William took the paper from her to read it himself. “A child . . . they’re taking children now? What’s this world coming to?” He tossed the paper into the fire. “Sorry you had to see that, children. Please remain calm, and let’s continue with the demonstration. Oh, Reha, could you go and prop the door back up? I don’t want any more interruptions.”
“Yes, sir.” A boy ran up the steps and picked up the door to lean it against the opening. He stopped and looked out into the streets. “They’re all over the city. Guards are everywhere.”
William went up the steps before the other children could follow. He looked out to see the city crawling with Guards. Each was going after the children first, taking little care with how they handled their work. “Children, class is dismissed today. Go home. I’m sure your parents are worried. And whatever you do, do not aggravate the guards. Be respectful, for your own sake.” He was worried about his own son, and his son was twenty-three.
Chapter 14: Learning from Donna
When the dawn came, everyone at Donna’s woke to breakfast already made. On the table, in the same room as the sleeping trio, was a pile of freshly cooked meats and breads and some fruit. It was perfect, for the sausage that was provided was as hot as anything Markus had ever tasted, which meant the others were happy eaters. The only thing missing from the table was the hostess. Donna was nowhere to be found that morning. She had set up breakfast and left them to get around on their own. Of course, they knew she had a shop to keep, but Treb knew she was probably still embarrassed to be seen by any of them right now.
Once they finished eating, Crystal and Markus sat by the fire, and she showed him some of her best spells for healing.
“Would you stop grinning like that? You aren’t paying attention,” Crystal said, quietly breaking Markus’ goofy stare.
“I was just thinking about what we did last night.”
Crystal could not contain the grin on her face. “I don’t know what came over me. I just couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry if I—”
Markus stopped her by placing his hand on hers. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I liked it. Perhaps a little warning next time, but . . .”
She looked down, and her tail wagged a little against the floor. “So, you want a next time?”
“Of course. I . . . well . . . I do like you.” He tried not to sound like a child, but he was only sixteen.
Crystal looked him in the eyes. “I . . . like you, too.”
“What are you two doing over here?” Treb asked as he came over to check on the fire.
Markus let go of her hand as quickly as he could and even scooted back a few more inches. “Uh, nothing. Just learning some healing magic, that’s all.” He sounded as guilty as he felt.
Crystal nodded as she hastily picked up her book to look at the next spell. “Yeah, that’s it. I’m teaching him about this spell. Asja.”
Treb looked at Markus, not as menacingly as he might have five days ago when he first brought him into the village, but still with distrust. “Shouldn’t you be trying to interpret that Codex?”
“I don’t have any idea how to even start. I’ve looked at it over and over, and nothing even begins to make sense.”
Treb shook his head. “That map simply leads us into the Barren Mountains, a place dangerous to be at even the best of times. We really do need to know where to go from there. Maybe you could ask Donna to help you figure it out.”
“Donna?” Markus hadn’t thought of her.
“She’s a wizard too, and one who went to college. She might know something of the ancient language.”
“That makes sense, but I’m not sure if I should be telling everyone about our mission.”
Crystal closed her book on one finger to keep her place. “I don’t believe telling her would be dangerous. She’s been evading the Royal Guard for four years. I doubt she’ll be turning us in or spreading around rumors.”
“It’s worth a try.”
Treb looked at his little girl seated on the floor, as she pretended to read the same page over and over, probably waiting for her overprotective father to leave. “Honey, why don’t you and I go see if we can get some of the supplies we need?”
“I need to teach Markus more stuff. Can’t you and Mother go out and get the supplies?”
Treb had an ingrained urge to get her away from interested boys, and he couldn’t deny it. “I just think you two need some time apart. You spend too much time together.”
Markus was about to protest, when Kiin interceded. “Treb, dear, let them work on their magic stuff. We can go get the supplies.”
