Crystyn glared at Abrennin and clenched the arms of the chair. “You've done something. I don't care what it takes, but you stop it! Do whatever it takes, but you make it stop! You gave your word you wouldn't do anything anymore!” She was shaking, tears rolling down her face.
Abrennin got up to go kneel in front of his wife. “The day you told me we were pregnant, I gave my word, of my own free will. I promise, I have done nothing to tarnish that.” He smiled bitterly. “I observe the Flows of energy, offer my expert opinions to the Conclave, who are all experts themselves, and they pay me more than I could possibly make as a no-mu. And with that leash of money, they drag us all over the map and keep an eye on me.” His eyes searched her face. “Don't get me wrong, I am grateful, but you know I would never tell the Conclave anything about our children. The work isn't bad, but we needed the money and I only did it for you and the kids.” He choked up a bit, but made it through the next sentences, at a whisper. “Since I Swore, I have completely broken off all contact with anyone who was with the Guidants or any Rogues. If someone even tried to contact me, I would tell you.” He looked sincerely into his wife's eyes, and took her hands between his own. “I can only guess that this is someone, well, arranging things for their own grab for power.” He waited and saw her make the connections. “Maybe someone is trying to influence you.”
Crystyn searched his face, and then took one of her hands back to wipe her tears. She nodded and leaned back. “But why give such powerful magical items to Haylwen? I mean, a Wish Wand! It makes no sense.” She paused for a moment, then looked at him. “Wait. Where are the items?” She searched his face. “You let her keep them! Are you insane? Would we let Cadarn keep a helicopter?” She got up to leave.
“Wait.” Abrennin’s command voice didn’t always work with his wife, but it at least let her know he was serious. “She can't get into too much trouble; she doesn't know how to get the helicopter off the ground. In fact, you know that women can't use the male magic of a Wish Wand at all. Besides, if it blends with her, it will be invisible and with enough time, even harmless. Maybe we need to have her keep them.”
Abrennin got up and stood, facing his wife. He still held her one hand in his, and looked over her shoulder at the study door. “Maybe they are just trying to impress us with how much power they have, that they can just throw away such items. Maybe they are showing us how easy it is to get to Haylwen.” He shook his head. “Those don't really feel right, though.” He looked at his wife, and slumped a little. “I hate to say it, but there is another possibility, something that would make it vital that we not interfere.”
Crystyn turned to face him fully.
Quickly, before his mind could avoid it, Abrennin said what he feared the most. A part of his mind saw how it all made sense from that perspective. “Maybe this isn't about us at all,” he said softly, pointing at the books scattered around the room. “I don't remember where, but I do remember a dragon prophecy. One dragon will lead them all out of hiding, back into the world, toppling kings. If Haylwen is holding those items for a dragon, we dare not interfere with prophecy and risk destroying the world!”
Chapter 16
Partners
The room was large, with rough-hewn stone walls. There was one narrow stairway, also of the same gray stone, which crawled up one wall to the only door. The lack of windows made for a dank and musty smell. The door that led out of the room was metal, and from the look of it, very old. In the center of the room was a table, and Stephan Johansen was lying on his back, hands and feet tied to each of the four corners. He wore only a pair of black boxer shorts. Despite the chill, he was sweating. His eyes darted to his right, where a long bench stood. He could just see a thin metal rod, about a finger breadth thick and as long as his arm.
The door opened with a high-pitched creak as the hinges protested their use. Stephan tried to see, but he could not look that far to the left. The door creaked again, and closed with a dull thud. Stephan's breathing quickened, and he unconsciously flexed his hands. Once again, he tried to access the energies despite knowing the table made it impossible.
He could hear footsteps make their way unhurriedly down the stairs and again contorted to see who it was. He could finally see that it was a tall, thin man who approached. Cawnal Adar. His counterpart, the king’s left Hand. He should have felt better that it was his long-time partner, one Hand to the other.
He did not. He knew better.
