“You may go now.”
Tom nodded gratefully and made for the door.
“And remember, Thomas,” the headmaster said as he walked out, “stay in school.”
Chapter 17
Tom had thought of going for a walk in the forest for a while now – during the day of course. It was odd how the headmaster had suggested it. He wondered if they could read minds in Atlantis. It was frustrating not knowing what wizards could or couldn’t do. He knew there was a limit. They weren’t the all-powerful all-knowing beings they walked around pretending to be.
He had been walking for almost an hour when he came across a house next to the lake. The walls and roof were completely covered by vines. The door and windows were free of it, and they seemed to stare at him like eyes and a mouth.
It was creepy to look at, which meant it was time for him to go. Tom turned and began to walk back. His pace quickened with every step and he ran the last part. He only stopped as he stepped out of the forest. As he collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion he turned, half-expecting something to be there, running after him.
But there wasn’t.
***
As Tom sat down for lunch with Saafir, a worrying thought occurred to him. He had just beaten the son of a lord and whilst that felt great, wouldn’t there be consequences? What would Fredrick’s father do when he found out?
“Fredrick will make sure his father doesn’t find out,” Saafir said. “Lord Dragunov would be furious with him knowing he was pummelled by a Wanderer.” He paused before adding, “I think he might want revenge though.”
Tom sliced into his meat and took a bite. He supposed that was of some comfort, knowing he only had to keep an eye out for the younger Dragunov. Saafir disappeared under the table and reappeared a moment later with a book in hand.
“I got your book back.”
“Thanks...”
Tom reached for the book slowly. There was something odd about Saafir, he thought. Madam Stewart hadn’t thrown him out of her class, and now, somehow, he had retrieved his book from Fredrick.
“What did old Karim say?”
“Old Karim?”
“The headmaster,” Saafir said. “You did go to see him?”
He had always wondered what the headmaster’s name was. Tom told Saafir what had happened. “He told me to take the morning off,” he finished.
“Maybe you should attack Fredrick more often,” Saafir grinned.
Tom smiled back. He'd had his first fight. He'd won his first fight. He got his book back. He played a part in wrecking Madam Stewart’s classroom. And he didn’t get into any trouble for it. It had been a good morning.
And then he spotted them.
They were sitting a few tables away, glaring at him. Well, Gemma was glaring at him. Jenna was watching her sister. He remembered his dream. The smile left his face as he thought of the blood-covered bodies.
“I had another dream last night,” Tom said softly as he looked down at his plate.
“Usual one?”
Tom shook his head. He wished it had been. He already knew the old man was dead. That was why he was dreaming of him, because he had been unjustly killed. But he didn’t want to see his dead body, along with another one...
He was about to tell Saafir his dream when he noticed the twins get up and march towards him. Gemma led the way, looking as angry as ever. She stopped in front of him and raised her fists.
“Come on then!”
Where? was Tom’s first thought as he looked up at her, a little startled. Why had she raised her fists like that? Was she here for a fight? Jenna stood behind her and she gave him a quick wave.
“Let’s take this outside.”
“Huh?”
“You were looking at me.”
“What is she talking about?” Tom asked her sister.
Jenna sighed. “She thinks you want to fight her like you fought Fredrick. Apparently you gave her the same look you gave Fredrick before you attacked him,” she said resignedly. “She wants to take you outside to battle,” she added with a shrug.
Tom hadn’t given her any look. He had barely glanced at her and that only because he'd noticed her gawking at him.
“I don’t want to... battle you,” Tom said.
“Apologise then.”
“What?”
“You were rude to me last night.”
“I-” Tom paused, unbelievably. “I was rude?”
“You shouted at me.”
“You said wizards are better than Wanderers.”
“That’s called being honest. Wanderers are to wizards what apes are to Wanderers.”
“Did you just liken me to an ape?”
Gemma didn’t respond, but she no longer held her hands up as fists. She folded them across her chest now, settling in for what was going to be a long standoff if she expected an apology from him.
“So, Tom had a different dream last night,” Saafir said to Jenna.
“Oh?” she asked excitedly. “What did he see?”
“I don’t know. He was about to tell me, but then this happened.” He pointed at Tom and Gemma.
The arms crossed over Gemma’s chest relaxed a little, before they slowly moved down to rest on her hips. “You saw something different?” she asked.
Tom nodded slowly.
“Tell me.”
He wondered if everything was alright in her head. She had just come to battle him, and now she wanted him to tell her his dream? He decided to tell anyway. He would probably end up needing their help.
Tom told them about the hall; about the corridors and rooms he walked through; about the spiral staircase he walked up and about the room where the two dead bodies lay. He noticed the look the twins shared as he described the silver and green theme that adorned the place. They knew something.
“We have to go,” Jenna said as he finished. “We’ll see you in the tree house after classes.”
They both grabbed their bags and rushed out, leaving Tom staring at them open-mouthed.
“I think they know who it is,” Saafir said.
Chapter 18
Tom and Saafir were early to their next class. They weren’t the only ones. A small crowd had gathered outside the door. The twins weren’t amongst them though.
