First Apprentice

Chapter 14

 I woke to Grandfather shaking my shoulder. My eyes snapped open. Over Grandfather's head, I spotted Joel starring off into the distance. Red sparks flew around him like the sparks off a damp pine log. He clenched his jaw. The sparks expanded into a raging inferno.

"Can you summon the Central Keystone near another gate?" Joel asked in a tone that demanded an answer.

"Yes." I did it twice before. Once by accident. Endellion reverse summoned the Ancient Gate during one of my practice sessions. I tried stopping the summon, but couldn't. The second time Selim insisted I summon the Ancient Gate first then him as an experiment.

"Not a hypothetical summon," Joel said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. With him this close, I saw a strange overlay of facial features and auras. An improvement over seeing no auras. Maybe when I expelled his magic during my evening meditations I partially fixed how my magic reacted to his. "You have actually summoned the Central Keystone near another gate." When I nodded, Joel spun on his heel. "Which gate and how close?"

"The Ancient both times. The first time they were on opposite ends of my training ground. The second I could touch both at the same time. Why?"

Gnawing on the inside of his cheek, Joel studied me through narrowed eyes then exhaled noisily. "After he returned last night, Terry summoned the Dracon Gate. It's as you said, Alannah. Worse even. A few hours ago, the Well's seals began failing."

My blood ran cold. Without the Well, the Border Guard couldn't control who accessed the gates, how many passed through at one time, when, or where. Without it, I could enter the Central Keystone on Vinetta and reappear in Terry's private office, assuming the gate would fit. No customs agents at the Central Keystone's anchor point. I could even bring an army ten thousand strong if I wished. That was only its more obvious function.

In her genius and insanity, Endellion created the Well to help her and Rainer build the gates themselves. It wasn't their birthplace. No, the Well was where they ripped the existing gates apart and rebuilt them rune by rune, seal by seal. Without its abilities, healing the Dracon Gate would be impossible.

"Which seals?" Grandfather demanded.

"The filters for certain. The rest," Joel sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Terry accepted her as his apprentice, but her contract won't start until next week. I will not let you drag my granddaughter into – "

"It's not your choice!" I yelled. "I love you, Grandfather. I appreciate that you're trying to protect me." Pity he didn't think about situations like this before he lured Joel to Vinetta. "But I do not want Terry's job. I go. I summon the Central Keystone and let Joel use my magic, the Central Keystone's, and whoever else's he can get his hands on and use it to stabilize the Well long enough for Terry to dismiss the Dracon Gate. Alternatively, Terry turns himself into a gate because the Well's essentially an unsummonable gate that you idiots built a city on top of – a city which you can't fully evacuate without using the Well itself so all those people will die with the Well – or he dies trying. I repeat! I don't want Terry's job!"

"I understand." Grandfather's hand tightened on my shoulder then slipped off. "Stay safe. Listen to Joel. Think before obeying Terry. Manfred and I will see you in three months. I expect daily letters via those bizarre wax tablets of yours. When you file for vacation, make sure you file the paperwork with Krishna, not Terry, and the dates are on Krishna's calendar. He'll handle the rest."

As I stood, he pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his back and clung, wishing I could take him with me. I couldn't. Traveling the gates would put too much strain on his body. Grandfather pushed me back. His gaze lingered on my bracelet before lifting to my eyes. "You have your weapons."

"Two knives, parrying dagger, sword," I said, tapping the corresponding seals with my index finger, "study, and first aid kit."

He grimaced at the last two, but gave me a wane smile.

"Keep her safe," Grandfather said to Joel. "For the love of the first mother, please make her vet her experiments with you before she does them." Grandfather's hands lingered on my arms for a brief second then he stepped back. "If anyone asks, you're a lost Marstow claimed by the Shedu."

"My aura – "

He silenced me by placing a finger on my lips. "Shows a mixed heritage. The Shedu determine clan based on your final form, which you do not have yet. Until your first transformation, you are Shedu. Say nothing else about your clan affiliation or Endellion until you speak with Manfred. Understood?"

When I nodded, Grandfather closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "Please go," he whispered, "before I change my mind about coming with you."

Author's Note: Btw, that radar up there is why Joel's tied for first place in the "most feared character" category. Whether he ranks first or second depends on who you ask and which wars they fought in. Alannah has the potential to become a monster. Joel already is.