The Ancient Ones (The Legacy Trilogy Book 3) (26 page)

Leopold choked as he realised who he was speaking with. He had heard Samuel speak the name of Lomar—Poltamir’s servant.

Soldiers were laughing and having second helpings of dinner by the bonfire. Leopold looked towards them nervously, his dinner forming into a hard ball in his stomach, soured by his fears.

‘Oh, I see my name is familiar after all. Call to them if that will make you feel better; I’m not really here, so it will not achieve much.’ The man waved his hand through the sand at his side and it passed through like water. ‘See?’

‘You’re not here?’ Leopold asked, realising he was still holding his pork bone against his chin. Setting it aside, he wiped the grease from his lips with the back of his hand. By not being here, he hoped that also meant the man could not hurt him. ‘What do you want with me?’

‘With you? Nothing. I come for a civilised chat. Samuel is hunting me and he will find me. I wanted to forewarn you of what will come.’

‘Do I want to hear what you have to say?’

‘I don’t know,’ the man said, raising his brow, his forehead folded into creases. ‘Do you?’

Leopold again looked to the armed men, those few dozen strides away. ‘I suppose I do. Any enemy of Samuel’s is a friend of mine.’

‘Excellent!’ Lomar said, shifting about to make himself comfortable, though the sand did not move beneath him. ‘I have time to tell you a thing or two. Young Samuel will already be scouring for me, feeling something is not right and wondering what it could be. I wish I could see him, swearing and hunting about.’

‘Young Samuel?’ Leopold had to ask.

‘Well, he’s young to me,’ Lomar said with a chuckle. ‘I had roamed the world for half a century before he was born and watched him grow into a man. I helped make him the person he is today.’

‘So you’re to blame,’ Leopold stated, and Lomar laughed good-naturedly.

‘I am.’

‘What is it you want?’ Leopold asked suspiciously. ‘Why did you take his son and cause this infernal mess?’

The uninvited guest smiled, broadly and gladly. ‘That is not easily explained. There are many reasons, and reasons within reasons, the first of which being that if I had not stolen that child, we would not be here now. Cang’s plan would have inadvertently caused the death of us all.’

‘Even if true, you still didn’t return the child.’

‘No,’ Lomar admitted frankly, ‘because there are plans at work, schemes to make rights of many wrongs.’

‘More than that, I’m sure.’

‘You’re right,’ he stated, giving no more away.

‘But why?’

‘I didn’t do anything because I want to. I had to. When you come to be a great leader as I’m sure you will, Leopold, you will learn the meaning of sacrifice. I do not have time to go into my reasons. I want to tell you this. Samuel is using you. As sure as a drunkard values his tankard until its contents have been emptied, Samuel will discard you when he sees fit—when your purpose has been extracted from you.’

‘I assumed that,’ Leopold said. ‘Another magician, Tulan, wanted me to catch Samuel, but Samuel ended up catching him. He was killed in cold blood.’

‘Tulan?’ Lomar said with concern. ‘Such a shame. I knew him well. I didn’t know he had lasted so long. There are so few left now. Almost down to the last.’

‘Did you really know him?’ Leopold asked interestedly.

The man’s smile was bright against his dark skin. ‘Of course. For many years.’

‘Then would you help me be rid of Samuel?’ he asked, lowering his voice.

‘Hmm,’ Lomar said thoughtfully. ‘Samuel will get what is coming to him in good time; no need to rush.’

‘I can help you!’ Leopold said. ‘I want him dead—more than anything. He killed my father and he’s dragging us on this god-forsaken journey. He’ll never let me go home. He’ll kill us all.’

‘Don’t worry. Samuel will be taken care of when necessary. Don’t try anything for now. As you’ve found, he is too powerful for you. Even I would have trouble facing him directly. He has dark beings inside him that grant him exceptional power when he requires it. Did you know?’

‘He told me. That is why he keeps close to his casket—to keep them at bay.’

‘Ah, yes,’ Lomar said. ‘A surprising turn. He can prove very resourceful. This is why everything must be left to the correct time and place. Leave him to me.’

‘So what should I do?’ asked Leopold. Of course, he was not willing to trust this Lomar fellow—he would not trust any magician. He would see what this man could offer.

‘Samuel is bound for Poltamir, to find his son, but the Demon King has already escaped. Poltamir does not have him.’

