by John Hosh
Chloë pulled on her hair. She moaned, “It’s not fair. I already lost my mother. I’m a good person. I haven’t spit at the gods. I was never mean to anybody . . . hardly.” Chloë wiped tears from her eyes. “My father said I’m a princess. It’s not fair!” Chloë hung her head. She played with her hair.
Using his left hand, Aegis touched Chloë’s right shoulder. “Life isn’t fair, Chloë. It is what it is.” Aegis withdrew his left hand. “Please don’t cry. You do not have to be alone. If you come with me, you will have friends from all over Earth. You will be fine. I lost my parents, and I’m fine. There’s no reason to cry.”
“It’s not fair.”
“I know.”
“Maybe our creator can make everything as it was again. Maybe . . . if I promise to be good . . . then—”
“Life doesn’t work that way, Chloë. You are not to blame. What the Fates do has nothing to do with you. Even the almighty king of the gods cannot thwart the Fates.”
“Can you take me to Sternon? I want to see what happened.”
“I can take you there.”
“Let’s go then. I don’t want to stay here. These people called me a slave. They tried to feed me and a boy to a monster.”
“A boy? Which boy?”
“He’s gone.”
“What do you mean by gone?”
“The greatest of the Titans was here. He appeared out of nowhere. He was like a dragon. The boy went with him — on a broom. It was only a few moments ago.”
“What was the boy’s name?”
“It was Jacob . . . or Jonah . . . or Jason — something like that.”
“Why did the Titan take the boy?”
“He said he would help us leave here. He said he would take the boy first; then he would come back for me. He said he would be back before Helios left the sky.”
“The boy’s name is Jono. I have been looking for him too. I think we should try to catch him.”
Chloë looked round at the people who were watching her. Chloë said, “I wonder what happened to the Ixian men.”
In a low voice Aegis said, “They were attacking Sternon Island when the god of the sea smashed it. They are ghosts now.”
“The gods must be against the Ixians.”
“The gods are against all of us,” Aegis replied. “We have to hurry. I’m going to make you very small — a miniature. I will put you into my cloak. You will be safe, but the ride may be a little rough. There’s no help for it. Discard that broom. Come. Stand underneath my cloak.”
Chapter 28 : Magus
The day was almost done. Heavy, dark, soft clouds were filling the sky to the west and to the northwest. Along the western horizon were flashes and rumbles.
Above an island that a man could have walked across in one day, a dragon-like creature was circling downward. Close beneath it was Jono.
Near the island’s middle was a low, wide house. The house was near the south edge of some high land. The house and the high land were between some high hills to the north and a seaside village to the south.
On the house’s south side was a patio of flat rocks. The patio was one score of paces from north to south and two fair spits from east to west. Along the southern edge of the patio was a line of tiny flames. The flames came from one score of oil-lamps.
The dragon-like creature let Jono fly ahead of it. The creature dropped below Jono and glided toward the patio from the south. The creature landed between the oil-lamps and the house. The creature folded its wings.
Jono went round and made a perfect landing two strides east of the creature. “Katabasticize,” Jono said. Jono picked up his broom.
The creature metamorphosed. It became the portly man who called himself the creator. Groaning, the man threw back his shoulders. He stretched his arms. He announced, “This is my villa, boy. The whole island is mine. The people in the village live there at my pleasure. I am the archon. I am the king. What I say is law.”
“What about Chloë?”
Without turning to look at Jono, the man said, “It will be raining in a moment. Let’s go in.”
Of one story, the villa was mostly white. It had a peaked thatch roof that had slopes toward the south and toward the north. The villa did not have any windows.
Two sturdy, green, wood-and-rope doors made the villa’s front entrance. Reaching southward from above those doors was a narrow, rectangular peaked roof. Orange clay tiles created slopes toward the west and toward the east. Three strides long, the entrance’s roof was resting on four green wood pillars.
In front of the doors the man commanded, “Portal, open!” The doors swung into the villa. The man stepped inside. Jono followed. Creaking, the doors swung closed.
