The Alchemaster's Apprentice - By Walter Moers Page 0,49

treetop stirring in the breeze.

‘Very nice,’ said the Alchemaster, rubbing his hands. ‘An eagle, a rat and a Nurn. A bird, a mammal and a hybrid. What species does that leave?’

‘I’ve seen enough, actually,’ Echo ventured to put in. ‘Can’t we leave it at three? I’m impressed enough by your show as it is.’

‘No, no!’ Ghoolion replied with a smile. ‘You underestimate your own stamina. You’ve plenty more. After all, you wanted to play a game, didn’t you?’

Echo thought it wiser not to answer. He would only spur Ghoolion into making his creations still bigger and more horrific.

‘You say you’re bored,’ said Ghoolion. ‘Well, what’s the opposite of boredom? Excitement? Adventure? Suspense? Fear? Desperation? Mortal terror? You’re still just a youngster. You’ve yet to learn the advantages of boredom. If you lived to my age - which you won’t! - you’d learn to appreciate it. Given that you won’t survive that long, I propose to teach you a lesson - one that’ll gain your respect for boredom.’

He knelt down in front of the Anguish Candle and raised his left arm. Then he bent his wrist and joined his fingertips together. A long-necked, flat-headed shadow appeared on the whitewashed wall.

‘Oh,’ Echo exclaimed in relief, ‘a swan!’

‘No,’ said Ghoolion, ‘we already have a bird. Our collection still lacks a reptile.’

He narrowed his eyes, and a few almost imperceptible movements of his wrist sufficed to convert the swan into a snake, a black reptile with its head erect and its long body slightly arched.

The Alchemaster leant forwards and held his arm so close to the candle that he almost scorched it. The shadow of the serpent’s body on the wall was magnified many times over. Ghoolion whipped his hand away, clicked his fingers and clapped his hands, all in a single lightning movement, then rose from his kneeling position.

Echo was mesmerised. The shadow on the wall wove its huge reptilian body to and fro and opened its jaws to reveal teeth as sharp and pointed as daggers. The snake emitted such a piercing hiss that it jolted Echo out of his trance. He took refuge under the chair.

‘Everything has a shadow of its own,’ Ghoolion whispered. ‘A shadow is the dark being that dwells within everything and everyone. As long as it’s chained to us it’s our slave, but once it detaches itself from its owner it displays its true nature, becoming evil, wild and dangerous. Well, there’s the entertainment you wanted - enough of it to render my continued presence here superfluous. Goodnight.’

Before Echo could reply, the Alchemaster had hurried out of the chamber and locked the door behind him.

Echo was taken aback. What was this meant to be, a test of some kind? If so, he didn’t know which of his talents was in question. An ability to get out of this room unaided? If that was it, he’d already failed: no Crat could open a door, let alone a locked door. No, this wasn’t a test or a practical joke; it was a form of punishment.

He peeped out from under the chair and took stock of the situation. The black eagle was still perched on the mantelpiece, the rat scurrying back and forth along the skirting board, the gigantic serpent swaying to and fro like a metronome, the Nurn tottering around on its long, stiltlike legs.

Echo was calm enough now to think things over. The door presented no escape route as long as Ghoolion failed to return and there wasn’t any other hole in the wall or floor he could squeeze through. Wait a minute, though, what about the chimney? If the smoke flap was open, he ought to be able to climb up the flue provided its sides were rough enough to offer a pawhold. Once on the roof, he need only make his way back into the castle through the Leathermousoleum.

However, taking this route would be strenuous and not without its dangers. He might get stuck in the chimney and suffocate, or fall down it and break all his bones. A flue could taper towards the top and end by becoming too narrow. Climbing up was always easier than climbing down, which would be a risky proposition.

The more comfortable alternative was simply to go on lying beneath the chair and wait for Ghoolion to return. If he succeeded in getting used to the presence of these shadowy creatures, he might even be able to take a nap. He curled up in a ball and tried to ignore their