The first thing Thomas was aware of, was the sharp pain radiating from the top of his head. Thomas opened his eyes slowly and tried to focus. He was in a bed chamber of some sort. The room was fairly large, adorned with tapestries and fully furnished. There was a fireplace in the far wall that made the room quite warm. If not for Thomas' splitting headache, he probably would have slept through the night.
“Ah! You're awake! It's good to see you wake from the land of the dead. You gave the tavern patrons quite a scare friend.”
Thomas rolled in the direction of the voice. An elderly man was walking through the doorway and over to Thomas with a tray.
“I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if you were hungry or not, so I took the liberty of having the chef prepare you something. It's not a feast, most of the kitchen staff is off at this hour, but Richard, my chef, was happy to make something for you.”
The older man had a disarmingly easy demeanour. “Thank you.” Thomas wasn't really all that hungry after having soup not so long ago, but he didn't want to hurt his host's feelings.
“You're a wizard unless I miss my guess. Am I right?”
Thomas had been called a wizard ever since coming to this world, yet he still wasn't sure what category he fell into. He relied on a power that wasn't his own to perform the spells he did. Did that make him a wizard? Or merely the driver of the bus?
“I guess” Thomas replied.
“You don't sound that certain! It was your spell that made you appear in the tavern was it not?”
“Yes, I guess so.”
The older man shrugged. “Well, that makes you as much a wizard as I am.”
Wizard? Edric?
“You're not Edric are you?”
“Why yes I am! Pleased to meet you, um.”
“Thomas.” Thomas took a deep breath. “Thomas Kindercook.”
Edric appeared to loose all strength in his legs. He wobbled as he grabbed for the nearby chair to sit down and his face took on a sheet white pallor.
“You're Sammuel Kindercook, aren't you?”
Edric just stared at Thomas in disbelief. “No one has called me Sammuel in a very long time.” Edric... Sammuel shook his head in disbelief. “I didn't believe that I would ever see a living relative again.”
“I'm David Kindercook's grandson.”
Sammuel's eyes lit up. “Dave! Is he... how is he doing?”
“Grandpa is doing great. He mentions you quite often, he never gave up hoping that one day you would come back.”
“You stay with him?”
Thomas sighed sadly. “I live there. My mother and father passed away in a car accident when I was still an infant. It's only the two of us now.”
“I wish I could let my brother know how sorry I am. Our family seems to be cursed with loss.”
Thomas perked up a little. “But not anymore! I've found you. You have to come home with me!”
Sammuel, still looking off into the distance, raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “I have tried many times to go back Thomas. I'm not sure that it's possible.”
“But there are two of us now! And I have the pink pyjamas with me!”
“Pink pyjamas?” Sammuel seemed confused.
Thomas unbuttoned his tunic to expose the pink pyjamas with the cartoon cat patterns.
“Heavens! Why are you wearing girl's pyjamas?!”
Thomas suddenly felt a little embarrassed. “Well, they are the source of my magic. I lost the ring... but I still have these, and they seemed to work as well, so I wore them.”
Sammuel laughed heartily. “You think those pyjamas have something to do with your power?”
Thomas was confused. “Yes?”
Sammuel shook his head and walked over to a closet in the corner of the room. He rummaged around for a while, and finally came out holding a grey set of boy's pyjamas with cartoon dogs printed on them. They looked as if they were very, very old.
“I assume that set is the twin to this one. I remember it vaguely now. It was in the box with the rings.”
“That's right.” Thomas realized suddenly that Sammuel wasn't wearing either the ring or the pyjamas. “Wait, what language am I speaking right now.”
“Dragonese.”
“How is it that you can understand me then?”
Sammuel dropped back to the chair and threw the pyjamas onto the bed. “I cast a spell.” Sammuel smiled at Thomas. The pyjamas, the ring. I discovered long ago, those are only keys. They unlock the powers that you already possess.
