Wizard in the Woods Read online

  We’ll talk about this later. Are you ready to get in here or not?

  Aye.

  At a sign from Pravara Gareth picked up the tiny dragon figurine and nodded his readiness. Pravara immediately launched herself high into the air, tucked her wings, and dove headfirst into the dark blue water. By the time she surfaced her transformation was complete.

  A second serpentine neck appeared in the water and gently swayed beside his own. Mikal eyed Pravara’s new form. She was yellow. It wasn’t a bright shade of yellow but rather a diffused softened shade, like one would expect to find if a yellow shirt had been left exposed out in the sun for too long. Her chest, Mikal noted, was a salmon color. Pravara saw that she was being watched. Her lips moved as she said something to him. The soft trills he heard had an elegant grace about them. What startled him the most was that he could understand her.

  I miss my wings, Pravara had said.

  Mikal snorted.

  Trust me when I say you won’t miss ‘em in here.

  A splash sounded from nearby. Both Mikal and Pravara whipped their heads around to stare at the trail of bubbles that were rapidly disappearing on the top of the water. A moment later a third serpentine neck rose gracefully out of the water. This one was covered in shiny black scales from top to bottom. Even the scales on its chest matched the rest of its body, making it resemble a long black tentacle. Mikal scoffed. His new body responded by growling.

  Really? You make yourself jet black while we have to be blue and yellow?

  I couldn’t help it, Gareth sheepishly answered. Black is my favorite color.

  How’s it possible that we’re able to talk to each other? Mikal asked. I didn’t know I could speak ‘water dragon’.

  Gareth gave him a condescending look.

  We are water dragons now. We’re speaking a language that only they can understand. Look at Lissa and her father. They cannot understand us just as we cannot understand them right now.

  Will we be able to speak to each other once we dive underwater? Mikal asked.

  I’m not going to dignify that with a response.

  If we are done comparing scale colors, may we go? Pravara dryly asked. Her vision must have become blurred because she had started to rapidly blink her eyes. All of them had.

  Mikal pulled his neck underwater and twisted about until he was facing straight down. Even with his heightened vision he was unable to see the ocean’s floor. The color of the water faded from azure blue to inky blackness the farther down he looked.

  How far down does it go? Mikal wondered.

  Unknown, Pravara answered. Let us be off.

  The three companions warily eyed each other and dove straight down. Almost immediately all three dragons swam straight into each other and ended up not only becoming tangled in each other’s coils but also smacked their heads together. Twice.

  Whoa, watch what you’re doing, Mikal growled as he noticed his tail had become entwined with Gareth’s.

  You first, Gareth countered. I was swimming in a straight line.

  You couldn’t be. That’s what I was doing.

  Pravara managed to disentangle herself first.

  Getting used to these new bodies will take some time. We must learn the nuances of water dragon locomotion if we expect to be successful with this quest.

  You swam into us, too, Mikal reminded her.

  I am aware. Mikal, you take the right, I’ll swim in the center, and Gareth will take the left. Are we agreed?

  Mikal swam over to Pravara and settled in on her right while Gareth took the left. Pravara nodded approvingly.

  Shall we try this again?

  Side-by-side the three newly shifted water dragons slowly descended into the murky depths of the open ocean. Mikal was amazed. In all the places he had visited across the kingdom, and there were many, nowhere did he see more wildlife than he did during their descent into the gloomy depths.

  A school of medium-sized bright red fish zipped by and stopped nearly a hundred feet away. The writhing mass of fish paused as it was passing Mikal, as if it were giving him a cursory glance. A few moments later it had darted off, leaving a trail of bubbles as the only indication it had been there.

  The deeper they went the darker it became, yet the water was teeming with life. They approached what looked like a massive cloud of sediment lying straight ahead of them. Or straight down, however they chose to think of it. Instead of debris floating in the water, which is what they were all expecting to find, they were startled to learn that it was a massive gathering of thousands of tiny silver minnows. As soon as the three of them reached the border of the cloud, the school of fish practically exploded. Thousands of tiny fish went in thousands of different directions, leaving the water as clear as Mikal had ever seen it.

  I guess they don’t like water dragons, he mused.

