Ascendant (40 page)

The steps that
wound their way upward in the old bell tower were worn down in the center, so
smooth they were almost slippery. This tower was even older than the tower
where Paedris lived, the windows there were mere narrow slits, spaced wide
apart. Koren had to feel his way, hugging the outside wall. When he reached
what he thought was halfway up to the roof, he stopped. Was that voices he
heard? He couldn
’
t
tell if it were voices, or his imagination. He peered out the window slit. The
moon had gone behind a cloud during his climb, it was now so dark he could
barely see his hand in front of his face.

Koren kept
climbing, occasionally stumbling on an uneven step, until he saw an opening
above him, dimly lit against the patchy clouds. The stone steps ended on a flat
wooden floor. What Koren remembered from the one time he had been atop the
tower, in full sunlight, was that the railing along the edge was rather low, so
he inched forward until his foot touched the railing. He glanced down, where he
could barely see Kyre in the shadows of the courtyard, looking up at the tower.
“
Ha!
”
Koren said to himself,
this was not such a big deal. Kyre had been playing a trick on him, there were
no ghosts. He waved down at Kyre, but the ducal heir couldn
’
t see, it was too dark.
Koren looked up at the clouds, if he waited a moment, the moon would be visible
again, and he could prove to Kyre that he, Koren Bladewell, had climbed to the
top of the tower by himself, and was not afraid at all.

Then the moon
came out, illuminating the courtyard with a cold silvery light, Koren was sure
Kyre could see him. He stood at the railing, waving his arms, calling out in a
loud whisper.
“
Kyre!
I
’
m up here!
Kyre! Hey, I
’
m
up at the-
“

Koren suddenly
became aware of voices behind him. Someone else had climbed up the tower behind
him? He turned and-

Saw ghosts.

They wore
uniforms with the symbol of Tarador, and armor in an old style, and carried
swords that glinted brightly in the moonlight.
“
Whooo goooes theeere?
”
the voices called, as the
ghosts moved to surround him, reaching out to grab him. He felt icy fingers on
his arm, and he panicked. He later didn
’
t
remember bursting between the ghosts, evading their bony, outstretched fingers,
leaping through the opening in the floor, tumbling down the first couple
stairs, taking the rest three at a time, bouncing off the hard stone walls all
the way down, until he stumbled through the doorway to sprawl at Kyre
’
s feet in the courtyard.

Kyre
’
s eye were as wide as
Koren
’
s. He
had not expected Koren to actually reach the top of the tower!

“
Did you-
“
Koren gasped between
breaths,
“
did
you see them?
”

Kyre nodded
vigorously.
“
They
were all around you! You shouldn
’
t
have been standing near the railing like that!
”

“
When I,
”
Koren caught his breath,
“
got to the top, there was
nothing, it was dark. I didn
’
t
see them until the clouds went away. Where did they come from?
”

Kyre
shuddered, as if he could feel the icy hands of the ghosts on his skin.
“
They are always there! In
the light of a full moon, the shadow realm becomes visible to us, here in the
real world.
”
Kyre spoke as if he were a wizard himself.
“
Did they hurt you?
”

Koren held up
his arm, which still felt cold. He rolled up the sleeve, and saw faint red
marks, where the ghosts had touched him.
“
N-no.
It f-feels cold, but it doesn
’
t
hurt.
”

Kyre felt ill,
as if he were going to faint.
“
Come
on, let
’
s get
you in front of a fire, and something hot to drink.
”

“
That sounds good,
”
Koren said, rubbing the
marks on his arm to take away the chill. Suddenly, he looked up at the full
moon.
The ghosts are always there.
Koren
’
s mouth dropped open.
The shadow realm
becomes visible in the light of a full moon!
“
I- I have to go.
”
He turned and ran as fast
as he could toward the castle.

“
Wait! Where are you going?
”
Kyre asked, startled, but
Koren had already disappeared around a corner.

Koren knew
there was no way the royal guards were going to let him inside the palace, at
such a late hour, without an appointment. But the Cornerstone chamber was not
truly part of the palace itself, only attached to it, and so Koren ran all the
way around, to the door of the corridor that led to the Cornerstone chamber.
The guard there nodded to Koren and opened the door for him, servants often
used that corridor as a short-cut between parts of the palace and the kitchens.
But when Koren got to the chamber, the heavy doors were locked shut. He tried
to look through the crack between the doors, and was frustrated to see only
darkness.

There were
windows, set high up in the chamber wall, near the roof! He could look through
those windows. If he could get up there. He turned around and raced back down
the corridor, up two flights of stairs and opened a window, careful not to let
it squeak. Below the window was a roof, which led to the outside wall of the
Cornerstone chamber. If he could manage to crawl along the wall to a window, he
could see inside the chamber.

After his last
experience climbing out a window and onto a roof, when he very nearly fell to
his death, Koren was not eager to repeat the experience. He looked up at the
moon, it was halfway down toward the horizon already, and clouds were building.
He took a deep breath, and put his trembling right foot out the window onto the
roof.

