William Calhoun and the Black Feather. Book I

Several hours passed since Fafner’s departure. William was still lying in bed, alone in the room, deep in his thoughts. He was going over each word from their conversation, each detail, each gesture of the Wizard, trying to remember everything that had been said by Fafner and that he, William, could have overlooked during their conversation. It still seemed incredible to him that he’d had a friendly conversation with someone whose name is known all over the world and who could become a new president of the IFW in the near future. That filled him with pride and even his current condition couldn’t have a negative effect on his positive mood. He lay like that until Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs entered the room late in the afternoon. When he saw them, he immediately remembered Mr. Gibbs’s face, whom he had seen back in the Portrait Hall, and greeted both of them:

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs!” he tried to sound cheerful.

“Hi, dear! We thought you were sleeping and were afraid to wake you with our coming here!” Mrs. Gibbs spoke quickly.

“How do you feel, William?” Mr. Gibbs asked.

“Better, thank you. Only my head still hurts a bit, but it’ll pass soon! How’s El?”

“He’ll be alright, don’t worry!” Mrs. Gibbs reassured him. “Marvin and I were so worried about you two!” She looked as if she had been crying all night, the bags under her eyes acting as a proof of that. “To face something like that at such young age!” She seemed depressed. “No! It’s more that I can take, Marvin!” Tears starting falling from her eyes and she hugged William.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Gibbs, everything’s over, thanks to Professor Fafner!”

“We’re grateful not to Fafner, but to you, William!” Mr. Gibbs said. “Because it was you who dug El’s feather out, after which his featherdata appeared again. We were there right after Fafner, so Lauderdale wouldn’t have harmed you in any case. And if it hadn’t been for you and the heroism you’d shown, neither Fafner, nor us, wizhunters, couldn’t have made it in time to you and El! So your rescue is completely your accomplishment!” He squeezed William’s hand in a fatherly way.

But despite his words William still felt guilty for everything that had happened.

“Mr. Gibbs,” he hesitated a bit, then plucked up his courage and finished: “It’s my fault El was bitten by a Baretooth! If I hadn’t agreed to exchange samples with him, then…”

“Then he wouldn’t have learned the lesson that searching for easy ways doesn’t lead to anything good!” Mr. Gibbs smiled. “We know everything and we don’t blame you for anything, William. Don’t worry about it!”

“Professor Fafner said that I’d be staying with you for a couple of months, but I don’t want to be a burden for you, especially since I bear the duties of the Magic Feather Graveyard Keeper and without me Gobry…”

“Will do perfectly well!” Mrs. Gibbs interrupted him resolutely. “And if he wishes to visit you and ask about your health, then we’ll be happy to welcome him! You’re a part of our family now, dear! And I’m not going to let you go anywhere until I make sure that you’ve recovered!” She kissed him on the forehead. “Well, alright, Marvin and I will leave you now, so that you could sleep!”

“Try to get some sleep, it’ll only do you good!” Mr. Gibbs supported her.

“Thank you for everything!” William said, feeling deeply grateful to them.

“Don’t mention it!” Mrs. Gibbs replied. “Rest, dear!”

And they left the room, while William, deeply touched by such treatment from the Gibbses, was incredibly happy to realize that even though he had no family, the Hoggarts and the Gibbses sincerely considered him one of their own! He made an attempt to fall asleep, like Mrs. Gibbs had told him, but thoughts, pouring onto his head like a waterfall, made it hard to do so. It seemed like Mr. Gibbs didn’t know that it hadn’t been Lauderdale in that room, but Baelzidar, whom Fafner had killed.

In his mind, he was back in that grim room where he had faced Baelzidar. Remembering his superiority over him, William was ashamed of himself for being so pitiful compared to Baelzidar. And even when El’s life depended on it and each second mattered, he froze at the mere sound of Baelzidar’s voice. How pathetic he seemed to himself at that moment when he remembered his fear. And the melody Baelzidar’s feather was playing on the piano! What was that music piece? So pleasant, so tender and sad, but at the same time instilling terror, fear, doubts about yourself and life in general, killing all hope, like a cawing raven announcing only death! It was still playing in his head, disturbing him, and constantly remind him of his meeting with Baelzidar. All those thoughts suddenly killed happiness inside him, leaving only fear in him together with disgust towards himself! But soon those thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. William turned and saw the door open, then El limped into the room. His head was bandaged and his face still had a greyish tone.

“Will! Are you sleeping? I hope I’m bothering you!” he said quickly and briskly, in his usual tone as if he was planning some mischief.

