Atomic Mage by Garrett Carter (short books for teens txt) 📕

"Ok let's start with some easy questions, what kind of mage are you?" He began, trying valiantly to keep a menacing face on as Drake started to drool.

"Earth mage," the mage replied, the same goofy look plastered on his face.

"But you control metal as well as the earth," Cade asked, his menacing look falling further as Drake began to look at his hands as if they were the most interesting things he had ever seen.

"So can all earth mages."

Drake's sing-song voice eroded Cade's facade of intimidation further as the slaver continued to inspect his hands, opening and closing his palms and examining his black claws.

"Why was it so hard for me to take control of the spikes you put in me?" Cade asked, his menacing look falling completely.

Giving up the battle to look scary he fought a new losing battle to keep from guffawing at the slaver's new interest.

"One would have to be extro... extrroord...very very very powerful to break one's hold on their given element,"

Drake finished his statement before his train of thought was derailed once again as he realized his leather jerkin was malleable.

As the slaver began to explore his black clothing with childlike wonder, Cade thought about what he had just heard as he dosed up the earth mage once more to keep him pliant.

"If the issue of the spikes was trying to break them from Drake's power then maybe the atoms are just aligned with his personal frequency while he interacts with them," he said to himself.

Murmuring to himself, he tried to make sense of the vague explanation, the frequency thing a shot in the dark as far as he was concerned, atomic physicist he was not.

"Maybe some sort of quantum entanglement," he said aloud with a shrug.

"Draaake...Drakeiee you still with us. I want you to make a spike for me and hold it still, try not to let me move it ok?"

Cade stifled a snort as he made his request to the delusional earth mage who was amid a fit of giggles at the popping sound he was making with his mouth.

"I....can...do...thaaaat," he answered slowly as Cade watched him almost physically pull the words out of his mouth.

Cade's battle with his mirth lost another battle as a snort of amusement escaped him.

Drake completed his end of the request as he created a stone spike and brought the shakily lofted spike up to hover between them.

Cade was pleasantly surprised at the continued resistance he was met with when he tried and failed to move the levitating spike.

Placing a hand on his chin, he thought the problem through, trying to move the spike wasn't happening with only brute force.

The amount of power required even to shift it a little was staggering, the power source on the back of his skull was just barely up to the task, any more "juice" and he was close to repeating his little explosion on a level even his healing probably wasn't up to dealing with.

Shivering at the destructive power he had melted to his skull Cade threw out just throwing more power at the problem.

Having to carry that block that powered his home was out of the question.

Even if the weight was negligible with his improved body, the chance of losing it and putting him and his mates in jeopardy was too high a risk for him to take.

Trying out a wild thought brought on by the modifications he had made to Drake's spikes in the physical world, he attempted to lengthen the spike by a small amount and pull it from Drake's grip at the same time.

The spike shot out like a stone bullet to his left as Drake lost his grip on the sliver of stone.

Bringing the price of stone back between them Cade was elated at his success, but only for a second as the simplicity of the change hit him.

The modification of the spike were not unique to him, Drake had created the spike he was holding, so anyone should be able to do what he just did.

His contemplation on the implications of the small change and how it affected the battle of wills he assumed was the go-to for fights between mages ended as he saw the look of shock on Drake's face.

"H..how did you do that?" The mage asked as he shook his head and blinked his low lidded gaze away to look in shock at the spike that had been torn from his grip.

"Can't everyone do that, it was stupidly simple?"

A confused look grew on his face as he asked the question, the modification was extremely slight maybe a micron or two of length had been stretched out of the four-inch spike.

"Not once I have created something out of metal or earth no one can take it from me, nor any mage with their element."

Mental clarity and rage, with a small amount of fear, slowly starting to make their way to his face as he finished his statement.

Seeing the mage beginning to get his wits back, Cade dosed him up once more hoping he wouldn't have to kill him just yet, he had a few more questions to ask before he did that.

Cade watch warily as Drake's face took on its goofy look once more, but uneasy about the slaver's resilience to his previous infusion of happy hormones he took the time to feel the undercurrents of Drake's feelings.

Smugness seeped out the slaver's figurative pores, their potency, and strength allowing Cade to see through the slaver's ruse of goofiness.

A spear of rock drove towards