man moved in his path. Once again, Bren tried to move around the man but was blocked. “Can I help you?” Bren asked, trying to sound polite.

“Yes, you cannot waste my time,” the short man said, looking Bren over closely. “Follow me.”

The man didn’t give Bren a moment to think over his words but instead turned and walked away from the house. Without time to think, Bren followed the man. The further they moved away from the house, the faster the small man began to walk. For such a short man he was able to move quickly without making a sound.

Soon they moved away from the city and into a thinly wooded area. Even in the thin forest, Bren was finding it hard to keep up with the man, who moved through the trees as if he belonged there. Soon Bren found himself forced to run to keep up with the other man.

When the man finally stopped, Bren found himself standing in front of a small pond that was fed by a waterfall. Bren looked down into the water, which was so clear that Bren could easily see the fish swimming in the depths. It was amazing. It looked as if the water continued down endlessly. Within the pond were large bright fish that ranged from the size of his finger to a few that were bigger than his leg, though it was hard to tell the size of some of the fish that swam in the deeper water.

Before Bren could ask what they were doing in such a place, the man jumped onto a rock that was situated at the base of the waterfall. When the man didn’t say anything, Bren looked around and found another rock that sat underneath the waterfall.

The water was like ice against his skin, but Bren was easily able to push the feeling aside. After a few moments, he felt something strike him in the back. Jumping to his feet and turning around, Bren found the short man standing behind him. With a push, Bren fell back. He tried to jump, but his foot slipped on the rock, and he fell into the cold water below.

“Why did you do that?” Bren asked as he bobbed back to the surface.

“You wasted my time,” the man said coldly.

Though he couldn’t see the man’s face, Bren knew that he was frowning. “Then what do you want me to do?” Bren asked curiously.

“I want you to feel,” the man said holding his hand out under the water. “Feel each drop of water—how the water feels against your skin. You shut everything out, refuse to feel. You must learn to feel and control what you feel and how you feel it.”

The man took his position back under the waterfall without saying another word. Bren watched the man for a few moments, but when it was apparent that he wasn’t going to say anything else, Bren climbed back on his rock. This time instead of blocking out the coldness of the water, Bren let it cover him.

The water was so cold that it felt like little daggers digging into his skin. After a few moments, his body was soaked to the bone, and his teeth began to chatter. One of the few things that Bren could still feel was pain, but it was not a common thing for him as his body now was hard to damage and healed quickly. The cold was a different feeling as normally, he simply pushed the feeling away. He didn’t know why, but he felt slightly relieved at the feeling of coldness that washed over his body.

After a short while, Bren started to feel the tug of the water. He felt calm and soothed, and he wanted to let himself flow into it. Just to let everything go and become one with the elements. Just as Bren was about to let go, he felt something hitting him in the side. Opening his eyes, Bren looked over lazily to see the short man yelling at