* * * * *
The room was still dark when Liam climbed out of bed, fumbling to remove the shield from the fire globe. The water was cold as he splashed his face then ran his wet fingers through his hair to smooth it down. From the chest at the end of his bed he pulled out a fresh robe and slipped it over his head.
With a light tread he padded down the stairs, smiling as he passed Hodekin's room. He must still be enjoying his holiday. His bed had not been slept in.
He made his way to the spell room and hung his fire globe outside the door. Soon he was hurrying through the potion room to the baker's door. Then he followed his nose up the stairs to the wonderful smells of fresh bread and spices. Pulling aside the curtain he was amazed to see a cart overflowing with croissants, scones, muffins, cakes, tarts, and a large cherry pie balanced on top.
Drindle hurried to and fro about the shop in a cloud of flour. He spun to a stop when he spotted Liam. “O good. You're here. The cart is packed and breakfast is on the table.”
Liam's eyes widened when he saw the bounty laid out on the table. It practically overflowed with fresh baked goods. “I don't think I can eat all this.”
“No?”
He hesitated. “There is someone at the castle I could share it with.”
Drindle leaned over and looked down his long thin nose. “And who might that be?”
“Um...her name is Belinda.”
With a peal of laughter Drindle threw his long arms in the air creating a small storm of flour. “Aha. A lady is it? Now it becomes clear why you are such a willing courier.”
Liam felt his face warm. Still smiling Drindle pulled a basket from a high shelf. With a flourish he lined the basket with a red checked cloth and began filling it with muffins, sweat breads, and a small crock of gooseberry jam. In the center he set a small white cake trimmed with tiny pink flowers. “For the lady,” he said and handed him the basket. Then opening the door in the back of the shop he swept his arm in an arc. “Off you go now. I won't have the king's baked goods getting stale.”
Clutching the basket, Liam pushed the cart through the door and emerged in the corridor leading to the pit. He looked around to get his bearings. The hallway was filled with doors, but it was not the corridor where he installed the Three Finger Lake door. It was quieter than his last visit but he could still hear a faint hum of noise. He headed in that direction.
The light brightened as he entered the lift room. He scanned the area. His eyes lit up when he saw Belinda standing at the other side of the room. She faced away from him, her gaze toward one of the other hallways.
Liam forgot about Drindle's cart and the other people. The light peach color of Belinda's gown made her skin glow. Her long red hair was caught up in a silver net, but one strand had escaped and curled around her ear. A white sash circled her slim waist and was tied in a bow at her back. The soft material of her skirt swirled smoothly as she turned toward him. Their eyes met and she smiled sweetly.
She started towards him and with one slim hand pulled the shell from her ear and tucked it into her sash. Liam gave the cart a shove and started across the room. He couldn't figure out why she would want to spend time with him, but he was thrilled she did. She could have her pick of any of the young men in the court, but she was walking towards him. He stood taller.
She fell in beside him matching his stride. “Someone has been busy all night. I didn't realize the court ate that much pastry in a week. It smells wonderful. I'm tempted to become a thief.”
“Oh,” he said, “I almost forgot. I brought breakfast,” and he held up the basket.
“What a resourceful friend. You've saved me from a life of crime.” Laughing, she took the basket and led the way up to I'llaskya's table.
“I'llaskya yer business,” the gnome said in the same gravely voice as Liam remembered from before.
“Baked goods for the king,” Liam said.
“For the king ya say. I'll be the judge of that.” He snatched up a croissant and took a large bite. He was still chewing as he jerked his thumb toward the lift. “It’s Drindle's all right.” He swallowed. “Don't keep Lumba waiting. Payment'll be here on yer way out.”
They laughed all the way to the kitchen. Liam's luck was holding. Lumba was nowhere to be seen and one of the cook's helpers took the cart.
As it was being unloaded, Belinda handed him the basket and slipped her arm through his. She steered him back into the hall. “We can come back for the cart later,” she whispered. “Let's go have breakfast. I know the perfect place.”
