A/N: I’m back, finally. Sorry it took so long to post this, but you know, during the summer I’m generally busy being lazy :)

Chapter 4

The Uninvited Guest

Nomes had almost immediately detoured their course off the main highway for what he called “security reasons”. Aidan was not amused by this decision but realized the importance of them both keeping away from where Skygazers were bound to have posts. After suffering from several scratches and a fairly large finger cut courtesy of the sharp grasses, he almost wished they could travel on the main road, but knew better than to voice this opinion and kept his mouth shut.

After about two hours of traveling in the twilight, Nomes led Alec into a clearing in the middle of the grasses. He indicated to the teen he could sit down and rest, but he himself stayed standing. He was looking at the sky west of where they were positioned, a frown growing on his forehead.

“Is there something wrong?” Aidan asked.

Nomes stared at the sky for a few moments before acknowledging Alec’s question. “I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “But there’s something going on west of us, near Dritan – something not good. Somewhere we are needed.”

“How do you know we’re needed? I mean, I know you might be needed, but I was included in the ‘we’, wasn’t I?”

He nodded his head. “You’re a mage, Alec. Two mages are more powerful than one, because friendly powers work together. Although you aren’t trained, I’m sure you would be able to manage some sort of magic.”

Aidan gave a little snort. “Yeah, right. I couldn’t even find you using my ‘magical nose’.”

“You weren’t trying.”

“I didn’t know how!”

The two ignored each other for a while, pretending to not care about the little argument they had just had. Aidan turned away from Nomes and pulled the little glass ball out of his pocket. As he watched it dance in different shades of blue in front of his eyes, he wondered how this could be his source of magic. He couldn’t see how it could be anything different – Nomes had one, so why wouldn’t his be the same?

The blue ball had been a part of Aidan’s life for as long as he could remember. He knew he had found it while playing with his brothers on the streets. He didn’t remember this, but his parents had told him a thousand times to chuck the thing. Something had always held him back, and now Aidan thought he understood why. Reluctantly he pried his eyes away from the ball and stuffed it back in the pocket with the wooden chest.

Silence still encompassed the camp. It grew between Aidan and Nomes, a suffocating cloud which was unbeknownst to anyone but the two of them.

“Are we gonna get going again or what?” Aidan asked impatiently, tired of the silence between them but not wanting to give into the argument.

Nomes silently got up and started to walk towards the West through the grass again, not bothering to wait for Alec to catch up.

“Hey! Aren’t you going to wait for me?” Aidan ran up to Nomes and glared at him.

“You need to learn to retain your magic.”

“I do not! I don’t even have any of this ‘magic’ as you call it. There are hardly any mages left in the world because there aren’t any more soul mates, and seeing as I was…” Aidan stopped, immediately realizing Nomes thought he was seventeen and so had a soul mate to find.

“You know about soul mates?” Nomes asked, surprised.

“Yeah, of course I do. I’m, err, seventeen, and so I have one, I guess, well... Anyways, is it so uncommon?”

“Well, lots of teens I’ve met around your age haven’t known about them… since the globe-maker disappeared over sixteen years ago, it seems the prospect has faded from the minds of youths.”

Not the ones who have them, Aidan thought grumpily to himself. He quickly wiped his face of any emotion. “What happened to him anyways?” Alec questioned.

“Nobody truly knows… some say he died, some say he’s still out there somewhere, just hiding…”

“If he’s still out there, why doesn’t he continue to make the snow globes in hiding? Then my problem would be solved, I wouldn’t be here, and you wouldn’t be pestering me about ‘retaining’ my magic.”

Nomes sighed. “Alec. Life is much more complicated than you perceive it to be.”

“Oh, yea? Take a shot at my life. I’d bet it’s way more complicated than you think it is,” he retorted.

Temper problems, Nomes thought to himself, and sighed. “I didn’t mean to challenge you,” he replied calmly.

Alec rolled his eyes but was silent. Nomes searched his downcast eyes for any sign of emotion, but there was none. Alec noticed this gesture and looked away from him.

