The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (5 page)

Riley stood up
and bowed nervously towards the Masters. “I have chosen the School
of the Spiritual.”

“
Was there a particular subject that swayed your decision?”
Master Larose asked.

“
I wish to become a healer,” she answered.

“
Interesting, we could use more healers in Kalenden,” Master
Larose smiled. “Please stand before me and take the
oath.”

Riley walked
to the spot in front of Master Larose’s table as he stood up.

“
Repeat after me,” he started. “I pledge myself to the Order
of Magic and the School of the Spiritual. I will serve my Master as
they see fit for the good of Kalenden. Should I break the laws of
my oath, I will surrender to the judgement of the Masters. May
magic prevail or Silence take me.”

Riley repeated
each line as Master Larose said. This was the first time I had
heard the oath and I enjoyed the way it flowed.

“
Congratulations, Mage Simpson, please go upstairs to be
assigned your new sleeping quarters,” Master Larose said as he sat
back down.

“
Thank you, Master,” Riley said with a very large smile. She
turned and tried not to hurry out of the library. Jeremy was called
next and went through his choice and oath just as quickly as Riley.
With the others gone it was finally down to me.

“
And finally,” Master Larose started, “Andrew Holcombe, age
18, as confirmed by Master Pryce. Please rise and tell us what
School you have chosen.”

I took a deep
breath and rose to my feet. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing
came out. The Masters just stared at me waiting to hear my
response, except for Master Pryce who smirked and watched with
interest.

“
I...I don’t know,” I croaked.

“
You still haven’t made a decision?” Master Larose asked
shocked.

“
Yeah, I mean no, I mean...” I fumbled.

“
Masters, a moment of your time,” the mysterious figure in the
corner said stepping forward.

“
Go ahead, Keeper Anderson,” Master Larose said.

“
I have been the Keeper of the Archives for a long time and it
is time for me to choose a successor,” the hooded man said. “I
believe the Apprentice here, would be a fine fit.”

“
What say you, Mr. Holcombe?” Master Larose asked.

“
What does a Keeper do?” I asked.

“
He keeps things, obviously,” the hooded figure said
sarcastically.

“
He is in charge of recording and protecting the history of
the Order,” Master Larose answered ignoring the hooded
figure.

“
You also aren’t restricted to one school of magic and,
perhaps more importantly, you get to study in peace away from
everyone else,” the hooded figure said in a more serious
tone.

It really did
seem like a good offer. I already spent most of my time hiding away
from everything. Maybe this would be the best way for me to still
be me.

“
I accept then,” I answered.

“
Good,” the hooded figure said as he removed his hood. Hiding
away behind that hood the whole time had been the grandfatherly
face of the old man from the library earlier. “Now we should
probably do that oath. Repeat after me.”

He cleared his
throat. “’I pledge to...’ blah blah blah. Look, listen to me and do
as I say and we’ll be fine. Don’t, and I’ll beat you with the blunt
side of my staff. Do we have a deal?”

“
Yes, sir,” I answered starting to think I had made the wrong
choice.

“
Good,” he fumbled in his pockets and pulled out a key. “This
is the key to the Archive room at the top of the tower. It will
also open the small room that will be your bedroom. I better not
find you in any other room but yours. We start early
tomorrow.”

Chapter 4

I jerked
awake, breathing heavily. The dream I had receding from my mind too
quickly to remember anything of importance.

All I remember
was a tower.

I threw the
blanket off of my body and sat up in the bed. The bedroom felt
strange but the dresser, closet and end tables were in their normal
place so I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“
Is everything okay?” a female voice croaked behind
me.

I looked
behind me to see a familiar looking woman lying in the bed next to
where I was sleeping. Her brown hair was tangled up on the top of
her head and her blue eyes looked up at me questioning. She was my
wife, but her name didn’t immediately spring to mind.

“
Yeah, it’s fine,” I answered. “Just a weird
dream.”

“
Well, we should probably get up anyhow,” she said as she
stretched. “The baby needs to be fed.”

My memory
slipped again but the memory of our year old baby, Heather, entered
my mind. I don’t know what was wrong with me today, that dream was
really screwing with my head. I grabbed it with both of my hands
and took long steady breaths.

“
Are you sure you are alright?” my wife asked worried. “Maybe
we should take you to see the doctor.”

“
No, I’m ok,” I answered. “The dream just left me
disoriented.”

“
What happened in it?” she asked worried.

“
Not a whole lot,” I replied, “just a tower in a
field.”

“
You’re having the Tower dream again?” she asked
relieved.

“
Yeah, I guess so,” I said.

“
Whatever happened there must have really affected you,” she
said.

“
Sometimes I wonder if leaving was the right choice,” I
replied.

“
Of course it was, it led you to me,” she smiled.

I leaned down
to kiss her but then the sound of a baby crying broke through the
early morning.

“
Drat,” she pouted as she sat up.

We rose from
the bed and threw on some simple clothes and left the bedroom. Our
tiny cottage was a mess but when you are taking care of an infant,
you have very little time to clean.

“
I’ll go grab her,” my wife said. “Clean us a place in the
kitchen.”

“
Of course,” I smiled.

She
disappeared into a tiny room as I wandered over to the kitchen and
filled the sink with the jug of water from the floor. I would have
to refill it at the well before breakfast but judging by the amount
of dirty dishes, that was some time away. I grabbed a cloth and
started working.

The morning
outside looked peaceful as the sun rose over the farm. The corn
looked to be growing well and we might have a good harvest for
once. This was definitely a better life than the one at the
tower.

But why did I
leave it again?

