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

by Thomas J. Prestopnik

  The soldier leading the charge quickly turned around. “Sir?”

  “You heard me,” he replied as he climbed off his horse and waded through the group of men circling William and Brendan like vultures. Meegs, his sword still resting in its sheath, stood in front of the two brothers and glanced at their right hands as they each gripped their weapons. “Now is your chance to finish me off,” he said with a chuckle, indicating his defenseless posture. “But I suppose that wouldn’t be an honorable act by two princes of Montavia even against someone you find as abhorrent as me.” Meegs pointed at their matching silver rings. “My associate from the Isles just informed me that we have something more valuable here than two royal pages.”

  “What of it?” William asked. “Dead is dead regardless of our identities.”

  “Oh, I must allow you to live for a while longer, at least until I get orders from Vellan.” He glanced at Brendan. “Same goes for the next king of Montavia who might come in handy for Vellan after he controls all of Laparia. With the proper guidance, I think you’d be much more amenable to Vellan’s ideas than King Rowan.”

  “My brother and I will never serve Vellan,” Brendan replied, sheathing his weapon. “Even upon the threat of death.”

  “Even upon the threat of your brother’s death?” Meegs noted a glimmer of fear in Brendan’s eyes. “I think you’ll be more inclined to return to Montavia and serve as its King according to Vellan’s wishes if your brother remains in Kargoth as our guest.”

  “Guest?” William grunted in amusement. “Brendan, ignore his silly threats,” he said before addressing the mildly irritated Meegs. “My brother would never undermine Montavia even if you vowed to toss me off the top of Mount Minakaris. Our home is more valuable than either of our lives.” He copied his brother’s action and disarmed himself, placing his dagger underneath his belt. “As I said, we are usually of like minds.”

  “Admirable stances by the both of you. But in the end, Vellan doesn’t need to force your loyalty through grandiose threats or at the point of a sword. That’s too much work,” Meegs said. He glanced at the gently flowing river to his right before casting a hardened stare upon the two princes. “Hmmm, but I believe a simple drink from the Drusala will produce far better results in less time, don’t you?”

  “What have you done?” Madeline repeated. She jumped to her feet and stood toe-to-toe with Caldurian as Vellan lay asleep upon the floor. The dual fireplaces crackled wildly, casting subtle shadows upon the walls. “Did you cast a spell on him? Is he dying?”

  Caldurian shook his head. “Nothing that dramatic. I merely added a little something to his lamb stew while nobody was paying attention. Vellan will recover in a day.”

  Madeline gasped. “A day? There is war outside! The enemy has infiltrated these chambers,” she cried, indicating Nicholas and Leo who stood under Mune’s watch.

  “Those two are the least of my concerns,” he said. “And unless this war comes to a halt soon, there might be nothing left of Kargoth or the rest of Laparia worth living for even if we are victorious. Vellan has made a fine mess of things because of his desire to exact vengeance on his kindred wizards.”

  “And you haven’t made a mess of things?” Nicholas piped up.

  “Who told you to speak? Hold your tongue!”

  “Not a chance,” he replied, tired of silently standing by while they bickered and Ivy remained a prisoner. “Before I parted ways with the King’s army, his son told me about your visit to Kanesbury last autumn. For nine days you and your troops terrorized my village. Now Otto Nibbs sits in jail and Maynard Kurtz is missing.”

  “Don’t believe everything you hear,” Caldurian said.

  “I can only guess that it was your need for vengeance against Otto that has gnawed at you all this time. You finally seized your chance to pay him back for the humiliation you suffered twenty years ago.” Nicholas sadly shook his head. “You’ve made your own fine mess, though I don’t know how or why you involved Maynard Kurtz and me in your twisted plans.”

  Caldurian scowled. “You give me too much credit. But I haven’t time for explanations. There are more pressing matters now,” he said, indicating Vellan’s body.

  “Then revive him!” Madeline demanded in strident tones.

