Master of the elements, p.6
MASTER OF THE ELEMENTS,
p.6
On the ship, a crew lowered a boat and climbed onto it. Ten oarsmen made fast work cutting through the gentle waves, and the boat skimmed quickly toward them.
A young man in a robe identical to Raelen’s stood at the bow.
She glanced quickly at the man beside her. Raelen had lost more age after their encounter in the storm, and now he appeared no older than her own two-and-twen-
ty years. He stared straight ahead of him, his head held high. But his jaw was tense and his eyes wide. He felt the same misery she did, but he obviously wouldn’t say a word to keep her with him.
Curse the man. Her throat tightened and she looked out over the sea again.
Finally their visitors arrived. One of the crewmen jumped onto the dock and tied the boat to a piling. The other mage came next.
Smiling, he walked to Elsbeth, took her hands in his and bowed until his forehead rested against her fingers. “Mother.”
She looked up to Raelen for an explanation.
“It’s a term of respect,” he said. “Only for the wisest of our women.”
The mage dropped her hands and straightened. “I’m Jace.”
“Will you accompany me to Shandikar, Jace?” she asked. Her voice came out even and strong. She would do this, and no one on the ship would guess how her heart ached.
“Not I,” Jace answered.
That clearly surprised Raelen. His head snapped around and he stared at Jace. “I don’t understand.”
“The mother does,” Jace answered.
Both men studied her. They expected some answer from her, but what?
“You must feel it inside you,” Jace said.
She did feel something. Like the fluttering of an insect’s wing. She had since she’d awakened near dawn.
“You’re remembering now, aren’t you?” Jace said.
“My dream,” she said.
Jace nodded.
“It’s real?”
“The seers on board have read the signs all morning,” Jace clapped Raelen on the arm. “You’re going to be a father, old man.”
Raelen’s jaw dropped. “But I can’t.”
Jace laughed. “You didn’t. The mother and her love did.”
Raelen turned to her and took her hands in his. “How is it possible?”
“We men are puny things next to a woman. Even we immortals,” Jace said.
“Which, by the way, you’re not any longer.”
Raelen sucked in a breath as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. “I’m not, am I?”
“Now I don’t understand,” Elsbeth said.
“When one of us creates a child, we surrender our powers to the gods,” Jace
said. “It almost never happens, but you seem to have managed.”
“Raelen, is it possible?” She looked up into his face.
Raelen’s expression changed. His features softened, and the haunted look left his eyes. Instead of a powerful master of the elements, he looked like an ordinary man.
A very stunning man, but mortal. Then, he gave her a smile that warmed her heart.
“You’ve worked a miracle.”
“I’ve made you happy?”
“You’ve given me a life with the woman I love. And a child. Gods, a child.”
“But, I’ve taken your immortality.”
“He has a new immortality, a child to carry on for him,” Jace said. “The two of you will go back to Shandikar and live out your lives.”
Could that be possible? True hope blossomed inside her right next to the fluttering that was her child.
“Would you do that for me, Raelen?”
Jace laughed. “He’d cursed well better, or The Guild will come out here and collect him.”
Raelen’s smile broadened. “Shandikar, you, and my child.”
“Your child will be a powerful mage,” Jace said. “He or she will need the guid-ance of both parents. Go home, Raelen.”
“Yes,” He pulled Elsbeth into his arms and held her against his chest. She clung to him, her heart beating near his. She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled at Jace.
“Who will take care of the local people?” Raelen asked.
“I’ve been looking for a place to serve,” Jace said. “I had a good feeling about this voyage, so I took it.”
“You’ve studied the elements?” Raelen said.
“For a few years. I’ve brought books, and I imagine you’ve left notes for me to study as well.”
“Many,” Raelen said.
“Well, there you are, then,” Jace said.
“So we can really go to Shandikar together?” Elsbeth asked. “We can really, really go?”
Jace smiled. “And soon, before you lose the tide.”
She smiled up at Raelen, and tears—the good kind—blurred her vision. He stroked the side of her face and kissed her gently. An hour ago, she’d thought never to feel his lips on hers again, never to bask in the warmth of his body. Now she’d have him for a lifetime, and in Shandikar. With his child. What blessings she’d
received. She kissed him back with every bit of joy and love in her.
Jace’s throat cleared, and she pulled back from the kiss, her skin heating in what must be a livid blush.
The sailors had unloaded several trunks onto the dock and put hers into the boat.
She and Raelen needed only to climb aboard, and her every dream would come true.
Jace held out a hand to her. “Allow me, mother.”
She placed her fingers in his, and he led her to the boat. Raelen got onboard first and then helped her to join him. The oarsmen pushed off and set a solid rhythm toward the main ship.
Raelen turned her toward the ship and pulled her body against his. “Now, my love, let me give you Shandikar.”
“And yourself.”
“And myself. For life.”
About the author:
Alice Gaines loves the fantastic and the ultra-sensual. Writing gives her the opportunity to combine these two pleasures. Besides spinning tales in her head, Alice’s passions include vegetable gardening, the San Francisco 49ers, and America’s Test Kitchen. Alice has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and lives in Oakland, California with her two pet corn snakes, Casper and Sheikh Yerbouti. Feel free to email Alice at algaines@
pacbell.net .
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Document Outline
Master of the Elements Master of the Elements: Chapter 1
Master of the Elements: Chapter 2
Master of the Elements: Chapter 3
Master of the Elements: Chapter 4
Alice Gaines, MASTER OF THE ELEMENTS
