him. Bren could still see, but his mind was a little fuzzy from the backlash of the magical energy. “You okay?” Jin asked as he helped Bren to the ground.
“Just a little tired,” Bren replied as his eyes started to grow heavy.
“Surely you aren’t going to say that the Brotherhood mages are better than you,” Cass said jokingly. “They have been doing the same thing to follow us for days now.”
“No what they have been doing is similar but not near as strong,” Phena replied in Bren’s defense. “There may be less of us, but the horses make all the difference. Because of them, he had to add many more spells, and because it was so roughly done, he used much more energy than he should have.”
“Sorry. It was my first time,” Bren said in a near daze. “And trying to use four elements at once with them pushing against each other didn’t make it any easier.”
“I was not criticizing you,” Phena said with a thin smile. “Maybe I was a bit, but I don’t think Master Sae-Thae could have done what you just did. Now, if he had the same powers, he would have done much better, but then again, he is much more experienced than you.”
“Thank you for that vote of confidence,” Bren said sarcastically.
Cass laughed and grabbed Phena by the waist. “Such a sparky lady,” he said as he tried to give her a kiss, but she quickly brought up her knee hitting him in the groin.
“Yes, I am just full of that spark,” Phena said, patting the back of Cass’s head lovingly as he was doubled over in pain.
“See? A firefly, just as I said,” Cass said grunting as he hobbled over to sit on a large stump. “Though she has a bit of a stinger as well.”
Everyone laughed as Bren just looked at the two. He was still far removed from himself, and only a small part of his mind found humor in the antics of the two. It was bad enough when he walled off his emotions, but it was even worse when he broke down that wall. They didn’t trickle or slowly consume him, it was more like a flood, and Bren always felt like he was being washed away. Thankfully, he was too tired to really feel much of anything at the current moment.
“Think the Brotherhood will be able to catch us?” Cass asked as he started gathering loose kindling to start a fire. “Or can we finally have a nice relaxing night.”
“They might be able to keep up with Bren, but I doubt it,” Phena said as she sent a bolt of energy into one of the larger sticks of wood causing it to start to burn. “We just have to make sure that Bren doesn’t burn himself out.”
“Burn himself out,” Cass said. “What do you mean?”
“Magic is a double bladed weapon,” Phena said in reply. “Every mage can pull in as much as the surroundings allow, but at some point, the magic will start to burn through the mage and their ability to use magic. Sometimes it even kills the mages, though most of the time it just ends their ability to use magic.” The sound of worry and finality in her voice sent a shiver through Bren.
Bren sat close to the fire to warm his body. It had been a long day, and Bren found himself fighting to stay awake. The meal was a simple one of cured ham and beans along with a type of flat bread that tasted slightly sour to Bren. Shortly after eating, Bren curled up in his bedroll and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Later that night, Bren was woken by a ringing in his ear. As his mind cleared, Bren heard his name being called, and after looking around, began to understand that it was coming from his father’s earring. “Flynn, what are you shouting about?” Bren asked, his head feeling as if it was being ripped apart.
“Bren. The mages tower is in an uproar,” Flynn said, his voice hinting at the man’s apprehension.
“I need to know more than that,” Bren said with a heavy sigh, thinking that the mages had just got their bonnets in a knot. “What is going on?”
“The other day we received a letter requesting that you appear before the tower to discuss something of importance. When I arrived, they were more than a little put out and demanded to know where you had gone off to. I told them