“I am, but I need to keep my head low with all of the purges going on.”
“Yeah. I heard they’ve been collecting magic users. Taking ‘em to Ellisor or something?”
“Yeah, something like that. So you’ll let me stay and keep my nature quiet and I’ll give you a little extra help with my abilities . . . what do you say?”
“You got anything for the black-foot?” he asked, eyes twinkling with hope.
“You have the rot?” Shiane asked. The old man nodded. “I am sure I can make something for that.” The smile that lit the old man’s face instantly made him appear younger.
“This way, Miss.”
He directed her up a rickety stair and into a large chamber. Shiane knew this was likely the best room in the house. She reached inside her bag and withdrew the underwear.
“Here, take these for your wife and come up to me in a few hours with two bowls of water . . . salted is fine. . .” she added upon seeing his eyes crease with worry, “. . . and a large scrap of cloth to use for a poultice.”
The old man nodded, grinning now, and left Shiane to the warmth of the room.
When the door burst open a few minutes later she half expected it to be the old man and the Ellisorian guard, but the person that faced her was altogether more welcome.
“Ulliel!”
“I sensed you from across the city. How did you call to me? Have you learned a new skill, my pretty wife?” Ulliel strode purposefully across the room and swept Shiane up and into his arms, spinning her around the room. She laughed into his neck and gripped him tightly.
“Shiane?” Ulliel asked suddenly putting her to her feet. His rose-hued eyes flared brightly in surprise, then the colour shifted to a soft blue grey.
“Yes?” she asked nervously, concerned by the suspicious look in his eye.
“What did you just do?”
“Nothing. Why? What happened?”
“You repelled me. It was only a delicate push but . . .” Ulliel’s eyes ran down to where Shiane tentatively placed her hand. A ghost of a smile danced upon her lips.
“That wasn’t me.”
Ulliel hadn’t removed his eyes from Shiane’s hand. He placed his trembling fingers upon hers and asked, “Can it be?” Shiane nodded and ran her other hand through Ulliel’s dark hair. When his face lifted to gaze at hers she noticed the tears in his eyes.
“We are almost seven months into the pregnancy. I had hoped to see you again before now,” Shiane began to explain.
“I know. It killed me being away from you for so long. I wanted to take you with me . . . I should have.” His eyes darkened and a dread filled his whole being. Its depth caused Ulliel’s energy to lick off him in dark sinuous arcs.
“What is it?” Shiane asked, worried for them both.
“Deacon has discovered he is from a secondary Summoner line.”
“What? That isn’t possible. There is only ever one Summoner.”
“I know but my great grandfather had a twin. It was unheard of and hasn’t been seen in the Summoner line since, but they were born together of the same womb. It is possible that, had the elder brother died with no male heir, the abilities would have reverted to his brother. Deacon is a direct descendant of the twin line: a distant cousin of mine.”
“So what does that mean? If you die with no heir your abilities revert to Deacon?”
“Yes or if I choose to will my powers to him, he might be able to receive them. However, that isn’t going to happen now, is it?” he smiled at the ever-growing bulge and baby within.
“I guess not. But it paints a target on you and your heir’s back.”
“Don’t worry, I can take care of my little boy.”
“Girl.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“Yes. Certain. She is powerful already, Ulliel. She is destined to inherit from both of us. She will have all four abilities. I have seen it in my visions . . . or hers . . . I can’t tell which are mine and which are hers anymore.”
“A daughter?”
“Yes. A female Summoner. The first of her kind.”
“Well, Deacon won’t be expecting that.” Ulliel chuckled happily.
“No and thank goodness.”
Ulliel stood and clasped Shiane’s hand in his. He gazed down at her, his pretty, brave wife and then leaned in to capture her lips in a long overdue kiss.
“I have missed you, Shiane. Every second away from you hurt.”
“Then perhaps you should stay with me for a little while,” she whispered back, between his kisses. He hummed his agreement against her lips and then pulled away again. Shiane sighed in frustration.
“Wait. She did that?” Ulliel asked, his disbelief apparent.
“What?”
“Pushed me away?”
“Yes. The spinning was disorienting her,” Shiane explained distractedly.
“How is that possible?”
“Don’t ask me but she can make me invisible too.”
“That is old magic. Is she tapping into your energy?” Ulliel asked whilst frantically checking Shiane’s face for signs of wear or sickness. There were none.
“No. From what I can tell she used her own.” The two of them were grinning stupidly at each other now. Both excited and nervous of what their unborn child was capable of.
“She is amazing. You are amazing.” Ulliel pulled her tightly to him once more.
“You are pretty special yourself, Husband,” Shiane murmured, giggling against his warm chest as Ulliel tickled a spot at the base of her neck.
They lay together in a comforting embrace, becoming accustomed to each other’s energy after such a long time apart. Shiane fell asleep in Ulliel’s arms. As she did, she reminded herself to thank the old man for giving them this privacy and peace for the night.
Chapter Four
Shiane knew she was dreaming. There was no feeling within her mind, only images. She was being shown something. A vision of the future, but not her vision: Aletheia’s.