Along a white hallway, an inhabited ghost, who had a brown tinge, swept toward the man and Jono. Before Death had come, the ghost had been a tall, thin old man. He had been wearing a linen tunic that reached his ankles. His feet were bare. The ghost called, “Magus! Welcome home.”
Behind the ghost, shuffling quickly toward the front door was a slight, bald old man. The old man was wearing sandals, a white, sleeveless leather tunic that reached his ankles and a sheepskin vest that was hanging almost to his knees. The old man called, “Welcome, Magus!”
“Sycophant, you will attend my guest,” Magus said to the ghost. “Adonidas, we will eat.” The old man bowed. He shuffled away from Magus.
Jono asked, “What about Chloë?”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” said Magus. “Put her out of your thoughts.”
“But you said you would go back for her.”
“Now, now,” Sycophant chided Jono. “Magus knows best. If he says not to think about a thing, then think about something else.”
“Follow Sycophant,” Magus said. “He will show you to your room. Wash up. When you are clean, we will eat and talk.” Magus took four steps. He turned left. He pushed aside a hanging leather door. He stepped out of the hallway.
Sycophant floated in front of Jono. “Follow me,” Sycophant said. He passed through the door in the doorway where Magus had gone. Jono pushed the leather door aside and padded after Sycophant.
Sycophant and Jono were in a ceilingless corridor with white walls. Four feet wide, the corridor was higher than a man. Illuminated wands formed a line along the corridor’s north wall. Sycophant swept down the corridor and floated at its end. Jono passed two doorways on his left and two doorways on his right. The doorways had leather doors.
“That way there’s a toilet,” said Sycophant; he was facing Jono and pointing his left thumb north. “Your room is here.” Sycophant passed through a doorway to the south.
Jono followed Sycophant. Jono stepped into a room that was four paces from north to south and three paces from west to east. Two wands in the west wall were giving light.
Against the room’s south wall was a bed. The bed was a wood-and-rope box that was filled with straw. Clay bricks served as the bed’s legs. Several sheepskins were atop the straw.
At the foot of the bed was a wicker trunk that was as high as the bed. Standing north of the trunk and close to the wall was a sturdy dead tree with stubby limbs. Sycophant’s right index finger pointed at the tree. Sycophant directed, “Hang your broom and your cloak on the clothes tree.”
After Jono had hung his broom and his cloak on the tree, Sycophant remarked, “When you go to bed, put your clothing on the tree. You will find a nightshirt in the trunk. In the toilet room you can wash your hands and face. Do that now.”
****
Not much later Jono was in the corridor one step from his room. He called, “Sycophant!”
In the blink of an eye Sycophant came wafting down the corridor. “Pat your hair down,” said Sycophant. Jono used both hands to smooth his hair, which was wet in front. “Good enough. Follow me, young warlock.”
“I’m Jono.” Jono followed Sycophant down the corridor. They crossed the north-south hallway. Through a leather door, they went into another
east-west corridor. Sycophant and Jono passed a leather door on their right. Several steps from that door, Sycophant turned left. He floated through a doorless, single-door doorway. Jono followed Sycophant.
“This is the dining-room,” said Sycophant. He floated a little way east of the doorway. His right index finger was pointing to the northwest. “Use that chair there. I will inform Magus that you are ready for supper.” Sycophant flew through the room’s west wall. Jono yawned. He looked round.
Against the room’s north wall was a narrow table of dark wood. On the table several stubby candles were burning in clay holders.
In the center of the room was a dining-table that was three strides long and almost one pace wide. Near the middle of the table were two clay plates. On each plate, several stubby candles were alight.
Around the dining-table were half a score of chairs. Each chair was a solid block of light wood. All the chairs except one were armless. At the west end of the table was an armchair. The armchair had a sheepskin draped over its back.
The dining-room’s walls were painted. The walls had bright-colored depictions of beasts and birds among trees and flowers. The dining-room did not have any windows. It had neither cupboards nor shelves.
In the wall behind the armchair, at its left, was a second doorway: the west doorway. Beyond that doorway was the north-south hallway. The west doorway did not have any covering.
