Silvestra placed a bunch of grapes and a slice of sweet bread on her plate. She ate slowly, with a meticulous grace that seemed practiced, and then took a small sip from her goblet.
I debated on refusing the food but relented as my stomach growled, and I snatched a handful of berries from a silver platter. As I put a few of the berries in my mouth, I chewed slowly, feeling the witch’s eyes on me as she watched me eat.
“Why don’t you tell me where you’ve put Kull?” I asked.
“Tonight,” she said. “You will see him.”
See him? This was good news. He was still alive, at least. “Is he okay? Why can’t I see him now?”
Her pale turquoise eyes seemed to bore a hole through me. “He is mine, child. Whatever I do with him is my concern. You would be wise to remember this.” She rested her chin in her hands, her long, claw-like nails gleaming in the sunlight. “You need to understand that I rarely get visitors in my castle. Those who dare come here either die or become one of my servants as they are trying to steal from me. Your friends with the staff are being hunted even as we speak, and it will not be long before I have them.
“As it is, I have realized that I miss having conversations with others who have magical gifts. There was a time when I was like you—unsure of my powers, afraid of what I might become. You are not the only one spoken of in prophecy.”
I paused in taking a bite of bread.
“There was a prophecy spoken long ago by Lucretian—Faythander’s first true druid—that I would betray my own kind, that I would become a scourge and plague. ‘From the mountaintops she shall bring about the death of the innocent. Beauty taken by force shall be her prison. Her curse will be her name. She will be alone and loathed by all.’ The prophecy frightened me so badly that I ran from it, only to find that by doing so, I fulfilled it.”
Her words struck a chord with me. She had described exactly how I felt.
“I didn’t know,” I said quietly.
She shrugged. “It is of little consequence now. As soon as I knew I had the gift for black magic, I fought it. I refused to use it. But it became impossible to suppress it, and I had no other choice but to embrace the magic inside me.” She opened her hand, palm up, and a black flame ignited. Even though I was sitting across from her, the heat from the flame warmed me. I could feel the magic in her flame—dark magic, though not like I’d felt in Geth, the Regaymor, or the bloodthorn. There was no taint like I’d felt in theirs. It was power, but not evil.
The flame reflected in her eyes, sparks dancing in her irises, and then she extinguished it.
“You taught yourself to use black magic?” I asked. “How?”
“Years of practice. It was not easy.”
I studied her face. Most who used black magic in Faythander went insane. Perhaps she already had. If she’d been transforming people into wraiths, she certainly wasn’t considered normal. But was she insane? Was there a way to control black magic without losing one’s sanity?
“Tonight,” Silvestra said, “I have planned a ball in the grand chamber. You will attend.”
“A ball?” I asked. Had no one informed her that you needed guests in order to classify something as a ball? “Who are you inviting?”
She smirked. “You will see. Perhaps you’ll understand how I pass my time here.”
I eyed her. All this conversation made me feel as if she were avoiding the reason I’d come to speak to her. “What have you done with Kull? Have you transformed him?”
“You shall see him at the ball.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Is he transformed?”
“You shall see him soon,” she said, a tone of warning in her voice. “For now, you will learn of my ways here. There is much you have yet to learn. Fan’twar has been protecting you from the truth for too long.”
She whispered a word of magic, making a cloud of black mist form on the table. The food disappeared, yet as the mist dissipated, a box appeared.
“Pick it up,” she said.
Wary of a trap or spell, I hesitated before reaching for it. But if her intention was to hurt me, then I was fairly certain she would have done it already.
I picked up the box, and it weighed heavy in my hands as if made of solid stone. It had a glassy, onyx texture. The box felt perfectly smooth and formed a geometrically perfect cube.
“Open it,” she said.
I inspected the cube. There were no hinges or a lid of any kind. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just a block of stone.”
“Is it?”
Inspecting it more closely, I tried to determine what exactly the thing was. I ran my hands over the smooth black stone. It chilled my fingers as my reflection stared back from the mirrorlike surfaces. A gentle hum of magic formed inside as I stared at it.
“There’s magic in it,” I said.
Silvestra nodded. “What else?”
I rested my hand atop the box, trying to decide what type of magic I felt. Oddly, I couldn’t detect a single color. It felt as if I were watching a black-and-white film, like all the color had been absorbed into differing shades of gray.
“I’ve never seen magic like this before,” I said. “It’s colorless, gray, but not like goblin magic… something else. Why can’t I tell the type?”
“Look harder.”
I cupped the box in my hands, trying to see past the facets and inside the box. When I did, I found several intricate spells blocking me from seeing inside.
“There are spells inside. They’re blocking me.”
“Can you see past them?”
“No.”
She held out her hand. “Give me the box.”
I did as she said.
She took the box from me and held it on her palm. “This is called a lotus cube. It contains a magic of sorts and was once used in training practitioners. But I will say no more, for its secrets are not ones I wish to divulge. They are for you to discover.”
The box disappeared in a cloud of black fog.
“Another time,” she said, then rose. “Come, I shall escort you around my palace.”
