The Elementalist (The Kothian Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  "Don't let go," the man said firmly.

  The trees around him appeared to look strange, almost blurry looking, as if they were there one second and gone the next. He almost flinched as the first of the hounds and soldiers came into view. Thinking the stranger had tricked him, he tried to pull free, but the man held his hand firm, "Trust me!" he heard.

  Maxim and the stranger stood beside the stream, hand in hand, yet the soldiers and hounds appeared not to be able to see him. One man was no more than three feet from his position, yet appeared to look straight through him, almost as if he were not there. Realising that perhaps the stranger had kept his promise of help, he relaxed just a little. He thought it almost funny as even the dogs used to track him simply passed him by. He was not sure though how long he and the man assisting him would need to stand there, for now, he was just thankful for the help.

  For almost ten minutes, the two stood invisible to the world amongst the tree's of the forest. The last of the pursuers had long since passed their position and disappeared out of sight. The stranger finally let go of Maxim's hand, "We can go, this way," he added gesturing a different direction.

  Maxim nodded, "Thank you," he said still surprised at the method of deception.

  "No problem. You're lucky I got to you before they did," the man replied. "Causing a soldier to combust in daylight was a bit of a daft thing to do," he added.

  Maxim followed behind the man, "What is your name?" he asked him. The man turned his head back, "My name is Danton Hickson, now what is yours?"

  "I am Maxim...I don't know if I have a second name," he replied.

  "Well Maxim, perhaps you would like to tell me how long you have been using magic?"

  Maxim paused, clearly unsure as to what Danton was on about. "I'm not sure what you mean? I don't do magic...at least I don't think so," he added doubting his own remark.

  "I suppose then my young friend, that soldier set himself on fire did he?" Danton said stopping and turning to face him fully on.

  Maxim just shrugged, "I don't know what happened. One second he was hitting me...then I remember hurting...and mumbling some strange words...but I don't recall what they were or what they meant. Next thing the man was on fire."

  Danton placed a comforting arm around Maxim's shoulder and explained how he had seen things. From the description given, he thought Maxim was probably an elementalist, although the ability to manifest fire on such a scale was extremely rare. "I myself can vanish, as you have already seen, but most of us have more than one string to our bows, so to speak."

  "One of my other skills Maxim is to detect people with magical ability. They give off a strange aura that I can see when I disappear, and you my friend glowed the first time I saw you. So you have great power inside that brain of yours," Danton added tapping Maxim on the top of his head, "We just need to nurture it out."

  The two carried on walking, Danton leading and Maxim happy to follow, although he was still not quite sure what this man wanted of him, or even why he was helping. If, as he had just been told, that he had magic powers, then he would be a fugitive wherever he went. He was just about to ask where they were heading, when they stepped out of the tree line into a forest clearing.

  Before them was a small timber cottage, and Maxim noticed a figure moving at one of the small windows. Smoke drifted upwards from the stone chimney, and he knew that meant a fire and the potential of being warm. The door opened and a rather dapper looking youth no older than he was, stepped out onto the small wooden porch.

  "Come on Maxim, you will be safe hiding out here with the others until we are ready."

  "Others?" he asked confused, "And what are we getting ready for?" he added.

  Danton turned and smiled, "All will be explained my young friend, but perhaps we can do the talking inside. I'm sure it will be much warmer and there will most likely be food inside," he added in a tone that was meant to sound to tempt Maxim.

  Being as he had nowhere else to go, and Danton had not let him down so far, he decided to follow the man indoors. As he passed the other youth on the porch, he noticed he was being stared at, judged almost, as he felt a wall of warm air hit him the moment he stepped inside. He heard the door close behind, and turned to see the other youth stood there, still watching him.

  Maxim glanced quickly around the room, thinking it seemed quite homely. There was a good fire burning in the stone hearth, and several chairs positioned around a table over to one side. Two of those chairs were in use, the occupants of which both looked his direction. There were two other doors, which he assumed led into other rooms and a dresser with an assortment of plates, dishes and cups upon it. The floor was bare wood, but clean and the walls plain.

  Danton introduced him, "This is Maxim," he said gesturing with his hand, before explaining who the others in the room were. "The finely dressed young man behind us, by the door, is Zack." Maxim nodded his head as a form of greeting and the boy known as Zack gave him a smile. "The two at the table are Mikel and Melia." Maxim once more gave a nod, only this time it appeared it was not quite so warmly accepted.

  With the introductions over, Danton asked Melia to get some food for both himself and their new guest. After being offered a seat, Maxim gingerly stepped over to the table and sat down at one end, slightly away from the others. He watched the girl Melia, walk over to the fireside and ladle something into two bowls. She looked a few years older, with long shoulder length dark hair that rested across her shoulders.

  After having a bowl placed in front of him, Danton told Maxim to eat, as he was so hungry he did not need asking twice. Inside the bowl was some kind of stew, and using a wooden spoon, he ate his first warm meal for some time. "Somebody's hungry," Zack said sitting down near him. "Somebody needs a bath," Mikel added, "He smells awful."

