Mark of the Raven

by Morgan L. Busse

  As an outsider from a lesser house of Vivek, did Father know how the Ravenwood gift came? Had Mother ever told him? Or was it another secret kept by the women of Ravenwood?

  The lights passed, and Selene lifted her shaky hands and broke off a piece of bread from the platter nearby. It felt like gravel in her mouth as she slowly chewed.

  Candlelight twinkled from the chandelier above, leaving the perimeter of the ancient room in shadows. Mother sat at the other end of the table, her face obscured by the golden candelabra placed in the middle. Amara sat across from her, occasionally glancing up with cold stares. Captain Stanton stood beside the door along with another guard, his dark eyes always on the Ravenwood family.

  Family dinners were never warm or jovial, but tonight’s dinner felt even more oppressive. Selene glanced at Father again. Did he notice?

  The lights started flashing across her vision once more, followed by pricks of pain along her forehead. Were these the warning signs of things to come? How long before the gifting took hold of her body?

  Perhaps she should leave now before things became worse.

  Selene placed the half-eaten chunk of bread on her plate. Her soup lay untouched nearby. “Father, I’m not feeling well. May I be excused?”

  Father placed his goblet down and looked at her. A frown covered his face. “Selene, you look very pale. Do you need me to call for a healer?”

  Amara glanced up.

  Selene brushed her fingers along her temple. “No, it’s simply a headache. I wish to lie down.”

  He gave her an inquisitive stare, then nodded. “You may go.”

  Selene didn’t bother to look at her mother. All she wanted to do was escape to her room before another spell took hold of—

  A burst of light spread across her mind, followed by intense pain throughout her head. She almost cried out but clenched her teeth instead. She breathed through her nose. “Please excuse me,” she mumbled and stood up from the long dining table.

  Amara’s eyes narrowed and her lips turned downward as recognition registered across her face. She had no idea how much Selene wished it was her at the moment.

  Another burst of light flashed across Selene’s eyes, followed by light-headedness. She needed to get to her bedchambers before the onslaught ensued.

  She turned and headed for the side door, passing one of the servants carrying a wooden tray of roasted meat. The smell, rather than enticing her, only made her stomach churn.

  Out in the dark corridor, the flashing lights inside her head changed to swirling colors. Selene stumbled down the long hall with her hand placed along the stone wall for guidance. The flickering candles on either side provided her only light.

  She hurried toward the west wing. At the staircase, she gathered her gown and flew up the stairs, then down another cold hall until she reached the door to her bedchamber. Quickly, she entered as another round of lights and colors started across her vision, like those small, colorful explosives House Vivek would let off during the New Year celebrations.

  A strange prickling sensation began on the right side of her temple as she shut the door, followed by a tingling across her back, the same place her mark was.

  Selene stumbled toward her bed and fell across the thick furs and feather mattress. The tingling on her back changed to a burning. She panted as she twisted around and stared up at the heavy curtains around her bed.

  The burn across her back deepened, like fire licking across her skin and leaving behind a line of singed, pulsating tissue. Sweat dripped down the sides of her face and dampened her dress and bedspread. Another round of fire came, seizing her body until it passed. Her head pounded with such intense throbs that she cried out.

  The barest sliver of moon moved across the nearby window as night fell outside. The lights and colors across her vision were replaced by shadows.

  Another convulsion ripped across her shoulders and mind. She curled up on her side and breathed her way through the pain. How long was this supposed to last? She tried to remember the last few months of training, but her thoughts were like moths dancing around a flame, unwilling to be caught. All she could remember was her mother saying the gifting would come with intensity, but never did she imagine it would feel like this.

  Selene drifted in and out of consciousness, one moment completely submerged in darkness, the other watching the lives of those who lived here in Rook Castle unfold through muted color. All the while her body burned and an invisible ice pick was driven through her skull.

  Minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like days. Sometimes she felt like she was walking through a deep mist, other times like she was watching from the outside of a window on a cold winter’s night. On and on the images swirled by in the same way the courtyard looked when she danced around the spring pole on the day of the Festival of Flowers.

  Slowly, the images were replaced by the softest of light. With that light, the raging pain inside her mind began to subside and every muscle in her body relaxed.

  She heard a whisper inside her mind. Soft, yet powerful. Quiet, and yet like a shout for all to hear.

  A dreamer has been born.

  Then it was done.

  Selene didn’t know how long she lay in bed. She opened her eyes, half expecting to see the swirl of images again. But only the heavy bed canopy greeted her vision. She turned her head on her pillow and looked to the left. The rays of dawn trickled in through the window at the east end of her bedchamber.

  The burning and aching sensation faded from her body, freeing her. But she had no desire to move. Instead, she closed her eyes. She never wanted to wake again. It was as if everything inside of her had been put through a furnace and come out as hard as steel. Her mind felt different. Her body felt different.

  She was different.

  “Is she awake yet?” said a low alto voice, vaguely like Mother’s.

  “N-Not yet.” Another female voice. High-pitched and breathy.

  “Then alert me when she is. I want to see her right away.”

  “Y-Yes, m-my lady.”