“El!” William cried out happily, seeing his friend safe and sound and on his feet. “Keep bothering me!” Last time William saw El, he was looking rather hopeless and he was unconscious. “You’re probably feeling embarrassed with being so lucky, Elian!” he remarked with irony.

“Quite so, William! Luck had overheard me and sent you to rescue me!” He sat on the chair by the bed, left after Fafner’s departure. “I owe you one!”

“As my friend, you have a right to owe me more than one!” William said as ironically.

“May I be trice enchanted! The places we had been to, Will! And what a host we’d had! I’d gladly call that chapter of my life “To death and back!” he grinned, but William noticed a shadow of fear in his grin, the shadow he was already familiar with.

“How are you?” he asked in a more serious tone. “Feeling alright?”

“I’ve completely recovered, but they wouldn’t take these things off!” he pointed at the bandages on his head. “And I’m telling you, after our adventures, the authorities of this family are highly concerned for our safety! What about you?”

“Nothing to complain about!” William replied briskly. “What happened to you after peregrining to the Empty Village?”

“I’d have been happy to tell you how I fought heroically, giving Baelzidar a couple of bruisers and whacking him with a couple of suitable spells, but… Everything was much simpler, mate! I found myself in number 4 Bleak Street, and I didn’t have much time to enjoy the surroundings! The only thing I did was blink a couple of times, when he knocked me out without even looking, and I slumped on the floor, like a helpless single piece of centaur dung, coming out and falling down from its tailed…”

“You’ll never stop doing it, will you?” William laughed, holding on to his stomach.

“But I don’t despair!” El continued. “It could have been worse, right? I comfort myself by remembering Welbeck! Because we could have been no less welbecks than Welbeck himself!”

“Come on, stop!” William interrupted him, unable to stop laughing. “My stomach is going to burst!”

“Alright, alright! A bit of funeral jokes has never hurt anyone!” El took pity on him and changed the topic. “I’ve heard people talking at the kitchen that you and I are going to study at Templedoor! So congratulations to us!” He stared somewhere into the distance, a blissful smile on his lips, then announced: “We’re going to have some quality time there!”

“Yes, Fafner’s told me, I know! Dreams come true, there’s nothing we can do about it!” William smiled happily again.

“May I be trice enchanted! Have you talked to Fafner?”

“Yes, he’s been here!”

“Just like that, huh? Flapping about with Fafner without old pal Elian!” El looked as though he hadn’t been invited to the main party of his life.

“Come on, El. We haven’t talked for long. And, by the way, it turned out that he noticed us back then, in the Portrait Hall! But didn’t let it show.”

“Did he? What an unexpected wave of a feather! And how did he react? Was he angry?”

“No! Quite the contrary, he showed that he wasn’t angry with us.”

“Pheeeew! That was close! It’s a good thing to have such a fellow on our side!” El said with emotion. “And I thought we’re deep in rotting trouble!”

“I think we’ll have plenty of that in the future!” William grinned with mischief.

“That goes without saying!” El said with a busy-like expression. “It’s too early for us to grow old in that department, mate!”

“As it turns out, I’m going to stay with you for a while!” William told him.

“I know! Mum has already told me that you’re going to stay with us for a couple of months! It’ll be great! Dad is going to go on vacation and to arrange great holidays for us! I’ve talked to mum and she’s let it slip that they are organizing some sort of a surprise for us, but I haven’t found out what kind of! But after talking to you, I’ll head directly to dad and I’ll keep bothering him until he tells me which surprise they mean! So, life is worth living again, William!” he gave him a roguish look.

“I agree with you, Elian!” William replied in the same manner. “It’s awesome that we’re going to have a quality summer!”

“I think Jeff is coming in a month! You really need to meet him!”

“Who’s Jeff?”

“My older brother! Jeffry! He lives in India! I saw him last a hundred waves ago! He’s a great guy! In short, we’re up for a great celebration by the end of summer!”

“Great, you’ll introduce us, then!” William was looking at the bandages on El’s head and he seemed to realize only now how easily they managed to get out of this mess. “Gobry was really worried about you when you lost your feather,” he told El.

“Yeah, old Gobry didn’t deserve such harsh treatment from me!” he grinned. “I’ll bring him sweets next time!” he said confidently, thinking what else he should bring Gobry as a sign of gratitude.

“Mrs. Gibbs looked really worried when she came here. How is she now?”

“Yes, she cried many buckets of tears, but she’s starting to feel better now.” El stood up. “Alright, buddy! Rest well and I’ll go to the kitchen to continue bothering the authorities!”

