The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) (25 page)

Phineas took a step forward, his staff raised slightly.
 
“Show me your ring, Alex,” he said in a soft yet incredibly stern voice.

Ducat looked surprised at this request.
 
“What? Why?
 
Why do you want to see my ring?”

“Show me your ring, Alex.
 
Now!” said Phineas in an ever-louder voice.

Puzzled, Ducat held up his hand so that his ring was visible to all.
 
“There.
 
Happy now?
 
What is it you expect to see?”

“I expect to see proof of what you’ve become, Alex,” said Phineas sadly.
 
“Your ring confirms what I have suspected.
 
The stone in your ring is no longer grey; like your robes that you now wear, it is turning black.
 
I suppose you hid it as long as you could by changing your robes as quickly as they turned, but you cannot hide your ring.
 
You are tainted by evil, Alex – from prolonged contact with the Shadow most likely.
 
You were the one that opened the Great Seal, weren’t you?”

“What?!
 
That’s absurd.
 
You are a crazy old fool Phineas!
 
You’ve been plotting against me for years now, just waiting for a chance to turn the rest of the Council against me!”
 
Ducat’s wand was in his hand now, as he backed away from Phineas and the others.
 
The crazed wizard made a downward slash with his wand, and with a shout sent a spray of golden sparks into the midst of the wizards and witches of the Council.
 
The sparks ricocheted amongst the Council, rooting them to the spot with the exception of Phineas.
 
The sparks had angled away from the old wizard the moment they came near, repelled by an unseen force.

Phineas walked slowly towards the grey wizard, with his staff raised in Ducat’s direction.
 
Ducat increasingly looked like a cornered animal, on the verge of panic.
 
With a flick of his wrist, a powerful bolt shot from Ducat’s wand towards Phineas, who deflected it easily with a swipe of his staff.

“It’s over, Alex.
 
It is time to undo what you have wrought.”
 
Phineas continued to advance on Ducat, stopping about ten feet from the wizard.

Ducat responded with a sweeping motion of his arm, sending a ring of green flames arcing towards Phineas.
 
The sparkling green fire coiled around the Guardian, obscuring him from the view of the Council, Keegan and Acamar.
 
Still bound in place by Ducat’s spell, they could only watch in silence, unable to help.

“Ha!
 
You are a spent force, Whitestone!
 
I have uncovered powers you can only dream of - powers beyond your simple comprehension.
 
Your pitiful little followers will watch you die, and then follow you into the abyss!”

“I think
not
, Alex,” came the calm yet stern voice of the Guardian.
 

As he spoke, a shaft of silver shot upward from the center of the inferno surrounding the old wizard.
 
Smaller lines of silver split off from the main shaft and arced downward, slicing through the flaming coils and extinguishing them.

“It is time to end this madness, Alex,” said Phineas as he brought his staff around with a flourish, binding Ducat with silver strands that shot forth from the tip.
 

Ducat screamed in pain as wisps of smoke snaked upward from his bindings.
 
Without warning a cloud of inky blackness shot outward from the wizard, obscuring him from sight as clouds of oily darkness swirled around the room.
 
Suddenly the sound of Ducat’s voice pierced through the mist – a shrill voice that shouted “
Spiraktus!
”
 
A crackle of energy reverberated throughout the Council chambers and the cloud quickly dissipated except for a few wispy tendrils of smoke, leaving nothing but scorch marks on the floor where Ducat had been.

Phineas leaned heavily on his staff and sighed, obviously weakened by the battle.
 
Turning to face his still frozen comrades, he sketched a symbol in the air with his index finger, murmuring softly.
 
A flick of his wrist and the symbol dispersed into the midst of the others, freeing them from their bondage.
 
Some fell to their knees from the sudden shock, others swayed and braced themselves on their staffs or each other.
 
Acamar rushed to the side of his Master, Keegan not far behind.

“Master, are you hurt?”

“No, Acamar.
 
Just very, very tired,” said Phineas, his voice somewhat hoarse.

“What happened to Ducat?
 
Where did he go?” asked Keegan.

Phineas knelt and examined the markings on the floor, muttering an incantation under his breath.
 

“He used a very old and very dangerous transportation charm.
 
Although it is extremely powerful, it is unpredictable if not properly planned.
 
His arms were bound to his sides, with his wand pointed downward.
 
I’m afraid his initial direction will be towards the Earth’s core; if he does survive it will make it even more difficult to find him.”

Phineas rose and pulled himself back to his full height, some of his strength returning.

“I am afraid Master Ducat is even more tainted by evil than I thought.”

By now, the other Council members had gathered around the Guardian, some examining the marks on the floor.
 
Nigel Bannister, one of Phineas’ own caste was the first to respond.

“What do you mean, Phineas?
 
Were his robes and ring not indication enough?”

Phineas shook his head sadly.
 
“No, Nigel, I’m afraid that was only the outward sign of his transition.
 
The spell of binding I cast used strands of pure silver; did you notice his scream of agony and the wisps of smoke?
 
That should not have happened if he were still completely human.
 
Silver would only have that effect on a true creature of the dark, or someone who is quickly becoming one.”

Hyacinth Stonecipher, one of Ducat’s early supporters in the Grey order, still looked stunned.

“I
 
just don’t understand, Phineas.
 
What would drive him to do this?”

“The thirst for unlimited power, Hyacinth.
 
In hindsight, I wonder if it didn’t begin some time ago with the death of his mentor, Tobias.”

