Malignant Transfiguration (Endeavor Series Book 2)

by A E M

  Hobs began to show up. The room was quiet except for the faint sound of popping. The fauns wandered in and the room was quickly packed.

  Charlotte looked slowly back and forth between the men. She turned to Josef, who stood at her right. “What’s happening?”

  Josef smiled over at her. “A Weaver Duel.”

  “A duel? In the castle?”

  “They happen where they happen.” Basil answered. “I haven’t seen one in years!” He said happily. “You’re father stopped taking apprentices ages ago!”

  “This is going to be great!” Phoebe whooped, and the other fauns let out a whoop after her.

  “Quiet!” Josef yelled across the room. “We can’t enjoy the show if it’s too noisy for them to start! Everybody must stay quiet!”

  “Popcorn?” One of the hobs suggested.

  “Make it yourself.” Basil snapped. “I’m not leaving for anything.”

  Vincent waited then. There was an honor bestowed upon the master to be the one who started. His fingers twitched, and he tried to keep his mind open and flexible to whatever would come. David’s ring of coiled gold with a black onyx in the center teased him as it occasionally flashed in his direction. David was one of the first weavers to trade his wand in for a ring. The ring performed just like the wand, but it was much smaller and much more accessible. David’s features steadied and calmed. Vincent stole a glance around the room. The onlookers had spread to the second story loft and back against the walls of the library. There was a wide path to the doorway.

  There was a flash of light from David’s ring, and Vincent immediately said Armum in his mind. A shield of light appeared on his arm just in time to deflect the spell, but in he couldn’t block the vial that smashed to bits in front of his feet. Vincent twisted and let out a scream that quickly turned into a series of grunts, wheezes, and sniffs. He leaped across the room sideways and stumbled. He was a deer. David had turned him into a deer. He had retained his thought process, but there was also a feral presence that swirled around inside. He had to stay in control. Where was David? There had been a gasp from the room, but he didn’t know if it was from when he transformed, or from something David had done shortly after. His head snapped back and forth as he looked around the room. His sight as a deer was diminished in all the light from the room. He finally saw the stripes of black on orange behind the desk, and he ran for the door just as he heard the roar.

  He leaped and slid and fell across the floors of the castle. Cover. He had to find cover. “Finxi.” He tried to yell, but it came out as a grunt. No, the word would have to be from within, not out loud. He hurried around a corner and forced the feral sensations of fear as far down as he could. I am a weaver. I can change back. He felt the slash of the tiger’s claws in one of his legs right as he said it again in his mind. Finxi. He wheezed as a deer. It turned into a scream of a human. He gasped. The tiger was above him. He slammed his hand into the beast’s chest and yelled loudly, “Finxi!” The tiger chuffed before David fell onto him.

  David quickly rolled off and they both got to their feet. Vincent was a fraction slower, for the injury in his leg remained. “Cura te ipsum!” He yelled at his leg through the pain. As he straightened, he caught sight of David reaching for his spell gun from its holster. He ran for the stairs as he reached for his own gun, taking them two by two. The sting of the bullet scraped across his back and hit his left hand. He swore under his breath. He knew if he kept healing himself, he would never turn this fight around. He felt his hand and back start to go numb, but he slammed himself into a room and cast a protection spell on the door quickly before falling in a heap on the floor. He grabbed at the pack he wore that attached to his waist and leg. His back and hand were trembling now. It wouldn’t be long before the shaking started. He popped the cork out of one of the vials and swallowed.

  He gagged and forced it down. He looked around as the trembles subsided. It was a simple room with a twin bed, a dresser, and a desk: a student’s room. There were two doors for the closet and bathroom and two small windows. He loaded a freezing potion into his own gun and slowly edged towards one of the doors. He opened it quickly: closet. He moved to the next door, holding his breath as he opened the door. It was the bathroom, but it was empty. He edged towards the door that connected to the next bedroom. He opened the door slowly when he heard the crash of the window. He turned and shot the freezing spell at David.

