“Post a Title on My Guestbook”
By Codename Emi
This story is my spin-off from the Circle of Magic
series. If you have never read those
books, this might not make sense to you, but if you have read them, this is
wonderful. This story takes place when they
are all older. The main character I have
created is named Mind-Teller. He reads
minds—need I say more? Some day I will
get around to completing the amazing story of Mind-Teller when they are
younger, but I haven’t had the time or inspiration yet. At the start of this story, Sandry has gone off on her own exploring a new town, but
she has not told anyone. Most of the
things that don’t make sense now will explain themselves further on in the
story, so don’t give up on me. Enjoy.
As Sandry
drifted along the side of the wall, she began to wonder what had possessed her
to come out of the inn. It had just
gotten dark and strange shadows were cast around her feet. She sensed a strange magic ripple and someone
called her name. She paused and looked
quickly around. Seeing no one, she
continued her walk.
“Sandry!” a voice hissed.
She stopped again and looked around.
She gasped as a dark figure crept out.
When he moved close enough, she could see that he was dressed in peasant
clothes, walking silently on bare feet.
The only thing that set him apart from any other peasants was the
flowing black cape he wore wrapped around his shoulders. A white stripe glowed on the bottom, casting
a strange light on the ground near his feet.
“Mind-Teller!” she
cried, recognizing him instantly.
Magically, he said to her, “Quiet, we
must leave quickly, danger is lurking.”
He took her hand in his and they ran, swift and quiet, through the dark
woods. They came to a clearing and
hopped into the back of a cart, Mind-Teller shouting at three men waiting
there. The cart lurched to a start and
set off down a rough trail.
When they finally stopped, she
crawled out of the cart, breathless from running and excitement. Mind-Teller reached out to her and said,
“Sorry I had to take you away so suddenly, but if you had stayed one moment
longer, they would have gotten you.”
“Who--?” she began, but was cut off
by one of the men saying, “Are we going to stop here for supper, Mind-Teller?”
“Sure,” he replied, “it’s ok, right Eric?”
He turned to another man.
“Plenty of animals—friendly,” he
said.
Mind-Teller smiled at Sandry as she studied the three strange men. Each of them was dressed in plain clothes and
sported a cape like Mind-Teller.
Watching her eyes, he said, “Lady Sandry, I am
honored to introduce you to my crew.
Here we have Eric.” He motioned
to the one wearing a green cape. “And Marcus.” He
motioned to the one wearing a red cape.
“And last, but not least, we have Charlie.” His cape was a shimmering blue. Mind-Teller looked around and asked, “Where
is the boy?”
“Here I is,”
said a small voice. Sandry
turned to see a small, light-skinned child with pretty blond hair. “Did I hide good?” The boy held out his arms and Mind-Teller
scooped him out of the cart.
“Of course you did, Leo,” Mind-Teller
said. He put the boy down. “Leo, meet Lady Sandry.”
Leo bowed, small as he was, and
sloppily kissed her hand. “Puesed to meet you, Wady
Sandry.”
“And it is an honor to meet you, Sir
Leo.”
After Mind-Teller and the others took
some things out of the cart,
“In the town of
Leo, who had been following Marcus
until just now, crawled into Mind-Teller’s lap.
Magically, with a hand on Mind-Teller’s
arm, Sandry asked, “What about Leo? I know he’s yours. The name is a dead give away, and he even
looks like you.”
She could feel his magic trying to
hide. Upon failing, he told her, “He is
my son, yes. And his mother… well… she
was rumored to of been eaten by the dragon.”
A tug of fingers on his ear told Sandry he was
nervous.
“Were you married?” she asks, aloud
this time.
He nods, cradling the boy in his
arms.
“Did you love her?” she asks again.
He hesitates, still tugging on his ear,
before muttering, “Yes, I did love her.
I loved her a lot.” He manages a
quick glance at Sandry. “But I’m not sure she felt the same for me.”
“Oh,” was all she said.
Leo was squirming around in
Mind-Teller’s lap, trying to get down.
Mind-Teller laughed and started tickling the boy. Leo giggled a squealing little kid’s laugh
and looked at Sandry for refuge. She reached out her arms and let him crawl
into her lap.
Sandry held the
delicate little boy in her arms, stroking his soft blond hair thoughtfully. I wish I had a son like this, she thought,
forgetting for the moment that Mind-Teller could hear. I wish Mind-Teller would love me.
Mind-Teller stood up and walked to
where Eric and Charlie had returned carrying a small rabbit, leaving Sandry sitting with Leo cradled in her arms.
She watched his thin back as he went
further out into the woods to help Eric skin the rabbit. She smiled and thought to herself,
maybe he does love me after all.
