The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) (5 page)

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean offense,” replied Keegan sheepishly.
 
He felt foolish for being so narrow minded.
 
“Until you appeared I didn’t even believe in magic; I’m still not certain I do anyway.”

“I have little patience for stereotypes my young apprentice, especially from those who are uneducated about the topic at hand.
 
You may not need a talisman; I do not know - your talent will determine that in time.
 
For now, you will likely rely on your ring which at the moment knows more about your magic than you do,” said Acamar in a more patient tone.

Acamar walked over to Keegan and placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder.
 
“The most important aspect of your talent is confidence.
 
Now, I want you to follow my instructions and we will start you on your journey.”

Keegan looked up at the older man and then back down at his ring.
 
He had never believed in magic before or anything else really.
 
Keegan gazed into the stone set into his ring and felt something stirring deep within himself.
 

“I’ll do my best.”

“Point your ring at the hedge,” said Acamar.

“Okay.”

“Now close your eyes and concentrate.
 
Picture a doorway in the hedge and repeat the phrase ‘
vervoers portaal
.’”

Keegan glanced at his ring again and then at Acamar.

“I feel like an idiot.”

He raised his hand and pointed the ring at a section of the hedge.
 
Picturing an archway in the hedge, he repeated the phrase as the older man had instructed.
 

“Vervoers portaal.”

Nothing happened.
 

Acamar looked quite amused at the attempt.
 
“Now try again.
 
Close your eyes and concentrate on your ring, then say it as if you really believe it this time.
 
Push forward with your mind, willing the magic to pierce the Veil.”

“V
ervoers portaal,”
intoned Keegan as he focused on his dragon-ring with his mind’s eye.
 
He felt a hot surge of energy welling up from somewhere within him.
 
It shot outward through his right arm, down through his signet ring and outward towards the privet hedge.
 
With a low rumble akin to distant thunder the hedge in front of him stretched and twisted, contorting itself until a perfect six-foot arch had appeared.
 
Keegan’s jaw dropped open and he stared in disbelief at the archway.
 
Beyond it, he could see what appeared to be the same cobblestone path that led into the hedge maze.
 
The portal seemed to hang in the air effortlessly, the surface distorted slightly by eddies and swirls that played across its face.

“I don’t believe it,” he said with a grin at Acamar.
 
“I don’t
freaking
believe it!
 
I just did magic!”

The older wizard chuckled as he smiled at Keegan.

“You see, my young apprentice, confidence and strength of will are your ally.
 
Your biggest weakness is your lack of faith; you don’t really
believe
in anything, least of all yourself.
 
Believe it or not, you are quite capable of many great things - both good and evil.”

The grin faded from Keegan’s face as a new realization dawned on him.

“How do you know so much about me?
 
Things that I don’t even know myself?”

“It’s my job,” said Acamar.
 
“Part of my penance is to serve as an assistant to the current Guardian.
 
I am messenger, bodyguard, gopher, you name it.
 
My current master required information when he determined who his successor would be, thus I know all there is to know about you.”

“Wait a minute.
 
You said your service to my grandfather was a ‘penance’ for something.
 
Why are you being punished?”

“I am serving a sentence for a rather inept decision on my part a very long time ago, in my youth,” said Acamar.
 
“I won’t bore you with all of the gory details; let’s just say I chose the wrong side of a political debate.”

“So you’re a slave because you didn’t agree with someone?”

“The debate happened to center around the future of the veil.
 
It ended with an uprising by an element of the dragons against the High Council,” said Acamar.
 
“At the time I believed the dragons to be correct in their assessment of the situation and joined their cause.
 
I see now that I could not have been more wrong.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to pry.”

“My punishment was just and given the fate of others, quite mild in comparison,” said the older man.

“So now what?”

“Well you’ve made your first gateway, so I suggest we put it to good use before it dissipates.
 
Just step through to the other side, like walking through a door.”

With one more glance at his new companion, Keegan took a deep breath and stepped into the archway he had just conjured into being.

###

The inner chambers of Council member Cedric Thornback reflected his personality - dark, cold and foreboding.
 
He sat at his desk, gazing out the tower window at the night sky, bony fingers steepled under his nose.
 
His pinched features, hardened by the dim glow coming from the wisp hovering above his desk, looked as if they were chiseled from a block of ice.
 
Cedric’s assistant, a large raven, sat preening itself on a stand in the corner.
 
She had tried engaging him in conversation twice already and had given up - having a large leather-bound edition of
Dark Arts and the Pursuit of Power
thrown at her was enough of a hint.
 
He was never a cheerful person even on his best days and having received news that he was to be passed over for leadership of the Council for the third time had soured his mood even further.
 
She fluttered over to the fireplace and scratched a symbol in the ashes with her talon.
 

“
Incinerata invigoratus!”
she squawked, with a sharp flap of her wings toward the dark stones of the fireplace.
 
With a flash, the hearth jumped to life and a blazing fire leapt into being, spreading its heat through the chill of Cedric’s chambers.
 
Cedric cut his dark, almost black eyes, around to where his assistant perched on the now warm hearth.

“Had I wanted a fire, I would have
lit
one, you know,” he hissed at her as he sank lower in his chair.
 
