Free Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga) by D.W. Jackson Page A

Some of the warriors simply slapped him on the back while others grabbed and squeezed at his shoulders and a few punched him solidly in the arm hard enough that Thad knew he would have a bruise latter.
    The festivities carried on until Thad was so tired he could barely stand. The dark assassins were not what he would have figured. Even the Vathari stories told of the menacing fighting force of the assassins. Instead of finding a bunch of brooding killers, he was surprised to find a close knit group of soldiers who treated each other like family. After everything quieted down Thad found himself at a table with a half dozen of the assassins. Thad was brought out of his heavy contemplations when the warrior next to him slapped him hard on the back. “What has you so worked up brother?”
    Thad looked over to the hulking giant of a warrior. “I must say it is not what I had thought I would find.”
    The warrior gave a dark laugh. “We are outcasts even among our own kind. We are feared and for good reason. We are trained killers not simple warriors. That mindset wears on a person and those around him so we band together with only those who can truly understand us, our brother assassins. Now you number among our group. It does not matter what race you belong to, the road your gift will take you will be a bloody one. Be wary my friend, few will ever truly understand the burden that will weigh on your shoulders.”
    Th e next few days Thad spent all his time with the dark assassins. He had learned how to use his gift though the cold feeling he got when he stepped into the shadows felt as if someone had dipped him into ice. Moving his whole body through the shadows was easy it was learning to allow a blade to pass through him that sent shivers down his spine. He had managed to do it twice but that was out of numerous tries that had left him battered and bruised. His brother assassins had cheered him on saying it could take a dozen years to begin to master the skill of the blessing.
    Thad’s time of departure quickly approached until it was only a day away. His last night in Xi’han Thad spent alone in his chambers with the many books he had been researching. It would be hard to leave behind the friends he had made. Sae-Thae was more than a friend but in many ways his real master in the arts of magic. Bahia though distant and cold would always hold a special place in his memory, and finally the dark assassins would always be his brothers for they shared a gift and a burden that tied them together.
    Thad ran his fingers over a specific passage detailing another mage ’s visit to Xi’han. He had shared many of the same feelings and thoughts Thad had, though they weren’t quite the same. Thad wondered if thousands of years from now a mage much like himself would read over his own writings as he tried to settle his mind about what the future might hold. As Thad drifted off to sleep his mind continued to whirl around everything that had happened over the past few years.
    Thad once again found himself in the darkness watching Maria. She had grown a lot during their time apart, and even though he knew that it was only a dream his chest began to hurt as he stared at her. She no longer wore the light dresses of a young princess attending balls. No she was dressed in sturdy battle leather with a golden crown engraved on her chest. Thad wondered why he viewed her in such a light. Maria was a lot of things but a warrior was far removed from how he viewed her. Was his mind trying to tell him something or was there more to it than he understood.

CHAPTER VIII
    Thad stood on the outskirts of Xi’han with his escort of dark assassins who swore to get him back into dwarven land without incident. Standing in front of him was Sae-Thae who had come to see him off. In his hands he held a large package which he handed to Thad. “On such short notice I was only able to get a few of the books you wanted copied, I also had the leatherworkers create