“Hulpric’s heart went out to them, and he tried to protect them and speak for them whenever he saw these injustices, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once. While he was protecting nonmagical Dorans in one part of the world, others were being mistreated in another part. Hulpric also saw what most Dorans did not—that the nonmagical Dorans had gifts of their own, powerful imaginations that helped them invent things and build.
“Anyway, one day he returned from his travels in one part of the world to find that an entire community of nonmagical Dorans had been killed because they had rebelled after being forced into slavery. Hulpric’s heart was broken in two—and so, in order to protect the nonmagical Dorans, he did to the world what had been done to his heart. He broke it in two, sending all the nonmagical Dorans to one half, and leaving all magic in the other. He died of his broken heart, knowing that the two worlds could never be one again.
“But Hulpric left Satorium with a warning, a prophecy. It said that one day a Doran would develop powers like his, would try and bring the two worlds back together for his own evil gains, and would meet his match in the form of a woman born from the nonmagical world. Meant to be ironic, I guess,” Delfi ended abruptly.
“That’s quite a story,” Scarlet said, smiling at Delfi. “Do you think it’s true?”
“I don’t know. I used to think it was just a legend.”
“And now?” Scarlet asked.
“Well . . . here you are, right?”
Scarlet looked out at Illuminora, lost in thought. “Here I am,” she said wistfully.
***
The day of her final lesson with Xavier came, and Scarlet entered the library, feeling nervous and apprehensive. She wasn’t entirely sure why. It wasn’t her first time learning something utterly bewildering and unfamiliar, and yet she was more nervous now than she had been on the first day she walked into the beautiful room.
All of the chairs and tables had been removed from the library, leaving a large empty space in the center of the room. Xavier stood alone in the center, looking graver than Scarlet had ever seen him.
“Please come in, my dear,” Xavier said, his voice quite solemn.
Scarlet went to him, her nerves crying out with every step. “What’s wrong?” she asked, summoning her courage. “I have been practicing very hard. If you don’t think I’m ready____”
Xavier held up a hand to interrupt her. “Not at all. Not at all. You have exceeded my every expectation. It is time, I’m afraid, that is moving a little too fast.” Xavier turned and walked toward the fireplace. He motioned for Scarlet to follow, and she joined him.
“I heard about the incident with Lindi.”
“Oh . . . you did,” Scarlet fumbled.
“Yes, I’m afraid so. That is partly my fault. I was too preoccupied to notice her ill intentions. I purposely saved this lesson for last, and for Lindi’s sake, I confess I’m glad I did.”
“What lesson is this?” Scarlet asked.
“You could call it many things—but fighting would probably be the most appropriate. Attacking and defending using your abilities, which are considerable, and probably a little overwhelming at this point. This will be one of your only disadvantages,” Xavier said, staring off into the fire as he did so, weariness evident in his features.
“Why does Lindi hate me?”
“Hate is a strong word, Scarlet.”
Scarlet rubbed her chest. “It didn’t feel like too strong a word.”
“No, I guess it didn’t. Lindi has her reasons, misguided though they are. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time to go into what those reasons might be, as we have to begin our lesson. Our time together is running short, I’m afraid.” Xavier turned away from the fire and looked gravely at Scarlet.
Scarlet started to ask why, but she stopped herself. She didn’t want her time to run short. She felt safe and happy in Illuminora. At the same time, she had known from the beginning of her lessons that it had all been for a purpose. Although it was easy to forget and look at everything she had experienced as just some wonderful dream come true, she knew that a nightmare lay somewhere ahead, and that her only choice would be to face it. Difficult as it was for her to believe, there was little doubt that she was the For Tol Don. Every story she had heard from a Tounder on the subject, all the experiences she had had, the Mortada who’d tried to kill her, and especially the aptitude with which she could learn magic, all pointed to the fact that she was Hulpric’s prophesied hero.
Scarlet looked up expectantly at Xavier, her face telling him that she was ready to move on with the lesson.
“When you fight another user of magic, it is most important to keep your wits about you, Scarlet,” Xavier began. “You have to think fast and react even quicker. A battle between sorcerers is a battle of imaginations. One throws some manifestation of magic at the other; the other counters with something else; and this continues until one is able to gain the upper hand. They constantly take in the world around them, searching for things to use against their opponent. There are no hard and fast rules to what curse, enchantment, or power will defeat or protect you from any given attack. There are so many factors—the power of the sorcerer, the knowledge you have amassed, your natural and learned talent, how well you conserve your energy . . . Each is vitally important.
“With time and practice you will grow stronger and more powerful, but for now, it will be important to end any battle quickly and decisively.” Xavier looked at Scarlet with an intensity in his eyes she had never seen before. Despite her resolve, she felt scared and more than a bit confused.
“Maybe it would be best just to give it a try,” he said, giving her his most reassuring smile.
“You mean, fight you?”
“I might be old, my dear, but I can assure you that I still have a trick or two up my sleeve.” Xavier laughed.
“That’s not what I meant,” Scarlet protested.
“I know what you meant. I promise you will be perfectly safe.” Xavier reached out and put two firm hands on her shoulders. “Do your best. It will be more than enough.”
