Wandmaker's Apprentice

by Ed Masessa

“Excuse me,” Brianna interrupted. “One of us doesn’t have a wand.”

  Coralis smiled broadly. “What a perfect way to start! Did you bring what I asked?”

  Brianna nodded and pulled a mason jar out of a bag.

  “Are those what I think they are?” asked Henry.

  Serena leaned in for a closer look. “They appear to be nail clippings … a lot of them.”

  “Correct!” Coralis exclaimed happily. “Brianna has been experiencing certain physical anomalies, among which has been abnormal fingernail growth. At first I attributed it to being a side effect of spending time as a hedgehog. But after careful research, I discovered they are her body’s reaction to her emergence as an Enabler. And here’s the best part.” Coralis paused, giddy with excitement. “Making her wand from these clippings will increase her power tenfold! Now then, we will need a few items from the other room. Talk among yourselves. I’ll be back in a moment.” Coralis nearly skipped out of the classroom.

  Luis grimaced. “How long have you been saving them?”

  “Only about ten weeks,” Brianna replied meekly. “I had to clip them once a day, but the good news is they’ve slowed down a lot, so it’s only about every third day now.”

  “I’m not sure what’s worse,” Luis said. “The number of clippings you produce in ten weeks or the fact that you save them.”

  Henry was fascinated by Brianna’s condition, and a quick look around confirmed he wasn’t alone. Only Luis seemed to have a problem with it, but Henry had a suspicion that the boy was exaggerating his reaction in order to bring attention to himself.

  Coralis returned in full-blown instruction mode. “Gather ’round, apprentices. Nails are made of keratin, which cannot be melted into another shape. Many mammalian body parts are also made of keratin, like horns, scales, and quills, so this knowledge will become useful as you hone your wandmaking skills and begin to experiment. Since we cannot melt the nails, we will have to transform them.”

  Over the course of the next hour, Coralis amazed the group with a display of finesse and power. By the time he was through, they knew they were in the presence of a master.

  And Brianna had received her first wand. The beauty of it was that the final product looked very much like phantom quartz, which would allow her to go undetected as an Enabler. They dubbed the wand the “Nailinator,” and as they admired it, Katelyn drifted away from the group.

  Henry saw that she was worried about something. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Aye, nothing wrong. But I just took to wonderin’. How did the falcon know what wands to give us, and why did they make such a mess of things?”

  Coralis overheard and answered before Henry could respond. “I believe I can answer part of that, though I don’t wholly understand the other. The falcon that was Randall died and the blame rests squarely on my shoulders. I did not witness the event, and others might have different theories.” He raised an eyebrow at Henry. “However, I felt his demise as strongly as if someone had pulled off an arm. And yet shortly after, another falcon appears, delivering wands around the globe. There can be no natural explanation—which leaves us with the supernatural.

  “The universe is filled with phenomena we don’t understand. So when someone’s essence is released into the cosmos, there may indeed be forces that can bring it back in a kind of reincarnation. This is something we may never know for certain. But Randall was an extraordinarily talented young man, capable of performing exceptional deeds, so mine is not to doubt, but to accept.”

  “This is all very interesting, but you haven’t answered Katelyn’s question,” Bryndis grumbled.

  Coralis folded his arms in front of him and sat on one of the unoccupied logs, scanning the group and holding eye contact with each of them in turn. “There are things I cannot answer with certainty, and this is one of them. Suffice it to say that regardless of how the falcon found you, it is clearly your destiny that you have been brought together.”

  “Then why did the wands backfire?” Luis looked toward Bryndis for confirmation.

  “Yes. Mine, too.” But she did not offer any details.

  “That was only because you did not understand the extent of your powers and how to control them. Your wand is an extension of you,” Coralis said softly. “Which is why you are here—to learn the craft of the Wandmakers’ Guild.

  “But there is one more thing we should do before we proceed any further. Molly, will you please give me a hand?” Coralis tugged on a thick, ornate rope that hung from the rafters, where it was supported by several pulleys. As he released the rope, a series of grinding, clanking, banging sounds filled the room.

