by Brian Beam
As I mulled over her words, I decided that it definitely wouldn’t hurt to have a wizard on my side. Especially when that wizard was the daughter of the Grand Wizard. Even if she didn’t have the best skill in magic, her head was sure to be full of knowledge that could help me find and take down Raijom. Plus, I figured, she was very pleasant to look at.
“Can I help too? I can’t go home anyway. Besides, this is fun except for the hurting all over part. Sal’ if you healed us, why do I still hurt anyway?” Til’ had made his way over to us and shot off a half-dozen more questions before I could cut in.
“Yes, Til’,” I told him with a slight smile, “you can help too. You both know the risks now. If you’re still willing to help me, I’ll take it. After I finish this Contract, Raijom has to be stopped, no matter what the stupid prophecy about me says.” I looked back at Sal’, though I still spoke to Til’. “And the reason you still hurt is that Sal’ is teaching us a lesson so we don’t do anything stupid like what we did with the eldrhim again.” Her watery eyes and trembling smile showed her thanks for sticking up for her instead of telling Til’ about her lack in magical prowess. I smiled back even though speaking of the physical pain made me feel it all again at full force.
“Oh,” Til’ replied curtly. “Then I guess I won’t be doing that again. Anyway, this will be great! I wish we didn’t have to give away that dragon’s child, though.” I wished the same thing, but I still didn’t know what else to do without giving up my life. “If only the Chief could see me now. I’ve escaped a dragon, kicked some thugs’ butts, slain an eldrhim, and now I’m going on an adventure!” It was just like Til’ to take all the credit for killing the eldrhim. I didn’t correct him, though.
“I may be of some service as well,” a familiar raspy voice intoned from above me. It sounded like Max if his voice had been an octave higher.
My breath stopped as I looked up to the trees above me. Was Max’s spirit speaking to me? “Did you guys hear that?” I questioned, trying to make sure that I wasn’t crazy.
Sal’ and Til’ were both looking up as well. “Uh-huh. Do you think Max’s spirit’s with us?” Til’ asked, echoing my thoughts.
“Do not be so Friel-blooded foolish,” the voice rasped as a small, cinnamon-furred shape dropped from a branch onto Sal’s shoulder. Sal’ screamed, grabbing the small furry thing and tossing it quickly away from her. Oh, and Friel is the god of rodents. Have I not said how ridiculous some of the gods of Amirand are?
The small creature was up on its feet, jumping in a quick half-circle to look back at us. Its bushy tail was raised high and its beady black eyes were opened wide in surprise. It was a squirrel.
“Well, that was rude,” the squirrel muttered, its mouth moving just like a human’s.
“Max?” I whispered, not believing what I was seeing.
“No, I am just a talking squirrel.” The squirrel let us sit there another moment, staring at him with wide eyes. “Yes, of course it is me, lunkhead. More importantly, why are you wearing a dress? Is there any ham left?”
My smile felt like it would split my face in two as I ran over to Max, scooping him up into a hand and giving him a semblance of a hug. You can’t really hug an animal the size of your hand. I heard Sal’ clapping her hands together while laughing and Til’ sputtering out a million ignored questions.
“I can’t believe it,” I exclaimed as Max wriggled from my hand and scampered up my arm and onto my shoulder.
“Me either,” he replied stolidly. “You truly are embarrassing yourself.”
I answered with a laugh. Aside from not being a cat anymore, he was the same old Max. All the sadness and anger that had been welling up that morning disappeared in a wave of unadulterated joy. Sal’ and Til’ had run up to join us, Sal’ with her radiant smile and Til’ just looking curious.
“How are you a squirrel now?” Til’ asked bluntly.
Max turned his beady eyes down to the curious Kolarin. “The same way I became a cat. When my spell was reflected, I sent my soul into this body right before the spell hit me.” His tone indicated that he thought that he had given a good enough explanation. I wondered if he realized that he had just let a big part of his past slip in his explanation. I was surer than ever that Max used to be human.
