The Boy Who Went Magic Read online

  Bert could sense Cassius hesitating. “How do you know all this?” he asked.

  “I’ve been investigating it for a long time,” said Cassius, “back from when I very first joined the quæstors. It has taken a lot of work to piece it all together.”

  “And to be clear—this boy is Voss?”

  “Of course,” said Cassius.

  “I see,” said Bert. It was hard to imagine Voss was ever young.

  Cassius sighed. “When Voss had grown and become a young man—a respected leader—he finally brought his revenge to life. This is when I first started investigating his actions. There was an attack on the family’s home. Their house was burned down. The family was killed, even their servants. It was blamed on bandits, but no one ever found the people who did it.”

  Bert felt a chill. “What happened to the girl?”

  Cassius looked grave. “She disappeared too,” he said. He hesitated again. “There was a rumor that she escaped with her child, and hid in the ratway in the factory district.”

  A sudden realization began to take hold of Bert. He remembered how familiar the ratway had seemed when he’d fled there with the Professor. He heard, distantly, a woman’s voice telling him it would be all right and huddling with him in the darkness.

  “Voss found her,” said Cassius. “She died trying to lead him away from her hideout—from the child.” He put a hand on Bert’s shoulder. “I’m telling you this because when I saw your notes, I recognized something odd in the circumstances of your arrival at the school, Bert.”

  Bert felt his stomach sink. “There was a man who brought me there,” he said. “I can’t remember anything before that. There are only flashes sometimes.”

  “You were very young,” said Cassius. “And it must have been very traumatic for you.” His voice grew faint. “I thought you should know.”

  “You knew this all along?” said Bert. “You could have told me at the school.”

  “I—I wanted to protect you,” said Cassius.

  Bert shook his head. With no one else to lash out at, his anger was focused on the quæstor. He felt as if he’d been betrayed. “You lied to me?” he said. He knew that he didn’t have the energy to bear the shock right now. His arms began to shake. He found it hard to focus. “I’m not just part of some investigation,” he said. “This was my family. And they’re all gone.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Cassius.

  The door opened. “What’s he doing here?” said Finch, gesturing at Bert.

  Bert heard her voice from far away. He felt a wave of pain and closed his eyes. The weakness was taking hold of him again. He couldn’t find the strength to speak.

  “We need to get him back to bed,” said Cassius. “It was stupid of me.”

  Bert felt himself being carried from the warmth of the fire. His head was heavy. He wanted to protest, but the shock and the pain were too much. He sank into the darkness.

  He could hear voices as he lay on the bed. Some of them sounded familiar—like Finch and the Professor—but others were strange and frightening. Sometimes he opened his eyes and saw the wicker on the ceiling. His vision blurred, and he fought the urge to sleep.

  Hermatrude dabbed at his brow with a wet cloth. He could feel the cold of the water trickling down his face but he was too weary to thank her.

  “He’s very weak,” she said. “I think he’s in for a rough night.”

  “I thought he said he was better?” said Finch.

  “No,” said Hermatrude. “I’m afraid not, child.”

  The feeling of hollowness grew until Bert felt like he was no longer lying in the bed at all. It seemed once again as if he was floating outside of his body. He could hear an airship’s engine, but he could only see a deep blue haze. “Where am I?” he said.

  “Don’t worry,” said Norton, appearing through the haze. “You’re not really here. You’re just sort of seeing where I am.” He sat beside Bert, looking bored as usual.

  “Norton,” said Bert. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “I can’t,” said Norton. “And I can’t talk for long either. It takes a lot of energy to keep you here, and I need to save a little bit, you know—in case there’s a chance to help.”

  “But are you all right?” said Bert. “Are you hurt?”

  Norton shrugged. “I’m not great,” he said. “You know how it is.”

  “But what’s happening?” said Bert.

  “I’m in an old castle, hovering in the clouds. That’s where Voss has taken me.”

