by Sam Ferguson
The wizard stalked his way out of the woods and stopped as he approached the east side of the manor. He was not entirely unfamiliar with the home. He had been here before. He had even searched for the dagger here as well, but he had never found it. Now that he had reliable information that led him to believe it was still here, he was determined to find it.
He floated up to the window that belonged to the late Lady Zana’s office. A wave of his hand was all it took to open it, then he sailed through as easily as a summer breeze. He set down lightly upon the floor and was intrigued to see that the office was still in shambles, exactly as it had been after the night of the murder. The desk was overturned and books were everywhere. Bookshelves were tossed across the floor and bits of paper and glass were strewn all over the room.
Cyrus went to work searching for the dagger. He checked every book, every drawer or space in the overturned desk, and every inch of the office. When he found nothing, he pulled a vial of crushed red crystal from his pocket and shook some out into his left palm. He threw the crystal into the air and watched it fall. If dark magic was present in the room, the crystals should have floated toward it, but they fell straight to the floor.
Cyrus sighed and went to the door.
He pressed his cheek to the wood and heard music coming from somewhere in the manor. He tried the knob, but it was locked. Cyrus pointed to the keyhole and the pins slipped up into place with tiny little clicks. The door opened easily after that, and he stepped into the hallway.
Now that he was out of the office, he could clearly hear fiddlers and boisterous laughing coming from down in the lower levels.
It appeared that Feberik’s recent visit had had little lasting effect on Lord Caspen. Not that it bothered Cyrus of course, but he always found it interesting to learn about peoples’ vices. He couldn’t help but wonder if Caspen had been this kind of man all along, or if it was a weakness brought to the open by the shock of losing a wife and then learning that Kyra was not even the nobleman’s daughter.
Whatever the reason, Cyrus was grateful for the cover that the party downstairs afforded him. He was able to easily walk through the halls until he found the late Lady Zana’s room. Unfortunately, the search there went the same as in her office. He checked every jewel box, drawer, and every bit of space in the large wardrobe. He even lifted the mattress and looked under the bed. At last, he pulled out some more of the crushed red crystal. He tossed it in the air and grimaced when it fell straight down again.
There was no other place to look. He sighed and sat on the bed.
A thought came to him as he pondered where else he might look. Perhaps Kyra’s mother had hidden the object in Kyra’s bedroom. Cyrus got up to his feet and left the room, closing the door quietly and locking it after himself. He then padded softly down the hall and opened each door he came to. The first was a water closet. The second was a storage room of sorts, with old blankets stuffed inside. The third was a small room with a spinning wheel and various colors of fabrics and threads collecting dust upon a series of wooden shelves that covered the wall.
The next room was entirely empty. Cyrus almost closed the door, but something nagged at him. He slipped inside and closed the door. The sunlight from the window was more than enough to illuminate the chamber. The wood floor was bare. There was no furniture, and nothing upon the walls. The window didn’t’ even have any curtains.
Cyrus then looked to the corner and saw scratches in the wood floor. He moved to the area and noted that there were four scratches, each originating in points that could have easily have been where corner posts for a bed had once been.
The old wizard knew that he was now standing in what had once been Kyra’s bed chamber. Even he had a hard time not feeling some amount of empathy for her as he realized that Lord Caspen had literally removed any reminder of her existence. How odd it was that the mother’s office and room would be left untouched, while the daughter’s room would be entirely cleared.
Cyrus shook his head. He doubted whether he would ever understand Lord Caspen.
He exited the room and stepped into the hallway. As he closed the door, someone else opened a door at the far end of the hall. Cyrus looked up to see a servant, or at least that is what he assumed the man to be judging by his drab clothes and unkempt hair.
The servant pointed to Cyrus. “What are you doing up here? The party is downstairs.”
