Under the Shadow of Darkness: Book 1 of the Apprentice Series (2 page)

The mage-words flowed out of him quickly, “” each time more desperately but the light did not come. His hands found the pony’s reins, stretched hard and taut, and he tugged on them, trying to create slack so he could free the small horse. It yanked and tugged, attempting to break free, squealing and wheezing fiercely. As Bel struggled with the reins in the dark he could feel an increasing presence surrounding him. They were surrounding him.

“” No light came. It was as if all the life had been squeezed from the world. 

The pony bucked and heaved, neighing loudly, desperate to escape, yanking on the reins, trying to break them. Bel felt hands on his shoulders and arms and legs. Cold, probing hands touched his face and ran fingers in his hair. A wheezing dank breath was in his ears. They were all around him. Coldness surround Bel. He shivered hard and uncontrollably.

“” Far off a tiny glimmer twinkled into the space, a dim flame, less than that of a single candle, but enough, just enough to see the gray faces of the creatures mounted on the pony, crawling all over it and standing around it, placing their gray hands in it. They were people, at least they looked like people, but their skin appeared gray and dead.  An earthy, moldy, repugnant smell hung in the air; Bel snorted trying to escape the rancid odor. Then one of the gray creatures opened its mouth wide revealing rows of black teeth, looked at Bel, smiled gruesomely and slowly sunk his fangs into the young pony’s flesh.

Bel howled, “Ghouls!” and sent power into his staff.

“” A burst of energy sent a few of the close ghoul-kind flying high in the air and off into the woods. Bel loosed the pony but before he could get control of its reigns it pulled away and ran. He scampered back toward the front trying to convince himself that he actually saw what he thought he just saw. He had never seen a ghoul in person but the descriptions in the ancient histories at Lasaat were accurate enough.
Ghouls! I can’t believe it!
As he feverishly pushed to the front more ghoul-kind reached out toward him. He plowed through a pile of ice-cold hands and arms reaching out toward him, trying to slow him down and pull him away. He repelled them and ran in the dark around the edge of the hovel, trace echoes of what he just saw burnt into his vision. He rounded the front corner, flung open the door, leapt inside, slammed the door hard behind him and pressed his back against it. Wide eyed, he returned three questioning gazes.

“There’s—there’s—there’s ghouls! Out there! In the forest! Ghouls. I saw them. In the forest.”

Nes’egrinon looked up at Muolithnon, puzzled. “Ghouls? Here? Is that possible?”

“Aye,” Muolithnon replied somberly.

“Why didn’t you tell me that ghoul-kind were about?”

“I didn’t think you would believe me. I can barely believe it myself.”

“Ghouls. Here.” Nes’egrinon shook his head. “It is hard to believe.”

Muolithnon calmly explained, “The stonecutters first reported seeing one a few months ago. We investigated, thinking it nothing more than a child’s story or the rantings of those that sit too long at the inn, trying to frighten the barmaids.”

“And?”

Muolithnon added, “And we found nothing. No sign of ghouls, but for one thing. Stonecutters were disappearing from the quarries. Their master’s complained. Wanted us to track them, bring back their workers. We didn’t think they were related. Then we found the blood.”

“How much?”

“Not much. But it wasn’t hard to find. The death trails were open.”

“I see,” Nes’egrinon said pensively.

“But Nes’egrinon, honestly, I did not expect them here. I wonder if they followed us.”

“Huh.”

Muolithnon stood and pulled his vest tight then addressed his apprentice, “Kerlith. Come. Let us see how your training holds up.”

Kerlith grinned at Bel and rolled the stone medallion hanging from his neck with his thumb and index finger as small red flames danced around it. Bel stepped out of their path and placed questioning eyes on Nes’egrinon.

The aged mage struggled from his chair, retrieved his tall staff and hobbled to the door. “Ghouls, huh? And in my forest no less. Let’s have a look see, I suppose.” Stepping through the single entry to his one room shack, he turned to Bel and said, “Now you stay put. I haven’t even had a chance to talk to you yet. Don’t want you getting killed before I’ve had a chance to tell you how this is all going to go.”

Bel closed the door behind them and thought about latching it but then reconsidered. He went to the lone window and peered out into the blackness as Kerlith stepped out from behind the spell of protection and walked out into the clearing.

