The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) (27 page)

           
Turning to face his assistant, Phineas peered over the rims of his glasses at Acamar.
 
“I want you to begin his instruction in defensive magic this morning.
 
As soon as you are confident he can block or evade stronger spells then you are to move on to the most powerful attack spells that you feel he can handle.”

“As you wish,” he said with a sigh.
 

Acamar bowed deeply and turned to leave.
 
As he closed the door, he saw his Master return to gazing at the valley below.

###

“OUCH!”

Keegan swore under his breath for the fourth time as a golden dart the size of a large hummingbird shot through his defenses and pierced his thigh, embedding itself an inch into the flesh.
 
Keegan dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth against the pain as he grasped the dart and pulled it out.
 
Like the other three he had failed to block, it was warm to the touch and pulsed with magical energy; once free of his flesh it dissipated into a puff of golden dust.
 
Keegan hated these exercises.
 
This was his second day of practicing defensive magic and he was not getting much better.
 
Acamar had been trying to teach him the fundamentals of defensive spells, which included creating an impenetrable shield to stop magical projectiles like the little golden darts.
 
Keegan was getting discouraged; after two days of practice, he was still unable to stop the stingers.
 
Although he finally succeeded in partially deflecting one, it still cut his robe’s sleeve.
 
The worst part was the darts were at a third their normal power – a fact Acamar never let him forget.

“Concentrate, Keegan!
 
Runa Effervo!”
shouted Acamar and suddenly an entire swarm of the little golden missiles appeared and shot towards Keegan.
 

Keegan brought his staff up in front of himself quickly and shouted out the shield spell.
 
The air around him flickered with energy as a weak shield materialized.
 
The first three darts ricocheted off the energy field and embedded themselves in the wall of the study; four more obliterated themselves in a flash on impact and three were held fast by the shield, buzzing angrily.
 
Unfortunately, the final two shot through the fabric of the spell and hit Keegan – one grazing his cheek and the other embedding itself in his shoulder.
 
The sudden pain shot through Keegan’s nervous system, breaking his concentration and knocking him to the floor of the study.

“Dammit!!” he shouted through clenched teeth as he clutched his shoulder and ripped out the dart that had hit him.
 

Acamar walked over to him and helped him to stand.
 
He examined the wound to Keegan’s shoulder and muttered a brief incantation to stop the bleeding and deaden the pain.
 

“You’ve got to concentrate, Keegan.
 
You did better that time, but you are still not fully embracing the shield spell.
 
Any wavering of your force of will or break in your concentration causes weakness to spread throughout the entire spell like a virus.”
 

Keegan made the mistake of rolling his eyes as he sighed, which incensed Acamar further.

“Listen to me boy!
 
Do you have any idea what we are about to face?
 
I have at most two weeks to train you up in preparation for an attack that will be led by the former vice-chairman of the High Council and Head of the Grey order.
 
Trust me Keegan; Ducat won’t be using a low powered version of Dante’s Stinger when he comes.”

Keegan eased himself into a chair by the desk.

“I don’t understand.
 
Why is he coming here?
 
Isn’t that like, suicide?”

Acamar sat down opposite him with a sigh.
 
The older man looked very tired; Keegan did not remember Acamar having that many grey streaks in his hair before.

“Ducat has gone mad, Keegan.
 
He has gathered so much dark magic about him that it has tainted his soul.
 
After the Shadow were banished from this realm, there were only two portals through which they could return.
 
The Great Seal that Ducat opened in the Northern Citadel was one.
 
The other is here in the depths of Pahret T’pur.”

“But he’s already brought the Shadow back to our world; why does he need the portal?”

“It’s not the portal he needs, Keegan.
 
It is the Blackstar amulet that he is after.
 
It is the talisman that keeps our worlds in balance and that the Guardian protects with his life.
 
If Ducat seizes the amulet and sets it into the keystone over the pool of visions, the Shadow trapped within the amulet shall be free again.
 
The veil will dissipate and our two worlds will be pulled together again – in the blink of an eye.”

“What?
 
Do you mean to tell me that there are more of those things?”

“
Many
more, I’m afraid.
 
Those that Ducat let into our world were the few who escaped enslavement.
 
I am certain that he believes they can be controlled through the amulet but he’s a fool.
 
They will consume his powers and his soul the moment they are free.”

“Then how do we stop him?”

Acamar rose and paced about the study.

“The castle is not without defenses, mind you.
 
Then there is your grandfather, of course.
 
He’s quite the wizard, Keegan – the most powerful I have known in my lifetime,” he said absently as he played with the now clear pendant on its chain.

Keegan looked at the older wizard, wishing he knew all the secrets hidden behind those wire rimmed spectacles.

“What about the Council?
 
Shouldn’t they be helping us defend the castle?”

Acamar did not answer at first, choosing instead to pinch the bridge of his nose as if to stem a sudden headache.

“The thing you must understand about the Council is that the factions will not act outside of their own order’s best interest – even if it means the destruction of the world or the final extermination of our kind.
 
Oh, we can expect those of Phineas’ order to help if we ask, but Alyssa, Nigel and Flora have been searching the countryside for Ducat.
 
