Keegan sat shivering beside a large stone fireplace, wrapped in a bundle of blankets. Acamar had left him the task of building up the fire that morning but Keegan had yet to manage it. Starting a fire was a talent that Keegan had mastered easily enough, but this morning Acamar had raised the bar a notch – starting a fire without any wood or coal! Keegan had tried using the simple fire spell he had learned but it only produced sparks since there was no fuel source for it to ignite. Acamar had charmed the door to the study so that it refused to let Keegan out until he succeeded in his task. Becoming the apprentice to the Guardian was not nearly so glamorous as it sounded; it seemed to entail a great number of chores throughout the castle that no one else wanted to do. Although Keegan did have to admit, it was nice that no attempts had been made on his life in the past two weeks since his arrival at Parhet T’pur.
”Incendia!”
Again, nothing but sparks rewarded his effort; although this time they were a scintillating red instead of blue-white. With nothing to show for his efforts but scorch marks on the hearth, he decided to give up and wander around the study for a while since the door still refused to open for him.
No one had seen or heard from Ducat since his sudden disappearance and the remainder of the Council had effectively banished him. If he appeared in any of the towns, villages or other populated area his presence would be immediately reported to the Council by the sentries – small glowing orbs sent out to find the renegade. Once spotted, the Council would dispatch the goblins to deal with him. The goblins had been the law enforcement and military arm of the Council since the creation of the veil; being highly regimented creatures, naturally resistant to magic and terrifying fighters in close combat, they were a perfect fit for the job. Keegan had seen his first two goblins when he had accompanied Phineas to a Council meeting. The sight of the burly five-foot tall guards stationed outside the Council chambers had given him chills; though shorter than most humans they were abnormally muscular and sported large lower tusks, not unlike a wild boar. Although they had not said a word as he and Phineas passed by, their beady black eyes had followed his every movement.
Keegan, still wrapped in his blankets, crossed the room and absently stared out the frost-covered window. Suddenly a loud banging sound at the study door roused him from his dream-state. He shuffled over to the door and tried to shout through the thick oak planks.
“I’m afraid it won’t open – it’s been charmed to stay locked until I’ve lit the fire.”
“Mmmph mmph mm-mmph.”
“What?”
He could not make out a word the other person was saying – it couldn’t be Acamar or he would have simply lifted the hex from the door and come in. Surely, his grandfather would not be stymied by a simple locking hex either. There was another muffled sound outside the door and the voice came through somewhat louder, though it remained unintelligible.
“I said wmmph you mmph mph mmph?”
“I’m sorry but I still can’t here you,” Keegan shouted.
“I said would you like some tea?” came a woman’s voice directly behind him.
Keegan jumped at the nearness of the voice and whirled around in a panic. He was startled to find a matronly woman dressed in grey robes and a white apron. She was a short woman, with Keegan standing a good head higher. Her silver hair bundled up into an impossibly tight bun, she was peering at Keegan over a pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose. Her icy blue eyes were twinkling in obvious amusement at having scared him half out of his wits. She was holding a tray laden with a teapot and cups as well as what smelled like freshly baked pastries.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Oh, that’s a fine way to greet someone when they’re offering you a fresh pot of tea in the morning,” she said with a soft Scottish brogue.
Still flustered from the witch’s sudden appearance, Keegan was speechless. She placed the tray on the hearth and gave Keegan a disapproving look.
“You’ve been up here for over an hour and you haven’t kindled the fire? You’ll catch your death of cold at this rate. I’ll pluck the whiskers from that cat if I end up nurse-maiding you through pneumonia,” she said with a frown. She glanced over at the still empty hearth, snapped her fingers and said “Incinerata absentia!”
She was rewarded with a blazing fire, which flashed into existence out of nowhere. Having made up the fire, she busied herself with pouring the tea and serving up the scones. She sat down on the edge of the hearth near the fire and brought the teacup up to test the aroma of the tea, her glasses fogging up from the steam. She shifted her gaze to Keegan again. “Well? Are you just going to stand there gaping or are you going to take some tea?”
Keegan, still in shock from the old woman’s sudden appearance, sat cautiously down by the fire and took a cup of tea.
“Croissant? They’re fresh from the oven and handmade – not a drop of magic involved,” she said as she beamed proudly.
Still not sure of what to say, he helped himself to one of the warm, flaky rolls. They were still quite warm and the smell was absolute heaven.
After a couple of sips of tea, the old woman sat her cup down on the hearth and continued to peer at Keegan over the rims of her glasses.
“Now then, I believe you were wondering just ‘who the hell’ I am, yes?” she asked with sly grin.
Still holding his cup of tea and croissant, both still untouched, Keegan nodded dumbly.
“Ms. Hoskins, dear. I’m the caretaker, housekeeper, maid and so forth.” She straightened the white apron that she wore over her robes. “I keep this place neat and tidy and make sure our guests are well taken care of. If you had to depend on that damn cat for food you would be having raw tuna for supper every night.”
“But, Acamar is human.”
“Bah! Whiskers has been cursed for so many years now he’s taking on feline traits if you ask me,” she said with a disapproving look. Bustling about the room, she collected the leftover tea cups from the night before and gathered up the tray.
