The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) (17 page)

“Patefacio quod solvo quis lies intus”
intoned the figure, tracing over the glyph one final time.

A sharp
crack
resounded throughout the cavern, along with a hiss of escaping air as a white hot, glowing line outlined the inscription.
 
The section of floor containing the symbol separated from the cavern and rose upward.
 
A stale stench filled the wizard’s nostrils as a blast of air shot upward from the opening, followed by an almost inaudible hissing voice coming from somewhere in the darkness.

“
Who summons us from our slumber
?”

Startled, the hooded figure stumbled backwards away from the opening.
 
Brimstone had not mentioned anything like this – the dragon had simply said the opening of the seal would allow a permanent gateway to be formed.

The hissing voice returned, louder this time.
 

“
Who awakens us?”

“I am a powerful wizard who is not to be trifled with.
 
Who
– or what
– are you?” said the figure, rising to his full height.
 
He squinted at the opening – he could swear he saw movement somewhere in the dark.

“
We were here at the beginning.
 
We were here before all else.
 
We shall be until the end and after all others are gone,
” came the hissing voice.

“What do you mean you were ‘here at the beginning’?”
 

Was it his imagination or was the cavern growing darker?
 
It must be a trick of the light, but there was definitely movement there he thought.
 
Just beyond his sight, he could barely make out a form, but was it moving toward him or merely shifting in place?

“We were here long before your precious Council, long before your ancestors received the gift, long before they interfered.”
 

A chill ran down his spine; darkness began pouring from the opening as long, dark wisps of shadow stole forth.
 
For one of the few times in his life, he was truly frightened; there were few things in this world he didn’t understand but something like this he had never seen.
 
He began edging backward towards the opening, but the wisps of shadow were faster and the tendrils of darkness were now behind him as well.

“You will not be leaving us yet, mighty wysard,”
came the voice.
 
“We have many questions to ask.”

“I am not inclined to answer your questions,” said the wizard, as he pulled his wand from his robes.

Soft laughter issued forth from the opening.
 

“A great and powerful wysard are you?
 
Megalesius thought that once as well, but told us all when asked.
 
He struggled too at first, but was overcome with little effort….though his homeland paid the price for his resistance.”

“What do you mean?”
 
He was afraid he knew the answer; Megalesius was one of the twelve Telchines who lived eons ago.

“His pitiful little memory shield collapsed under our persuasion.
 
The resulting shockwave collapsed most of his island home of Therasia,”
hissed the voices.

“Oh please,” snorted the wizard “you can’t expect me to believe that.
 
Therasia was devastated by a volcanic eruption over five thousand years ago.”
 
He raised his wand as he spoke; its shimmering tip now pointing directly at the opening.

“Tell us about your precious Council, wysard,”
hissed the voice, louder and more menacing now.
 
The shadows had grown and by now totally obscured the entrance to the caverns.

Desperate to escape, the wizard flicked his wand upward and shouted
“Spiraktus!”
 
A blue-white spiral of flame engulfed him and a spilt second later he was standing inside his study, panting and covered in a cold sweat.

By all the gods
, he thought;
what have I done?!
 

He stumbled over to his desk and collapsed in the chair; he had narrowly escaped and only by the use of a very powerful but dangerous transportation charm.
 
His robes still bore the singe marks from the flames.
 
His eyes scanned the giant bookcase behind his desk and came to rest on an old and tattered looking volume whose binding was peeling at the edges.
 
He flicked his wand and the tome shot off the shelf, landing with a dusty thump on his desk.
 
As he waved his hand over it, the cover flew open and the pages began flipping so fast they were a blur.
 
Two-thirds of the way through the pages stopped – Ducat’s eyes came to rest above a page that was blank except for two words:
 
‘The Shadow’

###

Pain.
 
Intense, mind-numbing pain, as well as a horrid taste in his mouth.
 
Keegan slowly tried to open his eyes and focus his thoughts through the pain.
 
He must have had
way
too much to drink last night to wake up feeling like this.
 
He stared upward at the high arched ceiling overhead.
 

That’s odd; I don’t remember having arched ceilings in my apartment.
 

“Oh God,” he muttered, rising up slowly on his elbows. “It wasn’t a dream….it really happened.”

“Easy now,” said a woman’s voice from somewhere behind him.
 
