The Last of the Firedrakes Page 11

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Over the years, the fae created magical gateways, passages of sorts that are strewn all over the place,” said Rafe.

  “Like the one I came through from the other world?”

  “Something like that,” answered Rafe, smiling. “Some gateways are just small stops, closer in range, and much easier to use. Some are further away and can also be just one way. I’ve used the one through the mountains countless times. There aren’t that many left; some don’t even work anymore. But it comes in handy in my line of work.”

  “So what is your line of work? Are you an outlaw, an assassin, or a sword-for-hire kind of guy?” I blurted out.

  Rafe laughed. “You, my dear Aurora, ask too many questions.”

  I blushed. What had I said?

  “No, I am not an assassin, nor do I sell my sword to the highest bidder,” he said, pausing for a moment. “I am wanted by the Illiadorian Guard for helping those who cannot help themselves.”

  “So you’re an outlaw then, just like Robin Hood?” I said, beaming. I knew he had some good qualities apart from being dangerous and devastatingly handsome.

  Rafe looked confused. “Robin who?”

  I stifled a laugh.

  “Does it really matter who I am?” he said finally, shrugging.

  “I guess not,” I said, dropping the topic. I would just ask Uncle Gabriel about him later if he didn’t want to tell me right now.

  “I really have to leave now, Aurora,” Rafe said. “I just wanted to make sure you were all right and see you once before I went away.”

  “Will I see you again?” I said and started blushing as soon as the words left my mouth.

  “I certainly hope so,” Rafe said, smiling. “Don’t get into any more trouble until I get back.”

  I grinned. “I will definitely give it my best shot,” I retorted. “But I can’t make any promises.”

  Rafe smiled, his eyes crinkling slightly in the corners. “I would expect nothing less,” he said, bowing low and kissing my hand. “Good-bye, Aurora.”

  “Bye,” I said weakly.

  He turned and walked away, his black cloak billowing behind him like a second shadow.

  The kitchen was an enormous room with a high ceiling held up by massive beams and dominated by a long wooden workbench and table. Pots and pans were washed, stacked, and hung on neat display, and the fireplace had a big iron pot bubbling away in the corner. The castle cook, a sweet little middle-aged woman, was still awake, having a cup of something hot with two of the kitchen maids. They jumped up when they saw me.

  “Sorry to bother you,” I said, “but could someone please help me find my room? I seem to have forgotten how to get there.”

  “Of course, my lady,” said the cook. “Would you like a cup of snowberry milk? It does wonders for soothing the nerves and helps you sleep.”

  I nodded. “That would be lovely, thank you.”

  I followed one of the maids who showed me to my room. This time I made sure I paid more attention to where I was going. I had my snowberry milk and lay down on my comfortable four-poster bed, my thoughts in a mess. As if I didn’t have enough to think about, now I couldn’t get Rafe out of my mind. I hardly knew anything about him, except that he was an outlaw and dangerous.

  I had no time for this; I had to forget about Rafe. I had to concentrate on the real reason I was here: to learn to use my magical powers before Morgana found me. That’s what I kept telling myself again and again. And although my head was saying I was an idiot, my traitorous heart waited for Rafe’s return in silent anticipation.

  11

  Lessons in Magic

  It was a bright spring morning, and the sun streamed in through the large windows, warming the plush carpets that lay on the cold stone floors. I got out of bed, went over to the window, and looked out at the grounds beyond. Birds were chirping high in the trees, and the gardens were awash with beautiful flowers lining the shaded groves and walkways surrounding Silverthorne Castle.

  The rest of the castle was already busy with their morning chores. Uncle Gabriel had sent a message to meet him in his solar after breakfast. Herring brought a tray to my room, and the delicious aromas of freshly baked bread and chocolate made me realize just how hungry I really was. I wolfed down my cinnamon bread smothered with whipped strawberry butter and finished my huge cup of creamy hot chocolate. I wanted to go and see Snow first, but I didn’t want to give a bad impression by being late. So I dressed quickly, pushed stray thoughts of Rafe from my head, and ran down to the stables as fast as I could.

