Chapter Six
“You must relax; all this nervous energy will interfere.” Za’rae clucked at her in a disapproving tone. Allantra tried to relax, but the hut was too warm because of the fire Za’rae constantly kept going. Not to mention it was just plain unsettling to glance up and see her reflection in the old woman’s coal black eyes, without one eyelash to cover them. How old did one have to get to lose not only all the hair on their head, but lose the eyelashes too? It was like looking at a voodoo doll come to life.
“I am trying to relax.” Allantra whined lightly.
“I don’t want to give you anything to help you relax, it might interfere with the results. You’re going to have to get a hold of your emotions!” Za’rae snapped, while placing the last heated stone in the middle of Allantra’s forehead.
Allantra lay flat on the mat. Different colored stones were placed strategically over various parts of her body. Yellow cool stones were placed in the crevice of each arm above the elbow, green ones at room temperature on each thigh, a slightly larger heated blood red one on her stomach, and the final blue heated one on her forehead. Za’rae was warning her not to move, and Allantra heeded the advice because she just wanted this over with.
Za’rae began to mumble softly to herself and thankfully closed those creepy eyes of hers. Allantra closed her own and felt herself get markedly drowsy, fighting to retain consciousness. “Must you fight everything?” came Za’rae’s soft reprimand and smoothly she continued her chants. Allantra took a deep breath and gave herself up to the ceremony.
She felt as if she were floating on a warm thermal cloud. The cool stones began to warm gradually and Allantra felt all the stones heating up. Panic began to set in as she quickly envisioned herself being burned. Za’rae immediately cooled her by placing more stones on her body and the tempo of her chants seemed to change, to get oddly excited. Allantra hoped she wasn’t about to be sacrificed. Allantra felt the stones begin to heat up again. She felt the weight of the stones as Za’rae added more, the chants sounding more questioning in nature.
Allantra opened her eyes and full-fledged panic set in; she could only see blinding light so intense. “Shut your eyes you little fool!” Za’rae hissed at her. Allantra shut her eyes immediately to close out the piercing light. In a much nicer tone Za’rae urged her to focus on the rock in the middle of her forehead. “You can use that to see what is going on around you.” Za’rae whispered in a hypnotic voice. Allantra concentrated hard, trying to get her mind off the notion that she was going blind. Fuzzy at first, an image appeared, she concentrated harder and then she saw Za’rae looking down at her with a smile on her face. Well Allantra assumed it was a smile it was so slight. How can she see with her eyes closed, through the stone? It was like having a third eye.
“It is a third eye of sorts,” Za’rae acknowledged, Allantra couldn’t believe she’d forgotten this particular skill of Za’rae’s. “It’s almost over.” She seemed to laugh delightedly to herself.
Allantra could have sworn she heard an audible click in her brain, almost a popping sound. Was she having an aneurysm? Soon the stones cooled and she could feel them lifting off her body simultaneously. “Open your eyes now, it is all right.” Za’rae said. Allantra opened her eyes and saw the stones floating directly above her. Keeping her eyes trained on the stones, Za’rae streamlined them into the basket sitting at her side. Allantra sat up, feeling different somehow but she couldn’t put a finger on why.
“How do you feel?” Za’rae asked anxiously watching her closely.
“Strange, but fine.”
“Yes, yes.” Za’rae said still looking at Allantra like she was some sort of anomaly.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that? What did you find?” Allantra rubbed her forehead and felt like something was missing.
“Oh I didn’t live this long giving away secrets, child. You’ll find out soon enough. Let an old woman have some fun.”
“Is your fun going to cause me pain?” Allantra asked dryly. The woman was too weird for words. Za’rae ignored the comment, obviously too wrapped up in her little secret to pay her too much mind. She beaded a small blue stone onto a black cord with amazing dexterity.
“Go to Dharean now, he should be finished apprising the people of the situation.”
“What should I tell him? Since you’re keeping whatever you found a secret.” Allantra stood stretching her limbs, oddly instead of feeling tired after laying there so long she felt energized like she could run for miles.
“And you probably could…” Za’rae commented on her thought, while tying the ends of the cord tightly into a knot.
“Don’t do that. I don’t like my thoughts invaded like that.”
“Then block intruders,” Za’rae replied eyeing the creation as the stone hung from the cord and swayed slightly.
“I don’t know how,” Allantra bit back, irritated at the woman yet liking her all the same for her straightforward no nonsense manner. Her mind strayed to how she had blocked Khaelen when he tried to read her thoughts. “What I mean is I’m new at it. I don’t know how to keep up blocks continually.”
“Then it would seem Dharean has much to teach you today.” She held the corded stone out to Allantra. “I strongly suggest you wear this from now on and do not lose it. It is much too important.”
Allantra took the gift from the woman’s gnarled cool hands. She tried to slip it over her head to sit around her neck. Too small, it stopped, encircling her head with the blue stone resting between her eyebrows. Suddenly things felt right … balanced. The fit was perfect. “Here.” Za’rae suddenly had a rather crude mirror in her hand, sensing that Allantra wanted to see it. Allantra took the mirror and marveled at the stone’s beauty against her brown skin. Her normal brown eyes looked lighter; something about her was definitely different. Even her long hair though braided seemed to have an added luster to it.
