by Ed Masessa
Brianna began to cry.
“Dad’s okay,” Henry said gently.
She hiccuped a short laugh. “It’s not that. It’s the rats. They’re trapped here too.”
He’d forgotten she could communicate with them. He draped an arm over her shoulder.
The row of cells was long and dismal. Having seen this in the hologram, they were still unprepared for the squalid conditions and the hopelessness that emanated from whatever life remained in the prisoners. A few lumps stirred on their cots as the trio passed, expending energy they did not have for a glimpse at the people who had penetrated the spell.
“Here.” A familiar voice came from a cell at the end of the corridor.
Brianna attempted to rush forward but Coralis held her back. “Stay with me,” he said, his voice strained.
They arrived at the cell. Something moved deep in the shadows. “Dad?” Brianna asked softly.
Markhor hobbled forward into the light. “Henry.” His voice cracked like dry leaves as he addressed his son for the first time in well over a year. He tried to focus on the young girl through his broken glasses. “You called me Dad, yet … ” It suddenly registered. “Brianna?”
She smiled weakly. “Surprise.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
“But how?” Markhor removed his glasses to rub his eyes.
“It’s a long story.” Henry shuffled his feet, embarrassed. “But a really good one.”
Markhor stood in silence. He smiled, then laughed briefly, but his laughter erupted into a terrible cough.
“Oh, Dad!” Brianna reached for him and was immediately thrown backward against the wall.
“Brianna, no!” Markhor lunged at the bars of his cell. “Are you all right?”
She propped herself against the wall and worked herself into a standing position, still stinging with residual power. Henry reached to steady her but she slapped his hand away. “We can’t help him, can we?” The full force of her anger slammed into Coralis, yet she held her Voice in check.
“We cannot.” Coralis was drenched in sweat, his voice quivering as he strained against the spell.
“I brought this upon myself,” Markhor said sadly. “There is nothing anyone can do for me now.”
“Then why are we here?” she cried.
“Do not lose sight of our goal,” Coralis said meekly. “We need information about Malachai.”
“Malachai,” Markhor spat. “I was such a fool. He baited me like a fish and not once did I think to look for the hook. But you have to believe … I never intended to cause any harm.”
Henry stepped back. Pity for his father’s situation easily dissolved into anger. “Harm? Everything you did was wrong! You told me nothing about who I am or what I could do. Do you have any idea what I’ve been through? I changed your daughter into a hedgehog!”
Markhor withered under his son’s attack, burying his face in his hands. “I’m so sorry … Wait, did you say hedgehog? How is that even possible?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Henry remained on the offensive. “You put our family in danger. And for what? Power? Glory? What made you ever think that what you were doing would turn out well? And yes, for your information, not only was it possible, but it aged her by three years, which makes us virtually twins, which is another thing I will never forgive you for.”
Henry had never had so many words come out at one time. Having spent his wrath, he slumped forward, dejected and overwhelmed. “We defeated you … or him, or whomever. But now he’s up to no good again. Coralis thinks you might still have a connection and can give us some information. Maybe you can help set things right. I’ve got friends now, and I don’t want them to get hurt.”
“We have reason to suspect he will attempt something at the Temple of Time.” Coralis’s voice was barely audible. The strain of warding off the protection spell was rapidly depleting his energy. Henry knew it took much more power to work undetected within a spell. And the weaker he got, the greater the chance that Malachai would know they were there. He could already feel minute cracks forming in the Wand Master’s protective dome.
Markhor seemed to recognize that Coralis’s strength was rapidly failing. He spoke quickly. “He knows I still have the mind-link and has taken pains to hide from me what he can.” A smile tugged at his lips. “But he underestimates me.” Another burst of coughing doubled him over. As he stood, there was renewed fire in his eyes.
“He is going after the Pangaea Particle,” Markhor continued. “He knows that by taking it he will disrupt the Earth’s ecological balance, but he has something else in mind. He has gone to great lengths to shield his true purpose, yet occasionally he has let his guard down. Essentially, he believes the Particle will give him the powers of a god. I don’t know how he plans to steal it. I am fairly certain he doesn’t know how it works, but he is willing to take the chance that he can figure it out and control its power. If even a smidgen of what he is thinking is true, then we have to stop him.”
Coralis nodded. “It’s enough to get us started. And now we must hurry. We have little time to return to the portal.”
“Henry, Brianna,” Markhor called to them. “I’ve made enough mistakes for several lifetimes, but I swear to you that when the time comes, I will be right there with you as we defeat this monster. And who knows? Maybe someday I’ll be able to return home.”
Henry turned away with a jerk. His father had sent the briefest of images into his mind—one that confirmed what Henry had suspected all along. This might possibly be the last time they would ever see him alive. He couldn’t let Brianna know. He quickly wiped the image clear and regained his composure. “Thanks, Dad.” Henry held Brianna’s hand. “Good-bye for now.”
“Bye, Daddy,” Brianna sobbed. “I miss you.”
“I miss you, too. Tell your mother I love her.” Markhor watched them leave, his heart so heavy with guilt and remorse that it literally pulled him to the floor. He lay and wept for all the people he had hurt until another coughing fit left him drained and exhausted.
