The Sorcerer's Quest (10 page)

Merlin settled on the bed and rested his head on his
paws.

“It’ll be okay,” I told him.

“
I know, but that storm was not normal and I have
a very bad feeling about this
.”

“There was something odd about the storm,” Jevwen
said as he started pulling down books from his shelf. For a while, he was
wrapped up in that. The ship continued to rock violently until even I felt
sick. “Here!” Jevwen shouted, causing me to jerk in surprise. He shoved his
book into my hand and pointed to a bunch of foreign words.

“I can’t read that.”

“It’s a Charybdis; a sea monster. I knew that storm
wasn’t natural. A Charybdis is causing it.” He turned the page and I saw a
drawing of the monster.

Merlin sat up. “
Then we have a very big problem
.”

It looked like a fat worm that was widest at its mouth
and gradually narrowed into a thick spiked club on its tail. Its mouth was
actually its entire head. It was drawn with its mouth open wide and, if the
drawing was accurate, it wasn’t a mouth that was designed to close.

The creature appeared to have both scales and fur,
like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a dragon or a mammal. It also had
two flippers close to its head, but the flippers had claws, like a sea
turtle’s.

“Please tell me you’re not sure about this.”

“I am. I’ve heard stories of it before. Trust me;
this is the Charybdis.”

“Okay, so we should be fine then. Monsters don’t eat
ships, right?”

“
Only if there are people on them
,” Merlin
said. “
Ask him if his book says how to defeat a Charybdis
.”

I did, and Jevwen shook his head. “Nobody has ever
defeated one. In fact, no one has ever faced one and lived to tell about it.
It’ll swallow our ship whole.”

“Then I don’t see a choice. I’ll have to stop it with
magic.”

“This is a legendary
sea
monster,” Jevwen
argued. “Sea monsters are bigger and more dangerous than anything you will ever
face on land.”

“Not while my mother is still alive. I understand
that we have no chance, so please; point out another option that I’m missing.
I’m all for it.”

He didn’t have an answer.

I went back upstairs, ignoring their protests, and
was immediately soaked by huge waves that were crashing over the deck of the
ship. Although the sky was dark with furious clouds and the wind was violent,
it wasn’t raining, which was just further proof that this wasn’t a normal storm.

I pulled my wand out of my pocket with my right hand,
pointed it towards the center of the storm, and held my staff in front of me
with my left hand like a shield. It quickly became obvious that the boat was
circling the heart of the storm. Furthermore, it was increasing in speed.

When I looked over the edge of the boat, I realized
how much trouble we were really in. A whirlpool had opened up in the sea and it
was growing in size. Inside the vortex, I saw row after row of long, sharp
teeth. It was the mouth of a creature that could easily swallow the ship and
everyone on it. And we were circling closer and closer into it.

With panic and desperation, I used both the wand and
staff at the same time. The only command I gave them was to save everyone on the
ship. Red and white magic met in the middle, formed bright blue lightning, and
shot into the mouth of the Charybdis. At first, I thought the magic had no
effect, but then the vortex stopped growing and began shrinking.

There was no moment of relief, because I knew it
wouldn’t be that simple. I felt something bash against the other side of the
boat— something strong enough to send the large pirate ship spiraling out of
control. Well, more out of control than it had already been.

I realized what had struck the ship when a massive
tentacle, easily the size of an ancient tree, reached out of the ocean and came
down. Apparently the Charybdis wasn’t the only sea monster hungry this night.
Either that or the drawing hadn’t done the Charybdis justice.

Something in me seemed to snap, and suddenly my wand
and staff were just extensions of my magic. Energy stirred inside of me,
swelled, and burst outward before I even realized what I was seeing. Calmness
was all that was left in me as blue light engulfed the entire ship. All I could
think was that we would live. We would live because I said so.

When the light faded, we were alive. We were away
from the monsters.

We were stranded on land in the middle of some
tropical island.

“What did you do?” one of the
pirates, Lasender, asked me angrily.

