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

by Thomas J. Prestopnik

  Soon the sound of wagon wheels rattled along the lane. A horse-drawn cart with two figures in front drew ever closer and slowly passed by as Katherine looked out from her hiding place. Square copper oil lamps, one attached to each side of the cart, burned with a demonic glow. She guessed that Dooley and Farnsworth were on their way to River Road where they would travel east out of the village as on the night when Paraquin and his fellow soldiers had stopped them for questioning. She couldn’t imagine where they were going or how many times they had made this trip, but vowed to find out the answer six nights from now. In the meantime, there would be much work to do.

  When the wagon rolled out of sight, Katherine stepped out of the woods and trudged home, longing for sleep. Now that she was convinced of the six-day pattern, she wouldn’t have to waste time spying over the next few days. That would leave plenty of time to set her plan in motion and put to rest any suspicious questions from her mother and Lewis about her evasive behavior of late. She didn’t enjoy being deceptive with her loved ones.

  She soon turned onto the street where she lived, passing by the Water Barrel Inn. The establishment was quiet tonight. A few lights burned inside and the sweet smell of wood smoke issued from a chimney. Katherine hurried past until she neared the next corner on the left where her house stood among a cluster of pine and maple trees. She assumed her mother was fast asleep until she noticed an oil lamp burning on the front porch railing. Had her mother left it out for her, Katherine wondered, sleeplessly awaiting her return? A moment later, she heard a familiar voice in the shadows. A figure wearing a hooded coat stood up near the front steps.

  “I was beginning to think you had left Kanesbury,” Lewis said as he walked over to Katherine, gently taking her hands. “I walked around the village looking for you before returning here to wait.”

  “We didn’t have plans tonight, did we?” she asked, delighted to see him yet fearing she may have mixed up her days because of the recent spying.

  “I just wanted to see you,” he replied. “Lately it seems I have to make an appointment to spend any time with you after sunset.”

  Katherine blushed. “Sorry…”

  “Your mother said you had been out walking again.” Lewis looked into her eyes as he held the tips of her fingers. “If you wanted company…”

  Katherine looked up with understanding and kissed him on the cheek. “I know I’ve been difficult to find lately, but I promise I’m free for the next several nights. We can spend as much time together as you’d like.”

  “That’d be wonderful. And maybe you could tell me why you’ve been wandering around the village all alone so late at night–if that’s what you’ve been doing.”

  Katherine’s expression hardened and she stepped back, feeling that Lewis didn’t trust her. But amid the glow of the lamp light she noticed only genuine concern in his eyes, not a hint of distrust, and her mood lightened. She took his hand and led him back to the porch steps where they sat down.

  “Lewis, have you been worrying about me that much lately?”

  “You could say so.” He gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “But if you have some reason not to tell me your business, I’ll try to understand. After all, out of safety for others, I didn’t give you details about the resistance movement I was in when Caldurian had control of the village.”

  “And it caused me many sleepless nights, thank you,” she said, resting her head upon his shoulder. “But I trust you completely, so there’s no reason for me not to involve you in my little escapade. But I must warn you, it could be dangerous.”

  Lewis chuckled. “That crazy wizard was hours away from letting his soldiers march me out of the village hall to be killed. How much more dangerous could it get?”

  “You have a point. But still, I’m not sure of all the obstacles I might–we might–be facing. We can’t take this lightly.”

  “We won’t,” he promised, giving her his undivided attention. “So you’ll finally tell me what this mystery is all about?”

  Katherine sat up and thought for a long moment before speaking. “Better than that–I’ll show you.” Lewis wrinkled his brow. “But first I must arrange a few matters before I can reveal anything. Absolute secrecy is required if this is to work.”

  “All right,” he replied, filled with intrigue. “I’ll let you decide how to proceed. Just know that I’ll be there beside you every step of the way.”

  “I’d like nothing better, Lewis. It’s been so lonely these past few days keeping this secret from you and my mother–and even from Constable Brindle.”

