After the two boys were thrown back, his vision of the world changed. Streams of colour floated everywhere, and when he looked down at himself stumbling along towards the gate, his body was spewing smoky grey streams of light. Whatever this was, he felt it in his eyes.
“Not again, what happened this time? Gabe, What happened out there?” Clara asked, running to meet Gabe and Marcus as they stumbled into the corner alley they had decided to make their own.
“Geneva, bring some water. Marcus has been injured.” Gabe rushed over to the pile of clothing and laid Marcus down as gently as he could.
“What? Water. We have no clean water,” Geneve said as she looked at Marcus in panic and horror.
“Give me a cloth, and let’s see how bad it is,” Geneve said. She reached for her shirt and tore a good portion of her sleeve off. She handed the shirt to Clara and watched as she cleaned off the blood.
“Where is Zek and the others? We need to get out of this place. There is no telling if they will follow us.”
“Why would they follow you?” Clara looked up at Gabe to make sure the boy wasn’t being followed by guards.
“He used magic in the city.” Clara and the others looked at him, the question lurking.
“Zek and the others are in the Ashfields looking for scrapings to sell.
Geneva, carry him. we are heading back to the guild,” Clara ordered.
“Will he be able to see,” Geneve asked, looking at him as they ran.
“Jethro, we need your help. " They walked into the guild, straight into the merchant’s makeshift tent, and placed Marcus on the ground.
“You can't just come in,” Jethro said, jumping off his cloth bed.
“How much?” Clara asked, looking at Marcus and back to Jethro.
“What?” Jethro asked, getting off his bed and putting his coat over his shoulder.
“How much to heal him,” she asked.
“You want me to heal him again," Jethro asked, turning away and grabbing a smoking pipe and lighting it.” This will cost you five large coppers.”
“Done. I will do it.”
Jethro placed his smoking pipe on a small table outside his tent and looked at Marcus, whose face was filled with blood.
The shady merchant cleaned away the blood on Marcus’s face and healed the boy.
“Geneva, Gabe, what happened? We heard that you guys left our camp next to the wall,” Zek said and saw Jethro kneeling over Marcus. "What happened?"
“He was attacked by Aasimar in Dosa. We had to run all day to get here,” Gabe answered, looking at Clara, who was biting her fingernails.
“We must have missed you after you left he looked down at Marcus. Will he be alright?”
“Yes, he will, " Jethro said, sitting back on his old cloth bed. “The boy's lucky he didn’t lose an eye," he added, winded from using his healing act.
“Clara, I heard you were back,” Agmak called out, and Gabe could see her anger coming to a tipping point.
Stolen story; please report.
She left the tent and met the young Goliath before they could come close to the tent, “What do you want, Agmak?”
“Our coin, or did you forget,” Agmak said, glaring at her.
Clara’s eyes didn’t leave Agmak’s. She unfolded her wraps from her shoulder, walked over to the tent Jethro was sitting under, and placed the five large coppers on the man’s small table. He walked over to the Goliath, stretched out her hands, holding the wrapping and unfolded them in front of Agmak. Five small coppers and one large copper fell out, there it is, you have all our
Agmak looked down for a moment and then spoke, having counted the coins.” That's not enough, you will still have to pay two coppers to keep them.”
That night, morning came too early for Clara and her gang. Yesterday, they had fled from one of the alleys next to the wall where they had made their camp to the Rats Guild cave, where they spent the night. Despite the rays of morning sunshine that lit the guild whole that morning, they decided to sleep in.
Unlike everyone else, Marcus was the last to wake, and he was sturdiest by the thin face of a girl looking down at him with her big, round eyes.
“Ethne!” Marcus blinked.
Ethne was the youngest of the eight and the youngest of the three girls. Like him, her eyes had brown gold iris.
“Clara, Clara, he’s awake,” Ethne ran as she called out quickly, leaving the group’s tent of rugs. A moment later, Clara and Gabe burst into the tent.
