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

by Thomas J. Prestopnik

  “Much appreciated,” Arch replied.

  “Yes, thanks,” Nicholas added, glancing up at the lady with light blond hair and a heavy shawl draped over her shoulders. “That’s very kind of…” His voice slowly trailed off as something about her attire suddenly caught his eye.

  Miriam, who was not much older than Ivy, wondered if Nicholas recognized her from somewhere. She grew uncomfortable with his persistent gaze. “Is something the matter, sir?” she finally asked to break the tension.

  “Pardon me for staring,” he said, “but I can’t help noticing that pendant around your neck. Where did you get it?”

  Miriam held up a small, flat stone with a tiny hole bored into it at one end through which a leather string had been looped and tied in a knot to form a simple necklace. The stone was slightly blue in color with flashes of silver visible in the glow of the firelight.

  “This old thing?” she said. “My aunt gave it to me a few years ago.”

  “You seem fascinated by it, Nicholas,” Ivy said, delightfully curious. “Any reason why?”

  “There is,” he replied before addressing Miriam. “Does your aunt happen to be named Emma, by any chance?”

  A look of surprise registered on the young girl’s face. “Yes. Emma Covey. But how did you know?” The others were equally intrigued.

  “Because I recently saw another stone nearly identical to yours,” Nicholas explained. “It was in the possession of a man named Hobin whom I hired for a guide through the Dunn Hills.”

  “I remember you telling me about him,” Ivy said. “But you had mentioned nothing about this mysterious stone. Is it significant?”

  “Yes,” he replied, noting that Miriam was nodding while everyone eagerly awaited her explanation.

  “When I turned seventeen, my Aunt Emma gave this to me as a gift, telling me that she was the same age when the stone was first given to her.” Miriam gently rubbed the blue object between her fingers, recounting her aunt’s story about how she had fallen in love with a man named Hobin along the shores of Lake Lily where she lived many years ago. “When they spotted the matching stones along the lakeshore, they each kept one to remember the other by. It was very romantic.” Ivy, Natalie and Hannah sighed and listened intently. “And though Hobin returned to his home later in autumn, both he and Emma had expected to reunite at the lake the following summer.”

  “But they didn’t,” Nicholas said, remembering what little information Hobin had told him and Leo during their hike to Wolf Lake. “Hobin didn’t tell us why they never saw each other again, but I could tell he still had feelings for Emma after all these years. Maybe he explores the Dunn Hills to relive past memories. He probably never expected to find Emma there again, but maybe it helped him get by day after day.”

  “My aunt said that her father moved the family away from Lake Lily at the first sign of spring the following year,” Miriam continued. “Her mother had been seriously ill that winter, which was an especially harsh one, and food and work were difficult to come by. Aunt Emma wrote a letter for Hobin telling him where they were going and left it with a neighbor, but she never saw him again and always wondered if he ever received the note. And even if he had seen it, Aunt Emma and her family moved several more times over that year and the next, eventually leaving the Dunn Hills and settling down along the Crescent near the sea.”

  “What a touching story,” Natalie said, her eyes glistening in the cool night air.

  Miriam removed the stone from around her neck and handed it to Nicholas. “You must visit my aunt and return this to her,” she kindly insisted. “Tell her about Hobin. Even though she married once, I could sense that Aunt Emma had always loved him as she recounted her story to me.”

  Nicholas appeared uncomfortable with Miriam’s request which Ivy quickly picked up on. “Where does she live now?” she inquired. “And where is her husband?”

  “Aunt Emma lives in a small farming community midway between Illingboc and Reese, the next village to the south. You’ll pass right by it on your way home,” Miriam said. “But she lives alone now. Her husband, my Uncle Udell, drowned several years ago in a fishing accident when they lived closer to the sea. That’s why Aunt Emma moved away. Now she has two sad memories to endure.”

  “We’d love to meet her, wouldn’t we, Nicholas?” Ivy said. “It’ll be a brief visit.”

  Nicholas smiled awkwardly and relented. “Sure. I’ll be happy to return the stone to your aunt and tell her all about Hobin.”

