A Forthcoming Wizard

by Jody Lynn Nye

  If you say yes to one, they will ask for more. And more.

  “How about it, girl?” the old man asked. “Eh? Go on, it’s a good bargain, isn’t it? Well? Answer me!”

  A clap of thunder made the men jump.

  “How dare you address my apprentice directly?” Serafina demanded, magnificent in her dignity. The young wizardess sat upright on her mare’s back, the staff held aloft. The green jewel on the top glowed. “Do you think that magic is to be bought?”

  The old man was too old and too stubborn to take the hint. “And why not, lovely lady? Don’t ye have to live, like the rest of us?”

  “I have money, too!” a thickset man exclaimed. “Got the rheum. It does me lungs in terrible. All it takes is a wave of yer hand, don’t it? You can do it. How about it, now?”

  They began to press in upon Tildi, clamoring at her, shouting out their wants. They smelled of sweat, onions, fish, and fear. They were afraid of her magic, but desperate for her help. The look on their faces was like that of poor Morag, when he begged her to change him back to a normal man. But she couldn’t, for the same reason she couldn’t help these men.

  “I don’t know enough,” she said. “I can’t do it.” Her small voice was swallowed up by their booming demands. “No! I can’t! I don’t know how!” She felt hemmed in. The voices were becoming agitated, and not just those of the crowd. The Great Book rose higher, and the pages began to turn from one spindle to another.

  The old man’s white eyebrows rose at the sight of the bobbing scroll. “What’s that, yer book of wizardry? Show us the spell to fix ships! It’d be worth a gold coin to ye.”

  “You helped him,” the thickset man persisted. “Why not the rest of us?”

  “We can do no more today,” Serafina announced. “Stand back!”

  “Don’t touch it!” Tildi shrieked as the old man reached for the book. The voices sounded angry, offended. They would strike him down! “It will kill you!”

  “Aye? The words won’t kill but the book does? Is this a trick?” the thickset man asked. “It’s a ruse. Get the book, and we’ll do the chantin’ for ourselves!”

  “Let us alone!” Rin said, rearing on her hind hooves, “or I’ll ride the whole herd of you down! My friend has said no. Take the one kindness, or may the Father of Winds never give you good fortune again!”

  But the rivermen had focused upon the one certain piece of magic that they could see.

  “No!” Tildi shouted. She grabbed the book and jumped into the air, making it solid beneath her feet until she was more than two man-heights above the quay. The excited men jumped up onto the deck of the ship, clambered up stanchions and ropes to try and touch it.

  Suddenly Tildi and the book were surrounded by a bubble of golden light. It repelled the riverfolk, who continued to beat against it like moths at a lantern.

  “Stand away from her!” Serafina sat on her mare, magnificent above them like a queen, the magic reflecting in her eyes. “I said stand away from her. You do not know your peril!”

  “All right, all right, lady dear!” the deaf old man trumpeted. He stood back from the edge of the bubble. “My, oh, my, ye didn’t have to shove a wall in our faces!”

  “I’d say she did,” Magpie told him humorously.

  Serafina looked severely up at Tildi. “Come down at once. You do not need to behave like a jester. You are receiving the education of a wizard. Pray show some dignity.”

  Tildi was abashed. She stepped down hastily and took her place on Rin’s back, the scroll resting serenely in her arms. “I am very sorry, master.”

  “Be there nothing that can get you to strike a bargain?” the heavyset man asked hopefully. “We vow to keep our distance from ye.”

  “I have said we can do no more,” Serafina informed him with an austere expression. “Would you challenge a member of the Council of Wizards? It will go hard with you if the town of Lenacru ever has need of a great working, and you had offended one of us.”

  “And say thank you,” Lakanta said, turning to the sea captain. “It isn’t as if the wizardess deigns to perform wonders just anywhere. You’ve been greatly favored, and you ought to know it.”

  The captain spat again. “Hmph! Well, I’ve never thought to say blessings to the magical folks, but thanks. Saved me from drowning, near like. Is she sound in the rest o’ her timber?”