The two Keepers of Light walked to the center of the room and faced one another. Xavier gave a curt bow to Scarlet, who awkwardly returned the gesture. Then, after a wink and a small pause, Xavier sent a flash of light at Scarlet that began somewhat like the flash of a camera before taking the form of a hawk. Like an inverted shadow puppet, the hawk descended upon Scarlet, its beak gaping in a silent shriek.
For an instant Scarlet was frozen to her spot, watching as a hawk, born only of light yet as solid as any real bird, bared its talons and began a dive toward her. Her mind was racing. A hawk. How do you stop a hawk? At the last moment she fell to her knees and sent out her own animal into the room: a rabbit.
The little creature scampered forth, darting left and right, desperately searching for danger. The hawk, catching sight of this new, easier prey, banked away from Scarlet and made for the rabbit. All Scarlet could think of now was that she had to distract Xavier before he could regain control of the bird or send something else after her. As her eyes darted around the room, her mind desperately grasping for answers, one thing began to dominate her vision and mind. Books. They were everywhere. Thousands of them.
She sent out the light within her, not to one book, but to all of them. Thousands of volumes, each as bright as she could imagine. Scarlet filled the entire library with a flurry of blindingly glowing tomes, flying out from their shelves. The library was in utter chaos as the books collided and ricocheted off walls and each other. Scarlet was struggling with what to do with them when she felt the books being pulled out of her control.
The books began to spiral together into a cyclone, moving with such velocity that to Scarlet’s eyes they had become one solid cone of light. The only way she could still tell that they were moving was by the horrific rush of wind that nearly lifted her off her feet. The ac
t of illuminating the books had drained her. She felt weak and tired. The cyclone was coming nearer; in moments it would engulf her. She had to do something—now.
With all the strength she had left, she reached out for the glowing cyclone of books. Xavier was too powerful for her to take control of it completely, but if she could just manage—
She opened the books, every one of them, all at once. Like miniature sails, they caught the air, slowing before sailing out of the cyclone and into the far wall. Scarlet collapsed to her knees. She was spent. It felt as if she had been awake for days, as if she hadn’t sat down in a week. Her legs quivered beneath her, feeling as if they belonged to someone else.
Xavier did not attack again. With a wave of his hand he sent the illuminated books back to their shelves and extinguished their light. He knelt down beside Scarlet, and she noticed that he too looked ragged and beat. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin looked sallow.
“You are remarkable,” he said in a raspy voice.
“I feel like I’m going to faint. I’m so tired,” Scarlet managed, her eyes beginning to close. “You could have won. I couldn’t do anything to stop you right now.”
“I’ve also been doing this for ages, my dear. You’ve been at it for mere weeks,” Xavier said, smiling.
***
Scarlet slept all that night and most of the next day. When she finally woke, she didn’t feel any lasting effects from her duel with Xavier. A small vindictive part of her wanted to go and find Lindi and see just how keen the Tounder girl would be to attack her now, but she knew that wouldn’t be the right thing to do, and it would certainly disappoint Xavier. Instead she went to find Delfi, suddenly filled with a need to tell him all about her lesson. She thought about
telling her dad first, but he wouldn’t understand the way Delfi would. After all, Delfi had learned this stuff himself.
She found Delfi in the grand dining room, seated with several other young Tounder, including a pretty brunette who was hanging on his every word. Scarlet felt an instant dislike for the dark-haired Tounder before realizing that it made no sense. She’d never even met the girl. Surely she wasn’t jealous. That was silly.
Scarlet sat down at the table and was greeted so warmly by everyone that she instantly felt foolish for her earlier thoughts. Within minutes she was laughing and sharing in their conversation, and it was almost like being back at the lunch table at school; for a moment she was able to forget about prophecies or wars. After a while the other Tounder got up, leaving Delfi and Scarlet alone.
Scarlet, having waited to tell him about her lesson until she could speak to him one-on-one, immediately burst out with a flurry of excitement.
“It was amazing,” she exclaimed. “You wouldn’t believe how powerful Xavier is!”
Delfi laughed. “Oh, I think I have a good idea.”
Scarlet told him all about the books and the hawk, thinking to herself that she was not at all doing justice to how exciting it was, even though Delfi could easily tell by the tone of her voice.
“You must be exhausted,” Delfi said slyly, once she had finished her story.
“Not really. I’ve been asleep till now,” said Scarlet.
“Not from your duel with Xavier. I expect it must take a lot of energy to talk that long without breathing,” Delfi teased.
Scarlet smiled good-naturedly and gave him a playful punch on the arm. They both laughed.
“What would you like to do today?” Delfi asked. “I don’t have any chores, and I’m officially off probation. I have the whole day.”
“Well, I thought we’d . . . ” Scarlet’s voice trailed off, her attention drawn by the approach of her father. The look on his face was enough to make her blood run cold.
“Scarlet,” he said grimly. “We have to meet with Xavier.”
“Why? What’s wrong, Dad? Something’s wrong. Is it Mom? Melody?” There was a frantic quality to her voice.
“It’s nothing like that. Let’s go,” her dad said. “You can come too, I expect.” He gave Delfi a weak smile. “She’ll just tell you later anyway.”
