Catalyst (Book 1)

by Marc Johnson

  “Is that all?”

  I hesitated. “He also promised to give me a ride on his back.”

  “Did he now?”

  I nodded.

  “It's a wonderful feeling, soaring high up in the clouds.” Master Stradus's face became wistful, and he gave a half-smile. When he looked back at me, he became stern again. “Instead, what you're getting is punishment.”

  I frowned.

  “The both of you. Cynder should know better. Let me help you up.”

  Master Stradus helped me, but I still had limited movement. My body had trouble responding to my commands.

  “How long will I feel like this?” I asked, dragging my right leg as I limped alongside him.

  “A few more minutes,” he said. “Thank the gods you didn't bypass the first barrier in the web. That one was a warning. The second defense would have been far worse.”

  I didn't get to ride Cynder that day or for a long time afterward. Master Stradus made me and Cynder scrub the entire cave complex clean, and I had to prune every plant in the garden. For the next couple of weeks, he also watched while I worked on my exercises with Cynder. But the biggest punishment was that I practiced and trained harder with magic. The sessions were far too long, pushing me to exhaustion by day's end. The few breaks he allowed were shorter. Master Stradus also made me read stories in the library out loud to him about the consequences of undisciplined magic. He questioned me more after each spell I performed.

  Despite all that magic, I never got to practice a ritual or summoning. I only read about them. It wasn’t until a year later that I did the most basic summoning ritual.

  After going through it, I understood why.

  CHAPTER 8

  While the caves of the White Mountain had started to be a home to me and I had accomplished what I set out to do in controlling my powers, there were times when I felt trapped. I had been confined here for over a year. I didn't know what was happening in the world or to my friends and family I cared deeply about. Were they all right? Did they even think about me?

  During my studies in the library, I had read about one of the easiest rituals, in which a wizard could summon a creature from the Netherrealm called a maleika. Maleikas were used during the War of the Wizards to spy on places and people. I asked Master Stradus about it, to see if I could summon one. He said I wasn't ready. That was reasonable. I wasn’t sure if I was either. Then I asked if he would summon one, so I could check on my mother.

  “No,” Master Stradus said, continuing to grind leaves with a stone pestle in preparation for making a potion.

  Now he was being unreasonable. I normally didn't push him, but this time I did. “Please.”

  “I said no, Hellsfire.”

  The flames within me rose, pressing against my body, aching to be released. I forced the magic down and calmed myself. Being angry would get me nowhere. “Please, Master. I just want to see how my mother's doing. It shouldn't take long. I'll cook for the rest of the year or tend to your garden. Please.”

  “No.”

  My temper snapped. “Why not?”

  Master Stradus stopped halfway through grinding. He exhaled, put down the stone, and walked out of the garden.

  I stood by the workbench, poking angrily at the half-ground leaves. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t as if I wanted to watch half-naked slave girls dancing in the Burning Sands. I hadn’t seen my mother in over a year, and she was all alone. I just wanted to know if she was all right. Didn’t Master Stradus know how much I worried about her? And he wouldn’t even dignify my request by giving me a reason for refusing. He’d just walked out without even bothering to answer, like my mother didn’t matter at all.

  Fine then. If Master Stradus wasn't going to help me check on my mother, I would do it without his help.

  I waited a week before making my move. During that time, I studied the ritual until I knew it backwards. I didn't even tell Cynder what I planned to do, as he might feel obligated to tell our master.

  I did it at night, when Master Stradus was well asleep. I took the ritual book from the library, and then made my way to the garden to prepare the potion I needed.

  I cut pieces of the plants I needed, taking a leaf here and petal there. I upended one plant, taking its roots. My shaky hands made the cutting difficult. So many things could go wrong in a ritual, and potions weren't my best subject.

  While cutting and grinding the plants, my attention was divided when it should have been completely focused. I kept re-reading the book, making sure I did everything right, yet I also kept glancing at the door, expecting Master Stradus to barge in. The noise of the grinding stone seemed ear-shattering in the quiet caves, no matter how slowly I did it.

