CHAPTER 14
Darcie found them a small rocky overhang to make a camp in for the night. They piled their rucksacks, and the bag of artefacts to one side, breaking the cold wind at the entrance to the small cave. Darcie handed muffins all around, and they all ate in silence, before settling in for the night. Tobin and Darcie held a quiet conversation, agreeing to keep watch in turn through the night. Darcie made sure Celeste was tucked in quietly, before settling down herself, as Tobin took the first watch.
Listening to the rhythmic breathing of Darcie and her grandmother, Tobin gazed out the entrance of the cave into the night. The sky was clear now; he could see the stars. The moon shone brightly, casting a blue shadow on the snow and the dark pines. The tall trees had a commanding presence; To Tobin, they felt like guardians, protecting the entrance to the cave.
He shivered in the cool night air, and pulled his cloak tightly around himself. It was hard to remember the warmth of the sun out here in the Mureton Mountains. The sun was always watery and dim here, with the constant cloud cover, and Tobin longed to feel the deep warmth of the forest, and the comforting smells of home.
Sniffling in the cold, Tobin pulled his hands in under his cloak. They were cold and stiff, turning red from the cool air. He felt restless, and wary. Exhaustion crept over his entire body, but his mind would not be quieted. The events of the past few days had been fraught with physical danger, and emotional havoc. In all of the excitement about going on an adventure with Darcie, Tobin had never imagined that this would be the ending. He had been enjoying himself, eager to be included in the experience with Darcie. Even when they had been trapped in the manor house, or the pit, Tobin had never experienced sinking feelings of doubt, and the muted horror that he was feeling now. And that tiny icy stab of fear, every time he thought about Vorn; Tobin wondered if that feeling would ever go away. Meeting Vorn had opened his eyes to a very real danger he had never even suspected existed. In a tiny part of his mind, Tobin was beginning to acknowledge that he could never go back to his small little house in Belvedon, oblivious to the world, and the danger around him. There was no way to take the encounter with Vorn back. There was no way for him to not be a magician. Not only was he a magician, but Vorn had marked him out as an enemy, and if he had survived the Carrier Cube’s uncalibrated translocation, he would surely be back for Tobin. That much was certain, and it was all Tobin could do to keep the icy stab of fear at bay. He knew that if he let it, the fear would devour him whole, and he would live a life of constant anxiety.
These thoughts kept Tobin awake, and preoccupied, though his body begged for rest. Even when Darcie awoke to take over her turn at watch, Tobin’s sleep was restless; filled with flashes of blue light, an arrogant smile, and cold, dark eyes.
Their trek back to Elden Forest was much slower than it had been when it was only Darcie and Tobin. Celeste was frail, and weak from her months in captivity, so they moved slowly, and carefully, pausing frequently for rest. Sometimes when they were walking, Tobin would glance over at Celeste and see silent tears streaming down her weathered face. And each night, Tobin would try not to listen as she cried herself to sleep. Darcie spent a lot of time holding Celeste, smoothing her hair back, and speaking to her in a low, calming tone. Often the only way Celeste would fall asleep was with Darcie holding her tightly.
Tobin kept mostly to himself as they made their way back to Elden Forest. Gone was the easy camaraderie and banter he had developed with Darcie. Their journey was at an end, and Darcie was obviously too overwhelmed and tired to think about anything other than getting her grandmother back home. Darcie’s face, already pale, now began to look quite sickly, and wan. She kept doggedly on though, moving as fast as she could with Celeste. They both seemed to feel a physical need to put as much distance between them and their prison in the Mureton Mountains as they could.
It took them almost two weeks to make it back to the market town of Cumbledon, where they had stayed before when Tobin had pulled magic. There had not been any other choice but to travel on foot until they were back in Elden Forest, as difficult as that had been for exhausted Celeste.
Darcie arranged for them to have rooms at the Hobbling Hare Inn, and called for Dr. Wentworth to attend to Celeste at once. As the doctor examined Celeste, in one of the rooms upstairs, Tobin and Darcie went down to the common room to arrange the use of a Communication Mirror with the innkeeper, Mrs. Pillub.
The mirror, located in a small room beside the common area, was old, bad tempered, and gave them a tiresome lecture about disturbing royalty, before it would connect them to the castle.
Tobin, who could see that Darcie was quickly losing patience with the mirror, said “Look, just put us in contact with one of the magicians then. They will take our call.”
“Very well,” the mirror replied coldly, obviously offended. It muttered darkly to itself about ‘the callousness of youth’ until the surface of the mirror finally dissolved into Maven Elvira’s face.
They spoke briefly with Maven Elvira, who agreed that they should consult with the King immediately. King Gerald’s worried face soon filled the mirror in front of them.
“Darcie!” he exclaimed. “Are you all right?”
“We’re fine, father. We have Celeste.”
King Gerald was visibly relieved. “Thank goodness! When we didn’t hear from you...” he trailed off.
“I know, I’m sorry,” Darcie said quietly.
