by B. C. Morin
Evyette looked at Alannah and then looked back at her wrist that she had not let go of.
“Evy?” Tristan stepped forward and grabbed hold of her hand leading her to a nearby seat. “Evy, what happened?”
“There was an old woman over by the tree. I went over to invite her to the gathering but she hid. When I confronted her she said she knew me but that I did not know her.”
Alannah, Tristan, Kaleb, Alessa and Brennus looked at each other questioningly.
“Do you remember what she looked like?”
“No. I never saw her face. She told me that I have a power I do not know about. That it had to be bestowed upon me.”
“Evy, the only powers that have to be bestowed usually deal with darkness.” Brennus crouched next to her seat.
“What else did she say?”
“That is just it. She didn’t say anything. She grabbed my hand and turned it over to look at my scars. As I was telling her that it was an accident, the area where her hand was began to burn. I yanked my hand back as fast as I could but when I did-“ She hesitated for a moment. Her hand covering her new unknown mark. “This was already there.” She moved her hand exposing the mark. “I looked back up to question her but she was gone. I don’t even know what this means!” She thrusted her arm toward her friends.
Brennus grabbed her arm and looked at it solemnly. “She must know you Evyette. Powers can only be bestowed by the family or one that the family has entrusted to do so. This mark. It is the mark of darkness and shadow manipulation.” Evyette looked at him frightened as did all the others.
“What does that mean Brennus?”
“You now have the ability to manipulate darkness and shadows. It can be both a gift and a curse. You see, to manipulate the darkness, you have to mentally call upon dark energy and forces usually from other dimensions. You may now find it a bit easier to fight the Venator-Animus when they attack you for the simple fact that now you will see them coming. But if you are not careful. You can be tempted by dark powers.”
Brennus stood again. “Do you know the woman’s name?”
“What woman?”
“The one that gave you this.” Brennus grabbed her hand and shoved her new mark into her eyesight.
“I don’t remember her now.”
Brennus covered his mouth for a moment and rubbed his chin as all the others looked at each other in confusion. They tried to remind Evyette about what she had told them and although she was able to remember the events she could not recall the woman. Not what she wore, the color of her hair. Nothing.
“Memory manipulation.” He blurted, as they all looked to him with bewildered faces.
“What?” Alannah who had taken a seat next to Evyette looked up at Brennus.
“Whoever this was, or is, has the power of memory manipulation. It’s a very old power. It has not been around for quite some time. Very few faeries are born with that now. She made sure that Evyette would not remember her so that if she saw her again she would not point her out as the provider of this mark.”
“Well we should still look for her then.” Alannah stood, pushing her way past Brennus as he reached his arm out to stop her.
“Alannah, how would we do that? Evyette cannot remember any part of her. Also, If this person knew enough to draw Evy away from the festivities, and use memory manipulation to make her forget her, Then it is probable that she was smart enough to flee and cover her tracks.” He looked back at Evyette.
“What’s done is done. Now it is truly up to the Magisters to help her.”
After the leaving the festivities early, they had all gone to see the Magister Torin who almost word for word provided the same revelations and information that Brennus had. He assured Evyette that as long as she trained with them they would help her to control and even shut her mind to the lure of the dark powers.
Being re-assured, they all realized that there was no sense in worrying about it now. Acquisition of dark powers or not, for now, her only hope lied in what she could learn here.
~ Chapter 27~
They had only been walking a short while when Brennus realized that Alannah was falling slightly behind. He stopped and sat on a large rock while Alannah caught up.
“I forget that you cannot run as fast as I.”
Alannah looked at him and raised an eyebrow as she curled her lip in a sarcastic gesture.
“I didn’t mean that arrogantly.” He raised his hand and began to rub his chin. “Although, I could have. I am quite fast.” He stood again, glancing at Alannah, waiting for a retort but receiving none.
She walked past him bumping into him with her shoulder as she walked by. She did not for a moment think that it would hurt as it was more playful than anything else, but it did. She tried hard not to rub at it to avoid any further commentary from Brennus.
“So, how far is it to your Kingdom Brennus?”
“If we walk all day and camp at night it may take two to three days.”
Alannah had taken a seat on a nearby log and put her face in her hands. She rubbed for a moment and with a large sigh released her face again.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I suppose the events of the past couple of weeks have finally taken their toll on me.”
Brennus’s usual smug look was gone, sitting down next to her and saying nothing, he took her hand and rubbed it between his for a moment. “It has been a lot. Come,” he pulled her hand. “We will walk for a bit longer and then camp for the night.” He knew that getting her moving could possibly get her mind off of those things.
“Tell me of Anrad, Brennus.”
Brennus smiled slightly, “Anrad,” he began, “Anrad is a beautiful place. Filled, of course, with trees, but most of the trees there have flower vines crawling up them. Ironic since we are the warriors, that we would have such a soft landscape.”
“Perhaps it is a balance.”
