by Guy Antibes
“Precisely why we are interrogating you, before you can do anything,” Gortak said. “Room 4.” He jerked his head toward the double doors.
Sam looked back at Gortak, walking to the counter and taking his folder of papers. Gortak glanced up from perusing the documents. Sam didn’t like the look on his face. He wanted to struggle, but he didn’t have any weapons, and the manacles were real metal. Resistance would be futile.
He sat down in Room 4, an interrogation chamber just like the ones at Baskin Constabulary. The guards left him alone in the windowless room. The Vaarekian Intelligence Agency’s budget was no better than the Royal Baskin Constabulary’s, and the furniture was just as hard, scarred, and old.
Gortak strutted into the room and slapped the folder on the table. He took a chair and swiveled it around, sitting on it backwards.
“You are a spy?” he said.
“No,” Sam said. “Who would I spy for, and who would I spy on?”
“Toraltia and Vaarek, of course.”
“I’m an exile,” Sam said. “My papers attest to it.”
Gortak lifted the edge of the folder with a finger and dropped it. “Papers say anything the writer wishes them to say, Master Smith. I don’t believe in papers, but…” he pulled out a small tin from his uniform coat and laid it gently on the table. “I do believe in this.”
He opened the can and showed it to Sam. “Do you know what this is?”
“Green pollen,” Sam said.
Gortak grimaced. “Do you know what this does?”
“I do,” Sam said. He would tell the investigator the truth unless the answers put his friends in peril. “It enslaves the person to whom it is applied for awhile.”
The captain’s eyebrows rose. He obviously hadn’t expected the correct answer. “Where did you learn this?”
“In Wollia. Your agents used this when they stole weapons from the Wollian government,” Sam said.
“They did?” Gortak said. His arrogance wiped clean for a moment.
Sam told him an edited version of the story. In Sam’s new version, Mandrim arrows killed Harlik Bonkle from a distance.
He looked at the tin can, still open on the table. “If you used that stuff on me, I would give you the same answer.”
“I’ll do just that,” Gortak said. He put on a thin glove and put the pollen on the back of Sam’s hand. It crinkled into powder, but Sam put his hands on his lap.
“Tell me the truth about how you learned about green pollen in Wollia,” Captain Gortak said.
Sam repeated the same story. He brushed the desiccated pollen to the floor while he talked. Green pollen didn’t absorb into his pollen-averse skin, and he didn’t want to explain why that was to Captain Gortak.
He had related an edited version of his adventures often enough that he had no problem answering the captain’s continual questions. The captain leaned over and removed Sam’s manacles before standing up.
“You are who you seem, Sam Smith. You can return to your home. I will take your application out of this folder and return it to the university. They will make a determination on your application, and then it will be up to you to pass the entrance exams.”
Sam kept his face as placid as he could and stood when the Captain motioned him out of the door.
“Go left to the lobby, and then out of the building.”
~
There were no landmarks for Sam to use. He had no idea how to get back the university and Plunk’s house. He had to ask directions a few times, but the directions led him to a long, straight avenue. The university’s clock tower was barely visible at the end. It had been six hours since he ate last, but he kept the clock tower in view while his stomach complained.
It seemed like hours before he reached the clock tower, but then he realized that Plunk’s house was on the other side of the university. He would have to walk around. His stomach growled at him, but then he spotted something interesting, a Zagozin restaurant not far from Plunk’s house.
He couldn’t wait any longer and stepped inside the empty place. It wasn’t dinnertime, and Sam had, unfortunately, skipped lunch. He didn’t see anyone, but he called out. “Are you still serving?”
An ample woman walked out from the back. “If I wasn’t, my door would be locked. Are you sure you want a Zagozin meal?”
Sam smiled. “I had one a few weeks ago in Bliksa.”
“Ah, a world traveler.”
“I’m from Toraltia via the ports of Carolank, Port Hassin in Wollia, Pundia, and Bliksa before I arrived here,” Sam said, “so, yes, I am.”
