Shadowmagic s-1

by John Lenahan

  ‘Oh my gods,’ I heard from behind me. It was Fergal. ‘Is that the Field?’

  Araf nodded without looking up.

  ‘What is so special about this field?’ I asked.

  ‘They studied everything at the Hall,’ Fergal explained, ‘even farming. This was a special garden where the Imp students would try new things. It was supposed to be beautiful. Araf lost a cousin here.’

  I dismounted and put my hand on Araf’s shoulder. ‘Sorry,’ I said. It didn’t seem enough but he placed his hand on mine in thanks.

  This was the true beginning of the desecration of the Hazellands. Before, everything was just dead; here as I got closer to the Hall, I could see the deliberate destruction. Hazel bushes were torched, and worst of all, we saw an apple tree cut down and left to rot. It made me feel ill. As the top of the Hall started to come into view, Acorn got very jittery. He sidestepped, whinnied and stopped unexpectedly. I got the impression that Acorn had memories of this place and they were not pleasant ones. I toyed with the idea of getting down and walking. I wish I had. Just as I crested a rise and received my first full view of the ruins of the Hall of Knowledge, we startled a flock of ravens. For hours the Hazellands had been completely lifeless, and this explosion of squawking and beating wings was too much for Acorn-he bolted.

  I didn’t think anything could be scarier than standing in front of a charging boar-I was wrong. Acorn was breaking all known horsey speed limits and I was powerless to stop or even influence the beast.

  I was flying past some outbuildings of the Castle when I heard Fergal come up on my left yelling. Boy, we were moving fast. He reached over to grab my reins, but he didn’t make it. He never saw what happened-I did. As we galloped between two burnt-out buildings, I saw a thick rope pop up and stretch across our path. It was too low to duck. I only had time to think, This is going to hurt. It did.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lorcan

  I awoke tied to a pillar inside a roofless ruin of a room. This waking up in bondage and pain was getting old real fast. Fergal was tied to the next pillar over. His chin was on his chest and his eyes were closed.

  ‘Fergal,’ I said in a loud whisper. He popped his head up.

  ‘Conor! You’re awake. Are you OK? What the hell happened?’

  ‘I’m alright, at least as alright as I can be in this godforsaken place. The last thing I remember, we got clotheslined.’

  ‘That explains why I hurt so much.’

  ‘Hey, do you have your Banshee blade?’

  ‘No, they must have taken it.’

  ‘Where are the others?’ I asked.

  ‘I haven’t seen them.’

  ‘Have you seen anybody?’

  ‘When I came to, some short guy was tying you up. He was a Leprechaun, I think.’

  ‘A Leprechaun? You mean a little guy with a beard and a green suit?’ I chuckled to myself and then started laughing.

  ‘I don’t think he was wearing green,’ Fergal said. That only made me laugh louder. ‘Conor, are you OK?’

  I thought about this question for a moment, and all of the humour left me. ‘No, I am not OK!’ I spat. ‘I had a perfectly good life. It may not have been exciting or important, but it was a good life. No one hit me, or made me ride horses, or knocked me off horses, or wanted me dead, or made me sleep outside at night or…or…ANYTHING! The only thing I had to do was homework-which I will never complain about again for as long as I live. Which is probably about five more minutes, because everybody wants me DEAD!’ I was babbling now. ‘HEY, WHY DON’T YOU JUST GET IN HERE AND FINISH ME OFF!’ I screamed.

  ‘Quiet, Conor.’

  ‘Why? What difference does it make? It’s not like they don’t know we are in here-they tied us up, for God’s sake. And who are they anyway? WHO ARE YOU? GET YOUR BUTTS IN HERE AND UNTIE ME!’

  Well, whoever they were, it got their attention. A very short man with a beard came into view from behind me. It was disappointing that he didn’t have a green outfit and a pointed hat, because if he did he would have been the spitting image of one of Snow White’s dwarfs. He was followed by a bulkier guy who had to be an Imp.

  ‘Is this the Leprechaun you told me about?’ I asked Fergal.

  He nodded yes.

  ‘Hello, Mr Leprechaun,’ I said. ‘Top of the morning to you. For my first wish I’d like a chocolate sundae with a cherry on…’

  ‘Silence!’ the little beardy guy shouted.

