by A. Evermore
‘Demons,’ Issa said. ‘The demons have the spear.’ A green moon rose above them casting the demons in an eerie light. ‘Zorok, the green moon of the Murk,’ Issa said, remembering the images in her childhood picture book, “Fairies and Scaries.” ‘The Cursed King needs the spear,’ Issa chewed her lip as she pondered what the images meant. ‘Maybe it will end his curse?’ She chanced.
Zanufey was silent.
‘Just tell me what I’m supposed to do,’ Issa said, feeling stupid, ignorant and frustrated.
She dropped her eyes feeling her cheeks redden. Perhaps one shouldn’t talk to goddesses like that. But Zanufey did not chide her or mock her and stood there patiently and, as always, silent and knowing. Instead the image changed and a raven flew and landed on the tip of the spear. Issa stared at the raven and the spear, it seemed important but she did not know why.
‘What if I screw up? What if I am not the Raven Queen,’ Issa frowned. It was the one question she feared the most. Only then did Zanufey say the most she had ever said in words that fell softly around her.
‘Many things may or may not happen but above all else it is through strength and faith of heart and spirit you will know what needs to be done.’
The spear and the raven began to fade and Issa felt herself being drawn backwards.
‘Wait,’ she called, ‘Am I supposed to find this spear and the Cursed King too?’ she shouted frantically as the desert began to disappear. But all that came was a whispered, ‘Maion’artheria’ and all was still.
She blinked and looked down at the reflection of Woetala’s moon in the water, suddenly feeling empty in the absence of that divine presence. Why did everything have to be so cryptic? It wasn’t that anything was being hidden from her and what had been spoken of was actually quite succinct and straightforward.
‘Why can’t she just say, “go here to get this,” or, “you need to do this, this and this”?’ Issa huffed aloud. It’s hard enough doing whatever it is I have to do. Why do I have to think about it and work it all out as well? Were you just supposed to walk into the Murk?
‘Oh, hello, I’ve just come to collect the Spear of Light,’ Issa scoffed aloud and then slumped. It was obvious she was being asked to think for herself. Besides, she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to do. This Cursed King meant nothing to her anyway. But what else was she going to do? Live a life jumping around with the karalanths? She highly doubted the Maphraxies would sit around letting them do that for long.
‘But I had wanted to go to the Seers of Myrn,’ she whispered. She kinda had. In the few moments she’d had alone she had wondered about her mother, her real mother, and since she had been a seer, going to Myrn on the Isles of Tirry seemed to be a logical step if she wanted to find her.
The soft beat of drums and what sounded like a harp started in the distance. A gust of wind brought the strong smell of wood smoke and something delicious cooking that made her stomach rumble.
She checked her reflection. She had put kohl borrowed from Rhul’ynth on her eyelids to darken them and red on her lips. She smoothed her hair though she had already brushed it to shining. Would Asaph like how she looked? She huffed, what did it matter what Asaph thought… She barely knew the man and though he had saved her life and she his it didn’t mean they were suited. I had always thought I’d marry Tarry. Tarry, who was dead. She sighed and pushed aside those thoughts. For the foreseeable future there was no time for relationships and it would be far safer for everyone that way.
The whole world is at war and I am thinking of a partner… Edarna, Freydel, Ely, all see a dark path before me and I know I must walk it alone. I’ll not risk another’s life, not like Rance. Before thoughts of those lost could mar her mood she turned from the pool and made her way swiftly through the trees towards the orange glow of a huge bonfire. She rounded a karalanth house so fast she thumped into Coronos.
‘Gosh, I’m sorry!’ she apologised as Coronos laughed and steadied himself on a tree.
‘No matter, I was looking for you anyway. I wanted to give you back this,’ he passed to her a sack with something round and heavy in it. ‘I am sorry I took it but I didn’t trust to leave such magical things lying around when you were too sick to protect it,’ the wrinkles on his brow furrowed deeply. ‘It is bound to you so really I could not have stolen it. I had to keep it buried in a hole for my own protection.
