Drakonika (Book 1)

by Andrea Závodská

  The greetings weren't the warmest, but they all made it into Ragna. For Maren, it meant she was home. For Magnus, it was a chance to get that mysterious book. But before they set off to the Mages Guild, a small wish of his had come true. Aedan bought fresh Ragnan cakes from the bakery near the town gate. The Black Squad was surely tempted to throw cake-crumbs at others, but after this morning's event, they decided it would be wiser to save it for another time.

  Life on the Ragnan streets looked just like any other day. The aisles were quiet and empty and the main square was, as always, very much alive. Magnus immediately caught sight of Valezar's windowless house and was thinking frantically how and when to visit him again, when suddenly his train of thought was interrupted by a group of people who approached him with ecstatic smiles.

  “That's him!” one of them said, looking straight at Magnus, “He seized the thief!” At these words, there was an outbreak of whispers.

  “He's so little!” gasped a woman clad in a commoner dress.

  “And he did it all alone!” joined another man among the stunned admireres.

  Magnus cast a puzzled look around him. Although he knew what they were talking about, he certainly didn't expect to meet a group of admirers on his next visit to Ragna. Another man jumped in front of him, shaking his hand wildly.

  “That was such an amazing performance! It's unbelievable that a strong tall man was captured by such a small boy like you! You have removed a feared robber from our streets, you are always welcome here!” When he finished his speech, he finally stopped shaking Magnus' hand. The rest of the admirers nodded to each word he uttered.

  “That's very kind, thank you,” Magnus said, but he paused for a while because he heard another envious talk coming from the Black Squad. “But I didn't do it alone, I had an assistant. In fact, she's here with us –” Magnus said humbly as he looked to Fjalldís who stood nearby, but the second part of his speech was drowned in another outbreak of praises.

  Aedan broke the circle, strolling past the crowd and into the midst where he found his novices caught up in this strange gathering.

  “Move it kids, we're late. We don't have time for this,” he said shortly. As he said that, all of the curious admirers turned to him.

  “And this is your bodyguard, Magnus?” one of the admirers asked, surveying Aedan's great wild mane, his height and his stockiness.

  “His teacher,” growled Aedan with his teeth clenched so tight, the words came out muffled. Anyone could see that these people were starting to get on his nerves even though he had just met them.

  “Oh, his teacher! This is Magnus' teacher! It's such an honour to meet you! Your student is very talented!”

  “Yes, I know,” Aedan muttered, an unimpressed look on his face.

  “It must be such an honour to teach such a skilled and kind little boy, Mister –?” said the man, repeating the same words over and over.

  “Ehm, Aedan,” said Aedan after a while of hesitation. It seemed as though he didn't even want these people to learn his name. And soon his novices knew why.

  The group of admirers stared at him blankly and then burst into a hearty laughter.

  Aedan growled. It appeared he couldn't stay in the presence of these fools any longer.

  “Let's go,” he said firmly, rushing his novices forward.

  Magnus noticed that his classmates were shooting him furtive glances again. But aside from the strange admirers, there was something else he didn't understand.

  “Why did they laugh when Aedan introduced himself?” he asked curiously.

  Maren giggled quietly, “Because all female names in Ragna end with n and the male ones end with r. And Aedan's name ending with n makes it –”

  “– a girl's name,” Magnus chuckled. When he looked around again, the strangers were still watching him, some of them even waving. “They are kind of spooky,” he whispered. He thought if Aedan didn't lead on, he might have never gotten rid of these people.

  The gentle breeze ran cooler. When they approached the Mages Guild, they could see an old mage dressed in blue robes waiting for them at the draw-bridge, shooting them rather unwelcoming looks. His arms were stoutly folded on his chest and the tip of his right shoe was clacking impatiently.

  “It is surprising you still have the guts to show up,” Solas snapped, “I have been waiting for over two hours. What is this supposed to mean, Aedan? This was not the deal!”

  It seemed to Magnus that their teacher had difficulty not to grab Solas' neck and calm his temper.

  “I know. We had a little problem in the morning. Please accept my sincere apology,” Aedan said as politely as he could, given the circumstances. He didn't seem to be great friends with Solas, but it wasn't the mage's fault that they had come late.

  Solas snorted, “Apology accepted, but just barely.” At these words, he stepped back and let them pass over the bridge.

  The group of novices led by Aedan passed the draw-bridge to the Mages Guild's courtyard eagerly, but Magnus stayed in the back. There was something he wanted to ask Solas in private.

  “Could I see the Guild Master? I'd like to talk to him,” he said calmly, but he should have known it wouldn't make Solas' attitude any friendlier.

  “Do you want to bother him with some foolish nonsense again?” Solas interrupted him. “Zimbadur is not here, he left to an important meeting a few days ago and he has not returned yet. And even if he was here, I would certainly not tell you where to find him,” he said curtly through his thick white beard.

  Unfortunately, it appeared that Solas didn't have the slightest intention in talking about Zimbadur with him, so Magnus was left with no other choice but to follow Aedan and the rest of the novices inside. When he was about to cross the doorstep, a raindrop fell on his forehead. Magnus looked up. The Ragnan sky was veiled in dark grey clouds.

