The Magic Catcher (2 page)

“
No.” Marcus replied. “Had to kill four of them to get all
this.”

“
And what do you plan on doing with it, now you have
it?”

Marcus
paused. “I’ve got myself in a pickle.”

“
You’re always in a pickle of some sort.” Aprestine said. “Why
have you come looking for me to get you out of it?”

“
Because you’re the only one who can help.” Marcus said. “I
stole all of this for
you,
Aprestine. Help me out and it’s yours.” He tapped
his finger over the side of the lantern.

Aprestine’s heart skipped a beat. The magic in his lantern
was practically humming, just waiting to be released. She imagined
it swarming towards her, filling her veins. Used carefully, it
could last her years. Buy her a little time. Maybe enough time to
get the jewel…

 
Aprestine released a breath she hadn’t
realised she’d been holding and looked away. “I don’t believe magic
should be a tradable commodity.”

“
Doesn’t mean you don’t want it.” Marcus said. “C’mon Steeny.
I can see that look in your eyes. You want it. I can give it to
you.”

Quick as
a flash, Aprestine yanked her dagger from its sheath and pushed him
against the wall, holding the knife over his neck.

“
Or, I can slit your throat right now and take it myself.”
Aprestine said. “I don’t owe you anything.”

Marcus’s
eyes flickered with fear. He knew what she was capable of. The day
he’d met her, she had been standing over five dead bodies. Five
people who had tried to get in her way.

“
If you kill me now, you’ll never get hold of that jewel. I
know things you don’t.”

Aprestine pressed the blade closer to his throat. “You’ve
promised me the jewel before.”

“
I didn’t have the magic you needed before, did I? But now
it’s here, right in front of you. You can have it all, I
swear.”

Aprestine backed away, just a little.

“
What is it you want from me, Marcus?”

Marcus
waited a beat before answering. “I want you to help me kill a
dragon.”

TWO

Aprestine
snorted with mirth. She was so surprised that she lowered the
dagger without thinking, interested in what had happened to make
him start spouting this nonsense.

“
There’s no dragons in these parts anymore. Everyone knows
that.”

“
Everyone but you.”

Aprestine paused. Avoiding his gaze, she whispered, “I don’t
know what you’re talking about.”

Knowing
he’d piqued her interest, Marcus took a step forward. “I know you
let it live, Aprestine. I know you didn’t kill the last
one.”

“
How could you possibly know that?”

Marcus
tapped the side of his nose. “You should be more careful where you
have your most private discussions. Someone was eavesdropping when
you were rubbing it in to George, wrote it all down in a diary that
I happened to stumble across-”

“
I wasn’t rubbing it in.” Aprestine interrupted. “I was
just…”

“
Gloating?”

“
George was taking all the credit for himself. King George the
dragon slayer, he was going round calling himself.” Aprestine said,
frowning at the memory. He’d betrayed her, not long after that
conversation, and she’d had to go on the run again. “I thought if I
left one alive it might break free and show him up to be the liar
he was. But when that never happened, I assumed the thing had died,
without its mother to look after it…”

“
Well, it lived.” Marcus said. “And now it’s stolen something
of mine.”

“
What?”

“
Not what. Who.” Marcus said. “My sister.”

“
Ah.” Aprestine said. “I see. And I’m supposed to risk my life
for her, am I? Dragon’s aren’t easy things to kill.”

“
Lucky I’ve found an expert then, isn’t it?”

Aprestine broke their eye contact first, thinking. She ran
her tongue over her lips as she considered her options. She wanted
the jewel. She needed to get to Ezeth, get inside the castle and
speak to the king, try and convince him that letting it go would be
the best thing for everyone. But to do that, she’d need to get past
Princess Edrea, and she wouldn’t be able to defend herself if
something went wrong without any magic of her own. She desperately
needed what Marcus had stolen. The information he claimed to
have.

But how
could she trust him, after the last time?

“
Aprestine?” Marcus said, placing a hand under her chin and
tilting her head towards his, forcing her to look at him. “She’s my
sister. I have to get her back. I have to.
Please
.”

“
You don’t even know if she’s still alive.”

“
Dragons only need to feed once a month. We…we might still
have time.”

“
Depends how greedy the dragon is,” Aprestine muttered. She
pushed his hand away from her face and gestured towards the
lantern. “I’ll want all of that first. As a deposit.”

“
How do I know you won’t run away the second I give it to
you?”

“
You don’t.”

Marcus
exhaled.

“
Before I give this to you, you should know something.” He
said. “I never intended to break our deal. I
was
going to find you the magic you
needed. But the catchers sensed I was travelling with a witch. They
took my sister, threatened to kill her if I didn’t give you up. I
told them where you were living and they handed her over to the
dragon anyway. If it makes you feel any better, I killed every last
one of them. Apart from Tony, who you just met.” A muscle in his
jaw ticked. Aprestine got the impression that Tony wouldn’t be long
for this world if Marcus had anything to do with it.

“
How do I know you’re not lying to make me feel sorry for
you?”

“
You don’t.”

Aprestine smirked as he threw her words back at her. She
weighed her options again. It had been a long while since she’d had
an adventure. Even longer since she’d had a friend. Someone she
could count on. Marcus was many things, but she’d never known him
to be a liar.  Mind made up, she said, “Well, you’re just
lucky I escaped them, aren’t you?”

“
You don’t know how glad I was when I found out.”

“
Right. Because who else is going to help you go
dragon-hunting?”

“
No.” Marcus said, reaching out to touch her arm before
thinking better of it, running it through his hair instead. “I was
just glad you were alive.”