When El had left and William was alone again, he kept thinking about the plans awaiting them and he was already looking forward to upcoming adventures. Soon he almost fell asleep, when the room was filled with the loud and well-familiar sound of crumpling paper.

“Nymus!” William sat up in bed at once, delighted with the visit of his mailmage. “I’m so happy to see you again, pal!”

“Master Calhoun!” Nymus cried out, as much happiness in his voice. “I barely found my master and lost him soon after that! I thought I would never see Master Calhoun again!” the mailmage looked deeply moved.

“It’s not your fault, Nymus!” William reassured him. “I’m the one to blame and only me! I shouldn’t have put you under the threat of getting fired, well aware how much you missed the Post Office while you worked at the ‘Well-Fed Wizard!’ By the way! Have you been reinstated in your former position?”

“Not only reinstated, but also promoted! Now Master Calhoun has all the rights to be proud of his mailmage, because I’ve been made the head mailmage of Templedoor and from now on I’m going to manage all mail!”

“Do you mean,” William couldn’t get it, “that you’ve been fired from the Magic Post Office?”

“Thank Celestine, no! I’m still a loyal subject of the Post Office!”

“Oh!” William beamed. “Well, it’s great news, then! Then we’re going to meet at Templedoor!” William announced with a smile. “I’m happy for you, Nymus!”

“And I congratulate Master Calhoun with entering it! Yes, we are going to see each other there and often! I know that it was Fafner who put in a good word for me before the Postmaster, and what a word it was!” Nymus cried out. “What was considered a serious offence of the Post Office Code, after Fafner’s letter to His Senior Sendiness, was treated as the show of real heroism in time of danger, on my part!” the mailmage told him. “And, as His Senior Sendiness Postmaster said during the Morning Meeting of the Post Office: “…Because if it had not been for our brave mailmage from the fine Nymus kin, the Magic Post Office could have become the reason for the heyday of crime!”

William didn’t keep himself from laughing as he watched Nymus represent the Post Master’s serious face as he was telling all that.

“Yes, Fafner’s helped all of us a lot!” he spoke up after calming down.

“And I also know that it was Master Calhoun who asked Fafner to help his loyal mailmage, so…”

“Oh, come on, Nymus! Did you really think that I’d leave you in trouble after everything you’ve done for me? If it hadn’t been for you, I would still be living without suspecting who I was!”

“And still, I really hope that Master Calhoun will like my gift,” Nymus stepped aside and William saw a tall box standing on the floor, which he hadn’t noticed before, busy with talking to his mailmage.

It seemed that there was a wrapped barrel inside. And indeed, when Nymus opened the box, revealing its contents, William saw a wooden bucket four feet high and no less than two and a half feet wide. Seeing his puzzled look, Nymus explained:

“It is a bucketcraft ‘Sparrowhawk-6 Winds’. It moves at a speed up to 900 miles per hour!”

William climbed out of bed, approached the bucketcraft and examined it, after which, delighted with such a great gift, he thanked his mailmage:

“Nymus, this is an incredible gift! How did you get it?”

“Well, they make these at the Post Office for special occasions. I asked to give me one bucketcraft in connection with certain events and they did not refuse me, because I am respected now!” Nymus said cheerfully.

“Special thanks for not having the Post Office Monogram on the doors!” William remarked with irony.

He noticed that there were two brooms and both much shorter than the broom on the mailcraft. Seeing William’s interest to that detail, Nymus explained:

“This is a special bucketcraft, equipped with the second broom instead of one, like on a mailcraft, which helps to move at much greater speed! Having two brooms,” at that moment Nymus looked like a car seller from a TV commercial, “helps to manoeuvre easier in the air and to increase speed, Master Calhoun! Oh, and I have almost forgotten to tell Master Calhoun that soon bucketcrafts will grow legs.”

“I can’t believe my ears! I love it, Nymus! Thank you for this gift! But you see,” William gave his ‘Sparrowhawk-6 Winds’ a sad look, “I can’t fly this thing!”

“As soon as Master Calhoun is back on his feet, I will most certainly teach him how to fly a bucketcraft and show some flying tricks. And meanwhile,” Nymus suddenly held out his large hand with his palm visibly swollen and took a book out of his palm pocket in one skilful movement. “This is the Book of Flights! It has been kept by my kin for generations!” he explained, handing it to William. “It has all the instructions on flying bucketcrafts!”

“Awesome!” William looked through it and placed it on his bed, saying: “Now I know what to do in my free time!”

“Master Calhoun will also find the bucketcraft useful during the first year of Templedoor! But I do not wish to spoil Master Calhoun’s first impressions with my story!” he slightly bowed his head.

“Well, I don’t mind, Nymus!” William agreed willingly.