  Maren and Magnus had already visited the Mages Guild, but for the others it was their first time seeing its mysterious halls that beamed with magickal energies. Aedan knew this place very well so luckily for them, they didn't need Solas' company. They turned up the staircase illuminated with torches and strange glowing gems and were led straight into the guild's library. It didn't look as large and majestic as the one in Sinei, but that was just the first sight. In fact, it was so vast and entangled in rows of aisles overfilled with bookshelves and study tables that anyone could get lost easily.

  Their next quest was to find a book about a particular animal or a mythical being from the heap prepared on one of the tables in the front room. They could choose any book, but they were not allowed to search the shelves. Both Solas and Aedan were aware that the novices could find things there they should never learn — or at least not yet.

  As soon as they begun browsing the books, a slim mage in black robes panted into sight, whispered something into Aedan's ear and then departed as quickly as he arrived. It seemed he didn't want the children to hear a word.

  Aedan took a deep breath. He had to leave that bunch of brats alone again, and he shuddered when he thought of what they would do in his absence.

  “I will go out for a while, there's something I need to do. I hope you won't turn the library into a playground,” he said in a warning tone. At these words, he disappeared into the dim corridor.

  Maren and Magnus exchanged confused looks. What could have forced Aedan to leave them alone again after the morning riot in the kitchen? Magnus' eyes were already sliding across the shelves and in his mind he was searching for the book that he wanted to find. But they weren't the only ones who used Aedan's absence to their advantage.

  Darius immediately stopped pretending he was choosing a book.

  “Let's burn stuff,” he said in a bored voice. It appeared that his words made the Black Squad beam with life again.

  “Good idea,” answered Rodrick. All five of them stuffed a random book into their backpacks. With Darius in the lead they bolted into the dark hallway and from there, up the stairs and into the unknown.


  Several children watched the Black Squad leaving. Serena looked at the five boys as they vanished from the library, a deep longing reflected in her eyes. Raking through books like a nerd with these boring infants? That was definitely not for her. But when she looked back, there was something else that got her attention — Magnus and Maren were gone.

  Magnus had no idea that someone noticed their absence. He dashed through the narrow corridors of bookshelves, Maren right behind him. The farther they went, the darker the library was. Windows were very scarce here, but there would have been at least a bit of light coming through them if not for the dark clouds outside.

  Magnus led Maren into a faraway corner and looking somewhere at the upper shelves, he stopped.

  “There it is,” he said swiftly, pointing at a huge tome bound in black leather. But as much as it seemed unbelievable to Maren that he knew where he was going, it still wasn't certain that he had found the book from the vision.

  “You'll need a ladder to get that book, don't you think?” she said quietly, although there was no one around.

  “Right. There's one in the left aisle,” said Magnus with great certainty.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I saw it in the vision,” Magnus answered. He rushed into the left aisle and when he returned, he was holding a long wooden ladder under his armpit. Maren no longer wondered how he could move around with something so heavy.

  Magnus leaned the ladder against the shelf completely in the back. He carefully climbed to the top and with just one hand he pulled the mysterious tome out. He remained silent for a while, just poring over its cover. He couldn't believe he had found it. But what exactly did he find?

  “Couldn't you speed up? We don't have much time,” said Maren's impatient voice from below.

  BAM!

  Maren jumped in horror. That sounded like a window swinging open on its own!

  An unfriendly cool breeze crept inside. Magnus didn't bother climbing — he slid down from the ladder like an acrobat and quickly tucked the tome away into his backpack.

  Maren had only barely recovered from the strange noise. She gave him a long, unbelieving gaze.

  “You're mad! You want to steal it?” she said in a scandalised tone.

  “Borrow it,” Magnus corrected her calmly. “Understand, Maren, I need to know what's inside. I might find some important information here. Important for me.”

  “Or information that nobody should ever see. Not even you,” she said stoutly, but she didn't elaborate.

  “Let's go,” said Magnus swiftly and followed by Maren, he rushed through the aisles of bookshelves back into the front study room. But there was an unpleasant surprise awaiting them. Everyone was gone.

  Maren approached the table with books, looking scared and confused.

  “This way!” Magnus cried and bolted out into the hallway, but Maren caught up with him a little later. As he asked what she was doing, she held up two books in her hands.

  “Our quest, remember?” Maren said in a smart tone. With the words “That's yours” she pushed one of the books against his chest.

  Magnus grasped the book and looked at its title.

  “Watermen?” he said blankly.

  Maren shook from disgust, “Brrr, who would want to read that?”

  “Did you pick this for me on purpose?” Magnus said in a slightly annoyed tone, but there was no time for quarrels. They both stuffed the books into their backpacks and quickly made their way down the dark stairs lit with the dim light of torches. As they reached the ground floor they almost bumped into Solas who emerged from behind the corner without any warning.

  “Finally!” Solas barked. “I thought you would make me climb those stairs again. As if I did not have to run up and down enough already.”

  “Where is Aedan? Shouldn't he be waiting for us here?” Maren said carefully.

