Catalyst (Book 1) (15 page)

That was the problem. Master Stradus had taught me a lot about being a wizard. He taught me how to perform spells, how to use my powers correctly, how to access and use mana. But what he didn’t teach me, what he didn’t have time for and what I might have to learn from experience, was how to be responsible. How was I to use my powers with non-magical people, but not overdo it or have them rely on me?

“This isn’t just for me or my people, it’s for all Northern Shala,” King Sharald said.

I raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“The things that come from the Wastelands aren’t just a threat to us, Hellsfire, they’re a threat to everyone. Look at it this way. Why did Shala beat Renak? Renak had the better wizards, more resources, the element of surprise, was more aggressive, and was better organized.” Sharald swept his hands across the pond. “But it was Shala who came out on top. Shala won because he was able to pull together the different peoples of the land. If he had not, we all would have lost. I see the same thing happening now.

“We are all different peoples, but unlike then, there’s no one to lead us. If the creatures get through and Alexandria falls, we will all fall—one by one. Hardly anyone in the land will be safe. Our first defense is and always has been Alexandria. That’s the reason why it was built in the first place, and that’s why it must always stand.” His voice grew louder and stronger. “We must find out what’s going on there.”

I cringed at the thought of my homeland being overrun by the foul creatures and my mother and friends dying because of that. “Even Sedah will fall?” He stared at me, confused. “It’s my hometown, Your Majesty.”

Sharald nodded. “Sedah will most assuredly fall. It’s just a small agricultural village. It holds no significant importance, but the creatures will destroy all in their way. That's just the way they are—the way they have always been. Will you please help me and, in turn, save those you love?”

I took my time before making a decision. Sharald was kind and didn't interrupt me or stare at me while I thought. He looked out over the pond and animals just like I did, but my mind no longer paid attention to what I saw. My training was incomplete, and I could still make things worse with my power. I could also make them better and help people
if
I made the right choices.

The stories I had learned growing up played through my head, and starring in them was Shala. He didn't want to go to war with Renak, but soon realized he had no choice. Shala did it because Renak had to be stopped. There was no one else to challenge Renak, and a lot more people would have died if he hadn’t come forward to do what he could.

I wasn't Shala. I wasn't a hero. The elves needed my help, and I needed theirs. It would be better if we worked together.

“I'll help you,” I said.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” His old ears twitched in delight.

“But before I help you, Your Majesty, there’s something you should know.”

“I’m all ears.”

I couldn’t help but break my serious expression and smile at that. “I’m not a wizard yet. I haven’t completed my training.”

I held my breath and stared at him, waiting to see what his reaction would be. The great elf glanced away and looked at the pond. His eyes followed a turtle as it finished its basking and dived back into the water.

“I can see why you don’t want to go,” Sharald said, keeping his eyes on the water. “Thank you for telling me.” He turned his attention back to me and smiled. “None of that matters now. You’ve done well in helping the others. I still want you to go with them.”

“Me too.” I surprised myself by saying that, because it was true.

“Good. Even though you might not be a wizard yet, your expertise will come in handy.”

I nodded. I could only hope he was right.

“Now that that business is over, you must help us prepare,” Sharald said.

“Prepare for what?”

Sharald’s smile was as wide as the horizon. “A celebration.”

I yawned and put a hand to my mouth. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I don’t understand.”

“Tomorrow, we will celebrate. According to my healers, Demay should be well by then.”

“Are you sure we should have a party? Shouldn't we get ready in case Alexandria is in serious trouble?”

“We're not at war, Hellsfire. Not yet, anyway. We’re as ready as we can be until we find out what’s happening up there.” Sharald took a deep breath and his body seemed to melt. “I'm about to send my heir and an apprenticed wizard into a possibly dangerous situation, my younger cousin almost died last night, and I, myself, am dying. So yes, a celebration is exactly what we need. When I was younger, someone once told me to enjoy life because you never know what tomorrow may bring. That's what we're going to do. It's an order.” Sharald smiled.

