The Wizard And The Dragon (3 page)

On
that night, my first in the tower, I dreamed of the dragon. I was on top of the
wall instead of my hiding spot. I would already be staring at the dragon’s
silhouette in the middle of the sun and I was already afraid, knowing what it
was. The shape of it would grow larger in the light until I was sure no one
could not notice it, but the people below carried on their normal business. I
shouted down at them but none of them heard me.

The
dragon continued its approach until the sun was blocked out completely. The
blue sky changed into a starless night and still the people did not react. I screamed
at them. I screamed every bad word that my parents ever punished me for saying
and still they stayed calm. Some of them were laughing.

When
I gave up the dragon was nearly above the village and I stared helplessly at
it, waiting for it to stop flying and cremate the village. That was when the
nightmare became its most twisted. The dragon kept flying and growing larger.
It would swell and engulf my sight, dwarfing the village and everything behind
it. I couldn’t look anywhere without seeing part of the monster.

Inexplicably,
in the way dreams often are, I still saw the dragon when I turned around. My
last resort would be to close my eyes and the nightmare would slowly release
me. I would hear more laughing from the people below the wall and I would suddenly
realize my eyes were open and that I was staring into my bedroom. That was how
I woke up on my first day in the tower.

It
was a surreal experience to leave a dream in such a way but to also wake up in
a room that I didn’t immediately recognize. I don’t think I had ever woken up
in any other place but my family home in the morning light before that day. My
new room was just as dark as it had been before I went to sleep.

The
candle was still burning on the table as the man had promised and its soft light
made the room feel warm. I got out of bed and looked more closely at it. The
candle was still as white and plump as it had been the night before. It looked
brand new. I ran a fingertip around the top rim of it and then on the wood of
the tabletop below it. There was no sign of any melted wax or residue anywhere.
For some reason I found this flame comforting and smiled at it.

My
smile faded as I looked to the door of my room. There was a sliver of light in
the crack below it and I remembered that I was alone with a strange man who
could hold fire in his hands. That fire seemed chaotic and wild to me. I
remembered his pet that seemed to be made out of that fire and I hoped that I
was awake before him. I intended to sneak out before he could catch me.

The
door wasn’t locked when I gently pried it open and that surprised me. Despite
that, I opened it as quietly as I could and crept out of the room. Daylight
sliced into the tower through long, narrow windows along the walls. I still
wasn’t comfortable on the stairs and kept my arm pressed against the wall as I
made my way down.

At
the bottom I found the man sitting at the table, as if he had been waiting for
me. My heart sank and I silently berated myself for not peeking over the stairs
before I came down them. A moment passed during which we both looked at each
other in the brighter light. I found that he was not as old as I originally
judged him and I guessed that he must have been at least younger than my
father. After I made that connection I almost saw my father in the stranger and
had to fight back tears.

He
motioned to the chair on the opposite side of the table and I took my place
there. His clothes looked a little strange, and I couldn’t decide if it was
their color or material that seemed odd. His hair was cut short and he looked
strong to me. His arms and jaw were firm instead of flabby and rounded like
most of the men I had seen in my village.

On
the table between us were an assortment of things. There was a bucket of water,
a few plates, cups, and utensils. What caught my attention, however, was the
pile of gemstones laid out in front of the man. It had been dark the previous
night but not so much that I wouldn’t have noticed them. He must have brought
them out while I was asleep.

I
had only seen one gem in my life before that moment. The village wizard had
owned it and liked to tell stories about how much magic was contained within
it. He had made it glow and float for us once and then clutched it protectively
from me and the rest of the children when we wanted a closer look.

This
man had at least a few dozen on the table. They were a variety of colors,
shades, and sizes. Some were transparent green, a pale water blue, and blood
red. Some were small and smooth, while others looked too large to fit in my hand
and were jagged and rough. Most of them had scratches and scuff marks on them
like they had been pried out of something.

“Bryce,
you said. Your name is Bryce,” the man said suddenly.

It
was a statement rather than a question but I still nodded an answer.

“You
must be hungry,” he pointed to my belly.

I
felt a rumble from my stomach as if it was capable of hearing what was said.

“Yes,”
I said. “Sir.” I added.

The
man picked up one of the gemstones. It was one of the small ones, and was a
bright red, nearly pink. He held it arms length away between the index and
middle finger on his right hand. He closed his eyes and released the gemstone
but it didn’t fall. It hovered in place and then began to bob through the air
toward the large plate in the middle of the table.

I
saw the man close his eyes and furrow his brows together as the gem moved. It
looked like he was trying very hard to remember something from long ago. He
seemed to find it and when he opened his eyes he flicked his hand at the
floating gem and it burst to life with a flash of light. The display was so
bright that I had to lift my arms to shield my eyes from it.

I
smelled the food before I saw it. Roast beef, onions, potatoes, and carrots. I
didn’t believe it until I opened my eyes and saw the food glistening on the
plate. It was enough food to keep my family fed for days. My stomach lurched
angrily at me that I wasn’t already eating it.

Looking
back, I should have been more suspicious of food created from magic even if it
did turn out to be harmless. I hadn’t eaten in more than a day which felt like
a lifetime for a growing boy. I began to eat immediately.

“That
wasn’t right,” the man said quietly to himself. I halted in place with my mouth
and hands full of food, realizing that I hadn’t asked permission to eat. I
expected to be punished but he didn’t even seem to notice what I was doing. He
sat shaking his head to himself and I resumed eating.

At
some point the man joined me in the meal. He picked at the food while I
shoveled it in my mouth as fast as I could, worried that it might be taken
away. He filled our cups with water from the bucket and I drank deeply between
mouthfuls of beef.

