‘That’s good news.’
With that, Lomar slipped outside. Samuel sat and waited in Master Glim’s chambers. Like all the magicians’ rooms in the school, it was humble but comfortable, being one single room that served as both bedroom and study. A plush rug lay on the timber floor, helping the room to feel warm. It was a fine piece of work from Western Garteny, where such craftsmanship was supposedly unmatched and Samuel felt guilty treading all over it with his worn old boots. He sat idly awhile and then traversed the room, looking at all Master Glim’s things and peering at the notes spread all over his desk.
Gravelly footsteps sounded outside and Master Glim stepped in through the opening door, followed close behind by Lomar. Master Glim wore a broad smile and offered his hand directly to Samuel. The passing of time had made its mark upon him. Grey hair adorned his temples and a few more wrinkles crept out from the corners of his eyes.
‘Samuel!’ Master Glim said warmly. ‘You leave a boy and return a man! It’s good to see you well again. I only wish you had not left so abruptly. Goodfellow told me of your predicament, but I’m sure we could have found some solution for you.’
‘Unfortunately, I didn’t know whom to trust at the time,’ Samuel said, ‘and the city just seemed like the worst place for me to be.’
Master Glim showed concern. ‘So, it’s true. Tell me what happened.’
‘None of that is really important now,’ Samuel said. ‘In fact, I’m quite glad I left. I would never have returned at all, but for Master Ash. He tried to kill me, and he murdered the girl I was going to marry, so I have returned to Cintar to see him dead.’
‘Marry?’ Master Glim asked incredulously. It surprised Samuel that he would leap onto that fact before even questioning the comment that Master Ash was a murderer. ‘Why would you even think about wedding, Samuel? You know it would be doomed. Magicians cannot be affectionate with women and after only a few more years all thoughts of that nature will be entirely alien to you. You certainly would not be able to bear children and the woman would be disappointed to say the least.’
‘I didn’t ask for it to happen, Master Glim.’ Samuel responded. ‘I’m not sure that the change is happening to me as it should. All my feelings are still intact. I fell in love and I certainly have more than enough hatred and bile and venom left over for Master Ash. I had found a new life in Tindal and Ash took it away once again.’
‘Master Ash?’ Master Glim replied, still mulling the situation over in his head. ‘That man seems to have his fingers in everything.’
‘What do you mean?’ Samuel asked.
‘Grand Master Anthem told me you believe it was Ash who killed your family. It is a strange set of coincidences.’
Samuel nodded. ‘I failed to kill Ash before, so I have followed him here. He brought with him an ancient relic, the Argum Stone. I dread it has some malevolent purpose to play in his plans.’
‘This is grave news, Samuel,’ Master Glim said, looking thoughtful, ‘but I do not doubt you. Ash has long been the pet of Lord Jarrod, carrying out all his underhanded instructions. I saw them bring a large relic to the palace, but no mention was made as to its name. It took several days to have it raised inside the High Tower using all manner of ropes and levers and causing quite a fuss. It was a source of some excitement at first, but there has been no further word since then.’
Samuel nodded. ‘It could be cause for great concern, especially if it proves to be an equal for the Staff of Elders,’ he explained, ‘but it needs further research. And there is something else. Ash has found some knowledge of the Ancient Lick. He employs a strange magic with it that I could not overcome. At one time, he also empowered a spell with another man’s blood and somehow has learned to store spells into bottles of fluid.’
‘Blood and fluids?’ Lomar questioned, looking over from where he stood by the curtained window. ‘That is the stuff of myth and hearsay. If such a foul art was ever known, it is lost.’
‘And found again,’ Samuel corrected.
‘Your news gets worse by the minute, Samuel,’ Master Glim stated, rubbing his chin. ‘We will need to look into all of this but, of course, you should keep hidden. If what you have said is true, just about everyone in the city probably wants you dead for one reason or another. Is there anything else you wish to burden us with while you are doing so well?’
‘There is, but first I need to ask you something.’
‘And what’s that?’ Master Glim asked in return.
‘Before I left Cintar, I learned that everyone had been searching for a magician who was destined to kill the Emperor. Everyone had assumed that Eric was the one, but with his apparent death it must have put an end to the idea.’
The brush-browed Master looked deep in thought before responding. ‘When the foretelling of the Emperor’s death became known, it set the Empire ablaze with activity. Everyone began searching for the one who would fit the description, all for their own reasons-some to save the Emperor, some to kill him, some just for fame or power. But, as you know, any translation from the Old Tongue can have many and varied meanings and no magician fitting the prophecy was ever found. When young Eric arrived, however, and he began to move objects with little effort, making them jump from place to place, we were astonished. Such spells should require great power and effort, but to Eric it almost seemed second nature. Somehow, Eric had instinctively found the massive leap of complexity required for such a spell, when no one else could even come close. If he could do that, we thought, who knew what he could accomplish in the future-and we tried to keep his talents hidden. Foolishly, we thought we had succeeded. We hoped that once he had grown and matured he would be a boon to the Order like no other.
‘Can you imagine what it would be like, Samuel, for us to have the ability to be anywhere we wished? Most of our problems could be solved overnight. But he was just a boy and our meddling almost got him killed. Lomar has graciously offered to keep an eye on him, but when Eric first returned, we were dreadfully worried he would not last long. I must admit, that for supposedly learned men, we can be incredibly foolish at times.’
‘I understand,’ Samuel returned. ‘I just wish you had told me something of this before.’
‘That was impossible, Samuel. For this power to fall into the wrong hands would have been disastrous. No one would be safe…anywhere. When you arrived, we were already busy minding Eric. You seemed something of a curiosity-no more-and a stubborn and sometimes arrogant one at that. We were fearful at every moment that the Circle of Eyes might discover Eric and in the end we failed to protect him from himself. Instead of hiding him and distracting him from his natural abilities, we should have focussed on that power and nurtured it. He almost killed himself experimenting with his innate skills and now it seems he has lost that ability forever. At least, I am glad to say, in losing that coveted power he is now safe from the Circle and the likes.’
‘It was someone from the Circle who warned me my life was in danger-a man named Soddan. That’s why I left the city in the first place.’
‘Soddan? I don’t know the name, but that means nothing. You see, Samuel? The Circle is ever-devious. While it may have been in your interest to leave the city then, no doubt it also served some purpose of theirs. They may even have engineered the events leading up to then-it’s not implausible. It does seem like quite a coincidence that you ended up in the same place as Master Ash at the time he was unearthing this relic. Yes…I think there is much more here than we can see on the surface.’
Samuel mulled over the thoughts for a few moments and finally conceded. ‘Very well. I am just so surprised to hear that Eric is alive. All this time I have been thinking he was dead. And what has been happening in the north? I would have thought the war would be well underway by now, but the city seems the same as ever.’
‘That’s not entirely correct. The Garten border has been littered with skirmishes almost every day. The Gartens are at high readiness but the Emperor has not yet committed his full armies. I believe he is not just intent on invading Garteny, but he wants to crush them-a devastating assault that will decimate their forces and be written up in history as one of the great battles of all time. Garteny has never before been defeated and the Emperor’s previous attempts cost him greatly. With all the young magicians Dividian has been readying, that time may nearly be here. Many regiments have already been dispatched with this new breed of battle-ready magician at their side and I feel the time has certainly almost arrived for the great invasion to begin.’
Samuel took a moment to digest everything before speaking up once more. ‘Master Glim, I have one final question. Have you noticed anything unusual about Master Ash?’ Samuel asked.
‘No, not at all,’ the old teacher replied plainly.
‘To me, his presence seems
