Warrior Mage (Book 1) by Lindsay Buroker Page A

do, but perhaps he could study the garment during his long sea voyage. Assuming he took it along. Male and female warrior mages wore the same robes, and Made clothing was often handed down through the generations, so it wasn’t as if there would be anything strange about wearing something that had been Made for his mother. Regardless of what she had done after the war, she had been a great wizard during it, one who had saved the lives of many soldiers, or so the stories told. It wasn’t as if Father would don the robe. Of course, he had not earned the right to wear a warrior mage’s robe by graduating from Stargrind, or even qualifying to enter the academy.
    He almost tucked it back into the drawer, but hesitated. What if it could help him in his quest? Dare he leave it?
    After a few more seconds of debate, Yanko set the robe on the cabinet next to the other items. He gathered everything in his arms and headed into the hall where he almost crashed into his brother. Soft snores came from one of the guest rooms. He had thought they belonged to Falcon, but they must be Lakeo’s.
    Falcon should have been resting, but he had found crutches, and there he was. Yanko’s cheeks heated at being caught taking their mother’s belongings.
    But Falcon merely nodded. “I was going to tell you about that stuff.”
    “You knew?”
    Falcon shrugged. “I was old enough when she left to remember her a little. To remember Father’s confusion at being abandoned and his belief that she would return. Her robe hung in his closet for quite a while, as if he expected her to come walking back in and put it on any day. It was a couple of years before the news that she had become a pirate made its way home.”
    Not certain what else to say, Yanko held out the smoky gray liquor bottle, its contents sloshing inside. “I got this for you.”
    “Thanks, but I was lying in that bed and thinking.”
    “Oh? I thought you were sulking.” Yanko smiled to let Falcon know he was teasing. It wasn’t the time for it, but he wanted so much to part ways with his brother on good terms. He wanted Falcon to smile back and to wish him luck on this journey.
    “Yes, that too. But it occurred to me that we shouldn’t stay here tonight, not right in the house, anyway. We would be too easy for someone to find. This Golden Lodestone, if it can do what Prince Zirabo believes, could literally change the world. Give us another continent. Nuria needs it, but can you imagine what wealth it would represent to anyone who found it? A continent , Yanko. The thought of there being one somehow undiscovered... It’s incredible.” Falcon shifted his weight on the crutches, wincing again. He shouldn’t be up.
    “I know,” was all Yanko said. Who was he to tell his brother how to take care of himself? “Where do you think we should go?”
    “We can spend the night in the woods, keep an eye on the house. Then you can leave in the morning. And I... I’ll stay and wait for the others to return. Or as soon as I’m strong enough, I’ll search for tracks and try to figure out which way they went.”
    “Lakeo won’t be happy about being rousted from the bed. I think she was impressed with the goose down blanket. But I agree with you. I had the same thought. I hid one of the carriages in town in case we were trapped here.”
    Falcon nodded, but then he smiled. “ You drove the carriage? Did Father ever allow you to? He never let me, so I hadn’t touched a vehicle until I was in the army.”
    “No, he never allowed me to, either, but I’m training to be a powerful mage, you know.” One so powerful he hadn’t qualified for Stargrind. Yet more bad news he would have to confess to his brother eventually. Though he supposed it didn’t matter much now.
    “Uh huh. How many fences did you knock over on the way to wherever you were taking it?”
    “Fences? None.”
    Falcon raised his eyebrows expectantly.
    “But a water barrel, two of those hanging flower baskets, and the