Wielder: Apprentice: Book 1 of Lady Shey's Story (The Wielder Cycle) (9 page)

Enowene picked up a small silver bell and rang it. Mavis came through the chamber door. “Take the girls back to their chamber.” Mavis bowed in acknowledgement.

“Come along, girls,” Mavis said.

Marella bowed to the wielders. “Pleased to meet all of you.” The wielders all bowed their heads. Sheyna knew she was probably expected to follow Marella’s example, but she did not. Instead she just smirked awkwardly at Toborne in mock defiance.

Once the two girls were back in their rooms, Sheyna sat at the table in the common room. Marella was all smiles as she twirled around in front of the table. “I hope I apprentice to Ianthill. Mistress Enowene was Ianthill’s first apprentice.”

“Who is Dicarion? You didn’t mention him before,” Sheyna asked.

“He is the advisor to Emperor Roshac of Ishrak. I’m not sure exactly where he came from, but I know he is good friends with Ianthill.”

“What did you think of Toborne?”

“He is so handsome and brilliantly mad all at the same time,” Marella said.

“Aye, he is that. I think something else is also wrong with him.”

“Oh, what do you mean?”

“I don’t think the others like him much. They are all so mysterious and they don’t want to tell us too much, but Toborne is different. He speaks his mind for ill or good.”

“If you are correct, such a man could be dangerous, especially one with as much power as Toborne.”

“I know there is more to him than what they are letting us see.”

“You like him, don’t you.”

Sheyna smirked. “I will give you the courtesy to ignore that comment.” Her expression suddenly turned sour. “I did not care too much for his comment about his mare named Sheyna. He knew my name long before he arrived. He said that to be hurtful.”

Marella nodded. “It was a test of character. He was trying to get to you so you would show your true colors.”

“I don’t think I liked that test much,” Sheyna said. “But I think I will ask him to call me Shey for short from now on. How long will they take to decide?”

Marella shrugged her shoulders. “It could be days or hours, how should I know?” Marella noticed Sheyna looking off into her room. “Are you even listening to my answer?”

“Of course, you said you didn’t know.” Sheyna was still staring off into her room. “Marella, did you put any of your dresses back into my wardrobe?”

“No, I took all my dresses out of your room, why?”

“Because there is a blue dress hanging in it now that wasn’t there this morning.”

Marella peered into Sheyna’s room. “Maybe Mavis put it there.”

“Maybe,” Sheyna agreed.

They both entered the room and examined every table, bookshelf, and wardrobe. Sheyna felt in her pocket for the jade statue, and it was present as well. After a thorough search, Sheyna was satisfied.

“I suppose it was left there for me to wear,” she said. She went to open the curtains wider to let in more light when she noticed the shadow on the windowsill again. She rushed to the window and lifted it open, but by the time she peered out the open window, the shadow was gone.

Sheyna schooled Marella on the appearances of the shadow, and the blonde girl thought it must be a trick of light from the sun reflecting off something from the courtyard down below. Marella was examining the windowsill for clues of where the shadow might be created by a reflection of the sun when the two girls heard footsteps coming down the hall and then a knock on the door. Marella opened it to find Mavis standing there. “I have come to collect you both; the wielders have already made their decisions. They wish for you two to return to Mistress Enowene’s chamber at once.”

“Already?” Marella said with surprise. “I thought it usually took them a few days to decide.”

“This is the quickest decision I have ever seen them come to,” Mavis said. “Enowene asked them if they needed more time to make their decisions, but they believed no more time was required.”

Sheyna and Marella followed Mavis to the chamber once more. The wielders were seated exactly the way they were seated before. Sheyna and Marella sat in the chairs as they had before.

“The First Trine has come to a decision,” Enowene said. “Master Ianthill.”

