Page 11 of Rune Assassin

Lusio pressed the stone against the markings and the glow faded. He pocketed the rock and smiled at me. “There. Let that be a lesson to everyone that outside practice and the competition, there is to be no magic use whatsoever.” He stepped back and clapped his hands together. “With that said, please enjoy your stay here and I shall see you tomorrow.” He bowed his head to us and left.

Morrigan quickly followed him but cast a dark look at Tegan and me. I scowled right back at her before she lifted her snooty nose and exited.

Cordelia sauntered over to Tegan and put her hand on her hip. “You must be in a lot of trouble to have that witch admiring your backside.”

Tegan grinned. “Let’s just say I don’t play nice with her hounds.”

Cordelia’s eyes flickered to me and her gaze fell on the ring on my finger. “You’ll have to tell me what you’ve been up to later. I have a feeling it’ll be a long conversation.”

“Perhaps,” Tegan casually replied.

Cordelia cast one last coy look at him before she strolled out of the room. I didn’t like the look she gave me before she left. It reminded me of a cat watching her prey.

CHAPTERSEVEN

Beringer walked upto us and held out his hand. “I haven’t properly introduced myself. My name is Alan Beringer.”

“Tegan,” Tegan replied as he shook his hand. “And this lovely creature beside me is Kate.”

“A pleasure,” I spoke up as I inclined my head.

He smiled and returned the gesture. “The pleasure is all mine, my dear.”

“I’m Fidel,” the young man chimed in as he offered his hand to Beringer. “I’m eager to see what you can do, sir.”

Beringer accepted the hand and looked his opponent over. “As do I, young man. Pray tell, what is your talent?”

Fidel sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “After that dinner, I’m not so sure I should tell anyone.”

“Then I shall tell you my secret first,” Beringer suggested as he lifted his cane. “This is the focus of my power.”

Fidel and I looked over the cane with a mix of confusion and curiosity, and the young man pointed at the rod. “The cane is magic and you use it?”

“Perhaps a demonstration would be in order,” Beringer suggested with a twinkle in his eyes. “Showing off my skills is a little weakness of mine so I shall be glad to do so. However, we should do this outdoors.”

Now my curiosity was really piqued and we three eagerly followed Beringer out through the back door and across the terrace to the sands. The gentleman stopped us a third of the way to the water’s edge where he used his cane to mark a line in the sand. “Please refrain from stepping past there. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee your safety.”

We obeyed his instructions to the letter and he continued his lazy stroll toward the ocean. Beringer stopped just ten feet shy of the edge and spun on his heels to face us. His eyes twinkled as he raised his cane just a few inches off the ground and then tapped it back.

The earth shook as though a meteor had impacted it. I yelped and fell against Tegan as Fidel also nearly lost his footing. Tegan righted me as his eyes remained on Beringer. “Very impressive.”

I looked at where Tegan’s eyes lay and my mouth fell open. The sands beneath the end of the cane were crushed down into a bowl some two feet deep. Large cracks had shot out in all directions from the point of contact and the sand cascaded into into the fissures like white waterfalls refilling the holes in nature.

I looked up at Tegan. “Is he like Tyran and his earth magic?”

Tegan folded his arms over his chest and furrowed his brow as he studied both the man and the cane. “Not quite. If my guess is correct, this man is capable of cleaving the earth but not forming it into anything new.”

“Quite right,” Beringer called from his position.

Fidel lifted an eyebrow. “But a lot of people can do that kind of magic.”

Beringer’s smile widened. “But few can do that.”

He lifted his cane and I prepared my feet for another rocking. That didn’t come even as he tapped the ground again. Instead, a thin fissure shot out from beneath his cane and raced toward us. Instinct told me to throw myself out of its path and Fidel looked to do the same, but Tegan clapped a hand on both our shoulders, keeping us in place.

The crack reached our position but stopped immediately at the line. The sand fell into the hole and quickly filled it back in, leaving not a trace of the magic. The only trace was my loudly beating heart as Tegan released Fidel and me.

“Nowthatis impressive,” Tegan complimented the man.

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