Blood of Ravens

by Jen McIntosh

  The fog closed in around her once more, and she shook her head to clear it, but she knew it wouldn’t work. Nothing worked. No matter how hard she tried, whenever she thought about that night in the Ravenswood, her thoughts grew muddled and confused. Like she was drowning.

  Sensing eyes on her, she glanced up. Her mother was looking at Lucan with a curious expression on her face. At the other end of the table, Farran and Renila were still trying to avoid looking at each other. She almost snorted out loud. Something had changed between them, and they were mad if they thought no one else noticed. She’d known that Renila and Farran had feelings for each other since she was about five years old. While part of her disapproved of Farran’s apparent disregard for his vows, a larger part was pleased – they both deserved happiness. But there was a sinking in her stomach that warned that happiness might be short-lived. Lord Alvar seemed less than pleased about the tender glances between the two dinner guests on either side of him. He’d been in a foul temper ever since Renila had entered on Farran’s arm. His dark mood had grown more noticeable with each course as Renila paid less attention to him and focussed more on the handsome Captain across from her.

  Suriya’s gaze drifted to the end of the table, and she saw Lord Alvar watching her. She looked back to her plate as her cheeks warmed with embarrassment, but the prickling sensation on the back of her neck told her he was still studying her. She reached for her goblet – filled only with water – to hide her face while she considered him.

  He was not their father, that much was clear to her. He looked nothing like them, with his black hair and strange purple-grey eyes that churned like storm clouds. At least the Lady could, perhaps, have passed for Lucan’s mother, but only at a glance. While they shared similar traits in their silvery hair and blue eyes, they were not the same.

  Besides, their faces weren’t similar. Neither she nor Lucan looked anything like their mother, but they at least looked like each other. Lord Alvar’s description of them as the sun and the moon was apt, she realised, as she studied her brother over the rim of her goblet. When they’d been younger, Lucan’s face had been like a mirror to her own. Now, the differences were more obvious. But they shared the same cheekbones, the set of their eyes, the full mouth with the top lip almost too plump for the bottom. Apart from their colouring, they were near identical. She had known for years that neither of them looked like their mother, had always assumed that they looked like their father. But whoever their father was, it wasn’t Lord Alvar. The man’s face was nothing like theirs.

  She glanced up at him again and was struck by a sense of familiarity. Though she could not place where, she knew she had seen his face before. She met his eye and his lips twitched, as if he were resisting laughter. She wondered if he could read her thoughts, like her mother sometimes could.

  He winked.

  Suriya went still.

  Instinct had her itching towards her brother. If only there were some way she could speak to him without alerting the Lady.

  ‘Lucan,’ she whispered inside her head, praying for her brother to look at her. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lord Alvar shake his head imperceptibly, warning her to silence. And when she noticed her mother’s attention on her, she realised why.

  The Lady was watching her, her brows creased in thought.

  ‘Suriya,’ she said, ‘are you alright?’

  ‘I think I ate too much,’ she admitted, patting her stomach.

  Lucan was watching her now, his concern loud enough that it almost seemed he was speaking straight into her mind. ‘What’s wrong?’

  She could hear his voice in her head. How was that possible? The fog descended upon her once more, and she shook her head, begging it to clear. It made her sick. It was a sweet, cloying mist that clung to every facet of her mind, making it sluggish. She panicked, thrashing around in her mind as she tried to get free of it.

  ‘Quiet,’ she begged him, fear setting in as the Lady Gaelan tensed beside her. ‘We must be quiet.’

  ‘What’s happening?’ Lucan asked. ‘Why can I hear your voice in my head?’

  ‘Lucan, be quiet!’ Suriya screamed. ‘It’s not safe!’

  ‘Suriya?’ he said out loud, reaching across the table for her.

  Beside her, Renila took her hand and squeezed. ‘Suriya, what’s wrong?’

  ‘I feel sick,’ she mumbled, staggering to her feet. There was no way out, no way through the fog as she tried to remember. Her heart was pounding, every instinct in her body screaming at her, but her mind was in chaos. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. The room was spinning.

