The Young Magician (The Legacy Trilogy) (39 page)

Sitting up, Samuel scratched his head. He felt a small cut there, now well healed over, and wondered where he had received it. Lying on a small stool beneath the window were his clothes, cleaned and folded, and Samuel slipped from the bed onto unsteady legs and dressed. After he had tugged on his boots and stamped his heels onto the floor to wedge them firmly in place, he stepped over to the door, opened it wide and peered outside.

At least I’m still in the school
, he thought.
Now what’s going on?
He stepped out and looked up. The sky was a beautiful blue, traced with a few wisps of perfectly white clouds. Already, the warmth was soothing on his face.

‘Samuel!’ someone called.

‘Tulan!’ Samuel replied, spying the man’s approach between the buildings. ‘What brings you to Cintar?’

Tulan took Samuel’s hand and shook it, squeezing him firmly on the shoulder with his other. A great smile covered his face. ‘You do. I was just passing through, as usual, when I heard you’d taken ill. Do you remember what happened?’

‘That’s what I’d like to ask you,’ Samuel responded. ‘What was I doing in there? It’s one of the Master’s rooms, isn’t it?’

Tulan scrutinised the small cottage a moment. ‘I imagine it’s vacant for the time being,’ Tulan said. He looked over both his shoulders and then his face became more serious. ‘Let’s talk.’

He led Samuel back into the tiny residence where Samuel had awoken. Samuel sat on the bed edge when gestured by Tulan to do so and Tulan himself sat opposite on a delicate, wooden chair.

‘What do you remember happening to you?’ Tulan asked, planting a level eye on Samuel. His moustache was somewhat bushier than usual and a small dark beard adorned his normally naked chin.

‘I had these terrible dreams,’ Samuel began. ‘You know, it’s funny. I can’t remember what happened before that or even how I came to be in this room? The dreams seemed to last forever. Have I been drinking?’

‘No,’ Tulan laughed. ‘Not that I know of, anyway. Do you remember what happened to you in the Burning Oak—that time you were found in your room?’

Samuel nodded. ‘I don’t really remember, but they told me. I was unconscious. I was chanting a mantra of Centring.’

Tulan nodded in return. ‘That’s right. Something similar has happened again. I have only been here a day, but they told me it happened last week.’

‘Last week?’ Samuel asked in disbelief, straining to recall his last memories. ‘How did it happen?’

‘You had completely exhausted yourself of energy, almost to the point of death.’

Samuel swallowed. ‘I feel fine now.’ It was all he could think to say.

Tulan nodded. ‘They’ve been keeping a close eye on you—Master Glim and the Grand Master, especially. The Masters have been taking turns revitalising you, even feeding you. Even some of your friends were helping as best they could. I saw you last night, myself. They’d put a spoonful in your mouth and you’d chew it and swallow, as if you were awake. It was very strange. They tell me it’s a miracle you survived this time. You can certainly count yourself as being very lucky.’

Samuel was astounded and felt terribly embarrassed at the trouble he had caused.

‘You should go and find the Grand Master now,’ Tulan told him. ‘He said that you woke late last night and grumbled about something and then started swearing at them. That was when they finally knew you were going to recover.’

Samuel laughed. ‘Where is he?’

‘I don’t know—probably in his chambers. I usually try not to spend too much time in the school, or in Cintar, as a matter of fact—too many people, too many fools. I’ve a few things to attend to and I’ll come and see you again, but then I must leave quickly.’ As he stood, Tulan offered his hand once again and Samuel took it and shook it sincerely.

‘Until then,’ Samuel said and Tulan nodded and headed out the door.

Samuel made his way across the grounds, trying to be as discrete as possible. He felt surprisingly spry, given how serious his situation had been, which he guessed could be attributed to all the powerful healing spells they had covered him with. A few young apprentices saw him and waved and called out, ‘Samuel!’ He hurried past them and knocked on the door of the Grand Master’s residence.

