Good Ogre (14 page)

There was an awkward pause before Wayne spoke up again. “I had a long way to go.”

“Indeed,” the Maelshadow said after a time. “And you played an important role. You have not failed me as so many others have.”

“That's good,” Wayne answered, and then thought better of it. “I mean, not good, but evil. The good kind of evil.”

The shadows shifted on the throne. “Tell me of Max Spencer.”

“He and his friends survived the Cataclysm. He carries a powerful book that protects him.”

“
The Codex of Infinite Knowability
,” the Maelshadow said. “Rezormoor Dreadbringer was foolish enough to try and use the boy to command the Prime Spells within. “Hubris is the rot from which the powerful are made weak. I will not make the same mistake—I will not be tempted to use the boy to gain access to the book. Instead, I shall end the bloodline of Sporazo and be done with it.”

Wayne had always known that the Maelshadow had a great interest in Max Spencer and his book, but this was the first time he'd heard the Lord of Shadows pronounce what amounted to a death sentence on the boy. And truly, Max was just a boy, close to Wayne's own age. Max had done nothing to provoke such an enemy, except to be born with the wrong blood coursing through his veins.

“Does this not sit well with you?” the Maelshadow asked, catching something in Wayne's expression.

“I was just wondering,” Wayne replied, mustering enough courage to ask what he was thinking. “What will you do
after
? You destroy Max Spencer and remove his book as a threat, and you drive the umbraverse into the three realms until they've all become like the Shadrus. So when you're in charge of everything and you don't have any enemies left, what then?”

“No one has ever asked me that. But I will give you your answer, ogre. You see, the heart of evil yearns for power. The heart of good yearns for meaning. I am evil and thus I yearn for power.”

“And when you have it? When the entire universe is yours?”

“Ah, yes. Well, then it's about getting into shape.”

Wayne blinked several times at the shadowy throne.

“The acquisition of power leaves little time for working out. I plan to hit the weights, tone up, maybe even run a marathon.” Wayne blinked several times before continuing.

“What about the girl?” he asked, ready to change the subject. “You commanded me to bring her to the Malaspire if the opportunity presented itself. It did.”

“Go and bring her to me then, and she will draw Spencer here.”

“Like a moth to a flame!” a bald priest in the corner added, obviously enthused about the whole ­conversation.

The Maelshadow whirled. “I told you no idioms!” The Maelshadow clenched his fist and the priest suddenly vanished into a puff of black ash. Wayne realized two important things about the Maelshadow: First, he had a fitness plan for after he conquered the universe; second, he had very strong feelings about certain types of grammar.

“Will Sarah be . . . harmed?” Wayne managed to say.

“That's entirely up to her,” the Maelshadow continued.
“If she bows to me, I am not without my mercies.” From what Wayne knew of Sarah, he didn't think bowing was very likely.

“And if she doesn't—” Wayne started.

“Then she and Max Spencer will enjoy the same fate.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

WEBS

M
AX HEARD THE SOUND OF
the ocean.

He blinked several times, his eyes protesting against bright shafts of light. A curtain was moving, catching the warm breeze that pushed past an open window and filled the room with the smell of salt. Bells sounded in the distance—the kind Max had heard when he'd visited a harbor once with his mom. He rolled from his bed and walked toward the opening. He was fairly high up, maybe six stories or so, and below him ocean waves crashed into rocks formed from the seaside cliff. In the distance, square-sailed ships moved across the blue ­horizon.

He turned back and regarded the room. Near the window was a desk, and rounded shelves full of books ran along the walls. A rapping at the door was followed
by the creak of it opening. Max turned and was relieved to find the face of Dirk poking through.

“Dude, today's the day! Get out of your pajama robes and into your wizard robes.”

Max frowned and looked down at what he was wearing. He was dressed in light blue robes adorned with wands and stars. “How do I know which are which?”

Dirk smiled, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. “Because they're not black. The regent of the Tower wears black robes. What's wrong with you?”

“I, uh, don't know.”

Dirk grabbed Max by the shoulders and gently led him to a closet, where eight or nine versions of the same black robe were hanging.

“So hurry up already.” Dirk turned and made his way to the window and stared out. “Too bad you don't have a view of the port from here.”

“Oh yeah?” Max asked as he changed.

“Yeah. There's an Aaredt warship out of Thannis that arrived last night. Plus that Schil warship from Caprigo is pretty cool.”

“You don't say.”

“There are even rumors that there's a dwarven
submarine around. Of course, you know the dwarfs—they won't say anything about it and nobody's actually seen one before.”