Their footsteps echoed softly as they passed through little used passages and back stairwells until they entered a wide hall. On the left an elaborate tapestry hung on the wall opposite a set of double doors. Liam's steps slowed as he stared up at the king's seal. A black peregrine flew with outstretched wings over a diamond-checked pattern of purple and white.
He heard a latch clink behind him. Turning he saw Belinda opening the doors. Light spilled into the hall. Belinda turned. Sunlight caught the loose strand of hair turning it to gold. She beckoned and he followed her onto a balcony.
The smell of wisteria surrounded them. On either side of the balcony heavy stone planters held the vines. They curled and wound around the white balcony rails, flowing over the edge in a mass. Light purple flowers hung in heavy clusters filling the air with perfume.
Belinda gently pulled the basket from his hand and set it on a stone table. It's top was inlaid with rich purple amethyst and milk white quartz in the king's diamond pattern. But it was the bench that drew Liam's eye. A regal peregrine carved from obsidian stared at them with jeweled eyes. It stood behind the bench, encircling it with its wings.
She pulled the cloth from the basket and spread it over the table. “Percival looks austere, but he's really rather friendly when you get you to know him.”
“Percival?”
“The peregrine,” she said laughing. “That's what Princess Jenna calls him.” She chose a pastry from the basket and walked to the edge of the balcony. Sweeping her arm in a graceful arc she said, “This is where the king stands to give his speeches. The princess and I sit on the bench with Percival.”
Liam chose a pastry and joined her at the wall. “Princess Jenna is pretty young. Doesn't she find it hard to listen to long speeches?”
“Oh, no. The king is a wonderful speaker and listening to speeches is part of her training in statehood. One day she will stand in this very spot.” Leaning against the railing she pointed to the flagstones below. “Her subjects will gather outside the ballroom in the courtyard and gaze up at her.”
Liam stood close leaning against the railing, but his gaze was not on the flagstones. Belinda turned and her breath bushed his cheek. Liam leaned forward. Her eyes closed. For just a second their lips touched. Boot heels echoed on the flagstones below shattering the moment. Belinda pulled back. The wisteria vine snagged her dress, spilling something from her sash.
Belinda lunged for the shell. “Wait!” Liam hissed. His arm encircled her waist and pulled her back.
“My shell,” she said, twisting in his arms to see over the side.
Liam looked over her shoulder. The shell lay on a decorative niche, well out of reach. A flash of white caught his eye. Alabaster swept into the courtyard, his robe billowing behind him. Instinctively Liam stepped back behind the screen of wisteria, pulling Belinda with him.
She gently pushed away. With a soft laugh she said, “I'm not going to jump, but how are we going to get the shell?”
Liam pointed through the leaves. “Let's wait till the crowd clears.”
They watched two rough looking men trudge in to the courtyard pulling a covered cart. The short stocky men wore ill fitting cloaks covered with travel stains, the hems dragging in the dirt. Liam peered through the foliage trying to see their faces, but they were hidden beneath dark hoods. Alabaster stood near his tower and waited as the men approached.
Liam strained to hear what they were saying. He couldn't q
uite catch the words, but the white wizard's tone carried clear authority. One of the unkempt men grunted in reply and pulled back the tarp revealing a large black crate. Alabaster scrutinized it, then gestured towards the tower. Immediately the men began shaking their heads and cutting the air with their arms. It was clear they were not happy.
Alabaster pounded the ground with his staff and pointed again at the tower. Liam could hear the words clearly now. “You were hired to deliver this crate to my chambers in the tower. Until that happens there will be NO PAYMENT!” The last words cracked like a whip. The men cringed and drew back.
Grumbling and cursing each other, they unloaded the cart, each blaming the other for their bad luck. With a good deal of shoving and shouting they hoisted the crate between them. Struggling with the heavy crate, they nearly dropped it. It pitched sideways with a dull clanking.
“You oaf! If you damage the goods, it will be deducted from your pay,” Alabaster said. With a swirl of his robes he stalked through the dark doorway. The men plodded behind with a steady stream of curses.