  Then a pair of strong hands closed around her arms and cool fingers brushed her brow. ‘It’s alright, I’m here,’ Lord Alvar breathed in her ear. Then powerful arms were around her, lifting her and cradling her against a broad, warm chest. Then all she knew was darkness.

  Lucan paced in the corridor outside Suriya’s room. After she’d fainted, their father had carried her to her room and closed the door behind him. He’d allowed their mother in, but he was clearly furious with her about something. Renila waited outside with Lucan, though Captain Farran had needed to return to his post.

  ‘What’s taking so long?’ Lucan muttered. He needed to see his sister. Needed to understand what had happened. How he had been able to hear her voice in his head.

  ‘She needs rest,’ Renila soothed. ‘I’m sure they’ll let you in soon.’

  ‘She needs me,’ he growled.

  ‘I know,’ she murmured. ‘But you’d know if there was something wrong.’

  Lucan froze, staring at her. ‘How can you know that?’

  ‘You’re special, Lucan,’ she breathed, her gaze distant but her voice certain. ‘You’re both special.’

  Lucan had opened his mouth to ask what she meant when the door to Suriya’s room banged open, and the Lady stormed out without a word. Lord Alvar appeared in the doorway with a dark look on his face as he watched her leave. He shook his head and turned to look at Renila and Lucan. His expression softened.

  ‘She’s awake and asking for you,’ he told Lucan with a smile as he stood back and held the door open for him. Lucan looked back at Renila, but she just shooed him forward. As he passed his father, Lord Alvar asked Renila, ‘Are you just going to wait out there all night?’

  But Lucan didn’t wait for Renila’s response. He crept closer to his sister’s bed. She was still wearing that ridiculous dress, though someone had at least removed the pins from her hair and loosened the tight lacing around her chest. Her face was pale and drawn, but she smiled when he approached.

  ‘Lucan,’ her voice whispered in his mind, as if she were too weak to speak aloud.

  ‘I’m here,’ he replied. ‘How is this happening?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘But we have to be careful. I don’t think it’s safe.’

  ‘Suriya!’ Renila interrupted as she joined Lucan at Suriya’s bedside. ‘How are you?’

  His sister smiled. ‘Better,’ she assured Renila. Her eyes flickered over Lucan’s shoulder to where Lord Alvar hovered. Renila’s eyes narrowed, but she let it go.

  ‘Well, we should let you rest,’ she said, turning to leave.

  ‘How about a bedtime story first?’ said Lord Alvar.

  Even Lucan noticed Renila flinch.

  ‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea,’ she remarked. ‘The Lady made it quite clear that she didn’t approve of my stories.’

  Lord Alvar smirked and settled himself into an armchair by the fire, spreading his hands. ‘Don’t be such a wuss. The Lady isn’t even here,’ he taunted with a sly grin. Renila’s lips twitched in response, but she folded her arms across her chest.

  ‘Please, Renila,’ Suriya whispered. Renila sagged and threw her a disgruntled look. Lucan smiled at the guilty flush on his sister’s cheek at the manipulation. At least it meant she’d recovered.

  ‘I thought you two wanted to be treated like adults,’ Renila commented. ‘Adults don’t nee
d bedtime stories.’

  ‘I’m an adult, and I need bedtime stories,’ Lord Alvar piped up.

  Renila glared at him, but he only grinned.

  ‘Fine,’ she hissed, settling herself at the foot of the bed. Lucan whooped, wriggling his way under the sheets with Suriya and made himself comfortable. ‘Which one would you like?’

  Lucan opened his mouth to answer, but Lord Alvar spoke first. ‘Tell us about Kah Resari.’

  ‘That’s a long story,’ Renila noted.

  Lord Alvar shrugged. ‘I like stories,’ he said, his eyes glowing. Something told Lucan that Lord Alvar was quoting Renila’s words back at her, but he didn’t know how he knew that. Renila scowled at him – all but confirming Lucan’s suspicions – and leaned back against the foot of Suriya’s bed, gazing off into the distance.

  ‘It was once against the highest laws of the Graced to mingle the bloodlines. It wasn’t bigotry that spawned such an edict, but a desire to protect their descendants from the warning their maker had given their ancestors.