Thomas found this hard to believe. Somehow, he thought that he would know if he had had mystical powers his entire life, even if they were locked away. He would just know.... wouldn't he?
“Don't worry Thomas. You will have plenty of time to test this theory of mine out. Now, I would like to hear the story of how you came to be here if you don't mind humouring an old man.”
Thomas went on to relate the story from the beginning, as best he could remember it. He left nothing out, explaining the plight of the Alkamire Dragons, of the dragon tattoo that he possessed, and of Alanna's abduction. The night wore on, the fire grew wan, and finally, with a dry throat, Thomas finished with his journey from Mrs Ink and Mr Nib's house.
“You have had quite an adventure already.” Sammuel stretched and slowly got up. “I have to get up and walk around every so often or I completely seize up.” Sammuel laughed. He walked around the room for a time, deep in thought. Finally he came back over to Thomas.
“This is a tricky situation you are in. The truth is, I would have liked to have worked with the dragons many years ago, to finish off Victor before he became an issue again. But dealing with dragons is tricky at the best of times. They tend to be manipulative, and quite often if things don't go their way, vengeful. Victor... The news that he is taking a hand in events now is troubling. If he has managed to somehow harness the Storm Dragons to his will, then that is very troubling indeed.”
Sammuel gazed down at Thomas' tattoo. “A boon or a curse, that thing. Either way, the only way things will work out for you is to see to Alanna. It seems both problems lead to Victor. I worry how far ahead of me he is. I know that he lives up in Morden Castle, but beyond that, he has shielded his domain from my vision.”
Sammuel finally nodded to himself. “An alliance between my wizards and the city army, with the help of the Alkamire Dragons, and hopefully the Ganton, may just be enough to drive Victor off forever. I see little other choice. If Alkamire is correct, we have little time left to prepare.”
“Tretchbolt has already gone to Alkamire.”
“Then I expect we will be hearing from them shortly.” Sammuel grabbed the empty tray from Thomas' bed and put away the pyjamas. “It is very late now. I suggest you try getting some sleep. Thomas was about to protest, but found that a yawn stifled any objection that he was going to make.
“We will speak again in the morning.” Sammuel smiled and swept out of the room, leaving a tired Thomas with a lot to think about. He had finally found him. Sammuel Kindercook. He couldn't wait to tell his grandfather.
CHAPTER 36
IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON
Winter had finally arrived in full fury while Thomas had been asleep. A thick carpet of snow blanketed the entire city. Thomas stood in the window casually gazing out at the white spectacle, his first real look at Westminster. From his vantage point, he could see at least half of the city, and it was enormous. BlueShift paled in comparison to the raw vastness of Westminster.
The snow really was quite beautiful. Thomas thought of the winters he had been through back home. He remembered his grandfather pulling him on a sled through the snow, building snowmen, sliding down crazy hills, and generally freezing his behind off. He wondered if the people of this world did any such things. Suddenly he wished Alanna were with him. He would have liked to have shared this beautiful morning with her. But thinking of her always ended in conflicted feelings. He couldn't be sure that she really even liked him anymore. What he had learne
d about the journal had hurt more than he cared to admit. The possibility that she was only interested in him because of a magical book made it possible that she may not like him any more than she did when she first met him. The thought made Thomas involuntarily shudder. Still, it didn't really matter. Thomas had to rescue Alanna, whether or not she liked him, he had been in love with her since the first moment he had laid eyes on her.
Thomas wandered back to his bed and pulled the contents of his pack out. He selected a good warm set of clothing, and changed out of the pink pyjamas for the first time in two days. The moment of truth was upon him. What sort of spell should he try?
Thomas clasped his fingers together and flexed them backwards. He stretched a little and shook the cobwebs out of his head. All the thoughts of winter had brought back the one thing that he missed this time of year.
Thomas smiled.
“Deck this city with boughs of holly,
give it lights to make it jolly.”
A collective wave of cries of surprise rose from the streets bellow as lights and holly garlands exploded over storefronts and houses across the city. All of Westminster was lit up with the glow of coloured lights on white snow.