  There was movement, then the sound of a door shutting. Fatigue pulled Selene back under before she could open her eyes.

  Full, bright sunlight filled Selene’s vision. She groaned and pried her eyelids open. There was a small squeak near her bed and the loud thud of a chair hitting the stone floor. She slowly turned and looked.

  A young woman no older than sixteen stumbled to her feet. A red flush filled her otherwise pale face. “M-my lady! You’re a-awake!”

  Selene let out a long breath and let her head sink back into the pillow. “Renata. What are you doing here?”

  Renata wrung her hands in a nervous gesture and glanced at the door behind her. “L-Lady Ravenwood tasked me to watch you, and t-to let her know when you a-awoke.”

  “I see. How long have I been asleep?”

  Renata stilled her hands and stared down at Selene. Her black hair was pulled back in a long braid and the grey dress she wore hung like a burlap sack across her thin frame. “Three days.”

  “Three days?” Selene sat up and instantly regretted it as stars popped across her eyes. For one moment, she feared the gifting was back, but the branding only happened once in a lifetime, and her gift was already imprinted inside of her.

  “I-I must go and let Lady R-Ravenwood know you’re awake.”

  Selene brought her mind back. “Yes, go ahead, Renata. You are dismissed.”

  The maidservant gave her a small bow and quickly left.

  Selene lay in bed, the furs pulled up across her lower half, and stared out the window. For as long as she could remember, her mother had drilled into her the responsibility she would have some day for the Ravenwood family, and the impending gift that would come. A gift that would allow her to enter the dreams of others. But no other details. Only hints that House Ravenwood and the mountain nation depended on that gift. Just training. Day in and day out.

  Don’t trust anyone.

  You can only count on
yourself.

  You must be prepared for anything.

  We will never be wiped out again.

  Her mother’s mantra, spoken every morning during training. Mother drove her and Amara hard, teaching them their secret family history and training them the moment they could lift a sword.

  Someday when you have your gift, you will think you can rely solely on that. But you can’t. You need to know how to protect yourself. Always. Because no one else will.

  But never a reason why. Never an answer to all the questions that Selene longed to ask. Nothing to ease the yoke that had been upon her since birth.

  “Someday,” her mother would say. “When your gifting comes, I will reveal to you why. Until then, train. Train hard.”

  “Well, Mother. I am your heir now. And I am ready for answers,” Selene whispered.

  Almost in response, the door crashed open, and her mother flew in as if carried on wings. She came to the bedside and stared at Selene. Selene stared back. Her mother looked every inch like the matriarch of House Ravenwood. She possessed the thick dark hair of the Ravenwood women, along with high cheekbones and full lips. She was tall, but not too tall, elegant, and lean from years of secret training. She could move an assembly with her smooth alto voice and trap a man into doing anything for her. Sometimes Selene wondered if that was how Father came to marry her.

  Her eyes bore fully into Selene and a glint entered those dark orbs. “Leave us,” she said to Renata without turning to address the quivering servant girl.

  Renata did not need to be told twice. She fled without the customary bow, the door thudding shut behind her.

  Mother did not seem to care. “My dear, dear daughter,” she said as she pulled the wooden chair to the side of the bed. “I had feared . . . but no. The Dark Lady has seen fit to bless our house with another dreamer.” She let out her breath. “At last.”

  Her words felt like heavy stones placed upon Selene’s chest. There it was again, that word. Dreamer.

  “We will start your training tonight. Your gifting could not have come at a better time. There are things in motion, things I cannot do alone.” Her mother’s eyes went out of focus for a moment. “But all will be right again.” She smiled and beamed down at Selene. “You will dreamwalk. Test out your gift. I’ll be sure to prepare the servant you will use.”

  Servant? Selene blinked and clutched the furs between her fingers. What did a servant have to do with using her gift? Would she be walking inside the servant’s dream?

  “If your birthmark is any indication, your gift is powerful, Selene. A gift we need if House Ravenwood is to survive. And survive we will. We will never fail again. And you will make sure of that.”

  Selene responded in the way she had been brought up. “Yes, Mother.” But her insides clenched. What exactly did they do in dreams?

  Her mother stopped and studied her. The sunlight cast a brilliant light across her mother’s face, sharpening her features so that Selene could almost see the raven in her face. “There is no room for weakness. And you are not weak. You are my daughter and heir to House Ravenwood. Do you understand?”

  An invisible hand clawed at Selene’s throat, but she was still able to push out the rote words. “Yes, Mother.”

  “Good. You will be the one to elevate House Ravenwood back to its former glory. I believe you have the ability to surpass me. Perhaps even Rabanna herself.” She stood and pressed her skirt down. “I will send your maidservant back in. Proceed with your training and other duties today. And then tonight we will begin your real training.”

  2

  My l-lady?” a timid voice called out.

  Selene glanced at the door, her mother’s words still echoing inside her mind. Tonight we will begin your real training.

  “Yes, Renata, you may come in.” She flung the furs from her legs as Renata entered with a set of dark clothes hanging over her arm.

