Peggy Goody: Savajic's Apprentice Book 3

By Charles S. Hudson

At last Peggy is on her way to the home of Savajic Menglor; her first taste of wizard magic is when the car taking her there takes to the sky and transports her there in minutes. But nothing could have prepared her for the amazing world of the wizards and the magic that she is about to encounter.
Peggy mixes blood with Savajic and takes an oath of wizard secrecy; now she is ready to learn magic. As her powers grow she becomes a target of the Black Watch, an evil underground movement of powerful wizards who are bent on taking over the wizard world. She is thrust into a situation of kill or be killed. Her life is about to change in a brutal waywill she be able to stay ahead?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Nov 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490716954

Charles S. Hudson

Born in Birmingham, England, in 1938, I grew up in a country at war and spent many hours in air-raid shelters with bombs dropping all around. Grown-ups would gather us around and tell us stories. This is the kind of storytelling spirit that I think would appeal to the public

Book preview

Chapter 1

Savajic’s Home

T he two days of waiting had flown by, and it was time for Peggy to leave for Savajic’s home. Henry had arrived at the cottage and was ready to take her there. She said goodbye to her mother, and gave her a hug. I’ll see you in three weeks’ time, she said, and got into the car.

The journey was very strange indeed. As the car turned into the lane, window shutters came up, and the car lifted off into the air. Don’t be alarmed, said Henry. This is how wizards travel. Soon they were up and in among the clouds, and it felt strangely smooth and silent. Then, after what felt like just a few minutes, they were descending. There was a slight bump, and the shutters went down. They were on the ground again, and moving smoothly down a tree-lined driveway. She could see a large lake on her left-hand side, and to the right were green fields that stretched away out of sight. Coming up in front was a field with horses grazing.

Her eyes opened wide when she saw the home of Savajic Menglor. It was magnificent; a stately home that looked like a palace. It had wide, white stone steps leading up to the house, and on each side was a stone pillar with a beautiful black marble eagle perched on top that looked like they were keeping guard. The steps had a balustrade that had been cut from solid pieces of stone and led up to and around a wide terrace that stretched across the width of the building. Two pillars held a Corinthian-style roof over the entrance, and on the large oak doors were two black iron eagle heads.

The car drew to a halt at the foot of the steps and she got out. Savajic and Owen were standing there, ready to greet her. Welcome to our home, said Savajic. Please come in. As they walked up the steps, Peggy counted twenty. Both of the doors opened wide as they approached; it was Savajic’s way of saying welcome. The inside was breathtaking; every single detail had been restored to its original glory.

It’s beautiful, said Peggy, unable to stop herself from looking all about her. It’s beautiful.

I take no credit for any of it, said Savajic. I merely had it restored. I believe that it would be very unwise to try and tamper with a Vanburgh masterpiece. Now Peggy, let Cooper show you to your room.

This way, Miss Peggy, said Cooper. He picked up her suitcase and started to walk toward the wide central staircase. Peggy followed him up the stairs, and at the top was a large central landing with a handsome-looking table. On it was a magnificent flower arrangement, above it was hung a life-size oil painting of a beautiful lady with long black hair. She was smiling, and in her arms she was lovingly holding a baby.

Peggy stopped and looked up at her; for a fleeting moment she could see her mother in her eyes. She was Master Savajic’s wife, and she is holding the baby Owen in her arms, Cooper whispered to her, then he turned to the right and walked up another six stairs. He passed three rooms and stopped at the fourth. This is your room, Miss Peggy, he said, opening the door. Peggy walked in and looked slowly around at all the beautiful things. It was as large as all of the rooms in the cottage put together. I’ve put you next to Master Owen, said Cooper. There is a balcony overlooking the rear gardens. I hope that it meets with your approval. Lunch will be served at one o’clock in the dining room, and Master Owen is waiting downstairs to show you around when you are unpacked.

If you put your suitcase on the bed and open the lid, it will look after itself. Peggy looked at Cooper, and then at her suitcase. Whatever did he mean? She lifted it up and put it on the bed and opened it. Suddenly the top drawer of a large chest of drawers opened, and her clothes began to fly through the air and place themselves neatly away. As it closed, a second drawer opened, and so on, until all her clothes were put away. Then the case snapped shut, flew through the air, and tucked itself neatly into a corner. She looked over at Cooper in amazement. Cooper smiled at her and said, You will soon get used to it all, Miss Peggy. And now if you go downstairs, Master Owen will be waiting for you.

Peggy started down the staircase. Her heart was pounding, she was so excited. Owen was at the bottom of the stairs, looking up. Come on, Peggy, he said. We can see quite a bit before lunch. He held out his hand; she took it, and he led her through to the rear gardens. They were wonderful. Peggy asked him how many gardeners worked there to keep everything in such good condition. There aren’t any, said Owen. Father has put a Refreshment spell on all of the gardens so that they never need to be watered or looked after by anyone, and the lake is the same; it cleans itself. The only things that Father hasn’t put a spell on are the animals. He said that they should roam the estate in a natural way, and make their homes where they choose to. The horses and the dogs like to have company, and Father likes to have them treated well, so he had a house built next to the stables for the stable and kennel staff to live in. We can go there first if you’d like to.