  “A castle?” said Bert.

  Norton nodded. “There’s a weapon here, Bert. It’s very dangerous.”

  Bert was still confused. He remembered the painting he’d seen in Voss’s vault at the bank. “How can there be a castle in the clouds?” he said. “It’s not possible.”

  “Well, it is,” said Norton. “And it’s miserable. Let me show you.”

  Bert felt the floating sensation again and his vision changed. He saw Voss’s airship traveling through the clouds at night. The soldiers were busy setting up something on deck.

  A bright light suddenly shone from the bow of the ship, reaching out like a pointing finger. Bert recalled the designs for lanterns that he’d seen in the museum, and later in the vault at the bank. This beam was clearly the result of the prince’s experiments.

  The light passed over the cloud until it came to a tall wisp of white vapors. Then something strange happened. When the light hit the vapors, the mist changed. Suddenly, it transformed into the stonework of a tower. The light moved farther, and more towers appeared through the darkness. A whole castle was hovering in the sky, revealing itself wherever the light fell.

  “Are you getting that?” said Norton. “Do you see?”

  “I do,” said Bert. “But I don’t understand.”

  “Only a magic light will reveal it,” said Norton. “Like your hand. Or special crystals. Or the sphere that Voss has trapped me inside. That’s the only way to clear the mists.”

  Bert shook his head. “How do I find it?”

  “It’s over Tralvere,” said Norton. “Just like the quæstor said.”

  Bert felt a faint hope stirring inside. He knew that Norton had to be telling him this for a reason. “Is there time to stop Voss?” he said.

  “Well, you don’t have to,” said Norton. “But if you don’t we’ll both die and I’ll end up being converted into energy.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

  Bert couldn’t help smiling. Even after everything that had happened, Norton still seemed like his old friend from school. For the first time, he considered the way Norton had deceived him. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” he said. “I would have believed you.”

  “I don’t know,” said Norton. “It’s sort of the rules. Spirits can’t tell mages what to do. They just sort of hang around with them, and share their powers for a while until it’s time to leave.” His voice was growing fainter. “I’m sorry, Bert. I can’t talk anymore.”

  “Wait,” said Bert.

  “Find me here,” said Norton. “We’ll be stronger together.”

  There was a flash. Norton vanished into the blue haze.

  “Norton?” said Bert. He felt panicked. “I can still save you, can’t I?” He stared through the haze and waited, but there was no reply. A bright light filled his vision.

  He could feel that he was waking up.

  Bert opened his eyes and struggled to sit up on the bedsheets. “Finch,” he said. The room had grown dark while he’d been resting. There was a candle flickering in the corner.

  “What’s wrong?” said Finch. She sat close by. Her hands rested on a book and her eyes looked red. There was no one else in the room. “Are you all right?”

  “I saw something,” he said.

  “What are you talking about?” said Finch.

  Bert felt strength returning to his limbs. He felt that there was still a chance to help Norton. He fought against the urge to lie back and began to gat
her his strength.

  “What’s going on?” said Finch.

  “I know where Voss is heading,” said Bert. His head felt clearer now that he had a sense of purpose again. “We have to head for the clouds over Tralvere,” he said, speaking quickly, in case the dream faded. “That’s where Norton is. I think there’s still time to stop Voss.”

  “Are you sure about this?” said Finch.

  “Go and get the others,” he said. “I’ll explain.”

  Finch hurried away and returned with Cassius and the Professor. It didn’t take him long to describe the dream. He could tell that the two men were listening intently.

  “Can we trust this?” said the Professor.

  “I have a connection with Norton,” Bert said. “Sometimes I can see what he sees. If he showed me that vision, I know I can trust it. Everything else he’s shown me was real.”

  “But he deceived you about his identity,” said the Professor.

  Bert winced. He didn’t feel like Norton had lied to him the way the Professor seemed to think. It was just that Norton hadn’t bothered to reveal what he really was—and that he wasn’t allowed to reveal it, even if he wanted.