  Water dragons are probably the top predator in this area, Pravara answered. She had quickly perfected the undulating side-to-side swimming technique water dragons used to swim and was making it look as though she had been doing it for years. It’s no wonder the native wildlife is giving us a wide berth.

  Is anyone else worried about the lack of light? Mikal wanted to know. I’d say in about ten minutes it’s going to be too dark to see.

  Pravara’s head turned as she noted the levels of light in the water. Or lack thereof.

  I had just assumed that this form would be able to see in the darkness. Every dragon I know can, although I will admit that I do not know any of our cousins in the water.

  And if we can’t? Gareth asked. What then?

  What are you asking us for? Mikal demanded. You’re the wizard here. Can’t you conjure some light for us to see by? Wouldn’t that work?

  I can easily conjure a fireball but that wouldn’t work too well down here, would it?

  I’m not talking about a fireball, Mikal argued. I’m talking about anything else that would give off light.

  Let me think about it.

  Think fast, Mikal pleaded. He eyed the inky blackness he and the others were heading towards and swallowed nervously. He took a deep breath, which in his dragon form resulted in a rapid increase of water flowing over his gills. He sighed with contentment. The ice cold water was both soothing and refreshing.

  Even if Gareth wasn’t able to conjure light and they had to explore the depths of the ocean with minimal to no light, Mikal wouldn’t complain. This was the adventure of a lifetime! He couldn’t wait to be able to tell his foster parents, Steve and Sarah, about his experiences as an aquatic dragon. He looked back towards the way they had come and saw that their light source grew brighter way off in the distance. Hundreds of feet above his head, well, make that below his head, was the surface of the water. Lissa was up there. She was waiting for him.

  She had said ‘I love you’ to him. Well, she had said it to Pravara so that it could be relayed to him. Those simple three words had originally filled him with a sense of panic, but as he swam with his two companions, in utter silence, he realized that being loved by a girl wasn’t that bad at all. In fact, not that he’d ever admit it, he was glad Pravara had said it back to her for him.

  He took another deep breath and felt more of the cool, refreshing water flow across his gills, sending tingles up and down the length of his body. Invigorated, he urged his body to swim faster, propelling himself ahead of his companions. Just then a dark brown rotund fish about the same size as his hand (in water dragon form) rose up from within the heart of the blackness and swam straight towards his open jaws. Mikal was certain the stupid thing was going to swim right into his mouth. At the last moment it veered away.

  Mikal had flinched, which had resulted in him closing his eyes and bracing for the worst. Two seconds later, as he was preparing to open them, a series of lights danced before his eyes. Surprised, he snapped them open and was greeted by the growing blackness brought on by the absence of light. What was it he had seen?

  Mikal closed his eyes once more. Nothing happened at fi
rst, but after a few seconds the lights returned. There were tiny sparkles of light everywhere! Sarah would have loved it. Mikal remembered Sarah had a fondness for the sparkly dust she called ‘glitter’. So what was it he was looking at? Underwater glitter? Why couldn’t he see it when his eyes were open?

  Mikal cracked an eye open and was met with an inky blackness so complete that he could barely perceive his two companions swimming next to him. He closed his eyes and waited for the lights to return. There they were! He glanced over at Gareth. The tiny specks of light were swirling around his body, creating a disturbance that he could easily see. Gareth’s serpentine form could easily be discerned swimming amongst the swirling specks of light.

  That is so cool! You guys gotta try this!

  What? Gareth wanted to know. What are you talking about?

  That’s how the water dragons see in the dark! You just close your eyes. As soon as you do you’ll be able to see that there’s tiny specks of light everywhere. It must be more of the glowing algae. If you pass a fish you’ll see the disturbance in the water. That’s how I know you’re looking right at me. Now you’ve opened your jaws. Now they’re closed. Nope, open again. Do you believe me yet?

  You want me to close my eyes? Gareth protested. That doesn’t make any sense.

  Gareth, just try it.

  Fine.

  I see your point, Pravara said after a few seconds passed in silence. I did not think this form had a parietal eye but clearly it does.

  A what? Mika asked.

  A parietal eye. It’s a concealed third eye used in the absence of ambient lighting. It is highly sensitive and can detect the tiniest traces of light, even when you think none are present. That’s how we dragons can see so well in our caves.

