Tara Duncan and the Forbidden Book (6 page)

Glul Buglul, the gnome, followed them, accompanied by Cal, Blondin, and Angelica. Tara was startled to see the tall brunette, having completely forgotten that she had also been charged. As she passed, Angelica shot Tara a look of hatred.

Well, there never was much friendship between them to begin with.

A fat, balding man and a skinny woman whose hair was much too black to be natural accompanied Angelica, whispering advice and suggestions. Given their haughty and scornful looks, they were probably her parents. Cal was accompanied by a slim, nervous-looking man and a pretty woman with gray eyes, who carefully observed everything around her. Tara knew that Cal's mother was a licensed thief, a kind of super spy in the Lancovit government. From the way she was studying the hall, Tara felt she had already spotted all the emergency exits, estimated the number of guards, and had chosen several ways to eliminate any possible opponents.

Angelica's parents went to stand next to Master Dragosh and Cal's parents near Master Sardoin.

Facing them on a floating silver disc stood a man with a woman who was weeping into a handkerchief: the unfortunate parents of the boy who'd been sucked into the vortex.

Under the scoops' watchful lenses, everyone stood, sat, lay down, floated, or hovered, and the trial began.

Master Buglul recited the facts. How during the apprentices' competition two candidates had opened a Transfer Portal. How a loud scream had broken the young spellbinders' concentration, causing them to lose control of their magic. How for some reason the vortex grew to enormous size and swallowed a familiar—Angelica's flying lizard Kimi—and Brandis T'al Miga Ab Chantu, one of the boys who had materialized the portal. Finally, how a charge of murder had been brought by the boy's parents. As soon as the gnome was finished, he gestured to the Tellers. Leaving Angelica aside for the time being, they formed a circle around Cal, who was very pale and seemed to be having trouble breathing. A heavy silence fell on the hall, intermittently broken by Master Chem's persistent hiccups.

Manitou stirred restlessly. As the Truth Tellers began their work, the dog felt a sort of mental tendril brushing his brain. It was completely abnormal, and he knew he should be concerned, since the Tellers were probing only Cal, but a heavy lethargy clouded his mind. The tendril continued to probe and press, its pressure now extending to his entire body—including his bladder.

The uncomfortable feeling roused him and promptly ended the mental investigation. The Lab shook his silky black head and looked around the hall.

Raising a leg and peeing on one of the thrones in the middle of the trial probably isn't a great idea,
Manitou thought.
Better to find some place more appropriate.
He discreetly backed toward a door and went out.

Once in the hallway, he raced to the part of the interior park reserved for this kind of urgent business and gave a silent sigh as he relieved himself on a big tree. He'd felt the pressure lift the moment he left the hall, which also seemed odd. If he'd had eyebrows, he would've frowned.

The Lab had just finished when he heard approaching footsteps. His dog nose recognized the person's scent.

“Fabrice! What are you doing here?”

“I saw you go out, and I was concerned,” said the boy. “Are you all right?”

“Yes and no. I think a Truth Teller decided to take a little trip around inside my head, and it wasn't especially pleasant. What happened while I was away?”

Fabrice didn't know enough about OtherWorld to grasp the implications of what Manitou had just revealed.

“Nothing much,” he said with a sigh. “They're just standing around Cal wide-eyed, shaking their heads, that's all.”

“Hmm, that's very strange. Normally it would've all be over in a few minutes. Let's go back inside. I have to speak with Chem.”

Coming around a grove of trees, they were startled to see two spellbinders in conversation near an exit door. That in itself was nothing unusual, but where their faces should have been there was just a shiny space. And they were wearing gray!

“Oh my god!” whispered Fabrice. “Bloodgraves!” He shrank back into the trees, well aware that he was no match for Magister's evil minions.

From where Fabrice and Manitou were standing, they could overhear what the two spellbinders were saying.

“The master's plan worked perfectly!” said the first with a chortle. “That stupid Chem raced here to protect Caliban Dal Salan, leaving the
Forbidden Book
unguarded. Magister will have no problem seizing it!”

