A Sorcerer Imprisoned

by Guy Antibes

  After downing his cold breakfast, he left his room and tapped on Warden Sarini’s door.

  “Ricky?”

  Hopefully, the worst of the drugs had worn off. He unlocked the door and entered the dark room. He created a sorcerer’s light and gasped.

  The warden was covered with filth. “I think I need a little help,” she said. “Whatever drug Pacci used does not wear off without consequences.”

  Ricky padded to the washroom and returned with a bucket of water and some of the towels that Henni had brought down. He grabbed a cloak from his room along the way.

  “I’ll turn my back while you wash. You can wear this after you wash your clothes. We have some things to discuss if you are up to it.”

  She sighed. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

  “Neither of us does.” Ricky grabbed a chair and set the back towards the warden. “As you found out, I located the door to the basement pantry. We don’t have to rely on drugged meals.”

  “I ate more than I should have,” Nania Sarini said. “I ended up wearing most of it.”

  Ricky could hear the misery in her voice.

  “I was so drugged up. I couldn’t restrain eating like a starving animal. The effects stopped abruptly. I think Pacci is giving whatever this is as punishment, now that I have experienced the aftereffects.”

  “That makes more sense than leaving you in a state of euphoria.”

  She giggled. “I kissed you, didn’t I?” She swore. “Couldn’t help it. I wasn’t myself, you understand.”

  Ricky smiled. “Any port in a storm. Isn’t that the saying?”

  She laughed. “The context is not quite right, but I understand what you mean.”

  They went silent for a bit as she went to work making herself more presentable.

  “Pacci threw some of my clothes in with me. You can turn around now.”

  Her soiled clothes weren’t yet washed, but she looked less of a mess, wrapping the cloak around her.

  Ricky looked about and saw a valise that didn’t look centuries old. “Are these your clothes?”

  “Yes.”

  He retrieved it and gave it to her, resuming his place in the chair, looking away while she found something to wear.

  “I feel much better,” she said.

  Ricky turned around. The warden looked different. Her damp hair hung down, now removed from the tight bun she always wore. The blouse wasn’t as tailored, so she looked more like a woman. He ended up blushing. Ricky had never thought of the warden as a woman before, except for that kiss.

  “Now what?” she said, looking at Ricky.

  He felt a bit confused. “Aren’t you in charge?”

  “I’m not the sorcerer.”

  Ricky took a deep breath. “I have kept something secret from you,” he said. “I think I need Siria Lonsi’s help because of that secret.”

  ~

  Putting half of the Home’s guards to sleep didn’t seem like the prudent thing to do, but it seemed like it to Ricky by the time he reached the third floor of the main building. At least Siria’s rooms were situated on the opposite end of the main building from Antino Pacci.

  Neither of them knew if Siria’s quarters had been moved, but Ricky had no way to find out. He and Nania Sarini lived a parallel life to what the rest of the Home did. He stood in front of her door and slipped the key in the lock. It turned, and Ricky entered the battle sorcerer’s quarters.

  He lit a sorcerous light on purpose. Ricky would risk sneaking up on the woman.

  “Who’s there?” a female voice called from the bedroom.

  “Valian,” Ricky said.

  “Ricky?” He recognized Kela’s voice.

  “Valian is here?” Ricky heard Siria say. They were obviously sleeping in the different rooms.

  “I am,” he said.

  They both walked into the sitting room at nearly the same time, clad in robes. Kela must have worn one of Siria’s since it dragged on the floor.

  “Where have you been? Warden Pacci said he put you away until Winter’s Day.”

  “He did, but I am a sorcerer, am I not?”

  “You know how to open locks with your magic?” Siria asked. Her tone told him she didn’t believe it.

  “I acquired a master key,” Ricky said. “I hope you can keep this to yourselves, or I’ll probably be killed.”

  “Won’t we all?” Siria said. “I’ve been conscripted into the Home’s little army as a battle sorceress. There are the three of us.”

