God Mage - D.W. Jackson Page 0,5

battles. While it wasn’t a great number, it was still better than he had ever done before. Especially since Bren had never won a battle against his friend before.

Moments after they finished their spar, a young woman brought them glasses of cool water that they gratefully received. “You still give away your attacks,” Cass said as he slumped on the ground. “The only time you could get in a good strike was when you countered one of my attacks. Even then, you still moved a little too slowly.”

“I am still getting used to this,” Bren said after taking a large drink of cool water. “I can understand a little of what a person is thinking, but it is not as if I can read their mind. My mind is pulling in more information than I can work though,” Bren said softly.

“You don’t sound too happy about the changes,” Cass said smirking.

“I don’t know if I like it or not,” Bren replied. “Sometimes it is a bit much to take in at one time. If I don’t force myself to stay focused, my mind wants to drift along the magical flows. I must admit, it’s tempting sometimes to allow them to take control.”

“Let the magic take control?” Cass asked his voice sounding slightly confused.

“Yes,” Bren said, looking up at the thin tree. “As I told you, I still have feelings, but they are…removed. When I do allow myself to indulge in them, I can feel the magical elements tugging at me, and then they become a lot more pronounced. It’s freeing, but at the same time, it scares me.”

“Sounds interesting,” Cass said with a bewildered look on his face. “It doesn’t look like it is going to change anytime soon, so you might as well try and get a hold on it.”

Before Bren could say anything, Faye came over and handed him another glass of cool water. “You two stink,” she said, pinching her nose.

Cass lifted his arm and smelled himself then made a gagging motion. “It is an acquired taste,” he said after a few moments.

“Acquired?” Faye said looking at him as if he had made his head spin around. “Even a skunk would walk well away from you.”

“I think she is telling us that we need to take a bath,” Bren said faking a laugh.

“Really,” Cass said feigning surprise. “A bath…what is that?”

“Men,” Faye said before walking back toward the rest of the group.

Cass laughed and looked at Bren. “Let’s go see if we can find a bath.”

Bren smiled and followed Cass, who started looking for someone to ask about a bath. Bren gave Faye a small smile as he looked inside himself. Somewhere deep inside he felt happy. He let the feeling wash over him. Happy was mostly the air element. It was a light feeling as if one could do anything. Before Bren knew what was happening he found himself floating slightly off the ground a few inches.

When Cass turned around he jumped slightly. “What in the nine hells,” he said, grabbing his chest. “Why are you floating?”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Bren asked. “It is a lot faster than walking.” Bren reached his hand out and flicked a small stray leather strap.

Cass, understanding that something was wrong, grabbed Bren by the shoulders and pulled him down. “Concentrate,” his friend said, looking at him in the eyes.

Bren shook his head and forced his mind to focus. “Sorry,” Bren said as his feet settled back on the ground.

“The way your eyes looked reminded me of a Nadarie,” Cass said laughing slightly. “I was expecting you to start throwing things at random. It would have been fun to watch, but I think we are walking on eggshells as it is, and I don’t fancy having my head removed because you wanted to have a little fun.”

“Sorry,” Bren said, forcing his emotions deep down. He didn’t like feeling empty, but it was simply too dangerous to let his emotions run wild. “What is happening to me?” Bren asked slightly to himself.

You are becoming one with the elements. It is interesting—very interesting. I can sense some of what the elements want and think, but thanks to the way your father designed me, I am only partially linked to them. At first I was able to drain away some of the elements effect on you, but this last time happened too fast.

“You were draining the magic away from me?” Bren asked. He didn’t know if he should be happy or mad about Thuraman’s actions.

I