The Grey have buttoned themselves up in their studies and will sit this out until the end.
 
The Black are more of a problem – some may even choose to help Ducat, although Cedric has supposedly thrown his support to us.”

Keegan remained silent, thinking over all that Acamar had shared with him.
 
“Acamar?”

“Yes?”

“What order wears the Red Robes?”

A shadow seemed to pass over Acamar’s face and he frowned deeply.
 
“Who told you of this?”

“
I
did!” snapped Ms. Hoskins in a no-nonsense tone.

Acamar and Keegan both jumped, startled by the sharp voice from behind.
 
Neither of them had heard Ms. Hoskins come in and the study door remained bolted shut, but nonetheless there she stood.
 
She wore an expression of supreme annoyance and was standing with her hands on her hips.

Acamar regained his composure and glared at the housekeeper, obviously furious.

“You had no right!” he snapped.

“Don’t you start with me, Master Wycroft,” she barked, wagging her finger at him and cutting him off before he could finish.
 
“The boy has a right to know!”

“That may be, but I was to decide when, not you!”

“Humph.
 
If you ask me, you’d be put to better use chasing the mice in the kitchen, you miserable old fur ball!
 
Now,
you
can tell the boy what he needs to know or
I
can – it’s your choice,
Whiskers
.”
 
Straightening her apron she snatched up the tray from the desk holding the teapot and remains of their lunch and bustled off to the kitchen.

Acamar shook his head and sighed.
 
Looking utterly defeated, he returned to his chair and sat down.

“It would seem Ms. Hoskins has left me no choice but to explain that which is best left unmentioned.”

Keegan was astonished to see an accomplished wizard such as Acamar put in his place by the castle’s housekeeper.
 
At this point, he did not care though, because he would finally learn more about the Red Robes that Ms. Hoskins first mentioned.
 
He leaned forward eagerly in spite of the pain from his still throbbing shoulder and listened as Acamar explained about the wizarding world’s most shameful secret.

###

“Let me ask you, Keegan,” began the older wizard as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
 
“How many castes of wizards do you think there are?”

“Well, before this morning I would have said three.”

“And those are?”

“White, Grey and Black – the orders of Good, Neutrality and Evil, right?”

Acamar smiled sadly.
 
Leaning forward, his gaze lost focus as he looked a thousand years into the past.

“If only it were that simple, my young apprentice.
 
Officially they are the orders of Good, Neutrality and
Dark
– not Evil, per se.”

Keegan frowned.
 
“Aren’t they the same?”

“Not exactly.
 
You see the Dark order and those who follow its teachings are seekers of power – at any cost.
 
They have an unquenchable thirst to attain ever greater magical abilities, regardless of the price they may have to pay.”

Keegan suddenly sat bolt upright, as if awakening from a deep sleep.
 
“Wait a minute –
your robes are black!
”

The older man’s gaze snapped back to the present and he smiled at Keegan.
 
“I wondered if you would ever notice.
 
Yes, I am
or was
a member of the Black order.”

“But not now?”

“Not officially.
 
Although I still seek knowledge and power, there are limits beyond which I will not go.
 
But as you can see from my robes I have not withdrawn from the world or become altruistic; otherwise my robes would have shifted to Grey or White.”

“And the Red?”

“Those who wear the Red robes are truly the order of Evil.
 
They worship the Shadow as their gods Keegan; they believe in chaos and destruction and they feed off of the raw emotional energy of others, just like the masters they serve.”
 
The older man leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.
 
“After the Shadow were banished, the members of their order were hunted down and killed, though the history books aren’t clear on whether any escaped or not.
 
There have been rumors over the past couple of years about the return of the order, but no one believed them.”

“You think they’ve returned, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.
 
I also think the longer Ducat is exposed to the Shadow the more his colors will shift; his robes have already become black and I expect them soon to turn the deepest of red.”

“What about the Shadow?
 
Why were they in the cave of Seba’an that night?”

“I can only speculate, but my assumption is they were there to exact their revenge.
 
Seba’an was one of the four who originally trapped and expelled the Shadow from our world.
 
The humans who were there that day are long since past, but Seba’an remains.
 
If he is killed it would be some time before a new Alderdrache could be named, most likely leading to another civil war between the dragons and wizard kind.”

Acamar stood and walked to the window, looking out upon the valley below.
 
“That is why your training must continue in earnest; we have to be as ready as we can when Ducat comes for the amulet.”

“But why are you so certain he’s coming for the amulet?”

“Because he’s been readin’ the Black Book is why,” said a gravelly voice from the shadows in the corner of the study.

Keegan nearly jumped out of his skin, but Acamar was unfazed, still looking calmly out the window.
 

“So you’ve confirmed it then?” he asked.

“Aye.
 
Saw it with me own eyes and brought proof back to boot.”

Stepping from the shadows, the dark elf Kust came forward – looking strained and more haggard than the last time Keegan had seen him.
 
He approached Acamar, who had stepped away from the window to address the creature.
 
Reaching into the folds of his tunic, he withdrew what looked like a thick sheet of velum rolled tightly into a scroll and tied with a black ribbon.
 
Kust handed the item over to the wizard.