I stood but didn’t follow her out of the room. I still had a mission to accomplish—and following the witch around her castle wasn’t helping me achieve that goal.
“What if I refuse?” I asked.
“And do what? Try to escape?”
I hesitated. Would I try to escape without Kull? It wasn’t a question I wished to ponder. “I…” I couldn’t answer. Not yet.
“Come,” she said. “There is much I wish to show you.”
Her silver dress swished behind her as she walked toward the doors. I wore no chains, she’d placed me under no spells, yet still I felt compelled to follow. As long as she held Kull, she held me. Besides, wandering the castle may give me clues as to where she was keeping Kull. I would be sure to keep a watchful eye out for his prison.
I followed the witch out of the room and into the hallway. Two of the wraiths followed us out. Despite my thick petticoat, the air felt chilly, especially as we crossed through a hallway with no windows and little light.
“You are cold?” Silvestra asked.
“Yes.”
“We shall go to my garden. The sun will warm us there.”
I didn’t want to go to her garden. I didn’t want to go anywhere except wherever it was she was keeping Kull, and then I promptly wanted to leave. Flexing my fists, I felt my power recuperating from my last spell. If it came to it, I would fight her, although I knew what the outcome would be. Still, I could always try.
Crossing through a domed foyer, our footsteps echoed through the empty room. Small tiles of varying turquoise and purple hues made up the floor to form a seascape mosaic. The coils of a sea serpent dipped and rose through churning waves. The image was so detailed I felt as if the cold spray splashed my face, as if I could hear the shrill wail of the wind and feel the floor buckling beneath my feet. Magic flowed through the room, making me realize
the sensations weren’t imagined, but enchanted.
After crossing through the foyer, we stopped at a door set under a deep alcove. The witch pushed the door open to reveal a garden.
As we entered the garden, the two wraiths stayed behind, watching us with their cold, detached gazes. I followed Silvestra through a labyrinth of waist-high rosebushes. The gravel path wound through the garden of fragrant red flowers, and then we entered a maze of tall hedges. Some of the paths didn’t seem to have any purpose and were arranged oddly, stopping abruptly and leading nowhere. Was there some meaning to their arrangement? Some of them were large circles connected to nothing. I got the feeling that if I were standing far above the ground, their patterns would make more sense.
We stopped at a pair of stone benches placed in the garden’s center. The air smelled of rain, and with the dark clouds looming in the distance, it seemed the storm wasn’t far away. Birdsong filled the air as I took a seat across from the witch.
Her strange, almost colorless eyes looked to the sky, reflecting the sunlight in a way that reminded me of Fan’twar.
The castle’s towers rose beyond the garden, an impressive, massive structure that seemed to stretch from one end of the horizon to the other. Most of the parapets were covered in moss, making them blend in with the surrounding countryside. Beyond the towers were the snow-capped peaks of the Dragon Spine mountain range.
Kull was in that castle somewhere. I would find him. No matter how long it took, I would find him.
“You said I’ll see Kull tonight,” I said. “Will he be hurt?”
“He is physically well.”
“Physically? You’ve hurt him in other ways?”
“You’ve nothing to fear yet. I have a bargain to propose.”
“What sort of bargain?”
“Tonight you will see. Tonight everything will be explained.”
I crossed my arms, wondering if she were only making up excuses for when I would see Kull again.
“How do you like my garden?” she asked.
I sighed. She was changing the subject again. This was getting annoying. Tired of playing her games, I stayed silent and didn’t answer.
“Everything has a purpose,” she said as she brushed her fingers over the petals of a rose. “You might see a mere flower, but I have found other uses for living plants. Magic has a way of working with nature.”
A snake appeared in the bushes. I drew back as it slithered from branch to branch, its black scales almost indistinguishable from the shadows. As it approached, the witch outstretched her hand, and the serpent slinked forward, its tongue flicking, and then wrapped around the witch’s wrist. It held perfectly still, as if waiting for her command.
I kept my distance. Whether here or on Earth, snakes gave me the creeps.
Shouting came from the castle doors, and we turned to see what the commotion was about. Two wraiths held an elven man between them. As the wraiths dragged him closer toward us, his eyes widened at the sight of the witch. The elf struggled as the witch’s servants brought him closer to us, but he failed to break free. The wraiths stopped in front of us.
The elven man’s clothes were blackened in some areas, and blood smeared his cheek and part of his chin. He must have been one of the elves who’d attempted to steal the staff.
“What do you want with me?” the elf said.
Silvestra rose. “A demonstration.”
“What?”
The witch nodded at me. “The sky king’s ward is confused about what I plan to do with the Wult king, and so I thought the best way to show her was through a demonstration. You broke into my vaults, killed three of my wraiths, and not only attempted to steal from me, but tried to kill me as well. Now, Olive, you will see what the punishment is for such actions.”
She circled him slowly. “Taking one’s free will is a process that took me many years to learn—one that cost me personally—but it was well worth it, for now I have the magical name, a word that will strip you of your essence and make you my servant.”
“Impossible,” the elf said. “There is no such word.”
“But you are wrong. There are many words I have learned that others have not.”