From the south doorway, Jono walked round the armchair to the northwest corner of the dining-table. He climbed onto the chair to which Sycophant had pointed. When Jono was seated, he reached toward the table. His hands could barely touch the table. He climbed off the chair, pushed it toward the table and climbed onto the chair again. In front of Jono was one gray clay plate.
Jono’s eyelids were drooping. He put his elbows on the table. He held his chin in his palms. He closed his eyes.
Chapter 29 : Supper
Jono’s head jerked. His eyes opened. Without cloaks or brooms, Chloë and Aegis stepped into the dining-room through the south doorway. Magus was close behind Chloë and Aegis. Magus declared, “Here we are. So, girl, you may sit here, next to me. Young man, you may sit next to the girl.”
Aegis smoothed his wet hair and wiped some water from his forehead. Chloë sat opposite to Jono. Magus nudged Chloë’s chair close to the table. Aegis sat in the chair that was at Chloë’s near right. Magus settled into the armchair. He worked the chair forward.
Magus’s left hand patted Jono’s right arm. To Jono, Magus said, “Take your elbows off the table, boy. This is not a place for sleeping.” Jono put his arms down. He sat upright. Magus asked Jono, “Do you know Aegis?”
Jono mumbled, “Yes.”
Adonidas shuffled through the west doorway. Adonidas was carrying two gray clay plates. He set one plate in front of Chloë. He set one plate in front of Aegis. Adonidas shuffled behind Magus and left the room.
Magus pulled a gold plate from inside his cloak’s left side. He set the gold plate in front of him. He looked into the plate. Instantly the plate held four foods: small cubes of cheese, prunes, shelled hazelnuts and green grapes. Each food occupied one-quarter of the plate.
Magus’s left hand picked up a prune. His right hand picked up a cube of cheese. He urged, “Help yourself.” The back of his right hand nudged the gold plate away from him. He put the cheese into his mouth. He chewed.
Chloë’s right hand picked up a prune. She nibbled the prune.
Aegis’s left hand lifted the clay plate that was in front of him. His right hand put four cubes of cheese, a handful of hazelnuts and two prunes onto his plate. He set the plate in front of him. His right hand lifted a cube of cheese to his mouth. He chewed the cube.
Jono helped himself to a prune. He chewed it slowly. His eyes were opening and closing from one moment to the next.
“So, here we are — a coven of wizards,” Magus said. “It has been some time since I sat down with so many wizards. So, what grade are you, Aegis?”
“Four — I’m beginning Four in two days.”
“So very soon you will be on your own. I didn’t have the patience to finish school. I quit after Grade Three.” Magus put the prune into his mouth. He chewed.
Jono’s eyes quit opening. His head was bobbing from side to side. His hands were holding a half-eaten prune on his plate.
“The last time I was eating with so many wizards,” said Magus, “was a graduation-day. Mentor made a speech. He wished the graduates all well. He told them to go forth and to make the world a better place.
“For a while I thought I could make the world a better place. I tried to stop the warring and the stealing, but my efforts did not amount to much. I suppose Mentor has told you we must do what we can.”
“He says it is our duty to help people,” Aegis said.
“Yes, that’s an old philosophy — out of date. Should we help people? Or should we keep them from killing all the trees and the beasts? Should we ask the gods to make better beings? Should we have a world without gotnots? There are so many questions. What do you think, Aegis? Do you think we should let the gotnots run wild?”
“I haven’t thought about it. Mentor says we are here to help people because that’s what our creator wants.”
“That’s my point, you see. Mentor hasn’t given the matter any real thought. He doesn’t ask questions. I have come to the conclusion — after some considerable time as a wizard, mind you — that Mentor has it wrong. I think we wizards should help each other first. Do you see anything wrong with that?”
“I don’t see why we can’t help each other and the gotnots too,” Aegis replied.
“I thought as you do when I was younger. Why not both, I said; but when I learned more about people, I asked myself: Why bother? What is the point of so much effort? All people want to do is steal and fight. I came to the conclusion that wizards are foolish to worry about people. I think we should be concerned about the harm they are doing to Mother Earth. I think we should be trying to keep people from turning the world into nothing but stumps and bones. What do you think?” Magus’s right hand picked up a handful of hazelnuts.
