The Unwilling Apprentice (Book 2)

by Heidi Willard

  Pat turned him around and pointed at a dark object against the wall of a nearby building; it was a narrow ladder that reached up to the tall roof. "That what you need?" she asked him.

  He slumped over and glumly nodded his head. "Yeah, that's what I need..." he muttered.

  "Good, so let's climb it and get to the cistern or the castle, whichever one we can. I don't know how well we can get past the guards."

  "I met Hawkins, and he said he'd work on distracting his men," Fred replied.

  Pat raised an eyebrow. "Hawkins is helping us save her?"

  "You tell me, he's your lieutenant," Fred countered.

  "You there!" cried a voice in front of Fred. They whipped around and saw a group of twenty guards with armed citizens behind them. "Stay where you are!"

  "Um, climbing time," Pat announced before she grabbed the gargoyle girl and scrambled over to the ladder.

  "Uh, yeah," Fred agreed. He ran after them, but had to wait at the bottom of the rungs while they climbed up. He glanced between them and the oncoming guards and mob. "Must go faster, must go faster!" he chanted at the girls.

  "Not helping!" Pat shouted back. The moment he had a few free rungs Fred jumped on them and used his head to push Pat faster up the ladder. "Will you knock that off!" she screeched. "You're going to make me-"

  Her foot slipped and her fingers fumbled for stability. She lost her balance and swung over the side of the ladder, clinging only by a single hand. The drop below was only about ten feet, but the mob with their pitchforks and guards with their swords stood down there. Several of the officers snatched at Fred's foot, and he kicked them back.

  Pat tried to swing back and grab at a rung, but her hand missed and her other lost its grip. Her scream was cut short when Fred snatched her hand and pulled her in front of him. Unfortunately, that gave a chance for the guards to grab him and yank him down to them.

  Pat grabbed at his outstretched hand, but missed. He was dragged into the arms of the guards and citizens. "Fred!" she cried out.

  "Run!" he yelled back before he disappeared into the dozens of bodies.

  Pat clambered up the ladder with several guards at her back. Fred thrashed and kicked in their arms, and one of his feet slammed the bottom of the ladder. The old wooden poles snapped, and before they could move him away he kicked through the wood. The ladder snapped and tilted back, toppling the guards onto the crowd. Pat grabbed the roof of the house before the ladder fell away from her, and the gargoyle girl pulled her up.

  Pat peeked over the edge and looked down on the chaos. Bits of ladder poked out and armored arms flailed in the middle of fallen citizens. Fred pulled his head out long enough to scowl at her, and she took the hint and stood. She grabbed the other girl's hand and pulled her up and over the peek of the roof toward the castle.

  Fred was now on his own to deal with the mob rule, and they weren't happy with him. The guards yanked him to his feet and shoved him against the side of the building. The back of his head hit against some new, solid wooden planks, and he felt blood pool out from the knock.

  The guard leader wrapped his hand around Fred's throat and shoved his face into the boy's. The crowd pressed against them, stifling the air as their faces squeezed in to glare at the boy. "Why are you in league with that monster? Are you a spy for Canavar?" the guard accused him. Fred shook his head, but that wasn't good enough for the guard. He shook the boy and slapped him across the cheek. "Answer me, boy, or we'll make you speak."

  A thick fist flew out from the crowd and punched the guard on the side of his head. The force shoved him into the crowd and a new, familiar face appeared in Fred's sight. It was Canto, and he was not happy. "There's yer answer," Canto snapped at the guard as he rubbed his fist. He looked to the boy. "You okay?" Fred rubbed his sore neck and nodded. "Good. Let's get ya out of here."

  "You there, stop!" the bruised guard leader yelled.

  "That's our cue to run, boy!" Canto yelled. He shoved Fred through the crowd and toward the street, but they had to contend with groping hands.

  Canto took a fist to the gut and face, and Fred was pulled back into the mob. He beat off some of the hands, but there were too many. "Leave me alone! Let off!" he cried out.

