The Second Prophecy (Part 1 of the Dragdani Prophecies) (16 page)

Chapter Seven

Not long
after they arrived back at Weston Road
.
The Wizards cast all different kinds of dislocation spells and
protection spells.

“
I should
tell you that the spells won’t hold back Ulicoth and Kilamen
forever,” said Delsani. “I must also say the only way to ensure
that the spells will stay intact would be to return every year and
renew them. Just in case Ulicoth may find a way to break the
spells, I will give you this Gmulena stone. All you have to do is
smash it. It will light up its sister stone, which I
possess.”

He also gave
Helen two identical necklaces with fragments of the two stones, one
each, so that no matter where she or the child may go. They could
be found by him.

“
Thank you
both for all of this. I’m so glad that you’re taking this so
seriously. I mean, not that I thought you wouldn’t,” said Helen.
“I’m sure with the both of you waiting to help me and Peter, we’ll
be fine.”

Delsani and
Jaucal looked at each other and then turned to Helen. “Peter,”
repeated Delsani.

“
Yes, Peter
John Stark. That’s what I’ve decided to call him, because that was
what John and I agreed on. If we had a kid, we would name a boy
Peter John Stark, and if it were a girl, we would name her Sophie
Helen Stark. That’s what John wanted,” said Helen, sounding pleased
that she finally told someone. But she thought they both looked
quite surprised, even shocked.

“
It’s not
wrong, is it? I mean, did the Prophecy say it would be different?”
said Helen concerned.

“
No. The
Prophecy said that would be his name. It’s just that we had not
expected you to come out with it so soon,” said Jaucal happily. He
took from his pocket what looked like a small watch, and when he
looked it he said, “I am afraid that I must take my leave of you,
for I still have a lot to do before the hour grows late. Good luck.
I’m sure that you’ll raise a fine boy, and I hope that I will be
welcome to come back and see the both of you.”

“
Of course
you’re welcome any time, and you too Delsani,” said
Helen.

Delsani
nodded. “
Thank you.” And the look on
Helen’s face made him ask. “Is there something else you wish to
say?”

“
Well
. The thing is, Delsani, I
was wondering, it’s just that you’ve lost your son, and you told me
that John was like a son to you, and you lost him too. Well I was
thinking that Peter will probably be like a son to you too. So I
was hoping that maybe to make it a little more official, you could
be his godfather, which means if anything happens to me after he’s
born, you’ll be his legal guardian. I think I would sleep easier
knowing that he would have someone to look after him,” said Helen
looking hopeful.

Delsani’s
face lit up with delight. “It’ll be a pleasure and an honor to have
such a roll in both of your lives.”

“
That’s great
news,” said Jaucal, also looking equally delighted with what had
just happened. “And I really do wish you all the luck in all the
worlds. But really, I must be on my way. Are you coming back with
me or are you staying?” he asked Delsani.

“
Oh by the
way, who will be coming here every year to redo the spells?” asked
Helen.

“
S
ince Delsani and I were the ones
to cast the original spells, it will have to be us,” said the Grand
Wizard.

Helen nodded as Delsani stood beside
Jaucal.

“
You don’t
have to go do you?” Helen asked Delsani.

“
No, I can
stay if you like,” said the Wizard.

Helen said
nothing; she just nodded again.

“
The
n I’ll talk to you later,
Delsani. And remember, we do have some things to discuss,” said
Jaucal.

“
Yes, of
course. I’ll see you later then.” said Delsani.

Delsani
stayed there for five hours. He told her of the things John and his
friends did when they were younger. And in return, he asked Helen
about their years together. She was more than happy to tell all,
until Saren and Henkot arrived in the room. It was then that
Delsani said goodbye to Helen and told her not to worry, for she
would see him soon enough. Helen sat and waited until he was gone
before talking to Saren and Henkot.

