by Rain Oxford
Chapter 9
Merlin and Yuri returned a while later. I was practicing my visualization, both because it didn’t require energy and because it would come in handy if I ended up without my wand or staff.
“Merlin explained everything,” Yuri said cautiously, as if I would suddenly attack.
I sat up. “Everything?”
“Everything he needed to know,” Merlin corrected.
“He told me how you were born a sorcerer with no dark magic, that there are others like you who can do more than one kind of magic, and that you stopped the black star and returned magic to Caldaca. I don’t know what to think about it. My mother made sure I spent a lot of time with sorcerers, but I never felt like they lied to me.”
I opened my mouth to speak.
“But I understand why you didn’t tell me,” he said quickly. “With a secret as big as yours, I would be cautious, too.”
I stood and he stepped back. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Can you control your sorcery?”
“Yes.”
“Have you… tried being a wizard?”
“Yes, and I’ve tried being a sorcerer. It doesn’t work. I am what I am and I’m not ashamed of it. I mean, I have to hide it around most people, but I’m friends with some of the other Sjau, so that helps.”
“I’m not like you.”
“I know.”
“Even though we look the same, I’m a proper wizard.”
“I’m sure you are. Oh, except for being immortal and hearing voices in your head. Other than that, you’re perfectly normal.”
“At least you know what you are.”
“I do now. I thought I was a freak two years ago.”
“Then you’re lucky. I don’t know why I’m immortal.”
“Immortality is not the same as being a sorcerer with only light magic. My mother tried to kill me.”
“I died! My mother had to watch me die because there weren’t any mages left who could heal me! How is that any better? Citizens of my own kingdom sent assassins after me to test me!”
“You have two loving parents waiting for you!”
“You think they’re going to want me to come home empty-handed?!”
“Yes!” I shouted. He blinked, taken aback. “Of course they want you home! They wouldn’t care if you came home with sorcery and a body count. They don’t care about the egg. They love you no matter what you are or what you do. Some of us don’t have that, so stop trying to throw it away.”
“I’m not trying to throw it away!”
“Then why did you leave? You know now that you have to save the egg, but why did you leave before then?”
“Because I… needed to…” He looked half angry, half sick. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“What wouldn’t I understand?”
“Ever since the black star brought me back… I don’t think I’m a wizard anymore.”
That had to be the least clear way to phrase what he meant. “What do you mean?”
“I grew up around all magic users, but I was always still a wizard. After the black star… I’ve felt things I didn’t before. Anger, for one thing. And it makes me mad that I feel anger.”
“That is called puberty,” Merlin said aloud. We glared at him and he shut up.
“We both know wizards aren’t supposed to feel anger, but maybe it’s not as unusual as we think. Maybe every wizard gets angry, but because they know they aren’t supposed to, they hide it.”
“That… makes a lot of sense, actually,” Yuri said. “It also makes sense that I would feel differently for a while after losing my magic and almost being killed.”
“Not to burst your bubbles, but you have just confirmed my suspicions,” Merlin said.
“What suspicions?” Yuri asked.
“You have not ceased being a wizard, you have simply lost your wizard personality.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means that I lost the emotional constraints of wizardry,” Yuri said before Merlin could. “It means that I can now feel every emotion, but because of that, my normal personality is in flux, or possibly gone completely. I seem to be mimicking the personalities of people I’m near. I’m mostly channeling you, because we look alike, but also Hawk when we were at his house and Zuras just a bit ago. That was why I got so furious; I was picking up his manic personality. I wasn’t angry with you so much as confused as to why I felt so powerless and instead of internalizing it, I took it out on you. Don’t get me wrong, it does bother me that you’re not a wizard and that you lied, but I realized afterwards that I was being overdramatic on account of Zuras’s personality. Actually…” he pulled my wand out of his pocket. “I think he’s a bit of a kleptomaniac.”
I gaped and checked my pockets. My wand was gone. “How did you do that?”
“I’m not sure. I was trying to get the paintbrush from him earlier, assuming it was on his belt along with whatever he took from the black-and-white world, but he didn’t let me get close enough.”
“I think Merlin’s right about your personality.”
“Because I’m channeling Merlin? Of course I am; I just spent the better part of an hour alone with him and you’re not exactly the easiest person in the world to be with your growing, chronic heroism.”
“Yuri, that’s not---”
“I mean I kind of understand it now; you’ve made a name for yourself as a curse breaker and it has become an identity to you. You might as well be a mage, because you’re a healer of sorcery.”
“And you’re definitely channeling Merlin.”
Yuri went on, more lost in his thoughts (or maybe Merlin’s thoughts) than talking to me.
Merlin grinned at me. “We should leave him this way. We’re better off with two of me than two of you.”
“Well, it explains why he was afraid of the crates and the car; that was you.” I was confident that Merlin was blushing under his fur.
“I still want to find out why I’m immortal, though,” Yuri said, finally winding down.
“After we save the egg, we can go talk to the dragons. I bet they’ll have some answers.”
