God Mage - D.W. Jackson Page 0,49

he might be walking the perimeter of the camp,” Faye said looking around. “You know you could go back to sleep. We could all use a good rest and that counts doubly for you.”

“I wish I could, but we can’t risk staying in one place too long while the Brotherhood is still following us. It can’t be that much farther to the hidden village. Once we are there, we can get all the sleep we need,” Bren said as he pulled his arm out of Faye’s grasp.

Bren found Cass on the edge of the camp looking out toward the hills they had crossed earlier that morning. “Seen anything yet?” Bren asked, startling the young soldier.

“Bren you’re awake,” Cass said, holding his chest to exaggerate his surprise. “It is good to see you back among the living. Now we can get moving and hopefully leave this god-forsaken land behind us. If I have my guess right, the Brotherhood just made camp at the edge of the Deadlands, but it is hard to say for sure without getting a closer look. I can’t think of anyone else who would be foolish enough to follow us, but you can never tell.”

“Might just be some of the women you charmed along the way,” Bren said jokingly.

“We need to wake everyone else, so we can move on,” Cass said, looking at the others’ sleeping forms.

“Let them rest,” Bren said as Cass turned to wake them. “This place is dangerous enough without everyone going without sleep. I have a feeling that we are all going to need to be at our best if we plan to make it through this place alive.”

“You might be right, but we can’t afford for the Brotherhood to catch us,” Cass said in a half argument as he looked at the sky above.

“At least they will have to follow us the old fashioned way,” Bren said, patting his friend on the back. “No matter how good he is, I don’t think their mage will be of much use in this place.”

“That is reassuring at least, though I would still like a few more days between us and the Brotherhood.”

“We don’t always get what we want,” Bren said with a half-smile. “Now why don’t you get some sleep, I will wake everyone once it looks like it’s time to go.”

“Are you sure you can handle watch by yourself?” Cass asked in a worried tone.

“I will not be by myself,” Bren said with a wink. “Avalanche is here, and she is far better at hearing intruders than you or I.”

Avalanche gave him a low bark when she heard her name and happily padded over to where they were. She still moved much more cautiously than normal, and she hadn’t left the safety of the group since they had entered the Deadlands. Most of the time she would only stay with them while they were in town, the rest of the time she would go off on her own, and days could pass before they saw her again. It was normal, and Bren had paid it little heed, so the fact that she had not left them meant that she didn’t feel safe here.

Bren took a seat by the fire, set Thuraman across his lap, and called to Avalanche, who came over and lay down beside him. Absentmindedly, Bren reached over and started to rub the top of Avalanches head but the second before his silver fingers touched her she recoiled away from him. “Sorry,” Bren said as he moved his hand back to his lap. He had forgotten to wear his gloves. “Why don’t you like the feel of my skin anymore girl?” Bren asked the creature lying next to him, but the only answer he got in reply was the slight tilting of her head.

I would guess that it’s because you have so much magic running through you. Unlike me, she is not linked to you, all she feels when you touch her is the large current of magic running through your body. I would guess that her reaction is more instinct than fear of you, though she is one thing I have never figured out. She and I are a lot alike but so very different at the same time.

“What do you mean?” Bren asked looking from the staff to Avalanche, trying to see how they were anything alike.

We were both born of magic. I was created by your father, and because of him using large amounts of energy, and the