Chapter Twelve
The Merlinians lost two more members of their group in the years that followed. First John, then his wife, succumbed to the onset of age, leaving their duties in the capable hands of their children, who'd been trained for the job. They left little behind that wasn't claimed by their offspring, but Balthazar managed to retrieve the shark tooth they'd used on him that first night at the castle. He kept it in the leather pouch slung on its cord around his neck.
Alvar still hadn't spoken, but he had grown used to his imprisonment, and seldom showed signs of anger or fear anymore, even with Merlin. Often, one or more of the apprentices would bring his Encantus to study, just to keep the silent one company. More often, though, they were out battling his former commander and her minions.
One fine summer morning, the trio came to visit after being away for over a week. Alvar lay on his cot, his back turned to them, and didn't even stir when they greeted him. A little worried, Balthazar moved to the cot and laid a hand on the rester's shoulder. "Master?" he called.
Alvar sighed, but otherwise ignored him. He shifted closer to the wall.
By this time, they had become familiar with the Morganian's moods. Horvath commented drily, "He's bored. And he's upset with us for being away so long. My sister had a cat once who was like that."
Balthazar nodded. He spoke to their friend again. "I'm sorry, Master. I wish you could come with us when we go out, but..." He didn't want to point out that it just wasn't a good idea. First of all, they didn't know if Alvar could or would sit a horse, particularly one that was going to battle. Second, they didn't want the distraction of having to watch him while he was outside. Finally, they were trying to keep his very existence a secret from Morgana.
"I'll tell you what," he said instead. "We have the day off today. Why don't we go down to the fishing pond, take in some sunshine instead of being in this dreary cell all the time? Would you like that?"
Behind him, Veronica cleared her throat. "Um, Balthazar, may I speak with you out in the hall?"
He looked back at her. "What?" She didn't answer, but her expression was full of meaning. "All right," he conceded. Before they stepped out, he requested of Horvath, "Talk to him, would you? See if you can't perk him up a little."
Veronica barely waited for the door to close before she made her concerns known. "Balthazar, you shouldn't be talking about going outside. We can't trust him."
"What are you talking about? He hasn't given us any trouble for over a year, since he got used to James and Sarah taking over for their parents. I think the music really helped." The servants had discovered a sort of magic of their own; when they played their instruments for Alvar, he not only listened, but seemed to actually enjoy it. Balthazar continued, "Come on, Veronica, give him a chance. How would you like being locked up for years on end? It's just down to the pond, after all."
She countered, "You forget who he is, what he's become. You seem to think of him as a child, or perhaps a pet. He's not. If anything, he's a wild beast who's learned to live in captivity. Once he tastes freedom again, we don't know how he'll react. If he runs, can you stop him? If he fights to keep his freedom, can you stop him? I know I can't."
"Merlin can."
"Yes, and then we'll be right back where we started, all those years ago. We'll have lost all the progress we've made. Are a few hours of sunshine worth losing everything we've gained? We wouldn't be doing ourselves, or him, any favors. Think about it, Balthazar."
He did. She was right, of course, but he still wanted to make good on his invitation. "There has to be a way for us to bring him out without the risk of losing him," he mused aloud. "Maybe if we chained his ankles, with enough length to walk but not run..."
"I don't like it," she insisted.
"All right, then, what about this? If he really is nothing more than a wild beast, he won't have understood what I was saying in there. My words will have had no meaning, and it won't matter whether I've changed my mind. On the other hand, if he still has the mind of a human-and I believe he does-we can let him know that this little excursion is contingent on his good behavior. If he makes trouble, he won't be allowed out again. Agreed?"
"For my part, yes. I don't know about him, though."
"Well, let's go find out."
They went back inside Alvar's room. He was sitting now on the edge of his bed, his blank eyes staring impassively at the visiting sorcerers. Horvath informed them, "He wants to go outside."
"How do you know?" asked Balthazar.
"I'll show you." Turning to the room's inhabitant, he inquired, "Alvar, where do you want to go?"
The man looked past his friends, to the cell door. He rose and walked toward it, as far as his chain would allow. When it grew taut, he stopped where he was, still staring ahead to his goal.
"There, see? He understands me."
Balthazar grinned hugely at Veronica. "The mind of a man," he reminded her. Then, to Alvar, he laid out the conditions. "Master, we can't just let you walk out of here without some precautions. You'll have limited movement, and you'll have to stay with us. Listen to what we tell you, or you'll have to come right back to your room. Agreed?"
