The Pogrom of Mages: The Healers of Glastamear: Volume One by Charles Williamson Page B

that was investigating his pack, probably looking for an apple and making his horses jealous. Even before standing, he cast his most powerful version of his manna detection spell. The road was busy with over twenty fire mage signs. It looked like the knight protectors were out in force searching for the missing healers. They must have called out every knight and temple guard in the north to have that many in this one section of the road. When he looked seaward, he saw that several ships with fire mages were close to shore. The concentration of fire mages made him wonder if he had done something to attract their attention to this specific area of the forest. He was no woodsman and had done nothing to cover his trail when he left the road.
    He ate a cold breakfast and watched the fire mages while he looked over the fire mage manuscript he’d found below the temple in Northport. He merely read; he didn’t want to try any fire mage spells because the priests might be able to detect their own types of spells at a distance.
    Twenty minutes later, he could tell that three of them were following the path he had taken last night. They would soon be upon him if he didn’t move. He packed his gear and led both animals toward the beach. After he was off the ridge, he mounted and made good speed through the open forest. In the last stand of trees before the sandy beach, he dismounted and hooked three of the golden chains together and put them around the neck of his packhorse.
    Michael knew that elves could touch the minds of animals and communicate directly to any reasonably intelligent creature. He decided to try direct reassurance to his packhorse. He concentrated while holding his hand on the horse’s head. With a shock he felt the emotions and uncertainty of the animal. He focused on reassuring the scared horse with thoughts of fresh hay and juicy apples. He took an apple from his pack and gave it to the skittish animal.
    After he quieted the packhorse, he mounted Ebony Honor and cast transparency with enough force to cover both himself and his horses. After getting both horses under control by mental reassurance, he rode them out to the surf and rode through the waves so their tracks would be washed away.
    Once the horses got comfortable with the idea of not being able to see their own bodies, they sped along at a canter, and Michael could see the manna of the fire mages fall behind.
    When he was four thousand paces from the nearest fire mage, he slowed to a walk so that the splash of their passage could not be seen from the boats offshore and his horses could rest. A thousand paces further north he found a rocky stream flowing into the sea. He rode upstream for five hundred paces before cutting back to the beach. By mid afternoon, he could detect no one following him, but there were still many manna signs along the main road. He stayed close to the sea for the rest of the day, because in a worst case, he could abandon his horses and use water breath to stay submerged until the knight protectors gave up the search.
    He made camp on a bluff with a good stand of grass so that the horses could recover from their strenuous day. He spent the remaining daylight studying the fire mage spell book. Michael knew that fire mages could detect fire spells when they were cast nearby just as he could see the glow of healing spells done within a hundred paces. He decided to try one small spell since there was no one with manna signs nearby.
    Michael translated the eleven words as winter blanket . The spell was designed to keep the user warm even in brutally cold weather. When he said the words, the ambient temperature around him immediately jumped from near freezing to a pleasant summer day. He could do fire magic as well as healing and water magic. Maybe he was the elf-blood. When he reached out with his hand, he found the spell extended only about a foot beyond his torso. He wasn’t sure how long the spell would last, but he hoped it would