  I cooked everything down, motioning with my hands for it to hurry up. I was just pouring the finished potion into a flask when I heard a noise outside that made me spill some of it. The hot liquid splashed on my hands.

  “Godsdamn it!” I yelped.

  I froze, listening for Master Stradus opening the door. When I heard nothing, I sighed in relief and wiped off the spilled liquid. I finished pouring the potion into the flask and was about to leave when I remembered the mess I had created. Bits of leaves were in the grinding stones. The knife I had used for cutting needed to be wiped down. The potion clung to the bowl I had used to heat it. Everything had to be put back in its place.

  I cleaned everything up, hurrying as best I could. I had already used too much time in preparation. The salty smell of the potion still lingered in the room, but I hoped it would dissipate in time.

  I took the potion and rushed out of the garden, heading straight to the practice room. The practice room was a lot more ominous when I was by myself in the dark. The torches were out, to simulate nightfall outside. The Nexus of the White Mountain almost felt like a ghost. It was hard to deny its presence. Like Master Stradus had told me, magic was a lot more powerful here. I had to remember that, lest the ritual get out of control.

  I grabbed some of the candles that were lying around the room. I created a candle-composed circle big enough for me to sit in, and used my magic to light them. The circle of fire swayed when I stepped inside.

  I sat cross-legged and re-read the ritual one last time. I practiced the motions before checking with the book to see if I was right. I had spent my punishment time last year reading Master Stradus stories of the things that could go wrong if you didn’t perform a ritual perfectly. I didn't want to end up entombed in the rock floor or with my head twisted backwards.

  I ignored the loud thumping in my chest and took a deep breath, trying hard to calm myself. It was time to begin.

  I latched onto the necessary mana, which was a dash of each, and then in the ancient language of Caleea said, “Being of the other plane, I call you forth. Being of the other plane, I call you forth. Heed my words. I seek a maleika to come into this world and be my ears and eyes. Come, oh maleika.” I drank the potion and spat the horrible, salty stuff out. I winced. “Come, maleika, and obey me!”

  The potion moved and vibrated in the places where I spat. The puddles moved faster and faster. Wisps of sour aroma seeped into my nose. The pieces of potion solidified and came together, floating above the ground. A ghastly, foggy, ghost-like face appeared. It had no nose and a wicked grin. Its right eye stared malevolently at me. There was a scar where the left one should have been.

  The creature's voice sounded like rocks grating together. “Who dared to summon me?”

  “I did.”

  “And who might you be?” Its eye pierced me. It said something in a language I had never heard before.

  “I am Hellsfire.”

  Its hollow laughter numbed my ears. “I’ve never heard of you. What is it you want?”

  “I want you to go to a town called Sedah and check on my mother. She lives in a longhouse on the outskirts of town.”

  Nothing happened. It floated there, in my circle. A bit of irritation showed on its transparent face, if such a thing were possible. />
  I concentrated, picturing the forest I used to romp in and the home I was raised in. I saw my mother’s warm, smiling face and the hot corn bread she used to bake. The apple cider we made for Winter Solstice was clear in my mind. I recalled the animated stories she used to tell about the strange creatures in the Burning Sands she called camels.

  “I see it now.” The maleika fizzled and disappeared.

  A terrible pain hit me in the stomach. It churned and roared. I clutched my aching belly. Something was wrong. I wasn't sure what. It could have been the potion, but the ritual had worked. I was tempted to look in the book, but knew to stay focused on the ritual.

  The maleika shimmered back in front of me. “I have done as you asked, Hellsfire,” it said.

  “My mother, how is she?”

  The maleika's ghostly form faded and rippled, much like a pond when a rock was thrown into it. My mother appeared. She was bent over the stove, cooking. Next to her was one of our neighbors. My mother smiled, and laughed at something the other woman said. I reached out to touch my mother. The vision disappeared, replaced by the one-eyed maleika.