I was too busy having no clue to answer him.
Unfortunately, Lasender tried to grab me, undoubtedly to shake me. Merlin
latched onto his arm before he could touch me and he shouted in pain when
Merlin tossed him to the ground. When he scrambled backwards to get away,
Merlin didn’t go after him.

“He saved our lives,” Jevwen said, exiting the lower
deck.

“How do you know? You were below!” Lasender said.

“Never talk to my son like that!” Bloodbath demanded,
putting his hand on Jevwen’s shoulder in a show of support. “I saw that Ayden
single-handedly fought the monster and transported us to somewhere safe.”

“Safe or stranded?” Lasender inquired.

“We have lost ships before. We will survive this and
that’s thanks to Ayden.”

“I’m not really sure what I did,” I said. Merlin
studied the crystal in my staff, which was now almost completely clear with
just the slightest red coloration in the center. I didn’t think that was a good
thing.

“
This is a very good thing
.”

“How is it good? It doesn’t even look like a
sorcerer’s staff anymore.”

“
It is more powerful than ever. It has bonded with
your power and is now your staff as much as the wand is
.”

“But I need dark magic to be a sorcerer.”

“
You need dark intentions to be a sorcerer
.
The
magic will do what is in your heart, so if you desire it enough, you can do
dark magic. It still has its own personality, though
.”

“Well, that’s… bothersome.”

“What are you talking about?” Bloodbath asked.

“Sorry, I’m just talking to Merlin.”

“Oh. You really need to figure out how to not do
that. You sound a little insane.”

“I want a wolf to teach me to be a sorcerer,” Jevwen
said. Everyone looked at him and his eyes widened dramatically. “I never wanted
to be a pirate.” He slapped his hands over his mouth as if he hadn’t meant to
say that.

“I suspected as much,” Bloodbath said.

“I’m sorry. I never wanted to disappoint you.”

“That’s why he never told you what he was doing when
he went off on his own once a year at the---” one of the pirates started.

“You promised not to tell him that!” Jevwen
screeched, interrupting him.

The pirate blushed furiously. “I don’t know why I
said that.”

I held up my staff as if it would get their
attention. “I don’t think this is the time for---”

“I was really hoping Jevwen never became the next
captain, because I didn’t want to have to kill him to take my rightful place,”
one of the other pirates interrupted.

“What?!” Bloodbath asked, drawing his sword and
aiming it at his crewmate.

“
They must be in shock
,” Merlin said. “
Shock
can make people act unusual
.”

“Yeah, that must be it.”

“It’s really upsetting to know you two are talking
behind our backs,” Bralyn said, then slapped his hand over his mouth like
Jevwen had.

I think something’s going on. Please don’t be my
fault.

“
This is most definitely not your fault
,”
Merlin said, obviously having heard my thoughts again.

“I think we should build a fire,” Bloodbath said.

It was pretty dark as neither of our moons was full.
“I don’t know. My mother always said that a fire in the dark is the fastest way
to give away your location. We don’t know anything about this land or what it
might be inhabited by.”

“I’m afraid of the dark,” Bloodbath said quickly,
then slapped his hand over his mouth like the others. Everyone stared at him
with wide eyes.

“That clears up so much,” his son said.

“Something is definitely wrong. I didn’t mean to say
that. It’s true, but I didn’t mean to say that.”

“
Seal their mouths. This must be some kind of
truth spell
,” Merlin said.

I shuddered at the thought. “Merlin thinks it’s a
truth spell.”

“If we’re under a truth spell, then I would tell you
that I didn’t join you just because you took my mission,” Bralyn said. “Oh,
no.” His face paled.

“I already knew you were lying about that.” Before I
could say anything else, my skin crawled. “I think we’re being watched.”

Merlin sniffed the air. “
I believe we are
surrounded
.”

“But we haven’t started a fire, so how did they find
us?”

“
Maybe they spotted the massive ship that appeared
in the middle of their island
.”

