The Second Prophecy (Part 1 of the Dragdani Prophecies) (41 page)

“
I know I
lost my temper. But can you blame me? The man’s impossible. All he
cares about is winning the stupid town election,” replied Euol as
he turned to look at his son. “Braten, go and see how the girl’s
doing and stay there. If anything happens, come back and let us
know. And don’t get in the way of anyone; just try and blend in to
the background. The last thing those people need at the minute is
any annoyance.”

“
Okay, don’t
worry. They won’t even know that I’m there,” said Braten. He got up
and ran out of the building.

“
Wait,” said
Jert. “That’s it! I’ve got it!”

“
I hope it’s
not catching,” said Peter.

The others
jumped at the sound of his voice.

“
What the
hell are you doing here?” said Huri. “You’re going to get in even
more trouble than you already are.”

“
Well,
to try and answer your
question, I don’t think I am here,” said Peter.

“
I think
you’re right,” said Euol running his hand through Peter’s head, a
blue glow radiated from wherever the Wizard moved his hand. “You
must be projecting your image to us, and your body must be still in
the Huffy Hog.”

“
I think
where I come from, they call it astral projection or something like
that,” said Peter. “But that doesn’t matter. What’s your idea?” he
said to the farmer.

“
Be careful.
He hasn’t had a good idea since we got married,” said Huri
sarcastically.

“
Funny,” said
Jert, clearly not the slightest bit amused. Unlike his companions,
who tried to hide their smiles.

“
Okay, jokes
aside. We’d better hurry,” said Peter. “I don’t know how long I can
keep this up.”

“
Yes, well,
as I was about to say,” said Jert. “Euol, what you’re doing in
there is wrong.”

“
Everyone’s a
critic,” said the innkeeper.

“
No, no, you
don’t understand, old friend. What I mean is, you should be doing
everything you can to get Drago the death penalty.”

The group
went completely silent.

“
Have you
gone totally barmy, or what?” said Euol.

“
No, of
course not,” said Jert.

“Ask a stupid question,” said Huri.

“
Please think
about what I’m saying. When someone gets the death sentence and
it’s carried out, that means that they’ve paid for their crimes in
full right,” said the farmer.

“
Of course,”
said Euol, quickly catching on to the plan. “Why that’s
genius.”

“
I don’t know
about the rest of you, but I still don’t get it,” said
Peter.

“
Drago, do
you remember when we tried to tell you everything we knew about
Wizard-Elves?” the innkeeper asked the boy. “Particularly the part
about the only known way for a Wizard-Elf to die.”

“
Yeah,
you said that the only way
to really kill one of us is to cut off our heads,” replied Peter a
little anxiously.

“
Exactly, and
the death penalty here is either by hanging or by burning,” said
Jert.

“
To tell you
the truth, I don’t think I like either of those any more than the
beheading.”

“
I’m sure,
but unlike the beheading, you come back to life from the others,”
said the farmer.

“
Oh, and
another thing, if I were you, I’d hope for burning,” said
Euol.

“
And why’s
that?” asked Huri.

“
Because only
magical fire can harm Wizards. The Normal variety only itches like
mad,” said Jert. “I know I’d prefer that to the hanging,” he said
as he took hold of his shirt collar and pulled it to one side as
though acting it out.

“
So that’s
what we’ll do then?” said Peter.

“
If you say
so,” said Kireth. “We can’t make you do it if you don’t want
to.”

“
Good, cause
I don’t think I can hold on here much longer,” said the
boy.

“
The
n don’t fight it. Go back and
I’ll see you soon,” said Euol.

There was a
dim blue light, and Peter vanished.

The remaining
friends sat there going over everything that was said in the
pub.

“
How in the
name of Talwen did that arse get to be mayor?” said
Jert.

“
I know what
you mean,” said Euol. “Well, it’s that time again.” They thanked
Feruy and then headed out the door of the pub and traced their
steps back to the Huffy Hog.

“
Now that
we’re all here,” said the mayor.

“
I’m not
late, am I?” asked Euol sarcastically.

“
No not at
all, Euol. Please take your seat,” said the mayor quite
pleasantly.

“
If you have
no objections, I would like to confer with the defendant in
private.” said the innkeeper.

“
Very well,
if you must,” said the Magistrate. “Well, you know this
establishment better than anyone here.”

“
Thank you.”
The Wizard took Peter to a small storeroom behind the
bar.

“
What’s
wrong?” asked Peter, who was alarmed by this change in
plan.

“
The
re’s nothing wrong, at the
moment anyway,” replied Euol. “I just wanted to tell you that I
think it would be more convincing if you pled guilty and drop the
hint that you should get the death penalty. But try to make him
think it was his idea, and that it’s the right thing to
do.”

“
Somehow, I
get the feeling that won’t be too hard.”

Just then the
door opened, and Jaroe stood in the doorway. “Your time is up,”
said the sheriff. As the two got to where the man stood, he looked
at Peter. “I hope you know that if it were up to me, you would
already been set free, my lord.”

“
My lord,”
Peter repeated. “You’re a Wizard?”

“
No, I’m a
Warlock, actually. You’ve already seen my grandmother, Heice,” said
Jaroe.

“
Right,” said
Peter, remembering the old Witch. But he still wondered why she
gave him the dirty look. He didn’t mention it to the sheriff.
Besides, perhaps she hadn’t, and it was all his imagination. He
decided to put it out of his mind. After all, it’s not as if it
truly mattered.

“
So are you
happy with the time given?” asked the mayor smugly.

“I suppose so,” shrugged the innkeeper.

“
May I be
allowed to speak?” asked Peter suddenly.