Cyrus couldn’t afford to be seen. On the other hand, he couldn’t cause any sort of hysteria by killing the man either. Kyra knew where he was. If he used magic to kill the man, she would know it was him, and then there would be no keeping her trust. Though he planned to double-cross the warlocks of the Order of the All-seeing Eye, he had no intention to harm Kyra if he didn’t have to.
He quickly cast a spell that froze the man in place. Cyrus then quickly moved to the man and pulled him into the room he had just exited from. Luckily, it was a large room with a sizeable liquor cabinet. Cyrus smiled at his good fortune and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. He drank some himself, and then poured some down the servant’s throat, using a spell so that the liquid would slide down without choking the man. Cyrus then magicked the man into a nearby chair and rendered him unconscious.
The old wizard weaved a spell of forgetting on the servant, erasing his memories for the day, and then placed the half-empty bottle of whiskey in the man’s hands. Cyrus then went to the window and looked down. The woods were a short distance away, but there were a pair of workers down there loading empty crates into a horse-drawn cart.
Cyrus decided it was simplest just to open a portal from inside the room and return to Kuldiga Academy. Better to return empty handed than to be caught red handed in Caspen Manor.
Chapter 11
Kyra waited in the grove for Njar for the entire day. He never showed. Worse than that, Leatherback never appeared either. Kyra sat in the grass in the middle of the aspen wood until the sun began its descent toward the western horizon, then she slowly began walking back toward Kuldiga Academy.
She didn’t use her portal this time, preferring instead to think as she walked. Headmaster Herion’s words echoed in her ears a thousand times over, giving room for the seeds of doubt to grow in her mind. She thought back to everything Njar had done for her, and for Leatherback. She couldn’t believe that it would be just to gain her trust and take Leatherback away from her. What purpose could that serve?
After a while, she came to the pool she and Leatherback had made in the mountain stream. She leaned over the high walls of earth and dipped her hand in the cool waters. She laughed as she thought about the flying mud and the mess they had made of this place.
Kyra decided that it was time to let go of all of the stress. She stripped down to her undergarments and then jumped into the pool. As the water caressed her body, she pushed everything out of her mind, giving herself the freedom to simply enjoy the moment she was in. She swam across the pool, then dove down into the water and swam back across without coming up for air until she reached the opposite bank. As she popped out of the water, she ran her hand over her face, wiping the water away and pulling her hair to the back of her head.
She swam the breadth of the pool twice more, and then she emerged from the water and laid upon a large, flat rock until she was dry enough to put her clothes back on. Then, she opened a small portal and jumped farther into the woods, beyond the rock nest and closer to Kuldiga Academy.
She made it back to her room a half hour before supper. Linny was inside, sitting cross-legged upon her bed and staring at a piece of paper in front of her.
“What’s that?” Kyra asked.
“My new class assignment,” Linny replied. “I was assigned to a Master Obren, have you heard of him?”
Kyra shook her head. “No,” she said. “How many days a week will you have to meet?”
Linny shrugged and tilted her head to the side. “I guess all of them. It says that we have a lot of lessons to catch up on, and that I will be spending every day
of the week with Master Obren. It’s a good thing I already have my textbook.”
Kyra nodded her head. “I can always help if you have homework,” she offered.
Linny smiled. “Thanks.”
Kyra smiled back and moved to lie upon her bed, flinging herself backward and landing haphazardly on the mattress.
“Are you all right?” Linny asked.
“I’m okay,” Kyra said. She wasn’t about to share her secret about Leatherback with anyone else at this point.
Linny slid off her bed and flattened out the front of her skirt. “I’m going to go down for supper. I start my new class tomorrow, so I want to be back to bed early.”
Kyra nodded. “I’ll catch up soon,” she said as she threw her left arm up over her eyes. She heard Linny walk out of the room and close the door. Kyra was now back to thinking about Njar and Leatherback. She wished she knew where they were. If they were in Viverandon, then how could she reach them? Njar had shown her the pools of fate once, but she would not be able to create a portal to get that far away from Kuldiga Academy. It may as well have been across the world for how hard it would be to find.
