Feral Mage Book 2: Chapter 15

“You ate the spider!” Janna exclaimed.

She sat in the driver box of the wagon, the early morning light casting down on her black and silver tails as they flicked back and forth in agitation. A nervous look on her face.

“Yes. The Pale Queen was pretty strong, and its Ice Magic interested me,” Bryce answered.

He had wanted to try the Pale Queen Aspect last night, but by the time they finished burning the spider nest, he was just ready for bed.

Janna stared at him in disgust.

“You’re not going to grow spider legs, are you?” she asked.

Bryce prepared to pull on the Pale Queen Aspect.

“It’s possible,” he admitted.

Janna’s tails quickly covered her eyes.

“I can’t watch. Tell me if it’s okay to look after you use it,” she said.

Man, she really doesn’t like spiders…

Vex, on the other hand, was watching excitedly from the back of the wagon. The wolfkin had already quizzed him a few times on what he thought the Aspect would give him. He had eaten one of the spider's legs, so there was the possibility that he sprouted spider-like appendages. After all, Bellamy’s lower half did turn into a massive serpent when she used her Leviathan-Snake Aspect.

Bryce felt his body begin to change, a cooling sensation spreading across his skin, though it was more intense on his hands and forearms.

He opened his eyes and frowned.

“Not what I was expecting,” he said after looking around at his body.

He heard Vex gasp as she stared at him.

“How many legs does he have?” Janna asked, her tails still covering her eyes.

The wolfkin grinned and looked at her.

“Seven.”

Janna made a small squeak sound, and Vex started to snicker.

“I don’t have any extra legs, Janna,” Bryce said, looking at his arms. “Though this one might be a dud…”

The only change he noticed to his body was that his skin had become paler, and chitin was now covering his forearm and hands like a gauntlet. He frowned as he examined them.

The claws look sharp, but will this be any better than the ones my Manticore Aspect gives me?

They were armored, but he didn’t have the heightened senses with the Pale Queen Aspect as he did with the Manticore.

“Your hair is white now," Janna said, her tails slowly moving from her face. "And your eyes are red.”

Great… so this Aspect stands out when I use it…

“What’s a dud?” Vex asked.

Bryce looked closely at the claws of his fingers. They felt cold, and he could see frost clinging to them.

“Something that didn’t work as intended,” he answered as he examined the claw closer.

I wonder.

He moved to a tree and touched it with the claw. Instantly, ice spread across the tree’s bark, and he felt the air around him become frigid, even seeing his breath.

Bryce smiled.

“What did you do?” Vex asked, and he turned to see the wolfkin jump out of the wagon and race over. She crouched and stared at the tree.

“Was that Ice Magic?” Janna asked from the wagon, her tails now slowly swishing behind her.

“Pale Queens rely on Ice Magic in their webbing and fangs to catch their prey,” he answered. “I’m guessing the claws are similar to the spider’s fangs, or at least that’s my guess.”

That’s the part I originally intended to take…are the gauntlets a combination of my intent and what I ate?

Bryce let the thought linger for a second, then focused back on his new Aspect. He wondered if he could use the Ice Breath as well, but when he tried, nothing happened.

“Still a dud?” Vex asked.

Bryce shook his head.

“No,” he answered. “I don’t think so.”

He thought about what Janna had said about his eyes also having changed. He wondered if it was more than just appearance. As if reacting to the thought, the world turned a dark hue. Bryce frowned, then turned to see Vex and froze in place. Where Vex was standing was a humanoid shape in bright red and orange colors.

“Bryce?” Vex said.

He watched as the colorful blob moved its head in the same way Vex normally did when she was confused about something. There were even outlines that looked like wolf ears, which perked up.

“Yeah, this isn’t a dud,” Bryce said. “Be still for a second, Vex. I need to figure this out.”

He turned and looked around their camp. Another orange and red blob was in the wagon, and Bryce figured that was Janna. There were also three more red and orange blobs that he realized were the horses and Omelet. Everything else, though, was a dull blue color. Except…

He stared at the orange blob where the embers of their campfire should be, then he turned to the tree he had used Ice Magic on. A dark purple blob clung to its side. He looked back and forth between the embers of the fire and the frozen tree a few times.

“Janna,” Vex said. “I think Bryce is broken.”

He let out a laugh, closed his eyes, and then focused on returning to his normal vision. When he opened them again, Vex stood before him as her normal self. He smiled at the wolfgirl.

“Yeah, this definitely is not a dud,” he said with a chuckle. “And I’m very glad I didn’t try to fight it inside a dark cave. Apparently, Pale Queens can see body heat.”