‘Come in,’ a gravelly voice called out, followed by a hacking cough.

Samuel pushed the door in and stepped into the modest quarters. Grand Master Anthem was sitting on a soft leather seat, dressed in a fine cloak with green, embroidered hems. He was halfway through a thick sandwich and had crumbs in his wispy beard.

‘Ah, Samuel!’ he said. His voice was thin and nasally, as if he had a blocked nose. He put down his sandwich and motioned for Samuel to sit opposite him on a short stool. ‘I was hoping to see you sometime today. I trust you are well?’

‘Yes, Grand Master,’ Samuel replied. He felt as guilty as could be under the gaze of the old man. He swallowed his pride and went on. ‘I’m terribly sorry for all the trouble I’ve been.’

Anthem dismissed the statement with a wave of his aged, bony hand. ‘No trouble, at all, Samuel. We all make mistakes. I hope now you realise why the teachers tell you the things they do. It is not just so they can hear the sound of their own voices. They have learnt from hundreds of years of combined experience and know what is best.’ Samuel nodded humbly. ‘I must, however, warn you to be extremely careful in the future. This is your second chance used. You may not live to get a third. You were as close to death as I’ve seen anybody get and still return—perhaps further. I would have sworn that at times your heart had just given up beating, but you pulled through in the end. You can thank your two friends, the Erics, for that. They were in here with us almost all of the first night when things looked most dire. Those two lads are quite talented and dedicated to you. In the end, we had to virtually drag them off to their beds before they got themselves in the same trouble as you. You can count yourself very lucky. So what have you got to say for yourself?’

Samuel thought to himself a few moments. He wasn’t sure where to start. ‘Do you know about the time something similar happened at the Burning Oak?’ Samuel asked.

‘Of course,’ Anthem responded plainly.

‘Before that night, I was playing with magic. I didn’t know what I was doing, but somehow I had managed to conjure up a little magic just by copying what I saw the Masters doing. I had successfully summoned some mage-lights on occasion, but this one time, I tried a little too hard and I…I summoned something else.’

Anthem raised an eyebrow and leaned forward with interest. ‘Oh?’

‘It was some kind of spirit, all white and ghostly. When it first appeared, it seemed a little confused and it took some time to look around. Then it disappeared into the town. There was nothing I could do.’

‘Ah, Samuel,’ Anthem said, looking gravely concerned. ‘Somehow, it seems you managed to summon something from another realm. This is no small feat and, unfortunately, a very dangerous one, for there are terrible things, indeed, that linger beyond the ether. Some of them, once summoned, can be very difficult to return. You are a talented lad, indeed, for there are only a handful of magicians that can accomplish such a feat and yet somehow you managed without any training whatsoever. You have some special gift, indeed, many special gifts.’ Anthem looked to the window, where the sun could be seen shining brightly outside. ‘These are strange days, indeed…and I know not what to think of them.’

‘I wanted to tell you, because last night—or the night before, I don’t know—I had a strange dream. I was dreaming, but it was not a dream, if you can understand. There were things all around me, just like the spirit I had summoned, and they were all reaching for me. Then, there was this one enormous thing that...’

Anthem interrupted him abruptly with a quickly raised hand. ‘Don’t speak of such things, Samuel. It is done and over. I fear that on this occasion, the extent of your exhaustion was so great that it is indeed possible that, for a short time, your very soul was caught beyond the ether—or in some other nether-realm that we do not know.’

‘So what should I do, Grand Master?’ Samuel pleaded. ‘How can I stop it from happening again? I don’t want those things to get me.’

