Nicholas Raven and the Wizards' Web (The Complete Epic Fantasy)

by Thomas J. Prestopnik

  “But he said the Enâri threatened to launch attacks against our village in order to find the Spirit Box,” Len continued with a slight quiver in his voice, “despite the fact that Otto insisted the box was now in Morrenwood.”

  “And Otto told me that others in league with the Enâri and that horrible wizard Caldurian would be doing their bidding,” Ned Adams said. “Men from the Northern Isles!”

  “That’s not the worst of it,” Oscar said as he looked at his friends around the table. The rows of empty benches stared back with chilling silence. “Otto fled Kanesbury this morning before the sun rose, fearing for his life should the attacks occur. And he warned us to do the same. What are people going to think about that? Mayor Otto Nibbs, of all people, abandoning his village!”

  “Otto suggested that I flee as well,” Maynard said. “I was shocked and disheartened to hear those words coming from him.” He paused a moment, indicating for the others to listen to the voices in the street rising in volume above the sputtering oil lamps on the white walls. “But I think word has already spread through the village about everything Otto said. What will result I believe, for good or for ill, will be determined here tonight. Therefore, gentlemen, we have no choice but to invite everyone inside and deal with this mess honestly. The rain has fallen, as they say, and there is no putting it back into the clouds.”

  A few moments later, Len Harold walked slowly to the front of the building and opened the main doors just enough to recognize Tyler Harkin, one of Constable Brindle’s deputies, standing guard near the entrance. The air was abuzz with uneasy conversation. A second afterward, Constable Brindle himself looked inside, curiously eyeing Len’s pale countenance.

  “How are things going?”

  “Fine, constable. Just fine,” he softly said. “You couldn’t keep away either.”

  “Well, the crowd has grown a bit,” Clay replied, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. “Finished? Should I send them home?”

  Len shook his head. “No. Send them in here. The council has decided to open up the discussion. Seems everyone is in the know, more or less, so we might as well make it official, right?”

  “Good idea,” the constable replied. “You take your seat, Len, and we’ll open up the doors nice and slow so everyone doesn’t stampede inside like crazed cattle.”

  Len nodded. “Thanks, Clay,” he said before rushing back to prepare the others for the onslaught. He suspected it was going to be a long and trying night.

  People entered the village hall up the center aisle in an orderly rush, trying to get seats on the benches closest to the front or on the sides closest to the table. Katherine Durant stood near the interior doorway in the small entrance hall, gazing into the main chamber as people filed inside. She painfully recalled the visit that she and her mother had received from Otto Nibbs early that morning. Both were so happy to see him again yet brokenhearted after he had abruptly left. Katherine’s mother, Sophia, was especially melancholy after her brother’s brief call, unable to comprehend the man’s behavior. She had commented that Otto behaved so unlike the caring brother she had known all her life.

  “Katherine, are you coming inside with the rest of us?” a voice asked.

  She spun around, startled from her somber musings. “I suppose in a moment,” she said automatically, staring at the vaguely familiar face before her. A tall, young man with short black hair and a pleasant smile stared back with genuine concern. Katherine’s eyes widened with surprise. “Lewis! I hardly recognized you for a moment. I haven’t seen you since…”

  “Since our last encounter here over a month ago,” he replied. “On the night Maynard was appointed as acting mayor in your uncle’s place.”

  “I remember,” she said. “But where have you been lately? I haven’t run into you when I’ve visited Amanda Stewart with my mother. She’s over there now having tea. Mother didn’t want to face these crowds tonight.”

  “I’m not surprised as the topic of conversation is all about her brother,” Lewis said with understanding. “Anyway, I’ve been felling trees and splitting wood in the Cumberland with some of Oscar’s other laborers, then hauling it back for the winter orders. It’s hard work, but it pays more. Better than scrubbing pots in the kitchen.” Lewis grinned, recalling his old job of washing dishes and hauling up ice from the cellar, though it had all been made tolerable whenever he had met Katherine there.