  “Satisfied?”

  I wasn't. I missed her. I wiped tears from the corners of my eyes.

  “Would you like to see something more interesting? How about a girl or an enemy?” The maleika had a slight grin on its ghastly face.

  “No, I wouldn’t.” Sweat trickled from my forehead, splattering on the ground. I breathed more deeply, but I felt like I couldn’t get enough air.

  “Is there anything else you wish, then?”

  “No. Maleika I summoned thee. Now I banish thee.” It didn’t move. It floated there with its one eye and crooked smile.

  I summoned more mana. “I said, I banish thee!”

  “How dare you try to get rid of me! I have done you this favor and now you must do something for me.”

  It came closer, and even though I sweated, a chill overcame me. My skin froze in response. I traced the hardness of my arm with my fingertips.

  “You haven't any choice,” it said, floating closer.

  I tried to draw in magic to stop it, but I was too weak. All the pieces of mana I’d used to summon it slipped out of my hold. My body let me down as much as my magic did. I blinked my heavy eyes, trying to bring things into focus.

  “You have a lot of power in you. I'm going to enjoy this.”

  The creature smothered my head in its hazy body, engulfing me like a duck eating a fish. The mist-like being surrounded me, blinding me. Little surges of lightning emanated from it, pummeling me. My body jerked in response to each sting. Those prickles of its strange magic transmitted bits of my power to it. I could feel it taking it. I roared, thrashing and flailing like a bird struck down by an arrow. My hands went right through it. No matter how much I rolled or contorted my body, the damn thing wouldn't come off. The longer it stayed on my head, the more of my magic it stole, and the weaker I became. I couldn't keep up this fight forever.

  I stopped trying to use physical force and used my brain. The creature's intense burning magic increased. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out with the pain. I focused and did the one thing Master Stradus told me to do when all else fails—use your strongest mana.

  I let go of all the magic I was trying to hold. The creature laughed in response, sucking all the incredible power into it. I seized the one magic I wasn't letting go of—my fire.

  My anger and frustration took over. It surged through my body, growing stronger than the agony this creature visited upon me. Flames shot out of me. The scorching inferno encircled me until it became my aura.

  My fire assaulted and battered the maleika. This was no spell, just raw magic waging war. The creature’s magical attack halted, and its grip loosened, granting me a chance to breathe normally again.

  My brief reprieve passed. The maleika screeched in rage. The creature backed off slightly and spoke in a weird language, casting another spell. Its magic wove and flew, passing through my elemental magic and hammering me. A blinding agony seized me. The pressure from all the magic being cast in the Nexus made my head feel like it was about to rupture and explode, but I couldn't stop. If I did, I was dead anyway. My skin tightened against my face as I yelled. My veins felt like they were popping out. I knew if my magic reached the creature, it would die. I just had to concentrate and keep pushing.

  Yet the fire within me slowly wavered. My shoulders slumped and my body swayed. My mind and body couldn't take the crushing magic anymore. Blood ran from my ears.

  The door crashed open. Master Stradus arrived, bringing the winds with him. They doused my already exhausted fire, and the maleika wasted no time in reattaching to my head, draining the life force from me.

  The force of a storm tore at my head while Master Stradus tried to get the maleika off me. The creature struggled to stay on. Master Stradus increased the winds, strong enough to cut me or tear my head off, but using such skill that they never touched me—only the maleika. My master’s winds wrapped around it until its grip loosened. The maleika let go of my head and slammed into the wall. I fell to the ground, barely getting my hands up in time to keep my face from striking the floor.

  “Hellsfire!” Master Stradus rushed to me. “Are you all right?”

  I shook my head. My sweat poured to the ground, and I gasped for air.

  “How nice to see you after all these years, Wizard,” the maleika said, glaring at my master with its one eye.

  “You?” Master Stradus said. “I remember you. I owe you.”