Shiane saw faces of people she did not know, that she would never know. They swam in her mind like the paper pictures which survived from the world before the darkness.
“What are you showing me?” Shiane thought, and was surprised to hear her own thoughts spoken aloud. They echoed through the dream like words spoken in a large empty room.
The scene changed from flickering faces to a small cottage. Inside was a rich golden light. The cottage was surrounded by a strange combination of scrubland and desolate factory buildings. Beyond that, and only barely visible, was a looming white stone wall. She had never seen it before but she knew what it was and therefore where she was. Arkaiden.
“Why are we here?” Shiane whispered, oddly afraid to raise her voice even in a dream vision of this place. As if in answer to her question, a strange man appeared on the porch, right outside the front door. He appeared to be asleep but, when Shiane took a tentative step forward, he stirred and bolted upright.
“Oh No. No. No. Please,” the man wailed. The sound of his own voice brought him to a jerky halt and he scanned the area to see who might have heard him. For an instant he looked over at Shiane and then turned away as if he hadn’t seen her. Perhaps he hadn’t. It was a dream after all.
The man tapped tentatively on the door. Whisper-shouting, “Rula!” He tried the handle, turning it slowly left then right again but the door wouldn’t budge. He moved to the windows and pulled at them desperately. They too were shut tightly to him. Shiane watched as the man’s desperation became despair and he slumped back to a seated position at the top of the steps. His shuddering shoulders told her he was weeping and Shiane felt torn as to whether or not she should offer to help him.
Just as she took a step forward the man vanished. Shiane huffed a deep breath and felt the familiar pull of her own waking. She’d had strange dreams before and even stranger visions, but that came very close to being the oddest yet.
Chapter Five
“Shiane? Shiane, wake up, my
love.”
Shiane turned over slowly. Movement was another tiny aspect of her normal life that she had taken for granted. Everything seemed to need a little more time and care.
“Hmm?”
“You promised the innkeeper that you would pay in magic?”
“Yes. Oh, is it daytime already?” Shiane pulled herself up into a seated position. From the feel of the swell, she was even bigger today than yesterday. Ulliel’s surprised expression confirmed it.
“Are you sure you are not having twins?”
“No, silly, we are not having twins. I think my body was hiding her. Aletheia knew it wasn’t safe to show herself, even like this.”
“Aletheia?”
“Yes. It means truth or revelation. I thought it was appropriate,” Shiane didn’t mention she also thought it was ironic since the little one would remain hidden from everyone until her time came. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Ulliel what she would have to do. He wouldn’t understand. Not yet.
“I like it. She will certainly be a revelation.” Shiane smiled at Ulliel. Since learning of their baby he hadn’t stopped touching her. His fingers had traced patterns into her bump throughout the night. She had even recognised some of them as Summoners markings but hadn’t wanted to ask what he was doing. His caresses were his only chance of being close to his daughter and Shiane didn’t want to stop him, not when they had such little time.
“So what was that about the innkeeper?”
“Ah yes, he knocked a little while ago and dropped off a bucket of water and some cloth. Is there something I need to know . . . or do?” Shiane laughed as Ulliel eyed her expectantly.
“Tell me you are not supposed to wash in that. . .” he continued, pointing at the little wooden bucket that sat in the corner of the room.
“Of course not, you dolt! I promised to make up a witchlight or two and some remedies as payment for the room and board.”
“Ah. Good. Then I will leave you to it and finish up my business here in town.” Ulliel hesitated. He sucked in a deep breath and asked the question that Shiane knew he would eventually come around to asking. “Shiane. Why are you here? I would love to think it was to see me but something tells me that is not the only reason.” Ulliel’s eyes darkened. Shiane could tell from his rounded shoulders and darkening expression that he feared the worst and he would be right, but she couldn’t tell him so.
“I am here in Ristol only for you.”
“You haven’t strictly answered my question.”
“I have, although perhaps you ought to ask another.” He hesitated over her response. She could tell he was thinking carefully about what to ask and, more importantly, what he wanted to know.
“Where are we off to next?” he asked, thankfully shying away from the real question and giving them both more time to pretend everything was going to be okay.
“There is a little house a week or two’s walk from here. I would like to spend some time with you there, preparing for the baby,” Shiane explained timidly. Ulliel was in great demand all across the orb. His responsibilities as the sole Summoner meant that he rarely had the opportunity to stay in one place for too long. Shiane knew he could refuse her this request—that he should refuse it—but also that he wouldn’t because, even if he didn’t ask the question, he knew. Somewhere deep inside, he knew this was it for them. They had to make every second count. For Shiane, this was the only opportunity for happiness before she fulfilled her Dakkar and abandoned him too.
“Sounds good. I will be back before you sleep.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead, then made his way towards the door. At the entrance, he hesitated, turning to face her. Their eyes locked and everything they had been trying not to say out loud, poured between them. Shiane’s eyes prickled with the onset of tears but she blinked them back furiously, refusing to cry. There was no time for tears.
