"It's just a shortcut." "We should stay on the road," Merlin argued, eyeing the dark forest with suspicion. "But that will take an entire day. Maybe even two!" "If we get lost, it will take even longer." "You're a wolf. Are you saying you can't find your way out of the forest?" I asked. He glared at me, but I headed into it before he could argue again. Since I was not going to be around other people for a while, I took off my robe and put it in my bag. It was a little darker than the average forest, which was why it was called the Dark Forest, but I had never had any trouble when I went through it. Well, there was the time a troll captured me and took me back to his cave eat me. I escaped by setting his entire cave on fire. Fortunately, it wasn't troll season this time. It was also not as hot inside and the shade was a definite relief. We traveled for a while without incident. "So, will you tell me why me being the seventh son is significant?" I asked when the silence became uncomfortable. I didn't hear birds, bugs, or anything, and that wasn't normal. "I suppose I should. Because seven is regarded as a magical number, it is said that the seventh son of the seventh son will have natural abilities in magic, as long as the line is not broken by daughters or death. How that affects you, with your sorcery, I cannot be sure. "Wouldn't that mean I should have more magic than the rest o my family?" "Quite possibly. However, seven is not sinister, so the seventh son should not be inherently corrupt." "Wait, so I'm this way because I was the seventh born?" "Not completely. It did not make you inherently good, either. I have always believed a person's kindness was a derivative of nurture over nature, but knowing your mother, you might just be the exception." What?"
"I said I do not know why you are nice." "So why didn't you just say that before?" "I believe your mother married your father because he was the seventh son of his line with the intention of stealing your pOwer." "She never said anything to me about the seventh son having more magic. Besides, stealing someone's magic is not that easy. There's no way my mother would risk having a child who was more powerful than her:" "Have you ever heard of someone named Livia?" "Isn't that who Vactarus mentioned?" "You have an impressive memory. Like you, she was born to a family of sorcerers and she could do both light and dark magic. Unlike you, however, she embraced her magic." "I can do sorcery, I'm just not good at it." "So you believe the problem is that your curses always go awry and not that you can only produce light magic?" "... well... I think it's both. Sometimes, I can do a crse, but if I do manage dark magic, it still ends up helping someone. O;herwise, my magic just twists what I say around to do sonmething nice." "How are you with fire? Can you set a fire?" "Usually. Sometimes I have to do it without magic, though." "Sometimes?" "Well... when it's for personal gain." "So, when it is sorcery then," he said. I nodded. He stopped and indicated a certain tree with his paw. "Set that tree on fire." "No way! It's just a poor tree." "It is a dead tree. There are no leaves on its branches. I suspect a parasite, in which case, you could be saving the trees around it by burning it," "Or it could burn down the forest." "Thus, proving you are capable of sorcery." I groaned and aimed the staff at the tree. I imagined the dead branches on fire, illuminating the darkness of the forest, while also hoping deep down that I didn't set the forest on fire. Magic flowed from me into the staff. Right before I could give the command to my magic, Merlin tensed and his fur started bristling. "What's wrong?" "Something is watching us."