  “Constable Brindle?” Lewis’ eyes popped wide open. “What’s he got to do with this? What exactly are you involved in, Katherine?”

  She smiled inscrutably and gently pressed a finger to his lips. “Remember, Lewis–absolute secrecy. I’ll tell you as soon as I can, but I promise you won’t have to wait any longer than six days.”

  “Six days?” he mumbled as Katherine’s finger still rested upon his lips. “What happens in six days?”

  “With luck, answers to several mysteries will be revealed. In the meantime, you’ll just have to trust me.” She removed her finger. “Can you do that?”

  “I’d be a fool not to,” he replied, kissing her in the soft glow of the lamp light.

  Katherine visited her uncle in the village lockup the next day. Otto Nibbs, dressed in a white shirt, brown vest and matching trousers, his long, thinning hair tied up in back with a black band, sat despondently in a chair in a tiny stone room which had served as his home for the past fourteen days. He appeared thinner, his appetite having waned. A feather filled mattress and pillow lay on the floor along one wall. An oil lamp burned on a small table. Otto stood when Katherine walked in. They hugged, delighted to see one another.

  “I can’t stay long,” she said after they exchanged pleasantries. “I’m going to speak to Zachary Farnsworth about hurrying up your trial instead of waiting for Maynard to return from Morrenwood.”

  “I could have made that request through Constable Brindle,” Otto replied, offering Katherine his seat. “I’m innocent, after all, and will let it be known from every corner of Kanesbury. I would never betray our village or anyone it in.”

  “I know that, Uncle Otto, as do most, I’m sure.”

  “That wizard framed me, Katherine.” Otto silently fumed as he paced about. “He must have put a spell upon me, forcing me to go from house to house in the middle of the night and warn people about his impending attack. I can’t remember doing that, so it must be the only explanation.” He flung his arms in the air and sighed before settling down and smiling. “Sorry for getting so worked up.”

  “You have a right to, Uncle Otto. But I’m here to help.”

  “Katherine, you had told me to keep quiet about demanding a swift trial until you snooped about for a bit.” He looked at her expectantly. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “I’m close, Uncle Otto.” But before he could ask another question, Katherine held up a hand. “As I told you earlier, I can’t divulge what I’m doing for all our sakes, but I’m on the verge of a breakthrough. That’s why I’m going to approach Mr. Farnsworth–with a little help from a good friend.”

  “Who?” Otto noted the cautious expression upon her face and nodded understandingly. “I know. I know. All in good time.”

  “Please be patient. It’s for your own good–and for others’ safety, too. In the meantime, not a word to anyone. Not even to my mother when she visits.”

  “Very well,” he quietly replied, his tone gracious.

  “I’m sure she’ll bring you a warm meal. There was a kettle of soup simmering over the fire earlier.”

  “Hot soup would be lovely,” he remarked. “Constable Brindle and his men have been nothing but kind to me, but their culinary skills do not match their investigative prowess, though even that is wanting in my particular case.”

  Katherine grinned, happy to see his sense of humor still intact, but her heart
was heavy, knowing she would have to leave here without him. She said goodbye shortly afterward, and when she had left, Otto resumed sitting in his chair, quietly contemplating the fate of his fellow villagers in the wake of Caldurian’s raucous arrival and stealthy departure. He had already forgiven his neighbors in his heart for turning against him, knowing that the wizard had deceived the good people of Kanesbury amid his string of threats and punishments. Most, if not all of his neighbors, probably regretted the outcome of events. But since the gears were already in motion for a public trial, however slowly they moved, Otto accepted the fact that that is how everything would be resolved in the end, for good or for ill.

  Under a whisper of snowflakes, Katherine walked along the busy streets of Kanesbury later that morning, her mind racing with a myriad of tasks to complete, the most important one being a visit to Amanda Stewart. She moved along the side of the road, oblivious to all else as she hurried to her destination, the hem of her hooded cloak sweeping against the cold ground. When she reached the Stewarts’ home, Katherine knocked on the front door, surprised to see Amanda answering the door.