  ‘OK,’ I said, ‘how about I cut to my favourite wish-I’d like: me untied, you boiling in oil and don’t forget to leave me that pot of gold.’

  The Imp handed Beardy Guy my sword. ‘Is this yours?’

  ‘It looks like it’s yours now. You know-finders keepers.’

  He crouched close and placed the edge of the sword at my throat. ‘I’ll ask you again.’ I could smell his breath and it wasn’t pleasant. ‘Where did you get this sword?’

  I looked him in the eye and said, ‘Do it. Cut my throat. Get it over with. I’m tired of being tied up and threatened. Just kill me and then-LEAVE ME ALONE!’

  I actually scared him when I shouted. It made him jump up and back off. He turned to Fergal and pointed my sword at him. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘I am Fergal of Ur.’

  ‘Ur! Well, what do you know,’ he said sarcastically to the bigger guy, ‘a fellow Imp.’ He put the blade to his throat. ‘Start speaking the truth, Banshee, or you won’t be able to speak at all.’

  ‘Leave him alone,’ I said. I was just about to say it again, when I heard a voice behind me say the same thing.

  ‘Leave him alone!’

  I didn’t recognise the voice right away because I actually hadn’t heard it that much.

  ‘Who are you?’ the Leprechaun said. His question was answered by his Imp partner.

  ‘Prince Araf!’

  Sure enough it was Old Chatty himself. He strode in, followed by Essa and a horde of confused Imps.

  ‘Untie my companions,’ he demanded.

  The Imp made a move to do just that but the Leprechaun stopped him.

  ‘Hey, Leprechaun guy,’ I said. ‘Don’t make Araf repeat himself, he’s not fond of saying things the first time.’

  Araf and Beardy stared at each other for a while. It was a struggle as fierce as any sword fight. At last Beardy gave in and nodded to his Imp, who untied us.

  We stood and joined Araf and Essa. I whispered to Fergal, ‘Prince Araf?’

  ‘Yeah, Araf is the heir to the throne of Ur. Didn’t he tell you that?’

  ‘He babbles on so, I guess I just missed it.’

  I approached the Leprechaun. ‘Can I have my sword back, please?’

  He reluctantly handed it to me and said, ‘I would still like to know who you are and where you got this.’

  ‘The business of my companions,’ Araf stated, ‘is of no concern to you. What is of concern to me, is who you are and why so many of my kinsmen are here.’

  The stare-down started again. Finally the Leprechaun said, ‘Lord Araf, if I may speak with you alone?’

  ‘Anything you wish to say, you may say in front of my comrades.’

  This provoked another staring contest. At this rate we were going to be here all day. ‘Very well. May I invite you all to join me in my headquarters for tea?’

  Araf nodded.

  ‘You wouldn’t have any of that willow stuff, would you?’ I asked.

  It wasn’t until I got outside that I realised where we were-in the ruins of the Hall of Knowledge. The first thing I saw was a lone standing wall with a beautiful yellow and blue stained-glass window in it. The window depicted a woman sitting in the middle of a willowy tree. Amid all of the destruction it was amazing that the glass had survived.

  As we walked, Imps and Leprechauns peeked around corners tying to get a glimpse of the strangers. Beardy’s headquarters had obviously once been part of the Great Library. Gerard had told me that the Library was a circular room surrounding a courtyard. What was left of it
made my blood boil. I don’t even like it when someone folds down the corner of a cheap paperback-here, heaped around the room, were towers of partly burnt books and piles of scorched manuscript pieces. The bookshelves that were still intact were blackened with soot. Who could do this to a library?

  Essa spoke first. ‘You are trying to save some of the manuscripts, I see.’

  ‘That was not our intention,’ Beardy said, ‘but none of us could stand to see it like this, so I have delegated a handful of people to try to make as much order of the books as they can.’

  ‘What is your intention here?’ Araf asked.

  Beardy straightened and thought for a moment. I recognised the look. I’m sure I had worn it quite a bit recently-it was the look of someone who was deciding whether to tell the truth or not.

  ‘I am Lorcan.’

  ‘Lorcan the Leprechaun?’ I blurted out and laughed. Lorcan and the others gave me a dirty look and I instantly apologised.