  David shivered and grasped for his own stash of vials. Vincent grabbed him under the arms, yanked him towards the window, and pushed him out. He raced back through the bathroom, out the other room, and through the halls towards the stables. He ignored the hobs and fauns scattered across the castle or following him. As he ran, he loaded his gun with a glue potion. He armed himself with a wand in the other hand and picked up his pace. He was in a hallway with many windows facing the courtyard now. A quick check told him that David wasn’t outside any longer.

  Finally, he reached the stable and quietly slipped in. The air was cool and calm and the scents familiar. He pointed the gun in one direction and the wand in another as he slowly stepped through until he got to his goal. There were several horses to choose from, but his heart was instantly caught in a web at the sight of the copper Arabian in a corner stall. He winked at him, and then slid into the stall. “There, boy.” He whispered. “Looking for an adventure? Can you help a fellow out?”

  He whispered a protection spell over the horse before opening the stall and leading him out the door that led to the back of the grounds. He scanned the grounds as he rode out. The fauns were running with him, and hobs had already popped out onto the grounds. David would soon find him if he hadn’t spotted him already. He kept his arms ready, and nudged the horse to go faster. It seemed like only a second had passed since he had looked back, but it must have been longer for David appeared next to him on a motorcycle. No, it was a silent motorcycle. David had put a silence spell on the engine.

  David smirked and called out, “Running away?”

  “Of course not!” He yelled back over the wind. “I’m just getting warmed up!”

  “By the looks of it the fight will be over by the time you do warm up!” David laughed and sped ahead.

  Vincent aimed then, and smiled with satisfaction as he hit David in the rear with the glue. David swerved over and stopped. Vincent pulled hard to the left and urged the horse around. David threw his arm out, and this time Vincent didn’t get a shield up in time. He gasped as a punch hit him in the chest and he rocketed back until he crashed into a tree. He threw the spell back at David, but he had a shield up while he was trying to unglue himself from the motorcycle.

  “This is my best suit!” David yelled across the field. “You will be replacing this!”

  “Give up?” Vincent yelled back at him as he stood up.

  David responded with a second blast to Vincent’s chest that threw him up in the air and against the castle. His body jerked after hitting the stones, and he gasped and felt ill when he heard a crunch as he landed. He pulled himself up and aimed a hit at David before falling to the ground with another loud crunch. He rolled over and looked across the field at David, who had lost part of his pants, but was up and headed in his direction. He stood with a wince, but fell to his knees.

  “Had your fill?” David asked.

  Vincent smiled. “Hardly.” He stretched his arm out and lifted it up. As he did, a huge tree yanked up out of the ground. The ground trembled and groaned as the roots were forced to give up their hold on the red dirt.

  “Oh, so you want to play?” David raised his own tree. Two craters now dotted the lawns.

  Vincent swung his tree and David’s tree matched it. Again and again swung the trees like swords, only sometimes it was hard to wretch the trees apart. Branches fell everywhere. Vincent finally caught David with the tip of the tree and he went flying sideways while his tree dropped to the ground with a heavy crunch. Vincent dropped his tree on David’s and ran behind both trees. He loaded his gun
with a spell as David slowly stood up and looked around. His arms were dragging, the muscles screaming every time he raised them. He took aim and shot David, who exploded in a mass of hair.

  David pointed with his ring and the trees that Vincent was hiding in sparked and burned. Vincent jumped out as fast as he could; he patted his clothes and fell to the ground and twisted in the dirt until the flames were gone.

  “Need me to braid your hair?” Vincent yelled at David, who was trying to stop the constant growth of hair from everywhere.

  “How about you come over here and do that?” David yelled before swallowing something.

  Vincent ran at David, firing a shot from his spell gun and then swerving to the side. His energy was diminishing. He gasped for air and pushed the pain in his body back down to where he couldn’t feel it for the time being. The spell missed and David pointed his finger at Vincent as he swerved. He missed.

