Mark of the Raven

by Morgan L. Busse

  Lady Ragna looked around her suite. The rooms were expansive and richly decorated, thanks to generations of Ravenwood women, each one building upon the fortunes of the previous heir. Above the massive stone fireplace was a painting of Rabanna herself. She stared down at the sitting room with cold, dark eyes.

  Lady Ragna approached the fireplace and placed a hand on the mantel. She stared down at the empty grate where only cinders remained.

  The end of House Ravenwood.

  She closed her hand into a fist. How could that be? So many generations of Ravenwood women had sacrificed to bring House Ravenwood back. Each marriage a political move, each daughter groomed to take House Ravenwood to the next level. Every heart hardened so that missions could be carried out.

  “No!” She slammed her hand into the stone. “Whatever the hope from the north, I won’t let it be the end of House Ravenwood.”

  But it will bring light and healing, a small voice whispered inside her head.

  Lady Ragna laughed coldly. “What do I care of light and healing? Where was this light when our house fell the first time? Where were the other houses when the empire razed our nation and killed most of our people? I only serve House Ravenwood, and I will not see it fall.”

  She turned away and began to pace the sitting room. Only House Maris and House Vivek dwelt in the north. And both would be at the assembly. She paused and stared out the long windows in front of her. The head of each house would need to be taken out quietly, in a way that no one would suspect murder. Given what she knew of each house, House Vivek seemed the greater threat, especially since it was House Vivek that orchestrated the betrayal that led to the capture of House Ravenwood by the empire those hundreds of years ago.

  “But I can’t let House Maris survive, either,” Lady Ragna said softly. She tapped a finger gently across her mouth.

  Selene.

  Selene could take out the head of House Maris.

  Lady Ragna spun around, her mind working faster and faster toward a plan. House Maris were followers of the Light, which meant it might be harder to break into the young new lord’s dreams. She scowled at the thought. On the other hand, he was inexperienced, and perhaps not as strong of a follower as his predecessors. And Selene was powerful.

  Lady Ragna stopped and smiled. Yes, Selene was very powerful. She glanced at Rabanna’s portrait. Perhaps as powerful as Rabanna herself. Maybe Selene had been born for such a time as this. To save House Ravenwood.

  “I’ll need to work with her more,” Lady Ragna murmured. “She will need more practice, though, before she is ready to tackle the grand lord of House Maris.”

  Breaking into the dreams of a Light-follower could be difficult. They were not always as easily manipulated by nightmares as others were. But Selene could do it. Even now she remembered how easily her daughter had been able to manipulate Petur and Hagatha’s dreams. It had taken Lady Ragna herself many tries under her own mother’s watchful eye before she could do what Selene had done in a single dream.

  Lady Ragna headed for the door, the weight from the priest’s words already lifting from her shoulders. She had nothing to fear. It had been prudent to seek out the wise one’s counsel. In fact, since Rook Castle was centrally located amongst the houses, she would offer it as the location for the assembly. She now knew where the danger lay for House Ravenwood, and with Selene’s help, she would extinguish it.

  12

  Selene stared at the fireplace ahead, her swords hidden beneath her cloak. Behind the hearth was the secret tunnel that led down to the training caverns. Her eyes felt like they had sand in them, and she gripped her upper arm. Her hair was pulled back in a haphazard braid. It was the best she could do since Renata—

  She jumped back and glanced around. Her nerves crackled like lightning, sending tendrils of pain across her body. She glanced again at the hidden door and turned away. There was no way she could go down there anymore. Down into the darkness. Down where everything reminded her of what she was, and what she was training to become.

  Selene fled the faux sitting room and hurried along the hall. She needed to get out of here, somewhere open, somewhere where there was light. There was an old training area south of Rook Castle, rarely used by the guards. She would go there.

  She let out her breath. The thought of exercising slowly began to still her restless mind. Training had a way of allowing her to narrow her focus on the practice dummy and shove aside all other thoughts. And that was what she needed now. Something to take her mind off of that night. She would use the extra set of breeches and tunic from her room and hide her apparel underneath her cloak. No need to go down into the caverns.

  After changing, she followed the corridors toward the southern side of Rook Castle and descended to the first floor. Near the back, she found the small door that led outside. As she opened it, warm summer air rushed to meet her face. A cheery sun hung overhead, bright against the spring sky. Just beyond the door was a small training area, the size of her bedchambers. On one side stood an old empty shed. The other two sides were hemmed in by Rook Castle and the surrounding outer wall. The northern side narrowed into a path that led to the main bailey of the castle. In the corner stood a hickory tree with a thick trunk and broad green coverage. Three practice dummies were set up near the outer wall.

  The wind swept away the strands of hair that hung around her face. Selene took a deep breath, already feeling the tightness across her shoulders and the restlessness of her mind easing. This place was perfect. A quiet, out-of-the-way area where she could be alone with her thoughts and emotions.

  She headed toward the weatherworn dummies, their canvas bodies stained and bulging in some areas. The target paint had faded and bits of straw poked out where the seams had come undone. Selene drew out her swords and stood before the middle one, raised her right arm while positioning her left arm across her body, and started her routine.