She held
his gaze a moment longer than she felt she should, before reaching
out to unhook the lantern from his belt. She brought it up to her
face so she was eye level with the specks of magic inside. What had
happened to the people this magic belonged to?

She tried to push down the feeling of guilt. The magic was
already lost to its rightful owners, so why shouldn’t she take it?
She’d had enough taken from her, after all. Closing her eyes, she
opened the latch of the lantern and whispered, “
Accipio magicis
meis
.”

She felt
the magic swarm towards her, the rush of air as the power sank
through her skin and began to swim through her blood. It had been
awhile since she had accepted magic this way – as much as she
wanted to, she tried to avoid using the powers of others; it felt
so ordinary, so mundane in comparison to what her own felt like –
but she was so weak now that the new energy left her feeling
revitalised and ready to take on the world.

Ready to
take on Ezeth.

She
contemplated leaving Marcus behind, she didn’t need him now and it
would teach him a lesson or two about double crossing her. But he
was looking at her with such hope in his eyes, such desperation,
that she couldn’t bring herself to leave him. It went against all
her principles – her mother had taught her from an early age that
caring for others only brought you pain – but spending years in
solitude made her more open to reconsidering the rules she’d forced
herself to live by. She could only cope with the loneliness for so
long.

“
Come on then,” Aprestine said. “Let’s get this
done.”

The
magic giving her a newfound confidence, she swept out of the
alleyway without a backwards glance at Marcus, barely stopping to
assess the streets for signs of more catchers. Out of the shelter
of the alley, the wind screeched past her ears, and the rain was
biting cold against her face. She was almost glad to have a warm
presence at her back.

Marcus,
still trotting behind her, asked, “Do you know where you’re
going?”

“
Of course.” Aprestine said. “There’s only one place you’ll
find a dragon round here.”

She
pointed into the distance. She had led them to the port, the sea
stretching out endlessly in front of them. At the tip of the
horizon you could just about make out the shape of a mountain, its
jagged peak sticking into the sky like the prong of a sword. The
mountain was situated on a small island that people rarely bothered
to visit, assuming there was nothing to see except sand and stone.
What they didn’t realise was that the mountain was hollow inside,
containing a cavern so vast it could house a beast nearly fifteen
feet high.

“
How are we supposed to get over there?”

Aprestine smirked. “Watch and learn.”

She
climbed down the set of stairs that led onto the docks, and was
immediately greeted by the harbour master, a balding man who
insisted on sucking a pipe in between sentences.

“
You’re past curfew.” He said. “Shouldn’t be down
here.”

“
You’re here, aren’t you?” Aprestine said. “I don’t see why we
should be tucked up in bed if you’re not.”

The
harbour master didn’t reply. His gaze was fixed over her shoulder
at something going on behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to
know what he was looking at, not when Marcus was stomping so loudly
that the wooden planks beneath their feet shook with every step. It
amazed her that he had ever managed to sneak up on her at
all.

“
We need a boat.” Marcus said.

Aprestine grimaced at his forthright approach.

“
Do you now?” The harbour master said. “Too bad I’ve got none
to spare.”

She
sensed Marcus was about to open his mouth again, and she raised a
hand to stop him from ruining their chances any more.

“
Oh you must have one.” She took a step forward, placing a
hand on the harbour master’s arm. “Just one, tiny, little boat. We
can pay you.”

She
nudged Marcus with her elbow, and he cleared his throat. “Sure. One
gold coin.”

“
Two.” Aprestine corrected. “Two gold coins.”

Her
finger slid down the man’s arm, coming to rest on his wrist. His
pulse quickened beneath her grasp. “Surely you can give us a boat,
and your silence, for two gold coins?” She took another step
towards him, her lips parted just inches away from his cheek.
“Can’t you do that for me?” The wisps of hair he had left flickered
under her breath.

“
Yes.” He whispered. “Yes, of course.” He unhooked a set of
keys from his belt. “There’s a small rowing boat moored just behind
me. You can take that. The silver key unlocks the padlock on the
oars.”

“
You’re too kind.” Aprestine said.

She
grabbed Marcus’s hand, pulling him forward as she brushed past the
harbour master who was still looking a little dazed.

She
found the boat easily enough, tossing Marcus the keys so he could
release the oars as she took to work untying the rope that tethered
the vessel to the docks.

“
Two
gold coins?” Marcus muttered
under his breath, before adding loudly, “You’re supposed to barter
with
him
,
Aprestine, not with me!”

“
Funny.” Aprestine said, finishing with the rope and sitting
back in the boat as it started to drift away from the pier. “I
don’t remember you paying him anything at all.”

Marcus
blinked, and he stared at her for a second, open-mouthed. “That’s
because I didn’t.”

“
Maybe you should start rowing before he realises.” Aprestine
suggested, tossing an arm outside the boat and allowing her hand to
trail in the water.

Marcus
shook his head and plunged the oars into the sea.

They
were about half a mile out when they finally heard the harbour
master cursing them from the shore.

THREE

The water
was, thankfully, calm, and they reached the island within the hour.
It was barely an acre wide, the shore an eclectic mix of sand and
rock that lasted only a few metres before it reached the base of
the mountain. The mountain itself filled the remaining land, made
of a grey stone that was streaked with green, jutting upwards into
the sky. It wasn’t the largest mountain in these lands, that claim
went to the Adras, a series of mountains that lay to the west of
Deniz, but it was certainly vaster than it appeared, for underneath
the rock in front of them was layers and layers of caverns, deep
underground, submerged into the sea. Aprestine could only hope the
dragon was slumbering in one them, far beneath the vibrations of
their feet that were sure to wake its sensitive ears
otherwise.