“With the demonic spells it contains, the dragons will never be able to resist us. They'll soon bow before our power!”

“Oh no!” groaned Manitou. “Bloodgraves in Omois! That takes the cake! So, was it Magister who managed to get Cal charged in order to draw us here? Now I
really
have to talk to Chem!”

The moment the Bloodgraves left, Manitou rushed to the Double Throne Room, with Fabrice hot on his heels. They found the hall in total pandemonium. People were yelling and shouting and making a terrific din.

“That's enough!” thundered Xandiar, the captain of the guards. “Let the gnome speak!”

A tense silence fell, and everyone could see Buglul swallow hard.

“As I was telling Their Imperial Majesties and this honorable assembly,” he announced solemnly, “we are facing an unprecedented situation. Our Truth Tellers are unable to read this young spellbinder's thoughts!”

“Why does everyone look so worried?” whispered Fabrice in surprise.

“Because if the Tellers have lost their power,” answered Manitou gravely, “it could mean the end of OtherWorld!”

T
he empress's clear voice cut through the stunned silence. “This is ridiculous! Just because we're having a problem with this spellbinder doesn't mean there's a problem with everyone. Xandiar!”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty?” said the guard captain, bowing.

“Go stand in the middle of the Truth Tellers. We're going to have a test.”

“Me, Your Majesty?” he stammered.

Empress Lisbeth'tylanhnem sighed and rubbed her head. “You're the only Xandiar around here, as far as I know. So yes, I mean you!”

“Very well, Your Imperial Majesty.”

With martial stride, the captain went to stand among the Truth Tellers and rested his hands on the pommels of his four scimitars. Everything about his attitude warned the Tellers to be very careful with what they were going to say.

Glul Buglul gulped, the Tellers' eyes widened, and almost immediately, the gnome began to speak.

“Attention, everyone! The Tellers declare that the captain of the guards' first thought is a constant concern for Their Majesties' safety. His second thought is a yen for a cold pitcher of beer from Mount Tador. His third thought focuses on the attractive Lady Bom—”

“Stop!” shouted the guard captain, who had turned beet red. “That's a pretty conclusive test. The Tellers haven't lost any of their powers.”

The entire hall sighed with relief. The reason there are so few crimes on OtherWorld is largely due to the telepaths' invaluable work. If they had lost their priceless faculties, it would open the way to chaos.

“That's perfect,” said the empress. “Now, let's try with the girl. Tellers!”

Angelica obediently took her place in the circle, but the result was the same as with Cal. Her mind was impenetrable, and the telepaths had to admit they were powerless.

“I don't understand why the Truth Tellers can't access these children's thoughts,” said the emperor. “Unless someone has managed to create a protective spell to mask their guilt. Which would call for enormous power. And only the dragons—”

“As I said before—
hic,”
interrupted Master Chem, who wasn't about to let himself be accused, “we accepted your summons because Caliban and Angelica are innocent—
hic.
We assumed the Tellers would confirm this for us
hic.
Now that this seems to be impossible, there seems to be only one thing left to do.”

“I agree,” said the empress soberly. “We will have to summon the manes of Brandis T'al Miga Ab Chantu. That will require a great deal of preparation, and I suggest we get some rest beforehand. The hearing will resume tomorrow.”

“What are ‘manes'?” whispered Tara to her friends.

“They're the boy's psychic remains,” said Sparrow. “His spirit, if you like. They can be summoned just once and only asked a single question.”

“A ghost!” sighed Fabrice. “Here I think I know everything about this world and
bam!,
something like this hits me. So, Cal and Angelica are going to be judged by a ghost? What if he says they're guilty?”

“They'll be condemned to death,” said Sparrow gravely.

“To
death?”
asked Tara, appalled. “You're joking, right?”

“Afraid not. Whether children or adults, spellbinders on OtherWorld are responsible for their actions as soon as they come into their powers. The death penalty may have been abolished in Lancovit, but it's still in force here in Omois.”

