Drakonika (Book 1) (24 page)

“
It's true, someone had to put an end to it! Everyone saw what happened!” she cried again, but there was still no word of confirmation from Darius. He might have done it on purpose, but maybe he was just struck speechless from fear.

“
You don't have to say anything. I've seen it all,” said the general flatly. Then he shot Magnus a spiteful look, “You, scrub — it's too bad I can't take
you
away. But don't worry, your time will come too.” It seemed that the attack at the police station didn't leave the slightest effect on him.

Magnus felt these feelings were highly unjustified.

“But I... I thought you would thank me for helping to catch the thief –” he said irresolutely, but the general cut him off before he could say another word.

“
NOTHING,” Xanthar's voice hammered, “nothing in the whole world would ever make me thank
you
, do you understand?” At these words he turned away and his long coat almost slapped Magnus in the face. Xanthar stepped through the crowd and everyone flinched back as if they were afraid that a simple touch of this man would turn them into stone. “You two — follow me,” he said grimly without even looking back.

Fjalldís and Darius didn't look at each other, but their expressions were just the same. They had no choice but to follow the general as there was no point in running. There were dozens of witnesses who watched them break the law.

When they departed, people begun to leave — theshow was over. It took a moment until Magnus realised what had happened. When he heard Maren's voice again, he finally recovered.

“
Magnus, are you all right?” she squealed, surveying Magnus from head to toe, as though checking for any scratches. But instead of a warm embrace, he gave her a stern gaze.

“
Why did you tell him about the fire? You know I can't control it!” he said angrily, picking up the books from the ground and putting them back into his backpack.

Maren looked at her shoes guiltily, “Sorry... I just wanted to... Darius really gets on my nerves sometimes. I wanted to scare him off so he would leave us be.”

Magnus smiled bitterly as he tossed his backpack over his shoulder.

“
Sometimes? He's getting on my nerves constantly. And trust me, there are times when I feel like giving him a good punch. But it's not always the right time to –” he said, but then the rest of the words died in his throat. He suddenly clapped his hand against his chest.

“
What's the matter, Magnus?” Maren said in a worried tone, when she saw him raking through his clothes.

“
It's gone,” Magnus whispered.

“
What's gone?”

Magnus grabbed her shoulders and shook her desperately, “My amulet! It's gone!”

Maren and Magnus were not the only unfortunate novices who thought they were nearing their end. After walking up the long stairs, Darius and Fjalldís entered the general's office. When the door slammed behind them, they both felt as if they had already set foot into a prison.

“Sit down,” said Xanthar grimly, shifting tons of papers and books on his table to create some space.

The novices sat onto a sofa covered with dark leather, located right in front of Xanthar's desk. As they sat down, the leather made an unpleasant creaking noise, but Xanthar didn't even look up. Obviously, they weren't the first to sit there. Darius and Fjalldís exchanged frightened looks and then winced when they heard the general's voice.

“What's the matter? Are you afraid? You should have thought about that before you broke the law,” Xanthar said, folding his hands on the desk that wasn't even visible a moment ago. “What should I do with the two of you? I can't put you behind bars yet, nor send you to labour like other criminals. Well, maybe you,” he said, pointing his long quill pen at Darius who almost stopped breathing, “but not the girl.” Xanthar remained in thought for a while, trying to quickly think of an appropriate solution. For a moment, the office fell silent.

Darius noticed Fjalldís crumpling the long skirt on her knees. Perhaps it would make her feel safer if someone held her hand, though that would take even more courage than entering the general's office. But just as he made an attempt to do it, the sound of Xanthar's stern voice immediately put his arm back in place.

“I have to admit you both have talent in magick. It's very rare for children like you to be able to cast these kinds of spells so well already. However,” he said, and the last word gave the novices an unpleasant feeling, “It doesn't change the fact that all magick executed by an unauthorized person is strictly forbidden. magick is not to be played with and if I am the one to teach you that, so be it. I have folders with information about each person who ever visited Ragna and I will make a note of your violation. As soon as you get three black marks, you'll be sacked from the beloved that
guild
of yours at once.” He spit out the word “guild” with utter disrespect. It was quite clear that he considered Aedan's preparatory lessons a total waste of time. Then his stern expression changed into a slightly sinister smile. “It also has its advantages. When you finally get out of there, you can find a place where you will receive
real
training.” It wasn't hard to guess that the place where they could get “real” training was supposed to be his own police station. “Trust me. One day you will regret that you wasted so much time in that absurd nursery,” he said firmly. Then he asked for their names and found their document folders in the unbelievable heap of papers. It seemed impossible that he knew where to look for them.

“
Fjalldís — one black mark, Darius — two black marks,” Xanthar said with finality in his voice, scribbling his verdict onto the papers.

