Bumblestook: Book 1, The Accidental Wizard (20 page)

“There!” Barra-Hoon boomed, the sudden sound of his voice effectively freezing the action below. With a curved talon, he pointed away from the frozen tableau of Wizards gathered round the empty rock pool, to one of the surrounding boulders. “There! A movement in the shadows. Go back!” he commanded.

The Wizards concentrated (no mean feat in itself, to coordinate the viewpoints of eight individuals!) and the scene below reversed itself in fits and starts.

“Now!” the King of Beasts ordered.

Once again the scene moved forward, all eyes on the shadow-drenched boulder. The eight Wizards gasped, as they clearly saw a shadow move! It swiftly detached itself from the other shadows, as if literally tearing itself away. They watched in disbelief, as it hunched down low and slunk away (in a most un-shadowlike manner) disappearing into the night. They knew that one, or more of them must have seen it (perhaps just out of the corner of an eye) for it to show up in a Playback. At the time, it would have been a very small event, within the chaotic jumble of larger events; seemingly insignificant, but recorded all the same. It said much of their powers of observation. Even during such trying circumstances, they were able to record everything that occurred within their view.

“Halt!” Imperious commanded, freezing the picture. “Erase!”

The eight Wizards sighed audibly and their shoulders slumped, as they were released from conjuring up the past. The picture fragmented and faded, until nothing remained but the hole into the sky. For a long moment, the High Mage gazed silently into that dark pool of night, before looking somberly into the faces of his fellow Wizards.

“It seems we have a problem of a different sort on our hands. The shadow creature is not one of us—neither Wizard, nor Amorphae, nor Hero. It is a twisted form of Spirit Being, a perversion of our own Spirit Guides. As we all know, when The People pass from this material existence, they undergo Transformation and their spirits are free to choose the form in which they return to guide us—if indeed they should wish to do so. It has always been our belief that no attempt should be made to influence them. That is why the secrets of the ceremony are so closely guarded.

Recently, we have found evidence that a heinous crime is being perpetrated upon the Spirits of our people. We believe that someone has found a way to entrap them, force them into a form not of their own choosing and
worse
—enslave them for some dark purpose. I am certain that this shadow-being is one of these lost souls.”

The eight Wizards were aghast. The Transformation was considered sacred. The details were confidential; known only to the Temple Mages who were entrusted with performing the ceremony. The Guardian Spirits themselves were considered an integral part of The People’s society. They were as individual and unique in ability, as they had been in their previous lives. Long ago, Osheanna had been a High Mage whose power over water was legendary. Upon her death, she had undergone Transformation to become the Spirit of the Great Water. The Spirit Guide inhabiting the Book of Ages, had once been a Hero whose personal quest had been to recover and preserve the history of The People. Now, he guided them through use of the written word.

Transformation was the foundation upon which the society of The People was built. The thought of anyone interfering with the process was abhorrent to the Wizards. It went against the very core of their beliefs.

“Who would do such a thing?” Kali blurted out.

“Only a Wizard would have such power,” Rowena pointed out.

“There is only one of our kind so twisted that he would do anything, no matter how reprehensible, to further his own dark purposes,” Bartholeumous growled.

“Malador.” Imperious spoke aloud the name that immediately leapt into everyone’s mind.

With their magical powers and ability to move between dimensions, it wasn’t difficult for The People to live incognito among Human beings. Most of the magical folk strove to live in harmony with Humans, but there were some who viewed the non-magical race as inferior beings, whose sole purpose was to serve them.

Long ago, these malcontents had formed a group; calling themselves The Overlords, as a statement of what they viewed to be their rightful position. They had routinely taken advantage of Humans; manipulating and tricking them, despite laws forbidding misuse of their powers. Although the group was outlawed and forced into hiding, their powers were formidable. Many a Quest was spent thwarting their attempts to overthrow the Triumvirate and enslave mankind. Malador was currently the most powerful Wizard among them and generally considered to be their leader.

Suddenly, Bartholeumous gave a start. “Bumblestook!” he gasped. “The Overlords will have learned about the boy!” He shot an intense look across the sky-hole to the High Mage. “I must leave immediately for the Bumblestook home!”