I
looked at the man several times throughout the meal, prepared to face some sort
of comment about eating quickly with my hands or with disregard for all manners
and etiquette. Each time the man simply watched me, seemingly content to let me
eat and drink as much as I pleased. When I was finally finished, I sat back and
was shocked at how much food still remained on the platter. The man smiled at
me.

“Feel
better?”

I
nodded.

“Good.
We have some things to do today but I said we would talk. Ask your questions
first. Maybe you’ll answer mine in the process.”

My
heart sank and I was once again leery of the man. Things to do meant work or
chores. I still didn’t know why this man was being so nice to me. I thought of
the monsters I had been afraid of the night before. Could trolls or monsters
disguise themselves as people? Was he fattening me up to eat? I looked around the
room and thought it was quite clean for just one man. Did he keep children
locked away somewhere to do his work? My mind raced.

“What
are you?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

The
man laughed. It was a good, infectious laugh, that got deeper toward the end as
if there was another joke I was too young to work out.

“Oh,
what am I? A fair question. It is, really. I am a wizard. I am a man too, like
you will be someday. But I am also a wizard. Magic is the only thing that makes
us different.”

I
nodded as if I understood. I suspected that I didn’t really. The laugh had only
eased me a little.

“What
is your name?” I asked.

“I
don’t have a name,” he said, and then continued talking when he saw the look on
my face. “I was born here, in the tower. I was raised in the tower. There have
been people and,” he hesitated, looking for the right word, “
things
here
over the years, but no need for names. I am part of the tower more than
anything. Call me that if you wish. Tower.”

The
way he had said
things
made me shudder. It made me think of the dragon.
I thought of it breaking into the tower and eating me, finishing the job of
eating everyone in the village it just destroyed. I had one more question.

“Do
dragons ever come here?”

Tower
shook his head.

“How
do you know?”

“Everything
in here has some magic of a sort. Nothing can enter the tower usually. It
protects itself. You can’t see it until you’re close, and there’s a spell that
gently pushes people and animals away, like a feeling of dread or something bad
up ahead if they’re getting too close. The only reason you found it is because
you were running from something that scared you even more than the spell.”

I
remembered how I didn’t notice the building until I was almost standing on the
stones. I felt a little safer, but I wasn’t entirely convinced yet.

“But
what about those
things
you said?” I made a face when I said the word.
“How did they come here?”

He
leaned forward on the table and rested his chin on his hands. I watched him
collect his thoughts and mull over how to say whatever it was he wanted to tell
me. I shifted in my chair.

Before
he spoke he stretched out a hand and pointed it to the door on the other side
of the room, the wooden one that I had tried to approach before I heard Tower
coming down the stairs.

“That
door,” he said. “I told you that this place is magical. Your room has that
candle. There are other objects around the tower. Some places are safe. Others
are dangerous. That door leads to the most dangerous place of all.”

My
eyes were locked on the door. He was still pointing at it.

“Do
you have anywhere to go?” he asked.

“What?”

“A
dragon destroyed your home. You said so last night. Do you have anywhere to
go?”

He
lowered his hand as I lowered my eyes. I shook my head.

“You
can stay here then, for as long as you like. You’ll have to help me and some
days there may be a lot to do. If you find that it’s too much you can leave. In
return for helping me I will provide you with food and a roof over your head.
Does that sound acceptable?”

I
turned and looked to the stone door, the one that opened to the forest, and
thought about my chances outside. I had never traveled anywhere but my home
village. I had heard about other settlements further up the roads and had met
travelers from them. I didn’t know how far they were or how they would react to
an orphan boy and that’s only if I didn’t get caught by the dragon.

The
word orphan stuck in my head and I felt my lips tremble. I forced them to stop
before I turned back and faced Tower. I nodded once.

“Good,”
he said. “For now you must not go exploring unless I am with you. There are a
lot of empty rooms in the tower but not all of them are safe. You can go
outside but if you step away from the tower’s stones you may not be able to
find your way back here again. Under no circumstances, however, are you allowed
to open that door. You must never go near it unless I am with you.”

He
was pointing once again to the wooden door.

“What’s
in there?” I leaned forward as I asked.

“No,”
he shook his head and jabbed his finger at the door. “No, you cannot be curious
about this. This place is dangerous for a curious mind. If you do not agree to
these rules then you can be on your way. Do you understand?”

I
was young back then and curiosity was part of my nature. I tried my best to
cast any thoughts of what might be behind the door out of my mind. It had only
been a few moments but now that I had agreed to stay the thought of being cast
out where the dragon could swoop down and gobble me up frightened me. I didn’t
stop nodding until Tower stopped pointing at the door.

“Good,”
he said gently. “Any other questions?”

“That
fire last night. The fire person on the table. What was that?”

“Ah,”
he said and smiled. “That’s a friend of mine. He’s what wizards call a
familiar. A companion of sorts. You won’t see him again for a while. I
understand what fire must mean to you now.”

I
felt guilty but he was correct. Even knowing that the creature might be
friendly didn’t make me feel any better about fire that was alive.

I
had no other questions after that and we both got out of our chairs. Tower
headed for the stairs but stopped after he saw me eyeing the food, wondering if
it was safe to leave it out as it was going to waste away. He stood next to the
platter on the table and placed both of his hands over it.

“Come
closer,” he said. “Let me show you another spell.”

The
effect left his fingers in a similar way that light had the night before. There
were small sparks from his fingers that traveled through the air like drops of
water, displacing the light as it passed through them. They quickly landed and
scattered over the food and formed together, shaping itself to the contents of
the plate and hardening like a sheet of ice.