Treb looked at his wife and then back at his little girl. The idea of leaving her here with Markus, a boy she had already kissed, was almost too much for him. Then he recalled that moment on the hill as they hid from Morris. Markus had displayed real honor then and genuine care for Crystal. Perhaps a little trust had been earned. “All right. You two stay inside and keep away from the Guards.”
Markus was shocked. He had expected more arguments. “Okay, sure.”
Kiin took her husband’s hand and walked him out of the room.
Treb stood with his wife in the next room. She stopped him and gave him a good kiss. He did not fight it, and once it was over he had to ask, “What was that for?”
She ran her hands down his back and gave his rear a playful squeeze, something she always did after a good kiss. “I’m so proud of you. You didn’t fight back. Are you beginning to see that Markus isn’t going to hurt her?”
Treb looked back at the doorway, though he could not see into the room. “Yeah. I think I can trust him. He honestly likes her and wants to keep her safe.”
Kiin walked away and picked up the bowl that was still on the floor from where Treb had knocked it off when Donna had become a bit too frisky. “After what happened last night, I was worried about you.”
Treb looked at her as she was examining the bowl, which only brought back to his mind the incident last night. “Oh, you know what happened?”
She laughed at him, still thinking of when they had both watched the kids kiss. “Of course; we were both there.”
“Uh . . . are you angry?”
Kiin set the bowl down and turned to him with a thoroughly confused look. “Of course not. I think it was sweet. Perhaps a little awkward, but still sweet.”
“You . . . thought . . . it was sweet?” He was confounded. “You don’t think she was pushing a little too hard?”
Kiin shrugged. “No. Actually, I thought I might give her a few pointers about next time.”
“Next time!” He was aghast.
“Shush!” She put her finger on his mouth. “Don’t worry the kids. Yes, next time. I think if she’s going to attempt a relationship with someone that’s not of her race, she needs to know a few things.”
Treb was disgusted, shocked, and more than confused. “I would think you would discourage it. Didn’t it shock you?”
“I already told you I was fine with it. In fact, it might happen again tonight, and if it does, she needs to know how far to go and not to go.”
Treb sat down on his bed. “Kiin, dear, you’re scaring me.”
“Okay, I don’t think we’re on the same page. What are you talking about?”
Treb frowned at her and decided it would be best to make her explain first. “What are you talking about?”
Kiin gestured back to the den. “The kids. Crystal needs to know a few things about kissing and what is unacceptable and what is acceptable. She also needs to know the differences between the Humankind and Rakki when it comes to romance and stuff like that. What were you talking about?”
Treb looked around and gulped. He had half a moment to come up with a good explanation that made sense. “Well . . . I . . . was just confused. That is all. You talking to her about that romantic stuff is fine. It’s girl stuff.”
Kiin knew her man better than that. He was hiding something, and sooner or later, she would find out. But it was not
the time to push, so she let it go. “At least you and Markus already talked about girls. He knows what to expect from Rakki girls, fangs and all.”
Treb frowned at her. “You listened in, didn’t you?”
She laughed and patted his shoulder armor. “Honey, I’ll always know what I need to know when it comes to this family. Don’t worry; you didn’t get yourself in too much trouble.”
“I’m in trouble?” His deep, manly voice suddenly changed into the meager squeak of a husband in trouble.
“Yes, but we will talk about it later. Now we need to get our supplies. I don’t want to spend too much time here—too many guards around to find Crystal and Markus.”
Treb rose and followed her with absolute obedience. They passed Donna when they got up the stairs. She was heading down and looked particularly terrified when she passed Treb and Kiin. The flush of red in her cheeks seemed to have made itself a permanent home. Treb felt bad for her, but Kiin was left to wonder what was going on between them.
Donna walked into the room where she had insulted Treb. She felt like a complete fool. She wanted a man, but her attempts at flirting were always awkward and clumsy. However, she hadn’t accidentally gone after a married man before. What had she been thinking?
“Donna? Are you in there?” Markus called out.
