By the time Merlin arrived, only the two full moons provided light. "Are you prepared?" he asked. I nodded. "Very well. Sit, and focus on the energy inside you. Before you can conjure a creature of great power, you must be able to control it," he said. I didn't like the sound of that. As I turned my focus on my energy Merlin started sniffing at the ground. "What are you looking for?" He ignored me and began digging something up. I realized what it was an instant before he dropped a carrot in my lap. "No!" "Rabbits are minor nuisances as long as you avoid their claws and teeth." That was easier said than done. I didn't even have time to jump up and shout something very unmanly before the high grass started to rustle. The field was entirely to their advantage, because I couldn't see them and they could smell me. One rabbit came close enough that I could see him. He was light brown in color and not the largest I had seen. He wasn't looking at me or advancing on me, which I knew was a trap; he was studying me, deciding if I was worth fighting or not. When the rabbit made a little hop towards Merlin, the wolf growled. Then, with a final sniff in my direction, the rabbit hopped away. I sighed. "Maybe I was wrong about rabbits. That was totally---" My words were interrupted by my shrill scream of horror and agony as the rabbit pounced on me from behind and sunk its claws into my back. When I reached for my staff that I had dropped, another rabbit leapt out of the grass and sunk its fangs into my hand. By dropping and rolling, I was able to dislodge the rabbit from my back, but I also lost some precious skin when I tore my arm away from the second rabbit. My wand stabbed me painfully in the side, so I pulled it out and waved it around myself. Protect. The wand answered, but in the most unlikely way; magic shot from the wand into the staff, and then from the staff into me. What came out was a mixture of the sinister red energy of the staff and the elegant white energy of the wand. I felt my skin become cold and tingly again. A third rabbit appeared and bit my hand, but this time, I didn't feel it. In fact, to our mutual shock, the rabbit's teeth didn't break my skin. When the first rabbit tried to claw at my face, he had the same problem. Unfortunately, he also had a solution; he kicked me in the face. Magically impenetrable skin or not, it hurt. I reached for my staff again, but one of the rabbits kicked mne in the side of my abdomen, causing me to ball up in pain. By sheer determination, I didn't loosen my grip on my wand. I waved it at the carrot that was just out of reach, as the rabbits apparently wanted to fight me for it instead of just taking it. However, when magic shot from the wand and hit the carrot, tossing it high into the air, the rabbits focused on it instead. I had just enough time before it hit the ground to roll and grab my staff. Attack. The staff obeyed my unspoken thought and blasted them with burning red energy. The rabbits turned to stone. "Where did you learn that?" Merlin asked. "I didn't. I remember reading something about it in one of Vactarus's books, but I didn't know how to do it. The staff did it." "If so, then the staff is much more powerful than I originally thotght." "So I can summon a monster now?" "Tend to your wounds and rest up. We will begin at first light." Although my skin was still cold and impenetrable, the cuts th the rabbits caused before were still bleeding. "What do I do about it?" "Bandage it, of course." "What about healing potions?" "By all means, if you know how to make one and can conjure the ingredients, do so," he said. I didn't know any, so he continued. "You should ask Vac if he has any bandages and something to clean your cuts with. First, you need to release your spell. Do exactly as I told you before." I sat down harder than I meant to and realized that I felt a little too heavy and pretty tired. It took longer without him telling me, but I did manage to imagine everything as I had before, and when I opened my eyes, I felt normal. "You learn quickly." Thank you. What did you get at the tournament to disguise my hair?" "I found a world traveler who had good black ink. That should last about five to seven days unless you wash your hair out. If nothing else, it might help you to appear more intimidating to Magnus or a villager."
