Read Nature Mage for Free Online Page B

night, on the eruption of his magic, on Martha’s vision, and after many more questions his two friends eventually became quiet.
    “Well, you know I will come, Gasp,” said Taurnil, his gentle gaze steadfastly holding Gaspi’s own. Gaspi was overwhelmed by the surge of gratitude he felt for his friend right then, his eyes filling with tears. He looked down at the floor, coughing and rubbing his face with his arm to cover his embarrassment. Taurnil was like a rock, and nothing more needed to be said. He had made his decision, and nothing could turn him from it. In his heart of hearts, Gaspi knew that to Taurnil their friendship meant more than life, and in that moment he began to wonder if there might be something to this talk of destiny. If he was to have a protector, he couldn’t wish for anyone better.
    Without meaning to, they both turned to look at Emea, whose face was a conflicting mixture of emotions more complex than either boy could interpret. She looked up, embarrassed at the attention, and feeling the pressure to respond as Taurnil had.
    “It’s okay, Emmy,” Gaspi said, “If you don’t want to…” He trailed off unconvincingly, vulnerability shining through his words like a beacon.
    In that moment, Emea’s confusion cleared up. “Oh Gaspi, of course I will come. That is not even a question.” She reached out and held onto the hands of both her friends. “It’s just that it’s all too much. I mean…you having magic, and me , a Healer ? And this is our home. And how will our parents feel? I just don’t think they will let us go.”
    Gaspi barely heard any of it. The people who meant more to him than anything in the world - his two friends and Jonn - wanted to travel with him. Yes, he would miss Aemon’s Reach, but to Gaspi home was where these three people were, and life could not be too bad if they were with him.
     
    The three friends talked long into the afternoon - waiting for the verdict on their futures, imagining travel and adventure and the great city of Helioport - until Jonn came back and took them all to Taurnil’s house, where all four parents were waiting, along with Hahldorn and Martha.
    Taurnil’s Ma looked like she had been crying, and his Da’s face was ominously serious. “Sit down, you three,” he said, which they instantly did. He was the kind of man you didn’t disobey; not given to anger or ever harsh, but he carried the kind of soft-spoken authority people naturally submit to.
    There was a long silence while he weighed them up, and then, rubbing the back of his neck he said “Hahldorn here has been telling us why we have to say goodbye to our children. I’m not going to drag this out, boys, Emmy. You can go to Helioport if you want to. We won’t make you...but if you think it’s the right thing, you are free to go.” Emea’s Ma let out a muffled sob, and turned her head away.
    “The thing is,” Seth continued, “you are fourteen now. Taurnil is already fifteen, so in just over a year all three of you will be free to do as you please anyway. We may not be happy with this, but Martha is adamant this is what must be done, and we need to trust her. Hahldorn has told us how her visions have helped the village again and again, and she has never yet been wrong. So we are going to trust you three to God, and let you go.”
    The two boys and Emmy sat in stunned silence. Not a single one of them had thought it would be this easy, and Emmy hadn’t believed her Ma would let her go at all. She rushed to her feet and flung herself on her mother. “Oh Ma,” she cried, “I’ll miss you so much.” Her Da, a gentle man, rested a hand on his wife’s shoulder, a look of pained resignation on his broad face.
    Taurnil hugged his Da, and then went and sat with his Ma, holding her hand. “He’s my best friend. I have to go.”
    “I know, son,” Seth responded. “We’re proud of you.” His Ma drew him into a long embrace. Jonn stood behind Gaspi with his hands on his