Wizard in the Woods

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  Lissa frowned. “You checked both the mother and the father. What about the child?”

  Shardwyn extricated his arms from the trunk. His right hand was clutching a thick bundle of papers stitched together by a red cord.

  “Ah! I knew it was here somewhere. What did you ask, dear girl? What about the child?”

  “What was the child’s jhorun?” Mikal asked. “Surely you tested him, too.”

  “Of course, of course.” The wizard opened the bundle of papers and began skimming through them.

  “Well?” Mikal prompted.

  “Well, what?”

  Mikal took a deep breath and gave Lissa an exasperated look.

  “What can you tell us about the child?” Lissa asked. “You said you tested him. What was his name? What could he do?”

  Shardwyn reached behind his back to pull a thick leather notebook toward him. He opened the census report and flipped to a bookmarked page about halfway through the report. After a few moments Shardwyn looked up with a confused expression on his face. He reread the passage about the family and then, muttering crossly, shelved the notebook and reached for a similarly sized notebook, presumably the results from a different census.

  The three of them spent the next five minutes in silence as Shardwyn checked the results of each census so that he could answer Lissa’s question. One thing became disturbingly clear.

  “You never checked the boy, did you?” Mikal guessed.

  Shardwyn’s shocked eyes looked up into Mikal’s. “Your highness, I cannot believe this has escaped my notice. I am at a loss for words.”

  Lissa slipped her arm through Mikal’s.

  “Could this child be the renegade wizard everyone is looking for?”

  Shardwyn frowned. “He couldn’t be. He’s way too young. I’m told he demanded a king’s ransom in gold and jewels from the zweigelans when he crafted the curse that almost brought down the dragons. What would a mere child do with that type of wealth? Wouldn’t his parents have noticed? Besides, he also managed to successfully switch the bodies of Sir Steve, Lady Sarah, and Pryllan. A child would not have been able to do that. The necessary spells would be much too complex for such a young brain.”

  “How old is this boy?” Mikal asked, growing excited that they might have finally learned the identity of Lentari’s most wanted criminal. To think that it could be a simple child was too staggering to comprehend.

  Shardwyn consulted the census report on his lap.

  “At the time of this census, he was 12.”

  “Was that how old he was the first time he was mentioned?” Mikal asked, bewildered. “Why wouldn’t he be tested for jhorun?”

  Shardwyn pulled another notebook from a different stack of books. He flipped through the pages for a few minutes before he stopped and let out an exclamation of surprise.

  “Aha! I see what happened. At the time of the first census, after the king ordered them done every six months until such time the wizard was revealed, the boy was nine years old. That’s why. A child’s jhorun won’t be included on an official census until his 10th birthday. Since he wasn’t on the original census each following census overlooked him. It was a simple oversight, that’s all.”

  “Why wait for their 10th birthday?” Lissa wanted to know. “What happens then?”

  “Nothing really,” Shardwyn admitted, shaking his head. “If that child is the wizard we’re all looking for then he is probably the most powerful wizard this kingdom has seen since, well, since I was born I would imagine.”

  Mikal and Lissa eyed each other and tried not to smile.

  “A wizard-class jhorun before the age of 10,” Shardwyn mused. “That’s remarkable.”

  “What age would he be now?” Mikal asked.

  Shardwyn tapped the page he was looking at. “If these reports are true, and I have no reason to believe they wouldn’t be, then he’d be turning sixteen this year.”

  “A fifteen year old wizard,” Mikal breathed, amazed. “I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to have that much power. The only question I’d have now is, if this boy is the wizard, why has he been silent for two years? Why return now? What’s happened?”

  “Maybe he just wanted to take a break,” Lissa suggested.

  “What else is known about the family?” Mikal asked.

  Deciding to give up the search for any mention of wizards and their distinctive marks, Shardwyn abandoned his journal and began to rifle through the large stack of notebooks in front of him. He selected the most recent census report.

