“The child that had resided in her swollen belly exhausted her even more when it decided to be born.“
“Liam!”Lila protested.“This is not the place for such a topic!”She ground between her teeth.
Liam ignored her.“She mumbled and sobbed even more after the bundle of joy was delivered and wrapped. Although,”Liam tilted his head in thought.“Yes, she became rather understandable after that. She could actually form sentences. She begged that her child be cared for. Chris and Sharon, who had a son of two at the time, could not resist taking in the child. She asked them if they would raise her daughter as their own. They swore they would. The woman then kissed her daughter’s fuzzy copper head and fell asleep to never wake up again.”
Kadrean was interested. A daughter with coppery hair? Could this child be the same girl that was in the square earlier trying to get Zeeve away from the twins?“What did she name the child?”
Liam blinked. It was Lila who answered.“Terana. The woman named her. Why such an unusual name I’ll never know. Nor do I want to. She came in such a state that I don’t want to know of the world she came from. If it wasn’t for her, my son here might have had his leg set correctly. Now he is crippled.”
There was a wealth of emotion behind what she said. Puzzled, Kadrean asked“I don’t understand...?”Why there is such ill feeling behind your words, he finished in his head.
Lila sighed.“The healer was working on my son when the woman came in. The healer left my son because the woman’s needs were greaterthan his.”
“It is my mother’s greatest woe.” Liam murmured, a glint in his eye.“Her only son is crippled and thus a 'perfect' thing is flawed.”
“Liam! Please! Do not try my nerves so!”Lila cried, her eyes were wet.
“It is also why my mother shuns the child.”Liam continued.
“Liam!”Lila turned to Kadrean. “Forgive him sir, we also fear that…”At this point, her voice dropped to a whisper.“He hit his head falling down. He used to be a normal boy, but since the accident he has been…well…out of it. He drifts upon the winds of fancy. When one talks to him, you can feel him slipping away. He goes alone into the woods; he does not help with any of the farming. Nor does he try to find a wife and build himself a home.”
“My mother also seems to forget that her son is in the room and that she is talking to a complete stranger.”Liam said lightly.“She also has tried to say that I am useless; that I should help with the farming. But what she seems to forget is that none of the other men will allow me to help. I have tried to show them how they could…ah never mind.”He shook his head. He then smiled at Kadrean ruefully.“It could have made farming so much easier in these parts, but you know how it is, no doubt. No one will listen to a cripple.”
Kadrean shook his head at the situation. His gray-eyed gaze glanced at everyone in the room.“It doesn’t have to be that way. I am a healer, as I said.”Kadrean met Liam’s eyes.
“It has been a long time, sir.”Lila said sadly.“I doubt you could do much.”
“I could at least see what canbe done.”Kadrean replied.
“Good.”cut in Sean.“I believe the food is getting cold.”
“Ah, yes.”Lila said.“You will love this, sir. It is a recipe that my mother taught me.”At this, Lila began serving them all potato stew. Her attitude was brisk and she seemed glad to do something with her hands.
As she served, Kadrean leaned toward Liam.“Remind me to help you with that leg.”Liam merely nodded. During the meal, Kadrean noticed Liam’s gaze had wondered away from what was around him. Did he really hit his head? He seemed well enough while he had told the story of Terana’s coming to Plarn. Liam had seemed happy to tell a story that his mother despised. In fact, he had been having trouble in containing his joy about it. It seemed that Liam denounced the way in which the town treated Terana.
As Kadrean ate, he slipped the only food he could into his napkin lined pocket; a dinner roll. He then, when no one was watching, magicked some soup into a ball that also found its way into his pocket. There it rested without making a mess. It had taken him months and many pairs of pants to learn how to do that.
After the soup ball made it to his pocket Kadrean stood.“Thank you ma’m for the soup. I enjoyed it.”Lila beamed with pride.“Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll retire for the night.”