The days were
passing slowly for Helen. She had been visited every day by Saren
and Henkot, who insisted on being called by their Normal names
while they were in the Normal World. That was fine with Helen, for
she preferred calling them Joan and Harry. It made her feel Normal.
For after she returned to Weston Road, her pregnancy, to her, felt
very abnormal. She was craving layers of red onion dipped in
strawberry sauce and covered with chocolate sprinkles, and the
cravings just got worse from there, but she knew, of course, that
strange cravings – even ones as strange as hers – were quite
ordinary, although that did not help how she felt.

Saren and
Henkot were not the only ones to visit her. Delsani and Jaucal
visited every two months and never on the same day date or time.
They had to be careful, and they were. Every time they were set to
visit. They would cast dislocation spells on each other to make it
harder for anyone that may have wanted to follow them.

They visited
right up to the time Helen gave birth to Peter, which was a home
birth; Helen thought that it would be better that way. Peter John
Stark (or Drago Varthker Elvhaff) was born at 12:37 exactly. It was
a beautifully sunny Tuesday. Helen was more delighted then she ever
thought she could be, for although she had never told anyone, she
had always wanted a baby with hair, and hair he had. A mop of dark
brown hair was sticking out of the right side of his
head.

A short time
past and Peter’s streak of hair had grown so long that was tickling
the top of his right ear lobe. Helen could not stand to see him
trying to scratch his head so she cut it. To her dismay, the hair
fell out not long after, and the boy King was left with a small
bald spot where it had once been.

Then began
the yearly visits Helen had been waiting for. Now more than ever,
they wanted to ensure Helen and Peter’s safety, although Saren and
Henkot still visited regularly.

The visits
went on. Delsani had seen all of the pictures that Helen had taken
of Peter, and the old Wizard did not know whether to be shocked or
delighted. For Peter looked exactly like a younger version of the
Wizard-Elf, Dragdani. His hair was mostly blond with dark brown
streaks, and his eyes were green. He was thin and very strong for
the age of six. But the one thing that really made the Wizard worry
was the news that Helen gave him.

“
The
re’s something wrong,” she
told him. “He’s doing things”

“
What kind of
things?” Delsani asked curiously.

“
Yesterday,
we went to the mall to get clothes for him and a pair of shoes for
myself. I’d seen the pair I wanted, but when I looked there were
none in my size, so as I put them back onto the shelf. I looked at
them one last time hoping desperately that the woman at the till
would find a pair in my size at the last second. Then I thought I
saw the shoes shrink a little. At first I thought it was my
imagination, but I tried them on again to be sure, and they fitted
perfectly,” said Helen.

Delsani
looked mesmerized by what he had just heard. “Are you absolutely
sure that Peter did this? Did you try them on before you put them
back?” asked Delsani.

“
Yes,” Helen
replied. “I always try shoes on in case the labels are wrong,’ said
Helen. “And that’s not all. Whenever I wish for something out loud
when Peter’s around, I turn around it’s there waiting for me. And
sometimes when I lose something, I talk out loud as if it’s going
to hear me and come running. Well. They do. Well not running, but
they would turn up in places that I had already looked, and
sometimes I would turn round and find them behind me on a piece of
furniture that I had walked past ten times. I didn’t see how they
got there, but I know they weren’t there before. Either that, or
I’m losing my marbles.”

“
Helen, I
don’t think you’re losing your marbles,” Delsani laughed. “For we
were afraid that something like this might happen,” he said
mildly.

“
Who’s we?”
asked Helen.

“
Jaucal and
I,” the Wizard replied.

“
And why
didn’t you mention it to me? I’ve been going out of my
mind.”

“
I am sorry
about that. I think it is high time I told you the truth, Helen,”
said Delsani, as though confessing to a crime. “You must understand
that what I’m about to tell you is a secret. There are only a
handful of people that know it. And I haven’t been authorized to
tell you, but as you are Peter’s mother and our Queen, I think you
deserve to know the truth. But I must ask you not to tell anyone of
what I’m about to say.”