  Ricky looked at Kela. “I know who you are.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Don’t worry. It’s immaterial right now. Your contact is dead, along with Henni.”

  “Henni? Did Pacci do it?” Kela said, her eyes rimmed with tears.

  “All those loyal to Warden Sarini. Pacci has to cover his tracks. That’s not why I came up here. Kela and I discovered some sorcery books in the library.” Ricky looked meaningfully at Kela. He could only think of her with that name, at least for now. He pulled the spell creation book from where he had jammed it into the back of his pants.

  “I’ve gone as far as my background takes me. I’ve picked up most of the first third of the book. It’s ancient. I’ve run into terms and concepts that I don’t understand. I need to have you help me with comprehending what it says.” He handed it to Siria.

  She turned to the front of the book. “This is priceless. It was in the library?”

  “No one ever goes there. A lot of the books are centuries old,” Kela said.

  “Someone missed this when the King’s ancestors purged Paranty,” Siria said. “How much time do you have?”

  “About two hours,” Ricky said. “The guards will be sleeping for that long, and the cooks won’t be stirring until after then.”

  “Let’s get to work.” Siria looked at Kela. “Get us some water.”

  Siria scanned the book, asking Ricky for clarification of some phrases until she reached Ricky’s stopping point. She let out a low whistle but stopped it abruptly. “I haven’t seen these terms since Duteria.”

  They sat together as Siria pointed out the words and gave Ricky the definitions. “You understand what this book is all about?”

  “You learned this kind of sorcery in Duteria?”

  She shook her head. “Not me, but Mirano did, I’m sure of it. Using the concepts, a sorcerer can do just about whatever he or she wants. It’s all a matter of resonance and will.”

  “I can already do that, but finding a resonance is much easier using the techniques in the book, right? ” Ricky asked.

  Siria nodded. “Much easier. I’m afraid my abilities are more modest than the sorcerer who came up with this. You, on the other hand…”

  “I’ve already figured out that one needs to align the pitch to the visualization, but I didn’t know exactly how a sorcerer could use his will to find the resonance. It’s always been a lot of trial and error.”

  “Will makes it easier.” Siria looked at Kela. “Do you know what we are talking about?”

  She shook her head. “A little I guess. I’m not well-schooled as you know.”

  “I do,” Siria said. “Sometimes I wonder how you could have been so neglected by your parents.”

  Kela maintained her story by staying silent.

  “I’ve got enough to continue,” Ricky said. “Pacci wants us to die on Winter’s Day. I don’t want to do that. Will you two help us?”

  “Us?” Siria asked.

  Ricky nodded. “Warden Sarini has her own dungeon.”

  ~

  The session with Siria energized Ricky only because he could count on Siria and Kela as allies. He didn’t know if Pacci would threaten to kill them unless Ricky cooperated or not, but just talking to them brightened his spirits.

  The book disappointed him somehow. He had expected to learn something earth-shattering, but other than accelerating the process of finding resonance, Ricky was well on the way to quickly matching resonance with visualization. He felt
using his will as a tuning fork to locate resonance was just a faster method. The technique wouldn’t save the four of them.

  He looked at his stores and decided to bring some more to Warden Sarini. He knocked at the door.

  “Enter,” she said.

  Ricky entered.

  “I’m getting pretty good at not running into things in the dark,” she said. “You returned. I suppose you were able to meet with Siria Lonsi?”

  “She figured out we were all in the same situation.”

  “What about the book?”

  “Her time in Duteria helped her unlock a few concepts that no one has been taught in Paranty in centuries.”

  “Where did you really find the book?” the warden asked. “I know it wasn’t in the library. I have a very old inventory in my office…my former office.”

  Ricky sighed. The time had come to share his secret with another person. “I found a hidden annex,” he said. “The door had been papered over and then who knows how many coats of paint covered it. The books in the hidden library pre-date the current dynasty.”