She fixed her face so she wasn’t frowning anymore and put on a smile. Coming around the corner, she found the kids working hard, learning magic. “Can I help you?”
Markus looked at the Codex and thought for a moment about telling her about it. “Well, I was wondering if you could help with some magical stuff. Neither of us have done any work with real wizards before.”
Crystal corrected him. “I grew up with wizards, but they didn’t really teach me anything other than medical magic.”
Donna was glad to help them. It might help earn some forgiveness from Treb for her actions. Besides, it was nice to be with other wizards again. “Sure. What can I do?” She came over and sat down on the floor, crossing her legs. She noticed the book Crystal had. “Oh, you have some healing spells. I can certainly help with that, especially medicinal potion blending.”
Crystal held out her little notebook. “It’s not much. Just some stuff I learned in our library. I use it to practice my magic.”
“May I?” Donna took the book from her and looked at the spells and notes Crystal had written down. “Goodness, you have a strong grasp on this already. Who taught you about healing magic?”
Crystal brushed her hair out of her face and looked away in humility. “Well, I learned most of it from books and personal practice. My parents were healers before they were taken from me. My father was a good surgeon wizard, and my mother was the best healing wizard anyone had ever known.”
Donna flipped through the book. The notes beside each spell were very well thought out. “This looks like the work of a final year student in the healing school of the college. Where did you practice? I know not all of these notes are just transcribed from books. Some are your own thoughts and opinions about healing magic.”
“I was allowed to practice in the infirmary of my village. I wasn’t given any of the serious cases, so I couldn’t make horrible mistakes. The doctors and nurses of the infirmary were good friends of my parents and offered to help me when I came into my powers.”
Donna handed back the book. “You’ll make a fine doctor one day. All I could teach you would be about potion mixing for healing arts.”
“Oh, I’d like to learn about that. The books gave recipes and some notes, but all stated I needed to practice with a potion master.”
“Yes, mixing potions can be tricky without a teacher there. A little too much of an ingredient and, boom, there goes the house.” Donna grimaced at the memories of some of the things she had accidentally blown up in her practicing years. “I can show you a few things. But we must be careful. Anything that uses magic must be hidden so they don’t know of it.”
“I understand. Maybe before we leave, I can learn a few things.”
Markus took the Codex from his side. “I have questions that aren’t about healing or potions.”
Donna’s jaw dropped and her eyes were fixed on the book. “Where did you get that?”
“The Rakki have protected it for a long time. The wizard who wrote it told them it was for a special occasion. We’re hoping it’ll lead to answers about the Dragonwand.” He waited for her, knowing that simply saying Dragonwand would bring out something. He was not sure what, exactly, though.
Donna was quiet for a moment and then looked at him. “What do you know of the Dragonwand?”
Crystal started, “We are—”
But Markus stopped her. He gave Donna a deadly serious gaze. “What would you do if you found it?” was the only question he could think of that would help him know how to answer her question.
She looked away and thought about it for a moment. “I cannot say. I know the King has ordered it to be found. I also know that we haven’t been told the truth about it by the palace; someone wants it for evil purposes.”
Markus then asked, “Do you know where it is?”
Donna nodded. “Yes, but only by legend. It’s said to be in the Dragon Citadel. Unfortunately, no one knows where to find that place.”
Markus opened the book. “This book is supposed to lead us to the Citadel. But we don’t know how to interpret it. Can you?” He set it in front of her.
Donna was in awe of the Codex. To see such an artifact in person was breathtaking. “It’s in such good condition. It must be protected by magic. Wow, this is the ancient tongue.”
Crystal asked again, “Can you read it?”
Donna picked up the book, and an envelope fell out, which Markus quickly grabbed and put away. Donna asked, “What was that?”
“Just notes; nothing important.” He sounded a little defensive.
Donna went on, “No, I’m afraid the only ones who can read this language are the Ancients. This text has to be deciphered through some magical method, but I don’t know what it is. Each book and scroll was enchanted with a different encryption key.”
