Diary of a Conjurer (24 page)

He considered her question for a moment and
then shrugged. “How am I violating anything the Kaemperns taught
me?”

She didn’t answer.

“Besides, Kaempern standards did apply to me
when I was one of them. But I’m beginning to understand that I’m
not. You said yourself, in that other language you used, that I’m
not of this world. Funny, I understood what you said, too. So
obviously I’ve got roots in another land. Besides, Kaemperns don’t
have this kind of magic, do they?”

“They have the shield. The Wind.”

Ivar pulled apart his bread, and dipped it
into his broth. “Yes, they do. But it seems to me I’m something
more than a Kaempern now. I’m more like a conjurer. It’s his, you
know?” He looked at her, ready to confide if she was willing to
listen. “I see Silvio when the power starts tingling. And it’s
green. Like him.” He looked at his hands. The veins on his fingers
pulsated a glowing green under his skin. He had never felt so
alive, so excited. “As far as who or what I am, I think I’m
floating around somewhere between a Kaempern and a Taikan. That
will do as an answer to my quest, at least until I find out who I
am!” He shot her another grin.

“You may be disappointed when you do.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She didn’t answer.

“You know, this feast is for you, too. I’d
really like you to join me.”

She stepped out of the dark, closer to the
fire. He reached out to her, half a loaf of bread in his hand, and
nodded, coaxing her to take it. She did. Before she bit into it,
she gave him a long cold stare.

“You look at me as though I’m your enemy.” He
thought for a moment, and then realized that maybe now he was. “So,
are you going back to Hacatine, to tell her where I am? Are you
going to tell her I have Silvio’s magic?”

“Hacatine’s not stupid. She’ll figure it out
on her own.”

Ivar kept his grin. It was safe that way. He
couldn’t read her emotions, and she couldn’t read into his as long
as her magic didn’t penetrate his eyes.

He finished his dinner without further
conversation, wiped his hands on a linen cloth he had conjured, and
then rose from the table. Unsure what to do next, he strolled to
the fire and stood by her side.

“The bread is better with cheese.”

She looked away.

“Is there something else you’d like?” Ivar
felt a chill race up his spine, as he looked at her. She was a
pretty thing; graceful, strong yet shy, like a deer in the
woods.

“The bread was satisfying, enough.”

He took another moment to admire her beauty,
and then shrugged and sat on the blanket, pulling Lyle’s case onto
his lap. “I’m glad he left his box.” He snapped the clasp open,
fixing the lid upright as he had seen Lyle do. After a few moments
of playing with the buttons, he sighed. Nothing he did made the
flat surface change the bright blue color it had been last
night.

Ivar looked up at Promise, distracted again
by the way the soft red glow of the embers made her cheeks glimmer.
Her auburn hair hung in long waves past her waist. She had taken
off her furs, revealing a tunic that hung gracefully over her
slender body, the balloon pants only complemented her form as they
draped around her legs. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes
off of her. “Why didn’t you use magic on them?” he asked.

She glanced at him. “Why should I have?”

“They were going to shoot you.”

She laughed. “I would have stopped the bullet
long before it had a chance to do any harm. You, though, acted
foolishly jumping in front of his gun. It would have been very
difficult to stop a bullet with you in the way.”

“Oh!” Disappointed she hadn’t interpreted his
actions as a gallant attempt to save her life, he pouted. “You can
stop bullets? How much power do you have?”

Her face fell and she looked at the fire.
“Not as much as I used to. Hacatine took most of it. She does with
all of her warriors. She lets us keep enough power to defend
ourselves, so that we can stop bullets or bend swords. But we
cannot attack with magic unless she is there and manipulates us.
It’s her way of making sure we aren’t a threat to her.”

“And this ability to see into others?
Obviously she lets you do that?”

Promise nodded. “Every sorceress has a power
unique to them. Insight is mine. Hacatine finds it very useful,
which is one reason I’m an officer. I’m to report everything I
learn to her.”

Ivar’s eyes widened as he searched her eyes.
“Do you?”

