Duality by Rowan Erlking (classic books for 13 year olds txt) 📕

“But why?” Bernum murmured. “Why kill Dad? What did he do to anybody?”

Leaning towards him with a grim look on his face, Dennik whispered, “I don’t think it is what he did, but what he can do. I think this has to do with Malkia going missing. Dad was going to go after her when he suddenly fell sick.”

Bernum looked sharply at his father. The Pharmacist choked for a moment, coughing up the tea then fell back to his pillow. “Did you find any clue to the cause?”

“No.” Dennik wiped up the mess off the blankets, holding the rag with his one finger and thumb. “Whoever did it wanted it to look like it was natural.”

Nodding, Bernum leaned back. “Ok. Then I have an idea. I think it is a toxin mixed with a germ. The toxin weakens him; the germ kills him. We can draw both out with a spell, but it will make him vomit. Do you want to try it with me?”

Dennik nodded vigorously. “Yes. What do I do?”

Both brothers hurried from the room to the kitchen where the cook was working. She sighed with relief when she saw Bernum and silently passed him with a hopeful smile. The brothers went straight to the cook stove.

“Get me milk, horehound, licorice, thyme, mint, ginger, and garlic. We’ll also need some salt.”

Dennik nodded, going after the herbs while Bernum set up the pot. “Are you mixing an expectorant with an anti-parasite potion?”

Bernum nodded. “Yeah. We’ll also have to get some vinegar to start a secondary follow up remedy. We have to nullify the toxin and draw it out. We’ll need—”

“Barberry, chicory, cranberry…” Dennik was already looking for dried herbs that would cleanse the body of toxins. He had by this time built up a reputation for being an excellent Pharmacist. The townspeople were not so scared of him as they had been. It was clear by how well set up the shop had been in the recent years.

“Great.” Bernum called to him. “Bring them all here.”

Gathering all the supplies, the bothers brewed two potions in medium pots over high heat, Bernum reciting a drawing spell while stirring the boiling thick white and thin reddish colored infusions clockwise with a metal spoon: “Rivers flow south. Fish swim to the sea. Draw from the well. Toxins come to me.”

He tapped the northern-side of each pot in their turn, giving the command word, “Trap!”

Then they carried them upstairs to the bedroom, hot pads in hands though already the mixtures were cooling. Dennik administered the first warm potion while Bernum set up a large empty pot at the side of the bed.

“Ok, Dad, what we are about to do will hurt,” Bernum said once their father drank the entire dose, still struggling for breath. “I’m going to make you vomit up the first dose with a summoning spell. I want you not to fight your gag reflex. Ok?”

The Pharmacist nodded, shaking.

Immediately, Bernum drew on the bottom of the pot a summoning spell, speaking the words: “Out from the North. Right from the East. Down from the South. In from the West. Come to this pot all toxins and germs.”

He then looked up at is father, urging him to bend over the pot before enacting the command that would complete the spell.

“Here.”

On command, his father retched. He vomited out all of the potion and then some. It was over two minutes before his stomach settled and he could sit up, but even then he just flopped back to the pillow, faint. Dennik passed over some water.

“It’s ok, Dad,” Dennik whispered, also holding his hand.

“We have to do the second dose,” Bernum said, lifting up the other brew. “I may have drawn out the toxins, but this one is for healing the damage and taking it all out of his system the natural way.” He looked to his father. “Dad, this one is going to give you the runs. So I want you to drink everything Dennik gives you. Ok?”

“Malkia,” the Pharmacist whispered.

Bernum nodded. “I promise I’ll find her as soon as I—”

“No. Go now,” the Pharmacist insisted, even shoving Bernum weakly from the bed.

“I’ll keep Dad safe.” Dennik nodded up to Bernum. “If there is an extra spell I need to finish this, write it down and I’ll do it exactly as you say. I can follow directions.”

Bernum rose, gazing on them both. “Ok. I know you can do all this. I’m just…”

“We know.” Dennik gave him a pained smile. “You’re scared for Dad. So am I. But obviously Malkia is in trouble too far over her head. She needs you.”

Nodding, Bernum stepped towards the door.

“Take money from the till,” the Pharmacist called out, already breathing easier. “Go secretly.”

Bernum nodded. He walked immediately out the door.

Dennik hopped up and followed after him. “Wait! You should leave your magician robe here. And Bernum, let us know what we’re up against. Ok?”

Nodding once more, Bernum turned from the door to go to the stairs. He paused there, looking back at Dennik. “What frightens me is that Malkia can do the same magic I can. If she is trapped, what can I do?”

“Stay free,” Dennik said, looking him hard in the eye, “And get help.”

Exhaling hard as he dwelled on that, Bernum nodded once more.

He went directly to the kitchen and wrote out each spell needed for brewing the same potions as well as for the drawing spell he had just made. Then he begged the cook to prepare a boxed meal for the trip—but she just grinned at him as she handed him an already prepared one in a satchel.

“Good luck,” she whispered, patting his hand.

Nodding to the housekeeper, Bernum turned to get his other things.

