Past is Prologue: Chapter 16
In the Lair of the Enemy
Queen Shuriki never mistreated the palace staff, at least not after the first year. She was exacting and quick to criticize, but she never harmed one of her servants. She saved that for those she felt stood in her way. – Armando Gutierrez, chief of the palace staff under Queen Shuriki and Queen Elena Castillo Flores, A People's History of the Reign of Queen Shuriki and Queen Elena Castillo Flores, compiled by Professor Catalina de Torres
Mateo surveyed the clearing, a lump in his throat. He had managed to reverse the spell that had turned Rico and Antonia to stone. He always carried that potion on him even though he'd hoped never to need it again. Ixlan was comforting Antonia, and Rico kept saying, "It should have been me. If he wanted to make an example, he should have gone after me. César was just a kid."
Before their ship could even leave the port guards came to inform them that a magical beacon had been spotted west of Ciudad Nueva Vista. Would the royal wizard be so good as to investigate? Of course Mateo and his party went, Mateo's dread increasing with each league. His worst fears were realized when he saw the statues of Rico and Antonia. He frantically looked for a statue of Olivia and for a moment was relieved when he didn't find one. Then he saw the pile of rubble with a human shaped head facing away from him. With a whispered "no" he'd gone to examine it. It wasn't Olivia but César who had been destroyed. Mateo had failed to protect him, and had likely sealed his doom by sending him back to Avalor City.
It was Victor who found Olivia's torn satchel and shattered tamborita. He wordlessly handed them to his teacher. Mateo took them mechanically, remembering when he'd given that drum wand to his first apprentice. Mateo had just been appointed royal wizard, the first since his grandfather had fled Avalor 41 years earlier. He had felt so alone – the only wizard in the kingdom and self-taught at that. When he met young Olivia he'd been delighted and amazed that there was someone else in Avalor who'd shared his impossible dream of becoming a wizard one day, and he'd offered to teach her on the spot. Her eyes had gotten so wide when he'd handed her the very tamborita he now held. Even though he'd known nothing about teaching he'd vowed to give her the guidance he'd never gotten and to protect her from the fear and danger that were his constant companions on his own magical journey. And look how well that had turned out. Mateo shuddered when he remembered that his last words to his apprentice had been angry.
Antonia broke into his thoughts. "Please, Mateo, can't you use the same potion on César that you used on us to bring him back?"
Everyone but Victor looked at Mateo with such hope in their eyes. He was the royal wizard, after all. Shouldn't he be able to save everyone? Reluctantly he answered, "I am so sorry. The potion would not work on César." Rather, it would transform the stone but it could not return César to life. He could not let them see that.
Esteban put a sympathetic hand on Mateo's shoulder. The young wizard was grateful for the comfort, but didn't think he deserved it. César was dead, Olivia was captured or worse, both Esteban's son and Carla were missing, and Fiero was free and working with Duke Cristóbal. As he had so often in his career, Mateo felt like a fraud. And people were suffering for it.
"Fiero!" he screamed suddenly. "I'm here! You got what you wanted! I'll trade myself for Olivia! I'm the one you want! Come and get me!" He ignored the protests of his companions. After a few minutes of tense silence, it was clear that Fiero was long gone, presumably with Olivia.
"I'm sorry, everyone," Mateo said tiredly. "I…I don't know what to do."
"There are tracks heading north," Rico ventured. "One horse, but if it was Fiero he could have been riding double."
"It's been a while, but I can try to use my staff to find where they are," Esteban added.
Remembering Elena's futile attempts with the Scepter of Light to locate Duke Cristóbal, Mateo doubted Esteban's staff would work any better. But it couldn't hurt to try. At least they had a direction.
"All right," said Mateo with a confidence he did not feel. "We'll head north and follow the tracks. Esteban will try to use the staff to scry for Fiero and Olivia."
"What about Carla?" Victor demanded. "She's in danger, too."
"I haven't forgotten about Carla," Mateo assured Victor. "I want to get all my apprentices back, and we'll need Carla in the upcoming fight. Listen, all of you." Mateo wasn't great at motivational speeches, but he supposed it fell to him. "We will rescue Olivia, find Carla," and then to Esteban, "and find your son. We will stop Fiero and Cristóbal, and avenge César. Are you with me?" The whole crew cheered. "Right now we have tracks going north, so we'll start in that direction." He paused. "Could the rest of you go on ahead? I need a few minutes to myself."
