The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) (4 page)

“I assure you that you are not asleep, my boy,” said Acamar.
 
“In fact, I need you to be quite alert and pay attention, as I have been sent to summon you before the Council.”

“Excuse me?”

“The High Council of Magic,” said Acamar.
 
“They’re the ones who set the rules and insure that balance and order are maintained.”

“I don’t understand - the balance and order of
what?
”

“Of this planet dear boy,” said Acamar in a slightly exasperated tone, gesturing around him with his arms.
 
“They keep these two worlds of ours in balance.”

“
Two
worlds?” asked Keegan, who was beginning to feel rather confused.
 
After all, it’s not every day that one sits down in the middle of a maze and has a discussion with a man who moments before was a large black tabby cat.

“You really don’t have a clue, do you?” asked Acamar as he leaned forward and squinted at Keegan as if he were an unknown life form.

“About
what?”
Keegan snapped, his head starting to spin.

“About how this world works and your relatively important place in it,” said the mage.

Keegan snorted and looked askance at the man in front of him.

“I think I have a pretty good idea of how this world works.
 
My position in it is about as far from important as it gets!”

 
Turning on his heel, he started to head for the exit to get away from this obviously insane man who kept babbling on about magic.
 
He made a mental note to himself to alert the security guards at the office to be on the lookout for this idiot.
 
Suddenly, Keegan came to an abrupt halt.
 
The exit from the courtyard that led out into the maze should be directly in front of him.
 
The only problem however, was that it was not there any more.
 
The place where the hedge parted for the pathway just moments ago now looked as if it had grown together fifty years ago.
 
Where there should have been a cobblestone path were now brambles, underbrush and a very large oak tree.

“It isn’t going to hurt you to listen, and you might end up even liking your new job,” said Acamar as he rose to his feet.
 

Standing a good head higher than Keegan, he towered over the young man.
 
His black robes made him that much more imposing.
 
He stroked his grey streaked goatee as he paced back and forth.
 

“You see my master is one Phineas Whitestone, your grandfather.
 
He has determined that you are to be apprenticed to him, to learn his secrets and become Guardian, the Keeper of the Amulet.”

“Wait a minute.
 
I admit that my grandfather was Phineas Whitestone, but he’s been dead for years.”

“I don’t recall him saying anything about being dead,” said Acamar.
 
“I do believe he would’ve mentioned it and he appeared to have all his faculties about him when last we spoke.”
 

Sitting down on the bench next to Keegan, Acamar looked over the rim of his glasses at the young man.
 
“Keegan, do you know how old your father was when he died?”

“He had just turned 60.
 
Why do you ask?”

“Because he was older, Keegan.
 
Much older, actually.
 
You see, we have much longer life spans on the other side of the Veil.
 
Over here, without as much magic surrounding us, our lives are much shorter.
 
Your father was closer to the age of 150 or so when he passed.
 
Master Whitestone is much older even than that.
 
My boy I promise you that I could not be more real and I assure you, Master Whitestone is most certainly alive.
 
I realize this is all a bit sudden, but the Guardian can explain in much greater detail than I.
 
Just come with me and meet with him, and you will be free to ask as many questions as your heart desires.”

Keegan looked straight at Acamar.
 

“Go where?
 
I told you, he’s
dead
!
 
Even if I thought there was some chance he had lived to be over two hundred years old, do you think I should just trust you and go running off to God knows where?
 
You’re a total stranger who talks nonsense about some mystical Council and a Keeper or ‘Guardian’ of God knows what - hell I don’t even know your name!”

“My name is Acamar.
 
Acamar Troelus Wycroft, and that’s Keeper of the Amulet or if you prefer, Guardian of the Veil,” the older man said.
 
“I have been assigned to the Keeper for the past three hundred fifty years, and the Blackstar amulet is what separates our worlds and keeps them safe.
 
The heart of the amulet focuses the energy necessary to maintain the Veil between our worlds.
 
That is why you do not see dragons flying down Broadway or goblins selling newspapers.
 
You see, when I mentioned our ‘two worlds’ a moment ago, it may have been misleading.
 
There really is only one planet Earth, but there are two separate realities sharing the planet; one is magic and one is not.
 
Think of two planets separated by a tether of magic, only instead of orbiting each other side-by-side one exists in another plane of reality. Your magic will function just fine here and now on this side of the Veil, but it would likely get you locked up and dissected by some government agency.
 
Your magic would also not be as strong over here, as the Veil traps most of the magical energy on the other side, where we exist.
 
The Veil cloaks our world from non-magic outsiders – those who don’t understand us, never will and would persecute us had they the chance.”

Walking over to where Keegan was standing, Acamar crossed his arms and looked down at the young man from over the tops of his glasses.
 
“I knew you would be difficult to convince, so your grandfather instructed me to show you a few things.
 
First, look closely at the family ring passed down to you upon the death of your father.”
 
He nodded towards Keegan’s right hand on which he wore the signet ring delivered to him so mysteriously several years ago.

Keegan glanced down at the ring, not quite knowing what to expect.
 
He remembered how the stone had begun to glow earlier and how he had been unable to remove the ring from his hand.

“Have you noticed anything different about it lately?”