Liam's eyes swept over the tower as he tried to calculate its impressive height. He gave a low whistle. “I don't know what Alabaster offered as payment but it must have been a small ransom.”
Belinda stared across the courtyard. “And what could be in that crate that would be worth such a high price?” she asked distractedly.
“Something heavy,” said Liam. “But we should retrieve your shell before the rest of the castle starts to stir.”
Liam tugged on the wisteria vine and looked over the edge. It didn't look any worse than climbing down the rope out of Willow's tree. He gave Belinda a grin and swung out over the edge. With a scraping noise the planter shifted under his weight. Liam gasped, his fingers clawing for the ledge as he dropped below the railing. With a lurch the planter thumped against the rail swinging Liam against the wall.
“Oof,” Liam grunted. He flailed his feet scrambling for balance. After a moment of panic he found a foothold.
Belinda's face appeared over the railing. “Liam! What are you doing?”
Liam took a deep breath and tentatively shifted his weight. The vine held. Taking a firmer grip on the vine he looked up and gave her what he hoped was a confident grin. “That was a little more exciting than I expected.”
“Exciting! You won't be very exciting if you land on the flagstones. How are you going to get back up?”
Liam looked around. The wall was a mass of protruding decorations carved into the stone. Just below his feet he spied the shell. All he had to do was retrieve it, climb up the wall, and he would be a hero in her eyes.
“Wait there. This will take but a moment.”
Hand over hand on the vine he started down the wall using the carvings for footholds.
“Have you lost your wits? I can live without the shell.”
“Don't worry. It's not much harder than climbing a ladder.” In a couple more steps he had reached the niche. Shifting his weight he lodged his feet and wrapped the vine around his wrist. With his free hand he plucked the shell from where it lay and tucked it behind his ear.
Going up proved easier than going down. He didn't have to search for the footholds. He could see them as he scaled the wall. As he reached the balcony, Belinda clutched his arm and pulled him over the railing.
“You scared me,” she said her voice shaking.
Smiling, Liam removed the shell. His fingers brushed her neck as he tucked the shell behind her ear.
She stepped back. Pulling off the shell she tucked it into her sash. “No more heroics,” she said. “The castle will be waking up.” She crossed over to the table and packed up the basket. “We need to get your cart. Lumba will be stomping around the kitchen wondering where we are.”
Liam blanched. Climbing up the wall had been easy compared to the thought of Lumba discovering them on the balcony together.
She brushed the crumbs from the table into her hand and left them in a small pile on the railing. “For the birds,” she said. Taking his arm she led him back through the doors.
“Do you often feed the birds?”
“Oh yes. I love watching the birds, especially the emperor birds.”
“Do they come to the castle often?”
She nodded and with a smile said, “They live here. Would you like to see them?”
Liam remembered the flash of bright color when the bird flew over him in the woods. “I would love to see one up close.”
She turned down a side corridor and passed through a doorway leading to a small outside landing. The day was just starting to get warm.
“Do the birds land here?” Liam asked.
Belinda giggled. “No. They land up there,” she said pointing to the top of the tower.
Liam craned his neck to see all the way to the top. It made him dizzy and he stumbled a step sideways. He looked down quickly hoping Belinda hadn't noticed.
She was standing at the bottom of a narrow flight of steps that wrapped around the outside of the tower. Lifting the hem of her skirt with one hand she started up the stairs. “Mind your step.” She ran her fingers lightly along the wall where a groove in the stone provided a thin handhold. In just a few steps she had disappeared around the wall.
Liam looked at the narrow stone steps and swallowed hard. It was clear that the builder had no fear of heights. The groove running along the wall was little more than decoration and offered little comfort from the open drop off on the outside of the stairs.
He shifted the basket to his left hand. Running his fingers in the groove, he started climbing. Belinda was nowhere in sight. A light breeze tugged at his robe. As the stairway rounded the corner he heard a noise from below. Glancing past the toe of his boot he looked down and saw the courtyard far below. This was much worse than the vines or the tree ladder. His stomach turned. He clutched at the handhold and waited for his head to clear.
