The characters and plot in this story are copyrighted by the author.
All the characters in this story are purely products of my imagination and are not based on real people. Any resemblance is purely coincidental and is not intended.
If you are looking for just sex this is not the story for you. Most of the romance will take place in later chapters if I continue the story
This is my first attempt at a story and I hope that you like it. If you have any positive feedback I would love to hear it. You can email me at BlackAdept@Hotmail.com
I am going to try to get one chapter a week out but I am a university student so sometimes I might not have time
I would like to give special thanks to Bobby who is editing my work for me.
The Black Adept
Chapter 4: Things that go Bump in the Night
By Matt
After the battle I was too exhausted to even bother about returning directly to the Academy. I just passed out as soon as I reached the back room of the clothing shop. I slept almost a whole day before waking up and I was still exhausted physically, mentally, and magically. I knew once I returned through the portal I would find plenty of work to do since I have been gone so long. First, I would have to recover my powers and get my lab back into order. I had left so many experiments on hold that I would probably have to restart half of them. After that, I would have to see what type of trouble my battle had stirred up and then catch up on all the news at the Academy. Sometimes, I just wish I could take a proper vacation and just forget about everything for a while.
I would also have to go into the city some and revive my identity as Kalsin before people started to think him dead. I didn't want to lose my contacts among the thieves since it was their business to know everything. I have a feeling that it will be at least a week before I can even think about a full nights sleep.
I just sighed and headed to the portal in the basement and returned to my lab beneath the Academy. It took me a day to refill my energies and salvage the few of my experiment that I could. With that done, I head up into the Academy proper cloaking myself in the Void to keep people from seeing me. What I found took me by surprise, a pleasant one for me at least.
The Academy was crowded with hundred of new initiates most of whom were obviously from the poor classes. I was almost giddy thinking about how much of a headache this must be for the nobility, who always dominated the Academy, to find themselves suddenly out numbered. People seemed to be flocking to the Academy from miles around after sensing my battle and realizing they had mage potential.
I also felt good knowing that I had unintentionally done two great favors for the Academy. First, I increased their numbers and the power they could draw upon in the event of a battle with demon mages. More importantly, I brought new blood into a situation that was beginning to stagnate. The mages of the Academy had gathered so much knowledge that most mages were content to simply study the works of the past and not create anything new.
I walked among the crowded halls completely invisible to those around without them noticing when they occasionally bumped into something that wasn't there. They were used to students playing around with invisibility so it didn't raise any questions. It didn't take long for me to catch up on news listening to various conversations. Everybody seemed to be talking about when the investigation team would get back and giving their ideas on what they would find. I couldn't help but laugh at some of the things that were being said. More than a few times, I caused people to look for the source of the laughter, since with all the panic and nervousness, it was not a common sound at the moment. This only caused me to giggle as I tried to hold in my laughter. Listening to people claim everything from an invasion of mages to punishment from the gods as an explanation. The official story was that it was a test to find new mages but that only seemed to work outside the Academy, inside was turning into a rumor mill. I expanded my awareness to the north and found that a few mages from the investigation team were already on their way back. I wondered what they made out of the battle site and how close to the truth they would be.
Another big topic of conversation was the influx of new students to the Academy. Some were complaining about peasants invading their Academy but not as many as I would have thought. Among the older mages the biggest concern was how they were going to teach when the number of student had more than doubled already and more were still showing up. Another problem was that many of these new students were virtually illiterate. Most just seemed shocked since it was always a common belief that magic had to be bred. Noble bloodlines had always tried to strengthen magic within their own line by marrying mages of power. The fact was that peasants were showing up with no history of magic in their families and some having huge potential.
There was already a lot of work going on to prepare long unused areas of the Academy for new students to live in and establish more classrooms. Many mages looked like they hadn't slept since this started, either directing workers or trying to keep the students under control. Classes had been suspended until someone came up with a way to deal with the new students. Some mages were even talking about plans to extend the Academy for the first time since it was created. They figured that if only three cities and a few dozen towns which had felt the battle had come up with this many students, they should be prepared to start searching the rest of the land. Most others were looking at them like they were crazy to be wanting more students when they were already lost in trying to deal with the ones they had.