  The warden gasped. “Old books?”

  Ricky nodded. “Very old books. Kela knows, but I told Siria the same story that I just gave you.”

  “And Kela didn’t expose you?”

  Ricky shook his head.

  Warden Sarini smiled. “Good for her. I hope that means that you can trust her.”

  “As much as I can trust you,” Ricky said.

  “Oh, you can trust me because you are such a good boy.” She grinned and reached over to pat him on the cheek.

  Ricky groaned. She even remembered the words she had spoken when she kissed him.

  ~

  Drugged food arrived the next night. Ricky acted like he was scared to eat it, and indeed he was. He suspected he overacted a little bit.

  “You’ll eat it before long. It’s all you get,” the guard said when he closed the door.

  Ricky waited for a while. The guards made another round and Ricky acted drugged again.

  “Ha! What did I say?” the guard sneered as he locked Ricky’s door.

  When the guards left, Ricky retrieved the warden, and they both entered the library.

  “I’ve only been down here once or twice since I became warden,” she said, looking at the shelves filled with old books. “Everything seemed so old, and no one ever bothered to use it, even the teachers.”

  “You’ll see even older books when we get this shelf moved,” Ricky said as he began emptying the shelf. “You can help me with this. Think of it as needed exercise, Warden.”

  “I’m not the warden now.”

  Ricky didn’t say another word. They moved the shelf back.

  “I can see why no one bothered to notice.” She examined the thick paint that covered the paper.

  Ricky poked his finger in the hole where the knob used to be and pulled. The door swung out. It seemed that he hadn’t been in the hidden room for years, but he’d been there just days ago. He increased the glow of his sorcerous light as he entered.

  “Pick one, and you’ll have a book that could be five hundred years old in your hands,” he said.

  She did as Ricky said. “All the books are from the old dynasty?”

  “And before. These two book shelves contain nothing but sorcery books. I imagine they’d all be banned in Paranty.”

  “You read all these?”

  Ricky shook his head. “The writing is too hard to make out. They used different words and a different style of prose, so I haven’t been able to spend much time interpreting, just a few volumes is all. This is a treasure, isn’t it?”

  Nania Sarini opened another book. “Priceless, given that books such as these were burned.”

  “Saganet taught me that histories can never be fully believed since they are always written from a person’s point of view.”

  “A teacher at the academy?”

  “My guardian. I think he is Effie’s boyfriend.” Ricky smiled.

  “Then he must be a great man.”

  “Great to me,” Ricky said, “but not to everyone.”

  “What did you intend to do with your find?”

  “Keep it a secret until I can think of what to do to preserve the books. They aren’t mine, and I wouldn’t steal them and sell them if that is what you are thinking.”

  “No, moving them to some other place seems to be a good idea. A place where they could be protected.”

  “Doubli Academy?”

  “The academy is a better place than Sealio or Applia. If for some odd reason I’m the warden again, I will help you find a suitable home for this part of the library. The people who walled the room up wanted the books protected, or they would have destroyed them.”

  “Saganet and Effie will be here on Winter’s Day. Maybe they can take them while the Home is in disarray.”

  “Before or after we’re killed?” the warden said.

  “I’ll try to keep that from happening,” Ricky said.

  “I would scoff at such a claim made by any other fifteen-year-old boy, but not you.” She patted his cheek again. “Do I embarrass you?”

  “Yes,” Ricky said, emphatically.

  “If that’s your only weakness, we are in good shape.”