Hearing that, Darius almost jumped from the sofa.

“What? Two?!” he breathed incredulously, but Xanthar only raised his eyebrows and fixed his inquiring gaze on him.

“
I wonder why you are so surprised. If I remember well, you used magick twice, or am I mistaken?” he asked calmly, although he knew there was nothing that Darius could contradict. “May it be a lesson for you both.” At these words he put the documents back into the pile of papers and in doing so, he closed the case.

The shaken novices were just about to open the door when Xanthar left his desk, “Wait a moment, not so fast.”  His voice made Darius let go of the handle and turn around. What else could he want from them?

“Would you like to take some candies?” Xanthar said evenly as he pointed at a desk on the other side of the room that was near the windows with a great view of Ragna. 

There was a moment of silence.  Has the general of Ragnan Magi Police really just offered them sweets?

The general's insisting gaze made Fjalldís walk to the table with candies, not daring to look back. But as soon as Darius made a move too, Xanthar blocked his way. The “kindhearted” gesture was simply a way to have a little talk with Darius, without Fjalldís present.

“
Now listen well, boy. She's a good girl. If you harm her in any way, you'll have a serious problem with me. I know she doesn't deserve the violation note, but I gave it to her anyway so she can learn from it. But you,” the general said gravely, jabbing at Darius' chest with his finger, making him step back. “One wrong move and you're out of
there
, got it?”

While Darius was keeping Xanthar busy, Fjalldís raked through the bowl of sweets, pulling out a few candies. As she slipped them into a leather pouch hanging on her belt, she noticed some remarkable items lying on the desk. A large hourglass encrusted with gold and rubies, a few books and some unidentifiable things — among others there was something like a metallic star the size of a palm.

“Now I suggest you watch her on your way back,” Xanthar said. “If anything happens to her, it will be your responsibility.” These were his last words. As soon as Fjalldís returned, he opened the door with a simple, “Have a nice day.”

Neither of them spoke on the way back, until Darius broke the silence.

“Fjalldís –” he started finally, but she cut across him in a booming voice.

“
If I get expelled from the guild, I will never talk to you again!” she screamed furiously as she turned so fiercely there was a sound of beads chinking in her hair. 

For a moment, Darius stood there like a statue, as if he couldn't believe his ears. If the potion from Viktor could have ever worked, he probably ruined it completely today. But did he still want to get revenge at all?

Fjalldís didn't let him talk, “Why do you always have to look for trouble? Magnus hasn't done anything to you and neither have I! I've always been on the side of justice, I always try to help people and keep away from bad company, so why must this happen to me?” With tears in her eyes, she turned away to take the nearest side lane, but Darius' gloved hand grabbed her arm. “What are you doing? Let go of me!” she cried angrily.

“
Stop screaming, will you? I don't want any problems because of you,” Darius said impatiently. He didn't release her, but Fjalldís pulled herself free of his grip.

“
Now you care about problems?” she retorted with a piercing gaze. Her eyes reflected anger mingled with sadness and deep disappointment. “You know what? Do what you want. And don't follow me!” she said, taking the first turn.

“
Oh yeah? No one forced you to cast that spell! You've even kept all the candies to yourself!
Some
justice
,” Darius yelled after her, in an effort to bring her to the same level of a ruffian as he was. Seconds later, a small candy bounced off his forehead with force.

There was a curt “Here's your candy!” from around the corner and then Fjalldís disappeared completely.

Darius rubbed his forehead and groaned, surprised by the strength and precision with which she threw the candy at him. Despite the threats Xanthar gave him, he decided to let her walk alone.

XII. The Stolen Amulet

Magnus' terrible loss could have only been eased by visiting a certain windowless house at the main square. Valezar was happy to see his friends again, but the reason of their visit didn't make him smile. Magnus kept on groaning and mourning over his amulet so much it was a wonder he didn't start crying. Valezar tried to calm him down, but nothing seemed to work.

“Are you sure you didn't drop it somewhere? Perhaps if you searched the place again –”

“
We've looked a hundred times!” Magnus said desperately. “And I know I had it in the morning!”

No matter how caring the old mage was, there was no way to cheer Magnus up. Hot tea wouldn't bring his amulet back, nor would the quarreling gingerbreads — it was lost and not even Valezar's divinatory skills could help resolve this mystery. He tried looking into the past but except Maren, there was no one standing close to Magnus during the fight. No thief, no clues, nothing. It was as if the amulet had simply disappeared.

“It can't be that bad. One trinket up or down,” Valezar said with an attempt at an encouraging smile.

“
It wasn't just a trinket,” Magnus said swiftly. “It was something very important and I've lost it!” he groaned again, his face falling into his palms. Maren quietly held him by the shoulders all this time.

Valezar couldn't resist preaching smartly, “I was always telling you not to rely on material things so much — they are only temporary.”