  “Outdoor work agrees with you,” she said, noting that Lewis appeared less the lanky and awkward individual she once fretted about because he might possibly ask her to the pavilion dance. “You’re apparently eating more because of your new job and…” She smiled. “I’m not used to seeing you with short hair. It suits you.”

  Lewis blushed. “It was getting in my eyes while chopping wood,” he said, before lowering his voice. “Besides, Mrs. Stewart politely suggested that I pay more attention to my appearance now that she and her husband were employing me in areas with more responsibility.” He chuckled. “I think she wanted to say in areas more visible to the public, but left that for me to figure out.”

  Katherine laughed as well, knowing how strictly Amanda Stewart ran her home and addressed her employees. “Still, she means only the best for you, Lewis.”

  “I know.”

  Katherine took a deep breath and sighed as the last of the crowd entered the main room. “I suppose we should go in before the meeting begins,” she said with little enthusiasm, wondering if she should have stayed with her mother for tea as it would have been less taxing on her nerves.

  “I’d be happy to sit next to you,” Lewis said, noting her uneasiness. “With your permission, of course.”

  “I’d like that,” she replied, feeling less anxious. “But I think we’re going to be relegated to the back row. Everywhere else is filled.”

  “Then we’ll be the first ones to leave when it’s over,” Lewis said, holding open the door and escorting Katherine to their seats.

  The meeting lasted over an hour, though most of the discussion and arguments voiced at the end of the night were simply rehashing issues raised at the beginning. In the end, everything regarding Otto’s kidnapping and unexpected reappearance boiled down to three questions. When were the attacks upon the village to be launched? What could be done to stop them? And why would Otto Nibbs abandon his beloved village to save himself? The last question was the cruelest of all and tore at the hearts of everyone gathered.

  “I can’t believe that Otto would slink out of town and leave Kanesbury to whatever horror awaits us!” someone said in a fit of ire.

  “We must defend the village!” another cried out, though sadly acknowledging that several of the younger and stronger men had already joined up with the King’s Guard earlier in the year.

  “Still, we have enough good men to do what needs to be done!” Horace Ulm shouted out as he rose to his feet. “I’ll gladly pick up a sword to defend our homes.”

  “You don’t even own a sword,” one of his neighbors muttered from across the room to a burst of laughter.

  “Then I’ll grab a pitchfork!” he retorted, slightly miffed. “And I’m sure Zachary Farnsworth and my other employees at the banking house will stand by my side.”

  “Of course we will!” Farnsworth replied, sitting in back of the room.

  “But how can we defend ourselves against men from the Northern Isles? They live to fight. I heard someone say that Otto told someone else that they would invade our very homes!” said a woman near the main table. “And what if the Enâri return?”

  “Maybe we should seek help from the other villages,” someone suggested. “We could send word to Mitchell or Three Willows for starters!” A chorus of agreement rose.

  “Now settle down, everybody!” Maynard said, standing up. He pounded the flat of his hand upon the table several times to get their attention. “First, let’s not panic. No one has attacked our village yet, and just because Otto Nibbs told many of us that it would come to pass, doesn’t mean that it
will. Don’t invite trouble where none is.”

  “But what if Kanesbury is invaded? What then?” a lone voice inquired.

  “Then we’ll deal with it,” he replied, modulating his voice to a more soothing tone. “I’m not suggesting that we don’t take these threats seriously, but let’s prepare in a rational, orderly fashion. We are citizens of Kanesbury. We take pride in our village and in ourselves, and I intend to utilize our resources and ingenuity first and foremost before raising the alarm all over the county like a flock of frightened geese.”

  “Sounds good when you say it like that,” Dooley Kramer said. He stood up to address the crowd, sitting a couple benches in front of Katherine and Lewis. “But can you assure us that we’ll be safe from whatever is out there? Apparently Otto Nibbs couldn’t, which is probably why he left the village under cover of darkness, saving himself and giving us just enough warning to appease his conscience.”

  Maynard held up a hand for silence when Dooley’s comment received applause from some and contradictory remarks from others who felt that he was being too harsh on Otto. But as Maynard closely observed the crowd’s behavior as it settled down, he noticed that everyone had a few things in common–they were all confused, all upset and all on edge to one degree or another, traits that would work to his advantage to advance Caldurian’s plan. Dooley’s question and comment elicited the response he had hoped to hear. Maynard was pleased that Dooley had spoken the words just as he was instructed.