  Maxim let the comment pass, he was far more interested in filling his belly. Slices of bread were placed before him, and he helped himself, dipping them into the stew. "Slow down Maxim," Danton laughed, "There is plenty to go round." Maxim did ease up just a little, but the opportunity to eat so well was too good to miss.

  It was clear Maxim was somewhat an unexpected addition to the small group, and as he ate, he noticed they all sat there starring at him; even to the point of talking about him as if he was not there. "I wonder what power he has?" he heard Melia ask.

  "Probably the power to smell bad," he heard Mikel reply. "I am certain he could floor an entire army with an odour like his."

  He then heard the other boy Zack defending him, "Leave him alone Mikel, he is one of us."

  "He might be one of you Zack, but he certainly is nothing like me. I mean, look at the state of him," Mikel stated.

  Maxim was not overly bothered by the remarks, after all, if having a good meal meant having to suffer being called a few names, then so be it. However, when he came to think about it, he could not recall the last time he actually washed; after leaving the orphanage, personal hygiene seemed less important. "You can bathe and change later Maxim," he heard Danton tell him.

  "Well he is not having any of my clothes," Mikel responded sharply.

  "You are welcome to some of my spare clothes Maxim," Melia added, "Although I'm not sure dresses would suit you," she giggled.

  Again, it was Zack, who showed kindness towards him, "You can help yourself to any of my spare clothes Maxim. We are probably of a similar size, so they should fit you well enough."

  Maxim just smiled, still uncertain what to make of this small group. Nobody had ever shown him kindness before, and he was not sure how to respond. Even in the orphanage, those in charge often beat him for no reason other than he stood out from the others. Having red hair, when everyone else's was either brown or black, also ensured that he was picked out by the bully's that ran the place.

  After feeling he could not possibly eat another bite, he enquired if he might be able to take some of the stew and bread with him.

  Danton chuckled "Are you not staying with us then?" He asked.

>   Maxim just shrugged, "Would you like me to stay?" he asked timidly, looking around the table.

  "I don't," Mikel said under his breath, but loud enough for everyone else to hear.

  The comment did not really bother Maxim, but Zack jumped to his defence once more, "Well we do Mikel, so keep your opinions to yourself."

  After Danton told everybody to calm down and be nice, he suggested Maxim have that bath he so desperately needed. Zack and Melia offered to help, and so whilst one fetched the copper bathtub from the outhouse, Melia filled a large pot with water. "It will take a while for this warm up Maxim, So I will try and cut through that hair of yours while we wait."

  After trimming off the knots and clumps of dirt, Melia commented on how lovely the colour of his hair was. "You do not see many people with this colour hair, did your parents have the same?" She asked enquiringly.

  "I don't know," he replied, "I don't even know who my parents are, I was left at the orphanage as a baby." Melia grimaced, and apologised for asking thoughtless questions, but if truth were told, Maxim was not too bothered.

  Once his hair had been cut, and the copper bathtub filled with piping hot water, it was time for Maxim to scrub the grime from his skin. Zack found him a brush and Melia handed him a large block of soap, and he held it up to his nose, inhaling the slightly perfumed scent. Without even thinking, he stripped off his clothes and let them drop to the floor. The others in the room all cringed, as Maxim stood there completely naked. Not sure what everybody was complaining about, he explained that in the orphanage they had all bathed together, albeit only a couple of times a year.

  After an age of rubbing and scrubbing himself clean, and washing his hair, Zack handed him a towel to dry himself, and suggested he wrap it around his waist to maintain some decency. His new friend then suggested they go into one of the other rooms and find some suitable clothes. Inside the other room, Maxim looked around. There was not much inside, aside from the three beds that all lined one wall, there were two wooden trunks. "One of these is mine. I'm afraid I probably have more clothes than I need, but my parents insisted I bring them," Zack told him as he lifted the lid.

  Maxim was handed clean underclothes, a warm vest, black trousers, a pair of boots, a shirt, a tunic and even a new cloak for when they ventured outside. As he stood, dressed in the finest clothes he had ever worn, he felt a little overwhelmed.

  "Thank you," he said with the makings of a tear in his eye.

  "You are welcome," Zack said with a warm-hearted smile.

  After re-joining the others in the main room of the small cottage, Danton thought it best that, they all sit and discuss plans. By which, he actually meant that he talked and made the plans, whilst the others listened. Some of what he said the others already knew, although he thought it only fair to explain everything for Maxim's benefit.

  He was a magician, as they all were; all had powers, some more so than others did. In Maxim's case he was unsure as to exactly what those powers were until he could be tested properly, but he was certain they had the potential to be greater than he had ever seen. They would spend a few days to get to know each other, rest and get a few more supplies, as well as horses before they moved on. He kept the name of their destination a secret, telling them they did not yet need to know, only that it was somewhere south.

