Summoned

by Lisa E Parry

  “What trickery is this?” King Aidan breathed. “You do not wear the face of the woman I knew.”

  Elfina took a step forwards, sniffed the air around Stephanie and then paced around her. “She was wearing an illusion. Can you not see the spell wearing off?” The queen’s green eyes flashed in the dark like cat’s eyes. “Hmm, I suppose you can’t. It was a powerful potion. One must take it every day indefinitely to defy the ravages of time.” Elfina’s alien eyes found mine. “A common, but expensive potion used here. Anarch would have been her rich benefactor.”

  Surely my eyes were betraying me. “But you are a citizen in my world – birth certificate, passport...”

  “Documents can easily be falsified. Nothing you didn’t do for Leah.”

  “Leah? How dare you say her name!” I seethed at the mention of the witch who had protected our world from the ‘Magia Ater’ for fifty years. The witch who had sacrificed so much. The witch that had been found half dead after escaping to my world through a makeshift portal. Stephanie had no right to utter that great woman’s name. I clenched my fists. “You are from this world?” I asked as calmly as I could. I needed clarification.

  “You are young, Cheri. You weren’t there when we came through. Separately, of course. With a little help, I followed her.” Stephanie spat at the ground before my feet. “Look at you. The famous battle-witch who can’t see to the end of her nose and oblivious to anything really going on around her. Your ignorance will be the end of you. I have seen others with such an affinity for denying what is right in front of them and it didn’t end well for any of them. You will die because of it.” She had the audacity to cackle at me.

  Without thinking, I strode up to her and smacked her across the face. Her newly frail body fell to the floor in a cloud of long grey hair. Pent up anger at her treachery had pushed me to that slap. Admittedly, my blindness to all that had been going on unseen, all the deception, had bestowed me with disappointment in myself.

  “Bravo, Cheri,” Elfina said.

  “Ladies,” Aidan interjected. He placed a warm, calming hand on my shoulder. It did the job. I took in a deep calming breath and felt tendrils of tranquility spread through my body. I took a step back before I lost all grip on reason. “Let me try,” he demanded. I nodded my agreement. I would not let any personal connection cloud my vision any longer.

  Elfina returned to my side with an evil smile and watched the King. His armour scraped and creaked as he knelt to Stephanie’s eye level. Rage boiled at the edge of my calm composure, but with years of supressing such emotions, I kept it at bay. Anarch had had a mole in my world for fifty years. How long had she been causing problems? How many others were there? What had she been working on for fifty years? With that kind of groundwork, it would be nigh on impossible to uncover everything she’d had a hand in. What is happening there in my absence?

  “Stephanie, I don’t want to hurt you, but it may be difficult for me to keep a leash on the two banshees at my back.” My eyebrows rose, Elfina’s laugh echoed throughout the cell. “Just tell us what Anarch wants with Melissa.”

  “No,” came her short reply. Elfina took a step forward and rubbed her hands together with glee. The old woman scrambled to press her back against the wall. My eyes had adjusted now and I saw the room better. She sneered, “I don’t know; he didn’t tell me.”

  “Why should we believe you?” Aidan abruptly stood.

  “Because it’s the truth!” she yelled.

  “We are asking the wrong questions,” I stated. “Stephanie, what task had Anarch given you to complete?” She bit her lip - a question she could answer. When the silence dragged on, a blast of light left Elfina’s hand and Stephanie shrieked on contact. Normally, I would frown upon that sort of treatment, but if needs be, then torture would be the only way to get our answers. Stephanie’s body contorted on the floor as another shriek left her mouth agape long after her scream left her lips. She fell limp.

  “Elfina!” Aidan bellowed.

  The queen shrugged. “She needs a little encouragement.”

  Aidan turned back to Stephanie. “I’m giving you a chance to answer without force. Take it,” he urged.

  The traitor was panting. She looked defiantly at the king and spoke with wobbling lips. “I shall take it to my grave.”