Imperious nodded. “Agreed. If Malador has discovered your interest in this Bumblestook, the boy’s life may be in danger. Is there anyone on the ground nearby who could help?”

“Two retired Heroes, Tom and Olivia Faire, live next door. I also have a spy in the Bumblestook home, a young G-r-r-rog named Yap.”

Rowena spoke up, “I’ll contact the Faires and reactivate them.” Reaching into a leather pouch (hanging from her waist by a cord) she pulled forth a palm-sized piece of rose quartz. As she turned away from the group, it began to glow.

“I will try to reach the G-r-r-rog.” Barra-Hoon turned away as well, reaching into a pocket to pull out a chunk of crystalline jade.

“And I will summon Shooshskya, Spirit of the Wind,” Imperious told Bartholeumous. “He will take you by the swiftest route to the Bumblestook home.”

“My deepest gratitude,” Bartholeumous said, his face etched with deep lines of concern. “I only hope that I am not too late!”

******************************

Yap had been awakened by a buzzing sound in his ears. He shook his head vigorously, as a voice in his mind began to speak to him. He sat up, head cocked to one side, listening intently. His little mouth fell open in surprise.

“Y-yes sir! Yessir, I unnerstand! You c’n count on me, Mister King, sir!”

He ran to where Farley lay, sound asleep on the pillows surrounding the bed (having, once again, fallen out). Emitting a high-pitched whine, he clawed at the boy with his little puppy paws. Farley (who had fallen asleep late, on account of the shadow incident) awoke with difficulty. He peered at his little dog, through eyes barely open.

“Do ya really hafta go
now
, boy?” he mumbled sleepily.

Yap continued to whine and began pulling gently, but insistently, on Farley’s hand with his teeth.

“Okay, okay, I’ll take you.”

Farley got up and stumbled out of his room, Yap close on his heels. Yawning hugely, the boy felt his way along the wall, past the closed door of his parents’ bedroom, down the dark hallway leading to the kitchen and the back door.

***************************************

Tom and Olivia Faire were fast asleep, snuggled deep into a soft nest of poufy pillows and fluffy down comforters, high atop their plump, pillow-top mattress. Olivia’s white-blonde hair lay, in silken swirls, across the pale-blue, satin pillowcase. A rosy blush of color bloomed on her cheeks and lips and her eyelashes fluttered delicately, as she dreamed.

Beside her, Lance presented a much more realistic depiction of slumber; face scrunched into his pillow, sandy hair sticking up every-which-way and mouth sagging open as he snored loudly in peaceful oblivion.

Suddenly, both of them sat bolt upright, their eyes wide open, but unseeing. They sat thus for several minutes, neither moving nor blinking, as if under a hypnotic spell. Then, they shook their heads, blinked rapidly and looked at each other in consternation.

“Reactivated!” they exclaimed simultaneously.

Bolting out of bed, they began quickly changing from pajamas to street clothes, complaining all the while.

Olivia: “I don’t believe this, I just don’t believe this!”

Lance: “After all this time! We’ve got a child for gosh sakes!”

Olivia: “How is this possible? It just can’t be!”

Lance: “Four o’clock in the morning, and we’ve got a Code Three Emergency, no less!”

Olivia: “I simply refuse to believe this! Do you believe this?”

Lance: “
Bumblestooks
! Who’d’ve thunk it!”

Both: “
Un
-believable!”

In very short order, both were dressed in t-shirts and jeans (neither bothering with shoes, finding it easier to slip into slippers). Olivia paused to get something from her jewelry box, stuffing it into her pants’ pocket. Lance ran his fingers through his hair, effectively causing every strand to stick up in a sort of porcupine-do. Olivia simply tossed her head and every lock fell perfectly into place.

They crept out of their bedroom, Lance calling softly for Tom. They found the cat in the kitchen, asleep on the counter next to his silver dish. His head popped up alertly as they entered.

“What’s up, boss?”

“Code Three Emergency at the Bumblestook’s! We’ve been reactivated and we need you to stay here and watch over Fiona. Don’t take your eyes off her until we get back—clear?”

“Got it!” Tom streaked out of the kitchen, heading for Fiona’s bedroom.

“Well, at least we have a reliable babysitter,” Lance remarked wryly.

Olivia took a deep breath. “Let’s just get this over with!” she said.