  Snow was waiting for me. “Good morning, little princess,” said the pegasus. “I hope you got a good night’s rest.”

  I put my hand on the pegasus’s neck and stroked her beautiful mane. “I did, thank you, Snow,” I said pushing my thoughts out to her. I was happy to see that she was comfortable and treated well. I told her everything that had happened using the magical bond between us. It was much easier and faster explaining things in this way.

  “I’m glad you found what you were looking for, my dear,” said Snow. “I think you should listen to your granduncle; he knows what he is doing and is also a powerful mage. He will teach you what you need to know.”

  I nodded. “I had better go for my lesson now,” I said. “I’ll be back to see you later,” I called out as I ran out of the stables and back into the castle.

  Uncle Gabriel’s solar was his study: the same room he had taken me to before, which was where we were to conduct our lessons. My granduncle was seated behind the big mahogany desk, scribbling away on some parchment with a quill he kept dipping in an inkpot.

  Oh great! No proper pens and paper . . . this was not going to be easy, getting used to the life here. No electricity, no cars, no phones—how was I going to learn how to survive in this world?

  “Come in, come in,” said Uncle Gabriel, in his usual brusque manner. Although I did see Uncle Gabriel last night at dinner, I had hardly spoken to him alone since I got to Silverthorne Castle. I smiled as he gestured for me to sit down on the chair opposite him.

  “First,” he said, sitting up straighter in his chair. “I wanted to thank you for catching those two traitors red-handed.”

  I blushed. “I really didn’t do anything. It was Erien who found them,” I said. “What will happen to them now?”

  “They shall be exiled and sent to the slavers in Brandor,” said the duke. “It will do them good to learn to serve others.”

  “Isn’t that a bit harsh?” I said. Slavery was abhorrent, and I didn’t think anyone deserved that.

  My granduncle shook his head. “It is better than an execution, Aurora. They did try to kill me, after all.”

  I nodded and hung my head. I still didn’t agree, but I kept my mouth shut.

  “Today you will start lessons with me and learn to access your mage powers,” said Uncle Gabriel. “There are a few training exercises I want to start with, which will help you to access and channel your magic. I want you to have an open mind, and follow my instructions very carefully.”

  I listened intently, breathlessly awaiting the secret I was so anxious to discover—how magic worked.

  “You are still young and so far your powers have been diminished by the amulet, but if you have tapped into your fae magic already by mind bonding with the pegasus, that means that your powers are already manifesting,” Uncle Gabriel said.

  He lit a candle and put it in front of me on the table.

  “Now, our first lesson is going to be on concentration,” said Uncle Gabriel. “I want you to focus on this candle. Remove all other thoughts from your mind.”

  I stared at the candle, my thoughts drifting in and out. Uncle Gabriel had said he was going to teach me to do magic. This was not magic; this was torture. My thoughts flickered back and forth like the flame on the tip of the candle. Finally I looked up.

  “This is silly. Nothing is happening,” I said, getting frustrated.

  “You
are not concentrating,” Uncle Gabriel said, glancing up briefly up from his work. “Block out all other thoughts. If they come, push them away and keep focusing on the candle. Nothing else is of importance; your whole mind and concentration is on that candle.”

  I tried again, but my thoughts wouldn’t leave me alone. Every time I looked up, Uncle Gabriel made me try again. He even changed the object of my concentration, from the candle to a smoothly polished stone, to a vase and back. I tried again and again, and every time it was the same, my thoughts came and went, flitting about in my mind, and my concentration was broken.

  “Same time tomorrow, Aurora, and please practice. I expect you to concentrate on an object for measurably longer. Holding your concentration is one of the key aspects to working with your magic. You have to learn to channel your powers properly. If you can’t control your mind and will, then when you release your powers, they will be all over the place, and we don’t want that,” he said seriously.

