The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) (19 page)

Keegan could not meet the dragon’s gaze.
 
“Please Elder, I meant no offense.”

“Humph,” snorted the dragon, sending a blast of scorching hot air over Keegan’s head.
 
“You have much to learn, young one, yet very little time in which to learn it.
 
You will be pleased to know that I approve of you as the Council’s choice to train under Master Whitestone.”

Startled, Keegan looked up at the great beast.
 
“Elder, if I may ask, I thought I was supposed to be tested?”

“You
have
been tested, my young apprentice to be,” said the dragon.
 
“Your Council of mages believes that I will destroy you simply because I have destroyed every applicant up to this point.
 
You see, I foretold your appearance long ago and knew that until you were ready to cross the barrier, the position of apprentice must remain vacant.”

“But I thought the Guardian chose his apprentice.
 
Do you mean there were others before me?”

The dragon chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that shook the floor of the cavern.

“Normally the Guardian chooses, yes.
 
The Council can however, choose an apprentice for the Guardian if they go too long without one or refuse to name their own.”

Stunned by this sudden revelation, Keegan recoiled in horror.
 
“You mean you killed all of the others?”

“Yes,” said the dragon in a very matter of fact tone.

“But…
why?”
Keegan stammered.
 
This was horrible – those innocent people were slaughtered just to assure his ascendance.

Seba’an chuckled again as he rested his massive head on razor sharp talons.
 
“Yours is not to question, youngling.
 
Your destiny has already been determined.
 
Although most Guardian’s choose their own successor, the Council may nominate one in order to try and force a succession.
 
This could not be allowed as the time was not yet appropriate.”

“But what if I don’t choose that destiny?!” demanded Keegan, anger rising inside of him.
 
Shaking with rage at the thought of cold-blooded murder committed on his behalf, he rose to his feet.
 
“
I
determine my fate!
 
Do you understand me?
 
I am neither your pawn nor the Council’s and I cannot accept the killing of innocents.”

Seba’an shifted slightly, the glossy black spikes along his neck rising in irritation.
 
“You would do well to remember to whom you are speaking, youngling.”

Keegan felt a white-hot burning sensation and looked at his hand; his signet ring was emitting an eerie blue-green glow.
 
He could swear the ring was constricting on his finger when a familiar voice suddenly filled the cavern

“
He is young and naïve, Alderdrache….as you once were in times past,
” came a voice that Keegan recognized as that of Nekk’ar.

The old dragon snorted and cocked his head to one side, his anger abating somewhat.
 
“It has been eons since I was ever considered ‘young’ and I was
never
naïve.”

“
The boy has much to learn, Seba’an; he does not fully understand the tasks that lie ahead.
”

The ancient beast shifted his great weight and addressed Keegan.
 
“You will return to your Council now, young one.
 
You will tell them that you have earned my blessing as apprentice to Master Whitestone.”

Keegan’s temples were still pounding with anger, but the white-hot pain coursing through his hand helped him keep his temper in check, for now at least.
 
He knew that Nekk’ar was right; he did have a great deal to learn and he had agreed to accept this life when he came to this world.
 
He looked back up at Seba’an,

“How do I get back?”

“Follow the tunnel back the way you came,” said the old dragon.
 
“There you will find your path back.”
 
With that, he settled his enormous head back down and closed his blind eyes.

Keegan turned on his heel, still fuming over the knowledge that innocent people had been killed for his benefit.

“
They were not so innocent, my young apprentice,
” came Nekk’ar’s voice, echoing through Keegan’s thoughts.
 
Keegan stopped halfway up the tunnel, startled by the sudden intrusion into his mind.

“
What?
 
How did you do that?
 
Can you read my thoughts too?!
”
 

“
There are many things for you to learn, and yes, if I am so inclined I can read your thoughts.
 
In time you will learn to communicate with me in this way.”

Keegan thought he was already communicating that way, “
But isn’t that what I’m doing now?”
 

“
You are responding to me while I am in your mind.
 
I simply hear your thoughts before you can vocalize them.
 
To project your thoughts to me when I am not already here is more difficult, though with practice you will master it.
”

“
So, when I project my mind, can I then read your thoughts as well?
”
 
A sudden pain seized Keegan’s mind.
 
Like an electric shock, it paralyzed his muscles so he could do nothing but stand rigid, trembling in agony.

“
Do you find this painful?”

Keegan could not concentrate through the pain long enough to form a coherent thought, much less answer the spirit’s question.
 
Just as quickly as it had come, the pain was gone again and Keegan fell to the floor trembling, cold sweat running down his forehead.

Nekk’ar’s voice echoed through his mind, more sinister now than Keegan had ever heard it before “
I thought as much; that is a warning my young apprentice.
 
