The Apprentice to Zdrell

by David K Bennett

As Jonny and Roald entered the great hall, they noticed they were almost late. Most of the seats were filled, and the boys doing the serving were already bringing in plates of food. They looked around for a place to sit.

  Feldor grabbed Jonny by the arm. “There you two are,” he said, scowling. “You both are to sit at the head table with The Master.” He guided Jonny up towards the table at the center of the room. “You had both better remember to be on your best behavior as well, spinning trick or no,” he added with a glare as they arrived at the only two empty seats at the table.

  Feldor hurried away and The Master noticed them as they sat down. “Jonny, Eleander tells me you have good news,” The Master said, smiling. “Eat now, we’ll talk later.”

  Jonny and Roald sat down and could not help but notice where they were sitting. The Master sat at the head of the table. On his right sat a large, distinguished looking older man. Resident journeyman wizards filled the other five seats separating where Jonny and Roald sat from the head of the table. Eleander sat directly across from the special guest. The other boys at the table were older apprentices.

  Roald whispered to Jonny that everyone at the table was a journeyman or would be made one soon. He looked even more intimidated by their favored location than Jonny felt.

  As Jonny looked around, he saw even more people stealing looks at him than on his first night. The looks were not all friendly; in fact, some were downright hateful. He doubted, after tonight, he would ever have another friend than Roald.

  After a few moments, Roald seemed to be enjoying the attention much more than Jonny. He whispered, “I bet Frank and his buddies are eating their hearts out now.” He laughed, “The head table! This is so prodigious. You don’t sit at the head table unless The Master really likes you or is going to make you a journeyman or something like that,” he said still whispering in an excited tone. “I wonder who the visitor is? I bet he’s some kind of big wizard or something.”

  Jonny had been eating quietly. Listening to Roald go on, but noting that except for Eleander and The Master, no one at the table was looking at either he or Roald. The two boys directly across from them had been engrossed in a quiet conversation when he and Roald had sat down, and had given them only the briefest of glances before going back to whatever it was they were discussing. The room was so noisy you had to deliberately talk loud just to be heard even across the table.

  The Master was talking to the guest and Eleander, while the journeymen looked on. Jonny could not hear what was being said, but at one point The Master said something and pointed down at Jonny. As he did, the visitor and the journeymen turned and looked down at Jonny. The Master continued talking and everyone looked back at him, but for the rest of the meal Jonny noticed the visitor glancing occasionally at him. The look on his face was unreadable, but Jonny felt like a fly about to have its wings torn off every time he saw the visitor staring at him.

  Roald kept whispering things to Jonny during the dinner, but Jonny did not hear him. He was too concerned with what would happen after dinner. The food was the best Jonny could ever remember having in his life, but he got very little enjoyment out of it because as the meal wore on he became increasingly nervous.

  Finally, Roald turned to Jonny and said, this time not at a whisper, “Jonny, you haven’t heard a word I’ve said the whole meal.” When Jonny did not respond, he tried again, a little louder still, “Jonny, look at me, this is great. You should be enjoying this. Why aren’t you? Is it because of the visitor with The Master?”

  Jonny nodded. “Yeah Roald, I’m really scared. What if I can’t do it? Every time I look at The Master, I just feel like I’m going to forget all I know. And if the visitor is there too . . . What if I can’t do it?”

  Roald stated confidently, “Jonny. We practiced.”

  “But did we practice enough?”

  “Jonny, I ran around and banged the table and yelled at you the last time. I did everything, except slug you in the arm, and you still did it fine. This will work. Trust me.”

  “Maybe. I hope you’re right.”

  “Look Jonny,” Roald said, holding his gaze. “I don’t know a lot about magic, but there’s one thing I have learned in the last six months. You have to believe in yourself and that you can do your magic. If you don’t believe, it won’t work. So you’ve got to believe. If you don’t, we’re both in big trouble. You know you can do it. I know you can do it. So when the time comes, we just do it, right?”

  “I guess you’re right Roald, but I’m still scared.”

