The Raven's Curse

by Rain Oxford

  “Without my magic, I cannot tell.”

  It wasn’t a dark and spooky forest and I didn’t see anything in the trees. “Maybe we should go.” Before Merlin could respond, a raven flew down over us, nearly striking me before it soared back up and disappeared into the sky. I heard a strange silence and then I saw smoke.

  “Minka hyrr,” Merlin said. Nothing happened, though I wasn’t expecting it to. “Use the water from the creek to put out the fire.”

  “I’m not an elementalist.” I didn’t have to look at Merlin to know he was rolling his eyes. “Stand close to Kirin,” I told him, putting my left arm around Kirin’s neck to encourage him not to run away. Although the unicorn stomped his hoof in fear, he didn’t bolt. By then, I could see the fire, which completely surrounded us. When Merlin got as close to Kirin as he dared, I focused my mind and tried to block out the scent of smoke.

  I waved my staff at the forest. “Put out the fire.” As I did, I pushed power into the staff with no intention other than to kill the flames. I was hoping the staff would make that decision. Just like the first time I touched the staff, lightning and thunder crackled. The sky darkened unnaturally quickly and heavy rain began pouring right over the trees.

  Smoke billowed and the flames flickered violently against the onslaught, but it was resistant. Unfortunately, after several moments, I realized the storm was taking too much energy with barely any results.

  “You are doing well, Ayden. Keep it up,” Merlin said encouragingly.

  I felt a rush of energy flow into me from Merlin, who was using the mental link between us to help me. He had only done this once before, and I was surprised he could do it at all. Although Merlin couldn’t do any magic, he was able to sense it and apparently, he still had energy in him.

  I nodded and focused even harder on making the rain put out the fire. The sizzling of the fire started to die down, along with the flames, which encouraged me. As soon as I stopped doubting my power, the fire was vanquished almost instantly.

  Finally, I let the flow of magic stop and the storm cleared up. Except for the strange sting in my chest, I was fine. “Do you think a person caused that on accident?”

  “No; that was dark magic. Perhaps this is your mother’s doing.”

  “It’s not her for two reasons. First, she doesn’t want to kill me before she can figure out how to get dark magic from me, so if she is after me, it’s to imprison me. Second, when she does try to kill me, it’s not going to be from something as feeble as a forest fire. My mother doesn’t leave anyone a way out once she decides to harm them.”

  After I put my staff away and mounted Kirin, the unicorn started trotting gently. Merlin followed without a word. It took a while for the pain in my chest to fade.

  * * *

  The sun was getting low in the sky when the forest gave way to wide fields. “Go around,” I told Kirin, not wanting to intrude.

  “We should stop for the night,” Merlin argued. “Maybe they will have a tavern, and you have not eaten much today.”

  When he brought it up, my stomach rumbled. “I guess I can eat some bread.” As I said it, I lost my appetite. “Never mind. Let’s go around and we’ll stop at sunset.”

  Kirin took a couple steps back to go around before Merlin made a soft grumbling sound that stopped the unicorn. “It would be safer to sleep inside tonight. We have covered a lot of ground today and we should stop for the night.”

  I sighed. “Fine. Kirin, take us into town.”

  “Are you feeling unwell?” Merlin asked as Kirin began walking through the field.

  “I’m fine. Why?”

  “You have been unusually quiet today, and you seem… irritated.”

  “I guess I’m worried about my mother.”

  “I was worried you had another nightmare last night.”

  “No, I slept fine. Why? Did you have a bad dream?”

  He hesitated. “Not really.”

  I decided not to push. It didn’t take long for us to cross the field and reach the town. It was much smaller than the cities I had seen in Mokora, but not as small as most of the villages in Akadema. There were maybe five or six small homes and ten massive houses. For a while, we didn’t see anyone, not even at the well at the end of the town.

  “Hide your face,” Merlin reminded me.

