Tara Duncan and the Spellbinders (29 page)

Feeling a little lost, Tara knew she had to give some sort of answer. And from the look on Master Chem's face, she had just been granted something very precious.

“That suits me perfectly, Your Majestic Imperialness. I thank you on my behalf and on behalf of Lancovit.”

“Very well. Now, will someone kindly inform the unfortunate parents of the boy who was killed by his own Portal? As a sign of mourning we will not hold an audience this afternoon. But before retiring, we have another question for you, Tara'tylanhnem. It's about the Beast standing next to you. Is that another familiar?”

Feeling awkward in her huge carcass, Sparrow was shifting nervously from foot to foot, which looked pretty funny.

“I think I can answer your question, my dear,” said the emperor. “If I'm not mistaken, this is the result of the curse on Tarien the Beast, who was once king of Lancovit.”

Sparrow bowed her big, hairy head and stared anxiously at her enormous claws.

“I guess that's right,” she said nervously. “I'm one of his descendents.”

“Ah, I thought your name sounded familiar!” exulted the emperor. “Does our imperial court therefore have the honor of receiving Royal Princess Gloria of Lancovit, known as Sparrow?”

As her astonished friends looked on, Sparrow bowed her head further, and big tears ran down her furry cheeks.

“Yes,” she murmured.

“This is an unexpected pleasure,” Sandor said, purring like a large, vaguely malevolent cat. “The Lancovit ambassador should have alerted us to your presence in our modest palace. We would have welcomed you with the ceremony due your rank.”

“Stop tormenting that child!” Master Chem suddenly shouted, causing a scandalized murmur among the courtiers. “Her parents asked her not to reveal her title. Besides, she isn't a hereditary princess, but a member of a collateral branch, so there's no reason to make a fuss. And now I must ask you to excuse us, but the morning's events have been extremely upsetting and I must look after my apprentices. We extend our condolences to the unfortunate parents of the dead boy. We will convene a High Council in extraordinary session as quickly as possible. We thank you again for your great kindness, but I think we will return to Lancovit right away.”

The emperor glared at him but said nothing.

The high wizard had none too subtly reminded the emperor that because of his position on the High Council, Chem wasn't answerable to him. And that if the princess wanted to remain incognito, that was her business, not his.

Led by Master Chem and Lady Auxia, the apprentices headed for the Portals Hall, whispering excitedly.

Suddenly Cal noticed a slumped figure in a corner of the hall, sobbing bitterly.

“Master Chem!” he exclaimed.

“What is it now?” snapped the wizard irritably.

“Er, I'm not sure,” said Cal hesitantly, “but I think Angelica has a problem.”

Rolling his eyes, Chem told Lady Auxia to go on ahead without him. Followed by Tara, Sparrow, Cal, Robin, and Carole, he went back into the Throne Room, walked over to Angelica, and pulled her to her feet.

The tall girl's eyes were red with weeping, and she seemed dazed.

“Kimi, Kimi, where are you?” she babbled.

The wizard frowned. “Is it your familiar?” he asked, not unkindly. “Are you looking for your familiar?”

Angelica's eyes seemed to have trouble focusing on his face.

“Yes, it's Kimi. Where is she? She's not in contact with my mind anymore.”

The wizard looked grave. “I think I saw a familiar being swallowed by the Portal. I'm terribly sorry, dear, but I'm afraid your Kimi was sucked into the whirlwind. Come along, we'll take you to your room.”

Suddenly Angelica saw Cal, who was looking at her sympathetically. With a roar, she ran over and started pummeling him.

“He's the one!” she said, hitting him with all her might. “It's his fault! I'm going to kill you!”

Cal was too surprised to avoid Angelica's punches, but Sparrow reacted instantly. She grabbed Angelica with a paw and lifted her three feet in the air where she struggled, unable to get free.

Clearly fed up with all the agitation, Master Chem yelled, “What is going on here? Why in Demiderus' name did you attack Caliban?”

“It was him!” yelled Angelica. “He was trying to look under my robe. He frightened me and that's why I screamed. That broke the two boys' concentration, the Portal exploded, and Kimi . . . ” She burst into sobs again.

