Chapter 27 - Spying on Sir Syndil
anny slipped around the corner of an alleyway, he saw Chris and Anthony waiting across from the double doors that marked the entrance to Sir Syndil's classroom. Danny snuck up behind them and kept his back snug to the wall, trying to make as little sound as possible.
"Hey, guys," he whispered.
Both boys jumped as they swiveled around to confront the intruder. Anthony's right hand shot to the hilt of the huge greatsword that lined his back, Chris smiled with relief when he saw who had spoken to them.
"That's not funny, man," Chris said to Danny, as he grabbed Anthony's hand and pulled it away from the pommel of his sword. "And you need to calm down."
"Sorry."
"Has he left yet?" Danny asked.
Chris shook his head from side to side. Two seconds later, one of the double doors creaked open.
"Back," whispered Chris, swinging his arm wide, forcing Anthony and Danny behind him.
All three boys watched as Sir Syndil exited the building, closed the door behind him and began walking in the opposite direction.
"Alright, you know what to do," said Danny.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Chris asked.
Danny tucked his chin in approval. "Just remember, if he looks like he's coming back, one of you needs to come and warn me."
Chris nodded before stalking around the corner with Anthony in tow.
Danny waited until Sir Syndil, Chris and Anthony were out of sight before crossing the distance to the double doors. Testing the handle, he found both doors locked. Doors were seldom locked on White Rock Island. Cursing his luck, he looked both ways to make sure he wasn't being watched. The area seemed deserted as he slipped to the left of the building and entered a meager alleyway. Looking up, he noticed a series of slender windows nearly seven feet above him.
Gathering a couple choice items from the alley, an empty barrel and a sturdy wooden box, Danny piled them on top of each other and climbed to the top, his chin was level with the window sill. Finding no handhold to help him open the double-paned window, he unsheathed his sword and leveled the tip at the bottom. Wedging the point between the window and the sill, he used the sword to force it open. Finding the window unlocked, he sighed softly as it slid up. He sheathed his sword, lifted the window up the rest of the way, heaved his body up and over and slipped inside. Dangling for a moment, he released his grip and dropped the few feet to the floor. Finding a stout wooden chair and standing on it, he reached up and re-secured the window.
Looking around, he found the familiar sight and smell of the dueling room out of place without Sir Syndil. His eyes were drawn to the wall of weapons displayed before him. Refocusing, he willed his eyes from the alluring sight and rushed over to Sir Syndil's large oak desk.
The old desk was clear of clutter, well-organized, papers piled in neat stacks, complete with a black quill and ink placed within reaching distance from the chair. Danny had no doubt that Calador had told him the truth about Sir Syndil's tendency to be purpose-driven, everything he did seemed to have some sort of purpose. Searching through the papers and looking through the desk drawers, Danny found nothing incriminating. Assuming he even knew what he was looking for in the first place, which he didn't. He made sure to put everything back just as he'd found it. He didn't want Sir Syndil's compulsive tidiness to be his undoing.
Sighing, Danny looked elsewhere, his eyes lingered on the brass door that marked Sir Syndil's personal quarters. Figuring that would be the next-best place to look, he walked over to the door; he was relieved to find it unlocked. Twisting the doorknob, he forced the heavy door open, it made a subtle squeak.
The room was rather dim, lit by a single circular window. To the right, Danny noticed a small but adequate bed with a brass backing and silvery sheets. A small workstation, complete with a level desk, lined the back wall, and a large bookcase filled to the brim with tomes and manuscripts satisfied the space to the left. Overall, it was just as Danny imagined it, quaint but functional.
Beginning with the bookshelf to his left, Danny skimmed through the selections, the majority were about Shadows and the rest were about swordsmanship and weapons of old. Toward the bottom of the collection, he noticed a space, a book should have been there.
Turning, focusing his search on the workstation, he discovered the missing book, cracked open mid-way through, displayed upon the slanted desk. Inserting two fingers between the cracked pages, he closed the book and investigated the title, written in elegant gold letters on the spine. "Lore of The Mageknight," he read aloud, his voice little more than a whisper. Turning back to the open page, he read the chapter caption displayed in bold black letters; "The Gift of Ghostsight." Skimming the text, Danny discovered that the description of the Ghostsight fit his own ability without the slightest hint of doubt.
Danny's breath caught in his chest, this book was proof that Sir Syndil had known about his ability from the start. Calador’s accusation proved to be correct, for whatever reason, Sir Syndil was lying.
Unable to pull his eyes from the pages of the book, Danny read on as the words described the Ghostsight in more detail. It was written that the Ghostsight was believed to have the ability to predict the future, even see the past. It seemed that forecasting the movements of others was only the beginning. Reading further, Danny realized that the text grew vague. The book hadn't been written by the Mageknight, it was based upon outside accounts, incidents of those who'd fought by his side.
"Predict the future or even see the past," Danny whispered to the empty room. He suddenly wished for just such an ability, it would serve him well in his current situation. Then again, according to the text, he did possess the beginnings of the Ghostsight. Thus, who was to say he didn't already possess the ability to foresee events in the more distant future rather than just a few seconds ahead or even the past?