“
Therrrre’s Daddy,” my wife cooed behind me.

I looked
behind me to see my wife smiling holding our baby, Heather. Heather
was smiling like only a baby can smile while dribbling on
herself.

“
Hello, you,” I smiled looking into the baby’s
eyes.

The look back
was blank and lifeless but Heather clapped her hands in
happiness.

“
Why don’t you get some more water,” my wife said as she put
the baby into a safety chair, “and I’ll finish off those
dishes.”

“
Works for me,” I said drying my hands.

I picked up
the water jug and left through the front door. If my memory served
me well, which it hasn’t this morning, the well tap should be
around the side of the cottage. I walked around the corner and
smiled when I saw it.

Maybe I’m not
as crazy as I thought.

A few pumps of
the tap brought water rushing out and filled the jug in a matter of
seconds. I picked it back up and entered the house again. The
dishes were finished and my wife was just wiping up the table.

“
You’re quick,” I said.

“
It wasn’t that much,” she smiled as she threw the rag towards
the sink.

“
Don’t be modest, there was a lot there,” I said as I carried
the water jug over to the stove. “Sometimes I wonder who has the
real magic here.”

“
There’s nothing magical about being a good wife,” she
responded as she took the water jug from me. “I’ll start breakfast
now.”

She started
the stove and poured some water into a pot. I left the kitchen
before she could shoo me out and sat next to my daughter. She
looked preoccupied with a couple of smoothed sticks that she was
beating the table with. She was a beautiful baby, almost a perfect
replica of her mother.

“
It’s hard to believe that we have created something so
beautiful,” I called out to my wife.

“
I know what you mean,” she replied. “I still think she has
your mother’s nose though.”

“
Yeah,” I said absentmindedly.

I looked at
Heather’s nose and tried to draw a comparison to my mother’s but
there wasn’t anything to compare to. No matter how hard I tried I
couldn’t picture my mother. Realization slowly dawned on me. I was
taken to the Tower as an infant; I have never seen my mother.

“
What’s wrong, honey?” my wife asked.

“
I don’t know my mother,” I answered looking at her
suspiciously.

“
What do you mean?” she asked confused.

“
I’ve never known my mother, when did we meet her?” I asked
standing up from the table and facing her.

“
I meant MY mother,” she said nervously.

“
Who are you?” I asked my ‘wife’.

“
I’m your wife,” she answered getting really
nervous.

“
No, you’re not,” I replied. “I don’t even know your
name.”

“
Well, what type of husband are you?” she asked angrily. “I’m
Cathy, as I have always been. I think you need to see the doctor.
Something isn’t right.”

“
You’re right,” I said. “Something ISN’T right.”

I felt the
rush of power to my hand as I launched a Dispel at the wall. The
whole cottage started to fade as ‘Cathy’ grabbed her head and
shrieked. When the cottage had disappeared, the two of us were left
standing in the same small clearing with the tree we had been in
the other night. My ‘wife’ looked up at me, her eyes aglow and her
teeth clenched together.

“
I almost had you,” she hissed. “But you’re too damn
suspicious. You won’t accept anything good happening to
you.”

“
I fail to see how being possessed by a Demon is good for me,”
I said.

“
You won’t know until you try it,” she snarled.

“
Why did you come back?” I asked.

“
I will always come back, like I said, you can’t resist me
forever,” she said seductively. “Now if you’ll excuse me,
‘darling’, I have to go. Until tomorrow, ‘my love’.”

She turned
around and started to walk away. I forced some energy into my hand
and waved it sideways. A blast of energy hit her and she slammed
into the tree. The bark of the tree started to morph and change
shape as it slowly covered her body.

She laughed in
pure joy. “Do you know what you’ve done, you stupid mortal?”

“
I’ll be asking the questions,” I shouted as I walked over to
face her.

“
Hey, it’s your mind,” she said casually.

“
Now, what’s your name?” I asked.

“
I am the immortal soul of a Demon,” she explained. “We don’t
carry personal names only titles. I am your Desire and your
Pleasure, but seeing as you pathetic mortals need ‘names’ for
conversation; just continue to call me ‘Cathy’. It was the name
created for the dream and it will serve well for our
conversation.”

“
Very well, ‘Cathy’,” I said. “Why do you use the same exact
character for each dream?”

I looked her
over and the image of the King’s daughter/niece from the other
dream came to mind.

“
Well, I can tap into your mind and see what type of girl
would entice you the best,” she explained. “It’s not my fault you
like blue eyed brunettes.”

I stared at
her but she just stood there with a smirk on her face. The tree was
pulsing slowly as the gnarled bark continued to hold Cathy to the
tree.

“
How many other Mages have you tried to possess?” I asked out
of curiosity.

“
56,” she answered without hesitation. She chuckled as an
involuntary look of shock crossed my face. “Aww, did you think you
were my first?”

“
How many of those 56 did you manage to possess?” I
asked.

“
32,” she answered. “Most were during the first...what do you
call them...Demon Dreams?”

“
That’s impressive,” I muttered.

“
Thanks, husband,” she smiled.

“
Don’t call me that,” I said.

“
Sorry, love,” she smirked. “I’m still in
character.”

I started
pacing back and forth. “How can I protect my mind to prevent you
from coming back?”

“
Isn’t that the job of one of your Teachers?” she
asked.

“
Well, let’s hear it from you,” I said.

“
I don’t know, love,” she answered trying to shrug. “One night
you can get in, the next night you can’t.”

I stopped as
an odd thought crossed my mind. “Why are you answering all these
questions so truthfully?”