Secrets of Yden (20 page)

****

Max, Ian, and Finn were still fast asleep when Jon entered the bungalow. Arielle greeted Jon with enthusiasm as he set down his backpack, and he had to shush her lest her chirps wake up his fellow apprentices. The house dragon happily attached herself to Jon's shoulder for the short walk to the tree house, where an intoxicating fragrance wafting in the air meant Cressidia had made cinnamon buns.

Jon broke off bits of pastry and fed them to Arielle, but when the bun was gone, so was Arielle.
My house dragon is a cute little opportunist.

Quixoran and Jon had the dining area to themselves since no one had yet begun to stir. Jon told his grandfather about the anomaly and his encounter with Bailey. "I was hoping Homa might talk to Bailey, but I don't know if I really trust him.
"

"Your caution is wise," Quixoran replied. "Homa is a rather strange wizard with much tragedy in his past."

"Do you know him well?"

"Many turns ago, Homa and I took the final exam of our apprenticeship together, along with seven other apprentices. Poor Fozt of the Turtle Clan didn't survive. It was a dreadful accident, but many felt Homa was partly at fault. Nevertheless, Fozt and Homa were close friends, and Homa was never the same."

"That's one tough exam," Jon said, taken aback.

"The Pytch Ritual was a traditional rite-of-passage for young wizards. The nine of us were transported to Pytch and left there for a fortnight without our transporter cuffs," he replied. "Because of what happened to Fozt, the Ritual was thereafter abandoned."

His grandfather had mentioned something about Pytch once before.
Don't go to the continent of Pytch unless you want to be eaten
. Jon shuddered.

"I'm sorry for the guy who died, but the Ritual sounds kind of exciting. How did you survive two whole weeks?"

"To pass the Ritual, the apprentices had to work together. It
'
s just as well the Ritual has been abandoned, since the wizardry-at-large has rather lost the knack."

"I bet
your
apprentices could pass the Ritual," Jon said.

As if on cue, apprentices began to trickle in for breakfast, and he broke off any serious conversation until later. After breakfast, Jon, Kira, and Brett met with Quixoran to discuss the most recent anomaly.

"These anomalies have played out just the way Casey thought they would," Jon said.

"According to his theory, the next anomaly may be over sixteen hours long," Brett added. "And the event window begins in eighteen days, more or less."

"Do we have enough information to call a Summit yet, Grandfather?" Jon asked.

"I will petition Chairman Lux for a Summit, but as a last resort," Quixoran said. "A Summit will require proof of the anomaly."

"I'm an eyewitness!" Jon exclaimed.

"Wizards who resent the Dragon Clan may choose not to believe you," Kira said.

"Jon, you must also remember you're a witness only because you possess a rare and very powerful magical artifact," Quixoran added. "Many a wizard would move Yrth and Yden to get his hands on the Portal Key. We ought not acknowledge its existence unless we have no other choice."

"We may have a lead, Master Quixoran." Brett produced the battered scroll. "We found this in my father's safe."

The Dragon Clan wizard carefully opened the scroll and skimmed the contents.

"It's the spell Guinn used to open the portal," Jon said.

"At the bottom appears part of a prophecy," Kira said. "We must locate the rest."

"Since Lialia was the one who hid the Portal Key, we think she might be able to help," Brett said.

"An excellent idea," Quixoran said. "I have the feeling Lialia knows a great many things she has yet to reveal."

****

Brett, Kira, and Jon materialized in the pitch-black passageway outside Efysian's former lair. Although their clan rings began to glow, Jon also conjured a small everlasting orb.

"Lialia, may we come in, please?" he called out.

Silence.

"Perhaps she's not here?" Kira suggested.

"Grandma, we need to talk to you!" Brett bellowed.

"The door is open." Lialia's disembodied voice reverberated up and down the passageway. "And
don't
call me Grandma."

Sure enough, the rebuilt wall yielded to the wizards' touches and they passed through to the cavern on the other side. Lialia was leaning casually against a stalagmite. She examined each of them, and then pouted. "You didn't bring the other handsome boy with you? The Unicorn Clan wizard?"

"Max and I are kind of going out,
Grandma
," Brett said. "Hands off."