I returned to my lab and spent the rest of the day restarting my more important experiments. After that was done I went to my chambers to sleep. I slept late a luxury I rarely gave myself anymore but figured I deserved it after the last few days. Most of the day went by normally and them I started feel uneasy about something I couldn't quite identify. I tried to locate its source but all the stray energy around the Academy made it impossible to pinpoint beyond knowing it was somewhere on the Academy grounds. I went to see what was happening in the Academy and only learned that some of the investigators had returned and were meeting with the Lord Adept. I wondered if that was what was causing this uneasy feeling but didn't think that it was. I could almost recognize some energies around me that didn't seem right. Then it hit me the energies were those of a demon weak now but still growing.
My first instinct was that a demon mage was attacking the Academy but quickly realized that that was not the case. It would have taken an army of demon mages to attack the Academy and that many would have been detected by my wards with ease. The next possibility was that there was a demon among the mages of the Academy casting a spell but it felt different than any demon mage I had battled before. My next realization was terrifying but instantly I knew it was the case. A demon was crossing into our plane of existence inside the Academy itself.
Twice in the histories of the Black Adepts had a demon crossed into our plane. Once, the Black Adept of the time just made sure that the local populations evacuated so the time demon would tire and return to its plane. The last time was during my teachers master's time as Black Adept and he had lured the demon away from its entry point and had not allowed it to return until it was too weak to survive on our plane and died. Neither was an option for me since, with surprise on its side, it could decimate the Academy before the mages organized and drove it back. I would have to engage it directly and hope the mages fight beside me and not against me.
A demon mage is only given access to a small portion of a demon's strength since the demon doesn't want to be left vulnerable. Even with much of the demon's strength tied to keeping itself in our plane, it will still be stronger than the demon mage I just fought. A demon can't be summoned against its will which means that it wants to enter our plane. The fact that it is trying to enter the Academy itself suggests that it is powerful. I couldn't believe that a mage would be foolish enough to actual bring a demon into our plane. Not only is it virtually suicidal but the mage doesn't get anything out of it. An old myth used to suggest that if you could summon and control a demon you could force it to give you all its power but it had never been done according to anything I ever heard or read.
I hurried through the corridors in the robes of the Black Adept, a black so deep it seemed to devour the light around, my staff in hand and the hood of my robe throwing a deep shadow over my face. I know I should have kept myself concealed but at the moment I didn't want to waste a drop of unnecessary energy. I appeared in hallways of the Academy seemingly out of nowhere as I hurried to the grounds hoping to stop the summoning before it was completed.
For the first time since the founding of the third Academy, a Black Adept traveled the halls in plain view of all. People stared at me, not knowing what I was. The color of robes was used to differentiate between ranks and school of magic. All initiates and novices wore brown robes until they choose a specific school to focus their study in and then took the color of that school. Some examples are red is fire, gray is necromancy, yellow is clerical, with the symbol on the chest and back of the worshipped god, etc. Also, a series of gold and silver bands around the sleeves denote your rank. The only knowledge of a black robe anyone in the Academy would have now is from stories used to frighten children about mages that kill students for being bad. It has a whole history of stories used by older students to frighten younger ones. They started in response to the Academy law stating it is illegal to wear black robes with extreme punishments for anyone caught with them. This made me appear as one hell of a shock as I ran through increasingly more crowded hallways and out into the grounds themselves.
Students were pointing and staring while many of the teachers were starting to yell at me, probably thinking it was a prank or something. I just ignored everybody as I hunted for the source of the demon energy I detected. It took a minute to orient myself on the energies but once I found them I ran, following them to their source. The energies kept growing to at point where I knew the summoning was almost done but I still couldn't locate where their source was. There were buildings all around a residence, some buildings with classrooms and laboratories in them, tool sheds, and storage areas. I didn't know which of the buildings it was coming from. Then for a second, screams filled the air only to stop before I was sure they even there and, instead, a tool shed exploded. Then new screams started as everyone saw the demon. I examined the situation as quickly as I could and noticed the three dead bodies of novices. I knew they had tried to summon the demon probably in hopes of unlimited power but learned too late their error.
It was a nightmarish picture with the sky darkening and the screaming mass of people all around. The creature was out of nightmares itself 20 feet tall at least visibly shining with sickening power. It was man shaped in that it had arms and legs but other than that I can't describe it since it resembles nothing alive or in the most twisted imaginations of man. I took all my willpower to keep from joining the screaming running mob around me but still my knee shook with terror knowing that I had to hold this off until order was restored and the mages could join the fight. I just prayed that when they did they didn't target both the demon and me as a black mage. I prepared my first spell speaking softly so as not to alert the demon but those around me still heard and ran from me in fear as well. My spell ready, I waited for an opportunity to strike and brought my shield up to full strength. I almost lost what little resolve I had when it spoke in a voice that made the nameless language of Void magic sound pleasant.
