Zak Turner - A Twist In Time (6 page)

Our world stands on the brink, ready to plunge into the night, yet there is hope, there is still a glimmer of light.  You face danger, darkness seeks to overwhelm you, light will all but go out. But where one cannot succeed, two will withstand, and three will overcome. 

Zachary Ryan, do not fear the future.  Many are they who will assist you, though at times all will seem bleak and hopeless.  Do not give up, for yours it is to subdue, to bind, and to release, to give purpose and direction.

Your heart is true, your will is strong, your sense of duty is clear, and therefore your success is assured. 

Your house is even now undecided, for you have abilities prized by all.  Yet deep within there is a yearning, a need to be with your Soul Mate, the one who will carry you when you are too weak to carry on.

Moncero, therefore, will be your home, for they will protect and encourage you as no other group can.

Fare well in all your life’s endeavours, Zachary Ryan.

Zak was standing holding onto the Orb as though his life depended on it, his shocked and pale face made more ghostly still by the brilliant white light that now blazed out from it, brighter even than during Tallion’s selection!  He was frozen to the spot, his eyes closed, almost willing it all to be a dream, and yet fully aware that it wasn’t.  All his fears, all his worries, about his power, his name, his destiny, it had all been confirmed. 

His life would be no ordinary life, but a life of rising from one insurmountable challenge to the next, of overcoming impossible odds, of visiting the brink of failure and standing firm as everything crumbled about him, and then trusting fate when the end seemed inevitable.  A future beckoned which he was certain he couldn’t fulfil!

For as long as he held the Orb, the brilliant white light blazed out of it, and it filled his head with many glimpses of the future.  Nearly a minute passed after it had finished speaking before the visions faded and he became aware of himself, and aware that he was still standing in the middle of the Banqueting Hall at Mhonarr Castle.  He had no idea how long he’d been there.  Time had ceased to exist while he communed with the Orb, and neither did he give it any thought, but in all nearly four minutes had passed since he first touched it, which was something of a record!

There was total silence in the hall when he finally opened his eyes and let go of the Orb, the blinding white light fading slowly away.  No-one had any doubt that something extraordinary and unique had just happened to Zak Turner, although only his soul mate would ever know the words which had been spoken.

The Moncero prefect was standing waiting for him, and Zak swallowed and turned towards him, slowly climbing down the steps from the platform.  With every eye in the room fixed upon him, the prefect quickly led him back to their table.  The sounds of the school around him started to register in his ears, and a round of applause rippled round the room, started by the Monceros.  Then he was safe, sitting between Tallion and the prefect, still trembling from the prophecy about his future.

Zak, are you okay?  I mean really okay.  You look terribly pale.

I’m okay Tallion, but I don’t think I can fulfil that prophecy, I’m just Zak Turner, an eleven-year-old schoolboy, what can one boy do by himself…

So once were all great men Zak, besides, you’re not by yourself, you have me with you!  One hundred percent of me, and I’ll be with you always.  I promise I
will
carry you when you’re too weak to carry on …

I don’t want to be great Tallion.  I want to do my part, yes, but great?  A leader?  That’s not my role!  That’s your role in life!

It’s
our
role Zak, together.  Both of those prophecies were for the single person that is both of us.

Zak Turner sighed and paused, his head down.  Then slowly he nodded, and closed his eyes.  He so wanted to be alone with Tallion, to take his hands, to feel safe like a small child with an older brother.  While he was feeling so lost, he suddenly felt a familiar hand take hold of his, and he could barely hold back the emotion that it unlocked.

* * *

The rest of the selection ceremony, the speech by the headmaster, and the fabulous Welcome Banquet, all passed Zak by.  He heard it, and saw it, and ate it, but very little registered properly in his mind because the words of the prophecy kept ringing through his thoughts.

…plunge into the night… darkness will seek to overwhelm you… at times all will seem bleak and hopeless… do not give up… your heart is true… where one cannot succeed…

What did it all mean?  His mind was racing and then freezing.  He recalled Barty’s description of the battle he’d faced earlier in the year, and Zak knew that he’d end up in the same situation, maybe several times.  Would
he
be able to survive?  Would
he
be able to sense magic, to build spells on the fly, to anticipate the next blow before it fell?  He very much doubted it…

Suddenly a very welcome voice entered his swirling thoughts.