‘You were right to take it. Thank you for protecting it,’ she said. Coronos was staring at the orb mesmerised. Issa too could feel its strange alluring power. ‘I know there is much we must discuss but I don’t think there is time tonight,’ Issa eyed him cautiously, could she trust him with the orb? That he already had one made it easier, perhaps, plus he had far more knowledge about it, about things that would take her a lifetime to understand. The orb was vitally important; one key to one power to be kept away from Baelthrom, at all costs. Keteth had already wreaked havoc with it and she could not afford to let it be lost again.
‘Coronos?’
He glanced up at her reluctantly and then smiled, though he seemed weary.
‘Coronos, can I entrust you to guard the Orb of Water until I know what needs to be done with it?’ He looked at her with bated breath.
‘I would be glad to be rid of it, one thing of power is quite enough for one person to carry, but two is too much. Half of me wants it, as any greedy human might, but the other half recoils from it. It is quite a burden and not to mention the worry,’ he said wearily.
‘That is why I know I can trust you,’ Issa smiled and then gave him a pleading look when he did not immediately respond. He looked at her and after a moment slumped his shoulders with a sigh.
‘All right, all right. I shall look after it. If you name me as Second Keeper I will be able to keep it close without harm coming to me. Though I will keep it wrapped up tight as I have no idea how to use it. In truth we should take it somewhere safe. Maybe the Wizards’ Circle will know what to do.’
Issa took the orb out of its sack. It was cold and shimmered a beautiful deep blue colour in the moonlight. She chewed her lip. ‘How does it work?’
Coronos laughed, ‘I don’t know, I’ve never named a Second Keeper myself. Usually it responds to the will of its Keeper. Since you are its Keeper it will respond to your will.’
‘Hmm, all right then,’ Issa said, staring at the orb. ‘Orb of Water I name Coronos Avernayis, Dragon Rider of Drax, your Second Keeper.’ She had expected something to happen, some flash of light or tolling of a bell, but nothing happened. ‘Did I do it right?’ she asked sheepishly.
Coronos laughed again. ‘Pass it to me and let me see how it feels.’ He took the orb gingerly and then straightened after a moment. ‘Well, I no longer feel quite so sick or weak holding it. I assume it worked and all is fine. I shall protect it. You have my word on my life, Issa. Or should I call you the Raven Queen?’ he said with a smile, putting his hand on his heart and bowing deeply.
She smiled awkwardly. Coronos took her hand, smiling sympathetically at the consternation on her face.
‘I know how hard it has been for you. Losing everyone you know and love, even your homeland. I can only only guess at how terrifying the Shadowlands were and what you have been through to be here standing before me. We have all been changed by the enemy and their atrocities committed against us. But if we all stick together we can help each other.
‘Sometimes I see more clearly than Asaph because he loves you deeply,’ he ignored her reddening face, ‘there is more in this world and all its dimensions than we can possibly know or understand. The goddess is always there to guide us.’
Issa looked up at his smiling face and felt like a girl before a wise old man who made her feel safe and calm.
‘I have seen you grow strong since we first met on those grey shores of the Shadowlands. You had almost become a Lost One yourself, forgetting who you are and wandering the realm of the dead. I think you know now who you are, I think you also know where you are going.
You may not quite realise it yet but deep down you know. I believe… we believe… in you, and all that really matters is for you to believe in you,’ his grey eyes were piercing as he looked at her.
‘I know something of Zanufey’s raven. It is a messenger from the night goddess sent to warn us that dark times are coming. You know, in Drax, Zanufey is called the Raven Goddess because she takes the form of a raven to carry the souls of the dead to the light.’
‘Well, I guess death must be far away for the raven’s been gone for days without so much as letting me know!’
Coronos laughed and smoothed his long beard. ‘Perhaps that is so! Come, let us eat. I’m famished,’ he said offering his arm.
‘Me too.’ She smiled and took it. Together they made their way back to a now very crowded and noisy village centre.