“My, my. What do you fancy?” she said in an accent he didn’t pick up from the Zagozin woman in Bliksa.
“I haven’t eaten in hours, so you choose. Whatever you can serve quickly.”
Her eyes lit up. “Stew, always stew, and sometimes soup, but definitely stew. Lamb stew with potatoes, carrots, and a few other secret ingredients I won’t divulge. It is a little raw for my regulars, but you won’t notice.”
“Raw?”
“I simmer this particular stew into submission. It hasn’t quite given up yet,” she said, grinning.
Sam didn’t have long to wait before the woman brought out a large bowl, a large spoon, a stack of the little flatbread disks he remembered from Bliksa, and a pot of butter, along with a glass of water. She placed the meal in front of Sam.
“I won’t charge you a thing if you allow me to chat with you while you eat,” the woman said.
“Fine with me.”
“Good, then let’s introduce ourselves. My name is Hilsa Forinin, and I own this place. It is the best Zagozin restaurant in Vaarek.”
“Not just in Tolloy?” Sam asked.
She shook her head. “Vaarek. I have many customers.”
Sam looked around at the empty restaurant.
“You caught me at a lull,” she said. “The university students are still in class, and most of my clientele work for a living, so they won’t arrive until dinnertime.”
Sam shrugged. He didn’t care, but he did admit that whatever he ate was far better than the restaurant in Bliksa and that wasn’t bad at all.
“I am Sam Smith. I have applied to the University of Tolloy and hope to get in to further my education.”
“Good for you,” Hilsa said. “What got you all the way to Tolloy from Toraltia?”
Sam gave her pretty much the same story that he had given Captain Gortak.
“You are staying with Plantian Plunk, then?”
Sam looked up. “You speak as if you know him.”
Hilsa smiled and looked at the ceiling. “I do. He is a friend of one of my best customers, Renatee Dinik, a Zagozin professor at the university.” Her gaze turned to the bowl of lamb stew. “You are already finished!”
“I am a growing boy, ma’am,” Sam said, pulling out his purse.
She put her hand on Sam’s wrist. “On me…this time. I have the distinct feeling you will be one of my regular patrons. I have plenty of university students who need something different from dormitory food.” She pointed across the street at an entrance to the university and laughed. “That archway is the south entrance. Use that the next time you want some of my stew. I serve it most nights, and if you liked it raw, like this afternoon, you’ll get something even better when you come after a day of studying.”
~ End of Excerpt ~
Character List
A Boy Without Magic
Cherryton
Sam Smith - son of a blacksmith.
Addia Smith (Addy) - Sam’s sister.
Marker Smith (Mark) - Sam’s brother.
Truart Smith (Tru) - Sam’s oldest brother.
Rolph Smith -Sam’s father.
Walbur Scrivener (Wally) - Son of the town’s post office manager
Gobfort Carter (Gob) - Son of the transportation service in town.
Harrison Dimple - Traveling healer who lives outside of town.
Yulla Featherstone - Teacher of Sam’s class.
&n
bsp; Batchelor Bank - Schoolmaster
Glory Wheeler - Girl in Sam’s fifth year class.
Malora Washjoy - Baker’s wife
Tom Washjoy - Baker
Mountains of Toraltia
Lennard Lager - Town Lord of Mountain View
Emmy - A Great Sanchian - a valuable hunting dog
Bagbox - ‘lord’ of Horner’s Rest
Milla - healer in Horner’s Rest
Magia (Mags) - Healer in Riverville
Faddon Bentwick - Chief Captain of the Constabulary
Rangerfield - Captain and commanding officer of the Riverville fort
Seedman - part-time constable in Fussel’s Ford
Betti - the local healer in Fussel’s Ford.
Dantell (and wife) merchants from Shovel Vale
Hiron Smith - blacksmith friend of Harrisons in Oak Basin
Pensie Smith - Hiron’s wife.