  It sounded like a test. Tildi glanced nervously at Serafina, but she straightened her back to answer.

  “It is. I can’t say if it’s all put together in the right order—I’ve never been on a boat in my life—but it won’t leak.”

  The captain grinned. “Good for you, lassie. Mother’s blessings on ye. Come on, ye oafs. They told you not to touch, and don’t touch!”

  “But what about them wizard-words on us?” the crowd wanted to know.

  Serafina smiled. “They will fade as soon as we are gone. You have my word, as a member of the College of Wizards.”

  That was good enough for most of them, but the deaf old man wasn’t convinced. “If it’s not a spell, then it doesn’t belong.”

  “That is true. Please be patient.”

  “There’s no more to see here,” Magpie said. “Go on, then.” He reached into his pouch and brought out a handful of small coins. “Go on, then. Have a drink on me.”

  A cheer went up. The old man fixed his bulging eyes on the prince, then snatched the money out of his hand. “It’s not what we want, but we’ll settle for the kindness. Thanks to ye.”

  The group departed, chivvying the old man ahead of it, in search of the nearest pub. The captain of the ship made one leap and landed on the pier, his three sailors following him.

  “That,” Serafina said dryly as the last man disappeared up the grimy street, “is a good example of why we are so reluctant to do any magic at all. It is not just that a change can have repercussions beyond that which we know, but we must take into account human nature. We always want more. Yes, and I am human, too.”

  “I am sorry, master,” Tildi said ruefully. To think that she had offered to repair the ship to distract Serafina from her thoughts!

  “Don’t be. You wished to do a kindness and practice your skills. Both are worthy aims. Next time keep your mind on your surroundings as well as your goal. This will show you yet another good reason to get the Great Book back where it belongs.”

  “We cannot get this thing underground too soon,” Magpie said.

  Tildi nodded, stroking the book in her lap. More than ever, she hated to let it go, but she knew that he was right. All of them were right. At least her effort had succeeded. Serafina sounded as if she had recovered all her authority, and more besides.

  “Well!” Lakanta said with a huge outrush of breath. “And how many times are we going to have to fend off a crowd of favor-seekers in this town?”

  “Not one more,” Serafina said, turning her eyes to the river. She pointed out over the water. “The ship has arrived. Olen is here.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  n a rose-tinted tide, a huge merchant ship glided toward the city. Her rails were cunningly carved to show running horses and leaping fish that seemed to be moving as the ship bobbed on the water. Her hull was freshly painted in white. The prow had been decorated with a most colorful design of waves and sea creatures. The gilded figurehead, which Tildi could not see well in the dimming light, seemed to have the head of a dog. The sails were edged with a wide stripe of gold, and she bore three flags: one with the twin stars of Sheatovra, and two others Tildi did not know. Tildi couldn’t see Olen on the deck, but she knew he must be there. Many runes told her the ship was carrying a great many people, but his she knew better than almost anyone else’s. She stood up on Rin’s back and began to wave with both hands.

  “Master! Over here! Over here!”

  No familiar figure with long white hair stepped to the rail, but others did. Howls broke out from the ship and echoed across the water. Behind Tildi, a shutter smacked open, and answering howls ca
me from behind her.

  “What is that?” she demanded.

  “Master Wizard Olen’s caught himself a ride on a trading vessel from Sheatovra,” Lakanta said. “The crew’s mostly werewolves.”

  “What?”

  Lakanta raised an eyebrow. “Stands to reason, if you think about it, which I have never imagined you needed to, but it’s my trade and profession. Don’t worry about it. Even if they’re the same family as the ones who separated us from the knights, if they have taken on Master Olen’s commission, they’ll treat us well.”

  Serafina led them to the open dock to which the longshoremen from the warehouse streamed after answering the call. They looked like normal humans. Barefoot, with whipcord muscles shifting beneath their stained and worn tunics, they ran to catch the cables thrown out to them by the men and women on board and hauled at them to bring the white-hulled boat in against the pier. Floating barrels wrapped in rope echoed hollowly as the hull rammed into them. The longshoremen made the cables fast with expert flips of the wrist. One of them, a brown-skinned man in his thirties, grinned at Tildi’s eagerness. He signed to the others to help bring the gangplank out from the side of the ship. Tildi jumped off Rin’s back to be the first to race aboard. The book in her arms hampered her only a little.