  “Thank you so much!” Miriam replied, giving him a hug. “It will do her heart a world of good. Maybe they can meet again after all these years.”

  “Perhaps,” he said, making no promises. “But it’ll be up to the two of them to decide.” He looked at Ivy, feeling slightly put upon but happy to do this special favor for her nonetheless. “Are we ready now?”

  Ivy grinned. “Now don’t look so inconvenienced, Nicholas. After all, you should know better than anyone about searching for somebody you love. Don’t you want to help Emma and Hobin?”

  “I’d prefer Hobin’s permission first, knowing how he is, but if you do then I do,” he replied smiling, noting a slight nod from Arch which indicated that he had provided Ivy with the correct answer.

  “So I guess you really do love me,” she said, kissing Nicholas on the cheek and wrapping her arms around him.

  “I guess I do,” he softly replied, holding her tightly.

  A short time later, he and Arch lugged the food-laden willow basket home as Ivy, Natalie and Hannah followed, all of them happily chatting about what a wonderful night they had enjoyed as the Bear Moon slowly sank in the west. In the meantime, Brin watched them depart while cloaked in the shade of some nearby evergreens, especially noting the large food basket the two men were carrying through the streets. He was suddenly inspired with an idea that would make the next step in his scheme far simpler than he had originally planned. He smiled as he slipped through the trees and disappeared into the night, having a few more details to attend to before dawn.

  Nicholas and Ivy departed at midmorning two days later after an early breakfast and a series of heartfelt goodbyes to Arch, Natalie and Hannah. Both promised to visit in the future when their personal lives, and hopefully, the state of Laparia, were back to normal. Ivy waved farewell to their hosts one last time as Nicholas gently snapped the reins of the covered cart Arch had provided them, drawn by two brown horses through the cloudy third day of New Winter.

  Several minutes after they had cleared the outskirts of the village, another man on a horse departed Illingboc as well, sauntering down the road in no apparent hurry, keeping a discreet distance between himself and the two travelers ahead. Brin was bundled up in a coat and wore a thick pair of gloves, the rim of his hat down over his forehead. He knew he would have to bide his time until he found the perfect moment to make his move, yet confident that he was close to achieving his goal.

  Nicholas slowed down his team when he and Ivy neared Emma’s farmhouse just off the main road before noontime. The sod brick building with a thatched roof stood close to a sprawling, bare oak tree standing as a silhouette against the charcoal gray sky. Several houses of similar construction dotted the landscape. Nicholas had followed Miriam’s directions and was now midway between Illingboc and Reese. The Trillium Sea lay less than a mile away, forming the dark, turquoise line of the horizon.

  With Ivy at his side, he prepared to knock on the windowless front door a short time later. “I hope she doesn’t mind unexpected guests,” he said.

  “She’ll be glad you stopped by. Trust me,” she assured him, indicating for Nicholas to knock. “Do you have the pendant?”

  Nicholas held back the knock and then patted one of his front coat pockets. “Safe and secure. Though I still think you should have worn it until we arrived here. It looked so beautiful when I asked you to try it on at the house.”

  “Thank you, but I wouldn’t have felt right doing so,” Ivy said. “Besides, I’m wearing Princ
ess Megan’s silver medallion, though I keep it hidden. You’ll just have to find me something of my own.”

  “I have the amulet Frist created,” he reminded her. “You could wear that for a while. It will keep you safe.”

  “You told me Frist said that it would keep you safe, so you’d better not take it off until we get home.”

  Nicholas shrugged. “I suppose if the magic in it is genuine, it should aid whoever wears it,” he replied somewhat distractedly as a realization just hit him. “The wizard also hoped that it would lead me to people I wished to find,” he said, glancing at Ivy with affection. “So I suppose it must work. I found you, after all, and I didn’t have to sail all the way to the Northern Isles to do so.”

  “Lucky for both of us,” she replied. “And you also found Miriam who led you to this place on Hobin’s behalf. So you can’t tell me that some wizardry isn’t at work here.”