Link Cackle - glassmaker in Oak Basin
Tom Elbow - Mount Vannon constabulary clerk
Ionie Plunk - Mount Vannon madame
Les Oakbrush - Pollen artist
Harget Temper - renegade constable
General Torrent - commander of the royal army
Jay Youngbud - miner
Bannon Plunk - Rebellion Leader (aka Banna Plunk)
An Apprentice Without Magic
Baskin
Mark Leadback - fellow apprentice
Dickey Nail - Sam’s partner
Kened Rider - weapons instructor at the Baskin Constabulary.
Antina Mulch - Older female jeweler, inventor, and pollen scholar. From the same country as Banna Plunk
Issak Bolt - Minister of Justice
Target Armstrong - Marine Constable who helps Sam after his run-in with ruffians
Faran Rubble, the butler of Lord Ditch
Harl Plaster - Manager of the Piper Club
Shilla - Manager-Owner of the Piper Club
Mandy - server at the Piper Club
Captain Benjoy Fork - Issak Bolt’s nephew
Lieutenant Happy- works for Fork
Emmer Wicket - Ice Merchant
Target Armstrong - Marine Guard
Sergeant Polite - Lt. Happy’s underling
Lady Keeta Grate - Lady of the court
Gerrold Pincer - paramour of Lady Keeta
Hander Pot - principal at Red Marine Shipping
Jenna Pot - Hander’s daughter
Winnie Bentwick - Chief Constable’s daughter
Minson Mat - Apprentice
A Voyager Without Magic
Jordi Hawker - Purser aboard the Twisted Wind
Captain Addia Darter - Captain of the Twisted Wind
Desmon Sandal - sailor on board Twisted Wind
Asul Kindra - Wollian nomad sailor killed on board
Carolank
Commander Rett Eshing of the Carolank City Guard
Harbormaster Horis Penstock
Salise - clerk at the harbormaster’s office
Port Hassin
Commander Ilsur of the Port Hassin constabulary.
Commandant Ahman - commanding officer of the Rakwall Armory and Fort
Harlik Bonkle - Vaarekian pollen magician
Pamon Tandar - Vizier to the Potentate of Wollia
Mito Nakara - the Vizier’s spy
Ziggor Smallbug - Tolloyan Scholar on a trip recruiting unique students for the University of Tolloy.
Smaller – Smallbug’s son
Tera Barako - Daughter of the Lashakan ruler.
Pundia
Deeter Temmis - Chancellor of the College of Cathartics
Creden Clearal - Principal of the Pundian Second Bank
Makan Clearal - Principal’s son
Viktar Kreb - dictator of Vaarek
Tolloy
Plantian Plunk - Professor of Pollen Sciences, Banna Plunk’s father
Hilsi Forinin – Zagozin Restaurant owner
A BIT ABOUT GUY
~
With a lifelong passion for speculative fiction, Guy Antibes found that he rather enjoyed writing fantasy, as well as reading it. So a career was born, and Guy anxiously engaged in adding his own flavor of writing to the world. Guy lives in the western part of the United States and is happily married with enough children to meet or exceed the human replacement rate.
You can contact Guy at his website: www.guyantibes.com.
†
BOOKS BY GUY ANTIBES
MAGIC MISSING
Book One: A Boy Without Magic
In the world of Mariopa, everyone is a magician. Even animals and plants use the ever present magical stuff some of the inhabitants call pollen to enhance their lives. The problem is, lightning coursed through Sam Smith’s little five-year-old body and burned out his ability to manipulate pollen. He became, in that life-defining moment, a boy without magic in a world filled with it.
Book Two: An Apprentice Without Magic
Sam finds himself in Baskin the capital city of Toraltia where he starts our knowing only his superior’s superior. Through grit, determination and his knack for no magic whatsoever, Sam must learn to develop relationships that will take him further along in his life, still mostly undefined. A new nemesis joins forces with an old one to make his life too interesting.