"Yes, and if we run into my brothers again, I can hide my face and maybe they won't recognize me. I can put it in now." "Wait until we find out where the Island of Light is. We may be many days off and I only have enough to cover your hair once." Merlin left and I returned to my room, where there was a bathtub set up with steaming water. And there was a dead girl in it. "Tm sorry, did I come into the wrong room?" I asked, knowing I hadn't. Kisha laughed. "No. I just wanted to talk to you and the bath was so inviting." "How did it get here?" I was pretty sure I would have noticed a bathtub when I left that morning. "The housekeeper brought it." "Can you feel the warmth of the water?" "No, but I can pretend. Come in." "I don't think that would be a good idea. I'm going to the library to read." She didn't say anything, but she looked a little sad and lonely. "How long have you been a ghost?" I asked. She looked at the water and shrugged her ghostly shoulders. "For longer than I can remember. I think this was my home originally. Vactarus named me Kisha because I couldn't remember my actual name.' "Do you remember how you died?" I asked. She shook her head. "Do you ever make it up?" She looked at me. "If you don't remember your on life, you can pretend. You could have been a dragon trainer or a wand maker." She smirked. "Not likely. It's pretty obvious that I died young." "That doesn't mean your life wasn't exciting." "l guess you're right." "Maybe you can even have an exciting afterlife. I'll try to think of something. She smiled brightly. "I don't know why you want to be a sorcerer so much. You are a nicer man than anyone I know." "It's not that I want to be a sorcerer. I am a sorcerer; I was born in a family of sorcerers. I'm just a failure as one, and there's no place in the world for someone who is a failure at being what they are." "I would rather you be the way you are now than to change yourself. You haven't been here that long, but I liked you the first time you opened your mouth. That's special. Also, Vac trusts you to get his hat back. Vac doesn't trust anyone, and a sorcerer would use that against him. It's better to be a failed sorcerer than a failed friend." With those parting words, she vanished. I considered taking a bath while the water was hot. After all, the housekeeper worked so hard to heat the water. Instead, I headed to the library to read up on conjuration. Access to such a grand library was worth a cold bath any day.
Once again, I woke to a plate of eggs and potatoes. I barely had time to eat it before Merlin started calling me. With a sigh, I dressed and gathered my wand and staff. There was a bottle of ink outside my door, so I slipped it into my bag before heading out to the grassy field. Merlin was already waiting. «Where are the rabbits?" I asked, hesitating when I saw that the statues were missing. "They reverted to normal overnight. Now, put your wand away, take your staff in both hands, and concentrate on your desire to defeat Magnus." I did. I will defeat the wizard and become someone nobody can doubt. I will never have to worry about my mother killing me for being an embarrassment to the family. I will be allowed to have books and do magic I want to do instead of curses and poisons. The crystal of the staff began to glow, but it wasn't nearly as red as it had been the night before when I fought the rabbits. I wll be free of my mother.. No. I would just be a more powerful pawn of my mother 's. She would kill me if I'm not useful to her, but she wouldnt just let me go if I became powerful enough to be useful. The energy swirling in the crystal faded. Defeating Magnus may be the only way to prove myself, but that's only the beginning. When I defeat him, I will have to face my mother. When I visualized Ilvera Dracre in my mind, the crystal burned deeper and redder than ever before and energy shot into the air. A figure began to take fornm, only to split into two shapes. I started to panic; I couldn't control two monsters if they turned on me! Then, to my astonishment, the dark masses formed into two people standing right in front of me. It was a man and a woman, Both of whom were dressed in the strangest clothes and studying me wițh even) more curious expressions. Merlin growled, but they didn't seem to hetiee. Then, the woman looked out over the field. "I can see Russia from here!" she said excitedly. The man in turn said, "Let's make Russia great again!" "Too evil!" Merlin said, his growl deepening even more. I knew that, though. Some part of me knew this was a disaster waiting to happen and that same part was reaching for my wand without thought. It was my wand that I used this time. White magic shot straight at them and with a burst of sparkles, they were gone. "That was easy," Merlin said. "And oddly satisfying. Were they from another world?" "Yes." "That poor world!" "Well, every world has its bad apples, I suppose. This time, use both your wand and your staff. They worked together last night to protect you. Come up with a creature you want and picture it in your head." I thought of a bat first. However, as good as they were in warning people of danger, they weren't the best in attacking. Then I thought of a bear. They were big and powerful... too powerful. I couldn't control a bear. A monkey, on the other hand, was a good middle ground. They weren't too big and yet were very strong. Also, they were adorable in a weird way. "Okay, I know what I want to summon." "See it very clearly in your mind, and as you do, imagine there is rope restraining it. This rope bounds its wrist and ankles, or tentacies, or whatever it has, and its neck." I was fine until he said that; suddenly, my monkey had tentacles.I did bind them, though, as well as his limbs and neck. "If it has wings, make sure those are restrained." And just like that, the