Arcane (The Arinthian Line Book 1) (17 page)

Augum shivered in a bitter wind and drew his burgundy robes closer. Mrs. Stone’s robe rippled but she seemed impervious to the cold. They strolled in silence for a little while.

“So now that my father and his Legion took power, what do we do?”

“It is imperative we keep you and the scion away from him. In the meantime, you need to train very hard at your craft. You must be able to defend yourself.”

“What will happen to Bridget and Leera?” He suddenly realized they will probably want to live with relatives. His heart dropped at the thought. Now that he knew friendship, he felt he could not bear to let it go.

“That is for them to decide.”

He did not want to push it, but he had to know. “Would you train them if they wanted to stay here with us?”

Mrs. Stone raised a silver brow. “We shall see,” and she smiled, a rare gift that almost made him want to call her Nana.

They walked for a short while longer around the yard, Augum noting the ruined outline of stone divisions. Perhaps, a long time ago, this used to be a garden, or even a training yard. Finally, they climbed over the pile of rubble and ventured inside, where he paused.

“Mrs. Stone—?”

She turned at the arched doors leading to the foyer. “Yes, child?”

“Do
you
think my father is the strongest the family has ever produced?”

She watched him a moment. “One of your father’s weaknesses is his great arrogance.”

“Do you think I will ever be stronger than him?”

She released a spirited laugh that came from deep within, something that sounded strange coming from her, almost as if she had not practiced it in years. “You will if you want to be, Augum. The real question is—will you need to be?”

And with that, she left him standing in the vestibule, a puzzled expression on his face.

Bridget and Leera’s Choice

When Augum and Mrs. Stone arrived back in the room, the girls were sitting quietly by the fire. Their eyes were red when they looked up. Augum tactfully averted his gaze.

“Come, it is time for breakfast,” Mrs. Stone said. “Augum, grab the provisions, then everyone follow me.”

She led them around the central staircase and down a hallway past a series of bedrooms, finally turning left through a pair of carved oaken doors. They entered a large rectangular room, in the center of which stood an enormous trestle dining table with over twenty high-backed chairs settled neatly underneath. A gilded throne chair sat on the far end carved with lion heads, a queen’s chair on the near end. On the right-hand wall was a long row of arched stained-glass windows depicting a great battle—one side illustrated a dark warlock leading powerful-looking armored lions standing on hind legs; the other portrayed a warlock champion surrounded by light and leading a bunch of armed peasants. A pair of massive gilt-accented marble fireplaces sat embedded into the left wall. Thankfully, wood remained in both. Mrs. Stone lit them with a flick of a finger, filling the room with the aroma of old cedar.

Augum strolled to the far end, hopping on the throne. The letter “A” was carved into the backrest. He swept some dust off the table, revealing intricate but shallow carvings.

“This is the grand dining room where the king and queen would have their meals.” Mrs. Stone took a seat in the queen’s chair, its arms and back carved with an evergreen forest. Bridget and Leera sat to her right and smiled weakly before dropping their eyes. Augum felt rather odd sitting so far away so decided to join them on their end, though he looked back at the throne longingly. When he turned to face the group, he noticed Mrs. Stone had been watching him.

“What do we have for breakfast, Augum?” she asked after he pulled up a chair to her left, across from Bridget and Leera.

He unceremoniously upended the rucksack onto the table. Stoppered jars of spices and roots rolled out, along with dry meat, limp carrots and stale journey bread. Their briefly quizzical expressions regarding the jars told him he probably should have thought his food selection through a little more.

“Now, as for plates and silverware—” Mrs. Stone pointed at each of their place settings, frowning in concentration. A full complement of simple but functional china and cutlery appeared in front of everyone, a sizzle sounding after each item popped into existence. Augum had never seen anything like it; did not even think it possible—arcane or not. He gawked at Mrs. Stone, mouth slack. Even Bridget and Leera forgot their sadness, staring at the objects with amazed looks.

“That spell,” Mrs. Stone said, reaching for the bread, “you will master with your 13th degree. The items are temporary of course. Oh for mercy’s sake, stop gaping and eat.” She tore the bread, passing pieces around.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Augum raised his nose and daintily poured the waterskin for the girls. “There you are, my ladies,” he said in a snobbish tone.