Vex looked more confused at the explanation. Bryce just smiled at her as he dropped the Pale Queen Aspect and then patted Vex on the head.

“Alright, let’s head to Witchbrook.”

He moved to the wagon and climbed into the driver’s box beside Janna. The kitsune let out a sigh, her gloved hands fidgeting with the edge of her gambeson.

“I’m so glad you didn’t end up with spider legs,” she said.

Bryce took the reins and got the horses moving.

“Maybe next time,” he joked.

Janna glared at him.

“No more spider Aspects,” she said.

Bryce raised an eyebrow at her.

“There’s some very powerful—”

Janna shook her head.

“Nope. No more spider Aspects.”

***

They arrived at the port gate for Witchbrook close to sunset.

“By the gods, it’s you lot,” the captain of the gate said as they approached.

Bryce smiled, even if he was silently cursing his luck. This was the same captain they encountered with Alice a month back. The woman narrowed her eyes at Vex, who did the same in return. After a tense staring match between the two, she looked back at Bryce.

“You can enter,” she said, then pointed a finger at him. “This time, try not to burn down any buildings.”

Bryce just smiled.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Captain.”

She glared at him as he got the horses moving and they passed through the gate into the port side of the city.

“We even used a different gate this time,” Janna huffed.

They had, though it wasn’t to avoid the Captain. Passing through the Rim would have alerted Isabelle that they were back in the city. Hell, he wouldn’t have put it past her to cut them off on the way to the guild hall.

He wanted to delay his meeting with the crime boss for a little bit, at least until he tried to learned more about who was looking for him.

The port side of Witchbrook was always busy. Ships unloaded their goods for the stores or even sold them at the market along the docks. It was the lifeblood of the city, and the wealth it brought in was shown here.

“Is that a clan ship?” Bryce asked as they neared the docks.

He could only see the sails right now, but Horo-kistune ships were as strange-looking as they were massive. The sails always seemed to have the appearance of folded paper, though he knew that wasn’t what they were made of.

“Yeah…” Janna said beside him, her voice tempered. “It’s actually my clan.”

Bryce looked at her.

“How can you tell?” he asked.

He frowned when he noticed how slumped Janna’s tails were instead of their lively selves.

“The deep blue of the sails. The color used for them is unique to each clan. How the dye is made is a guarded secret only known by the clan elders.”

Janna answered his question, but he could tell she didn’t want to talk about her family, so he didn’t pry more. He wondered if the kitsune was homesick or if there was something else at play.

Instead, he shifted the topic to other subjects, such as asking Janna about the latest book she was reading and asking Vex what she wanted to do while in Witchbrook. He smiled when he saw the fox’s four tails start to move around in their usual manner.

The iron sign of the mercenary guild came into view, and Bryce felt himself finally start to relax. When he was on the road, the threat of danger was always in the back of his mind, and even during the quiet or dull moments, he never fully let his guard down.

“I’m ready for a hot bath,” Janna sighed.

Bryce heard a hum of approval from Vex in the back of the wagon. He was also looking forward to the heated baths that the guild hall offered. The large baths were built into the floor and were heated by fire mana crystals thrown into the water tanks used to fill them. There were only six of them, and you had to reserve a bath for use, but it was worth it.

The stable boy met them near the entrance of the guild, taking the reins. Bryce and the girls grabbed their gear and moved to the door. This time, Vex used her copper dog tag to unlock the rune to allow them to enter.

The sight of the tavern on the first floor greeted them, along with the smell of food cooking. He felt his mouth start to water.

Beer and food first, then we can settle into the room later.

There was also someone here he wanted to check in on.

“Bryce!” a voice called.

A dark-haired elven woman with blue eyes raced from behind the bar toward him. A necklace with a white gemstone cut into the shape of a flower hung from her neck. Bryce already knew what was coming and held out his arms as Alice wrapped him in a hug.

“You’re back!” she said excitedly.

He couldn’t help but smile at the massive grin on Alice’s face.

“For a bit,” he answered. “The job we planned to take was a bust, so we need to find a new one.”

Alice’s smile faltered a little.

“You’re at least going to stay a few days this time, aren’t you?”

Bryce nodded.

“We will. I have some business I need to take care of in Witchbrook.”

Speaking of.

Bryce saw Mark, the guild master, leaning against the wall by the door to his office. When their eyes met, Mark moved and opened the door, stepping through. Bryce took that as the cue that he wanted to talk.

“We’ll need to talk later. I want to hear how you’re settling in Witchbrook,” he said to her before making his way to the office.

Alice moved and embraced Janna, then Vex. He could hear the girls talking as he left.