  I put my hood up and found the attached strip of cloth, which I pulled over my mouth. When I saw a boy about fourteen step out of one of the large houses, I got down from Kirin and approached him. He glanced at Merlin worriedly, but he didn’t run. There was mud all over his clothes and in his brown hair, which he didn’t seem bothered by at all.

  “Excuse me, is there a tavern or anything where we can get some food and rest?”

  He glanced at Merlin again. “He doesn’t eat people, does he?”

  “He’s the nicest wolf I know.”

  “I am the only wolf you know,” Merlin grumbled.

  “Well, I’m counting Gmork as well, and he did eat Quinn.”

  “Then you can spend the night with my family,” he said, pointing to one of the huge houses. “My older brothers just joined the warrior’s guild, so there’s a lot of room.”

  The house was three stories high and built like a cheap mansion. The wood was weakened and stained by water and the few window shutters there were wouldn’t hold up to much bad weather.

  “It must be a very large family.”

  “Oh, it isn’t just my family; there are four other families living here.”

  “Are you sure it’s okay to invite a stranger in?”

  He looked at Kirin. “Well, you can’t be that bad if you have a unicorn. Are you a wizard?”

  “I’m a curse breaker.”

  His eyes widened. “Wow! I’ve never heard of a curse breaker before. You must be rare. Can you break any kind of curse?”

  “I’m still learning.” Tentatively, I lowered my face mask. If they hadn’t heard of me here, I didn’t have to worry about them recognizing my face.

  “It’s not like you’re a sorcerer. There are some wizards in the house next door and a family of mages live with us. You aren’t enemies of them, right?”

  “No. What are you?”

  “Oh, I’m not a magic user. My father was a wizard, but I didn’t develop any magic. He was killed before I was old enough to remember him. Well, come on in. The unicorn has to stay outside, though.”

  When I glanced at Merlin, he nodded. I got my bag, staff, and wand out of the saddlebag and patted Kirin on the neck. “Be safe and I’ll see you in the morning.” I didn’t worry about him much, since I knew he could protect himself. “I’m Ayden,” I told the boy.

  “I’m Hamland.”

  Merlin and I followed him inside. It was much like the outside. Clearly the place had been built to house a lot of people and no one had put forth much effort to make it fancy or keep it clean. The walls were dusty and the furniture was all worn and stained. At the top of the stairs, we were intercepted by a sweet looking older woman with long, curly, brown hair and warm brown eyes. “Are you done already?” she asked Hamland.

  “Not yet, Mother. This is Ayden. He and his wolf need a place to sleep and some food.”

  She studied me closely. “You’re not a sorcerer in disguise, are you?”

  “He’s a curse breaker,” Hamland said excitedly.

  She frowned at me. “I’ve never heard of a curse breaker before. Are you like a mage?”

  “It’s more like I can use wizardry to undo sorcery.”

  She nodded. “Hamland, get back to work. Ayden, you and your wolf are welcome… as long as he doesn’t urinate on anything.”

  Merlin growled. “He’s not an animal. Merlin is a wizard who was cursed. I’m still trying to break that curse.”

  “That does explain things.”

  “Maybe he can help us,” Hamland said.

  “Your aunt isn’t under a curse.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  “What’s the matter?”
I asked.

  “My aunt is a mage, but she came home a month ago with a lot of her magic missing. We thought she was cursed, but she isn’t the only one. My brothers found a wizard who was losing his magic. We’ve heard of it happening everywhere. Then, it started happening here. It’s not to everyone, though, and we can’t figure out the pattern. Have you noticed anything?”

  “No.” I needed to warn Livia. “If I can meet her, I can see for sure if it is a curse or not.”

  “Great! I’ll have her come over.” Hamland ran off down the stairs.

  “Come with me and I will give you something to eat and a bed to sleep in.” She gave me a short tour of the house, pointing out what each room was without showing me into any bedrooms. The kitchen was very nice. The cook was a heavyset woman with dark brown hair and a kind smile. I asked for some meat for Merlin, hoping to get around having to eat anything myself. However, as soon as I smelled the roast, my appetite came back.