The effort only drew half-hearted smiles, but even that did not last, as midway through the meal Bridget broke down and cried into her hands. Leera rubbed her back, sniffing. Mrs. Stone stopped eating and gave Bridget’s hand a pat.

Bridget suddenly stood up, fork clanging on her plate, hands twisting the folds of her emerald cloak. She looked a mess—long cinnamon hair in tangles, robe torn and bloody. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I would like to say …” she began in a choking voice, “that we are grateful that you saved our lives, Mrs. Stone.” She gave Leera a sidelong glance.

Leera stood, smiling bitter-sweetly at her friend, freckles blurred by tears. “Yes, thank you, Mrs. Stone.”

Mrs. Stone also stood, smoothing her robe. “Girls, please sit, if you will. I have something to say on the matter.”

Bridget and Leera exchanged glances before sitting down, sniffing. Augum stared into his lap, feeling for them, missing them already. He knew they would want to live with relatives, and after what happened, who could blame them?

The fire crackled and sputtered as Mrs. Stone spoke.

“Bridget, Leera—I am so very sorry that I could not save your families or your friends. I do not deserve your thanks; I can only beg your forgiveness. I failed. It was my grandson that murdered those people.” Her voice was distant, face ancient and frail as an autumn leaf.

Bridget shook her head. “Oh, no, Mrs. Stone, please—”

“—we were there, Mrs. Stone,” Leera said. “We know you did your best—”

“That may be so, but I trained and reared my grandson.
I
am at fault.”

Bridget shot up out of her chair. “No! We won’t let you take their deaths on your shoulders, Mrs. Stone. You saved our lives. You saved Augum. You saved Leland and his parents. I know that if you could have, you would have saved everyone.”

Leera also stood, cheeks wet, nodding along. Mrs. Stone scrutinized them both before sighing and sitting back down. “You three have witnessed an awful thing, a thing no one should witness. Later today we shall hold a memorial ceremony to honor the departed.”

She motioned for them to sit but the girls remained standing. Bridget gave Leera a hesitant look. “Mrs. Stone—”

“We beg you, Mrs. Stone—” Leera interjected, eyes full of fresh tears, “please don’t send us away—!”

Augum froze. What was going on? Did they mean they wanted to stay? His head whipped to Mrs. Stone, but her eyes were only for the girls. She furrowed her brow.

“Mmm … have you thought this through? Are you absolutely certain?”

Both girls nodded.

“Yes, Mrs. Stone, we have,” Bridget said. “We talked about it a lot this morning.”

“We want to stay here with you,” Leera said. “We would like …” and she looked to Bridget for help.

“—we would like you to train us,” Bridget finished.

Mrs. Stone grimaced; Augum’s stomach tightened in a knot. Why won’t she say yes? Please let her say yes—!

“I daresay you only had a morning to think about this. Do you not want more time perhaps? Maybe you would like to stay with relatives?”

“No—!” Leera’s cheeks colored, maybe from the realization she had yelled the word.

Bridget’s chin rose. “We don’t need more time on this, Mrs. Stone. We’d like you to train us, and—” she looked at Augum, whose heart quickened, “—and we’d like to help Augum in the dark days ahead.”

Augum stood up, chest buzzing. They really
were
his friends! Tears of joy and sorrow rolled down his cheeks, but for once, he did not care. The girls gave him bittersweet smiles.

Mrs. Stone studied them before standing and pacing to the fire, clasping her hands behind her back. “Mmm …”

Augum could barely stand still. Was she mad? What was there to think about? He shared an apprehensive look with the girls. Was this goodbye? Would she send them away immediately?

Mrs. Stone stopped pacing, rested a hand on a gilt lion and sighed. “Then let it be so …”

Augum, Bridget and Leera cried out in joy, hugging each other, before running to Mrs. Stone. She patted them on the back awkwardly. “That is quite enough now, let us not get too excited …”

The First Quest

“So will the castle be our home now?” Leera asked, taking a bite of journey-bread.

Mrs. Stone leaned back in the queen’s chair. “For the present, yes, although I hardly find it ideal.

Augum rubbed his hands together, thinking treasure hunting would be a great distraction for everyone.

