Wandmaker's Apprentice

by Ed Masessa

  Malachai waved happily to the woman with crossed eyes and laughed as she stumbled … when a sudden dizziness washed over him and sent him to his knees. The woman ran into a nearby alley, fearful at what she might have done. The streets cleared in an instant. Whatever was happening, they did not want to be a part of it.

  Slowly Malachai rose to his feet, his eyes blazing red with anger. “That fool!” he shouted.

  Quickly, he retraced his steps to his home. The caged Strix shrieked as he slammed the door behind him. “Shut up!” He pointed his wand at the bird to silence it, but his anger was such that it immediately turned to ash. He squinted at the smoldering remains, relaxing his breathing to regain control of his emotions.

  The spell at Sforza Castle was one of his most powerful. Only someone as masterful as Coralis could have penetrated it. Fortunately, he had installed a safety spell that he wove into the main spell, which acted like a silent, undetectable alarm.

  Malachai reached into the cage and grabbed a handful of ash. He squeezed it tightly, immune to the heat and poisonous vapors, until it formed a solid egg. The bird might be gone, but the essence of its evil contained in the egg would be useful.

  His composure returned. He wasn’t sure if his anger was more from Coralis’s intrusion or because he had underestimated the old man. He suspected it had to be the latter. Coralis might be a fool, but he still had some fight left in him. And to Malachai, this was an act of war.

  A war he would win.

  Malachai’s village was not the only one hidden from time. Deep within the Himalayan mountain range, surrounded by impenetrable gorges hundreds of meters deep, sat one of the oldest man-made structures ever built. It began on top of a three-thousand-meter peak and draped over the mountainside, facing the morning sun. A castle of immense proportions, it spanned twelve hundred meters across the peak, sprawling outward as it ran down the cliff face, seemingly molded from the earth as a child might construct a sand castle at the beach.

  One could only imagine the years of manual labor and the lives that were lost using the most primitive tools to erect it in all its magnificence. Yet even with modern technology, the structure could not be duplicated. It was indeed a wonder of the ancient world—one that was unknown to most of mankind.

  For like Malachai’s village, this sacred place was shielded from prying eyes. Even the most ardent explorer, given its exact location, would never find it. And that was just the way the Wandmakers’ Guild liked it.

  This was the Temple of Time. A source of life shrouded in myth. This particular mountain was riddled with caves that ran for thousands of kilometers, splintering off in so many directions that only a mole could navigate them. A human would die of terminal confusion long before ever seeing the light of day. But should one succeed, he would find himself at the entrance to the long-buried Tethys Ocean.

  While the oceans of the planet’s surface contain creatures and anomalies that mankind is only beginning to explore, the Tethys Ocean contains creatures that were never meant to rise from the depths. Life-forms that are capable of decimating the habitats of every living thing and throwing the ecological balance into a tailspin from which it would never recover.

  In order to keep those creatures in check, the Earth Mother created an artifact. She gathered great quantities of some of the rarest elements in existence, some of which have never been seen by anyone since the dawn of man. Elements that were essentially poison to the Tethys’ life-forms. She condensed these elements into a powerful artifact—much the way extreme pressure would turn ordinary carbon into a diamond—and she gave it a name. The Pangaea Particle.

  The location of this artifact remained known only to her for millions of years. But when man emerged and multiplied and explored every mountain, forest, valley, and crevice on the planet, she sought the aid of those who could help shield it from being accidentally discovered. The High Council of Aratta was entrusted with knowledge of its existence and challenged to keep it safe.

  But even the High Council came under the influence of political differences, and from this division in fundamental beliefs, the Wandmakers’ Guild was formed. As sworn protectors of the Earth, the Guild worked tirelessly to build the Temple of Time, and thus, the sanctity of the Pangaea Particle was preserved.