  “Master!” she cried.

  To her delight, the old wizard was waiting for her at the top of the gangplank. He looked exactly as she had seen him last. His curling gray eyebrows nearly met over his long nose. They shielded his brilliant green eyes from the warm light of the setting sun. He wore his heavy cloak, the ends of which whipped in the wind. His long hair was neatly braided down his back to prevent it from following suit. His long face creased in a warm smile as he saw Tildi.

  “Greetings, my child!” he said. “Still energetic as always, I see. Welcome aboard the Corona.”

  Seeing him made Tildi feel as if she had come home again at last. She threw her arms around his knees and hugged him. The book took to the air to avoid falling on the deck. “Master Olen, I am so glad to see you!”

  Olen seemed bemused. “My goodness, thank you for that. It is not necessary, though it is enjoyable.” His long fingers stroked her hair. “You have accomplished much since we last met. You are looking well for all your adventures. Looking forward to hearing all of them, if you don’t mind.”

  “I’d love to tell you all of them!” Tildi exclaimed.

  “Well, then, first: show me your treasure. Lives have been lost and kingdoms ruined over it. Let us see if it is worth the price paid thus far.”

  Tildi felt as proud as the winner of a tournament to present the book to him. She beckoned it back to rest in her arms and held it out to him.

  “Master Olen, this is the Great Book.”

  The wizard’s eyes twinkled. “What else could it be? Hmm hm hm,” he said, chuckling. “Well done, my child, well done. May I?” He lifted a hand.

  “Of course,” Tildi said. Olen waved a hand.

  “Jirdeg!” he said.

  The book did not move. Olen looked bemused.

  “How very interesting. Will you set it in the air, my dear?”

  Tildi let it go. The scroll flew into the air. Olen held out his hands, but it did not move toward him. Tildi found it strange that there was any spell that Master Olen could not do, but the book refused to obey him. It hung where Tildi had left it.

  “Well, my dear, you must feel honored,” Olen said. “We shall take advantage of your talent. Show me.”

  Olen never touched the fine parchment, but the spindles parted to show the current page Tildi had been perusing, that which described the town of Lenacru, and spun to display the next in sequence. Olen looked as pleased as a child receiving a birthday gift.

  “A marvel,” he said. “A genuine marvel. But I must not bury myself in its beauties now. I have other people to greet.”

  Swiftly, she raised her hand and closed it. The book snapped into a tight roll once again and descended into Tildi’s waiting grasp.

  By then, the rest of the company was making its way more sedately up the walkway, leading their steeds, Serafina at their head. Tildi tilted her head back and whispered to the wizard.

  “Master Olen, why didn’t you come for me once I obtained the book? It . . . things might have gone differently.”

  Olen put his long fingers gently on Tildi’s head. “Why, I knew that you would reach me, either through your own resourcefulness, which I have found to be surprisingly admirable, or by means of the young lady approaching, or that young man, whom I have found to be a great aid in tight circumstances. I am sorry to say that nothing could have undone what was done. Edynn knew that it was almost certain she would not return from this journey. By my art I was sure of your success, but just to make certain, I employed a friend of yours. I knew you would trust her when no one else would do.”

  “Yes,” Tildi said. “Irithe told me not to tell all my secrets.”

  “And so you should not,” Olen agreed. “I could not leave my post, Tildi. Others were relying on me, and I must continue my researches, the fruit of which you will see in time. And I ventured here, where I knew you must come at last, to escort you the rest of the way. How good it is to see you again, my dear,” he said, offering a helping hand to Serafina. Two sailors took charge of her mare and led it away.

