Crest of Power: Kevin and the Magician

9 The Magicians Spy

The village was stretched out in a strange and staggering line. The sun was setting and the village had long been out of sight. Phillip and Isadar were among the last to leave. They had made sure everyone else was gone before they had left. A lonely black bird watched them leave.

Parents carried children; or allowed them to ride the milk cows. The lucky ones were on horses. Isadar had given his horse to Zenobia and Link. The blond haired children's green clothing matched the forest completely. They had fallen asleep on the horse. About an hour after the sun had set, the village stopped to rest for the night.

When the villagers had woken with dawn the next morning they remembered their flight into the night. They all moved on in silence. It was a horrible silence. Phillip was on edge, and the silence made every twig and every thud of the horses' hooves ring loud in his ear. Why had the villagers never learned to tread lightly in the woods? Then he heard it. A slight flutter. He turned his head slowly, as to not alert anyone, and saw it. It was a very large black bird. It was traveling in the same direction as them. Why?

Phillip kept his eyes on the bird till a bit before noon. No normal bird would have followed them like this. He was sure that it was a spy.

"The Magician is following us with his eyes," He said to Isadar under his breath as they ate.

"What?" asked Isadar. He had been daydreaming about seeing Mirrame again. "I couldn't hear you."

"Phillip glared at him, fuming that Isadar could remain oblivious even in this situation. He grabbed Isadar by the collar and pulled him so that he could whisper in his ear. Now he had Isadar's attention. He whispered harshly in his ear, "I said, the Magician's following us."

Isadar's eyes opened wide. He was about to begin looking around to see where he could be hiding when suddenly Phillip smacked him on the back and Roared in laughter. Isadar looked at Phillip like he had gone mad. Was that supposed to be a joke? If so it wasn't funny.

"Isadar, Pretend I said something about Mirrame," he said, still chuckling. Don't alert the Magician that we know about his little spy." Then he said loudly "So tell me your answer. Why don't you call me dad?"

Isadar's head was reeling. Was he serious or was that just what he wanted the spy to think; that had been what they were talking about? This was confusing.

"I'm serious you know," said Phillip. "I know you haven't been married to Mirrame for very long; but I had already thought of you as a son long before you realized you loved her."

His own father had died when he was 12. After that he had thought of Emir as a father. Emir had betrayed him now though. The thought of calling Phillip dad had never crossed his mind.

"You want me to call you dad?" asked Isadar incredulously. He wasn't sure if he was asking to go along with the façade or if he was asking out of genuine curiosity. Maybe it was both.

"Oh, you don't have to if you don't want to, Phillip began. "But when you married Mirrame, I didn't lose a daughter; I gained a son. I know; I know. Corny; right?"

"It's... not corny," said Isadar. "It's..." he paused trying to think of another word for corny. "It's... do you really feel that way?"

Phillip looked Isadar in the eye. "Come here son!" he shouted as he playfully pulled Isadar into a big bear hug. Isadar clawed his way out of the man's arms and jumped onto his back.

They were now wrestling in front of the whole village. First Isadar would be on top, and then Phillip would get the upper hand. It alleviated a lot of tension. Many of the villagers looked on, some even cheered. Only a slight few didn't enjoy the grown men's playfulness; not at a time like this.

Phillip almost had Isadar pinned, but then Isadar turned it around on Phillip and was just about to pin him. Suddenly Phillip rolled out from under Isadar and sat up.

"Okay," Phillip said suddenly. "I'm old and it's time to get going if we're going to reach our destination by nightfall!

"You're only saying that now because I almost won," Isadar said, rising to his feet. The villagers had already begun to disperse and some were already beginning to walk toward their destination.

"Where are we going anyway?" asked Isadar.

Phillip looked at him like he was insane. Was he serious? Did he honestly not remember the Magician's spy? Was he simply that oblivious?

Isadar saw the look on Philip's face. "I've been asking every five minutes since we left," he whispered with his mouth unmoving. "Don't you think it would look suspicious to stop now?"

"I'm just going to give you the same answer," said Phillip, regaining the use of his brain. "You'll know-"

"I know, I know," interrupted Isadar. "-when we get there."

"Then you don't need to ask anymore now do you?" Phillip said playfully. They were trying to act normal. It wasn't working. Any one who knew the two men would have known that this was unusual behavior for them. And the Magician knew them well. Fortunately for them the Magician wasn't watching at that moment. He was busy with his army.

*=*=*

A black cloud hung over the village. It was a dismal sight. The magician sat on what appeared to be the silver lining to that black cloud. If it had only been a cloud, the village would have remained safe. But no cloud could be quite as dangerous as this one was. It was a dark army. The Dragon Army. They had been traveling for two days, carried on the wind. It seemed to the army that the Magician had taken them in circles just to reach this deserted place. And they were hungry.

The Magician was displeased. He couldn't watch what Isadar was doing while riding the silver Dragon. They had landed in the deserted village silently. Even if the houses had slumbering villagers in them, they never would have heard a thing, until they had been murdered by the army of Riders and eaten by the Dragons. The village looked as though everyone had left in a hurry. His plan had worked. That fool who had warned Isadar about his coming had worked! Now they would lead him to the Crest! He would finally have it!

"It looks like they aren't here master," said Phineas loudly. He hated it when Phineas spoke the obvious. If his face had been visible under his dark shroud you would have seen him roll his eyes, but the Magician was once again in his cloak. He didn't like it when anyone could see his face. It just caused unnecessary complications. Phineas was the only one who was allowed to look upon his face. Only Phineas could be trusted with his true identity.

He would wait here for a while. He would have some of the Riders look at the villagers' tracks and see which way Isadar had gone. He didn't need them to tell him though. His spy was all he needed for that. No, it was a distraction to occupy the Dragons and their Riders.

The Magician dismounted the silver Dragon, and began to walk toward one of the houses. It was a house he had seen many times from the outside. Now he would go into it, and wait.

"Phineas," said the Magician in an angry voice. "Bring it to me."