Chapter 36
The Kiss
ISSA had not seen anything quite like what she was witnessing as she and Coronos slurped down spicy root vegetable soup. The first meal of a very long feast, so they were told by the old female karalanth serving the soup from a cooking pot so large Issa was sure she could fit inside it. The tiny local theatrical plays on Little Kammy really didn’t come close to the bizarre enactment of dancing, music and acting she was watching.
Karalanth men were dancing dangerously close to the fire. Their entire bodies were covered in blue and red paint. One of them wore a three foot round mask of the same red and blue paint with long red feathers sticking out that waved and shook as he moved. He held a large spear in his hand, one that looked real and probably was. Three other men with smaller masks were laughing and jeering at him in the karalanth’s own strange barking and clicking language. Issa didn’t understand a word of it but whatever they were saying made the crowd laugh raucously.
‘It’s probably obvious but the one with the big mask is Ax’anth,’ Triest’anth explained to them in Frayonesse. He had come up quietly beside them, as most karalanths seemed to be able to do, cradling his own bowl of soup. ‘To be honest I can’t remember which battle this is, they all kind of blur into one in the celebrations over the years.’ Everyone chuckled.
The dance ended in a mock show of a bloody battle that for all Issa could tell basically turned into a leaping heap of laughing masked men. They looked suspiciously drunk and when she tasted the contents of the ceramic mug that was shoved graciously into her hands she understood why. It tasted like some kind of sweet white port, spicy with a heady aftertaste and very strong.
‘Made from forest cherries to a secret recipe,’ Triest’anth tapped his nose and downed the rest of his mug in one, wincing and shuddering in the aftermath.
‘I don’t doubt it,’ Issa mumbled and sipped her own. Still her body shook, whether in enjoyment or revulsion she wasn’t quite sure. It didn’t stop her from taking a second mug-full, however, and soon she began to find the theatrical displays as funny as everyone else.
There was an endless procession of food trays passed between everyone. Dark green leaves wrapped around mushroom and nut pates, curried tubers, candied acorns, pink purple and brown tapenades, pumpkin tasting bread - in fact there were breads of every shape size and colour that she couldn’t even begin to guess what they were. There did seem to be a lot of mushrooms and nut based dishes, cooked and raw, arranged in the most imaginative ways.
‘Nuts and tubers can be collected in advance,’ Triest’anth explained, ‘and mushrooms are always plentiful.’
‘Mmm,’ Issa mumbled through a mouthful, ‘I didn’t know there were so many types or how delicious they could be,’ she said swallowing and reaching for another leaf wrapped thing. Looking at how delicious and imaginative the food was put her own culinary skills to shame. All I ever bothered to cook was boiled vegetables and fish Tarry caught.
Despite the huge trays of food being passed round amongst the masses, the food tables lining either side of the path through the village were also heavily laden and bustling. Though her plate was full her eyes locked on to the dessert table. There was a huge cake that she could only think of being called as a Mountain Berry Cake. It was quite literally a cake mountain, at last three foot high, in the shape of a cone and splattered with wild strawberries, cherries and blackberries.
I’ve got to leave room for that! But when she looked down at her plate she still had a load of delicious leaf wraps. She decided to finish her plate but stay close to the cake, just in case it disappeared before she could fit a slice into her stomach.
The last mouthful and swig of karalanth wine left her feeling rather exhausted and she looked around for a place to slump whilst still in sight of her goal, the Mountain Berry Cake. Between the houses and dotted everywhere were many smaller fires around which huge cushions had been placed. Some were full with four or more karalanths sat neatly on the cushions with their legs tucked under them but others still had room.
She found a suitable cushioned slumping place next to two karalanths chatting to each other, female and male. With a sigh she melted onto the cushion, her eyes never leaving the cake. She could still glimpse it between the moving people. She turned to the couple beside her but they had moved closer to each other now, the female karalanth leaning heavily on the male who was now stroking the soft white fur of her belly. Their red faces and half-filled mugs told Issa all she needed to know. Slightly different to the Midsummer Celebrations on Little Kammy. When they stopped giggling and began kissing Issa decided they, and she, would prefer some privacy. She jumped up and made her excuses.