“What did you mean to do, then?” he asked, more to himself than to the old man, and he could feel the tension between them lessen.

“I want to help you,” Nomes answered kindly.

He snorted. “Help me? In exchange for what?” Alec asked, his voice filled with doubt.

“I will help you train your magic, learn to meditate and retain it and teach you to be a powerful mage. I will answer any of your questions I can, and provide you with protection from Skygazers. All I ask of you is trust… of my teaching abilities, and of my orders. As long as you trust me and follow my instructions, I will train you.”

“What would make me want to train with you anyways?” Alec asked skeptically.

Nomes pointed at a tall tuft of grass. “Try your hardest to uproot those grasses, using nothing at all – just your mind.” Alec stopped walking and concentrated on the grasses. He imagined pulling them up, one by one, and then all in a group as though in a fistful. Neither option worked. He sighed in exasperation and opened his eyes for a moment, only to see Nomes watching in amusement. He shut them determinedly again, this time imagining the grasses being pushed up from underneath, near their roots. He forced the grasses up with his mind, pearls of sweat forming on his brow – when finally, he heard a great break in the ground and he fell backwards.

He grinned. “See? I did it. So there. I don’t need any magical…”

Nomes chuckled amusedly. “Alec, I would recheck what actually happened to the grasses. You didn’t move them even a bit of grass out of the ground. All you did was force a bunch of dirt into the air, which formed an comical cloud, then settled again.”

Aidan looked at the tuft of grass. To his dismay, none had been displaced, just as Nomes had said. There was a bit of dirt still in the air from the force he had exerted from underneath. He sighed irritably. “So what’s your point, then?”

“My point is it took you far too much energy, judging from the sweat on your forehead, just to make a bit of dirt pop out of the earth. When you’re fully trained, you should be able to pull a tuft of grass out of the ground with hardly any effort – about the amount of energy it would take for you to lift a finger.”

“I guess if you’re willing to help me, then I’ll comply… What makes you so eager to train me anyways?”

“You know how you mentioned soul mates earlier, and how there are hardly any mages left in the world because of the lack of soul mates?” Alec nodded. “Well, that’s my point. There are hardly any mages around who know what their powers are, or who have someone to help them train them. With conflict between the Skygazers and Terrapoli becoming more and more imminent… it’s important for someone like me to have a side kick, so to say, and for someone like to you have a teacher.”

“Oh, I see… is there any hope whatsoever the snow globe-maker will ever come back? Or will we ever find a new one?” Alec asked hopefully.

Nomes shook his head. “I don’t know, Alec… I just don’t know.”

An uneventful week later, Nomes and Aidan arrived in Dritan. Each night had been filled up with lessons and instructions from Nomes, after eating a dinner conjured from the red glass ball. Aidan hadn’t had the chance to actually try out more magic yet; rather, he had been receiving lessons in the street smarts he had never learned. He was more grateful to Nomes than he told him – he knew if Nomes hadn’t found him, he would still be dwindling back near Terrifah. Maybe he even would’ve been caught for running away, and brought back to his home. He always shuddered at the thought.

But as much as Aidan was grateful to Nomes, they both had their moments of frustration with each other. Aidan still hadn’t revealed to Nomes his former life situation, and the real reason he never learned many street smarts; therefore he got more frustrated when his teacher told him to do certain things than he knew because he had never learned many of the basics. Nomes, in turn, became frustrated when Alec wanted to use his magic and jump ahead of the basics. There was soon an unspoken rule between them – Alec could not use magic unless Nomes specifically told him to.

They got into the city of Dritan unquestioned. A few words from Nomes, and they had walked right through. Judging from the look he got from the guards, Aidan could guess Nomes was either very important, or very good at lying. Probably the latter, he thought as they entered the city forum.

The streets were mostly deserted, filled by one or two stray cats and some rats. Aidan looked at Nomes with a frown, but the mage didn’t seem to be worried. He noticed when they came into the city there had been Terrapoli guards. He questioned Nomes about it.

“Why do the Terrapoli guard this city?”

