Legend of the Sorcerer

by Donna Kauffman

  “She must have some way of spying on the ruins, and that’s how she found out we were here,” Jordy said. “But how did she know you didn’t have the Pearl? I mean, how big is this thing supposed to be? We need to know that if you’re going to pull this off.”

  Cai wasn’t at all sure he liked this plan. He blew out a deep breath and looked at her. “Does Alfred describe it at all in his notes?”

  “No. The notes aren’t really directly about the Dark Pearl anyway. They’re … I don’t know, lessons. Of a sort.”

  “What kind of lessons?” he asked warily.

  “Well, I guess you’d call them magic lessons. You know, casting spells and such. I couldn’t comprehend much of it, but he was amazingly thorough on various subjects.”

  Cai felt his heart squeeze. Alfred had ranted and railed often during their lifetime together and many of his flights of fancy had revolved around his “contemporary” Merlin. But to make reams of notes on the subject? Was he so far gone he could sustain that sort of detailed fantasy? If not, what was the alternate explanation?

  Just then Mrs. Evans called up the stairs. “I’ll go see what she wants,” Jordy said. She kissed him and held his gaze. “Don’t worry about the rest of this now, okay? One thing at a time.”

  She disappeared down the stairs, leaving Cai alone with thoughts he’d rather not be having. He found his gaze shifting to the Tupperware bowl. The goldfish swam crookedly, but upright.

  Cai thought back to what Jordy had told him the day before Alfred and Dilys had disappeared. Dilys had fixed Fred as a sign to Jordy that she and Alfred were legit.

  Cai watched the fish for several moments, then reached for the canvas bag. He slid one binder out and opened it to the first page. It was handwritten in elegant script. Something struck him as familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Of course, he’d seen Alfred’s handwriting many times, albeit not quite such a formal rendering of it.

  He stilled as the connection hit him hard and all of a sudden. He knew where he’d seen this script before. He was surprised that Jordy, with her eye for detail, hadn’t seen it, too. The handwriting was the same as that in the book of incantations in which they’d found the symbol. A book that was far more ancient than Alfred’s eighty-some years.

  He didn’t have time to think any more on it as Jordy burst into the room. “Cai, come quickly. Dilys is here. Alfred’s in trouble.”

  THIRTY-THREE

  Dilys drove too quickly on the tight, windy roads. Cai held on to the door handles of the little Citroën while Jordy braced herself in the cramped back. Dilys had told them that Alfred had collapsed and they must come at once. When they asked her how she’d known where they were, she’d said only, “It wasn’t much of a challenge.”

  Cai figured she’d gotten the message he’d left on the voice mail back on Crystal Key, explaining where they were in case she or Alfred had checked in.

  “If you knew we were here, why didn’t you come for us sooner?” he asked.

  “It wasn’t time. We weren’t done yet.”

  Struggling with his patience, he said, “Where are we headed? Where have you been staying?”

  “I must concentrate on my driving.”

  Given the way the car careened around each bend, Cai wisely fell silent.

  They headed south, past Tal Y Bont and Dolgarrog, where Dilys turned onto a narrow paved track. The road, such as it was, turned and twisted, until they could no longer see the valley below them.

  Dilys took a tight corner, almost putting the car on two wheels, then came to a bone-jarring stop.

  Once Cai could pry his hands from the dash and door, he looked ahead and his jaw dropped. A massive, two-story stone house stood just in front of them. It was obviously ancient, and yet amazingly well preserved. At one end was a large, round tower that jutted higher than the rest.

  “Come now. We must hurry.” Dilys was out of the car and picking her way up the rock-strewn path before they could answer.

  The ground was icy and the wind had a steady bite. Cai held on to Jordy’s hand as they made their way behind Dilys to the front door.

  They stepped inside, closing the heavy wooden door behind them to block out the cold and the wind. It took Cai several moments for his eyes to adjust to the deep gloom. They were in a large foyer illuminated by gaslit wall sconces. He felt Jordy shiver beside him.