Yet deep within there is a yearning, a need to be with your soul mate, the one who will carry you when you’re too weak to carry on...

Zak smiled and turned to Tallion who was sitting quietly next to him watching his face.  Tallion smiled too as their eyes locked together.

“Thanks, Soul Mate!” he murmured, too quietly for anyone else to hear above the hubbub of the banquet.

“My pleasure,” grinned back the next Lord Middleham.  “I need to understand what a soul mate is though, that sounds a bit more serious than a simple magical bond!”

Another frown creased Zak’s brow for a moment, then he relaxed.  He didn’t care what it meant!  Whatever it was, it proved that he and Tallion were
never
going to be separated, ever!  The relief of
that
thought finally brought some calm to his churning mind.

* * *

Sir Philip left the infirmary after Nurse Salvae healed Zak and Tallion but before the headmaster revived them.  He was keen to make his young men stand on their own two feet, and not always rely on a parent being close at hand.  He walked through the mainly deserted entrance way and climbed the intertwining spiral stairs up to the portal room. 

His intention had been to go back to London to the Wizard Council, for there were many things to be discussed and decided, and he still didn’t have a full picture of what had happened.  As he got to the top of the stairs however, he found himself in front of the Kirkstall portal having subconsciously chosen his ‘normal’ staircase to climb.  It was fully restored and operational again, looking as if nothing had happened.  The headmaster had of course used it to return to school after he’d reinstated it.

Sir Philip decided to go back to Lofthouse and explain everything that had happened to Bella.  There were sure to be rumours circulating already because the portals had all been temporarily closed, and several parties of Kirkstall students had been diverted via the Raby, Hawkstone, and Spalding portals.

He arrived in the Lofthouse Castle portal room to find his wife waiting for him, and he smiled as he wrapped her in a hug.

“I knew you were coming.  I sensed it, together with your fear, relief, and anger, several times during the afternoon.”

“It’s been a very bad day Bella.  What have you heard so far and I’ll fill in the gaps.”

“There has been talk of an attack on the Kirkstall portal as students were going through it, and also that a student has died, and others who weren’t students.  There has also been a special edition of the paper with details of an attack on the Wizard Council in London.”

Sir Philip sighed and nodded. 

“None of that’s wrong.  Did the paper mention who was attacked, or did any of the talk mention names?”

“No love, it was all generalities.”

Sir Philip sighed again, this time with a little relief, and ran through the events that had befallen him at the Wizard Council, followed by what had happened to Tallion and Zak, and how it seemed that Tallion had survived a direct hit by a Libra Mortis curse as he rushed through the Kirkstall portal. 

Bella, not usually given to much open emotion, couldn’t hide her own fear and relief, and ended up with tears in her eyes as she realised just how close she’d come to losing both her husband and eldest son that day. 

Sir Philip looked grave as he finished.

“It was an attack on
us
love, on our family.  An attack designed to send a message…”

Lady Bella blanched.  She’d feared this day would come, and now it had finally arrived. 

“Is it safe to leave them at the school, Philip?”

“For one night, yes.  I’m sure no-one can get into Mhonarr Castle to attack them, and certainly not into Moncero Tower.  However, while the Malchus children are in the school, there will always be a threat.  I’ll be very surprised if they take action themselves though, Malchus is very careful to make sure that he is never directly linked to any atrocity, and I’m sure that he’s instructed his children to behave likewise.”

“What about Bjarne and Freya here at primary school, they must also be in danger now surely?”

“Yes, and don’t forget Sophie Turner.  The danger has multiplied alarmingly.  Not just for our family, but for all those who oppose Malchus and his Black Coven.”

“Black Coven?  You’ve never mentioned that before Philip, is that what Malchus followers call themselves?”

“It would seem so.  We’ve been aware of the name for some months now, but were trying to keep it quiet.  It’s the sort of name that will generate fear amongst witches and wizards.  When people link it to Malchus, it will inevitably become associated with the Black Court of Eoghan in sixth century Ireland.”

Sir Philip saw a slightly puzzled look in his wife’s eyes, and she shook her head when he asked if she recalled the history of Ireland from school.

“Well, it was only lightly covered in my history lessons here at Lofthouse, but when Túathal Máelgarb was king of Ireland, legend has it that his chief courtier was supposed to have been the dark wizard, Eoghan.” 