  A howl split the noise of chaos and everyone froze. A large, fur-less form burst through the repaired wall and ran over anyone in its way. Canto pulled off the half dozen men on him and scowled as Fluffy tore through the mob, knocking everyone down and scattering them to the four winds. "Damn it, Fluffy, I told you to stay inside!" The beast raised its head and let out a great howl.

  Fred noticed Canto paled, and the man grabbed the boy and hauled him out of the alley. "We need ta get very far away," Canto told him. Fred didn't like the tense tone of his voice, nor did he want to leave his beast behind.

  "Why? What's wrong? Why aren't we getting Fluffy?" Fred asked him.

  "Because yer beast's gone mad with anger. No good cantankus stands by and watches its owner beaten, and Fluffy stood by long enough on my orders. Now he's going ta catch up and knock the stuffing out of all those fools."

  They stumbled out into the street and turned the corner, and Fred glanced back. Men flew out of the alley He was alarmed, and looked to Canto. "But shouldn't we stop him? He could kill someone!"

  Canto smirked and led them into a nearby alley. "Your cantankus isn't that mean, but I would rather have the Boo take me now than try ta stop him." He noticed his words didn't comfort Fred, and he stopped them beside a pile of crates that led up to the roof of a building. "I'll handle Fluffy and keep him safe, but if you don't get yerself safely back to the castle I don't think yer cantankus would stay nice for long. Get me?"

  Fred cringed and nodded. Iif Fluffy found out he was killed then the cantankus wouldn't hold back on his rampage. Canto grinned and slapped the boy's back. "That's the way, now get on up here and see that you find those two friends of yours. I heard their feet clatter over my roof just before I went outside to help ya, but there were a lot of feet following them."

  Fred held out his hand. "Thanks for the help."

  Canto smirked and shook the boy's hand. Fred felt like his fingers were crushed by iron. Canto nodded up the ladder. "Now get along with ya while I see how I can fix this mess."

  CHAPTER 8

  Fred clambered up the ladder and onto the roof. He stood on the peak and had his first good view of the city,and his blood ran cold. The streets were lit with torch fires and the roar of the huge mob echoed off the walls of the city. A few buildings burned while large crowds gathered around and cheered when the walls collapsed in on themselves. Fred noticed the abandoned cistern was also on fire. The people were lighting any and all unoccupied buildings to find more gargoyles. Guards busted down doors of buildings where they received no reply, and babies screamed in terror. It was a city gone mad with fear, and all over a single gargoyle girl.

  Fred had his doubts that this people could face an army of humans, much less the menace of Canavar and the creatures under his control. His roaming eyes found something strange in the chaos. Wisps of pure white smoke rose up from the fires, and where the crowds were the thickest he beheld a white glow that emanated from the people themselves. He wondered if they hadn't covered themselves in some unknown substance to illuminate their way in the dark.

  He spotted movement far off on the roof, and hurried to catch up. Fred slid down and climbed up countless roofs, and soon saw that a large group of men stood on the peaks of five roofs. In the center was a smaller, shorter roof, and the men jeered at the occupants who stood there. He didn't need three guesses to know who they captured, and anger boiled up inside him. The pair were probably terrified and quaking in each others' arms.

  Fred pulled out his broken stick and it transformed into the staff. The jewel at the end blazed as an emblem of his fury as he hit the roof on which stood one wall of men. The clay roofing tiles crunched beneath Fred's feet, and several of the men turned around. They glared at him, but hesitated to jump him since they wer
en't sure which side he stood on.

  That gave Fred an opening, so he dashed forward to the closest man. Fred batted the head of his staff into the side of the man's face, which knocked him unconscious and flung him from the roof. The others cried out in fury and jumped him, but Fred stepped back and caught them off balance. He dug his heels into the clay tiles and pushed off into the men with his staff swinging with an accuracy he never remembered having before. Fred bashed heads, butted stomachs, and knocked knees. If they didn't immediately slide off the roof he made sure they were at least unconscious.

  In a few moments his roof was cleared and he had a straight shot at the surrounded roof. Pat and the gargoyle girl stood in the center of their captors, but they weren't defenseless. Pat held a thick wood board, and the end had indents where she'd smashed it into many a hard head. The gargoyle girl had her claws extended from her outstretched hands and her tail behind her cracked like a whip.