  Only once did the Earth Mother err in judgment. She did not foresee the change in Coralis’s most dedicated apprentice, Malachai. The day she took him into her confidence was a day she would always regret. Yet as much as she could protect life, she could not take it away, and she relied on the Guild to keep Malachai at bay until such time when he would finally pass away.

  The Guild had failed.

  Malachai knew he had to act in haste. He no longer had the luxury of amassing an army of Scorax followers to storm the temple. He had willingly taken part in his son’s plan over a year ago, if for no better reason than to make sure it failed. He had his own plans for the Earth, and nothing, not even his own son, would get in his way.

  But now Coralis was up to his meddling ways. Given time, the old Wand Master—his mentor—could be a formidable foe. And while Malachai was confident he could eventually squash Coralis’s meager forces, there was no point in getting into a prolonged fight. Instead, he turned to plan B.

  He smiled. Deep down, he had probably been looking for a reason to use plan B all along. When he devised the plan, even he was impressed at how ruthlessly efficient it could be. His experiments with the Strix and Valraven had proven effective. But those were creatures that were already at his disposal. Now was the time for some manipulation. Time to turn to his private menagerie.

  Malachai was nearly giddy as he descended several floors to a subbasement where he kept his collection of pets. The old woman responsible for their upkeep eagerly fled when he demanded she leave. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at her appearance, but smiled nonetheless at the fresh bite marks on her forearms.

  The upper tier of cages held various species of monkeys. He examined each one thoughtfully until he came to the white-thighed surili. The gorgeous young male with long, grayish fur leapt at him, baring its teeth and screaming in defiance.

  “Now, now, my pet,” he murmured. “You will soon be free.”

  Malachai paused. He stared thoughtfully at the monkey, admiring its unique appendages. He had gotten the idea from a movie he had seen years earlier. At the time, he admired the author for his ingenuity. He even went so far as to label the creation an act of genius, surprised that nature had never seen fit to evolve that way on its own. The film was The Wizard of Oz, and the creatures were winged monkeys.

  Malachai extended a hand toward the cage and quickly retracted it as the monkey snapped viciously. “Still not happy with me, are you?” He chuckled. “I guess I can’t blame you. But once I let you out, I daresay you will be thanking me.”

  He selected a vial from a nearby cabinet and attached a mister to it. Covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, he sprayed a single shot of vapor at the monkey, which stared at him in wide-eyed shock before collapsing unconscious. “That’s better,” he said as he gently examined the body.

  While the Strix and Valraven were mindless creatures that were easily controlled, the intelligence of the monkey presented a problem. There was only one way around it—he would have to see through its eyes, and there was only one way to do that. He smiled. That woman’s eyes weren’t doing her any good anyway.

  Logistics also presented a challenge. Malachai had several winged monkeys at his disposal. The white-thighed surili had been combined with a bar-tailed godwit—a bird that could fly incredibly long distances without stopping. But the Temple of Time was over six thousand kilometers away, and at an average nonstop speed of forty-eight kilometers an hour, it would still take over five days to make the trip.

  Malachai shrugged. He would just have to find some favorable wind currents. The monkey was his best option, and he swore to himself that he would not fail. And it would be as taxing for him as it was for the monkey. In or
der to guide it, he would have to remain awake the entire time.

  Four nights later, under the cloak of darkness, the exhausted monkey landed on the roof of the temple. Malachai directed it to a fountain for a long drink of water and spotted a basket of apples nearby. Once nourished, he allowed it (and himself) to sleep for two hours before directing it to the cave entrance. Despite his own exhaustion, Malachai projected his senses outward, easily locating the presence of the Pangaea Particle.

  Several hours of scampering later, the monkey turned the corner and came face-to-face with two guards, heavily armed with an arsenal of wands. But the monkey had the element of surprise. It took the guards several seconds to acknowledge there was a monkey in their midst, and several more to realize it had wings. Before they could unsling their weapons, the monkey threw a vial at the guards. It exploded into steam that temporarily paralyzed the guards.

