The Wizard of Time (Book 1) (34 page)

“I was born during the last years of India’s fight for independence from Great Britain,” Rajan said softly, bringing Gabriel out of his thoughts and back to the table. “It was the mid-1940s, and the country was being torn apart not only by the fight for self-rule, but by clashes between Hindus and Muslims, each afraid the other would gain too much power when India ceased to be a colony. My father was Muslim and my mother was Hindu.”

“Like Romeo and Juliet,” Gabriel said, remembering his parents’ stories of their courtship, the looks they received, and the fights within the families.

“If only it had worked out that well,” Rajan said with a weak smile. “My parents were banished from both of their families and forced to flee the city they had grown up in. When I was born, it only complicated matters. Was I a Muslim child or a Hindu child? The other children didn’t care until a certain age. And then the opinions of their parents became very important. Independence came in 1948, and the entire country was split into new nations. India proper, for mostly Hindus in the middle, with Pakistan and Bangladesh, for Muslims, on either side. My childhood felt divided, too. I spent a great deal of time either fighting or running from a fight. Fighting Muslims who thought I was a Hindu, and Hindus who thought I was Muslim. It did not help that I was too stubborn to choose.

“I insisted on going to the mosque with my father and attending the temples with my mother. I read the Koran and the Bhagavad-Gita and the other sacred texts of both my faiths. I refused to accept that I had to be one of the other. It felt like having to choose between my father and my mother. As though I would be saying that I loved one more than the other.”

“What did you do?” Gabriel asked, seeing Rajan in a way he never had.

“I died,” Rajan said calmly. “In a street fight. Fighting because I would not disown part of my heritage.”

“But how did it get better?” Gabriel asked, not finding the comfort he thought the story was leading up to.

“It got better because I waited,” Rajan said with a genuine smile. “Because I was patient. Because I ended up here. Now I am surrounded by people of every faith, and no one thinks me odd. I’ve even begun to study and practice faiths I had never heard of. I am becoming something I never knew I could be. Something even my parents would not recognize, maybe would not approve of.”

“That sounds familiar,” Gabriel said with a rueful sigh.

“Just be who you truly are, Gabriel,” Rajan said. “And give it time.”

“Well, if I had known it was so easy,” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes sarcastically. Rajan threw his head back and laughed, drawing Teresa’s attention.

“What’s so funny now?” she asked.

“Rajan was just giving me some advice,” Gabriel said.

“Oh, that is funny,” Teresa said with a wicked grin. Rajan stuck out his tongue at her.

A deep cough from the end of the table brought everyone’s eyes to Ohin, who was raising a glass.

“Ah, yes,” Marcus said, the first to raise his glass in response. “Another toast is indeed in order. Bad luck to end a meal without a toast.”

“Or a sentence, apparently,” Sema said, raising her glass of grape juice.

“A simple toast,” Ohin said. “To Gabriel’s return and the mission ahead.”

“Here, here,” Marcus said as glasses clinked together.

“Yes, yes. Here, here,” Akikane echoed, as everyone took a sip of wine.

“What is our next mission?” Teresa asked as they all placed their glasses back on the table.

Ohin looked toward Elizabeth, who nodded. Suddenly the noise from the dining hall vanished and only the sounds from the table existed. The change was so sharp that Gabriel found himself automatically looking around, a seed of panic growing in his stomach.

“A little trick to keep the conversation private,” Elizabeth said with a glance toward Gabriel. “I will leave Ohin to describe the details, but your team will be charged with the mission we were about to begin when Gabriel was taken from us. You will find the place in time where Apollyon is creating copies of himself and sever any branches you find. I doubt even he would be foolish enough to leave all the branches intact after he has taken his doubles from them, but we do not know. Regardless, we will need to ensure that no more branches can be made from that time and place. Akikane will accompany you to help accomplish this. And to further his education, Gabriel will accompany you, as well.”

