The Ways of Mages: Starfire

by Catherine Beery

  “Kadrean, what is she doing?”She whispered to him as he led her to the line.

  “That is the Reader of the Keep Stone. The crystal investigates a mage's gift. On a facet near the woman it shows the strength and nature to her.

  “And it's like a kadelle?”

  “In a way, except much better.”

  In a way, he said, in a way. Nothing really to it except…what if it was like the kadellein more ways then one? What if it melted too? If Kadrean’s and Zeeve’s reactions were anything to go by, she would be stared at more than ever before. Not to mention she would be destroying the Keep Stone. She doubted there would be many of thoselying around. Terana sighed as her fears tripled. She made to turn to Kadrean and request that she just go someplace else. But he had left her in line to go and talk to some fellows at the far end of the hall. And Zeeve was off somewhere, probably harassing the cooks. Oh wait…she grimaced internally. He was with Russy in her suite…which meant the room would be a mess when she got back…or one of them was severely wounded. She should have thought of that before she had agreed on letting him keep Russy company. That just goes to show how truly out of it I am. She sighed to herself.

  She looked back at the Stone. It was getting closer to her; it seemed to stalk her like a mountain cat. It loomed like one even. She closed her eyes. Now she was letting her imagination run away from her.

  There were three more people left between her and the looming Stone. She had to find a way of suppressing her power. She could almost laugh. It would be impossible to suppress something that she just learned she had, right? But she had to try. She could not have the Keep Stone melting on her. She desperately searched for the well of power that was supposed to be there. Two…one…then there was…

  “Place your hand on the Stone.”Terana eyed the woman for a second then took the necessary step forward. She swallowed; this was it, the moment of truth. She tentatively placed her palm against the cool surface. More strongly then before she felt the drone of the crystal. Invisible tentacles stretched along her flesh to the well of power. She bent her will against it. It slowed. She pushed back more. It stopped at the thresholds of her power and fingered it. “Alright, thank you.”The woman muttered to her in a voice that said‘waste of time’. But Terana could care less what the woman’s tone said. The Stone remained whole. She should be thanking Terana, but whatever.

  Terana walked toward Kadrean. She did it, the Stone had not melted! She could have danced across the floor and hugged everyone on the way to Kadrean. Of course none of this showed. On the outside she looked much like she did when she first entered the Keep.

  “Ah, you touched it huh?”Kadrean asked as he turned toward her. He said goodbye to those he was talking to and approached the stone’s reader.

  “What are you doing?”Terana asked.

  “I want to know what your gift is.”At that Terana felt the first needle of unease. Or more likely guilt. The stone wouldn’t know. It had barely touched what was within her. It almost felt as if she had cheated. But if she had let it touch whatever was there the, Stone would have been reduced to an amber puddle.

  Terana stayed back as Kadrean caught the Reader’s attention. Terana saw the woman’s dismissive head shake and Kadrean’s recoil of shock. Kadrean shook his head at whatever it was the woman was saying. Kadrean turned and came back to her.

  “I don’t believe it.”He said still shaking his head.“Come with me, Terana.”

  “What is it?”She asked. She hadn’t expected him to look this…upset? Her wide eyes caught Liam’s dreamy gaze. Concern filled them and he left his place in line.

  “What is it?”He asked her when he caught up.

  Kadrean glanced at both of them and sighed.“Yazeda told me that the stone is convinced that Terana has barely enough magic to wear the red robe. That doesn’t make sense.”He said shaking his head again. He quickened his pace as if urgency was required.“You melted the kadelle, Terana. That is serious magic. But the Keep Stone didn’t even read enough to know what your talent is.” Terana slowed down as she realized her plan to keep the Stone from melting had worked that well. So well, it hadn’t read anything…what magic did she have that could do that? She quickly sped up again. When she caught up she asked where they were going.

  “Razyan’s office.”

  “Razyan? As in the Razyan of Razyan’s Keep?”She asked with a squeak.

  “The same. Come on.”And if it was at all possible, he sped up even more.