Ianthill made a point to stand. “We have decided that you two are to be trained here in the tower. We do not wish to disrupt your training by moving you somewhere far away.” Both girls sighed with relief. “Mistress Marella, you are to be apprenticed to Dicarion of Ishrak. We feel that Dicarion would be a good choice since he has no political ties to Trigothia. He is also a gifted mindwielder master even though his own strength is in wielding essence.” Marella smiled, stood, and walked to where Dicarion was seated. She stood next to the old wizard.

“Mistress Sheyna, you were particularly difficult to place; however, we wish to train you as quickly as possible, and since it is urgent that you are to be trained, we chose the fastest, most competent teacher among us for the job, Toborne of Abaddonia.” Sheyna was both pleased and apprehensive at the same time. She followed Marella’s lead and went to stand next to Toborne. “Morgoran and I will stay in our quarters here at the tower for a while to oversee that your training goes along smoothly. Do not hesitate to call on us if you feel it is necessary.”

Dicarion took both of Marella’s hands in his. “Marella Arden, I chose you as my apprentice and bind you to my service.”

“I accept your apprenticeship, Master Dicarion, and will serve you until you release me,” Marella said. As she spoke the oath, her dress turned from grey to white.

Toborne stood and took Sheyna’s hands in his. His touch was electric, and she almost pulled her hands back. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked her in the eye. “Sheyna Namear, I choose you as my apprentice and bind you to my service.”

Sheyna was unsure exactly what she was supposed to say, so she repeated Marella’s words. “I accept your apprenticeship, Master Toborne, and will serve you until you release me.” She bowed deeply and noticed her grey dress changed to a forest green. Toborne grinned like the cat that just ate the prized canary.

Enowene shook both Marella and Sheyna’s hands and bid them good tidings.

“Now we will adjourn. It is tradition for new apprentices to follow your masters to their chambers so that you may know where to receive your new lessons tomorrow,” Enowene said.

Sheyna followed Toborne high up into the tower to his chambers. With the wave of a hand, the sconces on the walls all lit up, illuminating the room. The chamber was pleasant for the most part, with shelves of books lining a circular room. There were two huge desks opposite each other in the center of the room on top of bearskin rugs. Toborne searched the bookshelves and took down two books. “I wish for you to study these two books. They contain several techniques on how to efficiently draw upon essence and use it to your advantage.” Toborne sat behind his desk and motioned for Sheyna to be seated at the other. “One other point you should know, my dear. I have a secret you may be interested in.”

“Oh, what is that?” Sheyna asked.

Toborne took out a long clay pipe and stuffed it with tabac. “You see, I am not the most agreeable master; I require a certain excellence from my apprentices. I require excellence from you in all things I teach you. In fact, I demand it.”

Sheyna nodded. “I shall do my very best.”

“There is a good reason why I am the fastest trainer. I learned a spell some seasons ago from another wielder who needed apprentices to learn more quickly than most so he could have soldiers for his war. I am afraid it’s a bit dangerous and could just as easily burn out your brain as easily as teach you.”

“I am not sure I want to be on the receiving end of such a spell.”

Toborne nodded as if he understood, but before Sheyna could detect it, he released essence and cast the spell over her. He was remarkably stealthy at gathering essence. Next to him, everyone else she met who could draw essence sounded and felt loud and clumsy. She panicked for a moment as he held her with essence. He used his free hand to open a magical tome. Sheyna could feel and see the words lifting from it, floating in the air. A stream of words traveled along the essence Toborne held her with, and she found that she was no longer fearful or frightened. The knowledge flowed into her as effortlessly as water flowing in a river. After a moment, she decided she liked the power flowing into her but disliked the method. She began to push against the stream, and Toborne strengthened his grip, which just made her angrier. After a time, the stream of knowledge began to give her a headache, but Toborne did not abate.

“Don’t fight it. I was only joking about this being dangerous,” Toborne said with a twisted smile.

“I know a lie when I hear it,” Sheyna managed to say.

“Indeed, then let us see how close we can get to your mental limit, shall we?” He strengthened his power.