His master gave no sign that he heard, but the apprentice knew he had. "All right," he concluded. "Wait here for a little bit. I need to see Merlin, and then I'll be back, and we can all go out and enjoy the day."
The four of them stopped at the threshold of the castle entrance. Alvar, hobbled by chains on both wrists and ankles, stood with his face turned upward, as if drinking in the sun he hadn't seen in decades. The others watched nervously, but he made no move to either fight or flee. He allowed them to lead him to the rear of the building, down the gentle slope to the small lake at the bottom. All but a few ornamental trees had been cleared from the castle vicinity, for security reasons, but the hill was lush with grass and flowers beside the dirt path that led to the water. Soldiers on patrol could be seen far beyond it, guarding against unfriendly visitors.
At the water's edge, Alvar stooped and gazed at his reflection, rippling as a warm summer breeze stirred the surface. He reached a manacled hand out to touch it. The reflection broke into a thousand fragments, and he immediately pulled back, distressed. It just as quickly reformed. Twin pairs of glowing eyes considered each other in wonder.
"He hasn't seen himself before," Veronica whispered. "Not since the spell that brought him back."
Horvath was restless. "Come on, let's walk," he urged.
Balthazar, however, was in no hurry. He waved a hand at his colleagues. "You two go ahead. I don't want to rush him, not after he's been shut up for so long. We'll catch up to you later." He caught the flash of reluctance in Veronica's face, but Horvath was only too happy to oblige. The older apprentice offered his arm to the lady, and together they strolled along the path that circumnavigated the lake.
Balthazar watched them go with a strange sense of something he couldn't define. Part of him wanted to call out for Veronica to return, or maybe to be the one walking beside her instead of his friend Horvath. Another part told him to keep his distance, to guard his heart against letting anyone else in. That way led only to grief. Besides, he'd promised Horvath that he wouldn't try to influence her in his own favor. He broke off his gaze, deliberately turning his back on the couple already a hundred feet away.
His master was peering at him as if reading his thoughts. Balthazar shrugged unhappily. "She's better off with him," he averred. "Horvath was right: I'm nothing but trouble. You should know." He picked up a flat stone from the dirt path and flung it with all his might across the water. It skipped several times before it sank.
Alvar blinked. He picked up a bigger stone. Following the younger man's example, he stood and sent his missile over the lake's surface. The power in his throw made the missile deadly had it been aimed at anyone. Instead, it flew on and on, nearly reaching the far shore before it disappeared under the waves.
"Wow." Balthazar was impressed. His mood was already improving. "I might have been able to do that with a sling, but otherwise, no way. Not without magic."
They followed the shoreline in the opposite direction from where the other two had gone. Eventually, they all met at the far side of the fishing pond.
"Hello, strangers," Balthazar said with a smile. "Beautiful day for a walk, isn't it?"
"Quite," agreed Veronica. She studied their silent companion. "And how is Alvar doing?" Her fears appeared to be unfounded, but the day wasn't over yet.
"Very well. I think he's enjoying this trip even more than we are."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Horvath contradicted. He wrapped an arm behind the lady's waist and pulled her to his side. "It's not often that we get a day to ourselves. I'm trying to make the most of it."
Balthazar got the hint. "Ahem, well, uh, why don't we all continue the way we were going? By the time we get back to our starting point, it will be close to dinnertime. We can go up to the castle together from there."
"Thanks, mate. We'll see you then."
Horvath was waiting by himself when the other men finished their walk around the lake. He looked a little disappointed, but pleased overall.
"Where's Veronica?" asked Balthazar.
Horvath nodded up the hill to the castle. "She had to get back-couldn't wait for you. There are no facilities out here for a woman."
"Oh. Well, I guess it's time for us to get back, too."
They were on their way up the path when above them appeared another trio coming to meet them. It was Veronica, laughing with her new companions and carrying a pair of wine jugs in her arms. Sarah brought a large hamper covered with a pile of mats and a rough tablecloth. Her brother James had an assortment of musical instruments. Veronica greeted her fellow sorcerers with a radiant smile. "Merlin let my friends here have the afternoon off so they could join us. We can have a picnic."
Back by the water's edge, they spread out the tablecloth on the ground and set the hamper and wine in its middle. The mats served as seats. They enjoyed their meal as equals, with only Alvar's chains to remind them of his restricted status. He finished the wine, which caused his former apprentice some worry, but he didn't seem to be adversely affected.
