The Guardian's Apprentice (Beyond the Veil) by Radcliffe J. Michael

Author:Radcliffe, J. Michael [Radcliffe, J. Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Smashwords
Published: 2010-10-02T18:30:00+00:00

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Chapter 22 - Escape

Keegan slowly opened his eyes, blinking away the fog that clouded his mind. It was then that he noticed a large black cat sitting on his chest, peering intently at him. Beyond the cat stood what appeared to be a ring of a dozen or more people in funny robes.

“He’s coming to – I think he’s going to be fine,” said the cat.

“Ugh,” said Keegan, letting his head fall back to the cold, hard floor.

“Nice to see you too, my young friend,” purred the cat as it hopped down from his chest. “Your abrupt arrival interrupted my dinner, you know.”

Keegan closed his eyes again as Acamar hurried off to his interrupted supper. His peaceful interlude was abruptly ended as two sets of arms grabbed him about the shoulders and hauled him into a chair.

“Are you all right, Keegan?” asked Phineas, bending close so he could better examine the boy.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m getting used to near death experiences,” he sighed.

Phineas looked puzzled. “Do you mean your audience with the Alderdrache? But surely it must have been acceptable; otherwise you would never have returned.”

“Oh, that part went fine,” said Keegan. “It was the other bit that was a little dodgy.” He straightened himself up in the chair to get a better view of everyone’s faces. “Everything went fine until I started to return and found my portal blocked.”

“What do you mean blocked?” asked Alexander Ducat, who had edged his way to the front of the group to stand next to Phineas.

“Just that – it was blocked. I couldn’t summon a portal. When I tried, I was blown backwards by an explosion of some sort. The next thing I know I was hiding behind a column as this dark cloud of something came through the caverns and headed for Seba’an’s lair.”

“What do you mean a dark cloud of something?” asked Alexander, pressing closer to Keegan and being elbowed by Phineas in the process. If Keegan did not know better, he could have sworn that the grey wizard had turned noticeably paler and had broken out into a cold sweat.

“That’s just it – I don’t know what it was. The whole cavern began growing darker and something came through where my portal should have been. It looked like an oily-black, swirling mist. The temperature must have dropped at least twenty degrees when it passed through.”

Keegan straightened himself up in the chair, having regained some of his strength. He was about to explain to the Council about Nekk’ar’s warning when suddenly the ring constricted so tightly it made him jump.

“No!” came the voice in his mind, as loud to him as if the dragon had shouted it in his face. Heeding the warning more out of fear than loyalty (he really did not want to lose a finger to that stupid ring) Keegan changed his story slightly.

“The mist had moved towards the chamber of Seba’an when I called my portal; I guess that’s what brought them – or it – back towards me.

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