* * *
We followed the road under the cover of trees, but walking in the rainforest was a struggle. Yuri and I were both dressed for Caldaca’s weather. The trees provided shade, but it was still extremely hot and so humid that I had trouble breathing. Carrying my robe instead of wearing it somehow made me feel worse. Merlin suggested that it was blocking harmful ultraviolet rays, but when he offered to explain it to us, Yuri and I both begged him not to.
Yuri’s prince clothes were worse than mine, because mine were made for warm weather and his weren’t. Also, the sack containing the gobrin egg that was attached to his belt didn’t help.
Merlin had suggested we leave it behind, that it was too dangerous. Yuri and I argued that the egg could be hurt and that it wouldn’t survive on its own. We decided that if it did hatch into a monstrous gobrin, it wouldn’t be big enough as a hatchling to do any harm anyway. The plan was to take it to Hawk and have him decide what to do.
It would have been easier if we weren’t being followed. A group of little gobrin surrounded us, hiding just out of sight. We could hear them chirping to each other, but only a few had ventured close enough to be seen. They were cute, albeit a little annoying.
“We need to stop for some water,” Yuri said before I could suggest it. He wiped his damp hair out of his eyes and I saw how badly his hands were bleeding. He had been doing most of the work in holding back vegetation so that we could get through.
“Speaking of immortality---”
“Which we weren’t,” he interrupted.
“Why are you bleeding?”
“Immortality doesn’t mean I can’t bleed, only that I can’t die. Fire seems to have no effect on me, but blades hurt just as much as before.”
“So, if someone cut your head off…”
He frowned at me. “I think I’m going to sleep
in a different room than you tonight.” He looked up at the sky. Even full of rainclouds, it was bright. “Whenever tonight might be.”
I pointed my wand at him. My magic didn’t need any encouragement; bright pink, sparkly magic surrounded his hands and settled into his skin. He was clearly shocked.
“Did a unicorn just sneeze on me?”
“That has happened to me before. I made it so that your hands can’t get cut worse. I can’t heal your cuts, of course.”
“My hands feel cold and numb.”
“That means it’s working.”
“What about conserving your energy?”
“That’s why I just did your hands. You saved me. I owe you at least that much.”
He looked guilty rather than thankful. “You wouldn’t have been in danger if it weren’t for me and the egg.”
“It’s Zuras to blame. I really don’t get how someone like him got as far as he has.”
“Zuras is not a fool,” Merlin said aloud.
“He can’t even remember his own name,” Yuri argued.
“He isn’t as bad as my mother,” I said.
Merlin sighed and shook his head. “You are both underestimating him.”
“Because he’s inventing things that don’t work?” Yuri asked. “He doesn’t even have magic.”
“He does have magic.”
We stopped walking. “I haven’t seen any.”
“Yes, you have. He creates his devices with magic to make it appear that he has none. He prefers science fiction over supernatural. He is an extremely powerful wizard.”
“You mean sorcerer,” Yuri said.
“They call all magic users from other worlds wizards, even the malevolent ones,” I explained.
“Doesn’t that get confusing?”
“More than Merlin knows.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. “Focus. Zuras is not weak or dimwitted. He is acting, and he is doing it flawlessly, which suggests intelligence. He is mimicking the behavior of famous villains, only he has picked villain plots that never worked.”
“Then how does that make him smart to just repeat other people’s mistakes?”
“The line between winning and losing can be remarkably thin. I believe this is all a game to him. He uses magic so that he can bring those inventions to life because he wants to play them out. I doubt he even wants to kill anyone.”
“But he tried to kill me,” I said.
“I think that was our fault. He wants to play supervillain and we brought magic into it.”
“I don’t get it,” Yuri said.
I felt a glimmer of pride for a moment that (finally) I wasn’t the one to say it, but before I could express my enthusiasm, I realized I was probably the reason he said it.
“He has immersed himself in a world of delusion intentionally. He is acting the part of certain villains, and thus, he must play by their rules. He is even adapting their characteristic traits. By using magic on him, we are changing his rules, and throwing him out of the game. He is going to fight to stay in the game. He wants his delusion.”
“It sounds like you’re impressed with him,” Yuri said.
Merlin didn’t hesitate. “I am. I find it fascinating how deeply he has committed to it. Along with being powerful and at least moderately intelligent, he is creative and adaptable.”
“But we still have to get the egg back.”
“I am not disagreeing. I am simply telling you to be cautious.”
* * *
We had continued on our way, eager for water, yet not desperate enough to drink anything from the forest. The gang of small gobrin that followed us was growing. I suspected that not many people wandered this far out, considering it could only end in death.
“Maybe the forest isn’t so dangerous,” Yuri suggested.
“Why did you have to go and say that?” Merlin asked.
I froze. “Listen,” I ordered when Yuri opened his mouth. They both stopped.
“I don’t hear anything,” Yuri said.
“Exactly. There was noise up until now.”
“We should run.”
“Isn’t that more dangerous to---”
“Run now!” Merlin shouted out loud. The three of us ran. We didn’t get very far before a creature emerged from between two trees. I couldn’t see it before it moved, but I couldn’t miss it once it did.