So Bernum went out of his home at Yapan dressed in his father’s travel coat, leaving behind the trappings of a magician-in-training, and headed southeast to Kibilla where he intended to visit Ludy to find out what happened to Malkia.

Kibilla was only slightly larger than Yapan. The roads were curvy cobblestone but not difficult to follow. Bernum had to get directions to address he had memorized from writing Malkia all those years, but when he at last reached the cream colored stucco home he got the distinct impression that it had been empty for a while. There were withered plants hanging in the windows and on the ledges. And the front stoop was dirty with leaves crammed in the cracks, signs it had not been swept in months.

“Hello?” Bernum knocked on the door, peering in the side window to see. “Hello? Midwife Ludy? Malkia?”

“No one is home.”

Bernum turned then blinked at a pretty girl standing on the curb with a basket full of produce she had obviously just purchased at the market. She was now on her way home.

“Do you know where they are?” he asked.

She shook her head. “They came back from Donleri and then left really quickly for a job in another town. We haven’t seen them since.”

He set a hand to his head. “Why didn’t she leave me a letter? This is not like her.”

“Are you talking about Ludy? Or Malkia?” Smiling coyly, the girl’s eyes glittered.

Several others paused to see who had stopped at the Midwife’s home. Already, murmuring echoed on the air as Bernum turned to face the door once more. “Did Ludy tell anyone where she was going? A boyfriend perhaps?”

“Why do you want to know?” another girl asked, stepping closer with a slightly harsher expression. But when she saw his face, her eyes widened. She stepped back, pointing. “You’re her brother!”

Bernum nodded, ducking to avoid attention. But already people lost interest and went on their way. The girl waved the watchers off also, recognizing his discomfort very well. She pulled him closer to the wall, whispering.

“I’m sorry. She didn’t just move then, didn’t she?” The girl looked around the area. “I knew something was suspicious when that fancy carriage rode up.”

“Carriage?” Bernum peered at her, glancing around for listeners also. “Tell me all you know.”

Shrugging, the girl jerked her head towards a bench along the wall. She then walked to it, leading him there. Both sat down, and she continued to whisper. “It was a fancy carriage. Four horses, topped with both luggage racks on the roof and a footman. Gold trim. Whoever it was that sent for them, he was powerful.”

Bernum drew in a breath, shuddering to think what mess Malkia had gotten herself into.

“Did Malkia say anything to you before she left?” Bernum asked.

Giving a slight shake of her head, the girl said, “Not really. She just told me that she would be back soon. But that was over four months ago.”

“Did she say which town she was going to?” he asked.

Shaking her head again, the girl frowned. “No. And they were rushed, too. Those men did not give them much time to pack.”

He leaned back then looked to the house. The dust, the dead plants, the closed-curtained windows. No one had come back. Not even Ludy. There was only one thing to do.

Rising, Bernum walked over to the door, pushed on it then set his hand to the door lock. With his finger he drew a circle around the lock, reciting a spell he had invented for a prank at school years ago.

“Turn from the north. Turn from the east, turn from the south, turn from the west, move all barriers and turn the gears. Unlock.” He tapped the keyhole.

Immediately the catch slid, clicking to the side. Bernum pushed the door in.

“Oh my…” The girl murmured, going in after him. “You’re just like her.”

Ignoring that clear indication that Malkia’s magic lessons were not as well-kept of a secret as they had hoped, he entered the home. The door creaked as if stuck for a long time in one position. Looking around the room, stepping onto the dusty laid stone, Bernum’s eyes took in the cobwebs, the dried plants, the dead plants that were meant to be living, the overgrown herbs that were somehow still alive, and the stationary spread out on the table where an unfinished letter sat. Bernum walked right up to it, picking it up. It was from Malkia.

Dear Bernum,

     Vacation in Donleri was fun as usual. Ludy flirted with the men as usual. I discussed with her about my move to Northborder, but she insisted that I go on one last job with her. There’s this wealthy merchant that is paying for us to stay in his home for the delivery of his most recent child. The guy’s got goggle eyes, and he annoys me, but I agreed to do it. So, I get to go to Jonori City, east of here. Ludy says it has an amazing coast too. It will be like going on a second vacation, except this time we get paid. I don’t really care. One last job won’t kill me.

Oh! Bernum, the carriage just rode up to pick us up. They are so pushy. I’ll finish this letter when I get back and tell you all about it. Tell Motik hi for me, and I promise I’ll write Dad as soon as possible. Tell him not to kill Ludy.

It stopped right there. No signature. Nothing. Clearly Malkia never made it back from Jonori.

Bernum turned to the girl. She was staring around at the dust and cobwebs, feeling some between her fingers with a frown. He walked over to her and pulled her aside. “Um…what’s your name?”

“Trikket,” she said.

He blinked at her. “Oh, so you’re Trikket.”

“She talked about me?” The girl smiled at him, her cheeks flushing.

Nodding, Bernum looked back at the table. “Yes. Now I need your help. I’m going to have to go to Jonori to find Malkia—”

“She’s in Jonori?” Trikket blinked, sounding somewhat offended that she had been left behind.

“Focus.” Bernum moved his face into hers.

She backed up, flushing more.

“Now, I