Six of Ruin (Heirs of Irenwell #1) ✔

Chapter 19: As the High Earth Mage of Naz

Fear gave place to awkwardness as our group took in the small, wrinkled man angrily waving with his walking stick, the crease between his brows deepening. The warthog jumped around the mage, wagging its pointy tail.

Danilo stepped forward with his usual 'I-am-a-knight' stroll, "Good afternoon, I am Sir Danilo of Danth-"

"I don't give a rat's ass!" The man shouted. "What have you done to the wolves? If you killed any of them, I will skin you alive!"

"The wolves are fine." Danilo cleared his throat. "Worthy opponents, for sure-"

"Did it feel like I was interested in talking to you?" The man sneered. "Out with whatever it is you want and get out of here. Disturbing an old man's slumber like that."

"Uh," I pushed down the nervousness, "We're here to speak to the mage."

"Mage?" The man's eyes widened. "You're not worthy of speaking to the mage."

"Excuse me?" I put my hands on my hips.

Danilo immediately tried to stop me, "Irina-"

"No, no." I cut him off and turned to the old man. "Do you have any idea who we are?"

The old man offered a self-satisfied smile, "Do I know who you are?"

The mock was unmistakable and I was suddenly not so sure in myself.

"Let's see." The old man pointed at me. "An entitled, self-centred whore."

The gasp fell off my lips.

The man pointed at Danilo, "A high-up-his-ass, elitist prick."

At Nickeltinker, "A squandered potential."

At Torvald, "A tortured brute without basic grasp of abstract thought."

And at Rixen, "And an immature, daddy-didn't-love-me rebel without a cause."

There was no proper way to explain the shock that settled between us. Awkward coughs and ashamed glances followed.

The old man seemed beyond satisfied with the outcome of his remarks, "Did I guess that correctly?"

Nickeltinker chuckled, "To a tee."

The man grinned, "Well, goodbye to you all. Do not ever return."

And he turned around to walk away.

"Wait." Rixen called out, apparently just now finding his ability to talk. "We asked for the mage's help, we sent a letter-"

"Why do you people always think you're entitled to a response?" The old man faced us again. "The mage is not interested! He even hung the damn bird at his front door in case any of you little monsters came snooping around."

"But we need help." Slight desperation lingered in Danilo's voice. He lost all of his usual prideful demeanour. "The magic in the land is awakening and we were sent to unlock the tome in Orathia. We cannot do it without a mage."

The old man arched his white brow, "Do you think I am some kind of a recluse? I know what's going on in the world." The old man halted for a second, then raised his voice. "The mage is not interested!"

There. The way he caught his own slip-up in between the sentences told me everything I needed to know.

He was the mage.

I lifted the hem of my dress and pouted, "Well, alright, then. I suppose we should leave. There has to be another, more powerful mage out there who can help."