by Guy Antibes
“See if he’ll say more when he wakes up,” a voice said from just outside the closet. “We’re going to check if they found anything in the carriage house.”
The footsteps disappeared after Ricky heard a door shut. He peeked out from his hiding place and didn’t find anyone. He pressed himself against the stairway as he crept to the second floor.
Saganet was tied to a chair in the middle of his bedroom suite. A single man sat on the couch pouring a goblet of his guardian’s wine. Ricky entered the room with the sword drawn.
“Who are… You’re the boy!”
Ricky shouted and hit the frozen man over the head with the butt of the sword. He would fall when time resumed. He quickly untied Saganet, who barely rose to consciousness. Someone had battered his face.
He struggled with Saganet and had to drag him downstairs into the basement. He quickly ran up to the top and re-locked the door.
“What are you doing?” Saganet said.
“Rescuing you. Don’t say another word. Let’s go to your hideout and stay there until you are ready to leave.”
Saganet nodded and let Ricky assist him all the way into the hideout. He helped Saganet to one of the bedrooms and left him groaning a bit while he found a basin and towels to wash his bloody face.
By the time he returned, Saganet had returned to unconsciousness. Ricky took care of the worst of Saganet’s wounds and checked him out for other injuries. His fingers were battered as well, but Saganet didn’t reveal what the intruders sought.
He fixed some soup from water, finding a packet of dried meat and another of dried peas. He heard more clattering of boots above but didn’t worry. If they hadn’t noticed the basement yet, they probably wouldn’t in the dark.
Ricky lay down in the other room, listening for the sounds of the men above them in the carriage house. The clumping finally stopped, and Ricky fell asleep.
~
“Wake up!” Saganet said. “We need to find Karian!”
Ricky blinked the sleep out of his eyes. Saganet’s face was swollen and discolored in the light of the lantern. He sat up.
“What happened?”
“I visited my housekeeper, poor girl, to pay her. I came here to spend the night. Lord Taranta has still got men watching for us and followed me to her home. She didn’t last long under their questioning and led them to my house this morning, just before I was about to head back to the academy.”
“What did they want?”
“Victor evidently acquired the book cover, but Taranta and his goons couldn’t decipher the code. Lord Taranta wants to know what it all means. He certainly doesn’t fear me, and I must say I can’t fight off ten men.”
“Not alone,” Ricky said.
“How did I get down here?”
“When you didn’t come home, I decided to check on your townhouse. I saw people in the carriage house. They didn’t look friendly.” Ricky told him of his foray through the secret passages.
“So they know you are with me.”
“Of course they do. The person who guarded you while he partook of your finest wine said, ‘You’re the boy.' I take that to mean me.”
Saganet sighed. “I’m sorry to involve you in this mess.”
“I’m already involved!” Ricky said. “It looks like our enemies are in the same family.”
“The thugs wanted names, but I didn’t give them any.”
Ricky looked up at the ceiling. “I didn’t hear their footsteps, so I went to sleep. Can we go back to the academy, now?”
Saganet nodded. “I won’t be returning to my townhouse anytime soon, but we can still use the basements. Come on.”
Ricky rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. They walked past an empty soup bowl. “At least you had something to eat.”
“Thank you for that. I haven’t had a thing since yesterday morning. Maybe we’ll be able to steal something from the tavern on the way out.”
Ricky nodded and handed Saganet a sword. “I was going to use it rather than my new switch if I had to kill anyone.”
“So the wound wouldn’t look the same as the ones from Victor’s attack?”
Ricky nodded again.
Saganet ruffled Ricky’s hair with his good hand. “Bright boy.”
They closed the door to the secret room after they entered the tunnel to the tavern. Saganet inspected the stairs.
“No sign of them,” was all he said as they hurried through the tunnel and into the tavern storeroom. Saganet took a stale dinner roll from a basket in the kitchen. The tavern was closed, and the night lent little light to the inside of the establishment.
They emerged from the tavern, using a key that Saganet retrieved from a hiding place. He locked the door and put the key in a secure spot outside. They walked the empty streets.
“It is early morning,” Saganet said as they kept to the edges of buildings in the dark.
Karian’s shop looked tranquil enough from the outside. Saganet took them past it and into an alley that led to the rear of the structure. He put his hand on Ricky’s chest to stop him.
“There are two guards in the back,” Saganet whispered. He picked up a length of wood. “Can you knock them out?”
“Give me your sword,” Ricky said. “That worked really well as a cudgel against Taranta’s guard.”
He crept below the waist-high wall that defined the edge of the alley from the buildings that lined it. He shouted and ran to the two men, pummeling them in the head. They wouldn’t fall until his spell wore off. Of course, they wouldn’t see Saganet.
“Good work,” Saganet said, retrieving his sword from Ricky. He tried the door, and it was unlocked.
“Time to switch watches?” a voice said from Karian’s storeroom.
“Not really,” Saganet said as he walked past Ricky into the dim light of two candles.
“Where?”