  “I never knew why I kept an eye on that family,” Shardwyn informed them as he flipped through the pages of the report, “but I did. Maybe it was gut instinct? Perhaps I was having a premonition?”

  “Perhaps you drank one too many tankards of ale,” Mikal muttered. Lissa, who moments before had slid her hand into Mikal’s, gripped his hand tightly, threatening to dig several of her nails into his skin. Mikal groaned quietly and closed his mouth. Lissa then loosened, but did not retract, her nails from his hand.

  “Here we are. Let’s see. It looks as though the father disappeared. It’s unclear what happened to him. The mother ended up moving in with her sister, who was living alone. The boy, too.”

  Mikal eyed his girlfriend. “How long ago was this?”

  Shardwyn consulted the report.

  “Two years.”

  Lissa gasped. “Didn’t you say that was how long this wizard has been silent? No wonder he vanished. He was mourning his father.”

  Mikal rubbed his temples.

  “That’s just great. I remember what I was like at that age. Trust me when I say that I wasn’t the model child. This isn’t going to be easy.” Mikal caught sight of a smile forming on Lissa’s face and frowned. “I know what you’re thinking and I am not. I’m not moody. Do not suggest otherwise.”

  Lissa stifled a laugh. “No, of course not. Phsht. What could I have been thinking?”

  Chapter 3 – A Break in the Case

  The following morning Mikal awoke before sunrise, slipped out of bed, and dressed as silently as he was able. Peanut, who had been asleep on his bed, opened a single eye and studied him. Mikal slipped his personal copy of Capily’s portal key into his pocket and turned to look back at his dog.

  “You have to stay here, Peanut. I need to go get Lissa. We still have work to do back in Verdayn. Stay.”

  The moment he stepped toward the door Peanut was on her feet in a flash and barking excitedly. Mikal silently cursed, scooped up the corgi in his arms, and wrapped his hand around her muzzle in an attempt to keep the dog’s mouth closed.

  “Are you trying to get me into trouble? Shush! You need to stay here and you need to keep quiet, alright?”

  Peanut whined. Her ears slowly lowered as she realized she wasn’t invited on this excursion. Mikal saw the look of rejection on his dog’s face and melted.

  “Fine. You win. You’re coming with me.”

  In the blink of an eye Peanut was back to being a happy, energetic dog and eagerly squirmed in his arms. Mikal shook his head.

  “I’m not putting you down. Not yet. You’ll make too much noise. Come on. We need to get Lissa.”

  Half an hour later Mikal and his girlfriend were back in the castle and were peering anxiously around each corner to make certain they wouldn’t be seen.

  “Why are we sneaking around like this, Mikal?” Lissa asked, confused. “You are going to tell your father, aren’t you? He’s the king. He deserves to know, don’t you think?” Lissa was almost forced to break into a run. She caught up with Mikal and Peanut just as he had hesitated inside one of the many doorways leading into the Great Hall.

  Mikal scowled. His father was getting an early start to his day. He was there, talking with Rhenyon. Neither of the two men looked to be in a good mood. Mikal sighed. His father always looked to be in a foul mood lately. A king didn’t need this type of stress day in and day out. Lately it had looked as though his father received bad news on a daily
basis. He needed something to make him smile. A piece of good news, Mikal decided. Being able to tell his father the identity of the long sought after rogue wizard definitely qualified. However, wouldn’t it be better if he could say that he alone had apprehended the one person that had troubled his family the most in the last couple of years?

  Peanut whined. She had spotted Mikal’s father in the large room and wanted to go out and give her pack member a proper corgi greeting.

  “Shush, Peanut. We’ll be going shortly. We have to wait for my father to leave the area first.”

  “Why?” Lissa asked.

  “Because if he sees me then he’ll ask me for an update.”

  “But we have an update to give him!” Lissa protested. “We shouldn’t be trying to hide from him.”

  “Lissa, try to understand. I want to give him better news than a simple name. I want to be able to tell him that his wizarding troubles have been finally put to rest.”