Footsteps approached her door and then stopped. A knock sounded against the wood. Two taps and then the latch clicked open.
“Kyra?” Kathair’s voice called out. “Linny told me you were back.”
Kyra peeked out from under her elbow and nodded. “I’m here,” she said flatly.
Kathair entered the room and then closed the door. “Seeing you now, I take it you haven’t seen Leatherback today?”
Kyra shook her head and pushed up to a sitting position. “No, and I don’t know when, or even if he’ll turn up.”
“Bah,” Kathair said with a wave of his hand. “For all the time you spent with him before he hatched and afterward, you may as well consider yourself his mother. He’ll be back before you know it.”
Kyra didn’t respond.
Kathair held up a rolled parchment and smiled. “Besides, I think I have a lead on that garunda we need.”
“We?” Kyra echoed skeptically.
Kathair nodded. “You didn’t think I would let you face the shade alone, now did you?”
Kyra shook her head. “Kathair, honestly…”
Kathair shook his head. “Hey, I stopped sneaking up on you, I even knocked just now,” he said as he pointed to the door. “The least you can do is call me Lepkin.”
Kyra smiled. “All right, Lepkin, but I don’t think you should come with me. It isn’t exactly the same as sword practice.”
Kathair nodded. “I know that, but we’re friends. Your fights are mine too. Now come on over here and take a look at this.” Kathair unrolled the parchment to reveal a poorly drawn map.
“You make this yourself?” Kyra asked.
Kathair grinned. “I never said I was an artist, but it gets the job done. Look here.” He pointed to a square on the parchment that had the label ‘Caspen Manor’ written next to it. “This is your old house, where the recent attack took place. Over here,” he said as he pointed to a mess of circles drawn squished together, “is where you found the egg. Remember the wraith that attacked you there? Well, I think this might be the best range to search in for the garunda.”
“You mean the miles and miles between the two points?” Kyra asked with a shake of her head.
“Well, yeah, but I already did the research. I wouldn’t come to you if I didn’t have a more specific area to search.” He pointed to a pair of squares that were nearly in the middle between the first to points. “This is Midton, a fairly good sized city. I overheard that there have been strange attacks during the nights there. Not every night, but a lot of them. I also did some research and discovered that there are a couple of foothills nearby the town. In those foothills is an old, abandoned silver mine. It’s the perfect location for a garunda.”
“If the garunda is there, then so is the shade,” Kyra reminded him.
Kathair shook his head. “From what I have read, shades can’t abide by silver. Something about it irritates them, weakens them, or harms them, depending on the book you are reading. I think this might be a stray garunda.”
“A stray?” Kyra questioned. “And where would you get the idea that there can be stray garunda beasts roaming the countryside?”
Kathair smiled wide and produced a book from the back of his trousers. “I may have borrowed one more journal from Headmaster Herion’s office.”
“You are going to get caught if you keep snooping around like that,” Kyra said.
Kathair shook his head. “Nah, I always put them back when I am done. Anyway, this journal has a passage on garunda beasts in it. It says that it isn’t uncommon for the animals to stray away from their master at times. And, listen to this,” Kathair said excitedly as he flipped to a page that had a small ribbon pressed into it for a place marker. The young man cleared his throat. “Garunda beasts who stray from their masters are often wont to hide in silver mines, where they can rest easy knowing that their masters will be averse to following them inside due to the adverse effects they would suffer.” Kathair turned the book around and handed it to Kyra. “You see, it’s perfect. I located a garunda beast that is alone, and has no shade to help protect it. With any luck, we can kill it, take its blood, and then we can hunt the shade.”
Kyra smiled wide. She would prefer that Leatherback go with them, but she couldn’t pass up this chance. The only question was how to get there.
“Are we going by horse, or am I going to try and teleport us there blindly?”
