Drakonika (Book 1) (19 page)

Yet praises from the other side were heard across the whole dining room. They didn't belong to Viktor's burned creation though.

Giselbert, Rodrick and Henry just wished they had joined Darius who was serving slices of yummy druid bread with honey.

“
Could I have some more?” asked a boy sitting near the middle.

Though he was very tired, the leader of the Black Squad suppressed a smile with great difficulty. “No, there wouldn't be enough for everybody,” Darius lied effortlessly, although he knew that there was a spare ration.

When he finally came to Fjalldís, he gave her a plate with two slices. There was something he wanted to say, but since the room was full of curious ears, he couldn't risk that someone might hear it. But then again, even if it was just the two of them, he probably wouldn't say anything.

Fjalldís felt utterly bewildered. She would never expect this. Perhaps it was a mistake? Whatever it was, thanks to the turmoil about Viktor's “art piece”, nobody except her noticed that small detail.

Aedan looked more than satisfied. “Excellent! I think I'll make this a regular thing. Well done, Darius. It seems you have exceptional abilities in cooking!” he said in an ecstatic tone, and that didn't happen very often. Nobody could object to Aedan's words, but was it really talent or had Darius done this before?

Darius tried his best to keep a serious face, but he couldn't hold back any longer and a furtive smile sneaked onto his face. He didn't enjoy the company of these “losers”, but this time he excused their unpleasant presence because they praised his work.

Unlike the rest of the Black Squad, Darius had already eaten his breakfast in the kitchen. Despite the venomous looks of his friends, he joined them at the table. They weren't talking or playing cards.

Viktor furiously slashed the dust on his plate with a wooden fork, his face contorted with anger.

Even though the dining room was full of squealing novices who fought over the druid bread, it didn't take long for Darius to fall asleep with his head on the table. However, he wasn't the only one who wanted to sleep more than anything else.

Magnus had problems holding the bread in his hand, although he had to admit it was really tasty. His eyes kept shutting, then he abruptly woke up from falling asleep in his chair.
But after the restless night, there was no wonder.

When the novices finished their breakfast and tossed the last bits of Viktor's “royal meal”, Aedan stood up to chase them out of the dining room. They had an important lesson ahead and there was no spare time for chit-chat or playing card games.

As the druid approached the front door, Darius suddenly sat upright, giving a terrified yelp that made everyone  around stare at him. Although he slept only for a few minutes, it was enough time to dream the same nightmare he had earlier. A disturbing feeling flushed him. Something wasn't right.

Aedan didn't seem to take it seriously. “Oh please, not another one of your jokes. What happened now? A bee stung you?” he said, suggesting that he wouldn't fall for one of their feeble pranks.

“Nothing, I'm fine,” Darius said firmly. As he caught himself looking at Fjalldís as if she was a real ghost, he quickly left his seat, his disgruntled friends following him outside. They could hear one last comment behind them.

“
And I thought you got scared just because your conscience wasn't clear,” Aedan said merrily. But although he meant it as a joke, it wasn't very far from the truth.

IX. The Lord Of Ravens

“
Do we really have to study? Can't we just... lay in the grass and sleep some more?” said Rodrick in the last attempt to convince their teacher that they had much better ideas about how to spend this wonderful day.

“
Well, we have a beautiful day, the birds are chirping, bees are buzzing and Mother Nature is inviting us for a walk,” Aedan said delightedly. For a while, he remained deep in thought and with a soft smile on his face, he gazed at the blue sky. Hearing his words, the novices smiled too. They were going to have another day off!

“
And in the meantime we'll study,” Aedan finished his sentence, topping it to perfection.

There was an outbreak of muttering at this. Rodrick did all he could in order to get a day off for them, but he failed.

Wanted or not, all the novices had to follow Aedan into the library which was located on the ground floor of the citadel. Their teacher was still on guard, just in case anyone wanted to be a hero and try to sneak into the area they were not supposed to go. The upper floors were completely forbidden for them to enter, just as was stated in the lengthy scroll with the guild rules.

The library was huge, but its high arched ceiling was making it look even larger and more glorious. Even those who hated books felt utter respect for this room. So many stories, so many mysteries, so much knowledge... But just like everywhere else, there were rules they had to follow here too.

“I don't want you to dig around in those shelves. The books you need will always be ready here on this table,” said Aedan gravely, pointing his finger at one of the study tables which was groaning under mountainous piles of books.

Seeing this library, Magnus could not help but recall the vision from last night. If only they were in the library of the Ragnan Mages Guild! No matter how hard he tried to focus and concentrate on Aedan's words, he could not stop wondering about when they would visit Ragna.

