Heaven's Light (Book 1)

Chapter 10 - Jeriah

"Hallelujah! We're finally here!" I exclaimed, pounding my fists together. "Now, where's this Brill Gaskin guy? I've got a hankering for some combat."

Red hopped off of the rustic train and habitually drew his crimson cape around his shoulders. "Maybe, if you wait a moment, Terra will tell us where to find him," he answered, rolling his eyes.

I felt so jittery about going on requests again, I couldn't contain my anticipation. "Do you think I'll get to fight him, Red? It's about time I tangled with somebody!"

"Do you even hear yourself? What if this guy hears you?" Red hissed.

"Enough, you two, Brill Gaskin is close by."

Ashura stepped from the train and joined our little conversation, making a group of three. Her black cloak reflected the light of the setting sun, blinding all who looked at it. There was something different about her; her golden hair now beheld streaks of midnight black highlights. Red and I exchanged glances.

"How do you know he's close by?" Red asked her.

Ashura shoved two fists on her hips. "Do you two not sense the magical power around us?" she questioned. "Brill Gaskin is right..."

She shot her left hand in the air, straight above her golden head, winds tossing our cloaks and hair about our faces. Purple, fiery tendrils exploded from her palm and raced to a particular destination in the sky. Suddenly, a purple outline of a man was burning in the sky, a little too close to us for comfort.

"Impressive!" a deep voice expressed, coming from the fiery outline.

Ashura slammed her arm down to a horizontal position, purples flames dispersing from the burning silhouette, leaving a man standing on the ground. He was an older man with a gray beard and a brown business suit, his tie of a cream color. Interesting fashion statement. He stood stoically with his arms clasped behind his back. His features seemed to be of a friendly nature, accompanied by a no-nonsense gait.

"You wizards are definitely the ones I've been waiting for," he said, turning toward Ashura. "You know, you're the first person to ever sense my presence in the sky? I have never been snuffed out before and definitely didn't expect a fire wizard to be the first one to see through my incognito magic."

Ashura stared at the ground sheepishly. "It wasn't that impressive," she replied modestly, toying with the edge of her cloak.

He smiled at her and turned to take in all three of us. He opened his wrinkled mouth to say something, but closed it. His white eyes darted between, around, and behind us. My conclusion was that he was confused about something.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" I asked as politely as I could.

"It's just..." after another quick roundabout glance, he looked at us again. "It's just that I was told there were supposed to be four of you. Was there a change in plans between my message and your arrival?"

"No, there are four of us," I assured him.

Brill Gaskin rose a bushy eyebrow at me and recounted the three of us over and over again, making sure he wasn't the stupid one here. "There are three of you here," he bluntly stated.

Ashura bowed her head to hide an omniscient smirk. "You really need to learn how to sense sources of magical power."

As if on cue, the black streaks within Ashura's hair began to move, almost as if it dripped. Like water droplets, black liquid trickled from her hair and restored it to its full golden glory, leaving a thin circle of black liquid on the cobblestone, surrounding her. Ashura stepped out of the encirclement and crossed her arms, seemingly satisfied with Brill Gaskin's pathetic, jaw-dropped facial expression.