“Oh, please, please, let me go, I'll do anything, I know I screwed up but I can still make it right! I swear! For old time’s sake! I was just following orders! How could I know she could break free? I'll not underestimate her again!” He stopped, panting.
Cawnal went over and picked up the rod by the one end that showed a reddish-gold metal. The other end was black. He held it up to where Stephan could see it and, without a word, the black end started shedding black ash, glowing of hot metal.
“I’m not much of a magic user, so I have to use these crude and messy methods. Fortunately, this doesn’t take much,” he said, talking to himself.
“But you make up for it! You are loyal to king and cause, just like myself!” Stephan assured. “We are a team, old buddy, no need for all of this.”
Cawnal looked at Stephan and shook his head. He continued in a conversational tone, “I’m sorry, old buddy, but the king really stressed you learn from your mistake.”
“My connections with the school system are very valuable for keeping track of them!” Stephan cried.
Cawnal nodded. “Yes, those will be useful. As he says, every obstacle is an opportunity. Even your failure will work toward his plan succeeding.”
Stephan wasn’t much relieved at the confirmation he was not going to be killed.
“He said he needs to have your face and hands untouched.” Cawnal made a grimace as his voice went harsh, metal scraped along stone. “So many nerves in the face, such a pity.” He touched the glowing end of the rod with a finger, hissing in pain through his smile. “So many lessons in pain, you should thank me.”
“I do, I do! You know I do! But would thank you more if we didn’t have to do it this way. And we have so much to do, is this really necessary?”
Cawnal looked at him, thinking. “He gave me specific instructions for what we are to do after this.” He paused, and lowered the rod. “I am going to go after the boy directly. And you...”
Stephan had a moment of hope. Maybe this time he had gotten through; Cawnal finally appreciated their relationship! They could agree on a story…
Cawnal's pause was short. “No, I will just save your instructions for after. They are very specific, and I doubt you will remember much if I tell you now.” He raised the rod, which was glowing white. Stephan could feel the heat from it on his bare chest.
Stephan's breath caught in his throat. For only a moment, however, for he was soon screaming.
Chapter 17
Awake
The rhythmic thumping of music through his father’s pitiful speakers barely covered the sound of his typing an email to CJ. Cadarn paused in his pounding on the keyboard. He wasn't really sure what was going on, but it was just embarrassing to be dragged out of school like a little kid. He was pretty sure he had made a good first impression with the teachers at this new school and missing class was never a good thing. This was one of the first times he actually didn’t mind class—this charter school thing was the best. Yes, this school was nice… Before he could stop himself, he had visions of Solbright in his mind, of the times he saw her in the hall, those rare times he could almost convince himself she had smiled at him... but he quickly slammed the door to where that thought led. There’s no way she could like you, he told himself sternly. She’s drop-dead, popular, and could have any guy in school. You are just a scrawny nerd, whose only interesting feature is that you are the new kid. She was probably laughing at you. He couldn’t get rid of the hopeful fantasy completely, however. Her smile lingered in his mind, like the tiniest film of
fragrant oil on water, a shimmering drop of hope on his pool of self-doubt.
He dismissed it completely by resuming his rant to CJ about stupid parents and quickly sent it. Before he could refocus on the stupid history paper he was working on, he was being IM'ed by CJ.
“Dude,” CJ wrote, “Saw UR email. What happened?”
“Parental intervention,” Cadarn quickly typed back.
“Parents suck. You busted for something?”
“No,” Cadarn paused. He didn't really know what was going on, but he had a guess. “Family problems. My sister is always causing trouble.”
“Yeah, sibs suck, too. Let me know if you need a place to crash.”
There was a knock on the office door followed a moment later by the door opening. For the millionth time Cadarn wished his parents would let him have his new computer and get it connected. Their stupid dial-up might even be fast on that thing.
His father poked his head in. “Please come out, I would like to talk to you in the living room.”