‘I need to dance more,’ she mumbled, feeling nothing like such a thing. They looked at her and laughed, their eyes sparkling in the campfire, but they were soon engrossed in each other again and the strange two-foot quickly forgotten. Issa made her way over to the now fast disappearing Mountain Berry Cake.
‘What’s it called,’ she asked the two giggling young girls cutting the cake. They were probably laughing at funny two-foot, Issa mused and grinned.
‘Feniserry,’ they laughed and gave her a helping. The red berries and gooey white icing slopping deliciously onto her plate.
‘Oh I thought it was Mountain Berry Cake,’ she replied in disappointment. For her it would always be Mountain Berry Cake. This made the girls cry with laughter. Perhaps they had managed to sneak some wine away from the adults. Grinning, cake in hand she turned to go, spotted Asaph sitting beside a different fire and got an extra piece for him. It was a struggle to carry two plates and her mug of karalanth wine and dodge between the revellers.
As she neared she suddenly felt ridiculously shy. Asaph was talking to a karalanth and his face was turned in profile. His hair was loose about his broad shoulders and shone golden red in the firelight. Perhaps she had drunk too much already to talk to him and eating both pieces of cake herself wasn’t outrageous really. In fact it sounded like a great idea, she thought looking down at the cake. She was about to turn away when he saw her and waved.
Damn! She thought but made her way over anyway and sat down awkwardly with her hands full.
‘Oh no!’ she cried as the cakes began to slide. She would have lost the lot had Asaph not caught everything. He laughed as he grappled with both plates and her mug.
‘Cake?’ she asked, unable to stop the giggle escape her throat. Definitely had too much wine!
He grinned, ‘Ugh, yes why not, I’m sure I can squeeze it in.’ He took his cake and began eating. ‘Great cake and wine,’ he said between mouthfuls.
Issa nodded, ‘The best cake I’ve had since I was on Celene,’ she mumbled back.
‘The wine reminds me of the fire wine we had back home with the Kuapoh, on the Uncharted Lands,’ Asaph said, ‘wild and strong! But at least it gives us a good excuse to avoid dancing. I think we’d stand out like a sore thumb,’ he said motioning to the dancing going on around the main bonfire. ‘They have four legs and never lose their balance!’
Issa giggled at that and Asaph grinned at her.
‘You look beautiful,’ Asaph complimented, his blue ey
es flashing in the firelight.
‘It’s amazing what khol, clothes and wine will do,’ she said dismissively, hoping the firelight hid her blushing.
‘You look, er, clean,’ Issa said, blushing deeper, and quickly added, ‘strong, uh,’ how on earth do you compliment a man? For a moment she was sure she must look like a goldfish, mouth opening and closing as she tried to find the right words. She gave up with a sigh as he burst out laughing. Luckily another jug of karalanth wine made it their way and she hastily refilled her mug, glad for the distraction. She had no idea what to say to him or why she always got so flustered.
Asaph just sat there grinning as he sipped his full mug. It only made it worse, he always seemed to know what to say and when to say it. He’s probably had lots of girlfriends anyway…
‘It’s the wine, uh, it makes me say funny things’ she said between sips. I can’t tell him he looks handsome and his hair matches the colour of the fire. That would just be flirting! ‘Do you have a girlfriend? A wife?’ she asked, trying to sound conversational but it actually came out more confrontational. He laughed. She coughed. ‘Of course it’s none of my business…’ she waved a hand dismissively.
‘No I don’t,’ was all he said. He drank deeply of his own glass though his eyes never left hers. She looked away from him feeling very hot. Isn’t he going to ask me the same? Clearly he wasn’t. It probably doesn’t even matter to him anyway!
‘Oh no,’ Asaph said, his face horrified.
‘What?’ Issa turned to see what he was looking at and to her dismay saw four karalanths approaching with wicked grins on their faces. ‘Oh no,’ she whispered.
The thick arm of a male karalanth scooped around her waist, easily lifting her up bodily and, ignoring her wiggling and protesting, carried her off into the dance. From the yelps behind she heard Asaph was in a similar predicament.