Drakonika (Book 1)

by Andrea Závodská

  He put on his backpack and removed the candle-stand as he opened the window, staring into the gaping darkness. Strangely, the fierce wind was now gone and although it hadn't been raining for several hours, he could still feel the moisture in the air. As he climbed to the window, he heard a frantic call behind him.

  “Magnus, what are you doing?! Come back here!”

  As if he didn't hear anything, Magnus fixed his silvery eyes on the wooden ledge above. He flung himself to the outer side of the building, standing on the window sill. And then, it was as if he had disappeared.

  There was no time for making any signals to Maren. He climbed up and jumped into his room through the window he had left open. Then he threw his backpack into a corner and wrapped himself into the blanket with his shoes on.

  It was just in time. As soon as jumped into his bed, Aedan had entered the room. It seemed that Magnus played a sleeping boy well because he heard his teacher walk out and close the door. He could finally breathe.

  However, Aedan could not.

  “Maybe it was just my imagination,” he muttered under his nose in an attempt to calm himself, but it had no effect — quite the opposite. “Does that mean I'm getting old?” he asked himself, looking around fearfully, as if he heard death itself coming for him. He had a horrible feeling that in the last ten minutes at least three hundred of his precious hazelnut hairs had turned grey.

  While he gave Maren and Magnus a hard time, the Black Squad and Serena were lucky. Aedan decided to skip his nightly patrol and get more of his life-giving sleep instead.

  The next day they were told to wait for Aedan in a side aisle near the edge of the main square. There was some shopping he had to do before they departed back to Sinei. But he could have expected that until he returned, his novices would get into serious trouble.

  Maren was happy to see Magnus alive after his extreme feat from last night and it seemed that she could stop worrying about him. He was getting used to his strength and he had started using it to his advantage. But other than that, she was worried about one more thing.

  “Is it safe?” she said quietly, looking rather anxious.

  “Of course, it's right here,” said Magnus, patting his backpack. He wasn't watching the tone of his voice as he thought that no one knew what they were talking about. But that was a mistake.

  “I don't know about this, Magnus,” Maren said in a low voice, ”Do you remember what it said? What if it belongs to someone and they will come looking for it? What if it's... you know... dangerous?”

  The Black Squad and Serena were standing nearby and although they all pretended not to have any interest in what was happening around them, they were listening to each word Maren and Magnus exchanged. They were now alert as they heard them talking about something unnamed. Perhaps “it” was the thing that Serena had mentioned last night as everything they just heard pointed to exactly that.

  “Hey,” Darius said confidently, casting a piercing stare at Magnus. “What's in the backpack?”

  The shock of hearing that voice made Magnus freeze. The question was directed at him and it almost sounded as if Darius knew about the mysterious book he took from the Mages Guild. But how?

  “That's none of your business,” Magnus retorted, but he should have known that such a tone wouldn't make it any better.

  “Really?” Darius said in an affronted tone, stepping forward in front of Serena and his four friends. Yes, Magnus was stronger, but he was alone and Darius had four friends with him (Serena made five, but according to him, girls didn't count). “I think it's time to teach you a lesson, Magnus,” he said, spitting out the name scornfully.

  The sight of the Black Squad in a full line along with a new member made all novices stand aside and clear the way, creating something like a small arena between them and Magnus.

  Darius was growing impatient.

  “Hand it over,” he growled.

  Magnus felt his stomach clench. He knew he was stronger than him, maybe even stronger than his entire gang, but he didn't want any trouble. Moreover, he felt as though he had never fought before.

  In addition to the novices standing around, a few strangers had come to watch the fight. It seemed that nobody wanted to miss a little action in the streets.

  Unfortunately for Magnus, Maren plunged in and that made the whole situation even worse.

  “You better watch your mouth, Magnus can breathe fire!” she shot threateningly at Darius.