“I hope there's an easier way down,” he said under his breath. Forcing his feet to move he began climbing again, careful not to look over the edge. To his relief he came to a landing and a door. As he stood wondering if Belinda had gone inside, her voice called down to him.
“Hurry up before the birds leave,” she called.
He looked up. Belinda leaned over the wall. Strands of her hair had escaped from the netting and blew around her face. She waved. “What's keeping you? Is the basket too heavy?”
He raised the basket in a salute. “I'll be right up.”
Her head disappeared back behind the wall. Taking a deep breath Liam did his best to hurry. To his great relief the steps ended and he passed under an arch into an aviary. Crenellations formed the outside wall. Four stone pillars supported a copper roof leaving the aviary open from the top of the crenellations to the roof. Ebony perches extended from the pillars.
Belinda sat in one of the crenellations talking softly. Liam watched in amazement as she stroked an emperor bird, smoothing its feathers. The bird's eyes closed and a warble rumbled from deep in its chest.
Liam took a step forward. His boot heel scuffed the stone floor. The bird's eyes opened. Cocking its head its eyes bored into Liam. With a screech it flapped its wings.
From around the room other birds echoed the cry. With a rush of wind the air was filled with flapping wings. Belinda's laugher joined with the bird cries. With arms spread wide she spun in the center of the room. In an elaborate dance the birds flew, swooping and diving around her, their feathers flashing in a firestorm of color. Liam stood transfixed as the color and sound washed over him.
“Beautiful isn't it?”
With a start Liam looked over his shoulder. A short bald man with a long wispy mustache stood watching Belinda and the birds. “Quite amazing, really,” he said. “She's the only one they dance with.”
The man's eyes followed the birds' movements, never looking at Liam even when he spoke. His speckled robe was the color of a bird's nest and his belly was as round as an egg. A wide red belt circled his ample waist
, straining at the last notch.
One by one the birds landed on the perches and their calls quieted. Belinda skipped across the floor. Her hair had come loose from the netting and fell across her shoulders.
“Isn't it a lovely morning, Fidrych?” she said.
He smiled. “The birds seem to think so. They love your company.”
Her face looked wistful. “They are so beautiful I wish I could fly with them, but alas I have no wings.” Then her face broke into a smile and she said, “But I want you to meet my friend, Liam.” She took Liam's arm and pulled him closer.” He is apprenticed to Doormaster Ogden.”
Fidrych twirled the end of his mustache, giving Liam an appraising stare.
Liam nodded at the old man and said, “The birds are amazing. I saw one in the woods once, but up close they are a true wonder.”
“Ah, yes. The Dryad's Wood wasn't it? Near the pond I believe.”
Liam stared. “How could you know? Do your birds talk?”
He laughed. “No. But they see quite well.”
“I don't understand.”
“Come,” he said. “I will show you something that amazed even Ogden.” With that he turned and hopped down the stairs.
Liam looked at Belinda for an explanation. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, but she shrugged and whispered, “Let's go see.”
Liam's curiosity overcame his fear of heights and he willingly followed Fidrych down the twisting steps. In spite of his size, the birdman was agile and did not even bother with the hand holds. He led them through the door that Liam had passed on the way up.
They entered a dimly lit room where heavy tapestries hung on the walls, muffling their footsteps. A large overstuffed chair faced a line of windows that wrapped around the curve of one wall. Each window looked out on a different scene. It was like looking through one of the Doormaster's doors, but to Liam's confusion the scenes in the windows seemed to be moving. The perspective kept changing and watching it made his stomach queasy.
Liam turned back to Fidrych. “They are linked...but why are they moving?”
Belinda didn't appear to be bothered by the movement. She stepped closer to one of the windows. “It's a mirror,” she said softly.
She peered closely. A view of one of the crenellations and a perch moved across the surface. Suddenly the crenellation jumped toward them. It disappeared below them as they went over the wall. Belinda gasped and fell back. Instinctively Liam dropped the basket and caught her in his arms. He squeezed her tightly as the ground rushed toward them. With a gut wrenching swoop the ground disappeared and blue sky filled the mirror.