I smiled back at him. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“Excellent. Come, I will get you a room so you can rest. No one deserves it more.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

We left the serenity of his garden, and I finally got some sleep. I spent the next day setting up for the party. Demay was even helping, although he would wince and complain whenever we had to do hard work. We lined each home with flowers and made flower necklaces, hanging them around everyone’s neck. I enjoyed the flower necklace. It had a festive feel to it, smelled good, and stood out from my dark robe. The elves also had a leaf in each ear.

That night, there was plenty of dancing. The exotic, fast-paced music kept me moving. Even though I couldn’t keep up with the elves and their style of dancing, I still had a lot of fun. I danced with all the pretty young elves who’d come up to me. But elves weren’t the only ones there. All travelers and traders were invited to stay and enjoy the festivities.

A great bonfire was erected, stretching into the sky. It moved and swayed with me, though I wasn’t using any magic. In the midst of everything, the mana of earth radiated from the elves. It had the power of an earthquake, far more powerful than even their domed castle, and yet it felt gentle. It was no wonder the elves were close to the land and were good harvesters. I hadn’t been able to sense the magic from Prastian and the others before. It was too small, and worked without them knowing it. But with so many elves together, I felt it. People always said the trees talked to the elves. It was true. I heard their whispers, although I couldn’t understand what they were saying.

During the celebration, Sharald told me the team to Alexandria would consist of Prastian, Behast, Demay, and myself. Sharald thought it best he should keep the group together, since we had already proven we worked well together. He had tried to keep Demay out of it, but Demay wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Time flew by. I think I drank a little too much, as I passed out somewhere on the ground. At dawn, someone’s foot nudged me. He told me where the others were. I wiped the drool and dirt off my face and scurried to find them. My head pounded, but it had been worth it.

When I found my newly acquired friends, they had all the provisions and horses ready. They smiled at me as if I had made an ass of myself the previous night, but I shrugged it off. I couldn’t remember much from my drunken haze, nor did it matter. Sharald came to see us off and wished us luck.

We needed all the luck we could get. There was something wrong with Alexandria, and whatever we found wasn’t going to be good.

CHAPTER 11

Between the urgency of King Sharald's mission and my worry over Princess Krystal, we pushed our horses on the way to Alexandria. What normally would have been a six-day trip, we made in four. We arrived at the Guardian City at mid-afternoon on the fourth day.

I breathed a little easier when we neared the outer walls that surrounded the city. I had been worried that Alexandria might have fallen and would be overrun with Wasteland creatures. That clearly wasn’t the case. What did concern us, though, was the sparseness of the guards walking the walls, and the fact that we had met no patrols on our way to the city, which Prastian said was unusual. Had the king pulled guards from the south wall because of the increased attacks from the Wasteland creatures to the north? There was no way to know until we got inside and spoke with Prastian’s contacts.

In the meantime, I gawked at Alexandria like the farm boy that I was. It was huge—far larger than Sharald—and built of wood and stone. The city spread uphill from the south wall, up to the towering castle that rose at the far north side of the city. From that height, the guards could get a magnificent dragon's-eye view of the city, the Daleth Mountain Range, and the Wastelands of Renak. It was from those towers that the forces of Alexandria had kept watch and guarded Northern Shala since the War of the Wizards, when Renak’s evil creatures had been driven into the Wastelands. The castle reminded me of the White Mountain—without the freezing weather and strenuous climb. Up close, it was both magnificent and intimidating. Unlike King Sharald’s castle, I sensed no magic emanating from it. Knowing that men had made it with their own hands, with no magical help, only enhanced its beauty. I hoped I would get the chance to explore its halls and see the views from its parapets.

The south gate of the city was open, manned with two guards. That seemed like a small number, when so many monsters appeared to be wandering the countryside. We dismounted and led our horses through, expecting to be questioned, but the guards gave us no more than a cursory inspection. I saw Prastian and Behast glance at each other, eyebrows raised, ears twitching. Apparently, it seemed strange to them too. None of us said anything, but I felt uneasy. Something was wrong here.

We passed through a short stone tunnel that ran under the city wall, and found ourselves in a crowded marketplace. I had always heard that Alexandria was a prosperous, peaceful city, but many of the stalls and shops were closed and boarded up. As we walked, I noticed that most of the crowds were gathered around the ale shops and bawdy houses, or in tight, sullen-looking knots. The shops that were open had men standing outside with clubs or daggers, as if they expected to be besieged by thieves, and few people were buying. We passed by a butcher shop where a thin, hollow-eyed woman with two children clinging to her skirts pleaded with the proprietor. “No credit!” he snapped at her. “Coin only.”