  “Let’s agree that Frist is somehow lending us a hand these last few days. Either that or the two of us have been very lucky.” He winked at Ivy before knocking on the door. “Now can we begin our visit?”

  Ivy nodded. As Nicholas was about to knock, the door suddenly swung open. Standing before them was a woman about twice Nicholas’ age with shoulder-length blond hair and deep, green eyes that appeared sad and vibrant at the same time. She wore a heavy woolen sweater and a long skirt, and draped over her shoulders was a light gray shawl to ward off winter’s biting chill.

  “Good morning,” she pleasantly greeted them, assuming that Nicholas and Ivy were lost. “I thought I had heard voices outside. May I help you?”

  “Actually, we’re here to help you,” Nicholas replied before introducing himself and Ivy. “Are you Emma Covey? And do you have a niece named Miriam?”

  “Yes to both questions,” she said curiously. “But why are you here to help me?”

  “We met your lovely niece at a village celebration in Illingboc a few days ago,” Ivy explained, looking askance at Nicholas. “Maybe you better show it to her first.”

  “Show me what?”

  “Good idea,” Nicholas said, reaching into his coat pocket and producing the bluish-silver stone pendant. “Miriam gave this to us to give back to you,” he continued, uncertain how Emma would react.

  Emma was suspiciously surprised to see the treasured piece of jewelry dangling from Nicholas’ fingers. “I gave that to Miriam for her seventeenth birthday. She told me she loved it very much.”

  “And she still does,” Ivy assured her.

  “Miriam’s all right, isn’t she?” Emma asked, suddenly anticipating the worst. “It’s been several weeks since I’ve seen her.”

  “She’s quite well,” Nicholas said, fearing that he was needlessly making her upset.

  “That’s the first bit of good news out of this conversation,” she quipped, taking the pendant from Nicholas and gazing at it for several moments, her thoughts transported to another time and place. She looked up at Nicholas. “So tell me–why did Miriam want me to have this back?”

  Nicholas looked apprehensively at Ivy for a moment before answering. “She thought you might want it back once you learned that, um…”

  Emma raised her eyebrows, slightly impatient yet wholly intrigued. “Once I learned that…?”

  Nicholas smiled uncomfortably. “Once you learned that I had located the other stone identical to this one which you found near Lake Lily. I recently met the man who currently possesses it.” Emma’s eyes widened in amazement. “His name is Hobin.”

  “Hobin?” she whispered. Emma took a deep breath as she leaned against the door frame, appearing somewhat disoriented. She held up her hand when Nicholas and Ivy reached out to her. “I’m all right. Just a little bit surprised.” She smiled. “Well, perhaps a lot surprised. Overwhelmed.” Emma stared at her guests, temporarily at a loss for words as the architecture of her current world began to crack at the seams. “I would love to hear more of your story. Do you have time for a cup of tea?”

  While they joined Emma inside and informed her about Hobin’s current life, Brin saw his chance to act. He had been following Nicholas and Ivy from a safe distance, keeping them always in his sight but out of hearing range. Occasionally he would direct his horse over a small side road or through a nearby field and observe his prey from a different angle, correctly anticipating where they were heading while at the same time lessening his chances of being spotted. Now he was prepared to strike.

  He tied up his horse in a thicket of trees along a narrow stream a good distance from Emma’s residence and well away from the next closest farmhouse. Brin ran alongside the waterway and then veered right and scrambled toward Nicholas’ cart nearby, hoping no one would spot him from one of the few windows facing his direction. As he approached the cart, he kept it positioned between himself and the house, pausing for a moment to rest and listen. When nobody exited the house, Brin assumed that he had not been seen and methodically went to work.

  He climbed into the back of the covered cart and spotted the basket of leftover food from the party. But what interested him more were the two filled water skins lying next to it. He smiled while reaching into his coat pocket and removed a small glass vial containing a pale green liquid which he opened and set aside. Brin grabbed one of the water skins, removed its oak stopper and carefully poured half the contents of the vial into it, gently swirling the water a few times to thoroughly mix it. Before he replaced the stopper, he sniffed the water and could detect no odor. The local apothecary he had purchased the concoction from said it would have a slightly sweet taste when diluted in water. Brin poured the remaining liquid into the second water skin, knowing that the apothecary would have never sold him the potion if he had known what he was really planning to do with it.