Leera glanced about. “Can’t wait to explore this place.”

Mrs. Stone straightened. “I have something to say on that matter.”

The trio stopped eating and tensed.

“I am now your guardian and mentor and you are my apprentices. At times you may find me strict, but I also believe in freedom of action and learning through one’s mistakes. Therefore, you have my permission to explore the castle and its grounds, but no farther than the ruined perimeter walls.”

The trio exchanged exuberant looks. If it were not for Mrs. Stone’s serious gaze, Augum was sure they would have dashed out of there that moment.

She held up a stern finger. “However—” and glanced at each of them in turn, “you will always be ready in time for lessons, you will not falter in taking time for study, and you will obey me as your guardian and mentor. Lastly, you shall
always
be careful inside the castle and out. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Mr. Stone,” they chorused.

“Caution inside and out,” she repeated.

Augum knew she was incredibly serious and did not think he would ever dare disobey. Bridget and Leera apparently thought along the same lines, nodding vigorously.

“Now,” Mrs. Stone continued, tone shifting to one of politeness, “we begin your training tomorrow. In the meantime, until this evening’s memorial ceremony, I charge you all with a small quest—heating the castle.”

Augum almost groaned, remembering how much effort it took just to get four armfuls of wood up Mt. Barrow. How were they going to heat an entire castle?

A corner of Mrs. Stone’s mouth curved upwards. “Do you really believe simple fire is all that warms this ancient castle—?”

He thought about this. “You mean we don’t have to cut firewood for every room? It could be warmed arcanely?”

Mrs. Stone only stared back, a mysterious smile on her face that definitely signaled he was correct.

Bridget glanced to the ornate hearths. “But … how?”

Mrs. Stone leaned forward as if telling a ghost story. “This is no ordinary castle. It was built a very long time ago with powerful sorcery. It has many secrets and powers, each of which has a key.”

Leera crinkled her nose. “You mean … like an ordinary iron key?”

Mrs. Stone steepled her fingers. “No, not an ordinary key. A spoken key—a
runeword
. Some runewords are written on walls, some on ancient scrolls, some are handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, and some are simply lost to time, their powers never to awaken again. Also, only the king and queen, the Master of House, or a high-ranking member of the royal family can activate certain runewords. The rest, like some of the more common runewords, could be activated by even the lowliest servant.”

She let the idea sink in before continuing. “The castle needs to be heated …” She leaned back, raising an eyebrow. “Think you can find the runeword?”

The trio began talking all at once, standing and making their way to the doors, before suddenly remembering themselves and turning to face Mrs. Stone.

Augum cleared his throat. “Um, sorry, Mrs. Stone, but may we be excused?”

“You may.” Her brows corrugated sharply. “But now that I am your guardian and mentor, I expect only the best manners. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Mrs. Stone,” they sang in unison.

She gave a curt nod. “Good. Find that runeword.”

Augum, Bridget and Leera squeezed through the doors then made a giddy run for it, forgetting the tragedy of the night before and blaming each other for incurring Mrs. Stone’s wrath. It was a moment Augum would remember for the rest of his life—the first quest together in the castle—how marvelous!

“So where should we begin?” he asked when they reached the stairs, panting.

Leera’s face contorted in thought. “Well, if the castle needs heating, we need to find where you’d turn on the heat, like in the kitchen—”

“Exactly,” Bridget said, eyes still red from crying, “or the servants’ quarters.”

“Or the cellar,” he said, looking at them gravely. They fell silent; nobody wanted to venture down there even
with
Mrs. Stone’s permission.

“Think this place is haunted?” he asked in a whisper, glancing about.

Leera smirked. “Aren’t all castles haunted?”

“Oh, stop it, you two!” Bridget said. “You’re going to make this impossible,” though her eyes darted about. The castle suddenly seemed to darken as if a presence had entered. Goose bumps rose on Augum’s arms. The trio stood still, listening intently, daring something to happen.

Bridget frowned. “Let’s just concentrate on the task at hand.”

“Agreed,” Augum and Leera said in unison.

Leera raised a finger. “But let’s stick together.”

“Agreed,” Bridget and Augum chorused, and they laughed at their silliness.

Bridget turned to the steps. “All right. Servants’ quarters—let’s start there.”