  “Is that a sound effects machine?” Luis asked.

  “Wait for it … ” Molly smiled.

  The noise stopped. A pocket door on the opposite side of the room slid open to reveal a long walk-in closet full of coats.

  “Why all the dramatic effects?” Serena asked.

  “Aye, seems a bit Willy Wonka for a Wand Master,” Katelyn added.

  Coralis laughed. “I agree, but Randall felt that opening this particular door deserved more fanfare than normal. I present to you—your Wandmaker coats!”

  Each coat hung on a hook with a name tag stuck to the wall above it. Henry still had the coat Coralis had given him in New York, but this one was different.

  Coralis held the coat open for him and he slid his arms into it. He did the same for Luis as Molly fitted the girls with their coats. Coralis then lightly tapped them each on the shoulder with his wand. The apprentices giggled as the coats conformed to their body shapes like tailor-made suits. As soon as the coats had settled, a circular insignia wavered into focus on their upper arms near the shoulder. Inside the circle were the letters WG in an interlocking script, with a pair of wands in the shape of an X beneath them.

  “The Wandmaker’s coat is yet another weapon in your arsenal.” Coralis brushed a piece of lint from Bryndis’s sleeve. “It is made from extremely rare fibers and filaments. It is very much like the synthetic material known as Kevlar in that it is very difficult to penetrate. But these coats are not synthetic plastic. They are one hundred percent natural. And they will offer you a great deal of protection from the elements—though they will not make you indestructible, invincible, or invisible.”

  “And it has pockets!” Henry exclaimed as he examined the inner lining.

  “I prefer to call them sleeves,” Coralis corrected. “They are designed to hold your wands securely in place and allow you to function as if you were wearing a second skin.”

  “Why are they all different colors?” Brianna asked.

  All the coats had a dark, earthen tone, but it was possible to detect differences in their shades. Brianna’s was green, Bryndis had blue, Luis had brown, Serena’s was gray, and Katelyn’s was maroon.

  “What’s wrong with his?” Luis pointed at Henry, whose coat swirled from color to color before settling on a camouflage pattern that incorporated all the colors.

  Coralis grinned. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

  “This isn’t a training exercise,” Henry panted. “It’s a death march.”

  “For once, you and I are on the same page,” Luis gasped. “These backpacks are too heavy. And I can’t even see two meters in front of me in this fog.”

  “It’s not fog,” Serena said, her breathing unaffected by the hike. “It’s a cloud.”

  “All of you stop,” Bryndis groaned. “Your lip flapping is making me tired.”

  “No, that’s the altitude,” said Serena. “I told you before we left that we have to keep drinking water.”

  “My head hurts,” Brianna grumbled.

  “Okay, everybody. Stop right now and listen up,” Serena commanded. “Coralis sent us on this training exercise for two reasons—to survive on our own and to work as a team.”

  “As we say in Ireland, Ní neart go cur le chéile,” said Katelyn. “There’s strength in unity.”

  “Exactly!” said Serena. “Some o
f you might be experts in other things, but I know about mountain climbing. So if you don’t start listening, we are going to fail miserably. Let’s take a ten-minute break. DRINK WATER! Vegetarians, eat your nuts. Carnivores, chew on your jerky. We all need protein and hydration.”

  Henry plunked his backpack on the ground. Water sloshed in its plastic container. He winked at Serena, who smiled back. Since the others had arrived, they had not spent enough time together. Their world had gone into perpetual motion. He missed their time alone, and part of him wished life could go back to the way it was. But there was no going back. He would just have to make the most of their rare private moments.

  Henry had also been watching Brianna closely. Despite her instant aging, he still thought of her as his little sister. And while she had been a bit of a brat before growing up so suddenly, he wouldn’t trade those early years for anything. He loved her in that unconditional way only siblings would understand. Not for the first time, he worried about her safety. I’ll just have to make sure nothing happens to her, he thought.

  “I’ll watch out for you, too, big brother,” Brianna answered with a broad smile.