  I didn’t even wait until I sat down; I ate as if I was starving. In fact, I ate more than Merlin. By the time I was done, Hamland had returned with his aunt. She looked almost identical to Hamland’s mother, except her eyes were green with flecks of brown, like all mages’ eyes.

  “I cannot sense much magic from her,” Merlin said.

  “You look familiar,” she said. “Have we met before?”

  “No. I’m Ayden.”

  “You’re not a wizard.”

  “I’m a curse breaker.”

  Her eyes widened. “That explains it! I’ve heard of you. People want to know if you’re a new kind of magic user and if there are any more of you being mistaken for wizards or mages. What can you do besides break curses?”

  “Most things that a wizard can do, but I’d really rather not talk about it. If you have a curse on you, I can---”

  “You use a staff like wizards?” she interrupted.

  Without answering, I took her hand and let my magic search for hers. Her magic felt like all mage magic did; warm. She was a healer. Mages were also depended on for delegating quests because they were extremely intuitive and wise. A mage could look at a person and in one instant know all of that person’s strengths and weaknesses. That was another reason sorcerers hated them.

  Either she was a very weak mage, or she was very unwell. Nevertheless, there wasn’t any magic inside her that wasn’t her own. “You’re not under a curse,” I said, letting her go. Once again, there was a small twinge of pain in my chest, but it was less than before, so I didn’t worry about it.

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she asked.

  “Well, curses can be broken, but if they’re bonded to the victim’s magic, it can be fatal to break. Since you’re a mage, it’s probably a good thing. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it is. My mother used to say eating certain plants can temporarily weaken your power, but since you’re a mage, I figure you know about that stuff better than me.”

  “Maybe it is personal conflict,” Merlin suggested.

  “Maybe I’m just getting old,” she said before I could relay Merlin’s idea.

  “You’re not old. Besides, people gain power with age, not lose it. Have you tried meditation?”

  She smiled a little. “I haven’t, but that will probably help. Thank you.”

  After that, Merlin and I were led to an unused bedroom. The room was less than half the size of mine at Magnus’s castle. The bed was little more than a straw mattress on the floor with a fur cover. Aside from that, there were pegs in the wall for hanging clothes and a crudely carved table with two chairs.

  Although I wanted to sleep in the soft bed I had at Magnus’s castle, this wasn’t the worst place I had slept, and it was certainly better than sleeping outside. I closed the window as Hamland used a match to light one of the candles on the table.

  “There is a hot bath upstairs,” Hamland said.

  “Thank you, but I’ll pass.” I had gotten used to the luxury of a private bath. With that, he left us alone.

  “So, what do you think happened to the mage?” Merlin asked.

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m more worried about saving the others who need help.” It looked like Merlin wanted to say more, but I just took off my boots and got into bed. Although I didn’t want to be rude to him, I was feeling frustrated. I wanted to be doing something to help instead of wasting time traveling. That took power that I didn’t have.

  But with practice, I could get more powerful.

  * * *

  I was six years old when I overheard Zeus and Bev talking about a seer tournament. It sounded so fascinating. Aside from a few family friends, I rarely got to meet other magic users. Other sorcerers and wizards had been scared away from Akadema by my mother and any magic users left kept out of the way as much as possible. Thus, when they discussed their plan to ask Mother if they could go, I stepped out of my room. “Can I go with you?”

  Bev sneered. “Why in the world would we take you, wart? You’d do nothing but slow us down and whine.”

  “I won’t whine. I just want to go.”

  Zeus grinned cruelly. “Well, if you promise not to whine, we’ll take you, but you have to promise to do everything we say without complaining, talking back, or even hesitating.”

  Bev’s eyes widened. “We will?!”

  Zeus punched his brother in the stomach. “Of course we will. We’re brothers, after all.”

  “Okay. I promise to do what you say.”