“I won’t tell a soul.”

“
Good. Well,
you see, when the first Wizard-Elf, Thoucil, was born, she also had
her powers, and that didn’t sit well with those in power. For they
already had expressed their concerns about one person having so
much power, and the fact that it was a female Wizard only made
matters worse. So the only thing that they could think of was to
suppress her powers until she was old enough to understand and
control them, and that’s exactly what they did.

“
When
Dragdani was born. The spell they had cast on Thoucil also passed
to him, and then on to his children and their children and so on
and so on. Even John had it, and now we find that the spell hasn’t
passed onto Peter.”

“
You said
you’d thought that this might happen?” said Helen.

“
Yes, you
see, Helen. The spell was cast for a Wizard-Elf. And I think – no,
I’m sure – that Peter is something different, for if he were like
the others, then we would not be having this conversation,” said
Delsani, sounding more than a little excited.

“
I’m glad
you’re happy about this. But what the heck is he, and what does it
mean? Is there something wrong with him?” said Helen
fretfully.

“
No. There’s
nothing wrong with him. Trust me when I say that. And as for what
he is, well I don’t know,” said Delsani the happiness starting to
drain out of him.

“
If you don’t
know what he is, how do you know there’s nothing wrong with him?”
asked Helen looking even more worried.

“
It’s
obvious. The only way that the spell could be broken is if his
power and will of mind are stronger, maybe even different than that
of an ordinary Wizard-Elf, which would make him just different
enough for the spell to be broken” said Delsani. “Helen, I am sorry
I will have to cut my visit short, though I will be
back.”

“Why are you leaving?”

“
I must
report this to the Council and ask their advice. But don’t worry,
Peter’s fine; just try not to let anyone see him using his
powers.”

“
What do you
think the Council will do? I mean, will they try to suppress his
powers too?” asked Helen, again sounding very worried.

“
Yes, I think
that’ll probably be the case, but as for Jaucal, I’m not sure. If I
know him as well as I think I do then, he might think of the same
thing I am right now,” said Delsani, “for this may be the very
thing that we need.”

“
What
do you mean? What thing?”
Helen
asked.

“
If we train
him now while he’s young and then suppress his powers and also
suppress any memory of the training and of any other time he has
used his powers. Then that would give us a head start,” said
Delsani.

Helen looked
horrified by what she was hearing. “I WON’T LET YOU!” she shouted
furiously, “I WON’T LET YOU MESS AROUND WITH HIM LIKE THAT!
GODFATHERS ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK AFTER THEIR GODSONS, NOT FIDDLE
ABOUT WITH THEIR MEMORIES. YOU’RE SOPPOSED TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT FOR
HIM!”

“
Helen,
please calm yourself. You’ve obviously misunderstood me. What I
meant was the memory spell would not wipe the memories from his
mind completely, for what would be the point of training him if he
could never remember it? What I meant was the spell would hide the
memories from him until he is old enough to control his powers,”
the old Wizard said hastily, in case Helen’s temper would flare
again. For John had warned Delsani of Helen’s temper. As long as
John had known her, she had always been quick to anger, especially
when it came to family matters.

“
Oh I’m
sorry,”
said Helen suddenly feeling
silly. “I didn’t think. It’s just all this worry about Peter. I
know he looks nothing like Dragdani, but somehow he reminds me of
John.”

“
Yes, I have
also thought that. And as for worrying, there is no need. He’s
fine. Helen, I really must go. Call Saren and Henkot and ask them
to come over. Tell them what you have told me. They will keep you
company until I talk to Jaucal, for he may be able to persuade the
Council to vote in our favor. Now as I have, said there is no time
to lose.” the Wizard went to the middle of the room and pointed his
wand to the floor, but before he said the spell, he looked at
Helen. “Don’t forget to call Saren and Henkot.”