Under the Shadow of Darkness: Book 1 of the Apprentice Series
Page 17
“Come! Come! Come and see, young Bel!” Rylithnon said as he motioned with his hand. “See. See. I have you to thank for this! Look! The great Nes’egrinon, defeated and lying at my feet.” Rylithnon’s skin was mostly torn from his face revealing sinewy muscle and tendon and cartilage and the fullness of his eyes sockets. None of the exposed muscle was red or even light pink like Bel thought it would have been; it was the gray of long over-boiled meat. He looked monstrous. And he smelled none too nice.
Bel’s voice shook. “You don’t have me to thank. I had no part in this.”
The wizard noticed another piece of flesh hanging from his hand so he shook it off. “As you wish. But still you are here and your eyes will see it. My glory. My ascension.” The dead wizard stretched out his arms and began to slowly float up. He tilted back his head to the sky and twelve stones, each about the size of a man’s head, formed a circle around him from head to foot. The stones began to rotate.
Bel ignored the dead wizard’s gloating and slowly walked back to his position behind the boulders to gather with Alexius and Kerlith. “We have to do something.”
“Aye. But what can we three do against one such as this?” Alexius replied.
Kerlith mumbled, “We have to do something. We have to try.”
The spell of protection began to fade and the three knew that Nes’egrinon was unconscious. Or dead.
The three stood as the stones continued to circle the elevated wizard, lightning alternately striking a stone or two. Bel thought, This must be how he did it before. This must be it, the spell that ripped open the breach, the spell he cast to unite all magic, the one spell. He’s going to try it again and we are all going to die. They walked to below where he floated. The remaining warriors screamed when they saw them there and charged them. Alexius parried, blocked, swung his sword and spun, fighting against several of the red haired warriors with broad chests and long boots, wearing the traditional green plaid of the highlands.
Bel screamed, “
Bel and Kerlith ran to Alexius’ aid after they dispatched the dead they were fighting. Bel pushed life-force into his staff and used it as a club to smack a highlander back into the breach. Kerlith sent stones flying, pelting the warriors until they ran.
After the dead warriors were gone Alexius rubbed a gash on his forearm and said, “I am sorry that I am not of much use to you two.”
Bel and Kerlith ignored the comment and looked down at Nes’egrinon’s smoldering body. They looked at each other with a mixture of defeat and resignation in their eyes, as if their fate was a foregone conclusion. Bel said, “Can you do anything?”
Kerlith replied, “I doubt it. But I must try.”
“Then we will do it together.” Bel stood next to Kerlith and grabbed his hand, them both facing the floating Rylithnon.
Alexius stood behind them. “I cannot do much to help you but I will give you my energy. My… my life-force, I will give it to you. Just do what you can.” He placed his hands on the two boys’ backs and looked down at the ground, squeezing his eyes shut hard. Bel knew what it meant. He knew he had drained Kephas earlier and he bristled at the idea of draining Alexius but he didn’t argue. He accepted the gift. They would all be dead soon anyway.
Kerlith began chanting words in the stone language, the old words only known by the stone-mages of the east, passed down century after century from master to apprentice in an oral tradition that went back to the dawn of time itself. Bel had no idea what he was saying so he began speaking words in the forest language, trying to disrupt the rotation of stone after rapidly circling stone, trying to shift them out of orbit, to somehow weaken Rylithnon’s spell or at least distract him from what he was doing so that Kerlith might have more of a chance. He sent out a breeze, a spell of forest magic, wind from the trees. A stone wobbled. Then another. But each time they immediately swung back on track. Sometimes even accelerating. Rylithnon ignored them as if they weren’t even there. Bel wanted to send a stiff breeze, even a gust to knock the dead mage back but he knew something like that would take too much energy. It would kill Alexius and what would it accomplish?
Kerlith huffed, “Keep the wind up.”
Bel’s ears perked up and he pushed out another blast.
One rock swung a little off course and Kerlith grunted as he squeezed onyx. A rock from the ground flew up and hit the off course stone cracking it in half. One half flew away while the other crashed into Rylithnon.
The dead mage squealed, “You! I didn’t slay you so that you might witness my work. I gave you a space to breathe because of what you did at Lasaat and how you helped to open my eyes but now you will die.” The floating wizard raised his arms high, the muscle fibers on his skinless arms exposed as his sleeves slid down.
The three braced themselves but before he could send out the spell a bolt of electricity smote him, striking his chest. The three turned to see Nes’egrinon trying to stand up, using his staff for leverage.
