by Rain Oxford
Merlin and I paused outside of it. “Do you want me to go in first to look around?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Your invisibility spell is quite impressive, but people here expect that. They should not be able to detect my magic so easily.” He pulled a ring out of his pocket.
“Where did you get that? I thought all of the rings were in my bag?” His clothes had been in my bag, too, so he was wearing a black shirt and black pants that belonged to Vactarus.
“This one Vac had gotten from me long ago.” He slipped it on…
And nothing happened.
“Are you sure that worked?”
He smirked. “Not on you, young sorcerer.”
“Why not?”
“I am not invisible, but this magic makes people overlook me. It does not work on you because your eyes are currently wolf eyes. This is the closest thing to invisibility that wizards of my world can do. If I speak directly to someone or bump into them, it will seem to them like I suddenly appeared out of thin air.”
I was impressed, but I shouldn’t have been. Merlin was the most powerful wizard I had ever met. He could teach me my entire life and I wouldn’t know half of what he did. That thought made me sad. I was certain he would eventually grow tired of teaching me and go live with Nimue.
“It is the nature of the mentor-apprentice relationship that you will eventually no longer need me,” Merlin said, reminding me that he sometimes heard my thoughts even when I wasn’t trying to speak to him. “However, the next step is friendship, which I assure you will not be a demotion. I will never grow tired of you. If nothing else, you can find trouble in an empty room with no windows or doors.”
It struck me as odd that on the ship ride to Nightmare Island, he was the one expecting me to leave. That felt like months ago.
We entered the tavern. It was a pretty standard tavern with wooden tables in the middle of the room, a set of steps leading upstairs, a set of steps leading down, and a bar to the right. The tavern keeper was meticulously wiping down the bar, obviously in a foul mood. I wasn’t surprised; his only customers were the warriors, who were unnecessarily loud and making a terrible mess.
“Those are the warriors,” I said, pointing to them with my paw.
Merlin nodded. “Can you smell Gmork?”
I sniffed the air and smelled him easily. “Yes.”
“Lead me to him. Stay low, though. We do not want them trying to add you to their payload.”
I lead him downstairs to the basement. The north, west, and south walls were lined with heavy metal cells, three on each. Beside the door on the east wall were ten stacked crates. I ignored the crates.
Two of the cells on the north wall contained Cho and Chan, while Stesfen was in a cell on the south wall. On the east wall, Gmork was in the center cell and another man was in the cell to his right.
“The tavern must double as a jailhouse for lawbreakers around here,” Merlin said, slipping off his ring and approaching Gmork’s cell. He waved his hand over the lock and the lock released. “They did not even bother to ward it?”
“Not for a wolf,” Gmork said.
“And the sorcerers couldn’t do anything without their wands,” Merlin added.
The man in the cell to the right of Gmork’s stood. “Please release me, too.” He was in his late twenties, tall, and slim with dark brown hair and medium brown eyes. His clothes were thin and cheaply made. He didn’t look or smell harmful.
“We are really only here for him,” Merlin said.
“Please! I shouldn’t be in here. It wouldn’t take you any extra work at all. I’ll make it up to you.”
“He will turn on us and help the guards find us,” Gmork said.
“I wouldn’t!”
“Ask him what his magic is,” I said.
Merlin did, and the man blushed. “I was a magician, but I was in an accident. I should have died. I was certain I wouldn’t live… but I did. I lost my magic, though.”
Merlin didn’t hesitate; he reached out and magically unlocked the cell. “Then you are in luck, because we have answers for you.”
“Merlin, you are too trusting,” Gmork admonished.
“I know why he lost his magic and I will explain when we are at a safe distance from here.”
“How do we get out of here?” I asked.
“One of us will have to create a diversion,” Merlin said. Gmork put his paw on his nose. “That does not count,” Merlin said, putting his finger on his nose.
“It does,” Gmork argued.
“What is it?” I asked.
“When Gmork and I were children and someone had to do something we did not want to, the last one to touch their nose had to do it.”
The stranger instantly put his finger on his nose. “That’s not fair!” I insisted. “I can barely walk on four paws.”
“As I said, we are not children, so it does not count.”
“Then why are you still touching your nose?” I asked.
Merlin lowered his hand with a sigh. “Habit. As I am the only one here currently with magic, I will cause the distraction.”
“Wait, I can’t leave yet,” the stranger said, lowering his hand. “The warriors stole something from me that I have to get back. I also owe you for releasing me. I’ll cause the distraction and use the opportunity to get it.”
“Do you have any skills?” Merlin asked.
“I have had to steal to eat before, and I happen to be pretty good at it.”
“Where is your item?”
“One of the warriors, Razoul, has it on him in a satchel.”
“If you don’t free us, we’ll---” Stesfen’s threat was cut off as Merlin made a gesture to him and he was slammed against the back wall. He didn’t get back up.
“Did you want to say something, too?” Merlin asked the other two sorcerers, who shook their head. “Good. Here is the plan. Ayden, you will be the distraction because I think you are the only one who can do it without getting hurt. You go out to the warriors and pretend to be a defenseless pup begging for food.”
I growled. “I do not beg.”