Thomas didn't get much time to appreciate his work. He swayed and the room started to go dark. Pinpricks of light danced across his vision as he fumbled to grasp for something to keep himself from falling over. He hit the floor hard on his backside and felt a wave of dizziness and nausea overwhelm him. He slumped over and held his head desperately trying to keep the room from spinning. Everything seemed to be rolling to the right.
A loud knock came at the door. Thomas fought for control of his nausea long enough to answer.
“Come in.” It was all that he could manage.
Sammuel entered in a quick flourish and raced to Thomas side immediately.
“Oh dear. You don't look well.”
Thomas felt very weak, but his dizziness was passing at least, and the nausea was settling as well. “I'm alright. I've been worse.”
Sammuel's expression grew grave as he looked out at the city. “I thought it might have been you.” He shook his head and whistled silently under his breath. “Do you know how dangerous what you just did was?”
Thomas looked a little confused. He knew how bad what he just did made him feel, but dangerous?
“By now, you must realize that what you cast, and how much you cast is directly linked to how depleted you feel afterwards.”
Thomas just nodded. That was the first real life lesson in wizardry that he had learned. It didn't take long to notice the effects spell casting had on the caster.
“There are limits to what you can do Thomas. The larger the spell the more it draws on your own personal power. If you draw too much, it will kill you.”
Thomas had assumed that it was possible to cast yourself into a coma, but he hadn't considered the possibility of death.
Sammuel continued to look out the window at the decorations twinkling below.
“You just cast a spell that affects an entire city. A very large city. From my experience and years of training wizards, I can tell you honestly that what you just did, should have killed you.”
Thomas felt a stab of cold run through him that had nothing to do with the season.
“I see now why Victor has taken an interest in you. A wizard that can cast spells of that magnitude is unheard of. He will have to face you eventually, but I'm guessing he will confront you once he has dealt with the rest of us.” a look of silent contemplation slowly dissolved from Sammuel's face.
“I believe it's time to show you around Westminster!” Sammuel's tone was suddenly jovial and full of energy.
“The common room is just downstairs from here as you exit the bed chamber. Meet me there in 15 minutes and we will visit the Wizard Academy together!”
Thomas started to pack his belongings back into his bag when he noticed something he hadn't before. Sitting amongst his provisions was a small dark blue box with a hammered gold web-like lattice enveloping it. He carefully picked up the box and turned it over in his hand. Where had this come from? He knew it wasn't something that he had packed. Could Alanna have slipped this into his pack? Somehow he didn't think so. She would have just given it to him directly. On the front of the case was a tiny latch which sprang open as Thomas pushed on a small button. Inside the case was a small gold and jade pendant accompanied by a note:
Dearest Thomas;
This charm has been passed down through our family for generations. It should help protect you in the days to come. Please, wear it at all times.
That was it. No signatures, no marks of any type that would indicate who planted it in Thomas' pack. It must have been Alanna, but he couldn't help wondering why she didn't tell him about it. Why hide it? The other alternative was more frightening. Victor could have planted it while Thomas was asleep. Thomas considered the necklace for a while before putting it into his pocket to finish his cleaning.
*****
Michael Lexton could have been plucked right out of an issue of Wizards Geeky Weekly. He had the round face and scrawny body. The large moon shaped eyes hid behind thick rimmed glasses that amplified the size of his already huge eyes. He had elephant ears and an overbite that would be the envy of any Saturday morning cartoon rabbit.
“Michael is my apprentice.” Sammuel was explaining. “He runs things here at the Wizard's Academy these days.”
Michael was excitedly rubbing a blue substance off his hands, on to his oversized sparkling blue robe.
“Pleased to meet you Thomas!” Michael offered Thomas his now partially blue hand. Thomas apprehensively took it and shook.