Scarlet and Delfi followed her dad to Xavier’s study, which was on the second floor of the castle in the opposite wing from the library. What resembled a conference table was in the center of the large room, and seated around it were about a dozen older Tounder, some of whom Scarlet recognized as the council members who had stayed after the feast on her second day in Illuminora, though a few she had never seen before. Dakota was also there, sitting proudly in the corner of the room.
The group of Tounder all stood when Scarlet entered the room, and Xavier motioned her and her father toward two empty seats. Their arrival had apparently interrupted a heated discussion. Delfi remained standing near the entrance to the study, looking uncomfortable and out of place.
The group of Tounder seated around the table turned out to be the entire governing council of Illuminora, all older than the majority of the Tounder Scarlet had gotten used to seeing around the village.
“The king has sent word. The prince’s army will begin its march on Caelesta any day now, and the city itself is falling from within.” Xavier’s voice was immediately drowned out by shocked cries and urgent whispers from the council. “Be still,” he commanded. The crowd slowly quieted.
“This is not the time for panic. We knew this day would come,” Xavier said sternly. He sat back in his chair, gathering himself. He looked as if he bore the weight of the world.
“What are we going to do, Xavier?” one of the Tounder called out, his cry met with a stirring from the crowd. “We have no army to meet him. His army will march unabated to the Doran king, and then all will be lost. The prince will be free.”
“How quickly your hope has faded, Thaniel,” Xavier answered. He did not hide his disappointment as he looked at the man. “I would have expected more from a senior member of this council.” Thaniel bowed his head, no longer able to meet Xavier’s gaze.
“I expect more of all of you. Fear is one thing, a loss of hope unforgivable. We have the For Tol Don. His attempts to attack her have failed, as have his attempts to find her.”
“She is a child!” called out another.
“As were we all. We have the counsel of her mother and father. We have the great Lord of Wolves,” Xavier boasted, not unaware of Dakota, who cringed at the mention of this title. “All is not lost. We have many trials ahead, but our history is full of great challenges that we have faced, weathered, and triumphed over.”
“But Xavier, with all due respect, nothing in our history is anything like what we face in Prince Thanerbos. He has been able to achieve much more than we thought, much sooner than we thought possible.” The Tounder who now spoke looked as if he might have been as old as Xavier. “I am one of few in Illuminora,” he continued, “who have witnessed war. In war, it is those who control the information, whose information is sound, that win. The prince has been a step ahead of us at every turn. We barely got to young Lady Scarlet in time. He has managed in fourteen years to do what we thought would take thirty. I would never advise despair, but realism is perhaps in order.”
Xavier gave the man a weak but genuine smile. “Brynn, my old friend. . . . I respect your counsel more than most, and I agree that times are dark. Very dark. I promise you all that I am not naive enough to believe that the road is easy. I assure you that I have not failed to take into account the dire urgency of our situation, or our weaknesses and strengths. I’ve spoken with the king, and we have a plan that I believe can succeed.”
The council was silent, waiting for a miracle they dared not truly believe in, yet hoped for in spite of themselves. The next words from Xavier brought that glimmer of hope crashing to the ground.
“We will send a party to the dragon Morelpis. We will ask for his aid.” With these words Xavier again lost control of the council. They erupted in a fury of c
ries and disgruntled wails. A few were so overwhelmed with despair that they laid their heads down and wept. Several others, overcome by anger, stood, banging clenched fists on the table and turning the anger toward each other.
“Please listen!” Xavier implored, but it was no use. He looked at Scarlet with shamed eyes. She needed strength and reassurance, not an angry, divided mob.
Scarlet, rather than feeling abandoned, felt only sympathy. With Xavier pleading to gain control, Scarlet stood, calmly facing the crowd. Compelled to do something, as much for Xavier as for the wavering hearts of the Tounder, she opened her right hand, and with her left she drew a single point of light between her finger and thumb. With a quick movement of her wrist, she tossed the light onto the table. She then held her hands in the form of two cups, closed at first and then slowly opening. As her fingers extended, so did the light, growing in size and brightness until it filled the room with a blinding radiance. The council members shielded their eyes, cowering in their seats, silent now in the presence of the light. Scarlet lowered her hands, and the light vanished.
Every eye was now fixed on Scarlet.
“Thank you, Scarlet,” Xavier said, trying to sound calm, although his voice had a quiver to it.
He took a moment to compose himself. “We will send a party to Morelpis and ask for his aid,” he said again.
Brynn was the only Tounder to speak, his demeanor calm and reserved. “Xavier, no creature has seen or heard from the dragon since the death of his daughter. You know the history of his vow.”
“I do,” Xavier answered. “And old wounds are sometimes hard to heal, but we must try.”
“If you can find someone crazy enough to take such a quest. We can’t possibly be hanging all of our hopes on the dragon. We don’t even know if he still lives,” Thaniel managed to croak out very quickly.
“I will go and speak to him,” Xavier said.
Several of the council spoke at once.
“No, impossible.”
“You can’t possibly leave.”
Scarlet and the Keepers of Light Page 12