“Eoghan used his powers to enchant the king, and so enjoyed royal patronage until the king’s death, which covered his heinous bloodthirsty crimes.  It is said that more people went missing during Túathal Máelgarb’s reign than during any other decade, and that most of them were sacrificed in pagan rituals by Eoghan himself in the castle dungeons.”

“Antares Malchus, like his fathers before him, delights to trace his family line back to Eoghan, and the emergence of the Black Coven earlier this year seems to be a symbolic gesture towards that evil past.  My suspicion is that it will never be officially acknowledged, but that the spectre of the Coven will start to appear as the backdrop of wizarding life, a thing to be feared but not understood.”

Bella was studying her husband’s face as he looked into her grey-green eyes.  Both of them detected fear in each other.

“It’s getting close now, isn’t Philip?”

“Closer, certainly, but not yet at the door.  This generation of wizards though will see either confrontation, or capitulation to darkness.”

“It’s why Zak’s here isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“And Tallion?”

“Yes, he must join him, he already
has
joined him.”

“And who else?  They are powerful wizards Philip, but so is Malchus.”

“I don’t know who else.  Maybe another powerful young wizard will be revealed?”

“It needs three.  A threefold rope cannot be broken, a trinity of wizards is all that can stand against him.”

“I know.”

“We must look after them Philip, until they’re ready, we must guard them and protect them.”

“With our very lives Bella, with our very lives…  So much is at stake…”

Sir Philip and his wife said no more because there was no more to say.  After a few seconds they shared a hug, and reaffirmed their support for each other.  They needed to join their other two children for dinner, but both adults were aware their world had lurched dramatically towards darkness during the afternoon.  The coming days would see rumour rife as the magical folk in the country tried to make sense of what had happened.

4.  The Students Of Light

David Porteous, the prefect who welcomed Zak and Tallion at the selection ceremony, led the two boys, together with sixteen other new ‘students of light’, through the school to Moncero tower.

There was no password to get in, and the door didn’t open, you just walked through it, just like the massive gates at Lofthouse Castle.  All access around the school was controlled magically by the castle itself and once the Orb, which was linked to the castle’s magic, placed you in a house, the castle automatically let you see what you needed to see, and go everywhere you needed to go.

“Moncero is a little bit smaller than the other houses,” David was explaining, “more exclusive we like to think.  However, what we don’t have in numbers, we certainly have in terms of brains.  Tonight’s the only night that none of us will have any homework, so we always just enjoy getting back together again after the holidays.  It’s a good chance for you to meet everyone.  We’re a family, brothers and sisters, and we look out for each other, and help each other.”

The Moncero girl prefect, Sasha Napier, then spoke for the first time, her rich Scottish accent catching them by surprise. 

“First though, we’ll show you up to your dorms and give you a few house rules, and we might as well start with the dorm rules.  Boys and girls are not allowed in each other’s dorms or bathrooms, but all other areas of the tower are common.  The boys dorms are all up those stairs on the right of the back fireplace,” she said pointing to the far side of the common room, “and the girls dorms are up these stairs here by the front fireplace.  In Moncero, there are usually four students to a dorm, so for the girls it’s quite easy, as there are eight of you.  The boys will have two threes and a four.  We’ve put existing friends together, although we’ve been told that most of you only just met for the first time this afternoon.”

“Okay gents, if you’ll follow me,” said David.  “You’re lucky this year as your rooms are right at the top.  You keep the same dorm room right through school until the end of your sixth year, then, in Moncero, you get a single room for your seventh year to give you peace and quiet to study on your own.  So try to settle in quickly, and make it feel like home.  You’re going to be living here for six years!” 

The new first years all trooped off up the stairs behind David, who showed them a couple of short cuts to get to the top without climbing the whole way!

I hope we’re in the four person dorm Tallion, if we’re in a three person dorm, the other person is going to feel very lonely when we go home tomorrow!

It’s a pity they didn’t do two fours and a two, with us as the two.  Then the rest of them would have been all together.

Except that we’d feel rather left out when we come for the holidays…

True.  Well, let’s see what happens.

When the little group reached the top landing of the tower, Zak and Tallion both recognised it from their visit in the summer, and both of them immediately remembered the place where the invisible portal was to get into the upper room.

We need to find out what that incantation is Zak; I want to be able to get into that room again!