  “I have neither the proper ingredients on hand nor the desire to restore him to consciousness,” he replied, no longer intimidated by Madeline. “I used a potent dose of rasaweed combined with other items I had pilfered from your cousin’s rolling pharmacopeia. Vellan will wake on his own long after I have implemented my plans.”

  “Plans?” she asked, though already having an inclination as to what he had in mind. “You want Kargoth for yourself. Admit it!”

  “I’ll admit nothing,” he replied as he turned aside, but only for a moment before flinging a sharp glance her way. “And you don’t want Kargoth for yourself?” he asked, his arms akimbo as he towered over Madeline. “Can you honestly tell me that all of your fawning and fussing over Vellan was done out of compassion for his health rather than as a ploy to grasp the reins of power in Minakaris?”

  Madeline’s face tightened. She glared at the wizard, unable to speak as her ire rose. “Yes it was!” she finally shouted. “Whether you believe it or not, I cared only about his wellbeing and nothing more.”

  Caldurian looked deeply into her eyes, detecting that blend of innocence and toughness he noticed upon their first meeting in the Citadel courtyard when he was immediately taken with her. But now he also perceived glimmers of betrayal and fierce self-reliance which pained the wizard, yet it also freed him from her hold.

  “I don’t believe you,” he whispered, turning away. “So stop denying it.”

  “Only if you do the same,” she calmly replied, realizing they recognized each other’s designs on Kargoth only too well. “It seems we both desire Vellan’s seat inside this mountain above all else, only that…” Madeline’s words trailed off as she grabbed onto the edge of the table to steady herself as if she were about to faint.

  “Are you all right?” Mune asked, still standing guard at the archway with the dagger in hand.

  “I feel lightheaded,” she replied, quickly coming to. “Perhaps all the excitement has–” She suddenly stood upright as if paralyzed, gripping the table’s edge as a jolt of pain shot up her spine. She remained immobile for several seconds until the unsettling episode passed, leaving her pale and breathless. “What’s happening to me?” she asked, touching her forehead as Caldurian watched with growing curiosity. “I feel as if I were–” Her eye caught Vellan’s bowl of stew upon the table and she turned to Caldurian. “Did you drug me with the rasaweed as well? Did you put some in my tea?”

  “Of course not,” he replied as if wounded by her words. “If I had, you’d be sleeping right now, much like Vellan.”

  “If you didn’t drug her, Caldurian, why does she look as pale as a stickle slug?” Mune inquired as Nicholas and Leo looked on.

  “You must have done something to me!” Madeline insisted as she sat down near the fireplace to rest. She looked up at Caldurian, about to say something more, but then was unable to remember the point she wanted to make. “Are you sure you didn’t put rasaweed into my drink? I don’t feel at all myself.”

  “I’m absolutely sure,” he replied, taking a seat next to her. “However, I must admit that I’m not entirely sure how the substance that I did pour into your tea will affect you. Actually, I’m not quite sure at all.”

  Madeline’s eyes widened with a mix of fear and horror. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying–and perhaps now with the tiniest bit of regret–that you have consumed some of the potion Vellan entrusted to me over three years ago. It was the same potion that Arileez drank to free himself from his island prison.” Caldurian nodded to indicate that he was quite serious as she gazed upon him with disbelief. “That potion would have slowly drained him of his powers were he not killed in the Citadel,” he added.

  “I don’t
understand,” Madeline replied. “You already gave Arileez the potion. So how could you give it to me? And why?”

  “I never intended it to come to this, Madeline. I really didn’t.” Caldurian spoke with genuine compassion as he looked upon his once loyal associate in her dazed state. “Before I entrusted the vial of potion to Commander Jarrin who delivered it to Arileez, I secretly kept some of the potent liquid for myself, intending someday to use it on Vellan.”

  Madeline couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You were plotting Vellan’s demise over three years ago?”

  Caldurian nodded sheepishly. “I suppose so, though I wasn’t sure if it would work upon him to slowly and imperceptibly eliminate his powers. I hoped to secretly introduce it into one of Vellan’s meals when I returned here for more training, but recent events have prevented me from doing so. Now that war is upon us and other conflicts have spun out of control, I knew I had to act fast, knowing there wouldn’t be time to wait for the effects of the potion to kick in. Now seemed like the perfect time for the rasaweed.”