“I
enjoy
the chill of the evening.”

Nisha shot a frosty glance at the wizard and ruffled her feathers.

“You have your robes to keep you warm; I only have these damn feathers.
 
If you enjoy freezing to death, then go sit on the balcony and do so by yourself,” she snapped.

“So change to human form if you don’t like your feathers,” he said, feigning innocence.

”
You know that is forbidden!
 
I have already been in human form today.
 
You know the Administrative Rules - hell you helped write them,” she squawked angrily.

He loved to bait her like that; reminding Nisha of her restrictions absolutely infuriated her.
 
She had been under enchantment in the Administrative Service for almost one hundred years now - a long time by even the Service’s standards.
 
Cedric had never bothered to ask what she had done to earn such a punishment - life as an aide and restricted to one transfiguration to human form per day.
 
She was really quite an efficient assistant, keeping Cedric’s office organized and his appointments up to date.
 
Life as a Council member was hectic enough, but he was also the leader of his order and a master of the Dark Arts.
 
On any given day, he received several hundred notes and letters from the various members of his sect, usually requesting favors or his advice on matters involving the darkest of magic.

“Temper, temper, my dear assistant,” he chided.
 
“Mind your manners or I’ll be using your tail feathers for quill pens again.”

She shot him one last harsh look and then returned to warming herself by the fire.
 
She knew the limits of her master’s temper and decided against pressing beyond them.
 
Although she despised Master Thornback, she needed him.
 
She knew that eventually with his return to power and the reunification of the two worlds, he would release her from her life of servitude.

“I have an additional task for you my dear,” he said in an oily voice.
 
“Your observation of young Master Whitestone is to continue, however I now want to know everything available about the background of our young friend.
 
He should be arriving sometime this evening, if all goes as planned.
 
If I’m not mistaken, Master Whitestone sent his aide to fetch the boy yesterday.”

“As you wish Master,” she said.
 
“If I may ask, why the sudden interest in the young man’s background?”

“You may
not
ask,” Thornback said with an icy tone.
 
“As far as anyone is concerned, I am merely upholding my duty as a member of the High Council.
 
I must be prepared for when I interview the boy, to reassure myself that he is the correct choice for the position.”

“Huh!”
 
She had an inkling of what he might be up to, though.
 
He had been denied leadership of the Council already because of his strong views about the link between the two worlds.
 
Although according to the Council’s official decision he was ‘far too valuable an asset’ as an Advisor on the Dark Arts to the sitting Chancellor, Nisha knew it was because he had been branded a radical.
 
She personally thought it was because the other Council members, even those of his own order, were afraid of what he might do with the power of the leadership position.

“
What
was that?” asked the dark wizard, swiveling his chair around to face his assistant.

“Nothing Master, merely clearing my throat,” she said quickly.
 
She had learned the hard way when to hold her tongue in Cedric’s presence.
 
She had just grown back a new set of tail feathers and had no intention of them being plucked out again.

“Mmm.
 
Off with you then.
 
I want your report tomorrow, before the other Council members arrive in the city,” he said as he turned back towards his desk and its ever-present pile of scrolls and papers to answer.

Nisha ruffled her feathers one last time, turned and flew from the chambers, leaving Cedric to his work.
 
She had barely reached the corridor outside when she heard a muttered incantation and a loud
crack
as the dark mage extinguished her nice warm fire.

###

Chapter 5 – A Journey Started

Keegan, standing in the archway he had just created, looked around at his new surroundings; it looked just like the path he had taken to enter the maze - same stones, same little garden statuaries and so forth.
 
Somehow, it just did not
feel
the same though.
 
It was as if he had been asleep and was suddenly jolted awake by a bucket of cold water thrown in his face.

“
Ahem,
” Acamar cleared his throat, motioning for Keegan to move forward.

“Sorry,” said Keegan.
 
“It’s just that this is a little overwhelming, is all.”

Acamar placed his hand gently on the younger man’s shoulder “I understand my boy, really I do.”
 
The older man smiled as he reached forward and gave Keegan a sudden shove that pushed him the rest of the way through the archway and onto the path beyond.

“Hey!
 
What the hell did you do that for?” shouted Keegan, stumbling to regain his balance.

“I told you before that we need to get moving; the Council will not wait forever.
 
As a mere apprentice it would be considered an intolerable insult for you to keep them waiting,” said the older man as he stepped through the archway himself.
 
With a sharp
crack,
the opening in the hedge spiraled shut.

“Now what?” asked Keegan, falling into step behind Acamar.

“Now we catch your ride to the castle where the High Council meets,” said the older man as he made his way down the path.

“Wait, let me guess – a really big broomstick, right?” asked Keegan, snidely.

Acamar stopped in his tracks, his back going rigid as he whirled around to face the young man.
 
“Now let’s get this straight
youngling
,” he said icily, his finger not an inch from Keegan’s face.
 
“You may think this is all gimmickry and foolishness, but it is far more serious than you could ever imagine.
 
If the order of the Dark Arts has his way and ascends to a position of power then both our realities will be in jeopardy.
 
If nothing else, you
will
show respect for the arts and the people that wield them or I will personally turn you into a goat and feed you to the nearest dragon!”