The table erupted in comments, some surprised, but most concerned for Gabriel’s well-being. Gabriel remained silent. As much as he wanted to join the shouting, he knew the decision had already been made in his favor. Answering a comment from Ling, Elizabeth said, “He is young, but we put young mages in the field all the time. A necessity of the war. Teresa is only a year older. While I have my reservations, he does need experience that can only be acquired in the field. I think we all know that the revelation of Gabriel as the Seventh True Mage, combined with Apollyon’s multiplication of himself, will lead to a massive conflict and likely rather soon. Gabriel will undoubtedly play a central role in this coming battle and if he is not ready, if he has not explored and honed his abilities, he will not be the only one at risk.” That thought kept everyone silent as Elizabeth paused. “Ohin, I will leave you to explain the mission to your team.”

She stood up to leave the table. Everyone immediately stood. Gabriel was first to his feet. He might still be new to Council and True Mage etiquette, but months at Kumaradevi’s table had taught him to rise from his seat at a moment’s notice.

“I’ll join you,” Nefferati said as she rose up and pushed back her chair.

“The sound barrier will remain until one of you crosses it,” Elizabeth said with a nod of her head in parting.

“Unless Gabriel can figure out how the trick is done,” Nefferati said with a pat on Gabriel’s cheek.

As the elder women left, everyone resumed their seats. Gabriel watched them go, realizing that whatever conflict had existed between them had been resolved to a large degree. They seemed now like mother and daughter, walking side by side. He was glad for them. Glad he had played some small part in their reconciliation. Ohin cleared his throat again.

Ohin looked around catching each eye, even Akikane’s, before he began. “This will not be an easy mission. As you know, not even Nefferati has been able to locate the place in time where Apollyon is making copies of himself. His magic is too strong for anything less than close examination. We know he was a soldier in Alexander the Great’s army.”

“Alexander the Terrible, you mean,” Sema said under her breath.

“We can assume that Apollyon will want to double himself later in his training, when he is more powerful,” Ohin continued. “From what our spies have learned, and what Gabriel has told us from his time with Vicaquirao, Apollyon would likely choose a point somewhere in the last five years of his life while in the timeline. We also know that he is using the power of vast negative imprints to hide his branching of time. We suspect he is creating the bifurcations during one of Alexander the Great’s battles.

“We know that Apollyon died in battle in 326 BCE in the battle of Hydaspes in the Punjab of India against Raja Puru. We will start there and work backward. Our mission will be to travel to these battles, examine the evidence on the ground, and locate the point where the bifurcations occur. When we find it, we will sever any branches and seal the spot from further tampering.”

“When do we start?” Marcus said, draining the last of his wine.

“We will begin training tomorrow,” Ohin said. “A few days. No more. We want to be prepared, but we must move quickly. Gabriel will join us in a day or so, after he has had some time to rest.”

“I don’t want any time to rest,” Gabriel blurted out before he realized he had interrupted Ohin. Ohin gave him a look that seemed a cross between concern and a reprimand. He saw Sema staring at him from across the table and knew she was worried about him, as well. Gabriel didn’t care. He didn’t want his days filled with idle time. That would only lead to him remembering again and again what he had been through in the past two months. He needed something to keep him focused and thinking about his future, not reliving the horrors of his recent past.

“As you wish,” Ohin finally said. “You should all get a good night’s sleep. We begin at dawn.” Gabriel was glad his was not the only groan to be heard around the table. If he had known his insistence on beginning training with everyone else would mean another early morning, he might have kept his mouth shut.

“To bed, to bed,” Akikane said as he pushed he chair back and stood. “I will see you in the morning.”

“You’re joining us for training?” Gabriel asked as Akikane patted his shoulder.

“Of course, of course,” Akikane said with a wide smile. “We must learn to work together. It has been some time since I was a member of a field team.”

Akikane’s departure broke the barrier that had kept all sound from leaving or reaching the table. Most of the dining hall had emptied out, but the sounds of conversations flooded back to Gabriel’s ears. Knowing that Akikane could have easily resumed the barrier, he assumed the elder mage wished to encourage the others to depart for an early bedtime. Curious, Gabriel reached his hand into his pocket and slipped his fingers around the silver pocket watch. Sound waves he knew were a form of energy, but they needed a medium like air to move through. A barrier where the energy of sound waves would be dissipated could be combined with a barrier where the air became thinned to a near vacuum, creating a bubble that sound could not cross.