  “Good morning, Katherine. I didn’t expect you on your day off,” she said with delight, beckoning her guest inside the hallway and closing the door behind them. “What brings you here today?”

  “You, Amanda, if you can spare a few moments.”

  “For you, Katherine, always. You and Sophia are like family.” She took Katherine’s cloak and hung it on a wall peg. “Most of the staff is off today as people are still getting their own homes and lives in order after what that horrible wizard had put us through. We can talk in the side parlor.”

  “I appreciate this more than you know,” Katherine replied as they walked through the hallway. “And I promise not to take up too much of your time.”

  “Let me worry about that, dear.” Amanda sensed a trace of anxiety underlying Katherine’s demeanor. She stopped and looked at the young woman in a motherly fashion, raising a questioning eyebrow beneath her silvery hair. “You seem troubled, Katherine. What’s bothering you?”

  “I need to ask a favor of you, Amanda. A big favor.”

  Amanda nonchalantly swished a hand through the air. “After all the last minute dinner party jams you’ve helped me out of, a favor is the least I can do in return.”

  Katherine smiled as a wave of relief washed over her. “Speaking of dinner parties, I was hoping that you could host a very small one here at your house.”

  “Sounds lovely,” she replied with no reservation but with much intrigue. “For what reason? And who will be attending?”

  “The guest list will be small. Only five. You and Oscar, of course, and my mother and me, and…” Katherine’s heart beat wildly as her nerves started to get the best of her. She did her best to remain composed and casual. “Oh, and Zachary Farnsworth, too.”

  “Our new acting mayor. Seems we’ve had a lot of those lately,” she said with a soft chuckle as they continued to the side parlor. “Oscar has wanted to invite Mr. Farnsworth over and pick his brain. Business and the like. But I suspect that you desire to talk to him about your Uncle Otto’s situation.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Why not then? I’d be more than happy to oblige. Perhaps sometime next week or the one after?”

  Katherine tried to conceal a budding frown as she looked up at her friend. “I hope you won’t think this forward of me, Amanda, but would it be at all possible to hold it in five day’s time?”

  Amanda performed a quick mental calculation. “That would be on the twenty-eighth of the month, the last day of Old Autumn.”

  “Winter’s Eve is a special day, after all,” she replied with a forced grin.

  Amanda sensed that there was more to the young woman’s request than met the eye, but would allow her to explain in her own time and manner. When they reached the side parlor, they sat by the fireplace that gently crackled with a low blaze.

  “Tell me more about this dinner party,” Amanda said.

  Katherine fidgeted nervously, knowing she couldn’t tell her friend the full truth. She couldn’t risk letting her knowledge of Farnsworth and Dooley’s collusion with Caldurian reach back to their ears until she was ready to strike. Amanda would have to be kept in the dark as much as possible for the time being.

  “It shall be a simple but elegant affair,” Katherine said, promising to help with the meal preparations beforehand. “However, there is one task I would request of you if you’re agreeable.”

  “And what is that?” Amanda curiously asked.

  “Would you be so kind as to invite Mr. Farnsworth yourself?”

  Dooley Kramer was splitting wood on the side of his house later that day when Farnsworth stopped by on his way home from the banking house. Twilight deepened among the trees as an orange and purple glow lingered above the southwest horizon. Dooley glared at his neighbor when Farnsworth informed him that he would have to make the next delivery to the swamp alone.

  “Why?” he asked, grunting with contempt.

  “Because I shall be dining with Oscar Stewart and his wife that evening,” he replied, trying not to sound boastful. “Amanda stopped by my office this afternoon and invited me. And now that I am a public official, it would raise suspicions for someone to see me sneaking out of the village in the middle of the night. Am I right?”