The witch circled the elf. On her outstretched arm, the snake remained perfectly balanced and unmoving. The elven man shied back at the sight of the snake.
“Don’t touch me,” he said.
“You do not wish to be my servant?”
“I will never serve you. I will die before bowing before you.”
“Brave words for an elf, don’t you think, Olive?”
Her eyes darted to mine, expecting an answer, though I wasn’t sure what to say. No matter what this man had done, he didn’t deserve to have his essence stripped away. I couldn’t sit by and watch.
“Silvestra,” I said quietly, “please don’t do this. You’ve no need to harm him.”
Her eyes flared. “No? He entered my vaults and attempted to steal my possessions. He tried to kill me! Would you rather I let him go free, so that more may come and try to kill me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then what would you have me do?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer. As she turned away from me, the sky darkened. The wind picked up, carrying leaves from the garden, making the tree limbs creak. Glancing overhead, I felt power in the clouds and wind, making my arms prickle with goose bumps.
Silvestra’s footfalls echoed the wind as she circled the elf. Tendrils of black magic gathered around her, and then sparks of green ignited with the black. Although the witch terrified me, I sat in awe as I studied her magic. My magical powers had grown stronger since I’d first learned to control them, and I felt fairly proficient at a few spells, but to be in the witch’s presence humbled and overwhelmed me.
She stood behind the elf when the snake struck, impaled its fangs into the man’s neck, and then retreated. It happened quickly. The man cried out, struggling against the wraiths holding him, but it didn’t matter. The poison would soon enter the elf’s bloodstream.
The witch stood over him but focused on me as a word of magic escaped her lips. The magic coalesced and wrapped around the elf’s body, spiraling, compressing. His screaming pierced the air with the desperate sound of pain and fear. I had trouble listening and wished I could use my magic to stop the witch. But if I did anything, I feared what she might do to me, or worse, to Kull.
The witch grabbed the man’s shoulder, her clawed fingers digging into his skin as the snake slithered off her hand and coiled around the elf’s neck. The black loops constricted until he gasped for air.
He struggled as the wraiths held him between them.
Unable to watch, I looked away. “Please,” I said. “Stop.”
“Stop? And let him escape? No. He attempted to steal from my vault and take my life—two crimes that cannot go unpunished. He must suffer so that others will know never to follow in his footsteps.”
I was reminded that this wasn’t the first time the elves had stolen from her. What had they taken in the past? Whatever it had been had clearly upset her, something even now she couldn’t get over.
His gasping became more infrequent as the blood drained from his face. The witch lifted her hands, and a mist of black and green magic formed—a deep, heavy magic that weighed on my senses. A blade appeared in her hand. I’d seen that blade before. It was the same one I’d seen when she’d first brought me to her castle, and it had been stained with blood. With horror, I realized now that it must have been Kull’s blood I’d seen earlier.
In a swift motion, the witch grabbed the snake and severed its head from its body. The elf inhaled, gasping, as the snake’s coils released. But as soon they did, the scales morphed, turning gray until they became stone.
“You will wear this collar,” Silvestra said, “until your soul becomes mine.”
The elf made no reply. Red welts formed on his neck, mingling with the blood and poison. His eyes became unfocused as the two wraiths dragge
d him away.
The witch walked toward me, still holding the knife. I stood, facing her, letting my magic gather around me.
“Do not try to harm me,” she said quietly, “or you will suffer the same as him.”
“Is that what you did to Kull? Is that why you won’t let me see him?” I could barely contain the rage in my voice.
“You will see him tonight at the ball, so long as you cooperate and do not try anything rash. I would hate to harm him now, when you are so very close to finding him.”
The hardened tone of her voice made me shudder. I wanted to lash out with my magic, but to do so meant I would lose the chance to see him at all. Reluctantly, I pulled my magic back inside and waited for nightfall.
Chapter 8
The two wraiths led me inside the ballroom, though that was a poor term for the room. It was a palace unto itself. My jaw dropped as I stood under the enormous pillared ceiling partially open to the air. On top of the mountain, with only a few wispy clouds in the sky, the stars burned in vivid hues of gold and indigo. Below the stars, the tops of snowy peaks glowed in the moonlight.
Fairies and nobbinflies flitted under the pillared arches, their lights mingling with the starlight. Green vines grew around the archways, and clusters of flowers bloomed in purples and periwinkle blues, filling the air with a sweet fragrance.
Several staircases spiraled to balconies that encircled the room. People dressed in elaborate clothing and wearing masks were milling about on the balconies. I felt as if I’d been transported into another realm altogether, a place so filled with magic that anything was possible.
As I waited in the room, I noticed the stars spinning overhead. Confused, I studied the sky, wondering what enchantment the witch had used to make the stars move. Although Silvestra frightened me, I had to admit that her powers were something awe-inspiring. Not only had she created the ballroom, but she’d also created my own gown. I stood under the enchanted sky and ran my hands over the silk covering my arms. The dark plum, almost-black silk shimmered in the starlight around jewels that had been woven into the fabric, and the elaborately beaded bodice gave way to a full skirt that flowed to the ground.
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