“There are three titles, take one from each,” Aedan said flatly.

That was easy to say, but harder to accomplish. As usual, it was the Black Squad who spoke for everybody.

“And you expect
us
to drag all of this
this
around
?” Viktor said incredulously. In the next second, he was drowning in the shadow of their tall teacher.

“
If you don't want to stay weak, I suggest you to do exactly that,” said Aedan crabbily. “You'll see, soon you won't even realise you are carrying something.” That didn't seem to calm them much. Everyone knew it would take a lot of pain until they “wouldn't even realise it”.

Maren was among the first brave novices who took the courage to grab their books. She was also among the first unfortunate novices to feel their weight.

“The Fauna of Aria, The magickal Powers of Stones, Herbology – book one,” she read the book titles aloud, taking one from each. But as she picked them up from the table, she understood the fun was over. When she failed to bring the books at least to the library exit, she wailed, “That's impossible!” Her fingers were ready to drop the books on the floor, when suddenly, one by one, they all disappeared from under her nose.

“
Here, let me take them for you,” said Magnus kindly, taking all three books from her and placing them on the top of his own books. Now he was carrying six heavy books, but he moved around as if he was holding absolutely nothing.

Maren looked utterly dazed. But after what she saw last night, she had started getting used to it. Magnus was the strongest of all novices, there was no doubt about that.

“Thank you,” Maren said, grabbing one of her books back. “But I'll take this one. Don't want my arms feeble.” At these words, they both chuckled.

Darius was watching all this from where he stood with his gang, although he hadn
't spoken with them since the quarrel in the kitchen. All five members of the Black Squad were standing next to the table with books, but until now, they hadn't even laid a finger on them.

“
Hey,” said a girl's voice quietly.

When Darius turned in the direction where it came from, he flinched in shock. It was Fjalldís.

Fjalldís turned to him shyly, staring at the floor while saying, “I just wanted to thank you for –” She didn't finish the sentence for all his friends were furtively looking at her. Surely they wanted to hear it. Just what could she want to thank Darius for?

“
Well, you know what for,” Fjalldís said, reaching for her books. That was however nothing but an act to hide her red face.

For a moment, Darius didn
't seem to believe what had just happened. Perhaps the potion from Viktor really worked? As he looked at Magnus again, he got a brilliant idea. After all, the books couldn't be so heavy, considering that he took six of them at once without any difficulty.

“
Here, let me take these for you,” Darius said simply.

“
Really?” Fjalldís said, a trace of surprise in her voice. “But... are you sure you can carry all that?”

“
Sure, it's nothing,” Darius said confidently. He reached for his own books but when he discovered he could barely hold them, it was too late. Fjalldís placed hers on top of his and in the next moment they could look for him on the floor.

That was it. Nightmares, no sleep, hassled by his friends, tired from cooking and now, on top of it all, disgraced in front of a girl.

Fjalldís clapped her hands to her mouth. “A-are you all right?” she gasped, sounding rather concerned.

There was no answer to that question. Without a word spoken, Darius drew himself up from under the books, although he
'd rather never get up again.

“
I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't think you wouldn't make it,” said Fjalldís in an attempt to apologise, but the four biting stares of Darius' friends made her pick up the books in a hurry. It was time to set off. “Anyway, thanks... But I think I will just take them myself,” she said quickly, disappearing in haste, although she was carrying three heavy weights.

As Darius was glaring at Magnus in envy, there was a burst of laughter behind him.

“That's how it ends up when someone plays a hero,” said Viktor tartly.

This comment wasn
't something that would make Darius feel any better, but at least his friends spoke to him again. Perhaps they could finally forget about the morning hassle.

“
This is my doomsday,” growled Darius, sweeping dust off his black clothes.

Giselbert gave him a friendly pat on the back. “Don't worry, there will be a plenty of other opportunities,” he said cheerfully.

“I'm not so sure,” said Darius as he saw Fjalldís admiring Magnus' strength from a distance. And she wasn't the only one.

Then Aedan's resonant voice got their attention. “All right, my little potential druids. Have you had enough fun? Everybody get in line and march towards the courtyard. Quickly now, come on,” he said, hurrying them out.

Everyone with their portion of the load, the novices shambled out to the courtyard. From there, Aedan took them through the town and down the serpentine road to the rocky valley and the forest.

