The Unwilling Accomplice (Book 5) (23 page)

A bitter smile slipped onto her lips and she shook her head. "I do not tread there. The memories are too painful, but I am afraid we cannot speak any longer. Even such a short distance is too great for my concentration."

Ned and Fred's eyes widened as they watched her form flicker. Fred rushed forward to grasp her arm, but his hand slipped through air. She smiled one last time at his horrified face, and her voice was like an echo. "Until we meet again, my dearest Cedric. Keep safe," she called to him.

Martley's form disappeared and with the phantom gone the manacles dropped to the floor. Ned whipped his head upward toward the window and heard the far-off call of a large eagle as it soared away. He pursed his lips and looked down at the manacles. With her clothes gone he could clearly see the manacles were slightly open. Fred fell to his knees and grasped the magical manacles in his hand. He turned to Ned. "How?" he asked.

"In a moment," Ned replied. He calmly strode over to the door and rapped on it with his staff.

"We wish to be released, and to inform you that your prisoner has escaped," he told them.

The guards came alive at Ned's announcement. They swiftly opened the door and flew past Ned to find the empty manacles. One guard turned to his brethren. "Inform the king and captain the prisoner has escaped!" he ordered him.

"Do not bother to find her. She will have escaped the city by now," Ned told them. He turned to Fred and nodded down the hall. "Come, Fred, we are both in need of rest." Ned led Fred away from the empty cell and toward the exit.

CHAPTER 29

Their footsteps took them from the dank cells and out into the fresh air. They traveled as far as the empty courtyard before Fred stopped. Ned noticed, and turned to his apprentice. "What is the matter?" he asked him.

"How did she free herself from the manacles?" Fred questioned him.

Ned turned away and sighed. "Through your efforts," he replied.

Fred jerked back. "Me?" he wondered.

"Yes, though unintentionally. When you held her in your arms you wished to help her any way you could, and I believe she took you up your offer and rubbed her manacles against your staff. Your wish, and magic, released the spell on the manacles," he explained. Ned shuffled over to a bench on the far side of the courtyard and groaned as he sat down. "There seems to be no end to her ingenuity." Fred turned away from Ned, and the old castor noticed his apprentice was quiet and tense. "What bothers your thoughts, Fred?" he asked the young man.

Fred's voice was quiet, but firm. "I know Canavar wants me. Martley and the attack in String are enough proof for me, but I don't understand what would happen to me if he did take the rest of my soul. What would he do with it?" Fred wondered. He turned to Ned who's face was pale. "You said you battled Canavar. Why was he trying to do to Cedric's soul before it escaped?"

"A perfect revival of a dead soul, the fusion of a dead body and its former source of life," Ned mused.

"If we do face him again, will you be able to defeat him?" Fred wondered.

Ned shook his head. "I cannot say."

"So how are we supposed to win against him?" Fred asked him.

Ned glanced down at Fred's sticks. "That may be of some use to us," he replied.

Fred pulled the two sticks from his waist, but forced them to remain as sticks. The leather was still worn, and the sticks were still grimy and broken. "My staff? How is it so special?" he wondered.

"I believe I told you the staff you hold belonged to an old friend of mine. That friend was Cedric Osgood. He told me he stole it from his homeland to keep it from Canavar's hands," Ned explained. "He would never tell me why the staff was important, only that Canavar fused his magic with an older magic to create the staff. Cedric thought the power was too dangerous for Canavar to hold, so he stole the staff and left Palavar. I met him in Tramadore not long after he escaped from the southern region." The memories brought a small smile to Ned's lips. "He was a novice castor, but already I could see his potential."

Fred frowned and grasped the stick in his hand. It transformed into the staff and the stone at the top glowed softly in the dark of the night. The light illuminated the worried lines on Fred's face, and Ned was struck by how his young apprentice had changed. He was older and less innocent, and Fred grimaced when he reached up and rubbed his neck. A small, bitter smile spread across his lips.

"Sometimes I swear I can still feel Canavar's fingers around my throat, tightening their grip as he opens that box," Fred commented. He turned to Ned and his face didn't show the fear Ned expected. "Ever since I came with you on this journey I've been afraid. Afraid I would fail, or be killed, or be left alone, but facing someone like that and watching them use that power against my friends made me realize I couldn't be afraid anymore. My friends needed me, and I wouldn't be able to help them until I stopped being afraid." Fred grasped the front of his cloak and ground his teeth together. "And now he has a part of my soul. That was how he was able to control me," he stated rather than asked.

"Yes," Ned answered.

"Can he control me again?" Fred asked him.

Ned furrowed his brow and stroked his beard. "He must have been quite a distance away to have his minion fetch you and not merely order you to himself. If that is true then he exerted a great deal of power and concentration, so we needn't fear he will control you again in the near future."

Fred tightened his grip on the staff and looked up at the twinkling stars. His eyes were firm, unwavering, and angry. "I will get it back. I swear it. Even if I have to fight Canavar myself," he promised himself.

Ned smiled and placed a hand on Fred's shoulder. "You won't be alone. Your friends will help you," he told him.

Fred looked to him and grinned. "I know," he replied.

Ned chuckled and rose from the bench. "If we are to help anyone we are doing a poor job of it by depriving ourselves of sleep. I hear my bed beckon to me, and yours also calling," he commented. Fred stood and placed his staff back in his waistband. Ned moved toward the castle, but noticed his apprentice continued to look at the stars. "Is something amiss?" Ned wondered.

"Do you believe we can defeat him? Canavar, I mean?" Fred asked him.