  Aidan stared at her for a moment before turning to us. “Do what you must.” He slammed his armoured fist on the door and a prison guard opened it. Aidan stepped through and shut it behind us. His actions hadn’t surprised me. The king was giving the okay for us to torture it out of her, but wanting no part in it. I respected him for his values and recognising that it was for the greater good. He had given her a chance, which she threw back in his face. A very bad decision…

  Queen Elfina was another story. She rubbed her hands together with a venomous glee and light sparked from them to cast ominous shadows about the room. There was something unusual about Elfina’s shadow. It moved independently, almost scattered about the room to occupy every corner - no escaping her. Stephanie caught sight of it too. I swallowed, remembering her bragging about what she and Avellana did to dark elves before they killed them. I wasn’t sure I wanted to witness whatever atrocity it was, but I held my ground.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked her, but the queen ignored me.

  Elfina’s eyes targeted her prey, now whimpering in the corner. “I could pick it out of your mind, but that would be far too easy and civilised,” her voice laced with venom. “How about I show you how I am going to kill you? If you cooperate then I shall make your death instantaneous, rather than this …” The queen’s aura bellowed out in an amber glow, chasing away the oppressive darkness and highlighting Stephanie’s gloomy world. In a blur of colour, she was kneeling before Stephanie, tightly grasping her head. Screaming ensued and her face contorted in horror at the scene Elfina placed in her mind. She wriggled and squirmed but Elfina’s hands were impenetrably locked in place. Blood trickled out of the old woman’s nose. A part of me wanted to interfere, but I needed her to talk.

  “All right!” I heard between ear-wrenching screams and gasps. Elfina slowly drew her hands away and then patted the woman’s head in a mock gesture of caring.

  “Tell us.”

  “Amongst other things, my job was primarily to go to the otherworld and bring ‘Magia Ater’ to Anarch.”

  I stepped closer. “I thought that was Henrik’s job?”

  “I travelled with Henrik and Will.”

  “Will?” The floor dropped away from me. Will was on Council. I remembered his anticipation when he had the book in his hands. “Keep talking,” I urged.

  Stephanie glanced nervously at Elfina. “I located and kept a close eye on Leah. She suspected me and hid the book. Henrik went into the world and built his own following. I made necessary arrangements for evidence of his growing dominion to be overlooked. He was a pain in the arse. Will and I had a job covering for him, but he became power-hungry and decided to work independently. Will and I gave up on him and let his actions come to light.” She looked at me. “That’s when you discovered his wrongdoings, Cheri, and made him a known fugitive.

  “Finally, Leah left the Council and disappeared. It couldn’t be discovered that I was looking for her, being so close to the Council, so I ordered Henrik to go. He may have been power-hungry, but at least he’d get the book to Anarch. My scrying spell tipped her off though and Henrik screwed up, as you know.”

  Stephanie sat a little straighter against the wall. “Will infiltrated the Council perfectly. He is now running the Coven in the otherworld and making arrangements for Anarch’s arrival. Violet should be dead by now. She was on to him, but couldn’t prove anything, so she came to this world to try and discover who he worked for. Anarch found out she was prying, of course, and added her name to the letter to frame her, should anything go wrong.” She paused and took in a deep breath, the truth already crushing me.

  “My God. Why did Anarch give me that letter? He must’v
e known I would suspect you as consorting with him.” I pressed a hand to my chest whilst I tried to process all the information. Henrik, Stephanie and Will were all working for Anarch.

  “It was to get your best people into our world and out of the way. But also, to take me with you. You suggested I came along, did you not? For that very reason? To keep your enemy closer?” I just stared at her whilst having difficulty finding words. She continued, “Did our battle magic take you by surprise?” She turned a tooth-chipped grin on me.

  “Anything else important?” I asked shakily.