"This shall be the greatest feast in history and with your powers I will be powerful beyond even the Demon Lord himself." I doubted this was completely true since he would be driven back into the demon realm before he devour more than a few hundred and that was if he had time to take advantage of the chaos. I didn't plan on giving it that time.
In as loud and confident a voice I could muster I yelled, "I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS!!!" Which actually startled the demon, who was thinking everyone was trying to run away, and, as he turned towards me, I released my spell. A bolt of energy as large as a full grown person shot out of my hand and hit it in what would pass for its chest, staggering it. I knew I had done some damage but not much. I prepared myself for its retaliation and was surprised as it struck at me physically. I barely managed to leap out of the way of the attack and it was at that moment fear almost froze me. I was so used to battling mages who only threw energy at each other, that I didn't even think about how a demon would be able to crush my shield without even using up any of its own strength. I would have been finished if it wasn't for a five mages who started trying to attack it. It was a poor effort but it showed the mages were starting to organize.
It turned its attention to them and I started casting a spell that I had never cast before. At the same time, I sent my awareness into the Void. Most people would go mad in this experience. That utter infinite emptiness pulls apart the sanity of the bravest men. Only someone who can embrace and accept complete loneliness can hold their mind together in the Void, much less actually find comfort in it, and that is what makes a Void mage. I sensed several of them and sent my call but none responded. They had left the physical world and saw no reason to interact with it anymore. I could sense that the resistance to the demon had crumbled and the mages were dead or running and I knew I had to complete this quickly before it turned its attention back to me. I sent out the call stronger this time and it was answered. I don't know how I knew, but I was sure it was my old teacher Dalenti. The presence felt the same. I led the essence that was left of her back to our plane and with that completed the spell I had been casting. The ground shuddered and rose as it shaped itself into a golem almost as big as the demon and I released Dalenti's spirit into it so she could give it proper life and guide its actions.
The demon suddenly realized that there was a greater threat and turned to find a golem standing between it and its escape rout. It suddenly knew fear. It could only focus on fighting the mages or the golem at one time and it couldn't ignore either. It knew it had to escape before the mages grouped against it, so it attacked the golem. It probably expected the golem to be stupid and slow like golem usually were but this golem had Dalenti's mind and fought with some skill. The mages also noticed this turn in the battle and began to gather and attack. I knew that a golem couldn't last long against the demon so I didn't join the attack. Instead I walked to the remains of the tool shed and drew a circle around and created a barrier that would not allow the demon to pass. I didn't want this demon to escape with the power it had managed to take. Being in the Academy made it easy to gather energy to recharge myself and then I waited.
When the golem fell, broken, I released Dalenti back to the Void and watched as the demon ran to its escape point only to find it sealed by my shield. Most of the higher mages and instructors were attacking it now, as well as many of the more skilled novices and it was weakening quickly. I decided to finish this quickly so I walk toward the demon chanting the whole time. Mages stopped their attack to stare at me since many of the ones here now were not among those who had seen me earlier. I released my first spell and fire erupted from the ground at the demon feet so hot that the ground was not burning but melting into molten rock which the demon began to sink into. My second spell released to suddenly freeze the area around the demon, leaving it stuck in the ground. This spell did more damage to it than the fire spell, since demon had adjusted its body to ignore the heat quickly but couldn't adjust it back to deal with the cold as fast. Seeing this, I cast another spell to intensify to cold until the air itself froze around the demon incasing it in ice. Then I cast my final spell, now that its defenses were down, and opened up a breach into the Void within the ice around the demon. It only lasted a few seconds but drained the last of the demons strength away and ending its life.
All eyes turned to me some with hatred knowing what I was, some with disbelief that I was now glowing with power like most would not believe possible, and rest were students and a handful of mages who looked at me uncomprehendingly, not recognizing what I was. I just looked a them all and cloaked myself in the Void so not even spells designed to see invisibility would see me and walked away leaving a confused mass behind me.
I walked quickly to the nearest entrance to the secret tunnels while recharging my strength again from the energy around me. I released the cloak of the Void and I was lost in thoughts while walking back towards my underground chambers when a sound startled me. I heard voices in the tunnels.