“I am here, and there are only two of you,” Saganet said.
The other guard still slumbered in his chair. A bound Karian looked little better than Saganet had earlier. He had slumped down in a chair, but now he raised his head. “Saganet!”
Ricky stayed out of the room while Saganet and the two guards fought. Neither of the intruders had a chance against his guardian. Ricky rushed in and untied Karian.
“They expected you to know something?”
Karian gave Saganet a lopsided grin. “They didn’t believe me.”
“You can stay with us at the academy tonight.”
“I’ll make sure my shop is secure and put up a closed sign for my help while you drag those men into a different garden than mine.”
They made their way slowly to the academy. Saganet stopped them. A group of men slumped in sleep in an alley with the academy gate in sight.
Saganet drew his sword. “Time for our secret weapon,” he said as he gave Ricky his sword.
Ricky nodded and crept up behind the men. He shouted and put nine men to sleep, including the two who were watching for Saganet to return to the academy.
He put Saganet’s sword back into his hand before Ricky’s spell wore off.
One of the thugs raised up, holding his head and moaning, but Saganet made quick work of him. They rushed across the street where Saganet retrieved the gate key from his pocket.
“They were idiots, I guess,” he said, “or they planned on dispatching me when I finally tried to return home.”
Ricky collapsed on his bed while Saganet cleaned Karian’s face. He woke up at his regular time and entered the living room. Karian snored on the couch while Saganet did the same from his bedroom.
He changed his clothes, washed up as quietly as he could, and headed to the commissary for his breakfast.
“What is the occasion?” Benno asked, sitting before a full plate of food.
“Saganet had a long night. He’s still asleep,” Ricky said.
After stuffing a strip of bacon in his mouth, Benno nodded and pointed to his mouth while he finished it off. He forced the bacon down. “
We need him back. Mistress Asucco is ten times worse an instructor than Professor Crabacci.”
Ricky cracked a smile. “I guess we find out together. I don’t think Saganet will be taking classes today.”
“Will he get into trouble?” Benno said.
“No. Wait for me to finish, and I’ll head over to the practice field with you.”
The sky clouded over while they ate breakfast, and it began to rain as they arrived.
“Get the weapons under the tent,” Effie said.
Benno was right. She acted as stiff as she did when Ricky first met her.
She signaled to Ricky and led him to a corner of the tent. “Where is Saganet?”
“Back at the cottage. Lord Taranta’s men captured him at his townhouse and tied him up, but he didn’t tell them anything. His face is, uh, a mess, but he’ll probably be up and around today.”
“How did you find out?”
“I’ll let him tell you,” Ricky said.
The class was decidedly more rigorous with Effie, but Ricky relished the added exercise. It took his mind off the events of the previous night.
When he tried to make colored balloon lights later in the day, Ricky had no problems. He figured the night before had helped clear his mind of whatever had distracted him.
Ricky had one more effect to learn, and in a few days, Loria and he mastered that one. Now they would get together to learn how to string the spells into a performance.
Betti’s smile didn’t stop when they met back in the cleared out lecture well, which was their new home for the project. She looked giddy with excitement. Merry wasn’t far behind as they both reviewed the actual performance.
She had them both stand a few paces apart and ran them through each of the five spells they had mastered. “Here is the script,” she said, presenting them both with bound notebooks. “I want you to memorize the words and the proper sequence of spells by tomorrow. We will have to tune your effects once you’ve learned your motions.”
“But we don’t say much of anything,” Loria said.
“Not in this competition. Most of the judging is on technique. Your spells separately are quite acceptable, remarkable really, for your age. But you need to act together. Professor Garini will be joining us the day after tomorrow to help Ricky and Dari, and I will continue to work with Loria,” Betti said. “A qualification round is scheduled for the end of next week, so that one has to be perfect.”
And then he could back to his project, Ricky thought.
~~~
Chapter Thirty-Three
~
K arian remained at the cottage and sent a message to his two clerks that the store would be closed while he was on ‘vacation.'
“How long will you be here?” Ricky said as they began to eat the dinner Karian had prepared. He was a much better cook than Ricky or Saganet.
“Another week. At least until after your performance,” Saganet said. “We are assembling some of our forces. Enough to protect ourselves, anyway.”
“Won’t that make Lord Taranta hire more?” Ricky said.
“It will, but he must think we have a large force already. We have fought two large groups of his forces with our men.”
“The two of you and Effie?” Karian said, with a smile on his face. “Without Ricky, where would we be?” Karian shot a grin at Ricky.
“Maybe dead,” Saganet said seriously. “I’ve sent a complaint to the Tossan Constabulary and the Duke about being attacked in my own home, and I sent copies to our allies on the Council of Notables. If we go missing, someone needs to know Taranta is actively working against us.”
“Should I cancel the performance?” Ricky asked.
Saganet shook his head. “No. That is too public an event. Don’t worry about anything happening then. I’m sure Taranta is anxious to attack again, although I don’t know what he hopes to gain. I don’t lead anything other than our little group, and I won’t expand until Taranta’s pressure declines.”