  ‘But then came the time of great darkness, when the Shade rose once more to conquer the world. The old ways were lost. Ignorant of their heritage and unaware of the risks, the divisions between the four bloodlines crumbled. Elf married Phoenix, Dragon mated Unicorn – many children died, consumed by powers they could not control. And then came one, within whose veins flowed the blood of all four.

  ‘There have been many Graced warriors, and even a few who have transcended into the realms of legend, but none are so worthy of note as Kah Resari. For she alone had the strength to battle the Shade.

  ‘Born in deepest midwinter, she was the daughter of Kalielle Half-Elven and Kah Thoran. Kalielle laboured for three nights and three days to bring their daughter into the world. She gave her last breath for her child, and Kah Resari was born shrouded amongst ashes and smoke.

  ‘But Kalielle was a Phoenix, and not even death itself could hold her. When she rose from the ashes, she looked down upon what she had made and was glad. Magic did not consume the child, as it had others, for fate had chosen her. She was destined to become the greatest and most powerful of all the Graced – a light who would shine so brightly all darkness would be driven from the land.

  ‘In the skies above, the stars themselves fell like rain from the heavens to herald the child’s arrival, and the mightiest of the Graced fell to their knees at the sign. For her birth had been foretold, and they were thankful that she was come, as only she could end the suffering. Legends rose from their slumber, roused by the birth of such power. They travelled through the night so that they might behold the babe, bringing gifts with which to honour her.

  ‘But there was one who feared her more than all others. He was the master of all shadows and brought death and destruction wherever he went. The Shade King, whose name we do not speak. He knew that one day Kah Resari would rise up, and he and his children would perish.

  ‘The years passed, and she grew in grace and might. The magic in her veins was strong, stronger than any of the Graced who had come before her. Even as a child she was deadly to all creatures of the darkness who happened across her. The earth shook beneath her feet wherever she walked, and all who beheld her trembled.

  ‘Knowing that Resari alone had the strength to defeat him, the Shade King sought to destroy her. He had peered into the future and seen that all he had built would be brought low if he did not act. And though she was only a child and would pose no threat to them for many years to come, he knew he had to strike while she was weak. Before she had mastered her powers.

  ‘He sent his creatures of night to find his enemy and break her. She was barely ten years old. Still strong enough to hold her ground and let her friends escape, but even for one as powerful as she, there were too many.

  ‘It was the Lady Kylar who found her body, broken and bent upon an altar. She wept over the body of the child she had failed to protect, and as her tears mingled with the blood of her fallen saviour, the child stirred. She was no longer the same child who had once blessed the world with her quick smiles and sharp wit. Instead, she drew her rage and despair about her like the strongest armour. But she lived, and the Graced were glad, for without her, hope was lost.

  ‘Deep within his dark fortress, the Shade King smiled, for he had seen the girl’s weakness. He looked to the stars, asking how he might one day triumph over fate. A single dark star fell from on high, and he laughed at the solution it presented. And all the world trembled at the sound. He would end the girl, even if it meant bringing the once-mighty Graced to their knees.

  ‘The attacks came simultaneously. Darklings and worse swept across the land, slaughtering any who had the misfortune to cross their paths. Brother and sister fought and died back-to-back. Husbands were cut down as they stood over their wives. Mothers fell defending their children with nought but their bodies as a shield. The world drowned in blood that day.

  ‘The Graced, defenders of mankind, fell, and the child who was destined to save them all was lost.’

  ‘But he was not the only one who had searched the heavens. Kalielle knew that her child’s life was in danger, now more than ever, and the stars knew that they could not shine through the shadows. They warned her of the Shade King’s plans, and Kalielle nodded in understanding. Her child would fall to endless night – there was nothing she could do to prevent that. But she alone, more than any other, knew that so long as but a single ember continued to smoulder, it was possible to fan the flames of a greater power.

  ‘Legend says that the ember is still out there, biding its time as it glows dimly amongst the ashes. Waiting for the single spark that will ignite the fire once more and allow it to burn bright enough to wipe shadows and darkness from the land.’