  With the task completed, Brin placed the pair of water skins back where he found them and shoved the empty vial into his coat pocket before climbing out of the cart. The two horses merely grunted at his presence, paying scant attention to him as they munched on some dry grass. Brin peered around the corner of the cart at Emma’s house, and when seeing no one out front and hearing no voices, he dashed back to the wood thicket for safety. He untied his horse and fed it a small apple from his saddlebag which the animal greedily gobbled up.

  “Now we wait,” Brin softly said as he stroked the horse’s mane while gazing at the house. “I don’t know why they stopped here, but I sure hope they don’t plan to make a day of it. Cousin Cale and the others are waiting for me along the river–or at least they had better be.” Brin eyed the steed while adjusting his hat. “So how about another apple? And this time I’ll join you.”

  Nicholas and Ivy hugged Emma goodbye when they left her house less than an hour later as if she were an aunt or an old family friend. She had talked long and animatedly about her relationship with Hobin when he had visited her village on Lake Lily where they fell in love. As she held the blue-silvery stone in her hands, she admitted that she had never fallen out of love with him through all the intervening years. Nicholas promised to leave word with the farmer in Woodwater who was caring for Hobin’s dogs in his absence.

  “Hobin will probably still be in Morrenwood with Leo,” Nicholas told her. “Ivy and I are sure to see him there. We’ll let him know where to find you. I promise.”

  Emma held that promise warmly in her heart as she watched the cart disappear down the road before stepping back inside. She never saw nor heard Brin saunter past on his horse several minutes afterward, heading in the same direction.

  Almost two hours later, Nicholas pulled the cart off the road near a towering oak alongside a small pond to stop for lunch and allow the horses to rest. The Trillium Sea was a distant blue-green patch of water at this spot as the main road had veered slightly away from the shoreline for the last mile or so and passed through more fertile farmland. As the weather had stayed cool through the morning, Nicholas decided to build a small fire while Ivy rounded up some food for their meal.

  “If there was an inn
along the way, I would spoil you there with a fine meal,” Nicholas said as he gathered up an armful of twigs. “Right now it’s just miles of nothing.”

  “That’s fine with me,” Ivy said, carrying some of the food and the water skins to the oak tree where he was starting the fire. “Now we have a chance to talk and get to know each other better.”

  Nicholas looked up. “I feel as if I’ve known you all my life, Ivy, if that makes any sense.”

  She smiled. “I feel the same way, too.” She set the items down and helped Nicholas arrange the kindling, each of them gazing at one another from time to time with the same curious excitement of a first encounter as well as the comfortable familiarity of having been together for years. Neither one of them could have been happier.

  Brin directed his horse south around a long, sweeping curve in the road running parallel to a stretch of pine trees on his right. He had passed only one other person about an hour ago since he had left the area near Emma’s house. The road was lonely and desolate. When it finally straightened out, he noticed a trail of blue-gray wood smoke rising in the distance close to a tall oak tree. A cart with two horses stood patiently nearby. Brin stopped his horse and waited in the middle of the dirt road, gazing ahead for a few minutes for any sign of activity. But as there was none, he snapped the reins and ambled forward.

  He approached the stationary cart from behind and to his left. Brin smelled the sweet smoke and heard the crackling flames. He moved slowly alongside the cart and the two horses in front until the oak tree and small fire were fully revealed in his line of sight. He pulled on the reins and his horse stopped a short distance from the tree. Brin looked down and saw the familiar face of the man who had hit him on the deck of the Bretic. Nicholas was sitting on the ground with his back to the tree. His eyes were closed as he soundly slept. Ivy sat next to him, also fast asleep, her head resting upon Nicholas’ shoulder while his head gently touched hers. Some partially eaten food and two water skins lay nearby.