The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil)

by J. Michael Radcliffe

  “You did it, Keegan! You sealed the gateway,” Nisha said as she grabbed his arm excitedly.

  “He certainly did, my dear,” came a new voice from somewhere behind them in the shadows.

  Keegan and Nisha both jumped at the sound and turned to face their unknown visitor but saw nothing.

  “Our little apprentice has done more in the past few weeks than I was able to accomplish in years – bravo, my boy, bravo!” The voice echoed through the hall, seeming to come from all directions at once.

  “Who are you?” shouted Keegan, peering into the darkness where the light of the wisps did not reach. His query was rewarded with maniacal laughter.

  “I am a loyal and faithful servant! My master will be proud,” cackled the voice.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Keegan thought he saw a movement, ever so slight, just beyond the light of the wisps.

  “Show yourself!” shouted Keegan, thrusting his staff upward and casting a wider circle of light.

  “Oh, I shall show myself, young master Whitestone,” hissed the voice from the shadows. “I shall be revealed in all of my glory, and it shall be the last sight you ever see!”

  The echoes of the voice were still reverberating around the chamber when a flash of light burst forth, illuminating the far side of the hall and revealing their unknown visitor. A somewhat stooped figured shuffled forward, leaning heavily on a gnarled staff, atop which was what looked like the largest ruby Keegan had ever seen. The jewel was casting a vibrant red light throughout the chamber. The wizard’s face remained hidden beneath his cowl, but Keegan could see two glowing eyes within. Most frightening of all however, was the claw like hand that grasped the staff.

  “You’re too late, Ducat,” spat Nisha. “The gateway is sealed permanently this time.”

  A ghostly chuckle came from within the wizard’s hood as he stepped closer. “Oh yes, our young friend sealed it quite nicely. I must say, it was a task I thought I would never accomplish.”

  “Wait, what?” Keegan looked at Nisha in confusion. “You mean you wanted me to seal the portal?”

  “Absolutely! How else am I supposed to control the Shadow?”

  The wizard reached up and pulled back his cowl, revealing his face for the first time. Keegan barely recognized Ducat. The wizard was beyond frail, looking almost skeletal in the eerie red light.

  “You’re a fool, Ducat,” said Keegan. “You can’t control the Shadow, don’t you understand?”

  Ducat chuckled again. “Oh, but I’ve learned a little secret, young Master. You see, now that the only other portal is sealed, it has severed the link between the Shadow and the source of their power. You have now trapped them in our world, for you see they cannot pierce the veil. Once I take the Oracle stone from you, I will collect the Blackstar amulet to control the veil and I will rule both worlds!”

  Keegan clasped his hand around the Oracle stone, as he tightened his grip on his staff. “I will not allow you to destroy this world, Ducat. The Shadow has destroyed your mind! You can never control them!”

  “Cedric should have killed you when he had the chance,” hissed Nisha, clenching her fists in anger.

  “Ah, the little birdie has a tongue, does she? I thought the little pet had just changed masters,” said Ducat in an oily tone. “Your master couldn’t kill me when he had the chance, you see – I killed him first!” Ducat cackled with glee as he thrust his staff upward and the light from the jewel brightened. He pointed it towards the side of the chamber and illuminated a black heap lying motionless on the floor.

  Nisha gasped and staggered slightly, steadying herself on Keegan’s arm.

  “But, that’s not possible! We have the key!”

  Ducat cackled again and swung his staff back towards Keegan.

  “Seems the master didn’t trust his pet with all of his secrets! Old Seedy had a second key that he wore around his neck. I knew he would come for me sooner or later – it was just a matter of patience – just as I knew you would perform the task we needed done.”

  “We?” asked Keegan incredulously. “What do you mean ‘we’?? Surely the Shadow wouldn’t want to be trapped on this world permanently.”

  Ducat continued to advance slowly on the pair, a vicious smile stretched across his face.