Cadarn looked over his shoulder. “I've got a lot to do. Have to finish this paper and then figure out what schoolwork I am going to miss by getting dragged out of school against my wishes, after all.” He turned back to the screen.
“Two minutes. Then the power goes off,” his father said as he shut the door.
Cadarn typed quickly. His father had thrown the breaker before.
“Dude, gotta run, I'll catch up l8r.”
“Totally! I want gory details!”
Cadarn logged off and saved his work, but left the computer on and the music still as loud as it could go. He considered leaving the door wide open so he could still hear the music, but thought it would draw too much attention.
He found his sister sitting on the couch looking tired and anxious. He plunked down right next to her, causing her to bounce into him. He saw her bleary eyes up close and knew she had been crying. He was a little mad at her— her being the reason he was dragged out of school— but felt badly for her too. He always had a soft spot for his little sister.
She didn't even crack a smile at being bounced into him, so he pushed her over. She pushed herself up and was going to punch him back when their parents came out of the kitchen. Cadarn was used to seeing his mother looking angry, but wasn't used to her looking so scared. He didn't have a moment to dwell on it, though.
They sat down across from the couch, their mother on the edge of the old comfy chair, and their father on a kitchen chair across from them. He glanced at Haylwen, then looked at Cadarn.
“Something happened at Haylwen's school, to your sister, that has me and your mother concerned. We talked, and decided that you two are going to be homeschooled.”
Haylwen seemed only a little surprised, but Cadarn was barely aware of her. A year ago, he would have been happy, but now, this new school, things were different. His thoughts were a jumble.
“Home schooled?” Cadarn said. “Why?”
“There are a number of reasons, but the most important one is that you two need to learn other things.”
“What other things?” Cadarn blurted. “Why can't we just learn them after school?” He flushed a little but was upset enough to risk interrupting his father.
His father blinked, but didn't seem upset. He fixed his eyes firmly on Cadarn. “Your sister was attacked. We’re not sure why. You two need to learn how to defend yourselves.”
“I've been taking martial arts classes since forever,” Cadarn started, but his father interrupted.
“A different kind of defense,” he said softly, looking at Haylwen.
Cadarn looked at his sister, who had started quietly crying, seeming to slump even further into the couch.
“Kids, your mother and I are...,” his father continued. Then, the words stuck in his throat. He looked startled and looked at their mother. She also looked confused. “We decided that you are old enough to learn...” He seemed to be trying to force air out and was having trouble breathing.
Cadarn looked at his father, then to his mother. “What's going on?” She shook her head in confusion. “When does this homeschooling start?” Maybe there was an after school club, if he could just find one.
His mother had collected herself. “Tomorrow. We are going to move as quickly as we can find another place, but can't afford to wait that long,” she answered.
“Move? What, moving too?” He glared at his father, who wasn’t even paying attention. Something snapped in him and he stood up and yelled, “Move? Again? And home school? This sucks! I like this place, and I like this school! I am not moving and I am not doing any stupid homeschooling!”
He ran into the office and slammed the door. Without realizing what he was doing, he found himself on-line and pinging CJ.
“Dude, you still there?” He scrubbed at his eyes, trying to stop the tears. He distantly heard his parents arguing. The noise faded away.
Unsurprisingly, CJ was still online. “Ya, dude, got the gory?”
“We're moving again!”
“No way!”
“Way.” Cadarn paused, vaguely aware of a growing fear. The horrible, impossible thought jumped from out of hiding. He quickly typed, “What if they don’t have internet? Dude, I would die!”
There was a pause. CJ apparently couldn’t fathom such a thing either. “What are you going to do?”
“What can I do?”
“You could run away!”
“Yeah, and join the circus?”
“No, really! You could live with me!”
Cadarn didn't know if CJ was being serious, but felt uneasy about it. CJ lived with his uncle, just the two of them. He sounded serious. “Yeah, your uncle would let some strange kid live in your basement.”
“We have plenty of room, he wouldn't care! Honestly!”