  Two rooms opened off the foyer. There was a wide staircase in front of them, and a hallway to the side of it that disappeared into shadows. It was too dim to make out the wall-hangings.

  “Where is he?” Cai demanded.

  “This way, Master Malacai.” There were two lanterns on a small, ornate wooden table in the foyer. Dilys quickly lit one and handed it to Cai, then lit a second one for herself. “Watch the stairs, they’re not uniform.”

  Cai noticed the stairs were stone, as had been the foyer floor. It was mostly covered by thick rugs, but the stairs were bare. He didn’t have time to study anything else as he followed Dilys’ quickly retreating figure.

  Please let him be all right, Cai silently prayed. He had never been so relieved to see anyone as he had been to see Dilys standing in Mrs. Evans’ parlor. But his relief had been cut short by the even greater fear that Alfred might not survive long enough for Cai to reach his side. Dilys had said little, other than that the situation was grave.

  They quickly moved down the hallway. Sconces along the walls provided small pools of yellow light. Doors lined each side, all of them shut. The place was drafty and chilly. Jordy was beside him, her hand still tucked firmly in his. He held on tightly, perhaps too tightly, but he couldn’t seem to do otherwise.

  The hallway went on, seemingly forever. Cai wondered why, if his grandfather was so ill, he had been put in such a distant room. He didn’t have time to ask.

  The hallway came to an abrupt end at a set of double doors. Dilys set her lantern down on one of the small tables that framed the doorway and turned the doorknobs. They both opened soundlessly, swinging wide into the room.

  “Do you want me to stay here?” Jordy whispered.

  “No. Alfred will want to see you.” He looked down into her eyes for the first time since entering the house. “I need you, too.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I’m right here, then.”

  They stepped into the room.

  Cai didn’t know what he’d expected, but it wasn’t this. He stopped dead in his tracks, awed by the sight before him. They were in the tower. The room was huge, with steps leading down to the floor area. Round in shape, it was filled with tables, which were in turn filled with glass bowls and tubes and all sorts of odd instruments. Bookcases lined the steep walls, with a circular metal stairway on the opposite side, leading to a catwalk that circled the shelves at the level of the entrance they stood in. The ceilings disappeared into the shadows from which wires extended downward with varying shapes affixed to them. They shifted this way and that, like some huge mobile. It looked like some medieval chamber.

  Like something from Merlin’s time.

  “Come, come, we’re wasting time we do not have.”

  Dilys bustled them down the stairs and through the cluttered area, giving Cai no time to dwell on that unsettling comparison.

  “Wait here.” Dilys stopped in front of narrow door on the opposite side of the chamber. “I’ll only be a second.” She disappeared inside.

  “This is incredible,” Jordy said in hushed tones. She tugged on his hand. “What do you make of all this?”

  “I just want to see him,” was all he said, all he dared to say.

  Jordy turned back and looked over the room, craning her neck to look up into the darkness above.

  Cai was just about to open the door himself, when it swung open and Dilys motioned them inside. “He’s only aware every so often. But if you’d sit with him, hold his hand, let him know of your presence, that will do.” She put a hand on Cai’s arm as he made to go past her. “Be patient, Master Malacai, and when he does speak to ye,
heed his words. I fear these will be his last.”

  His heart burned in his chest as his worst fears were put into words. He stepped around her and stopped short once again, surprised by what he saw. The room was mostly in shadows, he had no feeling for how large or small a place it was, since it was lit only by a small lamp that sat on the table next to Alfred’s bed. Alfred’s enormous bed. It was a monstrosity of wood, with heavy beams at each corner, all deeply carved. There were heaps of bedclothes and a number of pillows tucked against the equally massive, carved headboard.

  Amidst all this, Alfred’s frail form was barely noticeable.

  Cai went immediately to his side, Jordy right behind him. He took his grandfather’s hand in his.

  “Grandfather, it’s Malacai. I’m here. Jordalyn is here as well.”

  Jordy reached around him and placed her hand on Alfred’s arm. “I’m right here, Alfred.”