  “You owe me?” it said. “You owe me? It’s I that owes you. I have only one eye thanks to you. Time hasn’t been kind to you, old man. Remember what happened last time? Let’s see how well your pupil fares now.” The air in the room thickened as the maleika gathered in power.

  “No!” Master Stradus said. He conjured a gust of air, pushing the maleika back towards the wall and keeping it in an invisible cage of air. It fought against the cage, unleashing wisps of power at it. “Hellsfire, finish the ritual quickly. This is no ordinary maleika. Drink the potion and say the words while I hold it back. You must use a great deal of energy on this one. No matter how strong it is and how hard it fights, it’s still a maleika. You summoned it here, and it must obey the rules of magic.”

  Master Stradus struggled against the maleika. He used his staff to focus his power. The inside of the globe swirled. Dark blue, spinning round and round.

  “Do it quickly!”

  I mustered what reserves of strength I had left. I forced the potion down, focusing on all the parts of mana I used to summon the creature. What was left of my fire blazed, heightening the spell. My body swayed, and stars appeared in front of my eyes. The room spun. I couldn't tell if it was because of what I saw, or my master's spell. The maleika resisted my mana, but Master Stradus kept it occupied. I cried out, “Maleika, I summoned thee and now I banish thee. Go back where you belong!”

  A bright hole tore into this world. It laughed as its transparent body began to fade. “It’s not over yet, Wizard. I’ll have my revenge.” Master Stradus roared and sent a whirlwind of lightning at it. The maleika's ghostly face smirked at Master Stradus before it dissolved like fog on a summer morning’s day.

  Master Stradus came over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Are you all right, Hellsfire?”

  “I-I don’t feel so good…Master.”

  The pain flared into my head and sides. I shivered and wrapped my arms across my body. My stomach growled until it erupted and I spewed up my dinner, heaving all over the floor. The fire within me disappeared, replaced by coldness. Chills overtook me, and I curled into a ball, unable to stop shivering.

  Master Stradus bent down and turned me over. He placed his warm hands over my forehead and chest. His pupils became white, and his hands glowed, filling with the power of white mana. The warmth melted into me until I stopped shaking and tasting my own vomit.

  “Thank you,” I whispered. I closed my eyes.


  “Don't sleep. Not yet.” Master Stradus extended his magical senses. Magical needles pricked me. “That damned thing. It put a curse on you. You’ll live, but we must hurry before the spell gets worse. Let’s go to my garden.”

  Master Stradus helped me up. I wiped drool and vomit off my face with the sleeve of my tunic. We made our way to the garden, me using Master Stradus as a crutch. He gave me his staff while he prepared a potion to counteract the maleika's spell. I leaned on the staff, using its power to help stabilize me.

  “Master…how did you know-w-w that ma-ma-maleika?” My teeth chattered and I couldn’t stop them.

  Master Stradus looked up and away. When he didn't move or say anything for several long moments, I let the subject drop. I had pressured him before when I asked to do the ritual, and he got angry with me. Considering the line I had crossed by doing it anyway, I had no right to expect him to talk about it again.

  His voice was quiet, but his words had the weight of a storm. “I'm only going to tell you this once, Hellsfire, and not because I want to, but because I must. You need to learn that when I tell you not to do something, you must not do it.”

  I opened my chattering mouth to say something, but it was as if he read my mind.

  “I know being here is very hard for you. I know you've left your loved ones and you sometimes feel trapped in this place. I understand that and know what it's like to be away from them. But unlike me, you weren't dragged away and forced to become a wizard.”

  I stared at him and raised an eyebrow.

  “But that's a story for a different time and not one I'm going to tell you now.”

  His voice got quiet and small. “In my arrogance, before the Great Barrier, I thought I was skilled enough to take an apprentice even though my training wasn’t technically complete. Tara said she always wanted to be a witch, and she wanted to protect her mother in case the war came to them. Against my better judgment, I decided to teach her what little I could before I left for the war. What harm could there be in teaching someone basic magic?” Master Stradus sighed. “I was a fool.