  “L-Lady R-Ravenwood sent me b-back.” Renata’s voice was breathless, and she trembled at the mention of Mother’s name. “Here.” She thrust the clothes out, standing as far from Selene as she could.

  Selene sighed as she stood and took the garments. No matter how gentle she was with the servant girl, Renata was as timid as ever. And Mother’s authoritative way with the servants didn’t help.

  She crossed the room toward the changing screens in the corner. Images of House Ravenwood’s past were embroidered across the screens, of elegant ladies and gallant men on horseback. Long ago, House Ravenwood had been one of the most renowned across the seven provinces. Now it was only a shadow of what it once was. And only select few knew that they still retained their gift.

  Selene stripped off her stained dress and chemise and hung both over the screen. Then she paused. Turning, she pushed her dark hair aside and glanced in the long mirror against the wall. In its reflection, she saw across her back a mark of light blue-grey, spread across from shoulder blade to shoulder blade like wings emerging from her spine.

  Almost every Ravenwood woman carried such a mark, although one like hers had not been seen since her ancestor Rabanna. Mother believed it signified her gift would be exceptional. Selene wasn’t sure if she wanted that.

  She twisted, studying the mark from every angle in the mirror. Nothing had changed, despite the pain she went through during the gifting. It looked the same as ever. She let out a sigh of relief and let her hair fall back into place. Perhaps Mother was wrong.

  Selene slipped into a fresh chemise and undergarments, then pulled a dark blue dress over her head and tightened the sash around her waist. When she emerged from the screens, Renata had pulled the wooden chair from the table over to the window and was waiting with a brush in hand.

  Selene sat down without a word. Renata had been serving her for a year now, a refugee from a bandit attack and a quiet girl. Despite her shy demeanor and small stature, she was a hard worker and knew how to keep secrets, an absolute when serving House Ravenwood.

  Renata started brushing Selene’s thick, sleek hair. By the time she was done, there was a blue sheen to the black strands. With deft hands, Renata braided the hair into a long plait.

  Selene glanced at Renata in the reflection of the window. “Thank you, Renata.”

  The girl blushed, bringing color to her pale cheeks, and bobbed her head.

  Someday Selene would draw that shy girl out.

  After Renata left, Selene stood and leaned against the side of the window. A bright blue sky hung over the rugged Magyr Mountains that surrounded Rook Castle. There was no way in or out of the castle except by the wide stone bridge that connected Rook Castle to King’s Highway, which ran through the mountain country. At least that was the only path most people knew about.

  Selene leaned forward and looked down. Jagged rock teeth lay hundreds of feet below. Somewhere between those serrated edges were unseen paths inside the mountains, caverns and mines from the old days, now abandoned. Only the women of Ravenwood knew of those paths and the ins and outs of Rook Castle.

  For a moment, she imagined what her life would be like if she headed down to one of the caverns and left this place. There was one that opened up on the far northern side of the Magyr Mountains, near one of the valley villages. Maybe she would make her way west toward the country of House Luceras. She had heard it was a land of lush green hills and cities made of beautiful alabaster stone. Or maybe she would go east and visit her father’s country, House Vivek, where the ancient libraries were kept and people dedicated their lives to knowledge.

  Selene laughed sadly to herself. “Maybe I’ll spring wings from my back and fly away.”

  She dipped her head. If Mother knew her thoughts right now, of wanting to run away rather than embrace her heritage . . . Such cowardly thoughts unbefitting a woman of House Ravenwood.

  Ravenwood women were strong. They were powerful. Selene was inheriting the might and legacy of the women who had gone before her.

  Yet all she could feel was the weight of her house and people settle across
her shoulders.

  Selene left her bedchambers and headed for the training rooms below Rook Castle, located in a large cavern that had been carved out by Rabanna to instruct future generations of Ravenwood women. Here they trained, honing their physical abilities in secret.

  Selene followed the stone halls deeper into Rook Castle, padding silently by the servants and other members of the family until she reached one of the rooms in the southern wing. It was implied that the Ravenwood women spent the morning doing needlework in this part of the castle and only Hagatha, her mother’s maid, was allowed to disturb them. Only Hagatha knew of the secret passage beside the faux fireplace and the hidden training room below.

  Selene entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. Wide windows graced the comfortable and tastefully decorated room. Tall wooden chairs with embroidered cushions were set in a half-circle around the fireplace, complete with baskets of colorful spools of thread and squares of linen for needlework. But needlework had never been done in this room. Briefly she wondered what it would be like to actually do the things noblewomen of other houses spent their time doing. Not that she was interested in the needlework itself, but perhaps the normality the other houses seemed to have. Then again, perhaps they had secrets of their own.

  Selene crossed the room toward the right side of the fireplace. With precision and memorization, she placed her fingers in the three holes within a faint indented circle hardly noticeable in the stone wall and twisted clockwise. Gears groaned deep within. Seconds later, the wall slid to the left, revealing a narrow passage. Selene slipped in and used another hidden switch to close the opening behind her.

  Down the dark stone tunnel she went until she reached a set of interlinked caverns, each one lit by torches hung along the walls. The thumps and whacks sounding across the cavern walls indicated Amara was already here.