“Lady,” whispered Leo, causing her to
jump, “you smell like Mama.”
She smiled down into his beaming face
and kissed the top of his head lightly.
“That’s good to know,” she said.
They all sat around the fire, eating
the roasted rabbit and bread. Sandry sat close to Mind-Teller, watching him hold the boy
in his lap.
“Are we going to be moving on,
Mind-Teller?” asked Marcus from across the fire.
“I suppose so,” he answered, “We
should head on to
Sandry glanced at
Mind-Teller, questioning him.
“I actually came to find your—or one
of the others—so you could teach Leo.
He’s got magic, you know,” Mind-Teller answered, smiling
sheepishly. “I could teach him myself,
but I’m no teacher.”
Leo reached up and put a bite of
rabbit into Mind-Teller’s mouth. He
grinned and chewed, hugging the boy.
“This is very good, Marcus,” Sandry said. “You
have a talent for cooking, don’t you?”
Marcus smiled humbly, and said, “I
can work very well with fire, my lady.
Cooking just happens to use fire, especially when we are out like this.”
Almost sounds like Daja, Sandry thought, looking
straight at Mind-Teller, hoping he would be listening to her thoughts. He nodded and smiled, almost to say he
understood.
“All of us have magic, Sandry,” Mind-Teller said.
“In Horbat, the cape is a sign of being a
mage.”
“Really?” she asked,
surprised.
“Yes, magic is different there. As Marcus already said, he has magic dealing
with fire. Eric deals with animals. Charlie can deal with weather, mostly ice,
though.” He paused, grinning. “Reminds me of our friends back at
discipline, doesn’t it Sandry?”
She smiled, “I hope they will be at
home when we get there, I would love for us all to be friends.”
“I’m dead tired, you all,” comes a
soft voice.
Sandry looked
up. It must have been Charlie who spoke,
for he had said nothing the whole time she had been with them. His voice was very unusual—soft, low, and
almost soothing. She smiled, watching
him stand.
“Go ahead and sleep, Charlie, it’s
your turn,” said Eric.
“Certainly,” he replies in that
strangely soft voice, heading to the cart.
He turned back slightly. “Leo,
want to come with me?”
The boy crawled feebly out of
Mind-Teller’s arms and ran to Charlie, grasping his hand.
Sandry inspected Mind-Teller’s
passive face as he watched his son crawl into the cart with Charlie. He suddenly looked over at her. “Would you like to bathe before we leave, Sandry?” he asked.
She nodded and rose to follow him.
He led her to a part of the river
where the water was calm. When she began
to undress, he became suddenly nervous and retreated to a small rise on the
bank. Sandry
didn’t understand. She had been to
places where both sexes bathed together, why was this any different? She shook her head and slipped into the cool
water.
She let the water pour over her head,
wetting her hair. She was floating on
her back, gazing up at the night sky, when she saw Mind-Teller crouched on the
top of the rise, watching her intently.
I’ll just pretend I don’t see him,
she thought.
She ducked under water quickly, when
another thought came to her. Maybe I
more than smell like his wife… Maybe he
thinks I’m beautiful… Maybe he really
loves me…
When she rose to the surface again,
he was no longer on the rise. He was
standing on the bank right in front of her.
She stood up, so the water reached
just above her navel. He avoided her
eyes, and bent down, half crouching again.
“My lady,” he mumbled, face pointed
toward the ground.
“Mind-Teller,
come, wash with me. I don’t
mind,” she said, hoping he would tell her what he was thinking about.
He didn’t move.
She slowly walked out of the water
towards him. When she came to stand
beside him, she placed a hand on his shoulder.
He was trembling.
Surprised, she said, “Mind-Teller—“
“Please!” he gasped, still not
looking up. “Please call me Leonardo, I
wish not to read your thoughts.”
She stood for a moment, hand on his
shoulder. “Leonardo,” she said,
breathless, “You’ve changed.”
He stood, finally, and embraced her
unclothed body. “I suppose I have, Sandry. I’ve learned
of love that one only gets from a lover.”
She felt like crying. He still loved his wife.
He stroked the small of her back with
his hand, whispering, “You remind me so much of her.”
She gasped and wrapped his cape
around her.
“I missed you, Leonardo.”
“I missed you too, Sandry.”
He kissed her softly.
The next morning, Sandry
awoke in the moving cart. She was lying
with her head in Mind-Teller’s lap.
She sat up, careful not to wake
Mind-Teller, and looked around. Leo and
Charlie were still asleep on the other side of the cart. Eric and Marcus were sitting up front driving
the horse.
Not too far off, she could see the
familiar walls of
She listened to the guards as they
refused to let Eric and Marcus drive the cart into
Sandry sighed and
stood up in the cart, waking Mind-Teller.