Kerlith stood in the middle of the front yard of the hovel, Muolithnon and Nes’egrinon a few paces behind him but they could barely see each other. It was too dark.

Rustling and movement was all around Kerlith. He removed the stone from his neck and gripping it firmly in his hand, held it far above his head and cried out, “” The ground rumbled softly as small objects pushed up out of the earth. The ground was covered with them, small jagged crystals beaming a variety of different colored lights: blues, pinks and purples. The glowing ground exposed the ghouls, more than ten of them, maybe more than twenty, and momentarily disoriented them. Then they advanced on Kerlith from all angles.

The old wizard said, “Well now look at that. Ghouls. And right here, off my front doorstep.”

Muolithnon held the side of his head and Kerlith heard, “Remember your training. Don’t panic.”

Kerlith allowed several of the ghouls to approach. They smiled as they placed their hands on him. One of them shallowly whispered, “Blood. We need blood.”

Some ghouls pushed and pulled, yanking each other out of the way, trying to be the first to taste blood. Kerlith extended his arms, his eyes clenched down tight, him mumbling words, pushing out from deep in his belly, reaching deep down within himself and pushing outward. A few ghouls touched Kerlith then immediately withdrew their burnt and blackened hands and retreated a few paces.

One cried out as his hand withered, “Why? Why do you hurt us?” He tucked the mottled appendage into the folds of his clothing.

Kerlith proclaimed, “Leave this place. Return to your home.”

Many of the ghouls murmured to each other, contemplating whether they should heed the words of the single young man when they numbered so many. A group of them began walking toward the apprentice en masse. Kerlith looked back at Muolithnon who nodded then turned to Nes’egrinon and said, “Obstinate, aren’t they? Shall we teach them a lesson?”

“Maybe,” the wizard grunted. “You first. I’ll stay here and watch for now.”

The young-looking mage stepped off the front porch and as his foot struck the grass, stepping out from behind the spell of protection on the hovel, the heads of many ghouls suddenly snapped toward him. Other ghouls erupted from the surrounding woods. Then a larger one, shirtless and scarred, ripped through the pack of them and screamed, “Mage!” The cheering ghouls stampeded towards Kerlith and his master while Bel nervously stroked his short staff on the other side of the window.

Muolithnon joined his apprentice as the ghouls enveloped them. The shirtless one howled, “MAGE BLOOD!” and launched himself in the air at Muolithnon, swinging a thick tree branch, striking the wizard on the head. The wizard collapsed to the ground in a heap. The other ghouls fell upon them, mouths open, teeth glistening, ready to bite, ready for blood.

Bel knew his new master told him to stay inside but surely he would forgive him for coming to their aid. He was a graduate of the finest wizardry school in all the land after all. He wasn’t a First Year. He knew how to do some things. He could help them. Bel grabbed his staff in his hand firmly, placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it and stepped outside into the darkness.

Ghouls were trying to pull Muolithnon’s fallen body away so Nes’egrinon slammed the tip of his staff into the ground, sending out a tremor, an earthquake, toppling many of the ghouls, then stepped off the front stoop and joined them. Bel shook and fell but quickly scrambled to his feet and ran to Muolithnon’s collapsed frame.

Kerlith held his stone in front of him while the elder mage lifted his long staff high, both shining forth blinding light and power. The ghouls circled them crying out with increasing ferocity, “Mage blood! Give us some mage blood! Just a drop. Just a little. It is all we ask!” but they cowered from the bright mage-light.

Kerlith pushed a flash of light into his stone to get their attention then announced, “You will have no blood this evening! Mage or otherwise! Now return to your home and rest. ”

Somehow, when the young apprentice said “rest” in the mage-language the ghouls calmed. Some reluctantly turned their backs and began walking back toward the forest. Others slouched and looked down at the ground as if they were reminded of who they were and where they belonged.

Nes’egrinon suddenly noticed Bel in the fray and looked on in horror as Bel held out his staff at a pack of ghouls and hissed, “”

The group began to hop and dance ecstatically, crying out, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

The old mage moved quickly to Bel’s side and caught him as he fell back unconscious. He laid Bel’s body next to Muolithnon’s then held his staff high and pushed hard. A bright light erupted from his staff and pierced the darkness. The ghouls sheltered their eyes as the gray mage exclaimed, “ Be gone! Be gone before I become angry!”

