The Second Prophecy (Part 1 of the Dragdani Prophecies) (43 page)

“
But
the arrow, it -
”

“
The
arrow should have killed her,
but you saved her with a single touch of your
hand.”

“
How?” asked
Peter, now so curious he was listening to every word that past his
friend’s lips.

“
I’m not sure
how it works, myself, but I do know that it is part of the miracle
that stands before me now,” said the Wizard.

“
I’m hardy a
miracle,” replied the boy. “I still think that you’ve all made a
mistake. I mean, look at me. I’m a rich kid. What in the hell do I
know about wars or Dark Lords of magic. Isn’t it always the most
unlikely people that become heroes?”

“
You’re
absolutely right; no one would ever expect you to be a hero. It’s
completely unlikely, isn’t it?” said the Wizard with a small laugh.
“You are an unlikely hero. Actually, I think that most heroes are
unlikely ones. Do you think that Thoucil, Dragdani, Lanisic,
Jaucal, Delsani, or even your father asked to be heroes? The answer
is no. I know for a fact the first three never really wanted it at
all. They only wanted to be treated like everyone else, but they
never let the people down if they could help. That I think is what
made them heroes, not how many they killed or how many fortresses
they captured or destroyed. What made them real heroes was the fact
that they didn’t do it for honor or glory. They did because they
valued their own freedom, their homes, and the people they lived
with everyday.

“
So just
because you don’t feel like a hero now, I’m sure that by the time
you reach Cayer-Huld you’ll be one. Now stop all that bloody
whining and get that bowl emptied.”

At those
words, Peter shot a look at the innkeeper, who was still
smiling.

“
So that’s
how you show your respect to your King and savior?” said Peter,
also smiling, “Well, that’s just lovely.”

Euol let out a roar of a laugh, as did Peter
in turn.

“
You’re
right; it’s time to leave,” said the boy, setting the soup bowl on
the small wooden table in front of him.

When the two
reached the bar, they saw the mayor still seated at the same table,
nursing his own wound.

“
Ah, you’re
still with us, I see, just as Euol said,” said the man getting up
from his chair and starting toward them. “I trust you feel as well
as you look, my young friend.”

“
So now
you’re friends,” snapped Euol. To Peter, he looked as though he
would pounce on the mayor at any moment.

“
It’s okay,”
said Peter, putting his hand up to the Wizard’s chest in case his
fears would come to pass. “I chose to be on trial and expected to
get what I got. Besides, it was all part of the plan
anyway.”

“
Plan? What
plan!” asked the mayor, curious to know what was going on behind
his back.

“
This plan,”
replied the boy. “Well, it didn’t all go according to plan, but my
getting hung and coming back to life was part of it.”

“
Oh yes, I
see. Well, it all turned out for the best now, didn’t it?” said the
man, hoping to be forgiven.

“
Yeah,
I suppose it did,” said
Peter happily.

“
I understand
you might be leaving us,” said the mayor.

“
Yeah,
we plan to leave as soon as
our bags are packed,” said the boy.

“
And who are
we?” asked the man, becoming even more curious.

“
Braten, my
son,” replied the innkeeper.

“
The
n I wish you both the best of
luck,” said the mayor.

They stayed
in the pub for only a few minutes more and then headed
out.

“
Are you all
right?” Jert asked Peter, totally ignoring the mayor, as did Kireth
and Huri.

“
I’m fine,”
said Peter.

“
So what’s
happening then?” said Braten in a low tone, as though expecting his
father to say Peter had decided to stay a while longer. But before
anyone could say anything on that matter, he voiced that fear
himself. “I suppose we’ll be staying longer now?”

“
What, are
you kidding? I can’t wait to get the hell out of this place,” said
Peter.

“
We’re sorry
you feel that way,” said the little girl’s mother, who stood with
her husband and daughter. And I’m sorry for screaming at you. You
saved our little girl’s life. Thank you.”

“
And I’m
sorry for what happened at the gallows. You know, when my brother
hung you,” said the girl’s father.

“
I’m sorry
too,” said the mayor, putting his hand on Peter’s shoulder, “for if
I hadn’t been so quick to judge you, well, you know.”

The people in
the crowd nodded as the mayor admitted his own fault to the
boy.

Euol was
fuming at this point. He thought the mayor was only trying to
redeem himself in the eyes of the voters.

“
Thanks, but
you didn’t need to apologize. What happened wasn’t your fault. If I
had have been more careful, it mightn’t have happened in the first
place,” said the young King, going a little red. Peter was always
easily embarrassed when people praised him.

One of
the
sheriff’s Deputies leant in close to
the mayor and whispered in his ear.

When the man
stepped back, the mayor stood and stared at him. “Are you sure?” he
asked him.

“
I saw with
own two eyes. And not just me. Everyone who was there saw,” said
the deputy keenly.

“
So I was
right. You are a Wizard,” the mayor said to Euol.

“
The
last time I checked, being a
Wizard wasn’t a crime,” replied the innkeeper.

“
You’re
right. I’ve already made that mistake, I won’t do that again, old
friend,” said the man.

“
Besides,
you’d be surprised how many Wizards and Witches are living in this
town,” said Jaroe.

“
You! You’re
a Wizard?” the mayor asked his sheriff, stunned by the very
thought.

“
No, I’m not
a Wizard; I’m a Warlock,” replied Jaroe.

“
I, like
Euol, am a Wizard,” said Jert.

“
You too?”
said the mayor.

“
And he’s not
the only one,” said Jaroe’s grandmother stepping out of the crowd.
The others followed her closely.