Everyone stood and said their goodnights, but they all stopped and looked at Gabriel when the sounds from the rest of the dining hall vanished.

“Picked that up pretty quick,” Teresa said, cocking her eye at Gabriel.

“I had to try,” Gabriel said.

“Yes, you did,” Rajan said with a smirk as he extended his open hand past Gabriel’s shoulder toward Teresa. She frowned and slapped the rabbit’s foot into his open palm. Gabriel hadn’t even heard them make a bet. He wondered how many times that rabbit’s foot changed hands because of him. More than it paid to worry about, he suspected. He released the barrier to sound as the team walked out of the dining room, wishing him goodnight as they headed to their respective rooms in the different wings of the castle.

Teresa took seriously her commitment not to let him out of her sight and insisted on escorting him to his room.

“You don’t need to follow me everywhere,” Gabriel said. “I can take care of myself now.” It was true, Gabriel felt. As long as he had his pocket watch, he was likely more dangerous than any mage in the castle besides Akikane and Elizabeth. And Nefferati, of course. He had Kumaradevi to thank for that.

“Yes, I’m sure you can,” Teresa said as they walked along the hall to his room. “But that doesn’t mean you should. If something happens it’s always best to make your enemies think you are weaker than you really are.”

“And you think they’ll believe that if you’re my bodyguard,” Gabriel said. “You’re just a...” he let the sentence fade as he realized it might not be best to finish it.

“A fourteen-year-old girl?” Teresa said. “I’ll let you in a little secret that everyone else knows except you.”

“Another one?” Gabriel asked.

“I’m not just a pretty face,” Teresa said, with a wink, “or just a prodigy at math. I have a natural knack for Fire Magic. More so than most, and most everyone knows it. You won’t find a more powerful Fire Mage in the castle. Being seen with me is like being seen with a pack of pit bulls for protection.”

“I’ve always wanted a pit bull,” Gabriel said, as he opened the door to his room.

“Woof,” Teresa said as she looked inside his room to make sure it was empty. “Remember, bright and early. Don’t make me toss you out of bed.” She kissed him on the cheek and turned to go.

“I won’t,” Gabriel said, blushing at Teresa’s kiss and wondering why. She always treated him like a brother and she reminded him of his sister, but she was much cuter than his sister and much closer to his own age, and she wasn’t really his sister at all, but it didn’t matter because they were teammates and…

“Good night,” Teresa said, walking down the hall. “Wait until you’re in your room to fall asleep.”

“Night,” Gabriel said as he stepped into his room and closed the door. It was good to be back in his room in the castle. Back someplace he felt safe. Some place familiar. Even if he was alone. And being alone reminded him of all the nights alone in the tower chamber of Kumaradevi’s palace. All the nights spent curled in a ball in tears came back to him in a rush. He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and let the tears come again. This time not out of fear, but from relief. He felt safe at the castle. Surrounded by friends. People he trusted. People he loved. People who loved him. He was back in control of his life.

After a time the tears slowed and stopped, and Gabriel took a deep breath. He felt better than he could remember feeling in a very long time. He changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. He fell asleep realizing that it was the first night in months that he wasn’t planning some escape as his eyes closed.

Morning came much too swiftly, but he woke feeling more rested than he had in ages. He brushed his teeth, showered, and dressed quickly. Teresa knocked on his door a moment later. He smiled and said good morning, trying to forget the thoughts that had flooded his mind the night before when she had kissed him on the cheek. Teresa was even less of a morning person than Gabriel, and she said little as they made their way to the courtyard of the Lower Ward.

The others were there already, Marcus looking like he regretted that fourth glass of wine. They all greeted him good morning and then set about the day’s training. For him, training began with a private lesson from Ohin while Akikane drilled the others on how a True Mage could help them in a fight. Ohin and Gabriel walked to a quiet side of the courtyard and sat under a tree.

“This exercise is very simple,” Ohin said, settling into a cross-legged position, “but it must be repeated every day for it to be successful.”