"I can stay with you," Victor said sharply. So he knew what Mateo planned to do. Mateo wasn't surprised, but he had to protect Victor as well. It didn't matter that the ex-malvago was the same age as Mateo's mom. Victor was still Mateo's apprentice, and this was a burden only the royal wizard should bear.
"Thank you, my friend," Mateo said sincerely, "but I really do need a few minutes alone." Victor reluctantly agreed. Soon the young wizard was by himself in the clearing.
He sank to his knees, still holding the torn satchel and broken tamborita. "I am so sorry, Olivia," he whispered.
When he was certain the others were far enough ahead to be unaware of his actions, Mateo stood up. There was one more task for the royal wizard to perform. He took out the potion that could turn stone into flesh and walked over to the young guardsman's remains. Though César was clearly without life, his soul was still bound to the stone. Only when stone turned back to flesh would his spirit be free. Mateo couldn't allow anyone else to be around for the transformation. That was a burden that should only be borne by the royal wizard.
Olivia had assumed Fiero would take her to a cave or an abandoned pyramid deep in the jungle, or maybe a spooky tower. She did not expect he would bring her to a perfectly ordinary, if lavish, hacienda on the outskirts of the town of Baja Bahía in the Nueva Vista region. And he didn't seem that concerned with being spotted. There were guards dressed in royal blue uniforms stationed outside the front door, but they merely nodded respectfully to the malvago as he escorted his prisoner inside.
With a firm hand on her arm Fiero propelled Olivia forward to a parlor that wouldn't have looked out of place in the royal palace. "Everyone, I would like you to meet Olivia Herrera, senior apprentice to royal master wizard Mateo de Alva." He gave her a little shove into the center of the room. Olivia found herself surrounded, and no one made a move to help her. There were two men present, as well as a woman and a teenage boy. The teenager was dressed in the sort of lab coat Olivia had seen Isa and Tomiko wear, and he looked away to avoid meeting the captive's eyes. The woman was middle aged with snow white hair. She was dressed all in white but had an elaborate owl clasp on her cloak. She wore a tamborita at her waist. Another malvago! Olivia swallowed nervously. It would be hard enough to escape Fiero, but with two malvagos… The two men were a study in contrasts. One was tall and dark-haired, and wore a colorful and elaborate suit. He seemed taken aback by Olivia's presence. The other was shorter, bald and clean-shaven, and thin to the point of gauntness. He had a mocking smile and was dressed all in black. The others seemed to defer to him.
The woman was the first to speak up. "Aren't you a little old for pigtails?" Fiero barked out a laugh.
"You sound like my mother," Olivia muttered.
"I found this one aboard a ship," Fiero said, addressing the woman, "fighting alongside none other than Victor Delgado."
The malvaga raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me you took care of him."
"I thought I should leave him for you, my dear," the evil wizard responded with a smile.
"No need," the woman sniffed.
Something about the tilt of her head reminded Olivia of Carla, of all people, and then Mateo's (former) apprentice remembered wanted posters from two years back. "You're Ash Delgado!"
"It's just Ash," the malvaga replied, and then to Fiero, "This one's quick." Fiero laughed again.
"And now, joven," he addressed Olivia, "allow me to introduce you to your rightful king, Cristóbal Castillo." He indicated the man in black. "You should bow."
"¡Viva la reina Elena!" she pronounced defiantly. She would have put her hands on her hips if her wrists weren't bound. Olivia was loyal to her queen and friend.
The traitor duke stepped forward and Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to be hit. But the duke merely patted her on the cheek and chuckled. "Ah, the impudence of children. How adorable."
Olivia opened her eyes and looked at the fake king. She'd seen a portrait of Duke Cristóbal at the royal palace. He had been painted as rotund, with coal-black hair and an elaborate mustache and goatee. The man in front of her was thin, bald, and clean-shaven. Either the painter had done a poor job or Cristóbal Castillo had changed a lot. Olivia didn't know which.
"So is she part of this grand scheme you're always on about?" the duke asked Fiero.
"In a way. I mean to use the girl to bring down the so-called royal wizard Mateo de Alva once and for all. After he is eliminated, nothing can stop me – I mean us, of course."
"Of course," Duke Cristóbal replied drily.
"You never said anything about a magical battle at my hacienda," the nobleman spoke up for the first time.