I moved closer to Prastian. “Is it always like this?” I murmured. He shook his head, a frown growing between his eyebrows. Behast walked with his hand on his sword hilt. Even Demay’s high spirits seemed dampened.

We found stabling for our horses, wanting to keep them near the gate in case we had to leave quickly. Prastian paid the hostler well to keep our mounts safe, though I began to suspect we’d be lucky to find them still here when we returned.

We were in a poorer district of the city, and there were beggars on nearly every street corner. Scrawny women and children tore at my heart. I moved to loosen my purse strings.

“Don't,” Behast said, placing his hand on my arm.

“What do you mean, don't?” I asked. “They need our help.” My eyes fell on a mother who cradled her crying baby. She tried to quiet him, but failed. The baby was so gaunt, it might not live past tomorrow. Tears welled up in my eyes. My mother and I were poor, but we always had food on the table. I couldn’t believe King Furlong and Krystal would let things get as bad as this. It wasn’t as though the city was besieged; clearly supplies could go in and out, just as we had. My inner fire rose, aching to be released. I didn’t know what made me angrier: Behast for telling me not to help, or my fear that the darkness from my dream had already crushed the princess, and Alexandria was falling apart.

“We don't have time for this,” Behast said.

“He's right,” Prastian said. “Something's wrong here, and we've got to find out what it is and what happened to the previous team that was sent here.”

“I was just trying to—”

“I know what you were trying to do, Hellsfire. In normal times, I would applaud you for it and even be as charitable as you. We haven't that luxury now. In all my visits to Alexandria, I've never seen conditions this bad. King Furlong wouldn't allow it. We can help the most by finding out what’s behind this.”

I let go of my purse and sighed, feeling my anger and flame subside. He was right. This wasn’t why I came here, and my money would only help a few people for a short time. My vision had sent me here, but it was going to take more than magic to figure out what was wrong in Alexandria. I was suddenly very glad to have the elves with me.

“What can we do, Prastian?” I asked.

Prastian kept his eyes in front, trying not to dwell on the misery around us. “We do what King Sharald sent us to do. If the opportunity arises, we do more.”

“All right. I'll follow your lead.”

I glanced one last time at the mother and her child. Our eyes met, and she cried out for my help and some coin. I shook my head and said I was sorry. She spat at my feet. I bit down on my lip and turned my head away.

We continued on. As we moved up toward the castle, our surroundings became more prosperous—clearly the homes of merchants and craftsmen. The buildings were square and utilitarian, as if everything had to be useful and practical, and no one had time for frippery. Maybe that was what life was like when your whole reason for being was to fight a war that never ended. Even here, though, there were signs of decay and disrepair—crumbling mortar, sagging roofs, and peeling paint. As we passed a tavern, Prastian said softly, “I don’t like this.”

“Don’t like what?” Demay asked.

Prastian lowered his voice even further. “The taverns shouldn’t be full at this time of day. And many of these men are soldiers—you can tell by their bearing and the way they move. They should be on duty—either here in the city, or out on patrol. Why are they out of uniform, with nothing to do?”

I stared at the patrons at the courtyard tables. Most of them looked drunk, though it was still well before sunset, and they were not happy drunks. They held onto their mugs too tightly. They nursed their drinks, staring sullenly into them instead of buying more. No one joked; no one laughed.

“Should we go talk to them, Prastian?” I asked.

“Later, if we have the chance. I want to see the castle and the condition it’s in, and hear what King Furlong will say.”

The closer we got to the castle, the better things looked. The homes were taller, stronger, and sturdier, as most of them were made of stone. Gates surrounded a few of them. When we passed a portly man with hired guards in tow, I realized we must be in the wealthy section of Alexandria, where the nobles lived.

