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

by Thomas J. Prestopnik

  “What’s this for?” he said, recoiling at the gesture.

  “As I said, this is my message. Deliver it to King Justin as you promised.” Mune noted Nicholas’ bewilderment as he placed the object in his hands. “This is proof that I killed Vellan and saved Laparia from that terrible wizard. This will secure my pardon.” Still sensing reluctance on his behalf, Mune gently shook him by the shoulders. “Nicholas, if you want me to take you to Ivy and lead you out of this mountain, you must do as you promised!”

  “I will,” he softly replied as the surrealism of the moment began to fade. Yet something about the situation still troubled him.

  “We both promise,” Leo added, observing a faraway look in Nicholas’ eyes. “Now take us to Ivy and Carmella.”

  “This way,” Mune said as he headed toward the archway.

  As Leo turned to follow, Nicholas grabbed him by the arm. “His body is still here,” he whispered.

  “What?” Leo asked.

  Nicholas indicated Vellan’s dead body lying upon the floor. “His corpse is still here. He didn’t fade into white mist after death like Frist.”

  Leo noted the discrepancy but could plainly see that Vellan was dead. To make sure, he walked over to the body and felt the wizard’s hand which was cold to the touch.

  “What’s going on?” Mune asked, waiting by the archway.

  “Nothing.” Leo went to Nicholas and whispered. “He’s as dead as stone, but I don’t know why he hasn’t transformed. But let’s leave while we have the chance.”

  “All right,” he replied, making for the archway.

  A second mystery soon captured their attention as they hurried down the corridor. Mune stood silently in the middle of the passageway near the exit, glancing up and down the hall. He looked at Nicholas and Leo, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

  “Mune, what’s wrong?” Leo asked.

  “Where’s Madeline?” he replied with unease. “Caldurian said she was sound asleep on the floor.”

  “Maybe she woke up and went after him.”

  “Or went after Carmella,” he replied, rubbing his goatee.

  “Where is she?” Nicholas asked, sensing that nothing good could come from a confrontation between the two women.

  “Carmella is locked in a room two levels below,” he said. “Next to Ivy’s.”

  “Take us there!” Nicholas said with growing fear.

  “I can’t hold off the inevitable. Leave this place now!”

  Nicholas stood as if paralyzed, again hearing whisperings in his mind. Only this time he recognized the voice of Frist who spoke in urgent tones. Though not knowing how such communication was possible, he trusted the wizard’s message without question.

  “Mune, take us below at once!”

  Minutes earlier, after Caldurian had ascended to the upper level, Madeline groggily raised her head. She lay on the floor, her heart filled with despair and anguish. After glancing up and down the empty corridor, she struggled to her feet and made for the stairwell exit. She suspected that Caldurian had raced to one of Vellan’s favorite spots on the mountainside to take in the stunning view of Kargoth at sunset. But Madeline had no interest in confronting him. She instead trudged down the staircase for two levels, guiding her hand along the wall to steady her weakened body as the potion drained away her remaining powers. She wanted to see Carmella, the sole individual she blamed for her downfall. She was certain that her cousin had poisoned Caldurian’s mind and set the wizard against her, vowing that Carmella would pay dearly for such treachery.

  After entering the corridor, she turned left along a candlelit passage. This section, unlike the others, curved deeper into the mountain. As she neared the midpoint of the long passageway, she noted a pair of guards keeping watch in front of two adjacent doors on her left. The men of Kargoth stood at attention as Madeline approached, knowing she was a favorite of Vellan’s and possessed the authority to implement his orders.

  “Anything to report?” she bluntly asked the first man.

  “No, ma’am,” he replied, surprised by her disheveled looks. “The prisoners are secure. Supper was delivered a short while ago.”

  “Good. I have an assignment from Vellan. I need it carried out with haste.”

  “Of course,” the second man replied. Each guard looked on obediently, both under the influence of Vellan’s enchantment and eager to please his representative.