Fidrych chuckled. “Takes a little getting used to.”
They turned away from the mirrors. Fidrych was sitting in the chair. He reached over and selected a pastry from Liam's basket. “Your first flight would have been easier sitting down.” Smiling, he took a big bite.
Belinda gently disentangled herself from Liam's arms.
“Flight?” Liam asked.
Fidrych wiped a stray bit of frosting from his lips and licked his finger. “You might say the mirrors give me a bird's eye view.”
“You...you...you linked the mirrors to the birds?” Liam asked.
Fidrych lifted his half-eaten pastry in salute. “I knew Ogden's apprentice would figure it out.”
“I can see what you've done,” Liam said. “But how do you link a living creature to a mirror?”
“You've heard the riddle, which comes first, the pheasant or the egg? Well, in this case, it is the egg.”
“You link the egg?”
Fidrych popped the last crumb into his mouth and nodded. “They must be linked before they hatch.” He licked his fingers one by one. “And not just any bird will do. Most birds are interested only in what they can eat. And other birds of course. But the Emperor Bird. Ah, they are wonderfully curious. My bird was just as fascinated by you in the Dryad's Wood, as you were with her.”
“Fidrych!” Belinda said her eyes flashing. “You've been using these beautiful creatures as spies. I thought you cared about them.”
The birdman's eyes widened. “But Belinda my dear, while it's true they perform a valuable service for the king, I do care deeply for them.”
Belinda narrowed her eyes, “Yet you send them into danger to spy.”
Fidrych shook his head. “I don't control them. They go where they will. I simply have the privilege of flying along with them.”
“I have been coming to visit you and the birds since I was a little girl. Why show us the mirrors now?”
“This secret is not shared lightly. Change is happening across the land. Goblins are massing. They have been seen in the company of trolls.”
Liam scowled. “They are attacking people on the road and in their homes. If the king knows about the goblins, why hasn't he taken action?”
A look of sadness came over his face. “My birds travel where they will, and I see many things. But often I am unable to determine their location. When I saw you on my roof, I remembered your face from the Dryad's Wood. For several days my bird caught glimpses of you in the woods, but there were no landmarks I recognized.”
“I remember where I was,” Liam said, “but why would that be important to the king?”
“Your location is not my concern. It's the goblins I saw in the mirrors during those same days. Several times I saw large groups of goblins within a few miles of you, as the bird flies.” The carefree manner left his face and he studied Liam. “I shared the bird's secret with you, hoping you could help.”
Belinda placed her hand on Liam's shoulder. “Please, Liam. Help if you can.”
Fidrych levered himself out of the chair. Wiping his hands on his robe he crossed the room and stopped in front of a tapestry that depicted a map of the kingdom. “Here is the Dryad's Wood,” he said, pointing. “Can you tell me where you went from there?”
Liam glanced at Belinda and she gave him an encouraging smile. He joined Fidrych at the map. For the next hour he retraced his travels, but was careful not to mention the king's door.
When he finished, it was time for Belinda to take up her duties for the day. She rushed him through the hallways and the pit and paused at Drindle's door.
Liam fumbled for words trying to think of something clever to say.
Belinda stretched up on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. “I had a wonderful time,” she whispered. “Come see me again.” With a swirl of her skirts she turned and dashed back down the hall.
Liam's mind was still in a fog as he went through the door into the bakery. Drindle looked up from a cake he was decorating. A smile broke over his face as he studied the look on Liam's face. “Looks like you've lost my cart and basket.”
Liam looked around and realized where he had left them.
Drindle laughed. “I don't think they are going to magically appear.”
“I'll...I'll go get them,” he stammered.
“No, no, no. No telling what you'll lose next time. Never mind. I'll collect them on my next trip. You best be getting back to Ogden. Do you think you can find your way home?”
Liam grinned sheepishly. “Yes, sir.”
“Off with you then. Don't let this worry you. Come back and see me soon. If I don't happen to be around, feel free to use my door to see your lady.”
The Doormaster's Apprentice Page 24