Jon stepped in between Brett and Lialia, worried the water nymph would get mad and evaporate into mist. "We'll bring Max next time. We came to ask you about something."

"Have you ever seen this before?" Brett asked, holding up the scroll.

Lialia backed away as if the scroll were toxic. "No." She brightened. "I've been redecorating! Come in and have a look at what I've done with the place."

As they followed her deeper into the cavern, Jon exchanged an excited glance with Brett and Kira.

"She knows something," Kira murmured.

"The trick will be to get her to talk," Jon said.

In the center of the cavern, the huge everlasting orb he'd created on his last visit was still burning brightly overhead. Lialia had tried to restore the place to its former natural beauty. The remnants of dragon-bone furniture had been swept into the shadows behind a stalagmite, and the dragon-hide floor coverings had been rolled up and chucked to the side. The scorch marks and bloodstains from previous wizard firefights had disappeared, and the only thing remaining from Efysian's previous occupancy was the Wolf Clan wizard himself. He was still in statue form, prone, with bits and pieces having broken off when he'd fallen over. Jon frowned; the sight of Efysian always gave him the creeps. Quixoran had turned the Wolf Clan wizard to stone over a year and a half ago, and Jon wondered if Efysian had any awareness in that ossified head of his.

"You've cleaned the cavern beautifully, Lialia," Jon said.

"Very impressive," Kira said.

"It's less creepy now," Brett said.

Lialia tossed her hair, pleased. "Thank you. It was a lot of work."

"I'm surprised you didn't get rid of Efysian," Jon said, nudging the statue with the toe of his athletic shoe. "Would you like me to do it for you?"

"Oh, no! Just leave him there. I get a bit lonesome every once in a while and I talk to him sometimes."

"You don't actually miss him, do you?" Brett asked, horrified.

"Miss that cur? I think not!" Lialia snapped. "But I do enjoy the payback. He punished me cruelly and now I get to enjoy his misery." She giggled.

Kira peered at Lialia. "Punished you?"

"Did I say
punished
? I meant
enslaved
," Lialia replied.

"C'mon, Lialia. Why was Efysian punishing you?" Jon asked.

"There had to be some reason he picked you to be his Guardian," Brett added.

"He picked me for my good looks, of course," Lialia said.

Her words didn't ring true. Efysian wasn't the sort of wizard to be interested in Lialia's considerable good looks. "Guinn was the ladies' man, not Efysian," Jon said.

Lialia's skin glowed bright blue, as if lit from within by a neon bulb.

"You're blushing," Brett said.

It suddenly occurred to Jon if Lialia couldn't keep her hands off her granddaughter's boyfriend, it wouldn't be a huge stretch to think she hadn't kept away from her daughter's boyfriend, either.

"Lialia, did you and Guinn have a thing together?" he asked, incredulous.

The water nymph scooped up a handful of gems from the ground at her feet and began to play with them. "I don't remember," she said in a tiny voice. "That was a long time ago."

The wheels began to turn in Jon's mind. Guinn had romanced Cressidia into giving him the second vanyean seed, and it was likely he'd used Lialia in a similar fashion. "Guinn got you to steal this scroll from Efysian, didn't he?"

"Of course not! I don't steal," she replied, quivering with indignation. "I merely helped Guinn break into Efysian's lair. Guinn was the thief. He stole diamonds and scrolls."

"So Efysian caught you and punished you with the Guardian spell," Kira said. "Why didn't he go after Guinn?"

"Because Guinn had transported to Yrth with Marina, that's why. He left me here at Efysian's mercy… but I'm not bitter." She scattered her handful of gemstones for dramatic effect.

"Lialia, who has the missing part of this scroll?" Jon asked.

"The prophecy was originally given into the safekeeping of a long line of wizard scribes. Efysian took the scroll from an honorable old wizard by the name of Lachi. But to make sure the prophecy remained secure, Lachi separated the scroll into parts and gave the second part of the scroll to his son."

"Where can we find Lachi's son?" Kira asked.

"Guinn killed the poor wizard without knowing he had the prophecy," Lialia replied. "His name was Amanzo."

The name rang a loud bell. "You don't mean Amanzo of the Owl Clan, do you?" Jon blurted out. "The wizard scribe who served Finn's father, Warlord Ignato?"