“Ms. Hoskins?”
“Yes, dear?”
“If you don’t mind my asking…”
“Yes, dear?”
“Well, it’s just that I can’t seem to make out the color of your robes. One minute I look and they’re off-white and then the next moment they seem grey or almost black.”
Holding the tray of dishes, she looked over the rims of her glasses at him. “Now don’t tell me you’re one of them what try to judge a person by the color of the robes they wear. A wizard’s robes are an extension of their inner being; except for the Guardian of course who represents us all and bears all the colors of the castes, except red of course.”
“Red? I’m sorry but I’ve only ever seen the three castes – white, grey and black. Who wears the red robes?”
“Now, young Master it’s not my place to be teaching you about the likes of the fourth order. Just you hope that you never have the misfortune to meet a red robe while on your own. Heaven forbid you do, get your hex in first before they have a chance! Now then, you get yourself back to your studies; I believe you had a fire to light. Lunch will be served promptly at eleven-thirty.”
Having gathered up the last of the errant cups, she bid Keegan good day and walked to the door. With a snap of her fingers, the once roaring fire went out with a hiss, followed by the thud of the door slamming shut as Ms. Hoskins went about her daily chores.
###
Chapter 29 - Omens
Phineas was standing on the balcony overlooking the lake below when Acamar found him.
“Master?”
Phineas did not respond. Obviously lost in thoughts far away, his eyes clouded and sightless, Acamar grabbed his shoulder and shook him roughly.
“Master Whitestone!”
Phineas blinked quickly and shook his head, grabbing the stone railing for support.
“Yes, Acamar? What is it?”
“The Council has sent word.”
“And?
”
“There is still no sign of Ducat or the renegade dragon, but..”
“But WHAT, Acamar, spit it out man!”
“Information has been given to the Council that Ducat visited the Central Repository – the restricted section in the dungeons. The Tome of Andromedus Blackstone has been taken.”
Phineas looked very tired; leaning on his staff, he sighed deeply. “Events are unfolding faster than I would have them, my old friend.”
“What do you mean, Master?”
Acamar had walked over to stand by Phineas. His hour was very nearly up and soon he would be forced to revert to his feline form until the next day.
“My time is coming to a close, Acamar; Keegan must be ready sooner rather than later and it is time that some old debts were settled. You have served me without fail these past centuries and it is time you were rewarded.”
Puzzled by Phineas’ remarks, Acamar was about to question his master when Phineas silenced him with a wave of his hand. The Guardian then traced several silvery glyphs in the air and muttered an incantation under his breath. When the spell was complete, the spidery symbols swirled through the air around Acamar, encasing him in a whirlwind of ghostly signs. The force of the magic held him where he stood, arms extended downward and unable to move until finally the silvery glyphs were absorbed into his skin. Visibly shaken, Acamar steadied himself against the railing of the balcony. His hands shaking, he examined the pendant that hung from the gold chain around his neck; what had once been a blood red crystal had now turned pure white.
“What…what did… you just do?”
Phineas smiled at his long time assistant. “I have officially given you what you have earned – your freedom. You are no longer indentured to me or to the Council; you may stay in human form for as long as you wish, unhindered.”
Acamar, still weak from the effects of the spell, wiped his brow. “But my sentence, Master; I’ve not fulfilled my obligations as mandated by my trial.”
Phineas laughed. “You forget Acamar, I was at your trial and, if I remember correctly, I sat on the tribunal itself. You may still change yourself into your feline form of course, though now it shall be strictly at your whim.”
“But…why, Master?”
“Because you have never failed in your duty to me and this way I know that my wishes are honored.”
Acamar did not like his Master’s tone; he had been the Guardian’s assistant for many, many years but had never heard him talk like this before.
“What exactly do you mean, ‘you’ll know that your wishes are honored’?”
Gazing back out over the lake, Phineas held a faraway look in his eyes. “There is no guarantee that I or any of us will survive what is coming, Acamar. I believe that Alexander plans to use either the Oracle or the Blackstar Amulet to try and ensnare the Shadow and bend them to his will.”
Acamar blanched. “WHAT?! But that would likely destroy both worlds, not to mention he would have to confront us here at the castle! Surely, even he would not be so foolish!”
“Never underestimate one so tainted by evil or so tempted by power, Acamar. He was a powerful wizard to begin with; now that he is willing to go beyond the bounds of what is acceptable I fear what he may be capable of attempting. He also knows many of our secrets, as both head of his order and former Vice-Chair of the Council.”
Phineas walked back to the balcony and gazed out across the lake below. The mist from the morning had not yet burned off, leaving most of the lake and valley beyond shrouded from sight in a silvery fog.
“Keegan must be ready, Acamar. I believe we might have two weeks, maybe three at the most in which to prepare him for what is ahead.”
“Master, I know the boy has proven to be a fast learner, but do you really expect him to be able to defend himself in just two weeks?”
“He doesn’t have a choice, I’m afraid.”