  ‘I am Lorcan, I was chief engineer in the mines of Duir. Three years ago I asked Lord Cialtie what he was doing with all of the gold, now that he had stopped the allowance to most of the Runelords. For an answer he imprisoned my wife in his tower and told me that the next time I had the audacity to ask questions, she would die. Over the next two years I smuggled gold out to the Runelords that had been cut off, and planned a rescue of my wife. I had not seen her for months, and when I finally gained access to the tower, she was not there. I learned that my wife had been killed a month before, defending a fellow prisoner. No one had told me.’ He paused and then forced himself on. ‘I knew that Cialtie would find out I had been there, so I escaped. Ever since I have been organising this secret fighting force. We call ourselves the Army of the Red Hand. Our goal is to dethrone Cialtie.’

  ‘If your army is a secret one,’ I said, ‘then why are you telling us?’

  ‘Out of respect for Prince Araf I will not lie to you, and also because you will not be allowed to leave here until we have mounted our attack.’

  ‘What?’ Araf shouted.

  ‘I am sorry, my lord, this must be,’ Lorcan said, as the room filled with scores of armed guards-none of them, I noticed, were Imps.

  We drew our weapons but it didn’t look good-even if we hacked our way out of this room there was an army outside.

  ‘Put down your weapons,’ Lorcan said, ‘your detainment will not be long. Our attack begins soon.’

  The way I looked at it, putting down weapons was a good idea. If these guys wanted to stuff Cialtie, I wasn’t going to get in their way. I lowered my sword and looked at Araf. He reached into his shirt and came up with a wooden whistle. He blew two shrill notes on it that were so high I thought they were going to pierce my eardrums. The effect was instantaneous: at once there was a tremendous commotion outside the room, and every entrance was flooded with confused Imps brandishing weapons. Araf dropped his staff and held his hands up in a calming gesture. I found myself standing in the middle of a room packed full of confused and agitated Imps and Leprechauns all pointing swords. As usual in situations like this, I laughed.

  An important-looking Imp pushed through the crowd. ‘Prince Araf, what is amiss?’

  Araf glanced at Lorcan. ‘Nothing is amiss, my kinsman. Master Lorcan and I were talking about the loyalty of the Impmen and I provided a demonstration-well done. Now, with Master Lorcan’s leave, you may all go back to your posts-Imps and Leprechauns.’

  All eyes turned to Lorcan, who kept his gaze firmly fixed on Araf. We were in for another one of their famous stare-downs. As usual Araf won. Lorcan nodded and once again it was just Beardy and us.

  Araf stepped up to the Leprechaun-there was so much tension in the air, you could swim in it. Araf spoke first. ‘I have no desire to create a mutiny in your ranks, Lorcan. I understand your need for secrecy and I am not unsympathetic to your ultimate goal, but we must not be detained.’ Before Lorcan could speak, Araf continued. ‘Let me introduce to you a member of my company. This,’ he said, pointing to his left, ‘is Essa of Muhn.’

  Lorcan looked very surprised. He bowed and said, ‘Princess.’

  Essa barely nodded back. It was a nice moment.

  ‘By your lady’s leave,’ Araf said to Essa, ‘would you show Lorcan what is around your neck?’

  Essa pulled out the finger-length crystal that her father had used on me.

  ‘Do you recognise this?’ Araf asked.

  Surprising Lorcan seemed to be becoming a pastime of ours. ‘Is that an Owith glass?’ he stammered.

  ‘It is,’ Essa answered. ‘I believe the queen of the Leprechauns holds the other one.’

  ‘She does. I have seen it.’

  ‘Then you know what it can do?’ Araf asked.

  ‘It catches lies.’

  ‘Essa, would you be willing to give Lorcan a demonstration?’

  Essa took off the necklace and held it towards Lorcan. ‘What is your name?’ she asked.

  ‘Lorcan of Duir,’ The glass remained clear.

  ‘This time,’ Essa said, ‘I want you to lie. What is your name?’

  ‘I am-Finn of Duir.’ Lorcan said. The crystal instantly went black.

  ‘Why we are here and where we are going,’ Araf said, ‘we cannot tell you, but with Essa’s leave, I propose that you may use the glass to swear us to secrecy. The glass will show if we intend to break our vow’

  Lorcan agreed. We all, in turn, swore to keep secret our knowledge of the Army of the Red Hand and their plan to attack Castle Duir. The glass remained clear. Lorcan returned the necklace and thanked Essa.