As they walked, the novices broke into groups and were busy chatting. Magnus decided to use this opportunity to tell Maren about his vision from last night. He leaned close to her discreetly, whispering, “Last night I saw something very odd in that crystal ball. There was someone in flames but he wasn't burning, he was just... standing there, holding a book.  A heavy black tome.”

“What's so strange about that? Even
we
are holding heavy tomes now,” Maren said quietly.

Even though she didn't seem to find anything suspicious about that, Magnus was certain the book from his vision wasn't just “The Fauna of Aria” or “Herbology for beginners
”
.

“
No, you don't understand. It was something else, something of much higher importance,” he insisted. “The person took it to the library of the Mages Guild in Ragna. And I know exactly where it is. I saw it in the divination, it has to mean something!”

Maren remained in thought for a while. “Could it really be something
that
important? What do you think? Could it show the future? Or the past?” she said curiously.

“
I don't know, but one thing's for sure. The one who entered the cave after us had a divination too and they could have received the very same message from it,” Magnus whispered.

“
And that's bad?”

“
Yes, if they take the book from the Mages Guild before we get there,” said Magnus.

Maren finally seemed to understand.

“We've got to be first! We have to do it before anyone else does!” she squealed eagerly and unfortunately, loudly enough for others to hear it.

“
I am really glad that you're aching so much to learn,” Aedan said.

Maren and Magnus realised that everyone was standing still, probably listening to Aedan's instructions for quite a while. But the two of them didn't hear a word from what he said. What was this even about?

The only indication for them was a flock of birds black as ink, sitting on the trees nearby.

“
I wanted to show you how to do it, but since the two of you want to be the first, I'll be happy to fulfill your wish,” said Aedan in a tone of acted mercy.

Maren and Magnus shot each other terrified glances as they heard Aedan's voice again.

“Go ahead, you have a great opportunity to show us how astonishing your communication with animals is.”

Magnus' heart was sinking. Did he hear clearly? Did Aedan really say communication with
animals
?

The rest of the novices had already begun to lay their heavy books down. It seemed they would stay there for longer than they expected. Many of them groaned, shaking their hands to ease the pain.

While others were doing their best to take good care of the books and not give them one scratch, Darius slammed his harshly on the ground. “Oops,” he said airily. He was lucky that his teacher was busy with someone else now, because otherwise he would be punished for his cruel behaviour towards Mother Nature.

Serena was the first to break the silence with a gloomy “I hate ravens.”

It seemed the birds had noticed the novices, watching them with their gleaming eyes that reflected great wisdom and the deepest mysteries.

“
I think they are sweet,” Fjalldís said, looking at the ravens with a loving gaze. As she noticed several curious novices staring in her direction, her eyes darted downwards. So she wasn't such a big fighter after all! Maybe it was just her utmost wish, but there was a kind and sensitive girl hiding beneath the cloak of courage and bravery.

Maren shot an imperative glance at Magnus. It was time for him to do his part of the play.

“Ladies first,” said Magnus generously, trying to fool her with a charming smile.

“
Are you serious? You're a man!” Maren whispered indignantly, “You should shield me from this shame!”

There seemed to be no other choice for Magnus. He stepped forward in order to show them all how to communicate with animals. The only problem was that he had no idea what to do. He cautiously edged closer to the birds, taking great care to step on the ground very quietly.

Maren and a group of other novices were watching Magnus with such a tense air it almost left them breathless. After all, this kind of bird didn't rate among the smallest ones as their long, sharp claws and huge, strong beaks suggested.

However, some novices were having fun. The whole Black Squad sneered, watching Magnus tremble. They weren't scared at all. But how could they be if they were hiding completely in the back, using the rest of the novices as their shield?

The only one who observed the whole thing with a grim face was Aedan, his arms strictly folded on his chest as he watched Magnus' every step. When Magnus came fairly close and the birds still sat there, Aedan frowned.

Voices from the back could be heard constantly.

“Now! Now he's going to shoo them!” shouted Rodrick.

Despite the malicious sneers and ill-willed comments, Magnus came right in front of the ravens. He mouthed wordlessly at Aedan, but he didn't give him any further instructions.

“What are you waiting for? Give them an order,” said the druid stoutly. It seemed he wanted to prove that Magnus was not able to communicate with animals, no matter what.

Magnus glanced at one of the birds. As he did that, a strange feeling flushed him. Did the bird look back at him with understanding?

Ready to hear a thundering laughter from the Black Squad and without any doubt many others as well, he reached out carefully. Magnus had absolutely no idea how to talk to ravens and he felt he had never done it before. “Could you please
–
” he started, but before he finished it, the raven hopped on his arm.