Sarah cleaned up, gathering everything into and around the hamper. She wrapped it all in the tablecloth, then carried the bundle a short way up the path. She left it there for later.
Meanwhile, James brought forth his offering. He had a harp, a fiddle, a flute, and a drum. He glanced across at the blank eyes of his charge. "Alvar, what would you like to hear?" He moved his hand from one instrument to another, watching until he caught a subtle change of expression in the other's face. He smiled and nodded. "Fiddle it is, then." He began to play.
It was a pleasant melody, one that captured the happiness of the day. Then James' sister took up the flute and joined him. The tune all but commanded its listeners to move.
Veronica climbed to her feet. She reached a hand out toward Balthazar. "Come, dance with me," she invited.
He looked down, embarrassed. "I...I'm sorry, Veronica. I don't know how to dance."
Horvath was there by her side then. "I do," he announced with a barely concealed air of superiority. "Every gentleman should know how to dance." He bowed to his heart's desire. "Shall we?"
Balthazar felt his face flush. He saw Veronica's reluctance to partner with another, and the turmoil within him welled up again. The moment was rapidly becoming awkward. To prevent that, he cast the deciding vote. "Go on," he told her. "I'll watch. Maybe I'll learn enough to keep from making a fool of myself when my time comes."
He did watch. The couple moved gracefully together, culture on display there by the muddy shore. Alvar seemed to be lost in the music. Restless, Balthazar eyed the two instruments not currently in use, and his lips curled upward in a slow smile. He claimed the drum, as it didn't require a great deal of skill to play.
The new beat took his companions by surprise. The players stopped, the dancers halted, and Alvar stared at the new musician. He nodded encouragement to them all. Joyfully, they resumed their merriment to a driving, improvised air.
At last the session wound down. Laughing, Veronica hugged her dance partner and then whirled away. She came back to Balthazar. With hands on hips, she stood before him and pretended to scold. "All right, you've invented enough ways to stall. There's still time for one more dance before the afternoon is over. I saved it for you." She reached out her hand again.
"But I can't..."
"I'll teach you, if you haven't picked up the basics already from watching us."
He cast an uncertain look across the span of grass. Horvath wasn't happy about this, he could tell. He sent his friend a "What else can I do?" expression, but it didn't help. Ah, well. So be it. He stood, leaving his drum where it was, and moved with the lady to the open grass. James and Sarah began a slower melody that was just right for learning the art of dance. Horvath glared.
The tempo picked up a little as Balthazar improved. Despite himself, he was enjoying his teacher's attention too much to care what her suitor thought. He held her closely now and again as the music dictated, and he grew more reluctant each time to let her go. Time and duties slipped away in the magic of this tiny world.
A loud POP! interrupted his reverie. In the startled silence that followed, all eyes turned toward the source of the noise.
Alvar stood holding the drum that Balthazar had been playing earlier; or, more precisely, the drum was holding him. His arms were buried nearly to the elbows inside the barrel. the chain around his wrists catching on the torn membrane that had been stretched tightly across the rim. Alvar howled his dismay.
"Oh, no." Balthazar sprinted toward his master, furious with himself for neglecting the one for whose sake this whole outing had been planned.
Alvar didn't wait for him. He bolted for the lone tree in his immediate vicinity, or tried to. The shackles around his ankles cut short his stride. He fell in a tangle of drum and chains.
Red fury burned in his eyes. Struggling to his haunches, he lifted his unwanted adornment high above his head, then brought it down, hard, to the ground. The drum shattered. He shook himself free of its remains, but he wasn't through yet. The chains must go, too. The mighty arms strained. Metal screeched as the links weakened and finally broke, leaving the cuffed wrists with a short length of severed chain dangling from each. In similar manner, the manacles around his ankles became forcibly disconnected. Alvar climbed to his feet with a roar of triumph, the wild beast free at last.
James was already halfway up the path to the castle, racing to bring Merlin to the scene. Horvath and the women looked on in frozen horror at the man-thing with whom they'd so recently shared a picnic and merriment. Balthazar stood alone before the creature. Red eyes met blue, angry snarls countered by soothing words too soft for the witnesses to discern. Stepping closer, Balthazar offered a hand to his master, who made no move to take it, though his body shook with tension.