‘Calm now, Samuel. You have only to use your brain,’ and the old man tapped the side of his skull, ‘and you will be safe. What you must do is
master
yourself and you will have nothing to fear. Only spell when it is necessary and do not tire yourself—
especially
in the coming weeks while you are recovering. You have great ability, but you must know your own limits. You have the opportunity to become a great magician, Samuel, but you must be responsible. It is sometimes difficult to resist the temptation to use magic, for its touch can feel so beautiful and ever enticing.’ The old man glanced back towards his window and he seemed to be pondering something, for his very speech became softer, as if he was bearing the weight of the world himself. ‘Time is passing. These days I have much responsibility myself—much more than I care for. My life has passed so quickly, and I am getting too old to keep all my old responsibilities.’ Then he looked to Samuel again. ‘I have other matters to attend to, Samuel. Go now and take special care for the rest of the week. You seem fine, but I’m sure you will probably tire easily for a while. However, I will give you just one last piece of advice, Samuel: concentrate on your studies and your time will pass quickly and easily. If you go looking for trouble, my boy, you will surely find it. What could be simpler than that?’

Samuel nodded in agreement and stood to leave. ‘There is just one other thing, Grand Master.’ The old looked man up from his toes, where his gaze had drifted. Samuel asked, ‘Do you know that I am an orphan?’

‘I do, Samuel. That, also, is something I was told when you first arrived.’

‘In my dreams I have learned of something important: something, rather
someone,
I have been hoping to discover for many years. It is a magician—a man of the Order. His name is Master Ash.
He
is the man I see standing in my doorway;
he
is the one who killed my family and taunts me every night. I didn’t realise it before, but now my dreams have made it clear.’

‘Samuel, are you certain? That is a serious statement to make. I hope you know what you are saying?’

‘I do. I can’t tell you exactly how I know for certain, but in my visions I saw him and I know it to be true. I know I’m not supposed to make any more trouble for you in the school, and this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I just want to let you know, so you understand, that the next time I see Master Ash—I will kill him.’

At that, Samuel strode out the door, leaving Grand Master Anthem rubbing slowly at the wispy white hairs that sprang from his withered old chin.

The next week passed without event and Samuel saw no sign of the evasive Master Ash. However as Samuel entered the Adept dormitory, having finished his early training and towelling the sweat from himself, he found there was a buzz of activity going on. Everyone was gathered around the tables, talking excitedly. He was feeling entirely better and, much to his relief, it seemed the embarrassing events leading up to his collapse were seldom mentioned.

‘What’s happening?’ he asked of Martin.

‘The Grand Master has gone. He’s been removed from his place as principal,’ the chubby fellow replied.

Samuel’s eyes widened. ‘Removed? Why?’

‘A ruling by the Magicians’ Council, so I’ve heard.’

Samuel hurried to find Eric Pot, who was talking with Lan Farlen.

‘Eric, do you know what’s going on?’ Samuel said, interrupting his friend.

‘It seems that Grand Master Anthem has been stripped of his office by the Magicians’ Council.’

‘Does anyone know why?’ Samuel asked.

‘Apparently, for some reason, the Council has grown unhappy with him.’

‘They can’t just remove him! Who did they put in his place?’

‘Master Dividian will take over until they decide whom to appoint to the position.’

‘What does the Grand Master think about
that
?’ Samuel asked.

‘I don’t know. He stormed from the Council chambers and has not been seen since.’

‘That’s incredible!’ Samuel exclaimed.

‘And there’s more,’ Eric continued. ‘People are talking about a war with the north.’

‘A war?’ Samuel said with disbelief. ‘With whom?’

‘It could only be with Garteny. That’s the only place left the Empire
hasn’t
conquered.’

‘It’s Lord Jarrod,’ Goodfellow declared, somewhat angrily. It was strange to see the normally calm young man looking so furious. ‘He’s been against the Grand Master all along, and now it seems he’s finally gotten his way.’

‘What can we do about it?’ Samuel asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Goodfellow responded. ‘There will be a meeting tonight. I guess we should wait and see what is really happening before we jump to any conclusions.’

They continued talking and gossip-mongering, but no one could offer any more substantial information than that. They found that classes had been cancelled for the day, and, when evening arrived, every student and Master in the school gathered expectantly in the Great Hall, packed shoulder to shoulder to hear the news.