monkey had wings, too. I bound those clumsily. "Those ropes are all fed into your wand, so that you can control your beast by controlling your wand. Then, imagine the restraints are sinking deeper into the creature and becoming invisible. They're there, and they can still control the beast, but they cannot be seen or felt and it does not have to stay with you. You can call it to you, however. Because the ropes cannot be felt, they cannot break." This took some time. I wasn't an idiot; I wasn't going to rush this. Monkeys were strong, but my bloodline produced powerful sorcerers for many generations. I could do this. I would do this. The ropes in my mind embedded into the beast's limbs and around its neck. They would be controlled by my wand no matter how far away it is. "Now, hold that in your mind. Feel a sense of complete control, raise your wand in your left hand and your staff in your right, and call the beast to you." I did. Even though he didn't exist yet, I called him as if he did. Dark, red and black magic started glowing in the crystal of the staff. Conjuring was vastly different than cursing or creating potions. Although I called it conjuring when I created food from clay, it was actually just transformation. Conjuring was on a whole other level. The body was created of the land and magic gave it life. My mother never let me see the Dracre grimoires because she believed that sorcery was supposed to be passed down and she wanted to train us her way. She had never been interested in teaching us anything this powerful. Fortunately, I found several books on it in the library, so I had a general idea of what was happening. I knew I could affect the purpose of the creature by controlling what it was made of, but this method created more of a low-level, do-anything creature. Bright red energy burst from the staff and white energy burst from the wand to form a crackling sphere of magic above me. Encouraged, I concentrated harder. Soon, the energy started darkening until it was black, after which it began to grow. As it grew larger, it became more solid, until it was the creature from my mind. My wand and staff stopped pouring magic into it. The beast was dark brown, furry, and about the size of Merlin, with two arms and two legs. Although it looked skinny, I knew it had much mọre strength than any man. It also had two large, black, bat wings suspending it in the air and a row of four tentacles down each of its sides. The tenta les were black and writhing wildly. The creature itself studied me closely like didn't know if I was dinner or not. "Control it before it gets away," Merlin cautioned. I waved my wand at it. "Sit," I said. Its wings clamped shut and the poor beast hit the ground hard. I winced, but didn't go to it because it was still dangerous. "What do I do now?" "Banish it for now. Lock the power in your mind so that he is basically only in your head. Later, you can call him again and practice having him do something simple. You need to teach him to come when you call and that he is not to exist when you have no use for him." "That seems a little harsh." "No more than making him sleep. Use your wand for this and set aside your staff." I nodded. My staff was unstable. Unfortunately, when I set it down, the crystal at the end flashed brightly and shot energy into the wand in my other hand, which vanished. "Oh, no." Merlin sighed, and the creature took flight. When the beast dived threateningly at Merlin, I swung the staff instinctively. The creature got out of the way in time to avoid the blow and then flew off into the sky until I couldn't see him anymore. "We have to find my wand." I knew it hadn't been destroyed; I always felt it when my mother disposed of my previous ones. "I have an idea, but you're not going to like it." "I have a premonition that I will feel that way about all of your ideas."
"So, let me get this straight. You found a magic staff with a dark and mysterious background and you used it. Each time, it was unpredictable and dangerous. Then you decided to create a monster using the staff and bind the monster to your wand. Once the monster had formed, your staff shot your wand and the wand vanished, effectively freeing the monster. Is that right?" Dessa asked. "Well, when you put it that way, it sounds irresponsible." Fortunately, the seer tournaments last for days, so we were able to return and find Dessa. The seer sighed. "Obviously, your staff holds a power neither of you fully understand," Merlin made a low growl. "I am hundreds of years older than you, soothsayer." Of course, Dessa couldn't hear him, and I wasn't about to insult her for him. "The only reason I can think of for your staff attacking your wand is that it was jealous you were using the wand." I blinked, not sure I heard her correctly. "Jealous? How can a sorcerer staff be jealous?"
"Set it here on the table," she said. I did, carefully. She opened a silver case where she kept one of her crystal balls, pulled out a pair of white silk gloves, and slipped them on. I felt uncomfortable when she ran her fingers delicately over the crystal, as if I was afraid she would break it. Then her eyes turned white, the crystal pulsed with a dim glow, and my skin crawled. When she finally let go, I stepped between her and the staff. "So, do you know where I can find my wand?" "I do. Your mother is the only sorceress known to have slayed a dragon." "Actually, she was just trying to train... never mind." The staff has sent your wand to---" "I'm not fighting a dragon," I interrupted. "No. It sent your wand to the ruins of a castle that was brought down by dragons. Your wand is hidden in a mound of treasure and is drawing in the monster you created. Thus, you must go and fight your own creation to retrieve your wand." "Lovely. Dying was absolutely on my list of things to do today."