“We should be fine, though; we’re on a ship.” I
looked over the edge and saw nothing suspicious, but the tropical trees weren’t
thick enough to hide people. “Maybe I can use magic to get the ship back into
water before something bad happens.” At that moment, I heard a small bang and a
glob of green goo splattered across my entire front, including my chest, hands,
wand, and staff. “Yuck! What is this?” I asked, dropping the staff and wand to
try to wipe the slime off. Instead of coming off, however, it hardened. A
moment later, my arms were stuck across my chest.

Other shots rang out and soon the entire crew was
stuck in various positions around the ship. Merlin was the only one able to
dodge the globs. Then arrows with ropes tied on them flew over the edge of the
deck and bit into the wood. A moment later, the ship was flooded with small
men. By flooded, I mean there were seven of them.

“Get off my ship!” Bloodbath demanded.

The men only came up to my abdomen, but they were
built sturdy and covered in thick furs and wool hats as if they were used to a
cold climate. I was sweating just thinking about it. They had, of all things,
pickaxes that they grasped like weapons. From the dirt caking their bodies and
the raggedy clothes they wore, I assumed they worked underground.

One of them pointed his axe at Bloodbath’s throat and
said in a harsh tone, “Silent be pirate death make you will.”

Every pirate stopped struggling and turned their
heads to stare at him in confusion. “What?” Bloodbath asked.

When another stranger tried to advance on me, Merlin
growled at him and stepped in front of me. The man aimed his pickaxe, but
Merlin didn’t look afraid. “
Can you reach your staff
?” he asked, his
tone completely calm. Although irritation could carry over, I wasn’t sure I
would hear worry through the mental link.

“No, and I couldn’t even grab it if I could.”

Two of the men picked up one of the pirates and
tossed him over the side of the ship. In moments they got everyone but
Bloodbath, Bralyn, Merlin, and me. Three of the men were trying to do the same
to me, but Merlin was standing in their way like only a huge and carnivorous
beast could. Unfortunately, my wand and staff were kicked further away during
the struggle.

One of the men managed to tie a rope around Merlin’s
snout and two more were able to wrestle him down. A fourth man grabbed me to
try to throw me over. Working hands or not, I was used to fighting for my life.
I elbowed him in the nose and kicked out his knee, then winced when he
collapsed, howling in pain. “Sorry,” I whispered, hoping Merlin didn’t hear me
apologize to the enemy.

A fifth man came at me with a knife, and that was
when I heard the last sound I ever would have expected on a pirate ship; a bear
roared. Everyone froze with shock right before a huge brown bear threw himself
in front of me and struck the small man with his massive paw. Obviously, the
man was tossed right off the ship.

“You’re the bear that fought the monster!” I shouted.
Of course, he looked like any other bear, but there was something oddly
familiar about him. At that point, I saw the green residue on his fur as if he
had been bound by the goo and had broken it. I also noticed the absence of
Bralyn. “You’re a werebear?!”

As if to confirm my accusation, he sneezed all over
the three men who were trying to subdue him.

“You’re a werebear who’s allergic to fur?”

One of the men used Bralyn’s allergy to his advantage
and buried his axe in the bear’s arm. Bralyn roared again and clawed the small
man across the chest, but the axe remained lodged in his flesh.

“Stop!” I shouted. For some reason, everyone did. “We
don’t even know who you people are or why you’re attacking us. If you can’t
tell, we aren’t here intentionally. We didn’t come to invade or attack you!”

“
This is the perfect time to prove you are a
sorcerer
,” Merlin said.

“I don’t have my wand or staff.”

“
The magic is inside of you. Think of the curse of
stone you placed on those rabbits. Remember your exact thoughts and feelings,
just as if you had your staff in hand
.”

“But I didn’t think of turning them to stone; I just
wanted to stop them from attacking. Besides, I can’t turn
people
into
stone, because I don’t know if it would permanently hurt them.”

“
A sorcerer would do it
.”

“I know!” I yelled, angrier with myself than upset
with him. I knew what I should do— what my mother would demand I do.