“Master! You are not dead!” Bel ran to his side quickly then slowed. “Are you dead?”
Alexius and Kerlith joined him.
“No time for talk! We must hit him now! With everything!” Nes’egrinon bellowed.
The two young men quickly spun and pushed out magic toward Rylithnon who was still floating awkwardly in the air. Nes’egrinon swung his staff, causing lightning to strike the dead wizard again and again.
Nes’egrinon screamed, “Fight it! Fight it! Push out all of the darkness! Shine forth your light!”
Rylithnon covered his face in the crook of his elbow as he was smashed back again and again from several different directions.
Bel screamed, “I can feel it leaving now! The darkness. It leaves me!” It pushed out another blast of energy. He did not know how much more he had but as long as he could, he would fight the darkness. He knew now more than ever that the darkness’ biggest weapon was to make him feel like he couldn’t win, to try to make him give up.
Rylithnon floated toward the breach entrance and realizing where he was yelled, “No!”
Kerlith sent a stone careening at Rylithnon who swam in the air to dodge it. Bel blasted him with a gust of air and Nes’egrinon with lightning.
Nes’egrinon and Bel looked at each other momentarily somehow knowing what they each were thinking without a word or a nod. They both yelled, “
Rylithnon popped out of existence, falling into the dark tear. And suddenly it was gone. The breach was gone.
Bel mumbled in disbelief, “The breach? It is gone?” Then louder, “The breach is gone.” He looked around and did not see anything moving, no person, no ghoul, not anything living or dead but only dirt and rock met his eyes outside of the band of four lonely wanderers. Then, just past the eastern mountains, a glimmer of light appeared as the sun eased above the far ridge. It was the dawn of a new day. Nes’egrinon hugged Bel then roped in Kerlith and Alexius. Bel laughed and cried and screamed, “The breach is gone!”
Chapter 18
Truth Shines
Bel sat and watched them as the light of the noonday sun shone brightly.
A woman gathered her rough, variegated burlap and felt clothing into a large basket, preparing to wash while two small freckled children chased each other around her knees. A man stepped out of the front door of a dilapidated shack and scratched himself. Across the street an old man with splotchy, mottled skin rocked back and forth on the rear legs of a cha
ir, one hand on a long pipe, puffing on it slowly.
Bel looked at the children, then the woman, then the man, then finally the old man rocking.
Fluttering finch wings grabbed his attention as the tiny birds swung round, too fickle to find a place to land. The faint but distinct trap clap, trap clap, trap clap of approaching horses alerted everyone that visitors were coming and soon enough three men rode up from the path and secured their horses. They brushed the dust and grime off their thick red and green jackets and pants then entered the inn. Bel knew what called them as he could also smell it, the salty fresh scent of malt wafting throughout the town as the barkeeper’s son stirred the bitters behind the inn. The two children ran over to get a closer look at the horses. Across the way a middle aged woman set out a pie on the sill and cinnamon scent curled under Bel’s nose trying to lure him like a fisherman’s hook.
Bel could not help but marvel. It was but a few short days ago that the world was ending and there were ghoul-kind everywhere devouring flesh. Now all was as if it never happened. The resiliency of human-kind was mind boggling to Bel. There was day. There was night. And the only creatures that walked the earth were living. All was as it should be.
“Tell me what you see,” Nes’egrinon said.
The question shook Bel’s mind from its wandering. “What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. Tell me what you see.”
“I see nothing special. What I don’t see are ghouls. That’s good. They’re gone. No more ghouls. No more dead walking among the living.”
Nes’egrinon moved to stand next to Bel. “I didn’t ask you to tell me what you don’t see. I asked you to tell me what you see.”
“Nothing special. I don’t know what you are looking for.” Bel paused and looked up at the old man.
The wizard looked down and squinted his dissatisfaction.
Bel looked back out at the small village center and continued, “I see an old man leaning on the edge of his chair. He’s smoking something. A small family here. They are attending to routine things. I see children playing. A mother readying her clothing to wash. There’s an inn there and people are going in and out, travelers and such. Not much. Just everyday life. Normal stuff.”
“Exactly.” Nes’egrinon smiled as he took a seat next to the boy.
“I don’t understand.”
“What you are seeing. You said it. What you are seeing is life. Life. These people are living it. Just everyday life. Don’t you get it?”
“No,” Bel replied as he shook his head slowly.