  Chapter Thirty-Four - The Courtyard

  They had climbed many stairs and taken many corridors. Terana was quite lost. They eventually came to a door that opened into a very orderly office with rich black lacquered bookshelves and a large desk. Emerald green curtains bordered the large bow window behind the winged chair that presided behind the desk. The chair was emerald with burgundy diamonds. The carpet was also emerald lined with burgundy borders. The desk was clean except for several candles and a ink jar and a long quill that was a shimmery silk green. The thought made Terana think of the stories about magical birds with long silky feathers in rich hues. Milbre. That was the name. Near the window was a simple perch, worn by use.

  There was no one in here. Kadrean paused for a second then went to the left wall and, of all things, knocked. He even called Razyan’s name. Terana and Liam shared a glance. It looked like a perfectly solid wall, but perhaps there was a secret corridor? The idea was shared by both. They were, after all, in a magical Keep.

  There was no response.

  “He really isn’t here.”Kadrean said softly.“Alright then, I have a hunch where he is.”And with that he pushed passed them and back into the hall. Terana and Liam hurried to keep up. They went back down a lot of stairs. They then went through several more halls and came to a tall door. On the other side of that door was a huge room filled with books, shelves, windows and light.

  Terana gazed at the huge room feeling the awe of a book lover. There were so many books…She had never thought that there could be so many. Kadrean led them down some stairs onto the main floor. He scurried through the thin spaces between the shelves. People of various ages glanced at them from over tomes. Robes of orange and yellow mostly. Terana saw only flashes of them as she hurried after Kadrean. In an alcove filled with light was a middle aged woman with long black-brown hair. Dark eyes looked up and warmed with welcome when she recognized Kadrean. She rose and greeted him with a hug.

  “Kadrean! The young white haired wonderer has returned, I see.”

  “Thais! Wonderful to see you again.”Kadrean said when she pulled back.“Forgive me, but I cannot stay long at the moment. Do you happen to know where Razyan is?”

  “You just missed him, my friend. He was here all night, I believe doing some research of his or other. There was a commotion and he was called away.”

  “Do you know where he went?”

  Thais thought a second then said.“Try the Northern gate. I believe that is what people were saying when they summoned him.”

  “Thank you, Thais.”Kadrean kissed her cheek then quickly turned back the way he came. Terana and Liam stepped apart so he could go pass. Terana smiled fleetingly at Thais then hurried after the men.

  There were so many halls, stairs, and yet more halls that Terana was bewildered. How could anybody build anything so big? And why were the halls so high? Terana shook her head at where her mind insisted on wondering and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

  Soon they came to a courtyard open to the sky. The ground was packed earth. There were many people gathered around. Panic was in the air. Kadrean glanced about the crowd with a look of surprise. Apparently this wasn’t normal. He made a sound before making his way through the throng. Liam and herself close behind him. Glancing up she saw a green bird. It looked almost like a swan, but instead of being swan sized it was the size of a crow. Its tail was long and looked similar to a lace fan, as did the wings. Terana almost stumbled into Kadrean when he stopped.

 
“What is going on, Razyan?”He asked when he reached a group of men all in wizard robes. A few were older than Kadrean and Liam. One was very old with wisdom in his blue eyes. Eyes that matched his robes and belt. There was also a younger man of about Kadrean’s age. This man had a head covered in thick black hair. Terana found herself wondering if his hair really was as soft as it looked. Terana mentally slapped herself with a vague since of horror. She had never been drawn to a man before, at least not in real life. And dreams were not real. He wore a robe of dark, nearly black, green. He and the rest of the group paused in the conversation to turn toward Kadrean. The man had green eyes sharp with intelligence and darkened with worry. He has nice eyes too. Terana found herself thinking. She groaned inwardly. Trust me to admire a guy like this that I don’t even know during some sort of crisis…

  “Kadrean.”The man that she had been admiring said. Terana did a double take. This was Razyan? The Razyanof Razyan’s Keep? He was a whole lot younger than she thought the leader of a wizards keep should be. And nicer on the eyes too… “When did you return, my friend?”

