“A few tricks, eh? Well what are they? What’s so special?”
Jonny looked at him steadily. Outside he was calm and serene; inside he was very frightened of this imposing figure. “I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Master Silurian. I’m not at liberty to say.”
Flask looked angry, but then he nodded slowly. He changed his tactics again.
“Look,” he said conspiratorially. “I won’t tell anyone, promise. Can’t you show me anything, just a little something? Just a trick or two?” he cajoled.
Jonny lifted his eyebrows, and then shrugged his shoulders resignedly.
“All right, I’ll show you a trick, but I doubt you’ll be impressed,” Jonny said sounding bored.
Jonny had discussed Flask’s attempts with The Master and they had decided that the best way to deal with Flask was to give him what he wanted, but not nearly all Jonny could do. Since he still saw Jonny as an apprentice, he would be impressed by any of Jonny’s skills. Hopefully, he would think that what Jonny showed was all he could do. At least, that was the plan.
Jonny fished his lucky coin, the first one he had ever spun, out of his pocket. He placed it on edge on the worktable with his index finger on top. Closing his eyes he set the coin spinning then removed his finger. It sat spinning steadily on the table.
“Nice bit of manipulation that,” Flask chuckled. “I looked carefully and never saw you start it spinning.”
This rankled Jonny, he was not doing simple sleight of hand; this was real.
“That’s because I didn’t use my hand. It’s not manipulation!” Jonny said testily. In spite of all his attempts to keep calm and uninterested, Flask was getting to him.
“Really,” Flask grinned. “I saw a trick almost exactly like it done at a fair not six months ago. I couldn’t see him flick it either.”
Jonny was getting madder. “But did it keep spinning like mine has?” he challenged.
“Hmmm, now that you mention it, his did seem to slow a bit faster than yours is, but he didn’t have a nice fat heavy coin like yours either,” Flask smirked.
Jonny was losing the calm that he had so carefully cultivated being around Flask. Flask’s insults really hurt Jonny; hurt him most because he knew he could not show him the full extent of his power. Here was the first magician he had encountered who had failed to be impressed by this trick. Flask not only was not impressed, but was also ridiculing him, comparing him to a country sleight of hand artist. He decided he had to show him more.
“But, could he make it spin faster?” Jonny asked, gritting his teeth to make a show of the effort it was taking.
It was not an effort. The real effort was in not taking it and flying it down Flask’s throat, as he wanted to do.
As the coin visibly increased its speed, Flask’s smirk faded somewhat. Jonny wanted to grin when he saw Flask surreptitiously grab at an amulet that Jonny assumed was a demon sight amulet like the one Jonny had. He wanted to laugh aloud when he saw the smirk fade completely as Flask tried vainly to see how Jonny was making it happen.
“How are you doing that, wart?” Flask demanded.
“It’s just a trick,” Jonny said. “Anyone could do it,” he added smugly.
Now Flask was the one losing his control.
“I said, how are you doing that? I can see the force lines bending, but you used no incantation, no materials, nothing. You just looked at it and now it’s spinning,” Flask shouted.
“I told you, it’s just a trick I can do,” Jonny said, matter of factly.
“No you don’t,” Flask growled. “You’re not getting off that easily. You’re telling me, or you’ll wish you had!”
Jonny was scared, but then he looked around the room. All work had stopped. Every journeyman in the room was watching. As Jonny looked at them, Flask too suddenly became aware of the audience. The look of hatred left his face as though it had never been there. He looked around at all the other journeymen and smiled.
“You boys were right,” he said in a jolly tone. “This Jonny here really is something special. You’re lucky to have him here,” he said moving over to wrap an arm around Jonny as if they were the best of friends. As he did this Jonny realized just how much bigger Flask was than him, the top of Jonny’s head did not even reach his armpit.
“That’s really a good trick, Jonny, I’m sure your master is pleased with you,” Flask enthused. Then he said, speaking out of the side of his mouth so only Jonny could hear.
“I meant it, Jonny. You’ll tell me on your own or I’ll beat it out of you.”
He let go of Jonny and stepped away. “Most impressive, yes most impressive,” Flask said, speaking for his audience again. The coin was now spinning so fast that it appeared to be an indistinct gold ball. Jonny decided he had better make it clear that he could do more.
“Heads or tails, Flask?” Jonny asked as Flask was about to turn and go.
“What?” Flask said, caught off guard.
“I said you should call it Flask, head or tails?”
Flask was nonplussed. “Uh, heads, ah yes, always heads.”
