A Slave to Magic (9 page)

“Nice,” Nera commented, watching. “We’ll be dry in
no time.”

“That was the plan,” Kwil replied with a smile.
His confidence heightened, he was eager to get dry and go looking for Master
Rili. His future lay somewhere in these woods, and he was ready to find it.

A
fter returning
to the road, it wasn’t long before Nera spotted a worn path, partially
concealed by layers of dried leaves. Pointing, she shouted, “Look! That must be
the way!”

The pair broke into
a run, anxious to finally meet the master wizard who they hoped would take them
in. Winding along the narrow path, they finally spotted a manor house nestled
in the distance.

Kwil paused. “I
thought you said he was a poor man.” Judging by the size of his home, Kwil
couldn’t believe that rumor had been true.

“I guess he isn’t
anymore,” Nera replied, staring at the house. It was smaller than her own
family’s home, but sufficiently large to mark the wizard as well off. A large
garden jutted off to the side, but luckily, she spotted no slaves tending it.
“Come on,” she said. They’d come this far, and she was eager to speak to Rili,
regardless of his wealth. “Master wizards are probably paid quite nicely,” she
suggested.

Kwil did not reply
but followed his friend up the path to the manor.

Arriving at the
door Nera said, “Let me do the talking.”

Having no intention
of addressing the wizard without permission, Kwil happily allowed her to speak
on his behalf. He stood behind her and slightly to the side, hoping to avoid notice.

Knocking loudly
upon the wooden door, Nera announced her presence at the manor. Doing her best
to appear refined, she straightened her back and held her head high. To her
surprise, Master Rili himself answered the door in lieu of a servant. His
hooded cloak and sparkling green eyes gave him away instantly. With the
unmistakable air of a master wizard, his black-and-white fur radiated magic.

“Yes?” Rili looked
her up and down. He did not spare a glance at Kwil.

Clearing her
throat, Nera said, “I have come seeking your instruction, Master.”

Rili scoffed. “I’m
afraid you’re out of luck. The College is that way.” He pointed a
well-manicured finger in the direction of the road and slowly pushed the door
to close it. Nera’s foot stopped him. Scowling, he asked, “Is there something
else?”

“Please,” she
began, “I can’t go back to the College. You’re the only person who will
understand my predicament. May we come in?”

At the word “we,”
Rili glanced over at the slave standing silently near one of the marble columns
decorating the front of the manor. “You and your slave?” he asked, curious.

“Yes,” she replied.
“I must speak with you. It’s a matter of life or death.” She hoped those words
would gain her entry into the master’s home. Outside she felt too exposed to
reveal her secret.

Pushing the door
aside, Rili sighed. “Come in, I suppose.” Moving aside, he observed carefully
as Nera and Kwil stepped inside. Gesturing to Nera, he said, “Have a seat.”

Moving to a velvet-covered
chair, Nera made herself comfortable. Kwil took a position behind her, standing
at the ready as a slave was expected to do.

Taking a seat
across from his guests, Rili asked, “Now what is this urgent life or death
business?” The two were certainly an unusual arrival to his home. Visitors were
extremely rare, save those who came to deliver supplies. The wizard preferred
his solitude in order to focus on his work.

Nera wasn’t sure
where to begin, but she knew she had to tell the truth. There would be no
keeping secrets from this man. Trust was key—without it she couldn’t know that
Kwil would be safe. It was best to know where Rili stood right away, in case
they needed to make another escape. “I,” she started, “we, would like to study
magic with you.”

Rili stared blankly
at the girl. “Who’s we?” he asked. She couldn’t possibly be referring to
herself and the slave. She must have some other person in mind.

Raising her hand,
she patted Kwil’s arm. “This is Kwil, and I am Nera. We are both interested in
learning magic.” Though she wasn’t truly interested for herself, she thought it
might increase Kwil’s chances if she was learning too. If Rili thought he would
be spending too much one-on-one time with a human, he might not be so keen on
the idea. Once he saw that Kwil was progressing far beyond Nera’s abilities,
Rili would hopefully warm to the idea.