Having changed clothes, Max walked over to a full-length mirror and regarded himself. The black robes seemed to shimmer, and he could make out intricate patterns in the fabric that looked like dragons in flight. Dirk joined him in the mirror, wearing comfortable-looking leather with a thin elven sword at his side. “Yeah, we rock,” Dirk announced. “And just think, Sarah almost talked you out of coming.”

“She did?” Max asked. He couldn't escape the feeling that there was something important he was supposed to be doing—something that involved Sarah. “Where is she?”

“Madison,” Dirk said. He walked over and plopped on the edge of Max's bed. “This place was never really for her, anyway. I mean, we all know Sarah's like the coolest non-unicorn chick around, but she was never like us. She wasn't a gamer and she never read comic books or got into any of the same things we did.”

“But she's our friend.”

“Hey, you gave her the choice to come. She didn't want to and we have to respect that.”

Max walked to a large stuffed chair and sank down in it. “I'm having problems remembering things.”

“Oh. Well, that explains why you're acting so weird.”

“But shouldn't I be able to remember stuff? You know, like how I got here?”

“Wait, you don't remember coming here?” Dirk asked as one of his eyebrows lifted for dramatic effect.

Max shook his head.

“Dude, you opened the Shadric Portal. The wizards said there'd be some temporary memory loss and stuff.”

“They did?”

“And bad dreams, possibly.”

Max sighed. “I do feel like something bad is hap­pening.”

“I don't know what to tell you. You opened the portal and we walked through. Sarah was a little upset, of course. But you said you'd come back and visit her.”

Max did his best to remember, but he was drawing a blank. “And then what?”

“We were taken to the castle and met the barbarian king. He totally hated Rezormoor Dreadbringer and loved the fact you whaled on him, so he made you regent of the Tower, said you work for him now, and sent us here.”

“Here?”

“To the new Tower in Dorse. King Kronac left the old Tower a pile of rubble as a reminder to those who want to challenge his authority. It's like a messed-up monument or something.”

“Where is Dorse exactly?”

“It's down the coast a ways from Aardyre—that's the capital. Do you remember Aardyre?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Max admitted. It hadn't been that long ago that he and his friends had snuck into the city on their way to the Tower.

“So basically everyone is coming here to celebrate your arrival,” Dirk continued.

“I'm really the regent of the Wizard's Tower?”

“Yep. Seriously, who's going to challenge the kid who can read from the
Codex of Infinite Knowability
?”

At the mention of the book Max felt a sudden energy coming from the bookshelf. “Where is it?” he asked, somehow knowing the answer already.

Dirk motioned to the bookshelf. “I think you put it in there someplace.”

Max felt a strong pull to go over and retrieve it.

“But dude, you don't want to take the
Codex
with
you,” Dirk said, following Max's eyes to the bookshelf. “Don't you remember? It kind of freaks people out.”

“I don't remember.”

Dirk shook his head. “When you get your memories back this is all going to be a lot easier. But hey, we need to go or you're going to miss your party. Although I guess you can do what you want, since like I said, everyone is pretty much afraid of you.”

“I don't want people to be afraid of me.”

“Then don't go dragging the
Codex
around with you, and don't be late to your own party.”

Max stood. “We really did just walk through the portal?”

“Yeah, dude. You know you can trust me.” Max nodded, and the two of them made their way from the room and out of the Tower. Max couldn't shake the feeling that things were wrong, however, and that they were getting worse with each step. But as he felt the warm sun on his face and greeted the various townspeople who clapped and wanted to shake his hand, the feeling of dread began to diminish.

That was until he walked past the bookstore.

Dorse turned out to be a picturesque seaside city. A
good deal smaller than the capital, it nevertheless had a number of streets and open marketplaces where goods from around the Seven Kingdoms were sold. It was a common stop for the traders heading north along the Crystal Sea or west from Mor Luin, and Max found the people warm and friendly. The fact that they knew the black-robed wizard could blast them into oblivion might have also helped them appear cheerful—nobody was interested in offending the regent of the Wizard's Tower.

The bookstore was on a narrow, shop-filled street. As he approached, Max felt a pull from within, similar to what he'd felt in the Tower. He decided to investigate further (whether the owner, a small piggish-looking man, was happy or not about it, he couldn't tell). Dirk followed him inside.

“The Great Sorcerer, Regent of the Wizard's Tower, Reader of the
Codex of Infinite Knowability
, Tearer-Down of Towers, Time Traveler, and Friend to the Dragon King has entered your store!” Dirk proclaimed. “He shall be given all courtesies, full browsing privileges, and the frequent-buyer discount.”

The little pig-faced shopkeeper nodded. “I'll tell all my customers that the great Max Spencer shopped here!”

“Well, we haven't bought anything yet,” Dirk countered.