“
If it’s
about what we talked about, I would advise you not to say a word,
my friend,” Euol lied, doing a good job by sounding
grave.

Euol’s
performance was so convincing that the judge felt delighted, as he
now saw a chance to end the trial quickly. For if Peter admitted to
the charge, he could be done before teatime. “If he wants to speak,
that is completely his choice, and I have no objection,” said the
mayor, not able to hide his joy.

“
I’m sure,
after all, you are hoping to end this farce as soon as you can,”
said Euol, rising from his seat, which only made the Wizards act
all the more convincing. “So you can make a great speech about how
you single-handedly brought down, and I quote, ‘a great danger to
our town.’ After all, this is an election year, and you need to
secure your position.”

“
THAT’S IT!
THAT’S IT!” bellowed the mayor. “Bailiff, please take this man from
my court.”

“
I’ve already
told you that this building belongs to me, and I will not be thrown
out of my own home by someone who would destroy the life if a young
man just to keep himself in power. But I assure you that you will
not win the election this year if I have anything to with
it.”

“
You say
‘young man,’ but I think it’s quite clear to all of us that
whatever he is, he is in no way a man,” said the mayor.

“
Well,
to tell you the truth, I’m
not exactly sure that you’re a man either. More of a Yowtil,” said
Euol.

Peter had no
idea what that was, though he knew that it must have been a
terrible insult, as the mayor jumped straight out of his
seat.

“
How
dare you! D
o you think because I’ve
allowed you to act as his defense,” said the Magistrate, throwing a
look at Peter, “that you can act like you’re someone special? I
wouldn’t go shooting my mouth off if were you, Euol. After all,
certain questions could pop up, like when Jert brought this boy to
town, why did you, of all people, shack him up?” said the Judge,
convincing himself that he had the innkeeper by the
toes.

“
I don’t
know,” said Euol smiling: putting the index finger of his right
hand to his lips and looking around. “Perhaps because this is an
inn, and in establishments such as this people have been known to
rent out rooms to those who want somewhere to stay. I mean, this
wouldn’t be much of an inn if I didn’t rent out rooms, now would
it?”

“
YOU’RE
TRYING TO MAKE ME OUT TO BE A FOOL!” shouted the mayor.

“
Why would I
need to bother? You’re doing a good enough job of it all on your
own,” laughed the innkeeper.

“
I’m losing
my temper with you,” said the mayor.

“
First your
grip on reality, and now your temper. Wow, you’ll be losing your
mind next,” said Euol.

“
GUARD, TAKE
THIS MAN OUT OF MY SIGHT IMMEDIATELY!”

“
Go,” said
Peter. “It’s okay; I never really wanted anyone to help anyway.”
the boy lied.

The Wizard
said nothing; he just gave Peter a slight wink then headed for the
door in the understanding that his role was now over. Before he got
there, the deputy grabbed him by the arm as though to show him out.
Euol pulled away. “I think I can find my own way out,” he said to
the man.

“
I’m sorry, I
have my orders. I can’t help that,” said the guard. He proceeded to
lead the Wizard out the doors. When the doors had closed, Peter
stood up and pled guilty to all charges.

“
And if I
could have traded places with the girl, I wouldn’t have given it a
second thought,” he added at the end of his confession.

“
So you feel
guilty, my young friend, and you wish to make amends for all that
you have caused?” said the mayor joyfully. He could just see
himself winning the election, for he knew that most of the
townsfolk were on his side.

“
Yes, I feel
guilty, and I know I should be punished,” said Peter.

“
Good, good.
I will tell you now with regret,” lied the mayor, “that there is
only one punishment that can fit the crimes in which you have
committed. The penalty is death, and as you have confessed, there
is nothing anyone can do to stop this sentence from coming to
pass.”

“I understand,” said the boy as he felt all
sorts of strange emotions run riot in his head.

“
Fine,” said
the mayor. “Then there is no reason for any delay. I therefore
sentence you to hang until you are dead. Do you understand and
accept that?”

“
Yes,”
said Peter, feeling a bit uncertain, for he would indeed confess
that he was afraid to go through with it, in case his friends were
wrong. If so, then he would die, and his family and friends would
know nothing of how or even why he gave his life. But he had faith
in those people; they had taken him in and told him things about
himself that he did not even know. “I trust them,” he said to
himself, and all doubt exited his mind as quickly as it had
entered. Not only his faith in his new friends had made this
happen. There was something else he couldn’t explain, a feeling of
power and immortality. Then he knew that they were right. For the
first time, he believed that he was a Draga-Wizard-Elf.
Funny
, he
thought,
The old Grand Wizard
said this would happen, that one day I would just know who and what
I am
. Peter looked at the mayor. “Let’s
get this over with,” said the boy confidently.

“
It is
customary to let the guilty party have a last meal,” said the
mayor, as though trying to show the tiniest bit of sympathy. He
failed miserably, of course.

“No, I want to do it straight away,” said
Peter, fearing that his newfound strength would fade again.

“
Very well
then,” said the Magistrate. “sheriff, please put it on record that
the sentence will be carried out immediately, at the guilty party’s
own request.”

“
Yes sir,”
said Jaroe, and he took the feather that sat in the grey inkpot in
front of him and a piece of parchment and proceeded to write. When
he was finished, he did not put the quill back. Instead, he laid it
on the table and sat as though stunned.

“
Are you all
right, dear boy?” asked the mayor. “You’ve turned a funny
color.”

Peter also
saw this but said nothing, as he had an idea what had befallen the
sheriff. It was not every day that someone has to hear about and
even witness the execution of his or her King, let alone write it
down.