“What’s wrong?” her father asked quickly, sensing her tone. Darcie glanced at Tobin, and he nodded quietly. She obviously wanted some time alone to speak with her father, and Tobin didn’t want to intrude upon the private and emotional conversation he knew was coming. Murmuring a quick goodbye to the king, Tobin closed the door quietly behind him, and went across the corridor to the empty common room.
After telling Mrs. Pillub that he would like a pot of tea, Tobin took a seat in a leather chair by a window. The sun warmed Tobin, and he thought idly to himself how lovely it felt to be warm again. The Mureton Mountains were beautiful indeed, but the feeling of cold that penetrated every facet of his being, had not been something Tobin had enjoyed.
Sitting alone in the common room with his steaming cup of tea in front of him, and the sun on his face, Tobin discovered that, for the first time in weeks, his mind felt quiet, and at ease. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, savouring the calm moment. He hadn’t realized that he had drifted off to sleep until the sound of feet on the stairs, startled him out of a pleasant dream about his little cottage in Belvedon.
“My father is sending a magic carpet to collect us and bring us back to the castle as quickly as possible,” Darcie told him, sliding into the chair across the table. “He was devastated to hear that Vorn was behind all of this.”
“But not surprised?” Tobin asked quietly.
Darcie sighed. “No, not surprised. He always saw this kind of anger and resentment in Vorn. I guess when you’re young, you don’t really want to believe that your friends can change that much. I always hoped that when Vorn left he had found what he was looking for elsewhere. Never would I have imagined this, though.”
“Well, at least we know, now. We know who was responsible for Celeste’s kidnapping, and the destruction of the Travelling Mirror Network. We have a face, and a name to put to this evil now.” Tobin said.
Darcie nodded slowly, and then grimaced ruefully, “I just wish that name wasn’t Vorn.”
The magic carpet arrived bright and early the next morning. It caused quite a kafuffle landing in the town square, just outside of the Hobbling Hare Inn. Evidently, the villagers did not have a lot of experience with magic carpets flying themselves into the middle of town, and then settling on Main Street to wait for its passengers.
The carpet had a strange geometric design in red, blue and black. Tobin found it reminded him unpleasantly of Vorn’s mind controlling contraption. Although the carpet was a five-seater, it had only the three of them to carry, and so it felt quite roomy, and surprisingl
y comfortable.
After making sure that Celeste was settled comfortably in the middle of the carpet between them, Darcie commanded the carpet up, and on its way, and soon they were flying over the emerald greenery of Elden Forest. Tobin watched the scenery below them, feeling the warm wind on his face; moving through his hair. It was interesting to see Elden from this high, especially since he had spent the past two months with Darcie, exploring places he had never been in the kingdom. He found he could pick out certain locations around Elden, that he would never have recognized before.
Around noon, Darcie opened her rucksack, and procured three blueberry muffins. Tobin exchanged a quick smile with her. How she had managed to make time to get muffins in all the chaos of the last few days eluded him completely. He realized that it was the first time he had seen her smile in weeks. Darcie had such a pleasant manner, and easy going personality, that Tobin realized how strange it was not to see her smile.
They arrived back at the castle in the late afternoon. As soon as they landed gently in the castle courtyard, Darcie took Celeste to the castle clinic. Tobin had only a few moments to himself, before Darcie returned. They both went into the Council Chambers, down the corridor from the Throne Room, where the Magician’s Circle, King Gerald, and the other members of court were waiting for an emergency debriefing.
The debriefing felt to Tobin as though it took days. He had not anticipated that retelling their tale would be so emotionally exhausting, and draining. The magicians, and council members expected Darcie and Tobin to rehash even the most trivial of details, and Tobin found himself repeating the story a multitude of times. After several hours, Tobin and Darcie were dismissed with instructions to return in the morning to help the magicians examine the artefacts that Darcie had brought back with her.
After a quick dinner, Darcie said good night and then disappeared down the hall. Tobin followed a steward who showed him to the same rooms he had stayed in when he had first come to the castle.
He thought he would have a difficult time getting to sleep that night, but a steward arrived at his door in the early evening with a vial full of elixir from Darcie.
“What is it?” Tobin asked curiously, taking the small vial of sparkling blue liquid.
“An elixir to help you sleep,” replied the steward.
It certainly helped; Tobin had his first full night of dreamless sleep in weeks, and woke the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for another day of council interrogation.
The artefacts that Tobin and Darcie had recovered from the manor were a source of fierce curiosity for the Magician’s Circle. Laid out carefully on the long tables in the laboratories, the magicians squabbled loudly over their possible functions. Darcie was roundly scolded for burning out the Carrier Cube, despite her protests that she thought she would be able to fix it.
When Darcie had told Celeste about the treasure trove of artefacts, instead of being interested and intrigued as Darcie had suspected, Celeste had been completely disinterested. In fact, Celeste had been removed from most things since her return to the castle. After a brief stay in the castle clinic, where she received a complete assessment by the king’s physicians, she returned to her old quarters which had remained untouched during her long absence. Since her return, Celeste rarely left her rooms. All of her meals were delivered to her there, and she rarely allowed visitors. Darcie tried her best to get Celeste out and about, without much success.