“It is time for me to head back to Templedoor, Master Calhoun! I have a lot to do there! New job – new responsibilities!” he smiled.

“Good luck at your new job, Nymus! I’ll let you know when I’m back on my feet again! See you, Nymus!”

But Nymus didn’t hurry to leave for some reason and after standing for a few moments in hesitation, turned to his master again:

“In the light of recent events,” he began, “I would like to ask you part with me according to the mailtiquette from now on…”

“Oh? How?” William asked, intrigued.

“Well… you see, we, mailmages, are superstitious people, besides, it is time for Master Calhoun to start using some terms created especially for such occasions…”

“For example?”

“Like I said, mailmages are very superstitious people and when we part with someone and they do not wish us Mail Luck… then there will be trouble!”

“Oh, I see!” William smiled. “Well, then, Mail Luck, Nymus!”

At that, Nymus stood up straight, like a soldier before his general, and said

“Write letters, Master Calhoun! Write letters…”

He peregrined, leaving William alone in the room. He looked at his ‘Sparrowhawk-6 Winds’ and moved it to the wall, surprised to find that the bucketcraft was very light in weight.

“That’s even better!” he thought. “I won’t have any troubles moving it when I need it!”

He returned to bed, took the Book of Flights, given by Nymus, and opened the first chapter, titled ‘Instruction on How to take a bucketcraft off the ground’ and started reading it eagerly. Soon, unnoticeable even for him, his eyes grew heavy, as if under invisible soft weight, and he fell deep asleep, the Book of Flights on his chest.

He dreamt he was back in the same room in the number 4 Bleak Street. There was familiar semi-darkness in the room and the light from the candle fell on El, lying on the floor unconscious. William was sitting by the piano watching El slowly losing his strength and dying, concerned about wizhunters finding him and silently thinking over his further actions. His thoughts were interrupted by a boy appearing in the doorway, who carefully stepped into the room, holding a magic feather in his hand and who didn’t seem to notice him, William. After looking around, the unwanted guest noticed El and dashed over to him at once, hiding his feather in his pocket. William was watching the intruder shaking El desperately, trying to bring him back to his senses, but he himself couldn’t understand how the boy managed to find this place and to come here. He was curiously watching this scene for another moment, then lightly touched the piano keys with his hairs. William noticed the boy shuddering involuntarily and freezing at the sound of the keys. And he started playing a forgotten melody, which he often used to play in his childhood. The intruder slowly turned on his knees and now he was staring at the man who was sitting next to William on the chair by the piano. And William continued playing, without paying any attention to what was happening a few steps away from him. Still running over the piano with his hairs, William started talking to the boy, but his words were coming out from the other wizard sitting next to him. William could sense the fear of the intruder and his stiffness in everything. It was to his advantage. It amused and pleased him! He enjoyed the boy’s diffidence. It was nice to feel that the boy was in his power. Suddenly he wanted to see the face of the intruder better and he flew into the hand of that other wizard, whom he was controlling so easily. And then he was very close to the boy. Those blue eyes, that fair hair, that arrogant look even before mortal danger, how familiar they were to him! He seemed to have looked into these eyes many many years ago. And it was the last thing he saw. And now there was only one thing he wanted – to kill and to steal the life from those blue eyes, which had once caused so much inconvenience to him, destroyed so many plans! It was time! He had been waiting for too long to allow himself enjoy the boy’s fear for another moment. With a light wave of himself he knocked the boy back to the wall and now the only thing left was to make the boy give him the feather… But suddenly a blinding beam of light interrupted his thoughts. I flew right into the window and then there was an old man standing before him, whom he, William, knew very well and for a long time. He didn’t have time to react when the old man, who had come out of nowhere, pointed his feather at him and knocked him off his feet with a powerful spell.

William was lying on the floor for another moment, furious with his own powerlessness, watching death taking over the eyes of the one whom he had been controlling all that time, there was no more life in them. Then with a quick movement William leaped into the air, whirled around, flew out of the window, heading away from that place. He was furious because his plans had been destroyed again. William was flying without noticing where he was going. He was flying faster and farther. With each wave he speeded up, but even that couldn’t speed him as much as he wanted to.

And so William was flying like the wind over gloomy swamps and forests, until snowy mountain tops started to show white beneath him. William was deep in his thoughts and was flying without looking where he was going, as if he had flown along that route many times centuries ago. His main task now was to plan his actions thoroughly.

He didn’t care about what had happened anymore. Ahead of him, in a mountain abyss, he saw the outline of castle towers and that sight suddenly filled William’s thoughts with calm and confidence.