  “But if you break your promise, we get to melt your eyeballs and you’ll be blind forever.”

  I nodded. “That’s what Mother said would happen if I broke a promise.”

  “There’s no way Mother will let us take Ayden,” Bev said.

  Zeus scoffed. “She will if I ask her.”

  Bev and I listened from the top of the stairs as Zeus went to ask our mother. Thaddeus came out of his room. “What’s going on?”

  “Zeus and Bev are going to take me to a seer tournament.”

  “She’s not going to say yes,” Bev argued.

  Thaddeus paled, glanced at Bev, and ran back into his room. I shrugged. I was just glad Zeus was willing to include me, even though I knew I was going to pay dearly for it. He probably wanted me to clean his room for the rest of his life or use me as a scapegoat for his evil plots.

  “Good evening, Mother,” Zeus said.

  “Did you make the potions for the Robson family?”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “Good. What do you want?”

  “There’s a seer tournament about to start and I would---”

  “You have far too much work to do to slack off. And I suppose you want to take Bevras with you. This is the busy season.”

  “If you give me a list, I can pack a bag and make all our potions on the road, and I can deliver them on the way back. That takes care of half my work as well as half of yours. We’ll even bring home a month’s worth of food and prepare it. I can do the rest of my chores when I get home.”

  She sighed. “Alright. You two can go, but you will have to pick up a lot more chores for the next month.”

  “And Ayden.”

  “What?”

  “If you let us out of the extra chores, we’ll take the wart with us so he’s out of your hair.”

  I heard Mother laugh loudly for a moment before cutting herself off. “Wait, you’re serious? You want to take Ayden with you?”

  “I can’t beat him for misbehavior if he’s not with me and that’s my favorite chore.”

  “You know the rule about him.”

  “Same as always; I’m not allowed to kill him.”

  “Unless…?”

  “Unless his wand turns white, signifying that he has become a pure wizard.”

  “That’s right. You three can go to the tournament.”

  We packed and left that night. The next three days were just about what I expected. I had to carry all our bags, find rare plants for Zeustrum’s potions, and be target practice for them. When Zeus wasn’t
shooting arrows at apples on my head or throwing daggers at a fist-sized plaque of wood strapped to my back, Bevras played little pranks on me, like burning all my clothes and conjuring a swarm of wasps and sending them after me.

  It wasn’t all bad, though. Zeus was carving new arrows for his bow one evening while we were staying in an inn and when I asked him about it, he showed me how to do it instead of using me as target practice. I was so young and naïve that I thought I must have done something to get on his good side.

  When we reached the tournament, I was bouncing with excitement. There were colors everywhere and it was the first time I’d ever seen a tent. I saw a closed tent with displays of candy all over it, so I asked if we could get some. For a moment, Zeus eyes narrowed, which I knew meant he was planning something. “Alright, but you have to wait outside because you’re not old enough to go in.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Of course it is. They don’t want little children in there messing everything up.”

  “Okay.” I wanted to complain, but I knew that would make Zeus mad and I didn’t want him to melt my eyes.

  “Then stay here.” He pointed to a spot next to the wall and I did as he ordered. “Don’t move from this spot no matter what. Do you understand?”

  I nodded. When they entered the tent, I turned to watch the rest of the activity. I knew there had to be seers around, but I didn’t know what they looked like. In fact, I wasn’t entirely sure what they did.

  I was surprised to hear thunder crackle and peered up towards the clear, sunny sky. Then I heard a new sound— one I couldn’t resist. I forgot that I was supposed to stay in that spot and ran to the tent I heard the sound come from. It was very close to the candy tent.

  Inside was amazing. There were stands all around the edge of the circular tent, which was way larger on the inside, and in the middle was a woman standing on a stone podium. The woman was blindfolded. The most amazing part was the dragon made of fire that was circling her. The dragon was nothing but a creature of ash and live flames, but it was the most amazing magic I had ever seen. That moment began my unending fascination with dragons.