  The sun made its way across the sky as Selene assaulted the dummy. With each hit, her strength and energy returned, burning away the fatigue from lack of sleep. Sweat soaked into her dark tunic and pants, and her hair stuck to her face.

  Faster. Harder.

  But the exercises only kept the demons away for a while. Soon, the memories of that night crept back. Renata’s nightmare. The sound of her screams. The feelings of rage and helplessness exploding from Selene. The dreamscape shattering beneath her power. And Renata—

  Selene stopped, her arms lifted. She saw Renata lying on the sleeping mat, pale in the moonlight, a trickle of blood beneath her nostril.

  “I didn’t mean to,” she whispered, her eyes unfocused. “I had no idea. . . .”

  It felt like a ball of lead was expanding inside of her, heavy and solid, pushing all of the air from her lungs and causing her heart to struggle beating. Her arms fell to her sides, and her swords dropped to the ground. Selene followed, landing on her knees. She crossed her arms over her chest and curled over her legs.

  She rocked back and forth and sobbed. Each muffled cry felt like it was torn from her very soul. Instead of killing her, Selene had left Renata with a crippled mind. And she wasn’t sure which one was worse.

  “I wish I didn’t have this power.” She gripped her fingers and held her hands next to her chest. “I can’t keep going on like this. It’s going to tear me apart! Why can’t there be another way to take care of our people? I don’t think we even are, not if we are hurting the very ones—”

  Another sob stole away her words. Where was the line? When did there come a point where their power was hurting their people more than helping? Was there any other way?

  You must lock away your heart. You must never feel.

  Selene stopped rocking as her mother’s words filled her mind. As much as she loathed it, her mother was right. The only way she could survive the power inside of her was to close off her heart. To become cold. To never feel.

  She looked up, her hands still clasped near her heart. For the first time, she wanted that coldness. It
had to be better than this heart-wrenching agony she felt right now. Instead of locking her heart in a wooden chest, she imagined putting it inside a dark room. Then she shut the door—a thick iron door. But that wasn’t enough. Inside her mind, she slammed one iron door after another until instead of anguish, all she felt was a deep numbness.

  Selene took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She slowly staggered to her feet. Every time she despaired over the bleakness of her future, she slammed another door shut. Maybe there was a way to escape her destiny, a better way than the one they were following now. But until she could figure it out, she had to keep her heart locked far, far away.

  It was the only way she could survive.

  “Selene, would you care to join me in my study this evening?”

  Selene glanced up from her untouched soup—a cold concoction made of mashed beets—her spoon still beside the ceramic bowl. Father hadn’t asked her to his study in years, not since Mother had taken over her education and training. Before that, she had spent almost every wintry evening with him, sitting beside the fireplace, quietly poring over books while thick snowflakes fell outside the windows.

  The memory and the longing it brought in its wake for those simpler, quieter times came so vividly it took her breath away. “Yes,” she said as she picked up her spoon. “I would like that.”

  She brought the spoon down into the red borscht, a lighthearted feeling spreading within her chest. As Mother’s consort, Father held a lower role within House Ravenwood. But he never saw himself as anything but a father to her, Opheliana, and Amara, although as Amara grew older, she rebuffed their father’s affection. Amara possessed the same pride as their mother did in the family name, and since Father was an outsider, he was not truly part of the family. But to Selene, he would always be her papa.

  “Excellent.” Father wiped his mouth with the linen napkin and placed it down beside him. “I will have a tea tray delivered for us.”

  Selene scooped up the red soup and brought it to her mouth. Her appetite had returned, just a little. After Father left, the dining hall grew quiet. Mother was gone for the next fortnight on a trip east to visit House Friere, and Amara had gone with her. And Ophie was too young to join family meals.

  Slowly, the melancholy of the last few days trickled back. Selene ate a couple more bites, then pushed the soup bowl aside and stood. The light grew dim as the sun set outside, and the candles had not yet been lit.

  “Lady Selene.”

  Her body tightened as she slowly turned around. “Captain Stanton.”

  Captain Stanton stood in the doorway, dressed in his usual dark clothes and leather garb. His dark hair hung in strands around his face as he stared at her through lidded eyes. Like a shadow, always following her. “Do you require anything of me this evening?”

  Selene lifted her chin in a defiant way and gathered her gown. “No, but thank you for your concern.”

  He bobbed his head in a casual manner and stepped back as Selene walked through the doorway. She felt his eyes follow her as she made her way down the corridor. If there was one benefit to becoming grand lady of Ravenwood someday, it would be finding a new captain of the guard. She didn’t trust Captain Stanton to watch a dog, let alone be concerned about her welfare. She might not know much about men, but even she knew what was in the captain’s mind without needing to visit his dreams. She clenched her hand and jaw while looking directly ahead.

  As she made her way through the hallways toward the northern end of Rook Castle, the heat of the day slowly seeped out of the castle. The day had been uncomfortably warm, even with the windows open to let the mountain air through. She dabbed her face with her handkerchief, then tucked it back into her sleeve. At the end of the third corridor, she opened the thick wooden door that led to her father’s study.