They all looked at Cal, who had turned the color of a ripe tomato.

“That wasn't what happened at all!” he stammered. “I wasn't looking under Angelica's robe! I was just trying to prove that she was the one who sent the blood fly to bite Tara, so she would lose her focus and cause a catastrophe.”

“A blood fly?” asked the wizard, who was now completely at sea. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“Show him, Tara,” said Cal.

Tara lifted her hair away from her neck to show the bite mark, which was gradually fading but still visible. “When I conjured the fireball and it expanded, you all thought I was doing it on purpose, but in fact I almost killed Gallant and burned the palace down. A blood fly bit me right in the middle of my demonstration. Luckily I was able to keep control of my magic. Cal figured that Angelica had planned the whole thing and wanted to prove it.”

“Search her!” said Cal, pointing at Angelica. “When I was trying to search her pockets—and not look under her robe—I felt something pointed.”

Angelica thrashed around like a lunatic, yelling that no one would search her. But while the wizard hesitated, Sparrow held her firmly and looked through her pockets. With a claw, she pulled out a small glass cage with a girl's sock inside.

A heavy silence fell over the group. Even those who were inclined to defend Angelica, like Carole, were now looking at her with dismay.

“I'll be darned!” exclaimed Tara. “That's the sock I couldn't find!”

“And this is an insect cage,” said the wizard calmly. “Can you explain it, Miss Brandaud?”

“It was for my flying lizard Kimi!” she shouted. “I fed her bugs. This doesn't prove anything. It's just nonsense!”

Suddenly Sparrow had a flash of understanding.

“That's it” she exclaimed. “It was her lizard! She must have sealed up a couple of blood flies with Tara's sock and ordered Kimi to release them during the demonstration. The flies would know Tara's smell and would make a beeline for her and sting her. Kimi was probably still flying, looking for a second chance since the first sting hadn't broken Tara's concentration. She was in the air and not able to grab onto anything, so that's why she got sucked into the vortex.”

Sparrow turned her muzzle to Angelica, who had gone completely white.

“You killed your own familiar!” she said accusingly. “You and your scheming are responsible not only for the death of the apprentice spellbinder, but also for Kimi's death.”

For a moment, Tara thought Angelica would deny everything. But the loss of her familiar and the terrible guilt she must have been feeling overwhelmed her, and she started crying again.

The old wizard had turned the color of marble, white and green. He could instantly foresee all the political complications the incident was going to create.

“Let's go,” he growled. “We have to talk about this, but not here. You're all going back to Lancovit. Pack your bags and transfer immediately to Travia. I'll stay here to take care of any problems.”

Deeply shocked by what had happened, the six apprentices did as they were told. They didn't notice a shadow camouflaged in one of the hanging tapestries. Shedding its colors, it took the shape of a small, slim man in black who thoughtfully watched them leave. If they had known the Omois secret services better, they would have realized that he belonged to them—and would have been extremely concerned.

Omois High Wizard Lady Auxia was waiting for them. She was first surprised, then alarmed when she saw Master Chem's grim face and the way the apprentices were clustered around Angelica, who looked ill.

“What happened?” she exclaimed. “We were waiting for you! Was there another problem?”

The old wizard forced a smile but it must not have been very convincing because Lady Auxia looked even more worried.

“No, nothing at all,” he assured her. “Just a little matter we had to settle. My guest and our apprentices have been deeply shocked by this regrettable incident. My fellow wizards and I think that it would be a good idea for us to return to Travia, so—”

“Ah, but that's not possible!” interrupted a panicky Lady Auxia. “I just got a call from our security chief. An investigation into the circumstances of the accident has been opened. The head of the guards told us that they found a blood fly in the palace. It's now being studied to see if it's carrying any viruses or toxins intended to assassinate our sovereigns.” Tara unconsciously touched her neck and felt a bit nauseous. “This is all extremely awkward. The head of security insisted that we seal all the Portals. No one is being allowed to leave Omois for the time being.”

Shoot, thought Tara, the darned secret services were too fast!