We walked through a large square. In the center was a statue of Alexander, the city’s founder, fighting an ogre and two goblins. It was an amazing sculpture, showing the fierce determination that had characterized Alexandria and its people ever since. But the surrounding grass was yellow and overgrown, and bird droppings decorated Alexander’s face, as if no one cared any longer about upholding his legacy. My stomach felt cold, and my fear for Krystal increased.

Right outside the castle gates, one more building caught my eye. It pulled at me, forcing me to stop. It was the temple of the four gods. The low rectangular building looked ancient, as ancient as the castle, but it was the only clean, sparkling thing I had seen in the entire city. The sun reflecting off its shining alabaster walls nearly blinded me. Etched into the white pillars lining the entrance were the gods’ symbols, representing the different kinds of mana. While the temple was beautiful in its own right, no one but a wizard would sense the magic beating in the symbols. I took a step forward, drawn to the god Emery’s symbol of fire. Someone tugged on my sleeve.

“Hellsfire,” Demay said.

“What? Oh.” I snapped out of my trance. Before I turned away from the temple, I saw that the brothers and sisters who served the gods were on the steps, handing out bread. I smiled, glad to see that there were still those trying to help.

When we approached the castle gates, we were challenged by the Castle Guard blocking our way.

“State your business,” one of them said.

“We’re here to see King Furlong,” Prastian said. “Sent as a delegation from King Sharald.”

The guard glowered at Prastian, and for a moment I thought they would refuse us entry. Then one of his companions stepped forward. “Prastian! It’s been a long time since I last saw you.”

“Hello, Jerrel. How’s the family?”

Jerrel’s jaw tightened for a second. “Fine, thanks for asking.” His face relaxed. “I’m sorry not to give you a warmer welcome. Please enter. I’ll just let the King know you’re arriving.” He nodded to another guard, who ran towards the castle.

“Thank you,” said Prastian. He paused. “Have any other elves passed through here lately? I was hoping to meet some of my kinsmen here.”

Jerrel shook his head. “Not in the castle. There haven’t been any since the last time you were here.”

“Thanks, Jerrel. I’m sorry I didn’t bring any goodies this time around. Next time I see you, I promise I’ll bring something for your children.”

“Thank you, Prastian. Always a pleasure to see you.” He waved us through the open gates. As we passed through the portcullis, the guards eyed me, probably wondering why I was with a bunch of elves.

“Jerrel said he hadn’t seen the other elves Sharald sent,” Demay said. “Think he was telling the truth?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Which means we have bigger problems,” Behast said.

“Yes. Keep your ears sharp.”

As we headed up the hill towards the inner keep, we passed by the royal stables, barracks, and workshops. Eventually, we ended up in a large courtyard. Hedges outlined paths for us to walk. In the center was a large marble fountain. On top of it stood a crouching dragon, reminiscent of Cynder. Water poured constantly from his mouth. I smiled, wondering what Cynder would think of this. Dragons were creatures of fire, not water.

We were just outside the keep. It rose into the skies like a giant, the setting sun turning its white walls a delicate pink. But there was nothing delicate about the heart of Alexandria. Its towers seemed to pierce the clouds.

Although there weren’t many guards on the outer walls of the city, the castle ground crawled with them. Guards blocked our way at the entrance to the keep, challenging us. Prastian negotiated our way in, showing them a special seal given to him by King Sharald.

My heart began to beat faster. Not because of the guards who stared suspiciously at us, but because of the princess. Was she all right? Would I be able to see her? I had no doubt that Prastian would get us an audience with the king, but would Krystal be there?

“You’ll have to leave your weapons here,” a guard said.

“Is something wrong?” Prastian asked. “Normally, we would relinquish our weapons outside the audience chambers.”

“New rules. If you want to enter the keep, you’ll have to go unarmed.” The guards’ bodies tensed, as if they expected us to oppose them. Maybe even hoped we would.

Behast’s hand moved to his sword hilt.

Prastian smiled at the guards. “As you wish.” He took off his weapons, and Demay and Behast followed suit. I left my dagger where it was, under my wizard’s robe. The guards didn’t find it when they patted us down, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Prastian would not be pleased if I caused an incident. I was sure I wasn’t the only one with a hidden weapon.

With our entrance into the castle achieved, our journey had finally ended. However, the mystery and danger had just begun.