Me too, but I’ve no idea where to start looking.

I think Lofthouse Castle library would probably be quite a good place to start.  I’m sure any books in Mhonarr library with the incantation will have been hidden away!

“Okay, each year group has its own floor in the tower, so this is effectively your space.  There are four rooms on each floor, so that leaves a spare one for you guys.  It’s been set up as a small study-come-common room for you so that you have somewhere quiet to do your homework.  It sometimes gets a bit crowded in the other study rooms downstairs, but my suggestion is that you spend as much time as possible with the rest of the house.  Don’t hide away up here as it’s very counterproductive.”

“Right, Niall, Ross, Ganvard, you three are sharing this room.  It’s my old dorm, which I left at the end of last year.  Your trunks are already here so time to get everything transferred to your cupboards.  Ben, Agenor and Meissa, you’re in here, as are your trunks.  Alfie and Harry, you two already know each other so we’ve kept you together, and the same with Tallion and Zak.  You four are in here.  Get yourselves squared away, and then come down to the common room in about thirty minutes where you’ll get chance to say hi to everyone.”

The ten boys all nodded and moved into their rooms as David turned and headed back through the shortcut which would take him to his own floor.

There was about ten seconds of awkward silence as the four boys located their trunks and went over to their own beds.  Then, before he even opened his trunk Alfie looked across at Tallion and walked towards him with his hand outstretched.

“Hi Tallion.  Alfie Harwood, third son, and only
magical
son, of Sir Jackson Harwood of Rotherfield.”

Tallion grinned and shook Alfie’s hand as he replied.

“Hi Alfie.  Tallion Middleham, eldest son of Sir Philip Middleham, eighteenth Baronet Middleham of Netherdale.”

It was clear that Tallion had trumped Alfie’s attempt at being the senior aristocrat, but Alfie just grinned as he nodded his head at his roommate.  Zak had walked over next to Tallion as the two aristocrats exchanged greetings, and now stuck out his hand to introduce himself.

“Hi Alfie.  Zak Turner, eldest son of John Turner of Lower Nettleton, but he doesn’t have a title!”

As always when people shook hands with Zak, especially young people, Alfie fell headlong into Zak’s amethyst eyes, and found himself racing through a selection of memories about his family and home.  After a few seconds, Zak realised what was happening and turned away, breaking the accidental mind reading.  Alfie found himself dizzily back in the dorm, and was only still standing because Zak was firmly holding onto his hand.

“Hi Zak, pleased to meet you,” he said in a slightly dazed sounding voice, “and I’m glad you don’t have a title, they’re a bit annoying really!”

After he took a couple of deep breaths, Alfie turned to the other boy and beckoned him over.

“Come on Harry, I told you not everyone would be as stuffy as me!”

Harry walked over, rather shyly it seemed, and stuck out his hand to Tallion.

“Hi Tallion.  Harry Beech, only son of Thomas Beech of Shepherds Green.” 

He then shook Zak’s hand too and even though Zak tried not to do it, he couldn’t stop himself looking into Harry’s eyes because they were a rather startling silver grey!  The result was inevitable, and he got a quick look into Harry’s mind, which was occupied with thoughts of the school, and the new experiences he’d been through that day.

Alfie was watching, and saw Zak turn away from Harry before his friend shook his head and re-joined them in the room, obviously having experienced the same dizziness that he had.  He didn’t say anything, but suspected that Zak could probably read minds or something!

Zak made sure Harry was okay, and then broke the handshake and grinned at him as he caught his breath.

“So,” said Alfie confidently, in his rather posh Home Counties accent, “how come you two already know each other?”

Zak glanced at Tallion before he answered.

“We live about two miles away from each other in Netherdale in Yorkshire, and we’ve also spent the last seven years going to the same primary school in the village.  We only became really
close
friends in May though, after I sort of discovered by accident that Tallion was a wizard.”

“Woh!  That’s spookily similar to us!  Are you a first generation wizard then like me?  Harry’s family are all magical.  His sister’s in fourth year here.  He had to keep it secret of course, but eventually he realised that I was a wizard when he came round to our house for the village fete in May, and saw strange things happening.”

“My parents weren’t too happy at first, but they realised that there was nothing they could do about it.  I was
supposed
to be going off to some private boarding school somewhere but I ended up here instead.”