“Maybe they don’t like staffs,” Saafir said.
Maybe, or maybe they were occupied elsewhere. The way they left, it was obvious they knew who it was. And now they were going to miss classes for the first time... ever. Where were they? What were they doing? Would they go without him to the house of the dead? Did he actually want to go to a haunted house?
Tom didn’t have much time to dwell on that thought as the class doors opened and the crowd barged into what was a hall. It was large, had high ceilings and with the exception of the cupboards and staffs at the far end of the room, was empty.
“Hello, hello,” a loud voice boomed. “I, Master Kaya, the undefeated except-for-that-one-time duelling champion of the Land of the Free, greatest master of the staff, I,” he paused for effect, “will be your teacher,” he finished.
Master Kaya stretched his arm and held his hand open. A staff flew off the wall and into it. He began to spin it, slowly first, then quickly, all the while changing hands as he did. He brought the show to an abrupt end and walked briskly amongst the children, studying their faces.
He smiled and gave Tom a wink as he passed. A moment later, and Master Kaya had given everyone a staff of their own to hold. Tom gripped his tightly. The cold metal felt good in his hand.
“Why do we use staffs to do battle?” Master Kaya asked, and when none raised their hand to respond he added, crestfallen, “No-one knows?”
Tom knew why none had volunteered to answer. And it wasn’t because they didn’t know. They were waiting for the twins to reply, because that was what they were famed for doing, answering questions and more – except, they weren’t here now. A few cautious hands rose as they realised as much.
“Yes, you.�
�� Master Kaya pointed at Ling.
“Staffs are made up of precious metals which absorb our magic and concentrate it, making it much stronger and more effective,” she said.
“Correct. Demonstration,” Master Kaya announced and clay pots emerged from within the cupboards at the far end of the room. They floated in mid-air, one on top of another. “Anyone who can knock one of those clay pots down without using their staff can keep it,” he added. “The staff that is, not the clay pot.”
Murmurs of excitement passed amongst the children and almost all of them raised their hands to try. Saafir didn’t.
“It’s not possible,” he said knowingly.
He was right. The clay pots refused to budge even an inch. It wasn’t long before the final few begrudgingly gave up.
“I want you to hold your staff tightly,” Master Kaya said. “Fill it with your magic, feel it become a part of you – an extension of your body.” He raised his staff and pointed it towards the floating pots. “See the power of your magic,” he said, and every pot shattered into little pieces before dropping to the ground. “You may begin.”
Tom held his staff up. It was a simple piece of metal as thick and round as the tip of a baseball bat and four feet in length. How was he supposed to fill that with magic?
“Thomas Skinner,” Master Kaya marvelled. “It feels good in your hand, the staff, does it not?”
Tom nodded as he admired the staff. It did feel good. He couldn’t imagine ever being given something like this to hold and fight with on the Other Side. This was definitely one of the better classes so far.
“We must duel.”
“Duel sir?” he looked up, not understanding.
“I must duel you,” Master Kaya said. “The first ever wizard born to Wanderers, his first ever duel – history is made of moments such as these.”
Tom didn’t get a chance to disagree. Master Kaya had moved on and somehow he managed quite easily to arrange the children in a wide circle around them both. Tom was at one end, Master Kaya at the other.
Tom gripped the staff uncertainly. Fill with magic, he willed. He felt nothing. Did it work? How was he supposed to know if it worked? He didn’t have much time to figure it out. Master Kaya was charging towards him.
Tom instinctively raised his staff and held it out like a spear. It clashed with Master Kaya’s. He felt something surge through his body. And now he was on the floor, looking up at blurred faces. He felt hands grab him by the arms and pull. The faces were mostly level now, no longer staring down at him, though the floor felt somewhat shaky – or was that his legs?
“Why didn’t you fill your staff with magic, Thomas?” Master Kaya asked.
“He doesn’t have any,” someone sniggered, and a few laughs followed.
“You must fill the staff with your magic, boy,” Master Kaya said. “You may as well fight with a sword otherwise. Like Wanderers,” he added and laughed nervously.
Wanderers didn’t fight with swords anymore, and they hadn’t for over a hundred years, Tom thought angrily. He shuddered as he felt his body quiver. He had never been electrocuted before. He imagined it would feel something like this.
“This is what happens when you duel the best,” Master Kaya chuckled nervously. “Maybe the class would benefit from a more even matching, say, Fredrick against Saafir?”
Saafir grinned and stepped forward eagerly. Fredrick didn’t seem so keen. It was the first time Tom had seen him since that morning. His face didn’t look too bad. There was some minor bruising on the cheeks, a small cut on the lip, another on his eyebrow.
He stepped forward in the end. He had to. All eyes were on him, waiting. As they faced each other, Saafir gave a little bow and took a step back. Fredrick did the same. And they began.
They both moved quickly, as did their staffs, and they were both very good, coming forward to strike at the right moments, blocking and moving out of the way when they needed to. After a while, it became evident Saafir was better. He was that little bit quicker, more precise, and so much more confident.