“Lady Sandraline!”
the guard exclaimed. “I’m so glad we’ve
found you. Come, in, and we will send
word to the duke.”
The gates opened and Sandry sat back down once they started down the spiral
road.
“Do you think that we could all stay
at Discipline?” Mind-Teller whispered in her ear.
“I’m sure we can work something out,
Mind-Teller,” she answered, stroking his cheek.
Mind-Teller crawled to the front of
the cart and told Eric where to stop.
When they had pulled the cart in front of Discipline, Sandry jumped out and ran to the door.
She knocked, and Lark answered.
“We heard you where missing,” Lark
cried, hugging Sandry. “Where have you been?”
Sandry moved out of
the doorway, and Mind-Teller smiled sheepishly at Lark, holding the boy in his
arms.
When he met Lark’s eyes, he stumbled
forward suddenly, mumbling, “No, Lark! Never!”
Lark ran to him and hugged both
Mind-Teller and Leo. “I’m sorry I ever
doubted you, Mind-Teller. Come in, come
in, and bring your friends too!”
Mind-Teller handed little Leo to Sandry and motioned for the other three. They all followed Lark inside. Seeing the others at the table eating
breakfast, Mind-Teller said cheerfully, “Hello friends!”
Tris jumped up
and gave him a big hug. He laughed and
suddenly she became aware of she was.
She blushed hotly, but then she met his sparkling eyes and laughed with
him.
Daja, Rosethorn, and Briar also rose to stand beside Mind-Teller.
He smiled at Daja
and embraced her, whispering in her ear.
Then he looked at Rosethorn. She had on her no-nonsense look that told her
she did not want to be hugged. “Forgive
me, dear Rosethorn,” he said, sweeping a less than
gallant bow.
When he straightened,
Briar called out, “Hey, Mind-Teller!”
He extended his hand in a traditional street rat greeting. “Who’s your mates?”
“Oh yes,” Mind-Teller replied,
snapping his fingers. “Guys,” he said,
motioning to each one in turn, “Briar, Rosethorn, Daja, Tris, and Lark. Everyone, this is my crew, Marcus, Eric, and
Charlie.” He reached over and took Leo
in his arms.
“Leo hungry!” he informed everyone.
Mind-Teller grinned, “This is
Leo.”
Everyone laughed a bit as Lark
motioned them to the table. Mind-Teller
served up Leo and his friends a bowl of steaming porridge.
…
Later, Mind-Teller, Leo, Tris, and Charlie walked down the path to the Hub to meet Niko. Eric and
Marcus were asleep back at Discipline while the others went about their various
tasks.
…
They felt the strength that was
Mind-Teller fade and fall. Their circle was broken now. Sandry pulled away and grabbed
Mind-Teller's shoulders. He was slumped on the ground,
sobbing uncontrollably. She used her magic to say,
"Leonardo! What is wrong with you?"
"Leo! Leo!"
he sobbed. "They're hurting Leo!"
Tris coughed and
said "They're burning us!"
Mind-Teller started gasping for air
as if the fire actually closed around him. Sandry stood, grasping Briar's hand and joining the circle
again.
"Help me!" she pleaded to
the others. "We have to save Leo!"
They asked no questions and followed
her lead. Glancing back at Mind-Teller, she followed
the fading magic strand from him to one of the larger caravans.
…
They left Mind-Teller on the wall
weeping with Sandry. They
ran to meet the guards bringing in prisoners.
When they glimpsed the boy, they instantly knew why Mind-Teller was in
pain.
Leo was burned and bruised from head
to toe, and it seemed as if one of his
legs was broken. They sent for a healer and took him
back to the cottage.
When they got there, Mind-Teller was
already dead asleep in Sandry's bed, and Sandry herself sat drowsily at the table.
…
Mind-Teller was sitting
crossed-legged in front of the altar, hands steepled,
rocking back and forth. The healer
working with Leo today sighed heavily. Mind-Teller looked
at her solemnly from across the room and asked softly, "He's going to be
alright, isn't he?"
Before she could answer aloud, he
walked over and knelt beside the boy, his eyes spilling over.
"There's nothing else I can do. I'm so sorry," said the healer.
Mind-Teller bent over Leo and kissed
his forehead, putting one hand over his heart.
He stood suddenly and ran out the door.
Sandry started
after him, following him up to the top of the wall. She
grabbed on to the back of his shirt just before he threw himself off. She wrestled him to the ground.
"Leonardo!" she whispered
to his face, "I demand you to hold still and tell me what is the matter!"
