Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak (10 page)

Deep in the dungeons of Peel Castle, Zorianna slumped against a cold damp wall. The fight with Myrddin's staff had drained her. She was spent and sick of Earth Magic. It held too many nasty surprises. The stars only knew where it had deposited her this time.

Zorianna rubbed her head to try to clear it. She longed to rest but dared not. Tipping her head back against the wall, she tried to make sense of her situation.

Earth Magic had captured her. She was somewhere on Gaia, enclosed within the earth and surrounded by water—she loathed the distant hiss of waves. Would they never stop rising and falling?

In the background floated the muffled cries of birds. The agents of air kept watch.

Zorianna shuddered. The barriers of earth, air and water made this the most powerful place she had discovered on the humans' planet. She was thankful that there was no magical fire. Maybe that was a weakness she could explore…

Before she could complete the thought, a great heat poured down the passages toward her.

She jumped to her feet and reached for Myrddin's staff. She knew she couldn't trust it, but she had no magic left. The staff was her only option.

The approaching Earth Magic was almost upon her. The muscles in Zorianna's arms trembled as she heaved and tugged to raise Myrddin's stubborn staff.

“Give me light!” she ordered as she finally managed to pull the weighty object upright. “Shield me with light!”

The crystal at the top of the staff glowed for a moment, no more.

“I command you, staff!” screamed Zorianna. “I wield you, and danger approaches. You are required to protect me. Shield me with light!”

A flare spurted from the crystal on top of the staff.

Zorianna's eyes snapped shut against its sudden brilliance.

She did not see the light split into four thin strands that curled back and forth, winding up, down and around her body, arms and legs.

The crystal dimmed.

Zorianna opened her eyes.

She looked down at the glowing bonds. Their light formed a shield around her, but also bound her wrists and feet. With a howl of anger, she hurled the staff as far as her restricted arms would allow.

The staff thudded to the floor and rolled into a dark corner out of her sight.

A second, more fearsome light blazed. A wheel of fire whirled down the passage and came to a halt before her.

Zorianna closed her eyes and gathered together her remaining courage. This place was a nightmare. Now she was confronted by fire, the element that completed the circle of Earth Magic.

She leaned against the wall for support and tried to stop her bound body from shrinking from the heat.

“YOU WISHED FOR LIGHT. I BRING IT,” roared a voice from within the fire. Armored legs inside the flames revolved almost faster than she could see, threatening to mow her down. “WHO ARE YOU THAT TUMBLES UNINVITED THROUGH THE MISTS AND RENTS MY SECRET PORTAL?”

Zorianna drew herself up as straight as her bonds allowed. Her eyes flashed. “I am Zorianna, emissary of the Dark Being. Who are you?”

Her question was ignored.

“WHY HAS THE STAFF OF THE MYRDDIN BOUND YOU? WHY DID I SENSE FEAR AND TURMOIL WITH YOUR APPROACH?”

“The fear was not from me,” said Zorianna. “It came from the puny human child who hung onto my cloak. He has gone and is of no consequence.”

“NO CONSEQUENCE?” roared the voice. “YOU ARE MISTAKEN. HUMANS ARE ALWAYS OF CONSEQUENCE. HUMANS HOLD THE WELLBEING OF THE UNIVERSE WITHIN THEIR EARTH MAGIC.”

Zorianna laughed harshly. “You jest. The Dark Being holds the fate of the universe.”

The wheel of fire revolved faster, and its flames crackled as it considered Zorianna's answer.

“SO…YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND…YOU THINK YOU HAVE POWER BECAUSE YOU REPRESENT SHE WHO WOULD BRING DARKNESS TO GAIA? BE AWARE THAT DARKNESS RESIDES HERE ALREADY.”

As the voice of fire spoke, Zorianna saw the darkness behind it thicken.

She gave a snort. “I have experience of your Earth Magic. It is weak and simple. The Dark Being has no equal and is all powerful. When she comes, Gaia will bow to her command or be destroyed. Even you.”

“NEITHER YOU NOR SHE WILL BE ALLOWED TO FIND THE POWER SHE SEEKS. WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU FAIL?” The flames glowed.

Zorianna realized she was turning her head from side to side to escape the heat that frizzled her hair and seared her skin.

Flickers of fear threatened to weaken her, but she was also intrigued at what was being said. She closed her eyes against the brightness, held her head high and jutted her chin once more. “
Allowed
is an interesting word. Nothing can stop the Dark Being from finding the power she seeks. I cannot and will not fail.”

“AHH! YOU DO NOT YET UNDERSTAND THE LINK BETWEEN THE LIGHT AND THE DARK. YOU WILL LEARN, AND I HAVE LEARNED ENOUGH.
LHIAT MYR HOILOO
—TO THEE AS THOU DESERVEST.”