He looked at her, still smiling, “Perhaps,” He paused, thinking of what she had said. “When you enter, you come in through the village market. Much like with the Magi Kingdom. Only the stores there are filled more with blacksmiths and weapons. There are a few for potions and books, but most of the warrior gifts are physical strength. We train from the moment we can hold a sword upright. There are many among us now that have been born with the gift of psychic weapons.“
“Psychic weapons?”
“Being able to fight with your mind as strongly as one would with their body. It can cause great mental harm to your opponent. Of course most warrior faeries are not satisfied with mastering simply the skills they were born with. As we grow we are taught to explore other traits, or gifts. Sorcery, mutation with or without spells as some of the Magi do, things like that. So you will find that most of us are quite marked.”
“What of the castle?”
“The Castle,” He stared off for a moment as if trying to remember. “It is as with many of the other Kingdoms, found in the very center, nestled in a large oak tree and lined in gold, silver and crystals. It is a thing of beauty, tapestries everywhere depicting battles, crests, family lineage. There are shields and various ancient weapons on the walls.”
“You seem to know a lot about the inside of the castle. Do you visit there a lot?”
“On occasion.”
“And what of this waterfall you told me about.”
“Ah. The Cascades. It is larger than the one at the Kingdom of the Magi. To get to the top takes a bit more effort but it is worth it. You see far over the stone homes and even over the castle a bit. I spent a lot of time there when I was a boy.”
“Will you show it to me?”
“Yes.”
They walked silently for a while longer before finding a place to rest beneath a large tree.
Alannah gathered wood for the fire as Brennus hunted for meat. She walked around the area making space for the fire and for them to rest. She took out some of the bread, wine and fruits that Lilian had packed for them and laid them on a small blan
ket.
By the time he returned there was a fire blazing , blankets spread and food ready. He prepared the hares to cook and sat down by Alannah and the foods. He looked at her small bag and all the things that she had pulled out of it. “Ah , extension spell.”
“Yes. I had always wanted to use it, but to be honest I have never had the opportunity.” She grabbed her bag, “I was amazed to see how deep it goes.” She reached her hand in up to her elbow as a child playing with a new toy.
Brennus chuckled to himself.
“What?”
“It still slips my mind sometimes that you are not very experienced with spells and even things outside your forest.”
Alannah looked to the fire watching the flesh of the animal cook. “I didn’t realize how much there was for me to know until I met Kaleb and Tristan and then you.” She turned her head looking at him now. “I was a bit angry and even embarrassed at first. But then when I saw my mother’s reaction at the table regarding me leaving for training, I realized that she and my father were merely trying to protect me. I cannot be angry with them for that.”
They sat for a while listening to the crackling of the fire, waiting for the meat to cook. For a brief moment she thought she caught him looking at her, but she quickly dismissed it.
She watched as Brennus pulled the animal off of the skewer and began slicing it with his knife.
He put the plate alongside the other foods and they began to eat. “I think tomorrow we should practice your sword handling before we continue forward.”
She swallowed a piece of bread “Are you afraid I might not know how to defend myself?”
“Mmmm, I know you can defend yourself magically, I’m simply not as sure of your sword skills. I think practice will do you some good.” He brought the goblet up toe his mouth and savored his wine before swallowing.
“Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt.” She put a berry in her mouth and licked her finger of the juice it left behind. “Brennus-“ she began and then swallowed the remainder of the fruit. “Which of your marks is for sword mastery?”
“Sword Mastery?” Brennus repeated as he searched his arms only to realize that he could not see it without a mirror.
“Actually, that mark begins here-“ without hesitating he removed his shirt and turned to show her his shoulders and back. There, on his left shoulder blade was a symbol that she had seen before in her books and instantly recognized as the swordsmanship mark.
She marveled at the mark and without thinking, reached forward touching it’s center first and following it out to his back and over his shoulders. She caught herself before going any further and pulled her hand back quickly. “Sorry, I was just amazed at how much it extended. Did you train long to complete the mark?”
Brennus who still had his back to her had pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. “I cannot remember, to be honest. I have trained since I could walk. If it wasn’t fighting, it was swordsmanship, or archery, or spells, the list goes on.”
“Oh. Is this one for archery?” She reached over and traced the beginning of the mark on his right shoulder blade.
“Yes.” He closed his eyes fighting the goose bumps he felt coming on.
She looked at him, amazed by his physique but impressed by the amount of marks and how much time he has dedicated to learning so much.
He heard her move back to the place where she had been sitting and pulled his shirt back on.
She sat looking at the spell casting mark on her bicep that had begun to spread. The lines swirled on some ends, and some looked as if they were vines with leaves. So different from the male’s marks that were thick and sharp looking. She turned her attention to her birth-power mark which sat on the inside of her forearm. She imagined the lines and vines extending out and across her arm.
Brennus turned to face Alannah once more. “Alannah, there is something I need to talk to you about.”
Alannah turned her gaze to Brennus, a confused yet hopeful look on her face. “Yes, Brennus?” I wonder if he will tell me of his feelings for me. That he is not angry with me for rejecting him. She quietly hoped to herself.