Koren was
about to yank open the door to the wizard
’
s
bedchamber, when he realized that was a foolish idea. Paedris set ward spells
every night, if Koren had yanked opened the door, he might have set off howling
banshees and been blasted back across the hallway. Ever since Kyre warned Koren
that the wizard saw him as nothing but a servant, Koren had been very careful
around the powerful sorcerer. Perhaps he should forget about the Cornerstone,
and let Paedris sleep? No, this was too important. He used his fist to pound on
the door.
“
Paedris!
Lord Salva, please, you must come quickly.
”

The face that
appeared when Paedris opened the door was that of an old man, befuddled by
sleep, no more a wizard than Koren was.
“
What
time is- Koren, what are you doing?
”
Paedris asked with a jaw-stretching yawn.

“
Please, sir, put on your
robe, you must come quickly. The moon is setting sir, please hurry!
”

It was a
sleepy and grumpy Paedris who ordered the guard to unlock the door to the
Cornerstone chamber. The wizard half suspected his servant was playing a prank
on him, perhaps something Carlana had ordered.
“
Koren, if this is a joke, it is most
certainly not-
”
The wizard halted in mid-speech, gaping with his mouth wide open.

“
You see it? Oh, sir, you
see it?
”
Koren
gasped in relief that the light of the full moon still shone through one
window, down upon the Cornerstone
’
s
resting place.

“
See what?
”
The guard asked, stepping
into the chamber.
“
Nothing
here but dust, Lord Salva. I think your servant is playing a trick on you.
”

“
No,
”
Paedris said in a harsh
whisper,
“
it
is the enemy that has been playing a trick on us, on
me
. For centuries.
And I have been a fool not to see the truth! Koren, how did you know?
”

Koren knelt
down and ran a finger along the scrape marks on the floor.
“
When I realized these
marks had been cut with a chisel, sir, I knew the enemy only wanted us to
think
they had dragged the Cornerstone away. They must have sent the Cornerstone into
the shadow realm, like the way Lord Mwazo made that teapot disappear.
”

“
Cut by a chisel, hmmm? Cut
by a chisel?
”
Paedris roared with laughter.
“
Kings
and queens have searched for the Cornerstone, but only this boy thought about a
common stone-cutting tool! And a teapot!
”

The guard
edged back toward the door. The wizard had clearly gone mad.
“
Begging your pardon, Lord
Salva, but are you well?
”

“
Yes, yes, man, we are all
well tonight! Koren, hold my hand, and concentrate on the Cornerstone. Quickly,
before the moonlight is gone!
”
Holding Koren
’
s
hand in a painfully tight grip, Paedris muttered words in a language Koren didn
’
t understand, then shouted
at the stone and gestured with his staff. There was a blinding flash of light,
and there, in front of them, was the Cornerstone, where it had been all along.

“
May I, may I touch it,
sir?
”
Koren
asked in awe, after Paedris released his hand. His body felt odd, and tingled
all over.

“
Yes, but I think you
should attend to our guard first. I
’
m
afraid the poor fellow has fainted.
”

“
You do understand, Koren?
”
Paedris asked, the next
morning, when the wizard surprised his loyal servant by waking him up, and
bringing him a fresh pot of tea. Koren should have known this did not mean good
news.

“
I guess so.
”
Koren mumbled, staring at
his shoes. He had gone to bed glowing with excitement from his triumph in the
Cornerstone chamber, dreaming of glory. But, after Koren had gone to sleep,
Carlana and Paedris had decided that credit for finding the Cornerstone must go
to Ariana, not to Koren. Everyone must believe that the crown princess had
unraveled the legendary mystery, it would strengthen her hand in the future
when dealing with the Dukes. For credit to go to a common servant, when
generations of royalty had failed to discover the truth, would make the royal
family a laughingstock. And Koren, after all, was nothing but a common-born
servant. He didn
’
t
matter. He had saved a princess not once but three times,
and
found the
legendary Cornerstone. What more did he have to do, to be more than a servant
boy? Or would nothing he ever did be good enough?

“
You know who really found
the Cornerstone, and I do. And Carlana and Ariana both know, Koren. But no one
else can know.
”
The guard who fainted had been sworn to secrecy, and he was anyway not eager to
talk about the events of that night. Paedris had agonized over, once again,
denying Koren credit for a remarkable accomplishment. For saving Ariana
’
s life, Koren should have,
at the very least, been rewarded with a grant of land. And for finding the
Cornerstone, when wizards and kings had failed for countless years? Why, a
knighthood would be the barest minimum reward!

Unfortunately,
word that the Cornerstone had been found would soon reach the enemy
’
s ears. If the enemy heard
a story that the crown princess had found the Cornerstone, their assumption
would be that the truth was her royal wizard had really been responsible, and
the enemy would not inquire further. But if the enemy heard that the royal
wizard
’
s
servant had found the Cornerstone, then the enemy would look closely at this
unknown servant boy, the same boy, who, according to rumors, had saved the
princess from the magic-spelled bear the enemy had sent to kill the girl. It
would not take long for the enemy to discover there was something odd, very
odd, and interesting, about the wizard
’
s
remarkable servant boy.