  I broke the awkward silence. ‘Hey, what about that cup of tea you promised?’

  By the time dinner was served we were all pals-comrades in arms. Lorcan explained that he really wasn’t ready for an invasion but he had to hurry it because of the meeting of the Runelords.

  ‘What meeting?’ Araf asked.

  ‘Cialtie has called a meeting of the lords for a Runecasting. We suspect he is going to try to find out where we are hiding. We need to attack soon if we want surprise on our side.’

  ‘Who is performing the Runecasting?’ Essa asked.

  ‘Cialtie said it will be Nieve, but according to our sources Nieve has been missing for days. We can’t confirm this.’

  Essa and I looked at each other but said nothing.

  ‘How long before you attack?’ Araf asked.

  ‘I have sent word to all of my reserves to meet here by the end of the week-after that, as soon as we are ready. Some lords are on our side and are trying to delay the meeting.’

  ‘Too long have the Imps and the Impwives watched our crops wither and our children suffer for the want of gold,’ Araf said. ‘I do not know Cialtie’s motives for hoarding so much gold. I only know that I do not trust him. We will leave in the morning. I cannot speak for my companions, but I will try to return to join you before you move out.’ He stood and extended his hand. Lorcan took it.

  ‘I stand with my kinsman,’ Fergal said.

  Essa and I stood. ‘I am ruled by my father and do not know his mind on this matter, but I wish you success,’ Essa said.

  ‘My future is just too crazy to promise I’ll be back in time,’ I said, ‘but kick a bit of Cialtie butt for me-will ya?’

  Araf and Fergal went outside to address the Imp troops. Essa asked Lorcan if we could see the courtyard where the Tree of Knowledge once stood. It wasn’t far. The room we were in was adjacent to the courtyard-it was one of the few rooms that had remained whole. The courtyard was strewn with rubble from walls that had been pulled down. The ground was charred like the bottom of a giant campfire-it smelt like an old campfire as well. Essa walked to the middle and scrabbled in the black dust until she found a charred root.

  ‘This was the Tree of Knowledge,’ she said in a faraway voice. ‘I sat in it once when I was young.’

  ‘You sat in it?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes, it was a hazel tree. It didn’t have a thick trunk like an oak, it had hundreds of th
inner branches coming out of the ground. Over the ages the branches were trained and bent into a living chair. On the day a student left the Hall of Knowledge, he or she would sit in the tree for a leaving ceremony. The student would receive and eat a hazelnut from the tree. It would ensure that the student would never forget what was learned here.’

  ‘Wow, it sounds like a heck of a tree.’

  She looked me in the eyes-hers were wet. ‘Your grandfather died trying to defend it-so did my brother.’

  Her eyelids could hold back the tears no longer. I reached for her and she collapsed in my arms, shaking with sobs. I cried a bit too. Together we mourned a grandfather I had never known and a brother that she would always remember with the emotions of a little girl.

  I don’t know how long we knelt there. Being brave only postpones the inevitable-sooner or later you have to mourn your dead with all of your being, and that was what Essa was finally doing. When her sobs subsided, I picked up my staff and used it as support to help us both to our feet. The hazel staff slid into the ground like it was sand and then stuck there. Essa stumbled. I let go of the stick and held her with both arms. She leaned on me until we cleared the courtyard, then she stopped, wiped her eyes and put on her brave face before we joined the others. I forgot all about my staff.

  Essa was fine the next morning. We exchanged knowing glances at breakfast. After that, nothing was said. We packed our horses. Acorn had gotten used to the place and was his old self again. Lorcan rode with us to the end of the castle’s lands. As we said our goodbyes, I remembered that I had left my staff in the courtyard. Lorcan gave me his blackthorn banta and promised to look after my hazel stick until I returned.

  Before he rode off, Lorcan said, ‘The Reedlands are more treacherous now than ever before.’

  ‘Who said we are going to the Reedlands?’ Araf said.

  ‘There is nothing else in the direction you go. It is a bad place. This land may be dead, but that place is foul. The last two scouts I sent there have not returned. Be careful.’