Wilder Mage Read Free Page A

ballet of pain slowed her movements.
    He studied her pained progression, then slipped a hand under her elbow, as if to steady her. With his touch, the fixed magic from his ward stone folded onto her. Unconsciously, she sighed and moved with increased vigor.
    The elements of Air and Fire soothed her joints. Air to cradle and support her weight, Fire to add warmth. She felt less pain, and the slow, aching dance eased into movement that was more fluid.
    Discovery was the problem. Working small amounts of fixed magic left no trace, the signature undetected unless another mage stood within a few feet of him. The stroke of his fingers gave her a few hours of relief from the dull ache of her arthritis. It was worth the risk.
    Fixed magic was the infusion of elements onto an object. Gathering those elements from the surrounding magic left a signature any mage could read, a trace of the power used to pull the elements in and then fix them to an article. When he drew large amounts of magic from the phantasms swirling around him, adepts from miles around would notice and the Imperium would send its wizards to check out the use of “wilder” magic. His life always got interesting for a while after that. Using the fixed magic of the ward stone threw no signature, as long as he used it with care. Safer than using gathered magic, but not as potent as the wild streams that spiraled around the unsuspecting people in glittering trails.
    With his use of his talent came responsibility, to himself and to his friends. For now, he had done all he could for Maggie.
    Emmett made regular trips to the cooking hood. Soon, the smell of the apple wood and cooking beef enveloped the shop, and the morning passed quickly. With a last inspection, Justus wiped the round tables and viewed the eatery. He edged to the window and smiled slightly when he saw Maggie engrossed in a laughing conversation with her husband. A haze of fragrant smoke enveloped them as she gestured and Emmett turned the meat on the grill. For the moment, Justus was alone.
    With one eye on the couple, he pulled in a deep breath and held his hands away from his body. Justus sent his senses outward, testing and feeling for adepts in the area, looking for their magical signatures. He felt the McIntyres’ aura, as well as the people walking along the sidewalk. No mages. Only humans.
    Justus dropped his senses and sent a questing element made of Earth around the room, looking for glass or dirt, the amount of gathered magic minute, but detectable if another adept was within a hundred feet. Shards of glass and bits of dirt whirled out from cracks and from under the bar, creating a mass about the size of a cereal bowl. It whispered like sand along the floor and formed a small vortex at his feet.
    From the barbecue area in the back yard, Maggie laughed, and Emmett said something in a low voice, then the sound of his laughter joined hers. Justus released the gathered magic quickly, and the bits of glass brushed the leg of his black jeans before dropping to the floor. He hissed when he saw shards of glass had stuck to the material and tried to brush it away with his hand. A moment later, he realized his mistake, and now his curse was louder with the sight of the particles of glass stuck to his hands. He finished sweeping the pile into a dustpan, when Maggie walked stiffly through the doorway, her eyes still sparkling from Emmett’s teasing.
    “All the work done, then?” she asked. “Did I get back in time?”
    “Just finishing up here,” Justus said with a low chuckle. He wiped up the last of the fragments with a damp paper towel and threw it away with the trash. “There, that’s it. Time to get cookin’.”
    He brushed his black jeans to ensure nothing glimmered there and clenched his teeth at the sting in his palm. Nothing seemed attached to the dark blue material of his shirt, at least.
    Before long, the odor of meat grilled in Emmett’s outdoor cooker filtered not only into the shop,