SONG OF SORCERY
Book One: A Sorcerer Rises
Bound to a cruel grandfather, thirteen-year-old Ricky Valian is an orphan and a thief. Compelled to steal a valuable item in a public place, Ricky uses the only trick he knows, a magic trick. His crime doesn’t go unobserved. The Dean of Doubli Academy witnesses the theft and recognizes Ricky’s latent talent, volunteering to become Ricky’s guardian at the boy’s trial. Ricky finds himself, unlettered and untutored in sorcery, in a place filled with students. As he struggles with his unexpected circumstances, Ricky becomes a target of a vicious bully, who may not be above taking the life of someone who gets in his way.
Book Two: A Sorcerer Imprisoned
Ricky Valian always dreaded the Juvenile Home in the city of Applia. Killing a member of the Council of Notables is enough to sentence him for a stay. The lord’s widow is anxious for revenge and Ricky has to scramble to stay ahead of people out seeking his life. While there are strange things going on at the Home that will put him in peril, he finds a priceless treasure long forgotten at the Home. Can he stay alive long enough to save it?
Book Three: A Sorcerer’s Diplomacy
Back at Doubli Academy, Ricky finds new acquaintances and a new pastime. However, all is not bliss as circumstances converge to make it impossible to avoid confronting his nemesis, Duke Noacci, the man Ricky suspects of killing his parents. While on a school break, he finds himself in the middle of two powers ready to go to war. Ricky must make life-altering decisions as he struggles to save himself and his new friends.
Book Four: A Sorcerer’s Rings
Fleeing for his life, Ricky Valian heads to Duteria, home of an institute of sorcery. With the help of his two servants, Ricky must learn basic sorcery that he hadn’t needed before. His studies take him out of the Duteria and into new perils as he discovers an insidious plot to disrupt all the governments of his world.
Book Five: A Sorcerer’s Fist
Armed with knowledge of an insidious plot to assume power over the world, Ricky must battle religious zealots within the organization that took him in after begin branded traitor. Together with a secret society that Ricky never took seriously, he finds allies that he once thought enemies to fight against the enemy hidden among those he thought were allies.
FANTASY - EPIC / SWORD & SORCERY / YOUNG ADULT
~
THE DISINHERITED PRINCE
Book One: The Disinherited Prince
Poldon Fairfield, a fourteen-year-old prince, has no desire to rule since his poor health has convinced him that he will not live long enough to sit on any throne. Matters take a turn for the worse when his father, the King of North Salvan, decides his oldest will rule the country where Pol’s moth
er is first in the line of succession, followed by Pol, her only child. Pol learns he has developed a talent for magic, and that may do him more harm than good, as he must struggle to survive among his siblings, now turned lethally hostile.
Book Two: The Monk’s Habit
With his health failing, Pol Cissert takes refuge in a monastery dedicated to magic, healing, and swordsmanship. As a disinherited prince, he thinks his troubles are behind him so he can concentrate on learning magic and getting his body repaired. He soon finds that his sanctuary isn’t the protection he hoped for.
Book Three: A Sip of Magic
Expecting to resume his studies after a long absence, Pol Cissert is disappointed when he is drafted by the Emperor’s Seeker to infiltrate into Tesna Monastery. His mission is to verify rumors of a new army being raised by the South Salvan King, a man he perceives as a personal enemy. Pol will face new challenges, not the least of which will be figuring out the mysterious roommate who arrives not long after he learns about the Tesnan’s plans to take over the world.
Book Four: The Sleeping God
Carrying an amulet given to him by his late mother, Pol Cissert seizes an opportunity to travel to a far-off city in search of his roots. He has no idea that the journey will be no easy jaunt. Chased by magicians, thugs, pirates, and priests, he searches for his legacy by seeking the Cathedral of the Sleeping God. Pol finds that the truth isn’t always something everyone wants.
Demeron: A Horse’s Tale - A Disinherited Prince Novella
Demeron, a Shinkyan stallion who can speak to human magicians, is cut off from his master and must find a way to return hundreds of miles to Deftnis Monastery, his master’s home. To do so, Demeron must travel through the country of his birth, eluding humans who would eagerly take possession of him. Sixty pages long, Demeron, A Horse’s Tale is best read between A Sip of Magic and The Emperor’s Pet.