  Malachai waited for the vapor to dissipate before sending the monkey past the immobilized guards toward the Particle. There was only one more obstacle, which would have been impossible to overcome had the Earth Mother not shared her secret with him.

  The Particle was encased in a transparent sphere composed of Earth’s earliest and now extinct elements.

  The only thing that could penetrate the Earth Mother’s defenses was the Diffluonium Wand. Malachai hated entrusting it to the monkey but had no choice. The tiny primate grasped the wand firmly and pressed it against the transparent sphere. At first nothing happened, causing Malachai to have a momentary anxiety attack. Then smoke began to fill the sphere. The monkey panicked and tried to pull away, but Malachai’s control was too strong. Smoke thickened, and as the solid elements turned into their gaseous form, they began to react with one another on a molecular level.

  Sparking arcs of light danced like heat lightning within a cloud. The monkey screeched wildly but Malachai held it in a viselike grip. Its eyes bulged, straining with effort. Then, as suddenly as the smoke appeared, it vanished—along with the wand, which dissolved into the sphere just before it disappeared.

  The Pangaea Particle had been released.

  “You’re telling us that you went to Italy for six days while Malachai was stealing an artifact that could throw the world into total chaos?” Bryndis was not only the first to speak, but the first to challenge Coralis. And while the other apprentices might not have been so direct, Bryndis had nailed what they were thinking as well.

  “We didn’t go anywhere for six days,” Henry said. He wanted to reason with her. He would have had more success in stopping a charging rhino.

  Luis snorted, making his allegiance clear.

  “You were absolutely gone for six days,” Bryndis scoffed. “The fact that you got lost on your way home doesn’t lessen the amount of time you spent away from here—where it really matters. Did you at least find out anything useful?”

  Henry looked to Molly for support but could tell even she was dubious about whether their trip had been worthwhile. And Coralis seemed to have wrapped himself in a cocoon of isolation, smoldering in some kind of self-pity.

  Finally Henry took a deep breath. “Look. You’re right. We didn’t know it at the time, but it was a huge risk. At least now we know what Malachai is up to.” Henry scanned their faces. He still had some convincing to do, which was difficult because he, too, had his doubts. Granted, they learned a few important details. But was it worth the cost? Unless … had Coralis actually taken the risk so they could say good-bye to their father?

  Brianna came to his side and grasped his hand, squeezing it and giving him confidence. “When Malachai took over our dad, he created a mind-link that will last for as long as either of them are alive. Their auras are connected. That’s why Malachai has him in prison in another time period—because it’s too dangerous for him. If Dad were to escape, or if someone could get to him, Malachai could be exposed.”

  Henry had their attention, yet he couldn’t help but notice how Luis leaned toward Serena—and how she didn’t seem to mind the shoulder-to-shoulder contact. He forced himself to continue. “We’ve seen what he can do with Strix and Valraven.”

  “And we fought them and won,” Bryndis said emphatically.

  “We did. But those creatures could be kittens compared to the ones in the Tethys Ocean.”

  “Or they could be the lions,” Bryndis countered. “You don’t know—”

  “Enough!” Coralis cut through the bickering. “We do know. The Earth Mother would not have put that safeguard in place if it was not needed. Whatever is down there is not meant to see the light of day. This is one instance in which we do not have to see in order to believe. Because once we actually see, it might be too late.”

  But Bryndis was not to be deterred. “Then why did you leave when you should be training us to fight?”

  “Because no battle can be won without knowledge. We needed something more concrete than an educated guess!” Coralis pounded a fist into his hand.

  “Those six days gave Malachai a pretty good head start,” Molly said warily.

  “Which is why we must act quickly,” Coralis urged. “And for the sake of humanity, I hope we are ready.”

  Malachai cradled the monkey in his arms and silently mourned its passing. The creature was almost unrecognizable. It was as if something had attacked its face and head, which was now heavily scarred and clumped with small bits of remaining hair. Its hands were bloody, and all but three nails were missing.