“Same reason they guard Terrifah, and the Skygazers guard Gerula.”

“And that would be…?”

Nomes sighed. “Why else would the two top guilds guard different cities?” His slightly exasperated sigh told Aidan the answer was supposed to be sitting right in front of him.

“Well, it’s not like I’ve been out much in my life, where am I supposed to learn these things?” Aidan snapped. Seeing Nomes’ hurt expression, he sighed. “Whatever. Just answer the question, please? I promise I’ll learn everything I can from you as fast as I can.”

Nomes was prevented from answering by the great uproar heard down the street. A great flash boomed in the sky, and suddenly there was mayhem everywhere. He grabbed Alec by the cloak and pulled him quickly into the shadow of a tall building. Silently, they watched as people flooded past them, all dressed in their finest clothing. Aidan frowned in confusion as he watched them scurry past, but Nomes seemed to know exactly what was going on.

“What’s going on?” Aidan asked impatiently, tugging on Nomes’ cloak like a little boy.

Just as the words came out of his mouth, a boy ran past with a screaming girl. He was holding her firmly by the wrist, and dragged her into the alley across from where they were standing. There were a few shouts from the girl, then silence from their corner. Aidan eyed Nomes warily. He had been watching them very closely.

“Do you know her?” Aidan asked suspiciously.

Nomes ignored any hints of accusations in the boy’s voice. “You go look after her; I have things to attend to. Make sure you stay there. If she or the other boy is hurt, you should… well…”

“I should what?”

“Well, you don’t have your magic source yet, so it could be dangerous, but this is an emergency. If they are hurt, seek me out in your mind,” Nomes replied, already seeming a little distracted from his ‘apprentice’.

“But how –”

“It shouldn’t be hard. Now go!”

Nomes pushed Aidan into the street, where a herd of screaming girls immediately trampled him. “Some help you are,” he muttered to himself.

Soon after Alec was gone, Nomes took out his shining glass ball. It had turned a dull black colour, with a large house outlined in hazy gray. His mouth twitched.

He stuffed the glass ball into his cloak and broke into a swift walk. The crowd parted easily in his wake, providing him no trouble to get to the gardens. Although he was a fast walker, he knew he could not run, and had to fight his panic. The mage arrived at the Terrapoli Headquarters in fifteen minutes.

The garden was almost empty when Nomes arrived. Terrapoli and Skygazers were still fighting, and the leader of the Terrapoli was being cornered by some of the elite Skygazers. This, however, meant nothing to him. A scream went up from around the left corner, and Nomes hurried towards the source of the sound.

“We meet again.” The voice was icy and full of hatred.

“Maverick.” The name was spoken as a statement, instead of the question it should have been. Nomes’ eyes went to slits, but his body stayed as straight as ever.

The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows and towards Nomes. He was fairly tall, but it was nothing compared to Nomes’ full height of six-foot-five. His eyes faltered at Nomes’ inquiring gaze, but the rest of his body did not betray him.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Maverick hissed.

“Apparently not.” Nomes’ voice was dry and amused.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. Your powers are useless now anyways. I took care of them… years ago.”

Nomes’ fists clenched, his fingernails biting into the skin and releasing a slight flow of blood. He said nothing.

“Anyways, it’s nice you’re here to see the demise of the land of Capane. Maybe you will join me again, since you now see how powerful I am? The dream team,” Maverick smirked, waving his arms in a fashion of grandeur. “Together again. What do you say?”

Nomes’ eyes never left his rival’s as he spoke. “That was a long time ago, Maverick,” he said softly. “You have changed greatly since then. I would never want to go back to the way it was.”

Maverick snorted. “Oh, yes? Well, you’ve changed since then too, Nomes,” he sneered. “More like lost your powers, eh?” He looked at the girl whose arm he had tightly gripped in his left hand. Try as she might, she couldn’t break free of his iron grip. He smiled at the girl and she glared at him. He looked back to Nomes, an evil smirk once again plastered onto his face.

