by M. L. Forman
Alex didn’t have time to think about this new mystery, though, because as soon as the last introduction was made, the feast started. Even with all the distractions, Alex’s thoughts kept going back to earlier that day. He tried to pay attention to the conversations around him, and nod or comment at the correct times, but questions continued to pop into his mind. Who or what was watching him? Where had the voice in his head come from? And why had it come? Why couldn’t he see what was happening around him?
“You seem troubled,” a soft voice said from Alex’s left.
Turning, Alex saw Cara standing next to him.
“Yes,” Cara said, seeing the look on Alex’s face. “I have magic. Have you not seen a person’s magic before?”
“No, I haven’t,” Alex answered. “I’m fairly new to magic, and I was told by my teacher that it would take some time before I would be able to see magic in other people, or at least see it clearly.”
“I remember the first time I saw the magic of another person,” said Cara. “Seeing what others are, what powers they have, is not always an easy thing. You see the light around me—my magic—and you have many questions.”
“Yes, I do,” said Alex. He suddenly remembered Halfdan’s words: “It’s as if you are both bewitched, and I don’t mind saying that it scares me.” Could Cara have used magic on Skeld and Tayo so they would fall in love with her daughters? “And I wonder what you use your magic for.”
“I did not use magic on your friends, if that is what you fear,” Cara said after a moment of silence. “I would not do that.”
“I see no magic in either of your daughters,” Alex said, feeling relived by Cara’s statement.
“Lilly will never have any magic of her own,” Cara said, nodding toward her daughters. “Indigo may have some magic one day—it is hard to tell. The magic of my family does not begin to grow until after the daughter has a child of her own.”
“Then how do you know that Lilly will never have any magic?”
“Because only girls with dark hair receive and pass on the magic. It has always been that way.”
“Always?”
“My family is an old one, and we have kept records,” Cara answered. “In all of our history, only those girls with dark hair have the magic and pass it on. It is part of the legend.”
“Legend? What legend?”
“Of course, forgive me,” Cara said with a smile. “You are from a distant land and are unfamiliar with the legends of Norsland. There is an old legend about a wizard and the Tower of the Moon. From my family line a wizard will be born, the son of an adventurer. There are many details to the story, things that have been added over the years, so I don’t know how much of the legend is true. What I do know is that one day a true wizard will come to take control of the magic that lives in the Tower of the Moon and use it to save his people.”
“What magic lives in the Tower of the Moon?” Alex asked with interest.
“Why, all magic. The tower is the center of magical power for all of Norsland. Without a wizard there to control it, the magic will become weaker and start to fade.”
“Does the story say when the wizard will be born?”
“It would hardly be a legend if it gave such useful and specific details,” Cara sighed. “But I am hopeful that one day the wizard will come.”
Alex’s thoughts slipped away from Cara and the party around him, racing off to a distant tower and an unknown point in time. Somehow he knew there was trouble in Norsland, trouble caused by an unseen evil that wanted to take control and rule all of the land and its people. But to do that, it had to control the magic of the Tower.
His thoughts shifted to a frozen plain where two figures carrying staffs struggled to move forward against a howling storm. His vision zoomed in on the figures, and in his mind’s eye, Alex found himself looking into his own eyes. The face was an older version of himself, the older Alex from his dreams.
“Alex?” Cara said softly. “Is everything all right?”
“I will hope with you for the wizard’s appearance,” Alex answered as he forced his thoughts back to the present. “However, if this legend is to come true, there is something you must do.”
“Oh? What is that?”
“You must tell Indigo and Lilly about this legend. And you must tell Indigo that she may one day have magic of her own,” Alex answered. “You must also tell Skeld and Tayo about this. Now, before the weddings take place.”
“Why trouble them with this, now?” Cara asked in a slightly alarmed tone. “They are in love, they want to be married—why disturb their happiness?”
“Because they have a right to know,” said Alex. “Cara, I can’t really explain why. I know you don’t want to upset them, but I must insist. They must know about the legend, or I will be forced to stop the weddings from taking place.”
“You would do that? You would take this happiness from your friends?”
“You see only a hope of having a wizard in the Tower of the Moon, but I see more. You said the wizard would take control of the magic and save his people. If the people need to be saved, there must be some great danger they need to be saved from. I will not let my friends walk into that danger blind.”
“You saw something,” Cara said slowly. “As I told you the legend, you saw something.”
“Yes.”
“I . . . I never thought about the danger.” She paused, then nodded. “You are right. They should know. I will do as you ask.”
“Don’t worry,” Alex said in a reassuring tone. “I’m sure the weddings will still take place. I just think it is for the best to let them know what their futures might hold.”