A rat crept up and sniffed his ear—and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.
“Come on! We have to hurry!” Henry urged.
Brianna had hesitated just before leaving the dungeon. “I spoke to the rats,” she whispered. “I asked them to leave Dad alone.”
“So will they?”
“They will try.” She winced in pain. “But they are so very hungry.”
“You did all you could.” Henry smiled tersely.
They emerged into the courtyard to a most unusual sight. Leonardo stood a short distance from the catapult. Perched upon his outstretched arm was the falcon. At Leonardo’s command the bird soared skyward, performing a series of loops and dives to the delight of the growing crowd.
From behind the tent, Giovanni waved them over. “Leonardo has given us a distraction. I almost wish I could stay and watch.” He winked.
Coralis lifted Brianna into the wagon as Henry scrambled in beside her. “Do we have enough time to get back?” Henry asked.
“Yes, but it will be close,” Coralis answered. He accepted a jug from Giovanni and took a long drink of water. “Let’s hope we don’t run into any roadblocks.”
Giovanni kept close to the walls to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Thirty meters from the gate, a shout arose from a lookout in a tower, followed immediately by a chorus of cheers from soldiers on the battlements.
“Oh no.” Giovanni reined in the horses as the first of a very long line of soldiers dressed in varying degrees of armor marched three by three across the inner bridge and into the courtyard.
“What is this?” Coralis asked urgently.
“There is much war—Germans, French, Swiss, Milan, Naples. Ludovico Sforza makes much trouble for us.” Giovanni ushered them out of the wagon to stand at attention as an elaborately decorated carriage came into view. “The Duke of Milan, our fearless leader, arrives.”
The drawbridge slowly rose until it came to rest firmly
against the castle wall, sealing everyone inside.
Brianna kicked a pebble. “I’d say that’s a roadblock.”
Leonardo stepped forward as the carriage rolled to a stop. Henry craned his neck to see what was happening, but Leonardo was blocked from view on the far side of the carriage.
“Leonardo and the duke are close. He is the best at making the war machines the duke needs. He will find out what kind of trouble Ludovico has brought with him.” Giovanni adjusted the hat on Brianna’s head as the blue hair tried to peek out.
Coralis frowned as he checked the time on his pocket watch.
“What happens if we don’t get back to the portal within ninety minutes?” Henry asked. All along, he had assumed they would get in and out without any complications. In the face of this huge problem, he wondered why he hadn’t thought it through. I’m going to have to work on anticipating this kind of thing. He hoped Coralis had planned for such an obstacle, but the look on his face said otherwise.
“Let’s worry about that when the time comes.” Coralis tapped a finger on the edge of the wagon, anxiously awaiting Leonardo’s word.
Precious minutes slipped away. Finally, the carriage pulled forward. Leonardo called to the falcon, which landed lightly on his forearm. “An unusual bird,” he said, arching an eyebrow with curiosity. “I sense it wishes to remain here with me.”
“That bird has always had a mind of its own,” Coralis said. “If it wishes to stay, there is a good reason.”
Leonardo pursed his lips and nodded. “Follow me. You don’t have much time.” He led them brusquely to a corner opposite the catapult. Using a skeleton key, he unlocked the heavy wooden door and hurried them inside, locking the door behind them. At the end of a short hall he unlocked another door and entered a voluminous workspace occupied wall to wall and floor to ceiling with wooden frames of random contraptions in various stages of completion.
“Remember this,” Coralis said to his apprentices’ minds. “You are witnessing living history.”
Henry wanted desperately to stop and soak up every detail, but Leonardo rushed them through.
“Remind me to bring a camera next time,” Brianna whispered.
“Let’s hope there is a next time,” Henry replied.
“Give me a hand with this, Henry.” Leonardo took one side of a large chest and, with Henry’s help, slid it forward. They moved several rolls of canvas, revealing a small door. Just before they entered, the falcon flew into the rafters and shrieked.
“I think he’s saying good-bye,” Brianna said sadly.
“Maybe we’ll see him again someday.” Brother and sister waved one final time and turned back to Coralis. “Let’s get out of here,” Henry urged.
Brianna had to duck through the small doorway into the secret tunnel, which meant Coralis and Leonardo needed to fold in half. Leonardo lit a candle and pushed it through the bottom of a brass canister. The light reflecting from the canister created what was essentially a spotlight.
“Neat trick,” Brianna commented.
“Out of necessity is born invention.” Leonardo led them down a long flight of stairs. Anticipating their questions, he explained how he’d helped design the castle—along with a few modifications. “One never knows when an escape route will be useful.”
Henry tried to hide his enthusiasm. Ancient castles with secret passages! Things he’d read about but never thought he’d see. Wait till I tell Serena! Granted, it fell far short of meeting the Earth Mother, but it was still pretty cool.
The stairs were endless. The air grew thick with humidity when they reached the bottom. As they hurried through a tunnel encased in stone, droplets of water fell from the ceiling, which barely cleared the top of Leonardo’s head.
“I think we’re under the moat,” Henry whispered to Brianna.
“Duh.”
