Wielder: Apprentice: Book 1 of Lady Shey's Story (The Wielder Cycle) (6 page)

“What happens if none of them want to apprentice me?”

“Don’t be silly. You have nothing to worry about. You will be apprenticed.”

“I am overjoyed,” Sheyna said sarcastically.

“What would you have me do, child?”

“What about Marella?”

“Marella is a special case. There is currently only one who can apprentice her, and he has already agreed to do so. I suspect he will travel here with the others from the Vale of Morgoran.”

“What can you tell me of this Vale of Morgoran? Are there others there who can wield? Is it like your tower here?” Sheyna asked, trying to seem interested.

“The Tower of Morgoran is a magnificent structure with a vibrant village of dedicated Symborians at its base. The Vale teems with life, and the village is filled with bright young girls, some indeed young wielders. I met my own childhood friend there. It is a very beautiful place, Sheyna. You will love it there. No more dark, dang, and dirty city life for you.” Enowene abruptly pointed to the door as if she was suddenly irritated. “Go now and find yourself some breakfast.”

Sheyna nodded and then left the chamber.
There is no way I am getting shipped off to the Vale of Morgoran!
she thought. After she was out of the line of sight of Enowene’s open door, she stomped her feet in frustration.
Symbor is all I know.

When Sheyna returned to her rooms after breakfast, she looked for Marella, but the girl had not yet returned, so she retired to her own chamber. She reached under her pillow and found the small, intricately-carved statuette of brilliant green jade she had left there. She put the statuette carefully on her chest of drawers. The serene, noble visage of the elf maiden impressed her each time she looked at it. She absently glanced around the room and noticed that the wardrobe had been cleaned out and that her bed linen had been changed. Sheyna briefly wondered if she was going to get more dresses of her own to put in the wardrobe. Her eyes once again fell upon the little green statuette. Sheyna knew the piece would have brought enough money for her to both live and eat for at least a couple of seasons, but her mother had given her the statuette and told her that it was very important, so she had kept it hidden and safe. She sat and stared at it, dreaming of her mother until she heard the dormitory door open. Sheyna went to the common room to greet Marella, but no one was there, and the door stood wide open.

“Marella? Are you here?” Sheyna called out. No one answered. Sheyna closed the door and peered into her new friend’s chamber, but she was not home. She shrugged her shoulders and returned to her own chamber. She sat on the bed and gazed up at where she had placed the statuette, but it was gone. Frantic, she jumped up and searched the floor around the chest of drawers, but did not see it. Then, in the western corner of the room, she saw a small wooden table, which she had never seen before, with the green statuette sitting on top of it. Perplexed but relieved, she seized the statue and placed it back on the chest of drawers. She shivered and looked back at the previously unknown table. She felt she was being watched. Unnerved, she dragged the table out into the common room and pushed it into the corner nearest the main door. Curious, she didn’t remember the table being in her chamber before.

Just as she was about to go back into her room, the dormitory door opened. Marella pushed some books inside the main door with her foot. Sheyna leaped with a nervous start.

“What’s the matter with you?” Marella asked Sheyna. “It’s just a few books. They are too heavy to lug around.”

“Nothing is the matter. You just startled me because the door swung open earlier and no one was there.”

“So, you probably didn’t shut it properly after you came in,” Marella said.

Sheyna looked at Marella’s wounded eye. “I see I did not leave a mark.”

“You actually left a sizable mark,” she said. “It was swollen shut this morning. The clerics managed to heal it. You should be thankful.”

“Which reminds me, I thought you were going to have me thrown out today.”

“Oh that. Aye, I tried; it seems you are important to Mistress Enowene, for some reason.”

Sheyna wondered if Mistress Enowene had told her the truth about Marella asking her to stay, but decided not to push it. Instead, she remembered the table she had moved. “Earlier, I moved that creepy little table in here. I hope you don’t mind.”

“What creepy little table?” Marella asked.

Sheyna pointed to the corner. “That one.” The table was not to be seen.

Marella wrinkled her nose. “And you called me a lunatic. At least I don’t see phantom furniture.”

“It was there; I swear it was.”

“What did it look like?”

“You know, a small wooden table; the kind you might put a potted plant on in a corner or something,” Sheyna explained.

“I have never seen a table such as that in here before. Are you certain you saw what you thought you saw?”

Alarmed, Sheyna ran back to her room. The statue was gone again. “What is going on?”

Marella followed behind her. “What?”

“I have a jade statuette of an elven princess that my mother gave to me, and twice today it has disappeared.”

Marella moved next to the window beside a coat rack Sheyna had never seen before and picked up something off the floor. “You mean this statue?” She held the green statuette in her hand.

“Aye, that’s it,” Sheyna said. “But where did that coat rack come from?” Sheyna moved toward it as if to grab it.

Marella turned in time to see the coat rack slowly dissolve into the shape of a thin man about three feet tall. He snatched the statuette of the elf maiden from Marella’s hand and dived headlong through one of the panes of glass in the round window. Sheyna and Marella looked at each other and then began screaming. They ran through the common room and out into the hallway.

After the initial shock of what had occurred, Sheyna and Marella sprinted back into Sheyna’s room and to the window. They peered out but saw nothing. The little man had disappeared.

“Quick, give me your hand,” Marella said.