  Pravara and Mikal both felt Gareth’s mirth. Then he felt Pravara’s ire. She didn’t like being laughed at.

  Dragons have three eyes? Gareth asked, still mentally chuckling. Is that what you’re telling me?

  Until this moment I would have said only winged dragons possessed the hidden eye. Thanks to this experience I now know water dragons have it, too. Makes me think land dragons might also possess a parietal eye.

  Whatever it is, Mikal began, and however we got it, I don’t care. I’m glad it’s there. I was starting to worry.

  Not me, Gareth haughtily informed them. I knew we’d be able to see.

  You did not!

  Did so.

  No way.

  It’s true!

  You wish.

  That’s enough you two, Pravara scolded. There’s no need to argue. Does it really matter who believed what, and when?

  Aye, Gareth and Mikal said in unison.

  You may argue to your heart’s content just as soon as we are all finished, Pravara grumped. And I don’t have to listen to it.

  Satisfied he had got the last word in, Mikal glanced over at his new friend. The black form Gareth had become blended almost perfectly with the water. Without the help of the parietal eye, as Pravara had called it, he wouldn’t be able to see him at all.

  Mikal looked down at himself and watched his body move rhythmically through the water. He couldn’t begin to imagine the power necessary to create a spell which could shift a person’s form from one to the other. How had Gareth learned how to do it?

  Gareth, can I ask you something?

  Sure. About what?

  Spells.

  Alright. What do you want to know?

  I always thought spells were spoken out loud.

  They usually are, the wizard agreed.

  Then what was with those carved figurines? Weren’t those talismans?

  Talismans? No. Those were spells, too.

  Are they different types of spells?

  The figurine performs the exact same spell as if I spoke it aloud.

  How?

  I think I see where you’re going with this. A spell is an incantation that the caster says out loud.

  Mikal nodded. Right. That’s what I’ve always thought.

  The carved figurines are just objects I imbue with the power and properties of the spell.

  Now you lost me.

  A spell can be a word, or phrase, or a combination of words that utilizes jhorun to make something happen.

  Mikal grunted once by way of acknowledgment.

  In this case, once I created the shifting spells I then tailored each one for our own personal use. One for me, one for you, and one for Pravara. However, that was last night. We weren’t ready to go last night. So I carved those figurines and imbued the properties of the spell into the figurines so then all I had to do to activate the spell was invoke the figurine. Think of it like creating the arrow to be fired by the bow.

  Oh! I get it now. I just thought the spell had to be spoken in order for it to work.

  Gareth gave him a piteous look.

  What did you think those figurines were? Toys?

  Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know much about your jhorun or how it works, alright?

  They swam in silence for another twenty minutes until Mikal noticed a temperature drop in the water. He looked at his two companions to see if either of them noticed. If they had, they gave no indication that they cared.

  Does anyone else think that using gills to breathe is better than using lungs? Mikal asked companionably as they dropped deeper into the depths of the ocean. I can feel the water flowing through my gills. I can feel the water getting colder, and it doesn’t bother me. I can taste the water getting saltier, and it doesn’t bother me, either. I’m not sure why some water tastes saltier than others but it just does.

  SALINITY, a new voice answered. THE DEEPER YOU GO THE MORE THE PRESSURE BUILDS, THEREFORE THE SALT CONTENT INCREASES.

  Who’s there? Mikal looked left, then right, and then back behind them. Who speaks?

  WHAT ARE TWO HUMANS AND A WINGED DRAGON DOING IN MY REALM?

  Pravara stopped swimming and looked suspiciously about.

  You know our true nature? How? Who are you?

  There was a disturbance directly in front of them. Something was coming up from the depths of the ocean and it was large. Huge. Judging from the amount of sediment this creature was kicking up, Mikal guessed the owner of the voice was easily three times the size they were.

  It was a water dragon. Not a temporarily transformed human or winged dragon, but an actual aquatic wyverian. He was a deep violet color, so dark that he was almost black. Thanks to his parietal eye, Mikal could see that the newcomer wasn’t as dark as Gareth, but thanks to the iridescent shimmer he could see sparkling all across the water dragon’s sleek form, Mikal knew this new dragon looked way cooler than they ever would.