  He returned to the chair behind his desk and continued with his paperwork. I left Uncle Gabriel’s study, confused. What was that? What had I learned today? Nothing!

  I walked through the gardens, meandering on shaded paths, and went over everything he had said. I thought magic was going to be wonderful and exciting, but it looked like all it was going to be was hard work. And doing all this without taking off my amulet was going to be harder still and very frustrating. Even though I had all this incredible magic, I was not allowed to use any of it fully. I hoped I learned to control my powers soon—Morgana was still looking for me, and when she finally did find me, I’d better be ready.

  * * *

  The next day was rainy and gloomy, and I remained indoors, reading some handwritten books that I had found in the library.

  They were quite interesting, and I enjoyed them because some had my father’s and mother’s names in them. A Concise History of the Illiadorian Royal Family and The Making of the Treaty: Life in the New Kingdoms were both particularly engrossing. I plowed through the books. Now I knew the whole history of my family, or at least the more recent part of it.

  The books also said that, when Azaren died, Morgana was named heir to the throne, but there were some who rebelled against her claim openly. The rebellion was squashed, and now Morgana and Lucian had unrivaled power in Illiador. The other kingdoms formed an alliance and accepted her as a ruler, as long as she adhered to the treaty. So for now I was safe, as the treaty stated that all seven kingdoms would live peacefully together. Morgana couldn’t get to me in Eldoren. Or could she?

  What I read didn’t sound right, however. Uncle Gabriel had said that Morgana betrayed Azaren and usurped the throne, but the books gave quite a different picture. I had never met her, but she scared me. She seemed merciless and thoroughly evil. How could she betray her own brother and try to kill her own niece?

  While I was daydreaming, Erien came into the library.

  “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he said as he sat down with a thump on the window seat beside me. He took the book from my hand. “What are you reading? Has my grandfather been trying to get you to study already?”

  I smiled. It was nice to have a cousin who actually liked me. “No, these are just some books I found here,” I replied. “I was reading about Morgana.”

  Erien’s face hardened. “And?”

  “I was wondering . . . the book said that there was a rebellion, but she stopped it, and now she rules with the blessing of the people.”

  “Is that what the book says?” said Erien angrily. “Aurora, you should know better than to believe what is written in books.” He picked up one of them and looked at it. “Pfft, written by Adrian Longslade, I should have known. I wonder how this even got in here.”

  “Who is he?” I asked.

  “He’s a lackey of the archmage, and a lying scoundrel. All his work is adapted to suit Morgana.”

  “What really happened?” I asked.

  “Morgana,” he answered softly, “massacred thousands of families just to make an example of them—men, women, children, everyone. Whole villages were scorched to the ground until the other kingdoms threatened to wage war on Illiador.” He paused, staring out the window before he went on. “She is ruthless, Aurora, truly evil.” He was whispering now. “Some say that Archmage Lucian is not just a mage, but also secretly a dark sorcerer, a user of black magic.”

  “But he’s the archmage!” I said, astonished.

  “Yes, and Morgana trusts him implicitly. He has some hold over her. No one knows why his magic is so powerful. Everyone fears him, even the Mage Guild. No one will go against him openly; to do so would be certain death.”

  I listened with my mouth open. A dark sorcerer—what was I getting myself into? Lucian sounded worse than Morgana, and she massacred women and children.

  I shook my head then suddenly jumped up.

  “Oh no! I’m late for my lesson with Uncle Gabriel! Bye Erien, see you later,” I said, as I rushed out of the library.

  I ran down long stone corridors and flowering, open walkways until I reached Uncle Gabriel’s solar.

  “You’re late,” my granduncle said when I finally reached his study, huffing and puffing. “Today we are going to try something different.”

  I hoped I would finally learn some real magic. All I had learned so far was to stare at a candle without blinking. He made me sit down comfortably in the chair opposite him.