  “It’s not my only weakness,” Ricky said, although he didn’t think of himself in terms of weakness or strength. He sought to preserve his life above all else, but on his terms. He tried to constantly move in that direction, no matter what the obstacle.

  ~~~

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  ~

  “I ’M NOT GOING TO HAVE TO PLAY AT BEING TIRED,” Nania Sarini said after a late night exercise session in the cell Kela and Ricky had turned into a practice room.

  “It feels good though, doesn’t it? I hate spending time in my cell,” Ricky said. He stopped, hearing footsteps on the stairway. “Guards!”

  They had both left their doors open. Ricky quickly locked the warden up, and he barely made it to his cell when guards appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He was supposed to be wrung out from the drug’s effect, so he moaned a bit.

  “Come with us,” the guard said. His face screwed up. “You smell like you’ve been out working in the gardens.”

  “You’d smell too if you had to come off that drug you’re feeding me. Do I have to go?” Ricky said.

  They dragged him out of the cell. “Why are you taking me away?” Ricky said loudly for the warden’s benefit as they jostled him to his feet. “Mattia wants you to practice with the other sorcerers. You won’t be out for long, so don’t get your hopes up.”

  That suited Ricky as they pushed and prodded him forward down the hallway towards Building Two. The Home didn’t look any different to him, except for fewer inmates hanging around in the hallways. As Ricky continued to grumble, the guards dropped him off at the door to the basement and watched him descend to the training floor.

  When Ricky walked down the last step, the practice stopped. The inmates gawked at him.

  Mattia rushed up. “They weren’t supposed to bring you here,” he said. He looked more sad than angry as he sought out an inmate. “Bisacci, take Valian to the gardener’s shed. Stay with him. He is not to leave your sight.”

  “Yes, sir,” Gil said, nodding to Mattia. He took Ricky’s arm. “Come with me,” he said sternly, taking Ricky through the inmates towards the back stairway leading outside.

  Once Gil shut the door, he let Ricky’s arm go. “Don’t try to escape. We’ve had a few deaths. Warden Pacci doesn’t give a second chance.”

  “I won’t,” Ricky said. “How is the training going?”

  Gil shook his head. “As soon as you left, Mattia told us that separating into units was a bad idea since Warden Pacci discouraged it. None of us agreed, so we’ve still tried to maintain separate training groups. It doesn’t look it, but we’ve managed to work as teams as much as possible.” He looked more intently at Ricky. “I expected you to look more beaten.”

  “Dru
gged, mostly,” Ricky said. “It’s something that makes you drunk, but when it wears off the recovery makes you sick. I’m just getting over the sick part. I was beaten a few times on the first day. That only added to the bruises that Pacci gave me in front of everyone.”

  “I’d just like to remain drunk,” Gil said. “I’ll bet you don’t.”

  Ricky just shook his head as he began to walk towards the gardener’s shed. “You’ll have to watch yourselves. I think you are going to be tasked to overrun the Royal Barracks in Applia.”

  “Us?”

  Ricky nodded. “A diversion. While the army is slaughtering you, the Duke’s troops will probably attack, but I don’t know if they will attack the royal soldiers or the barracks itself.”

  “That’s not what Mattia says.”

  “I wouldn’t expect him to. He’d probably say you are all going to be reserves, out of harm’s way.”

  “Something like that. We are to protect the ducal palace during an expected revolt on Winter’s Day. The Duke’s army will be hiding and crush the rebellion.”

  “Either way, most of you will be killed fighting experienced troops. Think about it. If a revolt occurred, who would be the first the Duke would call?”

  “The Royal Army.” Gil furrowed his brow and met Ricky’s eyes. “None of this sounds very good for us.”

  “You lose in any scenario because you aren’t reserves.”

  “No one will like that.”

  “Tell the others, but keep it down. I’ll try to think of something. If nothing else, we all need to find a place to run and hide. If you all scatter, some will escape.” Ricky shook his head. “When you are in groups, you have to come up with something other than throwing your lives away.”

  “But what about our battle sorcerers?”

  “We will be no different. Warden Pacci wouldn’t care if everyone in the Home died. He’s playing for big stakes, and our purpose is to be thrown into the fire he and the Duke of Applia are igniting. What do you think Sealio would do if they found out? All the friendly guards that were on Warden Sarini’s side were killed. The Home is sealed tight.”