  Pat noticed Fred and her eyes showed her relief. "You know, I'm really getting tired of this city," she told him.

  He snorted, and jumped over to stand with his back against hers, and the gargoyle girl completing their little triangle. The gap he'd made on that single roof was closed by more guards, cutting them off from a clean exit. "Better get used to them," he scolded her.

  "Thanks," she grumbled back. One of the men jumped at them and Fred jabbed the butt end of his staff into the man's gut. Their assailant doubled over and Fred pushed him away with his foot. The man slid off the roof and disappeared over the side. "Where did you learn to do that? By fending off gophers in the fields?"

  "Is that how you treat all you rescuers?" he scolded.

  Pat laughed, and gestured at the men who still surrounded them. "You haven't rescued us yet."

  Pat was dangerously correct. As they spoke their captors multiplied in numbers as more people climbed the roofs in search of the monster. The men crowded closer and closer to their roof, but none dared jump over and risk a beating before their comrades followed.

  Fred had only one plan. He grimaced and leaned back to the girls. "Get ready to jump in case this building collapses," he whispered to them.

  Pat's eyes widened and she shot him a terrified look. "What in the world are you-" He raised his staff as he'd done in the cavern. "Fred, don't!"

  Too late. He brought the end of his stick down on the small roof and a shock wave stretched down to the ground. The wave stretched out from defensive wall to defensive wall, and everything shook with the vibrations. The building they were on swayed, but stayed up. That was more than their captors could say as their weight destabilized the roof and caused them to collapse.

  Unlike the previous time Fred had caused the earthquake in the cavern, this time the tremors didn't stop. He lifted his staff off the roof and still the shaking didn't cease. Pat lost her balance and knocked into him. She grabbed his arm and looked up into his face with frightened eyes. "Why isn't it stopping?" she asked him.

  Fred's face was pale and he glanced down in disbelief at the staff in his outstretched, shaking hands. "I-I don't know! I don't know how I even do that!"

  The frenzy of the mob was replaced with the fear of every inhabitant for their lives. The gates were swept open by the multitudes of panicked citizens who stormed them to escape the crumbling walls and houses. With Hawkins at the lead the guards guided the people to the gates as orderly as they could manage.

  Amongst all the confusion and fear, the city was struck with a loud, hard, single vibration. It swept over every square inch of the city, but didn't travel farther than the walls. When it stopped, all the earth stopped shaking. There was no more earthquakes, no more tremors; nothing but silence.

  Fred and the other two looked around in awe at the quiet city. The citizens gaped at their calm, unmoving surroundings and at each other. Fred glimpsed something strange wind its way through the streets from the direction of the castle. It was a ribbon of white fog a few feet wide and so thick he couldn't see anything inside of it. The fog doused the fires, and when it passed over a person they came out the other end calm and tired. Many adults yawned, and the children fell asleep.

  The three companions backed up against each other when the fog passed by them. Wisps floated over the top of the roof, but otherwise it left them alone and floated on to the front of the city. The ribbon of fog reached the front gates,and when it hit the wall it dissipated. Nothing remained of so thick a block of moisture.

  Pat blinked and glanced at Fred. "That wasn't you, was it?" she asked him. Fred shook his head. "That's what I thought." She turned to the gargoyle girl, who stood quivering at their sides. Pat gently took her hand and led her toward the base of the roof. "Come on, we still need to get you back to your dad."

  "Don't try the cistern. That got burnt up," Fred told them.

  Pat paused and pursed her lips together. "That means the only entrance is through the kitchen, so we'd better hurry to the castle. After Ned's and your display of magic there will be extra guards around the castle."

  "Ned's magic?" Fred repeated.

  The girl sighed and glanced over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "Who else do you think stopped your magic? Only a castor can cancel a castor."

  Fred shrugged. "I don't know."

  Pat gestured at his staff which was once more a broken stick. "If you're going to be using that thing than maybe you'd better start knowing."

