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

me that as it is.”
    “Why's that?”
    “None of your business!” The shout cowed Eric and he let the
subject drop.
    The trees thinned and the pair arrived at a clearing with an
overflowing lake. It was fed by a waterfall in the north and it would drain
into a southern stream if not for a dam. Several beavers walked along it:
sniffing here, looking there, and slapping the odd tree with their tail. Others
were pulling away logs in an isolated section of the dam. These beavers barked
and nearby fish swam away. Then they removed the last of the blockage and the
water drained out. It dropped below the bank and cleared up. These beavers
barked again and the ones that created the hole plugged it up. If Eric didn't
know better, he'd think the beavers were managing the water level.
    Redstreak dived into the stream and shot back out a moment
later, dripping wet and a good deal cleaner. He hovered above the spring and
shrieked. Eric flinched and Redstreak was covered in insects. It's one thing
after another. The insect cloud flew off the now completely clean Redstreak
and hovered next to him. Redstreak hawed and the insects collectively buzzed
before dispersing.
    “Before you ask, they were helping me clean.”
    “Don't you eat them?”
     Redstreak circled Eric. “When I'm hungry.”
    “How'd they know you weren't hungry?”
    “Because I was asked them to help me clean.”
    “What if you were lying?”
    “Because if I did that just once they'd never help me clean
again, and then how would I get blood stains out?”
    Eric stopped. He had no idea animals, animals , had
that kind of organization. Sure he knew about fish schools and lion prides but
. . .a bird of prey asking that prey to clean its feathers?! It was ridiculous!
The look on his guide's face said he was the one being ridiculous.
     “This isn't how things work in your world?” Eric nodded. “Your
branch is that dry? No wonder you're here.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You'll find out,” Redstreak replied. “Take a drink. You look
thirsty.”
     It was right then that Eric remembered he hadn't had
anything to eat since breakfast. Since even that was now mush on the forest
floor, his stomach made its complaints and Eric blushed.
    “I'm not getting you anything. I'm not a hunter's tool.” Redstreak
pointed over to a bush sticking out of the water. “They might not be ripe yet,
but they should still be edible.”
    Eric grabbed some berries and popped them into his mouth.
Then he knelt down by the spring's edge and cupped some of the water to wash
them down. His eyes snapped wide; the berries and water tasted like energy
itself. Without a second thought, he plunged his head into the lake and drank
greedily. Only when his lungs demanded air did he pull his head out.
     A deep satisfaction filled him and he fell back on the
forest floor. He now understood how a man on the brink of dehydration feels
when he finally reaches an oasis. After drinking this water, he realized he'd
been parched his whole life and didn't know it.
    “What kind of water is this? And these berries . . .”
    “Normal spring water and normal berries. Why?”
    “They're incredible!”
    “Oh right, dry branch. You're not used to mana-rich water.”
    Eric sat up. “Isn't mana the same thing that creates
monsters?”
    “It's complicated. I don't have time to explain it to a
bumpkin like you.”
    A wave knocked Eric down. A beaver stood on the lake's
surface swinging its tail and barking and these actions seemed to control the
water. The beaver barked again and pointed its tail at Eric. He frantically
backed up as the wave crashed over him and the badger standing behind
him. Eric was slammed with the force of a mallet but the badger was protected
by an earthen shield.
    It let out a series of barks and stomped its forepaws. The beaver
was sent flying by a hunk of rock from beneath the water. The badger then
raised a chunk of land and fired it at the beaver while it was still in midair.
The