  “Getting cold?” Vincent called out. “Did you remember to wear clean underwear today?” He laughed and pulled at the air, twisting it into a rope and threw it at David, who managed to catch it and drag Vincent close. Vincent hit David with another spell that rocketed David back into a bench. The rope pulled Vincent along for the ride and Vincent felt the skin on his hands burn. He let go and David hit him with a spell that propelled him across the grounds.

  They both stumbled up and walked toward each other, Vincent’s wand aimed at David and David’s ring aimed at Vincent. Finally, when they were toe to toe, David raised his hands in the air and clapped three times again. Vincent sighed with relief. He had passed.

  “Come here, my apprentice.” David said as he hugged Vincent. “I’m proud of you.” He grinned and slapped him on the back. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist if I left you two alone.”

  “What?” Vincent asked with a laugh that was followed with a wince.

  David mussed up Vincent’s hair. “It was time, man. We’ve had a great run. You were a good kid. Sometimes.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black ring. “It’s yours. You’ve earned it.” He placed it in Vincent’s hand and put his own hand over it. “Don’t forget who has your back.”

  “I won’t.” Vincent said as he slipped the ring on and put his wand away. “Thank you, Master.”

  “It’s David now.”

  “It’s going to take time to get used to the name change.” Vincent admitted.

  “Not as long as you think.” David shook his head. “You are Master now.” He nodded at the girl glaring at them across the field.

  “She looks angry. I thought she’d enjoy the duel.” Vincent looked back at David. “It was a good duel, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, but you still owe me suit.” David laughed. “As for your apprentice, she’s going to be angry at first. You do remember the beginning of the apprenticeship, right?”

  Vincent’s face fell. “Right. The hard.”

  “The hard.” David patted him on the back. “There’s no easy without the hard.”

  A hob appeared in front of them. “Time to fix you up, guys.”

  5

  Exchanges of Life

  He had taught so many apprentices over the years, yet this one was breaking him.

  He headed down the road, glancing now and then at the small, solemn boy.

  “We are going to have some adventures!” He promised him.

  The boy stared up at him with wide eyes and trembled.

  David pulled over and stopped the truck.

  He hugged the boy to his chest and waited for the trembles to subside.

  “You are safe now. You can have fun.”

  That night they ate in the dining hall. Basil had insisted on a feast and decorations and entertainment after the duel. The room was lit warmly by candlelight from the chandeliers, centerpieces, and fireplace and lit coldly from starlight through the great windows. The smell of herbs and food permeated the room. The musicians and entertainers, who had been fed well earlier, were warming up on the stage at one end of the room; and Spindle was finishing an old, favorite story of the hobs. Three long tables were arranged in a U-shape with chairs all around. Chairs also lined the walls. There was a large empty space in front of the stage for dancing. Charlotte hadn’t realized how seriously the fauns took dancing. They flipped and twirled and leapt and performed moves from every form of dancing she had ever seen.

  Vincent and David sat together in the middle of the main table. They wore full weaver robes tonight. Sebastian had set their bones and healed their injuries, but the process of healing, even magical, would take many more hours to be complete. They both looked merry, if not a little pale. Charlotte couldn’t believe them. They just nearly killed each other, and they sat there laughing and joking and slapping each other on the back.

  “Fools.” Charlotte muttered as she played with the fabric of her dress. Chime had convinced her to dress up for the occasion, and she was glad she had. She was nervous, but it was easier to hide under the make up and dress. If she couldn’t feel as confident as she liked, she could sure look it. The dress was dark blue with bits of silver that sparkled like stars throughout. Her hair was loose and curly tonight.

  Phoebe snorted. She was wearing a leather skirt and vest. “They are men. This is what they do. Didn’t your mama ever warn you about them?” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, it’s not so much different than you and I training in the fields.”

