The Currents of Magic

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Even after the voices had long disappeared, Meyer stood motionless in the dark empty room. What had he just overheard? His mind raced as he tried to make sense of the conversation—he had heard about the Magician before—from a fearful man at the Morning Star Inn. The man had warned Gibb about going to the High Provinces—had mentioned something about the Magician, and strange creatures... Ormark... Meyer racked his mind to remember more about the conversation, but he struggled to recall the details. It felt so long ago that he had dined at the Morning Star Inn, and at the time, the Magician had seemed inconsequential. Gibb had dismissed the rumors with a wave of his hand... Yet now the grim warnings took on a foreboding nature. The Magician was turning his power towards Ilith... Did Moon really have a plan?

Meyer eased the door open and stepped into the hallway. He needed to regroup with his friends. They would be able to confirm whether there had really been a strange creature in the woods behind the Dale, and perhaps Cade would have heard of the Magician. Meyer rushed back to the entrance of the Necromancer's Keep, and reached for the door handle. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the night.

As before, the paths were quiet and empty. Meyer cut across Tempest Circle before turning onto the Main Road, and walking quickly towards the dormitories. He passed the turnoff for Old Path, hurried by the Meeting House, and darted through the shadows of the Old Keep before finally reaching the Orchid Gardens. He turned right, ducking through the botany and emerging in the dimly lit courtyard. He sprinted the final distance the the boys' dormitory, and leapt up the steps, two at a time, to the third floor.

When he entered into his room, Damian, Cade and Ander were already there. Damian was in his night clothes, looking rather groggy, while Ander had claimed the armchair; Cade was standing by the window. Oddly, Meyer's mind flashed back to the last time he had entered his room to find all three of his closest friends already present. It had been just after speaking with Jaeda for the first time, and he had been anticipating a wonderful free afternoon on the Dale. Instead the ring had shown him Lord Eschera, and he had spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside the entrance of the High Manor.

"Where have you been?" asked Damian.

"I was about to embark on a rescue mission," said Ander.

Meyer closed the door behind him and glanced over at the glowstone clock on his desk. It was four in the morning. "I just got back from the Necromancer's Keep," he said, surprised by the hollowness of his own voice.

"Are you alright?" said Damian.

Meyer walked over to his bed, ignoring Damian's question. "What happened in the forest," he said.

Ander shook his head. "Don't look at me. I just ran."

Cade, who was still partly facing the window, turned fully towards Meyer. "There was some creature," he said quietly. "I couldn't say exactly what it was, but it was big, with white eyes. There was something unnerving about it. When I saw it, I shouted for everyone to run. "

Meyer nodded. While hearing Cade describe the strange creature chilled him, he was grateful to hear that he was not the only one who had seen the frightful figure.

"I saw it too," he said.

"See," said Cade, turning towards Ander. "I told you there was something out there."

"I never denied that," said Ander. "There's just no reason to act like you saw a monster."

"What happened next," pressed Meyer.

"Not sure," said Cade. "I ran blindly back to the Dale, and as I emerged from the trees, I found Ander a few yards ahead of me."

"I wanted to go back looking for you," interrupted Ander, "but Cade insisted we call for help."