Sheyna took Marella’s hand and Marella closed her eyes. “I can see it. The little man is running with it.” Marella released Sheyna’s hand. “He saw me watching him and the little thief somehow stopped me from seeing him.” Marella grasped her head as if she had a sudden headache.

“What are you talking about?” Sheyna asked.

Marella looked at Sheyna contemptuously. “You
are
here to be apprenticed to a wielder?”

Sheyna shook her head. “No, I’ve been told I am to be apprenticed elsewhere.” As the words left her lips, Sheyna’s curiosity got the best of her. “Is that what you were doing, wielding, I mean?”

Marella’s expression soured. “I can’t believe you are asking me that. If you know so little about wielding, what makes Enowene deem you so important?”

Sheyna found the question offensive. “I’m sure the wielders can still teach me. I’d wager you did not come from your mother’s womb casting spells. Besides, Mistress Enowene says I’m to be apprenticed to a master wielder. I’m sure they can teach me what I need to know.”

Marella’s face turned slightly ashen. “Where are you to apprentice, then?” She didn’t quite seem to believe what Sheyna had told her.

Sheyna pursed her lips. “Some place called Morgoran’s Vale, or something like that.”

Marella stiffened. “The Vale of Morgoran?”

“That’s it. Is it an important place?”

Marella’s face turned from ashen to red. She stormed out of the room.

“Marella, where are you going?” Sheyna called after her, but Marella ignored her. Sheyna smiled to herself. She knew she would have company on her journey now. Marella would move mountains to be afforded preferential treatment over a commoner such as herself. If Sheyna was going to the prestigious Vale of Morgoran to be apprenticed, you could bet that Princess Marella Arden would be going as well.

Sheyna opened her empty hand and concentrated on bringing the green statuette back. “Let’s see if the enchantment I put on it works as I intended.” A few seconds later and the statuette appeared firmly in her hand. “No one will ever steal you away from me!” she said to the statuette, and then dropped it into her front dress pocket. She waited a few moments and then headed down the hallway after Marella. At Mistress Enowene’s chamber, she could hear Marella ranting and raving. When she, at last, heard hurried footsteps coming toward the door, she hid around the corner. Marella stormed out of the chamber and disappeared down the hall. Sheyna strolled up to Mistress Enowene’s door and gently rapped on it.

“You may enter.”

Sheyna pushed the door open. Enowene was seated behind her wooden desk, quill and parchment in hand.

“Ah, come in Sheyna,” Enowene said.

Sheyna closed the door and went to face the headmistress. “Mistress Enowene, I wish to report a theft.”

“What sort of theft? What was taken?”

“A small, green statuette of an elven woman that my mother gave to me.”

Mistress Enowene suddenly appeared concerned. “Where did you see it last?”

“In my room. A little wielder took it; he pretended to be a coat rack. Where do the boys apprentice? I would know him if I saw him.”

“He was disguised as a coat rack? That is a singular bit of wielding, not easily done. Are you certain it was a boy?”

Sheyna thought for a moment. “He looked more like a small man.”

“Kyrie,” Enowene muttered.

“You know who took it?”

“Possibly, and if it is who I think it is, I will get your possession back.”

Sheyna produced the statuette. “No need; I have it here.”

Enowene considered what she was seeing. “Perhaps you should explain.”

“I don’t know the term you would use for it, but I willed for the statuette to never be lost from me. If I concentrate on it, it comes back to me. I suppose I enchanted it, correct?”

“You used an enchantment!” Enowene said, astonished.

“Regardless of what I did to retrieve it, it was taken from me. Just because I got it back doesn’t excuse the crime.”

“I agree. You are correct. I will have the grounds searched for the perpetrator.”

“Thank you, mistress.” Sheyna curtsied and proceeded to leave.

“Wait, before you leave, I think I should tell you that it has been decided that you may stay here and train.”

Sheyna stopped in her tracks. “What? Has something changed? I thought it was too dangerous here.”

“Aye, circumstances have changed as the wielders who wish to apprentice you are currently traveling here. They also feel that the enemy is no longer hunting for you here.”

“Hunting for me? That makes it sound like I am some sort of prey.” She turned to look at Enowene. “Who is this enemy I have never met who hunts me?”

Enowene sighed and put the feather pen she was using in the inkwell. “Honestly, we don’t know for sure. You might want to sit down for this. I fear what I am about to convey to you is the fabric of nightmares.”

Sheyna, concern apparent on her face, sat in one of the chairs in front of Enowene’s desk.

“There are rumors among the dragons of an ancient evil. The dragons speak of some sort of dragon kin twisted and forced to the will of malevolent forces. Some say the old gods were jealous of their gentler kin and created abominations to harm them. Morgoran and Toborne have been working with the dragons to try and discover what can be done to protect ourselves from the shadows.”

“Why would these shadows want me? I am nobody.”

“I was not certain until a few moments ago when you told me about how you enchanted that statuette. Enchantment is a rare gift, and the fact you possess it puts you in danger. “

“I am not even very good at it. My enchantments usually only last a few moments. It took me a hundred times to successfully enchant this statuette.”

“That is merely a matter of training and practice.”

“If enchanting is so rare, how will I train and whom will I train with?”

“Ianthill, the great wizard and my own mentor, always says that discipline and training of the mind is universal. You can be taught by almost any wielder to focus your abilities. Your master need not possess the same abilities.” Enowene rubbed her hands together. “How are you and Marella getting along?”