When Nomes didn’t reply to his comment, the smirk dropped from Maverick’s face and his eyes turned deadly serious. “I guess I’ll be dealing with you later,” the kidnapper said softly. “There’s no time for foolishness now. Ready to go, Cassia darling?”

Cassia turned to Nomes in desperation, her eyes pleading to him as her mouth was silent.

“Cassia… Cassia Forrest, as in the daughter of the Terrapoli captain?” Nomes asked, slightly shaken. Maverick nodded, evidently pleased Nomes had been able to pick this up. Nomes could tell from the way his rival had nodded Maverick believed everyone else in the family was dead. “Then… is she…?”

“Yes, yes, we all know you are slightly slow in your revelations, Nomes, but unfortunately there isn’t any more time for us to chat.” Nomes rolled his eyes at Maverick’s theatrics. Maverick scowled, but his expression softened as he looked at Cassia. “We have… places to be…” he added thoughtfully, then yanked Cassia to a position which was a little too close to the man for her comfort – and it plainly showed on her face. Maverick delighted in her discomfort. He looked at his rival, a look of disgust on his face. “I’ll deal with you later. We have unfinished business, Nomes…”

In a puff of smoke, Maverick and Cassia were gone. Nomes paced where Maverick had been standing, infuriated he had gotten away right under his nose yet knowing full well he wouldn’t have been able to prevent it anyways. He then remembered Cassia’s disappearance, the sister who had escaped the wedding, and was filled with sudden urgency. He walked around the garden hurriedly, trying to find someone who could help.

The Skygazers had left most of the Terrapoli too wounded to speak. The stench of magically decaying bodies was almost unbearable, and Nomes didn’t know how long he could stand it before he would have to run back to Alec. Finally, he found a shaking boy sitting under the wedding arch, his face buried in his hands. Nomes noticed he hadn’t been touched, so he strode over to him and tapped him lightly on the back.

“What do you want?” the boy asked with a clear Gerulan accent.

“What happened here?” Nomes asked gently. He already knew the answer, but the boy was in no condition to start answering difficult questions immediately.

The boy looked at Nomes with splotchy eyes. He had been crying. “Our guards… they killed her! They’ve taken her away! I’ll never see her again!”

“Killed who?”

“My… my bride… Cassia…”

Nomes’ breath caught. “Where are her parents? Do you know?”

The boy suppressed a sob. “Dead… they’re all dead.”

“Who killed them?” Nomes’ breathing became shallower.

The boy paused. “My father.”

“Who?”

“My father,” the boy replied angrily.

“Who is your father?”

The boy looked up at Nomes. His eyes were a fair blue, covered by wisps of dirty blonde hair. Freckles were dominant on his cheeks and nose, and his face had a defiant look of leadership. “I won’t tell you.”

Nomes sighed. “Why not? I’m trying to help you.”

“No. You wouldn’t help me if you knew.”

“Fine. I respect your privacy. Can you tell me this, then? Where did Maverick go?”

The boy bit his lip. “To our home. Gerula.”

“You are part of the Skygazers, then?” Nomes asked slowly.

The boy thought a bit, then nodded. “Yes. I am a Skygazer.”

“Would you help a Terrapoli, if it meant seeing Cassia again?”

He hesitated, thinking silently. Nomes crossed his fingers mentally, hoping this piece of information would not make the boy turn him into his father, whoever he was.

“I love her,” he said quietly, eyes not meeting Nomes’. “I would do anything to see her again. Yes. I would help you.”

Nomes’ eyebrows rose in pleasant surprise. “Well then, Skygazer, are you in need of a trip back home? Because I am headed there, right now… to Gerula, to find your bride.”

“No. I can get there myself… but thanks. Will you tell me when you find Cassia?” Now he looked up, his clear blue eyes wide in plea.

The mage smiled. “Of course. All I need is your name.”

A/N: I hope this chapter was worth waiting for. Sorry if it jumps all over the place, but there was a bunch of stuff I needed to introduce… yes. By the way, thank you so, so much for all the comments everyone has been posting. I love reviews, and I love reviews which critique my work even more, and a lot of people have sent me those. They are wonderful help. Thanks!