As Max realized we were all staring at him blankly as he sat on my shoulder, he let out one of his trademark huffs. I’m sure his eyes rolled too, but you couldn’t really tell from his new form.
“That’s not possible,” Sal’ stated slowly with concern. “I’ve never heard of any such magic at the Academy.”
This time I’m sure Max rolled his eyes as his head rolled in the same motion. “Maybe because I am the one who came up with the spell.”
“Why didn’t you become a human?” Til’ interrupted, his large eyes glistening with childlike wonder.
“Because first of all, I had to have a body to transfer my soul into and I’m sure that none of you would have been pleased to trade souls with a cat just a millisecond away from being burned to a crisp. Secondly, it would have taken far too much energy to take over a larger body unless I wanted to die in the process. That is why I had to downgrade to this,” he finished, standing up on his hind legs and gesturing at his body with his forepaws. It was a very strange gesture coming from a squirrel. After eighteen years, I hadn’t even become fully used to his humanlike gestures as a cat. I had to start all over again now that he was a squirrel.
We all ignored Til’ as he burst into more questions. Til’ probably didn’t know about how wizards could take spell energy from themselves and how it could destroy their minds, if not just kill them. That was why Max had not attempted to take over a larger form. Even if he was wrong about dying in the process, the attempt could destroy his sense of self. I added that to the list of things I would need to explain to Til’ if I was ever going to quell his questioning.
Once Til’ realized we were just going to keep on talking over him, he crossed his arms and set his lips in a firm line. Once we were back on the move, I told myself that I’d have to try to answer some of those questions for him.
“Wait a minute, so you just let us think you were dead for fun?” I asked, looking down at Max dubiously.
“I resent that,” he replied with another huff. “It took me this long to recover and catch up to you. Well, maybe I hung around for a minute or two extra. I mean, how many chances do you get to see how people will react to your own death?”
Sal’ burst out into a rich belly laugh as if that had been the funniest thing she had ever heard, but tears of joy still glistened in her eyes.
I just stared at him incredulously. “You’d think I’d be used to this kind of thing from you by now.” I gave him another smile. Max actually smiled back. He wasn’t one to smile too often, but I could tell he was glad to be back among us and that I was okay.
Max’s smile faded as he changed the subject. “Tell me everything that happened after I was attacked.”
I told him about my fight with Menar, Menar supposedly changing sides, and the eldrhim attack. Max’s head snapped down to look at the glowing black stone in my hand. “So that’s Menar’s stone?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I responded, holding it up before his rodent face.
“Destroy it, now,” he ordered seriously. At my questioning expression he continued, “Try using that new sword. Most objects of magic can only be destroyed by magic.” For Sal’s sake, I was glad he didn’t ask her to try to destroy it. I was sure she was enjoying being around at least one person who didn’t know her limits in her magic. I mean, she was a very strong wizard, just not a very good one.
Max scampered down my arm and leapt to the ground gracefully as I took the sheathed sword out from under the saddlebag flap and drew out the slightly curved blade. The orange-glowing blade didn’t seem nearly as bright during the day.
I took the stone to the fallen tree and laid it on top of it. Grabbing the ivory hilt in both hands, I raised the sword above my h
ead and brought it down, striking the stone. With a brief flash of light, the stone didn’t break so much as just crumble to dust. Sal’ seemed to look at the ruined stone with regret. I’m sure she had viewed the stone as another item that someone would have loved to study at the Wizard Academy.
“And with that, we eat,” Max stated from behind me as if destroying the stone had been of no real consequence.
Max was annoyed to find we had eaten without him, but perked up as soon as Sal’ was able to dig out two slices of salted ham, finally extinguishing her supply. We all took up seats on the broken tree as we let Max eat. I took the time to answer a few of Til’s questions. Instead of quelling the tide of questions, though, it seemed that I just created more. Til’ really was just like a child sometimes.