“Marcus are you okay? Gabe told me what happened.”
“Am alright,” Marcus said moving his hand to his face and felt a scar running from his left eyebrow to his cheek he breathed deeply feeling the tension leaving his shoulder as he blinked and realized he could see out of both of his, he laughed in relief.
“Are you alright?” Gabe asked, looking at him with a confused expression.
“Jethro said you were lucky not to lose an eye,” Clara pointed out a thin smile on her face.
“Yah, thanks Gabe wouldn’t have made it out of there without you .” Marcus said and Gabe turned his eyes away. He had doubtless not forgotten what he had done to drive a wedge between them.
“Gabe told me you did most of the work,” Clara said.” Did you use magic?”
“Don’t know was trying not freak out about losing my eye,”
“Freak. Out.” Clara tried to make out the words, she forgot that. She shook her head in amusement, “Last time you didn’t know how to use katch paper,” She pulled out the dirty brown paper from her rags and held it out, “this time here do it exactly the same way you did when you used your magic.”
Marcus stood up and grabbed the katch paper. He looked at the two pairs of eyes still skeptical about magic but he couldn’t dismiss the wired colours he had seen and the cold buzz as he was dragged away from the market streets of dosa.
Marcus looked down at the paper and remembered that feeling he felt as they ran towards the slum city away from the gate. He looked at the paper intently, willing it to change and it did. It started with Marcus’s name then illustrated symbols ,numbers and words like a DaVinci illustration. Unlike when Gabe pushed his mana into the paper when it had looked simple with affinity symbols on none of the symbols to symbolize innate magic and to the far left where the numbers appeared. And he understood the words.
Marcus
Affinity Strength/ Power
Light 2
Dark 3
Elemental 0
Arcane 9
Psychic 7
Shadow 8
Bloodline 6
Innate magic: Arcane sight, Nova of Shadow sun
Gabe could do nothing but stare at the katch paper as words left his mouth “what— what are you?”
“Is this good,” Marcus asked, looking at the both of them.
“I have never seen anything like this, two innate magics.” Clara couldn’t tear her eyes away from the katch paper. She had never seen anything like this, and where she felt strong now, she simply felt weak.
“You— you have two innate magics! and look at these other two affinities above five marks two more innate magics,” Gabe stammered with excitement.
“You can never show this to anyone. In fact, Gabe, " she grabbed the thin teenage boy, “you must forget what you have seen here?”
“Is it that dangerous?”
“Yes,” Victor Stan will never let someone like you go.” Clara mattered to herself.
“Whose he?”
“That’s the guild master,” Gabe said.
“If Victor finds out you’re stronger than him he will kill you,” Clara said
“Kill me. Then what do we do? What should I do?” Marcus asked, “Can I get rid of this somehow.”
“Why would you want to do that? Your innate magic can help us all as long as we keep it a secret,” Gabe asked, his face filled with confusion and horror.
Even in another world power corrupted and Marcus knew that those in power would not take kindly to another powerful force growing in their backyard.
“This is exciting with you and Clara. We can survive and get more people under us,” Gabe said, his eyes taking on a far look.
“We can’t do that yet, " Clara raised her hand, cutting off Gabe.” Do you even know how to use your magic,” she turned to Marcus.
“I don't. I think it just happened.”
“Let's do that first, let's get you to learn about your magic.”
“Are you going to ask old man Ivor for help?”
“Yes.”
“But the guild master and the others told us not to talk to him,” Gabe pointed out in a hushed whisper, which was anything but a whispered concern.
“That’s why we have to,” She said, thinking.
“Will I be able to do what you can do like your hands of fire?” Marcus asked, looking from the magical katch paper.
“No, you don’t have any element affinity,” Gabe said.
“What does that mean?” he looked up at him.
“It means no fire, no wind, no earth and no water magic for you.” Clar counted off on her finger.
“How can you tell,” Marcus looked down at the paper, confused.
“See that’s why we have to talk to old man Ivor.”