  Fred winced. She was right, he had been reckless using that earthquake move when he didn't know how he did it or how to cancel it out. Pat led the gargoyle girl along the rooftops, and Fred slowly followed behind. In a few minutes they reached the end of the houses and the open area before the castle gates. They ducked down over the peak of the final roof and looked out on their final hurdle. The gates stood open in case of an emergency evacuation, but all but a scarce contingency of the guards were in the city directing the housing and rescue effort.

  Even with so few guards they had no way of sneaking the gargoyle inside without being caught. Lady Luck proved to be on their side, or rather Lady Martley. She came out of the castle and had a word with the guards. To the surprise of the three, the guards lined up and marched down into the city. Martley folded her arms across her ample chest and waved them off. The moment they were out of sight of the castle gates, Martley's eyes turned to the hidden companions. "All clear," she whispered to them. The three looked at each, and none of them moved. Martley's voice told her impatience. "Hurry! More may come, and I can't distract them all."

  Pat frowned. "She could if she took off all her clothes," she muttered.

  "She helped me once before, so let's go," Fred replied. He took hold of the gargoyle girl's hand and guided her down off the roof, with Pat at the rear. They hurried across the open area and into the relative safety and seclusion of the castle courtyard.

  Martley smiled and bowed her head at the group. "Good evening, young people. Quite an interesting night, isn't it?"

  Pat shoved her way to the front of the group. "How did you know we were out here?" she questioned the older woman.

  Martley smirked. "It must have been a lucky guess," she replied in a sweet voice.

  "Lucky guess my foot. You knew we were out here so-"

  Martley held up her hand and pointed behind the companions. They turned and saw shadows dancing on the walls toward them. "You may want to hurry inside before your friend here is found," Martley suggested.

  Fred grabbed both girls by the wrists, bowed his head at the Lady, and dragged the pair into the castle. They shut the doors behind themselves and tiptoed over to the nearest column, where they hid. Fred peeked around the side toward the kitchen while Pat looked around the other.

  On Pat's end she heard many frantic voices in the large dining hall, and the king boomed over them. "Quiet now! I tell you there is nothing more to worry about. All has been taken care of by Lady Martley, and our lives are in no danger whatsoever."

  "Lady Martley?" Pat repeated in bewilderment.

  "Bu
t what about the monster?" a frightened woman asked him.

  A fist pounded against a hard table. "Damned be that monster! It's probably just a child dressed as a creature to scare the light of heart."

  One Fred's side he heard a pot rattle and many noises down the hall. They would have to concoct another distraction to get the cooks out of there. Fred felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to find it was Pat. "Let's get her upstairs for now. After everyone's gone to sleep we can help her get back to the cavern," she suggested.

  Fred nodded, and they guided the gargoyle up the stairs and onto the balcony. When they neared the opening to the hall that led to their bedrooms, the door to the dining room burst open and the king stomped out. "I shall prove to your doubting eyes that all is well!" he screamed at those still in the room. A retinue of well-dressed people followed behind him like lost chicks, and the three companions squished against the wall and slid down to the floor to avoid detection.

  Fred could see through the rungs of the balcony banister and noticed a familiar face among the group. It was Lord Sturgeon of Tramadore, and his son Percy followed close at his side. The pair were less troubled with the city's problems than the other guests, and paused at one of the columns while all the others went outside.

  The doors shut behind the other guests, and Percy turned to his father. "Has King Stephen told you what plans he has for Lady Lamikan?"

  Sturgeon raised an eyebrow. "Lady Lamikan? She is no more a lady than that fool is a king," he snapped, and gestured to where Stephen had gone.

  "If you insist, father, but have you perceived his intentions toward her?" Percy insisted.

  Sturgeon frowned and shook his head. "I can't get any information from him, but now is hardly the time to speak. Let us talk further in my room."

  They turned toward the stairs and the companions slunk into the hall. Once out of sight they rushed down the hall and came to the intersecting passage. Pat and Fred turned to her bedroom, but a servant girl was in a room not far down the hall. Thinking quickly, Fred grabbed the gargoyle and guided her to the room he shared with Ned. Pat noticed them halfway down the hall.