Abruptly the wheel left.

Zorianna's knees trembled. She slid down the wall onto the floor with a sigh of relief. She had no idea what curse or spell had been flung at her, but she had not been engaged in a battle. She could rest, regain some strength, and figure out the tiresome Earth Magic that confined her. She placed her bound arms on her knees and rested her head against them.

The light from Zorianna's bonds continued to glow. It reflected in two sets of watching eyes.

The Moddy Dhoo settled before her on the floor.

A safe distance away, the cat sat up.

Both waited in silence.

It would be some time before Zorianna roused and noticed them.

Mr. Smythe piloted the small floatplane containing the three children and Myrddin across Wales and out over the Irish Sea toward the Isle of Man.

It was a golden day for flying, and Mr. Smythe was in his element. Despite his worry about Adam, he felt the years drop from him as he handled the controls of the six-seater Beaver. He was in charge of something at last, and no magic was involved. He whistled snatches of old army marching songs.

The children relaxed. They all enjoyed flying, and the novelty of taking off in a floatplane from the Avon Estuary and seeing the countryside from the air kept them glued to the windows for the first part of the flight.

Leaving the coast and droning over the Irish Sea was less interesting. Owen and Chantel slept, catching up after their adventurous night on the Tor helping Adam find Myrddin's staff.

Holly was too worried to sleep. She gazed blankly out of the plane window, mulling over Adam's fate, her vision of Breesha and the bead. She must get Myrddin on his own to ask his advice.

She lifted her head to look at him.

He sat at the front, beside Mr. Smythe, holding tight to the plane as if his clenched fists had the power to keep it in the air. He had been silent for the whole flight, she realized. He was worried too and not just about the flying.

Holly sighed. Mr. Smythe was so terrified that some awful magic would happen that he wouldn't let Myrddin out of his sight. He had made sure the children had no chance to talk to him.

Myrddin must know who Breesha was. Surely she couldn't be the Lady. Other than the fabulous necklace, she wasn't grand or magical looking like the other Wise Ones. And she was dead! A Wise One couldn't die. Or could they?

Holly stole another look at Myrddin. She had no idea how long he'd been alive. He looked Mr. Smythe's age, except his hair and beard were red not gray. Mr. Smythe was seventy, but Myrddin must be much older. Centuries old? No, thousands of years old. It gave her the shivers to think about it.

Holly closed her eyes. The anxious thoughts milled around and around. At last she too slipped into an uneasy doze.

“Here, try these,” Mr. Smythe shouted. He offered Myrddin a pair of headphones and the two-way radio.

Myrddin put them on.

“That's better,” said Mr. Smythe's voice in his ear. “Now we can talk without the engine drowning us out.”

“Is your dratted machine always this loud?” grumbled Myrddin.

“Now, now! She's singing as sweetly as a bird,” said Mr. Smythe with a grin. He patted the control panel.

Myrddin snorted. “We'd have been on Mann in seconds, if we'd gone through the portal.”

“But this way we'll arrive without incident,” retorted Mr. Smythe, “without your magical friends and enemies conspiring to make life interesting.”

“You humans,” said Myrddin, “you cannot bring yourself to trust Old Magic.”

Mr. Smythe chuckled. “And you cannot bring yourself to trust our planes.”

“I have to admit I did not submit willingly. It seems an unnatural mode of locomotion.” Myrddin shifted to a more comfortable position in his seat, but his fingers remained clenched on the armrest.

The afternoon sun danced on the sea below, and the sky was a clear pale blue except for a bank of fog hanging on the horizon.

Mr. Smythe pointed. “My instruments tell me the Isle of Man is behind the fogbank.” He frowned. “These weather conditions are very strange. The sun is so strong I'd have expected the fog to have burnt off by now.”

Myrddin showed no surprise. “Manannan has drawn his cloak of mist around the island. He feels threatened. Zorianna has invaded his kingdom.”

Now it was Mr. Smythe's turn to look uneasy. “I hope I am doing the right thing bringing the children here,” he muttered.

Adam still slept. Sprawled on the floor and covered with soft wraps, he was deep in the sleep that follows total exhaustion. He turned over. His hand brushed his hair and transferred some Bollan Bane dust to his eyelids. A small dream danced, a silly dream. He saw Owen leaping around trying to catch one of Ava's feathers, only somehow the feather turned into a toothbrush. Adam's lips lifted. He smiled in his sleep, cupped one hand under his cheek and sank into oblivion again.

The Dark Being looked at Adam and also smiled. She found great pleasure planning devious ways to use the boy. As she watched him, she rubbed one finger in a circle on the dark stone in her ring. Round and round she rubbed.

Round and round and round swirled her vortex.