  There was a deeply unpleasant silence as everyone froze in shock. And then the entire Black Squad burst into a laughter so intense, it seemed it was the best joke they had ever heard. Actually, it was.

  Rodrick wiped tears from his eyes, still laughing madly. Darius shook his head in disbelief.

  “Fire? He breathes fire?” he scoffed, “Let's see it then. Show us what you can do, if you can do anything at all.” Although he had been a witness to Magnus' extraordinary strength, he didn't seem to be afraid.

  There was the whispering sound of an incantation, carried around by the wind. Then Darius made a sudden move, throwing a radiant green whip-like plant that seized Magnus' legs and brought him down with a painful fall.

  The audience gasped and for a moment, no one spoke. How could he be so good at magick already?

  As soon as Magnus hit the ground, he felt Maren's hands on him, carefully checking each fold of his clothing.

  “Magnus! Magnus! Are you okay?” she shrieked desperately. But even then, Darius didn't leave them be.

  “Well? Where's the fire?” he demanded. While his friends were having a good laugh, he discreetly tilted his head in Serena's direction and whispered, “Is it in the backpack?”

  “I'm not sure. But if it's there, you probably broke it,” Serena said.

  Darius growled, looking angry with himself.

  “You don't give me a choice, Magnus. I'll take the backpack and take a look inside myself,” he said resolutely.

  Just as Magnus scrambled to his feet, another lash hit him and the backpack slipped from his shoulders. Darius was just about to drag him close when suddenly the plant tore apart, making the bag fall onto the ground and spill all its contents — mere books.

  It took a moment for Darius to recover, “What?! No crystal ball, just useless old books!”

  Maren and Magnus exchanged shocked glances. It must have been Serena who followed them to the cave in Sinei! But it seemed now that even she was surprised.

  Then all faces turned to a dark-haired girl who was standing out from the crowd, her arm raised slightly and her palms still beaming with purple energy. It was clear that it was her spell that cut Darius' magickal whip.

  It was Fjalldís! Magnus turned to her with a “thank you” on his lips, but he didn't get a chance to say it. A merciless voice came from behind the girl, making everyone shoot horrified looks in her direction.

  “What do we have here? Choosing the path of criminals at such early age?” said General Xanthar with relish. In that moment, all colour drained from Fjalldís' face.

  “No, I just wanted to help! He –” she said frantically and pointed at Darius, “He used an attack spell! If not for him, I wouldn't have cast anything. He basically made me do it!” she said desperately, hardly daring to breathe, but no one else spoke. There was a painful silence.

  “It's true, someone had to put an end to it! Everyone saw what happened!” she cried again, but there was still no word of confirmation from Darius. He might have done it on purpose, but maybe he was just struck speechless from fear.

  “You don't have to say anything. I've seen it all,” said the general flatly. Then he shot Magnus a spiteful look, “You, scrub — it's too bad I can't take you away. But don't worry, your time will come too.” It seemed that the attack at the police station didn't leave the slightest effect on him.

  Magnus felt these feelings were highly unjustified.

  “But I... I thought you would thank me for helping to catch the thief –” he said irresolutely, but the
general cut him off before he could say another word.

  “NOTHING,” Xanthar's voice hammered, “nothing in the whole world would ever make me thank you, do you understand?” At these words he turned away and his long coat almost slapped Magnus in the face. Xanthar stepped through the crowd and everyone flinched back as if they were afraid that a simple touch of this man would turn them into stone. “You two — follow me,” he said grimly without even looking back.

  Fjalldís and Darius didn't look at each other, but their expressions were just the same. They had no choice but to follow the general as there was no point in running. There were dozens of witnesses who watched them break the law.

  When they departed, people begun to leave — theshow was over. It took a moment until Magnus realised what had happened. When he heard Maren's voice again, he finally recovered.

  “Magnus, are you all right?” she squealed, surveying Magnus from head to toe, as though checking for any scratches. But instead of a warm embrace, he gave her a stern gaze.