“Goodnight, sir.”Sean said. Kadrean nodded his thanks and headed back up stairs. He was curious. All of Plarn seemed to have a nasty opinion of Terana. And by the sound of the dinner conversation, it looked as if Lila Seedman was the instigator. She had wanted revenge. As Lila saw it, Terana’s mother was to blame for her son’s crippled leg and odd behavior. Since Terana’s mother was dead, Lila had to attack the woman’s daughter. And that daughter was clueless as to why.
***
Perhara- near the City of Pershara
Perela walked along the hard packed path that served as a small road between the tents. Behind her walked Duncan and T’Garen. The retired general and her knight were discussing strategy. She glanced back at them and shared a smile with Duncan. She turned back to the front. There was hope in the plan they had now. Hope in the fact that they had a direction in which to go. She tilted her head in thought. The idea of using sound as an effective rest depriver and perhaps a door maker was fascinating. She pondered if perhaps, when the generator arrived, she could use magic to increase its effectiveness. Perhaps even hide it if the King’s Guard left the palace walls to investigate.
She stopped outside the tent she shared with Duncan. Something moved inside. Dearest, there is someone in there. She thought at him.
Duncan gestured for T’Garen to keep silence. The solider immediately went on the alert. His and Duncan’s hands went to their swords. Perala focused on her magic.
The sound came again…a low whimper. Deciding that surprise would be good, they charged in and froze. Bracing himself against Duncan’s chair was…
“Ryan?”Duncan asked.
Ryan looked up, his auburn hair was free from its usual braided queue. His dark bronze skin was pasty in hue. His face was tense when he turned to look at them. He smiled wanly.“Greetings, Duncan.”His breathing short, as if to cover something, he stood straighter. He inclined his head toward the other two.“The lovely Perela, it is an honor. And retired General T’Garen, it’s a pleasure.”Ryan’s cultured voice was only slightly strained.
“How did you get here and what happened?”Duncan asked.
The thief waved away the knight’s questions.“Neither of those is of concern right now. What is of concern is what I have come to tell you.”
“Does it have something to do with the food in the city?”T’Garen inquired.
Ryan waved his question aside angrily.“The food is of little concern too. Do the dead eat? Your lives are in danger.”
“We are soldiers. Our lives are always in danger.”
Ryan sighed.“Forgive me. I should have said your souls are in peril. The Dark is planning something rather nasty. And likely plan on commencing it very soon.”
“How do you know this?”Perela asked. Duncan and T’Garen shared a look. Was Ryan a servant of the Dark? How did he know the Dark’s plan?
Ryan gazed at Perela for a moment, his expression almost unreadable. Almost because he could not hide the pain.“How shall I say…I still hurt?”He glanced at the two other men and sighed.“You think I might be in league with the Dark, don’t you? How else would I know that something is going to happen? I am glad you are wary. You are not as naïve as you sometimes seem.”Duncan narrowed his eyes at this. Perela rested a hand gently on his arm, quietly assuring him that Ryan’s comment lacked validity. “However,”Ryan continued.“I am not your enemy. If I was I would not warn you that this week, at some point, the Dark Ones will make their move and it will be disastrous. If you let them, they will split you and destroy you.”Ryan gazed directly at Duncan.“If I was your enemy I would keep my silence.”
“Then how do you know somet
hing is going to happen?”Duncan asked.
Ryan closed his golden eyes, his breathing calmer. After a moment he nodded to himself. He glanced at Duncan and T’Garen before turning to Perela. "Would you mind shielding this tent? This is something I would rather stay with me, but you need to see that my warning is true. Please. Last time…”Ryan trailed off, uncharacteristically biting his lip.
Perela tilted her head slightly, thinking. Something about Ryan’s earnestness convinced her to do as he asked. After all, he asked. At her look, Duncan nodded. He was on the alert for any hint of a trap. As was she. She whispered softly in Old Arathin before spreading her hands to encompass them. A pale violet bubble spread out until it met the inside wall of the tent. A bare whisper of pressure touching the nape of the men’s necks.