  “So you drugged him into a sleep state instead,” she muttered with disgust.

  “Carmella had an abundance of items, though she knew nothing of my intentions. And Vellan’s weakened state made the rasaweed mixture that much more efficient.”

  “What do you intend to do with Vellan?” she asked as Caldurian’s image and words faded in and out as if he were speaking to her in a dream.

  “I can’t reveal everything,” he replied with a scheming smile.

  “Then tell me what you intend to do with me!” Madeline shouted, refocusing her attention with much effort. “I won’t give up without a fight.”

  “You are in no condition to fight.”

  “Don’t try me!” She stood and slapped her hands upon the table, seething with anger. “I’m still handy with a spell, Caldurian, and am not afraid to use one against you. Remember, you taught me the…” Madeline furrowed her brow as she tried to recall the name of a spell. “You taught me the…”

  “What’s wrong?” Mune asked.

  “I can’t remember the spell,” Madeline whispered, sitting back down and staring at her hands in bewilderment. “Caldurian, what have you done to me?”

  “Madeline, I–”

  “Arileez was of the race of true wizards,” she said. “We are not. How could you give that potion to me without knowing its effects? It might kill me for all you know.”

  “I don’t think it will come to that,” he replied, though not completely sure.

  “Not that you even care at this point.”

  Caldurian stood and looked kindly upon her. “Madeline, I will always care about you despite our recent differences. I’ve been fond of you since we first met.”

  “Then why would you do this?” she asked on the verge of tears. “Why would you take away the most important part of me?”

  Caldurian stroked his beard as he stared at the tabletop, searching for the most comforting answer considering Madeline’s current state. But as he raised his eyes and saw the desperation in her face, he knew she deserved only the truth.

  “There are many reasons, Madeline, though betraying me for Vellan is the one that hurt me most,” he told her. “When I learned that you had fled to Kargoth to be at his side while I was imprisoned, well, that cut me to my heart. I thought I deserved more.”

  “I didn’t think that I could save you.”

  Caldurian shook his head. “You didn’t even try! According to Carmella, you fled to Kargoth immediately after the debacle in the Citadel, spouting some not so kind words about me having outlived my usefulness.”

  “I apologize,” she said, wiping away some tears.

  “I suppose your emotions got swept away in the chaos, so I’ll forgive you,” he replied. “But that wasn’t the only reason. You see, Madeline, you’ve grown much as a wizard over the years, and the more you perfected your powers, the less you needed me. As I said, I was always fond of you and imagined us one day ruling Kargoth together and expanding our realm into other regions of Laparia. We would have done a far better job than Vellan, using a forceful but wise hand. But you’ve always been far too independent to need me at your side.” He sat down, staring into Madeline’s troubled eyes. “I suppose I always realized that but was loath to admit it.”

  “So you’re punishing me now for what you helped to create?”

  “No, don’t think that! I’m not punishing you. I’m freeing you. Freeing you to start a brand new life that suits you.”

  “This life suited me, Caldurian!”

  “But it was a life unfairly influenced by me,” he explained. “I may have led you down a path that you weren’t ready for at the time, denying you the opportunity to make a life for yourself. Your situation would have been far different if I had never coaxed you into helping me try to kidnap Princess Megan twenty years ago.”

  Madeline scowled. “Yes, I could still be a nursemaid in the Citadel. Or maybe I’d have graduated to kitchen help. Some life!”

  “Don’t be bitter. You might have gone further on your own–and Carmella, too. Because of me, she pursued a life in the magic arts, all in an attempt to draw you back from the ruinous path I had led you down,” he said. “I created the enmity between the two of you. Who knows where your lives might be had I not interfered?”

  Madeline looked at him with disbelief. “Who are you? And why do you speak this way? You’ve never harbored such feelings before. You’ve grown soft, Caldurian.”