“What did you do to me?” Allantra asked softly, knowing there were no real physical changes, yet seeing a change all the same.
“You could say I unlocked something.” Za’rae almost fell over laughing at her own comment. Allantra set the mirror down and made her way to the door. She tried to thank Za’rae for the gift but didn’t think she was heard over the woman’s loud cackling. Allantra made a rather hasty exit. She would ask about the stone another time.
As she made her way to the clearing where Dharean had instructed her to meet him, her mind was in utter chaos. What did Za’rae find out about her and why was she acting stranger than usual? Allantra looked around to see people eyeing her with open disdain as they passed her. Oh boy, of course Dharean had told them about the human servants in the forest and they no doubt blamed her.
Of course technically she was responsible since they probably would not be about if not for her. But then who’s to say they wouldn’t have made their way to their encampment eventually anyway? As she came upon the clearing, she saw Dharean pushing a pole into the ground with a wooden target somehow attached at the top.
As she looked around Allantra saw four other poles already in place. Two of them held another sort of target at the top. He turned to her, just as she quietly approached him from behind. It was like trying to sneak up on an agitated rattlesnake.
“Are you ready?” he asked, then frowned when he saw the stone on her forehead. “What is that for?” he demanded casually brushing his hands together as if to shake off loose dirt.
“I don’t know. I was too unnerved to ask her at the time. You can ask Za’rae about it later, she gave it to me after the ceremony and won’t tell me anything. She just cackled something about secrets and she looked mighty smug, so that can’t be good.”
“You haven’t known Za’rae long, but I would say you definitely know her well enough.” He chuckled softly “I’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Are you ready?”
“I don’t know. What am I doing?” Allantra asked eyeing him suspiciously, then the target poles.
“I thought to start you off with something small, something we teach the children when trying to control and direct their magic.” He lightly took Allantra by the elbow and led her away from the targets. When they were at least fifty feet from the target he stopped and turned her around. “One target is made of wood, cloth, and metal. The remaining two targets aren’t targets at all, but talismans to keep any stray magic from going outside the training area.” Allantra squinted slightly and could just make out the strange symbols that were painted onto the trunk of the poles.
“What am I supposed to do with said targets?” she inquired with some unease. She hadn’t done a lick of magic in her life. Hell she doubted she had any magic in her. This was a complete and utter waste of time.
“Focus,” Dharean said simply. “Change your attitude; I can sense your negativity. You have to believe in magic in order for it to work.”
“Fine, whatever, instruct me.”
Dharean grunted to himself then stood behind Allantra. “Something is very different about you. I can’t figure it out.” The wizard whispered softly in her ear. He leaned into her from behind, careful not to touch and said quietly “Concentrate. Close your eyes and try to move the target from the pole with your mind. Envision it.”
Allantra closed her eyes, trying like hell to ignore the heat from his body and the way his whispered words sent goose bumps down her spine. Eventually, she got to the place of concentration … sort of, but it was a hard won battle. She envisioned the magic in her, tried to will it toward the targets. Nothing.
An hour and a half later, exasperated and tense Dharean called it a day. “I believe we have solved the question of whether you have any magic in you,” he quipped rudely, and began to stride towards the targets to remove them. “Of course it would have helped if you could have concentrated.”
“Excuse me?” A huge dose of Allantra attitude surfaced on a whim.
“I could tell you weren’t concentrating. A child could do this.” He stopped and turned, his gray eyes blazing in challenge. Allantra began to hear a buzzing sound as her anger rose, but she ignored it as she focused her anger at Dharean.
“I was trying. If you weren’t behind me constantly telling me to concentrate, it would have been a whole lot easier. When was the last time you concentrated on demand?” The buzzing picked up tempo.
“Every time the situation calls for it!” he snapped finally letting his anger loose.
“Well everyone isn’t you, Mr. Perfect. Screw you, I was trying!”
“Screw me?” he asked incredulously. “I’m not the one who can’t float a feather, let alone help save our people.” He shot back.
“If you are so good at everything you do, then how come you can’t teach lil’ ole me?” Allantra chided him. “Maybe you’re the problem, maybe you couldn’t teach your way out of a paper bag with holes!”
Now Dharean was really pissed. “How dare you? I am the one taking time out of my duties away from my people to help you! More than likely I will be the one taking on the brunt of whatever is coming this way from the vampyres. Because I am the one who sacrificed my soul to the dark arts, and you have the nerve to question me?” Allantra could only stare at him. As if she hadn’t sacrificed as well. The buzzing grew louder and Allantra wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
* * * *
Dharean should have controlled his anger. He should have heeded the buzzing feeling in the back of his head, for if often warned him something unusual was about to happen. Most of all, Dharean should have taken control of the situation, but when it came to Allantra control was not an option. It seemed impossible to maintain. Dharean, in his anger, aimed a bolt of fire at the wooden target. He only wanted to frighten her. It was meant to be a small quick fire. He was not prepared for the explosion. Not only did the target explode, but the other two exploded as well. The metal blasted off the top of the pole slamming into the talisman and dripped metal liquid down its side. Allantra cried out. Dharean turned, his heart jumping into his throat to see her, eyes closed, as she fell to the ground on her knees. Her arms, crooked almost in a pleading gesture, held out in front of her. A blinding light radiated from her body and then, just as quickly, it was gone.
