A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) Read Online Free PDF Page B

picked up and Tasio's hair flew around
him. His eyes, nose, and mouth glowed with brilliant golden light that poured
out of him. It swirled and churned before exploding outward. Gathering behind
him it formed a portal; a double-door gate, touching the sky. With an ominous
creaking, the doors opened wide and spilled more light.
    “What's going on?!” Eric urged and pleaded with his body to
move, but couldn't even wiggle his toes. He didn't want to be here! Anywhere
else but here! I don't want to do this anymore! Tasio chuckled; with the
otherworldly light and his hair flying everywhere, he was truly terrifying.
    “I'm helping you.” Tasio jumped backwards and pulled Eric
with him.
     The human fell screaming through a tunnel of light. The
walls pulsed like a thing alive. Countless events flashed; sights and sounds
and smells and tastes and feels! Surges of gold light danced and struck him.
Then his screams of fear became screams of pain. Too much to be afraid; too
much for anything. He could feel every part of him warping and twisting as the
golden light reached the deepest part of him. He hurtled toward a bright light
at the tunnel's end and everything he knew dissolved.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 2 Tariatla
     
     Eric awoke in something soft and damp. The smell of dirt
and snow filled his nose. He snorted; they were in his nose too. Around him
were trees with few leaves and the buds of new plants. The air was chill
despite the sun. He rubbed his arms to get warmth into them. Now where am I?
     The soft and damp cushion was a thin layer of new grass. It
had the imprint of his body. Besides the trees and other plants he recognized,
there were some he couldn't hazard a guess. Does that bush have fur? His
body still ached from whatever had happened to him, so he knew he wasn't
dreaming. Once again, Tasio is nowhere to be found. Some help he is.
      As he walked, the hairs on his neck stood up. Ridiculous.
No one's watching me because no one's here. Squirrels stared from branches
and rabbits paused to glance at him. Impossible, they're just—
    A hawk plummeted from the sky and alighted on a branch right
next to Eric. Red-brown feathers covered its head, leading to brown feathers
across its back to a red tail. A thin cloth material was strapped over its
breast like a vest. It glared and hawed at him. I must be dreaming. This
hawk sounds like it's trying to talk to me . The hawk made a frustrated
motion before settling down. Its down feathers ruffled and a human mouth opened
up.
    “What are you doing in my domain?”
    “AHHHHHHH!”
    “Screaming, apparently.” the mouth said disdainfully. The
hawk covered his ears to wait the scream out. There was nothing he could do
with the human until it calmed down. When it finally ran out of breath, he
tried again.“Now, about—”
    “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The hawk sighed and returned to covering
his ears.
    Eric crouched and held his head in his hands. I've gone
insane! The stress has finally gotten to me! Tasio could have been an
imaginary friend . . .no one else could see him . . .but this !? A hawk
growing a mouth and talking about its domain!?“BIRDS CAN'T TALK!!!”
    More denizens gawked at this loud stranger.
    Another hawk landed next to the first. This one's feathers
had greyed with age, but the mouth in its down was the same. “You are not from
this world, are you?”
    “Don't talk to it,” Eric muttered, “Don't look at it. Don't
think about it.”
    “He is definitely an Otherworlder,” the old bird said, “Judging
from his ignorance he is most likely from one of the dry branches.”
    “That would explain why I needed my second mouth.”
    “Visitor, I am Greystreak, an elder from the Rose Forest
Colony of red-tailed hawks.” The Elder Hawk introduced himself with a bow and
spread of his wings. “This is my son, Redstreak, the chief of our colony.” The younger
hawk merely nodded. “What is your name, human?”
    Why not?