The Adventures of Benjamin Skyhammer by Nicole Sheldrake Page B

a maelstrom of pain and despair. Maybe a pointed stick in your heart. Funny that a woman with the name Spark could so totally douse a flicker of love. But they had just been kids anyway. He was over it now. Not bitter at all. He unclenched his jaw. He didn't want these memories carrying him back to the Retrograph Vault and the Academy but they were like a tidal wave and he was the beach.
    He'd never figured out why Spark left without saying goodbye. His Keeper of the Retrograph Vault ceremony was supposed to be the day they showed everyone they were officially a couple. She never showed up to the ceremony and never again at the Academy. In three years, he'd heard nothing.
    In the beginning, he'd thought she had been kidnapped. The Academy's principal took him aside when she heard that rumour and told him that Spark had withdrawn from the school and wasn't coming back. The principal didn't reveal why.
    He'd spent a week in the weapons room, going through sword forms and fighting anyone who came in. Slept there too. Even Higgins left him alone. Spark was the only other person he'd met that was born without magic powers. They'd planned to be Relic hunters together, him and Spark, looking for magic together. He wasn't going to hang around, visit the Retrograph Vault once a week, and eat himself to an early grave like the last Keeper.
    Then Spark was gone. The only person who could understand, really, truly understand what it was like not to have magic powers. She'd dealt with her lack of magic with more violence but still, they'd finally found each other. How could she just leave like that? A jolt of hurt rocked him, surprising in its force. He thought he'd moved on. He imagined putting the feelings into a box and tossing them onto a bonfire. Better.
    The light had brightened perceptibly and with it, Skyhammer's mood. They were nearing the Retrograph Vault. A loud growl erupted from behind him. Skyhammer twisted around, sword held high, eyes darting left and right. "I thought I heard a bear."
    "You did. I'm un-BEAR-ably hungry!" Higgins rubbed her stomach.
    Skyhammer groaned. "We'd better get you fed. Your brain's turning to mush." He led the way to an open glade off the trail.
    As they chewed on spicy dried meat and sipped from their water flasks, the twittering of birds rose around them, curious squirrels stopped by and the sun warmed their skin. The horses munched grass on the other side of the glade. Higgins and Skyhammer opened their Whorls.
    Glancing over at his partner, Skyhammer was not surprised to see tears sliding down her cheeks as she flicked through her Retrographs. Polygon. He slid over beside her and put his hand on top of hers.
    She smiled at him through her tears. "She was my best friend."
    Skyhammer nodded. "She gave up her life for you. For what we're doing."
    Higgins leaned her head on his shoulder. He inhaled her vanilla scent, wishing he could take her pain away or dull it at least. At last, she stood up, eyes dry, and closed her Whorl. "We have to find this Sorcerer before she kills the King and stops the ceremony." She pulled him up. "Let's go." Higgins led the way this time.
    Tired from their sleepless night, Skyhammer stared at her horse's swaying rump, eyelids sagging, mind wandering. The drawings of the Wall were done by a talented Byndari artist. Skyhammer felt relieved that he had had a chance to view the drawings again at the Palace. The Sorcerer had turned over his first set of drawings. Would he . . .? He opened his Whorl and flicked to the drawings in the Palace. The first Retrograph appeared.
    He straightened up so fast his lower back spasmed.
    The Retrographs had been changed again. His Retrographs.
    "Higgins?" he squeaked.
    She turned in her saddle, concern crossing her face when she saw him. "What happened?"
    Shaking his head, he stared at the Retrograph in front of him. The table in the Palace was still covered with the five drawings. But the papers had all been flipped over so only their