  Lissa frowned. “That’s just great. Mikal, I finally have something to talk to your father about. I’ll be able to look at him without blushing like a school girl. Do you really want to take that away from me?”

  Mikal nodded. “Thank you for understanding.”

  “I wasn’t agreeing with you.”

  Mikal looked over at his girlfriend and saw that she was frowning.

  “Look, I’m sorry. Haven’t you ever wanted to impress your father? That’s all I’m trying to do here.”

  “By withholding information? Didn’t you say this wizard was dangerous?”

  Mikal shrugged and then nodded. “He can be. He hasn’t been yet, though.”

  “But he could be,” Lissa insisted. “I don’t like this.”

  “Quiet! He and Rhenyon have gone to the Antechamber. This is our chance to get to the portal room. Let’s go!”

  “Did you just tell me to be quiet? You really don’t know how to talk to women, do you?”

  “You’re just now figuring that out?”

  Mikal stooped to pick up Peanut and then grabbed Lissa’s hand. Together, the three of them made it across the huge chamber without being noticed. They ducked into the smaller portal room and quietly shut the door behind them.

  Lissa surveyed the room and nodded. “Perfect. The last person to use this portal didn’t put the tapestry back.”

  A huge twenty foot wide by eight foot tall tapestry was sitting in a large heap to the left of the portal. Ordinarily the tapestry would cover most of the wall they were facing, effectively hiding the portal from plain sight. Mikal sighed. It was a well-known fact around the castle that he was always forgetting to replace the tapestry on its holder whenever he used the portal. This was done on purpose. He didn’t want to let anyone know he had been sneaking out several times a week to visit his girlfriend in Capily so he had to maintain the ruse that he was a forgetful goofball.

  Mikal reached inside one of his trouser pockets and felt the portal key Maelnar had made for him last winter. He frowned. His deception skills were clearly lacking as his father knew all about the deal he had made with the dwarf keymaker. What else did his parents know about that he thought they didn’t?

  Lissa nudged him on the shoulder. “Stop scowling. If we’re going to do this then we need to hurry up. It’s only a matter of time before someone comes in here. And if your father revokes my access to the Archives then I’m never forgiving you.”

  Mikal reached inside his tunic and pulled on the leather cord that had been draped around his neck. A second portal key, this one given to him by his father, appeared. This one was a brilliant ruby red color and it sparkled with hundreds of polished crystal facets. Holding the key in his right hand he stepped to his right to insert the key into the portal. Just then he moved through a sunbeam cast by one of the two arched windows in the room. A myriad of bright reflected spots of light appeared on practically every surface of every object in the room. Peanut, who had been watching the proceedings from her position stretched out on the floor, was instantly on her feet. She barked enthusiastically as she spotted the numerous “bugs” that were now flying around the room.

  “Quiet!” Mikal snapped. “They’re nothing, Peanut. It’s just the key. Keep it down!”

  Lissa hurried to the closed door and held her ear up against the wood.

  “You’d better hurry,” she urged. “I think I hear someone coming this way.”

  Mikal inserted the key into the portal’s keyhole and twisted it clockwise. He retrieved Peanut’s leash from the ground and then took Lissa by the hand. Together, the three of them stepped through the portal just as soon as Verdayn’s constable’s office appeared. Moments after the two of them passed through the portal it fuzzed out. Mikal turned to his girlfriend and clasped her hand tightly in his.

  “You’re worried about my father cutting off your access to the Archives? Don’t be. He knows you’re an aspiring healer, and a good one at that. My father would never do anything to hinder your education, so you’ll never have to worry about losing access. Trust me, its fine. There are times I think he likes you more than me.”

  “Do you think your father would approve of me being up here? I don’t want to get you into trouble, Mikal.”

  “You won’t. Take Peanut’s leash, will you? I don’t want her wandering off. There are a lot of wild griffins around here and Peanut would be nothing more than a snack to them.”

  Lissa coiled Peanut’s leash around her wrist and together they headed back toward the scene of the fire.