“Stay calm, Tara,” said Robin. “Getting worried won't do you any good. It clouds your mind, and it's very bad before a fight. Odds are, everything will go well and Cal will be acquitted.”

Tara smiled feebly. The half-elf was thinking like a warrior. She straightened and took a deep breath.
He's right,
she thought.
We may as well wait and see what happens.
If things turned out badly, then she would have a perfect right to panic.

The little crowd streamed out of the Throne Room buzzing with questions and conjectures, with feet, tentacles, pseudopods, and hooves sliding and clicking on the purple marble floor. The crystalists whispered furiously into their crystal balls and cubes, spreading the news. All in all, the session had been fascinating.

To Tara's great surprise, Cal strolled over and joined them, while Blondin skipped merrily around. The imperial guards seemed completely unconcerned about what the two were doing.

“I'll be darned!” exclaimed Sparrow, who was equally surprised. “Aren't you in prison?”

“In prison? Why? I haven't done anything,” said Cal with a smile.

“But they arrested you!”

“No, they ‘kindly invited' me to the palace to ‘help clear up a few points.' Unless or until I'm convicted, I'm considered to be innocent.” Then he added, sounding oppressed, “But I swear, I'd rather be in jail. Because Angelica is also charged, they stuck us in the same room together, believe it or not.”

“No!” exclaimed Sparrow. “That's not so great.”

“It's a total drag, you mean. I spend as much time as I can wandering around this blasted palace and only go back there to sleep. And you know what the worst is?”

“What?”

“She snores!”

Their burst of laughter attracted the attention of Master Chem, who was talking with Fabrice and Manitou. He turned to them and said, “Come over here. I'm just about—
hic!—
to hear something that Manitou and Fabrice found out.”

When the dog related the conversation between the two Bloodgraves, Chem lost his hiccups completely.

“By my pile of gold!” he roared. “Not again!”

The group cautiously backed away, but this time the dragon wizard controlled himself. Not a single fang or scale appeared.

“You didn't really expect Magister to give up, did you?” said Tara calmly. “We know he's crazy about getting power. And as long as he hasn't found a way to defeat and replace you, he'll continue searching for the demonic objects. Using
The Forbidden Book
is a good way to get to Limbo, isn't it?”

“He doesn't need the book to travel to the demon kingdom,” answered Chem soberly. “He can go there whenever he likes. But he needs certain spells that are forbidden even to demons to increase his power, and he can't be allowed to acquire them!”

“He must have cast a spell or something on the boy's parents to make them accuse Cal and to get you to come here,” observed Manitou. “To stop him, the simplest thing would be to go get the book and keep it with you.”

“I can't,” said Chem.

“What do you mean, you can't?”

“You have no idea how much power that book has. It's not just an object, it's a creation of the demons of Limbo, and it has a life of its own. When I study it, I touch it as little as possible. If I carried it around, it could overcome and corrupt me within a few hours. I have too much power to risk that!”

“But you're not in Lancovit now to keep anyone from stealing it!” said Manitou, sounding very concerned. “What are we going to do?”

“I'll ask Safir Dragosh to go back immediately and watch over the book. Our vampyr friend is a powerful wizard. He'll know how to protect it.”

“Is that all?”

Master Chem shrugged. “The hunter-elves have long known that I have valuable and dangerous objects in my keeping that must not be stolen. They watch the whole castle very carefully. Besides, nobody knows where the book is hidden or how to get to it. So I'm not really worried.”

“Oh, really?” asked the surprised dog. “Well, if you don't mind I'm going to worry a little. Just in case.”

Sparrow took a deep breath. The old dragon had forgotten one small detail. Because of the group's earlier trip to Limbo, the secret hiding place wasn't so secret anymore. She was about to speak up, but hesitated, deciding to say nothing.

“Well, I think it's totally cool!” said Cal with a grin.

“What? You think it's cool?” asked Fabrice.

“Well, yeah. For once, Magister doesn't need Tara to get hold of the book. So no one's going to try to enchant me, petrify me, cook me, or drown me to get it. Life could actually get kind of boring!”