  When they set off again, the rest, along with the food and drink, had helped their mood. Yet the mountain trail challenged them at every step. Scree made for treacherous travel. Occasionally, boulders from a previous rockslide blocked their path. Fortunately, the cloud had thinned, improving visibility—which was why they saw the cave. Bryndis had taken the lead, raising a hand to stop the group and motioning for silence.

  “I hardly think that’s necessary,” said Luis. “From the amount of noise we’ve been making, any animal within a kilometer already knows we’re here.”

  “Good point,” Bryndis acknowledged. “Must be an old habit.”

  “Do you think something is in there?” Brianna asked nervously.

  Katelyn moved next to her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Aye. I think it’s the home of the killer rabbit. It has large pointy teeth and big bushy ears and it hops its victims to death.”

  Brianna giggled. Of all the apprentices, she seemed to like Katelyn the most. They usually paired up when it was time for group lessons.

  “Who’s going in first?” Henry asked, not expecting the entire group to turn in his direction. “Now hold on. I wasn’t volunteering.”

  “I think you’re the one who started this mess, so you should lead the way,” Luis taunted.

  Henry knew he had been backed into a corner. He couldn’t stand the thought of Luis getting the better of him—especially in front of Serena. “Fine.” He reached for his wand and came up empty, forgetting Coralis had made them leave their wands as well as their Wandmakers’ Guild coats behind.

  “You must learn to think on your own and not use your wand as a crutch,” he’d said.

  Henry blew out a lungful of air to steady himself, lit a wooden matchstick, and marched into the mouth of the cave. It wasn’t very deep, and as soon as he saw what was waiting for them inside, he decided to play a joke. He screamed, then kicked up loose dirt and rocks as if he were fighting someone.

  Brianna was the first to react, running into the cave to save her brother. And when she found him laughing, she gave him a swift punch. Henry noted that Luis was the last one in.

  “Are you going to be the boy who cries wolf?” Bryndis asked testily.

  “Wow! What is all this?” Serena asked, striking a match of her own.

  “I don’t get it,” Brianna said once they had gathered the contents and moved them outside. “Did some caveman leave all this behind?”

  Luis picked up a straight, meter-long stick and held one end up to his eye, aiming it skyward. “Nice!”

  “What is it?” Brianna asked.

  “It’s a blowgun.” He pressed the end with a mouthpiece to his lips, puffed his cheeks full of air, whipped it around to face Henry, and blew.

  “Hey!” Henry ducked.

  “Oops.” Luis laughed. “Guess it wasn’t loaded.”

  “Okay, boys, cut it out,” Serena said. “How do you know about blowguns?”

  “I spent many months among the Achuar people. They use such tools to hunt birds and monkeys. Whoever made this one was very skilled.” Luis examined it more closely. “Definitely from my home. See the type of wood and the bark of the vine that was used to wrap it?”

  But the others had turned their attention elsewhere. Bryndis hefted a long spear, testing the weight and balance in her hand. “Good. Strong.”

  “Why is there a string attached to a spear?” Henry asked.

  “This is not a spear. It’s a harpoon.” She held it up to demonstrate. “You throw it hard. When it connects, you use this cord made from sealskin to pull the animal toward you.”

  “What if you only wound it and it takes off?” Luis asked.

  “Then you are a bad shot.” She winked.

  Serena picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows. “Nice stereotyping,” Henry remarked.

  “Maybe,” she said warily. “But I am an expert shot. And this is not your typical bow. The wood is backed with animal tendon—sinew—which gives it more spring action.” She turned to Katelyn, who had selected a braided leather cord with a wooden ball attached to either end.

  “It’s a bola.” Katelyn smiled. “Not sure why me mum taught me to use one but I’m quite good at it.” She demonstrated by swinging it around her head several times before letting it fly at Henry, where the balls spun the cord around his legs and promptly deposited him on his butt.

  He untangled the bola and dusted himself off. “Thanks for the warning.” Then he looked at what was left—a small patch of leather with a cord wrapped around it.