  “Let’s not direct any anger at Otto as he is not here to defend himself,” Maynard pleaded. “Yet after saying that, I can understand why some of you are upset with him. After all, there are many questions that I would still like to ask him, but Otto would only visit with me for a few minutes. Now I understand why–Otto wanted to warn as many people as he could before he left for whatever reason he deemed necessary.”

  “He didn’t visit me!” someone shouted from off to one side.

  “Me neither!” another cried.

  And that was followed by still another chorus of voices who bitterly complained that they received no warning of any kind from their former mayor.

  “Apparently some in Kanesbury are more worthy of being saved by the great Otto Nibbs than the rest of us! Well it’s good to know who your friends are,” a woman complained from the back.

  Several moments passed before Maynard was able to quell the latest squabble. He appeared both frustrated and saddened as he stood before his fellow villagers, telling them that they had to cooperate and give others the benefit of the doubt or they would all regret it should danger actually arrive at their doorsteps. But in his thoughts, the wizard Arileez was delighted with the tenor of the meeting, confident that the unease and suspicion percolating inside these walls would easily seep into every household in Kanesbury. The next two incidents planned for later in the evening would unsettle the local population even more and pave the way for Caldurian’s arrival.

  “Now that was a gathering to remember,” Lewis said as he escorted Katherine out of the village hall into the cool streets a few steps ahead of the talkative crowd. The Bear Moon, approaching full, rose high in the east under clear, crisp skies.

  “I suppose I should have said something to defend my uncle,” Katherine remarked with regret as she and Lewis took refuge beneath a maple tree, its bare branches webbed in moonlight. “But I…”

  “What is it?” Lewis asked, noting her mixed emotions. He knew that attending the meeting couldn’t have been easy for her since she probably expected that negative comments about her uncle would be inevitable.

  “Lewis, though I love Uncle Otto dearly, a part of me was saddened that he left after giving so many people such dire warnings.” She looked into Lewis’ eyes and suspected how much he truly cared for her. At the moment, she was happy that he did. “And why did he not warn others, some of whom were good friends?”

  “For that matter, why didn’t he just ring the village bell, wake up everybody this morning and say what he had to say?” Lewis suggested with a touch of humor.

  “Maybe he should have done that,” she replied with a forced smile before reverting to her previous consternation. “Still, Otto’s behavior was so unlike–Otto! My mother said as much this morning after he left us, after we had a chance to absorb what happened. I thought so too, though maybe our heads were still swimming with sleep at the time and affected our judgment.” Katherine shrugged helplessly. “Right now I don’t know what to think, Lewis. I need to walk and clear my head.”

  “Then I shall walk you home,” he suggested, feeling brave enough to state his wish rather than ask it.

  “I accept,” she said. “However, you may walk with me to the Stewarts’ house instead so I can pick up my mother. She and Amanda should be thoroughly talked out by now.” Katherine scanned the thinning crowd in the street as people hurried back to their homes. “I’ll fill them in on what happened tonight since I don’t see the council members leaving yet. I’m sure Amanda is eagerly awaiting Oscar’s report.”

  “Very well,” Lewis said, offering his arm to her. “I’ll escort you to the Stewart residence,” he added with feigned formality, hoping to elicit a laugh from Katherine. She delightfully obliged.

  But they hadn’t walked two blocks under the icy stars when their moment of good cheer suddenly turned sour. A brief ruckus near the Water Barrel Inn was audible on the street parallel to them. Several people were shouting and the sound of galloping horses could be heard fading in the west. Katherine and Lewis insisted to one another that they had heard the sound of breaking glass.

  “This way!” Lewis said, hurrying south down a narrow lane before taking a right at the next corner. Katherine grabbed his hand as they dashed west through the shadows toward the Water Barrel Inn where a large crowd had gathered beneath bony trees and splashes of moonlight.