  “So what,” Roald said, now sounding frustrated with his friend. “I’m scared too, but I know you can do it. What’s the worst thing The Master will do to us? Probably he’ll just make us clean out the privies for a few months. That’s nasty, but I’ve done it before. You get used to it,” Roald sighed. “But that’s not going to happen, cause you are going to impress The Master and the visitor so much they’ll want to make you a master wizard right then and there!”

  Jonny had to laugh. The absurdity of him being made a master wizard was too much even for Jonny’s present gloom, so he joined in. “And right after that they’ll make you the Lord Mayor of Alavar.”

  That set them both off laughing and earned them some looks from the other occupants of the table. This time Jonny did not care, so he continued the joke, “Oh yes, my Lord Mayor.” Jonny pretended to bow to Roald. “I have the season’s crop reports for your approval,” he said, pretending to hand him a stack of paper.

  Roald fell right in with the game. “Yes, yes my good man,” he said, in a stuffy voice, sitting with his nose in the air. “Put them over there on the table next to the three chests of gold,” he gestured with an imperious flourish, then they both broke down laughing so hard they nearly knocked their plates off the table.

  As Jonny and Roald were starting to get over their attack of the giggles, Jonny noticed The Master and the visitor both stood up. The Master was calling for attention.

  “I hope all of you have enjoyed this dinner,” The Master began. “I want to introduce you to our honored guest this evening, Master Boregond. He is a most accomplished master of The Arts, and will be staying here for the next two days. He and I have been acquaintances for many years. I want you all to treat him with the same respect and deference you treat me. Answer any questions he asks of you. If you’re lucky, he may even teach some of you something.”

  Both Master Silurian and Master Boregond smiled. The Master whispered something to Master Boregond who only shook his head in reply. The Master looked over the crowd and said, “Carry on then. Enjoy this food and don’t ever let it be said I don’t feed you boys properly.”

  He turned and left the room with Master Boregond. Just before they went through the doorway, Master Boregond glared over his shoulder at Jonny. Jonny looked down, but not before their eyes met, and he felt a shiver go down his spine that brought back all the gloom he had been feeling earlier.

  As soon as The Master left, the noise in the room resumed its previous level. “Did you see the look he gave you?” Roald asked.

  “How could I miss it? I don’t know why he looked at me like that, but I don’t like it.”

  “Yeah,” Roald continued. “I don’t know anything about him but that wasn’t a nice look. I don’t like him already.”

  “But we have to still be really polite to him. He’s The Master’s guest, and besides that he’ll be gone in a couple of days.” Jonny paused, and then continued, “I think there’s more going on here than we know about.”

  Roald snorted. “You can be sure there’s lots more going on here than we know about. There always is, but maybe this time we’ll find out a bit of it.”

  As Roald finished speaking, Jonny saw Eleander, standing by the door where The Master had recently departed. He gestured for them to come, and Jonny’s stomach filled with butterflies again at the prospect of what was to come.

  Chapter 17

  The three of them entered the same office where Jonny had fir
st met the Master--had it only been two days ago? The Master and Master Boregond sat on either side of the Master’s desk. Boregond’s back was to them as they entered the room, but he turned his chair sideways and stared at Jonny on hearing them. Jonny’s fear became a physical pain. His heart beat so fast it felt as if it were a caged animal trying to escape. He stared down at the floor trying to ignore the piercing gaze.

  The Master spoke. “Jonny, Eleander tells me you have something to show me. I mentioned your little talent to Boregond, and he expressed an interest in seeing it as well. Are you ready?”

  “I g-guess so,” Jonny stammered, still looking the floor.

  “Well then, you can use the same table where we worked with the coin the other day,” The Master said, seeming not to notice Jonny’s discomfort.

  Jonny looked up at The Master who smiled at him and gestured towards the table. He deliberately did not look in Master Boregond’s direction as he walked over to it.