“The source of all our power, of all power everywhere, the very act of creation from the very beginning is life.”
“All First Years are taught that.”
The old man spoke softly, “But did you learn? Look and see. Open your eyes. The power that we ask to work for us is life itself. It is in every living being and every creature and here it is right in front of you; life being lived. This is the only true source of magic.”
The two were silent for a time, Bel thoughtful and observant, Nes’egrinon smiling widely.
“Master, how did we do it? How did we defeat Rylithnon? Why did the breach slam closed?”
“It is hard to say. Darkness always flees from light, does it not?”
“I suppose,” Bel replied somewhat unsatisfied. “But was it our magic?”
“Now that is an insightful question. I like to think that it wasn’t. I like to think that it was something inside of us. That somehow, when we rejected the pull, when we rejected the darkness inside of ourselves that we somehow caused something to happen. That the act of resistance, of fighting against the darkness, was enough to defeat it. In my experience evil is always defeated if we stand, face it and fight it. It is only when we give up that we lose to the darkness.”
“Maybe. Yes. I think that is true.” Bel paused as he watched the children. “I’m just sure glad that you weren’t dead.”
“Me too. It is amazing that we made it through. Kerlith and Alexius too; I was glad to return them to the Keep. What other questions do you have that I cannot answer?” Nes’egrinon beamed. He was in an uncharacteristically delightful mood.
“I have many questions. I am sure you can answer some. Others probably not. What is to become of Kerlith, I wonder. Will he find a new master? Since you are not a seer, I am sure you will not know. How did you call the great birds that carried us out of the stone lands and back to the Keep? Now that is a question I really would like answered but perhaps you will say that I am not ready to know. I would love to know about your son, how did you have him and how did he become your apprentice? I would love to know all of that but of course it would be inappropriate for me to ask. Maybe one day I will find out. Yes, I have many questions. But for now I would be content to relax and watch these people live life in the full light of the noonday sun.”
The two looked back out at the people as they went about doing things. After a time Nes’egrinon said with a wide smile, “Apprentice,” as he placed his arm around Bel’s neck and rested his old wrinkled hand on his shoulder. “Tomorrow we start your training. Tomorrow you start your journey. Never again will I call you Fifth Year for at this moment you have become my apprentice.”
End
Book One of the Apprentice Series
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank a handful of readers and fellow authors who have taken the time to carefully review this book and provide meaningful feedback to make it that much better.
Emily Beckwith
Tracy Boehmer
Terri Christie
Kirsten Jany
Marc Secchia
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About the Authors
James Cardona
James Cardona has written five books as yet including two non-fiction works, two young adult science fiction novels and his first fantasy novel which you hold in your hands. He is planning on writing many, many more, including the release of the second installment of the NuGen series in 2014.
For his fiction, James tries to make his words come alive by pouring his real-life experiences into his characters such that many of the details described in his books actually happened and are told from the perspective of someone who was there. He also enjoys integrating a hard science approach to his science fiction, feeling that all aspects of his story telling, although perhaps not currently possible, could actually happen onc
e our technology evolves.
James enjoys all things that can unleash the creative process including drawing, painting and creative writing and the not-so-typical such as robot design and writing computer code. He loves tinkering with computers, electronics and building robots and is the Lead Engineer for FIRST Robotics Team 316, a High School Robotics team operating out of Salem Community College.
Additionally James helps organize and run the PSEG Nuclear Salem County Math Showcase which he created back in the year 2000, a math competition for students from grades four through eight, typically attended each year by approximately 500-600 students.
James received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Delaware with a minor in Religious Studies. He lives in Southern New Jersey and works as a Senior Test Engineer for the Laboratory and Testing Services group of the Public Service Electric and Gas Company.
Issa Cardona
In his last year of high school, Issa Cardona is feverishly preparing for college interviews, testing and campus visits. He plans on majoring in Physics and minoring in Mathematics. In his nonexistent spare time he loves to read science fiction and fantasy and kills at League of Legends. He is also in charge of the mechanical design sub-team on his High School Robotics team.
Table of Contents
1 The Home of the Master
2 Ghoul-kind
3 Ulysses or Odysseus
4 The Hinterlands
5 Ghoul Speak
6 Sha’ane Village
7 The Mayor of Sha’ane
8 Bite Me
9 And Then There Were Three
10 Protolith
11 Ghoul Attack
12 Alexius and His Band
13 Hell Hounds