“Distract them away from the back rooms. Meanwhile, I will get the satchel off the warrior.”
I stopped growling. Sure, my job was embarrassing, but it wasn’t very dangerous. If anything, I was the closest to the exit.
“While you have their attention, the thief will sneak upstairs to the second floor and set a diversion. Make the warriors run upstairs. Then you will climb out the window. Can you do that?”
“Yes. I’m good with heights. My name is Arrow, by the way.”
“I am Merlin, and this is Ayden.”
“I am Gmork,” Gmork informed him, since Merlin didn’t.
“Gmork will escape the basement while they are on the second floor. Does everyone understand the plan?”
We all nodded. Merlin slipped his ring on and pulled my dagger out of his boot. Once upstairs, I stealthily walked around the warriors so that they would face away from the steps. I had assumed my presence would be attention-getting enough, but none of them looked at me.
“Whine,” Merlin instructed in my head.
“This is worse than dressing as a girl.” I whimpered quietly and this got their attention immediately.
“Oh, look! It’s a wolf pup!”
“Don’t touch it or its mother won’t take it back.”
“It’s clearly too old to be with its mother still.”
Fortunately, their tones were friendly, because they didn’t see me as a threat.
“Whimper some more and glance at their plates,” Merlin said. He was right next to Razoul, who I identified as the only one with a satchel at his side. I did as Merlin suggested.
“Don’t give her any food, or she’ll follow you home,” Razoul said. It was all I could do not to growl.
“I wouldn’t mind having a wolf around,” another warrior said. “She could hunt food for us or sniff out criminals.” He reached out to pet my head and I let him.
“Her fur is way softer than I expected.”
As embarrassing as it was, I liked the compliment. He let me go and tossed a piece of meat at me. The wolf instincts enabled me to catch it in midair and scarf it down without tasting. The warriors cheered and awed over this, and took turns tossing food at me. Even I was impressed with my speed.
“Wait, wait,” the guy who pet me said, making the others stop. “We should see how smart she is before I decide to keep her.”
“You?”
“Yes, me. I fed her first, so she’ll be my wolf.”
“That’s not how it works. I outrank you, so she’s mine.”
They were acting a little childish, which further lessened my respect for warriors as a people. This broke into an argument, which caused Merlin to have to stop cutting the strap of the satchel or risk getting caught.
“Favor one of your front paws.”
With an internal sigh, I lifted my right paw off the floor a little and whimpered again. This drew their attention to me again. “She hurt her paw,” one of the warriors said.
“Then she won’t be of much help to us,” Razoul said. “Sit,” he ordered.
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I sat, which caused the warriors to cheer and clap. “Lie down,” another said.
Again, I did, and they acted like I had just done the smartest thing they had ever seen. “Speak.”
I wish I could. I made a halfhearted grumbling sound, which made them all laugh.
“Anyone could have taught her that,” Razoul said. “Wolf, walk backwards in a circle.”
In the corner of my eye, I saw Arrow disappear upstairs. “You get to be the she-pup next time,” I said to Merlin as I did what Razoul wanted.
The warriors were very impressed and fed me more. That wasn’t so bad, since I hadn’t eaten breakfast. Finally, Merlin had cut the strap of the satchel and backed away with it in hand. A moment later, Arrow appeared on the steps. “Look at me, I’ve escaped!” Then he ran back upstairs. The warriors scrambled out of their chairs to chase after him. I was forgotten.
As soon as they were upstairs, Gmork crept up the basement steps. He walked carefully, because his steps were easily heard.
Of course, the tavern keeper was watching us closely, but he didn’t say a word. Apparently, he didn’t like the warriors any more than we did.
Gmork was almost out the door when three warriors ran down the stairs, yelling for him to stop. Gmork reacted faster than Merlin or me. He turned to them, growling, and shouted, “Kala!” Ice blasted over them like magic and threw them back.
We ran outside, where Arrow was waiting impatiently. The four of us ran from the tavern and village and didn’t stop until we were on the open road to Vactarus’s mansion. After we caught our breath, Merlin handed Arrow the satchel. “You all did well.”
“Thank you so much,” Arrow said, pulling a silver teapot out of the satchel and hugging it to his chest.
“A teapot? That was what was so important?” Gmork asked.
“Yes. This is the most precious item I own.”
“That is unfortunate for you. I cannot believe you two came back for me. You should have saved Nimue.”
“I cannot believe you did not tell us your magic was back,” Merlin said.
“I did not know. It just happened.”
“A likely story.”
“I am not lying.”
“Every word out of your mouth is a lie!”
“You are the one who lied!”
“I take it they’re not friends?” Arrow asked me quietly.
“No, not really. They both love the same woman.”
“Oh. I know how that is. My love’s fiancé had me put to death.”
“Where is she now?”
He gave the teapot a sad smile and stroked it gently. “She’s safe.”
“I feel like we’re going to learn a lot more about you at a later time.”
Meanwhile, Merlin and Gmork had stopped walking to argue. Merlin could go on and on about things, he teased people he liked, and he played pranks on people and animals, but he was also the wisest man I knew, endlessly patient, and calm in the face of danger. I wasn’t used to this argumentative side of him.