  Josef, who sat across the table, nodded. “The test serves many purposes. One is to prove the student is ready to hold his own, but another is to let them settle their differences. Look at them. Neither one is grouchy over annoyances they may have had while they were together over the years.”

  “Just wait until it’s your turn.” Basil, who sat beside his brother, chipped in. “You will be more than ready to throw Vincent out a window by then.”

  The table erupted in laughter and partial retellings of the story.

  “It’s barbaric.” Charlotte mumbled as the story went on. She stabbed the bit of chicken in her salad.

  “It’s hot, really.” Phoebe said under her breath. She did nothing to hide her lengthy longing stares toward a certain table.

  “That’s my brother up there.” Charlotte said with a nod towards David.

  Phoebe licked her lips. “I’m just looking. You just met him. You haven’t had time to develop protective sisterly feelings. Besides, there are two of them.” She looked back at Charlotte and pointed her fork at her. “And you are taken. Give a girl a break.”

  Chime laughed merrily at the exchange and Charlotte remembered how much she loved that sound. How she missed the days of laughter and dresses and familiar. She knew in the back of her mind that there was no way life would be quite like that again, but it was hard to push back those thoughts when they flooded her mind. The music died down and Spindle began to tell the tale of the duel. This was the first time that she was hearing one of his stories right after it happened. She noticed right away that he used very few embellishments. She had no way of knowing in his normal stories what was truth and what was fiction, but this time she was witnessing the birth of a story. This time it was little more than a simple retelling after the fact. This audience knew the facts from the fiction in a fresh way. As different storytellers to different audiences at times farther and farther away retold this story, it would become a living, breathing creature in it’s own right.

  She shuffled the lettuce around her plate. Tomorrow they were leaving for a quick trip south before heading east. She was excited and nervous, for it would be her first time to use a portal. She leaned back and watched the room. Both hobs and fauns were content tonight. They smiled at each other and traded stories and shared food. It was refreshing to see them all get along. At some point she caught her brother’s eyes, but she quickly rolled her own when he flashed her a teasing grin. She pretended to look away. Her brother nudged Vincent and nodded towards her.

  In her mind she played the imaginary conversation the two would have.

&
nbsp; David would begin by saying, “Hey, your apprentice is disrespecting me. Better do something about that soon.”

  Vincent would laugh quietly and give David a look that would scream, “I told you so”. Then he would smirk and say, “Ah, feeling better about me teaching her?”

  David would nod sagely and say, “Well, yes, I’m glad it’s you and not me. I’m now a free man. Good luck. You’ll need it.”

  She looked away for real now, as Vincent was now actually looking in her direction along with David. She told herself that she didn’t care what they were actually saying. She listened in on Phoebe and Chime instead. They seemed to be bonding now. They still scowled and bickered and teased like siblings, but something had changed. It must have happened when Chime went after Phoebe earlier. Neither one believed in what the other believed in, but somehow they had finally settled into caring enough about each other that they were managing to test the waters of friendship. It had been a long, full of change day.

  Chime waved a hand in front of Charlotte’s face. “You’re a million miles away from the rest of us.” She paused and gave her a half smile. “That’s the new you in a lot of ways, I suppose. But I thought you might enjoy and relax a little tonight.”

  Charlotte frowned and sunk into her chair a little. “I am enjoying tonight, Chime. But it’s hard to relax. I’m not generating as much heat after the mental exercises I did earlier, but I’m still afraid. I don’t want to accidentally hurt anybody and I don’t want to burn this dress into ashes.” She sat up and scooted her chair back a little. “It’s all so overwhelming today. A brother. Magic. Apprenticeship. The future. I miss Beau. I miss being able to talk with somebody.”

  Chime looked down at her lap for a moment. “You used to talk to me.”

  Charlotte reached over and briefly laid her hand on Chime’s shoulder. “Chime, I’m sorry. We used to be so close and now I’m so distant.”