Baker's Magic (Middle-grade Novels) Read online

  “Yes. Well. Mages are not like the rest of you. They are not even like us hedge wizards.”

  “We know that!” Bee burst out. Master Bouts put a finger to his lips.

  “Indeed you do. But what you do not know is that a mage is a wizard of the earth. Like the hedge wizard or hedge witch, in fact, but on a somewhat larger scale. He can control the things of the earth.”

  “Plants, you mean?” Master Bouts asked.

  “Plants, animals. The land itself. But not water. Not the sea. The mages have no power over the sea at all. It is far mightier than they.”

  Bee and Master Bouts look at each other. Bee’s eyes were shining.

  “So,” Bee said, “if a person were in a boat on a canal, could a mage do any magic to hurt him? Or stop him?”

  “Not if the canal led to the sea and had sea water in it.”

  “Oh!” Bee clapped her hands with glee. “That’s very interesting, Master Arjen. Have another bun!”

  “Are you quite sure?” Master Arjen asked, then grabbed a bun from the plate before Bee could reply.

  When the hedge wizard was full of bun and had taken his leave, Bee and Master Bouts began the nightly kitchen cleanup. “I think I know where we will go,” Bee said as she ran a cloth over the stovetop.

  “Oh?” Master Bouts stopped sweeping up flour.

  “You said that a mage’s job is to keep balance in the kingdom. Well, our mage isn’t doing that. In fact, he’s doing the opposite, from what I can tell. Isn’t that right?”

  “Quite so.”

  “There are rules for mages too, aren’t there?”

  Master Bouts nodded.

  “And who makes the rules?”

  “The mages’ council,” Master Bouts replied, raising one silver brow quizzically.

  “Right. The mages’ council. I’ve heard about them. They live on some island, isn’t that right?” Bee asked.

  “It is,” Master Bouts said slowly. In the dim light from the one lamp still burning, Bee could see awareness dawning on his face.

  “We will go there, Princess Anika, Wil, and I. To the island. We will tell them what Master Joris is doing. The princess will be with us, so they will have to believe us. And we will get them to remove Master Joris and give us a new mage and bring Aradyn back to the way it’s supposed to be.”

  CHAPTER 9

  After supper the next day, Bee sent the cooper’s son to the palace with a big plate of Bouts Buns, baked full of exhaustion. Enclosed was a note that read:

  Please accept these as a sincere token of our regret for our apprentice’s misbehavior.

  Humbly yours,

  Hambert Bouts, Baker

  “They’re for the mage,” she warned the boy. “Don’t you take so much as a bite. Believe me, I’ll know if you do.” She gave him a copper and sent him off.

  “What if the princess eats one?” Master Bouts asked.

  “She won’t get the chance,” Bee said. “Master Joris is very greedy. The only reason she got to taste our treats at all was because I brought them to her specially. But I’m hoping the other servants will sneak a helping before they get to the mage. The more of them asleep, the better.”

  Wil came by with his own haversack after sundown. Bee described the visit with Master Arjen and told him the plan she had devised. He approved.

  “We should be safe on the water, then, away from Master Joris’s power,” he said. “And I should think the mages’ council would take action when you explain what Master Joris has done. At the very least, they’ll investigate.”

  From his pack, he pulled a pair of trousers and a shirt. “These are for you, Mistress Blitekin. I remember you dressed like a boy when we first met, and I thought it might be easier for you without skirts. They’re Geert’s—they should fit you well enough.”

  Bee was delighted. To wear trousers again—how she’d missed it! She changed quickly in her little room. The trousers were a bit long, so she rolled them up. To her they were perfect.

  As the hours passed slowly, Wil twitched with excitement, ready to go long before it was time, and Master Bouts fussed and worried, too anxious to sit down. Bee spent a good deal of time reassuring him.

  “I am a fine swimmer,” she said, when he wondered out loud how safe a reed boat on the sea would be. “I grew up by the sea and spent summers paddling in it.” It wasn’t quite a lie. She could swim and had spent much of her childhood by the water, but she was allowed to swim only when the chores were finished, and the chores were very rarely finished.