  “…and took off down the road and out the village!” someone was saying as they drew closer. About twenty people were gathered near the inn with others approaching in several directions.

  “What happened?” Lewis asked, noticing that two of the inn’s window panes had been smashed.

  “Three men on horses rode by and threw rocks through the windows!” Bob Hawkins exclaimed. “I nearly got hit by one!”

  “You did not!” said a man standing next to him.

  “Well I saw one of the stones break the glass,” Bob insisted. “Close enough to being hit, if you ask me!”

  “Did anyone give chase?” Katherine asked. “Or contact Constable Brindle?”

  “Gill Meddy went to get the constable,” Bob said. “As for chasing those hooligans, well, it happened so fast that they were out of sight before we even stepped outside to see what was going on.”

  “Why would anyone do such a thing?” someone wondered aloud with disgust.

  Several people asked similar questions while others examined the damage to the windows, pointing at the broken glass as the glow of yellow light poured onto the street. A few in the crowd who had just returned from the village hall commented that this could be the beginning of the trouble that Otto had warned them about.

  “Maybe it was soldiers from the Isles. Did anyone get a good look at them?” an elderly man asked.

  “Or maybe they were ghosts!” a slightly inebriated man said with a boisterous laugh, still clutching his mug of ale. “Though probably just a bunch of pranksters.”

  “This was hardly a prank!” Bob Hawkins replied with disgust. “I expect to enjoy good food and spirits when I’m settled down at the Water Barrel, not rocks sailing over my head!”

  Soon Constable Brindle arrived with Gill Meddy at his side. He was immediately bombarded with detailed descriptions of the event. People demanded a thorough investigation as well as armed patrols throughout the village. As the constable calmly addressed their concerns, Lewis took Katherine aside and suggested that they continue on to Amanda’s house as they would learn nothing more right now.

  “We’ll inform everyone there abou
t what happened,” he said. “Then I’ll walk you and your mother back home.”

  “You needn’t do that, Lewis. We can walk a few blocks in the moonlight,” she replied, though she was touched by his offer.

  “I insist,” he said. “It’ll make me feel better after all that’s happened today.”

  Katherine agreed with a smile as they proceeded down the road. “Do you think those men could have been from the Northern Isles?” she added after a few moments of uneasy silence.

  “Anything is possible. But regardless where they’re from, their intentions were still the same. Somebody is meaning to stir up trouble as Otto warned, but I’m not sure why.”

  “I wish you were wrong, Lewis, yet I have a feeling that you aren’t,” she said. “But this was plenty of excitement for tonight. Kanesbury has experienced enough problems over the last few weeks to last us until springtime.”

  She couldn’t help thinking about Nicholas Raven, Adelaide Cooper and the death of Arthur Weeks. Coupled with the release of the Enâri creatures from the Spirit Caves and the strange appearances of her uncle, Katherine wondered if those incidents were all somehow related. And though she couldn’t figure it out, she was grateful that Lewis was by her side.

  Many hours later, Kanesbury lay silent as the Bear Moon dipped in the west behind a drifting bank of clouds. The previous day’s turmoil had been temporarily forgotten in the deep, collective sleep that embraced the villagers in the hours before dawn. A waning crescent Fox Moon climbed in the east, its softer, subtler light reflecting off the waters of the Pine River near Ned Adams’ gristmill. A light breeze stirred among the pine trees, swaying their evergreen tips in hypnotic union.

  Moments later, the flickering light mirrored upon the river grew brighter and more savage. An acrid stench quickly filled the air. Dark plumes of smoke rose high into the sky, barely visible against the ebony background. Crackling flames leaped up like snake tongues as the gristmill was swiftly engulfed in a devilish blaze that burned for many minutes in blatant anonymity. Not until after a single, sleepless voice began to cry in alarm while going door to door, did the residents of Kanesbury finally awaken to the horrible conflagration consuming one of the village’s most important businesses. Men and women rushed to the river with buckets to form water lines in a battle against the wall of orange and yellow flames, though most already knew their efforts would be in vain to save the building. Now it was just a matter of preventing the fire from spreading to the trees.