Promise shrugged. “Not everything. I’ve
learned how to keep some things to myself.”

The silence was
deafening.
What information about me has
she kept secret and what has she told?
“So
what are Hacatine’s powers?”

“Phantoms. She can create visions to control
people. Those are her natural powers. But she has others now.
Strengths that she’s taken from us, and she’s robbed the wizards of
their will powers. She’s been able to wield catastrophic damage.
Her goal is to gather all the magic in the world in order to gain
control of everything, and everyone. She wants very much to conquer
the power of the Northern Wind. Once that’s accomplished, she rules
the world.”

“Do you mean she’s after the magic of the
legendary wizard Kaempie?”

“He’s one of them. Your friend Silvio is
another, although that has changed.” She looked at him and Ivar
felt a heat wave pass through his body.

“I’m one of them now, too, aren’t I?”

“You have Silvio’s magic.”

“The Kaempern powers protected me before, I
have confidence they’ll continue to do so.”

Promise snickered.

“So, why did you leave, if your leader has so
much advantage over everyone else?” he asked. “Are you spying on me
to take information back to her?”

Promise shook her head. “That’s not my
intention.”

“No?”

“I’d just as soon stay away from her. Nothing
about the woman or her ways is pleasing. She’s wicked.”

Ivar studied her downcast face as she stared
at the flames. He knew Hacatine was wicked, but he thought all
sorceresses were. At least that was what Silvio had told him. “Now
that surprises me!” His voice softened. “So you’re running away
from her? Is that why you’re here? Is that why you’re following
me?”

She sneered. “Following you? I saved your
life twice and you think I’m following you?”

“Well, yeah.”

She shook her head, and brushed her hair off
her shoulders. “I can see your past, and I can see your future, a
little way out. Not a lot, but a little way. I saw Hacatine trying
to drown you.”

“Throwing me overboard, I know about. But on
the jetty, too? Was that her doing?”

Promise shrugged. Ivar waited for a moment
before he pressed her for what he really wanted to know, not sure
how to ask. “So even if she was trying to drown me, why do you even
care?”

She didn’t answer.

“Why do you care what
happens to me?” he asked again, and then wondered again if Promise
was lying and if she, too, had a sinister motive.
Or maybe she likes me.
His lips curled into a twisted smile just at the moment she
peered at him from the corner of her eye. “You’re very pretty,” he
whispered to her.

She looked away.

Ivar turned his attention
to the black case with the buttons. Maybe he shouldn’t have made
Lyle disappear
.
The man could have taught him how to work his tool.
“
Where do you suppose they went?” He
looked up at the night sky. There was no sign of anything having
been disturbed in the heavens. The stars shimmered
peacefully.

“Who? Those people?”

Ivar nodded.

“They left this world.”

“Where to?”

“The portal, somewhere far away. I don’t
know. I haven’t been there,” she answered.

“Have you known other people to leave this
world?”

“I’ve seen it before, yes.”

“You once said that I’m not from this world.
Did I come from the same world those people came from?”

“I have no idea. I was just making an
assumption.”

“No. You were certain when you said it. You
spoke in another language. Where then? Where do I come from?” Ivar
set the case down on the blanket certain she could tell him the
answer. “All you’d have to do is tell me. Would you look into my
memory again and see?” he asked.

She backed away when he stood.

“Please?”

“No. It wouldn’t be right. You’re a human,
not a wizard. You wouldn’t be able to handle sorcery now.”

“That’s ridiculous. I can handle anything. I
have a wizard’s magic!” Ivar moved in front of her, blocking her
from the fire.

She avoided his eyes stepping toward the
shadows. “That doesn’t make you a wizard.”

“It makes me strong, though. I can handle it,
I promise. Look into me. Tell me. Did I come through this portal?
I’m dark like those men were, am I one of them? Were they my
relatives?”

“I can’t tell you that,” she answered. “I
don’t know anything about that world.”

He took her hand. Green tingled through his
veins when she pushed free of his hold. “The magic feels different
when you touch me. It feels good.”

“Get away from me.”