“You’ve just had a very nasty experience with a vile and quite powerful poison.”

Keegan turned slowly and glanced in the direction of the voice.
 
He did not see anyone else in the room, however perched on the table was a large black raven looking straight at him.
 
It looked just like the one lingering outside his office for several days.

“Feeling better?” it asked, cocking its head to one side.

“Not really.
 
I’ve got a terrible headache.”

“That’s good – it means you’re alive,” said the bird.

“That’s a matter of opinion,” muttered Keegan as he slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position.
 
“What happened?
 
The last thing I remember was being in the library and drinking the stuff that little man gave me.
 
Then…wait…..I remember!
 
It was poison!
 
I remember flipping through that book and finding an incantation.”

“That’s right,” said the bird.
 
With a flurry of wings, it flew over to the bed and landed neatly on the bedpost.
 
“You found an incantation used to convert poisons into a harmless inert substance.
 
I am truly surprised you pulled it off, actually.
 
That’s an advanced bit of magic – not something a novice like you would normally attempt.”

“But how did I end up here?” asked Keegan.
 
“The last thing I remember was my body going numb and falling out of the chair; I thought I was dead.”

“I brought you here,” said the raven.
 
“You needed time to recover before your next task.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

“But…”

“Yes?”

“You’re a
raven.
”

“Very observant, you are.
 
Not much slips past you does it?” asked the raven, cocking its head to one side.
 

“That’s not what I mean!
 
There was a raven outside my office window three days this past week; that was you, wasn’t it?”

“Things are not always as they seem, Keegan.
 
You would do well to remember that.”
 
Spreading its wings wide, the raven flew across the room and out the window, disappearing into the dark night beyond.

Keegan dropped back onto the pillow, his head still throbbing.
 
The door across the room opened and Phineas entered, his robes shimmering in the light of the fireplace.
 
Seeing Keegan was awake, he strode over and sat at the foot of the bed.

“I’m very proud of you, Keegan. You passed the first test.”

“
I almost died,
” hissed Keegan, “
and all you have to say is you’re ‘proud’?!
”

“Yes Keegan, I am proud,” said the old man.
 
“I knew you would not fail.
 
You come from a long line of very powerful wizards, and you are continuing that tradition.
 
Magic runs deep through your veins, my boy.”

“
So does the poison,
” Keegan said flatly, arm still covering his eyes.
 
His temples were still pulsing, but now more from anger than the headache left by the poison.
 

“I’m going home.”

Rising from the bed, Phineas paced over to the fireplace.
 
Resting his elbow on the mantelpiece, he stared into the embers thoughtfully.
 
“You are home Keegan.
 
Whether you like it or not is irrelevant, I’m afraid.”

Keegan pulled himself into an upright position and glared at his grandfather.
 

“Look, old man, I’m leaving,
got it
?
 
I almost
died
thanks to you!”

“If you attempt to leave now, you will almost certainly be killed and I will be powerless to stop it,” sighed the old wizard.
 
“You are the chosen apprentice.
 
If something were to happen to you, I would be forced to step down as Guardian as I would have no successor.”
 
Turning to face his grandson, he said even more gravely, “Cedric would stop at nothing to gain my powers and that includes killing you.”

Keegan stared at his grandfather.
 
“I thought you were the most powerful wizard alive?!” he demanded.

Phineas chuckled quietly as he walked over to an armchair near the fire and sat down.

“I am very powerful, yes,” said Phineas.
 
“All powerful?
 
Most
powerful? I would never choose those phrases.
 
I cannot protect you every moment of every day.
 
That is why it is so critical for you to learn our craft and the quicker the better.”

Keegan buried his face in his hands.

“I didn’t even
know
I could do magic until a day or two ago,” he moaned.
 
“How do I learn to be a wizard in a few days?”

Phineas smiled at his grandson.

“Now, there I can help you.
 
Acamar and I can teach you a great deal and with a little luck you will learn quickly.
 
Of course we will start off with defensive magic, portals and the like.”
 
Getting up from his chair, he walked over and placed his hand on Keegan’s shoulder.
 
“But none of this can begin until you are my apprentice, after you have passed the trials.
 
You came through the first, now you must pass two more.”

The door creaked open and a large black cat walked into the room.

“The Council is ready, Master,” Acamar said.
 
“The boy’s next trial is to begin within the hour.”