“What about the armory?”
“It’s not for me, Ricky. We need to have access to weapons in case the Parantian government outlaws them.”
“They could do that?”
Karian nodded. “Check your history books. It’s happened often enough, although not in our lifetime.”
Ricky would have to do some digging tomorrow between attempts to learn Betti’s script. He still didn’t know what Karian and Saganet were doing. Neither of the men would give him details, but it sure sounded a lot like insurrection.
~
Ricky went through the script twice. He couldn’t practice his spells inside the cottage, but he tried to memorize sequences and transitions. Betti had changed the routine a bit, but the big spells remained the same, just in a different order from what he expected.
Thinking back to the previous night, he pulled one of Saganet’s histories and sought out an instance where the monarch had seized weapons. There was a rebellion nearly three hundred years ago where the King had confiscated commoners’ weapons. It did not end nicely for that dynasty since the current King’s family rose to the throne after the rebellion succeeded.
Ricky couldn’t find any other rebellions. He sat back and wondered if the King knew of his own history. Saganet’s cache of weapons put his guardian in peril should there be a similar order from the current king. He shook his head. No use worrying about something that might never happen.
~
Ricky and Loria struggled through the first performance run-through. The script seemed smooth enough, but once they acted it out for real, Ricky didn’t feel it had sufficient flow, and Professor Dari complained about their effects clashing.
“Maybe we need a story after all,” Ricky said. “Something to link the spells together.”
Petro rubbed his chin. “Ricky is right, but it's not just talking that we need. To score well, you need more transition work with words and magic.”
Betti frowned. “I’ve done all I can,” she said.
“Not all,” Merry said. “What can we do to replace the chorus? That is what is needed.”
Ricky tried to think back on the one and only performance he had attended. “More choreography,” he said. “I’m not one for strutting on stage, but I think we need to move around more rather than have us work in tandem. If we are apart, maybe the judges won’t be looking for something exactly in unison.”
“Oh,” Betti said, somewhat crestfallen. “I wanted the perfect couple, but that might not work.”
“Not in a week, I’m afraid,” Professor Garini said. “Their colors are different, and the density of the lights is uneven. Why don’t we combine them and accentuate the differences?”
Betti brightened. “I’ll admit I’m a bit over my head. Perhaps doing a little project is more difficult than a regular production.”
“You’ve given us a great start, and the five major spells have an excellent chance of being better than any other contestant,” Merry said. “I want you all to come back tomorrow. Betti and I will tweak the script by then, and we’ll have another rehearsal.”
Ricky left the building, a bit at loose ends. Loria walked up behind him and grabbed his arm.
“Let’s go to the practice field, and I’ll show you what I’ve learned.”
Her familiarity surprised him. They walked in silence until they reached the empty grounds.
“Choose your weapon,” Ricky said.
“I lured you here under false pretenses,” Loria said. “You look glum, and I think it’s because we haven’t been working on your project.”
Ricky bit his lip. “I admit I’m anxious for this to be over.”
“So am I,” Loria said. “Performance sorcery is harder work than I thought.”
Ricky snorted. “Of course it is. We are doing university level sorcery, according to Professor Garini. We don’t stand a chance of making it out of a qualification round if our work isn’t outstanding.”
“Betti told me quite the opposite, but I guess th
at was to encourage me.” She shook her head quickly to change the subject. “Communicate with me. Let’s spend the rest of the afternoon working on that.”
Ricky couldn’t help but smile. “Happily. You stand right there, and I’ll gradually move farther from you to see if the range has changed.”
“Are you afraid it has shrunk?”
Ricky shook his head. “Practice improves sorcery. It’s not just the will, but how you focus it.”
“Something else you learned from your professor?”
“I did, and it helped.”
“Let’s get started by making sure our resonances match,” Loria said.
They both sang and only needed a few adjustments until they could feel the link blossom again. “Now you try to push your power towards me and see if you can establish a link on your part.” She sang and then Ricky felt the link come to life in his mind.
That was easier than I expected, Loria said.
“Break the link, and then I’ll walk to the end of the field. Create one again and then send a thought to me.”
Ricky turned around when he reached the grassy edge of the practice grounds and waved his hand to Loria who stood about one hundred paces away. The link popped into life.
Is this going to work? She said.
I can hear you like you are right in front of me, Ricky responded.
Even without practice, the range was farther than they had ever experienced.
Ricky grinned. I think our practicing has made us stronger sorcerers.
You are right. Keep walking to your cottage, and I’ll go to my dorm. We’ll see when the link breaks, Loria said.
He headed towards the cottage and lost Loria to view, but they continued their conversation. Their session began to fade when he reached the door.
Let’s refresh our resonance, Ricky said.
Ricky sang and made a minor adjustment to his pitch and honed into Loria again. He became excited. Another key to the puzzle! Am I clear to you?
I’m in my dormitory room, and it’s as if you are here with me.
When you are ready to go to breakfast, try to contact me,” Ricky said.