Max finished quickly, eating only half of the first piece of ham. “Argh, squirrel stomachs cannot hold enough,” he complained as he scrubbed at his face with both of his front paws. “Better save the rest. I will be very upset if anyone eats it.” He stared at Til’ with that last statement, clearly indicating that he meant it for Til’ alone.
Til’ looked affronted as Sal’ and I shared a laugh. “It’s okay Til’. You really just need some time to get used to him,” I chuckled.
“Whatever you say, Korin. But I mean it,” Max avowed with a deadpan expression. That was another weird expression to see from a squirrel.
“I’m done with taking things that aren’t mine. I wouldn’t take your food anyway, Max. You know, I don’t like ham much anyway. Now some roast mutton, that’s the stuff. Have you ever—” Til’ stopped as Sal’ smacked his shoulder.
“We’ll go make sure everything’s ready to go and give you guys a minute to talk.” Sal’ rose to her feet and gave me a smile. I nodded back appreciatively as she pushed Til’ ahead of her. From the sound of it, Til’ was shooting questions at her the entire way to Telis.
I hopped off the tree and crouched down to look Max in the eyes. His beady eyes were so dark brown that I couldn’t make out the pupils. It was a little disconcerting to tell the truth. But Max was still alive, so I couldn’t really complain.
“So, you have decided to hunt down Raijom,” Max stated bluntly before I could say anything. “With the spell that was hiding you ruined, I suppose you do not really have any other choice.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” I replied. “Even with that black stone destroyed, I don’t think that I, or anyone around me, will really be safe until I confront him. Since you knew him once, do you know where we can find him after we’ve finished the Contract?”
Max sat there staring at me for a minute. I’m not the best judge of squirrel expressions, but I would have wagered all my coins that even though he could answer me outright, he had to tell me in a way that was going to protect the prophecy from becoming known to me as well as protect himself. He had said before that he was concerned about what he would do if he told me everything and then I asked him for help he couldn’t give.
After a few seconds, Max finally responded with, “To be completely honest, I do not know where in Amirand to find him. I do not even know where to start aside from being sure he is not currently in any of the kingdoms we’ve travelled.”
Max’s answer was pretty straightforward and sounded sincere enough. However, I couldn’t help but wonder why he had so long with his answer. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
“We could start by going to wherever you have been with him before,” I suggested.
Max shook his head. “You will just have to trust me that doing that is not an option,” he explained.
I did not understand in any way, shape, or form. I still held to my belief that Max wouldn’t lead me astray, though. “Well, we could make our way to Tahron. Maybe someone at the Wizard Academy would be able to help us. I mean, Raijom’s a wizard after all.” I shot a glance towards Sal’. “Although, Sal’ might not like that idea.”
Max nodded his acquiescence, but switched subjects. “That sword of Menar’s may come in handy on our journey. I am assuming it reflects magic.” I nodded. “Menar was probably given that sword by Raijom somehow. Raijom may have unknowingly given us a weapon to use against him.”
I nodded again as I mulled over what Max was saying. “Max, do you think Menar actually changed sides before he…?” I left off my last words. Menar could have lived through the eldrhim attack, but I found myself doubting it.
Max exhaled deeply before answering. I don’t think squirrels usually exhale through their mouth. I guess I haven’t really been up close and personal with any squirrel but Max to really know. At least, it looked strange. “I want to say yes, but I am not for sure. Tell me again, exactly in detail, about what happened after Menar used that sword on me. My mind was a little hazy after the transfer to this body. The whole soul transfer thing is not a seamless process.”
I went over what Menar had told me once again, keeping as detailed as possible. Max stared off into the forest in thought as I explained everything up until the point when the eldrhims showed up.
“In my opinion,” Max began as he focused back on me, “Menar could survive a fight with eldrhims. The question is if Raijom would let him live after he was betrayed. My gut tells me that Menar truly did change sides. Like I told him last night, he used to have a good sense of what was right and wrong. Eldrhims are evil, evil, creatures and I think that once Menar realized Raijom was using them against you, he realized he was playing for the wrong team.”