  The walls were stone slabs with windows encased around the room. A desk stood across the way between two open windows. The sky outside was a deep plum color, a contrast to the merry orange light from the candles lit around the room.

  Selene stepped inside. The wooden floor was worn, with an old rug with faded colors set before the desk. The subtle hint of pipe leaf and vanilla hung in the air, mixing with the musty odor of a thousand years of knowledge. She closed her eyes and breathed it in. Everything here reminded her of her father.

  “Selene.”

  She opened her eyes and spotted him sitting over on the right side of the room in one of two wooden chairs set up between a set of long, narrow bookcases. She recognized the leather-bound book he held carefully between his fingers: an account of the history of House Vivek before the razing.

  “Father.” Around the rest of the room were matching bookcases, all of them containing the books Father brought with him when he moved away from the lands of House Vivek, a traditional parting gift for a citizen of the nation of wisdom. Though not a direct descendant of the Great House, he was still the most knowledgeable man Selene knew. And she loved him for it.

  “It has been a long time since you came to my study.” He smiled as he rose and placed the book back in the empty spot three shelves up on the left. “I’ve missed you.”

  “And I have missed you.” She took a seat in the chair opposite him. There was no need to say why they had been parted. She was sure it had to do with her mother. Which made this evening’s meeting curious.

  His silver hair was brushed back and his beard trimmed, as always. His eyes crinkled now in the corners, and there were additional fine lines across his forehead and around his mouth. He studied her for a moment before taking a seat. She couldn’t miss the look of concern on his face.

  “Since I was young, I always knew what my duty would be. As a member of a lesser house, I would be married off to a greater house and produce heirs for that house. But I wanted more. I wanted to be your father. As much as I could, I have done that, even as hard as it was to watch your mother groom you to be the next Lady Ravenwood.” He folded his hands in his lap. “The last few weeks, word has reached my ears that you have changed, Selene. And I think I know why. Is it true? Has your gift come?”

  The only other person besides her mother and sister who knew of the dreamwalking power was Father. His marriage to Mother had conferred to him that knowledge. When the oaths of matrimony were taken, all was revealed to the couple.

  “It has.”

  “And it’s not what you were expecting.”

  Selene glanced away. “No, it’s not.”

  He nodded slowly. “I am not privy to the workings of House Ravenwood. And I’m not sure if you can even share what you are going through, if your mother has bound you to house secrecy. But if there is anything I can do, please let me know. I love you, and I would do anything for you.”

  Selene swallowed the lump inside her throat. He was so different than Mother. “Yes, I know.”

  But what could he do? She couldn’t even tell him what Mother was training her to do. Was that her destiny? To be a killer? She clenched her hands until her fingernails dug into her palms as her eyes began to burn with unshed tears. She felt trapped by the dark future looming in front of her. If only she knew why they had been given this gift in the first place. . . .

  Wait. Maybe he could—

  There was a knock at the door.

  “Yes,” her father said. “Come in.”

  The door opened with a creak, and one of the servants walked in with a wooden tray bearing a small cast-iron teapot and two matching cups.

  “Right here, Mira.” Father pointed toward the table between the chairs.

  The maid bowed her head and crossed the room. She placed the tray on the table and quietly backed away.

  “Thank you.”

  Mira bobbed her head and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

  Another difference between Mother and Father: the way they treated the castle servants. Her chest tightened as she remembered her mother’s cold words about Renata. Selene pressed her lips together as she watched her father pour the eart
hy liquid into the two cups. No, she would not be like Mother. Not if she could help it. But was she destined to become just that? Could she remain loving and kind while closing off her heart? Or was she already turning into the coldhearted woman the servants were beginning to comment upon?

  “Here.” Father held out a small iron cup to her.

  Selene took the cup and held it between her fingers, letting the aroma fill her nostrils. “How much do you know about the Great Houses and their gifts?” she asked, the cup remaining in her hand.

  Her father paused. “Well,” he said slowly as he turned and sat down with his own cup in hand. “Not much. Most of the Vade Mecum Library was destroyed during the Dominia razing. And in that library were the oldest recordings of the Great Houses, including the dispersion of the gifts.”

  “Well, what do you know?”

  He shook his head. “Not much. Why?” He glanced at her shrewdly. “Are you wondering about your own gift?”

  Selene looked down into her cup. “Yes.”

  “I’m afraid the dreamwalking gift is the one most lost to history. People don’t even know it still exists.”

  “Except for you.” Selene glanced at her father.

  He nodded. “Except for me. And even then, other than what passed through the marriage bond, your mother has never shared anything with me and has bound me to the house secret.”

  Selene slowly took another sip. “Why did you marry Mother?” she finally asked.

  There was another pause, this one more drawn out. Whether because of more house secrets or because her father was forming his words, she wasn’t sure. He looked out the window, his tea cupped between his fingers. “I cannot tell you everything, but I can tell you that most marriages are not bound in love. Usually they are an arrangement to the benefit of each Great House or the greater house finds something they desire in the lesser house.”

  “And you? Did House Vivek bind you to my mother? Or did she want you?”