"That's the one," Lialia said.

"Didn't Efysian know you were Keeper of the Portal Key?" Brett asked.

"No one knew. It was a secret."

"But you were under his spell," Jon said. "How did you manage to keep your secret?"

"Because he never asked, and neither did Guinn," Lialia said. "When you look like I do, people assume you can't do anything important. That's why I was picked to be the Keeper of the Portal Key."

"Thank you, Lialia," Jon said. "You've been a big help."

To repay her for the information, Jon conjured a full-length mirror on the surface of a wide stalagmite. Ecstatic, the curvaceous water nymph threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. After several seconds, Kira cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Lialia, but Max is not the only wizard who is spoken for."

Lialia released Jon. "Lighten up, girlfriend."

Jon sought Kira's gaze, a question in his eyes. In response, she smiled.

****

With Quixoran's blessing, Finn was more than happy to accompany Jon, Brett, and Kira to Ignato Castle to search for the prophecy among Amanzo's possessions. The castle was located in distant Ignato Territory, which spanned the cold climate of the mountains. When he arrived, Jon thought the castle looked a lot different than when it had served as the Fox Clan stronghold. For one thing, daylight made the castle appear picturesque rather than menacing. Also, the surrounding great wall wasn't crawling with cygards. Still, he shivered as he passed through the castle courtyard where his father had fallen — and Kira. Although he'd been able to bring them back, that night had been the worst of his life.

The search for the missing half of the scroll was to begin in Amanzo's old chambers. To Jon's dismay, Finn led them to the same room in which Guinn had opened the portal. The apartment, at the top of one of the towers, had curved walls and high ceilings. The many windows let in a great deal of light, but it was hard for Jon to appreciate the place since it was the setting for his recurring nightmares. From the expression of distaste on Brett's face, it appeared she felt the same way.

She shuddered. "I never thought I'd be back here again."

"This was Amanzo's room?" Jon asked. "Guinn and I busted it up pretty badly during our fight."

Finn nodded. "I managed to put it back together, but I never walk around in here without shoes. There are still a lot of glass splinters lying around."

Jon cast a sour eye on the cubbyholes lining an entire wall, filled with scrolls. "If the prophecy is there, we're sunk."

"I don't think something so valuable would be in plain sight," Kira said. "Finn, did Amanzo ever say anything to you about a prophecy?"

"I don't remember anything like that," Finn replied. "Although whenever I gave him too much trouble, he predicted I might not amount to anything."

"Did he have any writings handed down from his father?" Jon asked.

"He never mentioned any."

"We're looking for the bottom half of a scroll," Jon said. "I guess we should all just pick a section of room and search."

If he'd been looking for a magical object, Jon could have used the locator spell. As it was, he was searching for something ordinary. He started with the desk. It was beautifully made, but it was of simple construction and didn't even have any drawers. Nevertheless, Jon peeked inside inkpots and penholders. He even got down on his hands and knees to examine the underside of the desk, but didn't find anything except a small nest of spiders.

Brett was examining the other furniture just as thoroughly, while Kira and Finn were sifting through the scrolls in the cubbies. Jon was about to join them when he noticed the beautiful tapestry wall hangings, which featured two owls in different landscapes.

"Finn, where did Amanzo get these tapestries?" he asked.

"He wove them himself," Finn said, beaming with pride. "He had a loom set up in another part of the castle."

"He was very talented," Jon said, impressed.

"I wish you could have known him. The owls in the tapestries represent Amanzo and his younger brother Allistri, who perished in the last Wizards' War. Before Allistri died, the two were inseparable."

Jon peered at the sculpture just behind the desk, which was a carving of a single owl. It suddenly struck him as odd that the tapestries depicted pairs of owls, but the sculpture did not. Jon examined the owl, which was about the size of an ordinary backpack. It was a gorgeous piece of art, fashioned from various species of wood. The feathers were so cleverly carved, they appeared to be lifting into the wind. The creature resembled a great horned owl, but instead of tufted feathers on top of its head, the owl sported small, curved horns.

The workmanship was so exquisite, the sculpture almost demanded to be touched. He ran his fingers across its wing… and almost had a seizure when the owl turned its head and blinked.

"Holy smokes," Jon yelped. "It's
alive
."