  But the monkey hadn’t been attacked—not in the traditional sense. Proximity to the Particle had done this gruesome work. Despite wearing specially designed gloves to carry the artifact, the animal had suffered the toxic and corrosive effects of the elements contained within it.

  Malachai had prepared a thick box made from solid lead, thinking radiation would be his primary concern. However, from the looks of the monkey, it appeared as though he had more serious side effects to contend with. This went beyond radiation poisoning. He wondered whether the lead would be at all useful.

  He called the animal’s keeper to give the monkey a proper burial. She gave him a strange look, as if puzzled by his pity for the creature. But it was the least he could do. He wasn’t a complete monster.

  Malachai stared long and hard at the Particle. Was there something he was missing? Some small detail the Earth Mother might have shared that he could have forgotten? No, impossible. Besides, if he dwelled on it for too long he would get sidetracked from his mission. He needed to concentrate.

  He carried the lead box with the Particle inside into his workroom.

  Something tickled his palm.

  He laughed.

  Consensus among the apprentices was split. Henry, Brianna, and Katelyn chose the Kunstkammer as their favorite place in the castle. Bryndis, Luis, and Serena favored the Cryptoporticus, which was where Coralis had gathered them.

  “The Particle could never be found through ordinary means—as long as it was protected within the Temple of Time. Even now that it has been removed, it will take the six of you to narrow down its location.” Coralis positioned them around the large wooden table and activated a holographic image of the Earth. “Now use your Argus Wands to locate the Pangaea Particle.”

  One by one, they placed their wands on the table, pointing them directly at the image. There was no hesitation among any of them. In the weeks they had studied under Molly and Coralis, they had grown in confidence and ability. They no longer had the nervousness of rookie apprentices. And while far from being Wand Masters themselves, they approached their assigned task with the firm resolve that they could succeed.

  Henry stood between Serena and Luis. He glanced at Serena for one brief second, hoping to catch her eye, confident that his wand would be the first to react. However, that one-second delay cost him his edge.

  Luis’s wand pulsed. He poured his newfound knowledge of the earth element into it and a ray of light connected with a large area of the globe. A small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. His eyes shifted toward
Henry.

  And that was all the time Henry needed to catch up. A burst of light from his wand joined that of Luis and narrowed the area. The other apprentices concentrated harder, until they had all joined beams and narrowed the area to a specific pinpoint on the globe.

  Coralis marked the position and told them to relax. He adjusted the hologram to a flat surface and zoomed in on the area. “You have done well.”

  “All right!” said Luis.

  “But don’t get cocky about it,” Coralis huffed. “Now that it is no longer contained, the Pangaea Particle emits a strong life-force, which made it easier to locate.”

  “So when do we leave?” Bryndis asked, her face set in fierce determination.

  “Not until we have a plan,” Coralis warned. “This is a rugged mountainous region and, no doubt, Malachai has his defenses in place. Molly, please take them through the exercises we planned. Henry and Luis, stay here.”

  “But—” Bryndis began.

  Coralis cut her off. “Go. Now. And follow Molly’s instructions to the letter. You will need these final lessons if we are to succeed. The boys will follow shortly.”

  Henry blanched. He had gotten used to Coralis referring to them as young men. Calling him a boy was not a good sign.

  As the others filed out, Coralis wheeled on Henry and Luis. “This is not a competition.” Luis started to speak, and Coralis shot him a look that could cut through steel. “This is not some game to see who can do better than the other. You are a team. After that juvenile display of arrogance between the two of you, I am tempted to leave you behind. You must act in concert with each other. The slightest hesitation in concentration can cost you your lives—and not just yours, but the entire team’s. I am not blind. I can do nothing to stop your growing affection toward other apprentices, but you must put your emotions aside for the greater good. Am. I. Clear?”

  Sufficiently scolded, they mumbled, “Yes, sir.” Luis held out his hand and Henry shook it.