Kitabı oku: «William Calhoun and the Black Feather. Book I», sayfa 4
Chapter five
Feather Nest
After visiting the enormous hall of the Magic Post Office, completely covered with letters, William couldn’t even imagine that he would face something similar. But he was wrong. The hall he and Nymus arrived at was just as huge. And the floor was also covered, but not with letters. William took a closer look. There were countless feathers all around, of different colours and sizes.
Nymus said by his side:
«Here we are!»
«Where are we, Nymus?» William asked.
«We are at the Feather Nest! This is where wizards get their magic feathers! And if there is a place that has the biggest number of all kinds of birds, then this is it!» he pointed at the feathers under their feet.
«And why is there nobody in here?»
«This is the flight room, Master Calhoun! By the end of the day, when the Feather Nest closes down, birds are allowed in here to fly. I shall stay here to wait for you while you are inside,» he pointed at an unremarkable door on the far wall of the hall.
No wonder William hadn’t noticed it at first.
«But why should I go there alone?» William asked. He didn’t want to part with Nymus. He was used to the mailmage always being by his side, to them doing everything and going everywhere together.
«Those are the rules, Master Calhoun,» Nymus replied. «No wizard may enter the Feather Nest accompanied by another person. This excludes mistakes in the choice the birds make.»
«What choice? What are you talking about?»
«You see, Master Calhoun, when a wizard enters the Feather Nest for the first time, one of the birds flies over and grants him a feather. Before coming here, wizards can only guess which bird will choose them.»
«What happens next?» William asked, thinking that this procedure reminded him of a child’s game more and more.
«After one of the birds comes down from its perch and grants its feather to a wizard, Mister Wellington takes the feather, examines it and explains how to treat that exact feather and which personality that feather has. Then he registers the feather in the Feather Tome and gives it to its new owner.»
«Nymus, what am I supposed to do? No bird has granted me this feather. I’ve had it since my birth. Won’t I have any problems because of that?»
«I think there should not be any problems!» Nymus replied. «The feather can obey only one wizard. If it obeys you, then it does not have any other owners beside you. Just tell Mister Wellington that you have come to register a magic feather and it is all in the envelope.»
«Alright, Nymus! Then I’m off!» William breathed out and headed towards the door on the far wall of the hall.
As he approached the door, he heard some sounds coming from inside. William opened the door and all but drowned in the cacophony of birds crying, whistling, warbling, singing, cawing, and chirping. He suddenly remembered the time he’d been to a zoo with Mrs. Hoggart and was deafened by the noise coming from the bird cage. But compared to this racket, that noise was silence. William sighed, driving the memories off, made a step, and the door closed behind his back all by itself.
William made another step and looked around. This huge room seemed to be full of birds, from top to bottom. William had never seen so many birds in one place. Just then he made out a counter through this live wall of wings and feathers, which stood deeper into the room and resembled a giant nest. There was also another thing. Despite the floor being made of stone, there were full-scale trees, bushes, and flowers growing right through it, with a small swamp in one of the corners. William had no doubts it was real: there was a rotten smell coming from the small swamp, as well as frogs croaking. The birds were still flying chaotically around the room and those that stopped flying landed on almost any object in here: walls, the ceiling, windows, tree branches, and other places.
Somehow making his way to the «nest’, William was surprised to find it empty. He decided that there was nobody in here apart from the birds and turned around to leave. But then a huge hawk appeared from nowhere and dashed right at him. William closed his eyes, but the hawk flew over his head with a cry and disappeared.
When William opened his eyes, he was surprised to find a grey-haired old man behind the counter, with a sharp face and an eagle-like nose. His grey hair fell to his shoulders and his yellow eyes with black pupils, just like that of the eagle, stared right at William.
«Welcome to the Feather Nest, young wizard!» he said in a shrill voice and then, suddenly irritated with the noise around there, made a deafening cry, much like an eagle. The noise instantly died out.
The old man gave William an expectant look.
«Good day, sir…» he greeted the man, looking into the face of this strange master of magic feathers with a bit of fear.
«…Wellington. I’m at your service, young wizard! You have probably come here for a magic feather?»
Wellington walked around the counter, came up to William and, taking his hand, started examining it, not unlike a tailor who examines a client’s figure.
