Battle Mage

Lenore followed the path of thin purple fog that slowly swirled along the stone floor. She was trying to be quiet, hesitating with each step.

She followed the enigmatic fog, knowing that there was probably no one else around who could see it. It led her down the hall, which turned out to be the living quarters for the magic school’s professional staff.

The staff seemed to prefer low lighting and anonymous doors. She couldn’t blame them. If she had to teach magic near the border of the war-torn Dragon Lands, she’d want to be anonymous, too. Proximity to the border wasn’t the only cause for anonymity: there was a rumor that every staff member had a connection to a prophecy that involved the Dragon Lands.

The most reliable oracle in the country of Elora was said to be living on campus. Somewhere. She would have been the one to give them those prophecies. Prophecies were only given to third-year students, though. This was Lenore’s first year.

She hadn’t even started classes: this was Lenore’s second day of getting settled before school was supposed to start. She spent most of the day signing up for her classes and getting materials. Curiosity wasn’t the only reason she was following the fog. She wanted to know if this kind of thing was normal.

Lenore took a deep breath. Since the fog wasn’t actual fog, it didn’t swirl in response to her breath. She had no idea what the fog was, but she had a few theories. Her number one theory: it was something her mind interpreted about the world around her. The sensation she got near the fog spoke of danger and foreboding. One of the many things she hoped to learn at this school was to sense the fog without having to see it. It could be distracting!

The door to the room the fog trailed into was slightly ajar. She dithered. She heard footsteps coming closer from down the hall. She wasn’t supposed to be there; no one else could see the fog, and someone might be in danger.

She had no choice. She was the only one who could figure out why the fog was there. She walked into the small private quarters of the anonymous staff member who had something dangerous lurking nearby.

She gently closed the door behind her. The footsteps walked past without hesitation. She turned to look around, listening.

I should have knocked! Terror ran through her as she realized how rude she was being.

Directly in front of her was a small living room, a low dining table, a small couch, a chair next to a curtained window, and two curtained doorways. She saw the fog going toward the kitchenette to her right. For a moment, she was mesmerized and followed it. She stopped when she saw purple fog pouring out of a cabinet on the wall next to the stove. This fog was thicker and moved a lot more furtively.

She jumped when she thought the cabinet door shuddered.

She took one step away from the kitchenette. She took a deep breath. She mentally prepared herself to explain to the apartment’s owner why she’d walked in.

“Hello?” First, she wanted to make sure there was no one there before she left to get help… from somewhere.

She heard a noise from the curtained doorway on the left. A man swiftly stepped out. He was completely naked and holding a towel, dripping water as if he had been in the middle of drying when he’d heard her.

Lenore’s jaw dropped at the scars and muscles that covered the man of her dreams. His tan lines said he spent a lot of time outside. His dark hair was shaved to the scalp except on the top, where it was long and fell to one side. His hair was soaking wet, and the longer strands curled wherever they touched his face. His eyes were piercing silver and green. His lips were thicker when they were openly staring at the audacity of the student in his quarters, but she knew his lips were usually pressed thin when he was in front of students.

This was the man she had been thinking about nonstop since the ceremony to welcome new students two days ago.

Taliesin Everhart! (internal screaming with excitement)

He was the school’s topmost battle mage and teacher of battle magic. He was famous for surviving a dragon attack and bringing down two dragons throughout his career at the school. He had graduated at the top of his class, but it had been clear he was not into giving speeches or being social.

As a member of staff, he’d given a short speech about the battle mage program. After the opening ceremonies, he stood next to the school’s Dean and shook hands as required. He even smiled amicably. But as soon as parents went about signing their kids up for classes, he disappeared and let the other battle magic teachers, instructors, and professors do the talking.

Lenore smiled with delight. It shook Taliesin out of his stare, and he covered his waist with the towel.

His voice was a growling whisper. “How did you get in here!?”

“The door was open.”

He did not believe her. “What do you think you are doing!?”

Lenore honestly forgot, but another idea she had been obsessing over popped into her head. “I noticed you aren’t married. Are you interested in a long engagement?”

He was surprised, but also looked at her like she was crazy. “I am a widower.”

She stepped forward, wanting to offer sympathy. Whatever she had been about to say stuck in her throat when she saw his angry steps toward her.

He pointed to the door. “Leave before I have you kicked out of school for indecent behavior.”

She bit her bottom lip, trying not to smile as she said, “I think you are the one who is indecent, Mr. Everhart.”

Her eyes roamed down his body, his towel only covering his waist and groin. His chest hair was thin and grew in density as it tapered to his navel. There were clearly places where the dragon attack had taken chunks of him, but the indentations weren’t unattractive to Lenore. The width of the scars was impressive, too: a testament to his unyielding strength. It was a strength she wanted to experience firsthand.

He ground his teeth together. “How old are you?”

She hesitated before she said, “Twenty-one.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

She only looked a little guilty: if it had worked, she would have been forced to lie for the rest of her life. “Eighteen?”

He looked away as disappointment washed over his body. “Three lies back to back? I’m not interested. Leave.”

Lenore felt her heart break a little. He was way too sexy to be alone. If he didn’t already have his sights set on someone, he would have plenty of options soon. The school recently realized female mages were just as important as males, so this year was the largest influx of female mages in any school ever. Next year was sure to be larger.

“Are you already dating someone? Or do you like dating multiple people? Is it really just my age?” She looked down at her body. “If my parents are any indication, I won’t get much taller, but if I follow my mom, I’ll-” She held up her hands to indicate a growth in the chest.

He panicked and put out his hand for her to stop. “Please don’t-”

She stepped forward to meet his hand. He almost fell back just to get away from her.

When she stopped advancing, he closed his eyes to take a deep breath. “Just leave, and we can pretend this didn’t happen.”

Lenore’s spirits dived. Anger washed over her. Here she was trying to be nice and let someone know they were in danger, but instead, she got rejected.

“Wait a second.” She glanced at the kitchen. “That’s right.” She stepped back and blushed. What the hell was wrong with her? Imposing herself on someone she was supposed to be helping. She opened her mouth to say why she was there in the first place, but frowned at him instead.

Looking away, she put up a hand to cover her view of him. “God, you’re so distracting. I didn’t come here to bother you. I was following a trail so I could warn you.”

She glanced at him as he put out his hand in disbelief. The towel slipped before he remembered to grab it.

“No more lies, Ms. Myrlande.”

He knows my name!? It was her turn to be stunned.

“I want you gone.” He stepped backward, clearly frustrated by his lack of clothes.

She watched him turn and go to the curtained room opposite the one he had come out of. She heard him getting dressed, but the light in the room was failing. It was getting late. No doubt the cafeteria was already open for dinner.

She looked nervously at the kitchenette. Whatever was over there was moving through the cabinets impatiently. Now, though, there was a sickly neon green mixing in with the purple. If it was moving, it was a creature. She suspected the green meant it was poisonous. But it hadn’t been moving so much before. Did that mean it had been asleep or resting before? Was it stuck in the cabinets?