  “Ah, you have so much to learn, youngling,” he hissed. “When my master and I control the Shadow we shall rule over this world and expand the veil to encompass the next. Even the once mighty dragons will bow their heads before us!”

  Nisha lightly touched Keegan’s arm with her hand and he stiffened slightly as he felt her consciousness touch his.

  “He’s gone completely insane! We have to kill him quickly!”

  “Are you kidding? Did you see what’s left of Cedric?!”

  “We don’t have a choice, Keegan. There are two of us and only one of him. We have to hurry though, my hour is almost up and I’ll be forced back into my raven form.”

  “What if this so-called master of his shows up?”

  “Keegan, he’s completely mad! He doesn’t know what he’s saying. We must attack him now – can you summon Nekk’ar?”

  “I am always here, raven,” came the rumbling sound of the dragon-spirit. “Your friend is correct, youngling – you must kill the wizard now before it is too late. I can sense his growing power and soon no one will be able to stop him. Remember, you must focus and control the magic, or it will destroy you.”

  With these final words, Nekk’ar severed the connection between Keegan and Nisha, jolting them back to reality. The entire exchange had only taken a fraction of a second, as Nekk’ar had stretched and slowed the stream of time around them. Ducat was still advancing on them, staff held high and muttering under his breath.

  “Now, Keegan, before he finishes the incantation,” yelled Nisha as she clasped her pendant and began tracing symbols in the air.

  Keegan tried to focus on his staff, willing the power to come to him. Muttering an attack spell under his breath, he brought his staff down in a sweeping arc in front of him, pointing it straight at Ducat. A brief showing of sparks shot forth from the end of his staff followed by an odd sizzling sound. The demented wizard in front of him stopped his advance and laughed.

  “Is that it? Is this all the young Master Whitestone can manage – some pretty fireworks? That fool of a cat hasn’t taught you much, has he? Perhaps you need a better teacher…”

  Ducat motioned with his left hand and pointed his staff at Nisha.

  “For example, this is how one destroys a pitiful little shield spell,” he said with glee, as a silvery bolt shot from the end of his staff. The bolt hit Nisha’s shield, enveloping her in what looked like purple lightening. The bolts of energy swirled across her shield and with a thunderous clap, her spell collapsed, hurling her backward.

  “Nisha!”

  “I’m… I’m okay, Keegan – don’t lose your concentration!”

  Nisha staggered to her feet, clasped her pendant and shouted out a curse, pointing directly at Ducat. The crazed wizard easily deflected her curse with the flick of his wrist.

  Keegan raised his staff and pointed it towards Ducat, willing the power to come to him. He had to distract the wizard or Nisha would be killed.

  “Ducat! I’m the one you want, not her!” he shouted, as his staff shot forth another volley of harmless sparks.

  Ducat continued to advance on Nisha, ignoring Keegan’s efforts and firing curse after curse at her. His magic was incredibly strong, tearing through her defenses each time she tried to put up another shield.

  “Keegan! He’s too strong! Run now, while I hold him off.”

  “I won’t leave you!” he shouted as he fired off another round of sparks. No matter how hard he concentrated, he could not will the magic to come to him. His fear of losing control had built a wall between him and the magic, preventing him from tapping into it. He tried desperately to link minds with Nekk’ar but his fear was overwhelming him.

  “That’s right, you woul
d never leave a damsel in distress, now would you?” Ducat sneered at Keegan as he continued to press the attack on Nisha, easily deflecting her curses. “You’re an all-powerful Whitestone! You always take the lead, doing what is right and commanding others to follow – just like your grandfather!” Ducat spat profanities at the thought of Phineas. “Well your granddad isn’t here to protect you this time, sonny! You and your pretty friend are going to die tonight!”

  As he screamed these last words, Ducat brought his staff down hard on the floor of the cavern, sending a shockwave across the floor that threw Nisha against the far wall. Pointing his staff at her he spoke a word that Keegan didn’t understand, sounding like a cross between a bark and a scream. Silvery bolts shot from the end of Ducat’s staff, pinning Nisha to the wall as she screamed in agony.