“Well…”

“Yes?”

Keegan felt foolish.
 
He was standing in the middle of a hedge maze talking to a stranger dressed in black robes.
 
Furthermore, the stranger had shown up in the form of a cat and then told him he should come to another dimension to talk with his dead grandfather.

“It was glowing.
 
The stone was glowing earlier today,” he finally said feeling like a complete fool for saying it aloud.

“Is that all?”

“Not exactly.
 
It started itching and when I tried to pull the ring off my finger it wouldn’t budge.”

Acamar smiled.
 
“Master Whitestone awakened your ring from its long slumber.
 
It is intertwined with your spirit and destiny; that’s why you couldn’t remove it earlier.”

Keegan examined his ring more closely, not knowing what to say with this new revelation.

“Look closely at the shield etched into the stone; do you see the two circles intertwined?
 
Those represent our two realities or worlds, and the Veil that separates them.
 
That ring was forged over one thousand years ago, just after the Great Council was first convened.
 
They selected three families, one each from the three different sects of wizards; the color of your stone indicates the particular order to which your family belonged.
 
They were white for Good, grey for Neutral and finally Black, which represented dark magic.
 
Master Whitestone, the current Guardian, was recently elected by the Council to ascend to the leadership position of Chancellor.
 
As the last surviving member of this family’s bloodline you are the heir apparent, or apprentice apparent as it were.”

“So, now you’re telling me I’m a
wizard
?” asked Keegan in disbelief.

“No,” sighed the older man.
 
“Merely that you have the potential to become one.
 
That somewhere, deep down inside you resides a core of magic that has been long dormant.
 
Given some time and the proper tutelage, you will hopefully master the skills that lie somewhere within.”

“So what does the ‘Guardian’ do?
 
How does the Blackstar amulet work?” asked Keegan.

“Alas, dear boy, that is not up to me to explain.
 
My task is simply to bring you before the Council.
 
They will explain further and set out to educate you in your responsibilities.”
 
Provided they don’t dice you up into little bits and feed you to one of the couriers, of course,
thought the old wizard to himself.

Acamar took out a pocket watch and glanced at the time.
 
Turning to Keegan, he said, “Our time is drawing to a close.
 
We must be off now to the Council; they are not ones to be kept waiting by a mere apprentice-to-be.”

Looking at the large, imposing man in front of him, Keegan thought about what Acamar just told him.
 
This is all ridiculous, there is no such thing as magic
.
 
He wished there was – more than anyone could know.
 
He had always loved reading fantasy novels when he was a kid, reading about magic and dragons, elves and faeries.
 
Then he grew up and reality set in, banishing his dreams to the darkness of the past.

Acamar smiled at Keegan with what appeared to be pity.

“You don’t have much to lose, you know.
 
You can always tell your boss you were taken to hospital because of food poisoning.”

Keegan sighed, crossing his arms and looking up at the wizard.

“Oh, what the hell.
 
I’m in a dead end job anyway.
 
How do we get to this Council of yours?” he asked.

“Easy.
 
You open a gateway and we step through.”

“I what?”

“You open a gateway.
 
It is a portal, which allows us to cross through the Veil.
 
Your scientists would probably call it a ‘wormhole’ or some other fanciful scientific name; to us it is simply a gateway or portal to our world.
 
Mind you, portals are very closely regulated by the Guardian.
 
Only a few are allowed to pierce the Veil and pass through, otherwise you would have people popping through to your side of the world just to cause mischief.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it, my boy.
 
Let’s say I’m an art lover.
 
If portals were unregulated, what would stop me from opening one in the Louvre, snatching the Mona Lisa and then stepping back to my side of the Veil?
 
How would your police forces stop me?
 
Worse yet, what if I was power-mad and decided I was the rightful master of this side of the world?
 
Do you really think the military or intelligence services would be able to stop me if I could open a portal and bring through a few hundred trolls or a couple of dragons?
 
The Veil is here for a reason, Keegan.
 
As I said before, it protects each side of the world from the other.”

Keegan, sobered by Acamar’s comments, realized the responsibility the Guardian must bear and the immense power it must take to enforce the separation of the world.

“Now, my young apprentice-to-be, it is time to try your first spell.”

Keegan looked at the man as if he had just asked him to step off the roof of his office building.
 
“I can’t do magic,” said Keegan.
 
“Besides, even if I could I don’t have a wand or anything.”

Acamar’s face suddenly darkened, carrying the expression of someone who had just eaten a roach. “People on this side of the Veil are
so
stereotypical,” he said with obvious distaste.
 
“I suppose you think all witches have warts and all wizards wear pointy hats?”

“Well, yeah, I guess so.”

“Well they
don’t
!
 
Wizards and witches are like you and me; they have everyday jobs, eat everyday foods, and so forth.
 
Granted, when in our world, we generally wear our robes rather than those drab old clothes you normals wear.
 
We don’t all use wands, either.
 
Some do yes, but some use rings, brooches or pendants.
 
Some wizards and witches are powerful enough that they don’t use a talisman; those whose talent leans towards potions are a good example.
 
Likewise, those of us who sometimes take the form of animals have little need for wands - cats don’t have pockets, you know!”