Feral Mage Book 2: Chapter 23

Callie walked through the tavern door and sighed in relief when she saw Bellamy. When the woman wasn’t at the inn they had booked to stay at, Callie started searching the taverns. That was perhaps two hours ago.

“You’ve been busy,” she said, gesturing to the empty mugs on the table.

“Go away,” Bellamy growled, working on another mug of ale.

Callie glared at her, then pulled out a chair and sat down. She then waved to the bartender.

“Bring me a round of what she’s having.”

Bellamy was staring at her with narrowed eyes.

“What? You thought I would listen to you?” Callie scoffed. “So what are we drinking to? Other than, Bryce is a bastard, of course.”

Bellamy snarled at her. Callie honestly thought the woman was more feral without her Aspects active.

“So you saw another woman claiming the man you once loved as hers and now are trying to drown yourself in cheap ale,” Callie said as the bartender set a mug in front of her. She lifted it and took a sip, frowning. “Very cheap ale.”

Bellamy groaned.

“Will you just shut up, please!”

Callie shrugged.

“I will if you tell me what happened.”

Bellamy downed her mug, slamming it hard on the table.

“Why?”

“Because you clearly need someone to talk to about it, at least before Bryce comes to find you.”

Bellamy laughed.

“Why would he come to find me? I failed him, I failed Thea. I’m a horrible teacher.”

Callie rolled her eyes.

“He still cares for you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked me where you were. Also, you trained a man who stepped back from becoming a chimera, so I doubt you’re a horrible teacher.”

Callie lifted her mug only to hear the sound of glass breaking. Bellamy stared at her in disbelief. Her mug shattered on the floor, where it fell from her hand.

“That’s not possible,” she said.

Callie nodded.

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

Bellamy’s eyes searched hers as if looking for a hint of her lying.

“I need to talk to him.”

Bellamy tried to stand, only to immediately stumble. Callie reached out to steady her.

“No, I doubt you’re sober enough to talk to him coherently.”

Bellamy made a half-hearted attempt to push her away.

“He could help Thea,” she said, a slight slur to her voice.

“Then tomorrow you can ask for his help. Right now, you’ll switch to water, and we’ll chat so that you don’t turn tail and run when the annoying mutt is her usual self.”

Bellamy glared at her again, but sat back down.

“I’m going to take a wild guess that your nightmare is related to why you and Bryce split. So let’s start there,” Callie said. “Where did you take Bryce?”

“Home. I took him home,” Bellamy said as she watched the barmaid sweep up the broken mug. “We were on our way to Havenport with plans to take a ship to the southern islands for winter. I had hoped to map some of the islands and perhaps find a monster for Bryce’s second Aspect.”

Callie arched an eyebrow.

“Map?”

Bellamy nodded.

“My father was a cartographer. I practice his trade as well.”

The Aspect Mage’s lips thinned, and Callie knew there was more, but didn’t press.

“We passed through where he grew up, only to learn the local Baron was embroiled in a war with another noble. Bryce began acting strangely when he heard this. I ignored it, figuring he would return to his usual self once we left the area. When we arrived at Havenport, I saw him talking to a mercenary at our inn. That night he vanished.”

Bellamy paused and gestured to Callie’s ale. She nodded, and Bellamy took the mug, downing the contents.

Not like one more would make the difference now.

“I tracked his scent to the Baron’s castle. A battle raging outside its walls, but I smelled blood in the keep when I flew over with my Griffin Aspect,” Bellamy grimaced. “Bryce had slaughtered everyone in there.”

Callie shrugged.

“I saw you use your Aspects to crush a man to death and pluck the heads off cowering hunters.”

The barmaid’s eyes widened and she paled, then Callie watched her rush away from their table.

“I killed them, but I killed them quickly. This was cruel. He wanted them to suffer. He gutted the priest in the chapel, then hacked to pieces the statue of the harvest goddess. The hallways were filled with dozens of dead soldiers, most probably conscripts from the Baron’s land. He quartered the Baron’s tax collector, and when I finally found Bryce, he was sitting in the lord’s seat watching the Baron slowly die from his poison.”

Bellamy shook her head.