  “Last night, but what is going on here?”

  A grim look came over Razyan’s face.“I’m not exactly positive. I have a feeling that I really hope is wrong. Listen to this.”He lifted a hand and a young woman a little older then Terana came to join the group. She had sand blond hair and brown eyes. She was pale and her eyes were red from crying. She was trembling.

  Razyan put a hand on her shoulder in gentle support.“Forgive me, Breeya, but I must ask you to tell my companions here what happened.”Breeya closed her eyes and nodded. She stood up straighter and began to speak. She described something about a community living in caves to the north. Her brother was a researcher and would never leave his books. A woman there had fallen for him and confessed to Breeya. The two had done their best to get the brother, Lanol, away from his books, but failed. Breeya eventually had grown tired of cave life and asked Lanol to ride with her. The besotted woman had followed and something happened. Terana missed hearing because she was too busy staring.

  Some people had moved to give her a clear view. An eagle the size of a draft horse lay on the packed earth. Its feathers were a midnight black. Its beak was a shiny obsidian hue. It lay there on the ground panting. Memory tugged at Terana. She recognized this creature. The man in her dream had become something like it and she had drawn something similar the first night she had met Zeeve after seeing its distant cousin flying over Plarn. There was a chill in the air and the feel of something wrong. There was something wrong with the creature that lay there so passively. There was…pain. Lots and lots of pain and the wrongness was like seeing someone suffering from disease.

  It was a weird sensation.

  The creature twitched a few times. Suddenly its eyes opened. Terana had been unconsciously moving closer to get a better look. Now she stopped dead. Red eyes pinned her with a look that froze her blood. Hunger stared at her. She could see it clearly. It was a hunger for blood, a hunger for pain and the tearing of flesh. It was also a hatred so deep that Terana felt as if someone had punched her in the gut.

  Terana felt herself growing cold with dread. She briefly heard a crystalline cry before everything seemed to slow down. The world around her disappeared in the pounding roar of her blood in her ears. Angry, hungry Death was staring at her. She had briefly seen a look of Death before, but it had been colder, though just as unforgiving. Oh, and that look had come from beautiful blue eyes veined with black. Terana winced at the‘beautiful’thought. The man had been trying to kill her and she thought his eyes were beautiful. The point was, the eyes that reflected her death had been cold blue that time and now they were an angry red.

  The pain she had felt before the creature had opened its eyes intensified now. It called to something within her. A healing warmth that she had felt rise in that dream as well. As she had been thinking and staring the creature had been slowly getting its feet under it. And it had been hissing. As that healing warmth rose that hiss changed into a blood curdling scream. With a speed that its size belied it lunged for her. A pale flicker of light broke before it.

  Terana scrambled backward. She saw people making undignified leaps to get out of the creature’s way. She saw, distantly, their mouths open. But she heard nothing. All she heard was the scream that fell from the creature’s beak. It was a combination of an eagle’s cry and wind whistling under an eve.

  It was a sound she had heard once before by a stream. It was the same. As was the all-consuming terror. Something was hunting her and wanted to rip her apart. A shadow resisting the sun’s light. A shadow with crazy red eyes and death on its mind. Terror numbed limbs, Terana discovered, are not the best things to scramble away from death with. One trips over them. Down onto the ground she spilled. The creature hissed excitedly and made its move.

  It was all over.

  She knew it, the creature knew it. Its eyes dominated her vision as it came for her. She couldn’t look away. Couldn’t close her eyes, couldn’t even think…

  There was a crunching thud. Terana blinked. The eagle creature stood three feet away shaking its head. A pained hiss escaped it. With determination it lunged again. And came up against a wall that flickered green where it hit. The creature reeled back, dazed.

  Two sets of hands helped her off the ground. One set belonged to Liam who was trembling. He cast wary glances toward the creature.“Almost thought we lost you there.”He whispered to her. With that, the sound barrier around Terana snapped away. She could hear many other people talking, crying, a few were hysterical. She glanced up at the owner of the other set of hands that steadied her on her feet. Concerned green eyes flickered over her face.

