**
It seemed such a simple task at first — flick through the spell books until they find a spell that had a heading of ‘Seeing Spell’ — but many hours later Logan was having trouble focusing on the words. He tossed a tiny golden book onto the table and scowled. The book knocked over a neat pile of books stacked in front of Alyxa and she gave him a disapproving stare.
‘We’ll never find it if we keep looking at spell books that we’ve already tried,’ she said as she got up and walked over to a half-full set of shelves on the wall. The shelves had been empty when they started. For years the spell books had littered the floor, benches and chairs. Until now Logan hadn’t even realised that they were coloured differently for different types of spells.
Alyxa had insisted in placing them on the shelves when they had looked through them and even lining them up according to colour and size. It looked impressive and Logan wondered why he’d never thought to do it before. It would make finding a spell again quite easy once you knew where it belonged.
‘We can safely assume it’s not going to be in any of the green spell books.’ Alyxa came back and picked up several large green books and carried them to the shelves. ‘They’ve all been about creating or changing plants or trees.’
‘And the gold ones are full of spells for prosperity and wealth,’ Logan added, picking up four golden books and following her. At least it narrowed down what they had to look through.
Within an hour they had decided that the spell was most likely to be in the red spell books, which seemed to be for healing and general household tasks. Each of them had half a dozen books in front of them, and Logan was about to fall asleep on his when Alyxa shouted, jolting him upright.
‘I think I’ve found it,’ she said, spinning the book around for him to see. ‘At least I think it’s the one we want.’
Logan peered at the large book, rubbing his eyes to banish the fog of tiredness, and nodded in agreement. The page on the right was headed ‘Seeing — from the other side’.
‘It’s definitely a seeing spell,’ Logan agreed, as he flicked his attention to the picture on the page facing the spell. It showed a wizard standing before a mirror, looking at a scene which did not reflect his own image. ‘It looks like it shows what another person is seeing.’
‘That would do it, wouldn’t it?’ Alyxa asked hopefully. ‘It may not be the one the wizard intended, but surely it would help the king work out where his son is?’
‘It’ll have to do. We’ve only got an hour or so before sunrise. You start to gather the ingredients and I’ll see if Zared is up to casting a spell.’ Logan pushed the book over to Alyxa and got up to go to the wizard.
‘How do I know what to get?’ Alyxa asked, frowning at the spell. ‘It’s sort of like a poem. I expected it to list the powders and potions like a recipe.’
‘All spells seem to be written in complicated verse, which, if said incorrectly, can create entirely different results,’ Logan said with a sour expression of experience. He came around and pointed to several words which were written in a slightly heavier ink. ‘Just gather everything that’s written like that. You’ll probably find half of them in the cloak Zared was wearing yesterday.’
‘What are you making?’ Zared’s voice made them both jump as he came into the room, looking alert and smiling broadly.
‘A seeing spell,’ Logan replied, but the old man wasn’t listening. He was looking at the shelves of spell books.
‘You’re finally starting to think like a real apprentice,’ Zared said with a raised bushy white eyebrow. ‘After all these years, and just when it doesn’t matter anymore.’
‘Pardon?’ Logan asked, looking to see if the old man was losing his grip on reality again, but the old man’s blue eyes were clear and bright.
‘We went to the castle yesterday, didn’t we?’ Zared asked, cautious about how he worded it as if knowing he could trigger off his own lapse into irrationality. ‘And the prince was... um... taken... by... um... them?’
‘That’s right,’ Alyxa said, leaving the book open and waiting to hear what the wizard was on about.
A deep sigh seemed to run through the old man, then he grinned and laughed, but with no sign of his insanity. ‘Finally I can rest then.’ He strode over to the window and threw back the heavy curtains. It was dark outside and Logan stared, open-mouthed as the old man opened the window and leaned out into the darkness. ‘I haven’t seen the moon in so many years, I’d forgotten how beautiful it is.’
‘Zared, it’s dark,’ Logan said, hurrying over to shut the curtains, but the old man shook his head.