«Sir, Mister Wellington,» William hurried to move his hand away, «I’ve already got a magic feather.»
Mister Wellington returned behind the counter at once.
«Then why have you come here, young man?» he asked, puzzled.
«I’d like to register my magic feather,» William replied.
«To register?» Wellington stared at William’s face. «I can’t seem to remember you… When have you been here before?»
«Never. I’ve never been here. And I’ve never been granted the feather.»
«Oh?» Mister Wellington’s face looked even more puzzled. «Then, may I ask you how you have received it?»
«I’ve had it since my childhood. For a long time, I had no idea what it was for. But then they told me, and I want to study at the Preparatory Course. And, as I understand, I need to register the feather to do that.»
Mister Wellington was listening to him, as they say, with his mouth open, but he quickly overcame his shock and asked:
«May I take a look at the feather?»
William took the feather out of his pocket and placed it on Mister Wellington’s hand. Strangely enough, the feather didn’t mind. Mister Wellington gave it a long and thorough examination, turning it over in his hands, and then he stated:
«White Raven!» He gave the feather another look. «A contourless atypical flyfeather. Quite unusual for a magic feather!»
«Why is that?» William asked, genuinely interested.
«Well, first of all, magic feathers usually appear in the steering part of the bird, that is, in the tail. And this feather…» at this point Mister Wellington gave the feather another intent look as if checking himself, «it is, no doubt, from the bird’s wing!»
«Is it of any significance?» William asked.
«No, no. But it’s a curious fact. So curious that I can’t personally remember a similar case,» Mister Wellington said. «Secondly, the fan part of the feather is quite fluffy, which means two things. First: this feather hasn’t been used for a long time or it’s very new. And second: the bird that used to carry it lived on the swamps. Black spots on the fan part of the feather are a proof to that. They appear on birds that often dive into the water for food. But here comes the mystery,» at this point Mister Wellington’s voice dropped to a whisper: «White Ravens never dive for food. They steal it from smaller birds or eat carrion, like all ravens.»
«So, you’re saying that this isn’t a White Raven feather?»
«I’m saying that this is a rather dangerous feather, young man!» Mister Wellington said. «Think well before using it. Reckless use of this magic feather and at this young age may lead to serious trouble.»
«Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind,» William replied politely. «So, may I register it?»
Instead of answering, Mister Wellington opened a large book that lay on the counter beside him. He brought the feather close to his eyes to see the name written on it and froze. Then he said very quietly:
«Calhoun…» Mister Wellington’s eyes went slowly up to look at William, then, just as slowly, dropped back to the inscription.
«What’s surprised you so much?» William asked.
But Mister Wellington, still silent, bent over the open book and started looking through it quickly.
The book itself deserved a special mention. Its feathered black cover seemed to be alive, and distant bird cries that were coming from its pages terrified William. Soon, Mister Wellington found the page he needed and pressed the tip of the feather to it. At the same moment, the book slammed shut on its own accord. Mister Wellington barely had time to lift the feather from the page in one quick movement. Then he looked up at William and said strictly:
«Your feather, young wizard! Under no circumstances it can be registered in this book!»
«But…» William had no idea what was going on. «Why?»
«The registration record with the information about your feather…»
«What’s wrong with it?»
«…has been in the Feather Tome for a long time, which automatically excludes its second registration!»
«Whose name is it registered under?»
Mister Wellington opened the Feather Tome again on the required page, scanned the entries and found the one he needed.
«The name of the owner disappeared from the pages of the Feather Tome long time ago!» he said strictly.
«What does this mean?» William started to feel really worried.
«That he is long dead!»
At that, William felt completely lost, not knowing what to do now. Meanwhile, Mister Wellington continued:
«Names disappear from the pages of the Feather Tome only in this case!»
«You mean,» William asked once more, «I can’t register this feather again?»
«A magic feather cannot be registered twice, as it cannot serve two owners even if it has been inherited. Thus, allowing you to use it will violate article 64 of the Wizard Constitution stating that illegal use of magic feathers by anyone is persecuted and severely punished by wizhunters. But…» Mister Wellington suddenly fell silent.
«But what, sir?» William had already said a mental goodbye to studying at the Preparatory Course and to everything that came after it.