At least half
of the people of the small town were Wizards and Witches, and this
new information at first startled the Normals in the town, but the
sight of Peter reminded them that perhaps it wasn’t as bad as they
originally thought. After all, they had lived there for a long
time, and some all of their lives.

“
Well
, then, this is the beginning
of a new age for our town, now that we see we’re not so different.
And I’m glad the truth is out in the open, for only now can we take
advantage of our new position,” said the mayor.

“
What
do you mean by that?
” asked
Peter.

“
I think that
it is time that we revaluate how this town is run,” said the man.
“I think in the light of what happened today, we have seen how one
man can be overrun with stupid ideas of power, and I tell you now,
I have never felt so ashamed. However, I do think that I can try
and make up for the mistake that I’ve made by taking the power of
the mayor away and giving it to a group people that decide the true
way for our small town. So if you have no objection, I would like
to appoint Euol as the first of this new council, and my new deputy
mayor. Well, what do you think? Is it a good idea?”

All of the
people – Normals, Wizards, and Witches – shouted their
approval.

“
The
people have spoken,” said the
mayor. “So what do you say, my friend, will you take the position?
Before you give your answer, know that your pay will be equal to my
own.”

The Wizard’s
mouth fell open.

“
Of course
he’ll take it,” said Peter. “Well, now you’ll have the chance to
change things that you don’t like in this place.”

The innkeeper
nodded. “Fine, I’ll take it, though it’s not about the money,” he
stated firmly.

“
Wait,” said
one of the Normal villagers, “You’re forgetting that those
creatures said if we didn’t do as they said, their friends would
destroy the entire town and kill everyone in it.”

“
A lie,” said
Euol. “They needed to be sure that we wouldn’t stand up to them, so
they told us about their imaginary friends to scare us.”

“
But how can
you be sure?” said another member of the crowd.

“
The
y only took enough for
themselves and a few others. It doesn’t take a genius to see that
it was all a trick,” said the innkeeper, and nothing more was said
on the matter.

Peter and
Braten headed for the stairs in the Huffy Hog. When they reached
the landing, Braten took Peter’s old wand out of his pocket. “Here
I’m sure you want this back now,” he said.

“
No,” said
Peter, “it’s yours. I don’t need it, and somehow I think my dad
wouldn’t have wanted it to sit in my chest like a useless, dried-up
old stick. So you should keep it, and all I want from you is that
you put it to good use.”

“I promise,” said the young Wizard.

They
separated and went to their own rooms to pack. Braten only packed
what he thought he needed.

Peter, on the
other hand, crammed all he could into his magical chest, and he was
surprised to see that no matter how much he put in it, it didn’t
fill up. Only when everything he owned was in did it look
full.

Braten,
finishing first, went to see how Peter was coming along.

“
Travelling a
little light, aren’t you,” said Peter when his friend entered his
room.

“
Where did
all your stuff go?” asked Braten.

“
In here,”
Peter said pointing at the chest. “If you want, we can see if it’ll
take your stuff, too.”

“
Sure,
that’ll be great,” said Braten.

They went
back the other boy’s room and, true enough, the chest took all that
they put in.

“
My dad told
me about chests like that once,” said Braten. “He never had one.
They were way too expensive. But I have always wanted to see
one.”

They made
their way back down into the street.

“
We’re
ready,” said Braten, not wanting to wait out of fear that Peter
might change his mind.

“
Are you sure
we can’t convince you to stay longer?” asked the mayor.

Braten felt like his ears were about to fall
off as he heard that.

“No, we should get on our way before it gets
too late,” said Peter.

“
Well,
you’ll have to wait a
little longer, unless you can go without food,” said
Kireth.

“Right, I forgot about food,” said Peter,
feeling a little silly.

“I think we can sort something out,” said
Euol.

The two boys
went and sat at the small fountain in the middle of the square. The
chest followed Peter and sat down on the flagstones at his
feet.

Peter saw the
worried look on his friend’s face. “Don’t worry. We’re leaving
today,” he said.

“Yes I know,” said Braten. However, Peter
could tell that their departure time was not the only thing that
was bothering his friend.

“
What’s
wrong?” Peter asked him.

“
Its just I
don’t know what I’m going to do when we get to the city. I know I’m
going to the Wizard School and all that. What if...? What if I’m
not good enough to go there? What if they won’t take
me?”

“
I don’t
know,” said Peter. “I really don’t know how it works. Your dad
thinks you’re good enough for it. So does Jert, and they would know
better than me.” Suddenly Peter gave a loud laugh. “I’ll tell you
what, if you don’t get into the school the first time round, we can
go and see the Wizard King and ask him,” he said.

“
What
are you talking about? Y
ou’re the
-”

“
Don’t worry;
you’ll get into the school,” said Peter. “You’ll get in, or they
can stick their city were the sun doesn’t shine.”

“
No,” said
Braten firmly. “If I’m going to get in, it’ll be on my
own.”

“
If that’s
what you really want,” said Peter, who felt a whole new level of
respect for his friend.

“
That’s what
I want,” said Braten, feeling all proud and also feeling silly and
wondering if Peter would perhaps think him weak.

Just then,
shadows came over them. They looked up to see Euol, Jert and their
wives standing before them with some canteens, bottles and two
backpacks.

“
Here you
go,” said the innkeeper, passing a backpack to each of them. “We’ve
given you what we can spare. We’re sure that’ll be more than enough
to do you on your journey. Here are a few canteens of water and a
few bottles of or finest and strongest wines.”