* * *
That night, when he was alone in his room, Alex wrote a second letter to Whalen. He explained what had happened with Otho, including his feelings of being watched and the strange voice inside his head. He wondered if Whalen would be angry with him for threatening to turn Otho into an ox, and he worried about what Whalen would say about his near loss of control.
It was a longer letter than normal, and Alex had a lot of questions that he hoped Whalen would have answers for. He asked about any legends that Whalen might have heard or read about the Tower of the Moon and about the magic of Norsland. Alex knew that there were centers of magical power in other lands, but he didn’t know much about them. When he’d finally finished writing his letter, and had sent it with a geeb, he lay awake on his bed. His mind was still looking for answers, but until Whalen wrote back, he knew the answers would not come.
The days leading up to the weddings passed swiftly, and they were not all full of fun and parties. Bregnest ordered the company to pack items for their journey, and he insisted that they not spend all their time wandering around the city. Luckily, packing the food didn’t take long, and there was little to discuss about the road they would be following. Alex tried to find as many maps of Norsland as he could, but sadly none of the maps he found were any better than the map in his Adventurer’s Handbook.
The day before the weddings, Alex and Halfdan returned to Elwig’s shop to collect Alex’s gifts. Elwig was delighted to see them again, and even more pleased when Alex praised the work he had done. His smile flickered only when Alex insisted that Elwig keep the rest of the true silver as payment for the work.
“You are too generous, Master Taylor, I cannot,” said Elwig with a deep bow.
“Perhaps you would consider a trade,” Alex suggested. “After all, I’m sure you could craft wonderful things from the true silver, and it does me little good in my bag.”
“If it’s a trade, perhaps we can make an arrangement,” said Elwig, stroking his gray beard.
After a long debate, and Alex’s continued praise of Elwig’s work, they finally settled on a price. When Alex and Halfdan left the shop, Alex had five hundred gold coins in his magic bag and a beautiful golden brooch to go along with his other gifts. Alex planned to give the new brooch to Andy’s mother for her kindness to the company during their st
ay.
“You drive a hard bargain, my friend,” said Halfdan. “And I’m afraid you bargain against yourself.”
“It’s a fair price,” Alex replied. “And I’m sure Elwig will make beautiful things with the true silver, so that’s good enough for me.”
Halfdan shook his head as the two of them made their way back to the Goodseed house. It was obvious that he thought Alex was far too generous, but Alex didn’t mind. His mother and stepfather had taught him about generosity, and he knew that it had little to do with money. It was more about helping others, and giving Elwig some true silver to work with would only help the smith improve his craft.
That night at dinner Alex showed Elwig’s work to the rest of the company and Andy’s family. They were all impressed by the brooches Elwig had made and with the design Alex had come up with. The two brooches were almost identical and were made of true silver in the shape of a dragon’s head. The head was edged with gold and each brooch had a large gem set as the dragon’s eye. Lilly’s brooch had a large white diamond, while Indigo’s had a dark blue sapphire. Around the edge of each brooch were eight small rubies, which Alex explained represented each of the members of the adventure they had been on.
“I may have to find a wife myself if you give such fine gifts,” Andy joked, his voice lowered so his parents wouldn’t hear him.
That night in his room, Alex took some time to put a spell on all three of the brooches he’d received from Elwig. The spell was a simple one designed to protect the brooches from loss or theft. When that was done, Alex took the two true silver brooches in his hands and focused his mind and his magic on them. He formed a link between the two brooches, a magical connection that would let him know if his friends needed him. He hoped the spell would let him know if Cara’s story ever came true.
* * *
When the wedding day arrived, Alex felt a bit nervous and out of place in his new blue clothes as he walked along the streets of Oslansk toward the main town square where the ceremony would be held. It seemed as though the whole city had been invited.
Fortunately the wedding ceremony was simple, and all Alex had to do was offer the rings to Skeld and Tayo when they asked for them. It was after the ceremony, as the festivities were about to begin, that things got interesting.
Just as Alex was sitting down, the feeling that someone was watching him came once more. Trying not to be obvious, he scanned the crowds, hoping to find the source of the feeling but there were too many people and too much excitement and movement for Alex to really see anything. Whoever—or whatever—was watching him had chosen the perfect time and place to do so.
“I hope you can dance,” Sindar commented.
“Wh—what?” Alex asked, his eyes stopping on a figure on the far side of the square. Alex thought there was something suspicious about a man wearing a heavy cloak on such a warm spring day.
“Dance,” Sindar repeated and paused. “What is it?”
“I need to check something. I’ll be right back.”
“But the festivities are just starting.”
“This won’t take long. Enjoy yourself. If anyone asks for me, tell them that I’ll be back shortly.”