«…considering the fact that you are using it and that it’s been with you for a long time, besides, it recognizes you as its owner, and if we consider the fact that magic feathers don’t serve strangers… and are free to choose a wizard for themselves…»
«Then what?» This long listing of all the facts and rules William didn’t understand made the waiting completely unbearable for him.
«Then there’s no law violation in this!» Mister Wellington finished his thought.
William felt the lump in his throat starting to melt and his hands stop sweating.
«So I may use it because it is already in the Feather Tome?»
«That’s right, young Calhoun!»
«In that case, thank you,» William said sincerely and turned to leave, but at that moment, the old man called out:
«Mister Calhoun!»
«Yes?» William turned around.
«Always keep the feather close to you and give it to no one! Your feather is able of committing any kinds of heroic acts, but at the same time it is capable of truly horrible things.»
William was overwhelmed with happiness. First of all, he’d registered his magic feather. Secondly, he was up for the unknown study at the Preparatory Course of magic. Perhaps, that was why he didn’t pay due attention to the last words of Mister Wellington and just replied politely:
«I’ll remember, sir! Good day!» and walked towards the door.
At the same moment, a shrill eagle cry pierced the room. He turned around in fright and saw that the nest-shaped counter was empty again and the birds that had been sitting quietly on their places were flying around chaotically, filling the room with the noise.
William hurried to leave the room and shut the door behind himself with relief as he headed to Nymus.
«Master Calhoun!» he called out happily. «I hope everything is fine?»
William nodded and Nymus and he left the Feather Nest and started walking along the street filled with wizards and other creatures, unfamiliar to William.
«Where are we, Nymus?» he asked, looking around this strange street.
«Feather Street!» Nymus replied. «Mostly, visiting wizards live here.»
As they were passing one of the numerous shop windows, William read the name «Fancy Wizard’. There were several dozen dummies with robes of different designs, lengths and colours.
«Did it go well?» Nymus asked again.
«Yes! Partially!»
And William told him about his odd misadventures in detail. Nymus listened quietly, but in the end, he said:
«Do not worry! At least, now you are the owner of a registered feather, which means we can send a letter to the Wizard Education Department and apply for the Preparatory Course! I shall handle it. Master Calhoun has nothing more to worry about.»
«I’m so grateful to you for everything you’re doing for me, Nymus!»
«Serving Master Calhoun is my duty!» he responded.
«Where to now?» William asked briskly.
«I shall peregrine Master Calhoun to the Blackfriars Lane, then I shall return to the Magic Post Office and start on the letter to the Department. The answer should come by the evening.»
With that, he took Williams’ hand and they peregrined.
Chapter six
The Six O-Clocker
Several hours had passed before Nymus appeared again. William busied himself with cleaning his room. As he was tidying up and dusting, he kept thinking about Mr. Wellington’s words and about that other Calhoun who used to wield this feather. Perhaps, that very night, when all Calhouns were killed, someone managed to place their magic feather beside him, right before their death. Because it was clear that the feather could have belonged only to one of his ancestors. But Mr. Wellington made it clear that feathers didn’t serve strangers. Whom did he mean by strangers? It must have been another wizard kin! But, according to Wellington again, feathers couldn’t be inherited! Why did he have this feather? And why did it obey him?
Then he remembered the morning at the Magic Post Office and Vulpik’s reaction to his surname. Vulpik’s reaction wasn’t much different from Wellington’s reaction at the Feather Nest. What could all that possibly mean? William had been pondering about those questions for a long time, but he failed to find an answer. Finally, he dropped this useless activity.
Not long before evening, Nymus came, as promised.
«Good Mail, Master Calhoun!» he raised his hat in a customary movement.
«Nymus!» William was particularly glad to see his mailmage. Because he was supposed to deliver him a letter from the Department with the results of his request about studying at the Preparatory Course. «Have you got any news?»
«Yes, Master Calhoun! I do not come empty-handed!» At this held out his large right palm. And that one clearly had something inside.
William realized that now the expression «not empty-handed» had acquired quite literal meaning for him. «Who knows,» he thought, «perhaps it was made up by mailmages!»
«Do you have a letter from the Department?» he pointed at Nymus’s swollen palm.
«I do! That letter exactly!» Nymus pulled out a blue envelope from his palm pocket and handed it to his master.