“Right then,” Jonny said and looked hard at the coin which suddenly came to a complete stop still balanced on its edge, then gently fell over to land tails side up.
“I guess today’s just not your lucky day, Flask,” Jonny said unable to keep the smirk out of his voice or off his face.
Flask’s face flamed bright crimson. He again looked like he was going to throttle Jonny, but slowly wrestled control back. Jonny had never seen someone who was so obviously upset exert that kind of control. In a way, it was more frightening than the rage had been.
“So, that’s the way it is then,” he said through gritted teeth, “So be it. I challenge you to a duel.”
“Oh you do, do you?” The Master suddenly boomed out. No one had seen him come into the room; all had been so intent on the conflict between Jonny and Flask.
“You challenge my apprentice?” The Master said, mocking. “I thought that you were upset over the fact that I was treating him like a journeyman, and here you are challenging him to a duel. A duel can only take place between equals. Are you suggesting that this boy is your equal, or possibly your superior, Flask?”
Flask was speechless. He tried to reply but nothing came out. “I, ah, I, ah, that is, ah . . . I meant, uh . . .”
“What you meant,” Master Silurian went on implacably, “was what you said. You do consider little Jonny here your equal, and your rival. You have no right whatsoever to challenge him to a duel, in fact I should have you thrown right out of here for your impertinence.”
Flask started to stammer some sort of a reply, but The Master cut him off.
“Yes, I really should have you thrown out of here right now, but I will not, because I really think you need to have your pride shrunk a size or two. I also think Jonny here is just the person to do it for you.” He turned to Jonny. “What do you think, Jonny? Do you want to accept this overblown windbag’s challenge, or shall I throw him out on his ear like he deserves?”
Now it was Jonny’s turn to have difficulty speaking. “Ah, um, M-Master, I guess I’d like to accept his challenge,” he said quietly, very much aware that the eyes of everyone in the room were on him.
“So be it then,” The Master said, looking at Flask, “Tomorrow at noon in the field north of the castle. Open duel. The only restraints I will apply is that this is a duel until one is incapacitated or yields, not to the death. Also, no demon magic is allowed. That should not bother you, Flask, since you agreed to forego demon magic while you were here at the castle. Do you both accept the terms?”
They both agreed, then Flask glared at Jonny and left the room.
“There’s one to watch, Jonny,” The Master said looking where Flask had gone. “You have pricked his pride. He will be no easy opponent. He is more than a match for most so-called masters out there.”
“How can I hope to beat him, Master?” Jonny said, starting to get really scared as the ful
l import of what he had just agreed to sank in.
A wizard’s duel was no small thing. Like sword duels, they were frequently a matter of life and death, or at least a matter of honor. Even with the strictures The Master had added, this could still mean a whole world of hurt to Jonny.
“Ah, it shouldn’t really be too difficult, Jonny,” The Master added distractedly. “You have seen most of what he can do. He really is a fairly competent wizard, and much more broadly versed than most wizards today, but even he is still greatly dependent on demons for anything really powerful. He cannot use them, so I do not think he should be too great of a challenge.
“In fact, you have a great advantage on him,” The Master said now grinning.
“What’s that, Master?”
“Well, you know pretty much what he is capable of, but he still has no idea what you can do. That coin trick really threw him, but I seriously doubt he has thought about the implications of what it will mean. No, you really are the one who has the advantage, but you must be very careful. I am sure this is not his first duel so he will have more than a trick or two up his sleeve too. It should be fun,” he added, grinning a grin that did nothing to reassure Jonny.
§ § §
The Master had been correct in saying that this was not Flask’s first duel. The other journeymen told Jonny that Flask had been in fourteen previous duels, and had won them all. Worse, was that four of those opponents were now masters, and Flask had beaten them nonetheless. This did nothing to boost Jonny’s confidence.
Jonny believed he could win because The Master thought he could. In a way, this was more exciting than the earlier battle had been. This was real, and Jonny decided he would prepare for it as he had the previous conflict. He would think of things that he hoped would catch Flask off guard.
The trickiest part was that The Master had again cautioned Jonny against revealing the full extent of his talent.
“I know this is unfair to you, Jonny,” Master Silurian had told him, “but if he knows you can fly, it would be no time at all before many people we do not want aware of your ability would know. No, I hate to say this, but it would be much better for you to lose than for Flask to find out all you can do. In some ways, losing would be the best thing you could do. But I can’t ask you to do that. I just want you to know what the stakes are here.”
Jonny decided he would treat this purely as an educational experience. If he could win with his magical hands tied behind his back, well and good, otherwise he would just do the best he could.