"Seriously? What is it? I am absolutely not fighting a dragon. If I see one, I'm going to gawk and coo and try to pet it. Unless it tries to eat me. If it tries to eat me, I'm going to run and then think back on the occasion fondly." "You are rambling." "Of course I'm rambling!" "Stay here," he said before disappearing into the cover of some thorn bushes. "Great. Now who am I supposed to ramble to?" I listened for anything odd aside from the fact that there was no sound at all. With each moment, I grew more nervous. It occurred to me that we should have stayed on the main road. "Ayden, run," Merlin said. "What? What's going on?" I asked. He didn't answer, but I heard growling and snapping. The sound of an animal snapping its teeth was unmistakable. I ran towards the sound. Before I could see Merlin, however, I tripped. When I tried to stand, something wrapped around my ankles and pulled. I looked down, saw thick vines making their way up my legs, and knew what trouble I was in. "Oh, gods." I reached inside my bag for the knife I always kept in it, but ended up dropping the sack and my staff as she viņes hoisted me up into the air by my feet. "Merlin... can you help?" It was silent for a moment. "Not really." His voice sounded strained even in my head. Realizing that his hearing was much better than mine, I spoke at a normal volume. "Are you tied up, too?" "Yes. Once we know what we are up against, we can--" "I know what we're up against, and there's not much we can do. I've faced these beings before." Actually, I'd been captured by them before, but it really wasn't my fault. It was my brothers who tied me to a tree in the middle of Blue Lakes Forest. "Well, well, it's not every day two wizards intrude into our forests," an unseen voice hissed. I heard Merlin growling again, but I still couldn't see him. I'm not a wizard. I'm a sorcerer! And Merlin is a wolf." "He may be cursed, but we can see he is a wizard, as we can see you are no sorcerer.
I crossed my arms and glared at nothing in particular. I probably didn't look that intimidating with my blond hair blowing in the slight breeze and all my blood rushing into my face. I was going to have a massive headache from this. "You want to come out here, let me grab my staff, and say that to my face?" "You are a foolish wizard." Despite his answer, he hopped down from a nearby tree. If he stood next to me right-side-up, his head would barely reach my chest. He was also very slender, fine-boned, wearing clothes made of leaves and vines, and had pointed ears. His hair was dark brown, long, and braided, while his eyes were the same mixture of brown and green as the forest. His complexion was darker than the elves of Blue Lakes Forest. "I haven't done anything to you or your forest, so just call off your vines and let me and Merlin go. More elves came out of hiding- at least two dozen. The firsoneho was probably their king, narrowed his eyes at me. I have had enough problems with sorcerers lately. If I let you go free, more wizards will follow." "I told you I'm not--" I stopped myself when I realized what he said. "Wait, what problems with sorcerers?" He scowled. "Sorcerers passed through here just yesterday. Six of them! Do you know how many animals they hunted and foliage they ruined?! Worst of all, they cursed my daughter when she wasn't enamored by them." "Six sorcerers? Did they all happen to have black hair, wine-colored eyes, and green robes?" "Yes!" he hissed. All of the other elves hissed with him, creating a creepy echo effect. My brothers were here? I changed my opinion of him instantly, since I knew why the elves were so irritable. There was nothing my brothers could do better than irritate someone. "Listen, those sorcerers are the Dracre sons. They're my enemies, too." His scowl faded a little. "So, you expect me to let you go because we share a common enemy? "I would hope so." "I am not in a merciful mood." "Once they get what they're after, they're going to turn around and come back this way. I won't hurt anything in the forest; I don't even hunt. I eat apples and broccoli mostly. Merlin hunts, but he doesn't eat much and we're in too much of a hurry. Besides, he doesn't have any magic. You have nothing to lose by letting us go and we could stop those sorcerers from coming back." "I want them to come back. I will force them to retract the curse on my daughter:" I grimaced. "What kind of curse?" They turned her into a tree," he hissed. Again, the other elves echoed the creepy sound. I sighed internally with relief. "That would be Gibus's doing. I can break it." Whereas my other brothers preferred illnesses and embarrassing curses, Gibus tried to be ironic. He had also cursed pretty much every woman in Akadema for not immediately throwing herself at his feet. Undoing his work was always left up to me. He narrowed his eyes. "How?" he asked, unconvinced. "I'm looking for my wand, which is in the ruins of a castle about a day's walk north. That's why we wanted to come through the forest; we wanted to get it before the Dracre sons get to their destination. It looks like we're really behind, though." "I know the castle ruins of which you speak." "Once I get my wand, I'll come back here. I can break Gibus's tree curse any day, but I need my wand to do it." "What guarantee do I have that you will come back if I let you go?" "Keep the other wizard," one of the elves suggested. I tried to glare at him, but I couldn't tell which one had spoken. "Merlin is no one's collateral." I had every intention of returning to break Gibus's curse, but I had no idea how to defeat the monster. I alşo didn't like ultimatums. "When they let you go, grab your staff and curse them," Merlin suggested. That was what any sorcerer would have done, but I had no idea wht my staff would do or how many elves were still camouflaged and hiding. Also, Merlin must not have had elves where he was from, because everyone knew how powerful they were. Their magic was tied to nature, as seen with the vines. Arrows and spears were their primary method of defense, but they were clever. I could curse a few of them and it would stick, but I didn't know what my staff would do, and I certainly couldn't stop every single elf in the forest simultaneously.