  “I’m not afraid of the mages,” she told the baker, when he fretted nervously about how a group of esteemed and powerful magicians would react to the demands of a twelve-year-old girl. “The worst they could do is say no.” That was not at all the worst she imagined, but she didn’t want to share her fearful thoughts with Master Bouts and upset him still more.

  At last, it was nearly midnight, and Wil and Bee took their leave. “Perhaps I should go with you,” Master Bouts said, for the fourth or fifth time.

  “On a boat? On the water? You’d die of fright,” Bee said matter-of-factly.

  Master Bouts ran his hands through his white hair in frustration. “It shames me, my girl, but you are right.”

  “We fear what we fear,” Bee said. “You can’t help it. I know you’d come if you could.” She threw her arms around the baker as far as they would reach and squeezed him tight, and he hugged her back.

  “Take care of her,” he said severely to Wil. “I’ll expect you back safe and sound in a week or less.”

  “Tell her to take care of me!” Wil protested. “I’d put my money on Bee against almost anyone.” Master Bouts had to agree with that, and they parted with smiles, much to Bee’s relief. She hated to see the baker distressed.

  “The boat is tied up at the wharf at the end of Oukoop Lane,” Wil told Bee as they made their way through the dark streets. There was a moon, but clouds covered it, so it gave very little light. No one was about. The people of Zeewal were early to rise and early to bed, and their lamps were out by ten.

  “Good,” Bee said. “We haven’t too far to paddle to the palace, then.”

  The reed boat bobbed on its tether in the still waters of the canal. It looked sturdy, and just big enough for three. Bee sat up front in the bow, and Wil took the stern. Their paddles were thick reeds lashed together, shaped to catch and hold the water so they could pull the boat forward easily. It took them a few minutes to find a rhythm, but before long they were moving very quickly up the canal toward the palace.

  “You’re good at this!” Wil said in a low voice, surprised.

  “I lived with a fishing family,” Bee said. “I spent some time in a boat.”

  The canal stopped at the earthen dam that had created the lake in front of the palace. The palace loomed on the far side of the lake. It must have been a bit before midnight, because Princess Anika wasn’t there yet. Or maybe she was late. Bee strained to see through the misty darkness. Was that the princess, hurrying toward them?

  “I see her!” Wil hissed. Bee waved her hand, rocking the boat a bit.

  Anika emerged from the gloom. She wasn’t just hurrying—she was running. And someone was running behind her.

  “Who is that?” Bee said. Then she saw sparks flying upward from the runner’s feet. “It’s Master Joris!” she cried in horror.

  The mage was stumbling as he ran, and weaving a bit, almost as if he’d had too much wine to drink. He stopped once to point at the princess, who sprinted ahead of him around the lake toward the dam. Bee held her breath, sure that some dire magic would come from his finger and cut Anika down, or lift her up and spirit her away. But instead Master Joris tripped on something and fell facedown on the ground as Anika dashed the last few yards to the dam. She stood uncertainly on the embankment above the little boat, and Bee saw the mage st
ruggle to his feet.

  “Jump!” she shouted, and Wil echoed her: “Jump, Princess!”

  Anika glanced behind her at the mage, standing now, and as he raised his hand toward her again, she gathered her skirts together and leaped off the earthen dam.

  It wasn’t very far to jump, but she landed hard in the boat, and something flew from her hand. It was Pepin, rolled into a tight ball of hedgehog terror. Bee scooped him up from the bottom of the boat, and he unrolled partway, snuffling with dismay. Anika wobbled on her feet as the boat tilted to one side, and she slid with it. Bee held on with her free hand, while Wil reached out to grab the princess before she toppled into the water. He pulled her to him and they stood swaying in the little boat face to face for a moment before Wil released her. Bee caught a glimpse of his expression as the clouds scudded away from the moon and its light shone down. He looked dazed.

  “Stop right there!” The mage stood where Anika had been an instant before. In the moonlight his face was furious, and the shock of white in his black hair seemed to glow like lightning. “Return to me, Princess, and I will forgive this transgression. If you do not return, your friends will pay for your disobedience!”