Cadarn sat back. It was tempting. He imagined if CJ’s uncle was even half as cool as Uncle Chuck, it would rock! He looked over his shoulder and slowly typed, “Thanks, but there's no way.”
“Dude, come on, it would be great, we'd be like brothers!”
Cadarn paused again. To be free, never have to put up with someone telling him to turn down his music, never having to put up with a stubborn father, nagging mother, or annoying sister. A tiny part of him felt it was too good to be true, and a large part felt guilty for wanting to abandon his family, especially his sister. He sighed. “That would be cool, but I just can’t.”
There was a pause before CJ replied. “Well, your call. So, where are you going? Have you checked out the new school?”
“Oh, dude, that's the best, we're going to be homeschooled! Can you imagine my parents as teachers?” Cadarn quickly led the change in subject, to move into the more familiar ground of making fun of things.
He and CJ mocked homeschoolers, and Cadarn laughed at CJ’s joke about being able to say he was first in his class. He really was cool. Maybe, if things didn’t work out well, or when he was a bit older, yeah, like in college, they could be roommates.
CJ had to run, so without thinking, Cadarn started back to work on his paper. Just as he opened it, the screen flashed and his paper disappeared. He swore under his breath as he re-opened the file. I bet CJ doesn’t have to work under these conditions. He paused at the first page of his paper. If I'm going to be homeschooled, I don’t need to finish this stupid paper! His emotions crashed, and he could feel tears filling his eyes.
The room wavered, and he felt a tingling in his fingers where they were touching the keyboard. He tried to move his hands away, but was stuck. He felt like his hands were disconnected, like they weren’t his. What is this? He watched as his fingers slowly disintegrated, spreading over the keyboard in a cloud of fine dust. He ignored breathing, tried again to move his hands, his arms, anything. Nothing. As he struggled, he felt the tingle and watched his arms disintegrate too. It was spreading, and quickly. He felt panic chase the tingling as it rushed into his chest, down his legs, up his neck to explode in his head. Everything went blurry. He tried to
scream, but wasn’t sure if he did.
Was that banging at the door? He couldn't turn his head to look, couldn’t spare the attention to notice when it stopped. He was fighting something, like in a dream; he didn’t know what it was or how he was fighting. Maybe it was his sanity. Later, he remembered hearing his mother’s yell, would remember it sounded melodic, part of a song. He remembered as it was oddly both new and familiar, like an awareness of being in a dream while dreaming. Something in him snapped, like awaking from the dream. A bright blue flash came from what he thought must have been the computer exploding. He crashed back into being solid, normal, aware, as he was thrown back from the computer. He never did figure out if it was the computer exploding or what his mother did that threw him back. He knocked over the small chair, landing on the floor in a heap. It took a moment to realize nothing hurt. When the world reappeared, and he could see more than sparkles, he looked at his hands. They were intact. He flexed them to be sure. He tested his arms, then sat up, looked at the smoking, melted ruin of a computer, and then at his mother. She was standing there, shaking, still holding her arms out, both palms facing what was left of the computer.
Cadarn, his brain still numb, looked at her furrowed brows. “I'm sorry, Mom.” His father and sister rushed in a moment later to stand behind her, his father holding his sister back and looking very grim.
Their mother turned to look at them.
“Oh, no, I forgot about the internet. I didn’t…” his father said. He took a breath, starting to say something, but seemed to choke on the words. He tried to talk, but for some reason, he couldn't. Their mother’s face twisted in fear and anger. She closed her eyes and started humming. It sounded like when she was going to start singing. All of a sudden, her voice cracked and she went into a coughing fit. She looked at the computer, and then threw a confused look at their father. They both just looked at each other. Cadarn looked at Haylwen, who seemed scared, but at least like she knew what was going on. Cadarn shook his head, clearing his mind. He stared at them all as if the whole world had gone insane and by intensity of glare he could make things normal.
One is Come (Five in Circle) Page 10