“Surely you don’t think…”

“We may never know for certain, Hyacinth, but you must admit Alex’s ascent to power was quite rapid.”

“But why didn’t that damned crystal stop him?” demanded Portia, only recently freed from her crystalline prison.
 
“It has intervened every time a wand has been raised in this room, but did nothing just now when we were all powerless!”

“I do not know, my dear,” said Phineas, with a glance upward at the Oracle.
 
The giant crystal remained in its usual place, floating high above the Council table, emitting a soft blue-white glow.
 
“I cannot fathom why or when it chooses to act.”

 
Phineas rose and turned to face the remaining Council members.
 
“I think you would all agree that my grandson has passed his exams, would you not?”

The members murmured amongst themselves until a voice came from behind the group.
 

“You would be correct, comrade.
 
The young master has earned his place as your apprentice and should rightfully begin his studies.”

The other witches and wizards turned towards the voice, finding Cedric Thornback still seated at the table.
 
He leaned forward and smiled at Phineas.
 
“You needn’t be surprised, old friend.
 
I may disagree with you on a great many things, but on this, we stand together.
 
Ducat must be caught and interrogated at all costs.
 
Based on what has happened and the information your grandson brought to us from his encounter at the lair of Seba’an, I believe that Ducat has truly opened the Great Seal and released the Shadow upon us.”

There were gasps of horror from the other Council members, but Phineas only nodded.
 
“I suspected as much.
 
With the Council’s permission, I will return to Pahret T’pur and begin Keegan’s training at once.
 
It is imperative to bring his skill level up to scratch before Ducat can try something drastic.”

“I completely agree,” said Cedric.
 
Turning to address the rest of the Council, who were largely still speechless, he called for a vote.
 
“As Head of my order, I hereby put forth the motion that Phineas’ grandson, Master Keegan Whitestone, be accepted as apprentice and begin his training immediately.”

“I second the motion,” said a middle-aged witch with neatly cropped grey hair and white silk robes.

“Thank you, Flora,” said Cedric, nodding his approval.
 
“All those in favor?” he asked, scanning the group of wizards and witches.
 
As a group, the ten remaining members raised their hands in assent.

“So be it then.”
 
Cedric turned to Keegan.
 
“Young Master Whitestone, I would like to congratulate you.
 
By order of this Council, you are to be apprenticed to your Grandfather, the Guardian of the Veil.
 
You are to learn the craft as quickly and as thoroughly as you can, as the Council will depend upon you to keep our worlds safe.”

Keegan bowed deeply to the Council.
 
“I am honored to be chosen for this position.
 
I will not let the Council down.”

Phineas remained where he was, staring intently at Cedric with a puzzled expression on his face.

“I have to know, Cedric.
 
You adamantly opposed my choice for apprentice and even went so far as to try to have him killed before he arrived.
 
Why the sudden show of support?”

“You are only partly correct, Phineas.
 
I did indeed arrange to have the boy dropped at the edge of the forest as a means to test him.
 
I assure you however, that I did not arrange for the courier dragon to be set loose.
 
Nor did I have our young friend kidnapped by the giant.
 
I’m afraid that you’ll have to thank our recently departed member of the Grey order, Master Ducat, for that.”

“Ducat?”

“I’m afraid so Phineas.
 
You see, I had asked Nisha to take care of the simple task of arranging the drop off,” said Cedric, gesturing as he spoke to the large black raven that had just flown in through the window and settled upon the back of his chair.
 
“Unfortunately it seems she has a loose tongue and mentioned what she was doing to Master Ducat.
 
I had wondered who would have dared to stun my assistant and then wipe her memory; now I know.
 
Since young master Keegan did not show up as scheduled, I assumed she had completed her duties; it was after learning that the courier had been freed that I began to get suspicious.”

Phineas smiled sadly.
 
“It would seem that Master Ducat had us both fooled.”
 
He then drew himself up to his full height and his features hardened.
 
“I can promise the Council that he will regret his actions.”

Phineas bowed to the assembled Council and expressed his gratitude at their acceptance of his grandson.
 
Then, turning to Keegan he motioned for him to come over.
 

“It is time Keegan.
 
We must return to Pahret T’pur immediately to begin your instruction.”
 
Standing next to his grandfather, Keegan flinched as Phineas raised his staff and in an instant opened the most powerful portal he had ever seen.
 
In a flash of blue-white fire, the two of them left the chambers of the High Council.

***

Cedric remained in his chair long after the others had gone.
 
This had been an unexpected development; he had not sensed Ducat’s corruption.

May the ancients be with you Phineas,
thought Cedric.
 
We shall all need their help before this is over.

###

Cold.
 
This stupid, damp old castle is really cold!
 

Keegan sat shivering beside a large stone fireplace, wrapped in a bundle of blankets.
 
Acamar had left him the task of building up the fire that morning but Keegan had yet to manage it.
 
Starting a fire was a talent that Keegan had mastered easily enough, but this morning Acamar had raised the bar a notch – starting a fire without any wood or coal!
 
Keegan had tried using the simple fire spell he had learned but it only produced sparks since there was no fuel source for it to ignite.
 
Acamar had charmed the door to the study so that it refused to let Keegan out until he succeeded in his task.
 
Becoming the apprentice to the Guardian was not nearly so glamorous as it sounded; it seemed to entail a great number of chores throughout the castle that no one else wanted to do.
 
Although Keegan did have to admit, it was nice that no attempts had been made on his life in the past two weeks since his arrival at Parhet T’pur.