  Roald put the dagger, pointed down, on the table and held it with his finger, waiting. Jonny looked at the knife and the tension in the room mounted. He reached out with his mind as he had that afternoon, but as he stared at the dagger, he could feel Boregond’s gaze on him. Nothing happened. He could not concentrate.

  Jonny turned to Master Silurian. “I’m sorry, Master,” he said nearly in tears. “We worked on it all afternoon, and practiced and it worked then, but . . . but I just can’t . . . can’t make it work now.”

  The corner of Boregond’s mouth quirked up in a leer. The Master looked quite irritated.

  “Jonny,” he said with an edge to his voice Jonny had not heard before. “Can’t is a word I will not hear! If you were able to do it this afternoon, you should be able to do it now. Being nervous is understandable, but failure is not acceptable!” His eyes burned as he held Jonny’s gaze. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Master, yes I’ll do it,” Jonny said, feeling even worse than before. He fleetingly wondered if The Master would kill him if he tried to run for the door, but was unwilling to find out. He stared back down at the dagger.

  Roald said, “Come on Jonny. You can do it. You did it lots this afternoon. Just do it again.”

  Eleander joined in, “Just like earlier, Jonny. Just do it.”

  Jonny stared at the knife, trying to recapture the feeling he felt that afternoon, but it would not come. Sweat trickled down his forehead and from his armpits. His knees trembled. Nobody said anything. He strained and strained but nothing happened.

  Master Boregond broke the silence. “Well, what did you expect Silurian,” he snorted. “He’s barely out of diapers. You’re asking too much of him,” he said with a dismissive tone. “I know very few masters who could do what you’re asking without demon assistance, and just look at him, a baby. Is it any wonder he fails?”

  Both Jonny and Master Silurian colored at the words. The Master’s jaw set and Jonny could see that The Master and Boregond were probably not the best of friends, maybe even rivals. This only served to deepen Jonny’s shame. He said nothing, what was there to say? He had failed.

  Roald spoke up breaking the tension, “C’mon Jonny. This is stupid. You know you can do this, I know you can do this, just do it.”

  The Master spoke, “No, Roald. If Jonny cannot perform, then we will take no more of Master Boregond’s time. He and I have more things to discuss tonight. You three can go now. I will deal with you tomorrow,” he said, turning back to face Boregond.

  Even if Jonny was ready to leave in defeat, Roald was not so easily put off. “Wait, Master,” Roald said, earning him a sharp glare from The Master. Even so, he continued, “Master, please let Jonny have one more try, please. I know one more thing that will make it work.”

  He did not wait for The Master’s response. He ran over to Jonny and gave him the dagger. “You hold on to it to start with, then we’ll do it just like we did at the end of the afternoon, just like we did it before,” he said, winking at Jonny.

  Jonny could not figure what Roald was talking about, but he went over to the table and placed the dagger pointed down and held it. As soon as it was in place Roald started yelling nonsense words at the top of his lungs and running up and down in the room. Everyone stared at him, stunned by his bizarre behavior, including Jonny. Roald could see Jonny still had not caught on, so he stopped for a moment and said to Jonny, “Just like at the end of the afternoon, remember?”

  Now, Jonny understood. Jonny did remember how Roald had done the same thing that afternoon trying to distract him, and how Jonny had been able, eventually, to spin the dagger no matter what strange things Roald did to distract him.

  Jonny smiled. The tension in him broke and it was just like that afternoon all over again. He ignored Roald, just as before, and he focused on the knife. It immediately began to spin. Within a few seconds, it was spinning rapidly and he took his finger from it.

  “Now, see here,” Master Boregond began to protest. “This has gone on for long enough,” he said, not having seen the dagger spinning because of how Jonny was standing blocking his view. “Clear these children out of here and let’s get back to our work, Silurian,” he harrumphed.

  “Certainly, Boregond,” The Master said, smiling now because he could see the dagger spinning. “But you really ought to look and see what this child is doing,” he said, with obvious relish.

  “Jonny, could you move so Master Boregond can see.”