Together, they rushed through the house and out the front door.

******************************

Farley crept along the dark hallway, feeling his way carefully down the wall. As he reached the entrance to the front room, he saw a thin shaft of light, slicing through the darkness like a knife. It streamed in through the front door, which was slightly ajar. The back of his neck prickled and Yap’s hair stood on end, as the little dog emitted a low, warning growl.

“Mom? Dad?” Farley called out softly. “Izzat you?”

No answer. Farley poked his head cautiously into the room, peering into the black corners. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out the rounded shapes of the room’s soft, plump furniture.

Suddenly, he saw something move! It was just a shadow within the shadows; leaping lightning quick, from the dark shape of the overstuffed chair, to the long, black form of the sofa. Farley gasped and drew back into the hall, as Yap let loose with a full-throated howl!

Quickly, Farley whirled about, intending to run back down the hall to awaken his parents, but he froze in his tracks, as a tall, dark, hooded figure emerged from their bedroom! A terrified shout stuck in his throat, resulting in a frightened squeak, while Yap let loose with a blood-curdling yowl!

The boy turned again, heading for the kitchen and the back door. Alas, he tripped; falling to the floor, just as the front door burst wide open with a loud
crack!
as it slammed against the wall! Two dark figures stood there, eerily outlined by the pale, early morning light.

Yap stood over his fallen charge, torn between attacking the two in the doorway, or the hooded figure in the hall.

The hooded one had hesitated at the sound of the front door opening, but now it advanced upon the fallen boy. Farley scrambled to his feet.

“C’mon, Yap!” he shouted, dashing for the kitchen.

********************************

When Lance and Olivia arrived at the Bumblestook house, the door was slightly ajar. Upon hearing Yap’s howl, they threw it wide open, just in time to see Farley fall to the floor! They saw his frightened face (ghostly-white, staring first at them, then at something down the hallway) before he got to his feet and ran off, with Yap at his heels.

Olivia reached into her pocket, as she and Lance rushed across the floor. The morning light glanced off the object she brought forth, setting it aglow with a warm, golden hue. As they stepped into the dark hallway, a large hooded figure came at them, closing in fast! Holding the lump of ancient amber before her, Olivia quickly shouted out.

“Time Flies, fly free!”

A ripple of light, thick and golden as honey, emanated from the amber; filling the hallway, as one tiny insect flew up and away. The hooded figure halted and took a step back—too late! The golden glow enveloped it fully and it ceased to move; trapped in time, as if forever fossilized in prehistoric tree sap.

“It worked!” Olivia cried out in relief.

“H-m-m. Maybe I should have brought that tube of Super-Duper Glue Bartholeumous gave
me
,” Lance remarked wryly. “What?” he asked innocently, as Olivia rolled her eyes. “I could’ve
glued its feet to the floor.”

“Come on,
Hero
,” Olivia replied. “We’ve only got an hour before this wears off. Let’s find Farley.”

They headed through the kitchen and out the open back door, but saw no sign of the boy, or his little dog, in the back yard.

“Farley! Where are you?” Lance called out. “It’s okay! It’s just us—Lance and Livie.”

No answer. They decided to split up, each taking a side of the house, then meeting in the front. Lance went to the right, Olivia to the left. As Lance rounded his corner, he saw Farley struggling to pull himself up, onto the windowsill of his parents’ bedroom. Yap laid back his ears, growling a warning as the boy fell back down.

“Farley! It’s just me!” the man called out, advancing. He reached out a hand, pulling the boy up, as Yap wriggled and wagged his tail in relief.

“Mister Faire, you gotta help me get in there! A stranger came outta Mom and Dad’s room and then he came after me!” Farley pleaded, his face smudged with dirt and tears.

“I know, Farley. We’re here to help you, Olivia and I. Right now, I’ve got to get you to safety. Why don’t you come with me to our house—”

“But, my Mom and Dad—I can’t just leave ‘em!”

Suddenly, they were buffeted by a strong gust of wind (strange, as the air had been quite still up ‘til then). As a shadow fell across them, they looked around in alarm.

“Perhaps I can be of service,” Bartholeumous said.

He was dressed in an overly-long, black cloak; disguising the fact that his booted feet hovered several inches above the ground.