Ned stepped over to Fred and smiled at the young lad. "Perhaps with some of your incredibly foolish luck we may yet make it out of this adventure alive," he replied.

Fred's face drooped and he turned to Ned with a glare. "That isn't comforting," he commented.

Ned chuckled, placed his hand on Fred's back and led him toward the castle. "Master your staff and trust in your friends, and that will lead you to the path of victory," he encouraged him.

On that high note the pair returned to the castle to their beds, but they met Theowin in the entrance hall. He smiled at the pair. "You two are conspiring to feast on the food in the kitchen?" he teased.

"Only if it has not been packed for the trip," Ned returned.

Theowin chuckled. "It has indeed, and I am sure even your dwarf companion will find no fault in the quantity and quality of what has been packed for you. However, I did not wish to discuss merely your coming meals. I have something I wish to speak with you, Edwin." His eyes flickered to Fred. "It is a most private matter."

Ned raised an eyebrow and turned to Fred. "If you would excuse us," he pleaded.

"Sure," Fred reluctantly replied. He went up to his room while Theowin led Ned outside into the courtyard.

When they were out of hearing range of the castle Theowin stepped in front of Ned and turned to face him. His expression was serious and he scrutinized Ned's curious face. "Edwin, you mentioned your soul had been much stressed. What over these last sixteen years has caused such a change in you?" Theowin asked him.

Ned raised an eyebrow. "Surely you aren't curious to learn what has occupied my time over these years. It is rather a boring tale of keeping myself hidden until Pat came of age," he revealed.

"Hidden why? From whom?" Theowin persisted.

Ned sighed. "From Canavar," he admitted.

"Why did you fear him the most out of all the enemies you have made these years, and how would a boring existence lead to such castoring ability?" the king wondered.

"Because I did not wish to face him. We-we met each other after Cedric's death, and it was not a pleasant experience for myself," Ned told him.

Theowin stepped forward and placed a hand on Ned's shoulder. The old elf's face was a mixture of pain and disappointment. "Edwin, I fear you are not being entirely truthful with me. Not once have you mentioned how you learned of Canavar's interest in souls, nor what induced your soul to strengthen itself."

"Pain, old friend. Pain induced my soul to strengthen itself, and as to how I learned of Canavar's interests, that also arises from pain," Ned replied. He turned away and leaned heavily on his staff. "But I would rather not remember the past. It is too painful."

"Physically, or emotionally?" Theowin asked him.

"Both, and it would do no good to dwell on my pain. It won't help us achieve our ends now," Ned insisted.

Theowin pursed his lips, but bowed his head. "Very well, Edwin, I will agree to your request, but the next you come I will demand an explanation," he told him.

Ned smiled and bowed his head in return. "I will accept that demand, and retire for the night."

Early the next morning found the travelers rested and their saddlebags packed with all the delights the elves could offer in the quantities that could sustain even the hungriest dwarf. Sins sat atop his horse with his midsection a fine example of mummification to keep his wound from being jostled about on the trip.

Brother Birch was among the group with his horse at the ready and his face a picture of relief and impatience. "Can we not hurry faster?" he pleaded with the companions. The Brother paused and counted the group. "And where is one of your number? Was there not a young man in your group."

"He will not be joining us for any further adventurers," Ned replied.

"Hold yer horse and be quiet. We're not done here yet," Canto growled at the priest. He turned back to the others who stood before Theowin and Telana. Behind them was Tolen and the stables. The city was not yet awake, and a soft mist arose from the moat outside the city walls and covered the entrance courtyard with its soft blanket.

"I would wish you a safe journey and for you to return whenever you may, but we are glad to be rid of you," Theowin teased them.

Telana frowned at her playful father, and glanced at each of the faces of her friends. "I will miss you very much. Please visit again very soon," she pleaded.

Ned stood at the front of the party, and he smiled and bowed his head. "We cannot make a promise we cannot ensure as our path is still fraught with danger, but after that is past I am sure many of us will return," he promised.

Tolen glanced over the shoulders of his royalty and at Pat. "And you must tell me the story behind the sword," he requested.

Pat bowed her head. "I will as soon as I learn it myself," she swore.

"All right, that's enough of the goodbyes. All this weeping stuff doesn't make the journey any easier," Canto spoke up.

"No indeed, so we shall not say farewell, but until next time," Ned agreed.

"Until next time," the others spoke in unison.

The companions led their steads down the terraces and to the main courtyard. There they mounted and Brother Birch eagerly guided them across the bridge and onto the southern road toward their next adventure.

GLOSSARY

Anduvis: a hawk belonging to the princess of the elves. It was formerly the pet of her brother who disappeared many years before.

Bullfalo: bull-buffalo creature of unknown description located to the north of the region of Dirth. They have large horns that can be used as instruments.

Canavar: a powerful dark castor who is using the Region Stones to create chaos and destruction throughout the world. Why he does this and who he is is unknown.

Cantankus: a hairless dog-beast that was used as steed-of-war by humans. They proved difficult to breed, so humans replaced them with horses. Dwarves still use the cantankus for their mounted divisions. Like dogs, they are extremely loyal and will die for their master, but abuse will lead them to abandon their owner. Riders communicate with their cantankus via a set of collars around their neck and their cantankus' neck that allows them to feel each others' commands and became as one in the mind.

Canto: an old dwarf and cantankus trainer who resided in Galaron after his banishment from the city of Dirth. He follows the companions for the adventure and fights with an ax.

Caston (region): the region to the southeast of Kite.

Castor: people who are capable of harnessing the natural magic in the world for their own uses. Current castors use staffs to focus their powers, but ancient castors used stones to connect with the natural world.