"Kinren admit it. We're lost we've been lost for over an hour." The first speaker had a smooth melodic which sounded nervous. He was answered by a confident gentle voice which I assumed was Kinren.
"Maybe a little, but we have to keep trying to find a way out. Something big just happened out there. You felt it, Kai. We have to see what it was. Just keep searching for a door."
"What do we do if we find a door? We thought we were so clever finding out how to open them from the outside, we never thought we wouldn't be able to open them from the inside."
The voices were getting closer and I could now see I light approaching from around the next corner. "Kinren, lets just wait here. It is obvious that somebody uses these passages. We should just wait and may be the will find us. We can apologize and ask them how to get out."
Just as this was finished being said, they turned the corner and saw me. They both stood there in shock looking at my black robes, probably thinking they had found the bogey man from the children stories standing in front of them. I couldn't help but notice that they were both quite handsome young men, most likely brothers by how close they looked to each other. I was startled out of my contemplation of their looks by the older one of the two, who I think was Kinren saying, "If you kill us people will come looking for us."
I almost laughed at the expression on their faces until I looked down at myself and realized that my black robe had large splatters of blood from when the demon caught mages. I must have truly looked frightening to behold. I answered, "I don't plan to kill you and if I did no one would come searching because they would just assume you were killed by the demon. Now I believe I heard you say you would apologize for using tunnels and then ask me to let you out. So apologize." I pulled down my hood to let them at least know I was human and hopefully ease some of their tension. They just seemed more nervous looking into my black eyes
In almost unison they said, "What demon?"
"The one that just attacked the Academy. That is what those magical fireworks you probably felt were." I looked at them intently which made them seem uncomfortable and asked, "Now how am I supposed to be sure that my tunnels won't be invaded if I let you out."
I laughed at them as they started tripping over each others words trying to ensure they would never tell another soul. They just looked so cute standing there fumbling with words. I said, "I am not going to hurt you. You don't have to act like I am not about torture you or something. I would just like you to keep these tunnels a secret if you can."
I think it was finally beginning to sink in to them they I wasn't going to hurt them and they started to calm down. They started taking turns asking me about what happened and I was enjoying talking to them. I know I should have stopped this but I hadn't really talked too anybody very often when I didn't have to hide who I was that I wanted to keep talking to them. The fact that they were both hot as hell helped as well. Before too long, I found myself telling them the story of the Black Adepts.
Then Kai surprised me by asking, "What is your name?"
I had not used my real name in so long it took me a second to remember it.
"My name is Truin."
My eyes started to well up with tears as I remembered the last few days of my old life. It felt really good to talk to somebody about my history and I felt comfortable talking to them. Next thing I knew, I was telling them some of my own life story. I watched their eyebrows arch a little and look at each other as I mentioned Jayden and my love for each other. They looked surprised but not hostile.
When I was done with what happened that made me the Black Adept, they looked a little nervous. I asked, "What's the matter?"
It was Kai who spoke up, "Did you say Jasrin Aubrey?"
I nodded and he said, "How is that possible? He was our great great grandfather and..."
He shut up probably just making the connection that Jasrin was responsible for Jayden's death and thinking that I would take revenge on them or something.
"Don't worry I don't blame you for what Jasrin did. That was a long time ago, before you were ever born." I gave them a little smile and said, "Anyway I was hoping we could be friends."
They smiled and soon we were talking like we had known each other forever. For the first time in a long, long time, I felt genuinely happy. After about an hour they figured they should get back before people started to worry about them. So I escorted them to the nearest way out and made sure the coast was clear before opening it. I said goodbye to them and said they could come back again if they wanted to. They started to walk off but just as I was about to turn around Kai did something that surprised all us, I think himself most of all. He ran back and kissed me. It was a quick kiss but it held meaning. He said he would love to come back and then blushed bright red. I think I just had a goofy expression on my face as Kinren laughed and told his brother they had to get back but they would come to visit when the could.
As they walked away for real this time I wondered if this could be the start of something beautiful. I could tell Kai had little experience in relationships from his nervous kiss but I hoped it might work out so that I could teach him. It might not be love but it was a beginning.
To be continued...
This is my first attempt at a story and I hope that you like if you have any positive feedback I would love to hear it. Send me some feed back on whether this story has the potential that I should continue it. You can email me at BlackAdept@Hotmail.com