The animal had green and brown reptilian skin, camouflaging it in the trees. Its head was covered with spikes and its yellow eyes were full of rage. Most frightening, however, was its terrible teeth and claws. The creature was bipedal, similar to a larger version of the gobrin statue in Hawk’s house, except that its back was arched high over its head. It looked much less nimble. It became painfully obvious that its girth was a deception, however, as the creature had no problem with speed.
I tried to shoot curses at it, but my aim wasn’t great while I was running. “Make us impenetrable!” Yuri yelled.
“No time! Merlin, I’m going to make us invisible!”
Merlin and I were so in tune with each other that we both came up with the same plan at the same time and knew exactly what to do. I stopped running and turned, angling myself and using my staff to brace with so that I didn’t fall. Merlin didn’t stop, but instead switched directions and started running towards the monster.
That wasn’t an easy thing to do; Merlin had a lot more courage than me. The gobrin roared, trying to bite Merlin as he ran around it. It wasn’t as graceful as we were and ended up rolling. Yuri hadn’t stopped with us, so he was out of the way. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make him invisible when he was fleeing.
I pointed my staff at Merlin. “Make him invisible.” Magic struck him and he disappeared. The creature rolled to its feet, flinching as the invisible Merlin bit it from multiple angles. It turned its attention on me and roared.
I was about to make myself invisible when Yuri ran back to me. “Wait!” he shouted. “Don’t hurt her!”
“I’m not trying to hurt it! I’m trying to stop it from hurting me!” I said. Merlin had ceased his attack when Yuri interrupted.
“She isn’t here to eat us.”
“Well, she sure acts like it!”
The creature didn’t like us talking about her, apparently, because she rushed forth. Merlin growled in warning, but she wasn’t intimidated. Yuri didn’t try to fight. Instead, he pulled the egg off his belt and took it out of its sack. The giant gobrin skidded to a clumsy stop when she saw the egg.
“She’s not trying to eat us; she’s trying to save her egg,” Yuri explained. Slowly, he set the egg down and stepped back.
The gobrin roared.
We both backed away cautiously. The gobrin advanced just as cautiously, as if she was afraid we would hurt her egg before she could get to it.
“How did she know we had it?”
Yuri shrugged and asked, “Why do I want to talk to her and apologize?”
“Sorry.”
“You have issues.”
“I know.”
The gobrin picked up her egg and, after giving us the most hateful glare a wronged mother could give, she disappeared into the forest. “Do you think she blames us?” Yuri asked. I didn’t know if he was serious or joking, so I stayed quiet.
* * *
The rest of the trip was agonizing. I was tired, hungry, and thirsty. When it started raining, we took a break to drink, but it also brought out other creatures we didn’t want to face. We had lost the road when the gobrin had attacked. Since we hadn’t been paying much attention on the way to Hawk’s house and didn’t find any road, I had very little hope that we would find him.
Fortunately, Merlin had an excellent sense of direction.
Eventually, we came upon a clearing with Hawk’s mostly-glass house. I had never been so happy to see a house before. We had actually reached Hawk’s home alive. We went to his door and knocked. The complete silence that followed worried me, until I heard a faint, hesitant, “Hello?”
“Hawk? It�
�s Ayden, Yuri, and Merlin.”
The wizard sighed with relief before opening the door. “I was afraid it was Zuras again. Why do you look so… exhausted?” he asked.
“Because we are exhausted. We need to get back to the caves before Zuras gets there, and we have to go a different way than we were going, because the road is blocked. And do you have any food, because I could eat a stick right now.”
“Well, I do happen to have a stick I wasn’t going to eat, but I don’t think it’s enough for all three of you.” His expression could not have been more serious.
* * *
Hawk gave us some roasted meat, which happened to be slimy and chewy, with the distinct taste of mud. Despite the fact that most wizards never ate meat, Yuri was too hungry to argue. When I asked Hawk what it was, he asked if I really wanted to know.
I didn’t.
After that, he told us we could take one of his cars. It took a while for it to sink in that someone could have two of those wondrous machines. Meanwhile, he pulled out maps and showed us the way to get back to the caves.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go with us?”
“I have too much time to make up here. I will make a trip there in a few days. By the way… a little girl popped in a while ago and said she was looking for her cat. Nearly gave me a heart attack. She was with you, right?”
“No, but we know who you’re talking about. Why would you think she was with us?”
“Because you’re the first people I’ve seen other than Zuras in three years, and she just happens to show up an hour after you leave. That doesn’t sound like a coincidence to me.”
“I doubt she means any harm,” Yuri said. “She might be confused as to the limitations of cats, though. Then again, if any creature aside from people could learn to travel across worlds, it would be cats, if for no other reason than to trip people on stairs. My castle was once haunted by a ghost cat who knocked things off shelves, clawed up the furniture, tripped people, and rested on our faces while we slept. Four necromancers had to be called in before one of them finally got the bright idea to call in a ghost wolf to chase it out. Then it took another month to get the wolf out. He wasn’t as much a nuisance except that he kept howling all night.” Yuri was channeling Merlin again.