Jumping to his
feet, Rili stammered a moment before asking, “A slave? You want me to train
your slave?” The entire notion was ludicrous. He had already spent a small
fortune aiding runaway slaves by funding their departure on trustworthy ships.
The work was dangerous, and the few ships’ captains willing to take on such an
endeavor demanded a hefty sum. Rili did not agree with Gi’gata’s attitude
toward slavery, but taking one into his home would be madness.

“Please hear me
out,” Nera said in a calm tone. To her surprise, Rili relaxed a bit and sat
back down. “Until a few days ago, I was a second year student at the College,”
she explained. “Kwil was my servant. He learned from my books, and he has a
natural talent for magic. I made the mistake of asking one of my teachers to
help him. She wanted to have him killed.”

“I’m not
surprised,” Rili responded. “You would likely be imprisoned as well.” After a
pause, he said, “You’re asking me to shelter two criminals and contribute to
their crime.” He shook his head, trying to figure out why they’d come to him.
Most people left him in peace, and he preferred it that way. His upbringing and
training as a sorcerer had not been easy, thanks to his low birth. He had to
fight for everything he accomplished, and now these two strangers had arrived
and asked him to risk losing everything. Being involved in this criminal act
could cost him his freedom, or possibly his life.

“We wouldn’t be
here if we had anywhere else to go,” Nera went on. “I’ve heard about you, your
past difficulties, and that you were sympathetic toward slaves.” Staring into
his eyes, she could not tell whether she was reaching him at all. “Kwil, show
him what you can do.”

Hesitating a
moment, Kwil decided it was for the best. Rili didn’t seem eager to take him on
as a student, so he had to prove he was worth the effort. Reaching into his
magic, he whispered an incantation and waved his fingers in a precise motion.
Five books removed themselves from the shelf behind Rili, shuffled three times,
and took their rightful places back on the shelf. Finishing the spell, Kwil’s
eyes darted between Nera and Rili.

Nera pleaded, “He
deserves to learn. Please, Sir.”

Still staring at
the books, Rili turned slowly back toward his guests. His eyes fell on Kwil,
and he shook his head. “In all my studies I’ve never encountered a human
wizard.” Pausing, he rubbed a finger against his chin. To Nera, he said, “We
are an egotistical bunch, we Gatans. We assume that the races of other lands
are inferior, but that isn’t the case. Wherever this young man is from, his
people obviously practice magic. Our people declare it impossible because we
wish it were so.”

“Does that mean
you’ll teach him?” Nera asked, trying to quell the excitement in her voice.

“Him?” he asked. “I
thought you wanted to learn as well.” Now he understood. She was here only to
help her friend.

Nera bowed her
head. “I have no talent for magic,” she admitted. “Kwil is the one who really
needs you.”

“All Gatans are
capable of magic,” Rili replied. “If you have no desire to hone the skill, I
will not force you. But Kwil must prove himself a worthy student. Simply
shuffling books isn’t good enough. He must prove he has the ability to think—to
find solutions to impossible tasks. Only then will I agree to teach him.”

“I will take any
test you give me,” Kwil stated boldly. “Please, name the task, and I will find
a way to carry it out.”

Rili admired the
slave’s dedication. He was eager to learn, and that made him worthy of a chance.
Despite never having taken on an apprentice before, Rili considered himself up
to the challenge. It didn’t take long for him to decide on an appropriate test
of Kwil’s cunning. “You must draw water from the well out back without using
any type of bowl or cup. Bring the water inside to me, and I will determine if
you are a worthy student.”

Motioning for them
to follow, Rili led his guests toward the rear of the manor and opened the door
to the garden. Silently he watched as the two filed out in the cold. Shutting
the door behind him, he went back inside to sit by the fire.

“He’s not going to
watch?” Nera asked. She expected him to stand over Kwil’s shoulder and
scrutinize his every move.

With a shrug, Kwil
replied, “It doesn’t matter. He’ll know.” Approaching the well, Kwil peered
inside. A single bucket attached to a rope descended into the depths. “It’s an
ordinary well,” he declared. Now the question was which spell to choose.

