The Orchard of Hope (10 page)

“No, he
’
s not. He
’s doing fine,
”
Moss replied to the voice without looking away
from the clock. The voice, however, had already distracted
Nicholas, who looked down near his feet to see a small stone
gargoyle staring up at him. The creature was about two feet tall
and made of granite, but his movements weren
’
t rigid as he turned his neck to
look up at Nicholas.

“Newton!
”
Moss said with annoyance in his
voice,
“
You
’
re distracting
him!
”

“He needs
distracting,
”
the gargoyle replied as he gracefully leapt up onto the
table, using his wings to lift himself through the air.
He landed on his feet and sat next to the clock.
He flapped his reptilian-like stone wings a few more times and then
pulled them in close to his body.

“He does
not
need
distracting,
”
Moss insisted with emphasis.
“
We
’
re
in the middle of a lesson here.
”

“My name is
Nicholas,
”
Nicholas said politely.

“I
’
m Newton, the
castle
’
s
finest gargoyle
,
”
the
creature replied as he extended a claw with long sharp talons.
Nicholas grasped it and did his best to provide a firm handshake
without cutting himself. Newton then turned to greet Megan with a
high five. He was small, but he was also formidable enough to meet
Megan
’
s
powerful greeting without being shaken in the
least.

“You
’
re the castle
’
s only
gargoyle,
”
Moss
replied flatly.

“Only and
finest. They
’
re
not mutually exclusive categories,
”
Newton explained with
confidence.

“Why
haven
’
t I seen
you before?
”
Nicholas asked.

“I belong to
Moss, so I
’
m
really more of a gargoyle in residence when Moss is in the
castle.
”

“You belong to
Moss? Like a pet?
”

“Sort of. He
brought me to life,
”
Newton explained.
“
Technically, I could leave
him
—
but I
have a strong sense of loyalty ... although I sometimes feel that
it may be misguided.
”

“Newton, we
’
re not here to give Nicholas
your life history. Some other time, please,
”
Moss said.
“
Now, can we get on with our lesson?
”

“Sure,
”
Newton replied, then he turned to
Nicholas.
“
We
’
ll do lunch.
”
He leaned closer and
whispered,
“
If
you
’
re going to
work with Moss there are a few things you need to know about him.
Luckily, he almost always has
underwear
on.
”
Nicholas nodded briefly and
then looked at Moss uncertainly.

“Yes, yes. Do
lunch some other time. But right now there are more important
things,
”
Moss
said, rushing the words as he spoke them.
“
We have a lot to
accomplish.
”

“Nothing is
more important than food,
”
Newton said quietly as he stepped back from the
clock to observe the lesson.
“
It
’
s
essential to life, not to mention that a well-prepared meal is one
of life
’
s finer
things.
”

“Are you
leaving?
”
Moss
raised his pale green eyebrows as he asked the
question.

“No,
”
Newton responded.
“
I
’
m
going to watch.
”

“Sometimes I
don
’
t know why
I brought you to life.
”
Moss sighed.

“Sure you do.
You need me,
”
Newton replied as he puffed out his chest a
bit.

“At the moment
I need to you be quiet.
”

Newton closed his mouth and sat so
still that he appeared to return to a lifeless stone statue, but
then Nicholas saw him blink. Nicholas glanced back and forth
between the gargoyle and Moss a few times before finally settling
his gaze upon Moss.

“Are we going
to continue?
”
Nicholas asked. Moss glared at the gargoyle for a brief
moment and then turned back to Nicholas.

“Focus on the
face of the clock,
”
he said.
“
Think about the current time and reflect on where you
are.
”

“And what
else?
”
Nicholas
asked.

“Nothing. Just
focus.
”

Nicholas
wasn
’
t sure
what Moss meant about the current time because there was no other
clock in the room and the one he was currently looking at had no
hands, so he had no idea what time it was. He spent a brief period
wondering how he could figure out the time, but then he gave up on
it. There was no way to tell what time it was other than to
recognize that it was the current moment, whatever one decided to
call it. After a few more minutes, he started wondering what Moss
meant about reflecting on where he was. He knew he was in the
castle, but he wondered if Moss was trying to get him to think
about where in the kingdom he was, where in the room he was, or
where he was in terms of his lessons. The more he thought about it,
the more bizarre the concept of location seemed to him, because
there were so many locations to which Moss could be referring. Just
as he was about to ask for clarification, he saw the hands on the
clock appear again and there were so many in every position and
the
layers
were so deep that they
appeared infinite. They were everywhere. They even seemed to be
multiplying.