  Dooley scowled, insulted that Farnsworth addressed him as if he were a child. “Once again, you reap the rewards with dinner parties and appointments to public office while I get stuck doing all the dirty work,” he muttered, his ax striking a piece of wood he had set upon a large, flat rock and splitting it in two. “I served as a spy in the Citadel, and what did that get me? When do I get a seat on the village council? When do I get invited to swanky parties and fancy dinners?” He wiped the sweat off his brow with a brush of his shirt sleeve. “And now I have to go to the swamp by myself? Hardly seems fair. I really don’t like that place.”

  Farnsworth sighed, shaking his head. “I told you that these things would take time, Dooley, but now that I’m mayor, the rewards are soon to flow your way, too. I’m in a position to make that happen. But the good news is that this will be the last time you have to go to the swamp.”

  Dooley looked up. “Oh?”

  Though not another soul was in the vicinity, Farnsworth stepped closer and lowered his voice. “When you leave in five days, I’ll have finished hiring someone to take care of our persistent problem. So you see, things are looking up for you already.”

  “Take care of?” Dooley set the tip of the long ax handle on a piece of wood and rested one hand upon it as if it were a cane, wondering if Farnsworth was serious about ridding their lives of Maynard and Adelaide. “You’ve talked about this before, Zachary.”

  “I know, but with Caldurian around, it was difficult to make arrangements with my outside contacts. Now things are nearly set.”

  “Are you sure you’ve found someone reliable? Someone who can–” Dooley swallowed uncomfortably. “Someone who can do the job right?”

  Farnsworth nodded. “I’ve talked to some of the people who helped me contact Caldurian in the first place. They are very loyal and responsible–for a price, of course.”

  Dooley scratched his head as a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. “Why do I even have to go to the swamp next time if the person you hired is only going to–well, you know.”

  “My employee is coming up from the south where the war against Rhiál hadn’t gone as planned, so I’ve heard. This individual had hoped to make his fortune there, but left when opportunities dried up,” he explained. “He’s more than happy to get any work he can for now in these parts.”

  Dooley shrugged. “Still, why do I have to go to the swamp?”

  “Because you will be driving our employee there.”

  Dooley’s eyes widened. “Why me?”

  “I certainly can’t do it! I’ll be having dinner with the Stewarts. But don’t worry. All you have to do is pick hi
m up by the bridge past the Spirit Caves and then drive him into the woods along the swamp. He’d never find the entrance on his own.”

  “But he’s a killer!” Dooley frantically whispered. “I don’t want to sit next to him.”

  “A killer for hire,” he corrected. “And you’ve hung around worse people lately, so get over it. Anyway, after he completes his job, you’ll give him his pay that I’ll provide and then drive him back to the bridge. After that, he’ll go on his merry way into the wild and you’ll return to Kanesbury.” Farnsworth smiled reassuringly. “Then neither of us will ever again have to worry about Maynard Kurtz or Adelaide Cooper burdening our lives. My employee will be well worth the investment.”

  Dooley thought about it for a moment, taking comfort in Farnsworth’s steady words. “I suppose you’re right. Still, I feel uneasy about this. What’s the guy’s name?”

  “I don’t know his real name, Dooley. People like him don’t pass out that kind of information.” A breeze swept by, rustling the remaining autumn leaves littered about the house. “Only his closest associates would know, I’d imagine.”

  Dooley looked up. “How much are you paying him?”

  Farnsworth smirked. “Plenty. I’ll drop it off to you on my way to dinner with the Stewarts, not a moment before.” He raised a hand before Dooley could protest. “And it’s not that I don’t trust you with the money, but there’s no sense in having it misplaced or stolen before then. After all, you did lose that key. And poor Arthur Weeks ended up paying for it with his life.”

  “No need to bring up the past,” Dooley sputtered, his face feeling warm in the cool air. “I’ll drive him to the swamp if that’s what it’ll take to put this sorry matter behind us.”