  “You are to escort Ivy to the Drusala River,” she explained. “It is Vellan’s wish that she consume its refreshing waters. I’ll keep watch over Carmella’s room.” Madeline extended her hand and the second guard removed a key from his belt clip and handed it to her. “Take the girl out the southeast entrance two levels down. She’ll put up a struggle but will be more than gratified on the return trip. But be sure not to injure her as she holds a special place in Vellan’s heart.”

  “As you wish.”

  As the guards prepared to enter Ivy’s room, Madeline unlocked the adjacent door, eager to talk to her cousin. She knew that Leo would soon be on his deathbed, and it made her feel better that Nicholas would not escape the wizard’s punishment either. Seeing Ivy offer her allegiance to Vellan would be a fate worse than death for him.

  She stepped into the shadowy room lit by a glowing fireplace and a few candles. Her cousin sat near the blaze at a small table enjoying a supper of soup, bread and tea. She closed the door and walked over just as Carmella set down a steaming cup with her gloved hand and turned her head.

  “Hello, cousin,” she said, leaning back in the chair. “To what do I owe this visit? Have you and Vellan finally decided what to do with me?”

  “That is yet to be determined.” Madeline moved into the firelight, her lips pressed in a tight line.

  “Well, I wish you’d decide soon since Ivy and I are…” Carmella’s words trailed off as she got a better look at her cousin. She stood up, startled by Madeline’s disheveled appearance. “What’s happened to you, Liney? You look awful.”

  “Not one to mince words,” she remarked, tucking strands of hair underneath her kerchief. “And I won’t either.” Madeline took another step forward, her watery green eyes smoldering with disdain. “Tell me what words you spoke to Caldurian on your journey here, words that turned him against me.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t pretend that you don’t know, cousin. Speak the truth! What insidious thoughts did you plant into that wizard’s mind which caused him to kill me?”

  Carmella shrugged. “Kill you? I don’t understand. What has Caldurian done to put you in such a crazed state?”

  Madeline sighed with disgust. “You wish to claim ignorance? Fine, we’ll play it your way. But a short while ago, Caldurian revealed to me a series of conversations he had had with you on your journey to this place.”

  “We talked about a lot of things. Be specific.”

  Madeline pointed a shaking finger at Carmella, her voice rising. “You told him that my life would have been better had he never met me and trained me in the magic arts. Now Caldurian believes it and has acted upon it!”

  Carmella looked kindly upon her cousin, not wishing to upset her further. “Liney, please sit with me by the fire. We’ll talk and have some tea.”

  “I prefer to stand.”

  “Suit yourself,” she said, taking a seat. “But in all honesty, I think there has been a misunderstanding. My chats with Caldurian were strictly about him. I suggested that his life would have followed a much different path–and a far better one–had he not thrown in his lot with the likes of Vellan, though I suppose that applies to you, too. Following Vellan and Caldurian has brought you only grief, though you may not have realized it as you savored the wealth and power resulting from the grief you brought upon others.”

  “Don’t lecture me! Whatever you said to Caldurian has twisted his mind. And because of that, he has turned against me. In fact, he has killed me, though I yet breathe.”

  “You’re speaking nonsense,
” Carmella replied with a growing sense of unease. “What has been going on upstairs?”

  Madeline briefly explained what had happened. “You have fouled matters up by dabbling in the magic arts. Because Caldurian had swiped a vile of rasaweed from your dilapidated home on wheels, Vellan now lies unconscious awaiting who-knows-what fate. You’ve damaged a lot of lives with your witless meddling, including mine!”

  Carmella stood, incensed by the comment. “I’ve damaged a lot of lives? If that isn’t the trout calling the duck wet, Liney, then I don’t know what is. What Caldurian did to you was devious, but don’t dare compare the swath of destruction you’ve cut through Laparia to anything I’ve done. My only intention was to find and help you. Whatever misfortune you’re experiencing now is strictly your fault, a result of associating with the worst kind of people.” She scoffed at her cousin. “Besides, what kind of damage could I have caused you? I am your prisoner, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  Madeline, on the verge of an outburst, kept her composure. “Do you want to see what you’ve done to me? What you’ve cost me?” She motioned for Carmella to follow her out of the room. “This way. And you might want to bundle up.”