That tension grew too great to withstand. Alvar spun around to flee, and the chains on his wrists swung with the motion. Balthazar had no time to avoid the one that swung toward him. It struck him on the side of his head, the jagged metal on the broken end link digging a bloody trench along his cheek before it finished its arc. He fell, dazed. From behind him, he heard a woman cry out, while ahead a dark figure sped away without looking back.
Then Veronica was there beside him, helping him back to his feet. She caught her breath at the sight of the blood.
"I have to stop him," Balthazar told her.
"He hurt you!"
"He didn't mean to." He broke away from her, running after the fleeing figure. "Master!" he called. "Wait! Come back!"
Alvar was nearing the edge of the castle environs when another voice boomed through the air. "Alvar, stop!" It was Merlin, and his command was not to be denied, though the master sorcerer himself was still distant. Alvar slowed to a gradual halt, then turned around to face the one who must be obeyed. Resentment lit red sparks in the glowing eyes.
Balthazar breathed a note of thanks for Merlin's intervention. Panting, he finally caught up with his master. "Thank you...for listening," he wheezed. "Could we...sit down, maybe?" His head felt like it was on fire.
Finally, the older man noticed his follower. His eyes followed the crimson tracks that marred the other's cheek, and a strange, almost puzzled expression came over his face. The red faded from his eyes. When the wounded one sank to the ground, he crept closer without knowing why. He dropped to hands and knees, so that his head was level with that of the man sitting before him. A hand, gentle as only that of a healer could be, touched the blood still flowing.
Balthazar flinched at the contact, but otherwise made no move. The pain in his head was nothing compared to the joy he felt at this evidence of humanity triumphant over the beast. If it lasted, then their years of progress would not have been erased after all. The test was yet to come, but it wouldn't be long now. Slowly, he folded his master's outstretched hand in both of his. He held it firmly as he spoke. "Merlin will be here soon, Master. Please, don't try to run again, and don't fight, whatever happens. I'll defend you. I'm your friend. Trust me, please." The bright eyes only stared, unblinking.
When Merlin and the others arrived, they found the two men thus. Balthazar felt the strong hand tremble in his grip, felt the muscles tense to flee. He held on tighter. "No," he said. "Stay with me. Don't run."
Merlin took note of the broken chains, and of his apprentice's cut cheek. "What happened?"
Balthazar explained. "He saw me playing the drum earlier. I think he wanted to try it, too, but he didn't know his own strength." He added, "I was careless. I should have been paying more attention, and well...there was the wine."
"The wine?"
"Yes, well...it didn't seem to be affecting him, so I let him finish it off. Both jugs."
Merlin shook his head and sighed. "Bad decision, Balthazar. Well, I trust you've learned your lesson without any help from me. As for what to do next, this leaves us in rather a quandary, doesn't it? Now that he's grown strong enough to free himself, I wonder how long even the cell chain will be able to hold him."
"Then maybe we should forgo chains altogether. The only thing holding him now is me, and that's not a physical bond."
Wise as he was, the old sorcerer considered the request. Cautiously, he allowed, "Perhaps you're right." Then he focused on the one he'd called forth from the grave. "Alvar, stand and face me."
Balthazar caught the look of panic on his friend's face. He smiled. "It's all right," he assured him. Releasing the hand he held, he climbed to his feet and helped the other to rise, as well. They stood side by side in front of their commander.
"Hold out your hands," the commander ordered.
Alvar just stood shaking, so his companion moved partway behind him; resting a hand on the other's far shoulder, he clasped the nearer arm under the elbow and lifted it straight ahead. "He won't hurt you," he told his master softly. "Come on, both arms." Reluctantly, Alvar complied. The severed chains dangled from the shackles on his wrists.
Merlin cupped his hands together. As he spread first fingers, then palms, apart, the manacles expanded as well. Both wrists and ankles were soon released from their iron grip. "You're free, Alvar," the old sorcerer declared. "No more chains. Come back with us now because you want to, not because you have to."
Wonder and uncertainty wrestled for dominance in the former prisoner's eyes. Finally, with much coaxing and encouragement from Balthazar, he allowed himself to be led back to the castle. Merlin removed the magically enhanced ankle chain from Alvar's cell, which also removed an undefinable weight from the atmosphere of the room. "This may be a mistake," he admitted to his apprentices, "but I think it needs to be done. If he understands any of this, he'll realize that he's earned some level of trust he didn't have before. We're making progress."