  Cai waited expectantly, but Alfred’s eyes didn’t so much as flutter. He anxiously looked at his chest and was relieved to notice its shallow rising and falling. He was weak, far weaker than he’d been at any time back home. The ache was so deep, so all consuming, it made his breath catch and his eyes burn.

  “Alfred,” he said, his voice breaking. “Grandfather.”

  Jordy’s grip tightened to where Cai thought his fingers would break. He welcomed the pain.

  He stepped up and sat on the edge of the mattress. He stroked his grandfather’s flowing white hair, stroked his arm, held his hand. He thought of all this man had done for him, all they had shared, and knew he’d been incredibly fortunate to have spent even part of his life with him. He didn’t regret any of it, and sitting here now, he didn’t wish any of it different.

  “I love you, Grandfather.”

  At that, he felt the slightest of pressure from Alfred’s fingertips. Then his eyes fluttered once, then a second time, before slowly opening. “Malacai.” His voice was brittle and Cai leaned closer to hear him more clearly.

  “Yes. I’ve come, so has Jordalyn. We’re both here.”

  “Dilys said she’d bring you,” he said haltingly. “Never failed me yet, that woman.”

  Cai wanted to ask him what he’d been doing, what this place was, and a million other things, but mostly he wanted Alfred to keep holding his hand.

  “We came right away,” Cai said. “She drives like a madwoman.”

  Alfred’s lips twitched and a light wheeze rattled his chest in what might have been a chuckle.

  Alarmed, Cai stroked the back of his hand. “Have you seen a doctor over here?”

  He slowly shook his head. “It is my time.”

  “Grandfather—”

  “I have kept going a long time, Malacai, knowing I’d failed to train my replacement. This has haunted me. It will haunt me even as I move onward to the next realm.”

  “We have your notes, now,” Jordy said.

  Alfred shifted his head slightly, and his lips twitched again when he found her. “Ah, Jordalyn. My light. You give me hope. Promise me you won’t fail Malacai.”

  “I promise.” Her own voice caught. Alfred shifted his attention back to Cai. His eyelids fluttered shut, and Cai quickly checked his chest. It still rose, and he swallowed hard once again.

  “I have retrieved the Dark Pearl.” Alfred’s voice was thready, his eyes remained shut. “It is here.”

  Cai stilled. “Here?”

  “I am too weak to finish.” His fingertips brushed against Cai’s hand. “You must finish it. I am sorry for that, too.”

  “No more apologies, Grandfather. I would do anything for you. And it still won’t compare to all you’ve done for me.”

  “I’ve left you unprepared,” he said, a trace of heat entering his weak voice.

  “Shhh,” Cai soothed. “We’ll handle it. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it.”

  “Dilys will do what she can, but in the end it will be up to you.”

  “Okay.” Cai kept stroking Alfred’s hand.

  Alfred’s eyes opened. The blue that had been weak and watery was once again fierce. It took Cai’s breath away. “I thought it was Isolde. I was wrong.”

  Cai stilled completely. “She’s in a hospital, in Paris.”

  “I am aware of her collapse.” A smile that could only be described as pure satisfaction curved his lips. It made Cai’s blood chill.

  Alfred’s grip suddenly tightened, surprisingly so. “She kept her existence from me. I should have suspected. She was growing weak, as was I. She would no more leave this earth without an heir than I would. I should have known!”

  “Alfred, calm down. It’s okay.”

  This only served to rile him. “It’s not okay. It’s anything but okay.” He wheezed then, wracking his thin body with a series of coughs.

  “Grandfather, please. You need to tell me what I must do.” Cai knew Alfred wouldn’t rest until he’d got whatever was bothering him off his chest.

  “Isolde had a daughter. She died well before your father. I should have known when I read that first note she sent. I thought she was merely being clever.” His breathing was rapid and shallow, but he continued. “She was clever all right. She has a granddaughter, secreted away all these years. Her daughter named her after the Pearl.”

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Jordy gasped. “Margaron.”

  Cai nodded. “Welsh for pearl.”

  “I wasted the last of my power on finishing Isolde.” Alfred shifted restlessly. “But she was not the source of this threat.”