"If you truly mean to come back and help us, then you should be willing to leave your companion. "Merlin?" I asked, wishing once again that I could speak in his mind like he could mine. "Can you still hear me?" "Yes, I can hear you both." "Are you okay with staying here?" "Absolutely not." "He says it's okay," I told the elves. Showing them that we trusted them would go a long way towards convincing them to trust us, even if we didn't really trust them. He nodded to one of the other elves and a moment later, the vines slowly lowered me to the ground and finally released my ankles. I stayed down. Although my brothers saw submission as encouragement to torture their victim more, the elves were a reasonable race. "Go then, and return with your wand by sunrise to break the urse over my daughter." "I will return, but you hurt Merlin, even a little bit, I wtl ar every one of you to pieces and burn your forest down on top of you." I gabbed my staff and bag and stood. The elves looked surprised. "Merlin, IIl be back before sunrise." "You had better be," he said. "For the record, this is not how a sorcerer behaves."
Even though I walked as fast as I could, it was dark by the time I reached the main road on the other side of the forest, and the warm afternoon had turned into a cold night. I put my robe back on. Fortunately, I could walk faster on the clear path. Soon, I came upon the decrepit ruins of what was once a grand castle... surrounded by homes. I groaned. Fighting the monster to get my wand back and getting treasure in return was one thing, but sorcerers were not supposed to save people. Then again, I created the beast, so I was responsible for the damage it caused. I sighed. "Nobody can tell Merlin ever," I said aloud. The houses were small, well-built, and in most cases, on fire. I spared a moment to hope that the creature I created wasn't a fire-breather before I headed into the thick of the mess. What few people that hadn't already fled were frantically trying to gather their valuables and put out fires. I caught the arm of a man running past me. "Good evening. Sorry to interrupt your panicking, but can you please tell me that you are being attacked by a dragon... or maybe a werewolf?" Anything that I didnt create. He straightened his shirt to appear more dignified, but the fact that his sleeves were burned off and he was carrying a sack of grain in his arms like a baby defeated the purpose. "Actually, we were attacked by a flying monkey with tentacles." Great. I had to get my wand, but saving these people after creating a monster that attacked their village was the last thing any sorcerer in the world would do. If my mother was here, she would be proud that I was finally able to cause mayhem and tell me not to worry about my wand. I had a staff, after all. But she wasn't here, andI couldn't just let the monster run rampant.I created him, and it was my fault he got free. I wanted to be a sorcerer, I really did, but this had been a mistake, and even sorcerers owned up to their mistakes. Although the castle could still be identified as such, several walls had been blown out by dragons. I entered the ruins through one of the massive holes in the side. On the ground floo, weeds had grown up shrough the cracks in the stone and wrapped around the old furnitre. Alnost everything wooden was molded, including some paintings from the original family who owned the place. It was dark, but moonlight streame in through holes in the roof and fire from the nearby homes provided eerie, flickering light that made it look like things were moving. Where would the treasure be? That is where I'll find my wand and the monster. My father used to tell me that some dragons liked caves, and some liked heights, which didn't help at all. I either needed to find the dungeons or the tallest tower. There were five doors and two sets of stairs, suggesting that randomly searching this place could take much longer than I had. I couldn't hear the monster, either. I dropped my bag and started to put down my staff to get my knife out when I got an idea. I held out my staff. "You got us into this mess. Show me where my wand is." Nothing happened. "Fine," I snarled at it. "Show me where the treasure is. If you don't, you're worthless to me and I'll leave you here." I felt the staff pulling on my magic before the crystal lit with a red glow. Just that. I was just about to put it down and grab my knife when the glow in the crystal narrowed to form a beam of light that pointed to one of the two sets of stairs. "Wow. I didn't