Sammuel had been touring Thomas around the Academy all morning. He had to admit, it was quite an amazing building. It wasn't exactly what he would have pictured. Oh parts of it were what you might expect. The library was at least ten stories tall, and in the shape of a doughnut. The centre portion of the library was open from top story to the bottom, and gigantic vaulted windows collected light and illuminated the entire structure with strategically placed mirrors. The part of the building that threw Thomas off was the very well equipped gymnasium. It wasn't the sort of thing he would have expected in a Wizard's school. Sammuel had explained that he liked to keep a balance between bodily and mental fitness.
There were no shortage of students at the academy. Sammuel introduced Thomas to everyone they came across as his long lost great nephew. Thomas still felt a little bit like an outsider peeking in. A thief in wizard's robes. From the very moment he appeared at the school, he felt like he was fumbling. The first person his uncle introduced him to made Thomas realize he still couldn't understand a thing native Alumians were saying. He wasn't wearing the pyjamas anymore, and he hadn't thought ahead to prepare for the tour. He had had to step away into a secluded area to cast a spell to compensate for the language barrier, and had ended up in what very likely was the girl's change room. A normal girl's change room would have been bad enough, but when the girls are wizards as well... Thomas began to understand the need for a gym. He bolted out of the room with a stream of half dressed girls running after him, very nearly got lost, and when he finally did find his way back to Sammuel, he made sure not to stray away again.
“That was an amazing display of lights today Edric! I'm surprised you're still standing!”
“Oh that wasn't me.” Edric gestured to Thomas.
“You did that?!” Michael stood on the spot, agape in open amazement. “Wow! You must be a very powerful wizard!”
Thomas was about to argue when his uncle broke in.
“I doubt he has an equal in this age.” Sammuel gave Thomas a pat on the back and then proceeded to change the subject.
“Michael, I need you to assemble everyone in the great chamber. I have an announcement to make. Can you arrange for everyone to meet there within the hour?”
“Certainly Edric!” with a hop in his step, Michael set off on his quest to round up all
the wizards at Westminster Academy.
“Uncle Sammuel, why does everyone here call you Edric?” Sammuel and Edric being the same person had nagged at him for a while.
“Well Thomas, I lost my previous life to this world. A persons name is a link to their identity that can be used and manipulated by competent wizards. To protect myself, I took the name of my first dog, Edric. Greenshoot was something I just thought up while I was walking along chewing on a shoot of sweet grass. You are the first to refer to me by my real name in close to 80 years.”
“You named yourself after your dog?”
Sammuel chuckled, “Yes, well, he was a very good dog.”
Thomas and Sammuel's discussion was interrupted by a dark haired man running through the halls. “Edric!” The man slowed and desperately tried to catch his breath.
“Ah Edric. There you are.”
“Thomas, this is Justin, my liaison for foreign affairs.”
“Edric! There's a party of dragons back at the castle, and they insist on seeing you.”
“That was faster than I had anticipated. Very well, bring them here. I have to meet with the guild anyway, and this concerns all.” Sammuel waved Justin away.
“Well it seems that things are in motion Thomas.” Sammuel sighed. “I am getting awfully old for this.”
Sammuel looked at Thomas with his old weary eyes and seemed to be weighing him on his invisible scale before continuing.
“Thomas? I may need your help with the dragons. I am going to have to play hardball with them. I need to ask you to trust me. Should things end up getting... out of control, I may need you to back me up. Can I count on you?”
Thomas wasn't sure that he liked the thought of confronting dragons again, but he had met both Sammuel and Alkamire, and if he had to choose one to trust at this point, he would choose his great uncle.
“I understand.”
Sammuel nodded, accepting this as an acquiescence to his request.
It didn't take long for Justin to return with a party of four dragons. Three of them he recognized from the battle between King Aqual and himself. One being Alkamire, the other two being the green dragon lord and the yellow dragon lord. The final individual wore a sour expression on his face.
Alkamire approached Thomas and Sammuel with the grace that you would expect from the office of king. “Edric. Thomas.”
Thomas nodded in Alkamire's direction.