William took out the letter and read it aloud:
«Dear Mr. Calhoun!
The Wizard Education Department is happy to inform you that you have been officially granted the status of the Preparatory Course enrolee. You are to complete a year of studies of the special Enrolee Program, within which you are to study such subjects as Featherology, Wizard History Refutation, and Magiflorology. After the year of studying at the Preparatory Course, you will receive grades awarded for each of the abovementioned subjects according to the Fifteen-grade system, which will allow you to enter a MUni according to the total grades you will receive during the Preparatory Course! Please, note that each of the three subjects will be taught for two months. By the end of March next year, you will get a letter with your grades, where you will also find a referral to a relevant MUni.
Best regards,
Daphne Wootton (vice head of the training department)
Enrolee Training Department»
To William Calhoun
13, Blackfriars Lane,
London, England.
William finished the letter and gave the mailmage a happy look.
«I’ve been admitted, Nymus!» he exclaimed. «Admitted to the Preparatory Course!»
«Master Calhoun has chosen to read the letter aloud, so I am already aware of that! Please, accept my congratulations, Master Calhoun! But this is not the only news I have brought!»
He held out his other hand and pulled out another envelope, purple this time.
«Whom is the second letter from?» William asked, puzzled, as he took the envelope from Nymus.
«From the Department as well! It is supposed to come together with the letter about the admittance to the Preparatory Course!»
William opened the second letter and also read it aloud:
«Dear Mr. Calhoun!
The Wizard Education Department is eager to inform you that this Saturday the Annual Enrolee Ball is going to take place, which all enrolees of the Preparatory Course are to attend. Attendance is mandatory. In case you turn the invitation down, your further studies at the Preparatory Course will be annulled and the refusal to take part in the Annual Enrolee Ball will be viewed as disrespectful to the Ball regulations and its organisers. We would also like to inform you that because of the anniversary of the Annual Enrolee Ball, it is going to take place in Germany, at the residence of the president of the International Federation of Wizards, Quincy von Bulberg. To reach this destination, you will need to come to the Cabstation before 5:30 p.m. this Friday, where you are going to take the Six O’Clocker together with other participants of the Ball to travel to the castle. During the ball, all enrolees will receive feathermaps with addresses of the teachers where regular classes of the Preparatory Course will take place.
Please, find your invitation ticket enclosed to this letter. You will need to have it with you as a pass to the Annual Enrolee Ball.
Best regards,
Charlotte Walsh (Enrolee Correspondence Department)
Wizard Education Department»
To William Calhoun
13, Blackfriars Lane,
London, England.
«This cannot be!» William said after he had finished reading the letter. He took the golden invitation ticket out of the envelope and read:
William Calhoun
Participant of the Annual Enrolee Ball
At first, William was thrilled. And no wonder: he was accepted as a full member of the wizard community, invited not just anywhere, but to the castle of the president of the International Federation of Wizards, where wizards come to from all over the world. But in a moment, his delight was quickly replaced by disappointment.
«I’m afraid this isn’t going to work, Nymus!» he said gloomily.
The mailmage didn’t have time to say anything as William continued:
«What am I going to tell Hoggarts?» he pointed at the letter from the Department. «That I’m going to go to Germany to take part in the wizard ball?»
«Master Calhoun is free to act as he wishes!» Nymus said with respect. «If he wishes so, he will go to another place where he will not have to ask for a permission to move around.»
«But where will I go? Where will I live, how will I pay for my needs?»
«Do not worry. I can sign Mister Calhoun for a membership at the Carefree Wizard Fund, where he will be given accommodation, food, clothes, and other necessary things.»
«No, this won’t do!» William refused. «I love Hoggarts and I can’t just leave them like that. They are my family. Not by blood, but still. And they have been taking care of me for so many years and consider me their son. No! I’d better tell Mrs. Hoggart that I’ll spend the weekend at Bobby Atkinson’s place. She knows him, we go to school together, I mean we did, she won’t mind.»
«Well, Master Calhoun knows better!» Nymus agreed reluctantly and added: «It is Thursday already, tomorrow at half past five we need to be at the Cabstation.»
«By the way! What is this Cabstation?»