  “Gladly. Anything to get out of this room.” She grabbed her cloak and draped it over her shoulders. But as soon as they stepped into the corridor, she noticed that both guards were gone and that Ivy’s door was ajar, raising her suspicions. After calling out Ivy’s name and getting no response, Carmella cast a distrustful glance at her cousin.

  “Where’s the girl?”

  “That is none of your concern.”

  “It’s very much my concern, Liney, and unless you tell me–”

  “She is being moved to a new location. Perhaps after our business here is done, I will tell you more.”

  “Fine. Let’s get on with it.”

  Madeline led the way down the corridor to their left, stopping at a metal door built into the right side of the wall near the end of the candle-lit passage. She produced a key and unlocked the door, turning to her cousin before she opened it.

  “Vellan allows only his closest friends inside. Consider yourself privileged.”

  They stepped into a cool, cavernous room carved out of the mountain on the lower southeastern slope. The chamber was devoid of any furnishings, fireplaces and other light sources. A few stone pillars were scattered about, their smooth sides ornamented with finely chiseled designs. The only illumination came from the glow of white light rising above the eastern horizon that washed into the room through a series of twelve tall, narrow arches cut into the mountain which offered a stunning view of Del Norác and the Drusala River in the distance. Far down and directly below the arches, a wide, frothy stream meandered along the mountain through a canopy of budding trees as it made its way to the Drusala. A narrow dirt road was visible to the east. Faint splashes of red and gold light from the west also spilled into the room through the windowless openings along with a soft, steady breeze. Carmella was fascinated by the room and wondered its purpose.

  “The Enâri did some wonderful work,” Madeline said as she walked over to one of the arches and placed her hands upon the stone sill that rose to her waist. She enjoyed the view, inhaling the cool evening air.

  “What is this place?” Carmella asked. She peered out of an adjacent archway, her breath taken away by the stunning vista as the fresh air brushed across her face.

  “Vellan had many areas for his private use constructed into the side of the mountain at various elevations and vantage points,” she explained. “A balcony here, a terrace there. This chamber was one of several favorites–sunny or shadowy depending on the time of day, as well as quiet and uncluttered.” She smiled wistfully, recalling fond memories. “Vellan would come here to think or enjoy a meal when the weather was accommodating. Even in the middle of winter he would occasionally venture out here to reinvigorate his mind when the snow was flying through the openings.” She stepped back and turned to her cousin, her mood momentarily joyful. “On one of my previous visits, Vellan had a table and two chairs placed near one of these arches where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch and a wide-ranging conversation. The hours passed like minutes that delightful afternoon. It was a glorious time.”

  Carmella stepped back and faced Madeline, not wholly impressed. “I can only imagine what that conversation entailed. His fomenting of war between Rhiál and Maranac perhaps? Or maybe the details of your raid on the Blue Citadel? But I’m sure the discussion nicely complemented your choice of food that day.”

  Madeline scowled. “Watch you words! You are a guest here.”

  “I am a prisoner.”

  “And I am without a future, all thanks to you!” she cried. “I could have held the seat of power in Kargoth one day.” Madeline swept an arm across the curving span of arches, on the verge of tears, her chin quivering. “The people and land out there could have been mine to shape into something more magnificent than Vellan had ever imagined. But because of you, it is not to be. Because of you, my dreams have been killed!”

  Carmella appeared unfazed. “Your dreams are other people’s nightmares.”

  Madeline’s face reddened as she stood toe-to-toe with her cousin. “You had no right to delve into the magic arts and step into my circle. You’ve ruined everything!”

  “Caldurian thought otherwise,” she replied, icily staring down her cousin. “And unlike you, he wasn’t afraid of a little competition.”

  “Competition? The only competition that you’re on equal footing with me, cousin, is breathing and aging.”

  “Liney, you’d be surprised by what Caldurian has taught me over these past several days. Not only am I now proficient with smoke manipulation–”

  “Child’s play!”