Ulliel nodded, said, “I will be as quick as I can,” and then left.
Shiane sucked in an uncomfortable breath, trying to clear the lump that had risen in her throat.
The old man entered a short while later. Shiane bandaged his leg with a sticky and foul-smelling poultice whilst he distributed the witchlight powders between five large bowls. When he was done, Shiane topped these up with the salt water and imbued them with a little of her own energy—spelling them until they glowed bright blue.
“I have never seen ‘em blue afore!” the man said in surprise.
“They are LeShail blue. The whole city is lit this colour during high day hours.”
“It must be pretty?” he asked, a youthful smile upon his lips. Shiane nodded and smiled warmly. She supposed it was quite pretty. It had felt like star-shine the night Ulliel and she had joined as man and wife. He had hung tiny witchlights all along the pier and offered her his hand for the binding ceremony. Her mother had performed the ritual and married them, by the spell-weaver traditions, under a canopy of blinking blue light.
“What are you thinking, Pet?” the innkeeper asked, breaking through her thoughts.
“About my marriage. About my past.”
“You can’t live in the past though, Pet. The future fast becomes the present and then you find you’ve missed it all whilst you were looking backwards.”
“You are right, but some memories make the future worth striving for, and without the highlights of our past to remind us of the good things, we would never be brave enough to venture into the unknown.”
“You are a clever girl for one so young. How far have you to go?” The old man asked. Shiane took a second to realise he was asking about her pregnancy and not about the journey ahead. The answer was the same for both questions regardless. “Not long now.”
Chapter Six
Ulliel had said he would return before sleep but Shiane had dozed off too easily after a day spent weaving spells. She helped the old innkeeper to survive a few extra months without using up valuable resources.
She knew she was asleep when she found herself back at the little cottage from her dream. This time the man was already on the stairs. He looked sad but resigned to his waiting fate. Shiane approached the fence that wrapped around the cottage’s little garden and was shocked to find coarse grass growing on either side of a gravel path. She assumed that the planet had lost the ability to grow anything other than the thorny weeds and twisted, hard-trunked trees of the outlands. The Arkaiden lights seemed to encourage growth, even if it was sickly and colourless. Shiane glance up at the man. He had moved in the time she took to survey his garden. From this distance she was able to see more of him, to discern his features.
He looked to be a few years older than her. He was shaved, clean and had warm coloured skin. He was well fed, rounded at the gut, and stood quite tall against the frame of the doorway. His eyes did not glow at all, but had the sheen of wisdom that lit up his face. Shiane was glad he wasn’t crying like last night. She couldn’t understand why being locked out of his house had caused him such dismay but at least he seemed to have a handle on himself now. However, there was another difference from the last dream, a change which unsettled Shiane: Tonight he was looking right at her.
“Hello?” Shiane called over hesitantly. She hadn’t expected to find him staring at her like that. She just assumed that she would be invisible to him like she was the night before.
He stepped off the porch, still a little nervous of being outside, and walked towards her. Shiane took an uneasy step backwards but breathed a gasp of relief when she realised he wasn’t coming towards her at all; he was heading for the witchlight that hovered right beside her. Shiane had no idea where it appeared from but this was a dream and unusual things happened in dreams. She, above all, knew that.
The man followed the light towards the huge towering wall that surrounded the city and Shiane followed him, knowing intrinsically that he was the reason she was here. He hesitated when the witchlight vanished. His head frantically twitched left and right, as though expecting an ambush, and then something caught his eye. Th
ere, where the imposing gate should be, was a darkness that Shiane recognised as the outlands. The gate was open and the darkness called to them both.
Slowly, so very slowly, the man edged his way outside the city but his bravery was restricted to the wall. As he circled, one hand firmly pressed to the white stone, Shiane fell behind. She walked as steadily as before, but she seemed to travel only a tiny distance compared to the man and before long she lost sight of him.
Shiane sighed and sat upon the rubble at the base of the wall. She felt exhausted and her struggle to keep up had left her feeling despondent. She was surprised when the old man returned, stopped and stared at her with his mouth agape.
“Who . . . who are you?” he asked, his voice shivering as fiercely as his body in the harsh wind outside the walls. Shiane stared back and lowered the hood of the cloak she wore. The wind picked up her hair and beat her with it. The red strands whipped like flames across her face. She tried to speak but no words came.
“I am Alastor. Are you the one who opened the gate?” he asked. Shiane shook her head.
“Did you bring me here?” To this question she nodded.
“The light . . . that was yours?” Again she nodded, knowing that, even if she didn’t create it, it was hers, or rather Aletheia’s.
“They will exile me if I am caught outside after curfew. But I am dreaming so. . .” He trailed off. Shiane was amazed. Was she in this man’s mind or was he in hers? Before she could find some way to ask, he vanished. The winds pushed her against the wall, trying to shove her inside.
She knew this was where she would end up and now she knew how she was going to gain entry. Alastor was going to open the gate and let her in.
After Tomorrow: A CHBB Anthology Page 29