  Jonny, feeling more comfortable now he had control of the knife said, “Certainly, Master.” He moved out of the way and the color drained from Boregond’s face. He did something with an amulet he wore around his neck and became even more alarmed.

  “That’s right, Boregond,” The Master said with triumph in his voice. “No demons, no charms, no constraints, no glyphs or incantations, and yet it spins. Disconcerting, isn’t it?”

  Master Boregond said nothing.

  After keeping the dagger spinning for over a minute, The Master turned to Jonny and said, “I think that’s enough for now Jonny. You’ve accomplished what I asked you for today. By the way, what happens when you stop making it spin?”

  Roald did not wait for Jonny to reply and jumped in, “He can make it come to a stop pointing wherever he wants, Master.”

  “Really?” The Master said, amusement plain in his voice. “Okay, Jonny why don’t you stop it, and have the tip pointing at Master Boregond.”

  “Yes, Master,” Jonny said as he concentrated on slowing the knife down. As it slowed and began to wobble Jonny gave it a push with his mind and if fell over and landed spinning now flat on the table on the hilt. It spun more and more slowly, finally coming to a stop pointing directly at Master Boregond.

  When it came to a complete stop, Jonny let out a large sigh of relief. Only then did he look up at Master Boregond who was looking at him with a glare of undisguised hatred. Jonny did not understand why he would look at him like that, but did not dwell on it as The Master smiled broadly when Jonny looked at him.

  “Well done, Jonny,” The Master said beaming. “And well done for you too, Roald. You did a very good thing helping your friend out like that. Yes, well done both of you.” Roald positively glowed with the praise from The Master. Jonny felt warm inside too.

  “That’s enough for now,” The Master said. “Eleander, take them back out now. Master Boregond and I still have some things to discuss.”

  Eleander motioned for Jonny and Roald to go. They were only too happy to leave. As soon as they were out in the hallway Roald started skipping up and down.

  “Did you see the look on that fat pig’s face,” Roald almost shouted.

  “Keep your voice down,” Eleander said sternly, then started to grin. “But he did look like he was going to explode didn’t he?” Eleander said laughing.

  For a moment, Jonny could not say anything. Finally, he said, “Roald. Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without you. You saved me.”

  “Awww, it was nothin’,” Roald said, becoming much more sub
dued. “You just needed a little help getting started. I knew you could do it. You only needed to remember you could.”

  “Well, he’s right,” Eleander said. “You have as much to be proud of today as Jonny, Roald. You helped make it happen.”

  For the second time in as many minutes, Roald looked like his fondest desire had been granted. He did not say anything, but Jonny could see how happy the kind words had made him.

  Eleander then turned and said seriously to Jonny, “You better not let anything like that happen again. If your friend hadn’t bailed you out, you would have been in very big trouble with The Master. I told you to practice till you could do it with no hesitation. What happened?”

  Jonny’s sense of elation dropped significantly. They stepped out into the dark courtyard and Jonny stopped. “We did practice, Eleander,” Jonny began. “I could do it without even looking at the knife, easy. But, that Master Boregond, when he looked at me, I . . . I just couldn’t. I forgot everything.”

  “Well you better not let it happen again, but I don’t blame you,” Eleander said. “Master Boregond is a fearsome character, but you can’t let him get to you like that.”

  “Why does he hate Jonny so much?” Roald asked.

  “I don’t know, Roald,” Eleander replied. “He’s a powerful wizard in the north countries. Don’t tell anyone, but I don’t think The Master likes him very much; but he has to give him courtesy as a fellow wizard. He is a powerful demon worker, so that might be why he didn’t like what Jonny did. I know that’s why The Master doesn’t like him much. Master Silurian doesn’t have much respect for wizards who rely too much on demon magic.

  “Either way, I don’t think you’ll have to do anything more around him. He is just on his way back to the north. He will be gone in a couple of days. So just steer clear of him, and you should be fine. Both of you ought to head up to bed now. You’ve had a busy day. I will find you tomorrow at breakfast and tell you what The Master wants done. So you better get some rest.”