“She spends a lot of time crying,” Darcie confided in Tobin, “Other times, she’s just blank, as though she doesn’t see or hear anything. It’s like she’s crawled back into a tiny corner of her mind, and won’t come out.”
Tobin thought about that for a moment. “Would you mind if I tried to talk to her?”
“Please do,” Darcie said, smiling gratefully at him.
Tobin found Celeste in her rooms, as he’d expected. She was seated in a plush armchair facing the window. Although she greeted him politely enough, Tobin could see that her mind was elsewhere.
After much wheedling and coaxing, he convinced her to take a walk with him through the castle gardens. They strolled slowly along the narrow paths, stopping to look at sculpted bushes, the rose garden, and the exotic plant section.
As they walked, Tobin thought about exactly what he wanted to say to her, and he decided that a direct approach was best.
“What are you going to do now, Celeste?” he asked her as they passed by a small fountain.
She stopped walking and turned around slowly to face him. Her eyes held a kind of quiet desperation.
“Nothing,” she replied, her voice barely more than a whisper. “There’s nothing I can do now. My connection to magic has been Extinguished.”
“Well that’s just nonsense,” Tobin replied frankly.
Celeste blinked in surprise, and then frowned slightly at Tobin. He was encouraged to see an expression on her face, even if it was one of disgruntlement.
“There is not one magician at this castle who has anywhere near the experience you do,” Tobin continued. “It would be an utter waste of that experience, and knowledge for you to do nothing. Think of everyone who could benefit from that knowledge – especially new magicians,” he said, winking at her conspiratorially.
Celeste just stared at him silently.
“I was hoping that when I start studying at the castle in a couple of months, you would be one of my instructors,” Tobin said gently. “I know I could learn a lot from you, whether you can pull magic or not.”
Still Celeste said nothing. They continued their walk through the gardens in silence.
Tobin wasn’t sure he had really made a difference until that evening when Celeste made her first appearance in the Dining Hall since her return. She looked tired, and was still distant, but she sat with some of the other magicians, and even participated in the conversation. As she got up to leave the table after her meal, Tobin caught her eye, and she smiled slightly at him.
He knew she still had a long way to go to recover from her long months in captivity, and the abuse that she had suffered from Vorn. But Tobin knew that helping Celeste find a purpose again was a good step in the right direction.
Tobin had been tested successfully, shortly after he and Darcie had been debriefed by the Magician’s Circle, and he was immediately confirmed as a magician and promptly enrolled in the new class of magicians, with lessons beginning three months hence. This left him with plenty of time to head home and tidy up his affairs, before beginning his new life as a student magician at the castle.
It was a big adjustment to make. Even though Darcie had been quite sure he was a magician, testing successfully had made Tobin feel relieved somehow, as though he’d been in limbo, holding his breath for confirmation. Now, with the knowledge that his life would be completely different going forward, Tobin felt more secure about preparing to let go of his old life.
After four busy days at the castle, full of meetings, and debriefings, Tobin set out for his home in Belvedon. The castle had generously provided him with a magic carpet – a single seater this time, with an unfortunate design of cupcakes and lace. Tobin didn’t care, since it saved him a five day trek home. The Travelling Mirror Network was still down, and magic carpets were in extremely short supply, so Tobin greatly appreciated the gesture.
Darcie came out to the courtyard to see him off. A gentle breeze rippled the tasselled ends of the hovering carpet. Tobin did a last check to make sure he had everything, and his hands closed around a little wooden box at the bottom of his rucksack. Puzzled, he pulled it out.
He opened the box, and found the little silver orb pendant he had purchased for Darcie back in Cumbledon, nestled inside. He smiled to himself. Despite the danger, and the myriad of near disasters they’d encountered on their adventure together, he wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
“For you,” he said, handing the little box to Darcie.” To remind you of our adventure.”
Startled, Darcie opened the small box, and he
r expression turned to delight. “It’s beautiful Tobin! Thank-you,” she said, smiling happily, as she turned the tiny orb pendant around in her fingers.
“I’m glad you like it,” he replied, returning the smile as he clamoured up on the magic carpet. “Well, I look forward to seeing you in a couple of months,” Tobin said, looking down at Darcie from the floating carpet.
“And who knows,” she replied, “I might even be the instructor of one of your classes!”
“That would be great,” Tobin replied, excited at the prospect.
“Don’t count on it!” she grinned wickedly, “Now that I know what you’re capable of, I’ll be twice as hard on you!”
Laughing, she gave the carpet a command, and it rose up, high above the castle ramparts. Tobin waved to the small figure of Darcie on the ground below. With the sun at his back, the breeze ruffling his dark hair, and the whole of Elden Forest spread out below him, he directed the carpet towards home.
THE END
MAGICIAN’S MASTERY
Book 2 of the Elden Forest Series
CHAPTER 1 PREVIEW