“It’s about your mark.”
oh. “Oh, yes, Dara told me about it.”
Brennus raised an eyebrow, “What did she tell you?”
“Well, she did not tell me much, just that it is a mark that appears every thousand years. But she wouldn’t say anything else beyond that.”
Brennus lowered his gaze for a moment then looked back at her. “She was right about it appearing once every thousand years. But there is more.”
Alannah sat up, leaning slightly toward Brennus, intrigued with what he was about to say.
“The mark stands for a certain type of power. One that no-one else possesses. It not only enables you to have control over the elements, but you will be able to multiply it exponentially.”
Alannah sat open mouthed, unable to believe that she had such a power.
Brennus continued… “That must be the reason Maligo took you. He must know of your mark and what it makes you capable of. If I am not mistaken, he was probably going to try and take that power by any means necessary.” He leaned forward, grabbing her hand, “Alannah, that is the reason that I wanted you to come with me to meet the elder faeries. They can help you control your powers. Once you can do that, you can decide what you will do with them.”
“What do you mean, what I will do?”
Brennus smiled lightly. “Alannah, if Maligo took you for your power, and took me because he wanted me to lead an army, then it stands to reason that he has a war in store for the fae people. You will have a great power at your disposal. You will have to choose whether you will fight for and alongside your people, or not. It may sound like a simple decision, but it will require a lot from you.”
“How long have you known this ?”
“Since the second night in the mountains.” He lowered his gaze. “I had a dream about the mark, reminding me of what it meant. I knew you didn’t have your powers yet, and I was afraid that if I told you, the enormity of the situation would frighten you.”
“I suppose it might have at the time.” Alannah looked down at her arms, wishing she could see the mark on her back. It had been so long since she had seen it, considering she had to use two mirrors to do so.
“Are you alright, Alannah?”
“Oh, yes, I was just thinking about the mark. I was so angry about not having my powers and about not knowing what it means that I had stopped looking at it. Now I can barely remember what it looks like.”
Brennus stood, walking around Alannah and then sitting behind her. Gently he gathered her hair, his fingers grazing the skin on her neck and moved it so that it fell over her shoulder. Brennus’s fingers traced the curve of her shoulder before moving down to her mark.
She sighed gently at the warmth of his touch.
He began to trace it with his finger, sending goose bumps all over her fair skin. “Here, there is the trunk of an oak tree,” he said, trailing his finger down the center, “At the top, there are leaves, on the right, there are flames,” he continued tracing the outer edges with his finger. Alannah closed her eyes willing her heartbeat to slow down but it would not.
“At the bottom is water and on the left there is wind. At the very center is an infinite symbol.” He had become so enthralled with the beauty of her mark, not realizing how intimate his touch had become. When he did he took his hand away quickly.
At the absence of his touch, Alannah’s heart dropped into her stomach, leaving an aching pain in her chest. But she would not let him know. He did not see her that way any longer, he made that clear. She tossed her hair across her back once more and turned to face him, a sincere smile spreading across her features. “Thank you.”
Brennus smiled back, nodding his head. “We should put up some concealment spells so that we are not found in the middle of the night.” Brennus said, quickly changing the subject, as he stood, brushing the dried leave
s off of his pants.
“May I?”
Brennus looked at her surprised.
“I have been studying. Remember?”
Brennus motioned his hand toward the clearing, leaving the spells to her.
She walked around to the four corners of the camp and recited the spell that she had read in the book given to her by Dara.
Brennus had stood at the ready just in case she got a word or phrase wrong but was impressed when she conducted the spells perfectly.
She felt the now familiar burning sensation on her arm and watched as her mark spread just a bit as she mastered this new spell. She looked up at Brennus and smiled.
* * *
“Majesties!” The faerie ran down the hall of the castle with his robe flying behind him, and the hood on his face almost flying off. “Majesties!” He yelled, knocking on the door to the master chambers of the castle.
The door flung open and before him stood his King in his adorned robe. “Magister Morcant. Is everything alright?”
The Magister bowed slightly. “Your highness, our spies have reported on the affairs of Maligo.” He huffed trying to catch his breath.
The King moved out of the doorway motioning for Magister Morcant to enter.
Queen Calla sat in her nightgown by the fireplace with a book in her lap. She motioned her hand and in an instant her chair swung around, facing the Magister.
“Your Majesties, I apologize for the late hour but I knew you would want to know this. I have been contacted by one of our spies. They arrived at the Valley of Darkness and found Maligo. He had clearly been there for a few days. He has been conducting rituals and calling on the darkest of spirits and demons. He discovered one of the spies and killed him during a fight. The other spy managed to get away and tell us of the news. He said that many of the spells seem to be to summon the same demon spirits Samil called on and Samil’s army.” Morcant paused taking a deep breath, trying to regain composure, “My King, if he succeeds, the threat will be much greater than what we thought.”