"My dear Count Fedérico," Duke Cristóbal said, "who can predict the ways of wizards? If he says this is necessary to our goals, who are we to gainsay him?"
"I'm loyal to you, of course, your grace," the count muttered. "Always have been. This just makes me nervous."
"You could not begin to fathom my plans, Count Cantú," Fiero stated haughtily.
Ash rolled her eyes. "You're going to use the girl as bait. When De Alva comes looking for her, you'll be ready for him. It is rather predictable."
"It's a classic," the traitor duke corrected.
"Well, the joke's on you," Olivia taunted with more bravery than she felt. "Mateo's not going to come looking for me. He dismissed me. I'm no longer his apprentice." She knew that Mateo would still try to rescue her, but maybe they didn't. It was the only thing she could think to do to protect her mentor – er, former mentor.
She didn't expect Fiero, Ash, and the Duke to burst out laughing. "I don't know what De Alva has been teaching the girl, but certainly not how to lie," Ash said to Fiero.
"I don't get it," the teenage boy who wouldn't meet Olivia's eyes muttered. "Doesn't this wreak your plan?"
"The child is most likely making up a story to try to save her teacher, Javier," Ash explained. "And if she is telling the truth, the royal wizard will likely be wracked with guilt and even more desperate to rescue her from our evil clutches." Olivia glared at the malvaga, who seemed unperturbed.
"I will need a few days to arrange everything," Fiero addressed the count. "Be so good as to lock the girl up in your dungeon."
"This is a hacienda! Why would you even think we have a dungeon?" The count sounded exasperated.
"Well, then, we can put her in a closet or store room," the malvago answered impatiently.
"Oh, for pity's sake," Ash snapped. "I'll look after the child until you're ready for her. If that's acceptable?" She looked at Fiero.
"By all means," he answered. "Just make sure to watch her. The girl is ornery – she tried to get my tamborita from me." Not ornery enough, Olivia thought glumly. She should have taken Carla up on her offer to teach the younger girl how to pick pockets.
"Do you think she could have done anything with it?" Ash asked with interest.
Fiero snorted. "Not likely. She's more of a nuisance than a threat." Olivia glared at him, but he didn't even look at her. "She's yours for the next few days. See that she doesn't escape. Once the royal wizard has been eliminated you and I will cast such a spell that it will bring Avalor to its knees…and King Cristóbal to his throne."
"I'm still waiting on the details of this spell of yours," Ash reminded him.
"All in due time, my dear Ash, all in due time."
The malvaga shrugged, and turned to Olivia. She drew her tamborita and pointed it at her captive. Olivia gasped, afraid of what would come next, but the enchantment was not one she recognized. The ropes around her wrists untied themselves and fell to the ground. Olivia tried to repeat the words under her breath to commit them to memory.
"Look at the girl. She's trying to learn the spell." Ash sounded amused.
Fiero rolled his eyes. "For all the good it will do her."
"Come along, niña," Ash said to her charge. Placing a hand on Olivia's shoulder she propelled her from the room.
Ash led her charge upstairs and through a maze of hallways. Olivia did her best to keep track of everything in case she could – no, for when she would escape. But she'd have to wait for an opportunity. Ash was watching her like a hawk.
At one point they passed a servant, and Ash ordered her to fetch two blankets. "At once, señora," the criada replied. The woman caught up with them outside a door at the end of a long hallway. Ash took the blankets and thrust them at Olivia, who awkwardly took hold of them. The malvaga removed a key that had been hanging around her neck and unlocked the door. She pushed Olivia inside.
"That is my bed," Ash told the (former) wizard apprentice. "You may make a pallet for yourself there," she indicated a corner of the room. "The chamber pot is there. I'll bring meals to you here, if you behave yourself. Give me any trouble, and I will immobilize you. Do I make myself clear?" Olivia sullenly looked at the floor. Ash put her hand under the girl's chin to force Olivia to look at her. "¿Entendida?" Olivia glared at her, but nodded. "Very well." Ash turned to go, but hesitated and turned back. She sighed. "I know this is frightening for you. For what it is worth, you are not Fiero's target. Keep your head down and don't make trouble, and you will most likely make it out of this alive."
With that, the malvaga left and shut the door behind her. Olivia was alone.
AN: A story cannot contain a song, of course. But if you would like one, imagine this – a dark reprise of "Cast a Spell With Me," sung by Mateo, as he blames himself for César's death and Olivia's disappearance, and wonders if Olivia is still alive.