  “Haroun!” Lakanta shouted. She stuffed Melune’s reins into the hand of another mariner and shot past Tildi and the wizards. She seized the most well dressed of the barefoot crew in a powerful embrace and dragged his head down to scrub his hair with her knuckles. “Haroun Betiss! Look at you, you cub!” He returned the hug, and for a moment it looked as though the two of them were going to engage in a mock wrestling match. Clearly, they were good and old friends.

  Olen drew Serafina close and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. “Serafina, I share your sorrow. My acquaintance with your mother went back centuries, and our friendship not that much younger. Forgive me.” The green eyes were solemn. “I recall many happy times, which I look forward to sharing with you in time. I honor Edynn’s memory. I could not countenance a world without her, and now I must.”

  “Master Olen, you honor me,” Serafina said, her voice low. “You have put my grief into words. That is exactly how I feel. I did not think I would survive it, but I did. I knew it was coming.”

  “As did I,” Olen said, putting a kindly hand upon her arm. “But foreknowledge is not preparation. It wasn’t a surprise, per se, but it was a shock. There will be time one day to heal, perhaps even on our voyage to the south. We have much to do before we can rest, and we must remain vigilant.”

  Serafina straightened her spine. Tildi almost smiled. Olen had a way of inspiring anyone with his words.

  “We shall, master. Thank you. It is good to see you again.”

  Olen bowed and released her hand. “The joy is mine. Princess, welcome. I have a message of greetings for you from your brother. Your clan is well, and they are moving to their winter home.”

  Rin bowed at the waist to him. “I have been concerned, but there was no way to get news on our journey. I was concerned with my friends’ well-being. Thank you for the tidings.”

  “The honor is mine. Ah, Lakanta, greetings,” he called. “I hope it has been an educational journey thus far?”

  “Yes, indeed,” Lakanta said, freeing herself from the embrace of the captain. She gave the slender man a hearty slap on the small of his back that sent him stumbling. Beaming, she went to Olen and shook his hand heartily. Her blue eyes shone with glee.

  “What a wonder it is to see Haroun again! I haven’t seen him since he was a pup, hanging about his mother’s skirts, trying to take in all the details of a good bargain. And now he has his own trading string. Captain of three ships! And some fine skills of his own.”

  “Captain Betiss has been good enough to trade with my house,” Olen said. “Silvertree quite likes him, though perhaps not all of his friends. One young ruffian spent a good three days in
one of the cellar roots until she saw fit to release him. Hmm hmm hmm.” Olen chuckled to himself. “I believe he lost the last ship to the south and had to hire a skiff in Tillerton to take him home.”

  A fierce glint in the otherwise mild-looking man’s eyes made Tildi take a step back behind Olen’s knees. “He is a werewolf, too?”

  “Of course,” Olen said. “The whole crew is. They are excellent sailors as well as merchants. Who else knows so much about the moons of Alada and their tides? I would count absolutely upon their instincts to sail us safely to our destination.”

  “If you say so, Master Olen,” Tildi said doubtfully, which made him chuckle again.

  “It is not I, but your companion who gives him his character. I trust your judgment,” he added to Lakanta.

  “And well you should,” the trader said, looking pleased with herself.

  Magpie waited on the swaying bridge for his turn to greet the old wizard. The green eyes glinted at him.

  “I knew you had received my message, highness,” Olen said. “Well done. I know you have been a great help to my small friend here.”

  Magpie smiled at Tildi. “It was my pleasure,” he said. “It isn’t every day one is called upon to save a world. In this case, it was my own country. Bad as it is, I do like to think that I prevented the damage from being worse. I would have gone, no matter what it cost me. And,”—he sighed—“it did cost me. But I would have paid the price willingly.”

  “Ah, yes. That.” Olen’s mustache lifted a little at the corners. “We will see what the future holds. In the meantime, be welcome.”

  “Thank you, Master Olen,” Magpie said. He paused. “Perhaps, later, if you don’t mind, I would ask a favor.”

  “I think I can guess what it is,” Olen said with a knowing smile. “I have brought my crystals. We will see how your ladylove fares. Although I can tell you already: she does well by her wits.”