  “Why did you tell him about the fire? You know I can't control it!” he said angrily, picking up the books from the ground and putting them back into his backpack.

  Maren looked at her shoes guiltily, “Sorry... I just wanted to... Darius really gets on my nerves sometimes. I wanted to scare him off so he would leave us be.”

  Magnus smiled bitterly as he tossed his backpack over his shoulder.

  “Sometimes? He's getting on my nerves constantly. And trust me, there are times when I feel like giving him a good punch. But it's not always the right time to –” he said, but then the rest of the words died in his throat. He suddenly clapped his hand against his chest.

  “What's the matter, Magnus?” Maren said in a worried tone, when she saw him raking through his clothes.

  “It's gone,” Magnus whispered.

  “What's gone?”

  Magnus grabbed her shoulders and shook her desperately, “My amulet! It's gone!”

  Maren and Magnus were not the only unfortunate novices who thought they were nearing their end. After walking up the long stairs, Darius and Fjalldís entered the general's office. When the door slammed behind them, they both felt as if they had already set foot into a prison.

  “Sit down,” said Xanthar grimly, shifting tons of papers and books on his table to create some space.

  The novices sat onto a sofa covered with dark leather, located right in front of Xanthar's desk. As they sat down, the leather made an unpleasant creaking noise, but Xanthar didn't even look up. Obviously, they weren't the first to sit there. Darius and Fjalldís exchanged frightened looks and then winced when they heard the general's voice.

  “What's the matter? Are you afraid? You should have thought about that before you broke the law,” Xanthar said, folding his hands on the desk that wasn't even visible a moment ago. “What should I do with the two of you? I can't put you behind bars yet, nor send you to labour like other criminals. Well, maybe you,” he said, pointing his long quill pen at Darius who almost stopped breathing, “but not the girl.” Xanthar remained in thought for a while, trying to quickly think of an appropriate solution. For a moment, the office fell silent.

  Darius noticed Fjalldís crumpling the long skirt on her knees. Perhaps it would make her feel safer if someone held her hand, though that would take even more courage than entering the general's office. But just as he made an attempt to do it, the sound of Xanthar's stern voice immediately put his arm back in place.

  “I have to admit you both have talent in magick. It's very rare for children like you to be able to cast these kinds of spells so well already. However,” he said, and the last word gave the novices an unpleasant feeling, “It doesn't change the fact that all magick executed by an unauthorized person is strictly forbidden. magick is not to be played with and if I am the one to teach you that, so be it. I have folders with information about each person who ever visited Ragna and I will make a note of your violation. As soon as you get three black marks, you'll be sacked from the beloved that guild of yours at once.” He spit out the word “guild” with utter disrespect. It was quite clear that he considered Aedan's preparatory lessons a total waste of time. Then his stern expression changed into a slightly sinister smile. “It also has its advantages. When you finally get out of there, you can find a place where you will receive real training.” It wasn't hard to guess that the place where they could get “real” training was supposed to be his own police station. “Trust me. One day you will regret that you wasted so much time in that absurd nursery,” he said firmly. Then he asked for their names and found their document folders in the unbelievable heap of papers. It seemed impossible that he knew where to look for them.

  “Fjalldís — one black mark, Darius — two black marks,” Xanthar said with finality in his voice, scribbling his verdict onto the papers.

  Hearing that, Darius almost jumped from the sofa.

  “What? Two?!” he breathed incredulously, but Xanthar only raised his eyebrows and fixed his inquiring gaze on him.

  “I wonder why you are so surprised. If I remember well, you used magick twice, or am I mistaken?” he asked calmly, although he knew there was nothing that Darius could contradict. “May it be a lesson for you both.” At these words he put the documents back into the pile of papers and in doing so, he closed the case.

  The shaken novices were just about to open the door when Xanthar left his desk, “Wait a moment, not so fast.” His voice made Darius let go of the handle and turn around. What else could he want from them?