  Welcome back. I was under the impression most humans refused to start the day until the sun did.

  Mikal came to a sudden halt. Peanut turned to look back at him and then up at Lissa, as if she expected the holder of the leash should inquire what the matter was.

  Good morning, Pravara. We have news that couldn’t wait. I believe we have identified the renegade wizard!

  We? Is there someone with you?

  You can’t tell?

  “What are you doing?” Lissa asked, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m talking to Pravara. She knows I’m back.”

  “Ooo, a dragon! You’re talking to a real life dragon? That’s so exciting!”

  Why would the act of talking to a dragon be considered exciting?

  Mikal chuckled. “Great. Pravara heard you. She wants to know why talking to a dragon would be considered exciting. Let’s do this properly, shall we? Pravara, this is Lissa, daughter of Fensham, of Capily. Lissa, this is Pravara, daughter of Pryllan, mate to Kahvel, Dragon Lord. Lissa, say something. Remember, Pravara can hear you.”

  Lissa’s eyes widened. “I, um, er, hello.”

  Greetings, human female.

  “Greetings, human female,” Mikal relayed.

  Have you come to aid us with this investigation?

  Mikal repeated the question for Lissa.

  “Um, I guess so. Is that okay?”

  I have no objections. Is Mikal returning to the scene of the fire?

  “Yes,” Mikal said, answering his own question. “We’ll be there shortly.”

  Excellent. My father says my previous interview with Catrin and Jasmyre was ineffective and I am to try again. Perhaps you could assist me? I would appreciate your presence there.

  I suppose so, Pravara. Where would you like us to meet you? Back at the scene of the fire?

  Aye. My father has instructed both Catrin and Jasmyre to meet me here. Are you on your way?

  Mikal took Lissa’s hand and guided her out and away from town. Peanut trotted quietly alongside Lissa. The corgi’s ears were pointed straight up and her head was quickly shifting about as a slew of interesting stimuli attracted her attention.

  We are now.

  Excellent. Please make haste.

  “She wants us to hurry.”

  Lissa glanced at Mikal.

  “Why?”

  “Kahvel has sent two dragons to her to be interviewed again. Apparently he thinks Pravara didn’t do an adequate job la
st time. She has asked us to be there to help her out.”

  Lissa smiled warmly at him. “Really? How sweet! Of course we’ll help her.”

  They followed the road north until they had passed the outskirts of the village. The huge pine trees seemed to rush in at them from all sides, threatening to swallow them up inside an endless sea of vibrant green foliage. The road they were on narrowed to a single lane where two horses would be lucky if they could ride side-by-side. After another fifteen minutes the road reduced itself to a simple gravel path that had an occasional weed growing here and there.

  “Where are we headed?” Lissa asked.

  Mikal pointed north.

  “Just a little ways up there the road will turn to the east. You’ll be able to see Lake Raehón and its valley. That’s where the fire happened. We’re heading to the scene of the crime. Pravara should be waiting for us.”

  “I can’t wait to meet a real live dragon,” Lissa breathed with excitement.

  “Well, you’re going to meet not one but three,” Mikal reminded her. “Catrin and Jasmyre, the two dragons responsible for the damage, are on the way here, too.”

  Lissa came to a sudden stop. Peanut kept walking until she was forced to stop. As if sensing this could be the start of a long conversation, Peanut promptly sat on the side of the road.

  “Wait a moment. You’re telling me that the two dragons that caused this fire are coming back here? Are you sure we should be doing this?”

  “Doing what?”

  “Going out to meet them. What if they go crazy again?”

  “Pravara will be there. I’m sure she would warn us if she thought things were about to become dangerous.”

  Indeed I would.

  “There, you see? She agrees.”

  “Is she speaking to you again?”

  “That’s right. In my head.”

  Twenty minutes later Mikal was staring at the same burnt patch of ground he had been looking at the previous day. Aside from a few patches of flattened prairie grass where Pravara must have been standing, the scene was relatively unchanged.