“Look at me, Promise.” He wasn’t shouting,
but his voice was louder than it had been. He glanced at his
trembling hands, the flesh of his fingers glowed, his fingernails
lit like lanterns. He reached out for her but she jumped away. He
lunged forward and caught her, this time grabbing both of her arms.
She struggled, thrusting her knee into his stomach. He laughed. It
didn’t hurt. Instead, Silvio’s energy congregated in his
midsection, spiraling through his chest and then his arms. When it
reached his hands Promise turned cold. He was turning her to
stone.

“No, don’t go away. Don’t freeze. I don’t
want to hurt you. I just want you to look at me.” He grabbed her
cheeks and turned her face to his. “Look at me. Look into me. What
do you see? Tell me what’s there.”

The magic held her tight and forced her eyes
to open wide.

“Look!” Ivar demanded.

The power in him took control. He felt the
conjurer’s wizardry making the demands, not him. The green glow
from his eyes shot into her and she stiffened. He saw inside her
deep auburn irises. A white light spun out at him, racking into his
brain from hers. It shot through his head like lightning, giving
him a terrible headache. His hair stood on end. The light streamed
for such a long moment that he grew numb, and then he relaxed. His
power mixed with hers and then he saw it, a faint golden shimmer in
her pupils growing larger until it exploded into a flash. She
screamed. He released her. She fell. His knees folded under him and
Ivar toppled on the blanket. As he lay under the night sky the
spots he saw slowly dissipated until they lingered in a final
shape; the shape of a golden dagger, clear as if he were holding it
in his hands.

Promise Told

Walking helped. The pain in Silvio’s joints
spread out thinner when he walked. A little bit of ache everywhere
in his body was a lot better than a lot of agony all bunched up in
one spot. The Xylonites made things better too, little angels that
they were, singing songs trying to make him feel young again.

“We’ll ask him to return it. It’s that
simple! And that’s what we’ll do, sir.” Xylepher kept saying
in-between stanzas, catching his breath so he could hit the high
notes with the others. “As soon as we find him. A wizard’s magic is
no good in a man’s body anyway. What’s a Kaempern going to do with
it?”

Silvio grunted. He wasn’t sure what Ivar
would do with a conjurer’s magic. Still, Silvio stood a better
chance getting it back from Ivar than from that abominable
sorceress queen had she stolen his powers.

They had just rounded the western side of
Skerry. The Xylonites passed the point while hugging close to the
cliffs, but Xylepher, enchanted with the tide pools, led Silvio
along the beach, for the tide was well receded. After stepping over
a cluster of sand crabs shuffling out of his way, Silvio glanced
up.

“Look!” Xylepher called to him, waving
frantically.

Thinking the little man was
pointing at a starfish that clung to the bottom of a pool, the
conjurer neared the soldier and stopped when he eyed the subject of
Xylepher’s excitement. A water skin. Not just any water skin,
either. It was a Kaempern skin; elk hide with twisted lace that
only the hunting tribe of the north could construct. Silvio picked
up the vessel, surprised that it was full, and poured a taste of
its contents on his tongue.
Not the salty
taste of marsh water from Elysian Fields, nor the mineral water
from Taikus. No this could only be the legendary sweet,
s
pring water from
Deception Peak.

That was odd, being as Ivar hadn’t any
possessions on him when Silvio found him on the beach. He had
nothing. Not a water skin or even a shirt for that matter save the
tunic Silvio had made for him. There was only one way this water
skin exists.

The boy would be thirsty.
He’d be thinking about having a drink of fresh water. That’s all he
needs to do
.
So!
Ivar is aware of his powers and he’s learning how to use them. This
could be a good thing. Or not!

The fog slowly lifted off the ocean surface
as thin misty clouds revealed traces of blue skies. The conjurer
stopped to catch his breath and to take in the vista. Watching,
always watching. There was so much to look out for.

And there they are!

Ships. Not one or two, but half a dozen, all
surrounding what Silvio could see as the last of a mast slowing
sinking into the ocean’s depth.