Max had been drawn to a large bookcase where a number of very old books were stored. The shopkeeper hurried after him. “I see you've found our special collection. A great eye for books you have, sir. A great eye!” Max nodded, feeling the familiar pull that led him past various large volumes until he came to the book he recognized. It was a ruddy color that looked a bit like blood, and along the spine was a pattern of symbols made up of tiny, interlocking dragons. He reached for the tome, and the moment he touched it, a kind of electric power ran through his body. On the cover was the gold, eight-pointed star that separated colorfully dressed humans on one side from a mix of strange, otherworldly creatures on the other. He heard the shopkeeper gasp.

“That's the, the—” the man began.

“
Codex of Infinite Knowability
,” Max finished.

“How did it get here?” Dirk asked, eyeing the small man suspiciously.

The shopkeeper raised his hands and took several steps backward. “Please, I have no idea!”

Max ran his hand along the familiar magical tome. “It has a mind of its own,” he said, doing his best to ease
the shopkeeper's fears. “It must have followed me here.”

“Followed . . . ?” the pig-faced man said, his eyes darting back and forth between Max and Dirk. “Please, just take it out. I don't want it influencing any of my other books to do . . . things.”

“Does the Tower have some kind of treasury?” Max asked Dirk.

“Totally.” Dirk produced a small coin purse.

“Pay the man for the inconvenience,” Max said, walking over to a small table and sitting down. He wasn't ready to leave just yet. And while Dirk dropped coins into the shopkeeper's hand, Max opened the
Codex
.

The page showed a tall, misshapen tower with a tornado rising from its roof and connecting with a great boiling storm overhead. Beneath the picture the caption read:
When the Shadric Portal was opened, the Maelshadow seized the breach and allowed the umbraverse to flow into the world, causing the Cataclysm.
Max turned the page and found another illustration. It showed a band of eight adventurers running along a narrow tunnel. There was a dwarf in armor, followed by some kind of dog with a flaming cat on its back, then a wizard, an elf, a bard, a pixie, and a priestess. The caption read:
The band of nine
had been betrayed. Two were lost and one was found. Together they flew through the secret places to find the breach and save the world.
On the opposite page was an illustration of a giant spider, wrapping the bodies of the eight adventurers in a silken web.
But deadly fangs found open flesh, and the adventurers succumbed to the poison in their minds.

“What's going on?” Dirk asked, pulling up a chair next to Max. “Why is the
Codex
following you around?”

Max turned the book so Dirk could see the illustrations. “What do you see?”

“Weird,” Dirk answered after a moment. “That bard fella kind of looks like me.”

“More than kind of. I think that cat is Moki. And the dwarf there is Dwight.”

“So you're like the old wizard dude?”

Max frowned. “I think so.” He took the book back and showed Dirk the previous page. Then flipped forward, but following the spider illustration the rest of the
Codex
was blank. “I think it's trying to tell us something.”

“Like what?”

“Like things aren't right. Doesn't this all feel off to you? Like we're not supposed to be here?”

Dirk thought about it for a moment. “I have been
feeling kind of anxious, like when I drink too many caffeinated sodas.”

“Yeah, me too,” Max agreed. He thumped his finger on the book. “I think all of this really happened. I think we opened the portal but we didn't just walk through. I think we created this.” He turned to the page showing the tower and the storm. Suddenly the world around them shook. But it wasn't like an earthquake, and stranger still, it didn't affect Dirk or Max. It was as if they were watching something on TV.

“Whoa,” Dirk said, looking around after everything had returned to its proper place.

Max flipped the page. “I'm sure this is us, trying to get to the portal and shut it. But something happened. Something bad.”

Dirk stared at the picture of the spider. “What if that's what's happening right now? What if we're all lying on the floor someplace, trapped by that spider thing?”

The world suddenly vibrated again, blurring and shaking like all of reality had been hooked up to a paint mixer. It lasted for several seconds.

“The caption said a mind poison!” Max exclaimed, letting go of the table he had instinctively grabbed onto.
“That's it! Somehow we've been trapped, like in a dream or something—”

Without warning the world blew apart. They were lost, tumbling through a black void. Max felt the
Codex
slip through his fingers.

When reality slammed back together, Max was sitting in a saddle, reins in one hand and a mallet in the other. The air rushed past him as he suddenly dropped, spinning toward a well-manicured lawn below. Large tentacles flapped in the air around him, and he realized they belonged to the creature he was strapped to. Not knowing what else to do, Max yanked on the reins. He felt the muscles of the creature tighten beneath him and then his insides seemed to drop to his feet as he pulled out of the fall and soared into the air. He heard an explosion of applause as he passed a giant banner:
111
TH
ANNUAL SQUIDDITCH CHAMPIONSHIPS!