Yes please, said Peggy, and off they went.

Do you ride at all? asked Owen.

No, I’ve never tried, she said.

It’s the best way to see the estate; come on, I’ll show you how. You’ll soon get the hang of it.

Chapter 2

Peggy’s Horse

A s they got closer to the stables, several of the horses came up to the fence to greet them. They’re so beautiful, said Peggy. Do they have names?

Oh, yes, said Owen, and started to laugh. Let me introduce them to you. The two black stallions are Black Lightening and Black Prince, and the two white mares are Peg and Rosie.

I don’t believe it, said Peggy. How could you have possibly known that we would come here?

We didn’t, but as soon as your mother said yes, Father went and purchased them. He has been looking for new stock, and knew exactly where to find them.

Which one of the horses is called Peg? she asked.

Look at their foreheads, said Owen. One has a black star; that’s Peg.

Can I stroke her? she said.

Well, I think that you can do better than that; you can ride her.

But I’ve never been on a horse before, said Peggy. I’ll probably fall off.

Not off this one, you won’t. I’ll make double sure that you’re safe. Now let’s go and find Jenkins, and get him to saddle them up for us.

The horses had been chosen very carefully by Savajic for their gentle manner, and although he had not put any spells on the horses, he had put one on all of the saddles, so that as soon as the horse was mounted, the rider blended into it and became as one with the saddle. This made it impossible to fall off. An easy solution to stop any unfortunate mishaps, Savajic had said to Owen when he placed the spells.

Jenkins was in the stables with two of the stable boys. They had all just come back from their morning gallop and were brushing down the horses. He looked around as they walked in. Good morning, Master Owen. Are you taking out Black Prince this morning?

Yes, I would like to, Owen said. And I would like you to meet my friend, Peggy Goody.

Pleased to meet you, Miss Peggy, said Jenkins, wiping his hand on his riding breeches and holding it out to Peggy.

She shook his hand and said, And I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Jenkins.

Is Miss Peggy going to take out Peg today? She’s ready. The lads gave Peg and Rose a good outing yesterday and said that they were both fine.

Yes, said Owen. We just want a couple of hours’ riding before lunch.

Jenkins called the boys over. I want you to nip over the field and bring Black Prince and Peg, and get them saddled up and ready to ride.

Yes, Mr. Jenkins, said one of the lads, and off they went. Fifteen minutes later they were mounting their horses. Peggy couldn’t believe how at ease she felt; the saddle was perfect, and really comfortable. Of course, she was unaware of the spell that Savajic had put on it.

Owen led the way out of the stables and down along the edge of the lake. It was beautiful. There were swans and several kinds of ducks swimming around, and a family of geese with ten little goslings swimming in a line. Owen told her that many different types of fish lived in the lake, and some of them were quite big. Are there any Scaleygills in there? Peggy asked him.

Owen looked at her in surprise. How do you know about Scaleygills?

I met some once in a lake like this, when I was rescuing a boy from drowning.

Well, to answer your question, yes, there are some. But they live at the uppermost part of the lake by the cliffs. Father put an invisible barrier up when he discovered that there was an underwater passage that led to another great lake, and that is where they had come from. They rode on for about an hour, talking and laughing; it seemed to them both that they had been friends with each other for ages.

Chapter 3

The Tree House

T hey had turned away from the lake and were heading back to the stables, and in front of them stood a massive oak tree. It had grown with a split trunk, and formed a perfect V-shape. Ten yards up was a tree house. Wow, said Peggy, what’s that?

A tree house, Owen explained. Father built it for me when I was six years old; would you like to have a look?

Yes, I’d love to, Peggy said. They dismounted from their horses and walked up to the tree. Your father doesn’t do things by half; it’s wonderful.

Can you climb? asked Owen.

A bit, said Peggy. Do you want to race me to the house?

Owen looked at her and smiled. It wouldn’t be fair, he said, because he had climbed it so many time before.

Don’t worry about that, she said. I’ll do my best; you never know.

OK then, on your mark, get set, go! Peggy watched Owen go; he was quite good. She stood under the house and said, UP—UP. She was there in a second. She sat on the side of the house and said, DOWN—DOWN. Her legs shot back to normal size. Then she stood up and walked over to the side that Owen was climbing up. When he got to the top, his face was bright-red, and he was gasping for air. He looked up at Peggy in disbelief. How on earth did you do that? he gasped.

I’m just good, said Peggy, and they both burst out laughing.

At lunch, Owen told his father of their race up to the tree house, and how he had been shamed by a girl. If the story ever got back to Black Eagle, he would never live it down. Savajic smiled. "Don’t worry too much, my son. Peggy had a little help from her friends. She possesses a great