  “I never lost my powers before either, if only temporarily,” he replied. “That caused me to reexamine my priorities. But you can thank your cousin for some of my change of heart. Carmella and I had long and profound talks after she helped me escape.”

  “Leave my cousin out of this!”

  “I can’t, for it was she who helped me realize that maybe you would have fared better in life without my interference. Though your cousin is a bit eccentric, she has spoken wise and heartfelt words because she truly cares about your wellbeing.”

  Madeline breathed deeply, her shoulders rising and falling as her face tightened. “My cousin is responsible for this? Carmella convinced you to eradicate my powers?”

  “Of course not!” he replied. “She knows nothing of this. All I’m saying is that Carmella enlightened me about my own life and how things might have been different had I trained in the magic arts with someone other than Vellan. It got me to thinking about our relationship, Madeline, and how I may have led you astray while you were too young and naïve to understand the consequences.”

  “It’s up to me to decide my fate, not you, Caldurian. Or my cousin!”

  “Carmella spoke those words about me. But I applied them to our relationship because I care about you. I was trying to help, trying to perform one genuine good deed in my life, though it may not seem so right now,” he said. “Please don’t be bitter.”

  “Bitter?” She rose to her feet, feeling lightheaded as Vellan’s potion worked its way through her system. “Both you and my cousin conspire against me, and now–” Madeline held a hand to her heart, feeling the love and knowledge of the magic arts draining from both mind and body, rendering her cold and empty inside and realizing that she could do nothing to stop it. “And now you expect me to accept my new fate with merely a shrug? Why don’t you just thrust a dagger in my side and ask me to live with that trifling inconvenience as well?” she added, choking up.

  “Madeline, be reasonable. You have much yet to live for.”

  “I have nothing to live for!” she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the wizard. “Thanks to you and Carmella, my life has been ruined. And that goes for all of you, too!” she added, glaring at Nicholas, Leo and Mune.

  “What did I do?” Mune asked.

  “None of you are worthy to stand in Vellan’s presence, deserving only his wrath!”

  “Madeline, I think that is the potion talking,” Caldurian said, standing and offering her his hand. “Let me take you outdoor
s for a breath of fresh air where we can speak in private. Your world is not as bleak as you imagine it.”

  Madeline slapped his hand away. “My world is ruined, and it’s your fault! Talking won’t change a thing.”

  “Please, Madeline, I–”

  “Aren’t you listening?” she cried, her face reddening and her body shaking as she clenched her fists. “You’ve killed me, Caldurian. And nothing you can say will ever fix it!”

  Madeline lunged at him and nearly knocked him over, but he held her tightly as she struggled like a fish pulled out of water. They spun about the floor awkwardly as Madeline tried to free herself, nearly stumbling over Vellan’s body at one point. Mune watched in horror along with Nicholas and Leo, but he decided not to interfere lest he let his guard down. He motioned for his prisoners to move toward the fireplace along the right wall to get out of the way.

  “Let me go!” Madeline shouted, pounding Caldurian’s chest.

  “Not until you calm down!” he said, grabbing her by the shoulders as they neared the archway.

  “I am calm!” she shrieked, shoving Caldurian against the side of the archway and slipping out of his grasp. She bolted to the right down the candlelit corridor. Caldurian pursued her, his mind whirling with confusion. “Stay back!” she cried, spinning around and stopping halfway down the passage. “I have much yet to do while I still can. I will remain loyal to Vellan if no one else will!”

  “You’re in no condition to do anything,” he said in a gentler tone, holding out his hand. “Please, come back and let us talk.”

  “I can’t do that,” she replied, her voice suddenly calm as her body began to quiver. Her eyes darted rapidly back and forth as she gazed aimlessly at the flickering candles and the smoothly carved ceiling. “I know I can’t do that. And I don’t know if I… Caldurian, do you…?” Madeline slowly began to sway like a slender reed in a steady wind. “Do you…?”

  A look of dread spread across the wizard’s face. “Madeline, are you all right?”

  “I really…don’t know,” she softly said before collapsing to the floor. Caldurian rushed to her aid in fearful silence.