‘How did he escape?’

‘That does not matter!’ the tall magician snapped. He composed himself immediately, clearing his throat and lowering his voice. ‘Samuel will find him, I am sure of it. When he does, I want you to let me know.’

‘How will I do that?’

‘Say something special—some key words. I cannot watch over you all the time, but I can listen discretely for certain things. Say it exactly as I tell you and I shall hear it, wherever you may be.’

‘What should I say?’

‘Simply say, “Samuel, you have found your son”. That should be easy for you to remember.’

‘But he doesn’t let me call him Samuel. I must call him Lord every time.’

Lomar again became flustered. ‘Don’t bother me with nonsense, boy. I don’t care if he makes you call him Uncle. Just say it when the time comes. Can you do that simple thing?’

Leopold nodded, making note that this man was easily agitated. ‘Won’t he know?’ he then asked. ‘He knows whatever I think almost before I think it. That’s how he caught Tulan before.’

‘Of course he does. He can read your mind, you fool. You cannot stop him from knowing I was here. The more you try not to think about it, the more you will shout it out to him, but he cannot know everything. There are tiny corners in your head where the most subtle of secrets can reside, if only you do not overtly bring them to light.’

‘What else should I do?’

‘Nothing for now,’ Lomar said with a shrug of his shoulders. ‘Just keep an eye on him, and learn who your real friends are, if any. His lies spread until everyone believes them. They may be innocent, but if they have fallen victim to his fantasies then they are dangerous to you. I give you one piece of advice.’

‘What is it?’

‘If you truly want to hurt him, if you truly want to see misery on his face, become close to him. You achieve nothing by being his enemy. As his friend you will learn what is closest to him, his secrets, and use them against him. Watch him fall in upon himself as you reveal what you were doing all along.’ Leopold nodded as he considered what he heard. ‘Trust me. I know it works … from experience. Now go on—get more to eat. You have a long voyage ahead of you and that pork smells particularly succulent.’

‘Wait. I would ask you first.’

‘Yes?’ Lomar said, his interest piqued.

‘Who is behind the Truthseekers. Who is killing all the magicians?’

‘I can see you already suspect or know. Of course, it is Samuel.’

‘But why? He is a magician, too. Why kill his own kind?’

‘You have seen the reason. With each magician he kills his strength increases. It is to be expected of demons. They eat the life of others, consuming it for potency. He is gathering power, readying for the confrontation he knows must come.’

‘Why are you helping me?’ Leopold also asked.

‘We have shared goals, Emperor Leopold. We both want to rid the world of this festering evil. We both want what is best.’ He glanced towards the dark shape of the Farstride upon the water. ‘It’s too dangerous for me to be here. I will trust you to tell me when the child is found, and don’t worry, I will take care of Samuel for you. I must be going. Now be careful; I’m not normally one to meddle with summonings, but I will bring a creature to occupy Samuel and cover my departure. Keep your distance.’ With that, he smiled like an old friend. His plain clothes flickered, black magician’s robes for an instant, and he was gone.

‘Egad,’ Leopold said to no one, before the sky over the sea flashed and terror arrived.

Lightning rippled around a patch of clear night sky, an enormous shadow plummeted into the water with a foaming splash. Whatever manner of beast, it was huge; twice as long as the Farstride and luckily it fell beside the ship instead of upon it.

People on the beach ran to the sea and looked out with concern, and screams rang out as the ocean bubbled. Gigantic snaking tentacles rose from the water beside the ship and a deep, resounding bellow sounded from the beast, reverberating from underwater. Everyone along the shore edged away.

A black dart shot from the silhouette of the Farstride and it flew into the ocean, directly into the middle of the rising creature, to the centre of its writhing tentacles. The beast howled and its curling arms slapped around as it boiled back into the sea.

Quietness prevailed. Those on the shore murmured nervously to each other and women sobbed. The small dark shape rose quietly from the water and returned to the Farstride and everything was as before.

Well, thought Leopold. If that thing can’t kill him, I’m not even going to try.

****

The next morning saw the Farstride raising her anchors and setting off again, with King Pantu’s people running and waving along the cliffs, showing their thanks, before disappearing into the jungle behind.

Captain Merryweather skilfully steered the ship with his commands, following the islands, big and small, as far to the south-west as could be. After consulting their charts, they struck due south, leaving land in their wake.