Ryan bowed his head to her in thanks. He reached to his belt and unsheathed a short knife. The knight and retired general stiffened. Ryan raised an eyebrow at them before looking back to what he was doing. He raised the knife to his left hand and deftly cut it. Bright red blood fell and Perela was sure she saw the man’s eyes flicker black as he spoke“Shutzan kas sé im’at.”Hear the truth of my eyes. The blood flared into liquid fire. The light inside her bubble died when the fire blood hit the ground.
“THIS IS HOW I KNOW.”Ryan’s voice echoed in the nothingness Perela, Duncan, and T’Geren found themselves in. A fire rose to enclose Perela. Faintly she could see Duncan and T’Garen near her as they had been in the tent. Before them stood Ryan with his head bowed. There was something about the fire that made her soul quail and shrink into the shell that was her body. The smell of sulfur assailed Perela’s nose. Screams of lost souls filled the air.
Something laughed. Something full of malice. It was clear that it had never heard of mercy or compassion. It knew nothing but darkness and the love of causing pain. It laughed. Gleefully. Perela’s hands rose to her throat protectively.
Shapes came from the fire. Twisted, deformed shapes that howled like the damned. The deformed things tore men, soldiers, apart. She thought she recognized some of their faces before they died. Cold dread filled her. In the distance she saw Duncan fighting valiantly against the tides of Dark Sons. The deformed things could only be Dark Sons. The Dark Sons were cutting through the lines of men, separating them from aiding each other.
An equine shape formed of gold white light took shape. Suddenly Perela found herself back in the tent. Duncan held her in his arms, tears flowing down her cheeks.“I’m sorry. Sorry.”She sobbed into Duncan’s chest. Duncan just held her, rubbing her back. Eventually she got her tears under control and she turned to look at Ryan.
He was standing right where he had been the whole time; his golden eyes gazing down at his hands. As if feeling her gaze on him, he looked up. His eyes were fathomless and Perela got the sinking feeling that Ryan had many secrets. At the very least, he was older then nineteen. Or perhaps Seers gained older eyes because of everything they see.
“You are a Seer.”She breathed. Seers were very rare. They were different from prophets in that what they saw was something that was about to happen, or had just happened. Prophets were told of distant scenes in God’s plan so that creation could work toward Him.
Ryan inclined his head, his healed left hand rubbed at his forehead.
“What do we do?”T’Garen asked from where he sat on a camp stool.
“We need to move the camp before we are caught in the net of that fire spell.”Perela said.“If I recognized that spell correctly, it was The Fires of the Damned. The Dark will probably trigger the spell during the Dark Moon night.”
“Which is three days from now.”Duncan said grimly. Perela nodded.
“It looked like a wall of fire that surrounded us.”T’Garen observed.“Would us moving stop them from attacking our rear?”
“Perhaps.”Ryan answered softly, leaning against Duncan’s desk chair.“Perhaps they will even keep from attacking the army and instead surround the city. An impenetrable wall of hellfire. Fun, that.”
“Did you See this?”T’Garen demanded.
“No, but it is a viable option they have.”The young thief replied.
“Then we will have to keep them from changing their focus of the spell. Do we have anything that can fight Dark Sons?”T’Garen asked.
“Only the Three Swords of Power could reliably kill Dark Sons. And those were lost to antiquity.”Perela answered, biting her lip.
“That is not entirely true.”Duncan interjected.“Gawin’s staff could destroy Dark Son’s. I saw him use it in the Dunshire Woods.”
“But we do not have Gawin with us. Thus, no staff.”Perela pointed out.“There are some spells that I and my father know that could help, but he is not here.”She started to pace slowly in thought, needing to move.“I will tell him the situation and see if he cannot come sooner. Having Kindra and Robert would be an added bonus. But that is only four mages between the Dark Sons and our men.”
“Then why don’t we split the forces?”Duncan suggested.
Ryan’s gaze snapped to him.“To be divided is to surely die.”
Duncan nodded grimly.“Yes, but to stay within the trap is to also die. With our camp as the enemy’s focus, the city should be relatively safe. My knights have little magics that could get the majority of the men into the city unseen.”Duncan met Ryan’s gaze.“If the Guild is willing, perhaps they could have assistance hiding. That way most of the force is in proximity to the palace. And if the enemy decides to erect a hellfire wall around the city, then our men are already within. Meanwhile, the volunteers will keep the enemy’s focus.”