Magnus looked up with a confused expression, “You've never said that to me.”

“
No? Hmm,” he said, rubbing his bearded chin. “But you can be sure I wanted to do it.”

Magnus lowered his head again. None of Valezar's words would bring his amulet back, however good his intentions were.

Maren opened her mouth but before she could say anything, Magnus answered her unspoken question without even looking at her.

“
No, there's no point. Even if we searched all of Ragna, we don't have a chance to find it. I'm sure it was stolen,” said Magnus blankly, Maren gaping at him. “The thief used the opportunity of the chaos around me.”

Unlike Magnus and Maren, Valezar kept his head cool.

“I didn't see anyone around you when I looked into the past. And even if there really was a thief, don't you think it must have been someone you know? They clearly knew what they would find under your tunic,” he said calmly, his eyes looking like a serene lake without the smallest wave on it.

Magnus and Maren exchanged mystified looks. Valezar was right! But if it was indeed stolen, how could they find the thief?

“Well, I know it's not related, but maybe we could –” Maren started, but Magnus interrupted her again.

“
Show him the book, of course,” he interjected and with a blank look he groped into his backpack. In the next moment, a black, heavy tome landed right in front of Valezar on the table.

Maren shot Magnus an annoyed look. It was the second time he interrupted her — with her own thoughts. Valezar gazed at him too, with a strangely suspicious look on his face. Then his eyes darted to the battered book laid under his nose.

“You're faster than me, I was just going to ask you about it,” he said brightly. But as soon as he touched the cover of the mysterious book, his smile froze. He knew it was written in an unknown language. He knew it contained rare and even appallingly powerful incantations, even though he couldn't read them and he knew it came from a completely different world.

While Magnus was drowning in his worries and sadness, Valezar opened the first page of the book. He did so very carefully, almost with respect. He couldn't read it, but it seemed that he could tap the essence of its energy by touching the surface of its yellowish pages.

Then Magnus heard Valezar say that it was shocking he could read it. Magnus agreed, his expression clearing a little. He leaned over the table as though he was afraid that someone else could hear them. Maren gave them a questioning look.

Valezar told him that he had read his thoughts and that he knew what he translated from the book last night. He was even afraid that they had got a hold of something dangerous. Saying that it would be wise to ask Zimbadur about it, he kept turning the pages.

Magnus shook his head and told him that Zimbadur had left to a meeting.

Valezar said that he knew about it, but he also knew that there were no Mages Guild meetings recently.

Magnus' expression froze. Where was he, then? The old mage answered his unspoken question, saying that Zimbadur had never partaken in any meetings other than those for his guild and that's why it was quite odd. Valezar
would
have
looked into it
, but he was no longer authorized to do divinations concerning the Mages Guild. If he did that, it would be spying on one of the guilds, which was another strictly prohibited thing in Ragna.

Magnus didn't understand how people could even live here. Valezar's words about Zimbadur made him worried, but there was no time to think about it.

A small hand waved between Magnus' and Valezar's faces. Then Maren's voice cut the long silence, “HELLO! When will the two of you come back to your senses?”

Magnus was so stunned by the last of Valezar's words, that for a moment he had completely forgotten about the loss of his amulet.

“What?” he breathed in confusion, turning at last to look at Maren.

“
Don't
what
at me. You've been exchanging odd looks for quite a while. I wanna know what's going on!” Maren said in a slightly injured tone, as though she didn't hear anything from their dialogue.

Magnus' eyes met with Valezars', but he found no answer there. Instead, the old mage smiled. It seemed he was the only one who understood everything.

“Well? Can I get an explanation?” Maren insisted, looking quite stern now. It almost looked as if the two of them were hiding something from her.

With a sudden rush of understanding, Magnus looked back at Valezar.

“We talked by reading each other's thoughts!” he shouted in amazement. “That's why Maren didn't hear anything!”

A broad smile broke across Valezar's face. All this time he knew what was happening, but he let Magnus figure it out by himself.

“But how –” Magnus breathed. He didn't have to finish the sentence, because there was no need to.

“
I don't have an answer to this question,” Valezar said. “But one thing's for sure. Something has changed about you since the last time I saw you. And I think it might have something to do with that amulet of yours.”

Magnus felt quite perplexed, but Maren looked sad. How was it possible that Magnus, who didn't even know where he came from, could do things that she with her magi background could not?

Seeing Maren's downcast face, the old mage stood up from his chair. Magnus wasn't quite sure how to use this gift yet, but Valezar was expected to handle situations when there was a “non-speaker” of telepathy in the group. With a roguish smile, he cast a cheerful look at Maren.

“
I've got something for you,” he said as he slowly departed to the next room. When he returned, Maren's face brightened with curiosity and when she saw what Valezar was holding in his hands, her mouth hung open. This must have been a dream come true!