  “Now close your eyes, and push away stray thoughts. Make your mind blank,” he said.

  I did as I was told. The concentration lessons had helped; I was getting much better at it.

  “Concentrate inside yourself. There is a power within you that lies dormant. It needs to be controlled, and you can only do that if you identify it. You must separate your mage powers from the fae part. Your mage magic is like a ball of blue-tinged, white light that resides within you.”

  I tried to do what he said, but there was nothing: no white light, not even a flicker. I tried again. Still nothing. My concentration broke, and my thoughts were whirling around in my head like a runaway carousel.

  “Maybe I should take off the amulet?” I asked.

  Uncle Gabriel frowned. “No,” he said. “I believe you can do this with your amulet on. Your powers are not bound, they are only diminished in intensity. Later, when you know how to control it at will, then you may take off the amulet. Let’s try it again, shall we?”

  Uncle Gabriel made me try it again, and again, and again, but there was still no sign of any magic. I was getting frustrated; nothing was happening.

  “Don’t have any doubts,” he said, as if reading my mind. “You do have the power within you. Your heritage is one of the greatest in magical history. You have the gift. I’m quite sure of that.”

  I tried again. Stray thoughts were still buzzing away in my mind, and I tried to brush them away like bothersome flies. What if it took years to learn magic? I finally managed to push away the doubts and tried again. I concentrated hard inside myself, where Uncle Gabriel had said the source of my power lay dormant, waiting.

  I looked inside, quiet in the darkness, silent.

  Then, suddenly, there it was. I could see it in my mind’s eye, a tiny blue-white light; it was small, but it was there, and it was steadily growing brighter. I could feel a tingling in my body, as if the light was coursing through my veins. I was amazed; I could feel the power moving within me. I felt strong, full of energy, and full of hope, as if anything was possible.

  I opened my eyes, and a tiny bluish-white flame ignited on my fingertip, flickered slightly for a moment, and fizzled out. It was but an instant, a glimpse, a touch. But it was real; it was there.

  “Very good,” said Uncle Gabriel, smiling broadly. “Very good, Aurora!”

  “What was that?” was all I could say. I was shocked and elated at the same time. I had definitely done something, and this time it was without removing my amulet.

  “That was your power source,” said Uncle Gabr
iel. “All mages have it. But our powers are not limitless. When you use your power, skill, or gift—whatever you want to call it—you deplete your power source, and it takes a while to rejuvenate itself. That is why you must remember to be very careful. If you try to do something that will take more power than you can generate, your body will not be able to handle the pressure and you could die.”

  “Die!” I said, wide-eyed. “You can’t be serious?”

  “I am very serious,” said Uncle Gabriel, “and you should be too. The power that you have is not something to be used for mere play and tricks or mundane things that you are too lazy to do the hard way.”

  He looked very serious, so I hung on his every word. I didn’t want to make a silly mistake and kill myself just because I didn’t know what I was doing.

  “I want you to practice being in touch with the power source within yourself. Then tomorrow we can begin using it. I think we will start with shielding. Learning to defend yourself is now your first priority.”

  I grinned at my granduncle. Finally, I would learn to use magic!

  * * *

  The next day Uncle Gabriel had a new lesson plan. Learning shielding was not as difficult as I imagined it would be, but it was definitely not pleasant.

  “We will start with small, non-magical attacks first,” said Uncle Gabriel. “It’s far easier to shield yourself from anything non-magical than it is to shield yourself against a magical strike. Remember, a shield can only protect you from magical strikes and flying weapons, like arrows, but it will not protect you from a person.” He paused. “For instance, if someone came to hit you or strike you with a sword, a magical shield would not help. You also have to learn to defend yourself the ordinary way.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. I was tall at sixteen, but I was thin and not very good in a fight. I considered learning how to use a bow and arrow. It sounded more me than whirling around with a huge sword that I probably couldn’t even pick up.