“Can you use the
same spell you used on the books?” Nera asked. As soon as she said it, she knew
it was the wrong answer. Rili would never make it that easy.

“I’d have to
control each molecule of water individually, since it doesn’t stick together
the way a solid object does,” Kwil explained. No, there was another solution.
All he had to do was find it.

Nera moved toward
the well and sat on its edge. Preparing to swing her feet around, she said,
“Lower me down like you did when I fell out of the tree. I’ll cup it in my
hands.” A proud smile graced her lips, satisfied with her own cunning.

Kwil shook his
head. “It will leak through your fingers. There won’t be any left by the time
we reach the door.”

“Then I’ll get a
mouthful,” she said, dangling her feet over the well’s edge.

“I can’t risk
lowering you in there, Nera,” Kwil said. “Not without Rili here to save you if
I fail.”

Waving her hand,
she dismissed the comment. “You can do it. I trust you.”

“This isn’t about
trust,” he replied. “You could drown, and I won’t risk it.” Looking at her with
a sparkle in his eye, he said, “Ask me again when I’m a master wizard.”

Laughing, Nera
hopped down from the well’s edge and stood beside her friend. He had an idea,
and she was anxious to see what it was.

Knowing how well he
had done with the heat spell, Kwil focused his mind to heating the water. Beads
of sweat formed on his forehead as he continued to pour heat into the well, the
water beneath bubbling in response. Concentrating intently on the task at hand,
he neglected to blink his eyes or let out the breath he was holding. He
teetered slightly, but Nera lent a hand to steady him. Without losing his
concentration, he took a deep breath and pulled the steam up from the water’s
surface.

Nera clapped her
hands as a cloud of water vapor formed itself into a sphere and hovered above
her friend’s upturned palm. “You did it!” she shouted.

“Not yet,” Kwil
said. “I have to get it back to Master Rili.” Fearing he might lose control of
the vapor, he paused for a moment, standing perfectly still. Putting more
concentration into the spell than necessary, he felt himself waning. He had to
remain strong if he was going to succeed.

As if reading his
mind, Nera said, “You’re doing great, Kwil. This is the easy part.”

She was correct.
Heating the water and carrying it was easier than what came next. He had to
correctly perform the spell that would turn the evaporated water back to
liquid, and he wasn’t sure he could do it. Taking great care with each step, he
moved at a snail’s pace toward the manor door. Nera rushed in front of him to
open it, and he stepped inside, barely able to contain his excitement. Only a
few moments more of concentration, and he would prove to Rili he was a worthy
student.

Hearing their
footsteps, Rili rose from his seat and joined them as they moved into the
dining room. Seeing the cloud of water vapor in Kwil’s hand, he raised his
eyebrows but said nothing.

Willing the water
vapor to float toward a wooden bowl on the table, Kwil continued to focus his
mind. His heart rate spiked, and his breathing became heavier as the water
hovered above its target. Closing his eyes and hoping for the best, he muttered
a quiet incantation. Stumbling on his words, he paused and cleared his throat.
Trying again, he spoke slower, enunciating the words through a shaky voice. Drawing
the heat away from the vapor, he allowed it to cool to its former state. As his
eyes opened, the vapor liquefied, pouring itself into the bowl. An immense
feeling of relief swept over him. The spell had actually worked as he had planned.
Beaming with pride, he turned to the master wizard for approval.

Narrowing his eyes,
Rili inspected the young man closely. “This was your idea?” he asked. “The girl
didn’t help you?”

Kwil shook his
head. “She offered, but I declined,” he replied.

“Boiling the water
was his idea,” Nera stated. “I only thought of carrying it in my hands or
mouth.”

Rolling his eyes at
her silly suggestions, Rili decided she had nothing to do with Kwil’s clever
trick. The boy had talent, and he had an analytical mind that would serve him
well as a student of magic. Rili was pleased. “You’ve done well,” he said to
Kwil. “Now you’re ready for your second test.”

Kwil’s heart sank to
his feet. He should have known something so simple wouldn’t be enough proof.
“Name it,” he said, ready to accept the challenge.