  Stephanie laughed, but it was strained. “Anarch doesn’t need the book anymore.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “The spells from Melissa’s head have already been extracted. I was reporting to Etheldreda, who then passed on the information to Anarch.” She shrugged her shoulders, “She liked to be kept informed. Someone else within our group was reporting directly to Anarch. Someone far above Ethel and me. He reported to Anarch with another agenda entirely - a task he completed right under your nose.”

  “Another traitor?” My heartbeat thumped heavily in my chest. “Who, Ethan?” Naturally, I assumed it would be her companion, the one she constantly confided in.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Tell us,” Elfina said and tapped her grey head. Stephanie screamed into the darkness, blood now pouring out of her nose, mouth and ears…

  With heavy hearts, we strode back through the palace to the room that held the enchanted mirror. The severity of our situation pressed hard on our shoulders. Stephanie’s revelations were more serious than we had anticipated. Winning the war now looked bleak, and we were still in the dark about Anarch’s plans for Melissa.

  True to her word, Elfina had made Stephanie’s death swift and stopped her heart. Curiosity got the better of me.

  “What was the method of her death that you portrayed for her?”

  Queen Elfina sniffed. “You are far too young to handle that, Cheri.” Considering I was fifty-two, I shook my head at the statement.

  We reached the room Melissa had occupied to find King Aidan waiting for us with Denley, his personal guard, also adorned in armour. Both Elfina’s face and mine became grim when we approached Aidan. He took in our expressions, yet those troubled blue eyes looked determined and ready for our devastating news.

  “She is dead?”

  “Yes.”

  “What information did you retrieve?”

  ***

  The glint of armour winked at me, heralding the arrival of King Oswyn’s army. The column marched in from the north. So many men… All with families and people who cared for them. How many would lose their lives and tear their families apart? The thought made my chest constrict. What if I would be the one erasing them from history? Innocent men fighting to save their countries and livelihoods wiped out by me? I would rather die. What does Anarch have planned for me?

  I twisted my hair and yanked it over my shoulder. My eyes returned to the sun making its lazy decent to the horizon. What if it would be the last sunset I’d ever see? This time I might be chained in a dungeon. The cloudless sky gave the sunset an exquisite, smooth gradient of red to blue. Birds with large wingspans soared gracefully in the skies, reminding me of the exultant feeling of flying when had I transformed into a phoenix. I squinted and shaded my eyes. Was that Dargon in the distance?

  Drawing in a deep melancholic breath, I slowly released it. I was resigned. Calm washed over me like cold spring water dousing the crushing weight of fear and inevitability – events out of my control. Multiple questions coursed through my mind. How will he call on me? What will he make me do? But it all boiled down to one. Why me? Why did I have to be the reincarnation of a powerful sorceress?

  I crossed my arms and stamped my foot. A little self-admonishing was in order. I no longer had the strength to raise hell on earth, because of all the stupid things I had done recently. They weren’t stupid to me, but they were unnecessary in the eyes of others – others who didn’t understand what I needed. Begrudgingly, I understood that I was too weak. Will he kill me for being useless? I shuddered. I was better off dead than being forced to hurt others anyway.

  A mirroring sigh beside me.

  On the roof of the tallest tower of the castle, we looked down upon the citadel of Caster. I had needed a sense of freedom. With a reckless abandonment that surged through me, I yearned to be out on those vast, desolate plains on horseback - retreating like a coward for the distant hills. The wind blew wildly around me. I wanted to catch it - to hold on to something free and be a part of it. Maybe one day, I would learn to disintegrate and travel with the wind …

  People milled around the city below us, going about their business. I envied them their ignorance and normal lives. A stronger turbulence gusted around us. Drawing my thick shawl closer around me, I twiddled my toes and looked down. Damned useless slippers did not keep the cold out.

  “I bet you miss those kick-ass boots I bought you, huh?” Viola said and I found it within me to laugh.

  “Every day since I’ve been here.”