  “Would you like to take some candies?” Xanthar said evenly as he pointed at a desk on the other side of the room that was near the windows with a great view of Ragna.

  There was a moment of silence. Has the general of Ragnan Magi Police really just offered them sweets?

  The general's insisting gaze made Fjalldís walk to the table with candies, not daring to look back. But as soon as Darius made a move too, Xanthar blocked his way. The “kindhearted” gesture was simply a way to have a little talk with Darius, without Fjalldís present.

  “Now listen well, boy. She's a good girl. If you harm her in any way, you'll have a serious problem with me. I know she doesn't deserve the violation note, but I gave it to her anyway so she can learn from it. But you,” the general said gravely, jabbing at Darius' chest with his finger, making him step back. “One wrong move and you're out of there, got it?”

  While Darius was keeping Xanthar busy, Fjalldís raked through the bowl of sweets, pulling out a few candies. As she slipped them into a leather pouch hanging on her belt, she noticed some remarkable items lying on the desk. A large hourglass encrusted with gold and rubies, a few books and some unidentifiable things — among others there was something like a metallic star the size of a palm.

  “Now I suggest you watch her on your way back,” Xanthar said. “If anything happens to her, it will be your responsibility.” These were his last words. As soon as Fjalldís returned, he opened the door with a simple, “Have a nice day.”

  Neither of them spoke on the way back, until Darius broke the silence.

  “Fjalldís –” he started finally, but she cut across him in a booming voice.

  “If I get expelled from the guild, I will never talk to you again!” she screamed furiously as she turned so fiercely there was a sound of beads chinking in her hair.

  For a moment, Darius stood there like a statue, as if he couldn't believe his ears. If the potion from Viktor could have ever worked, he probably ruined it completely today. But did he still want to get revenge at all?

  Fjalldís didn't let him talk, “Why do you always have to look for trouble? Magnus hasn't done anything to you and neither have I! I've always been on the side of justice, I always try to help people and keep away from bad company, so why must this happen to me?” With tears in her eyes, she turned away to take the nearest side lane, but Darius' gloved hand grabbed her arm. “What are you doing? Let go of me!” she cried angrily.

 
“Stop screaming, will you? I don't want any problems because of you,” Darius said impatiently. He didn't release her, but Fjalldís pulled herself free of his grip.

  “Now you care about problems?” she retorted with a piercing gaze. Her eyes reflected anger mingled with sadness and deep disappointment. “You know what? Do what you want. And don't follow me!” she said, taking the first turn.

  “Oh yeah? No one forced you to cast that spell! You've even kept all the candies to yourself! Some justice,” Darius yelled after her, in an effort to bring her to the same level of a ruffian as he was. Seconds later, a small candy bounced off his forehead with force.

  There was a curt “Here's your candy!” from around the corner and then Fjalldís disappeared completely.

  Darius rubbed his forehead and groaned, surprised by the strength and precision with which she threw the candy at him. Despite the threats Xanthar gave him, he decided to let her walk alone.

  XII. The Stolen Amulet

  Magnus' terrible loss could have only been eased by visiting a certain windowless house at the main square. Valezar was happy to see his friends again, but the reason of their visit didn't make him smile. Magnus kept on groaning and mourning over his amulet so much it was a wonder he didn't start crying. Valezar tried to calm him down, but nothing seemed to work.

  “Are you sure you didn't drop it somewhere? Perhaps if you searched the place again –”

  “We've looked a hundred times!” Magnus said desperately. “And I know I had it in the morning!”

  No matter how caring the old mage was, there was no way to cheer Magnus up. Hot tea wouldn't bring his amulet back, nor would the quarreling gingerbreads — it was lost and not even Valezar's divinatory skills could help resolve this mystery. He tried looking into the past but except Maren, there was no one standing close to Magnus during the fight. No thief, no clues, nothing. It was as if the amulet had simply disappeared.