‘It’s all right now. The shadow dragons won’t be watching any more. The red dragons won’t be back again — ever!’ Zared seemed calm and perfectly sane as he went around blowing out every second lamp, throwing corners of the room into darkness.
‘Maybe you need to get a bit more rest,’ Alyxa suggested, looking as worried as Logan felt.
‘Nonsense,’ Zared replied with a shake of his head. ‘I’ve never felt better. In fact, it’s probably time I told Logan a few things about his past.’
‘My past?’ Logan was torn between his concern for the old man and his desire to hear what the wizard had to say. He stepped closer to the curtain and pulled it closed. ‘Perhaps you should rest a bit more first.’
Zared opened the chest from which he had taken the cloak the previous day. He rummaged around, with his back to Logan and Alyxa, then withdrew an object and turned to face them. He was holding a short-sword, encased in a silver sheath, which was studded with three green jewels. The hilt of the short-sword was also made of silver and it glittered in the light as if it had just been polished.
‘Your father had this made for you,’ Zared said in a quiet voice as he carried it over to Logan and handed it to the stunned youth.
‘Was he a warrior?’ Logan asked, cradling the silver sword. It was the first time Zared had ever spoken about the past. Logan slowly drew the sword from its sheath, and a silver blade gleamed, sharp and deadly looking. It was much lighter than a solid silver sword should be, and it felt as if it had been made to fit his hand.
‘He had one just like it. They are swords of peace, not war,’ Zared replied.
‘So he wasn’t a warrior then?’ Logan asked, feeling a bit annoyed that the old wizard wasn’t giving a straight answer, but not wanting to upset him in case he stopped talking altogether. He slid the sword back into its sheath; it made a small swishing sound.
‘Definitely not. He only saw the good in everyone. He believed everyone deserved a second chance,’ Zared’s eyes got a faraway look, as if remembering something from long ago, and then cleared. ‘That was his downfall. Some do not deserve such chances.’
‘What was—’ Logan was about to ask the dozens of questions he had wanted to ask for so long, but Zared held up a hand.
‘Let me get the pot heating for a cup of tea, first,’ Zared said with a small laugh. ‘There’s plenty of time to talk.’
‘We still have to get this spell ready as well,’ Alyxa pointed out cautiously, realising that Logan had forgotten about the king’s demand.
‘What sort of spell?’ Zared asked, good-humouredly. ‘I could whip it together while you both make me some tea. Spells were never Logan’s strong point.’
‘A seeing spell to find the prince,’ Logan said, not really wanting to change the subject.
‘What for?’ Zared asked, suddenly edgy and tense. All traces of good humour had fled his face in an instant. His eyes were cold and hard.
‘The king wants him found,’ Alyxa said. ‘And he wants the spell by sunrise.’
‘The prince isn’t lost. We don’t need to look for him!’ Zared snapped. The old wizard was pacing the floor, and he glared at them both angrily. ‘We know where he is. The red dragons took him. It’s the best thing that could have happened!’
‘I don’t think the king sees it that way,’ Logan said carefully. ‘He wants his son back.’
r /> The old man stopped pacing. He stared at Logan for a few seconds, and his focus seemed to be fading. ‘But only a fool would take on the red dragons. Just let them have the prince.’
‘The prince saved my life,’ Logan said quietly. ‘The dragon almost took me and the prince fought to save me. I have to try to find him.’
‘I will not cast the seeing spell,’ Zared declared firmly and folded his arms. ‘They won’t find him.’
‘I’ll find him. Even if I have to go on foot up the mountains to do it,’ Logan replied, just as defiantly.
‘Don’t go near the red dragons,’ the old wizard almost begged, but his eyes showed he was slipping off again into that private, haunted world.
‘I’m sorry, but I have to,’ Logan said quietly.
Zared seemed to shrink inside his old brown robes. He turned and shuffled from the room, muttering as he went. ‘So close. So close. It was almost over. They would have given up this time.’