"Leo's mother," he panted,
"was an evil witch. She put a tie on me and the
boy, so if any thing ever happened to him, I would feel it too. I must stay close to him and protect him, if only for
myself. The time he was kidnapped was the toughest
time for me; I could feel his every move."
"Why did she do that to
you?"
"She wasn't eaten by the dragon. She ran with another man, and the villagers stoned her. I didn't know, Sandry!" He started sobbing again, "I didn't know. I'm so sorry. I didn't even
realize until after, I don't love anyone but you. Even
if I did have to go through all that, I still love no other."
Sandry herself was
crying now. "Leonardo," she sobbed
desperately.
"Sandraline
fa Toren, will you marry
me?"
She just stared into his eyes and
cried.
He looked down, not wanting to hear
her thoughts, and took her small white hands in his. "Please?"
he pleaded.
She stopped crying.
"There is just so much to be
done! Uncle and Lark and the others…"
"So is it a yes, then?"
She stopped and looked into his
bright, dancing eyes, so different from the cold, scared ones he had worn
minutes before. Kissing him softly on the cheek, she
answered, "Yes!" and started to make her way off the wall.
Mind-Teller stood, dumb-struck for a
moment, and then stood to run after her.
Sitting in a corner, Mind-Teller
watched Sandry and Lark talking. He could not hear their voices, but he could
read their thoughts. Lark was smiling.
She approved, then.
He wanted to tell her he knew she did.
Standing, he walked up to them,
wrapping his arms around Sandry. He
kissed the top of her head and placed his chin there. "Did I do well after all, Lark?"
She smiled at him and said, "Of
course you did, my boy."
Mind-Teller then dug around in his
pocket, pulling out a gold ring with different colored crystals embedded in
it. He sat beside Sandry
and took her hand, placing the ring on her finger. "Now it is official."
"Oh Mind-Teller! Thank you!" Sandry cried, "It's beautiful!"
Suddenly, they heard fierce coughing
and Mind-Teller went white.
Jumping up, they ran to Leo's
side. Lark held him up while he coughed
mercilessly. Sandry brought
a glass of water and tried to get him to drink. Mind-Teller
grabbed her hand and grasped it tightly.
Leo and Mind-Teller went limp at the
same moment.
Sandry shook
Mind-Teller's shoulders.
"Lark!" she squeaked, "Lark!"
Lark said nothing, but laid the boy
back down and walked, grey-faced, back to the table.
Sandry took
Mind-Teller's limp hand in hers, stroked it lovingly, and placed it against her
cheek. Her eyes were burning but she
wouldn't cry. He couldn't be dead, he was just talking to her. She fingered the ring he had given her.
He knew, she realized suddenly. He knew he was going to die.
She looked over at Leo. Seeing the small boy lying there made her
upset. "You tried to tell me,
didn't you Leonardo! Didn't you!" She started to weep finally, angry at herself for no
listening. She stood, giving his body a
half-hearted kick.
Lark rose and embraced her, letting
her sob into her shoulder.
"Sandry!" Lark whispered eagerly, "Look!"
She turned to see Mind-Teller glow
bright with magic. Sandry
gasped as the glow strengthened, stretching toward Leo.
Mind-Teller was lifted off the ground
by some unseen force.
His body was dropped to the ground
with a thud and both he and the boy coughed, the
bright magic returning to its rightful place deep inside each of them.
Mind-Teller
sat up, coughing and gasping for air to fill his empty lungs. Leo crawled off the pallet and into
Mind-Teller's lap.
"Oh Leo!" he cried, "I
love you so much!"
Sandry cam over an knelt beside them both, stroking Leo's blonde head.
Catching her eye, Mind-Teller said,
"She was there! She told me she was sorry for
what she had one, saying it was not our time to die! And she released me! I no longer feel his pain." He looked down at the boy. "I love you Leo."
"I wuv
you too Papa. 'Wady Sandry, Leo hungry!" he said, giving Mind-Teller
another squeeze.
They stood up together and walked to
the table where Lark sat, almost as if nothing had happened at all.
"I thought I was a goner too,
Lark." He touched her shoulder
lightly, then went to sit next to Leo and Sandry.
Later, they all went to the baths
together. Upon returning, Sandry and Mind-Teller put Leo to bed. After he had gone to sleep, the two stepped
quietly into the hall.
"Good night, my lady,"
Mind-Teller said, sweeping the cape that he wore once again. He had not worn it since the battle on the
wall.
"Good night, Mind-Teller," Sandry replied.
He began to walk toward his room, the white stripe on the bottom of his cape glowed,
creating light around his feet.
He turned back suddenly, embracing
her and pulling her face into his hands, kissed her. Then he turned and stalked off to his room.
"I love you, Leonardo," she
whispered after he had gone, and turned to go to her own room.