The Horn of Moran - Forman Mark L. Страница 15

Otho’s face grew bright red, and for a moment it seemed that he didn’t know what to say, but he soon found his voice once more.

“You—you wouldn’t dare,” said Otho nervously. “I’m the heir of Osgood Longtree, magistrate of the city.”

“And I’m a wizard who dislikes pompous bullies,” Alex spat back at him. “And I don’t really care who your father is. I think it’s time for you to be taught a lesson.”

“You’re no wizard,” answered Otho, but his tone was uncertain and laced with fear. “You don’t even have a staff.”

Alex felt magic building up inside of him as his emotions ran wild. A strange ringing sound filled his ears and mind, blinding him to everything but Otho and his words. He would prove who and what he was and silence this overstuffed bully once and for all.

Control your emotions, boy,a commanding voice echoed inside Alex’s head.

For no more than a second Alex lost track of what was happening. The anger drained out of him as quickly as it had come, and when he blinked, he saw Otho and his friends running up the road away from him. The feeling that someone was watching washed over Alex like a wave and then vanished like the wind.

“Are you all right, Michael?” Alex asked after several silent moments.

“Ye—yes,” Michael stuttered.

“Well, you’d better come along with us,” said Alex. “We’re just going home to see what there is for a midday meal.”

Michael moved slowly, and then with a few hurried words about making sure lunch was ready, he ran ahead of Alex and Halfdan.

Alex watched him go, worried that he might have scared him.

“Clever bit of magic that,” Halfdan commented as the two of them started off once more.

“What?”

“The white flames that sprang up around you as you spoke—very impressive. No heat, no damage, but very bright and surprising nonetheless.”

“I . . . I didn’t . . .” Alex stammered and then stopped, shaken by what Halfdan had said. He had almost lost control of his emotions, and if he had, he wasn’t sure what would have happened.

“I’d guess that Otho and his friends will stay well clear of you from now on,” Halfdan went on. “They ran away like a dragon was chasing them!”

Chapter Five

Two Weddings

For the rest of the day Michael continued to stare at Alex. Whenever Alex looked at him, however, Michael would look away. Alex wondered what he could do to take away the boy’s fear.

Alex had other things to worry about, too. He’d almost lost control of his emotions and let loose his magic. Some of his magic had slipped away before the strange voice inside his head had stopped him. The voice, however, had also come with the feeling of being watched. Something was going on—something important—but Alex had no idea what it could be.

It was late afternoon before Skeld and Tayo appeared, ready to lead the company to the feast. Alex followed his friends into the street, trying to be cheerful and not worry about what had happened.

“Michael told me about your run-in with Otho,” Andy commented, breaking Alex’s train of thought. “Did you really threaten to turn him into an ox?”

“I did,” said Alex. “And I’m sure he believed I was about to do it too.”

“But you wouldn’t really do it, would you?” Andy asked, sounding slightly concerned.

“Well, it would help if I knew how,” Alex admitted. “After all, I’m only a wizard in training, but Otho doesn’t know that.”

“Wizard in training or not, I reckon you could have done it if you really wanted to,” Halfdan said from Alex’s other side.

“As long as Otho believes that I was going to . . .”

“I wish I’d seen the look on his face,” said Andy. “I think you’re the first one to ever stand up to him.”

“I think Michael might be a little scared of me. You know, after what happened this afternoon,” Alex commented.

“Oh, no,” said Andy. “I think you’re his new hero.”

* * *

As soon as the company reached the feasting hall, Skeld and Tayo made the introductions. Alex met Lilly and Indigo, his friend’s future wives, as well as a horde of relatives he was sure he wouldn’t remember. There was one person, however, that caught his attention. Cara, Lilly and Indigo’s mother, had a soft golden light around her, a light that only Alex could see.

Alex didn’t have time to think about this new mystery, though, because as soon as the last introduction was made, the feast started. Even with all the distractions, Alex’s thoughts kept going back to earlier that day. He tried to pay attention to the conversations around him, and nod or comment at the correct times, but questions continued to pop into his mind. Who or what was watching him? Where had the voice in his head come from? And why had it come? Why couldn’t he see what was happening around him?

“You seem troubled,” a soft voice said from Alex’s left.

Turning, Alex saw Cara standing next to him.

“Yes,” Cara said, seeing the look on Alex’s face. “I have magic. Have you not seen a person’s magic before?”

“No, I haven’t,” Alex answered. “I’m fairly new to magic, and I was told by my teacher that it would take some time before I would be able to see magic in other people, or at least see it clearly.”

“I remember the first time I saw the magic of another person,” said Cara. “Seeing what others are, what powers they have, is not always an easy thing. You see the light around me—my magic—and you have many questions.”

“Yes, I do,” said Alex. He suddenly remembered Halfdan’s words: “It’s as if you are both bewitched, and I don’t mind saying that it scares me.”Could Cara have used magic on Skeld and Tayo so they would fall in love with her daughters? “And I wonder what you use your magic for.”

“I did not use magic on your friends, if that is what you fear,” Cara said after a moment of silence. “I would not do that.”

“I see no magic in either of your daughters,” Alex said, feeling relived by Cara’s statement.

“Lilly will never have any magic of her own,” Cara said, nodding toward her daughters. “Indigo may have some magic one day—it is hard to tell. The magic of my family does not begin to grow until after the daughter has a child of her own.”

“Then how do you know that Lilly will never have any magic?”

“Because only girls with dark hair receive and pass on the magic. It has always been that way.”

“Always?”

“My family is an old one, and we have kept records,” Cara answered. “In all of our history, only those girls with dark hair have the magic and pass it on. It is part of the legend.”

“Legend? What legend?”

“Of course, forgive me,” Cara said with a smile. “You are from a distant land and are unfamiliar with the legends of Norsland. There is an old legend about a wizard and the Tower of the Moon. From my family line a wizard will be born, the son of an adventurer. There are many details to the story, things that have been added over the years, so I don’t know how much of the legend is true. What I do know is that one day a true wizard will come to take control of the magic that lives in the Tower of the Moon and use it to save his people.”

“What magic lives in the Tower of the Moon?” Alex asked with interest.

“Why, all magic. The tower is the center of magical power for all of Norsland. Without a wizard there to control it, the magic will become weaker and start to fade.”

“Does the story say when the wizard will be born?”

“It would hardly be a legend if it gave such useful and specific details,” Cara sighed. “But I am hopeful that one day the wizard will come.”

Alex’s thoughts slipped away from Cara and the party around him, racing off to a distant tower and an unknown point in time. Somehow he knew there was trouble in Norsland, trouble caused by an unseen evil that wanted to take control and rule all of the land and its people. But to do that, it had to control the magic of the Tower.