Markus let out a defeated sigh. “Why would Tolen send me on a quest without giving me anything more than this stupid wand? I don’t know how to do this. We’re going to get lost in the mountains, while the King does who knows what to Gallenor.”
Donna broke through his angry mutterings. “He gave you this, too.” She pointed to the book.
Markus corrected her, “No, the Rakki had that hidden and gave it to me to help. Tolen only gave me a wand.”
Donna amended, “See this?” She pointed to a bit of scribbled writing in the front of the Codex. “I may not have the deciphering spell for the rest of this, but this isn’t an encrypted word; it’s his name in the ancient tongue.”
Markus frowned. “How do you know that?”
“Tolen the Wise was the Chief Wizard over the college when I was an instructor there. Though none of us knew he was an Ancient, he did write this as his name when he signed important documents. We all believed he was just showing off.”
“Did you know him well?” Crystal asked.
“Not as well as I would’ve liked. He left the school right after the King’s head wizard, Hallond, came to the college and informed us that dark forces were at work in Gallenor again. I had only been an instructor for a year at that point.”
“What dark forces? Did he say?” Markus wanted to know more about what they were up against.
“Dark magic has always been in Gallenor since the War. Imps are made of it, and so are a few other undesirable creatures. In the past ten years, the amount of dark magic creatures roaming the lands has increased, and this certainly got a lot of people’s attention. Then Hallond said the dragon statue outside of Thendor Castle was gaining power and slowly reanimating.”
Markus looked away, confused. “The statue?”
“Yes. For generations, the Head Council of magic had informed all of Gallenor that the dragon
s were the responsible party in the War, and that the statue was the last dragon. He was stopped just before our destruction. I believed that, until the day I escaped.” Donna hugged her arms around herself as she recalled that terrible day.
Crystal softly asked, “What happened?”
“The first order to secure all wizards was only for the college and Thendor province. That was about a year and a half before the rest of Gallenor was commanded to surrender their wizards to the Guard. All wizards were to be put in the Pale Labyrinth for the safety of Gallenor. I knew this was wrong. The Royal Guard descended on the college in force, to enforce the new law. Some of the wizards followed willingly, and some fought back. I ran.
“Five of us got away, and we were met by Tolen. He said he had a place in the valley that was hidden from the eyes of the King. But as we traveled, four of the others were captured. Tolen managed to keep me safe and told me the dragon statue and the Dragonwand were not evil as was believed for generations. He also said that those two items were the means to end the threat of dark forces in Gallenor, and that he needed a wizard strong enough to finish his mission.”
“Why didn’t he do it himself?” Markus asked. “Or ask you to do it?”
Donna seemed a little ashamed of herself. “Tolen was old—older than any of us ever believed possible. He knew he couldn’t complete this mission of his. For years, he had been searching for the right wizard for the job. He must have known these dark times would come long before any of us were aware, for he had been searching since before the decree.”
“My grandmother,” Markus muttered.
“Huh?”
Markus explained, “Tolen told me he sent out the call to my grandmother and then my father to follow their hearts and finish his mission. But they refused their magical heritage and did not listen. He must have thought my family could do this.”
“Yes.” Donna had an epiphany. “For some reason, your family must have it within them to finish this mission. I offered my service to him, but he told me I wasn’t the right person. I can’t say it didn’t hurt me to hear that, but I also knew if I failed, all could be lost. Tolen told me to go—that the King was only interested in finding him. This was before the widespread decree was ordered. He said Stillwater would be a safe place, and I could prove useful here. I came here and built a potion business and waited for the day Tolen would call upon me to help him, or that I . . .” She then realized her encounter with Markus and his companions may have not been chance. After a pause, she continued. “I would find what I needed to find. That my part in all of this would come about.” She was looking at Markus with an astonished expression.
Legacy of Dragonwand: Book 1 (Legacy of Dragonwand Trilogy) Page 16