It was very clear that Alfie was one of those children who simply never felt out of place or nervous.  He wasn’t exactly pushy, and certainly wasn’t unpleasant, but he just had an air of being comfortable. 
No wonder he’s in Moncero,
thought both Zak and Tallion to each other as they listened to him.

Harry seemed quite happy playing second fiddle to his friend too, and it certainly gave him chance to keep out of the limelight!  It was a bit odd that someone who seemed so shy on the surface had ended up in Moncero though, but no doubt the reason would become clear eventually.

The boys carried on chatting and swapping information as they unpacked, and Zak and Tallion both started to feel sorry that they were leaving the following day.  Life here would definitely have been good fun! 

“Zak,” asked Harry, his voice full of curiosity, “umm, I don’t want to be nosey, but what happened when the Orb was speaking to you?  You stood there with your hands on it for ages!”

Zak was caught off-guard, and rapidly cast about for something to say without telling either a lie or the truth.

“Umm, well, I lost track of time a bit, but it only made up its mind where to put me right at the end.”

“Was it talking to you all the time?!  I mean, it spoke to me all the time, but I was done in less than a minute.”

“Yeah, I think so, although it seemed to speak quite slowly.  Err, it was sort of telling me what I would have to do in my life.”

Harry nodded, “Yeah, that’s the sort of thing it said to me too.  I was quite surprised about what it expected me to do with my life!”

The boys had all stopped what they were doing and were looking at each other, but neither Harry nor Zak volunteered any more information, both feeling like it was a private thing.  Soon the unpacking restarted, and a few minutes later they were done.

I think we need to tell them we’re not staying Tallion, it doesn’t seem fair to just vanish tomorrow.

I agree, but we’ll tell them tomorrow, when we’ve got to know them a bit better.

Okay.  Can you hear their thoughts?  I can, but not clearly enough to follow them.  I don’t like it very much; it feels like I’m eavesdropping on them.

I can’t really hear anything Zak, our bond isn’t that close yet, but I’m sure I will soon if it’s that clear to you.

* * *

The evening in Moncero tower passed quickly, and about nine thirty, a couple of scrolls flew out of the common room fireplace and presented themselves to Zak and Tallion!

Zak’s read:

Please come to the infirmary before you turn in for the night so that I can check you over and give you a potion to allow you to recover properly while you sleep.

Nurse Salvae

The two boys looked at each other in surprise.

“We might as well go straight away, Zak.  My back’s aching and itchy, and I’m so tired that I was thinking about going to bed anyway!”

“Me too.  How do we find the infirmary?”

“Er, it’s close to the main entrance, so I guess we just go back there and we’ll find it.  We best tell someone we’re going though.”

“David, he’s the prefect.”

Zak and Tallion excused themselves from the other first years, and hunted around the common room for David, finally finding him in a corner hidden behind a screen with a couple of friends discussing the strange happenings of the day.  It was only as they came round the corner that both eleven-year-olds spotted a familiar face.  Sam, the seventh year who’d accompanied them to Kirkstall Abbey, was a Moncero too!

“Hi Zak, hi Tallion.  I’m Sam, are you two okay?”

“Hi Sam, yes, apart from being very tired,” replied Zak.

“I’m not surprised, although I expect Nurse Salvae gave you some restorative potion earlier?  I was just explaining to David and Arcturus here what happened at Kirkstall…”

“I didn’t realise you were in Moncero Sam.  I’m glad you are though!  Umm, you need to keep it quiet what happened today okay, and how we all survived.  It would be bad for us if word gets around…”

“Don’t worry, we realise that, and only the three of us will ever know.  You need to understand that there are different groups of students in this castle who have allied themselves to certain, ‘causes’, shall we say.  We three are actively opposed to Antares Malchus and his plans, and it’s a rather dangerous stand to take.  His son Sargas has made life very difficult for many students during his time here at Mhonarr, and no doubt Shaul will do the same, now that he’s here too.”

There was a pause while the five students looked at each other carefully.

“We’re going to need to look out for each other this year boys,” said David.  “The rumours going round sound like Sargas might be about to step up his campaign of terror in an effort to ‘persuade’ students to support
him,
rather than those of us who are on the side of light.”

Zak and Tallion exchanged a glance.

Zak, I think we can trust them.  We need to tell them that we’re not going to be here for most of the time.