“The Omois secret services' paranoia is none of our affair,” said the wizard threateningly. “Am I to understand that they intend to hold members of the Lancovit High Council against their will?”

“But none of this involves you!” said Lady Auxia, wringing her hands. “You were due to stay with us a few more days anyway, so what does it matter?”

Chem was about to reply when he noticed Carole hurrying toward Damien and the other spellbinders. Before Carole had a chance to say anything, Chem thundered, “Miss Genty!”

“Master?” she turned in surprise.

“In my office, immediately! With Caliban, Tara, Robin, Sparrow, and Angelica.
Now
!”

“Er, Master Chem?” said Sparrow timidly.

“What is it?”

“You don't have an office here.”

“Oh, that's right,” he grumbled. “Lady Auxia, would you mind lending us your office? One of my apprentices lost her familiar in the accident, and we need to talk it over privately.”

“Of course!” she said, relieved at not having to argue with the old wizard. “Follow me, please. Should I have our medical master called?”

“No, I don't think that will be necessary,” said Chem, who was still very annoyed. “I will take care of her and also deal with Sparrow's situation.”

“Ah yes, Sparrow, the princess Gloria,” murmured Lady Auxia, glancing sideways at the huge Beast. “Do you think you'll be able to reverse the curse? The poor girl must be terrified.”

In fact, the poor girl was having a wonderful time. She had set Angelica down but when she flashed her impressive set of teeth, it sent the tall girl into hysterics. For shy little Sparrow, the feeling of power was much more enjoyable than frightening. The small, slim girl had acquired a strong, muscular body. Looming over the others, she saw them back away nervously when she showed her fangs. The feeling was intoxicating.

Lady Auxia led them to her office and then discreetly withdrew, quietly closing the door.

Chem waited for a few moments, gesturing to the young people not to speak. He then astonished them by casting a spell that made the walls transparent. When he was satisfied there was no one outside in the hallway, he let the walls become opaque again and sat down behind the desk.

“All right, we're alone.” he said. “Let's start with Sparrow's situation. Princess, I want you to concentrate on transforming your body. Visualize it becoming normal, that you are no longer the Beast, but Sparrow. You will feel your muscles change, your claws shrink, your weight diminish. The transformation is a magic one but it responds to your will.”

Sparrow wasn't at all eager to do it, but the old wizard insisted. So she relaxed in her armchair, which creaked alarmingly under her weight, and tried to visualize her old body. Very quickly her fur vanished, fangs became teeth, horns disappeared, enormous muscles melted away, and Sparrow reappeared. You could almost hear her spellbinder robe groan as it struggled to shrink back to its normal size.

“Well done!” said the wizard. Then he turned to Angelica.

“Miss Brandaud, your conduct has been unspeakable,” he said curtly. “Not only did your desire for revenge put all your fellow students' lives in danger, but you caused that boy's death. What do you have to say?”

“It was all Tara's fault!” Angelica yelped, with a sideways glare at Sparrow, who could now no longer hoist her into the air. “If she'd lost control of her power, you would've put out the fire and she'd be sent back home to Earth! That's all I wanted. She's dangerous, she can't control her magic, and she'll wind up killing all of us. Isn't there anybody in this palace besides me who realizes this?”

The wizard looked at her as if she were a noxious insect he'd found in his coffee cup.

“Instead of taking responsibility for their own weaknesses, many people prefer to turn on others,” he said very softly. “That's why they beat children and women—out of frustration, rage, anger, and especially weakness. But the fact that Miss Duncan is far more powerful than you is no reason for you to take it out on her, Miss Brandaud.”

“Then let me leave!” said Angelica defiantly. “Let me go somewhere where I don't have to put up with the presence of a dangerous freak.”

“Oh, no!” answered the old wizard. “That's exactly what I'm
not
going to do.” Cal, who had started to smile, looked dismayed. “Your punishment will be to remain in Travia and work for Master Dragosh until he is satisfied with your progress. And don't even think of taking any vacations.”

“What?” exclaimed Angelica. “That's out of the question! I'm going to call my father and tell him what you're planning. He'll stop you. He'll get you relieved.”