“How many hands
are there?
”
Moss asked as he watched Nicholas' eyes suddenly
widen.

“Too many to
count!
”
Nicholas shouted with alarm.
“
I don’
t know how the clock can hold them all!
”
The volume of hands on the face
of the clock appeared to be growing with each
moment.

“Exactly!
”
Moss exclaimed with satisfaction. He folded his arms and
smiled.
“
You
’
re a natural. Megan was
right.
”

“Told you
so,
”
Megan said
as she smiled, displaying her long fangs.

“A natural at
what?
”
Nicholas
asked. He looked again at the clock and there were only two hands
upon it, just as when he started.
“
It looks normal
again!
’
he
exclaimed in alarm.

“Of course it
does,
”
Moss
replied dismissively
.
“
Time always settles when you
’
re not paying attention to
it.
”

“I
don’
t understand. What does it
mean?
”
Nicholas
asked again.

“It means that
you have an aptitude for learning the art of
sorcery,
”
Moss
replied. Nicholas felt the bottom of his stomach
drop.

“I
don’
t want that,
”
Nicholas said quickly.
“
I
don’
t want to be like ...
him
.
”

“Like who?”

“The sorcerer. The one who’s
trying to take over the kingdom.”

“Sorcery
isn
’
t a bad
thing. It
’
s a
rare thing that few understand, but just like anything else, it
depends upon what you do with it. Almost nothing is good or bad in
itself,
”
Moss
replied.
“
It
’
s the intention that makes it
so. The sorcerer we
’
re fighting
uses his talent for his own means and to gratify his desire for
power, but that doesn
’
t make all of it bad.
”

“Do you know
him?
”

“Yes, but not
well. You could say that I know more
of
him, than actually knowing
him. But I probably know more about him than
most.
”

“Did you train
him?
”
Nicholas
asked as soon as the idea came to him.
“
Do you know about him because
you taught him?
”

“No,
”
Moss replied.
“
I didn
’
t teach him, but
I
’
ve studied
him. My job is to teach others about him.
”

“What
’
s
his name?
”

“We
don’
t know,
”
Moss replied.
“
He
’
s hidden it from us. It
’
s one of the ways he protects
himself.
”

“Why is he
hiding it? Is he a coward?
”

“No,” Megan jumped in.
“He
’
s not a coward.
He
’
s smart. If we don
’
t know who he is, then we
don
’
t know his
true nature or how to defeat him. He
’
s hidden his name and identity
extremely well, and his spell is so strong that it would take a
miracle to figure out how to defeat him.
”

“Or another
very strong
sorcerer,
”
Moss replied.

“Aren
’
t you a
sorcerer?
”
Nicholas asked.
“
You brought Newton to life, so
you must have some powers.
”

“My powers are
limited.
”

“How?
”

“Some other
time. Right now we
’
re trying to help you develop your talents. This is a
lesson.
”

Nicholas looked
from Moss to Newton and then to Megan. He didn
’
t know that any other sorcerers
existed, and now he was standing in front of one and learning that
he may become one himself.

“I
’
m not sure I
understand,
”
Nicholas confessed.
“
I
’
m just a
kid.
”

“No one
is
just a kid
,
”
Moss replied with
emphasis.

“Especially not
a kid with a gift,
”
Newton added.

“I
don’
t see how I can
help.
”

“You
’
ll learn. And
you
’
ll have
help. No one expects you to fight the sorcerer
alone,
”
said
Moss.

“W
e
already know that things respond to you. Living
things are drawn to your life force because they can feel your
ability to do magic,
”
Megan explained.
“
That spark of life within you is
also the reason you can heal yourself. I could smell it on you, but
the scent was faint because you
’
re untrained and your skills
aren
’
t
developed.
”