  “I knew it had been a bad idea to leave a weak shield around it when it knocked itself out.”Razyan murmured with a grimace.“Suffice it to say there is a strong shield dome over it now.”Razyan paused glancing between her and the eagle.“Are you okay?”

  Terana just stared at him. She was too terrified to feel anything else. There was another crunching thud that called her attention away from Razyan’s green eyes.

  The creature hadn’t taken its eyes from her yet. It kept smashing itself against the translucent green wall. Blood smeared the wall and a wing looked…wrong. Terana swallowed as the creature backed up and lunged forward again, screaming as it flexed its broken wing to get more speed. It lowered its head as if hoping that would be a good battering ram. The resounding crunch rippled through Terana’s spine and lodged in her stomach. The eagle crumbled to the ground, its head at an impossible angle.

  Its eye still glared at her, hungry for her pain.

  The crazy intelligence in the eye faded to nothing. There was a cloud of shadow surrounding the creature. It obscured everything under the shield dome before streaming away to nothing. There were shocked cries at what the retreating shadow revealed. A slender woman with pale, pale skin and long honey blond hair lay sprawled where the eagle had. An arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, a swollen bump threatening to puncture the skin. Her once beautiful neck made Terana feel weak with nausea. She didn’t want to look at it anymore.

  She looked away, shaking. There was so much blood…Most of her weight was being supported by Liam and Razyan. Terana vaguely saw the old man with blue eyes who had been standing with Razyan earlier kneel beside the broken woman. Others were gathering around and seeing if they could be of some help.

  They are trying to heal her… A fuzzy thought entered Terana’s mind as she watched. Her own healing warmth that had wanted to sooth away the monster eagle’s pain had long since vanished.“They are wasting their time.”Terana muttered to no one in particular.“She’s gone.”

  The woman, Breeya, heard her. Sad knowledge swam in her eyes and she sank to her knees to cry. Kadrean knelt next to Breeya and offered her a shoulder to cry on. Razyan left Terana to talk to the old man, leaving her with a silent Liam. Terana’s numbed gaze watched Kadrean and Breeya. Breeya was telling Kadrean that the woman
had been her friend, Olidiya. Another woman approached and offered Breeya something to drink. A slumberous peace entered Breeya’s eyes after she drank it. The woman who gave Breeya the drink helped her out of the courtyard. Kadrean came back to Terana. His gray eyes were concerned as they looked her over.

  “You need to sit down.”He told her. She nodded in numb agreement. Kadrean and Liam started pulling her toward the doors. When Kadrean touched her, Terana felt a warmth soothing away her trembling. Or at least it was trying. Razyan joined them and led them into a sitting room. Sitting on his shoulder was the green bird that Terana had seen before flying about the courtyard. It was the deep green of healthy, well watered grass. Under different circumstances, Terana would have been delighted to see the bird. The bird was a milbre. It had to be. And it made sense to see it sitting on Razyan’s shoulder. A magical bird just had to be with a wizard. Right now she just gazed at it numbly.

  It turned to look at her. It's black eye conveying concern. It cooed to her a pretty, soothing song.

  As they entered the room Terana murmured that she had seen something like the black eagle before. She felt that they should know.

  “You have?”Liam asked her as she was settled onto a couch. She nodded and with shaking fingers she reached into her doe skin bag. She withdrew her sketch book and started flipping through it, looking for the eagle sketch. As she did this she heard Kadrean introduce her as the girl with magic from Plarn that Zeeve had pointed out. Liam was also introduced as a mage. Razyan was welcoming Liam when she made a sound.

  “What is it?”Kadrean asked. Terana licked her lips and stared. She had found the eagle drawing, but there was something…it was different. Where before it had been just an eagle in the action of cupping air to push beneath it, there was also a design behind it. A wavy bladed dagger flanked by wings. She couldn’t remember for the life of her drawing that…

  “Interesting.”Liam murmured.

  For a few seconds everyone studied the drawing.“Where did you see this?”Razyan asked her.