Slowly, Sheyna realized the runes and words on the tomes around her were changing, becoming clearer, becoming readable. On the shelf behind Toborne, one of the tomes was titled
Rune Magic of the Dragons
. Toborne’s face contorted as she looked at the book.

“What are you doing? What are you looking at?” He glanced behind him, still concentrating on the stream of knowledge all the while. “Ah, dragon magic. It was a gift, but I have never been able to read it. No wielder can read it.” He dropped the stream. Sheyna collapsed to her knees with her head in her hands.

The words flowed from her mouth without a forethought. “I knew you were mad, but I never expected you to be this mad. You hurt me!”

Toborne did not seem to be wounded or upset by her words. “Would you have it your way, then? I could train you for a hundred seasons or so, or I could do it this way and have you an adept by Summerwills Day.”

“People don’t live a hundred seasons.”

“Ha, you do now. Wielders age differently. You will appear to be about thirty or thirty-five seasons by the time you are a master wielder, and you will appear that age for hundreds of seasons, aging so slowly as to be imperceptible. It is the way of essence.”

Sheyna felt a sharp pain throb at her temples, and she clasped her head in her hands again. The pain was almost unbearable. She opened her straining eyes to see figures and text swirling before her eyes. Toborne sat back at the center table, smirking at her.

“What’s happening?” Sheyna became confused.

“Looks like the knowledge is taking hold. This is my favorite part.” He released a bubble that expanded into every corner of the room.

“What was that for?” Sheyna asked.

“It was for your screams, dear. I can’t have the whole of the tower rushing here when you scream.”

Sheyna went one step beyond livid. Instinctively she outstretched her arm to the dragon book and willed it to her without bothering to draw in essence. It flew off the shelf and into her hand. Toborne, who was leaning back in his chair, sat forward, watching Sheyna intently. She could tell he was as surprised as she was. Sheyna flung open the book and released essence from somewhere inside her she didn’t know she had stored up. The runes leaped from the page in a constant stream and penetrated directly through her eyes. Now she let out a blood-curdling scream.

“What are you doing, you fool? You can’t cast that spell so soon after! It will kill you,” Toborne bellowed.

He tried to do something, but Sheyna willed him to stay seated. He was stuck to his chair. The runes floated around her, through her, and she began to gain the knowledge to understand them. The pain in her head was almost unbearable, but she powered though it anyway. When it was done and she had absorbed the entire book, all she could see was crimson, and she imagined her sapphire blue eyes were now ruby red, and by the look on Toborne’s face, they were.

“You can’t do that! I didn’t teach you the spell. How could you possibly know how to absorb the knowledge?”

“I don’t like being forced against my will,” she said. With a flick of her wrist, Toborne was sailing backward through the air. He smashed into the bookshelf, causing all the books to tumble down on top of him.

“Dragon magic!” Toborne exclaimed. “You can learn the magic of dragons!” He jumped up from his prone position. “By the gods, you’re the one I have been searching for.”

Sheyna calmed herself. “What are you saying?”

Toborne abruptly went stoic. “I am saying you are special. I have made the correct choice for an apprentice.” He went to her. “Forgive me, I will not use such methods on you again unless you consent. Forgive me, my apprentice.”

“You said you have been searching for me. What did you mean by that? Are you the one sending people to seek me out, to hunt for me?”

“No, nothing so dramatic. I simply meant as an apprentice. I have been searching for someone like you to apprentice.”

Sheyna was sure he was lying to her. “I don’t want to be your apprentice anymore. Something about you is cruel and frightening.”

“Sheyna, no. Don’t give up. I know my methods seem extreme, but look what you have done in the space of a few moments.”

She thought about it for a few moments, studying his face. “I’m sorry. I have made up my mind.”

“Take the night and think it over. You made an oath to me that can’t be easily broken when you accepted my offer in Enowene’s chamber. Sleep on it tonight, and if you still feel the same tomorrow, I will let you out of your oath.”