  “As you can see, I am waiting for you. It is not safe outside at the present time,” Solas said curtly as he turned into the left hallway. “Follow me,” he mumbled under his nose.

  Magnus and Maren had no other choice but to do as he said. Solas led them to a large chamber with a long table in its midst, illuminated with a line of lit candles and a big hearth at the end. There were small tables and benches by the walls which were used by mages for playing board games during long winter evenings. All the novices were already waiting there, even Darius with his comrades.

  “Everyone sit down, I hate crowds,” Solas said bossily as he took a seat in the most comfortable armchair at the head of the table.

  With a quick rustle, all of the novices sat down immediately, taking the farthest seats first. Magnus and Maren were forced to sit at the only available ones — right in front of the grumpy old mage.

  When they settled down, Solas' train of thought was interrupted by Maren's gentle voice.

  “Excuse me, Mister Solas. I just wanted to show you that we have borrowed these two books –” she said bashfully, but she was cut off with her book halfway pulled from her backpack.

  “Please, do not bother me with books now. Even if you stole them it would not be important now,” Solas snarled, looking around nervously.

  Magnus leaned to Maren.

  “See? I told you it wouldn't be a problem,” he whispered. As soon as he said that, Solas' grim gaze landed on them immediately, as though he had radar in his ears.

  “What? Someone has stolen something?!” he said sharply. Maren and Magnus were unable to hide the surprise in their faces, but something happened then that made Solas forget about this whole matter completely.

  A blunt drumming sound shook the floors of the entire Mages Guild. The novices froze like statues and didn't dare to make the slightest move.

  A chilly breeze crept around them and Magnus surely wasn't the only one who felt it. Suddenly, the candle flames on the table were blown out, one by one.

  There were several frightened screams and all girls trembled from head to toe.

  “That's okay, I'm sure it was just another window,” Magnus whispered. He seemed to be the only novice who wasn't scared, but then he twitched too. The fire in the hearth had simply vanished and the entire chamber was left in complete darkness.

  That was a reason good enough for a total panic. There was an outbreak of shrieks and cries as the novices ran across the room in terror. The effect was multiplied by a sound of heavy thunderclaps that rumbled over the town.

  “Enouuuugh!” Solas yelled, making all of the children hush and turn to him. Then he raised his arm. A glowing ball of white light appeared above his palm, lighting his white thick eyebrows, his blue hat and a few terrified faces around him. “Everyone just relax. They can not get inside.”

  “They? Who are they?” demanded a boy from one of the dark corners, but Solas did not answer. He kept quietly repeating “They can not get inside, they can not get inside” under his nose, as if he was trying to convince himself that he was right.

  “What do we do?” Maren whispered desperately.

  “First, let us all just calm down, shall we?” Solas said in a highly relaxed voice which seemed to calm the novices as well. It appeared there was nothing to worry about — they had a powerful mage to protect them and keep things in order. After a short moment of silence, Solas spoke again.

  “And then... we all run for our lives!” he cried abruptly as he leaped to his feet and immediately bolted in the door's direction. He didn't intend to die in a dark room full of such good-for-nothings! But his plan encountered a serious problem.

  He bumped into the door. Actually, it wasn't the door, so it must have been “one of those things”. He thought this would be his end, when he spotted Aedan's face as he raised the glowing magick ball higher. Even though there was nothing to fear, Solas gaped at him as if he could not believe that he was still alive.

  Aedan didn't say a word. He surveyed the room lit with Solas' white dim light to make sure none of them were missing.

  As soon as Solas understood that he
wasn't in danger, his pointy tongue loosened. “How caring you are suddenly. Do you also count them?” he said tartly as he let out a hoarse sound which was probably supposed to be a chuckle. “How did you get here? The door was locked!”

  Aedan was still looking into the room. “But the windows were not,” he said blankly. He was pretty strict at times, and the novices were often scared of him, but now they felt much calmer with him around. If he hadn't returned, Solas would have surely left them for the monsters to eat!

  “Aedan, can we go now?” a few novices begged.

  “No,” Aedan refused resolutely. “We're staying in Ragna tonight. We can't risk traveling under such circumstances.”

  As a reaction to his words, Solas let out another husky snigger.

  “I hope you are just joking, Aedan. We cannot keep you here overnight. This is not a hostel,” he grunted.

  “Don't worry, Solas,” Aedan retorted bitterly. “I certainly wouldn't count on your hospitality. We'll stay in a tavern,” he decided, turning away from the unfriendly librarian. “Take your stuff, kids. We're leaving.”

  The novices were scared of anything they could possibly meet outside, but staying around Solas was even worse. They did as they were told. Without any objections, everyone took their things and marched out into the hallway to follow the druid. Their exceptional obedience was highly unusual.

  Solas shuffled behind them. When they all reached the entrance, he unlocked the door and let them out, saying, “You are a fool, you know that?”

  Aedan shot him a brief look.

  “And you're an even bigger one,” he said curtly as he stepped forwards to catch up with his novices. There was no time to lose — he had to quickly get them to a safe place.

  Solas shook his pointy hat topped head and then disappeared into the dark hallway, locking the heavy door with the sound of several bars clacking.