  Katelyn picked it up. “’Tis a sling—like for hurling rocks.” She quickly demonstrated by nesting a rock into the leather patch and whipping it at a tree thirty meters away, nailing it dead center.

  “Impressive,” said Luis. “But why two weapons for you?”

  Katelyn flipped the leather over to reveal the initials BL branded into it. She smiled at Brianna. “Looks like I’ve got some teaching to do.”

  It became all too obvious that there was nothing for Henry. He couldn’t bear to make eye contact with the others, so he didn’t notice Serena approach him until she slid her hand into his. “I think this might mean that you’re in charge,” she said reassuringly.

  “No, it doesn’t!” Luis yelled. “It just means he doesn’t know how to use a weapon.”

  “Aye.” Katelyn had a twinkle in her eye. “I’d say the soldiers have been issued their weapons and the captain has his work cut out for him.”

  Henry waited to see if anyone else had something to add. When Bryndis finally gave her begrudging consent, Luis caved. “Fine! At least we’ll know who to blame when we’re all running around as rodents.”

  “A hedgehog isn’t actually a rodent,” Brianna said … then giggled … then laughed as the others joined in and clapped Henry on the back.

  “Okay, then, I guess we keep moving.” Henry was eager to leave the cave and give himself time to think. “It should be a few more hours until we reach the campsite Coralis showed us on the map.”

  They walked in single file, Bryndis in the lead, Henry picking up the rear, deep in thought. Why had Coralis given them weapons when they could be using their wands? What was he preparing them for, and how worried should he be that he didn’t know how to use any of the weapons?

  Katelyn dropped back alongside Brianna and explained the basics of the rock sling, loading it up and hitting target after target with pinpoint accuracy. Brianna studied her technique, as did Henry. A helpless feeling came over him as he realized once again he had absolutely zero athletic ability.

  Serena walked in front of him, her backpack slung over one shoulder and her quiver over the other. He watched the arrows bounce to the rhythm of her steps, but something was odd about them. One of the arrows had a delayed bounce, like one member of a marching band who’s out of step from all the rest. He was about t
o reach for it when the first wolf howled.

  It didn’t take much outdoor experience to know they needed to find the campground quickly. They broke into a jog but tired quickly from the altitude. Nonetheless, they arrived at their destination with an hour of daylight to spare. The campsite was nothing but a clearing. Henry had hoped to find the shelter of a cabin. Without one, they were exposed to anything nature might throw at them.

  The temperature had begun to drop. They all scattered to find enough wood to build a fire. Henry toyed with the idea of leading them back to the cave, but darkness would be upon them well before they could reach it, and one false step on the rocky trail could be disastrous.

  Once they got the fire going, they felt much safer. They hadn’t heard from the wolf again but weren’t naive enough to let their guard down. He suggested they practice with their weapons, which succeeded in taking their minds off any danger.

  Luis went off to find something that would make suitable darts for the blowgun. He refused any help, telling the others they wouldn’t know what to look for.

  Henry walked a short distance into the woods and spotted a plant he thought he recognized. He smiled as he recalled tossing a book into his backpack just before leaving the castle.

  “What’s that?” Bryndis asked as Henry flipped through the pages. He showed her, and she nodded approvingly. “Headley’s Deadlies: The Book of Harold Headley’s All Things Dead and Some Things That Aren’t. Sounds interesting.”

  “I’m pretty sure I spotted some poison hemlock back there,” Henry said. “I think we can use it on the blowgun darts.”

  “Good thinking, Captain.” Her tone was terse, but he suspected it was as close to a compliment as he’d ever get from her.

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Serena asked.

  “Not a clue.” Henry laughed. “But at least I feel useful. What do you think is taking Luis so long?”

  Another howl rang out. This time much closer. “You’d better make it quick,” Serena urged.

  Henry gathered leaves from the plant, protecting his hands by removing his socks and using them as gloves. He used an old can discarded by a previous camper to boil water and let the leaves simmer.