Drakonika (Book 1) (21 page)

Maren tried to do the same. She pushed her backpack upwards into the cart, but her books fell out and scattered on the ground. She moaned desperately, but help came right in time.

“
I'm sorry,” Magnus said guiltily as he effortlessly threw her backpack into the carriage. “I'm really sorry about what I said.”

Maren didn't look at him, but at least she seemed to have calmed down.

“No, it's fine. I should have cooked it properly,” she said bitterly, avoiding any eye contact with him. “You were right. It was disgusting.”

It looked like this was Magnus' chance to fix the misunderstanding. “No, it wasn't. I just wanted to make you laugh by imitating Darius and Viktor, but I guess it was a stupid idea,” he explained. After a moment of silence he noticed Maren gazing shyly at his hand that lay on the edge of the carriage and on... her hand.

Magnus felt his face turn red. He quickly withdrew his hand, looking at ten different places but certainly not at Maren.

“
Anyway, I don't know how we're supposed to fit in there, just look at it! We're not even inside and it's already halfway full,” he blurted out. It was the first thing that came to his mind, but he was completely right. There was no way all of the novices with their backpacks could fit into this carriage!

Their question was answered by a loud rattle. Maren and Magnus exchanged wordless looks and the rest of the novices let out a few comments of rejection and disagreement. There was another carriage nearing them, its coachman rushing the horses towards them in such haste it made the wheels rumble on the stones and the whole thing tilt dangerously from side to side. Somewhere in the back, the Black Squad beamed in joy, screaming eagerly for another deadly ride.

As soon as the shabby coachman stopped, the boys in black got into the cart without hesitation and for even bigger adrenaline they sat at the very end of the carriage. But one of their members was still missing.

When Magnus saw Aedan and Rodrick finally coming back, Maren's knees started to tremble. It was only natural that Rodrick would hate her until the end of his days and it seemed he was walking straight towards her.

“I really don't understand why he took the guilt on himself, but he probably won't thank you for this,” Magnus muttered quietly.

As Rodrick strolled past Maren, she opened her mouth in order to apologise, but he was faster.

“You don't have to say anything. By the way, the breakfast was delicious,” Rodrick said, still wiping sweat off his forehead. Leaving astonished Maren and Magnus behind, he hopped into the shabby carriage and with a great feeling of putting Magnus to shame, he joined his friends in chatter.

Aedan didn't waste another minute.

“Everyone get into the carriages and let's go,” he said coldly as he vanished to the rider's seat of the first cart.

There were two carriages, but only one of them was full. No one wanted to go with the Black Squad and especially not with
that
coachman! Two girls were still deciding though. Serena and Fjalldís were looking from one cart to another, knowing that one was crammed, but would travel safely and the other one was almost empty, but they might not survive the trip.

Seeing their faces, the entire Black Squad snickered.

“Come on girls, we have more than enough space for you here,” Darius said defiantly. He certainly didn't expect that Serena would take his words seriously though. She grabbed her backpack and without any hesitation joined the Black Squad in their dark cart.

“
Good choice!” Viktor praised her brightly, thumping his fist on the cart's wooden floor. Serena repaid his approval with a roguishly sweet smile.

As Fjalldís seemed to hesitate, Darius fixed his steel-blue eyes on her. “Are you coming with us too?” he said with a dangerous smirk on his face, reaching his arm towards her.

Fjalldís looked first at his hand, then at his face.

“
No thanks. I prefer life,” she said, leaving to Aedan's carriage. To her relief, she could still fit in.

Darius' smile vanished at once. He gaped after her incredulously as he watched her sit near Magnus, although the two of them weren't on speaking terms. “Fine, stay with those losers then!” he snarled angrily, which made Fjalldís look at him once more. It appeared her decision made him furious, but maybe he just couldn't accept “no” for an answer.

Naturally, the deadly cart reached Ragna first, but the guards didn't seem to be happy about their racing success. Eagle and Jackal surveyed them scornfully as their arrival forced them to get to work. The permits of the novices were to be checked by the police via telepathic devices, although it wasn't long ago when it was enough to simply hand them over to the guards who would later give them to the Magi Police. However, after their last “feat”, General Xanthar had decided for other safety arrangements.

As annoying as it was for the guards, soon they had to deal with another carriage which was much fuller and among other children, it also carried their biggest enemy, Magnus. They let him into the town very reluctantly, but that was nothing compared to the fury that Xanthar felt when he had to confirm that Magnus was indeed allowed to enter the town. Eagle almost grinded their telepathic device to dust.

The greetings weren't the warmest, but they all made it into Ragna. For Maren, it meant she was home. For Magnus, it was a chance to get that mysterious book. But before they set off to the Mages Guild, a small wish of his had come true. Aedan bought fresh Ragnan cakes from the bakery near the town gate. The Black Squad was surely tempted to throw cake-crumbs at others, but after this morning's event, they decided it would be wiser to save it for another time.

Life on the Ragnan streets looked just like any other day. The aisles were quiet and empty and the main square was, as always, very much alive. Magnus immediately caught sight of Valezar's windowless house and was thinking frantically how and when to visit him again, when suddenly his train of thought was interrupted by a group of people who approached him with ecstatic smiles.

“That's him!” one of them said, looking straight at Magnus, “He seized the thief!” At these words, there was an outbreak of whispers.

“
He's so little!” gasped a woman clad in a commoner dress.

“
And he did it all alone!” joined another man among the stunned admireres.