For my entire life, I thought I
couldn’t
do
dark magic. Suddenly, I knew I could. My problem wasn’t my magic but my
conscience. I wanted to make my family proud. It was all I ever wanted… but I
didn’t want to be like them. They hurt people and enjoyed it. They always won
the day, they always got their way, and people respected them. Nobody respected
me, not even strangers. I was a failed sorcerer, and apparently, I couldn’t
even help my friends because I didn’t want to turn my enemy to stone.

“
If you cannot curse someone who is attacking you,
there is no way you can fight Magnus
.”

“Magnus is a wizard who can fight back. Merlin, do
you believe I’m capable of being a sorcerer?”

Before he could answer, one of the small men asked,
“Speak you remain foolish?”

“What? That doesn’t even make… oh… I’m talking to
Merlin. You can’t hear him because he talks in my head, but I’m not talking to
myself.”

“
You understood that
?” Merlin asked
incredulously. The stranger’s eyes widened as well.

“It’s a simple scramble spell. They do it at some of
the seer tournaments to keep the oracles from sharing ideas. It changes the
order of words and often the words into synonyms. In fact, my mother has used
it sometimes to keep people from telling her secrets if she can’t kill them
outright for some reason. It can be activated by someone trying to tell a
secret or it can be on all the time. If you let me get my wand, I can help.”

The man with his axe to Bloodbath’s throat turned to
me. “Much us! But we having opportunity speak my entire mind to survive.”

“Ah, I see. How did this happen in the first place?”
Now everyone, including the strangers, was gaping at me. “He said that they are
better off this way because they can’t stand telling the truth constantly. I
bet they can’t even understand each other.”

Distracted, the men let Merlin go. “Who are we at the
course and a female version brought prevent house for a queen, and we went, you
curse is to say, Arcana not.”

“They invited a woman into their home who was on the
run from an evil queen and when she left, she cursed them to prevent them from
telling her secret,” I translated. “So, then the truth curse was already here?”

“I saw a woman, not now to this cursed country queen
of the good news that they had, but with anti-chain of the curse is not able to
see. Been we have years for waiting, leaving the ship, but the cries every
visit. Exstructus not only use the army to escape.”

“Okay, this one is a little confusing. The queen
wanted to make sure someone would tell her if they saw the woman, so she cursed
the lands, but when the anti-curse was released, it didn’t reach this island.
They’ve waited for many years for a ship, but everyone who visited left
screaming. The only thing they could do was build weapons to use to escape.”

“
Can you break the curse
?”

“I don’t know. Breaking my brothers’ curses is one
thing. I don’t know this queen. I can easily break the scrambling spell, but
that probably wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Bralyn sneezed again. Since the small men were too
shocked over me understanding them to fight, he turned and clawed the green
stuff that was holding me captive. It shattered and fell off of me easily. In
turn, I gently pried the pickaxe out of Bralyn’s arm.

He shifted back. “You really make me paranoid when
you do that.”

“Me, too,” Bloodbath added.

Bralyn moved to grab my staff and wand while Merlin
stood between the men and me. When Bralyn handed my tools to me, I sucked in a
deep breath of relief. My first thought was that I should punish the small men
by restraining them and throwing them off the boat. However, before I could
even let the plan form, any anger I might have had for them faded. They hadn’t
hurt me, my friends, or any of the pirates as far as I knew… except for Bralyn,
and he didn’t even seem bothered by his wounded arm. I sensed desperation in
the strangers.

“Alright, listen. I’m a sorcerer who transported the
ship here and I can transport you to the bottom of the ocean. If you release
all the pirates and stop attacking, however, I can help you all. It’s not like
the ship is overcrowded.”

“You want them to come with us after they did this?”
Bloodbath asked me in disbelief. Of course, he was still restrained.

“Either we bring them with us or I can try to break
the truth spell.”

“
Or you can curse them and be done with it, as a
sorcerer would
.”

“I know, Merlin, but it’s even worse knowing they are
just trying to escape, like us.”

He sighed. “
Like I said before; I agreed to teach
you
how
to be a sorcerer, not force your hand to make you one. If you
want to be a sorcerer, then curse them because they got in your way. If you
want to be a decent person, then explain the mutually beneficial plan I know
you have already thought up
.”