  “That’s right, scream your loudest, my little pet! The Shadow feed on your fear and will reward me for my offering!”

  Nisha writhed and screamed as she struggled against her bonds. It was only when her facial features began to distort that Keegan realized what was happening. Her hour in human form was up, and her body was trying to transform back into a raven, but Ducat’s curse was binding her in place. Ducat was leaning on his staff, watching Keegan intently.

  “That’s right, boy,” he cackled. “My curse is preventing her from transforming – she will be torn to pieces before your eyes!”

  Keegan could feel the burn in his ring finger as Nekk’ar tried to communicate with him, but his fear was keeping him isolated from the dragon-spirit. Keegan flinched as he watched Nisha writhing in pain. He could not bear to see her killed, but he felt powerless to save her as his fear of losing control overwhelmed him. He tried to calm himself and focus on his staff, picturing his grandfather’s wizened face, but again his fear of the magic consumed him. A sudden scream of agony from Nisha tore through him and something deep within snapped, releasing a flood of emotions and energy. Throwing back his head, Keegan screamed a powerful counter-charm, one he didn’t recall learning. An invisible shockwave shot outward from Keegan, shattering Ducat’s spell and forcing the old wizard to throw up a shield at the last moment. As the evil wizard’s curse collapsed, Nisha shuddered and coalesced into a raven, which dropped like a stone to the floor.

  NO! I’m too late!

  Pain and anguish tore through Keegan as he saw Nisha fall to the floor. He screamed in anger, ignoring the searing hot pain from his ring as Nekk’ar tried to warn him not to lose control of the magic. Keegan stepped towards Ducat, who seemed to be in shock at the raw power now pouring from his formerly powerless prey. Ducat quickly began working his fingers and chanting a defense spell, weaving what looked like a cocoon of black vapor that wrapped itself around the wizard.

  Swinging his staff in an arc over his head, Keegan brought his staff down in a savage slicing motion. As he swung the staff with all his strength, his last ounce of control shattered, releasing years of anger and fear along with a flood of uncontrollable energy. Ducat’s eyes widened in fear, even as he worked his shield spell and layered it with counter-charms, until a split second later, a blinding white-hot arc of energy sliced through his defenses. As the decayed old wizard was cut in half, the energy pouring from Keegan intensified, draining him to the core until at last he collapsed on the floor of the cavern.

  ***

  Fiery red-yellow eyes stared into the seeing stone, surveying the battle of Talith Nor. The master had not expected Ducat to fall so quickly. Master knew the boy was gifted with power, but thought his ability to control it was weak. Master would be very angry. The bloodstone must be retrieved before the young Guardian could regain consciousness, or the Master would be very angry, indeed. A claw-like appendage, more like a shriveled tree branch than a hand, tore through the dank air and opened a portal to Talith Nor.

  ###

  Chapter 38 - Healing

  Keegan woke with a start. He looked around and saw he was in his room at Pahret T’Pur, a warm fire blazing in the fireplace.

  “About time you rejoined us.”

  Keegan tried to sit up at the sound of the voice, but found his entire body to be wracked with pain. He dropped back onto his pillow with a yelp and a curse, not sure what to do.

  Acamar walked up to his bedside and smiled down at Keegan.

  “I wouldn’t try that just yet,” he said glaring down at the young man over the rims of his glasses. “You’ve put your body through a great deal – quite frankly, I’m amazed you’re alive.”

  “But, how did I get back here?”

  “You actually have Nisha to thank for that,” said Acamar with a deep sigh. “She found you when she regained consciousness; fortunately she had just enough strength left to open a portal. Of course she could not pierce the defenses I have established around the castle, so she ported as close as she dared and then summoned me.”

  “You mean Nisha’s alive?! But I saw her fall! She was in her raven form and fell to the floor like a stone!”