  Until such time as they got to the secret destination, they were not permitted to do any magic outside of the cottage. Maxim thought that would be easy, as he was still certain he could not do any. Mikel groaned and was about to complain, but Danton stared him down. "I mean it. If anybody catches you, then you put all our lives at risk," he added sharply, just to make sure the young man understood the seriousness of the situation.

  Once Danton had finished his short lecture, he suggested a talk about their powers. He went first and told them all that he could do, going invisible was his main skill, and sensing magic in others via the aura he could see when he was in stealth was his other. He told them he could do a few minor bits of magic, such as produce a small sphere of light, which he duly demonstrated. Maxim's eyes nearly popped from his head when he saw it; he had never seen such an amazing thing.

  Mikel told them he would go next, and seemed keen to show everyone his skills. Again to Maxim, they were impressive, scary almost he thought. Using just the power of his mind, Mikel could move small objects across the table. "I moved a chair once," he said proud of his own achievements.

  Melia went next, and to demonstrate her power she took a rather limp looking flower. She closed her eyes and placed her hand over it, as the others all watched on intently, waiting to see what happened. Maxim thought he could hear her mumbling strange words under her breath. There were gasps all round as she lifted her hand away to reveal the flower had changed. It now looked as fresh as the day it had been picked, "I know a good teacher of healing that would be interested in you my dear," Danton said clearly impressed.

  When it was Zack's turn to show his skill he appeared a little nervous. "Go on you'll be fine," Maxim said trying to encourage him, even though he himself did not know what he was going to do. The youngster stood and stepped a little way from the table, "Well go on then, do something before we all die of old age," Mikel said snidely. Melia shushed him, "Leave him be," she snapped putting him in his place. Zack stood there, clearly anxious, before he took a deep breath and concentrated. After a few seconds, he clapped his hands, there was a small flicker of light as everybody gasped; before their eyes, Zack had vanished. "Over here," he said. They all turned to look the other side of the room, to see the young man stood there smiling. "I can only move short distances, and I have to be able to visualise where I re-appear," he said explaining.

  Thinking that was it, Maxim was about to ask if it was perhaps time to eat again. "Now you," Mikel said pointing rudely at him.

  "I don't think I can, I'm not sure what I can do," he replied, as they all looked his direction.

  "I think it is probably safer if you don't try Maxim," Danton said. "If what I saw you do to that man in Woodhaven is anything to go by, we certainly should not try anything."

  Danton's words only appeared to make the others even more curious, and after a few moments of pleading, he gave in, and told them what he thought Maxim could do. "I think he has the power of the elements," he said causing the others to fall silent. "Maxim, in self defence mind, turned a man to flame, killing him in just a few seconds," he added. Maxim grimaced as he noticed the others look at him differently. Even Zack, who had been so kind and generous, appeared a little put off.

  Danton explained his theory. If indeed Maxim had control of the elements, then he would need proper tutorage. Left unchecked, he told them, Maxim would likely have the power to cause destruction on a massive scale. When Melia questioned Danton on why Maxim did not know he even had power, he explained further. From his experience, those with magical abilities usually found out they had them by making something strange happen without trying. "Maxim is no different. Somewhere in his mind, he knows the way to summon fire; what else is in there we can only guess." So rare was the power to control the elemental forces of nature, finding somebody to teach Maxim control may prove limited to but a few. "If Maxim realises the power I see in his aura, then he would most likely be as powerful a magician as I have ever seen. To put it bluntly my young friend, you have more power than the rest of us put together."

  Maxim just grinned a little bashfully, he was not used to being the centre of attention when praise was being handed out. Zack appeared to be over the shock of him burning another human being alive, as he shuffled his chair a little nearer to him. Mikel was clearly not impressed, whether that was due to him not believing what Danton had said, or just jealous because he was not being the centre of attention. "So, can we eat again now please?" Maxim said attempting to change the subject.

  Chapter 3.

  Berxsley was a vibrant city, and was home to the monarchy of Kothia, and the government officials who oversaw the running of the count
ry. Situated in the northwest of the nation, it was home to over twenty thousand people. With such a large populace to cater for, other smaller towns had grown around it to provide for its needs.

  Ruled by King Oran and his wife Queen Tiana they had taken the throne following his father's passing several years earlier. They had two children, a son named Anden and a daughter Frona. Although in command of the nation, the daily running was left to a group of governors. Despite the king knowing most, if not all, were corrupt in some way, he had little choice but to leave them be; seen by the people as their voice, he knew trying to remove them would likely cause riots in his streets.

  As it was, both co-existed, the governors made most of the rules, with the king, as overall ruler, passing them as law. Despite the years of peace since the magician Galdor had tried to overthrow both the government and the monarchy, it was only a matter of time before something had to give.

  Although the majority of people loved their royal family, many thought important matters should be dealt with by elected officials, and to make matters worse, worrying reports were coming in of their neighbour Bosaria. They had recently had a change of leader, and from the news coming over the border, changes were taking place, and not all of them for the good. Apparently, hundreds of government officials had been arrested and executed, all on jumped up charges of treason.