think that would actually work." Before the staff could change its mind, I grabbed my bag and hurried up the stairs. On the second floor, the beam of light changed to point down the hall, where there was another staircase. Unfortunately, each floor was more dangerous than the previous. By the time I reached the last staircase, there were sections of it smashed so badly I had to balance on the handrail to get past it. The top floor was deplorable. There was a gaping chasm in the middle of the hallway. Most of the ceiling was gone, many walls had crumbled, and there was water damage on pretty much everything. I could see into many of the old bedrooms as I passed them and could only tell what they were by the fact that they had remnants of beds in them. I didn't, however, find any treasure. "Where is it?" I asked the staff. The beam of light spilled across the floor and over the chasm. "Figures. Why isn't the monster attacking?" Surely he knew that if I found my wand, I could control him. The staff didn't answer. I examined the gap in the floor until I had a firm plan. I went into the closest room and found a broken bed leg. Then, I pulled some rope out of my bag, tied one end around the middle of the leg, and wedged the leg into the debris left of the wall. I tied the other end of the rope around myself and tossed my bag and staff across the gap. The wall beside the chasm had holes knocked out, so I used those to climb across. The rope was just for emergency. Fortunately, I made it to the other side with only a couple small slipups that took years off my life. I untied the rope and set a rock on the end so that I could use it to get back. When I picked up my staff again, the beam of light resuned. and led right out the window. I knew whatever it was would be bad, but I had no idea how bad. Outside the window was a tower. Across fromme was a large window in the tower with part of a broken bridge hanging out of From my angle, I couldn't see any way into the tower except throughthis window. Unfortunately, I was running out of time. Through the tower window, I could just make out the dull glint of gold.
How am I supposed to get over there? I could have used Merlin's advice. Since I didn't have his help, I relied on what I did have. I dug through my bag, looking for a plan. I could throw a rock over with a rope attached, but I couldn't throw one heavy enough to hold my weight. But maybe my staff can. Just as I raised my staff to try something, the building shook and I heard the eerie howl of a monkey. My skin grew numb as the staff made me impenetrable again. At least, I hope that's what it was doing. Unfortunately, that wouldn't protect me from being crushed under rocks. Before I could even think up a spell, the floor started to collapse, and I ended up rolling straight into the chasm. Fortunately, I caught the rope and saved myself from plummeting to my death. The rope held my weight and I held on no matter how much my hands hurt, because right below me, my monster was fighting none other than a huge brown bear. And the bear was losing. My staff fell to the ground harmlessly. I considered pushing away from the wall and letting go so that I could land near my staff, but when a swipe of the bear's paw nearly got me in the abdomen, I started climbing the rope instead. And I nearly got to the top. Then the rope snapped, and I landed right between the monster and the bear. For one precious moment, they stared at me in shock. The bear then leaned over me until his face was so close to mine that I could feel his hot breath. I would have stopped myself from gagging if I weren't trying so hard to control my other bodily functions. When the bear opened his mouth wide, displaying all his sharp teeth, I forgot to breathe altogether. And then he sneezed on my face. I made a sound I had never made before; it was something like a shriek of disgust, but with my eyes and mouth closed. I heard the bear's r6ar of pain at the same time I felt him being thrown off me. I sat up and reached for my staff just as the bear was tossed backwards into it. Although the staff rolled away unscathed, I had to dive out of the way. The monster was tearing at him viciously. I once again tried to get to my staff. It was now in the far corner, balancing dangerously on the edge of yet another hole in the floor. If the monster or bear were slammed to the floor again, my staff would fall. The monster's sharp claws tried to swipe at me as I passed, but the bear was closer and apparently faster. His front paw smacked into me from behind