Dharean now knew what Za’rae had not told them, knew why she had taken great pleasure in keeping this a secret. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it. He rushed to Allantra, kneeling as he pulled her into his arms, telling her repeatedly that he was sorry. Cursing himself for his foolishness, he looked up to see Za’rae projecting overhead, legs crossed in their usual stance. Her face was slightly amused and concerned at the same time. “Now you know,” she said softly then disappeared. Yes, now I know, he said to himself.
He knew why she couldn’t call her own magic. Knew why she was a centerpiece in the prophecy. He now knew why she wore the stone. She was one of the rarest of shape shifters. Allantra was a synergist.
Chapter Seven
By fastest possible means, Dharean took her to his hut; the hut they shared. She clung to him, as if she were a child. She was frightened and, he was quite sure, still feeling the residual tremors of energy that had been brutally snatched from her, by him. He had not hurt her fatally, this he knew, and he did not want to cause her physical pain. He didn’t ever want to cause her physical pain. He set her carefully onto the big bed. Still she had not opened her eyes; a worried frown creased his brow.
“She is more in shock than pain.” Za’raes voice came to him. He whipped around to find the old woman hovering over his desk. Anger streaked through him, and for the moment he forgot her wisdom, her importance. In his eyes, she had gone too far.
“Why did you keep this from me?” he bit between his teeth as quietly as possible, he didn’t want to frighten Allantra any more than she already was.
“Now that you have the information, Black Wizard, what will you do?” she queried easily ignoring his question. “Will you still deny she is your mate?”
“She is mated to a vampyre,” he stated needlessly knowing the prophecy by heart, knowing the foolishness of his words.
“You must swallow your pride, for you will share her. Take this time now and bond with her. The prophecy is unraveling before us, and we haven’t a lot of time to prepare.”
“Why did you not tell me? Tell her for that matter?” Dharean persisted again, his hands balling in confusion and anger as he approached the wise one.
“I knew she would not be hurt badly. Like I said, it is the shock of what happened. The energy you pulled from her caused no more pain than a quick swat to the bottom.”
“But why?” he insisted still not seeing what reason Za’rae could possibly have. He looked back at Allantra who was now stirring restlessly. When he turned again Za’rae was gone without answering his question. No doubt the old woman expected him to come up with the answer on his own. He had no time for such games. But one thing she said was correct, the time draws near and there was much to prepare for. With great trepidation he approached the bed, fearing her fear of him. It was the one thing he cherished about her, her fearlessness. It allowed him to be himself, even if the real him was a bit surly.
She finally opened those gorgeous cat shaped eyes of her and immediately focused them on him. She squinted and then questioned, “What the hell did you do to me?” Dharean didn’t know his heart could feel so elated. She still had no fear of him. She was pissed at him; by the Gods that made him happy!
“How are you feeling, little one?” he sat next to her on the bed, picking up the long braid that had fallen across her chest and began to unbraid it.
“A little buzzed for want of a better word.” She smiled slowly. “Kind of like I felt after Za’rae performed the ceremony … different without knowing why.”
“Would you like to know why, little one?” he murmured as he watched her glossy brown hair filter between his fingers as he unbraided it. She made no motion to stop him. When she silently nodded her head, he continued. “You are
a rare shifter. So rare it was rumored that your type did not even exist. In fact you are highly prized among our people. That is, you will be when they find out.”
“What am I?” she said breathlessly feeling like a three-headed monster or that he would tell her she was some sort of demon.
“You are a synergist. You’re a conduit of power. You can channel power through your body and transfer it to whatever or whomever you choose. At least you will be able to do that once you are trained.” Her hair, loose now, was beautiful and he fanned it about her shoulders. She looked like a goddess in his bed.
“But how? I’ve never been able to do anything.”
“I believe it was a way to protect you. You are a child of the prophecy, your power had to be released, by one wise enough and with enough power to do it.”
“Za’rae.”
“Yes, so you see, ultimately you had to come back to us. It was destiny,” a short pause “as we are destined.” He waited for her reaction, which was slow in coming.
“You’re saying according to the prophecy I must bond with you.”
“Yes, to put it simply,” he replied. Two seconds later Allantra jerked up, her eyes flashing in anger.
“Of all the low-down things … do you take me for a fool? How dare you use the prophecy to get me in your bed?” Dharean was shocked, but then he laughed heartily.
“Believe me little one, this is not my first choice. Do you really think I want to share my destined mated one with another, let alone a vampyre? I understand mates are more trouble than they’re worth. I have seen my share of bonded pairs and do not wish this upon myself.” His words sobered her anger, only to cause another bout.
“Are you saying something is wrong with me? Are you trying to say I’m a pain in the ass?”
Bloodlines 2 Ancestry Page 7