Making up his mind to try, Danny began the rhythmic in and out of the breathing technique Sir Syndil had taught him. Closing his eyes, clearing his mind, he tightened every muscle in his body, causing his knuckles to clench and turn white from exertion. Then, allowing his body to relax, he opened his eyes and jumped back as a ghostly outline of Sir Syndil appeared in front of him.
Danny took a step backward, giving the apparition plenty of room.
The wraith of Sir Syndil was sitting on the stool in front of the desk, looking down, studying the tome that Danny had just finished reading.
"What's going on?" Danny asked the specter.
Sir Syndil stirred, his head arose in response.
Thinking that the wraith had heard him, Danny's hand drifted to the sword at his side, fingering the cool metal of the hilt.
Sir Syndil stood and turned as Danny pulled the blade halfway free. However, Danny stopped as the transparent eyes of the apparition looked unknowingly past him. Stepping forward, Sir Syndil walked within striking distance of Danny's sword, but made no threatening movements.
Hesitating, Danny gasped with shock as Sir Syndil continued his advance, passed harmlessly through him, and continued out of the room. Loosening the breath he'd kept pent-up in a deep sigh, Danny turned and followed Sir Syndil back into the training room.
Sir Syndil moved with determined steps, passing by his long desk and crossing the right half of the dueling circle.
Danny followed close behind.
Sir Syndil stopped in front of the far wall, a slender, ornate dagger decorated the space in front of him. Reaching up to grasp the weapon, his fingers hovered close to the hilt. Then, with a twist of the wrist, his hand passed through the golden pommel and disappeared, along with the rest of his ghostly form, leaving Danny alone and confused.
What was that, the past, the future or something else? Danny took the few remaining steps toward the wall and investigated the small gilded dagger that hung before him. It was a beautiful weapon, made from gold with an inlaid strip of silver, but not meant for combat. Danny thumbed the edge. Gripping the hilt, mimicking Sir Syndil’s specter’s actions, Danny gave it a quick twist to the right.
The dagger turned without much resistance, stopping tip-down, making a loud click. The sound of gears working echoed through the wall and the floor. Then, the gritty sound of stone grinding against stone erupted from somewhere behind him. Spinning quickly, Danny caught the end of the movement as a slab of stone, the section that made up the center of the dueling circle, slid down and to the right, leaving a dark, rectangular hole visible.
Releasing his hold on the golden dagger, Danny crept to the middle of the circle and peered into the secret opening. Kneeling, he could see only darkness. Freeing his dragon-hilted dagger, he held the blade before him, the soft glow of the brand created just enough light for him to spot a triangular wooden box glazed with a reddish finish sitting just below the surface. Faltering for a split-second, he steeled his resolve and removed the box from its secret storage compartment. It was heavy and smooth to the touch.
Placing it just to the left of the hole, Danny fiddled with the silver latch that held the box shut and it opened with a click. Prying the top open, he found a spherical object sitting there wrapped in a piece of soft black leather. Nearly the size of his head, Danny was surprised by the weight of the object. Unwrapping the leather covering, he held a large globe of black glass in his hand. Upon closer inspection, he watched as a mass of shadows swirled within, like sheets of dark fabric fluttering in the wind.
However, what truly amazed him was that the twirling shades inside seemed to extend beyond the barrier of the glass, as if something within wished desperately to reach out and touch him.
Danny was mesmerized. Against his better judgment seemingly not of his own volition, his right hand moved closer and closer toward the black globe, causing the dancing gloom within to flap with an increasing flurry. Just before he touched it, a hurried rattle echoed from the double doors behind him, breaking his concentration, causing him to spin toward the sound.
"Sir Syndil!" Danny whispered as his breath caught in his throat in sudden fear.
"Danny, are you in there?" a familiar voice asked from the opposite side of the twin doors.
Danny sighed with relief as he recognized Anthony's deep voice. "What is it?"
"Sir Syndil is on his way back. You need to get out of there."
"Okay, give me a second," said Danny, twisting back to the mysterious black orb. Regretfully, he re-wrapped the sphere in soft black leather, closed the top of the box and latched it shut. Hefting the box back into its secret compartment, he ran to the wall and rotated the golden dagger to its original position. The sounds of gears grinding and stone sliding reverberated through the floor as the slab of stone glided into place, making the dueling circle whole once again.
Rushing, he made his way to the double doors and unlocked them from the inside. Then, after opening them, he re-locked them before shutting them behind him and sprinted to the small alley across the street.
"Did you find anything?" Anthony asked.
Danny had no time to answer as he spotted Sir Syndil round the far corner, just a short way down the street. Ducking deeper into the shadowy alley, he pulled Anthony with him. They watched from their secreted spot as Sir Syndil walked up to the double doors with an even pace, unlocked them with a shiny silver key and disappeared within.
Danny allowed the breath he'd been holding to escape slowly. "That was too close."
Moments later, Chris joined them, a relieved expression on his face. He was glad that Anthony had warned Danny in time.
"Was Sir Syndil up to anything?" Danny asked.
Chris shook his head. "He simply went for a walk. …Nothing out of the ordinary that I could see. What about you?"
Danny dropped his gaze, he wasn't sure what he'd found or even how he'd found it, for that matter. Confused by the events unfolding around him, he simply said, "You could say I found something."