  Cassius nodded thoughtfully. “Everything that Bert has said fits with the facts we’ve pieced together. We know that we need to act quickly. This is by far our best lead.”

  “Yes, it all fits, I suppose,” said the Professor, grudgingly. He scratched his chin. “But I’ve certainly never seen any old castles floating in the sky.”

  “Norton explained that,” said Bert. “You need magic light to see it. Otherwise it looks like regular cloud. He said something about crystals and the light from my hand.”

  Finch looked eager. “I’ll go and tell Hermatrude,” she said. “She knows all about this kind of thing. Maybe she can mix something together for us.” She left the room.

  “Did he mention the weapon?” said Cassius.

  Bert thought back over Norton’s words. “He said he was going to be converted to energy, but I don’t understand why, or why this castle is so dangerous.”

  The door creaked and Finch returned with Hermatrude.

  “I think I might know,” said Hermatrude. She looked at the Professor. “You more than anyone should be familiar with it. You named your ship after it. The Lugalbanda. The castle in the sky. It was said to house a staff of lightning—the cause of great destruction.”

  The Professor sighed. “We only called it that because it sounded good,” he said. “I never actually thought the castle existed. Let alone that it would still be there today.”

  “But do you think it could be true?” said Cassius.

  “It would explain why Voss wants it so badly,” said Bert. “He kept talking about wanting real power—the kind of power that would let him rule the country again.”

  The Professor looked troubled. “Well, you know the old saying,” he said. “ ‘Stranger things happen in Ferenor.’ I’d better go and prepare the crew. It’s almost dawn.”

  Cassius loitered for a moment after the Professor had left, as if he wanted to say something too. But he couldn’t seem to find the words. He nodded to Bert, and headed out.

  Finch remained with Bert. A band of light peeked under the curtains. There were birds singing outside. “Cassius told me about your mother,” said Finch.

  Bert nodded. “It’s all right,” he said. “It’s just the shock of it, more than anything. And the sense that I was lied to. I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet.”

  “You know,” said Finch, “it’s not Cassius’s fault.”

  Bert couldn’t meet her gaze. He knew that he should be grateful for the help of the quæstor. But he couldn’t change his feelings. “It just seems like bad things happen when he’s around,” he said. “I don’t know how to explain it. He’s obviously been investigating what happened to my family. But I still feel like there’s something he’s not telling me.”

  They were both silent for a while. The airship engine rumbled outside. The Professor was clearly preparing to fly. Finch seemed to be deep in thought.

  “You know,” she said. “I sort of enjoyed being back at school with you for a while. It felt like I was normal, I suppose, talking with the other children.”

  Bert shook his head. “You’re crazy,” he said. He could tell she was serious. It had never occurred to him that someone so adventurous could feel lonely. But thinking about school reminded him of Norton again, and his guilt seemed to overwhelm him.

  “You really miss him, don’t you?” said Finch.

  Bert nodded. “It’s so strange to think you’ve never met him,” he said. “For me, it’s like he was always there, on this whole adventure with us. And back at school too. He was …” He trailed off before he could say “my best friend.” The words brought tears to his eyes.

  “I understand,” said Finch. She gave Bert a quick hug and then headed for the door. It was clear that she was feeling emotional too. “Are you ready for this, Bert?” she said.

  Bert nodded and wiped his face. “I’m ready,” he said. He pushed away the bedsheets, and reached for his flight jacket. “At least, I hope I am,” he muttered to himself.

  Hermatrude put up a strong protest against the idea of Bert leaving his bed. But the Professor and Cassius were quickly convinced, especially when they saw the change in him.

  Ever since his dream, Bert had felt stronger. And he knew from what Norton had said that following Voss would make him stronger still. He could walk, and think clearly again. But he couldn’t sense any magic in his hand and a hollow feeling in his chest still pained him.