Chapter 49
The whole castle was in an uproar over the duel. Jonny was surprised to find that there was almost no one who wanted Flask to win. Most of the journeymen there felt that Jonny, though only an apprentice, was one of their own. Many admired Flask, but they were also jealous. The Master was not the only one who wanted to see Flask’s ego deflated.
The apprentices were totally on Jonny’s side. He was their hero. Just the fact that Flask considered him worthy of a duel had elevated Jonny to godlike status in their eyes, and he was what they all secretly wanted to be, a kid who could show the big people who was boss.
Jonny got little sleep that night. He tossed and turned, coming up with plans and then discarding them. Every time he thought he had something that would work well, he found himself wondering if he was showing too much, or if Flask would have a simple defense. It drove him crazy, and he finally fell asleep just before dawn.
§ § §
Grelnick shook Jonny awake. He told Jonny it was just two hours before noon. Jonny could not believe he had slept that long. He did not feel like he had slept at all. Grelnick helped Jonny get some late breakfast and filled him in on the mood in the castle. Apparently, Flask, though he had told everyone this was no contest, was taking no chances. He had been holed up with another journeyman making plans for much of the night. Other than that, everyone in the castle wanted Jonny to win, but many were not expecting him to. There was fierce wagering going on and there had even been fights among some of the apprentices as to whether anyone should bet against Jonny. Jonny almost asked, but decided it was better if he did not know what the odds were against him.
Jonny was resigned to his fate, he would probably lose. He could not anticipate everything Flask might do. Several of the plans he had worked out the night before he thought might work, but he was not going to commit himself to any of them until he saw Flask’s reaction. He didn’t think it would be enough.
Time passed very slowly, and very fast at the same time. It seemed to Jonny like noon would never arrive and that it was upon him before he could possibly be ready no matter what he did. He was not feeling happy. He felt like a man condemned to be hung at dawn who sees the sky getting lighter and lighter. He only hoped it would be over quick.
§ § §
As the sun reached its zenith, the whole castle flowed towards the north field. It was rare when everyone in the castle congregated for anything, but they were there now. Jonny, Flask and Master Silurian were at the center of the unruly mob. The Master had everyone fall back to give them room. There was much jockeying for position on the rocks at the northern edge of the field, which afforded the best view.
Flask looked every inch the master wizard. Even though his robes still marked him as a journeyman, he somehow managed to wear them so that they appeared more fine and noble. He stood tall, his hair perfectly in place, a gleam in his eye.
Jonny looked every inch the young apprentice. He had changed into fresh clothes, but he looked uncertain and small, especially when compared to the radiant Flask. Jonny did not look happy, but neither did he look beaten. There was a subtle but clear sense of resolve that surrounded him. It looked like this whole duel was a farce, which Jonny could not possibly win, but there was something about him that belied the first comparison. Flask saw it too.
They both stood about thirty feet apart facing each other. The Master once again reiterated the rules: a battle of honor, not injury, no demon magic, and finished when one of them yielded or was incapacitated. He raised his large staff and let it drop, the signal to begin.
Both Jonny and Flask began to invoke spells rapidly. Jonny used his shield spell, which he hoped would give him time to figure out what Flask would try to do and counter it. Flask began gesticulating and then pointed his index finger at Jonny. From the end of his finger sprang three small white globes, flying straight at Jonny. Luckily, Jonny had finished his shield spell in time and the three magic missiles bounced off it harmlessly. Jonny had seen Flask demonstrate the magic missiles before and expected Flask to use them.
Now that the initial exchange was over Jonny was not sure what to do next. Flask gave him a mock bow.
“Well done, apprentice. A fine shield spell,” Flask began, “but what are you going to do now? You can’t keep the shield up forever and I doubt very much you can do anything offensively while you have it up.”
Jonny said nothing, then closed his eyes and reached out for a rock with his zdrell and sent it flying right at Flask. The rock impacted a shield surrounding Flask and bounced away into the audience.
“Oh my,” Flask said smirking. “I seem to have a shield as well. Too bad, I don’t have to concentrate to keep mine up. Good try though, I am impressed.”
Jonny had expected something like that, but seeing it made his stomach tighten wondering how he could win.
At just that moment, Flask unleashed another salvo of three missiles that again rebounded off Jonny’s shield. Some of the good humor left Flask’s face when he saw that his diversion had been foiled and Jonny still had his shield firmly in place. Jonny responded by throwing three more rocks at Flask who could not help flinching even though they were repelled by his shield.
The Apprentice to Zdrell Page 26