"It makes sense to me." Said T'Garen "We've know we could enter the city now for awhile now, but it would have added unneeded strain to an already stressed and starving city. But I agree, we have no choice now."
Ryan nodded slowly.“That may work. I will do what I can to help your men hide within the city.”The Seer thief promised with a bow. His gaze was shadowed with pain and sorrow, but awe was there as well.
“My thanks.”Duncan nodded.“I’ll call a meeting with the other leaders and then begin asking for volunteers. Perela, please find a way to get your father, Kindra, and Robert here as fast as you can.”
“I’ll go with you.”T’Garen said standing. The two warriors left, leaving Perela and Ryan facing each other.
“Will we succeed?”She asked.
Ryan shrugged.“That I don’t know, Lady. What I do know is that you stand a better chance now that you know then you did before.”He bowed to her before turning toward the brazier and stepping into it. A black gaze met hers when he looked over his shoulder.“I’ll be in touch.”The fire flared brightly. When she blinked the light haze out of her eyes, Ryan was gone.
“What are you?”She whispered softly to the now empty room. The brazier did not answer. Perela shook her head and focused on her father.
Chapter Eight- What is Seen...
Arathin- Plarn, Marlhema
“Well?”Razyan said upon Kadrean entering the room. Razyan was on the bed and in his wolf form. To anyone else, he would have looked like a normal black timber wolf. Something that looked terribly out of place in this room.
“What would you have done if it wasn’t me who came in? You’d be very hard to miss.”Kadrean asked casually.
The wolf yawned.“I knew it was you.”Razyan’s ears perked forward.“Hmm, fresh baked bread and…”The wolf sniffed .“And potato stew. Hand it over. Now.”The wolf slipped off the bed and shifted back to his natural form.“I am starving.”
Kadrean shook his head at the younger man as he pulled out the quivering ball of soup. His hand was magically relieved of its quivering burden. The bread still in Kadrean’s pocket also found itself being lifted into the air and into Razyan’s hand. Razyan sat down on the bed again and began to eat.“Thank you, by the way.”Razyan said, lifting his hands to indicate the food there.
“You’re welcome.”
“So what did you find out at dinner." Razyan asked Kadrean as t
he latter leaned against the wall next to the window.“I am assuming that you did ask about the girl.”Razyan gave him a level look.
“I didn’t need to. It was mentioned just after I sat down. The people I am staying with have a son who brought it up. Granted, the lady of the house was not too pleased with him, but Liam, the son, kept going. He told an…interesting story.”
“Really? Do tell. I am all ears.”Razyan said, shifting his ears to those of a wolf.
Kadrean rolled his eyes.“Liam told me that these people have not had a visitor in nineteen years.”
Razyan’s eyes sharpened.“Nineteen years? That’s a long time. Are you sure?”
“After how the town treated me when I first came here, yeah I’m sure. It seems to me that the whole town has been cut off from the rest of the world somehow. At least that kind of explains why Plarn isn’t on the maps.”
“Kind of.”Razyan agreed thoughtfully.“But what could have cut them off?”
“No idea. Either it was coincidence, or it had something to do with the woman who stumbled into town.”Kadrean said with his head cocked thoughtfully.
“A woman? What do you mean, a woman?”
“Liam told me that a woman came nineteen years ago and, by Liam’s description, she was pretty badly hurt and pregnant. She died shortly after giving birth to a little girl named Terana.”
Razyan, who had been sipping the last of the soup, choked.“What!”Was the only word he could say before he succumbed to a long fit of sputtering and coughing. His ears went back to normal.
“Something wrong? Are you okay? Can I help?”Kadrean asked uncertainly, moving to be of assistance.
“No…I…What did you say the child’s name was?”Razyan finally managed from his coughing position.
“Terana.”Kadrean replied slowly.
The Ways of Mages: Starfire Page 7