Max paused in thought for a moment before continuing. “I would suggest that we try to find Menar to get a lead on Raijom, but honestly, even though I know he’s capable enough, I just cannot be completely certain that he is still alive. Even if he is still alive, there is no guarantee that he will stay on our side. He has already surprised me before by following Raijom’s orders to kill someone who had done nothing wrong. Who’s to say he is not capable of surprising me again?”
Part of me hoped that Max was right about Menar still being alive. He had caused me plenty of trouble, but he may have been more innocent in the whole situation than I thought. Max had made it sound like Raijom may have kept the wool pulled over Menar’s eyes. But Max was also correct in that trying to find Menar could be a big mistake if he decided to take against us again.
“Well, Max, that may be the longest conversation we’ve had without you spouting out a sarcastic remark,” I joked.
“Oh, can it, lunkhead.” Max retorted. “This squirrel brain has dampened my sarcastic wit. I will have to try a little harder. Anything else you want to know before we set out, smart-ass?”
If I ever make a top-ten list of bizarre things that have happened to me, being called “smart-ass” by a squirrel will be among the top three.
“Two things. First of all, Menar called me Ingran and I also had a dream in which my mom called me by that name. Any idea about that?” I figured I already knew the answer, but I wanted some reassurance.
“By telling you the honest answer, you are not allowed to ask me how I know,” he told me seriously. I nodded. “Ingran is your birth name. Should I start calling you that now?” His last sentence was laced with sarcasm.
“No,” I answered with a shake of my head. “Korin’ll be fine. It’s just nice to know, even if you won’t tell me how you know.” I gave him a narrow-eyed stare, but he was as stolid as ever. “Now, secondly, me and Til’ got pretty torn up by eldrhim blood. Sal’ healed us.” Max put a clawed paw to his forehead as he shook his head. He knew where I had been going with that.
“Sorry, you are going to have to let the pain go away on your own. The only thing I have to use for magic with this body is lice, and considering how much less energy I have of my own now, I will not be able to help you with magic as much as I used to. Anyway, I cannot do a thing for you until I have rested more. Right now, your mind believes that you should still be hurting even though you are physically fine. Give yourself a couple days and your brain will figure it out and catch up with your body.”
Max tilted his head. “Oh, man up. I died and you do not hear me complaining.”
“Good to see you’re getting that wit back.” I gave him a wide smile. “We better get going.” I still had ten days before I had to return the dragon egg to Galius in Byweather, so I really did not need to hurry. However, we’d already had a lot of hang-ups over the past few days, so setting a good pace wasn’t a bad idea. I was still puzzling over how to get out of having to give Galius the egg. So far, nothing had come to mind, though.
“First,” Max began, looking towards Telis, “we should really bury my old body. I think that the poor soul from this squirrel body deserves that at least after I kind of let Menar kill it.” There was a hint of humor in his voice.
Til’ jumped at the chance to recite the passage he had practiced already and we gave Max’s old body a hasty burial. Even with Max being alive, putting the cat body that had been with me for eighteen years to rest was still difficult on me.
After the burial, we were on our way. Sal’ rode behind me, Til was in front of the pommel, and Max was perched on my shoulder. I was pretty sure that Max and Sal’ were silently laughing at Til’ and I with our robes bunched up around our knees, baring our legs. Stupid wizards.
Telis still handled the load well, even if slower than when he just had to transport Max and myself. The journey down the mountain was slow and windy, keeping on level enough ground to keep Telis from slipping.
Til’ had brought a fairly large chunk of a tree branch and spent the time carving it with a strange chisel-type tool. The chisel was made of a very thin metal bent into a small semicircle and lodged in a small wooden handle. The metal looked like it should bend if pressed against anything. However, I could see wood shavings flying off to the side.
