Sorcerer's Apprentice--Tink

[Maxim Horvath]

"I think we shall as well." Horvath held his palm out flat for her to alight on. "Now, I have a little game I think you might enjoy." The idea had just occurred to him as he talked with Tinkerbell, and not only would it suit his purposes, he rather thought she might like it as well. "I have already accepted a few students, but their training will not begin for a little while yet. One of them is a young woman named Roberta Moreland. I would like you to go to her. She has a ring like this-" The sorcerer held up his other hand to display his own focus ring, "shaped like an eagle in flight, with a strong scent of magic around it. I want you to move it about, make sure it is always where she can see it. Be very careful that you are not seen, alright?" Moreland was the most headstrong of his students, and he wanted to encourage her to meddle and play with things she wasn't ready for. "If she starts to use the ring for magic, I want you to tell me about it."

[Tink]

Tinkerbell settled on his palm, and giggled. "Two kinds of hide and seek in one. I've never known that a grown-up could come up with good games." She flittered up, circling him, looking at the room.

"Where is she? Is she here?"

[Maxim Horvath]

He grinned. She hadn't seen anything yet. He did love these little games with people. They were amusing.

"I enjoy playing games," he told her. "Miss Moreland is not here at the moment, but I know where she is. Her Incantus- the book that has all her spells in it- has a tracing spell on it that I set in place."

A tiny spark of blue magic appeared over his open palm. It seemed to strain in one direction, like a dog being held back by a leash. "Follow this, and you'll find the girl."

[Tink]

Tinkerbell eyed the blue spark suspiciously for a moment, then nodded sharply. "Right. Be there and back again faster than you can say 'straight on til morning.'"

He released the spark, and Tinkerbell went after it, keeping close on its tail. It didn't lead her far--only a few streets away from Maxim's home. She found a crack in the wall, and carefully crept inside. After all, she wasn't to be seen.

The girl was sleeping. Tinkerbell made a face at her, before looking around the room. The blue spark settled over a book on the bedside table, before going out.

Now, the real problem...where to find the ring. Tinkerbell flittered around the room, but there was nothing like what Maxim had described. Dejected, she landed on the bookcase, next to a gryphon bookend. It wasn't very large, though it seemed huge to Tinkerbell.

She hit it, out of frustration. If she failed in this, Maxim wouldn't want to play with her anymore. But her tinker ears caught something odd. She straightened, looked the bookend up and down, and hit it again. There!

Just to be sure, she flew over to the over bookend, and hit it. Sure enough, it sounded solid. Or at least, more solid than the previous one. Tinkerbell clapped her hands in joy. Then she quickly quieted--she was supposed to be careful, and she hadn't found the ring just yet.

Going back to the first gryphon, Tinkerbell carefully circled the base, until her clever fingers caught a latch at the back, near the bottom. She had to push it hard, but it finally went in. And then a little box, hidden inside the base, popped out in the front.

Tinkerbell went to look. Sure enough, there was the ring, just like Maxim had said. Tinkerbell picked it up--it was heavy to fly with, but she managed--and went over to the bedside table. Then she carefully placed the ring next to the Incantus. Going back to the bookend, she strained and pushed, until the hidden box was hidden again. Then she was out the window, and flying back to her new friend, laughing and swirling through the night air.

[Maxim Horvath]

CLOSED