  Another long silence …

  “Melissa, listen to me,” Viola said seriously. I winced at her tone and braced myself for the pep talk everyone else had already given me - that I’d be fine, they would find me and make Anarch pay, that I should just hang in there, and that I was so powerful I could probably do anything…I had spent the whole afternoon in Queen Elfina’s council room with everyone strategizing and thinking of ways to help me, but I wasn’t really there. I just sat there playing with a fork, noticing how shiny it was, imagining a servant furiously polishing it … My mind had endlessly wandered as conversation flowed around me. I’d felt alone … so alone.

  Viola surprised me though. “You can’t save the world.” I stared at her. What direction would this conversation take? “If you fail then it’s okay. You aren’t God. It’s not within your power to do his work. You have already done so much good. Be content with that. Fate has a lot to do with our lives and Anarch is using you to fight against his own. In the end, I think we all feel vulnerable in some way or another. I think that is how Anarch is feeling. If he defeats this world and ours, then he believes he can live out his life contentedly. That is his weakness. Everyone else deals with pain and vulnerability, but I don’t think he can.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “There must be something you can take away from him to destroy him, to undo everything he has worked for to get into his position of power. Obviously, he has taken it by force, so there must be something you can use against him. Y’know, much like you did with Henrik’s army.” She visibly winced at using his name. Henrik had had the threat of a powerful army. Except that had been his undoing, as I had taken it back. He hadn’t seemed so fearsome then.

  “Why are you saying it’s okay if I fail to stop him?”

  She swallowed and turned to look out over the city. Her white hair whipped around her face, revealing those pointed ears. A tear slid down her pale cheek and I stopped myself from crying with her. “You have already sacrificed a part of your sanity and I want you to know that if you can’t go on, then we won’t blame you. You deserve to be free of all this strife. It’s not fair on you.” She turned those huge, ethereal, purple eyes on me. “Just promise to visit me as a ghost, okay? It doesn’t mean that I want you out of my life.”

  My throat constricted. Why did I feel a betraying slither of relief at those words? I pulled Viola into a hug before I could explore the reasoning. I didn’t want to face the reasoning behind it. Giving up wasn’t an option. What if I have no choice?

  With an effort, Dorian pushed the heavy turret door open against the wind and strode over to us. He nodded to Viola, who smiled sweetly back, then turned to me. “Cheri has visited Stephanie back at Aidan’s palace in Essentia.”

  “What? Why?”

  “For answers.”

  “Did she get them?”

  D
orian looked grave. “Yes, she did. I believe Stephanie was tortured before Elfina killed her.”

  “Oh.” I had mixed feelings over that. Part of me - the darker part - felt it was well-deserved and yet another part of me morbidly knew it marked the start of a body count.

  “Something has unsettled Cheri and Elfina greatly.”

  I swallowed. Not a good sign. “What is it? No one mentioned it in the council room earlier.”

  Dorian pushed a hand through his hair as it blew around his face. “There’s something I must tell you ... It’s something Aidan has taken very badly.”

  “Is he okay?” Viola’s small voice inquired.

  Dorian turned a soft look on the girl who appeared too slight to be standing out in the howling wind. He knew I suspected she had feelings for the King. “He will be fine. There is something he must come to terms with, but is resistant to doing so.”

  “Who doesn’t have that problem right now?” I asked sardonically. The question was answered with silence. “What is the news?”

  “We have been betrayed by …”

  That was when I felt it. Both Viola and I twisted to find the source of a great deal of power surging through the air. A ripping sound tore through the gales and we watched in horror as the space not fifty yards away from us cleaved in two.

  “No! Not now, not now!” I hadn’t said my goodbyes to those I cared about. I glanced at Dorian and he saw it in my face.

  I pushed Viola into Dorian and separated myself from them. Dorian reached for me, but I stepped further away so he wouldn’t get into any crossfire. The hurt on his face made me weep. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

  Anarch stepped through his makeshift portal, his impenetrable gaze falling on me. “It is time.”