“
A telepathic device! It must be the version 6.0.1, the newest model!” she shrieked so loudly that Magnus had to protect his ears. It seemed that Maren had some good knowledge in the telepathic devices area.

Valezar's wrinkly face lightened
— every craftsman would be delighted to see such great interest in his products!

“
I call it the Thought Booster. It's not even officially for sale yet,” he said proudly, handing Maren a small brick-like box, gleaming in the candlelight. There were no precious stones or gold on it — the only decoration was a simple and elegant ornament, slightly coiling the grey surface.

“
It's so light,” Maren breathed, gently gazing at her new “
toy”
. It looked as though she was afraid that she would break it. But then she noticed that Magnus received the very same present.

“
Hey! Why did you give one to him as well?” she said enviously. “He doesn't need it!”

Valezar kept smiling as he said, “And how else would you communicate? These devices receive only thoughts that are transmitted through another telepathic device. Magnus is no master in telepathy yet! He can easily communicate with me, but it wouldn't be so easy with you or others, at least for now. And don't worry, the telepathic devices transmit only the thoughts you intend to send. It will be a little messy at first and you might have difficulty realising what the recipient actually
heard.
In the beginning it might be easier if you say your thoughts out loud.” It seemed that he eased Maren's mind by saying this, but what made her happiest was the fact that Magnus was no master in telepathy yet.

“
That's so cool! Nobody at school will believe this!” Maren gave a triumphant shout, leaping to her feet in excitement and bobbing around the room merrily.

“
School? Do you really think they will still recognise you there?” Magnus asked pointedly, but Maren didn't stop giggling.

“
Are you kidding? No one can forget
me
,” Maren said confidently as she kept on dancing and whirling in joy.

“
No wonder,” Magnus muttered.

Valezar didn't want to interrupt her, but there was something they both needed to know.

“Listen, perhaps I should tell you that it's not thoroughly tested yet –” he said carefully, but neither of them seemed to pay any attention.

“
Magnus — without the Thought Booster — what colour am I thinking of?” Maren said as she stopped suddenly, pointing at Magnus as though she was a teacher examining her student.

It appeared that this question shocked Magnus. It came so fast and unexpectedly that he couldn't even read it from her mind at first.

“Eh, blue?” he said bashfully. Seeing Maren's expression, anyone could deduce it was the right answer.

“
My goodness! How did you know that?” Maren gasped, as if she hadn't been a witness to such abilities before. But before Magnus could even catch his breath, she made up another question. “What number am I thinking of?” she said, gazing at Magnus again.

“
Two hundred and forty five — and I know you thought it would be terribly difficult,” he said in a bored tone, his head leaning against his arm.

There was a short pause.

“What animal am I thinking of?” Maren asked again, with no less enthusiasm.

“
Well, I hope it helps you,” Valezar interrupted her, which Magnus was quite thankful for. If he hadn't stopped this, Magnus would have to keep answering Maren's “what questions” for much longer. Once upon a time, even Valezar himself had to endure this. “And we need to find that amulet of yours, Magnus,” he added, suddenly sounding rather serious.

“
But why?” interjected Maren, “You implied that it blocked his abilities.”

“
Of course, but there's also a possibility that it was blocking things you'd rather not experience,” Valezar said in a calm voice. “Strange things are happening — first you found the crystal ball that you didn't bother mentioning to me, then the book and now you lost the amulet. All I'm saying is... let's be careful.”

Magnus felt his heart sink even deeper than before he entered Valezar's house. It was enough that he was extremely sensitive to cold, breathed fire uncontrollably and now he could read thoughts without even wanting to read them. What else could he expect?

“I have to get it back,” Magnus said frantically. “What if it's in wrong hands? What if someone breaks it?”

Seeing Magnus, who had been panicking for more than an hour over his lost amulet, Maren's temper started getting the better of her.

“I understand you are afraid of what might happen, but could you finally stop acting like it's the most precious thing in the world?” she said tartly. Would he care about her like that if she got stolen too?

“
No, it's not like that, really! I do care about you –” Magnus shrieked suddenly. When he realised he let out something he shouldn't have said aloud, it was already too late.

“
You're reading my thoughts without permission?!” Maren squealed, shooting him a rather fierce gaze. “No way! I won't allow this! We're leaving right now! Let's find that amulet already!” she commanded and straining her thin arms, she pushed the entrance door open. To show that she was dead serious, she disappeared outside at once.

Valezar looked at the terrified Magnus.

“Welcome to my world,” he said, smiling faintly.

Magnus didn't wait any longer
— he stuffed his Thought Booster and the black tome into his backpack and at the speed of lightning, he rushed outside. He even forgot to say farewell.