‘The epic voyage begins,’ Lady Wind told them, gathered on the foredeck. ‘From here we will not make landfall until we find Koia. Let us hope for an uneventful trip.’

‘Emperor Leopold’s Crusade!’ Riggadardian announced loudly across the decks, and the men cheered in response.

Leopold grinned, liking the sound of it. He must have looked too pleased, because the magician pinpointed him from afar, and came striding directly towards him with mischief in mind.

‘Emperor Leopold’s Crusade,’ the magician repeated, exaggerating the sound of it.

‘And what of it?’ Leopold replied curtly. ‘They are not my words; they were his.’

‘I notice you becoming accustomed to your new role. You’re wearing more of the outfits Riggadardian left for you.’

‘Again, what of it?’ Leopold asked suspiciously.

‘You’ll be wearing the yellow gown next. Your father only wore that as a spectacular prank that the nobles and gentry never understood, and like them, you’ll soon be parading about the deck and thinking it splendid.’

‘Do you have a point?’

‘I do,’ the magician said, traces of an evil smirk gathering about his lips like a distant, baneful storm. ‘Let’s see if you can comprehend it. Come with me.’ With that, he strode away towards the foredeck.

‘Where are we going?’ Leopold asked, trundling behind him.

‘Not far.’

The magician led him to a point high on the deck, where a sailor was busy scrubbing, brush in hand and soapy bucket by his knees. The man noticed someone standing over him and, as he slowly raised his eyes to the form of Lord Samuel, he gulped aloud.

‘Sailor, you are dismissed,’ the magician told him. The man remained frozen. ‘Dismissed!’ The fellow found his feet and bolted away.

‘What am I to do?’ Leopold asked. The magician looked at the bucket and raise his eyebrows. ‘Scrub?’ Leopold asked tentatively.

‘That’s right.’

Leopold gave out a heavy sigh. ‘Is this some jest? If so, I find it lacking in humour. You want me, the Emperor of Turia, to scrub the deck?’

‘More so when you put it like that.’

‘What if I refuse?’

‘Remember our pact, Leopold. It is our covenant. You cannot break it. I command, you obey. It is as simple as that. If you fail to comply, you will quickly regret it.’

‘You wouldn’t dare hurt me!’ Leopold declared.

‘I can make your life a nightmare without touching a hair on your head, Leopold—without even resorting to magic. I have been around long enough to know the inner workings of men—of all people—and let me tell you how transparent you are to me. I know your fears, your anxieties, your hopes and dreams. You scream them to me in your every gesture, as do all these witless, ignorant folk.’ He made a sweeping gesture behind him, indicating everyone in view across the ship. ‘Tempt me, and I will expose them. I assure you, Leopold, a human being can rapidly and very easily be reduced to a snivelling, pitiful wreck, and doing so is one of the few joys I have remaining. Do not test me in this.’

Leopold glared at him, then slowly, he buckled to his knees. He knew the man was right. He knew the magician could do exactly as he threatened. Picking up the brush, he rubbed at the deck. Nearby crewmen watched on with curiosity.

‘If this is to teach me humility, it’s not necessary,’ Leopold declared.

‘Oh really?’

‘I have done this before. I have worked hard, every day of my life.’

‘That was before.’

‘Have you not seen me in the sails?’

‘But you like that,’ the magician stated. ‘I’ve noticed you watching others scrub the deck with disdain upon your face. You think it’s demeaning—a task for the lowest peasant, which only shows how little you know, because there are many more distasteful duties on board this ship, and I plan to make you intimate with them all. An emperor should know what kneeling feels like before he demands it of his people. Prepare to kneel as low as you can, Leopold. I thought this would be a good place to start.’

‘To start?’

‘Yes, Leopold. This is a long voyage. I do not want you getting bored.’ A knowing smirk curled into existence.

‘How long will you have me doing this?’

‘Long enough,’ was the magician’s reply. ‘I’ll tell you when you’re done.’ And off he went, leaving Leopold on his hands and knees.

Word passed to everyone that Leopold was not to be assisted, under threat of punishment from him. They kept their distance. Commander Riggadardian came out, blustering and complaining, until Captain Orrell calmed him as always, leading him away and letting Leopold continue his work.