Chapter 11: Magic, Part 1

The next morning, Seth woke before his uncle. He lay awake on his bed for a while, wondering how much of the story Herman had told him was true and how much was false, or if any of it was true at all. But Seth knew one thing was certain: his uncle could definitely tell a good story.

Or was he crazy after all? Did he really believe that he was over 1500 years old? But what if it was true? That would be the most amazing thing Seth had ever heard. He lay on his bed, pondering the possibilities, when his uncle came into the room.

"Time to get up," Herman said softly.

"I'm already awake," Seth replied, getting up from the bed.

"Good," Herman said. "I'll meet you downstairs."

As Seth got dressed, he was still wondering about his uncle's sanity and thinking of the stories. Seth thought that his uncle appeared to be normal: He acted normal, talked normally, and did virtually everything normally, but he had to be crazy as a loon. But as Seth jogged down the stairs, he knew that time would tell.

Seth entered the kitchen, acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and helped his uncle fix breakfast. The two said nothing as the bacon was fried and biscuits baked. But once they were sitting at the table, Seth had a thought.

"Uncle Herman," Seth said, "I was thinking that if you're a wizard, then why don't you just wave your magic wand to plant the garden?"

Herman laughed. "Well, that would take all the fun out of it, now wouldn't it?" Herman thought for a moment, and then added, "Also, you develop a sense of pride from working the soil yourself and from the knowledge of a job well done."

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

"Well, didn't you have fun yesterday?" Herman asked, amused.

"Yes," Seth said reluctantly as he slid another piece of bacon onto his plate. "But aren't we going to do anything else while I'm here?"

"Like what?" Herman asked, leaning back on his chair, watching his nephew. He was listening, concentrating deeply while looking into Seth's eyes, as if deciding something.

Seth looked away, thinking, and then turned back to meet his uncle's gaze again. "We're right next to the ocean here. Maybe we can go to the harbor one day? Maybe we can try to find the ruins of the castle you were talking about last night. Maybe we can rent a boat and go out on the ocean. I don't know, but we can do something. Anything." In reality, he also wanted to have some time to himself, and maybe meet some people his own age. After all, the thought of being cooped up all summer with his uncle just didn't have great appeal.

Herman thought for a minute then smiled. "You have an adventurous spirit."

One side of Seth's lips curled into a half smile. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Herman looked at his nephew for a long minute, watching Seth while he ate, his eyebrows pulling together. After another moment, Herman said, "What would you say if I told you that you could do something different today?"

Seth's head popped up and he looked directly at his uncle. "Like what?" Then Seth felt a bit guilty. What if his uncle needed him to help with the garden?

"Like take another trip, to start." Herman studied his nephew's face again. He knew that his nephew was ready. And time was running out.

"Where?" Seth asked, curious.

"Go get your medallion," Herman instructed, not answering the question.

Seth started to ask why, but thought better of it. He felt his heart race. Anything would be better than spending another day in the field. He ran quickly up the stairs, taking two at a time, and retrieved the medallion from the night stand by his bed. Holding it tightly in his grasp, he flew down the stairs to Herman and handed it to him. Herman looked at it for a moment as it rested within the palm of his hand, and then slowly clasped his long fingers around it. He closed his eyes, lost in thought.

"Come with me," Herman said, and then walked away without a backward glance. Herman walked from the kitchen into the great room, toward the stairs as Seth followed. Herman ran his hand along the side of the stairs, as if looking for a lever. "Ah, there it is," Herman said triumphantly. Then he said to Seth with a wink, "It's been a while since I've been down here."

Seth wondered what his uncle meant, but didn't ask. Abruptly, a hidden door slid open under the stairs as Seth watched in amazement. Without another word, Herman walked through the door with Seth on his heels. Through the door was a narrow, wooden staircase leading down under the house.

"I didn't know you had a basement," Seth said in amazement, but Herman didn't answer.

At the bottom of the stairs, the room was dark and Seth couldn't see anything significant within it. Then his uncle raised his hand and a light appeared, filling the dark reaches of the room, looking other worldly. A medium sized table holding a rather large crystal ball was in the center of the room, and behind that rested a giant cast iron pot-a cauldron maybe? And on the far wall were shelves and many jars with labels stacked neatly together on them, leaving no spaces between, reaching from ceiling to floor. On another wall were tall shelves filled with old books: volumes and volumes of tall and short books.

Seth was in awe of the room. There were no windows present, which would account for the total darkness. And dark blue curtains hung along some of the walls. Entering the room was like going back in time.

Seth's mouth was still open when he heard his uncle ask, "Would you like to go to Cambria?"

"What?"

"Would you like to go to Cambria?" Herman repeated, with a slight smile on his lips and a gleam in his eye.

"Are you serious?" Seth asked. "Is it possible?"

Herman's steely gray eyes bore straight into Seth's. Seth knew that his uncle had never been more serious. "Would you like to go?"

Seth didn't have to think twice.

"Yes."