The ghouls paused, looking up at the old wizard, feeling the shine of his power, then slowly, one by one, wandered back into the woods. After the last of the ghouls left, the old mage lowered his staff, allowed its light to extinguish and said, “Kerlith, come. Carry your master inside.”

Kerlith bent down, threw his master’s arm over his neck and dragged him into the hovel. The old mage reached down and wrapped Bel’s pant legs in his hands and dragged him by his feet, Bel’s head bouncing and bobbing on stones, steps, the porch edge and threshold. Then Nes’egrinon closed the door.

The gray bearded mage laid his staff on Bel’s crumpled body and said, “” The staff sunk into Bel’s clothing and pinned him to the floor. The old wizard placed his foot upon Bel’s check and pushed, rolling his head over. He crinkled his face and called for the poison to flow out from his body in the old language. Bel coughed lightly as a black liquid slowly leaked from his mouth. Nes’egrinon walked away mumbling, “Fool boy. Why did I take on another? Why?”

Kerlith said, “Good master? Where shall I place my teacher?”

Nes’egrinon pointed back at his bed without turning around. “There. In my bed. Lay him on my bed.” The old man poured himself a cup of water from a pitcher and added a pinch of dust from a jar. He addressed Kerlith as he drank, “Is this what they teach you now in that school?” pointing at Bel’s body.

“No. I don’t know. I don’t know why he didn’t stay inside.” Kerlith wiped the blood from his master’s forehead then added, “I don’t know why he didn’t listen. I would have.”

Nes’egrinon walked across the small one room structure and examined the gash on Muolithnon’s head then placed his hand upon it. After a few moments he removed his hand and the wound was noticeably smaller. He said, “It will heal. It will heal.” He cleared his throat and rested his weight on the bed frame, then continued, “I must rest. Leave your master there to sleep in my bed. In the morning we will discuss this further.”

“And Bel? Do we leave him there?”

The old wizard slumped into his chair in front of the fire, slowly closed his eyes and exhaled. “It’s as good a place as any.”

Bel’s eyes peeled open and his vision slowly cleared. Looking around at the hovel he didn’t immediately know where he was. And then it came to him. He was in Nes’egrinon home. Bel tried to stand up but couldn’t move.

Seeing Kerlith sitting at the table, playing with pebbles, dancing them in the air, he called out, “Hey. A little help here?”

Kerlith looked over at him and said, “You have to wait for your master. He pinned you down.”

“I can see that. I can’t move.”

Kerlith smiled. “You really screwed up last night. Typical. What’d you do?”

“Poison.”

“Hahaha. They’re dead. What’d you think that would do?”

“I don’t know. I saw your master lying on the floor unconscious. There were too many of them. I just thought I should do something. I wanted to help.”

Nes’egrinon bellowed from across the room, “You
wanted?
You
wanted?
Here you do not do what you
want!
”

Kerlith looked down. “Bel, I think your master is awake.”

Bel tried to twist his head toward the direction of the old wizard’s voice but from his position he couldn’t see him. “Master, I am sorry. I have only been here a short while and I have already gotten you upset with me. It will not happen again.”

Nes’egrinon rose from his chair, walked across the room and stood over Bel, his eyes barreling down into him. “You have yet to see me angry. Just don’t do something stupid like that again.” He reached down and placed his hand on his staff and said, “” then removed the wooden stick from Bel’s body.

Bel stood up dizzily, placing his hand on the door frame for support. “Master? What happened to me?”

“You did something stupid. You had no clue what you were dealing with and you threw yourself into the middle of it, waving your stick around like you were an idiot trying to save the world. All you Fifth Years are alike. Running around waving your sticks like you know something when you don’t have a clue. A good way to get yourself killed. And worse yet, a good way to get me killed. Now that’s something that I don’t want to think about. Some idiot kid running into a fight and getting me killed. I certainly don’t need that right now.” The mage walked back to his chair and sat. “Of course, most people are stupid so you got that going for you. At least around here anyway. Maybe it’s me. Do I attract stupid people or something?” The mage looked at the fire and continued rambling, “Anyway, Fifth Year, don’t let it get you down. You didn’t kill yourself and you didn’t get me killed. You just did something stupid. We’ll leave it at that for now.”
Bel coughed up mucus, swirled his finger in his mouth and looked at the black goo mixed in with his saliva.