Free Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) by Donald Wigboldy Page B

the Hollow Swords and runes."
    "If only that would be the end of it," Serrena voiced her opinion and glared at Elzen. "If they talk Culmore and Neferen into sending you to Red Hall, I hate to see how many more are like them at that school."
    The fire wizard had become good friends with Ashleen and nearly worshipped Sebastian. A wizard following a mage, even a talented one like Bas, was unheard of; but she had been one of a handful to train with him for the Winter's Edge wizard duels. She was very loyal to her friends and hated the prejudice shown to them by wizards too full of themselves to see that they all had value.
    "I can't believe you told them to try and get Bas sent to Red Hall," the auburn haired wizard concluded looking like she wanted to throw a fireball at the boyish mage.
    In complete disregard to her temper, Elzen shrugged and gave a quick laugh. "If we can go somewhere warmer, it might be worth it. Red Hall can't be that bad."
    There were enough eyes rolling at that comment from the others to make an argument against that, but the walk led them to talk of other things. Since there were other pedestrians on the streets in spite of the cold, it was also best to keep such matters to themselves until they could speak in a more private manner.
    Protected from the worst of the cold by his air shield, they walked back to the inn. Elzen and Rilena still bunked at the mage barracks in the outer city most of the time, which meant they lounged in the combination dance hall and tavern occupying most of the first floor of the inn and would likely leave at the end of the night. Serrena stayed in the fire wizards' hall, which was closer to the inn; but on days like this no one really wanted to walk back through the cold.
    Sebastian led Ashleen up to their room and lay on one of the two beds keeping the soles of his boots extended just beyond the bedspread. The girl placed a hand on a dresser next to the door and pulled off her short boots before climbing onto the bed. She curled against his side and placed her head on his chest.
    Giving a deep sigh, the pretty blonde finally said, "It's been a long day. Maybe we should just stay here for the night or maybe a few days even?"
    Her content smile was missed as her cheek rested on his chest and she faced across his body. His hand brushed at the locks of blonde hair. Her hair was soft, but the flow of electricity coming from the earth was still enough to make straggling hairs fall slowly back down.
    The feel of her energy was a comfort to the man. Ashleen had been someone to resist at first, but they had always had chemistry and not just because of the electricity the girl harnessed.
    "The others would miss us and I doubt that we could skip dinner. Using magic like that has built my appetite, even after eating the food at the forge."
    She shifted to look up at him and said, "We could have Madame Alamore bring us something to eat, or I could help you sate your appetite in a different way."
    The smile on her lips was hardly subtle, and Sebastian certainly enjoyed those lips as well as the other delicacies she was suggesting. He tried to resist her temptations as much as possible. The mage had been raised to be conservative in his treatment of women as a boy on the farm, but in the army there was a saying that you needed to love while you could find it. Once raised to falcon, it was common to move between the guardian cities regularly. That meant leaving relationships behind all too often and making new ones if you could.
    While not every mage gave their hearts or bodies away in each new posting, he understood the meaning of the words. For Sebastian, he fell somewhere between the two notions. He had loved an apprentice healer. While deployed far from his love, he had met Ashleen and fought to be true to the girl he wasn't even sure that he would see again.
    Months later, Yara was gone and Ashleen remained. They were in love, but being a battle mage meant he was always busy. Well, it