  As Mikal stared at the large form he was startled to see that the water dragon was missing scales here and there. There was also a twenty foot section on his torso just under his front left leg where the scales didn’t line up properly. Was it a scar? Had he been injured in some type of battle?

  YES TO BOTH QUESTIONS, HUMAN.

  I’m not a human at the moment, alright? How could you tell I’m not a real water dragon?

  WOULD YOU HAVE ANY DIFFICULTY SPOTTING A NEWLY TRANSFORMED GRIFFIN TRYING TO PASS ITSELF AS A HUMAN?

  Probably not, Mikal admitted.

  IT IS THE SAME HERE.

  Who are you? Mikal wanted to know.

  Are you friend or foe? Gareth cautiously asked.

  I AM FERNIUS. I WILL BE YOUR GUIDE FOR THE DURATION OF YOUR VISIT.

  Mikal was incredulous. He shared a look with Gareth.

  We’ve been assigned a guide? How did you even know we were coming?

  Fernius looked straight at Pravara.

  I WAS NOTIFIED BY A WINGED COUSIN. PERHAPS YOU’VE HEARD OF HIM? HE CALLED HIMSELF ‘KAHVEL’.

  That’s my father! Pravara stammered. He asked you to look out for us?

  LOOK OUT FOR YOU? Fernius repeated, confused. NO. MY DUTIES ARE ONLY TO GUIDE. YOUR FATHER?? YOUR FATHER IS THE AERIAL KING?

  He is known as
the ‘Dragon Lord’, Pravara corrected.

  WHATEVER. DAUGHTER OF THE AERIEL KING. TWO HUMANS MASQUERADING AS ONE OF US. ARE YOU STILL CURIOUS WHY YOU HAVE A GUIDE?

  Tell me something, Mikal began, hoping to change the subject. Are all water dragons as big as you are?

  BIG? I LIKE YOU, HUMAN. I HAVE NEVER BEEN CALLED ‘BIG’ BEFORE.

  You mean there are others larger that you?

  YOU MAY FIND THIS DISTURBING, BUT THE THREE OF YOU ARE THE SMALLEST SHEALK I HAVE EVER SEEN.

  Shealk?

  AYE. SHEALK. YOU PROBABLY REFER TO US AS SIMPLY ‘WATER DRAGONS’. CALLING ONE OF US A ‘WATER DRAGON’ WOULD BE THE SAME AS ONE OF THE SHEALK REFERRING TO A HUMAN AS A ‘BIPED’.

  Surprised, Mikal nodded, Got it. You call yourselves ‘shealk’. I’ll make sure I tell my father.

  YOUR FATHER? ARE YOU SON OF THE HUMAN KING?

  Aye. I thought you knew?

  Fernius’ eyes shifted and they pinned Gareth.

  AND YOU? WHO ARE YOU?

  I’m Gareth. I am, um…

  He’s a friend of mine, Mikal finished quickly. He’s here to help me figure out how the Athanaus escaped its prison.

  AH. I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU SURFACE DWELLERS WOULD COME INQUIRING ABOUT THAT CREATURE.

  What do you know about it? Mikal asked their shealk guide. Did you see it? We saw it briefly when we flew over Lake Raehón.

  IT EMERGED FROM WITHIN THE WATER LIKE A CLOUD OF BLACK MIST? PERHAPS IT TOOK A FORM OF SOME SORT?

  Aye! Mikal answered excitedly. I saw a horse head and a large claw, which didn’t match the head. What’d it look like when you saw it?

  ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME, HUMAN PRINCE.

  Where was it held? Gareth asked. Was it somewhere close?

  NO. THE PRISON IN WHICH IT WAS HELD IS LOCATED FAR FROM HERE IN WATERS MUCH DEEPER THAN THIS. SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW ME THERE THEN THERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU MUST KNOW.

  Mikal and Gareth nervously eyed each other before looking over at Pravara.

  Go on, Pravara urged.

  IN WATERS THAT DEEP YOU THREE WILL FEEL THE EFFECTS OF THE IMMENSE PRESSURE. THE WATER IS COLD, WAY BELOW THE POINT IN WHICH IT FREEZES.