«Cabstation is the oldest station of London. It is famous for its legendary Six O’Clocker, which is surrounded by so many myths and mysteries it is even hard to imagine! Well, I am not going to spoil the impression with my stories! You will get the chance to see everything with you own eyes tomorrow!»
«Oh, I’m looking forward to it, Nymus! It’s decided, then! When should I expect you tomorrow?»
«Ten minutes before half past five Nymus will be here! Be ready by that time, Master Calhoun.»
«Alright! And now you need to go, Nymus. Hoggarts will come soon! See you tomorrow!»
«Good Mail, Master Calhoun!» Nymus raised his mailmage hat and disappeared with the already familiar sound.
***
It was bright already. And it was raining, quite usual for this time of the year, raindrops beating against the window of the room William was sleeping in. With his nose pressed to his pillow, he was still watching his last dream, when something barely noticeable and soft tickled his nose. For another half a minute William was resisting it, as he kept sleeping, but the insistent irritator covered his face completely. William sneezed loudly and tore his head from the pillow. As he opened one eye, he tried to see who had disturbed his sleep, but the only thing he saw were white hairs that had obscured the world. He pulled out the magic feather that had halfway come out from under the pillow. Lately he placed it there before sleep. Holding the feather tight in his hand, William sat up.
«Listen, buddy,» he addressed the feather strictly. «Let’s agree on one thing: if you want to continue being friends with me, you’ll never wake me up without a reason again. Like it or not, but I’m the boss around here! Otherwise, next time you’re going to sleep under the bed!»
As a reply, the feather seemed to have drooped in his hand, then William said to it, softer this time:
«No offence, alright? Just try not to wake me up in such an unpleasant way. And I was kidding about the bed…»
This made the feather straighten up again, but, probably to show obedience, it moved its hairs a little bit.
«Wonderful!» William said in a satisfied voice and jumped off his bed.
Since the day William stopped going to school, he couldn’t find what to do with his time when he stayed home alone. Before, he devoted all of the time to homework and now, when he stayed at home alone, he just paced his room, waiting for Nymus. This time he wasn’t just waiting for news from him, but Nymus himself. In a few hours, he was going to go to Germany, and since morning, he had an unbearable desire to speed up time to make the time of the trip closer. It wasn’t difficult to convince Mrs. Hoggart to let him spend the weekend at Bobby Atkinson’s place. William stayed with him for a day or two before. Hoggarts trusted William completely and he had never let them down before. So this time it went alright as well. William said that he would go straight to Bobby’s after school, so he said his goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Hoggart and wished them goodnight, then returned to his room and fell asleep soon.
Since morning, William was getting ready for his trip to Germany, pleasantly excited. Though, frankly speaking, the preparation consisted of him patiently lying on his bed, trying to imagine what was waiting for him out there, among other wizards, at the castle of Quincy von Bulberg, and what would the ball be like.
He glanced at his watch – they showed quarter past five. «Nymus should come soon!» he said to himself and started pacing the room again. He checked once again if his magic feather was with him, but it was, so he put it back into his pocket. Then he walked to the window, following some kind of instinct, to see if there was anyone by the door, but then he remembered that Nymus wasn’t in the habit of entering the house through the door. Hoggarts weren’t back yet. They were usually back home not earlier than six, but who knew what their schedule was today. «I wish Nymus would come!» he thought, glancing at the watch.
Nymus came very soon.
«Good Mail, Master Calhoun!»
«Nymus! Finally! I’ve started to worry! I’ve been just lying on my bed all day, having nothing to do, waiting for you to come!»
«You should have written to me! I would have come right away!» the mailmage replied.
«I didn’t want to waste your time! I’ve been at the Post Office and I still remember how many letters were there and other stuff! So I’ve decided to be patient instead and wait for the set hour!»
«Well, there was really a lot to do at the Post Office, what is written stays written!» Nymus sighed. «Has Master Calhoun taken the letter with the invitation to the Ball?»
«Damn!» William swore. «I’ve completely forgotten about it!»
He took the letter from the Department out of the drawer and pulled the invitation out.
«There, we can go!» he said.
«Then hold on tight to my hand!» he gave William his hand and they peregrined.