“I knew he lost his family and partly blamed the Baron, but… the Bryce I saw there was a different person than the farmboy I had taken as my pupil, than the man I loved.”

Tears started to run down Bellamy’s face as she sniffled.

“He probably needed me at that moment to guide him back and be his anchor, but I was angry. I felt he had picked his revenge over me, over the plans we made together. I felt betrayed that all I taught him was just a tool for vengeance.

“Instead, I turned my back and left him, flying out of the keep as the walls were overrun and the castle fell. Bryce returned the next morning to the inn. A bag of silver coins in his hand, payment for the bounty on the Baron. As soon as I saw him, I unleashed all that anger at him that had festered in me over the night. When I was done, I told him I never wanted to see him again.”

Bellamy covered her face with her hands.

“I considered him a failure for years, but now I know it was me. I’m the failure. If I hadn’t been such a stubborn bitch I could have helped Bryce. Then things might be different for Thea…”

Callie considered her words carefully. She wasn’t known for being a sympathetic person. Sympathy was abandoned by the Queenshield family long ago. They had to in order to watch their own children die in that hellish maze, all for the sake of their bloodline.

“Bryce is alive, and if you think he can help this Thea, then I’m guessing she is alive as well?”

Bellamy looked at her with bloodshot eyes.

“Likely. The fact that she’s a chimera would make her the apex predator in most places.”

Callie fought a grimace.

“Then you’re not a failure, yet. I’ll let Bryce know you want to talk tomorrow, I’ll even try to keep his women away long enough for you to have a conversation without Vex interrupting every few seconds.”

Bryce

Bryce tore into his breakfast in the guildhall. It was still early morning, and only a few members were in the tavern. The girls were still asleep, and it was even too early for the twins to be up. He was only up because today, he was meeting with Isabelle to deal with the assassins.

He enjoyed the morning’s peace, eavesdropping on the conversations around him as he cut into his slice of ham on his plate.

The one he was currently listening in on was between a young wizard and an old spearman at the table across from him.

“I don’t know, Dalt,” the wizard said, reading over a stack of papers in his hands. “You sure you want to do this taste like chicken bit?”

The spearman pointed his fork at the wizard, a mouthful of eggs on it.

“Everyone loves chicken, Lance. I’m telling you once this hits the stands, it’ll give Sword and Spear a run for their coins.”

The sound of a chair dragging broke Bryce from the two mercs. He turned to see Callie sitting down beside him. Quickly, he scooted his chair out of head-butting range.

“I found Bellamy and talked to her,” Callie said, only slightly frowning at him moving away from her. “She wants to discuss things with you later today. Probably once her hangover clears up.”

Bryce glared at the snow elf as she reached over and snagged a piece of toast off his plate before taking a bite out of it.

“You know you can get your own plate from the bartender,” Bryce said.

Callie stole a slice of ham next, placing it on the toast before taking another bite.

“I’m not that hungry,” she said, as she devoured his food. “Where’s your two puppies? I thought they followed you everywhere, smacking you with their tails.”

“Both are still asleep. The only reason I’m up is I’m about to do a job,” Bryce answered, guarding what remained of his breakfast from the thief.

“Cancel the job. We need to figure out how to keep Alice safe since she’s staying here,” Callie demanded. “I haven’t seen any of the organization’s hunters in the city yet, but I don’t doubt they’ll be here. Since it’s entirely your fault that both of us are stuck here, you’re going to help me devise a plan.”

Bryce took a bite of ham as he glared at the annoying elf.

“The job is related to that. A friend in the city knows where the handlers for the hunters are and is going to take me there and give me information on them.”

Callie stared at him for a moment before she reached over and jerked the plate of food away from him.

“What are you doing sitting here stuffing your face?” Callie said as she stood. “Come on, let’s go see this friend of yours.”

Bryce made a hopeless grab for the plate, only for the snow elf to keep it away.

“Wait! You’re not going with me!” Bryce stated.

Callie laughed.

“Oh, I’m going. This is to keep Alice safe, and I can’t place that in your hands,” she said, moving away from the table with the plate toward the bar. “Now, hurry up and take me there!”