  Anika stood tall, rocking the boat wildly. “I owe you no obedience, Master Joris,” she said in a clear voice. Bee was a little amazed that she could sound so forceful. “I owe you nothing at all—but you owe me my kingdom. Will you give it to me?”

  The mage quivered in rage. Sparks flew from his fingers and rose into the air, forming themselves into shapes. A fiery eagle, its talons outstretched, flew toward them. It shrieked in a terrible, high-pitched tone, and Anika shrieked too in fear, ducking as it flapped overhead. Again the boat nearly overturned.

  “Sit down, or we’ll capsize!” Bee shouted.

  An enormous sparkling snake wriggled down to the water’s edge and hissed at them, but it could go no farther. Blazing bats swooped out of the darkness, coming close enough that they could feel the heat from their wings. Pepin squealed in distress and Anika crumpled to the bottom of the boat, covering her face with her hands. Bee set the hedgehog between her knees, and then she and Wil pulled at their paddles as hard as they could. Toads with flaming eyes leaped toward them from the shore as they passed, disappearing with a sputter when they hit the water. One landed in the boat, and the reeds started to smolder. Wil cried out, and Bee remembered his terrible fear of fire. Swiftly she knocked the toad into the water with her paddle, and the princess scooped a handful of water into the boat to cool the sizzling reeds.

  And then they passed under the Lelykade Bridge, and they could no longer see the mage.

  They paddled on for a time in silence. Bee could feel the boat quaking from Anika’s shivers, but she said nothing. At last the shaking stopped. Anika uncovered her face and sat up straight.

  “I didn’t know there would be another accompanying us,” she said to Bee, struggling to keep the quiver out of her voice.

  Bee turned on her reed seat. “That’s Wil Weatherwax, the son of the blacksmith. It’s his friend’s boat.” The hedgehog’s quills poked uncomfortably into her legs as she rowed, and she handed him back to Anika.

  “I see,” Anika said, stroking Pepin. “Then I thank you, sir, for your aid in my time of direst need.”

  “I—I am glad to be of help, Your Highness,” Wil stammered.

  “Really,” Bee said, “can’t we be less formal? We’re in this together, after all. If we sink, we all go down as one.”

  “Quite so,” the princess replied. “Then you must call me Anika, Master Weatherwax.”

  “And you must call me Wil, Your … Anika.”

  They paddled quietly as the dark clouds blew away, and one by one the stars came out. Then Wil said, “Do you think Master Joris will send someone after us, Anika?”

  “He may try, but they are all asleep. It’s very strange. Even the guard could not be roused. He snored at his post as I tiptoed out. Uncle Joris was incensed!”

  “Ha!” Wil snorted. “That’s our Bee’s handiwork!”

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  Wil explained Bee’s special baking skills to the princess, and Anika drew in a sharp breath.

  “Why, Bee! Is that why I felt such rapture when I first ate your tarts?”

  “Well … yes,” Bee said uncertainly. Perhaps Anika didn’t like the idea of having her emotions swayed by pastry.

  “And today you baked in … sleepiness? Is that why the servants slumbered?”

  “I didn’t know if it would work for certain,” Bee admitted.

  “You’re magic! And so very clever!” Anika marveled. “Even Uncle Joris was affected. He dozed off after dinner, and then when he pursued me—that must be why he stumbled so. I do wish I had a skill like that!”

  “You’re a princess,” Wil pointed out. “You don’t really need a skill.”

  “What a foolish thing to say,” Anika chided him. “A good ruler needs all manner of expertise.”

  Bee couldn’t see Wil’s face, but she could imagine how embarrassed he must feel at the rebuke. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Of course you’re right.”

  “But I have none of those proficiencies,” Anika went on. “I’ve had no chance to learn them, with Master Joris in charge of my education. I see now that he taught me very little that would be beneficial to me as a queen.”

  “You still have time to learn,” Bee said.

  “And maybe you can learn to be a bit more agreeable while you’re at it,” Wil added under his breath.

  “Wil!” Bee protested. First names or not, that was no way to speak to a princess. But Wil didn’t apologize this time. Quiet descended on the boat once more.