  With Finch’s help, he headed outside and saw his surroundings for the first time. Hermatrude’s house was a kind of burrow built into the side of a grassy mound, with tall chimneys sticking out. It lay in a meadow overlooking a gleaming blue lake. Over the lake towered the looming peaks of the Sethera Mountains, where Bert fancied he still saw a fire smoldering. The airship hovered by the lake’s shore, with its guy ropes staked into the earth.

  Finch led Bert over the meadow. The light was growing in the east and the stars were fading. Bert looked up at the Lugalbanda, tethered to the ground in front of the shimmering lake. It looked magical in the dawn light, like an ancient dragon waiting to take to the skies.

  The Professor and Cassius were talking by the lakeside.

  “We’ll have to take on Voss’s airship,” said Cassius. “The Vulture isn’t your average Penvellyn-built vessel. She’s bristling with guns, and packed with amphor engines. She’ll be able to outgun and outrun anything you can do with the Lugalbanda.”

  “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve,” said the Professor.

  Cassius didn’t look reassured. “And the boy?”

  The Professor seemed to waver. “If what he says about the bond between him and the spirit is true, it’s a greater risk to leave him here,” he said. “I suppose he’ll have to come.”

  “I think you’re right,” said Cassius. He glanced over and seemed to notice Bert for the first time. “Are you sure you’re up for this, Bert?” he asked. “You were very ill—”

  “I’m fine,” interrupted Bert. “I just want to save Norton.”

  The crew quickly got to work firing up the ship’s engines and raising the gasbag to its maximum level. Soon the Lugalbanda was pulling against its tethers. Finch helped Bert into a sling and he was hauled up on deck, still feeling dizzy but trying not to show it. He looked down at the purplish mark on his hand and wrapped the bandages tighter.

  “Roberts,” called Hermatrude from below.

  Bert looked over the side and saw that she was carrying a heavy-looking bag stuffed with odd metal objects. He couldn’t even begin to guess their purpose.

  “New equipment,” said Hermatrude. “Grand volume smoke bombs, high tortion support wires, self-fastening grapples, and a new aerial escape device. If you’re interested.”

  “Anything for this magic cloud business?” said the Professor.

  Her
matrude held up a glowing canister. “I’ve cobbled together some crystal emitters that might do the job,” she said. “You can fire them like flares if you need to.”

  The Professor shouted his thanks and lowered a rope for the supplies. Finch went to wave Hermatrude good-bye. “We’ll try to bring you something nice,” she yelled.

  Hermatrude shook her head. “If this magic weapon is as evil as it sounds, I think I’d rather you didn’t bring me any part of it.” She stepped away from the billowing exhaust of the engine. “Good luck to you all, and especially to you, Bert. You’re a boy of great spirit.”

  Bert smiled at the double meaning of Hermatrude’s words. The guy ropes were untied, and the last crewmen scrambled back on deck. Sunlight split the haze and turned the lake a dazzling silver as the ship rose into the sky. The engines rumbled, and they headed north.

  A strange feeling took hold of Bert as he stood at the front of the airship, watching the wild forests of Ferenor passing below. The scar on his palm flickered for a moment, then grew cold. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it filled him with foreboding. He was worried about Norton.

  The lake shrank from view and the Sethera Mountains grew hazy in the distance. The Professor briefed the crew. Some looked confused, but all were eager to proceed. Apparently, Tralvere was well-known for being permanently cloudy—another promising sign.

  Bert was about to join the Professor at the ship’s wheel when something strange happened. His vision filled with blue light and he heard a chilling voice.

  “The process begins,” said Prince Voss.

  Bert shuddered. The vision faded but the fear didn’t. He sensed that Voss had reached his goal. That meant Norton was in danger.

  He felt a sudden pain and clutched his chest. The sensation traveled from the mark on his hand toward his heart. He sank down and leaned against the ship’s railing.