  “–but he instructed me in the basics of fire manipulation as well.” Carmella noted a flash of jealously in Madeline’s eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, that is one of your areas of expertise. Or should I say was one of your areas of expertise? By the look of you, you’re clearly not the same Liney I met behind the Citadel a few months ago.”

  “Take that back!” she cried, pushing Carmella against one of the arches as a strengthening breeze swept inside. “Or I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life!”

  Carmella, fearing that Madeline was losing her hold on reality, forcefully pushed her away and broke free. “Liney, are you mad?”

  “I’m angry!”

  She rushed at Carmella and nearly tackled her, but Carmella broke free a second time and ran to one of the pillars. She leaned against the stone column to catch her breath, keeping an eye on Madeline who glared at her from across the chamber. Carmella guessed that Caldurian’s potion was tearing her apart physically and emotionally.

  “Stay where you are, Liney! I don’t want to hurt you,” she warned. “You are not in your right mind.”

  “Hurt me?” Madeline scoffed as she stepped closer. “What are you going to do, cousin? Fan some smoke my way?”

  “Don’t try me!” Carmella peeled off the long beige glove from her right hand and wadded it into a ball. She held it tightly in the same pumpkin-colored hand whose hue extended beyond her wrist.

  Madeline stopped, looking upon Carmella with amusement. “Do you plan to throw that glove at me, cousin? Ouch.”

  Carmella offered a knowing smile. “As a matter of fact, yes.”

  Loosening her grip on the glove, Carmella whispered a string of inaudible words as she focused her concentration on the item, her voice growing softer with each repetition. Slowly, the wadded material began to glow with a reddish-orange luster until it burst into a controlled flame. She lifted her hand and whispered a few more words, causing the flaming sphere to fly from her palm and speed directly past her cousin. It slammed against one of the arches where it disintegrated in a flash, leaving a black mark upon the stonework. She noted a look of utter disbelief upon Madeline’s face, knowing she had tamed her cousin for the moment.

  Madeline looked up, her expression unc
ertain and faraway, her voice languid and without hope. “Apparently Caldurian wasn’t wasting his time on you.”

  “He taught me only a few things,” she replied, trying not to sound boastful. “I still need many more lessons before I’ll be as proficient as you were.”

  “Yes,” Madeline said with a sigh, shaking her head as she stepped back to the arches and leaned up against the sill. “As I was. Now you have taken the prize in the family, cousin. You have won.”

  “I don’t feel like I’ve won anything, Liney. Not as long as you suffer like this.” Carmella took a few tentative steps toward her, sensing her overwhelming pain. “Return with me to Red Fern where we can start mending your life. Maybe I can re-teach you some of the lessons you once knew so well–only this time with the provision that you use them for doing good. Nicholas told me stories of how Frist tended to the sick and injured with his gift. I can’t think of a better way for you to make amends.”

  Madeline smiled halfheartedly as she hoisted herself up and sat on the sill, knowing her cousin meant well. “I doubt King Justin would allow me to wander freely through Arrondale after what I’ve done. I see a prison cell in my future–or worse.”

  “Perhaps, but maybe you must pay for your crimes first before you can redeem yourself.” A hopeful smile spread across Carmella’s face. “Yet seeing that I returned the medallion to the Citadel, I hold a little sway with the King. He might allow me to help rehabilitate you while you serve your time. Years from now you could be roaming through the villages of Arrondale to mend the sick and infirm. That might be your true calling.”

  “You dream large, cousin,” she replied with a sad smile. “Perhaps Caldurian was right. Maybe I would have been better off had I never met him.”

  “Meeting that wizard was not the best thing for you.”

  Madeline nodded, calm and agreeable. “I guess it wasn’t. My life without him would have been safer and quieter–though I suppose a bit duller compared to all I’ve experienced over the years.”

  “Dull is nice every now and then. But would that have been so bad considering all the harm that wouldn’t have resulted from your activities?” Carmella felt that Madeline was slowly seeing things her way, certain that if she could get her out of Kargoth, there might be hope for her down the road. It would take years of hard work to help her unravel a lifetime of misdeeds, but Carmella was willing to try with King Justin’s permission.