Magnus cast a puzzled look around him. Although he knew what they were talking about, he certainly didn't expect to meet a group of admirers on his next visit to Ragna. Another man jumped in front of him, shaking his hand wildly.

“That was such an amazing performance! It's unbelievable that a strong tall man was captured by such a small boy like you! You have removed a feared robber from our streets, you are always welcome here!” When he finished his speech, he finally stopped shaking Magnus' hand. The rest of the admirers nodded to each word he uttered.

“
That's very kind, thank you,” Magnus said, but he paused for a while because he heard another envious talk coming from the Black Squad. “But I didn't do it alone, I had an assistant. In fact, she's here with us
–
” Magnus said humbly as he looked to Fjalldís who stood nearby, but the second part of his speech was drowned in another outbreak of praises.

Aedan broke the circle, strolling past the crowd and into the midst where he found his novices caught up in this strange gathering.

“Move it kids, we're late. We don't have time for this,” he said shortly. As he said that, all of the curious admirers turned to him.

“
And this is your bodyguard, Magnus?” one of the admirers asked, surveying Aedan's great wild mane, his height and his stockiness.

“
His teacher,” growled Aedan with his teeth clenched so tight, the words came out muffled. Anyone could see that these people were starting to get on his nerves even though he had just met them.

“
Oh, his teacher! This is Magnus' teacher! It's such an honour to meet you! Your student is very talented!”

“
Yes, I know,” Aedan muttered, an unimpressed look on his face.

“
It must be such an honour to teach such a skilled and kind little boy, Mister
–
?” said the man, repeating the same words over and over.

“
Ehm, Aedan,” said Aedan after a while of hesitation. It seemed as though he didn't even want these people to learn his name. And soon his novices knew why.

The group of admirers stared at him blankly and then burst into a hearty laughter.

Aedan growled. It appeared he couldn't stay in the presence of these fools any longer.

“
Let's go,” he said firmly, rushing his novices forward.

Magnus noticed that his classmates were shooting him furtive glances again. But aside from the strange admirers, there was something else he didn't understand.

“Why did they laugh when Aedan introduced himself?” he asked curiously.

Maren giggled quietly, “Because all female names in Ragna end with
n
and the male ones end with
r
. And Aedan's name ending with
n
makes it
–
”

“
–
a girl's name,” Magnus chuckled. When he looked around again, the strangers were still watching him, some of them even waving. “They are kind of spooky,” he whispered. He thought if Aedan didn't lead on, he might have never gotten rid of these people.

The gentle breeze ran cooler. When they approached the Mages Guild, they could see an old mage dressed in blue robes waiting for them at the draw-bridge, shooting them rather unwelcoming looks. His arms were stoutly folded on his chest and the tip of his right shoe was clacking impatiently.

“It is surprising you still have the guts to show up,” Solas snapped, “I have been waiting for over two hours. What is this supposed to mean, Aedan? This was not the deal!”

It seemed to Magnus that their teacher had difficulty not to grab Solas' neck and calm his temper.

“I know. We had a little problem in the morning. Please accept my sincere apology,” Aedan said as politely as he could, given the circumstances. He didn't seem to be great friends with Solas, but it wasn't the mage's fault that they had come late.

Solas snorted, “Apology accepted, but just barely.” At these words, he stepped back and let them pass over the bridge.

The group of novices led by Aedan passed the draw-bridge to the Mages Guild's courtyard eagerly, but Magnus stayed in the back. There was something he wanted to ask Solas in private.

“
Could I see the Guild Master? I'd like to talk to him,” he said calmly, but he should have known it wouldn't make Solas' attitude any friendlier.

“
Do you want to bother him with some foolish nonsense again?” Solas interrupted him. “Zimbadur is not here, he left to an important meeting a few days ago and he has not returned yet. And even if he was here, I would certainly not tell you where to find him,” he said curtly through his thick white beard.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Solas didn't have the slightest intention in talking about Zimbadur with him, so Magnus was left with no other choice but to follow Aedan and the rest of the novices inside. When he was about to cross the doorstep, a raindrop fell on his forehead. Magnus looked up. The Ragnan sky was veiled in dark grey clouds.

Maren and Magnus had already visited the Mages Guild, but for the others it was their first time seeing its mysterious halls that beamed with magickal energies. Aedan knew this place very well so luckily for them, they didn't need Solas' company. They turned up the staircase illuminated with torches and strange glowing gems and were led straight into the guild's library. It didn't look as large and majestic as the one in Sinei, but that was just the first sight. In fact, it was so vast and entangled in rows of aisles overfilled with bookshelves and study tables that anyone could get lost easily.

Their next quest was to find a book about a particular animal or a mythical being from the heap prepared on one of the tables in the front room. They could choose any book, but they were not allowed to search the shelves. Both Solas and Aedan were aware that the novices could find things there they should never learn — or at least not yet.

As soon as they begun browsing the books, a slim mage in black robes panted into sight, whispered something into Aedan's ear and then departed as quickly as he arrived. It seemed he didn't want the children to hear a word.

Aedan took a deep breath. He had to leave that bunch of brats alone again, and he shuddered when he thought of what they would do in his absence.

“I will go out for a while, there's something I need to do. I hope you won't turn the library into a playground,” he said in a warning tone. At these words, he disappeared into the dim corridor.

Maren and Magnus exchanged confused looks. What could have forced Aedan to leave them alone again after the morning riot in the kitchen? Magnus' eyes were already sliding across the shelves and in his mind he was searching for the book that he wanted to find. But they weren't the only ones who used Aedan's absence to their advantage.