The Young Magician

low, hollow ringing droned in his skull and, along with the aching in his body, he thought he knew how his father must have felt on mornings after drinking.

Beside him, on a small bedside table, a glass and pitcher waited, so Samuel drank, refilled the glass and then drank again, quenching his parched, sore throat. His bedclothes had been removed and a neatly folded pair of his trousers and shirt waited on a chest next to a shining new set of boots. From the size of them, Samuel guessed they were meant for him.

There was a knocking at the door and Samuel groaned a feeble ‘come in’. The knob turned and Mr Kelvin came in quietly, almost cautiously. He drew a chair to the bedside and took a sip from the steaming mug in his hand, before setting it on the floor by his heel.

‘How are you, Samuel?’ he asked with concern.

‘I’m aching all over, Mr Kelvin,’ Samuel managed to moan back.

Mr Kelvin nodded and picked up his mug and sipped carefully from it before placing it down again. He peered long and thoughtfully out through the window into the still night. ‘Do you remember what happened three evenings ago?’

Samuel thought for a time and then his memory started coming back to him, although somewhat dimly. ‘The last thing I remember is checking on the horses and getting into bed. Why am I in here? Have I been sick?’

Mr Kelvin took another long, thoughtful sip. ‘We found you in a catatonic state. It seems you have learned more during your stay here than we would have guessed; much more than you should have.’

Samuel was surprised and did not know what to say. He had finally been discovered.

‘Have you been watching the guests?’ Mr Kelvin asked soberly.

Samuel nodded, feeling small.

‘You know it is forbidden to do so, for your own safety. It took hours to bring you back from the state you were in. If we had not been fortuitous in our efforts, you would have spent the rest of your life being fed pre- chewed food through a funnel.’ Samuel gulped and Mr Kelvin was again silent for a time. ‘Lomar suspected that you had learned something, but I dismissed the fact as the normal curiosity of a young boy. It now seems evident that you do, indeed, have some talent in the ways of magic. Such talent, now tapped, but raw and untrained as it is, can be very dangerous, indeed.’ He again paused and looked thoughtful for a moment, even slightly pursing his lips. ‘I think it is time you realised your potential and learned the ways of a magician.’

‘A magician?’ Samuel repeated, bewildered in his feeble state.

Mr Kelvin nodded. ‘Magic is no childhood story, such as frogfolk and badgermen. This is an inn for magicians, and all of us here, and everyone who ever sets foot within these walls, are magicians. We only allow common folk to enter when we haven’t the time to attend to something for ourselves, such as with Cook and yourself.’

‘Even Kans?’

‘Even Kans. It is my wish that you, too, should attend the School of Magic in Cintar. You’re about the right age and it would be a sorry waste if you did not at least try. But I reach too far ahead of us both. I will talk to you of this again tomorrow, for it is late and you need more sleep if your body is to recover from the strains it has suffered.’

‘Lomar told me there was no such thing as real magic,’ Samuel said.

‘In some ways, that is indeed true, but I think that Lomar was merely protecting you. It is not in most people’s interest to even know of the existence of magic, especially in these times. Even if he guessed you had some pre-disposition towards magic, it is not always easy for one to come to terms with that fact. It is not a whimsical ability as people think, but a challenging force which forever commands our mastery. It is a skill such as any, but one which is rarer than most and more powerful than any other in the right hands. Common folk find it awe-inspiring and therefore elevate the use of magic to levels of godlike or devil-like powers, but it is not really so. For us magicians, it is merely a matter of fact, like tying your bootlaces. It is, however, a great responsibility, for if magic were misused it could mean disaster for the common folk. Come now, get some rest. You will learn more soon enough-once you have recovered.’

Strangely, Samuel did feel suddenly tired again. For a moment, he thought he saw a tiny string of shining aura flicker out from Mr Kelvin towards him, but perhaps it was his tired mind playing tricks on him. He tried to mumble something, but his tongue was as heavy as his eyelids and neither would do as he wished. He felt hands lower him back onto the bed and the covers being pulled high up around his neck. Mr Kelvin then pushed his chair back and dimmed the lamp a little bit more and left the boy to his already deep sleep.

The sound of Kans fossicking around the room roused Samuel and, looking towards the window, he judged it to be very soon after sunrise. His muscles still ached, but he longed to stretch his legs and be out of that room. A ravenous hunger also had hold of him and Samuel could smell breakfast streaming in the partly open doorway. Kans departed at the sight of Samuel stirring and left the boy to himself, closing the door softly behind. Samuel sat up and felt all his muscles aching. He clambered slowly out of bed and stretched his arms up towards the feeling. Every muscle and fibre felt stiff and wiry, yet, beneath the soreness, there was also some excitement of being, as if he were a tightly-coiled spring ready to be released.

Closing the door behind him, Samuel in his new clothes and soft boots, found himself in the unfamiliar halls of the guesthouse. Kans’ tapping footsteps approached and the wiry man, looking as sullen as ever, waved his finger towards a large, double set of doors before striding off again from view. Samuel stepped over, his boots echoing in the polished hall and waited a moment. For some reason, he felt nervous, for he wasn’t sure what could be waiting for him on the other side. Taking a big breath, he pushed open the doors and entered. He found himself in a grand dining room, filled with talk and chatter and where Mr Kelvin and the guests were just beginning to breakfast from a table full of steaming and delicious-looking foods. They looked to Samuel with great interest and the excited talk only increased further.

‘Ah, sit down, please, Samuel!’ Mr Kelvin called. ‘You must be hungry and we are eager to speak with you. I trust you are feeling well?’

‘Yes. A bit stiff,’ Samuel replied, rubbing his arm just to emphasise his point. His stomach groaned from the smells that filled the room and he quickly filled an empty seat. Cook appeared and placed some steaming soup before him with a nod and a smile.

‘Samuel,’ she said in greeting, before hurrying back into the kitchen. Samuel plucked up his spoon and began scooping the soup into his mouth like a sailor bailing water from a sinking boat.

‘Now, Samuel,’ Mr Kelvin finally said after Samuel had finished his second bowl. The guests had been whispering and nodding towards Samuel throughout the meal. ‘When we found you, you were saying something, some powerful words. Tell us, how did you learn these words?’

Samuel bobbed his shoulders, still intent on finishing a large loaf that he had smothered in butter. ‘I watched sometimes through the window above the stable.’ Samuel had already decided to accept any punishment and was too hungry to be bothered telling any stories.

‘From the stable roof!’ one of the men exclaimed excitedly. ‘I often had the strangest of feelings that I was being watched.’

‘As did I,’ agreed another and there was much nodding.

‘And which words were you reciting?’ asked the first.

Again, Samuel bobbed his shoulders as he swallowed the last bit of crust and Mr Kelvin pushed the fruit bowl towards him.

‘I’d say the whole ordeal was subconsciously controlled,’ Mr Kelvin explained to the others. ‘He was probably sensing ethereal vibrations and he memorised the words subconsciously.’

‘Why it’s fantastic!’ one man exclaimed and they all nodded and agreed to each other once more.

‘But I can sense no talent in the boy,’ a newcomer declared. ‘And yet you say he was clearly several feet above the ground when you found him, and exuding power like there was no tomorrow?’

‘Yes,’ Mr Kelvin replied. ‘Several feet. And, as for his aura, I can’t explain why he does not emanate even the slightest hint of energy. I observed him the first day I met him and thought it was most curious. I only allowed him to stay because I thought he would be interesting to study. I was growing quite tired of every rogue in the town trying to get their spies through my door, but a curiosity like that was just too much to ignore.

‘You knew Mr Joshua sent me here?’ Samuel explained with surprise.