  “Where exactly are we going?” Anika asked after a time.

  “The Island of the Mages,” Bee answered. She described the hedge wizard’s visit and her own plan, and Anika clapped her hands, pleased.

  “It’s a marvelous idea!” she exclaimed. “Of course the mages’ council will disapprove of Master Joris’s behavior, and his scheme for me. Oh Bee, you are a wonder!”

  Bee flushed in pleasure. No one had ever called her a wonder before.

  The slight current in the canal moved in the same direction as the boat—toward the sea. Still, paddling was hard. Bee began to rest after every few pulls on the paddle. Her arms and shoulders throbbed, despite the muscle she’d built from kneading dough and rolling out crusts.

  “Let me paddle for a time,” Anika said, noticing her frequent stops.

  “No, no, I’m fine,” Bee protested, but Anika edged toward the bow.

  “I can take a turn,” the princess insisted. “Rest your arms.” The girls exchanged places carefully, and Anika plunged her paddle deep in the canal and tried to push it backward. An arc of water flew up behind her, spraying Wil from head to foot.

  “Watch out!” he sputtered, and Bee clapped a hand over her mouth to hold back a hoot of laughter. Anika was horrified.

  “I’m so sorry!” she said again and again. “Really, it was quite unintended! Oh, I’m so very maladroit!” She pulled a kerchief from her bodice and passed it to Bee.

  “That’s what you get for being rude to a princess,” Bee teased, handing Wil the silken square.

  “Oh Bee, don’t say that!” Anika was so upset she was nearly in tears. “It wasn’t on purpose, I assure you.”

  Wil mopped his face and hair as well as he could with the tiny kerchief and shook his head. “A fitting revenge, I suppose,” he said in a mock-serious tone. “I’ll be more careful with my words next time!” Bee giggled, and Anika, turning in her seat to try to see their expressions, realized they were making fun of her. For a moment she didn’t seem sure how to react, but then she started to laugh too.

  “Next time, I’ll soak you even more,” she vowed, and she dug her paddle into the water again.

  “Not so deep
!” Bee warned. A short lesson on paddling followed, and soon the little skiff was skimming over the water.

  Bee almost dozed, resting in the bottom of the boat with Pepin in her lap, but a loud splash off to her right roused her. There was a louder one to her left, and whatever had fallen in the water doused her with spray. Then, all at once, splashes surrounded them, and something crashed against Bee’s temple, so hard that the night sky spun before her eyes.

  “It’s rocks!” Wil called. “Cover your heads—the rocks are throwing themselves at us!”

  Dizzy with the impact from the rock, Bee couldn’t make sense of Wil’s words. Then she understood. “Master Joris can control the land!” she cried. “He has power over the earth—the rocks too!” She wrapped her arms around her head as the stones whizzed by. Most landed harmlessly in the canal, but a few clattered into the boat. One struck Wil on the back, and he let out a pained grunt. They floated slowly down the canal, unable to paddle until the land they passed grew less rocky, and the attack gradually stopped.

  “Is everyone all right?” Bee asked, when several minutes had passed without a flying stone.

  “I’m fine,” Anika answered, straightening up on her seat.

  “I have a bruise I can boast of,” Wil replied. “How many can say they’ve been to war with an army of rocks?” Bee put a hand to her forehead, feeling the warm trickle of blood on her face. There was a bump there the size of a Bouts Bun.

  Soon after, Bee could tell that they were getting close to the sea. The current lapped back toward the boat, and little wavelets started to break against it. Her arms rested, Bee took over at the bow again. The canal had grown much wider and the paddling was harder now.

  They passed a group of ships, their shadowy forms looming tall in the darkness, waiting to unload cargo for the towns and villages of Aradyn. And then, suddenly, it was clear that they were no longer within the protection of the canal banks. They had reached the open water. Instead of knocking against little waves, the boat climbed up swells and then dipped into the ocean valleys between. Bee gripped the reed seat with her knees and paddled fiercely. She didn’t dare look behind her to see if Anika was all right for fear she would tip them.