  Renila fell silent, and Lucan risked a glance at his father. Lord Alvar was studying her, as if waiting for her to say more. But she only sighed and stood. ‘That’s enough for one night. Time for bed.’ Lucan scowled and nestled closer to Suriya, daring her to move him.

  ‘Isn’t your room down the corridor?’ Lord Alvar asked, getting to his feet.

  ‘I wouldn’t bother,’ Renila told him, chuckling. ‘He’ll just sneak back later.’

  Lord Alvar gave her a tentative smile. ‘Alright,’ he said. ‘It’s late. You should get some sleep.’

  ‘I’ll get these two ready for bed first,’ she said.

  ‘I’ll do it,’ he insisted. ‘I want to stay and watch over Suriya anyway. Go. Get some sleep. Spend time with your boy.’

  Renila gave him a peculiar look but curtseyed in thanks and left without a word.

  ‘I hope Erion is alright,’ Suriya whispered into Lucan’s mind.

  Lucan nodded, watching the door close behind Renila before he replied in kind. He could sense her unease, her desire to keep their conversation secret. Though how he could sense it was beyond him. ‘I’m sure he’s fine.’

  ‘I would be careful with that,’ Lord Alvar warned them. ‘Suriya was right earlier – it’s not safe. Until you learn better control, you risk sharing your thoughts with anyone who has the same abilities.’

  They were stunned into silence. Lucan could only gape at his father while Suriya stilled beside him.

  ‘How do we learn better control?’ she asked.

  Lucan looked at her incredulously. He never could fathom how her mind worked. ‘Never mind that! How do you know?’

  ‘Because he can do it too,’ she snapped, looking to Lord Alvar for confirmation.

  He shrugged and leaned against the wall as he considered them. ‘Not as well as I used to. That I can hear you at all tells me there’s a problem. Either learn to control it or stop it. You’ll attract unwanted attention.’

  ‘How do we learn to control it?’ Suriya persisted.

  Lucan shook his head again. ‘What is it?’ he asked, cutting her off. ‘And what sort of unwanted attention?’

  ‘It takes practice and concentration, not to mention a patient teacher,’ Lord Alvar said, ignoring Lu
can. ‘None of which you’re likely to find in the middle of the night. So come along, off to bed with you.’

  Lucan scowled but allowed his father to help them change and tuck them into the enormous bed in Suriya’s room. He sensed the tension in her shoulders and wanted to ask her about what they had just heard, but Lord Alvar stayed true to his word. He pulled up a chair by the fire and gazed into its depths as he began his vigil.

  Despite his best efforts to the contrary, it didn’t take long for tiredness to claim Lucan, and he slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  Suriya, however, did not sleep. Lucan snored beside her, but her mind would not quieten enough to let her rest. She couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened after she’d fainted.

  Lord Alvar had carried her to her rooms, whispering reassurances in her ear all the while. Once they’d been alone, the sound of his voice had moved from outside to inside her head while he probed her mind for the source of her sickness. She sensed his disgust as he too became snarled up in the cloying fog. Then he had sighed, and the fog had dissipated as if blown away by a strong north wind. He had not deigned to explain any of it, much to her irritation.

  When he’d allowed the Lady to enter the room, he’d flown into a terrible rage. Shouting at her for her incompetence. Accusing her of not caring for the children. For abusing her power. Her mother had lasted less than five minutes under the barrage of abuse before she’d turned and stormed from the room.

  Now Lord Alvar was sitting in front of the fire, watching over them as the night closed in around them. She continued to feign sleep, even when someone else entered. From the quiet whisper of fabric, Suriya guessed it was a woman. The woman was silent for a while before she spoke.

  ‘How did you find us, Alvar?’ asked the Lady, her voice heavy with regret.

  ‘There was a crack in your wards,’ he replied. ‘Don’t worry – I sealed it behind me once I came through. But seems your power is waning. And not even your wards can hide active magic like theirs. Suriya might have been outside of them when she killed that Darkling, but I don’t think they could have contained it even if she’d hadn’t been. I found what remained of the Darkling, Gaelan. There wasn’t much. She’s enormously powerful.