It was good to hear her sarcastic reply, though he could tell she was still angry over Coralis’s deception. “When this is over, we’ll come back for Dad.”
“I really want to believe that,” she said silently.
Gradually the ground sloped upward. They emerged into a storage shed well beyond the castle walls. Clouds had moved in and a light mist fell.
“Good,” Leonardo stated. “Rain and impending battle. Two things that will keep travelers out of your path.” He gave Coralis brief directions back to the cave before addressing Henry and Brianna. “I will do what I can to give your father comfort.”
Henry glanced at his sister, who was on the verge of tears. “Thank you.” He offered Leonardo his hand.
“Accept what life has to offer you.” Then he winked. “But always bend the rules.”
They set forth in a steady jog over rolling hills. Mist turned to rain, slowing their progress. “We’re not going to make it, are we?” Brianna panted.
As an answer, Coralis picked up the pace. At the top of a rise he paused to get his bearings. Henry reached out with his senses and detected the unmistakable hum of the portal’s energy field. “That way!” he exclaimed, and ran down the hillside.
He heard their footsteps thumping behind him as they followed his lead into the mouth of the cave. “Are we in time?” he asked, breathing hard.
“Yes and no,” Coralis said, deep in thought.
“That’s not an answer.” Brianna threw her hat against the cave wall.
“Sometimes that guy really gets on my nerves,” Brianna said silently to Henry.
He smiled and held her hand as she began to hum.
“We have arrived with seconds to spare.” Coralis checked his watch again and shrugged. “However, seconds are not necessarily as good as minutes.”
“You mean we’re stuck here?” Brianna panicked.
“Nonsense,” Coralis scoffed. “It just makes our return trip more interesting.”
They emerged from the cave, and Henry knew immediately something was wrong. “Where’s Lesya?”
A path in the forest opened to their right. Coralis led them with the same urgency Henry felt. Even the castle wall cooperated, creating a door as soon as they broke free from the forest.
Gretchen was waiting for them on the other side. Her wild eyes confirmed Henry’s fear.
“You have been gone for six days,” Gretchen informed them. She had to move quickly to keep up with Coralis, who growled angrily.
“Six days?” Brianna jogged with Henry, desperate to keep pace with the long strides of the Wand Master. “I guess that’s what he meant by more interesting.”
From the second they emerged from the cave, Henry could sense something was terribly wrong. Everything in nature contains a power unto itself, and a Wandmaker’s abilities stem from a connection to this life-force. It was like having a direct line to nature. Henry and his fellow apprentices were still in the early stages of developing their abilities and the sensitivities that came with them. But despite his limitations, Henry could tell that something had gone sour. He could hardly imagine the damaging effect it must be having on Coralis.
They swiftly covered the grounds and entered the castle. Gretchen led them directly to the front foyer. Gathered around the tree-trunk columns, Lesya and many of her Hutsul companions shuffled anxiously. Henry read the look on their faces as worry, but quickly found out differently.
A small man stepped forward to confront Coralis. “What have you done?”
“Please remain calm, Pesha.” Coralis tried a small measure of Voice to soothe their anger.
“No! No Voice tricks!” Pesha spat. “Three of our people are dead—one guarding the cave, two guarding the springs. Attacked from the skies. Torn apart by a flock of large black birds.” He winced. “I will never wipe that sight from my eyes.”
“That is not all,” said Lesya. “We heard the screams but arrived too late. Once the birds killed our people, they gathered in an arrow formation and dove into the springs, where they exploded. The springs have turned. The water has gone bad. Sour—like vinegar.”
“That’s impossible,�
�� Coralis said warily. “Nothing can affect the Earth Mother’s domain. She would protect it at all cost.”
“She is gone!” Pesha’s voice thundered within the small confines of the lobby. “She is weakened. You can feel it!”
Immediately, Henry knew Pesha was telling the truth, and a brief glance at Coralis confirmed he knew it as well.
“What have I done?” Coralis said weakly as his shoulders slumped.
Henry’s mind raced to search for what they might have done to bring harm to the Earth Mother. It could not have been the act of slipping through time or she would have been weakened before this and Coralis would never have risked it. Furthermore, Leonardo could not have done anything. And Henry’s father was trapped and incapable of … “Oh no.” The color drained from Henry’s face as he recalled the aura link between his father and Malachai. “He knew. Malachai knew we were there.”
“And he took advantage of Coralis’s absence to poison the springs,” Brianna added somberly.
“And thus to keep the Earth Mother from interfering with his plans.” Coralis stared helplessly at the floor. All motion in the room stopped as if time were frozen. The silence became overwhelming as they awaited the Wand Master’s instructions.
They waited a long time.
Six days earlier, Malachai casually walked down the main street of his hidden village. He smiled at several people he passed and they smiled back, thankful their master was in a good mood. And indeed he was! He found immense pleasure in picking at Coralis’s defenses, toying with him to find out what weapons he had left in his pitiful arsenal.
Children. His former mentor had fallen to pieces, allowing his Guild to flounder into obscurity, and now he was scrambling to make up for lost time by recruiting children.
They’d be no more trouble than the bear.