He caught Fredrick in the end. With his staff held in both hands at either end, Fredrick dropped to one knee to block Saafir’s strike and before he could get up, Saafir struck again, hitting him on his standing leg, knocking him to the ground.
“Bravo Saafir, bravo,” Master Kaya said.
Fredrick got up quickly and moved aggressively towards Saafir. “You got lucky,” he spat.
“You want to go again?”
“Uh,” Master Kaya chuckled nervously as he moved in-between the two. “I don’t think we have enough time for another duel,” he said.
As the class emptied and they made their way out, Tom couldn’t stop thinking about how good they both were. It was Master Hickey, their history teacher’s class next. Again, the twins were absent. Fredrick was there though, along with Malcolm and Andre. He stared at them, the hate clear in his eyes.
“You’ll have to watch out for him,” Saafir warned. “I don’t think he’s having a very good day.”
Chapter 19
Tom and Saafir sat on the front porch of the tree house with their feet dangling over the edge. The twins were supposed to meet them here after classes had finished. That was well over an hour ago.
“Do you think they’re coming?”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
“Because they know who it is,” Tom said sullenly, before adding, “because they don’t need me anymore.”
“Oh, they still need you,” Saafir said confidently. “You’re the dreamer. Without you, they’re intruders. And nobody wants to intrude on the dead. What with being murdered and all, they’re probably not the jolliest of kinds.”
Going to the house of the dead, that was what they were going to do? That didn’t sound like much fun. He began to wonder if it were better the twins didn’t come.
“There they are,” Saafir pointed.
Tom’s eyesight wasn’t as good as Saafir’s and he spotted them a little later. They were there alright, walking down the hill very slowly, very casually.
“Always rushing off to the library and classes, but when it’s something important, they take their time and walk like that,” Saafir muttered. He raised both his hands and held them apart, palms facing each other. A ball of water formed within the space and he thrust it forward. “That will teach them.”
Tom followed the water as it shot off towards the twins. They weren’t far away now, and he saw them look up as the water began to descend upon them. They didn’t seem too worried about it and one raised her hand. Her lips moved and the ball of water froze, changed colour to a greenish brown, and now it was coming back towards them.
“Is it supposed to do that?”
Saafir stared at it a little mystified before he shook his head frantically. He scrambled off the porch and into the house. Tom sat frozen for a moment before he jumped up and followed. But he was too late. He could feel it behind him as he passed the door. He turned instinctively at that moment to face it. It swerved past, missing him by inches as it continued onwards. Saafir was reaching for the back door when it hit him. He dropped to the ground as the brown murk spread across his body.
“Help me,” he cried. Saafir rolled around on the ground. His hands moved up and down his body, scratching away desperately. “It itches so much.”
Tom wanted to help. But part of him was worried that it could be contagious. He didn’t even realise that he was moving away from Saafir until his back came up against the wall.
It was just an itch. He wasn’t going to die from it. And there was nothing he could do to help, other than scratch, and by the way Saafir rubbed his back against the floor and scratched his front with both hands, he didn’t really need that kind of help.
Tom was glad when the twins walked in though. They would rid the itch – although they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to do so. They weren’t even a little bewildered by the sight of Saafir rubbing and scratching away on the floor. They completely ignored him
as they put their bags down and sat on the bed.
It was only after they seemed comfortable did Jenna give a casual wave of her hand. Saafir stopped scratching and rubbing. He lay still on the floor as his eyes moved around the room. They settled on the twins. He got up slowly, his eyes still on them, and sat down on the sofa. His mouth opened but no words came out so he closed it again, much to the amusement of Jenna who had a smirk on her face.
“I thought you might not come,” Tom said honestly.
“Well, we do know who has been murdered-”
“You do?” Saafir found his voice.
“And we could have gone without you,” Gemma continued, ignoring him. “But, for whatever reasons, you are the dreamer,” she said enviously.
“Who is it?”
The twins didn’t reply. Both pulled out books from within their bags and flipped through the pages until they came to the ones they had marked earlier. Jenna held hers out. On it was a picture of a hall with pillars and archways decorated in silver and green.
“Does that look familiar?”
Tom nodded. It looked very familiar...
“That’s... quite impressive,” Saafir admired.
“It’s the House of Zarlock,” Jenna whispered.
“No!”
“There’s more,” Gemma said. Her finger traced down a page of the book she held. It came to a stop over one word. “Sensavil,” she said. “We were looking in the wrong place. It’s a Zarlock family spell. They have their own section in the library.”
“The Zarlocks were murdered?” Saafir said in disbelief.
Tom had heard the name before – Zarlock. He rubbed his forehead, straining to remember. Was it in a history class? Merlin, he was a Zarlock. Saafir had said something about them too, once. They liked Wanderers, the Zarlocks, but they were dead, had been for over ten years now?
He resurfaced from his thoughts to discover a full-blown argument had broken out.
“You think they bit a poisoned apple?” Saafir scoffed. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
The Other Side (Thomas Skinner Book 1) Page 9