To delve into the depths of my thoughts would result in your sudden death, though not without a great deal of pain beforehand.
 
Remember this lesson, lest you should be tempted to wander off the path.
”

Keegan rose, supporting himself on his staff.
 
He tried to concentrate through the lingering pain still coursing through his body.
 
“
I… I thought… I thought you were my ally?
 
My guardian?
”

“
I am charged with your protection, so long as you are the apprentice or the Guardian, but you do not have the freedom of exploring my thoughts.
 
Your simple human mind would not cope well with the things you would find there.
 
Before you so readily grieve the ones who came before you, you should know that they were not so ‘innocent’ as you would like to believe.
 
They were foolish servants of others who sought to gain the power of Guardian for themselves.
 
The protection of this realm dictated their deaths.
”

Keegan finally reached the end of the tunnel where he had first entered the mountain.
 
Directly in front of him was a hard rock wall, moist from condensation but with no sign of a gateway or portal.
 
Stupid – did I really think the old man’s portal would wait?
 
Raising his hand towards the blank wall and visualizing the Council chambers, he uttered the phrase that Acamar had first taught him.

“Vervoers Portaal
.”
 

A bright light flashed and a sharp
crack
echoed through the cavern.
 
The air shimmered as the spell rebounded and knocked Keegan backwards, flinging him roughly to the floor.
 
Scrambling to find his staff, he pulled himself up and dusted off his robes.
 
The red orbs high above were dimming now, leaving Keegan in an ever increasing well of darkness.

“What the hell was that?!”

Suddenly, Keegan’s ring finger was searing with an intense pain.
 
Looking down, he noticed that Nekk’ar was glowing white and pulsing with energy.
 
Just as quickly, Keegan felt the dragon ring’s presence flow into his mind as it had before.

”Hide!”
it hissed at him, almost leaving him unconscious from the sheer force of the thought.

Glancing around, he saw a black granite pillar that protruded from the wall.
 
Drawing his hood over his head, he squeezed down behind the pillar as best he could.
 
The light from the red orbs was almost gone now, though Keegan noticed that the orbs themselves were not dimming, rather they seemed surrounded by some nebulous black mist that thickened as he watched.
 
A sudden tearing sound, as if a thousand pieces of parchment ripping at once, resounded through the cavern.
 
Keegan thought he caught a hint of sudden movement where his portal had been, but when he looked directly at the spot where it was all he could see was inky blackness.
 
A sense of dread entered Keegan like none he had ever experienced; he could sense something purely evil, just beyond his sight.
 
It was as if the blackness itself were alive and filled with malevolent hatred.

Keegan’s vision began to blur as a searing pain coursed through his temples.
 
As he clutched his head in his hands, images began to swim through his thoughts, seeping in around the blinding pain.
 
In the images, he could see himself as an old man, alone in a hospital bed.
 
As he watched, he could see himself aging, his skin wrinkling and joints enlarging.
 
His hair grayed and fell out and his face developed a sunken appearance.
 
Horrified by the approach of his own death, he was struck by the fact that the old man in his vision was dying alone.

“Keegan!”

A voice cut through the images like a knife, snapping him back to reality.
 
He was quaking with fear, scrunching down as small as possible behind the pillar when just as suddenly the red orbs began brightening again.
 
As they gained in strength his fear subsided, enough so that he could peek around the edge of his hiding place to look down the corridor. Keegan froze in horror as he saw the blackness
moving
!
 
The cloud of pure, oily-black mist was flowing down the corridor without a sound, moving towards the great dragon’s chambers.

 
“Flee!”
hissed the voice of Nekk’ar in his thoughts.
 
”Flee now you fool, while you have the chance.”

“What was that?”

“Death,”
said Nekk’ar simply.
 
“The Dark Ones have been released, summoned to our realm to wreak their vengeance.
 
You must flee to the Council while you still can, where the Guardian can protect you.”

“But what about Seba’an?”

The ring tightened further on his hand.
 
“
The Alderdrache is powerful; he may yet resist them.
 
His duty is to sacrifice himself to ensure your survival.
”

“But how do I open a portal without them seeing me??”
thought Keegan frantically.

His ring, already so tight that his finger was going numb, constricted further and grew hot to the touch.
 
“Their residual magic should shield you long enough – now GO!”

Keegan raised his arm, pointing his clenched fist at the wall and thought fiercely ‘
Vervoers Portaal
,’ praying that the portal would flare to life.
 
He felt the magic course through his veins and flow outward, blossoming into a flaming green spiral that he knew would connect to the Council chambers and safety.
 
As he opened his eyes and gazed upon his work, he suddenly felt a bone chilling cold and heard what sounded like the distant rumble of thunder.