  “She is much stronger than you might think, Keegan. She is a very formidable witch, though I must say she was near death when I found the two of you. She is resting now and being tended to by Ms. Hoskins.”

  A feeling of relief washed over Keegan, as the ache in his heart at the thought of losing her dissipated.

  “I’m very proud of you, Keegan. You accomplished something most wizards could not, even if you did sneak away without telling me and almost kill yourself in the process.”

  “So, Ducat is definitely dead then, right?”

  “Yes, Ducat is dead. But…”

  Keegan raised his eyebrows as Acamar turned and paced to the window.

  “What do you mean, ‘But…’?”

  “I mean that we no longer believe Ducat was acting alone.”

  A feeling of dread began to creep into the pit of Keegan’s stomach as he remembered Ducat’s comments about his ‘master’ and their control over the Shadow. Keegan had thought the old wizard was just insane; the thought that there was someone else out there even more powerful was something Keegan did not want to consider.

  “But he was insane, Acamar!”

  “Yes, but there is something else. You have been unconscious for almost a week. Nisha and I have had some very enlightening discussions about what took place in Talith Nor.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When Nisha awoke in the chamber, she was able to transform and crawl over to see if you were alive. You see, your release of magic was apparently powerful enough that when it tore through Ducat’s curse it freed her of the Council’s enchantment; she is no longer trapped in the form of a raven and can change at will, like me.”

  With Acamar’s help, Keegan sat up in the bed; although he still hurt all over, he was slowly gaining strength. Acamar poured a glass of ice water for Keegan from the carafe on the table near the bed and continued.

  “She was able to find your pulse and you were breathing, barely, so she knew you were alive. She looked over and saw the remaining pieces of Ducat’s body and thought you were both safe, for the moment at least. That is, until a portal opened and something came through.”

  “What do you mean, something came through?”

  “Because we don’t know yet exactly what that something was. According to Nisha’s description, it looked almost like a scarecrow. It was over seven feet tall, cloaked in black rags with what looked like wooden crossbeams strapped to its shoulders for support. The arms were long and crooked, like branches with cruel talons at the end. The most unusual part was the head, though.”

  “The head?”

  “It was a large pumpkin, with a scowling jack-o-lantern’s face carved into it. Bright red-yellow flames burned in its eyes and mouth, and it walked with a shuffling gate.”

  “Did it attack her?”

  “No; it would seem the creature was on a mission. It ambled over to Ducat’s staff, reached down and detached the jewel from the top, then opened another portal and vanished.”

  Now Keeg
an was truly puzzled.

  “What was it?”

  “I believe it was a minion, an evil construct brought to life by a very powerful necromancer. This is very old and extremely powerful magic, Keegan. Few alive today have ever heard of it, much less practiced or studied it.”

  “But why did it want the head of Ducat’s staff?”

  Acamar did not answer immediately, instead walking over to the window to gaze down at the valley below the castle.

  “Acamar?”

  The older wizard let out a deep sigh and turned to face Keegan again.

  “Let me answer your question by first stating that I no longer believe Ducat was working alone; in fact I believe he served another.”

  “The Shadow? We already knew he was trying to control them.”

  “Not the Shadow, Keegan, but rather something or should I say someone almost as powerful. I now believe this person was the one behind unleashing the Shadow and was directing Ducat’s actions.”

  “But who, Acamar?!” Keegan was losing patience and wanted answers.

  “A very powerful Necromancer thought long dead by the three ruling castes.”

  “Wait, you say that like he wasn’t one of the three main castes; was he a member of the Red Order?”

  Acamar smiled grimly at Keegan. “Oh, he isn’t just a member of the Red Order, he was the founder of that caste. Master Gu-Dai Ying, to be exact. When their Order was driven to extinction, Ying was thought to have been killed along with the others, but I no longer think that is the case.”

  Now Keegan was more confused than ever. All along, he had believed Ducat to be the mastermind behind the attempts on his life. Now, to find out Ducat was just a pawn under the control of another filled Keegan with a cold sense of dread.