  Jordy moved closer and stroked his hair. She looked at Cai and was shaken by how hollow his eyes were. She wanted to hold him, stroke him, tell him it would all be okay. But she knew it wouldn’t be. She’d felt it when she’d stepped into the room. Alfred embodied this place, this incredible place. And yet she felt his spirit waning.

  “Margaron is the force pushing this toward an ugly end. It is not time. The next Keeper has not come yet. I understood that. Isolde understood that. But the impatience of youth …” He let the words trail off and once again his eyes closed.

  “We’ll find her, Alfred,” Cai said. “We’ll end this.”

  He said nothing. After a few moments, it was obvious he’d fallen back asleep.

  “Cai, maybe we’d best let him rest for a bit.”

  “I’m not leaving his side.”

  “I think we need to talk to Dilys. Find out what’s going on.”

  “That can wait until … until later.”

  Jordy didn’t agree, but she nodded. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, then his cheek, then his mouth. “I’m so sorry, Cai. I’m glad you’re with him.”

  His eyes were glassy. “I know it’s time, but I’m not ready.”

  “I don’t think we ever can be. But he is. Can you feel that?”

  Cai looked at his grandfather, then gave a quick nod. “I just don’t want him dying thinking he failed. Whatever else, I don’t want him leaving thinking that.”

  “Then we’ll make sure he knows we’ll finish what he started.”

  Cai looked up at her then, and she saw the fear in his eyes. “I want to.” He broke off and shook his head. “It’s all so damn confusing. What is this place, Jordy?” he whispered. “What is really going on here?”

  “We’ll find out. We’ll finish it.” She kissed him again. “I’m going to go find Dilys and see if I can’t get some answers. I won’t be gone long.”

  “Stay close. I’m not sure how much longer …” He shrugged and swallowed hard.

  She moved closer then and hugged him with everything she had. “Oh, Cai.”

  He pressed his face against her chest and wrapped one arm around her waist. He held on tight and she felt his broad shoulders heave. She kissed him and stroked his hair and let him hold on.

  When he let her go, he kept his face averted, looking at his grandfather. His hand still covered Alfred’s. “I’ll be here,” he said roughly.

  “I won’t be long.” With an aching heart, she stepped out into
the cavernous room and was once again struck by the enormity of it all.

  Dilys was sitting at one of the tables, perched on a high stool, pouring over a large book.

  “I need to talk with ye,” she said, without looking up.

  “Alfred said he has the Pearl.”

  She looked up then. Her dark eyes narrowed. “What else did he tell ye?”

  “That Margaron is the one responsible for the kidnappings. That she’s Isolde’s granddaughter.”

  Dilys nodded tightly. “That she is, the witch.”

  “Is that what she is, Dilys? Really, I mean.” Standing here, in this room, it seemed like a perfectly plausible question.

  “She is far more than that. She is everything Isolde ever was and more, I fear.” Dilys marked her place in the oversized book and slid from the stool. “She should have waited, but she knows she is strong.”

  “Margaron?”

  Dilys nodded sharply. “When Master Malacai wrote of the Dark Pearl, she took it as a sign. Mad that one is, far more dangerous than her grandmother ever was.”

  “You know about Isolde’s collapse.”

  “Oh, aye. Satisfyin’, that was. A fittin’ way for Alfred to end things.” Her expression darkened. “Had that been the end.” She slapped the table, making Jordy jump. “How we missed her spawning I have no idea. Devil’s spawn, from all accounts.”

  Jordy thought of the tattooed piece of flesh and found herself agreeing. “She’s here, Dilys. She left Cai a note in the ruins on Isolde’s property. She knows he’s here.”

  “I know she’s close. We feel her evil.”

  “If you know where, then you have to tell me. We can call in the police and end this. I know you think they can’t help, but they can. They have more force than we do. We have to free those poor women, Dilys.”

  “I understand yer feelings for the misfortunates. But they are the least of the worries we will have if Margaron gets her hands on the Dark Pearl.”