Alex moved away before Sindar could ask any more questions. The figure he’d spotted was also moving, walking slowly to the edge of the square. Alex tried to keep the dark cloak in sight, but with so many people it was difficult.
Alex was certain that whoever was watching him was under that dark cloak. He feared that the watcher had noticed his gaze. Did the watcher know that he was trying to follow him? There was no way for Alex to be sure, so he readied his magic, just in case.
As he emerged from the crowds, Alex caught sight of the person he was trying to follow. He was leaving the square, heading down one of the narrow roads that led deeper into the city. Alex quickened his steps, trying to close the distance between himself and the cloaked figure. He could feel his magic growing as he hurried forward, and he let a little of it move ahead of him, looking for possible traps.
His magic didn’t find anything, and Alex relaxed a little. The watcher must not know he was being followed. Alex wondered if he should try to catch the stranger, or simply follow him to see if there was something more to discover.
“Do you have a reason for following me?” A deep and strong, yet oddly soft, voice questioned.
Alex spun around. The figure he’d been following was behind him, and even with his magic at the ready he hadn’t noticed until it was almost too late. Without thinking, Alex summoned up his defensive magic to protect himself from both physical and magical attacks.
“Oh, very good,” said the stranger, a smile in his voice. “So fast to defend, yet holding back any attack until you know what you face. You’ve learned a great deal, young man.”
“Who are you?” Alex demanded, a spark of anger igniting inside of him. “Why have you been watching me?”
“For the obvious reasons of course,” the figure answered. “I wanted to see you, to see what magic you have, and to get some idea of what you might become.”
“Who are you?” Alex asked again. He didn’t like being watched, and the answers the cloaked figure had given weren’t answers at all. Alex hated it when adults gave meaningless answers: “Because I said so”; “That’s how it is”; “You’ll understand when you’re older.” Alex had heard all those answers many times before. But today that kind of answer would not be enough. Today Alex wasn’t just another teenager asking questions. Today he was a wizard in training. Today he would get a real answer, whatever the cost.
“Then again, you may get no answer at all.”
“Wh—what?” Alex asked in surprise.
“Control. That is your weakness. You let your emotions run wild, and you lose all focus.”
With a wave of his hand, the cloaked figure brushed away Alex’s defensive magic as easily as brushing away old cobwebs. For a moment Alex was too stunned to react, but then the figure started to laugh.
Rage surged though Alex like an electric shock. His anger blinded him, and his magic went wild. Without thinking, he attacked the figure in front of him, attacked to make the laughter stop. It felt like a thousand little needles poking him, a thousand little voices jeering and making fun, but anger was all Alex could feel.
“Enough!” The cloaked figure said, and Alex’s magic shattered like glass.
Alex felt as if he’d been doused in ice-cold water, water that simply washed away his rage. He shivered and stumbled forward, only to be caught by the strange man.
“You had better learn some control if you want to survive,” the figure whispered, lowering Alex to the ground. “If you can’t control your own emotions, how can you ever hope to reach your full potential?”
“Who . . . who are you?” Alex asked once more in a desperate tone.
“Another time, young one. When you are ready.”
“It was you. It was your voice I heard when I confronted Otho.”
“Yes,” the figure answered. “You were about to let something terrible happen, and I could not allow that—even if that fool deserved it.”
“I don’t understand . . . Why?”
The figure turned and started to walk away, but Alex still wanted answers. He focused his mind, pushed away all of his emotions and questions, and reached out with his magic alone.
“Wait!”
It was a demand, not a request. Alex’s emotions were completely under control as he focused all of the magic he could muster toward the stranger. He tried to capture the figure with his magic, just as he might capture an object in his hand, but again he was surprised. There was nothing there, nothing at all for his magic to hold. The cloaked figure stopped dead, however, and turned slowly to face Alex once again.
“The day may come when you can hold me with a word, but it is not this day. Learn your lessons well, young wizard. If you manage to survive long enough, we will meet again.”
“But . . .” Alex started, stopping short.
/> The figure that had been so solid only a moment before suddenly changed to smoke. As Alex watched, the smoke began to drift away, and when he blinked, it was gone. There was no sign of the stranger he had followed, not even the smallest trace of magic. Then a soft whisper came to Alex’s ear, a whisper that seemed to come from all around him and inside of him at the same time.
“Be careful, young one. Evil is already close to you. If you do not learn to control your emotions, they will destroy you. When you send word to Vankin, tell him the Watchers have seen you. He will try to explain.”
* * *
It was a long time before Alex was even able to move. He felt completely drained. Slowly he got to his feet and leaned against a nearby wall. He closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to recover his strength. The sound of hurried footsteps forced his eyes open once more, and he turned to see Val heading toward him.