“Can’t you send us both there?” Kathair asked, his smile fading somewhat.
Kyra shrugged. “I haven’t tried to take another person with me before. I’m not sure it would work. Also, I have to have been at the place once so I can visualize it, and even then I can only cover medium distances.”
“You’ve never been to Midton?” Kathair asked.
Kyra shook her head.
Kathair frowned, pouting out his lower lip and drawing his brow into a tight knot above his nose. “We could go by horse then,” he said. “It’s only a few hours’ ride from here. The sun hasn’t gone down yet. If we hurry, we can make it by nightfall.”
“Do you have a horse?” Kyra asked.
Kathair grinned that boyish, impish grin of his and his blue eyes sparkled with delight. “Follow me,” he said.
The two of them wound their way out into the courtyard and snuck along till they reached the stables. A pair of large horses nickered as the two of them approached. One of the horses Kyra recognized.
“This is Feberik’s horse,” she said as Kathair was busy grabbing the saddle.
“Yep,” he said as he tossed the saddle up and onto the horse. Then he bent down and began fastening the straps.
“I don’t want to take his horse,” Kyra said.
“Why not?” Kathair asked. “If it can carry his giant backside, it should easily be able to get us to where we need to go.”
Kyra stifled a laugh. “No, it isn’t that, it’s just I don’t want to ride his horse. Let’s take this other one.” She pointed to the large paint in the next stall over.
Kathair shook his head. “Can’t take that one.”
“Why not?” Kyra asked. “Whose horse is it?”
Kathair shrugged and yanked on the saddle, testing it before he leapt up onto Feberik’s horse. “I dunno, but you see those beads woven into the mane?”
Kyra looked around and saw three red beads woven into the horse’s hair. “Yes,” she said.
“That is a special kind of horse. I don’t remember the name of the breed, but they are raised at Cedreau Manor. The beads signify that the horse has an owner, and the special thing about Cedreau horses is that they are loyal to one rider for their lifetime. If you try to ride it, it will throw you off, I guarantee it. Seeing as how there are no other horses, that leaves us with Feberik’s horse.” Kathair held his hand down to Kyra. She finally relented, sighing and cursing her luck as she mo
ved around to mount the horse.
Kathair looked around the courtyard once more, and then he kicked the horse into a quick trot out through the open gates. As soon as they were clear of the academy, he kicked it up into a full gallop. They rode for a little more than two hours, galloping over a well-built road that took them directly to Midton. The two of them spent the journey in silence, with only the sound of the pounding hooves clip-clopping in the air.
As Kathair had guessed, the two arrived just as the sun was beginning to touch the western horizon. The bright pinks and oranges lit up the sky as though it were alight with magical flames. A cool wind blew in from the east, carrying with it the scent of cattle fields that they had passed on their way into Midton.
They didn’t bother stopping in the town itself, but rather continued on out the other side, headed for the old silver mine. They reached the tunnel just as the first, long shadows of night began to stretch their fingers across the foothills.
A strange sound came from within the tunnel, something like a roar and a growl mixed into one.
The two dismounted from Feberik’s horse and stretched their legs. Kathair drew a longsword and a mini-crossbow. Kyra was armed only with her magic.
“It’s going to be dark in there,” Kyra pointed out.
Kathair nodded. “Well, we can either use light, or we can wait at the entrance and see if the beast comes out.”
Kyra took in a breath and thought for a moment. If they made a torch, it was likely that it wouldn’t give enough light to see the beast before it pounced on them. On the other hand, if they used a magical light, it might alert the beast to their presence long before they ever got close enough to attack it.
“I wish Leatherback were here,” Kyra said.
Kathair nodded. “I won’t pretend that it wouldn’t make me feel better also, but he isn’t. So, what do you want to do?”
“Maybe let’s wait for it. If we sit on top of the entrance and pounce on it when it comes out, then we might have a better chance of catching it by surprise.”