and I was propelled towards my staff, away from the monster. I landed rolling and went with it. The wall stopped my fall just as my staff began tipping into the hole. I pounced, knowing already that it was too late, because it was gone before I could reach the hole. But my body apparently didn't know that, and I had my legs braced and my entire upper body through the hole before I knew what I was doing. I caught it. Barely. Gasping with relief and exertion, I climbed out of the hole and wiped sweat from my face. With the fighting bear and monster in front of me, I had every intention of running out of the castle and trying to find another way into the tower. Unfortunately, that was when the bear roared in pain. The monster had its claws around the bear's front paws to prevent him from attacking and its tentacles were around the bear's throat. A sorcerer was ruthless, manipulative, and self-centered. That was what my family was and that was what they expected me to be. Unlike my brothers, however, I didn't think that included cruelty to animals. I might not have risked my life for the bear if I hadn't created the monster myself... but I probably would have. Darting around the monster, I grabbed one end of the rope. I didn't have a plan so much as a terrible idea that would never work. That was pretty much my life. With the staff in hand, I ducked under the monster's arm and tentacles to put myself between it and the bear, then thrust the crystal of the staff towards the monster's chest. "Get back," I demanded. The monster did, though it was only from surprise that I yoold stand up to it. One of its claws swiped at my arm, but my staff 's magic protècted my skin. I felt my magic bonding with the staff again as if even\my magic knew I was being threatened. I realized then what Dessa had meant. My staff was not just a tool of magic; it had its own awareness. It wasn't like mine or another person's, but it was enough that the staff knew what was happening. As the staff 's energy mingled with mine, it felt like it was trying to get to know me. As if it was trying to determine if I was a worthy master. That was really depressing, because I knew it would find me unfit, since it was a sorcerer staff and I was bad at sorcery. Here I was, putting myself in danger to save a bear.
Dont think about that. I have to do this. I will do this. Merlin is counting on me. The crystal started glowing more fiercely than I had ever seen it, but it was also lighter red. The monster sneered at me and his tentacles reached forth to take the staff from me. That wasn't going to happen. The harmless glow swelled out of the crystal and struck as lightning. With a cry of pain, the creature was thrown back. I winced, sympathetic and even a little apologetic, because I had created it in the first place, and now I was attacking it for following its basic instincts. When it got back up, I waved the staff at it. Instead of attacking me, the Creature took flight. Fortunately, my staff knew what to do; the other end of the rope shot up and wrapped around the monkey monster's leg. He flew up, to the top floor, and out the window, dragging me out with him. Of course, when the beast flew from one window to the window af the tower, I fell. I was expecting it, though, so I held on and put mý legs Qut to stop myself from crashing into the wall. It went perfectly; ny legs Braced me and the further into the tower the monkey went, the more he paled me up and towards the window. Soon, I was over the lip of the window, balancing on the edge between safety and certain death. If the monster came at ne instead of flying further away, I would have fallen. I just had to not look down. "Oh, gods," I moaned when I saw the ground so far beneath me. The monster jerked suddenly and tossed me inside, where I landed face- first in gold coins and jewels. It hurt, but it meant that I was on solid ground, so I was okay with it. I started to get up, only to have to roll out of the way as the monkey dived at me. Lightning shot from my staff again, but the monster dodged it. "Where is the wand?" I asked my staff. It didn't answer me, so I dug through the piles of treasure while evading the monster and shooting him with lightning whenever he got too close. He was no longer trying to claw me; he was learning. When he tried to drop a massive wooden chest on me, I gave up on my wand and faced the beast. "What is wrong with you?" I asked him. "I created you to help me." This time, he didn't dive at me or move away. In fact, he was staring at my staff expectantly.