Rune mage

Chapter 25: emptied

The class with Lutsel started the same as it had been going. I stood and recited the mage laws while having to subsist on shallow breaths. I hadn't figured out yet how to protect myself from whomever was using air to attack me.

I had however gotten a little further each week, so in some ways I was growing.

The door opened and I stopped speaking. The person who entered looked slightly familiar, but with as little as I could breathe, my thinking was not sharp.

Once the door was closed again, Lutsel pulled a backless seat in front of me. "Sit."

I sat slowly. A desk was moved in front of me.

"Put your hands, palm up on the desk." Lutsel ordered.

Once my hands were in place, the newcomer reached over and clasped something to the desk and my hands. I looked stupidly at the cuffs and then to Lutsel.

"Did you or did you not nearly drain a student today?" Lutsel asked.

"It was an accident," I replied.

"So the answer is yes."

I nodded, "yes."

"His power is not high enough to have stollen power," the newcomer said.

"Stored it. I couldn't give it back. I will." I still couldn't breathe properly.

"You will know what it feels like to be drained." Lutsel said and dropped a hot rock into my hand. He cupped my fingers around the rock, burning my fingers as well as palm. I couldn't scream, unable to get in enough air.

Then he took the rock away.

"Heal yourself."

I pulled the wellness rune power to me and panted as the healing worked.

"What is the fourth mage law?" Lutsel asked.

"No mage...may cause...harm unless...threat," the actual law had more wording but I was struggling.

This process was repeated until the other person in the room said, "he is nearly empty, but I have heard rune mages carry stores of power."

So the hot rock was retuned to my hand. I had tears running down my face. I couldn't breathe enough to scream but I could and did moan.

I had no choice but to run though my stored power. The moment my hands would be healed they would drop a freshly heated rock onto the new skin and demand I recite the fourth law.

I emptied my power reserves, too out of breathe to even plead.

I used all four reserves.

They only stopped when my hands didn't heal. It was painful to attempt to pull power, like I was tugging on a wound with salt covered fingers.

"He doesn't seem to have any more to give."

My hands were released and a flash of healing went through me. It wouldn't fill my power back, but there was no evidence of harm done.

"What about his other professors?"

Lutsel scoffed, "they are here to do the same as I am, make it appear the school trained him without actually training him. Why do you think they brought in Lee? She's half dead. She can spend some time training this... pathetic excuse of a mage, and then die happy. And Fa Mai? He doesn't even have magic. He's just teaching him movements to give the appearance of training him. No one will be able to point out a failure. Everyone who he believes is a friend, has alternate and selfish designs on the lad. Even that fool tavern owner. Everyone knows she's a Merc. She has benefited from tending to the lad but when he's no longer useful? She would abandon him like any other mercenary. He drained his friend, so Fredric is unlikely to want anything to do with him. Isa is stupidly in love with Fredric so she will likely avoid this one for his crime against Fredric. Every person in his life is there to gain something. And he's too stupid to notice. Help him to his feet. I want him to walk out on his own power."

I walked the way a drunk man might. Once I was out of the room, I leaned heavily on the wall. Instinctively I reached for my strength rune and the lack of power felt like grabbing for fire.

Which reminded me that I had never figured out how to use Fredric's power. I fumbled with the rune charm, made of clay since I was not sure it would work. Then I crushed it under my foot. I used the dirt created to sketch the power absorbing rune, which gave me enough power to get myself to the arena, which was closer than the tavern.

I found myself collapsing at the edge of the dirt. I could feel the power available to me in the nearby web. I reached for it but needed a few more feet before I was close enough to access it.

So I crawled. My breathing came in gasps, my heart beat was unsteady. I got close enough and tapped into it. The flow was slow but steady.

*
"He alive?"
"Only just."
"What are we going to do?"

"We could kill him. He's almost dead any way. Just get an air mage in here and finish the job."
I didn't know who I was listening to, but I might have welcomed death just then. The last words of Lutsel had been playing on repeat in my head - was there anyone who wanted me to succeed?

"Neither of us are air mages and by the time we found one someone else would find him."
Someone tugged on my hair.

"Yes. Always hated this damn hair."

They were quiet as they worked, but it was only a few moments before they both swore and ran away when voices approached.

"Did you see them?" Lee asked Fa Mai.
"I didn't recognize them, but will know them when I see them again."
I was lifted, taking me away from the power web. I felt my body seize up.
Fa Mai swore as he tightened his hold.

*
"What the fuck happened to him?" Reconna was yelling.
"I don't know!" Steph shouted back. "Half my roof is leaking! Is he dying? Is that why?"
"Would it help if he had the stolen beads? Someone took a knife to his braids. We could go search for them," Lee said.

I felt for my power and found that I had without thought pulled from the tavern's web. I still only had enough power to live.

"He's not dying, but whatever training you lot are doing seems like that's the goal. He did very nearly die. He will need at least a day to have enough power to stay alive."

A hand touched my face and I flinched, though there was no movement in my body. My mind flinched.

And pulled more power.

"Enough," Reconna said and pushed a sleep onto me.

*
"The roof is back to rights," Steph said, her voice exhausted. "I wish knew what happened."

"I spoke with Lutsel. He said the lad walked out on his own power after class. He was pretty evasive about what was done. He said he was doing what we all were doing and left."

There was a pause.

"I haven't seen someone that far drained in years." Fa Mai said. "I really thought he'd die before I could get him to you. He seized in my arms."

"What's the word at the school?" Lee asked. I hadn't heard her so she either just joined or had been silent.

"He has been granted a healing rest period of three days. The same that was given to Fredric. Only Fredric was not nearly this drained. And he was...euphoric." Fa Mai said. "Apparently the effort it takes to keep fire magic contained is a burden and when the fire power was removed..."

"I didn't see any rune charms on him, did someone also steal the new one that he used on Fredric?"

"Possibly. It was clay though, a test." Fa Mai said. "And completely in keeping with what we had asked of him. My only words to him were that he should not experiment without one of us present."

My ability to follow their conversation slipped as exhaustion returned.  I know Reconna stopped by again. I know Fredric came by, as did Noav and Lu. Isa came once and alternated between crying and swearing. Then it was dark and another pain filled Me.

It was a pain that wasn't physical.

For the first time in years.

I wanted to be home. I wanted to sit at my mother's feet and have her stroke my hair and tell me that I would be alright.

That I was loved.

Darkness had enveloped me