Finnegan Star's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

The rumble faded, but the far tower still glowed red at its peak. Finnegan gripped his staff and started walking toward it. Aldric caught his sleeve. "Not on foot," the old wizard said. "The tower stands past Cattail Maw's marsh. Boys sink in that mud and never climb out." He pointed with his wand. Between them and the tower spread black water, tall reeds, and no path at all. Finnegan lowered his staff. "Then how do I cross?" Aldric led him to a small cave near the water's edge. A fire burned inside, and the stone walls glowed warm. A giant toad squatted by the flames, big as a pony, its throat pulsing. "He carries riders across the reeds," Aldric said. "But he only obeys a wizard who asks him kindly. Try shouting and he'll leave you knee-deep in the mud." Finnegan stepped closer. The toad watched him with one gold eye. He remembered the lesson: invite, don't force. He knelt, held out his hand, and whispered the same soft word he'd used on the staff. Warmth flowed from his palm. The toad blinked slowly and lowered its head to him. "Good," Aldric said. "Now climb." Finnegan swung a leg over the toad's wide back. It hopped once, twice, out into the marsh. Mud sucked below, but the toad's feet found each root and hummock. Reeds slapped his hat. He clung to the staff and laughed, closer to the tower with every leap. Then the water ahead flashed crimson. A woman in a red hooded cloak stood atop a floating slab of stone, arms crossed. Her hair burned bright as coals. She was no friend of Aldric's; the old wizard's whistle behind Finnegan turned sharp with warning. "So you're the little spark that woke the tower," she said. Her voice was smooth and cold. "That spell belongs to me, boy. Turn your toad around." Finnegan's heart pounded. "I'm not turning back." "Then I'll flood your path." She raised a gloved hand. Red light gathered in her palm. Finnegan didn't shout. He shut his eyes and asked the marsh for help, the way he'd learned. The reeds around him bent low. He pointed his staff at the woman's stone slab. A ribbon of blue light spun out and struck the water beneath her. A wave rose and rocked the slab hard. She stumbled, and her red fire scattered into the reeds and died. "Go!" Aldric called from the shore. The toad leaped again, hard, past the woman's tilting stone. Finnegan glanced back once. She glared after him, soaked and furious, but she could not follow across the deep water. The toad splashed onto solid ground at last. The tower rose straight above him now, red light pulsing at its top. Finnegan slid off, mud to his knees, staff in hand. He had crossed the marsh. But the woman in red knew his face now, and she wanted the spell for herself.