The familiar peregrining sensation didn’t cause discomfort anymore. Quite the contrary, in that little time that had passed since his first peregrining, he got used to it so much that he couldn’t imagine any other way of travelling. When the peregrining was over, he was terrified to find that he was standing two steps away from giant hooves rushing at him. Frightened, he was going to jump away to avoid being trampled, but large nimble hands of the mailmage held him, preventing him from doing it.
«No, no! It is but a statue, Master Calhoun! We are in the Waiting Hall of the Cabstation!»
It took William a few moments to catch his breath. Once he’d managed that, he felt embarrassed for being afraid of the harmless statue. He soothed himself by the fact that normal statues didn’t have a habit of scaring people, so he had nothing to be ashamed of.
«Even though they are carrying their carriage at full speed, they never leave their niche,» Nymus pointed at the pedestal below.
«It would have been nice to get a warning BEFORE peregrining!» he was still staring at the unusual sculpture. «What are they made of?»
«Common stone,» the mailmage replied casually.
«Yes, but stone has immobile nature, as far as I know. Or are you going to say otherwise?»
«No, I am not!» Nymus smiled. «Wizards have a way of treating stone, Master Calhoun! They are capable of turning it into anything at all. Long time ago, when demits were still in close contact with wizards, this skill made demits call wizards stonemasons. It is no secret that many sculptures of demits were made by wizards.»
«No secret for whom?» even though William got used to Nymus with his strange stories, but sometimes he had to struggle not to go mad from some of them. «Fine, forget it!»
He looked around. The Waiting Hall of the Cabstation was at least several times larger than those of demits. It looked like a giant building with stone slabs on the floor. Perhaps those slabs or perhaps something else gave this rather spacious hall a subtle resemblance to a medieval dungeon where they tortured people. A huge statue depicting a carriage pulled by three giant white elks, which stood in the middle of the Hall, made the atmosphere even gloomier. Stumping their hooves, yet not moving from their spot, the elks were tirelessly pulling the black carriage. But the walls were the most remarkable feature, they had dual nature and kept changing their appearance all the time. William was enjoying the view of the soft ground on the walls that surrounded the Waiting Hall completely when they started to change their colour to darker ones, right before his eyes, until they had completely changed into dark-blue waters of the ocean. Moving from one state to another, the walls filled the Waiting Hall with relevant colours, creating semi-darkness at one point, and submerging it into the ocean at another. William found it most remarkable when the shiny white humps of the elks were lit by blue flares of the water reflected from the walls. The elks seemed so life-like and realistic at that point, that if he’d met them at a zoo, he’d have had no doubts they were alive. His mixed feelings, caused by indescribable fear of the first seconds after arriving to the Cabstation, and now the incredible fascination with this building, were soon replaced by open delight. It was the delight that filled him as he looked around, examining large clocks on tall poles. There were so many of them he couldn’t have counted them all from the first attempt even if he wanted to.
«The mother of all London stations!» Nymus said. He was pleased to see the delight of his master at seeing the majestic Waiting Hall.
«But who built it all, Nymus?»
«Wizards! They are really good at installing such things in buildings,» he pointed at the changing walls made from living nature elements.
«This is incredible!» William cried out, giving the walls another look. They had just submerged the Waiting Hall into semi-darkness by turning into ground. «And this is merely a Waiting Hall! I can only imagine how more important wizard buildings look like!»
«Much more majestic and impressive!» Nymus assured him.
«And what are those clocks on poles? Their arrows move in the opposite direction.»
«They are supposed to be moving in the opposite direction, Master Calhoun. They do the countdown of all arrivals and departures. This clock,» Nymus pointed at the one nearby, «has arrows moving in different directions! For those waiting for this trip it serves as an indication that the trip was moved to a different time. And this one,» he pointed at the clock next to it, «is ours. It shows that three minutes are left until the arrival of the Six O’Clocker. So we should better find our way to the platform.»
«Where’s the platform?»
«Come!» Nymus headed to the window in the far corner that was located right in the wall made of living nature element. William followed him.
There were long benches all around, enrolees sitting there with their parents who had come to see them off to the Ball. Of course, William didn’t know any of them. For a moment, he felt really uneasy because he actually didn’t know any wizards at all. «But at least he had Nymus!» he kept saying to himself. He’ll have time to make friends with wizards. It was too early to fall into despair.
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