A Mage's Power (Journey to Chaos) by Brian Wilkerson Read Free Book Online Page A

These
'creatures' have always been here. As long, or longer, than you humans.”
    They walked past one area of commerce and into another until
an abrupt change in scenery. Beyond this block, there were no more shops
decorated with deals and logos. They were replaced by stately looking buildings
decorated only with the crest he saw on the city gate: the tiger, the fire, and
the sun. A sign crossing the divide proclaimed, “Purple Town of Royal Glory.”
    Redstreak guided him to a building right behind the sign:
The Registration and Unemployment Office. It was a small building consisting of
only two visible rooms: one for waiting and another for management. The two
were connected by a window where someone would sit and talk. The walls of both
were painted a bright pink. Eric's first thought was that it was supposed to
cheer up the jobless. His second thought was that it was supposed to creep them
out so they wouldn't waste time.
    The woman at the window had been attractive one hundred
years ago. Now her skin had more wrinkles than an unwashed shirt. “Name?”
    “Umm . . .Eric Watley.”
    “Residence?”
    “I just got here. I'm from Earth.”
    “Otherworlder- Threa.” She wrote that down. “How did you get
here?”
    “Th-The Fire Bringer pulled me through a gate.” The woman
was so startled her skin cracked. Eric flinched at the sound.
    “The Overturner of Fortune!?” Eric shrugged. “Previous
occupation, if any?”
    Eric thought for a moment. How to explain a 20th century
job to a pre-15th century unemployment clerk . . . He was derailed by the
strangeness of a medieval society having an unemployment clerk. The old
woman cleared her throat and Eric realized he was ignoring her. Feeling
embarrassed, he apologized and explained.
    “So it was delivery?” Eric shook his head.” Craftsman?”
Another head shake. “Designer or scholar?”
    Again, Eric said, “No.”
    “Then what are you?”
    Eric's eyes widened. Who are you? What are you? Why are
you? The water's voice echoed in his mind. Eric looked at his lap and
muttered, “I don't know.”
    The woman frowned and wrote “ N/A. ” “Any special
skills or abilities?”
    “Umm . . .?” The woman wrote down something Eric couldn't
determine. Then she asked him about his hobbies. “I liked doing the crossword
in the newspaper . . .”
    The clerk studied the page. “I think we may find a place for
you, Mr. Watley,” she said at last. “But first, you need to gain a working
understanding of our world. To do this, you will be placed in a public school
until you gain such an understanding. As a teenager . . .”
    “Teenager?!” Eric shouted.
    “Yes, that is what we call human beings between the ages of
third-teen and nine-teen years old,” the old woman said. “What term do they use
on your world?”
    “I'm not one! I'm older!”
    “You don't look it,” the woman said as she sorted papers.
Eric looked himself over and was astonished. He'd shrunk and didn't
notice.
    “How . . .what?” Suddenly, he remembered the mind splitting
pain from the tunnel; it felt like his bones were breaking. In fact, they were
shrinking. Did Tasio do this?! Why!? Why didn't I notice!?
    “This may be unsettling, but something must have happened on
your way here.” She stacked the papers and handed them to Eric. “As I was
saying, you will go to a school with other teenagers. In the meantime, you will
live at the Silver Dragon Dormitory for the Displaced. You're very lucky; they
were full, but someone moved out just today.”
     Eric heard a chuckle at the back of his mind.  
    The old woman turned to Redstreak, who was perched on the
back of a chair. “Chief Redstreak, if you wouldn't mind, please escort Mr.
Watley to the dormitory.”
    Redstreak grumbled, “Fine.” The woman smiled politely and
thanked him.
    How could I be a teenager again? He was only a little
younger when his parents died. It brought a flood of awful memories; the worst
of which was identifying the