I wasn’t used to this turmoil in him. No matter what Gmork did, he had been Merlin’s best friend as a child, and a part of Merlin wanted that back.
“What did Baltezore do to you that drove you to this? This anger is not coming from something I did. When you gave Nimue up for her own happiness, you still had a heart. What did Baltezore do to you? Did he torture you? Did he banish you somewhere? Did he---”
“It wasn’t Baltezore! I never met him!”
Merlin froze. “Then how…”
“It was Erica.” Without another word, Gmork ran back to the castle.
Merlin couldn’t catch him as a man, and he knew better than to try. Gmork probably couldn’t leave Caldaca on his own, anyway.
When Merlin and I switched back, Arrow was shocked, so we had to give him some background information, which we finished just as we reached the mansion.
“A magician lives here?” Arrow asked, able to detect the illusion magic. He rushed inside and enjoyed Vactarus’s full display until Arrow admitted he was a magician without magic. They immediately went off alone to share stories of their magician days.
We found Gmork in the library. “You should have told me about Erica,” Merlin said.
“Go away,” Gmork said.
“Tell me what happened between you and Erica and I will.”
Gmork was stubborn, though. “It is impossible for me to tell you.” Then he stood and pushed Merlin out of the way, leaving without another word.
“What do we do?” I asked.
“Saving Nimue is more important than petty squabbling, but unless we can trust him, he is a liability. We need to know what happened. For all we know, Erica could have control over him the way Ilvera controlled Magnus.”
“But he would never admit it.”
“No. We will have to see what happened for ourselves.” He left and I followed him to the magic room. “In your bag, there is a potion in a dark yellow bottle with a cork lid.” I got out the potion he was talking about. He gestured to some of Gmork’s leftover fur from the sleeping curse cure. “Add several hairs to it.”
“What is this?”
“Basically, it is a prescription-strength dreamwalking potion.”
“What is that?”
“It is a powerful potion that will allow us to see what Gmork is hiding from us.”
“That sounds dishonest and invasive.”
“I will not make you take it, but I must know.”
I considered it for a moment. “I suppose it’s not hurting him, and if Erica did something to him, we can’t help him unless we know.” I put the hairs in the bottle, closed it, and shook it.
“Sit before taking it, because you will feel its affects immediately,” he warned. I helped him drink half of it and he passed out quickly.
I hesitated, worried that it was a trick by Erica or Gmork. I was afraid of never waking up. However, trusting Merlin, I finally made myself drink it.
Chapter 16
It was just like the previous dreamwalking Merlin and I had done. We were there and we could move freely, but everything else was a memory. The reason I knew it wasn’t real was because Merlin was a man and I wasn’t a wolf. Gmork was also a man, but he couldn’t see us. He didn’t have the anger I was used to in his eyes. I watched as he did a spell in the magic room of his castle.
“What is he doing?” I asked Merlin.
“I am not sure.” Merlin peered over Gmork’s shoulder to read the page of the book. “That is interesting. He is doing the spell to find his soul mate.”
I got a bad feeling about it. “I don’t want to see that he finds happiness only for her to die.”
“He never told me he found a soul mate. We tried this spell when we were teenagers and it failed.”
The details of the
spell were glossed over, and the next thing I knew, a fairy flew in through the window. She was small enough to fit in my hand. Her hair was long and black with a soft blue glow around her. Her dress was black and sparkly, while her iridescent wings were dark purple or blue depending on the light. I had never even heard of one with black hair.
Fairies on Caldaca despised dark magic users and protected the innocent. They were created of light magic, but they could be the most vindictive creatures on Caldaca when someone angered them. Every sorcerer knew better than to cross them.
“Good evening, Gmork.” Her voice, though soft, was not high pitched.
“I hope it will be, Illya.”
“I am glad you are taking my advice.”
“I’m tired of being alone.”
The fairy smiled warmly. “Then go to the sunflower meadows at midday tomorrow and you will find your soul mate sitting under the Weeping Willow.”
“Thank you.”
“I wish you well, Gmork. Remember that love is not a prize to be won. It requires sacrifice, time, and nurturing, just like the Willow tree. Give it this, and you will be richly rewarded with happiness.”
Gmork nodded. Time passed in a blink of an eye, and suddenly, Gmork was standing under a Willow tree in a field of sunflowers. To my shock, it was Nimue sitting on the ground. The reason for Gmork’s shock, however, was that she was no more than six years old.
I looked at Merlin, whose eyes were wide. Obviously, he hadn’t known anything about it. “You didn’t know Gmork knew Nimue as a child?”
Merlin shook his head. “She said she had never met him before.”
“Maybe it wasn’t a lie, maybe she just didn’t remember him.”
A moment later, Gmork was in his tower with the fairy again. “How could you not tell me?”
“I told you it would take time.”
“I wanted a woman to love me, not a little sister.”
“There are many kinds of love. In time, she will love you as you wish.”
“I shouldn’t have done the spell. This torture isn’t worth it. I don’t want to wait fourteen years for her to love me! For you, that may be nothing, but those are years for me to dread, knowing that I can’t be with the person I want to be with because she’s a child.”