“We are people — in a way — too. I think we have to help people. There are some good people. I think we have to help them.”
“There are some good people. There are some people who can be made to be good; but there are so many bad people. Somebody attacks this island almost every season. I need both dogs and trolls to protect my island.” Magus called, “Sycophant.”
Sycophant came through the wall behind Magus. Sycophant said, “Your command, Magus?”
Magus’s left hand played with the ends of his mustache. “Tell Adonidas to bring a cup of my special wine for my friend Aegis. I’ll have some wine too. Bring water for the children.”
“As you command.” Sycophant vanished through the wall.
Magus gazed at Jono. Jono’s eyes were closed. His half-eaten prune was on his plate. His arms were dangling at his sides. His chin was on the table. Chloë helped herself to a cube of cheese and to some hazelnuts.
“When I was young, I had so much hope,” Magus reported. “I had all sorts of crazy dreams. I was going to return every slave to his home. I was going to upset all sorts of plots and misdeeds; but then I asked myself: Why was I out in the rain and the wind? Why was I putting myself in the way of grippers? Why was I trying to help gotnots?”
Adonidas shuffled into the room. He was holding a rectangular wood tray that had four clay cups on it. He put a red cup in front of Aegis, a gray cup in front of Chloë, a green cup in front of Magus and a gray cup in front of Jono. Adonidas gave Jono a pinch on the shoulder. Jono opened his eyes wide. He sat up. Adonidas said, “Anything else, Magus?”
“That will be all for now.”
Adonidas shuffled through the west doorway. Magus said to Aegis, “You will find your wine sweet. Tell me what you think of it. I think it is one of my best vintages.” Magus sipped from the cup in front of him.
Ae
gis took a sip. “It’s good,” he said.
“Try a big mouthful. Swish it around a bit.”
Aegis took a mouthful of wine. Magus drank from his cup. Chloë drank from her cup. Jono slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Magus knocked the knuckles of his left hand on the table. Looking at Jono, Magus declared, “I see, boy, that you are ready for bed. Stand up.” Magus turned his head toward the west. He called, “Sycophant!”
Behind Magus, Sycophant came through the wall. “What is your command?”
Magus’s right thumb pointed at Aegis. Aegis was not eating. Both his hands were holding onto the table. He was slowly opening and closing his eyes. He was twisting his head from side to side. Magus said, “Tell Adonidas to help this one to the backdoor. Show the little ones to their rooms.”
“As you command.” Sycophant turned and went through the wall. In hardly more than two shakes of a lamb’s tail he returned. Adonidas hurried in through the west doorway. Jono was standing beside his chair.
Adonidas pulled Aegis’s chair away from the table. “Come along now,” Adonidas said to Aegis. Adonidas helped the smiling, blinking Aegis to his feet, and guided him toward the west doorway.
Chloë’s eyes were closed. Magus announced, “Bedtime, girl!” Chloë opened her eyes. Magus instructed, “Follow Sycophant, girl!”
Sleepily Chloë left her chair by sliding to her left. She asked, “What’s wrong with Aegis?”
Magus snapped, “Don’t trouble yourself about Aegis. Go with Sycophant.” Magus turned toward Jono. “Boy,” Magus said, “follow Sycophant. Go back to your room.”
“Come, children,” Sycophant said. He floated through the south doorway.
Jono followed Chloë and Sycophant into the corridor. The young wizards padded westward behind Sycophant. They pushed their way through the doorway that took them into the north-south hallway. At the hallway’s north end, Adonidas was lowering Aegis to the floor.
****
In a white nightshirt, his eyes closed, his head bobbing, Jono was shuffling barefoot into his room. All the wands in the room were glowing. A boy dressed as a warlock, in black and white garments, was sitting on the corner of Jono’s bed. Three summers older than Jono, the boy was tall, thin and pale. The boy’s left hand stopped Jono from going by him. Jono’s eyes opened.