Turning to face his assistant, Phineas peered over the rims of his glasses at Acamar. “I want you to begin his instruction in defensive magic this morning. As soon as you are confident he can block or evade stronger spells then you are to move on to the most powerful attack spells that you feel he can handle.”
“As you wish,” he said with a sigh.
Acamar bowed deeply and turned to leave. As he closed the door, he saw his Master return to gazing at the valley below.
###
Chapter 30 – A Painful Lesson
“OUCH!”
Keegan swore under his breath for the fourth time as a golden dart the size of a large hummingbird shot through his defenses and pierced his thigh, embedding itself an inch into the flesh. Keegan dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth against the pain as he grasped the dart and pulled it out. Like the other three he had failed to block, it was warm to the touch and pulsed with magical energy; once free of his flesh it dissipated into a puff of golden dust. Keegan hated these exercises. This was his second day of practicing defensive magic and he was not getting much better. Acamar had been trying to teach him the fundamentals of defensive spells, which included creating an impenetrable shield to stop magical projectiles like the little golden darts. Keegan was getting discouraged; after two days of practice, he was still unable to stop the stingers. Although he finally succeeded in partially deflecting one, it still cut his robe’s sleeve. The worst part was the darts were at a third their normal power – a fact Acamar never let him forget.
“Concentrate, Keegan! Runa Effervo!” shouted Acamar and suddenly an entire swarm of the little golden missiles appeared and shot towards Keegan.
Keegan brought his staff up in front of himself quickly and shouted out the shield spell. The air around him flickered with energy as a weak shield materialized. The first three darts ricocheted off the energy field and embedded themselves in the wall of the study; four more obliterated themselves in a flash on impact and three were held fast by the shield, buzzing angrily. Unfortunately, the final two shot through the fabric of the spell and hit Keegan – one grazing his cheek and the other embedding itself in his shoulder. The sudden pain shot through Keegan’s nervous system, breaking his concentration and knocking him to the floor of the study.
“Dammit!!” he shouted through clenched teeth as he clutched his shoulder and ripped out the dart that had hit him.
Acamar walked over to him and helped him to stand. He examined the wound to Keegan’s shoulder and muttered a brief incantation to stop the bleeding and deaden the pain.
“You’ve got to concentrate, Keegan. You did better that time, but you are still not fully embracing the shield spell. Any wavering of your force of will or break in your concentration causes weakness to spread throughout the entire spell like a virus.”
Keegan made the mistake of rolling his eyes as he sighed, which incensed Acamar further.
“Listen to me boy! Do you have any idea what we are about to face? I have at most two weeks to train you up in preparation for an attack that will be led by the former vice-chairman of the High Council and Head of the Grey order. Trust me Keegan; Ducat won’t be using a low powered version of Dante’s Stinger when he comes.”
Keegan eased himself into a chair by the desk.
“I don’t understand. Why is he coming here? Isn’t that like, suicide?”
Acamar sat down opposite him with a sigh. The older man looked very tired; Keegan did not remember Acamar having that many grey streaks in his hair before.
“Ducat has gone mad, Keegan. He has gathered so much dark magic about him that it has tainted his soul. After the Shadow were banished from this realm, there were only two portals through which they could return. The Great Seal that Ducat opened in the Northern Citadel was one. The other is here in the depths of Pahret T’pur.”
“But he’s already brought the Shadow back to our world; why does he need the portal?”
“It’s not the portal he needs, Keegan. It is the Blackstar amulet that he is after. It is the talisman that keeps our worlds in balance and that the Guardian protect
s with his life. If Ducat seizes the amulet and sets it into the keystone over the pool of visions, the Shadow trapped within the amulet shall be free again. The veil will dissipate and our two worlds will be pulled together again – in the blink of an eye.”
“What? Do you mean to tell me that there are more of those things?”
“Many more, I’m afraid. Those that Ducat let into our world were the few who escaped enslavement. I am certain that he believes they can be controlled through the amulet but he’s a fool. They will consume his powers and his soul the moment they are free.”
“Then how do we stop him?”
Acamar rose and paced about the study.
“The castle is not without defenses, mind you. Then there is your grandfather, of course. He’s quite the wizard, Keegan – the most powerful I have known in my lifetime,” he said absently as he played with the now clear pendant on its chain.
Keegan looked at the older wizard, wishing he knew all the secrets hidden behind those wire rimmed spectacles.
“What about the Council? Shouldn’t they be helping us defend the castle?”
Acamar did not answer at first, choosing instead to pinch the bridge of his nose as if to stem a sudden headache.
“The thing you must understand about the Council is that the factions will not act outside of their own order’s best interest – even if it means the destruction of the world or the final extermination of our kind. Oh, we can expect those of Phineas’ order to help if we ask, but Alyssa, Nigel and Flora have been searching the countryside for Ducat. The Grey have buttoned themselves up in their studies and will sit this out until the end. The Black are more of a problem – some may even choose to help Ducat, although Cedric has supposedly thrown his support to us.”
Keegan remained silent, thinking over all that Acamar had shared with him. “Acamar?”
“Yes?”
“What order wears the Red Robes?”
A shadow seemed to pass over Acamar’s face and he frowned deeply. “Who told you of this?”
The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) Page 16