A New Light (The Astral Wanderer Book 1) by D'Artagnan Rey (best romance ebooks txt) 📗

behind him, his gaze settled on a tall, lithe man. The stranger wore an ornate jacket of fine materials—white with purple trimming a darker color than his violet locks. His hair seemed to have a life of its own at odds with his tidy appearance. It swept fairly neatly over his head and curved toward his neck before the ends stuck out from his head in sharp points.

His grin was wide and he wore a simple black eyepatch over his right eye, this one more form-fitting than Wulfsun’s with violet embroidery along the edges. The one good eye looked welcoming, but it put the boy on guard rather than giving him ease. “Someone as young as you has already begun to learn the ways of Anima? I was beginning to think your generation was becoming too reliant on exotics and novelties to be of much use as Magi.”

“Who are you?” Devol tried to remain standing as he fought the headache that seemed to be growing worse. “Wait, were you staring at me before? How did you get behind me?”

“That’s a simple trick for someone such as myself,” the man answered and placed a hand on his shoulder from behind him. The boy whipped around and staggered back as the stranger chuckled. “Sorry, I suppose that is rude of me. I’m a Magi merely traveling the land and looking for work. I can get bored rather easily, so when I run into other Magi of notable skill, I have to have a little fun when I can.”

He stared at the odd Magi, a little concerned about the sensation that the walls shifted or wobbled around him like he had come down with something that left him feeling decidedly unwell. “I see. But you still haven’t introduced yourself.”

While the man was eccentric, he did not appear to be overly menacing or dangerous at present, even if the sight of him left him with an uneasy feeling.

“You are quite right.” The violet-hued stranger stood with his legs together and made a deep, theatrical bow. “My name is Koli and as I said, I am a wandering Magi.” He straightened and grinned disarmingly. “And who might you be, my young friend?”

“I’m Devol,” he responded. “I’m…well, I suppose I don’t have a profession yet but I’m in training.”

“Is that so? Training for what? I can’t help but notice that lovely sword of yours.” Koli pointed at the majestic. Strangely, each of his fingernails were sharpened to a fine point. “It looks nothing like any blade I’ve seen. Is it some type of exotic? A family heirloom perhaps?”

“Yeah, an heirloom,” he lied and decided it was better to not give away that it was a majestic in case the man knew what those were. “Something crafted for my father before I was born. He wanted to give me a proper blade when I started to take my practice seriously.”

“Aw, that’s heart-warming.” The man chuckled and folded his arms. “So tell me little Magi, what brings you to Rouxwoods?”

“I’m…running an errand for my father,” he said. “I was having a meal when the commotion broke out. I saw the drunk warrior and decided it was best for me to handle him before he got out of control and that it would be good training to see how I fared against him.”

“Well, you’ll certainly need more powerful sparring partners in the future. He was no trouble at all, it seemed.” The strange Magi laughed and took a couple of steps forward. Devol felt the nausea return in force and the alley seemed to spin around him. “Perhaps,” he muttered as he leaned forward, “I could help you with that.”

Devol wanted to respond with “maybe another time,” but his mouth felt suddenly dry. He was too dizzy and simply shook his head as he rested against the wall and slid down slowly. “What is… I feel so lightheaded…”

“Hmm?” Koli remarked. “Feeling a little under the weather, my friend? We can’t have that. We’re in an alley!” He bent closer and his smile widened and became a little devious as he stretched a hand toward the young man. “Even in homely little towns such as this, many a terrible person can still be wandering about.”

“Hey, Devol!” Jazai called. “Where are you, man?”

Koli grasped the young swordsman’s hand and helped him to his feet. “Is that your friend?” he asked as he brushed a trace of dirt off his shoulder. “It seems I’ve kept you for far too long.” He bowed again and smiled. “It was a pleasure to meet you, little Devol. I hope you become a great Magi one day.” With that, he began to walk away as the diviner stepped into view, saw Devol in the alley, and jogged quickly to him. He passed the odd man, who didn’t look at him as he turned left into the street.

“Hey, Devol,” Jazai began and studied him with concern. “You all right? You’re sweating hard.”

“Yeah, I’m…” He drew in in a deep breath. “I’m fine.” It wasn’t exactly a lie because although he still felt a little dizzy, it certainly wasn’t as bad as it had been a minute before. He shook his head and slapped his cheeks a few times. “I felt a little dizzy there for a while. I think I’m getting over it, though.”

“That’s good. We still have to complete the mission and it’s harder to do that with you sick.” Jazai helped him up. “So, what took you so long? Did you spend all this time chatting to that lady?”

He looked curiously at the scholar. “Lady? I guess he looked a little feminine but that was a man.”

“You think?” The diviner grinned and shook his head. “The breasts are usually a giveaway.”

Baffled, he looked at the entrance to the ally, then at his friend. “The what?”

Vaust watched the two young Magi exit the alleyway, debating with one another. He held Myazma in his hand under the cloak and had been prepared to strike should